<p> This study seeks to address the question <i>"How do school and district leaders and teachers become aware of, take steps to comprehend, and form opinions about state policies?"</i> These "first impression processes" represent significant parts of the processes by which district administrators, school administrators, and teachers make sense of state policies in the course of implementation. In some settings, educators, particularly school administrators and teachers, may be less likely to be aware of and fully understand important policies by virtue of their distance from state-to-district policy messages. They also may be more likely to be subject to outside influence in forming opinions. The "first impression processes" are examined within the specific context of implementing Achieve NJ, a policy which sets forth rigorous new guidelines for teacher evaluation in New Jersey and "lands" in districts in the course of the research. It uses as a theoretical framework Weick's (1995) model of sense-making applied to a schools context. A total of 293 surveys and 71 interviews were conducted with policy pilot and non-pilot district and school administrators and teachers.</p><p> Findings indicate that district administrators best and teachers least understood policies. Awareness typically depended on position in district hierarchy. Comprehension depended on individual research and collaborative, collegial processing opportunities. These efforts were particularly effective when paired with NJDOE personnel. Opinion formation occurred in conjunction with collaborative comprehension processes and was less dependent on existing perceptions or media influence. Pilot and non-pilot educators were most similar in opinion formation, and differed most in comprehension. District officials were more aware of and better comprehended policy specifics and policy contexts. School officials were less aware and comprehending, and teachers were comparatively the least in these areas. </p><p> The following recommendations emerge from this work. State departments of education may benefit from engaging teachers more directly through diverse policy communication efforts. Departments might also work to become collaborative collegial partners with schools as educators in school settings make sense of new policies. Implementation liaisons or more-permanent support structures such as the NJDOE Regional Achievement Centers may provide opportunities for state departments of education to partner with schools in collaborative processing of significant new policies and, in turn, bring about more effective implementation and policy outcomes.</p>

<p> Developmental education policies in community colleges are being debated by the federal and state governments, foundations, and non-profit organizations. Much attention is being paid to community college students who need precollege level coursework in English and Mathematics. The Massachusetts' Department of Higher Education is actively promoting dialogue about community colleges, but one group remains outside of the policy conversation, namely students. They are subjects of educational research but have not been considered partners in policy dialogue. </p><p> The goal of this study was to examine and provide a forum for community college students to communicate their perspectives on the supports and barriers they face in their academic progress, and to identify ways to improve higher educational policy at the institutional and state level. Students enrolled in an eastern Massachusetts community college and who were placed into developmental courses were invited to participate in a Photovoice Project as co-researchers with the author. Participants took photos, discussed them, wrote captions, grouped their photos into themes, and presented their work in an exhibit. Each participant also took part in a focus group to examine supports and barriers raised during the Photovoice Project sessions. The resulting visual, narrative, and participant observation data were analyzed using narrative analysis methods: thematic analysis, structural analysis, dialogic/performance analysis, and visual analysis. This study offered developmental students an opportunity to provide feedback on the current ecologically based model of education policy, where national policy defines the conversation, which is narrowed by state policy and, finally, campus policy with the student in the center of concentric circles. The analytic framework of identity was used to understand developmental students' multiple identities, expressed in their photos, captions, group discussions, and interactions, and in turn to understand how these identities were nested in educational communities: the classroom, the peer group, and the institution. Participating students appeared to gain a new discourse identity as contributors to the policy conversation around educational policy. </p><p> This research produced three themes based on the contributions of the co-researchers, requests for transparency in placement testing procedures, opportunities for reinvention, and ongoing opportunities to be heard. Students were supported in moving forward when they had opportunities to share power with others in the community; they experienced frustration and disorientation when power was simply exercised over them. The value of involving students in a participatory, visual research methodology was also explored; students expressed support for these types of participatory "voicing" opportunities for all community college students, not just developmental ones. Marshall Ganz's theory of public narrative provided a lens for explaining why a method such as Photovoice could serve to include this at risk population in the policy debate. This study provides a lens for reassessing policies at the institutional and state levels. Policy implications include re-examining enrollment as the basis for determining community college funding and including a calculation based on student retention; providing training and certification for faculty teaching developmental courses at community colleges; transforming placement testing, fostering a more challenging curriculum where developmental students encounter college level work, and institutionalizing inclusion of student voices in policy development. </p><p> The limitations of this study include that, as an exploratory study, no direct conclusions can be drawn but the findings may be useful in broadening the ongoing community college policy debate and indicating potential areas for future research to improve academic progress of all community college students, including those deemed developmental. Including student voices, especially those most at-risk in the most American sector of public higher education--the community college--is a democratic, social justice, and social policy imperative.</p>

<p> This study examines the professional identities of early educators with master's degrees in the United States. While other democratic nations have begun to move toward fully funded early care and education that offers qualified teachers a living wage, early education in the U.S. continues to be vastly underfunded and inconsistently regulated. Through semi-structured interviews with five teachers I identified specific ways in which highly qualified early educators have constructed professional identities within a marginalized profession. Results indicate that the attainment of a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education [ECE] positively influences teachers' abilities to take a leadership role, reflect critically on the field, and participate within the broader public sphere to enact change. Implications of this study highlight the pivotal role that early educators with master's degrees play in shaping the future of ECE in the U.S.</p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> Early Care and Education, professional identity, professional status, reflection, leadership</p>

<p> The current study examines the connection between a change of family income and the retention of academic gains for children in low-income households who have attended a center-based preschool program. These children are often shown to lose the academic advantage they gain during preschool as they move through k&ndash;12 education in a phenomenon called fade out. A theoretical framework was constructed positing that material and psychological effects of poverty inhibit the ability of these families to support and maintain growth during this critical time when children are highly nested in the family unit. </p><p> Treating family income as a causal risk factor, a study was crafted to examine the fade out effect when family income increased during early childhood for children in low-income households. Using the ECLS-K data set, ex post facto, quasi-experimental methods were employed to analyze two comparison groups of low-income children who went through a center-based preschool program. One group gained the treatment of a constant increase in family income beginning during early childhood (LIP), while the other stayed within their starting low-income bracket throughout the study (LCP). Multiple regression analysis was used to test if this treatment would correlate to the LIP group retaining more of their preschool skills than the LCP group, measuring from kindergarten to eighth grade. Before the main dependent cognitive measures (math and reading scores) were examined, regressions on social competence variables were performed. After examination, these variables were added as controls to the academic regressions. </p><p> The results of the academic regressions showed that the LIP group correlated to nearly a one-half reduction in fade out as compared to the LCP group by eighth grade in both mathematics and reading. These findings lead to many implications for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers as well as open the door to future exploration into the subject.</p>

<p> According to critical disability studies scholars, disablism may be the fundamental system of unearned advantaging and disadvantaging upon which all other notions of difference-as-deviance are constructed. If so, a deeply critical and intersectional investigation of enabled privilege/disablism prepares a grounding from which seeds of novel and effective approaches to social and educational justice may be cultivated. Whether or not disablism holds this pivotal position, the costs to us all in terms of personal, ethical, professional, and financial losses are too steep, have always been too steep. In this disquisition I begin by arguing for the prioritizing and centering of a radical emancipatory discourse&mdash;across and within all education venues&mdash;regarding disability. In Chapter 2, I explore models of disability and notice where awareness of enabled privilege has been absent in my own experience as an educator and call for all educators to consider what might it mean if awareness of enabled privilege and the harms of disablism were at the center of our daily personal, social, and institutional lives. Chapter 3 investigates the perceptions of post-compulsory education professionals regarding what constitutes disability allyship and identifies three unique viewpoints. Chapter 4 blends conceptualizations of allyship developed within various social justice literatures with those identified viewpoints of disability allyship to yield a model professional development approach focused on an intersectional analysis for social justice through disability justice. The dissertation concludes in Chapter 5 with a discussion of core assertions and findings and points to future research priorities.</p>

<p> Students attending charter schools, including those with learning disabilities, are subject to policies set by individual charter management organizations. One practice used within some charter schools is grade-level retention, or having students repeat a grade level. Literature overwhelmingly indicates that retention is associated with negative outcomes, yet the practice continues to be used. One particular charter school that used a strict retention policy and retains students with learning disabilities was studied to understand how the process unfolds. Using the conceptual frameworks of critical disability theory and critical pedagogy, the study draws inferences regarding how this phenomenon blends with ableism and power imbalances. Six teachers (four general education and two special education teachers) participated in interviews for this qualitative case study. Through triangulation of findings from individual and group interviews, trends were identified. A major finding showed that although retention is conceptualized as beneficial for the school to threat unmotivated students, for students with learning disabilities, retention is still regarded as highly ineffective and harmful. Decision making factors used with students with disabilities include particular individual characteristics, such as abilities and parental support. Discussion into participants' perception of students with disabilities as inferior, and how retention as punishment asserts the school's power, follows a review of concepts, effectiveness, and decision-making factors related to retention. Implications for educators to improve inclusive and fair school policies, in addition to rethinking traditional methods of analyzing school practices are discussed. Further research in various educational initiatives and areas of study are summarized.</p>

<p>Many people recognize inequity in educational resource allocation as a problem. It has been suggested this inequity stems from the consolidation of experienced teachers in low-poverty schools and higher teacher turnover rates at high-poverty schools. This paper uses an ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression to examine the relationship between school-level expenditures excluding teacher salary, and teacher turnover in New York City. The results of the analysis suggest that these expenditures have a statistically significant association with teacher turnover, and that, for the majority of them, increased spending is associated with less teacher turnover. The results also suggest that increased spending is associated with a higher level of teacher satisfaction, though the significance of this association is less consistent. These results could have policy implications for education researchers and practitioners concerned with improving fiscal equity through decreased turnover in high-poverty schools. </p>

<p> The purpose of this action research, mixed methods study was to explore the impact of the AP Program on the high school and college experience of students, both from an academic and a "lived experience" perspective. In addition, the study investigated the costs and values of the AP Program to the institution itself. The study revealed that the AP Program continues to contribute significant value to students' high school educations, generally prepares them well for success at college, and often contributes to the acquisition of important credit and placement accommodations for students when matriculating at college. The study also revealed that, although the Program contributes a great deal of stress to the high school experience, students do not see this as a significant impediment to participation. However, the study also revealed several opportunities for the institution to better prepare students for the rigor of the Program and their use of AP scores in obtaining accommodations at college. Finally, the study demonstrated that while the AP Program contributes important value to the teaching experience, marketing of the institution, and the college admissions success of the school, there are important issues that warrant further consideration and review, not the least of which is the quality of the non-AP curriculum that is offered to students who do not meet the prerequisites of the AP Program.</p>

<p> This qualitative descriptive study purposed to explore the perceptions of a purposive sample of20 Black Deaf male students and alumni in postsecondary in Washington, District of Columbia to determine if the self-fulfilling prophecy theory contributed to their pedagogy. A qualitative survey was administered and the data was analyzed with Excel. Fifteen self-fulfilling prophecy themes emerged from the analysis: (a) syllabic expectations, (b) self expectations, (c) no-low-high expectations, (d) eye contact-acknowledgement, (e) attitudinal indifference, (f) public praise-positive-negative comments, (g) personalized one-on-one attention, (h) pop quiz reminders, (i) office hours-after class counseling, (j) team assignments, (k) verbal-written-positive-negative feedback, (1) private-public-verbal-written reinforcements, (m) probing, (n) reminders, and (o) self-motivation. The results indicated that Black Deaf male students and alumni perception about their educational experience in the classroom were positive, Galatea effects.</p>

<p> This case study focuses on the way a neighborhood association connects schools to broad change in an urban neighborhood of a large Midwestern city. The first section provides a review of the literature on community involvement in school and neighborhood reform. It reviews the historical origins of the current school-community relationship, the reasons behind the movement to increase community involvement, the diversity of understandings about the nature of community participation, the processes used to improve the capacity of both the school and the community to act as effective partners, and the different programs organizations use to participate in the school improvement process. The second section is a qualitative case study on the programs and processes the neighborhood association uses to revitalize one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. Believing strongly in the need to think holistically about neighborhood improvement, the neighborhood association engages a diversity of stakeholders in creating a comprehensive plan to address social and physical conditions. The plan encompasses the areas of academic achievement, housing, healthy eating, commercial development, crime, health and wellness, jobs, and family and youth. Local schools are active participants in creating the holistic plan for broad revitalization. The neighborhood association considers schools an on-going partner in carrying out initiatives tied to academic achievement. Building a higher level school-community relationship challenges historical traditions of school resistance to meaningful involvement with community groups working to improve schools. The study focuses on the way the neighborhood association works to connect two public schools to the academic achievement piece of the comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plan. This study finds high levels of school participation in the process of plan creation, but patterns of school behavior and current demands on time continue to be obstacles to on-going participation in neighborhood association-led change. The study also finds that neighborhood association-led initiatives in areas outside the four walls of the school have improved surrounding conditions, but these improvements have not yet significantly impacted the performance of neighborhood public schools.</p>