<p> Human capital, financial support, and other resources are often provided to schools by private organizations such as corporations, community organizations, universities, and governments. There is a wealth of research on the benefits of public school-external partnerships (Barnett, Hall, Berg, &amp; Macarena, 2010; Gardner, 2011; Norman, 2009, Semke &amp; Sheridan, 2012), however, there is little information on the sustainability of public school&rsquo;s external partnerships. Beabout (2010) argued that external relationships can be difficult for school leaders to establish and maintain. Since partnerships are essential to offset school shortage and provide opportunities for students, it is crucial to expand our understanding of how schools maintain their external partnerships. </p><p> This qualitative study involving interviews of 23 partnership organizers examined how schools maintained their long-term partnerships. This study explored institutional theory as a theoretical framework to examine how schools and organizations function as institutions. Powell and DiMaggio (1991) and Selznick (1957) stated that as an organization is &ldquo;institutionalized&rdquo; it tends to take on a special character and to achieve a distinctive competence, in other words, a trained or built-in incapacity. The study drew on Bolman and Deal&rsquo;s (2003) four frames for how people view the world: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic.</p><p> Partnership organizers described effective communication as an important factor in maintaining partnerships. Key factors in effective communication were establishing points of contact for both the school and the partner, understanding each other&rsquo;s roles, and having clear expectations. Partnership organizers shared that collaboration that moves the partnerships forward were key. That kind of collaboration involved understanding and respecting the school culture and procedures as well as building buy-in for the school and the organization stakeholders and it offered real world experiences to students. Participants cited a commitment to working through barriers with a focus on commitment, flexibility, and dedication as key factor.</p><p> Based on the partnership organizers experiences, this study offers a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to maintaining public school-external partnerships, with implications for existing and future school partnerships. This study also offers implications for policy on school partnerships.</p>

<p> Independent schools across the nation recognize the need to create inclusive communities for their students of color. Independent schools must embrace diversity and create communities in which students from all different cultures feel that they belong. The presence of diversity in the independent school environment is critical to the success of students of color. Many non-cognitive obstacles inhibit the success of students of color who attend predominantly white schools including institutional racism, oppositional identity, and internalized oppression (Fordham &amp; Ogbu, 1986; Tatum, 2003). One of the many approaches that independent schools use to address inclusivity is the creation of affinity groups. The purpose of this study is to discover best practices of affinity groups in independent schools and how they are used to create a sense of belonging and inclusion for students of color. This qualitative study employs the Dynamic Narrative Approach to conduct interviews with diversity practitioners at independent schools that are members of the National Association of Independent Schools. Diversity practitioners were asked semi-structured interview questions through a password-protected wiki. A review of the literature and the findings from this study produced a list of best practices of affinity groups in independent schools, including possible downsides and how to overcome them. The findings of this study may be beneficial to independent school leaders and diversity practitioners who have not yet begun affinity group work at their schools. This study adds to the dearth of literature surrounding using affinity groups in independent schools to support students of color.</p>

<p> Despite rapid expansion of charter schools since the first enabling legislation was passed in 1991 there remains little understanding of the relationship between charter school law components and their relation to the percent charter school enrollment. This study focuses on the twenty charter school law components identified by the National Alliance of Public Carter Schools as being necessary for a strong charter school law and their correlation to charter school enrollment. Results suggest that, of the twenty components, Multiple Authorizers and Equitable Access to Capital Funding are most strongly correlated with an increase in the percentage of charter school enrollment. An additional five components, Equitable Operational Funding, Access to Retirement Systems, Adequate Authorizer Funding, Automatic Exemptions from State and District Rules and Regulations and Multi-school Charter Contracts Allowed, had a moderate correlation to the percentage of charter school enrollment. Additionally, one component, Authorizer and Program Accountability, shows a negative correlation to the percent of charter school enrollment. These findings suggest that if policymakers desire to increase the percentage of charter school enrollment they should carefully consider inclusion of these components in state law.</p>

<p> The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the experiences of teachers who effectively promoted student creativity and maintained high levels of work engagement. Creativity is considered a skill crucial for future success but is often misunderstood. High-stakes accountability in modern education has increased focus on test scores, reduced emphasis on creativity development at the school level, and negatively affected teacher work engagement. </p><p> In-depth interviews and written responses were used to generate an understanding of how teachers who foster student creativity and maintain high levels of work engagement experience modern education. Fifteen participants from 14 schools in three school districts across northern Georgia shared their experiences. </p><p> Findings indicated that teachers can foster student creativity in the current high-stakes accountability environment when they focus on establishing meaningful relationships with students and colleagues, exhibit adaptability in the classroom, and maintain confidence in their educational identity. The participants in the study also were driven toward self-improvement, found intrinsic value in their approach to curriculum and instruction, were supported by administration, focused on social and emotional aspects of education, provided students with ownership in the learning process, made learning relevant, and established structure and safety for students within a flexible approach to learning. Future implications for practice include placing an increased focus on creativity development in schools because this focus has the potential to increase student learning in addition to boosting creativity.</p><p>

<p> <b>Purpose.</b> The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of student leader employees in relation to retention through the lens of development via engagement at a small, non-profit private university in Southern California. </p><p> <b>Methodology.</b> This study used a phenomenological approach to understand the lived experiences of student employee leaders. The researcher interviewed ten full-time undergraduate student employees who had been working in their leadership role for at least one year. The students interviewed were juniors and seniors. </p><p> <b>Findings.</b> The student employee leaders reported building strong relationships with their supervisors and peers as a result of on-campus employment. Students reported that their place of employment was a safe place for them to be and that they enjoyed the convenience of flexible hours and financial stability. The student employee leaders in this study felt supported and connected due to the people they have encountered throughout their employment at the institution. The student employee leaders also faced challenges and growth through their experiences working on campus. Lastly, students learned skills through various training methods. </p><p> <b>Conclusion.</b> The student employee leaders in this study reported that their relationships with supervisors and students contributed to their decision to remain at the institution. The students interviewed in this study also felt that what they learned in their place of employment could have longer implications in applying what they are learning to their future careers. </p><p> <b>Recommendations.</b> It is essential for student employees on campus to gain valuable experiences while working during college to engage and develop students to prepare for the future. Universities should emphasize for students to work on campus to help them build transferable skills and engage students in meaningful work to make the best of their time while in college.</p><p>

<p> Educational reform movements set ambitious goals for student learning. Numerous factors contribute to students achieving these goals. It has been widely understood that &ldquo;the increasing emphasis on quality of teaching and learning has placed new demands on staff development, and the search for models and methodologies which are promising for professional development of academic staff has become an important agenda in itself&rdquo; (Ho, A.,2001 P.35). Effective changes in practice require a great deal of learning on the part of teachers and an even greater amount of support and guidance from administrators (Borko, 2004, Putnam &amp; Borko, 2000).</p><p> Problematic practices in hiring and staffing make it difficult, albeit impossible, to provide an equal distribution of qualified teachers in high poverty districts and schools serving minorities. Contributing to the problem of teacher inequality and underqualified teachers is the phenomenon of out-of-field teaching- a term in reference to certified or qualified teachers who were teaching a subject in which they had no formal qualification or training (Hobbs, 2013). These teachers often receive little training and support and therefore find it difficult to experience success.</p><p> Through qualitative interviewing this study seeks to explore the perceptions of out-of-field teachers and mentors and understand how they make meaning of their experiences. Five themes emerged from the study: ineffective training and professional development, desire for success, buy in, time, and support. </p><p> Teachers and mentors want professional development that is meaningful to the work they do in the classroom. Educators, especially those teaching out-of-field, need training that is intense, focused and content oriented. Buy in is vital to any professional training. Out-of-field teachers want to be included in the decision-making as to what professional development they receive.</p><p> From this study, it was learned that it is a teacher&rsquo;s priority to make sure they are teaching content standards from day-to-day. The participants identified a lack of support as an inhibitor to that implementation. This concern for the lack of professional support among the participants bares out much of the research (Borko, 2014. Hobbs, 2015, Darling-Hammond, 2002, Ingersoll, 1999). Out-of-field teachers are highly committed to the students and communities they serve. With focused and intense training, close monitoring, time to observe skilled content area teachers, and strong support from building and district administrators, out-of-field teachers can become effective educators when teaching outside their area of expertise.</p><p>

<p> Teacher preparation colleges and universities have been studied to determine best practices and respond to educational reform. Education as a whole has been criticized for the rate at which reform occurs. Technology in education has its roots in the early 1990s, but best practices to provide professional development to current teaching staff and in the teacher preparation programs continue to evolve.</p><p> This study shows the outcomes of a unique school-university partnership preparing pre-service teachers to purposefully integrate technology in their future classrooms. Six Duquesne University interns were followed through their university technology integration course and during their semester internship at a Pittsburgh area school district with technology rich classrooms. This investigation is distinctive as the interns were embedded field experiences focusing on technology prior to their student teaching experiences. In documenting the interns&rsquo; stories, their narratives further inform the effect of such opportunities and advance school-university partnerships for the purpose of better preparing teachers for today&rsquo;s technology-rich classrooms and reduce or eliminate the Second Level Digital Divide.</p>

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 113 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-100).

<p> School officials in a large district adopted a research-based teacher evaluation system, the Framework for Teaching (FFT). Despite a 4-year phase-in of the FFT, teachers&rsquo; evaluation ratings increased while student achievement results decreased. This disparity impacted the school district&rsquo;s growth targets as set by the State Department of Education. If target growths are unmet, school administrators must relinquish school operations to the state. A bounded, qualitative case study was designed to explore administrators&rsquo; and teachers&rsquo; perceptions of the FFT and its influence on school administrators&rsquo; assessment of teachers&rsquo; instructional practices. Social constructivist and andragogy theories formed the study&rsquo;s conceptual framework. A purposeful sample of 6 K-12 district administrators, who reviewed teacher performance, and 12 K-12 district teachers, who were evaluated using the FFT, volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed using open and axial coding. Key results included concerns with lack of time for conferences during the evaluation process, administrators&rsquo; skills to provide quality feedback to teachers, and their lack of content knowledge to improve teaching and learning in specific content areas. It was recommended that teachers receive evidence- based, constructive, and individualized feedback from the school administrator. Based on the findings, the Feedback Institute was developed to engage school administrators in professional development to learn how to provide substantive feedback using protocols and structures to support teacher growth and to use content specialists to address gaps in administrators&rsquo; content knowledge. These endeavors may contribute to positive social change by restructuring the teacher evaluation process to improve instructional practice, and, thus, enhance school improvement and student learning.</p>

<p> Required experiential learning within the context of higher education is on the rise. This dissertation endeavors to expand current understandings of resistance to required experiential learning including root causes, implications, and opportunities to address and alleviate resistance. The debate regarding the merits of required service, service-learning, study abroad, and other experiential learning opportunities is examined. In addition, access to such opportunities, causes and effects of resistance that develops for some participants, and ways of addressing this phenomenon are identified. To this end, an exploration of existing literature related to required experiential learning and reluctant participation is offered. In addition to a case study of Susquehanna University&rsquo;s Global Opportunities program, data for this study was gathered through research methods including focus groups and semi-structured, open-ended interview. Findings reveal a variety of causes of resistance, why resistance manifests for some students prior to required study away, and strategies that practitioners in the field of experiential education employ to address such resistance.</p>