America's postsecondary education system currently supports nearly 11 million people, but only 33-37% of these students will actually graduate with a Baccalaureate degree (Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, Whitt & Associates, 2005; OECD, 2009). Researchers have been examining various aspects of America's "persistence puzzle" for the past 30 years. The majority of these studies have focused on the academic and social environs of first-year, native students enrolled in large university programs (Braxton, Sullivan, & Johnson, 1997), where America's transfer student populations have been restricted or excluded (Townsend & Wilson, 2009). These restrictions represent a rather significant oversight in the current literature, given that approximately 52% of America's first-year postsecondary students are enrolled in community college programs (Cejda, 1997; Keener, 1994) and that nearly 40% of today's graduates will transfer between several institutions before obtaining a baccalaureate degree (NCES, 2005). Furthermore, the majority of these studies have relied on quantitative methods/data, which address persistence as an outcomes, rather than a series of events/experiences that contribute to a student's decision to withdraw (Tinto, 1993). As a result, we know very little about the psychological and environmental challenges students face as they transition between institutions (Laanan, 2004). Even those studies that have referred to the "transfer shock" students experience during their transition have failed to explore the methods, attributes, stresses (both psychological, social & cultural), or the strategies students employ to relieve these stresses (Holahan, Green, & Kelley, 1983; Laanan, 2001). This study examined the adjustment process of vertical transfer students who recently transferred to a four-year, Research I, Baccalaureate university in the southeast United States. It applied Adelman's (2006) definition of a vertical transfer student as: someone who began his or her postsecondary education in a community college, earned a at least 10 college credits and then transferred to a Baccalaureate university. This definition was then applied to a specific group of vertical transfer students who recently transferred from a single, local community college, less than three miles from the university, as these students represent approximately 43.3% of the total incoming transfer student population at the Baccalaureate institution (OIR, 2012b). The primary goals of this study were to define the transfer student experience, assist future transfer students with their transitions, and assess the quality/effectiveness of current programs so that staff, faculty and administrators could align and/or improve cooperative persistence programs that exist between these two institutions. After all, the rigors these students face during their adjustment to life as university students will have a significant impact on their persistence and/or success (Astin, 1984, Tinto, 1993, Townsend & Wilson, 2009). / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2015. / April 9, 2015. / Persistence, Success, Transfer Shock, Vertical Transfer Student / Includes bibliographical references. / David Tandberg, Professor Directing Dissertation; Diana Rice, University Representative; Stacy Rutledge, Committee Member; Toby Park, Committee Member.

Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world’s least developed countries. The country faces numerous social and health problems such as widespread household poverty and a high rate of HIV/AIDS infections, with severe consequences for children’s psychosocial well-being and school success. These childhood risk factors suggest any educational solution that is going to be effective must be responsive to children exposed to early childhood adversity, and adaptive to instruction in resource-constrained schools. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum analyzed in this study can potentially meet those requirements, if implemented effectively. In order to understand critical implementation factors in resource-poor contexts, I examined how educational stakeholders at the policy, school, and family levels perceived and engaged with SEL implementation with a mixed methods study in rural Malawi. I used interview, observation, and survey data collected from 16 policymakers, 432 primary school teachers, and 21 parents in Zomba, Malawi. I analyzed the multi-level, mixed methods data using Bronfenbrenner’s theory of ecological child development as an analytic lens. Qualitatively, I found that policymakers identified high rates of HIV/AIDS and declining levels of childcare support from extend families as contributing substantially to children’s social and emotional challenges in Malawi. In response, they implemented a mandatory SEL curriculum with sex and reproductive health as one component of its vision in primary schools. This policy vision did not fully translate into classroom-level SEL implementation, however. Although teachers recognized its importance and showed the consequently high level of instructional commitment, implementing the national SEL curriculum was culturally challenging due to the inclusion of sex and reproductive health, which was not a subject for public discussions in the Malawian culture. Moreover, the curriculum was instructionally demanding due to the novelty of learning concepts and delivery methods. Yet, there was a lack of professional teacher training in these two areas. In this situation, my quantitative analyses showed that individual teacher commitment alone had little effect on their implementation of SEL as a result. While parents also appreciated the curriculum, they questioned the cultural and age propriety of topics related to sex and reproductive health as well. Nevertheless, through internal collaborations within schools and external support from development partners such as Save the Children, teachers and parents found ways to integrate the SEL curriculum into classroom instructions, school activities, and community-level learning opportunities—for instance, using instructional strategies that were less susceptible to cultural sensitivity, organizing school committees and student clubs to offer SEL support beyond lesson hours, and creating voluntary community groups to give children additional learning opportunities after school. Taken together, the facilitative and hindering implementation factors I identified in this study offer important research and policy implications for effective, sustainable SEL intervention in Malawi and other low-income countries. In addition, they demonstrate the significance of greater partnerships and investments across different levels of the ecology of child development—from the home, school, and community to the broader policy level—for assuring children’s well-being and school success through high quality SEL education. Key words: Education Quality, Social and Emotional Learning, Curriculum Policy, Intervention Implementation, Multilevel Mixed Methods Research, Malawi / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / April 3, 2018. / Curriculum Policy, Malawi, Multilevel Mixed Methods Research, Primary Education, Social and Emotional Learning / Includes bibliographical references. / Stephanie Simmons Zuilkowski, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ithel Jones, University Representative; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member; Tamara Bertrand Jones, Committee Member.

The impacts of school resources on student achievement have been debated for half a century with no consensus reached among scholars. This topic has received increasing attention under the backdrop of both the educational accountability movement and the economic downturn of recent years. Using student and school-level longitudinal data from Florida, this study examines the impacts of school resources on student achievement in math. The study also examines whether and how the impacts of school resources vary for students with different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and whether the marginal effects of school inputs diminish with input levels. Overall, this study does not find consistent evidence showing a causal relation between added school expenditure and student achievement in math within school-and-principals. However, the results indicate that differences in per student expenditures are statistically related to differences in student achievement in math across schools and principals at the elementary and middle school levels. Since these correlations may stem from the impacts of unobserved characteristics of students, schools and principals, further investigations are necessary to make firm conclusions. This study calls more attention to the way current resouces are used. More specifically, neither a reduction in class size nor an increase in average years of teacher experience may improve student academic performance. However, an increase in the percentages of teachers with advanced degrees may raise student achievement in math at the elementary and high school levels. The percentages of classes being taught by in-field teachers also matters for student achievement at high school level. This study also indicates that the impacts of per student expenditure and class size may vary for students with different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, thus more attention should to be given to the special needs of these disadvantaged groups. However, since some conditional funding programs are not considered in this study, further investigations need to be conducted for more definitive conclusions. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2011. / February 24, 2011. / school resources, principal, educational expenditure, accountability, achievement / Includes bibliographical references. / Patrice Iatarola, Professor Directing Dissertation; Tim R. Sass, University Representative; Jeffrey A. Milligan, Committee Member; Peter Easton, Committee Member.

Over the last two decades, the charter school movement has arguably become the most widespread school reform in the United States. Charter schools differ tremendously in terms of where and when they form and the entities and organizations responsible for operating them. This dissertation investigates charter school formation using data from Florida and advances a charter school formation theory. This theory is tested to systematically assess what factors correlate with new charter school adoption and whether charter schools are market-based or nonmarket-based. The analysis addresses changes in state charter school legislation; educational performance of the traditional public schools; community political, demographic, and economic characteristics; the structure of local school boards and their relationship with charter school formations in Florida; and the extent to which charter schools take market or nonmarket form. The study finds that there has been a shift from primarily nonmarket-based charter schools to market-based charter schools in the 18 years since the authorization of the first charter school in the state. Further, expansion in support for fixed capital outlay provided by the state influences market-based charter school formations. I find little evidence that charter schools formed as a result of the poor performance of the existing traditional public schools in a district. Market-based charter schools were also found to be more likely than nonmarket schools to form in counties with higher percentages of students enrolled in private schools. The analysis also produces evidence that school districts with appointed school superintendents have a higher frequency of charter school formations. Further, school districts with smaller school boards are less likely to have market-based charter school formations perhaps suggesting that neighborhood groups have less access and less influence in communities with smaller boards. This study contributes to our knowledge of charters schools and education policy and also has practical implications for the state policymakers, school governing bodies, and the various charter school actors. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2015. / March 30, 2015. / Charter Schools, Education Management Organizations, Market-Based Schools, School Choice, School Districts / Includes bibliographical references. / Carolyn Herrington, Professor Directing Dissertation; Koji Ueno, University Representative; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member; Laura Lang, Committee Member.

Researchers such as Tinto (1993), Astin (1975) and Kuh (1995) have found that most students who are engaged with their college environment have a greater connection with the institution and in some instances, higher rates of persistence than non-engaged students. Today, colleges and universities offer a variety of extracurricular options such as student government, athletics and various clubs and organizations. In addition to these options, institutions are also offering students more opportunities to volunteer. Such opportunities include community service and service learning, which incorporates classroom material into activities outside the classroom. Florida State University (FSU) estimates that nearly 2,000 students participate in service activities each year. The goal of this study was to examine the effect of volunteering on two measures of academic achievement: grade point average and persistence from freshman to sophomore year. Student transcript data was provided by the Registrar. The study drew on the population of native FSU freshman for the 2006-07 academic year, which was comprised of 5,974 students. Of that population, 464 students earned at least one hour of service at Florida State University. Linear and logistic regressions were used to analyze four hypotheses related to the effect of the volunteering on academic achievement. These models predicted that for every hour of service that a student earns, their GPA would increase by .05. However, the results did not indicate a significant effect of volunteering on persistence from the Spring 2007 to Fall 2007 semester. The results of this study offer support for continued research of this topic, as there are several areas for further review of this relationship, particularly on campuses that are dissimilar to Florida State University, which has a very high persistence rate (nearly 90%) and has shown an obvious interest in service opportunities. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2010. / February 25, 2010. / Academic Achievement, Volunteering, Service, Persistence, Grade Point Average / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert A. Schwartz, Professor Directing Dissertation; Irene Padavic, University Representative; Joseph Beckham, Committee Member; Shouping Hu, Committee Member.

In the research literature on school reform and leadership effectiveness, little has been written on the nature and impact of the governance structure of elementary schools and the appropriateness of these structures in meeting the increasingly high stake accountability demands of public education. The purpose of this study was to examine span of control as one element of school governance and determine whether or not there was a significant relationship with span of control and school performance. The study also examined selected school level variables associated with span of control to determine the relationship and the unique effect of each of these variables to school performance. The study examined two populations of elementary schools chosen from the twelve largest school districts in Florida: all elementary schools that have maintained an "A/B" school grade through Florida's A+ Accountability Plan, over the four-year period from 1998 through 2002, and all elementary schools that failed to earn a grade higher than "D/F" through this same grading system during this same time period. The time period represented the years since the inception of school grading, excluding the 2002-2003 school year for which grades were not available at the time that the study was conducted. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, and multiple regression analysis were utilized in the data analysis. The data was collected using databases constructed and maintained by various divisions of the Florida Department of Education and the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). Results of the study revealed that in the population of high achieving elementary schools, school performance improved as the span of control became narrower, and the relationship between span of control and school performance was statistically significant. In the population of low achieving schools, there was a relationship between span of control and school performance, but the relationship was not statistically significant. The school level variables with the strongest correlation to school performance in both school populations were percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, percentage of minority students, and student mobility each of these variables had a statistically significant inverse relationship with school performance. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2004. / January 30, 2004. / Low Achieving Schools, High Achieving Schools, Florida, Elementary Schools, School Performance, Span of Control / Includes bibliographical references. / William R. Snyder, Professor Directing Dissertation; Albert Oosterhof, Outside Committee Member; Beverly Bower, Committee Member; Michael C. Biance, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study is to present a grounded analysis that fills gaps in the higher education literature on the concept of educational consumer value and perceptions that support that consumer value. Specifically, the study focuses on the learning experiences of older adult students who attend community colleges and examines value as a factor in the consumer behavior of these students. The study takes into consideration a convergence of national trends and phenomena in higher education: the increasing number of adults age 38-58 (Baby Boomers) attending community colleges; the related issues of marketing community colleges as a commodity; and emerging value systems as they relate to adult experiences and motivations in higher education institutions. This study presents a grounded theory of how Baby Boomers as older adult students value their present learning experiences as consumers of community college educational services. The grounded theory is based on a manageable, focused, and major operationalized research question in a substantive and local setting: How do Baby Boomers value their learning experiences as consumers of a Florida community college's educational services? An understanding of Baby Boomer consumer behavior and the processes that drive the behavior could be used to help develop programs and marketing plans for those community colleges interested in attracting and retaining the aging Baby Boomer market. Over the course of a year a total of 20 Baby Boomers ages 41 to 54 (17 attending community college and 3 not attending community college) in two separate settings were interviewed for the study. The concept of Self-identity Modification (SIM) emerged as a major influence in the consumer valuing process of the participants of this study. SIM is a simple self-change model that describes how participants reinvent how they see themselves utilizing the community college as the modifying agent. Analysis indicated that a successful self-identity modification (SIM) appeared as a significant value influence and expectation to participants as consumers of community college educational services. The 7 dimensions that support the SIM process appear to fit well in the framework of existing consumer value models. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2004. / May 17, 2004. / Consumer behavior, Older Adults, Marketing, Means/Ends Theory, Customer Value Hierarchy / Includes bibliographical references. / Beverly L. Bower, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ralph S. Brower, Outside Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member; Daniel J. Flint, Committee Member.

This dissertation is a case study and historical analysis of the rise of indigenous organizing in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico over the past three decades. The primary focus is on how indigenous organizations in Oaxaca reconstructed indigenous identity over the past three decades as part of their mobilization activities. The study traces the evolution of indigenous organizing from its roots in traditional peasant movements demanding land rights to its transformation in the 1980s and 1990s into an identity-based movement demanding indigenous rights and autonomy. This transformation is documented by examining changes in political strategies, organizational forms and discourses of the movement, particularly for the 1989-1997 period, when movement activity intensified and organizations making identity-based demands took center stage. The study also addresses the historical and structural factors that shaped the struggle, such as the initial indigenous resistance to the Spanish colonizers, the continuing resistance and adaptation throughout the colonial period and into the 20th century, the distinctive role of the post-revolutionary Mexican state, rural economic crisis, and the critical influence of the Zapatista movement in the neighboring of Chiapas. The study concludes with an analysis of a series of Zapatista-inspired debates about indigenous autonomy and their implications for the future of indigenous organizing in Oaxaca, including the definition of a long-term strategy of cultural revitalization at the community level as the starting point for extending indigenous autonomy to larger political, cultural, and geographic entities. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2011In Partial Fulfillment of the. / Summer Semester, 2011. / June 14, 2011. / Indigenous Organizing, Oaxaca, Mexico, Zapatista / Includes bibliographical references. / Sande D. Milton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Irene Padavic, University Representative; Jeffrey A. Milligan, Committee Member; Patrice M. Iatarola, Committee Member.

Some contend that grievance procedures, which typically include arbitration as the final stage of the process, may be a hindrance in administrators' ability to exercise discretion in school management operations (Hess & Kelly, 2006; Johnson & Donaldson, 2006). Yet, little is known about the grievance and arbitration processes in education (Hess & Kelly, 2006). Even less is known about how these processes affect personnel decisions. This study seeks to build an understanding of grievance and arbitration processes in public education and to explore how these processes influence personnel decisions. Case studies are conducted in six of Florida's school districts to analyze grievance and arbitration practices and the influences of such practices on administrators' staffing decisions. The following research questions are examined: (a) How do Florida's collective bargaining agreements outline the grievance and arbitration process? Do grievance provisions vary among districts? If so, in what ways? (b) How do grievance and arbitration policies work in practice? At what stages in the process are grievances typically resolved? How often do grievances progress to the arbitration stage, and, what are the outcomes? What accounts for district and school level differences, if any, in the number, type, and outcomes of grievance arbitration cases?; and (c) Do grievance and arbitration policies and practices influence decisions regarding teacher placement and dismissal? If so, how? An analysis of grievance and arbitration provisions and other policies (e.g., mediation, Administrative Law Judge disputes) that govern dispute resolution in Florida reveal that districts share similarities and differences in how they outline and implement these policies. Findings of the study also reveal that grievance and arbitration provisions, rarely, if at all, influence staffing decisions. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2008. / June 18, 2008. / Arbitration, Grievance Arbitration, Grievance Provisions, Grievance and Arbitration Provisions, Grievance / Includes bibliographical references. / Lora Cohen-Vogel, Professor Directing Dissertation; William E. Klay, Outside Committee Member; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member.

This dissertation examines how the impact of private school choice policy on school district enrollment and expenditure differs by design, specifically in program type (voucher and tax-credit scholarship) and student eligibility (universal, low-income, and failing school). Private school choice has been one of the strongest and most important education reforms in the last several decades. As of 2018, a total of 63 private school choice programs are currently implemented in 30 states. The expansion of such programs from 2010 to 2018 has been especially dramatic, increasing from approximately 70,000 to 466,000 students, and with 13 states starting 38 new private school choice programs. However, policymakers and researchers have paid less attention to revealing trends within school district enrollment and expenditures since private school choice programs were implemented. Considering that private school choice varies by state in terms of program type and student eligibility, an examination of public-school district trends is particularly important because it provides insight into the repercussions of private school choice design. Therefore, this study clarifies the difference in district enrollment and spending patterns after adoption of the school choice policy, representing the treatment effects using the Difference-in-Differences model comparing districts in states with the choice programs to the same measures of districts in states without the programs. Employing a district-year fixed effect with a school district matched sample from panel data spanning 19 years, 1997 through 2015, three conclusions were made. First, any form of private school choice policy has negligible impact on district enrollment but significant impact on per-pupil spending. Second, in terms of the relationship between district enrollment change and policy design, all program types and student eligibilities show a negative relationship with district enrollment change, except for the voucher program type and low-income eligibility. On the other hand, district per-pupil spending has a statistically significant relationship with each program type and student eligibility. The direction and size of effects is generally constant regardless of the model specification. This study aims to fill the literature gap by exploring the association between private school choice design and school district change. It is a good starting point for a systematical investigation of the effects of private school choice design on school district enrollment and spending. For future study, other components and features of the policy and their changes over time need to be considered for estimating the effects of school choice policy. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / 2019 / October 29, 2019. / difference-in-differences, private school choice, program funding type, propensity score matching, school district enrollment and spending, student eligibility / Includes bibliographical references. / Patrice M. Iatarola, Professor Directing Dissertation; Elizabeth M. Jakubowski, University Representative; Carolyn D. Herrington, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.