A Case Study on School-Oriented Management Successfully Launched ABSTRACT The present study is primarily intended to probe into a case school¡XMin-chyuan Elementary School of Kaohsiung regarding its process and experiences via compilation and analysis of documents in promoting its school-oriented management so as to look into what efforts Min-chyuan Elementary School of Kaohsiung has made toward the school-oriented management. Through focus interview, triangulation, we look into the key school personnel regarding how they view the issues and what they have in mind. The study is backed by a small-scale questionnaire survey to analyze the performance and satisfaction level, added with the personal observation and comments by the researcher (the founding Principal of the subject School) as appropriate, in reciprocation and reflection. In the present study, the connotation to define the school-oriented management includes such six key issues, i.e., the Principal¡¦s philosophy in leadership, formulation and enforcement of school vision, forging and deepening the school culture, concept and characteristics of campus landscaping, shape and application of school classes which are open for use, school-oriented curricula in planning and enforcement. I. The Principal¡¦s philosophy in leadership: Including the Principal¡¦s thoughts in leadership philosophy, what the Principal has acted in leadership, co-sharing of hands-on examples and reciprocation of school faculty toward the Principal in the wake of efforts of leadership. II. Formulation and enforcement of school vision: Based on the school vision and backgrounds of the school philosophy, it will forge the bold vision through hands-on actions and through school faculty who will point out their view points and reciprocation toward the school vision. III. Forging and deepening the school culture: Through elaborately written stories, it will combine the cultural efforts and sentiment of Min-chyuan Elementary School of Kaohsiung. For instance, a flock of ducks are visiting the newly founded campus to create the topics in common, to let the school grow and flourish along with us all. The significance of education will be merged into the hands-on experiences accumulated in school construction. The little ant¡¦s legend and others will bring the school faculty and students firmly together into strong sense of honors. IV. Concept and characteristics of campus landscaping: The concept and blueprints of campus planning, co-sharing of hands-on examples and feedback of the fruits. V. Shape and application of school classes which are open for use: The analysis of the school classes, the shapes and post-use status, the co-sharing of the examples, relevant issues of the classes and methodology to solution. VI. School-oriented curricula in planning and enforcement: The evolution of the school-oriented curricula, co-sharing of examples, reciprocation feedback and viewpoints toward school-oriented curricular. The present study yields the precious finding that in the school-oriented management, the Principal plays the core role, holding the open-minded and human-cored leadership. In turn, the Principal receives tremendous recognition from entire teams and faculty members. The School will take the school culture as the core of the vision to formulate the ¡§culture-based campus, education-based communities¡¨. Such vision and blueprints are matched with hands-on and concrete practice which form the tremendous momentum of continual development of the school to forge a promising and upbeat dream. Through toughing stories one after another, the school will shape up warm and sweet campus culture which is profoundly embedded into children through the characteristics of their behaviors. Under the breakthrough philosophy engineered by the Principal, the school is not a school alone and a classroom is not a classroom alone. With the elaborately designed spaces, the campus speaks. The space is in brisk dialogue. Thanks to the unique and sophisticated thoughts, Min-chyuan Elementary School of Kaohsiung impresses all and receives the Architectural and Landscaping Award for the Greater Kaohsiung Region¡Xthe first school ever awarded such tremendous honor. Through the efforts for compilation and co-sharing from the researcher, i.e., the founding principal of Min-chyuan Elementary School of Kaohsiung, both the tangible campus planning and intangible philosophy of spatial design profoundly impress all as the very target to probe into. In a nutshell, the school-oriented management efforts launched by Min-chyuan Elementary School of Kaohsiung are indeed unique breakthrough. The hands-on experiences so accumulated are precious lessons as worthwhile reference to other elementary schools.

U.S. Small Business Administration reports that small businesses are one of the pillars of the U.S. economy, providing employment, innovation, and productivity. However, these businesses are constantly faced with challenges resulting from limited resources and continuous technological advances. This qualitative multiple-case study was performed to explore the strategies that small business owners (SBOs) in Maryland use to acquire capital to sustain their businesses financially for more than 5 years. The study's framework, the strategic management theory, was applied to determine the most effective approaches for the small businesses. Face-to-face interviews with 6 recruited SBOs were performed. A qualitative thematic analysis was then used to analyze the interviews. The main strategies to sustain capital were to create a business plan focusing on long-term goals and invest in employee knowledge and skills. In the process of measuring success, participants mostly determined their success by their ability to acquire customers based on feedback and good service. The interviewees managed their cash by minimizing debt, maximizing the use of technology, and keeping track of cash flows. The SBOs also shared that the challenges in business were endured by staying debt-free, adjusting their strategies with the market changes, and conserving cash and expenses. Contributions to social change include helping small businesses sustain by leveraging strategic planning, management, and implementation in their businesses, thereby providing jobs and contributing to the overall economic vitality of the community.

Saudi Arabian entrepreneurs face major difficulties with the country's complex regulatory system. Based on Schumpeter's theory of entrepreneurship, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to reveal the lived experiences of Saudi entrepreneurs in navigating regulatory procedures in Jeddah. Data were collected through prolonged, face-to-face phenomenological interviews with 22 Saudi businesspeople who started successful businesses. The van Kaam method and member checking helped validate the transcribed data, which were subsequently coded into 4 themes. Four themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) obstacles in regulatory processes, (b) lack of information, (c) cumbersome procedures and need for alternatives to stringent protocols, and (d) persistence strategies needed to maneuver through inflexible regulations. For entrepreneurship progress among these individuals, business rules needed to be comprehensible, shorter, and less bureaucratic. These findings also suggest that, once entrepreneurship rules are transparent, Saudi Arabia may become a choice country for international businesses. These findings have implications for positive social change by informing the efforts of governmental authorities in their work towards effective regulatory processes as roadways to the economic well-being of businesses and communities, and could be a catalyst to boost foreign investments in the country.

In Britain, the ‘Building Schools for the Future’ (BSF) programme numbered among its aims: ‘the building of sustainable communities in which students and teachers alike [could] thrive’ (DfES, 2003, p.88). Modern, purpose-built and ecologically efficient architecture was regarded as central to this. What is less clear is how particular architectural features could contribute to the positive effects hypothesized in BSF literature. Vischer (2008) has identified three areas in which environmental psychology research explores the effects of workspaces and workplace design on individuals: Territoriality and Belonging (how much users feel a part of the organisation, as a result of using the space); Productivity (how the space affects the performance of the individual, the team and the organisation) and Satisfaction (how users feel about the physical and aesthetic aspects of a space). However, the experiences of children working in schools may be very different to that of adults working in offices; and the role of the architecture in these different contexts may also vary between them. In addition, there remains an opportunity to explore these issues in secondary school settings as BSF was initially set-up in response to concerns about secondary school architecture. This research re-conceptualized Vischer’s three areas as Community (Territoriality…), Working Successfully (Productivity) and Well-being (Satisfaction), to explore experiences of architecture in a school context. This study over two phases operated from a Realist perspective (Blaikie, 1993) and used an Exploratory Evaluation Research methodology (Clarke, 2005) to explore the responses of students and staff to the architecture in 8 secondary schools: Schools A-D in the South-West of England (total sample n=105 students; n=26 staff) and Schools E-H in London (total sample n=83 students; n=2 staff). Schools A, E, F and H are BSF schools; B, C, D and G are non-BSF (mixed architectural styles). Phase 1 used questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to explore student and staff responses to the architecture in their schools; and how this architecture affects their sense of Community, Working Successfully and WellBeing. Phase 2 used a classroom-based computer-aided design (CAD) activity to explore whether participants could offer architectural design solutions for classrooms and schools, according to their needs. Thematic analysis revealed common definitions of Community, Working Successfully and Well-Being across all schools; design choices which aimed to maximize natural light; beliefs that SEN status is central to school functioning well as a community; and beliefs about the role of curved architecture in improving acoustical quality. Implications for EP practice are considered and future research directions proposed.

Studiens syfte var att i lärares uppfattningar och handlingar utforska deras förhållningssätt till faktorer som i tidigare forskning visat på områden som leder till framgång i undervisning. Studien utfördes i form av en fallstudie med en kvalitativ metodansats. Datainsamlingen gjordes med intervjuer med legitimerade matematiklärare, fyra lärare på grundskolans senare nivå samt fyra lärare på gymnasienivå. Dessa har tillsammans med 32 observationstimmar i de intervjuade lärarnas klassrum varit underlag för att få detaljerad information om lärarnas förhållningssätt till vilka faktorer som har betydelse för måluppfyllelsen. Den empiriska datainsamlingen har sammanställts och legat till grund för tolkning ur vilken resultatet framkommer. Det återfanns flera områden där alla lärare både har samma uppfattningar till, men också, bedrev samma typ av praktik med avseende på de undersökta faktorerna. Slutsatser som kunde dras av denna fallstudie är att lärare kan ha fler ämneskonceptioner än den egna uttalade. De intervjuade lärarna hade god kännedom om faktorer som är kopplade till framgångar i måluppfyllelse i matematik. De hade uppfattningen att dessa faktorer spelar en viktig roll i elevernas förmåga att nå målen. Undervisningen följde lärarnas kännedom om och uppfattning om dessa faktorers betydelse för elevernas måluppfyllelse i de flesta avseenden. Fem aktiviteter avvek från detta: gymnasielärarna lyfte mål och syfte med aktiviteterna i klassrummet i mycket högre utsträckning än grundskollärarna. Grundskollärarna använde sig av öppna frågor för att utveckla elevernas kritiska tänkande i högre utsträckning än gymnasielärarna. Lärarna uttalade inte sina högt ställda förväntningar till eleverna. Lärarna talade inte om för sina elever vilken vision de har för aktiviteterna och de presenterade inte utmaningar i samband med undersökningar i någon högre grad i klassrummet. / The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ approaches to both perceptions and actions, as well as to factors that can affect the rate of which students in Swedish schools achieve their goals. The factors are chosen from research focusing on successful education. The study was conducted in the form of a case study with a qualitative method approach. The data collection was made through interviews with legitimized mathematic professors, four teachers from the upper levels of high-school and four teachers in a Swedish gymnasium. These have alongside with 32 observation-hours inside of the interviewed teacher’s classrooms formed the basis for the detailed information about the teachers’ approaches to what factors that are important for achieving (the students) goals. The empirical data collection has been compiled and provided the basis for interpretation from which the result is obtained. There were many areas where the teachers have the same opinion, but also exercised the same practical (teaching methods) with respect to the tested factors. Conclusions from this case study are that the teachers can have more subject conceptions than the expressed ones. The interviewed teachers had extensive knowledge of factors that are connected to success in goal completion within mathematics. They were under the perception that these factors play a major part in the students’ abilities to reach their goals. The education followed the teacher’s knowledge and perception about the importance of these factors in order to achieve the student’s goals. Five activities deviate from this: the teachers in the Swedish gymnasium focused on goals and purposes of the activities in the classroom to a greater extent than the high-school teachers. The high-school teachers used open-answer questions to develop the students critical thinking to a greater extent than the teachers in the Swedish gymnasium. The teachers didn’t expressed their high expectations to the students. The teachers didn ́t tell their students what goals they have for the activities in the classroom and they don’t presented any sort of challenge connected to laboratory experiments.

本研究旨在探討國民中學中輟學生返校復學成功之案例，主要研究目的有四：一、分析中輟學生復學的原因與過程；二、探討中輟復學生之需求；三、了解學校幫助中輟復學生之安置措施及其困境；四、探析成功輔導中輟復學生之輔導策略，以供輔導國民中學輔導中輟復學生參考。 研究方法採用半結構式的訪談和焦點團體之質性研究，首先以文獻探討與本研究有關之理論與相關研究，以作為論文研究架構之基礎；本研究以台北縣某國中八位中輟復學生為研究對象，另再進行兩場教師焦點團體，深入探討學生中輟復學的相關因素。 本研究的研究結果歸納如下： 一、中輟復學生整體復學原因與過程 1、安置回原班的穩定效果；2、設計溫暖及接納的學習環境；3、畢業證書的誘因；4、案主的自覺；5、同儕團體的協助；6、家庭功能的改善；7、外在誘因的消失等等。 二、中輟復學生需求 1、家庭功能改善；2、能接納、包容的導師；3、他人的認同、尊重、關懷與包容；4、課業方面的協助；5、正向示範引導的友伴等等。 三、中輟復學生之安置措施及其困境 在中輟復學生返校復學後，學校經常有的安置措施：1、中輟復學生返回原班；2、以專案輔導機制協助，如邀請參加認輔制度、技藝班或是高關懷班；3、專任輔導老師長期協助；4、轉介請社會局或是鄰近醫院協助處理。在安置困境方面：1、教師輔導知能專業不足；2、輔導黃金時段無法掌握；3、家庭功能不健全；4、學校課程設計的不利因素；5、社會誘因仍大等等。 四、成功輔導中輟學生復學的輔導策略 1、協助復學生做好心理建設；2、建立學校協助父母的諮詢及輔導管道；3、提供讓中輟生具成就感的教學，開發復學生的潛能；4、師生關係平日即能建立情感，老師對學生一視同仁；5、〈1〉、把握契機〈2〉、耐心陪伴、等待個案成熟〈3〉、與復學生一起設定目標等策略運用；6、建立復學生正向楷模的同儕關係；7、家庭訪問等等。 最後，本研究針對上述研究發現加以討論，並提出具體性建議，供各國民中學輔導中輟復學生之參考，及未來後續研究之建議。 / The purpose of this research is to discuss the successful cases of drop out junior high school students to go back to school, and the four major research purposes are: 1. Analyzing the reasons and process for drop out school students to go back to school; 2. Discussing the needs of them; 3. Realizing school’s arrangement measures and difficulty in assisting them; 4. Analyzing the assistance strategy that assist them successfully, and propose to junior high schools as the reference to assist them. The research methods are semistructured interviewing and qualitative research of focus group. First step is to discuss the theory relevant to this research and relevant researches by literature, and as the basis of the framework of thesis research. The research objects are 8 drop out school students of one junior high school in Taipei County; furthermore, two teacher focus groups are held to discuss factors relevant to drop out school students’ back to school. The research results are concluded as below: 1. Reasons and process for drop out school students to go back to school 1.1 Stability effect of arrange them to original classes; 1.2 Designing warm and accepting learning environments; 1.3 Attraction of diploma; 1.4 Self-awareness of them; 1.5 Assistance from same generation group; 1.6 Improvement of family function; 1.7 Elimination of outside attraction. 2. The needs of them 2.1 Improvement of family function; 2.2 Teachers that could accept and tolerate them; 2.3 Identification, respect, care and tolerance from others; 2.4 Assistance in study; 2.5 Friends that could guide them positively. 3. Arrangement measures and difficulty in assisting them Frequent arrangement measures by schools after they back to school: 3.1 Arrange them to original classes; 3.2 Offer project assistance system, such as inviting them to join assistance system, skill training class or class with high care; 3.3 Long term assistance by specialized assistance teacher 3.4 Introduce and transfer them to department of social welfare or nearby hospitals for assistance. For the difficulty in arrangement: 3.5 Teachers do not have enough specialized assistance knowledge; 3.6 Could not handle the best time for assistance; 3.7 Family function is not complete; 3.8 Disadvantage factors of school’s course design; 3.9 Social attraction is still high. 4. Assistance strategy that assist them successfully 4.1 Assist them to establish their psychology; 4.2 Establish consulting and assistance channel to help parents; 4.3 Provide teaching that could make them feel accomplished and develop their potential; 4.4 Establish emotion between teachers and students in daily life, and teachers shall treat all students alike; 4.5 (1) Hold the turning point, (2) Accompany them patiently and waiting them to become mature, (3) Set up goals with them; 4.6 Establishing their relation with same generation of positive example; 4.7 Family interview. Finally, specific suggestions are addressed after the discussion of the above research results, and propose to junior high schools as the reference for assisting drop out school students and suggestion for follow-up researches.