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Quality of Education in
Kazakhstani Universities:
Real or Not Real?
LYUDMILA KOVALEVA
Volume 1, Issue 1
June 2016
Academic Mobility and the
Labor Market
ZHANNA JUMABAYEVA
The Role of Language
Policies in Developing
Plurilingual Identities
RIZAGUL SYZDYKBAYEVA
Editorial Team
Philip Montgomery, Chief Editor, Faculty
Lyazat Gapbassova, Co-Managing Editor, PhD Student
Altyn Baigazina, Co-Managing Editor, MSc Student
Aliya Mustafina, Co-Managing Editor, MSc Alumna
Editorial Board
Tsediso Makoelle, PhD, Faculty
Ziyat Abdykaimov, MSc Student
Kamila Kozhabayeva, MA Student
Aisara Yessenova, MA Student
Sholpan Tazabek, PhD Student
Aisulu Sanat, MSc Alumna
Anna CohenMiller, PhD, Faculty
Peer Reviewers
Dr. Daniel Torrano
Gaziza Aliyeva
Dr. Jason Sparks
Xeniya Belova
Ziyat Abdykaimov
Dr. Denise Egéa
Dr. Bridget Goodman
Dr. Rita Kasa
Aisara Yessenova
Dr. Nettie Boivin
Zukhra Utesheva
Dr. Ali Ait Si Mhamed
Dr. Kairat Kurakbayev
Aisulu Sanat
Mariya Abdrakhmanova
Kamila Kozhabayeva
Zhansaya Tatyyeva
Madina Tynybayeva
Sholpan Tazabek
Saniya Ussenova
Gulbanu Ibragimkyzy
Dr. Sulushash Kerimkulova
Laila Abdimanapova
Mariyam Kamedenova
Kuralay Bozymbekova
Akmaral Karabay
Aliya Bekisheva
Dr. Robyn Bantel
Akerke Kaiyrkhanova
Zhanna Jumabayeva
Dana Abdrasheva
Special Thanks
Nurbolat Khamitov, Logo Design
Dr. Robyn Bantel, Proofreading
Dr. Aida Sagintayeva, NUGSE Dean
Cover Image: Stamen Design, under CC BY 3.0. Data by OpenStreetMap, under CC BY SA.
NUGSE Research in Education is a peer-reviewed journal designed for educational leaders,
policymakers, researchers and students interested in empirical research, critical reviews, and
analytical papers on a wide range of topics in education. The primary aim is to share experience
and promote understanding of Kazakhstan’s unique educational context. The journal is peer-
reviewed by an editorial board comprising students, alumni and faculty of the Nazarbayev
University Graduate School of Education, offering its students and alumni the experience and
knowledge of the publication process, peer-revision boards, and critical analysis of quality
scholarly work.
NUGSE Research in Education is a free, open source publication.
All work in this issue carries the Creative Commons Copyright license BY-NC-SA 3.0
Any future publication or reference to this work should include attribution to this publication.
nugserie.nu.edu.kz
Table of Contents
Volume 1, Issue 1
June 2016
Welcome Letter from the Editor PHILIP MONTGOMERY 1
Peer Reviewed Articles
Quality of Education in Kazakhstani Universities: LYUDMILA KOVALEVA 2
Real or Not Real?
Academic Mobility and the Labor Market ZHANNA JUMABAYEVA 8
The Role of Language Policies in Developing RIZAGUL SYZDYKBAYEVA 15
Plurilingual Identities in Kazakhstan
Editorials
Welcome Letter from the Editorial Board KAMILA KOZHABAYEVA 20
AISULU SANAT
Publication Tips from NUGSE Faculty ALTYN BAIGAZINA 21
LYAZAT GAPBASSOVA
Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in ZIYAT ABDYKAIMOV 24
Higher Education: U.S. Policies and
Lessons for Nazarbayev University
The Benefits of Blogging AISARA YESSENOVA 28
28
NUGSE Research in Education
The Benefits of Blogging
AISARA YESSENOVA
Blogging is an unconventional way for students to hone their academic writing skills. Blogs are “a
chronological publication in which personal thoughts and opinions are posted” (Lai & Chen, 2011, p. 948). The
introduction of blog writing to the Advanced English course spurred the enhancement of students’
argumentative essay writing. This progress in developing one’s own sense of style and voice corresponds with
the research findings by Warschauer (1997) and Montgomery (2015), who claim that the writing of student
bloggers becomes more natural, reflective, and versatile.
Writing blogs, inserting one’s own opinions and suggestions, and sharing ideas with the readership make
students’ writing precise and eloquent. The space limit and the format of blog posts require the authors to write
in a laconic and engaging way. Bloggers therefore tailor their vocabulary to the needs of the audience.
Montgomery (2015) mentions that by writing blogs students strive to be understandable and use the middle
range of vocabulary: by doing so, they reach their own “native” writing style (p. 3). In fact, the readers are
reluctant to spend time reading posts abundant with pretentious words. As a result, authors stop trying to sound
sophisticated and shift to writing for comprehension.
Another example of progress relates to the quality of discourse. This process of choosing the topic
cajoles students to be more critical in proving their arguments and interpretations, and responding to comments.
Bayer (as cited in Warschauer, 1997) cogently argues that peer collaboration enables students to “make
connections between new ideas and prior knowledge, develop language and thinking competences” (p. 471).
Writing a post that encourages discussion is a constant way of contesting one’s ideas, reality and other people’s
opinions. Choosing the subjects, writing-up the posts, and reflecting on the comments teach students how to be
open-minded, thoughtful, and responsive. Once writers express their position, they rethink and reconsider their
ideas in light of the readers’ feedback. This iterative process is a great opportunity to construct one’s
comprehension of the complex events regarding another person’s viewpoint and experience.
The unusual format of writing the blog posts also provides a space for creativity. In this light, students
strive to be unique in the stream of other blog contributors. Bloggers can nurture creativity by practicing
different sentence varieties, or as Warschauer (1997) emphasizes, “writing modes become more versatile” (p.
476) as the result of blog writing.
Writing blogs, according to the research presented here, can help polish students’ writing skills. The
following examples of student blog posts can serve as evidence to prove this point. The first shows how a
student is mastering her own diverse writing style while sharing insights into the topic of women leadership in
academia (sample 1 below). Zere's first sentence is a great example of a complex sentence using parallel
structure. The second post demonstrates how an author is developing a confident, honest, personal voice
without hiding behind "pretentious" vocabulary (sample 2 below). Dilshat’s native style is evolving through
posing questions to the readership and emphasizing words that capture the key address to the audience:
inclusive education is about fostering people’s capacities. The third clearly demonstrates the benefit of reflection
in writing, both for the author and the audience (sample 3 below). Zhuldyzay is reflecting on her data collection
process, teasing out the lessons she gained for the future, but also providing some guidance for readers
embarking on qualitative interview-based research themselves. As seen, while following one format of space-
limited blog writing, student bloggers managed to take advantage of blog writing in a very personalized and
unique way.
29
June 2016
Women Leadership in Education
Zere Kussainova
https://nuwritersguild.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/women-leadership-in-education/
Thanks to Dr. Sparks, our cohort of Higher Education
managed to explore, understand and think about women leaders
in education: who they are, what their roles are in education and
in society as well. It was a very significant and interesting topic
for us because we were eager to know the inside of this
“absorbing” term as we study in the major called “Educational
Leadership”. In addition, the interest grew since there are only
women in the group. My goal here is to share with you, Master’s
students of Educational Leadership, ideas discussed in our class
and to see what you think about this, if possible.
Personally, a woman leader is the woman who
effectively juggles both career and family, who achieves success
in the work and value family life. However, there is another idea
of the authors which can be very interesting.
To explore this topic we went through several stages or
steps: we discussed, read and gave PowerPoint presentations.
We read a book chapter written by Grogan and Shakeshaft
(2011), who stated that there is a need to redefine or to create
new understanding of leadership as women leadership in
education. Women leadership in education is different from other types of leadership such as transformative,
managerial…and, therefore a new definition should emerge which will totally fit to the qualities, differences,
traits and peculiarities of women leaders. And there are a number of reasons to prove that: women perceive and
use power differently than men; they use power through understanding and listening. As was said: “Women
have modeled ways to use power and make change through understanding, a process that requires listening, not
just talking” (p. 91). Then, what makes women leadership unique is the use of skills given them naturally as a
part of being a woman, which are mothering skills (protection, support, encouragement, etc.), and which can be
beneficial in educational leadership. However, there was time, when “mothering skills were perceived less
important than leadership” (p. 84). Moreover, women’s “revolutionary” approach to improve something and to
change things for the better, to help others, to improve social justice are estimated as a certain difference. “As a
way of making meaning in their work of leadership, women discuss their desire to make things better, to right
social wrong, to increase support for underserved groups” (p. 90).
To sum up, women leadership is a phenomenon which can be understood by people differently. How
to achieve success in education being a woman is a difficult question and maybe there is no sole answer that fits
for all and is common for all because nowadays we are open to everything, we have freedom, and we have the
right to be different. So, what does women leadership mean to you, and does it exist in Kazakhstan?
Who is Really Disabled? The Importance of Transforming People’s Mindset Towards Inclusivity
Dilshat Kalshabek
https://nuwritersguild.wordpress.com/2016/02/06/who-is-really-disabled/
Recently, I was facebooking and came up with an interesting post of one of the friends of mine about his visit to
the center for physically disabled people. In his post he wrote about a girl who shared her life story and thoughts
about it. I was really touched and, eventually, was inspired to write about it. The original story was written in
Kazakh. I will do my best not to change the message translating the story.
Figure 1. WWII-era poster of Rosie the
Riveter, a popular symbol of women's equality.
Image by Howard Miller is licensed under
CC0.
30
NUGSE Research in Education
It was a hot summer. My mother and I were at a doctor and
after medical check we were given the list of medicines that we had to buy.
Then on the way to the drugstore I have noticed that some people were
looking at me sitting on wheelchair with a great sympathy, others were
passing with pride and arrogance. Then I thought looking at them: “If I
were able to walk like these people would I treat the same as they do?”
Most likely it will be otherwise. We reached the drugstore and my mother
left me outside and entered there.
I was sitting and moving my wheelchair. The sun was shining
brightly, flowers smelled fragrantly. Suddenly, a woman passing by came
up and was trying to find some money in her pocket. “I don’t need your
money,” I said with anger and with pain questioned myself: “Do I look
so helpless and pitiful?” “I am not a beggar, I don’t need your money,”
repeated I and another man came up and said: “Better give me that
money, to the beggar like me.” The man looked slovenly and he smelled of
alcohol. The woman gave him the money and went along.
Coming back home I started to speculate about those people who
can see, hear and walk on their own but they became beggars and continue
to harm their health. Whereas people like me who can’t even make a step
on their own still striving and trying to become as everyone else.
Who is really disabled then?
The issue raised in this life story is vital. It has a direct relation to the inclusion in education which is
considered as a right but difficult way to choose. Different stakeholders have different perspectives and most of
them are skeptical about it. The first and foremost precondition for inclusive education to become successfully
implemented is people’s readiness to accept those “unusual” people as they are. That is to say, to create inclusive
society. It is social values and perception which determine whether to include or exclude a specific characteristic
of an individual. As the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) report defines:
“Social inclusion of the excluded groups can only happen if everyone becomes “part of the group” that
defines the culture, values and standards of the society in which they live.” (p. 32)
Labeling them as people with special needs or the Russian equivalent, “люди с ограниченными
возможностями” (people with limited opportunities), we define and affect people’s attitude towards them.
Actually, we are all with limited opportunities. This is a result of social identity, meaning a person’s self-
conception is derived from the group they were categorized to. As a rule, people want to possess a positive
identity where they are valued and respected. Otherwise, the society where there is an imbalance between the
individual’s power may end up with the process of social exclusion (UNDESA, 2009). To achieve the social
inclusion it is necessary to change the meaning and values associated with unfavorable characteristics.
This can be achieved by raising people’s awareness with the help of the education system, mass media
and social campaigns. People have to realize that inclusive education doesn’t necessarily mean studying with
disabled people. Instead, inclusive education is aiming to find and focus on what a student can do. It is clear from
this point that every child regardless of his/her level of capacity is going to benefit from the education which is
inclusive. Undoubtedly, it is not an easy task to make people “embrace” people who are excluded from the first
attempts. In this case, media and social campaigns are going to become important stakeholders in this essential
but challenging process.
Going back to the story, it is possible to draw a conclusion that these people do want us approach them
better and want to become a part of the community which is called “Humankind”.
P.S. Food For Thought:
If you fail to see potential in the person but only see person’s disability, then who is blind?
If you cannot hear your brother’s cry for help and justice, then who is deaf?
If you cannot stand up for the right of all people, then who is cripple?
If you cannot have the patience, the tolerance and understanding for individual differences, then who is mentally
handicapped?
Symbol of Access, which attempts to
change social perceptions of disability.
Image by Brian Glenney and Sara
Hendren is licensed under CC BY-SA
31
June 2016
I am a Researcher…!
Zhuldyzay Zhakypbekova
https://nuwritersguild.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/i-am-a-researcher/
I would like to share my first experience of conducting mini
research to study the teaching and learning challenges in online
education. I have chosen two volunteer teachers who are striving to
make online education widespread in our secondary school. However,
they claim that they face challenges working online and much effort
should be done to achieve their goals. I interviewed them and
experienced the difficulties myself too.
The first difficulty I faced was the development of interview
questions. I spent hours on thinking how to construct the questions so
that they helped me to answer my research questions and sub-questions.
Moreover, it was challenging to avoid biased and leading questions.
The pre-interview period was followed by the interview process
itself. Probably, because it was my first experience as a researcher the
first thing I forgot was to record the interview. When I realized the
absence of the tape recorder I started to take notes spontaneously. But it
was a lesson for me, and I prepared the tools in advance for the second
interview.
One more weakness of my first interview was that I informed the
interviewees about the confidentiality and ethical issues in the end of the
interview. In addition, I made an agreement about the interview a few
days ahead; however, we couldn’t meet at the set time. Despite the fact that I had a good proximity to the
research site it was not always possible to meet with interviewees. The reason for this was that teachers were
overloaded with school work.
Although I had different challenges during the interviews, there were advantageous moments. The
interviews provided me the opportunity to investigate the main phenomena from different perspectives. I had a
chance to ask follow-up questions which helped me to understand teachers’ attitudes and experiences in detail.
Summing up, it was a challenging but learning experience for me at the same time. I could feel myself as
a real researcher. Also, I understood the important aspects of the data collection process which I need to
consider further.
References
Grogan, M., & Shakeshaft, C. (2011). Women and educational leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Lai, H. M., & Chen, C. P. (2011). Factors influencing secondary school teachers’ adoption of teaching blogs. Computers &
Education, 56(4), 948-960.
Montgomery, P. (2015). Did you read my new post? Improving autonomy, English, and engagement through class blogs.
Paper presented at Suleymen-Demirel University, International Conference on Building Cultural Bridges, 2015.
Retrieved from http://nur.nu.edu.kz/handle/123456789/1317
UNDESA (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs). (2009). Creating an inclusive society: Practical strategies
to promote social integration. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/egms/docs/2009/Ghana/inclusive-
society.pdf
Warschauer, M. (1997). Computermediated collaborative learning: Theory and practice. The Modern Language Journal, 81(4),
470-481.
Figure 3. Woman interviewer.
Image is licensed under CC0.
Article
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The blog has become an important Web 2.0 tool in education because it provides enormous benefits to students. Previous studies investigated the impact of blogs in teaching and learning but there are no known studies that examine the types of educational blogs used by the undergraduates in the selected universities, the level of use, benefits derived, as well as the relationship between perceived benefits and use of educational blogs. In this descriptive survey, a purposive sampling technique was adopted to select Caleb University, Lagos State University (LASU), and University of Lagos (UNILAG), while convenience sampling was employed to get a sampled population of 352 respondents from the three selected universities. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analysed with the SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics and Spearman rank correlation were used for analyses. The findings revealed that the majority of the respondents use educational blogs to access e-resources relevant to their courses as this helps them to search for needed materials. Perceived benefits have also been shown to have a significant positive relationship with the use of educational blogs. The study recommends that lecturers should use educational blogs in classes to increase awareness and usage among the students.
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The project “Promoting the Innovation Capacity of Higher Education in Nursing during Health Services’ Transition” ProInCa was co-funded by the ERASMUS+ KA2 Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education programme. The wider objective of the project was to develop the sustainable innovation capacity of Kazakhstan’s Medical Universities for the modernization of nursing. The project plan was written in the autumn of 2016 and the project was implemented during 15.10.2017 - 31.01.2021. The ProInCa project consortium consisted of four European and five Kazakhstani higher educational institutions, namely JAMK and LAB Universities of Applied Sciences, Finland; Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen (Hanze), Netherlands; Angela Boškin Faculty of Health Care (ABFHC), Slovenia; Astana Medical University (AMU), Karaganda Medical University (KMU), Nazarbayev University (NuSOM), Semey Medical University (SMU), and West Kazakhstan Medical University named after Marat Ospanov (WKMU), Kazakhstan. The project also had 13 official associated partners, including Astana, Turkestan multidisciplinary, and West Kazakhstan higher medical colleges, Temirtau and Ekibastuz medical colleges, four hospitals, and the national association of nurses “”Paryz””. The project was coordinated by JAMK and supported by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Results As the largest workforce group of health care, nurses comprise an important component of the healthcare system to meet the need for quality healthcare services. In this regard, one of the main areas in the policy documents for the development of health care in Kazakhstan is the strengthening of the nursing service. In the framework of the health care reform in Kazakhstan, the ProInCa project played an active role in the implementation of international best practices in the field of nursing. Within the ProInCa project: ● The Center of Nursing Excellence (CNE) was created with five regional centers. The CNE has an online platform at www.nursekz.com, which brings together all stakeholders in nursing: medical universities and colleges, hospitals and clinics, national and regional associations of nurses, teachers, researchers, practicing nurses, managers, etc. This platform comprises all the needed information for nursing specialists: clinical protocols and guidelines, methodical recommendations, training materials, statistics, information about research projects, a database of national experts, contacts, useful links, etc. It also contains a blog for nursing leaders and a forum for exchanging opinions and ideas. ● Methodological recommendations for medical universities on nursing research infrastructure (http://proinca-nursing.kz/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/d2.3.1-report-ofthe- nursing-research-infrastructure-in-the-republic-of-kazakhstan.pdf) and prioritizedfocus areas for nursing research (http://proinca-nursing.kz/wpcontent/uploads/2020/01/d2.3.2-report-on-recommendations-to-medical-universitiesfor- creation-of-nursing-research-agenda.pdf) have been developed with the purpose of creating new research programs in nursing. ● Educational programs for bachelor's degree in such courses as "Basics of Evidence-Based Nursing Practice" and "Evidence-Based Nursing Practice" as well as for master's degree in the course "Implementation of Evidence-Based Nursing Practice" were created. Teaching materials in Kazakh, Russian and English are freely available at the CNE website at https://nursekz.com/. ● Educational modules for masters’ degree courses “Research projects and development projects in nursing” and “Methodology of qualitative and quantitative research in nursing” were developed. Instructions how to apply these in nursing research courses in the applied and academic bachelor's degrees education were provided. Teaching materials in Kazakh, Russian and English are freely available at the CNE website at https://nursekz.com/. ● Teaching and learning materials for the capacity building of nursing leaders were developed under four themes: Setting direction, Managing services and driving results, Professionalism and ethics, and Leading people and teams. Materials in Russian and English are freely available at the CNE website at ttps://nursekz.com/. ● The Association of Nursing Leaders of Medical Organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan is ready to be registered. ● A pool of national academic experts on the areas of evidence-based nursing, nursing research, and nursing leadership and management was prepared and more than 500 nurses and nurse students from all regions of the country participated in trainings of ProInCa or used the materials in their studies and thus improved their professional capacity. ● New Erasmus+ CBHE project “Accelerating Master and PhD level nursing education development in the higher education system in Kazakhstan – AccelEd” was initiated to continue the work of developing nursing education in Kazakhstan. Impact of the project At the individual level, the project provided project team members and other participants many practical and theoretical skills and improved their professional prospects. All project team members were able to improve their communication and ICT skills in both academic and administrative settings, for example by learning to conduct online webinars for large audiences by utilizing Zoom, Cisco Webex, GoToMeeting platforms and other online technologies. In addition to the project team members, these technologies were successfully adopted by nursing teachers and practicing nurses as well. Most of the practicing nurses from Kazakhstan who took part in the educational activities of the project worked with programs such as Zoom, Moodle, etc. for the first time and noted them as efficient and resource-saving applications. In addition to the skills listed above, the project participants and stakeholders, including teachers, undergraduates, and doctoral students have gained confidence in academic English as well as experience of participating in international scientific conferences and master classes. They have also acquired skills in conducting qualitative research in nursing. This is a noticeable rise of professional growth, which will let project participants from the Kazakhstani side to work more confidently with foreign partners in the field of nursing research and evidence-based practice. Furthermore, in Kazakhstan, nursing teachers in medical universities have traditionally been mainly doctors, and the project provided a golden opportunity to visit leading European nursing organizations to see how the teaching is organized there and to acquire personal contacts with 11 foreign nursing experts for further long-term cooperation. As proof of the importance and applicability of the skills gained during the project, two master graduates from AMU were successfully employed at the Higher Nursing College as teacher and head of the department, respectively, after being trained in the project. Furthermore, one of the project team members from KMU was invited to the position of vice-dean of the school of nursing after her successful work in the project. The project has also increased the collaboration between the higher education institutions and nursing practice by engaging nurses in project activities and sharing best practices in multidisciplinary teams. Thanks to the project, a mechanism has been created for the inclusion of the practical sector of nursing in Kazakhstan into the topical global problems of the nursing process. It includes exchanges of research results within the framework of quarterly webinars, seminars, and scientific and practical conferences conducted by ProInCa partners. According to the results of an expert assessment carried out by university teachers and chief specialists of health departments in nursing, the awareness of senior and chief nurses as well as deputy directors of medical organizations in nursing about the main global trends in the development and reform of nursing care has increased. To ensure a wide impact on the world of work, the development of educational programs, recommendations, and the definition of priorities for research in the field of nursing were based on the results of discussions of practical health problems. Close cooperation in mixed teams during the project made it possible to establish personal professional contacts between representatives of educational and healthcare organizations as well as professional associations from different regions of Kazakhstan. Practicing nurses took actively part in the trainings of the project, thus gaining skills in conducting research projects in nursing as well as knowledge of the leadership and management system. Consequently, at the University Medical Center clinics, nurses initiated five research projects in accordance with the priority topics for the healthcare system: 1) Guidelines and best practices for providing oriented care for patients with vascular catheters; 2) Reducing the potential risks during the provision of nursing care associated with mechanical ventilation of newborns, 3) Overcoming the communication barrier in the professional activities of nurses, 4) Improving the quality of teaching materials based on the needs of the postoperative period of cataract patients, and 5) Improving nursing care for children diagnosed with Autism. Some of these projects were presented in the electronic poster session of the project’s final conference "Innovations in Nursing Education, Research, Leadership and Clinical Practice" in December 2020 and the presentations can be found on the project’s website. At the individual clinics that are associated partners of the project consortium, a pilot project was also introduced to incorporate the new nursing management system with the expansion of the scope of practice and functions of nurses in accordance with the new position of extended practice nurse. READ MORE https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/409019
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This paper explores the potential of using blogs in the Academic English classroom, especially in an international foreign language setting. The main topics covered include 1) the broad shifts in pedagogy toward student autonomy and engagement; 2) the specific improvements to English writing fluency; 3) the hurdles students and instructors face in participating in open, online communication; and 4) the practical steps needed to set up and implement a class blog.
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Encouraged by research findings about ways many women lead when given a chance, and by the conviction that these ways held promise for a redefinition of educational leadership, we decided to document the positive and to imagine the value of everyone leading like women.Our premise that traditional approaches to leadership have left millions of children behind in our schools leads to the conclusion that a new definition of leadership is urgently needed.
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Recently, there has been a significant proliferation in the number of teaching blogs; however, little has been explored about what motivates teachers to adopt teaching blogs. The purpose of this study is to find out which factors can significantly influence teacher decisions regarding their teaching blog adoption and the relative importance of these influences. This study extended Rogers’ (1995) Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) that incorporates relevant factors from two sources: from within individual IT adoption literature and from within blog research literature emphasizing knowledge sharing motivation. The model includes four dimensions (which are individual, innovation technology, school and environmental characteristics) and 14 factors. A total of 325 valid questionnaires were obtained.Discriminant analysis was employed to test the hypotheses. The results revealed that secondary school teachers’ decisions to adopt teaching blogs are strongly associated with eight factors: perceived enjoyment, codification effort, compatibility, perceived ease of use, personal innovativeness, enjoyment in helping others, school support and perceived usefulness, ordered by their relative importance. The research results also have important implications for researchers, secondary school managers and blog services providers.
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