Education Commons^™

Validating Middle School Principals' Opinions About The Impact Of Investments, David Adler

Doctoral Dissertations

Accountability for American public education systems, which spend more than $750 billion annually as of 2019, has been a topic of longstanding controversy. The test-based accountability movement has led to conditions that penalize schools that educate traditionally underserved students (low socioeconomic status, English language learners and students with disabilities are examined in this paper). Further, leaders of these schools lack evidence-based guidance to help make high-impact improvements, as schools serving high proportions of these students are rarely cited as exemplars of high-quality education. In three phases, this study demonstrates the feasibility of using a demographically normed, test-based status metric to …

Teacher Collaborative Action-Taking And Instructional Practices Supportive Of Social-Emotional Learning: A Correlational Study, Ann M. Leonard

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine possible correlations between collaborative action-taking and instructional practices supportive of student Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) among U.S. lower secondary-level teachers. This quantitative, ex post facto study utilized existing data from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Descriptive analyses provided a snapshot of current collaborative action-taking and instructional practices supportive of SEL across U.S. schools among lower secondary teachers (grades 7-9). Correlational analyses identified the relationships between the independent variables, types of teacher collaborative action-taking, and the dependent variables, specific instructional practices …

The Georgia School Improvement Specialists: A Qualitative Study Exploring Their Roles With Principals Of Middle Schools Identified As Focus Schools, Jessie Adelaide Beaumont

Doctoral Dissertations

While educational initiatives have used external consultants to effect change since the 1950s (Sulla, 1998), understanding their roles and their work has become increasingly important in helping low-performing schools facilitate change and guide the school improvement process (Brady, 2003; Mass Insight Education, 2012; Toppings, 2013). The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study is to identify and explore the roles Georgia’s school improvement specialists serve when working with principals of middle schools in Focus School status. The benefits and challenges of the school improvement specialists supporting principals with school improvement efforts are identified as well. This study will be framed in …

The Perceptions Of Teachers And Principals In Regard To Teacher Leadership And School Improvement, Carolyn Sue Hartwell Barfield

Doctoral Dissertations

While the importance of effective leadership is undisputed, few studies have addressed what the role teachers have in effective leadership that promotes school improvement. This study draws on data analyzing survey responses from principals and teachers to better understand the perceptions of teachers and principals in regard to teacher leadership and to further examine perceptions of the role teacher leadership plays in school improvement. Also considered were needs, rewards, and barriers to effective teacher leadership, as well as the overall interest teachers have in becoming teacher leaders. The Teacher Leadership Roles survey was developed by the researcher and administered to …

The Relationship Between Louisiana Middle School Parent Perceptions Of School Effectiveness And School Performance Scores, Dana Autman Scott

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of parents of middle school students in Louisiana about the (a) culture; (b) climate; (c) leadership; (d) curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and (e) level of parental and community involvement at the schools that their children attend as it relates to school performance. The instrument used in this study was the Parent Questionnaire developed for the Louisiana Needs Analysis (LANA). Designed by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE), LANA is an internet-based tool provided to assist school administrators in evaluating school performance and planning for improvement.

During the data analysis, Pearson …