'Business Week' Awards for Instructional Innovation: Impact of the 'Business Week' seal of approval.

摘要

In May, 1999, Business Week presented the Tenth Annual Awards for Instructional Innovation. Each year since 1989 Business Week has developed educational theme educational and has used a percentage of the revenue raised to give ;Findings. Favorable publicity.. Over two-thirds of the Business Week Award winners cited favorable publicity: write-ups in national, state, and local educational newsletters; stories based on visits to the school; radio and television coverage; and internet conferences.;Networking. The Award winners fulfilled their commitment to network their ideas by meeting with an average of 1,000 interested stakeholders. Over 90% of the educators returned monthly reports on the workshops and contacts they had made indicating that they had established relevant strategies for professional collaboration and support.;Increased professional opportunities and career advancement. Almost one-third of the winners reported additional professional responsibilities: writing articles for professional publications, developing special projects with political and/or business figures, becoming nationally known as staff developers in their fields, and working with local, state, and national education departments as consultants.;Reaction from the business community. The Business Week Award and the related publicity generated favorable reactions from local business communities. Educators reported that because the Award came from Business Week it brought heightened credibility to their achievements.;Leveraging the award. Many writers used the Award on successful applications for other awards and grants, in seeking additional funding and other resources; and in changing the perceptions of the local schools by the business community and by the public. The Superintendent of a regional high school credited the "Business Week Seal of Approval" with changing the school's image. Before the Award, the public had defeated, by a margin of two to one, a bond referendum for 17.5 million to construct an addition to the school. After the Award, a bond for 18.5 million dollars was approved by two to one.;Conclusions. The Business Week Awards for Instructional Innovation are highly effective in: (1) generating favorable publicity for the winning schools; (2) facilitating the networking of successful practices to other educators who want to adopt or adapt successful practices; (3) aiding the professional growth and career advancement of the Awardees; (4) involving local business communities; (5) giving impetus to entrepreneurial educators who are able to leverage the Award to create more positive images for their schools, to improve public relations and to secure additional resources, often from the business community.