Thesis advisor: Martin Scanlan / This qualitative case study explored the role of central office leaders in supporting autonomy and accountability in the Lawrence Public Schools. One of the key strategies of central office transformation is the creation of assistance relationships with principals (Honig et al., 2010), which serves as the conceptual framework for this study. Data was gathered from interviews with and observations of central office leaders and principals as well as a document review. The results of the study found that principals were granted broad autonomy in several areas of school leadership that resulted in improved student outcomes. Findings further noted that central office leaders engaged in assistance relationships and employed the key practices in their efforts to support principals. Principals reported that central office leaders employed these practices in each of the four decision-making areas of building leadership; budget, staffing, curriculum and assessment, and scheduling. While enacting autonomy for principals in building decision-making, central office leaders executed a “customer-service culture” of support. Recommendations include continual examination of assistance relationships among central office leaders in support of principals’ autonomy in the context of a turnaround district. Future researchers may continue to contribute to the growing body of literature by examining these findings and offering a longitudinal view of this practice. This strands’ findings may begin to provide insights into strategies that will add to school improvement efforts for chronically underperforming schools and districts. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Esta dissertaÃÃo versa sobre problemas relacionados à violÃncia urbana no bairro Bom Jardim â considerado pelas instituiÃÃes de seguranÃa pÃblica do Estado do Cearà um dos mais violentos e perigosos da cidade de Fortaleza. Ela busca compreender como os moradores desse Bairro lidam com os estigmas provenientes da idÃia do lugar ser violento e perigoso, ao mesmo tempo em que, de fato, convivem com situaÃÃes objetivas relacionadas à violÃncia e ao crime. O pÃblico pesquisado foi de moradores, em sua maioria, classificados na categoria trabalhadores de baixa renda. Eles vivem em um cenÃrio com problemas estruturais que, na sua visÃo, colaboram para a disseminaÃÃo de prÃticas como os furtos e os roubos Ãs pessoas no Bom Jardim. Dentre esses problemas, a falta de um sistema eficiente de seguranÃa pÃblica capaz de uma polÃtica de prevenÃÃo e reaÃÃo à difusÃo de prÃticas de violÃncia e crime. Observou-se que o Bom Jardim à um lugar marcado por fortes diferenciaÃÃes territoriais decorrentes de um processo de ocupaÃÃo desordenado do espaÃo urbano. Tal fato tem contribuÃdo de maneira significativa na formaÃÃo de sistemas de significaÃÃo e sociabilidade pertinentes ao lugar. / This dissertation deals with issues related to urban violence as found in the district of Bom Jardim which is considered by public security institutions in the State of Ceara as one of the most violent and dangerous area in the city of Fortaleza. This work aims at understanding how dwellers of this district react to stigmas that have originated from the idea that the place is violent and dangerous, and at the same time having to deal with objective daily situations related to violence and crime. The public investigated was formed mostly by dwellers classified as low income workers. They live in an environment plagued by structural problems which, according to their apprehension, contribute to the dissemination of criminal practices such as thefts and armed robbery against the people in Bom Jardim. Among those problems, it is listed the lacking of an efficient public security system which could prevent violence, and react immediately to contain the diffuse spreading of criminal practice. It was observed that Bom Jardim is a place marked by strong territorial differentiations arising from a disorderly occupational process of urban space. This fact has contributed strongly to the development of systems related to signification and sociability attached to the place.

The collapse of USSR in 1991 became a starting point for many deep changes in Eastern and Central Europe. These changes affected not only politics, but all spheres of life. Urban development reflected it as well. The post-Soviet urban transformation is a specific chapter in history of the cities. In our work we will focus on the influence of cultural activities on districts' development with examples of Užupis in Vilnius and Kalamaja in Tallinn. Today both of these districts are known because of their artistic image and quick development. At the same time, these two capitals of Baltic states are registered on UNESCO World heritage list and Užupis and Kalamaja are parts of the protected areas. To support the balance between preservation of the historical heritage and modern development is an important issue for both of them. We will consider the influence of cultural activities on district's development and distinctive features of these processes in cases of Užupis and Kalamaja. Key words: urban transformation, urban development, Cultural quarters, urban districts, cultural heritage, post-Soviet, Baltic states Абстракт Распад СССР в 1991 стал отправной точкой для множества глубоких изменений в Восточной и Центральной Европе. Изменения затронули не только политику, но и все сферы жизни, также они...

My study explores the underlying factors that allow systemic structural issues to exist within continuation high schools which result in the low educational performance of low-income Latinx continuation students. My study focuses on educators’ experiences, as I conducted 20 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Southern California continuation high school teachers. I focused on the following areas of study: the teacher’s career, the teacher’s interactions with students, and the teacher’s opinions regarding their accessibility to funding and resources. My findings indicate that teachers, the outer community, and school-board administrators utilize cultural deficit thinking and stigmatization as tools of total erasure to exchange low-income Latinx students’ social identities with racist and classist stereotypes; in consequence, these mechanisms allow the district to impose invisibility on students’ academic and emotional needs in order to justify the formation and maintenance of institutional challenges for administrators’ fiscal benefit. Overall, these results reaffirm that our educational system reproduces social inequality; the total erasure of low-income Latinx continuation students’ academic and emotional needs permits the persistence of systemic structural issues informed by racist and classist stereotypes. My research calls for avenues of communication between administrators, teachers, and the outer community to address institutional barriers and, subsequently, establish equitable funding distributions to promote continuation high school students’ educational success with an understanding of the increased academic, emotional, and social needs of low-income Latinx students.