Based on Bass' leadership theory and Bandura's social cognitive theory, we tested the direct relationship between head teacher transformational leadership behavior, head teacher transactional ...leadership behavior, and junior high school students’ school adjustment as well as explored the role of class collective efficacy in mediating this relationship. Surveying 5,083 junior high school students in 168 classes and controlling for grade, head teacher gender, and class size, the hypothesized relationships were tested through a 2-2-1 mediation model using multilevel structural equation modeling. The results indicated that there was not only a direct relationship between head teacher transformational leadership behavior and school adjustment ( b = .326, 95% confidence interval CI .218, .434), but also an indirect relationship through class collective efficacy (.047, 95% CI .007, .087), although the direct link was stronger. Moreover, there was only an indirect relationship between head teacher transactional leadership behavior and school adjustment through class collective efficacy (.051, 95% CI .007, .096), and the link between head teacher transformational leadership behavior and school adjustment was stronger than the link between head teacher transactional leadership behavior and school adjustment (diff = .351, 95% CI .126, .577). This study extended Bass' leadership theory to a class organization, and the relationship between head teacher leadership behavior and school adjustment was explored at the class level in a junior high school.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of head teachers' background characteristics on the entrepreneurship education of schools. The study analyzes how the background characteristics of ...head teachers explain the implementation of entrepreneurship education in schools. The methods applied were analysis of variance and linear regression analysis. The data consists of 135 Finnish general education head teachers. The results show that while the head teachers and schools bring out some interesting differences, only the school level and the head teacher's training in entrepreneurship education can help to anticipate entrepreneurship education activities in the school.
•The focus is on the effects of head teachers' background characteristics on schools' entrepreneurship education activities.•Head teachers' training in entrepreneurship education (EE) has predictive power on schools' EE activities.•Head teachers' gender, business background, and work experience do not explain entrepreneurship education activities.•The results of the paper indicate a great need for the development of head teacher training for entrepreneurship education.
Although the importance of teacher feedback has been confirmed by a great number of studies, the association of head teacher praise and criticism with adolescents' non-cognitive skills still needs ...more deeper and more extensive research. Therefore, how to improve the non-cognitive skills of adolescents, especially those with disadvantaged family and economic backgrounds, has become a key concern in the field of educational practice.
Based on CEPS data, this paper used panel regression and PSM-DID methods to analyze the impact of head teacher feedback on an adolescent's non-cognitive skills measured by the big-five personality scale.
It found that praise from head teachers favorably influenced adolescents' extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness, yet significantly mitigates their neuroticism. Meanwhile, the effect of criticism from head teachers is bi-facial: It made a positive effect on adolescents' extraversion and openness but impaired their conscientiousness and neuroticism. As rural adolescents notably lag in their non-cognitive skills and are much less likely to be praised by head teachers compared to their urban peers, we estimate that when rural adolescents are frequently praised by their head teachers at the same level as urban students, their gap in extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and conscientiousness would be narrowed by 12.51%, 16.58%, 11.35%, 14.25%, and 24.29%. This finding has significant implications for head teacher teaching and adolescent well-being.
The study examined the effects of head teacher praise and criticism on adolescent non-cognitive skills. The results showed that adolescents who were often praised by head teachers developed better non-cognitive skills. While the effect of head teacher criticism was two-sided: it enhances extraversion and openness as well as heightens neuroticism and corrupts conscientiousness. We further analyzed the urban-rural gap in non-cognitive skills and found that rural adolescents significantly lagged, and they have a lower possibility to be often praised by the head teacher, but a higher probability to be criticized. Through the PSM-DID quasi-experimental design, it was suggested that more head teacher praise can improve the non-cognitive skills among adolescents. When rural adolescents are estimated to receive the same amount of praise as urban adolescents, the disparities reduction in their non-cognitive skills can become possible. Our findings are of great significance to promote adolescent non-cognitive skills development and improve educational equity in urban and rural areas.
This article reports on factor analyses of the Middle Leadership Roles Questionnaire – School Edition (MLRQ-SE) that were conducted to test a theoretical model. This work was completed as part of a ...larger study that investigated the roles of formal middle-leadership positions in public schools of New South Wales, Australia. Quantitative data from an adapted version of the MLRQ-SE, which was completed by 2608 employees in formal middle leader positions in NSW public schools, were factor analysed to identify theorised roles and thereby confirm an overarching model of middle leadership roles as well as assist with ongoing refinement of the instrument's scales. Exploratory factor analyses identified seven salient roles of middle leaders. Confirmatory factor analyses of data from the two largest position categories supported the seven-role model for assistant principals and head teachers. While the scales within the MLRQ-SE were based on a wide review of previous research, the data reported here is from one educational jurisdiction in one country. However, the findings provide evidence for the existence middle leader roles often theorised in literature but to date not confirmed empirically. The findings also hold implications for policy, practice and future research regarding leadership development and recruitment.
In this study, six different evaluation question regarding the regulation and implementation of the teacher career stages for science teachers have been examined. The evaluation questions encompass ...both positive and negative outcomes that teachers experience as a result of the regulation, the underlying reasons for the regulation, and its deficiencies. The phenomenological research design, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was employed to gather the opinions of teachers. A total of 17 science teachers with varying years of service participated in the research. This study group was formed using easily accessible and maximum diversity sampling methods. As a data collection instrument, an interview form consisting of open-ended questions was utilized by the researchers to determine the teachers' views on the promotion system within the career ladder. The interview form was thoroughly reviewed by an expert faculty member in the field of educational sciences and two science teachers. The data analysis involved converting the responses obtained from the open-ended questions into an online form and analyzing them using content analysis technique. Based on the teachers' evaluations, it was determined that the regulation led to significant salary increases for teachers and assisted them in planning their careers. However, concerns were raised about the suitability of the examination system and time conditions, as well as the perception that their professional achievements were not adequately evaluated. Suggestions include the preparation of the regulation through a more participatory process, the use of performance-based criteria, and the provision of career incentive rewards based on these criteria. Additionally, a revision of the examination system and the inclusion of seminars and events attended by teachers in the evaluation process are recommended.
"Multi-grade classes are experiencing a renaissance in the current German educational system. On the one hand, pedagogical reasons are discussed. On the other hand, the motto “short legs, short ways” ...as well as school organizational requirements play a decisive role. Considering the theoretical background of innovation-specific implications of multi-grade learning, the phases and conditions of school development, and the structure of professional action, the study explores how the initiation and implementation of multi-grade classes for pragmatic reasons are realized. The subquestions of the study investigate challenges of the school development process, action strategies and justifications of school administrators and teachers, their innovation-specific ideas of multi-grade learning, as well as supporting and inhibiting development conditions in the transfer of change to the individual school. For data collection eight school administrators and 16 class administrators at eight Bavarian elementary schools that had established a so-called “combi-class” 1/2 for the first time were interviewed. The transcripts were analyzed with the qualitative content analysis. In addition, an explicating document analysis was carried out. The results show that there are role-specific demands on school administrators and teachers. These are: negotiating and planning the initiation and implementation, leading and steering the development process at the individual school, and organizing and implementing the change, especially at the teaching level. The study provides an insight into individual school development processes as well as into circumstances of multi-grade learning that is ordered by school authorities due to demographic reasons or scarce personal resources. The study reveals how challenging it is for school and class administrators to broaden the age groupspecific (homogenizing) view. However, the data also show a rise in professionalization because of this school development process. Despite the top-down process of initiation, multi-grade classes can function as a motor for a changed approach to heterogeneity."
"Nicht nur aus pädagogischen Gründen, sondern vor allem unter dem Motto „kurze Beine, kurze Wege“ sowie aus schulorganisatorischen Anlässen erlebt die Jahrgangsmischung in der deutschen Bildungslandschaft gegenwärtig eine Renaissance. Ziel dieser qualitativ-explorativen Studie war es, mehr über das professionelle Handeln, die Handlungsbegründungen und den professionellen Handlungsrahmen der Schulleitungen und Lehrkräfte bei der Einführung von jahrgangskombinierten Klassen aus pragmatischen Gründen zu erfahren. Vor dem theoretischen Hintergrund der innovationsspezifischen Implikationen der Jahrgangsmischung, der Phasen und Bedingungen von Schulentwicklung sowie der Struktur professionellen Handelns geht die Arbeit der übergeordneten Frage nach der Gestaltung der Initiierung und Implementierung von jahrgangsübergreifendem Lernen aus pragmatischen Gründen aus Sicht der betroffenen professionellen Akteure/innen nach. In den Teilfragen eruiert sie die Herausforderungen im Schulentwicklungsprozess, entsprechende Handlungsstrategien und -begründungen aufseiten der Schulleitungen und Lehrkräfte, deren innovationsspezifische Vorstellungen von jahrgangsübergreifendem Lernen sowie unterstützende und hemmende Entwicklungsbedingungen beim Transfer der Veränderung auf die Einzelschulebene. In leitfadengestützten Experten/inneninterviews wurden dazu acht Schul- sowie 16 Klassenleitungen an acht bayerischen Grundschulen befragt, die erstmals eine sogenannte Kombi-Klasse 1/2 etablierten. Die Auswertung der Transkripte erfolgte mithilfe der inhaltlich strukturierenden qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse, die ergänzt wurde durch eine explizierende Dokumentenanalyse. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Handlungsanforderungen für die Schulleitungen und Lehrkräfte rollenspezifisch im Aushandeln und Planen der Initiierung und Implementierung der jahrgangskombinierten Klassen, im Führen und Steuern des Entwicklungsprozesses an der Einzelschule sowie im Organisieren und Umsetzen der Veränderung, insbesondere auf der Unterrichtsebene, liegen. Die Studie gibt einen Einblick in die einzelschulischen Entwicklungsprozesse sowie die Umstände demografisch und schulorganisatorisch bedingter, von den Schulbehörden verordneter Jahrgangsmischung. Es wird deutlich, wie herausfordernd es für die professionell Handelnden ist, den jahrgangsbezogenen (homogenisierenden) Blick zu weiten. Die Daten zeigen aber auch einen Professionalisierungsschub durch diesen Schulentwicklungsprozess, sodass Jahrgangsmischung, trotz der Verordnung „von oben“, dennoch als Motor für einen veränderten Umgang mit Heterogenität fungieren kann."
Offensive behaviour towards school employees is widespread and involves a number of potentially harmful acts. There is evidence that school employees’ experiences of offensive behaviour are shaped by ...demographic, role and school-based factors that mediate the likelihood of victimisation. However, very few studies have investigated the prevalence and correlates of offensive behaviour against school leaders. This study analysed 13,028 survey responses from the Australia Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing survey that were completed between the years 2011 and 2019. The analysis determined the prevalence of bullying, threats of violence and physical violence against government school leaders, the main perpetrators of these offenses and the moderating effects of key socio-demographic factors. Results from the study demonstrated that considerable proportions of Australian government school leaders were subjected to offensive behaviour with an average (pooled) prevalence of 36.2% for bullying, 48.6% for threats of violence and 38.7% for physical violence. School leaders report that students and parents are responsible for most offensive behaviours, but that colleagues also contribute considerably to incidents of bullying. Our findings illustrate that offensive behaviours against Australian school leaders are very high and that particular groups of school leaders are at elevated risk of victimization, especially female school leaders and to a lesser extent assistant principals and those inner or outer regional areas.
Head teachers are exposed to a highly emotional and stressful job, and they need a sufficient combination of professional competencies in order to deal with daily challenges in schools. Recent ...studies have shown the importance of developing emotional competencies such as emotional intelligence (EI) in teachers in order to improve their professional development and to ensure the adequate functioning of the school. However, rather less is known about the ability EI of head teachers. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability EI of public school head teachers and compare this ability with those working in other positions within the school. For these purposes, 393 participants (35 head teachers, 39 middle leaders, 236 tutors, and 86 teachers) aged between 24 and 62 years (
= 40.26;
= 9.27) completed the mayer-salovey-caruso emotional intelligence test (MSCEIT). The results revealed a significantly higher total EI for head teachers than teachers, along with higher scores in the understanding branch of the MSCEIT for the head teachers compared with workers in other positions. In addition, on this EI branch, tutors also achieved higher scores than the teachers. We also evaluated the alternative hypothesis that years of teaching experience could explain the relationship between work position and the EI scores, and found no evidence in support of this possibility. Limitations and future lines of research are discussed.
Öğretmenlerin mesleki gelişimi, kariyerleri boyunca devam etmesi gereken ve hem kendi öğretim stratejilerini gözden geçirme imkânı buldukları hem de öğrencilerin ihtiyaçlarını nasıl ...karşılayabileceklerini öğrendikleri bir süreçtir. Başarılı bir kariyer gelişimi, öğretmenlerin kendilerini bu sürecin içerisinde nasıl konumlandırdıklarına bağlıdır. Çalışmada, öğretmenlik kariyer basamaklarına ve 19 Kasım 2022 tarihinde uygulanan yazılı sınavına ilişkin Türkçe öğretmenlerinin görüşlerine başvurulmuştur. Görüşler doğrultusunda sınavın tutarlılığı, niteliği, kapsayıcılığı, işlevselliği ve güvenilirliği ile Türkçe öğretmenlerinin uzmanlık ve başöğretmenlik kariyer basamaklarına ilişkin değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. Temel nitel araştırma ile desenlenen bu araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, uzman öğretmenlik ve başöğretmenlik yazılı sınavına girmiş 71 Türkçe öğretmeni oluşturmaktadır. Görüşme aracılığıyla çalışma grubundan yazılı yolla veri toplanmış, toplanan veriler içerik analizine tabi tutularak tema ve alt temalar belirlenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgulardan hareketle öğretmenlerin kariyer basamaklarına yönelik yeterliklerini ölçmek için uygulanan sınava ilişkin görüşleri; uzman öğretmen ve başöğretmen olmanın yeterlikleri, sınavın kariyer basamaklarına yönelik beklentileri karşılayıp karşılamama durumu, uzman öğretmen ve başöğretmen ayrımı, sınavın kapsadığı konuların kariyer basamaklarını belirleme ve kılavuzda belirtilen konuları ölçme yeterliği olmak üzere beş ana tema etrafında analiz edilmiştir.
The characteristics of cooperation between head teachers and school counsellors are presented theoretically and empirically. Distributed leadership means that head teachers do not lead schools ...through school-based educators but rather together with them, with school counsellors playing an important role. Numerous research studies demonstrate that a strong head teacher–school counsellor relationship is a crucial component of meeting the vision, goals and well-being of the school. The findings of our research study, conducted among head teachers and school counsellors, show positive attitudes of both groups towards mutual cooperation. Both considered the cooperation to be good or very good, the head teachers rated it even better. It is interesting to observe that the head teachers found more support in school counsellors than vice versa. Also, more of the head teachers said they saw school counsellors as partners than did the school counsellors. It thus remains to be seen how school counsellors’ perception of the school leadership’s support in their work could be strengthened and how head teachers could be encouraged to support the work of the school counselling service even more, so that this relationship becomes reciprocal and that each party’s ability to perform their work will be enhanced by the strong relationship.
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