Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M.S.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2010. / Thesis advisor: Christopher Pudlinski. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Communication." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 36-40). Also available via the World Wide Web.

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The aim of the this small scale empirical research study was to shed a discursive light on the leadership that was experienced within two primary school settings in the North West of England and the constraints of context that shaped the discourses of leadership within those schools. Contextual factors have been defined as being on three levels: institutional, cultural and governmental. So using this framework as a sorting category for posing situated questions of the participants and Gee’s (1999; 2005; 2011) interconnected one to explore and question the data and the taken-for-granted assumptions, it has been possible to garner an understanding of how these contexts interacted in framing an individual’s understanding of the leadership they were experiencing and implications for their practice. The research questions which this study addressed were: What are the contextual factors that shape discourses of educational leadership? What does the discursive analysis reveal of how stakeholders talk about ways of becoming in the leadership they are experiencing within a socially situated practice? What are the implications of this analysis for the practice of leadership within school? The research was influenced by two particular approaches to discourse analysis, a ‘practice approach’ and a ‘critical approach’. As educational practices are communicative events, this study has adopted a critical discourse analysis in making visible the ways that individuals talk about leadership they are experiencing within their settings. Through a Foucauldian lens it was possible to question the basis for the assumptions and norms of educational leadership in school and examine the ways in which individuals within school were both constructed and shaped by that discourse. This study takes the view that the school as an organizational context for leaders is both complex and under explored as it is in a constant state of flux. Various complexities are acknowledged concerning the contextual nature of leadership; it is complex, context specific, socially constructed, negotiated and hierarchical. Analysis of 18 in-depth semi-structured interviews and 18 cognitive maps reveals a range of Discourses of contextual factors of leadership such as the Discourse of the pivotal role of the headteacher; Discourse of leadership activity; Discourse of identity-work; Discourse of power relations and Discourse of commodification of education all made visible by the individuals within the school to which they endeavour to belong.

Teaching has a primary focus on engagement with students, but paradoxically, it can be experienced as lonely, private work, in classrooms behind closed doors, with an accompanying sense of deep disconnection from peers. When six experienced teachers sought to counteract this isolation, they formed a group which embarked on a shared journey of reflection and conversation, with the purpose of increasing selfknowledge, clarifying a sense of self as teacher, extending understanding of the selfhood of other teachers, and exposing the deeper sources of meaning underlying the vocation of teacher. This study sought to describe the information, opinions and beliefs which were exchanged among participants within the group and to describe the dynamics within the group. Furthermore, it sought to identify and describe the self-perceived impact of the experience of such a group, on the vocational vitality of each of the participants. Within an interpretivist epistemology a qualitative phenomenological research approach was adopted for the study. Data were obtained from two sources, consisting of transcripts of conversations from the meetings of a collaborative reflective group and from semi-structured individual interviews with group participants. These were analysed using an inductive approach with the aid of qualitative data analysis software: Atlas ti®. Findings from the study show that a high level of trust and a sense of safety were created through the use of guiding principles for meetings. Content chosen for reflective conversations and the general experience of meetings was perceived as providing a rare opportunity for participants to discover their selfhood as teachers. They reported that this understanding was further broadened by exposure to the selfhood of other teachers. Furthermore, members of the talk group reported that participation had resulted in a lowering of their sense of professional isolation and a renewal of vitality in their teaching.

This qualitative multiple case study provides insight into how teachers make sense of the teaching of writing within the context of a prescriptive curriculum designed by Excellence Academies, a prominent no excuses charter management organization. Drawing from Ivanič’s discourses of writing (2004) and the tenets of culturally sustaining pedagogies (Alim & Paris, 2014), the study relies on multiple data sources to make sense of the discourses that teachers have access to: the teacher education curriculum, their school level writing curriculum, primary teacher interviews, and secondary administrative interviews. A critical curriculum content analysis reveals that while the genre and process discourses are present at the macro level in graduate coursework and institutional materials, these discourses are muted by an emphasis on literacy as a tool for college readiness. My analysis reveals how literacy as a primarily skills-based endeavor becomes entangled with a coherent instructional model aimed to achieve college readiness through the acquisition of high test scores. The objectification of students and their capacities to be literate only in the ways valued by direct writing assessment constrained teachers from accessing a robust understanding of discourses of writing. Findings also reveal a lack of teacher knowledge and training devoted to the teaching of writing which results in students being subjected to underprepared teachers who are more susceptible to and reliant on harmful prescriptive skills-based writing pedagogies, curricula, and assessment practices. Additionally, the study reveals the paradox of an Advanced Placement course that appears to be a rigorous college preparatory learning experience, highlighting meso and macro level discourses that work to restrict student opportunities for meaningful writing experiences and tangibly benefit the charter management organization’s expansion rather than students themselves. Recommendations for policy, practice, and research are provided.

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Since the enactment in 1975 of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142), now renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), the cost of special education services has grown substantially in both absolute and relative terms (Duenas 1993). As a result, the issues such as the actual cost of special education services and the relationship of special education financing to regular education funding have become increasingly important to local, state and federal policymakers. The need for cost analysis in special education has become more important as the competition with other governmental agencies for available funds becomes more acute. As a social service, education in general and special education in particular must compete for dollars with highways, sanitation, and other services (Ysseldyke 1992). This study contributes to the need for in depth analysis of special education costs. The cost analysis method replicated in this study, called the Moche Cost Analysis of Public Education or CAPE Model, provided greater accuracy and flexibility than prior methods. The CAPE Model was used to examine and compare costs of regular elementary education, regular secondary education, elementary special education, and secondary special education. Special education costs also were compared across disability categories and service delivery environments. CAPE can be adapted easily to identify expenditures by building level and programs other than special education. CAPE calculations were completed using the LOTUS spreadsheet program. / Ed. D.

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