This study focused on the University of Wisconsin Stout's (UW Stout) implementation of the Malcolm Baldridge Award (MBNQA) Criteria for Educational Performance Excellence. The study had two objectives: (1) to determine administrator, faculty, and staff/support staff perceptions and compare those perceptions; and, (2) to identify the positive and negative views each of the three groups held regarding the implementation process. The study design was a mixed method approach which used both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Administrators, faculty, and staff/support staff at UW Stout were randomly selected to participate in the study. The instrument used to gather information contained 26 quantitative, two qualitative, and three demographic questions. Qualitative data were analyzed using analysis of variance with an alpha level established at .05. Results revealed significant differences in participants' perceptions for four of the seven MBNQA categories. Tukey Post-Hoc tests were performed for each of the significant categories. Post-Hoc tests for all four categories indicated that administrative participants had significantly more positive perceptions of MBNQA education criteria implementation than faculty or staff/support staff. A content analysis of the qualitative data revealed five positive themes: (1) Recognition as a Center of Excellence, (2) Pride in Affiliation, (3) Positive Exposure/Marketing Opportunities, (4) Conduit for Continuous Improvement, and (5) Increased Communication. Analysis also revealed nine common negative themes: (1) Perceived Opportunity Costs, (2) Education/Training Needs. (3) A Lack of Continuous Improvement, (4) Increased Workload, (5) Disconnect Between the Award and the University Mission, (6) Campus Climate, (7) Increased Quality Expectations, (8) Decisions Being Made Without Following the Baldridge Model, and (9) Insufficient Employee Recognition. Study findings may provide insight regarding employees' differing views of quality implementation at the university level. Results of this investigation may be useful to quality consultants who assist others in the establishment of institutional quality initiatives as well as higher education administrators who are considering MBNQA criteria implementation at their own institutions. / Ph. D.

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As contemporary federal education legislation requires schools to ensure that all students are prepared for college and careers upon graduation, the college and career readiness of ELs is an urgent matter requiring investigation. Within this policy context, career and technical education (CTE) has been presented as a potential pathway for ELs to achieve college and career readiness. This necessitates research examining ELs’ opportunities to participate in CTE programs as an alternative to traditional secondary schools. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is (a) to examine the processes required to access CTE programs and the barriers ELs face when attempting to enroll in CTE, (b) to understand how institutional culture and the distribution of resources support ELs and instructors with ELs in their courses, and (c) to investigate ELs’ classroom experiences and opportunities to learn, as understood by the students, teachers, and administrators in a school dedicated to CTE programming. Drawing on ethnographic methodology, data were collected through fieldwork and classroom observations documented as fieldnotes; 36 in-depth interviews with teachers, administrators, ELs and former ELs; artifacts from classrooms; policy documents; student academic records; and state-level data from the Department of Education. The data analysis demonstrated that, overall, ELs did not experience equitable access to educational experiences leading to college and career readiness. First, ELs’ access to CTE programs that aligned with their career aspirations was restricted; administrators and counselors justified this practice through discourses of meritocracy and deficit framing of ELs. Second, despite the fact that ELs and instructors complained about the lack of support and resources, administrators drew upon race- and language-neutral ideologies to rationalize their failure to invest in programs and practices that would ensure equitable access and success for ELs. Finally, within this context of limited support, instructors expressed deficit views of ELs and relied on pedagogies that did not accommodate the linguistic needs of ELs. As a result, ELs believed that they did not receive adequate support, and many felt unprepared for college and careers. Interpreting these data from a critical race theory perspective, these findings suggest that CTE functions as a White educational space, operating under tacit White supremacist ideologies to justify inequitable treatment of ELs and privilege the cultural and linguistic practices of White students. This undermines CTE’s potential in providing equitable access to college and career readiness for ELs. / Teaching & Learning

This qualitative case study is designed to document the impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on career and technical education (CTE) in Pennsylvania. The research was conducted utilizing a qualitative case study protocol on two specific CTE Centers in the suburban Philadelphia area. The study centered on the following question. Has compliance to the accountability components of NCLB impacted the delivery of secondary education in CTE centers in the Pennsylvania? The study identified the changes that have occurred to selected CTE centers in the NCLB era. The assessment mandates of federal policy NCLB are narrowly focused in academic curriculum. The data used to answer the questions was accumulated through interviews with facility staff and the examination of archival records at the two specific centers to be researched. This study determined the impacts of NCLB on the facilities. The impacts included; decreased enrollment, increased academic and testing focus, reduction in technical budgets, increase in academic budgets, increase of special education students, staff changes for the increase of academic areas, morale issues, program changes, shifts in staff development, facility changes, negative publicity and public image due to academic reporting in the media. Questions for future study. What are the costs, financial and opportunity related to the reduction in CTE for increased academics? How many students have been denied the opportunity of attending or completing CTE programs? Why there isn't an alignment of NCLB and IDEA goals? What is the emotional impact to our students who keep getting told they are below basic? The conclusion from this study suggests that the public education system in this country needs to be more centered on actual student outcomes and preparing students with marketable skills and not based on the narrow focus of academic test scores. / Educational Leadership

The goal of this research was to assess the Virginia three-year provisional teaching license preparation path for earning a teaching license with an endorsement in Business and Information Technology (BIT) and Marketing Education (MKED). The study examined BIT and MKED teacher preparedness as it relates to core teaching and program management competencies for CTE educators who enrolled and completed Virginia's three-year teacher provisional licensure route to determine the effectiveness of the routes themselves. The research studied how the participants teacher preparation path impacted teachers' preparedness and how the elements of the provisional path contributed to the teacher's confidence in teaching. The study had one main research question and two sub-questions. The first sub-question emerged into five themes. They include lack of support system, struggle to implement essential teaching competencies, struggle to implement essential program management competencies, taking coursework while teaching does not work, and slight improvement by third year, but still a struggle. The second sub-question emerged into three themes. They include the need for effective support system, need for increased funding for teacher pay and required college courses, and need for focused training on specific CTE competencies. Three key conclusions from the study were BIT and MKED teachers need specific preparation training focused on core CTE teaching and program management competencies prior to entering the classroom, need a student teaching and/or co-teaching experience prior to entering the classroom by themselves, and need effective and active mentoring as well as administrative feedback and support during the entire three-year provisional licensure process. / Doctor of Philosophy / The study examined BIT and MKED teacher preparedness as it relates to core teaching and program management competencies for CTE educators who enrolled and completed Virginia's three-year teacher provisional licensure route to determine the effectiveness of the routes themselves. A qualitative research design was used for this study to determine the factors that affect the first year and third year provisionally licensed BIT and MKED teacher competency obtainment in the state of Virginia. A pre-survey of essential core teaching and program management competencies was given to create awareness of the interview topic to the interviewees. This survey was followed by an in-depth interview to gather rich data relating to the obtainment of core competencies. Three key conclusions from the study were BIT and MKED teachers need specific preparation training focused on core CTE teaching and program management competencies prior to entering the classroom, need a student teaching and/or co-teaching experience prior to entering the classroom by themselves, and need effective and active mentoring as well as administrative feedback and support during the entire three-year provisional licensure process. The results of the research may help improve the provisionally licensed teacher path route for prepare beginning BIT and MKED teachers in Virginia. The research will add to the literature by providing (1) information on how to improve provisional-teacher license preparation programs, (2) suggesting methods of training in these programs, and (3) showing the significance of beginning CTE teachers' professional relationships with administrators and mentor teachers. The results of the study could also assist school districts to better allocate resources and staff to effectively help provisionally licensed teachers.

This study identified the accuracy with which local career and technical education (CTE) administrators perceive the stereotypes of CTE students, teachers, and programs held by Virginia Department of Education administrators. In order to measure the aforementioned meta-accuracy: (a) the stereotypes of CTE students, teachers, and programs held by (VDOE) administrators were determined, (b) the meta-stereotypes of local CTE administrators regarding the stereotypes of CTE programs, students, and teachers held by VDOE administrators were established, and (c) the stereotypes and the meta-stereotypes were compared. Data analyzed revealed that some of the traditional stereotypical descriptors of CTE teachers, students, and programs were held by VDOE administrators. Some stereotypes of note were: (a) CTE students do not plan to go to college, (b) CTE students are good with concrete concepts, (c) CTE students enjoy nonacademic classes more than academic ones, (d) CTE students are not from middle to upper socioeconomic class, (e) CTE teachers have lots of on-the-job experience, and (f) CTE programs are isolated from the rest of the school. Local CTE administrators possessed meta-stereotypes that indicated that VDOE administrators would stereotype CTE students as: (a) not being leaders in school, (b) not having college-educated parents, (c) being motivated by material rewards, (d) enjoying nonacademic classes more than academic ones, (e) being easily influenced by peers, and (f) not being from middle to upper socio-economic class. Local CTE administrators had meta-stereotypes that indicated VDOE administrators would stereotype CTE teachers as: (a) being more of a practitioner than a theorist, (b) being good with concrete concepts, and (c) not possessing master's degrees. Local CTE administrators had meta-stereotypes that indicated VDOE administrators would stereotype CTE programs as: (a) being a good return on investment, (b) providing for the education of the whole person, (c) being beneficial to all students, (d) being expensive to maintain, (e) having enrollment typically of students from blue-collar or agriculture background, and (f) being for students who work better with their hands. Local CTE administrators were accurately able to predict the way VDOE administrators would respond to the statements depicting stereotypes of CTE students, teachers, and programs for 45 of the 62 items. Conversely, they were not able to accurately predict 17 out of the 62 statements. Overall, the accuracy of the meta-stereotypes (meta-accuracy) of local CTE administrators varied depending upon what was being measured. The meta-accuracy in relation to CTE teachers was highest (11 out of the 12 items) and the meta-accuracy was lowest in relation to CTE programs (10 out of 17 items). In relation to CTE students, local CTE administrators were accurate in predicting 24 out of the 33 items. / Ph. D.

The intent of this two-phase, sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to examine the role teachers' beliefs play when making instructional decisions. The population included in-service teachers representing four Career and Technical Education disciplines located within the commonwealth of Virginia. Using a stratified random sample, 622 teachers were selected for the quantitative strand, and employing a system of four contacts, quantitative data were collected from 292 participants. Dweck's Theories of Intelligence scale assessed the nature of in-service teachers' beliefs about intelligence, and the Epistemic Belief Inventory was used to measure their epistemological beliefs. Finally, the participants rated their use of teacher-centered and student-centered teaching methods. In the second phase, qualitative data were collected from nine participants to further understand how in-service teachers' beliefs are related to the teaching practices they use. The quantitative and qualitative data were combined to determine if the descriptions of teaching method used, beliefs about intelligence, and epistemological beliefs aligned with the outcomes of the quantitative questionnaire. Significant correlations existed between the Theories of Intelligence scale and the Epistemic Belief Inventory. A significant positive relationship existed between the Epistemic Beliefs Inventory and the overall teaching practices score, indicating in-service teachers' advanced epistemological beliefs are related to the use of student-centered teaching practices. A regression analysis indicated that teaching discipline, epistemological beliefs, teaching experience, and highest level of education completed predicted the teaching practices in-service teachers' select. The qualitative data supported the claim that beliefs about intelligence and epistemological beliefs influence teaching practices. Six themes emerged from the qualitative data, and the themes were used as a framework for organizing the findings. The researcher acknowledges that teachers possess a variety of beliefs, and those beliefs influence how teachers teach. The researcher recommends that teacher educators attempt to identify the beliefs pre-service teachers hold, and if modifications of beliefs are needed, facilitate interventions to modify those beliefs. While some have labeled the direct relationship between teacher beliefs and teaching practices as "messy", the evidence indicates the two, are in fact, related. / Ph. D.