<p> This quantitative study examined self-compassion as a buffer in burnout of teaching assistants working with students on the autism spectrum. An on-line survey was developed using the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) to investigate self-compassion, burnout, and a number of demographic variables. The survey was shared with teaching assistants who work with students on the autism spectrum in nine New York Counties. One hundred forty-five (<i>N</i> = 145) teaching assistants participated in the study. The self-kindness factor score, the mindfulness factor score, and the overall self-compassion composite score of teaching assistants working with students on the autism spectrum demonstrated statistically significant negative relationships with all areas of burnout: personal, work-related, and student-related. This indicates that as the teaching assistants' scores for self-kindness, mindfulness, and self-compassion increase their scores for all areas of burnout decrease. Overall, the findings indicate that there may be buffers that prevent against burnout in teaching assistants who work with students on the autism spectrum.</p><p>

<p> A college education offers people social and economic benefits, yet youth from foster care backgrounds are less likely than their peers to attain a college education, which places this already vulnerable population at higher risk for a lifetime of living on the margins of society. Foster alumni face multiple obstacles to accessing and persisting in higher education. To facilitate and support the success of this frequently overlooked population, professionals in higher education need to understand these obstacles. Little is known about the experiences of youth with foster care backgrounds as they transition into and through higher education. Although existing research has reported the academic, health, and social effects of having been in foster care, little is known about why foster alumni do not persist in higher education. This study used student-development theory, specifically Schlossberg&rsquo;s transition theory, Tinto&rsquo;s theory of student departure, and Bourdieu&rsquo;s work on social and cultural capital to provide a conceptual framework through which to view the lived experiences of youth with foster care backgrounds. Because, for many youths with foster care backgrounds, the pathway to the baccalaureate degree is through a community college, this study examined and explored the transition experiences of foster alumni about to begin or currently enrolled at an Oregon Community College. The study explored the factors that challenge and facilitate foster alumni persistence towards the attainment of a college degree.</p><p>

<p> In the 1960s and 1970s, there was an important issue in education that dealt with student privacy. Student education records were not accessible to parents, and important decisions were being made for the students without input from the parents. Based on this abuse, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was signed into law. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to determine if site administrators and teachers from educational institutions understand how to enforce FERPA. This study assessed the site administrators&rsquo; understanding of FERPA via a survey with questions on the knowledge of FERPA, student data, and student/parent rights. The study also assessed the impact of providing FERPA training to site administrators with a pre- and post-test. Interviews were conducted with the teachers to gain an understanding of their knowledge of FERPA with questions on student confidentiality and student data. The methodology for this study was a mixed-methods approach that used a one-group pretest-posttest design for the quantitative research and was supplemented by the qualitative data. </p><p> The results presented in this study contribute to the research literature on the importance of being trained in FERPA to enforce compliance and protect student confidentiality and privacy. Although there was a small sample size, there were slight increases from the pre-test to the post-test, which reinforces the importance of being trained on FERPA.</p><p>

<p> In an ever-changing labyrinth of standards, accountability, and standardized testing, educators seek ways to improve instruction. Teachers need learning experiences that help them navigate an environment in which a growing list of student performance standards and standardized tests determine their success in teacher evaluations (Crawford, 2015; Terehoff, 2002). In this same pursuit, many administrators are challenged in their efforts to provide meaningful professional development to support teachers (Terehoff, 2002). The goal of this study is to gain insight into which TPD delivery types and which levels of student presence create the most meaningful and applicable learning for educators and to provide insight and guidance to administrators and TPD planners who are seeking ways to provide quality TPD. </p><p> The study data was gathered through qualitative methods, including participant observation, surveys, interviews, and focus groups. The data was exlored through the SPLT model. The major findings of the study suggest that higher model levels&mdash;which included student physical presence&mdash;led to an increased application of teacher-learning in the classroom and an increased confidence in attempting to apply newly learned techniques and tools. Teachers also suggested that these in-classroom session were more valuable when a pre- or post-discussion accompanied the session. The results demonstrated that learning at all model levels had value for different intended learning purposes. They also suggested that the TPD learning could be more effective when lower model level sessions are followed up with higher-level SPLT model sessions that occur in the classroom during instructional time with students physically present.</p><p>

<p> District leaders play a pivotal role in shaping federally-mandated policies that impact how digital citizenship curriculum is developed and implemented in schools. Yet, for many school leaders, teaching about digital participation may appear as a daunting and unfamiliar practice. In fact, most educators do not participate in digital communities, in contrast to the large number of youth who do. Over 1,200 district administrators from across the nation reported that they ban collaborative digital spaces such as social media in the classroom due to safety, privacy, and classroom management concerns. Yet, emerging research demonstrates that when students are given a structured opportunity to experience digital engagement in productive and constructive ways, students become producers rather than consumers of content and are able to develop an understanding of their digital participation in relation to their participation in society. </p><p> For educators who want to delve into digital citizenship, there currently exists a plethora of resources to support teachers in classroom-level integration of digital citizenship, but supports and resources for system-level, implementation remain limited. Moreover, these resources represent varied conceptualizations of digital citizenship, which results in inconsistent implementations of digital citizenship across classrooms, schools, and districts. Thus, how can district leaders such as superintendents, chief academic officers, or chief technology officers provide a cohesive and comprehensive digital citizenship program when the very conceptualization of digital citizenship remains unclear? </p><p> The purpose of this study was to utilize a case study approach to examine a large, urban school district&rsquo;s approach to defining, developing, and maintaining a digital citizenship initiative focused on empowering students over the course of four years. By documenting and unpacking the elements of a district-wide approach to digital citizenship, this study provides a foundation for systemic practices and a common language aimed at informing organizational policy and practice. Despite the concept of digital citizenship being in its infancy, this study provides an organizational perspective of its conceptualization and implementation across a large system. Findings revealed that the district&rsquo;s complex organizational efforts were rooted in political and symbolic decisions that facilitated the influence of digital citizenship across policy and program implementation efforts.</p><p>

<p> This qualitative case study analyzed a teacher development and evaluation program implemented in an independent school district in Southeast Minnesota. Teacher effectiveness is a complex construct, which makes teacher evaluation challenging. Three stakeholder group&rsquo;s perspectives were analyzed in this multiyear qualitative case study. Through interviews, teachers and administrative team members&rsquo; perspectives were gathered in the 2011-2012 academic school year and the implementation team members&rsquo; perspectives were gathered five years later in the 2016-2017 academic school year. The qualitative data was analyzed to answer the research sub-questions: (a) how and to what extent did the 2011-2012 implementation of the district&rsquo;s Teacher Professional Growth Protocol build a foundation to meet the 2014-2015 Minnesota Statute requirements on teacher evaluation?, (b) how and to what extent did the district&rsquo;s Teacher Professional Growth Protocol engage teachers in reflective practice focused on growth?, and (c) how and to what extent did the district&rsquo;s Teacher Professional Growth Protocol build a foundation for continuous improvement? Triangulated data indicated commonalities as well as discrepancies in perspectives resulting in two lessons learned: (1) research and practice align; bridging the two is a concern; and (2) continued and expanded application of implementation science is needed for system effectiveness. There is a discrepancy bridging research and practice, which this study demonstrates. The findings indicate a strong need to reallocate time to meet the needs of a public school district to develop its teachers and to grow their effectiveness. </p><p>

The EFA conference in Dakar 2000 ushered in new momentum for ensuring universal access to education and advocacy for improved educational quality in all aspects (UNESCO, 2000). While significant progress has been made in expanding access in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly for girls, efforts to ensure improved educational quality in terms of learning, have not matched the drive for universal educational access. Rather, educational quality in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa has been seriously compromised by rapid expansion given the limited resources. In many attempts to ensure the delivery of quality education in developing countries, the thrust of delivery strategies has focused on increased allocation of inputs/resources to infrastructure development and supply of textbooks. However, the literature on the effect of such resources on student achievement is rather mixed and inconclusive with many studies noting that resources make little or no difference. While such approaches may be theoretically sound, most fail to focus on microelements at the school or classroom level such as capturing the teaching and learning experiences of both students and teachers and students. In an attempt to fill this gap, a new line of research has emerged which looks more closely at how resources are used by schools to support and improve instruction. This study follows this trend and examines the extent to which the Rehabilitation of the Basic Education Project (REBEP) in Sierra Leone contributed to improved learning and academic performance of students in five target schools after a series of interventions. Using a case study approach, the study revealed that while REBEP contributed to a significant increase in educational access, particularly for girls, performance in the terminal National Primary School Examination (NPSE) did not improve despite huge investments in the target schools. The study concludes that, in the context of Sierra Leone, and perhaps in many more countries in sub-Saharan Africa, unless and until critical school-level factors are appropriately and comprehensively addressed by policy makers, educational standards and quality will continue to be eroded particularly in terms of learning and that achievement of critical EFA goals and MDG by 2015 would remain an unfulfilled dream.

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze principal behaviors and leadership characteristics that positively influence the organizational coherence and capacity of schools and subsequently, positively influence student achievement. This was achieved through the use of an in-depth, exploratory multi-case study design that examined the leadership of two principals of urban elementary schools who had led their schools from being underperforming to performing. The two findings of this study are that 1) instructional leaders engage in work that either directly or indirectly: focuses on learning for students and adults; communicates high expectations for student achievement and instruction; uses data to inform the work of the school, and develops a community that is unified around one vision and one mission for the school; and 2) the actions of principals that demonstrate the leadership traits of being carried by strong professional will and being personally humble and modest influence the level of effectiveness of the work of the principal in positively influencing student achievement. The findings of this study were the result of analysis of data that was gathered through a review of relevant documents, interviews with principals and teachers, and the identification and observation of artifacts that were identified through the interview as being the most important to improving student achievement. Based on these findings, the following conclusions were made: the construct of instructional leadership is defined by two elements—the work of the principal and the leadership of the principal. The principal's influence in each of the elements of the work of the principal may be direct or indirect. The leadership traits of principals who are instructional leaders are defined as carried by strong professional will and being personally humble and modest. These leadership traits are not necessarily balanced—one may be stronger than the other—but they are necessary for the development of shared ownership of outcomes on the part of teachers. The findings of this study provide clarity. Instructional leadership is not a one size fits all idea whose existence is linked to a single measure of student achievement but is instead a framework to be implemented and defined in practice by individual principals based upon their personal strengths and the needs of their schools.

The purpose of this study was to understand those factors that lead some community colleges to be more successful than others in pursuing and obtaining large grants. The impetus for the study derived from the experience of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and its effort to increase grant submission rates and successful awards to community colleges. A key concern of the NSF was why a small sample of some 150 colleges, out of the universe of 1,200 community colleges, are repeatedly successful well beyond the norm in obtaining NSF grants. The primary research question addressed by the study is "why are some community colleges much more successful in winning large grants and what can be learned from them?" A case study of two successful colleges was conducted, one on a large urban campus and one on a small and rural campus. The case study methodology included a mix of qualitative techniques incorporating document analysis, focus groups, and individual in-depth interviewing across a broad sample of institutional staff, faculty and administrators. A survey was also employed across a larger sample of community colleges that looked at the perceptions of grants officers on factors pertaining to the winning large grants for their institutions. Statistical analyses of the survey responses are presented in tabular form. Two broad categories of findings are presented, the first pertaining to organizational leadership and the second pertaining to formal and informal organizational structures, policies and practices. Organizational leadership at successful colleges is characterized by the endorsement of grant development from the president, the deans and the department chairs. Effective leadership is seen in faculty empowerment and non-intrusiveness by enabling faculty to pursue grant work. Successful leadership is also seen in the promotion of community engagement and internal and external partnership and collaboration. Formal and informal organizational structures, policies and practices are characterized by structured opportunities for interdepartmental dialog and by an administrative grants office that supports faculty from the conceptualization of ideas through the actual submission of grant proposals.

<p>This study assessed the actual and perceived efficacy of TAFE as implemented across public schools in Texas with Latino populations. The graduation rates of students were analyzed to assess whether there were significant differences in graduation rates between schools implementing the program and those not implementing the program across gender and ethnicity. Surveys were administered to past and present personnel associated with TAFE to ascertain their perceptions on the program. A significant main effect for Latinos was found at TAFE schools during the five year period of the study. Survey responses were isolated to differentiate between Latino responses and those of the general population. Responses varied in consistency between Latino respondents and the overall population of respondents. In general, respondents credited the program for the higher graduation rates of Latinos and their motivation to attend college which are future indicators of success. However, the respondents were undecided as to TAFE's influence to foster teaching vocations but believe it impacts teacher retention. Respondents were also undecided, and a considerable percentage of them had a negative opinion that TAFE motivated them to become or want to become educational administrators. Finally, respondents endorsed the idea of recommending TAFE to high school students and to schools/districts for implementation.