Reform Leaders Research Articles

Strategic Methodologies in Public Health Cost Analyses.

The National Research Agenda for Public Health Services and Systems Research states the need for research to determine the cost of delivering public health services in order to assist the public health system in communicating financial needs to decision makers, partners, and health reform leaders. The objective of this analysis is to compare 2 cost estimation methodologies, public health manager estimates of employee time spent and activity logs completed by public health workers, to understand to what degree manager surveys could be used in lieu of more time-consuming and burdensome activity logs. Employees recorded their time spent on communicable disease surveillance for a 2-week period using an activity log. Managers then estimated time spent by each employee on a manager survey. Robust and ordinary least squares regression was used to measure the agreement between the time estimated by the manager and the time recorded by the employee. The 2 outcomes for this study included time recorded by the employee on the activity log and time estimated by the manager on the manager survey. This study was conducted in local health departments in Colorado. Forty-one Colorado local health departments (82%) agreed to participate. Seven of the 8 models showed that managers underestimate their employees' time, especially for activities on which an employee spent little time. Manager surveys can best estimate time for time-intensive activities, such as total time spent on a core service or broad public health activity, and yet are less precise when estimating discrete activities. When Public Health Services and Systems Research researchers and health departments are conducting studies to determine the cost of public health services, there are many situations in which managers can closely approximate the time required and produce a relatively precise approximation of cost without as much time investment by practitioners.

Establishing world-class universities in China: deploying a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the net effects of Project 985

ABSTRACTThe rapid advances of China’s universities in major international league tables are generally believed to be an accomplishment of Project 985. A quasi-experimental study was, therefore, undertaken to test the belief and to evaluate the effectiveness of this policy intervention, using 15-year panel data between 1998 and 2013. Results from a difference-in-differences model showed that Project 985 had a positive effect on publication outputs of ‘985’ universities. Tier 2 ‘985’ universities gained strong momentum in publication growth in international and ISI journals. Additionally, Theil index decomposition was employed to examine the stratification effect of Project 985. Results confirmed the homogenising trend within ‘985’ universities. In contrast, the vertical differentiation between ‘985’ and ‘211’ universities was noticeably enlarged. While sustained public funding is still vital, the study findings inform policy makers and higher education leaders of greater sectorial and institutional reforms to fulfil individual higher education institutions’ needs and remove bottlenecks in publication growth.

A perspective of teachers’ appropriation of educational innovations

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a framework describing teachers’ affective and cognitive thought processes, as well as the sensemaking and decision making ongoing within them, during the various stages of the appropriation of an educational innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe Rubicon model of action phases, borrowed from psychology, is first used as a lens to understand teachers’ will. The model is subsequently adapted to reconcile it with existing literature on teacher beliefs, teacher sensemaking, and teachers’ resistance.FindingsThe proposed framework shows that teachers’ appropriation of an educational innovation is multi-layered and multi-dimensional. This contradicts appropriation as simply a procedural implementation of research recommendations, culminating in only success or failure.Originality/valueThe paper sensitises policymakers, school leaders, and teacher educators to the complexity of the appropriation process. The proposed framework serves as a starting point for school and reform leaders, to re-examine their school’s implementation of an educational innovation from a more human relations perspective.

Relationships Between Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Style, and School Culture

Research regarding the association between emotional intelligence, leadership style and organizational culture has been inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to explore these relationships in elementary school settings. A non-experimental ex post facto research design was utilized to investigate four research hypotheses. Fifty-seven principals and 850 teachers within a large urban school district in southeast Florida were surveyed. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed positive associations between school culture and both transformational and transactional leadership, and negative associations between school culture and passive-avoidant leadership. Significant positive associations were found also between school culture and the principals' emotional intelligence after controlling for leadership style. The hierarchical linear regressions revealed significant associations between leadership style and school culture after controlling for school grade as well. The results suggest that emotional intelligence merits consideration in the development of leadership theory. Practical implications include suggestions that principals employ both transformational and transactional leadership strategies, and focus on developing their level of emotional intelligence. The associations between emotional intelligence, transformational leadership, contingent reward and school culture found in this study validate the role of the principal as the leader of school reform.

事大=守舊 對 獨立=開化의 二項對立的 近代敍事 프레임의 創出과 變容

This paper explores the creation of Korean modern narrative frame and its transformation afterwards. It examines how the original Korean modern narrative frame was created and standardized by the Japanese, and reviews the process and methods used to intentionally transform that frame by pro-Japanese Koreans.BR Modern narrative frame originally created by the Japanese was intentionally transformed during acceptance by means of adding or imitating. Such work was accomplished by Koreans experienced in studying in Japan, especially Waseda University alumni. Unlike Japan, the Enlightenment party playing a central role and setting extreme Conservatism party being its opposition were major changes. With the composition of enlightenment versus toadyism, the Enlightenment party’s leading role became fully emerged. From the Imo Gullan to Gapsin Coup, the Enlightenment party emerged as a key player, and in the Gabo and Eulmi era the Enlightenment party gained its historical status as a reform leader. Choe Nam-seon being the beginner, such intentional transformation on modern narrative frame was carried out across the board passing through Yi Pyong-do and Lee Son-keun. From Gapsin Coup to the ruin of the Korean Empire, not only modern narrative frame but also its content were filled in full swing with the enlightenment and reform works led by the Eenlightenment party and its successors.

Leadership Roles of Administration Under the Common Core Reform

This qualitative study focuses on school administrators’ understandings and actions as leaders of the Common Core reform. In interviews with eight school and district leaders from five diverse districts in Pennsylvania, several aspects of Common Core, or PA Core, implementation were consistent across regardless of student population demographics and urbanicity. The findings show that (a) administrators view themselves as leaders of buildings or districts but not of reform implementations; (b) while it may not require them to make drastic changes, the PA Core is considered an opportunity to address aspects of the district or school that are in need of improvement; and (c) administrators are aware of their school context and their diverse students’ needs, but the PA Core is not yet adapted to address these diversity issues. These findings suggest that the Common Core pushes administrators to focus on certain areas of school improvement, such as curricula, assessments, and professional development that attends to the Common Core requirements; yet, the Common Core is similar to previous practice, even if its standards are deemed more rigorous.

Book review: School Leadership and Education System Reform

Book review: School Leadership and Education System Reform

Changes and challenges: Local representative democracy in Poland

The purpose of this paper is to report on how elected representatives perceive the current status and role of municipal council in governing process. The particular attention is paid to the impact of the introduced in 2002 leadership reform and influence of new participatory framework on council’s position and say. The paper draws on empirical data collected in municipalities of Lubelskie region under two, separate research projects in 2015 and 2016. The main research findings indicate that representing residents’ interests and controlling the executive constitute the priories for Polish councilors. Local representatives think at the same time that their role in governing process constantly diminishes. The main impact on this situation had the introduction of elected mayors what not only limited council’s say but also changed the governing pattern.

The Fundamental Structure of the Soviet Higher Educational System, 1920-1930s

소비에트 권력 초기 고등교육 체제의 정립에서 핵심적 두 문제는 고등교육 기관을 구성하는 학생 충원의 문제와 그들에게 어떤 내용의 교육을 실시할 것인가의 문제였다. 소비에트 권력이 정권의 기반이라고 주장하는 기층 민중을 고등교육 체제에 편입시켜 그들을 체제의 핵심간부로 양성하는 과정은 체제의 공고화를 위해 반드시 필요했다. 그렇지만 소련 고등교육 기관의 계급성분을 우선시 하여 고등교육 체제를 변화시키려는 정책은 소비에트 체제의 산업화에 기여하는 우수한 자질의 전문가를 기대만큼 배출하지 못했다. 교육환경의 열악함, 생산현장과 학업의 병행을 어려워하는 학생들의 학업포기 등의 현상이 등장했기 때문이다. 고등교육 체제는 1930년대 중반에 이르면 단계적 교육과정과 교수의 권위를 인정하는 방향으로 회귀했다. 고등교육 과정의 구체적 내용을 어떻게 설정할 것인가의 문제도 볼셰비키 권력 지도부 내에서도 뜨거운 논쟁거리였다. 교육 인민위원부의 수장 루나차르스키는 혁명 권력이 고등교육의 실용적 측면만을 강조하면서 미래의 핵심간부들에게 러시아 역사문화의 전통에 대한 깊이 있는 이해의 기회를 박탈한다면 체제발전에 대한 장기적 전망을 제시할 수 있는 전문가를 배출할 수는 없다고 생각했다. 반면에 국가경제 최고위원회와 같이 산업화의 절박성을 강조하는 경제기구의 관리들은 실용성을 강조하는 교육과정을 강조했다. 더 나아가 그들은 고등 기술교육의 관리는 교육 인민위원부가 아닌 국가 경제최고위원회와 같은 경제기구로 이관해야 한다고 주장하기도 했다. 이러한 혼란은 1933년 전 연방 고등교육 위원회가 내린 결정, 즉 고등교육의 목표는 협소한 분야의 전문 지식을 목표로 해서는 안 된다는 결정이 내려짐으로써 해소되었다. 장기적 전망 아래 체제발전의 청사진을 제시할 수 있는 전문가 양성, 아니면 당장의 산업화에 기여하는 기술 전문가 양성에 집중할 지의 문제도 고등교육 체제 개혁에서 또 다른 논쟁거리였다. 단기적 목적에 이바지 하는 전문가 양성을 주장하는 집단들은 고등교육의 관리도 경제관련 국가기구에 넘겨야 한다고 주장하기도 했다. 고등교육의 교과내용을 협소한 분야의 기술교육에만 한정하지 않으며 중앙차원의 교육기구를 관리의 주체로 결정한 1933년에 이러한 논쟁은 결말이 났다. 고등교육 체제를 정비하면서 해결해야 될 마지막 문제는 제정시대의 고등교육체제에서 최고의 권위를 자랑하던 러시아 학술원의 처리 문제였다. 대학의 교수집단 이상으로 러시아 학술원의 학자들은 정치권력에 의해 학문의 자율성이 통제받는 것을 싫어했다. 소비에트 권력에 협조하기를 거부한 학자들도 있었지만 소비에트 학술원의 회원자격을 보유하며 이전 시대부터 누려왔던 학자의 최고권위를 유지하려는 학자들도 많았다. 공산주의 학술원은 소련 학술원에 편입되었던 학자들에게 체제가 필요한 이념을 확대재생산하는 역할을 맡길 수는 없다고 생각했다. 그들은 여전히 체제의 전반적 이익보다 자신들의 학문적 자율성을 더욱 중시한다는 것이 공산주의 학술원의 판단이었다. 소련 학술원과 공산주의 학술원의 대립적 관계는 러시아 학술원의 전통을 일정 부분 계승한 소련 학술원의 권위를 높게 보아 공산주의 학술원을 폐지한 1936년에 와서야 사라졌다.This paper attempts to provide the fundamental structure of Soviet higher educational system crucial to creating Soviet cadres. From the perspective of Bolshevik government, higher educational system of prerevolutionary period was just for the privileged classes. In order to transform the higher educational institutions into conduits for future ‘Soviet intelligentisa,’ the Bolshevik government set out the task of changing the social composition of higher educational institutions. Leaders of higher educational reform thought that by giving preferences to workers and peasants in admission the creation of loyal Soviet cadres was possible. Soviet type of ‘affirmative actions’ greatly contributed to the increase of students from lower social classes, which in turn failed to produce qualified technical cadres required by the rapid achievement for industrialization. By the middle of the 1930s, social background of applicants was no loner priority in deciding to entering higher educational institutions. The orientation of higher education as well as management of it were another debating problems among Soviet educational reformers. Lunacharskii, head of Narkompros, argued that Soviet technical cadres were not created only by studying utilitarian subjects. Future technical cadres of Soviet Union also should have wide range of knowledge such as historical tradition of Russia and artistic values. On the other hand, the leadership of state institutions engaged in economic matters considered Lunacharskii s view as naive. The curriculum of higher educational institutions should be focused on utilitarian subjects directly related to increasing the productivity of production fields. The debates concerning about the qualification of Soviet technical cadres were continued by the middle of 1930s. The relationship of Communist Academy of Sciences and Soviet Academy of Sciences was another hot issue in finalizing the structure of higher educational system. The Communist Academy of Sciences could not accept the argument that the Soviet Academy of Sciences was the highest organ in the higher educational system, because from its perspective the Soviet Academy of Sciences still clung to bourgeois ideology of academic autonomy. Faced with this kind of criticism, the Soviet Academy of Sciences employed the strategy of antagonistic symbiosis, which meant that it conceded to several demands of Soviet government, while at the same time it tried to get over too much interference from the government. The hostile relationship between the two was finally solved in 1936 when Stalin abolished the Communist Academy of Sciences and regarded the Soviet Academy of Sciences in his full grasp.

The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society

How were the Great Society programs and policies designed so that they attracted bipartisan majorities? Why and how did the Great Society programs withstand the electoral and popular backlash that soon engulfed them? This book persuasively locates the answers in the politicking that took place in congressional committees and in how liberal Democrats and Republicans in Congress, working closely with the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, timed their legislative moves. Zelizer hardly neglects civil rights and Black Power protest, unexpected and dramatic events, shifts in the public mood, the backdrop of Vietnam, the explosion of black unrest in northern cities, and what public opinion surveys told Congress and the president about what the American people wanted—and what they did not want. Also, Zelizer provides a marvelous portrait of Lyndon Baines Johnson as a visionary, cunning, and fanatically hardworking president determined to make the most of his unexpected opportunities. We see just how racially conservative, economically anxious, and fiscally prudent America really was then—and thus we grasp, as Johnson did, the sheer exceptionalism of the Great Society opening. LBJ was racing against a clock—he knew every minute of his working day that reversal and challenge were certain. Indeed, one of the great surprises of the book is Zelizer’s demonstration that Johnson’s escalation of the Vietnam War was, more than we knew, meant to protect the Great Society by embellishing Johnson’s credentials as an anticommunist hawk. This was “dirty hands” reformist leadership on a grand scale.

Tied to the Common Core

Purpose: Researchers and scholars have called for greater attention to collaboration among and between educational leaders in districtwide reform. This work underlines the important social aspect of such collaboration and further investigates the type of professional interaction among/between district and school leaders particularly around the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and characterizes such interaction by key factors. Research Method: The work takes place in one school district of more than 30 schools serving students from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. Descriptive statistics, multilevel social network modeling, and network sociograms are used to understand the characteristics of professional interactions around CCSS implementation among district and site leaders. Findings: The findings indicate similarities and differences in characteristics of leaders who likely seek CCSS advice and leaders who likely provide that CCSS advice. Leader self-efficacy in implementing the CCSS positively explains the likelihood of both seeking and providing advice behaviors, and yet other factors (organizational learning, leadership, job satisfaction, and CCSS beliefs) each makes different contributions to the likelihood of seeking and/or providing the CCSS advice. Conclusion and Implications: This work suggests a discrepancy of leaders’ perceptions between advice seekers and providers, signaling a need for closing the perception gap between advice seekers and providers such that the leadership team could better craft coherent norms of collaboration in instructional improvement. Understanding the “why” of CCSS advice ties may help guide leaders toward the “how” to align professional and social aspects of change.

Shengshou Hu: leader of cardiac surgery and health reform in China

Shengshou Hu: leader of cardiac surgery and health reform in China

Regulatory Reform at a Critical Time: the Case of the Republic of Korea

This paper examines the Korean case of regulatory reform in pursuit of a drastic transformation from an economy with a high degree of government intervention into a market-driven economy at a critical time of economic crisis. The Regulatory Reform Committee (RRC) is a main vehicle for conducting regulatory reform; it consists of a civilian majority under the co-chairmanship of the Prime Minister and a civilian chair, which is effective in linking the administrative authority with civilian experts for collaborative reform work. Successful reform depends on reform leadership to overwhelm opposition and resistance from interest groups.

From Caterpillars to Butterflies: Engaging Nurse Leaders in Evidence-Based Practice Reform.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) occurs when the integration of best evidence is brought to the bedside to ground patient care decisions. Barriers to EBP have lingered for years and held unabated. The experiences of an academic medical center offer fresh perspectives in devolving the accountability for EBP where care is provided and received by patients. More specifically, the initiative is a focused engagement of nurse leaders in administrative positions for energizing bedside nurses to reform the enculturation of EBP. The goal is not to control but to explore approaches of handling the barriers with a complexity mindset amidst uncertainties. Nurses' collective engagement is envisioned to spark or refine creative ideas that will steer and account for EBP outcomes. The flight of the butterfly is used as a metaphor; hence, the title for the Monarch Moments Initiative.

Quality of care in university hospitals in Saudi Arabia: a systematic review

ObjectivesTo identify the key issues, problems, barriers and challenges particularly in relation to the quality of care in university hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and to provide...

A Study on the Risk of Small and Medium Enterprises Financial Outsourcing in China

The domestic enterprises began to face fiercer competition, which under the rapid development in the global economy today and the market increasingly competitive. During the government work report of 2015, Prime Minister Li Keqiang first proposed that encouraging people to start their own business and to make innovations, so that can be a new engine of economic development under the China’s New Normal. The leader of the economic reform is the micro, small and medium enterprises. In addition to the support of policy from the government for SMEs in financing, the SMEs should try to reduce the cost of capital by business management. The SMEs also need to create unique core competitiveness, in order to gain a foothold in the ever-changing global market. Outsourcing as one of the important means to reduce operating costs, has been adopted by more and more enterprises. As an auxiliary function of enterprise, financial outsourcing is beneficial to reduce the management cost and improve the efficiency of management. It can also help SMEs focus on the core competitiveness of ascension. When SMEs enjoy the benefits of such financial outsourcing, they are also associated with the risk of outsourcing. If the enterprise does not have a clear understanding and effective management with the outsourcing risk, it will lead to the enterprise cannot reach the purpose of outsourcing, also called the failure of outsourcing activities. Therefore, while the SMEs choose financial outsourcing, they must have the analysis and evaluation system of outsourcing risk. In this paper, based on the above analysis of the background, we study the risk of SMEs financial outsourcing. And after introducing the content and the status quo of financial outsourcing, we discuss the financial risk when the enterprise using financial outsourcing, and classify the risk, then measure the risk response, which in order to offer the decision-making basis for the successful implementation of financial outsourcing activities.

Education Reform and School District Leadership: Did Initial Charter Penetration Influence Superintendent Salaries in Arizona?

Past works have assessed the “ripple effects” of charter campuses on nearby traditional public schools, but none have explored these effects on local school district leadership variables such as superintendent salaries. We examine the initial impact of elementary school (K-8) charter school competition on the salaries of Arizona district superintendents during 1995–99. Using first-difference regressions, the 1995–97 results, while tentative, find a complex array of impacts, with charter competition reducing pay raises only for highly vulnerable superintendents. However, these nuanced salary changes are replaced during 1997–99 by larger, more uniform system-wide pay increases. Finally, 1995–99 results partly replicate those from 1995–97. Implications for assessing the responsiveness of school districts to charter competition are discussed.

Women, madness, myth and film: exploring Moroccan psychological trauma and postmemory in Pegase (Mohamed Mouftakir, 2010)

Moroccan cinema serves as a cultural barometer measuring the sociocultural and political transformations that are taking place in the country. Certainly since 1999, the death of King Hassan II, and the ascension of his son, King Mohamed VI, the country has sought to map its future as a leader of reform in the Arab world. This article considers how memories and unrevealed stories of this oppressive era have been scrutinised in psychologically probing and thought-provoking Moroccan films over the last 15 years – most recently Pegase. These films are discussed as conduits for the healing of collective memory or, ‘postmemory’ (Marianne Hirsch), a discussion that will contribute to the social stability of contemporary Morocco. The postmemory process will aid collective consciousness in coming to terms with the egregious violations committed in the past as Morocco confronts the anxiety-ridden present of modernity.

A Framework for Designing Effective Professional Development: Science Teachers’ Perspectives in a Context of Reform

This paper explores science teachers’ experiences, views, and preferences of what constitutes effective teacher professional development. The research method utilised both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The former was used with responses from closed-ended questions while responses to an open-ended question were analysed qualitatively. The questionnaire was administrated to science teachers in Saudi Arabia of both genders with a variety of teaching experiences, science specialisms and to those teaching in primary, middle and secondary stage schools. The findings indicate that teachers have concerns about continuing professional development (CPD) programmes offered to them. Teachers’ description of CPD showed that they were passive recipients of a pre-packed programme paving the way to how they form their professional identity. Teachers reflected on the aspects that can lead to effective CPD. Drawing on the findings, this paper presents a framework for effective CPD for science teachers where teachers are collaborative, proactive as leaders of reform and with positive professional identities in a context of reform.

We modify each other’s lessons: the role of literacy work circles in developing professional community

To address teacher isolation in schools, more reform leaders are finding hope in establishing professional communities as a way to promote continuous school improvement. This case study presents one approach for developing teacher professional community: a teacher work circle. Using the characteristics of professional community created by Kruse, Louis, and Bryk, this case study describes a sixth-grade, middle school, teacher work circle addressing the problem of students reading in the content areas. This case suggests that the work circle approach may productively support professional community among teachers focused on instruction. This paper discusses implications for professional development and further supporting a social infrastructure of teaching colleagues.