<p> What are the most effective coaching practices in the context of school-wide professional development? Teacher coaching is onsite professional development aimed at working with teachers with what they need most. Although coaching holds much promise, there is little agreement surrounding the role of the coach and what the coach should be doing in the context of school-wide professional development to make the greatest impact on teacher practices. The purpose of this study is to explore practices that contribute to a change in teacher instructional practices relating to four major components: (1) Leadership Team; (2) Whole School Coaching; (3) Group Coaching; (4) Teacher Coaching; to determine the relationship between these four components; to offer a comprehensive teacher coaching model. Due to the complex nature of change, this research is seated in the context of change variables such as environment, management, coaching styles, and change theory.</p>

<p> This study is a hermeneutic phenomenology focused on a virtual high school in Central Louisiana. Because virtual education is growing quickly, and student performance in virtual high schools is inconsistent, the study seeks to provide a conceptual model from which to design virtual school curricula and develop virtual school teaches. The proposed model is grounded in three theoretical frameworks and validated through the experience of virtual school teachers. The theoretical frameworks informing the study are the Community of Inquiry model, Sense of Community theory, and the Theory of Transactional Distance. The research participants&rsquo; experiences are used to validate the proposed conceptual model for virtual high school course development. The result is a conceptual model that can be used by virtual high school course designers to guide the development of virtual school curricula. </p><p> The study can also be used to guide the development of strategies for delivering online courses and conducting professional development in a virtual learning environment. The study makes four major findings. The study finds virtual high school students vary in their motivation and autonomy. The study finds the teacher-student relationship to more individualized in the virtual school than in the traditional school. The study finds that virtual high school students do not perceive value in virtual learning communities. Finally, the study finds that virtual school teachers experience with technology is positive, but their students often experience trouble with technology. The study uses these findings to suggest a conceptual model from which to develop virtual high school curricula and teach virtual high school classes.</p>

<p> The specific problem was that 32.7 percent of graduates from a large Texas high school did not receive sufficient non-curricular support and failed to be ready for college (Moore et al., 2010; Texas Education Agency, 2012c). The purpose of this exploratory single case study was to examine teachers&rsquo; perceptions of non-curricular aspects influencing college readiness for first generation college-bound students at a large Texas high school, and to explore how teachers might help increase college readiness and overcome the barriers towards college readiness. The central research question was: How do teachers in a Texas high school perceive the non-curricular aspects influencing college readiness? The participants were 14 teachers with five to thirty-five years of experience. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews and NVivo 11 was used for data analysis. The major themes were (a) the lack of support and encouragement from parents, (b) parents&rsquo; lack of education, (c) sibling&rsquo;s and relative&rsquo;s lack of education, (d) parents&rsquo; poor financial status and (e) students&rsquo; English language problems. Educational leaders should understand that the cost of a lack of college readiness would not only affect students and parents, but also impact American society and taxpayers. Creating programs and interventions that would minimize or eliminate the non-academic obstacles to college readiness is an essential task that must be undertaken. Leaders might consider the creation of these programs and interventions as a priority. Future research was recommended. </p>

<p> This paper examines the work of older Black women who used collaborative inquiry to process issues around living with adult children with extraordinary needs. The co-researchers met four times over the course of several months exploring many facets&mdash;economic, psychological, interpersonal, and practical;&mdash;of domestic life when two sets of related adults (older parent and adult child) cohabit. Our work involved cycles of action and reflection, using conversations, journal writing, art, poetry, storytelling, and music. </p><p> Three significant outcomes resulted from these cycles of action and reflection. First, participants grew in their commitment to and practice of self-care. Secondly, participants focused on seeking the good in the other. Thirdly, participants grew in their skills of intentional listening and releasing the outcome. </p><p> In the context of twenty-first century leadership, this focus on parenting has implications for any type of leadership, because the issues addressed and the skills involved have many areas of overlap.</p>

<p> Educational leadership preparation programs are fundamental in developing confident educational leaders with the capacity to lead schools with effective sound decision-making practices. In order to effectively balance the demands of educational leadership, principal leaders must be developed through effective models of preparation programs that are grounded in a societal vision of leading and learning for schools in the twenty-first century. Critical to this discourse is curricula delivered through dynamic instructional pedagogy that frames evidence-based best practices to link leadership development with student achievement and extraordinary teaching. Principal preparation programs have the initial responsibility to prepare future school leaders for the various duties and responsibilities they will face, primarily impacting student academic achievement. </p><p> The primary purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of educational leaders who completed the Preliminary Administrative Credential Program in the Educational Leadership Department at California University Long Beach (CSULB), and uncover the impact specific program components had on their leadership capacity and ability to be instructional leaders. The intent of this study is to reveal the experiences of those who have completed the program, by reflecting on their program leadership development and its application to their current practice as school site leaders. These stakeholders include student alumni who completed their Preliminary Administrative Credential at CSULB and are now serving as school leaders. Additionally, faculty who teach in the program, were asked to share their perceptions of the program, specifically around curriculum and development, and leadership capacity of graduates. This study will attempt to inform State, Universities and districts, of the components of leadership preparation that are most useful to practitioners in the field. </p><p> The findings from this case study included a descriptive picture of Alumni perceptions and learning experiences in the Preliminary Administrative Credential Program at CSULB. Alumni identified key components of the program that were integral in their educational leadership development, and instructional leadership capacity. Qualitative interviews of Alumni and Faculty combined with document analysis of program curriculum and assignments highlight the need for continued research on quality fieldwork internship, and barriers to effective instructional supervision.</p>

AN EXAMINATION OF THE FIDELITY AND BEST PRACTICES OF LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION OF STUDENT WELLNESS POLICIES IN VIRGINIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AS MANDATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CHILD NUTRITION REAUTHORIZATION ACT SECTION 204 By Carol Atkinson Lewellyn, Ph.D A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014 Major Director: Dr. Charol Shakeshaft, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Educational Leadership School of Education This study examined the extent of local implementation of student wellness policies in Virginia as mandated by the federal Children Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act. Using a nonexperimental quantitative design, this study evaluated the content of Virginia school division wellness policies and wellness policy implementation from the perspective of principals in elementary schools. The comprehensiveness and strength of the wellness policies were evaluated using the School Wellness Policy Evaluation tool. Quantitative data were collected from elementary school principals via a survey based on the components of the Governor’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Scorecard. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and t-tests were conducted for the wellness policy dataset. Results indicated statistically significant difference in the mean scores for strength of wellness policies written by large school divisions and for school divisions located in cities. Further analysis of differences for practical meaning suggests that school division size and location influences wellness policy strength. There were no statistically significant differences in the policies based on free and reduced lunch qualification of students. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance on survey responses found no statistically significant differences for wellness policy implementation based on school size, geographic location, or free and reduced qualifications. An examination of the combined data from the content analysis and wellness policy implementation suggests a relationship between written policy and practice. Wellness policy standards written with strong clarifying language were most often implemented in the elementary schools. Nutritional school meal standards and physical activity standards were implemented to a greater extent than other wellness standards. The standard for minimum nutritional standards for other foods and beverages outside of the school meal program and the standard for communication and promotion of wellness were not implemented as often. Evaluation standards were included in the wellness policies but implementation of this standard was not investigated in wellness policy implementation. Based on the findings, it is suggested wellness policy implementation could be extended by strengthening the standards for communication and promotion and other foods and beverages. Recommendations for continued research on wellness policy implementation include designing studies to directly address the correlation between the content of individual school division policies and wellness policy implementation. Further study is also recommended to link student health and wellness data to wellness policy implementation.

<p> Of the many narratives to which educators subscribe, one of the most prevalent for the past three decades is the idea that students&rsquo; success is strongly predicated on their ability to read on grade level by the end of third grade. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of half-day versus full-day kindergarten on students&rsquo; growth in reading achievement by the end of their kindergarten year. In addition, the study sought to look at the same group of students and growth in reading achievement and their ability to achieve grade-level reading by the end of third grade. In this quantitative study, students (N = 295) from a school district in suburban Chicago, Illinois, were tested to determine what growth, if any, could be seen within their kindergarten year of study. Additionally, student test results were analyzed for each successive year of schooling through third grade to determine if there were any specific variables that contribute to predicting achievement growth or overall achievement by the end of third grade. </p><p> Results of the study indicated that full-day kindergarten provides greater benefit to a student&rsquo;s overall achievement. Specifically, students who were coded as receiving free or reduced lunch support maintained a high rate of achievement in the full-day kindergarten program. In the regression analysis, the element that made the greatest contribution toward kindergarten achievement growth was not having an Individual Education Plan. Additionally, reading achievement growth was made in each grade level, with the most significant growth noted in the second grade year. </p><p> Finally, when students from each kindergarten schedule were compared to the end of year targets for reading on grade level by the end of third grade, students in the half-day program were found to have made the greatest gains. However, the selection of students for the full-day kindergarten program was comprised of students who were considered &ldquo;at risk&rdquo; and not comprised of a cross section of students with varied abilities.</p>

<p> This multi-case study seeks to understand the experiences of New York City and Washington, DC public charter school principals who have experienced leadership coaching, a component of leadership development, beyond their novice years. The research questions framing this study address how experienced public charter school principals describe the impact of leadership coaching practices on their leadership development, as well as how they describe their own leader identity construction through the process of coaching.</p><p> The education sector faces a shortage of highly skilled leaders in addition to a leadership retention crisis. Leadership coaching, used for decades in the business sector, is becoming more commonly practiced in the education sector as a way to support and develop school principals. Although research on leadership coaching for traditional public school principals has emerged over the past decade, there is a lack of research on leadership coaching for public charter school principals. In addition, the existing research on leadership coaching for public school principals is focused primarily on novice school principals. Thus, this study extends this body of research beyond traditional public school principals and novice principals to the experienced school principals in public charter schools in order to ensure that their perspectives and experiences of leadership coaching are incorporated into the literature.</p><p> Eight public charter school principals were selected for participation in the study, with data collected through interviews, documents, and artifacts shared by the participants. The findings of the study are presented within the following three main themes: the coaching process, the impact of coaching, and the principal leader identity construction. Interpretation of these findings highlights inconsistency between participants&rsquo; experience of the leadership coaching process and the literature as well as well as consistency with research on the impact of coaching. Furthermore, through artifact analysis and participant reflection, this research offers evidence that leadership coaching supports the process of leader identity construction, thus extending the literature on leadership coaching for school principals.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to identify best leadership practices in retaining direct-care staff in residential treatment centers. While research exists on employee retention, there is a lack of research focused on employee retention in residential care. How leaders engage with direct-care staff members in residential care can have a significant influence on increasing employee retention rate. The literature review revealed transformational leadership theory as the theoretical framework, including 4 components: idealized influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation. </p><p> The design for this research was a qualitative case study. The residential treatment center was selected as the study case because of its exemplar performance reporting a 73% employee retention rate in contrast to the national retention rate of 40%. The theoretical framework served as a foundation for the purpose and research questions. Semistructured questions were developed to interview leaders at a residential treatment center in order to identify best practices. In combination with a thorough review of the literature, an expert panel of researchers established the validity of the interview instrument. Content analysis was applied to code themes and a 2nd reviewer provided reliability. </p><p> Participants responses revealed 9 best practices in 4 categories: 3 best practices linked to idealized influence, 2 best practices connected to individualized consideration, 2 best practices aligned with inspirational motivation, and 2 best practices specific to intellectual stimulation. In addition to correlating with the 4 components of transformational leadership, more than 100 authors supported the 4 theoretical components. The results of the study highlight the influence leaders can have on retaining employees. The identified best practices represent key approaches that health care leaders can apply. This study is helpful in identifying leadership practices in the health care field that will assist in increasing employee retention. Consequently, the results of this study can assist other residential treatment center leaders to consider these leadership practices in an effort to improve employee retention. </p>

<p> The gaps of school funding and student achievement are particularly pronounced in Illinois, raising statewide concerns about the inequity of school funding and the injustice of the achievement gap. While Illinois educators generally recognize the differences in funding levels and achievement levels in Illinois schools, studies to determine the relationships between the two are lacking. This study examines the relationship between per pupil spending and student achievement in Illinois elementary schools. This study also examines the relationship between student achievement and racial composition of the school and between student achievement and poverty level of the school. Additionally, relationships between per pupil spending and racial composition of the school and per pupil spending and poverty level of the school are examined. Finally, this study investigates the perceptions of principals on how funding inequity in their school affects student achievement.</p>