ISEA Vol.32 No.3, 2004

The Training and Development of Principals to Manage Schools Effectively Using the Competence Approach

Raj Mestry and Bennie R Grobler
Rand Afrikaans University, South Africa.

Abstract: The education system as a whole has been affected by radical changes taking place globally. South African schools have in turn become sites for radical change and principals are working under the most difficult conditions during this transformation process. Managing change is a complex and elusive process. Even in stable and well resourced contexts, the dynamics of change are not fully understood. How much more difficult then is the attempt to explore potential approaches to managing change in the troubled and exhilarating context of South Africa (Thurlow, Bush and Coleman, 2003:101).

School principals have a multifaceted and enormous task of establishing an environment that could lead to effective schooling. However, many of the principals are either not coping with the numerous changes or they do not have the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes to manage their schools effectively and efficiently. It is therefore essential for the authorities or educationist to develop training programmes for principals of schools so that they can manage their schools effectively and efficiently.

* * *

Geographic Disparities of Chinese School Principals' Leadership Capacities: A Perspective of Teachers' Perceptions

Mingchu Luo
Department of Educational Administration and Supervision, University of Nebraksa at Omaha, U.S.A.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the geographic disparities of Chinese school principal capacities based on the teachers' perceptions in Guangdong, China. One hundred and seventy three teachers completed the Principal Leadership Capacities Questionnaire. The results of the study indicated that principals' leadership capacities were totally perceived moderately negative. The principals' leadership capacities in urban settings were perceived significantly higher than in suburban and rural settings. There was no significant difference in teachers' perceptions between the economically advantaged Pearl River Delta region and the other regions with economic disadvantage. This study contributes its results to the research findings about the geographic dimension of education inequity in China. Recommendations were made that the policy makers should also focus their efforts on changing or shortening the disparities of principals' leadership capacities across urban, suburban, and rural settings.

* * *

Relevance and Significance of Relationships: The Singapore Experience in Mentoring

Lim Lee Hean and Low Guat Tin
Policy and Leadership Studies Academic Group, National Institute of Education, Nan yang Technological University, Singapore.

Abstract: In relation to the prime emphasis of learning in mentoring, although literature often differs in the specific nature of mentoring, there is some consensus with regard to evolving developmental relationships between the individuals. Perceptions of mentor teachers as well as aspiring and practising school principals in Singapore reflect the prevalent learning of relationship skills in mentoring. The evolution and pertinent developments of mentoring in educational administration and leadership were presented to offer added insight into the relevance and significance of relationships that were emphasised in the findings of studies conducted in Singapore. It is evident that mentoring fosters leadership training in the essential relationship skills, which facilitate getting things done through and with people within and beyond the school settings.

* * *

Performance Appraisal of the Nigerian Secondary School Teachers: The Students Perspectives

Nelson Ejiro Akpotu and Enamiroro Patrick Oghuvbu
Department of Educational Administration, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria.

Abstract: The study examined the contributions of students as an innovation in the performance appraisal of teachers in secondary schools in Nigeria. It reviewed the significance and role of students in the evaluation of their teachers in most parts of the developed world. Based on this premise, the researchers designed a teacher evaluation instrument (TEI), which was administered to students. Four hypotheses were formulated and tested. The results showed that students perceive their teachers as competent and dedicated. However, they saw the male and urban teachers as having cordial relationship with students than their female and rural counterparts. The urban teacher was perceived to be more competent in content and pedagogy. Useful suggestions were made to reflect the focus of the study, which calls for the inclusion of students' contributions in the evaluation of the Nigerian teacher.

* * *

School Autonomy in China: A Comparison Between Government and Private Schools Within the Context of Decentralization

Jocelyn Wong Lai-ngok
Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, HKSAR, China.

Abstract: An educational decentralization policy has been imposed on the education system in China since the mid-1980s. This policy change has delegated a certain extent of autonomy from the central to other educational stakeholders - namely local governments, local communities or even individuals. However, recent Western discussions on the issue of educational decentralization policy have argued that this merely means the devolution of financial and managerial control to lower levels, while retaining centrally defined educational goals for schools to accomplish and standard assessment criteria for schools to achieve. Schools, to a different extent, are still controlled by the State. This paper is an attempt to use the decentralization experience in Guangdong Province of China to examine the impact of decentralization policy on the expansion of school autonomy. Firstly, the discussion will be on what decision-making powers, if any, are expanded at the school level as a result of the policy shift. Secondly, comparison of school autonomy between government and private schools will also be addressed.

ISEA Vol.32 No.2, 2004

Special issue on understanding and responding ethically to the dilemmas of school based leadership

Understanding Valuation Processes: Exploring the Linkage Between Motivation and Action

Paul T. Begley
Department of Education Policy Studies, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA.

Abstract: This article emphasizes the distinction between understanding valuation processes and responding ethically to dilemmas of administrative practice. Traditional theories and frameworks from organizational studies literature on motivation are contrasted with a conceptual lens that portrays the dynamic linkages between motivational bases, values, attitudes, and action. The case is made for understanding valuation processes as a primary enabling strategy for authentic leadership practices. The dynamics of this process are further conveyed by portraying school leadership as a phenomenon involving seven or more arenas of influence ranging from self, to profession, to organization, to community and the transcendental. The use of ethics as a basis for responding to the dilemmas of administration is discussed, and a sequence for the application of ethical perspectives is proposed using a case problem.

* * *

Understanding the Impact of Perceived Principal Leadership Style On Teacher Commitment

Jingping Sun
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract: This article, based on research conducted in 2003, explores the influence of teacher-perceived leadership styles on teacher commitment. Data were collected from interviews with twelve elementary teachers from several school districts located in a large Canadian urban centre. This study conceptualizes the perceived leadership styles as including three components: the 6 variables of a values syntax (see Begley 2003), authenticity (or inauthenticity), and the personal relationship between the leader and the follower. Findings suggest that the extent to which leaders influence individual teachers is determined largely by how well the principal's value system, as perceived by the teacher, is understood to align with the teacher's value orientations. This study posits that values are the medium in which leadership power exists and through which it functions, and that leadership influence is a function of the interaction between the follower's value system and that of the leader.

* * *

Understanding the Impact of U.S. Federal Education Policies on the Education of Children and Youth with Disabilities

Susan C. Faircloth
Departments of Education Policy Studies and Educational and School Psychology and Special Education, Pennsylvania State University, USA.

Abstract: Federal involvement in the education of children and youth with disabilities in the United States was expanded with the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), Public Law 107-110. This Act is part of a wide sweeping Federal initiative to reform public education. A key element of the accountability system outlined in the NCLB is the disaggregation and reporting of achievement data by subgroups based on poverty levels, race, ethnicities, disability status, and limited English proficiency. Schools in which any subgroup fails to make Adequate Yearly Progress, as defined by the State, may be subject to sanctions.

* * *

Using Multiple Ethical Paradigms and Turbulence Theory In Response to Administrative Dilemmas

Steven Jay Gross
Educational Administration Program, College of Education, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA.

Joan Poliner Shapiro
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department, College of Education, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA.

Abstract: This article examines a mentor-protégé relationship at a reforming high school in the United States. The article rests on two key concepts: the multiple ethical paradigm approach, encompassing the ethics of justice, critique, care and the profession, (Shapiro and Stefkovich, 2001) and Turbulence Theory (Gross, 1998). Our analysis suggests a strong relationship between mentoring and bringing challenging leadership problems into the moderate turbulence range where they can be reasonably dealt with. In addition, we found that the mentor successfully employed a variety of ethical lenses in her work with the protégé, thus reflecting a multiple ethical paradigm approach. These frameworks are useful supports to other educational leaders who need to work through difficult dilemmas in order to sustain change processes over time in an educational institution

* * *

Responding Ethically to Complex School-based Issues in Special Education

Lindy Zaretsky
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada.

Abstract: This article reports the findings of a qualitative study investigating the interactions of principals and parent advocates relating to special education. Findings suggest that particular strategic responses are employed by principals and parent advocates depending on circumstances. The implications of these strategic interactions for ethical and successful resolution of the contentious special education issues are discussed. The article ends with a discussion of the benefits of democratic and collaborative approaches to interaction as ethical responses to complex school-based issues.

* * *

Responding Ethically: Complex Decision-making by School District Superintendents

Lyse Langlois
Laval University, Quebec, Canada

ISEA Vol.32 No.1, 2004

Western Management Theory in Hong Kong: frames in the Preparation of Principals

Jess House
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA.

Wong, Ping-Man And Yuen, Chung-Chi
Hong Kong Institute of Education, HKSAR, China.

Abstract: Following a pattern that has become typical across other state and national systems of education, dissatisfaction in Hong Kong with education has led policy-makers to legislate reform proposals. Implementation of the reforms has heightened awareness of the central role of the school principal, and the latter has generated closer attention to how individuals are prepared for this demanding role. Management theory that has been developed in the West is often used in the curriculum for the preparation of Hong Kong principals. This paper examines the decision to include structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frames in the curriculum for the preparation of Hong Kong principals.

* * *

Extending Education to Disadvantaged Groups: the Nomadic Education Option in Nigeria

Clement Imoudu Imhabekhai
Department of Adult Education, University Of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.

Abstract: A nation that strives for rapid social, economic and political development must of necessity provide quality education for its citizens without exception. Consequently, this paper examines the implementation of nomadic education established by the Federal Government of Nigeria to extend equal opportunity to education to disadvantaged groups: nomadic pastoralists, migrant fishing populations and farmers to make them more productive and contribute more meaningfully to national development efforts. This discussion shows that the programme operates a distinctive delivery system to make it more successful and that in its design, network of collaboration with other institutions, locally and internationally, is employed and this has contributed immensely to the growth in number of nomadic primary schools and pupil enrolment.

* * *

Developing Senior Management Teams in Schools: Can Micropolitics Help?

Lisa Catherine Ehrich and Neil Cranston
School of Learning & Professional Studies, Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

Abstract: While there is a vast body of literature that examines the role of the principal in schools, it has been only relatively recently that attention has focused on the working practices and relationships of members in the Senior Management Team (SMT). This paper suggests that the study of micropolitics has potential for illuminating SMTs since it provides a lens to understand the dynamics of the team and the interactions and inter-relationships between and amongst their members. This micropolitical lens is concerned with how players use a variety of strategies such as power, coercion, cooperation, cooption and influence to obtain resources and achieve goals. This paper examines some of the recent research into SMTs and micropolitics and identifies five key issues or pointers that may be linked to either facilitating or inhibiting the effective functioning of SMTs in schools. The set of issues provides a useful framework for members of SMTs to critically reflect upon as they seek to build shared purpose, cooperation and collaboration.

* * *

On-line Secondary School Conditions and Practices

Scott D. Tunison and Larry Sackney
Department of Educational Administration, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada.

Abstract: This case study of one Canadian virtual secondary school had two main purposes: to examine the nature of instruction and student response to that instruction; and, to examine the nature of community that develops in the virtual school context. It was found that, due to factors including a lack of course development time, a paucity of technical and software support, and insufficient pedagogical training, this virtual secondary school looked very much like a conventional secondary school except that its classes took place on the internet. While student respondents were generally satisfied with their virtual school experiences, the school under study exhibited very high student drop out and disengagement rates (40%). It was also found that the nature of the learning community in the online school was considerably different from that of a conventional school.

* * *

School Choice and Diversity - International Perspectives a Decade on

Donald Hirsch, Ron Glatter and Susan Watson

Abstract: In the late 1980s and early 1990s various countries implemented market-inspired policies to increase school choice. This article selectively reviews evidence of the effects of these changes, concentrating on experiences in two countries with wide-ranging reforms - the UK and New Zealand.

Direct evidence of the effect of choice on educational outcomes is sparse. Identifiable benefits to student performance tend to be at the margin, and strongest when choice is combined with other aspects of educational change. Its separate influence is hard to disentangle. Segregation effects can also be traced in particular circumstances, yet not as generalised consequences. Overall, effects on outcomes are most often particular to different contexts of geography, national culture and time.

Choice has also been associated with greater diversity across schools. In practice, the main effect has not been to offer consumers a range of qualitatively different educational brands within each community: this was never realistic. Rather, choice is one of several factors driving greater diversity in pluralistic societies. The future of such changes depends on factors other than whether they create contestability. This article concludes that choice can have greatest impact on school change by making reforms sensitive to consumer views, rather than by maximising competition.

* * *

Learning Leadership Through Appreciative Inquiry

Keith Walker And Sheila Carr-Stewart
Department of Educational Administration, College of Education, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Abstract: This paper describes the use and approach of appreciative inquiry in a research study of educational superintendent work lives. The study was conducted with a survey, fora, an electronic Delphi, purposeful interviews, document analysis, and a synthesizing workshop. These methodologies were triangulated or crystallized to collect data from senior educational leaders with respect to both their work environment and their leadership learning perspectives. The appreciative inquiry processes helped to identify provocative practices thought to be instrumental in the realization of strategic ambitions. This study generated a number of interesting sets of findings beyond the usual descriptive report, perhaps the most interesting were the provocative practice statements developed using the appreciative inquiry protocol. These are included in the paper.