<p> This study examines parental perceptions of their participation in the special education process at a high school in southern Illinois. Eleven parents were interviewed based on either self-reported low socioeconomic status or non-participation in a formal IEP meeting during the previous year. Regarding the quality and the quantity of their participation in the special education process, parents reported favorably in both areas. Most parents placed greater importance on more frequent and less formal methods of communication with trusted staff members, and less importance on IEP meeting participation. Some barriers to effective parental participation were noted, such as doubt as to whether or not their input in the IEP meetings was relevant and taken into consideration. Draft copies of IEP paperwork may inadvertently communicate predetermination of meeting results, and many parents did not fully understand the IEP paperwork. Technical language used at IEP meetings was also noted as a possible barrier. Parents also indicated a desire to avoid conflict with the school. Initial special education eligibility meetings were a negative experience for over half of the participants. This study also noted a fundamental difference in how parents and schools perceive children with disabilities. Nearly all parents focused on positive aspects of their children and similarities to their peers without mentioning any disabling conditions. The theoretical framework of this study suggests that schools approach special education through a &ldquo;defectological&rdquo; approach that emphasizes a child&rsquo;s disabling condition. This extreme difference in perception could account for some lack of parental involvement in the IEP process. The implications of this study call for a re-examination of the definition of parental participation in the special education process, exploration of ways to minimize the barriers to parental participation in formal IEP meetings, inclusion of parents and students into the process of developing the IEP document itself and a focus on similarities and abilities of children rather than the current practice of emphasizing disabilities and limitations.</p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study was to determine if mandatory Advanced Placement courses improve reading comprehension scores for students; especially Hispanic students. Not only is a minority student achievement gap prevalent in American education, but also a minority opportunity gap is present for students in Advanced Placement courses. The literature review detailed educational reform in the United States to include the rise and expansion of the Advanced Placement Program via the College Board. The benefits and drawbacks of Advanced Placement were emphasized as well as obstacles minority students face in participating in advanced courses. The results from the archival student reading achievement on the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program between sophomore students in two rural, Colorado high schools exposed two certainties; the achievement gap remains and mandatory Advanced Placement participation does not positively affect reading achievement. In the 2013 and 2014 school years, uncommon p-values were identified rejecting the null hypothesis. The ANOVA test for interaction produced a p-value of .438 pointing to an uncommon result, and the t-test produced p-values of 1.00 and .996 which are higher than the alpha of .05, and thus the null was rejected. There is no significant effect between Advanced Placement participation and increased reading achievement scores. Furthermore, this study confirmed the school that did not mandate Advanced Placement courses outperformed the mandatory Advanced Placement school on the state reading examination. More research on this topic is necessary. Longitudinal studies of these student populations may determine if the results may be generalized to larger populations. Among the most significant findings from this study are the importance of teacher preparation and leadership in identifying, recruiting, and enrolling minority students in to Advanced Placement and honors programs with greater consistency. </p>

The demographic composition of the United States population continues to change, becoming increasingly more diverse. But, unfortunately, the U.S. education system too often fails to reach all students. Historically marginalized students from groups based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, language, ability, and/or sexual orientation are routinely excluded from the mainstream school community. Since the backgrounds and interests of these students typically do not match the dominant ideologies and norms of the perceived authoritative group, their needs have largely been ignored by educational institutions (Bartlett & Garcia, 2011; Lee, 2005; Valenzuela, 1999). Therefore, it is vital that educational institutions become more flexible and inclusive. Some contemporary charter schools have aimed to do just this. They are innovative and progressive. In these schools, with the greater flexibility, leaders in charter schools are able to play important roles in shifting conventional and bureaucratic public schooling to a more organic and supportive school community that includes our increasingly diverse student population. This 18-month critical ethnographic study at Millennium High School, a small, urban, non-profit charter public school located in the Southwest United States is an example of the transformative leadership framework merging with tempered radicalism and power-with structures to develop and sustain a modern school community. I draw from 27 interviews and over 80 hours of observations, including traditional and participant observations, to develop and support my argument. My results indicate, since leadership still plays an important role in shifting educational consciousness, the contemporary transformative leader develops and sustains a larger educational community by acknowledging the importance of transformative leadership practices, tempered radicalism, and the modern school community.

<p> This study compared administrative expenditures among 542 traditional school districts and 258 charter schools in Michigan, exploring whether one organizational model might better minimize administrative spending. A non-experimental correlational research design was used with 2014-15 data available from public sources. Both a replication and modification of an earlier study (Arsen &amp; Ni, 2012) were used to model all analyses.</p><p> Multiple regression analyses were used to explore the predictive value of inputs on school, central office, and total administrative expenditures. Inputs included student enrollment, total revenues, percentage of students identified for special education services, percentage of students qualified for free/reduced meals, and whether the district/charter was in a rural area. Inputs specific to charter schools included years in operation, grades offered, and type of charter (for-profit, non-profit, or independent).</p><p> Replication of the original model found that charter schools spent more dollars and a higher percentage of dollars on administration, whether it was school, central office, or total administration. The results of the regression for total administration (including the additional variables for charter schools) indicated that the model explained 67.0% of the variance (R² =.670, F(11,788)=145.17, <i>p</i>&lt;.01). Other than charter type, all variables were statistically significant. The charter variable had the largest coefficient&mdash;controlling for other factors, charter schools spent $775 more per student on total administration with $617 going to central office administration and $158 going to school administration. These findings were consistent with the original study. Based on these data, Michigan charter schools are not minimizing administrative spending in comparison to districts. There was no statistically significant difference in administrative spending among the types of charter schools. Further research is needed as to why this difference in administrative spending persists between the organizational models of traditional school districts and charter schools.</p>

<p> School boards and superintendents have a responsibility to plan for the future, including preparing for the next leader. Superintendents function as the Chief Academic Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and the Chief Executive Officer of a district. High turnover in the superintendency and lack of succession planning can leave a district with a leadership crisis at a time when stability is needed. Succession planning in the corporate world has been utilized for years, but research clearly indicates that school districts have not followed suit. A grounded theory methodology was utilized to discover the current practices of school boards and superintendents in the North Texas Region related to superintendent succession. The researcher conducted 22 interviews with superintendents and school board members. No formal succession plans were uncovered, and data analysis did not result in theory development. Instead a descriptive qualitative methodology was adopted and two succession models were developed. They are referred to as the What&rsquo;s Next? district and the What Now? district. What&rsquo;s Next? districts had informal plans in place to fill the leadership void if and when a superintendent vacated the position. What Now? districts not only had no plan, but also had no discussion concerning succession.</p>

<p>The battle of reintegration has largely been lost by the country?s veterans with disabilities, now identified as Wounded Warriors. High rates of homelessness, suicide, unemployment, and depression are reminders that the war goes on for them long after they have come home. The lost war of reintegration ? especially in terms of the college classroom ? served as the foundation of this study. Staff, faculty, and fellow students are often inadequately prepared to meaningfully interact with Wounded Warriors. Using a phenomenological approach, the goal of this study was to uncover the lived experiences of Wounded Warriors in the college classroom and use the findings to help colleges and universities effectively integrate them into the classroom and university experience. The five themes that emerged from in-depth interviews were: friction with traditional undergraduates, cooperation with adult learners, self-accountability, professorial training, and relating to other veterans. Results showed that traditional undergraduates were one of the biggest transition obstacles Wounded Warriors faced. Cooperation with adult learners was positive; self-accountability was the primary motivation behind academic success; professorial training was uniformly confirmed; relating to other veterans was positive but deeply nuanced. The findings of this study confirm the need for further research to better understand and serve this segment of the higher education student population.

<p> The following document offers a qualitative case study in the field of adult and community education from an educational leadership perspective using baseball as an adult learning tool. Relevant existing theories (adult education, lifelong learning, adult learners, and certain leadership practices) for successful facilitation of historical baseball research were examined. The study focused on a purposeful sample population upon which a pilot study was conducted, revealing the experiences of adult self-directed learners who produce the seminal work in their field as an avocation. The findings of this study included, but are not limited to, the passionate approach the study group members have for their subject matter, their love of learning, and the self-directedness of nonformally trained research historians using baseball as an adult learning tool. The findings also revealed the group members belief in the academic worthiness of baseball history, and their willingness to share their work with others to advance the field.</p>

<p> A competitive international school market is influential to the increased pressure on American-sponsored overseas schools to recruit and retain high-quality teachers. Teachers who feel they have more input into school decisions are more likely to desire employment at such schools, or once at the school, are more likely to stay for a longer period (Ingersoll, 2001; Mancuso, 2010). Purposefully developing teacher leadership in international schools may be a way to recruit and retain the best teachers (Weston, 2014), who positively influence school effectiveness and student learning results. With this study, I aimed to support American-sponsored overseas schools with recruiting and retaining the most effective teachers to fulfill their missions and contribute to the research base on variables that support teacher leadership to enhance school effectiveness within the unique context of American-sponsored overseas schools. With a multistage census sampling methodology, I investigated the type of leadership and intensity of leadership activities teachers perform and explored the extent school level variables teachers perceived to support the enactment of teacher leadership. The findings included (a) the large majority of teachers reported a high level and intensity of teacher leadership activities; (b) teachers desired more leadership responsibility; (c) teachers generally agreed that their schools provided the necessary supports for teacher leadership; (d) significant correlations were evident between teacher leadership levels and the school supports in the areas of organizational structure collaborative leadership, professional development, school culture in which teachers support each other, and school culture of trust; (e) no significant correlations existed between levels of teacher leadership and organizational structure autonomy, time, recognition, or role clarity; and (f) teachers who reported their schools to have a school culture, in which teachers support one another, also reported a greater number of leadership activities. No other school support variables had a significant correlation with leadership intensity. Teacher leaders feel supported, and they thrive in schools where leaders develop trusting relationships, promote an environment in which teachers support one another, establish collaborative leadership structures, and provide meaningful professional development opportunities. Teacher leadership has potentially positive implications for teacher retention and student learning.</p>

<p> Educational technology can be a powerful tool and the advantages of using it in instruction are abundant. However, it is important that instructors use technology effectively. Recent rapid changes in technology have coincided with rapid growth in online learning. Since the 1990s, learning management systems (LMS) have been adopted in higher education as a means for providing instructors with educational technology tools to manage and facilitate their higher education classes. LMS tools play a significant role in the facilitation of online learning. The changes in educational technology and the growth in online learning have led educators in higher education to examine best practices for integrating technology in online learning. Retention is a major focus of higher education administrators. Thus, student satisfaction in online courses is a concern in order to decrease attrition and improve student persistence in online education. This study examines the relationships between student perception of the usefulness of LMS tools and student online course satisfaction in higher education.</p>

<p> This study investigated the following overarching questions: Why do some Americans support religious expression and prayer in public schools while others oppose it? What accounts for the variation in support for school prayer? Previous research on this question indicated that support for religious expression and prayer in public schools varies by geographical regions in the United States, whereas Americans in some regions are more likely to support religious expression and prayer in public schools than those living in other regions. In an effort to explain this regional variation, Feig (1990) developed a model that suggested this regional variation is due to four major factors: demography, political orientation, moral values, and religiousness. Were it not for these factors, he claimed, there would be no regional variation for religious expression and prayer in public schools. Hence, regional variation is due mainly to these four factors. </p><p> Viewed as an exploration of Feig&rsquo;s (1990) model, this study shows that the correlation between region and attitude on religious expression and prayer in public schools is partially due to the factors in Feig&rsquo;s (1990) model. It provided evidentiary support by measuring the strength and direction of the relationship between the four factors and support for religious expression and prayer in public school. It also attempted to ascertain how much variation in support for religious expression and prayer in public schools is accounted for by the factor combination.</p>