Goffman’s theory of total institutions and Fanon’s theory of violence were used to explain student protests and violence in Kenyan secondary schools. Youth violence around the world is not a new phenomenon. However, the persistence, frequency, and intensity of violence, and their consequences beg for logical explanations and remedies. This study was part of a three-year project facilitated through the Networked Improvement Community partnership for self-study and intervention. Although a holistic approach to research was applied, data for this study were gathered through narrative inquiry. Participants (teachers, principals, and members of the school community) were identified purposively using the snowball process. Data were analyzed through deductive and inductive reasoning. Findings indicate a preponderance of student protest and violence among students in boarding schools. Student violence was a response to the devaluing and oppressive environment in boarding schools which resembled total institutions, and students exercising democratic rights to protest. The paper argues that school authorities could mitigate violent protests by providing formal political means of representation and democratic decision-making; creating new spaces for negotiation and peaceful protest; listening to the voices of students; and engaging in dialogue to create a common vision and mission.

This research describes the perceptions of school principals in the context of their role in leading the professional development of the teaching staff. Their perceptions were examined in reference to three educational ideologies: socialization, acculturation and individuation. Data analysis of semi structured interviews conducted with 20 school principals, revealed a contradiction between the educational ideology that emerged in the context of the overall educational practice and the ideology referred to in the context of their role in teachers professional development. In the context of the educational practice, the majority of principals described an individuation ideology. In the context the principals' role regarding the professional development of the teaching staff, the majority of school principals presented the socialization ideology as their guiding ethos. In addition, the minority of principals demonstrated a combination of these two ideologies. None of the principals presented the acculturation ideology.

In the research, it was aimed to learn the leadership expectations of secondary school students in the context of school principals. In this context, focus group interviews were conducted with sixteen students studying at different grade levels in the research conducted with a phenomenological design, and the data obtained were subjected to content analysis. When the findings were examined, it was seen that the leadership expectations of the students from the school principals were shaped in four sub-themes (behavior, values, skills and abilities, and characteristics). According to the results obtained, students from school principals about leadership; In the behavior sub-theme, they expect the most discipline and valuing ideas, they expect the most fairness, tolerance and understanding in the values sub-theme, they expect the most professional expertise in the skills and abilities sub-theme, and they expect the most compassion and sincerity in the characteristics sub-theme. The results show that the expectations of the students, which are the basic elements of the education process, should be taken into account by the school leaders.

The main objective of current study was to determine the opinions of adjunct faculty members regarding the flexible and precariat form of employment policies at universities in Turkey. The research was conducted qualitatively. The participants were 16 adjunct faculty members who were chosen with purposive sampling method. An interview technique was implemented in order to obtain data, and content analysis method was used to analyze the data. Results revealed that this form of employment policy causes organizational, academic and personal problems. As for organizational problems, it causes to prioritize financial points of views rather than academic expectations. Regarding personal problems, adjunct faculty members are underpaid, overworked, ignored regarding their professional development. Also academic and scientific knowledge production are ignored. Students do dot respect adjunct faculty members. It is recommended that this kind of employment policy should be reconsidered and full-time employment should be preferred.

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a paradigm shift on education delivery worldwide. In response to the pandemic, the government of Jamaica mobilised strategies to ensure that the nation was protected while continuing the education of the nation's children. One of the strategies was to implement remote teaching and learning. Online teaching and learning created challenges, especially for students from rural and marginalised communities. This research explored the experiences of accessing education in Jamaica's rural and urban primary (K-6) schools during the pandemic. Researchers aimed to answer the questions: To what extent has COVID-19 impacted access to continued education in your school? (b) How has the state's intervention facilitated continued education during COVID-19? (c) To what extent do the qualitative findings converge with the quantitative results? Mixed-method research was employed for data collection and analysis. Purposeful sampling was used to select principals, teachers, and parents for this study. The findings of the study provided insights into how COVID-19 affected students' access and, the effectiveness of the government's response to continuing education online. Participants' contributions informed recommendations to the government on students' access to education during the onset of the pandemic in 2020, for the periods March to July and September to December.

As an educationist over the years, I have experienced principals’ outburst and their tendency to make a scene out of seemly minor issues that could have been addressed with little modesty. This behaviour has led to an uproar amongst parents, teachers and learners about the school principals’ insensitiveness which is attributed to lack of emotional intelligence (EI) competency. The study is underpinned by the transformational leadership theory which aims at pioneering change of attitude in school leadership so that different educational actors could be influenced to achieve the school and overall educational objectives. This qualitative study generated data from five (5) conveniently selected secondary school principals, five (5) parents and five (5) teachers using semi-structured interviews. Using thematic analysis method, the study revealed that principals with EI are able to enhance school performance and satisfy parents. Thus, the study revealed that EI is useful in establishing and maintaining good relationships with different school stakeholders. It is fundamental in managing conflicts in schools and facilitates constructive management of any stressful situations. The study further revealed that principals could acquire this skill through self-enrichment and induction initiatives by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET). It is recommended that before principals are appointed, they should be subjected to multiple aptitude tests to evaluate their knowledge and competencies. Furthermore MoET through its experts should continually induct principals on EI aspects.

This study is aimed to find out the mediating role of work-life balance in the relationship between job stress and career satisfaction. The responses of high school teachers to career satisfaction, work life balance and work stress scales were utilized in the study. The data was analyzed using SPSS 26, Lisrel 8.80 and Jamovi 2.3. According to the results, one of the important determinants of teachers' career satisfaction is the work-life balance; there is a negative relationship between job stress and career satisfaction, and as the job stress increases, the work-life balance decreases. Finally, in the model, it was found that teachers’ job stress has a direct effect on career satisfaction, but also has an indirect effect through work-life balance. Based on all these results, educational organizations need to reorganize the work environment and conditions that will provide career satisfaction and work-life balance to their employees. However, while making these arrangements, it is of great importance to eliminate or even remove the factors that create job stress.

The current case study examines secondary school principals’ social justice leadership (SJL) based on teachers’ perceptions. In the study, a qualitative research approach with a phenomenological design was used to explore the teachers’ perceptions regarding their principals’ SJL at Turkish secondary schools. The data were reached through semi-structured interviews. 11 participant teachers were determined as participants of the study with the maximum sampling method. The collected data were analyzed with content analysis, and three themes were reached: limited social justice, inclusive perspectives, and holistic leaders. Based on the results, teachers think that principals have a limited SJL and inclusion enactment. The participant teachers think that SJL should have a holistic perspective, including parents and teachers while ensuring social justice at school.

This study aims to examine the opinions of Religious Culture and Ethics Teachers (RCET) on mobbing in the workplace. The research focuses on RCET’s definition of mobbing, the reasons for mobbing, the results of mobbing, and the suggestions of RCET to prevent mobbing. This study used the phenomenological method, one of the qualitative research methods. The data obtained from the interview forms were analyzed by the content analysis method. The findings were organized and presented under themes and sub-themes. The study group of the research was determined by a systematic sampling technique, one of the probability-based sampling methods. The study group of the research consisted of 35 RCET working in the middle schools of Mersin central districts in the 2023-2024 academic years. Findings revealed that participants defined the concept of mobbing using terms such as pressure, violence, distress, attack, discomfort, implication, and exposure. It was found that participants expressed reasons for mobbing, such as establishing dominance, jealousy, inadequacy, and conflict of interest. It was determined that participants indicated the results of mobbing, such as asynchrony, inefficiency, failure, resignation, reluctance, and fear-anxiety. The participants suggested solutions such as support, awareness activities, relationships and communication, knowledge of legislation and laws, equality, responsibility, trust, problem identification, solution orientation, and providing education.

Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) directors are crucial for sustainable quality ECCD centre management, leading to a focus on efficient 21st-century practices. Planning principles are essential for managing the complexity of early childhood education services. This paper aimed to explore how ECCD directors plan management activities in their centres in Ghana. The study was conducted in sixteen ECCD centres located in five metropolitan and municipal districts within the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The study involved 20 participants, including directors/head teachers and board members, selected using a purposive sampling strategy. Data were collected through interviews and document reviews. Although evidence from the study showed that ECCD directors put much effort into managing their centres, the study found that ECCD directors experience various challenges concerning applying the basic management principle of planning at their centres. In this article, the authors contend that planning is a crucial management function that sets achievable goals in line with the ECCD centre's vision and provides direction for actions to achieve ECCD goals. In addressing the identified challenges, the researchers developed a systems-based planning framework to guide directors in their planning roles at the ECCD centres.

Due to the tremendous attack of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, educational institutions struggled noticeably to cope with its associated predicament. In the initial stage of the pandemic attack, knowledge about Coronavirus and its socio-economic effects was scarce, and school leaders lacked adequate training on crisis management during a pandemic. Thus, the pandemic posed a dilemma and an ultimate test for educational leaders worldwide. This study aimed to explore the challenges secondary school leaders in Bangladesh encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their leadership strategies to cope with the crisis. The ‘measurement model of crisis leadership’ was applied as the conceptual framework. Using a qualitative approach and thematic analysis framework for data analysis, the study revealed leaders’ considerable academic, financial, and socio-emotional challenges. The leaders were found to apply certain crisis leadership attributes consistent with the ‘measurement model of crisis leadership’. However, the study identified the absence of inclusiveness’ in the framework, thereby proposing the inclusion of ‘equity and social justice’ in the existing framework since leaders' ability to ensure equal access to all students appeared essential during the crisis. Finally, this study brings the recommendations for policy-level reformation in school leadership training on crisis management in Bangladesh to develop leaders’ competence for managing risk effectively and maximizing risk-reduction actions required during critical times.

This study, designed as a basic qualitative research, aims to evaluate the perspectives of Turkish teachers regarding the nationally implemented large-scale assessments in specific subjects. By employing purposive sampling methods, particularly maximum variation sampling, 14 teachers with different seniorities and branches from various high schools were included in the research. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview form prepared by the researcher. Through the application of descriptive analysis, it was found that teachers viewed these assessments more as a preparation for changes in the higher education transition system and as a tool for achieving standardization across the country rather than as an accountability policy instrument. Despite the low-stakes nature of this assessment, it was observed that teachers exhibited responses like those documented in the literature for high-stakes accountability. Additionally, it was found that teachers prepared students for the exams primarily through practice exercises and experienced anxiety before the exams due to the limitation of their autonomy and the comparison of their students and themselves. Furthermore, most participants believed that the assessment results were not effective in determining students' learning, primarily held the students accountable for the results, and considered such assessments as a source of stress. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for practitioners and researchers.

Turnover in middle management can be very expensive for a school, not just financially, but also in terms of providing continuity of leadership, sustainability of management practices, and quality student experiences. Therefore, a rigorous understanding of why middle managers in schools are thinking of leaving post can provide senior leaders an opportunity to develop strategies to reduce this turnover cost. Using the case of Lady Agatha’s Boarding School in England, this paper uses a novel approach to investigate the complexities of school middle management from a social perspective, arguing that by using a Bordieuan lens, researchers can investigate the complex matrix nature of working in middle management. By using the Bordieuan tools of field, habitus, doxa, capital, and symbolic violence, researchers can observe the struggles that the middle managers engage in to acquire capital or resources compared to other actors in the field, as tournaments of socio-political dominance. By using this original ontological turn in analysing turnover antecedents, researchers as well as practitioners could make significant impacts in the way turnover can be understood and its costs mitigated.

School leadership in Nepal is shaped by sociocultural, institutional, and resource-related challenges. This study fills a gap in the literature by examining leadership dynamics within this unique and diverse educational context. Guided by resilient leadership theory as a referent, this qualitative case study, grounded in a constructivist paradigm, involved semi-structured interviews with public high school principals to investigate their workplace challenges and coping strategies. The findings reveal challenges including sociocultural and gender biases, teachers’ resistance to modern pedagogical practices, and resource limitations. They navigate these challenges through strategies of humility, intrinsic motivation, and collaborative partnerships. The findings highlight the need for systemic reforms to promote gender equity, enhance professional development, and increase resource allocation. This study presents a resilient and adaptive leadership framework for policymakers, emphasising the need to implement gender-inclusive policies and leadership training programs to address the challenges faced by principals in their diverse educational contexts.

The transitioning of Teacher Training Colleges into Colleges of Education as tertiary institutions by Act 847 is significant for ensuring strategic management change. This research investigated the strategic management of Dambai College of Education in the transitional change. The study adapted the methodological framework of the “Theory of Organisational Change” to ascertain leadership strategies that worked well in contributing to rapid positive transformation and their impact and those potential strategies to further improve the College. The study was qualitative with an interpretive paradigm and nominalist ontological and epistemological stance with participatory inquiry design. Homogeneous purposive sampling was used to select 15 participants for data collection. Data was collected through an open-ended questionnaire. Thematic analyses were done. Findings under strategies that worked include effective governance, recruitment, continuous professional development, Internally Generated Funds (IGF), merit-based remuneration of staff, and enhancement of physical infrastructure. The impact made includes boosting the morale of staff, students, traditional authorities, and other stakeholders; ownership of responsibility; improved learning outcomes; more spaces and equipment for effective work; and the College's improved outlook. Strategies to adopt include more stakeholder engagement and integration of technology. The research concluded that the college has transformed positively and needs to further improve its developmental agenda by adopting hybrid change models.

This study investigates the organising practices of directors in Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) centres, focusing on Ghana and offering insights applicable to global contexts. The research examines how directors manage resources, define tasks, delegate authority, and align organisational functions to achieve operational and educational goals. From the findings, four key themes emerged: resource allocation and management, task definition and role assignment, delegation and authority, and functional integration and task alignment. Public centres demonstrated greater efficiency due to clearer role definitions and effective delegation, while private centres faced challenges such as limited resources, role ambiguity, and reluctance to delegate authority. Task alignment with organisational goals and resource optimisation were found to be critical for maintaining operational coherence and meeting educational objectives. As a major contribution, the study develops an Integrated Organising Framework to guide ECCD directors in addressing these challenges. The framework offers practical strategies for improving resource allocation, clarifying roles, and fostering organisational alignment, particularly in resource-constrained settings. By addressing identified gaps, this framework provides a systematic approach to enhancing service delivery, staff performance, and operational efficiency while remaining adaptable to policy changes and diverse community needs.

The pathway for women to reach the superintendency in the United States is shaped by entrenched systems that resist progress. Women are often unfairly blamed for their lack of representation, which then perpetuates the notion that they are less suited for leadership. However, women are proving their capabilities by dismantling societal barriers, drawing on, and sharing their lived experiences, and transforming perceptions of female leadership. This study investigated the lived experiences of five female superintendents to reveal the specific actions and strategies that empowered them to achieve the superintendency. Utilizing Seidman’s three-interview approach, data were gathered through individual interviews, which were then analyzed thematically. The participants successfully navigated societal challenges by harnessing their unique strengths to influence, mobilize, and build strategic alliances. They seized key opportunities in their journeys and cultivated their skills, talents, and potential. The women did not merely adapt to existing structures; they actively created new opportunities for themselves, their communities, and future generations.

This study comparatively examines state policies of university autonomy in the Eastern Neighborhood countries of the European Union, with a particular focus on Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova. Guided by the principles outlined in the 2007 Lisbon Declaration, the research investigates how university autonomy is shaped by state policies in these three countries. The study is grounded in the qualitative research design, drawing on document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and content analysis of legislative frameworks and higher education experts’ perspectives- including those of professors and administrative personnel. Five core features of university autonomy policies were identified: Legislative control over university autonomy, Political appointments to administrative positions, gaps between policymaking and implementation, the impact of funding on financial autonomy, and the existence of formal rather than substantive academic autonomy in relation to quality assurance standards. Two primary explanatory factors emerged: the scarcity of university resources and the persistence of centralized management practices. The study is framed through systems theory, drawing on the work of Alex Clark, Michael Hogg, and Ron Stewart in University Autonomy and Public Policy: A Systems Theory Perspective. From this perspective, universities, government bodies, and policymakers are understood as interdependent components of the broader systemic network, where actions taken by one entity influence the functioning of others. This research contributes to the limited academic literature on university autonomy in the EU’s Eastern Neighborhood by offering a cross-country comparison aligned with European higher education standards.