Search results

This study explores the factors that explain the adoption of innovative teaching practices within schools and how this is determined by the different perceptions of principals and teachers.

The authors use the self-other agreement to measure the difference between the principal and teachers' rating based on the responses of 255 principals and 10,415 teachers, applying polynomial regression with surface analysis to examine the in-agreement/disagreement of self- and other-ratings.

Results indicate that schools where principals and teachers agree on the level of collaborative culture, learning climate, professional development and instructional leadership are associated with higher innovative teaching practices, creating opportunities for stimulating learning environments. In addition, the adoption of innovative professional practices is more likely to result when there is disagreement with teacher over-rating the factors.

It has practical implications for developing strategies aimed at encouraging the implementation of innovative teaching practices among teachers and it extends the research on teachers' professional practices by using self-other agreement data collection method and surface analysis.

The vast collection of data provide a unique investigation opportunity of the effects of collaborative culture, learning climate, professional development and instructional leadership on innovative teaching in Italy.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between the school context, the leadership of the school principal, and a set of process variables related to teachers and the educational climate, which have been shown to mediate the effects of the principal’s leadership on schools and students. The authors examined the following research questions: does the school context influence the principal’s leadership? When the influences of the school context are controlled for, does the principal’s leadership influence the process variables related to teachers and educational climate?

The research questions are analysed in a multilevel context by developing two models regarding the hypothesized relationships between the study variables. With the use of multilevel structural equation modelling techniques the models were empirically tested on data from Italian teachers and students from a sample of schools in Italy. The database include 1,566 teachers from 47 schools of different types and levels from the Autonomous Province of Trento.

In those schools which have the highest leadership scores, the authors also find a greater degree of job satisfaction among the teachers, higher levels of self-efficacy of teachers, and a better educational climate, which is more respectful of the basic rules of coexistence existing within the school. An interesting additional element is that the positive relationship between the exercise of leadership and the process variables related to academic success is still present, even if the effects of the school context are controlled for.

It should be observed that the results of this study, particularly due to the non-representative nature of the sample considered, should be considered as preliminary evidence that will require further confirmation, and which cannot be immediately generalized. The results obtained can be influenced by the specific territorial area in which this search has been conducted. The Autonomous Province of Trento, from the rest of Italy, is characterized by a highly centralized education system, with a relative homogeneity of the conditions of the context in which schools have achieved so widespread high levels of student learning.

When studying leadership it is important to consider the school context, particularly the role of the initial level of learning of the students, as this study shows that in schools where the prior knowledge of students is greater, teachers are generally more satisfied with their job and they report a better educational environment. If the influence of the context were not taken into account, this could easily be mistaken for that of the actions of the principal.

This paper aims to analyze the ex ante and ex post economic efficiency of the preventive agreement (concordato preventivo) or composition with creditors as defined by the Italian Bankruptcy Law. This study examines four possible outcomes of the procedure: homologation (confirmation); the degree of dissent/consent of creditors; the revocation, admissibility or inadmissibility; the declaration of the company bankruptcy in preventive agreement.

This paper uses data from 728 Italian companies which filed for preventive agreement in 2016. In reference to each of the four possible outcomes, this study applies nine logit regressions to analyze the effects of a series of efficiency variables ex ante (corporate-based drivers) and ex post (procedure-based drivers).

Results show the relevance of the debt structure, ownership structure and virtuous behavior, corporate governance and management systems, as well as effectivity of the court control on the preventive agreement outcome.

This paper draws on original data of bankruptcy in Italy and gives empirical evidence of the ex ante and ex post factors on the outcomes of the preventive agreement.

Starting from the experience of the University of Bologna, this paper provides an innovative framework to analyse how universities are rethinking courses and curricula, teaching, research programmes, campus operation and partnership to address the Agenda 2030.

The paper proposes a methodological approach to represent direct and indirect impacts produced by all universities’ activities.

The commitment to sustainability of the University of Bologna was made clear through the last Strategic Plan approach explicitly aimed at the consideration of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Parallel to the process of integration of the SDGs in strategic planning, the University has an additional tool for reporting on the extended performance, which was presented during the G7 Environment held in Bologna in June 2017.

This study focussed on the University of Bologna experience, according with HEIs sustainability approach over the world. A bit too technical sometimes to explain each practical point of activity related with the commitment in SDGs.

The multi-year experience acquired by the University of Bologna through a process of reporting that combines the economic dimension with the social and environmental, has as a natural outlet questioning the priorities to be pursued in teaching, research and the third mission to contribute to the Agenda 2030.

It is shown as Alma Mater promotes actively the principles of sustainability also in terms of enhancement of collectivity welfare, the economic growth, the social equity and the capability of involved people to actually work together for the common good.

On the basis of the experience of the University of Bologna, an innovative framework can be provided to analyse how universities are rethinking all their activities to address the Agenda 2030.

This study investigates the implementation of a sustainable circular business model from an accounting perspective. Its goal is to understand if and how decision- makers use management accounting systems, and what changes are needed if these systems are to support the transition toward a circular economy.

Dialogic accounting theory frames the case study of six companies that built a value network to develop and implement an innovative packaging solution consistent with circular economy principles. Content analysis was utilised to investigate the accounting tools used.

The findings indicate that circular solutions generate new organisational configurations based on value networks. Interestingly, managers’ decision-making process largely bypassed the accounting function; they relied on informal accounting and life cycle analysis, which stimulated a multi-stakeholder dialogue in a life cycle perspective.

The research provides theoretical and practical insights into the capability of management accounting systems to support companies seeking circular solutions.

The authors offer implications for accounting practice, chief financial officers (CFOs) and accounting educators, suggesting that a dialogic approach may support value retention of resources, materials and products, as required by the circular economy.

The research contributes to the debate about the role of accounting in sustainability, specifically the need for connecting for resource efficiency at the corporate level with the rationalisation of resource use within planetary boundaries.

The study contributes to the limited research into the role of management accounting in a company’s transition to circular business models. Dialogic accounting theory frames exploration of how accounting may evolve to help businesses become accountable to all stakeholders, including the environment.

The purpose of this paper is to address the problem of job satisfaction determinants of higher education graduates across six selected study domains.

Based on the theoretical considerations, derived from human capital theory and signalling theory, the authors formulate the model explaining job satisfaction as a broad measure of labour market success. Explanatory variables include various socio-demographic characteristics as well as market environment and process of learning, modes of teaching and study programme characteristics. Data used in the analysis comes from two special surveys of European research projects REFLEX and HEGESCO. Principal component analysis method and OLS regression were used to estimate model parameters.

The results of our research show the important role of characteristics of educational process, as well as individual graduates’ early work-related experience in predicting job satisfaction. Differences in job satisfaction determinants across domains may be to some extent explained by the differences in the labour market characteristics for graduates in given discipline. Variety of education-related characteristics taken into account in the empirical analysis of determinants of job satisfaction is a key valuable contribution to the research in the field.

Research findings indicate the areas of potential actions aimed at improving future job satisfaction which can be undertaken by higher education institutions’ management bodies.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the presence of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) proposed by the UN (2015) in university degrees within the fields of education, humanities and environmental sciences (ES) at Andalusian public institutions (Spain).

This paper shows an empirical analysis from a mixed methodological model on a total of 99 syllabi and training programs from nine different universities. The collection of information has been carried out through a rubric specifically designed within the framework of this body of research.

The results show that the syllabus of the subjects in the faculties of education includes the SDGs related to the social aspect of sustainability, with special focus on SDG4, SDG5, SDG10, SDG16 and SDG17, whereas others like SDG6 and SDG7 are less represented. SDGs are present in the majority of syllabus of the subjects analysed. It is certainly a positive finding which shows predisposition and a high interest on by the teachers involved. However, this is not enough as there is still a long way to go until achieving a thorough and complete incorporation of the principles of sustainability.

This research sheds light on the changes and transformations that the discourse linked to sustainability is generating in the university syllabi. Taking the SDG as a framework this paper highlights the most original aspects: a replicable methodology that allows diagnosing the level of curricular greening of the university syllabi is provided to other contexts the innovative value of connecting teaching with local and global environmental problems in their physical-chemical social and economic dimensions is shown and it has been possible to compare the difficulties of some universities in addressing compliance with the SDGs and curricular sustainability from a systemic and integrative perspective that will lead to methodological transformation and pedagogical renewal.

The purpose of this paper is to establish three sets of principles – the first for effective prudential supervision of financial institutions; the second for the timely resolution of failed institutions and the management of financial crises; and the third for the successful protection of deposits. It also aims to show how these principles have been eschewed, especially in the USA and the UK.

The first set of principles and examples of their violation are determined from material loss reviews conducted by agency inspectors general, government reports, and academic research. The second set of principles is derived from International Monetary Fund practice and research; violations are those reported in government reports, published research, and press articles. The third set of principles is chosen from those proposed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the International Association of Deposit Insurers. Violations are those reported in academic and practitioner research and the press.

Many of the three sets of principles have been ignored in the current financial crisis.

Experience in previous crises has shown that eschewing these principles delays the resolution of individual failed institutions, increases resolutions costs, and delays the recover from the crisis. If the legal and regulatory system is to be reformed appropriately to prevent a recurrence, future research must discover the reasons why the principles have not been followed.

The paper assembles three sets of principles and instances where they have been violated in order to help policymakers, practitioners and researchers to focus on where and what reforms are needed to prevent a recurrence of the current severe financial crisis.