The purpose of the study was to describe the process of simultaneous implementation of the Indistar model of school improvement and the University of Virginia School Turnaround model of school improvement and how those models influenced school improvement practices in a rural Southwest Virginia school system. Best practices from each of the school improvement models were identified and adopted, which led to the establishment of a hybrid model of school improvement. The study documents how and why the practices were adopted and used in the hybrid model. The paper includes a literature review which examines the evolution of school improvement in the U.S. The description of the historical development of school reform sets the context for in-depth reviews of five current research studies. The studies selected for review, as well as the research study, focus on the role of the central office in school improvement. A synthesis of the studies' findings provided evidence that further research was needed. Data sources for the study include an individual interview of the superintendent, focus group interviews of central office administration and school leadership teams, archival records, and documents. The focus group interviews were conducted to describe the process of implementation of the two school improvement models and to identify school improvement practices that were adopted by the division. This study identifies the practices that were adopted and implemented throughout the rural Southwest Virginia school system. Best practices that are used in the hybrid model of school improvement are Professional Learning Communities, acceleration teams, 90-day school improvement plans, and a tiered remediation program. Barriers to implementation of school improvement were time, the initial lack of support in the Indistar model, involvement, and the understanding of data and data analysis. The themes of professional development, external and internal supports, and sustainability of school improvement are discussed in Chapter 5. Recommendations for practice and future research are presented. / Ed. D.

The purpose of the study was to investigate individual professional development needs of teachers with the aim of developing guidelines that may assist foundation phase teachers to do individual needs analysis effectively. The main research question was: Which strategies can be used to conduct individual needs analysis effectively among the foundation phase teachers in order to improve their effectiveness? The researcher was guided by the interpretive paradigm which implies that participant’s interpretations, perceptions, meanings and understandings were regarded as primary sources. The qualitative research design was used to obtain participants’ primary data. Interviews and observations were used to collect data and to maximise trustworthiness of the findings. Purposive sampling was used to select key informants who were going to provide rich information to help achieve the objectives of the study. The researcher selected the sample of 10 foundation phase teachers, 5 principals and 5 Development Support Groups attached to primary schools under Imfolozi Circuit. Data analysis was done throughout data collection through open, axial and selective coding. The hierarchical category system illustrated in schematic representation representing the main theme and subthemes was used. The findings suggest that there is a serious gap regarding how individual professional development needs and provision of professional development are concerned. The focus was more on training teachers about the new curriculum leaving behind the individual needs of each teacher. The study identified some inconsistencies and lack of uniformity in the way needs analysis was currently done in schools. The major recommendation of this study is that needs analysis should be integrated within all school activities instead of once a year. There is a need for close monitoring of teacher development in order to improve the current learner performance in schools. The researcher believes the study will assist in understanding, informing and improving teaching practice. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)