<p> This study was designed to explore four primary research questions. Why do schools and districts adopt PBIS? Which stakeholders were included in the decision-making process to adopt PBIS? Do these adoption dynamics influence PBIS Tier 2 implementation? With PBIS Tier 2 implementation fidelity as a desirable outcome, what are the relevant facilitators, constraints, and obstacles? </p><p> These main research questions and additional sub-questions derived from a gap in the literature. Five related priorities have not received sufficient attention: (a) PBIS adoption dynamics in schools and districts, (b) Roles and responsibilities of teachers and pupil personnel professionals such as school psychologist, (c) District office and the roles of district leaders as units of analysis, (d) PBIS Tier 2 implementation benchmarks for schools, and (d) Relevant knowledge about PBIS' institutionalization and sustainability. </p><p> Guided by a conceptual framework for organizational readiness (AVICTORY model) this study proceeded with a multi-site case study design, using multiple methods. A purpose sample was employed, involving two elementary schools in one school district. This study included three units of analysis: Two elementary schools and district office. </p><p> This study's comparative results yielded multiple analytic generalizations such as: (a) Implementation phases directly or indirectly influence the other phases. (b) Adoption and implementation hinge on organizational capacity and individual/team competence. (b) Leaders' diffusion of PBIS is necessary, but insufficient to achieve implementation fidelity for both PBIS Tiers. (c) Short-term PBIS Tier 1 implementation fidelity does not guarantee long-term institutionalization. (d) Implementation fidelity and institutionalization depend on workforce competency and stability. Future research should improve this study's AVICTORY Tier 2 surveys with particular reference to an important need. Do the survey results provide formative data to facilitate PBIS Tier 2 implementation fidelity? Finally, future research should include observational studies of how PBIS is interpreted and operationalized in all settings, especially by teachers in classroom settings.</p>

<p> The central office manages and directs a school system. In the wake of district and school reforms, the impact of the central office on schools and quality instruction has not been fully dissected. This study explores the role of the central office in the support of high quality instruction. Further, it analyzes the perceptions of those central office staff members who support schools and school-based staff. The study was conducted using qualitative methodology to determine and describe the impact of Executive Directors and Directors on instruction in schools. Specifically, interviews were conducted with 22 central office staff members in one urban school district. Interviewees were questioned about their roles and their practice of instructional leadership. In addition, individuals were asked about the current reality of their work and asked to consider how their work could be different given different circumstances or constraints. Central office staff members also gave recommendations for how the central office could better support high quality instruction. Ten issues were identified based on the content of the interviews. One important finding was the need for better recruitment of central office staff members with a focus on the specific skill set needed for their work. A critical discovery was the lack of direct influence and involvement of central office staff with school-based principals and other school-based administrators. The level of collaboration between central office staff and school based principals was largely absent which is ironic considering the current research on the importance of the principal in the process of school reform.</p>

<p> The purpose of this research is to capture for history the events and consequences of the racial desegregation of high school students within the Hickory Public Schools in Hickory, NC. The study includes a retelling of the events surrounding the desegregation of Hickory Public Schools, beginning with the <i>Brown v. Board of Education</i> ruling in 1955 and going through an analysis of four case studies of student conflict that disrupted daily high school life between 1966 and 1973. </p><p> The study is based on primary source documents including school board minutes, school district memos, articles in the local newspaper, and the high school student newspaper. Primary source documents were supplemented by oral history interviews with eight students who attended Hickory High School during the early years of integration. </p><p> The central finding is that desegregating Hickory Public Schools was a lengthy, complex process. At every step of the way through the desegregation of Hickory High, the school was left to handle the social changes that the community attempted to avoid. Four themes emerged in the stories of student conflict at Hickory High including loss, resistance, leadership, sports as a catalyst and arena for social change, and the power of symbols to represent a school. </p><p> Rather than viewing the student conflicts as examples of what was wrong with Hickory, they are evidence that the students were wrestling to create an inclusive school community that symbolically represented them all.</p>

<p> A quantitative, correlational was used to analyze seven dimensions of work values of Baby Boom and Generation X rural school principals in North Carolina to aid school district administrators in principal motivation and retention. The purpose of the current research study was to determine whether principals from different generational cohorts differ in their work values and was based on the generational characteristics and traits of employees in business organizations. The study was focused on Baby Boom and Generation X rural public school principals from two school districts. A Likert-type online survey based on seven dimensions of work values was administered to 50 principals and assistant principals within the two districts. Forty usable responses were received. The results of the study indicated that while there are not significant generational differences between Baby Boom and Generation X principals in collaboration, leadership, training, loyalty, commitment, or motivation, Baby Boomers scored lower in all areas except training. Baby Boomers scored significantly lower in technology and approached significance in motivation. Future research using a much larger sample size may find significant differences in other areas.</p>

<p> The investigator in the study compared traditional middle and high school teachers to alterative teachers regarding the perceived organizational support, self-efficacy, and retention. The purpose of the study was to determine if there was a difference in the level of self-efficacy between alternative school teachers and traditional school teachers. The researcher also examined the relationships between Perceived Organization Support and teacher self-efficacy between alternative school teachers and traditional school teachers. It was also examined whether alternative teachers perceived their own self-efficacy the same as traditional teachers. </p><p> The research design was a quantitative approach, using one survey for traditional and alternative teachers, in a causal-comparative design. The traditional middle and high school group served as a comparison group for the alternative school group. The survey used Likert-type scale scoring to gather quantitative data from traditional and alternative school teachers. </p><p> The conclusions for research questions one and three came calculating a mean scale score from taking the mean from each of the surveys item's score. The scale score (dependent variable) was then entered into a one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) to examine potential mean differences between teachers working at alternative and traditional schools (independent variable). The conclusion for research question two came from three separate simultaneous multiple regression approaches examining potential mean differences on the impact of teacher characteristics on self-efficacy comparing between the traditional and alternative teacher groups. </p><p> The researcher found that there were significant differences in teacher retention between traditional and alternative school teachers. Conclusions for this study suggest that teacher retention in alternative education warrants further comprehensive study.</p>

<p>As political and societal expectations for our nation's public school system continue to increase, leaders of local school systems are ever mindful of the demands for continual improvement. The cornerstone for this improvement is the classroom teacher. Research has supported the idea that teacher experience is influential in the effectiveness of the teacher. The statistics on teacher attrition, though, are disheartening. </p><p> The purpose for this research is to uncover emerging themes regarding the leadership practices and cultural elements that are in place in a school that has a high retention rate of teachers. This case study includes a school in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. This school has been identified as having the highest teacher retention rate in its programmatic level in Berkeley County, West Virginia, and has one of the highest retention rates among all programmatic levels in the county. Through the use of the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) designed by Kouzes and Posner (2003), open-ended interviews, and a review of school documents, the researcher provides data relevant to the creation of a school culture that fosters teacher retention. </p><p> This study describes the elements found in this high school that have led to the retentive culture which exists. The familial culture of this school has been affected by the leadership practices of the principal, the collegiality and friendships among the staff, and the attitudes and behavior of the students. These leadership practices and cultural elements are described in detail in order to provide an understanding of components of a school culture that leads to teacher retention. </p>

<p> In the 21^st century, increased school accountability has sharpened the focus of school and district leaders on improving instructional practice to raise student achievement. The implementation of professional leaning communities (PLCs) is one improvement effort in which schools establish collaborative cultures focused on increasing student learning outcomes. Leaders who build learning organizations and implement PLCs in their buildings have the opportunity to create and sustain a context for change and continuous improvement. </p><p> This study sought to discover how one high school principal sustains a context for continued improvement through PLCs using case study methodology. Schools comprised of PLCs allow educators to grapple with the unique needs of their children in their specific contexts. The problem is that there is limited literature and research to indicate how leaders sustain PLCs over time. The knowledge of how to sustain learning and improvement over time is needed to facilitate leaders in moving their schools into cultures of collaboration, which is a marked difference from the past 200 years. Therefore, the overarching research question of this study was: How do administrators, teachers, and PLC leaders in a school that has developed and implemented PLCs, sustain a context for continuous improvement? </p><p> Using a 360-degree analysis of the case study school, three major findings emerged from this study: the PLCs in a learning organization operate at various phases of PLC development, making the change process to develop, implement, and sustain the work of continuous improvement through PLCs fluid, dynamic, and complex; there are 10 strategies for sustaining the work of PLCs that contribute to the success of effective and mature PLCs to sustain continuous improvement and are therefore instructive in nature; and, the work in the Developing and Implementing phases is critical to the success of PLCs and their ability to sustain a context of continuous improvement.</p>

<p> The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of principals whose schools were granted innovation status in accordance with the <i>Colorado Innovation Schools Act of 2008</i> (CISA). The CISA created a statewide system that allowed individual schools and entire districts to increase autonomy and flexibility in areas such as staffing, scheduling, educational programming, and resource allocation. </p><p> The data were collected from interviews with principals and a rural superintendent and from an examination of the School Innovation Plans. Data were refined into common themes, and a rich narrative was created. The conclusions indicated that successful principals of innovation schools understand the change process, focus on instructional leadership, promote a positive school culture, require autonomy, implement exemplary leadership strategies and qualities, and tailor innovation plans to the needs of the school. The conclusions also indicated that successful superintendents tailor innovation plans to the needs of the district. </p><p> This research is important because education reform in the United States is in need of school reform models that result in increased academic achievement. The implications for positive change are that schools given the autonomy and flexibility to operate may have the potential to increase academic achievement. In addition, the CISA model has the potential to be replicated for application in other states. The experiences and perceptions of principals of innovation schools provided a window into the leadership role principals have in implementing the <i>Colorado Innovations Schools Act of 2008</i>.</p>

<p> District and school leadership are essential to the success of our students and our schools. While extensive conceptual literature describes leadership characteristics, there are few empirical studies that address the daily reality of schools. In addition, additional research is needed describing how principals maneuver within the context of schools and school districts. This phenomenological study explored how one elementary school principal understands and enacts leadership and to what extent she employs intentional strategies to facilitate change. The purpose of the study was to offer a rich profile of one elementary school principal's practice to understand how a principal constructs meaning, deploys action, and employs strategies to affect change. The results reveal this principal uses vision, the intentional strategies of expectations, modeling, decision-making processes, reflection, authentic conversations, and stories to facilitate change within her school. In addition, she maintains a human resource focus establishing relationships and building capacity in others as leadership strategies. The principal did not employ the same intention or strategies in relationship to the district or community, however. Results further indicated the district is also acting as a barrier to the implementation of leadership for change. Results of this study have implications for practitioners and future research. Practitioners can employ similar strategies as well as gaining awareness of the importance employing intention and political skill with the district. The results also highlight the need for additional leadership research as well as research investigating the role of the district in support of schools.</p>

<p> Despite advancements in the search of equity, females still struggle to find acceptance in the field of information and communication technology. Research indicates that differences in perception of ability of ICT use begin to manifest in the middle school level. This mixed methods study explored the experiences and perceptions of 46 middle school females and males to expose possible influential factors about the use of ICT by females. The dissertation study occurred in two phases. The first phase involved a survey that was given to the entire middle school. Data from the survey provided participants for the second phase, which involved a focus group discussion with six female students in grades 7 and 8 to examine influential factors in the use of ICT. Findings indicated statistically significant differences between males and females exist at the study site. Females were more likely to (a) access ICT at the after school program and at a relative's house; (b) identify a relative as an important influence in ICT; (c) share created media; (d) declare higher experience with Photoshop; (e) seek medicine as potential career and less likely to (f) report building a robot or invention using technology; (d) use ICT to play multi-user online games; (f) express interest in action, competition, and graphics in games (h) know terms such as firewall and torrent; (i) pursue careers as computer programmers, engineers, or computer game designers than their male counterparts. The findings support the need for school leadership establishing or enhancing a technology integration program to consider the difference between males and females as foundational cornerstone in the technology integration program.</p>