Other Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

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.

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 …

The Challenges Of Inclusion: Perceptions Of Superintendents, Principals, And Teachers In Mississippi Alternative Schools, Gary Lynn Tune

Dissertations

Alternative schools serve a population of students who have come in conflict with the codes of conduct of their home school district. Students with disabilities are subject to the same codes of conduct and occasionally are referred to alternative schools. These referrals constitute a change in placement mandating alternative schools to provide academic and educational services and supports commensurate to the home school. This includes educating students with disabilities in regular classes. This research sought to ascertain perceptions of superintendents, alternative school principals, and regular and special education teachers regarding how well alternative schools in Mississippi meet the challenges of …

Summer Credit Recovery And Middle Grade Students, James C. Sharp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in student success by retained students who participate in the Hamblen County (Tennessee) Credit Recovery Program [HCCRP] in the year prior and following their participation. HCCRP is an alternative intervention for students who have been retained in the middle grades of Hamblen County School System. Student success was defined and assessed in the areas of academic proficiency, discipline, and student absenteeism. Student information regarding each area was obtained from the Hamblen County School System, coded, and analyzed through quantitative testing.

This study was guided by 8 research questions and 8 …

Growing As A Leader Through Developing Others: The Effect Of Being A Mentor Principal, Megan Rachel Adams

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Principals play a significant role in student learning. They are expected to be both instructional and organizational leaders as well as the day-to-day management of a community of individuals. The balancing of multiple roles is a dynamic task that takes education, training, coaching and ongoing developmental support. However, principals often do not have these supports to foster growth and effective practice.

This multiple case study examined the experiences of two secondary school urban principals who mentored future administrative leaders. The study also explored other elements of the practice including the necessary supports for a successful partnership, the barriers to a …

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

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 …

Hesitancy About The Job, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Potential candidates hesitate to apply for their first superintendency for several, reasons. Foremost among them are the job's broad scope and their own school-age children.

Pay By Gender And District Size, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Superintendents nationwide experienced small growth in median salaries from 2011-12 to 2012-13, according to a new study by AASA. As expected, salaries for the top district leaders generally increased with district enrollment. In four of the five categories across the size of school districts, the median salaries paid to female superintendents slightly exceeded those paid to their male colleagues. In drawing conclusions from these data, one must consider the relatively small number of respondents in the smallest and largest groupings of student enrollment in the school districts.

Examining Variability In Superintendent Community Involvement, Theodore J. Kowalski, Ila Phillip Young, George J. Petersen

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This study examined the extent to which four independent variables (age, gender, education level, and district type) accounted for variability in superintendent community involvement. Two covariates associated with levels of community involvement (disposition toward community involvement and district enrollment) were infused to assess the impact of the independent variables. Analysis revealed that the model accounted for 8% of the variance as indicated both by R2 and by adjusted R2. Given the number of respondents (1,867), this is considered a medium effect having practical implications in the applied setting. Among the four independent variables, only a single main effect (district type) …

Survey: Teacher Education In Private Sector, Nelofer Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

District Diversity And Superintendents Of Color, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

While the number of superintendents of color increased from 5 percent to 6 percent during the past decade, their representation remains well below their numbers in the general population. Data from the most recent AASA superintendency study show that the greater the levels of minority students and minority residents, the greater the likelihood the district has a superintendent of color. However, an inverse association existed between the percentage of the district's minority employees and a superintendent of color.

Superintendent Ratings Of Academic Preparation, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Groups seeking to rescind or weaken state licensing requirements to be a superintendent have disparaged academic studies in administration as an inconsequential requirement. Their claim has rarely been supported by empirical evidence. Findings from the last three AASA-sponsored decennial studies (1992, 2000, and 2011) of the superintendency suggest policymakers and members of the profession should be cautious about radically altering licensing requirements. A high percentage (ranging from 74 percent in 1992 to 79 percent in 2011) rated their universitybased academic preparation as being excellent or good.

Female Superintendents By Locale, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The most recent AASA decennial study of the superintendency reveals the growing presence of female superintendents (24.1 percent nationwide) has not been affected by either district enrollment or the level of a school district's racial or ethnic diversity. Across four district enrollment categories, the range of female representation was 20.4 percent (in the largest districts) to 29.8 percent (in the smallest districts). By comparison, females accounted for 17.7 percent of very small-district superintendents and just 5.4 percent of the largest-district superintendents a decade earlier. Across five district diversity categories, the range of representation was 21.4 percent (in low-diversity districts) to …

Promote Equity, Excellence In Our Region's Schools, Thomas J. Shields

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

In a region that loves history, public anniversaries offer an opportunity to reflect on events that have shaped our collective present. This spring brings just such an occasion; it has been 40 years since the U.S. Supreme court halted a federal court order mandating the consolidation of the Richmond public school district with the Chesterfield and Henrico districts. This action locked in city and suburban school boundaries - and associated inequities - that still exist.

Partnerships With Catholic Colleges Support Schools, Susan M. Ferguson

Center for Catholic Education Publications

Animating our faith and hope for our church and our future, Catholic higher education and P-12 Catholic school partnerships are growing in number and variety. New times call for new measures grounded in respect and recognition of our deep and lasting traditions. Recent events seem to show the way to new endeavors that will bring innovative means to cultivate formation in faith and heighten academic excellence for students in our nation's Catholic schools. Critically considering partnership formation, sustainability and impact creates excitement and spurs action.

Is The School Board Evaluated Formally?, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Little progress has been made with respect to evaluating the performance of local boards of education, according to the most recent decennial, nationwide study of superintendents. Seven in 10 boards do not receive any form of formal evaluation, and among the 30 percent that do, almost all engage only in self-evaluation.

Job Evaluation, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Knowing the factors used in the annual performance evaluation of superintendents is foundational to building a more effective process. The accompanying graph, based on AAS~s decennial survey of the field, shows how superintendents rank seven response options about the conduct of their own assessments by school boards. Critics claim current evaluation practices are plagued by ambiguous purposes, unrealistic expectations, uneven and subjective processes, and invalid outcomes. The overall quality of superintendent evaluations suffers from the variation in the bases of assessments and the number and competence of the evaluators. The limited application of national standards (such as those published by …

Leadership For Change: Insights Gleaned From One District’S Implementation Of An Educational Innovation, Crystal V. Shelby-Caffey Ph.D., Ronald A. Caffey Ph.D.

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

The research reported here is extracted from a larger study aimed at describing the challenges and barriers to implementing the two way immersion (TWI) program at Stark Elementary School (a pseudonym). While Stark’s TWI program is used as the backdrop for the current discussion the perspective taken here is to examine the actions (and lack of action in some instances) of Stark’s administrators and describe how those actions impacted other stakeholders and led to challenges during the implementation process. The findings illuminate the need for leaders to gain support for proposed changes while maintaining dialogue with stakeholders and developing other …

Age Entering The Field, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Over time, the typical career span of superintendents (in that position only) has been about 15 to 20 years. In large measure, this relatively short period is explained by the fact most superintendents enter the position in mid-career. Data collected and analyzed by AASA in 2010 revealed nearly two-thirds of superintendents (62 percent) first entered the position when they were 41 to 55 years old. Outside this age range, novices were twice as likely to be younger than 41 than older than 55. Only 8 percent of superintendents first entered the position after age 55.

Accessing The Inaccessible : Educational Development And Improvement Programme (Edip) An Extenstion Of The Diamir District Gilgit-Baltistan : A Case Study, Mola Dad Shafa, Haider Fancy

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

No abstract provided.

Youth Development And Education In Pakistan : Exploring The Relationship, Dilshad Ashraf, Takbir Ali, Anya Hosain

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This paper provides a critical examination of the inter-linkages between youth education, development, empowerment, and engagement in Pakistan. Currently, the majority of the population falls within the youth age bracket of 15-24 years. The country stands at a critical juncture, where it can capitalize on this demographic dividend for transformational and sustainable socioeconomic growth. However, this paper argues that there is inadequate intersection and convergence between Pakistan’s national and provincial Education and Youth policy frameworks. An indepth overview of current trends in terms of quality of education and access to and participation in various forms of education programmes indicates that …

The School Superintendent: Theory, Practice, And Cases, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The School Superintendent: Theory, Practice, and Cases is the essential guide to succeeding as a superintendent or as an administrator in another district-level position. Comprehensive in both theory and practice, this textbook and reference guide examines the role and responsibilities of school district administration in professional, social, philosophical, and political frames, while balancing perspectives of rewards and challenges commonly expressed by school superintendents. Important topics covered include the emerging role of superintendent as communicator, the changing conditions in districts and schools, inadequate funding for public schools, and the treatment of policy administration, leadership roles, and community involvement.

Educational Genocide: Examining The Impact Of National Education Policy On African American Communities, Christopher B. Knaus, Rachelle Rogers-Ard

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

Abstract This paper clarifies the cumulative impact of the current national education policy on African-American children, which ultimately aims to limit local control of urban schools. The authors argue that urban schools in the United States are increasingly required to rely upon temporary teachers who are trained to implement a curriculum focused on standardized testing. The No Child Left Behind Act and the current Duncan administration’s approach to closing (and re-opening) schools combines to further exclude low-income community involvement in local schools. These efforts to control the development, hiring, and evaluation of local educators further expands educational racism that silences …

Authentic Assessment : An Approach To Enhance And Assess Students’ Learning, Sher Azim

Professional Development Centre, Chitral

This paper underscores the process of using Authentic Assessment (AA) not only as a tool to assess learning but also as an approach to enhance learning in a school in the context of Pakistan. Data was collected through classroom observations, conducting interviews, analyzing relevant documents and maintaining person reflective diary. Findings indicate that AA helped in enhancing students’ learning such as knowledge about the noise pollution, planning, developing interview questions, interviewing people, preparing posters, giving presentation and responding to audience question. The study also revealed that in AA the student’s role changed from a passive test taker to an active …

Darya Dino K Daryan : Promoting A Optimistic Learning Milieu In The Primary School, Yasmin Sultana Memon, Sardar Khalid Mahmood

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Traditionally, girls in most government schools remain inactive in the classroom and are shy to speak and express their views. They have been given very few chances to be recognized or to participate actively in the classroom. This tendency seems to be changing in one girls’ primary school situated in an urban part of district. Most of the students belongs to the poor and lower middle class families. Few years ago, their school was in a poor physical and learning condition, but when the current head teacher was hired, she tackled the problems of the school’s including physical condition. As …

The Value Based Professional Development For Teachers’ Attitude, Behavior And Enhanced Professionalism : A School Based Intervention Through A Whole School Improvement Program (Wsip), Khush Funer Murtaza, Abida Begum, Sharifullah Baig

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This paper highlights the strategies and approaches employed to bring about positive changes in the attitude and behavior of the teachers and enhance their sense of professionalism in a girl’s high school of Gilgit Baltistan Pakistan. In addition to that, it illuminates the successes, challenges and the influence of these strategies and approaches on the overall school environment. These interventions were part of the one year long whole school improvement program(WSIP) exercised by PDCN in the academic year 2009-10 of the particular school. The strategies started with vision building, team building and task delegation, distributing the leadership and teacher empowerment, …

Building Capacity Of Teacher Educators To Implement Action Research : Feasibility Of A Local Model, Nahid Parween Anwar

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

In the area of in-service professional development programmes, action research is considered to be a tool for generating practical knowledge and bringing improvement in practices. Teacher could use action research as a process for professional learning, and to improve classroom practices, where students could be one of the beneficiaries. However, the task is challenging in a developing country like Pakistan, where the concept of classroom research is not well recognized. Therefore, responding to the demands of the changing world and knowing the significance of action research, AKU-IED had offered Action Research course to two cohort of participant under Strengthening Teacher …

A Study Of Primary School Teachers’ Professional Development Programme : The Translation Of Theory Into Practice In Schools, Tajuddin, Mohammad Khan

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Professional development programmes are criticized for not meeting the practical needs of teachers and teachers are blamed for going to their comfort zones despite their participations in professional development programmes. This qualitative case study explored effectiveness of the program of primary education certificate course looking into participant teachers’ new knowledge, skills and attitude gained from the programme and the implementation of their new learning into their respective classrooms. Nine teachers and 27 students participated in the study. Data was collected through semi-structured and open-ended interviews, classroom observations, documents analysis and focused group discussions with students.

The study reports a shift …

The Role Perceptions Of Deos In Pakistan : Toothless Tigers Or Selfless Servants?, Jan-E-Alam Khaki, Zubeda Bana, Mir Afzal Tajik, Qamar Safdar

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The study of educational leadership and management in Pakistan is relatively a new territory – a road less travelled. This is truer when it comes to the study of District Education Officials’ (DEOs) ways of managing education. These officials actually bridge the government higher functionaries and policies in terms of policy implementation, monitoring and supervision of the schools in their respective districts. These officials theoretically should exercise significant control over the functioning of schools in their jurisdiction. Though on paper they have heavy responsibilities but actually they have limited arena to exercise; their power due largely to complex web of …