The purpose of the study was to describe factors that make teachers feel safe in their classrooms and school buildings. An in-depth exploration of contributing factors to feelings of safety for teachers will assist the field of education when planning facilities and preparing current and future school administrators in leading schools with a healthy and safe climate for teachers. For this study, the researcher surveyed all teaching personnel in a school division which was a total of 133 full-time, fully licensed teachers employed by a rural school division in Southside Virginia. A survey instrument with both quantitative and open ended questions was developed to investigate perceptions of safety in participants' responses regarding the physical characteristics of school buildings and classrooms, the influence of colleague relationships, and administrative practices and school division policies that influence teachers' feelings of safety. The quantitative survey questions utilized a Likert-scale format for participants to indicate degrees of agreement with statements with responses that ranged from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The opened ended questions provided for qualitative investigation by allowing participants to provide answers in their own words regarding the four research sub-questions. Findings from the study indicated that teachers in the study generally felt safe in their schools. Teachers indicated perceiving that the greatest violence risk was posed by outside intruders and concern for safety was not generally caused by student behavior. Teachers' perceptions of safety were influenced by the presence of a resource officer in their school building, locked exterior doors, the use of surveillance cameras, the presence of a supportive and visible school principal, and the support of their teacher colleagues. / Ed. D.

This dissertation examined the possible influence a complete renovation of a school facility had on student achievement as measured by performance on the Standards of Learning (SOL) in the areas of End-of-Course (EOC) Algebra I and EOC Reading in high schools within the Commonwealth of Virginia. This study replicated a prior study that researched the possible influence the complete renovation process had on student achievement as measured by performance on the SOL in the areas of mathematics and reading at the eighth grade level in the Commonwealth of Virginia. For this study, a quantitative descriptive research methodology was used to determine the possible influences the renovation process would have on student achievement. To conduct such research, SOL scores in the areas of EOC Algebra I and EOC Reading, from high schools in Virginia were used one year prior to the renovation, during the renovation, and one year after the renovation. The Virginia Department of Education recorded 514 school construction projects during the period beginning with the 2004-2005 school year through the 2010-2011 school year. From these 514 projects, only 20 projects met the criteria of being high school construction projects having conducted a complete renovation. In order to determine stability of the student population and the quality of teachers across the renovation period, an analysis of demographic variables was conducted. These variables included the percentage of minority students, socioeconomic status, and percentage of highly qualified teachers. No statistical significance between the variables over the course of the renovation was found establishing sameness of these variables. ANOVAs and t-tests were conducted to analyze student achievement across the renovation periods. The findings of the 20 high schools identified as having conducted a complete renovation were not statistically significant when comparing the EOC Algebra I and EOC Reading student performance to each stage of the renovation process. However, a positive trend was indicated when findings revealed an increase in the mean scaled score of mathematics when comparing the pre-renovation stage to the post-renovation stage. / Ed. D.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not a variance in the quality of the public high school facilities existed among the Commonwealth of Virginia school divisions, since the 1982 Peccia study, An Analysis Of The Financing Of Public High School Capital Facilities In Virginia. Reasons for the variance in the quality of the public high school facilities, if any, were determined from an examination of a capital facilities survey instrument and various economic and financial characteristics. Methods and procedures used in the study included the capital facilities survey instrument, Crossman CAFIS. The Crossman CAFIS accurately reflected not just the number of facilities that existed in the school divisions but the quality of each facility. The researcher sent an electronic survey instrument to each high school principal within the sampled school divisions to rate their facilities using 75 indicators. The researcher visited all the high schools within the study in order to ensure the variance in how one perceives the differences in facilities would be limited. Any variance in the quality of the public high school facilities among the sampled school divisions were examined for economic factors that include; local composite index, fiscal effort and fiscal capacity. A significant finding of the study was that a large variance existed between the quality of high school facilities within the sampled school divisions, as measured by Crossman CAFIS. Reasons for that variance can be partially attributed to the fiscal effort of the sampled school divisions. School divisions that made a large fiscal effort and had a large fiscal capacity scored high on the Crossman CAFIS. School divisions that made a low fiscal effort and had low fiscal capacity, also scored low on the Crossman CAFIS. The lowest quality of high school facilities were found to be in the Western region of Virginia, despite isolated instances of high fiscal effort by some school divisions. Implications and recommendations were made in accordance with the findings of the study. A large variance existed in the Virginia school divisions between the quality of high school facilities as measured by CAFIS. The reason for the variance in high school facilities were due in part to the level of fiscal effort exerted by the school divisions. / EDD

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes special report study entitled: Human reponse to colour. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes special report study entitled: Planning and design of pedestrian walkway environment. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes special report study entitled: Daylighting. Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes special report study entitled : Daylighting. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes special report study entitled : Planning and design of pedestrian walkway environment. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.