Scholarly Journal Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Scholarly Journal Review - Essay Example The paper also states that the definition of this model is highly evolving in response to the changing needs of our schools in the global education reforms. Introduction The emergence of the instructional leadership model is known to have brought about improved educational outcomes in schools in contrast to the earlier leadership models, which have been used in our schools today, that is, situational leadership, contingency theory, and trait theories. This model focuses on the manner in which teachers as well as the school administrators apply the educational leadership to improve performance in schools. Conceptualizing instructional leadership The instructional leadership model has been identified with a strong, effective, and directive leadership, which is focused on curriculum and instructions from the principal, as one of the characteristics of elementary schools, effective at teaching schoolchildren from the poor urban communities. The instructional leadership focuses mainly on the principal as the center of expertise, authority and power in any school. The importance of this role of the principal was inferred from studies that examined change implementation, schools improvement, school effectiveness, as well as program improvement. The two articles concludes that the â€Å"leadership skills† of the schools’ principal are one of the key contributing factors in explaining successful, school improvement and school effectiveness. After reading the above articles, the following are some of the areas I learnt about conceptualizing instructional leaders in our schools especially in secondary schools since this is where most principals apply (Cuban, 1997). Instructional leaders are goal oriented and they only focus on student academic outcomes. Their mission is to ensure that the curriculum is best for the students; they too ensure that the students’ performance can be assessed; hence, this has helped many students in performing better in the ir education. The instructional leaders are also seen as culture builders in the sense that they try to create an academic press which focus on high standards for students as well as for teachers. This ensures that the schools like other sectors have their own culture centered on their improved performance. This ensures that the students have set goals and objectives, hence, work towards achieving those goals. This makes the schools performances improve. The growing concerns on effective schools focusing on poor urban schools in need of a substantial change, then makes the instructional leaders to be conceived to be strong and directive leader. They have helped the poor urban schools in performing better; hence, students are in a position to achieve good grades than they did before. It is the principal’s role to work with staff in order to ensure that the school has clear and measurable goals, which are focused on academic performance of the students. The principal also ensur e that the above mentioned goals are widely known and also supported throughout the community. This statement does not mean that it is only the principal who defines the school mission alone but he/she ensures that the school has a clear academic mission and then communicates it to the staff The instructional leadership also focuses on coordination and control of the schools curriculum as well as monitoring the student’s progress in classrooms. Here, the leader is deeply engaged in the schools instructional

European Business Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

European Business Environment - Essay Example The UK became a member of the EC (now the EU) in 1973.) (McKean, 2005). The European Union (EU) refers to the 25 nations that have joined together to form an economic community (EC), with some monetary, political, and social aspirations. (Law, 2006). The European Union was created in 1993 from the EC, which itself emerged from the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Atomic Energy Community, and the European Economic Community (EEC). (Law, 2006). The 12 nations of the EC (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the UK) were joined by Austria, Sweden, and Finland in 1995 and by (Greek) Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia in May 2004. The Executive Body of the European Union is the European Commission, which was formed in 1967 with the Council of the European Communities. (Law, 2006). EU policy emerges from a dialogue between the Commission, which initiates and implements the policy, and the Council, which takes the major policy decisions. The European Parliament, formed in 1957, exercises democratic control over policy, and the European Court of Justice imposes the rule of law on the EU, as set out in its various treaties. Although a draft EU Constitution, proposing the creation of an EU president and foreign minister, was published in 2004, its future is now uncertain following rejection by the electorates of France and the Netherlands. (Law, 2006). The United Kingdom became a member of the EU on 1st January 1973. (http://www.eurofaq.freeuk.com/#130). According to section 2 of the enabling legislation, the European Communities Act, 1972, established the principle of the European Law would always prevail over British Law in the event of a clash, thereby overthrowing the supremacy of the British Parliament. (http://www.eurofaq.freeuk.com/#130). The issue as to whether The UK continues to be nothing but a hindrance to the process of European Integration, to the disadvantage of business throughout Europe is a controversial one. On the one hand it might be argued that the UK's continuous refusal to join the EMU's single currency the euro makes it difficult for the EU as a whole to eliminate foreign exchange risk in European firms given that the pound continues to fluctuate against the euro and other European currencies such as the Swedish Krona, the Norwegian Krona and the Danish Krona. On the other hand one can also argue that the UK's economy is significantly ahead of many economies in the euro zone, and therefore becoming a member of the EMU can have devastating effects on the UK's economy. In the final analysis, this paper will argue against the above claim that the UK is a hindrance to the progress of European Integration and to the disadvantages of business throughout Europe. The following points can be advanced to refut e these claims. The European Union established a single market, which refers to the concept of a single integrated market that underlies trading in the European Union, as codified in the Single European Act (1986), which was introduced in 1987 with a target date of 31 December 1992 for completion. (Law, 2006). According to Law (2006), The Single Market came into force on 1 January 1993 with between 90% and 95% of the necessary legislation enacted by all member countries. In practice, however, some of its terms