<p> The main purpose of this qualitative study was to explore school counselors&rsquo; experience with restorative practices including their knowledge and skills, role, and how they incorporate restorative practices into their comprehensive school counseling program. The results of this research will contribute to the growing body of literature suggesting the negative effects of current zero tolerance discipline practices while suggesting the implementation of restorative practices as an alternative practice within the educational system because of the potential positive outcomes it has on student development and success. Five school counselors were interviewed with open-ended questions to gather data on the research questions presented. This data was analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results of this research have the potential to inform future research, training needs, and best practices for school counselors working in schools where restorative practices are in place.</p><p>

<p> Although districts and schools have implemented several types of parental engagement programs, numerous programs fail to meet the needs of African American parents, especially during the high school years. One reason may be the lack of awareness and sensitivity toward the needs of African American parents. Using a two-part conceptual framework informed by Hoover-Dempsey Sandler&rsquo;s (1995, 1997) model of parental engagement and critical race theory, this qualitative case study examined how African American parents defined parental engagement during the high school years. This study also explored parents&rsquo; role construction and self-efficacy, and if and how parents understood district parental engagement policies. Data were collected from documents and semi-structured interviews from 15 African American parents of high school children. Data were analyzed using thematic network analysis (Attride-Stirling, 2001) and a variation of constant comparative analysis (Strauss &amp; Corbin, 1990). Study findings revealed that parents described high school parental engagement as a fluid process that changed over time to best fit the academic and nonacademic needs of their children. This impacted parents&rsquo; parental engagement behaviors and practices. Whereas parents were unfamiliar with the district&rsquo;s parental engagement policies, they were familiar with other school practices and policies that impacted their engagement behaviors. Parents defined their role in broad terms, such as being their children&rsquo;s protector, teacher, and advocate. Parents&rsquo; self-efficacy was mainly based on their children&rsquo;s academic performance in school and a village of supporters. Parents reported creating informal information networks to access information and services to assist them in supporting their child academically during high school. Although parents reported engaging in school-based activities, the primary method of engagement was home-based engagement practices.</p><p>

<p> This applied dissertation responded to two public problems: digital divides and unequal access to educational opportunities via the growth of virtual schooling in kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12) in the United States. A qualitative instrumental case study approach was used to explore the relative advantages and disadvantages of public K-12 virtual schools in Florida through the experiences and perspectives of 5 virtual school leaders. This research also evaluated the virtual school leaders&rsquo; level of innovativeness in relation to the innovativeness/needs paradox (INP) in Rogers&rsquo;s theory of diffusion of innovations (DOI). The INP suggests that innovativeness plays a role in social stratification issues between the higher and lower socioeconomic individuals in a system. </p><p> A demographic survey and interviews were used to gather descriptive details for the case analysis. The Innovativeness Scale collected empirical evidence on virtual school leaders&rsquo; level of innovativeness. Results participants were in the early majority category of DOI. Demographics suggested upward social mobility, high educational attainment, and tendencies toward innovativeness. Six themes emerged from the interviews: educational optimism, proinnovation bias, strategies of least resistance, fidelity to old-school norms, virtual schools are a public but private schooling niche, and the counterintuitive gauntlet of innovativeness: the legitimacy of virtual schools and stakeholder divides. </p><p> Findings suggested innovativeness in relation to the INP does have the potential to fuel underlying divides between advantaged and disadvantaged students in public K-12 virtual schools in Florida. The interviews suggested additional factors may play a role in divides in association with innovativeness, specifically, individualistic and systemic epistemologies and cultural relativism.</p><p>

<p> This analysis considers whether or not second-career/career-changer teachers are possibly more effective than traditional, first career teachers in teaching tasks and building relationships with students in low socioeconomic status (SES) schools. Analysis of the differences between those entering the education profession as traditional college students and those who are <i>career- changers</i> provides insight into an alternative type of diversity the latter may bring to the classroom and how that diversity might positively impact students who are not only trying to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for academic and career success, but also a sense of identity and purpose, as we continually transition to a more global society. Challenges unique to second-career teachers are addressed, as well as ways administrators and teacher educators might support these teachers during the early stages of their new vocation. Indications for additional research that could further explore this unique facet of the teaching profession are discussed. </p><p>

<p> Severe teacher shortages, caused by high attrition rates, have been the focus of attention for school districts and policy leaders for over two decades. Teacher attrition accounts for approximately 40 to 50% of new teachers leaving in the first 5 years of service. High teacher attrition rates in the United States impact tomorrow&rsquo;s leaders, innovators, and workers who today are struggling to succeed in math and science in a globally competitive world. By not addressing the reasons teachers leave the profession, or by not conducting further research on preservice teachers to better prepare them for the classroom, the nation will continue to be at risk. This study looks at the research on why teachers say they leave in the first 1 to 5 years of service and asks preservice teachers the extent to which they consider low salaries, working conditions that severely limit their autonomy over classroom decision-making, and the effectiveness of their teacher preparation in content areas and classroom management. Understanding whether preservice teachers considered these factors or felt they needed more effective instruction will help identify gaps in teacher education programs that may prevent new teachers from leaving the profession in the first 5 years. This study uses a semi-structured interview process to attain the unique stories of preservice teachers and to assess their consideration of the issues that have been shown to make teachers leave the teaching profession. A combination of criterion and snowball sampling techniques were used to select a group of 12 preservice elementary education teachers. The qualitative design uses a phenomenological approach to find the main themes of the preservice teachers&rsquo; stories. </p><p> The study revealed that preservice teachers do not consider low salaries, working conditions that severely limit their autonomy over classroom decision-making, and the effectiveness of their teacher preparation in content areas and classroom management prior to becoming a teacher. Although the preservice teachers in this study did not consider these factors, each expressed concern about working conditions during their clinical experience and the quality of their teacher preparation programs. The stories of these preservice teachers and the recommendations for future studies will help guide the transformation of teacher education programs and the teaching profession to lower attrition rates in K-12 schools around the country.</p><p>

<p> The achievement gap in American schools between middle class students and students from poverty is well documented. This paper outlines the findings of a study designed to explore the experience and conscientization of struggling students from poverty. The argument will be made that poverty can be viewed as a culture and that this view may shed significant light on the dynamics of the achievement gap. Further, using the construct of poverty as a culture provides real life applications that have the potential to impact the achievement gap. The study explored the lived experiences in a public school setting of intermediate students from poverty, hoping to capture their voice and insights. The research utilized a Critical Pedagogical Approach to attempt to understand why American schools struggle with these populations and what could be done to address the achievement gap.</p><p>

<p> The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) dispensation requires a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) in which the public participates in a Public Planning Process (PPP) with the district. The problem this qualitative phenomenographic study addressed is how the LCAP&rsquo;s omission of a definition for the inclusive and transparent PPP may unintentionally lead to disproportionate inclusion of individual participants or stakeholder groups. Therefore, the researcher examined 10 California school district superintendents&rsquo; or their designees&rsquo; conceptions about what constitutes an inclusive, fair, and open PPP. For the purposes of this study, the International Association for Public Participation&rsquo;s (IAP2) Quality Assurance Standards, specifically the 7 core values, served as the conceptual framework. </p><p> The objective of the research was twofold, first to identify how local educational agency (LEA) leaders conceive the use of the IAP2&rsquo;s core values to define successful public stakeholder engagement for the LCAP in terms of inclusivity, fairness, and openness. The second goal was to determine what measures, guidelines, and techniques these leaders believe can contribute to the inclusiveness, fairness, and openness of the LCAP public stakeholder engagement process. </p><p> This study resulted in 3 conclusions study. First, the interviewees accepted the IAP2 core values as a foundation for best practices in the LCAP&rsquo;s stakeholder engagement process. Second, data from the study clearly suggest that each interviewee has his/her own conception of what measures, guidelines, and techniques contribute to the inclusiveness, fairness, and openness of the LCAP stakeholder engagement process. Third, authentic participation, communication, equity, facilitation, local control, and trust are suggested as imperative to an inclusive, fair, and open stakeholder engagement PPP. </p><p> The researcher made three recommendations. First, the California Department of Education (CDE) should adopt a set of stakeholder engagement PPP core values for districts to use as a foundation. Second, the CDE should seek out a district or districts to pilot a set of core values to guide the stakeholder engagement component of the LCAP. Third, until the CDE is able to establish a rubric or set of core values to guide the stakeholder engagement PPP, districts should identify their own set of core values based on current research such as IAP2.</p><p>

<p>The Personalized Integrated Educational System (PIES) design theory is a design recommendation regarding the function and features of Learning Managements Systems (LMS) that can support the information-age learner-centered paradigm of education. The purpose of this study was to improve the proposed functions and features of the PIES design theory such that it is compatible with the technological needs of the information-age, learner-centered paradigm of education. Four schools or educational systems that embodied all or some of the characteristics of the learner-centered, information-age paradigm were selected through a purposeful, theoretical sampling process. They were selected based on how useful they would be in extending and improving the design recommendations for PIES and the extent to which the naturalistic cases had transitioned into the learner-centered, information-age paradigm of education. Research participants within these schools were chosen through a non-probability sampling method. Twenty teachers agreed to participate and were interviewed and observed. Data collected in the form of interview transcripts and observation notes were analyzed to reveal functions and features that could be added and removed from the PIES design theory. Data were analyzed to also reveal factors that encouraged/discouraged technology use, implementation, and policy. </p>

<p> In this dissertation, I describe a study examining institutional policy documents for statements related to the implementation of openness. The purposes of this study were to explore the current state of policies related to the implementation of openness in higher education, and to provide guiding recommendations to higher education institutions looking to address the issue of implementation of openness in their own policies. Policy plays a critical role in the implementation of innovations such as openness. The policy environment is complex and potentially confusing. Technology enables the proliferation of openness, and higher education institutions are now facing a number of challenges associated with the implementation of openness. Not much is known about the stance of higher education or the state of its response to openness. As a result, there was not much guidance available for institutions looking to address the implementation of openness in their institutions. </p><p> This dissertation involved a descriptive study that follows summative content analysis methodology. The research design was a qualitative dominant sequential mixed methods model, meaning that I focused primarily on the qualitative elements of the study and provided limited descriptive quantitative analysis derived from the qualitative data. </p><p> Five major areas of openness affecting higher education institutions were drawn from the literature. These are Open Access Research, Open Content, Open Teaching and Learning, Open Source Software, and Other, less pronounced, areas of openness. I searched the Faculty Handbooks, Strategic Plans, and Technology Plans of a stratified random sample of research-intensive higher education institutions for keywords related to the major areas of openness. I then evaluated the resulting statements based on the directness with which they address openness and on their policy role as enabler, barrier, or neutral toward the implementation of openness. </p><p> I provided 45 idealized policy statements as well as the best-found policy statements from the study. These statements were intended to be used as recommendations for guiding institutions in crafting their own policy statements to address openness through policy. The idealized statements were intended to fit in the three policy documents (Faculty Handbook, Strategic Plan, Technology Plan), serve each policy role (enabler, barrier, and neutral), and address area of openness (Open Access, Open Content, Open Source Software, Open Teaching and Learning, and Other Areas of Openness). Five major findings emerged from the study. These include the realization that openness is really a human-centered approach, and the discovery that openness is not commonly addressed in higher education policies. Additionally, I found that there was wide variance in how institutions actually address openness, that Open Access is addressed more than other areas in policy, and that content analysis is an effective method for obtaining information related to higher education policies. I provided my reflections and conclusions on the study in Chapter Five.</p>

<p> This body of work presents the summary of findings; explanation of implications; discussion of conclusions; and recommendations about practice, policy and future research regarding principal leadership in school districts recognized as national Baldrige Award winners. This study widened the scope and definition of quality management in education by dissecting the roles of principal leadership as defined by the 21 Leadership Responsibilities (Marzano et al., 2005) of school leadership. These Leadership Responsibilities served as a vehicle for educators to report their observances of how principals express their roles in the context of their work. The study began with a dominant phase of quantitative data collection followed by a qualitative phase. The quantitative segment purposively sampled groups of employees, principals and their building staff, concurrently through electronic survey. The second, qualitative portion, consisted of interviews of principals who participated in the survey. To summarize, the quantitative data defined the "what" of building administration's work in a Baldrige system and the qualitative portion illuminated the "how" or the application of the 21 Leadership Responsibilities. Statistical analysis determined that principals reported expressing all 21 Leadership Responsibilities in their work. Staff observances correlated and supported the data reported by the participating principals. As a result of the principal interviews further observations were made regarding the work of Baldrige building level leaders. Considerations included innovation through shared leadership and process management to improve learning and services for students and staff. Principals appeared to express particular clusters of Leadership Responsibilities more than others to increase the student growth and school improvement. Participants included principals and teachers from Iredell-Statesville Schools, NC; Jenks Public Schools, OK; and Montgomery Public Schools.</p>