Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2006. / Title from PDF title page screen. Advisor: Carl Lashley; submitted to the School of Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-127).

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University

This study records the perceptions of special education administrators, building principals and regular and special education teachers in four neighboring North-of-Boston communities as to how each has: viewed the evolution of the special education law and its implementation process; included or excluded students with disabilities in local public schools during 15 years of state and federal mandates; mainstreamed students with disabilities; dealt with the fiscal restraints of Proposition 2 1/2; become more or less concerned with "due process" than with quality education. Twenty-one special and regular educators from two cities with large low income populations and two smaller, more affluent towns provided data responding to multiple choice questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews. Results indicate all four systems have adopted special education mandates incorporating change at varying degrees of implementation. The two multi-ethnic and socio-economically diverse cities have been assisted with compliance through state and federal regulators and the courts, overseeing procedural implementation. The smallest affluent suburban community studied continues to resist mainstreaming. While their affluent neighbor has successfully upheld a strong commitment to mainstreaming, evident in a more unified education system, where principals and the special education administrator share the role of gatekeeper of the regulations. Three communities' respondents described a separate system of education for students with disabilities where the special education administrator is considered the ultimate gatekeeper of the regulations. Compliance continues to dominate and concern school administrators. Legal and technical issues are reported to overwhelm the mainstream educator who, generally, has abdicated responsibility for the student with disabilities to the specialist. The specialist has all too readily accepted this assignment. Decentralization of special education and restructure of the mainstream, as recommended in the Regular Education Initiative, will require a metamorphosis of the gatekeeper to collaborative consultant and eventual elimination of the position special education administrator. The transition from policy to practice will occur only to the extent that regulatory agencies view educational outcomes and quality of programs as a priority, and when all educators apply the standards for special education to all education.

American higher education has been affected by spiraling cost, declining college-age population, decreasing financial aid and defense grants, budget reductions from state governments and concerns about quality. The merging of two or more institutions into a single entity is one strategy to cope with these changes. The literature on the subject of merger, however, is fragmented and dwells mainly on the reasons why institutions merge. This study examines the tensions and elements that constitute the merger phenomenon in its totality and identifies implications for implementation. The study analyzed 18 doctoral dissertation case studies of 20 higher educational mergers that took place during the period 1964-1985. Similarities and differences were identified and the findings compared with the merger literature. The data were then interpreted from the perspective of organizational change. The analysis indicated that three major tensions shape the merger phenomenon: the clash between maintaining the status quo and implementing change; the emergence of one institution as the dominant party thereby exacerbating the change for the subordinate party; and the accomplishment of organizational objectives at the expense of individual needs. A pattern emerged indicating that change was not managed, decision-making was top down and self-centered, crisis was not anticipated, power was used to dominate, conflict was divisive, planning was non-existent or poorly done and implementation was characterized by limited strategies to facilitate the process. Several important distinctions were identified according to the type of control of the merging institutions. Differences were found in the impelling reasons, motivation, process stages, type of risk, degree of consultation and outcomes. Exceptions to the conventional wisdom that financially troubled institutions should not merge were noted. Also, a simple legal maneuver frequently employed in the corporate world was identified as an alternative to the standard merger approach. In order to facilitate the complex process of a merger and to address the identified problems, the application of the integrated frames approach for managing organizational change as developed by Bolman and Deal (1984) is recommended. Strategic planning is also recommended as an effective tool for coping with change.

Item response theory (IRT) has great potential for solving many measurement problems. The success of specific IRT applications can be obtained only when the fit between the model and the test data is satisfactory. But model fit is not the only concern. Many tests are administered to relatively small numbers of examinees. If sample sizes are small, item parameter estimates will be of limited usefulness. There appear to be a number of ways that estimation might be improved. The purpose of this study was to investigate IRT parameter estimation using several promising small sample procedures. Computer simulation was used to generate the data. Two item banks were created with items described by a three parameter logistic model. Tests of length 30 and 60 items were simulated; examinee samples of 100, 200, and 500 were used in item calibration. Four promising models and associated estimation procedures were selected: (1) the one-parameter logistic model, (2) a modified one-parameter model in which a constant value for the "guessing parameter" was assumed, (3) a non-parametric three parameter model (called "Testgraf"), and (4) a one-parameter Bayesian model (with a variety of priors on the item difficulty parameter). Several criteria were used in evaluating the estimates. The main results were that (1) the modified one-parameter model seemed to consistently lead to the best estimates of item difficulty and examinee ability compared to the Rasch model and the non-parametric three-parameter model and related estimation procedures (the finding was observed across both test lengths and all three sample sizes and seemed to be true with both normal and rectangular distributions of ability), (2) the Bayesian estimation procedures with reasonable priors led to comparable results to the modified one-parameter model, and (3) the results with Testgraf, for the smallest sample of 100, typically led to the poorest results. Future studies seem justified to (1) replicate the findings with more relevant evaluation criteria, (2) determine the source of the problem with Testgraf and small samples/short tests, and (3) further investigate the utility of Bayesian estimation procedures.

The purpose of the study was to examine and compare the service delivery models of three students with severe disabilities in three different settings and to detail the benefits derived in each of the programs. The study included classroom observations, analysis of individual educational plans (IEPs), interviews with families and teaching assistants, and presentation of in-depth cost data. The study found three examples of unsuccessful inclusion, as determined by observed social isolation, documented skill loss, and feedback presented by the teaching assistants. Analysis further revealed a lack of staff support and training. Cost analysis found that the highest expenses incurred among the participants were for individual aides and transportation. Implications of the study focus on the importance of thoroughly assessing a child's needs prior to placement in an inclusive setting, and then comparing those needs with existing and potential programmatic resources. Finally, inclusion strategies deemed effective in serving students with mild to moderate special needs in all likelihood will provide insufficient support to youngsters with severe disabilities.

Although the need has been recognized for over two decades, ongoing, formative, and comprehensive assessment of college and university faculty development programs often does not occur in a systematic and thoughtful way. Furthermore, a review of the literature on faculty development shows that successful evaluation research has not been widely publicized to administrators of faculty development programs nor replicated by other researchers. The purpose of this research project was twofold--to design an assessment model and to test this model through actual data collection. The two-phase assessment process went beyond rating participant satisfaction with individual services offered by the Center For Teaching (CFT) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Phase I, quantitative in nature, is a statistical analysis of a range of demographic characteristics of faculty who had chosen to participate in campus-wide workshops over four academic years. In Phase 2, qualitative in nature, interviews were conducted with members of the instructional faculty representing both users and non-users of CFT services. The process was designed to assess benefits and behavioral changes that resulted from participation, to explore issues related to institutional impact, to uncover factors which influence participation and non-participation, and to evaluate services provided by the CFT. The quantitative analysis of the demographic characteristics of instructional faculty attending campus-wide workshops produced the following findings: there was a significant difference between expected and actual attendance for the Colleges of Nursing and Food and Natural Resources; for instructional faculty, males were under-represented and females over-represented; those holding the rank of Professor were under-represented and Assistant Professors and Lecturers were over-represented; and technology workshops attracted the largest average attendance. Through the qualitative analysis nine major categories of findings emerged; the major ones included: the CFT has helped the University make a legitimate claim that it has made a significant contribution to teaching, active learning strategies were incorporated into the curriculum as a direct result of CFT participation, insights were provided for extending the impact of the CFT on campus, motivations for participation and non-participation were uncovered. Triangulating methodologies resulted in a research design that functionally answered the research questions.

Organized to share the perspective of the classroom teacher, this study represents an investigation of looping, an educational plan in which the same teacher and students remain together as an instructional unit for a minimum of two years. Offered as an alternative to traditional grade organization and standard progression through the grades, looping is explored as an option for restructuring to better serve American students. The premise behind this plan is that the teacher will come to know his/her students as learners better over time; a knowledge that will improve the teaching/learning dynamic within the classroom. As looping is more prevalent at the elementary level, the participants in this study are elementary classroom teachers with experience in looping. Using a mixed-methods design, the study involved two parallel phases: focused interviews of teachers from four local communities and a geographically wider sampling of teachers through distribution of a questionnaire. Potential participants were selected through a snowball technique. Secondary means of data collection involved on-site observations and examination of related school documents. From the interviews, common themes emerged regarding many issues related to the implementation of looping. These views of classroom teachers were upheld by questionnaire responses. As reported by teachers, major findings of this study include the following: Looping builds a strong sense of a community of learners. The home-school link is strengthened. Students who loop show numerous gains within the affective domain, with additional benefit to those identified as being at-risk, and with a lessening of "summer anxiety." Teachers found that time was saved in transitioning between grades, allowing for increased time-on-task and opportunities to expand the curriculum. Research conclusion: Based on the perceptions of teachers in this study, looping holds significant promise as a program of persistence in group to offer a reasonable alternative for reorganizing elementary schools to maximize the teaching/learning dynamic.

The major purpose of this study was to determine the problems that public school systems encounter when attempting to involve principals and teachers in the process of curriculum improvement. A second purpose was to identify the procedures that school systems use to improve curriculum and the extent of principal and teacher involvement in the curriculum decision making process. The study was conducted through two strands of inquiry. The first strand involved the distribution of a Curriculum Improvement Survey to all communities in the state of Rhode Island. Of the thirty-five Directors of Curriculum, twenty-six completed and returned the survey. Their responses provided a broad spectrum from which to view how, individually and collectively, curriculum improvement was being implemented in response to national and state initiatives. The second strand was an ethnographic study of several different committees within a local school community that were involved in various aspects of curriculum improvement. Findings suggest curriculum improvement is a shared responsibility among a cross section of individuals within school systems. The primary initiators and major determinants that influence the curriculum improvement process were identified. Most school systems reported having long range plans for improvement that are guided by administrative regulations and are implemented within varying cyclical time frames. Smaller districts where administrators and teachers wear “different hats” than in larger systems appear to be less formal in their approaches to curriculum change and the improvement process is on-going without regulations. In regard to participation in the process, the survey responses and the plans suggest that principals and teachers are given ample opportunities to participate in decision making to improve curriculum, however, their degree of participation varies with the type of decision they are being asked to make. The major problems in implementing curriculum improvement that were identified by the twenty-six school systems included insufficient time educators’ lack of curriculum theory and practical experiences; insufficient funds; and contractual considerations. The in-depth study of one school system also documented these problems, as well as: the lack of a common language for deliberating and writing curriculum; personal attitudes and professional ability levels that hinder role fulfillment; inequitable treatment of task force committees by administrators; and pressures to serve as a “rubber stamp” for principals and administrators to ensure the fulfillment of their political agendas. Recommendations for future research are suggested to determine ways to strengthen communication between the state and local school levels; to identify how institutions of higher learning may better prepare educators for curriculum leadership; and to examine the role of Director of Curriculum in order to identify leadership characteristics that are essential to curriculum improvement on a system wide basis.

The purpose of this study was to look at mission driven school district leadership in Massachusetts public schools and attempt to identify any relationship, or lack thereof, between district mission statements and student achievement. In this study, 288 Massachusetts public school districts are ranked according to their 2011 high school graduation rate and their 2011 tenth grade Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results. From the 288 districts, a sample of the top thirty and the bottom thirty were selected. All district wide mission statements were obtained from the websites of the top 30 and bottom 30 school districts with a 100% return rate. The mission statements were then coded using Bebell and Stemler's 2011 coding rubric. Bebell and Stemler's coding rubric contains 11 themes with 42 subcategories. The 11 themes are: academic/cognitive, social development, emotional development, civic development, physical development, vocational preparation, integrate into local community, integrate into global community, integrate into spiritual community, safe nurturing environment, and challenging environment. The 42 subcategories are indicators composed of key words and phrases for each of the eleven themes in Bebell and Stemler's 2011 coding rubric. Results from the present study found the academic/cognitive theme occurred more than any other theme in both the top and bottom public school districts in Massachusetts. Statistical differences did appear for two of Bebell and Stemler's themes: civic development and vocational preparation. The civic development theme was correlated with the top 30 school districts, while the vocational theme was correlated with the bottom 30 school districts. Subcategories of the civic theme include productive, responsible, contributing members of society involved in public service and character education, while vocational subcategories include competition in the workforce and marketable skills. This study is limited in size and scope and more research is suggested. This study is unique because it is the first time that mission driven leadership in Massachusetts school districts is being analyzed to see if there is a connection with student achievement. The present study would be of interest to policy makers and practitioners who are interested in mission driven leadership and student achievement.