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School Accountability Within The Dominican Republic: A Qualitative Study Of School Principals’ Beliefs And Knowledge, Massiel Cohen Camacho

Dissertations

The school accountability system in the Dominican Republic (DR) involves the use of several national assessments, the reporting of such data, and the training of principals on how to use such data as part of school improvement efforts. While this type of indicator accountability system does not include specific consequences, there is still significant measuring and reporting of student achievement data, with the implied connotation of teacher and principal responsibility for specific school outcomes. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of research on what school principals know about such school accountability in the DR, and how they …

Are The Leadership Behaviors Of K–12 Leaders In Mid-Western Urban School Districts Influenced By Their Beliefs And Attitudes Regarding Spirituality?, Ericka M. Taylor

Dissertations

Working in a stressful and chaotic environment can be difficult for building principals in urban school districts (DeNisco, 2013; Stokley, 2002; Thompson, 2004). Presumably, the job is only expected to get more arduous with the increasing demands to improve student achievement (Allison, 2012; Kimball & Sirotnik, 2000; Queen & Schumacher, 2006). What is quite apparent today is that the role and responsibilities of the principal have changed dramatically over the past twenty years (Carlson, 2012; Hill-Yeverton, 2003) shifting from a factory model of management of learning to one in which teachers and principals have to create more student-centered and project-based …

Principal Leadership: Communication, Support, Management, And Evaluation In Literacy Education In Michigan Elementary Reward Schools Beating The Odds, Jason Michael Surian

Dissertations

This instrumental case study investigated the instructional leadership role that elementary school principals play in shaping literacy instruction in schools designated as “Reward Schools” through the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) accountability system, explicitly those schools noted as, Beating the Odds; i.e. outperforming predicted student achievement based on school and student demographic variables. The study looks specifically at the principal’s knowledge and application of literacy instruction, his/her mental model for the school’s literacy program, and his or her leadership of the school’s literacy program. The study examined these characteristics of principal leadership in literacy instruction through staff communications, literacy …

Perceptions Of General Education Deans And Department Chairs Of Their Colleges As Learning Organizations, May Charmayne Mulligan

Dissertations

Higher education institutions are being pushed towards increased assessment practices because of rising costs, mass access, new delivery methods, and rising competition on the national and global scale. Academic deans and department heads are at the center of these assessment efforts, and assessment should guide changes within the organization for improvement. Learning organization theory provides a framework for creating an environment favorable to assessment and improvement. Six learning organization principles – learning, communication, measurement, problem-solving, structure, and vision – were used for this study.

An online questionnaire was used to capture the perceptions of deans and department heads as to …