Education Policy Commons^™

A Leap In The Right Direction For California Public Education: The Local Control And Accountability Plan And Its Effects On Latino English Learners, Sarah E. Owens

Scripps Senior Theses

The California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 97 in June 2013 and Governor Brown signed it into law on July 1, 2013. The legislation created the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). The LCFF changed the way that school districts in California receive education funding from the state, shifting from a complex categorical program towards a per-pupil based formula. Furthermore, school districts receive “supplemental” and “concentration” funds based on the number of English learners, low-income students and foster youth in the district. The LCAP is a key component of this new funding system …

Expanding Access To Secondary School Education For Teenage Mothers In Kenya: A Baseline Study Report, Chi-Chi Undie, Harriet Birungi, George Odwe, Francis Obare

Reproductive Health

Carried out in Homa Bay County, Kenya, this study provides a baseline assessment involving the following data collection components: a household survey with out-of-school teenage girls (regardless of whether they had ever been pregnant or not), teenage mothers, and their household heads; and a school survey with secondary school principals and students. The objectives of the study were to: 1) foster an understanding of the current situation and context in regard to out-of-school teenage mothers and their potential support systems for school re-entry at the household and school levels; 2) clarify possible solutions for promoting school re-entry on the part …

Education Sector Response To Early And Unintended Pregnancy: A Review Of Country Experiences In Sub-Saharan Africa, Harriet Birungi, Chi-Chi Undie, Ian Mackenzie, Anne Katahoire, Francis Obare, Patricia Machawira

Reproductive Health

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), early and unintended pregnancy leads to a colossal loss of educational opportunities for girls. Existing studies that show associations between early/unintended pregnancy and school dropout lead to critical questions about how the education sector is responding to the issue in SSA. Conducted from August 2014 to April 2015, this review was devoted to an examination of such responses across six countries: Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. The review focused on several key issues, including: education-sector policies for pregnant students and adolescent mothers; integration of pregnancy prevention into sexuality education curricula; the school environment as …

Strengthening School Health Programming In Nairobi City County, Joyce Mumah

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

The Education Sector Response To Early And Unintended Pregnancy (Eup): A Review Of Selected Sadc Countries, Chi-Chi Undie, Harriet Birungi, Francis Obare, Patricia Machawira

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Education Sector Response To Early And Unintended Pregnancy: A Policy Dialogue In Homa Bay County, Kenya, Chi-Chi Undie, Ian Mackenzie, Harriet Birungi, Stephen Barongo, Diosiana Ahindukha, Caleb Omondi

Reproductive Health

In collaboration with the Strengthening Evidence for Programming on Unintended Pregnancy (STEP UP) Research Programme Consortium, the Population Council implemented a project to increase the demand for secondary school education in Homa Bay County, Kenya—an area characterized by high, unintended teenage pregnancy and female school drop-out rates. To foster awareness of the school re-entry policy, the Population Council collaborated with the Homa Bay County Department of Education (Ministry of Education) to convene a policy dialogue for all principals of public, day, girls-only, and co-educational secondary schools in the area. The policy dialogue helped to create visibility around the issue of …

Student Loans And The Dynamics Of Debt, Brad J. Hershbein Editor, Kevin Hollenbeck Editor

Upjohn Press

The papers included in this volume represent the most current research and knowledge available about student loans and repayment. It serves as a valuable reference for researchers and policymakers who seek a deeper understanding of how, why, and which students borrow for their postsecondary education; how this borrowing may affect later decisions; and what measures can help borrowers repay their loans successfully.

The Design, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A Professional Development Program, Ellen Riina Hirsch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective professional development is a longstanding problem in education. Locally, the school district in the study lacked a comprehensive system for evaluating their secondary level professional development programs. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the district's professional development program, specifically examining its perceived strengths and weaknesses. The conceptual framework of the study was systems theory and the adaptive schools reform model. The research questions examined the perceptions of various school personnel on their experiences with the current professional development program at the study district's high school. Individual interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 3 teachers, …

Social Inequality: Cultural Racism As A Predictor Of Collegiate Academic Success, Natasha L. Ball

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The economic sustainability of an area is largely dependent on the education level of its population, yet little is known about the role cultural racism may play in academic success. The purpose of this correlational study was to evaluate the theory of cultural racism, defined as, the establishment of cultural institutions by whites/Europeans to the detriment of non-white people, as it relates to academic success at the college level. Data were collected from 100 participants from 3 predominately African American high schools in the Atlanta, Georgia area to explore whether the presence of cultural racism existed from the perspective of …

Perceptions Of Discipline Policy, Practices, And Student Incivilities Related To Senge's Five Disciplines, Nkoh Lovonne Gaston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High occurrences of student incivilities are a growing concern in the K-12 education system. This problem may be directly impacted by systems thinking and inconsistent school policy enforcement. At a local high school, this problem affected student learning outcomes and teacher-student interpersonal relationships. The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions of teachers and administrators regarding consistency in discipline policies and practices, as well as student incivilities as they related to Senge's 5 disciplines. The conceptual framework for this study was Senge's 5 disciplines of organizational learning: systems thinking, mental models, team learning, shared vision, and personal …

Three Essays On Public Organizations, Changgeun Yun

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Organizations play key roles in modern societies. The importance of organizations for a society requires an understanding of organizations. In order to fully understand public organizations, it is necessary to recognize how organizational settings affect subjects of organizations and organizing. Although public and private organizations interrelate with each other, the two types are not identical. In this dissertation, I attempt to describe public organizations in their own setting by discussing three important topics in public organization theory: (1) innovation adoption in the public sector; (2) representative bureaucracy; and (3) decline and death of public organizations.

In Chapter II, I scrutinize …

School-Wide Factors In New York State High School Counseling Program Readiness, Dianah Cantres

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While current accountability regimes in U.S. public education focus on the job performance of individual school professionals, research in industrial/organizational psychology has established the importance of system-wide factors for organizational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to identify school-wide factors that predict guidance program readiness in New York State high schools. This nonexperimental, quantitative study was based on a survey sample of 97 guidance counselors in New York State. Multivariariate analyses of variance showed that two school-wide independent variables-urbanization of school location and counselor-student ratio-predict scores on guidance program readiness, measured using the American School Counselor Association Readiness Survey. …

Parents' Influence On Student Advanced Placement Class Enrollment, Alissa Denise Russell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Advanced Placement program allows high school students who pass an end of course Advanced Placement exam to receive college credit for college level courses completed during high school. The problem addressed by this project study is that, in the school under study, there is low enrollment in Advanced Placement classes even though many students qualify for these courses. Using a case study research design and collecting qualitative data, this study examined the influence parents have on student course selection. This study followed the theories of Epstein which indicate that involved parents positively influence their children's academic achievement. The research …

Exploring The Experiences And Relationships Of First-Year Teachers And Mentors, Melanie Jane Strey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educators have a moral imperative and job-embedded expectation to effectively teach all students, which requires a commitment to continued personal growth. The purpose of this instrumental project study was to explore the lived experiences of first-year teachers and their mentors who teach in a culturally-diverse school district. The conceptual framework was based on supporting adult learning methods through the theories of critical thinking, constructivist perspective, the theory of mentoring, and culturally-instructional teaching. The guiding research questions addressed the perceptions of 5 first-year teachers and 5 mentors regarding individual and shared learning as a result of mentor-mentee relationship. A constant comparison …

Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Of Response To Intervention And Classroom Instruction, Lora Coonce

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Response to intervention (RTI) is a federal program created to improve student learning and reduce the number of students misidentified as needing special education services. Differing interpretations of how best to implement RTI between campuses and districts have resulted in teachers' confusion and misperceptions of the program. The purpose of this study was to understand how elementary classroom teachers' perceptions of RTI affect classroom instruction. Based on Gagne's instructional theory and Bruner's theory of constructivism, the study examined the perceptions of 10 classroom teachers in 2 low socio-economic elementary schools. The study examined how RTI forms and protocols, administrative leadership, …

Practitioner Perceptions Of School Library Advocacy, Elizabeth Burns

STEMPS Faculty Publications

School library advocacy is increasingly important due to decreases in funding and staff. National organizations attempt to engage school librarians in advocacy and have developed resources and tools to assist with this task. However, there is little research examining how practicing school librarians engage in advocacy and how their advocacy efforts impact their library programs. This study explored school librarians’ perceptions of advocacy within the context of their school library setting. Findings suggest school librarians must continue to build relationships with stakeholders and create awareness for the school library position as they define the activities of advocacy unique to their …

Architechture: Rebuilding The Traditional University For The 21st Century, Sarah E. Shearer

CMC Senior Theses

This senior thesis is an examination of the major complexities and considerations encountered in developing an e-learning program. In light of the changing landscape of higher education resulting from technological advancement, combined with changing pedagogies and financial pressures, traditional institutions are under heightened scrutiny and most in need of innovation. Online learning as been proposed as a solution to many of these issues, but creating a successful program is no small feat. Furthermore, experimental research on specific course designs and delivery often fails upon real-world implementation. Looking through the lens of Design-Base-Implementation Research (DBIR), an emerging research model that seeks …

Faculty Research Productivity In Saudi Arabian Public Universities: A Human Capital Investment Perspective, Abad Alzuman

Theses and Dissertations

In an attempt to transition from its oil-based economy, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is taking further steps towards building a knowledge-based economy. Saudi universities play a pivotal role toward the country’s attempts to achieve the desired sustainable economic growth. And because knowledge production is dependent on the human capital embedded in faculty members working at theses universities, the recommendations of the Saudi National Science and Technology Policy stressed the importance of enhancing research skills of faculty members and researchers at public universities using different means and initiatives. However, a little is known about the impact of the implemented initiatives …

Parents' Perceptions Of Academic Progress Information Access And Dual Enrollment Student Success, Terrill L. Nickerson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

To comply with The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations, parents of high school students taking college classes as part of a dual enrollment program have to employ alternative monitoring practices to remain informed about their students' academic progress. This quantitative research study explored how parents' perceptions of access to student academic progress information correlated with their students' academic performance based on cumulative grade point average (GPA) in college classes. Credit-based transition programs (CBTP) and parent monitoring theory provided the framework. All 867 parents of students under age 18 enrolled in the dual enrollment program at an urban …

Racism Vs. Social Capital: A Case Study Of Two Majority Black Communities, Bruce W. Strouble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities …