Public Education Financing Essay

In the present modern economics, public education financing is considered as one of the flourishing characteristics for the economy of any country. However, a wide variation has been observed in the financing practices related to the public education in the United States, as well as, across different parts of the globe. In this regard, differences and diversification can be observed in various economical activities that are considered especially for the public education system of a country. (Cubberley, 1916) For instance, the American educational system may also provide huge differences in terms of distribution and expenditures across the country. However, significant and noteworthy alterations have been observed in the public educational system of the United States. Over the last few years, the abovementioned theme has been a major concern of public debate at all levels. (National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1972) During the last few years, in order to get maximum funds for pubic education, different states of the US have made significant changes in public education funding system. In this regard, various experts believe that little analysis of the subject has been done in the past, and more considerations should be provided to the subject, which has an influencing effect on the education system of every country. (Rice, 1893) One of the biggest sources of public education financing is national funding system, as community wide funding system is implemented for the financing of educational activities across the country. In this regard, most of the public education financial expenses are funded at national level. In this funding system, all nationals of a country bear a substantial tax rates on income for pubic education financing. (Fitch, 1904) The important thing in this funding is that all the tax collected from individuals are funded and distributed equally among all the students, which is one of the major characteristics of a public education financing system. (Jordan, 1992) At community level, public education financing occurs at a certain community level and students receive sponsorship according to their requirements. Moreover, at community level education funding system, parents of the students support all the costs of their children’s education, which is same as private education funding. Nonetheless, at community level funding system, funding for public education is collected on behalf of communities and sorted randomly into communities contrary to perfect sorting. In this system, all contributors of the public education finance contribute same tax rate fixed by their community. Certainly, at community level, public education financing contributes a small share in overall education expenses, and this thing does not have a great impact on wide economic variable elements, such as social security benefits, etc. (National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1972) However, according to one of the experts in education, a rapid concern in the development sector has been observed in recent years, and a vital role has been played by the federal government. One of the reasons of expression of this concern is that more diversification has been observed in the capabilities of funding by the state governments. Moreover, steady increment has been observed in the mobility of these states. Lastly, the federal government has observed an important change in its perspective regarding the public education, and social welfare of the people has been given due importance during the recent years. On all the aforementioned public education-financing categories, finance education schedule is selected by agents through voting, which is carried out by either the community or federal government. It has been observed that balancing of the educational budget is performed by the provision of different taxation options to the voters by the government, and similar funding is provided according to the taxation level selected by the voters. However, it has been observed that young generation has not been given due significance by disallowing them from the voting, and education can be supported by only the voters who face the political decision.   The level of taxation is represented by a tax rate and the tax is levied on capital and labor income of all agents residing in the relevant area. When setting up the tax schedule, policy makers care only about being elected, and so they maximize the number of votes. As a result, any party in office will follow the same policy and that policy is the one that is voted for by the greatest number of agents. (Garber, 1964) During the period 2001-2002, the US spent approximately four hundred and twelve billion dollars in both elementary, as well as, secondary levels of the public education system. This budget on public education was spent with a view to declaring it the biggest single field of direct public expenditures, even beyond the national defense figures. Approximately, in the educational ground, this fund benefited around forty seven million public school students and five million of private schools. (Ana, 2004) Interestingly, per student expenditure during that period was $8,685 yearly. It has been noted by most of the experts that aforementioned budget was collected from federal, state and local sources. However, the amount spent during the year 2001-2002 on public education finance was varied form one state to another. In this regard, Connecticut was the state, which got the highest per student education funding fund, and Utah got the lowest fund for public education. In the United States, the state and the local government are responsible for public education funds. In the fiscal year of 1999, forty-nine percent of the funds for public education financing came from state appropriations in which, forty-four percent came from domestic revenue and the US federal government contributed seven percent funds for public education financing. In this regard, domestic government raised funds for education mainly through property taxes. On the other hand, for public education financing state rely on numerous funding sources such as corporate & personal income taxes, sales & excise taxes. However, public education financing from the US federal government remained constant if compare to past figures. (Jordan, 1992)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Historically, with the passage of time, a constant rise has been observed in school funding from the perspective of states. In this regard, the state contributed thirty percent in 1940, which was raised by 40 and forty-nine percent in the year 1970, as well as, 1999 respectively. However, figures of each state observed substantial variations by one another. Throughout the history of public education funding, funding sources of each state varied from others, and most importantly, the tax rates such as personal and property tax rates were varied according to states. In this context, Hawaii’s funds for education mainly came from state sources, and New Mexico public education funds came from both state and domestic sources. In this regard, it has been believed by Richard W and Lindholm that the provision of education as a local responsibility has been closely related with the imposition of property tax as a local tax in the United States. Every year, all the states contribute hundreds of billions of dollars on education financing. In order to distribute collected funds among different territories, states have designed some ground elements that differentiate territories from one another, as well as, estimate the affect of those differences on the cost of furnishing educational services, and distribute funding consequently. Besides all the factors discussed above, territory wealth in school funding is one of the most important elements that distinguish one territory to another. In this context, it has been believed by some of the experts in education, such as Torres and Puiggros that overall capability for the maintenance of students, as well as, the promotion of higher education has been improved and enhanced by the public schools, in addition to increasing the equality of educational opportunities. Actually, some territories are wealthy as compare to others. In this regard, states have designed a number of fundamental funding systems that evaluate the estimation of school territories funding levels and distribute it in keeping different grounds, such as domestic differences of wealth element. Although, different states have designed different public education funding system, but one can found many similarities in school funding structure system. Under the flat grant approach, in spite of domestic particular context, every territory gets the same flat grant for each student entered in any educational institute. Obviously, in this public education funding system it ponders that the state must assure a minimal level of funding for all educatees and then gives domestic territory liberty to increase funding beyond that level as they think fit for it. During the period of 1960s and 1970s, the power equalization funding approach arose out of the work of education crusaders; actually, they were the people who observed the huge deviations among different territories in the ability to lift domestic funds ensued in education funding inequalities. (Ana, 2004) The solution was to assure all territories a standard amount of fund for each educatee for each unit of taxation. For instance, every state is liable to determine that all school territories must be able to increase hundred dollars on each student, per mill of property tax rate. In any case, where school territory’s tax base does not able to rise forty dollar per student, in this case, the state will fulfill territory’s education funds demand of equal to difference between 100 and 40, or sixty dollar per student, per mill. (Garber, 1964) However, all districts which are considered as wealthier districts and whose tax base rate rises seventy dollars per students, per mill, will only get thirty dollars per student, per mill from the state. â€Å"In this way, the state â€Å"levels the playing field† for school districts in terms of the ability to raise revenue, ensuring that funding disparities are a result of differences in taxpayer preferences, not taxpayer wealth.† Undoubtedly, this approach shows the responsibility that all states all responsible for education funding according to their wealth and resources. The funding approach of foundation plans is presently use in almost forty states. This approach integrates components of the former described two approaches. Nonetheless, every state furnishes the deviation between the totals of revenue-raised form the domestic tax and the foundation funding level.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For instance, a state can found a foundation funding level of six thousand for each student. However, in a territory having one thousand students this will reflects a total funding of six million dollars. In this regard, if the state calculates a minimal domestic tax rate of two hundred mills increased two million in domestic property taxes, the states will have to furnish an extra fund, which will equal to the deviation between two million and six million. (Richter, 1986) In this approach, if employing the two hundred-mill lower limit tax rate in a wealthier territory with the same number of educatees increased five million, in this situation, the state is bound to furnish only one million in state’s education funds. In this regard, both territories ends up with the similar domestic tax rate and the similar combined state and domestic funding point for each student, though the proportional weight of those 2 sources is different to a great extent. It can be evaluated that this approach is designed to extenuate inequalities in domestic wealth. However, it takes the idea of equality in further steps; in this approach, typically, both outcome and opportunity are taken into consideration and rates are determined with respect of varying degrees of different states. (Williams, 1980) This foundation plan has designed to keep in mind that the domestic school territories must not enjoy limitless prudence while setting funding levels that are intolerably different from other states norms. The full state-funding plan is practically an uncommon approach for funding public education funds, in this approach of public education funding; the state is responsible for all education expenses. Hawaii is completely fit for this example; Hawaii within a single school territory combines full state funding. In suggesting or deciding public education funding policies, Hawaii is capable to eliminate, any deviations occur between domestic and state governance. Interestingly, in this public education funding system, domestic authorities have no control over levels of funding. (Ana, 2004) All the four aforementioned public education-funding categories show only the fundamental structure of public education funding plans. Nevertheless, in order to collect funds for public education most of the states use schemes that joint components of some or all of these funding plans. For instance, a state may distribute some funds through a flat grant education funding approach, or other may apply foundation plan to collect public education funding. In lieu, a state has an authority to give territories permit to raise tax rates in order to collect maximum funds for public education. It can be analyzed that the prime motive behind the public education funding is to get maximum funds, which can be used, effectively in public education. According to some public education funding reformers, public education funds schemes is just a technique to give equality among taxpayers at all levels such as property and other tax burdens. Domestic property taxes such as sales and income taxes are some of the main sources of California’s pubic education funds. In addition, these collection sources are supplemented with money from the California’s state lottery, federal government and other sundry public education funds collected domestically by school territories. The following diagram represents that how the public education funds were collected in California during the period of 2002-2003. K-12 Funding Comes From Five Sources (Ana, 2004) State Aid State aid collected mostly from California’s sales and income taxes. Property Taxes During the period of 2005-2006, property taxes were collected domestically and distributed to all schools through a formula determined by state.   Federal Aid Federal aid was appropriated for some especial purposes such as special children’s education, child nutrition programmes, child left behind programmes and so forth. Domestic Miscellaneous   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Domestic miscellaneous funds included, interest income, revenue generated from domestic parcel tax elections, communality contributions and so on. Lottery California state lottery funds were collected on behalf of public education funds on per student basis. Proposition 98 Proposition 98, the provisions of a voter initiative, this law define the responsibility of each state, under this rule every state is bound to contribute in K-12 community and education colleges. This public education funding contains both domestic property tax revenues and state monies. As far as amount of guarantee is concerned, it is determined by using a set of formulas dictated by law. Since the year 1988, one of the most crucial factors for the determination of amount of revenue received by the public schools is the calculation of the minimum guarantee, because of the passage of Proposition 98. In addition, proposition ninety-eight insures a minimal level of funding for public education. Proposition ninety-eight funds represents about eight dollar out of every ten dollar apportioned to K-12 education in California. As mentioned above, California’s public education funds, other sources include domestic sundry resources, federal government, and lottery, which shared twenty percent in Public education funds.   (Williams, 1980) Legally speaking, a minimum of thirty-four of the receipts from the California state lottery should have to be allocated to public educational institutes. Moreover, the apportioned money for each student basis, should have to be used only for instructional uses and not for research and development (R&D) purposes. In the year 2000, Proposition 20 was approved and accepted by the voters, which required that instructional materials should be considered and given due importance by half of any increment in the share of revenue collected from the lottery for the education. For the year 2005, as well as, 2006, approximately $146 per pupil was received by the districts from the above-mentioned source, from which, instructional materials were bought by roughly $25 from the total amount per student. The domestic sundry category of funds per annum shows about six percent of entire revenue collected for K-12 schools. Moreover, this public education funding was separate from domestic tax incomes the state control. It came from the sources that were domestically administered, that income generated from cafeteria sales, income from lease, income from sale of territory property and so forth. Interestingly, for less than twenty percent territory in the state, a significant source of domestic sundry income was the voter-approved domestic parcel taxes. In reality, these were some of the special types of property taxes, which were not related to the value of property. Nonetheless, according to some of the experts, one of the most important policies on the domestic level is the education system in the United States. The implementation of American ideology in the lives of American people is represented by the education system of the country, and due significance should be provided in this regard, which has been given in the past, and must be given in the coming years. (Hutchins, 1961) In the United States, both government and public are expecting a lot from educational institutions like school and colleges. In the past, educational institutes were being gainsaid to fit the demand of a country’s economy that is increasingly oriented towards knowledge in all respects and information skills. (Hutchins, 1961) At both federal and state level, present American legislative has made some changes in educational funding system and have created some new systems that will test educational institutes’ teachers’ and students’ performance. In the light of present ongoing changes in public education financing system, many experts have already said that these ongoing policies will advance education level. Conclusively, the paper has tried to study different aspects and perspectives of public education system across the world, and specifically, in the United States. It was noted during the paper that during the last few years, in order to get maximum funds for pubic education, different states of the US have made significant changes in public education funding system. Every year, all the states contribute hundreds of billions of dollars on education financing. Moreover, various features of the government financing on the federal, state, as well as, community level were discussed in the paper. Lastly, different characteristics related to the funding of the education system in the country were studied and evaluated during the paper, which will support the better understanding of its funding by the students, experts, and policy makers in the future.   References   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kenneth Forbis Jordan. (1992). Financing Public Education in an Era of Change. Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   National Association of Secondary School Principals. (1972). Financing Public Education. National Association of Secondary School Principals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lee Orville Garber. (1964). The Law Governing the Financing of Public Education. Interstate Printers and Publishers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mary Frase Williams. (1980). The Public School and Finances. Pilgrim Press.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Clayton Darius Hutchins. (1961). Trends in Financing Public Education, 1929-30 to 1959-60. U.S. Department of Health Education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Otto Santa Ana. (2004). Tongue-Tied. Rowman & Littlefield.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ellwood Patterson Cubberley. (1916). Public School Administration. Houghton Mifflin Co.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Charles Elliot Fitch. (1904). the Public School. J. B. Lyon Company Printers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joseph Mayer Rice. (1893). the Public-School System of the United States. The Century Co.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Albert J. Richter. (1986). the Impact of the Rural Recession on Public School Financing and Programs. NEW Professional Library.

Letter to my Husband

My Love, There is a mixture of joy and sadness sipping through my heart as I am writing this letter to you today. I have nothing but joy as I looked back into our 2 years of marriage and 9 years of relationship. The feeling of sadness at this moment is in knowing that I need to leave you in response to a calling. I could not help but treasure your endless support from the time I met you when I was 15 and you were 17. It took me many months to give you a peck on the lips, remember? Your love for me remained strong even when I have given up on our relationship. Mario, these are countless of things that I love about you†¦ I love your sweet smile and the way your face sparks up when I walk into the room. You made me feel so special and I never doubted your love for me. You know exactly what a woman needs most in life, that is, to know that she is loved. I love the way you come close to cuddle me for 5 minutes when I am about to sleep even though you just woke up. Although you think that I’m asleep, you made sure that my teddy bear is tucked under my arm and the blanket is over me. I love the way you add spice to our marriage. Your stubbornness and your disagreements on any subject matter that I have brought up are due to your desire to have something to debate on. Although I get annoyed on many occasions, you end up telling me that I am cute in spite of my anger and we would laugh and be in good terms again. I always have fond memories of those days. I love the comfort of your hugs each time I cry whenever I am so upset and you do not have any words to console me. The silence of your lips and your warm embrace is more soothing than any spoken words can convey. I love your forgiving heart and your willingness to trust me again in spite of the many temptations that I allowed myself to get into. In many challenging moments, you made sure that you are around not only to cushion my fall but to catch me whenever I plunge to the ground. I love the many times you never contest to anything that I wanted in life. You allowed me to have a dog even when you do not want any domestic animals at home. You tolerated my desire to become a flight attendant, and to move from our comfortable apartment to the house in Centerville. You are also willing to leave everything that matters to you so I can pursue my dreams. I love the question that you have asked, â€Å"Are you seriously upset that we don’t fall into a certain category of love?† when I was so depressed that I could not find a single Valentine’s Day card that could express my love for you. I love the way you motivated me in my struggle to lose weight. You never said that I was fat or big but you realized that the feeling of being overweight was more of a state of mind. While everyone was telling me that I wasn’t big or fat when I was upset, you simply said, â€Å"If you think you’re overweight, then, do something about it†. The power of your encouragement motivated me to lose 40 pounds and I now feel so good about myself. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and for supporting me in everything that I wanted to accomplish in life. You have been a great husband and I couldn’t ask for anything more. I may seem so selfish in my decision to leave you behind as I join the army but I want you to know that I am doing this for both of us. I truly feel that this is the right decision for us and I am thanking you for the love and support that you have extended as I journey to another phase of life. Mario, I want to assure you that the memories of your love and all the things that you have done for me are deeply etched in my heart and I will take them with me wherever I go. I will always love you†¦my husband†¦ my friend†¦ my soulmate†¦ Jennifer

Practice Enhancement role of the Mentor on the facilitation of Essay

Practice Enhancement role of the Mentor on the facilitation of learning in your current place of work - Essay Example An example of this case is the "Nursing" profession. Whereas in the latter case, the mentee decides to seek the mentor's guidance because the mentee wishes to take up that particular profession solely out of interest or need. The process of mentoring is in fact so vast that it is offered as a course and therefore, has got many sub-themes attached to it. But two of the topics that will be critically analyzed in the present essay are: The essay is set in the backdrop of an outpatient wing of a local hospital. Within this specified work area, the essay focuses on the role played by the mentor in applying the relevant theories connected to the two themes mentioned above, and aims to critically analyze the outcomes of the application of all such theories in the work area. As is inherent, the mentees in this essay will be trainee nurses, on whom all the proposed practices will be implemented. Everyone cannot become a successful mentor even if they aspire to become one. It turns out that many of them possess the inherent qualities that are necessary for blossoming into effective mentors, but fail to become one because of the lack of having the ability to implement the knowledge that they possess or communicate their ideas and guide the people under them in an effective manner. It has also been found that many of them consider the outlined procedures of mentoring to be a farce, which is absolutely not the case. The experiences of successful mentors have shown that most of them stuck to the basics as outline by the theories of mentoring, and went on to yield outstanding results.Mentoring is highly dependent on a one-on-one relationship between the mentor and every mentee. But this is not possible most of the time as there are irregularities in almost every case. As such, it is the duty of the mentor to instill confidence into the trainee and this can be achieved by motivati ng him/her as also encouraging and not deploring him in case the trainee has done some mistake. The implementation of this principle demands a great deal of perspiration and patience on the part of the mentor. Therefore, it is necessary to outline the various modes, which are adopted by a mentor in order to affect the basic objective of training the mentees under him (Richard Luecke, 2004): Mentors share their own experiences with the mentees. This includes successes as well as failures. This gives the trainee an insight on what must be adopted and what must be avoided. Mentors are supposed to instill a sense of professionalism into the mentee, which can be initiated by modeling the requisite professional behavior. Mentors guide the trainees under them by training them on various aspects that cannot be taught in college. Mentors provide complex cases for trainees to solve and

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Rooms Divisions Department - Occupancy and Room Revenue Assignment - 3

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Wengart Aircraft Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wengart Aircraft - Coursework Example Need to implement TQM to comply with Presidential Executive Order (PEO) 12552: Not only does profitability demand better quality one of its major customers is demanding it and doing so with the authority of a PEO. Quickly and effectively Wengart must implement TQM in a verifiable manner and with a significant impact on production quality Education and Training Deficiencies: The case only refers to these tangentially. However, implementing a new system such as TQM will require education and training of employees in this new system. According to the case the company is failing miserably at this already. Poor communication: Managers and line supervisors left a meeting on TQM â€Å"with various interpretations of TQM† and line workers had even more interpretations of its meaning. Mary Romero, a supervisor studying TQM â€Å"is confused at the brevity of TQM information she and other supervisors got...† The company is not adequately communicating the definition, process or importance of TQM. Confused responsibilities: The President, Ralph Larsen, does not want to be directly involved in TQM so he can focus on profits: TQM is the key to increased profitability. The Human Resources department is not involved in leadership in the program despite the fact that it will require redefinition of jobs and responsibilities, and may result in lay-offs. Alternative #3 is recommended. Implementation of TQM is the most important challenge facing he company. Without it it may loss its DoD contracts. Also, TQM is key for improving the companys profit profile. Therefore, the company needs to create a TQM department, headed up by a V-P TQM who is an experienced expert in the field. Working with the VP Production and VP HR to develop a comprehensive implementation program, an effective communications strategy, and metrics to measure the success of the

Mental Health Care for Latin Americans Essay Example for Free

Mental Health Care for Latin Americans Essay Abstract The Hispanic population in the United States has rapidly increased over the last decade and is underrepresented and cared for in mental health services. By understanding their culture and learning about the environment they live in therapists can better meet the patient’s needs. This paper covers Historical content, Family structure, Education, Rates of Psychiatric Disorders symptoms, and what to do as a therapist for Latino/Hispanic clients. Also discussed will be some research showing patterns of mental health changes between Hispanics that were born in America and those that were born in South America. This paper shouldn’t end your study in this area but serve as a motivator for further education. Mental Health Care for Latin Americans and Hispanic Americans When learning to counsel Latin/Hispanic Americans it is important to know a few facts about their culture and rates of mental illness. There are a few cultural bonds shared be Latin/Hispanic Americans. One of the biggest bonds is the Spanish language. The Spanish language and culture are common bonds for many Hispanic Americans, regardless of whether they trace their ancestry to Africa, Asia, Europe, or the Americas. The immigrant experience is another common bond. Nevertheless, Hispanic Americans are very heterogeneous in the circumstances of their migration and in other characteristics. To understand their mental health needs, it is important to examine both the shared and unique experiences of different groups of Hispanic Americans. One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the Hispanic/ Latin American population is its rapid growth. In the 2000 census the number of Hispanics counted rose to 35. 3 million, roughly equal to the number of African Americans (U. S. Census Bureau, 2001a). In fact, census projections indicate that by 2050, the number of Latinos will increase to 97 million; this number will constitute nearly one-fourth of the U. S. population. Projections for the proportion of Hispanic youth are even higher. It is predicted that nearly one-third of those under 19 years of age will be Hispanic by 2050 (Spencer Hollmann, 1998). Persons of Mexican origin comprise the largest proportion of Latinos (almost two-thirds), with the remaining third distributed primarily among persons of Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central American origin, (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001b). It is noteworthy that nearly two-thirds of Hispanics (64 %) were born in the United States (U. S. Census Bureau, 2000c). Another common bond is migration or immigration. Puerto Ricans began arriving in large numbers on the U. S. mainland after World War II as Puerto Ricos population increased. High unemployment among displaced agricultural workers on the island also led to large-scale emigration to the mainland United States that continued through the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1980s, the migration pattern became more circular as many Puerto Ricans chose to return to the island. One distinctive characteristic of Puerto Rican migration is that the second Organic Act, or Jones Act, of 1917 granted Puerto Ricans U. S. citizenship. Although Cubans came to the United States in the second half of the 19th century and in the early part of the 20th century, the greatest influx of Cuban immigrants began after Fidel Castro overthrew the Fulgencio Batista government in 1959. First, an elite group of Cubans came, but immigration continued with people making the dangerous crossing to the United States by makeshift watercraft (Bernal Shapiro, 1996). Some of these immigrants, such as the educated professionals who came to the United States during the early phase of Cuban migration, have become well established, where-as others who arrived with few economic resources are less so. Unlike immigrants from several other countries, many Cubans have gained access to citizenship and federal support through their status as political refugees. Central Americans are the newest Latino subgroup in the United States. Many Central Americans fled their countries â€Å"por la situacion†, a phrase that refers to the political terror and atrocities in their homelands. Although the specific social, historical, and political contexts differ in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, conflicts in those countries led to a significant immigration of their citizens. About 21 percent of foreign-born Central Americans arrived in the United States between 1970 and 1979, and the bulk (about 70 %) arrived between 1980 and 1990 (Farias, 1994). The circumstances that caused various Hispanic groups to migrate greatly influence their experience in the United States. Cubans fled a Communist government, and, as a result, the U. S. Government has provided support through refugee or entrant status, work permits (Gil Vega, 1996), and citizenship. More than half (51 %) of Cuban immigrants have become U. S. citizens, compared to only 15 percent of Mexican immigrants (U. S. Census Bureau, 1998). Puerto Ricans, whether born on the mainland or in Puerto Rico, are by definition U. S. citizens and, as a result, have access to government-sponsored support services. However many Central American immigrants are not recognized as political refugees, despite the fact that the war-related trauma and terror that preceded their immigration may place them at high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and may make adjustment to their new home more difficult. Many Latinos who arrive without proper documentation have difficulty obtaining jobs or advancing in them and live with the chronic fear of deportation. Finally, many Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Central Americans, and recent Cuban immigrants come as unskilled laborers or displaced agricultural workers who lack the social and economic resources to ease their adjustment. Hispanics are highly concentrated in the U. S. Southwest In 2000, 60 percent lived in five Southwestern States (California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas). Approximately half of all Hispanic Americans live in two States, California and Texas (U. S. Census Bureau, 2001b). While many Southwestern Latinos are recent immigrants, others are descendants of Mexican and Spanish settlers who lived in the territory before it belonged to the United States. Some of these descendants, particularly those in New Mexico and Colorado, refer to themselves as Hispanos. More recent immigrants from Mexico and Central America are drawn to the Southwest because of its proximity to their home countries, its employment opportunities, and its established Latino communities, which can help them, find jobs. Outside the Southwest, New York, Florida, and Illinois are home to the largest concentrations of Hispanics. New York has 8. 1 percent, Florida, 7. 6 percent, and Illinois, 4. 3 percent of all the Latinos estimated to reside in the United States in 2000 (U. S. Census Bureau, 2001b). Two-thirds of Puerto Ricans on the mainland live in New York and New Jersey, and two-thirds of Cuban Americans live in Florida (Population Reference Bureau, 2000). Although specific subgroups of Latinos are associated with specific geographical regions, important demographic shifts have resulted in the increased visibility of Latinos throughout the United States. From 1990 to 2000, Latinos more than doubled in number in the following six states: Arkansas (170 %), Nevada (145 %), North Carolina (129 %), Georgia (120 %), Nebraska (108 %), and Tennessee (105 %) (U. S. Census Bureau, 2000c). Of the six States, Nevada is the only one located in a region with traditionally high concentrations of Latinos. Thus, in addition to growing in numbers, Hispanic Americans are spreading throughout the United States. Latinos are often referred to as family oriented (Sabogal et al. , 1987). It is important to note that familism is as much a reflection of social processes as of cultural practice (Lopez Guarnaccia, 2000). Specifically, the shared experience of immigrating to a new land or of experiencing difficult social conditions in ones homeland can promote adherence to family ties. In many cases, family connections facilitate survival and adjustment. The importance of family can be seen in Hispanic living arrangements. Although family characteristics vary by Latino subgroups, as a whole, Latinos, like Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, are most likely to live in family households and least likely to live alone. In addition, children (especially the females) tend to remain in the family until they marry Overall, Hispanics have less formal education than the national average. Of Latinos over 25 years of age, only 56 percent have graduated from high school, and only 11 percent have graduated from college. Nationally, 83 percent and 25 percent of the same age group have graduated from high school and college respectively (U. S. Census Bureau, 2000b). Hispanics educational attainment is related to their place of birth. In 1999, only 44 percent of foreign-born Hispanic adults 25 years and older were high school graduates, compared to 70 percent of U. S. -born Hispanic adults (U. S. Census Bureau, 2000b). The dropout rate for foreign-born Hispanics ages 16 to 24 is more than twice the dropout rate for U. S. -born Hispanics in the same age range (Kaufman et al. , 1999). A recent study of middle school Latino students questions why foreign-born adolescents and adults have the worst educational outcomes (C. Suarez-Orozco M. Suarez-Orozco, 1995). The study concluded that recent immigrants from Mexico and El Salvador had at least the same, or in some cases greater motivation to achieve than white or U. S. -born Mexican American students. The educational achievement of three of the main Hispanic subgroups reveals further variability. Cubans have the highest percentage of formally educated people. Of persons over 25 years of age, 70 percent of Cuban Americans have graduated from high school, whereas 64 percent of Puerto Ricans and 50 percent of Mexican Americans have graduated from high school (U. S.Census Bureau, 2000d). Moreover, one-fourth of Cuban Americans have graduated from college, which is identical to the college graduation rate of Americans overall. In contrast, Puerto Rican and Mexican-origin adults have lower college graduation rates, 11 percent and 7 percent respectively. Although Latinos as a group have poorer educational outcomes than other ethnic groups, there is sufficient variability to offer hope for them to catch up. Another shared area is income. The economic status of three of the main subgroups parallels their educational status. Cuban Americans are more affluent in standing than Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans, as reflected in median family incomes (Cubans, $39,530; Puerto Ricans, $28,953; Mexicans, $27,883), the percentage of persons below the poverty line (Puerto Ricans, 31 %; Mexicans, 27 %; Cubans, 14 %) and the unemployment rates of persons 16 years and older (Puerto Ricans, 7 %; Mexicans, 7 %; Cubans, 5 %) (U. S. Census Bureau, 2000d). The current income levels of the Latino subgroups are also related to the political and historical circumstances of their immigration. Elite Cuban immigrants have contributed in part to the relatively strong economic status of Cuban Americans. Their experience, however, stands in stark contrast to that of Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Central Americans, most of who came to the United States as unskilled laborers. Historical and Sociocultural Factors That Relate to Mental Health Historical and sociocultural factors suggest that, as a group, Latinos are in great need of mental health services. Latinos, on average, have relatively low educational and economic status. In addition, historical and social subgroup differences create differential needs within Latino groups. Central Americans may be in particular need of mental health services given the trauma experienced in their home countries. Puerto Rican and Mexican American children and adults may be at a higher risk than Cuban Americans for mental health problems, given their lower educational and economic resources. Recent immigrants of all backgrounds, who are adapting to the United States, are likely to experience a different set of stressors than long-term Hispanic residents. Key Issues for Understanding the Research Much of our current understanding of the mental health status of Latinos, particularly among adult populations, is derived from epidemiological studies of prevalence rates of mental disorders, diagnostic entities established by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The advantage of focusing on rates of disorders is that such findings can be compared with and contrasted to findings from studies in other domains (e. g. , clinical studies) using the same diagnostic criteria. Although there are several advantages to examining DSM-based clinical data, there are at least three disadvantages. One limitation is that individuals may experience considerable distress-a level of distress that disrupts their daily functioning-but the symptoms associated with the distress fall short of a given diagnostic threshold. So, if only disorder criteria are used, some individuals need for mental health care may not be recognized. A second disadvantage is that the current definitions of the diagnostic entities have little flexibility to take into account culturally patterned forms of distress and disorder. As a result, disorders in need of treatment may not be recognized or may be mislabeled. A third limitation is that most of the epidemiological studies using the disorder-based definitions are conducted in community household surveys. They fail to include nonhousehold members, such as persons without homes or those who reside in institutions. Because of these limitations, it is important to broaden the review of research on mental health needs to include not only studies that report on disorders but include high-need populations not usually included in household-based surveys. Mental Disorders Adults A study found that Mexican Americans and white Americans had very similar rates of psychiatric disorders (Robins Regier, 1991). However, when the Mexican American group was separated into two sub-groups, those born in Mexico and those born in the United States, it was found that those born in the United States had higher rates of depression and phobias than those born in Mexico (Burnam et al. , 1987). The study found that relative to whites, Mexican Americans had fewer lifetime disorders overall and fewer anxiety and substance use disorders. Like some other findings, Mexican Americans born outside the United States were found to have lower prevalence rates of any lifetime disorders than Mexican Americans born in the United States. Relative to whites, the lifetime prevalence rates did not differ for Puerto Ricans, or for Other Hispanics. However, the sample sizes of the latter two subgroups were quite small, thus limiting the statistical power to detect group differences (Ortega et al. , 2000). A third study examined rates of psychiatric disorders in a large sample of Mexican Americans residing in Fresno County, California (Vega et al. , 1998). This study found that the lifetime rates of mental disorders among Mexican American immigrants born in Mexico were remarkably lower than the rates of mental disorders among Mexican Americans born in the United States. Overall, approximately 25 percent of the Mexican immigrants had some disorder (including both mental disorders and substance abuse), whereas 48 percent of the U. S. -born Mexican Americans had a disorder (Vega et al. , 1998). Furthermore, the length of time that these Latinos had spent in the United States appeared to be an important factor in the development of mental disorders. Immigrants who had lived in the United States for at least 13 years had higher prevalence rates of disorders than those who had lived in the United States fewer than 13 years (Vega et al. , 1998). It is interesting to note that the mental disorder prevalence rates of U. S. -born Mexican Americans closely resembled the rates among the general U.S. population. In contrast, the Mexican-born Fresno residents lower prevalence rates were similar to those found in a Mexico City study (e. g. , for any affective disorder: Fresno, 8 %, Mexico City, 9 %) (Caraveo-Anduaga et al. , 1999). Together, the results from the ECA, the NCS, and the Fresno studies suggest that Mexican-born Latinos have better mental health than do U. S. -born Mexican Americans and the national sample overall. A similar pattern has been found in other sets of studies. One study examined the mental health of Mexicans and Mexican Americans who were seen in family practice settings in two towns equidistant from the Mexican border (Hoppe et al. , 1991). This investigation found that 8 percent of the Mexican American participants had experienced a lifetime episode of depression, whereas only 4 percent of Mexican participants had experienced depression. The most striking finding from the set of adult epidemiological studies using diagnostic measures is that Mexican immigrants, Mexican immigrants who lived fewer than 13 years in the United States, or Puerto. Ricans who resided on the island of Puerto Rico had lower prevalence rates of depression and other disorders than did Mexican Americans who were born in the United States, Mexican immigrants who lived in the United States 13 years or more, or Puerto Ricans who lived on the mainland. This consistent pattern of findings across independent investigators, different sites, and two Latino subgroups (Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans) suggests that factors associated with living in the United States are related to an increased risk of mental disorders. Some authors have interpreted these findings as suggesting that acculturation may lead to an increased risk of mental disorders e. g. , Vega et al. , 1998. The limitation of this explanation is that none of the noted epidemiological studies directly tested whether acculturation and prevalence rates are indeed related. At best, place of birth and numbers of years living in the United States are proxy measures of acculturation. However, acculturation is a complex process (LaFromboise et al. , 1993); it is not clear what aspect or aspects of acculturation could be related to higher rates of disorders. Is it the changing cultural values and practices, the stressors associated with such changes, or negative encounters with American institutions (e. g. , schools or employers) that cause some of the different prevalence rates (Betancourt Lopez, 1993)? Before acculturation can be accepted as an explanation for this observed pattern of findings, it is important that direct tests of specific acculturation processes be carried out and that alternative explanations for these findings be ruled out. More research would be especially helpful in identifying the key predictors of Latinos mental health and mental illness. Older Adults Few studies have examined the mental health status of older Hispanic American adults. A study of 703 Los Angeles area Hispanics age 60 or above found over 26 percent had major depression or dysphoria. Depression was related to physical health; only 5. 5 percent of those without physical health complications reported depression (Kemp et al. , 1987). Similar findings associated chronic health conditions and disability with depressive symptoms in a sample of 2,823 older community-dwelling Mexican Americans (Black et al. , 1998). The findings from in-home interviews of 2,723 Mexican Americans age 65 or older in Southwestern communities revealed a relationship between low blood pressure and higher levels of depressive symptomatology (Stroup-Benham et al. , 2000). These data are somewhat difficult to interpret. Given the fact that somatic symptoms (e. g. , difficulty sleeping and loss of appetite) are related to poor health, these studies could simply document that these somatic symptoms are elevated among older Hispanics who are ill. On the other hand, presence of physical illness is also related to depression. Taken together, these findings indicate that older Latin/Hispanics who have health problems may be at risk for depression. Furthermore, a recent study suggests that the risk for Alzheimers disease may be higher among Latin/Hispanic Americans than among white Americans (Tang et al. , 1998). Symptoms The early epidemiological studies of Latinos/Hispanics examined the number of symptoms, not the number of mental disorders, reported by groups of Latin/ Hispanic Americans, and in some cases compared them to the number of symptoms reported by white Americans. Much of this research found that Latinos/Hispanics had higher rates of depression or distress than whites Frerichs et al. , 1981. In a large-scale study of Latin/ Hispanics Americans, Cuban Americans (Narrow et al. , 1990) and Mexican Americans (Moscicki et al. , 1989) were found to have lower rates of depressive symptoms than Puerto Ricans from the New York City metropolitan area Moscicki et al. , 1987; Potter et al. , 1995. In another line of inquiry, Latin/Hispanic American mothers who have children with mental retardation were found to report high levels of depressive symptomatology. It is important to note that measures of symptoms may reflect actual disorders that may not be measured in a given study, as well as general distress associated with social stressors but not necessarily associated with disorders. Two studies provide evidence that depressive symptom indices used with Latinos tend to measure distress more than disorder. In one study, rates of depressive symptoms were found to be similar among poor Puerto Ricans living in New York City and in Puerto Rico (Vera et al. , 1991), even though earlier analyses indicated different rates of major depression for the two samples Canino et al., 1987; Moscicki et al. , 1987. In the second study, symptoms of depression were less related to diagnosis of depression for those Hispanics who were economically disadvantaged than for those Hispanics more socially advantaged (Cho et al. , 1993). If an index of depressive symptoms were an indicator of both general distress and disorder, then that index would have been related to a diagnosis of depression for both economically advantaged and disadvantaged samples. Culture-Bound Syndromes DSM-IV recognizes the existence of culturally related syndromes, referred to in the appendix of DSM as culture-bound syndromes. Relevant examples of these syndromes for Latin/Hispanic Americans are â€Å"susto† (fright), â€Å"nervios† (nerves), and â€Å"mal de ojo† (evil eye). One expression of distress that is most commonly associated with Caribbean Latinos but has been recognized in other Latinos as well is â€Å"ataques de nervios† (Guarnaccia et al. , 1989). Symptoms of an ataque de nervios include screaming uncontrollably, crying, trembling, and verbal or physical aggression. Dissociative experiences, seizure-like or fainting episodes, and suicidal gestures are also prominent in some ataques. In one study carried out in Puerto Rico, researchers found that 14 percent of the population reported having had ataques (Guarnaccia et al. , 1993). Furthermore, in detailed interviews of 121 individuals living in Puerto Rico (78 of who had had an ataque), experiencing these symptoms was related to major life problems and subsequent psychological suffering (Guarnaccia et al. , 1996). There is value in identifying specific culture-bound syndromes such as ataques de nervios because it is critical to recognize the existence of conceptions of distress and illness outside traditional psychiatric classification systems. These are often referred to as popular, lay, or common sense conceptions of illness or illness behavior (Koss-Chioino Canive, 1993). Some of these popular conceptions may have what appear to be definable boundaries, while others are more fluid and cut across a wide range of symptom clusters. For example, many people of Mexican origin apply the more general concept of nervios to distress that is not associated with DSM disorders, as well as to distress that is associated with anxiety disorders, depressive disorders (Salgado de Snyder et al., 2000), and schizophrenia (Jenkins, 1988). Though it is valuable for researchers and clinicians alike to learn about specific culture-bound syndromes, it is more important that they assess variable local representations of illness and distress. The latter approach casts a wider net around understanding the role of culture in illness and distress. In the following quote, Koss-Chioino (1992) (page 198) points out that a given presenting problem can have multiple levels of interpretation: the mental health view, the folk healing view (in this case, spiritist), and the patients view. The same woman, during one episode of illness, may experience depression in terms of hallucinations, poor or excessive appetite, memory problems, and feelings of sadness or depression, if she presents to a mental health clinic; or, alternatively, in terms of backaches, leg aches, and fear, if she attends a Spiritist session. However, she will probably experience headaches, sleep disturbances, and nervousness regardless of the resource she uses. If we encounter her at the mental health clinic, she may explain her distress as due to disordered or out-of-control mind, behavior, or lifestyle. In the Spiritist session she will probably have her distress explained as an obsession. And if we encounter her before she seeks help from either of these treatment resources, she may describe her problems as due to difficulties with her husband or children. Individuals with Alcohol and Drug Problems Studies have consistently shown that rates of substance abuse are linked with rates of mental disorders (Kessler et al. , 1996). Most studies of alcohol use among Hispanics indicate that rates of use are either similar to or slightly below those of whites (Kessler et al. , 1994). However, two factors influence these rates. First, gender differences in rates of Latinos use are often greater than the gender differences observed between whites. Latinas are particularly unlikely to use alcohol or drugs (Gilbert, 1987). In some cases, Latino men are more likely to use substances than white men. For example, in the Los Angeles ECA study, Mexican American men (31 %) had significantly higher rates of alcohol abuse and dependence than non-Hispanic white men (21 %). In addition, more alcohol-related problems have been found among Mexican American men than among white men (Cunradi et al., 1999). A second factor associated with Latinos rates of substance abuse is place of birth. In the Fresno study (Vega et al. , 1998), rates of substance abuse were much higher among U. S. -born Mexican Americans compared to Mexican immigrants. Specifically, substance abuse rates were seven times higher among U. S. -born women compared to immigrant women. For men, the ratio was 2 to 1. U. S. -born Mexican American youth also had higher rates of substance abuse than Mexican-born youth (Swanson et al. , 1992). The study of mental disorders and substance abuse among Latinos suggests two specific types of strengths that Latinos may have. First, as noted, Latino adults who are immigrants have lower prevalence rates of mental disorders than those born in the United States. Among the competing explanations of these findings is that Latino immigrants may be particularly resilient in the face of the hardships they encounter in settling in a new country. If this is the case, then the identification of what these immigrants do to reduce the likelihood of mental disorders could be of value for all Americans. One of many possible factors that might contribute to their resilience is what Suarez-Orozco and Suarez-Orozco (1995) refer to as a dual frame of reference. Investigators found that Latino immigrants in middle-school frequently used their families back home as reference points in assessing their lives in the United States. Given that the social and economic conditions are often much worse in their homelands than in the United States, they may experience less distress in handling the stressors of their daily lives than those who lack such a basis of comparison. U. S. -born Latinos are more likely to compare themselves with their peers in the United States. Suarez-Orozco and Suarez-Orozco argue that these Latino children are more aware of what they do not have and thus may experience more distress. A second factor noted by the Suarez-Orozcos that might be related to the resilience of Latino immigrants is their high aspiration to succeed. Particularly noteworthy is that many Latinos want to succeed in order to help their families, rather than for their own personal benefit. Because the Suarez-Orozcos did not include measures of mental health, it is not certain whether their observations about school achievement apply to mental health. Nevertheless, a dual frame of reference and collective achievement goals are part of a complex set of psychological, cultural, and social factors that may explain why some Latino immigrants function better than Latinos of later generations. A second type of strength noted in the literature is how Latino families cope with mental illness. Guarnaccia and colleagues (1992) found that some families draw on their spirituality to cope with a relatives serious mental illness. Strong beliefs in God give some family members a sense of hope. For example, in reference to her brothers mental illness, one of the informants commented: We all have an invisible doctor that we do not see, no? This doctor is God. Always when we go in search of a medicine, we go to a doctor, but we must keep in mind that this doctor is inspired by God and that he will give us something that will help us. We must also keep in mind that who really does the curing is God, and that God can cure us of anything that we have, material or spiritual. (p. 206) Jenkins (1988) found that many Mexican Americans attributed their relatives schizophrenia to nervios, a combination of both physical and emotional ailments. An important point here is that nervios implies that the patient is not blameworthy, and thus family members are less likely to be critical. Previous studies from largely non-Hispanic samples have found that both family criticism and family blame and criticism together (Lopez et al., 1999) are associated with relapse in patients with schizophrenia. Mexican American families living with a relative who has schizophrenia are not only less likely to be critical, but also those who are Spanish-speaking immigrants have been found to be high in warmth. This is important because those patients who returned from a hospital stay to a family high in warmth were less likely to relapse than those who returned to families low in warmth. Thus, Mexican American families warmth may help protect the relative with schizophrenia from relapse. The spirituality of Latino families, their conceptions of mental illness and their warmth all contribute to the support they give in coping with serious mental illness. Although limited, the attention given to Latinos possible strengths is an important contribution to the study of Latino mental health. Strengths are protective factors against distress and disorder and can be used to develop interventions to prevent mental disorders and to promote well-being. Such interventions could be used to inform interventions for all Americans, not just Latinos. In addition, redirecting attention to strengths helps point out the overemphasis researchers and practitioners give to pathology, clinical entities, and treatment, rather than to health, well-being, and prevention. Availability of Mental Health Services Finding mental health treatment from Spanish-speaking providers is likely to be a problem for many Spanish-speaking Hispanics. In the 1990 census, about 40 percent of Latinos reported that they either didnt speak English or didnt speak English well. Thus, a significant proportion of Latinos need. Spanish-speaking mental health care providers. Presently there are no national data to indicate the language skills of the Nations mental health professionals. However, a few studies reveal that there are few Spanish-speaking and Latino providers. One survey of 1,507 school psychologists who carry out psychoeducational assessments of bilingual children in the eight States with the highest percentages of Latinos found that 43 percent of the psychologists identified themselves as English-speaking monolinguals (Ochoa et al. , 1996). In other words, a large number of Engli.

Teachers Perceptions of Instructional Supervision

Teachers Perceptions of Instructional Supervision CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION This chapter gives a preamble to the whole study. It deals with the problem and the way it is approached. It encloses a brief formulation of background of the study, objective of the study, delimitation and limitation of the study. It also introduces definition of some key terms and the overall organization of the study. 1.1 Background of the Study Teacher education play an important role in promoting the learning and professional growth of teachers. Supervision is one of the functions of education that offers opportunities for schools to be effective and for increasing the professional development of teachers as a means of effectively managing the teaching-learning process (Kutsyuruba, 2003; Arong Ogbadu, 2010). Supervision has existed in all countries for many decades and occupies a pivotal position in the management of education, which can be understood as an expert technical service most importantly concerned with scientific study and improvement of the conditions that surrounds learning and pupil growth (Alemayehu, 2008). According to Vashist (2004), supervision is leadership and development of leadership within groups, which cooperatively assess educational product in light of accepted educational objectives, studying the teaching-learning situation to determine the antecedents of satisfactory and unsatisfactory pupil gr owth and achievement, and improving the teaching learning process. The concept of instructional supervision differs from school inspection in the sense that the former focuses on guidance, support, and continuous assessment provided to teachers for their professional development and improvement in the teaching-learning process, whereas the latter gives emphasis on controlling and evaluating the improvement of schools based on stated standards set by external agents outside the school system (Wilcox Gray, 1996; Tyagi, 2010; Arong Ogbadu, 2010). Instructional supervision is mainly concerned with improving schools by helping teachers to reflect their practices, to learn more about what they do and why, and to develop professionally (Sergiovanni Starratt, 2007). Various authors stated that instructional supervision has clear connection with professional development (Sergiovanni Starratt, 2007; Zepeda, 2007). Kutsyuruba (2003) defined professional development as follows: A major component of ongoing teacher education concerned with improving teachers instructional methods, their ability to adapt instruction to meet students needs, and their classroom management skills; and with establishing a professional culture that relies on shared beliefs about the importance of teaching and learning and that emphasizes teacher collegiality. (p. 11) In Ethiopia, the supervisory services began to be carried out since 1941, with constant shift of its names Inspection and Supervision. Currently, supervision is widely practiced in all schools at all levels (Haileselassie, 1997). In the case of Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa City Administration Education Bureau (AACAEB) has restructured its sub city level supervisory positions from general supervisory approach to subject-area instructional supervisory approach, since the beginning of 2004 (Alemayehu, 2008). 1.2 Problem Statement A research conducted by Alemayehu (2008) in secondary schools of Addis Ababa shows that the subject-area instructional supervision practiced in Addis Ababa City Administration (AACA) has exposed to multiple problems such as, lack of adequate support to newly deployed ( beginner) teachers, less amount of classroom visits and peer coaching by instructional supervisors, focus of supervisors on administrative matters than on academic issues (supporting and helping teachers), and less mutual professional trust between supervisors and teachers. All these and other problems can enable teachers to have a negative perception towards instructional supervision. According to Oliva (1976), the way teachers perceive supervision in schools and classrooms is an important factor that determines the outcomes of supervision process. In addition, previous research and publications revealed that because of its evaluative approaches; less experienced teachers have more negative perceptions on the practice of supervision than more experienced teachers. They consider supervisors as fault finders; they fear that supervisors will report their weaknesses to the school administrator, and consider supervision as nothing value to offer to them (Blumberg, 1980; Olive, 1976; Zepeda Ponticell, 1998). However, literature on perception of teachers toward supervisory practices is very limited in Africa in general and in Ethiopia in particular. Therefore, this study was designed to examine beginning teachers perceptions of the real and ideal supervisory practices and their perceptions on its relationship with professional development in private and government secondary schools of Addis Ababa. This study addressed the following basic research questions: What are the perceptions and preferences of government and private beginning secondary school teachers regarding the actual and ideal supervisory practices? Is there any difference in perception between beginner and experienced secondary school teachers regarding the actual and ideal supervisory practices? What is the perceived relationship between the supervisory practices and teachers professional development? 1.3 Objective of the Study The overall objective of this study was to examine the existing perception of beginning teachers toward instructional supervision and its perceived relationship to professional development in government and private secondary schools of Addis Ababa. Specifically, the study seeks to explore beginning teachers perception of what the ideal supervision should be and how it has been actually implemented in the schools, and their perceived connection to professional development. In addition, it was aimed to explore what differences existed in the perception of instructional supervision between private and government school teachers and between experienced and less experienced (beginner) teachers. 1.4 Significance of the Study Teachers perception of instructional supervision can positively or negatively affect the quality of education. Teachers differ in their preferences and choices of supervisory approaches (Beach Reinhartz, 2000). Though there are some teachers who would like to work alone without additional support, there are other teachers who would appreciate comments about their teaching from their colleagues, supervisors, or school administrators (Augustyn, 2001). In this study, an overview of the theoretical frameworks of supervisory approaches (ideal interpretation) and their practical applications (actual interpretation) were presented. The researcher has a belief that identifying the prevailing perceptions of teachers by undertaking this survey and coming up with sound recommendations can have its own role to play in improving the practical supervisory processes and quality of education at large. To this end, this study will bring about the following benefits: The research findings provided an insight into teachers perception of supervisory practices and thus determined whether teachers were satisfied with such practices and their influence on professional development. The study will enable those involved in supervisory practices to identify the underlying negative perceptions of instructional supervision and seek for application of appropriate supervisory approaches based on teachers preferences and choices. Since the characteristic of education is its dynamism and capacity to respond to changing needs and challenges, the researcher feels that the study will contribute an additional source of information in evaluating the achievement gained as a result of practicing instructional supervision. Finally, the researcher also believes that the study will initiate other researchers to undertake detailed research on the effectiveness of instructional supervision at regional and national levels. In addition, the results of this study may be used to add to the international practices of instructional supervision. 1.5 Delimitation of the study Since Addis Ababa City Administration (AACA) is wide having a total of 112 government and private secondary schools, it will be unrealistic and impractical to attempt to study teachers perception of instructional supervision within a given time limit. Therefore, the study is delimited to 20 private and government secondary schools (10 from each) and 200 teachers (100 beginning and 100 experienced). In addition, public secondary schools in Addis Ababa are not included in this study due to the fact that the government has enacted a law to be included under government control and administration. However, by this movement the schools are not totally shifted to government control. They are partially funded by government and partially by the public, but their name and administration are not yet clear. 1.6 Limitation of the Study The study had limitations in that it includes only government and private secondary schools in Addis Ababa. Primary schools are not included in this study due to time and budget constraints. On the other hand, generalizability of this study was limited by the fact that the research was conducted in secondary schools in one city of Ethiopia. In addition, the study had limitations of all survey type research such as clarity of wording and respondent understanding of some terminologies. Problem of getting recently published books was equally challenging. Therefore, because of these limitations, the study by no means claims to be conclusive. It would rather serve as a spring to study teachers perceptions in a more detailed and comprehensive way. 1.7 Definition of Key Terms For the purpose of this study, the following terms were defined: Instructional supervision: is a process aimed at providing guidance, support, and continuous assessment to teachers for their professional development and improvement in the teaching-learning process, which relay on the system that is built on trust and collegial culture (Beach Reinhartz, 2000). Beginning teacher: refers to a teacher currently in the first or second year of teaching. Experienced teacher: refers to a teacher who has three or more years of teaching experience. Secondary school: is a school usually includes grades 9 through 12. Government secondary school: is a school established and administered by government of Ethiopia. Private secondary school: is a school established and administered by private foreign or local owners. Ideal supervisory approaches: are supervisory approaches stated in various literatures which should be implemented in schools. Real supervisory activities: are those supervisory approaches stated in various literatures which are actually implemented in schools. Professional development: is a major component of ongoing teacher education concerned with improving teachers instructional methods, their ability to adapt instruction to meet students needs, and their classroom management skills, leading to the professional growth of the teacher (Wanzare Da Costa, 2000). Sub-city: in Ethiopian case, it refers to the government administrative hierarchy next to city administration. It is locally called Kifle Ketema. 1.8 Organization of the Study This study comprises five chapters. The first chapter deals with the problem and the way it is approached. It encloses a brief formulation of background of the study, objective of the study, delimitation and limitation of the study, and definition of some key terms. The second chapter reviews some of the current literature pertaining to the area of instructional supervision, different approaches to supervisory process, and their connection with professional development. The third chapter details the research methodology, description of the study area, data sources, samples and sampling techniques, data gathering instruments, validity and reliability of instruments, procedure of data collection, and analysis of the data. Analysis and interpretation of the research findings are presented in the fourth chapter. Lastly, a summary of the study, conclusions, and recommendations are presented in chapter five. CHAPTER TWO THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW OF INSTRUCTIONAL SUPERVISION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT In this chapter a review of related literature on instructional supervision and its relationship with professional development is provided. The chapter is divided in to four parts as to enable the reader to follow a logical sequence that includes: history of school supervision, overview of supervision approaches, teachers perception of supervisory processes, and the relationship between supervision and professional development. 2.1 History of School Supervision In many developed countries, such as United Kingdom (UK) and United States, much more attention has been given to inspection than school supervision (Lee, Dig Song, 2008). The Inspectorate of Education had originated from France under Napoleons Regime at the end of the 18th century, and other European counties followed the idea in the 19th century (Grauwe, 2007). For example, in UK, the first two inspectors of schools were appointed in 1883 (Shaw, Newton, Aitkin Darnell, 2003) and in the Netherlands it was started in 1801 (Dutch Education Inspectorate, 2008). The terms inspector and inspection are still being used in various developed and developing countries , including United Kingdom (UK), United States, European countries and some African countries such as Lesotho, Senegal, Tanzania and Nigeria (Grauwe, 2007). Traditionally, inspection and supervision were used as important tools to ensure efficiency and accountability in the education system. Later adherents of the terminologies of inspection and supervision are used by different countries in different ways. As outlined by Tyagi (2010), inspection is a top-down approach focused on the assessment and evaluation of school improvement based in stated standards, where as supervision focus on providing guidance, support and continuous assessment to teachers for their professional development and improvement in their teaching- learning process. Nevertheless, since the demand of teachers for guidance and support rendered from supervisors has increased from time to time, some countries changed the terminology and preferring the term supervisor over that of inspector. According to Grawue (2007), some countries have recently developed more specific terminologies: Malawi, uses education methods advisor, and Uganda teacher development advisor. The concepts of supervision and inspection have been changed frequently in Ethiopian education system and the reason was not clearly pedagogical (Haileselassie, 2001). In 19 42, educational inspection was practiced for the first time, then it was changed to supervision in the late 1960s , again to inspection in mid 1970s and for the fourth time it shifted to supervision in 1994 (Haileselassie,2001). Haileselassie stated that: Apart from perhaps political decisions, one could not come up with any sound educational and pedagogical rationale to justify the continuous shift made in the name. With the name changes made we do not notice any significant changes in either the content or purpose and functions. (Haileselassie, 2001, p. 11-12) From 1994 onwards, supervision has been practiced in Ethiopia decentralized educational management. According to the Education and Training Policy (1994), educational supervision is recognized at the center (Ministry of Education), Regional, Zonal, District (Woreda) and School levels. Instructional supervision at school level is practiced by principals, deputy principals, department head, and senior teachers. According to Haileselassie (1997), the functional and true sense of educational supervision depends on the supervisory operation made at the grassroots level, i.e. School level. In this regard, subject-area instructional supervision has practiced in all schools of Addis Ababa since the beginning of 2004. The major responsibilities of subject-area instructional supervisors in Addis Ababa include: (1) examining and reporting the programs, organization and management of the teaching-learning activities; (2) developing and presenting alternative methods used to improve instructional programs; (3) guiding and monitoring schools and teachers; (4) preparing and organizing professional trainings, workshops, seminars, etc.; (5) monitoring and supporting the mentoring (induction) programs for beginner teachers; and (6) providing direct assistance and perform instructional and managerial activities in schools with teachers and principals by organizing and implementing clinical, collegial, peer coaching and cognitive coaching techniques of instructional supervision, etc (Alemayehu, 2008). 2.2 Overview of Supervisory Approaches According to Blasà © and Blasà © (1998), although many supervisory approaches are collaborative in nature, for long time, supervisory of instruction has been viewed exclusively as an inspection issue. Sergiovanni (1992) described supervision as a ritual they [supervisors and teachers] participate according to well established scripts without much consequence (p. 203). This author continued that today, supervision as inspection can be regarded as an artifact of the past, a function that is no longer tenable or prevalent in contemporary education (p. 204). He explained that though functioned for a considerable span of time, this type of supervision caused negative stereotypes among teachers, where they viewed as subordinates whose professional performance was controlled. Supporting this idea, Anderson and Snyder (1993) stated, because of this, teachers are unaccustomed to the sort of mutual dialogue for which terms like mentoring, peer coaching collegial assistance are coming in to u se (p.1). It should be clear, however, that traditional supervisory approaches should not be removed completely because supervisory authority and control are essential for professional development. Mitchell and Sackney (2000) explained this as much of past practice is educationally sound and should not be discarded (p. 37). Having said this, it is important to differentiate instructional supervision from evaluation. Authors described the former as a formative approach and the later as a summative approach (Poole, 1994; Zepeda, 2007). Poole (1994) stated that instructional supervision is a formative process that emphasizes collegial examination of teaching and learning (p. 305). In this regard, participants in the supervision process plan and implement a range of professional growth opportunities designed to meet teachers professional growth and educational goals and objectives at different levels. Teacher evaluation, on the other hand, is a summative process that focus on assessing the compete nce of teachers, which involves a formal, written appraisal or judgment of an individuals professional competence at specific time (Poole, 1994, p. 305). The supervisory (formative) and evaluative (summative) processes should go hand in hand (Sergiovanni Starratt, 2007). While supervision is essential for teachers professional growth, evaluation is essential to determine this growth and teacher effectiveness (Kutsyuruba, 2003; Wareing, 1990). The widely used approaches to evaluation are administrative monitoring, report writing, checklists, and self-assessment. On the other hand, approaches to supervision are categorized as clinical supervision, peer coaching, cognitive coaching, mentoring, self-reflection, professional growth plans, and portfolios (Alfonso Firth, 1990; Clarke, 1995; Poole, 1994; Reninan, 2002; Sergiovanni Starratt, 2007; Zepeda, 2007). Implementing different supervisory approaches is essential not only to give choices to teachers; it is also important to provide choices to the administrators and schools (Kutsyuruba, 2003). Each component of supervisory approaches are discussed as follows. Clinical Supervision According to Sergiovanni and Starratt (2007), clinical supervision is a face- to- face contract with teachers with the intent of improving instruction and increasing professional growth (p. 23). It is a sequential, cyclic and systematic supervisory process which involves face-to-face interaction between teachers and supervisors designed to improve the teachers classroom instructions (Kutsyuruba, 2003). The purpose of clinical supervision according to Snow-Gerono (2008) is to provide support to teachers (to assist) and gradually to increase teachers abilities to be self-supervising (p. 1511). Clinical supervision is a specific cycle or pattern of working with teachers (Sergiovanni Starratt, 1993, p. 222). It is a partnership in inquiry where by the person assuming the role of supervisor functions more as an individual with experience and insight than as an expert who determines what is right and wrong (Harris, 1985). Goldhammer, Anderson and Karjewski (1980) described the structure o f clinical supervision that includes pre-observation conference, class room observation, analysis and strategy, supervision conference, and post-conference analysis. Clinical supervision is officially applicable with: inexperienced beginning teachers, teachers are experiencing difficulties, and experienced teachers who are in need of improving their instructional performance. Sergiovanni and Starratt (2007) stated that clinical supervision is typically formative than summative in its evaluative approach in order to enable beginning teaches collaborate to research their practices and improve their teaching and learning (p. 233). As a result of this, the writers further described that the focus of clinical supervision is not on quality control, rather on the professional improvement of the teacher that guarantees quality of teaching and students performance (Sergiovanni Starratt, 2007). Collaborative Supervision Collaboration and collegially are very important in todays modern schools. According to Burke and Fessler (1983), teachers are the central focuses of collaborative approach to supervision. Collaborative approaches to supervision are mainly designed to help beginning teachers and those who are new to a school or teaching environment with the appropriate support from more experienced colleagues. Thus, these colleagues have an ethical and professional responsibility of providing the required type of support upon request (Kutsyuruba, 2003). In this regard, a teacher who needs collegial and collaborative support should realize that needs do not exist for professional growth, that feedback from colleagues and other sources should be solicited in order to move toward improvement (Burke Fessler, 1983, p.109). The major components of collaborative approaches to supervision which are especially needed for beginner or novice teachers are: peer coaching, cognitive coaching and mentoring (Shower s Joyce, 1996; Sergiovanni Starratt, 2007; Sullivan Glanz, 2003; Kutsyuruba, 2003). Peer coaching Peer coaching, according to Sullivan and Glanz (2000), is defined as teachers helping teachers reflect on and improve teaching practice and/or implement particular teaching skills needed to implement knowledge gained through faculty or curriculum development (p. 215). The term coaching is introduced to characterize practice and feedback following staff development sessions. According to Singhal (1996), supervision is more effective if the supervisor follows the team approach. This would mean that the supervisor should have a clear interaction with teachers and group of teachers, provide an open, but supportive atmosphere for efficient communication, and involve them in decision making. The goal of coaching as described by Sergiovanni and Starratt (2007), is to develop communities within which teachers collaborate to honor a very simple value- when we learn together, we learn more, and when we learn more, we will more effectively serve our students (p. 251). Thus, peer coaching provid es possible opportunities to beginner teachers to refine teaching skills through collaborative relationships, participatory decision making, and immediate feedback (Bowman McCormick, 2000; Sullivan Glanz, 2000). In this regard, research findings showed that beginning teachers rated experienced teachers who coached than as highly competent and the process itself as very necessary (Kutsyuruba, 2003). Cognitive coaching According to Costa and Garmston (1994), cognitive coaching refers to a nonjudgmental process built around a planning conference, observation, and a reflecting conference (p. 2). Cognitive coaching differs from peer coaching in that peer coaching focuses on innovations in curriculum and instructions, where as cognitive coaching is aimed at improving existing practices (Showers Joyce, 1996). As Beach and Reinhartz (2000) described, cognitive coaching pairs teacher with teacher, teacher with supervisor, or supervisor with supervisor, however, when two educators are in similar roles or positions, the process is referred as peer supervision. The writers further identified three components of cognitive coaching: planning, lesson observation, and reflection. Costa and Garmston (1994) described three basic purposes of cognitive coaching, namely: (1) developing and maintaining trusting relationship; (2) fostering growth toward both autonomous and independent behavior; and (3) promoting learning. In a cognitive coaching process, teachers learn each other, built mutual trust, and encouraged to reach at a higher level of autonomy- the ability to self-monitor, self-evaluate, and self-analyze (Garmston, Linder Whitaker, 1993). Mentoring Mentoring as defined by Sullivan and Glanz (2000) is a process that facilitates instructional improvement wherein an experienced educator agrees to provide assistance, support, and recommendations to another staff member (p. 213). Mentoring is a form of collaborative (peer) supervision focused on helping new teachers or beginning teachers successfully learn their roles, establish their self images as teachers figure out the school and its culture, and understand how teaching unfolds in real class rooms (Sergiovanni Starratt, 2007). Sullivan and Glanz (2000) stated the works of mentors as: The mentor can work with a novice or less experienced teacher collaboratively, nonjudgmentally studying and deliberating on ways instruction in the class room may be improved, or the mentor can share expertise in a specific area with other educators. Mentors are not judges or critics, but facilitators of instructional improvement. All interactions and recommendations between the mentor and staff members are confidential. (p. 213) Research projects and publications revealed that mentoring has clear connections with supervision and professional development which serve to augment the succession planning and professional development of teachers (Reiman Thies-Sprinthall, 1998).In addition, Sergiovanni and Starratt (2007) described that the emphasis of mentoring on helping new or beginner teachers is typically useful for mentors as well. By helping a colleague (beginner teacher), mentors able to see their problems more clearly and learn ways to overcome them. As a result, mentoring is the kind of relationship in which learning benefits everyone involved. Self-Reflection As the context of education is ever changing, teachers should have a professional and ethical responsibility to reflect on what is happening in response to changing circumstances. Thus, they can participate in collective reflection practices such as peer coaching, cognitive coaching, or mentoring, as well as self-assessment reflective practices (Kutsyuruba, 2003). According to Glatthorn (1990), self- directed development is a process by which a teacher systematically plans for his or her own professional growth in teaching. Glatthorn further described that self-directed approaches are mostly ideal for teachers who prefer to work alone or who, because of scheduling or other difficulties, are unable to work cooperatively with other teachers. Sergiovanni and Starratt (2007) considered this option to be efficient in use of time, less costly, and less demanding in its reliance on others. Thus, the writers indicated that in self-directed supervision teachers work alone by assuming responsi bility for their own professional development (p. 276). Furthermore, Glatthorn (1990) suggested that self-development is an option provided for teachers that enable them to set their own professional growth goals, find the resources needed to achieve those goals, and undertake the steps needed to accomplish those outcomes (p. 200). In addition, this approach is particularly suited to competent and experienced teachers who are able to manage their time well (Sergiovanni Starratt, 2007). Portfolios As teachers want to be actively participated in their own development and supervision, they need to take ownership of the evaluation process (Kutsyuruba, 2003). The best way for teachers to actively involve in such practices is the teaching portfolio (Painter, 2001). A teaching portfolio is defined as a process of supervision with teacher compiled collection of artifacts, reproductions, testimonials, and student work that represents the teachers professional growth and abilities (Riggs Sandlin, 2000). A portfolio, according to Zepeda (2007), is an individualized, ongoing record of growth that provides the opportunity for teachers to collect artifacts over an extended period of time (p. 85). Similarly, Sergiovanni and Starratt (2007) stated that the intent of portfolio development is to establish a file or collection of artifacts, records, photo essays, cassettes, and other materials designed to represent some aspect of the class room program and teaching activities. As Sullivan and Glanz (2000) stated portfolio documents not only innovative and effective practices of teachers, but also it is a central road for teachers professional growth through self-reflection, analysis, and sharing with colleagues through discussion and writing (p. 215). The writers further described that portfolio can be used to support and enrich mentoring and coaching relationships. Professional Growth Plans Professional growth plans are defined as individual goal-setting activities, long term projects teachers develop and carry out relating to the teaching (Brandt, 1996, p. 31). This means that teachers reflect on their instructional and professional goals by setting intended outcomes and plans for achieving these goals. In professional growth plans as part of instructional supervisory approach, teachers select the skills they wish to improve, place their plan in writing including the source of knowledge, the type of workshop to be attended, the books and articles to read, and practice activities to be set. In this regard, Fenwick (2001) stated that professional growth plans could produce transformative effects in teaching practice, greater staff collaboration, decreased teacher anxiety, and increased focus and commitment to learning (p. 422). Summative Evaluation There is a clear link among instructional supervision, professional development and teacher evaluation (Zepeda, 2007). Teacher evaluation involves two distinct components: formative evaluation and summative evaluation (Sergiovanni Starratt, 2007). The writers differentiated formative teacher evaluation as an approach intended to increase the effectiveness of ongoing educational programs and teachers professi