<p> Public school leaders in New York State are facing incredible challenges in the wake of Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) of teachers and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for students. At the same time, national turnover rates for principals are high. Principals often report feeling unprepared for the demands of the job as their role has changed over the last few years. Many do not stay in the role past the third year, and almost half leave the position after year five. This study aimed to examine the effect of professional development on the self-efficacy of new public high school principals in an eight-county region known as upstate New York. Twelve public high school principals with five or fewer years of service voluntarily took part in a qualitative interview using a researcher-developed protocol. The goal of this study was to inform system-level leadership of the best ways to professionally develop new public high school principals to increase self-efficacy, and therefore increase the chances that the principal would stay in her or his role. Findings from this study included the fact that new high school principals looked for active system-level leadership and a shared decision making process when selecting appropriate professional development opportunities. New high school principals also found networking and mentoring to be two professional development practices that positively impacted their self-efficacy. Future research suggested at the end of this study included possible partnerships with local colleges and universities to align administrative preparation programs with the current demands of the position. This was a recurring theme during the interview process. One further recommendation for future study was the proposal to repeat this study with principals at different levels (elementary and middle school) or with different levels of experience (greater than five years of service). Suggested Keywords: public schools, new high school principals, professional development for high school principals, self-efficacy for high school principals, upstate New York</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the internal and external influences on help-seeking behavior in Latino male high school students (n=22) who were academically at-risk. Participants were asked to describe how and why they sought assistance from school counselors for academic and personal concerns. The data were analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. The findings indicated various cultural and societal factors (gender roles, masculinity/machismo, face, and teachers of masculinity) that negatively influence help-seeking habits, while internal factors (positive internal strength, perceived knowledge and competence, and trusting relationships) were identified as positive influencers. These influencers related to one another and their relationship is drawn out in a model that described the experience of participants. Recommendations for future research and practice are provided for scholars and school personnel who work with this population.</p>

<p> Supportive relationships between teachers and their students help create an environment for student success, but there remains a need for additional understanding about how to effectively promote positive teacher-student relationships in order to support stronger policy and practice in modern schools. In this qualitative analysis, I seek to deepen the research about supportive teacher-student relationships by analyzing how students, teachers, and principals described their experiences in early college high schools (ECHS) in North Carolina. Early college high schools represent a relatively new school model in which high school students earn college credits while working toward their high school diplomas. Quantitative analyses of the performance of ECHS students suggest students in early college high schools outperform their peers from comprehensive schools on a variety of measures. One important design element of these schools suggests that teachers must know students well to help them achieve academically and it is my assertion that supportive teacher-student relationships may contribute to ECHS students&rsquo; success. </p><p> For this study, I analyze qualitative data previously collected as part of a larger longitudinal study from students, teachers, and principals studying and working in 19 early college high schools in North Carolina. I employ Giddens&rsquo; theory of structuration as a lens for understanding the relationships between the agents (students, teachers, and principals) and the social structures that influence the experiences of those in the schools. I consider the leadership practices of the principals to promote supportive teacher-student relationships as well as teacher practices, and compared the adults&rsquo; claims to the students&rsquo; perceived experiences with their teachers. My findings reveal three elements in the social systems of the ECHS contribute to supportive teacher-student relationships which include the following: (1) the beliefs of teachers, students, and principals; (2) deliberate actions of principals and teachers; and (3) programs that create social spaces for such relationships to grow.</p>

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<p> Literacy is a national concern in the United States. Many students are graduating from high school across the U.S. lacking the skills needed to be a proficient reader. The lack of college readiness skills in reading causes these students to be placed in remedial classes on the collegiate level. School systems that recognize the high percentage of students entering high school who cannot read at their grade level can implement early interventions and provide professional development opportunities for teachers in order to increase reading achievement. Due to the culture created at the secondary level that held teachers responsible for teaching content, covering the mandated curriculum, and making adequate yearly progress, instructing students while utilizing best practices in reading instruction often was not a practical consideration. The traditional approach to literacy is not enough. It is time for teachers to acknowledge that literacy in middle and high school must be taught across all contents to lay the groundwork for literacy skills that students need to thrive in college. This study explored the effect of implementing Literature Circles in a secondary Communication Arts classroom on reading comprehension. While extensive research on Literature Circles exists, most of it focuses on their use at the elementary and middle school levels, with few studies investigating their implementation at the secondary level. However, the research establishes Literature Circles as a proven practice to assist students in making gains in reading skills. The sample population consisted of five 10th grade classes participating in Literature Circles and one 10th grade class as a control group. By implementing Literature Circles at the secondary level, the results of the data did not support the hypothesis that secondary students reading comprehension increased through participation in Literature Circles. While this study did not prove statistically any significant gains from participation in Literature Circles, observable gains occurred through the higher level of student questioning and students responding with evidence cited from the text. By implementing a classroom infrastructure that supported Literature Circles, students collaborated effectively about a text and used textual support to justify their responses to questions and to derive meaning from the text. The research from this study will add to the current body of knowledge regarding the use of Literature Circles at the secondary level.</p>

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

<p> The purpose of this case study, was to conduct research that provided an in-depth understanding of the 1-1 implementation of iPads into the senior class of two four-year charter high schools in Southern California. The problem addressed was the following: to date, there has been little definitive research to examine what works and what did not seem to work in the implementation of iPads into high school classrooms. This study describes the experiences and reflections of the participants during their first year of implementing the iPads. The participants included: administrators, staff and faculty at both schools who were interviewed, and students over the age of 18 during the last weeks of their senior year who completed an online electronic survey. All of these participants had experience with the iPad in a 1-1 setting for the 2012&ndash;2013 school year. </p><p> This study found that the culture of the school created a rich learning environment, due to the trust between participants formed from their communities of practice, which allowed for resilience in the participants while they experimented with the iPad implementation. There were more meaningful interactions between students and faculty, and the participants did not desire, or require, formal professional development. There were potential &ldquo;green&rdquo; benefits from working digitally and a &ldquo;cool&rdquo; factor that helped to engage participants. In conclusion, the culture of the school as pioneers and the shared vision of the participants, along with the nature of their training, were the factors that contributed to the success of this iPad implementation. </p>

Studies of teacher cognition and the teaching of grammar have attracted increasing research attention in recent years, yet relatively little has been published about how EFL teachers working in secondary schools teach grammar compared to what they know about their teaching. The present study considers this relationship by looking at eight teachers and investigating if their knowledge is consistent with their instructional practice. The value of this study is that it examines the current situation in grammar teaching by exploring how knowledge may influence performance in secondary school, teaching in the Libyan context. Observation and semi-structured interviews were employed to collect the necessary data. A factual questionnaire was used to collect background information and then to choose the most appropriate participants in a sample of eight who were more and less experienced teachers and both male and female. Purposive sampling was used to select the sample. Data were transcribed and encoded for analysis according to grounded theory principles, and a framework was designed to analyse the coded data in order to triangulate the findings gathered from observation and interviews. The findings revealed that grammar was taught using different approaches and techniques, but there was no single way of teaching that worked perfectly with all classes. What did not work for one teacher worked for another in certain cases. The teachers had different levels of knowledge which was not always reflected in their classroom practice. The more experienced teachers had better practical knowledge, although all had similar levels of theoretical knowledge about teaching and learning English grammar. This study offers a more profound understanding of the complex relationship between teachers’ practice and their knowledge about teaching grammar. Different patterns of incongruence and congruence between practice and knowledge are acknowledged, such as ‘teachers knew but did not do’; ‘teachers did but were not aware that they did’; and ‘teachers did and they knew’. Some of the most interesting findings in this study have not been reported before, and it is clear that not all relationships of congruence between practice and knowledge have positive pedagogical value, and not all incongruent relationships have negative value. The rationales behind of all of these relationships between practice and knowledge were related to the complex relationship between teachers’ practice and knowledge and contextual factors. Thus, the implications of this research should benefit future EFL teachers of grammar and open doors to further research.