This article aims to clarify the effects of conflicts on the task performance of supervisory boards in education. Management studies on conflicts on corporate boards sometimes find a positive effect and sometimes a negative effect on the performance of boards. These mixed findings are considered a result of the triggering of harmful personal…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify the analytic frames children (ages 9 to 11) employed as they worked together to make sense of an ill-structured problem, what those same children did when their frames collided in the context of deliberative dialogue, and what they learned from the process of negotiation. Data included pre- and…

Since its inception in 1999, the distributed leadership framework of Spillane, Halverson, and Diamond [2004. "Towards a Theory of Leadership Practice: A Distributed Perspective." "Journal of Curriculum Studies" 36 (1): 3-34. doi:10.1080/0022027032000106726] has supported research into leadership and change in schools. Whilst…

For the leader of an early childhood program, the ability to delegate is an important skill to develop. Increased staff motivation, increased competence, and more vibrant connections between team members are just some of the positive benefits that can occur when delegation is used as a leadership tool. Delegating is not about dumping work on…

This exploratory study contributes to the underexplored area of collaborative task formats in telecollaboration. The study investigates how English as a second language (ESL) student teachers in the US and English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers in Turkey negotiated the design, implementation, and evaluation of technology-based…

The Comprehensive Assessment of Leadership for Learning (CALL) is a multi-source assessment of distributed instructional leadership. As part of the validation of CALL, researchers examined differences between teacher and leader ratings in assessing distributed leadership practices. The authors utilized a t-test for equality of means for the…

This article presents an empirical study of an open educational course in an online peer-to-peer university (P2PU). P2PU is a nonprofit organization offering free educational opportunities. Focus is on how peers are part of creating course content in a Web 2.0 environment. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have evolved into two different…

This article explores the idea of distributed instructional leadership as a way to understand instructional leadership practice in comprehensive high schools. Our argument is that distributed leadership analyses allow researchers to uncover and explain how instructional improvement in high schools occurs through the efforts of multiple individuals…

Participatory design (PD), or the collaboration between software engineers and end users throughout the design process, may help improve CALL design practices. In this case study, four ESL learners, a software designer, and a language teacher created and evaluated a series of paper prototypes concerning help options in computer-based second…

This report reviews the collaborative and evaluative efforts of an Arkansas education renewal consortium comprised of two universities and nine school districts. The reform originated from a smaller project that aimed to establish a broad communication base and systematic planning for meeting student needs. The current project, begun in 1985-86,…

Studied joint decision-making strategies of small task group (N=8) over 15-month period. Found 4 problem areas contributing to lack of productivity: expertise, self-oriented needs, permissive operating procedures, and formal status differences. Results suggest important differences between group participants' desire to use participatory strategies…

This report describes a semester of teaching a group of non-native English-speaking students, aged 17 to 40 years and how the instructor identified three elements that appeared to be necessary for a task-based, advanced English speaking class. The three elements were: (1) ongoing needs assessment; (2) collaboration between instructor and students…

Purpose: Few definitions in the HRM literature have reached as much consensus as the term "devolution". However, devolution is a phenomenon that has been defined from the perspective of HRM specialists, with little or no contribution from middle managers. This paper seeks to explore what is behind the commonly shared definition of…

This four-part learning module was designed to assist educators in evaluating their leadership style and professional interactions with others. After defining leadership, Part I discusses task analysis and illustrates its use in educational settings. Then, the module lists the personality traits identified in research as important to successful…

This practicum was implemented to assist teachers who were investigating the possibility of participation in school-based management shared decision-making initiatives at a local school level. The particular focus was to assist the teachers to make decisions based on knowledge and to supply information about the appropriate manipulation of time…