Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-135). Also available on the Internet.

This study was conducted to explorer the relationships between teachers’ perceptions of educational data use, their school’s capacity as a learning organization, and the performance of students at their school. This study employed a quantitative research design featuring a Web-based online survey and collected data from a stratified random sample of 112 middle schools and junior high schools nested in nine school districts in Texas. I used the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (Watkins & Marsick, 1993, 1996) to measure the schools’ capacity as a learning organizations and the Survey of Educator Data Use (Wayman, Cho, & Shaw, 2009b) to measure teachers’ educational data use. I also used the student performance data provided by Texas Education Agency. For the data analysis, I employed the statistical techniques of multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). I found that educational data use and support did relate to the schools’ organizational learning capacity, and that this dynamic acts as an important factor in enhancing campus performance. This finding gives a clear indication that data use and support has an indirect effect on campus performance, and that this effect is mediated by organizational learning. This research is significant in that it reveals that organizational learning worked as a crucial mediating variable in enhancing student achievement through effective use of data. This finding can give meaningful direction to the pursuit of school improvement through data use in school sites, a practice that began as simple top-down policy implementation. / text

ERP-system är idag närvarande i nästan alla organisationer och har utvecklats till att bli en konkurrensfördel för de organisationer som implementerar systemet på ett korrekt sätt. Det blir också viktigt att lyckas med användandet av ERP-systemet efter implementation. En framgångsfaktor är post-implementation learning (PIL) som innebär att organisationer lär sig från användandet av ERP-system och fortsätter utveckla och uppdatera dessa. Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på beslutsfattare i organisationens roll för PIL men utelämnat andra individer i organisationens påverkan. Denna kvalitativa studie har undersökt hur individers användande av ett ERP-system efter implementation påverkar organisationens PIL. Detta har genomförts genom en fallstudie hos en stor svensk tillverkningsindustri. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer och sedan analyserats genom ett utvecklat ramverk grundat i tidigare teorier från skilda områden. Resultaten visar att individers användande av ERP-system påverkar PIL och att deras användande då får effekter på hela organisationen. Det utvecklade ramverket visade sig också ha praktisk relevans och validitet och öppnar upp för vidare forskning inom ämnet.

The contemporary information society demands efficient knowledge management and therefore, the transfer of knowledge becomes an important issue. The purpose of this research is to contribute to the understanding of how the knowledge transfer in Science Parks takes place and which knowledge transfer supporting conditions are offered within the Science Park environment. Through the conduction of several in depth interviews with the management of Science Parks as well as the representatives of their tenant companies it can be concluded that Science Parks seem to offer favourable conditions for knowledge transfer. This is facilitated by the established structural arrangements as well as the supporting activities of the Science Parks‟ management. An important assumption is made within the scope of this study that certain favourable conditions may as well be relevant for off Science Park firms and thus, presumably making the present study interesting and valuable for a larger audience.

This thesis focuses on investigating learning occurring in a web-based community of foodservice professionals, which is informally structured and based on voluntary participation, using concepts from the "communities of practice" (CoP) (Wenger, 1998) paradigm. As an informal learning environment, the web-based community was investigated based on three planes (Rogoff, 1998): Community (i.e., how does learning occur in the web-based community?), Interpersonal (i.e., how does learning occur between participants of the web-based community?), and Individual (i.e., how does individual learning occur through participating in the web-based community?). / Under the umbrella of the online ethnographic approach, I applied mixed-method research combining multiple data sources (i.e., discussion transcripts, online survey, online interviews, ethnographic observation, and other documents) and analytical methods (i.e., descriptive framework for CoP, content analysis, transcript analysis, and descriptive statistics). / In terms of the community plane, the web-based community was explored by applying the descriptive framework for communities of practice consisting of observable and measurable indicators in terms of organization, participation, and outcome. With regard to the interpersonal plane, I explored how learning occurs between participants of the WBC: How do participants interact with each other and what do they share through their interactions? To do that, the processes of interaction and learning were examined according to the size of threads (i.e., small, medium, and large sizes). For the individual plane, I examined (a) individuals' epistemological beliefs and (b) individuals' change of roles in relation to the degree of participation. Based on the results investigated in each plane, I discussed general characteristics of this web-based community as informal learning environment, effective features fostering interaction and learning in this web based community, and possible trajectories of the web-based community evolving for a community of practice. / The importance of this study lies in its contributions to the conceptual framework (i.e., descriptive framework for communities of practice) and the methodological approach (i.e., multi-layered analytical approach) developed and applied in this thesis. The descriptive framework enables us to identify some defining features that distinguish communities of practice from other structures and hence to establish guidelines for monitoring how communities of practice evolve and what makes them evolve in successful ways. In addition, this study offers useful implications for designing and supporting web-based communities even in formal and non-formal learning environments. Because this study employed an exploratory, interpretive approach and concentrated on the breadth of learning in a web-based community through different planes, the results offer broader aspects of learning rather than specific, intensive issues of learning in this web-based community. Therefore, further studies are suggested along with the issues derived from this thesis.

The practice of education planning across Canada is established for the manifest purpose of guiding school improvement. In Manitoba, the planning process is reportedly intended to improve linkages that will increase efficiency and enhance communication, thereby improving educational outcomes for all students (Manitoba Education, 2004, 2007). The problem arises in a practical sense, however, in determining whether the education planning process creates the necessary linkage between strategic intentions and activities, or whether the planning process exists simply as a bureaucratic requirement or condition (Meyer and Rowan, 1983). This research study was designed to determine whether there were systemic features of school division planning for Student Services, which would result in improved linkages between educational intentions and related actions, making the process more effective and functional. In order to respond to the questions posed in this study, I focused on a concrete aspect involved in planning for students with challenging learning behaviours. With the assistance of school divisions participating in the study, I collected data from structured interviews with key personnel, and from planning templates or other selected documentation. The information was compiled and examined through a conceptual framework, derived from the review of literature, which served to organize and analyze the school division data. A process of analytic abduction was used to define similarities and variances in planning practices, according to the conceptual framework. The information was summarized and a synthesis of effective planning practices was created as a result. The findings informed the development of a new framework detailing the archetypes of effective and functional planning practices for Student Services at the school division level, a process more likely to set the stage for organizational improvement and change.

The practice of education planning across Canada is established for the manifest purpose of guiding school improvement. In Manitoba, the planning process is reportedly intended to improve linkages that will increase efficiency and enhance communication, thereby improving educational outcomes for all students (Manitoba Education, 2004, 2007). The problem arises in a practical sense, however, in determining whether the education planning process creates the necessary linkage between strategic intentions and activities, or whether the planning process exists simply as a bureaucratic requirement or condition (Meyer and Rowan, 1983). This research study was designed to determine whether there were systemic features of school division planning for Student Services, which would result in improved linkages between educational intentions and related actions, making the process more effective and functional. In order to respond to the questions posed in this study, I focused on a concrete aspect involved in planning for students with challenging learning behaviours. With the assistance of school divisions participating in the study, I collected data from structured interviews with key personnel, and from planning templates or other selected documentation. The information was compiled and examined through a conceptual framework, derived from the review of literature, which served to organize and analyze the school division data. A process of analytic abduction was used to define similarities and variances in planning practices, according to the conceptual framework. The information was summarized and a synthesis of effective planning practices was created as a result. The findings informed the development of a new framework detailing the archetypes of effective and functional planning practices for Student Services at the school division level, a process more likely to set the stage for organizational improvement and change.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2003

Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2001.

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2000