Education Commons^™

Field Force Dynamics, Policy Adoption, And Educational Change: Formulating A Heuristic Model, Timothy E. Jordan

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This research investigated factors that influence secondary teacher decisions on policy adoption. Adoption, as used in this study, is defined to include both the decision to adopt a policy and the action of implementing the policy, a process that requires changes in teacher behavior as well as classroom and school culture. One of the major difficulties with policy implementation is the failure to achieve effective behavioral changes in school sites and actual classrooms. It is anticipated that the results of this research will be useful to teachers as well as developers and administrators of future policies. The theoretical foundation for …

The Effects Of The No Child Left Behind Act Of 2001 On The Current Educational System, Morahima Villanueva

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This research study presents a historical view of the United States Federal Government's initial involvement in the country's educational systems and the motives behind these educational reforms. It explores the impact these reforms have had in the country's schools and how the implementations lead to the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) under President George W. Bush. It discusses the role of the four pillars under NCLB and the changes that it has brought about in the current educational system. This study also focuses on the impact that NCLB has had on a small rural …

The Perceived Competency Of Hispanic Teachers In Teaching Classes Of Diversity Is A Function Of Demographic And Personality Traits, Melissa C. Martinez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

For the past three decades, multicultural education has remained a focal point in the culture wars that United States education has encountered. Multicultural education is an educational reform movement that continues to evolve as ethnic minorities make their educational concerns and needs known. The forces driving the reform effort extend beyond linguistic and cultural diversity to include issues of academic diversity, gender, social class and sexual orientation (Wilhelm, 1998). How do educators address these needs, and how does the interaction among these diverse groups impact students and society?

The purpose of this paper is to determine the perceived competency of …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of Hearing Examiner Legislation In Texas Teacher Dismissal Cases, Sofia Annette Adams-Valdez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

As of January 1996 a new process has been implemented in teacher dismissal cases in Texas public schools. In the new process a hearing examiner is assigned by the Texas Education Agency to oversee fact-finding duties in mid-contract teacher dismissals, thereby circumventing the previously exclusive adjudicative role of school board members in dismissal cases.

This study explores the implementation of the 1995 legislation that resulted in major changes to the teacher dismissal process in Texas, an important component of the larger and broader educational reform mandates that have been gradually introduced by the Texas legislature over the last decade.

Qualitative …

Do Principals Make A Difference? An Analysis Of Leadership Behaviors Of Elementary Principals In Effective Schools, Rosemarie Gomez Maciel

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Studies have shown principal instructional leadership behaviors to be a factor in student achievement. There has been little research on principal leadership instructional behavior in schools where the principal and student body are predominately Mexican-American.

This causal-comparative study examined the relationships among the school, the achievement scores of third grade students as measured by the reading portion of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) and leadership behaviors of elementary school principals. A key variation in this study is that the sample is entirely comprised of Mexican-American leaders of schools that have undergone (within three years after the naming of …

Perceptions Of Teachers And Administrators Of The Organizational Supports For Inclusion Programs In Southwest Florida Elementary Schools, Brian Douglas Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The success of exceptional student education, although dependent upon the teachers involved, is largely made possible both by the role the school principal performs and the organizational support provided by the school district. The primary purpose of this study was to identify the sources and components of organizational support required to implement the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education classrooms. The provision of resources by administrators, particularly the building principal, is an example of an organizational support that helps students with disabilities learn successfully in this setting. These resources include funding, special curricula, adaptive technology, organizational resources such …