A Descriptive Case Study of Staff Development In Two Seventh-day Adventist Districts as They Relate to Potential Change

Problem. Leadership at the superintendent level is paramount in the process of change in Seventh-day Adventist schools. The superintendent/education director of state-sized districts, known as conferences, is responsible for staff development programs. How a superintendent performs his or her duties in the area of staff development is the focus of this study. Purpose. The purpose of this study is to describe staff development programs of two Seventh-day Adventist districts who have a reputation for being active in promoting staff development among their teachers. I wanted to know what the superintendents of these districts were doing in this active mode of staff development. This study is intended to provide data for other districts to follow similar paths of staff development. Method. Two conferences/districts in North America were identified as being exemplary in terms of their staff development programs. Using a case study approach, the district programs were analyzed utilizing interviews, observations, surveys, documents, and records. A quantitative analysis of existing survey data (Profile \u2795) was compared with findings from the qualitative portions of the study. Results. Several recurring motifs emerged in the area of staff development within the two exemplary Seventh-day Adventist school districts: (1) the superintendents of these districts have a clear sense of organizational vision and values, (2) the superintendents actively promote innovative practices to be used in staff development, and (3) the superintendents challenge their teachers to assess and revise their own actions in order to improve the likelihood of success for their students. I discovered that these two exemplary school districts incorporate the following characteristics in their staff-development program: (1) a supportive, cooperative climate in the schools and district, (2) adequate resources provided by the superintendents, (3) implementation of the Joyce and Showers Training Model, (4) time during the school day for collaboration, and (5) realistic goals set by the district

Praxis towards sustainable empowering learning environments in South Africa

This collection presents some of the best peer-reviewed papers from a conference with the theme “Creating sustainable empowering learning environments through scholarship of engagement”

How Principals Learn to Be Technology Leaders: A Critical Incident Qualitative Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate how principals learn to be technology leaders by examining the different ways principals learn and exploring the skills principals perceive are needed. The study also examines what principals do differently to develop a successful technology integration (or not). Using the critical incident method, 18 principals were interviewed from across the state. The in-depth interviews were transcribed for all participants interviewed and then analyzed using coding and theming with the aid of memos. From this, three predominant categories emerged: learning, skills, and challenges. The findings from the study reveal that principals learn primarily through three different methods, with the most important one being professional development. Professional development is through face-to-face or online learning using their professional learning networks to guide them in developing the needed knowledge. The principals also learn by talking with others and learning on their own. The three areas the principals use to learn are their experiences, initiative, and reflection, which align with the common areas found in adult learning. The skills principals use to be technology leaders were found to be consistent with the skills described in the ISTE framework for educational leaders. Furthermore, principals face certain challenges while trying to be technology leaders and to integrate technology. Lastly, principals distinguished what they did differently for a technology integration to be successful (or not). The study concludes that principals can learn to be technology leaders, by using the right tools and by developing the necessary skills to be successful. The findings revealed the need for professional development on technological tools to be purposeful and fit the different needs of principals and teachers. For a technology integration to be successful, the professional development should not be a one-time meeting, but ongoing in order to provide continuous support and guidance for principals and teachers. Also, districts should make principals aware of the skills listed by ISTE for principals to be technology leaders. For some, knowing the skills needed will help them transform into technology leaders, allowing them to guide teachers to understand what they need to do in the classroom to be successful

Praxis towards sustainable empowering learning environments in South Africa

This collection presents some of the best peer-reviewed papers from a conference with the theme “Creating sustainable empowering learning environments through scholarship of engagement”

Technology leadership at a junior high school: A qualitative case study

The purpose of this case study was to explore and describe the technology leadership at a junior high school. Technology-related attitudes, behaviors, and skills that have an impact on the school\u27s technology program were examined with emphasis on the building principal. Interviews, observations, and other documents were the means of data collection. This study has implications for people who want to support computers and other educational technology. This case study included the principal, computer specialist, and teachers with varying degrees of computer experience. In addition to Kearsley\u27s three roles of leader, manager, and politician (1991), four other technology-related roles emerged from this study: teacher, model, facilitator, and encourager; Effective principals should be (a) actively involved with technology, (b) maintain and model personal technology skills, (c) consult knowledgeable people about technology, (d) use school-level shared decision-making such as a technology committee, and (e) serve as a catalyst to motivate low-use teachers. School districts and boards should (a) consult knowledgeable people about technology decisions, (b) help to provide support for technology curriculum integration, (c) consider technology skills and attitudes of potential principals, and (d) require technology growth as part of administrators\u27 professional development. Educational administration programs should expect or require basic computer skills and integrate high level technology skills into the graduate curriculum

Enhancing teacher development through teacher appraisal : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

Teacher appraisal in New Zealand appears to be skewed too far towards the accountability end of the continuum and too little towards the development end. However, there is a lack of research that examines how appraisal systems can be used to not only address accountability but also focus on meeting the teacher development requirements. Therefore, this study aims to examine how New Zealand schools enhance teacher development and integrate the accountability and development requirements of teacher appraisal. The study adopted a qualitative case study approach and data were collected from two primary schools in New Zealand through semi-structured in-depth interviews, participant observations and document analysis. Thematic analysis of the interviews, observations, and document analysis resulted in a holistic understanding of how the two schools established appraisal systems and processes that were developmentally focused and integrated the accountability and development requirements. Through the thematic analysis, the study identified factors that supported and enhanced the integration and developmental focus of the appraisal systems. The study found that a love for learning underpinned the school culture, leadership approach, and school systems, enabling the developmental focus and integration. There were three main leadership styles identified in the study to support and enhance the love for learning culture: transformational, pedagogical, and distributive leadership. The leadership team were eager to support teachers to improve and grow pedagogically, and the leaders provided meaningful experiences that influenced the mindset and focus of teacher development. There was active learning through reflection, self-assessment, feedback, dialogue, and questioning. The schools also used collaborative practices that influenced the integration of the accountability and development aspects of teacher appraisal. The mentors played a crucial role in introducing the love for learning culture of the school to the beginner teachers by being role models, and regularly encouraging and extending mentee’s practice. The teaching portfolio, which was a collection of reflections and evidence, was effective in supporting teacher learning because it was instrumental in the teachers’ continual reflection, self-assessment, and updating of their portfolio. Each of the elements discussed in the portfolio contributed to the developmental focus and integration of the accountability and development aspects

Examining the experiences of students, teachers and leaders at Educate Together second-level schools. ESRI Research Series 113 October 2020.

The first Educate Together second-level schools (ETSS) opened in 2014. In the academic year 2019-2020, there were 17 ETSSs. The ethos of ETSSs rests on four core principles: equality-based, co-educational, learner-centred and democratically run. Given the scale of growth, and the distinct ethos and climate of Educate Together schools, it is timely to examine how students attending these schools experience diverse aspects of their school life. This report is based on an in-depth mixed-methods research study conducted at 11 case study Educate Together second-level schools opened prior to 2019. It is informed by a survey with first- and second-year students (n = 877), 21 focus groups with students, interviews with 27 teachers, 11 school leaders,1 36 parents, six school board members, and four representatives of management bodies and patron bodies

Primary and Secondary Education During Covid-19

This open access edited volume is a comparative effort to discern the short-term educational impact of the covid-19 pandemic on students, teachers and systems in Brazil, Chile, Finland, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. One of the first academic comparative studies of the educational impact of the pandemic, the book explains how the interruption of in person instruction and the variable efficacy of alternative forms of education caused learning loss and disengagement with learning, especially for disadvantaged students. Other direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic diminished the ability of families to support children and youth in their education. For students, as well as for teachers and school staff, these included the economic shocks experienced by families, in some cases leading to food insecurity and in many more causing stress and anxiety and impacting mental health. Opportunity to learn was also diminished by the shocks and trauma experienced by those with a close relative infected by the virus, and by the constrains on learning resulting from students having to learn at home, where the demands of schoolwork had to be negotiated with other family necessities, often sharing limited space. Furthermore, the prolonged stress caused by the uncertainty over the resolution of the pandemic and resulting from the knowledge that anyone could be infected and potentially lose their lives, created a traumatic context for many that undermined the necessary focus and dedication to schoolwork. These individual effects were reinforced by community effects, particularly for students and teachers living in communities where the multifaceted negative impacts resulting from the pandemic were pervasive. This is an open access book

An empirical and theoretical investigation of the factors influencing Newfoundland and Labrador's post-secondary instructors' decisions to adopt web 2.0 technologies

This study replicated the 2008 research of Ajjan and Hartshorne (1) to assess post-secondary instructors' awareness of the benefits of using Web 2.0 technologies in their classrooms instruction; (2) to investigate factors that influence post-secondary instructors' decisions to adopt Web 2.0 technologies to support classroom instruction using the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB). -- A sample of 160 post-secondary instructors working in public colleges (College of North Atlantic) in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, were asked to fill out a web-based questionnaire. A path analysis model was applied to test the research hypothesis -- Consistent with Ajjan and Hartshorne's (2008) research, this study found that although the post-secondary instructors were aware of the educational benefits of using Web 2.0 technologies in their classrooms instruction, few of them frequently use Web 2.0 technologies in their classroom. As well, it was found that behavioral intention, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, usefulness, ease of use, compatibility, superior influence, student influence, and self-efficacy were significant predictors of post-secondary instructors' usage of Web 2.0 technologies, while peer influence, technology, and resource conditions were not