Download or read book Teacher Autonomy and Centralization written by Randall Keith Southern and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The question guiding this inquiry considered an anticipated relationship between teacher autonomy and centralization and their contribution to an explanation of school effectiveness. This study examined surveys from 109 public schools in North Alabama to see whether the variables of teacher autonomy and centralization of authority were predictors of school effectiveness while controlling for SES. Faculty members of the participating schools completed the survey instruments. All data were aggregated to the school level. Teacher autonomy and centralization served as independent variables with school effectiveness serving as the dependent variable. Teacher autonomy was measured using the Teaching Autonomy Scale (TAS). Centralization was measured by the enabling school structure measure (ESS). School effectiveness was measured using the School Effectiveness Index (SE Index). The prediction that autonomy and centralization would be related was not found. There was no relationship between autonomy and school effectiveness. Only centralization was related to effectiveness. That relationship between centralization and school effectiveness was a strong negative relationship.
Download or read book Work Engagement and Teacher Autonomy among Secondary School Teachers written by Samson R Victor and published by Anchor Academic Publishing. This book was released on 2016-07-11 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teacher autonomy is essential for ensuring a learning environment that addresses children’s diverse needs. As much as the learner requires space, freedom, flexibility, and respect, the teacher also requires the same. Currently, the system of administrative hierarchies and control, examinations, and centralized planning for curriculum reform, all constrain the autonomy of the teacher. Even when there is curricular freedom, teachers do not feel confident that they can exercise it without being taken to task by the administration for doing things differently. Therefore, it is essential to enable and support them in exercising choice. As much as the classroom needs to nurture a democratic, flexible and accepting culture, the school institution and the bureaucratic structure need to do the same. Not only should the teacher receive orders and information, but the voice of the teacher should also be heard by the superiors, who often make decisions that affect the immediate classroom life and culture in the school. Relationships between teachers and their heads and principals must be informed by equality and mutual respect, and decision making must be on the basis of dialogue and discussion. The annual, monthly and weekly calendars of activities need to provide time for such staff interactions for reviewing and planning. This book intends to help the readers to understand how a research study can be conducted on teacher autonomy and work engagement of secondary school teachers.
Download or read book Who Controls Teachers Work written by Richard M. Ingersoll and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2006-03-31 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Schools are places of learning but they are also workplaces, and teachers are employees. As such, are teachers more akin to professionals or to factory workers in the amount of control they have over their work? And what difference does it make? Drawing on large national surveys as well as wide-ranging interviews with high school teachers and administrators, Richard Ingersoll reveals the shortcomings in the two opposing viewpoints that dominate thought on this subject: that schools are too decentralized and lack adequate control and accountability; and that schools are too centralized, giving teachers too little autonomy. Both views, he shows, overlook one of the most important parts of teachers' work: schools are not simply organizations engineered to deliver academic instruction to students, as measured by test scores; schools and teachers also play a large part in the social and behavioral development of our children. As a result, both views overlook the power of implicit social controls in schools that are virtually invisible to outsiders but keenly felt by insiders. Given these blind spots, this book demonstrates that reforms from either camp begin with inaccurate premises about how schools work and so are bound not only to fail, but to exacerbate the problems they propose to solve.
Download or read book The Autonomy Paradox Teachers Perceptions of Self Governance Across Europe written by Wieland Wermke and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-03-24 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do we mean when we speak about teacher autonomy? How free are teachers to go about their work? To answer these complex questions the authors asked thousands of teachers in four national contexts: in Finland, Ireland, Germany and Sweden, what they think autonomy looks like. The resulting book examines teacher autonomy theoretically and empirically, comparing teachers’ perceptions of their professional autonomy. Utilizing a mixed method approach the authors combine data from a large-scale questionnaire study, teacher interviews, lesson and meeting observations, and workshops that brought together teachers from the four participating countries. All this engagement with teachers revealed that simply increasing their professional autonomy might not lead to desired outcomes. This is because, from a teachers’ point of view, increased decision-making capacity brings further complexity and risk to their work, and it may instead lead to anxiety, self-restriction, and the eventual rejection of autonomy. These surprising conclusions challenge the increasingly orthodox view that increased autonomy is a desirable end in itself. This is what the authors call the autonomy paradox.
Download or read book How Schools Work written by Rebecca Barr and published by . This book was released on 1983 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As budgets tighten for school districts, a sound understanding of just how teaching and administration translate into student learning becomes increasingly important. Rebecca Barr, a researcher of classroom instruction and reading skill development, and Robert Dreeben, a sociologist of education who analyzes the structure of organizations, combine their expertise to explore the social organization of schools and classrooms, the division of labor, and the allocation of key resources. Viewing schools as part of a social organization with a hierarchy of levels—district, school, classroom, instructional group, and students—avoids the common pitfalls of lumping together any and all possible influences on student learning without regard to the actual processes of the classroom. Barr and Dreeben systematically explain how instructional groups originate, form, and change over time. Focusing on first grade reading instruction, their study shows that individual reading aptitude actually has little direct relation to group reading achievement and virtually none to the coverage of reading materials once the mean aptitude of groups is taken into consideration. Individual aptitude, they argue, is rather the basis on which teachers form reading groups that are given different instructional treatment. It is these differences in group treatment, they contend, that explain substantial differences in learning curricular material.
Download or read book Do Teachers Wish to Be Agents of Change written by Allen Menlo and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-04-27 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study surveyed principals and teachers in ten countries to compare principal and teacher attitudes toward the involvement of teachers in several change and development responsibilities. The participating countries were: Australia, Canada, China, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, and United States. Each country administered mirror versions of a questionnaire to samples of at least 50 principals and at least 100 teachers. The questionnaires listed twenty items describing change responsibilities in which teachers might become involved. For each item, both principals and teachers assigned two teacher involvement ratings: their personal preference, and their estimate of the preference of their role counterpart. These involvement ratings produced four dependent variables: Principal Preferences, Principal Estimates, Teacher Preferences, and Teacher Estimates. For each variable, item responses were clustered to form index sub-scores that measured attitudes toward five education domains: Administration and Coordination, Human Relations, Teacher Support, Classroom Learning, and Evaluation. Systematic planned comparisons were conducted to determine the most important principal-teacher issues within and between countries, and how issues change across index domains. Typical results indicate low awareness of each other’s aspirations and expectations. The first and last chapters of this book discuss the potential of teacher leaders to become agents of change within their own schools. Several social-psychological competencies are then described for these teachers in their work.
Download or read book Teacher Empowerment Toward Professional Development and Practices written by Ismail Hussein Amzat and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-04-22 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book gathers a range of contributions from researchers and practitioners across borders with an emphasis on theoretical arguments and empirical data concerning teacher empowerment. It propels readers to explore powerful teaching practices that can further advance the profession as a continuing priority in the system when appropriately utilized. Further, it strives to capture teachers’ readiness to improve their professional skills and responsive practices as a form of accountability for their teaching and students’ learning, two aspects that are increasingly being judged by various stakeholders. The book argues that teachers’ autonomous participation and engagement in relevant decision-making activities and equitable access to continuing professional development opportunities are and should remain major priorities.
Download or read book English Language Teaching and Teacher Education in East Asia written by Amy Bik May Tsui and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-11-05 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The spread of English is so much an integral part of globalization that it has become an essential global literacy skill. In Asia, this poses immense challenges to governments and English language teaching and teacher education professions as they attempt to meet this demand from students for a high level of English proficiency. This volume examines English language education policies across ten Asian jurisdictions, the corresponding teacher education policies, and how these policies affect teachers and teacher educators. Each chapter covers a different jurisdiction, and is written by a scholar engaged in the implementation of government policies on English language and teacher education, providing the reader with insiders' perspectives. It gives a fascinating glimpse into the remarkable similarities in the challenges posed to these countries and the critical issues that have emerged from the local responses despite their markedly different socioeconomic, political, cultural and historical backgrounds.
Download or read book Understanding Silence and Reticence written by Dat Bao and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2014-02-25 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the state of that which is not spoken? This book presents empirical research related to the phenomenon of reticence in the second language classroom, connecting current knowledge and theoretical debates in language learning and acquisition. Why do language learners remain silent or exhibit reticence? In what ways can silence in the language learning classroom be justified? To what extent should learners employ or modify silence? Do quiet learners work more effectively with quiet or verbal learners? Looking at evidence from Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, the book presents research data on many internal and external forces that influence the silent mode of learning in contemporary education. This work gives the reader a chance to reflect more profoundly on cultural ways of learning languages.
Download or read book Learner and Teacher Autonomy written by Terry Lamb and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume offers a cohesive account of recent developments across the world in the field of learner and teacher autonomy in languages education. Drawing on the work of eminent researchers of language learning and teaching, it explores at both conceptual and practical levels issues related to current pedagogical developments in a wide range of contexts. Global shifts have led to an increase in autonomous and independent learning both in policy and practice (including self-access and distance learning). The book s scope and focus will therefore be beneficial to language teachers as well as to students and researchers in applied linguistics and those involved in pre- and in-service teacher education. The book concludes with an overview of the state of research in this field, focusing on the (inter)relationships between the concepts of learner and teacher autonomy.
Download or read book The Control of Education written by Jon Lauglo and published by Heinemann Educational Publishers. This book was released on 1985 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Routledge International Handbook of English Language and Literacy Teaching written by Dominic Wyse and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-02-25 with total page 749 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Edited by three authorities in the field, this Handbook presents contributions from experts across the world who report the cutting-edge of international research. It is ground-breaking in its holistic, evidence-informed account that aims to synthesize key messages for policy and practice in English, language and literacy teaching. A comprehensive collection, the Handbook focuses on the three key areas of reading, writing, and language, and issues that cut across them. The international emphasis of all the chapters is extended by a final section that looks directly at different countries and continents. The authors address many key issues including: why pupil motivation is so important the evidence for what works in teaching and learning the place of Information Technology in the twenty-first century the status of English and other languages globalisation and political control of education. This definitive guide concludes by discussing the need for better policy cycles that genuinely build on research evidence and teachers’ working knowledge in order to engage young people and transform their life chances. A powerful account that will be of interest to students, researchers and academics involved with education.
Download or read book A Study to Examine Differences in the Autonomy of School Sites as Reported by Principals from a National Sample of School Districts written by John Malcolm Graves and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 538 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Transforming Assessment written by Jens Dolin and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-10-14 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reports the results of a research project that investigated assessment methods aimed at supporting and improving inquiry-based approaches in European science, technology and mathematics (STM) education. The findings were used to influence policy makers with guidelines for ensuring that assessment enhances learning. The book provides insights about: - The concept of competence within the STM domains and its relevance for education - The conceptualisation and teaching of four key competences: scientific inquiry, mathematical problem-solving, design processes, and innovation. - Fundamental aspects of the two main purposes of assessment, formative and summative, the relations between the two purposes and ways of linking them. - The main challenges related to the uptake of formative assessment in daily teaching-learning practices in STM and specifically, the usability of formative on-the-fly dialogue, structured assessment dialogue, peer assessment and written teacher feedback. - The systemic support measures and tools teachers need in order to integrate formative assessment of student learning into their classroom practices and how it can conflict with summative assessment practices. - How research-based strategies for the formative use of assessment can be adapted to various European educational traditions to ensure their effective use and avoid undesirable consequences. - How relevant stakeholders can be invited to take co-ownership of research results and how a productive partnership between researchers, policy makers, and teachers can be established. - Concrete research vistas that are still needed in international assessment research.
Download or read book Autonomy in Education written by Walter Berka and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2000-04-13 with total page 684 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The push towards greater autonomy is one of the three main trends in every modern educational policy, alongside quality assurance and quality evaluation techniques and the need to devote attention to special — and often disadvantaged — target groups. It is, however, difficult to derive a unified concept of `autonomy’ from the comparative indicators which are published on a regular basis and it has emerged that there are significant differences depending on the specific area and the administrative organisation of education in the country in question. During the discussions of the annual Congress of the European Association for Education Law and Policy (ELA) in Salzburg (1998) it was apparent that autonomy has to be considered in its various applications. Autonomy for school boards is realised through management, administrative mechanisms, management of staff and pedagogical options. Autonomy of administration requires competence, the willingness to establish an autonomous administration and awareness of each party’s responsibility in the educational process. The contents of this Yearbook are an answer to the question of how legislatures are responding to the trend towards greater responsibility, decentralisation and autonomy. It is an overview of the efforts made by the Member States of the European Union to apply the principle of subsidiarity.
Download or read book Centralization and Power in Social Service Delivery Systems written by J.R. Hollingsworth and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States and other western nations, debates rage over whether welfare, medical care, educational programs, and many other aspects of public policy should be the responsibility of central govern ment, local government, or the private sector. In most nations, the issues of regional autonomy and decentralization are constantly in the news, with intensity varying from mild debate to open warfare. Less visibly, battles are continuously fought in the political arena over what groups should have the right to make decisions concerning the allocation of soci ety's resources. In response to these concerns, social scientists have focused consider able attention on the causes and consequences of centralization and de centralization in political, economic, and social organizations. Their analyses of centralization have been varied, ranging from systems that are quite small (e. g. , the family, the firm, and the community) to those sys tems that are very large (e . g. , the welfare state). While centralization is a concept of major concern in most of the social science disciplines, each discipline has tended to focus on centralization with a different set of interests. Economists have been very much concerned with the causes and the consequences of the concentration of economic resources. Polit ical scientists have long sought to understand the origins and conse quences of dictatorship and democracy. Sociologists have focused on inequalities in the distribution of power.
Download or read book Transforming Teachers Work Globally written by Eija Kimonen and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2014-01-02 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As societies change, so do the needs of students in their education systems. This volume argues that the core professional responsibility of today’s teacher is to create learning environments in which teaching and learning are linked to real-life situations.
