Education Commons^™

Politics, Policies, And Procedures: The Iron Triangle Of Implementing Education Reform, Clint Reardon Jr

Honors College Theses

Education is often seen as a living thing, something that should grow and change with time. However, for far too many people who experience education from both within the school structure and for those who experience education from outside the school structure it can often seem like the educational system is stagnate, dying, and in some cases dead. One shared reason for this perception is perceived barriers in education that stifle creativity and allow educational systems to grow, adapt, and change to meet the needs of the students they serve. This study set out to identify what those barriers are …

Exploring The Application Of Compassionate Leadership Behaviors In The Workplace, Tracy L. Laurie

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This qualitative case study answers the central research question “How are compassionate leadership behaviors encouraged and/or discouraged in the workplace?” Interviews with five individuals from one work team in an Am Law 100 law firm revealed how the compassionate leadership behaviors of integrity, accountability, presence, empathy, authenticity, and dignity (Shuck et al., 2019) were applied at work. This research explored four themes: leadership courage, growth mindset, empowerment, and coaching performance. Each theme has four subthemes further describing the data: Leadership courage: managing consistently and fairly, being transparent, communicating honestly, and taking risks; Growth mindset: working intentionally, developing others, learning continuously, …

Reclaiming And Reconceptualizing Accountability, Joseph Hailpern

Dissertations

This body of work contributes to the exploration of the intended and unintended consequences of the policy levers, referred to as education accountability policy, that have driven entire systems toward the inclusion of student performance data into educator performance ratings and the impact on the profession. Only from an extensive understanding of where we have been can a reimagined path forward be born to serve our youth and society better. This mixed methods dissertation does so by uncovering the legal landscape that defines the policy levers and bringing educators together in focus groups to delve deeply into these levers’ impact …

A Study Linking Title 1 Strategic Resource Allocation To Student Academic Success In South Carolina Public Schools, Brenton Jerrod Coe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Strategic instructional resourcing has become an important topic in public education, the most lucrative and expensive business in the United States. It is estimated which the United States spends about $612.7 billion annually on public education. This study will analyze and synthesize data from Title I schools in South Carolina, specifically in the area of resource allocation and its relationship to student academic success. Historically, public education has provided all citizens with an equal and equitable opportunity to receive an adequate education. Over time, access to strong public education can impact the lives of students with regard to social mobility. …

The Efforts Of K-12 School Principals To Increase Black Student Achievement, Kerry Moore

Educational Studies Dissertations

Policies typically hold schools accountable for student learning by isolating student groups within the school population to monitor academic achievement. Responsibility for ensuring academic growth and learning for all students often falls heavily upon the K-12 public school principal. This study investigated K-12 school principals’ beliefs, prioritization, and execution of research-based strategies meant to increase Black student achievement as well as their efforts to implement these strategies, including factors and conditions promoting or inhibiting implementation. Three guiding questions informed this study: (1) To what degree do principals believe leading efforts to improve Black student achievement is a priority? (2) What …

Professional Development For K-6 Teachers, Rebecca S. Monroe

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

For over a century, educators and politicians have been working on educational reform for various reasons and with the hope of a plethora of outcomes. Since at least the late twentieth century, educational reform has been undertaken for the purpose of increasing students’ academic achievement. While a shift in focus of teaching to a focus on learning has occurred, we know changes in the classroom and with classroom teaching still needs to occur. One recent incarnation of reform has been focused on the teacher and the professional development they receive.

Currently, the United States spends over 18 billion dollars annually …

A Study Of The Perceptions Of School Administrators On Fostering Relational Trust With Teachers In Texas Urban Charter Schools, Meesha-Gay Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accountability has placed immense pressure on principals leading K-12 public charter schools to increase standards for success. Overwhelmingly, principals accept the charge to produce promising results every day, despite the public scrutiny principals may ensue for not meeting the state’s standard of excellence. Principals are expected to drive high academic standards, initiate instructional vision, interact with parents, oversee policy mandates, address students’ needs, and foster relationships with teachers. The daily demands requiring principals’ attention stimulate stress and may cause principals to wrestle with prioritizing trusted relationships. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand how principals foster relational …

Professional Learning Cultures At Work: How Principals Serve As Catalysts For Learning, Christopher J. Tranberg

Doctoral Dissertations

Principals are an influential factor in a child’s academic success (Manna, 2015; Louis et al., 2010; Waters et al., 2003). Although the path of influence is often indirect, principals affect student learning by developing and sustaining strong professional learning cultures (Hattie, 2009; Leithwood & Jantzi, 2012). As a result of the complexities surrounding principalship, a desire to understand the attributes, skills, and leadership actions of successful principals persists as an international focus of educational research. This study examines principalship through the experiences of various stakeholders within a school system utilizing a descriptive single case study ethnographic qualitative approach. This approach …

Direct Response To Usb64: Focus On Compliance Or Improved Student Learning, Patrick Edward Flanagan

Theses and Dissertations

Using the professional literature surrounding change knowledge, this study assesses Utah public school districts' response to Utah Senate Bill 64 (USB64) that was passed in 2012. USB64 required school districts to ensure that principals were evaluating teacher performance through the use of a chosen evaluation tool. The chosen evaluation tool needed to include evaluation rubrics tied to the state teacher standards. USB64 was passed with the intent to improve classroom instruction and thereby improve student learning in Utah schools. Utah school districts complied with USB64 requirements and timelines. Districts successfully identified and adopted observation tools that principals could use to …

'Training' The Body Politic: Essays On The School Reform Orthodoxy, Jahan Naghshineh

Education (PhD) Dissertations

These essays represent my attempt to grapple with fundamental questions about what I see as the upside-down nature of educational reforms in American society. Why is there a never-ending crisis in America’s public schools? What does it mean when the educational specter from different periods of history is discredited and yet the specter keeps being recycled decade after decade? For example, elites propagated crisis narratives to galvanize support for the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation at the turn of the century. Countless researchers then documented the adverse impacts of NCLB on America’s schools and yet that literature never led …

A Case Study In The Use Of Mentorships In Academic Instructional Coach Development., Matt Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Academic instructional coaches have long been used to support teacher development and student learning. As a recent position in the education field, there is little information regarding the development of staff in this role. This study sought to better understand how academic instructional coaches are mentored and developed within challenging school contexts. The theoretical framework for this research is guided by the social constructivism epistemology. In alignment with this framework, a collective case study was utilized to better understand the relationship between the principal and the academic instructional coach. Exploring this relationship emphasized how principals support academic instructional coach growth. …

Investigating The Experiences Of Faculty Members And Administrators With Quality Assurance And Accountability In Higher Education In Ontario, Melanie Lawrence

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The main objective of this qualitative case study was to explore the professional experience of six faculty members and three administrators in higher education during a time of increasing quality assurance and accountability policies so to gain a deeper understanding of how neoliberalism is changing their work experience as academics in Ontario, Canada. I have presented the research findings by employing policy sociology as both theory and methodology using the method of the qualitative case study. This form of qualitative inquiry provided an opportunity to explore how each interviewee navigated the current context of neoliberalism within their respective roles in …

California Elected City Council Women Of Color: Building A Collaborative Vision With Inclusive Voice, Beatriz T. Valencia

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Following the U.S. presidential race of 2016, large numbers of women—particularly women of color—made the decision to run for political office for the first time at both the national and local levels. It is imperative that these women’s campaigns and victories are studied as a means to resist essentialism and honor the unique perspectives and histories of the voices of women of color in these political roles—roles highly underrepresented in literature and society at large. This dissertation focused on the victory speeches of 48, first-time, California city council, elected women of color (EWOC) with the aim of understanding their campaigns …

Regrounding School Accountability In Shared Responsibility: A Case Study Of Culturally Responsive District Leadership, Ericka Burns

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School accountability has been a part of public education conversations since the development of No Child Left Beyond (NCLB) in 2001. These accountability policies were developed with a core mission of holding schools, districts, and states accountable to the academic growth and achievement of all students and all student groups, and for the last twenty years, schools and districts have adjusted their priorities to align to the mandates of the state and federal accountability policies. These policies have stirred a great deal of criticism in their limited scales of defining student and school success as well as the authoritative leadership …

Chronic Absenteeism: The Problem, The Participants, The Panacea, Markenya L. Williams

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This study examined some of the historical challenges and barriers of chronic absenteeism that has plagued the United States K-12th grade educational system for several centuries. The brutal impact that chronic absenteeism has on students’ academic achievement, the school, community, and society were described and categorized by various demographics and subgroups. Additionally, the primary stakeholders for overcoming chronic absenteeism were identified; interventions and accountability measures were also explored. Furthermore, this study analyzed the current attendance policies/procedures of five school districts from a large Midwestern state, with similar demographics and varying chronic absenteeism rates. Practical strategies and recommendations to reduce chronic …

High School Teachers' Perceptions Of Social Studies In The Context Of Accountability, Kristina M. Kelleher-Bianchi

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe urban public high school social studies teachers’ perceptions of social studies curriculum narrowing and its influence on their professional identity within the context of Massachusetts’ school accountability policies. This study gave nuance to larger quantitative studies by allowing policy and school leaders to hear directly from teachers who mediate the influence of accountability policies on students. It examined these questions: What were public school teachers’ understandings of the influence of testing pressure in their school? What were high school teachers’ experiences with social studies curriculum narrowing? How did teachers perceive their …

Charter Schools’ Accountability: A Program Evaluation Of The Charter Oversight Unit Of The California Department Of Education, Chaddrick L. Owes

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a qualitative-based program evaluation that explored the existing charter school accountability measures, processes, and oversight systems of the California Department of Education (CDE) in relation to State Board of Education (SBE)-authorized charter schools. This dissertation further explored the potential program improvements that could be implemented to improve the charter school oversight functions of the SBE and CDE. After a charter school receives authorization and approval to operate, the degrees of accountably and oversight vary dependent upon the charter authorizer and the oversite entity. This dissertation study aimed to discover how charter schools authorized by the SBE are …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Reading Wonders: Is It Really A Wonder? A Program Evaluation, Myra A. Richardson

Dissertations

Reading programs are essential tools for leaders to use while building literacy. The transfer from instructional delivery to student knowledge should be easily recognizable in the end-of-year assessment data. As the principal analyzing the end-of-year data, I discovered a problem when I struggled to see this transfer in my data. The purpose of this program evaluation was to determine whether teachers perceived Reading Wonders to be an effective reading program for the school district as well as whether the assessment data aligned with teachers’ perceptions. A survey was used to collect responses from the participants and an Excel spreadsheet was …

The Impact Of Principal Leadership On Teacher Perception Of The Annual Professional Performance Review (Appr), Barry Alexander Finsel

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Teacher quality is the most important school-based factor affecting student learning and achievement. In 2009, the Race to the Top (RttT) federal education initiative provided an opportunity for states to compete for federal grant resources to reform their public education systems, which included revamping teacher evaluation systems to improve teacher (and principal) effectiveness. Consequently, New York State was awarded almost $700 million in 2010 during the second phase of RttT for its Regents Education Reform Plan, which established a new teacher and principal evaluation plan known as the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR). Under its first version (§3012-c), APPR used …

Exploring Teacher’S Attitudes And Behaviors In Implementing Instructional Technology Into Curriculum, Letitia Walters

Dissertations

This program evaluation explored how effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development can occur despite teachers limited technology competencies. Theses competencies increase when teachers have desire and opportunities to become better acquainted with utilizing digital tools. Perceived technology integration skills of teachers solely, cannot predict the effective integration of technology in student products to address new learning (Ertmer, 2005). Technology integrated lesson plans, the relationship between teachers' beliefs and their use of various strategies to integrate technology and a model that teachers can use to guide them through the necessary changes they will need …

An Exploratory Analysis: A Mixed-Methods Investigation Of The Construct Validity Of The 2016 Mississippi Statewide Accountability System, Justin Andrew Geurin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract: the purpose of this research project was to conduct an exploratory analysis of the 2016 Mississippi Statewide Accountability System (MSAS), which is the model by which all public school in Mississippi are assessed, rated, and ranked, in an attempt to assess whether or not the system is an effective policy tool, especially in relation to the goals associated with its development and implementation. The study was conducted in three distinct sections: phase one analyzed the model itself and all associated documents, while the researcher also conducted interviews with several individuals with knowledge of the development of the system to …

How Elementary School Principals Manage Accountability Expectations, Carolyn M. Ball

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis explores how elementary school principals in the Canadian province of Ontario manage multiple accountability expectations in their work. My conceptual framework is based on seven different accountability systems that can influence principals' work: bureaucratic, moral, political, professional, market, legal, and performance-based. This interpretive, qualitative study consisted of 12 semi-structured interviews, approximately sixty minutes in length, with principals from two urban Ontario school boards.

The amount of demands placed on elementary principals by various forms of accountability--including mandated government policies, school board initiatives, and what principals believe to be important based on the needs of their respective schools--is intensifying …

Correlates And Effects Of Data-Informed Decision-Making: An Empirical Examination Of The Loose Coupling Theory Using A National Data Set, Xingyuan Gao

Dissertations

The notion of schools as “loosely-coupled” organizations has been widely discussed in the research literature. Many argue that the loose coupling is either a protective mechanism for schools to buffer external pressure or a barrier to implementing new reforms. Against the backdrop of standards-based reform and accountability policies in the last 15 years, which focus on tightening the system as the way to improve K-12 schools, I conducted three related studies to empirically test the loose coupling theory by applying two-level hierarchical linear models to nationally representative data in the US.

In the first study I evaluated the loose coupling …

Understanding Author Academic Disciplinary Background To Direct A More Effective Use Of Standardized Testing Within The School Community, Joseph Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

Since the days of Horace Mann, standardized testing has been used as a control mechanism by policy makers to determine who makes decisions about what will happen in public schools. A dynamic struggle for educational control and governance has continued since that time between the local, state, and federal levels. This struggle for control puts school principals in a unique organizational position where they are expected to use standardized tests within the school community with teachers, students, and parents to improve education but at the same time manage external accountability mandates from district, state and federal levels of governance. To …

A World Both Big And Small: Understanding Urban Middle School Teachers’ Sense Of Self-Efficacy In An Era Of Accountability, Richard Gallucci

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This explanatory case study seeks to understand the nature of middle school educators’ self-efficacy in an urban public school district during an era of accountability. The study was conducted in a progressive school district, known as OakRidge Pubic Schools. A sequential mixed methods design with a participant-selection model variation was employed. The study identified teachers’ level of self-efficacy via the Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001), a quantitative survey used to determine high and low self-efficacy focus groups. During these subsequent focus group interviews, the competing objectives of fulfilling responsibilities levied from accountability mandates and initiatives, …

Educator Perceptions Of Instructional Leadership In The School Improvement Process, Lori Lynne Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to conduct an investigation of educator perceptions of instructional leadership in the school improvement process. Interviews were conducted with educators and an administrator in a small, rural high school in Middle Tennessee. In 2010, the high school was labeled as a low performing school by the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE). In 2014, Commissioner Kevin Huffman announced the school was on the TDOE Reward School Cusp List for being in the top 10% of schools based on one-year progress data from the Tennessee Value-added Assessment System (TVAAS) school composites.

Participants of this case …

The Challenges Associated With The Implementation Of The New Teacher Evaluation Model, Achieve Nj: A Building- Based Administrators Perspective, Vincent L. Stallings

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Race to the Top is a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education program created to spur innovation and reforms in states and local districts of K-12 education. It is funded by the Education Recovery Act as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and was announced by President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on July 24, 2009. States were awarded points for satisfying certain educational policies, such as performance-based standards (often referred to as an annual professional performance review), for teachers and principals, complying with nationwide standards, promoting charter schools and privatization of …

Achievenj And Its Effects On Hiring Principals, Gina M. Cinotti

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate New Jersey superintendents’ hiring decisions of principals during the implementation of AchieveNJ, the educator evaluation system. This policy created mandates for school districts, which were nonexistent in the past. The 2013-2014 school year was the inaugural year for AchieveNJ, and it is unknown if this new mandate has influenced superintendents’ hiring decisions of principals and whether superintendents’ own estimations of the new policy will shape their hiring decisions. The study described the influence, if any, AchieveNJ might have on superintendents’ hiring decisions of principals. A substantial amount of literature exists on …

Middle Grade Academic Achievement And Socioeconomic Status On North Carolina State Report Cards, 2012 - 2013, Lauren Dotson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the era of accountability in our nation‘s public schools, high-stakes standardized testing is the primary methodology for determining academic achievement; results from end-of-grade standardized testing are published annually in state and national report cards that are used as an instrument for determining school and teacher quality. What standardized tests do not take into consideration, however, are external environmental factors that have an impact on academic achievement; this research project focuses upon the effects of socioeconomic status on academic achievement on the middle grade student in North Carolina in 2012 and 2013. These years were chosen to comparatively analyze student …

An Historical Perspective To Examine How Federal Policy Influenced The Definition And Evaluation Of Teacher Effectiveness Since 1950, Janine M. Mathesz

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Increased public demand to hold teachers accountable for student learning and to remove ineffective teachers has challenged state department of education officials to develop teacher evaluation systems that include student assessment data. Many educational researchers theorize teacher effectiveness is the variable under the control of the school with the most influence on student success.

This study examines the influence of federal government education policies on state teacher evaluation systems and how this influence has shaped the definition and evaluation of an effective teacher over the past 62 years. Teacher evaluations, when used as a proper tool, assist administrators in providing …