Previous research shows that collegial conversations and co-assessment can contribute to increased equivalence in assessment and grading. The purpose of the present study is to investigate how music teachers who are active in upper secondary schools express themselves about their experiences of equal assessment and grading and how they believe that the collegial knowledge among subject teachers in music affects them in their work with equal assessment and grading. To investigate this, a qualitative study has been done with e-mail interviews as a data collection method. Four music teachers aged 27–33 years participated in the study. The results show that all music teachers in one way or another take part in collegiate conversations or joint assessment. There are differences between the teachers about how they can share the thoughts and experiences of other music colleagues. For some of the teachers, there are opportunities for collegial conversations and joint assessment at the school, as well as opportunities for subject meetings in the municipality. For one of the participants in the study, there are no organized meetings for music teachers to meet and talk.

Any social group, include government, is organized on specific structure and utilized for specific purpose. According to the different formation of constitutions and functions, there're two different types of social-public organizations, Single-Head organization for the monopoly, collegial organization for the decision of equal members. The thesis is urged to explore the basic foundation why and how a commission is organized, and to compare the difference among different types of commissions. As the approach of structure-functional theory, this thesis found there're four types of commissions in Kaoshiung Municipal Government. The first is "coordinative", for coordinate the different duties in government, the second is "consultative", for gathering the professional opinions from the outside. The third is " independent judge", for meeting to judge affairs by exist standards, and the last "regulation", for regulate public affairs by independent staffs. These four types are different commissions exist in Kaoshiung Municipal Government, but some are contradict to the findings on the structure-functional assumes which this thesis conclude.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / The Naval Postgraduate School is a unique academic institution whose structural configuration combines the bureaucratic functions of a military command with the traditional administrative functions of a university. This thesis focuses on the issues associated with the design and implementation ofthe formal management and administrative control systems of the organization. The data obtained during the research was used to develop a management case study that explores the school's organizational and control structure which is bureaucratic in design, yet supports an operating core whose roots lie in a collegial tradition. The case focuses on the potential for conflict that exists from the interaction of the two distinctly different organizational structures, perceived control environments, and cultures. Specifically, the case and subsequent analysis can be. Used to illustrate the potential for role related conflict when the faculty comes in contact with the school's control systems that are administered by the military support staff.

The purposes of this study were to (1) identify the variables affecting peer coaching, (2) the characteristics of peer coaching, and (3) to determine the outcomes of peer coaching. Participants were interviewed individually, face-to-face to gain insight into peer coaching. The interview questions were developed around the three domains in the conceptual framework: variables affecting peer coaching, the characteristics of peer coaching, and the outcomes of peer coaching. This study was conducted in one school division in the Commonwealth of Virginia . Two schools within the school division were randomly selected by the superintendent of schools for participation. Twelve teachers and the principals of these two schools participated in the study. Data were gathered using a teacher questionnaire, a principal questionnaire, and face-to-face interviews with the teachers. The constant comparative method was used to analyze the interview data. The variables found to affect peer coaching were: (a) trust, (b) commitment, (c) administrative support, (d) environment (non-threatening), (e) time (constraints), and (f) teacher attributes. The characteristics of peer coaching were: (a) user friendliness, (b) instructive training, (c) the centrality of observation, and (d) conferencing. The outcomes of peer coaching were: (a) creates support networks, (b) impacts instructional and classroom management practices, and (c) confirms instructional and classroom management practices. These findings may be helpful to school administrators and teachers who are interested in learning about peer coaching and how peer coaching can serve as an ongoing staff development intervention to bring about changes in teachers' instructional and classroom management practices. <strong></strong> / Ed. D.

This thesis explores some of the processes involved in the transformation of a university as it moved from a conventional collegial style of decision-making towards a more corporate one. Much of the mainstream literature in higher education management tends to polarise these styles as ideological opposites and as either good or bad. The themes which arise in this work include the tension which exists between collegial and managerial values, co-evolution of these values through processes of interaction within the organisation and the modulation of these processes by changing power relations. For centuries, universities were administered by academics who reached senior positions following election by their colleagues and who behaved as ‘first among equals’. Ideally, the community of scholars made progress following decisions which were reached by consensus. While such processes were appropriate in times when stability, budgetary certainty and the absence of competition prevailed, their shortcomings became increasingly obvious in the past quarter-century when the external environment for universities became progressively more hostile and competitive. Universities responded to the new requirements for accountability, revenue generation and competitive positioning within a market system by reforming their approach to many aspects of the running of their organisations. I argue that in importing a way of thinking which is largely based on cybernetic control systems, inadequate account has been taken of the importance of human interaction in the generation of strategy. While mention is made in the mainstream higher education management literature of the importance of collegial processes in implementing strategy at the academic coalface, and regret is expressed for the ‘lost art of conversation’, there has been little previously written about the microscopic details of the daily interaction which constitute strategising in universities. My argument is based on a series of reflexive narratives which describe my experience of organisational change and on a study of relevant literature. In addition to mainstream literature on higher education management, I have drawn on the work of Stacey, Griffin and Shaw and their perspective of complex responsive processes of relating as a way of understanding how organisations change. I conclude that collegial and managerial values can only evolve through processes of interaction between participants in university life and that this interaction often will involve tension, anxiety and conflict. I further conclude that the conversations which constitute such interaction can be facilitated by those with the power to do so, to provide real opportunity for the emergence of novelty.

The thesis is an exploratory and descriptive study focusing on the emotional dimensions of collegial relationships in a primary school. The research is timely given the current pressures to develop cultures of collaboration and shared leadership in schools today. The study concentrates on the non-classroom work of teachers and investigates three particular areas of school life: the collegial practices of staff; the emotional milieu of teachers' work; and the contributions of members towards an emotionally healthy staff community. An interpretive tradition has been used in conducting the research, thus giving voice to the perceptions of research participants about their work. The research was conducted as an ethnographic case study. Data were gathered largely through participant observation and interviews. The researcher visited the school on a regular basis through the course of one school year, averaging over one day per week working in the school. Eighteen staff members were formally interviewed, the principal and assistant principal on several occasions. Extensive fieldnotes and interview transcripts were created and, aided by NVivo, a computer package for the analysis of non-statistical data, data were broken down into categories and resynthesised to bring to life a picture of the lived reality of collegiality for staff members in a primary school. The study adds to new knowledge in several important ways. First, it allows for a reconceptualisation of teachers' work. It shows how many different practices contribute to a collegial culture within a primary school and demonstrates how the social and emotional dimensions of collegiality are significant in the development of professional relationships. Second, the study develops an understanding of emotional labour for school personnel and contributes importantly to a broader picture of how emotional labour can be practiced, particularly for the sake of collegiality. It is posited that different kinds of emotional labour exist within the school setting, and that emotional labour in schools may be different from that in some other service organisations. The study explores bounded emotionality as a cultural practice among staff, suggesting that it allows expression of emotions about classroom work while at the same time constrains negative emotional displays so as to build and maintain community. The study suggests that the principles of bounded emotionality, as they operate within the primary school, present both benefits and burdens for a collegial staff, but may encourage an emotionally healthy workplace.

This study explores teachers’ autonomy in relation to the implementation of a new Learning Management Systems (LMS). The purpose of this study is to study teachers’ work in relation to a new digital teaching tool to gain knowledge of how it can have impact on teacher autonomy. The research design was inspired by a mixed methods approach. The empirical data consists of a digital survey with 40 responding teachers, followed by six qualitative interviews with teachers. The research design later expanded by also including four qualitative interviews with school principles. The data was analyzed in light of Lortie’s (1969) conception of semi-professionals; Freidson’s (2001) theory of the logics of profession, market and bureaucracy; and Water’s (1989) theory of collegial structures. The result of this study indicates that the LMS has an impact on teacher’ autonomy by shifting focus from teaching for substantial knowledge to “teaching for the test”; and by giving parents and students a narrow insight into the teachers’ discretional work, which can challenge the discretion. However, the result also indicates that the teachers maintained autonomy by only using the LMS to a limited extent. This decision space, to choose whether or not use the tool, was understood as organized by the principals through collegial relations with the teachers.

The purpose of this study was to measure the influence of teacher preparation experiences, collegial support, and principal support on new teachers' decisions to remain in the teaching profession. Quantitative research was conducted using data from an electronic survey to examine the impact the three predictor variables had on the likelihood of a new teacher remaining in the profession beyond five years. Research explored the precipitating theory based on scholarly literature, that teachers who are well prepared with practical experiences, and who feel supported and valued by their colleagues and principals, reflect the highest level of job satisfaction and potential to remain in the teaching profession. Five findings emerged from this study. Two findings indicated that collegial support and principal support, both had a statistically significant influence on new teacher retention. In addition, the study found that nearly 75% of new teachers showed some level of job satisfaction with the teaching profession. Participants in the survey included one hundred and eighty-four teachers with 0-5 years experience, representing teachers from 21 secondary schools within one school district. Participants were asked to respond to questions based on their personal experiences and feelings related to the teaching profession and their overall satisfaction level. / Ed. D.

This study sets out to explore English teachers’ perceptions of aspects concerning theirworkplace and collegial collaborations. At the present time in Sweden, there is a need fornew qualified teachers, and furthermore, a considerable amount of the current teachersemployed are considering resignation. This has resulted in that many unlicensed teachers,who are not properly qualified, have been hired. In some schools, this has causedcompetence development to stagnate, having teachers rely more on getting through theirwork-days rather than to develop the quality of their teaching. Furthermore, reports havesurfaced that reveal heightened stress levels, and workload to be causing more sick leaveand burnout. However, a concept called collective efficacy, have been found to countermany of these issues. By prioritizing collective collaboration and efforts that are wellstructured and supported by the school leadership, personnel have been shown to improvein both efficacy and well-being. This is why we wanted to examine what perceptionsEnglish teachers had of their current workplace situation, communication, opportunities forcollegial exchanges, supportive measures and competence development in regard toteaching English. The study was conducted using a mixed methods approach. We gathereddata through a questionnaire with 34 respondents, and through semi-structured interviewswith two English teachers. A majority of the teachers in the study were positive to theperception that they collectively could improve student results. They were also positive tothe benefits of collegial exchanges. However, time is frequently identified as the leadingfactor as to why they can not, under ruling circumstances, incorporate more structuredcollegial exchanges. This implies that schools and school leadership would need todedicate both time and to structure formal and functioning meetings for these collegialexchanges at their schools - should they chose an approach such as this.

Organizations invest in technology to help achieve strategic goals and to disseminate knowledge in order to enhance employee productivity. This study draws upon social cognitive theory as the theoretical basis for an explanation of the limited acceptance of information systems (IS), which undermines organizations' efforts to achieve greater productivity. This empirical study investigated the use of IS in the workplace by examining the antecedents of computer self-efficacy (CSE). Among such antecedents, this study examined the effect on CSE of employees' knowledge sharing, including collegial and technical support, and encouragement by others such as top management, supervisors, and peers to share knowledge. Additionally, it assessed the differences that the control variable, use of social networking tools (SNT), has on CSE and use of IS in the workplace. This research explored the use of SNT as a way individuals share knowledge and encourage computer abilities in the workplace. This causal modeling study investigated the human-assisted CSE dimension, which focuses on one's ability to use IS resulting from the support of another individual. This study solicited 755 participants from five different organizations, with 256 responses (33.9% response rate). The Cronbach Alpha analysis results showed that all constructs were highly reliable. The structural equation model analysis showed that some, but not all, of the hypotheses were supported in this model. This study provided evidence of how the antecedents, knowledge sharing and encouragement by others, affected the constructs of CSE and the use of IS in the workplace. Important contributions of this study include not only the conceptual model itself but also the implication that encouragement by top management, supervisors, and colleagues plays an important part in knowledge-sharing behaviors. Additionally, the study makes a theoretical contribution to the growing body of research on SNT as a way to share knowledge. This study revealed that use of SNT had no significant effect on the constructs measured.