<p> This case study explored dual enrollment program implementation and student participation at a public high school in Alabama. The study gathered current data to describe the salient actions and cultural beliefs that influence dual enrollment program participation. The findings help to better understand the institutional practices that attract students to participate in dual enrollment programs. </p><p> This study describes the process by which a high school generates student participation in dual enrollment programs and identifies its established institutional practices that lead to higher student participation. The findings described the noticeable actions and cultural beliefs that facilitated student participation. The following research questions provided the data needed to answer the overarching questions of this study: 1) What were the strategies the high school used to attract students to participate in dual enrollment programs; 2) How did the high school assist students in successfully completing dual enrollment programs; and 3) What challenges does the high school face in the implementation of dual enrollment programs?</p><p>

<p> Studies have shown that conflict resolution and violence prevention education may be lacking within school-based environments. There is a gap in the literature regarding pre-service and in-service conflict resolution and violence prevention education for urban high school educators. The purpose of the study was to understand the experiences and perceptions of urban high school educators&rsquo; pre-service and in-service conflict resolution and violence prevention education, and the student health-related antecedents that contribute to both. Utilizing a case study methodology, this study emphasized the diverse geographic locations of urban high school educators&rsquo; pre-service institutions and the perceptions of their pre-service and in-service education regarding 5 student health-related antecedents to conflict and violence in school. Data collection included individual audio-recorded interviews and a follow-up focus group. Data was analyzed by participant&rsquo;s responses to interview questions that aligned with research questions. Data was then coded, cross-coded, and triangulated to generate themes. The results indicated that pre-service teacher education programs are not addressing conflict resolution and violence prevention in schools among pre-service teachers. Further, study findings indicate that teachers and administrators are currently experiencing student health-related antecedents to conflict and violence in school. Research findings also indicated that in-service training is failing to address these critical issues. This study could impact positive social change by implementing relevant and innovative education within pre-service and in-service educator training to address school-level violence.</p><p>

<p> Personalized learning is an evolving method for tailoring the goals of K-12 education to meet the needs of each student. This study supports education leaders in learning how to tailor education plans that maximize success for each student. This study extends learning about a better course of action for schools that might prevent students from being in credit lag and at risk of dropping out. This qualitative research study aims to outline themes about time, place and pace in earning high school credits, as well as combat the reasons why students drop out. Through a qualitative content analysis of US Department of Education reports, corporate advocacy narratives, and published research monographs, the researcher examined how rationales for a personalized learning model served to further innovative approaches to high school course completion by redefining the roles of teacher and student in the learning environment. The theory of situated learning was the basis for recognizing the relationships between teaching and learning in a personalized learning instructional model. The documents showed a high level of density in discussing the combined roles of teacher and student with little regard for the singular role of teacher in a personalized learning model.</p><p>

<p> Hybrid High School education is a disruptive innovation that has begun to replace traditional brick and mortar schools for many students world-wide. In addition to a traditional school model are the traditional metrics by which schools are compared. These metrics have been achievement data, success rates, and funding analyses. These metrics do not account for the lived experience of the high school students, in the same way that the traditional model of education does not account for the changing methods available for learning. This study is a phenomenological analysis of the lived experience of high school students who have attended hybrid educational programs. These programs utilize the digital advances available for learning by offering at least half of their curriculum online, while maintaining face to face instruction during the rest of curricular time. The premise of this study is that high school provides an <i>ethos</i>, or manifested culture, for each student served. The questions used in nine interviews to understand this ethos were created using research in the area of adolescent life satisfaction. The research resulted in focus areas to be discussed: autonomy, engagement, social capital, and community connectedness. Participants in this study age 18&ndash;20 recently graduated from four years attending a hybrid program. The participants were introspective and detailed in their explanations of life experiences during their time in hybrid programs, and how their ethos was shaped by experiences in each of the areas of life satisfaction listed above. The interview analyses led to four conclusions regarding hybrid high school student life. First, the hybrid program graduates interviewed have a rich sense of community. These communities vary and most are members of multiple communities. All feel a sense of belonging and are connected to groups beyond family. Second, the hybrid program graduates are highly self-reliant. Participants pointed out that they have relationships with people who are supportive, but that they are independently responsible for overcoming life&rsquo;s obstacles. Third, these conclusions are intended to influence design of future innovational programs. Finally, the hybrid high school did serve as a disruptive innovation which had clear benefits for the adolescents participating. This study, in combination with additional studies focusing on specific program elements, could result in quality innovative programs that meet the needs of a changing adolescent population.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that motivate high school students to participate in school band. The relationships between music education, academic success, and social engagement in school were explored. A survey questionnaire and interview questions were used to generate response data from 45 high school band members. Data were gathered, coded, and analyzed using qualitative survey and structured interview design techniques. A systematic approach was used to create a viable narrative that, when added to existing literature, provided a better understanding of the topic for those decision makers struggling to find justifications for how and why band is an important option for high school students. Findings from this study support earlier research and provide a strong case for the claim that many students are intellectually, emotionally, expressively, and musically nurtured by membership in school band. Stress relief was a powerful theme throughout student responses and many students indicated that band was an important place where they were able to build their strongest support relationships. The information acquired from this study provided insight into student perceptions about the value of band participation from environmental, behavioral, and cognitive viewpoints and highlighted the importance of band as a social and emotional support space where students are able to find sanctuary from the stressors of their lives. </p><p>

<p> <b>Purpose:</b> The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to discover the factors which contribute to the positive transformation of a comprehensive public high school&rsquo;s culture as perceived by the school&rsquo;s administrators, teachers, and classified staff. An additional purpose of the study is to determine what similarities and differences exist between the perceptions of administrators, teachers, and classified staff. </p><p> <b>Methodology:</b> The researcher identified comprehensive public high schools within the state of California where measurable growth in positive perceptions of school culture had been achieved within the preceding two to four years. Of this target population, six schools were identified, through which the researcher conducted individual interviews with each principal and focus group discussions with separate groups of six to eight teachers and six to eight classified staff members at each school site. Additionally, the researcher participated in observations at each school site and gathered artifacts to support the data garnered through the interviews and focus group discussions. </p><p> <b>Findings:</b> Participants recognized trust, relationships, and shared values as the fundamental components of a positive school culture. Principals perceived shared leadership and decision making as vital, while teachers and classified staff members responded strongly to the inspiring vision of a passionate school leader. Classified staff members also responded strongly to the importance of communication within the organization. </p><p> <b>Conclusions:</b> Cultural change efforts require time, patience, empathy, and willingness to engage in conflict and honest discourse. Additionally, schools with strong, positive culture create an environment that is student-centered, feels like home/family, and values all stakeholders as equally important. All decisions, goals, and plans are rooted in the shared values of the school community, which are communicated constantly in various ways. </p><p> <b>Recommendations:</b> School leaders hoping to positively shift their cultures must engage all stakeholders in the development of shared values, implement structures that facilitate the building of relationships, celebrate risk-taking and small wins, demonstrate and inspire trust, and develop methods to assess and constantly reassess the aspects of their schools&rsquo; cultures in order to spark a call to action that will resonate with stakeholders.</p><p>

<p> Due to the high unemployment rate and difficulty for students to transition from education to work, this thesis looks at how Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs provide a supplement to the traditional education systems throughout the world, and can be a solution to students graduating with employable skills so they can find meaningful work. The thesis answers the question:<i> &ldquo;What are the effects of Career and Technical Education?&rdquo;</i> through a qualitative method of an open-ended survey administered to three educational organizations in Northern California. Participants included four teachers, five administrators, and 96 high school students. The results showed that CTE programs have incredible effects on students, from being life-changing to providing necessary career skills and the space to navigate college and career choice. Students, teachers and administrators recommend that CTE programs be adopted nation wide, so students can decide what career to pursue.</p><p>

<p> Alternative education students face many interacting challenges that put them at significant risk of dropping out of school (Carver &amp; Lewis, 2010), as well as deleterious health and psychological outcomes, and intergenerational cycles of sociopolitical disadvantage (Laird, Kienzel, Debell &amp; Chapman, 2007). Despite the persistent national epidemic of school dropout, few studies have investigated treatments for alternative education students, often characterized as &ldquo;difficult to reach&rdquo; given the chronic substance abuse, low motivation, and poor attendance typical of this population (Rumberger &amp; Lim, 2008). </p><p> This study investigated the effectiveness of a novel music therapy intervention, Recorded Music Expressive Arts (RMEA), with alternative education students. The purpose of RMEA in this context was to engage students in a potentially motivating, culturally relevant treatment that satisfies identified provisions to ameliorate dropout (Kim &amp; Taylor, 2008). RMEA employs narrative therapy concepts as a framework for treatment, and integrates songwriting, music production, and recording into psychotherapy. Through the song-creation process, participants were encouraged to &ldquo;tell their story&rdquo; to re-author problem-saturated personal narratives and discover more self-affirming ways of being (White &amp; Epston, 1990). </p><p> Participants were 10 adolescent boys, age 14&ndash;18, attending an alternative education school in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ten 60-minute individual RMEA sessions were delivered twice weekly over 7&ndash;19 weeks. Pre/post data was analyzed using Vargha-Delaney&rsquo;s <i>A</i>. Large effect sizes were found for a) coping (problem focused engagement, cognitive restructuring, problem solving, and emotional expression); b) substance misuse (decreased marijuana use) and co-occurring psychological disturbances (decreased school and behavior problems); c) increased contemplation and action readiness to respond to intervention; d) behavior (decreased internalizing, behavior, learning problems, and suspension rates); and e) attendance (increased attendance for RMEA sessions and days on which RMEA was delivered). Overall, the results indicate that RMEA is a viable and effective treatment for alternative education high school students. Analysis of participant interviews and song content further support results, as well as RMEAs proposed therapeutic mechanisms of action, including narrative therapy concepts. Findings highlight the need for replication studies with larger sample sizes, inclusion of adolescent girls, and other alternative education school settings.</p><p>

<p> There has been very limited research on the possible role religion has in its influence on teacher choices, especially within a Social Science classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine how secondary Social Studies teachers explicitly and implicitly treat religion as a factor in the teaching of history and how their own affinity with/to a religion and beliefs about religious institutions influence their curricular choices. The following research question informed the study: How are teachers&rsquo; religious identities, affinities and positionality revealed in their curricular choices? </p><p> Through the use of the multiple case study model using interviews, observations and artifacts, this dissertation examined how secondary Social Studies teachers explicitly and implicitly treat religion as a factor in the teaching of history and how their own affinity with/to a religion and beliefs about religious institutions influence their curricular choices. Using the lenses of positionality and presence, while explicitly being aware of American Civil Religion, religious hierarchies and Christian Privilege, this study examined two Atheist/Agnostic teachers in a comprehensive urban high school settings. </p><p> The findings are presented as single case studies with a cross case analysis. The analysis of findings found that both teachers did not include religion as a significant factor of history and therefore, did not privilege religion as a topic in their classes. The data showed that both teachers, despite their religious identifications, had internalized Civil American Religion and its alignment with Christianity.</p><p>

<p> As the continuous search for educational alternatives in Philadelphia intensifies, one only has to look at the current landscape, our surrounding communities, and fiscal pressures to appreciate the need for better alternatives to our public system. This study examines one such &ldquo;alternative,&rdquo; though long-standing education model, Philadelphia&rsquo;s Catholic schools. Within these schools, perhaps we have leaders and a system that may be positioned to play an even greater role in providing a set of experiences that may impact the later life pathways of graduates, potentially predisposing them to community or civic service interests in their adult lives. I have completed an analysis of recollections of Catholic high school graduates across multiple graduation eras and collected insights from their narratives, to help illuminate those potential connection points. Further, unlike many previous longitudinal and correlational studies, in both Catholic and secular schools, I have conducted qualitative research to map earlier student experiences to current-day life practices and dispositions. Through surveys, one-on-one interviews and a focus group with graduates of Philadelphia&rsquo;s area high schools, I am surfacing findings to determine if graduates are embracing certain values from their experiences and whether and how this may have helped shaped their civic and community interests years later.</p><p>