808 research outputs found
Examining systemic and dispositional factors impacting historically disenfranchised schools across North Carolina
This mixed method sequential explanatory study provided analysis of North Carolina (NC) school leaders’ dispositions in eliminating opportunity gaps, outlined in NC’s strategic plan. The study’s quantitative phase used descriptive and correlation analysis of eight Likert subscales around four tenets of transformative leadership (Shields, 2011) and aspects of critical race theory (Bell, 1992; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 2006) to understand systemic inequities and leadership attitudes.
The qualitative phase comprised three analyses of education leadership dispositions and systemic factors in NC schools. The first analysis of State Board of Education meeting minutes from 2018–2023 quantified and analyzed utterances of racism and critical race, outlined the sociopolitical context of such utterances, and identified systemic patterns and state leader dispositions. The second analysis of five interviews of K–12 graduates identified persistent and systemic factors influencing NC education 3 decades after Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and within the context of Leandro v. State of NC (1997), where the NC Supreme Court recognized the state constitutional right for every student to access a “sound basic education.” The final qualitative analysis consisted of five interviews of current NC public school system leaders, for personal narratives of the state of NC schools compared to patterns from lived experiences of NC K–12 graduates.
The study’s findings suggested NC school and state education leaders experience a racialized dichotomy between willingness for change (equity intentions) and execution of transformative action (practice). Although leaders at the board and school levels recognize the need for inclusivity and equity, a struggle to transcend systemic challenges, especially rooted in racial biases and power dynamics is evident. This study may identify leadership qualities needed for change in NC to address systemic inequities for improving educational access and inform policy to uphold all students’ constitutional right to a sound, basic education
Safe passage for attachment systems:Can attachment security at international schools be measured, and is it at risk?
Relocations challenge attachment networks. Regardless of whether a person moves or is moved away from, relocation produces separation and loss. When such losses are repeatedly experienced without being adequately processed, a defensive shutting down of the attachment system could result, particularly when such experiences occur during or across the developmental years. At schools with substantial turnover, this possibility could be shaping youth in ways that compromise attachment security and young people’s willingness or ability to develop and maintain deep long-term relationships. Given the well-documented associations between attachment security, social support, and long-term physical and mental health, the hypothesis that mobility could erode attachment and relational health warrants exploration. International schools are logical settings to test such a hypothesis, given their frequently high turnover without confounding factors (e.g. war trauma or refugee experiences). In addition, repeated experiences of separation and loss in international school settings would seem likely to create mental associations for the young people involved regarding how they and others tend to respond to such situations in such settings, raising the possibility that people at such schools, or even the school itself, could collectively be represented as an attachment figure. Questions like these have received scant attention in the literature. They warrant consideration because of their potential to shape young people’s most general convictions regarding attachment, which could, in turn, have implications for young people’s ability to experience meaning in their lives
Measuring Attitudes : Comparing Canadian and Finnish Attitudes toward Chinese Immigrants after COVID-19
Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate Canadian and Finnish attitudes toward Chinese immigrants in their respective countries. Method: An online questionnaire was completed by 249 participants, 171 Canadians and 78 Finns. The data was analyzed in SPSS using two sample t-tests, factorial ANOVAs, and ANCOVAs. Results: The study showed that Canadians (M = 4.26) had significantly more positive attitudes toward Chinese immigrants than Finns (M = 3.6) when using the Bogardus Social Distance Scale. Similar results were found when measuring the topics of culture (Canada M = .44, Finland M = .2) and safety (Canada M = 1.03, Finland M = .94). The topic of employment and general attitudes had no significant difference. Gender, education, political beliefs and if participants personally knew someone Chinese were all found to have some effect on results. Conclusions: Overall, Canadian and Finnish attitudes toward Chinese immigrants tended to be quite similar, with Canadians having more positive attitudes than Finns in some areas. Further research is required to validate these findings within the field
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