Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Education Policy And Social Justice: Exploring Possibilities Within Education Policy Context Of Pakistan, Sajid Ali

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

One of the major purposes of education policy is to ensure social justice in a society. The social justice needs to be thought of not only in conventional sense of ‘distributional’ justice, but also in the sense of ‘relational’ justice. Looking from this perspective the policies in Pakistan have historically focused only on distributional justice, albeit with dismal progress on this front. However, they have completely ignored the attainment of ‘relational’ justice as a policy objective. As a result power differentials not only exist but worsened through educational policies such as undermining of public schooling while encouraging privatization of education …

Sex And Gender Identity: A New Perspective For College Student Development, Steven Ray Wise

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

One of the goals of college student development professionals is to help undergraduate students develop a meaningful sense of personal identity. Early in the history of the profession, practitioners borrowed freely from related fields such as sociology and psychology to guide their practice, but beginning around the 1960s, scholars began in earnest to develop their own unique body of literature. In this work I examine the development of that scholarly work as it relates to identity development—specifically the evolution of understanding around the issues of sex and gender identity development.

Beginning with William Perry, whose work has impacted so many …

A Mixed Methods Evaluation Of New Teacher Support Systems At An Urban Elementary, Dracaena Mosley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An urban elementary school in the northeast was lacking formal methods to evaluate its

support systems for teachers. This formative evaluation of the school's support systems for new teachers and staff was conducted using a mixed methods design to address the problem. The purpose of this evaluation was to determine the indicators of progress or need of improvement of effectively supporting teachers through mentoring, professional development, and collaboration. The theoretical framework for the study was Kirkpatrick's 4 levels of evaluation: reaction, learning, behavior, and results. The evaluation was also guided by questions about the extent, perceived effectiveness, strengths, and weaknesses …

Evaluation Of The State Of Georgia's School Instructional Extension Program (Siep) At One Middle School, Taiesha Marie Adams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined the implementation of the State of Georgia's School Instructional Extension Program (SIEP) at one middle school in a rural school district. SIEP was adopted in this district in an effort to improve outcomes for students who demonstrate deficiencies in core-academic subjects. For the past 2 years, SIEP has been used at this study site to address low academic performance in the area of mathematics. However, to date, school leaders have not developed a system to evaluate the efficacy of the program. The purpose of this project study was to conduct a comprehensive program evaluation that addressed the …

Disentangling Disadvantage: Can We Distinguish Good Teaching From Classroom Composition?, Gema Zamarro, John Engberg, Juan Esteban Saavedra, Jennifer Steele

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

This paper focuses on the use of teacher value-added estimates to assess the distribution of effective teaching across students of varying socioeconomic disadvantage. We use simulation methods to examine the extent to which different commonly used teacher-value added estimators accurately capture both the rank correlation between true and estimated teacher effects and the distribution of effective teaching across student characteristics in the presence of classroom composition effects. Varying the amount of teacher sorting by student characteristics, the withinteacher variability in classroom composition, and the amount of student learning decay, we compare aggregated residuals, teacher random effects, and teacher fixed effects …

The Difference In Act College Readiness Benchmarks Between Avid And Non-Avid Students, Stephany Eley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study examined the difference in college readiness (as measured by the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks) between high school students who were enrolled in AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) for three or more years and students who were never enrolled in AVID. A causal comparative research design was employed to compare high school students from a Central Florida school district containing both AVID high schools and non-AVID high schools. AVID students were demographically matched to non-AVID students for race, gender, socio-economic status (as measured by free and reduced lunch status), Title 1 status, and grade level. Independent t tests …

Grade Retention Rates: Impact Of Standards-Based Grading As Compared To A Traditional Grading System In 3rd And 5th Grades, Mishea Dean

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Student retention is a contentious issue that has spawned considerable debate among school leaders and policymakers. NCLB's accountability requirement has led to the development of a standards-based grading system to ensure students master content and so schools can meet AYP goals. This causal comparative study examined whether a change from a traditional grading system to a standards-based system affected the student retention frequency rate. Convenience sampling was used to collect retention data on third and fifth grade students who attended four Title 1 schools in northeast Georgia during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years when the grading system changed. A …

Articulation Agreements: Academic Success, Persistence And Graduation From Online And Face-To-Face Degree Completion Programs, Darnette Hall

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this causal-comparative study is to examine whether differences exist in the retention and persistence of articulation participants based on face-to-face or online degree completion. The study will determine the rate of completion of articulation participants who transfer from a North Carolina Community College to a state university in North Carolina and enroll in traditional face-to-face classes versus articulation participants who enroll in online degree completion. There is considerable literature on articulation from the perspective of student satisfaction and an administrator's perception. Substantial research on policies and procedures as well as comparison to native and transfer students. There …

Efficacy Of Hybrid Coursework On Retention Rate In Online Higher Education, Kevin Struble

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Recent developments and technological advances in online education have provided the adult learner with new opportunities to obtain a college education. However, online coursework offers new challenges particularly for online student retention, as these rates are lower than traditional students on a college or university campus. The following research outlines a quantitative study for the perceived effect of social learning for adult online learners through hybrid coursework on undergraduate retention rates through two research questions using a causal-comparative design for research question one and a correlational design for research question two. This study examined retention theory in regards to social …

Students' Perceptions And Experiences Of A Diversity And Inclusion Training Program At A Community College, Norma I. Corral-Chandler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A community college developed a diversity and inclusion training program, Maximizing Our Strengths as an Inclusive Community (MOSAIC), to address the lack of diversity training for students and staff. However, the program had not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to learn about students' perceptions and experiences of the MOSAIC program. Guided by theories of constructivism and components of critical race theory related to critical studies in Whiteness, social identity theory, and best practices for diversity and inclusion training, this study explored how students described the effectiveness of the program. Interview data for this responsive program evaluation using …

Investigating The Literacy, Numeracy And Ict Demands Of Primary Teacher Education, Helen De Silva Joyce, Susan Feez, Eveline Chan, Stephen Tobias

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The pre-service programs delivered in Australian teacher education institutions are expected to graduate students who meet externally determined standards, including standards in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology. These programs are also expected to educate future teachers in professional knowledge and practice, as well as prepare them to engage in professional learning continuously throughout their careers. This paper reports on the first phase of a project that investigated the literacy, numeracy and ICT demands of assessment tasks across the four years of the Bachelor of Education (Primary) program at a regional university.

The Relationship Among Principal Instructional Leadership, Collective Teacher Efficacy, Student Academic Achievement, And Socioeconomic Status In Appalachia Eastern Kentucky High Schools, William H. Salazar

Online Theses and Dissertations

Current studies have shown that principal instructional leadership can affect student academic achievement as much as 15% (Hallinger & Murphy, 1982; Hallinger & Heck, 1996; Leithwood & Beatty, 2009). Research studies on collective teacher efficacy have shown that teacher efficacy can significantly affect student academic achievement (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001; Tschannen, Moran &Woolfolk, 2001; Woolfolk; 2004; Goddard, et. al, 2000; Francera, 2009). Previous research has suggested that the effects of socioeconomic status of students can be ameliorated through a combination of principal instructional leadership and collective teacher efficacy (Howley & Howley, 2010; Coleman, 1966). This non-experimental research project developed four …

Implementing A Generic School Improvement Framework: Experience Of The National School Improvement Tool In Australian Settings, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young, Robert Marshall, Robert Hassell

School and system improvement

This is a collection of three papers presented at a symposium ‘Implementing a generic school improvement framework: experience of the National School Improvement Tool in Australian settings’ at the 27th International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) , Yogyakarta Indonesia, 27 January 2014. Paper A: Development of a school improvement framework with broad application in different contexts by Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young, ACER. School improvement has been a focus of attention in Australia for some time, but the publication of results in international testing such as PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science …

Disparity Of Principal Accountability, Mary Kathryn Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

This study begins with a review of court cases that have helped shape public education in America. Following the review is an analysis of federal reform in education from 1965 to the present, paired with educational leadership literature to highlight a disparity in what federal mandates and state policies have in place for accountability measures. The study ends with a state analysis of Illinois and Iowa to find the strengths and weaknesses of state policy in the area of principal accountability.

As policymakers have worked to increase accountability in K-12 education, efforts have focused on a variety of measures to …

Preferred Professional Development, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

As younger superintendents replace retirees, professional development needs have increased to meet new forms of accountability, teacher/ principal evaluation and rigorous curriculum reform. In a survey of New York state superintendents, more than half expressed a preference for local, high-quality professional development workshops so they did not have to travel from their districts. The superintendents also preferred professional development involving systemic change and best practices.

The Effects Of Standards-Based Grading On Student Performance In Algebra 2, Rachel Beth Rosales

Dissertations

The use of standards-based grading in American public schools is increasing, offering students, parents, and teachers a new way of measuring and communicating about student achievement and performance. Parents indicate an appreciation for this method of grading, and students at the elementary grades (K-6) have improved standardized test scores in reading and math as a result of its implementation. This study seeks to determine whether standards-based grading has the same effect on students at the high school level (grades 9-12) by comparing end-of-course test scores and posttest scores of Algebra 2 students enrolled in a standards-based graded classroom with to …

Teacher Evaluations And Merit Pay: An Uneasy Mix, David Alan Dolph

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Teacher evaluations are undergoing significant changes in response to demands for school reform and higher accountability. States are now including value-added data in teacher evaluations, experimenting with merit pay based on evaluations, or both. Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Texas are but a few states that have altered the way teachers are evaluated or that are incorporating value-added data.

Changes in evaluation practice will likely mean significant modifications in how building-level administrators evaluate teachers. Moreover, approaches to teacher salary systems are just as likely to be altered if merit pay is introduced. School business officials (SBOs) are typically …

Adult Learning In A K-12 Setting; Job-Embedded Professional Development: Teacher Identity And Self-Efficacy, Deidra Maclellan Gammill

Dissertations

This two-phase sequential mixed methods study examined the relationship between professional development, whether in the form of traditional professional development, a professional learning community and/or lesson study, and teacher self-efficacy and self-directed learning in order to gain a greater understanding of the role professional development plays in teacher identity and efficacy as they relate to adult learning theory.

The qualitative case study method was used to interview 22 teachers, half of whom participated in a professional learning community known as lesson study. The interview data indicated that collaboration was simply one of the variables that influenced teacher efficacy and identity. …

Teachers' Perceptions About The Types, Quality, And Impact Of Their Job-Embedded Professional Development Experiences, Delilah Mitchell

Dissertations

This study was designed to determine eighth grade teachers’ perceptions of the impact, quality, and types of job-embedded professional development activities they have participated in and the relationship to student achievement in language arts, math, or science. The researcher identified school districts with 50% or more of their eighth grade students scoring proficient or advanced on all three areas of Mississippi’s Curriculum Test, Second Edition (MCT2). Sixty-four eighth grade language arts, math, or science teachers who had been at their current school at least two years completed a questionnaire created by the researcher. Multiple Linear Regression and Pearson’s Correlation were …

An Open Letter To Governor-Elect Mcauliffe, Thomas J. Shields

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

Almost every governor elected in recent memory has recognized how critical education is to the economic and social welfare of our commonwealth. Each has come into office ready to put his personal stamp on Virginia's educational system. However, we believe the time has come for our state's chief executive to realize that our current system is no longer functioning in an equitable manner, particularly for children who are at or below the poverty line.

November 8, 2013 - Alec Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Meeting Minutes

ALEC Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Rehired After Retired, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Slightly more than one in 10 superintendents participating in the "2012 AASA Superintendents Salary and Benefits Study" indicated they have been rehired as a superintendent after retiring from one state or another. This contrasts with a finding in AASP

Tapping Into The Skills Of School Librarians, Audrey Church

Education & Human Services Faculty Publications

The article focuses on the role of school librarians in evaluating the teacher's effectiveness. It states that librarians has knowledge about various areas other than library including information literacy, media literacy and digital literacy. It further presents various scenarios that can be used for analyzing the performance of librarians including formal observation, self-evaluation and portfolio.

A Correlational Analysis Of Course Retention And Faculty Status In A Community College Setting, Pamela Hutto

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Colleges are under pressure to educate a growing student population, while economic resources in higher education are diminishing. One measure of success for colleges is the ability to retain students. Due to the varied nature of the community college population, measuring student retention is particularly challenging. One facet of student retention is course retention, defined as the successful completion of a course with a grade of C or higher. Course retention is associated with the likelihood of degree completion; therefore, it served as the measure of student retention used in this study. Theoretical models, supported by research, show a link …

Effects Of Using Online Forum For Problem-Solving Skills And Collaborative Construction Of Knowledge In Student Teaching, Jackie Hee-Young Kim

Leadership, Technology & Human Development: Faculty Publications

The purpose of the study was to seek a way to strengthen student teachers’ understanding of the complex nature of teaching and increase their competence in solving problems. To accomplish our goal, we embarked upon a study to explore on a computer-mediated conferencing group model enriched with constructivist principles and features of a community of learners. The study is guided by two major models: Problem Solving Approach Model and Interaction Analysis Model (IAM) for Computer-Mediated Communication rooted in social constructivist theory. This study also is aimed at assessing the quality of interaction by means of IAM for examining social construction …

Update: The Supreme Court And Affirmative Action, Charles J. Russo

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Few issues in education have generated more ongoing controversy during the last half-century than affirmative action. Supporters view it as a positive step to eliminate the effects of past discrimination. Conversely, critics speak of race-conscious policies that they maintain create greater problems by failing to address how granting preferences today remedies past inequities.

Although typically more contentious in higher education, affirmative action is the centerpiece of this column because of the impact that race-conscious policies can have on K–12 schools.

A Phenomenological Study: Students' Perceptions Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports In Pennsylvania Middle Schools, Brenda Zack

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of middle school students in schools that have implemented School-wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS) at the universal tier with fidelity. Much of the research on SWPBS has focused on achievement gains, discipline improvement, implementation process, and school personnel perceptions. There was a lack of research regarding students' perceptions of their real-life experiences of SWPBS. The rationale for this study was that students' perceptions can assist in improving SWPBS implementation at the universal level and promote implementation for schools considering SWPBS. The central question was what meaning do middle …

Enhancing The Academic And Social Learning Of Irish Undergraduates Through Emotional And Social Skills Development., Aiden Carthy, Celesta Mccann, Sinead Mcgilloway, Colm Mcguinness

Articles

This paper considers the potential merits of emotional competency coaching for undergraduate students. We outline the findings from our previous work which showed, for example, that a sample of First Year undergraduate students failed to engage with coaching primarily because it was not a mandatory aspect of the curricula. An analysis of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) - which details the specific learning outcomes that must be achieved by all Irish academic syllabi found that this framework makes scant reference to the development of social and emotional skills. Therefore, a revised working model of the NFQ is proposed, which …

Ethics And Analytics: Limits Of Knowledge And A Horizon Of Opportunity, James E. Willis Iii, Matthew D. Pistilli

Teaching and Learning Technologies Presentations

The realms of academic and learning analytics are in need of ethical frameworks to address issues associated with student autonomy, information confidentiality, and predictive modeling. This interactive session will involve small-group discussion surrounding a frontier of ethics and its contribution to innovation in and use of new analytics systems.

Publicizing Job Evaluations, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

More than 50 percent of superintendents in a nationwide survey indicate their performance evaluations are not made public, while slightly more than a third say their evaluation results are released publicly. The findings were contained in AASA’s 2012 salary and benefits study. State-specific public records laws govern the release of such information. These laws are evolving as state legislatures and courts decide if superintendents are public officials. AASA’s decennial study of the superintendency in 2010 pointed to increased frequency of formal evaluations along with expanded use of performance measures leading to merit awards. Link this with the call for greater …