This study examines the impact of selected structures of the Virginia Preschool Initiative on reading readiness in at-risk preschool students in the state of Virginia. The Virginia Preschool Initiative is designed to prepare at-risk four-year-olds for success in kindergarten. According to the Virginia Department of Education, "The purpose of the grants is to reduce disparities among young children upon formal school entry and to reduce or eliminate those risk factors that lead to early academic failure." (Virginia Department of Education, 2005) The independent variables are the specific curriculum models used by the school division, length of program day, teacher certification, and program sponsoring agency. The dependent variables are the pre and post assessment scores on the eight subtests of the PALS-PreK assessment. A paired sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were conducted using Fall and Spring 2006 PALS-PreK student assessment scores from school divisions that participated in the Virginia Preschool Initiative during the 2005-06 school year to determine the relationship between the curriculum implemented and PALS-PreK Fall and Spring student assessment scores. The findings in this study indicate a statistically significant difference between the Fall and Spring student assessment scores for each of the curriculum models analyzed and at least one curriculum model consistently underperforms the other three curriculum models. There were no differences in three variables (length of school day, teacher certification, and program sponsoring agency) and were therefore, not subject to analysis. / Ph. D.

The purpose of study was to identify the perceptions of school leaders regarding the effectiveness of an alternative education transformative day program following the first year of implementation. While some divisions were dissolving their alternative education programs, the school division highlighted within this study prioritized and revitalized the division's alternative education program from a behavior-based night program to a transformative-based day program. The goal of this study was to collect and analyze data that could present next steps for the transformative-based alternative education program in order for division and school-based leaders to continue refining and improving upon the existing foundation established during its inaugural implementation year. The selection of a purposeful sample was used to meet the objective of the study. The sample size for this study included a combination of up to 15 alternative education teachers, principals, and central office leadership members. The research interventions and investigational agents for this study included approved web-based surveys via Qualtrics and virtual interviews for data collection. The study's survey instrument included one twenty question survey session, and voluntarily respondents participated in a ten-question virtual interview via Google Meetings. Interview questions probed beyond the survey questions in order to provide qualitative data obtained from division and school-based alternative education leadership. The findings of this study, which include the value of stakeholder perception, alternative approach, climate and culture, and alternative course offerings/credit recover, could provide alternative education leaders with tangible next steps for program development by identifying elements necessary for growth and program success as noted by the stakeholders themselves. By analyzing the perceptions of alternative education teachers, principals, and central office leadership, data presented can lead to intentional measures for revising, growing and furthering the existing success of the transformative-based program. Additionally, recommendations for future study, such as how to increase the program's perception to stakeholders of the transformative-based program, could be used to inspire subsequent studies and to support division leadership when finalizing decisions regarding funding, program implementation, and professional development. / Doctor of Education / By prioritizing alternative education, a small rural school division has reconstructed its former behavior-based night program into a transformative-based day program in order to best combat the difficulties that plague the alternative population in America today. The history of alternative education in contrast to the needs of today's alternative education learners has been presented within the Literature Review. The perceptions of the transformative-based alternative education program were the target audience for this research study. This study was designed to examine the perceptions of alternative education teachers, principals, and central office leadership regarding the development of a transformative, alternative education day program in a small rural Virginia school division. These data were obtained throughout the survey completion and virtual interviews of 15 stakeholders of the transformative-based program. The study revealed four findings and four implications. One limitation to the study was the small sample size. A suggestion for future study would involve obtaining permission to conduct student research participants in order to explore data from the student perspective for the purpose of restructuring the program's needs as based upon student data.

This case study described how a team of teachers, students, a parent, and a principal applied action research to study issues in an alternative school for at-risk students. The literature review indicated that action research could be used for school renewal, school reform, and educational change. The purpose of this study was to (1) describe the action research process followed, (2) study the role of the principal in the action research process, and (3) observe the interactions of the participants in an action research team. A case study methodology and a participant -observer technique was used in an action research team as the forum for implementing the process. The researcher in this single case study was the principal of the school. Data collection documents were field notes of the researcher, journals of the participants, and transcribed notes from interviews of selected participants. Data was sorted into bins for analysis of recurring patterns and convergence of themes across different data sources. / Ed. D.

Researchers and practitioners in an attempt to understand academic performance, and thus reduce academic failure, have identified variables associated with academic performance. Although this research has been useful, there are limitations and critiques: 1) findings are often inconsistent; 2) student experiences and perceptions tend to be constructed as dichotomous variables: thus little is known about interconnections and contradictions in students' lives; and, 3) gender, race and class are constructed as variables to assess difference and not as social structural positions of power. The purpose of this research is to explore at-risk, first-year students participating in a structured intervention program and their perceptions of their academic performance. In addition, the ways in which their perceptions are shaped by gender. Through multiple qualitative techniques of semi-structured interviews, content analysis, and observations over an 8-month period I constructed an understanding of students' perceptions of their academic performance. The students' perceptions are interconnected such that themes emerged illuminating three patterns of perceptions. My analysis illuminated some manifestations of how gender shaped students' perceptions. However, gender was but one lens, not the dominant analytical lens, from which to explore and understand these students' perspective. Using extensive quotes from students in a narrative form, these patterns are described and discussed. As a sociologist, a feminist, and student affairs professional, I am concerned with structural elements of a given phenomenon; therefore I make particular mention of organizational and policy issues and implications associated with the patterns of student perceptions. / Ph. D.

It is believed that an effective way of reducing levels of juvenile delinquency is to implement preventative programs for young children. This research explored the use of a youth gardening project as a preventative program by examining the effects on self-concept. The study involved two groups of inner city youth participating in a Department of Parks and Recreation summer program. The test group participated in gardening activities while the control group did not. Self-concept was evaluated using the Self Perception Profile for Children in a pre- and post-test format to measure any change through participation in the program. Participants were also asked to draw a picture of a garden and the test group completed a questionnaire on their gardening experience. Results indicate an increase in self-concept in the gardening group. A comparison of drawings from the two groups suggests that the gardeners have a better understanding of plant anatomy and diversity. Questionnaire responses indicate that students enjoyed gardening, felt and behaved better when gardening, and thought they learned through the garden. Many difficulties greatly reduced sample sizes for this research. Future research must find ways to overcome these issues. A survey was conducted to explore common difficulties associated with research on the benefits of horticulture programs for youth. Findings from this survey are discussed, including suggestions for improving research and directions for future studies. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the levels of implementation of four Response to Intervention (RTI) components on the overall special education referral rates of elementary school students at 35 schools. The four RTI components are (a) using intervention teams to problem-solve for struggling students, (b) selecting the appropriate intervention, (c) monitoring student progress, and (d) graphing data for visual analysis. The four levels of implementation are (a) lacks skills or basic knowledge of this component, (b) beginning to learn this component (beginning level), (c) developing skill with this component (intermediate level), and (d) fully competent in this component (advanced level). Data were analyzed on 483 responders from 35 elementary schools. The quantitative research designs were the descriptive-survey and causal comparative designs. Findings for research question one showed the highest percentages of responders from the schools perceived the four components were at the advanced level or intermediate level of implementation. Results for research question two showed the male subgroup had the highest mean referral rate, while the African American subgroup had the second highest mean referral rate. For research question three, findings showed there was a significant difference in the referral rate for special education services based on the implementation levels of RTI (F(2, 32) = 7.25, p = 0.003. Results for research question four showed the level of implementation had an impact on the rate of referral for special education services based on demographic factors of gender and ethnicity. / Ph. D.

In an attempt to staff every classroom with a highly qualified teacher, the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) mandated that only "highly qualified" teachers be hired to teach beginning in the 2005 school-year (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). Highly qualified is defined by a teacher's background characteristics that include state certification, a bachelor's degree and subject area competence for secondary teachers. Researchers Palardy and Rumberger (2008), determined that a teacher's background characteristics alone are not sufficient in determining the effectiveness of a teacher but that it is the teacher's attitudes, beliefs and practices that should be considered , as these attributes have a greater impact and are most malleable. This study aimed to increase the body of research in the area of teacher effectiveness and how teachers' dispositions impact students' math achievement at the elementary level in an urban school district. Descriptive statistics were used to report the findings. The participants in this study were all full-time, general education teachers who worked with students in grades three, four and five in an urban school district. The data collected demonstrated that effective teachers in an urban school district believed it was their ability to reach students through their sense of efficacy and belief system that makes the difference in students' positive outcomes on high stakes tests. Findings revealed that effective teachers have high teaching efficacy, they are able to build personal relationships with their students and they are able to motivate their students to do well in school. This study confirms that effective urban teachers share a set of common dispositions and beliefs that make a difference in student achievement when all factors are considered. / Ed. D.

Alternative education as defined by Sable, Plotts, and Mitchell (2010), is "a public school that addresses needs of students that typically cannot be met at in a regular school" (p. C-1). In many public alternative schools, the individuals chosen as leaders are licensed, certified school principals. Research focusing on alternative education is emerging yet, there is limited research directly devoted to alternative school leadership (Price, 2010). With the knowledge that students attending alternative schools have needs that cannot be met in traditional school settings, what specializations can leadership preparation programs and school division sponsored professional development offer to prepare secondary alternative school principals for alternative school leadership? Utilizing a phenomenological qualitative-based research design, secondary alternative school principals across the Commonwealth of Virginia were asked to participate in a study which employed semi-structured surveys to explore their perceptions of leadership preparation programs, division level professional development, and the impact of specialized training on leadership. The results of the study indicated that secondary alternative school principals in the Commonwealth of Virginia perceive that specialized leadership preparation is needed to effectively lead alternative schools and they were not adequately prepared by their leadership preparation programs to lead alternative schools. / Ed. D.

Futures contracts represent a suitable instrument for hedging. One conse- quence of their standardized nature is the presence of basis risk. In order to mitigate it an agent might aim to minimize Value at Risk or Expected Shortfall. Among numerous approaches to their modelling, CAViaR models which build upon quantile regression are appealing due to the limited set of assumptions and decent empirical performance. We propose alternative specifications for CAViaR model - power and exponential CAViaR, and an alternative, flexible way of computing Expected Shortfall within CAViaR framework - Implied Expectile Level. Empirical analysis suggests that ex- ponential CAViaR yields competitive results both in Value at Risk and Ex- pected Shortfall modelling and in subsequent Value at Risk and Expected Shortfall hedging. 1

Durante os últimos anos, tem havido muitas mudanças na maneira como as instituições financeiras avaliam o risco. As regulações têm tido um papel muito importante no desenvolvimento das técnicas de medição do risco. Diante das diversidades de técnicas de estimação e análise de risco utilizadas pelas bolsas de valores e de futuros, nacionais e internacionais, bem como as Clearings de controle de risco, este estudo propôs uma análise comparativo de modelos de volatilidade para o cálculo do Value-at-Risk (VaR) aplicados aos principais índices de ações do mercado financeiro internacional. Utilizouse os modelos de volatilidade condicional da família ARCH levando em consideração a presença de longa dependência em seus retornos (memória longa) e assimetria na volatilidade. Em específico, utilizaram-se os modelos GARCH, EGARCH, APARCH, FIGARCH, FIEGARCH, FIAPARCH e HYGARCH estimados a parir de quatro diferentes distribuições, Normal, t-Student, G.E.D. e t-Student Assimétrica. Analisaramse os índices dos principais mercados de ações do mundo, sendo: Dow Jones, S&P 500, Nasdaq, Ibovespa, FTSE e Nikkei 225. Testou-se também a capacidade preditiva do modelo Riskmetrics desenvolvido pelo J.P. Morgan para o calculo do VaR, comparado com os modelos de volatilidade. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que o pacote desenvolvido pelo J.P.Morgan não se aplica adequadamente à realidade do mercado acionário mundial, como ferramenta de gestão e controle do risco das oscilações dos preços das ações de empresas negociadas nas bolsas de Nova Iorque, Nasdaq, BM&FBOVESPA, bolsa de Londres e bolsa de Tóquio. Os modelos que consideram o efeito de memória longa na volatilidade condicional dos retornos dos índices, em especial o modelo FIAPARCH (1,d,1), foram os que obtiveram melhor ajuste e desempenho preditivo do risco de mercado (Value-at-Risk), conforme valores apresentados pelo teste de razão de falha proposto por Kupiec (1995). / In recent years, there have been many changes in how financial institutions assess risk. The regulations have had a very important role in the development of techniques for measuring risk. Considering the diversity of estimation techniques and risk analysis used by stock exchanges and futures, national and international, as well as clearing houses of risk control, this study proposed a comparative analysis of volatility models for calculating Value-at-Risk (VaR) to the major stock indexes of international finance. It used models of conditional volatility of the ARCH family taking into account the presence of long dependence on their returns (long memory) and asymmetry in volatility. Specifically, it used the models GARCH, EGARCH, APARCH, FIGARCH, FIEGARCH, FIAPARCH and HYGARCH estimated the birth of four different distributions, Normal, t-Student, GED and t-Student Asymmetric. It analyzed the contents of the major stock markets of the world, being: Dow Jones, S & P 500, NASDAQ, Bovespa index, FTSE and Nikkei 225. Was also tested the predictive ability of the RiskMetrics model developed by JP Morgan for the calculation of VaR, compared with the models of volatility. The results suggest that the package developed by JPMorgan does not apply adequately to the reality of global stock market as a tool to manage and control the risk of fluctuations in stock prices of companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, BM&FBOVESPA, London Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange. Models that consider the effect of long memory in conditional volatility of returns of the indices, especially the model FIAPARCH (1, d, 1), were the ones showing better fit and predictive performance of market risk (Value-at-Risk) , according to figures provided by the ratio test proposed by Kupiec (1995).