My Own Personal And Theoretical Understanding Education Essay

The biggest development so far has to be my apprehension of English as an extra linguistic communication, non merely did I use to believe EAL pupils were portion of the Particular Educational Needs and Disabilities standards, I ever use to see pupils with EAL as a barrier, inquiring myself inquiries like, How would I get the better of the linguistic communication barrier? Making myself believe that EAL pupils are lower ability within all topics, but this is non the instance. Some instructors have small or no apprehension of a kid ‘s demands that does non hold English as their first linguistic communication. Sometimes this deficiency of apprehension and communicating between pupil and instructor can decelerate down the pupils ‘ advancement. Whether the kid is considered to be one of the followers: an Asylum-Seeker, Refugee, Isolated Learner, Sojourner, Bilingual or merely new to English, every kid affairs. EAL teaching method is designed to assist run into the linguistic communication and larning demands of pupils who have English as an extra linguistic communication. Successful EAL scholars will normally hold a good apprehension and a appreciation of their ain first linguistic communication, so while larning English they are able to develop their vocabulary in their first linguistic communication. In order for a pupil to develop cognitively and linguistically, they need to hold the chance to talk and compose within the English linguistic communication from an early phase of a lesson, assisting them to go more witting of their new linguistic communication, this is besides a good manner to measure the pupil ‘s demands, being able to see where they need more development. Student ‘s larning EAL need contextual support in order to do sense of new information and the new linguistic communication ; this can be developed through ocular cues, assisting the EAL pupil to acquire to footings with the undertakings presented to them though their cognition of English is limited. Standard five ‘Adapt learning to react to the strengths and demands of all students ‘ from the Teachers ‘ Standards provinces ; ‘Have a clear apprehension of the demands of all students, including those with particular educational demands ; those of high ability ; those with English as extra linguistic communication ; those with disablements ; and be able to utilize and measure typical instruction attacks to prosecute and back up them. ‘ ( DfE, 2012:8 ) After reading and re-reading the Teachers ‘ Standards and taking this subdivision of Standard five on board I have come to gain, that in order to learn EAL pupils you have got to be willing to larn to learn. No affair where you are within your learning calling you have to larn from the kids within you category. Jim Cummins developed a model, which shows how basic interpersonal communicating accomplishments ( BIC ) and cognitive academic linguistic communication proficiency ( CALP ) can be developed through planning and instruction. The model is helpful to place and develop appropriate undertakings for different pupils within different categories. Though it its believe that pupils need to be working from the high cognitive demand and high contextual support quarter-circle, Conteh explained the quarter-circles in Cummins ‘ diagram as the followers ; ‘Beginning with context-embedded activities and bit by bit traveling, with talk and action, towards less embedded activities means that kids are ne'er left without support, and at the same clip are being encouraged to travel to the new cognition which is the object of the activity. ‘ ( J.Conteh 2006:11 ) After reflecting on the point that Conteh made about how the model fundamentally helps to construct upon the pupil ‘s English cognition, through practical activities and a assortments of experiences within the schoolroom. The best manner to assist with a pupils ‘ cognition is through verbal communicating. Bringing me to submergences versus bilingualism, BIC and CALP are both needed to assist back up a pupils larning and understanding. Though bilingualism is good to pass on between the same linguistic communication and you can happen out more about this pupil within their ain apprehension of their first linguistic communication, submergence will assist a pupil develop quicker. By literately throwing a pupil into the deep terminal with a group of pupils who merely have English as their first linguistic communication the kid is so forced to pass on with these pupils assisting come oning with verbal communicating, this can besides assist with linguistic communication accompli shments through written pieces of work as the pupil is larning from equals who are the best instructors to pupils who are EAL. ‘Have high outlooks of behavior, and set up a model for subject with a scope of schemes, utilizing congratulations, countenances and wages systematically and reasonably ‘ ( DfE, 2012:8 ) Concentrating on standard seven of the Teachers ‘ Standards, behavior is all the clip non merely disputing. When inquiring myself what behavior was all I had in my head were the pupils who are disputing. Coming to gain that behavior is non merely those who like to dispute a instructor, but it is besides those who push to win as mentioned before behavior is all the clip. Within any school many pupils will move otherwise, within different scenes and with different instructors. Some pupils do non like alteration, so a alteration to a usual modus operandi can take to a alteration in behavior ; this besides happens when a pupil is faced with a different instructor to the 1 they are used to. Many instructors and pupils have a common consequence on one and other, when detecting a pupil ‘s behavior alongside the observation of the instructor, there was a direct nexus that you can see that it was every bit much the instructor ‘s behavior that contributed to the incident that go on within the category, whether triggered by a bad twenty-four hours or the features of that specific instructor. Though ambitious behavior is the chief obstruction to raising accomplishment, pull offing behaviour positively can travel a long manner towards cut downing emphasis degrees between staff and students, which helps to enable a safe acquisition environment. When supervising a pupil ‘s behavior I have come to gain that you have to take into history many facets that every kid is different, they all come from different backgrounds, with different degrees of societal and emotional development. Developing a relationship with all the pupils within a category is the key to a happy environment. Amy Demorest, 2005 explains Burrhus Skinner ‘s theory every bit behaviour as being a manner to avoid penalty but to win in accomplishing wages, believing that penalty was counterproductive. When taking this theory with me onto my recent pattern, it came to demo that Skinner ‘s theory was right. Student ‘s will move misconduct but one time the instructor has offered and inaugural for good behavior the pupil automatically stops, because they know at the terminal of the twenty-four hours they are being rewarded for something they would be acquiring into problem for. Though this theory does come with advantages, after a piece of the pupil being offered a wages in topographic point of misbehavior the pupil will shortly alter their ways and be cognizant they no longer have to move up in order to have congratulations and a wages. The idea of going a instructor is highly rewarding, but it is traveling to take tonss of work, clip and consideration on my portion. Planning, clip direction and administration play a critical function in pull offing a schoolroom. In order to pull off a schoolroom, I will necessitate to hold effectual outlooks, make usage of the resources available to me and hold good clip direction. Supplying a batch of work within the schoolroom is of import to supply a batch of engagement for the pupils, this will guarantee that pupils are focused and enthusiastic within the category. Having a set of schoolroom regulations and modus operandis will assist set up socialization within the schoolroom, constructing up guidelines that must be followed within the category environment. Though regulations and modus operandis are highly different, let go of the overarching rules by which your category is fun, these regulations within the category define the ethos of the schoolroom, they need to positively depict coveted behavior and properties and in the long term support the pupils developing self-regulation of their behavior and direction. Whereas modus operandis are the manner specific undertakings need to be carried out, in order to guarantee a safe and purposeful acquisition environment. Efficaciously pull offing a schoolroom is of import to hold the category laid out and arranged in a manner that makes larning easier. The layout will hold an impact on the manner you teach and the manner the pupils learn. For each lesson it is impractical to travel the schoolroom unit of ammunition, so acquiring a layout that can be used for all topics is the key. It is critical to see all the pupils ‘ faces, and you besides need to guarantee they can see you and the synergistic white board or any other resource you are utilizing within the category. There are a batch of ways in which a schoolroom can be laid out and organized but it ‘s the 1 that suits the instructor best. So for me it will be about test and mistake as this is the lone manner you learn what suits you. Whether it is: the horseshoe, a circle, rows or sitting in ability groups or friendly relationship groups, there are pro ‘s and con ‘s to all these siting agreements. The lone manner to see what will accommodate non merely myself but my category is to seek each manner until I have found the perfect manner for the pupils to acquire the best out of the ballad out and place of resource ‘s so my category will be managed to my best ability. Taking the above on board and believing about how I am traveling to win to go an outstanding instructor I need to hold a mark and program in topographic point in order to accomplish this. Reflecting on my professional pattern I can see that I need to concentrate in more on how the kids respond to behavioural techniques the instructor has in topographic point. Though I saw house points being used I did non see any other signifier of enterprise in topographic point for the category. Every Friday afternoon the pupils would acquire aureate though if they had warnings throughout the hebdomad they would lose at least five proceedingss per warning. Within my twelvemonth six category they all had occupations they carried out every twenty-four hours throughout the school, so when thought and reflecting I can see this was besides a privilege for good behavior and gave them duty within their school fixing them for the following phase of their instruction. I feel that when I go back into school for farther pattern I want to research schoolroom direction and administration more. Asking assorted inquiries on how the instructor ensures she gets the best usage of all her resources and how she gets the kids to behaviour as they are sitting within friendly relationship groups. I can see how this works as there is a mix of ability on each tabular array and the lower ability are supported by their higher ability friends within their surveies, but how does she controls the sum of work done and the less yak traveling on throughout the lessons. Though there is merely one EAL pupil within the school, I am traveling to supervise and research learning techniques with this pupil during my following pattern at the school. On my first pattern I spoke to the category instructor about assorted ways in assisting this pupil advancement within her acquisition of English, for case blending the ability degree she is in, puting the pupil in a higher ability group than the lowest to seek and act upon her to talk out more and contribute. The category instructor has invited me to fall in her category on the 2nd portion of my pattern to assist me derive more understanding and cognition within pattern with an EAL pupil. In decision I feel that I need to utilize my contemplations to put myself bigger challenges and marks to make within the hereafter. To derive more understanding and cognition of the primary school atmosphere and develop my ain techniques of instruction. I am trusting on the following portion of my pattern I am able to set some of the techniques I have discussed into action through the usage of my microteaching. Hoping to research manner in which I can organize my schoolroom to derive the best usage of resources and the best manner the pupils within the category will larn. Not merely am I be aftering on acquiring to cognize my pupils better but besides I am trusting to derive a better apprehension of myself. Reflecting and come oning this experience to see myself as non merely a pupil but, a trainee instructor, with the power over the pupils larning and assisting the following coevals to win into exceeding scholars and outstanding professionals.

Public Relation Core Values Essay

Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has extremely important core ethical values that include advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty, and fairness. All of which will help further a public relations practitioner in their career. Every practitioner handles every job differently, in a way thats going to benefit both the company they are working for as well as the public. Honesty should be the most important core value for every practitioner. Not only should it be the most important core value in the work field, it should also be the most important core value in everyones life as well. On the other hand, practitioners tend to ignore their core values while working. One of the biggest values they tend to ignore or overlook is fairness. Mark Twain once said, â€Å"Honesty is the best policy; when there is money in it. This quote should be every public relations practitioner motto because being honest will always lead you to conducting better business with clients. Clients want honest individuals working for them because the company expects the practitioner to represent the company in a way thats going to gain the publics trust. When the public has your trust, they are going to shop at your company rather than one who puts out false advertisement and has a poor look in the publics eyes. Not only does the quotes speak for itself, but honesty is simply the best way to conduct business. Some practitioners try their hardest to provide equally fair service to every client. Fairness is a core value that all practitioners respect but is hard to do at times. When dealing with clients, employers, peers,vendors, competitors, and most important the public, its hard to keep everyone happy. Lets say a practitioner is dealing directly with a company for the release of a new product. The company producing the item may not want competitors knowing about it so they can keep the technological edge on its competitors but also at the same time they want the public to hear about what’s new. Since they manage what information the public hears, its essential what they say. No matter what they say or don’t say, someones always going to want more. With that being said, someone’s not going to be happy. Life in general isn’t always fair, so when faced with a situation that can cause grey areas with others, do what you ethically think is the right thing.

Ethical Dilemmas Facing Non-Profit Hospital Ceo Compensation

Ethical Dilemmas Facing Non-Profit Hospital CEO Compensation Ethical Dilemmas Facing Non-Profit Hospital CEO Compensation Executive Summary This essay deals with the unethical prevalence of excessive compensation packages granted to nonprofit hospital executives. Nonprofits are highly complex organizations and are vital to the community’s in which they serves. Therefore, it is essential for these organizations to appoint highly motivated individuals knowledgeable of the healthcare industry and capable of managing and leading a hospital during a national recession while health reform is changing the culture of the US healthcare system.However, many nonprofit organization’s tax-exempt statuses should be rescinded for allocating leftover resources to hospital executives in the form of exorbitant salaries, benefits, and other incentives. It is these hefty salaries and benefits that are restricting hospitals from carrying out their priority mission as public charities. These CEO’s exorbitant compensation packages are further straining the hospital’s ability to provide a social benefit, suggestion that these tax-exempt organizations are acting unethically, in that financial gain is taking precedents over social responsibilities.Ethical Dilemmas Facing Non-Profit Hospital CEO Compensation Communities across the nation have seen the coarse effects of the delicate financial status of our country and the effects it has on healthcare organization within their community. In a time difficult for nonprofit healthcare organizations to operate at a profit, many organizations are left with no choice but to cut essential departments, programs, and employees, leaving many patients that have relied on these organizations, out in the cold.Recently, because of these financial issues, the ethical principles of nonprofits regarding CEO compensation have been under heavy scrutiny by both the public, and the Internal Revenue Service for excessive salaries and benefits. Nonprofit hospitals are organization that are exempt from paying income, sales, and property taxes, and receive charitable donations and massive government subsidies with the understanding that these subsidies are issued in order for these hospitals to fulfill their duty as a community service and benefit.Excessively high compensation for hospital executives is an unethical epidemic facing many organizations, particularly large and urban hospitals, that is restricting hospitals from carrying out its duties because of additional financial constraint. Salaries for nonprofit hospital executives should be capped as they limit and often restrict hospitals to better fulfill their charitable, social missions. Healthcare is beginning to mirror corporate businesses with many hospital CEO salaries competitively rivaling those of corporate executives.However, organizational goals and missions are nearly completely diametrical. Healthcare organizations are unlike other corporations i n that corporations are in existence with the ultimate goal of financial gain. Nonprofit hospitals carry missions such as to provide high-quality, cost-effective healthcare services to all patients regardless of ability to pay,  to offer training, to conduct clinical research, to serve the community as a public health advocate, and to provide support and services which respond to the area's health care needs through health education, health promotion, and access to care.Hospitals have the ethical responsibility to pursue a social mission, including providing uncompensated care and community outreach, but when their executives boast salaries with staggering seven figure salaries, the charitable work of the organization becomes obnubilated by an unmistakable pursuit of financial gain. The IRS reported that the average hospital CEO received $490,000 in total compensation in 2006, and top executives at twenty of the larger hospitals in the nation raked in an average of $1. 4 million a year, whereas uncompensated and free care expenditures as a percentage of hospital revenues averaged about 7 percent (Terry, K. 009). There is a large margin in executive compensation that is dependent on features such as geographical location and size. According to the â€Å"Charity Navigator,† in 2008, the median CEO salary in the Northeast was $351,000 for large hospitals, and $120,000 for small hospitals. In the Mountain West region of the US, the median salaries for a large hospital was $194,374, and only $80,790 for small hospitals (Charity Navigator 2010) Seven figure salaries are not a normal occurrence among hospital and health system executives.However, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which does an annual national survey of nonprofit salaries, found that the five top-paid nonprofit chief executives in 2003 all worked for hospitals. On top of these exaggerated salaries are the attractive benefits such as bonuses, deferred income, retirement plans, countr y club memberships, and countless other perks that are attracting the wrong kind of leaders to these organizations. Hospitals must provide their social responsibility to the community before spending outrageous salaries for chief executives.It is an unethical practice to pay executive teams more than the total spending on the necessitous care of the community. For example, the survey identified 17 hospitals in California where the total compensation to CEO’s alone exceeded the total cost of charity care of their respective organizations. These excessive salaries could have easily paid hospital bills for uninsured individuals, or could have been used to fund educational programs for the community, provide free immunizations to the public, and or many other beneficial alternatives that could have had a big impact on the community’s health (Mahar, M. 011). It is unjustified for executives to be compensated in amounts greater than $1 million. By capping executive salary at this figure, funds can be reprioritized into community programs such as parenting support programs, screening programs, women, children and infant development clinics, which can be implemented to provide nutrition and educational information for new mothers, and social work programs that could assist individuals and families that face medical related problems, and those who need emotional support.Instead, greed has played a big factor in CEO initiatives. It has not been of rare occurrence for Chief executives to siphon off millions of tax dollars that should be going towards access and quality care. It is unethical for executives at nonprofit organizations to exploit their federally granted nontaxable status to enrich themselves (Swiatek, J. , 2005) Attorney General Michael A. Delaney of New Hampshire announced in May of 2010 that he would review the compensation of CEO’s at more than twenty nonprofit hospitals throughout the state.In a report that reviewed the proposed merg er of two health systems, Mr. Delaney expressed his concern about the pay for Alyson Pitman Giles, President ; CEO of Catholic Medical Center, who earned $1. 4 million in 2009. He stated, â€Å"Nonprofit leaders must be aware that they are the stewards of the charitable assets they oversee, and those assets are held in trust for charitable purposes, not individual gain,† (Gose, B. , 2010)Non-profit hospitals must provide a minimum of charity care in order to receive its tax-free title and its federal grants. However, many hospitals, although they meet the minimum, make no effort to go above and beyond this threshold, instead rewarding these left over funds to be dispersed to the organization’s high-end executives in the form of company cars and country club memberships (Mahar, M. , 2011). These lavish executive benefits in no way benefit the organization. They are unethical and borderline unlawful.Federal law states that non-profit, tax-exempt organizations cannot oper ate to the financial benefit of any individual. In the mid-1990s, Congress passed intermediate sanctions laws that have given the IRS authority to require individuals who make excessive compensation from a non-profit to pay the money back, plus a 25% fin. (Appleby, J. , 2004). It is a common suggestion to compensate executives to match their performance at the organization in which they lead. However there are different ways to measure hospital performance.There is a measure of how well a CEO does in leading his or her hospital in providing beneficial programs to the community; for example, uncompensated care for the poor. Another way to measure or his or her success is by how well CEO’s implement new programs and services that will in hopes attract private pay customers like specialized surgery centers, imaging centers, and cardiac centers. Many healthcare organizations across the nation are expanding and adding unique services that are attracting private pay customers, givi ng hospitals the opportunity to increase profits.This practice has its benefits in both providing a wider range of care for those who can pay, and offering the hospital more means of financial gain, however, in many organizations, this has established precedence over the social missions of nonprofit organizations. In a study conducted by Jeffrey Kramer, PHD, and Rexford E. Santerre, PhD, 30 hospitals in Connecticut were examined on how various measures of performance affect the compensation of CEO’s, which throughout the state, range from a modest $136,000 to an exorbitant $2 million plus salary.The study shows that CEO compensation is directly related to organizational size, stating, â€Å"A 10 percent increase in the number of beds results in an 8 percent increase in CEO pay. † Another 8% increase in pay is attributed to the CEO if the occupancy rate rises by 10%. â€Å"In contrast, providing more uncompensated care and admitting an additional public-pay patient low ers the compensation of hospital CEOs. The results of the study reveal that hospital CEO’s (certainly in the state of Connecticut) have financial incentive to increase the occupancy of privately insured patients rather than uncompensated care and public paid insurance patients, also suggesting that economic performance takes priority over charitable performance (Kramer, J. , ; Santerre, R. E). Notwithstanding, A non-distribution constraint on nonprofit organizations means that excessive profits cannot be distributed among those who make decisions within the organization; this includes employees, managers, and board members.Hence, the nonprofit distinction ought to mean hospital executives are paid based upon their attainment at fulfilling the charitable and social mission of the organization. Nonprofit hospitals have ethical responsibilities and obligations to serve the community, even in times of financial struggle. It is important for these organizations to recruit professi onals that demonstrate the same ideals and values of the organization. Healthcare leaders whose goal is to produce a healthier population through increased public programs and access to care is the type of leader that hospitals and health systems should strive to obtain.Accomplished leaders can be found and appointed as a nonprofit CEO for a more reasonable (6 figure) salary if he or she is in the healthcare industry not for riches, but for offering a greater good. The American Red Cross for example, took in $3. 3 billion in revenue in 2009, however Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern took in only $456,000, according to the organization's IRS filing (Hancock, J. , 2011). McGovern is an example of a leader who recognizes the ethical financial dilemmas of her organization, and will willingly take a more appropriate salary in order to accomplish the organization’s goals.There is no mention of executive compensation in the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act besides the suggestion t hat compensation should be â€Å"reasonable†. Hospital executives should be paid based on their production within the organization and their contribution to their community. As a nonprofit organization, pursuing the charitable mission should take greatest importance in determining final executive compensation. This aspect of an organization’s mission should never be overshadowed by hospital expansion, financial well-being, or increased services and technology.Although these elements are incredibly important for the organization, the insured population, and the advancement of medicine, it is unethical for charitable organizations to use government subsidies for anything other than charity care and social benefit. Budget cuts, along with a feeble economy has resulted in hospitals engaging in mass layoffs to conserve resources. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the month of August (2011) consisted of thirteen mass layoffs in hospitals, totaling in over 1,000 jobs lost. The month before consisted of ten mass layoffs with over 600 lost jobs.This puts hospitals on pace for nearly 130 mass layoffs and over 8,000 jobs lost in 2011. To make matters seem worse, in an article posted by FierceHealthcare, a leading source of healthcare management news for healthcare industry executives, AMA data claims that a 2 percent cut in the Medicare program would lead to the loss of 195,000 jobs by 2021 (Caramenico, A. , 2011). These layoffs would be decreased immensely if hospital executives received more appropriate salaries. Excessive salaries are not only draining resources from the hospital, but are also threatening the jobs of nurses, administrators, and other hospital employees.These staff members, who are on an opposite spectrum in terms of salary, face the possibility of layoffs at any time of financial vulnerability. The decision to cut jobs in non-profit hospitals while executives are still receiving Wall Street salaries is unethical of the boar d of trustees. In financially difficult times, executives have the ethical responsibility to take pay cuts in order to maintain the organization’s social reputation. Hospitals are extremely complex organizations that more often than not are the single largest employers in communities across the country.Hospital executives are responsible for making important decisions that will ultimately affect thousands of people. Many CEO’s and members of boards of trustees argue that executive roles are far too important to not have competitive compensation packages. It is argued that million dollar salaries, added bonuses, hefty retirement plans, and other attractive perks are the only way to attract highly effective leaders capable of running a hospital in a time of economic struggle and health reform. Many hospitals have net revenues exceeding the billion-dollar mark, making it easier of Board members to justify seven-figure salaries for CEO’s.President and CEO of New Yor k-Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Herbert Pardes inherited a $9. 8 million package in 2008 that included $6. 8 million of previously awarded retirement benefits, which he'll receive when he retires at the end of 2011. If Dr. Pardes worked at a public company of about the same size, his salary would be outrageously low. In 2009, Nasdaq CEO Robert Griefeld's total compensation exceeded $13 million while his company's revenues were only $3. 4 billion. New York-Presbyterian has 2,353 beds and pulled in $3 billion in revenue in 2008, up 3% from 2007. A The Greater New York Hospital Association spokesman defended Dr.Pardes’ salary, stating, â€Å"Dr. Pardes' pay reflects his extraordinary success leading this large and complex organization, and exceeding objectives to enhance patient care, strengthen financial stability and promote community health in a very challenging environment. † (Benson, B. , 2010) The Greater New York Hospital Association stated that â€Å"CEO salaries re flect not only a national demand for their services, but also the skills and leadership necessary to operate large, extremely complex medical centers that are open 24/7, generate millions and sometimes billions in revenue, and are often the largest employer in the community. (Benson 2010) Leading one of these charities requires an individual that possesses an understanding of the issues that are unique to the charity’s mission as well as a high level of fundraising and management expertise. Attracting and retaining that type of talent requires a competitive level of compensation as dictated by the marketplace. It is important for donors to understand that since the average charity CEO earns roughly $150,000, a six-figure salary is not necessarily a sign of excessive pay for a mid to large sized charity. Charity Navigator 2010) Today, executives are being paid to keep their organizations afloat amid closings of many hospitals nationwide due to persistently poor financial perfo rmances. CEO’s face constant pressure to hire more staff, increase nurses’ salaries, implement more community programs, and invest in expensive technologies, while at the same time they are aware that insurers want to pay as little as possible. The CEO undoubtedly faces many challenges, and the responsibilities are incredibly complex.Even with a nonprofit status, many oppose executive compensation cuts, arguing that these organizational leaders deserve salaries competitive to corporate pay. Trustees pay executives based on total revenues, as well as how effective they are in providing patient safety, clinical quality, attentive service, and cost effectiveness. Hospital executive compensation should be based on a number of elements, such as total revenue, the size of the organization, as well as the amount and effectiveness of community benefit.Instead of offering company cars and extravagant country club memberships, executives should be entitled to financial incentive s to implement more community benefit programs. Peter Baristone, President & CEO of Mission Hospital located in Laguna Beach, CA referred to his own compensation strategy stating: Collaborating with the community to identify, understand, and respond to community needs that have an impact on health and quality of life is a major goal for all CEO’s. We establish specific quantifiable targets for each goal.One-seventh of my bonus depends on reaching the targets for community health and benefit. (Bogue, R, 1999). I recommend that all nonprofit Boards assemble an independent compensation committee, responsible for reviewing the CEO’s performance and ensuring that the CEO’s pay is appropriate. At its highest, CEO compensation should be capped at $1 million, thus allowing these large, urban hospitals to recycle resources back into the hospital and community programs, while at the same time offering executives a market competitive salary, fit for a CEO.At a time where n early 20% of adults are uninsured and community residents are in need of help in the form of various programs, it is more important than ever for nonprofit hospitals to perform its duty of being a â€Å"non-profit† organization and be of greater service to the community in which it serves. Nonprofits not only have the legal responsibility to implement such benefits, but also have the moral and ethical duty to carry out their social missions to the best of their ability, and as far as their recourses let them.By capping executive compensation, these resources can be better allocated to provide more charity care, to implement more community programs and benefits to produce a healthier community, and ensure fairness among staff salaries. â€Å"Hospitals are unquestionably complex institutions that require skilled managers, but there's no place for Wall Street-level salaries if we want an affordable health care system. † –Mark Scherzer (Benson, B. , 2010) Works Cite d: Terry, K. (2009, February 13). IRS Report Puts Tax-Exempt Hospitals Under Microscope – CBS News.Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News – CBS News. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://www. cbsnews. com/8301-505123_162- 43840159/irs-report-puts-tax-exempt-hospitals-under-microscope/? tag=bnetdoma in Charity Navigator. (n. d. ). 2010 Compensation Study. Retrieved October 15, 2011, from www. charitynavigator. org/__asset__/st Mahar, M. (2011, March 24). Health Beat: High CEO Salaries at Nonprofit Hospitals Under Scrutiny†¦Once Again. Health Beat. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www. healthbeatblog. om/2011/03/high-ceo-salaries-at- Swiatek, J. (2005, February 6). Pay is healthy for hospitals' executives Corporate-like salaries seen at nonprofits' top jobs. The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 29, 2011, from www2. indystar. com/articles/6/220029-4276-P. html Gose, B. (2010). Nonprofit CEO Pay Under Scrutiny. Chronicle Of Phila nthropy, 22(16), 8. Appleby, J. , & TODAY, U. (2004, September 30). USATODAY. com – IRS looking closely at what non-profits pay. News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U. S. & World – USATODAY. com.Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www. usatoday. com/money/companies/management/2004-09-30-salary- Kramer, J. , & Santerre, R. E. (2010). Not-for-Profit Hospital CEO Performance and Pay: Some Evidence from Connecticut. Inquiry, 47(3), 242-251 Hancock, J. (2011, August 28). For hospitals, ‘nonprofit' stops with CEO's paycheck – Baltimore Sun. Featured Articles From The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 4, 2011, from http://articles. baltimoresun. com/2010-08-29/health/bs-bz-hancock-hospital-pay-20100829_1_hospitals-executive-compensation-ceos Caramenico, A. 2011, October 4). More mass layoffs as hospitals face payment cuts – FierceHealthcare. Healthcare News, Hospital News, Healthcare Companies — Fierce Healthcare. Retrieved October 26, 2011, from http://www. fiercehealthcare. com/story/more-mass-layoffs- hospitals-face-payment-cuts/2011-10-04 Benson, B. (2010). Hospital execs enjoy healthy paydays. (cover story). Crain's New York Business, 26(12), 1-15. Bogue, R. (1999). An incentive for community health. Linking CEO compensation to community goals. Trustee: The Journal For Hospital Governing Boards, 52(5), 15-19.

The Banqiao Reservoir Dam Failure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The Banqiao Reservoir Dam Failure - Essay Example This essay discusses that the collapse of the Banqiao and Shimantan Dams together with a several dozen much smaller dams in the Zhumadian Prefecture of Henan Province in China in August 1975 is among the world’s most devastating dam failures. Initially, it was reported that the dam failure was attributed to a natural disaster. However many years later and after considerable research, researchers have come to the conclusion that the Banqiao Reservoir Dam’s design and the design of the other reservoirs, together with the standards associated with containing the river are partly responsible for the dam failure.   In essence, it is now generally accepted that the Banqiao Reservoir Dam failure was due to both man-made error/engineering failure and a natural disaster. Zhumadian is situated in the Southern region of Henan Province with Hong and Ru Rivers running east through Zhumadian converging upon the Huai River.   The Banqiao Dam was constructed on the Ru River in 1952 as part of the flood control programme for the Huai River.   In 1956, the Banqiao Dam was reconstructed elevating the dam height and improving the capabilities of the reservoir.   The Banqiao Dam was constructed so that it could withstand â€Å"1-1in-1,000 year flood (306mm rainfall per day)†. The Banqiao Dam was described as a â€Å"clay-core earth fill dam† measuring 24.5 meters in height with the ability to store up to 492 million meters and with a further 375 million cubic meters â€Å"reserved for flood control†.... The parapet walls elevation was 117.64 meters. The discharge capacity was built for 3,092 cubic meters with 1,800 cubic meters accounting for the main spillway, 1,160 cubic meters were designed for the supplementary spillway and 123 cubic meters designed for the conduit (Xu, et. al., 2008). The Disaster The collapse of the Banqiao Dam began on the evening of August 7, 1975 when a large storm became stationery over the Henan Province. As a result the deluge sustained over a foot of rain daily for a period of three days (Chiles, 2001). The rainfall dumped by the storm amounted to 1005 mm of rain in a day’s time and 1605 mm of rain over a three day period. In one hour, flooding overtopped the Banqiao and Shimantan dams leading to their collapse (Eliasson & Lee, 2003). In all, over 60 smaller dams collapsed because â€Å"dikes and flood diversion projects further downstream could not resist such a deluge† (Eliasson & Lee, 2003, p. 620). Land measuring over one million hecta res also sustained flooding, more than 100 km of the railway line connecting Guangzhou to Beijing sustained damages, many villages and towns were either entirely or partly submerged in water and several million residents became homeless. Conservative estimates report that some 26,000 persons drowned in the flood directly linked to the failed dams and an additional 145, 000 eventually died as a result of causal famines and epidemics in the weeks that followed (Eliassin & Lee, 2003). Evaluating the Engineering Failures of the Banqiao Dam Collapse Becker (1998) puts the construction of the Banqiao Dam and the associated dams in its proper perspective. According to Becker (1998) the Banqiao Dam was constructed around a time where irrigation was a prime agricultural policy. At the

Young womens beleifs regarding human papillomavirus Research Paper

Young womens beleifs regarding human papillomavirus - Research Paper Example The descriptive research utilized a cross-sectional, survey design and included participants from four women’s health clinics and one university classroom. Three hundred and two women between ages 18–24 who could read and write English participated in two surveys. A health and demographic information questionnaire to collect the age, ethnicity, history of STD testing and/or HPV diagnosis, education level, race and relationship status details and a second questionnaire based on Representations of STDs (RoSTD) to survey the women’s beliefs of HPV were issued. The participants also completed a single item evaluating beliefs about the association between HPV and cancer. This research has four major limitations. First, the study employed a cross-sectional research design, limiting the ability to find out causation. Second, the study used self-report data where participants might have biased their responses to establish social desirableness. Third, one half of the participants pointed they were seriously involved in a romantic relationship, a factor that is highly subjective and lacks the ability to directly measure sexual risk behavior. Fourth, the participants were highly literate, largely White, and limited to certain geographic locations, minimizing the ability to generalize findings to other ethnic, racial, geographical, and educational groups. The findings of the study indicate that young women tend to misconceive the cause, symptoms, and chronic nature of HPV and also have negative impressions about the impact HPV diagnosis has on intimate relationships and mental health. Women who had never received STD testing or not diagnosed with HPV have more accurate and less severe representations about HPV when compared with young women with a record of STD testing or HPV diagnosis. Assessing women’s impressions about HPV enables the development of treatment methods centered on patient needs and also enhances HPV management in individuals diagnosed

Organisational change 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Organisational change 2 - Essay Example one were to google-search the phrase â€Å"what is change?† close to 20 million book entries would align themselves in his computer screen as if one could have the luxury to get to the 20-millionth entry. But indeed, as Stickland (1998) observes as early as in his writing time, change would be a subject that could swiftly expand in treatment and in scope due to the speed with which it would show itself in human activity. In the two decades preceding Stickland’s book publication, the word â€Å"change† has more than doubled its appearance in literature titles (Stickland, 1998). Most book publishers and authors, it is observed, get deep into serious treatment of the subject of change, its nature, its effects and anything it can do, yet miss out on its definition. In fact, Ly (2009) notes that change is a â€Å"phenomenon for which there is no agreed-upon definition.† It is just like saying it is just there; it just happens. It assumes the characteristic of time, that the more people attempt to define it, the more it confuses, making description the easiest way towards understanding. But of course, a few authors made some sincere attempt to define it, if only to have some sense of it. Ly (2009) was resourceful enough to feature some of them. Hanelock defines change as any significant difference in the status quo. Linquist refers to it as a modification of, deletion of, or addition to attitudes and behavior. Morgan defines change as a process or condition of being different between time 1 and time 2. Of course, the most common reference for definitions, Webster, calls change as an act of becoming different. (Ly, 2009). And if man sees change as part of himself and his evolution, never has change been more obvious, pronounced and ubiquitous in organizations than now because of the constantly varying character of the environments they are in. Zimmerman (2011) notes very profoundly that in view of these highly charged surroundings, organizations need to change

Kindly see the instruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kindly see the instruction - Essay Example beliefs, as well as the many testimonies from couples of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community (LGBT), judges and citizens alike are looking to overturn the Defense Against Marriage Act, which would allow gay couples to have the same federal benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. On March 27, 2013, the members of the Supreme Court gathered to hear the testimonies, fears, and concerns that both opposers and proponents of gay marriage had. Those that oppose gay marriage, specifically those that allowed California’s Proposition 8, which would ban gay marriage and overturn the marriages that had been conducted previously, made their side of the argument known that marriage is a union that has always been available only to men and women. Though they could find no consequences of people within the LGBT community becoming legally married, they continued to argue that to allow them the chance to marry would go against the very definition of marriage. The proponents for gay marriage, a large following that consists of homosexuals and heterosexuals alike, simply believe that under the freedom that America stands for they should be allowed to marry someone they love. After the first day of hearing testimonies, members of the Court also had their say about their own stances in regard to gay marriage. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is â€Å"seen as the swing vote between liberal and conservative justices† (Dymond, par. 8), is less concerned about the marriage debate itself and more concerned about whether or not the federal government had the authority to legalize and then ban gay marriage in California. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg believes that there should be two separate types of marriage, a full marriage for heterosexual couples and what is referred to as the skim-milk marriage for homosexuals. There were other members, though, we were not as neutral. Elena Kagan found that the Defense Against Marriage Act was written and enforced out of

The Controversial Approach of the Bank of England Essay

The Controversial Approach of the Bank of England - Essay Example This report presents a critical overview of the approaches adopted by the Bank for the sake of economic recovery in the country. Considering the devastating effects of the recent financial crisis, the Bank of England considered it essential to improve liquidity position through initiating â€Å"liquidity support operations† (Joyce). The intention behind these operations was to facilitate interbank market with more readily available funds. The Bank, in this regard, outstretched its normal operations by way of enabling commercial banks to obtain funds more easily. In addition to these initiatives, the Bank also considered other measures, such as, the introduction of â€Å"Special Liquidity Scheme† which enabled banks to exchange their assets with T-bills, which otherwise could not be materialized on short notice. This facility later was referred to as the â€Å"Discount Window Facility† (Joyce). However, these policies were brought into action after the Bank loosen ed the monetary policy by way of lowering down interest rates significantly. Although, the purchase of public and private assets was termed as a policy measure by the Bank, but in fact, these actions were forced to be taken by the Bank since the earlier loosening of monetary policy came out to be ineffective in achieving the 2 percent rate of inflation (Joyce, Tong and Woods). ... The growth trends in the UK economy from the first quarter have all been recorded in negative, i.e. – 0.1 percent, - 1.2 percent, 0 percent, - 1.4 percent, - 0.5 percent and – 1.3 percent. On the other hand, like other sectors of economy, the output of the construction sector of the UK declined significantly by 5.2 percent during the second quarter of the current fiscal year (Richards). According to the critics, the public and private assets purchasing policy of the bank proved to be detrimental itself for the economy as the Bank of England swapped financial assets with the commercial banks so as to increase the backup reserves of the banks, which could be used to further increase their lending operations in the market. But on the other side, the loosening of monetary policy and decline in interest rates meant that the deposits made by public in the bank were valueless. Moreover, the lowering down of interest rates also decreased the targets for businesses in the UK whi ch were set in relation to the returns expected on equity and capital of the firms. At the same time, it was also expected that the increased inflation rates would turn into increased demand and thus such increase in demand would lead to economic revival in the UK and would also improve lending operations in the UK financial market (Auerback). However, things went opposite to what was expected; as reported in the recent publication of the British Bankers Association, the mortgage lending for the month of June came out to be ? 7.2 billion, which if compared with the latest semi-annual averages was less than by ? 0.8 billion. Further, forecasting of mortgage lending shows that this declining trend

Reading Response on Design and Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reading Response on Design and Technology - Essay Example Because of the nature of this new mode of computer interaction, this technology is now referred to as natural user interface. In terms of the core functionality of this technology, it’s noted that this technology is primarily concerned with visibility in terms of the main computer menus. Such interfaces have a history dating back to the 1960s, with multiple-touch systems debuting in the 1980s; prominently these interfaces have existed within game design and electronic input devices such as musical instruments. Still, one recognizes that such incorporations of the technology provide a liberal definition of the interface. Notably, Norman (2010) indicates that gestural interaction is not an objective element of human existence, but is culturally specific. In these regards, one considers that these technological innovations are not simply altering the way humans interact with computers, but extending the nature of cultural non-verbal communication globally. Still, Norman (2010) no tes that gestures also present a number of problems in successful computer integration. Many individuals will remember the poor functionality of the Nintendo Power Glove in the 1980s; still, Norman (2010) contends that with technological advancements many of these functional challenges can be overcome. While the contemporary implementation of Nintendo gestural technology in the Wii is demonstrated to have much higher functionality, the article notes that there still remain a number of complications in this incarnation. In terms of necessary technological advancements that still must be developed there are a number of specific elements considered. The article notes that momentum and viscous friction need to be combined so that motions on the screen continue to move after they occur. Another prominent area of concern is multiple computer interaction; Norman (2010) wonders if computers should designed so that an individual can make a gesture from one computer screen that will carry an object over to another. Norman (2010) compares such technological challenges to the challenges that were faced by individuals in developing Windows type operating systems. Some of the remaining questions are the extent that the technology should incorporate partial gesture systems or full-body gestural interaction. In these regards, Norman (2010, p. 9) notes, â€Å"We need ways of specifying scope, range, temporal order, and conditional dependencies.† The article also notes that the systems must develop sufficient feedback systems for continued technological development. There are a number of notable sociological contributions such technological advancements have been argued to contribute to the contemporary cultural lexicon. For instance, Norman (2010) notes that human gestural interaction with computer interfaces has created new structural modes of signification; Norman (2010, p. 8) states, â€Å"Shaking a device is starting to mean ‘provide another alternative.†™ A horizontal wiping motion of the fingers means to go to a new page.† In these regards, one considers that gestural interaction, or ‘natural use interface,’ not only constitutes a new mode of technology, but also a higher level of union between humans and technology. To an even greater extent, technology has become an extension of the human rather than a simple tool. The article also considers

A Comparative Analysis of the Foreign Policy Process between France Essay

A Comparative Analysis of the Foreign Policy Process between France and Germany - Essay Example As observed by Philip Gordon, â€Å"Franco-German military cooperation in the postwar period seems to have taken place despite important differences in perspective between the two countries, not because of a fundamental rapprochement of views† (Krotz, 2001, p. 3). He added that â€Å"at both public and elite levels, French and German attitudes toward security and defence were highly different† (Krotz, 2001, p. 3). However, as stated, France and Germany, despite of their different approaches to foreign policy were able to build an alliance and become a major force in the European Union (EU). This essay analyses the similarities and differences between the foreign policy process in France and Germany. Comparing and Contrasting French and German Foreign Policy In analysing the specific similarities and differences between the foreign policies of France and Germany, it is important to take into account the historical foundation of the Franco-German relations. The assumption that a strong diplomacy in Europe should be based on compromise between France and Germany is firmly embraced throughout the German political community. The ‘rapprochement’—reconciliation—between Germany and France was established in 1963 through the Elysee Treaty (McCarthy, 2001, p. 118). Nevertheless, contrary to their strong alliance in the economic sector, a strong cooperation has been problematic in the security and defence arena. The Franco-German relationship throughout the Cold War was mainly rooted in the effort of Germany to discreetly take part in security and foreign policy, which allowed France to control the arrangement. The eastward territorial expansion and reunification of Germany thus brought about a level of apprehension in France that Germany would reassess their alliance, specifically when dealing with the objectives and interests

Criticisms Trafficking Perspective Essay Example for Free

Criticisms Trafficking Perspective Essay The pentameter 1 and 2 and the United Kingdoms government Action plan to tackle trafficking have many deficiencies regarding the ability of the victims to access human rights. First, the victims are given minimum care. However, there is minimal concern for women who are trafficked for other reasons other than sexual abuse. The United Kingdom government, through the provisions of the two articles, has shown very little commitment to provide fully for this category of women. In most cases, they just remain in the Poppy project. There is also very little awareness creation amongst the rescued women about men who demand to buy sex from them. This means that they are not fully protected because despite the fact that the women have been rescued from the initial traffickers, they are still in danger of sexual abuse from men who seek to pay for their sexual services. These women mostly give in to such demands because of their lack of finances and employment (USAID, 2006). Besides, because of limited skills and education, the women lack options and just give in to the demands of the men. The understanding and implementation of victim care is very narrow. The victims have limited access to the services that they require. Aspects of employment, education, recreation, interpretation of languages and legal representation are seldom given priority, however basic they sound to be. These victims are also not assisted during documentation procedures especially those from other nations. Hence, they spend more time than they need to in rehabilitation centers. The United Kingdom lacks specialized care for children and young people relieved from human trafficking. The children usually have special needs making them require special support systems. The rescue process hardly provides for this. Besides, special services like education for this category are not availed. Other services include individualized counseling, protection from harm and providing them with special diets (National Childrens Bureau, 2002) There are no provisions of training, education and employment for the rescued individuals. This is considered unfair especially to school going age children. Besides, one of the contributing factors to human trafficking is poverty. This means that the individual may lack adequate skills needed for employment. The United Kingdom system does not provide funds for training rescued individuals, much as it could be a sure way of addressing poverty. Lack of employment or training opportunities has led to the victims escaping from the rehabilitation centers, at times falling back in to the hands of the traffickers and at times just searching for employment away from the rehabilitation centers (Rosenberg, 2004). The system does not specify clear strategies that would ensure that trafficked individuals are united with their families. Family reunification would reduce congestion in the rehabilitation centers. It is also considered as an immediate measure especially when individuals are United Kingdom citizens. Besides, it is cheaper as compared to keeping the victims in to rehabilitation centers. The victims are also not involved in the process of formulating policies that concern them. These policies address their needs and theoretically, they ought to be very vocal during formulation of such policies. This would ensure that their basic needs are considered and addressed accordingly. Belser (2005) argues that it also gives them a sense of security and ownership. These contribute to the sustainability of projects set up to address their concerns. There is stigma usually associated with the trafficked persons. This includes associating the persons with vices like prostitution. The pentameter 1 and 2 and the UK government action plan on human trafficking fails to give clear measures on how they would address this. Stigmatization of the rescued individuals by the entire public contributes to psychological effects including isolation. Isolation causes stress related complications and affects social cohesion. Lack of social cohesion increases tension amongst the group and this makes coping difficult. Clear strategies need to be initiated to educate the public about this. Stigmatization also discourages the rescued victims from adopting socially acceptable behavior. The system also lacks gender sensitive strategies when rescuing individuals. Men, as well as women have different needs and this should be addressed accordingly (Anderson, 2003). The needs of women especially those basic for survival need to be given priority in order to discourage them from escaping from the rehabilitation centers. The identification procedure is also not clear in the two articles. This has led to the victims of human trafficking being treated as immigration criminals in some instances. This makes the individuals more frustrated and the effects associated with this are significant. For example, they develop psychological illnesses and stress. There is also a gap with respect to the provisions of men who fall victims of human trafficking. The two articles do not give any information on how the needs of men would be met, once they fall victims of sexual harassment and prostitution. The documents focus more on women and children. Despite the fact that the number of men is small, they are also victims and their needs should be given equal priority. The security of the human trafficking individuals, even when they are in the rehabilitation centers is not fully assured. ECPAT UK (2004) explains that this has led to the disappearance of some children from the centers, mainly because they are lured away by the initial traffickers or they go looking for jobs to support themselves. The two articles fail to provide clear procedures that would be used to help change the attitudes of women who are victims but are reluctant abandon the practice due to economic and or behavioral factors. Attitudes have a primary role in changing the behaviors of people. Developing positive attitudes ensures that people do and behave as expected. Efforts therefore would need to be channeled to assisting the rescued victims change their attitude. This will also be instrumental in helping them resist the temptation of falling back to prostitution in extreme cases where they lack finances. In addition, positive attitudes would help the victims recover quickly from the shock of being assaulted. REFERENCE Anderson, B. and Davidson, J. O. (2003). Is Trafficking a Human Beings Demand Driven? A Muilti-country Pilot Study. Geneva: IOM. Belser, P. (2005). Forced Labor and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits, Working Paper. Geneva: International Labor Organization Office. ECPAT UK(2004). Cause of Concern? London Social Services and Child Trafficking. London: ECPAT. National Childrens Beaureau, (2002). Is Someone Taking a Part of You? London: NCB. Rossenberg, R. (2004). Best practices for programming to prevent Trafficking in Human Beings in Europe and Eurasia. Maryland: Development Alternatives. USAID. (2006). Trafficking in Person: USAIDs Response. Washington DC: USAID

Social Policy - Putting People First Essay Example for Free

Social Policy Putting People First Essay For this assignment l have been asked to identify and examine a social policy and to make reference to a political ideology of welfare, discuss the contributions of social work, service user and carer’s experiences to the policy document. To achieve this l will discuss ‘Pettigrew’s model of strategic change’ which will help to summarise the key elements considered when looking at any specific policy. (Public Administration Management, 1999, pp. 494-507) Firstly to discuss the context, the governmental approach with New Labours/Third Way philosophy behind the policy â€Å"Putting People First†, the principles and why it was implemented, how this fits with what we know about New Labours commitment to finding solutions to societal issues from a socialist type theorist view. Also to discuss the Process, how it was put together and implemented. But most crucially l will discuss the Content, the implications to service user’s and carer’s experiences to the policy and its impact, in conjunction with the social work contribution to the policy and its own implications to welfare provision. Old age, seen as a burden viewed by governments as a cost to society, a value of each person has been imposed by way of what a local authority is willing to pay, â€Å"Older people are seen as past their best, no longer productive, no longer contributing to the economy and therefore a burden, a drain on the states resources† (Thompson, 2006, p.100). Demography along with increased expectations, put demands on an already faltering, aged service, people living longer with complex needs due to new technology, plus services out of touch with the needs and expectations of today. A well educated generation with the aptitude to convey their requirements, rather than the acceptance of being grateful for whatever they can get. In an age of 60 being the new 40, people wanting, expecting and hoping for a new type of consideration in regard to any help they may need. Using these arguments government issued statements that social care as it stands could not possibly continue and if not redressed, would not survive; something had to change. Driven by figures forecast that social care costs in the future were to rise and by â€Å"2022, 20% of the English population will be over 65 and by 2027, the number of over 85yr olds will have increased by 60%†(Department of Health, 2008,p.1). â€Å"Intolerance of inequality was the prevailing mood and New Labour policies reflected this†(Blakemore Griggs,2007, p.274), rethinking the aged Old Labour ideology of state provision and a well-known system of need, assessment, criteria and services provisioned on the outcome of eligibility, and provisioned by a limited statutory service were not reflecting good practice in terms of equality. In recognition of the rising cost of old age, New Labour in 2007 introduced the Putting People First policy as a â€Å"shared vision and commitment to the transformation of adult social care† and stated that it was to â€Å"set the new direction for adult social care for the next ten years or more† (DH) (2008), and has even been suggested by Alcock 2008 as being the most sweeping transformation of adult social care since the 1990’s community care act. Putting People First superseded the government white paper â€Å"our health, our care, our say – a new direction for community services (Department of Health, 2006), which gave an insight of what was to come and shared with it some of the radical thinking behind the governments new ‘third way’ philosophy. Putting People First was designed to implement a new way of delivering services through commissioning, personal budgets, recognising and utilising alternative methods of care provision such as family care, community support groups, voluntary sector and partnership working. These commissioned services can be partly funded via alternative funding streams such as lottery, voluntary and charities so reducing the states contribution. â€Å"Ultimately every locality should seek to have a single community based support system focussed on the health and wellbeing of the local population. Binding together local Government, primary care, community based health provision, public health, social care and the wider issues of housing, employment, benefits advice and education/training† (Department of Health, 2008, p.2), working collectively in four areas; â€Å"Universal Services, Early Intervention Prevention, Social Capital, Choice Control†(Department of Health, 2008 p.17). To illustrate where this policy fits with New Labour/Third Way, we can return to â€Å"early academic development of social policy and where Britain was closely allied to the political development of Fabianism† (Alcock, 2008, p.2). Fabians were â€Å"politicians and academics† who concerned themselves with â€Å"influencing governments† through â€Å"academic research and analysis† into how this should influence welfare reforms whilst pertaining the government’s responsibility (Alcock, 2008, p.2). Labour following WWII introduced much Fabian inspired reform’s using academic knowledge and research on social problems, closely followed by the Beveridge report and substantial change within state provision. Going against right wing critics who argued against state provision, and the New Right/Neo Liberalism who said that â€Å"state intervention merely drove up the cost of public expenditure†, furthermore developed a country who had â€Å"no incentive to protect themselves† consequently become totally reliant on government meeting all need (Alcock, 2008,p.9). Tony Blair became labour party leader in 1994, and continued along a political path instigated by the previous party leader John Smith who had â€Å"commissioned a review on social justice to look at past approaches to social policy†, where three methods became apparent: â€Å"The deregulators who favoured private markets over public provision†; â€Å"The levellers – supporters of old style social democratic justice† but the favoured style of social policy were the; â€Å"Investors who linked social justice to economic growth within a market economy† (Alcock, 2008, p.190). The â€Å"investor approach became central to the third way rhetoric† (Alcock, 2008, p.190) and won an election in 1997 for a New Labour who had discarded many of the state welfare commitments of â€Å"Old Labour approach of tax and spend in dealing with public services†(Blakemore Griggs, 2007,p.266). This third way was to recognise the more â€Å"complex make-up of modern societies†, from this â€Å"What Counts is What Works† was drawn from work by Anthony Giddens â€Å"a close advisor to Blair† (Alcock, 2008, p.10). â€Å"Giddens views about social policy involved a reformulation of the goal of equality in terms of exclusion and inclusion† two terms used widely by New Labour, both driving home some suggestion of concern with â€Å"citizenship, community† and â€Å"poverty†. (Alcock, Daly Griggs, 2008, p.205) Alcock (2008) suggests the Third Way or middle way rhetoric was a common sense way of keeping all political theorist’s happy. But continues on to say that some key themes are apparent such as shifting welfare towards an activist style of provision, sharing responsibility, improved choice using alternatively funded providers, â€Å"extending the conservatives strategy of building a market in welfare provision† (Blakemore Griggs, p.268), but â€Å"rather than being a distinctive path between different trajectories, is instead a pick-and-mix assortment of different ideas†(ed Ellison Pierson 2003, p.73). Both Blair and Giddens disputed this middle ground ideology of pleasing all, but rather a response to a â€Å"changed world† with â€Å"traditional values† (Hudson Lowe, 2004, p.44) New Labour continued with the ideology of â€Å"service user participation, community based care, and a mixed economy of provision delivered via social care makers† as the way forward, with an emphasis on â€Å"accountability and performance whilst encouraging â€Å"participation† and â€Å"choice† for purchasers of services (Blakemore Griggs,2007, p.276/77), and â€Å"invested considerable faith in the value of more informed approach to policy making, viewing it as central to improving the quality of public services†(Hudson Lowe, 2004, p.222). This rethink of â€Å"community care towards social care† (Blakemore Griggs, 2007,p.232) from central government produced a set of guidance to every local authority to assess and procure their own individual responses on how to implement the titanic changes required in changing the face of service delivery long-term to â€Å"fit services around not people round services† (Alcock, Daly Griggs, 2008 p.279). There were huge expectations on individual councils to develop ways of implementing service user and carer involvement more than ever before; their vision being, that service users and carers were to be empowered to contribute at the earliest stages of the way services were best delivered within local authorities. On the back of Putting People First came a grant allocation and background papers with guidance to be considered when implementing the policy were all produced to steer the implementation of service delivery, one being, â€Å"Personalisation†(Department of Health, 2008), which took the idea of Putting People First further, and brought together Primary Care Trusts and social care into jointly funding a ‘personal budgets’ or ‘individual budgets’ with a â€Å"full range of relevant local statutory, voluntary and private sector organisations to be fully engaged†(Department of Health, 2007). Putting People First and Personalisation policies are intended to take people with needs through a hugely diverse process of self assessment, where the social worker is led by the citizen, recognised as a lead player in establishing their own person centred plan of care, where â€Å"the individual is best placed to know what they need and how needs are best met† (Carr, 2008, p.3). Having been fortunate to experience implementation of direct payments for many years first hand, l can only praise the opportunities it has created within a learning disabilities team. Initial concerns regarding any security experienced within old fashioned service style was soon forgotten as the person emerged with newly found control over their lives, fortunately with few drawbacks; administration being one, reduced by regular reviews along with some form of Brokerage system. Also providing continuity and matching people in terms of personalities, with the assurance of knowing who will come into their home and at time to suit the person, not the care provider. As for Personalisation l can only imagine how positive this next stage can be devoid of issues with institutionalised social workers, deskilled and pressurised to be inventive with huge funding panel limitations. Individual budgets present a Resource Allocation Process, from a combination of funding streams, allocated via self assessment and support plan with assistance from a professional. This optimistically changes the role of social work from being a gatekeeper and provider of services to a broker, navigator, designer and risk assessor who advocates a person’s wishes from a resource allocation process (Carr, 2008, p.17), enabled to find â€Å"new collaborative ways of workingtailored specifically to meet individual needs† compared to the sticky plaster approach (Carr, 2008, p.3). Putting People First is seen by some as an â€Å"opportunity to return to the traditional social work, of enabling people to achieve potential† (Carr, 2008, p.16). Social work has to be diverse in its approach as this impacts, which ever political party is in power, which ever political ideology is favoured at any one time the social worker â€Å"moves backwards and forwards like some never ending contest between two evenly matched tug-of-war teams†, however this does not suggest that the social worker remains â€Å"power-neutral†, for a social workers powers are exercised on behalf of the state they â€Å"reflect a view which are fundamentally political in their determination† (Drakeford, 2010, p.304). We may consider whether all wish to be empowered in this way, changing the way services have been provisioned could we be taking away the proverbial security blanket. It is recognised that â€Å"families provide a far greater proportion of care and emotional and financial support† (Hill Irving, 2009, p.262) and it is for the â€Å"social worker to recognise and support carers in their role, and help with enabling maintenance of a life beyond caring†(Carr, 2008, p.3), PPF recognises this by delivering the tools to ensure a carer is â€Å"encouraged to play an active part† by being in control of what works best for them not prescribed by local authorities (Barton, 2010, p.410). Beveridge â€Å"didn’t anticipate the tumultuous decline in heavy industry† and the subsequent â€Å"rise in paid women’s work† (Hill Irving, 2009, p.265), sadly informal care continues to be â€Å"seen at the top of this mixed economy of welfare† (Hill Irving, 2009, p.190). It is vital in recognising the â€Å"power differential between carers and professionals, meaning the carer’s perspective can easily be overlooked†, â€Å"in addition to their motivation being driven by love, duty and a sense of enduring commitment but are sometimes compelled to take on this role against their wishes (Barton, 2010, p.410/13). All this puts further strain on carers, trying to juggle a life other than caring; Putting People First seems to have acknowledged this by including the ‘individual budgets’ to carers. By looking after the carer, valuing their expertise, and offering alternative solutions, thus prevents hospital admissions and residential care, both of which come at a much higher cost to the economy. We have taken a look at the impact of a political ideology, how this is developed into policies which impact on society, but also how the changes in societal discourses forces governments into making sweeping changes across provision. For me ‘sharing responsibility’ basically sums up the Putting People First policy, for those who receive help to be considered active, valued and empowered citizens, accredited with the ability to take responsibility of amalgamating services to meet individual needs. This new commissioning type of services by local authorities will inevitably force its way into social work, consequently social workers being privatised and commissioned by local authorities, again taking responsibility away from the state. However we have to be sceptical regards the costs – both in financial terms and the personal impact of this direction, as funding is reduced, how much of this shared responsibility will actually fall on the unpaid carers. And to reflect Hudson Lowe’s (2004) argument around â€Å"rational choice theory† and whether a society is able to develop a â€Å"collective action† due to a self-absorbed nation and what â€Å"sense of duty† is evident in â€Å"society to exist at all† (Hudson Lowe, 2004, p190), this may become apparent as we move towards a society who can make best use of social capital. References Alcock, C, Daly, G Griggs, E (2008): â€Å"Introducing social policy†, 2nd ed. Essex: Pearson Education ltd Alcock, P, (2008): â€Å"Social Policy in Britain† 3rd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Barton, R. (2010): â€Å"The carers perspective† in Davies, M. (ed.) The Blackwell Blakemore, K Griggs, E, (2007): â€Å"Social policy an introduction†, 3rd ed. Berkshire: open university press Drakeford, M. (2010): â€Å"Social work and politics† in Davies, M. (ed.) The Blackwell Carr, S. (2008) personalisation : a rough guide (ed) social care institute for excellence, London Companion to Social Work. Oxford: Blackwell publishing Ltd Ellison, N Pearson, C, (2003): â€Å"Developments in British policy 2†, London: Palgrave Macmillan Hill, M Irving, Z, (2009): â€Å"Understanding social policy†, 8th ed. West Sussex: Blackwell publishing Hudson, J Lowe, S, (2004): â€Å"Understanding the policy process†, Bristol: The Policy Press Department of health Think Local Act Personal – Debbie’s story HM Government (2008)[online]. London: National Health Service. [Accessed15.03.2011]. Available at: http://www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk . Department of health Putting people First A shared vision and commitment to the transformation of Adult Social Care. HM Government (2008)[online]. London: National Health Service. [Accessed15.03.2011]. Available at: . Department of health Think Local Act Personal- social care transformation. HM Government (2008)[online]. London: National Health Service. [Accessed15.03.2011]. Available at: http://www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk . Department of Health (October 2008) Putting People First Transforming Adult Care [online]. London: National Health Service. [Accessed 15.03.2011]. Available at: . Department of health Putting people First – Working to make it happen. HM Government (2008)[online]. London: National Health Service. [Accessed15.03.2011]. Available at: . Department of Health (January 2006) Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services[online]. London: National Health Service. [Accessed 15.03.2011]. Available at: . Public Administration Management: An Interactive Journal(1999) 4, 4, pp. 494-507 Thompson, N. (2006) Anti-discriminatory Practice.4th ed., Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

How Self Evaluation is implemented for school improvement

How Self Evaluation is implemented for school improvement The aim of the study is to investigate how School Self-Evaluation (SSE) is implemented for school improvement. There is an increasing international trend of democratisation and decentralisation of education, from the bureaucratic national to an autonomous school based education, in terms of financial management, human resource management and curriculum management. The Department of education observes that with the democratisation of education and associated decentralisation of authority, schools are increasingly being held accountable for their performance (DoE, 2004). School Self-Evaluation is defined as a procedure involving systematic information gathering which is initiated by the school itself and aims to assess the functioning of the school and the attainment of its education goals for the purpose of supporting decision-making and learning for fostering school improvement as a whole (Schildkamp, 2007). Paradoxically, the quality of education that is offered, especially in rural schools of South Africa, is decreasing dramatically. This is confirmed by national and international assessment bodies like the Systemic Evaluation (SE), the Trends in Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS), the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ). The Department of Basic Education, (2010) contends that both the Systemic Evaluation in 2004 and SACMEQ in 2000 indicated that less than one in four Grade 6 learners passed minimum standards in mathematics (DBE, 2010). It further stipulates that the international tests that South Africa participates in show that the top 10% of learners in South Africa do worse than the top 10% of learners in other developing countries such as Kenya, Indonesia and Chile (DBE, 2010). School improvement is defined as a systematic, sustained effort in changing learning conditions and other related internal conditions in one or more schools with the ultimate of accomplishing educational goals more effectively (Van Veltzen, Miles, Ekholm, Hamemyer, and Robin, 1985). The above observations do not presume that the decline in the quality of education in South Africa is due to the democratisation and decentralisation of education, but rather depicts an inevitable demand for a more relevant mechanism, at school level, to be put in place to ensure high quality education and continuous school improvement. This condition imposes that an effective implementation and monitoring of School Self-Evaluation (SSE) is indispensable. Vanhoof, Maeyer and Petegem (2011) confirm that schools are increasingly required to assume a greater share of the responsibility for developing and guaranteeing educational quality (Vanhoof, Maeyer and Petegem, 2011). SSE is a school-based evaluation that is supposed to be implemented by principals, School Management Teams (SMTs), School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and the community, on an annual basis, to ensure continuous improvement and high quality education in all schools. problem statement and rationale for the study School self-evaluation was introduces by the former Minister of education, Professor Kader Asmal in 2001. It is the initial phase of Whole School Evaluation (WSE), preceding external evaluation. In his foreword, the minister states that the National Policy on Whole School Evaluation introduces an effective monitoring and evaluation process that is vital to the improvement of quality and standards of performance in schools (DBE, 2002). This policy aims at improving the overall quality of education in South African schools, and its purpose is to facilitate improvement of school performance through approaches characterised by partnership, collaboration, mentoring and guidance (DBE, 2002). According to the National Education Policy Act (No.27 of 1996), the Minister is mandated to direct that standards of education provision, delivery and performance are monitored though out the country. It remains a worrying factor that rural schools seem not to be considered as part of South African sch ools by these education policies. This view is confirmed by the New Vision for Rural Schooling, (2005) which states that the states commitment to social justice in all matters and especially to universal access to education, written into the Constitution, remains unfulfilled for a large number of children, youths and adults living in rural areas (DoE, 2005). A plethora of education policies have been developed in the new political dispensation, but the serious challenge is that they do not translate into school improvement. Schildkamp and Visscher (2010) argue that enormous resources are invested to develop and implement school self-evaluation instruments, but how schools actually use the instrument has never been thoroughly evaluated longitudinally (Schildkamp and Visscher, 2010). Furthermore, they contend that several studies report a lack of effect of school self-evaluation feedback, but this lack of effect may be caused by a lack of use of school self-evaluation feedback (Schildkamp and Visscher, 2010). McNamara and OHara (2008) note that there has been a remarkable rise in the regulation of public services and servants, especially in education, in an attempt to counterbalance the autonomy of schools. Furthermore, external evaluation and inspection has been an important element of this trend, however as their limitations become more apparent, the concept of internal or self evaluation has grown in importance (McNamara and OHara, 2008). These authors proceed to warn that the greater emphasis an evaluation system places on teacher appraisal and accountability, the less useful that system is likely to be for school improvement and professional development (McNamara and OHara, 2008). The European Parliament and Council on European Cooperation in Quality Evaluation in school education, in McNamara and OHara (2008), argue that improvements in European schools evaluation provisions are dependant on the enhancement of schools abilities to evaluate themselves and call for all member states of the European Union (EU) to encourage school self-evaluation as a method of creating learning and improving schools (McNamara and OHara, 2008). This analysis is echoed by the OECD report which views development of school evaluation skills within the education system as being a critical component of the drive to improving educational provision in OECD member states (McNamara and OHara, 2008) During the apartheid era, prior 1994, traditional quality assurance approaches like school inspection were vehemently opposed by teacher unions who felt that their members were intimidated. When WSE was introduced, there was hope that this democratic process would bring satisfaction to educators and yield better learner attainment results, particularly in previously disadvantaged areas, but that positive change is still being awaited. Despite the surfeit of education policies, South Africa is facing a serious challenge of a growing trend of dysfunctional and underperforming schools, especially in previously disadvantaged areas. Efforts by the government to swivel this proclivity have been in vane. This is confirmed by the fact that the government has made some strides to develop education policies that should have culminated in school improvement, but that outcome has not yet been realised. The Whole School Evaluation policy was introduced in 2001 to improve school performance, but c onversely, schools are performing worse as time goes by, as revealed by national and international studies like Systemic Evaluation, TIMSS, SACMEQ and PIRLS. It should be a worrying factor to every educationist as to why this education policy is not yielding the expected outcomes. It is a cause for concern to find out if this policy is being implemented as prescribed by the relevant policy document. Even though the Mpumalanga province of South Africa has reported an 8,9 % improvement in grade 12 results in 2010, it is still the lowest province in terms of learner attainment in the country, sitting at 56,8 % (MDoE, 2011). Poor performance is shoddier in rural schools where socio-economic challenges and challenges of providing qualified teachers, adequate physical and financial resources are still overwhelming. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that a good number of these rural primary schools are multi-graded farm schools. As a principal of one of the rural primary schools in the neighbourhood of one of the worse performing secondary schools in the sub-region, I have an obligation to find out the root course of underperformance in rural school. It has also come to my realisation that during school visitations by the circuit management, district office or provincial external evaluation team, the school self evaluation instrument is neither enquired about nor monitored. There is no link or correlation between inspection and school-based evaluation. According to the WSE policy, schools must complete and submit self evaluation forms A and B before the end of March on an annual basis (DoE, 2004). On the contrary not even a single school submits such a document to the regional office. I have also noted that in my three years of experience as a principal, not even a single official from any of the structures of the education department has ever enquired about the self evaluation instrument. One then tends to wonder what purpose is this education policy serving. Whether they are meant to improve the quality of education or they were just developed for symbolism still remains mysterious. I am therefore determined to come out with a turn around strategy to ensure effective implementation of the self-evaluation instrument of the WSE policy so as to ensure accountability and improvement in the education quality of rural schools. This study will investigate how and to what extent the school self-evaluation instrument is utilised in rural schools. It will further explore the perceptions of school principals towards school self-evaluation. Lastly, it will determine how school self-evaluation could be better utilised to ensure school improvement and quality education. It is my conviction that if school self-evaluation can be efficiently implemented, school improvement and quality education can be achieved. Moreover, the school self-evaluation findings must easily accessible to all stakeholders, analysed, and its recommendations must be implemented so as to realise the desired outcomes of school improvement. This study will advocate for keeping all stakeholders informed about the performance of their school, and encourage them to positively contribution to the improvement of their school. It will also assist different officers in all structures of education, from the school principal to the provincial Superintend ent Generals, to perform their designated duties diligently. Finally policy makers will get feedback of implementation of the policy such that they can evaluate its impact and make possible amendments if necessary. main research question In order to address the problem statement, this study must give an explicit answer to the following question:- How and to what extent is school self-evaluation implemented for school improvement in rural schools? structure of the proposal Section 1 of the proposal is the introduction of school self-evaluation, enunciation of the problem statement and rational, and elocution of the main research question. Section 2 portrays the context of the study and section 3 presents the literature that has been reviewed. Section 4 will demonstrate the research design and methods that will be implemented and section 5 will illustrate the timeline for the whole research process. Section 6 will give the outline of chapters and section 7 will be the list references. Context for the study The study will take place in the rural schools of Mpumalanga province. Mpumalanga is one of the provinces that have the lowest socio-economic status. Consequently, most schools are in quintiles one and two, indicating that the learners in these schools are from destitute families. Learners have to travel for over five Kilometres every single day, to get to school, posing absenteeism problems to educators. Some of these schools have no electricity and sanitation, such that introduction of the new forms of technologically advanced equipment is implausible. Mpumalanga has the least percentage decrease in the number of learners at farm schools. The new vision for rural schooling states that between 1996 and 2000, it decreased by -65% (DoE, 2005). This figure shows that there is a steady increase in the number of learners at farm schools. The Ermelo sub-district has three circuits with ninety seven schools, out of which only eight are in town. The rest of them are located in very remote farms such that access to such schools for the support teams in a daunting task. There are no secondary farm school, but combined schools. This is because the enrolment of these schools does not allow them to be fully fledged secondary schools. A good number of primary schools have multi-graded classes, combining learners from different grades into one class. This situation does not only present management problems but pedagogical challenges as well. It is unbearable for educators to manage curriculum delivery under such adverse conditions. Even though conditions seem to be unfavourable for provision of quality education, rural schools are also expected to improve their performance. School self-evaluation must be implemented just in the same way or better than it should be implemented in urban schools. The WSE policy however recognises that the inauspicious conditions may retard the pace of school improvement. A provision was made in the policy, to evaluate each school based on its contextual factors. One of the principles of the WSE policy is seek to understand why schools are where they are and to use the particular circumstances to the school as the main starting point of evaluation (DoE, 2001). literature review introduction This section reviews researches that were conducted in Ireland, Netherlands, England and South Africa, based on School Self-Evaluation (SSE). A comparison is made to identify and best international practices and set them as a benchmark for implementation of School Self-Evaluation for school improvement in South Africa. A DISCUSSION OF research conducted internationally AS WELL AS studies in south africa SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION IN IRELAND In Ireland, the first system of evaluation that was piloted between 1990 and 1999 is the Whole School Evaluation (WSE). This system culminated in a series of rancorous industrial disputes that lasted until 2003. The reason for these quarrels was that educators viewed evaluation as reductionist and managerialist interference in their profession while stakeholders such as parents, learners and business community demanded hard data from a transparent school evaluation process (McNamara and OHara, 2006). In 2004, a new framework for school evaluation, Looking At Our School (LAOS), was implemented (McNamara and OHara, 2006). McNamara and OHara explain that the School Self-Evaluation (SSE) is based on a broad framework for inspection and evaluation of schools that includes five areas of evaluation that are subdivided into 143 themes for self-evaluation, which are used to prepare for external evaluation by the inspectorate (McNamara and OHara, 2006). In short, SSE precedes external evaluati on and it is conducted by each schools stakeholders, unlike external evaluation which is conducted by external officials called inspectorates. McNamara and OHara (2006) also contend that Ireland is adopting a model of quality assurance that emphasizes school development planning through internal school-review and self-evaluation, with the support of external evaluation carried out by the Inspectorate (McNamara and OHara, 2006). This model concurs with MacBeaths idea which argues that the role of external evaluation and inspection is merely to ensure that internal systems of evaluation and self-review are implemented effectively (McNamara and OHara, 2006). In their study, McNamara and OHara (2006) reveal that principals expressed their view that any form of external evaluation was by its nature superficial, underestimated the non-academic achievements of schools and raised deep concerns among teachers, yet to the contrary, self-evaluation with no external mandate or monitoring was perceived as a major success (McNamara and OHara, 2006). According to McNamara and OHara, self-evaluation in Ireland had its negatives. Firstly, LAOS documents lack suggestions as to how schools should collect the data on which the effectiveness and credibility of the whole system must rest (McNamara and OHara, 2006). Secondly, the judgments in the areas, aspects and components requires data that in the present system does not exist- there is, for instance, no data regarding the ability and general expectations of pupils (McNamara and OHara, 2006). McNamara and OHara argue that evaluation, whether external or internal, mandated or self-driven, requires at a minimum the collection and analysis of real data on which firm conclusions can be based (McNamara and OHara, 2006). Thirdly, the Chief Inspector shifted the responsibility of addressing weaknesses identified during inspection to self-governing and self-evaluating institutions. McNamara and OHara argue that the weaknesses identified during inspection should not be a responsibility of sch ools to address them since they do not have the capacity to control over resources, teacher tenure and conditions of employment, and issue. Moreover, schools cannot solve all problems themselves in-house-that is a fiction (McNamara and OHara, 2006). After the court judgment, the honours of whether to release none, some or all of the Inspection Report lies solely on schools management team. Fourthly, LAOS is silent about the appropriate role of parents, teachers and learners in the school evaluation process. One other worrying factor is that the concept of an ongoing self-evaluation was said to be puzzling to most schools (McNamara and OHara, 2006). Lastly, McNamara and OHara (2008) lament that the lack of any guidelines in LAOS as to criteria or research methods that might inform judgments has led to what amounts to data-free evaluation in practice, and moreover, it is clear that without such guidelines and the provision of training and research support for schools, the situation is not likely to change (McNamara and OHara, 2008). The study by McNamara and OHara reveal acceptance of the new themes of self-evaluation to give a comprehensive picture of all schools activities and not just their academic outcomes (McNamara and OHara, 2006). According to McNamara and OHara (2006), the above point was particularly stressed by respondents from the two primary schools designated disadvantaged, which felt very strongly that the affirmation of good practice provided by the inspectors was of extraordinary importance to teachers in disadvantaged school who rarely feel valued or supported. This was perceived as a considerable achievement in an education community deeply suspicious of evaluation, inspection and appraisal (McNamara and OHara, 2006). SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION IN SCOTLAND Croxford, Grek and Shaik (2009) state that despite the change from Conservative to Labour government in 1997, education policy in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom (UK) continued to reflect an emphasis on quality assurance and a belief that competition and setting standards would enhance quality and ensure accountability (Croxford et al., 2009). They further stipulate that Scotlands approach to Quality Assurance and Evaluation (QAE) has a greater emphasis on self-evaluation by schools, whereas England had a stronger focus on hard performance indicators (Croxford et al., 2009). The Inspectorate is a major influence on the formulation of education policies. In 1980, the Inspectorates set up a Management of Education Resource Unit (MERU) that later became the Audit Unit, to promote good management achieve value for money in education. It started publishing papers that identified characteristics of effective schools in an attempt to encourage secondary schools to evaluate thei r own practice and performance (MacBeath and Mortimore, 2001). In 1990/91 it began publishing annually information for parents series-reports giving the details of schools attainment data; school costs; attendance and absence rates and school leaver destination for secondary schools. In 1991, it published the role of school development plans in managing schools effectiveness as well as statistical information about examination performance per school, which was used for school self-evaluation. Standards Tables were used each year to compare the performance by subject departments within each school and nationally, the Relative Ratings and National Comparison Factors, respectively (Croxford et al. 2009). The Scottish Office Education Industry Department (SOEID) in Croxford et al. ( 2009) state that the process of self-evaluation and development planning were set out more explicitly by the Audit Unit publication How good is our school? (HGIOS?), which provided a set of performance indic ators of what a good school should look like (Croxford et al. 2009). Schools were encouraged to use the same performance indicators as those used by the HMI in school inspection to identify, report and take action where required on strengths and weaknesses (Croxford et al., 2009). In 1997, HMI set out its vision of working in partnership with local authorities and schools through the quality initiative in Scotland schools. This was endorsed in the standards in Scotlands schools Act 2000. According to Cowie and Croxford, in Croxford et al. (2009), this act places local authorities under great pressure to implement the required quality assurance procedures by the threat of adverse inspection by HMI of education (HMIE) (Croxford et al., 2009). A new professional group of Quality Improvement Officers (QIO) has been established to challenge and support schools. They scrutinise statistics on school performance, seek to ensure a robust self-evaluation structure within schools and identify areas that need to be addressed (Croxford et al., 2009). They carry out a regular cycle of visits to schools to: assess the schools progress with its school development plan; discuss improvement issues with management and staff; and support the schools management in making improvements (Croxford et al., 2009). The local authorities themselves are inspected by HMIE, with special regard to their own self-evaluation and the extent to which they support and challenge their schools (Croxford et al., 2009). In Scotland, schools are required to evaluate their own performance each year using the 30 quality Indicators from HGIOS and their performance on the indicators is extremely judged on a regular basis through inspection of schools carried out by HMIE. The indicators are based on key performance outcomes, delivery of education, policy development and planning, management and support staff, partnership and resources, leadership capacity for improvement (Croxford et al., 2009). Self-evalua tion procedure requires schools to look at each aspect of provision and ask: How are we doing? How do we know? What are we going to do now? For each indicator, schools must gather evidence in order to evaluate their performance, on a six-point scale from 1 [unsatisfactory], to 6 [excellent] (Croxford et al. 2009). SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION IN ENGLAND Prior 1990, the government of England implemented a top down strategy to school monitor performance of schools. A change was seen in 1997 when the government showed some commitment to support and promote school self-evaluation (Turnbull, 2007). The Department for Education and Skills (DfES), 2004 notes that in 1999, a revised framework was of inspecting schools that included guidance for schools on using it for school self-evaluation, and not just inspection was introduced (DfES, 2004). Local authorities had been providing support for head teachers as they increase their efforts to manage and lead the self-evaluation process and procedures now expected in their schools (Plowright, 2008). The Office for standards in education (Ofsted), in Plowright (2008) contends that the school that knows and understands itself is on the way to solving any problem it hasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ self-evaluation provides the key to improvement (Plowright, 2008). In his empirical research, Plowright discovered that head teachers held a positive view of the use of self-evaluation in contributing to school improvement (Plowright, 2008). The introduction of the new inspection framework in September 2005 in England culminated in an obligation that every school had to maintain and submit an online Self-Evaluation Form (SEF) that records the judgments of its current performance and its priorities for improvement (Bubb, Early, Ahtaridou, Jones and Taylor, 2007). According to Ofsted in Bubb, et al. (2007), intelligent accountability is based on a schools own views of how well it serves its learners and suggests that all schools need to be able to answer two key questions: How well are we doing? And how can we do better? Bubb, et al. (2007) further argue that even though the SEF is not statutory but all schools seem to use it, which is unsurprising as their inspection is largely based around the SEF which includes the performance data (Bubb, et al., 2007). The areas of evaluation are: the characteristics of the school; views of learners, parents/carers and other stakeholders; leadership and management; overall effectivenes s and efficiency (Bubb, et al., 2007). Leung, 2005 emphasises that unless teachers beliefs are changed, and shared meaning is achieved, for example believing in the importance of evidence-based evaluation methods for self-evaluation and the importance of continuous self-improvement, there will not be commitment towards the reform initiatives and success cannot be guaranteed (Leung, 2005). She further warns that restructuring, changing only procedures, designing performance indicators and mandating the public announcement of evaluation results cannot help us but providing assistance to schools, supporting professionals networks and providing school-based on-going school development is vital (Leung, 2005). Scholars like Hargreaves and Fullan ascertain only that recruiting can facilitate educational professionals to transform their old beliefs and practices (Leung, 2005). In their research on 38 schools across England, where they were investigating self-evaluation and school improvement progress, Bubb, et al. (2007) discovered that SEF are completed in many different ways, ranging from individual efforts by head teachers to involvement of external consultants to collective efforts by all staff members (Bubb, et al., 2007). They also found out that some dissatisfaction demonstrated by support staff who felt left out and expressed that they could have made crucial contributions if they were not excluded. The process started with training the whole staff so as to raise awareness of the process and its requirements. Each staff member, including heads of departments, would the complete his/her form under supervision of their Senior Leadership Group (SLG) (Bubb, et al., 2007). In her study, Turnbull, (2007) discovered that head teachers in England saw that self-evaluation in some form became a reality of practice through the intervention of Local Education Authorities (LEAs), reflecting the growing impact of globalisation and accountability of schools (Turnbull, 2007). SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION IN SOUTH AFRICA Prior 1994, schools performance was monitored through inspection, but there was no requirement or expectation of schools to undertake self-evaluation in South Africa (Turnbull, 2007). Some form of self-evaluation was introduced in 1998 through the Developmental Appraisal System (DAS), and Whole School Evaluation (WSE) in 2001 for full implementation in 2003 (Turnbull, 2007). These systems aimed at involving all educators in evaluating their practice, enabling self-evaluation of the WSE and impact of management, and they were to be monitored by the external supervisors from the provincial office of the Department of Education (DoE) (Turnbull, 2007). Both systems failed to realize their objective and a new Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) was introduced in 2003, combining DAS, WSE and Performance Measurement (PM). School Self-Evaluation (SSE) is the initial phase of the two-phased WSE. The second phase is external evaluation conducted by provincial supervisors in a three year cycle. Both phases utilise the same instrument for evaluation. There are 9 key areas of evaluation namely: basic functionality of the school; leadership, management and communication, governance and relationships; quality teaching and learning and educator development; curriculum provision and resources; learner achievement; school safety, security and discipline; school infrastructure and parent and community (DoE, 2001). The process of evaluation cycle includes pre-evaluation; school self-evaluation; detailed on-site evaluation, post-evaluation reporting and post evaluation support. Each supervisory team will have a team leader who has the responsibility to build a brief profile about the general level of functionality of the school and to share with the school the procedures that will be followed by the evaluation team. The team leader also has overall responsibility for the evaluation process and the conduct of the supervisors. Supervisory teams will comprise accredited supervisors capable of evaluating the nine areas for evaluation. Members should have the experience to evaluate at least one subject/learning area and have an awareness of the key elements of good provision for Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN). The number of supervisors will normally be within the range of four to six, depending on the school size and resources available. Evaluations will normally be conducted between th ree to four days of the week, depending on the size of the school. A school will be helped by district support services to formulate and implement an improvement plan based on the recommendations in the report and provide the school with support as it seeks to implement the plan (DoE, 2001) The findings in Turnbulls research disclose that all educators interviewed identified that the various attempts to introduce self-evaluation had failed, though all saw that the concept was one that should be in place, but attempts to use self-evaluation to improve the quality of teaching and learning in individual schools were taking place, with individual teachers working together on classroom practice and in some schools using IQMS, with senior team ensuring that every member of staff was observed at least once a year, met with the observer, and those seen to have issues being visited (Turnbull, 2007). The failure of introduction of self-evaluation is attributed to two groups of factors. The first issues are managerial and they include: the linking of the use of self-evaluation to the annual pay increments making it impossible to award someone less than satisfactory even though he/she deserves it, especially in township schools; the unwieldy nature of the system needed to implement policy; and the lack of capacity of the local DoE to either monitor the process, or provide support for schools where a need was identified. The second issues are cultural/historical and they include: the limited experience of educators of any form of self-evaluation and limited training provided; the limited practical training of the majority of township teachers and principals; the impact of the previous political system leading to a resistance to change; and in township schools the real danger o