School Secretaries Research Articles

Job Satisfaction on productivity of Non-Teaching Staff

Job satisfaction plays a vital role in management, influencing both employee engagement and the overall workplace culture. This article is guided by the following objectives: to establish the influence of remuneration; to determine the influence of communication; to investigate the influence of the work environment; and to examine the influence of training opportunities on the productivity of non-teaching staff in public secondary schools in Baringo County, Kenya. It employs a descriptive research approach to articulate and characterize current events. The target population comprises of 327 individuals, specifically School Accountants and School Secretaries. Utilizing the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table for sample size calculation, a representative sample of 181 non-teaching staff members were selected. Simple random selection ensured each school had an equal opportunity for inclusion. Data collection involved document analysis, questionnaires and interview schedules. Descriptive analysis was applied, presenting processed data through frequency tables and percentages. Instrument validation was included, content validity, involving university lecturers and experts, while reliability was established through a pilot study, with a threshold Cronbach's alpha (α) of 0.7 indicating tool reliability. Based on the findings, it concludes that there is a moderate-positive and statistically significant correlation between remuneration on productivity of non-teaching staff in public secondary schools in Baringo Central sub county, Kenya (r = 0.531; p < 0.05).

Sensing and the Shadows: Invisible Work in Medical Education in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT Medical schools are important nodes in the reproduction of medical knowledge, and an often-visited field site for medical anthropologists. To date, the spotlight has been on teachers, students and (simulated) patients. I broaden this focus to look at the practices of medical school secretaries, porters and other staff, investigating the embodied effects of their “invisible work.” Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork in a Dutch medical school, I mobilize the more multisensory term “shadow work” to understand how such practices become part of medical students’ future clinical practices through highlighting, isolating, and exaggerating, necessary elements of their medical education.

Employer-led flexibility, working time uncertainty, and trade union responses: The case of academics, teachers and school secretaries in Ireland

This article examines the extent to which occupations within a sector differ in their experiences of employer-led flexibility and in their responses through collective power. Three occupations are analysed in the Irish education sector – academics, school teachers and school secretaries. It might be expected that higher-level occupations would have greater sources of occupational power to resist employer-led flexibility. We find varying levels of employer-led flexibility through non-standard employment across and within occupations. We conclude that trade unions have achieved varying levels of success in negotiating regulations on casualisation, but that the effectiveness of union responses is likely to be dependent on the particular conditions which gave rise to casualisation amongst occupations. In terms of the propensity for each occupation to have standard or non-standard employment over a lifetime of employment, we conclude that school teachers can be categorised as an ‘insider’ occupation, that school secretaries have evolved to an ‘outsider’ occupation, while lecturing academics are most at risk of transitioning from an insider to an outsider occupation.

Exploring agency in marginalised occupations: School administrative clerks’ deployment of “participatory capital” in establishing practice-based agency

Popular conceptions of school administrative clerks and school secretaries imply that they have little agency because they are deemed as subordinate support staff. However, the literature across a range of fields suggests that these subordinates exercise agency. We set out in this article to explore the workings of subordinate agency. The article suggests that it is through their involvement and interaction in the socio-cultural context of the school that school administrative clerks, are able to expand the range of their agency and thereby reposition themselves at school. We employ the analytical construct ‘participatory capital’ to analyse how these clerks establish their agency and renegotiate their roles and places in the school. Based on a qualitative research study, we interviewed and observed three purposively selected administrative clerks in three primary schools in Cape Town. This article argues that, while the occupational identity of administrative clerks remains one of subordination within the bureaucratic discourse and their places of work, the selected school administrative clerks were able to extend the scope of their agency through their participatory capital.

O TRABALHO DO SECRETÁRIO EM INSTITUIÇÕES DE ENSINO PRESENCIAL E EDUCAÇÃO À DISTÂNCIA – EAD

The reality of the school secretary profession in classroom teaching and distance in private institutions is the subject covered in this article, result of research in Sao Sebastiao, Federal District. This study aimed to analyze the differences in the secretary's work at school and at Polo Classroom Support of a university that offer higher education in the form of Distance Education - Distance Education . Its qualitative approach methodology to conduct field research and semi-structured interview at school and at university with the school secretaries. The results show that despite technological advances , the professional who works in the school secretary is not just another body member of the school community , but is he of whom the school depends for all its processes are effective and efficient in search of reach of the institution's goals. The survey provided a better understanding about the routine and secretary of assignments in school and academic space with a highlight in common the importance of service to the public as one of the most significant activities in the work of school secretary.

Factors Limiting the Usage of ICT in the Delivery of Management Services in Public Secondary Schools in Siaya County

This study was set to determine the effect of integrating ICT use in the delivery of services in public secondary schools in Siaya County, Kenya. Although many secondary schools introduced computers in great numbers starting early 1990s, there are limited information on their use to facilitate delivery of services in school administration and management. The extent to which ICT is being used in school management in secondary schools, the types of administrative uses of ICT by school managers and challenges affecting the integration of ICT in the management systems in secondary schools needed to be adequately addressed. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine the effect of integrating ICT in the delivery of services in public secondary schools in Siaya County. The study objectives were to determine the areas in which ICT is being used in the delivery of management services in public secondary schools in Siaya County and to recommend strategies of enhancing ICT in the delivery of services in public secondary schools in Siaya County. The theoretical framework that guided the study was Social Transformation Theory in Education and Visscher (1992) conceptual model of school information system, which were used to show the relationship between variables. The research design that was used is descriptive survey. The study population consisted of 167 Principals, 167 Secretaries, 167 Deputies, 167 Bursars/Accounts’ clerks and 334 Heads of Departments. Purposive sampling technique was used to identify 48 schools that had incorporated ICT in their management system in secondary schools. Saturated sampling technique was used to select 48 principals. Purposive sampling technique was used to select one head of department in charge of examinations and one in charge of boarding in each sampled schools, giving a total of 96 heads of departments, 48 Deputy Principals, 48 Secretaries and 48 Bursars/ Accounts’ clerk. Questionnaires was administered to the H.O.Ds, Deputy Principals and Bursars/Accounts’ clerks to gather data on the level of ICT incorporation in management in secondary schools. Interviews with school principals and Secretaries captured data on their role in provision of ICT equipment for school management systems and the challenges they face in ICT use in school administration system. To ensure validity and reliability of the research instruments, experts from the School of Education, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology scrutinized the research instruments. A pilot study of 5 schools was equally conducted in the schools not sampled for the study. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n2p554

Seleção velada em escolas públicas: práticas, processos e princípios geradores

No quadro dos estudos a respeito das relações de interdependência competitiva entre escolas, este artigo apresenta os resultados de uma investigação de natureza exploratória cujos objetivos foram apreender processos e práticas utilizados por escolas comuns públicas – estaduais e municipais –, localizadas em regiões predominantemente periféricas e no contexto de um modo de regulação que inibe tanto a escolha de estabelecimentos de ensino pelas famílias como processos de seleção pelas escolas. A pesquisa buscou ainda apreender os princípios que orientam esses processos e práticas de seleção. Utilizando o procedimento de bola de neve, este estudo, de natureza qualitativa, entrevistou secretários de estabelecimentos de ensino encarregados de realizar a matrícula. A análise dos dados revelou a existência de dois processos de seleção: (i) o evitamento, concretizado pela negação de cadastro e pela não aceitação de matrículas quando os solicitantes são avaliados como supostas ameaças à disciplina; (2) e a expulsão velada, quando alunos indesejados são convidados a buscarem outro estabelecimento, devido a conflitos e problemas de comportamento. Nos dois casos, o princípio gerador das práticas e processos reside na busca de assegurar um ambiente escolar disciplinado. Os dados indicam que esses preconceitos parecem penalizar sobremaneira famílias com mais baixo nível socioeconômico e cultural e que apresentam disposições mais distantes da cultura escolar.

Support personnel in schools: characteristics and importance

PurposeDespite the critical role of support personnel in education, the literature about their supervision has been less than informative. In an effort to provide additional guidance to school leaders seeking to improve the supervision of such personnel, the purpose of this paper is to examine and compare three distinct groups of support personnel: school custodians/janitors, school secretaries, and paraprofessionals in special education.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins with two analyses. One is that of the general importance of the role of support personnel in public schools in the USA. The other consists of a brief argument as to why the literature about the supervision of support personnel has not been overly informative. The paper proceeds with descriptions of three distinct support personnel groups.FindingsThe examination of three support personnel groups highlights the visibility of the school custodian/janitor, the multi‐dimensional responsibilities of the school secretary, and the background of the paraprofessional in special education.Research limitations/implicationsA comparison of three distinct groups of support personnel has implications for their training, compensation and scheduling, and work design and supervision.Originality/valueThe paper content offers an information‐rich and multi‐faceted view of support personnel in schools, with implications for their overall supervision and the importance of their contribution to the organization.

Elementary school secretaries' experiences and perceptions of administering prescription medication.

This study assessed elementary school secretaries' (n = 385) experiences and perceptions with student prescription medication. Sixty-nine percent (n = 246) reported dispensing student medication, and this group represents the focus of this study. One in four secretaries reported not receiving any training regarding administration of student medication. Of those who were trained, 28% received training of less than one hour, and 24% received training of one to two hours duration. Secretaries generally disliked the responsibility of dispensing medication to students, but felt prepared to do so. Most (63%) administered student medication five days per week. The most commonly administered categories included attention deficit/hyperactivity medication (92%), asthma medication (87%), and antibiotics (68%). Most (85%) reported they had made no medication errors during the past year.

An Analysis of Office-Support Skills Used in the Workplace: Implications for Community College Curriculum

Abstract This study was conducted to determine the impact of massive technological innovations on the office positions of legal, medical, executive, school, and word processing secretaries in the city of New York. Faculty in community colleges need to be informed of technological innovations and new trends in order to better train today's office worker. This study concludes with the identification of the workplace skills and knowledges that businesses require of their entry-level secretarial personnel.

The job climate for women in traditionally male blue-collar occupations

Rapid growth has been observed in recent years in the number of women entering traditionally male blue-collar occupations, yet researchers have paid little attention to this pioneering group. The present study undertook a comparison of the job conditions of two groups of nontraditional women workers, tradeswomen (N=71), and transit workers (N=151); a third group, school secretaries (N=389), was studied as a comparison group of traditionally female workers. Results from a 16-page mail questionnaire revealed that women in traditionally male occupations encountered significantly more adverse working conditions than did their traditional counterparts, and, in addition, reported significantly less satisfaction and more stress at work. Tradeswomen were the most likely to experience sexual harassment and sex discrimination, and black tradeswomen to experience race discrimination. The degree of job satisfaction expressed by the secretaries was unexpected, since most evidence suggests that clerical workers lack autonomy, and encounter boredom and routinization on the job. These findings are discussed in terms of gender segregation and the need to focus future research efforts on specific occupational groups in order to make appropriate policy recommendations as well as to provide help for women in these jobs.

Naive prediction of pathology from human figure drawings

The present study investigated the degree of accuracy of five groups of judges (elementary school administrators, elementary school secretaries,elementary school teaches, seventh-grade students, and trained personnel in figure drawing interpretation) in inferring pathology in human figure drawings. It was suggested that intuition gained through several years of unsystematic observation of figure drawings played the major role in their interpretation.

Educational Need and Its Application to State School Finance

This article reports the results of an effort to use local school personnel to gather socioeconomic data on students that would be highly predictive of educational achievement, and to use the information so gathered as the basis for a formula that would distribute state school aid to schools on the basis of their educational need. School secretaries in 45 New York elementary schools, using only written instructions, gathered data for a sample of students on six socio-economic variables: ethnic background, broken homes, welfare, overcrowded housing, student mobility, and parents' education. In a multiple regression, using the school as the unit of analysis, these variables explain 75 percent of the variation in student achievement. Based on the regression equation, the article defines as a unit of educational need the Need Weighted Average Daily Attendance (NWADA) and shows how this unit may be used in a state school-support formula.