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The purpose of this study was to develop guidelines for small school divisions in Virginia to use in preparing an orientation program which would meet the needs of the new school board members. These guidelines addressed state and local concerns which had been identified through the review of literature and a questionnaire which was completed by superintendents and school board members from small school divisions in Virginia. The questionnaire was distributed to all superintendents and school board members from school divisions with fewer than five thousand students. The contents of the guidelines were determined by those items which were identified as being essential by 50 percent or more of at least one of the respondent groups. The results from this study indicated that school board members and superintendents do agree on the majority of items that were essential to an orientation program for new school board members. Thirty-eight of the sixty-nine items were regarded as essential by both respondent groups. There were eight areas in which the superintendents and school board members disagreed. These areas were also included in the guidelines. As a result of this study a set of curriculum guidelines was developed which would assist small Virginia school divisions in preparing an orientation program for new school board members. The ultimate aim of these guidelines was to improve the effectiveness of the new school board member. / Ed. D.

The rising costs of college attendance and changes in financial aid packages leave students with little option other than to incur a debt of some amount. Unfortunately, colleges often fail to provide adequate financial literacy and student loan information so prospective students planning to attend college can make informed decisions. Student loans may seem attractive in the short term because, unlike other loans, repayment does not begin immediately. However, the accrual of student loan debt leads to long-term financial consequences, including the opportunity to build economic wealth after graduation. Utilizing a basic qualitative research design, I explored first-generation community college students’ experiences with financial aid, financial literacy, and the challenges and individual circumstances of using student loans to fund expenses related to their postsecondary enrollment. A human capital framework supported students informed financial decision-making experiences to effectively persist confidently in pursuing their educational goals. Collectively, students’ detailed statements provided a powerful voice for first-generation students accessing financial resources at the community college. The six themes included (a) Student-Centered, (b) Understanding Consequences of Student Loans, (c) Development of Financial Aid Literacy, (d) Student-Connection, (e) Simplifying Financial Aid Access for Students, and (f) Support From Campus-Based Programs. Findings provide helpful insights for community college practitioners and financial aid administrators.

Schools today are entrusted with the duty of managing their funds in such a way that that the educational outcomes of the primary beneficiaries of these funds are maximised. This places more responsibility on the school governing bodies as the legal custodians of these funds, at local level, which need to be used economically, effectively and efficiently. To achieve this, school governing bodies need capacity in the form of appropriate skills and knowledge needed to connect school funding to educational outcomes. This study focuses on how capacity building for school governing body can contribute to value for money in school financial management. It sought to examine possible impediments to effective financial management, which result from the existing gaps in the current capacity building programmes and the financial management frameworks and procedures relating to school financial management. A qualitative research methodology involving in-depth interviews with members of governing bodies and Circuit officials was followed to examine the problem and possible improvement strategies. Themes that emerged from the data include, comprehensiveness, duration and frequency of the training programme, competency of training facilitators, monitoring, assessment and evaluation and other follow-up modalities, presentation style of the training facilitators, internal records and audited financial statements, the involvement of senior officials in school financial management, and the effectiveness of financial management. Findings suggested that, training of SGBs in financial management is inadequate, training facilitators lack requisite skills, the duration of the training for SGBs is short, the training programme is not provided frequently, the training programme’s presentation style is ineffective, mismatch between internal records and audited financial statements, lack of support and monitoring by circuit officials in the schools’ financial management, questionable conduct of external auditors, and ineffective cluster approach by SGBs. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)