abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine if social capital for parents in a low-income urban school would develop through structured or unstructured parent-teacher meetings. The parent-teacher meetings were developed to provide opportunities for parents and teachers to meet to build relationships and develop trust through teaching and learning how to support reading fluency and reading comprehension strategies. In order to build relationships between parents and teachers both parties need to trust one another. Trust is the foundation of relationships but before parties can trust one another, opportunities to form relationships need to be provided. In the case of parents and teachers, the study suggests that the parent-teacher meetings might be a starting point to provide opportunities to form trusting relationships. As parents and teachers work collaboratively to support the academic needs of the children, parents will increase their social capital and learn how to navigate the school system. The findings of the parent-teacher meetings showed that the perceptions of parents and teachers varied. The findings of the study did not display any noticeable differences in responses between the structured and unstructured group of participants. Parents appreciated meeting with teachers to learn how to support student learning at home and believed teachers were influential in the educational experience of their children. Teachers believed: parents want to support student learning at home, but lack academic skills; parents are the influential in the educational experience of the students; and parents are hesitant to ask school staff for help. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2013

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Melanie F. Klein / Non-profit organizations seeking to expand their facilities are often met with difficult challenges. Oftentimes, funds are spent maintaining the grounds and facilities of the organization, reserving little or no funds for future expansions, marketing, or emergencies. Instead, these organizations rely on volunteers and donors. Without the guidance of design professionals, expansions may be developed without the direction of a coherent master plan. Circulation networks may need to be reconfigured, and newly constructed buildings may relate poorly to one another and to existing amenities. Camp Wood is one camp facing these dilemmas. Located in the Flint Hills Region of Kansas, between Wichita and Topeka, Camp Wood is a YMCA organization and primarily functions as a summer youth camp for kids ages 7-17. It is the only camp in America located in the tallgrass prairie. The Flint Hills hold many ecological features that can be seen and experienced. There are also several man-made features that could be implemented to save energy, water, and other resources. With a coherent master plan, these natural and man-made features can help teach ecological concepts to campers. A master plan can organize vehicular and pedestrian networks to unify existing facilities and proposed future developments for Camp Wood. The proposed master plan for Camp Wood is largely guided by a set of desired experiences that each camper will experience during their stay at Camp Wood. There are multiple site factors that influence each of these experiences. Once the program is defined and the program needs are determined, the site factors can be used to determine the most suitable location for the desired program elements. An in-depth analysis for each program element guides each program element’s location and design, allowing for each of the desired experiences to be achieved.

High school administrators in a rural school district were providing transition planning to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in order to meet postschool transition goals. Despite these efforts, few students with ASD were employed or enrolled in postsecondary training, and parents reported that they were dissatisfied with the postschool transition process. The purpose of this collective case study was to explore parental and staff perceptions of the postschool transition processes of students with ASD to increase the understanding of the practice related to postschool transitions. Guided by Tinto and Pusser's institutional framework, research questions were focused on the experiences of parents and staff, including teachers and support personnel, with the postschool transition process of students with ASD. A purposeful sample of 25 participants, including the first 10 parents of students with ASD who applied and the staff who supported them, were interviewed. Teachers were also observed during the postschool transition process. Archival postschool transition survey data were also analyzed. Themes were identified through application of open coding and thematic analysis to interviews, observations, and survey data and included: parents and teachers need support [reference guide and professional development (PD)] and stakeholder collaboration is crucial to success even though time is a constraint and skills prioritization is evident in Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). Teachers used IEPs to guide the postschool transition process, but parental concerns remained. Therefore, a PD for teachers and reference guide for parents were created for the local site to improve parental trust of the postschool transition process for students with ASD.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur förskollärare gör för att bygga trygga relationer till barnen i förskolan samt undersöka varför anknytning är en viktig del i relationsbyggandet. Tidigare forskning påvisar att trygga anknytningar mellan förskollärare och barn har en positiv effekt på barns sociala utveckling, både i det tidiga och senare stadiet i livet. Det är en kvalitativ undersökning där enkäter med fem öppna frågor har använts. Enkäterna har skickats ut via epost till förskolor samt på den sociala nätverkstjänsten Facebook i stängda grupper för förskollärare. Empirin analyserar vi utifrån John Bowlbys anknytningsteori. Resultatet visar att respondenterna är överens om att de aktivt tänker på hur de bygger relationer med barnen i förskolan. Resultatet visar även att vara lyhörd, närvarande, stöttande och se barns individuella behov är viktiga egenskaper att förhålla sig till som förskollärare när det handlar om att bygga trygga relationer till barnen i förskolan. Slutsatsen är att förskollärarens arbete kring relationer och anknytning till barnen i förskolan har betydelse för barns lärande och utveckling.

This Diploma Thesis deals with the CRM system in the marketing concept of the multinational company Vodafone Czech Republic plc. The aim was to evaluate the system operation and implementation of sales strategies with respect to the customer. The basic hypothesis of the project was the question of whether the firm is managed by its customer, or whether the firm is in tow of its client. This work assesses theoretical approaches and marketing strategies focusing on the practical application of the strategy in the czech branch of the Vodafone plc. in relation to customers. This thesis has a proactive approach by the company to the customer - sales calls over the Customer Solution sales map, building relationships with customers through the strategy Vodafone Way, expanding the sales network through franchising and unification of new frameworks into project Filip.

This qualitative single case study examined the connections between social-emotional learning and academic achievement in adolescents. Questions that formed the foundation for research include the background of how one middle school developed social and emotional practices for their student population, the ways in which those practices are implemented and sustained in the school community, how social-emotional learning practices interface with academics, and approaches which can be shared with other school sites. Qualitative research methods included formal and informal participant interviews, site and field observations, and the collection of artifacts and documents such as test scores and student work. Data was coded and analyzed by themes: 1) Building Relationships and Developing Trust; 2) Learning Engagement and Achievement; 3) Teaching Accountability and Responsibility; 4) Collaboration; 5) Resolving Conflicts; and 6) Budgets, Curriculum and Standards, and Teacher Demands. Data show convincing connections between creating caring school communities and the academic, social, and emotional development of adolescents.

The aim of the study was to investigate the changing role of the secondary school principal in building sustainable communities. It is supposed that communities that are not sustainable affect secondary schools. The focus is on how the secondary school principal should go about building, sustaining and uplifting the school community. The direct and indirect involvement of secondary school principals in community issues, could contribute to sustainability within the community, which gradually becomes a reality. The task of the secondary school principal is realised through the results of effective educative teaching and learning practices. Through literature study it was found that the role of the secondary school principal in enhancing sustainable communities would contribute to the upliftment of communities. The qualitative approach was successful in obtaining information about how the changing role of the secondary school principal in building sustainable communities is viewed. Recommendations were made concerning research findings for stakeholders and officials to note. / Educational Studies / M.Ed(Education Management))

The aim of the study was to investigate the changing role of the secondary school principal in building sustainable communities. It is supposed that communities that are not sustainable affect secondary schools. The focus is on how the secondary school principal should go about building, sustaining and uplifting the school community. The direct and indirect involvement of secondary school principals in community issues, could contribute to sustainability within the community, which gradually becomes a reality. The task of the secondary school principal is realised through the results of effective educative teaching and learning practices. Through literature study it was found that the role of the secondary school principal in enhancing sustainable communities would contribute to the upliftment of communities. The qualitative approach was successful in obtaining information about how the changing role of the secondary school principal in building sustainable communities is viewed. Recommendations were made concerning research findings for stakeholders and officials to note. / Educational Studies / M.Ed(Education Management))