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No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the quality of classroom instruction when a single criterion, the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) United States history assessment scores, was used to assess academic outcomes for students. Policy implementation research frequently fails to include an analysis of teaching practice. The goal of this study, then, was to explore current instructional practices among a selected group of four United States History teachers and search for patterns of practice as these teachers enacted the SOLs within the United States history curriculum. A participant evaluation research approach was used for data collection in this study. This study compared and contrasted the instructional improvement and accountability literatures and situated the implementation of the SOLs within the context of the accountability movement. It described controversies and concerns surrounding the United States History SOL Assessment. Using Duke's (1987) vision of teaching excellence as a theoretical frame for exploring instructional practice, the study portrayed how these four United States history teachers enacted the SOLs within their classrooms. Virginia's SOLs share common characteristics with other accountability efforts to influence public school curriculum and instructional practice. This study extended the literature on teachers' classroom instruction in the context of state policy reforms. Individual portraits organized by Duke's (1987) vision of teaching excellence present the instructional practices of these four teachers. Using these portraits the study establishes three patterns of response by the participants in their curricular practice: (a) failure to ensure curriculum alignment; (b) teacher-centered and lecture-based instruction; and (c) a focus on content to the exclusion of skills. Based upon these instructional practices and curricular patterns nine implications for teaching practice related to Duke's (1987) teaching categories are identified. / Ph. D.

Understanding the evolution of charter school legislation and the expectations of legislators adopting this legislation is important to school boards and school administrators in Virginia. The purpose of this research project was to delineate the historical development of charter school legislation in Virginia. A non-emergent research design was used with two steps of data collection. The first step was a review of all charter school legislation, which covered the General Assembly Sessions 1994-2000, and the second step was a series of open-ended interviews with legislators and others who participated in the charter school legislative development. This study addressed the following research questions: 1. What changes did charter school legislation undergo before members of the Virginia General Assembly finally approved it for implementation? 2. What were the expectations of the legislators who sponsored charter school legislation? 3. What, if anything, either internal or external to the Virginia General Assembly, influenced the presenters of charter school legislation? 4. Did the enacted legislation that was adopted meet the expectations of the legislator who initiated charter school legislation? 5. Are legislators and others satisfied with the current status of charter school development in Virginia? Charter school legislative bills and related amendments from 1994 to 2000 were analyzed. Purposive and snowball sampling identified certain legislators as primary respondents, who were interviewed. After the interviews, the data were transcribed and analyzed using QSR NUD·IST. A total of eight interviews were conducted, and all respondents gave permission to record the interviews. Six themes emerged from the interviews. These themes are 1) Partisan Politics, 2) Local Autonomy, 3) Accountability, 4) Choice, 5) Funding, and 6) Opposition. Charter school legislation is unique to each state. Also, one delegate individually championed charter school legislation in Virginia. There were some external influences (outside the Virginia General Assembly) opposing charter school legislation; primarily the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA), and the Virginia Education Association (VEA). Equally important, partisan politics and the opposition of the Black Caucus in the General Assembly were the two strongest internal factors in defeating early attempts at charter school passage. All interviewees reported being satisfied with the outcome of charter school legislation; however, several legislators indicated dissatisfaction with the apparent slow pace of school boards in each locality of holding public hearings to determine whether they will accept charter school applications. Additionally, accountability based upon student results, an alternative schooling opportunity for public school students, and a lottery method for student selection were important charter school characteristics for adoption. / Ed. D.

For decades, the World Bank has been criticized for the social and environmental consequences of its practices in implementing projects. In response, many different groups, including NGOs, have demanded greater World Bank accountability. One avenue through which accountability can be achieved is organizational learning. The Operations Evaluations Department (OED) at the World Bank is one organization that can hold the World Bank accountable through learning. Therefore, this study examines the OED as a learning organization. It does this by applying Peter Senge's conceptualization of learning as "systems thinking." The study seeks to answer the question: Has "systems thinking" contributed to organizational learning in the case of the OED? The study finds that the answer to this question is "yes." This finding also has implications for the study of "systems thinking" itself through developing a method to measure "systems thinking" and for accountability at the World Bank through the OED organizational learning. / Master of Arts

Since 1991, charter schools have become a popular school choice option. Charter schools are independent public schools free from most state regulations in exchange for a written contract specifying that certain results will be obtained. Charter school accountability depends on both the specific charter school law and the agreement that has been struck between the sponsoring agency and the individual charter school. This study explores the patterns of practice in the accountability processes used by multiple sponsoring agencies in Minnesota. Minnesota's charter school law allows local school districts, post-secondary institutions, and the state education agency to sponsor charter schools. One central overarching question was addressed in this study: How do the micro accountability systems of multiple sponsoring agencies within Minnesota compare? In addition, several subquestions provided the framework for the research: 1. How is the charter school accountability process defined in the state legislation? 2. How is the charter school law interpreted by the state education agency? 3. How do sponsors determine the accountability processes they require of their charter schools? 4. How satisfied are the charter school directors and the sponsoring agencies with their accountability process? This qualitative study utilized research methods suitable for a multiple case study. The two primary data collection methods were document analysis and interviews. Individual case reports for each type of sponsoring agency were written that discussed specific elements of the accountability systems in use by each type of sponsoring agency within the state. A final report outlining the patterns of practice in the accountability processes used by all sponsors is included. Any measurement of the macro accountability dimensions in the charter school movement may be confounded by the different micro accountability indicators used by the different sponsoring agencies. This study provides information about the specific accountability processes being adopted by the sponsoring agencies. The results of this study will help sponsoring agencies of charter schools focus on the types of accountability to which they may hold their charter schools accountable. / Ph. D.

Yes / This paper aims to deepen and advance our understanding of the de-facto accountability processes and practices within Muslim non-governmental organisations (NGOs). We employ a three-fold accountability framework of felt, imposed and adaptive accountability, supported by insight from the Islamic perspective to elucidate our empirical findings. We adopt this framework because it enables us to localise the notions of accountability, allowing a more complete understanding of the de-facto nature of Muslim NGO accountability to emerge within the context of religious ideals and between accountabilities that are externally imposed and those that are internally generated.

This study had three main purposes. The first was to determine the perceptions of public school administrators toward desirability and toward feasibility of accountability items. The second was to determine the perceptions of public school teachers toward desirability and toward feasibility of accountability items. The third was to compare the perceptions of administrators with those of teachers and to indicate areas where they seemed to be in agreement or disagreement.