Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-11, Section: A, page: 4100. Adviser: Violet Harris. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 331-350) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Theses (Ed. D.)--Marshall University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains ix, 134 pages. Includes vitae. Bibliography: p. 106-134.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Duquesne University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 158-166) and index.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Language Education, 2006. / "Title from dissertation home page (viewed July 3, 2007)." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-08, Section: A, page: 2913. Adviser: Bill Johnston.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Language Education Dept., 2006. / "Title from dissertation home page (viewed July 5, 2007)." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-08, Section: A, page: 2914. Adviser: Jerome C. Harste.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 344 p. : col. ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 308-316).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 196-201).

<p> The need for strong school principals is great as more and more U.S. schools struggle to meet the requirements of federal regulations and as districts search for school leaders who can effect systemic and sustainable organizational change. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012) predicts that the U.S. will need an additional 10%, or 23,100 more principals between 2010 and 2020 at a time when the number of available principals is shrinking. In addition to needing more principals, U.S. schools also need more principals who are highly effective. Unfortunately, the turnover rate for principals is drastically high, close to 50% (ERS, 1998) in all schools, and higher still in high-poverty schools (Branch, Hanushek, &amp; Rivkin, 2008; Gates, Ringel, Santibanez, Guarino, Ghosh-Dastidar, &amp; Brown, 2006). High turnover rates, coupled with a diminishing pool of principals, an increasing need for more principals, and the now popular trend of using temporary or turnaround principals, illustrate the school leadership crisis that is enveloping our educational system (Norton, 2002). An open question in the field is how and whether effective school leaders can be purposefully cultivated. Drawing on literatures in the fields of efficacy and school leadership, school leadership development, and optimism, this constructivist study applied qualitative research methods to explore how one novice school leader in an urban PK-5 elementary school learned to lead over an extended period of time, one-and-a-half years. The study investigated the contextual and mediating variables that influenced this novice principal&rsquo;s choice-making in a watched school in need of improvement. Data collection consisted of regular interviews and observations. By capturing the voice and experience of one principal, this study contributes to the fields of efficacy in school leadership, optimism, and school leadership development a rich example of a principal learning to lead in practice (Darling-Hammond et al., 2007). The study also contributes a new construct, an initial articulation of &ldquo;assumed possibility&rdquo; as a theoretical stance. School leader&rsquo;s enactment and execution of vision are still burgeoning fields of study and this study offers a glimpse into one leader&rsquo;s attempt to transform his school.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative exploratory single case study was to explore how parents and teachers perceive the influence of socioeconomic status on parental involvement in suburban southern Georgia elementary schools. Two research questions were posed to fulfill the purpose of this study: How do parents perceive the influence of socioeconomic status on parental involvement in suburban southern Georgia elementary schools? and How do teachers perceive the influence of socioeconomic status on parental involvement in suburban southern Georgia elementary schools? Epstein&rsquo;s Framework for Parent Involvement and Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler&rsquo;s Model of Parent Involvement served as the theoretical foundations. Purposive sampling was used to select 22 parent and 59 teacher participants. Data collection comprised of semi-structured interviews of parents and teachers, questionnaires, and archival review of school documents to triangulate the data. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Thematic analysis identified five themes: Defining Parent Involvement, Perception of Socioeconomic Status, Communication Methods, Perception of Involvement, and School Environment. Findings of this study revealed that elementary parents and teachers in South Georgia have differing perceptions of the influence of socioeconomic status on parent involvement. Overall, data revealed that while parent and teacher perceptions varied, they indicated that communication and the school environment were the most pertinent factors to their involvement. The implications for this study implicate that sharing the results of this study with both parents and teachers could possibly clarify expectations of each group and open a dialogue. </p><p>

<p> The influence of sign language comprehension on reading has been well-documented in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary-aged deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HOH) children and adults. There is limited research into the predictive nature of sign language comprehension on literacy outcomes in D/HOH children in preschool and early elementary school, however. This research addressed this gap by investigating group differences between D/HOH children who primarily communicated through sign language alone and D/HOH children who primarily communicated through sign supported spoken language on measures of American Sign Language (ASL) comprehension, sign supported English (SSE) comprehension, letter/word recognition, and reading comprehension. The relationship between ASL comprehension and SSE comprehension on word identification and reading comprehension was also examined. A longitudinal design was utilized and data analyzed with linear mixed models. Participants were D/HOH children 4-6-years-old at the beginning of the study and followed for two years. </p><p> Children who communicated primarily through sign language alone had significantly higher comprehension of ASL than children who communicated primarily through sign supported spoken language. There were no significant group differences in growth of ASL comprehension, however. There were no significant group differences in comprehension of SSE, letter/word recognition, passage comprehension or growth pattern in these skills. Both ASL comprehension and SSE comprehension predicted letter/word identification and passage comprehension final status whereas only SSE comprehension predicted growth pattern. When word identification was examined in addition to the language predictors, the random effects of the model could not be estimated so statistical inferences for the predictive utility of ASL comprehension on reading comprehension above SSE comprehension and word identification could not be drawn. </p><p> Implications for service delivery in early intervention, progress monitoring of language skills, instruction, and personnel preparation are discussed. Because of the significant variation in language development initial status, further research is recommended into sources of individual variation in language outcomes. Future longitudinal research is needed to examine the age range from early childhood through elementary school, include multiple measures of linguistic competence, and identify the influence of new hearing technology and language experience. Furthermore, intervention studies aimed at improving language development are warranted given its relationship with literacy.</p><p>