The sabbatical provides an important illustration of the changing nature of academic life and is a symbol of the growing demands of performativity. Drawing on historical literature and archival sources concerning university sabbaticals at Australian and English universities, the paper demonstrates that underlying assumptions about its purposes…

The purpose of our qualitative study was to explore the emotional aspects that accompany learning in an Example-Rich Environment, ERE, through the use of examples created by students in previous years. The study was conducted within the framework of the "Learning Processes" academic course at a teacher-education college, from 2010 to…

This article examines academics' access to and perceptions of sabbaticals at a research-intensive university in New Zealand. Statistical and inductive analysis of survey data from 915 academics (47% of all academics employed) revealed inequalities in access to and experience of sabbaticals, and highlighted academic, personal and gender issues. Men…

If a programme were to be devised for the early-career development of science teachers, what might such a programme look like? This was the focus of a meeting of science educators interested in developing such a structure, from the start of initial teacher training onwards. The contributions, modified and written up here, include a suggested…

This article is a reflection on a sabbatical experience in a mainstream school where an inclusive ethos underpinned the curriculum and environmental approaches for all children. The period as acting head teacher raised some challenges for the author in reconciling inclusion for all children and the exclusive nature of some professional and…

In this article, the author shares his experience while doing research in Beersheba, Israel. His experience has taught him some unexpected lessons. One lesson he learned, when venturing to another floor within the university while the sirens go off, is to locate the nearest bomb shelter (each floor of the building has its own shelter.) One should…

Problem: No systematic research has explored the refereed publications records of vital business educators. Data Collection Procedures: A total of 120 prominent business educators were mailed a survey about their publication practices and history, yielding a 61% usable return rate from 73 completed questionnaires. Results: The six research…

A rigorous quasi-experiment tested the ameliorative effects of a sabbatical leave, a special case of respite from routine work. We hypothesized that (a) respite increases resource level and well-being and (b) individual differences and respite features moderate respite effects. A sample of 129 faculty members on sabbatical and 129 matched controls…

A community college librarian from Southern California describes her semester-length sabbatical on the Pacific island territory of New Caledonia, and how the professional, cultural, and language experiences changed her outlook about her job back home. Working at a local library on several projects organizing and processing special collections of…

Results-based management has gained currency in Kenya. After pre-service training, teachers take various staff development programmes to enhance their role effectiveness. Many studies which have associated staff development with employee productivity have not delved into the actual mechanisms in which staff development impact on teachers'…

This article reports and interprets the findings of a study of headteachers' views and perceptions of continuing professional development (CPD) provision and their ongoing CPD needs and priorities, carried out in 2007 in Scotland, involving headteachers from the primary and secondary sectors. Topic areas in which headteachers generally were most…

On current projections in could take thirty years for women to be equally represented in the academic workplace. Traditional methods of mentoring by senior staff often seem relics of an earlier era, but here a group of more junior academics reflect on the success of a peer-mentoring exercise which helped transform their first experience of…

Advice for the educator planning sabbaticals in other lands and cultures. (Author)

Study of the employment effects of reducing working hours, controlling overtime, job sharing, leave, and early retirement in 10 countries found no significant link between job sharing and employment levels. Work time policies need to be considered in a wider context as a way to address high unemployment. (SK)

Teachers on sabbatical who participated in professional development had improved professional identity, greater feelings of empowerment, less job burnout, and less desire to leave their workplace or the profession. These findings resulted from survey responses from 269 of 400 Israeli elementary school teachers who took sabbaticals. (SK)