Leadership Pattern in Uncertainty Conditions and Its Impact on the Organizational Identification: Comparative Applied Study on Government Sector in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

The study aimed to investigate  leadership styles in uncertainty conditions  and its  impact on organizational identification  in government sector in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan .The study used the descriptive analytical approach, through a questionnaire that was designed in accordance with study objectives and hypotheses .The study population consisted of  employees in all ministries and government institutions amounting (254442) employees.ِِ A stratified sample amounting (500) employees was select, 500 questionnaires were distributed to sample's subjects. The study concluded a set of findings: The results showed that the leadership democratic style is the most commonly used in government ministries and public institutions.. While transactional style was the less common one. Sample’s subjects attitudes regarding organizational identification were medium Results showed that there is a medium perception among workers for importance of readiness for uncertainty, also results showed public institutions superiority ministries in of leadership styles implementation, with surpass of democratic leadership style on both. There was a significant impact of leadership styles on organizational identification. Laissez-faire, and transactional; have the most prominent impact on organizational identification; finally results indicate that uncertainty increase leadership styles ability in explaining the difference in organizational identification upon studying leadership styles collectively and individually. The study recommended that leaders need to adopt the powers authorization principle, and to empower employees to take decisions, and to involve employees in action plans preparations in order to improve their performance

A parent-implemented intervention to improve spontaneous imitation by young children with autism

Imitation is a pivotal social-communicative skill, which is crucial for children???s social and language development. Research has shown that young children with autism often have deficits in imitation skills. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a parent-implemented modified Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT) on object and gestural imitation skills for children with autism. Two parents were trained and coached to use the modified RIT with their young children with autism in the home. The modified RIT was composed of reciprocity, object imitation, and gestural imitation strategies. A multiple baseline design across strategies was used to examine the parents??? competence in learning and implementing the modified RIT. Results indicated that parents learned to use the intervention strategies, and children showed improvements in spontaneous imitation. Generalization effects for parents and children were examined in typical routines. Maintenance data were collected two weeks following the end of intervention

Sharing, retelling, and performing narratives:challenging and supporting educators’ work with values in Nordic preschools

Abstract This chapter draws on Norwegian and Finnish studies that were a part of a Nordic project on values education in preschools. In both contexts, narratives were combined with a participatory action research methodology. Narratives were employed to inspire reflection, contribute to new knowledge, and enable educators to share experiences about their work with values. The focus of this chapter is methodological: How do narratives promote researchers and educators to generate knowledge about values? How do narratives promote improving educators’ work with values? With the aim of contributing knowledge about the potential of narratives in participatory action research, three examples are discussed in the light of the ontological and epistemological premises of narrative research. The chapter focuses on the two following aspects: First, narratives involve potential to promote educators’ participation in an action research process by providing a meeting space for educators and researchers to collaboratively explore pedagogical situations. Second, narratives offer a fruitful ground for educators and researchers to reflect on how values are integrated into the complexities of the educational practices. The chapter contributes to methodological discussions of early childhood education research and offers different concrete examples regarding how to employ narratives in research and when developing values education in practice

Non-pharmacological interventions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) delivered in school settings: systematic reviews of quantitative and qualitative research

Abstract Background Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by age-inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. School can be particularly challenging for children with ADHD. Few reviews have considered non-pharmacological interventions in school settings. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions delivered in school settings for pupils with, or at risk of, ADHD and to explore the factors that may enhance, or limit, their delivery. Data sources Twenty electronic databases (including PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Education Resources Information Centre, The Cochrane Library and Education Research Complete) were searched from 1980 to February–August 2013. Three separate searches were conducted for four systematic reviews; they were supplemented with forward and backwards citation chasing, website searching, author recommendations and hand-searches of key journals. Review methods The systematic reviews focused on (1) the effectiveness of school-based interventions for children with or at risk of ADHD; (2) quantitative research that explores attitudes towards school-based non-pharmacological interventions for pupils with ADHD; (3) qualitative research investigating the attitudes and experiences of children, teachers, parents and others using ADHD interventions in school settings; and (4) qualitative research exploring the experience of ADHD in school among pupils, their parents and teachers more generally. Methods of synthesis included a random-effects meta-analysis, meta-regression and narrative synthesis for review 1, narrative synthesis for review 2 and meta-ethnography and thematic analysis for reviews 3 and 4. Results For review 1, 54 controlled trials met the inclusion criteria. For the 36 meta-analysed randomised controlled trials, beneficial effects (p < 0.05) were observed for several symptom and scholastic outcomes. Mean weighted effect sizes ranged from very small (d+ < 0.20) to large (d+ ≥ 0.80), but substantial heterogeneity in effect size estimates across studies was reported. Moderator analyses were not able to clarify which intervention features were linked with effectiveness. For review 2, 28 included studies revealed that educators’ attitudes towards interventions ranged in positivity. Most interventions were rated positively or neutrally across different studies. The only intervention that consistently recorded positive attitudes from educators was daily report cards. For review 3, 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. Key findings included tensions regarding the preferred format of interventions, particularly how structured interventions were and the extent to which they are tailored to the child with ADHD. There were mixed views about the impact of interventions, although it was clear that interventions both influence and are influenced by the relationships held by children with ADHD and participants’ attitudes towards school and ADHD. For review 4, 34 studies met the inclusion criteria. Key findings included the importance of causal attributions that teachers, parents and pupils made about ADHD symptoms, the decisions teachers made about treatment, the self-perceptions pupils developed about themselves, the role of the classroom environment and stigma in aggravating ADHD symptoms, and the significant barrier to treatment posed by the common presence of conflict in relationships between pupils–teachers, parents–teachers and pupils–peers in relation to ADHD. An overarching synthesis of the four reviews highlighted the importance of the context affecting interventions. It suggested that ADHD psychoeducation and relationship-building skills are potential implications for interventions. Limitations The breadth of both interventions and outcomes in the reviewed studies presented a challenge for categorisation, analysis and interpretation in reviews 1–3. Across reviews, relatively few studies were conducted in the UK, limiting the applicability of findings to UK education. In reviews 1 and 2, the poor methodological quality of some included studies was identified as a barrier to establishing effectiveness or comparing attitudes. In review 3 the descriptive analysis used by the majority of studies constrained theorising during synthesis. Studies in review 4 lacked detail regarding important issues like gender, pupil maturity and school level. Conclusion Findings suggest some beneficial effects of non-pharmacological interventions for ADHD used in school settings, but substantial heterogeneity in effect sizes was seen across studies. The qualitative reviews demonstrate the importance of the context in which interventions are used. Future work should consider more rigorous evaluation of interventions, as well as focus on what works, for whom and in which contexts. Gaps in current research present opportunities for the development and testing of standardised tools to describe interventions, agreement on gold-standard outcome measures assessing ADHD behaviour and testing a range of potential moderators alongside intervention trials. Study registration This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42011001716. Funding The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme