abstract: The signing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 created a need for Title 1 principals to conceptualize and operationalize parent engagement. This study examines how three urban principals in Arizona implemented the mandates of the Act as it pertains to parent involvement. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine how principals operationalize and conceptualize parent involvement as they navigate barriers and laws particular to the state of Arizona. This study sought to understand issues surrounding parent involvement in Title 1 schools in Arizona. The beliefs and interview dialogue of the principals as it pertains to parent engagement provided an understanding of how urban principals in Arizona implement the aspects of No Child Left Behind Act that deal with parent involvement. The research study concluded that parents have community cultural wealth that contributes to the success of the students of engaged parents and that cultural responsive leadership assists principals with engaging parents in their schools. The research concludes that a gap exists between how parents and principals perceive and construct parent engagement versus what is prescribed in No Child Left Behind Act. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Electrical Engineering 2012

Rural areas in Sweden are often pointed out as key areas for development when it comes to industries such as forestry, agriculture, mining, energy, food security, tourism, leisure, and outdoor activities. However, these areas have seen a negative population trend for decades and, simultaneously, public service provision has declined. This development is not unique to Sweden and can be seen in rural areas across the world. Within scientific literature several approaches have been studied to find potential solutions and bring back prosperity to rural communities. Once such solution is Community Wealth Building (CWB), which is an economic framework designed to help circulate local resource within the local society. To date, CWB has primarily been implemented in urban contexts. This study has therefore investigated the potential for implementing the CWB framework in a rural context in Sweden, and what possibilities or barriers there are for such implementation. The study has been conducted as explorative case study in the municipality of Åre. Empirical data has been collected through a thematic analysis of municipal steering documents and through semi-structured interviews with actors from local public institutions, local third sector and local business. The findings suggest that there is potential to implement the CWB framework in a rural, Swedish context, taking into consideration the various possibilities and barriers that exist for doing so in practice.