Egalitarian Culture Research Articles

Instrumentos para el análisis de la coeducación en los centros educativos

Coeducation is an educational model that is based on a feminist theoretical framework and whose main objective is to internalize real equality in all areas of life. To build a coeducational school, we must articulate real, effective and measurable strategies that permeate the day-to-day life of schools. Transforming unequal relationships, behaviors, roles, and practices require cross-cutting strategies, which are continuous over time and adapt to changing or unexpected situations for the establishment of an egalitarian culture at school. The objective of this article is to establish what elements and strategies should be followed so that educational centers move towards coeducation, posing a series of questions to analyze whether the educational practices that are implemented are coeducational. On the other hand, we provide some guidelines to be followed so that the centers begin to work in coeducation, generating a culture of equality consolidated over time. It is important to bear in mind that every action that we develop from the educational center is an educational action, we are transmitting values, principles, and models, and these must always favor participation and equal conditions.

The boss is not always right: Norwegian preschoolers do not selectively endorse the testimony of a novel dominant agent

Theories of cultural evolution posit that cues of competence-based prestige, rather than formidability-based dominance, should guide culturally transmitted learning, but recent work suggested that French and Kaqchikel Guatamalan preschoolers place their epistemic trust in dominant others. In contrast, this study shows that 249 three- to six-year-olds (116 girls, tested between 2016 and 2018 across metropolitan locations with varying ethnic composition and socioeconomic status) randomly endorsed the word-labels of dominant and subordinate agents in the egalitarian culture of Norway, using stimuli which solicit dominance inferences among infants and manipulating anonymity across studies to control for egalitarian desirability bias. A meta-analysis estimated that 48% endorsed the dominant's testimony. This demonstrates that the tendency to endorse the epistemic claims of dominant individuals does not emerge reliably in early childhood.

Gendering Mormon Studies—At Last!

Gendering Mormon Studies—At Last!

The Illusion of Balance: Women in ICT Working Full-Time and Still Having a Feeling of Opting Out

Women – mothers in particular – working as ICT experts in research, development, and innovation are under double pressure: they work within both a male-dominated profession, and a greedy, 24/7 work style that continues to produce an image of the ideal worker according to the male norm of less childcare responsibility. This study explores how women working as ICT experts in research, development, and innovation in Norway’s gender egalitarian culture negotiate work alongside family responsibilities. We discuss which factors affect women’s experiences of combining ICT work and family, building our analysis on 22 interviews conducted with women ICT experts in research, development, and innovation in Norway during 2017-2018. Our study illustrates that insufficient public childcare and work-life balance solutions cause women to feel like they are ‘opting out’, even when working full-time. This suggests that some of the main structures of working life continue to work as barriers to women’s career opportunities. Indeed, while some women narrate their encounters with such structures along the lines of traditional gendered patterns of work and family, we also found the same structures being gendered in new ways.

Positive gender congruency effects on shopper responses: Field evidence from a gender egalitarian culture

This field study examined how customer-employee interactions are affected by the congruency between an employee's gender and the perceived gender image of the consumption context in one of the most gender equal cultures in the world (Scandinavia). Mystery shoppers had a service encounter with an employee across a set of physical commercial settings that were classified according to their gender image. The mystery shoppers noted the gender of the employee, provided employee evaluations, and indicated word-of-mouth (WOM) ratings. Shoppers who had a gender congruent service encounter (e.g., a female employee in a “feminine” consumption context) reported more favorable employee evaluations and WOM ratings than shoppers who had a gender incongruent service encounter (e.g., a female employee in a “masculine” consumption context), with the impact of gender congruency on WOM ratings mediated by employee evaluations, particularly with respect to competence inferences. These findings highlight the ethical dilemma of a positive gender congruency effect, as it can generate superior consumer responses but also risks resulting in gender occupational segregation.

СТВОРЕННЯ НЕДИСКРИМІНАЦІЙНОГО СЕРЕДОВИЩА У ЗАКЛАДАХ ЗАГАЛЬНОЇ СЕРЕДНЬОЇ ОСВІТИ: ҐЕНДЕРНИЙ ПІДХІД

The article is dedicated to the actuality of the problem of implementing a gender approach as key in creating a non-discriminatory school environment in the conditions of reforming the educational system of Ukraine. The authors’ understanding of the essence of the non-discriminatory environment in an educational institution as safe, healthy, inclusive and gender-equitable is given; the role of a teacher in this process is indicated. The essence of the gender approach and the peculiarities of its implementation in the general secondary education institutions are revealed.
 The results of the study of the content and prevalence of gender views and stereotypes among teachers of both sexes are presented. It has been found that most educators are heavily influenced by traditional views on the relationship between the genders. The differences in the gender perceptions of female teachers and male teachers depending on age and teaching experience have been revealed. About 20% of teachers implement a gender approach in school practice. 
 It is empirically proved, that pedagogical groups deepen differentiation of social and psychological requirements and expectations regarding pupils and students. Most teachers remain uncertain in their gender orientations, profess the ideology of complementarity of male and female roles. The educational process in secondary education establishments reinforces traditional views on the dichotomy of women and men social roles and to a lesser extent demonstrates the equality and equivalence of both sexes, capable of assertive behavior and the interchangeability of gender roles.
 Prospects for further research outline a further need to determine ways to develop the egalitarian culture of teachers of general secondary education.

The Implications of Filial Piety in Study Engagement and Study Satisfaction: A Polish-Vietnamese Comparison.

Even in psychological literature, which describes many determining variables related to the school domain, few studies have investigated the universal (i.e., etic) mechanism underlying parent–child relations, which is a prototype matrix for future student–teacher relations. The role of the imprinted schema of children’s obligations toward parents seems to be crucial for school functioning in classroom society. The Dual Filial Piety Model (DFPM; Yeh, 2003) is comprised of two higher-order factors that correspond to the two focal filial piety attributes: reciprocal (need of interpersonal relatedness) and authoritarian (need of social belonging and national identity), which have been shown to have distinct implications on social adaptation and individuals’ psychological functioning. In this study, we investigate the relationship between filial piety and student attitudes (study engagement and satisfaction) in a more individualistic and egalitarian culture (Poland, N = 310) and in a more collectivistic and hierarchical society (Vietnam, N = 297). The measurement invariances of three scales, i.e., the Vietnamese adaptation of DFP Scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES–S9), and the Study Satisfaction Scale, were improved in the MLM analyses. Our results show that in more individualistic cultures, the RFP (reciprocal mode) is a stronger predictor of study engagement and study satisfaction; however, the AFP (authoritarian mode) is a better factor to predict study engagement in more collectivistic cultures. What is more, only RFP positively correlates with study satisfaction in individualistic culture. Our findings revealed that in different cultures, different aspects of filial piety should be emphasized by parents in the context of the future academic achievements of their children. The conclusion is that the prevention and intervention strategies or techniques intended for children with school problems should be culturally appropriate and addressed to the parents of kindergarten and later to very early-stage education teachers. The results of studies based on the DFPM may stimulate practical applications and policy development within the domain of success and failure in the academic environment.

A Educação Sexual e a promoção da equidade de gênero no enfrentamento da violência doméstica contra mulheres

A violência contra as mulheres constitui-se em uma das principais formas de violação aos direitos humanos. Segundo a Organização Mundial da Saúde, o Brasil se posiciona no 5º lugar dos países que mais matam mulheres no mundo no contexto doméstico e familiar. Essa violência decorre de uma cultura preconceituosa, discriminatória, patriarcalista, machista e racista. Para combatê-la, é preciso, além de políticas públicas efetivas, a integração do Poder Público com as áreas da educação, por meio de ações educacionais que disseminem os direitos humanos e os valores éticos de irrestrito respeito à dignidade da pessoa humana com a perspectiva de gênero. Nesse sentido, por meio de um levantamento bibliográfico, com análise crítica acerca da temática abordada, este trabalho tem por objetivo ressaltar a importância da educação sexual e da promoção da equidade de gênero no processo educativo de aprendizagem e de socialização, concluindo que essa educação contribui com a formação de um pensamento crítico e com o desenvolvimento social e colabora com a construção de uma cultura igualitária, com a igualdade de gênero e enfrentamento de todas as formas de violência, discriminação e preconceito contra as mulheres.

The Global Drivers of Female Board Representation: A Stereotype Activation Perspective

We integrate gender stereotype theories under a theoretical framework of stereotype activation to theorize and test the effects of legislative quotas on two distinct aspects of female board representation – selection (female board percentage) and retention (female board turnover). Results based on a longitudinal dataset of 1071 firms across 42 countries and supplementary interviews show that quotas positively relate to both female board percentage and turnover. Based on stereotype activation theory, quota helps women bypass gender barriers created by social-role-based stereotype to promote women’s access to boards, while simultaneously activating the stigma of incompetence stereotype that jeopardizes women’s retention on boards. Moreover, the national culture of gender egalitarianism moderates these relationships by suppressing the salience of the two gender stereotypes. Specifically, quotas relate more positively to female board percentage and less positively to female board turnover, when gender egalitarianism in the home country is higher than when it is lower. Taken together, the nuanced theoretical underpinnings and our findings on the complex effects of quotas on female board representation reconcile the fierce global debate on quotas by decoupling the enabling and inhibiting effects of quotas on different facets of corporate boards and identifying important boundary conditions.

Environmental Risk Perception, Risk Culture, and Pro-Environmental Behavior.

Mixed evidence exists regarding the relationship between environmental risk perception and pro-environmental behavior. This study uses an existing online survey conducted by the Center of Ecological Civilization (CEC) of China University of Geosciences from December 2015 to March 2016 and examines how cultural bias influences environmental risk perception and behavior. We found that an individual’s pro-environmental behavior is not only influenced by environmental risk perception, but also by his or her cultural worldviews. Built on culture theory (CT), our empirical results suggest that young Chinese people are more located in “high-group” culture, where egalitarian culture and hierarchical culture dominate. The higher scores of hierarchical and egalitarian cultures of Chinese youth, the more likely they are to protect the environment. Moreover, the relationship between cultural worldviews and pro-environmental behaviors are mediated by perceived environmental risks.

Southeast Regional Middle East and Islamic Studies Society (SERMEISS): Workshop on Islam and Law

Workshop on Islam and Law Michael T. Samuel (bio) The Southeast Regional Middle East and Islamic Studies Society (SERMEISS) held its spring meeting on "Workshop on Islam and Law" at Emory University, Atlanta, GA, on March 6–8, 2020. The workshop represented a new innovative format for the organization's spring meeting. Unlike previous meetings, which included presentations on a wide range of topics related to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and Islamic studies, this workshop focused exclusively on topics related to Islam and law—that is, the ways in which Islamic law, jurists, and legal institutions shape and are shaped by the normative reality of Islam and Islamic societies. It consisted of four panel sessions that analyzed practical and theoretical aspects of Islam and law. The workshop began on the morning of Saturday, March 7th with a panel session on Islam and Law in Historical Perspective. Mansour Salsabili, a fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, opened the session with a paper on "Religiosity and Violence: Shiite Ulamas' Contending Responses to the Secular Educational Modernization and the 1906 Constitutional Revolution." According to Salsabili, a comparative analysis of mid-nineteenth century fatwas issued by conservative and proreform Shiite ulama signifies a "unique episode" in the history of Iran. Comparing the positions of two prominent ayatollahs during the period of the Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911), he argued that Aḵūnd Mollā Moḥammad-Kāẓem Ḵorāsānī (1839–1911) and Shaikh Fażl-Allāh Nuri (1843–1909) vehemently disagreed about what could constitute a legitimate use of force, a disagreement that had "vast sociopolitical implications" in [End Page 152] Iran. Salsabili demonstrated that these conflicting views stemmed from "the competition between conservative and reformist clergies" over supporters and followers in Iranian society. The second panelist, Alexander Thurston, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, gave a talk on "Fiqh Polemics and Power in Early Postcolonial Mauritania." Through an examination of a polemical book published in the mid-1960s by the former mufti of Mauritania, Buddah al-Busayri (1920–2009), entitled Asna al-Masalik fi Anna Man 'Amila bi-l-Rajih Ma Kharaja 'an Madhhab al-Imam Malik (The Brightest of Paths: He Who Works with the Preponderant Evidence Has Not Left the School of Imam Malik) which advocated for a "correct way to perform the ritual prayer (salah)," Thurston argued that the book was a "proxy for much wider struggles over power and politics … between reformist activists, traditionalist scholars, and modernist state functionaries," who sought to define the nature of law in the emerging Islamic Republic of Mauritania. Next was a presentation on "Islamic Family Law in Post-Reformist Iran: Progressions and Regressions" by Samaneh Oladi Ghadikolaei, assistant professor, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. This paper highlighted that, contrary to popular perception, female activists have been able to influence the legislative process of family law during the period that followed the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran. After analyzing the changes that were implemented by the regime in the legal age of marriage and the rules of guardianship (wāli), Oladi Ghadikolaei asserted that female activists "propagat[ed] [a] culture of egalitarianism that merg[ed] social science with religious science that was neither unjust nor male-centered." The second panel session which highlighted Islam and Law in Theory and Practice began with a paper on "Maqasid al-Shariah: A Muslim Perspective on Human Rights" by Faroukh Hakeem, associate professor, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC. As Hakeem described, Maqasid al-Shariah (goals and objectives of Islamic law) is the Islamic legal doctrine that is concerned with protecting human rights, which includes all aspects of daily life and the preservation of faith. Hakeem stated that although "words such as Haqq/Huquq are often translated as rights, its implications are not the same when compared to the Western idea of rights. Under the Islamic conception, Haqq (rights) also imply obligations, and more specifically the distribution of the bonds of indebtedness that exist between sentient human beings in society." This system of rights and obligations, he continued, "is highly organized and developed." Moreover, Hakeem asserted that human rights as they are recognized...

Corporate governance, boards of directors and corporate social responsibility: The Australian context

The challenge of corporate governance in Australian corporations is similar to those faced by the majority of corporations operating globally albeit the manner in which corporate governance is structured in Australia represents a strong reflection of the island continent’s people, egalitarian culture, and legislative framework. This article considers the legal framework in which Australian corporations operate within, which includes a discussion of corporate governance principles, the role of directors and ownership structures of companies in Australia. Australian board of director practices are discussed in detailed and this article outlines how these practices are heavily influenced by the Australian Commonwealth Corporations Law (which sets out mandatory legal requirements that all Australian companies must adhere to). The article continues to explore briefly directors’ remuneration practices, recent shareholder’s rights protection and activism, the importance of corporate governance and the link to firm performance, and finally the importance of corporate social responsibility in the Australian context.

The Revolution that Failed: Reconstruction in Natchitoches by Adam Fairclough

Reviewed by: The Revolution that Failed: Reconstruction in Natchitoches by Adam Fairclough Justin Behrend (bio) The Revolution that Failed: Reconstruction in Natchitoches. By Adam Fairclough. (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2018. Pp. 400. Cloth, $29.95.) The Revolution that Failed offers a sweeping interpretation of the Reconstruction era that is at once conventional and not altogether convincing. The claim that Reconstruction failed dates back to the first scholarly interpretations produced by William A. Dunning and W. E. B. DuBois, who offered, of course, starkly different accounts. What makes Adam [End Page 138] Fairclough's argument different is that he attributes Reconstruction's failure to black suffrage, and he does so through a close analysis of politics in Natchitoches Parish, instead of an overall assessment of the era. In the first chapter, Fairclough argues that Reconstruction failed because congressional Republicans extended voting rights to black men. The entire Reconstruction project, by which he means African American citizenship and voting, "proved to be an error" because Republican idealism prevented them from recognizing that "most whites were violently hostile" (15). As a result, Fairclough asserts, black suffrage "prolonged the chaos of the postwar years" (20). There are a number of problems with this interpretation. The argument hinges on the intentions of Republican congressmen, yet Fairclough does not examine the debates, speeches, or correspondence of these leaders. Instead, he uses abstractions, such as "Congressional Reconstruction assumed" and "Congressional Republicans knew" to impute motivation and agreement to a group of politicians who were famously divided between radical and moderate factions (19). Additionally, he implies that white violence against black people followed black male enfranchisement, yet numerous studies have shown how violence increased dramatically before black male enfranchisement between 1865 and 1867. Moreover, while Fairclough castigates Republican leaders for not doing enough, he is often silent about southern whites' racist actions, assuming that they were predisposed to violence against black people. More troubling, his argument about Reconstruction's failure rests on the recklessness of white Republican congressmen, but he ignores the demands of ordinary freedpeople for the vote. If Republican leaders deserve blame for Reconstruction's failure because they implemented black suffrage, should not black people also share the blame? In the subsequent chapters, The Revolution that Failed shifts to a tighter focus on Natchitoches Parish. We learn much about the variations and nuances of this community as it adjusted to rapid and substantive change. Fairclough is at his best when he shows the interconnections between local issues and statewide politics, particularly in how patronage appointments and factionalism sowed seeds of mistrust and illegitimacy in communities, such as Natchitoches, where little corruption existed. But for all of the attention to local political leaders and the particularities of the Natchitoches story, Fairclough's history does not shed much light on the black majority, whose votes propelled Republicans into office in Louisiana. While we learn about notable black leaders, such as Alfred Raford Blunt and John Gideon Lewis, the aspirations and actions of ordinary freedpeople remain hidden. Black women are rarely referenced, and [End Page 139] black political mobilization is assumed rather than analyzed. Fairclough is more interested in white Republican leaders, devoting a whole chapter to this small group. He mentions the few but "silent Unionists" during the Civil War—a reference to a handful of white people—but this phrase ignores the fact that nearly every black person in the parish would fit this label (28). Natchitoches, Fairclough asserts, was an anomaly in the midst of the notoriously violent Red River valley, known for the Colfax and Coushatta massacres. The parish was a place of "relative tranquility" where planters were "less exploitative … less cruel, [and] less inclined to employ violence" (40, 45). This peace and orderliness is nearly always attributed to "the white elite," but curiously, black people's role in creating a more egalitarian culture is not considered (116). Fairclough also deemphasizes the role of U.S. troops in mitigating white violence and maintaining social stability. Over a thousand troops were stationed in the parish in the summer of 1865, followed by a company during the 1867 and 1868 election season as well as during the turbulent era from November 1874 to December 1876. Indeed...

Human Resource Management Between Economy and Ethics – Research of Serbia and Bosnia and Hercegovina

This paper discusses economic and ethical issues that bring about certain limitations in human resource management as one of the basic organizational functions, through which the organization’s relationship with employees is expressed. The aim of this paper is to point out the ethical dimension of human resource management as a key organizational function, which has economic, but at the same time ethical responsibilities. In elaborating this problem, we started from the basic assumption that human resource management as an organizational function and theoretical concept should balance between economic and ethical requirements, which depends on the attitudes of managers as decision makers. In addition to the analysis of the existing literature in this field, an empirical research was conducted to verify the stated assumptions on the basis of a survey questionnaire, which explored the attitudes of managers. The results were processed by statistical methods in the SPSS program. The significance of this paper derives from the importance of employees for the organization and the sensitivity of the human dimension of the organization in relation to the economic one. Bad condition in human resources management in BiH and Serbia, as the countries on which our research is focused, with unfavorable situation on the labor market, low level of perception of needs by managers and knowledge (professionalism) required for experts in this field to achieve necessary influence and affirm an effective concept and practice, opens opportunities for unethical actions of organizations. Unethical practices can be generated by ignorance, employers ’greed for quick profits, and weak institutional influence. High distance of power is an unfavorable cultural factor that encourages the arbitrariness of individuals and prevents social control of the behavior of organizations. In these wanderings and undefined directions of institutional development, in these countries there is room for corruption, poor law enforcement (incomplete reform of the judicial system), insufficiently defined protection of private property, strong influence of political parties in all spheres of life, political and economic connection, significant share of state property, etc. On the ground of egalitarian culture, high social inequality and impoverishment of the majority of the population is created, which negatively affects education, health and distracts attention from the civic control of the government. Therefore, in the research we started from the assumption that the primary evaluation of the human and social function of business and employees as a purpose, not a means, positively affects the ethical practice of human resource management, which we tested over the average response of respondents employed in different positions in the organization. The results obtained are presented in the paper. Keywords: Business Ethics, Ethics, Employees, Economics, HRM, Organization.

Postcolonial–Postmodern Enquiry for Human Sustainability: Relevance of Santhigiri Model

The basic premise of this paper originates from the contention that the hegemony of the West is unsustainable because of its grounding on a way of life and life vision not in conformity with the eternal laws of Mother Nature. It is losing its sheen under the impact of unsustainable lifestyle and consumerist culture and the resultant ecological hazards, violence, wars, racial animosity, and religion-induced extremism (Victor Ferkiss, The Future of Technological Civilization, New York, 1974, p.283-89). These trends are giving way to the emergence of a new humane civilization, and the new civilization shall evolve out of the wisdom accumulated over the past several centuries of human efforts to achieve prosperity and happiness. It should be inclusive and should respect all cultures by providing appropriate space to grow and develop in conformity with the laws of Mother Nature. Santhigiri movement grounded on the revelatory spirituality of Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru offers hope for ushering in of a humane civilization ensuring solidarity beyond religion, race, caste, and region. The view that the academic hegemony of the West has been stifling the voices of varied cultural and religious traditions in other parts of the world and denying due space in the mainstream is examined in the larger context of the unalterable law of cyclical view of history. A historical examination of the hitherto civilizations shows that they have grown in particular directions in parts instead of the whole. A civilization on achieving maximum efficiency in particular directions starts decaying and disintegrating giving way to the shifting of creativity, power, and wealth to another region or continent. This shifting of power, creativity, and wealth from one place to another, one civilization to another has been an unavoidable law of human history. A new civilization that will foster the total efficiency of whole segments of humanity instead of maximum efficiency of parts in particular directions alone can offer human sustainability. The rising Santhigiri Parampara exemplifies the possibility to achieve the goal of human harmony based on the living guidance of wisdom of an Atmajnani Guru. If we can shed our biases and feeling of superiority on any counts and realize our limitations and come out of our unsustainable world view structured by modern science, technology, and instrumental rationality and seek the whole, we all can enjoin in this global mission of raising human consciousness into higher levels of attainment which can lead to an egalitarian and enlightened culture.

Effects of the #MeToo campaign in media, social and political spheres: The case of Mexico

This article focuses on the case of Mexico, by analysing the media coverage of #MeToo in Mexico and the public response in the social media (SM) and other spheres of society such as the Mexican state and universities. Two aspects of Mexico’s social context are considered for the study: (1) a country where women’s sexual harassment has deep roots in gender inequality and (2) the fact that during 2017–18 very notorious political campaigns contending for the country’s presidency were occurring; hence the study evaluates the presence of women’s sexual harassment topics in the candidates’ political proposals. The results show that in Mexico the #MeToo movement had the expected effect of thousands of women expressing themselves about this problem, highlighting the multiple work scenarios where sexual harassment occurs. It shows the impact of the #MeToo movement in local # social movements extending their influence from the entertainment industry to universities and other professions. The issue was covered in the candidates’ discourse for the 2018 presidential elections. In general, it can be affirmed that SM in Mexico are public places where different grassroots communities denounce injustices, participate and promote a more egalitarian culture.

Becoming of the gender identity of senior teens in the value dimension of personality

In the article we deals with the theoretical analysis of the problem of the formation of gender identity of senior teenagers in the value dimension of the personality. We defined the concept of the «gender identity of older teenagers» as an integrative personal entity, which includes the system of cognitive representations, value attitudes and interactions of the articles and reflects their subjective position in the adoption, assimilation and reproduction of models of the sexual behavior in the field of the traditional and egalitarian cultures. In the article we theoretically substantiated and empirically studied the psychological peculiarities of the relationship between the feminine and masculine construct of the gender identity and values as the motivational core of the personality at the levels of normative ideals and individual priorities. We proved that the value structures of girls and boys of the senior adolescence at the levels of normative ideals and individual priorities are characterized by consistency and incompatible existence, which testifies to the existence of a value conflict. We established that the feminine-masculine construct of gender identity is reflected in the ambivalent content of values at both levels, which testifies about the traditional and egalitarian orientations of the investigators and confirms the presence of senior teenagers at the stage of search, value self-determination, the choice that is crucial for the formation of gender identity in the period mature personality.

From hierarchies to networks

PurposeHistorically, the school effectiveness and improvement movement has focussed its attention on “within school” factors associated with effectiveness and improvement and on the individual school as the primary unit of analysis for improvement and scrutiny purposes. More recently, research has focussed on school-to-school collaboration and engagement with a broader range of services and providers has highlighted the need for more adaptive and nuanced forms of collaboration and partnership. The purpose of this paper is to explore this complex landscape from the perspective of educational reform of the middle tier in Scotland.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on perspectives associated with socio-cultural theory, its application to public service settings and insights gained from research and evaluation outcomes over a five-year period.FindingsThis paper focusses on the establishment of Regional Improvement Collaboratives in Scotland; an example of an attempt to generate system-wide change and a shift from the hierarchical cultures characterised by bureaucratic organisations to more egalitarian cultures characterised by mutualistic, laterally networked organisations. It highlights the importance of structure and cultural change, identity and agency, leadership capacity, outward perspectives, primacy of learning and teaching and variations and complexities in creating a more networked and collaborative education system. It offers cautions concerning potential unintended consequences in the quest to develop a “self-improving” or “learning system”.Practical implicationsThis paper highlights the importance of maintaining and building social cohesion between different stakeholders within educational systems in order to support the implementation of educational reform.Originality/valueThis is the first documentation and reflective analysis for an ambitious reform agenda for the middle tier in Scotland. Its value lies in the lessons and considerations it offers to other systems embarking on reforms that endeavour to build more cohesive and agile education systems, without opening them up to neo-liberal approaches to education.

Gender standards and expectations on sexual deviations in the gender culture of Ukraine

This article is devoted to the definition of the value structures of gender culture in aspects of gender stereotypes regarding the application of moral-pedagogical and legal sanctions in the manifestations of deviant behavior on the basis of the ideology of matriarchal racism (mysandry) and typical problems arising from its availability.The writings of the authors form the theoretical basis for the author’s theory, which consists essentially of the following key provisions set forth in the article:1) latent gender racism in Ukrainian gender culture is an ideology of double standards, which involves parallel promotion and prohibition in the area of sexual norms and deviations for men and women;2) Gender stereotypes refer to the assessment of male sexual behavior as subject to enhanced moral, legal and pedagogical control over women’s sexual behavior;3) the cultivation of homophobia is an instrument of gender power that allows women to manipulate men by imposing a number of prohibitions on public male homoeopathy in encouraging women’s similar behavior;4) stigmatization of homeroticism allows it to be used as a tool of social control, including the system of political security, in which the family acts as a grass root. As a result of the study, the author concludes that the study of the ideology and morality of latent gender racism in the gender culture of Ukraine has allowed to dismiss most of the assumptions about egalitarian peculiarities of gender positioning for male and female respondents. At the same time, the regime of privilege, available to the Ukrainian gender culture, makes it possible to define gender scenarios as matriarchal-racist and those that are agreed upon by both men and women. The consensual nature of such a situation proves not only the tacit consent of most with the guidelines of gender racism, but also the lack of understanding of the policy of gender equality of the western type. Such misunderstanding minimizes the chances of establishing an egalitarian gender culture and contributes to further deepening both gender inequality and the resulting gender conflict of Ukrainian society with all its implications.

Promoting Leadership by Women in Gastroenterology—Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Promoting Leadership by Women in Gastroenterology—Lessons Learned and Future Directions