In the current educational climate of federally mandated assessments of student learning, the survival of the elementary social studies curriculum may depend on interdisciplinary instructional methods to link social studies to the accountability-favored discipline of literacy. The purpose of this content analysis study was to examine and identify social studies content embedded within a second grade and a fifth grade basal reader from the 2008 Houghton Mifflin Reading Series. Each of the basals were read and coded using the Utah State Office of Education Social Studies Standards indicators and the National Council for the Social Studies Standards as a priori categories. Data from both basal readers provided some encouragement that social studies learning opportunities for students are available within the texts. While some of the social studies concepts are explicitly presented, the majority of the learning opportunities are implicit in nature, requiring additional teaching beyond what is included in basal texts. To take advantage of these explicit and implicit social studies learning opportunities, teachers need to be aware of them and be prepared to teach social studies content and standards as part of the daily literacy routine. In spite of opportunities available for teachers to integrate social studies in the literacy curriculum, these opportunities will not replace the independent teaching of social studies content within the elementary curriculum.

Rationale for this research was based on recent legislative requirements that all teachers must meet the No Child Left Behind of 2001 and Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act of 2004 highly qualified requirements by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which state Department of Education officials representing the 50 states addressed the issue of NCLB of 2001 highly qualified personnel provisions for secondary special education co-teachers. Information for this study was represented by online documents that were retrieved from DOE websites across the United States. Findings suggested that information provided in online documents from state DOE websites that represented the 50 states included a variety of options for special education co-teachers who were required to demonstrate core subject provisions. This study presented five themes regarding the definitions of special education co-teachers. Results in this study showed that depending upon the theme of co-teaching definition cited in online documents a range of six highly qualified options were provided. The information in this study was intended to describe current state policies and aid researchers in the review of the status of secondary special education co-teachers, analysis of current policies, and development on new policies.

With the declining presence of African-American teachers in the teacher workforce, it is necessary to examine plausible causes for this phenomenon. Previous research suggests that most African-American teachers teach in high minority, high poverty schools. Consequently, they face substantial challenges related to student achievement and social and cultural disparities. No Child Left Behind is an education reform policy designed to bridge the gap between the educational disparities which exist, placing emphasis on teacher accountability and student achievement. The accountability requirements established by NCLB have generated significant pressure for teachers, particularly African-American teachers in struggling schools who must make Adequate Yearly Progress in order to avoid federal sanctions and public labeling as failing schools. Therefore, since African-American teachers often teach in schools most affected by NCLB, an examination of their experiences regarding various aspects of the law and its affect on teacher morale is essential to understanding the far-reaching implications of education reform. The focus of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how NCLB has affected teacher morale for African-American teachers in low-performing middle schools. Specifically, a phenomenological, qualitative method was used to capture their experiences in an effort to uncover the realities these teachers face in the classroom. The overall objective of this study was to develop a richer awareness of what it means to teach in underperforming schools, while seeking academic excellence within them. Results from this study generated five themes related to teacher morale among African-American teachers in low performing middle schools. An examination of these themes indicated that teacher morale among African-American teachers in low performing middle schools was influenced by NCLB due to published test scores and NCLB’s inability to address the social and cultural disparities that exist in education. However, despite the challenges of NCLB, African-American teachers remained dedicated to their calling as teachers seeking to help their students succeed despite the odds.

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The goal of this study was to better understand the perspective of administrators on accountability and high stakes testing - what effect it has, if any, on his/her ability to serve as building administrator. Through a series of in-depth interviews and analysis of the perception of principals that lead schools that are on various levels of No Child Left Behind sanctions, this study will help the reader to understand how high stakes testing and accountability have impacted the leadership of the school principal. As presented by Allen (2008) are we focusing curriculum on preparation for high-stakes testing versus the philosophy of letting the high stakes testing evaluate the effectiveness of what is being taught as a method for supporting learning? From budgeting and organizational structure, to local curriculum and classroom instruction, efforts from external sources to ensure "accountability" in public schools have impacted virtually every aspect of school operations in America. No Child Left Behind is the initiative most often associated with the current accountability movement. While this study did not aim to measure the effectiveness of initiatives like No Child Left Behind, it did aim to analyze how these measures have impacted the role of the building principal. This study used a semi-structured interviews with eleven elementary school principals who lead schools on a sampling of the No Child Left Behind sanction continuum. In addition to interviews, pertinent documents and artifacts will be analyzed. The constant comparative method (Glaser & Stauss, 1967) will be used to analyze the data in terms of the study's two theoretical frameworks: Turbulence Theory (Gross, 1998) and Multiple Ethical Paradigm. / Educational Administration

This qualitative case study is designed to document the impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on career and technical education (CTE) in Pennsylvania. The research was conducted utilizing a qualitative case study protocol on two specific CTE Centers in the suburban Philadelphia area. The study centered on the following question. Has compliance to the accountability components of NCLB impacted the delivery of secondary education in CTE centers in the Pennsylvania? The study identified the changes that have occurred to selected CTE centers in the NCLB era. The assessment mandates of federal policy NCLB are narrowly focused in academic curriculum. The data used to answer the questions was accumulated through interviews with facility staff and the examination of archival records at the two specific centers to be researched. This study determined the impacts of NCLB on the facilities. The impacts included; decreased enrollment, increased academic and testing focus, reduction in technical budgets, increase in academic budgets, increase of special education students, staff changes for the increase of academic areas, morale issues, program changes, shifts in staff development, facility changes, negative publicity and public image due to academic reporting in the media. Questions for future study. What are the costs, financial and opportunity related to the reduction in CTE for increased academics? How many students have been denied the opportunity of attending or completing CTE programs? Why there isn't an alignment of NCLB and IDEA goals? What is the emotional impact to our students who keep getting told they are below basic? The conclusion from this study suggests that the public education system in this country needs to be more centered on actual student outcomes and preparing students with marketable skills and not based on the narrow focus of academic test scores. / Educational Leadership

This is an ethnographic case study of a high poverty, ethnically diverse elementary school and the transformation that occurred there. The research describes what happened at the school within the context of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) during a nine-year period. The researcher documents the challenges faced, practices employed, and resources used at the school which has demographic and socioeconomic characteristics that are highly correlated with failing schools as defined by NCLB. The study used a qualitative research design in order to investigate the complexities and processes within a specific context and setting from multiple participants' frames of reference and from the researcher's perspective as a participant observer. The researcher analyzed the data, identified patterns, and categorized them into a set of assertions about this school. The discussion of the assertions and implications for future research is organized around the three research questions: 1) What were the challenges faced on the path to improved student academic achievement? 2) What practices were implemented during the process of improving student academic achievement? and 3) What resources were used during the process? / Ed. D.