CONVERSATIONS ABOUT READING: THE VOICES OF STUDENTS IN THEIR K-12 JOURNEY Jennifer Clinton, Ed D University of Pittsburgh, 2004 The initial objective of this study was to gain insight from students about their K-12 reading experience. In fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade the data were collected while conversing with students in focus groups. Conversations were centered around the Focus Group Checklist which was divided into three parts: 1) Teacher-Assigned Reading; 2) Read and Interact with Text; and 3) Content Areas. The second objective was to outline a process for documentation of student opinions about K-12 education programs. The results of this study indicated that (1) background building prior to reading assignments acted as a motivational component that enabled the fifth grade students to make personal connections with text; (2) In both middle and high school, there was a diminishing in the practice of activating students prior knowledge; (3) Vocabulary instruction consisted of relearning words that fifth grade students were already familiar with or knew well and; (4) limited opportunity for the application of new words; (5) Requirement for the learning of new words decreased as students moved through high school; (6) Instruction for question and answer relationships consisted of directing fifth grade students to reread or even pointing out where answers were found in the text; (7) Instruction that included modeling, utilization of samples, and specific criteria for question and answer responses were provided only for the advanced students in eighth grade; (8) Reinforcement of literal responses from text were provided for eleventh graders instead of instruction for a critical response based on multiple sources and; (9) the advanced classes were often provided with explicit criteria and detail about how to answer questions. Recommendations and implications for policy based on the voices of the students were presented.

This study examined financial aid and enrollment at a womens college. A historical review of literature coupled with the examination of previous studies provided background information on the topic. Two student groups were used in the analysis, which included individuals who were awarded financial aid and did not enroll, as well as, individuals who were awarded financial aid and did enroll. Only students who initially applied to the College during the 2002-03 and 2004-05 academic years were included in the analysis. Data were analyzed to determine: (1) financial aid and its affect on enrollment (2) ranking of the six college choices on the FAFSA (3) financial aid applicants and income levels (4) relationship between income and scholarship recipients (5) restructuring of financial aid packaging policies. The results found that financial aid does influence enrollment for both student groups. Financial aid was the primary reason for attendance for the students who enrolled, but influenced the other group not to enroll. Students indicated majors and cost as factors that influenced them to enroll at other colleges. Eighty percent of enrolled students listed the College on the FAFSA as their first choice, while 30% of the students who did not enroll had the College listed first. College ranking on the FAFSA provides a good indication as whether the student might enroll. Family incomes of students who did not enroll were greater than $50,001 per year. For the students who did enroll their annual family income was less than $50,000. Income was also compared to scholarship recipients and it was determined the majority of the enrolled students who were awarded a scholarship had family incomes of $50,000, or less per year. The majority of scholarship recipients for the students who did not enroll had family incomes greater than $50,001. It was recommended based on the analysis for the College to increase the two top scholarship awards, because these awards are given to the most academically capable students. The majority of scholarship awards now being offered are at the lowest academic interval, which indicates more of the brightest students need to be encouraged to enroll.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which different types of information were instrumentally used for the formulation of policy problems and the delineation of policy solutions stated by the policymakers in charge of the Chilean secondary education reform carried out between 1995 and 2000. This is an unusual setting where the administrators responsible for the design and implementation of the reform policy had strong backgrounds in social research. This type of setting has not been explored substantively by other researchers. The data analyzed in the study were 63 pieces of information used as evidence for 53 policy claims in appropriate documents as well as feedback from participating policymakers. The study showed a high degree of instrumental use of information both for identifying problems of secondary education in Chile, as well as policies to address them. Almost every policy claim identified in the reform documents analyzed was based directly on some type of evidence. Approximately 85% of the evidence used to support claims was research based. The research implied that use of information in policymaking can be increased by planning long-term processes of policy development with a stable policymaking team, including policymakers in production of research and other information needed, strengthening national research capacity in education, and to consult a wide variety of information.

A CASE STUDY OF TEACHER HIRING PRACTICES IN AWARD WINNING MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN PENNSYLVANIA Claire L. Miller, EdD University of Pittsburgh, 2004 _________________________________________ Given the lack of specific middle level teacher preparation in Pennsylvania, along with the implications of No Child Left Behind legislation, this case study investigated how principals of award winning middle schools resolve these issues in terms of the hiring and development of middle-level educators in order to sustain excellence in their schools. The knowledge of the essential elements of an effective middle school, the pedagogical expertise needed to effectively instruct transescents and the personal attributes of candidates were examined as possible factors in the hiring process. Data was collected by taping personal interviews and by examining district artifacts regarding interviewing procedures, as well as the application packets for either the National Blue Ribbon Award or the PMSA Don Eichhorn Award for Outstanding Middle Schools. Interview questions posed to the principals sought to discern their perceptions of the key personal qualities and pedagogical knowledge that they were searching for in outstanding middle school teacher candidates. Questions were also posed to address the districts practices for induction, mentoring, and professional development of new and existing staff members in order to build a capacity for best middle level practices. Finally, the principals own path to the principalship of an award winning middle school was explored. By studying the processes used in award-winning middle schools for teacher selection, mentoring and induction programs, and on-going professional development programs, the researcher sought to reveal the patterns and themes consistent among these schools, in order to draw conclusions and make recommendations about how other principals could build the staff capacity to become an outstanding middle school. Four themes emerged from the research. Middle school principals utilized a unique interview process in order to hire the best middle level teacher candidates. An emphasis was placed on the personal qualities of the candidates, rather than their pedagogical knowledge or experience. Award-winning middle schools nurtured an environment of collegial learning. Finally, under the leadership of the principal, the award-winning middle schools built a culture of continuous improvement. Results from this study supported the notion that hiring the right people was at the core of sustaining an excellent middle level program.

THE SEARCH FOR THE ROLE OF AN ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL Dawn Rattay-Nicolaus, Ed.D. University of Pennsylvania, 2004 This dissertation examines the role of the elementary principal in the context of the school in creating and maintaining effective educational programs that add to the success of the whole school environment. It further attempts to investigate the commonalities of qualities among elementary school principals and investigate how elementary school principals incorporate professional development into their supervisory practices and evaluate professional development in regard to instruction. Thus, this research will strengthen the existing body of knowledge concerning the leadership role of the principal in creating and maintaining effective educational evnironments for students and to identify qualities of an effective principal. The nature of this study was descriptive; the methodology used was qualitative guided by the themes of narrative inquiry. Five elementary principals from The Principals Academy of Western Pennsylvania were interviewed. The major findings demonstrated that many educational reforms require teachers and administrators to transform their roles and take on new responsibilities. All five elementary school principals identified more with characteristics of instructional leaders, even though the literature cited supports the idea that principals need to move from instructional to transformational. Perhaps, some of the principals interviewed or even all would move to being a transformational leader if they had their own professional development provided for them. Funding limits some of the elementary school principals in incorporating professional development into their supervisory practices. However, innovative ways of incorporating professional development were also discussed. Finally, the evaluation component was examined, and the conclusion was more evaluation of educational programs by principals is needed.

This study was designed to investigate the influence of the accountability movement on school-sponsored professional development programs, through an investigation of how accountability (high-stakes testing and sanctions) shapes the ways in which professional developers plan, implement, and reflect upon their professional development. The study was carried out by qualitatively examining the manner by which two groups of schools planned and implemented their professional development programs. More specifically a group of five schools identified by the state as needing improvement due to low test scores was compared with a second group of five schools not so identified. For both groups, the goal setting and planning stages of their professional development were examined, as well as the implementation of that plan (specifically, the form, duration, participation levels, focus, degree of active learning, level of coherence, and use of student data). Finally, the planners reflections were investigated to determine what they believed to be the influences of accountability on their professional development programs. The responses across the two groups of schools were coded and analyzed in order to identify similarities and differences within or between these two groups. In summarizing the data, the research suggests that only minimal differences exist between Warning List and Non-Warning List schools in the areas of planning, implementation, and reflection upon the professional development. Though variations occurred, schools generally carried out their professional development as they always have and being identified as a Warning List school provided no meaningful role in modifying professional development programs.

Schools are struggling to meet the accountability demands for increased student achievement associated with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Instructional philosophies and programs characteristics are being affected as schools are forced to view standardized testing results as a single measure of success. The findings of the study lend insight into the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 within the middle school setting for administrators and teachers within the middle school that are attempting to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress demands required by this legislation. The three middle schools used in the study were recognized as exemplary for their implementation of programming consistent with the essential elements of a middle school (NMSA, 1982). It was important to determine the extent middle school philosophy had taken hold within each of the schools. Use of the essential elements provided a common reference point to for comparison purposes. Data was collected from a variety of sources that included a review of school programs, PSSA data analysis, and interviews at each school consisting of the principal and a math teacher from each grade level (6, 7, and 8). The data was collected at each school independent of the other sites as to create authentic case study accounts of each schools degree of adaptation in response to the accountability demands for increased student achievement associated with NCLB. While the schools had realized past success, each school had begun to implement changes to the academic programming aimed to further increase achievement. Strategies being implemented differed slightly among schools, however, in all cases, elements of the middle school had begun to vanish. The amount of change to the programs present was related to the degree of need due to the presence of student subgroups within the school. The school review conducted as part of the Eichhorn Award nomination proved valuable as schools considered elements for change. Middle school leaders faced with similar circumstances in which the demands of increased student achievement have forced variations from their existing middle level program can utilize this study of school adaptation.

Communities still look upon universities for leadership because university coordinated programs are regarded as catalysts for change. My study is an exploration of a university-coordinated forum that provides a gendered space for women to excel in school leadership. My research, conducted as a case study, explored ways in which women as participants of the Jean Winsand International Institute (JWII) are fostering a community of practice among aspiring and practicing educational administrators in Western Pennsylvania. By focusing on womens perceptions, this study helps reshape and document the collective voices of women in educational administration in Western Pennsylvania in order to provide formative feedback for the Institute. Using communities of practice as an analysis tool, my case study focused on the broader picture of professional development by addressing the how, why, for whom and by what means the JWII affects its participants. This case study used mixed methodology research design and is framed within constructivism. All past and current attendees of this forum were my informants. For data collection, I used informal interviews, a pre-survey with 7 open-ended questionnaire items and a demographic section, and a final original survey instrument with 94 structured Likert-type rating scale and 9 open-ended items. I used forum agendas for document analysis and also collected data through participant observation of the annual conference. Major findings show that although the JWII is serving multiple cohorts well in fostering women school leaders it still lacks racial diversity and has difficulties attracting young professionals because of systemic and policy constraints. Overall, the JWII is attuned to issues of social justice as it provides a gendered space for practitioners to acquire and share knowledge and skills relevant to their practice in the schools.

BEYOND THE MANDATES OF PENNSYLVANIA CHAPTER 354: SUPERVISING, EVALUATING, AND QUALIFYING URBAN PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS WITH A FOCUS ON ELEMENTARY LITERACY INSTRUCTION Patricia S. Scheffler, Ed.D. University of Pittsburgh, 2006 This research was conducted using a case study analysis of four Elementary Education pre-service teachers. The participants were placed in urban school settings, and represented two graduate-level certification programs. All four of the participants were required, by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), to be evaluated for certification, according to the PDE 430 checklist. This research was grounded in Danielsons Framework for Professional Practice (1996) and measured against the Pennsylvania Department of Education or PDE 430 form. Three specific teacher behaviors were analyzed. They included student centered planning, student engagement, and reflective practice. As the University Supervisor of the participants, I used ethnographic methods to determine the extent to which they demonstrated these best practices. As a result of a review of related research and an analysis of data generated, I concluded that pre-service teachers in the study implemented these best practices at below or at basic levels when assessed within a constructivist framework while they earned scores above basic levels when state and local measures were used.

This study examined the role of the superintendent in an era of reform. The primary interest was to determine how current superintendents perceived their role in a context of school reform, what kinds of supports they need to effectively function in their redefined role, and where superintendents find these supports that will enable them to be successful in their redefined role. This is rich, descriptive, narrative, qualitative study that occurred in a natural setting. Participants were chosen because of their experiences and because they were willing to share their thoughts. Methods of data collection included a survey, semi-structured interviews, and a personal journal. Interview data was transcribed and organized into major and minor themes. Personal thoughts were kept in a journal for the purpose of adding reflective thoughts to the study. This researcher found that the role of the superintendent in an era of reform is constantly being redefined and evolves through his/her context. There is a universal context for all superintendents that is characterized by change, collaboration, and financial leadership. Yet, at any given moment, the universal context interfaces with personal beliefs/values, personal context, professional growth, types of support, and internal/external influences. The interfacing is fluid because of the variety of demand. Gaps full of tension are created between a superintendents beliefs, behavior, and skill vs. influences and demands. This researcher concludes that the superintendents role in an era of reform can be described as a Gap Closer.