Education Commons^™

An Examination Of Indiana Early College High School Students Who Attended Purdue University Between 2006 And 2015, Lisa P. Kirkham

Open Access Dissertations

Early College High Schools (ECHS) are an educational intervention designed to promote rigor in high school education along with increased post-secondary access and success for disadvantaged students. Based on evidence, the Early College High School program is effective at helping students who traditionally are not in college-bound tracks find their way into that path. ECHSs provide a comprehensive, rigorous high school experience allowing students to earn an associate’s degree along with the high school diploma. Regarding structure, the ECHS is an entire high school, with all students earning college credits. Examining post-secondary experiences of students participating in Early College High …

A New Reality: Funding Formula Changes And Property Tax Caps And Their Effects On The Role Of The School Superintendent In The State Of Indiana, Patrick L. Gentry

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover how school superintendents were using general fund referenda to meet their school district’s operational budgets. However, after interviews began it became clear that the superintendents wanted to tell a different story and that was how the current school funding mechanism and property tax caps has changed the job of the school superintendent. The research consisted of one-on-one guided interviews of a mixed qualitative methods framework combining theories of hermeneutics and phenomenology. The interviews combined open-ended, guided questions and conversations and were with superintendents who were leaders of school districts that have …

Examination Of Decision-Making Processes For Resource Allocation At The College-Level And School-Level Within An Academic Unit, Amy L Childress

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the quantitative and qualitative factors used when deciding how to allocate resources within a single academic unit and three subunits, and who was involved in those decision-making processes. It focused on the College of Engineering and three Schools of Engineering at Purdue University from 2000 – 2007, when Dr. Martin C. Jischke was president. The university underwent institution-wide strategic planning and increased use of metrics in decision-making under his leadership. Financial data from the college and three schools were collected and analyzed. An interview protocol was developed and piloted before implementation in …

A Descriptive Study Of Factors Influencing Parental Choice Of High School Selection For Their Middle School-Aged Children Enrolled In Catholic Grade School, Beatrice Margaret Drics-Bursten

Open Access Theses

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the factors parents of middle school-aged children, enrolled in Catholic elementary school, identified as those having an influence on their selection of a secondary school for their child. With a shrinking pool of potential students in Catholic middle schools, competition for these students is keen among Catholic secondary schools in order to meet their sustainability enrollment levels. The study also examined the timing when parents began researching prospective secondary schools and when the final school selection decision occurred for their child. ^ The study provides an overview of historical and current …

Factors That Affect The Outcome Of A General Fund Referendum In Indiana, Andrew Charles Sargent

Open Access Dissertations

School finance elections in Indiana were a relatively rare occurrence prior to a series of new legislation enacted in 2008 that, through the imposition of property tax caps statewide, resulted in sweeping reforms to education funding. These new laws coupled with a national recession resulted in many school districts not having the necessary financial resources to maintain programming and personnel consistent with their needs. With this in mind, many of these districts turned to the General Fund referendum as a mechanism to raise more revenue for their districts through an increase in local property taxes as decided by the voters …

Factors That Contribute To Principal Trust In The Principalteacher Relationship, Eric Melnyczenko

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study sought to use qualitative research methods to answer the overarching question: Why do principals trust teachers? This study was generated from a lack of research noted by Wahlstrom, Leithwood, Louis, and Anderson (2010). I created open-ended questions to interview each participant regarding his/her lived experience with trusting teachers. ^ The qualitative data were collected from six principals of the Illinois Principals Association, two from each of the following three categories: zero to three years of their career principalship; four to six years of their career principalship; or, seven or more years of their career principalship. …

An Exploratory Study Of Diversified Mentoring Relationships Among Graduate Students And Their Advisors In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Fields, Krystin R. Bodden

Open Access Theses

Minorities and women continue to be underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. In graduate education, factors such as racism, prejudice, discrimination, sexism, stereotypes, tokenism, and a lack of role models can all plague students and contribute to uncompleted degrees and non-entrance into STEM fields. One of the tools being used to combat these barriers is effective mentoring. Graduate students and their advisors generally have close working relationships and advisors serve in a tremendously important role in the development of the graduate student, so an effective mentoring relationship is vital.

The purpose of this study was to explore …

The Relationship Between Teachers' Perceptions Of The Feedback They Receive And Their Teaching Efficacy In High-Performing Schools, Joshua D. St. John

Open Access Dissertations

As reform efforts are prescribed in every state through mandates and regulations in an effort to better prepare students to compete in a global economy, and as states like Indiana implement new evaluation plans for teachers based on a rigorous rubric and objective measures of student achievement, close attention to the ripple effects must be involved. While efforts such as professional learning communities and instructional coaches are aimed at building teacher capacity, maximum results can only be achieved when school leaders balance how they leverage their evaluative power while promoting these formative experiences. Absent in the drive for heightened accountability, …

Alternative Teacher Certification: Secondary School Principals' Perceptions In Indiana, Jane Corinne Newblom

Open Access Dissertations

As teacher recruitment intensifies to locate qualified teachers for our nation's classrooms, alternative teacher certification programs are becoming prevalent. Initially these programs were designed to attract professionals and college graduates to enter urban classrooms. However, what has occurred is that over 140 alternative certification programs are available to teacher candidates. Some of these programs are well designed with education courses and content area methodology along with pre-service teaching internships while others may not provide the opportunities for new teachers to be successful in their first years of teaching. This study investigated the perceptions of secondary school principals regarding the effectiveness …

The Competitive Effect Of Vouchers On The Performance Of Traditional Public Schools In Hamilton County, Ohio, Nathan Roy Lowe

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study is to determine the effect that educational choice, in the form of vouchers, is having on the performance of traditional public schools in Hamilton County, Ohio. The threat of losing students to vouchers creates a sense of competition for students, and ultimately the dollars that are attached to them. This competition is relatively new to public education and is being promoted by state legislators as a catalyst for public school improvement. All data sets were obtained from publically available data on the Ohio Department of Education website between 2001 and 2012. Between 2001 and …

The Effect On Cumulative Language Acquisition Increase For English Language Learner Students In Kindergarten Through Third Grade Who Attended Multiple Years Of Summer Remediation Programs, Gregory Anthony Baker

Open Access Dissertations

Baker, Gregory A. Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2013. The Effect On Cumulative Language Acquisition Increase For English Language Learner Students In Kindergarten Through Third Grade Who Attended Multiple Years Of Summer Remediation Programs. Major Professor: Marilyn A. Hirth

Already academically at risk, students in the rapidly growing English Language Learner (ELL) student population in the United States face additional challenges due to regression of English language acquisition over the average ten-week agrarian summer break when they return to homes in which Spanish was the primary language spoken. While the influence of summer learning loss has been investigated in different contexts …