There is significant national evidence the language development of four year-olds is a critical area for later school success (Brooks-Gunn, Fuligni, & Berlin, 2003; Cunningham, & Stanovich, 1998). This study originated as part of Literacy Intervention X (LIX), a larger national study conducted to examine the effectiveness of early literacy curricula implemented in subsidized childcare centers. The professional development of childcare center providers is key to improving the quality of subsidized care. In exploring the mentoring practices of nine LIX literacy coaches, the researcher investigated the perceptions of what best mentoring practices facilitated the implementation of literacy curricula by childcare providers. A qualitative case study was conducted using a combination of participant observer notes, document analysis, and focus group semi-structured interviews. The researcher is a participant observer, one of the nine Literacy Coaches. The best mentoring practices from the perspective of the literacy coaches are related to building relationships including trust, mutual respect, support, empathy, and encouragement with the childcare providers, the center directors, and with fellow literacy coaches. Clear, constant, and consistent communication with the childcare providers was a vital mentoring practice in building a relationship between the literacy coach and childcare provider. Another best mentoring practice in building a relationship with the childcare provider was the perceptions of the literacy coaches as co-learners in the mentoring process. The best mentoring practices highlighted in this study exemplified the kind of effective professional development that builds on the strengths of the childcare providers and does not disrupt the childcare centers or the services provided by the subsidized childcare programs that meet the needs of children and families. The experience of these nine literacy coaches, including their perceptions of effective mentoring practices, along with lesson learned about relationships, mentoring team structures, and general project design sheds light on the challenge of mentoring subsidized childcare providers in future literacy intervention projects.

This study was designed to address questions regarding the effects of sex and leadership style on teacher perceptions of principal effectiveness. On a researcher-designed instrument, middle school teachers rated the effectiveness of a scenario principal's response in several situations. The responses reflected varying levels of Task and Relationship Behavior. The design incorporated two between subjects factors (Teacher Sex and Principal Sex) and one within subjects factor (Leadership Style) which was treated as a repeated measure. An analysis of variance revealed no significant effects except for Leadership Style. Overall, High Task/High Relationship behavior rated significantly higher and Low Task/Low Relationship rated significantly lower than the others. The null hypothesis concerning differences could not be rejected and the stated research hypotheses were not supported. Additional analyses of variance were conducted substituting subject demographic variables for Teacher Sex in the research design. No significant interactions or main effects other than Leadership Style were noted when either Age or Ethnicity were substituted. A significant two-way interaction was noted for Teacher Experience and Leadership Style (p = .0316). Less experienced teachers rated principal's performance lower when exhibiting High Task/Low Relationship style than did more experienced teachers. A significant three-way interaction was noted for Administrative Aspiration x Principal Sex x Leadership Style (p = .0294). Teachers who indicated an intent to enter administration differed more on their ratings between male and female principals exhibiting mixed styles of High Task/Low Relationship and Low Task/High Relationship than did teachers who indicated no or undecided. Sex of the teacher appears less important than sex of the principal on performance ratings. Results suggest further study of the effects of teacher experience and teacher administrative aspiration on perceptions of principal effectiveness.

Historically, some grandparents have had to assume the responsibility for raising their grandchildren. More recently, with increasing frequency grandparents are serving as full-time surrogate parents to their grandchildren. The term "grandfamily" was coined by this researcher to identify families where children are raised by grandparents. "Supergrands" are the grandparents and "grandkin" are children in these families. Supergrands who raise their grandkin tend to have elevated levels of stress that negatively impact their well-being. Grandkin tend to develop problems with attachment and establishing social networks, which can lead to poor psychological adjustment. School personnel believe grandkin evidence behavioral problems and occupy disproportionate amounts of their time each day. However, there is a dearth of data to support this belief. This study empirically investigated the impact of grandfamilies on students and school services. The results revealed grandkin experienced significantly greater levels of emotional and behavior problems than similar schoolmates. However, they were not referred for discipline problems in substantially larger numbers. These results indicate the practice of education should change to allow for the development and provision of social support procedures in schools. Social support will serve to buffer the stress, manifested in emotional and behavioral problems, encountered by children living with surrogate parents. A case study was presented along with a proposed intervention project that has potential to ameliorate the problems experienced by grandfamilies.

This research was undertaken at a hosiery manufacturing plant situated in Cape Town. The two research questions were: 1) What are the main factors that influenced, as well as previously discouraged, current supervisors to seek supervisory positions? and 2) What are the main factors that influence employees to want to become a supervisor, and what factors would discourage them from wanting to become a supervisor? Questionnaires were used as the measuring instrument. The results revealed that internal motivation was the most important factor that positively influenced current supervisors to seek a supervisory position. This was followed by self-perceived management ability, self-belief and confidence factors. Supervisors revealed a low social and affiliation need. Factors that discouraged current supervisors from seeking a supervisory position were limited management involvement, negative work related issues, and self-doubt factors. Most employees, who were not interested in seeking a supervisory position, indicated that there were no factors that would motivate them to want to become supervisors. Amongst the four content theories of motivation, the most relevant theory in interpreting the results was the Herzberg’s two factor theory. He stated that “employees are motivated by their own inherent need to succeed at a challenging task”. This is exactly what was also found in this research. One of the interesting findings is that Herzberg’s hygiene factors played almost no role as a motivator or demotivator for either current supervisors or employees. The significance of the findings for managers is that they should not strive to motivate employees to become supervisors, but rather select people who already have a high level of internal self-motivation. If they are simply looking for good workers, they should select a different type of employee who does not have a high need for achievement.

This interpretive, exploratory qualitative study examines the similarities and differences between charter school leadership and traditional public school leadership. Previous research has examined the differences in school leadership in traditional public schools from large-scale, quantitative data (Cravens, Goldring,& Penaloza, 2012; Goff, Mavrogordato, & Goldring, 2012). Though research exists on specific facets of charter schools such as student achievement, there is little research on the needs of charter school leaders and how well-prepared they are for their unique roles (Huerta, 2009; Hughes & Silva, 2013). The purpose of this study is to contribute to the body of knowledge on school leadership by developing an emic description of the relationship between charter school leadership and traditional public school leadership through a qualitative interpretivist study approach. School leaders in Minnesota who have been heads of school in both independent charter schools and traditional public schools were surveyed, and four were selected for in-depth follow-up interviews. The guiding research questions are: (1) What are the differences between traditional public school leadership and charter school leadership according to school leaders in Minnesota who have been leaders of both types of schools; (2) How do school leaders in Minnesota who have been leaders of both charter schools and traditional public schools experience instructional leadership in the different school organizations; and (3) How do school leadership preparation programs help prepare educators for leadership in charter schools? Findings from this study indicate that differences in school leadership in traditional public schools and independent charter schools may exist due to organizational structure, including the expanded scope of school leadership in charter schools. However, some of the differences may be because of school size, as leaders with experience in both types of schools indicated that leading a charter school is similar to leading a small, rural, traditional public school. The findings also examine the structures created to support charter school leadership, and the need for professional community and support. Implications for school leader professional development and school leadership preparation programs are discussed.

This qualitative case study examines teachers' perspectives on testing accommodations for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students taking Indiana's Graduation Qualifying Exam (GQE). The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) states that the purpose of testing accommodations is to "level the playing field" between LEP students and their non-LEP peers. If the IDOE intends a "level playing field" to be a situation of equity in testing, several years of recent test scores show that accommodations have failed to assist LEP students to achieve on par with their peers in both English/Language Arts and Mathematics. The 14 teachers from Grant High School in Midfield, Indiana, who participated in this study, shared in individual interviews about how and whether testing accommodations can provide the solution for closing the performance gap between LEP and non-LEP students. Teachers discussed their experiences using testing accommodations both in the classroom and during GQE testing. They also shared their perspectives on the statewide testing system and offered suggestions on how to improve the testing situation, specifically for LEP students. Teachers were cautiously supportive of the practice of using testing accommodations, and were against implementing a high-stakes test with enough importance to determine whether students qualify for graduation. Most interviewees perceived testing accommodations as a "necessary evil," a tool that helps LEP students, but not the panacea for creating equity in testing for LEP learners. Teachers' internal struggles to balance mandates from the State while, at the same time, preserving unique teaching practices came forth in these interviews. This conflict came to light when teachers discussed how they must adhere to IDOE practices, such as offering testing accommodations, even though they perceived accommodations as inadequate to significantly raise test scores. Teachers generally reflected the wariness of scholars who warn against implementing a system of accommodations that, although widespread, has yet to be proved scientifically sound. Without further research into the effectiveness of testing accommodations and the benefits of exit exams, schools like Grant will continue administering high-stakes tests to all demographics of students without possessing a firm understanding of the process.

This study explored the precollege and college level factors that moderate the relationship between language background and college cognitive gains for non-native English speaking (NNES) students. I focused on three college cognitive outcomes, including critical thinking, need for cognition, and positive attitude toward literacy. Because there is limited research on the relationship between language background and college cognitive growth, I first examined the effects of being a NNES student on college cognitive outcomes. Next, I explored the mediating effects of three sets of influences on the relationship between NNES status and college cognitive outcomes, including students’ precollege characteristics and background, college-level academic and non-academic experiences, and institutional characteristics. Data of this study was from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education (WNSLAE) – a longitudinal study investigating the effects of college experiences on student cognitive and personal outcomes theoretically associated with a liberal arts education. The final sample had a total of 4,304 students, including 4,063 native English speaking students (NES) and 241 non-native English speaking students. Because this study examined NNES students’ cognitive outcomes and was focused on student level rather than institutional level differences, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression was used for analyses. Results of this study suggested that NNES students demonstrated significantly fewer gains in critical thinking and positive attitude toward literacy than their native English speaking peers after controlling a variety of confounding variables. Moreover, the relationship between students’ native language status and critical thinking as well as need for cognition was conditional on precollege and college level influences. This study makes three important contributions to existing literature. Firstly, this study is among the first, if not the first, that examines the cognitive gains of NNES students during college using a pretest-posttest design. It adds to the growing body of literature that highlights the effects of student characteristics on college experiences and outcomes and expands our understanding of the role of language background in college student development. Secondly, this study provides empirical evidence on the effects of language background on college cognitive growth using a multi-institution longitudinal data and a pretest-posttest design. It estimates students’ cognitive gains during college through controlling the precollege level of cognitive scores besides a variety of confounding variables. Thirdly, results of this study provides valuable practical insights. This study is a significant addition to the literature that explores the college cognitive growth of underrepresented student groups. As the American society continues to become more diverse in many aspects, implications of this study are helpful for educators and researchers to achieve educational excellence for all students.

Human resource (HR) directors at academic institutions work to fill vacant teaching positions with skilled educators in colleges and universities. Unemployment in the United States declined to 5% in December 2015, creating placement issues for HR directors. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that community college HR directors used to recruit qualified faculty for teaching positions to increase institutional performance. The targeted population for the study included 5 HR directors from community colleges in northern Texas. To meet the criteria for inclusion in the study, candidates had to be employed as an HR director at a community college in Northern Texas, be knowledgeable about hiring high performing faculty, and have at least 3 years of experience in this role. Data were collected from interviews with HR directors and from institution websites and social media pages regarding hiring and recruitment. Data analysis was guided by Yin’s 5 steps of data analysis, which included data collection, dissembling, reassembling, interpreting, and reporting. The 5 themes that emerged from data analysis include: apply an action-oriented approach, recognizing the skill gap variance, using active recruitment strategies, identifying required competencies, and competing for subject matter experts with other industries. The application of the findings from this study might contribute to positive social change by creating equity in hiring qualified candidates to fulfill institutional needs, benefitting skilled applicants who were previously overlooked, and supporting institutions’ long-term strategic plans. The benefit to student education quality and improved skill offerings may lead to skill development of workers entering the workforce, thus improving both quality of service and the strength and stability of the workforce.

Cette thèse propose une analyse détaillée des effets de la supervision prudentielle (une composante de la réglementation bancaire) sur la stabilité du secteur bancaire, la solvabilité des institutions financières et, au niveau macro-économique, étudie son impact sur le crédit domestique. La méthodologie de recherche adoptée permet l‘intégration de l‘hétérogénéité dans l'analyse, tant au niveau systémique qu'à celui de l‘agent individuel. Des méthodes d‘estimation bayésiennes sont à la base de la partie empirique, alors que les sections théoriques utilisent la modélisation multi-agent. Le premier chapitre étudie les effets de la supervision prudentielle sur le crédit domestique dans 27 pays de l‘UE. Les résultats montrent qu‘une aggravation de la dureté de la supervision produit des effets positifs sur le crédit dans les pays ayant un système de supervision unifié. Le deuxième chapitre étudie les effets de la supervision couplée avec des outils réglementaires « traditionnels » sur la résilience et les profits bancaires dans des conditions de crise de long-terme. Parmi les instruments étudiés, c’est la taxe qui assure la profitabilité bancaire à long terme et l‘adaptation à la crise. Le troisième chapitre étudie une fraude financière complexe qui a eu lieu en Moldavie en 2011-2015. Un modèle qui réplique les schémas de fraude est construit pour étudier l‘optimalité de la décision de non-intervention de la Banque Centrale. Les résultats montrent qu'une intervention précoce n‘aurait pas minimisé les pertes du système bancaire, mais que la Banque Centrale aurait pu améliorer la situation en intervenant quand l‘exposition du secteur aux fraudeurs était minimale. / This thesis aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the effects of prudential supervision (a component of banking system regulation) on the stability of the banking sector, the soundness of financial institutions and, at a macro-economic level, its impact on domestic credit. The adopted research methods facilitate the integration of heterogeneity at the systemic and individual-agent levels into the analysis. Bayesian estimation techniques are used in the empirical part, whereas the theoretical sections utilize agent-based modeling. The first chapter studies the effects of prudential supervision on domestic credit in 27 EU countries. The results show an increase in supervisory stringency to produce a positive effect on credit in countries with unified supervisory frameworks. The second chapter investigates the effects of prudential supervision coupled with “traditional” regulatory tools on bank resiliency and profits under long-lasting crisis conditions. Taxes are found to be the most efficient tool as they potentiate long-term profitable bank operations and adaptation to the crisis. The third chapter provides a case-study of a complex financial fraud that took place in Moldova in 2011-2015. An agent-based model that replicates the schemes is constructed to study the optimality of the Central Bank’s decision to not intervene. The results show that early intervention wouldn’t necessarily have minimized the financial losses of the banking sector, but that the Central Bank could have improved the outcome of the crisis by intervening when the exposure of the banking sector to the fraudsters was minimal.

Most students in schools from impoverished areas in one southeastern state were not achieving academically according to state-mandated accountability expectations. However, students in 3 impoverished schools from 1 school district demonstrated successful academic achievement according to state standards. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how 14 administrators of these impoverished schools described personal transformational leadership behaviors. The study was based on the conceptual framework of transformational leadership as defined by a set of leadership behaviors. Data were collected from individual interviews and personal reflection surveys of administrators of public schools in 1 school district in which at least 50% of the student population was from low socioeconomic circumstances. Through thematic analysis using a priori coding, open coding, and axial coding of administrators' descriptions, key results aligned with the conceptual framework indicated that application of transformational leadership behaviors explained much of the successful outcomes of the schools. The themes that resonated through the study included relationships, collective efficacy, and a culture of coaching. The study contributes to positive social change by identifying areas in which school leaders may build professional capacity to more effectively use transformational leadership behaviors to positively affect the academic achievement of students from impoverished households.