The Ultimate Management Perk

This research is for exploring the present situation of Schools’ Image Management, Public Relation and School Effectiveness and analyzing the differences and correlation of different background variables as well as prediction and intermediate effects. In this research, teachers and administration staff of public elementary schools in Taoyuan as the population of research. In stratified random sampling, 76 schools, 915 teachers and administration staff were drawn as the samples for the research. Tools of this research are Schools’ Image Management Questionnaire, Public Relation Questionnaire and School Effectiveness Questionnaire are employed for survey. 810 sets of questionnaire were mailed out and recovered 795 sets. The usable rate is 98.1%. The recovered copies of questionnaire were processed in descriptive statistics and analyzed in various statistical methods, including -test, ANOVAs, Pearsons Product-Moment Correlation, Multiple Regression and Hierarchical Multiple Regression. The results of the research are concluded as the following: 1. In the Schools’ Image Management Perspectives of Elementary school of Taoyuan County, the Professional Image of Teacher scored the highest and the Image of Alumni Performance scored the lowest. In the Public Relation Perspectives, the Support and Cooperation scored the highest and the Planning and Decision Making scores the lowest. In the perspectives of School Effectiveness, Teachers’ Instruction Quality scored the highest and the Student Learning Performance scored the lowest; 2. The tested samples are not with significant difference in the overall awareness of School Image Management as resulted from the difference in gender, educational background, and marital status; however, tested samples with difference in age,teaching seniority, job and size of school has significant difference in the overall awareness of school image management. 3. The tested samples are not with significant difference in the overall awareness of public relation as resulted from the difference in gender, age, educational background, seniority in teaching, jobs and; but the tested samples of different marital status and school sizes has significant difference in overall awareness of public relation. 4. The tested samples are not with significant difference in the overall awareness of school effectiveness as resulted from the difference in educational background, seniority in teaching, jobs and marital status; but, the tested samples are with significant difference in the overall awareness of school effectiveness as a result of difference of gender, age,teaching seniority and scale of school; 5. There is significant positive correlation among Schools’ Image Management, Public Relation and School Effectiveness; 6. The two variables, Schools’ Image Management and Public Relation of elementary schools in Taoyuan County can effectively predict School Effectiveness; 7. Public Relation has intermediating effect on School s’ Image Management and School Effectiveness.

Approximately 5.3 million students are classified as English language learners (ELLs) in elementary and secondary public schools across the United States. Concomitantly, of its 5.5 million students, the State of Texas enrolls the second largest population of K–12 English language learners1 nationally, with over 800,000 students—15% of the U.S. population of ELL students—approximately 17% of Texas’ K–12 population (Flores, Batalova, and Fix 2012). At the same time, among school districts with the largest number of students classified as ELLs, Texas superintendents manage four (i.e., Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston) of the top 20 districts in the country (Pandya, Batalova, and McHugh 2011). And, similar to other states in the Southwest (e.g. Arizona, New Mexico, or Nevada), the overwhelming majority of students receiving ELL services in Texas are Spanish speakers. Within this context, the general purpose of this article is to extend the examination of previous efficacy analyses of Texas’ education finance system (Rolle, Torres, and Eason 2010; Rolle and Wood 2012) by paying particular attention to the ability of the Texas Foundation School Program (FSP) to generate revenue to support ELL educational activities. Specifically, this article will examine the efficacy of formula components within the Texas funding mechanism—that is, how individual components within the Texas FSP act as significant predictors of combined state and local revenue. In addition, in order to focus specifically on the varying concentrations of students defined as ELLs, this article also will examine the efficacy of individual components within the Texas funding mechanism for five sub-groups of districts—stratified by percentage of students defined as ELLs quintiles—

A number of challenges are currently impacting the quality of Earth science education in Australia. These include the introduction of a new Australian Curriculum that requires students learn about abstract Earth science concepts; the inadequacy of teachers' professional knowledge to address pedagogically these demands; the limitations of teacher education to alleviate pre-service teachers' perceived pedagogical inadequacy in teaching Earth science; and issues of students' durably held alternative conceptions about Earth science phenomena and perceived disengagement with the subject. These challenges call for research that investigates the efficacy of innovative conceptual change pedagogies that promote students' engagement with Earth science and enhance their conceptual understanding. In response to this need, this study investigated the value of using student-generated stopmotion animation, or 'slowmation', as a conceptual change instructional approach. This study employed a mixed-methods intervention research design, generating both quantitative and qualitative data, in order to investigate three research questions: (1) Does the process of constructing a slowmation have a significant effect on students' conceptual change? (2) How does the process of constructing a slowmation influence students' conceptual change; and (3) Is students' interest, generated by the construction of a slowmation, a significant predictor of conceptual change? Four classes of Year 9 students participated in this study. Two classes were treated as an intervention group and participated in the construction of a slowmation (N=52), while two comparison classes experienced 'teaching as usual' (N=43). All students in the intervention and comparison conditions completed a two-tiered multiple-choice test (i.e., the GeoQuiz), developed and validated by the researcher, which tested students' alternative Earth science conceptions before and after their participation in the study. A Likert-style survey that gauged students' interest in learning science, the Student Interest in Learning Science (SILS) Survey, was also administered to all students before and after the project. Selected students from the intervention condition were audio recorded to capture their discussions during the construction process, and the same students were interviewed about their learning experience upon completion of the project. In answer to the first research question, a significant improvement was found in the GeoQuiz scores of students who constructed a slowmation, which indicates that conceptual change occurred. At the same time, a significant improvement was also found for students in the comparison classes. This suggests that creating a slowmation was no more effective in bringing about conceptual change than teaching as usual. In response to the second research question, analysis of the qualitative data in this study found that the construction process afforded 'teachable moments' as students recursively checked the accuracy of their representations with their teacher. The construction process also stimulated students' enjoyment, which they perceived to enhance their learning. Despite these affordances, however, significant pedagogical considerations arose from the use of slowmation as an instructional strategy in a junior secondary school context. These issues appeared to inhibit opportunities for conceptual change to occur. Finally, in answer to the third research question, it was found that students' interest in learning about science, and geology, was significantly greater if they participated in the construction of a slowmation, compared to teaching as usual. Interest was also found to be a significant predictor of students' conceptual change. The findings from this study have important implications for understanding the value of using slowmation construction as a conceptual change strategy in a junior secondary science context. As such, they informed the development of a pedagogical framework, the Learning with Slowmation framework, for constructing slowmations in a junior secondary science context. This framework, as well as the significance and implications of the broader findings for improving teaching practice in Earth science education, are presented.

The impact of an accreditation system on the quality of undergraduate medical education in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this paper is to determine the issues and working conditions of substitute teachers and to evaluate the practice of substitute teaching from the perspective of school administrators and substitute teachers. Surveys were completed by 122 substitute teachers, and 85 school directors and assistant directors of the schools in Tokat province of Turkey where the substitute teachers served in 2010–2011 education year. In this descriptive research, qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed. Survey findings were analyzed using the SPSS 17.0 program and content analysis was conducted for the open-ended questions. The study concludes that the substitute teachers are not satisfied with the remuneration and the working conditions and as a result, their commitment to the profession is quite low. According to the managers; substitute teachers’ performance levels are low and they don’t have enough qualifications in terms of teaching profession.

Implementation von Förderung in der Grundschule: eine vierjährige Schulentwicklungsstudie zum Einsatz mathematischer Förderung im Anfangsunterricht der Grundschule

There are many public secondary schools in Bureti Sub-County. Most of the students in these secondary schools have been facing cases of indiscipline for many years and these cases seem to be increasing as years go by causing a lot of concern to the school management, parents and the communities at large. Although counseling is offered in the secondary schools, there has been a rise in indiscipline cases at an alarming rate as experienced especially in 2016. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of guidance and counselling programs on managing indiscipline cases in secondary schools in Bureti Sub-County, Kericho County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following specific objectives; to investigate the competence of teachers in providing guidance and counselling programs in secondary schools in Bureti Sub-County and to establish the attitude of students and teachers on guidance and counselling programs in secondary schools in Bureti Sub-County. The theoretical framework adopted by the study was the Social Learning theory by Albert Bandura (1977) and Operant Conditioning theory by B.F. Skinner (1948). The Social Learning and Operant Conditioning theories were adopted because they help to change the behavior of the students and thus help to reduce indiscipline cases in schools. The target population comprised 52 public secondary schools, 52 head /deputy head teachers, 52 teacher counsellors, 540 teachers and 10532 students. Out of all these, a sample of 10 secondary schools, 10 head/deputy head teachers, 10 teacher counsellors, 108 teachers and 2106 students were selected through the Purposive sampling technique. Stratified Sampling technique was used to select the secondary schools that were studied whereby the strata consisted of mixed day boarding school, mixed day school, boys’ only boarding school, girls’ only boarding school and girls only day schools. The instruments that were used to collect the data for the study were questionnaires for head/deputies, teacher counsellors, teachers and students and interview schedules were administered to the teacher counsellors and to deputy head teachers. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and tested using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient using Statistical Package of Social Sciences. Questionnaires were analyzed using summary tables for the purpose of data presentation and interpretation. The expected findings were used to guide policy makers in providing guidance and counselling programs in secondary schools. These findings will be useful in the schools. Article visualizations:

This study focuses on primary foreign language teaching and learning. It seeks to reveal the perspectives and practice of three different stakeholders: specialist teachers, generalist teachers and head teachers. The study then places these beliefs and practice within a local, national and international context, considering the supporting factors for Primary Foreign Languages (PFL), as well as the challenges. It is a timely piece of research as it was conducted during the period when foreign language learning, for the first time in England, became statutory in primary schools. Furthermore, it took place during a timeframe of rapid change at all levels of education, which has had an effect on the translation of policy to practice. Data collection took place in two phases. In Phase One, an initial PFL practice mapping online questionnaire was sent to all schools in the Local Authority (LA) (n=69). Three schools agreed to participate. In Phase Two data collection methods employed in each of the three schools consisted of participant observations, semi-structured interviews, a self-reflective diary, informal conversation with staff and analysis of policy documents. The findings of the study show that all stakeholders in each school were supportive of PFL. However, this support did not translate into practice as the responsibility for PFL often rested solely with the specialist. As a result, the subject and specialists could be described as annexed, not fully integrated into the curriculum, and the specialists sought support from private companies instead of internally within the school. The majority of generalist teachers did not feel qualified to deliver the subject and there was a lack of future training options open to teachers wishing to train as PFL specialists. Those teachers who did express an interest in learning how to teach PFL felt that they could not engage fully with this endeavour due to internal and external pressure imposed upon them to achieve the highest possible pupil attainment in English and Maths. A disconnect was also revealed between the teachers’ most popular rationale for PFL teaching, which was preparing children to be ‘21st century global citizens’, and their actual practice. The teachers in the study recognised that, through learning a language and experiencing its culture, it may be possible to move from “egocentricity and ethnocentricity to a more altruistic sense of mutual benefit” (Byram, 2008:131). However, while espousing support for the teaching of intercultural understanding (ICU), the study reveals a lack of understanding in practice from stakeholders, policy writers and teachers. Overall, there is much goodwill for PFL as a subject, however, due to national and international drivers, it occupies a vulnerable place within the curriculum.

In the school education, there is a tendency that art education is mostly ignored compared to other intellectual subjects. It is no exaggeration to say that the research on art education has been done to show art education to be a legitimate school subject. However, no clear research results have been seen that simply compared institutions with and without art education programs. The ultimate purpose of this research is to clarify the significance of art education on the process of character building from the viewpoint that students have received art education from preschools to elementary schools. Cambodia's revival after the liberation of Pol Pot's tyranny has been remarkable. In Phnom Penh, people drive luxury cars and the sale of large-size liquid crystal televisions has been increasing. On the other hand, the preparation for school education is behind, and there are not enough school facilities for the increasing numbers of students. Based on this situation, we did the first field survey of Cambodia's education situation in December of 2008. For this survey, we mainly researched to focus on the general conditions of school education, especially saturation and practical use of ICT, and the current status of art education. Not only have school facilities in Cambodia fallen behind, but the education system in general, and teacher education specifically has clearly fallen behind that of other nations. In that background, we can image that Cambodia has experienced a wide variety of problems after democratization. The most serious problem is poverty. The completion of school facilities is also an urgent issue. At the same time, it is necessary to develop new curricula that can facilitate nation building for a country that has inherited the Khmer civilization. At Cambodia school's sites, many teachers and other staff members would like to provide high quality education. Unfortunately, the financial support from the government is not sufficient so that the schools deeply depend on support from foreign countries. Without this support, the schools cannot do anything. In this situation, art education is always deferred. During this field survey, we observed both types of schools: one that has no art education, and one that has art education. The school that has art education benefits from the support of the principal’s education philosophy, and a Japanese NPO. We would like to report on the problems and prospects of art education in Cambodia, and also the educational circumstance of Cambodia after the democratization. This research has been supported by a Grant-in Aid for Scientific Research (A) 2008 (#20240071) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The tile of the research is ”Development of two education systems: a system to nurture future abilities in infants and children, and a teacher education system.”

Practicum' refers to the time students undertaking initial teacher education programs spend in schools during their training. Its purpose is to enable the university and accredited teachers to assist student teachers to gain experience in translating educational theory into classroom practice. It is recognised as a vital component of teacher education. In 1998 the Australian Catholic University (ACU National) Melbourne campus, introduced the 'extended practicum' into their teacher education program. The extended practicum, undertaken by students in their final year, is significant to student learning as it enables them to spend an extended period of time with the same group of pupils. However, to date this program has not been formally evaluated. This study used qualitative methodology to investigate the effectiveness of the extended practicum in the Bachelor of Education course offered through the Trescowthick School of Education at ACU National Melbourne Campus. Literature pertaining to the development and current understandings of the practicum in teacher education and the partnership between the university and schools in managing the practicum was reviewed. Questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were used to gather data about the experiences and reflections of pre-service teachers, first year teachers, supervising teachers and university staff involved in the extended practicum. The data were analysed and key themes were identified and compared between groups. The findings suggested that while all stakeholders recognised the importance and value of the extended practicum in teacher education, their ideas about its major aims and strengths differed. A number of issues were identified that could improve the quality of the extended practicum and thus enhance the learning experience for pre-service teachers.;These issues included preparation of the pre-service teachers, length and timing of the practicum, supervision and assessment of pre-service teachers during the practicum, professional development for supervising teachers and most importantly improved communication between the university and schools. Information from this study can inform the development of the extended practicum, and as a consequence, the total practical teaching program at ACU, (National), Melbourne. This will further support the ongoing relationships between the university and schools and teachers who support the program and who provide an improved learning opportunity for pre-service teachers.

The Catholic Diocese of Lismore is situated in the north-east coastal area of New South Wales, Australia. Catholic education in this diocese is based on the premise that school and parish work together in partnership for the personal and spiritual development of students. This premise relies on the assumption that teachers and clergy share a common view of the mission of Catholic schools. However, some recent studies highlight a lack of shared vision and indicate that teachers and clergy frequently have different expectations of what Catholic schools should be. This study examines similarities and differences in perceptions of the religious dimension of the mission of Catholic schools among the teachers and clergy in the Lismore Diocese. It identifies areas in which there is a significant lack of congruence. The study also explores the relationships and the quality of partnerships between teachers and clergy and identifies issues that are potential sources of tension. Furthermore, it considers implications for change. Self-completion questionnaires were given to the target population which consisted of all the full time teachers in Catholic schools and all the clergy on active duties in the Lismore Diocese at the beginning of 1997. Subsequent semi-structured interviews were conducted with all the clergy in the group and with thirty two teachers chosen through random sampling. Data yielded little evidence of sustained dialogue between teachers and clergy on issues related to the religious orientation of Catholic schools. Although there were some similarities in the teachers' and priests' perceptions of the religious dimension of the mission of Catholic schools, there was a considerable variation in their perceptions of priorities for these schools. Some of these differences could be linked to teachers' individual relationships with the institutional Catholic Church.;Teachers and priests were found to differ significantly in their understanding of the effectiveness of Catholic secondary schools. The study also found that ecclesiastical language used to describe the mission of Catholic schools is not always understood by teachers who work principally out of an educational context. Moreover, the study found that relationships between teachers and clergy were often hindered by poor communication, lack of clarity with regard to roles and expectations and very different perceptions of the structures and practice of authority. Many teachers believed that clergy were 'out of touch' and unrealistic in their expectations of schools and teachers. Many priests, on the other hand, considered that teachers had generally lost a sense of 'vocation' and religious motivation for their involvement in Catholic schools. Priests were generally more interested in forming partnerships with schools than were teachers in forming partnerships with parish communities. The perception that secondary school communities did not relate to parishes as well as their primary counterparts was widespread among clergy. This study makes several recommendations for the improvement of communication and dialogue between teachers and priests. It also recommends that similar research be carried out in dioceses where the parish-school authority structure differs. As part of this study the initial findings were presented to a significant gathering of clergy and school principals. The resulting discussion led to the proposal of strategies for improvement in communication and partnership. In this way the applied research in the study became an agency of change itself, working in the direction of a better culture of communication and collaboration regarding the religious mission of Catholic schools.

Some of the reasons for unemployability of MBA graduates are not strictly within the domain of management institutes. Management institutes are expected to do much just because very little is done in school and colleges. To forget that time constraints operates in the management institutes also is not a wise policy by any reckoning. This is not to say that management institutes have no any share in the current predicament of unemployment of a very large number of their own products. B schools with poor infrastructure, incompetent teachers and outdated curriculum have done enormous damage to the cause of management education. Some silver linings are now visible. For another decade or so, the infrastructure sector will be growing with its variegated requirements of governance and management. Urbanization would increase avenues for entrepreneurship and management compare to what is possible in dispersed rural areas. India is emerging as the hub of manufacturing activities. New employment opportunities will arise for MBA graduates as the growth rate of the Indian economy picks up. B-schools need to prepare students with employability to deserve new opportunities in various sectors. The management institutes can play their role effectively only if they enjoy autonomy. While the state owned IIMs enjoy a high degree of autonomy, the privately owned management institutes are deprived of the same. This indeed paradoxical.

Explanation of the Problem.Typical facility master plans are designed to follow a series of rigid steps aimed at achieving fixed goals and objectives,within a particular timespan and at an expected cost. Such time horizons are usually five, ten, and sometimes even fifteen or twenty years. Fixed plans tend to serve well when the future is foreseeable, and few unexpected events occur in the markets, population, and other change trends of the area. In our facilities management consulting work with school districts in the USA, changes often resist predictability. This has led to many school districts abandoning master plans altogether, or to engage them in fits and starts. Out of more the than 150 school districts with which the authors have worked, fewer than 10 have had active master plans. In the others the plans had been invalidated after only a few years by changes in external circumstances. Approach. In our consulting practice, we recommend that school districts adopt a continuous, perpetual facility master planning process, as opposed to a rigid plan. We developed this process ten years ago for a school district that had not had any type of facilities plan for nearly eight years. Results. We present the essential elements of the continuous facility master planning process as we have structured it in our recommendations to school districts. This process can be used by owners of large building inventories of all types as a viable alternative to fixed plans.

Religious sponsors have in the past contributed immensely to the growth of education in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to find out the factors that lead to the management conflicts between religious sponsors and other stakeholders in public secondary schools in Nandi South Sub-County. The purpose of this study was to find out the factors that lead to the emerging conflicts between religious sponsors and head teachers, education officials, parents and schools’ Boards of Governors in the management of public secondary schools in Nandi South Sub-County. The survey research design was adopted for this study. The study population comprised of all the 38 religious sponsored Public Secondary Schools in Nandi South Sub-County, 38 Board of Governors’ Chairmen, 38 Parents and Teachers’ Association Chairmen, 38 head teachers and 342 teachers from the same schools, 6 education secretaries of the schools’ religious sponsors and 5 Assistant Education Officers. The saturated sampling technique was used by this study. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to collect data. These instruments were first tested for reliability through a pilot study and the use of the coefficient of internal consistency of the split-half reliability method. Validity was established through the application of face validity procedures. Quantitative data were analyzed critically in themes as guided by study objectives to establish relationships among responses. The findings of the study indicated that most of the conflicts involved religious sponsors on one hand and other stakeholders. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education sensitizes the public secondary schools’ church sponsors, head teachers, Board of Governors and its field officers with regards to the correct interpretation of the Education Act as a tool in secondary schools’ management. The findings of this study would therefore provide a useful reference for educational administrators and managers. Article visualizations:

In recent times, more attention has been directed towards identifying international trends and ‘best’ practice for assessing pre-service teachers’ classroom performance. Previous attempts to assess Oman’s preservice teachers were based on adopting a psychometric/measurement assessment practice, whereby performance was measured by grades. Such an approach, in recent times, has been viewed as being fundamentally flawed in its attempts to measure pre-service teachers’ classroom practices. This is primarily due to its inability to authentically assess teacher’s learning in the classroom setting. Further underpinning this problem, is that Omani pre-service teachers are expected to undertake an International English Language Testing System (commonly referred to as IELTS), as a measurement of their English proficiency. This approach is problematic, in principle, as it is positioned after graduation and therefore forms no connection to the pre-service teachers’ school experience nor does it add to quality teaching and assessment. This recent shift in thinking, as to the idea that educational assessment should be based on psychometric measurements and grades, has evolved into assessment practices which encourage the integration of assessment into the learning and teaching environment. This thesis is concerned with how the pre-service English Language teacher’s classroom performance is assessed in Oman. Drawing on the work of Gipps (1999, 2002), this thesis adopted a sociocultural perspective to investigate the phenomenon of assessment practices associated with evaluating pre-service teacher’s classroom performance during school-based professional experience (also known as teaching practicum). Understanding assessment practices from a sociocultural perspective and its current practices such as authentic assessment and Assessment for Learning (AfL) assists pre-service teachers to learn so as to become professional, qualified teachers. To achieve the aims of this study, the thesis adopted a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenology approach to investigate the assessment phenomenon and to gain a deep understanding from the key stakeholders involved in the phenomenon. To enable this, the data collected from three higher education institutions, namely Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Rustaq-College of Applied Sciences (CAS) and Nizwa University and their participating schools. A range of different data sources obtained: assessment texts which position pre-service English Language teachers; three-series of interviews with the different stakeholders: three pre-service teachers, three cooperating teachers and four university supervisors to reveal their experiences; and observing the phenomenon in situ to triangulate with the aforementioned data. Implementing hermeneutic phenomenology, the obtained data analysed using two approaches: Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) so that the existing practices for assessing pre-service English language teachers’ classroom performance in Oman were captured. The analyses revealed that each institution has its assessment practices influenced by its socio-political structure, yet SQU, unlike Rustaq-CAS and Nizwa University, is distinguished in relation to its pre-determined set of professional standards for graduating teachers; explicit assessment criteria that are shared and discussed with pre-service teachers; collaboration between all stakeholders in the assessment process; a clearly defined role for the cooperating teacher as mentor; effective feedback provided to the pre-service teacher; using portfolios to record and document the pre-service teachers achievements; and effective self- and peer-assessment strategies. These practices are mostly experienced by stakeholders at SQU due to its international accreditation under the influence of the standards based on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). The findings suggest that SQU assessment practices are more aligned with the indicators of international best practice, compared to that of Rustaq-CAS and Nizwa University. Similarly, SQU had a better understanding of assessment practices from a sociocultural perspective. This means that within the context of assessing pre-service teachers’ classroom performance in Oman, the findings are not about each higher education institution but about producing quality teacher graduates by reforming the Omani assessment practices. Having SQU as a model in Oman, the key recommendations for policy and practice from this study are to: 1) set a national professional standards for teachers; 2) have explicit assessment criteria that align with the professional standards; 3) share the assessment criteria for success between all stakeholders in the phenomenon; 4) strengthen the collaboration between schools and universities as well as university supervisors and cooperating teachers,5) make the role of the portfolio more explicit in terms of monitoring and enhancing pre-service teacher development and learning; 6) empower the cooperating teacher to provide a more meaningful mentoring role to pre-service teachers; 7) provide explicit training in effective peer and self-assessment strategies for pre-service teachers in the classroom context and 8) provide explicit training in understanding and delivering quality feedback on classroom performance for all stakeholders.