School Headmasters Research Articles

Developing English Material for Analytical Exposition Text on Writing Skill

This research aims to discover students’ needs in English material for analytical exposition text on writing skill as well as develop English material for analytical exposition text on writing skill of the 11th-grade students of the Science program at SMA Negeri 1 Marisa. The study is conducted at SMA Negeri 1 Marisa, focusing on eleventh-grade students in the Science Program. The participants in the study include 34 students and an English teacher from SMA Negeri 1 Marisa. Data is collected through questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis. Data analysis involves several steps. First, the collected data is organized and prepared for analysis. Then, a thorough reading of the data is conducted to understand the students' needs. Coding is applied to categorize and classify the data based on indicators from Hutchinson and Waters (1987) and Nunan (2001) theories. Detailed descriptions and narrative approaches are used to present and explore the data, followed by interpretation to derive meaningful insights. This R&D developed a learning material for analytical exposition text writing using the ADDIE model. It involved analyzing the English textbook, syllabus, and student needs. The material was designed based on students' expectations, with illustrative pictures and skill explanations. Validation by experts, including university lecturers, high school headmasters, and students, confirmed its suitability. The implementation in the classroom received positive feedback, and evaluation showed a significant impact on students and teachers. Overall, the study emphasized the importance of addressing students' writing needs through analytical exposition text material. The topics aligned with core and basic competencies for senior high school English. In conclusion, this study highlights the effectiveness of the ADDIE model in creating suitable learning material for analytical exposition text writing Keywords: analytical exposition, writing skills, R&D, ADDIE

The Implementation of Tangible Interaction in Microcontroller-Based Interactive Animal Introduction Game “MARGA” for Intellectual Disability Children

According to the interview results with the headmaster of Autism Pelita Hafidzh Bandung Special School, children with intellectual disabilities have learning limitations, including difficulty remembering, quickly forgetting, being distracted, having little interest, and IQ below the average of normal children. Therefore, the innovation of the MARGA game, an acronym for Multimedia Embedded Rig for Guided Assistant, was created using tangible interaction to assist these children in learning about animals. Technical testing was conducted twice, namely testing the suitability of tags and the speed of tag reading time, resulting in an average speed of reading RFID tags of 2,653 seconds. In addition to conducting beta testing on two children with intellectual disabilities at Autism Pelita Hafidzh Bandung Special School. Research shows that children with intellectual disabilities who have tried playing MARGA reach the learning target set by Autism Pelita Hafidzh Bandung Special School more quickly.

Exploring the E-learning Supporting Systems for Students with Special Needs

Objectives: This study provided a comprehensive exposition of an educational delivery service framework incorporating inclusive education for children with special needs. It is of the utmost importance to investigate the most efficient models that can be established to assist children who have special needs in becoming active members of the society. The field of e-learning has experienced significant expansion owing to the proliferation of a diverse range of technological tools and devices which enable users to access educational resources. Numerous educational support frameworks have been implemented to make the integration of learners with special needs into regular academic programs swifter.
 
 Methodology: This study used the literature review as its methodology. The study gathered data from articles, books, videos and official circulations about the services and supporting systems used for students with special needs in Saudi Arabia. The study also relied on the descriptive approach to support the review by conducting interviews with school headmasters in 20 different schools. The interviews were content-analysed and reviewed to extract opinions on the models used in these schools.
 
 Results and conclusion: Most of the interviewed participants agreed that the comprehensive quality model presents better opportunities for all students and teachers alike. The findings showed the availability of several models that educators can use to evaluate the e-learning supporting systems. The study benefits teachers and educators in understanding the e-learning supporting systems.

Local Bilingual Teachers and International Teachers in China: Disparities in Employability and Work Experience

“Despite the division of work in subjects, wages vary dramatically for local and foreign teachers. Foreign teachers are generally paid more than double the amount of the local bilingual teacher’s wage” (School Headmaster, personal communication, August 10, 2020). With practical evidence of disparities and unequal treatment between international and local bilingual teachers, there is urgent need to address this issue because discrimination against local bilingual teachers and other unfair treatment violates teachers’ rights, since any inequalities based on race, ethnicity, or opportunities tend to challenge people’s sense of fulfillment and self-worth (The United Nations, 2017). Additionally, Kohli’s (2014) study provides evidence that learners existing in an environment where disparities are in place might observe them and become negatively impacted in the future. If these students go on to become teachers, internalized inequalities could influence their teaching, and thus inequalities are reproduced and inherited in educational settings, jeopardizing social progress and justice. With the prevalence of international schools and Chinese-English bilingual programs over the last two decades, a huge body of bilingual teachers across China are victimized, demanding for a scrutiny of the status quo (Gao & Wang, 2017). Unfortunately, current academic discourse is paying insufficient attention to the issue, focusing mainly on bilingual education typologies, the development of Chinese-English bilingual education, and teacher collaboration between Chinese and international faculty, albeit the issue’s importance and urgency. The purposes of this study lie greatly in the absence of relevant discussion of the problem. I aim to strengthen the knowledge base in the academic literature about Chinese-English bilingual education and to arise people’s awareness of racial and linguistic equities by revealing possible disparities between teachers and promoting justice for employees in Chinese-English high school level bilingual programs. To serve the above purposes, this study investigates the differences in recruitment processes and daily work experience between international and local bilingual teachers based on Phillipson’s (1992) concept of linguistic imperialism.

Ukrainian refugees struggling to integrate into Czech school social networks

We provide a brief insight into the integration of Ukrainian refugees in school social networks in the Czech Republic following the mass migration caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Our sample contains twelve classrooms with a total of 266 students in grades 5 to 9; 21.05% of the students were of Ukrainian origin. We employed multiplex exponential random graph modelling to assess the level to which Ukrainian refugees were integrated within peer networks, capturing both friendship and exclusion ties. We then employed a meta-analytical procedure to aggregate the results from the individual classrooms and a meta-regression to study the relationship between classroom ethnic composition and the level of integration of Ukrainian refugees. We found social networks to be formed heavily along ethnic lines with strong ethnic homophily in friendship ties and a propensity of the Ukrainian students to both send and receive fewer friendship ties than their Czech classmates. We found no evidence that the Ukrainian students sent or received more exclusion ties than their Czech classmates, suggesting that the Ukrainian students did not face explicit rejection from classmates; rather, we saw a tendency of the Ukrainian students to be neglected. Our findings stand in contrast to reports from school headmasters who asserted that the social integration of Ukrainian students was seamless. We further found a higher proportion of Ukrainian students in classrooms to be related to stronger homophilic behaviour and a lower tendency of Ukrainian students to make friends. Our results therefore imply that increased classroom diversity may negatively influence the integration of refugees in social networks.

Learning Leadership Strategy in Indonesia during the Covid-19 Pandemic

This study was conducted to know the strategy of learning leadership of the elementary School Headmasters to keep the educational quality during the pandemic of Covid-19. The three strategies of learning leadership to increase the learning were modeling, monitoring, and professional dialogue. This research has used qualitative approach. The study population was 914 elementary school teachers in Kota Batu, province of East Java, Indonesia. The used sample selection was random sampling, using 76 persons or 8.31 percent of population. The sampling technic was performed through multistages technic which involving the distribution of population in sub-district groups. Then, it was seleced ramdomly every sub-district. The used approach was method of survey. It has grouped the data using questionnaries and analyzed by technic of analysis of multiple regression. The study results showed simultaneously that the strategies of modeling, monitoring, and professional dialogue of learning leadership of elementary school headmasters had influences to keep the educational quality during the pandemic of Covid-19. Keywords: Learning Leadership Strategy, Learning Covid-19 Era, Learning Strategy

Practices of Transformational Leadership and Their Effects: A Case of Secondary School System in Sindh

This study investigated the practices of transformational leadership of headmasters in government secondary schools of Sindh. Qualitative research methodology based on semi structured online interviews was conducted in order to answer the research questions. The research adopted purposive sampling to get interviews from thirty schoolteachers who were teaching in government secondary schools in district Larkana. The qualitative raw data were transcribed, categorized, and themes were generated for the understanding of research. The findings of the data revealed that the practices of the transformational leadership play an important role in changing the school system if practiced in these government schools. Mostly, the government secondary schools of Sindh suffer due to lack of transformational leadership, who can work effectively and efficiently for the success of the school system. Headmasters lack the fundamental qualities like motivation, mentoring, inspiration, and intellectual consideration to transform the school culture for achieving the desired educational goals. Only few schools run smoothly and achieve success due to the presence of transformational leadership. The study recommends that the role of transformational leadership should be enhanced by recruiting and placing efficient and capable headmasters in such schools for accomplishing the educational goals.

Prospect and challenges of integrating indigenous knowledge systems into the Natural Science curriculum in schools

The study explored the prospect and challenge of integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) into the Natural Science (NS) curriculum in schools. An interpretivist research philosophy was employed to guide the data collection process that utilized a qualitative research approach and a case study research design. Interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data from purposively selected NS Heads of Departments (HODs), NS teachers and Head masters in Phongola schools. Findings revealed that IKS has benefits in the NS curriculum, such as contextualising education and acting as learners’ prior knowledge, promoting diversity in class and making it possible for teachers to use field trips and traditional visual materials when delivering instruction in NS classes. Findings also revealed that integrating IKS into the NS curriculum faced challenges like a lack of government commitment to review education policies, lack of IKS study material in schools and extinction of IKS. It was recommended, that the Department of Basic Education should review its policies and integrate IKS as a full knowledge strand in the NS curriculum, document IKS as a full knowledge stand in the NS text books and incorporate IKS in teacher training programmes. Schools should use IKS custodians in communities as resource persons and also involve parents to help their children with their homework on IKS related topics and activities.

An assessment of the relationship between headmasters’ leadership and teachers’ performance in Makindye division, Kampala district, Uganda

Leadership style practiced by the school headmasters is a key issue in managing performance in schools. This study was to establish the assessment of the relationship between the headmasters’ leadership styles and the secondary teachers’ performance in secondary schools in Makindye division. The hypothesis of the study was tested, that; there is no significant relationship between the headmasters’ leadership style and the teachers’ performance in Makindye division secondary schools. The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches with descriptive and correlation research designs. The study found that, the nature of secondary headmasters’ leadership style used in Makindye division is highly democratic with (average mean=3.149, SD=0.849) and autocratic with (average mean=2.446, SD=1.108). The study results indicated that there is a strong positive relationship between the headmasters’ leadership styles and teachers’ performance in Makindye division with (r= -.352**, p=0.000 less than 0.05 level of significance). The study hypothesis was rejected and hence accepted the alternative hypothesis which stated that there is a significant relationship between headmasters’ leadership styles and teachers’ performance in Makindye division secondary schools, since the P-Value was 0.000 less than 0.05 level of significance.

The Relationship of Headmasters' Distributive Leadership towards Professional Learning Community Practices

Professional learning communities are fostered when educators collaborate in a culture that values community, investigates student achievement and shares instructional strategies. It enhances educational, learning, and student achievement. The study intends to determine the connection between headmasters' distributive leadership and professional learning community practices in Teluk Intan district primary schools. A total of 113 teachers were chosen randomly for the sample. A questionnaire with a Likert scale was employed to collect the data. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analyses. Overall results demonstrated that school headmaster distributive leadership is high in schools. A significant positive correlation exists between headmasters' distributive leadership and teacher professional learning community practices. One of the main recommendations for future researchers is to focus on schools such as cluster or high-performing schools. Current research results could be applied to determine how much headmasters provide distributive leadership in encouraging school personnel to participate in a professional learning community.

Health care for school children. Part 2

The paper presents the Student Health Care Act of 2019. It shows in detail the scope of application of this legal act which children are covered by its protection and what types of benefits are provided to them. It also indicates the entities involved in the creation of the students' health care system and discusses their responsibilities. Particular emphasis is placed on the rules of giving consent to health care at school, depending on its types. The latest regulations regarding the duties and rights of the school headmaster in the event of a threat to children's health for epidemiological reasons were also discussed, in particular the possibility of suspending in-person learning and implementing remote learning.

The role of the principal in building an inclusive school culture in the opinions of teachers

The following dissertationis based on research that recapitulates the teachers’ view of the role of school headmasters in this process. The quoted theoretical contexts and research prove that this role is significant. Without a strong and inclusive leader, inclusion only happens behind the closed doors of the classroom. The research project was planned to show how today's Polish teachers talk about their superiors in the context of building of this culture. Part of the research results, concerning the pro-inclusiveness of school leaders, its assessment and the assessment of their own contribution to this process – is the field of analysis for this study.

Community engagement in health services research on soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Asia Pacific region: Systematic review.

The research question was what studies are available that have assessed community engagement in the health services research on soil-transmitted helminths? We aimed to synthesise evidence on how communities were engaged in health services research on soil-transmitted helminths in low-and-middle-income countries of the Asia-Pacific Region. We focused on this region because soil-transmitted helminths are endemic, and their burden is significant in this region. This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) checklist. Relevant studies were searched in health-related databases including PubMed, Ovid, and Google Scholar. We selected studies based on the selection criteria set for this review. We collected textual information about the type of health services research, the degree of community engagement, the research phases involved, and the barriers/enablers affecting community engagement in research since they are pertinent to our review question and objective. Ten studies from seven countries in the Asia Pacific region were identified for this review. Albeit with variation in the extent of their involvement, various forms of communities/groups within communities were included such as Aboriginal communities, local communities, school children and their parents, school teachers and headmasters of schools, heads of villages, religious leaders, and so on. Overall, community engagement in health services research focused on of soil-transmitted helminths was limited. Six studies (60%) had collaboration at 'developing methodology', mainly through an explanation of the objectives of the study or study process to be conducted. Seven studies (70%) revealed community participation in soil-transmitted helminths at the "data collection" stage. Only one study (10%) documented that a community leader was involved as a co-author, reflecting an involvement in 'report writing' and further 'dissemination'. Findings suggest that there were various forms of community engagement in various aspects of the health services research context. Overall, there was moderate level of participation, but there was insufficient information on the partnership between various stakeholders, which prevented in-depth analysis of the engagement. Future health services research on soil-transmitted helminth interventions needs to be carefully planned, well designed, grounded in principles of community engagement, and designed methodologically to allow in-depth participation by communities in all stages of the research.

The Role of the Ministry of Education in Enhancing Environmental Conservation in Southern Palestinian Governorates

This study aimed to clarify the role of the Ministry of Educations’ programs in promoting environmental conservation by analyzing the educational and awareness programs implemented in the public schools in the governorates of Southern Palestine. The study followed the descriptive analytical approach using three study tools for data collection; a questionnaire, interviews, and focus groups. The study population was targeted based on Census Method using a questionnaire distributed to 123 employees; including school headmasters, health school coordinators, and environmental clubs’ teachers; working at 50 public schools distributed across the seven educational directorates in the southern Palestinian governorates. Only 105 questionnaires were recovered. The response rate of the study was (85.37%). Also, interviews were held with middle and senior management employees working at the Ministry of Education and Water & Environmental Quality Authority. Two focus groups of male and female students from grades 7-11 at two different educational directorates were met with. The study showed the importance of education in improving environmental awareness and conserving the environment through educational and awareness programs. The study’s foremost important results are that the three educational programs (Environmentally Sustainable Schools, Environmental Occasions’ revival, and Green Spaces), held at fifty schools in the seven educational directorates, contribute to enhancing environmental conservation in the southern Palestinian governorates but not to the required extent due to many challenges facing the implementation of educational programs. Eventually, the study recommends the incorporation of environmental education into the Palestinian curriculum of at every grade level, developing the implementation of extracurricular environmental conservation activities, conducting environmental awareness sessions for the local community and parents, allocating a specific budget for education/environmental programs, activate the environmental media, and developing a unified system for monitoring and evaluating the schools’ educational and awareness programs.

Trooping the (School) Colour

Trooping the (School) Colour

Health care for school children. Part 1

The paper presents the Student Health Care Act of 2019. It shows in detail the scope of application of this legal act which children are covered by its protection and what types of benefits are provided to them. It also indicates the entities involved in the creation of the students' health care system and discusses their responsibilities. Particular emphasis is placed on the rules of giving consent to health care at school, depending on its types. The latest regulations regarding the duties and rights of the school headmaster in the event of a threat to children's health for epidemiological reasons were also discussed, in particular the possibility of suspending in-person learning and implementing remote learning.

The influence of physical education teacher performance on elementary students’ character building

Students’ character building will be influenced by the school environment as well as their physical education (PE) teachers’ performance. The aim of this research is to analyse and verify the influence of school environment and PE teacher performance on elementary students’ character building. There are 20 elementary schools in Semarang, including 10 public schools and 10 private schools that are used as research samples. The research samples are taken based on cluster random sampling, which is divided into five sectors in Semarang. The qualitative method is applied in this research. The finding shows that the physical education subject gives significant advantages to the development of the students as well as supporting the students’ daily activity based on evaluations by the teacher, school headmaster, and parents. The conclusion attributed to the research is that having a supportive school environment, including facilities and infrastructure, a good proportion of objective competition, a suitable physical education teaching model that is in line with the curriculum, and a supportive and well-competent teacher working in a linear field will have a positive impact on students’ character building. This impact will be visible not only in school but also when the students are home as well

Physical education in primary school and impact on educational leadership

Purpose: In Italy, the 2022 Budget Law, established the compulsory curricular teaching of physical education (PE) by the specialist teacher, with a master’s degree in exercise and sport sciences, in classes IV and V of primary school to achieve the objectives of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, inherent in the assumption of behaviors and lifestyles appropriate to the harmonious development of the children. Since the impact studies of many internal stakeholders in primary schools have already been done, it remained to extend the impact study among school headmasters. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the perceptions of school headmasters on PE teaching and to verify the variables that could influence their opinions, to complete the study on the impact the reform has produced. Methods: The sample consisted of 32 primary school headmasters from Naples and province, who filled out a questionnaire to investigate their perceptions on PE teaching. Chi Square (X2) was performed to test the associations between variables. Results: 96.9% of headmasters favoured the introduction of the specialist teacher in PE and the compulsory teaching of PE, as it was considered essential. The perceptions of the need of a specific education to teach PE influenced both the importance of PE and the way it should be included in the school curriculum. Conclusions: Most of headmasters were aware that teaching PE required a specific education, possessed by the specialist teacher, wishing for its introduction in all primary school classes. Knowing the perceptions of school headmasters is crucial because, they can influence how PE is taught in the school, essential to ensure proper mental and physical development of the children and to counteract problems related to the need for movement. Keywords: perceptions; specialist teacher; generalist teacher; children wellbeing; headmasters.

Strategic Intelligence among the Headmasters of Public Secondary Schools in Karak City, and Its Relationship to Job Performance As Perceived by Their Teachers

The purpose of the current research is to clarify the correlation between strategic intelligence and job performance of public secondary school headmasters in Karak City, as perceived by their teachers. The research applies the descriptive correlational methodology where a random sample of 146 female and male teachers was selected among 24 public High Schools in Karak City. The researcher adopted and developed the concepts of strategic intelligence and job performance. The study concluded that the level of strategic intelligence among the headmasters of public secondary schools was medium while their level of job performance was high, besides that there was a statistically significant and positive correlation between strategic intelligence and all dimensions of job performance. The study will enhance the arab library as well as provide the education officials with guides that will enable them to adopt new methods in the schools. This study is new to the Jordanian education community that will help other researchers to conduct more studies on the topic .The research recommended conducting training courses for headmasters related to the strategic intelligence and its improvement of job performance to increase their professional growth; and the need to emphasize the adoption of the future vision, spread a culture of creativity, partnership and motivation by the headmasters; and focus on the requirements of their career growth as well as searching for approaches to enhance their job performance level. Keywords: strategic intelligence, job performance, motivity, partnership, creativity. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55463/hkjss.issn.1021-3619.60.29

(Re)Centralisation of education governance in Hungary: its causes, declared goals, motives and some potential hidden goals

After municipalities (local governments) and county level governments were established in Hungary in 1990, public education was operated, governed and financed by these elected bodies with the financial support of the central government until the end of 2012. In this decentralised system differences in local wealth and income of municipalities led to significant inequalities in the funding and performance of their schools, and the learning outcomes of the children studying in these. The FIDESZ-KDNP coalition government that took office in 2010 radically centralised the system of governance and funding of schools, claiming that this will be a remedy to the problems of the system. Based on a large set of research interviews and previous research results our paper investigates the declared goals of this reform, and tries to explore its motives as well. According to our research interviews granting equal opportunity in education to every child seems to be the overarching goal of centralisation, and there are three more other goals as well, including the creation of a more efficient and cost-effective system of institutional management. However, some characteristics of the selection of these goals and the seemingly complete lack of the monitoring of their fulfilment, together with the fact that independent research already proved that the centralisation was definitely unable to achieve its main declared goal, may substantiate the claim that this just served as a cover or pretext, and there probably exists a hidden agenda that is more important for the government than the publicly declared goals. Based on interviews with former politicians, education researchers, advisors and school headmasters we tried to find some of the possible real motives and hidden goals. Although the existence of such goals is impossible to prove exactly, we found several circumstances that may substantiate their existence.