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This quantitative study analyzed the relationship between district characteristics, the educational environment and the administrative organizational structure in public schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania between the 1996-1997 school year and the 2006-2007. More specifically, this study conducted an assessment of the changes and stability that have occurred in the Commonwealth's 501 public school district's administrative positions and structures and determined the trends or relationships that exist between the administrative structure in comparison with district characteristics and the educational environment. Pennsylvania public schools have increased in total number of administrators across the Commonwealth from 5,734 in the 1996-97 school year (Database 1996-97) to 7,348 administrators in the 2006-07 school year (Database 2006-07). This is an increase of 1,614 administrators across the 501 public school districts. These increases have not been consistent from one year to another or across districts. Little is known concerning the relationship between internal district characteristics, the external educational environment and administrative changes or stability. In addition, little is known about that combination of characteristics that have allowed some districts to remain stable in a changing educational environment. In an effort to provide more information on these issues, this quantitative study analyzed public school administrative positions and structures in the 501 Pennsylvania school districts over time in relation to the district's characteristics and educational environment. By assessing combinations of district characteristics and the educational environment, this study sought to find similarities and differences in how districts administratively respond to forces and pressures on the organization. / Educational Administration

This qualitative, phenomenological study examined teachers' experiences of the policy context of the fall of 2013 in the School District of Philadelphia. It was an extremely turbulent time resulting from a cascading policy environment with origins in federal government mandates. The study focused on ten teachers' perceptions of policy implementation in one comprehensive high school. Each teacher was interviewed once in the summer of 2017. State, local, and school specific policy forces were examined. Turbulence theory anchored the study. Teacher interview data were used to construct a turbulence gauge for the school, shedding light on teacher perceptions of the magnitude of disruption. Events from 1997 to 2013 in the School District of Philadelphia provided evidence that policy forces from different governance levels and various contextual factors cascaded upon each other yielding a crescendo of policy implementation experienced by teachers in the fall of 2013. Findings indicated that teachers' perceptions of policy implementation during the fall of 2013 were traumatic, chaotic, and compliance-driven. Teachers primarily held the district responsible for the state of affairs, then the principal, and lastly, the federal government. A finding of severe turbulence was assigned to the school reflecting teachers' perceptions of policy implementation. This study informs school leaders in domains related to policy implementation, strategic planning, and impacts on human capital. Future studies should examine how policy implementation in the NCLB era manufactures an up-tempo change culture which converges on teachers and impacts their perceptions of efficacy and capacity to deliver instruction. Key terms: policy implementation, NCLB, Turbulence Theory, Philadelphia, affective, school closings / Educational Administration

This qualitative single-site case study examined the philosophy, decisions, and behaviors of a particular male school principal who subscribed to a form of care-based leadership practice. A Pennsylvania high school principal with a distinct leadership philosophy centered on the ethic of care was chosen to participate in this study. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of emotion as it relates to leadership philosophy and the enactment of leadership decisions and actions. Additionally, the short and long-term organizational effects of leader behavior were examined. Semi-structured interviews with the principal, administrators, teachers, staff, parents, community members, and graduated students were utilized to examine how the principal's leadership philosophy was perceived and carried forth in school operations. Additionally, on-site observations and document reviews were utilized to aid the data collection process. The observation and analysis of the male school principal's leadership behavior was filtered through the lens of Goleman's, Boyatzis', and McKee's (2002) primal leadership theory and also through Gross' (1998, 2004, 2006) turbulence theory. Additionally, Wilson's (1998) theoretical conception of consilience was utilized as the physiological, psychological, ethical, social, emotional, and spiritual aspects of leadership were considered. These theoretical perspectives allowed for the review of principal leadership behavior in the context of unstable organizational conditions and accounted for the various elements involved with the leadership process. In turn, the male school principal's ability to implement his leadership philosophy was explored. This examination aimed to increase understanding of the intentions, actions, perceptions, and outcomes that arise from male school principal conduct that proposes to be aligned with a care-based leadership philosophy. The findings indicated the male school principal was able to successfully implement a care-based form of leadership practice. The results suggest that a particular leadership acuity, involving various rational, emotional, social, and moral competencies, was necessary for the school principal to experience success. Principal aptitude in these domains allowed the school leader to successfully lead his school organization during both stable and highly turbulent conditions. The findings suggest that the ethic of care, specifically in relation to Sernak's (1998) conception of caring power, should serve as the foundation for school organization leadership practice. Also, the findings offer various care-based school leadership aptitudes and behaviors that may be beneficial for school leadership theorists and practitioners to explore and consider. / Educational Administration

Countless research has identified that a good leader is crucial to the success of an organization. This is no different when looking in the school setting. Good leaders are paramount to the success of schools. In schools, the absence of good leadership, and more specifically a consistent leader itself, can be detrimental to the achievements of students, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders. Even though schools across the nation and the world are experiencing frequent principal turnover, there is little research into how this turnover is perceived by the stakeholders. This study focuses on the frequent turnover of leadership in one rural middle school where there had been eight principals in the past ten years, and how stakeholders made sense of this turnover. Framed by Turbulence Theory, this study details the importance for incoming leaders to recognize the impact that turnover has on stakeholders of the school. The study also identifies the need to identify and find ways to work with the stability factors present during a period of frequent turnover. / Educational Administration

In 2003, Mid-County North High School (pseudonym), a large suburban, rather affluent school did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act. The school's special education population was unable to meet the proficiency requirements of the Mid-County's state, and as such received a "failing" label from the state. The irony in this is that North High School (NHS) and the Mid-County District have a documented legacy of excellence -even on the very assessments upon which the "failing" assessments were based. This single-site, qualitative case study, was designed to investigate the real-life dilemmas, ethical, professional, and personal, that the school leaders at NHS and in the Mid-County School District encountered after the school did not make AYP. The perceived internal pressures caused by the possible competition of a school leader's personal and professional values, as well as the necessity for leaders to guide their school toward making AYP, were investigated. In addition to internal pressures, the study attempted to uncover the perceived pressures faced by the leaders within the organizational structure of the school and school district, from the community, media and government. In addition, the study was designed to unveil school leaders' reactions to these perceived pressures. This study used semi-structured interviews with 12 school leaders, including central office and building level leaders, as well as teachers, a parent, and a school board member. In addition to interviews, pertinent documents, and artifacts were analyzed. The interview and document data were then coded using a qualitative analysis program, TAMSAnalyzer. The constant comparative method (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) was used to analyze the data in terms of the study's two theoretical frameworks: Turbulence Theory (Gross, 1998) and Multiple Ethical Paradigms (Shapiro and Stefkovich, 2001). The data revealed three dominant themes: (a) Turbulence Happens: School Leaders Are Forced to Respond to Externally Imposed Accountability in the Era of NCLB and AYP; (b) Flight School: School Leaders' Ethical Codes and Experience Prepare them to Navigate Through Turbulence; (c) Pilot to Co-Pilot: School Leaders Communicate, Collaborate, and Innovate to manage the Turbulence of Not Making AYP. / Educational Administration