Education Commons^™

An Analysis Of School Climate Surveys As A Measure Of Student Voice, Deanna L. Oliver

Theses and Dissertations

Student voice may seem like a new concept; however, it has a long history of being engrained in public schools in the United States. The trend towards incorporating and expanding student voice opportunities in high school is based on the tenets of democracy. Educators seek to provide an opportunity for students to practice democracy in their school environment. Students are commonly disregarded as viable stakeholders in their schools. The Illinois State Board of Education offers students in grades 4 through 12 the opportunity to provide input on their schools using the Illinois 5Essentials Survey.

This research sought the input from …

Examining Career And Technical Education Practitioner Preparation And Professional Development Needs, Shane Wilson Lange

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study was used to investigate Illinois automotive educator professional development needs and to identify the demographic landscape of Illinois secondary and post-secondary automotive teachers. The study should bring a greater understanding of what automotive teachers feel they need to learn in order to continue as successful educators. A modified Borich (1980) needs assessment model was used to identify the perceived importance and ability levels for 32 professional competencies. Mean Weighted Discrepancy Scores (MWDS) were calculated using the importance and ability scores in order to report the professional development need. The administered survey was also utilized to examine their …

Realizing The Ideal School District Size: How District Size Affects Achievement And Expenditure, James L. Hayes Iii

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what size district (or range of sizes) better fosters an environment conducive for high student achievement and low district expenditure. The ideal district size debate goes back centuries, with the initial efforts to reform small districts that had their start in the early 19th century as rural single room schools. Literary work on this topic is quite polarized, without a clear and modern consensus. This study contained a quantitative study using a correlational research design to explore the affects of district size on student achievement and district expenditure.

Illinois Stakeholders’ Perceptions Of Advanced Placement® And Dual Credit Courses, Glenn A. Wood

Theses and Dissertations

Advanced Placement® and dual credit coursework have been associated with positive educational attainment outcomes for students and yet opportunity gaps exist for children to access these programs depending on the school they attend. The many benefits of Advanced Placement® and dual credit coursework for students make it necessary that any education agenda by policymakers should include avenues to increase access to these programs for students. This study explored Advanced Placement® and dual credit coursework in Illinois through the perceptions of teachers, principals, superintendents, and school board members using a cross-sectional survey. The survey was administered to examine whether there are …

Mckinney Vento Legislation: A Policy Analysis Of The Evolution Of Homeless Law In Illinois, Cathleen J. Weber

Theses and Dissertations

This policy analysis looks at the evolution of homeless education laws both through federal legislation and state laws. A policy analysis was utilized to show changes through the reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Act.

One aspect of this analysis utilized qualitative data from four individual administrators in four central Illinois school districts. The qualitative data reviewed the training received by each administrator and the policies guiding their enrollment procedures.

Another aspect provided in this analysis is the changes established in response to court cases filed when school districts violated the provisions of the McKinney-Vento Act. The reauthorizations that followed each finding …