Principals’ knowledge of school law in Kuwait: implications for professional development

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 283-296
Author(s):  
Ayeshah Ahmed Alazmi
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
School Law ◽  
School Level ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Professional Development Programs

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine a principal's knowledge of school law in Kuwait. It further aims to examine the relationship between a principal's knowledge of school law and other variables.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a quantitative research paradigm. Data for this study, collected via survey, were collected from a sample of 369 public school principals.FindingsUsing descriptive and inferential statistical methods, the findings indicated that school principals have only limited knowledge about the legal rights of teachers and students. Furthermore, the results revealed a significant difference in knowledge of school law relative to a principal's gender, school level, years of experience, knowledge source and the number of completed school law training courses.Practical implicationsThe implications for professional development programs which prepare all school leaders to serve the needs of students’ and teachers’ rights are included.Originality/valueStudies showed that there is a lack of research regarding a principal's legal knowledge in the Arab countries. As such, this study examined a school principal's knowledge of school law in Kuwait and discussed the associated implications for principal professional development programs.

Social media efficacy and workplace relationships

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-476
Author(s):  
Jason Snyder ◽  
Mark D. Cistulli
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Development Programs ◽  
Communication Privacy ◽  
Supervisor Trust

PurposeWith the increase of social media usage in the workplace as a background, this paper specifically addresses social media efficacy's and social media privacy's impact on supervisor and subordinate trust, affective organizational commitment (AOC) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) through the theoretical lens of communication privacy management (CPM) theory.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey of 337 full- and part-time workers was conducted.FindingsPath models showed that social media efficacy positively influenced social media privacy which in turn impacted both supervisor trust and subordinate trust. Supervisor trust was positively related to AOC, while subordinate trust positively influenced OCB. t-tests revealed differences between workers who have social media relationships with supervisors and/or subordinates and those workers without such relationships.Practical implicationsIf workers believe they are adept at using social media, they will also be less concerned about the company's ability to infringe upon privacy through unwanted access to social media content. If social media efficacy drives perceptions of social media privacy and indirectly influences trust and organizational outcomes then it may be worthwhile for organizations to help enhance workers' feelings of social media efficacy through professional development programs.Originality/valueThis study is the first to extend research on workplace communication privacy into the realm of social media. Social media relationships also influence the work environment. These findings can be used as information in future research as well as policy development and professional development programs.

Developing effective professional development programs: a case study

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 542-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Guo
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Needs Assessment ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Professional Development Program ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Need Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effective Professional Development ◽  
Professional Development Programs

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the practices of a well-established professional development committee (PDC) at an academic library to reveal the development of effective professional development programs with various themes and the diversified delivering formats and the assessment of library employees’ training needs and the effectiveness of professional development programs with Needs Assessment Surveys and Program Follow-up Employee Opinion Surveys. Professional development programs are widely adopted in academic libraries to support the professional growth of library employees and improve the quality of library services. Developing, promoting and administering professional development programs are main responsibilities of the PDC. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based upon the PDC’s recent practices since 2011. The Needs Assessment Surveys (in 2012 and 2013) are conducted electronically, so are the Opinion Surveys since 2013 which are formerly conducted in paper. Findings – The well-planned professional development program themes with special designed delivery formats have demonstrated their effectiveness through high attendance of each professional development event. The positive results and high compliments from both Need Assessment Surveys and Opinion Surveys also endorse their values to employee’s professional growth. Originality/value – This paper classifies various professional development program ideas into six program themes and three special delivery formats, and each is presented with intention, planning and organization. This paper also provides details of using different Need Assessment Surveys and Opinion Surveys for evaluation, which is also lacked in published literature.

Tight, Loose, or Decoupling? A National Study of the Decision-Making Power Relationship Between District Central Offices and School Principals

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-434
Author(s):  
Jiangang Xia ◽  
Jianping Shen ◽  
Jingping Sun
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Performance Standards ◽  
National Study ◽  
Power Relationship ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Tight Coupling ◽  
Professional Development Programs ◽  
Central Offices ◽  
Teachers Professional Development

Do school district central offices and school principals have the same level of influence on school decisions? What does the district–principal power relationship look like? These two questions are discussed but are rarely examined in the literature. Based on a nationally representative sample from the 2007-2008 Schools and Staffing Survey data, we explored these two questions. Specifically, we applied the paired samples t test to compare the district central offices’ and school principals’ influences and applied the multilevel modeling method to estimate the power relationship. We found that (a) on average, districts and principals had the same level of influence on establishing curriculum, whereas school principals had higher influence on the other six decision areas examined (performance standards, teachers’ professional development programs, evaluating teachers, hiring teachers, discipline policies, and school budget), and (b) a tight coupling power relationship between district central offices and school principals was identified for the three areas related to the technical core of schools (performance standards, establishing curriculum, and teachers’ professional development programs), a loose coupling power relationship was revealed for the personnel (hiring and evaluating teachers) and budget areas, while a decoupling power relationship was found for discipline policy decisions. Discussions and implications for school leadership and policy were included in this study.

Legal Literacy for Teachers: A Neglected Responsibility

2007 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID SCHIMMEL ◽  
MATTHEW MILITELLO
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Certification ◽  
School Law ◽  
Legal Knowledge ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Legal Literacy ◽  
Professional Development Programs ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Teacher Rights ◽  
And Training

In this article, David Schimmel and Matthew Militello document the legal knowledge and training of teachers based on a survey of more than thirteen hundred K– 12 respondents in seventeen states. The findings from this study suggest that most educators (1) are uninformed or misinformed about student and teacher rights; (2) have taken no course in school law; (3) get much of their school law information from other teachers; (4) would change their behavior if they knew more about school law; and (5) want to learn more about these issues. This article outlines the consequences of neglecting educators' lack of legal knowledge. The authors conclude with a series of recommendations on how to promote legal literacy among teachers in both teacher certification and professional development programs.

scholarly journals The Role of School Administration in Developing Creativity and Its Obstacles as Perceived by School Principals in Government Schools in the Directorate of University District: دور الإدارة المدرسية في تنمية الإبداع ومعيقاته من وجهة نظر مديري ومديرات المدارس الحكومية في مديرية لواء الجامعة

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (39) ◽  
pp. 22-1
Author(s):  
Sana Said Bdair Sana Said Bdair
Keyword(s):  
School Administration ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
School Level ◽  
Years Of Experience ◽  
Government Schools ◽  
Academic Qualification ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The University

This study aims at identifying the role of school administration in developing creativity and its obstacles as perceived by school principals in government schools in the directorate of University District. This may be attributed to variables of gender, academic qualification, years of experience, and school level. The researcher has used the descriptive analytical method through employing the use of a questionnaire. This questionnaire has been made of 36 sections. 28 sections were designed to identify the role of school administration in developing creativity in the government schools in the directorate of the university district, and 8 to identify the obstacles that face the school’s administration. A sample of 55 male and female principals in government schools in the directorate of the university district have been chosen for the academic year 2019/2020. The results of the study showed that the application of creativity by the school principals in government schools have an overall average of (3.5 out of 5), which is rated as high. For the other two main areas, the administration one resulted with an average of (4.03) with a high rate, and for the obstacles area it resulted with (3.68) and was rated as large obstacles. It also has shown that there were no statistically significant differences in the role of school administration in developing creativity in government schools, which might be attributed to variables of academic qualification, years of experience, and school’s level. However, there was a significant difference attributed to the gender variable, and it was in the favor of females. Based on those results, the researcher suggested a number of recommendations for developing creativity and limiting its obstacles at Jordanian Schools and other Arab countries.

Principals’ Policy Preferences concerning Accountability: Implications for Key Competencies, Performance Indicators, and Professional Development

1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 448-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. S. Mac Macpherson ◽  
Margaret Taplin
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Key Competencies ◽  
Professional Development Programs ◽  
Accountability Practices ◽  
State Schools

In this paper, we examine the policy preferences of Tasmania's principals concerning accountability criteria and processes, compare their views to other stakeholder groups, and identify issues that warrant attention in principals’ professional development programs. We show that there are many criteria and processes related to the quality of learning, teaching, and leadership that are valued by all stakeholder groups, including principals. We conclude that Tasmanian state schools probably need to review and develop their accountability policies, and that the professional development will need to prepare leaders for specific forms of performance and generate key competencies if more educative forms of accountability practices are to be realised in practice.

scholarly journals Reframing Professional Development Through Understanding Authentic Professional Learning

2009 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 702-739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Webster-Wright
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Alternative Conceptualization ◽  
Professional Development Programs ◽  
Evaluating Professional Development

Continuing to learn is universally accepted and expected by professionals and other stakeholders across all professions. However, despite changes in response to research findings about how professionals learn, many professional development practices still focus on delivering content rather than enhancing learning. In exploring reasons for the continuation of didactic practices in professional development, this article critiques the usual conceptualization of professional development through a review of recent literature across professions. An alternative conceptualization is proposed, based on philosophical assumptions congruent with evidence about professional learning from seminal educational research of the past two decades. An argument is presented for a shift in discourse and focus from delivering and evaluating professional development programs to understanding and supporting authentic professional learning.

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