1,720,957 research outputs found
But what is Leadership? A Systematic Review of the Leadership Concept in View of Heightened Educational Leadership in Africa
Get PDFAlthough leadership is one of the most widely researched problems in the social sciences, to-date no standard definition has been developed for it. Most of the more than 650 existing leadership “definitions” have been found to deal with the “how” of leadership, and not the “what” (of leadership) itself, leaving the age-long conceptual confusion surrounding the concept of leadership unresolved. In an attempt to provide a scholarly answer to this problem, the current study leveraged existing literature to provide a refined definition of leadership. More specifically, the study redefined the concept of leadership; highlighted the meaning of leadership in education; and unveiled the concrete implications of the emerging leadership concept. In these endeavours, the study employed an exploratory interpretative systematic review design with a conceptual thematic focus. For conceptual lenses, the study utilized both classical definitional rules and Rost’s essentials of leadership, as well as Hallinger’s conceptual framework for systematic reviews. In the end, the study generated a more precise definition of leadership, which was particularly applied to education. Implications for heightened educational research and practice in Africa were also unveiled. The study’s strongest contribution lies in not only rekindling systematic debate on the meaning of leadership, but also in concretely exemplifying this debate by providing a refined definition of leadership and applying the definition to a given field (education). Keywords: Leadership, Educational leadership, Leadership in Africa, Systematic review. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-9-14 Publication date:March 31st 202
Educational Entrepreneurship (EE): Delineating and Highlighting Its Domain, Importance and Feasibility in Uganda’s Context
Get PDFAlthough government financial support for education is dwindling in many African countries, not many educational institutions have succeeded in devising internal mechanisms to enable them to continuously deliver quality education in quantity. Might the application of certain entrepreneurial strategies in educational management perhaps help to make a difference? What is educational entrepreneurship (EE)? How feasible is EE in a developing world education landscape like that of Uganda? Which challenges must EE surmount before it can envisage success? Using literature review methodology, this study attempted to find answers to such questions. Its aim was to delineate the EE domain and to highlight both its importance and feasibility in Uganda’s context. The study makes two key revelations; first, indeed EE is clouded in conceptual mishmash, hence need for more scholarly attention; second, however salvaging EE can be to struggling educational institutions, it is not without serious challenges–even apparent contradictions-hence preference for a “moderate risk” approach to entrepreneurship within educational institutions.</jats:p
Exploring the Philosophy Behind Teachers’ Classroom Management Practices in Secondary Schools in Kayunga District, Uganda
Get PDFThere is a common prevalence of open-ended classroom management practices among teachers today which leaves many education stakeholders suspicious of such actions. Due to such unprecedented prevalence, this study explored the philosophy behind teachers' classroom management practices in view of enhancing effective teaching and learning in Uganda. While conducting the study, teachers' classroom management practices were conceptualized as controlling students’ behaviour and classroom space, the philosophy behind these practices was conceptualized as teachers’ beliefs on the reality about students' learning, the nature and sources of valuable knowledge, and the values they aim to instil in students. Danielson’s 1996 framework for effective teaching model informed this qualitative descriptive tripartite case study, underpinned by the interpretivist paradigm. Nine teachers from three schools (three from each school) in Kayunga district, participated in this study. Data was collected from the teachers, their Headteachers, directors of studies and students. The findings revealed that the philosophy behind teachers’ classroom management practices is a blend of pragmatism and essentialism. This is reflected in teachers tailoring their management approaches to their understanding of how students learn best, while also adhering to curriculum demands and stakeholder expectations. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education and Sports should design and implement a professional development program through its teacher training institutions to help teachers balance student-centred management with curriculum demand
Exploring the Influence of Institutional Management Practices on Student Discipline: A Case Study of Makerere University and Kampala International University
Get PDFThis study explores the influence of institutional management practices on student discipline in Ugandan universities, focusing on Makerere University and Kampala International University. A qualitative approach, guided by interpretivism, pragmatism, and constructivism, was employed to understand how management practices shape student behaviour. Using a descriptive case study design, data were collected through focus groups, interviews, document reviews, and observations from a diverse group of 40 participants, including students, lecturers, administrators, and police officers. Thematic analysis revealed that factors such as administrative transparency, accessible services, orientation programs, and consistent timetabling highly influenced student responsibility, compliance, and honesty. The study highlights the importance of student-centric management practices in fostering a disciplined academic environment. Despite limitations in scope, the study provides valuable insights into the role of institutional management in enhancing student discipline and contributes to ongoing discourses in higher education governanc
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Lifelong Educational and Decolonization Programs for the Batwa Indigenous People of Southwestern Uganda
Get PDFThis article is based on a study conducted among the Batwa Indigenous people in southwestern Uganda between 2021 and 2022. The study aimed to explore culturally relevant lifelong education and decolonization programs for the Batwa people. Using indigenous research methodology, 60 participants comprising of elders, parents, children and teachers were recruited from the Batwa community for the study. We used Egalitarian liberalism and justice in education (ELJE) theory as analytical framework. Key findings demonstrate that participants were conscious of the challenges faced by their community and collectively brainstormed practical redress measures. These measures include but are not limited to setting up an entrepreneurship education program, vocational and skilling programs, and promotion of Rutwa language. Besides, some specific Batwa life skills identified by participants are briefly described as imperative for integration in the schooling system to achieve the decolonization missio
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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