The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the leadership practices of principals who sustain professional learning communities. The study was conducted using semistructured interviews with 2 elementary school principals from a noted professional learning community district in Henderson, Kentucky. A Professional Learning Community Assessment Survey was completed by the teachers in both elementary schools. Photographs of each school and a review of school documents triangulated the research of these 2 professional learning communities. In interviews the principals described their roles in: (1) defining a professional learning community or PLC, (2) supporting and sustaining a PLC, (3) supporting professional dialogue opportunities in a PLC, and (4) identifying shareholders as an essential element in successful professional learning communities. The teacher surveys helped to confirm the principals' perceptions and the roles of the principals in supporting and sustaining a professional learning community. The teachers defined the principal's role in supporting and sustaining a professional learning community as (1) involving staff in decisions, (2) incorporating teachers' advice to make decisions, (3) providing staff members access to key information, (4) the principal being proactive, (5) enabling staff members to initiate change, (6) sharing responsibility and rewards, (7) sharing power and authority, and (8) promoting and nurturing leadership. The effective leadership practices of both principals support successful and sustainable professional learning communities. The triangulation of data reinforced these conclusions: (1) both principals have effective leadership practices that support and sustain a PLC, (2) the majority of teachers from both schools who participated in the survey overwhelmingly approve of the leadership practices of their principals, (3) continued improvement in student assessment results over a period of years support the practices of the principals, and (4) effective leadership practices strengthen the professional learning concept of supporting and encouraging continued student and teacher progress. The results from this study were intended as a reference for principals and school districts concerning the effective practices of principals to support and sustain professional learning communities.

The transition to high school has been identified by researchers as a pivotal point in students' lives. The addition of a Freshman Academy in some schools has targeted the 9th grade year to ease students' transition to high school and increase the likelihood of academic success. One purpose of this study is to compare student outcomes of schools that have implemented a Freshman Academy with schools that have not. Student outcomes are defined for this study to include graduation rates, attendance rates, instances of out-of-school suspensions, and instances of expulsions. The second purpose of this study is to compare student outcomes before and after implementation of a Freshman Academy. Two research questions were analyzed to determine the impact of the implementation of the Freshman Academy on student outcomes. A 2-way chi square analysis of variance was used for each research question. There was a significant difference in the instances of out-of-school suspensions for schools that have a Freshman Academy and schools that do not. Instances of out-of-school suspensions were higher in schools with a Freshman Academy. No significant difference was found between graduation rates, attendance rates, or instances of expulsions for schools that have a Freshman Academy and schools that do not. There was a significant difference in instances of out-of-school suspensions before and after implementation of Freshman Academy. The instances of out-of-school suspensions decreased after the implementation of Freshman Academy. No significant difference was found in graduation rates, attendance rates, or instances of expulsions before and after implementation of Freshman Academy.

Because of disunity among prominent professional learning community (PLC) authors, experts, and researchers, the literature was studied to develop a ten-element model that represents a unified and reconceptualized list of characteristics of a PLC. From this model, the Learning Community Culture Indicator (LCCI) was developed to measure professional learning community (PLC) implementation levels based on the ten-element model. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to determine the structural validity of the LCCI. Factor analyses provided successful levels of fit for the models tested in representing the constructs of the LCCI. Reliability measures also indicated high levels of internal consistency among the responses to the survey items. Although some items and elements had moderate levels of fit and need additional revisions and validity testing, the LCCI produced substantial evidence that this survey was a valid and reliable instrument in measuring levels of PLC implementation across the ten elements. Because this research validated the LCCI, school leaders can implement, monitor, and diagnose elements of PLCs in their schools. The LCCI also provides a method in which future research can be conducted to empirically support the influence of PLCs and student achievement. Potential uses and recommendations for further research and consideration are presented. A call for more empirical research is made in connecting the PLC reform model to improved student learning. The theory of PLC is at a point of substantiation and growth. The LCCI is recommended as potential tool for studying and facilitating the implementation of PLCs in schools.

Researchers have studied professional learning communities for over two decades. Educators have utilized the elements of professional learning communities in their schools to improve instruction and student learning. Yet, there is limited empirical evidence that establishes, describes, and confirms this relationship. This study was completed to better understand the nature, strength, and types of relationships between the individual elements of professional learning communities and student achievement. The sample for this study was 26 elementary schools, 439 teachers, and nearly 11,000 students. An analysis of professional learning communities and student achievement data through hierarchical linear modeling indicated that each of the eight clearly defined elements of professional learning communities have a significant relationship with student achievement.

Female mentoring success was investigated as an undergraduate intervention utilizing career development practices to reduce dysfunctional career thinking and STEM major retention in first year freshmen females within a living-learning community. Repeated measures MANOVAs and canonical correlations in the causal comparative research design evaluated mentoring’s influence on first year females. Male voluntary participants (n = 126) formulated the comparison group, and female voluntary participants (n = 75) filled the treatment group. Repeated measure multivariate analyses of variances compared differences between the interaction of mentoring and gender over time on dysfunctional career thinking using two assessments: Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) and Career Decision Scale (CDS) and their five subscales (decision-making confusion, commitment anxiety, external conflict, certainty and indecision). Canonical correlations analyzed the effect participation rates had on student change scores on the CTI and CDS, indicating mentoring intervention effects on reducing dysfunctional career thinking and decidedness. Conclusions included: (a) females had higher levels of dysfunctional career thinking than males; (b) overtime both groups decreased dysfunctional thoughts, and solidifying their STEM career choices; (c) females had reduced levels of career decidedness compared to males; (d) both groups increased certainty overtime, solidifying their STEM career choice, and (e) when the STEM career choice was made, female certainty was more solidified than males. The study adds to the career development research within STEM at the undergraduate level providing colleges and universities with a structured first year female mentoring program in STEM. The iv GEMS model may be ideal for colleges and universities utilizing living-learning communities to increase underrepresented female retention and those without STEM career planning courses.

This investigation looks at the relationship between a STEM learning community's co-curricular activities and students' perceived sense of community (SOC)to determine which activities most influence SOC and, in turn, retention. This investigation shows that SOC can be impacted by a multitude of factors found within the college environment. The most influential of these factors are open acceptance, student academic support services, and residential experiences. Most importantly there were significant differences for African American students participating in the STEM learning community on the measures of SOC, retention, and being on-track in mathematics. Additional data suggested higher levels of being on-track in mathematics for male students and differences in retention and being on-track for Hispanic students participating in a STEM learning community.

In order to gain insight into developing teacher leadership capacity this study was designed to surface how tasks and interactions unfold from the perspective of the practitioners. The central focus of this study was to investigate the ways an elementary teacher-leader takes a stance toward instructional leadership while negotiating professional norms and organizational structures within the context of a public school setting. This investigation sought to identify instructionally related teacher leadership actions and opportunities; and to examine teacher-leaders' interaction patterns with an interest in identifying how teacher-leaders interact and enact their leadership tasks. Reports of 79 teacher-leaders' perceptions of interactions were collected using a 71 item questionnaire designed for this study based on the literature. Factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha were conducted and confirmed the measuring instrument's reliability and validity. Sample data were analyzed for descriptive statistics and the relationships between the latent constructs: organizational structure, social context, and professional values. Results of the bivariate correlations revealed that both social context and organizational structure accounted for a small percentage of the variance in teacher-leader to teacher interaction. Interaction shared an 8% variance with social context and shared an 8% variance with access for interaction. Professional values did not have a statistically significant correlation with interactions . Moreover, social context had a 30% shared variance with access for interaction and a shared variance of 37% with professional values . In summary, professional values had the greatest variance with social context (37%) and social context had the greatest variance with access for interaction (30%) which represented organizational structure. An implication of the results suggests social context is central for shaping and reshaping values and norms.

As Latino English language learners (ELL) flood national classrooms their non-Latino, English-speaking teachers are faced with meeting the academic needs of limited English proficient students who hail from cultures unlike their own. This study investigated actions taken by teams of non-Latino, English-speaking educators of Latino (ELL) in order to be effective teachers of this minority population. Two premises prompted the search for what enabled non-Latino English speakers to be effective teachers of this minority population. The supposition was that the non-Latino teacher of ELLs must have: (a) familiarity with the language of the minority; and (b) a high affinity for Latino cultures to affect learning. Support for neither premise was found in this research. However, a mediating factor emerged showing that teams who were successful in moving toward instructional effectiveness for their ELLs incorporated other professionals in the building. These additional team members spoke the minority languages and were familiar with the minority cultures. Two avenues of action found through rigorous readings was the focus of this research. Each was found to be beneficial in moving a collaborative team toward instructional effectiveness for their Latino ELLs. The first is for the team embedded within the bounds of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) to team well adhering to the principles of the PLC. The second is to build an environment of trust within the team. Implications for future research could include a comparison of PLC element and trust facet strength in a multicultural setting as opposed to a single minority.

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