Organized to share the perspective of the classroom teacher, this study represents an investigation of looping, an educational plan in which the same teacher and students remain together as an instructional unit for a minimum of two years. Offered as an alternative to traditional grade organization and standard progression through the grades, looping is explored as an option for restructuring to better serve American students. The premise behind this plan is that the teacher will come to know his/her students as learners better over time; a knowledge that will improve the teaching/learning dynamic within the classroom. As looping is more prevalent at the elementary level, the participants in this study are elementary classroom teachers with experience in looping. Using a mixed-methods design, the study involved two parallel phases: focused interviews of teachers from four local communities and a geographically wider sampling of teachers through distribution of a questionnaire. Potential participants were selected through a snowball technique. Secondary means of data collection involved on-site observations and examination of related school documents. From the interviews, common themes emerged regarding many issues related to the implementation of looping. These views of classroom teachers were upheld by questionnaire responses. As reported by teachers, major findings of this study include the following: Looping builds a strong sense of a community of learners. The home-school link is strengthened. Students who loop show numerous gains within the affective domain, with additional benefit to those identified as being at-risk, and with a lessening of "summer anxiety." Teachers found that time was saved in transitioning between grades, allowing for increased time-on-task and opportunities to expand the curriculum. Research conclusion: Based on the perceptions of teachers in this study, looping holds significant promise as a program of persistence in group to offer a reasonable alternative for reorganizing elementary schools to maximize the teaching/learning dynamic.

During the colonial and apartheid eras, higher education played an historically strategic role in shaping South African society. As higher education continues to play a significant role as an agent of the state in shaping the social transformation process toward a new democracy, the leadership of higher education in the form of university Vice-Chancellors, continue to play a critical role in this process. The new democratic government policy relating to education reform and institutional restructuring highlights the social accountability of institutions and emphasizes transformation. In political and social spheres, transformation has become a rhetorical term for all change and democracy. Transformation has emerged as the mantra of all change in preference to the term reform. Understanding the phenomena of transformation and the role of leadership in higher education is critical to understanding higher educations' future role in the national, social change process. This study applies phenomenological phenomenographic methodology and in-depth interviews to explore the conceptions of the Vice-Chancellors of Historically Black Universities in South Africa. The research focuses on the phenomena of transformation, leadership and social change. The assumption is that synergistically, Vice-Chancellors' tacit conceptions will frame an African notion of Transformative Leadership in higher education. The research findings are that although Vice-Chancellors shared an interesting and diverse range of conceptions of leadership and transformation, the conceptions were not sufficiently congruent to define a singular, homogeneous African mode of Transformative Leadership. A further finding was that although higher education is conceptually located within a process of social transformation, the research proceeded from a skewed assumption that the common mode of leadership of transformation would be transformational. Lastly, it emerged that conceptions of a single, explicit mode of African leadership was not possible, or desirable to define. The role of VC in HBU's is enormously complex and challenging and the new Ministry may need to re-conceptualize the role and function of the Vice-chancellor in Higher Education in South Africa.

The purpose of this study is to identify institution-specific variables that impact assessment on campus and to determine the ways in which these variables influence campus approach to assessment. The importance of this study lies in its ability to inform assessment policy, to influence assessment practice, and to support assessment research. Results from this study provide broader parameters within which to discuss assessment beyond the traditional accountability or improvement model. Results also offer a systematic three-step process for campus self-analysis using institution-specific variables as a means of identifying campus response to assessment. This process facilitates focus on those campus variables that promote or prevent effective assessment, while informing potential changes in policy and practice tied to those variables, and providing an opportunity for an intentional review of assessment to optimize institutional effectiveness. Research for this study was conducted using case study analysis of three institutions to collect and classify data, to describe the data, and to make inferences about what the data reveal. From the results of this study it is fair to conclude that assessment on campus is shaped and influenced by an interplay of variables unique to each college or university. This research also suggests that a campus's response to assessment is directly impacted by the nature and focus of the interplay of these campus-specific variables. The findings from this study point to significant policy and practice implications wherein a campus may identify the forces that push the campus closer to accountability or closer to improvement and develop interventions to make assessment more effective vis a vis the institution-specific framework in which assessment evolves.

The purpose of this study was to probe the attitudes of elementary teachers with respect to teacher autonomy, perceived and desired, and its relation to job satisfaction. It was also the purpose of this study to probe the attitudes of dissatisfied elementary teachers as to the nature and degree of their dissatisfaction. Specifically, the study was to answer the following research questions: (1) To what degree do elementary teachers perceive they have autonomy in their work, as measured on the Perceived Teacher Autonomy Scale, (2) To what degree do elementary teachers desire autonomy in their work, as measured on the Desired Teacher Autonomy Scale, (3) To what degree is there discrepancy between the perceived and desired degree of autonomy afforded elementary teachers in their work, as measured by the difference between scores on the Perceived Teacher Autonomy Scale and Desired Teacher Autonomy Scale, (4) What is the likelihood that elementary teachers who perceive low autonomy, but desire high autonomy, will experience low job satisfaction in their work as measured on the Job Satisfaction Scale, and (5) Is there a greater likelihood that elementary teachers who perceive low autonomy, desire high autonomy, and have low job satisfaction, will be planning to leave the teaching profession than teachers who have lower desire for autonomy and greater job satisfaction? Results from an initial questionnaire indicated that teachers who perceived low autonomy but desired high autonomy were less satisfied with their work than other teachers. In addition, these teachers indicated a greater likelihood of defection from teaching. Ten follow-up interviews further indicated that the areas of autonomy teachers were most concerned with were input into the decision making process that affects their classroom instruction and teacher evaluation as it relates to their professional development. Data gathered in this study clearly show the desire of teachers to have greater autonomy in their work. Such a lack of autonomy increased the likelihood of teacher defection. The findings indicate the need to address teacher job satisfaction and their implications for organizational and staff development.

The affirmative action officer is the key figure in establishing, implementing, and sustaining an affirmative action program. This study was directed toward the perceptions of actively engaged affirmative action officers in higher education. The affirmative action officers responded to their perceptions of their functions, duties, and responsibilities as these variables impacted their role in affirmative action. The purpose of this study was to focus on the actual and ideal functions, duties, and responsibilities of the affirmative action officer. More specifically, the questions that guided this study were: (1) How does the affirmative action officer view his/her role? (2) What are the prioritized functions, duties, and responsibilities of the affirmative action officer as seen from the perspective of the affirmative action officer? (3) Is there a common core of functions, duties, and responsibilities shared by affirmative action officers? If so, what are those common characteristics that ensure the probability of success in the role? A mail questionnaire was designed. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. Section I gathered information on the affirmative action officers' perceptions of their functions, duties, and responsibilities. This section was divided into seven major areas: Promotion, Personnel, Procedures, Process, Recruitment, Goals and Timetables, and Grievances. The affirmative action officers rated statements in Column I (Actual--current role) and in Column II (Ideal--what their role should be) on an eight-point scale. Section II of the questionnaire gathered demographic data from the affirmative action officers. This section was divided into three major areas: (1) Personal Data, (2) Affirmative Action Data, and (3) Present Position as Affirmative Action Officer. The questionnaire was mailed to both four- and two-year private and public institutions of higher education. Forty-five percent of the surveys were returned by the affirmative action officers. Among the conclusions drawn from the data received, the following appeared to be evident: (1) Affirmative action officers could achieve a greater maximum in the performance of their functions, duties, and responsibilities if they would be able to spend more time and effort on those items that were addressed in each of the seven major areas (Promotion, Personnel, Procedures, Process, Recruitment, Goals and Timetables, and Grievances) of the questionnaire; (2) more Whites were affirmative action officers than any other ethnic group; (3) females tend to serve as affirmative action officers than males; and (4) usually affirmative action officers were between thirty to thirty-nine years of age.

The dissertation stage, a time of independent research for doctoral students, is characterized by a lack of interactions with peers and faculty members, including the faculty dissertation advisor, that are typically present during earlier stages of doctoral programs (Ali & Kohun, 2006; Gardner, 2008b, 2009). As a result, students in the dissertation stage may experience isolation. This isolation, a result of a lack of interactions with faculty and peers, can lead to dropout from the doctoral program (Ali & Kohun, 2006). Given that students have the most frequent interactions with the dissertation advisor during the dissertation stage (i.e., Ali & Kohun, 2006), this study aimed to understand how faculty dissertation advisors aid in students' persistence during the dissertation stage. Specifically, the study answered (1) how faculty dissertation advisors define their role during the dissertation stage, (2) general strategies advisors use during the dissertation stage to help students persist, (3) strategies used by advisors to assist different types of students during the dissertation stage, and (4) how advisors facilitate academic and social integration at the dissertation stage. This study utilized a mixed methods research design to understand dissertation advisors' role in students' persistence during the dissertation stage (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2009). Specifically, faculty dissertation advisors from one college of education at a research university in the southeastern region completed a questionnaire and a subset of these faculty participated in a follow-up interview. Consistent with Barnes and Austin's (2009) findings, results showed that participants utilized several functions, including collaborating, mentoring, advocating, and chastising to perform their role during the dissertation stage. Participants also valued several characteristics, friendly/professional, collegial, supportive/caring, accessible, and honest, when performing their role as dissertation advisor. Additionally, participants indicated they use a series of general strategies, which Barnes and Austin termed as helping advisees be successful. Interview findings also identified five categories of threats to students' persistence during the dissertation stage, as well as corresponding strategies participants used to help advisees maneuver these threats to persistence. The themes included advisees' personal responsibilities, psychological concerns, time, dissertation project hurdles, and isolation. While Tinto's (1993) model of doctoral student persistence failed to elaborate on how the dissertation advisor facilitates academic and social integration during the dissertation stage, results indicated that, in general, faculty dissertation advisors do at least encourage advisees' academic integration by helping advisees plan and conduct research, aiding in their professional and workforce development, and encouraging them to publish articles and/or publishing articles with advisees. Additionally, dissertation advisors encourage advisees to connect with their peers and with faculty members inside and outside the academic department. However, less than half of participants encouraged advisees to connect with staff and administrators in the campus-wide community. Results of this study can be used to further research on the doctoral student experience and the advisor's role in that experience. Additionally, findings from this study can be used by dissertation advisors, academic departments, and university administrators in policy and standards of practice to help ensure students' persistence during doctoral programs, especially during the dissertation stage. / 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. / Fall Semester, 2014. / November 7, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references. / Tamara Bertrand Jones, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kathy Guthrie, Committee Member; Linda Schrader, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

This historical case study investigated policy issues and other factors which affected public, higher education capital funding and overall growth at two mid-sized, regional, state universities located in a Southeastern state in the U.S. during the period 1975 to 2005. The construct, policy issues, and two subsidiary constructs, capital appropriations and overall institutional growth, were examined to assist in drawing conclusions about the methods used to appropriate capital funds and their impact on public institutions of higher education. The study examined, described, and analyzed decisions which have influenced capital investment in the state's public higher education system. A history of the state's higher education governing system and the two case institutions, a description of the factors behind policy-making decisions, and descriptions of the elements of the capital appropriations process in the state are included with examples of how capital appropriations have contributed to the overall institutional growth. Qualitative data relative to capital appropriations came from interviews with key individuals and from document analysis of system and institutional records related to capital appropriations. The results concluded that the capital request policies at the onset of the study were more subjective in nature and appropriations were made to the institutions in an inequitable manner; decisions were easily affected by the internal and external politics of the state university system and state government. The capital allocation process evolved and was architecturally shifted to become more data-driven so that decision making is more objective and in line with the system and institution master plans. The growth of the case institutions was not solely caused by capital appropriations; but in many cases, capital outlay allowed the institutions to sustain enrollment growth. Additional factors, besides capital appropriations such as institutional leadership, school choice variables, and state policy issues which influenced and contributed to the differences in overall growth at the two case institutions were included in the results. In practice, policies are strengthened to emphasize the planning process and adherence to a master plan and capital improvement plan. The study revealed inequitable and sometimes haphazard methods by which capital outlay decisions have been made in the state; this study supported the recently adopted, data-driven strategic capital model. Realizing that the state cannot provide all funding, it was recommended higher education institutions pursue and expand public/private partnerships to secure capital funding, and increase institutional collaboration during this process. Facilities and capital investment constituted just one component which allowed an institution to flourish; but in many cases, institutions had the capacity which could be readily seen by the establishment of an efficiency model of its current space before constructing new facilities. / 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, 2008. / March 4, 2008. / Higher Education / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert A. Schwartz, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lance M. deHaven-Smith, Outside Committee Member; Dale W. Lick, Committee Member; Shouping Hu, Committee Member.

This study explores the forces that influence role construction and enactment through the experiences of two mid-level managers in student affairs at Paradox University, a large, public, research university. To guide this interpretive study of roles, Symbolic Interactionism was used. Qualitative methods of interview, observation and document review were used to gather data for this descriptive, exploratory study. The data revealed the complexity of the role-making, role-taking process and highlighted the internal and external forces that influence role shaping and enactment. Family and educational experiences, experience with management positions, and professional ambition were identified as among the internal forces that influence role construction. External forces were categorized as proximate and distant, and included perceived clarity of organizational mission, experiences with predecessors, and managerial expectations. Directions for further research and practice were suggested that would help contribute to a further understanding of higher education organizations, and the construction of managerial roles.

In less developed nations, higher education is often viewed as extravagent, especially if it is unrelated to national development goals. India is no exception. Higher education is constantly generating critical comments, for it is mired in tradition, stagnant, often corrupt and irrelevant to the nation's development needs. Furthermore, India's colonial system of higher education is rigid, conservative, expensive, inaccessible for most of the population, and produces graduates who are unemployable. Higher education reform, in fact--educational reform at all levels--has been recommended since the Kothari Committee shortly after Independence in 1947. While the system has grown in numbers of students and institutions, it has not changed to accommodate the increasing enrollment of students or the technological advances that have changed the world. Following the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the nation was in chaos. During the address presented at his inaugural as Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi professed the reforms needed to unite the country and carry it to the 20th century as a self-reliant nation. A priority was education. Within this educational recommendation was the creation of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, designed to meet the development needs of the nation through an innovative method of higher education. It was to attend to continuing education, promote national unity, and offer programs of study which would be relevant to the nation's employment and economic needs. This innovative approach was coordinated with conceptualization of the Seventh Five-Year Plan. A proposal to integrate development goals and education was included in the Sixth Five-Year Plan, but had not been implemented. The Seventh Plan again proposed a coordination of development objectives and educational programming. The Indira Gandhi National Open University was proposed as a vehicle to integrate national development goals with education.

Concurrent with the public outcry of recent years to improve the quality of America's schools, has come a demand for accountability in public education. This study employs Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a measure of technical efficiency in the allocation of limited resources in eighty-one non-rural public elementary schools in Western Massachusetts. Three major research questions guided the study: (1) How do the selected elementary schools differ as to the degree of inefficiency when compared with each other? (2) What factors may account for differences in expected achievement among relatively efficient schools? (3) What factors may account for differences in relative efficiency scores? Data were collected for four outputs representing student achievement and for sixteen inputs representing a balance of school, student and teaching resources. Preliminary analysis reduced the number of inputs to eight. DEA results indicated that of 81 schools, 37 (or 46%) were found to be efficiently utilizing their resources and 44 (or 54%) were found to be inefficient to varying degrees. DEA provided for each school a relative efficiency index, an identified peer set of efficient schools, optimal weights assigned to inputs and outputs, and estimates of the augmentations in outputs and/or the reductions in inputs (i.e., slack values) that could be attained if efficiency were to be achieved. Since the DEA analysis results identified the sources and degree of inefficiency, the factors could be adjusted to remove these inefficiencies and thus the variables which influenced student achievement could be determined; four inputs were found to be significant. Five inputs (representing three areas of resources) were identified as contributing most to differences in relative efficiency scores by being overconsumed, or underutilized, in a significant number of schools. The study concludes that the strength of DEA lies in its ability to identify empirically-based sources and amounts of inefficiencies in a multiple outputs-multiple inputs settings. Limitations exist primarily in the availability of data for outputs and inputs. Finally, DEA can add significantly to renewal at the school level by providing school decision makers with the tools to make valuable and effective choices.