A Critique on Teacher Empowerment as an Education Policy (Essay Sample)

Instructions:

Education Policy (EDU501)
Assignment 2: Final Assignment
Structure of Your Scholarly Paper
Assignment/Task:
Prepare a scholarly paper of around 4000+ words to examine an aspect of policy (subject chosen in negotiation with the module coordinator). This work will constitute 70% of the student’s final grade.
Your scholarly paper can be based on one of the following:
 A critique of a policy development procedure or of the development of a specific policy in a school institution, district or Ministry
 A critical analysis of an educational policy or a 5-year development plan;
 The establishment of a consultative procedure for policy development in an educational institution (e.g., a logical frame work and capability assessment),
 An analysis and/or critique of a policy issue (theory or observable policy) in terms of attention to and congruence with culturally relevant variables
 The translation of a broad educational initiative or concept (e.g., special education, language learning, equality, quality, critical thinking, etc) into a precise set of policy statements,
 The evaluation of an aspect of policy in terms of the student’s own practice or experience
 The proposal, presentation, expansion and analysis of a school development plan with particular reference to policy issues
 Any other relevant policy topic as negotiated with the module coordinator
All should be underpinned by relevant reading on theoretical and political analyses of policy, and, where possible, by appropriate observation (schools, institutions, ministries, etc). It should be based on a defined context; not general analysis of theories and approaches of policy (in a vacuum).
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Note that it is essential to understand what the task is and what the accompanying requirements are. The length or word count of the paper can be 10% above or below the
recommended word count (4000). Note also that your scholarly paper can be structured according to your personal preference provided the key elements such as the introduction, overview of the context, identification and analysis of the policy and conclusion are amply covered and coherently presented.
Where can I find a policy document, research article or relevant materials?
You can find a policy document or a research report/article on policy development, implementation, evaluation etc from a variety of sources:
- Your School/Workplace: Your school or workplace would have a wide range of policy documents which you can use, e.g. policy documents related to appointment of teaching staff; annual leave; use of technology (can be at national, emirate, school etc level). It is also possible that your organisation/school is currently developing or implementing an educational policy which you would like to base your paper on. However, as a rule, you would need to seek permission from your school or organisation before using any document as some may involve confidential materials. Documents usually in the public domain such as online may not need permission (especially if no condition is attached to its use).

- Education policy documents from the Ministry of Education or its departments, District
Education office (KHDA, ADEK etc) or any relevant body in the education sector (may be obtained from their websites)
- The University library/other libraries: The University library has a wide range of academic and professional journals which may contain reports of examples of educational policy implementation and evaluation which you can access online. See website below:
https://buid.libguides.com/libraryservicesandlearningresources
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- Other libraries: If you have access to other libraries near you, you may be able to find relevant journal articles or research reports for the task.
- The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): This website holds a wide range of professional and academic journals that can be accessed free online. It is possible for you to find research articles that are relevant to your specialty or area of interest.
http://www.doaj.org/
Date for Submission: 20th June 2021
How should I structure my scholarly paper?
Note that the scholarly paper can be approached differently depending on the option chosen and provided the key components are adequately covered. However, the following is a suggested structure that can help you to work through your paper:
1. Basic information: name/student ID; Title of the topic including author(s)
Abstract: This is optional; will not be part of the total word count
2. Introduction: What is your paper about? What is the context? How is it structured?
Your introduction should be a broad statement of your scholarly paper which should include the background and context of the paper, clearly stating the questions/aim/objective and rationale or justification for your choice of document, activity or approach for analysis. What aspect of educational policy would your paper focus on? Would it focus on the policy development? Policy on Teaching and Learning? Policy implementation? Policy Evaluation? A whole policy on a specific area? Etc? The introduction should also provide a roadmap for your paper; mentioning the main ideas and how the overall paper is structured or organised.
3. Body: The body of your paper can be divided into several sections depending on whether it is a policy document or an activity. If it is a policy document, it can be divided according to the sections in the document, e.g. Aims/Objectives/Learning
Outcomes, content etc and each aspect analysed using appropriate theories and concepts in educational policy to inform your analysis/discussion and conclusion.
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The body of your assignment may present a description of the policy to be analysed; may also identify and critically discuss the main perspective, concepts and/or theoretical underpinnings of the policy document or activity aided by your reading and understanding of the approaches and perspectives we have been discussing in the module.
The section should also show clear evidence that you strongly understand the current knowledge and debates relevant to concepts and approaches in educational policy development. You would need to show informed understanding of the perspectives/approaches used in your chosen document and show how these are linked to the debate. You may develop a set of key questions to guide the coverage of this section, for example: What are the key components of the document/policy? What are the conceptual underpinning? Which approach or theory is used? Is this approach appropriate? What alternative approaches could be used and why? Etc.
4. Discussion: This section requires a reflective and critical examination/analysis of the appropriateness of the approaches and perspectives used in each of the aspects of the document or activity drawing on your own experience, literature and other authentic and verifiable sources and should be appropriately referenced (both in-text and list of references). Your critical examination should conclude with taking a position/stand/view about the entire policy document or approach which may include agreeing, challenging, proposing etc based on evidence drawn from your own experience and authentic sources.
5. Overall Presentation, Referencing and Written Style: Has my scholarly paper adhered to the recommended presentation format and adequately referenced using appropriate referencing style (both in-text and list of references)? Clarity and appropriate structuring of the paper: identifies context, aims, objectives, rationale etc. Paper should be correctly referenced (both in-text and list of references) using appropriate referencing style consistently across the paper as well as effectively communicated using suitable concepts and terminologies.
6. How many references? Some modules will request a minimum of ten references. However, in this module, your focus on referencing should be on the appropriateness and relevance and not the quantity/number of references. For example, the appropriateness of your references to support the analysis/reflection/conclusion in your paper is the most important consideration.
Providing a list of over 20 references that are not used appropriately to support your arguments in the paper will be as good as not providing any reference at all. In addition, drawing on up-to-date references is a good practice in scholarly writing (often within the last six years); it is also good practice to use more than one reference to support a view in order to consolidate the point and highlight the power/strength of it. The referencing style should also be consistently applied throughout the paper; mixing up different referencing styles will render the referencing faulty or inappropriate.
So, the question: how many references are required? Numbers do not really matter, the quality of your references is what matters. When you engage effectively with the literature and policy documents, the question of how many references will not even come up – because you would have drawn on sufficient references (over
10) to support your scholarly paper.

source..

Content:

A critique on teacher empowerment as an Education Policy
Name
Institution
A critique on teacher empowerment as an Education Policy
Introduction
An education policy is the term used to describe all actions of the state that have to do with how the education of citizens is carried out. Education is essential for individual life chances. It is considered a civil and even a human right. At the same time, it is intended to promote economic development and social integration. Individual and social demands on them are, however, sometimes difficult to combine and have always been the cause of educational policy disputes. Hardly any other topic is argued more often and more severely. Education should develop the personality and enable a fulfilled life (Ball, 2017). Education should provide well-trained specialists for the labour market and keep our economy competitive. Education should secure peace and democracy and pass on our cultural knowledge over the generations.
This paper examines a selected education policy developed by the education system as a way of enhancing the quality of education in schools. The paper examines the impact of the policy and explores how this policy suits the learnability of the students. The education policy examined in this study is teacher empowerment.
Thesis; the study thesis suggests that teacher empowerment is a crucial success factor towards quality education. The paper argues that teacher empowerment as a policy ensures that teachers are well equipped and empowered for their job thus ensuring that they offer quality education to their leaners.
A critique of a policy development procedure in school institution
These are state measures aimed at expanding and reforming the education system. On the one hand, the education system must guarantee the right of the individual to an education appropriate to his or her individual skills and, on the other hand, it must do justice to the economic and political importance of a modern industrial and service society. The general level of education and vocational training therefore play a central role in economic policy (Ball, 2017). State education expenditures are in view of the school achievement studies published since 2002, the PISA studies, as investments in human capital and thus especially for economies, which do not have large amounts of natural raw materials, the basis for economic power and for securing competitiveness (Lee & Nie, 2014). This is all the more true against the background o demographic change (s and the associated increasing aging of society as well as a further increasing shortage of skilled workers in the next few years, which is already becoming apparent today.
The state's educational policy must ensure that there are enough trained specialists available on the labor market, on the one hand in terms of number and on the other hand in terms of quality, i.e. in relation to the technical and economic requirements of the modern, global economic world. In addition, a functioning education system relieves the burden on the social security systems, as qualified, requirements-based vocational training for the individual improves chances on the labor market and thus contributes to a high level of employment. All schools are part of the educational system in any state. This also includes all other public or private schools, technical schools, adult education centres and school institutions and also the preschool in kindergarten. It is the entire school and training system of a state with its many different school degrees as well as the opportunities for further education. This also includes educational institutions of associations and parties. Education is organized differently in all countries, but there are many similarities (Ball, 2017). Schooling is compulsory in almost every country in the world. Compulsory schooling is also part of the education system.
Teacher empowerment as an education policy: A critical analysis
The teacher will always be an essential actor in all educational processes, regardless of the educational model (classroom, b-learning, e-learning or m-learning) and even more so if it is intended to be an agent of change that supports students in its self-construction with strategies that promote creativity, innovation, critical thinking and problem solving (Thornburg & Mungai, 2011). Each student has their own strengths and weaknesses, rhythms and styles that must be identified and analysed to enhance their learning. In this way, the 21st century teacher has to guide each student to discover himself and to formulate his own hypotheses and ideas, make interconnections to achieve his goals and broaden his perspectives.
For many years, the debate has been on empowering the student with little emphasis on teacher empowerment. The question from which we start is how to empower the academic work of teachers to respond to the challenges of education in the 21st century? The first aspect is to analyse what empowerment is and how it can favour the academic work of teachers. Empower comes from the English verb to empower, from which the noun empowerment is formed (Harpell & Andrews, 2010). Empowerment is the process by which individuals, groups, and communities come to have the ability to control their circumstances and achieve their goals in the struggle to maximize the quality of their lives (Powell, 1990).
Teacher empowerment emerges with great relevance, because before requiring

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A Critique on Teacher Empowerment as an Education Policy (Essay Sample)

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