Strategic planning practices and superintendents' opinions regarding the effectiveness of strategic planning are different among small, medium, and large Texas independent school districts. This study sought to find areas of agreement and areas of disagreement among school district superintendents relating to the practice and effectiveness of strategic planning. Strategic planning practices examined include the development of a mission statement, operating plan, and budget; involvement of stakeholders, and strategic planning logistics. A stratified random sample of 96 superintendents each from small, medium, and large school districts was selected from a population of 1,042 school districts. Data was also collected and reported from the 7 mega school districts. Questionnaires were sent to 295 superintendents and 246 (83.4%) were returned. The questionnaire contained nine questions relating to 19 strategic planning practices and a five-part question relating to the effectiveness of strategic planning. The data was analyzed using Crosstabs, Chi-square, and one-way ANOVA statistics. The level of significance was established a priori at .05. School district size was an independent variable for six strategic planning practices of small, medium, and large school districts. Significant differences were found regarding (a) whether outside consultants were employed to assist with the district's strategic planning, (b) whether central office administrators participated in the district's planning process, (c) whether a sequence of steps was followed with a time frame for each step in the district's planning process, (d) whether someone other than the superintendent was responsible for the district's planning, (e) whether school district support staff participated in the district's planning process, and (f) whether students participated in the district's planning process. Also, a significant difference was found between large school district superintendents' and small school district superintendents' ratings of the effectiveness of strategic planning for improving management effectiveness. Finally, a correlation was observed between superintendents' ratings of strategic planning effectiveness and professional skill sets.

Cette thèse étudie l'ordinaire bureaucratique des agents de la circonscription scolaire - l'administration scolaire déconcentrée - au Bénin et la manière dont ils "font" l'école primaire au quotidien; Fondé sur quinze mois de terrain entre 2012 et 2015 principalement passés dans deux circonscriptions scolaires du pays, mon travail étudie plus particulièrement l'autorité des chefs - inspecteurs et conseillers pédagogiques - sur la gestion locale de l'école, qu'ils se plaignaient d'avoir perdue depuis 1990 et l'ouverture démocratique du pays. A travers l'analyse socio-historique de la construction des inspections et du groupe professionnel des inspecteurs, l'étude de la circulation de l'autorité au sein de l'arène scolaire locale et des rapports hiérarchiques et pédagogiques entretenus avec les enseignants, je montre comment se négocie, quotidiennement, l'autorité publique sur le service local d'enseignement. Je documente ainsi le jeu entre autorités premières et secondes sur la gestion de l'école à travers les rapports entretenus avec les autorités hiérarchiques, les syndicats, les enseignants, les parents ou la mairie. Les dynamiques de concertation, de négociation ou de contournement de l'administration scolaire locale participent à la production quotidienne de l'école et interrogent l'autorité de la circonscription sur les affaires scolaires. J'analyse également les effets des récentes réformes managériales sur les conditions de travail et les formes de professionnalité des inspecteurs et conseillers. En montrant la coexistence des figures de l'inspecteur "loup-garou", de l'inspecteur "conseiller" et de l'inspecteur "gestionnaire", je ne questionne pas seulement les transformations des ethos professionnels et des manières d'être "chef", mais également la pluralité des façons de faire l'Etat et l'école dans les salles de classe béninoises. / This thesis focuses on the bureaucratic routine of agents of school districts - the decentralized school administration - in Benin, and the ways in which they "make" primary school on a day-to-day basis. Relying on a fifteen months-fieldwork research (2012-2015) conducted mainly in two school districts of the country, this dissertation studies more specifically the leaders' authority - inspectors and pedagogical advisors - over the local management of school that they claim to have lost with the democratic opening in the 1990s. Through a socio-historical analysis of the construction of inspections and the inspectors' occupational group, the study of the circulation of authority within the school's local arena, and the inspectors' hierarchical and pedagogical relations with teachers, I show how public authority is negociated within the local education service. In doing so, I document the strategies at play between first and second-level authorities through the relations maintained with the hierarchical authorities, the unions, the teachers, the parents or the town hall. The dynamics of dialogue, negociation or circumvention of the school district participate in the day-to-day functioning of school and question the local administration's authority over school issues. I also analyse the effects of recent managerial reforms on the inspectors and advisors' working conditions and their professional culture. By demonstrating the coexistence of the figure of the "werewolf" inspector, the "counsellor" inspector and the "manager" inspector, I do not only question the transformations in the ethos of professionals and in the ways of being "a leader", I also question the multiplicity of ways of making the State and making school in Benin's classrooms.

"The purpose of the study is twofold. First, to determine the effectiveness of the apprenticeship training program in selected building crafts in the Dallas metropolitan area during the period September 1959 to June 1967. In order to arrive at a point of determination concerning the effectiveness of the apprenticeship, it will be necessary to delve into the organization, administration, and implementation of the apprenticeship training program as operated by the Dallas Independent School District in cooperation with the craft trades and their respective labor unions. This will include a study of apprenticeship committees, curriculum, methods of selection of apprentices, and qualifications of instructors for apprenticeship training programs. Second, to determine any weaknesses in the training programs which may exist and to make recommendations for improvement of the program." -- p. 3

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / David Thompson / This present study extended the longitudinal perspective begun by DeBacker (2002) and Jordan (2012) and, when considered wholly, provides insights into the educational experiences offered by districts in the state of Kansas from the years 1992 through 2017, as well as the impacts that changes to school funding had on those experiences. This study assessed selected fiscal and pupil performance variables and examined the impacts that changes to school funding had on those variables, paying close attention to the shift from per pupil funding under the School District Finance and Quality Performance Act (SDFQPA) of 1992 to block grant funding under the Classroom Learning Assuring Student Success (CLASS) Act from 2015 to 2017. In the first phase of this study, Kansas school districts were ordered from wealthiest to poorest based on their assessed valuation per pupil for 2001. To narrow the study population and to ensure that longitudinal analysis could occur, districts that had closed or consolidated by 2016 were removed. For the remaining districts, decile analysis was applied to the population by ranking all 289 school districts from wealthiest to poorest based on 2001 assessed valuation per pupil (AVPP) and by further dividing the population in to ten equal parts (i.e. each decile representing 10% of the population). The population was again narrowed to the representative sample of 112 school districts, with Decile 10 representing the wealthiest 10% of districts, Decile 1 representing the poorest 10%, and Deciles 5 and 6 representing the average wealth districts found in the middle (each representing 10% of the population respectively). This process was repeated for 2011, 2014, and 2016. For this study, 2001 and 2016 served as the bookend years, as DeBacker (2002) had done (1992 – 2001) and Jordan (2012) had repeated (2002 – 2012). Establishing the beginning year as 2001 ensured overlap of years examined by both previous studies and extending through the most recent year of audited data, i.e., 2016. Once the study population was established, data analysis was conducted in two phases. First, fiscal and pupil performance data were analyzed to provide insight into overall health of each district during the years 2001- 2016. Second, survey and interview data were collected and analyzed to glean insights from district leaders for contextual perspective of the impacts that changes to school funding had on districts and their leaders, paying close attention to the years of block grant funding under CLASS. The present study resulted in a critical examination of fiscal and pupil performance variables and the impact that changes to school finance in Kansas had on the educational experience of Kansas pupils.

Using a case study approach, this investigation focused on the decision-making processes involved in developing budgets in two Texas school districts following a tax limitation, or rollback, election. Factors influencing the decision-making processes included the rollback election's outcome in each district, the participants, the perceptions participants held of themselves, the perceptions participants held of others in the district and community, the decisions made, and the factors influencing participants' decisions. Two Texas school districts were selected as subjects of this study which used qualitative data collection methods. In one school district, the rollback election passed. In the other, it failed. Data collection included observations of school board meetings and budget workshops. Structured interviews of school board members and administrators, pro- and antirollback proponents, and newspaper editors were conducted. Questions focused on the budgetary decision-making processes before and after the rollback elections. They also solicited information fromsubjects regarding rollback elections, the factors precipitating the rollback elections and the impact of the rollback election campaign upon each school district. Document analyses were triangulated with the observations and interviews to identify the factors influencing the budgetary decision-making process. Following the rollback elections, school officials in both districts adopted a conservative approach to budgetary decision-making. In both districts, school board members and administrators listened more carefully to citizens' concerns. Citizen finance committees were formed in both districts following the rollback elections to receive community input into the 1989-90 budgets. The decision-making processes in both districts were influenced by school board members' and administrators' personal philosophies, the presence or absence of long-range district goals, and pressures to finance unfunded and underfunded state mandates. The budget documents produced in both districts following the rollback elections reflected a commitment to funding curricular rather than extracurricular programs. School officials protected teachers' and support staffers' salaries, recognizing the importance of maintaining employee morale.

The purpose of this research was to assess the gain in critical thinking skills with a consideration of grade point averages during a semester in two high school home economics courses, and one language arts course which was used as a control group. The study was conducted by administering the California Critical Thinking Skills Test: College Level (CCTST) as a pretest and a posttest to students (n = 101) in three classes; Food Science, (grades 10 -12), Nutrition and Food Preparation, (grades 10 -12), and Intermediate Composition, (grade 1l). The study utilized a two-way fixed analysis of covariance design. The dependent variable was the adjusted CCTST posttest score. Independent variables consisted of grade point average (two levels, those students with g.p.a.'s of 2.75 or above and those with g.p.a.'s below 2.75), and class grouping (three levels, including Food Science, Intermediate Composition and Nutrition and Food Preparation). The covariate was the CCTST pretest score. Analyses were performed by SPSS/PC+, with covariate adjustment using the pretest as an influence on posttest scores. After adjustment by the covariate (pretest score), students with higher g.p.a.'s were found to be significantly higher on CCTST mean scores. No statistically significant main effect was found for levels of class group. In addition, no statistically significant interaction was observed between levels of class groups and grade point average. As a result of the findings, it is concluded that the students did not have statistically significant gain in critical thinking skills in any of the tested classes as assessed by the CCTST. There is a great need for students to learn critical thinking skills. Efforts must be included in the training of teachers so that they can guide students in learning critical thinking skills. An effort must be made to adjust lessons and change pedagogy so that students' critical thinking skills can be improved at the high school level. / Graduation date: 1993

This study focused on a 1978 teacher strike in the Tucson Unified School District, Pima County, Arizona, and was designed to explore patterns of perceptions and behaviors reported by teachers concerning their involvement in the strike. Teacher perceptions and behaviors were examined in terms of: viewpoints concerning the issues and causes of the strike; attitudes toward the act of striking; choice to either strike or not to strike and the differeing factors which may have influenced the strike decison; feelings of stress occasioned before, during, and after the strike; post-strike relationships with significant others in the school system; and feelings regarding the outcomes of the strike. To implement the research study, a questionnaire was developed to explore teacher attitudes, viewpoints, and reported behaviors regarding various aspects of the strike. The questionnaire was distributed by the Tucson Education Association through the Tucson Unified School District mail distribution system to all 2,751 teachers of the school district. A total of 1,728 teachers participated in the study by completing and returning the questionnaire, which represents approximately 63 percent of the population. Data for the study were derived from the questionnaire responses. The demographic data and strike behavior data were crosstabulated and their significance reported in terms of chi-square statistics. The chi-square indicated a significant relationship between teacher strike behavior and the following demographic variables: teaching level, age, sex, teacher tenure, total years teaching, membership in a professional organization, and spouse being a teacher in the district. Data regarding teacher perceptions and behavior were analyzed and summarized on the basis of the perceptual framework constructed for this study, which was drawn from the literature in social and perceptual psychology. Briefly it included the following five categories: Empathy; Acceptance; Stress; Adequacy; and Perceptual Framework. The following perceptions were reported by teachers regarding: Issues and Causes of the Strike: The reported issues of the strike were salary, discipline, fringe benefits, class size, teacher professionalism, and dignity. The teachers reported that the factors generating the strike were not the issues themselves, but rather the way the issues were handled by the school board, superintendent, and central administration. Influences Upon Strike Behavior: The greatest influence reported by teachers regarding their strike decision was the teachers' association, followed by teachers in their own schools, family, teachers outside their schools, the media, and building principal, in that order. Strike Stresses: Ninety percent of all respondents reported experiencing stress during the strike. Stress was greater among elementary teachers, female teachers, and non-striking teachers. Post-Strike Relationships: Teachers reported more harmonious relationships with fellow teachers and students in their schools following the strike. Teachers reported less harmonious relationships with their supervisors. Strike Perceptions: Teachers reported that the strike produced a greater sense of personal dignity for teachers. The recommendations of the study included the following: A school system should develop and maintain a deep philosophical commitment to the worthiness and dignity of all persons. A continuous and effective communication process should be developed whereby school district administrator and teacher representatives can meet and interact in an atmosphere where every person is encouraged to express his viewpoints. Teachers and school district officials should have an adequate set of board-adopted policies providing orderly processes for dealing with disputes and difference between them. The policy that is adopted should result from the widest possible participation of all concerned groups throughout the community and the school district. The school district, including the school board, administrators, and teaching staff should carefully plan and effectively implement a program for continuous improvement of human relationships throughout the district.

This thesis uses an historical lens to understand the political development of desegregation law since Brown, which demonstrates that local policies are produced by Supreme Court precedent. However, school districts and community members also create conditions in which the Supreme Court rules on integration law. Examining the history of segregation in Seattle and the efforts of integration (or efforts against it) illuminates the trajectory of civil rights. Claims once used to integrate black school children became a defense for white children to attend, inevitably, white neighborhood schools, due to the lingering effects of housing segregation. Seattle’s desegregation policies depended upon the city’s local conditions and the Board’s strategy reflected national trends dictated by the Supreme Court’s decisions. In turn, Seattle’s local policies affected the Supreme Court’s decision regarding school integration in 2007. The local conditions surrounding many of Seattle parents’ fight against mandatory school assignment plans based on race in 2007 could not have been accomplished without the historical precedent against busing established by liberal, anti-busing groups during the 1970s and 1980s.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are having a rapid and increasing impact on all K-12 schools as school districts attempt, in a myriad of ways, to keep pace with the technological changes taking place in society. Unfortunately, this impact is increasingly a financial one as financial challenges continue to figure among the most extensive barriers to ICT use (Plante & Beattie, 2004). This research explores ICT options that are cost effective to our educational institutions and our communities while maintaining high functioning and sustainable technology for students and educators. Low-cost alternative technologies such as Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) and cloud computing lessen the socio-economic divide between students, encourage the sharing of technological advancements and collaboration and allow teachers to freely and legally give their students access to software necessary for success. In addition to the potential benefits of this technology’s use in an educational setting, this research also addresses the pragmatic aspects of introducing these tools district-wide. Complexity theory is utilized to lend an understanding of how to look at technological changes within the context of society as a whole, within enabling constraints that create the conditions for the emergence of new patterns of teacher, student, task and content interactions. This complexity frame informs themes in the study such as: (1) the importance of forward-thinking technology from recursive feedback loops on decision-making and planning in order to “keep up” with technological changes outside of school, (2) the critical impact educational leaders have on the change environment when both introducing these technologies into a school district and providing enabling conditions so that new ways of teaching and learning with technology can emerge and (3) the effect changing technological systems and support infrastructures have on enabling new teaching and learning processes. / Graduate / 0710 / 0524 / 0533 / katyconnelly@gmail.com

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Duquesne University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-114) and index.