This multiple-case study examined the role and educator perceptions of the reading specialist (RS) in the five secondary schools of one school district in the western United States. The purposes of the study were to determine: (1) the actual roles and responsibilities of the secondary RS, (2) whether differences existed in the way RSs, teachers, and principals perceived the role of the RS, and (3) whether the perceptions of the role of the RS were congruent with what the RS actually did. Five RSs, five focus groups comprised of twenty-three teachers, and five principals were interviewed. A survey was also administered to the aforementioned groups as well as to all teachers in the five schools. Results indicated that the role and responsibilities of the RS never included instructing students directly but that RSs focused almost exclusively on teacher leadership. In addition, RSs carried out school-wide assessments, assumed two to three additional major as well as various minor responsibilities within the school, and taught four periods during the day. Perceptions of the RS among RSs, teachers, and principals differed. Teachers, as a whole, indicated RSs worked with students, mainly taught literacy skills, and did not perform administrative tasks unrelated to literacy. Principals also thought RSs did not perform administrative tasks unrelated to literacy. RSs disagreed with all these perceptions. Principals approved and were generally satisfied with the work of the RSs and felt they were making a difference. However, they were more positive about the RSs' influence than were the RSs. Focus group teachers made positive comments about the RSs but also consistently brought up the need to have literacy inservice fashioned specifically to meet their content-area needs. Discrepancies existed between the perceived roles and responsibilities of the RSs and the duties they actually assumed and carried out.

This study examined the beliefs, perceptions, actions, and congruency between beliefs and actions of participants completing an anonymous survey regarding if clients should be informed of the AAMFT organization, code of ethics, and grievance procedure. Two hundred thirty-one participants returned the survey, representing AAMFT clinical members, AAMFT state division officers, and the AAMFT national ethics committee board members. The findings include the respondents' beliefs, actions, and congruency between the two for informing clients about the organization, code of ethics, and grievance procedure. Most participants believe clients should be informed and the results indicate that the participants are mainly consistent with their actions, except for grievance procedures. The findings seem to indicate that as the perceived risk for the therapist increases, the amount of information shared decreases. The beliefs and actions regarding the grievance procedure seemed to be the most ambiguous. / Master of Science

The construction and opening of a new school adds a new dimension to the principal's role. The purpose of this study was to describe the duties and responsibilities of a principal opening a newly constructed school, during the year preceding the opening of the school, and during the first year of occupancy in that school. The study was enriched by interviews with seven principals that opened new schools in the Central Valley of California. Personal reflections during interviews with principals were recorded, transcribed, and along with documents offered by elementary and middle school principals, analyzed for themes. The results of this study found that the attributes and characteristics of a successful principal opening a new elementary or middle school were very similar to the attributes and qualities of a successful principal of an existing school or of successful leaders of any organization, in general. The need for strong interpersonal skills, a clear vision, strong organizational and problem solving skills, a broad professional knowledge, and flexibility were required for success. The difference in possessing these attributes and characteristics appeared to be the emphasis placed on each one when it was manifested. Five themes that emerged from this case study were parental issues, construction or site building issues, staffing issues, school organization issues, and time management issues. Each of these issues required certain skills or traits on the part of the principal in order to be successful in opening a new school. The results of this study may be of interest to principals named to open a new school, assist in the selection of principals of new schools, and offer guidance regarding the best time to hire principals of schools under construction.

It has been more than seven years since the events of the September 11 terrorist attacks have changed the way in which American citizens live on a daily basis. Some of us have become anxious while traveling, some more guarded in what we choose to discuss in public and with whom we associate, some more suspicious of other races and religions, some more suspicious of our own government. All American citizens-whether or not they were victims of racial profiling post September I I-have had to change the way in which they obtain information and understand their rights to privacy and knowledge. In my thesis, I explore how the enactment of the Patriot Act and the affiliated surveillance of American citizens (as well as foreign nationals) have not only violated our constitutional rights to free expression, but have also violated our intellectual and privacy rights. Specifically, I am concerned with the negative impact of the Patriot Act on the ability and willingness of American citizens to obtain information and to express their opinions about politically sensitive topics. This fear of being labeled a threat to national security or a potential terrorist has created a nation in which many citizens are increasingly complacent about violations of their intellectual rights, negligent about upholding their epistemic responsibilities, and increasingly ignorant about their own nation's policies, as well as global events In order to eradicate the negative influence of the Patriot Act on the epistemic rights and responsibilities of American citizens, I propose that the American public cultivate the epistemological virtues necessary to educate themselves on domestic as well as global matters. I suggest that this would enhance our national security, in addition to preserving our civil liberties and enlarging our intellectual understanding of global events and relationships.

No description available.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine middle and high school principal roles prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic to gain a better understanding about how leadership responsibilities adapted or changed. Data collection strategies included one-on-one interviews with nine middle and high school principals in East Tennessee. To qualify for the study participants had to have experience in the principalship prior to the pandemic. The analysis of data was based on the theoretical frameworks of adaptive leadership (Heifetz et al., 2009) and change theory (Fullan, 2020). The results revealed five key themes that were consistent during the interviews both prior to and during the pandemic: (a) instructional leadership, (b) school culture and climate, (c) school management, (d) community partnerships, and (e) relationships. The following four emergent themes were specific to adaptive changes principals identified while leading during the pandemic: (a) social-emotional awareness, (b) digital teaching and learning, (c) communication, and (d) whole child.

Yes / The article discusses how nurses are increasingly being valued as autonomous decision makers and co-ordinators of patient care. Topics include relating to the age of the dependent children, a woman's working hours and any successive career breaks, woman's career progression directly related to the school age of the dependent children, and children being inhibit and is driven in part by a determination to maintain traditional employment practices.

Yes / The Management NVQs were (according to their proponents) designed to provide a new mechanism for certifying workplace competence. Centred on descriptions of practice in the workplace they offered a qualifications route that could be accessed by all. This article draws on an in-depth study of the implementation of NVQs in three private sector organisations. It argues that, in practice, this competence-based format is highly problematic. Candidates are required to work towards criteria that may not match their roles and responsibilities, developmental work is systemically discouraged and work is routinised. The article concludes by arguing that these flaws are structural ones which may be expected to continue as long as NVQs continue to attempt to distil the essence of occupations into `standards¿.

This diploma thesis deals with examining the economic literacy of a headmaster. The topic has been chosen because of the belief that a good financial management is important for the development of a school. Another reason for the choice is the fact that there is virtually no set of unambiguously defined responsibilities and no set of suggested knowledge in the economic area which would provide guidance for headmaster in his work. The aim of the theoretical part is to find the necessary information, to define the key terms and to place the economics of the school management into the legislative framework. The practical (research) part examines the actual state of knowledge and the activity of headmasters in the financial management of the school. The difficulty, the risk of financial management in relation to other managerial activities and the comparability of different types and sizes of schools are also examined here. The outcome of this thesis is to give the definition and the content of the economic and financial literacy of a headmaster. It is also to determine the level of the financial literacy of the interviewed headmasters. KEYWORDS: Headmaster, economic literacy, financial literacy, decision-making authority, responsibilities of the headmaster, delegation of responsibilities, financial...

Detta arbete utgår ifrån den diskussion som förts i det svenska samhället vad gäller förskollärarnas ansvar som synliggjorts i den reviderade läroplanen samt införandet av lärarlegitimation. Arbetet syftar på att förstå, genom kvalitativa intervjuer, vad fyra verksamma pedagoger inom förskolan har för tankar omkring arbetets huvudfrågor: Samarbete, ledarskap och ansvar, erfarenhet och praktisk kunskap samt teoretisk kunskap. Vidare finns viss historik omkring förskolan och förskollärarens bakgrund. Målet med denna undersökning är att lyfta upp frågan om samverkan mellan praktisk kunskap och teoretisk kunskap och diskutera samarbetet mellan yrkesgrupperna samt stärka betydelsen av att inneha båda dessa kunskaper. I resultatdelen ämnas de fyra intervjuade pedagogernas åsikter framföras och sedan diskuteras i förhållande till begreppen och tidigare forskning. Samtliga pedagoger är och har varit aktiva i förskolan under minst fem år. Genom studien har resultatet pekat allt tydligare på att de två förskollärarna och de två barnskötarna har olika syn på de olika arbetsrollerna. Sammanfattningsvis menar jag att förskollärarna verkar tycka att ansvar och ledarskap till viss del är deras uppgifter men att arbetslaget, innefattande både förskollärare och barnskötare, bör samarbeta och man kan ana att de inte vill ta hela ansvaret själva. Barnskötarna, å andra sidan, eftersöker mer ledarskap av förskollärarna och vill att de tar det ansvar som de har utbildning och får lön för. De två barnskötarna är inte lika strikta i sin linje vad gäller rollfördelningen, den ena barnskötaren uttrycker att många pedagoger på förskolan gör ett bra arbete oavsett teoretisk kunskap. Som resultat vill jag lyfta fram att det alltså är de som saknar akademisk utbildning som lyfter fram att det är den teoretiska kunskapen är avgörande för ansvarsbiten. Detta trots att samtliga fyra pedagoger menar att den praktiska kunskapen är viktig. Slutligen innefattar arbetet förslag på vidare studier inom ämnet: då särskilt, varför tycker förskollärarna och barnskötarna i denna undersökning så olika beroende av egen utbildningsgrad? / This study departs from the discussion in Swedish society concerning preschool teachers’ responsibilities as visualized in the revised curriculum and the introduction of teacher license registration.The study is aimed at understanding, through qualitative interviews, what four active pedagogues involved in pre-school feels about the changes, which are this study’s main issues: the concept of cooperation, leadership and responsibility, experience and practical knowledge and theoretical knowledge. Further, there is some history about kindergarten and preschool teachers’ background. The purpose of this study is to highlight the issue of interaction between practical knowledge and theoretical knowledge as well as the cooperation of the people involved in preschool.The results section is dealing with the four pedagogues, who are and have been active in pre-school for at least five years, to be presented and then discussed in relation to the concepts and previous research. The study results have indicated more clearly that the two preschool teachers and the two childminders have different views on the differing roles. In sum I believe that preschool teachers find that responsibility and leadership in some way lies on their shoulders, but they’re pointing more to the team, including both preschool teachers and childcare workers, for cooperation. You can sense that they do not want to take full responsibility themselves. Childcare workers are on the other hand looking for more leadership from the preschool teachers and expect that they should take the responsibility they have been educated and are paid for. The two childcare workers are not as strict in the terms of roles. One of them expresses that many teachers in the preschool are doing a good job regardless of theoretical knowledge. As a result, I would highlight that it is the pedagogues without theoretical knowledge that emphasizes that theoretical knowledge is crucial for the responsibility part, despite the fact that all four teachers believe that practical knowledge is important. Finally, this study includes suggestions for further studies in the subject: on particular, why do preschool teachers and childcare workers in this study feel so different depending on their own level of education?