Until this dissertation, no research had investigated the use by community college development officers of specific skills that have been identified in the literature as significant in the successful implementation of planned change. Yet, community college development officers write proposals and case statements that secure tangible resources to support initiatives which may alter or significantly change practices of selective programs or campus systems. Maximization of grant resources allocated to improve community college practices might be achieved more readily if the writers of grant proposals use proven techniques for diffusing the innovations they propose into community colleges. A job analysis survey was conducted to capture information from 300 randomly-selected community college development officers as to their relative use of specific skills that have been identified within the literature review as skills used by successful implementers of planned change. Analysis of the findings was conducted in relation to selected demographic subfields of the responders to determine whether gender, specific professional experiences, professional training, campus size or location, or years of professional experience in community college development statistically correlate to the use of the skills that are examined in the study. The research supports the hypothesis that development officers who raise funds through grant writing engage more frequently in change facilitation activities than those who develop resources through solicitation of the private sector. The research also provides evidence that there are differences between the change facilitation activities performed by development officers practicing at early stages within their careers and those with more than ten years of experience.

This case study documented the process of designing, implementing, and accessing a low-cost, school-based staff development project. The principal objective of the study was to help a group of elementary school teachers serving African-American students seek alternative means of instructing those students not reached through traditional channels. In addition, it sought to expand teaching repertories; build stronger ties between the regular classroom and Chapter I programs; incorporate the tenets of action research in conjunction with sound staff development procedures; and to keep restructuring to a minimum. To facilitate and achieve these aims, the Chapter I curriculum was redesigned and linked to the regular classroom program. This case study also demonstrated a comprehensive collection of school improvement activities. The Chapter I staff, in concert with the classroom teachers, designed, implemented, and evaluated student activity modules. The modules focused on building positive self-image, cultural diversity, congruence, cultural heritage, and cooperative learning. Lessons learned from the activity modules promoted teacher interaction and feedback. In addition, the modules provided the Chapter I staff and teacher participants an avenue for connecting two disparate entities through planned staff development. The project succeeded as a result of the support garnered from administrators, the building principal, auxiliary staff, and community volunteers. Sound staff development processes permitted (1) the involvement of those persons most directly affected by the restructuring, (2) teachers to expand their repertoire of teaching strategies, (3) an increase in the level of optimism and resolve among teachers, administrators, and Chapter I staff, (4) time for teachers to explore new concepts and curriculum, (5) flexibility within the parameters of the project, (6) the undertaking of activities that permitted the linkage of the Chapter I curriculum to the regular classroom program, (7) opportunities for teachers/staff to plan collaboratively, and (8) teachers to grow professionally.

The purpose of this study was to conduct field research to analyze actual outcomes for students with moderate to severe disabilities educated in regular educational settings. This study sought to determine if students with moderate to severe disabilities were successful after implementation of an inclusive model. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied in this study. A modified case study design was used including interviews, observations, questionnaires, record analyses, and surveys. The results indicated that the four cases represent an overall successful program model with individual variations. Students achieved the highest rate of success as measured by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) progress, grades, and parent satisfaction. All four cases demonstrate the need for more peer friendships that carry over into after-school life. Definitions of student success varied across the groups surveyed. Over 75% of teachers surveyed felt that students in this study could be successfully integrated; yet only 45% actually felt successful. The most important three conditions teachers needed for teachers to feel successful were extra time for consultation, curriculum adaptation, and individualizing instruction. Teachers rated staff expertise, administrative commitment, and flexibility of professionals as most supportive of successful integration. Teachers felt that paid summer time and release time were least supportive of integration efforts. In spite of the positive findings, 53% of these teachers preferred a pull-out model of instruction. Parents were split more evenly between pull-out and inclusive models. Three of the four case study students and all of the peers interviewed chose an inclusive educational setting. Results of this study suggest that the school day needs to be reorganized to allow teachers more time to collaborate and plan. The role of individual aides for students with moderate to severe disabilities should be carefully reviewed and defined. Definitions of student's success should be clearly established. Special education documents such as the Individual Education Plan (IEP) and progress report need stable formats in order to perform longitudinal studies of student's success.

Attrition of special education teachers is a national problem resulting in lost monetary resources, school climate discontinuity, and lower student achievement. Within a small, rural district in southern Indiana, special education teacher attrition has risen since 2008 and continues to rise. District administrators want to retain teachers to ensure a continuity of instructional services for students with special needs. To explore this problem, an intrinsic qualitative case study was employed, guided by a research question that investigated the factors that special education teachers and administrators perceived as influencing special educators' career decisions. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and Billingsley's schematic representation of special education attrition and retention comprised the conceptual framework. Data collection included one-on-one semistructured interviews with 7 teachers and 5 administrators and teacher retention documents. Data analysis involved in vivo coding and an inductive process to collapse data into the 3 following themes: (a) daily challenges, (b) retention factors, (c) transfer or leaving factors. A project arose from the study. Using salient interview data, a professional development plan was designed to address teachers' needs of relevant professional development (PD) and collaboration. The PD plan will establish a professional learning community and utilizes free evidence-based online training modules to support reading comprehension of students with special needs. Positive social change may result from improvements in PD support provided by the district to retain its special education teachers, resulting in greater continuity of instruction for students with special needs who depend on high quality, experienced educators.

Concerned educators have been implementing ninth-grade transition programs to help freshmen adjust to the demands in high school and to reduce ninth-grade failure rates. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to investigate the impact of a ninth-grade transition program. The research questions addressed impact on cumulative GPAs and credits, ninth-grade dropout rates, and student satisfaction with ninth grade as measured by a survey of 120 ninth-grade transition program participants and 102 nonparticipants. Theoretical foundations were provided by the construction of new knowledge based on different background knowledge, different social conditions, and different life experiences. Another theoretical foundation was social control theory predicting less student delinquency if students have strong bonds with society such as school, family, and peers. After using a posttest-only with nonequivalent control-group design and independent-measures t tests for all hypotheses, results showed that the transition program did not have any effect on dropout rates, student satisfaction, and cumulative credits earned. The program had a negative effect on GPAs, possibly because of an increased margin of error (low return rate of parental consent for participation) and a new math curriculum for the experimental group. Recommendations for future study include conducting a longitudinal study with more participants, adding qualitative aspects, and teaching the same curricula to all study participants. Findings are significant for positive social change because they challenge educators to reexamine transition procedures, implement improved strategies, and review their teaching methods to provide students with the skills required by employers for a successful workforce that will contribute to America's well being and strong economic status in the 21st century.

<p> As the demand for online higher education increases, community colleges find themselves under pressure to secure qualified faculty members to deliver courses in that modality. The challenge, however, is that there is a dearth of qualified faculty members who are familiar with online instruction tools and who can deliver quality online instruction. To meet that need South County Community College (SCCC pseudonym) created the Online Teaching Certification (OTC) course designed to prepare faculty to teach in the online classroom. </p><p> This qualitative case study sought to examine the experiences and perceptions of 16 faculty members who completed the Online Teaching Certification (OTC) course to determine the extent to which the OTC course effectively contributed to the improvement of their ability to teach online courses and which components of the course warranted improvement. Data included interviews with the participants, site observations, and an analysis of existing documents in order to triangulate perspectives from multiple sources. Malcolm Knowles Adult Learning Theory provided the framework to analyze the data. </p><p> Participants felt the OTC had overall success in preparing them to teach online. The most effective components of the OTC course identified were the structure of the course which was aligned with best practices including the Online Education Initiative&rsquo;s Course Design Rubric, the activities in the course which mirrored those that faculty would use in their own online classes, and the sense of learning community enhanced by classroom activities including discussion forums, peer-to-peer feedback, and instructor interaction with the students. The least effective component was the self-paced format (no firm due dates for assignments) which some of the participants believed impacted the building of community in the course due to irregular participation. Recommendations for policy include requiring administrators who evaluate faculty who teach online to take the course, and requiring faculty who teach online to engage in professional development related to online instruction. </p><p>

Greenleaf's servant leadership model has been described as an innovative vision in which the leader performs duties of service as the focal point of a mission for social change. Although the servant leadership model has been widely implemented in business and religious organizations, its effectiveness in educational settings has not yet been widely explored. Therefore, the purpose of this explanatory correlational study was to examine the prevalence and effectiveness of servant leadership among a random sample of 156 of New Jersey's school superintendents. Subjects completed the Self-Assessment of Servant Leadership (SASL) and the Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI) that assesses 5 functional attributes of best practice leadership including modeling, inspiring, challenging, enabling and encouraging. A median split of raw SASL scores created a dichotomous classification as servant or non-servant leaders which was employed in chi-square analysis that demonstrated no significant links connecting SASL classification with gender, ethnicity, academic degree or experience in education or administration. However, independent sample t-tests revealed that servant leaders demonstrated significantly more best-practice decision-making across all 5 LPI attributes than were observed for non-servant leaders. These results led to the conclusion that the servant leadership model aligns well with the role of the school superintendent, and that servant leaders may possess advantageous characteristics that allow them to facilitate systemic reforms in organizations. This study represents an important contribution to the existing literature and can enhance social change initiatives by informing the professional development of educational leaders that will ultimately benefit student achievement.

One school in a Western United States was recently rated academically unacceptable by the state. That same school had an inactive Parent as Teachers organization, and teachers expressed concerns regarding low parental involvement. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the impact of teacher perceptions of barriers to parental involvement. Epstein's model of parental involvement was the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions focused on identifying perceived parental involvement barriers from the perspective of teachers and suggesting viable solutions to address these perceived barriers. This case study involved interviewing 8 elementary school teachers. Data analysis consisted of open, axial, and selective coding. The following themes emerged from the data: (a) Teacher perceptions of parents and barriers to parental involvement; (b) communication; (c) teacher expectations for parental involvement; (d) building effective relationships; and (e) solutions and resources to improve parental involvement. The participants in the study identified viable solutions in order to improve parental involvement and to engage families to provide opportunities for parents and teachers to build relationships. The implications for positive social change include the potential for increased student academic success.

Previous research has demonstrated that adolescent learning increases with a proactive type of student-teacher relationship. However, due to the lack of common expectations for a positive student-teacher relationship, a disconnection occurs for some students, who then may become disengaged at school and may not reach their full potential academically, socially, or developmentally. This mixed method sequential, exploratory design focused on a Midwestern secondary school of approximately 250 students. The disconnection between students and teachers was addressed by investigating positive student-teacher relationships; student achievement; and the connection between student-teacher relationships and achievement. Qualitative data were collected using focus groups of students and teachers who explored characteristics of positive student-teacher relationships and of student achievement. These data were then analyzed using data reduction that selected, focused, simplified, abstracted, and transformed the data as they appeared in field notes. Quantitative data were then collected using a survey that examined student perceptions of student-teacher relationships and their potential effect on student achievement. Descriptive analysis of survey data revealed themes that were then contrasted against the qualitative data. The overarching theme that emerged from the triangulated data suggested most students perceived that a relationship existed between student achievement and relationships they had with teachers, while most teachers' perceptions were in contrast to the students' perceptions. The research demonstrated that if students and teachers connect in the classroom with a more unified approach to building and sustaining positive student-teacher relationships, a more-prepared individual emerges contributing to the community, the workforce and society at large.

Bill 160 in Ontario removed administrators from teachers' federations creating an unhealthy gap between groups and a lowering of morale for both. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between perceived effects of teachers' union actions on administrators' and teachers' roles and morale. Learning and organizational theories provided a theoretical framework for this quantitative study. Voluntary participants included teachers and administrators from Canadian Education Association and administrators from Ontario Principals' Council. Questionnaires addressed three hypotheses, which dealt with level of morale between participants, correlation between the morale score and the learning environment score, and difference in morale between teachers and administrators when the learning environment was controlled. Two measures standardized through a panel review and pilot study were used: Teacher/Administrator Morale and Learning Environment questionnaires. A continuous scale measured the dependent variable, morale and the independent variable, learning environment whereas a categorical scale measured the independent variable, role. Two-sample t test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis analyzed the data. Significant findings indicated that learning environment scores affected the morale of administrators more than teachers. Results will fill the gap between research and practice, suggesting a need for further knowledge on teachers' morale. Social change is accomplished through student achievement, a result of administrator/teacher collaboration and resultant increased morale. Social change might also occur if teachers had the option of belonging to a teachers' union in Ontario as in the United States.