Newness Against the Grain: Democratic emergence in organisational and professional practice

What is the nature of democratic innovation in a performative culture? The purpose of this chapter is to help answer this question by giving conceptual substance to the notion of democratic emergence as a specific kind of innovation in the context of contemporary governance trends. It is argued that the performative governance which is the product of these trends is not invulnerable to challenge because of deficiencies in the capacity of managerialism and performative governance to improve services, and the creative spaces for agency and initiative created by the valuing of entrepreneurialism and innovation. The chapter draws on existing conceptual work on democratic approaches to school organisation and innovation, relevant literature on entrepreneurialism, and offers a brief insight into an example of democratic innovation in practice

Collaborative School Leadership in a Global Society: A critical perspective’

The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in Educational Management Administration & Leadership, February 2018, published by SAGE Publishing, All rights reserved.In the context of evolving global challenges and opportunities, this article explores the kind of leadership that moves beyond the philosophy of dependence which pervades many of the everyday assumptions of educational leadership practice. The article argues for educational leadership that places relational freedom, self-determination, and critical reflexivity as the driving aim of distributed leadership by teachers, students and others in non-positional leadership roles. A project arising from the International Teacher Leadership initiative is examined in order to offer practical illustration.Peer reviewe

Current Challenges to Educational Leadership & Administration: An International Survey Report on the Pilot Survey

Published in the UCEA Review, Summer 2018. It was also published in 2017 as a stand-alone report (entered into the RIS)

Examining the Relationship Between Trait Goal Orientation and Behavior in Team Debriefing Sessions

The present study explored the impact of the individual difference, goal orientation, on the team intervention, debriefing, thus contributing insight into a previously unexplored component behind debriefing effectiveness. Three sub-dimensions of goal orientation were examined in terms of their influence on debriefing: learning goal orientation, performance-prove goal orientation and performance-avoid goal orientation. The outcomes investigated included elements of a successful debrief: self-correction, self-promotion and speaking up behavior. A sample (N=69) of undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida individually completed a goal orientation self-report measure and participated in a team debriefing session within their three-person teams. The audio-recorded debriefing videos were transcribed and coded line-by-line to indicate the presence of the outcome variables. Hierarchical multiple regressions were utilized to analyze the direct relationships between the specific goal orientation sub-dimensions and hypothesized outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

Current Trends in Cultural Customization and the Ecommerce Experience

The Internet is continually evolving and new access mediums have expanded its reach, connecting people all over the world. This has allowed businesses unparalleled access to consumers, propelling ecommerce to becoming a greater source of revenue for businesses of all sizes. Previous web design standards endorsed localization as a key requirement for a company's Internet success. However, with the rise of a new Internet culture, localization does not appear to be prevalent nor does it seem to be a requirement for success. This thesis explores concept of user experience as it relates cultural customization, current trends in localization, and more current principles to be considered with localization

Collaborative School Leadership: A critical guide

Schools need to respond to rising expectations and the imperative to release the creativity of educators and learners to achieve more socially just education. Yet, strongly hierarchical structures and reliance on the idea of ‘great’ leaders are persistent features of much school education. This book offers an alternative vision of leadership. Collaborative leadership as we examine it in the book is a deeper conception than the idea of distributed leadership that is often applied or studied. We see collaborative leadership as both emerging from the perpetual process of complex interactions across the school involving not only school leaders but teachers, support staff, students and others (hence as emergent), and shaped by individual intentions which express meaning, purpose and goals and the will to make a difference (hence as the product of intentionality). Our concept of collaborative leadership draws attention to both the context that gives rise to leadership and the human sparks of creativity and freedom generated by a teachers, students and others as they work together. The book argues that integral to a desirable conception of collaborative leadership is an explicit value-base - a philosophy of co-development rather than dependence. It explains how collaborative leadership practices can be guided by co-development values, where progress is achieved with and by helping others as co-creators of the learning environment of the school. The practical process of developing collaborative leadership is explored through ideas on reciprocal learning, values clarification, reframing leadership and collective identity construction. The book is a crucial aid in developing distributed leadership practice, through teacher leadership, for example, that is more collaborative, innovative, critically reflexive and capable of advancing social justice

School Leadership and Equity : an examination of policy response in Scotland

In this paper we adopt a critical perspective on the implementation of policy on school leadership and equity in Scotland, viewing policy as both an attempt to solve problems and an attempt to persuade social actors to subscribe to particular beliefs that delineate action. We begin by offering a definition of “policy response”, and then examine how policy “conversations” establish consensus around such things as school leadership and equity. We examine Scottish policy on school leadership and equity and consider what practices this policy does, and does not permit. In so doing, our examination of the implementation of policy on school leadership and equity in Scotland acknowledges that such policy is in part extemporized, and in part the attempt to make inevitable a “de-stated” account of governance. We conclude by contextualising our forthcoming empirical study of the Leadership Standards for Social Justice in Scotlan

Quaranteaching in the Time of Covid-19: Exemplar From a Middle Grades Virtual Classroom

The COVID-19 pandemic dropped educators across the world straight into remote learning with little time to prepare. As some have inevitably struggled, other middle grades educators have overcome beginning hurdles to not only survive, but thrive amidst this new challenge. One teacher in particular, despite being in her first year, has found innovative ways to connect and motivate her middle grades students in a virtual environment. This article extends the steps, tips, and resources article (Author 3, Author 2, & Barker, K. S. also in this issue?) to provide a personal example of the successes (and yet still challenges) that exist when “quaranteaching” is done well. From tiktok videos, to kahoot games played over zoom, to contests to encourage attendance and increase motivation, Amanda Woods, winner of the National Association of Professors of Middle Level Education (NAPOMLE) Teacher Candidate of the Year in 2019, shares how she continues to meet the developmental needs of her young middle grades students even when she cannot see them physically each day

Discovering dynamic Virtual Team determinants through an interpretivist philosophical framework

Until recently most research has not been able to provide a consolidated view of all determinants that influence Virtual Teams (VTs). With increases in VT adoption a comprehensive approach is required to develop an understanding of new possible related determinants. A qualitative interpretivist approach is proposed as the underlying philosophy for this research project to allow for a more in-depth examination of the socially constructed subjective reality of participants. An examination of participants’ realities could provide a systematic view of new possible determinants that are relevant to VTs. Participants will be employees in VTs and will participate in semi-structured interviews across three phases throughout their membership in the team. Systematic analysis is proposed to take place as data is collected, with interviews conducted when the participant joins the team, mid-way through their team membership, and at the end of the team’s lifespan or the study. To ensure adequate data is captured, saturation calculations will take place alongside purposive sampling. All interviews will be recorded via an online platform and stored securely to ensure the integrity of the study. This will also ensure that coding and categorisation of activities can occur systematically. Findings from this research could provide new avenues for determinant analysis of VTs in the literature. The research output can also be used to assist practitioners to implement policies that will improve VT performance

INDIGENOUS IDENTITY, ORAL TRADITION, AND THE LAND IN THE POETRY OF OODGEROO NOONUCCAL, LUCI TAPAHONSO, AND HAUNANI-KAY TRASK

This thesis is a postcolonial, ecocritical examination of the poetry of Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Luci Tapahonso, and Haunani-Kay Trask. It considers the use of poetry as a continuation of oral tradition, the poets' individual use of images of the natural world to depict the ties between their indigenous cultures and the land, and the way that this depiction reasserts the native identity of the culture they are representing.  M.A