This research takes the initial steps of evaluating resource planning for service operations in which the client is a direct resource in the service system. First, this research examines the effects of client involvement on resource planning decisions when a service firm is faced with efficiency and quality considerations. We develop a non-linear, deterministic, single-stage planning model that allows for examination of trade-offs among client involvement, efficiency and quality. Policy recommendations give service firms better insights into setting workforce, client intensity, and service generation levels. Second, we examine the sensitivity of estimates of technology functions to data analysis and make policy recommendations to service providers on how to allocate resources when there are technology function uncertainties and uncontrollable inputs. Results show that resources are allocated to compensate for technology function uncertainties. Third, we gain insights as to how resource decisions are made for multiple stages and for multiple clients. We extrapolate theoretical findings from the single-stage planning study to determine resource allocations across multiple services and stages. Results show that when the dynamic program in the single-stage study is extended there is trade-off between the cost of capacity changes and profits across multiple stages. / Ph. D.

This study was designed to examine whether there is an association between the activities suggested by a federally mandated Title 1 learning compact and the reading achievement of at-risk fourth grade students. In addition, the researcher investigated the relationship between specific home and school parent involvement activities and student reading scores. Specifically, connections between reading comprehension achievement and the following parent involvement variables were examined: (1) homework involvement, (2) reading together, (3) monitoring of television viewing, (4) volunteering in the school, and (5) supporting school activities. The subjects used for this study were fourth grade students who were enrolled in a Title 1 reading program. Data for the study was obtained from surveys given to teachers, the Title 1 students, and their parents. Reading achievement scores were obtained from fall and spring administrations of the reading comprehension subtest from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the gains between the two measures. Chi square analyses were used to examine whether the levels of involvement by specific parties on the independent variables were associated with different levels of reading comprehension achievement. A second analysis was done with analysis of variance procedures. The study did not find any significant relationships between reading comprehension achievement and the total degree of involvement by all or either parents, teacher, and students on the learning compact. When specific parental involvement variables were examined, however, some differences among the groups emerged. A significant positive association was found between the degree of homework involvement and achievement while a significant negative relationship was found between the level of parental support and reading achievement. Parents' answers to the open-ended questions indicated that almost forty percent (38.8) of them would like less demands on parents or changes made in the school climate. The usefulness of an unidimensional index of parental involvement is called into question and the results are discussed within the context of instructional implications. / Ed. D.

A review of research concludes that a high proportion of high school students are disengaged from their learning and that the adolescent peer culture demeans academic success. Parents are just as disengaged from school as their children. The overall guiding question for this study was: How do high school students vary their engagement with school when influenced by the interaction of family involvement practices and peer relationships? Subordinate questions were: (a) Do high school family involvement programs influence individual student engagement? (b) What is the ability of high school instructional and noninstructional programs to positively influence student engagement practices? and, (c) What effects do parental influences have over the relationship between individual students and their peers. The research methodology used in this study was a case study analysis of 20 high school students at a large, comprehensive high school. An analysis of in-depth interviews and a review of available documents were the preliminary methods of investigation. Results indicate that the varied engagement practices of high school students are not directly affected by overlapping influences of peers, family, and school, but that these overlapping influences are a catalyst for five forces for engagement that emerge from these intricate relationships. / Ed. D.

The need for giving all stakeholders a greater voice in schools is well documented in the school reform and change literature of the eighties and nineties. Many schools across the United States have attempted to implement numerous plans to increase involvement with varying degrees of success. This case study describes how involvement has developed for administrators, teachers, staff, families, students, and community members in one high involvement elementary school. A list of characteristics of high involvement was developed from the current literature to aid in the identification and selection of a high involvement school site for the study. Potential sites were nominated by the Virginia Department of Education Field Representative serving Southwest Virginia. Directors of instruction or elementary supervisors in the nominated districts were contacted and asked to name high involvement schools in their divisions. Three schools were selected for site visits based on the convergence of the nominations. The school having the highest number of characteristics observed or mentioned during the site visits was selected for the study. Interviews were conducted with administrators, teachers, parents, students, and community members to gain an understanding of how involvement developed at the school. One week was spent interviewing, observing involvement activities, and studying available documents on site. Data from the study were used to describe how involvement developed at the school. Ten themes relevant to the development of high involvement at the school are identified and discussed. Findings are examined in relation to school culture, leadership, and schools as organizations. Implications for practice and further research are suggested. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine the key factors associated with sustaining an effective educational program. The primary research question was: How did the Bright Beginnings: Fantastic Follow Through program sustain itself for more than 25 years? The secondary research questions asked in this study were: (a) what role did the school context play in sustaining the program; (b) what role did leadership play in sustaining the program; (c) how did the school culture affect sustaining the program; (d) how did the implementation, continuation, and evaluation phases of the change effort affect sustaining the program; and (e) what effect, if any, did external factors have on sustaining the program? This study was a descriptive case study of one exemplary program in an urban elementary school in a mid-Atlantic state. A naturalistic, responsive inquiry approach was employed through in-depth interviews, combined with document reviews as data sources. The key participants included local school administrators, teachers, parents, and the central administrative liaison to the program. The participants were interviewed in-person for approximately 30-60 minutes in length. Materials gathered during the in-depth interviews were transcribed and analyzed after the interviews were completed. First the researcher read the transcribed interviews and hand-coded the consistencies and emerging themes onto a large chart. Second, a matrix was made of the hand-coded data using a word processor. Third, the researcher identified themes, common patterns and important stories shared by the participants regarding the elements essential to the institutionalization of an educational program. Discussion of the summary, conclusions, implications for practice, and recommendations for further research are provided in Chapter Five. / Ed. D.

The number of English Language Learner (ELL) students in U.S. public schools are increasing yearly. More than 75% of ELL student's home language is Spanish. Their academic performance and graduation rates are lower than their non-ELL peers. Parent involvement contributes to student success in school, and urban leaders must examine how they involve ELL students and parents in school. The purpose of this study was to identify perceived strategies urban high school teachers use to involve ELL parents and to identify whether perceived barriers exist. School leaders can benefit from this qualitative study to address the achievement gap between ELL and non-ELL students. Five ESL teachers, six content teachers, and three Graduation Coaches participated in three focus group interviews. Seven findings arose from the interviews. A few findings include 71% (10 out of 14) of participants perceived that all educators in the building are responsible for ELL students, 93% (13 out of 14) of participants perceived there are practices and policies established to aid teachers with communicating and involving ELL parents, and 80% percent (4 out of 5) of ESL teachers interviewed believed parents are more trusting of the school when schools partner with other community agencies to host events. Teachers perceived barriers exist that inhibit them from involving and communicating with parents. Ninety-three percent (13 out of 14) of participants noted time as a barrier. Almost 43% (6 out of 14) participants noted parents being unaware of their rights as a barrier. / Doctor of Education / Hispanic English Language Learners (ELL) are the fastest-growing group of students in U.S. public schools. There is an achievement gap between ELL students and non-ELL students. The graduation rates and academic performance of ELL students are lower than non-ELL students. Parent involvement is one factor that increases students' academic performance. The research in this study explored the impact and perception of parent involvement. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify perceived strategies urban school teachers use to involve ELL parents and whether teachers perceive the strategies are effective. Content Teachers, Graduation Coaches, and ESL teachers from two high schools within one eastern Virginia school division participated in focus group interviews. The study indicated seven findings and eight implications. A recommendation for future studies is to explore and examine the practices of more diverse areas of Virginia and the impact of ELL parent involvement.

Parental involvement in the education of their children is acknowledged to be a major factor in children's successful growth. However, the changing nature of families, particularly low income, minority families has had a significant effect on the nature and extent of such involvement. The national Head Start\Public School Transition project is designed to maintain, among other purposes, the high level of parent participation found among parents of Head Start children as these children enter public schools. The shifting character of these families has made this a difficult task. Little is known of the perceptions of schools and the barriers to participation in public school functions which are present in these families. The purpose of this study is to discover these perceptions in a group of African American and Hispanic families who are part of the Virginia component of the Transition Project. Five families with children currently attending first and second grade classrooms where Transition services and opportunities for participation are offered were selected for in-depth study. The family, the program, the teacher, and the school were studied in detail using observation, interviewing and document analysis in a standard case study format. Field notes and interview material were transcribed and coded using the software package, Ethnograph Themes, story lines, and concepts were allowed to emerge and were then summarized. Several themes relating to constraints to participation were identified including: motivational characteristics, expectations of the school, goals for children, teacher receptivity and the culture of the school. It was discovered that these specific parents were interested in participating in their child's education, yet in the Transition program, guidelines and expectations were unclear to them and intimidating to others. A recommendation for working with the parents of children enrolled in Head Start\Transition Programs include providing a variety of opportunities, based on the interest of the parents are available. Additional suggestions for programs such as the Transition Project are provided in this study. / Ed. D.

Parent involvement in school has proven its effectiveness (Jeynes, 2012). Students whose parents are involved tend to present better behavior at school and achieve higher quality of homework and schoolwork (Cancio, West and Young, 2004; Epstein 2001). In the case of children transitioning to kindergarten, parent involvement can help them overcome adjustment difficulties and receive the support they need to succeed (Patel and Corter, 2013). In order to increase parent involvement among parents of children transitioning to kindergarten, school counselors, teachers and other school personnel can benefit from understanding how parents perceive parent involvement and what experiences they are having as their children transition to kindergarten. The purpose of this study was to describe, using a qualitative approach, how parents of children transitioning to kindergarten perceive parent involvement and how they have been experiencing parent involvement during this transition. This study included the participation of ten parents whose children were enrolled in kindergarten in a public school in Southern California. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed through the process of coding. Findings showed that there are different ways of parent involvement and that such involvement is the result of a teamwork that happens through interactions between the parent, the child, and the school. Moreover, discussions of the findings also revealed that schools that offer services and support to parents during the kindergarten transition help them become more involved parents. Lastly, it was brought to knowledge that parents of children transitioning to kindergarten do not always know about the existence or the role of the school counselor, who could be serving as an important support to these parents and their children. Important implications are offered for school counselors, counselor educators, and kindergarten teachers, as well as recommendations for future research. / Ph. D.

Father involvement was examined multidimensionally using fathers' and children's reports. A total of 61 fathers and 143 children (intact families and stepfather families) from the Avon Brothers and Sisters Study (ABSS) participated in the current study. Measures of father involvement including engagement in shared activity, monitoring, positivity, and negativity were completed by fathers and children. Agreement between father and child reports of involvement was assessed, involvement was compared between biological fathers and stepfathers, and involvement was predicted statistically using father and child factors (e.g., age, gender). There were modest significant associations between fathers' and children's reports of monitoring of positive events, and father-child positivity. Compared to biological fathers, stepfathers did less monitoring of positive events, and were less positive towards their children. Biological relatedness was a significant predictor of monitoring positive events, monitoring negative events, and positivity. Consistent with previous theoretical and empirical accounts, this study demonstrated that being biologically related to your child influences the level of involvement in fathers. / Master of Science

This thesis is a result of a survey of elementary school principals at schools with grades kindergarten through 5th in Virginia to determine whether and how attitudes of principals influence vegetation levels on school grounds. The research also looked to find other contributing factors. Principals' educational backgrounds and age proved to be non-influencing factors. However, gender did influence school grounds with women being more likely to administer school grounds with fewer trees and tree plantings than men. Levels of tree vegetation and tree plantings proved to be highly influential in satisfaction with appearance of school grounds. Non-urban schools were more likely to have higher levels of vegetation than urban schools. Parental, service club, and local business involvement are linked together in respondents' satisfaction with each influencing the perception of the others. Analyses of these results can help groups target schools for grounds improvement projects. By understanding what effect principals have on their school grounds steps can be taken at the level of individual schools, school boards, and communities to help improve school grounds. / Master of Science