10 Best Interior Design Schools in the US

10 Best Interior Design Schools in the US SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips An education in interior design is getting more and more important for aspiring professionals in the field. In many states, you can’t call yourself an interior designer unless you have a license or a certain level of education. If you’re thinking about becoming an interior designer, you’ll want to know about the best interior design schools you can attend in the US. Whether you want to work on residential or commercial design, the following programs will prepare you well for your future career as an interior designer. But before we get to the rankings list, let's briefly go over what makes interior design programs unique. What's So Special About an Interior Design Program? Interior design schools teach a unique set of skills. These programs focus on the creative aspects of design, of course, but a good program also instills strong technical, business, and management skills in its students. If you attend a top interior design school, you'll learn the following: Client-facing skills, such as researching clients' goals and project requirements How to create 2D and 3D space plans How to select colors, materials, textures, and decor How to ensure space plans meet all public health, safety, and welfare requirements and codes How to prepare project budgets and schedules How to prepare construction documents How to collaborate with other professionals, such as architects and engineers How to oversee, manage, and supervise projects Some of these programs offer a Bachelor of Arts (BA), while others offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) or even a Bachelor of Science (BS). I'll talk more about the difference between these degrees at the end of this article. How Are These Interior Design Schools Ranked? To come up with a reliable list of the top 10 interior design schools, I aggregated common ranking lists from interior design industry experts (including DesignSchoolsHub and Design Intelligence). These lists compiled the rankings by surveying design professionals and asking which schools best prepare students' for a career in interior design. Note that the following programs aren’t listed in any particular order. If a school is on this list, it’ll give you a top-notch interior design education, regardless of the order it appears in. That said, I did separate the schools into two tiers based on their aggregate rankings. Keep in mind, though, that the most important consideration in choosing one of these schools is finding the one that best fits your own preferences and interests. Now then, let's get to our rankings of the best colleges for interior design! Best Interior Design Schools: Tier 1 These are the top-rated interior design schools, the cream of the crop. They're likely to be the most competitive of all interior design programs, so be cautious when putting together your applications- you don't only want to apply to schools with very low admissions rates! If you want more information about admissions statistics and requirements for any of these schools, just click their names. New York School of Interior Design - New York, NY Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: #5 by Design Intelligence, #4 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $350 enrollment fee plus $1060 per credit (16-17 credits per full-time semester) The New York School of Interior Design is the only school on this list that specializes solely in interior design education. It's also a top-ranked grad school for interior design, which indicates strong faculty, networking, and post-grad opportunities. Graduates of this institution have pretty great career prospects: 98% of students find jobs within six months of getting their degrees. If you aren't sure whether you want to commit to a full degree program, or if you don't yet feel prepared to apply to an interior design program, you can also enroll in one of the school's non-degree certificate programs to work on building up your portfolio. One of the best cities to be for any type of arts program. Parsons School of Design (The New School) - New York, NY Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: #4 by Design Intelligence, #5 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $25,230 per full-time semester The Parsons School of Design (one of five colleges at The New School) boasts some well-developed networks in commerce and industry, so this school might be a particularly good option for those who wish to pursue commercial design. If you're not sure what you want to focus on, however, you can still find your niche here: Parsons offers more than 35 undergraduate and graduate programs (their grad programs are top-ranked as well). This institution states that they put a special focus on collaborative work, meaning you'd have the opportunity to complete group projects, perhaps even with students who belong to different degree programs. As interior designers have to work with many types of professionals to finish a job, this type of collaboration will be vital in helping prepare you for a career in design. Pratt Institute - New York, NY Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: #2 by Design Intelligence, #2 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: Around $52,000 per year for full-time students If you're hoping to get a job directly after graduation, then you'll definitely want to check out the Pratt Institute. In 2015, 100% of graduates (who responded to the survey) found jobs within just seven months after graduation. Or if you'd rather continue your education with a grad degree, you'll be pleased to know that 100% of graduates in May 2014 who applied to grad school were accepted to at least one program. (Unfortunately, the school doesn't offer any data on the quality of programs students attended.) Like other schools on this list, the Pratt Institute boasts a top-rated graduate program for interior design. In this MFA program, you'll learn about topics such as sustainable practice, environmental quality, aesthetics, and changing technologies. Rhode Island School of Design - Providence, RI Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: #3 by Design Intelligence, #3 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $51,800 per year for full-time students One of the most famous and well-ranked arts and design schools in the US, RISD is located in the city of Providence, which has one of the highest concentrations of artists in the country. The interior design major is known as "interior studies" or "interior architecture" at RISD. RISD is particularly well-known for teaching students with practical instruction and coursework. If you're interested in eventually going to grad school, you should know that RISD also has a highly ranked grad program for interior design, through which you can earn an MA degree. Savannah College of Art and Design - Savannah, GA Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: #1 by Design Intelligence, #1 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $37,575 per year for full-time students SCAD is ranked highly across the board for all its art and design programs (not just interior design), ensuring you’ll have access to other artistic and creative resources on campus. While the main campus is located in Savannah, SCAD also has interior design programs in Atlanta and Hong Kong, as well as online. This array of program locations means that you will have more opportunities to land internships in metropolitan areas and even study abroad. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Architecture's not bad for a design school, right? Best Interior Design Schools: Tier 2 These schools are generally lower-ranked than Tier 1 schools, but they still offer pretty strong interior design programs and tend to show up toward the top of many ranking lists. Like with the Tier 1 schools, just click any school name to get more information about admissions statistics and requirements. Cornell University - Ithaca, NY Degrees Offered: BS Rankings: #7 by Design Intelligence, #8 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $37,880 per year for full-time in-state students; $56,550 per year for full-time out-of-state students Cornell is the only Ivy League school that offers an interior design program. This program has a special focus on the impact of design decisions on the environment. Drexel University - Philadelphia, PA Degrees Offered: BS Rankings: #14 by Design Intelligence, #10 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: Around $18,000 per full-time academic quarter Drexel's program in interior design combines the study of interior design with the study of art and art history. Students explore the behavioral aspects of interior design in addition to aesthetic aspects. Fashion Institute of Technology - New York, NY Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: # by Design Intelligence, #7 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $3,435 per semester for full-time in-state students; $10,396 for full-time out-of-state students Although FIT is well known for its fashion design programs, it also boasts a strong interior design program. It's the largest program of its kind in NYC, with around 400 students. If you attend FIT, you'll have the opportunity to work with top professionals in the area, such as architects and interior/lighting/graphic designers. Syracuse University - Syracuse, NY Degrees Offered: BFA, BID (Bachelor of Industrial Design) Rankings: #22 by Design Intelligence, #9 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $52,210 per year Syracuse offers a program called Environmental and Interior Design, which is a bit broader than most other programs on this list. At Syracuse, interior design students take studio courses in fine arts and crafts to supplement their main course of study. This program might be a good option for students who want to focus on design but also want parts of a more standard liberal arts experience. University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati, OH Degrees Offered: BS Rankings: #6 by Design Intelligence, #6 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: Not yet set for 2019 onwards as of this article's publication; we'll update as it becomes available The interior design program at UC's School of Architecture and Interior Design emphasizes the physical, psychological, and social needs of people at work and at leisure. The program is five years long- slightly longer than the standard four-year bachelor's degree program- and requires one and a half years of cooperative education experience. Furthermore, about 70% of graduates get jobs within three months of graduating. Let's talk about how to choose the interior design program that's best for you. Picking the Right Interior Design Program for You: 5 Factors Although there isn't a gigantic variety of interior design program choices out there, you still have to sift through a lot of information to pick a school that's right for you. Hopefully, this last has got you started on the right track. That said, there are other things to keep in mind before committing to a particular interior design school. Here are five key factors to consider. #1: Make Sure the School Is Accredited by the CIDA First, you'll want to check that the interior design school you're interested in is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA). Any program that claims to prepare you for a career in interior design should be approved by this organization. All the schools on our list above are accredited by CIDA and state this fact very clearly on their websites. If you're not sure whether a particular school is accredited, contact its admissions office and ask. #2: Choose a School That Offers the Degree You Want Most interior design programs offer a BA or BFA, with some offering a BS. If you attend a BA program, you'll likely get more of a traditional liberal arts degree, meaning that the program strives to educate well-rounded artists and scholars. BS degrees, by contrast, are more strictly focused on their subject matter than BAs, so you'll take fewer general education courses. Finally, BFAs are professional degrees; you'll take some general education courses, but the main focus of the program will be helping you hone and focus your artistic talent and voice. #3: Decide Whether You Prefer a Flexible or Focused Program Some of the programs above offer plenty of room for students to explore their artistic and design interests, and boast dozens of degree options and specializations, whereas others are more focused and therefore might be better fits for students who already know what interests they want to pursue. Spend some time exploring the programs' websites to get a better feel for whether they're good fits for you. #4: Look for Portfolio Requirements You Can Meet As with any design or arts program, you'll have to submit a portfolio as part of the application process for any of the schools listed above. Some of these portfolio requirements might seem reasonable, while others might be tough to meet. Explore each program's portfolio requirements well ahead of any application deadlines. #5: Take Location Into Account Are there particular fields or specialties where you might have an advantage if you're living in a certain area? Also, think twice before applying to a school in an area you absolutely hate or are really unsure about. Once you consider these five factors, you'll be better able to choose an interior design program that's right for you. The better the fit, the more successful you're likely to be in school and your career! What's Next? Interested in design but don't know much about it? Start with our guide to the 7 principles of design. If you're planning on going to an interior design school, you'll likely need to create a portfolio of your best work. Learn more about how to make a great portfolio that will definitely impress your dream school. Once you're done putting together a list of schools to apply to, the next step should be figuring out how to pay for your education. Learn more about how to apply for financial aid, how to pay for school without loans, and how to get some of the top scholarships in the country. Thinking about going to an art school instead? Check out our guide to the best art schools in the US! Or, whet your appetite for art school with our short guide to contour line art. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

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Job Satisfaction And Its Importance In The Workplace Education Essay

Job Satisfaction And Its Importance In The Workplace Education Essay Job satisfaction is increasingly becoming important in the workplace. Employers now recognise that the happier their employees are, the better will be their attitudes towards the work, the higher their motivation and the better will be their performance. Job satisfaction in any field of work depends a lot on how conducive the work environment is. The work itself, the pay and the scope for promotion are only some of the factors which have an impact on job satisfaction. Educators job satisfaction is important as it has a direct impact on students achievement and their future career (Pitkoff, 1993). An educator who is unsatisfied with his/her job tends to be unmotivated and more likely to escape from his/her responsibilities. In these circumstances, we tend to see an increase in absenteeism among teachers. Such educators usually show little concern in school matters and this obviously has a negative impact on the performance of our children. Various studies have been carried out in the past to assess the impact of motivation and job satisfaction on employee productivity and performance (Vroom, 1964). Some of these studies have found a positive relationship between job satisfaction and job performance which leads to the conclusion that satisfied employees tend to perform much better than less satisfied ones. 2.1 Definition of job satisfaction Job satisfaction is one of the most investigated topics in the fields of organizational behaviour. The most-used research definition of job satisfaction is by Locke (1976), who defined it as . . . a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job or job experiences (p. 1304). It is now recognized that job satisfaction is a global concept that also comprises various facets (Judge et al., 2001) including pay, promotions, co-workers, supervision, the work itself, recognition, working conditions, and company and management. Job satisfaction has also been defined as the extent to which a staff member has favourable or positive feelings about work or the work environment (De Nobile, 2003). It refers to the positive attitudes or emotional dispositions people may gain from work or through aspects of work (Furnham, 1997; Locke, 1976). Ivancevich et al. (1997) defined job satisfaction as the feeling and perception of a worker regarding his/her work and how he or she feels himself well in an organization. Davis and Newstrom (2003) and Dessler (2001) describe job satisfaction as a set of favorable or unfavorable feelings for the employees to perceive their work and that determine the possibility of a major disposition to achieve higher performance. Therefore, job satisfaction refers to an individuals general attitude toward his or her job (Robbins, 1998). Jensen (2000) defines job satisfaction as: a sense of personal growth most often measured by the extent of new challenges and learning situations experienced (p. 1). On the other hand, job dissatisfaction refers to unhappy or negative feelings about work or the work environment (Furnham, 1997). There exist many factors which may result in job dissatisfaction. Some of them are poor working conditions, overwork, low levels of pay, no scope of promotion or career advancement and lack of recognition. But what is worst are the consequences of job dissatisfaction which obviously affect both the employees and the organization. It may result in loss of motivation, lack of interest, frustration, poor productivity, absenteeism and even high turnover rates. To sum up, we can say that job satisfaction describes how content an individual with his or her job and also implies doing a job one enjoys, doing it well, and being suitably rewarded for ones efforts. Job satisfaction further implies enthusiasm and happiness with ones work. 2.2 Factors affecting job satisfaction Job satisfaction depends on several different factors such as satisfaction with pay, promotion opportunities, fringe benefits, job security, relationship with co-workers and supervisors and communication within the organisation. (Nguyen, Taylor, Bradley, 2003). Job satisfaction may lead to cost reduction by reducing absences, task errors, conflicts at work and turnover. As work is an important aspect of peoples lives and most people spend a large part of their working lives at work, understanding the factors involved in job satisfaction is crucial to improving employees performance and productivity. 2.2.1 Age Age is one of the factors affecting job satisfaction. Various studies carried out in this field have shown that job satisfaction tends to increase with age. That is older employees tend to report higher satisfaction and younger employees report the lowest job satisfaction rates (Warr, 1992). However, the study carried out by Oshagbemi (2003) in United Kingdom (UK), found that the relationship between job satisfaction and age was insignificant for employees of the UK universities. 2.2.2 Gender Several researchers have examined the relationship between job satisfaction and gender (Mason, 1995). However, most studies have shown contractions in the relationship between job satisfaction and gender of the employees. On one hand, some studies have found women to be more satisfied than men (Ward and Sloane, 1998), whereas other studies have found men to be more satisfied than women (Forgionne and Peters, 1982). 2.2.3 Working environment It is essential to provide employees with a work environment which is conducive to their overall development. They need an environment which is healthy and safe and which caters for both personal comfort and facilitates doing a good job. As mentioned earlier, people spend a high percentage of their lifetime at work. So we can say that employees expect more than money for the work they do. Hence, it can be said that having a friendly and supportive environment can lead to increased job satisfaction. Syptak, Marshland and Ulmer (1999) advise organisations to do everything they can to keep the companys equipment and facilities up to date. In their article, they also recommend organisations to avoid overcrowding and allow each employee his or her own personal space, whether it is a desk, a locker or even just a drawer (p. 1). 2.2.4 Fair policies and practices Individuals who perceive that promotion decisions are made in a fair and just manner are likely to experience satisfaction from their jobs (Witt and Nye, 1992). Very often employees are demotivated and dissatisfied with their jobs because unfair policies and practices prevail at their place of work. It is therefore of utmost importance for organization to have a fair and equal system in terms of practices and policies so that there is no discrimination and frustration. It is a fact that organization which follows the right procedures to promote employees creates a culture of trust, loyalty and beliefs in the whole organization. When an employee gets fair promotion, which is generally based on his true assessment, he gets a type of recognition, and hence, increases his job satisfaction. In other words, we can say that promotion provides opportunities for personal growth, more responsibilities, and increased social status. 2.2.5 Caring organization Taylor (2000) suggested that job satisfaction is directly related to a companys investment in its employees well- being. Arthur (2001) pointed out that employees want to believe their company really cares about them. Care can be shown in various ways, but generally it takes into consideration career development, adult treatment, being taken seriously and being appreciated for a job well done. (p. 221). When people feel that the organization for which they are working cares for them and takes actions in order to improve their work and lives, they are happy and this creates higher satisfaction. These employees furthermore become loyal and committed. Advantages of job satisfaction to the organisation The Frederick Herzbergs theory and job satisfaction To better understand what keeps job satisfaction high, it is important to recall Frederick Herzbergs theory. The latter put forward that satisfaction on the job depends on two elements: hygiene issues and motivators. Hygiene issues (dissatisfiers) Motivators (satisfiers) Organisational policies Work itself Kind of supervision Achievement Salary Recognition Interpersonal relations Responsibility Working conditions Growth opportunities Job security According to the Herzbergs theory, Hygiene issues cannot motivate employees but they can help to minimize dissatisfaction, if handled properly (p. 1). These issues are directly related to the employees working environment. On the other hand, motivators create satisfaction by fulfilling individuals needs for meaning and personal growth (Syptak, Marshland and Ulmer, 1999). The above theory can be very helpful in guiding organizations on how to maintain employee satisfaction. Job satisfaction and productivity Studies have shown that, only a few organizations believe that job satisfaction is a crucial element in their overall strategy and very little is being done to promote it. This can be due to the fact that many organisations fail to understand the link between job satisfaction and productivity. Should we not care about job satisfaction? Is it true to say that happy workers are productive ones? In fact, in the right conditions and settings, job satisfaction can to a great degree lead to higher productivity. If employees feel that their jobs are fun and interesting, they will be more willing to give extra effort at work for the benefit of the whole organization. Instead if employees have the feeling that their occupations are meaningless and boring, they will have a negative attitude which will definitely lead to a decline in productivity. Job satisfaction helps to create a better working environment When employees are enjoying a higher degree of job satisfaction they tend to be more helpful and friendly with their colleagues at work. This helps to promote teamwork where sharing of information and knowledge is enhanced. Moreover studies have shown that job satisfaction among employees may lead to a better and safer working environment with lesser negative conflicts which otherwise would impede the smooth running of the organization. Job satisfaction and absenteeism and turnover High rate of turnover has always been a great problem to many organizations. It obviously results in loss of potentials and talents and causes huge losses in terms of additional costs. According to Sattler and Mullen, generally, the more productive people are, the more satisfied they tend to be and when employees feel satisfied they are less likely to leave the organization. (2007). From this, we can say that in order to retain talented people in the organisations, managers need to devise strategies in order to bring about job satisfaction. Once employees are happy and satisfied at work, the rate of absenteeism and turnover will be lower. Achievement and responsibility According to Herzberg theory, achievement and responsibility are two important motivational factors which can be used to create job satisfaction at work. Noe (2005) suggests that learning can be facilitated by providing employees with specific challenging goals and objectives (p.111). In this context, managers need to set clear and achievable goals to their employees. This will help to provide employees with a sense of achievement on completion of tasks and may bring about more satisfaction. Furthermore organisations need to empower and encourage their employees to take more responsibility. Such strategies do help to bring more satisfaction in employees and make them more loyal, committed and will have ownership interests in their jobs. Employee satisfaction can lead to customer satisfaction Numerous studies have been carried out to look at the link between customer and employee satisfaction. Many of them have shown a relationship between employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and profitability. For example, a study carried out at Sears Roebuck Co. showed that a five-point improvement in employee attitudes led to a 1.3 rise in customer satisfaction which, in turn, generated a 0.5 increase in revenues. Brooks (2000) reviewed the relationship between financial success and customer and employee variables (e.g., customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, etc.) and found that, depending on market segment and industry, between 40 and 80 percent of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty was accounted for by the relationship between employee attitudes and customer-related variables. Similarly, Vilares and Cohelo (2000) found that perceived employee satisfaction, perceived employee loyalty, and perceived employee commitment had a sizable impact on perceived product quality and on perceived service quality. In other words, when our staff is happy, our customers will be too. At the heart of these endeavors is a strong belief that todays employee satisfaction, loyalty and commitment influence tomorrows customer satisfaction, loyalty and commitment-and, ultimately, the organizations profit and growth. Job satisfaction is a matter of great significance for employers. As shown above, organizations benefit a lot from satisfied employees in the following ways: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Lower staff turnover à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Higher productivity à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Reduction in conflicts and complaints à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Punctuality (reduced lateness) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Better worked morale Therefore, we can say that job dissatisfaction affects both the organisation and the employees negatively. If job dissatisfaction prevails, the organisation is likely to be affected through poor customer service, quality production and profitability. It is a clear and obvious that employees lacking loyalty and commitment will show very little original thinking and will absent themselves very often from work. All these put together will clearly result in poor performance and low profitability for the organisation. Job satisfaction in the primary educational sector It is known to everyone that reward and recognition are very scarce when it comes to the primary educational sector. Numerous studies carried out by sociologists have confirmed this. Moreover, as most of the teachers work is being carried out within the walls of closed classrooms, teachers often find themselves isolated from others without any support from peers and superiors. Due to such organisational structure, teachers do not receive appropriate feedback from others and often find it hard to work together so as to improve their work. According to Frase, 1992, many teachers leave teaching within the first three years of employment as a result of these conditions. Decision makers therefore need to find ways to retain teachers in the profession and keep them motivated and at the same time promote satisfaction. Studies have shown fairly convincingly that teachers are motivated more by intrinsic than by extrinsic rewards. Pastor and Erlandson (1982) Carried out a survey which found that teachers identify their needs and measure their job satisfaction by factors such as participation in decision-making, use of valued skills, freedom and independence, challenge, expression of creativity, and opportunity for learning. In a survey conducted by Brodinsky and Neill (1983), a majority of school administrators (and teachers) cited three policies that effectively improved morale and motivated their staffs: shared governance, in-service education, and systematic and supportive evaluation. New Theories of Teacher Motivation Frase, 1992 identified two sets of factors that affect teachers ability to perform effectively and therefore derive job satisfaction. These two factors are 1. Work context factors 2. Work content factors. Work Context Factors Work context factors are those which meet the basic needs such as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the class size à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ discipline conditions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ availability of teaching materials à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the quality of the head masters supervision and his/her leadership style According to Frase, 1992, the above context factors do not bring job satisfaction as such. However, during their absences or if not well handled, problems which might affect the teaching and learning process might crop. They may thus lead to job dissatisfaction. Work Content Factors According to Frase, once again, work content factors are intrinsic aspects related to the work itself. They include opportunities for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ professional development such as further on job training leading to personal growth à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Recognition of hard work à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ challenging and varied tasks à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ increased responsibility and empowerment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ achievement and authority. Studies carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics in the United States (1997) have clearly shown that teachers who do not feel supported in the above fields are less motivated to do their best work in the classroom. Their data confirm that staff recognition, parental support, teacher participation in school decision making and control in the classroom are the factors most strongly associated with teacher satisfaction. Difficulties educators face in the classroom As an educator, it can bring much satisfaction to see students develop new skills and competences and achieve success in terms of knowledge. However, it may be frustrating when one is dealing with unmotivated or disrespectful students. Very often, teachers must cope with unruly behaviour and violence in the schools. Teachers may experience stress in dealing with large classes, heavy workloads, or old schools that are run down and lack many modern facilities. Accountability standards also may increase stress levels, with teachers expected to produce students who are able to exhibit satisfactory performance on standardised tests in core subjects. Many teachers are also frustrated by the lack of control they have over what they are required to teach. Working Conditions It takes a decent work environment to teach well. Art 8 or the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation states that, we must improve the working conditions and school environment so as to best promote effective learning and teaching, and enable teachers to concentrate on their professional tasks. Workload has to be fair to be able to carry or tasks effectively and must not have a negative impact on the health and safety of teachers. Also, the authorities must devote equal teaching resources to all educational institutions. School climate The values, attitudes, expectations and behaviour more or less shared by the members of a school community are generally referred to as school climate. A positive school climate plays an important role in fostering teachers performance, academic achievement of students and school motivation. A positive school climate nurtures an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect between each and everyone in the school. Teachers would like to work in schools where they can feel comfortable with their colleagues and the school leadership. Therefore, creating a healthy school environment for everyone begins by supporting healthy relationships among the staff. Healthy relationships produce a climate conducive to honesty, open communication, and risk-taking (Ames Miller, 1994). In a true learning community, cooperative learning and mutual respect are expected of faculty as well as students. Establishing a supportive school environment increases self-esteem and achievement (Cantwell, 2003). Leadership Teachers are more satisfied when their head teachers are good and model leaders. This includes motivating employees to do a good job and striving for excellence. Effective head teachers create structures in which it is clear that teachers have a certain authority. In certain schools some head teachers empower their teachers to work on certain tasks like creating a media and audio visual room, or creating other structures for the benefit and welfare of students as well as for staff members. Such kind of empowerment and trust in employees yield commitment, loyalty and higher performance at the place of work. Such leaders motivate subordinates to do more than originally expected. They raise the consciousness of subordinates about the importance and value of designated outcomes and ways of reaching them and, in turn, get subordinates to transcend their own immediate self-interests for the sake of the mission and vision of the organization. (Yammarino, Spangler and Bass,1993). Teachers performance Educators job is one which does not produce tangible goods whose quality could be measured quantitatively. Their jobs consist of preparing pupils of 5-11 years old academically and help them in their overall development. As a matter of fact, it is difficult to measure their performance. A few years back, with ranking system at the CPE level, inspectors and school head teachers used to assess the performance of their staff by analyzing the performance of students in the final exam. However, this is not an ideal way of measuring performance as there are other factors apart from the CPE pass rate which are linked to the teachers performance. Training After completion of a two year diploma course at the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), the educator is posted in a given school and is assigned the responsibility of a class. The MIE together with the Ministry of Education offer supplementary courses so as to upgrade the standards of educators and at the same time keep them abreast changes occurring in terms of methodology, contents and curriculum. Some of these courses are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Certificate in Educational Management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Diploma in Educational Management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Advanced Certificate in Educational Management After the completion of these courses, educators are eligible for a rise in their salary and furthermore are eligible to postulate for jobs like Deputy Head Teacher and Head Teacher. It is a fact that the more positive the perceptions employees have concerning the usefulness and scope of advancement the training sessions will provide to them, the higher will their job satisfaction. Promotional prospects Promotion in the primary sector is based on seniority. It is only after about twenty five years of service that a teacher will be automatically promoted to Deputy Head Teacher. From there, the latter will have to wait for some five more years to aspire to become the head of a school. As a matter of fact, the promotional scope is rather restricted and this is a real demotivating factor to many educators in the field.

Court History and Purpose Paper Essay

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the largest single unified court in the United States. This court serves over 40 courthouses and operates about 600 courtrooms and staffs approximately 5,400 employees. The Municipal court is devoted to resolving and recording legal matters while upholding values of Integrity, Accessibility, and fairness. Growing up in Los Angeles has always fascinated me with how the court system processes so many criminals in the amount of time they have, with the amount of employees they staff. How do they do it (Hansen, 1998)? The traffic court handles cases that start off with citations or tickets written by a law enforcement officer. Parking tickets are not process at traffic division courts, only by local city or Los Angeles Parking Violations Bureau. Driving Under the Influence (DUI) cases are handled in criminal court division. When cases the State has filed against one or more persons involved in criminal offenses such as, infractions, felonies, and misdemeanors the criminal court handles these cases. Criminal division also handles warrants, fugitive warrants and extradition proceedings, and grand jury indictments. The policy makers of the U.S. Constitution requested that the federal government have limited power, to regulate the kind of cases federal courts would have. Most of the laws that are passed are decided by usually the state which allows the state court to handle most disputes that govern our lives on day to day bases. The federal courts defend our freedom of speech and our equal protection under the law. Federalism is the significant idea of a government dividing the power amongst a national government and a state or regional government. State courts primarily handle all cases that the federal court will not take. When federal courts portray federal laws, state court interprets a state law which is called â€Å"General Jurisdiction†. The federal court system only hears  special cases under certain circumstances. Basically, the federal court hear two types of cases; those that raise a â€Å"federal question† and those that involving â€Å"diversity of citizenship† (Gray, Ritter & Graham, 2012). A common law legal system is a system of law identified by case law which is developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals. Common law systems also include images enacted by legislative frame. In comparison to common law systems, civil law systems are created on a set of legal codes, which are organized laws that pursue to cover exhaustively the various legal domains. It is characterized by an absence of precedent in the judicial application of these codes. Common law courts have had the authority to make law where no legislative statute exists, and statutes mean what courts interpret them to mean. By contrast, in the civil law jurisdictions the legal tradition that prevails or is combined with common law is statured. The criminal justice system is made up of sets of agencies and processes that are established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate the law. The criminal justice system operates differently depending on the jurisdiction it is in charge of, whether it be city, county, state, federal or tribal government or military installation. Different jurisdictions have various laws, agencies, and ways of managing the criminal justice process. The justice system is the mechanism that upholds the rule of the law. The courts provide a forum to resolve disputes and to test and enforce laws in a fair and rational manner. The courts are an impartial forum, and judges are free to apply the law without regard to the government’s wishes or the weight of the public’s opinion. Court decisions are based on what the law says and what the evidence proves. There is no place in the courts for suspicion, bias or favoritism. This is why justice is often symbolized as a blindfolded figure balancing a set of scales, oblivious to anything that could detract from the pursuit of an outcome that is just and fair. Though a number of rights derived from the Constitution protect the accused from abuses and overreaching from law enforcement officers, the arguably most important of these rights are the Miranda advisement and the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_County_Superior_Court http://judiciallearningcenter.org/state-courts-vs-federal-courts