Behavioral Determinants of Nonprofit Board Performance

There is an increased awareness that the performance of boards (good governance) is not only determined by structural determinants but by behavioral determinants as well. These behavioral determinants might be particularly important for public and nonprofit governance, where the role of the board is more diffuse and heterogeneous than in corporate governance. Here we investigate how social dynamics within boards in secondary education influence their performance. We follow a concise model that includes cognitive conflict, the use of expertise, effort norms, and social cohesion as determinants of board task performance. A survey among all secondary schools in the Netherlands serves as the empirical underpinning for this process‐oriented model of good governance. We show that the behavioral determinants have different effects on the control task and advice task of boards. Also, we find that cognitive conflicts in supervisory boards do not lead to less but rather to more social cohesion within boards. Building on these findings, we suggest a revised model of the behavioral determinants of nonprofit board performance.     

Overcoming barriers: engaging younger students in an online intercultural exchange

This paper reports on a small-scale project involving an online school exchange between two classes of 12-/13-year olds located in the North of England and the Ruhr area of Germany. The overarching aim of the project was to develop intercultural understanding in foreign language learning through communication in an online environment. Analysing data from website posts, lesson observations, student questionnaires and interviews, the paper investigates the extent to which the project realised this goal, and examines emerging practical and pedagogical issues. Comparing the processes and outcomes of this project in secondary education to similar projects in Higher Education (HE), the research found that the young people learnt more than older students about cultural similarities than differences. They were thus less likely to be party to cultural misunderstandings, developing friendly relationships and openness towards a people of a different culture. However, their failure to notice differences may have been due to a lack of in-depth discussion and absence of more demanding student tasks. The paper concludes that in order to develop more sophisticated intercultural learning, expertise derived from telecollaboration in HE needs to be adapted to the lower secondary school context, drawing particularly on auto-ethnography and ethnographic interviewing.     

Unequal returns to social capital: the study of Malays in Singapore through a network lens

Using the concepts of ‘social capital deficit’ and ‘return deficit’, this study considers the social network aspects of social disadvantage among Malays in Singapore, as compared to Singaporean Chinese. Analysing a 2005 representative survey, we find Malays have less social capital than Chinese, a social capital deficit partly explained by their lower educational attainment. We find no return deficit in earnings: that is, every additional unit of social capital increases earnings equally for Chinese and Malays. However, we find return deficits in education: every additional unit of social capital (e.g. ties to educated parents) increases educational attainment more for Chinese than Malays. In all, this study offers a social capital explanation for Malay ‘plight’, complementing the more conventional explanations of human and economic capital.     

Pupil Mobility: Using Students' Voices to Explore their Experiences of Changing Schools

This article explores the ways in which students' voices can be used to analyse the process of moving schools, at a time outside of those that young people normally change schools. The paper is based on a study in a secondary school and uses qualitative data collected by researchers and student co‐researchers. Two areas were raised by students as important about being at a new school: the perceived challenges and their perceptions of learning in a new environment. It is argued that to respond to issues that arise due to mobility, an engagement with students' views is necessary. Furthermore, this can facilitate policy‐makers, school leaders and educators in providing more effective support for those young people.     

民族地区基础教育薄弱学校成因分析*

在归纳一系列现场访谈和问卷调查结果的基础上，文章提出：民族地区薄弱学校的产生，与民族地区经济社会 发展总体水平不高、区域之间发展的不均衡状态、对高质量教育的需求与优质教育资源相对匮乏的矛盾、地方政府办学指导思 想和现行教育政策、办学体制的制约、民族特色缺乏、学校管理水平不高、师资队伍薄弱以及选址布局、历史基础等因素密切相 关。     

艺术设计教育理念与文化产业需求意向的对接

以培养符合文化产业发展需求意向以及知识结构合理的复合型人才为目的，探讨艺术设计教育理念与文化产业诉求的契合点，分析艺术设计教育理念的定位调整对文化产业市场及文化产业综合形象力的提升产生的积极作用，进而得出艺术设计教育理念与文化产业需求意向的对接，关系到艺术设计教育的发展前景，并对文化产业起到推进动能和促进作用，对文化价值观产生不可估量的影响。     

终身教育下成人教育转型动力研究

终身教育与学习型社会是当今时代对教育事业的两个基本要求，成人教育作为二者实施与构建的主体实现方式地位突出。“学习、开放、多元、终身、全民”型结构是成人教育转型之道，让学习成为一种习惯，成为引领成人教育转型动力，以适应终身教育有序发展。     

普通高等学校继续教育综合改革发展趋势及应对策略--以成都理工大学为例

高等继续教育在高等教育中的比重逐年下降，发展空间受到挤压。针对当前高等继续教育在教育形式、教育机制、教学模式等方面遇到的问题，各高校应调整继续教育办学形式，适时开展网络远程教育，拓展办学范围，加快校外教学站点整合，积极开展优质数字资源建设，以期促进高等继续教育快速发展。     

切斯特顿随笔与共同体文化

切斯特顿随笔对共同体的关注主要体现在传统与文化断裂、思考惰性与文化危机、教育与文化愿景这三个层面。传统的存留不仅是一个凝聚着社会关注的思想焦点，也是一个事关共同体文化发展的社会问题。切斯特顿对传统的态度更多意味着一种充满辩证法的审慎与稳妥，体现了一种对既有秩序感的依恋，以及对共同体未来的文化忧思。在切斯特顿看来，思考的惰性与对进步概念的误读其核心是一种智识缺席，这种缺席不仅阻碍了社会进步，也危及了共同体文化的良性发展。切斯特顿对教育的关注不仅具有文化史研究的现实关怀，也以一种对话精神渗透着一种事关共同体文化发展的愿景思考。     

Bargaining for Success: Examining the Relationship Between Teacher Unions and Student Achievement

While many previous studies have identified a positive relationship between teachers unions and student achievement on standardized tests, little research to date has explored the channels through which unions might actually affect achievement. Utilizing multilevel random intercept models, we examine the effects of two categories of items commonly negotiated in teacher contracts—“industrial union” items and “professional union” items—on individual student math scores. Further, we assess the ability of these two clusters of variables to explain the positive union effect found in previous research. The results confirm that teachers unions are positively associated with student achievement and suggest that the industrial model explains moderately more of the union effect than the professional model; however, only the combination of both models is capable of reducing the union effect to nonsignificance. These findings are also confirmed in a supplemental analysis utilizing instrumental variables to account for the possibility of endogeneity. Finally, a decomposition of the union effect suggests that teachers unions are most beneficial to middle‐ and high‐achieving students. We conclude that through industrial and professional bargaining, teachers are able to secure higher salaries, credentialing, and greater autonomy which lead to improved student achievement.