Search

This paper reports on an investigation into the impact of the introduction of Beginning Literacy (BL) as an interactive approach to early literacy education, on the literacy curriculum and practice in Icelandic primary schools. A questionnaire to teachers in grades 1–4 revealed differences in the teaching practices of BL and non-BL teachers. Most notably the non-BL teachers adhered more to technical aspects of reading, whilst the BL teachers emphasised a wider variety of literacy aspects and teaching practices. However, the differences were less than expected, suggesting that teachers need more prolonged support to change their teaching practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to shed light on the educational leadership practices regarding school support services at the municipal level in Iceland from the point of view of actors from both municipal and school levels. Furthermore to explain how those views are shaped by the structural arrangements and human resources of the services, population density and geographical location. Leaders of municipal educational support services, preschool principals and compulsory school principals responded to a questionnaire about practices regarding school support services. A framework of desirable leadership practices was used as an analytical tool to measure this leadership. The findings revealed that leadership practices regarding school support services match poorly with the leadership framework. Human resources are important elements of the leadership practices regarding the school support services, but the services' structural arrangements, municipal population density and geographical location are less so. It is suggested that it is necessary to focus on improvements in leadership practices in general, regarding the school support services. For that purpose, more engagement is needed in the development of professional capacity, and a focus on creating a shared understanding between the services and school principals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of a White Paper on Education Reform, published in 2014 by the Icelandic Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, the minister launched a national initiative to improve literacy education in Icelandic compulsory schools. The White Paper and the national initiative came as a reaction to the disappointing performance of 15-year-olds on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test 2012. The aim of this paper is to critique the national initiative, the policy behind it and its implementation, in light of definitions of literacy and literacy teaching as a pedagogical activity and some critical issues of literacy education in Icelandic compulsory schools. These include a low proportion of students on the two highest performance levels of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, gender differences, residential differences and differences between social groups, and diminishing book reading of children and teenagers. The main conclusion is that the national initiative is characterised by a narrow focus on testing reading literacy and recording data to compare students with test standards but lacks a rational and coherent plan to address the critical issues of literacy education mentioned earlier, the professional development of teachers and the development of schools as professional learning communities.

The article reports the findings of a qualitative case study in one elementary school in Iceland. The aim was to investigate the level of leadership capacity within the school, and how this had evolved through the school's improvement. Information was gathered over one school year about planned improvements that had taken place in the school over the 10-year period prior to the study. Data was collected through observations, document analysis, semi-structured interviews, informal conversations and a survey. Participants came from all sectors of the school community. A conceptual framework developed by Lambert (2003a) was used to analyse the leadership capacity within the school. The findings show that the leadership capacity of the school, and of groups within the school, had grown considerably during the period under study and was connected to the degree of involvement in school improvement work. The findings indicated an interactive relationship between school improvement and the building of leadership capacity during the period under study.

The article reports the findings of a qualitative case study in one elementary school in Iceland. The aim was to investigate the level of leadership capacity within the school, and how this had evolved through the school’s improvement. Information was gathered over one school year about planned improvements that had taken place in the school over the 10-year period prior to the study. Data was collected through observations, document analysis, semi-structured interviews, informal conversations and a survey. Participants came from all sectors of the school community. A conceptual framework developed by Lambert (2003a) was used to analyse the leadership capacity within the school. The findings show that the leadership capacity of the school, and of groups within the school, had grown considerably during the period under study and was connected to the degree of involvement in school improvement work. The findings indicated an interactive relationship between school improvement and the building of leadership capacity during the period under study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Netla: Online Journal on Pedagogy & Education is the property of University of Iceland, School of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Icelandic Journal of Education / Uppeldi og Menntun is the property of University of Iceland, School of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Icelandic Journal of Education / Uppeldi og Menntun is the property of University of Iceland, School of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)