University of Victoria, Canada.

Introduction: There must be appropriate standards to ensure that suitable persons are responsible for the education of our children, but those charged with setting such standards in a public system have no recognized guidelines to follow.

Trinity Western University (TWU) in Langley, British Columbia is a privately funded Christian university which offers the first four years of a five-year teacher education program, with students transferring to a publicly funded university for their final year. Students attending TWU are required to adhere to a Bible-based code of conduct, requiring (among many other less controversial provisions) abstinence from homosexual activity while attending the university. The authority to accredit teacher education programs in the province rests with the British Columbia College of Teachers (BCCT), and TWU applied to have its full program recognized. Two education committees of the BCCT recommended approval of the program, but the governing Council turned down the application on the grounds that the Community Standards requirements were not in the public interest. TWU took the decision to the Supreme Court, which ruled in its favour, and instructed the BCCT to recognize the program, a decision which was upheld by the Court of Appeal. The BCCT has now applied to take the case to the ultimate authority, the Supreme Court of Canada.

This paper will review the situation, describing the two organizations and their disputes in the courts.

* * *

University of Benin, Nigeria.

Abstract: Educational administrators in Nigeria seem to face some unique problems in student personnel management because of the continuing conflict between some traditional and western values and the rapidly changing political, social and economic conditions in the country. Moreover, with great shortages of funds, staff and facilities, they have to cope with student population explosion, high expectations of society and increased students' assertion of their fundamental rights. Two major manifestations of the crisis in student management are the menace of secret cults and erosion of standards by widespread examination malpractices. The coping strategies of school administrators are examined together with an assessment of the extent to which they have succeeded in improving the situation in the education system.

* * *

University of Benin, Nigeria.

Abstract: This paper highlights the factors affecting the quality of education in Nigerian universities. The main factor identified is under-funding in the presence of increasing but unsatisfied demand for university education. The universities are also faced with shortage of talented, highly qualified and experienced academics. Furthermore, physical and research facilities are inadequate in the universities. Since the total government expenditure on university education cannot keep pace with rising demand for a better quality education, this paper recommends in addition to proper planning of university education, the adoption of a strategy of cost recovery involving the introduction of user fees and students loan programme in order to improve the quality of university education in Nigeria.

* * *

Northern Territory University, Australia.

Abstract: This paper reports the dilemma stemming from contradictions in the motives of twenty-two Australian universities in their international strategic alliance efforts. While the responding universities espouse motives such as altruism, and scholarship, to the neglect of revenue generation as the reasons for entering into international strategic alliances, the true motives appear to be at variance with the former. Revenue generation is not stated as an important consideration by the universities in the study, but the shift from traditional markets to new markets, the contributions of overseas partners with significant financial implications, and emphasis on study abroad/student exchanges would suggest otherwise. Arguably, until the contradictions between the espoused and true positions are resolved, Australian universities may not realise the full potential from their international collaborative ventures. Suggestions for resolving the discrepancy are offered.

* * *

Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development, Karachi, and School of Education, Sheffield Hallam University, England.

Abstract: Little effort is made to study the role of headteachers in the eastern context including Pakistan. This paper is based on the study conducted in the government and non-government schools in Pakistan in order to understand headteachers’ role in terms of the emerging demands, constraints and choices. The study suggests that the government school headteachers seem to be less proactive and more interested in maintaining status quo because of the influence of ‘top-down management model’. The study also suggests that the government headteachers have limited choices and many constraints because of the influence of the bureaucratic system. Their counterparts in non-government schools seem to be more proactive in making the best use of available choices and in maintaining equilibrium between the role demands, choices and constraints. The research findings further reveal that the non-government headteachers tend to have a broader vision of managing schools effectively than their counterparts in the government schools.

* * *

Mir Baiz Khan

Pakistan Education Office, Pakistan.

Introduction: In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the experiences of enhancing the professional capacity of teachers in the northern region of Pakistan by providing them on-the-job in-service professional development opportunities. The paper concludes that continuous in-service professional development of teachers through learning teams will result in the improvement of the quality of the individual teachers as well as that of education.

* * *

The University of the West Indies, Barbados.

Abstract: The paper looks at the regional tertiary education system, noting its increasing diversity and the growing tension which is emerging from inter-institutional competition and lack of regulation within the system. It presents as an appropriate conceptual framework for Caribbean tertiary education one of interacting networks and single points in a continually changing environment. In this changing environment where expanding tertiary education access in a small population pool is a priority, the paper argues that, as obtains in many other countries and regions, there needs to be differentiation of function between institutions on the one hand and regional harmonisation of policy and practice on the other. The paper examines and classifies recently established UWI relationships with colleges as mainly franchise and validation. It then reviews and groups the national tertiary education systems of the sixteen UWI contributing countries, extrapolating from their strategic plans and official statements the nature of their desired links with UWI. The paper concludes with recommendations for an integrated model for regional tertiary education linkages which is built on the acceptance of diversity while at the same time striving for unity through the forging of flexible, programmatic and professional linkages.

Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

Abstract: As education systems implement school-based management reforms, a level of managers between the school (as the site of educational provision) and the central office (the policy driven site) is often seen as critical to the functioning of such systems. In Queensland such managers are called District Directors with each Director responsible for some 40 schools and their principals. This paper reports on a qualitative research study conducted into the roles, both assigned and emergent, of these Directors following a major system-wide restructuring that commenced in 1997. Key changes in the roles are identified together with implications for the future.

* * *

William Griffiths and Denis McLaughlin

Catholic Education in Darwin; Australian Catholic University, Australia.

Abstracts: Approximately 20 % of Australian children are taught in 1,700 Catholic schools. The federal and state governments contribute approximately 70% of the running costs with the remainder coming from tuition fees paid by parents. By any standards Australian Catholic education contributes significantly to society. Its conduct and administration is not a religious parallel of state government bureaucracies. This paper attempts to provide some understanding of the decentralised/centralised administration of Australian Catholic education.

* * *

University of Botswana, Botswana.

Abstract: Attempts to broaden access to basic education and achieve social equity, especially under conditions of severe fiscal restraint, call for a consideration of alternative and cost-effective methods in the provision of education. These methods include multiple-shift schooling practices (also known as ‘hot seating’ in Zimbabwe), a system in which one school caters for at least two different groups of students during a school day. Although there may be no consensus on social, economic or educational merits of hot seating practices the advantage that probably appeals most to many developing countries, such as Zimbabwe, is its capacity to increase school places and reduce overcrowding. It is partly for this reason that the present exploratory study sought to determine the nature and status of hot seating practices and to assess the perceptions of teachers and headteachers concerning this controversial subject. The results of this study show that hot seating practices in Zimbabwean schools are uncommon in rural areas, while in urban centres the practice is associated with former Group B (former Blacks-only) schools, which are found in the poorer, high-density suburbs. Hot seating practices were further stigmatised by associating them with poor student performance. Finally, unfavourable perceptions of the research sample towards hot seating were more common in many schools where examination classes were exempted from hot seating.

* * *

Bill Mulford, Lawrie Kendall, Diana Kendall, Pam Bishop and David Hogan

University of Tasmania, Australia.

Abstract: Decentralisation in education is now a well established practice, with varying degrees of implementation and success. The way in which power is decentralised to the school, and through the school, impacts upon the effectiveness of the school as a learning community. School-based management (SBM) seeks to involve school personnel in decisions about how the school should deliver education, in the belief that empowerment generates higher quality delivery and more effective use of resources. The initial, and more overt, phase of decentralised of power and decision making is to the school and its principal. The less overt and more complicated phase concerns the decentralisation of power and decision- making to others who form the school community: deputy principals, teachers, parents, school councillors, and students. This paper examines the decision making process in primary schools in one Australian state as perceived by principals, teachers, and school council members. It was found that teachers and principals reported increased involvement in decision-making, and increased level of control under SBM but in different areas of a school’s activities. The deputy principal appeared to play a significant but underestimated role in the school, and the School Council had limited impact in the school. An unexpected finding identified a Decision-making Index (D-M I). The use of this Index indicated that the more positively teachers viewed the decision-making processes in the school, the higher the degree of influence and control they perceived to be exerted by education staff groups in the school.

* * *

Leeds Metropolitan University, UK.

Abstract: Fellows from Grenada visited Leeds Metropolitan University during 1996-7 for a professional development experience prescribed by the World Bank and the Grenadian Government and which was bid for by the University. The experiences of and with these Fellows, who were teachers in their home country, were evaluated by a variety of different methods. The Fellows have contributed to the reports which were drawn up. The experience has led to a reappraisal of this University’s strategy for making bids for contracts which provide developmental education for professionals from other countries, and to the establishment of ground rules for such bids to ensure greater sustainability and efficiency of future ventures. This report concludes with a model of best practice which, the authors believe, is both more educationally effective in the short, medium and long term and better value-for-money than the approach which the University, the World Bank, and the Home Government adopted for this group of Fellows.

University of Victoria, Canada.

Introduction: There must be appropriate standards to ensure that suitable persons are responsible for the education of our children, but those charged with setting such standards in a public system have no recognized guidelines to follow.

Trinity Western University (TWU) in Langley, British Columbia is a privately funded Christian university which offers the first four years of a five-year teacher education program, with students transferring to a publicly funded university for their final year. Students attending TWU are required to adhere to a Bible-based code of conduct, requiring (among many other less controversial provisions) abstinence from homosexual activity while attending the university. The authority to accredit teacher education programs in the province rests with the British Columbia College of Teachers (BCCT), and TWU applied to have its full program recognized. Two education committees of the BCCT recommended approval of the program, but the governing Council turned down the application on the grounds that the Community Standards requirements were not in the public interest. TWU took the decision to the Supreme Court, which ruled in its favour, and instructed the BCCT to recognize the program, a decision which was upheld by the Court of Appeal. The BCCT has now applied to take the case to the ultimate authority, the Supreme Court of Canada.

This paper will review the situation, describing the two organizations and their disputes in the courts.

* * *

University of Benin, Nigeria.

Abstract: Educational administrators in Nigeria seem to face some unique problems in student personnel management because of the continuing conflict between some traditional and western values and the rapidly changing political, social and economic conditions in the country. Moreover, with great shortages of funds, staff and facilities, they have to cope with student population explosion, high expectations of society and increased students' assertion of their fundamental rights. Two major manifestations of the crisis in student management are the menace of secret cults and erosion of standards by widespread examination malpractices. The coping strategies of school administrators are examined together with an assessment of the extent to which they have succeeded in improving the situation in the education system.

* * *

University of Benin, Nigeria.

Abstract: This paper highlights the factors affecting the quality of education in Nigerian universities. The main factor identified is under-funding in the presence of increasing but unsatisfied demand for university education. The universities are also faced with shortage of talented, highly qualified and experienced academics. Furthermore, physical and research facilities are inadequate in the universities. Since the total government expenditure on university education cannot keep pace with rising demand for a better quality education, this paper recommends in addition to proper planning of university education, the adoption of a strategy of cost recovery involving the introduction of user fees and students loan programme in order to improve the quality of university education in Nigeria.

* * *

Northern Territory University, Australia.

Abstract: This paper reports the dilemma stemming from contradictions in the motives of twenty-two Australian universities in their international strategic alliance efforts. While the responding universities espouse motives such as altruism, and scholarship, to the neglect of revenue generation as the reasons for entering into international strategic alliances, the true motives appear to be at variance with the former. Revenue generation is not stated as an important consideration by the universities in the study, but the shift from traditional markets to new markets, the contributions of overseas partners with significant financial implications, and emphasis on study abroad/student exchanges would suggest otherwise. Arguably, until the contradictions between the espoused and true positions are resolved, Australian universities may not realise the full potential from their international collaborative ventures. Suggestions for resolving the discrepancy are offered.

* * *

Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development, Karachi, and School of Education, Sheffield Hallam University, England.

Abstract: Little effort is made to study the role of headteachers in the eastern context including Pakistan. This paper is based on the study conducted in the government and non-government schools in Pakistan in order to understand headteachers’ role in terms of the emerging demands, constraints and choices. The study suggests that the government school headteachers seem to be less proactive and more interested in maintaining status quo because of the influence of ‘top-down management model’. The study also suggests that the government headteachers have limited choices and many constraints because of the influence of the bureaucratic system. Their counterparts in non-government schools seem to be more proactive in making the best use of available choices and in maintaining equilibrium between the role demands, choices and constraints. The research findings further reveal that the non-government headteachers tend to have a broader vision of managing schools effectively than their counterparts in the government schools.

* * *

Teachers’ Professional Development: A Way of Improving Education in Pakistan

Mir Baiz Khan

Pakistan Education Office, Pakistan.

Introduction: In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the experiences of enhancing the professional capacity of teachers in the northern region of Pakistan by providing them on-the-job in-service professional development opportunities. The paper concludes that continuous in-service professional development of teachers through learning teams will result in the improvement of the quality of the individual teachers as well as that of education.

* * *

The University of the West Indies, Barbados.

Abstract: The paper looks at the regional tertiary education system, noting its increasing diversity and the growing tension which is emerging from inter-institutional competition and lack of regulation within the system. It presents as an appropriate conceptual framework for Caribbean tertiary education one of interacting networks and single points in a continually changing environment. In this changing environment where expanding tertiary education access in a small population pool is a priority, the paper argues that, as obtains in many other countries and regions, there needs to be differentiation of function between institutions on the one hand and regional harmonisation of policy and practice on the other. The paper examines and classifies recently established UWI relationships with colleges as mainly franchise and validation. It then reviews and groups the national tertiary education systems of the sixteen UWI contributing countries, extrapolating from their strategic plans and official statements the nature of their desired links with UWI. The paper concludes with recommendations for an integrated model for regional tertiary education linkages which is built on the acceptance of diversity while at the same time striving for unity through the forging of flexible, programmatic and professional linkages.

Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

Abstract: As education systems implement school-based management reforms, a level of managers between the school (as the site of educational provision) and the central office (the policy driven site) is often seen as critical to the functioning of such systems. In Queensland such managers are called District Directors with each Director responsible for some 40 schools and their principals. This paper reports on a qualitative research study conducted into the roles, both assigned and emergent, of these Directors following a major system-wide restructuring that commenced in 1997. Key changes in the roles are identified together with implications for the future.

* * *

Catholic Education in Darwin; Australian Catholic University, Australia.

Abstracts: Approximately 20 % of Australian children are taught in 1,700 Catholic schools. The federal and state governments contribute approximately 70% of the running costs with the remainder coming from tuition fees paid by parents. By any standards Australian Catholic education contributes significantly to society. Its conduct and administration is not a religious parallel of state government bureaucracies. This paper attempts to provide some understanding of the decentralised/centralised administration of Australian Catholic education.

* * *

University of Botswana, Botswana.

Abstract: Attempts to broaden access to basic education and achieve social equity, especially under conditions of severe fiscal restraint, call for a consideration of alternative and cost-effective methods in the provision of education. These methods include multiple-shift schooling practices (also known as ‘hot seating’ in Zimbabwe), a system in which one school caters for at least two different groups of students during a school day. Although there may be no consensus on social, economic or educational merits of hot seating practices the advantage that probably appeals most to many developing countries, such as Zimbabwe, is its capacity to increase school places and reduce overcrowding. It is partly for this reason that the present exploratory study sought to determine the nature and status of hot seating practices and to assess the perceptions of teachers and headteachers concerning this controversial subject. The results of this study show that hot seating practices in Zimbabwean schools are uncommon in rural areas, while in urban centres the practice is associated with former Group B (former Blacks-only) schools, which are found in the poorer, high-density suburbs. Hot seating practices were further stigmatised by associating them with poor student performance. Finally, unfavourable perceptions of the research sample towards hot seating were more common in many schools where examination classes were exempted from hot seating.

* * *

Bill Mulford, Lawrie Kendall, Diana Kendall, Pam Bishop and David Hogan.

University of Tasmania, Australia.

Abstract: Decentralisation in education is now a well established practice, with varying degrees of implementation and success. The way in which power is decentralised to the school, and through the school, impacts upon the effectiveness of the school as a learning community. School-based management (SBM) seeks to involve school personnel in decisions about how the school should deliver education, in the belief that empowerment generates higher quality delivery and more effective use of resources. The initial, and more overt, phase of decentralised of power and decision making is to the school and its principal. The less overt and more complicated phase concerns the decentralisation of power and decision- making to others who form the school community: deputy principals, teachers, parents, school councillors, and students. This paper examines the decision making process in primary schools in one Australian state as perceived by principals, teachers, and school council members. It was found that teachers and principals reported increased involvement in decision-making, and increased level of control under SBM but in different areas of a school’s activities. The deputy principal appeared to play a significant but underestimated role in the school, and the School Council had limited impact in the school. An unexpected finding identified a Decision-making Index (D-M I). The use of this Index indicated that the more positively teachers viewed the decision-making processes in the school, the higher the degree of influence and control they perceived to be exerted by education staff groups in the school.

* * *

Leeds Metropolitan University, UK.

Abstract: Fellows from Grenada visited Leeds Metropolitan University during 1996-7 for a professional development experience prescribed by the World Bank and the Grenadian Government and which was bid for by the University. The experiences of and with these Fellows, who were teachers in their home country, were evaluated by a variety of different methods. The Fellows have contributed to the reports which were drawn up. The experience has led to a reappraisal of this University’s strategy for making bids for contracts which provide developmental education for professionals from other countries, and to the establishment of ground rules for such bids to ensure greater sustainability and efficiency of future ventures. This report concludes with a model of best practice which, the authors believe, is both more educationally effective in the short, medium and long term and better value-for-money than the approach which the University, the World Bank, and the Home Government adopted for this group of Fellows.