Immigration trends in the beginning of the new millennium represent a significant force in shaping population characteristics in the United States. Census data on age and education of foreign-born individuals indicate that they have the potential to enter the higher education system. Meanwhile community colleges appeal to the educational needs of immigrants in search of language training, job skills, and career opportunities. The primary purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between factors of adjustment to life in the U.S. and motivation for educational participation among immigrant students enrolled in advanced English as a Second Language (ESL) courses at a community college in South Florida. Using a survey developed by the researcher ' Survey of Demographics and Cultural Adjustment (SDCA) -- four factors of cultural adjustment were identified through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA): interaction facility, language use, immigration circumstances, and educational experience. The first three factors were statistically viable and were used to examine the relationships between the factors of cultural adjustment and the factors of motivation for educational participation. Motivational factors were defined based on the Educational Participation (EPS) scale. Correlation analysis indicated that there was a strong positive relationship between interaction facility and the motivation to improve communication skills. In addition, the study affirmed that the primary motivations for educational participation among recently arrived immigrants were communication improvement, educational preparation, and professional advancement. This study contributes to knowledge about the role of community colleges in educating immigrant students. Additional research is needed to further develop the SDCA instrument and to expand such studies to other community colleges that experience similar influx of immigrant students. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Summer Semester, 2007. / June 7, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. / Beverly Bower, Professor Directing Dissertation; Deborah Hasson, Outside Committee Member; Jon Dalton, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

Florida's Gold Seal Quality Care program, created in statute in 1996, serves as a policy lever to improve program quality in childcare and serve as a symbol of quality for parents when choosing a childcare provider for their children. Childcare programs can receive a Gold Seal certificate if they submit evidence that they are accredited under one of the approved accrediting associations to the Florida Department of Children and Families, the state agency responsible for childcare licensing and regulation. The state invests approximately $33 million in additional payments for Gold Seal programs for children receiving childcare subsidies through the Florida Office of Early Learning. Gold Seal programs, inclusive of private for profit, non-profit, faith-based and public schools, are approved as providers of the state's Voluntary Pre-kindergarten program. Additional incentives include property tax abatement for ad valorem taxes for programs that are private, for profit businesses. Sales taxes on certain educational supplies, materials and equipment are also waived for Gold Seal programs which is estimated to cost the state approximately $200,000 per year. This study examined the differences in observed quality between Gold Seal and non-Gold Seal programs in 1,760 early childhood center-based and home-based settings yielding 3,506 assessments in 11 Florida counties over a two year period from 2010-2012. Observable quality was measured by the Environment Rating Scales (ERS), a valid and reliable set of instruments for measuring quality in early childhood settings. The study also examined the differences between programs accredited by one of 11 accrediting associations approved under Gold Seal and observed quality as measured by the Environment Rating Scales. Findings showed that Gold Seal programs scored higher on measures of quality than non-Gold Seal programs and differences were statistically significant; although the differences are relatively modest. Four of the 11 accrediting associations approved under Florida's Gold Seal policy were positively associated with higher scores on the ERS. In spite of the positive findings, the distribution of scores showed that only 19.4% of Gold Seal programs scored in the good to excellent range compared to 14.9% of non-Gold Seal programs. Further, 11.4% of Gold Seal programs and 21.3% of non-Gold Seal programs scored in the range of poor and inadequate care. These results suggested that while Florida's Gold Seal programs score slightly higher than non-Gold Seal programs on the ERS, overall program quality in the majority of programs was mediocre to poor in the state. Implications for policy and practice are provided for stakeholders to include the State, Early Learning Coalitions, accrediting associations and childcare providers. Future research is warranted to determine how other factors such as poverty; program capacity, provider choice of an accrediting association and parent choice of an early learning provider play a role in improving quality improvement strategies linked to better child outcomes. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Spring Semester, 2013. / March 28, 2013. / Childcare, Early childhood education, Early childhood policy, Florida Gold Seal, Voluntary PreKindergarten / Includes bibliographical references. / Patrice Iatarola, Professor Directing Dissertation; Christine Readdick, University Representative; Sande Milton, Committee Member; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member.

In this study, I explored the overall efficacy of the Master of Science in Educational Leadership/ Administration (MSEL/A) program at Florida State University (FSU), by taking a closer look at the introductory course, Practicum in Educational Leadership (the Practicum), as well as the final assessment, the student e-portfolio. The MSEL/A at FSU is an educational leadership program intended to prepare students to take and pass the Florida Educational Leadership Exam (FELE) and to become school administrators in the Florida public education system. Since 2004, the program has undergone change, first becoming a blended or hybrid program, then moving completely online in 2007. The Practicum is the first course taken in the overall MSEL/A program and is made up of several components, including the Discussion Board, the Leadership Development Plan, FELE preparation, and the Mentor Journals. Overall student achievement is evidenced by the collected works found in the online portfolio at the end of the program. The practicum course, as is the overall MSEL/A program, is a fully integrated on-line course using Blackboard for group discussion postings and assignment submissions. Other than a pre-semester on-campus orientation, students interact with each other and the instructor fully at a distance using internet and/or phone. This study included a content analysis using a mixed methods approach. Surveys and interviews were used for a more in-depth analysis of content. Descriptive statistics were used to collect demographic data. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Education Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 17, 2013. / Distance Learning, Educational Leadership, Online Education, Portfolio, Practicum / Includes bibliographical references. / Judith L. Irvin, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kenneth Brummel-Smith, University Representative; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member; Jeannine Turner, Committee Member.

School choice reform rests on the notion that competition amongst schools will produce more efficient schools and improve the educational system as a whole. This study focused on the impact of school choice competition on school principals in both magnet schools and traditional public schools in a midsized district in Florida. This study examined how principals in both magnet and traditional schools are making sense of school choice competition. It also examined how school choice competition impacts the leadership responsibilities of principals in both settings. The research questions for this study are: (1) Given an environment of school choice, how do traditional and magnet middle school principals make sense of the competition generated by choice options?; and (2) How do traditional and magnet school principals see this competition stemming from school choice impacting their leadership responsibilities? All of the principals in this study were very open about the competition they have experienced, particularly for the students with high achievement levels on the state standardized tests. The majority of the competition experienced by the eight case study principals came from schools within the district. All of the case study principals cited the incoming sixth grade class of students as a key source of competition between the interdistrict schools. The interdistrict competition was the strongest between the four magnet schools, followed by competition between magnet and traditional schools and lastly there was nominal competition between the four traditional schools. The reassignment policy in this district was the major source of competition between magnet school principals and traditional school principals. While all four of the traditional school principals suspect the magnet school principals use the reassignment process to acquire the academically talented students to their magnet programs, at least one magnet middle school principal suspects the traditional school principals are using the reassignment policy to gain academically talented students zoned for the magnet schools. The minimal competition between the traditional school principals was fun-loving competition. When interviewing the principals, the perception of all eight principals was that the competition within the district was the fiercest competition they have to contend with as a school leader. Surprisingly, just two of the eight middle school principals in this study considered charter or private schools as a source of competition. This district offers several private and charter school options for middle school families so this finding was unexpected. Whether the competition is interdistrict or from outside of the district, it is certainly considered a strong factor in the school choice environment for the principals in this case study. Marketing and school leadership has been neglected by researchers and needed to be addressed in this increasingly competitive education system. All eight of the principals interviewed for this study acknowledged the competition from the school choice environment has impacted their leadership responsibilities. The impact of school choice competition on the leadership responsibilities of the principals in this study have been concentrated in one area - marketing. Although there was variation amongst the magnet and traditional middle school principals in the reasoning to market their schools, all eight principals were forced to market their schools to prospective parents. The four magnet school principals spent time marketing their schools in order to attract students to their magnet programs. Conversely, the four traditional school principals focused their marketing efforts on retaining their zoned students. In order to market their schools, the eight middle school principals relied on quasi marketing committees. While all of the principals in this case study designed a marketing plan, none of the principals have received formal training on how to create a marketing plan or how to market a school. The principals expressed concern over the amount of time they spent on the added leadership responsibility of marketing. Both traditional and magnet school principals allotted a significant amount of time marketing their schools which takes time away from their other principal responsibilities. Overall, the eight principals in this study understood the added leadership responsibility of marketing as a natural consequence of the competition from school choice. This study contributes to the research on leadership in school choice reform as well as to how competition shapes principals' way of work in the environment of school choice. This study provides implications for policy and practice. I also make suggestions for future research pertaining to this topic. This study contributes to the understanding of school leadership in a choice environment. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree ofin partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Education. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 18, 2013. / competition, leadership, principals, school choice / Includes bibliographical references. / Stacey Rutledge, Professor Directing Dissertation; Elizabeth Jakubowski, University Representative; Judith Irvin, Committee Member; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member.

ABSTRACT The Indonesia Open University (Universitas Terbuka or UT) face-to-face tutoring program for in-service teacher training is intended to improve teacher trainees' course completion rates. The university has attempted to intensify trainees' motivation to participate in the tutoring by increasing the contribution of tutorial performance to the final course grade. Very few studies have been conducted to find evidence that the tutoring program is positively associated with the learning outcomes of the trainees. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the fidelity and quality of the implementation of the tutoring program, assessing the effect of success in the program on students' results in the final course examination, and estimating the relationship of key tutor characteristics with these outcomes. This study employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Information on program implementation was largely observational or interview-based and data on program results consists of the teacher trainees' test scores on tutorial and final examination. Finally, overall joint analysis of these bodies of data is undertaken on the basis of the results of telephone interviews with the key stakeholders and their interpretation of the quantitative data. The study was conducted at the UT regional center of Serang involving teacher trainees, tutors, and the center administrators as interviewees and four sample courses related to Social Sciences, Mathematics, Sciences and Indonesian. Findings of the study suggested that the center has implemented the tutoring program with relatively high fidelity. However, these results were not strongly associated with trainee achievement on the final exams, in other words the quality of the tutoring program was low. There is a substantial difference between the average of trainees' tutorial scores and that of the final examination results. The correlation between the trainees' tutorial results and their final exam scores is very small but positive and significant in overall sampled courses. Partial correlation analysis between tutors' specific characteristics shows that the association of trainees' tutorial scores and final exam results is significant in the group of trainees guided by tutors holding a Master's degree and in those instructed by university affiliated tutors. The mean difference analysis between groups defined by tutor characteristics showed that the trainees guided by tutors with a Master's degree did substantially and significantly better than those instructed by tutors with only a Bachelor's degree, but there is no significant difference between the groups defined by tutors' professional affiliations. The local key stake holders interpreted that different characteristics and scoring systems between both assessments may contribute to the weak correlation between tutorial score and final exam results. Tutors and the Center Administrator added that lack of trainees' preparation and poor reading habits may be factors correlated to the trainees' low average on the final exam. There is an indication that the heavy weighting of the tutorial's as part of the final grade contributes to the trainees less intensive preparation for the final exam. Interpreting the impact of tutors' specific characteristics on trainees' final exam achievement, almost all interviewees agreed that tutors with a Master's degree have better knowledge and teaching experience. The trainees were not concerned with their tutor's professional affiliation as long as the tutors had mastery of the course contents, good teaching methods, and could motivate trainees to study. The center administrator expressed that no significant impact of tutors hired from the university and those recruited amongst secondary school teachers was a result of strict recruitment and continuous tutor performance monitoring and evaluation. Based on the findings, I recommend that UT revisit the proportional contribution of the tutorial score to the trainee's final grade. I also recommended that in hiring new tutors, candidate with a Master's degree educational level or higher should be given priority. Recruiting tutors amongst secondary school teachers should continue as long as continuous and rigorous selection and performance evaluations are conducted. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 21, 2013. / Distance Education, In-service, Teacher Training, Tutorial, Tutoring / Includes bibliographical references. / Peter B. Easton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Allan Jeong, University Representative; Jeffrey A. Milligan, Committee Member; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member.

Student-athletes face numerous obstacles throughout their college experience. Most notably, the time required for athletic participation limits the time that student-athletes can devote to academic activities. Given the benefits associated with a college degree, it is critical that student-athletes achieve the desired educational outcomes. The current study was based on theories of student involvement and college impact and involved multiple regression analysis of secondary data collected from the 2009 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Specifically, the main purpose of this study was to examine whether sport type was related to engagement in effective educational practices and desired educational outcomes. The secondary aim was to examine the relationship between engagement levels and educational outcomes for student-athletes in high-profile (i.e., men's and women's basketball, football, and baseball) and low-profile sports (i.e., all other NCAA sponsored sports). Distinction of sport type was based loosely on the ability of the sport to generate revenue as well as the average time devoted to sport-related activities. Regression models were used to estimate the relationship between type of sport participation and engagement behaviors and educational outcomes, as well as the relationship between these two constructs for non-athletes, high-profile student-athletes, and low-profile student-athletes. Collectively, findings from this study illustrate the unique challenges to educational outcomes faced by high-profile student-athletes, while low-profile student-athletes mimic non-athletes in overall college experiences. Differences between high-profile and low-profile student-athletes provide valuable information on how programs and policies can be tailored to meet the specific educational needs of each unique subpopulation of student-athletes. Such information has practical implications for athletic directors, coaches, academic advisors, and other athletic personnel. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 3, 2013. / Educational outcomes, Engagement behaviors, Student-athletes / Includes bibliographical references. / Shouping Hu, Professor Directing Dissertation; Robert Eklund, University Representative; David Tandberg, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

School principals have a small to moderate influence on student achievement; however, this influence is largely indirect via the behaviors, beliefs, knowledge, practices, and competencies of their teachers. Despite a growing number of studies examining the indirect influence of school principals on student achievement, there is still much to know concerning the practices school principals use to influence student achievement and how teachers mediate this influence. A promising contribution is the examination of the indirect relation between instructional leadership practices and student achievement via the efficacy beliefs of teachers. The reason for this optimism is the notion that teacher efficacy beliefs correlate with student achievement and instructional leadership practices correlate with teacher efficacy beliefs. However, only a handful of studies have examined the influence of instructional leadership practices on the efficacy beliefs of teachers. Although these studies found significant and positive relations (Stipek, 2012; Thoonen, Sleegers, Oort, Peetsma, & Geijsel, 2011; Geijsel, Sleegers, Stoel, & Kruger, 2009; Coladarci & Breton, 1997), the majority had serious limitations which likely led to an overestimation of the influence of instructional leadership practices. The objective of this study was to surmount the limitations of the previous studies and ascertain whether school principals using specific instructional leadership practices positively influence the efficacy beliefs of lower secondary education teachers. This study was a secondary analysis of teacher, principal, and school data from twenty-one countries who participated in the 2007-2008 Teaching and Learning International Study (TALIS). It combined Pitner's (1988) mediated effects model and Bandura's (1997) social cognitive theory as a conceptual model, and employed a three-level random coefficient hierarchical linear model (HLM) to analyze the relations between teacher efficacy beliefs, teacher and school characteristics, three instructional leadership practices, cross-level interactions, and national characteristics. This study found that (1) the efficacy beliefs of lower secondary education teachers significantly varied across schools and countries, and (2) several teacher characteristics, school characteristics, instructional leadership practices, and cross-level interactions had statistically significant relations with the efficacy beliefs of lower secondary education teachers across the twenty-one countries. The most important findings pertain to the relations between the instructional leadership practices and teacher efficacy beliefs as well as the cross-level interactions that included instructional leadership practices as moderators of the relation between teacher collaboration and teacher self-efficacy. The findings from this study add new insight to the study of instructional leadership, support Bandura's (1997) social cognitive theory, and corroborate findings from several studies within the literature. Given the significant and positive relations between teacher collaboration and teacher self-efficacy, instructional leadership practices and teacher efficacy beliefs, and instructional leadership practices as a moderator of the relation between teacher collaboration and teacher self-efficacy, this study suggested that national, regional, or local policies should ensure that teacher preparation and professional development programs emphasize teacher collaboration, and administrator preparation and professional development programs focus on the promotion of teacher collaboration and the supervision of teachers. Finally, this study provided suggestions for further research, such as (1) addressing the limitations of the current study, (2) adding a qualitative component, (3) examining current covariates in greater depth as well as introducing new covariates, (4) enlarging the number and diversity of participating countries in future cross-national studies, and (5) improving the quality of indices representing psychological constructs in large-scale international studies (e.g., teacher self-efficacy). / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2013. / April 26, 2013. / Cross-national, Instructional Leadership, Multilevel, TALIS, Teacher Collaboration, Teacher Self-efficacy / Includes bibliographical references. / Laura B. Lang, Professor Directing Dissertation; Betsy J. Becker, University Representative; Jeffrey A. Milligan, Committee Member; Peter Easton, Committee Member.

Universitas Terbuka (UT), the Indonesia Open University and the 45th state university in the country, is the only one that uses distance learning as its sole mode of delivery and instruction. Although UT has operated for 28 years, unlike face-to-face classroom-based education, distance education has not been considered as a fully legitimate delivery system in Indonesia. In the mindset of the people of Indonesia, "education" necessarily implies a conventional classroom environment; and, as a consequence, the relatively new format of distance learning does not register as "real education." Yet under the pressure of increased demand for higher education, the participation in distance learning programs at UT has been rapidly growing. However, that popularity also poses a problem. Indonesian students have difficulty with distance formats given lack of familiarity with the requirements of independent study and a low level of current aptitude for reading on their own. UT has therefore developed tutorial programs to assist distance learning students with overcoming the problem and reviewing their material. Most are offered face-to-face but are only accessible to the minority of students living near centers where such instruction can be delivered. With the spread of internet access in the country, online tutoring programs have been established but have been little evaluated. This study was devoted to assessing the quality of implementation and effectiveness of online course tutoring for Bachelor's degree distance learning students enrolled in UT. Results indicate that despite difficulties of administration, the program is relatively well implemented and in the majority of classes, online tutorial participants score better than classmates who do not participate in the tutorial on final exams. Overall, therefore, the online tutorial program appears to be performing a real service but to be in need of better specification, some modification of methods and closer quality control. A number of recommendations for greater effectiveness and better service to UT students are offered in the last section of the text. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 21, 2013. / distance education, distance learning, evaluation, Indonesia, online tutorial, Universitas Terbuka / Includes bibliographical references. / Peter B. Easton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Allan Jeong, University Representative; Jeffrey A. Milligan, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

For high-profile Division-I student-athletes, the academic success journey is often overshadowed by athletic participation, providing both researchers and practitioners an incomplete picture of student-athlete academic success. There exists little literature on the phenomenon of student-athlete integration, a process suggested to enhance chances of academic success for this population (Comeaux & Harrison, 2011). Moreover, existing integration models largely do not consider the unique characteristics of student-athletes. Student-athletes, particularly Division-I revenue athletes, face grueling athletic schedules and public expectations that make it difficult for them to achieve academic or social integration with the non-athletic parts of university life. In light of considerable public scrutiny of Division-I sports (Gayles & Hu, 2009b), a better understanding of student-athlete integration has the potential to (a) improve the college experience for this population, (b) increase integration, (c) promote academic success, and (d) enhance overall retention. Over the course of the Spring 2012 semester, multiple observations and interviews were performed in Structured Study Time (SST), a collaborative peer-tutoring program housed in the Department of Student-Athlete Academic Services at Legacy University. Data was analyzed based on the procedures outlined in Corbin and Strauss's (2008) grounded theory methodology. The Supporting Connections (SC) model uncovered in this study is a conceptual model describing the student-athlete integration process in a collaborative tutoring arrangement. The model proposes that student-athlete integration is best achieved when student-athletes strengthen and stabilize connections with the institution's people, places, and activities beyond the playing field. The notion of connections indicates the overarching theme that permeates all the other items in the model. This continuous process is the mechanism responsible for supporting student-athlete perceptions of connection to the whole college experience (e.g., by building a strong connection with the tutor, the student-athlete feels a stronger connection to SST and, by extension, the multiple domains of the university's life). Findings suggest that the student-athlete integration process is undergirded by strong institutional agents (e.g., tutorial staff) who are able to manipulate important academic and social forces in SST, thus creating the desired experiences (e.g., engagement, enjoyment, and escapism) that perpetuate student-athlete connections to university life. The Supporting Connections (SC) model presented in this study provides a new tool for researchers and practitioners to assess the integrative potential of campus support programs, designed with characteristics of Division-I student-athletes in mind, that can (a) provide a better conceptual understanding of the integration process, (b) more effectively operationalize student-athlete integration, (c) increase perceptions of belonging to other campus organizations, and (d) increase the likelihood of academic success for this non-traditional student population. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2013. / February 22, 2013. / academic, athletes, collaborative, integration, social, student / Includes bibliographical references. / Brad Cox, Professor Directing Dissertation; Allan Jeong, University Representative; Shouping Hu, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the body of knowledge on social justice learning outcomes in higher education and address the gap in the literature on students' perceptions of their own learning. Specifically, it explored transformative learning in regards to inequality and disenfranchisement of minority groups for undergraduate students participating in a social justice living-learning community at a university in the Southeast. In doing so, the study provided a greater understanding of the complexity of how students learn social justice concepts such as oppression and privilege, which may lead teachers and practitioners to consider expanding tools for guiding students. Further development on effective facilitation and teaching may lead to students' increased skills in working with others in different settings as well as combating social inequality. Thick and rich description of student transformational learning was provided through a qualitative case study approach. The case was bounded by the social justice leadership course and events within the program as well as by the 30 student participants. Data collection included two individual interviews for 15 students, a group interview comprised of three students, participant observations of 21 class meetings and two co-curricular programs, and assessment program documentation. Findings included five themes: (a) understanding difficult concepts; (b) discussion as learning; (c) resistance; (d) changes; and (e) social justice in action. Through these themes, students transformed their learning by navigating difficult concepts and making new meaning of them and challenging their own long-held beliefs. Results from these findings suggest educators consider the following: seek an understanding of complex concepts; explore resistance; facilitate dialogue for students to share their stories; and practice what you preach. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Spring Semester, 2014. / March 21, 2014. / Diversity, Living-Learning, Social justice, Transformational learning / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathy Guthrie, Professor Directing Dissertation; John Reynolds, University Representative; Tamara Bertrand Jones, Committee Member; Marytza Gawlick, Committee Member.