Independent Schools Research Articles

ANALISIS STRATEGI KEPALA SEKOLAH DALAM MENGEMBANGKAN MUTU PENDIDIKAN SEKOLAH DASAR

This researach discusses the Study of the Principal's Leadership Strategy in Improving the Quality of Education at SDN Telluwanua District, Palopo City. the problem in this study is the lack of management of school principals in improving the quality of education. This study aims to determine the leadership management of school principals in the delivery of education and the impact of educational outcomes at SDN Telluwanua District, Palopo City. The type and research approach used is descriptive quantitative. The source of the data used is primary data obtained from interview instruments with respondents, namely the principal, educators and teaching staff at SDN 18 Maroangin, SDN 52 Salutete and SDN 51 Sumarambu. The results of this study showed that 1. The strategy for improving the quality of education at SDN Telluwanua District, Palopo City began with the commitment of the school principal to improve the quality of education by planning a strategy, followed by improving the school's organizational structure, increasing the competence of educators and education staff, increasing student achievement, fulfillment of facilities infrastructure, building cooperative networks, creating independent school programs and evaluating educators, education staff and school programs. 2. The impact of educational outcomes at SDN schools in Telluwanua District, Palopo City, is that teacher competence has increased, graduation rates and graduate absorption have increased, school performance and school image have increased and facilities and infrastructure have begun to be fulfilled. The implication of this research is that by referring to the results of this study, it is better if the leadership management of school principals in improving the quality of education is increased again from before so that the goals of education in schools can be achieved effectively and efficiently.

The Impact of Positive Leadership on the Professional Growth of Primary School Teachers

This paper presents the outcomes of a research study that examined the views of heads of schools and teachers on what positive leadership meant to them and the impact positive leadership can have on teachers’ professional growth. The research followed a mixed-methods convergence model approach. Six heads of schools from church and independent schools participated in an online interview, and 106 teachers from all church and independent schools participated in an online questionnaire. The results showed that both heads of schools and teachers agree that positive leadership improves communication, trust and support between them. These factors allow teachers to be more innovative in their practices, which also contributes to their professional development and growth. The findings also highlighted the importance of key practices in positive leadership and revealed valuable information regarding the application of positive leadership in Maltese primary schools. Furthermore, the research also recognised that the impact of positive leadership on teachers’ professional growth also influences the school culture. The research concluded that positive leadership is an effective approach to promoting professional growth in teachers and suggests recommendations for educational leaders to adopt positive leadership practices to support teacher development and enhance school culture.

Exploring ESL Students’ Language Learning Strategies at an Independent Chinese Secondary School in Malaysia

LLSs (language learning strategies) are the strategies selected by learners to comprehend, retain, retrieve, and use information in language learning deliberately and consciously. It has been established that LLSs have significant effects on second language learning. The purpose of this study is to explore the LLSs employed by the ESL students in learning English language at one of the Independent Chinese secondary Schools in Malaysia. By adopting a case study approach, nine students of three proficiency levels (high, average, and low achievers) in the school were selected as participants. The investigation was framed through Oxford’s (1990) classification of LLS to contextualise the students’ LLS for thematic analysis. The findings reveal that high achievers often use metacognitive and cognitive strategies. The average achievers and low achievers often use a wide range of strategies. In addition, the students are able to self-direct their English language learning with the LLS they employed outside the formal classroom autonomously. Recommendations for further/future research related to LLS are provided.

Exploring Correlates of Student Preferences for Virtual or In-Class Learning among Neurodiverse Adolescents Using a Single-Case Design Methodology

The purpose of the current study is to explore several correlates of adolescent students’ preferences for at-home virtual or in-class in-person learning in a single case of a school that serves students with learning differences. Correlates of interest were the Big Five personality traits (Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) and the students’ self-reported learning engagement. Participants were recruited from a single independent school for students with neurodiversity and special learning needs, where they had high exposure to computer-/internet-assisted learning. Twenty-seven students responded to questionnaires measuring preferred learning modes, personality traits, and learning engagement. Despite teacher reports that some of these students thrived with virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, 88.5% of this sample preferred in-class learning. The personality traits of Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience were related to a preference for in-class learning. A preference for in-class learning was related, in turn, to learning engagement. Learning engagement was associated with Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and lower levels of Neuroticism. The strengths and limitations of this study and its implications for further research and practice are discussed.

Social Values and Authority in Education: Collaboration between School and Families

A coordinated approach involving both school and families is essential for education to be successful. Mutual support and the satisfaction to teachers and parents alike are particularly important in the area of education in values. We carry out a pilot study, from which we obtained enough information to design and apply family education programmes in the future. In this paper, we explain the design and implementation of the programme: 1) a brief state of the question and a review of some recent bibliography; 2) the stages in which this pilot project was put into practice; 3) some conclusions will be drawn as a guide for future work in this area. The school with which we made our action-research agreement was San Viator (Vitoria, Spain), an independent school with some public funding. The headmaster, the coordinator, and the school counsellor were the professionals who collaborated directly with our project. The educational goal was to provide guidance for parents with children in years 3 and 4 (aged 8 to 10), and the school itself invited these parents to take part in the programme. Out of 75 families at the school, 40 expressed interest, 26 (fathers and mothers) took part in the diagnosis, and 12 mothers participated in the programme.

Chinese anthropology and ethnology: the fifth way of anthropology and ethnology in the world

Chinese anthropology and ethnology studies are shaped by diverse schools of thought, including Western anthropology, classical Marxist ethnic theory, the Soviet school of ethnology, and Chinese experience and theory. In particular, Western anthropology, classical Marxist ethnic theory, and the Soviet school have had a tremendous impact on Chinese anthropology and ethnology studies across different historical periods. In China, practical and theoretical studies on anthropology and ethnology have become increasingly embedded in those three academic traditions. In this sense, Chinese anthropology and ethnology studies are by no means a simple replica of disciplinary progress made in other countries, nor are they a mixed-up combination of overseas studies in the Chinese context. On the contrary, Chinese anthropology and ethnology studies have developed as an independent Chinese school of thought guided by Marxist principles and a research area through the efforts of generations of Chinese scholars with lessons learned from practical experiences and global research results to produce new theories and methodologies adapted to the Chinese social context. This research area aims to improve the well-being of Chinese people, featuring Chinese academic legacy and confidence. The Chinese anthropology and ethnology as an academic discipline represents the fifth way in global anthropology and ethnology studies, following its predecessors established in the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the Soviet Union, and the United States. This tradition marks a unique contribution from the developing world, one that enriches and advances global anthropology and ethnology studies. In other words, with a focus on national and contemporary imperatives, Chinese anthropology and ethnology studies have leveraged and examined other anthropological and ethnological doctrines to propose innovative concepts and theories. Furthermore, it provides valuable “Chinese experience” for developing countries to navigate anthropology and ethnology.

Business Incubator Management toward Economic Independence at the Boarding School (Study at Pondok Pesantren Nurul Islam, Mojokerto)

Pondok Pesantren Nurul Islam Pungging Mojokerto (NURIS) equips its santri with structured formal education. Problems are experienced when this boarding school has been productive in the field of education but is still passive in terms of economic independence. The potential to make boarding schools economically independent is very high. One is the creative economy, which is increasingly showing its intelligence in Industry 5.0. To catch up with this, it is necessary to empower santri to be able to become a santripreneur who has soft skills. One way is to empower students in the business incubator industry. The purpose of implementing santri empowerment activities is so that Nurul Islam Pungging Mojokerto boarding school can meet its own needs and become an economically independent modern boarding school. In addition to improving the pesantren's economy, this business incubator program is also expected to be a provision for students when they graduate to be able to live independently. This research uses a qualitative method by collecting data from in-depth interviews with several students, teachers, and the head of the boarding school foundation. After collecting the data, a Forum Group Discussion (FGD) was conducted, and determined the mechanism of this business incubator activity. Training and mentoring activities were conducted for Nurul Islam Pungging Mojokerto boarding school students for approximately 3 months. The design layout of the business incubator is the output of this research. As a business incubator, it is still not optimal. It needs to be improved regarding Shared, namely not providing office facilities that can be used together, and Synergy, namely not creating cooperation with parties outside the boarding school.

Rodriguez at Fifty: A Legacy of Intersecting Inequalities

AbstractFifty years after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, the trajectory of school finance desegregation has shifted from expansive federal hopes to narrower state efforts. Attempts to address many of the disparities continue to be constrained by the complex and intersecting nature of the inequalities, rooted in compounding decades of discrimination. This article examines the legal historiography and politics of the Rodriguez decision, analyzing the path from Brown v. Board of Education to Rodriguez in the context of the scholarship around Rodriguez over the last fifty years as well as the wide body of work discussing state-based litigation efforts since the 1973 ruling.

The Roots of Inequality: Texas School Politics and the Leadup to Rodriguez

AbstractContrary to Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell’s majority opinion in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973), Texas’s school finance system was the result of years of legislation and state-building that gave some areas the resources and capacity to provide more educational opportunities than others. As this article demonstrates, during the century leading up to the Rodriguez decision, Texas political leaders developed a public school funding system reliant on the highly unequal spatial distribution of property wealth across rural/urban, class, and racial lines. There was nothing inevitable about this. In fact, the history of Texas’s system reveals four pivotal eras when the state’s White leaders created and maintained a school finance system reliant on local property taxes and defined by rural/urban and racial differences that cemented deep inequalities. This case study traces those changes over time and brings part of the story to life through the example of Kirbyville, Texas, and its struggle to finance a new White high school. Returning to the historical roots of school financing in Texas reveals how rural/urban, racial, and wealth inequalities have been foundational to Texas’s public school finance system.

Correlates of childhood caries: A study in Qatar.

The prevalance of dental caries in children in Qatar is high, which necessitates preventive efforts. To identify the sociodemographic and behavioural correlates of dental caries in the primary dentition of children 4- to 8-year-olds in Qatar. Weighted data from the Qatar Child Oral Health Survey 2017 were analysed for caries prevalence (dmft>0) and experience (dmft). Sociodemographic and behavioural variables were also drawn from the survey. Among the 1154 children, caries prevalence was 69.3% (95%CI [63.4, 74.5]) and experience at 3.8 dmft (95%CI [3.3, 4.2]). The prevalence ratio (PR) 0.82 (0.72, 0.94) was lower among younger than in older children; those for non-Qatari nationality Arabic PR 0.91 (0.82, 1.00) and Other PR 0.75 (0.57, 0.99) than for Qatari nationality; those attending international kindergartens/schools PR 0.89 (0.80, 0.99) than independent schools; and whose parents had university-level education PR 0.85 (0.75,0.95) than did not. Caries prevalence was lower among those toothbrushing by age 3 years PR 0.88 (0.80,0.99) than later; children with low/intermediate sugar exposures PR 0.85 (0.74,0.97) and 0.89 (0.79,1.00) than those with high exposures; children with a dental check-up PR 0.68 (0.53,0.87) than those without; and children who drank bottled water with some fluoride PR 0.89 (0.80,0.99) than those who did not. Findings were similar for dmft. In conclusion caries prevalence varied but was high across sociodemographic correlates indicating vulnerablity. Interventions focusing on behaviours - such as toothbrushing, reducing sugar intake, check-up and encouraging intake of water with fluoride - are needed.

Relationships and Sex Education teaching in English secondary schools and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on school education resulted in class disruption and fragmented online teaching. Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) was made compulsory in England in 2020, but the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on RSE is unclear. In this study, 16 teachers working in English secondary schools participated in online qualitative, semi-structured interviews on their experiences teaching RSE. Themes were identified using deductive and inductive codes as part of a thematic analysis process. Participants taught children aged 11–18 in independent, comprehensive and academy schools. Teachers found it difficult to deliver high quality RSE lessons because of concern that available material would be inappropriate for virtual delivery. Fragmentation of teaching also limited the development of pupil-teacher rapport, highlighted as key to effective RSE. Extra-curricular initiatives were also disrupted by the pandemic, persisting even after face-to-face teaching returned as schools focused on ‘core’ academic subjects. RSE teaching was seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and although face to face teaching has resumed, healthy peer-on-peer relationships remain impacted by fragmented teaching. Ongoing prioritisation of RSE, and the appropriate use of digital resources, will support young people moving forward and help prepare for any future disruption of to face-to-face teaching.

Pemanfaatan Penilaian Otentik Berbasis Kemandirian Siswa dalam Pembelajaran Sejarah

Independent learning is a type of learning in which students must complete authentic assessments based on their own initiative. As a result, various approaches to developing quality history learning steps and a Pancasila profile in relation to independent schools with student autonomy are required. The development of history learning can be accomplished through three methods of implementing the social profile: teaching resources, learning methods, and authentic assessment. The use of authentic assessment will encompass the selection of instructional materials and learning models, making it a significant channel. Authentic assessment guides learning by allowing students to create various learning activities that contain the Pancasila Profile's contents during the learning process. Authentic assessment provides a true picture of students' reading abilities as well as a measure of their progress toward independence. As a result of this fact, authentic assessment can aid in the improvement of history learning as well as the development of student independence.

Trait- and State-Components of Mathematics Anxiety versus Perceived Mathematics Anxiety

Negative emotions such as mathematics anxiety (MA) may lead to the avoidance of mathematics, which can have dire consequences for future career-related decisions. This paper compared Grade 10 learners’ levels of trait-MA with perceived MA according to the type of school and gender. Both quantitative and qualitative data through a survey conducted with 427 Grade 10 mathematics learners from seven schools were collected. Quantitative data were descriptively analysed, while qualitative data were inductively coded and categorised. Participants from an independent school reported higher levels of trait-MA than those from the other types of schools. Female participants experienced higher levels of trait-MA than their male counterparts. More participants reported perceived MA as opposed to those who measured high levels of trait-MA. MA was viewed as a negative emotional response to activities and situations related to mathematics with a wide range of causes and consequences. This study provides valuable insight for the development of an instrument to measure perceived MA.

Meeting the safeguarding needs of all children and young people

Information sharing is key in safeguarding work; however, there has been much disparity between the state and independent school sectors. Claire Ashworth details her journey to improve access to information and communication in her setting in order to better meet the needs of the children in her care.

Texas Developmental Center for AIDS Research CFAR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pathway Initiative Program.

The Texas Developmental Center for AIDS Research (D-CFAR) diversity program, termed the CFAR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pathway Initiative (CDEIPI), was created in 2021 to engage high school students and graduate students from Underrepresented Minorities/Black, Indigenous, and People of Color populations. The Texas D-CFAR CDEIPI has partnered with 2 Texas high schools with predominantly economically disadvantaged and minority student populations-Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions in Houston, TX, and the South Texas Independent School District Medical Professions High School in Olmito, TX in the Rio Grande Valley. A total of 370 high school student learners at both partner schools participated in presentations of research and career paths related to HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 during the 2021-2022 academic year. Afterward, learners completed anonymous surveys to share their self-reported interest in research degrees and careers. Learners reported increased knowledge of related science content and interest in research careers, including HIV-1 research, after each of the sessions. The programming has been of interest to student learners, and future additions intend to build upon the Texas D-CFAR CDEIPI.

NURTURING THE INCLUSIVE SCHOOL CULTURE AT FOUNDATIONAL LEVEL: A CASE STUDY

Inclusive education values the broad spectrum of learners’ diversity and uniqueness to the contribution of each students bring to the classroom from grassroots level. National education policy 2020 aims to make school education more inclusive and accessible for students with special needs and provide special education and support for the students with learning difficulties. The objectives of the present study to reveal (i) Attitude of school teachers towards students with special needs and inclusive school culture (ii) role of school management and Principal for nurturing the inclusive culture(iii) symbiosis of teachers, parents and community in catalyzing inclusive culture in school . The study is conducted in independent school in Narsingarh. Data collected by using interview, observation and document analysis. The purposive and snowball sampling technique is used to draw the sample. The sample includes teachers, special educators, school counselor, parents of child with special needs and community members. The findings of the study reveals that teachers have positive mental attitude towards students with special needs and inclusive culture. The school management and principal provides supports and adequate resources for inclusive culture. The community members are actively involved in nurturing inclusive culture in school.

The Mobility of Legal Education in the Tanzimat Period and Mekteb-i Hukuk-ı Şahane

The law is one of the basic and vital foundations that the human species needs to ensure the order existing in nature between individuals in a “just” manner. Law has been an instrument of education in the context of acquiring and learning the awareness of rights as well as rights acquired from birth. In this study, the mobility of the legal education applied during the Tanzimat period of the Ottoman Empire is explored. The establishment of the Encümen-i Daniş and Darülfünun and the deployment of legal education within the higher education model during the construction of the modern academic system are addressed chronologically. The establishment, curriculum, administration/teaching staff, and student profile of the Mekteb-i Hukuk-ı Şahane, which started its education activities as an independent school, are analysed. The graduates of the school, with their identities as jurists, were involved in many different activities that had significance in the history of Turkish law. In this regard, the lives of many graduates could be analysed as topics that will enrich the research conducted on the history of law. Historical analysis method was used in the study and also the data were obtained by scanning the education and state yearbooks. Document analysis method was used in the analysis of the obtained data.

Parental attitudes to school- and home-based relationships, sex and health education: evidence from a cross-sectional study in England and Wales

ABSTRACT Subsequent to the introduction of compulsory relationships and health education in primary schools and relationships and sex education and health education (RSHE) in secondary schools in England from 2020, this paper examines the attitudes of parents towards school- and home-based RSHE. Using data from a survey of parents (n = 849) of children at 37 independent schools in England and Wales, we analysed parental attitudes towards school-parent communication about RSHE, the teaching of RSHE in school, and their own communication with their children about relationships and sex at home, exploring perceived barriers and use of resources. We found significant parental support for school-based RSHE, alongside some concerns, as well as uncertainty and embarrassment as barriers to parent-child communication about relationships and sex at home, indicating the need for schools to strengthen school-parent partnership in this area, and to encourage parents to talk to their children at home in tandem with what is being taught in school.

School-based research centres: one school’s exploration

School-based research centres are growing in number and have potential to amplify school students’ voices in research through activities within the school. This paper explores how one research centre in an independent school in Australia, in a financially and socially privileged context, is using tertiary-type structures (namely, an ethics committee, research journal and conference) to engage students in research activities and give them voice about research in their school. Writing as centre director and practitioner researcher in the school, I explore these activities which position research as a skill with potential to further students’ academic capital, as well as their ability to challenge their understanding of privilege in the world. A core motivation for this paper is consideration of the transposition of structures designed for adults into the school context and exploring how students engage with these structures in order to have a voice as researchers and in research.

Changes in school mitigation strategies and disease transmission within an independent school in New York City

Changes in school mitigation strategies and disease transmission within an independent school in New York City