Developing School Heads as Instructional Leaders in School-Based Assessment: Challenges and Next Steps

Science.gov (United States)

Lingam, Govinda Ishwar; Lingam, Narsamma

2016-01-01

The study explored challenges faced by school leaders in the Pacific nation of Solomon Islands in school-based assessment, and the adequacy of an assessment course to prepare them. A questionnaire including both open and closed-ended questions elicited relevant data from the school leaders. Modelling best practices in school-based assessment was…

Phenomenology of School Leaders' Experiences of Ethical Dilemmas

OpenAIRE

Guy, Timothy Michael

2016-01-01

This research study explores the intersection of school leadership and ethics. This study used the hermeneutic phenomenological approach described by Max Van Manen (1990, 2014) to explore the question: How do school leaders experience ethical dilemmas in their role as school leaders? Hermeneutic phenomenology seeks to find the meaning of a phenomenon, which in this case is the experience of an ethical dilemma. Hermeneutic refers to the interpretive-reflective-analytical component and phenom...

The Tacit Dimension: The Inner Life of School Leaders

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Holmes, David

2016-01-01

School leaders are expected to be visibly in charge, always on top of their game, doing the right things to advance the school, and exuding confidence and command. For these traits, leaders have extensive resources to draw on to foster their professional growth. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the regional and state…

Digital Citizenship Instruction in Pennsylvania Public Schools: School Leaders Expressed Beliefs and Current Practices

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Suppo, Chris A.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate digital citizenship in Pennsylvania public schools based on the responses of school leaders including superintendents, curriculum coordinators, and technology coordinators. This study examined the relationship between Pennsylvania school leader's beliefs and the implementation of digital citizenship…

School Libraries and Student Learning: A Guide for School Leaders

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Morris, Rebecca J.

2015-01-01

Innovative, well-designed school library programs can be critical resources for helping students meet high standards of college and career readiness. In "School Libraries and Student Learning", Rebecca J. Morris shows how school leaders can make the most of their school libraries to support ambitious student learning. She offers…

Strategic Communications for School Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Gunther, Vicki; McGowan, James; Donegan, Kate

2011-01-01

Gunther, McGowan and Donegan draw on their own experiences and those of others in the field, to explain the importance of communication in school leadership. In focusing on the communication process--why it's critical for schools, and how it can be executed well--they make the case that communication must be a primary emphasis for leaders, not an…

Leaders' limitations and approaches to creating conditions for interaction and communication in parental groups: A qualitative study.

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Frykedal, Karin Forslund; Rosander, Michael; Barimani, Mia; Berlin, Anita

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to describe and understand parental group (PG) leaders' experiences of creating conditions for interaction and communication. The data consisted of 10 interviews with 14 leaders. The transcribed interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that the leaders' ambition was to create a parent-centred learning environment by establishing conditions for interaction and communication between the parents in the PGs. However, the leaders' experience was that their professional competencies were insufficient and that they lacked pedagogical tools to create constructive group discussions. Nevertheless, they found other ways to facilitate interactive processes. Based on their experience in the PG, the leaders constructed informal socio-emotional roles for themselves (e.g. caring role and personal role) and let their more formal task roles (e.g. professional role, group leader and consulting role) recede into the background, so as to remove the imbalance of power between the leaders and the parents. They believed this would make the parents feel more confident and make it easier for them to start communicating and interacting. This personal approach places them in a vulnerable position in the PG, in which it is easy for them to feel offended by parents' criticism, questioning or silence.

Social Justice in India: Perspectives from School Leaders in Diverse Contexts

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Richardson, Jayson W.; Sauers, Nicholas J.

2014-01-01

This study focuses on social justice from the perspective of five school leaders in Delhi, India. Four of the schools in the study are affluent. One school serves primarily students who live in extreme poverty. Through interviewing these leaders, two major themes were identified. First, these leaders tended to view human rights as a driver of a…

Systems Thinking among School Middle Leaders

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Shaked, Haim; Schechter, Chen

2017-01-01

Systems thinking is a holistic approach that puts the study of wholes before that of parts. This study explores systems thinking among school middle leaders--teachers who have management responsibility for a team of teachers or for an aspect of the school's work. Interviews were held with 93 school coordinators, among them year heads, heads of…

School Leader Relationships: The Need for Explicit Training on Rapport, Trust, and Communication

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Lasater, Kara

2016-01-01

An important aspect of school leadership is relationship development, but developing meaningful relationships as a school leader is challenging. School leader relationships are challenged by diverse stakeholder groups, varied contexts, and difficult situations. The complex nature of school leader relationships necessitates explicit training for…

Learning Math at Home. Making the Parent Connection! Leader Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Moke, Susan, Ed.; Shermis, Michael, Ed.

This manual is a resource book for organizers and leaders and parent groups who want to explore specific strategies to use to encourage children to view math as a "user-friendly" subject. The guide contains material necessary to conduct a 1- or 1.5-hour session to help parents see the importance of: showing their children how problem-solving math…

Creating and Maintaining Student Diversity: Strategies and Challenges for School Leaders

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Villavicencio, Adriana

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to explore how school leaders can create and maintain student diversity in charter schools. Based on a case study of two racially balanced schools in New York City, this study identifies three strategies that the schools' leaders took to create more student diversity: (1) develop curriculum-centred missions, (2)…

Leadership Standards in Action: The School Principal as Servant-Leader

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Brumley, Cade

2011-01-01

"Leadership Standards In Action: The School Principal as Servant-Leader" is a powerful resource for aspiring principals, practicing principals, district leadership, and university faculty. The book responsibly unpacks the metaphor of principal as servant leader to the school's people and purpose. As a framework, the six ISLLC Standards of…

Women School Leaders: Entrepreneurs in Low Fee Private Schools in Three West African Nations

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Paula A. Cordeiro

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study explores the opportunities and challenges of women who own low-fee private schools in three West African nations. With the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs in 2000 and the Sustainable Development Goals in 2016, it has become obvious to policymakers that school leadership needs to be a policy priority around the world. Increased school autonomy and a greater focus on schooling and school results have made it essential to understand and support the role of school leaders. Few countries however have strong and systematic initiatives to professionalize school leadership and to nurture and support current school leaders. This becomes even more complex for governments given the rise of private schooling in low and middle-income countries worldwide; thus, it is crucial for governments to understand the importance of leadership at the school level and how to nurture and professionalize it. In this study, the authors examine the roles of women school leaders in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Liberia within the context of MDG 3: promote gender equality and empower women. Because of the many challenges in the public sector in education in low and middle-income countries, the private sector has responded by creating thousands of small businesses. Since a large and growing number of women are leading these private schools, this study presents the findings on the nature of the leadership of these women entrepreneurs. Fourteen school proprietors participated in face-to face interviews about their reasons for founding a school as well as the supports and challenges they face. Findings discuss the limited professional learning opportunities for school leaders in these nations. The study describes the school leaders’ desires to help build their nations, and the unique cultural and contextual factors in each country.

Preparing School Leaders: Action Research on the Leadership Study Group

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Kamler, Estelle

2016-01-01

This article reports an action research study that examined the Leadership Study Group, one learning activity designed to build knowledge and skills for aspiring school leaders and implemented in a six-credit introductory course for school leader certification. Through analysis of a variety of qualitative data collected over nine semesters, I…

Impact Parent Program Workshop Leader's Manual.

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Marvelle, John D., Comp.; And Others

This program manual provides a series of eight two-hour sessions designed to further parents' abilities to teach and communicate with their young children and to build supportive family school relationships. Session I introduces the series and emphasizes the important role parents have as teachers of their children. In Session II an overview of…

Inspiring Creativity in Urban School Leaders: Lessons from the Performing Arts

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Kaimal, Girija; Drescher, Jon; Fairbank, Holly; Gonzaga, Adele; White, George P.

2014-01-01

This paper presents an analysis of how guided engagement with the arts can provide leadership lessons for school leaders and administrators. The study was conducted as part of two projects funded by the School Leadership Program (SLP) grants from the U.S. Department of Education. The principal interns and practicing school leaders participated in…

The Use of Technology in Prince Edward Island (Canada) High Schools: Perceptions of School Leaders

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Preston, Jane P; Moffatt, Lyndsay; Wiebe, Sean; McAuley, Alexander; Campbell, Barbara; Gabriel, Martha

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to document the perceptions of school leaders regarding the technological use, skills, and attitudes of high school teachers. Using a qualitative research approach, 11 educational leaders from Prince Edward Island (Canada) were individually interviewed. Participants represented the Department of Education, principals,…

Leading by Following: An Analysis of How K-12 School Leaders Use Twitter

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Sauers, Nicholas J.; Richardson, Jayson W.

2015-01-01

This study analyzed how active Twitter users who are also school leaders used the tool. The researchers collaboratively identified K-12 school leaders who were active on Twitter and then collected tweets from those school leaders. The final sample for this study included 115 Twitter users and over 180,000 tweets from those individuals. The results…

Male Educational Leadership in Greek Primary Schools: A Theoretical Framework Based on Experiences of Male School Leaders

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Brinia, Vassiliki

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper can be summarized in the following research questions: How do male school leaders perceive the role of an educational leader and educational leadership in general? What are some of the male school leaders' leadership styles and features? What distinctive factors influence and hinder the leadership process for men…

Identifying the Administrative Dispositions Most Preferred by Urban School Leaders and School Leadership Candidates

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Pregot, Michael

2016-01-01

This research study delves into the newly crafted ISSLC national school leadership standards asking current school leaders and school leadership candidates to prioritize their perceived level of importance of 20 administrative dispositions. 128 school principals and 165 school leadership candidates in the NYC schools responded to an electronic…

Staffing the Principalship: Finding, Coaching, and Mentoring School Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Lovely, Suzette

2004-01-01

"Help Wanted" signs are springing up outside schools. The shortage of school administrators is not coming, it is here. To thwart the shortage and keep schools on the cutting edge, diligence in cultivating, training, and inspiring a new generation of school leaders--especially for the principalship, must be exercised. Staffing the Principalship…

Parental Involvement in Norwegian Schools

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Paulsen, Jan Merok

2012-01-01

This article examines findings on key challenges of school-parent relations in Norway. The review is based on recent large-scale studies on several issues, including formalized school-parent cooperation, parental involvement in the pedagogical discourse, and teacher perspectives on the parents' role in the school community. Findings suggest a…

Thinking while leading. Understanding school leaders' daily thinking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wassink, H.

2004-01-01

What do school leaders think while performing their jobs? What is the nature of these thinking processes? And what is their function, with regard to the day-to-day leadership in the school? These questions are central to the research reported in this book. A naturalistic, interpretive research

The Importance of School Leaders' Engagement in Socialising Newly Qualified Teachers into the Teaching Profession

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Engvik, Gunnar; Emstad, Anne Berit

2017-01-01

This article focuses on the importance of school leaders' commitment to socialising newly qualified teachers (NQTs) into the teaching profession. Framed by a social constructivist perspective, the article is based on four challenges novice teachers face as described by four school leaders. The aim is to illuminate how school leaders have…

Creating a Culture: How School Leaders Can Optimise Behaviour

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Bennett, Tom

2017-01-01

The national picture of school behaviour is complex, but numerous indicators suggest that it can be better in a great number of schools and contexts. Every leader should consciously aspire to the very best behaviour possible in their schools as a matter of priority. There are a number of strategies that schools with outstanding behaviour use…

The Strategic Thinking Skills of Hong Kong School Leaders: Usage and Effectiveness

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Pang, Nicholas Sun-Keung; Pisapia, John

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify strategic thinking skills that distinguish effective school leaders in Hong Kong. Three constructs framed the study: strategic thinking skills, organizational-personal characteristics, and school leader effectiveness. This study used a quantitative non-experimental design, and univariate and correlation…

What do parents really want? Parents' perceptions of their children's schooling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corinne Meier

2015-05-01

Full Text Available International evidence confirms that parental involvement has substantial benefits for families and schools, as well as long-term economic benefits for developed and developing countries. To implement sound parental involvement two-way communication between home and school is essential. Schools worldwide tend to focus on communication from the school to the home, and afford parents fewer opportunities to express their perceptions of the quality of schooling. However, researcher-based, national and international surveys of parent opinion indicate that school endeavours to improve learner outcomes depend to a large extent on the data provided by parents. This article examines parents' perceptions of their child's schooling, gathered by means of an annual questionnaire administered in a public primary school in Gauteng, South Africa. A researcher-designed questionnaire administered annually over two consecutive years (2012 and 2013 was used to gauge parents' opinions of school culture, home-school communication, classroom instruction and classroom organisation. The results indicate that parents were generally satisfied with all four areas. However, parents indicated concerns about reporting on an individual learner's progress, academic achievement, and social and emotional wellbeing, as well as academic enrichment opportunities, and ways for parents to assist learning at home. In terms of classroom instruction and organisation, variations in parent responses emerged according to grade levels, and over the two-year reporting period. Recommendations were made, which could benefit other schools wishing to improve two-way communication with families through parent questionnaires.

Multiple Choice: How Public School Leaders in New Orleans' Saturated Market View Private School Competitors

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Jabbar, Huriya; Li, Dongmei M.

2016-01-01

School choice policies, such as charter schools and vouchers, are in part designed to induce competition between schools. While several studies have examined the impact of private school competition on public schools, few studies have explored school leaders' perceptions of private school competitors. This study examines the extent to which public…

Internationalization in schools - perspectives of school leaders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Egekvist, Ulla Egidiussen; Lyngdorf, Niels Erik; Du, Xiangyun

2017-01-01

through reflections of lived experiences, participation in meaningful activities, and active engagement in interaction with international and local colleagues. However, the realization of ideas depends on various elements, including leadership, teacher engagement, policy support, and financial support.......This paper explores how internationalization ideas in primary and lower secondary schools can be developed through the acquisition of international experience abroad by leaders. The study was inspired by existing literature on internationalization and leadership, and theories of experiential...

Exploring the Link between Distributed Leadership and Job Satisfaction of School Leaders

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Hulpia, Hester; Devos, Geert

2009-01-01

The main purpose of this study was to map school leaders' perceptions concerning the cooperation of the leadership team, the distribution of leadership functions and participative decision-making, and to asses their relative weight in terms of predicting school leaders' job satisfaction. Also, the effect of demographical and structural school…

School Leadership Retention: A Study of Servant Leadership and School Leader Satisfaction

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Bovee, Jeffery A.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative correlation study was to find the relationship between the level of perceived servant leadership and the school leader job satisfaction in the North American Division (NAD) of Seventh-day Adventists P-12 schools. This quantitative correlation study utilized Laub's (1999) Organizational Leadership Assessment…

Dealing with Moms and Dads: Family Dilemmas Encountered by Youth Program Leaders

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Aisha Griffith

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The leaders of youth programs encounter a range of challenging situations that involve youth’s parents or families. This qualitative study obtained data on the variety and nature of these family-related “dilemmas of practice.” Longitudinal interviews with leaders of 10 high quality programs for high-school-aged youth yielded narrative information on a sample of 32 family dilemmas that they had encountered. Grounded theory analysis identified four categories of family dilemmas: 1 problems at home that become a concern to the leader, 2 parents’ expectations are incongruent with program norms or functioning, 3 parents do not support youth’s participation in the program or an aspect of the program, and 4 communicating with parents on sensitive matters. Each of these categories of dilemmas entailed distinct considerations and underlying issues that effective leaders need to be able to understand.

The Relevance among Mid-level leader & Principal's Leadership, School Climate and Guidance

OpenAIRE

米沢, 崇; 山崎, 茜; 栗原, 慎二

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of the leadership of school leader and organizational culture to the practice of school guidance. Single time questionnaire was taken, and 182 elementary school teachers participated in. The major findings were as follows : (a)challenging culture among teachers, principal breakthrough leadership, and mid-level leader's consideration effect on information sharing among teachers, (b) challenging culture among teachers, principal' s considerat...

Generation X School Leaders as Agents of Care: Leader and Teacher Perspectives from Toronto, New York City and London

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Karen Edge

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This paper draws on evidence from our three-year Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC-funded research study of the lives, careers, experiences and aspirations of Generation X (under 40 years of age principals and vice-principals in London, New York City, and Toronto. More specifically, the paper examines interview evidence from nine school-based studies in which nine leaders and 54 teachers discuss their perspectives on leaders’ care of their staff members. The evidence demonstrates that leaders and teachers both place a high level of importance on leaders’ ability and willingness to be supportive, understanding, and approachable. Teachers also expect leaders to serve as advocates for and role models of good work/life balance. While the school-level studies take place in radically different city-based contexts, the expectation of leaders’ care for teachers transcends different accountability and policy structures. Both groups focus their discussion on work/life balance and, more specifically, the need for leaders to understand that teachers are people with lives beyond school. The paper highlights implications for policy, practice, and future research.

Academisation, School Collaboration and the Primary School Sector in England: A Story of Six School Leaders

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Keddie, Amanda

2016-01-01

This paper presents data from a study of five English primary schools. It examines some of the challenges associated with school autonomy and collaboration for state primary schools amid the uncertainty and complexity of governance in the present English education context. The paper features the voices of six leaders gathered from interviews that…

The Fearless School Leader: Making the Right Decisions

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McCabe, Cynthia

2011-01-01

This book identifies the six fearless decisions that school leaders need to make to be successful. The author analyzes the top fears that impede effective leadership and lower student achievement, then provides a step by step antidote that will change fear into intention, increase confidence, and produce positive results in your school. In this…

Solomon Islands School Leaders Readiness for Inclusive Education

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Porakari, James; Sevala, Brenda; Miniti, Patrick; Saemane, George; Sharma, Umesh; Forlin, Chris

2015-01-01

The inclusion of students with disabilities was initiated by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development in the Solomon Islands in 2013. This paper investigates the knowledge, skills, and values of school leaders in public and private schools in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, in regard to providing support for inclusive…

Building a Culture of Support: Strategies for School Leaders

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Caposey, PJ

2013-01-01

Written in a down-to-earth and people-first style, this book is for principals and aspiring school leaders. Caposey shares insightful advice and meaningful examples for building a healthy school culture. Learn the essential strategies that will help you transform and improve your school by embodying a service mindset and focusing on supporting the…

A Leader's Guide to Exploring Parenting = Manual Del Orientador para Explorando el Arte de ser Padres.

Science.gov (United States)

Littlejohn (Roy) Associates, Inc., Washington, DC.

This document, provided here in separate English and Spanish versions, offers guidelines for leaders implementing the "Exploring Parenting" series of workshops with Head Start parents. The guide is divided into four sections. Section 1, "Introduction," outlines the philosophy undergirding the Exploring Parenting series and…

Creating School Cultures that Embrace Learning: What Successful Leaders Do

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Thacker, Tony; Bell, John S.; Schargel, Franklin P.

2009-01-01

This book brings together the insight and experience of successful leaders from over 60 schools on the issue of improving school culture--in their very own words. It provides the tools, practices, and examples that will help you in your own effort to improve school culture. Contents include: Acknowledgments; Acknowledgment of Contributing Schools;…

Relations- and task-oriented behaviour of school leaders: Cases from primary schools in Finland

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Mani Man Singh Rajbhandari

2016-08-01

principals, teachers, special-education teachers, and administrative staff members. The results suggest that leadership behavioural styles in terms of relations-oriented and task-oriented behaviour are equally important for accommodating changes and development in schools. The results suggest that relations-oriented behaviour was preferred by those who had been in the organisation for a longer time. The task-oriented behavioural style was found to be adopted when changes were required by the municipality (school district, which needed to be urgently addressed to meet the current requirements for school infrastructural development and changes in the educational system. In addition, the school leaders with task-oriented behaviour were more effective, while leaders with relations-oriented behaviour were efficient and generated social harmony. These findings suggest that contextual variations enabled flexibility in leadership behavioural style.

The Role of Parent Governors in School Governance in Zimbabwe: Perceptions of School Heads, Teachers and Parent Governors

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Chikoko, Vitallis

2008-03-01

This paper reports on a study of the role of parent governors in five neighbouring rural primary schools in Zimbabwe. The study proposed that despite the presence of a legal decentralised school governance structure in which parents form the majority, they did not have the capacity to function effectively therein, and were still marginalised in school governance decision-making. Four areas of decision-making were investigated: school organisation; curriculum; employment and appraisal of teaching staff; and financial resources. Interviews were conducted with parent governors, school heads and teachers. Findings show that all the respondent groups perceived significant parental involvement in the area of school finances only. However, parents were perceived to lack the capacity to make decisions in all four areas. The study concludes that the role of parents in the running of schools in the country has not significantly grown from that of being school financiers and builders of infrastructure. Therefore, building school governance capacity among parents is necessary.

Transactional and Transformational Leader Behaviors and Christian School Enrollment

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Vaught, James Ward, Jr.

2010-01-01

School enrollment trends and how leaders respond are critical to the sustainability of Christian schools. This study applied quantitative and qualitative approaches to address the question, are there significant differences in the mean scores for behavioral factors or in the mean scores for transactional and transformational leadership styles for…

The Development Needs of Newly Appointed Senior School Leaders in the Western Cape South Africa: A Case Study

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Nelius Jansen van Vuuren

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The essential role that senior school leaders play in school leadership teams to ensure effective strategic leadership in schools has been the subject of intense discussion for many years. Crucial to this debate is the establishment of professional learning and leadership approaches for newly appointed senior school leaders. Recommendations for policy and practice highlight the importance of appropriate, multifaceted, developmental support initiatives for newly appointed school leaders. In many countries, including South Africa, a teaching qualification and, in most cases, extensive teaching experience is the only requirement for being appointed as a senior school leader in a school. This tends to suggest that no further professional development is required for newly appointed school leaders, the problem addressed in this paper. This paper reports on the main findings of the perceived development needs of newly appointed senior school leaders in the Western Cape, South Africa, and suggests that school leaders occupy a unique and specialist role in education, which requires relevant and specific preparation to support effective leadership. The respondents of this study report a lack of contextualised training and support before and after their appointment in their new roles creating unique development needs. This paper, therefore, employs a mixed-method approach to gather data to understand the perceived needs of twenty newly appointed senior school leaders in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Distributed but Undefined: New Teacher Leader Roles to Change Schools

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Margolis, Jason; Huggins, Kristin Shawn

2012-01-01

This article examines teacher leader role development and definition by looking at one emergent model of distributed leadership: the hybrid teacher leader (HTL). HTLs are teachers whose official schedule includes both teaching K-12 students and leading teachers in some capacity. Participants included six HTLs across four school districts over 2…

School Climate Improvement Action Guide for District Leaders. School Climate Improvement Resource Package

Science.gov (United States)

National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, 2017

2017-01-01

Improving school climate takes time and commitment from a variety of people in a variety of roles. This document outlines key action steps that district leaders--including superintendents, assistant superintendents, directors of student support services, or others--can take to support school climate improvements. Key action steps are provided for…

Oppressors or Emancipators: Critical Dispositions for Preparing Inclusive School Leaders

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Theoharis, George; Causton-Theoharis, Julie N.

2008-01-01

Leadership from school administrators is essential in creating inclusive schools. The purpose of this article is to outline the dispositions necessary for school leaders in order to develop and maintain inclusive educational services for all students. This work comes from a qualitative study of university-based experts who teach courses in…

[Effect of school-based peer leader centered smoking prevention program].

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Sung Rae; Oh, Pok Ja; Youn, Hye Kyung; Shin, Sun Hwa

2014-12-01

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a school-based peer leader centered smoking prevention program. Non-equivalent control group with a pre/post-test design was used. Students (n=174) in two boys' junior high schools located in D city, Korea participated with 85 being selected for the experimental group and 89 for the control group. Five sessions were given to the experimental group and a 50 minute lecture to the control group. Knowledge, attitude, non-smoking intention, and non-smoking efficacy were measured for the both experimental and control group at two weeks before the program and one month after the program was completed. Data were analyzed using χ²-test, Fisher's exact test, independent t-test and paired t-test with the SPSS 21.0 program. The experimental group showed higher overall knowledge, negative attitude toward smoking, and higher non-smoking intention and efficacy. After receiving the school based peer leader centered smoking prevention program scores for attitude toward smoking and non-smoking efficacy increased in the experimental group were higher than in the control group. The school-based peer leader centered smoking prevention program needs longitudinal evaluation, but from this study, there is an indication that this program can be used with junior high school students and effectively change students' attitude toward smoking and promote non-smoking efficacy.

Perception of Political Leaders in Modern School Students (A Psychosemantic Research

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Sobkin V.S.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The paper presents results of an empirical study on the features of perception of political leaders in modern high school students. The data was collected in the beginning of 2014, when the political situation in Russia was unstable, mostly due to the effects of the events in Ukraine. The study involved 110 students of 10— 11 grades of Moscow schools (67 boys, 43 girls aged from 15 to 18. A method of semantic differential was used: the subjects were asked to assess 29 political leaders, Russian as well as foreign, plus such categories as ‘myself’, ‘my ideal’, ‘ideal political leader’ and ‘antipathetic person’ according to 33 semantic characteristics (scales. As it is shown, the structure of the attitude to political leaders in late adolescents is built around three generalized semantic indicators: ‘intelligence, power’, ‘tolerance’ and ‘ambition’. The way that the adolescent subjects perceive political leaders of the Soviet Union and modern Russia suggests that there is an obvious decrease in the significance of positive characteristics related the moral qualities of the leader.

Schools, Schooling, and Children's Support of Their Aging Parents.

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Brauner-Otto, Sarah R

2009-10-01

Intergenerational transfers play an important role in individuals' lives across the life course. In this paper I pull together theories on intergenerational transfers and social change to inform our understanding of how changes in the educational context influence children's support of their parents. By examining multiple aspects of a couple's educational context, including husbands' and wives' education and exposure to schools, this paper provides new information on the mechanisms through which changes in social context influence children's support of their parents. Using data from a rural Nepalese area I use multilevel logistic regression to estimate the relationship between schooling, exposure to schools, and the likelihood of couples giving to their parents. I find that both schooling and exposure to schools itself have separate, opposite effects on support of aging parents. Higher levels of schooling for husbands was associated with a higher likelihood of having given support to husbands' parents. On the other hand, increased exposure to schools for husbands and wives was associated with a lower likelihood of having given to wives' parents. Findings constitute evidence that multiple motivations for intergenerational support exist simultaneously and are related to social context through different mechanisms.

Supporting School Leaders in Blended Learning with Blended Learning

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Acree, Lauren; Gibson, Theresa; Mangum, Nancy; Wolf, Mary Ann; Kellogg, Shaun; Branon, Suzanne

2017-01-01

This study provides a mixed-methods case-study design evaluation of the Leadership in Blended Learning (LBL) program. The LBL program uses blended approaches, including face-to-face and online, to prepare school leaders to implement blended learning initiatives in their schools. This evaluation found that the program designers effectively…

Towards a leadership programme for primary school principals as instructional leaders

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Parvathy Naidoo

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This study set out to explore primary school principals’ instructional leadership. The study addressed a key issue in the school improvement literature, pertaining to the curriculum leadership of principals. The literature is not entirely clear about which leadership characteristic is more likely to produce the most favourable outcomes in terms of improved learner outcomes, in other words, how the curriculum has been implemented and how leadership in this regard has been effected. The article argues that robust training and development in instructional leadership practices become necessary to support school leaders in this regard. In South Africa, based on numerous reports of poor learner outcomes in schools, we question whether principals possess the necessary skills required to lead and manage curriculum in schools. In this article, the views of five principals, who have completed the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Leadership and Management (ACESLM programme, are examined. Findings indicate that not all principals who participated in the study are fully conversant with their roles and responsibilities as instructional leaders. They mainly interpret their functions to be purely managerial and to be leaders and administrators of schools. Thus, whilst some understanding of instructional leadership was apparent in some of the principals’ responses, it is the authors’ views that ACESLM, as a leadership development programme, needs to be redesigned to include greater focus on instructional leadership.

Chicago Business Leadership and School Reform. Supporting Leaders for Tomorrow, Occasional Paper #3.

Science.gov (United States)

Bednarik, David

Chicago's city leaders, unlike other city leaders, are going after fundamental and radical restructuring of the nation's third largest school system, but have found that it is hard to achieve. This paper provides a snapshot of the growing political involvement of Chicago's business leadership with the city's troubled school system. The need for…

Parents' Perceptions of E-Learning in School Education: Implications for the Partnership between Schools and Parents

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Siu-Cheung

2018-01-01

This study aimed to investigate parents' understanding of, support for and concerns about e-learning and proposed a school-parent partnership distributing responsibilities to parents and schools based on the results of the study. A total of 61 parents from 21 schools in an e-learning pilot scheme in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire survey…

Measuring parent perceptions of school climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Schueler, Beth E; Capotosto, Lauren; Bahena, Sofía; McIntyre, Joseph; Gehlbach, Hunter

2014-03-01

Parents' attitudes about their children's schools matter. Their views can shape their children's attitudes about school, affect their levels of family-school engagement, and influence their residential and school enrollment decisions. In this article, we describe the development of a survey scale to assess parent perceptions of the climate of their child's school. Our comprehensive scale development process incorporated feedback from academics and potential respondents from the outset of the design process to enhance scale quality. We conducted 3 studies with national samples of parents (n = 385; n = 253; n = 266) to gather evidence of scale score reliability and valid score inferences based on convergent and discriminant validity. Through confirmatory factor analysis, we identified a theoretically grounded factor structure that fit the data well but found no evidence that parental response patterns distinguish between academic and social elements of school climate. Furthermore, we found that parents of younger children, on average, had a more positive perception of the school's climate than did parents of older children. We conclude by discussing how researchers and Pre-K-12 schools and districts can use the scale to aid school improvement efforts. 2014 APA

Ethical Dilemmas of Swedish School Leaders: Contrasts and Common Themes

Science.gov (United States)

Norberg, Katarina; Johansson, Olof

2007-01-01

Being a skillful school leader presumes the competence to judge the ethical consequences of actions. This implies a need for all school agents to discover and analyze what values are at stake and, in turn, reconcile didactic rationality with ethical rationality. This article aims to explore ethical dilemmas in daily school practice, experienced…

Determinants of Parent Involvement in Romanian Schools

OpenAIRE

Diana Damean

2010-01-01

The paper is focused on exploring the factors that facilitate parent involvement in their child’s education and school life. A sample of 670 Romanian school principals from the Cross-National Survey of School Principals in South East Europe (SEE) countries 2008 was used. Two-step linear regressions were run in order to predict parent participation in school meetings, parent engagement in school activities and parent influence in school governance, as reported by school principals. The results...

Parent-School Councils in Beijing, China

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Wayne D.; Bjork, Lars G.; Zhao, Yuru; Chi, Bin

2011-01-01

This exploratory study examines how schools in Beijing have responded to a Chinese national policy mandate to establish and maintain parent councils. We surveyed principals and parent council members across schools in the Beijing municipality about the establishment and functions of their schools' parent councils. Survey results provide insights…

Preparing Future Teacher Leaders: Lessons from Exemplary School Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Schrum, Lynne; Levin, Barbara B.

2013-01-01

In this paper, we argue that teachers have an opportunity to take on leadership roles in technology-rich schools and districts. Based on data collected during a year-long project to investigate award-winning schools and districts, we used observations, interviews and focus groups, and document analysis to glean lessons learned from leaders and…

Assessing Acceptability Of Parents/Guardians Of Adolescents ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Assessing Acceptability Of Parents/Guardians Of Adolescents Towards Introduction Of Sex And Reproductive Health Education In Schools At Kinondoni Municipal In Dar ... The preferred source of information about sex education and reproductive health should be from the parents/guardians (86%), religious leaders (70%),

Professionalism, Portfolios and the Development of School Leaders.

Science.gov (United States)

Wildy, Helen; Wallace, John

1998-01-01

Describes how two reforms--portfolio culture and teacher professionalism--converge in a systemwide program for school leaders' professional development. Investigates use of portfolios to help (Australian) principals, deputy principals, and department heads improve their performance and accountability. Participants used portfolios as evidence of…

Determinants of Parent Involvement in Romanian Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Damean

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The paper is focused on exploring the factors that facilitate parent involvement in their child’s education and school life. A sample of 670 Romanian school principals from the Cross-National Survey of School Principals in South East Europe (SEE countries 2008 was used. Two-step linear regressions were run in order to predict parent participation in school meetings, parent engagement in school activities and parent influence in school governance, as reported by school principals. The results indicated that the level of parents’ organizations influence on school governance, school administration, and teaching methods is as important as the school background (size, location, budget, principal’s experience, and shares of vulnerable children.

The "Generacion Diez" after-school program and Latino parent involvement with schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Riggs, Nathaniel R; Medina, Carmen

2005-11-01

The current study examines associations between participation in after-school programs and change in Latino parent involvement with schools. Hierarchical linear regression analyses demonstrated that parents of children who had higher after-school program attendance rates were significantly more likely to report increases in the quality of relationships with their children's teachers, frequency of parent-teacher contact, and engagement with their children's schooling over a two-year period. However, greater home educator contacts were related to decreases in quality and quantity of parent-school involvement. A primary implication is that attendance in school-based after-school programs may draw parents into children's regular-day school context. Editors' Strategic Implications The authors illustrate the promising practice of using after-school programs to promote parent involvement and to help integrate the often disparate family and school contexts for Latino children.

Humor in High School and the Role of Teacher Leaders in School Public Relations

Science.gov (United States)

Kosiczky, Bonnie; Mullen, Carol A.

2013-01-01

How can public schools improve public relations strategies, particularly in communications between teachers and students? The purposes of this study were to investigate teacher leaders' perceptions of the use of humor in the high school classroom and discover how humor might bridge instruction to student learning and strengthen teacher-student…

Predicting Parental Home and School Involvement in High School African American Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, DeMarquis

2011-01-01

Predictors of parental home and school involvement for high school adolescents were examined within two groups of urban African American parents from various socioeconomic levels. Home involvement was defined as parent-adolescent communication about school and learning, while school involvement was defined in terms of parent attendance and…

Positive Education for School Leaders: Exploring the Effects of Emotion-Gratitude and Action-Gratitude

Science.gov (United States)

Waters, Lea; Stokes, Helen

2015-01-01

This qualitative study describes the effect of two gratitude interventions designed to trigger emotion-gratitude (gratitude diary) and action-gratitude (gratitude letter) in school leaders. Case study methodology was applied to analyse reflective journals of 27 school leaders. The gratitude diary served to foster a more balanced view of the…

Adolescent-parent relations in Hong Kong: parenting styles, emotional autonomy, and school achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

McBride-Chang, C; Chang, L

1998-12-01

This 4-phase study of Hong Kong Chinese adolescent-parent relationships (906 adolescents and 1,091 parents) revealed the following: (a) Adolescents and their parents differ in their perceptions of parenting style. (b) Autonomy is negatively associated with parents' perceived authoritative parenting style and school achievement. (c) Neither parenting style nor measures of parents' beliefs in training their children (R. Chao, 1994) are associated with self-reports of school achievement. However, (d) parents of students from the highest (Band 1) academically oriented schools in Hong Kong rated themselves as higher in authoritativeness and lower in authoritarianism than parents of adolescents from the lowest academically oriented (Band 5) schools. Findings are discussed in relation to posited differences in adolescent-parent relationships in Western and Chinese cultures.

Media Leader Tapped to Head New York City Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Samuels, Christina A.

2010-01-01

When Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg sought a leader for the New York City schools in 2002, his outside-the-box choice was Joel I. Klein, a former assistant U.S. attorney general who had no experience as a school administrator. Eight years later, in seeking a replacement for Mr. Klein, Mr. Bloomberg has tapped yet another person from outside education:…

Factors associated with school nurses' HPV vaccine attitudes for school-aged youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosen, Brittany L; DiClemente, Ralph; Shepard, Allie L; Wilson, Kelly L; Fehr, Sara K

2017-06-01

School nurses are at the intersection of the healthcare and school communities, thus, they can be considered opinion leaders in providing health advice - including information about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine - to parents and students. This study examined school nurses' attitudes toward the HPV vaccine based on age, years as a school nurse, geographic location, urban vs. rural work setting, HPV and vaccine knowledge, perception of role as opinion leaders, and school district support in providing health education. Participants (n = 413) were systematically sampled from the National Association of School Nurses' membership and completed a web-based survey. Multiple regression was used to predict positive HPV vaccine attitudes. The model was statistically significant accounting for 50.8% of the variance (F [9, 400] = 45.96, p school nurses' positive attitudes towards HPV vaccine. Despite school nurses being seen as champions for adolescent vaccines, they need additional professional development to increase their HPV vaccine knowledge and attitudes to encourage parents and adolescents to consider the uptake of HPV vaccination. To engage school nurses' in promoting HPV vaccine uptake, interventions need to focus on increasing school nurses' perception of their role as opinion leaders for HPV vaccine and knowledge to increase positive attitudes towards HPV vaccination for youth.

Parental Schooling and Child Development: Learning from Twin Parents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bingley, Paul; Christensen, Kaare; Jensen, Vibeke Myrup

. By differencing within identical twin pair we are able to take heritable endowments transmitted from parent to child into account. For all outcomes OLS is found to be upward biased. Father schooling is found to have no causal effect on infant and early childhood health. Mother schooling increases birth weight...... and the probability of high school completion. For older cohorts, we are able to replicate the findings of Behrman & Rosenzweig (2002) that fathers' schooling has a positive causal effect on child schooling but mothers' does not. However, this is reversed for parents born after 1945, when mothers' schooling has...

A Review of the Empirical Generations at Work Research: Implications for School Leaders and Future Research

Science.gov (United States)

Edge, Karen

2014-01-01

Most schools currently employ three generations of teachers and leaders: Baby Boomers (1946-65), Generation X (1966-80) and Generation Y (1981-2003). However, the implications for school leaders of multi-generational schools remain relatively unexplored. This paper examines the empirical multi-disciplinary generations at work evidence to identify…

Make Time to Recharge: Growth and Renewal Play Key Roles in Sustaining School Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Drago-Severson, Ellie; Blum-DeStefano, Jessica

2015-01-01

Being a school leader in any role is hard, gratifying, and a gift of love. While it can be enormously satisfying to serve students, teachers, families, and school communities, leaders need to refill themselves in order to continue giving to others. This article highlights a learning-oriented model of leadership development and capacity building…

Successful School Turnarounds: Seven Steps for District Leaders. Issue Brief

Science.gov (United States)

Kowal, Julie; Hassel, Emily Ayscue; Hassel, Bryan C.

2009-01-01

President Obama and Secretary Duncan have called upon states, districts, and education leaders to change the lives of millions of children by dramatically improving the nation's 5,000 lowest performing schools. These chronically failing schools will require intensive intervention to turn around performance that has fallen short of expectations for…

Teacher Leadership Capacity-Building: Developing Democratically Accountable Leaders in Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Mullen, Carol A.; Jones, Rahim J.

2008-01-01

Using a qualitative case study approach, the authors explore social justice implications of inservice principals' practices that affect attitudes and empower teachers. If a primary educational goal of progressive schooling is to create and sustain more democratic schools by enabling the growth of teachers as leaders who are responsible for their…

School Mathematics Leaders' Beliefs about Their Role When Participating in a School Mathematics Project

Science.gov (United States)

Sexton, Matt; Downton, Ann

2014-01-01

It is not uncommon in many Australian primary schools for a teaching staff member to undertake the leadership or coordination of mathematics in his or her school. Some research (e.g., Cheeseman & Clarke, 2005) suggests that coordinators and leaders play an important role in the leadership and management of mathematics teaching and learning in…

Impact of parenting practices on adolescent achievement: authoritative parenting, school involvement, and encouragement to succeed.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, L; Lamborn, S D; Dornbusch, S M; Darling, N

1992-10-01

This article examines the impact of authoritative parenting, parental involvement in schooling, and parental encouragement to succeed on adolescent school achievement in an ethnically and socio-economically heterogeneous sample of approximately 6,400 American 14-18-year-olds. Adolescents reported in 1987 on their parents' general child-rearing practices and on their parents' achievement-specific socialization behaviors. In 1987, and again in 1988, data were collected on several aspects of the adolescents' school performance and school engagement. Authoritative parenting (high acceptance, supervision, and psychological autonomy granting) leads to better adolescent school performance and stronger school engagement. The positive impact of authoritative parenting on adolescent achievement, however, is mediated by the positive effect of authoritativeness on parental involvement in schooling. In addition, nonauthoritativeness attenuates the beneficial impact of parental involvement in schooling on adolescents achievement. Parental involvement is much more likely to promote adolescent school success when it occurs in the context of an authoritative home environment.

Parental Schooling and Child Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bingley, Paul; Christensen, Kaare; Jensen, Vibeke Myrup

. By differencing within identical twin pair we are able to take heritable endowments transmitted from parent to child into account. For all outcomes OLS is found to be upward biased. Father schooling is found to have no causal effect on infant and early childhood health. Mother schooling increases birth weight...... and the probability of high school completion. For older cohorts, we are able to replicate the findings of Behrman & Rosenzweig (2002) that fathers’ schooling has a positive causal effect on child schooling but mothers’ does not. However, this is reversed for parents born after 1945, when mothers’ schooling has...

Parents' Perspectives of School Mental Health Promotion Initiatives Are Related to Parents' Self-Assessed Parenting Capabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Askell-Williams, Helen

2016-01-01

Achieving broad-scale parent engagement with school initiatives has proven elusive. This article reports survey data from 287 Maltese parents about their perceptions of the quality of their child's school's initiatives for promoting students' wellbeing and mental health. Findings indicate that, on average, parents rated school initiatives highly.…

Elementary Mathematics Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Fennell, Francis; Kobett, Beth McCord; Wray, Jonathan A.

2013-01-01

Elementary school mathematics leaders often come to the realization that their position, however titled and determined, although dedicated to addressing needs in math teaching and learning, also entails and directly involves leadership. Elementary school math specialists/instructional leaders (referenced here as elementary mathematics leaders, or…

School Leaders and Community: Research and a Plan for Collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Patricia W.; Karr-Kidwell, PJ

Parental and community involvement in Title I schools is limited by occurrence and the absence of positive motivation. When parents are involved in the life of a school, children receive the message that education is important and the school is a vital commodity. With this involvement, a culture is developed that encompasses the children,…

"As a Parent You Become a Tiger": Parents Talking about Bullying at School.

Science.gov (United States)

Hale, Rebecca; Fox, Claire L; Murray, Michael

2017-01-01

Bullying at school can be a distressing experience for children. It is also likely to be distressing for their parents. In spite of this, research in the field of school bullying and peer victimisation has tended to overlook the experience of parents when their child is bullied. This study explored school bullying from the parent's perspective. Twenty-one parents took part in semi-structured focus groups and interviews to share their experiences. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts identified two main themes: 'perceived institutional factors' and 'being a good parent'. It was found that parents viewed their principal role as protecting their child; they referred to this as an instinct and fundamental to them being a good parent. However, during their attempts to help their child, many parents talked about difficulties working with schools and this triggered frustration and distrust towards teachers. The findings highlight the importance of communication between parents and teachers and ensuring that parents are kept informed of progress when teachers are trying to address the problem. Additionally, the findings indicate that parents may hold different views to teachers about their role in school bullying situations. This would suggest that parents looking at the situation from the teacher's perspective, and vice versa, could help to build better parent-teacher relationships when tackling school bullying.

Promoting Educational Resiliency in Youth with Incarcerated Parents: The Impact of Parental Incarceration, School Characteristics, and Connectedness on School Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, Emily B; Loper, Ann B; Meyer, J Patrick

2016-06-01

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and as a result, one of the largest populations of incarcerated parents. Growing evidence suggests that the incarceration of a parent may be associated with a number of risk factors in adolescence, including school drop out. Taking a developmental ecological approach, this study used multilevel modeling to examine the association of parental incarceration on truancy, academic achievement, and lifetime educational attainment using the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (48.3 % female; 46 % minority status). Individual characteristics, such as school and family connectedness, and school characteristics, such as school size and mental health services, were examined to determine whether they significantly reduced the risk associated with parental incarceration. Our results revealed small but significant risks associated with parental incarceration for all outcomes, above and beyond individual and school level characteristics. Family and school connectedness were identified as potential compensatory factors, regardless of parental incarceration history, for academic achievement and truancy. School connectedness did not reduce the risk associated with parental incarceration when examining highest level of education. This study describes the school related risks associated with parental incarceration, while revealing potential areas for school-based prevention and intervention for adolescents.

Parents and School

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ria Vogels

2002-01-01

Original title: Ouders bij de les. The government is increasingly withdrawing from playing a foreground role in primary and secondary education, transferring competences to local authorities, school boards and school management. Parents are also assigned a role in this process, based on

Effective School Leaders. Q&A with Eric A. Hanushek, Ph.D. REL Mid-Atlantic Teacher Effectiveness Webinar Series

Science.gov (United States)

Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic, 2014

2014-01-01

This webinar on effective school leaders discussed the important relationship between a school's socio-economic status, school leadership, and teacher turnover rate. Participants explored the major role of school leaders in fostering teacher effectiveness and discussed strategies they can use at the local level to increase school leader…

Calibrating One's Moral Compass: How Principal Preparation Shapes School Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, Donald E.; Derrington, Mary Lynne

2012-01-01

No textbook that an aspiring principal encounters in preparing for the role of school leader discusses what steps to follow when a member--or members--of the school staff challenge standards of professional judgment and moral rectitude. Instead, the most reliable guide at the principal's disposal may be the "moral compass" upon which the…

School Autonomy and Government Control: School Leaders' Views on a Changing Policy Landscape in England

Science.gov (United States)

Higham, Rob; Earley, Peter

2013-01-01

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government elected in 2010 has argued contemporary reform will increase the autonomy of schools in England. Given the complexities that exist, however, in the balance between autonomy and control, we explore how school leaders view autonomy as it exists within the wider policy framework. The article…

Strong One Lasting One: An Elementary School Principal's Ability to Establish a Positive School Culture by Building Trust

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Goldy, III.

2015-01-01

Trust is a key element in improving learning and teaching. Reviewing research on the topic of establishing trust by school leaders illuminates actions needed to make a positive difference in the culture of a school. Using the concept of mindfulness, the instructional leader was able to regain the trust of the community, parents, faculty, and…

School climate: perceptual differences between students, parents, and school staff

Science.gov (United States)

Ramsey, Christine M.; Spira, Adam P.; Parisi, Jeanine M.; Rebok, George W.

2016-01-01

Research suggests that school climate can have a great impact on student, teacher, and school outcomes. However, it is often assessed as a summary measure, without taking into account multiple perspectives (student, teacher, parent) or examining subdimensions within the broader construct. In this study, we assessed school climate from the perspective of students, staff, and parents within a large, urban school district using multilevel modeling techniques to examine within- and between-school variance. After adjusting for school-level demographic characteristics, students reported worse perceptions of safety and connectedness compared to both parent and staff ratings (all p climate ratings within a school. Understanding how perceptions differ between informants can inform interventions to improve perceptions and prevent adverse outcomes. PMID:28642631

School Leaders' Use of Twitter to To Engage the School Community

Science.gov (United States)

Suzzan, Sheri Lustig

2017-01-01

Social media and the ways in which educational leaders choose to utilize it their schools is at the forefront of professional development throughout numerous districts across Long Island and nationwide. While many districts have incorporated various models of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram into their standard communication…

Managing Conflict: 50 Strategies for School Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Edmonson, Stacey; Combs, Julie; Harris, Sandra

2008-01-01

This book offers 50 easy-to-read strategies for managing conflicts in your school involving students, parents, and teachers. Individually, these strategies provide specific insights into conflict resolution, reduction, and management. As a whole, the 50 strategies provide a comprehensive method to lead constructive change in your school. With…

Parenting practices and school dropout: a longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Blondal, Kristjana S; Adalbjarnardottir, Sigrun

2009-01-01

Adolescents' perceptions of parenting style and parental involvement in their education were examined longitudinally and related to school dropout among Icelandic youth (N = 427). Results indicated that adolescents who, at age 14, characterized their parents as authoritative (showing acceptance and supervision) were more likely to have completed upper secondary school by age 22 than adolescents from non-authoritative families, controlling for adolescents' gender, socioeconomic status (SES), temperament, and parental involvement. Parenting style seems to more strongly predict school dropout than parental involvement. Further, parenting style may moderate the relationship between parental involvement and dropout, but not in all groups; only in authoritative families does parental involvement decrease the likelihood of school dropout. Furthermore, even after controlling for previous academic achievement, adolescents from authoritative families were less likely to drop out than adolescents from authoritarian and neglectful families. These findings emphasize the importance of encouraging quality parent-child relationships in order to reduce the likelihood of school dropout.

Successful After-School Physical Activity Clubs in Urban High Schools: Perspectives of Adult Leaders and Student Participants

Science.gov (United States)

Garn, Alex C.; McCaughtry, Nate; Kulik, Noel L.; Kaseta, Michele; Maljak, Kim; Whalen, Laurel; Shen, Bo; Martin, Jeffrey J.; Fahlman, Mariane

2014-01-01

Grounded in social cognitive theory, the purpose of this study was to examine leaders' and students' perspectives of factors that contribute to effective voluntary after-school physical activity clubs. Data were collected over two-years via field observations (n= 115) and interviews with students (n= 278) and adult leaders (n= 126). Results…

Applying Standards for Leaders to the Selection of Secondary School Principals

Science.gov (United States)

Wildy, Helen; Pepper, Coral; Guanzhong, Luo

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report innovative research aimed at ascertaining whether standards for school leaders could be applied to the process of selecting senior secondary school principals for appointment. Specifically, psychometrically robust measures of performance are sought that would sufficiently differentiate performance to…

Experiences and Challenges of Evidence Leaders ("Prosecutors" in Learner Disciplinary Hearings in Public Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony Smith

2015-12-01

Full Text Available After the abolition of corporal punishment at schools, teachers have been faced with an increase in unacceptable learner behaviour and threatening situations in their classrooms. An urgent need arose to address learner discipline in innovative ways. Disciplinary hearings that deal with cases of serious misconduct represent a shift away from authoritarian control towards a corrective and restorative approach. This article presents views of educators that had acted as evidence leaders (“ELs” at disciplinary hearings. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews in a district of the Gauteng Education Department. AtlasTi software was utilised to analyse the verbatim interview transcriptions. Educators that usually served as evidence leaders (“prosecutors”, but had not been trained in law, experienced problems in conducting quasi-judicial functions without proper support and training. ELs regularly experience animosity from parents and learners; are frustrated by the unwillingness and failure of the provincial education departments to act in accordance with an SGB recommendation. Disciplinary hearings are time-consuming and lawyers representing learners complicate rather than facilitate the process. These weaknesses jeopardise the efficacy and fairness of the process and may ultimately defeat the purpose of a disciplinary hearing.

A School for Parents: An Innovation in an Elementary School.

Science.gov (United States)

Nash, Edna M.

1979-01-01

This paper describes the preparation, planning, and operation of a parent education project in an elementary school in British Columbia, based on Adlerian theory and practice. Reported benefits to the school and families support the appropriateness of school-based parent education, and the need for trained counselors to facilitate it. (Author)

Problem-Solving Tools and Tips for School Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

West, Cathie E.

2011-01-01

In this book, award-winning educator Cathie West teaches readers how to confidently prepare for and respond to the challenges that come with being a school leader. Derived from professional experience and extensive research, the strategies can be put to work exactly as described or adapted to fit the unique situations that educators face in their…

Parental Divorce and Children's Schooling in Rural Malawi.

Science.gov (United States)

Chae, Sophia

2016-12-01

A growing body of literature has examined the impact of different types of family structures on children's schooling in sub-Saharan Africa. These studies have investigated how living arrangements, gender of the household head, parental death, and paternal migration are related to schooling. Although many sub-Saharan African countries have high divorce rates, very few studies have explored the impact of parental divorce on children's schooling. The present study uses three waves of data from the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH) to investigate the effect of parental divorce on children's schooling and the possible mechanisms driving this relationship. Unlike prior studies, this study uses child-level fixed-effects models to control for selection into divorce. Results show that parental divorce is associated with lower grade attainment and a larger schooling gap, defined as the number of years a child is behind in school (among children currently attending school). Although no association exists between parental divorce and current school attendance, girls affected by divorce are significantly less likely to be attending school. Differences in economic resources, maternal coresidence, or maternal psychological well-being do not explain the relationship between parental divorce and children's schooling.

Synergy among School and District Leaders in the Application of Quality Standards in Kuwaiti Public Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Aldaihani, Sultan Ghaleb

2017-01-01

This study sought to identify existing levels of synergy, or cooperation and compatibility, among school and district leaders and the impact of synergy on standards of quality in Kuwaiti schools. The researcher employed a qualitative methodology based on interviews with principals and administrators representing the six educational districts in…

Can We Teach Parenting in Our Schools?

Science.gov (United States)

Noddings, Nel

2014-01-01

The quality of parenting is a crucial factor in children's school success, and yet the schools teach almost nothing about parenting. This essay suggests ways in which we can teach about parenting without risking indoctrination or adding special courses.

Principals as Leaders of School and Community Revitalization: A Phenomenological Study of Three Urban Schools in Morocco

Science.gov (United States)

Elmeski, Mohammed

2015-01-01

This article explores leadership of place in the context of three urban middle schools in Morocco. School reform means that principals are changing from agents of authority to leaders with school improvement responsibilities. This shift in mission can be stressful for principals who are called to lead, but are often constrained by bureaucratic and…

Training School Leaders Who Will Promote Educational Justice: What, Why, and How?

Science.gov (United States)

Lalas, Jose W.; Morgan, Ronald D.

2006-01-01

This article examines social justice as a vehicle for equity for all children. It focuses on the training of school leaders who can promote democratic schools and address inequality in K-12 schools. It outlines the needs assessment, consensus building, curriculum, and faculty voice in establishing a doctorate in educational justice. (Contains 1…

Overcoming Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence: A Guide for School Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Schumacher, Donald; J. Allen

2006-01-01

This clear, authoritative overview by an educator and a physician helps principals navigate their way through the many contradictory recommendations confronting them. The authors provide a targeted discussion of the "do's," "don'ts," and "can'ts" that school leaders need to know when creating and implementing new school policies for wellness,…

Recognizing Community Voice and a Youth-Led School-Community Partnership in the School Climate Improvement Process

Science.gov (United States)

Ice, Megan; Thapa, Amrit; Cohen, Jonathan

2015-01-01

A growing body of school improvement research suggests that engaging all members of the school community, including community members and leaders, provides an essential foundation to successful school improvement efforts. School climate surveys to date tend to recognize student, parent/guardian, and school personnel voice but not the voice of…

Parent Involvement: Perceptions of Recent Immigrant Parents in a Suburban School District, Minnesota

Science.gov (United States)

Nam, Bu-Hyun; Park, Duk-Byeong

2014-01-01

The study aimed to examine the perceptions of immigrant parents regarding their school's efforts to encourage three types of parent involvement: Parenting, Communicating, and Learning at Home. The sample includes 106 immigrant parents with children who were enrolled in English Language Learners programmes at 10 schools in a suburban school…

Challenges of Virtual School Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Jayson W.; LaFrance, Jason; Beck, Dennis

2015-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to examine challenges faced by virtual school leaders in the United States. Through semistructured interviews, the researchers explored challenges faced by eighteen leaders of fully online or blended online programs. Analysis revealed six main challenges: funding, staff, accountability, time, parents, and…

“As a parent, you become a tiger”: Parents talking about bullying at school

OpenAIRE

Hale, R; Fox, CL; Murray, MP

2017-01-01

Bullying at school can be a distressing experience for children. It is also likely to be distressing for their parents. In spite of this, research in the field of school bullying and peer victimisation has tended to overlook the experience of parents when their child is bullied. This study explored school bullying from the parent?s perspective. Twenty-one parents took part in semi-structured focus groups and interviews to share their experiences. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts...

Development of the Parent Responses to School Functioning Questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Barber Garcia, Brittany N; Gray, Laura S; Simons, Laura E; Logan, Deirdre E

2017-10-01

Parents play an important role in supporting school functioning in youth with chronic pain, but no validated tools exists to assess parental responses to child and adolescent pain behaviors in the school context. Such a tool would be useful in identifying targets of change to reduce pain-related school impairment. The goal of this study was to develop and preliminarily validate the Parent Responses to School Functioning Questionnaire (PRSF), a parent self-report measure of this construct. After initial expert review and pilot testing, the measure was administered to 418 parents of children (ages 6-17 years) seen for initial multidisciplinary chronic pain clinic evaluation. The final 16-item PRSF showed evidence of good internal consistency (α = .82) and 2-week test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = .87). Criterion validity was demonstrated by significant correlations with school absence rates and overall school functioning, and construct validity was demonstrated by correlations with general parental responses to pain. Three subscales emerged capturing parents' personal distress, parents' level of distrust of the school, and parents' expectations and behaviors related to their child's management of challenging school situations. These results provide preliminary support for the PRSF as a psychometrically sound tool to assess parents' responses to child pain in the school setting. The 16-item PRSF measures parental responses to their child's chronic pain in the school context. The clinically useful measure can inform interventions aimed reducing functional disability in children with chronic pain by enhancing parents' ability to respond adaptively to child pain behaviors. Copyright © 2017 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Urban School Principals and Their Role as Multicultural Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Gardiner, Mary E.; Enomoto, Ernestine K.

2006-01-01

This study focuses on the role of urban school principals as multicultural leaders. Using cross-case analysis, the authors describe what 6 practicing principals do in regard to multicultural leadership. The findings suggest that although multicultural preparation was lacking for these principals, some did engage in work that promoted diversity in…

Experiences of Leaders in One Texas School District Integrating Social Media as a Communication Medium: Bounded Phenomenological Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Bradley D.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this bounded phenomenological case study was to investigate the experiences of leaders in one Texas school district integrating social media into communication practices. The participants in this study were twelve campus leaders, four district level leaders, and the superintendent of schools. The focus groups consisted of three…

Parents and Students and Healthy Indoor School Environments

Science.gov (United States)

School-aged children spend a great deal of time inside school buildings. Parents can play an important role in creating healthy indoor school environments. Parents and students alike can make a powerful case for protecting health in schools.

Measuring Parenting Practices among Parents of Elementary School-Age Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Randolph, Karen A.; Radey, Melissa

2011-01-01

Objectives: The objective of this study is to establish the factor structure of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), an instrument designed to measure parenting practices among parents of elementary school children. Methods: Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) procedures are used to validate the APQ with 790 parents of…

School Mathematics Leaders' Perceptions of Successes and Challenges of Their Leadership Role within a Mathematics Improvement Project

Science.gov (United States)

Sexton, Matt; Downton, Ann

2014-01-01

The mathematics curriculum leader plays an important role in leading the mathematics curriculum in primary schools. They experience successes and face challenges associated with this leadership role. The perceptions that 25 mathematics leaders held about the successes and challenges they experienced whilst participating in a school mathematics…

Plurality or Linearity: What Is the Experience of Emerging as a School Leader in the English Context?

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Alison

2016-01-01

This study in an English context focused on the development of teachers identified as "emergent" school leaders. It explored the aspirations and experiences of such leaders, applying a sociocultural view of identity development. Five participants from across school phases, backgrounds and ages were interviewed and generated participant…

The Attitudes of Mexican Parents Toward School Discipline

Science.gov (United States)

Ogletree, Earl J.; Rodriquez, Margarita

1978-01-01

Surveys the attitudes of Mexican parents toward school discipline of primary-level children in terms of the following questions: 1) will parents accept the use of corporal punishment in schools?, 2) what form of disciplinary measure will they accept or recommend?, 3) if parents accept corporal punishment, who will be the school disciplinarian, and…

Parent-school relationships and children's academic and social outcomes in public school pre-kindergarten.

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Douglas R; Son, Seung-Hee; File, Nancy; San Juan, Robert R

2010-08-01

Two dimensions of parent-school relationships, parental school involvement and parents' perceptions of teacher responsiveness to child/parent, were examined in state-funded pre-kindergarten classrooms in a large urban school district. Children's social and academic outcomes were individually assessed in the fall and spring. Hierarchical Linear Modeling analyses revealed that parental school involvement positively predicted children's social skills (d=.55) and mathematics skills (d=.36), and negatively predicted problem behaviors (d=.47). Perceived teacher responsiveness to child/parent was positively related to children's early reading (d=.43), and social skills (d=.43), and negatively to problem behaviors (d=.61). All analyses controlled for quality of teacher interaction with children in the classroom, parental home involvement, parental education level, and child race/ethnicity. Copyright 2010 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parent Interest in a School-Based, School Nurse-Led Weight Management Program

Science.gov (United States)

Kubik, Martha Y.; Lee, Jiwoo

2014-01-01

Because one in three children is already overweight or obese, school-based interventions targeting secondary obesity prevention merit consideration. This study assessed parent interest in participating in a school-based, school nurse-led weight management program for young school-aged children. A random sample of parents ("n" = 122) of…

Turkish Parents' Perceptions of Their Involvement in Schooling

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Erdener, Mehmet Akif

2013-01-01

Parent involvement has an influence on children's educational engagement during the elementary years. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of rural Turkish parents about their involvement in schooling with elementary school students based on Epstein's (1995) six types of parental involvement (parenting, communicating,…

Parents' Perceptions of Their Involvement in Schooling

Science.gov (United States)

Erdener, Mehmet Akif; Knoeppel, Robert C.

2018-01-01

Parent involvement has an influence on children's educational engagement during the elementary years. The objective of this study was to examine the perceptions of rural Turkish parents about their involvement in schooling with elementary school students based on Epstein's (1995) six types of parental involvement (parenting, communicating,…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues in dental school environments: dental student leaders' perceptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Joan I; Patterson, April N; Temple, Henry J; Inglehart, Marita Rohr

2009-01-01

The objectives of the study reported in this article were to assess dental student leaders' perceptions of educational efforts concerning lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) topics and the cultural climate concerning LGBT issues in dental schools in the United States and Canada. In addition, the perceptions of student leaders who self-identified as belonging to the LGBT community and of students with a heterosexual orientation were compared. Data were collected from 113 dental student leaders from twenty-seven dental schools in the United States and three in Canada. Fifty student leaders were females, and sixty-two were males. Only 13.3 percent of the respondents agreed that their dental education prepared them well to treat patients from LGBT backgrounds. The more the student leaders believed that their university has an honest interest in diversity, the better they felt prepared by their dental school program to treat patients from LGBT backgrounds (r=.327; pschools' administrations create a positive environment for students with LGBT orientations, the more they agreed that persons can feel comfortable regardless of their sexual orientation (r=.585; pschool administrators play an important role in ensuring that future care providers are well prepared to treat patients from LGBT backgrounds and that staff, faculty, students, and patients from these backgrounds are not discriminated against.

Pension-Induced Rigidities in the Labor Market for School Leaders. Working Paper 67

Science.gov (United States)

Koedel, Cory; Grissom, Jason A.; Ni, Shawn; Podgursky, Michael

2012-01-01

Educators in public schools in the United States are typically enrolled in defined-benefit pension plans, which penalize across-plan mobility. We use administrative data from Missouri to examine how the mobility penalties affect the labor market for school leaders, and show that pension borders greatly reduce leadership flows across schools. Our…

Conflict Management and Resolution Strategies between Teachers and School Leaders in Primary Schools of Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Shanka, Engdawork Birhanu; Thuo, Mary

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate various strategies used to manage and resolve conflict between teachers and school leaders in government primary schools of Wolaita zone. The study employed a descriptive survey design where both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to correct and analyze data, concurrently. From six…

Using Leader-Member Exchange Theory to Examine Principal-School Counselor Relationships, School Counselors' Roles, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intentions

Science.gov (United States)

Clemens, Elysia V.; Milsom, Amy; Cashwell, Craig S.

2009-01-01

Principals have considerable influence on shaping the role of school counselors with whom they work (Amatea & Clark, 2005; Dollarhide, Smith, & Lemberger, 2007; Ponec & Brock, 2000). Researchers used leader-member exchange theory (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995) to examine the relevance of principal-school counselor relationships to school counselors'…

Benefits and Challenges of Technology in High Schools: A Voice from Educational Leaders with a Freire Echo

Science.gov (United States)

Preston, Jane P.; Wiebe, Sean; Gabriel, Martha; McAuley, Alexander; Campbell, Barbara; MacDonald, Ron

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to document the perceptions of school leaders pertaining to the benefits and challenges of technology in high schools located on Prince Edward Island (PEI) (Canada). For this qualitative study, we interviewed 11 educational leaders representing the PEI Department of Education, principals, vice-principals, and…

The Path Forward: School Autonomy and Its Implications for the Future of Boston's Public Schools. Understanding Boston

Science.gov (United States)

French, Dan; Hawley Miles, Karen; Nathan, Linda

2014-01-01

Boston Public Schools is at a crossroads. Nearly one-third of the system's schools operate under one of several "autonomy" structures, where school leaders have increased flexibility regarding staffing and other resources, and choice data indicate parents are far more likely to prefer these schools over so-called "traditional"…

School-Based Health Promotion Intervention: Parent and School Staff Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Patino-Fernandez, Anna M.; Hernandez, Jennifer; Villa, Manuela; Delamater, Alan

2013-01-01

Background: The prevalence of childhood obesity is high, particularly among minority youth. The objective of this article was to evaluate parent and school staff perspectives of childhood health and weight qualitatively to guide the development of a school-based obesity prevention program for minority youth. Methods: Hispanic parents (N?=?9) of…

Perceptions of Elementary School Children's Parents Regarding Sexuality Education

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Christine M.; Telljohann, Susan K.; Price, James H.; Dake, Joseph A.; Glassman, Tavis

2015-01-01

This study examined the preferences of parents of elementary school-aged children regarding when sexuality topics should be discussed in school and at home. The survey was mailed to a national random sample of parents of elementary school age children. Overall, 92% of parents believed that sexuality education should be taught in schools.…

Why Trust the Head? Key Practices for Transformational School Leaders to Build a Purposeful Relationship of Trust

Science.gov (United States)

Browning, Paul

2014-01-01

Trust is widely recognized as one of the key qualities that a successful leader needs to bring about change within his/her organization. Literature has also shown that trust plays a pivotal role in effective school leadership. However, little research has been undertaken to identify specific actions of a transformational school leader enabling…

Perceptions of School Heads on Parents? Involvement on the Zimbabwean Primary Schools

OpenAIRE

THEMBINKOSI TSHABALALA

2013-01-01

The involvement of parents in Zimbabwean schools is governed by Statutory Instrument 87 of 1992 (SI87) for non-government schools and Statutory Instrument 379 of 1998 (SI379) (Bowora and Mpofu, 1998) for government schools. Non-government schools are run by School Development Committees (SDCs) and government schools are run by School Development Associations (SDAs). It is argued that comprehensive parent involvement is a pre-requisite for improving the culture of teaching and learning in scho...

How are Leaders Integrating the Ideology of Globalisation in Primary School Contexts?

Science.gov (United States)

Mistry, Malini; Sood, Krishan

2013-01-01

This study carried out research focusing on diverse learners, such as pupils who have English as additional language (EAL) in primary schools in the Midlands, England. Essentially, we wanted to know how they are supported to become global learners. Therefore, questions were posed to school leaders on their understanding of the concept of…

Maternal Parenting Styles, School Involvement, and Children's School Achievement and Conduct in Singapore

Science.gov (United States)

Stright, Anne Dopkins; Yeo, Kim Lian

2014-01-01

This study examined the roles of children's perceptions of maternal parenting styles (warmth, psychological control, and behavioral control) and maternal involvement in school-focused parenting practices (home-based involvement, home-school conferencing, and school-based involvement) predicting children's school achievement and conduct in…

The Quest for Strategic Malaysian Quality National Primary School Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Hairuddin Mohd

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nine-point strategic leadership characteristics of Malaysian Quality National Primary School Leaders (QNPSL) and to indicate the implications of these findings for the current educational management and leadership practices in their quest for Malaysian quality education.…

Leaders of the profession and 'professional' leaders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bøje, Jakob Ditlev; Frederiksen, Lars Frode

of the professional complex according to a Parsonian perspective) and a more distinct leader identity associated with business, management, and accountancy. We will attempt to go beyond some of the manifest expectations of school leaders, including expectations of their training programmes, and show how being...

Parents' and providers' attitudes toward school-located provision and school-entry requirements for HPV vaccines.

Science.gov (United States)

Vercruysse, Jessica; Chigurupati, Nagasudha L; Fung, Leslie; Apte, Gauri; Pierre-Joseph, Natalie; Perkins, Rebecca B

2016-06-02

To determine parents' and providers' attitudes toward school-located provision and school-entry requirements for HPV vaccination. Parents/guardians of 11-17 y old girls and pediatric healthcare providers at one inner-city public clinic and three private practices completed semi-structured interviews in 2012-2013. Participants were asked open-ended questions regarding their attitudes toward school-located provision and school-entry requirements for HPV vaccination. Parents' answers were analyzed with relationship to whether their daughters had not initiated, initiated but not completed, or completed the HPV vaccine series. Qualitative analysis was used to identify themes related to shared views. 129 parents/guardians and 34 providers participated. 61% of parents supported providing HPV vaccinations in schools, citing reasons of convenience, improved access, and positive peer pressure. Those who opposed school-located provision raised concerns related to privacy and the capacity of school nurses to manage vaccine-related reactions. Parents whose daughters had not completed the series were more likely to intend to vaccinate their daughters in schools (70%) and support requirements (64%) than parents who had not initiated vaccination (42% would vaccinate at school, 46% support requirements) or completed the series (42% would vaccinate at school, 32% support requirements; p parents whose children have not completed the series, indicating that this venue might be a valuable addition to improve completion rates. Support for school-entry requirements was limited among both parents and healthcare providers.

Parental Divorce and Children’s Schooling in Rural Malawi

Science.gov (United States)

Chae, Sophia

2016-01-01

A growing body of literature has examined the impact of different types of family structures on children’s schooling in sub-Saharan Africa. These studies have investigated how living arrangements, gender of the household head, parental death, and paternal migration are related to schooling. Although many sub-Saharan African countries have high divorce rates, very few studies have explored the impact of parental divorce on children’s schooling. The present study uses three waves of data from the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH) to investigate the effect of parental divorce on children’s schooling and the possible mechanisms driving this relationship. Unlike prior studies, this study uses child-level fixed-effects models to control for selection into divorce. Results show that parental divorce is associated with lower grade attainment and a larger schooling gap, defined as the number of years a child is behind in school (among children currently attending school). Although no association exists between parental divorce and current school attendance, girls affected by divorce are significantly less likely to be attending school. Differences in economic resources, maternal coresidence, or maternal psychological well-being do not explain the relationship between parental divorce and children’s schooling. PMID:27822897

School-based influenza vaccination: parents' perspectives.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Candace Lind

Full Text Available School-age children are important drivers of annual influenza epidemics yet influenza vaccination coverage of this population is low despite universal publicly funded influenza vaccination in Alberta, Canada. Immunizing children at school may potentially increase vaccine uptake. As parents are a key stakeholder group for such a program, it is important to consider their concerns.We explored parents' perspectives on the acceptability of adding an annual influenza immunization to the immunization program that is currently delivered in Alberta schools, and obtained suggestions for structuring such a program.Forty-eight parents of children aged 5-18 years participated in 9 focus groups. Participants lived in urban areas of the Alberta Health Services Calgary Zone.Three major themes emerged: Advantages of school-based influenza vaccination (SBIV, Disadvantages of SBIV, and Implications for program design & delivery. Advantages were perceived to occur for different populations: children (e.g. emotional support, families (e.g. convenience, the community (e.g. benefits for school and multicultural communities, the health sector (e.g. reductions in costs due to burden of illness and to society at large (e.g. indirect conduit of information about health services, building structure for pandemic preparedness, building healthy lifestyles. Disadvantages, however, might also occur for children (e.g. older children less likely to be immunized, families (e.g. communication challenges, perceived loss of parental control over information, choices and decisions and the education sector (loss of instructional time. Nine second-level themes emerged within the major theme of Implications for program design & delivery: program goals/objectives, consent process, stakeholder consultation, age-appropriate program, education, communication, logistics, immunizing agent, and clinic process.Parents perceived advantages and disadvantages to delivering annual seasonal

Arab Parents' Involvement in School Reform in Israel

Science.gov (United States)

Arar, Khalid; Abu-Asbah, Khaled; Nasra, Muhammed Abu

2014-01-01

Current research indicates that parental involvement positively influences children's academic success. This study investigates parental involvement in the Arab education system in Israel, highlighting involvement in the New Horizon reform. We interviewed school principals and parent committee chairpersons from 15 Arab schools. The study confirmed…

Exploring the Space between: Social Networks, Trust, and Urban School District Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Daly, Alan J.; Finnigan, Kara S.

2012-01-01

A number of scholars are exploring the district context in which schools are embedded. These studies suggest the importance of the district office as a support or constraint to the work of schools and offer strategies for building relations between district and site leaders. While this is an important task, what is frequently overlooked is that…

The experience of parents implementing authoritarian parenting for their school-age children.

Science.gov (United States)

Benga Olla, Marice; Catharina Daulima, Novy Helena; Eka Putri, Yossie Susanti

2018-02-01

To explore families' experiences who use an authoritarian parenting style in caring for school-age children. This was a qualitative study employing a phenomenological approach. The sampling method was to interview parents of school-age children living in the Central Maluku district in Indonesia. The findings of this study generated the following themes: (1) parents strictly controlled their children to achieve the parental values and expectations, (2) children failed to meet the parental values and expectations, and (3) problems experienced by the children were the results of the parenting style. This study suggested nursing professionals provide adequate information for parents with respect to parenting styles that may facilitate the optimal growth and development of the children. Future studies pertinent to cultural factors associated with authoritarian parenting were also suggested to better understand the cultural context of this parenting style. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Parents' Expectations of High Schools in Firearm Violence Prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Payton, Erica; Khubchandani, Jagdish; Thompson, Amy; Price, James H

2017-12-01

Firearm violence remains a significant problem in the US (with 2787 adolescents killed in 2015). However, the research on school firearm violence prevention practices and policies is scant. Parents are major stakeholders in relation to firearm violence by youths and school safety in general. The purpose of this study was to examine what parents thought schools should be doing to reduce the risk of firearm violence in schools. A valid and reliable questionnaire was mailed to a national random sample of 600 parents who had at least one child enrolled in a public secondary school (response rate = 47%). Parents perceived inadequate parental monitoring/rearing practices (73%), peer harassment and/or bullying (58%), inadequate mental health care services for youth (54%), and easy access to guns (51%) as major causes of firearm violence in schools. The school policies perceived to be most effective in reducing firearm violence were installing an alert system in schools (70%), working with law enforcement to design an emergency response plan (70%), creating a comprehensive security plan (68%), requiring criminal background checks for all school personnel prior to hiring (67%), and implementing an anonymous system for students to report peer concerns regarding potential violence (67%). Parents seem to have a limited grasp of potentially effective interventions to reduce firearm violence.

Why and How Do Parents Decide to Send Their Children to the Interdistrict School Choice Program at the Magnet Program for Math and Science

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, Kevin S.

The New Jersey Interdistrict School Choice Program allows parents to send their students to schools outside of their local school district. Determining why parents send their students to choice schools is important to school leaders who are trying to attract new students, as well as those who are trying to retain their current students. This study examined the reasons why parents decided to send their students to the Magnet Program for Math and Science (MP4M&S), a school choice program in a suburban school district in northwest New Jersey, during the 2015- 2016 school year. A large volume of research has focused on school choice programs in urban and poor communities. This study addressed the gap in the research by focusing on an affluent suburban school district. This mixed methods study focused on three areas, why parents choose to send their students to the MP4M&S, what criteria they used to make their decision, and where they got their information. Research shows that these three areas of focus can be influenced by parental level of education, socioeconomic status, geographic location, academic rigor, school quality, and school environment. Parents from different groups, based upon their out-of-district status, were interviewed. The information from the interviews was used to focus a survey that was given to the families of all 137 students in the MP4M&S during the 2015-2016 school year. The results of this study show that parents found the academic focus, academic rigor, the school environment, the original research project, the activity offerings, and the economics involved in attending the program to be important attractors. The study also found that the Information Nights, the school website, and interactions with members of the MP4M&S community to be important sources of information. Finally, the study found that there were few differences between in and out-of-district parents when assigning importance to both the attractors and the sources in the study

School Uniforms: Guidelines for Principals.

Science.gov (United States)

Essex, Nathan L.

2001-01-01

Principals desiring to develop a school-uniform policy should involve parents, teachers, community leaders, and student representatives; beware restrictions on religious and political expression; provide flexibility and assistance for low-income families; implement a pilot program; align the policy with school-safety issues; and consider legal…

Parent Involvement Practices of High-Achieving Elementary Science Students

Science.gov (United States)

Waller, Samara Susan

This study addressed a prevalence of low achievement in science courses in an urban school district in Georgia. National leaders and educators have identified the improvement of science proficiency as critical to the future of American industry. The purpose of this study was to examine parent involvement in this school district and its contribution to the academic achievement of successful science students. Social capital theory guided this study by suggesting that students achieve best when investments are made into their academic and social development. A collective case study qualitative research design was used to interview 9 parent participants at 2 elementary schools whose children scored in the exceeds category on the Science CRCT. The research questions focused on what these parents did at home to support their children's academic achievement. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview protocol and analyzed through the categorical aggregation of transcribed interviews. Key findings revealed that the parents invested time and resources in 3 practices: communicating high expectations, supporting and developing key skills, and communicating with teachers. These findings contribute to social change at both the local and community level by creating a starting point for teachers, principals, and district leaders to reexamine the value of parent input in the educational process, and by providing data to support the revision of current parent involvement policies. Possibilities for further study building upon the findings of this study may focus on student perceptions of their parents' parenting as it relates to their science achievement.

Trust and Parents' Involvement in Schools of Choice

Science.gov (United States)

Strier, Michal; Katz, Hagai

2016-01-01

Education researchers and policymakers have been focusing for the last three decades on increasing parental involvement in schools. Their work focused on the positive effects that parental involvement has on varied aspects of school quality and functioning. In this study we examined "trust," a known predictor of parental involvement in…

Parents, Quality, and School Choice: Why Parents in Nairobi Choose Low-Cost Private Schools over Public Schools in Kenya's Free Primary Education Era

Science.gov (United States)

Zuilkowski, Stephanie Simmons; Piper, Benjamin; Ong'ele, Salome; Kiminza, Onesmus

2018-01-01

Low-cost private schools (LCPS) are widespread in Kenya, particularly in urban areas. This study examines the reasons that parents send children to fee-charging schools in a context of free public primary education. Drawing on parent survey and interview data, as well as interviews with national policy makers, we found that parents who chose LCPS…

School nurses' knowledge, attitudes, perceptions of role as opinion leader, and professional practice regarding human papillomavirus vaccine for youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosen, Brittany L; Goodson, Patricia; Thompson, Bruce; Wilson, Kelly L

2015-02-01

Because human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine rates remain low, we evaluated US school nurses' knowledge, attitudes, perceptions of their role as opinion leaders, and professional practice regarding HPV vaccine, and assessed whether knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of being an opinion leader influenced their professional practice regarding the HPV vaccine. We used a cross-sectional design by recruiting members from the National Association of School Nurses. All participants (N = 505) were e-mailed a survey designed for this study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) tested direct and indirect effects. Overall, school nurses had knowledge about HPV and the vaccine, and positive attitudes toward the vaccine. They had less-than-enthusiastic perceptions of their role as opinion leaders regarding the vaccine and implemented few activities related to providing vaccine information. The model revealed a good fit (χ(2)=20.238 [df=8, prole as opinion leaders. © 2015, American School Health Association.

Parents' Networking Strategies: Participation of Formal and Informal Parent Groups in School Activities and Decisions

Science.gov (United States)

Wanat, Carolyn L.

2010-01-01

This case study examined parent groups' involvement in school activities and their participation in decision making. Research questions included the following: (1) What is the nature of parent groups in schools? (2) What activities and issues gain parent groups' attention and participation? (3) How do parent groups communicate concerns about…

Parents' Views on Mixed and Single-Sex Secondary Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

West, Anne; Hunter, Jay

1993-01-01

Reports on two studies of British parental attitudes toward coeducational and single-sex secondary schools. Finds few differences between the parents of primary school girls and boys who will attend secondary schools in the future. Also finds a large majority of boys' parents believe that social advantages accrue for boys educated with girls. (CFR)

Parental involvement in elementary school-aged child’s creativity

Science.gov (United States)

Suparmi; Suardiman, S. P.; Kumara, A.

2018-01-01

This study aims at describing the parental involvement in cultivating elementary school-aged child’s creativity. The qualitative research was designed with multidisciplinary study approach. Eight students and some parents from public elementary schools of Ngawen 4th of Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, and 4 students from an elementary school in Sleman, Yogyakarta were involved in the process of collecting the data. In-depth interview, observation, and documentation were used simultaneously to collect the data. The results showed that: 1) the subject had a level of intelligence quotient; the intelligence of verbal creativity above the average level, and creative behaviour on average, 2) interaction of parents and child-related discussions, experiences, and plans, academic problems in school were needed to boost the students’ creativity, 3) interactions of parents and school-related participations in school were also encouraged to implant students’ social awareness, 4) interaction among parents communicated each other to have a better result of academic awareness, and 5) Parents should install family norms to cultivate children’s intelligence quotient.

Clones, Drones and Dragons: Ongoing Uncertainties around School Leader Development

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Allan

2015-01-01

This article examines a number of key issues around successful school leadership and leader development. Three metaphors are used to frame, track and analyse recent research and commentary in the area--these are clones, drones and dragons. Although development mechanisms rarely fall neatly within one category, the metaphors provide a useful way to…

Parental attitudes towards soft drink vending machines in high schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendel-Paterson, Maia; French, Simone A; Story, Mary

2004-10-01

Soft drink vending machines are available in 98% of US high schools. However, few data are available about parents' opinions regarding the availability of soft drink vending machines in schools. Six focus groups with 33 parents at three suburban high schools were conducted to describe the perspectives of parents regarding soft drink vending machines in their children's high school. Parents viewed the issue of soft drink vending machines as a matter of their children's personal choice more than as an issue of a healthful school environment. However, parents were unaware of many important details about the soft drink vending machines in their children's school, such as the number and location of machines, hours of operation, types of beverages available, or whether the school had contracts with soft drink companies. Parents need more information about the number of soft drink vending machines at their children's school, the beverages available, the revenue generated by soft drink vending machine sales, and the terms of any contracts between the school and soft drink companies.

Parents' Experiences as Predictors of State Accountability Measures of Schools' Facilitation of Parent Involvement

Science.gov (United States)

Elbaum, Batya; Blatz, Erin T.; Rodriguez, Raymond J.

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to ascertain which dimensions of parents' experiences with schools are most strongly associated with parents' perceptions that schools are or are not facilitating parent involvement as mandated by the federal accountability system under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Participants were 92 parents…

From the Field: Learning Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Weigel, Kathleen; Jones, Richard

2015-01-01

Leadership is essential to successful schools. One of the ways to support effective school leadership is to share ideas and best practices to address the common challenges faced by school leaders. This question and response format addresses common challenges and questions from practicing school leaders in the manner that a mentor might respond to…

A Study of Rural High School Principals' Perceptions as Social Justice Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Albritton, Shelly; Huffman, Stephanie; McClellan, Rhonda

2017-01-01

This multisite case study explores how rural principals in high poverty schools in a Southern state that had identified themselves as social justice leaders perceived student diversity, specifically LGBTQ students, and how they sustained a socially-just school climate for all students. Using a qualitative approach lent itself to understanding the…

“As a Parent You Become a Tiger”: Parents Talking about Bullying at School

OpenAIRE

Hale, R.; Fox, C. L.; Murray, M.

2017-01-01

Bullying at school can be a distressing experience for children. It is also likely to be distressing for their parents. In spite of this, research in the field of school bullying and peer victimisation has tended to overlook the experience of parents when their child is bullied. This study explored school bullying from the parent’s perspective. Twenty-one parents took part in semi-structured focus groups and interviews to share their experiences. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts...

Parent-Teacher Relationships in Elementary School: An Examination of Parent-Teacher Trust

Science.gov (United States)

Santiago, Rachel T.; Garbacz, S. Andrew; Beattie, Tiffany; Moore, Christabelle L.

2016-01-01

Trust is an important dimension of parent educational involvement and parent-teacher relationships. Preliminary research suggests that parent trust in teachers and schools is associated with student learning and behavior. However, examinations of parent trust in children's education are limited. The present study investigated the influence of…

Understanding the dynamics of parent involvement in schooling ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Understanding the dynamics of parent involvement in schooling within the poverty context. ... South African Journal of Education ... understand the realities and dynamics facing parents when attempting to be involved in their child\\'s schooling.

School Superintendents' Use of Electronic Communication Technology and Its Impact on Their Efficacy as a School District Leader

Science.gov (United States)

Brock, Cecilia

2017-01-01

As apex leaders, school superintendents are impacted by the continuous demand to be effective while utilizing electronic communication technology. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the use of electronic communication technology impacts a school superintendent's efficacy. Public education, in the twenty-first century, finds itself in…

"My Child has Cerebral Palsy": Parental Involvement and Children's School Engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Armanda; Moreira, Tânia; Lopes, Sílvia; Nunes, Ana R; Magalhães, Paula; Fuentes, Sonia; Reoyo, Natalia; Núñez, José C; Rosário, Pedro

2016-01-01

Engaged students tend to show school-committed behaviors (e.g., attend classes, get involved with the learning process), high achievement, and sense of belonging. However, students with disabilities are prone to show a lack of engagement with school due to the specific difficulties they have to handle. In fact, children with disabilities are likely to show poor participation in school when compared with children without disabilities. This poor involvement is related to their low autonomy to participate in the school activities, which, in turn, results in low school engagement. Parents play a crucial role in their children's education. Parental involvement in school activities promotes autonomous behaviors and, consequently, school engagement. In fact, extant literature has shown close relationships between parental involvement, school engagement, and academic performance. Yet, parental involvement in school activities of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) has received little direct attention from researchers. These children tend to display lower participation due to the motor, or cognitive, impairments that compromise their autonomy, and have a high likelihood to develop learning disabilities, with special incidences in reading and arithmetic. Therefore, our aim is twofold, to understand the parental styles; and how the perceived parental involvement in school activities is related to their children school engagement. Hence, 19 interviews were conducted with one of the parents of 19 children with CP. These interviews explored the school routines of children and the perceived involvement of parents in those routines. Additionally, children filled out a questionnaire on school engagement. Results show that the majority of the parents were clustered in the Autonomy Allowance and Acceptance and Support parental style, and the majority of their children were perceived as autonomous. Moreover, about a half of the children reported a high level of school engagement

Alabama Parenting Questionnaire-9: Longitudinal Measurement Invariance Across Parents and Youth During the Transition to High School.

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, Thomas J; Fleming, Charles B; Mason, W Alex; Haggerty, Kevin P

2017-07-01

The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire nine-item short form (APQ-9) is an often used assessment of parenting in research and applied settings. It uses parent and youth ratings for three scales: Positive Parenting, Inconsistent Discipline, and Poor Supervision. The purpose of this study is to examine the longitudinal invariance of the APQ-9 for both parents and youth, and the multigroup invariance between parents and youth during the transition from middle school to high school. Parent and youth longitudinal configural, metric, and scalar invariance for the APQ-9 were supported when tested separately. However, the multigroup invariance tests indicated that scalar invariance was not achieved between parent and youth ratings. Essentially, parent and youth mean scores for Positive Parenting, Inconsistent Discipline, and Poor Supervision can be independently compared across the transition from middle school to high school. However, comparing parent and youth scores across the APQ-9 scales may not be meaningful.

Later School Start Times: What Informs Parent Support or Opposition?

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Dunietz, Galit Levi; Matos-Moreno, Amilcar; Singer, Dianne C; Davis, Matthew M; O'Brien, Louise M; Chervin, Ronald D

2017-07-15

To investigate parental knowledge about adolescent sleep needs, and other beliefs that may inform their support for or objection to later school start times. In 2014, we conducted a cross-sectional, Internet-based survey of a nationally representative sample of parents as part of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. Parents with teens aged 13-17 years reported their children's sleep patterns and school schedules, and whether the parents supported later school start times (8:30 am or later). Responses associated with parental support of later school start times were examined with logistic regression analysis. Overall, 88% of parents reported school start times before 8:30 am, and served as the analysis sample (n = 554). In this group, 51% expressed support for later school start times. Support was associated with current school start times before 7:30 am (odds ratio [OR] = 3.1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2, 8.4]); parental opinion that their teen's current school start time was "too early" (OR = 3.8 [1.8, 7.8]); and agreement with American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations about school start times (OR = 4.7 [2.2, 10.1]). Support also was associated with anticipation of improved school performance (OR = 3.0 [1.5, 5.9]) or increased sleep duration (OR = 4.0 [1.8, 8.9]) with later school start times. Conversely, parents who anticipated too little time for after-school activities (OR = 0.5 [0.3, 0.9]) and need for different transportation plans (OR = 0.5 [0.2, 0.9]) were often less supportive. Parental education about healthy sleep needs and anticipated health benefits may increase their support for later school start times. Educational efforts should also publicize the positive experiences of communities that have made this transition, with regard to limited adverse effect on after-school activity schedules and transportation. © 2017 American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Principals' and Teachers' Practices about Parent Involvement in Schooling

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Erdener, Mehmet Akif

2016-01-01

Parent involvement has an influence on children's educational engagement for all school levels. The objective of this study was to examine public school principals' and teachers' practices for improving parent involvement in schooling. This study used a mixed method to identify the school administrators' and teachers' perceptions about parent…

Eliciting Parents' Individual Requirements for an Inclusive Digital School System.

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Eftring, Håkan; Rassmus-Gröhn, Kirsten; Hedvall, Per-Olof

2016-01-01

Parents often have a busy time sorting out their life puzzles, including getting information about their children's activities in school. More and more communication between teachers and parents take place via digital school systems. It can be hard for parents to find the information they are looking for and the teacher decides when information is sent and what communication method to use. All parents, but especially parents with disabilities, might have individual preferences on how to receive information and how to adapt meetings at school. In this paper we present a project where we involved parents and teachers in focus groups, an idea workshop and iterative user trials of a digital prototype. The goal was to elicit parents' individual requirements for an inclusive digital school system, where they can store their individual preferences about how and when to receive information from school and what requirements they have on meetings at school. Preliminary results show that we managed to create open and focused discussions among parents and teachers. The parents reacted very positively on an onboarding page with the possibility to quickly and easily enter preferences after their first log in, but more work needs to be done on how preferences are categorized on the onboarding page. Finally, parents need to get clear feedback from teachers and school when they have entered or updated preferences, so they can trust that their preferences will be met.

Parental Learning and School Readiness in the Gearing Up for Kindergarten Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharon Query

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Entering kindergarten is a key moment in a young child’s life, and parents are a child’s first teacher. What can guide parents as they assist children with school readiness? Gearing Up for Kindergarten is an intensive parent education and school readiness program designed to help parents and children prepare for school. Gearing Up for Kindergarten is a parent education program that combines early learning opportunities for pre-kindergarten children with parent education opportunities for adults. This study presents findings from evaluation efforts conducted with 59 Gearing Up for Kindergarten adult participants during the 2006-2007 school year. Participants in the program demonstrated (1 high satisfaction with program quality and experiences, (2 impacts on parental knowledge and confidence, and (3 significant and positive changes in parental practices related to school readiness. Implications for parent education and programs intended to strengthen school readiness among pre-kindergarten children are explored. Parent education on school readiness can provide a substantive resource as parents help their children develop and become ready for the school years.

Parents' Views of Schools' Involvement Efforts

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Rodriguez, Raymond J.; Blatz, Erin T.; Elbaum, Batya

2014-01-01

Individual and focus group interviews were conducted with 96 parents of students with disabilities in 18 schools to explore parents' views of schools' efforts to engage them in their child's education. A mixed-methods approach was used to identify and evaluate the relative importance of eight themes related to schools' efforts…

Empowering Parents' Choice of Schools: The Rhetoric and Reality of How Hong Kong Kindergarten Parents Choose Schools under the Voucher Scheme

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Fung, Kit-Ho Chanel; Lam, Chi-Chung

2011-01-01

School choice gives parents greater power over their children's education. But ever since the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) was introduced in Hong Kong in 2007, school choice has become a hotly debated topic. The scheme was introduced to empower kindergarten parents in choosing a school for their children by offering them direct fee…

Adolescents' Psychological Well-Being and Perceived Parental Involvement: Implications for Parental Involvement in Middle Schools

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Cripps, Kayla; Zyromski, Brett

2009-01-01

Adolescence is a critical period of development. Previous research suggests parent involvement in school directly impacts student success. However, different types of parental involvement and the efforts of middle school personnel to educate parents about these effective practices have received scant attention in the literature. The level and type…

Engaging parents in evidence-based treatments in schools: Community perspectives from implementing CBITS.

Science.gov (United States)

Santiago, Catherine Decarlo; Pears, Gillian; Baweja, Shilpa; Vona, Pamela; Tang, Jennifer; Kataoka, Sheryl H

2013-12-01

This study explored parent engagement in an evidence-based treatment, the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS), which was delivered in a school setting. To examine the successes and challenges in engaging parents in this school-based program, we conducted qualitative interviews by phone to obtain data from clinicians, parents, and other school personnel across eleven schools from 3 different regions of the United States. Almost all of these schools served low-income and ethnically diverse communities. We describe general impressions of parent engagement, parent reactions and preferences with regard to CBITS, barriers to parent engagement, and how to overcome barriers from multiple perspectives. Parent engagement across schools varied, with extensive outreach and relatively good parent engagement in CBITS described in some schools, while in other schools, efforts to engage parents were not as consistent. Implications for future efforts to engage parents in school-based treatments are discussed.

Factors Affecting School Choice: What Do Malaysian Chinese Parents Want?

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Siah, Poh Chua; Christina Ong, Sook Beng; Tan, Swee Mee; Sim, Chzia Poaw; Xian Thoo, Raphael Yi

2018-01-01

Aiming to explore factors affecting Malaysian Chinese parents in sending their children to either national secondary schools or Chinese independent schools, 494 parents were surveyed using a questionnaire. Results showed that parents who sent their children to Chinese independent schools have different priorities compared to those who sent theirs…

The Effects of Servant Leader and Integrity of Principal Performance in Catholic Senior High Schools in North Sulawesi, Indonesia

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Malingkas, Melky; Senduk, Johanis Frans; Simandjuntak, Suddin; Binilang, Benny Blemy

2018-01-01

The aim of this research was to examine the effects of servant leader and integrity on principal performance in Catholic senior high schools in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. This quantitative research used questionnaire-gathered data from 75 teachers at 11 schools. The results of research show that the servant leader approach has significant positive…

One Leader, One School and an Atypical South African Educational Landscape: The Pedagogical Viability of a Shared Technology Project

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van Jaarsveld, Leentjie; Mentz, P. J.; van der Walt, Johannes L.

2016-01-01

Visionary leaders shape their actions and initiate transformation to reach a specific goal. To do so is critically important in South Africa, where the education system offers limited opportunities to manage a school in a manner that deviates from the prescribed norm. School leaders typically encounter barriers such as the inadequacy of the…

Playground Equipment Guide: For Teachers, Park and Recreation Directors, Parents, Youth Leaders, and Other Concerned Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC.

This guide was designed to assist parents, teachers, youth leaders, and park and recreation directors in the safe selection, use, installation, maintenance and repair of playground equipment. The nature and necessity of children's play are discussed briefly and information is presented on four main types of playground equipment: (1) swings, (2)…

Parents and the School Dropout Problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Earl E.; Killingsworth, Jerry

1987-01-01

The school dropout problem is discussed, with suggestions for parents on ensuring that their children do not become part of the dropout population, including; monitoring children's school attendance patterns; making sure children understand how important school and attendance is; maintaining close contact with teachers; and helping children…

The Intergenerational Transmission of Parental Schooling and Child Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bingley, Paul; Christensen, Kaare; Jensen, Vibeke Myrup

Understanding the causal relationship between parental schooling and child development is important to create polices raising schooling level. We use unique Danish administrative data with information on identical twins to estimate the effect of parental schooling on short-run and long-run outcomes....... By applying within twin fixed effect techniques we are able to take heritable endowments transmitted from parent to child into account. We find OLS to be consistently upward biased due to endowments. Further, paternal schooling has no causal effect on infant and early childhood health but increases children...

Performance Government: Activating and Regulating the Self-Governing Capacities of Teachers and School Leaders

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O'Brien, Peter C.

2015-01-01

This article analyses "performance government" as an emergent form of rule in advanced liberal democracies. It discloses how teachers and school leaders in Australia are being governed by the practices of performance government which centre on the recently established Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) and…

[Children with learning disabilities and handicaps in inclusive schools or in special schools? The view of parents and professionals].

Science.gov (United States)

Bode, H; Hirner, V

2013-03-01

To investigate the view of parents and professionals on sending children with special educational needs to inclusive schools. 54 preschool children in the year before school entry and 155 school children attending a Social Pediatric Center. They displayed motor-, mental-, speech- or sensory handicaps, learning or behavioral disabilities. Questionnaires for parents of preschool- and of school children and questionnaires for the professional caring for the child were evaluated and compared. Parental expectations, experiences concerning school and the severity of disability were determined. 135 pupils attended special schools and 20 integrative schools. The parents were generally very content with both types of schools despite the fact that 33% of parents had not have a free choice of the school. They had a positive attitude to inclusive education. Preference for inclusive schooling decreased with increasing severity of the child's disability. The severity of disability was rated similar by parents and by professionals. Parents of preschool children tended more often and parents of school children less often than professionals towards sending the individual child to an inclusive school. Some parents of children with special educational needs would like to send their child to a special school, others prefer inclusive schools. It is paramount to improve the professional advice and guidance to parents since parental options to choose the school for their child are increasing in Germany. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Parental perspectives of diabetes management in Alabama public schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Skelley, Jason P; Luthin, David R; Skelley, Jessica W; Kabagambe, Edmond K; Ashraf, Ambika P; Atchison, Joycelyn A

2013-04-01

The purpose of this study was to assess parental perceptions of the current state of care for children with diabetes in the Alabama public school system, identify existing disparities, and determine what resources would most improve diabetes management in this setting. There is a significant need for such information because of the paucity of published data on the current state of diabetes care in Alabama public schools. We based our survey on the American Diabetes Association guidelines and collected responses on the Internet via SurveyMonkey and by paper surveys. We distributed surveys to parents of children with diabetes through the Children's Hospital endocrinology clinic, a diabetes camp, and through the Alabama Association of School Nurses e-mail listserv. A majority of children had type 1 diabetes mellitus. Students who could conveniently check their blood glucose levels (BGLs) at school were significantly more likely to participate in all school activities and their parents were significantly more likely to be satisfied with their child's diabetes care at school. Compared with minority students (defined as all races other than white), white students were more likely to be able to conveniently check their BGLs at school. The accommodation and care for children with diabetes is highly variable within much of the Alabama public school system. The ability to conveniently check BGLs at school is key for participation in all school activities and for parental satisfaction with diabetes care at school. Institution of a uniform, statewide diabetes training protocol for school personnel could improve care and parental satisfaction.

Mission vs. Mandate: How Charter School Leaders Conceptualize and Address Market-Based and Performance-Based Accountability Demands

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Blitz, Mark H.

2011-01-01

Charter school research has examined the relationship between charter school mission and issues of school accountability. However, there is a lack of research focusing on how charter school leaders frame and solve problems regarding multiple accountability demands. Given this gap, I investigate the question: How do charter school leaders…

Barriers to School Involvement: Are Immigrant Parents Disadvantaged?

Science.gov (United States)

Turney, Kristin; Kao, Grace

2009-01-01

Parental involvement at school offers unique opportunities for parents, and this school-based involvement has important implications for children's academic and behavioral outcomes. The authors used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (National Center for Education Statistics, 2001) to examine race and immigrant…

Child and Parent Report of Parenting as Predictors of Substance Use and Suspensions from School

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Fleming, Charles B.; Mason, W. Alex; Thompson, Ronald W.; Haggerty, Kevin P.; Gross, Thomas J.

2016-01-01

This study examined how child and parent reports of parenting were related to early adolescent substance use and school suspensions. Data were from two time points 6 months apart on 321 families with an eighth-grade student attending one of five schools in the Pacific Northwest. Child- and parent-report measures of family management practices were…

PENGEMBANGAN LEMBAGA PENDIDIKAN ISLAM (Kepala Madrasah sebagai School Leader

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Halili

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Kepala madrasah memegang peran yang sangat urgen dalam menyukseskan tujuan lembaga pendidikan. Kepala madrasah dituntut agar dapat mengubah pola kepemimpinan lama ke arah yang lebih demokratis, persuasif, partisipatif, dan entrepreneur. Sebagai school leader, kepala madrasah harus mempunyai kompetensi kepemimpinan yang baik (good leadership agar dapat memberikan tugas-tugas, pengarahan dan pengorganisasian yang releven di madrasah. Dalam rangka mencapai kemajuan madrasah, kepala madrasah mengupayakan pengembangan kurikulum, sarana prasarana, sumber daya manusia dan pengembangan peran serta masyarakat.

Understanding the Relationship between School Leaders' Social and Emotional Competence and Their Transformational Leadership: The Importance of Self-Other Agreement

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Wang, Ning; Wilhite, Stephen; Martino, Daniel

2016-01-01

This study examined the possible relationship between emotional competence and transformational leadership in K-12 school leaders as a function of self-other agreement. The study found that, for those school leaders whose self-assessment of their leadership agreed with that of their subordinates, the self-ratings of emotional competence were…

Micropolitics, Leadership and All That...The Need To Increase the Micropolitical Awareness and Skills of School Leaders.

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West, Mel

1999-01-01

Explores the influence of micropolitical factors on school organization and management, drawing on Ball's idea regarding the inevitability of micropolitics in school settings. Using Edgar Schein's small-group perspective, shows how micropolitical analyses of school cultures and teacher behavior can be used to increase school leaders'…

A Look at the Single Parent Family: Implications for the School Psychologist.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Christine W.; Brassard, Marla R.

1982-01-01

Reviews the effects on parents and children of living in a single parent family, and suggests ways in which school psychologists can aid schools and single parent families. Presents school-based interventions for children and parents. Suggests changes in administrative policies to meet the needs of single parent families. (Author)

High School Students' Career Decision-Making Pattern across Parenting Styles and Parental Attachment Levels

Science.gov (United States)

Cenkseven-Onder, Fulya; Kirdok, Oguzhan; Isik, Erkan

2010-01-01

Introduction: The purpose of this research was to investigate career decision among high school students regarding to their parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful) and parental attachment levels. Method: With this purpose, 382 (200 females; 182 males) Turkish high school students aged 14-18 completed Career…

Boundary Dynamics: Implications for Building Parent-School Partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Price-Mitchell, Marilyn

2009-01-01

This article draws on systems theory, complexity theory, and the organizational sciences to engage boundary dynamics in the creation of parent-school partnerships. These partnerships help children succeed through an emergent process of dialogue and relationship building in the peripheral spaces where parents and schools interact on behalf of…

Predictors of school engagement among same-sex and heterosexual adoptive parents of Kindergarteners.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldberg, Abbie E; Smith, JuliAnna Z

2014-10-01

Little research has explored parental engagement in schools in the context of adoptive parent families or same-sex parent families. The current cross-sectional study explored predictors of parents' self-reported school involvement, relationships with teachers, and school satisfaction, in a sample of 103 female same-sex, male same-sex, and heterosexual adoptive parent couples (196 parents) of kindergarten-age children. Parents who reported more contact by teachers about positive or neutral topics (e.g., their child's good grades) reported more involvement and greater satisfaction with schools, regardless of family type. Parents who reported more contact by teachers about negative topics (e.g., their child's behavior problems) reported better relationships with teachers but lower school satisfaction, regardless of family type. Regarding the broader school context, across all family types, parents who felt more accepted by other parents reported more involvement and better parent-teacher relationships; socializing with other parents was related to greater involvement. Regarding the adoption-specific variables, parents who perceived their children's schools as more culturally sensitive were more involved and satisfied with the school, regardless of family type. Perceived cultural sensitivity mattered more for heterosexual adoptive parents' relationships with their teachers than it did for same-sex adoptive parents. Finally, heterosexual adoptive parents who perceived high levels of adoption stigma in their children's schools were less involved than those who perceived low levels of stigma, whereas same-sex adoptive parents who perceived high levels of stigma were more involved than those who perceived low levels of stigma. Our findings have implications for school professionals, such as school psychologists, who work with diverse families. Copyright © 2014 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Immigrant parents' perceptions of school environment and children's mental health and behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Hayley A; Marshall, Lysandra; Rummens, Joanna A; Fenta, Haile; Simich, Laura

2011-06-01

Research has increasingly identified the perception of school environment as an influential factor in children's lives. There has been sparse research attention, however, on the potential importance of parents' perceptions of school environment on child adjustment. This study examined the relationship between parents' perceptions of school environment and children's emotional and behavioral problems. Data were derived from the New Canadian Children and Youth Study, a study of the children (aged 4-6 and 11-13) of immigrant parents. Analyses focused on a subsample of Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, and Filipino immigrants in a large metropolitan area. Parental perception of school environment was negatively associated with physical aggression in children even after controlling for child age and gender, parental characteristics, family functioning, and aspects of acculturation. In contrast, parental perception was not significantly related to symptoms of emotional distress in children. There were some ethnic differences in perception of school environment. Parental perception of school environment is important to the well-being of the children of immigrant parents, and reinforces the relevance of initiatives to improve the dynamics between parents and schools. © 2011, American School Health Association.

Medical School Factors That Prepare Students to Become Leaders in Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Louise; Cuddy, Paul G; Hathaway, Susan B; Quaintance, Jennifer L; Kanter, Steven L

2018-02-01

To identify medical school factors graduates in major leadership positions perceive as contributing to their leadership development. Using a phenomenological, qualitative approach, in August-November 2015 the authors conducted semistructured interviews with 48 medical leaders who were 1976-1999 baccalaureate-MD graduates of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine (UMKC). At UMKC, they participated in longitudinal learning communities, the centerpiece for learning professional values and behaviors plus clinical skills, knowledge, and judgment, but received no formal leadership instruction. The authors subjected interview comments to directed, largely qualitative content analysis with iterative coding cycles. Most graduates said their experiences and the people at UMKC positively influenced their leadership growth. Medical school factors that emerged as contributing to that growth were the longitudinal learning communities including docents, junior-senior partners, and team experiences; expectations set for students to achieve; a clinically oriented but integrated curriculum; admission policies seeking students with academic and nonacademic qualifications; supportive student-student and student-faculty relationships; and a positive overall learning environment. Graduates viewed a combination of factors as best preparing them for leadership and excellence in clinical medicine; together these factors enabled them to assume leadership opportunities after graduation. This study adds medical leaders' perspective to the leadership development literature and offers guidance from theory and practice for medical schools to consider in shaping leadership education: Namely, informal leadership preparation coupled with extensive longitudinal clinical education in a nurturing, authentic environment can develop students effectively for leadership in medicine.

Parent Participation in the Spanish School System: School Councils

Science.gov (United States)

Cobano-Delgado, Verónica

2015-01-01

Parents of pupils participate in the supervision and management of Spanish schools through the School Council ["Consejo Escolar"], which is the principal body through which such participation and oversight is channeled. Through it families, pupils, teachers and non-teaching staff contribute collectively to making the important decisions…

Determinants of Parental Choice in Schooling: The Coquitlam Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Cogan, Susana

Parents living in the Coquitlam School District in British Columbia can choose between public and private schools and between English language and French immersion programs in the public schools. This study investigates the choice-making behavior of parents enrolling their children in kindergarten in fall 1977 in terms of socioeconomic factors,…

Mexican Parents' and Teachers' Views of Effective Elementary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Slate, John R.; Jones, Craig H.

2007-01-01

We surveyed 374 parents and 82 teachers in the Juarez, Mexico schools regarding their views of what makes an effective elementary school. The survey was a Spanish translation of an instrument used by Johnson (1998). Although both parents and teachers supported most of the factors associated with effective schools, they emphasized different aspects…

Parents' Attitudes to the Closure of Small Rural Primary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Archbold, A.; Nisbet, J.

1977-01-01

Attitudes of 134 parents of children from 10 rural schools threatened with closure, and 56 parents of children from seven schools recently closed, were assessed by interview. Most parents opposed closure, and most gave educational reasons for their attitudes. (Author)

Parenting and Temperament Influence on School Success in 9-13 Year Olds.

Science.gov (United States)

Checa, Purificación; Abundis-Gutierrez, Alicia

2017-01-01

Children spend a lot of time with their parents who are the first agents that educate them. The parenting style implemented in the family influences other contexts outside home such as the school. There is evidence that a positive parenting style has an influence on school success. However, there are other variables related to school success, for example, temperament. The influence of parenting decreases with age as children develop abilities to self-regulate without parents' external control. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the contribution of parenting style and temperament in 9-13 years old children on both academic performance and school adjustment skills. Our hypothesis was that not only parenting style is crucial to academic performance and school adjustment, but also temperament plays an important role in them. We used a Parenting Guide line questionnaire to evaluate parenting style, Early Adolescence Temperament Questionnaire-R to evaluate temperament; Health Resources Inventory to assess children's school adjustment, and academic grades, as indicator of academic performance. We were interested in testing whether or not the effect of parenting style on academic performance and school adjustment was mediated by temperament. We found that emotional and behavioral regulation mediates the relation between parenting and academic performance. These findings inform of the relevance of child's temperament on school success. Implications for education are discussed with emphasis on the importance of understanding students' temperament to promote school adjustment and good academic performance.

The experiences of parents who report youth bullying victimization to school officials.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, James R; Aalsma, Matthew C; Ott, Mary A

2013-02-01

Current research offers a limited understanding of parental experiences when reporting bullying to school officials. This research examines the experiences of middle-school parents as they took steps to protect their bullied youth. The qualitative tradition of interpretive phenomenology was used to provide in-depth analysis of the phenomena. A criterion-based, purposeful sample of 11 parents was interviewed face-to-face with subsequent phone call follow-ups. Interviews were taped, transcribed, and coded. MAX qda software was used for data coding. In analyzing the interviews, paradigm cases, themes, and patterns were identified. Three parent stages were found: discovering, reporting, and living with the aftermath. In the discovery stage, parents reported using advice-giving in hopes of protecting their youth. As parents noticed negative psychosocial symptoms in their youth escalate, they shifted their focus to reporting the bullying to school officials. All but one parent experienced ongoing resistance from school officials in fully engaging the bullying problem. In the aftermath, 10 of the 11 parents were left with two choices: remove their youth from the school or let the victimization continue. One paradigm case illustrates how a school official met parental expectations of protection. This study highlights a parental sense of ambiguity of school officials' roles and procedures related to school reporting and intervention. The results of this study have implications in the development and use of school-wide bullying protocols and parental advocacy.

Inside the Digital Wild West: How School Leaders Both Access and Avoid Social Media

Science.gov (United States)

Corrigan, Laurie; Robertson, Lorayne

2015-01-01

This study examines the roles of Canadian school leaders in response to the rising phenomenon of student use of social media which impacts school climate and safety. The use of social media has resulted in more online text and image-based communication to multiple users and less face-to-face communication with single users. Adolescent…

The Unique and Interactive Effects of Parent and School Bonds on Adolescent Delinquency.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabatine, Elaina; Lippold, Melissa; Kainz, Kirsten

2017-11-01

Parent and school bonds are protective against delinquency. This study used longitudinal data and multilevel Poisson regression models (MLM) to examine unique and interactive associations of parent and school bonds on youth delinquency in a sample of rural adolescents ( n = 945; 84% White). We investigated whether youth sex or transitioning to a new middle school moderated the linkages between parent and school bonds and later delinquency. Results indicated reduced delinquency was associated with positive parent and school relationships. Parent and school bonds interacted such that linkages between parent bonding and youth delinquency were stronger when youth also had high school bonding - suggesting an additive effect. However, interactive effects were only found when youth remained in the same school and became nonsignificant if they transitioned to a new school. Findings support prior evidence that parent and school bonds - and their interaction - play a unique role in reducing delinquency.

Contribution of school to building up the partnership with parents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Polovina Nada

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This paper studies the way in which headmasters and class masters perceive and estimate the factors, obstacles and incentives to building up a partnership between school and parents. The sample consists of 60 headmasters and 305 class masters from 60 schools (37 urban and 23 rural in Serbia. Headmasters and teachers filled in separate, but parallel questionnaires (modified only in the segment of different roles that were created for the purposes of research. Questionnaire items inquire about the factors contributing to the inclusion of parents, the obstacles in developing the cooperation between parents and school and the peculiarities of school environment that can contribute to the development of that cooperation, as well as about the peculiarities of the communication with parents. Research findings indicate that headmasters and teachers assess the importance of different components in the field of cooperation with parents in a similar, but not identical way. Most similarities are found in the perception of obstacles for establishing cooperation (the problems of coordinating time periods for meetings, previous bad experiences of parents regarding cooperation. The majority of differences lie in perceiving the importance of cooperation factors (headmasters emphasise the "parent factor", while teachers do so both for the "parent factor" and "child factor", as well as in perceiving the necessary incentives for the improvement of cooperation between school and parents (headmasters emphasise the spatial-temporal organization components, and teachers do so for spatial components and personal initiatives. In the assessments of both the headmasters and teachers we obtained differences marked by gender, the longitude of years of service, size of the settlement where the school is located (town-village. The general conclusion indicates that the topic of cooperation between school and parents is highly and in many ways context sensitive, and that the

A Grounded Theory Approach to Understanding Ethical Leadership with School Leaders in Southern Nigeria: A Perspective of Three Primary Schools

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Egbufor, Dorothy Chukwudumebi

2017-01-01

The chief aim of this study was to develop a grounded theory of ethical leadership with school leaders in Southern Nigeria, utilizing a qualitative constructivist paradigm and multiple case study design. There is growing interest in public service of ethics (Barberis, 2001). The study of ethics has been a part of the [school] leadership erudition…

The Attitudes, Knowledge and Beliefs of Arab Parents in Kuwait about Stuttering

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Al-Khaledi, Maram; Lincoln, Michelle; McCabe, Patricia; Packman, Ann; Alshatti, Tariq

2009-01-01

An Arabic version of the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes Inventory [POSHA-E; St Louis, K. O. (2005), a global instrument to measure public attitudes about stuttering. ("The ASHA Leader," 22, 2-13)] was administered to 424 Arab parents of preschool and school age children in 18 government schools across all six governorates in…

Parents of elementary school students weigh in on height, weight, and body mass index screening at school.

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Kubik, Martha Y; Fulkerson, Jayne A; Story, Mary; Rieland, Gayle

2006-12-01

School-based body mass index (BMI) screening and parent notification programs have been recommended as a childhood overweight prevention strategy. However, there are little empirical data available to guide decision making about the acceptability and safety of programs. A pilot study was conducted using a quasiexperimental research design. In fall 2004, children in 4 suburban elementary schools (kindergarten to sixth grade) in the St Paul/Minneapolis, MN, metropolitan area completed height/weight screening. The following spring, parents in 2 schools received letters containing height/weight and BMI results. A self-administered post-only survey examined parents' opinions and beliefs regarding school-based BMI screening and parent notification programs (response rate: 790/1133 = 70%). The chi2 test of significance was used to examine differences in program support by treatment condition, child's weight status, and sociodemographic characteristics. Among all parents, 78% believed it was important for schools to assess student's height/weight annually and wanted to receive height, weight, and BMI information yearly. Among parents receiving the letter, 95% read most/all of the letter. Most parents (80%) and children (83%) reported comfort with the information in the letter. Parents of overweight children were more likely to report parental discomfort as well as child discomfort with letter content. There was considerable parental support for school-based BMI screening and parent notification programs. Programs may be a useful overweight prevention tool for children. However, continued attention to how best to support parents and children affected by overweight is required.

Parental concerns in parents of children attending pre- and primary school: analysis of the Portuguese population by District

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Susana Algarvio

Full Text Available Objective: In this study, our aim was to assess and analyze parental concerns by Portuguese District. Methods: The participants were 3842 parents of children between 3 and 10 years old, attending preschool and primary school, from 820 public schools in 18 Portuguese Districts. Parents completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, and a Parental Concerns Scale, composed by 5 subscales, family and school problems; feeding, sleep and physical complaints; preparation; fears; and negative behaviors. Results: Portuguese parents concerned about all the dimensions considered in this study. The highest level of concern was obtained in family and school problems, and the lowest level of concern about their children’s fears. There were significant differences between Districts, parents from Porto and Bragança showed the highest levels of concern. Parents from Coimbra, Évora, Beja e Portalegre, presented the lowest levels of concern. Conclusion: Parental concerns are an aspect of general parenting and must be considered by health professionals to promote healthier parents-children relationships. Geographic differences should be further investigated.

Selling Schools: Marketing and Recruitment Strategies in New Orleans

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Jabbar, Huriya

2016-01-01

Under new school-choice policies, schools feel increasing pressure to market their schools to parents and students. I examine how school leaders in New Orleans used different marketing strategies based on their positions in the market hierarchy and the ways in which they used formal and informal processes to recruit students. This study relied on…

"It's the Parents": Re-Presenting Parents in School Bullying Research

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Herne, Karen E.

2016-01-01

Public discourse about school bullying is frequently underscored by debates about the relative roles and responsibilities of parents and schools in preventing bullying. Such debates are often characterised by a sense of recrimination, with blame apportioned according to perceived negligence. In this article, I provide a critique of ways in which…

Predicting Parents’ School Engagement Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents of Kindergarteners

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Goldberg, Abbie E.; Smith, JuliAnna Z.

2014-01-01

Little research has explored parental engagement in schools in the context of adoptive parent families or same-sex parent families. The current cross-sectional study explored predictors of parents’ self-reported school involvement, relationships with teachers, and school satisfaction, in a sample of 103 female same-sex, male same-sex, and heterosexual adoptive parent couples (196 parents) of kindergarten-age children. Parents who reported more contact by teachers about positive or neutral topics (e.g., their child’s good grades) reported more involvement and greater satisfaction with schools, regardless of family type. Parents who reported more contact by teachers about negative topics (e.g., their child’s behavior problems) reported better relationships with teachers but lower school satisfaction, regardless of family type. Regarding the broader school context, across all family types, parents who felt more accepted by other parents reported more involvement and better parent–teacher relationships; socializing with other parents was related to greater involvement. Regarding the adoption-specific variables, parents who perceived their children’s schools as more culturally sensitive were more involved and satisfied with the school, regardless of family type. Perceived cultural sensitivity mattered more for heterosexual adoptive parents’ relationships with their teachers than it did for same-sex adoptive parents. Finally, heterosexual adoptive parents who perceived high levels of adoption stigma in their children’s schools were less involved than those who perceived low levels of stigma, whereas same-sex adoptive parents who perceived high levels of stigma were more involved than those who perceived low levels of stigma. Our findings have implications for school professionals, such as school psychologists, who work with diverse families. PMID:25267169

Parents as partners in black schools: so important, but why so unreliable?

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J. Heystek

1999-03-01

Full Text Available Parents and schools are partners in the education of children because schools are a form a lised extension of the family, when it comes to the education of children. This partnership is also emphasised by recent legislation, like the South African Schools Act of 1996. This partnership is in line with the mission of parents to educate their children or assist in the education of their children. In spite of this demand for parental involvement in schools, the research in black schools underlying this article indicates that p a rental involvement in most black school activities is limited. Reasons like a negative attitude of parents towards schools and feelings of inferiority prevents parents to become effective partners of schools. The reasons for the lack of active participation in school activities and some possible solutions will receive attention in this contribution.

Empowerment Patterns of Leaders in ICT and School Strengths Following the Implementation of National ICT Reform

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Avidov-Ungar, Orit; Shamir-Inbal, Tamar

2013-01-01

The Ministry of Education in Israel has, over the past two years, been running an education program designed to lead the implementation of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) in schools. Implementation of the program is accompanied by training and support of teachers selected to be ICT leaders. The role of the ICT leader is divided to…

Parent Involvement in the Getting Ready for School Intervention Is Associated With Changes in School Readiness Skills

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Maria Marti

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The role of parent involvement in school readiness interventions is not well-understood. The Getting Ready for School (GRS intervention is a novel program that has both home and school components and aims to improve early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills in preschool children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. In this study, we first examined associations between family characteristics and different indices of parent involvement in the GRS intervention. We then examined associations between parent involvement and change in children's school readiness skills over time. Participants were 133 preschool children attending Head Start and their parents who participated in the GRS intervention during the academic year 2014–2015. Parent involvement was operationalized as attendance to GRS events at the school, time spent at home doing GRS activities, and usage of digital program materials, which included a set of videos to support the implementation of parent-child activities at home. Although few family characteristics were significantly associated with parent involvement indices, there was a tendency for some markers of higher socioeconomic status to be linked with greater parent involvement. In addition, greater parent involvement in the GRS intervention was significantly associated with greater gains in children's early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills. These findings suggest that parent involvement in comprehensive early interventions could be beneficial in terms of improving school readiness for preschoolers from disadvantaged families.

Parent Involvement in the Getting Ready for School Intervention Is Associated With Changes in School Readiness Skills

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Marti, Maria; Merz, Emily C.; Repka, Kelsey R.; Landers, Cassie; Noble, Kimberly G.; Duch, Helena

2018-01-01

The role of parent involvement in school readiness interventions is not well-understood. The Getting Ready for School (GRS) intervention is a novel program that has both home and school components and aims to improve early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills in preschool children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. In this study, we first examined associations between family characteristics and different indices of parent involvement in the GRS intervention. We then examined associations between parent involvement and change in children's school readiness skills over time. Participants were 133 preschool children attending Head Start and their parents who participated in the GRS intervention during the academic year 2014–2015. Parent involvement was operationalized as attendance to GRS events at the school, time spent at home doing GRS activities, and usage of digital program materials, which included a set of videos to support the implementation of parent-child activities at home. Although few family characteristics were significantly associated with parent involvement indices, there was a tendency for some markers of higher socioeconomic status to be linked with greater parent involvement. In addition, greater parent involvement in the GRS intervention was significantly associated with greater gains in children's early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills. These findings suggest that parent involvement in comprehensive early interventions could be beneficial in terms of improving school readiness for preschoolers from disadvantaged families. PMID:29904362

"Venimos Para Que se Oiga la Voz": Activating Community Cultural Wealth as Parental Educational Leadership

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Fernández, Erica; Paredes Scribner, Samantha M.

2018-01-01

This article expands a more inclusive parental engagement framework by broadening notions of educational leadership using an example of organizing actions of Latina parent leaders amid a hostile anti-immigrant climate within an urban elementary school. Researchers draw on Yosso's community cultural wealth framework to analyze how a Latinx parent…

Strategic parenting, birth order, and school performance.

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Hotz, V Joseph; Pantano, Juan

2015-10-01

Fueled by new evidence, there has been renewed interest about the effects of birth order on human capital accumulation. The underlying causal mechanisms for such effects remain unsettled. We consider a model in which parents impose more stringent disciplinary environments in response to their earlier-born children's poor performance in school in order to deter such outcomes for their later-born offspring. We provide robust empirical evidence that school performance of children in the National Longitudinal Study Children (NLSY-C) declines with birth order as does the stringency of their parents' disciplinary restrictions. When asked how they will respond if a child brought home bad grades, parents state that they would be less likely to punish their later-born children. Taken together, these patterns are consistent with a reputation model of strategic parenting.

What Is Quality Education? How Can It Be Achieved? The Perspectives of School Middle Leaders in Singapore

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Ng, Pak Tee

2015-01-01

This paper presents the findings of a research project that examines how middle leaders in Singapore schools understand "quality education" and how they think quality education can be achieved. From the perspective of these middle leaders, quality education emphasises holistic development, equips students with the knowledge and skills…

The Best Practices for School Transformation: A Multiple-Case Study

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Waheed, Zarina; Hussin, Sufean; Bin Megat Daud, Megat Ahmad Kamaluddin

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the best practices of school leaders, teachers, pupils, parents and the community in selected transformed schools in Selangor, Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative multiple-case study explores the best practices in two selected transformed schools through in-depth interviews,…

Parental Attitudes, Behaviors, and Barriers to School Readiness among Parents of Low-Income Latino Children

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Jaime Peterson

2018-01-01

Full Text Available We sought to explore parental attitudes, behaviors, and barriers regarding school readiness in a county clinic serving low income, Latino children. Between December 2013–September 2014, we conducted a cross sectional survey of parents during 3–6 years well-child appointments about school readiness (SR across: (1 attitudes/behaviors; (2 barriers; and (3 awareness; and (4 use of local resources. Most parents (n = 210, response rate 95.6% find it very important/important for their child to know specific skills prior to school: take turns and share (98.5%, use a pencil and count (97.6%, know letters (99.1%, colors (97.1%, and shapes (96.1%. Over 80% of parents find education important and engage in positive SR behaviors: singing, practicing letters, or reading. Major barriers to SR were lack of knowledge for kindergarten readiness, language barriers, access to books at home, constraints on nightly reading, difficulty completing school forms, and limited free time with child. Awareness of local resources such as preschool programs was higher than actual utilization. These low-income, Latino parents value SR but lack knowledge to prepare their child for school and underutilize community resources such as free preschool programs. Pediatricians are uniquely positioned to address these needs, but more evidence-based interventions are needed.

“My Child has Cerebral Palsy”: Parental Involvement and Children’s School Engagement

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Armanda Pereira

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Engaged students tend to show school-committed behaviors (e.g., attend classes, get involved with the learning process, high achievement, and sense of belonging. However, students with disabilities are prone to show a lack of engagement with school due to the specific difficulties they have to handle. In fact, children with disabilities are likely to show poor participation in school when compared with children without disabilities. This poor involvement is related to their low autonomy to participate in the school activities, which, in turn, results in low school engagement. Parents play a crucial role in their children’s education. Parental involvement in school activities promotes autonomous behaviors and, consequently, school engagement. In fact, extant literature has shown close relationships between parental involvement, school engagement, and academic performance. Yet, parental involvement in school activities of children with Cerebral Palsy has received little direct attention from researchers.These children tend to display lower participation due to the motor, or cognitive, impairments that compromise their autonomy, and have a high likelihood to develop learning disabilities, with special incidences in reading and arithmetic. Therefore, our aim is twofold, to understand the parental styles; and how the perceived parental involvement in school activities is related to their children school engagement. Hence, 19 interviews were conducted with one of the parents of 19 children with Cerebral Palsy. These interviews explored the school routines of children and the perceived involvement of parents in those routines. Additionally, children filled out a questionnaire on school engagement. Results show that the majority of the parents were clustered in the Autonomy Allowance and Acceptance and Support parental style, and the majority of their children were perceived as autonomous. Moreover, about a half of the children reported a high level

Parenting influences on Latino children's social competence in the first grade: parental depression and parent involvement at home and school.

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Valdez, Carmen R; Shewakramani, Vansa; Goldberg, Simon; Padilla, Brian

2013-10-01

Although it is widely accepted that parental depression is associated with problems with children's socioemotional adjustment, the pathways by which parental depression influences children's adjustment, particularly in low-income Latino children are not fully understood. In our investigation of 1,462 low-income Latino children in the first grade and their Spanish- and English-dominant parents, a factor analysis revealed three main pathways of possible influence of parent involvement in children's social development: emotional involvement and educational involvement at home and at school. The findings from multigroup structural equation modeling revealed that whereas the first two pathways mediated the effect of parental depression on child social competence for Spanish-dominant parents, only emotional involvement explained parental depression effects for English-dominant parents. Parent educational involvement at school did not mediate parental depression effects for either Spanish- or English-dominant Latino parents. Discussion and implications of findings with respect to research, practice, and policy with Latinos follow.

Understanding the direct involvement of parents in policy development and school activities in a primary school

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Tobin Bernie

2017-12-01

Full Text Available It is acknowledged that parental engagement with children’s learning and education is of vital importance. But, there is a tendency to confuse engagement with learning with engagement with the school. While all types of parents’ involvement can have a positive effect, it is actually what parents do with their child at home that has the greatest impact. However, unless parental involvement in learning is embedded in whole-school processes it is unlikely to as effective as possible. This paper documents an action research study that explores the inclusion of parents and home values in the construction of the teaching and learning environment. This was a small step towards positive parent-teacher collaboration, which allowed an exchange of knowledge, values and cultural background experiences. In acknowledging the ways in which the parents already engaged with their children’s learning, it began to enhance self-efficacy in their ability to directly affect this learning. This work has also provoked reflexive engagement of my influence and understanding of involving parents of children with additional and diverse learning needs. But, it also details the transformative journey that influenced my thinking about how we as a school could begin to develop whole-school processes to directly involve parents in policy development and school activities.

How School Leaders Prioritize and Allocate Resources to Improve Teacher Quality through Teacher Professional Development: A Multiple Case Study in Suburban North Carolina

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Tyson, Deonte Rashawn

2017-01-01

This multiple case study examined the methods by which school leaders determined and planned teacher professional development, as well as what teachers perceived as their professional development needs and how they believe school leaders take those needs into account. The study took place at two suburban elementary schools (1 traditional public, 1…

Why the world needs moral leaders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehlsen, Camilla

2009-01-01

The educational system plays a huge role in developing the moral leaders of tomorrow. The Quarterly takes a closer look at diversity in South Africa's schools, at the young generation in China, and at the making of moral leaders with both a global and local mindset.......The educational system plays a huge role in developing the moral leaders of tomorrow. The Quarterly takes a closer look at diversity in South Africa's schools, at the young generation in China, and at the making of moral leaders with both a global and local mindset....

Do School Leaders Have a Shelf Life? Career Stages and Headteacher Performance

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Earley, Peter; Weindling, Dick

2007-01-01

This article explores several issues about school leaders, career stages and performance. It draws upon various pieces of research, including the longitudinal study of secondary headteachers which began in the early 1980s at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), to raise some key issues about headteachers' careers, the various…

Effective home-school partnership: Some strategies to help strengthen parental involvement

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Chinedu I Okeke

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The primary aim of the study from which this paper derives was to investigate the level of parental involvement in the schooling of their children. The study employed a descriptive case study research design. All data were based on unstructured interviews with the 30 parents whose children attended one of the primary schools located in the London area of England, United Kingdom. The results of the study showed that parents care about their children's education, and want to get involved. However, results also showed that most parents do not always know how to get involved, and some are even intimidated by the operational structures within the school. The study concludes that to effectively involve parents in the affairs of the school, as well as in their children's education, certain strategies must be popularised within the school. It is recommended that parents be made aware of the strategies for their involvement in children's education if such strategies are to be effective.

Parent to Parent: Insider's Guide for High School Parents = De Padre a Padre: Guia para Padres con Alumnos en la Escuela Superior.

Science.gov (United States)

United Parents Association of New York City, Inc., NY.

This Spanish/English guide was written by parents for high school parents. The guide's first section deals with how to select the right high school. This is followed by a lengthy section on the high school years, which covers the following topics: how to keep up with what the student is doing; how to connect with the school; requirements for…

A Parent Guide for the Misbehaving High School Student.

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Hall, J. Phil

1982-01-01

Explores factors that may help parents understand and correct their adolescent's misbehavior in school. Discusses the communication process and the need to delineate clear expectations. Suggests the use of logical consequences for changing behavior. Reviews principles of behaviorism and discusses the parent-school relationship. (RC)

“My Child has Cerebral Palsy”: Parental Involvement and Children’s School Engagement

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Pereira, Armanda; Moreira, Tânia; Lopes, Sílvia; Nunes, Ana R.; Magalhães, Paula; Fuentes, Sonia; Reoyo, Natalia; Núñez, José C.; Rosário, Pedro

2016-01-01

Engaged students tend to show school-committed behaviors (e.g., attend classes, get involved with the learning process), high achievement, and sense of belonging. However, students with disabilities are prone to show a lack of engagement with school due to the specific difficulties they have to handle. In fact, children with disabilities are likely to show poor participation in school when compared with children without disabilities. This poor involvement is related to their low autonomy to participate in the school activities, which, in turn, results in low school engagement. Parents play a crucial role in their children’s education. Parental involvement in school activities promotes autonomous behaviors and, consequently, school engagement. In fact, extant literature has shown close relationships between parental involvement, school engagement, and academic performance. Yet, parental involvement in school activities of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) has received little direct attention from researchers. These children tend to display lower participation due to the motor, or cognitive, impairments that compromise their autonomy, and have a high likelihood to develop learning disabilities, with special incidences in reading and arithmetic. Therefore, our aim is twofold, to understand the parental styles; and how the perceived parental involvement in school activities is related to their children school engagement. Hence, 19 interviews were conducted with one of the parents of 19 children with CP. These interviews explored the school routines of children and the perceived involvement of parents in those routines. Additionally, children filled out a questionnaire on school engagement. Results show that the majority of the parents were clustered in the Autonomy Allowance and Acceptance and Support parental style, and the majority of their children were perceived as autonomous. Moreover, about a half of the children reported a high level of school engagement

Childhood cancer survivors' school (re)entry: Australian parents' perceptions.

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McLoone, J K; Wakefield, C E; Cohn, R J

2013-07-01

Starting or returning to school after intense medical treatment can be academically and socially challenging for childhood cancer survivors. This study aimed to evaluate the school (re)entry experience of children who had recently completed cancer treatment. Forty-two semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted to explore parents' perceptions of their child's (re)entry to school after completing treatment (23 mothers, 19 fathers, parent mean age 39.5 years; child mean age 7.76 years). Interviews were analysed using the framework of Miles and Huberman and emergent themes were organised using QSR NVivo8. Parents closely monitored their child's school (re)entry and fostered close relationships with their child's teacher to ensure swift communication of concerns should they arise. The most commonly reported difficulty related to aspects of peer socialisation; survivors either displayed a limited understanding of social rules such as turn taking, or related more to older children or teachers relative to their peers. Additionally, parents placed a strong emphasis on their child's overall personal development, above academic achievement alone. Improved parent, clinician and teacher awareness of the importance of continued peer socialisation during the treatment period is recommended in order to limit the ongoing ramifications this may have on school (re)entry post-treatment completion. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The schooling of offspring and the survival of parents.

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Friedman, Esther M; Mare, Robert D

2014-08-01

Contemporary stratification research on developed societies usually views the intergenerational transmission of educational advantage as a one-way effect from parent to child. However, parents' investment in their offspring's schooling may yield significant returns for parents themselves in later life. For instance, well-educated offspring have greater knowledge of health and technology to share with their parents and more financial means to provide for them than do their less-educated counterparts. We use data from the 1992-2006 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine whether adult offspring's educational attainments are associated with parents' survival in the United States. We show that adult offspring's educational attainments have independent effects on their parents' mortality, even after controlling for parents' own socioeconomic resources. This relationship is more pronounced for deaths that are linked to behavioral factors: most notably, chronic lower respiratory disease and lung cancer. Furthermore, at least part of the association between offspring's schooling and parents' survival may be explained by parents' health behaviors, including smoking and physical activity. These findings suggest that one way to influence the health of the elderly is through their offspring. To harness the full value of schooling for health, then, a family and multigenerational perspective is needed.

Parental Involvement in Education during Middle School: Perspectives of Ethnically Diverse Parents, Teachers, and Students

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Hill, Nancy E.; Witherspoon, Dawn P.; Bartz, Deborah

2018-01-01

Maintaining productive partnerships between families and schools is more complex when youth enter middle school. A systematic and inclusive understanding of the strategies parents use, youth want and need, and teachers' desire is needed to broaden our conceptualization and deepen our understanding of parental involvement in education. The authors…

Parental Involvement in School Governance and Decision Making in Israel

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Nir, Adam E.; Bogler, Ronit

2012-01-01

A review of the memorandums set by the Israeli Ministry of Education reveals that they stress the importance of parental involvement for schools and children. A review of studies that focused on parental involvement in Israeli school governance suggests that parents' participation is usually confined to the provision of funds, equipment, or other…

The Management of Parental Involvement in Multicultural Schools in South Africa: A Case Study

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Sathiapama Michael

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate the management of parental involvement in three multicultural schools in the Umlazi District in Durban, South Africa. A literature survey resulting in a theoretical framework on parental involvement in schools, multicultural schools, and the managing of parental involvement in schools has been done. The contextual background of schools in contemporary South Africa is depicted. A qualitative research design has been used. Focus group discussions have been conducted, with a total of thirty-three principals, teachers and parents. It has found that there is a low level of meaningful contact between school and parents. Apathy exists on the side of parents, low expectations on the side of principals and teachers, and an organisational structure facilitating parent-school interaction is lacking. In managing parental involvement in multicultural schools, school managers display a lack of intercultural sensitivity.

What Kind of International School Leaders Are in Demand around the World? A Test of Differences by Region and Stability over Time

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Roberts, Laura; Mancuso, Steven V.

2014-01-01

This mixed-methods study of 84 job advertisements for international school leaders on six continents from 2006 to 2012 entailed both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Job advertisements were obtained from the most active recruiting agency for school leaders worldwide. Conventional and summative content analysis procedures were used to…

Parenting and Temperament Influence on School Success in 9?13 Year Olds

OpenAIRE

Checa, Purificaci?n; Abundis-Gutierrez, Alicia

2017-01-01

Children spend a lot of time with their parents who are the first agents that educate them. The parenting style implemented in the family influences other contexts outside home such as the school. There is evidence that a positive parenting style has an influence on school success. However, there are other variables related to school success, for example, temperament. The influence of parenting decreases with age as children develop abilities to self-regulate without parents' external control...

Mathematics and science acceleration in grade eight: School leaders' perceptions and satisfaction

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Graham, Kenneth

Shifts in attitudes regarding academic program accessibility to provide the most rigorous academic opportunities to all students will not occur smoothly without departmental level leaders who believe in the potential benefits of accelerating larger numbers of students. Without the support and the belief of the department level leadership, practices such as open enrollment and universal acceleration that target school equity will be doomed to failure. This study was conducted using a questionnaire developed by the researcher called the Perceptions of Acceleration and Leadership Survey. The survey was distributed to all math and science department leaders within a suburban region of New York. The survey sought to determine how the perceptions of acceleration, job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and role longevity for the department level leaders are impacted by their personal demographics, professional characteristics, and community characteristics. The study did not reveal any statistically significant differences among department level leaders' personal, professional, and community characteristics with respect to perceptions of acceleration. There were significant differences for job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and role longevity for several intervening and independent variables within the study. Statistically significant correlations were found between beliefs in college preparation and perceptions of acceleration as well as relationships with the community and perceptions of acceleration. The results indicate the importance of hiring department leaders who recognize the potential for accelerating more students, hiring more ethnically diverse candidates for these leadership positions, affording department level leaders with significant professional development, and evaluation of administrative structures to maximize student success.

Family Socialization and Children's School Outcomes: An Investigation of a Parenting Model.

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Marjoribanks, Kevin

1996-01-01

Investigates the relationships between the characteristics of a parenting model and children's school outcomes. Utilizes interviews to identify and define parenting styles. Discovers that parenting styles affect academic achievement and school attitudes but do little to influence the relationship between intellectual ability and school outcomes.…

ТHE INFLUENCE OF PARENTS ON PREPARING A CHILD FOR SCHOOL

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Sonja Veličković

2014-12-01

Full Text Available : Starting school is an important developmental step / task not only for the child but also for their parents and family in which to grow up. The accomplishment of this task expands the boundaries of family / parent and the child's functioning in social, emotional and  cognitive sense. The aim of this paper is to highlight the need to educate the parents of the child going to school, which would contribute to parents with awareness and sensitivity to the nature of long-term process of entering the child's entry into school, to a child's socialization process related to school and proceeded in a favorable direction. The author emphasizes the importance of having a separate program prepares parents for the child starting school, as part of the annual program of preschools / schools that educators / teachers should realize and thus improve their educational work with one hand, while on the other hand its value will be reported in a balanced relation between child-school-family, but also to avert the potential emotional difficulties, or, the child's dysfunctional behavior. Participation of professional services and school teachers / teachers in the implementation of such programs can enhance compliance of educational values that are placed in front of the child in the family and in the school environment.

Parenting Influences on Latino Children’s Social Competence in the First Grade: Parental Depression and Parent Involvement at Home and School

Science.gov (United States)

Valdez, Carmen R.; Shewakramani, Vansa; Goldberg, Simon; Padilla, Brian

2013-01-01

Although it is widely accepted that parental depression is associated with problems with children’s socioemotional adjustment, the pathways by which parental depression influences children’s adjustment, particularly in low-income Latino children are not fully understood. In our investigation of 1,462 low-income Latino children in the first grade and their Spanish- and English-dominant parents, a factor analysis revealed three main pathways of possible influence of parent involvement in children’s social development: emotional involvement and educational involvement at home and at school. The findings from multigroup structural equation modeling revealed that whereas the first two pathways mediated the effect of parental depression on child social competence for Spanish-dominant parents, only emotional involvement explained parental depression effects for English-dominant parents. Parent educational involvement at school did not mediate parental depression effects for either Spanish- or English-dominant Latino parents. Discussion and implications of findings with respect to research, practice, and policy with Latinos follow. PMID:23325021

What Do Stakeholders Know about School Library Programs? Results of a Focus Group Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Everhart, Nancy

2014-01-01

Supporting the "Infrastructure Needs of 21st Century School Library Programs," also known as the Pennsylvania School Library Project, was a one-year project conducted in Pennsylvania to better identify and understand what stakeholders--teachers, administrators, parents, school and community leaders, and education associations--expect…

Support for comprehensive sexuality education: perspectives from parents of school-age youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenberg, Marla E; Bernat, Debra H; Bearinger, Linda H; Resnick, Michael D

2008-04-01

Controversy about school-based sexuality education in public schools has continued over the past decade, despite mounting evidence that comprehensive sexuality education effectively promotes sexual health and that parents support these programs in public schools. The present study replicates and expands upon previous findings regarding public views on school-based sexuality education. One thousand six hundred five parents of school-age children in Minnesota responded to telephone surveys in 2006-2007 (63% participation rate), including items regarding general sexuality education, 12 specific topics, the grade level at which each should be taught, and attitudes toward sexuality education. The large majority of parents supported teaching about both abstinence and contraception (comprehensive sexuality education [CSE]; 89.3%), and support was high across all demographic categories of parents. All specific sexuality education topics received majority support (63.4%-98.6%), even those often viewed as controversial. Parents believed most topics should first be taught during the middle school years. Parents held slightly more favorable views on the effectiveness of CSE compared to abstinence-only education, and these views were strongly associated with support for CSE (odds ratio [OR](CSE) = 14.3; OR(abstinence) = 0.11). This study highlights a mismatch between parents' expressed opinions and preferences, and actual sexuality education content as currently taught in the majority of public schools. In light of broad parental support for education that emphasizes multiple strategies for prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (including abstinence), parents should be encouraged to express their opinions on sexuality education to teachers, administrators, and school boards regarding the importance of including a variety of topics and beginning instruction during middle school years or earlier.

The Role of Student-Teacher Ratio in Parents' Perceptions of Schools' Engagement Efforts

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Raymond J.; Elbaum, Batya

2014-01-01

Research suggests a positive relationship between schools' efforts to engage parents and parents' involvement in their child's education. The authors investigated school socioeconomic status, school size, grade level, and student-teacher ratio as predictors of schools' efforts to engage parents of students receiving special education services. The…

Making the Difference with Active Parenting; Forming Educational Partnerships between Parents and Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Oostdam, Ron; Hooge, Edith

2013-01-01

Although parental involvement is often a priority on the quality agenda of schools for primary and secondary education, it is still not usual to involve parents as an educational partner in the actual learning process of their child. Rather than adopting an open approach, teachers tend to tell parents what they should do or keep them at a safe…

Parenting Education at Medford and Churchill High Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Mary Cihak

1986-01-01

Nationally, interest in family life and parenting programs has grown amidst concern for "basic education." Parenting education in today's schools may be justified because of increased family stress and deteriorating family support systems. Most parenting and family life courses are offered within home economics departments, have a narrow…

Parental perception of the nutritional quality of school meals and its association with students' school lunch participation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam

2014-03-01

This study explores the association between parental perception of the nutritional quality of school meals and whether students eat lunch served at school. We use data from five low-income cities in New Jersey that have high minority populations. Students whose parents perceive the quality of school meals to be healthy have greater odds of eating meals served at school. Recent changes in guidelines for the United States Department of Agriculture's National School Lunch Program met with resistance from several fronts. Advocates for and implementers of improved school meals may benefit from partnering with parents to increase the acceptance and utilization of improved school offerings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Handbook for Teacher Leaders.

Science.gov (United States)

Pellicer, Leonard O.; Anderson, Lorin W.

This handbook is written for teachers in leadership roles, including team leaders, lead teachers, department chairpersons, and master teachers. Part 1, "The Nature of School Leadership," is devoted to a description of teacher leaders and how they lead. Results are provided from research on teacher leaders, and persistent obstacles to…

A survey of parental opinions on corporal punishment in schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, P C; Weir, M R; Fearnow, R G

1985-06-01

Forty-three states permit corporal punishment in schools. This practice continues despite the universal opposition of professional organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. This study determines parental attitudes concerning the use of physical punishment in schools. The surveyed sample is drawn from parents of military dependents who brought their children to this clinic for routine physical examinations. One hundred and twenty-nine of 132 questionnaires were returned for a 98% response rate. Fifty-one percent of the parents supported the use of corporal punishment in schools, 37% disagreed (77% of these strongly), 11% had no opinion, and 1% did not respond to the question. Analysis of the responses displayed a relationship between parental attitudes on the use of corporal punishment and opinion of the positive effects of physical punishment on children's behavior (p less than 0.0001). No relationship was found between position on corporal punishment and the respondent (mother, father, or both), the age of parents, the military rank of the sponsor (the individual whose military service makes the child eligible for military medical care, i.e., father, mother, guardian, etc.), the sex of the children, the marital status of the parents, or the schools attended by the children (public or private). Thirty-four percent of parents believed corporal punishment would improve behavior, and 20% of parents felt that physical punishment would improve their child's academic performance.

Is Parental Involvement Lower at Larger Schools?

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Patrick

2010-01-01

Parents who volunteer, or who lobby for improvements in school quality, are generally seen as providing a school-wide public good. If so, straightforward public-good theory predicts that free-riding will reduce average involvement at larger schools. This study uses longitudinal data to follow families over time, as their children move from middle…

Parent and School Relations in Latvia

Science.gov (United States)

Bluma, Dainuvite; Ivanova, Ilze

2013-01-01

Families in Latvia know what is best for their children, and they make a major contribution to their education. Consequently, it is important to build close partnerships between school and family. This article reviews extant research that provides insight into the nature of school-parent relations in Latvia as the nation stands at the crossroads…

Musical Home Environment, Family Background, and Parenting Style on Success in School Music and in School

Science.gov (United States)

Zdzinski, Stephen; Dell, Charlene; Gumm, Alan; Rinnert, Nathan; Orzolek, Douglas; Yap, Ching Ching; Cooper, Shelly; Keith, Timothy; Russell, Brian

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine influences of parental involvement-home music environment, family background, and parenting style factors on success in school music and in school. Participants (N = 1114) were music students in grades 4-12 from six regions of the United States. Data were gathered about parental involvement-home environment…

Parents' Participation on School Councils Analysed through Arnstein's Ladder of Participation

Science.gov (United States)

Stelmach, Bonnie

2016-01-01

Although parent school councils are the archetypal arrangement for engaging parents in school improvement planning, their effectiveness is negligible when it comes to building parents' capacity for and confidence in educational decision-making. Using Arnstein's ladder of citizen participation, this qualitative case study investigated the nature…

A Study of the Factors Influencing Parental Choice of a Charter School

Science.gov (United States)

Ekanem, Imaobong Columba

2013-01-01

The study discussed in this dissertation identified and examined the factors that influence parent charter school choice. The study was conducted for a rural K-8 charter school in Delaware. The survey instrument used was a parent questionnaire which contained questions that examined the reasons for parent charter school choice, the features of…

What do parents think about parental participation in school-based interventions on energy balance-related behaviours? a qualitative study in 4 countries

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Overweight and obesity in youth has increased dramatically. Therefore, overweight prevention initiatives should start early in life and target modifiable energy balance-related behaviours. Parental participation is often advocated as important for school-based interventions, however, getting parents involved in school-based interventions appears to be challenging based on earlier intervention experiences. The purpose of this study was to get insight into the determinants of and perspectives on parental participation in school-interventions on energy balance-related behaviours (physical activity, healthy eating, sedentary behaviours) in parents of ten- to twelve-year olds in order to develop an effective parental module for school-based interventions concerning energy balance-related behaviours. Methods Four countries (Belgium, Hungary, Norway and Spain) conducted the focus group research based on a standardised protocol and a semi-structured questioning route. A variation in parental socio-economic status (SES) and parental school involvement was taken into account when recruiting the parents. The audio taped interviews were transcribed, and a qualitative content analysis of the transcripts was conducted in each country. Results Seventeen focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 92 parents (12 men, 80 women). Physical activity was considered to be a joint responsibility of school and parents, nutrition as parent's responsibility but supported by the school, and prevention of sedentary behaviours as parent's sole responsibility. Parents proposed interactive and practical activities together with their child as the best way to involve them such as cooking, food tasting, nutrition workshops, walking or cycling tours, sport initiations together with their child. Activities should be cheap, on a convenient moment, focused on their children and not on themselves, not tutoring, not theoretical, and school-or home-based. Conclusions Parents want to

Parental Divorce and Children’s Schooling in Rural Malawi

OpenAIRE

Chae, Sophia

2016-01-01

A growing body of literature has examined the impact of different types of family structures on children’s schooling in sub-Saharan Africa. These studies have investigated how living arrangements, gender of the household head, parental death, and paternal migration are related to schooling. Although many sub-Saharan African countries have high divorce rates, very few studies have explored the impact of parental divorce on children’s schooling. The present study uses three waves of data from t...

The Relation of Parenting Style to Adolescent School Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Dornbusch, Sanford M.; And Others

1987-01-01

Uses a reformation of Baumrind's typology of authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative parenting styles in the context of adolescent school performance. Authoritarian and permissive parenting were negatively associated with grades; authoritative parenting was positively associated with grades. (PCB)

Apples to Apples: Common School Performance Frameworks as a Tool for Choice and Accountability

Science.gov (United States)

Yatsko, Sarah; Opalka, Alice; Sutter, Jessica; Weeldreyer, Laura; Stewart, David

2016-01-01

Many districts are expanding and diversifying the school options available to parents--a trend that shows no signs of reversing. While all public schools are required to test and publically report results, it remains nearly impossible for families and education and civic leaders to make school-to-school comparisons, especially across district-run…

Planning for Parent Choice: A Guide to Parent Surveys and Parent Involvement in Planning for Parent and Professional Choice in the Public Schools. [Parent Choice and the Public Schools: Volume 2].

Science.gov (United States)

Clinchy, Evans

This guide, second in a series of four volumes, offers a method of surveying parents' attitudes about choosing schools for their children and provides a survey instrument used over a period of 5 years in four Massachusetts urban school districts. Section 1 introduces the basic research questions pursued in the survey. Section 2, "The Parent…

Perceived parental influences on motivational profiles of secondary school athletes

OpenAIRE

2011-01-01

M.Sc. This study investigated the correlations between the motivational profiles as defined by Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) and parental expectations and criticism of secondary school children in South Africa who participate in sport. A sample of 267 secondary school athletes completed the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) as well as the Parental Expectations (PE) and Parental Criticism (PC) subscales of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS). Results indicat...

How Parents Were Involved in a Special School in Hong Kong

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Shun Wing; Lee, Tai Hoi Theodore

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on a case study of 93 parents' attitude toward their involvement at various levels of school education in a special school. It also examines the relations between parents' education backgrounds and different levels of parental involvement. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted quantitative…

Effect of Trajectories of Friends' and Parents' School Involvement on Adolescents' Engagement and Achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Im, Myung Hee; Hughes, Jan N; West, Stephen G

2016-12-01

In a sample of 527 academically at-risk youth, we investigated trajectories of friends' and parents' school involvement across ages 12-14 and the joint contributions of these trajectories to adolescents' age 15 school engagement and academic achievement. Girls reported higher levels of friends' and parents' school involvement than boys. Both parents' and friends' school involvement declined across ages 12-14. Combined latent growth models and structural equation models showed effects of the trajectories of friends' and parents' school involvement on adolescents' age 15 school engagement and academic achievement, over and above adolescents' prior performance. These effects were additive rather than interactive. Strategies for enhancing parent involvement in school and students' affiliation with peers who are positively engaged in school are discussed.

Perceived parenting, school climate and positive youth development ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

For this purpose, 400 female high school students of Kerman responded to the scale of parenting style perception, school climate perception, and positive youth development. The results of correlation analysis indicated a positive and significant correlation between school climate dimensions (teacher support, autonomy ...

Modeling the Relations among Parental Involvement, School Engagement and Academic Performance of High School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Alwan, Ahmed F.

2014-01-01

The author proposed a model to explain how parental involvement and school engagement related to academic performance. Participants were (671) 9th and 10th graders students who completed two scales of "parental involvement" and "school engagement" in their regular classrooms. Results of the path analysis suggested that the…

Examining the Perceptions of Curriculum Leaders on Primary School Reform: A Case Study of Hong Kong

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, Alan C. K.; Yuen, Timothy W. W.

2017-01-01

In an effort to enhance the quality of teachers and teaching, and to lead internal curriculum development in primary schools, the Hong Kong Education Bureau created a new curriculum leader post entitled primary school master/mistress (curriculum development) or PSMCD for short. The main purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of these…

Leaders' Experiences with High School-College Writing Center Collaborations: A Qualitative Multiple-Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Story, Julie A.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore academic leaders' experiences with the organizational elements of their own high school-college writing center collaborations. Conjoining theories framed this study: collaborative leadership theory, Kenneth Bruffee's notion of social constructionism and collaborative learning…

What do parents think about parental participation in school-based interventions on energy balance-related behaviours? a qualitative study in 4 countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Van Lippevelde Wendy

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Overweight and obesity in youth has increased dramatically. Therefore, overweight prevention initiatives should start early in life and target modifiable energy balance-related behaviours. Parental participation is often advocated as important for school-based interventions, however, getting parents involved in school-based interventions appears to be challenging based on earlier intervention experiences. The purpose of this study was to get insight into the determinants of and perspectives on parental participation in school-interventions on energy balance-related behaviours (physical activity, healthy eating, sedentary behaviours in parents of ten- to twelve-year olds in order to develop an effective parental module for school-based interventions concerning energy balance-related behaviours. Methods Four countries (Belgium, Hungary, Norway and Spain conducted the focus group research based on a standardised protocol and a semi-structured questioning route. A variation in parental socio-economic status (SES and parental school involvement was taken into account when recruiting the parents. The audio taped interviews were transcribed, and a qualitative content analysis of the transcripts was conducted in each country. Results Seventeen focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 92 parents (12 men, 80 women. Physical activity was considered to be a joint responsibility of school and parents, nutrition as parent's responsibility but supported by the school, and prevention of sedentary behaviours as parent's sole responsibility. Parents proposed interactive and practical activities together with their child as the best way to involve them such as cooking, food tasting, nutrition workshops, walking or cycling tours, sport initiations together with their child. Activities should be cheap, on a convenient moment, focused on their children and not on themselves, not tutoring, not theoretical, and school-or home

Generation X School Leaders as Agents of Care: Leader and Teacher Perspectives from Toronto, New York City and London

OpenAIRE

Edge, K. E.; Descours, K.; Frayman, K.

2016-01-01

This paper draws on evidence from our three-year Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded research study of the lives, careers, experiences and aspirations of Generation X (under 40 years of age) principals and vice-principals in London, New York City, and Toronto. More specifically, the paper examines interview evidence from nine school-based studies in which nine leaders and 54 teachers discuss their perspectives on leaders’ care of their staff members. The evidence demonstrates t...

Parenting at Home and Bullying at School

Science.gov (United States)

Georgiou, Stelios N.; Stavrinides, Panayiotis

2013-01-01

The present study aimed at examining the relationship that may exist between specific parental practices at home and the child's bullying and victimization experiences at school. This study attempted to go beyond parental styles, a variable that most of the earlier studies have used and introduce three, relatively new parameters of bullying and…

Child Physical Punishment, Parenting, and School Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Weegar, Kelly; Guérin-Marion, Camille; Fréchette, Sabrina; Romano, Elisa

2018-01-01

This study explored how physical punishment (PP) and other parenting approaches may predict school readiness outcomes. By using the Canada-wide representative data, 5,513 children were followed over a 2-year period. Caregivers reported on their use of PP and other parenting approaches (i.e., literacy and learning activities and other disciplinary…

Empowering Leaders & Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Umphrey, Jan

2013-01-01

Trevor Greene, the 2013 MetLife/NASSP National High School Principal of the Year, empowers staff members and students to be the best teachers and learners they can be and provides the community resources to support them. In this article, Greene, principal of Toppenish High School in Washington, shares his biggest motivator as a school leader and…

New perspectives on the positioning of parents in children’s bullying at school

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hein, Nina

2017-01-01

for a constructive partnership between parents and schools in cases of bullying. This research adds to the existing literature in the field by suggesting that the connections between schools, parents and their children’s social behaviour at school must be seen as complexly entangled and involving a range of forces......This article explores the subject of parents with respect to children’s bullying at school. The overarching claim is that parental agency and positions on children’s bullying at school are produced and made possible by an apparatus of multiple, concurrent forces that provide poor conditions...

New perspectives on the positioning of parents in children’s bullying at school

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hein, Nina

2017-01-01

This article explores the subject of parents with respect to children’s bullying at school. The overarching claim is that parental agency and positions on children’s bullying at school are produced and made possible by an apparatus of multiple, concurrent forces that provide poor conditions...... for a constructive partnership between parents and schools in cases of bullying. This research adds to the existing literature in the field by suggesting that the connections between schools, parents and their children’s social behaviour at school must be seen as complexly entangled and involving a range of forces...

School Personnel Experiences in Notifying Parents About Their Child's Risk for Suicide: Lessons Learned.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadeem, Erum; Santiago, Catherine DeCarlo; Kataoka, Sheryl H; Chang, Vickie Y; Stein, Bradley D

2016-01-01

Schools across the nation are increasingly implementing suicide prevention programs that involve training school staff and connecting students and their families to appropriate services. However, little is known about how parents are engaged in such efforts. This qualitative study examined school staff perspectives on parent involvement in the implementation of a district-wide suicide prevention program by analyzing focus group and interview data gathered on the program implementation processes. Participants included middle school teachers, administrators, and other school personnel. Study results revealed that in the immediate wake of a crisis or concern about suicide, school staff routinely contacted parents. However, substantial barriers prevent some students from receiving needed follow-up care (eg, lack of consistent follow-up, financial strain, parental stress, availability of appropriate services). Despite these challenges, school staff identified strategies that could better support parents before, during, and after the crisis. In particular, school-based services increased the success of mental health referrals. Our study suggests that systematic postcrisis follow-up procedures are needed to improve the likelihood that students and families receive ongoing support. In particular, school-based services and home visits, training and outreach for parents, and formal training for school mental health staff on parent engagement may be beneficial in this context. © 2015, American School Health Association.

Prevalence of parent-rated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and associated parent-related factors in primary school children of Navi Mumbai--a school based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ajinkya, Shaunak; Kaur, Darpan; Gursale, Akshay; Jadhav, Pradeep

2013-03-01

To study the prevalence of parent-rated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and associated parent-related factors in primary school children of Navi Mumbai. One hundred twenty two children including both boys and girls aged between 6 y and 11 y were selected from a school at Navi Mumbai and their parents were given the National Innovative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) Vanderbilt Assessment Scale to be filled and returned, which was subsequently analyzed using SPSS (version 16). The prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was 12.3 % with boy to girl ratio of 3:2. It was more prevalent in nuclear type of family and in families where a single parent was working especially where the father was the sole breadwinner and doing semi-skilled or unskilled type of work. No significant relation was found between the numbers of work-related hours when parents were away from children and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is prevalent in the primary school-going population of Navi Mumbai, especially in boys. The increased prevalence in nuclear families and families with single working parent should further be explored. Further studies with larger sample size and longer period of follow up may be recommended. The study also recommends screening of school children for symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for early diagnosis and treatment.

Telling the Technology Story: PR Strategies for School Leaders. Backgrounder Brief. CoSN Essential Leadership Skills Series

Science.gov (United States)

Consortium for School Networking (NJ1), 2006

2006-01-01

This Backgrounder Brief is an executive summary of "Telling the Technology Story: PR Strategies for School Leaders," a component of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) Essential Leadership Skills Series. Public relations is a critical component of a district's successful technology implementation--and it involves communicating on an…

Challenges of Parental Involvement Within a Health Promoting School Framework in New Zealand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tracy Clelland

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The study sought to identify key issues regarding parental involvement within a health promoting school (HPS approach directed at addressing children’s nutrition and physical activity. A case study research design was used, involving six primary schools in Auckland, New Zealand. Data were collected via six individual interviews with principals, six group interviews with a total of 26 teachers, 13 focus groups with a total of 92 children, and a survey of 229 parents. The study found that while schools agreed on the importance of schools and parents promoting the same healthy behaviours, there was a lack of agreement on the role of school staff in educating parents. School principals identified issues around managing the food brought from home and the extent to which they should regulate types of food. Parents stressed the importance of modelling healthy food and exercise practices in the home environment but identified factors that often made this difficult, a scenario that did not go unnoticed by their children. It is recommended that parental involvement be encouraged and supported so that schools and families can achieve consistency in health promotion practices across both school and home environments.

Tempering the Normative Demands of Professional Learning Communities with the Organizational Realities of Life in Schools: Exploring the Cognitive Dilemmas Faced by Educational Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Kruse, Sharon D.; Johnson, Bob L.

2017-01-01

This work explores how mindful leadership practice can inform school and district leadership specifically as it occurs in professional learning communities (PLC). When school and district leaders create PLC cultures that encourage rich thinking and intentional practice, individual and organizational mindfulness is present. As leaders work to craft…

School Nurses' Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions of Role as Opinion Leader, and Professional Practice Regarding Human Papillomavirus Vaccine for Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Rosen, Brittany L.; Goodson, Patricia; Thompson, Bruce; Wilson, Kelly L.

2015-01-01

Background: Because human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine rates remain low, we evaluated US school nurses' knowledge, attitudes, perceptions of their role as opinion leaders, and professional practice regarding HPV vaccine, and assessed whether knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of being an opinion leader influenced their professional…

Parental attachment as a mediator between parental social support and self-esteem as perceived by Korean sports middle and high school athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Sangwook; Jeon, Hyunsoo; Kwon, Sungho; Park, Seungha

2015-02-01

This study examined whether parental attachment mediates the relationship between parental social support and self-esteem in Korean middle and high school athletes. 591 sports athletes attending middle and high schools that specialize in sport volunteered. Parental social support and parental attachment had a significant positive effect on self-esteem; parental attachment had a greater effect on self-esteem. In the structural relationship, direct effects of parental social support on self-esteem were weak, but indirect effects through parental attachment were strong. Therefore, parental attachment complementally mediated the relationship between parental social support and self-esteem. Metric invariance was supported for groups categorized by sex, region, and school level, confirming that the model could be applied to various groups.

Gender Differences in Factors Associated with How Parents Communicate with School in Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Soyoung; Chin, Meejung

2016-01-01

The authors explored different factors that were associated with mothers' and fathers' choice between two forms of parent-school communication: school briefing sessions and parent-teacher conferences. A total of 585 parents--295 mothers and 290 fathers from different households--who had at least one child enrolled in middle school in Korea were…

Survey of parents, nurses, and school principals on their perceptions of the controversial role of schools in health promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, Samuel; Cohen, Herman Avner; Kahan, Ernesto

2006-02-01

The aim of this paper was to study the perceptions of parents, nurses, and school principals of the role of the health services in elementary schools. A questionnaire was distributed to the heads of parents' committees, school nurses, and school principals of 35 randomly selected elementary public schools in Israel. Respondents were asked to qualify the degree of importance of the traditional and contemporary roles of the school health-care team. Response rates were 80.0% for parents, 100% for nurses, and 97.1% for principals. All respondents agreed that both the traditional and new roles are very important. Nurses rated three interconnected roles significantly lower than parents and school principals: 'Evaluation of students with behavioral problems', 'Evaluation of students with low academic performance', and 'Follow up and care of students with behavioral problems and low performance'. Nurses, parents and school principals in Israel agree that the traditional roles of health teams in elementary schools, that is, providing first aid and ensuring school hygiene, are very important. Most are ready to accept a move from an illness-based to a social-based model, with less time spent on screening and surveillance and more on identifying and managing special needs of children and staff.

Challenges of Teacher Leadership in a Saudi School: Why Are Teachers Not Leaders?

Science.gov (United States)

Alsalahi, Saud Mossa

2014-01-01

Teaching as a legitimate profession where teachers could practice their leadership agency as leaders has been under debate over the last two decades. The support for teachers' inclusion in the development of schools as well as their leadership is numerous and varies. There seems to be a few when it comes to teacher leadership in the Saudi context.…

Parent involvement in beginning primary school: Correlates and changes in involvement across the first two years of school in a New Zealand sample.

Science.gov (United States)

McDowall, Philippa S; Taumoepeau, Mele; Schaughency, Elizabeth

2017-06-01

This study described the relations of parents' and teachers' beliefs and attitudes to forms of parents' involvement in children's first two years of primary school. Parents of children in their first year of primary school (age 5) were recruited from 12 classrooms within four schools in New Zealand; 196 families participated in their child's first year, and 124 families continued to participate in their child's second school year. Parents completed the Family-Involvement Questionnaire, New Zealand, and we archivally collected parent-documented children's oral reading homework. Teachers' rated helpfulness of parents' involvement at school (level 2) and parents' rated teacher invitations to be involved and their perceived time and energy (level 1) contributed to school-based involvement in Year 1 in multilevel models, with parents' rated teacher invitations for involvement also found to predict Year 1 home-school communication in regression analyses. Contributors to Year 1 child-parent reading in multilevel models included level 1 predictors of two or more adults in the home and parents' perceived time and energy. Longitudinal analyses suggested both consistency and change in each form of involvement from Year 1 to Year 2, with increases in each form of involvement found to be associated with increases in parents' and/or teachers' views about involvement in Year 2 in cross-sectional time-series analyses. Implications for schools wanting to engage families are that parents' involvement in children's schooling may be influenced by parents' perceptions of their capacity, teachers' engagement efforts, and the school's climate for involvement. This is a special issue paper "Family Engagement in Education and Intervention". Copyright © 2017 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

TEACHING SEX EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS IN AKWA jBOM STATE ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The viewpoint of Akwa lbom State education administrators, teachers, parents, clergy, and community leaders living in the United. States and Nigeria ... home have a cooperative job to do. .... in the school curriculum - as a separate course, part.

School Quality, Child Wellbeing and Parents' Satisfaction

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbons, Stephen; Silva, Olmo

2011-01-01

Child wellbeing at school and enjoyment of the learning environment are important economic outcomes, in particular because a growing body of research shows they are strongly linked to later educational attainments and labour market success. However, the standard working assumption in the economics of education is that parents choose schools on the…

Parenting Style and Only Children's School Achievement in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Qing; And Others

This report describes a study which examined the relation of Chinese parenting style to only-children's academic achievement. Subjects, 186 middle-class parents of fifth and sixth graders (10-13 years old) from one Beijing elementary school, completed a Chinese translation of the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ). Four approximately equal…

Developing Democratic and Transformational School Leaders: Graduates' Perceptions of the Impact of Their Preparation Program

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, Robert B.; Doolittle, Gini

2003-01-01

As administrative preparation programs ground strategies for developing new genres of school leaders in transformational and democratic communities, of particular interest are the instructional and programmatic strategies that contribute to successful program outcomes. Constructed over time, this article highlights the specific contribution of…

Parenting Styles and Attachment in School-Aged Children Who Stutter

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Su Re; Beilby, Janet M.; Byrnes, Michelle L.; Hennessey, Neville W.

2012-01-01

Parental input has been described as influential in early childhood stuttering yet the exact nature of this influence remains equivocal. The present study aimed to examine whether quantitative measures of parenting styles, parent and peer attachment patterns, and parent- and self-reported child behaviour could differentiate between school-aged…

“Getting Ready for School:” A Preliminary Evaluation of a Parent-Focused School-Readiness Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimberly G. Noble

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Children from disadvantaged backgrounds tend to start school with fewer school readiness skills than their more advantaged peers. Emergent literacy and math skills play an important role in this gap. The family is essential in helping children build these skills, and the active involvement of families is crucial to the success of any intervention for young children. The Getting Ready for School (GRS program is a parent-focused curriculum designed to help parents equip their children with the skills and enthusiasm necessary for learning when they start school. Parents meet in weekly workshops led by a trained facilitator and implement the curriculum at home with their children. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the promise of the GRS intervention in children participating in an urban Head Start program and to explore parents' responses to the intervention. We hypothesized that participation in GRS would improve school readiness in literacy and math skills, relative to participation in business-as-usual Head Start. Four Head Start classrooms (two randomly selected “intervention” and two “comparison” classrooms participated in this study. Preliminary analyses suggest that GRS improves school readiness over and above a Head Start-as-usual experience. Implications for early childhood programs and policies are discussed.

Predictors and Outcomes of Parental Involvement with High School Students in Science

Science.gov (United States)

Shumow, Lee; Lyutykh, Elena; Schmidt, Jennifer A.

2011-01-01

Demographic and psychological predictors of parent involvement with their children's science education both at home and at school were examined during high school. Associations between both types of parent involvement and numerous academic outcomes were tested. Data were collected from 244 high school students in 12 different science classrooms…

Parent Involvement on School Committees as Social Capital to Improve Student Achievement

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Ravik Karsidi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This study explores how the participation of parents on school committees improves student achievement. In decentralized education systems like the one in Indonesia, parents’ participation has become a focal point for improving the quality of education. The data for this study were collected using questionnaires distributed to 250 students in state senior high schools, selected by quota-purposive sampling. The qualitative findings of this research are threefold: most parents participated in student learning only by providing material aspects, such as tuition and books; most parents had a misconception that it was the school that should solely be responsible for the education of their children; busy parents tended to ignore the progress of their children’s learning. In order to create social capital for their children, parents need to be active in the learning process, cooperate with school officials, and get involved in the planning of social activities.

Preferences Regarding School Sexuality Education among Elementary Schoolchildren's Parents

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Dake, Joseph A.; Price, James H.; Baksovich, Christine M.; Wielinski, Margaret

2014-01-01

Background: A comprehensive review of the literature failed to find any studies to assess elementary school parents' preferred philosophical approach to teaching sexuality education and sexuality education topics discussed by parents. All previous research reported parent data for grades K-12 or grades 9-12 only. Methods: A random sample of 2400…

The Impact of School Accountability Laws on Measures of Trust between Indiana Public School Superintendents and Teacher Union Leaders within the Forum of Mandatory Discussion

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Downs, Philip G.

2012-01-01

This study examines the impact of the school accountability laws "No Child Left Behind" and Indiana's Public Law 221 on Superintendents' perception of their relationship with the Teachers' Union Leader in their mandatory discussion meetings. Both school accountability laws contain provisions for the Indiana's Department of Education to…

From Past to Present: How Memories of School Shape Parental Views of Children's Schooling

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Miller, Kyle

2015-01-01

Internationally, there is growing interest in children's transition to school and their readiness for formal education. Parents' memories of school offer important insights into children's preparation for school and how families view schools; however, few studies consider the influence of educational histories. To address this gap, a sample of 24…

Parents' perceptions of the role of schools in tobacco use prevention and cessation for youth.

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Wyman, Jodi; Price, James H; Jordan, Timothy R; Dake, Joseph A; Telljohann, Susan K

2006-06-01

The purpose of this study was to examine Ohio parents' perceptions of the role of schools in smoking prevention, cessation, and anti-tobacco policy for their children. A 46-item questionnaire was based on the CDC Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction. Surveys (n = 800) were sent to a stratified random sample of parents of junior high and high school aged students and 57% responded. Parents were supportive of smoking prevention activities, but almost two-thirds believed their child's school should get parents' input. Furthermore, mothers/step-mothers were more likely than fathers/step-fathers to agree that the school had a role in smoking prevention activities. The majority of parents were also supportive of smoking cessation activities. However, only 8% of parent respondents supported schools providing nicotine gum or patches to students trying to quit smoking. Overall, the majority of parents were supportive of the seven recommendations developed by the CDC as guidelines for school health programs to prevent tobacco use and addiction. Schools have the opportunity to impact student smoking through prevention and cessation activities. Schools need to know that parents are supportive of these activities and want to be included in the process of implementing effective prevention or cessation programs.

Parents' Handbook for Successful Schools = Manual de Padres para Escuelas de Exito.

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Chris

This handbook is designed to help parents learn more about what is taking place in the schools their children attend and to help parents evaluate the effectiveness of the school's academic program. It offers tips for locating important information and identifies where assistance can be obtained. A checklist is provided to help parents identify the…

Principal Licensure Exams and Future Job Performance: Evidence from the School Leaders Licensure Assessment

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Grissom, Jason A.; Mitani, Hajime; Blissett, Richard S. L.

2017-01-01

Many states require prospective principals to pass a licensure exam to obtain an administrative license, but we know little about the potential effects of principal licensure exams on the pool of available principals or whether scores predict later job performance. We investigate the most commonly used exam, the School Leaders Licensure Assessment…

Parent Social Networks and Parent Responsibility: Implications for School Leadership

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Curry, Katherine A.; Adams, Curt M.

2014-01-01

Family-school partnerships are difficult to initiate and sustain in ways that actually promote student learning, especially in high-poverty communities. This quantitative study was designed to better understand how social forces shape parent responsibility in education. Based on social cognitive theory as the conceptual framework, the…

Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting at School in Contemporary South African Contexts: Deconstructing School Narratives and Understanding Policy Implementation

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Shefer, Tamara; Bhana, Deevia; Morrell, Robert

2013-01-01

South African national education policy is committed to promoting gender equality at school and to facilitating the successful completion of all young people's schooling, including those who may become pregnant and parent while at school. However, the experience of being pregnant and parenting while being a learner is shaped by broader social and…

Islam and state school: opinions of Muslim parents in Piedmont

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Renzo Guolo

2009-07-01

Full Text Available What are the opinions of Muslim parents, as to the teaching of Islamic religion? In case it were possible, would they prefer it to be taught in state or religious schools? And in the first case, by whom? What do families think about problems like the observance of dietary laws in school canteens, the class of physical education for girls in mixed classes, the wearing of veil? The article summarizes the data of a survey on these topics (between 2006 and 2007 carried out in Piedmont, in particular in Turin, on a sample of about 1000 people representing the different ethnonational islamic communities living in the region. The methodology employed is both quantitative (the whole sample was given a structured questionnaire and qualitative. The latter concerns detailed interviews with the leaders of Islamic associations in the region. The result is definitely in favour of the teaching of Islamic religion in state schools, together with the request to observe dietary laws, both cultural and religious, and the acceptance, on principle, of the mixed class of physical education. There are of course different opinions which, however, show a growing trend in favour of free choice as to the obligation of veil: a picture widely determined by the ethnonational origin of the interviewed, confirming the pluralism of Italian Islam. The result points out that most Muslims in Piedmont have an inclusive approach and that religion does not mean cultural separation. The main trend, apart from the opinions and projects of a few associative leaderships, is one of an Islam that wishes to become a recognized member of Italian religious and cultural scene.

Parents' perceptions of causes of and solutions for school violence: implications for policy.

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Bliss, Melanie J; Emshoff, James; Buck, Chad A; Cook, Sarah L

2006-05-01

This study explores perceptions of causes of and solutions for school violence in a sample of 202 parents interviewed in the wake of nationally publicized school shootings. We also investigate the effects the school shootings had on children, parents' perceptions regarding firearms, and changes in parenting behavior. Parents exhibited strong support for almost all proposed causes and solutions, and we address their desire for immediate and often invasive interventions to prevent future violence. We contrast parents' perceptions with their own parenting behaviors and with literature on effective interventions. Results are discussed within the context of policy implications.Editors' Strategic Implications: Parents' perceptions and behaviors are frequently influenced by history effects. The national attention received by school shootings provided an opportunity for exploration of those perceptions and self-reported behaviors. The authors provide evidence from timely surveys that parents struggle with identifying causal factors that may contribute to school violence and consequently support a myriad of strategies for intervention including very invasive environmental preventive strategies. The findings suggest that social scientists should play a proactive role in translating research-supported preventive strategies to effective replications in the community and make research available in formats that are available and comprehensible by the lay public.

Parent emotional expressiveness and children's self-regulation: Associations with abused children's school functioning

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Haskett, Mary E.; Stelter, Rebecca; Proffit, Katie; Nice, Rachel

2012-01-01

Objective Identifying factors associated with school functioning of abused children is important in prevention of long-term negative outcomes associated with school failure. The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which parent emotional expressiveness and children's self-regulation predicted early school behavior of abused children. Methods The sample included 92 physically abused children ages 4-7 and one of their parents (95.7% mothers). Parents completed a measure of their own emotional expressiveness, and parents and teachers provided reports of children's self-regulatory skills. Children's school functioning was measured by observations of playground aggression and teacher reports of aggression and classroom behavior. Results Parents’ expression of positive and negative emotions was associated with various aspects of children's self-regulation and functioning in the school setting. Links between self-regulation and children's school adjustment were robust; poor self-regulation was associated with higher aggression and lower cooperation and self-directed behavior in the classroom. There was minimal support for a mediating role of children's self-regulation in links between parent expressiveness and children's behavior. Practice implications Findings point to the relevance of parent emotional expressivity and children's self-regulatory processes in understanding physically abused children's functioning at the transition to school. Although further research is needed, findings indicate that increasing parental expression of positive emotion should be a focus in treatment along with reduction in negativity of abusive parents. Further, addressing children's self-regulation could be important in efforts to reduce aggression and enhance children's classroom competence. PMID:22565040

Parents' perceptions of their children's schooling

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Hennie

Items 1 - 10 ... South African Journal of Education, Volume 35, Number 2, May 2015. 1 .... theories dealing with the role of two-way home- school .... view of parent perceptions on the designated topics for 2012 and ..... Unpublished DEd thesis.

How Do We Transform Our Schools?

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Christensen, Clayton M.; Horn, Michael B.

2008-01-01

Teachers, administrators, researchers, reformers, government leaders, parents, and others have long extolled the benefits that computer-based learning could have in schools: (1) Educational video games could make learning fun and motivating; and (2) Computers offer a way to customize instruction and allow students to learn in the way they are best…

Association of School Nutrition Policy and Parental Control with Childhood Overweight

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Seo, Dong-Chul; Lee, Chung Gun

2012-01-01

Background: Schools and parents may play important roles in preventing childhood obesity by affecting children's behaviors related to energy balance. This study examined how school nutrition policy and parental control over children's eating and physical activity habits are associated with the children's overweight/obesity (hereafter overweight)…

Restrictive and Supportive Parenting: Effects on Children's School Affect and Emotional Responses

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Annear, Karen D.; Yates, Gregory C. R.

2010-01-01

In this project upper primary school students were surveyed about their general liking for school, and reasons for going to school. Their parents were asked to respond on a questionnaire indicating their restrictiveness and also support for their child's autonomy. Data were collected from 92 middle SES two-parent families and analysed using…

"It's Our Best Choice Right Now": Exploring How Charter School Parents Choose

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Villavicencio, Adriana

2013-01-01

One of the underlying premises of the charter school movement is that quality drives consumer choice. As educational consumers, parents are viewed as rational actors who, if given the choice, will select better performing school. In examining the choice processes of charter school parents, however, this study calls into question the extent to…

School personnel experiences in notifying parents about their child’s risk for suicide: lessons learned

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Nadeem, Erum; Santiago, Catherine DeCarlo; Kataoka, Sheryl H.; Chang, Vickie Y.; Stein, Bradley D.

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND Schools across the nation are increasingly implementing suicide prevention programs that involve training school staff and connecting students and their families to appropriate services. However, little is known about how parents are engaged in such efforts. METHODS This qualitative study examined school staff perspectives on parent involvement in the implementation of a district-wide suicide prevention program by analyzing focus group and interview data gathered on the program implementation processes. Participants included middle school teachers, administrators, and other school personnel. RESULTS Study results revealed that in the immediate wake of a crisis or concern about suicide, school staff routinely contacted parents. However, substantial barriers prevent some students from receiving needed follow-up care (eg, lack of consistent follow-up, financial strain, parental stress, availability of appropriate services). Despite these challenges, school staff identified strategies that could better support parents before, during, and after the crisis. In particular, school-based services increased the success of mental health referrals. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that systematic post-crisis follow-up procedures are needed to improve the likelihood that students and families receive ongoing support. In particular, school-based services and home visits, training and outreach for parents, and formal training for school mental health staff on parent engagement may be beneficial in this context. PMID:26645415

Reframing School Readiness: Case Studies of African-American and Latina Head Start Parents

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King, Nicole Colette

2017-01-01

The "school readiness gap" has been attributed to differences in family life, home-school connections, and social inequalities. The current school-parent partnership model fails to acknowledge the ways in which parent roles in education, and the home-school relations in which they are embedded, reflect broader social inequalities that…

Parent Perceptions of School-Based Occupational Therapy Services

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Benson, Jeryl D.; Elkin, Kathleen; Wechsler, Julie; Byrd, Lindsey

2015-01-01

This study aims to explore the perceptions of parents of children receiving occupational therapy in educational settings, understand the importance of the parent/occupational therapist relationship and its impact on the outcomes of therapy. In addition, this study aims to reveal best practices when providing services within the school system in…

Children of Incarcerated Parents: Implications for School Counselors

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Petsch, Priscilla; Rochlen, Aaron B.

2009-01-01

The recent increase in prison populations has given rise to an unprecedented number of children in the school system with incarcerated parents. To cope with stressors before, during, or after parents' incarceration, children can exhibit a range of problematic and maladaptive behaviors. This article explores the negative behaviors these children…

Antecedents of Chinese parents' autonomy support and psychological control: the interplay between parents' self-development socialization goals and adolescents' school performance.

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Wang, Qian; Chan, Hoi-Wing; Lin, Li

2012-11-01

Despite ample evidence for the benefits of parental autonomy support and the harms of parental psychological control to Chinese adolescents' well-being, little is known about what foreshadows these parenting behaviors among Chinese parents. The current research addressed this gap in the literature. It tested the hypothesis that parents' endorsement of self-development socialization goals (i.e., regarding a positive sense of self in terms of holding optimistic attitudes toward oneself, feeling autonomous in one's actions, and establishing one's independence from others, as important for adolescents to develop) and adolescents' school performance may interact to predict parental autonomy support and psychological control in urban China. Three hundred and forty-one Chinese seventh graders (mean age = 13.30 years, 58 % female) and their parents (186 mothers and 155 fathers) participated. Parents reported on their own and their spouses' endorsement of self-development socialization goals; adolescents reported on parental autonomy support and psychological control; and adolescents' grades were obtained from school records. Significant interactions were found between parents' socialization goals and adolescents' grades in predicting parenting behaviors. When adolescents were doing well at school, the stronger parents' endorsement of self-development socialization goals, the greater their autonomy support and the lesser their psychological control; when adolescents were doing poorly at school, regardless of parents' socialization goals, their autonomy support was relatively low and their psychological control was relatively high. These findings highlight a tension between parental concerns over adolescents' self-development and academic success, which needs to be resolved to promote autonomy support and prevent psychological control among urban Chinese parents.

Culture in Inclusive Schools: Parental Perspectives on Trusting Family-Professional Partnerships

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Francis, Grace L.; Blue-Banning, Martha; Turnbull, Ann P.; Hill, Cokethea; Haines, Shana J.; Gross, Judith M. S.

2016-01-01

This qualitative study improves understanding of parent perspectives about the factors that facilitate family-professional partnerships in schools recognized for inclusive practices. Five themes emerged from 11 focus groups consisting of parents of students with and without disabilities and with varying levels of involvement with the school: (a)…

What's "quickest and easiest?": parental decision making about school trip mode

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Faulkner Guy EJ

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The potential benefits of active school travel (AST are widely recognized, yet there is consistent evidence of a systematic decline in the use of active modes of transportation to school since the middle part of the 20th century. This study explored parental accounts of the school travel mode choice decision-making process. Methods Thirty-seven parents of children (17 who walked; 20 who were driven from four elementary schools in Toronto, Canada participated in semi-structured interviews. The schools varied with respect to walkability of the built environment and socio-economic status. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts identified a two-stage decision-making process. Results An initial decision concerned the issue of escorting or chauffeuring a child to/from school. This decision appeared to be primarily influenced by concerns about traffic, the child's personal safety, and the child's maturity and cognitive ability regarding navigating his/her way to/from school safely. Following the escort decision, parents considered mode choice, typically selecting what they perceived to be the easiest and most convenient way to travel. The ascription of convenience to the various modes of transportation was influenced by perceptions of travel time and/or distance to/from school. Convenience became a particularly salient theme for parents who found it necessary to complete multi-activity trip chains. Conclusions The school travel mode choice decision process is complex. Future research and practice should continue to address safety concerns that are typically the focus of active school transport initiatives while addressing more explicitly the behavioural cost of competing mode choices.

The Development of Leader Character through Crucible Moments

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Byrne, Alyson; Crossan, Mary; Seijts, Gerard

2018-01-01

Business schools strive to develop leadership excellence in their students. In this essay, we suggest that educators should find ways to help students develop and deepen leader character, a fundamental component of exemplary leadership. Frequently, business school students have preconceived ideas of leadership, often neglecting leader character.…

H1N1 Flu & U.S. Schools: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

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US Department of Education, 2009

2009-01-01

A severe form of influenza known as H1N1, commonly being called swine flu, has health officials around the world concerned. In the United States, the outbreak of H1N1 has prompted school closures and cancellation of school-related events. As the flu spreads, the Department of Education encourages school leaders, parents and students to know how to…

Latino Parents' Choice of Magnet School: How School Choice Differs across Racial and Ethnic Boundaries

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Haynes, Katherine Taylor; Phillips, Kristie J. R.; Goldring, Ellen B.

2010-01-01

Historically, magnet schools have served predominantly Black and Anglo populations. Consequently, little research exists on Latino parent's engagement in school choice and their patterns of participation. Magnet schools are increasingly part of the landscape for improving school achievement for all students. Yet Latino enrollment rates in magnet…

Electronic Communication and Its Influence on Parental Involvement in High School

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Watkins, Aaron

2013-01-01

This study investigated the effect of electronic communication has on parent's involvement with their high school child's education. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) specifically requires that schools find ways to increase parental involvement; this requirement stemmed from evidence that involvement tends to decline as the students…

School Violence: The Role of Parental and Community Involvement

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Lesneskie, Eric; Block, Steven

2017-01-01

This study utilizes the School Survey on Crime and Safety to identify variables that predict lower levels of violence from four domains: school security, school climate, parental involvement, and community involvement. Negative binomial regression was performed and the findings indicate that statistically significant results come from all four…

Parental collaboration and children’s communities in school

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kousholt, Dorte

Research points to greater demands on the family to take part in and arrange family life to support their children’s school life – and solutions to children’s problems in class are increasingly designed to include the parents. Debates in relation to parental collaboration can be seen as expressions...... of conflicts about how Danish schools should prioritize, what is relevant in relation to learning, how children’s difficulties ought to be understood, and who is responsible. Therefore, the question of parental collaboration constitutes an interesting opportunity to discuss theoretical questions related...... to the challenge of conceptualizing the conflictual collaboration between parties positioned in a distribution of responsibility and influence. The paper takes departure in that the different parties perspectives on the problems are connected in a ‘common matter’ as well as differentiated by the different tasks...

Building a Better Measure of School Quality: A New Framework for Measuring School Quality Represents a Fuller Picture of What People Care about in a School

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Schneider, Jack; Jacobsen, Rebecca; White, Rachel; Gehlbach, Hunter

2017-01-01

When it comes to measuring the quality of a school, policy leaders tend to embrace standardized tests as the go-to indicator, whereas parents and community members tend to rely on reputation, word-of-mouth, and what they perceive with their own eyes. The authors suggest a better approach: a new framework that looks at three categories of inputs…

How accurate are parental responses concerning their fourth-grade children's school-meal participation, and what is the relationship between children's body mass index and school-meal participation based on parental responses?

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Paxton-Aiken Amy E

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This article investigated (1 parental response accuracy of fourth-grade children's school-meal participation and whether accuracy differed by children's body mass index (BMI, sex, and race, and (2 the relationship between BMI and school-meal participation (based on parental responses. Methods Data were from four cross-sectional studies conducted from fall 1999 to spring 2003 with fourth-grade children from 13 schools total. Consent forms asked parents to report children's usual school-meal participation. As two studies' consent forms did not ask about lunch participation, complete data were available for breakfast on 1,496 children (51% Black; 49% boys and for lunch on 785 children (46% Black; 48% boys. Researchers compiled nametag records (during meal observations of meal participation on randomly selected days during children's fourth-grade school year for breakfast (average nametag days across studies: 7-35 and for lunch (average nametag days across studies: 4-10 and categorized participation as "usually" (≥ 50% of days or "not usually" ( Results Concerning breakfast participation and lunch participation, 74% and 92% of parents provided accurate responses, respectively. Parental response accuracy was better for older children for breakfast and lunch participation, and for Black than White children for lunch participation. Usual school-meal participation was significantly related to children's BMI but in opposite directions -- positively for breakfast and inversely for lunch. Conclusions Parental response accuracy of children's school-meal participation was moderately high; however, disparate effects for children's age and race warrant caution when relying on parental responses. The BMI results, which showed a relationship between school-meal participation (based on parental responses and childhood obesity, conflict with results from a recent article that used data from the same four studies and found no significant

Parental psychological symptoms and familial risk factors of children and adolescents who exhibit school refusal.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahali, K; Tahiroglu, A Y; Avci, A; Seydaoglu, G

2011-12-01

To assess the levels of psychological symptoms in the parents of children with school refusal and determine the familial risk factors in its development. This study was performed on 55 pairs of parents who had children exhibiting school refusal and were compared with a control group. A socio-demographic data form, the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Symptom Checklist-90 revised were applied to these parents. Parents of the school refusal group had higher anxiety and depression scores than the controls. Among the risk factors for school refusal, physical punishment by the parents, a history of organic disease in the parents or children, and a history of psychiatric disorders in the parents or other relatives were found to be significant. Depending on genetic and environmental factors, parents with psychiatric disorders appeared to be associated with development of psychiatric disorders in their children. Moreover, psychiatric disorders in parents negatively affected the treatment of their children and adolescents who exhibited school refusal. It is therefore vital to treat psychiatric disorders of parents with the children having psychiatric disorders, and thus increase parent participation in their children's therapeutic process.

A Review of the Relationship between Parental Involvement and Secondary School Students' Academic Achievement

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Valerie J. Shute

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the research literature on the relationship between parental involvement (PI and academic achievement, with special focus on the secondary school (middle and high school level. The results first present how individual PI variables correlate with academic achievement and then move to more complex analyses of multiple variables on the general construct described in the literature. Several PI variables with correlations to academic achievement show promise: (a communication between children and parents about school activities and plans, (b parents holding high expectations/aspirations for their children's schooling, and (c parents employing an authoritative parenting style. We end the results section by discussing the findings in light of the limitations of nonexperimental research and the different effects of children's versus parents' perspectives on academic achievement.

Teacher Leaders' Perceptions of the Use of Humor in the High School Classroom

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Kosiczky, Bonnie

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher leaders' perceptions of the use of humor in the high school classroom. For the purposes of this qualitative research the case study method was used. The question of what makes teachers successful with their use of humor in the classroom has been divided into four categories: climate,…

Technology-Related Strategies Used by Educational Leaders to Increase Prosocial Behavior in K-12 Schools

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Beers, Jason Ronald

2017-01-01

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify technology-related strategies used by educational leaders to increase prosocial behavior in K-12 schools. Information and communication technology (ICT) is developing at a rapid rate and is becoming more ubiquitous among students. Discovering and understanding common technology-related strategies…

In Translation: School Leaders Learning in and from Leadership Practice While Confronting Pressing Policy Challenges

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Drago-Severson, Eleanor; Maslin-Ostrowski, Patricia

2018-01-01

Background/Context: Worldwide, principals face enormous challenges while translating policies and mandates for which they are accountable into their mission and practice. While some of these school-level challenges are technical, many are adaptive (Heifetz), requiring leaders and those in their care to grow their cognitive and affective…

Back to School for Parents: Implementing Responsible Parenting Agreements and Orders in Western Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Squelch, Joan

2006-01-01

Managing student behaviour is a primary task of principals and teachers, but it is not their responsibility alone. Parents are also responsible for their children's behaviour inside and outside school. As primary educators and caregivers parents have a duty of care and are responsible for nurturing, disciplining and socializing their children. In…

Choice, Stability and Excellence: Parent and Professional Choice in Buffalo's Magnet Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Clinchy, Evans

1986-01-01

Reports on teacher, principal, parent, and student reactions to a desegregation plan implemented in Buffalo, New York, which permits teachers to choose the magnet schools in which they desire to teach and parents to select their children's schools. (GC)

The Communication Barriers between Teachers and Parents in Primary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Ozmen, Fatma; Akuzum, Cemal; Zincirli, Muhammed; Selcuk, Gulenaz

2016-01-01

Problem Statement: In educational institutions, the effectiveness of communication between teachers and parents, in terms of student achievement and attendance, has a great importance. Parent-teacher communication provides multi-faceted benefits to teachers, the school, and parents as well. However, various obstacles hinder the realization of…

Towards a Typology of Parental Behaviors, Attitudes, and Beliefs about School

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Pelletier, Daniel; Collerette, Pierre; Turcotte, Gilles; Beaulieu, Alexandre

2013-01-01

The social and academic experiences of children and adolescents in school are a major concern for parents and their characteristics as protection or risk factors for their children's adaptation has been extensively studied. However, few studies have dealt with the behaviors, attitudes and beliefs of parents about the schools their children are…

Future Leaders: The Way Forward?

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Earley, Peter; Weindling, Dick; Bubb, Sara; Glenn, Meli

2009-01-01

The recruitment and retention of senior school leaders is high on the UK Government's agenda with much attention currently being given to succession planning. Future Leaders and other fast track leadership development programmes are, in part, a response to this "crisis" brought about by demographic change--many headteachers are due to…

Parents' views on sex education in schools: How much do Democrats and Republicans agree?

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Kantor, Leslie; Levitz, Nicole

2017-01-01

More than 93 percent of parents place high importance on sex education in both middle and high school. Sex education in middle and high school is widely supported by parents regardless of their political affiliation. Using data from a large diverse sample of 1,633 parents of children aged 9 to 21 years, we examined whether views on sex education differed by parents' political affiliation. More than 89 percent of parents that identified as Republicans or Democrats support including a wide range of topics in sex education including puberty, healthy relationships, abstinence, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and birth control in high school. In middle school, 78 percent or more of both parents that identified as Republicans and Democrats support the inclusion of those topics. Controlling for key demographic factors, parents that identified as Democrats are more likely than those that identified as Republicans to support the inclusion of the topics of healthy relationships, birth control, STDs, and sexual orientation in both middle and high school. However, a strong majority of Republican parents want all these topics included in sex education. Sex education which includes a broad set of topics represents an area of strong agreement between parents of both political parties.

Parents' views on sex education in schools: How much do Democrats and Republicans agree?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leslie Kantor

Full Text Available More than 93 percent of parents place high importance on sex education in both middle and high school. Sex education in middle and high school is widely supported by parents regardless of their political affiliation. Using data from a large diverse sample of 1,633 parents of children aged 9 to 21 years, we examined whether views on sex education differed by parents' political affiliation. More than 89 percent of parents that identified as Republicans or Democrats support including a wide range of topics in sex education including puberty, healthy relationships, abstinence, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs and birth control in high school. In middle school, 78 percent or more of both parents that identified as Republicans and Democrats support the inclusion of those topics. Controlling for key demographic factors, parents that identified as Democrats are more likely than those that identified as Republicans to support the inclusion of the topics of healthy relationships, birth control, STDs, and sexual orientation in both middle and high school. However, a strong majority of Republican parents want all these topics included in sex education. Sex education which includes a broad set of topics represents an area of strong agreement between parents of both political parties.

Making ends meet - when school leaders use data and feedback in the development of leadership practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Pernille; Nørgaard, Camilla; Hornskov, Søren

In the wake of a major school reform in Denmark, school leaders face a policy driven demand for developing leadership practices, which contributes to increasing learning outcomes for all students. The use of data, assessment and feedback are promoted as part and parcel of such leadership practices...... or with a reference to the formative use of data for development (Hornskov et al 2015). However, in our case study of how school leadership teams use and interpret data and feedback on their own leadership practices, the boundaries between accountability and development does not seem clear cut....

A qualitative study to assess school nurses' views on vaccinating 12-13 year old school girls against human papillomavirus without parental consent.

Science.gov (United States)

Stretch, Rebecca; McCann, Rosemary; Roberts, Stephen A; Elton, Peter; Baxter, David; Brabin, Loretta

2009-07-21

In the UK, parental consent for the routine vaccination of 12-13 year olds schoolgirls against human papillomavirus (HPV) is recommended, although legally girls may be able to consent themselves. As part of a vaccine study conducted ahead of the National HPV Vaccine Programme we sought the views of school nurses on vaccinating girls who did not have parental consent. HPV vaccination was offered to all 12 year old girls attending schools in two Primary Care Trusts in Greater Manchester. At the end of the study semi-structured, tape-recorded interviews were conducted with school nurses who had delivered the vaccine (Cervarix). The interview template was based on concepts derived from the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Transcripts were analysed thematically in order to understand school nurses' intentions to implement vaccination based on an assessment of Gillick competency. School nurses knew how to assess the competency of under-16s but were still unwilling to vaccinate if parents had refused permission. If parents had not returned the consent form, school nurses were willing to contact parents, and also to negotiate with parents who had refused consent. They seemed unaware that parental involvement required the child's consent to avoid breaking confidentiality. Nurses' attitudes were influenced by the young appearance and age of the school year group rather than an individual's level of maturity. They were also confused about the legal guidelines governing consent. School nurses acknowledged the child's right to vaccination and strongly supported prevention of HPV infection but ultimately believed that it was the parents' right to give consent. Most were themselves parents and shared other parents' concerns about the vaccine's novelty and unknown long-term side effects. Rather than vaccinate without parental consent, school nurses would defer vaccination. Health providers have a duty of care to girls for whom no parental consent for HPV vaccination has been given

Functions of parental involvement and effects of school climate on bullying behaviors among South Korean middle school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chang-Hun; Song, Juyoung

2012-08-01

This study uses an ecological systems theory to understand bullying behavior. Emphasis is given to overcome limitations found in the literature, such as very little empirical research on functions of parental involvement and the impacts of school climate on bullying as an outcome variable. Two functions of parental involvement investigated are (a) bridging the negative experiences within the family with bullying behaviors at schools, and (b) influencing school climate. Bullying behaviors were measured by a modified Korean version of Olweus' bully/victim questionnaire (reliability range: .78-.84) from 1,238 randomly selected Korean middle school students in 2007. Findings from structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses showed that (a) individual traits are one of the most important influence on bullying, (b) negative experiences in the family do not have direct influence on bullying behaviors at school, (c) parental involvement influences school climate, and (d) positive school climate was negatively related to bullying behaviors.

Parental School Involvement in Relation to Children's Grades and Adaptation to School

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Edwin T.; Goldberg, Wendy A.

2008-01-01

From an ecological perspective, it is important to examine linkages among key settings in the child's life. The current study focuses on parents' involvement in children's education both at school and at home. Ninety-one families with school-aged children (91 fathers and 91 mothers) participated in a survey study assessing the levels of parental…

An Examination of Elementary School Students' Parental Style and Parental Internet Style with Respect to Various Variables

OpenAIRE

Deniz, Metin; Horzum, Mehmet Barış; Ayas, Tuncay; Koç, Mustafa

2016-01-01

Abstract: The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between parental style and internet parental style and find out whether student's parental style and parental internet style differ according to various variables. In this study, survey model was used. The study was performed with 296 students, attending at an elementary school in the second period of 2011-2012 academic years in Sakarya, Turkey. Parental style and parental internet style scales were used. Results indicated ...

Vocational Aspirations of Chinese High School Students and Their Parents' Expectations

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Zhi-Jin; Leung, S. Alvin

2011-01-01

This study examined the vocational aspirations and parental vocational expectations of high school students and their parents (1067 parent-child dyads). Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and an Occupations List. The Occupations List consisted of 126 occupational titles evenly distributed across the six Holland types. Parents were…

The Possible Misfit of Csikszentmihalyi's Dimensions of Flow in the Contemporary Roles of School Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

MacNeill, Neil; Cavanagh, Rob

2013-01-01

In many jurisdictions school leaders are being placed under increased accountability and stress, which then affects their ability to address the real issue of education--improving students' learning. Flow Theory, developed by the Hungarian-American psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, has a high degree of relevance to the issue of the way modern…

The Relationship between Academic Achievement and the Emotional Well-Being of Elementary School Children in China: The Moderating Role of Parent-School Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Bo; Zhou, Huan; Guo, Xiaolin; Liu, Chunhui; Liu, Zhaomin; Luo, Liang

2016-01-01

The relationship between academic achievement and the subjective well-being of elementary school children has received increasing attention. However, previous research on the relationship between these variables has yielded inconsistent conclusions - possibly due to the presence of potential moderating variables. This study investigated the relationship between the academic achievement and the emotional well-being (positive and negative affect) of elementary school children in China and the moderating effect of parent-school communication on this relationship. A total of 419 elementary school students and their parents participated. The elementary students' positive and negative affect, their academic achievement on both midterm and final examinations of the most recent semester, and the frequency of parent-school communication were assessed. Academic achievement of elementary students was positively correlated with positive affect and negatively correlated with negative affect. Parent-school communication significantly moderated this relationship. Regardless of positive or negative affect, the correlation was only significant in the high parent-school communication group (one standard deviation higher than the mean) and in the mean group, whereas in the low parent-school communication group, no association was observed. These results indicate that parental engagement with school impacts both the academic achievements and subjective well-being of children in China.

"Entre Familia": Immigrant Parents' Strategies for Involvement in Children's Schooling

Science.gov (United States)

Poza, Luis; Brooks, Maneka Deanna; Valdés, Guadalupe

2014-01-01

Teachers and administrators in schools with large, working-class Latino populations often complain of parents' indifference or lack of involvement in children's schooling because of their low visibility at school events and relatively little face-to-face communication with teachers and school administration. In a series of semi-structured…

Establishing collaborative structures and relationships: Teacher leaders' experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Canizo, Thea Lynne

2002-04-01

The purpose of this study was to explore teacher leaders' experiences as they attempted to establish collaborative structures and relationships resulting in improved science instruction at their schools. Teacher leaders were middle school science facilitators, full-time classroom teachers who acted as liaisons between the science teachers at their schools and a change initiative funded by the National Science Foundation. This was a qualitative study, using interviews to create a case study. The researcher used a three-part interview design developed by Seidman (1991). Six research questions served as a framework for the data analysis. Participants identified the following as factors which contributed to their success: support from the principal, other science teachers, central staff personnel, and the district-wide group of science facilitators; professional development; and the successful completion of a scope and sequence for science instruction. Factors identified as hindering their success were: lack of support or conflict with the principal; resistance to change; time constraints; a district policy which limited meeting time; teacher and administrator turnover; tension between the middle school and junior high school models; and personal doubts. From descriptions of their understanding and exercising of leadership, the researcher concluded that teacher leaders had become empowered. The school culture was seen to have a great effect on teacher leaders. The contrasts between a school with a positive culture and another school in disarray were presented. Structures such as summer institutes and release time during the school day were identified as critical for giving teachers the time needed to establish more collaborative working relationships. Once greater trust and understanding were present, teachers were better able to examine their teaching practices more critically. Participants identified mentoring of new members, a continuing role for science

The Role of District Office Leaders in the Adoption and Implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Elementary Schools

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Durand, Francesca T.; Lawson, Hal A.; Wilcox, Kristen Campbell; Schiller, Kathryn S.

2016-01-01

Purpose: This multiple case study investigated district leaders' orientations and strategies as their elementary schools proceeded with state-mandated implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). We identified differences between schools achieving above-predicted outcomes on state CCSS assessments ("odds-beaters") and…

The Consultancy Protocol: Future School Leaders Engage in Collaborative Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Kamler, Estelle

2016-01-01

Decision-making is key to being an effective administrator. The saying, "You are only as good as your last shot," sometimes applies to the way principals feel when a new plan that addresses a problem is met with opposition from disapproving faculty, staff, parents, or students. Experienced school principals learned early in their career…

Teen and Parent Perceptions of a Secondary School Family Course

Science.gov (United States)

Stonely, Heather M.; Klein, Shirley R.

2004-01-01

Adolescent and parent focus groups were conducted to do a needs assessment and discover possible topics for a secondary school family class. Results included identifying teen and parent family-related needs and societal concerns; discovering where teens currently learn about family life; and receiving teen and parent feedback about a proposed…

Parent Educational Involvement in Middle School: Longitudinal Influences on Student Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Garbacz, S Andrew; Zerr, Argero A; Dishion, Thomas J; Seeley, John R; Stormshak, Elizabeth A

2018-05-01

The present study examined influences of 6 th grade student-reported parent educational involvement on early adolescent peer group affiliations at 7 th and 8 th grade. In addition, student gender and ethnicity were explored as possible moderators. Drawn from a large effectiveness trial, participants in this study were 5,802 early adolescents across twenty middle schools in the Northwest region of the United States. Findings suggested that specifically parent's educational involvement in 6 th grade predicted increases in positive peer affiliation, when controlling for a general score of parent monitoring practices. The relation between parent educational involvement and peer affiliation varied by student ethnicity but not by gender. Findings suggest the social benefits of parent's engagement with the school context on early adolescent development.

Exploring high school science students' perceptions of parental involvement in their education.

Science.gov (United States)

Mji, Andile; Mbinda, Zoleka

2005-08-01

This exploratory study describes high school students' perceptions of their parents' involvement in their education and in relation to school achievement. A new 12-item Parental Involvement Scale was used to measure parents' involvement in curricular and extracurricular activities and using exploratory analyses to estimate the scale's properties. Exploratory analysis resulted in the reduction of the 12 items to 8, with an internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) .82. Grade 12 science students indicated that their less educated parents were involved in activities pertaining to their learning; however, high perceived parental involvement in curricular activities was related to low achievement. It is recommended that further exploratory analyses be undertaken to examine the reported two-dimensional model of the Parental Involvement Scale.

The Evolution of NxtWave Leaders for 21st-Century Libraries

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Jody K.

2015-01-01

In January 2012, a group of four school library professors attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting were having lunch and discussing various issues related to the school library field. These school library professors agreed that one challenge facing the profession is preparing future leaders. As current school library leaders retire, it is difficult to…

Reliability and validity of the Safe Routes to school parent and student surveys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evenson Kelly R

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to assess the reliability and validity of the U.S. National Center for Safe Routes to School's in-class student travel tallies and written parent surveys. Over 65,000 tallies and 374,000 parent surveys have been completed, but no published studies have examined their measurement properties. Methods Students and parents from two Charlotte, NC (USA elementary schools participated. Tallies were conducted on two consecutive days using a hand-raising protocol; on day two students were also asked to recall the previous days' travel. The recall from day two was compared with day one to assess 24-hour test-retest reliability. Convergent validity was assessed by comparing parent-reports of students' travel mode with student-reports of travel mode. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey was assessed by comparing within-parent responses. Reliability and validity were assessed using kappa statistics. Results A total of 542 students participated in the in-class student travel tally reliability assessment and 262 parent-student dyads participated in the validity assessment. Reliability was high for travel to and from school (kappa > 0.8; convergent validity was lower but still high (kappa > 0.75. There were no differences by student grade level. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey (n = 112 ranged from moderate to very high for objective questions on travel mode and travel times (kappa range: 0.62 - 0.97 but was substantially lower for subjective assessments of barriers to walking to school (kappa range: 0.31 - 0.76. Conclusions The student in-class student travel tally exhibited high reliability and validity at all elementary grades. The parent survey had high reliability on questions related to student travel mode, but lower reliability for attitudinal questions identifying barriers to walking to school. Parent survey design should be improved so that responses clearly indicate

Reliability and validity of the Safe Routes to school parent and student surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Noreen C; Dwelley, Amanda E; Combs, Tabitha S; Evenson, Kelly R; Winters, Richard H

2011-06-08

The purpose of this study is to assess the reliability and validity of the U.S. National Center for Safe Routes to School's in-class student travel tallies and written parent surveys. Over 65,000 tallies and 374,000 parent surveys have been completed, but no published studies have examined their measurement properties. Students and parents from two Charlotte, NC (USA) elementary schools participated. Tallies were conducted on two consecutive days using a hand-raising protocol; on day two students were also asked to recall the previous days' travel. The recall from day two was compared with day one to assess 24-hour test-retest reliability. Convergent validity was assessed by comparing parent-reports of students' travel mode with student-reports of travel mode. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey was assessed by comparing within-parent responses. Reliability and validity were assessed using kappa statistics. A total of 542 students participated in the in-class student travel tally reliability assessment and 262 parent-student dyads participated in the validity assessment. Reliability was high for travel to and from school (kappa > 0.8); convergent validity was lower but still high (kappa > 0.75). There were no differences by student grade level. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey (n=112) ranged from moderate to very high for objective questions on travel mode and travel times (kappa range: 0.62-0.97) but was substantially lower for subjective assessments of barriers to walking to school (kappa range: 0.31-0.76). The student in-class student travel tally exhibited high reliability and validity at all elementary grades. The parent survey had high reliability on questions related to student travel mode, but lower reliability for attitudinal questions identifying barriers to walking to school. Parent survey design should be improved so that responses clearly indicate issues that influence parental decision making in regards to their

Increasing Poverty: How Do Leaders in One Suburban District Respond?

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, Jennifer Dawn

2014-01-01

This dissertation addresses the question of how suburban school district leaders in one large Midwestern school district respond to increasing student poverty. The purpose of this study was to determine how suburban school district leaders respond to increasing student poverty in their decision making and actions. Data for this study came from one…

Effectiveness of a parental training programme in enhancing the parent-child relationship and reducing harsh parenting practices and parental stress in preparing children for their transition to primary school: a randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ho Cheung William; Chan, Sophia S C; Mak, Yim Wah; Lam, Tai Hing

2013-11-16

Entering primary school is an important childhood milestone, marking the beginning of a child's formal education. Yet the change creates a time of vulnerability for the child, the parents and the parent-child relationship. Failure to adjust to the transition may place the family in a psychologically devastating position. The aims of this study were to test the effectiveness of a parental training programme in enhancing the parent-child relationship and decreasing parental stress by reducing harsh parenting in preparing children for the transition to primary school. A randomised controlled trial incorporating a two-group pre-test and repeated post-test was conducted in one of the largest public housing estates in Hong Kong. A total of 142 parents were recruited, with 72 parents randomly assigned to the experimental group and 70 to the control group. Harsh parenting practices, parent-child relationships and parental stress were assessed. In comparison to parents in the control group, those in the experimental group engaged in less harsh parenting practices and reported better parent-child relationships. However, parental stress scores did not differ significantly between the two groups. This study addressed a gap in the literature by examining the effectiveness of the training programme for enhancing parent-child relationship and decreasing parental stress at the time of a child's transition to primary school. The findings from this study provide empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the parental training programme and highlight the significance of parenting in promoting a smooth transition for children from kindergarten to primary 1. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01845948.

Building Resilience After School for Early Adolescents in Urban Poverty: Open Trial of Leaders @ Play.

Science.gov (United States)

Frazier, Stacy L; Dinizulu, Sonya Mathies; Rusch, Dana; Boustani, Maya M; Mehta, Tara G; Reitz, Kristin

2015-11-01

Leaders @ Play is a park after-school program for urban middle school youth designed to leverage recreational activities for social emotional learning. Mental health and park staff co-facilitated sports and games to teach and practice problem solving, emotion regulation, and effective communication. Additional practice occurred during multi-family groups and summer internships as junior camp counselors. We examined feasibility and promise via an open trial (n = 3 parks, 46 youth, 100 % African American, 100 % low-income, 59 % female, M = 13.09 years old). Improvements in social skills and reductions in problem behaviors lend support to after school programs as a space for mental health promotion.

Buoyed on All Sides: A Network of Support Guides Teacher Leaders in High-Needs Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Suescun, Marisa; Romer, Toby; MacDonald, Elisa

2012-01-01

The idea of teacher leadership holds an immense and intuitive appeal. Most educators agree that teacher leaders are essential to fostering a climate of authentic and robust leadership and learning across a school. Teacher leadership is peer leading at its most authentic, demanding, and empowering. While the value of teacher leadership may be…

Does parental education level interferes with the permanence of children in school?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hilda Bayma-Freire

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to verify whether the level of education of parents (father and mother of nuclear family, single-parent, reconstituted and absent fathers is a determining factor for school dropout among adolescents in development for the training. In this perspective, 504 students were investigated (between 15 and 17 years studying in Brazilian state school and their parents (father / mother. The results show that low educational level of parents (father / mother directly affects the continuity of children's studies, an adverse problem and a major impact in Brazilian lower classes.

Effective Group Work for Elementary School-Age Children Whose Parents Are Divorcing.

Science.gov (United States)

DeLucia-Waack, Janice; Gerrity, Deborah

2001-01-01

Parental divorce is the issue of most concern for elementary school children. This article describes interventions for children-of-divorce groups for elementary school children. Suggests guidelines related to goal setting; securing agency and parental consent; leadership planning; recruitment, screening, and selection of members; group member…

Community Responses to School Reform in Chicago: Opportunities for Local Stakeholder Engagement. A Report by Public Agenda for the Joyce Foundation

Science.gov (United States)

Public Agenda, 2012

2012-01-01

This is a report on how community stakeholders, including parents, teachers, community leaders and advocates, think about current efforts by Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to "turn around" Chicago's lowest-performing schools, and their expectations for future school reform actions. It was prepared by Public Agenda, with support from the…

Parental Attachment and Adolescents' Perception of School Alienation: The Mediation Role of Self-Esteem and Adjustment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kocayörük, Ercan; Şimşek, Ömer Faruk

2016-01-01

The present study examined the relationship between adolescents' attachment to parents and their feelings of alienation in the school context by considering the mediating role of adjustment and self-esteem. It was proposed that the degree of attachment to one's parents was associated with adjustment and self-esteem, which in turn predicted possible school alienation. A total of 227 students completed self-report measures on parental attachment, adjustment, self-esteem, and alienation from school. Results were consistent with the attachment theory and related literature that posits that (a) secure attachment to parents was associated with adjustment and self-esteem, (b) secure attachment to parents was negatively associated with feelings of school alienation, and (c) adjustment and self-esteem were a crucial mediators between attachment to parents and school alienation. In addition to enhanced adjustment, the self-esteem of adolescents may be an additional factor in reducing alienation at school. The results also supported the mediator role of self-esteem in the relationship between attachment to parents and adjustment. Finally, the relationship between self-esteem and school alienation were shown to be fully mediated by adjustment. The results were discussed in the context of responsibilities of teachers and school counselors, which may provide both students and parents with the skills to improve social functioning in the school context.

Multicultural desires? Parental negotiation of multiculture and difference in choosing secondary schools for their children

Science.gov (United States)

Byrne, Bridget; de Tona, Carla

2014-01-01

This paper considers the ways in which parents talk about choosing secondary schools in three areas of Greater Manchester. It argues that this can be a moment when parents are considering their own attitudes to, and shaping their children's experiences of, multiculture. Multiculture is taken as the everyday experience of living with difference. The paper argues that multiculture needs to be understood as shaped not only by racialized, ethnic or religious difference (as it is commonly understood) but also by other differences which parents may consider important, particularly class and approaches to parenting. We stress the need to examine what parents say about schooling in the context in which they are talking, which is shaped by local areas and the experiences of their children in primary schools. Based on interviews with an ethnically mixed groups of parents from different schools, we show how perceptions of the racialized and class demographics of schools can influence parents' choice of secondary schools. The paper also argues that attention needs to be paid to the ways in which terms such as ‘multicultural’ and ‘mix’ are applied uniformly to very different contexts, be they particular schools or local areas, suggesting there is a paucity of language in Britain when talking about multiculture. PMID:25506091

iPads in the Classrooms of Schools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khalid, Md. Saifuddin; Guttesen, Petur Elias Askham

2016-01-01

There is a need for emphasizing on the technological functionalities, pedagogical designs for learning, and barriers to the integration of iPads to inform the resistant teachers, school leaders, parents, and other stakeholders. This paper systematically reviews existing literature on iPads in the......There is a need for emphasizing on the technological functionalities, pedagogical designs for learning, and barriers to the integration of iPads to inform the resistant teachers, school leaders, parents, and other stakeholders. This paper systematically reviews existing literature on i...... categories: 1) functionalities and conveniences in use, 2) iPad motivates, scaffolds learning process, and instills creative problem-solving skills, 3) mobile and multi-contextual, 4) digital content creation and consumption as 21st century skills, 5) barriers to the integration and adoption of iPad, and 6......) scope of future research. There is a dearth of research focusing on the iPad-integrated pedagogical design of subject-specific lessons. This study suggests emphasizing on iPad-integrated pedagogical methods and techniques for subject-specific and app-appropriated learning activity design...

Parent Involvement and Views of School Success: The Role of Parents' Latino and White American Cultural Orientations

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Carey S.; Casas, Juan F.; Kelly-Vance, Lisa; Ryalls, Brigette O.; Nero, Collette

2010-01-01

We examined ethnicity and cultural orientation as predictors of parents' views of and involvement in children's education, using data gathered from the Latino (n = 74) and non-Latino (17 White and 13 ethnic minority) parents of children in an elementary school's dual-language program. Parents completed a questionnaire that assessed Latino and…

Effects of Chinese Parental Practices on Adolescent School Outcomes Mediated by Conformity to Parents, Self-Esteem, and Self-Efficacy

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Yuh-Ling

2011-01-01

This study examines how the parental support and control affected school outcomes through conformity to parents, self-esteem, and self-efficacy in adolescence in Mainland China. The sample included 350 junior and senior high school students age ranging from 12 to 19 years, 48% of them were males. Using path model analysis, results showed that…

When the Writing Is on the Wall. A Legal Memorandum: Quarterly Law Topics for School Leaders. Vol. 6, No. 1, Fall 2005

Science.gov (United States)

Gesmonde, John M.

2005-01-01

Because of the dramatic changes in the education climate of school districts, the so-called schoolmaster, like the dinosaur, has vanished and the plenipotentiary school administrator, who the public now perceives as the school's chief executive officer (CEO), has emerged. A school administrator is not merely an education leader. Rather, like a…

Ramifications of Absent Parenting on School-going Children in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study sought to explore the psycho-educational implications of parental migration on school going children in Masvingo, urban. The study further explored how these children adjust to parental migration. This study used a mixed methods approach to collect data, particularly employing the descriptive case study. A total ...

Exploring Parental Involvement Strategies Utilized by Middle School Interdisciplinary Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Chris; Searby, Linda

2013-01-01

Adolescents present a unique collection of characteristics and challenges which middle school interdisciplinary teams were designed to address. This article describes a research study which explored parental involvement strategies employed by interdisciplinary teaching teams from three very different middle schools: an affluent suburban school, a…

Whose "Jihad"? Oral History of an American Muslim Educational Leader and U.S. Public Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Ezzani, Miriam D.; King, Kelley M.

2018-01-01

While case studies have documented how teachers can either ameliorate or exacerbate situations of ignorance or hate in the classroom toward Muslim students, the role of educational leaders in U.S. public schools remains negligible. In response, this paper aims to develop the knowledge base of educational leadership as it pertains to the jihad or…

School Response to Self-Injury: Concerns of Mental Health Staff and Parents

Science.gov (United States)

Kelada, Lauren; Hasking, Penelope; Melvin, Glenn A.

2017-01-01

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents poses a significant problem for schools, adolescents, and their families. However, appropriate guidelines for addressing NSSI, including when to disclose the behavior to parents, are currently lacking. The present study aimed to understand how school mental health staff and parents of secondary…

Authoritarian Parenting and Asian Adolescent School Performance: Insights from the US and Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Pong, Suet-Ling; Johnston, Jamie; Chen, Vivien

2010-01-01

Our study re-examines the relationship between parenting and school performance among Asian students. We use two sources of data: wave I of the Adolescent Health Longitudinal Survey (Add Health), and waves I and II of the Taiwan Educational Panel Survey (TEPS). Analysis using Add Health reveals that the Asian-American/European-American difference in the parenting-school performance relationship is due largely to differential sample sizes. When we select a random sample of European-American students comparable to the sample size of Asian-American students, authoritarian parenting also shows no effect for European-American students. Furthermore, analysis of TEPS shows that authoritarian parenting is negatively associated with children's school achievement, while authoritative parenting is positively associated. This result for Taiwanese Chinese students is similar to previous results for European-American students in the US.

A Case Study: The Impact of an Immersion Experience on the Vocation of Lay Teacher-Leaders in American Jesuit High Schools

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Schreiber, Martin J.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this case study explores the impact of an immersion experience to a least developed country on the vocation of lay teacher leaders in American Jesuit High Schools. Nine lay teacher leaders engaged in a four stage process of immersion from November 2009 to August 2010. The study employed the conceptual framework of Edward…

Empowered Intersectionality among Black Female K-12 Leaders: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study

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McNeal, Carla

2017-01-01

Black female school leaders remain underrepresented as educational leaders in the K-12 context as marginalizing factors persist in the field. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black female school leaders through the lens of intersectionality. For this research study, intersectionality…

Parental work absenteeism is associated with increased symptom complaints and school absence in adolescent children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mari Hysing

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous studies have proposed that having parents out of work may influence adolescent illness behaviour and school attendance. However, prior research investigating this question has been limited by retrospective reporting and case control studies. In a large epidemiological study we investigated whether parental work absence was associated with symptom complaints and increased school absenteeism in adolescents. Methods We analysed data from a large epidemiological study of 10,243 Norwegian adolescents aged 16–19. Participants completed survey at school, which included demographic data, parental work absence and current health complaints. An official registry provided school attendance data. Results Parental work absence was significantly related to the number of adolescent symptom complaints as well as school absenteeism. Having a father out of work was associated with an increased likelihood of being in the highest quartile of symptom reporting by an odds-ratio of 2.2 and mother by 1.6 (compared to the lowest quartile. Similarly, parental work absenteeism was associated with an increased likelihood of being in the highest quartile for school absence by an odds-ratio of 1.9 for a father being out of work and 1.5 for a mother out of work. We found that the number of adolescent symptom complaints mediated the relationship between parental work absenteeism and school absenteeism. Conclusion We found that parental work absence was significantly associated with the number of adolescent symptom complaints and school absenteeism. The results suggest that parents may play a critical modelling role in the intergenerational transmission of illness and disability behaviour.