Professional identity and GP trainers as educational leaders.

GP training in the UK has a long history of success, however that is measured. That success is in part due to the formality and credentialling that underlies preparation to take on that role of a GP teacher, which is somewhat under current threat due to workforce pressures. We identify three important factors associated with the GP trainer function [leadership, professional identity and clinical care improvement] that are not often analysed but are at some risk if preparation for the GP trainer role is reduced or devalued. Of particular note are the differing ways that GPs conceptualise their professional roles as teachers and clinicians, despite the transferable skills between them, the demonstrably improved patient care that occurs in practices that teach, and the necessary connections between educational theory and practice. We suggest that these areas define a research agenda ripe for exploration.

Forming a Unique Partnership Between a University's Educational Leadership Master's Degree Program and Its Surrounding School Districts Using the Five Whys Protocol.

In 2019, program leaders and professors in the university's educational leadership program noticed a significant decline in enrollment, and state leadership test scores for the program were below the state average. Using the Five Whys protocol and five stages of the design thinking process as identified by IDEO (Brown & Katz, 2019), they set to resolve the issues. The Five Whys protocol is an iterative and formative interrogative technique used to explore cause-and-effect relationships. As noted by Serrat (2017), the primary goal of the technique is to determine the root cause of a problem by repeating the question up to five times. Each response informed the foundation for the next iteration and allowed the group to settle on the root cause of the problem. Then, design thinking was used to provide a solution-based approach to resolving the problems noted. Program leaders began by forming a stakeholder workgroup that included school district leadership development professionals from each of the university's surrounding districts. Program leaders used district leader input to understand what skills school districts needed in graduates of the university program and considered possible program changes to address the problems noted. The result of the year-long process was a program transformation, with increased enrollment and improved state assessment scores, to a widely accepted and successful master's degree program that is supported by all districts served by the university.

Where are the Coconspirators?: Examining Performative Youth Allyship and Opposition by Educational Leaders in K-12 Schools.

Research argues the importance of including young people, especially youth of color, to participate in educational leadership. However, adults who enact performative allyship towards these youth leaders often obstruct young people's ability to authentically participate in educational decision making and achieve justice-driven outcomes in K-12 school policy and practice. We examine this phenomenon by exploring how teachers and administrators perform allyship towards youth voice initiatives and/or school recommendations, if at all. Interviews with educational leaders about youth voice initiatives indicated a spectrum of adult responses, including direct opposition, performative youth allyship, and passive forms of allyship which reinforce adultism and deter overall goals for youth voice and shared leadership. However, we also found that adults who enlist the role of coconspirator, who amplify youth voice initiatives on both the front and backstage and increase opportunity for educational reform. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11256-023-00661-w.

Development of the educational leadership scale for nursing students: a methodological study.

BACKGROUND: Educational leadership is one of the most demanding skills for healthcare staff to enhance the quality of health care. There is a need for a scale to evaluate the educational leadership levels of nurses. The objective of this study was to develop and examine the validity and reliability of the Education Leadership Scale for Nursing Students. METHODS: Data were collected from 280 Turkish nursing students. The validity and reliability of the tool were confirmed with exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha and Pearson correlation. The scale was developed in five stages (reviewing the literature, developing items, sending scale items to the experts for content validity index, piloting test with students, performing the validity and reliability analysis of the tool). RESULTS: The Educational Leadership Scale for Nursing Students consisted of 19 items and a three factor structure. Confirmatory factor analysis results showed that there was a sufficient model fit. Construct validity was verified, and Cronbach's α level of all factors was found to be greater than 0.70. CONCLUSIONS: The currently developed scale can measure the educational leadership characteristics of nursing students.

Evaluating fundamental care knowledge to inform educational leadership.

AIM: To explore undergraduate nursing students' understanding of fundamental care and identify educational leadership opportunities to deepen students' understanding of fundamental care concepts. DESIGN: Sequential-explanatory mixed methods study. METHODS: We conducted a cross sectional survey (n = 202) and focus groups (n = 24) to explore undergraduate nursing students' ability to identify fundamental care needs. All data were collected between November 2020 and April 2021. Survey data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics and focus group data were thematically analysed. RESULTS: Year One students scored significantly lower in their ability to identify fundamental care needs compared with students in other years, even after controlling for route, gender and age. Post-degree students scored significantly higher than direct entry or transfer students. Students ≤19 years of age had significantly lower scores compared with students ≥25 years of age. Our focus group findings highlighted that students were often unable to define fundamental care, but they identified learning about various components of fundamental care in a variety of ways. While students understood that fundamental care was required in all settings, they were challenged in providing this care in acute and virtual settings. Students shared several suggestions to support fundamental care skills development across the curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for a clear definition and description of the fundamentals of care that is used consistently by faculty, students and curriculum documents. It is important to encourage and support educators to share real-world nursing stories, offer students time to share their personal experiences, develop creative learning opportunities and foster student reflection to deepen students' understanding of the fundamentals of care. IMPACT: Educators need support to meaningfully incorporate fundamentals of care learning opportunities across multiple care settings. Educational leaders can use these findings to develop or adapt their curricula to support fundamental care skill development.

Leadership Trends at Hand Surgery Fellowships.

BACKGROUND: Fellowship directors (FDs) influence the future of trainees in the field of hand surgery. Currently, there are no studies that analyze the demographic background, institutional training, and academic experience of hand surgery FDs. This study aims to serve as a framework to understand the landscape of current leadership positions in hand surgery education and to identify opportunities to improve FD diversity. METHODS: The American Society for Surgery of the Hand Fellowship Directory was reviewed to include all hand surgery fellowships in the United States. Collected demographic information regarding FDs included age, sex, ethnicity, residency/fellowship training, residency/fellowship graduation year, year hired by current institution, time since training completion until FD appointment, length in FD role, and H-index. RESULTS: Of the 90 FDs included, 86.7% were men and 71.4% self-reported as Caucasian. The average H-index was 13.98 and significantly correlated with age and duration as FD; 71.1% of FDs were trained in orthopedic surgery. The most attended residency program was the University of Pennsylvania; Mayo Clinic and Harvard University were the most represented fellowship programs. CONCLUSION: This review reveals specific trends in demographic backgrounds, institutional training, and academic experiences among current FDs in hand surgery. Our observations, such as racial/ethnic and sex disparities, may offer opportunities to improve the representation of the communities these physicians serve. In addition, the trends described in this study provide objective data among current hand surgery FDs and could serve as a guide for individuals who desire academic leadership roles.

Adapted Physical Educators Navigating Relationships With School Administrators.

School administrators represent key agents of socialization for teachers within their schools, including adapted physical educators who design and implement instruction for youth with disabilities, often across multiple school sites. The purpose of this study was to understand how adapted physical educators navigate and build relationships with administrators in the schools where they teach. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 24 adapted physical educators from the U.S. state of California and analyzed using a multiphase approach. Analysis suggested both the importance of and challenges with building effective relationships with administrators. Themes included the following: (a) Administrators do not understand adapted physical education, which impacts programs and students; (b) the importance of relationship building in cultivating principal support; and (c) relationship development requires intentionality, but results in trust and motivation. Results are discussed using role socialization theory, and recommendations for the preparation of both adapted physical educators and school principals are discussed.

The Politics of School Reopening During COVID-19: A Multiple Case Study of Five Urban Districts in the 2020-21 School Year.

Purpose: Nearly all schools in the United States closed in spring 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyze traditional public and charter school reopenings for the 2020-21 school year in five urban districts. We provide a rich and theoretically grounded description of how and why educational leaders made reopening decisions in each of our case districts. Research Methods: We used data from a multiple-case study from March 2020 to July 2021. The research team conducted 56 interviews with school, district, and system-level leaders; triangulated with publicly available data; and also drew on interview data from a subsample of parents and guardians in each of our sites. We analyzed these data through qualitative coding and memo writing and conducted detailed single- and cross-case analyses. Findings: School system leaders in our case sites generally consulted public health authorities, accounted for state-level health and educational guidance, and engaged with and were responsive to the interests of different stakeholders. Districts' adherence to and strategic uses of public health guidance, as well as a combination of union-district relations and labor market dynamics, influenced reopening. Parents, city, and state lawmakers, and local institutional conditions also played a role, helping to explain differences across cases. Implications: In contrast to the "politics or science" framing that has dominated research and public discourse on school reopening, we show that local pandemic conditions and local political dynamics both mattered and in fact were interrelated. Our findings have some implications for how educational leaders might navigate future crises.

Professional Outcomes and Satisfaction Among Graduate Medical Education Wilderness Medicine Fellowship Alumni in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: Wilderness medicine (WM) graduate medical education (GME) fellowships were established in 2003. Outcomes and satisfaction of US WM GME fellowship alumni can inform prospective applicants and program directors of the strengths of fellowships and professional gaps in them. METHODS: A 34-question Qualtrics survey was emailed to 111 alumni from 17 institutions listed in the Wilderness Medical Society's GME database in May 2019. Professional service, scholarship, and satisfaction were queried. Results are represented as percent response (n=answered affirmative) based on the number of respondents per question. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 41% (n=46); 67% reported (n=31) Fellowship of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine recognition. Within the last 5 y, 71% (n=32) reported publications in WM. Free text entry questions had 78% (n=28) describe improved clinical skills, and 68% (n=26) were exposed to new career choices in fellowship. Those who rated exposure to a variety of WM knowledge and skills highly rated the overall fellowship experience higher (P<0.001), as did those reporting a higher number of WM publications (P=0.023). Nearly half, 48% (n=21), felt they could hold their current position without fellowship training. In hindsight, 76% (n=34) would follow the same professional path. CONCLUSIONS: WM GME fellowship alumni reported high rates of professional engagement and scholarly productivity in the subspecialty. Responding alumni overwhelmingly rated the fellowship experience positively. Fellowships that ensure a wide exposure to experiences and foster scholarly productivity are more likely to yield professionally satisfied graduates.

Dataset on factors affecting social media use among school principals for educational leaderships.

This dataset was presented to explore the relationships between predictors of an extended theory of acceptance model regarding social media use for educational leadership. Variables, namely subjective norms, supporting conditions, attitudes, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and use of social media, were involved. A survey approach was the approach for the data collection (n. 257). The instrument for the survey was adapted from prior studies, validated through the face and content validity. The examination of loading values, reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity was conducted for the measurement model. The dataset of the current study benefits educational stakeholders to issue policy regarding technology use like social media in education, school principals to explore social media use for educational leadership, and future academicians to use the valid and reliable items of the instrument.

School Administrators' Experiences in a 6-Month Health and Wellness Community of Practice.

BACKGROUND: A statewide 6-month school administrator health and wellness program encouraged participants to use a fitness tracker to self-monitor their physical activity and sleep patterns. The purpose of this study was to examine participants' experience in a school administrator health and wellness program and their perceptions of the impact on health-related behaviors, including activity/movement, nutrition, and sleep. METHODS: Each of the 45 participants completed a semi-structured interview at three points in the program. Questions were designed to discern school administrators' perceptions of their ideal health and wellness balance at home and work. RESULTS: School administrators reported new insights into their own well-being, benefits of social supports in their personal wellness journey, an expanded understanding of their ideal health and wellness balance at home and work, and a stronger sense of serving as a role model who needs to take care of him/herself. CONCLUSIONS: Although the program was helpful in establishing an ideal health and wellness balance at home and work for some school administrators, future programs should better emphasize nutrition and scaffold opportunities to maintain new habits following program completion.

Exploring online social networks of school leaders in times of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised a wide range of challenges for school leaders that they now (rapidly) have to address. Consequently, they also turn to informal learning networks, in order to share and collect information and reach out to their communities. In this context, the current study investigates the underlying networks structures among school leaders, what type of information is being shared, and what differences can be identified when comparing a nation-wide and a localized sample. We collected data from a US nation-wide sample of 15 relevant Twitter conversations, as well as Tweets from an US urban mid-sized public school district. Using a mixed-methods approach, we discovered several key structural dimensions and a host of highly influential actors. Moreover, we found semantic evidence for users sharing information on topics such as status reports. Finally, we discovered that the urban sample did not overly use the nation-wide, very specific approach of including COVID-19 related hashtags. Instead, they used more localized terminologies. These findings are valuable for policy makers, as they map the underlying communication patterns and provide valuable insights into who is moving what types of resources as part of the emerging governance approach on social media.

Educational leadership in education development centers: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Education development centers (EDCs) have a vital role in improving the quality of medical education. This study was conducted with the aim of discovering educational leadership characteristics in EDCs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was carried out with a qualitative approach and using a conventional content analysis method. The sampling was purposive. Twenty-four faculty members, managers, and experts of EDCs in the universities of medical sciences included 13 males and 11 females participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were utilized for data collection. The conventional content analysis approach was utilized to analyze the data. RESULTS: From the data analysis, two categories included "personality characteristics" and "job characteristics" and six subcategories included reliabilism, humanness and altruism, accountability, decisiveness, dynamism and perfectionism, and knowledge, experience, and expertise and 24 codes were extracted. CONCLUSION: Results obtained in the present study will help to increase the awareness of the educational leaders of the EDCs in improving their personality and job skills and this will lead to the qualitative development of educational leadership.

Community Medical Leadership Workshop: An Introduction to Physician Leadership for Resident Physicians.

Objective The Community Medical Leadership Workshop (CMLW) aims to prepare residents to become effective physician leaders through medical leadership lectures and case scenario discussions. By the end of the CMLW, participants will be able to define leadership in medicine, employ strategies to manage conflict and differences of opinions in the workplace, demonstrate effective communication skills while working with others, and describe the role of power in effective leadership. Methods A total of 32 resident physicians participated in our workshop that is based on the leadership practice inventory (LPI) and the Medical Leadership Competency Framework (MLCF). Our evaluation assessed communication strength, conflict resolution, time management, negotiation, delegation, teamwork, and community service. Results Most participants were satisfied with the course. They rated the workshop's contents the highest. In addition, over 90% of learners would recommend this workshop to others. We found a statistically significant increase in learners' ability to provide opportunities to include patients in quality improvements. Conclusion Our workshop was designed and tailored for resident physicians to introduce them to physician leadership. The workshop was well received and could serve as a model to promote qualities in residents that define effective physician leaders.

Advancing quality culture in health professions education: experiences and perspectives of educational leaders.

The concept of quality culture has gained increased attention in health professions education, drawing on insights that quality management processes and positive work-related attitudes of staff in synergy lead to continuous improvement. However, the directions that guide institutions from quality culture theory to educational practice have been missing so far. A prospective qualitative case study of three health professions education programmes was conducted to explore how a quality culture can be enhanced according to the experiences and perspectives of educational leaders. The data collection was structured by an appreciative inquiry approach, supported with vignette-based interviews. A total of 25 participants (a selection of course coordinators, bachelor coordinators and directors of education) reflected on quality culture themes to learn about the best of what is (Discover), envision positive future developments (Dream), identify actions to reach the desired future (Design), and determine how to support and sustain improvement actions (Destiny) within their own educational setting. The results are presented as themes subsumed under these four phases. The experiences and perspectives of educational leaders reveal that peer learning in teams and communities, attention to professional development, and embedding support- and innovation networks, are at the heart of quality culture enhancement. An emphasis on human resources, (inter)relations and contextual awareness of leaders stood out as quality culture catalysts. Educational leaders are therefore encouraged to especially fuel their networking, communication, coalition building, and reflection competencies.

Principals navigating discipline decisions for social justice: An informed grounded theory study.

PURPOSE: School leaders are charged with making equitable decisions almost daily, but little about this process is known. Due to research suggesting principal implicit bias, or the stereotypes and attitudes held by individuals unconsciously that may or may not reflect actual preferences, may contribute to discipline gaps, the present study aimed to better understand how principals make discipline decisions and how implicit bias might interfere in these decisions. RESEARCH METHODS: This qualitative study used in-depth interviews and document analysis with six mid-Atlantic principals to explore their discipline decision-making processes. Constant comparative analysis inclusive of explicit coding and analytical procedures supported the development of an informed grounded theory. FINDINGS: The data revealed a four-part recursive process of discipline decision-making inclusive of four themes relevant to equity. Principals used communication and data to gather information in a first step driven by relationships, reflected on considerations and policy to develop options in a second step driven by flexibility, selected an outcome in a third step driven by morality, and evaluated their efficacy in the recursive loop driven by experience. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND PRACTICE: The findings allow for targeted research of the discipline decision-making process and potential consideration of practical interventions and curricular design for principal preparation programs that would allow for greater equity in discipline following office referrals.

Recommendations for Administrators' Involvement in School-Based Health Promotion: A Scoping Review.

School administrator involvement is recognized as a key factor in the extent to which school health promotion programs and initiatives are successfully implemented. The aims of this scoping review are to: (a) Identify existing documents that contain recommendations regarding the involvement of school administrators in school-based health promotion; (b) distill and summarize the recommendations; (c) examine differences in the recommendations by targeted professional level, professional group, health promotion content focus, and by whether the recommendations are evidence-based or opinion-based; and (d) evaluate the research informing the recommendations. We drew upon the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines to conduct the review. Our team conducted a comprehensive literature search with no date or geographic restrictions from January 2018 through April 2018 using four electronic databases: Academic Search Complete, Google Scholar, Physical Education Index, and PubMed. Eligibility criteria included any online documents, in English, that contained recommendations targeting school administrators' (e.g., principals, assistant principals, superintendents) involvement (e.g., support, endorsement, advocacy) in school health programming (e.g., physical activity, nutrition, wellness). The search yielded a total of 1225 records, which we screened by title, then by abstract, and finally by full text, resulting in 61 records that met inclusion criteria. Data (e.g., recommendations, targeted contexts, targeted administrators) from these records were extracted for a content analysis. Included records contained 80 distinct recommendations, which we summarized into three themes (Collaboration, Advocacy, and Support) using a content analysis. Separate content analyses revealed no qualitative differences in the recommendations by professional level, professional group, or content focus, or by whether the recommendations were evidence-based or opinion-based. Twenty-one of the included records were peer-reviewed research articles. Using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), we appraised qualitative research articles the highest and mixed methods research articles the lowest. This review provides a basis for future research and professional practice aiming to increase school administrators' involvement in school-based health promotion.

Developing a Workplace-Based Learning Culture in the NHS: Aspirations and Challenges.

BACKGROUND: The delivery of patient care in the United Kingdom is under increasing financial pressure. The need to continuously improve service delivery while making financial savings is challenging. Alongside this, National Health Service (NHS) Trusts must provide a suitable educational environment that meets the needs of all learners while meeting performance standards and targets set by external regulating authorities. This research addresses the gap in literature concerning educational culture in the NHS. METHODS: This case study examines the delivery of postgraduate medical education in the workplace. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 lead educators in the Medical Division of a North West NHS Trust to glean their insights into what works and what needs to change. RESULTS: A thematic analysis of the transcripts revealed a number of factors that facilitated and hindered educational opportunities for doctors in training, including the role of leadership, the demands of external regulatory authorities, and the pressures on frontline staff to deliver safe, personal, and effective care. CONCLUSION: Opportunities for developing a collaborative approach between educational and clinical leaders and the individuals delivering education in the workplace to enhance the educational environment are discussed. Finally, an evaluatory toolkit based on the themes emerging from the data is proposed, as a resource for other health care organisations to help improve the delivery of workplace-based medical education.