This case study illustrates how agency bureaucrats within the Connecticut State Department of Education played a prominent role in crafting a comprehensive education policy agenda, launched by the Education Enhancement Act of 1986. This was an example of bureaucratically-driven state education reform in which leadership, a clearly articulated policy agenda, and a policy making model embedded in the notion of ideas and persuasion were instrumental in establishing, implementing, and sustaining that policy agenda over time. It is out of this case study that a theory of bureaucratic entrepreneurship emerges—that is, when non-elected public managers and professional staff devise successful strategies to persuade legislators and other constituency groups to accept their policy agenda, develop and sustain policy innovations over time, and devise policy instruments that rely on inducements and capacity-building to leverage changes in educational practice at the local school district level. This case study examines bureaucratic entrepreneurship within two contexts. First, a comparison of two state-level education reform attempts is made: the first a successful bureaucratically-driven policy initiative culminating in the Education Enhancement Act (EEA) of 1986 and the second being a largely unsuccessful reform effort launched by the business community in the early 1990s through the Commission on Educational Excellence in Connecticut (CEEC). Second, the development and evolution of Connecticut’s teacher standards initiatives, an outgrowth of the EEA of 1986, is examined to illustrate the prominent features of bureaucratic entrepreneurship, including the exercise of leadership, opportunistic behavior in the face of rapidly changing environmental circumstances, and engagement in “creative subversion” and risk-taking in order to pursue innovative research and development. This study concludes that (1) successful bureaucratically-driven education reform requires strong leadership and technical capacity, (2) bureaucratic entrepreneurship is critical to sustaining policy innovation over time, (3) bureaucratic entrepreneurs can be “grown” by creating a climate within an organization conducive to innovation, learning and group problem-solving and fostering conditions for “team entrepreneurship,” that is, when a collection of individuals combine their efforts to produce innovations, and (4) there is a strong role to be played by state departments of education in shaping educational public policy.

New school accountability policy alters how the state department of education (SDE) and underperforming school interact by creating a direct connection between the two. The "beginning of intervention" is when the SDE and the underperforming school commence their working relationship. Challenges to the development of a relationship include limited capacity at the SDE level and the local educators' perceptions of new school accountability as a deterrent policy. The working relationship is the vehicle for bridging the state's externally imposed and school's internally pre-existing accountability systems; to negotiate the implementation of the policy for the dual purpose of making sense of the policy for the school and the SDE and meeting the end goal of the policy by improving the educational outcomes of the school; and to alter educators' perceptions of new school accountability policy from that of a deterrent and threatening policy to one which is enabling and empowering of local educators. Document analysis, observations, and interviews of Massachusetts state education administrators, local district administrators and underperforming school educators were used to gain an understanding of how the state and local levels perceive one another during intervention. Results from the qualitative study were analyzed using Scheberle's (1997) "Working Relationship Typology" which uses trust and involvement levels as variables to determine the type of working relationship between organizations. Findings indicate that the working relationship between the SDE and the school improves during the beginning of intervention, but remains distant. The surprising finding is that the district is seen as the key lever for improvement by those in the underperforming school and SDE. The existing relationship between the district and school, however, was negative, as the elementary school educators blamed the district for neglecting their schools. Giving the district capacity to facilitate school improvement, the SDE designed a system of early intervention that places a "fixer" (Bardach, 1977) at the district level whose sole purpose is to work with underperforming schools. The findings indicate that this contributed to dramatic improvement in the working relationship between the district and the underperforming school as well as the relationship between the SDE and the district.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-121).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-121). Also available in print.

<p> In discussing his approach to school leadership, a successful high school principal in Los Angeles told me, &ldquo;If you move their hearts, you can move their minds.&rdquo; This line speaks to the crucial but often unacknowledged importance of addressing adolescent well-being as a foundational component to school leadership. My qualitative research utilizes case studies of four high schools in California to answer the following questions: What do successful urban high school leaders experience as they focus on adolescent health and well-being? How do they identify the nature of student need and attempt to address it? What perspectives do they hold on structures, programs, and practices that value student health and well-being?</p><p> This study seeks to understand how principals consider the health and well-being of their students as core elements of their leadership practice even as they negotiate dwindling school budgets for health services and balance multiple pressures and priorities. In considering this relationship, I argue that leaders must think about how they are creating environments that value students&rsquo; health as necessary preconditions for their academic achievement. My analysis uncovers how principals perceive opportunities to support or enact programs, services, and staff that address student well-being in ways that correspond to their broader vision of instructional leadership.</p><p> Major findings from my work indicate that these principals from low-income and high-minority schools utilize Maslow&rsquo;s hierarchy of needs, either explicitly or implicitly, to support student development. By focusing on building relationships as a core value in their work, they are able to recognize the specific needs of students as both adolescents and learners. In doing so, they create systems and structures that support students to find their voices, both as individuals and as members of a collective school community. At the same time, these school leaders also support their teachers in creating curriculum and classroom culture that appreciates both the academic and non-cognitive components of learning, often with the support of community partnerships. </p><p> While mainstream educational discourse leaves little room for school principals to focus on the holistic approach of understanding the students on their campuses, I argue that these leaders must consider their students&rsquo; layered hierarchy of needs for them to thrive, both academically and socially. While it is certainly possible for schools to be successful without implementing the practices in this study, the major findings in this work create a framework for high school principals to consider in their practice. My research offers insight into innovative leadership practices that can transform the way we prepare school leaders, educate students, and conceptualize the purpose of public education.</p>

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-110).

<p> This qualitative portraiture study examines current issues that surround the experience of third-year and beyond, first-generation college students. There is a need to understand the self-perceptions of first-generation college students. Very few studies follow the group into the third year of college. Most programs track the population for just one year beyond matriculation. Success for first-generation college students is vital, as the group has been identified as a growing population with low college completion rates. This study is presented at a critical time, when the President of the United States claims a college education is necessary to live above the poverty line and achieve middle-class status. The United States government has based public policy and higher education funding upon both student need and institution completion rates. This study used arts-based research and literacy through photography techniques to explore the narrative experience of a small sample of first-generation college students while engaged in interpretative photography. The technique aimed to promote imagination, creativity, critical thinking, and personal reflection. The study engaged participants in literacy through photography and sought to synthesize data in the form of writing samples, interpretative photography, and transcribed interviews to uncover patterns that better explain the tenants of culture leading to academic discourse within a disadvantaged population. The portraiture method was used to provide rich and descriptive data by illuminating themes through participant-researcher collaboration with reflective and narrative components.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Marshall University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains vii, 110 p. Includes bibliographical references p. 81-87.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Annie Clement, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Sport Management, Recreation Management and Physical Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 23, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-110). Also available in print.