Using a qualitative approach, this study explored child beggars’ educational experiences from their own voices and the perspectives of selected stakeholders. A total of twenty-seven respondents (twenty-two children and five adult key informants) were recruited through accidental, respondent-driven, and purposive sampling methods. The children were between ages 13 to 15 years. In-depth interviews, observations, and focus group discussions were conducted to gather data for the study. The findings indicated that children engaged in the activity of begging due to varied (poverty, cultural, religious and political) factors. Additionally, child beggars’ educational experiences were found to be complex, intertwined and multifaceted.

Keywords: Begging, Children, Education, Ghana, Poverty

Introduction

Since strong and growing evidence suggests that education can be a springboard for counteracting social and economic disadvantages (Education for all Global Monitoring Report, 2010), the importance of prioritizing education as a means of attaining development cannot be overemphasized. It is an undisputed fact that developed countries lead the developing world in reaping huge payoffs on its investments in building the capacities of its human resource base (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, 2010). Most educated nations are wealthier nations because educated populations are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for higher labor productivity.  At the same time, it is worth noting that education is the foundation for progress in other areas, such as health, nutrition, employment, income generation, development of institutions, as well as participation in governance. Education in the early years of life can create the foundations for a life of expanded opportunity in later years (Education for all Global Monitoring Report).

Education is one of the building blocks of human development. Thus, provision of education to people, especially children is very important because it helps them to reach their fullest potentials. As a result, choices made and actions taken on behalf of children during this critical period affect not only how children develop but also how a country progresses (The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, 2005). The survival, growth and development of young children during their formative years, are achievable only through universal access to a broad range of basic services including access to education (UNICEF). In order to ensure children’s right to education, several international, regional and national frameworks have been enacted, over the years. At the international level, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 set the stage and standard for the development of other frameworks when it made the provision of education to the peoples of the world one of its cardinal and important provisions. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights for instance, notes in part that everyone has the right to education. It shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. The declaration further emphasizes that, education should also be directed towards the full development of the human personality as well as strengthen respect for human rights. Though no specific emphasis is placed on children, since children are part of the human personality, it is only right and logical that this provision applies to them.

Other international frameworks include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the major convention and framework for children, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). For instance, Articles 28 and 29 of the CRC are both dedicated to the rights of children to education. Article 28 particularly recognizes the primacy of parents in the upbringing and development of the child. The state, however, has the obligation to render appropriate assistance to parents in the performance of their child-raising responsibilities. Equally, the state is mandated by the CRC to ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the care and development of children. On the part of Article 29 of the CRC, it stipulates that the education of the child shall be directed towards the development of the child’s personality, talents, mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential possible. To give practical meanings to these international frameworks in recent years, the Millennium Development Goals, especially goal number two, emphasizes the need to provide universal basic education to all children by the year 2015.

At the African regional level, there are instruments, which drawing from the international blueprints recognizes and guarantees the right to education by all including children. Among the instruments is the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Article 17 of this instrument highlights the right to education. Also, Article 11 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child recognizes children’s right to education. Countries that are parties to the various international and regional treaties are enjoined as a matter of urgency to ensure that the right to education reflects in their national laws and policies. Ghana, being the first country to have ratified the CRC, recognizes children’s right to education. Acknowledging the important role education plays at all levels of society, including the personal level, Article 25 of Ghana’s (1992) constitution guarantees children’s right to education.  It states in part that basic education shall be free, compulsory and available to all. Also, Article 28 of the constitution mandates Parliament to enact laws that are necessary to ensure that the rights of children are safeguarded. In 1998, Ghana enacted the Children’s Act and Section 8 of the Act guarantees the right of the child to education, among other rights. Moreover, Section 6(2) of the Act emphasizes children’s right to education as part of parental duties and responsibilities. Other enactments in Ghana, which recognize the right of the child to education though not explicitly stated include Juvenile Justice Act (2003) and Early Childhood Care and Development Policy (2004).

Even though primary education is free in public schools, in recent years, the government of Ghana has put other measures in place to ensure that education is accessible to all children. Among these are the school feeding and the free uniform programs. Yet, the fact that some children are locked out of the educational system and are begging on the streets is a cause for concern. Whereas Article 32(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) calls for the recognition of the right of children to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with their education, many factors prevent these vulnerable children from enrolling, attending on a regular basis or staying in school children to enjoy the opportunities for learning.

Crystallization of the Problem

            Even though there is a demonstrated relationship between education and development, the burden of illiteracy continues to plague many African countries, including Ghana. In its work carried out in Africa for instance, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2010) observed that after about half a century of public investments in education, African countries are still characterized by large populations that are mostly illiterate or poorly educated. Despite the fact that primary school enrolment in Africa has increased dramatically since the beginning of the millennium from an average of 56% to 73%, about 32 million primary-school age children in Sub-Saharan Africa do not go to school and millions of children who enter primary school dropout each year (UNESCO). Additionally, despite the beautifully crafted international, regional and national laws, policies and programs, education for many children across the globe still remains an unaccomplished dream. Research has shown that seventy million children worldwide are still out of school because of exclusion by gender, special needs, child labour, poverty, disability (Ghana National Education Coalition, 2008). Particularly, in sub-Saharan Africa, being born a girl, geographic isolation, extreme poverty, social exclusion, disability and conflict still carry significant education disadvantages in many countries (Education for all Global Monitoring Report, 2010). In Ghana for instance, about 800,000 children have no access to basic education (Ghana National Education Coalition) and many children are taught in English language, which is different from their mother tongue contributing to extreme educational disparity (Education for all Global Monitoring Report).

Compounding the problem is the fact that there are countless numbers of children on the streets of Ghana who for one reason or the other are not in school or who combine school with street activities. Children who ought to be in school are roaming the streets of the major cities of Ghana daily hawking various items that barely fetch their families some money (Ministry of Women and Children & UNICEF, 2009). The Ghana Child Labor and Living Standard Surveys conducted in 2003 and 2008 indicate that nearly13 percent of Ghana’s youthful population including children, as young as five years of age are economically active (Ghana Statistical Service, 2003, 2008). In their study on street children in Ghana, Hatloy and Huser (2005) noted that street children in Accra had either attained little education or had never been to school. These are children losing opportunities for a good home environment, consistent formal education, social and normal guidance, as well as adequate and regular meals (Apt, Blavo, & Opoku, 1992).

Since begging (“informal work in a public space, consisting of a receiver asking for a non-reciprocated gift”, Adriaenssens & Hendrickx, 2011, p. 24) is a street phenomenon that is a common feature in developing countries, child beggars in Ghana constitute one group of children who for one reason or the other are likely not to be enrolled in school or attending school irregularly. As a result, it is essential to explore the educational experiences of child beggars in Ghana from their own voices and the perspectives of key informants. Understanding their experiences is important because child beggars are most often poor and vulnerable. It is common to find children begging during school hours, especially in urban centers like Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale. These children are often seen at bus stands, market places, outside malls and theatres, public gardens, mosques and churches, traffic points/joints and at other specific locations in residential areas. Additionally, the activity of begging affects children’s development across domains, especially, it deprives children the right to quality education. Consequently, this negatively affects the human resource development of the country.

Research Questions

In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the following research questions guided the study:

1. What is the nature of child begging in the Tamale Metropolitan area?
2. Why do children in the Tamale Metropolitan engage in begging?
3. What are the needs of child beggars enrolled in school in the Tamale Metropolitan area?
4. What are the effects of begging on the education of child beggars in the Tamale Metropolitan area?
5. What policies and programs are necessary to ensure child beggars’ access to education?

Methodology

Research Design

A qualitative research methodology, specifically, the phenomenological approach was adopted for this study. This approach is useful because it provides complex descriptions of how people experience a given phenomenon (Mack, Woodsong, Macqueen, Guest & Namey, 2005). In this study, respondents were given the opportunity to share their experiences regarding begging and child beggar’s right to education. Without situating them within the subjective experiences of the individual and the group (Hasdeu, 2009), we cannot understand issues related to begging and education. Also, the adoption of the qualitative research paradigm made it possible to obtain culturally specific information (intangible features) about the values, opinions, behaviors, and social contexts of the respondents of the study.

Participants   

For this study, a total of twenty-seven respondents (twenty-two child beggars and five adult key informants) were recruited through accidental, respondent-driven, and purposive sampling methods. The children (12 males and 10 females) were between ages 13 to 15 years. Five child beggars were enrolled in schools that combined English, Arabic and Islamic studies and three had dropped out of school. The adult key informants included one parent of a child beggar who also engaged in the activity of begging and the remaining four were persons who worked in state and private institutions within the community. Since child beggars as a group are a geographically mobile population, the accidental method was appropriate; respondents who were available and willing to take part in the study were selected for the study. Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) is a snow-ball sampling technique that is normally used to identify hidden populations such as drug users, street children or musicians (Heckathorn, Semaan, Broadhead & Hughes, 2002). Child beggars are most often a hidden population thus, the RDS was deemed useful. With regard to the key informants, the purposive sampling method was utilized to select people who were knowledgeable about the phenomenon being studied.

Procedure

In-depth face-to-face individual interviews were conducted for the key informants and ten child beggars. In addition, observations and two focus group discussions were conducted with twelve child beggars. Each focus group comprised of six respondents (four males and two females). The use of these multiple data collection methods enhanced the trustworthiness of the data gathered.

Analysis of Data

Participants’ responses were recorded verbatim and read thoroughly and repeatedly. The data was sorted into categories based on the research questions and the most illustrative excerpts were extracted.

Discussion of the Findings

The first research question related to the nature of child begging from the perspectives of the respondents. The nature covered questions related mainly to (a) perception of begging, (b) age at which children started begging, (c) forms of begging, (d) days and hours of begging, and (e) popular locations of the begging activity. The respondents provided similar explanations regarding their definition of begging. During the focus group discussions, one child beggar said:

“… begging is going around asking people for food or money to buy food.”

It was found that the majority of the child beggars started begging before the age of 10 years. The activity of begging was perceived as an accepted norm in most homes in the study area because children accompanied adult  beggars, who were normally their parents or guardians, to begging locations as early as age two or three years. In the process of accompanying the adult beggars, children directly or indirectly learn the activity of begging. Probing further, the children described begging as degrading, demeaning, humiliating and shameful. The key informants indicated that society preferred to give to child beggars than to adult beggars because people had compassion on children due to their vulnerability. Also, in this study, three forms or strategies of begging were identified. These were passive, active and aggressive begging. Passive and active child begging were common among Ghanaian child beggars. However, child beggars who were natives of Mali and Niger, but currently reside in Ghana, were found to be engaged in aggressive form of begging.

Child beggars who participated in this study were located mostly at “Barimaansi Line”, (Beggars Line). Other areas included the Tamale central Mosque, traffic lights and taxi ranks. This mirrors Adriaenssens and Hendrickx’s (2011) definition of begging, which emphasizes that begging occurs in a public space.  Also, the children in this study mentioned that the frequent malfunctioning of traffic lights in their study area negatively affected the begging activity.  One child beggar said:

“…don’t make enough money these days because the lights are not working…. drivers don’t easily stop except when there is a policeman directing traffic.”

In order to find out the extent to which begging affected children’s education, the working days, hours and income of child beggars were explored. It was found that mostly, the children engaged in the begging activity for six days per week (Monday to Saturday). According to the respondents, Fridays was the busiest or feast day because they received a lot of money on that day.  Also, it was found that an average of ten hours a day was normal for child beggars not enrolled in school and five hours for child beggars who attended school. When asked about the amount of money they earned daily, the children could not mention the exact amount earned. However, they indicated that they usually handed over the money they earned to their parents or guardians. This finding suggests that generally, children who engage in begging do not have control over their earnings. According to Delap (2009), child beggars work for long hours but lack control over their earnings.

It is important to note that although the proceeds from begging were handed over to the parents or guardians of the child beggars, the respondents mentioned that the money was used to purchase their basic needs, particularly food. Child beggars who were enrolled in school mentioned school items as part of their basic needs. In addition to money, the children indicated that sometimes they received items, such as clothing which were sold by their parents or guardians for money. One child beggar stated:

“… see, what I am wearing was given to me by Father Martin …. this is the third one in two years…..”

The findings regarding child beggars’ earnings indicate that these children assume adult responsibilities at a younger age. Similarly, in their work on child trafficking in Yemen and Afghanistan, UNICEF (2007) described child beggars as premature adults seeking a means of survival. Even though scholars like Williams (1993) argue that with a youthful population, especially in the developing world, some children must assume adult roles in order to maintain social equilibrium, these roles should not deprive children of their rights, especially their right to education. Any activity that prevents children from receiving education negatively impacts on their development, as well as that of the country because lack of education in childhood is reflected in high illiteracy rates among adults. In addition, child beggars are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Since begging often interferes with children’s education, ensuring that all children go to school and that their education is of good quality are useful strategies for preventing child labor. For instance, Article 32(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) calls for the recognition of the right of children to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with their education, or to be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.

Exploring the reasons why children beg is essential because it helps in (a) understanding why children are on the streets rather than in school learning and (b) developing appropriate and effective intervention programs. It was found in this study that varied factors cause children to beg and key among these were poverty, cultural and religious beliefs and lack of political commitment. Extant research studies have established the relationship between poverty and begging, especially in developing countries. According to (Jordan, 1999), economically, begging is a resource allowing poor and powerless people to survive. Also, Rwezaura (1998) asserted that children represent the material survival of many families because families and guardians have increasingly relied on their children as their major source of old-age security and economic survival. During the focus group discussions and individual interviews, two child beggars and two adult key informants who were parents of child beggars stated respectively:

 “… I am very hungry and have not eaten since morning ….  my parents are not rich.”

“… I dropped out of school to beg to feed myself and my family… I am willing to go back.”

“… we send our children away to protect them from the crisis at home … it’s a way to lessen our poverty. If they do not want to starve, they have to go out to beg ….”

“… some children grow up without a future ahead of them and so end up begging for no fault of theirs …”

Research studies have established a relationship between household income and children’s school attendance because poor families pull their children out of school to provide labour in the face of an income shortfall (Govinda, 2007; Grimsrud, 2003). Social protection can mitigate the vulnerability that comes with poverty and can improve school enrolment and attendance among poor and other marginalized groups (Education for all Global Monitoring Report, 2010). For instance, conditional and unconditional cash transfers and food can build the resilience of poor and vulnerable households so that they can manage risk without sacrificing the long-term welfare of their children (Education for all Global Monitoring Report). Parents and guardians of child beggars in this study were not gainfully employed, therefore the children begged to support their families financially. This supports Anker and Melkas’ (1995) argument that children contribute up to 20 to 25 percent of family income, mostly in developing countries. One child beggar said:

 “… my mum is begging, my father is farming … cannot support us … I have to beg to add to what they make at the end of the day.”

Global access to education remains a challenge for children from disadvantaged backgrounds (Education for all Global Monitoring Report, 2005) because in some cases, these children are forced to beg (Delap, 2009). It was found that although schools were within the reach of child beggars and primary basic education was free, indirect costs were beyond the reach of most families of child beggars. This finding supports the Education for all Global Monitoring Report’s assertion that in many low-income countries, children are pushed out of school by indirect costs, unfriendly classroom environments or the need to supplement family income. Another indirect cost associated with schooling was the loss of children’s earnings, which was used to meet other indirect costs in education (International Labor Organization, 1951). Govinda (2007) argued that parents are aware of the value of education and are willing to enrol their children in school, but they are often helpless. It was found in this study that children entered school at an older and among the needs mentioned by child beggars during the focus group discussions were money for food, school uniforms, books, shoes, and money to pay education development levies. Household surveys in sub-Saharan Africa consistently point to parental inability to afford education as a major factor behind non-attendance because in countries that formal school fees have been abolished, the cost of uniforms, transport, books and supplies can create barriers to school entry and completion (Education for all Global Monitoring Report, 2010) .

Related to poverty, issues regarding family structure and size of child beggars were investigated. Although some of the key informants perceived child beggars as belonging to large-sized households, during the focus group discussions, it was found that majority of the child beggars belonged to small-sized households. Regarding family structure and its relationship with child begging the study found that the majority of the child beggars had parents who were married and living together. Thus, family size and structure were not reasons for children engaging in begging.

The children also indicated that their homes were peaceful; no family violence or abuse. This finding is contrary to Delap’s (2009) assertion that violence, abuse and neglect at home could cause children to run away and thereby make them vulnerable to exploitation, including being forced to beg. In addition, the child beggars were asked about the educational backgrounds of their parents or guardians and it was found that although two parents had completed primary school, these parents could neither read nor write the English language. One key informant (parent of a child beggar) said:

 “… how can I be educated, yet allow my child to go out to beg? … education will have provided a job and money for me to take care of my children.”

Like other societies in Africa, Ghana is governed by a culture whose beliefs, values, customs, and social practices have a powerful influence on individuals and communities. In Ghana, the family is the first and oldest provider of social welfare services. However, due to the breakdown of the extended family system in contemporary society, children are found on the street begging because their families cannot cater for their basic needs. As Ankut (1998) argues, widespread poverty, warfare, famine and HIV and AIDS have weakened the African kinship care system that would ordinarily be expected to assist in the provision of the socio-economic needs of children. Echoing their concerns, two key informants noted:

“…  African child in the past could not go hungry because everybody was there to offer him support or food…. no food in your  house, you could easily turn to your neighbour … not even need to go there, they will know and send you food … today, the situation has changed significantly….”

Additionally, it was found that within some ethnic groups in Ghana, sometimes when a mother gives birth to twins, she is required to send the children out to the streets to beg. A key informant noted:

“… done most often when the children continuously fall sick and have defied any mode of treatment … it is believed that they are possessed by bad spirits…when this is done, the children become healed ….”

Moreover, in this study it was found that religion played a significant role in children engaging in the activity of begging. This finding supports Delap’s (2009) study on child begging in Greece, India and Senegal, which found that both religion and culture played key roles in decisions to send children out to beg, as well as the public’s willingness to give to child beggars. Adding his voice, a key informant said:

“… it is a requirement in Islamic faith to give to the poor… it is explicit that we must give to those who are in need or hungry. Many people give to beggars to fulfill religious needs. Without them, where will you send your sadaqa to? You know… sadaqa is a donation given voluntarily to poor people for the sake of Allah.”

Lack of political commitment which reflected in the failure of state institutions to enforce or implement national laws, policies and programs came out as a one of the contributory factors to child begging. From the perspective of UNESCO (2010), these policies and laws may be elegant notions because for most African countries these remain conceptual slogans with no practical operational modalities. The poor implementation of the Free Compulsory Universal Education (FCUBE) program in Ghana was mentioned by the key informants. Although primary education is free in Ghanaian public schools, some children are not enrolled in school, especially in the rural areas due to factors, such as inadequate classrooms and text books, lack of trained teachers, parents’ preference to engage children in economic activities, among others. In its regional report on early childhood care and education in Africa, UNESCO notes that African education systems continue to face many serious challenges related to curricula, teachers, teaching and learning, financing, and system capacity. Commenting on the issue, one respondent said:

“… the free component of the FCUBE program is a little better than the compulsory aspect… how do you achieve this? Do you visit homes and just drag children to school? Policy makers must be mindful of issues like this when they are developing laws.”

Furthermore, participants responded to questions related to the effects of begging on child beggars’ education. Conversely, Williams’ (1993) study found that child beggars enrolled in school did not attend school regularly; in this study, the child beggars enrolled in school were found to be punctual and regular. It was also found that the school environment did not discourage child beggars who were enrolled in school from attending school. Regarding child beggars’ academic performance, it was found that child beggars enrolled in school performed poorly. This finding reflects Allais and Hagemann (2008) argument that performance at school often suffers for those children who combine education with work.  Also, Psacharopoulos (1994) asserted that hours of work by children on the street are negatively correlated to reading and mathematical skills. Time spent on effective learning is what matters for achievement (Education for all Global Monitoring Report, 2010). The majority of the child beggars enrolled in school could not read, write or speak Basic English language. Two key informants said:

“…  they do not have enough time to study … don’t have enough rest after school …. don’t also have time and money to attend extra classes which is the order of the day in most schools today.”

… their participation in classroom is poor because their minds are fixed on the outside world when they are in the classroom.”

Getting all children in Ghana enrolled and retained through at least primary education has led to the design and implementation of various policies and programs. Yet, some children of school-going age have never been to school, dropped out or do not attend school regularly. Ensuring that all children particularly child beggars have access to education hinges not just on developing and delivering programs and policies, but also ensuring that people are aware and utilize these policies and programs. Respondents in this study were asked questions about educational policies and programs. Although the majority of child beggars were not aware of any policy or program related to education, a few of them indicated that they have heard about these policies and programs during discussions on radio, but did not pay attention. On the other hand, the key informants were informed about some of the policies and programs. They further mentioned poor implementation, lack of infrastructure and inadequate qualified staff in state institutions, especially the Department of Social Welfare, as challenges. One key informant noted:

“…government structures are supposed to implement these policies … are ill equipped to do so. Just look at my office …, it is sad, how do you expect us to work and implement government policies well?”

Being a social problem, the respondents were asked about strategies that have been used by local and national authorities to ensure that child beggars quit the street, with its associated risks and enrol in school. Almost all of the key informants said they were dissatisfied with the efforts made by both state and private institutions to reduce the prevalence and depth of the problem. They indicated that though efforts were made in 2006 by the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly the efforts were not aimed at protecting the rights or ensuring a better livelihood for child beggars. Two key informants remarked:

“… the authorities did this without any consideration of alternatives for beggars in the area.”

“… their activities aimed at clearing the city of the nuisance of beggars but not helping the beggars.”

Although majority of the respondents indicated their satisfaction with efforts made by public and private institutions, they commended the Centre for People with Disabilities and few philanthropists for their contributions over the years towards resolving the problem of child begging in the Temale Metropolitan area. No matter how little these services are, resolving the issue of child begging in Ghana requires a concerted effort at various fronts and levels. In order to improve school enrolment and attendance among child beggars and other marginalized children, it essential to integrate micro level interventions into macro level strategies.

Conclusion and Implications of the Findings

Even though international, regional and national laws and standards emphasize that that all children have the right to education, ensuring the full realization of this right for vulnerable children, especially child beggars remains a challenge for the Ghanaian government and other duty-bearers. The findings of this study show that the phenomenon of child begging is common in the Tamale Metropolis of Northern Ghana. As ILO, UNICEF, and World Bank Group (2007) and Govinda (2007) noted more and more children are entering the business of begging. In this study it was found that child begging is not an activity engaged in by only Ghanaians but children from other African countries, such as Niger and Mali. Both females and males of different ages were found begging on the streets six days per week between five and ten hours a day. These findings have immense implications for global, regional and national development if education is indispensable to children’s welfare.

Furthermore, since children engage in the activity of begging due to various reasons, a proper understanding of the root causes of the phenomenon is essential. Policies and programs geared towards eradicating the prevalence and depth of child begging should be holistic and well coordinated. If education for all children is to succeed, micro and macro level initiatives are essential. It is necessary to involve a diverse range of actors (e.g., policy makers, families, social workers, community-based organizations, researchers, religious groups, individual philanthropists and civil society groups) and ensure that they play their respective roles effectively. This will provide several entry points for appropriate policy decisions on children’s right to education.

The major causes of child begging include poverty, cultural and religious beliefs and lack of political commitment. Among these, poverty emerged as the primary cause of children avoiding school and begging on the streets. Poverty is an issue that needs to be addressed because children bear the major burden of it, since it affects their physical, cognitive, social and emotional development (Govinda, 2007). Although primary education is free in Ghana, other fees restrict availability and access to children whose families can pay and those who cannot afford these fees are likely to be left out of the school system. In view of the fact that the majority of child beggars in this study lived in extreme poverty, some of these children never enrolled in school. For the few who were enrolled in school, their educational journey was marked by late entry, regular absenteeism, poor performance and dropout because their basic needs were not met.

Finally, the findings of this study prompt us to think about education in wider terms than just ratification of international and regional treaties and development of national policies. In order to provide opportunities for every child to develop his or her full capability, increased awareness and political commitment are necessary. More importantly, children, parents and guardians must have a say in the educational process. It is only through this that their voices will be heard and not just messages preached to them in the form of laws and policies.

References

Adriaenssens, S., & Hendrickx, J. (2011). Street-level informal economic activities: Estimating the yield of begging in Brussels. Urban Studies, 48(1), 23-40.

Adriaenssens, S., & Clé, A. (2006). Different levels of exclusion? The case of ‘traditional’ and migrant populations of beggars in Brussels. Paper presented at the European Conference on Equal Opportunities, Antwerp

Adriaenssens, S., & Clé, A. (2006). Beggars in Brussels or the globalization of extreme poverty. Paper presented at Dag van de sociologie, Tilburg, June 8.

African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. (1982). OAU Document. CAB/LEG/67/3 rev. 5, 21 I.L.M.58

African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. (1990). OAU Document. CAB/LEG/24.9/49.

Anker, R. & Melkas, H. (1995). Economics incentives for children and families intended to eliminate or reduce child labor. Geneva: International Labor Organization.

Ankut, Y. P. (2000). The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: Linking principles with practice. African Human Rights Law Journal, 22.

Allais, B. F. & Hagemann, F. (2008). Child labor and education: Evidence from SIMPOC surveys. International Labor Organization working paper. Geneva.

Apt, V. H., Blavo, E. Q. & Opoku, S. K. (1992). Street children in Accra: A survey report. Accra: University of Ghana.

Children’s Act, ACT 560 (1998). Accra: Assemblies Press.

Constitution of Ghana, (1992). Accra: Assemblies Press.

Convention on the Rights of the Child. (1989). UN Resolution 44/25 of 20 November.

Delap, E. (2009). Begging for change: Research findings and recommendations on forced child begging in Albania/Greece, India and Senegal.  Anti-Slavery International.

Early Childhood Care and Development Policy. (2004). Accra: Assemblies Press.

Education For All Global Monitoring Report (2005). Education for all: The quality imperative. UNESCO.

Education for All Global Monitoring Report. (2010). Reaching the marginalized. UNESCO:  Oxford University Press.

Ghana National Education Coalition. (2008). The impact of rural-urban divide on quality education in Ghana. A Research Report. Accra.

Ghana Statistical Service. (2003). Ghana child labour survey, 2003. Accra: Assemblies Press.

Ghana Statistical Service. (2008). Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 5). A report of the fifth round. Accra: Assemblies Press.

Govinda, R. (2007). Universal elementary education in India through child rights lens: Some reflections. In Amit Kaushik (Ed.) Shiksha: Challenge of Indian education. New Delhi: Buffalo Publishers.

Grimsrud, B. (2003). Millennium Development Goals and child labour. Understanding children’s work: An inter-agency research cooperation project: UNICEF and World Bank.

Hasdeu, I. (2009). The schooling of Roma children in Belgium: The parents’ voice. Brussels: King Baudouin Foundation.

Hatloy, A., & Huser, A. (2005). Identification of street children: Characteristics of streetchildren in Bamako and Accra. FAFO Research Program on Trafficking and Child Labour. FAFO  Report 474.

Heckathorn, D. D., Semaan, S., Broadhead, R. S. & Hughes, J. J. (2002). Extension of respondent-driven sampling: A new approach to study of injection drug users aged 18-25. AIDS and Behavior 6(1), 55-67.

International Labor Organization. (1951). Child labor in relation to compulsory education. Paris: UNESCO.

International Labor Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund and World Bank Group. (2007). Understanding children’s work: An inter-agency research cooperation project. Retrieved May 18, 2011, from www.ucw-project.org/

Jordan, (1999). Begging: The global context and international comparisons. Begging questions, street-level economic activity and social policy failure: Bristol Policy Press.

Juvenile Justice Act, ACT 653 (2003). Accra: Assemblies Press.

Mack, N., Woodsong, C., Macqueen, M.  K., Guest, G. & Namey, E. (2005).  Qualitative research methods: A data collector’s field guide. North Carolina: Family Health International.

Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and United Nations International Children Emergency Fund. (2009). Children in Ghana. Accra: UNICEF.

Psacharopoulos, G. (1994). Returns to investment in education: A global update. World Development, 22(9).

Rwezaura, B. (1998). Competing ‘images’ of childhood in the social and legal systems of contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family 12, 253-278.

United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative. (2002). A new global partnership meets an old global challenge. UN Girls Education Initiative: Paris.

United Nations Children’s Fund. (2005). The state of the world’s children: Invisible and excluded children. NewYork: UNICEF.

United Nations Children’s Fund. (2007). Preventing child trafficking in the gulf countries, Yemen and Afghanistan: Policy options. New York.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2010). Early childhood care and education regional report: Africa.  Dakar: Regional Bureau for Education in Africa.

Williams, C. (1993). Who are street children? A hierarchy of street use and appropriate responses. Child Abuse and Neglect, 17, 831-841.

Many first time community college presidents are taking the helm as leaders of these complex and diverse institutions. Facing challenges including decreased state funding, a rapidly changing student demographic, underprepared students, and accountability demands by both internal and external constituents, even the most prepared president can find the job daunting.  Through the use of qualitative inquiry, this study explores the experiences of four novice community college presidents from four regions in the state of Texas, who have been in their roles less than 5 years. The topics discussed include the transition and integration of leadership philosophies, the successes and challenges of the job, how presidents spend their time on the job, as well as what they wished they had known before applying for the position. In addition, they offer their advice to those that are considering pursing a community college presidency.

The large number of retirements of senior leadership, faculty and staff in community colleges has been on the radar of researchers for the past decade.  These retirements have led to many first-time presidents taking the helm as leaders of these evolving and diverse comprehensive institutions.  Faced with both external and internal demands from constituents, the role of the community college president seems daunting at the least.  This study looks at the experiences of being a community college president of a rural-serving institution, through the lenses of four presidents within their first 5-years of service.

Community colleges and their leaders face many challenges:  a continual shortage of resources; changing student and staff demographics; shifts to student-centered learning and outcomes assessment; technology infrastructure development and the costs and training involved; accountability demands by both internal and external constituents; competition and blurring of service areas due to distance learning and the Internet; and simply information overload (Sullivan, 2001). This list of challenges alone would cause even the most prepared leaders to stop and reevaluate their skills and abilities to determine if they are aufficient to be successful and effective as community college presidents in the 21^st century.

In 2001, research conducted by the Community College Leadership Development Institute (CCLDI) identified many of the issues stated by Sullivan, and addressed the skills necessary of future community college leaders to address these challenges.  These skills included effective communication; the ability to cultivate leadership; an inherent understanding of institutional cultures; ethics; and an understanding of the changing missions of community colleges (Community College Leadership Development Institute, 2001).  The CCLDI found that, “the challenges of leading a community college have become increasingly complex and often contentious, while tenure in leadership positions has become shorter” (as cited in Wallin, 2002, p. 29).  Evelyn (2004) further emphasized this when citing Mark Milliron, former chief executive officer of the League of Innovation who stated that, “It’s a different time in the community-college world…and that means we need to think about the new skill sets that presidents will need” (p. 3).  Sullivan (2001) described the current generation of community college leaders as able to “draw disparate groups together to leverage scarce resources and make access to higher education truly universal” (p. 560), and as “having learned techniques for manipulating the power structure by building coalitions” (p. 562).  She projected that the next generation of community college presidents will be skilled collaborators that have purposefully trained to become future top leaders.  This is supported by Wallin (2010) who stated, “The old ways of managing and organizing and leading are no longer effective.  The current environment calls for a different set of leadership skills from those that might have sufficed in less turbulent times” (p. 5).

The literature on community college presidencies depicts a role that is multifaceted and complicated.  Kubala (1999) identified a few of these roles as “visionaries, fund raisers, managers, mentors, arbitrators, economic developers, and above all, public servants” (p. 183).  A study conducted by McFarlin, Crittenden, and Ebbers (1999), identified common factors among outstanding community college presidents.  These factors were that they had personal research and publication agendas, had prepared to be change agents, held the statuses of community college insiders (had a community college past before becoming presidents), had been mentored in their careers and mentored other future leaders, participated in peer networks and other professional development activities, and had good understandings of and skill levels utilizing technology.

In Weisman and Vaughan’s 2006 Career and Lifestyle Survey of 545 community college presidents, they found that these leaders worked on average 57 hours per week on activities categorized into three areas:  internal, external and professional development/other (2007).   More than half of their time (53%) was spent on internal activities such as administrative tasks, and formal and informal meetings and interactions. A third of their time (34%) was spent in community and constituent relations, with only one-fifth of their time (19%) spent on professional development and other activities (Weisman & Vaughan, 2007).  Phelan (2005) found that public two-year presidents spent a majority of their time in planning and community relations, along with personnel management.  They also spent a considerable amount of time in budgeting and fundraising.

Wallin (2002) identified the essential skills needed by community college presidents as fiscal management and good relationships with both local and state-level political influencers.   In their study conducted of newly-appointed community college presidents (appointed to their positions between 1997 and 1999), Kubala and Bailey (2001) found that 27% of the presidents felt the biggest challenges (and also disappointments) they faced in their new positions were “dealing with difficult people, a negative climate, hostility toward the administration, and lack of cooperation” (p. 798).  The second biggest challenges identified were, at 22%, “budget shortfalls, inadequate budget flexibility and lack of technology” (p. 798).

Recognizing the leadership crisis that was on the horizon for community colleges, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) conducted a leadership summit in 2001, to identify the characteristics needed of future community college leaders.  The Leadership Task Force, charged with identifying these characteristics, utilized the foundational work of Shults (2001).  Shults (2001) identified three core characteristics that he perceived to be instrumental to future leaders, “the ability ‘to bring a college together in the governing process, the ability to mediate, a good command of technology, and the ability to build coalitions’” (as cited by the American Association of Community Colleges, 2001, p. 7).  Five additional categories of skills were added by the task force: 1)  understanding and implementing the community college mission; 2) effective advocacy; 3) administrative skills; 4) community and economic development; and 5) personal, interpersonal, and transformational skills (American Association of Community Colleges, 2001).

During times of stress, tough decisions have to be made, and oftentimes this comes without shared governance.  The new community college president must have the skills and wherewithal to lead and take charge when and as necessary.  Kerr (1984) cited Harold Stoke, who emphasized the importance of who fills the presidential role when stating, “One thing is clear:  colleges must have presidents and it makes a great deal of difference who they are” (p. iii).  Though stated in 1984, this statement is even truer today.  This is further evidenced by the Competencies for Community College Leaders report by the AACC in 2005, which stated, “the leadership skills now required have widened because of greater student diversity, advances in technology, accountability demands and globalization” (American Association of Community Colleges, 2005, p. 2).

Two basic assumptions serve to frame this study.  The first was that a majority of the literature on the environment of the community college presidency, as well as the necessary skills needed to be a successful president, are based on and from the perspective of those that have years of experience in the position. This study was designed to take a different approach to the identification of these skills.  The second assumption of the researchers was that the skills required of today’s new community college presidents at rural-serving institutions can best be defined by those that are relatively new to the position and have experienced a recent learning curve when facing the challenges of the job.  The purpose of this study was to provide first-hand accounts of what is required once on the job as a new community college president. The participants were new community college presidents in the state of Texas who were purposefully selected based on their having less than five total years of community college presidential experience at the time of the study.  Three of the participants were in their first presidency, and one was in his second. The perspectives provided are first-hand accounts of what their experiences have been, including discussions of the integration of their leadership styles into their institutions, how they spend their time on the job, what successes and challenges they have faced, as well as lessons learned and what useful advice they would give to those that are considering their first community college presidencies.  In addition, the study provides a comparison of the skills identified in the literature as necessary for the new community college leader, and the experiences portrayed by the participant presidents.

Methodology

A qualitative inquiry methodology was used to collect the data concerning the experiences of new community college presidents.  The study utilized case-study research, which was instrumental in capturing the voices of the four presidents – their successes, challenges and their advice for future leaders.  The researchers focused on a particularistic case study design, which “focuses on a particular situation, event, paradigm, or phenomenon” (Merriam, 1997, p. 29).

Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants from community colleges in the state of Texas, from four different regions.  Inclusion criteria consisted of new presidents who had been in their positions 5 years or less.  Exclusion criteria included presidents at 4-year institutions and community college presidents who have served in their roles longer than 5 years. Researchers used a structured interview protocol with all presidents.

As a qualitative study, efforts were made to prove the credibility of the data through triangulation methods.  Member-fact checking, an action described by Lincoln and Guba (1985) as “the most crucial technique for establishing credibility” (p. 314), was used with the participants to ensure accurate reporting of the presidents’ experiences.

The following research questions guided the study:

1. How do new community college presidents integrate their leadership styles into their institutions?
2. What are the job duties of a community college president?
3. What are the successes and challenges experienced by new community college presidents?
4. What lessons were learned on the job by the new community college presidents?
5. What is useful advice for those pursuing their first community college presidencies?

Findings

The study found that though there were differences in experiences among the presidents, there were also similarities that emerged in the sharing of their experiences.  The synthesis of the information collected has identified emerging themes that were common, regardless of the size and location of the colleges they served.  Their experiences are a solid foundation for those considering or seeking a community college presidency.

Utilizing the Carnegie Foundation Classification system, the presidents of this study were all leaders of public, rural-serving comprehensive community colleges.  Two of the institutions were identified as small in size, having student enrollments between 2,400 and 3,000; one was medium with enrollments around 5,000; and the last was large, with enrollments between 9,700 and 11,000.

Integration of Leadership Styles

Those that lead community colleges want to better the lives of students, and the presidents of this study are no different.  One of the presidents had been an internal candidate for the job and had an existing understanding of the institutional culture in which he now serves.  Those that were external hires had to utilize the time they had in their interview processes, as well as relied on existing administrators and other employees within their institutions, to glean an understanding of the history, policies and practices of daily operations.  This was important to their integration into their institutions’ cultures.  A common thread among the presidents was their dedication and focus on leading, serving, empowering, and supporting, within established boundaries.  It is understood that the college president is looked to as the leader of the college and that when there is a transition in leadership, employees, the board of trustees and the community will look to the new president for direction and vision.

One president, who had been an internal candidate for the position, felt that the receptiveness of his leadership style had been very good, but this did not surprise him nor had he been concerned about this.  He had been with his institution for over 30 years.  There were no surprises as to what the administrators, faculty and staff could expect from him and his leadership.

All of the presidents understood and took ownership of their roles as leaders and decision makers.  It was important to them to establish their positions as institutional leaders as quickly as possible.  They were all vocal in stating that the primary purposes of their colleges were to serve the needs of students.   In order to best serve students, they felt it important to empower and support faculty and staff in their decision making to continue to move their institutions forward during the presidential transition.

Three of the presidents were external candidates.  All three addressed the importance of the executive administration and senior-level faculty and staff in their indoctrination into their institutions.  These important individuals knew the history of employees, policies and practices of the colleges.  When new presidents begin their jobs, the expectations are that they are in charge and the “buck stops” with them.  Not having a prior knowledgebase of the history of the daily operations of the college can be detrimental when making key decisions.  All of the presidents identified the importance of establishing solid relationships with the existing executive administration as being vital to their successes in their roles.  Also mentioned as important to their acclimation to their institutions was a relationship with the prior president of the institution, if possible.

Consistent among all of the presidents was the importance of listening to their staff, giving employees space to do their own work, and fostering a community in which all members were proud of their institutions.  The presidents’ styles of leadership encouraged empowerment and were supportive of others.  All understood that they were responsible for the efficient operations of their colleges, but recognized that they depended on their teams of employees to get their jobs done.  Addressing leadership from the perspective of the importance of defining and carrying out the institution’s vision, one president explained his philosophy:

I believe the president’s role is to cast a vision for the organization, put the right team in place to achieve that vision, and then inspire the college, the community, and the many other “interests” like state officials, donors, and grantors, to achieve the vision.

One of the presidents perceived that being consistent enabled him to establish an environment of stability at his institution.  He emphasized, “being consistent requires a lot of work and revolves around being honest and fair. A lot of preparing to be a president is preparing to deal with people.”  Another important leadership skill mentioned was the ability to communicate effectively, insuring that the audience understood the points made and that they were clear.  The presidents stressed the importance of continuously investing in leadership development, especially if one had not taken deliberate steps to pursue a college presidency and ended up there unexpectedly.

Receptiveness of Institution

To counter the change in leadership and to eliminate uncertainty, the presidents noted the importance of quickly integrating themselves into their institutions by establishing and communicating their visions for their colleges, being transparent, and showing their dedication to ensuring that employees were able to voice their concerns.  As one stated:

I discovered quickly that it is the new president’s job to integrate – no one else is going to step forward and make that happen once the formal “meet the president” receptions are over.  So I used the strategic planning process to work with as many different people as possible; seeking their best ideas and asking endless questions about why things are the way they are.

I also attend various college and community events…although I don’t attend all of them – I try to maintain a work pace that will allow me not to burn out on this job…and hold quarterly “president’s forum” meetings for faculty/staff.  Above all, I try to be kind but frank about all matters.  With the exception of specific personnel matters, I utilize a very transparent management approach.  All budget decisions are public, reviewed by me with all interested staff and open to question.  Other significant decisions have been explained in person by myself, including several difficult and controversial ones.  I believe it is best if staff hear the reasons directly from me.  Then, at least, those who hear the rumors have the facts to refute some of the crazy ideas that float around.

It is important to all constituents involved that the newly-appointed college president is successful.  One president repeated what he was told by another community college president, “No one wants you to be more successful than the board that hired you.”

The internally-selected president alluded to the fact that those that promote to the presidential ranks internally may not have as long a “honeymoon” period as external candidates may.  They are expected to understand how the college operates, even though they may have extensive experience within only one division of the college.  Faculty and staff expectations can be unrealistic due to their lack of understanding of the complex roles of the college president.  In addition, relationships with the president will change, and individuals may see this as a negative characteristic of the new leader, versus recognizing that the role requires the individual to show equal considerations for all components of the college and a necessary demonstration of neutrality.

The Duties of the Job

The introductory years for a new college president entail learning the ropes and the expectations of the job.  One president stated that a majority of his time during his first year was “spent on internal administrative matters…” and his second year was mainly devoted to “developing community relations, legislative relationships, and learning how to raise money…”  There is seldom someone available to train one for the position, and inevitably, new presidents come to the position with a lack of knowledge of all divisions of the college, having limited exposure in prior positions.  The presidents discussed key areas in which they spent a majority of their time.  These areas included learning and managing the job; nurturing community relations; dealing with personnel issues; interacting with the board of trustees; and dealing with fiscal matters and unexpected challenges.    

Learning and Managing the Job

The presidents indicated that initially, they spent most of their time learning the many roles of their new jobs.  This entailed for all, learning about the college budget and gleaning a more in depth understanding of college finances and funding structures.  These are skills that could be lacking in new first-time presidents, not having to focus on the entire organization in prior administrative roles.

The presidents acknowledged that they understood that a portion of their time daily would be spent dealing with unexpected disruptions, such as personnel and student issues, but had not realized the amount of time these situations would consume.  The inability to adhere to a daily schedule forced them to spend additional time at the office after hours in order to complete tasks that needed to be addressed.  Though these disruptions added to the stress of the job and time away from their families, all of the presidents recognized that having an open door policy and handling issues in a timely manner were important parts of their roles.

The daily administrative tasks of college presidents today have been impacted by  technology.  Of the four presidents interviewed, one would be considered to have extensive technology understanding and experience.  They all mentioned receiving numerous emails daily from various constituents, who all expected responses in a timely manner.  This constant and immediate access to college presidents has created a new form of disruption to their daily schedules.  In addition to handling emails, they attend numerous meetings each week, both on and off campus, in addition to meeting with individuals who have needs that only the president can resolve.

Nurturing Community Relations

The importance of the relationships between community colleges and their local constituents is difficult to quantify.  One president acknowledged this when identifying one of the challenges he faced, “…there was a huge dual-learning curve – learning the college and community culture and to know their leaders, while also learning all kinds of things I had never known.”

One president discussed the amount of time he spent in the community, serving on boards, participating in meetings, and simply attending various events.  He discussed how important it was to the college that he be seen as a part of the community and the only way to demonstrate this was to be an active member.  This was echoed by the other presidents, recognizing that their participation in the community was very important for their colleges, but also a challenge, while trying to strike a balance between work and family.

Another interesting point that was addressed was the disconnection between the citizens within a community and the employees of the college.  One president shared the dialog he had with his faculty and professional staff explaining that the “average member in their community doesn’t hold a bachelor’s degree…only around 16% have a bachelor’s degree…and that the college is full of master’s degreed people.”   Employees of the college need to recognize that they do not represent the norm of the community and should not try to present themselves as they do.  As he stated:

The key is to always be reminding them, it’s not those people’s job to learn how to communicate with us, it’s our job to learn how to help them.  It raises some eyebrows, and I’m not saying everybody agrees with me, but if they hear it over and over, they at least have to give it credence.

Personnel Issues

Personnel issues were identified as time consuming.  All of the presidents noted that during the early years of their transition to the role, employees sought them out to discuss pay issues, as well as lingering issues from prior leadership.  One president noted that a large number of faculty at his institution, many who had been at the college since its inception, had negative attitudes toward administration.  His comments highlight the climate and his approach in transitioning faculty attitudes, “The cynicism toward administrative leadership was way too high when I arrived.  So my first big challenge was to win the respect and confidence of this group of key faculty leaders.”  These experiences reinforced the beliefs of the presidents that they must work hard to understand the cultures of their institutions and the morale of their employees as quickly as possible.  The importance of understanding human resource policies and pay schedules was also stressed, as these were perceived as necessary when establishing and revising institutional policies to fit the current needs of their institutions.

Board of Trustees Relationships

Another area in which the presidents spent a large amount of time was keeping their boards of trustees informed of current issues that affected their colleges.  Having a solid relationship with their boards was important to all of them.  As their boards received calls and complaints from community members, they sought out the presidents to address the situations.

The governing boards of community colleges in the state of Texas are legally responsible for ensuring the colleges meet their missions.  They also hire and fire college presidents.  The mention of governing boards was a pervasive theme throughout the study.  The presidents stressed how vital the members of their boards were to their overall successes, and all indicated that they spent a significant amount of time interacting with them, answering questions and communicating issues.  A majority of the presidents stated that they used their boards as their “ears to the community.”

Fiscal Matters and Unexpected Challenges

Within the past decade, community colleges have faced funding cuts, escalating operation costs, as well as evolving and diverse student populations.  Many new presidents have division-level budgeting experience, but have not been exposed to an entire college’s operational budget.  Having acquired this responsibility forces the new college president to become an expert in college funding and finances quickly.  Though all of the presidents acknowledged the importance of their chief financial officers, they also all recognized that they must understand the college budget better than anyone else at their institutions.  This was reinforced by the acknowledgement by the presidents of the expectations of their boards that they be good stewards of public dollars.

One president had faced a reaffirmation visit from the regional accreditation agency within months of her taking the presidential position.  Though she would not recommend it, going through the visit helped her to more quickly learn about all facets of the college.  Another president discussed that the college he was at had gone through a reaffirmation visit before his arrival.  Though the visit was successful, there were some areas that needed to be addressed and he was spending time working through these, which also enabled him to learn about the various components of the institution quicker.

In addition to the key areas discussed above, the presidents also mentioned other areas in which they spent time.  These included fundraising, talking with students on campus, attending legislative sessions, evaluating policies, procedures and practices for continuous improvement, strategic planning, as well as studying and researching those skill areas which they felt deficient.

The Successes and Challenges of the Job

Successes

The presidents had experienced tremendous successes in their first presidencies from not raising tuition costs during difficult economic times, obtaining grants to establish programs such as Achieving the Dream, improving collaborative relationships with the K-12 schools they recruited from and served, to fostering a feeling of family and pride on campus.  As one stated:

I would say probably…fiscal management is some of my success.  I think we’ve done a good job of holding down tuition and fees, while trying to be progressive, but at the same time not at the expense of the students.  I think that we’ve been very frugal in terms of our tax rate and our taxing district…and I hope the community feels that way…that we’re accountable for the money they give us. We’ve made some changes on campus that I think they appreciate, but some of the things that we’ve done in terms of financial have been good.

Most of the presidents addressed how they were able to help promote a more inclusive climate at their institutions, which led to better overall morale.  One reflected on the change in institutional climate at his college:

The largest success is bringing a feeling of dependability, consistency, fairness, openness to the leadership position for this college. Be it right or wrong, that didn’t exist.  I’ve learned in my years in this business, that I don’t use the word right or wrong or good or bad in describing other leaders…I use the word different – different styles.  And this institution needed some stability…some enhancement of mutual respect among employees and enhancement of trust…

Another president discussed a change in morale of senior employees:

I feel quite good about the fact that we have been able to “reinvigorate” several long-time employees who had become pretty cynical about what we could achieve as a college.  Now, these staffers, who are in various roles, are viewed by their colleagues as campus leaders. They are bringing new energy to their roles while giving us the gift of their many years’ experience.

Another identified how he was able to restructure the budget planning process at his college, which enabled them to mold into “an entrepreneurial organization, with great responsibility and ownership being demonstrated by those in faculty and mid-management roles.”  The same president was able to improve the college’s relationships with area K-12 schools by revamping dual credit programs and communicating the philosophies behind institutional policies and course offerings.  This has resulted in these schools becoming vocal supporters of the college.  In addition, community leaders are expressing more visible support for the institution and communities within the college’s service area inquired about contributing  into the tax base.

Challenges

The challenges faced by the new presidents are not any different from what most community college presidents would mention today, though they are magnified due to a lack of on-the-job experience in the role.  The challenges mentioned included balancing the budget, growth in student enrollments, funding shortfalls, salaries of faculty, outdated and unwritten institutional polices, managing construction projects, lack of support staff, the need to assess student learning outcomes, as well as learning the legislative process and how it affects community colleges.

Of all the challenges discussed, the budget and fiscal matters appeared to be the most pressing.  Community colleges have been faced with having to do more with less, even though their student enrollments continue to grow at unprecedented rates.  As state funding decreases and colleges fight for such things as trying to maintain their healthcare coverage for their employees, they are challenged to provide needed services and programs.  In addition to these issues, funding shortfalls result in the inability to increase faculty salaries or hire much needed support staff to serve the growing populations of students.  The presidents recognized that at some point in time, faculty and staff would no longer be willing or able to fulfill all of the needs of their colleges without more support.  Concerns of losing faculty due to low salaries is a major concern at the same time that colleges are seeing their senior faculty, staff, and administrators retire.

The presidents all addressed how as student enrollments continued to grow, it affected multiple areas including the number of faculty needed, facility space, student parking, the number of computers needed, among other things.  Most of the colleges served by the study’s presidents were in a growth period.  The growth in number of students directly impacts the resources available in a negative way.  As one president commented:

Just because you have more people in a class doesn’t mean that it’s only the teacher that’s impacted.  It means how many computers you have, which means we have to provide more internet space, we have to contract for more bandwidth, which means we have to buy more licenses for Datatel…it ripples out…I think that’s been my big challenge, trying to move from where we are to where are we are going to be two to three years out, and start the things in place to plan for that growth.

Another president further supported the impact of growth on his institution by acknowledging the budget shortfalls, “being able to have a budget that sufficiently covers all of the issues related to growth is a major challenge that I face.”

In addition to dealing with reaffirmation visits, some of the presidents were faced with outdated or non-existent formal institutional policies that governed operations.  One president commented on how the policies in existence were written to deal with operations when student enrollments were around 2,500.  The institution was currently at 5,000 students and it became obvious quickly that operational policies were out-of-date and had to be revised.  In addition to outdated policies, there were also those that were unwritten, leaving decisions open to interpretation and historical precedence.  For a new president, who may be hired externally for the position, having no prior history of these policies means relying on existing faculty and staff for information, which is based on their versions of what has traditionally happened.

Learning the legislative process was also identified as a challenge.  All of the four colleges represented in this study are rural serving, and two of the four reside in rural communities.  Recognizing that regions located in rural America are losing their representation due to populations moving to suburban and urban areas, the presidents knew they must represent their colleges in the best possible light to the legislators and the decision makers at the state level.  Of some concern, expressed by the presidents of the rural colleges, was whether there was an understanding of the specific needs of the rural community colleges compared to the larger suburban and urban institutions within the state.  The concern that underlies this legislative discussion is the local taxes levied on communities to support their community colleges, and the rise in tuition and fees that are required to help support them during times of decreased state funding and escalating operations costs.  One president noted that his greatest challenge was:

…trying to figure out if there is some way that I can better represent [the college] legislatively, so that I can take the pressure off the funding source that’s the students and off our funding source that is the taxpayer, and shift more over to state funds.

As this president emphasized, taxpayers in large urban areas that support community colleges pay a much lower tax rate to support their local institutions than taxpayers in rural communities, simply based on the mass of population, which equates to colleges being able to set a lower rate.

Another challenge addressed was the learning curve faced when trying to manage major construction projects at the college.  One president was faced with this when he arrived on the job:

[I was surprised to know] that I was supposed to know how to run a major construction project; negotiate with architects, construction firms, land owners, etc.  I had to learn about the construction management alternatives available to community colleges (Design-build, Construction Manager At-Risk, etc) and then I had to decide which one was right for my college.  Choosing financing vehicles was new, too.  Advice is plentiful, but the correct decision is rarely clear.

In addition to the challenges outlined above, also mentioned were serving first generation students, adjusting to changing student demographics, addressing the cultural barriers to higher education, seeking external funding and alternative forms of funding, addressing the needed changes in institutional cultures to one that embraces assessment of student learning outcomes and accountability, as well as the integration of a new style of leadership into their colleges.

Lessons Learned

The presidents shared what they would have benefited from knowing before taking their positions.  The areas noted centered on the importance of evaluating how decisions are made and who is involved; how effective communication processes must be established that includes all stakeholders within institutions; budgeting processes; the legalities of human resources; and the the variety of the workload.

All of the presidents acknowledged the importance of communications within and outside of their colleges.  There was a sense of struggle for each of the presidents as they navigated their ways through transitioning to their new roles, determining whom to bring into their decision making processes and confidentiality circles, as well as what forms of communication were most effective for their institutions.  When asked about the use of email for communications, one stated, “[We use email communications] more than we should, probably.”  This president went on to acknowledge that he knew he needed to take an active role in communicating with his college, and he described how he planned to accomplish this:

I will hold them [public forums] twice in the fall, twice in the spring, where I make a short agenda, and I say here are some things that we’re working on, here’s what the board’s doing, here’s what the administration is doing and thinking. Then I am going to stop and I’m going to [ask them] what’s on their minds.

One of the president’s acknowledged that he wished he had known more about the budgeting process as he explained, “…we have what we call the eight elements of cost, and when you collect tuition and fees and local tax money, and sometimes some money can only be spent in one direction, and I’m still learning that one.”

This same president addressed the importance of human resources and the need to know the legalities of dealing with personnel.  He explained, “Now, I’ve learned a lot about the legalities of human resources…some of the rights of employees…I learned a lot about sexual harassment.”  Three of the presidents acknowledged the impact of their learning curves of managing the employees of one division to managing the employees of a college who may have different classifications.  As one mentioned:

…classifications [of employees] have different rights…you know an hourly person versus a contract person…12-month contract person compared to a 9-month contract…you don’t get the training in your higher ed program, but when you actually get in the real world, those are things you have to learn.

Also addressed were the many tasks and expectations of the presidents’ roles, with most acknowledging that they were surprised at the amount of time they spent dealing with people.  As one president stated, he knew that the job was a people job, but his experiences over the past couple of years fully confirmed this:

[As the college president], you’re 100% in a people job.  You are not in a policy job.  You’re not in a procedure job.  Those are important, but if you don’t realize that you’re going to be dealing with people…that is what you will be doing.  We’ve got 215 employees.  We’ve got every opinion, every personality, every need, every want…and you know, you’re dealing with people.  If you can’t do that…then maybe this job is not for you.

All of the presidents emphasized the difficulties in merely managing their days.  Having to restructure the entire day for unexpected issues appeared to be a common occurrence.  As one explained, he knew that there was a level of daily interruptions and tasks that existed, but it was not until he was actually in the role of president that he realized just how immense those interruptions and tasks could be on one’s overall schedule:

What I wish I would’ve known was, cause I’m going to be honest, I went into it pretty  eyes wide open, studying, watching it, and what have you… the variety of issues on a daily basis. Like this Monday, as I’m driving to work, well I don’t have much to do, this Monday’s got a normal fairly good schedule to it, and then that schedule gets blown apart within 30 minutes; next thing you know it’s 6:00 p.m. on Monday and you have done nothing but be reactive all day and [have accomplished] zero pro-active work. And that part, I knew it existed, but probably not at this intensity, it exists at a higher level than I anticipated…the number of things that you get hit with on a daily basis.

All of the presidents discussed the need to more efficiently manage their time, as well as the importance of establishing priorities, effectively and quickly.  This was supported through the comments of one of the presidents:

…and that’s what we really do every morning…we walk in and you’ve got phone calls, and emails, and people coming to the door, and your main job is to prioritize for the day or for the week.  What is really the most important thing we’ve got to do today.  And it’s hard, because you’re not going to get it all done, and not everybody’s going to agree with your priority list…not everybody sees the same value in the different things.

Useful Advice from the Front Lines

The presidents offered advice for those considering a community college presidency.   The key areas noted were to purposefully learn how to lead; know the job before applying and seeking the job for the right reasons; research the institution where the presidential position exists; learn the importance of confidentiality; understand the local media and develop skills in dealing with them; develop a good understanding of funding and the budgeting process; and develop the skills to work effectively with the board of trustees.

Learn to be a Leader

The presidents all prepared ahead of time for their roles, though not all had intentionally done so.  They were fortunate to have sufficient experiences through their careers that when the call for leadership came, they were ready to meet the challenge.  One president’s advice for preparing for the role was to “give 100% in every position that you hold.  Learn to be a leader.  Learn to lead people.  Learn leadership skills so that people want to work for you…and want to follow you.”  His perception of the traits needed for a leader in the 21st century were “collaboration, teamwork…a commitment to recognizing people…”  He went on to say that “a good way to become a college president is just make sure that every job you hold as you work toward that position…really give it a 100% and try to be as effective as you can.”

Know the Job Before Applying and Seek the Job for the Right Reasons

Three of the presidents emphasized that regardless of whether one has a goal to be a community college president or arrived at the position through unusual circumstances, research should be conducted on what it means to fill the role.  All four of the presidents had arrived at their positions as “community college insiders,” so they had an understanding of the roles and missions of community colleges.  What they lacked was an understanding of the entire operations of their colleges, holding experiences from within a specific division of a college, resulting in large gaps of knowledge of the other divisions.  As one stated, “The broader your background (student affairs, instruction, business affairs, etc.) the more comfortable you will be with the constant barrage of issues you must address from the president’s office.”  This same president addressed the psychological impact of assuming the president role:

The initial enthusiasm tempts you to take on too much.  The sense that there are problems on every front also seems to require you to tackle everything right off the bat.  It takes awhile to get perspective.   Somewhere along the way you wake up and realize, wow – these problems or others like them are always here and somehow, even with them, the college functions and gets its job done.

This was further supported by another of the presidents who stated, “…pay careful attention to the stability of your personal life.  The job of the presidency – at least during the early years – zaps your emotional energy.  A president whose family relationships are not well-established and solid may regret the decision to step into the role.”

Another of the presidents addressed an individual’s reasons for seeking the job:

My very first piece of advice would be to examine your goals for seeking such a job – why do you want to do this?  One of the things I preach here, that’s getting everybody’s attention, is we have no “positions” on this campus, we just have some jobs.  So if you’re seeking that “position” of president…that probably is not the best reason.  If you’re seeking to perform the job and the functions associated with leading the institution to better things, then more power to you.

He went on to say:

Re-examine your own personal agenda for seeking the presidency.  If it’s power… money…notoriety, those are the wrong reasons.  If it’s I think I can influence the direction of the institution…I can help students…I can empower faculty…I can make this place a better place in two, three, or four, or five years…and I get a lot of self-satisfaction from that, then that’s a good reason.

Other advice given was to develop resource development skills, specifically how to secure and manage grants.  Presidents must also get involved in raising money from both private and public sources.  As one president stated, “It is now, and will continue to be an absolute necessity for community college presidents to know how to secure resources for their colleges.”

Know the Institution Before Taking the Job

Two of the presidents stressed the importance of knowing the institution one is applying to for the presidential job.  As one stated, “Personally, I would not want to apply for a job at an institution that I did not feel absolutely confident was a good match for me.”  They both emphasized how important it was to know all information possible about a specific institution and to ensure that the college was a good match with one’s leadership philosophy and style.  Seeking the position to obtain power was not seen as a positive move by any of the presidents.  Some ways that were mentioned to research institutions included utilizing the Internet to research newspaper articles to learn about current members of the board.  They also mentioned making contacts throughout the state with individuals that have been or are intricately knowledgeable of the operations of the specific institution, downloading and scrutinizing public information on the college’s financials, as well as simply talking with individuals within the community in which the college is located.

Understand the Importance of Confidentiality

The presidents addressed the importance of confidentiality.  All of them had worked in prior positions within community colleges or state agencies, where they had established relationships with peers who were now their subordinates.  Confidentiality became more important as the issues they were faced with became more complex.  One of the internally-selected presidents commented, “when I moved from the vice president to president, my relationships with people all changed…instead of being peers, then I became the boss.”  Knowing when to share information and when to hold it close became a concern and the right gauge of how to determine this was learned through trial and error.  Generally, the lesson was learned when information was provided too soon and the results were not as expected.

Understand and Manage the Media

Kubala and Bailey (2001) noted that the community college may be the “only game in town,” being closely scrutinized by community members.  In communities where the college is the main entity, the analogy of a fish bowl comes to mind as all of the activities are scrutinized, especially under the direction of a new president.  Though not intentional, there are times when the media catches a new president off guard, asking unexpected questions and printing the responses without clarifying context.  One president mentioned how important it is to keep the board aware of comments made to the media to ensure that they were not surprised when the local newspaper came out.

One president spoke about the issue of building a working relationship with the press.  Having had prior successful relationships with the media in other roles, but in larger venues, and recognizing that the colleges in many communities are the main attraction, the lesson learned very quickly was that what a president says one day could become newsworthy the next:

What I wish I had known about was relationships with the press. I haven’t had any crash and burns with the press here. But I could see the potential…but there could be a real trap, if they ask you questions that you haven’t talked to your board on.

Another commented on the importance of establishing a good relationship with the local media and to be careful of remarks made, sometimes with it being necessary to provide a script for reporting purposes:

You have to gauge your remarks and you have to script it sometimes. I do quite a bit of scripting in the board meeting, because I’ll have my own sheet and I’ll have a statement, and I’ll actually, even after the board meeting, give that statement to the press.

Develop a Good Understanding of Funding and Budgeting Processes

Nevarez and Wood (2010) stated, “The chronic lack of funding experienced by community colleges poses significant challenges” and that “funding shortages result in lack of funding for student services, high number of adjunct faculty and minimal institutional resources among other factors” (p. 253).  The issue of sufficient funding for community colleges is not going to be resolved.  Presidents have to continue to nurture their relationships with their communities, seek grant and donor funds, as well as try to balance the need to raise tuition and fees without creating access barriers for the largest community college student populations, under-resourced students.  As the presidents confirmed in the study, they spend numerous hours on budgeting and finance operations.

One president highlighted budget as an area of his success within his presidency, but he also saw it as an area in which he wished he had been more versed, especially in areas that he referred to as “the budgeting process and allowable expenditures.”  Another president mentioned that he felt it was his job to truly understand the budget, and explained that fiscal management was part of his learning curve during the first few months in the presidency. Even though he talked very highly about the college’s Chief Financial Officer, he felt that:

No one should understand the budget more than me. It’s a big learning curve, but it’s not the CFO’s job to know it better than anybody, he needs to understand it as good as me, and try to understand it better than me, but I need to understand the budget more than anybody on campus.

Another president saw budgeting and fiscal management as an area of success, and especially highlighted this within the context of difficult economic times. As part of his budgeting success, he was able to not raise tuition, and no staff or faculty lost their jobs.

The budget as an area related to growth was reflected on by one president. While she explained that growth may appear to be related to space, such as classroom space and ample parking, issues of budget came into play to facilitate every aspect of that growth. As she explained, those effects can ripple outward in areas such as the need to hire additional personnel.

Work Effectively with the Board of Trustees

The presidents discussed their relationships with their boards and emphasized how important a good working relationship was to the ability to operate their institutions.  One president explained that he wished he had known just how important board relations were, prior to taking the position, explaining that “Boards don’t like to be surprised. You have got to develop a good working relationship, especially with your chair…” He also acknowledged the difficulties of communicating with and understanding the various personalities of the different board members, and that “the longer that I am in this…the more I realize the number one role of the president is board relations…terribly, terribly important.”  Another of the presidents reflected on working with his board:

They [the board] really want you to be successful, so they’re going to go out of their way to help you be successful, they’re going to grease the skids for you a little bit, they’re going to do their part, because you need to make them look good, that they made the right decision [in hiring me]. This Board has been very helpful to me.

Research Implications

The purpose of this study was to share first-hand accounts of what is required once on the job as a new community college president at a rural-serving institution. Through this study, we can see the complexities of the multi-faceted role of a community college president.  It is easy to speculate what the job will entail, but until one actually serves in the role, the magnitude of the position and the time involved in dealing with people cannot be fully understood.  The critical challenges facing presidents today, from the retirements of senior-level employees to critical and chronic funding shortfalls, make the position difficult.  A community college presidency is obviously not for the individual that simply wants to have the title of president or the faint of heart.  Long hours and complete dedication to the college mission, as well as to the community in which the college is located and serves, will be required to be successful.

Through the selection process, presidential candidates are evaluated on their leadership styles and job experiences, their understanding of the institutions they are interviewing with, as well as their visions to lead colleges. It is assumed that through the search and hiring processes that the right person is chosen for the position, and with the help of the board of trustees, selection committees, as well as the faculty and staff, the transition of the new president is positive.  This is more apt to be so if all constituents are involved in the selection of the new president.  There will be naysayers regardless of who is chosen to fill the role, and some will be vocal and negative in their support of the newly chosen leader.  Generally, change is uncomfortable and uncertainty leads to assumptions and speculations. If the selection process is inclusive and all stakeholders have an opportunity to participate in some form in the decision-making process, the receptiveness and integration of the new president within an institution will be more positive.

New college presidents must integrate themselves into their institutions and communities as quickly as possible.  Though many individuals arrive at these positions from executive-level administrative backgrounds, the responsibility changes from leader of a division, to leader of a college.  No longer is the individual reporting to a president, but to a board of trustees that holds the president responsible for the successful operations of the institution.  Community college presidents arrive at their institutions either as internal and external candidates for the position. Those that are internal candidates have a history with their institutions, but perhaps do not get as long of a “honeymoon” period to get up-to-speed on their roles as the institutional leader. Anytime an institution hires a new president, it is in transition and the institution and the community is looking to the individual to project confidence and the experience necessary to move the college forward. Being able to convey this confidence and leadership will be instrumental in the successful integration of the new president into the institution.

New presidents do have to be careful in trying to make changes that perhaps do not align with the existing culture of their institutions. This can often be an issue for external hires, who find themselves at institutions in crises. As all of the presidents in this study noted, they found themselves overwhelmed with personnel issues that had been unresolved through prior administration, and everyone seemed to want to meet with the new president. A new president has to begin the integration of his or her leadership style immediately on taking the role, to ensure that decisions are made consistently and fairly for all involved, especially when dealing with personnel.

Wallin (2002) found essential skills needed by today’s community college presidents were fiscal management and good relationships with both local and state-level political influencers. These were confirmed to be vital to the successes of the new community college presidents in this study.  In reflection of the skills identified in the literature for community college leaders, the presidents confirmed that successful leaders must have the abilities to lead change, manage budgets and finances, manage tasks and projects, develop human resources, work collaboratively and foster a team atmosphere, as well as handle conflict.

Community college presidents work long hours. A majority of their time is spent on internal institutional activities such as personnel issues, administrative tasks, meetings, and day-to-day interactions. A portion of their time is spent in external relations, with a small portion spent on professional development and other activities (Phelan, 2005; Weisman & Vaughan, 2007). The experiences of the presidents of the study supported what the research has shown to to be the duties that take up presidents’ time on the job.  It is difficult to understand or be fully prepared for the role of a college president.  As the presidents of the study confirmed, most of their time is spent on administrative tasks within the institution on a daily basis.

Kubala and Bailey (2001) identified that two challenges and disappointments for new community college presidents were “dealing with difficult people, a negative climate, hostility toward the administration, and lack of cooperation” and “budget shortfalls, inadequate budget flexibility and lack of technology” (p. 798).  All of the presidents in the study identified personnel and decreasing funding as two challenges. Community colleges face many obstacles that make the presidential role one that is complex and ever changing.  The literature is rich in discussion of a changing student demographic, with community colleges having the most diverse student population of any higher education institution.  State-level funding for public colleges continues to be an issue that does not appear to be on the forefront of being resolved. States and the public are mandating accountability in higher education, which at this point, is being assessed based on student outcomes. Comprehensive community colleges are complex institutions and require strategic and visionary solutions, which have to be orchestrated and implemented by strong presidential and institutional leadership.

Individuals should not seek the role of a community college president simply because of the position.  It is a challenging job that requires 110% dedication and effort.  Community colleges are the life-blood of most communities, and the college president not only has obligations to serve the college and its constituents, he or she also has a vital responsibility to ensure the college contributes to the community both socially and economically.

As with any new position, one cannot be fully prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.  When reflecting on what they wished they had known prior to taking their current positions, the presidents shared common areas that included dealing with the press, working with the board, budgeting, personnel, and simply managing one’s day, as areas that they wished they had been better versed on prior to taking the role.  As a president, one must operate in an environment of confidence, which at times could lead the individual to feel isolated and alone in the decision-making process. There are times when one has to guard information until the moment in time to make it public. Recognizing how quickly information can spread throughout a college, the network of individuals that are privy to information should be chosen carefully. These times are when mentors and other outside trusted individuals can play a role in helping new presidents to handle difficult situations.

Kubala and Bailey (2001) noted that the community college may be the “only game in town,” being closely scrutinized by community members.  Many events within communities take place in the facilities of the college; most people know someone that works at the institution, or are or have been students.  If problems occur, the president must address questions from within the college and the governing board, but also from the local media. This supports the importance that the presidents noted of building a working relationship with the press.  It would not be to the college’s advantage to have relationships with the media that were not positive.  As one president noted, “You’ve got to know that whatever you say will end up on the front page of the paper, especially if you’re in a small town.”

This study was conducted to explore the experiences of new community college presidents with less than 5 years of experience on the job.  The presidents in the study have experienced many challenges in their new roles, but have successfully met many of them and continue to work to address the others. The pathway to the position requires years of planning, dedication and hard work.  The rewards for a college president are many, but challenges are abundant, as well.  Today is not an easy period for America’s community colleges, facing funding shortfalls, as well as rapidly changing workforce needs and student demographics.  With proper preparation, dedication and commitment to the community college mission, prospective community college presidents can have an impact on higher education and the lives of students.  As higher education continues to experience large numbers of retirements of its senior administrators, faculty and staff, more research needs to be conducted that dissects the roles and expectations of these leaders to determine how to better prepare individuals to lead institutions in the 21st century.

References

American Association of Community Colleges. (2001).  Leadership 2020:  Recruitment, preparation, and support.  Washington, DC:  American Association of Community Colleges.

American Association of Community Colleges. (2005). Competencies for community college leaders.  Washington DC:  American Association of Community College.

Community College Leadership Institute. (2001).  Profiles for progress:  Preparing community college leaders for a new era. Report #2. San Diego, CA: San Diego Mesa College Communications Services.

Evelyn, J. (2004). Community colleges at a crossroads.  Chronicle of Higher Education, 50(34), A27.

Kerr, C. (1984). Presidents make a difference: strengthening leadership in colleges and universities. A report of the Commission on Strengthening Presidential Leadership Washington DC: Association of Governing Boards.

Kubala, T. (1999).  A national study on the community college presidency.  Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 23, 183-192.

Kubala, T., & Bailey, G. M. (2001).  A new perspective on community college presidents:  Results of a national study.  Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 25, 793-804.

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

McFarlin, C. H., Crittenden, B. J., & Ebbers, L. H. (1999).  Background factors common among outstanding community college presidents.  Community College Review, 27(19), 19-32.

Merriam, S. B. (1997). Qualitative research and case study applications in education: Revised and expanded from case study research in education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Nevarez, C., & Wood, J. L. (2010).  Community college leadership and administration:  Theory, practice, and change. New York:  Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Phelan, D. J. (2005).  The changing role of the president as a fiscal leader.  New Directions for Community Colleges, 132, 87-98.

Shults, C. (2001). The critical impact of impending retirements on community college leadership.  Research brief leadership series, no. 1, AACC-RB-01-5.  Washington, D.C.:  American Association of Community Colleges. 

Sullivan, L. G. (2001).  Four generations of community college leadership.  Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 25, 559-571.

Wallin, D. L. (2002).  Professional development for presidents:  A study of community and technical college presidents in three states.  Community College Review, 30(27), 27-41.

Wallin, D. L. (2010).  Looking to the future:  Change leaders for tomorrow’s community colleges.  New Directors for Community Colleges, 149, 5-12.

Weisman, I. M., & Vaughan, G. B. (2007).  The Community College Presidency:  2006. AACC-RB-07-1.  Washington DC:  American Association of Community Colle

Interdisciplinary connections are encouraged by NCTM as they endorse incorporating reading and writing about mathematical concepts (Shatzer, 2008). Diffily (2001) explains, “The days of mathematics being taught as an isolated skill, practiced over and over with memorization and calculation as prominent instruction are coming to an end…Now, it is more common to teach math so that children are actively involved in the process, and skills are taught and learned in context.” Caparo & Caparo’s (2006) research suggests that teaching math outside of its context is “useless.” Recently, math instruction through the use of children’s literature has been noted as a practical alternative to traditional instruction methods (Hong, 1996). Diffily (2001) explains, “Quality children’s trade books are one way to present math concepts within a context, and activities that extend the text is one way to engage children in hands-on mathematical learning experiences.”

Integrating Children’s Literature Research

There has been little actual empirical investigation into the effectiveness of using children’s literature to teach mathematics. More research is clearly needed. However, in 1996, Hong conducted a study analyzing the effectiveness of using children’s literature to promote mathematics learning. Fifty-seven kindergarteners were randomly assigned to between two groups. The experimental group read math related stories followed by mathematical discussion and played with math materials related to the story content during free play. The control group had ordinary story reading time and played with math materials unrelated to story content. The empirical data showed more children in the experimental group liked the math corner and spent more time there, and they chose more math tasks to work independently. This group scored significantly better in classification, number combination, and shape tasks on the posttest, and there were significant qualitative differences in the content analysis of the group’s performance.

Hong’s (1996) research noted, “The use of storybooks can be a relevant way to expose math concepts to children because stories provide children with problem situations and solutions in a narrative context, and research consistently shows children learn more effectively in a familiar setting and in a context that is meaningful to them.” Children’s literature that integrates math concepts can support children in making connections between math and real-life situations, in which math is encountered naturally. This also allows the children to enjoy the story without worrying about the specific math (Hong, 1996).

Hong’s (1996) study also measured the effect of using children’s literature on dispositions and motivation toward mathematics. The research results focusing on motivation showed the children who were taught math using children’s literature had positive attitudes toward mathematical tasks with intrinsic value thus creating a willingness to work hard (Hong, 1996). Also, if a meaningful setting related to children’s own experiences and background knowledge is presented, their motivation to pursue related learning activities may increase. The story may act as a method to motivate children” (Hong, 1996). If the given activities allow children to apply the mathematical concepts presented in the context of the story, they may practice their math skills more often and for longer intervals. Hong (1996) continues, “Also, they may become more deeply involved in learning activities. They may even start to pursue math activities independently if they can choose what to do and set their own standards for solving problems.” Hong’s (1996) study showed that “children’s literature can be used as an effective classroom vehicle for motivating children to persist at math tasks and to reason mathematically and to make sense of their real world.”

The Impact of Language on Mathematics

Research by Capraro & Capraro (2006) studied the importance of language in successful mathematics learning. Research clarified, “Real-world context for math is conveyed through narrative writing and spoken language from one person to another” (Capraro & Capraro, 2006). In the presented study, there was no significant difference between the two groups’ reading abilities, but there was marked performance improvement in geometry among the experimental group (Capraro & Capraro, 2006). The students’ development and understanding of geometry skills and concepts were broadened and strengthened by the literature extension. The context of the story provided an opportunity for students to develop meaningful geometric ideas through “investigation rather than memorization” (Capraro & Capraro, 2006).

Benefits of Children’s Literature

The benefits of using children’s literature to teach mathematics are numerous. Haury (2001) notes, “The value of literature-based mathematics instruction seems to be affirmed through the few studies that have been conducted.” Some of the activities are research proven and some are based on common sense practices based on day-to-day experiences. Hong (1996) notes that using children’s literature in math helps children experience “the potential wonder of mathematical problem solving, leads them to see the connections between mathematics and the imaginative ideas in stories, and helps them make sense of their worlds.” Hong (1996) goes on to explain that the results of his study provided evidence that children perform better when faced with math problem-solving situations to which they can relate. Capraro & Capraro (2006) reveal, “Using content literature books to create dynamic and interactive learning environments will help students make sense of mathematical vocabulary.” They note that adding content-specific children’s literature will help children to be successful in mathematics more often. To help students connect new and old knowledge through the process of adaptation, teachers can use literature to help children connect the words of the literature to the mathematical ideas presented. This can improve the students’ chances for success in the assignment (Capraro & Capraro, 2006).

Implementation

When considering implementation of children’s literature into the mathematics curriculum, teachers must adapt their teaching to reach the children’s level of thinking (van Hiele, 1999). Hong (1996) adds that literature can be used in the following ways: “to provide a context for an activity with mathematical content, to introduce manipulatives that can be used in various ways, to inspire a creative mathematics experience for children, to pose an interesting problem, to develop and review a mathematical concept or skill, to demonstrate the use of mathematics, and to introduce vocabulary associated with mathematical concepts.” Capraro & Capraro (2006) reveal the two main ways to teach mathematics using children’s literature include using stories as an advanced organizer and/or as a review at the end of the lesson. They add, “Content-related storybooks can be used as an introduction to build interest and create a feeling of anticipation and focus for the lesson or as a culminating activity.” Bafile (2001) suggests, “Choose a book and dive in. Read the story aloud to the class and discuss it. Then introduce an activity. Keep the emphasis on children’s reasoning, ask students to communicate their thinking and solutions, and encourage discussions among students.” Mathematics should naturally occur in such stories. The stories need to seem real contextually; they need to flow and present math experiences and problems vicariously and not force the lesson. The stories should be interesting and enjoyable to the students as well as teachers (Haury, 2001).

NCTM Geometry Standard

Geometry and spatial sense are fundamental components of math learning. They offer ways to interpret and reflect on our physical environment. Geometry is a natural area of math for the development of students’ reasoning and justification skills that build across the grades. Geometry should be learned using concrete models, drawings, and dynamic software. With the appropriate activities and tools and with teacher support, students can make and explore conjectures about geometry and reason carefully about geometric ideas. NCTM standards indicate that it is important to promote communication and integration across subjects (NCTM, 2004).

Teaching Geometry

“For children, geometry begins with play. Rich and stimulating instruction in geometry can be provided through playful activities” (van Hiele, 1999). van Hiele (1999) explains three levels of geometric thinking. The first is the visual level, which begins with nonverbal thinking. Figures are usually judged by their appearance. Next is the descriptive level, where figures are identified by their properties. Language is important at this level for describing shapes, but properties are not yet logically ordered. Third is the informal deduction level, where properties are now logically ordered. One property precedes or follows from another property. Students use properties they already know to formulate their own definitions. However, they do not fully understand the true meaning of deduction (van Hiele, 1999).

Whitin & Whitin (2000) explain, “The teaching of geometry is often reduced to the transmission of terminology and definitions.” Students need the opportunity to create their own meaning of definitions and concepts. When learners are given this opportunity, they will come up with their own questions, make unplanned connections, and communicate their ideas with others (Whitin & Whitin, 2000). In geometry, asking questions shows that theories and ideas are brought up by individual students but ultimately are owned by the entire class. It is everyone’s business to gather more information to confirm, reject, or modify existing theories. Students should feel comfortable to debate and challenge ideas but never attack individuals (Whitin & Whitin, 2000).

They also note that creating mathematical definitions gives children the opportunity to connect personal interest to these terms. Both writing and talking helps children explain their thoughts (Whitin & Whitin, 2000). Innovator, Doug Clements, believes students can learn more geometry earlier than teachers think they can. He says kids can do mathematically- based actions from their first year in school. He says activities should be developed that enrich what geometry can be at kindergarten and move children through different levels of geometric thinking. Clements’s levels of geometric thinking are as follows: The first level is visual; students identify shapes. The second level is descriptive analytic; students explain why a certain shape is what it is. The third level is abstract; students make inferences and see the properties have implications (New angle, 1999). Clements adds, “When students consolidate their knowledge and present different ideas, this is the precursor to coming up with proofs and theorems” (New angle, 1999).

Applying the Concept

Lisa Campbell Ernest’s book Sam Johnson and the Blue Ribbon Quilt (Ernst, 1983) is the story of a turn-of-the century quilting contest in a rural American town. The book can be used to teach congruent figures, tessellations, shapes, symmetry, patterns, perimeter, area, and fractions in kindergarten through eighth grade. Not only is the plot of the book riddled with content that lends itself to a lesson in which the students create their own quilt patch, but each page is bordered with various quilt designs. The quilt borders coordinate with the progression of the story and are named at the end. This serves to introduce the reader to approximately 18 quilt designs throughout the illustrations. The following sample activity can be adapted to any grade level depending on the amount of prior preparation of materials and assistance provided by the teacher.

Sample Activity:

Procedure: Each student needs a 6 X 6 inch piece of white construction paper and two squares each of two different colored 3 X 3 inch squares.

Step 1: Students fold each colored square on the diagonal and cut it in half to make congruent triangles.

Step 2: Cut triangles to fit inside the white square like a puzzle. Do not overlap the triangles.

Step 3: Students work in groups of 2, 3, or 4 and explore making patterns with triangles. Make several quilt patch designs without gluing them down. When the group comes to a consensus on the pattern, each member will make the same design by gluing down the triangles. Each group should make a total of four patches that look exactly the same.

Step 4: When patches are complete, group members assemble smaller pieces into a larger square design.

Step 5:Each group will make a quilt and compare the different patterns.

Follow-Up Activity for Older Students:

Ask, “What do our quilts have to do with geometry?”

Ask, “What is a riddle?” Small groups will write quilt riddles using geometric clues about the quilts they created in the previous activity. The riddles will be written using as many geometry words as possible to describe the quilt. The group will name the quilt. At the conclusion of this activity, riddles will be read aloud, and the group will attempt to determine which quilt is described by each riddle (Bresser, 1995). NCTM Standards: Geometry, Communication, Connections

Conclusion

Combining math and literature in classroom activities is a way for teachers to invite children into the mathematical world (Bafile, 2001). “They not only generate interest in math but also provide contexts that help bring meaning to abstract concepts. Using children’s literature is a win-win – for children and for teachers” (Bafile, 2001). Haury (2001) states that one way of connecting school mathematics to everyday life is to draw attention to the mathematics set in the literature we use every day. Literature connection to math motivates students, provokes interest, helps students connect math ideas to personal experiences, accommodates different learning styles, promotes critical thinking, and provides and context for using math to solve problems. Children’s literature inspires children to participate in mathematical investigations (Bafile, 2001). “Children’s literature has long been used as a source to support the social and emotional development of young children. [These stories] also have been used to develop the linguistic and aesthetic abilities of young children” (Hong, 1996). Unfortunately, few efforts to incorporate children’s literature while teaching math to young children have been made. But, this tendency is changing as new ways of using children’s literature to teach mathematics are revealed (Hong, 1996).

References

Bafile, C. (2001). Math and literature – A match made in the classroom! Retrieved from  www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr249.shtml.

Bresser, R. (1995). Math and literature (Grades 4-6). Sausalito, CA: Math Solutions Publications.

Capraro, R., & Capraro, M. (2006). Are you really going to read us a story? Learning geometry through children’s mathematics literature. Reading Psychology, 27(1), 21-36.

Diffily, D. (2001). Using literature to teach K-1 math concepts: An annotated bibliography and suggested extension activities.

Ernst, L.C. (1983). Sam Johnson and the blue ribbon quilt. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.

Haury, D.L. (2001). Literature-based mathematics in elementary school. Retrieved www.ericdigests.org/2003-1/school.htm (ED 464 807).

Hong, H. (1996). Effects of mathematics learning through children’s literature on math achievement and dispositional outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 11(4), 477-494.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2004). Standards for school mathematics: Geometry. Retrieved from http://standards.nctm.org/document/chapter3/geom.htm

New angle on early geometry. (1999). NEA Today, 17(5), 16.

Shatzer, J. (2008). Picture book power: Connecting children’s literature and mathematics. The Reading Teacher, 61(8), pp. 649-653. Doi: 10.1598/RT.61.8.6.

van Hiele, P. M. (1999). Developing geometric thinking through activities that begin with play. Teaching Children Mathematics. 5 (6), 310.

Whitin, P., & Whitin, D. (2000). Math is language too: Talking and writing in the mathematics classroom. Urbana, IL and Reston VA: National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. [ED 438 537]

Fort Hays State University utilized the Quality Indicators (QI) project to begin the self-assessment process.  The Quality Indicators project was designed to provide a foundation for alternative licensure program self-assessment. During the first two years of the KNOTtT  project (an acronym for Kansas, Nevada, Ohio, Texas Transition to Teaching funded in part through a Department of Education Transition to Teaching grant), a task force designed a comprehensive framework of indicators of program quality and began to pilot those indicators with local districts and universities that sponsored alternative programs.  Revisions were made at each level of design.  Following the alpha pilot, FHSU participated as a beta pilot site in December of 2010.

Fort Hays State University conducted a self-study utilizing a collaborative process to implement and work through the Quality Indicators.  The FHSU process epitomized the saying, “The sum is greater than the parts.”  Collectively, we had the information and the determination to complete the process in a timely manner.  Having just completed Kansas State Department of Education/National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (KSDE/NCATE) accreditation, a clear direction and process were deemed essential by the team.

In the fall of 2010, leaders of the FHSU Transition to Teaching team met.  They used the QI process and indicators developed by the KNOTtT/National Association for Alternative Certification (NAAC) Quality Indicators Project.    Individuals involved included the project director, two faculty members responsible for teaching much of the coursework, a licensure specialist, and the program specialist.   Each individual’s role in the TtT program at FHSU is unique.  The director is the chair of the department that houses the program.  She initiates meetings, represents the program on the KSDE and FHSU policy councils, and oversees the working of the program.  The instructors are two of the five individuals that teach coursework for the program.  These instructors are instrumental in developing and teaching the induction class that is the only face-to-face component of the program.  The induction class is designed to get the newly hired teachers ready to begin their first teaching experience.  The licensure specialist is the individual most versed in the Kansas licensure requirements.  She works with each candidate from the time of initial interest in the program until coursework is completed and the candidate is recommended for licensure.   The program specialist assists all other members of the program and is the first line of communication for all of the TtT candidates.

The roles described above help to keep the program running smoothly, given the large numbers and large geographic area of the alternate licensure program.   Just as each team member holds a specialized role in the program, each also played a specialized role in the self-study process.  The director called meetings, set purpose, oversaw the overall project, and brought some of the history of the program to the study.  The director has been involved with the project since its inception and developed three of the eight courses that comprise the program.  One of the two instructors has been with the program since its inception, teaching courses each semester.   The second instructor has worked with the project for the past several years, teaching courses and serving as advisor for the TtT  candidates who desire to complete a Master of Science using the TtT coursework as an emphasis area.  Both instructors have routinely taught the face-to-face induction class.  They brought organization and structure to the self study process.

The licensure and program specialists respond to initial inquiries for the program, analyze transcripts for content requirements for licensure, maintain communication with candidates, and develop programs of study.  The licensure specialist brought rich history, not known by other team members, to the self-study process.  The program specialist organized the team as the official  ”datatician,” a term coined by the team to exemplify the key role this individual played in recording and organizing the discussions and documentation for the process.  She also had a rich collection of the artifacts needed to provide evidence for achievement of the stages assigned for each dimension and component of the process rubrics.

Individuals had responsibilities between planned meetings, but it was the interaction during the planned meetings that energized the process to produce a meaningful self-study.  The five team members met formally as a group for six consecutive weeks in two-hour scheduled meetings. The first meeting was used to acquaint the team members with the dimensions, the components of each dimension, and to talk through a process that made sense.  After the first meeting, the team members decided to work through one dimension in each of the next four meetings and to use the final meeting to summarize and complete the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis.

The Quality Indicators are divided into three dimensions:  governance, design and accountability.  Each dimension is divided into four components:  preparation, recruitment, selection, and support.  Each component is then divided into four stages.  The table below shows the rubric for Governance: Recruitment with the four stages.  As the name of the process indicates, each stage lists a set of indicators that is used to determine the status of an alternative program for that specific dimension and component.  There are a total of 12 rubrics, each with indicators at four stages that collaborators used to measure the developmental level of each aspect of the program.

Table 1

Dimension:  Design

Component:  Recruitment

The content of the meetings centered on discussions comparing FHSU Alternative Licensure program components to the quality indicators.  Using the table above, the first conversation focused on asking what available program documents would demonstrate accomplishment of indicators within each stage of the rubric.  The first question then was, “What practice, policy, process, or document exists that demonstrates the program has recruited applicants, or plans are in place to recruit applicants?”  When a practice, policy, process, or document was identified, the next indicator in that stage was queried in the same manner.

The team conducted this process for each stage until confronted by the indicator or indicators for which the program had no practice, policy, process, or document that demonstrated achievement of that indicator.  At that point, it was determined what stage the Alternative Licensure Program had reached for each component of each dimension.    Through the collaborative conversations, team members were able to view and discuss all of the components of the Alternative Licensure program.  These discussions proved beneficial to team members as each, individually, gained new knowledge about the overall alternative licensure program.

The datatician kept notes as the discussions unfolded.  After each meeting, she would summarize the discussions and send out an e-mail with the meeting notes.  She also would include the identification of any documents that needed to be located and who was responsible for locating the document and e-mailing it to her.  The datatician role was critical in keeping everyone on track and keeping feedback and data organized and up to date.

Documents, identified that demonstrated attainment of an indicator, were coded according to the indicator.  Using the previous table, a document that verified the alternative licensure program had recruited applicants, or had a plan in place to recruit applicants was codified DR1.1.  The second document in support of Design Recruitment, Stage 1, would be codified DR1.2.    The codified documents were then organized and titled, or re-titled, to ensure consistency between the document title and document name.  This process was significant to the submission of the self-study to the review team.

The self-study was reviewed by a team of Alternative Licensure experts representing the National Association for Alternative Certification (NAAC).  That team needed to be able to easily find documents that support program attainment of specific stages of the rubrics.  The codification system then served two purposes.  It helped the self-study team keep track of the process and it also provided the reviewers a systematic presentation of the documents for review.

Along with the coding system that was developed, a consistent set of phrases was used to describe how the alternative licensure program assessment fit within the Quality Indicators.  Sometimes referred to as, “boiler plate” language, consistent statements from indicator to indicator assisted the reviewers in understanding the intent of the organization conducting the self-study.  To that end, the alternative licensure program consistent language for each QI indicator became, “Through this process we believe we are in Stage . . .” This statement was followed by the listing of coded documents that provided the evidence of achievement of that particular quality indicator.

The Quality Indicators self-study process provided multiple advantages and services to the alternative licensure program.  As established, and due to the nature of alternative licensure, the process to implement the Quality Indicator review was highly collaborative.  No one person on the team held all the knowledge to complete the process in isolation.  It took the entire team working collectively to explore and reflect on the components of the program.  Reflection on the Quality Indicators as they pertained to the program was a major strength of the process.  The identification of areas for improvement served as a basis for the SWOT analysis.

Through the discussions, the team learned more about the program parameters and significance of the role each served in the program, thus enhancing the overall performance of the program.  While the Quality Indicators are not necessarily a target for all programs, they are a standard that provides affirmation of the qualities within programs.  This affirmation is, in itself, an advantage of the process.  Alternative Licensure Programs have a tool that can affirm desirable characteristics of a program.

An important step in the overall process is the completion of the SWOT analysis.  This, again, was a process completed collaboratively by the team.  The SWOT analysis identified thirteen strengths, six weaknesses, ten opportunities, and four threats.  Some of the items identified were known to the team, but not in the same light as produced by the QI process[F3] .  As a result of the SWOT process the alternative licensure program has implemented several strategies for program improvement.  A yearly budget has been developed and shared with KNOTtT grant administration.  A re-defined Advisory Council has been developed and will be used with greater fidelity in the operation of the program.  Course alignment and articulation efforts have begun with the goal of completion by the summer of 2012.

The project review team from NAAC met with the FHSU team to discuss the submission and the Quality Indicator evaluation.  A follow-up report related the findings of the review team.  The report highlighted components of the self-study, such as artifacts and evidence submission, program history and contextual descriptions, thoroughness of the submission, and a brief summary of the December review team meeting.  Any conclusions presented in the report were intended to guide the revision of the Quality Indicators and the QI process.

Because of the successful process of the FHSU team, several recommendations were developed and provided to the review team to support the next phase of the Quality Indicator process revisions. These recommendations are relevant to any alternative licensure program undertaking the self-study process.

1. Form a team of stakeholders to participate in the collaborative process.   Include university and local agency personnel as well as community members and current and former candidates, mentors and supervisors.
2. Provide team members with specific roles and a description of those roles, (i.e., Historian, datatician).
3. Establish a codification system for supporting documents.
4. Plan your commitment of time.
5. Set aside time for familiarizing your team with the QI process and rubrics.
6. Budget time to discuss and work through the process.   For the FHSU team, that was a minimum of six, two hour blocks of collaborative time plus organizing time between meetings.
7. Space meetings sufficiently to provide individual reflection time and time to gather evidence and summarize the previous meeting’s notes.
8. Provide a datatician with dedicated time to record discussions and organize documents and information systematically.
9. View the KNOTtT website for orientation to the QI process and the video for uploading the document.
10. Take advantage of all KNOTtT training.
11. Provide exemplars, not as a definitive process, but as a reference tool.
12. Provide a glossary of terms.
13. Do not allow teams to opt out of dimensions or components; discussion is the driving force of the self study.

In summary, the FHSU team viewed the self-study using the Quality Indicator process as a valuable exercise in collaboration, a focused analysis of the program, and an avenue to become more comfortable with the program itself and each individual’s role within it.   Suggestions for improvement were made that will enhance the program.  Suggestions for improvement of the QI process were also made to the reviewers.   The team is looking forward to continued work on the program having established a strategic plan, and to a second formal self-study in the near future.

School district-level, site-based support and effective mentoring and induction programs for new teachers can help new teachers’ self efficacy, dispositions and acquisition of knowledge and skills. In addition, sustained support may lower attrition rates, increase teacher effectiveness in the classroom, and save school districts money. School districts must intensify efforts to work with school administrators to provide effective support, guidance and orientation programs during the initial years of teaching. While induction programs vary considerably from state to state and across school districts, they are typically intended to increase teacher effectiveness in the classroom and impact teacher attrition rates.

Key words: new teachers, teacher induction, urban high school

There has been growing concern about the decreasing number of teachers in public education (Murphy, DeArmond, & Guin, 2003). Yet there are specific circumstances that add to the teacher shortages such as lack of administrative support, classroom management issues, poor working conditions, low pay, the aging teacher population and early retirements (Murphy et al., 2003). The shortage of science and mathematics teachers, forces schools to hire large numbers of under qualified teachers each year. Out-of-field teachers are increasingly appointed to teach science and mathematics despite the fact that they confess that they are not prepared to teach these content areas. According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, (2002), the most significant results of this situation, is the detrimental effect on student achievement as the classroom teacher is a principal aspect of student achievement (Wilson, Floden, & Ferrini-Mundy, 2001).

The school culture is frequently linked to the isolation that is often present in schools. Brock and Grady (2001) assert that when new teachers teach in a school culture where the faculty share common goals and work collaboratively, they are more inclined to have a positive teaching experience. On the other hand, novice teachers who start their teaching careers in an unstructured environment are more likely to experience a less positive climate and even isolation.

The lack of social support that stems from isolation or a non-supportive school atmosphere determines the experiences of a beginning teacher. This in turn may lead to the teacher displaying pessimistic attitudes towards the students and thus have a negative effect on the teacher’s instructional program. According to Gordon & Maxey, (2000) there are teachers who acquire “a survival mentality, a set of restricted teaching methods, and a resistance to curricular and instructional change that may last throughout their teaching careers” (p. 8).

The quality of the mentoring and induction program that beginning teachers receive has a direct effect on the development and performance of the novice teacher (Athanases et al, 2008). Moir et al (1999) suggests that the quality of the classroom teacher is the most important indicator of student learning. They believe that an induction program that focuses on beginning teacher support and classroom practice while advocating the very ideals that encouraged the teacher into the profession offers hope for today’s schools. For Fullan (1993), novice teachers enter the profession with commitment, passion and an idealistic view of teaching, determined to make a difference in the lives of their students. Yet, often they face challenging teaching assignments, inadequate working conditions, lack of resources, and isolation. Shocked by the realities of teaching, they encounter a system that fails to value its beginning teachers as one of their most precious resources. According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (2007) school districts must make a valuable investment in the quality of beginning teachers at the outset of their teaching career. This support needs to be sustained throughout the novice teachers’ professional career.

The leadership within the school as well as the perceived level of trust within the school environment are indicative of the beginning teacher’s ability and eagerness to welcome feedback and embrace constructive criticism. Indeed in some cases where outside researchers and other district level administrators become part of informal observations, there is an increased level of support for beginning teachers. As Hargreaves and Fullan (1999, p. 18) point out:

After decades of assuming that teachers taught alone, learned to sink or swim by themselves and got better over time only through their own individual trial and error, there is increasing commitment to the idea and the evidence that all teachers are more effective when they can learn from and are supported by a strong community of colleagues.

There are numerous ways in which new teachers are able to learn from their colleagues, such as team teaching, sharing information, peer-coaching, planning sessions, and informal chats in the hallway and over coffee or lunch. It is evident that beginning teachers need to feel confident enough to take risks, ask for help, stretch their limits, and share their concerns.

Hargreaves and Fullan (1999, p. 21), are keen observers of the human condition and their work bears careful reading:

Teaching is an emotional practice. It arouses colors and feelings in teachers and students. Teaching not only involves instructing students, but also caring for them, forming bonds and relationships with them. With the children of many of today’s postmodern families – fractured, poor, single-parented-this burden of caring is becoming even greater. Teaching is not just about mastering a set of skills. It is a job where teachers repeatedly put their selves on the line. Times of rapid change, whether chosen or imposed, can create even greater anxiety and insecurity among many teachers as the challenge of mastering new strategies calls their competence and confidence into question…[I]t is easy to lose sight of teaching’s emotional dimension, of the enthusiasm, passion, care, wisdom, inspiration, and dedication that make many teachers great.

Induction and Support for Beginning Teachers

In an attempt to recognize the novice teacher as a beginner, there must be authentic and meaningful support in place that promotes the teachers’ growth and development. Scherer (1999) suggests that “beginning-teacher induction has broad-based support” (p. 3). She concurs that teacher shortages and the high attrition rates during the initial years of teaching prove attractive for induction programs that sustain teacher retention. According to Berry (2004), the federal government suggests strategies such as teacher induction and professional development as an approach towards guaranteeing that highly-qualified teachers meet the expectations of the No Child Left Behind Legislation (2001) in ensuring that students make adequate yearly progress.

For Bartell (2005) induction is “a part of the career-long teacher-development continuum” that helps novice teachers become effective and assists in the retention of teachers (p. 43). Wong (2002) advocates the idea that if new teacher induction programs focus on skill development, support, and retention, lifelong learning may be sustained. Villani (2002) suggests that induction is a planned well-organized program that provides adequate resources, time, and support. Feiman-Nemser & Featherstone (1992) concede that retention rates are indicative of the support that beginning teachers receive; however, they argue that the paramount objective of new teacher induction is the effective development of professionals who are able to help students learn.

Mentoring

The term “mentor” comes from the literary text Odyssey in which a character Mentor was selected to educate and help Telemachus while his father was fighting in the Trojan War. The word has now evolved and according to Villani (2002) is defined as “a wise and trusted friend” (p. 7). Similarly the role of the mentor has evolved to comprise sponsor, protector, teacher, guide, and supporter. Bey (1995) believes that mentoring is a collaborative partnership where teachers share and develop interdependent interests. He contends that mentors act as role models that encourage, counsel and support new teachers. In the early 1980s, teacher mentoring programs developed in an attempt to reduce the rate of teacher attrition among beginning teachers. The intention was to offer new teachers an effective transition into the world of teaching, instruct mentors in the most effective methods of support of novice teachers, and develop the teaching profession (Wang & Odell, 2002). Coppola et al. (2004) insist that simply assigning mentors to work with novice teachers does not provide beginning teachers with the knowledge, skills and support they will need to be successful in the classroom. They emphasize that a multi-year induction program that offers a collegial-mentoring component and an effective professional development program that targets specific needs is necessary.

For Boreen & Niday (2003), mentoring is more than an experienced teacher supporting a novice teacher. They contend that mentoring offers a “vast array of life and professional learning experiences that enhance their ability to interact with their colleagues in a collegial manner” (p. 15). Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon (1995) suggest that mentoring offers a way for experienced teachers to provide individualized, ongoing professional support. Feiman-Nemser, Schwill, Carver, & Yusko (1999) note that although mentoring is the most common form of support for beginning teachers, for it to be effective requires thoughtful selection, training and support of the mentor. Bartell (2005) argues that “the support and mentoring that occur in a well-designed induction program are not a substitute for strong academic preparation” (p. 15). Mentoring has been identified as a method that may be used for retaining beginning teachers and an indicator of their effectiveness in the classroom (Claycomb, 2000). Wang & Odell (2002) identified three major areas that are crucial in the beginning teacher mentoring process: (a) humanistic (assisting teachers on a personal level immerse themselves into the teaching profession); (b) apprentice (assisting beginning teachers transition into the culture of the school and help with the progress of teachers in specific contexts); and (c) critical constructivist (reconstructing teaching, asking questions and questioning current teaching practices).

Teacher Mentoring in the Urban School

Guyton & Hildago (1995) suggest that the mentoring process of beginning teachers can be affected by the culture and context of the school. They also contend that the culture of urban schools differs somewhat to that of suburban schools. Therefore, the manner in which novice teachers conduct themselves in terms of their disposition, beliefs, and acquisition of knowledge is likely to be heavily influenced by factors that are distinctive to the urban school setting.

According to Tillman (2005), typically urban school teachers teach children of color who may not be motivated, resources may not be readily available, there may be lack of parental support, and teacher instruction may not follow the traditional methods. As a consequence mentors of teachers in an urban setting may have a very different role to play when compared to the mentors serving teachers in a primarily middle-class setting. What Claycomb (2000) suggests is that mentors within the urban context may have to help novice teachers in acknowledging and dealing with the challenges posed by teaching students from poverty who frequently require that their teachers advocate for them socially, academically and emotionally. Tillman (2005) also concurs that “teacher mentors in urban schools may also be called upon to help new teachers reflect on and understand the unique histories and experiences and the varied learning styles and needs of students from various racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups” (p. 612).

Administrative Support

Tillman (2005) acknowledges the role of the teacher mentor but also indicates that the role of the school administration in terms of the mentoring process requires careful examination. She argues that the role of the school administration in facilitating the mentoring and induction process of beginning teachers is not well documented. While Ganser (2001) believes that the role of the administration in the mentoring process of novice teachers should be a passive one and that the teacher mentor should play the predominant role, researchers such as Brock & Hope (1999) have argued that the school administration should also be proactive in the mentoring process.

Brock (1999) explains that administrators need to nurture and help their teachers develop and assist with the transition from teacher education programs into the culture of the school. Hope (1999) points out that regular contact is needed from administrators in order to inform novice teachers of expectations and successfully orient them into the culture of the school. Hope (1999) identifies six elements of professional development that should emerge from contact between the new teacher and the school administration: (a) intervention to decrease the isolation of teachers, (b) the facilitation of collaborative relationships and mentoring, (c) accessibility, (d) making professional development available, (e) ensuring that the teaching assignment is aligned in order to ensure success, and (f) describing the process of evaluation.

Wang & Odell’s (2002) criticism of the deficiencies of teacher education programs indicates the need for the school administration to be proactive in terms of supporting beginning teachers. Tillman (2005) highlights the importance of administrators assisting novice teachers in understanding the culture of the school and becoming reflective practitioners. She points out that it is equally important that teachers are helped to transition and relate what they have learned in their teacher education programs into the context of the school in which they are teaching. Tillman (2005) also analyses the intentional outcomes of the mentoring process suggesting that by enhancing the novice teacher’s personal and professional development beginning teachers may be able to shift their skills and knowledge to their current school setting.

Wojnowski et al. (2003) assert that there are distinct consequences that emerge as a result of effective mentoring and induction. Teacher quality improves and there is a noticeable development of both the mentee and mentor’s teacher skills that can lead to increased retention rates. Bartell (2005) reports that if induction activities challenge teachers to critically examine their own practice and reflect on student learning, this in turn helps students by helping their teachers. Similarly Robinson (1998) suggests that successful induction programs are more likely to produce effective teachers who in turn benefit student learning by encouraging them to take risks.

Research on induction, coaching, mentoring and other types of support appears to focus on how universities, school systems, teaching federations, site based administrators and veteran teachers can offer support to beginning teachers. Although their methods of evaluation and analysis may differ somewhat, all agree that it is difficult to overestimate the importance of mentoring, induction, and support for beginning teachers, and experienced faculty. What is evident is that school districts must invest in induction programs and support systems if beginning teachers are to prove successful. Horn, Sterling & Subhan (2002) suggest that an effective induction program is provided through orientation, mentoring, professional development, and collaboration. Both the extent and quality of induction programs vary extensively between school districts and from state to state. While individual school districts may have particular circumstances and needs, effective induction, support and mentoring programs for beginning teachers needs to be a priority. Nevertheless, due to the lack of finances, politics, commitment and other resources, some induction programs prove to be ineffective and lacking in specific areas (Darling-Hammond, 1999).

The needs of beginning teachers are well articulated by Veenman (1984, pp. 153-156), who categorized the ten most crucial issues that new teachers face: classroom discipline, student motivation, dealing with individual differences among students, assessment of student work, interaction with parents, organizing work, obtaining sufficient materials for adequate instruction, dealing with students’ personal problems, heavy course loads with inadequate preparation time, and collegial collaboration. However, as beginning teachers gain more classroom experience and develop relationships with parents and students these pertinent needs become increasingly less stressful for the novice teacher.

Gordon and Maxey (2000) collated a set of needs for beginning teachers and suggest that if these needs are met it is likely that the novice teacher will progress and develop into a successful teacher:

• adjusting to the teaching environment and role
• planning, organizing, and managing instruction as well as other professional responsibilities
• dealing with individual students’ needs, interest, abilities, and problems
• managing the classroom
• obtaining instructional resources and materials
• using effective teaching methods
• communicating with colleagues, including administrators, supervisors, and other teachers
• communicating with parents
• motivating students
• receiving emotional support
• assessing students and evaluating student progress. (p. 6).

Although Gordon & Maxey identify some of the most prevailing issues for the novice teacher here, this list is by no means exhaustive in terms of the needs of beginning teachers.

Characteristics of Beginning Teachers

            Researchers have suggested that people enter the teaching profession because they take pleasure from interacting with young people. A further reason certain people choose to become teachers is that they care about the welfare and education of students and have a strong desire to help them achieve academically (Gold & Roth 1993; & Lortie, 1975).

Bartell’s (2005) work bears careful reading as she points out new teacher motivations and career choices:

Novice teachers today enter the profession with differing levels of preparation, experience, and expertise. Like the students they will serve, they come with a variety of expectations, hopes, dreams, and understandings. Some will go through a traditional teacher preparation program and will enter the job market immediately after graduation. Others will find their initial career choice unsatisfying and look for more satisfaction in teaching. (p. 9).

According to Wadsworth (2001), beginning teachers feel that they are talented individuals who have responded to some type of calling. Further, they perceive themselves as hardworking and devoted to the teaching profession. It is their belief that teaching is a profession known for requiring high levels of energy, effort and dedication.

Clement, Enz, and Pawlas (2000) state that novice teachers are passionate about their work, idealistic, creative, energetic, and have a desire to develop professionally. Hargreaves and Fullan (1999) suggest that it is the younger members of the profession who usually bring more energy into the classroom. They believe that these young teachers generally have less family responsibilities, are typically more idealistic and are inclined to be more dedicated to the profession. Yet Veenman (1984) believes that beginning teachers experience ‘reality shock’ as a state of mind when the realization of the demands of teaching becomes real to them. According to Villani (2002), teacher education students predicted that they expected to encounter fewer difficulties than the ‘average first-year teacher’ on numerous tasks. Based on these findings, Weinstein (1988) suggests that beginning teachers enter the teaching profession with the belief that teaching is not particularly difficult. Thus, Villani (2002) argues that it is necessary for mentors to help with the inevitable “reality shock” (p. 4).

Psychological Stages of a First-Year Teacher

Villani (2002) believes that the survival needs of novice teachers are highest at both the beginning and end of the school year and suggests that the new teachers’ curriculum and instructional needs are less crucial during these times. In contrast, she highlights the fact that mid-year (a time when the survival needs of new teachers are at their lowest); the instructional and curriculum needs are at their highest. Villani (2002) compares this with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and suggests that one cannot take care of high order needs until one’s survival needs are met. She concurs that novice teachers are unable to consider issues of instruction and curriculum until they have become familiar with the protocol of the school and have established a rapport with their students, which essentially satisfies and contributes to their academic learning.

Moir (1999) identifies several developmental stages that novice teachers’ experience. Her research indicates how initially beginning teachers go through an anticipation phase with an idealistic view of teaching. However, they rapidly become overwhelmed and experience a survival phase with a sense of struggling to keep up. Moir (1999) points out that during this second phase new teachers are inclined to focus on the day-to-day aspects of teaching. It is frequently this phase that leads to the next phase that of disillusionment. This is where novice teachers start to doubt their levels of commitment and also their ability to teach. Moir (1999) suggests that this phase may vary in terms of both duration and intensity. Typically following the winter break, teachers are well rested and somewhat more relaxed and often enter a phase of rejuvenation. It is at this time that the beginning teacher gains confidence and learns to develop new coping strategies. Moir (1999) believes that it is towards the end of the school year that new teachers begin to reflect on the earlier part of the school year and thus they enter a period of reflection. It is during this phase that the new teacher starts to contemplate what they will do differently during their second year of teaching. Moir (1999) emphasizes that “recognizing the stages that new teachers go through gives us a framework within which we can begin to design support programs to make the first year of teaching a more productive experience for our new colleagues” (p. 23).

Traditionally Prepared Teachers and Alternative Licensure into the Teaching Profession

Bartell (2005) stresses that those who plan teacher induction have some understanding of the skills and knowledge that new teachers bring to the profession. She points out that new teachers are increasingly entering the profession through alternative routes to certification; yet it is the ‘early deciders’ who enter through the traditional four or five year college education program. Typically these teachers study the subject content pedagogy of the subject they wish to teach. Darling-Hammond et al, (1999) believe that the best traditional teacher preparation programs also offer the following components:

• Knowledge about learners and learning, including knowledge about human growth and development, motivation and behavior, learning theory, learning differences, and cognitive psychology;
• Knowledge about curriculum and teaching, including general and content-specific pedagogical knowledge, curriculum theory, assessment and evaluation, and counseling, as well as knowledge of scientific inquiry, epistemology, communication, and language as they relate to pedagogy;
• Knowledge about contexts and foundations of education, including knowledge about schools and society, cultures, educational history and philosophy, principles from sociology and anthropology, legal responsibilities of teachers and ethics. (p. 35-38).

Bartell (2005) explains that most traditional programs also incorporate field experiences into the program. She accepts that teaching programs may vary but contends that generally teachers bring what they have learned in these programs to their first teaching position. In addition she states that “these novices are hardly finished learners about the profession they have chosen to enter… Induction programs are intended not to reteach, but to build upon and extend that initial preparation experience” (p. 7). However, Bartell asserts that the increasing number of people entering the profession without this basic classroom preparation is somewhat problematic. She identifies that alternative programs vary considerably from state to state ranging between programs that are offered evenings, weekends and throughout the summer to programs where certification can be achieved through assessment of knowledge and skills and demonstrated experience. Typically, teachers who opt to take the alternative certification route take coursework classes at the same time that they are serving as teachers.

Bartell (2005) stresses the important point that “all of these teachers have different learning needs depending on the background, preparation, and experience that they bring to the job” (p. 8). She cites examples of new teachers moving from one state to another, from an urban district to a rural district from one grade level to another and contends that in these circumstances the new teacher must learn to assimilate to his/her new surroundings. Similarly she alludes to the fact that a teacher who returns to the profession after a career break also has to gain knowledge of the current curriculum and assessment standards.  Bartell (2005) suggests that the most successful induction and mentoring programs will address all of these possible differences and needs of beginning teachers in order to ensure success with their students:

An effective plan for support of all these new teachers will recognize and build on the knowledge and experience the beginning teacher brings to the classroom, assist teachers in gaining what is weak or lacking, and extend learning so that the teacher moves to higher levels of accomplished teaching (p. 9).

Summary

The existing research provides useful insights into contemporary methods of beginning teacher support, mentoring and induction programs. Yet what is not evident is how effective the mentoring and induction program is for lateral entry teachers. This does not suggest that the initial experiences of beginning teachers are entirely different from those of their colleagues that teach in an established school with experienced administrators. Although lateral entry teachers may lack pre-service training in the field of education, once employed within the school district they experience many of the same conditions as their counterparts. Future research must address the areas of leadership, district level support and school-based support as it appears that there are variations in terms of levels of support received by beginning teachers from state to state, and across and within school districts. Little research has been conducted on whether the levels of support that are documented and commonly accepted within school districts are in fact provided for beginning teachers. Thus, additional research and evaluation specific to current school district induction programs may consider using a follow up method to evaluate how effective the mentoring and induction program really is across an entire school district.

Dawn Lambeth, Ed.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of Middle, Secondary, Reading, & Deaf Education

Dewar College of Education

Valdosta State University

1500 North Patterson Street

Valdosta, GA 31698

Email: dtlambeth@valdosta.edu

Telephone: 229-333-5995

Fax: 229-333-5963

MSA and Ed.D. earned at UNC Greensboro

Dr. Lambeth has been a middle and high school teacher and induction coordinator. Her research and teacher interests are in teacher induction, teacher in-service preparation, education law and policy, students rights and responsibilities and teacher leadership.

References

ASCD. (1999). Preparing two million: How districts and states attract and retain teachers. Education Update, 4 (1), 1-8.

Athanases, S. Z., Abrams, J., Jack, G., Johnson, V., Kwock, S., McCurdy, J., Riley, S., & Totaro, S. (2008). Curriculum for mentor development: problems and promise in the work of new teacher induction leaders. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 40 (6), 743-770.

Baldwin, W. (2000). Information no one else knows: The value of self-report data. In A. A. Stone et al (Eds.) The Science of self-report: Implications for research and practice. Malwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

Bartell, C. A. (2005). Cultivating High-Quality Teaching Through Induction and Mentoring. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Berry, B. (2004). Recruiting and retaining “highly qualified teachers” for hard-to-staff schools. National Association of Secondary School Principals Bulletin, 88 (638), 5-27.

Bey, T. (1995). Transferable transactions among teachers. Education and Urban Society, 28, 11-19.

Boreen, J., Niday, D., & Johnson, M. (2003). Mentoring Across Boundaries: Helping Beginning Teachers Succeed in Challenging Situations. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

Brock, B., & Grady, M. L. (1997). From first-year to first-rate: Principals guiding beginning teachers. Thousand Oaks. California. Corwin Press.

Brock, B. (1999). The principal’s role in mentor programs. Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 12 (4), 18-21.

Brock, B. L., & Grady, M. L. (2001). From first year to first rate: Principals guiding beginning teachers (2^nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA. Corwin Press, Inc.     

Burke, M. M. (1999). Lateral entry: Who owns the problem? North Carolina Journal of Teacher Education, 10, (1), 54-65.

Claycomb, C. (2000). High-quality urban school teachers: What they need to enter and to remain in hard-to-staff schools. The State Education Standard, 1 (1), 17-20.

Clement, M.C. (2000). Making time for teacher induction: A lesson from the New Zealand model. Clearing House, 73 (6), 329-330.

Clement, M.C., Enz, B.J., Pawlas, G.E. (2000). The apprentice teacher. In Steffy, B., Wolfe, M., & Enz, B. (Eds). Life cycle of the career teacher (pp. 44-59). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Cochran-Smith, M., & Little, S.L. (1999). Relationships of knowledge and practice: Teacher learning in communities. In A. Iran-Nejad & P. D. Pearson (Vol. Eds.), Review of research in education (Vol. 24, pp. 249-296). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.

Coppola. A. J., Scricca. D. B., & Connors. G. E. (2004). Supportive Supervision: Becoming a Teacher of Teachers. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Darling-Hammond, L. (1999). Solving the dilemmas of teacher, supply, demand, and standards. New York: National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future.

Darling-Hammond, L. (1999). Teaching as the Learning Profession. Handbook of Policy and Practice. California. Jossey-Bass.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2003). Keeping Good Teachers: Why It Matters, What Leaders Can Do. Educational Leadership, 60 (8), 6-13.

Darling-Hammond, L., Chung, R., & Frelow, F. (2002) Variation in teachers preparation: How well do different pathways prepare teachers to teach? Journal of Teacher Education, 53 (4), 286-302.

Darling-Hammond, L., Wise, A., & Klein, S. (1999). A license to teach: Raising standards for teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Delgado, M. (1999). Lifesaving 101: How a veteran teacher can help a beginner. Educational Leadership, 56 (8), 27-29.

Depaul, A. (2000). Survival guide for new teachers: How new teachers can work effectively with veteran teachers, parents, principals, and teacher educators. (ERIC digest). Washington, D.C: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service. No. ED442791).

Feiman-Nemser, S., & Featherstone, H. (1992). Exploring teaching: reinventing an introductory course. New York: Teacher’s College Press, Teacher’s College. Columbia University.

Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001). From preparation to practice: Designing a continuum to strengthen and sustain teaching. Teachers College Record, 103 (6), 1013-1055.

Feiman-Nemser, S., Schwille, S., Carver, C., & Yusko, B. (1999). A conceptual review of literature on new teacher induction. Washington DC: National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED449147)

Fideler, E. F.,& Haselkorn, D. (1999). Learning the ropes urban teacher induction programs and practices in the united states. Executive summary. Belmont, MA: Recruiting New Teachers, Inc. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED434879

Friedman, I. A. (2000). Burnout in teachers: Shattered dreams of impeccable professional performance. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56 (5), 595-606.

Friedrichsen, P., Chval, K. B., & Teuscher, D (2007). Strategies and sources of support for beginning mathematics and science teachers. School Science and Mathematics, 107 (5), 169-181.

Fullan, M. (1993). Inventing and reinventing ideas: constructivist teaching and learning in Mathematics. In G. Cawelti (Ed). (1993). Challenges and achievements of American education. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Ganser, T. (2001, Winter). The principal as a new teacher mentor. Journal of Staff Development, 22 (1), 39-41.

Glickman, C. D. (1984). The supervisor’s challenge: Changing the teachers work environment. Educational Leadership, 42 (4), 82-84.

Glickman, C. D., Gordon, S. P., & Ross-Gordon, J. M. (1995). Supervision of instruction: A Developmental Approach. (3^rd ed.). Needham, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Gold, Y. (1996). Beginning teacher support, attrition, mentoring, and induction. In J. Sikula (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education 2^nd ed., pp. 548-594). New York: Macmillan.

Gold, Y., & Roth, R. (1993). Teachers managing stress and preventing burnout: The professional health solution. London: Falmer Press.

Gordon, S. P. (1991). How to help beginning teachers succeed. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Gordon, S. P. (2000). How to help beginning teachers succeed (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Gordon, S. P., & Maxey, S. (2000). How to help beginning teachers succeed (2^nd ed.) Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Guyton, E., & Hildago, F. (1995). Characteristics, responsibilities, and qualities of urban school mentors. Education and Urban Society, 28, 40-47.

Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (1999). Mentoring in the new millennium. Professionally Speaking, December 1999, 19-23.

Heidkamp, A., & Shapiro, J. (1999). The elements of a supportive induction program in M. Scherer (Ed.), A better beginning: Supporting and mentoring new teachers (pp. 40-46). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Hendrick, L. & Childress, L. J. (2002). The RIMS beginning teacher support and assessment partnership: A study of eight years of collaboration. Paper presented at the annual meeting of AERA, New Orleans, LA.

Hope, W. (1999). Principal’s orientation and induction activities as factors in teachers retention. Clearing House, 73 (1), 54-56.

Horn, P. J., Sterling, H. A., & Subhan, S. (2002). Accountability through ‘best practice’ induction models. Paper presented at the Annual American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. New York. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED464039)

Ingersoll, R. (2002). Turnover and shortages among science and mathematics teachers in the United States. In J. Rhoton & P. Bowers (Eds.). Science Teacher Retention: Mentoring and Renewal, p. 1-12. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association.

Keyes, C. (2000). The early childhood teachers’ voice in the research community. International Journal of Early Years Education 8 (1), 3-13.

Levin, F., & McCullough. M. A. (2008). Guide for Alternate Route Teachers: Strategies for Literacy Development, Classroom Management, and Teaching and Learning, K-12. MA: Pearson Education.

Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago.

Luft, J. A., & Cox, W. E. (2001). Investing in our future: A survey of support offered to beginning secondary mathematics and science teachers. Science Educator, 10 (1), 1-9.

Moir, E. (1999). The stages of a teacher’s first year. In M. Scherer (Ed.), A better beginning: Supporting and mentoring new teachers (pp. 19-23). Alexandria, VA: Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Murphy, P., DeArmond, M., & Guin, K. (2003). A national crisis or localized problems? Getting perspective on the scope and scale of the teacher shortage. Educational Policy Analysis Archives, 11(23). Retrieved March 1, 2007, from http://libproxy.uncg.edu:3830/epaa/v11n23/

National Commission on Excellence in Education. (2007). A nation at risk. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, (2002). Unraveling the “Teacher Shortage” problem: Teacher retention is the key. Washington, DC: Author.

North Carolina Department of Instruction. (2002b). Performance-based licensure: New Teacher induction mentoring. (2002). Raleigh, NC: Author. Retrieved December 9, 2006, from the World Wide Web: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/pbl/plbfaq.htm

Olson, L. (2000). Finding and keeping competent teachers. Education Week, 19 (18), 12-16, 18.

Robinson, G.W. (1998). New teacher induction: A study of selected new teacher induction models and common practices. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED424219)

Sagor,  R. (2000). Guiding School Improvement with Action Research.  Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Scherer, M., (Ed.). (1999). A Better Beginning: Supporting and Mentoring New Teachers. Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Stanulis, R. N., & Floden, R. E. (2009). Intensive Mentoring as a Way to Help Beginning Teachers Develop Balanced instruction. Journal of Teacher Education, 60, 112-122.

Steffy, B, Wolfe, M., Pasch, S. & Enz, B. (2000). Life cycle of the career teacher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press and Kappa Delta Pi.

Tillman, L. (2005). Mentoring New Teachers: Implications for Leadership Practice in Urban Schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 41 (4), 609-629.

Veenman, S. (1984). Perceived problems of beginning teachers. Review of education Research, 54 (2), 143-178.

Villani, S. (2002). Mentoring Programs for New Teachers: Models of Induction and Support. California: SAGE Publications.

Wadsworth, D. (2001). Why new teachers choose to teach. Educational Leadership, 58 (8), 24-28.

Wang, J., & Odell, S. (2002). Mentored learning to teach according to standards-based reform: A critical review. Review of Educational research, 72 (3), 481-546.

Way, C. (Ed.). (2001). Teacher development: A strategy for school improvement. LAB Education Notes, 3 (2), 1-11. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED460083)

Weinstein, C. (1988). Pre-service teachers’ expectations about the first year of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 4, 31-40.

Weiss, E. M., & Weiss, S. G. (1999). Beginning teacher induction (ERIC digest). Washington, D.C: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 436487).  

Wey, H. W. (1951). Difficulties of beginning teachers. School Review, 59 (1), 32-37.

Wilson, S. M., Floden, R. E., & Ferrini-Mundy, J. (2001). Teacher preparation research: Current knowledge, gaps, and recommendations. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy.

Wojnowski, B. S., Bellamy, M. L., & Cooke, S. (2003). A review of the literature on the mentoring and induction of beginning teachers with an emphasis on the retention and renewal of science teachers. In J. Rhoton & P. Bowers (Eds.), Science teacher retention: Mentoring and renewal (pp. 23-33). Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association.

Wong, H. (2002). Induction: The best form of professional development. Educational Leadership, 59 (6), 52-55.

Wong, H, & Wong, R. (2004). How to be an effective teacher. The first days of school. California. Harry K. Wong Publications Inc.

According to international author John Naisbitt (n.d.), “intuition becomes increasingly valuable in the new information society precisely because there is so much data” (para. 4). More is not always better. In fact, the myriad of information today has created a new problem that Postman (2004) calls information meaninglessness. This is the Information Age, a time in which there is so much information that it is not enough to merely collect it; we must also decipher it to determine fact from fiction, and create a “student mentality” that is willing to study and assimilate data in order to make our own educated decisions. It may sound easy, but are we doing these things?  Or are we finding answers without asking enough questions?

In this age of information overload, it is often difficult to determine what is true and what is not. For example, too many people today believe everything they read on the internet without verifying the source or finding a second source to lend credibility to the original. “People need to check for [the] authenticity, currency and reliability” of their sources (Catts, as cited in Cochrane, 2003, p.2). Failure to do so leads to confusion, misinformation, and incompetence. Therefore, where there used to be an expectation of excellence in society, there is now a pursuit of mere competency (Brown, 2007). On a larger scale, believing inaccurate information can create belief systems and historical notions that have potentially dangerous side effects on individuals and society; hence, discerning the truth is of the utmost importance.

Secondly, we must develop a “student mentality” that allows us to interpret and assimilate data to ultimately draw our own conclusions. Postman (2004) argues, “We have transformed information into a form of garbage and ourselves into garbage collectors…without even a broom to help us get rid of it” (p. 4). There is so much information that people do not know what to do with it or how to organize it, but they do most certainly collect it. As a result, it is becoming increasingly more important to be able to assimilate data wisely than to be able to collect it (Brown, 2007). Cochrane (2003) concurs and elaborates, emphasizing that “information-literate seekers” determine the difference between data they attain and what they already know to be true. Then they discard or incorporate data accordingly to make their own educated decisions and create knowledge. Naisbitt (2006) himself also encourages discarding and incorporating information, advising not to add new unless you are willing to subtract some of the old.

Finally, it is interesting that Naisbitt uses the word intuition in his opinion of today´s information society. It is as if he is encouraging us to move to another level of intelligence. Intuition is different from learning; it involves instinct and insight. So how do we acquire these traits?  As a society, we would have to decipher data and utilize a “student mentality” on a regular basis until it becomes almost instinctive in nature. Is this plausible? Perhaps not. However, the use of the word intuition defines his argument that we must go beyond simply reading everything we can find in this information society; we have to be intuitive enough to sort through the data, decipher it, make inferences, determine fact from fiction, and draw our own conclusions. “We walk through supermarkets of information, which overwhelm us and in which it gets harder to select what we really need. Our goal should not be to create cemeteries of information, but cradles of knowledge and inspiration” (Naisbitt, 2006, p. 96).

References

Brown, A. (2007) “Not with a bang”: Civilization´s accelerating challenge. The Futurist, 41, 35-39.

Cochrane, N. (2003) Too Much Information. Retrieved from TheAge.com:

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/10/1068329472603.html

Naisbitt, J. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved from BrainyQuote.com: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_naisbitt.html

Naisbitt, J. (2006). Mind set! Eleven ways to change the way you see – and create – the future. New York: HarperCollins Publisher.

Postman, N. (2004). The information age: A blessing or a curse? The Harvard Journal of Press/Politics, 9, 3-10.

Debate has been raging in the popular management literature concerning whether leading and managing are different behaviors.  One view is that manager’s carry out responsibilities, exercise authority, and worry about how to get things accomplished.  This view is contrasted with the view that a leader is concerned with understanding people’s beliefs and gaining their commitment.  In other words, managers and leaders differ in what they attend to and in how they think, work, and interact.  A related argument contends that leadership is about coping with change, whereas management is about coping with complexity (Kotter, 1997).

Although the leader-manager debate has generated tremendous controversy in the literature, little research exists to support the notion that certain people can be classified as leaders rather than managers, or that managers cannot adopt visionary behaviors when they are required for success.  This paper maintains that it is important for all managers to think of themselves as leader, and consequently, the term leadership will be used to encompass both leadership and management functions (Hickman, 1990).

Literature Review

Developing a Global Leadership Model

Globalization has seemingly overwhelmed many organizations and leaders within them because of the rapid pace and the lack of training that many leaders have had on dealing with and understanding the various communities across the globe.  This is due to the fact that until very recently, global business was considered the purview of a few large businesses and as a sideline for the few others that participated in this area.  Morrison (2000) uses these reasons for developing a model of global leadership and the competencies that are required to successfully implement the leadership model.

Morrison (2000) points out that global leadership models must draw from many academic disciplines to be able to understand and appreciate the business environment across the globe.  By using a multidisciplinary approach, leaders are able to understand the communities where the organization is present and have the ability to work with and motivate people in the different cultures.  It is also pointed out that domestic leadership models that work in a particular country will not always work in the global environment (Morrison, 2000).  In the United States the concept of long-term efficiencies are common in leadership.  This exploitation of short-term inefficiencies is not always congruent with the culture and the realities in the global marketplace, so there must be new ways of looking at leadership within the context of organizational goals and global realities.

The central point of the article is that to develop a workable and realistic model for global leadership the organization must understand how the model should be structured so as to take into account the need for culture, global strategy, and leadership competencies that are needed to move the organization forward (Morrison, 2000).  To be able to train their leaders in the global leadership competencies for the future utilizing a generalized model of global leadership, the organization must ensure that there are people within the organization that have the knowledge, skills and abilities to teach and train on this multidisciplinary topic.  Without having these trained people it will be impossible to imbue the organization with the competencies because there will be no credibility within the organization for the trainer or the program.

While it is important that an organization has a global leadership model that works for them, organizations must work together to develop a universally applicable leadership model that is separate from the internal model that works just within the organization (Morrison, 2000).  By having this global leadership model, all organizations can change it to meet their needs and help to integrate their organization into the global economy while at the same time helping to meet all the organizational goals for a particular company.

There also needs to be a specific component that addresses the importance of culture on the leadership model and the practice of leadership within the global environment.  By addressing the cultural component of leadership, leaders will be able to understand and apply difference culturally relevant leadership skills (Morrison, 2000).  By addressing this cultural element organizations can help determine if they are strong or weak in areas that deal with local and regional cultures throughout the globe.  By understanding this an organization will be able to have a seamless integration with strategic partners or communities throughout the world without the enormous pressure to accomplish this integration without the knowledge of how to accomplish this goal.

Exploring a Taxonomy of Global Leadership Competencies and Meta-Competencies

In this article Tubbs and Schultz (2006) make the argument that there is nothing more important than to define and describe the competencies that make up leadership within global organizations.  These competencies need to be defined and describes so that organizations can ensure that they are taught throughout the organization so as to help achieve goals that move the organization forward within the industrial sector.

The self-confidence of the leader is something that is paramount in the area of personality that must be taken into account when it comes to leadership competencies.  Self-confidence coupled with the individuals locus of control form the basis of enhancing the leaders work performance and motivation while at the same time creating higher job expectations (Tubbs & Schulz, 2006).  While these personality components are exceptionally important, they are characteristics that are permanently set in the formative years of the leader and cannot be easily, if at all, changed when the leader enters the workforce (Tubbs & Schulz).

Conversely ethics or values can be taught and refined as the leader grows.  Each organization has different values and ethics that must be adhered to and these must be taught by each organization so that the leader can conform to the expectations of the organization and the industry.  Tubbs and Schulz (Tubbs & Schulz, 2006) point out that organizations that have leaders whom adhere to a strong set of ethics and values will succeed over the long-run in any environment.  While ethics can be taught it is easier for a leader to change their behaviors than for them to change their ethics or values (Tubbs & Schulz).

The leader must also have competencies in areas that are essential for the survival and growth of the organization.  Some of these competencies include innovation and creativity; communication skills; change management; and organization wide understanding (Tubbs & Schulz, 2006).  All of these are important competencies, but the leader must be competent in the organization wide understanding because if the leader does not understand what is going on in the entire organization and how the organization operates, then the leader does not have the ability to make any needed changes to help guide the organization for the future and move it in the direction it must move to compete in a global marketplace.

Tubbs and Schulz (2006) argue that practitioners and professors of leadership must understand and be able to teach and apply a well defined set of leadership competencies to their employees or students.  Without this well defined set of competencies there can be some growth in the area of leadership, but with the competencies there can be learning and application in a systematic way that leads to meeting and exceeding organizational goals (Tubbs & Schulz).

Global Leadership Competencies:  A Review and Discussion

Jokinen (2005) discusses how by increasing the understanding of globalization and the interrelatedness that accompanies that interconnectedness allows leaders to be able to change the organization to meet any challenges that will face the organization.  The competencies that should be taught and inculcated within the organization must be directly related to their global business strategy (Jokinen).  The organizations need to have a framework within which to look at the organizational strategy so the competencies can be taught throughout the organization.  Without a meta-framework, any organization will not have the ability to coherently analyze the strategies and then place the learning in the context of a holistic system for the teaching.

Competencies have been defined in the past as either behavioral, personality, values and knowledge as the frameworks to teach and study the core global leadership competencies (Jokinen, 2005).  Jokinen sees the competencies as being “those universal qualities that allow individuals to perform their job outside their own national as well as organizational culture” (p. 201).  By using this approach there is a synergy that results and allows the leader and the organization to focus on areas that are analogous across the competencies, thus allowing for a systematic integration of the competencies that allows for the implementation and training in these areas.

Jokinen (2005) identifies three areas of core global leadership competencies that must be addressed and studied:  behavioral, cognitive and core competencies.  The core competencies consists of self-awareness, inquisitiveness, and personal transformation (Jokinen).  These core competencies are seen as the forces that drive the other two competency areas of behavior and cognitive.  The core competencies all stress the importance of continual learning and application of the knowledge that was learned.

By having these core competencies it allows the leader to build upon them to go further in the global environment because there is an integrative framework that views global leadership as a holistic experience that integrates more than just the competencies that are required for the position.  Jokinen (2005) suggests that when utilizing this framework the leader or the organization needs to focus more on education and learning that helps to acquire the global leadership skills needed than to focus on quantitatively attempting to measure and assess the competencies as they are acquired.

Identifying Global Leadership Competencies:  An Exploratory Study

Bueno and Tubbs (2004) discuss how that global leadership competencies are acquired over the long-term and if these competences can be identified, then the timeline for acquiring these competencies can be greatly reduced if they are taught and understood in a framework that is in a knowable progression.  The global leadership competency areas that are described by Bueno and Tubbs are behavioral, cognitive and attitudinal.

The global leadership competencies that were discussed came into light via discussions and interviews held with executives in global organization.  By using this methodology, the authors were able to define the competencies that mattered and were of most importance to the organization that have the executives interviewed.  The authors discuss how their study could be of limited applicability within academia and the business world because of the small sample size.  This limitation is only heightened by the fact that of the executives that were interviewed, well over three-fourths of them were from the same general geographic area of the world, thus further limiting the applicability of the study and possibly rendering the finding moot.

Global Leadership Capability:  An Asian-Pacific Perspective

Leadership styles and actions differ across cultural and organizational boundaries and because of the huge differences there needs to be leadership knowledge and abilities that cuts across the cultural and organizational boundaries to help grow the organization.  For this and other reasons Carey, Newman, and McDonough (2004) posit the idea that there needs to be a global leadership model that allows leaders to address the needs and issues in whichever culture they are operating at present.  This global leadership capability is behaviorally based and is a mixture of varied cultural competencies as well as leadership skills (Carey et al.).

The changes that have occurred in technology and telecommunications which have changed organizational and economic spatiality has driven the dire need for a set of global leadership competencies because these changes allow and organization to have a span of control that covers the world and also gives the organization to operate worldwide in real-time without the lag that was present in the previous decades.  Before a leader can operate in this environment they must first be able to understand the differences in the disparate community cultures and be able to adapt to those difference cultures.

The authors discuss how the Asian culture is vastly different from the typical Western culture and leaders must be able to understand these differences before they can lead people in these regions (Carey et al., 2004).  There are many different myths that can lead to misunderstandings and misperceptions when it comes to global leadership competencies due to the fact that cultures are far from simplistic.  The different cultures are very dynamic and complicated and, at times, very contradictory in what they believe and the way they operate (Carey et al., 2004).

Carey et al. (2004) base their global leadership competencies on a more collaborative and flexible form of inclusive leadership while discounting the ideas of competence as it relates to the specific job.  The authors make a distinction between leaders and managers and lead the reader to believe that the two areas are not compatible, thus leading one to the assumption that a person can only be a leader or a manager instead of being both at the same time (Carey et al.).  The authors base their global leadership competencies almost exclusively on trust and values and place all other competences in a secondary position to this.  While there may be validity in this position it does cause problems when looked at holistically in light of a global organization.  If the leader is honest then the employees can trust him, but if the leader is honest and does not have the knowledge, skills or abilities to make the necessary decisions or communicate effectively with the employees then the organization will be unable to meet the goals of growth and continued profit.

As the interconnectedness of global organizations amplify and the pace of change increases, the idea of flexibility comes to the fore and makes it a very important part of the global leadership competencies.  Without flexibility, the leader is unable to change and move toward the future.  When leaders and organization implement global leadership competencies the organizations ability to cross geographic and cultural boundaries increases exponentially while giving the organization and the leaders the flexibility to meet challenges as the occur (Carey et al., 2004).  By having, understanding and utilizing global leadership competencies the leader will be able to be more effective because of the comprehensive mindset that is endemic to all global leadership competencies.

Leading Across Cultures:  Attachment Style Influences

Leading across cultural divides across the globe requires that the leader and the organization possess specific knowledge, skills and abilities that include technical and organizational knowledge and particular interpersonal skills (Manning, 2003).  According to Manning the most important skill that leaders need in a global leadership environment is that skill termed relationship competence.  This skill of relationship competence is one where the best in people are brought out and where trust is built through connections (Manning).

By utilizing attachment theory, the organization is able to utilize a managers previous experiences to analyze the business environment with an optimism that allows the organization to grow (Manning, 2003).  By utilizing attachment theory, an organization would be able to ascertain which organizational leaders are secure, thus finding leaders that are able to be more relationship-oriented instead of the typical task-oriented leader (Manning).  Manning holds that organizations are too attached to sending leaders into a global environment that are technical and organizational experts instead of people that are experts in interpersonal relationships.  By utilizing numerous assessments and tools and organization can evaluate the cultural sensitivity of leaders before they are sent on international assignments, thus the organization is able to give these leaders the needed training and education so they can operate in and be sensitive to the local culture of the community and the employees (Morrison).

By identifying leaders that will be interacting with international communities and employees early, an organization will be able to provide training that keeps the leader from shutting themselves off from the rest of the employees and acting with a heavy hand (Morrison, 2000).  By training these leaders, the organization will be able to have a direct impact on their international operations through the inculcation of behaviorally based training that allows the leader to understand the impact of actions in relation to the local culture of the community and the employees.  This will allow the leader to interact with the community and motivate the employees with relevant rewards instead of insulting them by trying to use motivation techniques that worked in the home country.

The Women’s Global Leadership Forum:  Enhancing One Company’s Global Leadership Capability

Global and domestic leadership are not the same due to the fact that an organization and country are not separated from the world community by time and space as in decades past.   The contributions of women as global leaders is increasing because of the inclusion of women in the workforce and their constant moving up the corporate ladder to leadership positions in multinational organizations (Adler, Brody, & Osland, 2000).

Organizations that have a set of global leadership competencies must inculcate the employees with a mindset that includes a culture of meritocracy which promotes and utilizes the best within the organization, male or female, and moves even further away from the previous mindset of a male only or male dominated workforce (Adler et al., 2000).  By moving away from this mindset, organizations are able to use and make the most of women throughout the world which brings in more and varied experiences and opinions to help the organization meet their goals.  In a survey that was administer by Alder et al, women executives bring to the fore the importance of ensuring that relationships are made and maintained within the various global communities (Adler et al.).  This is just as important as the abilities that are needed within the organization to understand finance and the industrial operations of the organization.

The authors concluded that the only way to increase the global leadership competencies within an organization is by enhancing the individual’s knowledge, skills and abilities through education and training (Adler et al., 2000).  Alder et al break this training and education down into three separate categories that lead to understanding and utilizing global leadership competencies.  The three categories are the power to, the power with, and the power within (Adler et al.).  Each of these areas helps the leader and the organization understand and work with an international community and help achieve and exceed the organizational goals.

The power to helps the leader understand where they are going and have a vision where they and the organization are going in the future and how it can be achieved (Adler et al., 2000).  The power with competency gives the leader and the organization the competencies that are needed to work with and understand people from many different cultures (Adler et al.).  The power with includes the skills of communication, negotiating and teamwork.  These skills are built upon with the power within which is where the leader understand that their power within the organization comes not from the organization but from their deeply held values and ethics which contribute to the organizational growth (Adler et al.).

Global leadership competencies can be increased within organizations by establishing a network where women are able share experiences and skills with other women, thus helping the organization to increase their organizational learning and utilize the expertise that is held within their confines (Adler et al., 2000).  This type of network or forum allows women to understand the impact that women have as leaders and the commonality that is held by women across the world and how this affects their leadership and the organization.

Adler et al (2000) postulate that women can be brought into leadership positions by teaching them global leadership competencies through a system that utilizes career development, diversity and work/life balance to help achieve organizational goals.  By utilizing this systematic training, women are able to gain the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to lead organizations in a global environment which will lead to greater growth and added revenues because the organization is utilizing the unique experiences of women in the workforce (Adler et al.).

Discussion

Women as Leaders

The number of women in leadership positions has increased steadily since 1970.  Women occupy slightly over 25 percent of the supervisory position in U.S. industry and just 11 percent of senior executive positions, although they represent 51 percent of the world population (Sellers, 1999).  Research indicates that men’s attitudes toward women in the workplace are gradually changing as more women enter the workforce and assume leadership positions within global organizations.  Studies show, however, that both men and women executive believe women have to be exceptional to succeed in the business world.  Women leaders still face disadvantages in business and feel they must struggle harder than men to succeed (Rosener, 1990).

In the past, successful leaders have been associated with stereotypical masculine attributes such as competitiveness, task orientation, and willingness to take risks.  Recent studies, however, show that female middle and top-level executives no longer equate successful leadership with these masculine attributes.  Experienced female managers show no differences in leadership ability from their experienced male counterparts.  Both groups possess a high need for achievement and power, and both demonstrate assertiveness, self-reliance, risk taking, and other traits and behaviors associated with leadership.  Once men and women have established themselves as leaders in organizations, women do not behave differently than men (Powell, 1990).  However, a trend exists of more women making their way to the top who are not only adopting styles and attitudes they have developed from their experiences as women (Parry, 2000).  Generally, women are more likely to use behaviors that are associated with transformational leadership, such as reliance on expertise, charisma, and interpersonal skills.  Men, on the other hand are more likely to be directive in their approach to leadership within the organization (Parry).

A New Model of Leadership

All of the leadership models that are discussed in the academic literature offer important knowledge about leadership.  By combining many of the concepts, including women as leaders, into a new framework or model, insights can be offered into successful leadership.  This model would need to be based on three very important areas that are endemic to leadership.  Those areas are competence, character, and community.

In the area of competence, leaders need to have knowledge about how organizations work.  The leader needs to know how to develop a vision and mission that are not only correct for the organization, but that also inspires the people within the organization to see the future and work toward goals that will move the organization in the direction of the vision and mission.  The leader also needs to understand and know how to analyze financial statements and how to make sure that the organization does achieve its strategy.

Leaders must also know how to interact with people so that the people know that the leader cares about them and has the best interests of them and the organization at heart when decisions are made.  The leaders also must be able to communicate with the people on a level that both inspires and encourages them.  There must also be an understanding as to what influences people.  Since global organizations, by their very definition, are diverse, the leader must understand that what motivates one person in one country may not work on someone in another country with a different culture.

With this competence is the base of leadership for the global leader going forward in the twenty-first century.

Character refers to the values and behaviors that are exhibited by the leader which inspires trust, commitment and followership (Sosik & Megerian, 1999).  These things are essential for any global organization to achieve its mission.  Characteristics such as integrity, honesty, high ethical standards, courage, discipline, and persistence are the foundations for the leader’s character.  If a global leader has these characteristics combined with the previously discussed competence, the leader has the opportunity to earn the trust of the people within the organization and will set a good example of the behaviors that are needed for the success of the organization (Hanson, 2002).

The result of the combination of character and competence will be a vibrant organizational community that is healthy and inspiring.  The atmosphere within a healthy, vibrant organization community will instill in the people that work in the organization a sense of followership where they work together to achieve the organizations goals and fulfill the mission and vision for the organization.  When the organizational leaders apply this concept of community outside the organization, it will build strong and positive ties between the organization and the external community, upon which the organization depends for customers, employees, and healthy economic conditions.

Conclusion

With ever increasing globalization and change, leaders will be challenged to manage relationships more than in the past.  This will include the ability to interact effectively with diversity of partners and other businesses and within the larger context of differing cultures.  Predictions are that the total trade between countries will exceed the total value of trade within countries by the year 2015 (Thaler-Carter, 2000).  This will truly require global leaders.

As we have been discussing throughout the class and in this paper, the changing global environment is likely to continue to stimulate the transformation and revitalization of public and private institutions.  Small as well as large U.S. corporations recognize that they will have to change in order to survive.  They have embarked on programs of extensive change that must be accomplished in short periods of time.  Such transformations require a new set of leadership skills.

It is clear that the successful leader of the twenty-first century will be one who promotes leadership development and encourages workers to assume his or her role as a leader.  Individuals working in twenty-first century global organizations must be innovative and creative, practice continuous learning, have values that especially include integrity, have a personal vision, be in charge of their own careers, motivate from within, plan, communicate, and seek harmonious relationships with stakeholders.

References

Adler, N. J., Brody, L. W., & Osland, J. S. (2000). The Women’s Global Leadership Forum: Enhancing one company’s global leadership capability [Electronic Version]. Human Resource Management, 39, 209. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Bueno, C. M., & Tubbs, S. L. (2004). Identifying Global Leadership Competencies: An Exploratory Study [Electronic Version]. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 5, 80. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Carey, C. E., Newman, P. M., & McDonough, L. M. (2004). Global Leadership Capability: An Asia-Pacific Perspective [Electronic Version]. Performance Improvement, 43, 13. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Hanson, L. (2002). What boards can do about America’s corporate leadership crisis [Electronic Version]. Directorship, 13-16. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Hickman, C. (1990). Mind of a manager. New York: John Wiley.

Jokinen, T. (2005). Global leadership competencies: a review and discussion [Electronic Version]. Journal of European Industrial Training, 29, 199. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Kotter, J. P. (1997). Matsushita leadership. New York: Free Press.

Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (1995). The leadership challenge:  How to get extraordinary things done with ordinary people (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Manning, T. T. (2003). Leadership across cultures: Attachment style influences [Electronic Version]. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 9, 20. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Morrison, A. J. (2000). Developing a global leadership model [Electronic Version]. Human Resource Management, 39, 117. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Parry, K. (2000). Women behaving as leaders [Electronic Version]. Management, 47, 24-26. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Powell, G. (1990). One more time:  Do females and male managers differ? [Electronic Version]. Academy of Management Executive. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Rosener, J. (1990). Ways women lead [Electronic Version]. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved April 15, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Sellers, P. (1999, October 25). These women rule. Fortune.

Sosik, J., & Megerian, L. (1999). Understanding leader emotional intelligence and performance:  The role of self-other agreement on transformational leadership [Electronic Version]. Group & Organization Management, 24, 367-390. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Thaler-Carter, R. (2000). Whither global leadership [Electronic Version]. HR Magazine, 82-87. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN Proquest.

Tubbs, S. L., & Schulz, E. (2006). Exploring a Taxonomy of Global Leadership Competencies and Meta-competencies [Electronic Version]. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 8, 29. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from LIRN ProQuest.

Yukl, G. (1998). Leadership in organizations (4th ed.). Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ.

The aim of this paper is to explore students’ positive experiences of their learning through the use of visual narratives, observation, and field notes in two secondary school classes in Sweden. Four themes were found: (1) knowing the needs of mind and body, (2) embracing each other in mutual support, (3) learning in a facilitating environment, and (4) using a variety of learning modalities. Students wished to have a voice in setting the curriculum, favored a variety of assignments, and sought to expand their learning environment beyond the classroom. Finally, challenges for teachers and school leaders are discussed.

Keywords: educational reform, narrative methods, phenomenology, student and teacher experiences, student voice

Introduction

Alternatives to the Measuring Agenda

Over the last decade education has been subject to large-scale reforms, standardization, testing, and external inspections, as Hargreaves (2009) summarizes. While especially evident in the United Kingdom and the United States, this approach has spread to other countries of Europe and Scandinavia (Gustafsson, 2008; Tiller, 2010). In Sweden, for example, the political debate about reforming the school system has been influenced by national and international surveys. These evaluations concern themselves with quantifiable and measurable data. They look for such “hard evidence” as factual subject knowledge in mathematics, science, and reading. However, in basing assessments solely on standardized tests, certain types of knowledge and social skills, like cooperation, communication, critical review, and ethical attitudes are not acknowledged (Elvstrand, 2009).

Such a one-dimensional perspective has been criticized by educational researchers, teachers, and parents (Cook-Sather, 2009; Hargreaves, 2009; Scherp, 2004; Tiller, 2010). One objection has been the difficulty of measuring a student’s knowledge and ability through surveys. Others have charged that evidence is prioritized while experience is neglected. “Hard data have pushed aside soft intuition and judgment” (Hargreaves, 2009, p. 94). Educators must find ways other than surveys to assess knowledge and abilities. One must, however, consider how the diversity of outcomes achieved through education can be measured. An assessment that takes into account “soft” values and qualities of students and teachers might give a holistic picture of learning processes. Testing, surveys, and external reviews are insufficient and need to be complemented with qualitative data based on experiences from within schools. In 2009 Hargreaves declared, “Experience and evidence need to be discussed in dialogue together without privileging one over the other. Data do not always give us the answer” (p. 95). Cook-Sather (2009) proposes including other voices in the processes of bringing change about in schools. These would introduce new perspectives and stimulate educational reform. Yonezawa and Jones (2007) argue that student voice can “augment standardized test scores” (p. 681), by letting different sources inform researchers, teachers, and policymakers in the process of deciding on possible avenues for change in schools and classroom practices. The researchers mentioned stress that students’ perspectives help teachers and administrators in schools better understand why a certain reform worked or not, by listening to student feedback. Including student experiences in school improvement processes and the overall educational debate can enable understanding how learning is constituted from the perspective of different students or groups of students, as well as giving students an active role in educational reform (Rudduck, 2007).

Student Voice

Student voices have rarely been taken into account in education reforms, and to some extent this is still the case (Cook-Sather, 2009; Levin, 2000), although interest in including them has increased over the past two decades (Hopkins, 2010; Mitra, 2005; Oldfather, 1995). The importance of exploring the school experiences of students and the way they learn has been stressed in policy documents and by international researchers (Hopkins; 2010; Mitra, 2004; Rudduck & Flutter, 2004; Swedish National Agency for Education, 2010). Letting students be heard is now regarded by some as a valuable contribution to school improvement in general, and especially with regard to students’ learning and achievement (Duffield, et al., 2000).

Student voice can be interpreted as a form of “consultation,” that is, listening to the opinions of students on matters concerning them (Roberts & Nash, 2009). However, it can also be viewed as “participation” (Cook-Sather, 2006). The notion includes adults listening to students and students taking an active role in their learning in order to effect change in their schools (Roberts & Nash, 2009). Levin (2000) underlines that students have a unique viewpoint that neither teachers nor other adults in a school can surmise. According to Mitra (2004), it is goes beyond receiving input from students: when youth have opportunities to participate in making school decisions it will affect their lives in a profound way. Listening to student feedback is a way to engage students in the wider school community and increase their ownership of their schools. On a basic level, student voice allows young people to share their opinions on school issues with administrators and faculty. Youth may even assume leadership roles in efforts to bring about change (Mitra, 2005).

However, when “giving voice” to a group of human beings in a research study, one runs the risk of over-generalization in presenting experiences collectively (Robinson & Taylor, 2007). Cook-Sather (2006) also sees the potential danger of considering different student voices in a single, unified way. Nevertheless, finding common threads amid the a diversity of student voices can form the basis for educational reform.

Identifying problems in schools and trying to resolve them represents a traditional approach to education reform (citation removed for blind review, 2011; Cooperrider & Whitney, 2005). A problem-based methodology can foster individual development, but can also be a restrictive starting point (Magnusson, 2008). In presenting an alternative way of reforming education and researching educational practices, we suggest an alternative to the widespread emphasis on deficiencies. Exploring positive student experiences through research reframes existing situations in ways that can identify opportunities for change (Ghaye, 2008). Studying what works well and discerning the root causes of success is fundamental. It is more productive to elucidate strengths in organizations through investigative research, than letting deficiencies set the agenda.

Other studies have addressed issues of positive learning experiences and the most favorable conditions for learning from a student’s point of view (cf. Hopkins, 2010; McCallum et al., 2000; Rudduck, 2007; Wilson & Corbett, 2007). McCallum et al. (2000) asked the students to describe fundamental learning conditions referring “to a learner’s physical state, frame of mind, attitude, age and ability” (p. 279). Classroom conditions were also related to the learning process, as they “included references to teaching strategies and learning climate” (p. 279). In the Hopkins study (2010), students stated that teacher quality was essential for their learning. They referred to such attributes as respect, appreciation, fairness, and providing support—all of which describe relational aspects of learning. The importance of the teacher is underlined by Rudduck (2007) who found that students characterized a good teacher as respectful and sensitive to their needs, positive in attitude, skilled in their teaching, and expert in their subject. Wilson and Corbett (2007) find that students consider a good teacher to be one who encourages them to complete their assignments, maintains order in the classroom, and tries to understand them.  The students in the study by McCallum et al. (2000) cited the importance of receiving help and support from teachers and having the opportunity to learn in a quiet and peaceful environment. The authors emphasize that students articulated their preference for learning through different methods. They appreciated engaging and practical activities in school (Hopkins, 2010).  These findings are also supported by Rudduck (2007), who learned that students wished to have a say in their education, talk about their progress, work at their own pace, and study topics based on their interests.

The studies mentioned above employed a variety of empirical methods, such as cards with four fixed statements and one open card (McCallum et al., 2000), fishbone tool supporting group interviews and a card sorting exercise (Hopkins, 2010), interviews (Rudduck, 2007), and open-ended interviews and observations (Wilson & Corbett, 2007).

Although some research on positive learning experiences exists, further exploration is needed, especially students voicing their own lived experiences in combination with an open and pluralistic research approach (which, in our case, include digital photos, oral presentations, and student writings). The aim of this paper is to investigate and extend the study of students’ positive experiences of their learning processes.

Methodology

Context of the Study

The present study is part of a larger research project that examines experiences of psychosocial well-being and learning in school. The overall project focuses on different prerequisites for creating positive learning communities from a student’s perspective. According to Swedish law on ethical conduct (SFS 2008:192), participation in a research study is voluntary and participants are free to withdraw at any time without having to give a reason. The law also stipulates confidentiality to ensure that unauthorized persons may not obtain access to empirical data. Oral and written information about the study was given to prospective student participants and their parents, and informed consent was obtained. The study was approved by the Regional Ethics Review Board in Sweden (Dnr 45-2009).

Ontological and Epistemological Framework

The ontological and epistemological basis of this study is the phenomenology of the life-world. As a philosophical term, “life-world” refers to the everyday world that humans share, take for granted, and in which they live their lives. Central to this concept is the notion of back to the things themselves and adjustment to the things (Bengtsson, 2005; Husserl, 1995; Willis, 2001, 2004). The first phrase emphasises the significance of investigating reality as it shows itself. A researcher cannot formulate principles a priori and then attempt to make the real world conform to them. Phenomena in the world must live their own lives (Bengtsson, 2001). The second implies flexibility, humility, and openness to the things in one’s surroundings. Participants in a study can be considered as “the things”. Openness can be applied in both educational settings and in educational research. As researchers, openness for us has included carefully listening to student voices by choosing appropriate methods for creating, analysing, and presenting data. Every study involving human interaction, as van Manen (1997), asserts, must begin in lived experience. To get a deeper understanding of such experiences, life-world phenomenological research explores situations in which humans are naturally engaged in that realm. Bengtsson (2005) stresses that researchers have to regionalize ontology by choosing parts of the life-world to study—in this case, positive learning experiences. The focus is accordingly on students’ actual lived experiences, and not on imaginative or wished for experiences. We have chosen empirical methods for data creation and data analysis in our study based on our ontological and epistemological assumptions.

Data Creation

Visual narrative (digital photographs and written texts), observation, and field notes have been utilized, since different empirical methods may provide researchers with rich descriptions of a phenomenon. The scientific term for this, according to Bengtsson (2005), is methodological creativity. By combining modes, a message can “say the same thing in different ways” (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2001, p. 20). Using a number of modes or “languages” to grasp lived experiences may contribute to a more profound understanding of their meaning. Languages can be considered spoken or written words, body language, and visual images. Just as people choose diverse ways of expressing themselves, so researchers seek to draw forth information the use of various empirical methods, some of which may facilitate subjects expressing and sharing experiences in their own way.

One sixth grade and one seventh grade class in two schools in Northern Sweden were given the following assignment: Tell us about a situation during class that has been positive for you in your learning. Take digital photographs of something that symbolizes that positive experience. Two classroom teachers collaborated with us in formulating the exercise. Students worked in small groups of two to four persons. First they shared their own personal experiences with the rest of the group, followed by a decision within the group on what positive experiences to present. Using digital cameras, the students took photographs symbolizing their chosen issues. They created Power Point presentations that depicted their reflections both visually and in writing. The visual narratives were presented to the class in Power Point with students explaining why these experiences were positive for their education. Their classmates were invited to comment, ask questions, and offer their interpretation of the photographs and narratives. We observed and documented the student dialogues by taking notes. The basic assumption of the exercise was that inviting students to reflect on their schooling and participate in school activities, as well as the research processes, was of value to them. Two levels of student voice—sharing opinions of school and collaborating with adults to address problems—were embodied, echoing Mitra (2005). In our study, however, students were invited to concentrate on positive learning experiences, rather than on problems.

The student responses were written down in Swedish and later translated into English. All data were analyzed in their original version in order to reduce the risk of misinterpretation. In order to minimize any loss of meaning in translation, we carried out extensive conversations with linguistic reviewers about how to interpret the transcripts. After the data was collected, it was subject to the analysis described in the following section.

Data Analysis

In the phenomenological tradition, analysis can take several methodological forms. Bengtsson (2001) argues that it need not follow pre-determined rules or stages, but should be founded upon openness toward participants and adjustment to them. In addition, how a researcher’s presuppositions affects the analysis should be considered.

A life-world phenomenological analysis based on van Manen (1997) was used in this study. It focused on description and interpretation in seeking to understand a phenomenon and elucidate themes. In order to obtain a general picture of students’ lived experience, we first viewed students’ PowerPoint presentations, including their verbal and figurative expressions, and the oral explanations used in their presentations. Then, so that we could identify similarities and differences, we made a collective mind-map grouping the students’ experiences.  Following that we used the mind-map and earlier steps in the analysis process to formulate themes based on the meaning of the phenomena we observed. In the last step we reflected on our interpretation of student responses and related the findings to phenomenological concepts. In our attempt to understand positive learning experiences, we found it is crucial to go beyond individual experiences and focus on the collective representation of the research topic. Thus, the analytical process, although collecting examples of subjective experiences, strove for a holistic understanding of student responses.

Findings

Our findings after surveying the positive experiences of students when they reflected on their learning processes consisted of four themes: (1) knowing the needs of mind and body, (2) embracing each other in mutual support, (3) learning in a facilitating environment, and (4) using a variety of learning modalities. Not all individual student responses may be represented in all four themes, but together they create a holistic understanding of the phenomena we investigated. The themes will be considered according to the phenomenology of the life-world, without any order of precedence, using digital photos and quotations to exemplify their different aspects.

Knowing the Needs of Mind and Body

The first theme, knowing the needs of mind and body, included being in good mental and physical health. Students described how a positive attitude helps the learning process. Being happy made them more alert and able to concentrate well. One group of students wrote: “When you are alert and happy you work well!” (Figure 1).

Figure 1. When you are alert and happy you work well!

Being in good spirits depended on a number of things, including good friends and positive teachers. One group showing pictures of their classmates, explained: “Friends get you in a good mood and then we work better.” Students also said that a friendly and happy teacher increased their willingness to learn: “A good teacher makes you happy . . . . We work at our best when we have a positive teacher.” According to students, happiness is contagious. One student commented, “A teacher can tell a joke, and even if the teacher is the only one laughing it is still good because it makes the teacher happy and that means a better teacher.”

Students described what being in physical balance means to them by sharing experiences of getting enough sleep and being able to rest when tired. One student group noted that “It’s also about rest and sleep and eating and drinking.” Time was a factor students liked to have control over. For example, they valued being able to eat when they were hungry, take additional breaks when needed, and have enough time to complete a task. Physical balance was described by some students as taking good care of themselves. Concern for oneself was considered essential during classes and breaks. Being allowed to move around during class having a voice in their assignments also helped their motivation to learn.

Recess was prized because students used it to visit the bathroom, get fresh air, or burn up excess energy through physical activity. Some students played basketball or took a walk with friends, which they said positively influenced their ability to learn (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Students being physically active

One group of students explained, “When you work hard and then take a break you can work better afterwards.” Although the breaks involved activities, students sometimes choose to be inactive, making themselves comfortable in a quiet corner and reading a book or lying down on the sofa at the back of the classroom to rest (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Lying down on a sofa to rest during recess

Students spoke of getting adequate nourishment as the key to being in good physical and mental health. They claimed that eating some fruit or drinking water during classrooms breaks added to their ability to learn. One group of students illustrated the value of what they called a “fruit break” with a picture of a girl holding a fruit bowl.  Another announced, “If there is good food in school, we eat more and then we can think better for the rest of the day.” They explained that eating well gave them more energy, greater alertness, and better endurance (Figure 4). Yet another group photographed a student eating fruit while holding up a sign saying “MVG+” (i.e. “A+”). They explained, “If you have eaten well you work better and then you get better grades.”

Figure 4. Eating well to get good grades. (Sign means “A+”)

Phenomenological Reflection

The student-lived experiences in this theme elucidated self-awareness of how corporal needs affect learning processes. Their presentations confirmed that they viewed mind and body as intimately entwined (Merleau-Ponty, 1996). Hunger and fatigue affected the learning process negatively, students declared, while they believed that meeting their physical needs improved learning. They connected physical well-being and positive mental attitude to enhanced academic achievement, suggesting these can be self-regulated. We found no signs of victimization; on the contrary, the students claimed the power to influence their school situation by eating well, resting when tired, being physically active, and taking inspiration from the positive attitude of others. Here, several dimensions coalesced in a common humanity: we are our bodies, our emotions, our thoughts, and our experiences (Husserl, 1995; Merleau-Ponty, 1996).

Embracing Each Other in Mutual Support

The second theme that emerged from our investigation involved students giving and receiving support. Students told of how important teachers and friends were in their learning processes because they helped them with their assignments. Good teachers, as noted earlier, were portrayed as happy, funny, supportive, positive, and encouraging, which had positive effects on the ability of students to do a satisfactory job (Figure 5).

Figure 5. A happy teacher supports student learning

Teachers were supportive in a number of ways, such as explaining an assignment in a helpful manner. Students also appreciated a teacher’s ability to create a feeling of security and safety, especially in potential bullying situations. One student said, “A grown up should be close by when the big ninth graders pass by.”  Another added, “The sixth graders are good role models,” explaining how the older students helped the younger ones feel safe during recess when ninth graders, who frightened the younger children, came out to the schoolyard. Feelings of being scared and alone subsided when others were there to provide support (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Teacher supporting students

The students considered their friends as both “study pals” and “playfellows”. By cooperating in different ways, friends made schoolwork more enjoyable, which the students claimed increased their ability to learn.  As one group explained, “If you work together with a friend, you learn new things.” Another group wrote, “Helping each other is good . . . and you need to practice cooperation to be good at it” (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Students cooperate and support each other

Good friends were described as kind, helpful, humorous, and encouraging, not only with schoolwork, but also with personal matters. Students said they learned more when in a reciprocal relationship, supportive of one another, working on assignments together, and teaching each other, in contrast to studying on one’s own.

Phenomenological Reflection

In this theme the lived experiences of students showed relationships to be catalysts for learning processes, illustrating that the life-world all humans share is constituted by encounters and relationships. Lévinas (1969) elaborates on notion of being-for-the-world, which characterizes not only relationships and mutual impact, but also the responsibility for others. The same is true of educational settings, where behaviour toward others also plays a significant role. The students described an interconnectedness between students and teachers as well as between students. Their experiences of positive learning in school reflect the phenomenological view of the life-world that claims all things as parts of an integrated whole. Experiences in the life-world mutually affect each other, as when two people meet and interact, both being influenced by each other (Merleau-Ponty, 1996). Students emphasized the building of positive, respectful relationships between themselves and their teachers, and describing a bond that exemplifies closeness to others. Lévinas’s definition of such relationships is proximity; it signifies an ethical attitude toward others (Peperzak, 1993).  Proximity can be understood in two ways: either as physical, visual, and spatial closeness, or as the emotional closeness in a relationship (i.e., between students and teachers). A bond with another is created through nearness, and is based on personal involvement rather than conventions or rules (Lévinas, 1998). According to the students, a well-functioning social community within a school can offer them support and security, increasing their ability to learn and develop.

Learning in a Facilitating Environment

The third theme we found referred the impact a facilitating environment has on learning. Students pointed out a number of areas they felt influenced the school environment, indoors as well as out.  They cited the access to a comfortable classroom seat and a sofa on which to relax during recess as improving their ability to learn. Students also considered a neat, clean school, including the classrooms, corridors, and cafeteria, a facilitating environment.  They mentioned the importance of having all their school supplies such as pens, pencils, rulers, computers, and books (Figure 8).

Figure 8. Appropriate school materials support student learning

Having books, material, and equipment available enhanced their learning and, in the long run, improved their grades. A facilitating outdoor environment was described as a schoolyard where students could play, had access to sports equipment like basketballs, hockey sticks, a soccer field, and plenty of space to move around. Good weather increased the willingness to learn. One student explained, “When it is sunny outside I’m happy”. However, sunshine could also bring about the opposite effect, as expressed by another student: “When it is sunny I just want to stay home.”

Utilising the outdoor area as a resource for the school program was described as a good idea, as it facilitates learning (Figure 9). When being outdoors, students claimed: “We spread out and it feels more peaceful then.”

Figure 9. Students outdoors, breathing fresh air, in a facilitating environment

A social atmosphere enhancing student learning included a number of different aspects. Certain people were identified by students as central to a facilitating environment. Being in the company of congenial adults and fellow students, and one’s best friend, was considered vital. As one student explained, “It is important to have friends around you all the time. Otherwise you can feel insecure during classes.” According to students, peace and quiet in the classroom was also a positive factor in learning (Figure 10).

Figure 10. Peace and quiet in the classroom

The students said that a classroom did not have to be absolutely silent. As one student explained, “Quiet is number 2 on a scale from 1 to 10.” Working in an environment where everybody was engaged and making very little noise helped students feel calm and work better. Students found it very important for their studies that, while they were part of a group sharing the same space, they also showed also showed respect for each other. One of the students spoke of how they tried to make as little noise as possible in the classroom, “We whisper to each other . . . using small letters.” One group asked if there were a way they might practice being quiet. “Maybe we could have a homework assignment that would make us think about keeping the noise level down?” Listening to music while working helped some students concentrate and was a way of distancing themselves from the rest of the class. Not fooling around, even though the teacher was not watching, was another prerequisite to ensuring a facilitating environment.

Phenomenological Reflection

The lived experiences of students in this theme described a facilitating school environment in both physical and social terms. The physical learning environment can be characterized in its material, aesthetic, and functional aspects, and its relation to human beings (Alerby & Hörnqvist, 2003). A physical environment that affects young people and student learning is not only created in the physical environment, but also by it (David & Weinstein, 1987; Skanze, 1989). The experiences of students suggest that physical space is an important component in their learning processes. Foran and Olsen (2008) discuss the impact a school’s space can have on student learning. They argue for appropriate places for learning that meet the needs of students: “Going outside can enable curious and adventurous teachers to seek places for their students to learn best . . . . The places we learn in influence more than just the curricular outcomes in that they shape who we are and how we relate to one another” (Foran & Olsen, 2008, p. 46).

According to the students, a facilitating environment was also related to social aspects. Their voices imply a personal connection between themselves and their teachers, reflecting the impact of social relations when forming a learning community. Consequently, human actions and behavior influence how people experience the world as well as their possibilities of development.

The factors making up a facilitating environment cited by students suggest a diverse milieu where individual and group preferences sometimes correlate and sometimes clash.

Using a Variety of Learning Modalities

The fourth theme concerned students using a variety of learning modalities. It was related to having the opportunity to exert one’s influence, which could range from affecting school organization and lesson planning to establishing an individual study plan of one’s own. Students were able to exercise many choices, which helped to make their schoolwork enjoyable. For example, being able to influence lesson planning or help decide what activity to do in PE class made students more willing to learn and that made learning more fun. Other examples of choices that enhanced learning included voting on whether classes should be shorter or longer, determining whether it would be good to have “flex-time”, and agreeing on when to start and end the school day. Having a voice in such matters was experienced as positive for student learning (Figure 11).

Figure 11. Students being able to influence when to do tasks and for how long

Students explained that working democratically was a prerequisite to being able to influence others, so they had to work out creative ways of accomplishing that. According to one student, “Everybody must have the right to their own opinion and should be able to speak their mind.” Another student said, “If you have different ideas you can throw dice or argue [for your ideas]”, to which another student commented, “Or you include everybody’s ideas.”

Students also suggested ways in which teachers could vary their lessons. They proposed teachers give instructions and then let students work individually or in small groups.  Other preferred different kinds of assignments, “so you don’t have to listen to the teacher talking all the time.” Using different learning modalities, including input from sight, hearing, and touch, makes it easier to learn. Students found they learned more was enhanced when teachers mixed theoretical and practical tasks. They also found working with their hands enjoyable and relaxing. One group wrote, “Practical work is recreational” (Figure 12).

Figure 12. Students find working with their hands enjoyable and relaxing

Other methods of learning described by students were playing games, creating dramatic sketches, working outdoors (Figure 13), and presenting an assignment before the rest of the class. They suggested additional classroom activities, such as reading aloud to the class or watching films in conjunction with what they were studying.

Figure 13. Students using the outdoors as a resource for learning

Students agreed that the computers were helpful when writing essays because they provided linguistic support. Using the computer to do homework, search for information, play games, or make PowerPoint presentations was also depicted as positive. One group of students wrote, “You can use the computer for many good things . . . .  It’s a valuable aid … It’s fun to work with” (Figure 14).

Figure 14. Students collaborating in using a computer

Phenomenological Reflection

The lived experiences of students in this theme indicated many ways learning can take place. According to Merleau-Ponty (1996), knowledge is in the body—both corporally and practically—and humans express themselves through it. It is this corporal totality that the students articulated when they described using a variety of learning modalities experiences in conjunction with caring for and using their bodies. In addition, students valued computers and digital media as tools for learning. The students’ voices we gathered address what constitutes learning and the space in which learning takes place. The multitude of learning modalities they described as helpful can be used to organize lessons. The power of agency is underlined by those students who argued for the opportunity to have a say in choosing when to learn, with whom to learn, and what tools to use. The range of student views implies that they wish their school to be flexible and open to variation.

Discussion

According to our findings, positive experiences of student learning processes took place through the body as well as by means of human relationships and interactions. In addition, being in a congenial physical and social space, learning through participation, and influencing their school’s programme enhanced the students’ achievements. Our findings can be supported by previous research, stressing that a learner’s physical state, frame of mind and attitude affect learning outcomes. Teacher quality, both on an instructional and a personal level, is also essential for productive student learning (cf. Hopkins, 2010; McCallum et al., 2000; Rudduck, 2007; Wilson & Corbett, 2007). The importance of students being able to influence education, work at own pace, pursue their interests, and use different learning styles was repeatedly heard. Help and support from both other students and teachers were also of significance for the learning process.

When turning to student voice in research, there is a risk that researchers will elicit shallow answers due to students’ inability to make their voices heard (Pekrul & Levin, 2007). Such an outcome may be contingent on a school’s ability to foster an atmosphere in which students are encouraged to reflect on their studies and especially on positive learning experiences. Nevertheless, we found considerable evident that physical and mental factors, affected the learning of the students in our study in positive ways. Although the positive correlation between physical fitness and academic achievement is well-represented in the literature (Chomitz et al., 2009; Ericsson, 2003; Novello, Degraw & Kleinman, 1992; Rothon et al., 2009; Taras, 2005), the students in this study made the wholeness of mind and body evident. Their holistic PowerPoint presentations suggested that they acknowledged the balance of body, mind and emotions as a prerequisite for learning. They emphasized their preference for learning through the whole body when they described their favor for a variety of assignments and learning modalities. Our phenomenological analysis of the data indicated this corporeality in the learning process. The students in this study described a school where a diversity of learning methods brings considerable flexibility into the classroom.

Conclusion

The attempt to measure student achievement through testing and external inspections has been sufficiently criticized without offering much in its place. What we have sought to do is explore the advantages of listening to student’s experiences of learning in their own voices and use that information to complement surveys of “hard data”, such as math scores or language tests. Exploring qualitative values in schools creates an opportunity to go deeper into the lives of students and uncover aspects difficult to capture in large-scale surveys. The students in this study contributed personal insights into what they regard as positive learning experiences and their preferences in conjunction with the learning process. Through their voices we found that learning is an embodied, relational, and spatial experience. Students wished to have a voice in determining their own curriculum; they favoured a variety of teaching modalities; and they sought to expand their learning space beyond the classroom walls. The school they envisioned was one of diversity and flexibility.

When reforming education, school leaders and teachers must be informed by a number of sources. They should consult policy and managerial documents, large-scale surveys, but also students’ experiences and views, as we have tried to show. Our students’ understanding of positive learning experiences may challenge the way education is generally organized, and how curricula are developed inside and outside of Sweden. The present challenge, as we see it, is to include student feedback in the process of reforming education. We concur with Cook-Sather in emphasizing that the voices of students should be heard. It “must be seen as a work in progress, another step in an ongoing struggle to find meeting places for teachers and students and for researchers and students from which to effect cultural shifts that support a repositioning of students” (2006, p. 361).

Giving student voices a role in influencing educational reform in a profound way must be carried out as “more than a passing fashion” (Rudduck & Fielding, 2006, p. 229). A shift in school reform and further educational research is needed in order to integrate student experience in planning the curriculum of the future. It is our conclusion that what is needed is to create an even more “student voice”-friendly climate in schools and research, so that students will be encouraged to reflect on their learning experiences and take increasing ownership of their education. Researchers must also adopt methods that stimulate students to voice their experiences creatively and become active participants in research involving them. Finally, we hope to inspire school administrators, teachers, and teacher educators to embrace the challenge to critically reflect on how optimum learning conditions may be achieved while also meeting school goals—something which may also involve questioning social norms and traditional structures in education.

References

Alerby, E. & Hörnqvist, M-L. (2003). ”Skolan som levt rum. En teoretisk belysning av rummets betydelse i lärandet” [The school as lived space. A theorethical review of the importance of space in learning], in J. Bengtsson & M. Uljens (Ed). Livsvärldsfenomenologi och hermeneutik. Aktuella humanvetenskapliga

Forskningsproblem [Life-world phenomenology and hermeneutics]. Helsingfors: Helsingfors universitet.

Bengtsson, J. (2001). Sammanflätningar. Husserls och Merleau-Pontys fenomenologi [The phenomenology of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty]. Göteborg: Bokförlaget Daidalos.

Bengtsson, J. (Ed.). (2005). Med livsvärlden som grund. Bidrag till utvecklandet av en livsvärldsfenomenologisk ansats i pedagogisk forskning [With the life-world as a basis. Contribution to the development of a phenomenological life-world perspective in pedagogical research]. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Chomitz, V., Slining, M., McGowan, R., Mitchell, S., Dawson, G. & Hacker, K. (2009). Is there a relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement? Positive results from public school children in the North eastern United States. Journal of    School Health, 79(1), 30-37.

Cook-Sather, A. (2006). Sound, presence, and power: “Student voice” in educational research and reform. Curriculum Inquiry, 36(4), 359-390.

Cook-Sather, A. (2009). Translation: An alternative framework for conceptualizing and supporting school reform efforts. Educational Theory, 59(2), 217-231.

Cooperrider, D., & Whitney, D. (2005). Appreciative inquiry: a positive revolution in change. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

David, T. & Weinstein, C. (1987). “The built environment and children’s development”. In Weinstein, C & David, T (ed). Spaces for children. The built environment and child development. New York: Plenum Press.

Duffield, J., Allan, J., Turner, E. & Morris, B. (2000). Pupils’ voices on achievement: an alternative to the standards agenda. Cambridge Journal of Education, 30(2), 263-274.

Elvstrand, H. (2009). Delaktighet i skolans vardagsarbete [Paricipation in every-day practice in schools]. Doctorial thesis. Linköping: Linköping University.

Ericsson, I. (2003). Motorik, koncentrationsförmåga och skolprestationer. En interventionsstudie i skolår 1-3 [Motor skills, attention and academic achievements – An intervention study in school year 1-3]. Doctoral thesis. Malmö: Malmö University.

Foran, A. & Olsen, M. (2008). Seeking pedagogical places. Phenomenology & Practice, 2(1), 24-48.

Ghaye, T. (2008). Building the reflective healthcare organization. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.

Gustafsson, J-E. (2008). Effects of international comparative studies on educational quality on the quality of educational research. European Educational Research Journal, 7(1), 1-17.

Hargreaves, A. (2009). A decade of educational change and a defining moment of opportunity – an introduction. Journal of Educational Change, 10(2), 89-100.

Hopkins, E. (2010). Classroom conditions for effective learning: hearing the voice of Key Stage 3 pupils. Improving Schools, 13(1), 39-53.

Husserl. E. (1995). Fenomenologins idé [The idea of phenomenology] Göteborg: Daidalos AB.

Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2001). Multimodal discourse: the modes and media of contemporary communication. London: Arnold.

Levin, B. (2000). Putting students at the centre in education reform. Journal of Educational Change, 1(2-3), 155-172.

Lévinas, E. (1969). Totality and infinity. An essay on exteriority. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.

Lévinas, E. (1998). Otherwise than being or beyond essence. Pittsburgh: Duqunesne University Press.

Magnusson, A. (2008). Problem – en begreppsanalys. [Problems – an analysis of the concept]  Uppsala: Department of Education.

McCallum, B. Hargreaves, E., & Gipps, C. (2000). Learning: the pupil’s voice. Cambridge Journal of Education, 30(2), 275-289.

Merleau-Ponty, M. (1996). Phenomenology of perception. London: Routledge.

Mitra, D. L. (2004). The significance of students: Can increasing “student voice” in schools lead to gains in youth development. Teachers College Record, 106(4), 651–688.

Mitra, D. L. (2005). Adults advising youth: Leading while getting out of the way. Educational Adminstrational Quarterly, 41(3), 520-553.

Novello, A., Degraw, C. & Kleinman, D. (1992). Healthy children ready to learn: An essential collaboration between health and education. Puplic Health Reports, 107(1) 3-15.

Oldfather, P. (1995). Learning from student voices. Theory into Practice, 34(2), 87.

Pekrun, S. & Levin, B. (2007). “Building student voice for school improvement”, in D.Thiessen & A. Cook-Sather (ed.) (2007). International Handbook of Student Experience in Elementary and Secondary school. Dordrecht: Springer.

Peperzak, A. (1993). To the other: an introduction to the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press.

Roberts, A. & Nash, J. (2009). Enabling students to participate in school improvement through a Students as Researchers programme. Improving Schools, 12(2), 174-187.

Robinson, C. & Taylor, C. (2007). Theorizing student voice: values and perspectives. Improving Schools, 10(1), 5-17.

Rothon, C., Head, J., Clark, C., Klineberg, E., Cattell, V. & Stansfeld, S. (2009). The impact of psychological distress on the educational achievement of adolescents at the end of compulsory education. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 44(5), 421-427.

Rudduck, J. (2007). “Student voice, student engagement, and school reform”, in D.Thiessen & A. Cook-Sather (ed.) (2007). International Handbook of Student Experience in Elementary and Secondary school. Dordrecht: Springer.

Rudduck, J. & Fielding, M. (2006). Student voice and the perils of popularity. Educational Review, 58(2), 219–231.

Rudduck, J., & Flutter, J. (2004). How to improve your school. Giving pupils a voice. London: Continuum.

Scherp, H-Å. (2004). Kvalitetsarbete utifrån ett lärandeperspektiv [Curriculum development from a learning perspective]. Karlstad: Universitetstryckeriet.

SFS (2008) SFS 2008:192 Lag om ändring i lagen (2003:460) om etikprövning av forskning som avser människor [Law on change in law (2003:460) about ethical vetting of research concerning human beings].

Skantze, A. (1989). Vad betyder skolhuset? Skolans fysiska miljö ur elevernas perspektiv studerad i relation till barns och ungdomars utvecklingsuppgifter. [What is the meaning of the schoolhouse? The physical environment of the school from the pupils’ perspective in relation to the children’s developing tasks]. Stockholm: Pedagogiska institutionen, Stockholms universitet.

Swedish National Agency for Education (2010) Läroplan för grundskolan, förskoleklassen och fritidshemmet, Lgr2011 (U2010/5865/S). [Curriculum for the compulsory school, preschool class and leisure-time centres]. Stockholm: Ministry of Education.

Taras, H. (2005). Physical activity and student performance at school. Journal of School Health, 75(6), 214-218.

Tiller, T. (2010). Tio tankar om skolan [Ten thoughts about the school]. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

van Manen, M. (1997). Researching lived experience. Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. London: State University of New York Press.

Willis, P. (2001). The “things themselves” in phenomenology. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 1(1), 1-14.

Willis, P. (2004). From “the things themselves” to a “feeling of understanding”: Finding different voices in phenomenological research. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 4(1), 1-13.

Wilson, B. & Corbett, D. (2007). “Students’ perspectives on good teaching: Implications for adult reform behaviour”, in D.Thiessen & A. Cook-Sather (ed.) (2007). International Handbook of Student Experience in Elementary and Secondary school. Dordrecht: Springer.

Yonesawa, S. & Jones, M. (2007). “Using students’ voices to inform and evaluate secondary school reform”, in D.Thiessen & A. Cook-Sather (ed.) (2007). International Handbook of Student Experience in Elementary and Secondary school. Dordrecht: Springer.

The use of active learning techniques and collaborative learning in higher education has been advocated in much research.  Differentiated instruction has received much press at the K-12 level, but not as much in higher education.    This article describes active and collaborative learning experiences in higher education that provide differentiated instruction in the college classroom. Learning stations are one way of differentiating.  This instructional technique led to improved class discussions, and many aha experiences as students developed understanding, compared and contrasted new ideas, and illustrated principles they had previously learned.

Key Words:  Active Learning, Differentiation, Learning Stations

Take a walk around an institute of higher education and what you will see in classrooms is much the same as it was thirty years ago.  Professors lecture and students listen.   Learning often consists of note taking, and preparing papers and exams.  This illustrates one model and one way to present information and demonstrate learning.  The lecture model, however, may not be best suited for developing individuals who can think critically, work collaboratively, and synthesize information. Skills better suited for success in the twenty-first century.    Barr and Tagg (1995) discuss the need for teaching that elicits student discovery and construction of knowledge.  They focus on a need in higher education to improve the quality of learning.  McConnell and Steer (2001) compared traditional lectures and active learning approaches in large earth science classes finding better achievement in active learning classes.  They report better achievement in many ways, but point out short answer test questions where scores were 7% higher for the students enrolled in the section that used active learning methods.  Fewer students dropped the active learning course section as well.  While 7% higher scores may not seem significant, they still illustrate that the active learning section was achieving better results.  Chickering and Gamson (1987) recommend active learning that encourages cooperation among students in their article Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.  When students in higher education participate in active learning tasks rather than listen to lectures they think critically, synthesize ideas, and work collaboratively.

Differentiated Instruction

One challenge to active learning in the classroom is the various levels that students display.  Students in higher education bring different learning styles as well as different background knowledge from their life and school experiences.  While differentiated instruction has received much press at the K-12 level, less has been made of its importance at the higher education level. There is a need to discuss differentiation at the higher education level.   Differentiation according to Tomlinson (2001) is doing things in the classroom so that learners have multiple ways to learn, multiple ways to express what they learn, and multiple ways to make sense of what they are learning.   It is not a difference in what students learn, but a change in how students learn in the classroom by multiple methods.  All students in a class have the same learning goals, but the journey to meet these goals would be different. Differentiation as defined by the researchers at the National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum is “to recognize students’ varying background knowledge, readiness, language, preferences in learning and interests; and to react responsively.”  (from Hall, Strangman, and Meyer http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstructudl.html retreived 24 May, 2010)

How does one differentiate in the college classroom?  One theory used in K-12 education that may have a role in higher education is Universal Design for Learning.  According to the web site for the Center for Applied Special Technology Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a theory based on architectural design, has the instructor create learning experiences that can accessed by all in the same way that an architect creates a building that can be accessed by all regardless of how they come to the building or what challenges they face entering it.  Universal Design does not mean one way for all, but addressing the needs of all when designing the lesson.  Universal Design is a framework for designing curricula that enable all individuals to gain knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm for learning. UDL provides rich supports for learning and reduces barriers to the curriculum while maintaining high achievement standards for all. (Hall, Stangman and Meyer, 2009)  Learning stations may provide a method for infusing universal design into the higher education classroom.

A Method to Differentiate Instruction and use Active Learning Strategies

One way of meeting the goals of active, collaborative learning experiences and differentiated instruction in higher education could be through the use of learning stations.  A learning center in K-12 is often a computer based activity where a student completes a task alone or with a partner.  Children from the classroom cycle through the centers spending a limited amount of time on a specific task.  The term learning centers is often used in K-12 to describe activities done in small groups with students cycling through a number of stations one at a time.  The term “center” in higher education often refers to a place, for example the learning center or the skills center.  Students go to a center to receive a service.  In order to avoid confusion this article will use the word “learning station”  to mean a task that a student completes with a small group similar to the learning center in K-12.  Students will cycle through a number of learning stations.

Using Learning Stations to Develop Fraction Concepts

Learning stations designed around the topic of fractions were used to enhance understanding of fraction concepts for teacher candidates enrolled in a mathematics class for elementary teachers.  The main objective of the class is to develop understanding of the mathematical concepts and develop proficiency with the mathematical skills taught in the elementary school. It is not collegiate math, but elementary mathematics.   Many undergraduate elementary education teacher candidates lack comprehension of fraction concepts and suffer from anxiety about mathematics.  Doing rote exercises with fractions is both boring and seldom produces understanding while doing nothing to build self-confidence. In the article The Mathematical Miseducation of America’s Youth Battista discusses the problems with traditional methods and notes that for most US students math was an endless sequence of memorizing and forgetting procedures.  The same topics are taught and are not learned (1999).  This is often the case for the college students in this class  who are to learn or relearn the math they will teach.  Sometimes it is math they did not learn in elementary school.  According to VanDeWalle (2007), researcher and writer of effective teaching methods for elementary school children, the following methods are essential for developing understanding of fractions: focusing on concepts not rules, especially the concepts of more, less and equal, discussion of fraction concepts, and the use of multiple models.  Leonard and Tracy (1993) found that using games with children maximizes students’ problem solving competence, ability to communicate and reason mathematically, and their self confidence.   A teacher educator, instead of assigning exercises or homework, created learning stations for collaborative learning that included tasks and games such as one might use with elementary students to build fraction concepts.  There was an emphasis on fun while encouraging discussion, building understanding and developing self confidence with fraction concepts regardless of the differences in background knowledge and skills of the participants.

Learning Station 1: Top It.

The first station was called Top it, because it is similar to the game of the same name found in the Everyday Mathematics Series published by The University of Chicago Mathematics Project. This game is like the card game war, but instead of using a deck of cards students used index cards with fractions written on them.  (See figure 1.)  Each member of the group flips a card; the one with the largest fraction wins and takes all the cards.  One interesting feature about this station is that students needed to think about the value of fractions and use mathematical reasoning.

Learning Station 2: Dominoes.

The second station was dominoes.  This game is played like a traditional dominoes game with each player taking about 7 cards and trying to match one of their cards to the others in play.  The dominoes were made with index cards and contained either a written fraction like ½ or a picture illustrating a fraction of a set or region.  (See figure 2.)  It is interesting to note that one could place a card down next to an equivalent fraction.  For example if you are holding a card with the picture of 4/8 you could place it next to a card with its equivalent, ½, written on it.

Learning Station 3: Quilt Squares.

The next station involved coloring fractions on a piece of graph paper which was called a quilt square.  The students needed to follow a specific direction for coloring. For example, the square contained 100 boxes (10 by 10), the directions said ½ of the quilt square must be blue, therefore, 50 of the boxes must be blue.  See figure 3 for a picture of a completed quilt square.

Learning Station 4: Restaurant.

The last station was called restaurant.  Here students were given recipes that served 4 people.  They needed to change the recipe so that it would serve more people such as 8 or 20.  One of the recipes was for a large amount and required the students to change the recipe to a smaller amount.

Procedures and Findings.

Students were placed in groups of 4 and rotated among the 4 stations spending about 15 minutes in each station.  Talking, laughing and overall engagement was evident as students rotated through the stations. While some may read this and think what juvenile activities for college students, it was surprising to note how many students had never played war/ Top it or dominoes as children, enjoyed the problem solving, found the coloring interesting, and how cooking is a common experiences and that everyone has strategies for measuring. It is also important to note that a number of students learned new techniques for comparing and ordering fractions from classmates, developed new strategies for altering recipes, and exchanged their understandings of fraction concepts.  It did not matter how strong or weak a students’ understanding was, they engaged in the same activities.  Students grew from wherever their understanding was before we started.   One student remarked when leaving, “now that was a good class.”

In subsequent classes students showed better understanding of fractions.  Results on the fraction unit test and the final exam were also positive.  This set of stations has also been used in an elementary education methods course for mathematics and in a graduate course on improving instruction in elementary mathematics with similar feedback and results.

These same learning stations were also used with a group of students enrolled in an elementary education mathematics and science methods class.  This group had similar characteristics, lack of understanding and math anxiety.  This group was given a pretest the class before the stations were used and a post test after the center experience.  Note the results below.  All students either improved or remained at a high achieving level.  Again students remarked about how much fun they had in class.

See figure 4.

Using Learning Stations to Differentiate Instruction on Pedagogy:  Inquiry, Problem Based and Direct Instruction

            Methods courses in teacher education often describe various theories of teaching and learning.  Sometimes teacher educators will model theories in lessons and sometimes they will show videos of elementary classrooms for students to compare and contrast.  This collaborative activity required students in an elementary education methods course for mathematics and science to engage in three different stations invoking three different teaching theories for the purpose of helping students understand the theories and compare and contrast them.  Based on ideas from the Exploratorium web site and the Institute for Inquiry (Exploratorium.edu) the teacher educator developed three stations all hands on activities involving foam that were implemented using 3 different theories of pedagogy; direct instruction, problem-based learning, and the explore stage of inquiry. Foam proved to be an interesting topic because students often had limited knowledge and experience that made the use of the particular method clear.

Learning Station 1: Direct Instruction.

Direct instruction is a methodology with the importance placed on teacher wording and then students doing (Kinder and Carnine, 2001).  According to Stein, Carnine andDixonthe goal of direct instruction is to increase student learning by developing, applying, and connecting background knowledge to new knowledge. Key ideas are teaching explicit strategies, scaffolding instruction, integrating skills and concepts, and reviewing (1998). The student is more a passive receiver of knowledge in direct instruction and the teacher acts more as the authority, telling what to know and do.

This center included the following materials:  bowl, bucket, gallon of water, dish soap, whisk, paint stirring stick, measuring cups, ruler, paper plates and bowls.  There were strict directions to follow regarding how much water, how much soap to mix in a bowl, how many times to stir, and what tools to use.  Students were then asked questions about the foam such as which tools produced the most foam, what happens if you stir faster or slower, and does more soap or more water produce more foam.  Students completed the tasks and worked through the questions needing little guidance from the teacher educator.

Learning Station 2: Problem-based Learning.

Problem-based learning is an instructional method where students are presented with a problem before any instruction takes place. Students take the role of scientists solving a problem and the teacher acts as coach. Learners develop higher order thinking skills and are actively engaged.  Critics say it focuses too much on thinking skills and does not develop content knowledge (Drake and Long, 2009).  Koray et. al. (2008) found this approach was better at helping pre-service teachers develop problem solving skills than traditional instruction.  Pre-service teachers using problem-based learning also gained in communication skills, ability to work with others and knowledge (Koray et. al. 2008).When using this method students work in groups to solve a problem with teacher guidance provided as needed.

In this center students were given the same materials as in the first center and told to build a tower of foam 12 inches high.  This was the only direction and students could decide how much soap, how much water, and what tools to use to meet the goal.  The teacher educator offered suggestions as she circulated among the three stations.

Learning Station 3: Inquiry.

To teach using inquiry is to allow students to develop and investigate their own questions.  Building on students’ curiosities, science instruction is developed as students strive to answer their own questions.  There are often 5 steps in inquiry based instruction.  The second step is exploration where students explore with materials, develop questions and strive to answer them.  The teacher acts as a facilitator stimulating discussion and self reflection.  According to the National Science Education Standards “Inquiry is a multifaceted activity that involves making observations; posing questions; examining books and other sources of information to see what is already known; planning investigations; reviewing what is already known in light of experimental evidence; using tools to gather, analyze, and interpret data; proposing answers, explanations, and predictions; and communicating the results (NAP.edu  June 5, 2009).

This center contained the same materials as the other two stations and also had shaving cream and root beer.  Here the direction was to explore foam and write down questions or ideas that you would like to investigate about foam.  The teacher educator was frequently at this center with questions and suggestions for the students.

Procedures and Findings.

Each of the stations was to simulate instruction in one of the three pedagogies described above.  The purpose of this was to improve preservice teachers understanding of the three theories and their ability to discuss when and where each technique would be most useful and successful. Each group spent 20 minutes at a center and there were five students in each group.  A rich discussion followed this collaborative learning experience that helped students: describe the pedagogical theories of direct instruction, problem-based learning, and inquiry based learning, explain the different educational objectives best achieved by each type of pedagogy, and analyze the role of the teacher when using each technique. While some students may have had a strong background in these theories based on the instructional methods they had experiences as student, others students did not have these experiences.  In order to complete the tasks in each center a student did not need extensive knowledge of the methodology, but at the conclusion and with the discussion of the experiences, students constructed their understanding of the three methods.   The various levels of understanding and experience that the students entered with did not matter the learning was maximized for all.  This was illustrated in the discussions that followed.  While studying foam was not the objective some content knowledge in this area also developed and the need to develop our own content knowledge before teaching a topic was also considered vital to successful teaching using any of the techniques. This insight while not a goal shows how the learning station activities encouraged individual development.

Using On-line Learning Stations to develop Background Knowledge about Poverty and Socioeconomic Status

            Students often enter the college classroom with differing levels of understanding.  Often times instructors expect that students can define and explain key vocabulary and important concepts.  When students can not the instructor must teach it.  Learning stations may be a way to build background knowledge that students are lacking.  Constructing the learning stations on line using a classroom site such as ANGEL may help students develop background knowledge working thru web sites and discussions at their own pace.  Teacher candidates enrolled in an elementary education methods course for mathematics and science lacked background knowledge in defining and describing poverty and socioeconomic status.  Online learning stations were created to facilitate student learning of these concepts.

Learning Station 1:  Defining Poverty.

Students were instructed to search the web and find at least 3 definitions of povery.  They were to post them and include references.  They were then instructed to visit the website ahaprocess.com.  They were to discuss the site including such questions as who runs it?  What information does it offer?  What services are available to teachers?  This site was established by Ruby Payne, author of Frameworks for Understanding Poverty. A drop box and a discussion forum were available for students to post, get feedback and read classmates work on this topic.

Learning Station 2:  Understanding Socioeconomic Status and Learning.

This learning station required them to access an article, Poverty and Learning by Ron Renchler,.with a link provided by the instructor.  This article described socioeconomic status and provided data.  Students were then to discuss this via discussion board on ANGEL.

Learning Station 3: The Flat World and Education.

This station was to encourage students to read more about what is meant by the terms “the flat world.”  This was the concept being presented when the instructor realized many students lacked background knowledge on poverty and socioeconomic status.  This station also included a discussion forum where it was hoped that students would connect the other two stations,  their findings for this station and the class discussion.

Procedures and Findings.

The on line learning stations were not required of students enrolled in the methods class, but were highly encouraged because of the other assignments and tasks required in this course were extensive.  Of the 16 students enrolled in the class, 6 participated in the on line learning stations.  These stations were completed the following semester and 11 of 17 students participated.  This is encouraging because students chose to build their background knowledge the task being a classroom exercise or a graded assignment.  Simply setting up and providing the on line learning stations for students and having them successfully engage in them was a positive experience for both instructor and student.  Offered to all and participated in by a few, the on line learning stations demonstrated the  theory of universal design and encouraged collaboration, critical thinking, and synthesis of information.

Conclusions

            The learning stations described above not only provide active learning experiences, but allow for differentiated instruction.  As students work through the stations described above they activate background knowledge, complete the tasks entering into them at whatever level of understanding, and build knowledge and skills including higher level thinking.  The learning goal for each individual is the same.  In case one that is understanding fraction concepts to a level needed for teaching elementary students not just for personal use,  in case two it is comparing and contrasting educational methodologies in order to evaluate when to use each in teaching, and in case three it is building background knowledge on concepts.  This is accomplished through learning stations where each student’s growth is maximized.

Positives of these experiences include achievement on tests and exams, higher level thinking as observed in class discussions including the ability to compare and contrast ideas.  While these experiences may take more time then delivering a lecture the benefits of collaboration such as the ability to work with others, the development of critical thinking and the opportunity to provide active experiences far outweigh the loss of time.  It will serve students better in the future to know how to work collaboratively and critically think than to be passive receptors of knowledge. It will serve students and faculty better to provide activities where students can begin where they are and maximize their learning.

Dianne S. McCarthy

mccartds@buffalostate.edu

Buffalo State College

1300 Elmwood Avenue

Buffalo, NY 14222

716-878-3693

References

Barr, R.B. & Tagg, J. (1995) From teaching to learning a new paradigm for undergraduate education.  Learning  from Change. Landmarks in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from Change Magazine 1969-1999. 198

Battista, M.T.(1999).  The mathematical miseducation of America’s youth.  Phi Delta Kappan, 80(6)  424-434.

Center for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Education (1996). National Science Education Standards.  retrieved June 5, 2009. From http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962&page=23 

Chickering, A. & Gamson, S. (1987).  Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education.  AAHE Bulletin, 39, March 1987.  3-7.

Comparing Approaches to Hands on Science.  Institute for Inquiry retrieved March 2009. www.exploratorium.com 

Drake, K. N. (2009) Rebecca’s in the dark: a comparative study of problem-based learning and direct instruction/experiential learning in two 4th-grade classrooms. Journal of Elementary Science Education, 21(1) 1-16

Hall, T.  Strangman N., and Meyer A. (2009)  Differentiated Instruction and Implications for UDL Implementation.  Center for Applied Special Technologies.  retrieved May 2010.  www.cast.org.

Kinder, D. & Carnine, D. (2001). Direct instruction: What it is and what it is becoming. Journal of Behavioral Education, 1(2), 193-213.

Leonard, L.M. and Tracy, D.M. (1993).  Using games to meet the standards for middle school students.  Arithmetic Teacher, 40(9).  P. 499.

Stein, M., Carnine, D., &Dixon, R. (1998). Direct Instruction: Integrating curriculum and design and effective teaching practice. Intervention in School and Clinic, 33(4), 227-234.

Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed ability classrooms. 2^nded. Association of Curriculum Development. Alexandria, VA. p. 1-2.

VandeWalle, J.A.  (2007).  Elementary and Middle School Mathematics.  Teaching Developmentally.  6th ed.Boston,MA Pearson.

Figure 1  Fraction Top It Game

Figure 2  Fraction Dominoes

Figure 3  Fraction Quilt Squares

Figure 4  Pre and Post test scores for students enrolled in Elementary Mathematics Methods Course.  All names have been changed

 Both the professional literature and non-academic resources are replete with references to both the successes and failures of the current state of education.  There is very little doubt that education is receiving intense scrutiny from a variety of sources and in regard to numerous aspects of its implementation.  A primary focus of this examination has been the teacher work force, specifically its effectiveness in promoting measurable student growth and achievement.  While this is a natural and imperative center of the investigation, it also encompasses ancillary issues, such as the manner in which the teachers are prepared to assume their instructional roles, and to what extent they are continuing to augment their professional development and effectiveness once they enter the classroom setting.  Issues such as these clearly draw teacher preparation programs at the higher education level into the conversation.   To address these concerns, conventional teacher education programs are being analyzed as to their efficacy and practical application to real world demands.

The discussion in this article centers on the role of teacher preparation as a critical aspect of the educational reform agenda.  Through the delineation of two specific issues as a backdrop, the reader will note that the current environment in teacher education is ripe for reform, a reality which is already in process, but still demanding additional evolution.   Teacher education must recognize these issues and respond appropriately to remain relevant and functional.  While this is no doubt true of all teacher education programming, a particular emphasis in this discourse is programming for special education personnel, an area with particular relevance to the issues to be discussed.  Considerations for traditional teacher preparation programs, in light of the issues discussed, will be subsequently presented.

Issues for Consideration in Special Education Teacher Preparation Reform

The Continued Growth of Alternative Certification Options

Alternative certification (AC) has been described as an educational option to conventional university-based teacher preparation for individuals who hold at least a bachelor’s degree (Feistritzer, 2007).  Although there appears to be some disagreement regarding some substantive and implementation issues (Humphrey & Wechsler, 2007), AC programming generally progresses at a an accelerated rate, and involves abbreviated course requirements and training (Constantine et al., 2009; Sindelar, Daunic & Rennells, 2004) with the courses sometimes being scheduled at the school where the candidates are employed (Rosenberg & Sindelar, 2005).  Further, the coursework is often completed while the candidates are concurrently in the instructional environment (Tissington and Grow, 2007).

As one can imagine, AC is not without controversy.  While numerous professional articles have addressed various aspects of such a credentialing system (e.g., Constantine et al., 2009; Darling-Hammond, Chung, & Frelow, 2002; deBettencourt & Howard, 2004; Laczko-Kerr & Berliner, 2002; Rosenberg, Boyer, Sindelar, & Misra, 2007; Rosenberg & Sindelar, 2005; Shaw, 2008; Zeichner & Schulte, 2001), the focus of this discussion is not on its merits or shortfalls, but rather on how its increasing existence is affecting the preparation of teachers who work with students with disabilities.

In a 2007 investigation of AC options, every state noted having some type of AC opportunities, with an approximate one third of recently employed instructors having been involved with AC programming on a national level (Feistritzer, 2007).   While a discussion of AC options often leads to more prominently known programs such as Teach for America or Troops for Teachers, the reality is that “there are myriad alternative teaching licensure programs (e.g., local school districts, state education departments, commercial-enterprise programs, and online programs)” (Tissington & Grow, 2007, p. 25).  Special education, specifically, has been the recipient of a rapid increase in this type of teacher preparation (Honawar, 2006; Rosenberg et al., 2007; Rosenberg & Sindelar, 2005).

There are two major reasons for this surge in AC programming for prospective special educators, one of which is a general discontent with the traditional university-based route of teacher preparation.  Critics of conventional teacher preparation often point to the inclusion of costly and sometimes excessive coursework.  In their discussion of AC in special education, Rosenberg and Sindelar (2005) perhaps summarized this negative perception of traditional teacher training best by noting that “widespread sentiment holds that traditional approaches to teacher preparation are self-serving, bloated, overregulatory, and anachronistic” (p.119).  Whether or not one agrees with this perspective, it does indicate that there is a substantial foundation for the evolution and continual growth of alternatives to traditional certification paths.

The second and perhaps even more immediate reason for the growth of AC in special education is the ongoing teacher shortage in this field (Connelly, Rosenberg & Sindelar, 2004; Honawar, 2006; Robertson & Singleton, 2010; Rosenberg et al., 2007; Rosenberg & Sindelar, 2005).   In addition to issues with attrition, and teachers exiting the field or transferring to general education placements (Thornton, Peltier & Medina, 2007), there is also the view that special education teacher preparation programs are not producing an adequate number of graduates (Boe &Cook, 2006).  The demand is outweighing the supply, thus encouraging the active proliferation of alternative options for teacher credentials.

This increase in AC as an option for credentialing special education teachers should not be dismissed by traditional university-based teacher preparation programs as inconsequential or fleeting.  While this author supports traditional teacher preparation in special education, the reality is that, at least to some extent, it is in competition with AC programming for prospective special education teachers.  Traditional teacher preparation programming cannot afford the luxury of simply resting on its laurels, debating the utility and conceptual suppositions of AC.  Support it or not, AC in special education exists and its graduates are populating many of our classrooms for students with disabilities.   Traditional teacher programs must move beyond the discussion of whether or not AC should be an acceptable option, to deciphering how they will subsist in this educational climate, and make meaningful contributions to teacher education reform.

The Increasing Emphasis on Pay-for-Performance

Legislative momentum for merit pay.  The legislative aspect of the school reform agenda includes an intense emphasis on linking financial incentives for teachers to their effectiveness, as evidenced in  two programs funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), namely, the Teacher Incentive Fund and Race to the Top (Laine, Potemski, & Rowland, 2010).   Both of these programs make reference to rewarding determinants of teacher effectiveness (Teacher Incentive Fund, 2010; The White House, President Barack Obama, 2009). In addition, discussions surrounding the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as the No Child Left Behind Act, have supported the idea of associating teacher compensation and performance evaluation.  Multiple references to this type of relationship may also be found in A Blueprint for Reform, The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was published in March 2010 (United States Department of Education, 2010).  As Springer and Gardner (2010) note, “current education reform efforts, including the Race to the Top program, put performance pay center stage” (p.8).

Various states have been involved with pay-for performance programs and at times with mixed results.  One example is the District Awards for Teacher Excellence (D.A.T.E.) initiative, funded by the state of Texas, which found not only improvements in pupil achievement, but a drop in the turnover of teachers (National Center on Performance Incentives, 2010).  On the other hand, the National Center on Performance Incentives also reported dissimilar results for such a system in Nashville, Tennessee, where bonus pay alone did not appear to increase the test scores of the students.   These two examples exemplify part of the difficulty with accepting the universal utility of pay-for-performance options in education.  Although this type of compensation system is increasing in its incidence, there is not yet a sufficient research base to determine its true value (Cissell, 2010).  As more states and school districts initiate the pay-for- performance model, the results of its success or failure will be apparent, and specific nuances to its implementation should be clarified.  In the meantime, however, the legislative impetus for initiating performance pay is unmistakable, and will no doubt continue to be a relevant factor in the educational reform movement.

Dissatisfaction with the current salary structure for teachers.   The most common approach to compensation for teachers is the single salary schedule, which was first introduced in 1921 in Denver, Colorado and Des Moines, Iowa, as an attempt to equalize pay and end discrimination (Johnson & Papay, 2010; Koppich, 2010).  The system gained in acceptance and by the 1999-2000 academic year, almost 100% of teachers were compensated based on this type of system (Podgursky, 2009, cited in Springer & Gardner, 2010).

The single salary schedule provides a structure by which teachers are paid according to years of experience and accumulated college credit hours or degrees (Johnson & Papay, 2010; Koppich, 2010).  One advantage of this compensation approach is its relative stability and predictability, valued characteristics in an uncertain economic climate.

The single-salary scale has the advantage of providing a level of certainty; it allows districts to anticipate costs and permits teachers to foresee what their pay will be. Given that assurance, some teachers are willing to trade the chance to earn more in the short term at a noneducation job for the guarantee of steady pay as a teacher. In a field that’s perpetually hampered by shortages, a system that brings stability to the teaching force has its benefits (Johnson & Papay, 2010, p. 49).

While there may be advantages to single salary schedules, there is also discontent with such a system.  One of the major criticisms relates to the fact that it makes no distinction regarding the quality of the performance of teachers.   Poor teachers can be paid the same salary as those who excel in the classroom, thus advancing the sentiment that mediocre instruction is adequate for financial rewards (Ramirez, 2010/2011).  An additional consideration with the single salary schedule is the paucity of research evidence supporting an association between teacher credentials and teacher effectiveness (Vigdor, 2008) as indicated by student outcomes (Gordon, Kane, & Staiger, 2006; Podgursky & Springer, 2007).  This has also been verified specifically in reference to teachers who have been involved with graduate education and/or earned Master’s degrees (Hanushek, 2003, cited in Hanushek, 2007; Wasley and Roza, 2009).  The other half of the salary schedule equation, namely, years of experience, has fared only slightly better in regard to its connection with student achievement.  As Vigdor reports, “the connection between additional years of experience and teaching effectiveness, while substantial in the first few years in the classroom, attenuates over time” (p. 38).

Clearly, there are issues of concern with this method of compensating teachers, thus inviting alternative options for consideration, most notably, pay-for-performance compensation.   Pay-for- performance options, however, not altogether unlike single salary schedules, are also being received with mixed reviews.   Much of the debate appears to be related to how to factor student accomplishments into the criteria for financial incentives.  Most educators would agree that student achievement should be a factor in determining teacher effectiveness, but the methodology and variables entering into the equation can be quite controversial.

This may be especially true of teachers of students with disabilities.   The determination of specific criteria by which special educators will be evaluated for financial compensation is made more complex by the nature of their role, in that they may act in both an instructional and consultative manner, in a variety of educational environments, including co-teaching in a general education classroom. Establishing the impact of the special educator on student academic growth separate from the general educator in a co-teaching classroom, raises numerous questions of equity and objectivity.  Moreover, if special educators do in fact function in more of a consultative, supplemental role to their students placed in inclusive settings, is that role considered to have less of an impact on student achievement than if they are involved in direct instruction, and if so, does this role negatively impact their chances for fiscal compensation?  Will the students’ IEP goals and objectives be taken into consideration for pay-for-performance determination, since working toward their achievement is an overriding responsibility of special educators?  Will these goals and objectives be the primary indicators of student growth for students with disabilities, or will special educators be strictly held to their students’ test scores as indicators of student growth?   In addition, particularly for special educators who work with students with multiple disabilities and often alterative curriculum and assessment procedures, there is the question of which specific criteria would be considered adequate to indicate student growth worthy of financial compensation.   These are but a few of the many questions that need to be addressed in the discussion of performance pay, particularly related to special educators.

The answers to such concerns may not always be apparent yet to personnel in traditional teacher preparation in special education, but it seems prudent to at least consider the potentially large impact that pay-for-performance may ultimately have on teacher education.  As noted previously, although the single salary schedule may not be the most appropriate fiscal approach when it comes to its association with measures of student achievement, it does have elements of predictability and stability for the work force.  Will the ambiguity of the variables for determining performance pay, particularly as they may relate to the unique aspects of the role of special educators, deter students from  entering the field of special education?  Further, will enrollment in post-baccalaureate and graduate degree programs in special education be affected if there are reduced or no financial incentives to pursue additional coursework or advanced degrees, as is the case with the single salary schedule?  As it appears that performance pay is on the fast track to fruition, it seems prudent to review and critique current preparation programs, in light of these and similar issues.

General Implications for Special Education Teacher Preparation Reform

As is evident from the previous discussion, traditional teacher preparation programs in special education co-exist with alternative certification options which provide teacher candidates a quick route to classroom entry and job opportunities.  Pay-for-performance approaches, although perhaps more appropriate in some ways than the single salary schedule, may have the potential to reduce, at least in some cases, the security of a steady, graduated income.  In this climate, is it realistic to assume that enrollment in conventional teacher education programs in special education will remain status quo and that the content and program length of current programming should continue without revision?   What is a reasonable perception is that preparation programs must be relevant, practical, and applicable to this current educational environment, which may include a more streamlined, restructuring of programs of study.  Teacher candidates will want to understand and experience the direct connection between what they are learning and what they will be implementing in an instructional setting.  Particularly with alternative certification options available and salaries linked to performance, teacher candidates will want to feel that they will receive a return on their investment in their professional training.

Teacher education was already an area of focus in educational reform efforts, but it appears that the issues of AC and pay-for performance have illuminated, if not in fact intensified, the need for revisiting teacher preparation for special educators.   The question now is what needs to be accomplished to make the reform feasible, productive, and in the best interest of the teachers being prepared and ultimately, the students with whom they do or will work.    As with many approaches to critiques and revisions, the foci often fall on the “what” and the “how,” more specifically in this case, on the program content and its delivery.

Before discussing these particular aspects of teacher education, however, it is imperative to note the foundation upon which the general implications will be made, namely the partnership between the institutions of higher education (IHEs) and the school districts.  IHEs and schools have long worked collaboratively in reference to classroom observations, field experiences, and student teaching/internships, but the current call for reform necessitates an even greater degree of cooperation and reciprocal involvement.  This type of collaboration not only has a sound pedagogical and pragmatic basis, but it expands access to vital resources and professional skill sets (McCray et al., 2011).  This partnership, throughout the teacher preparation program, is the foundation upon which the remainder of this discussion progresses.

General Implications Regarding the Content of Teacher Preparation in Special Education

Although the delineation of specific courses and explicit curricular content are of serious concern to teacher education personnel, that discourse is beyond the scope of this discussion.  Rather, the focus of the remainder of the article will be on some general implications regarding content and program delivery for consideration, as educators continue to review and revise existing programs, and assume the responsibility of teacher education reform.

Clearly, there must be continued attention to making certain that teacher candidates in special education are able to prove competency and become “highly qualified”  in core subject matter areas for which they will provide exclusive instruction.   This is not only an instructionally reasonable expectation but one required by the tenets of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  In addition, research-based practices must continue to be the foundation of the content to be taught (Bauer, Johnson, & Sapona, 2004).  In their discussion of university-school partnerships, McCray et al. (2011) note the collaboration between school personnel and university faculty in the  implementation of various evidence-based strategies focusing “on improving literacy, mathematics, content area instruction, and discipline” (p.51).

Moreover, as the movement toward pay-for-performance has indicated, the program should continue to have, perhaps more than ever before, a primary focus of improving results in the instructional environment (Wasley & Roza, 2009).  In their discussion of graduate programs, Wasley and Roza conclude that “restructuring compensation should … tip the scales to those programs that have redefined their offerings with a focus on achieving better results in the classroom” (para. 9).  To that end, these authors promote the re-orientation of programming toward instructing students in the usage of data for informed educational practice, a skill to be used both in their preparation program and in the actual classroom environment.  Practices such as this, and the implementation of action research projects in classroom settings, should go a long way in preparing teachers to make sound, evidence-based decisions regarding their students.  Partnering with local school districts in such activities will provide the teacher candidates authentic experiences on a regular basis, and much needed practice prior to culminating experiences such as student teaching or internships.

While a review of current teacher preparation practices in special education may lead to a discussion of streamlining program requirements, or at minimum, a refocusing of program emphases, particularly in light of AC and pay-for performance options, teacher educators should not forego quality in the interest of brevity and marketability.  “With multiple user-friendly paths to certification and almost immediate employment available in certain public schools, we must be careful that all approved programs include rigorous teacher education activities”  (Rosenberg et al., 2007, p. 235).  A particular focus which should not be overlooked in special education teacher education is that of pedagogical practice.

One of the criticisms of AC programming in special education is the lack of emphasis on pedagogy and methodology.  Although some AC options are more inclusive of these content areas, many do not highlight them as crucial components in preparing teachers, instead seemingly advancing the idea that content knowledge is adequate (Laczko-Kerr & Berliner, 2003).  While there is no dispute that subject matter content knowledge is vital to an effective special educator, diminishing the value of pedagogical content and related experiences in teacher preparation is doing a serious disservice to the varied role of the special education teacher.   Special educators are not only called upon to instruct students with disabilities in appropriate curricular content, but also to provide instructional modifications or adaptations to this content on a regular basis.  As noted previously, they may also act as consultants to other educational personnel, not only in regard to the provision of student accommodations, but in reference to such issues as behavioral mediation.  Moreover, they may also be called upon to fulfill these roles in a variety of educational environments, from full-time co-teaching in a general education classroom to being an itinerant instructor, moving from room to room or even school to school.

Clearly, pedagogical knowledge and methodology will need to be particular areas of strength for special educators, thus necessitating their continued comprehensive coverage in a teacher education program.  In addition to the anecdotal knowledge supporting this position, there is also a basis of research support for including coverage of pedagogy in a teacher education program.  In a review of research in teacher education, Wilson, Floden & Ferrini-Mundy (2001) recounted that some studies which centered on pedagogical factors in teacher preparation programs validated the influence of these elements on both instructional practice and student accomplishment. This finding is in close alignment with the increasing emphasis on teacher accountability for student achievement, as purported in the literature regarding pay-for-performance options.

General Implications Regarding Program Delivery in Special Education Teacher Preparation

As previously noted, this author recommends a university-school partnership as the foundational model for teacher education in special education.  This partnership should be implemented comprehensively throughout the coursework and activities.  As with effective AC options, there should be a solid relationship between coursework and experiences in the field (Rosenberg & Sindelar, 2005; Wasburn-Moses & Rosenberg, 2008), where students are afforded the opportunity to garner classroom experience as they transfer their textbook knowledge to practical implementation of concepts learned.

Although AC has its critics, there are some aspects of successful AC programming from which traditional teacher preparation could borrow and adapt accordingly.  In a review of the literature on AC programming, Rosenberg & Sindelar (2005) found that effective programs incorporated mentor support on the building level and supervision from IHE personnel.  If both school-based mentoring and IHE supervision are provided to candidates as they progress through more traditional teacher preparation programs, it will not only strengthen, and in essence, epitomize the university-school partnership model, but will provide the students with considerable feedback from dual sources of expertise.  The difference between this approach and conventional student teaching/internship/practicum experiences is that the feedback would be provided throughout the program, not just at specific intervals within the course sequence, thus formally establishing a strong support system for the teacher candidates throughout their studies.

In addition to university-school district partnerships exemplified in the provision of building-level mentors and IHE supervisors, teacher education programs in special education should continue to find innovative ways to present the content.   Again, some ideas found in the literature on effective AC programming could have applicability to traditional teacher preparation.   Certainly many of these delivery methods are already implemented in teacher education programs, but in the current climate of educational reform, increase in  AC programming, and promotion of pay-for-performance options, there is an even greater need to be innovative and to some extent, flexible, in the delivery of the program content.

McCray et al. (2011) discuss the use of flexible class schedules to include evening and after-school classes, as well as the operation of seminars.  The use of technological options is also a theme which is found in the literature, including online instruction (McCray et al.) and the implementation of virtual communities of learners (Wasburn-Moses & Rosenberg, 2008).

These learning communities, virtual or real, may be involved in such activities as discussions and interviews on a variety of topics, such as unit plans and positive behavioral support programs, while promoting collaboration across disciplines (Wasburn-Moses & Rosenberg).  The inclusion of practical activities which promote collaboration between special educators and other school personnel, particularly general educators, is key to the structure and delivery system  of the preparation program.  As special educators may often be called upon to cooperate with other educators in the implementation of their students’ instructional programs, it is imperative that they actively engage in real-life practice of co-teaching strategies and other collaborative skills with general educators in their preparation programs.

General Implications Regarding Continued Professional Development for Special Educators

A discussion of teacher education reform in special education, particularly in light of the issues of AC and pay-for-performance, does not seem complete without mentioning the importance of professional development activities for field personnel.  The university-school district partnership should extend beyond the focus of providing what is necessary for meeting special education certification requirements to opportunities for continued professional growth for practitioners.

LEA [local education agencies]-IHE [institutions of higher education] partnerships set the stage for a more expansive

and developmental view of teacher preparation. Rather than being viewed as a fixed series of events within a limited time

period, teacher preparation through partnerships is conceptualized as an ongoing process that bridges preservice

development, induction, and ongoing professional development. (McCray et al., 2011, p.47).

An example of an activity which would continue this partnership after the conclusion of the formal preparation program is the establishment of discussion groups for practitioners to share their experiences and issues of concern with other teachers, as well as IHE personnel.  These groups could be accessed on-line and maintained by the IHE, and would undoubtedly be a useful source of support, information, and professional development, especially to novice teachers (Whitaker, 2003).

In addition to providing a forum for technologically-based professional development, special education teacher education personnel should continue their partnership with the school districts through more formalized in-service activities.  These professional development activities, however, should have an explicit focus and relate to specific instructional concerns.   In her discussion of a research-based reform movement in relation to professional development, Hill (2007) notes that professional development with a focus on content can effectively alter teacher behaviors.  Hill further emphasizes that professional development opportunities should be firmly rooted in the context of the teachers’ educational settings, with the content and activities being clearly applicable to their instructional practice.  ”When teachers study the content, curriculum materials, assessments, and instructional methods they will be using, student achievement improves” (Hill, p.121).  As student achievement is a common variable and major emphasis in discussions of pay-for-performance options, such information can prove to be extremely useful to IHEs as they partner with school districts in providing relevant and effective professional development options.

Conclusion

The educational reform movement not only includes the k-12 school environment, but all aspects of the instructional arena.  School personnel, including special educators, are increasingly being scrutinized as to their effectiveness in promoting student achievement, which ultimately leads to an evaluation of their professional preparation.  Traditional teacher preparation programs for special educators have been criticized as not meeting the demands for meeting a crucial teacher shortage, thus permitting the entry and increasing existence of alternative certification options.  The issue of pathways to teacher certification in special education is an extremely pertinent aspect of the educational reform movement.

In addition to competing systems of teacher certification, there is much discussion in the reform agenda concerning educator compensation.  Alternatives to the traditional single salary schedule are being promoted, such as the pay-for-performance option.  Differentiated compensation is a particular issue of interest because of the multifaceted role of special educators and the current lack of clarity in determining criteria for financial rewards.

Because AC programming and teacher compensation are issues in the reform movement with particular relevance to special education, they must ultimately be considered and evaluated as to their impact on the preparation of this work force.  In response to these issues, general implications regarding content and program delivery of teacher education programs, as well as subsequent professional development activities for practitioners, were addressed in the context of university-school district partnerships.  It is hoped that this discussion has added to the continuing dialogue surrounding the evolving framework of special education teacher education, as personnel attempt to respond to issues such as those discussed herein, as well as proactively contribute to the educational reform agenda.

References

Bauer, A. M., Johnson, L. J., & Sapona, R. H. (2004). Reflections on twenty years of preparing special education teachers. [Electronic version]. Exceptionality, 12 (4), 239-       246.

Boe, E. E., & Cook, L. H. (2006). The chronic and increasing shortage of fully certified teachers in special and general      education. [Electronic version]. Exceptional Children, 72 4), 443-460.

Cissell, G. (2010). Kentucky and education reform: The issue of pay-for-performance. [Electronic version]. Journal of Law & Education, 39 (1), 119-127.

Connelly, V., Rosenberg, M. S., & Sindelar, P. T. (2004). CLD position statement: Alternative routes to certification in special education. [Electronic version]. Learning Disability Quarterly, 27 (2), 122-123.

Constantine, J., Player, D., Silva, T., Hallgren, K., Grider, M., Deke, J., & Warner, E. (2009, February). An evaluation of  teachers trained through different routes to certification, final report, executive summary.  Retrieved on July 29, 2009, from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20094043/pdf/20094044.pdf

Darling-Hammond, L., Chung, R., & Frelow, F. (2002). Variation in teacher preparation, how well do different pathways prepare teachers to teach? [Electronic version]. Journal of Teacher Education, 53 (4), 286-302.

deBettencourt, L. U., & Howard, L. (2004). Alternatively licensing career changers to be teachers in the field of special education: Their first-year reflections. [Electronic version]. Exceptionality, 12 (4), 225-238.

Feistritzer, E. (2007). Alternative teacher certification: A state by state analysis. Retrieved on July 30, 2009 from: http://www.teach-now.org/intro.cfm

Gordon, R., Kane, T. J., & Staiger, F. O. (2006). Identifying effective teachers using performance on the job. [Electronic version]. The Hamilton Project Policy Brief No. 2006-01, 1-8.

Hanushek, E. A. (2007). The single salary schedule and other issues of teacher pay. [Electronic version]. Peabody  Journal of Education, 82 (4), 574-586.

Hill, H. C. (2007). Learning in the teaching workforce.[Electronic version]. The Future of Children, 17 (1), 111-127.

Honawar, V. (2006). Alternative routes for spec. ed. teachers relieving shortages worsened by NCLB. [Electronic version]. Education Week, 25 (34), 1, 16.

Humphrey, D. C., & Wechsler, M. E. (2007). Insights into alternative certification: Initial findings from a national study.  Electronic version]. Teachers College Record, 109 (3), 483-530.

Johnson, S. M., & Papay, J. P. (2010). Merit pay for a new generation. [Electronic version]. Educational  Leadership, 67 (8), 48-52.

Koppich, J. E. (2010). Teacher unions and new forms of teacher compensation. [Electronic version]. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(8), 22-26.

Laczko-Kerr, I., & Berliner, D. C. (2002). The effectiveness of “Teach for America” and  other under-certified teachers on student academic achievement: A case of harmful public policy. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 10(37). Retrieved on July 26, 2009, from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v10n37/

Laczko-Kerr, I., & Berliner, D. C. (2003).  In harm’s way, how undercertified teachers hurt their students. [Electronicversion]. Educational Leadership, 60 (8), 34-39.

Laine, S., Potemski, A., & Rowland, C. (2010). Compensation reform in the schools. [Electronic version]. School Administrator, 67 (3), 10-14.

McCray, E. D.; Rosenberg, M. S.; Brownell, M. T.; deBettencourt, L. U.; Leko, M. M.; Long, S. K. (2011). The role of leaders in forming school-university partnerships for special education teacher preparation. [Electronic version]. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 24 (1), 47-58.

National Center on Performance Incentives. (2010). District Awards for Teacher Excellence Program: Final Evaluation Report. Retrieved June 19, 2011, from http://www.performanceincentives.org/news/detail.aspx?  pageaction=ViewSinglePublic& Link ID=594&ModuleID=48&NEWSPID=1

Podgursky, M., & Springer, M. G. (2007). Credentials versus performance: Review of the teacher performance payresearch. [Electronic version]. Peabody Journal of  Education, 82 (4), 551-573.

Ramirez, A. (2010/2011). Merit pay misfires. [Electronic version]. Educational Leadership, 68 (4), 55-58.

Robertson, J. S. & Singleton, J. D. (2010). Comparison oft raditional versus alternative preparation of special education teachers. [Electronic version].Teacher Education and Special Education, 33 (3), 213-224.

Rosenberg, M. S., Boyer, K. L., Sindelar, P.T., & Misra, S. K. (2007). Alternative route programs for certification in special education: Program infrastructure, instructional delivery, and participant characteristics. [Electronic version]. Exceptional Children, 73 (2), 224-41.

Rosenberg, M. S., & Sindelar, P. T. (2005). The proliferation of alternative routes to certification in special education: A critical review of the literature. [Electronic version]. The Journal of Special Education, 39 (2), 117-127.

Shaw, M. (2008). The impact of alternative teacher certification programs on teacher shortages. [Electronic version]. The International Journal of Learning, 15 (3), 89-97.

Sindelar, P. T., Daunic, A., & Rennells, M. S. (2004). Comparisons of traditionally and alternatively trained teachers. Electronic version]. Exceptionality, 12 (4), 209-223.

Springer. M. G., & Gardner, C. D. (2010).  Teacher pay for performance context status and direction. [Electronic version]. Kappan, 91 (8), 8-15.

Teacher Incentive Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2010, from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/teacherincentive/index.html The White House, President Barack Obama. (2009). Promoting innovation, reform, and excellence in America’s public schools, Race to the Top. Retrieved July 20, 2010, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/fact-sheet-race-top

Thornton, B., Peltier, G., & Medina, R. (2007). Reducing the special education teacher shortage. [Electronic version]. The Clearing House, 80 (5), 233-238.

Tissington, L. D., & Grow, A. (2007). Alternative certified teachers and children at risk. [Electronic version]. Preventing School Failure, 51 (2), 23-27.

United States Department of Education. (2010). A blueprint for reform, the reauthorization of  the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Washington, D.C. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from htpp://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/blueprint.pdf

Vigdor, J. (2008). Scrap the sacrosanct salary schedule. [Electronic version]. Education Next, 8 (4), 36-42.

Wasburn-Moses, L., & Rosenberg, M. S. (2008). Alternative route special education teacher preparation programs guidelines. [Electronic version]. Teacher Education and Special Education, 31 (4), 257-267.

Wasley, P., & Roza, M. (2009). The ‘master’s pay bump’: Why ending it shouldn’t frighten ed. schools. [Electronic version]. Education Week, 29 (13), 26-27.

Whitaker, S. D. (2003). Needs of beginning special education teachers: Implications for teacher education. [Electronic version]. Teacher Education and Special Education, 26 (2), 106-117.

Wilson, S. M., Floden, R. E., & Ferrini-Mundy, J. (2001). Teacher preparation research:Current knowledge, gaps, and recommendations, an executive summary of the research report. Retrieved on July 26, 2009, from http://www.depts.washington.edu/ctpmail/PDFs/TPExecSummary-03-2001.pdf

Zeichner, K. M., & Schulte, A. K. (2001).  What we know and don’t know from peer-reviewed research about alternative teacher certification programs. [Electronic  version]. Journal of Teacher Education, 52 (4), 266-282.