The No Child Left Behind Act (2001) requires schools to increase academic performance and close the achievement gaps between sub-groups of students. As schools work to increase student performance in all academic areas, educators must identify the needs of each sub-group of students they services and determine which instructional practices meet their unique needs. Students living in poverty enter school with a distinctive set of needs and therefore require instructional practices that meet these needs. The researcher in this study strived to identify instructional practices that were being used in high and low performing Title I schools and compared the similarities and differences between the practices. Data reported from the study might inform school leaders regarding what instructional practices are effective when working in schools with high concentrations of students living in poverty. This qualitative study of four Title I eligible schools in an urban district in southeastern Virginia, involved interviews and focus groups. Interviews and focus groups focused on instructional practices (strategies, programs, and other factors) that influence academic achievement of students in high and low performing Title I eligible schools. Findings revealed that high performing Title I schools used student performance data to drive instruction; focused on teaching students enriching vocabulary; used the strategies of note taking, explicit instruction, similarities and differences, nonlinguistic representation, graphic organizers, and cooperative learning; conducted mentorship programs for teachers and students; utilized computer based instructional programs with fidelity; believed in their students and cared about their students; provided professional development to teachers; and implemented student reward/recognition programs. / Ed. D.

The academic performance of African-American, Hispanic and low-income students is an ongoing national problem, as these students are not making the same academic gains as their White, Asian, and more socio-economically privileged peers. Schools across the country are striving to close this achievement gap, especially in light of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2002 (more commonly known as the No Child Left Behind Act), which states as its main objective "to close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility and choices so that no child is left behind" (Public Law 107-110, 107th Congress, 2002). Research on effective schools shows that schools can positively impact student achievement--especially the achievement of minority and poor students (Andrews & Sonder, 1987; Edmonds, 1981). Moreover, research shows that very few elements account for more inconsistency in student achievement than school leadership (Leithwood, 1994). Principals' behaviors and practices impact student achievement (Edsource et al., 2005; Powell, 2004; Waters, Marzano & McNulty, 2003). Hence, the purpose of this study was to use Powell's (2004) five domains of effective principal leadership behaviors and practices (e.g., vision, mission and culture; curriculum and classroom instruction; collaboration and shared leadership; family and community involvement; and effective management) as a lens to identify, compare and contrast, from the perspective of teachers, the leadership behaviors and practices of principals in predominantly minority elementary schools deemed effective and principals in predominantly minority elementary schools deemed marginally effective. The sample consisted of 20 schools (e.g., 10 effective and 10 marginally effective) in a mid-Atlantic state. Data were collected using a 76-item survey questionnaire developed by Powell (2004). / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the importance of effective school leadership. The study was conducted in senior secondary schools in the southern region of Botswana. The southern region comprises of the south and south central regions which has twelve (12) senior secondary schools, out of which seven (07) schools were randomly sampled for the study. Both interviews and questionnaires were used as research tools. One hundred and eighty nine (189) questionnaires were distributed and only one hundred and four (104) were completed and returned. Eight interviews were conducted among school leaders. Results from the questionnaires were analyzed using frequencies, percentages and tables. Results from the interview were analyzed within a framework that was structured along the lines of the research questions. The study reveals that most of the teachers have a teaching qualification (PGDE), have adequate teaching experience, and are generally young (30-35 years). In terms of position of responsibility, most of them are clustered around senior teacher II (42.3%) and teacher/educator (36.5%). The study also reveals that schools performance is hampered largely by indiscipline and laziness towards schoolwork by both stakeholders. The school leaders must act as catalysts in creating a learning environment and be actively involved in implementing improvement strategies that help both students and teachers to enhance their learning and achievement (cf. 2. 16. 2). / Thesis (M.Ed)--North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2007

This study, Pioneer Schools Effectiveness and Improvement in Saudi Arabia: The Case of the Secondary Educational Institutions, is the first systematic investigation of school effectiveness (SE) and school improvement (SI) in relation to the Kingdom’s ambitious Pioneer Secondary Schools Programme (PSP) first introduced in 2000. It selected all eight boys’ Pioneer Schools in the Educational District of Al Madinah Al Munawwarah, as a case study to determine, a decade after its inception, how four key groups now understand and describe the attributes of an effective school: principals, teachers, students and parents. Its unique approach is to utilise a mixed research method by combining both quantitative statistical analysis and qualitative approaches, and using hermeneutics in the latter in order to triangulate the findings. The study departed from the once traditional approach which relied heavily on quantified test results or achievement scores to determine SE and methods of SI. Instead, this study posed three fundamental research questions ad generated lists of identifiable indices of priorities and outlooks of the four respondent groups in relation to SESI for the schools in question. The findings of this study consistently show that, from the perspective of those surveyed and interviewed, much more has to be done in pioneer schools in Saudi Arabia before they can be considered truly effective schools in international terms. Moreover, the discussion of the data generated draws the further conclusion that international educational research on SESI issues points to a much more involved and sophisticated process than is suggested by the priorities and outlook of the respondents of this study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) annually rates campuses and districts on how well they meet standards of student performance. Since the high standard is so difficult for campuses and districts to reach, educators continually seek ways to improve student performance. The effective schools process is research-based and has stood the test of time. Descriptive statistics were used in this study to identify practices within the effective schools correlates that exemplary campuses implement. Campuses with long-term exemplary ratings were identified using the TEA data base. Campus site-based teams were surveyed using the More Effective Schools Staff Survey. Data was collected on elementary and secondary campuses with homogenous, diverse, economically advantaged, and economically disadvantaged student populations. District instructional leaders for those campuses completed a District Instructional Leader Survey to determine what practices districts implement to support their exemplary campuses. Findings from this quantitative study revealed what effective schools practices were highly evident on these exemplary campuses, regardless of diversity, economic status, district size, community type, property wealth, or location within the state. Findings also revealed that district leaders provide direction and support in the areas of (a) professional development; (b) beliefs, mission, and goals; (c) curriculum; (d) instruction; (e) assessment; and (f) site-based decision making. The research data imply that campus or district administrators can improve the performance of their students if the identified practices are implemented.

The question of which kind of education might be most appropriate to African rural development or the African poor has exercised the minds of stakeholders and the South African government for some time, particularly in the new dispensation. To a large extent, rural areas have been neglected in development policies and, similarly, the rural dimension of basic education issues has been largely overlooked. Basic facts, presented and discussed in this mini – dissertation, highlight this oversight and indicate why it is necessary to attend to rural education as a matter of urgency. The research results affirm that the education of Black people in rural areas was, in most instances, negatively affected by previous White government policies. Insufficient funding also had a negative impact on rural schools in particular, making infrastructural provision in rural areas extremely difficult. The research findings of this study point to the singular conclusion that the great majority of children in poor rural communities are receiving less than is their right in a democratic South Africa. Worse still is the fact that this will have a long term effect on their opportunities for development, their capabilities and their lives. Moreover, the communities in which they live will continue to suffer the debilitating effects of poverty and inequality for as long as these problems remain. There is hope for the future of neglected communities in the rural areas of the Limpopo Province only if the vision/dream to improve the quality of education in rural areas across South Africa were to be realized. The provision of well built and well maintained school buildings and other facilities, coupled with a comprehensive curriculum, is only the beginning of the realization of this dream. Based on these research findings and the implications they have for rural education in the Limpopo province, several recommendations with regard to rural education are presented as a conclusion to this study. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

Twenty-first century schools are complex organizations that serve individual students’ needs while meeting accountability and assessment demands. Effective leadership balances these diverse responsibilities through collective work of the shareholders in order to assure high levels of learning for all. This qualitative study examined Response to Intervention (RTI) implementation in two high performing high schools in Kentucky. Both schools were classified as distinguished on the 2014-15 Kentucky School Report Card. One school has a long-standing tradition of high performance. The other school’s journey to high performance involved moving from a Needs Improvement School to a School of Distinction. The 4-D Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Theory was used to explore the collective leadership practices of the two high schools. Data collection instruments and protocols followed the four AI phases (discover, dream, design, and deliver). Data were collected through observations, site visits, artifact reviews, individual interviews and and focus groups. The effective schools characteristics, RTI core traits, and collective leadership practices provided the context for the study design. In studying the RTI implementation process, evidence of effective schools characteristics, RTI core traits, and collective leadership practices were observed. Both schools focused intentionally on core instruction as an integral part of the RTI implementation process. The data concluded that the schools continue to make progress in meeting more students’ needs. Both schools have strategic plans to discover, dream, design, and deliver new ways to maximize the collective strengths of the school community. Evidence of each phase of AI emerged in the stories, conversations, and artifacts at both schools.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo analisar e compreender como as dinâmicas escolares elaboradas, gerenciadas e construídas pelas equipes escolares de duas escolas públicas, situadas em um município da região metropolitana de São Paulo (zona oeste), determinam a eficácia escolar no que diz respeito à produção e à concretização da aprendizagem dos seus alunos. A pesquisa partiu do pressuposto de que mudanças efetivas da escola só acontecem se forem construídas a partir do interior da escola e com o envolvimento e a participação dos profissionais inseridos nesse processo. Dessa perspectiva, propôs-se a analisar como os profissionais dessas escolas (diretores e professoras das 4as séries do ciclo I do ensino fundamental) vivenciam a construção do processo formativoeducativo, visando à eficácia e à efetividade escolar. Com base nos resultados da Prova Brasil (cuja avaliação serviu apenas como referência inicial para o trabalho empírico), foram escolhidas duas escolas dentre as que apresentaram aumento dos índices de desempenho na prova de 2007, comparada com a de 2005. As análises iniciais levaram a perceber que as escolas buscavam construir ações que corroborassem os resultados dos testes, e isso se refletia nos bons resultados alcançados tanto nas avaliações externas como nas internas. Buscou-se, então, identificar como os diretores e as professoras das 4as séries do ensino fundamental dessas escolas se organizam para manter as condições que resultam em índices satisfatórios de aprendizagem escolar, focalizando a compreensão que eles têm a respeito desse processo. Os dados obtidos por meio de entrevistas confirmam a presença dos fatores que a literatura aponta como determinantes da eficácia escolar, todavia, com grande ênfase sobre as relações escola-família. Em face disso, privilegiou-se esse aspecto nas análises. Ficou evidenciado que as escolas estudadas desenvolvem diferentes práticas e estratégias para estreitar seus vínculos com as famílias com vistas a obter um melhor aprendizado dos alunos. Contudo, os diretores e as professoras entrevistados entendem que a maior responsabilidade pelo não sucesso escolar dos alunos deve-se à família, sobretudo, ao seu nível socioeconômico e à não participação dos pais na vida escolar dos filhos. Seus discursos revelam traços de ideologias que disseminam concepções hegemônicas, normativas e idealizadas da família, levando-os a entender que a desestrutura familiar é o mais forte determinante do fracasso escolar dos alunos. Esses dados não são conclusivos, mas indicativos dos modos como a escola tem traduzido e operacionalizado as propostas atuais que pressionam/estimulam os sistemas de ensino a estabelecerem vínculos mais fortes e efetivos com a família. Espera-se que tais elementos favoreçam uma compreensão maior do processo de construção da eficácia escolar e subsidiem a atuação das equipes escolares a desenvolverem, de modo crítico, ações de maior protagonismo por parte dos diferentes segmentos que almejam transformar a instituição escolar hoje. / This work has as its objective to analyze and understand how the school dynamics created, managed, and constructed by the school staff from two public schools located in a municipality from the (western region of the) Metropolitan Area of São Paulo determine the school effectiveness concerning the production and materialization of their pupils\' learning. The study started with the assumption that effective changes of the school can only happen if they are built from within the school, and with the participation and commitment of the professionals included in the process. From such perspective, the study set out to analyze how the staff from these two schools (principals and teachers of the 4th grade of the First Cycle of Fundamental Education) experience the construction of the formative-educative process aiming at school efficacy and effectiveness. Based on the results from Prova Brasil [Brazil Exam] (whose assessment served only as an initial reference for the empirical work), two schools were chosen from among those that presented improved performance levels in 2007 as compared to 2005. Initial analyses revealed that these schools were trying to build actions that corroborated the test results, and that was reflected in the good results they achieved both in internal and in external assessments. An effort was then made to identify how the principals and 4th grade teachers from these two schools organized themselves to sustain the conditions that resulted in satisfactory levels of pupil learning, focusing on the understanding they have of the process. The information gathered from interviews confirmed the presence of the factors pointed out in the literature as decisive for school effectiveness, revealing, however, a strong emphasis on family-school relations. In view of these results, the study privileged this aspect in the analyses. It became clear that the schools researched develop several practices and strategies to keep close links with the families, with the purpose of improving pupil learning. However, the principals and teachers interviewed were seen to understand that the larger responsibility for pupil failure lies with the family, particularly with their socioeconomic level, and with the lack of participation of the parents in their children\'s school life. Their discourse betrays the influence of remnants of ideologies that help disseminating hegemonic, normative, and idealized conceptions of family, leading them to believe that an \"unstructured family\" is the sharpest determinant of pupils\' school failure. These are not conclusive data, but indications of the ways in which the school has translated and put in operation the current policies that push the system schools to establish stronger and more effective ties with families. It is hoped that such results may lead to a better understanding of the process of construction of school effectiveness, offering elements for the work of school teams to develop, in a critical manner, actions of a higher degree of protagonism from the various segments that currently seek to transform the school institution.

District and campus leaders face enormous challenges as they try to address the ever-widening achievement gap. With increased accountability, the achievement gap-- which exists between students of color and students of poverty and their White, middleclass counterparts--is becoming impossible to ignore. Nationally, demographics are shifting toward a society of color and school campuses are following suit. Students are not getting easier to educate. Yet while schools across the nation bemoan their student populations as 'hard to educate,' there are some notable districts consistently having success with these student populations. However, there is almost no research on these schools. Their successes are nearly unknown to the educational world. Therefore, this study sought to examine the practices utilized on these campuses and the role of district and campus leadership in guiding the teachers of these student populations. The theoretical framework was the deficit-thinking paradigm and the Effective Schools Correlates. The study investigated schools that (1) earned high ratings in their state accountability system (2) named Blue Ribbon Schools and (3) were Title I award winning schools because they had gone from low performing schools with few systems in place to high performing schools with many systems in place. The study focused on the Area Superintendent of Area 10 and two elementary principals. This study was a mix method qualitative and quantitative study that involved only one urban school district: Martin Luther King Independent School District, one of the fifteen largest districts in the southwest part of the United States. This was a case study, which is an intensive description and analysis of a phenomenon or social unit such as an individual, group, institution, or community. The case is a bounded, integrated system (Stake, 1995; Merriam, 1998). Data collection included interviews, observations, and a reflective journal. Findings revealed that there are six prongs these schools had in common to go from low performing to high performing schools as well as earn distinction and awards. Acquiring these six prongs is called Creating a Culture of Success for Students of Color and Students of Poverty. There are also six conditions that permeate low performing schools; these schools once had these conditions on their campuses, but overcame them to become high performing. These conditions are called the Labyrinth of Solitude for Students of Color and Students of Poverty. As school districts and schools attempt to create a culture of accountability where high expectations and a sense of urgency prevail--conditions necessary to close the achievement gap and move from the deficit-thinking paradigm and its deleterious impact on achievement toward the Normed-Opportunity Paradigm--universities and school districts can use this research data to help superintendents, central office personnel, campus principals, teachers, as well as prospective teachers and administrators to move schools and school districts forward and help close the achievement gap. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Leadership, 2008. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-164).