To update its teaching and departmental review processes, Phillips Academy Andover, an independent boarding school in Massachusetts, commissioned RAND Corporation researchers to review the school's policies, conduct a literature review, interview other independent high schools, develop potential recommendations for revision of Andover's processes,…

Subject departments are an increasingly important unit of analysis for research on schools and beginning teachers' experiences. By analysing a practice-based typology of eight departmental types through an exploratory factor analysis of questionnaires completed by beginning teachers (n = 55), the authors refined the typology to four (hierarchical;…

Technology education teachers can have varied pre-service training experiences, thus their needs for classroom support may vary greatly. Perkins V requires evidence-based research to justify the use of funding for professional development. This researcher sought to support Virginia's secondary technology education teachers, professional…

Background: There are frequent calls in the literature for school science and mathematics departments to collaborate, largely in response to perceived overlaps between the two subjects in the context of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Yet few studies explore how such collaborations might work. This paper is unusual both in…

Departmental Heads (DH) has huge responsibilities of heading phases, departments, and teaching of subjects. At the same time, they need to focus on their leadership and management tasks as senior teachers. The predicament of being a teacher and leader-manager is exacerbated by more expectations from the principals and school management teams…

There is a gap in the research on the relationship between secondary school subject departments, particularly where, as in the case of science and religious education (RE), there is not the traditional relationship that may be seen in science and maths or across humanities subjects. More awareness of content taught in other departments is…

High school academic departments remain under-examined yet powerful entities in American high schools. High status department leaders create and sustain narratives around teaching and learning, disciplinary-specific best practices, and the overall efficacy and effectiveness of any number of school improvement policies and initiatives promoted by…

The move toward more shared and participatory approaches to leadership is gaining momentum in South African schools. This move is underpinned by the supreme law of the country -- the Constitution which informs all laws including education law. Specifically, the National Education Policy Act No.27 of 1996 fosters democracy and wider participation…

Fine arts high schools are schools that form the basis for vocational music education given in higher education institutions. These schools form the basis for higher institutions; therefore, it is of great importance that the contents of their curriculum be of a quality that will prepare them for higher education institutions. Based on this…

Ka Papahana Kaiapuni, the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program (HLIP), also called Kula Kaiapuni on Maui is unique in that all schools are situated on public school campuses of the Hawai?i Department of Education (HiDOE). Seven schools span the island from the rural town of Hana, through Hamakuapoko, or Upcountry community, and then to Lahaina, the…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore with a group of nine NYC high school department chairs from three different Modern Orthodox yeshivas, their perceptions of their role and responsibilities, their perceptions on how they manage any challenges they might face, how they support professional growth through any of the four…

This study explores whether the relationship between departmental leadership (i.e. group-oriented and development-oriented departmental leadership) and the interpersonal characteristics of professional learning communities (PLC) (i.e. collective responsibility and reflective dialogue) varies between departments, depending on whether teachers…

The current study examines senior school leaders' theories of action driving their decision-making around how they manage departments and distribute leadership to department heads. Based on a thematic analysis of transcripts of interviews with the principal, head of the curriculum unit, and two department heads from nine high schools, four…

Purpose: The aim of quality assessment is to support the development of learners' competencies as required in 21st century economies. This paper aims to analyse the role and understanding of heads of department (HoDs) regarding quality assessment and the moderation of school-based assessment (SBA) tasks in tourism, which is a subject in the…

The Georgia Department of Education has clearly defined standards for learning about Africa in the seventh grade. However, there exists great variation in how textbooks present this material and address these standards. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, we assess the presentation of Africa in three widely used Georgia social studies…