Thesis (Ed. D.)--Oklahoma State University, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p.111-123).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1983. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-98).

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University

This study records the perceptions of special education administrators, building principals and regular and special education teachers in four neighboring North-of-Boston communities as to how each has: viewed the evolution of the special education law and its implementation process; included or excluded students with disabilities in local public schools during 15 years of state and federal mandates; mainstreamed students with disabilities; dealt with the fiscal restraints of Proposition 2 1/2; become more or less concerned with "due process" than with quality education. Twenty-one special and regular educators from two cities with large low income populations and two smaller, more affluent towns provided data responding to multiple choice questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews. Results indicate all four systems have adopted special education mandates incorporating change at varying degrees of implementation. The two multi-ethnic and socio-economically diverse cities have been assisted with compliance through state and federal regulators and the courts, overseeing procedural implementation. The smallest affluent suburban community studied continues to resist mainstreaming. While their affluent neighbor has successfully upheld a strong commitment to mainstreaming, evident in a more unified education system, where principals and the special education administrator share the role of gatekeeper of the regulations. Three communities' respondents described a separate system of education for students with disabilities where the special education administrator is considered the ultimate gatekeeper of the regulations. Compliance continues to dominate and concern school administrators. Legal and technical issues are reported to overwhelm the mainstream educator who, generally, has abdicated responsibility for the student with disabilities to the specialist. The specialist has all too readily accepted this assignment. Decentralization of special education and restructure of the mainstream, as recommended in the Regular Education Initiative, will require a metamorphosis of the gatekeeper to collaborative consultant and eventual elimination of the position special education administrator. The transition from policy to practice will occur only to the extent that regulatory agencies view educational outcomes and quality of programs as a priority, and when all educators apply the standards for special education to all education.

Many high schools appear to be experiencing declining academic achievement and decreasing attendance. The Renaissance Program, which relies heavily on incentives, is currently being advocated nationally as a solution to these problems and has been implemented in many schools. The effectiveness of this program needs to be evaluated. School improvement literature from the Excellent Schools, the Essential Schools, and the Effective Schools calls for the institutional use of incentives to improve achievement. The Renaissance Program is an incentives-based approach used by Silver Lake Regional High School in order to improve motivation to achieve. It impacts students and teachers and is dependent on parents and the community for its success. Transforming (i.e., creative) leadership recommends that schools use incentives similar to those used in businesses. Psychological and educational research has shown that incentives are essential for effective motivation. An evaluation of the Renaissance Program at one suburban high school was undertaken by: (1) examining raw data concerning grades and attendance; (2) surveying a random sampling of students, teachers, and parents regarding their perceptions of the program; and (3) interviewing students, teachers, parents, and administrators, concerning their impressions about the effectiveness of the program. Since the implementation of the Renaissance Program, grades and attendance have improved and drop-out rates have decreased. Work attitudes and school spirit have also improved since the program was introduced. The program has been applicable to all students because of it is multi-faceted and flexible. There is teacher, parent, and community support for the program. However, in all three areas, there is a need for increased support. The program has been seen as mainly administrative-driven. There needs to be more student, parent, and teacher participation in the planning of the program. Student incentives need to be kept fresh but there does not seem to be a need for formal teacher incentives as part of the program. There is a great deal of support for the program and it has been seen as having a positive impact on the school as a whole.

American higher education has been affected by spiraling cost, declining college-age population, decreasing financial aid and defense grants, budget reductions from state governments and concerns about quality. The merging of two or more institutions into a single entity is one strategy to cope with these changes. The literature on the subject of merger, however, is fragmented and dwells mainly on the reasons why institutions merge. This study examines the tensions and elements that constitute the merger phenomenon in its totality and identifies implications for implementation. The study analyzed 18 doctoral dissertation case studies of 20 higher educational mergers that took place during the period 1964-1985. Similarities and differences were identified and the findings compared with the merger literature. The data were then interpreted from the perspective of organizational change. The analysis indicated that three major tensions shape the merger phenomenon: the clash between maintaining the status quo and implementing change; the emergence of one institution as the dominant party thereby exacerbating the change for the subordinate party; and the accomplishment of organizational objectives at the expense of individual needs. A pattern emerged indicating that change was not managed, decision-making was top down and self-centered, crisis was not anticipated, power was used to dominate, conflict was divisive, planning was non-existent or poorly done and implementation was characterized by limited strategies to facilitate the process. Several important distinctions were identified according to the type of control of the merging institutions. Differences were found in the impelling reasons, motivation, process stages, type of risk, degree of consultation and outcomes. Exceptions to the conventional wisdom that financially troubled institutions should not merge were noted. Also, a simple legal maneuver frequently employed in the corporate world was identified as an alternative to the standard merger approach. In order to facilitate the complex process of a merger and to address the identified problems, the application of the integrated frames approach for managing organizational change as developed by Bolman and Deal (1984) is recommended. Strategic planning is also recommended as an effective tool for coping with change.

This dissertation is a qualitative study of how the emerging organizational operating environment of the Information Age is demanding a change in internal organizational dynamics. The parts of the study include a review of literature, a scan of organizational external factors and internal dynamics and a series of in-depth interviews with organizational leaders from the private, public and non-profit sectors. During this time of transition from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, four major external factors are changing the operational environment: the emerging global economy; new technology; changing consumer tastes; and demographic shifts. Thus we see that the operational environment is very different then it was during the Industrial Age and today's organizational leaders must maintain a constant dialogue about the emerging global economy, diversity of the work force, greater productivity and quality. Leadership must understand that human resources are their most valuable asset because the key organizational resource has become knowledge. Such a paradigm demands the creation of "learning organizations," that tap the desire of each member of the organization to contribute fully and create the environment for that to happen using the dynamics of leadership, vision, values, and network structures. This study offers leaders, of any type of organization, a perspective on key organizational external factors of the Information Age and the organizational dynamics a of 21st century learning organization.

This dissertation examines and analyzes the differences between a public and a private school in Nepal. The study looks at different factors such as school management and operation, school environment, external interference in school business, student discipline and behavior, teacher qualification and training and school curriculum. The study examines them as factors contributing to the school's success and effectiveness. The study explores how the two schools are managed and operated, the curriculums that are taught, and the learning environment that existed. The study describes how students, teachers, school Headmaster, Principal, and parents felt about the public and the private school. A qualitative case study method was used as the primary research methodology for this study. The main source of data came from in-depth interviews of 16 participants who were students, teachers, school Headmaster, Principal, and parents of the two schools. Additional data was gathered from the researcher's journal based on school observations, government statistical reports, and school documents. The findings indicate that the school Headmaster needs autonomy and decision making freedom to manage the school effectively. A positive learning environment is necessary for a school to succeed and outside interference and presence of non-educational activities such as politics is destructive to the school environment. The study suggests that the government and the community must clearly define and understand their role in the school, so that their involvement helps rather than interferes in the school. The study indicates that the quality of education in the private school was better than the one in the public school. Although not significantly different, the public school teachers had more qualifications and training than the private school teachers. However, more supplemental and advanced curricula was taught in the private school. Despite the high tuition and fees, the parents preferred to send their children to private schools.

Politics plays an inevitable and integral role in the development of policy concerning higher education at the state level. Governors are fundamental to the political process of statewide higher education policymaking. This study examines the role which two governors played in the early development of community colleges in Massachusetts between 1957 and 1962. The purpose of this study is essentially two-fold. First, it seeks to tell a political story about two governors of different personalities, parties, and policy priorities. Focusing on the common historical theme of community college development, this story presents how the contexts of their times influenced the strategies and decisions of Foster Furcolo (1957-1960) and John Volpe (1961-1962) and how, in turn, these two men shaped the period in which they lived. The second purpose of this study is to analyze specifically how Furcolo and Volpe influenced the critical early years of community college development in Massachusetts. Furcolo held a passionate policy commitment to community colleges and his passion is largely responsible for their gestation and birth. Volpe was less personally committed, yet his administration witnessed a marked increase in funding and pace of campus planning. Analysis of this irony holds a number of significant lessons concerning gubernatorial responsibilities for policy formulation, legislative leadership, and public opinion leadership. This dissertation utilizes a case study research modus operandi. It includes a literature review which focuses on works related to politics and policy-making in higher education, as well as the American governorship and the range of gubernatorial power. The results of this study offer insights into how governors use the powers of their office to shape the policies of their eras and beyond. It also provides a view of how two different governors engaged the specific policy issue of community college development within the context of other demands and policy concerns of their administrations. Finally, it offers tightly defined lessons for the relationship between governors and higher education in contemporary times.

Research of the last decade has pointed to strong leadership by the principal as one of the most important determinant of a school's effectiveness and level of student achievement. Today's principals, especially those at the helm of urban schools, face myriad challenges as they attempt to lead their school down the path to academic excellence. The increasingly important educational role of the principal, combined with the escalating problems plaguing inner-city schools, make it crucial that urban principals receive top-notch graduate preparation. Recent research on principal preparation programs nationwide indicates similarity in instructional content but wide variations in quality. Few graduate programs integrate theory with practical experiences and fewer still provide the special skills needed to work in urban schools. Do today's urban principals feel their graduate programs prepared them to meet the challenges of running an urban school? This quantitative study used the instrument, Principal's Perception of the Principalship, to examine the perceptions of 72 school principals in an urban school district in the south. Subsidiary questions focused on the relationship between principal's age, gender and work experience and their perceptions of preparation programs. Thirty-nine percent of principals felt their programs were not effective in preparing them to function in an urban school; twenty-six percent felt their programs were very effective and thirty-five percent said their programs were effective. No significant differences were found to exist between the groups in terms of gender, age, or years of experience as a teacher. Those respondents who had more years of experience as a principal were less critical of their administrative preparation program. Data revealed that those administrative training programs with an internship component were perceived as more effective than those without; university educators should keep this information in mind when planning and assessing their principal preparation programs. An alarming finding is that fifty-five percent of respondents saw dealing with student academic decline and student behavior as the areas in which their administrative program failed them the most. This is especially alarming in light of the renewed focus on the principal as school instructional leader.