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Full-Text Articles in Higher Education

Student Visual Narratives Giving Voice To Positive Learning Experiences – A Contribution To Educational Reform, Ulrika Bergmark, Catrine Kostenius Jan 2012

Student Visual Narratives Giving Voice To Positive Learning Experiences – A Contribution To Educational Reform, Ulrika Bergmark, Catrine Kostenius

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The aim of this paper is to explore students’ positive experiences of their learning through the use of visual narratives, observation, and field notes in two secondary school classes in Sweden. Four themes were found: (1) knowing the needs of mind and body, (2) embracing each other in mutual support, (3) learning in a facilitating environment, and (4) using a variety of learning modalities. Students wished to have a voice in setting the curriculum, favored a variety of assignments, and sought to expand their learning environment beyond the classroom. Finally, challenges for teachers and school leaders are discussed.


Characterizing The Touchstones Of Educational Leadership: An Analysis Of Distinguished Applied Doctorate Programs, Julie Carlson, Donald Mitchell Oct 2011

Characterizing The Touchstones Of Educational Leadership: An Analysis Of Distinguished Applied Doctorate Programs, Julie Carlson, Donald Mitchell

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Organizations are ever-present feature of a modern society. We look toward organization for food, education, employment, entertainment, healthcare, transportation and protection of basic rights. Nearly every aspect of modern life is influenced in one way or another by organization. Organizations are social entities that enable people to work together to achieve objectives. Job satisfaction refers to certain experiences and qualities that are related to the ways a person thinks and feels. The feeling of worthwhileness, which an individual has in particular in an occupational position, can be called job satisfaction.


Transforming Data Into Knowledge, Lane Mills, James Mcdowelle, William Rouse Jr. Oct 2011

Transforming Data Into Knowledge, Lane Mills, James Mcdowelle, William Rouse Jr.

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Hans Selye, the first major researcher of stress coined the word ‘stress’ in 1936 and defined it as “a non-specific response of the body to any demand for change”. Selye (1974) is of the view that stress is a facet of life which human beings cannot avoid. In fact he confidently declares that “total freedom from stress is death” Selye (1976) stated that stress in moderate levels enhances function. Kaplan and Sadock (2000) in their study on students also found out that moderate stress among students enhances learning ability. Pfeiffer (2001) emphasizes that stress helps students to peak their performance. …


Trend And Data Analysis Of Homeschooling, Danielle Geary Oct 2011

Trend And Data Analysis Of Homeschooling, Danielle Geary

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Since the inception of the No Child Left Behind legislation, school districts have been faced with a growing need to gather, analyze and monitor more data than ever before in their leadership of schools (Blink, 2007; Kowalski, Lasley & Mahoney, 2008; Mills, 2006). The adage that schools are “data rich” and “information poor”, while comical, is often true. School systems are awash in data and drowning is a real concern for new and soon-to-be leaders. The critical task for school leaders is to turn existing student achievement data into a format that lends itself to answering questions and improving outcomes …


Sustainable Leadership: Creating Foundations For Lasting Change, Matthew Lynch Jul 2011

Sustainable Leadership: Creating Foundations For Lasting Change, Matthew Lynch

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The change in the United States population and the pace of Internet technology-perhaps more dramatic than most universities may have forecasted-translates into more diverse prospective students with changing needs and interests in university education (Wilson & Meyer, 2009). Immigration and U.S. population growth patterns have converged into a new prospective student profile (Banks, 2008), such that between now and the year 2050, one in three U.S. residents will be Hispanic (U.S. Census, 2009). Similarly, African Americans and Black immigrants will increase to 15% of the U.S. population, and the Asian population will grow from 5.1% to 9.2%. People of two …


Job Stress, Workload, Academic Freedom And Quality Research In Nigerian Universities, Chinelo Duze Apr 2011

Job Stress, Workload, Academic Freedom And Quality Research In Nigerian Universities, Chinelo Duze

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

One of the major obligations of higher education academic staff is to conduct research. It is used to assess the lecturer’s scholarship and leads to promotion. It is therefore expected that academic staff who must progress as expected should conduct quality research. Unfortunately, research in higher education in Nigeria seemly lacks the potentials to produce results that are sufficiently generalized for humanity’s stock of knowledge. This study therefore examined some of the impediments to quality research in Nigerian universities. The variables studied were the institutional factors of job stress, workload, and academic autonomy. These indices were considered institutional because they …


Rediscovering Swot Analysis: The Extended Version, Kwamena Nyarku, Gloria Agyapong Apr 2011

Rediscovering Swot Analysis: The Extended Version, Kwamena Nyarku, Gloria Agyapong

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

SWOT analysis was developed to help companies define their strategies in the context of the ever emerging and competitive business environments. This decision-making tool owes its name to the fact that it examines the strengths and weaknesses within the firm, as well as the opportunities and threats of the external market. According to Meyer (2003), the SWOT analysis suggests that a sound strategy should match the firm’s strengths(S) and weaknesses (W) to the opportunities (O) and threats (T) encountered in the firm’s environment. It is meant to spark strategic insight and distil fragmentary facts and figures into coherent backdrops for …


Literary Creativity In Second Language English: A Speech Act Study Of Ola Rotimi’S Ovonrawmen Nogbaisi, M.J. Oloko Apr 2011

Literary Creativity In Second Language English: A Speech Act Study Of Ola Rotimi’S Ovonrawmen Nogbaisi, M.J. Oloko

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Language remains the most formidable tool that writers use for literary creativity. It is the vehicle through which literature delights and instructs. The most important gift God gave human beings over and above other creatures he created is the power of language (Ezeigbo 2008). Language is indispensable to the creative artists, to literary critics, who must have a facility for words. Words are no doubt a powerful tool in the literary arsenal of the writer. In the hands of a writer, words can do a lot of things. Writers are creative people who create with words. It is no longer …


Adult Learning Styles And Technology-Driven Learning For Online Students, Emad Rahim, Aikyna Finch Apr 2011

Adult Learning Styles And Technology-Driven Learning For Online Students, Emad Rahim, Aikyna Finch

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The growing crisis in the U.S. has caused many traditional colleges and universities to consider new ways to ensure economic competitiveness and continued financial growth without increasing the size and overhead of their campus.. Universities like Upper Iowa, University Bates College in Maine, and Ball State University in Indiana have begun to offer three-year undergraduate degrees and provide online courses to save students both time and money (Pope, 2009). Several colleges in Colorado are considering the option of moving from a traditional undergraduate classroom format to adding online courses as a means to raise revenue and increase student enrollment. Because …


Philosophy As A Tool For Sustainable Development: A Contemporary Issue In Nigeria Educational System, E.D. Nakpodia Apr 2011

Philosophy As A Tool For Sustainable Development: A Contemporary Issue In Nigeria Educational System, E.D. Nakpodia

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The place of Philosophy as a discipline in our world today cannot be overemphasized. It is a truism that the present day Nigeria is a product of what the colonialists handed over to the Nigerian rulers on Independence day, 1st of October 1960. It was a government that was born in a state of uncertainty and was soon to manifest clearly in a bloody civil war which nobody prays to ever witness again. In our world today, people talk about various models, theories, and other strategies towards achieving development. Nigeria is certainly not an exception.


Power Motives And Core Self Evaluation As Correlates Of Managerial Morality, Aline Masuda Jan 2011

Power Motives And Core Self Evaluation As Correlates Of Managerial Morality, Aline Masuda

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

More than ever before, educators are seeking innovative ways to improve students’ achievement, promote quality teaching, reduce cost and motivate students. Educational leaders, from heads to directors, are all working harder than ever to become more effective at managing change and innovation in the “Digital Age”. Today, the large collection of media-rich teaching and everything from educational broadcasting is a good recipe for quality education.


Mega Champs Field Trip: A Lesson In Character Development, Kim Akinyanju, Korrie Allen, Edward Lorek Jan 2011

Mega Champs Field Trip: A Lesson In Character Development, Kim Akinyanju, Korrie Allen, Edward Lorek

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The existence of a policy does not necessarily mean that a school will ‘enact’ it (Fulcher, 1997). Queensland Government’s current P-12 Curriculum Framework provides schools with a direction to achieve “a curriculum for all”. However, experience with working with secondary school staff is that they are commonly unaware of the implications of this policy to their everyday work. In fact, they usually respond to any references by the writer to a “curriculum for all” (meaning providing a curriculum for all students in their class, including those with disabilities) with “Where does it say I have to do that?” Meaning, “…where …


A Commentary About The Black And Latino Doctoral Experience In The United States, Pamela Felder, Milagros Castillo Jan 2011

A Commentary About The Black And Latino Doctoral Experience In The United States, Pamela Felder, Milagros Castillo

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The Central Educational Center is a product of multiple visions, desires, and hopes. The ideal vision is outlined in a book entitled “The Eden Conspiracy” (Harless, 1997). Other perspectives include a requirement from local business that basic skills of high school graduates need to be rapidly improved, the desire of a growing local school system to provide costly industry-standard career-technical education to all high school students, the vision of a regional technical college to “dual enroll” high school students and make technical college a viable post-secondary option, and the hopes of a Governor looking for a viable model to support …


Going Beyond Contemporary Leader Development Practices: Assessing Leader Readiness Using Cognitive Stage Development And Experiential Learning Theories, Elizabeth Turesky, Leigh Mundhenk Jul 2010

Going Beyond Contemporary Leader Development Practices: Assessing Leader Readiness Using Cognitive Stage Development And Experiential Learning Theories, Elizabeth Turesky, Leigh Mundhenk

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Consider the employee who is highly engaged and self-directed in her work, manages ambiguity well, genuinely engages in the journey of becoming an agent of change, seeks ways to understand herself as a leader, and relishes the possibilities of ideas. On the other hand, there is the employee who looks to others for direction and answers, finds the lack of clarity and ambiguity unbearable, resists new ideas, has difficulty making decisions, or jumps right into the decision-making process without careful reflection. These disparate behaviors in employees seem to occur unrelated to age, gender, and socioeconomic level. As teachers, managers, and …


Kolb’S Experiential Learning As A Critical Frame For Reflective Practice, Elizabeth Turesky, Diane Wood Jul 2010

Kolb’S Experiential Learning As A Critical Frame For Reflective Practice, Elizabeth Turesky, Diane Wood

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

David Kolb’s conception of experiential learning has informed wide-ranging studies and practices in education, business, organizational development, and leadership studies for over two decades now. His work has guided the work of trainers, teachers, and scholars, affording significant insights into both individual and organizational learning. Because deep and sustained change in human settings requires that people learn, Kolb’s penetrating analysis of the complexities involved in human learning has provided clues about the notorious difficulties surrounding change in both individuals and organizations. In an era where the newest ideas tend to have special cache, Kolb’s work has had remarkable staying power. …


Leadership To Run The World: A Mandate For Higher Education, Gregory Eastwood Jul 2010

Leadership To Run The World: A Mandate For Higher Education, Gregory Eastwood

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

“Leadership is an essentially moral act,” said A. Bartlett Giamatti, former president of Yale University, who later became Commissioner of Baseball. But consider these few news items, selected from a multitude of candidates: Eliot Spitzer, former governor of New York, resigned after his involvement with a prostitute was made public. Rod Blagojevich, former governor of Illinois, was removed from office by unanimous vote of the Illinois State Senate after conviction on federal corruption charges. Bernard Madoff, former Wall Street executive and NASDAQ chair, currently is incarcerated in federal prison after conviction for investment fraud. Rev. Jeffrey Sarkies, a popular pastor …


Paying Students For Grades: Is It Sustainable And Should It Be?, Allison Butler, Kristin Kennedy, Michaela Kennedy Jul 2010

Paying Students For Grades: Is It Sustainable And Should It Be?, Allison Butler, Kristin Kennedy, Michaela Kennedy

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

This paper highlights some of the most notable cash incentive programs, questions why the flow of money into these programs is not totally transparent and well known to the taxpayers who fund some of them, and reviews literature on the psychological, motivational, and ethical issues surrounding this policy. We would like to question how much public funding is being spent, especially since towns and school systems are struggling in these difficult financial times with miniscule operating budgets.


Practicing What They Preach: How Business Schools Approach Strategy, Sergio Matviuk, David Burkus Jul 2010

Practicing What They Preach: How Business Schools Approach Strategy, Sergio Matviuk, David Burkus

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

This article seeks to discover if those organizations engaged in teaching strategy are experiencing a similar learning and implementation gap as other organizations. This article reviews the current literature surrounding strategic thinking, strategic planning, and strategy development before interviewing leaders from three separate universities to examine whether or not such a disconnect exists and provide discussion and recommendations for business school leaders.


Teaching Reading Comprehension To Children Of Poverty, Kena Price Jul 2010

Teaching Reading Comprehension To Children Of Poverty, Kena Price

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

In 2007 18% of children in the United States were living in poverty, and 12.5% of the entire population lived in poverty, which amounts to 37.3 million people (US Census Bureau Poverty 2007). To be considered actually living in poverty, not just poor, a single person home had to report an annual income of $10,590 or less, while a home with four people residing in it needed to report $21,203 annual salary (US Census Bureau Poverty Thresholds). These statistics demonstrate the overwhelming need for teachers to know how to best teach students coming from poverty. Almost 20% of our students …


The Benefit Of Extracurricular Activities In High School: Involvement Enhances Academic Achievement And The Way Forward, Scott Turner Jul 2010

The Benefit Of Extracurricular Activities In High School: Involvement Enhances Academic Achievement And The Way Forward, Scott Turner

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Research and data have been cited for over four decades about extra-curricular activities both sports and non sports related. Non sports related reference such activities as government, publication, journalism, math, and non specific leadership. Although there appears to be much data individually supporting each as a whole limited studies seem to be available. Depending on the region many schools urge and push sports as extra-curricular but do not necessarily promote sports for the benefit of the student, unfortunately more-so for the benefit of the school. Just as there were skeptics more than three generations ago today some still exist, stating …


Analysis Of The Educational Facilities In Southern Universities In Nigeria, O.L. Oyeniyi Apr 2010

Analysis Of The Educational Facilities In Southern Universities In Nigeria, O.L. Oyeniyi

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The educational system in Nigeria has witnessed tremendous expansion within the last two decades in the midst of limited resources and dilapidated educational facilities. The education sector has not enjoyed a fair share of the total recurrent and capital expenditure of the federal Government, despite the 26% recommended by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).The high priority accorded education according to Longe (1985), has partly been due to the view of education as an investment.


Evaluation Of A Trustees Leadership Academy At The Medical University Of South Carolina, Elizabeth Pilcher, Kelly Ragucci, Jennie Arial, Monica Cayouette Apr 2010

Evaluation Of A Trustees Leadership Academy At The Medical University Of South Carolina, Elizabeth Pilcher, Kelly Ragucci, Jennie Arial, Monica Cayouette

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Developing leaders in academic medicine has become a priority for many academic health science centers. The increased need for these leaders as well as the desire of individuals on such campuses to enhance their skills in teaching, research and leadership is driving the increase in faculty development programs.


Work Motivation Of Teachers : Relationship With Transformational And Transactional Leadership Behavior Of College Principals, Uma Devi, R.S. Mani Apr 2010

Work Motivation Of Teachers : Relationship With Transformational And Transactional Leadership Behavior Of College Principals, Uma Devi, R.S. Mani

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The strength of an educational system largely depends upon the quality of its teachers. It is a teacher who helps to transform an individual into a person of imagination, wisdom, human love and enlightenment, and institutions into lampposts of posterity, and the country into a learning society. The National Policy on Education (1986) has rightly remarked “The status of the teacher reflects the sociocultural ethos of a society; It is in this context that today a teacher occupies a unique and significant place in any society.


A Comparative Study Of Residential And Non-Residential Students Academic Performance At The University Of Education, Winneba, Anthony Afful-Broni, Patricia Hogrey Jan 2010

A Comparative Study Of Residential And Non-Residential Students Academic Performance At The University Of Education, Winneba, Anthony Afful-Broni, Patricia Hogrey

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The government’s funding of tertiary education started in 1948 when the University College of Gold Coast, now the University of Ghana; Legon was established to produce the manpower requirements of the country (Gye Nyame Concord, 2005). During the era, students at the university were treated as first born babies and were provided with almost everything, including pocket money by the government, to ensure that the needed comfort was obtained for smooth scholarly work. It should be noted that all these while, students were resident in the halls provided by the university. With time, the population increase of students did not …


A Comparison Of Leadership Styles And Gender Role Internalization Among Female Managers In The United States, Jennifer Young, Barbara Beauchamp, Susan Jackson-Dowd, Karen Dunnagan Jan 2010

A Comparison Of Leadership Styles And Gender Role Internalization Among Female Managers In The United States, Jennifer Young, Barbara Beauchamp, Susan Jackson-Dowd, Karen Dunnagan

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The current research study examined the relationship between gender role internalization and transformational and transactional leadership style in female managers. This researcher intended to discover whether the internalization of messages that society presents about female behavior correlates with the adoption of transformational leadership by women in management positions. Specifically, the researcher wanted to find out whether there was a higher level of gender role internalization among female transformational leaders than in female transactional leaders.


Developing Improvisation Skills For Alleviating Poverty In Nigeria: The Place Of Chemistry In Entrepreneurship Education, Jacobson Nbina, B. Viko, S.T. Birabil Jan 2010

Developing Improvisation Skills For Alleviating Poverty In Nigeria: The Place Of Chemistry In Entrepreneurship Education, Jacobson Nbina, B. Viko, S.T. Birabil

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

One of the goals of Education in Nigeria is the acquisition of appropriate skills, the development of mental, physical and social abilities and competencies as equipment for individual to live in and contribute to the development of the society (Federal Government of Nigeria, 2004). The realization of this goal can be impeded by non-availability of science equipment that can ensure effective teaching and learning. Many authors have, however, reported the issue of inadequacy of science equipment in educational institutions in Nigeria. (Ogunleye, 2007 in Ugwu, 2008; Ogunmade et al 2006; Nwagbo, 2008; Bajah, 1982; Osobonye, 2002). It has also been …


Evidence-Based Decision-Making In Teacher Preparation, Kristen Crabtree-Groff Jan 2010

Evidence-Based Decision-Making In Teacher Preparation, Kristen Crabtree-Groff

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Cooperative Learning, Flexible Grouping, and Scaffolding to name a few. Each of these strategies asks teachers to make instructional decisions based on the collection and analysis of data. In addition, classroom management practices, authentic assessment and student growth measures necessitate clear evidence gathering. As teacher candidates progress through their programs, they should encounter evidence-based decision-making — multiple means of collecting evidence, analyzing the evidence, setting goals, and evaluating results – throughout their coursework. We ask our teacher candidates to be reflective practitioners, in essence we ask them to use information to make evidence based decisions. The current pressures of accountability …


Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction Among Civilian Staff In The Zimbabwe Republic Police, Frank Gwavuya Jan 2010

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction Among Civilian Staff In The Zimbabwe Republic Police, Frank Gwavuya

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Southern Africa has been witnessing an upsurge in the departure of technical expertise in virtually all sectors over the last five years (Stilwell, 2003). This has resulted in qualified personnel seeking greener pastures abroad. Movement of people from developing countries towards the developed world especially Europe and the Americas has been conspicuous. Anecdotes show that during the 1990s, total migration of professionals towards Western Europe and North America accounted for 30% of the flows registered throughout the world (ILO, 1996). It is estimated that in the year 2000 approximately 175million people, or 2.9% of the world’s population, were living outside …


Influence Of Resources Allocation In Education On Secondary School Students’ Outcome In Nigeria., Olabanji Obadara, Abayomi Alaka Jan 2010

Influence Of Resources Allocation In Education On Secondary School Students’ Outcome In Nigeria., Olabanji Obadara, Abayomi Alaka

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

School finance is concerned with the mobilization and allocation of resources to schools. School finance issues are of paramount concern to all levels of educational system both at federal, state, and local government level. The child’s future as well as the future of a society in general, depends largely on the quality of the educational system. The high expectation of the society for students and teachers to perform at higher levels, and for schools to guarantee the success of all students, the question of how best to support the expectation through effective and efficient allocation resources becomes even more critical.


The Right Stuff: Inquiry Training, Teaching & Transfer For Content Mastery In The Sciences, Alice Coe, Ruthanne Thompson Jan 2010

The Right Stuff: Inquiry Training, Teaching & Transfer For Content Mastery In The Sciences, Alice Coe, Ruthanne Thompson

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The standardized testing movement has inadvertently placed pressure on elementary and secondary instructors to teach to the test. Primarily this is manifested through memorization and testing skills training and less on developing content mastery and problem solving. Hands-on activities (also referred to as inquiry learning) are lauded by the literature as an effective methodology in the development of content mastery (Akerson, V., Hanson, D., & Cullen, T.; NSF, 2010; Smith, T., Desimone, L., Zeidner, T., Dunn, A., Bhatt, M. & Rumyantseva, N., 2007). Nevertheless, administrators often see the inquiry method as an ineffective use of classroom and training time diverting …