<p> The purpose of the exploratory research study was to identify the practices that school principals in the state of Pennsylvania utilize to best support students, parents and school personnel before and during the transition to a middle level school. Research questions were designed to assist in determining what transitional practices schools are using, which practices principals&rsquo; rate most successful, to what extent transition program activities are aligned to the developmental needs (physical, cognitive, social-emotional) of young adolescents, how transitional practices compare between middle level schools that have and have not been identified nationally as a <i>School to Watch </i> and how practices vary by the grade configuration of middle level schools.</p><p> Quantitative and comparative coding qualitative analysis was used in the study and results indicated that transitional practice usage is valued by principals, yet implementation of transitional practices varies among schools. Time was reported as the most significant barrier to implementing transitional practices. The majority of practices used by schools are with students, yet practices lack in addressing students&rsquo; social-emotional needs. Practices aligned to cognitive needs of young adolescents are used more frequently and ranked most successful by principals. Principals indicated self-reported success and that the most common practice used with students prior to transition is an orientation day to the middle school and having an assembly about building rules, procedures and information is most successful and common during transition. Regardless of grade configuration, transitional practices used with school personnel remain the least frequently implemented by schools. Furthermore, student practices aligned to the physical developmental needs of young adolescents are more frequently implemented by schools that have been designated a <i> School to Watch.</i></p><p> I used a web-based survey to gather data to examine the extent to which the transitional practices were implemented in schools. A sample of 96 middle level principals in Pennsylvania responded to the survey. Results from the study support the use of transitional practices with students and parents and educating staff about transition to build a stronger school community and foundation of educational excellence. Implications for professional development and future research are offered.</p>

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Studies focusing on Catholic schools as a proxy for all private education or all private religious education miss important variances within the private school sector, especially at the first grade level. The implication of this is that the vast majority of secondary school choice studies are incomplete; the elementary schooling decision of the parents should be included for all secondary school choice analyses. I augment the scope of a households first grade schooling choice by offering a rich model that includes the public schooling option and the most detailed typology of private schools to date: Catholic, Evangelical or Fundamental Protestant, Mainline Protestant or Other Faith, and Secular. Upon selecting a school type, I evaluate a students performance within this selected sector. While critics argue that selection and omitted variable biases generate test score gains for students rather than private school superiority, I include a childs fall kindergarten reading, math, and general knowledge test scores to control for a students knowledge acquired prior to kindergarten enrollment. I examine whether higher first grade test scores are the result of selection into the private sector or preeminence of the private sector. I find kindergarten test performance, household income, and parental education are significant and positive factors in selecting a school. Additionally, household religiosity and the denominational composition in the households home county are also significant determinants of schooling choice. Results from voucher simulations indicate that an increase in private school attendance does not translate to uniform enrollment increases at all types of private schools. White and Hispanic girls display similar patterns for Catholic and Protestant schools while African-American and white girls select Evangelical schools in analogous trends. Findings suggest that, while a students ability is the driving force behind first grade achievement, the type of school attended in first grade does affect a childs test score for all three tests. First grade private school enrollment makes below average achievers in kindergarten into better students in the first grade. Private schools offer no significant benefit for first grade enrollment to high achieving kindergarten students.

<p> Even with the controversial history of tracking students by ability and its possible differential, socially reproductive effects on student outcomes, tracking remains a common practice in public secondary schools. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between students' performance on state standardized tests and the type of classroom assignment practice employed. Specifically, students were tracked by ability for English Language Arts (ELA) two consecutive years. Their average performance was compared to the next year's result when, at the same school, the same students were instructed in mixed ability ELA classrooms. With persistent achievement and resource gaps, continued pressures of high stakes testing, and the recent advent of including student performance data in educator evaluations, it was both timely and relevant to re-examine student to classroom assignment practices and their relationship with student achievement. </p><p> Taking advantage of a unique site in which most students experienced both "treatments" of tracked and mixed ELA instruction, changes in student performance were more attributable to time-varying factors, such as the type of classroom assignment, as opposed to time-invariant characteristics, like race, gender, or ability. Multilevel modeling accounted for the nesting of students within classrooms, while other factors such as teacher sequence, race, sex, and initial ability were also included in the model. Overall, non-advanced students who were mixed by ability with advanced students had the most significant achievement gains. Other groups also had gains, though not to a statistically significant level. This finding, with replication, offers promise for the narrowing of the achievement gap between advanced and non-advanced students. As this gap mirrors racial and socioeconomic lines, also seen in this study, mixed ability classrooms may lead to more equitable outcomes, thereby also affecting future life conditions. Educational leaders must be cognizant of how and why student to classroom decisions are being made, paying attention to both results and antecedents. Similarly, as teachers play a critical role in student achievement progress, also supported by this study, leaders must develop and support teachers so they can best meet the varying needs of students. </p>

Research focused exclusively on the participation trends of male high school students in physical education is limited (Allison et al., 2005). The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical education experiences of Grade 10 high school males to explore their decisions to either enroll or not enroll in elective physical education in Grade 11. Semistructured focus group discussions elicited information on the experiences of Grade 10 male high school physical education students. Eight major themes emerged from the findings: value of physical activity, engagement in physical activity, disengagement from physical activity, Physical Education 10 status, teacher as leader, program knowledge, program status, and disenchantment with Physical Education 10 experience. The thesis discusses these themes and comments on the educational significance of the findings as possible impetus for future investigations into the programming needs of male high school students and their lifelong pursuit of physical activity.

This study investigated how experienced teachers learned Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) during their professional development. With the introduction of ICT, experienced teachers encountered change becoming virtually displaced persons – digital immigrants; new settlers – endeavouring to obtain digital citizenship in order to survive in the information age. In the process, these teachers moved from learning how to push buttons, to applying software, and finally to changing their practice. They learned collectively and individually, in communities and networks, like immigrants and adult learners: by doing, experimenting and reflecting on ICT. Unfortunately, for these teachers-as-pedagogues, their focus on pedagogical theory during the action research they conducted, was not fully investigated or embraced during the year-long study. This study used a participant observation qualitative methodology to follow teachers in their university classroom. Interviews were conducted and documentation collected and verified by the teacher educator. The application of Kolb‘s, Gardner‘s, and Vygotsky‘s work allowed for the observation of these teachers within their sociocultural contexts. Kolb‘s work helped to understand their learning processes and Gardner‘s work indicated the learning abilities that these teachers valued in the new ICT environment. Meanwhile Vygotsky‘s work – and in particular three concepts, uchit, perezhivanija, and mislenija – presented a richer and more informed basis to understand immigration and change. Finally, this research proposes that teachers learn ICT through what is termed a hyperuchit model, consisting of developments; action; interaction; and reflection. The recommendation is that future teacher university ICT professional learning incorporates this hyperuchit model.

In 1994 the Commonwealth Government allocated funds for the design and development of a number of Rural Access Community Training Centres throughout Australia. This program derives from the strategic plan, A Bridge to the Future: Australias National Strategy for V.E.T. and specifically, objective number three (3); achieving equitable outcomes in V.E.T. The key question for this thesis is; how successful has vocational education and training (V.E.T.) reform been in empowering one local community to plan for, manage and deliver new education and training services? The focus of this thesis is a case-study of how one community is coping with vocational education and training (V.E.T.) reform and an analysis of the critical factors involved in facilitating change within communities, community organisations and the Australian vocational education and training system. A case-study approach was utilised to research Glassy Waters, a small rural community with a population of some 650 residents situated on a system of rivers and lakes in Victoria. The methodology utilised in gathering information for the case-study is mixed-mode relying on some of the principles of participatory action research and specifically the participant observations of the researcher. The research also relies on interviews with key stakeholders to ascertain information, views and experiences of a community in the process of creating a new vocational education and training centre. This thesis reveals that Glassy Waters Advisory Corporation (G.W.A.C.), a community managed organisation, has been successful in meeting the primary objectives of Commonwealth policy to establish a Rural Access Community Training Centre and increase access to V.E.T. programs for some disadvantaged groups living in the local community. However, both the policy and the implementation process has had limited impact on the prevailing management and employment culture and practices within the Glassy Waters community. The Glassy Waters case-study provides indicators that certain factors act as barriers to the implementation of a new learning culture within the community and therefore act as barriers to disadvantaged people accessing V.E.T. programs. The need for a new learning culture within the community was identified by government representatives as crucial to the success of the new training centre and the development of new learning cultures has been identified by a policy mix implied by Commonwealth and State/Territory governments as central to the V.E.T. reform process in Australia. The Glassy Waters case-study reflects that although change is occurring on the edges of the vocational education and training (V.E.T.) sector in terms of the key tenets of national vocational education and training (V.E.T.) reform, the actual communities that are the target of these new services are a long way from being receptive of new learning cultures in either a theoretical or practical sense. The concepts of learning communities/regions and learning organisations are still just concepts and many individuals, communities and organisations are struggling to implement new principles of learning within long established community structures. Therefore, there is evidence that it is timely for governments and local communities to review the philosophy, people and processes of national vocational education and training (V.E.T.) reform to ensure that all stakeholders, including governments, industries and communities are on the same track. There is also evidence that communities want government resources to be allocated toward the kinds of community development projects and programs that address the philosophy, people and process of vocational education and training and not just products and outcomes.

The aim of this research was to explain the process of nurses’ self-directed learning in clinical practice according to their self-perceptions. The researcher applied a phenomenological research approach as it enabled the researcher to discover and understand the direct daily experiences of nurses as they relate to self-directed learning in clinical practice. The research took place in a provincial Thai general hospital with over 500 beds. The participants were seven nurses from seven wards and four nurse educators from four departments of this hospital. Each participant had at least one year of work experience in a general hospital with 500 patient-beds in Thailand. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and field notes over seven months from July 2003 to January 2004. Inductive analysis was used to interpret participants’ perceptions, experiences and behaviors. Data are presented to illustrate and substantiate interpretations of the selfdirected learning process of nurses in clinical practices. The findings show that nurses defined self-directed learners by four characteristics: 1) independent in learning, 2) effective in learning, 3) accepting of responsibility for learning, and 4) able to use problem solving skills. It was also found that nurses learned about patients, nursing practice and nursing communications through self-direction by selecting their own methods of learning, as well as choosing the sources of their learning. Nurse educators have a role in encouraging and supporting nurses to learn through self-direction by providing and suggesting how to use learning resources, building a conducive atmosphere and environment for learning, and evaluating the effectiveness of nurses’ self-directed learning. The findings from this study indicate that the opportunity to learn through self-direction already exists in the clinical setting. The nurses in this study primarily utilized learning sources within the hospital setting when engaged in self-directed learning, in particular human resources. Both structured and unstructured activities contributed to learning opportunities for nurses in clinical practice. Critical to their learning was the capability of identifying the learning opportunities that arise in their work. These results can be applied in nursing development plans in order to increase the self-directed learning potential of professional nurses. This effort may then enhance lifelong learning among nursing personnel of hospitals. Nurses can use their knowledge and skills from self-development to provide higher quality nursing care to patients. Eventually, their self-development will lead to their career development and finally to the development of the organization.

This study set out to examine and describe the administrative experiences of senior leaders and senior and junior staff in three Thai universities. The researcher chose to employ a grounded theory approach to analyse data collected from in-depth interviews with twelve participants including one Dean from Suranaree University of Technology (SUT), one from King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) and two from Burapha University (BUU). The senior staff informants included four heads of schools and departments, one from each of SUT and KMUTT and two from BUU. Junior staff informants included four Chief or Faculty Secretaries, one each from SUT and KMUTT and two from BUU. Other data sources included field notes and the documents provided by each university. All interviews were conducted in Thai, transcribed verbatim and translated into English. Along with field notes, memos and documents, these were analysed using the constant comparative method synonymous with grounded theory. Findings of the research revealed that effective leadership combines both interpersonal and organizational skills in establishing direction in universities and in aligning, motivating and inspiring people. The study is set in a context where universities in Thailand are moving from state bureaucratic control to autonomous status. Effective leadership is therefore of great importance.

There is a keen interest in spirituality today - a new search for meaning. As Tacey (2003, p.2) comments; “We are caught in a difficult moment in history, stuck between a secular system we have out-grown, and a religious system we cannot fully embrace. “Clearly, a spirituality exists in Australia that is no longer associated with religion.” I believe the starting point for this spirituality is in the everyday. Evidence of spirituality exists in families, a microcosm of society, and in family homes. This is where life’s ultimate questions seem to be answered – Who am I? Where am I? Why am I here? As a visual artist doing a Creative PhD, my thesis follows my own journey as an immigrant finding place and space, which I call ‘splace’, in Australia. Being a mother, I have attempted to locate my children in a community and religious landscape foreign to me. The resulting fine art exhibition at Span Galleries, Melbourne, uses the familiar geography of the church building as a framework to explore aspects of spirituality in four galleries named: VIRTUAL NARTHEX - The spiritual self’s recognition of self CHAPEL – the spiritual self’s space/place within the family NAVE – the spiritual self’s relationship to community SANCTUARY – the spiritual self’s life journey ‘from here to eternity’ The concurrent community art exhibition, ‘CHISHOLM’S HOMES: Shaking Down the Miracle’, at the Migration Museum, Adelaide, augments the chosen themes and their creative processes. My art as visual theology, places spirituality within the grasp of the everyday, a holy pilgrimage through the ever changing, ever challenging passage called ‘family’. Using installation, it incorporates fabric, found objects, wood, styrofoam, tapestry, text, movement, digital composition and soundscape, to deconstruct fixed, preconceived family and spiritual references. September 11th has increased a fear of other cultures. There has never been a better time to globally effect much more than tolerance but to reflect common values and visions; discovering a universal search for meaning as transferred through families and community. Beyond imagery and words, I explore the expression of spirituality in building a harmonious multicultural society. To me, all this is the art of seeking the immortal now.