Performance policies propose to enhance the quality of services provided to vulnerable citizens. However, the ability to accomplish this goal is largely unsubstantiated. In the field of education, the No Child Left Behind Act outlined performance policy guidelines that held educators accountable for disadvantaged students outcomes and provided students with the option to seek the serves of alternative providers through a student transfer provision. This dissertation assesses the quality of states’ NCLB provisions that targeted minority and vulnerable student performance as well as utilization of the NCLB transfer provision allowing students to exit underperforming schools. It indicates that teachers’ union strength, minority student population, and past performance impacted the development of vulnerable student accountability provisions. The use of the transfer provision was limited by the strength of the accountability system implemented. As a result, the transfer provision is being poorly utilized and the states have negatively affected the educational opportunities of marginalized populations.

A left ventricular assist device is a mechanical pump implanted in patients with heart failure that continuously takes blood from the left ventricle and delivers it to the aorta, thus decreasing ventricular load. The device is typically considered as a ‘bridge to transplant’, i.e. as a temporary therapy, and involves several risks. Modified ventricular hemodynamics due to a heart pump implantation is studied in-vitro using an elastic ventricle. The ventricle is incorporated into a pulse duplicator setup, which prescribes realistic pulsatile inflow/outflow to mimic a weak ejection fraction. A continuous axial pump mimics a ventricular assist device and its effect on the ventricular hemodynamics is investigated as a function of the pump flow suction. Using particle image velocimetry, pump flow effectiveness at providing unloading on the ventricle and increasing ejection is observed and understanding if proper recirculation of the myocardium down to the apex is restored under varying flow rate.

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The purpose of this study is to build a conceptual framework to explain the influence of team building among elementary school teachers to improve teacher morale. This framework is intended as the foundation for a team building model to provide principals and teachers with a guide for implementing sound team-building activities into inservice training and throughout the school year. What are the best practices for implementing team building and how can these practices encourage teachers to have a more positive outlook on their profession? The variables include school environment, school climate, different principals, principal changes, years of teaching experience, teaching and planning time, school populations, and types of student programs at the school. This qualitative case study was conducted using interviews of administrators and teachers from 7 public elementary schools located in Southern Appalachia to discover how teambuilding activities influenced their perceptions of teacher morale. School observations captured the climate of the schools and each school's School Improvement Plan (SIP) and Staff Development Plan were examined. The researcher coded transcripts into themes, patterns, and the following conceptual constructs: (a) communication, (b) change, (c) building community, (d) acknowledgement, (e) work morale, (f) time, (g) team building, and (h) teamwork. Findings confirmed that administrators and a majority of the teachers showed evidence of high morale. The administrators reported that team-building activities at their school promoted open communication and a positive working environment. Ninety percent of the teachers discussed that team building brought the faculty together and improved communication and the overall climate of the school. Ten percent of the teachers interviewed came from 2 schools that had vertical team meetings during their planning time. They complained that vertical team meetings were a waste of time. For the most part team-building activities incorporated in the schools influenced keeping teacher morale high. Many teachers welcomed opportunities to work with their coworkers on school decision-making teams as well as in off-campus socializing.

The intent of this qualitative research was to learn from teachers and parents: to hear from teachers what they truly needed in the school with regard to parent involvement and to hear from parents the ways in which schools could extend a more effective welcome and the types of activities in which they were most willing to participate. This qualitative study was conducted using interviews of parents and teachers from Title I elementary schools. The parents were interviewed to gain their perceptions of parent involvement and how effectively the school communicates parent involvement needs. Teachers were interviewed to determine their perceptions of parent involvement and what types of involvement they would prefer from parents. During data analysis, several themes emerged forming constructs for the researcher's organizational framework. The following constructs: (a) culture, (b) perception, (c) communication, (d) insight, (e) appreciation, (f) commitment, (g) motivations, (h) opportunity, (i) dedication, (j) the greater good, and (k) education served as a basis for the ordering of data findings developing recommendations. Based on the research the following conclusions were presented. Most teachers and parent volunteers greatly valued and wanted to work for the betterment of both the individual student and the school and desired an increase in parent volunteer experiences and contributions. Teachers wanted to be respected and recognized as true professionals and parent volunteers wanted to be respected and recognized as caring parents and integral players in school and student success. Recommendations from study findings may help teachers and school leaders build more effective and productive relationships with parents by strengthening the home-school connection and contributing to increased student success. In addition, parent volunteers may also gain a better understanding of teacher needs and expectations that could further strengthen home-school relations.

IDEIA requires a student who receives special education services to have an IEP that is specific to each student and NCLB requires that all students be taught the same knowledge and skills. The purpose of this study was to determine with which federal school law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) or Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), school districts in Mississippi are choosing to comply and what drives that decision. The research questions were: (a) Are Mississippi school districts choosing to comply with NCLB or IDEIA when writing IEPs for their students receiving special education services? and (b) What are the reasons for that decision? A multiple-case design was used in this study resulting in a more convincing explanation because when more cases are involved variation increases across the studies. Real-life applications and issues were noted in case studies. The researcher was the main instrument for data collection and analysis. Three school districts participated in the study that included 11 teachers. Five themes emerged from the case studies. Those were: (a) teacher opposition, (b) out-of-level testing, (c) achievement test preparation, (d) lack of written guidelines, and (e) different approaches in meeting educational needs of students receiving special education services. Recommendations included: (a) development of guidelines for special education students who do not take the grade level MCT , (b) mandatory training on standardized IEP guidelines, (c) further study on report of numbers of special education students within schools, (d) further study on self-concept of special education students who participate in out-of-level instruction and testing, (e) comparative study of inclusion and resource students using MCT as pre- and post-test.

Using the states' paraprofessional requirements, this study explored the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) on the paraprofessionals' ability to assist in instruction as seen through the perceptions of paraprofessional and teacher teams. The literature review discloses data regarding the implementation of NCLB paraprofessional requirements into the accountability plans of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Tables synthesize the assessments used by states to meet NCLB paraprofessional requirements. The Council for Exceptional Children performance-based standards for paraeducators provides the framework for the development of two survey instruments, which measured the perceptions of paraprofessionals and cooperating teachers on the training, knowledge, and skills utilized during instruction. Two survey instruments were developed to gain insight into the perceptions of paraprofessional and supervising teacher teams. The perceptions of the teams were compared to those among the paraprofessionals themselves. There were significant statistical differences between both the teams and the paraprofessionals with two or more years of higher education or those with a high school diploma or equivalency. The differences between the paraprofessionals and the teachers suggested that supervising teachers perceived both groups of paraprofessionals were lacking in training, knowledge, and skills. Paraprofessionals with higher education perceived a similar lack in their own abilities. However, paraprofessionals with high school diplomas perceived their ability as greater than that perceived by the teachers.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of high-stakes testing under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on school culture. Individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with first grade through sixth grade teachers and principals from two of Nebo School District's schools located in Utah. Their responses were categorized into twelve themes. Most of the teachers and principals reported that high-stakes testing negatively impacted student and teacher motivation, teaching and learning, and curriculum. They also discussed negative effects of the application questioned the accuracy of high-stakes testing. Fewer teachers and principals communicated positive effects of high-stakes testing. Among these positive effects were that testing data provided some useful information about teaching and learning and provided some accountability. Implications regarding these findings are discussed. This in-depth case study analysis of two elementary schools will add to the growing number of qualitative studies about the effects of high-stakes testing under the NCLB Act.