Education Commons^™

Change In The Middle: Implementing Professional Learning Communities For Sustained Instructional Change, Johnna L. Bryd-King

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to explore the influence of school leaders and teachers on surface level vs. sustained change through the implementation of professional learning communities, furthering the understanding of why some schools increase student achievement and others do not. Two predominant psychological theories, Kruglanski’s lay epistemic theory and Schwartz’s value theory, were used to explore the influence of cognition formation and values on the phenomenon within a complex environment. This research studied three Southeastern Virginia suburban middle schools. Case study methodologies were utilized, including school leader and PLC teacher member interviews, and an online survey that included …

Examining The Impact Of Leadership Style And School Climate On Student Achievement, Tina Robinson

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether or not leadership style and school climate are significant predictors of student achievement. The target population consisted of elementary and high school teachers from Virginia public schools who had taught under the leadership of their respective current principals for at least 4 years. Nine school divisions were randomly selected from each of the following regions—rural, suburban, and urban—within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Data were collected using two surveys. Bass's (1985) Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Form 5X) was used to assess principals' leadership style—transactional, transformational, or laissez-faire—as perceived by teachers. The Organizational …

The Impact Of Total Quality Management On Student Achievement And School Improvement Team Performance In An Urban Elementary Setting, Jennette Ann Straus

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between TQM and student achievement, and TQM and faculty scores on the High PERFORMing Team Survey.

Currently, there exists no research which indicates that TQM can solve the problems of the urban schools. TQM is recommended by experts when the staff is highly educated, when management supports TQM, when team leaders can run meetings effectively, and when the organization can afford lost time and productivity while its team learns necessary skills.

The TQM schools used in this study began the transition to TQM in 1991. Reading comprehension and mathematics scores …

Parent Participation In The Educational Process And Student Achievement, Linda Worrell Deans

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of parental involvement between parent and child as well as between parent and school. After the level of parent participation was established, the data set was used to determine whether a relationship exists between the level of parental involvement and student achievement at selected secondary urban schools. The selected secondary schools include two different school divisions.

The study employed five approaches: (1) a descriptive analysis of the variables of parental interaction with the child as it relates to a personal, affective level; a monitoring level; and a social level; as …