Self-other agreement as an alternative perspective of school leadership analysis: an exploratory study

This study explores the relationship between self-awareness of school leaders and variables related to school culture and change. We used the self-other rating agreement model of Atwater and Yammarino (1997) as an indication of school leader self-awareness. Based on the difference between their own leadership rating and the teachers' rating, school leaders were grouped in 4 categories: over-estimators, under-estimators, in-agreement/good leaders, and in-agreement/poor leaders. In 3 independent studies on school policy, we analyzed the relation between the self-other rating categories and school culture and change variables. Data revealed that mainly under-estimators were associated with higher levels of school culture and change. No differences were found between under-estimators and in-agreement leaders. The analysis of school leaders' self-awareness - defined as agreement between self and other leadership ratings - is an important perspective. As for practical implications, especially over-estimators should become more aware of how their teachers perceive them

ICT as cultural capital: the relationship between socioeconomic status and the computer-use profile of young people

This study explores the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and the computer-use profile of 1241 school students in Flanders, the northern region of Belgium. More specifically, the article examines whether varying patterns of computer access, attitudes, competencies and uses can be seen as constituting differences in cultural capital. Additionally, gender was included in the survey as an important background characteristic in digital divide research. Path analysis was used to model the complex relationships between the influencing factors upon the ICT-related variables. What emerged from the analyses was that SES affects the computer-use profile only moderately. No relationship between SES and computer ownership was found. Moreover, the acquisition of ICT competencies can no longer be attributed to computer ownership. Apart from a small effect on ICT use (a higher SES tends to be associated with more ICT use), SES does not seem to affect the computer-use profile of young people in Flanders