Education Commons^™

Examining The Relationships Among Parents’ Perceptions Of Their Children’S Special Educational Needs, Their Beliefs About Parental Involvement, And Their Decision To Homeschool, Mary Lee Morse

Doctoral Dissertations

The school choice option of homeschooling has grown rapidly over the past two decades. An estimated 1.77 million K-12 students in the United States (3.4% of the total school-age population) were being homeschooled during the 2011-2012 school year. The purpose of this study was to gather data from homeschooling parents that would contribute to the understanding of parental involvement with school choice and of parental involvement with educational organizations. More specifically, this study determined the proportion of families in the sample (N = 333) who had children enrolled in public or private school before making the decision to homeschool …

Narrowing The Gap: Exploring The Characteristics And Practices Of Urban School Principals Closing The Achievement Gap, Gordon D. Amerson Jr

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to critically analyze the experiences and practices of Inland Empire urban school principals as they work to close the African American achievement gap. The achievement gap begins in elementary school and continues to persist throughout elementary and secondary schools producing differences in high school graduation rates, college and career attainment, and ultimately socio-economic differences in income between various racial and ethnic groups.

We know the impact of school principals on student achievement is significant. The literature demonstrates that school principals play a key role in developing the structures and systems necessary to improve …

The Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Framework And Transformational Leadership Alignment: An Investigation, Martin J. Mcevoy Jr

Doctoral Dissertations

The recent Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Regulations (CMR 35.00) articulates goals that include growth and improved performance by teachers. Despite this stated goal, however, it is unclear if the policy is consistent with transformational leadership, which has shown correlation with growth and performance. In fact, the policy may instead bring about unintended consequences associated by some with evaluations in general, such as promoting “inspectional and fault finding supervision . . . [that] has serious consequences for the improvement of teaching and student achievement” (Glanz, 2005, p. 3). Through a discursive analysis of the Educator Evaluation Regulations (CMR 35.00) and semi-structured interviews …

The Influence Of Community Demographics On Student Achievement On The Connecticut Mastery Test In Mathematics And English Language Arts In Grade 3 Through 8, Albert Nii Lartey Sackey Jr.

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Student achievement has been measured in the United States for decades through the use of standardized state assessments. The purpose of this study was to examine which combination of 15 out-of-school community demographic variables best predicted and accounted for the most variance in a Connecticut school district’s percentages of students scoring goal or above on the 2010 Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) for the third through eighth grade in Mathematics (Math) and English Language Arts (ELA). Analyses were conducted using both a simultaneous regression model and a hierarchical regression model. This study looked at the entire population of districts that were …

Peer Mentoring For-Profit College Students, Diane Mcgeehan

Theses and Dissertations

A peer mentoring program for new students at a for-profit institution was implemented at a campus over five quarters. Peer mentors with high GPAs were matched with students for eleven weeks to help with academic success. A Business Club was created to support the mentoring program and campus activities. A professor monitored the program and collected data about the mentors, mentees, and the program's initiatives. Qualitative and quantitative research practices were used. Most mentees completed their first quarter coursework and re-enrolled for multiple quarters. The peer mentors learned valuable skills that they will apply to their workplaces. The campus was …

School Principals’ Sources Of Knowledge, Arland Early Perkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what sources of professional knowledge are available to principals in 1 rural East Tennessee school district. Qualitative research methods were applied to gain an understanding of what sources of knowledge are used by school principals in 1 rural East Tennessee school district and the barriers they face to using knowledge sources. This study questioned whether these resources are adequate for, accessible to, and used by school principals. In this study I examined principals’ perceptions of the need for a district-led mentoring program.

The study first consisted of a preliminary data collection procedure. …

An Examination Of Superintendent Salaries And Compensation Packages In Kentucky, Lisa M. Carroll

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the College of Education at Morehead State University by Lisa M.Carroll on January 15, 2014.

An Evaluation Of A Central Virginia Alternative School : Do Students Benefit From Their Experience?, Anthony H. Francis

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if students benefited from attending a Central Virginia alternative school, defined as a remedial alternative school which scaffolds students both socially and academically so they may return to their base school. Twelve students took part in the study that examined the academic indicators of grade point average, attendance, and number of disciplinary infractions as well as students’ perceptions of their experiences. The difference in trust levels was minimal, but students had accurate perceptions of how their grades, attendance, and discipline had changed while attending the alternative school. The study revealed three areas …

Longevity Of Women Superintendents, Kim C. Sethna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public schools are facing a leadership crisis regarding the lack of women superintendents in the United States. Although, historically, women have dominated the positions of classroom teachers and outnumbered men in receiving administrative leadership certificates, there is a disproportion in the number of men and women superintendents leading the nation's approximate 14,000 public schools. While current researchers describe the complex roles that the superintendency entails, there is little data on gender differences, specifically, how women superintendents achieve longevity in this role. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the longevity of women superintendents in public school …

Using A State-Wide Survey To Determine The Impact Of Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports On Students' Self-Reported Perceptions, Feelings, And Behaviors, Rachel Youngblom

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study examined student responses to the Minnesota Student Survey in 286 schools across the state of Minnesota. Of these schools, 143 of the schools had implemented PBIS and the other 143 schools had not. The study included elementary, middle, and high schools. The schools were coded as either small (under 150 students), medium (151-480 students), or large (over 480 students). For schools that had been trained to implement PBIS, fidelity of implementation was also considered and all schools were coded as having either high fidelity (80 or higher for SET; 70 or higher for BoQ) or low fidelity. The …