Educational Support Staff Research Articles

Idaho

This article is an update on public school finance in the state of Idaho. The article includes updated information regarding the following topics: funding priorities for P–12, changes to the funding formula for P–12, pressing state issues affecting P–12, and exclusive to P–12, what are the alternatives to traditional public schools offered by your state and what does the trend in funding look like for these alternatives. As of 2022, the state of Idaho maintains the lowest per pupil expenditure (PPE) in the nation, ranking 51st when including the District of Columbia. Idaho’s PPE was $8,376 in 2021, which comes in at 58% of the national average of $14,360. The average Idaho teacher’s salary is $51,817 which ranks 45th in the nation. Idaho also ranks last in K–12 education support staff average earnings at $25,830. However, in 2021 the state of Idaho interestingly ranked 17th in student achievement according to The National Assessment of Educational Progress ( Staff, 2021 ). The major funding priorities for the state of Idaho related to education are as follows: funding the Career Ladder, full-day kindergarten, teacher compensation, literacy initiative, and the opportunity scholarship. A couple of pressing state issues for Idaho include the teacher shortage and the public-school funding formula.

The Role of Administration and Supervision in Improving the Success of Achieve the Vision and Mission Goals of Higher Education at Pertiba Pangkalpinang University

The research method used is qualitative with a descriptive approach which is a study to determine facts with appropriate interpretation to recognize phenomena that accurately describe the characteristics of the phenomena that are occurring. The research results show that higher education administration has a significant role in facilitating effective supervision practices by coordinating communication between higher education management, lecturers and support staff, providing necessary resources, and facilitating training and professional development for supervisors. It is hoped that this research will provide insight for educational practitioners and other related parties regarding the importance of the role of administration and supervision in higher education environments in improving the quality of education through effective administration and supervision practices. This research aims to investigate the role of campus administration in encouraging effective supervision practices. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with campus administration staff, supervisors, lecturers and leaders at Pertiba University. The research results show that the Pertiba University campus administration has a significant role in facilitating and coordinating effective supervision practices. Factors such as good communication, accurate data management, and a deep understanding of the needs of higher education institutions are key in creating an environment conducive to effective supervision practices.

Preliminary Effectiveness of Professional Learning about Disability-Specific Evidence-Based Classroom Practices for Education Support Staff

Education support staff work closely with students with disability, yet often receive little training or professional learning in evidence-based practices. This study sought to provide an initial indication of the effectiveness of novel, co-designed, evidence-based online professional learning courses (AllPlay Learn) for education support staff. A total of 323 education support staff working in primary and secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, completed the courses and participated in this study. The results indicated significant improvements in their self-reported knowledge about disability (r = 0.68 and 0.71) and self-efficacy in engaging in inclusive classroom practices (r = 0.62 and 0.62) after taking part in the professional learning course. Analysis of open-ended questions found further support for these gains. These findings provide support for co-designed, evidence-based online professional learning that addresses disability-specific domains of inclusive classroom practices in education.

Idaho

This article is an update on public school finance in the state of Idaho. The article includes updated information regarding the following topics: funding priorities for P–12, changes to the funding formula for P–12, pressing state issues affecting P–12, and exclusive to P–12, what are the alternatives to traditional public schools offered by your state and what does the trend in funding look like for these alternatives. As of 2022, the state of Idaho maintains the lowest per pupil expenditure (PPE) in the nation, ranking 51st when including the District of Columbia. Idaho’s PPE was $8,376 in 2021, which comes in at 58% of the national average of $14,360. The average Idaho teacher’s salary is $51,817 which ranks 45th in the nation. Idaho also ranks last in K–12 education support staff average earnings at $25,830. However, the state of Idaho interestingly ranks 17th in the area of student achievement. The legislature voted to temporarily change its funding formula to an enrollment-based calculation for the 2021–2022 school year. Governor Little vetoed House Bill 723, which means the funding formula will switch back to an average daily attendance calculation in 2023–2024. The major funding priorities for the state of Idaho related to education are as follows: funding the Career Ladder, full-day kindergarten, teacher compensation, literacy initiative, and the opportunity scholarship. A couple of pressing state issues for Idaho include the teacher shortage and the public school funding formula, which is always a topic of possible revision.

Civil Engineering Program Compliance of SUCs in Western Visayas to Philippine Technological Council – Washington Accord Standards

This descriptive study determined the institutional status of the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) program of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in Western Visayas in terms of years of implementation, AACCUP level of accreditation, the total number and educational qualification of the faculty, and level of practice of the program to the Philippine Technological Council – Washington Accord (PTC-WA) based on the nine (9) criteria. Data gathered through a survey questionnaire were presented in tabular and narrative presentations and were confirmed through triangulation using comparative analysis and review questions. Results revealed that the majority of the SUCs in Western Visayas had offered the BSCE program for 5-10 years, with Level II accreditation. Most of the faculty members are full-time and have master’s degrees, and the average passing percentage of the graduates in the board examination for the last three years was 75.55% as against the national passing percentage of 41.05%. As an entire group, SUCs in Western Visayas offering the BSCE program had ‘Very Highly Practiced’ the PTC-WA criteria on students and ‘Highly Practiced’ on all the other eight criteria of PTC-WA. As a whole, they had ‘Highly Practiced’ the nine criteria of PTC-WA. Consequently, respondents recommend to the SUCs management to pursue the development of the BSCE program by empowering its heads of units, faculty members, and support staff to cope with the improvement needed in terms of program educational objectives, faculty and support staff, continuous quality improvement, community-oriented programs, and industry-academe linkages.

Teacher Training for Online Education in Oman: A Case Study at Two English Language Teaching Institutions

This study is a joint research project carried out in two different academic institutions in Oman during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research aims to identify the perceptions of teaching faculty and administrators on the advantages and disadvantages of online education. It also explores how the training process for online teaching occurs and what support is provided afterwards. Qualitative methodology was adopted and data were collected through semi-structured interviews from a representative sample of teaching faculty and administrators from both institutions. Interview data were thematically analyzed using NVivo qualitative analysis software. Findings suggest that participants perceive more disadvantages of online education than the advantages demonstrating a rather negative perception. The training was decided mainly by administrators and focused on essential technical skills. Participants expressed a need for effective online pedagogical training. Short, practical sessions suitable for teachers at different skill and experience levels were suggested by the participants as well as informal peer support groups for continuous professional development after the training. There was some indication of administrative support in mainly infrastructure areas, which can be improved by employing specialist online education support staff. Further, peer support through formal committees or informally through colleagues was found to be accessible and practical. Findings from this study and the literature review can be used in other international contexts for effective provision of online education.

Risk assessment of educational support staff's work in schools.

Educational support staff (educational staff) in schools perform widely distinctive activities according to their occupation and work process. This study analyzes the possible incidents for each occupation and work process, and suggests a risk matrix prioritizing the risks of educational staff's work. A total of 1,566 injuries of educational staff, registered for occupational injuries and illnesses between 2015 and 2016, were used to develop the risk matrix considering injuries, sick leave days, and disabilities. Among the 1,566 injuries, 'Cook-cooking/serving: Burn' (8.5%) was the most frequent incident. 'Cook-manual materials handling (MMH): musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)' (241.6 sick leave days) was the most severe incident, and the number of disabilities was high in the forms of 'Cook-cooking/serving: MSDs.' According to risk assessment results, possible incidents predicted as 'High' level of risk management were in the forms of 'Cook-cooking/serving: MSDs,' 'Cook-MMH: Slip and trip,' 'Cook-cleaning/repairing: Fall from a height,' 'Cook-walking: Slip and trip,' 'Cook-MMH: MSDs,' 'Cook-cooking/serving: Burn,' 'Cook-cleaning/repairing: Slip and trip,' 'Custodian-cleaning/repairing: Fall from a height,' and 'Instructor-walking: Slip and trip.' The results can be used to develop an effective injury prevention policy, and to allocate resources for risk management in ensuring school safety.

Investigating the Psychometric Properties of the Social-Emotional Learning Scale

Educators and educational support staff are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of systematic efforts to support students’ social and emotional growth. Logically, the success of social-emotional learning programs depends upon the ability of educators to assess student’s ability to process and utilize social-emotional information and use data to guide programmatic revisions. Therefore, the purpose of the current examination was to provide evidence of the structural validity of the Social-Emotional Learning Scale (SELS), a freely available measure of social-emotional learning, within Grades 6 to 12. Students ( N = 289, 48% female, 43.35% male, 61% Caucasian) completed the SELS and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analyses of the SELS failed to support a multidimensional factor structure identified in prior investigations. The results of an exploratory factor analysis suggest a reduced 16-item version of the SELS captures a unidimensional social-emotional construct. Furthermore, our results provide evidence of the internal consistency and concurrent validity of the reduced-length version of the instrument. Our discussion highlights the implications of the findings to social and emotional learning educational efforts and promoting evidence-based practice.

Digital university: rethinking the model framework within stakeholder theory

The COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered an avalanche-like transition of universities to a remote work format, not only identified new conditions for organizing pedagogical and administrative processes in universities, but also updated the topic of digital technologies in research projects and publications. The framework of the “digital university” model, for the implementation of which the state provides subsidies, consists of four blocks: management systems based on data; digital educational technologies; individual educational trajectories; competence of the digital economy. In general, the development of a framework for a digital university model is aimed at solving specific problems that are fully justified, and their solution seems to be extremely necessary, but in a sense they can represent only the first stage in the development of a digital university as a phenomenon of a new era. The introduction of technological innovation into the ritualized practices of universities is, in fact, a response to past challenges. To rethink the framework of the model, its enrichment and refinement, the theory of stakeholders (stakeholders) was used. The main stakeholders are: the state; University management; administrative staff; teaching staff; researchers and laboratory assistants; educational support staff; technical staff; students; parents and legal representatives of students; applicants; parents and legal representatives of applicants; foreign universities and their representatives in the university administration; foreign faculty; foreign students, graduate students and doctoral students; employers; investors; mass media (primarily regional); public organizations. The needs of stakeholders are considered, as well as possible digital solutions. The article substantiates that the traditional use of a digital device without the actual use of innovative digital technologies does not make higher education digital in the literal sense of the word.

Large-scale assessments and their effects: The case of mid-stakes tests in Ontario.

This paper analyzes the nature and perceived effects of mid-stakes testing (known as the EQAO) in Ontario, Canada. Ontario’s mid-stakes tests were meant to ensure accountability and transparency, and assure system-wide improvement, while avoiding the negative effects and perverse incentives of their high-stakes counterparts. The paper provides new evidence from two projects covering almost a 10-year time-span in 10 of Ontario’s 72 school districts. It shows that even though mid-stakes testing is milder in its manifestations and effects than high-stakes testing, concerns remain about the need for and side effects of such testing. The findings concern two periods of Ontario educational reform. In the first period, with a specific focus on improving performance in literacy and mathematics, administrators and special education support staff felt that the assessments raised teachers’ expectations and sense of urgency leading to steady improvements in measured achievement, but that there was also evidence of negative effects, especially on paying undue attention to “bubble” students just below the threshold for minimum proficiency. In the second reform period focused on broad excellence, well-being and equity as inclusion, mid-stakes tests were perceived as having more widespread negative effects. These included teaching to the test, cultural bias, avoidance of innovation, dilemmas of whether to include highly vulnerable students in the testing process or not, and emotional ill-being among students and teachers. The paper concludes that Ontario’s twentieth century system of large scale, mid-stakes assessment has not kept pace with its twenty first century commitments to deeper learning and stronger well-being.

The Daily Practice of Special Needs Education Support Staff in Standard Classes: An analysis through the method of episode description

The Daily Practice of Special Needs Education Support Staff in Standard Classes: An analysis through the method of episode description

The Process of Correspondence in Special Needs Education Support Staff Working with Physically Handicapped Students: From Interviews with Support Staff Assigned to High Schools

The Process of Correspondence in Special Needs Education Support Staff Working with Physically Handicapped Students: From Interviews with Support Staff Assigned to High Schools

Discretionary effort of higher education sector employees: motivators and inhibitors

ABSTRACTThis research examines the impact of non-monetary work environment factors on employee discretionary effort within the higher education sector in Australia. There is limited qualitative research that examines the factors that drive and inhibit employee discretionary effort especially in the higher education sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 higher education institution academics and support staff using a purposive sampling method. The findings of this research suggest that professional commitment has important implications for discretionary effort within the higher education sector and needs to be explored. The findings also support job design, job characteristics and organisational factors (e.g. excessive workload) as having a direct influence on discretionary behaviour. However, two previously identified factors, organisational culture and leadership and management factors, did not have the expected influence on discretionary effort by the participants due to their negative perception of the current culture within all institutions in the Higher Education Sector.

“It’s a bit of freedom away from home and cleaning all the time”

Purpose Much has been written over the past 50 years about the concerns associated with the educational underachievement of Gypsy children in England. This work has usually focussed on ethnicity and mobility as key factors that affect school attendance. However, it is only relatively recently that a concern with gender relations has entered the debate. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide an empirically driven contribution to this fledging area of enquiry. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on semi-structured interview material and a focus group discussion about the educational experiences and aspirations of three mothers and six young women from the community. Further, interview materials were collected from two head teachers with Gypsy children in their schools and two Traveller Education Support Staff. Findings This paper finds how educational “public” space is providing a place for girls and young women to think differently and even begin to challenge the gender regimes embedded within the “private” space of their communities. Originality/value In line with the idea that space and place are fundamental in formulating gender relations, this paper frames this phenomenon within a socio-spatial context.

СОЦИАЛЬНЫЙ КОНФЛИКТ В ПОЛИКУЛЬТУРНОЙ СОЦИАЛЬНО-ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЙ СРЕДЕ ВУЗА

The article is devoted to the problem of a conflict in the multicultural social and educational environment of a university of the Russian Federation. Based on existing foreign and domestic concepts for the study of a social conflict as a concept and the results of numerous studies, the authors proposed a definition of the concept of “a social conflict in a multicultural social and educational environment of the university”, based on its genesis. The study made it possible to look at a social conflict as a phenomenon that upsets the social equilibrium in a higher education institution and interpret it as a kind of a social interaction, acting as a value-oriented contradiction between the subjects of the educational process, where the multicultural socio-educational environment serves as a “fabric” woven from countless interactions subjects. Relying on the principles of G. Simmel's theory, which allows analyzing a social conflict in a higher educational institution from the standpoint of a social interaction of subjects, the article highlighted the dyadic relationship of conflict manifestations in terms of: “rector's office — university team”, “teacher — student”, “teacher — teacher”, “student — student”, “student — educational support staff”. The essence, characteristics and the structure of social conflicts inherent in higher educational institutions are revealed. The causes of the emergence, patterns of the behavior of subjects in conflict situations and strategies of the behavior in conflict-subject-subject relations are highlighted. The proposed mechanisms for the regulation of social conflicts in the university, implying empathy, identification, reflection, mediation. Based on the available scientific and methodological research in the field of multiculturalism, the authors clarified the concept of “multicultural social and educational environment of the university” in relation to the study and defined organizational and pedagogical conditions for the implementation of a conflict prevention in high school.

Kepuasan, Motivasi, Keterlibatan Kerja Terhadap Komitmen Organisasi Pada Karyawan Kampus Bangau Unika Musi Charitas

The research carried out tried to examine and analyze the Effect of Job Satisfaction, Motivation, Work Involvement On Organizational Commitment In Bangau Campus Employees at Unika Musi Charitas Palembang. Research respondents were employees as educators, namely lecturers without additional assignments and lecturers with additional (structural) assignments and employees as educational support staff at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Business and Accounting at Catholic University Musi Charitas in Palembang. The results of the Discussion of Job Satisfaction, Motivation, Work Involvement Analysis Influence Against Organizational Commitment In Bangau Campus Employees At Catholic University Musi Charitas Palembang. Analysis techniques using quantitative and qualitative analysis. The Research Method is a case study. Sampling Technique is a convinience.. The results of the study are expected to be useful for improving job satisfaction, motivation, work involvement, which has an impact organizational commitment In Bangau Campus Employee. As input for various policies needed for the progress and continuity of organizational life. For further research, this research is used as information material for research to be carried out in the future by combining other variables outside the variables that have been studied.

Work-related injuries of educational support staff in schools

This study aims to describe the characteristics of occupational injuries to educational support staff (service worker) in schools. In this research, 803 injured workers registered in 2015 were analyzed in terms of their gender, age, work experience, school type, work type, accident type, agency of accident, nature of injury and injured part of the body for each occupation. The workers were classified into after-school instructor, custodian and cooking staff. Accidents occurred mainly due to slips (35.6%) on floor/stair or contact with high temperature (18.1%). Also, the workers mostly fractured (41.2%) or had burns (19.3%) on their leg/foot (37.1%) or arm/hand/finger (29.8%). The results showed the difference in characteristics and injury pattern of injured persons for each occupation type, addressing the need for customized preventative measures for each situation. The results of this study can be a baseline in devising policies and guidelines for preventing accidents of service workers in schools.

People management: developing and testing a measurement scale

The central concept in this study is people management, referring to line managers’ implementation of HR practices and their leadership behaviour oriented at supporting the employees they supervise at work. In this study we conceptualize people management and develop a multidimensional scale to measure it from the perspectives of both employees and line managers. Using a Study 1/Study 2 design, including two-wave multilevel data from employees and line managers of a financial service provider, and cross-sectional data from teachers, educational support staff, and supervisors, we demonstrate the scale’s reliability and multidimensionality across samples and over time. We provide evidence of the convergent validity by showing that employees’ and line managers’ perceptions of people management are significantly related, and that people management is significantly related to transformational and transactional leadership. Also, we demonstrate that people management adds explained variance above and beyond transformational and transactional leadership in predicting team performance. We demonstrate criterion-related validity through people management’s relationship with job satisfaction, commitment, and work engagement. We discuss the implications of our measure for theory and research on people management, its antecedents, and its effects.

Identifying Key Stakeholders in Blended Tertiary Environments

Although key stakeholders in blended tertiary environments (BTEs)fulfil an extraordinary role in higher education, significant gaps in knowledge about their identities may be impeding the provision of stakeholder support, limiting their ability to promote effective learning and teaching. As online growth intensifies, it is critical that tertiary education institutes (TEIs) address these gaps in knowledge by developing their understandings of key stakeholder identities. This paper re-evaluates the identity of key stakeholders in BTEs, and describes their contributions. Through qualitatively designed semi-structured interviews with 13 blended learning experts from New Zealand, Australia and Canada, and a 5-step analysis of data, it verified and proposed a current list of key stakeholders in BTEs. This included teachers, senior management staff, students, technical support staff, educational support staff, the institute, other support staff, government bodies, technology infrastructure providers, communities, and the public. Some were considered to be among those who contributed most significantly to BTE success. As learning spaces evolve and technology usage accelerates, the outcomes from this research will provide a basis from which TEIs can develop new understandings about their key stakeholders, to help them deliver informed, relevant, and meaningful support.

Implementation of a perioperative surgical home protocol for pediatric patients presenting for adenoidectomy

IntroductionThe perioperative surgical home (PSH) is a patient-centered model designed to improve health, streamline the delivery of health care, and reduce the cost of care. Following the national introduction of PSH in 2014 by the ASA, adult hospitals have reported success with this model, with studies validating the benefits of PSH including reducing length of stay, lowering costs, and improving patient satisfaction. MethodsEligible patients, ranging in age from 16-35 months of age, were identified by the pre-admission testing (PAT) registered nurses (RNs) and faculty anesthesiologists upon review of the patient history. Participation in Pediatric PSH (PPSH) was introduced to the families by the pediatric otolaryngologists. Either the patient's family or physician team could elect to decline participation in the PPSH model. On the day of surgery, the PPSH protocol included a paper checklist to ensure that all patients met eligibility standards. A standardized order-set was implemented in the electronic medical record (EMR) for pre-operative and post-operative nursing instructions and eligible medications. Patients received at least 3 hours of postoperative monitoring prior to discharge home to address postoperative issues. Prior to discharge, caregivers watched a standard teaching video, available on YouTube, which was developed in conjunction with the hospital educational and technical support staff. An attending anesthesiologist made a postoperative followup phone call on the evening of surgery to ensure no untoward events were experienced by the patient as well as elicit caregiver feedback concerning the discharge process. The protocol was discontinued if at any time family members, physicians, or nurses were uncomfortable with completing the protocol or felt that the patient did not meet discharge criteria. ResultsOne hundred sixty-six patients were evaluated for PPSH inclusion. Forty patients were excluded (23 did not meet inclusion criteria, 5 had viral upper respiratory infections, and 10 for other non specified reasons such as tonsillectomy added, sibling with surgery, and incorrect documentation). Therefore, a total of 126 were eligible for PPSH (male/female = 69/57; age 22 ± 4 months). The comparison group included 1,029 children (male/female = 645/384; age 22 ± 7 months of age) undergoing adenoidectomy who were not evaluated for PPSH inclusion. Of the 126 PPSH participants included in the analysis, 27 were excluded at some point during the pathway. Nine cases experienced oxygen desaturation, laryngospasm, or required supplemental oxygen. Noncompliance with the protocol was noted in 5 cases, parental concerns were noted in 17 cases, and there were concerns from the pediatric anesthesiologist or otolaryngologist in 5 cases. In the comparison group, hospital length of stay was significantly longer than in the PSH group (p<0.001), with 524 (51%) patients discharged on the day of service compared to 99 (79%) in the PSH group. No major morbidity or mortality occurred. There was no difference between the two groups in return to the emergency department (ED) visits within 30 days (PSH: 7/126, 6%; control: 59/1,029, 6%; p=0.935). Within 14 days of the procedure, 4 PPSH patients visited urgent care or a primary care physician; 4 visited the ED; and 1 was readmitted to the hospital. Twenty families contacted the otorhinolaryngology triage phone line primarily related to pain and fever. ConclusionWe present our experience and success in developing a PPSH for patients, ranging in age from 16 to 35 months of age, undergoing adenoidectomy either alone or with tympanostomy tube insertion by protocolizing care, collaborating among care providers, and educating families. With this process in place, a significant percentage of these patients who were previously admitted were discharged home the same day of surgery.