Challenges Of A Budget Deficit For School Leaders - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 16 Words: 4916 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Tags: School Essay Did you like this example? Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0 Introduction Wildavsky (1986) has raised pertinent question about the evolution of budgeting at school level in these words: From the time the caterpillar of budgetary evolution became the butterfly of budgetary reform, the line-item budget had been condemned as a reactionary throwback to its primitive larva. Budgeting, its critics claim, has been metamorphosed in reverse, an example of retrogression instead of progressà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Yet, despite these faults, real and alleged, the traditional budget reigns supreme virtually everywhere, in practice if not in theory. Why? (Wildavsky 1986, p 313) Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Challenges Of A Budget Deficit For School Leaders" essay for you Create order According to the Education Reform Act (ERA) of 1988, Local Education Authorities (LEAs) are authorized to prepare local management of school (LMS) plans for all the primary and secondary schools within their assigned districts (Edwards and Ezzamel 1996). Board of governors of each school is responsible to devise and implement the financial management schemes out of the funds given to them by the LEA (Edwards and Ezzamel 1996). Authorities at the school level are autonomous to allocate funds according to their peculiar needs to yield maximum results in the form of higher student learningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (Edwards and Ezzamel 1996). This package of reforms by the government has set some assumptions for the management of schools (Edwards and Ezzamel 1996). For example it was assumed that these reforms will triggers change management programs in the educational institutions which ultimately improve their performance in terms of efficient transformation of knowledge to the students (Edw ards and Ezzamel 1996). The delegation of financial budgeting to schools was the integral part of this scheme which is also explicitly mentioned in the proposals of LMS (LMS Initiative 1988). Under the new setup, governors and senior teachers have to play many a new roles such as of defining the categories of budgets, the distribution of funds and determining the internal auditing mechanisms (LMS Initiative 1988). LMS has also provided detailed guidance for devising the budgeting techniques (LMS Initiative 1988). Governors and senior staff members, for example, are prohibited to use the iterative historical budgets (Edwards and Ezzamel 1996). The Comprehensive budgeting scheme is definitely confronting in nature which has radically transformed the existing setup within the organization (Edwards and Ezzamel 1996). In response to this, Wiedenbaum (1970) commented that the procedure of funds allocation is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“hardly deliberate and systematic choice among alternatives that economists try to envision. Rather, it is a fragmented and compartmentalized affair. Many of the key decisions are not made during the budget process or within the budgetary framework at allà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (p 233). It is evident from the comments of Wiedenbaum (1970) in this respect; zero-based budgeting is proposed to follow as a bench mark while pursuing the standard of comprehensive budgeting setup. 1.1 Objectives of the Research To figure out the challenges of budget deficit faced by school leaders is one of the main objectives of this research. This objective will be achieved by digging out the main causes of budget deficit through research questionnaires. 1.2 Aim of the Research The chief goal of this research is to find out the optimal budgeting strategy which maximizes the student learning in a cost effective fashion. 1.3 Relevance to the Researcher As a school teacher, researcher is also facing the similar problem of deficit budgeting at his workplace. So the findings of this research can be helpful to the writer to solve the issues of deficit financing at his school. 1.4 Summary In this chapter, researcher discussed the delegation of delegation of budget making responsibility to the school leaders by the government of UK. The aim of this mega shift was to make the schools self sufficient in managing their affairs and to enhance the learning of students as a whole. Research objectives, aim and interest to the writer are also briefly discussed in this chapter. Chapter 2: Literature review 2.0 Introduction In this section, the issue of deficit budgeting at school level will be discussed. Then the role of school leaders as a manager of financial affairs will come under discussion. Later on, some noteworthy challenges and their possible solutions will be discussed. 2.1 Budget deficit at school level Budgeting is the process of estimating the future expenditure of an institution for a certain period of time and the amount of money needed to fulfil that demand from certain sources of money (Investopedia 2010). A budget is actually microeconomic idea which is based on trade-off of one thing for another (Investopedia 2010). A surpluses budget can occur when the amount of revenue exceeds the expenditures which leave some unused money at the year end (Investopedia 2010). On the other hand, an institution can have deficit budget when the amount of expenses surpass the amount of income (Investopedia 2010). Both these situations are unfavourable for the management of an educational institution such as a school (Knight 1993). On the expense side of school budget, there are many items such as the salaries of staff, books, stationary, utilities expenses like heating system charges and games expenses (Knight 1993). All these costs are important in their own ways and play their own role in the final output of a school. What the school leaders need to do is to prioritize these tasks according to their level of urgency and importance so that they can meet these obligations without incurring surpluses and deficit budgets (Wildavsky 1986). On the revenue side, main sources of cash are tuition fees from students, donations, subsidies and government funding (Wyner and Light 2010). The money received from students in the form of fees can show fluctuations as the number of students enrolled each year keep on changing. Hence it is difficult to estimate the exact figure in the beginning of year (Knight 1993). The funds from government are also not certain in the sense that if there is recession in the economy, government may allocate less to the education out of the total national budget (Coleman and Anderson 2001). As per the national statistics of UK, inflation is rising, which means that the things of common use are getting expensive day by day which put extra pressure on the school leaders to manage their budget prudently (see figure 1). Hence it is anticipated that this rise in inflation is adding fuel to the fire and will exert extra pressure on schoolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s budgets. This is a graph showing Annual inflation rates 12 month percentage change Figure 1: Inflation of UK till March 2010 (Office for National Statistics, 2010) It is, therefore, not an easy task to forecast both the expenditures and revenues at school level. As a result, most of the schoolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s managers wait for some period till the picture of future revenue and expenses is clearer. This is also known as incremental annual budgets for the school. Budgeting is very important activity for the schoolsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ management as the performance of the upcoming year depends upon the right planning and the proper implementation of educational programs (Blandford and Blackburn 2004). As per the critical importance of budgeting, it is considered as one of the main responsibilities of the governing bodies to set the annual goals and prepare budgets accordingly (Blandford and Blackburn 2004). However it is noted that there is often deficit and surpluses of money at the yearend which indicates that the authorities are not doing well in making their schoolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s budgets (Edwards and Ezzamel 1996). One possible reason of surplus or deficit budgeting is that the school leaders can not accurately anticipate the exact amount of revenue and expenses for the upcoming year (Wildavsky 1986). Though they are provided precise guidelines and framework, yet there are surpluses and deficits at the year end. If the goals are pragmati cally set and budget categories are well defined, the school leaders will be in a better position to estimate the amount of funds needed for the forthcoming year to meet their expenses. 2.2 Challenges of Deficit Financing As discussed above, an institution has to face deficit budgets when there is mismatch between the revenue and expenses. Unexpected increase in the schoolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s expenses due to inflation or less than expected amount of funds collected from government can cause the budget disparity (Wildavsky 1986). School leaders at The Stanhope High School are facing many challenges because of the equally pressing demands for keeping good quality staff and expenses on games and utilities. Some of the noteworthy challenges are as follows: 2.2.1 Absences of clear vision statement It is found that most of the schools do not have clear or very broad vision statements. The absence of lucid vision impedes the way for effective allocation of funds (Thompson and Strickland 2003). For example, a school that targets the higher level of studentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s learning and better grades requires that they should spend more money on hiring quality teachers and better library utilities rather than spending on entertainment and sports. Of course every school would like to exhibit higher level of learning but setting as a vision is something else. Once a superior vision statement is in place, it is far easy for the school leaders to allocate resources to the different budgeting heads (Thompson and Strickland 2003). This is one of the ways by which they can avoid deficits in their budgets. 2.2.2 Difficulty in allocating the budget School leaders often face things of equal priority such as spending on the quality teaching staff and study tours which perplex the situation (Thomas and Martin 2003 ). In such cases, if they spend more on one item, the benefits associated with the other category may be foregone (Thomas and Martin 2003 ). Keeping in view of the scarcity of funds and vision of school, senior managers can issue a policy statement for the annual spending categories and their respective percentages. 2.2.3 Spending Money for no-value adding expenses The spending of precious money on items such as extra costs on trips etc which add no value to the learning of students and their final results often put unnecessary burden on the budget of School (Cross 1998, Thomas and Martin 2003 ). This may happen due to the lack of planning in the beginning of year and realizing more importance of less valuable items. Once a school has extravagantly spent money on some low value adding items, there may left less amount of funds for the other indispensable educational item such buying the latest books for school library. 2.2.4 Unexpected increase in expenses For the proper budgeting, it is imperative that organization should have proper and reliable estimate of the future expenditures (Fidler and Russell 1997). The expenses pertaining to the salaries of staff and number of student etc cannot be accurately forecasted which leads to the insufficiency of funds during the year (Fidler and Russell 1997). If the school budget run short amid the year, it becomes extremely difficult for the school leaders to yield their maximum output in the form of superior studentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s learning. 2.2.5 Difficulty in raising funds amid the year Once there is shortage of money during the year because of any reason, school managers have to go for deficit financing which may halt the teaching activities and create panic for the management (Chapman 1997). One bigger challenge is to raise extra funds in the middle of year as government is often reluctant to issue new funds beyond the limit of assigned budget. This scarcity of money can lead to the stoppage of some critical nature activities which may have worst implications on the learning of students. In case, school leaders have to borrow funds to fulfil the gap of deficit budget from somewhere and there are no more surpluses in the coming years, this may be create the circular deficit. This circular deficit can be a great challenge for the school leaders to manage it. 2.2.6 Inaccurate Forecasts Mostly the errors in forecasting annual expenses (i.e. over or under estimation) results in the surplus or deficit budgeting. However forecasting errors can be minimized by using some sophisticated forecasting tools. The routine item such as utilities can be separated from the uncertain categories so that they can be forecasted based on the past data (Davis, Chase and Aquilano 2003). Historical data can be helpful to find the previous trends and predicting the future expenses. Some examples of such forecasting techniques are moving average, least square based estimations (Davis, Chase and Aquilano 2003). 2.2.7 Lack of pertinent accounting and finance knowledge The inability of accounting and finance knowledge can be a serious challenge for the school leaders. If middle managers of school are not aware of the financial theory and practice, they may face difficulty in the right and effective operating decisions. For example, the impact of inflation on the future prices of goods and services can put extra burden on the already tight budgets (Wildavsky 1986). If school managers are well aware of the finance and flexible budgeting techniques, they can avoid the problem of deficit financing. 2.2.8 Lack of training to formulate budgets School leaders have to bear this extra burden of making annual budgets irrespective of the fact that they have proper training for it or not (Coleman and Anderson 2001). Most of the time, they have work extra hours to define budgetary items, estimate their individual costs and calculating the total annual expenditures. Then matching with the amount of funds available to them (Blandford and Blackburn 2004). In short, school leaders are under the constant pressure of shortage in the budgets which force them to have tradeoffs in making their choices. 2.3 Measures to face the challenge of budget deficit Wyner and Light (2010) have suggested some remedial measures that can be taken into account to face the challenges of shortfall in budget: Wyner and Light (2010) have proposed that purchasing should be centralized in order to lower down per unit cost by taking the benefit of bulk purchasing. They also added that Repeat purchase and loyalty cards can be helpful to avail of discounts on perishable goods (Wyner and Light 2010). Early bird tuition discounts can also be offered to speed up the inflow of cash to the schools (Wyner and Light 2010). Moreover, school leaders should not miss any opportunity to hunt for the grants and subsidies (Wyner and Light 2010). Endowment funds can also be a good remedy for the problem like financial deficit. The money of endowment fund can be invested in some ventures through banks to generate a stream of periodic cash flows for the school. Paperless culture should be promoted as it reduces the burden of buying expensive stationery items (Thomas and Martin 2003 ). E-Books, electronic portals, virtual communities and telecommunicating are some of the modern information and communication tool (ICT) that can be helpful to drive the cost of imparting education at schools (Thomas and Martin 2003 ). 2.4 Research Questions 1. How the schools budget is allocated to best support the superior learning? 2. What are the implications of the longer-term planning? How the leaders can manage to devise short term goals to achieve the shared vision? 3. What are the perceptions (real or perceived) of middle leaders about the budget they have to manage? 2.5 Summary This chapter is about the critical review of the literature which the researcher has studied to understand and clarify the key concepts pertaining to challenges of deficit budgeting at school level. Some significant challenges such as absence of clear vision and rising inflation etc are identified. At the end, researcher has narrated some important measures such as bulk buying, paperless culture and use of endowment fund etc. to avoid the shortage of budgets. Chapter 3: Research Methodology 3.0 Introduction The objective of this chapter is to analyse and evaluate the different research methods available for the purpose of research. Then the concept of different research methods, their respective advantages and disadvantages will be discussed. After going through all the pros and cons of these methods, a particular research method will be selected. The description of this research technique along with benefits and limitations will be also come under discussion. The rational of choosing the proposed research methodology will also be discussed. 3.1 Research Methodology Research methodology plays an important role as a tool to achieve the desired research objectives (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). Research methodology is the combination of two words: Research and Methodology which are harmonizing each other (Goddard and Melville 2004). Research is not just collecting, interpreting and presenting the data from some other sources (Goddard and Melville 2004). It is the process of evaluating and interpreting current or past data from books, peer reviewed journal articles and some other similar sources; and carrying out personal research to prepare something original and valuable contribution which would play its role in the advancement of knowledge (Colwell 2002). This is achieved in various ways which include interpreting previous studies to explain the details of that study, explaining a part of any field of study to provide a new and fresh perspective or evaluating and observing any new theories for a particular field of study (Kumar 1997). Main objectiv e of any good quality research is to surge the human knowledge about a known fact or present new ideas and facts in any discipline (Kumar 1997). Research cannot be carried out by just collecting data and interpreting it (Mallette and Duke 2004). The methods used for collection, analysis and presentation of data are the necessary tools to perform an effective research (Mallette and Duke 2004). Research is actually the study of unknown where people try to discover new ideas and invent new products (Colwell 2002). Research methodology explains what methods are applied to collect data, to analyse it by using different analysis software tools in a particular field of study (Goddard and Melville 2004). It is the pre-requirement of a quality research that the various methods, tools and techniques of research should be known to the researcher before conducting the research; otherwise the researcher may miss some necessary steps and sequences in collecting, analysing and interpreting the data and reaching at some meaningful findings (Mallette and Duke 2004). 3.2 Two Main Research Approaches 3.2.1Quantitative Approach to Research The quantitative research methodology is used very commonly in science and technology oriented researches (Ulin, Robinson and Tolley 2004). The quantitative approach to research uses the data related to measurements of certain variable and then evaluates that numerical data to figure out the cause and effect relationship between them (K. Jensen 2002). This research is based on statistical methods and numbers (McNabb 2002). The researcher in a quantitative approach sometimes measures and observes the statistical data related to the particular research area (Kumar 1997). Researches performed in medical sciences usually apply quantitative method to show the relationship and interdependence of variables related to human health and various infections and illnesses (Ulin, Robinson and Tolley 2004). Quantitative research is applied mainly in the research topics such as psychology to test the hypotheses based on data taken from different samples (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). The numerical data is usually obtained through questionnaires or interviews as per the requirements of the research project. Later on, various mathematical or statistical techniques are applied to analyse this data to test the research hypotheses (Goddard and Melville 2004). Statistical methods such as correlation, covariance and regression analysis are also used to find the type of relationship among the variables of the econometric models build on the basis of theory (Gujarati 2004). Advantages and Limitations There are many advantages of using the quantitative approach of research. Data which is quantitative in nature takes less time to collect; interpret and record than that of other types of data (K. Jensen 2002). The changes in the relevant variables, if any, can be easily identified and measured from time to time (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). Quantitative data provide a more objective explanation of given scenario which is very helpful for the researcher and any subsequent users of the research to believe its authenticity and impartiality (K. Jensen 2002). Major limitation to the quantitative approach is the over simplification of results which means that the quantitative measures may not reflect precisely the needed information (Kumar 1997). Another shortcoming of the quantitative approach is its application to generalised situations of the real world (Mallette and Duke 2004). The data used in quantitative approach would have to be objective (Goddard and Melville 2004). The data which cannot be measured numerically or statistically would not yield any useful results (Colwell 2002). The research carried out using quantitative approach is conducted in a controlled environment and the statistical or numerical results may be specific to the research at hand and would not have a tendency to be applied to generalised situations (Mallette and Duke 2004). The quantitative approach restricts the focus of the research to specific variables in a situation and other significant variables may be overlooked (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). 3.2.2 Qualitative Approach to Research As discussed earlier the quantitative approach to research tests an assumed hypothesis. On the other hand, the qualitative approach to research establishes a new hypothesis (Ulin, Robinson and Tolley 2004). This approach describes and gives meanings to life experiences and provides denotations to these experiences to increase insight on different issues (Maxwell 2005). The approach is used in research to study the richness, intensity and density of a certain phenomenon (Maxwell 2005). Researcher applying the qualitative approach to research must possess good interpretation, concept building and creative thinking skills (Silverman 2002). This approach to research is appropriate for research studies in social sciences, finance and economics (Jensen 2002). It is based on various beliefs such as there is more than one forms of reality which varies with the perception of people and with time as well. Our knowledge is meaningful only to a specific context or situation (Kumar 1997). Thus th e personal perception of the researcher plays a very important role in the qualitative approach to research which requires the researcherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ability to think creatively and structure ideas accurately (Mallette and Duke 2004). Advantages and Limitations The qualitative approach like quantitative approach also has its rewards and drawbacks. The qualitative approach is more flexible and can be changed according to a situation unlike the quantitative approach (Roberts and Burke 2000). The researcher in qualitative research is more involved in the research process as compared to the quantitative approach (Burns and Grove 2004). The open ended questionnaire developed in the qualitative approach enables the participants to provide explanations and answers reflecting in-depth knowledge and creativity (Burns and Grove 2004). Weaknesses of this approach include the biasness of researcher and the participants towards any of questions or the research hypotheses (Harrison 2001). Another significant disadvantage of this approach is the subjectivity and partisanship (Mallette and Duke 2004). This means that if the research is carried out using the same sample it may yield fluctuating results. Limited scope of this research method is another drawb ack of qualitative research. 3.3 The Primary Data Primary research or field research is the process of collecting data that donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t exist at the time of research, by keeping in mind the specific objectives in mind (Goddard and Melville 2004). The tools which are typically used for this purpose are the questionnaires, telephone calls, in-depth interviews and focus group surveys (Goddard and Melville 2004). For example, a primary market research involves the collection of data to know the trend of a particular customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ segment or demand for a particular type of product (Goddard and Melville 2004). This primary data provides a foundation for the research work and analysis (Goddard and Melville 2004). Advantages of Primary Research There are a lot of advantages of collecting the primary data for research purposes such as the data relevant to a particular research problem, greater control and authenticity (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). First advantage of this research is the researcherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s need for having some specific and relevant information which cannot be obtained through the secondary sources (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). Second major advantage is that a researcher has more degree of control on designing the research questions and obtaining relevant information as compared to the secondary research (Goddard and Melville 2004). Researcher also has control on the size of research project, on the number respondents and the geographical area where the research is going to be conducted. Thirdly, contrary to the secondary research, where there are the chances that research team may not get the appropriate information even after spending the large amount of money; in the primary research there are greate r chances that the research team will get the exact amount of information with greater level of accuracy and efficiency (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). Where this efficiency helps to reduce the cost of research project, it also helps to improve the results of research work (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). The data obtained can also be made available for other related researches and thereby eliminating the need to collect data time and again. Fourthly, the data collected through primary research become the property of the owner (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). So he or she has the legitimate right to sale it to some other researchers or offer it free for further researcher and analysis. Disadvantages of Primary Research The main disadvantages of the primary research emerged in the shape of huge cost, a lot of time consumption and doubtful feasibility etc. (Goddard and Melville 2004). Firstly, main disadvantage is the huge amount of expense incurred to collect the primary data as compared to the secondary data (Goddard and Melville 2004). It is due to the involvement of expert in designing the questionnaires, the distribution cost and the cost of collecting the answers for respondents (Goddard and Melville 2004). Second main disadvantage is the immense amount of time consumption (Goddard and Melville 2004). Designing the right, making research plan and putting the pertinent questions in the questionnaire, conducting research, analyzing the data and reaching at some useful conclusions require the large amount of time and diligence of experts (Goddard and Melville 2004). Thirdly, there is the issue of feasibility, which means that the information which is necessary for the usefulness and authenticity of the research work is not available or available at very high cost (Goddard and Melville 2004). In such types of situations, the data collected from a sample firms may not truly represent the population. 3.4 The Secondary Data Secondary data is the kind of data which was collected according to the previous research requirements and is now available for further research and analysis (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). It was collected based on different aims and objectives which may be different from the current research (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). 3.5 Sources of Secondary Data There many sources of secondary data such as books, trade journals and periodicals, libraries and peer reviewed journal articles such as the emerald and journal of finance etc. Internet is a valuable tool which is mostly used for this purpose. There are various organisational and governmental websites which provide authentic and reliable data (Balnaves and Caputi 2001). Advantages and disadvantages The main disadvantage of a secondary research is that the aims and objectives of secondary data may be quite different from the current research which could make the whole data useless for in progress research. Another shortcoming of secondary data is that it is quite difficult to search and find relevant information because limited sources available for relevant and recent data. The accuracy and reliability of available secondary data is also an important issue. Secondary data utilised in research work should be obtained from reliable and authentic sources for the validity of research work. Notwithstanding these drawbacks that exist in secondary data, researchers still utilise secondary data in research work regularly as there are various benefits for researchers in secondary data. The most attractive part is the cost effectiveness of secondary data because it is quite economical to collect secondary data from various sources such as libraries, books, internet and journals. Another benefit of using secondary data is the time efficiency because researcher can collect data from secondary sources very quickly. Hence researchers focus on data collection methods which not only save valuable time but also cut down costs of the research work. 3.6 Proposed Research Strategy In order to conduct a useful research, a researcher must choose a particular approach for research out of the various methods available for research. For this research, researcher has decided to use a mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Main rational of choosing a mix of both the quantitative and qualitative methods is that it helped the researcher to take benefits of both approaches and to avoid their disadvantages. The researcher has actually decided to collect primary data through research questionnaire containing both the quantitative and qualitative questions. Among the quantitative type questions, Likert scale based questions are prominent which helped the researcher to have an objective and unbiased findings of research. In the qualitative section, open ended questions are included so that the valuables comments of educational experts can be gathered and analysed. Previous researches conducted on this topic have been proved very useful in this research because they provided the basis and impetuous for current research. After collecting the data, data is properly arranged according to the definite format so that it can easily be inserted into data analysis software to obtain meaning results. Then the results are described and interpreted in the light of theoretical foundations set in the literature review section of this paper. 3.7 Ethics In my study, as all the required information is disclosed to public and insider information is excluded in my framework, therefore, no ethical problem against particular organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s privacy is considered. Furthermore, it is an important aspect of ethics that reporting the findings in objective and honest manner. Manipulating the data to get the perfect result brings meaningless and no benefit to me. Therefore, ethical problem in my study is considered as minimal. Time Line of Research Project No. Task 10- Sep 15-Sep 30- Sep 15-Oct 31-Oct 15-Nov 30-Nov 1 Submission of proposal à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 2 Literature Review and further research à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 3 References and Appendices collection à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 4 Collecting the Data (50% complete to data) à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 5 Research Methodology Elaboration à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 6 Proposal results à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 7 Amendments to project based on examiners comments à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 8 Data Compilation à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 9 Requesting and receiving feedback from blackboard à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 10 Data Analysis and Evaluation à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 11 Summarizing findings and Write Up à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 12 Review of study and any further actions à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 13 Conclusion à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 14 Proof reading(ongoing) à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 15 Final editing, printing, and binding à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 16 Project Submit à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬

Essay about Teen Pregnancy Prevention - 1164 Words

Many methods can be used to prevent teenage pregnancy and can decrease the birthrate significantly. Doctors and parents play a key role in teen pregnancy preventions. Since teen birthrates are rising, teens have to have access to preventions in order for it to be effective. With having permission from a guardian to engage in preventions, children can prevent themselves from becoming a parent at such a young age. Parents should properly inform their child on the subject of sex and communicate with them daily to figure out if further methods should be considered. The most common and effective type of prevention is contraceptive use. Adolescents have to learn about these contraceptives to prevent pregnancy and this is where sex education†¦show more content†¦Prevention programs can introduce adolescents to what it takes to be a parent and can provide them with the knowledge to prevent pregnancy. According to Saunder, â€Å"Pregnancy prevention programs can help teens become m ore skilled, and increase their confidence in those skills, in using contraception effectively and in negotiating abstinence or the use of contraception with their partner. Programs can also help participants to identify risky situations and effective ways to avoid those situations† (Saunder). Programs based on teenage pregnancy prevention help develop a better and more advanced understanding on how to avoid consequences that are life changing. In order to avoid situations that lead to pregnancy and for prevention methods to be effective, sex education needs to be considered. Comprehensive sex education equips teens with the knowledge to perform safe sexual practices. This method requires a special teacher that can easily get through to an adolescent that is willing to take advice. According to Stanger-Hall, â€Å"An important first step towards lowering the high teen pregnancy rates would be states requiring that comprehensive sex education (with abstinence as a desired behavior) is taught in all public schools. Another important step would involve specialized teacher training† (Stanger-Hall). Teen pregnancies decline from the help of teachers specialized in the particular subject of teenShow MoreRelatedThe Prevention of Teen Pregnancy1638 Words   |  7 PagesTopic: Prevention of Teen Pregnancy Specific Purpose: To persuade others to help prevent teen pregnancy. Thesis Statement: Teen pregnancy is one of the most difficult experiences a young woman passes through. The stress of pregnancy, revealing of the pregnancy to parents, and moving on despite the shame and worry can be terrifying. Some may say they did not use protection because they werent planning to have sex. These kinds of life altering choices must be considered in advance in order to preventRead MoreTEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION Essay1918 Words   |  8 PagesTeen pregnancy has become an epidemic in the United States alone. The United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the industrialized world. Each year, one out of three teenage girls becomes pregnant. Although teen pregnancy rates have dropped from 61.8 births per 1,000 in 1991 to 41.7 births per 1,000 in 2003, pregnancy rates in the U.S. still are declining at slower rates than those in other developed nations (Block et al., 2005. para,Read MoreEssay Teen Pregnancy Prevention2313 Words   |  10 Pages The rise of the teen pregnancy rate has caused us to question the effectiveness of the prevention programs that are offered to adolescents. There have been several programs focused on preventing teen pregnancy from abstinence-only to more comprehensive sexual education programs. Abstinent-only advocates believe that abstaining from having intercourse is the only way to prevent unwanted teen pregnancy. While practicing abstinence is the only 100% secure method of reducing this rateRead MoreAssessment of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Interventions648 Words   |  3 PagesAssessment of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Interventions How is the literature review used in this research study? Using one (1) previous study cited by the authors, discuss how the findings of this past study is relevant to the current study. (2 pts) The literature review in this study was used to demonstrate the problem and occurrence of adolescent pregnancy and birth rates in the United States. Furthermore, the concern about this phenomenon as it pertains to Florida is addressed. A correlationRead MoreTeen Pregnancy Problems and Prevention Strategies2068 Words   |  8 Pagesï » ¿Teen Pregnancy problems and prevention strategies While many people are inclined to express indifference regarding this concept, teen pregnancy is one of the most controversial topics in the contemporary society. This experience can be devastating for some individuals, as the fact that they are raw makes it difficult for them to effectively deal with the problem. Society becomes more stressing and most teens who become pregnant come to express feelings related to shame and fear. The fact that theseRead MoreTeenage Pregnancy : A High Risk, The Effects, And The Prevention Of Teen Pregnancy1242 Words   |  5 PagesTeenage pregnancy is a huge problem in the United States, but the rates are not at an all-time high. The pregnancy rates of teens have actually gone down in the past few years, but it still is a big problem here in the United States. The United States has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy, Russia has the second highest. Teenage pregnancy is a social and economic problem; it is not good for our country. This essay, will discuss who is at a high risk, the effects, and the prevention of teen pregnancyRead MoreTeen Pregnancy Prevention : One Of The Most Controversial Subjects875 Words   |  4 PagesPreventing Teen Pregnancy Teen pregnancy prevention is one of the most controversial subjects in today’s society. Many will argue that peer pressure and the area you live in are contributing factors to most adolescent pregnancies. No matter what geographic location you reside in, the problem is usually in the home, in the school system, and the cost of contraception and the barriers in obtaining it. The biggest predicament regarding the issue of adolescent pregnancy is the question of prevention. PreventingRead MoreEssay on The PPACA: Obesity and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs1106 Words   |  5 Pages2009, p.1314). In fact, more than 60% of teens who give birth before the age of 18 will drop out of high school, putting them at a greater risk of being impoverished later in life (Harris Allgood, 2009, p.1314). Additionally, the children of adolescent mothers are more likely to have complicated deliveries that can lead to chronic medical and developmental problems (Harris Allgood, 2009, p.1315). With higher rates of poverty as well as increased pregnancy complications, many teenage mothers mayRead MoreEvaluation Of Sex Education School On Teen Pregnancy Prevention3109 Words   |  13 Pages Research Proposal Evaluation of Sex Education in School on Teen Pregnancy Prevention Megan R. Fitzgerald PSY 290 – Research Methods Gayle Schwark, Ph.D. Arizona State University November 27, 2014 Abstract This study is proposed in order to evaluate the various types of school-based sex education programs and the effect that these specific programs have on teen pregnancy rates. The type of approaches for school-based sex education programs offered to the teenage participants will beRead MoreTeen Pregnancy and High School Drop Out Prevention3722 Words   |  15 PagesTeenage pregnancy is affecting the graduation rate in high schools. All over the nation the dropout rate of students is increasing, of which teen pregnancy is often a factor. â€Å"Approximately 1,000 high school students will drop out with each hour that passes in a school day in America. This means that 30 percent of the class of 2007, or 1.2 million students, were estimated to have dropped out last year† (National Womens Law Center, 2007). Many factors combine to affect a pregnant or parenting teen’s

English Writing Assessment Free Essays

The deep freeze left roads and pavements covered in ice, making driving and conditions for pedestrians extremely dangerous. Salt supplies are ‘stretched’, while thousands of schools are shut and air and rail travel are again affected y delays. In Hartley, Essex and Leeds, officials have decided to only grit key routes, leaving many roads untreated. We will write a custom essay sample on English Writing Assessment or any similar topic only for you Order Now Motorway hard shoulders are no longer being gritted, with the government proportioning salt for the worst- affected regions. There have even been reports of some local councils removing grit bins in certain areas in an attempt to reduce salt usage. Milk deliveries have also been disrupted, with tankers struggling to reach dairy farms. Some farmers have had to dump supplies as few have large storage facilities while, in Scotland, several barn roofs have collapsed under the weight of snow. In Bristol Harbor, the temperature was low enough that the sea began to freeze over. Conditions have been so poor in places that some villages have been cut off, including Princeton in Dartmouth. Up to 4,000 homes were without water after a main burst outside the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. Thousands of schools remain closed, with exam candidates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland warned they could have to wait five months to sit GEESE and A-level modules if weather prevents them taking them next week. Overnight, temperatures in Manchester fell to -ICC, with Glasgow reaching ICC, Cardiff -ICC and London hovering just below zero. The lowest temperature recorded this week was in the Scottish Highlands, -22. ICC while England’s low was -ICC in Woodward, Cheshire. Temperatures are expected to stay around freezing throughout the weekend and forecasters say winds could make it feel even colder. Page 2 of 4 Document 2 – Extract from online forums Suffolk County Council Website Discussion Forum Mike D am furious about the school closures in my area. Wave had 3-4 inches of snow and yet local schools only a mile apart have made different decisions about whether to open or close. The Government should carry out an urgent review of school closure policies. It is absolutely outrageous that teachers are still being paid when they are failing to do their job. Anonymous am a Secondary School Teacher in a school of 1,300 pupils. Unfortunately, when the weather is like it is now, school closures are a necessity. It isn’t simply a matter of whether the teaching staff can get to the school or not (though that is a factor), but also how safe it is for them when they get there. Obviously, the same applies for the pupils too, many of whom do not attend he school nearest to them and would be traveling early morning when the roads are at their most dangerous. Not to mention the fact that we’re at the mercy of the bus services on top of all this. In fact, only the other day I saw a bus struggling to get up a hill because the road hadn’t been gritted. The fact is that its often more sensible to close the school altogether than to risk teaching a small number of pupils in potentially unsafe conditions. Sarah P My children were at home for two days in the week as their school was closed because of the snow. We had a fantastic time making a snowman, sledging ND having a snowball fight in the park. We don’t see weather like this very often; can’t we let the kids enjoy it a little bit? My husband has had no real problems getting to work, and I’ve been walking to the local shops to get our food shopping. Apart from the fact that I’ve been forced to take annual leave to look after the children, is this weather really all that bad? Michelle M A lot of people seem to be complaining about school closures and teachers not being in work. Let’s be honest; the vast majority of you would happily take a ‘snow day’ if it was offered to you. I know I would! Having said that, the dads around my way haven’t been gritted and I’ve already seen one accident where a driver lost control and skidded into a parked car. My kids’ school has been closed for a few days now and my youngest has missed some Of his exams, which he’s been working really hard for, but to be perfectly honest, the break has done him good. Page 3 of 4 @ Education Development International ply 201 0 TASK 1 You live on a road that is a main bus route to the local secondary school. During the cold weather, your road did not get gritted. Write a letter to the council persuading them that your road needs to be made a priority road for rioting. How to cite English Writing Assessment, Papers

Understanding Language and Literacy Talking and Listening

Question: Discuss about theUnderstanding Language and Literacy for Talking and Listening. Answer: Using a Book as a Learning Source to Promote Language and Literacy for Children from Diverse Cultural Background and Home Language Literacy for children in ECDE entails talking, listening, visual literacies like viewing and drawing, and critical thinking among children in their formative ages. Today with the emerging new trends aggravated by the emergent of technology has broadened the literacies for children to include; literacies for technology such as computer games, internet searches, faxes and emails. Other forms of literacies include the literacy of popular culture which includes movies, theatre and arts. Equally important to the development and learning of children is the functional literacy which includes road maps, timetable among other drawings and ecological literacy mostly taught to indigenous groups such as the Aborigines of Australia (Ball, 2007). To support language and literacy for children from diverse cultural backgrounds and home languages, teachers in Australia employ the use of various teaching resources. Key among the teaching sources being cultural connection booklets. The content of the booklets introduce the various materials contained in the varied cultural connections. This helps children learn and engage in some of the major topics that surround essential issues such as respect of diversity and cultural competency in the ECDE sector. As a result, children who attend the ECDE program together with their families are able to feel welcomed, enriched and settled and in the end grow and flourish in the Australian multicultural society (McCarty, etal, 2004). The booklet contains various practical examples, stories, reflective questions, exercises as well as the ideas explaining how the children should use the booklet in a more meaningful way. It contains materials that encourage children to adhere to their cultural traditions and empower them to participate in cultural activities as this serves to enhance their wellbeing making them resilient, have self-confidence and feel protected from prolonged isolation, emotional trauma and a feeling of exclusion. The booklet contains learning materials that acknowledges and incorporates the childrens diverse cultures, diverse languages, varied beliefs and the diverse family and community values. By using the booklet, the children are equipped with the literacy skills to help them recognise their own distinct worldview and to be able to build their self-competencies that enable them to interact within cultures of the larger Australian society. The booklet is designed in a manner to help impart essential values into children (Janus, 2007). For instance, the topics, language, activities, materials and displays are presented in a manner that helps to support language and literacy for children from diverse cultural background and home language. Aims to be achieved by using Booklet as the learning source Guiding Children to Respect Diversity The booklet contains culturally relevant materials that teach children to respect, appreciate, positively interact with people from diverse backgrounds and abhor bias activities and stand up for themselves and for their fellow children facing discrimination in society. This helps children appreciate the reality of social challenges in the society they live in such as discrimination, cultural prejudice and multiculturalism (Ball, etal, 2004). Moreover, the booklet addresses questions that appear discriminatory, it provides honest answers and avoids using complicated language, gives examples of cases of exclusion and how they were addressed and provides examples that the children can easily relate to on issues encouraging them to think through the consequences of discrimination. The booklet should also present pictures and drawings that appreciate varied skin colour and enable the children to embrace and appreciate all skin colours as being beautiful and special in all rights. Helps Children Understand their own Racism and Personal Prejudices The booklet presents cases that deter the various forms of racism and racist attitudes that in many ways manifest in innocent children such as stereotyping and xenophobia. The booklet engages children in conservations that are aimed at ending racism and xenophobia against minority groups (Langer, 1995). Helps Children Learn how to Communicate with Others from Diverse Backgrounds The booklet imparts in children cross-cultural communication skills through its contents which put more emphasis on the children connecting with their fellows on a human level. They are encouraged to share information on family, personal experiences, diverse cultures and in the process learn to accept and appreciate other peoples cultures. The children will also learn to appreciate other forms of communication employed by those from diverse culture such as non-verbal communication cues (Jalongo, 2000). How the Booklet acknowledges the importance of cultural diversity and home language for the childrens literacy learning and teaching and how it will be used to support cultural diversity and the home language; The booklet will have contents that teach children to ignore prejudice and discrimination against members of other cultures. They are taught and encouraged to build relationships across cultures and to use their home languages in learning. Children are encouraged to think critically on issues such as cultural diversity and the varied home language. This is done by highlighting examples from various cultural settings portrayed by various examples that the booklet presents to the children. Through the content of the booklet, they are encouraged to think and feel independently in their own cultures and home language (Lindfors, 1999). Children are taught to see the society in a bigger picture. This is done by making links between their own experiences and between varied types of prejudices and discrimination. This enables them make links between their lives and the lives of the other people around them. The booklet imparts confidence in children and enables them develop conscience and literacy skills to broaden their understanding on social issues such as discrimination and prejudice. They are encouraged to do presentations in their own cultures and using their home languages. Examples of Learning Activities used with the Children In cases where a child feels shy to speak and read the book in the classroom, the teacher can crouch down to make the child feel respected and appreciated. Moreover, the teacher may impart confidence in the shy kids by clapping for them even when they make mistakes, rewarding them and putting the children in groups to enable them get used to speaking before others. The teacher should ask children to bring their own set of experiences and ideas to the lesson, regardless of the subject matter of the lesson. This enhances creativity and cultural diversity as the children are able to learn and appreciate experiences from other cultures. This also promotes the home language as the kids are allowed to share the experiences in their home language. The teacher should assess what the children know through dialogue. This makes children feel welcomed and have a sense of belonging as they are able to dialogue on their own ideas and express their knowledge in the home language and in their own cultures. References Langer, J. A. (1995). Envisioning Literature: Literary Understanding and Literature Instruction. Language and Literacy Series. International Reading Association, 800 Barksdale Road, PO Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714-8139 (Book No. 159 paperback: ISBN-0-8077-3464-0, $14.95 members, $17.95 nonmembers; cloth: ISBN-0-8077-3465-9).. Lindfors, J. W. (1999). Children's Inquiry: Using Language To Make Sense of the World. Language and Literacy Series. Teachers College Press, PO Box 20, Williston, VT 05495-0020 (paperback: ISBN-0-8077-3836-0, $24.95; clothbound: ISBN-0-8077-3837-9, $53). Jalongo, M. R. (2000). Early childhood language arts: Meeting diverse literacy needs through collaboration with families and professionals. Allyn and Bacon, 160 Gould St., Needham Heights, MA 02494. McCarty, T. L., Watahomigie, L. J., thi Dien, T., Perez, B. (Eds.). (2004). Sociocultural contexts of language and literacy. Taylor Francis. Ball, J. (2007). Aboriginal young childrens language and literacy development: Research evaluating progress, promising practices, and needs. Canadian Language and Literacy Networked Centre of Excellence. Available online at: https://www. ecdip. org/docs/pdf/CLLRNet% 20Feb, 202008. Ball, J., Lewis, M., Peltier, S. (2004). Culturally appropriate practices for facilitating early language development of Indigenous children. In Annual Conference of the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, Ottawa. Retrieved July (Vol. 13, p. 2009). Cummins, J. (1994). Knowledge, power, and identity in teaching English as a second language. Educating second language children: The whole child, the whole curriculum, the whole community, 33-58. Janus, M. (2007). The Early Development Instrument: A tool for monitoring childrens development and readiness for school. Early Child Development-From Measurement to Action. A Priority for Growth and Equity, 141-155.