<p> Recent national attention to issues of access, cost, and institutional performance in our public institutions of higher education have included numerous critiques and calls for reform at the level of board appointments and board governance. There has been considerable attention in both scholarly and popular media regarding governance issues including shoddy political appointment practices, lack of orientation and preparation, run-away boards, arrogant chief executives, and the negative effects of under-prepared, under-qualified trustees. These concerns have persisted as national, even congressional, attention has turned to high college costs, student debt-load, and the use of university endowments to offset costs to students and their families. These concerns were amplified by the recent economic recession and its impact on higher education. The use of appointment commissions or councils (whose responsibility is to recommend board member appointments based on merit) has been identified as a way in which to improve higher education governance. This study will examine the context surrounding the establishment of the 2002 Virginia Commission on Higher Education Board Appointments (which will be referred to as the Commission), and will explore its impact on subsequent boards of visitors at the four largest public universities in the Commonwealth. The question, Has board governance in Virginia state-supported higher education institutions changed with the advent of the Commission? will be investigated. The methodology employed and the conclusions reached may inform and encourage other state systems to consider similar reforms in the trustee appointment process and will add to the literature on best practices in higher education governance.</p>

<p> The conflicting nature of the principal's role as a leader in the context of the school building and yet a follower within the school district organization may lead to frustration, poor job performance, and ultimately, premature principal departure. As middle managers in the school district organization, principals are wedged between superintendents who are grappling with the directives of government mandates and with meeting the needs of teachers, and teachers, who are doing the difficult day-to-day work of educating our nation's children. This duality in the principal's role is highlighted as principals implement the teacher evaluation process. Teacher evaluation has become more significant in this age of accountability, and school districts expect that principals will answer for the performance of students and teachers in their schools. Research on teacher evaluation has included the viewpoints of teachers, parents, policymakers, and stakeholders, but has not emphasized the principal's perspective on his/her role in the teacher evaluation process. This qualitative study highlights the perspectives and experiences of secondary school principals as they conduct teacher evaluations. The five major findings of this research are: 1) teacher evaluation provides principals an opportunity to demonstrate instructional leadership; 2) principals experience professional isolation in the teacher evaluation process; 3) principals are concerned about the demands on their time; 4) principals seek autonomy but not isolation in their position; and 5) principals grapple with their role as middle managers. The current pace of change to teacher evaluation policy has created challenges for state and district level policymakers as they attempt to interpret the changes and implement best practices. It is vital that policymakers understand the principal's role in the teacher evaluation process and that the principal's voice is included in policy decisions. District policymakers should consider the principal's role as a middle manager as they develop and improve job descriptions for the principalship.</p>

<p>Producing students that are prepared for the world of work or higher education is the goal of every public school. Having highly effective school leaders in each building is vital for accomplishing this goal. The state of North Carolina outlined one method of building school leadership through the use of school transformation coaches. </p><p> The purpose of this research study was to determine the common characteristics of transformational leaders, coaching practices that are most beneficial in helping school leaders become successful, and if coaches with specific personality type indicators naturally used the beneficial practices more frequently. The results of the research were used to streamline the process used to hire North Carolina school transformation coaches and to inform and design professional development for current school transformation coaches. The goal of the research study was to create a common understanding of the characteristics, coaching practices, and personality type preferences needed to effectively develop school leaders using the Division of District and School Transformation and to develop the coaches within the department to in order to achieve goals efficiently. </p><p> Keywords: District and School Transformation (DST), Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), School Transformation (STC). </p>

<p> Research has documented numerous benefits of parent involvement in children's education including increased attendance, increased test scores and better behavior. Access to increased and meaningful communication between home and school enhances parent involvement. The utilization of technology through the use of the Internet and e- mail for school to home communications is growing rapidly as an additional means of two-way communications between home and school. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of emerging technologies, specifically social media use by school principals and how its use affects communication between schools and parents. Data gathered from three principals, parents in their schools and actual social media communications were triangulated across these three perspectives as part of a case study analysis, using a convenience sample to further our understanding of the benefits and challenges of using social media tools to build home-school partnerships. </p><p> Findings suggest that school principals are mainly responsible for social media use at the school. Consistent, child-centered use of these tools has the opportunity to complement face-to-face, two-way communications between home and school, provided there is a relationship with the school to begin with. In identifying the communication needs of the school, both technology and non-technology related communications must be utilized as part of a "menu of offerings" based upon solicitation of technology and non-technology related tools used by a school's families. This differentiated home- school communication approach allows for more families to engage in two-way communications with the school. </p><p> Ultimately, the outcomes of the study may help lead to changes in family and community partnerships, leadership practices by principals, as well as teachers and parent groups expanding their use of social media tools to build a connected and transparent learning community. The insights included in this study may be used to support the development and implementation of a school or district's communication strategies and professional development plans for all stakeholders.</p>

<p> The primary purpose of this research was to test the capability of the Organizational Change in Cultural Context (OC³) Model (Latta, 2009, 2011) to predict responses to change. According to Latta, predictions of resistance to or facilitation of change can be predicted by utilizing organizational culture and its alignment with the content and implementation strategies of the change. The setting for this research was a small elementary school in western Pennsylvania during implementation of a reform model known as Response to Instruction and Intervention (RTII). This qualitative study: 1) investigated the culture of the school using Martin&rsquo;s (1992, 2002) three perspective framework; 2) analyzed the content and implementation strategies associated with implanting the RTII change initiative; 3) made predictions based upon the interaction effects specified by Latta&rsquo;s (2011) OC³ Model with the assistance of a panel of experts; and 4) evaluated those predictions using self-report data from participants at the target institution and members of the implementation team. </p>

<p> Principals in rural schools lead with an awareness of multiple contingent factors that influence their decisions every day regarding programming for students. The purpose of this research is to examine how rural elementary school principals conceptualize programs in their schools, the processes used to connect students to these programs, and their leadership role in doing so. Through the lens of contingency theory, this qualitative research study informs the research regarding contextual variables that influence principals' decisions as they program for students.</p><p> Three research questions provided the frame through which to examine the ways that principals conceptualize the benefit of programs in their school buildings, as well as the ways that they negotiate the environment and obligate resources based on student needs and outside influences. A purposeful sample of 11 principals working at rural elementary schools in a mid-Atlantic state participated in this study. A basic qualitative design provided the framework for interpreting the interview data collected. </p><p> Major findings of this study indicated that principals were more apt to introduce a new program to their building if it was one they had had experience with before. If they did not consider the program beneficial, they were less apt to support it in their building. In addition, principals and school teams used formal and informal assessment data to make decisions regarding student programming. Principals obligated human resources in multiple ways in order to meet the programming needs of their students, but funding, regulations, and curricular and testing demands influenced their programming decisions. In addition, teacher "burn-out" and limited time in the school day were all areas of concern.</p><p> Nationally, public schools receive billions of dollars in federal, state, and local funding for the purpose of student programming. Policy makers write policy from an urban-centric viewpoint. This viewpoint forces rural principals to interpret the policy in creative ways to ensure it meets the needs of their students. This study provides insight as to how rural principals interpret policy in order to utilize resources to program for students. This study also examines the contexts that influence their programming decisions.</p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if classroom configuration&mdash;departmentalized and self-contained&mdash;is related to the academic achievement of Grade 6 students in a large urban school district as measured by California Standards Test (CST) scores in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) when controlling for prior academic achievement, language, and gender. To this end, existing CST scale scores for the years 2010-2012 were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regressions which allowed the researcher to determine the unique contribution classroom configuration contributed to student achievement. A 22-item researcher-designed questionnaire was also distributed to Grade 6 teachers (n=36) in the participating school district to capture teacher perceptions regarding what type of classroom configuration is best for Grade 6 students.</p><p> Three conclusions based on the findings were drawn. First, classroom configuration had no meaningful impact on student achievement in English Language Arts as measured by the CST. Second, classroom configuration had no meaningful impact on student achievement in math as measured by the CST. Third, departmentalized teachers did not differ significantly on opinions of the instructional benefits of each configuration when compared to self-contained teachers.</p><p> This study presented several implications for practitioners and researchers. One implication is student achievement is due to a variety of factors; therefore, factors outside of classroom configuration must be examined to determine what school level factors best predict student achievement. Quality of instruction most likely makes more of a difference than any structural element. Also, schools should make classroom configuration decisions based on local factors such as student needs and teacher qualifications.</p><p> Conclusions are inconsistent with some studies aimed at determining the impact of classroom configuration on student achievement indicating further research on the topic is needed. With the current shift in education to Common Core standards and assessments, the study should be repeated in different settings using the same instrument to measure student achievement as this method might provide more consistent findings. Future studies that measure teacher efficacy may also explain more of the variance in student achievement. </p>

<p>Education leaders have turned to alternative schools and classroom settings for help as students continue to fail classes and fall behind in acquiring the required units for graduation. Alternative programs, such as Opportunity Education, help at-risk students make academic progress, recover graduation units, learn appropriate classroom behavior, reintegrate into the comprehensive high school setting, and graduate from a comprehensive high school. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of participation in the Opportunity Program on student academic success. Data included graduation units recovered, graduation requirements met in the comprehensive or alternative setting, attendance rates, and length of time spent in alternative education. Findings indicate that students in the Opportunity program did not recover sufficient graduation units while enrolled but did improve daily school attendance during and after exit from the program. The majority of students enrolled in the Opportunity program did not return to the comprehensive high school setting, sustain academic progress, or graduate on time with their four-year cohort. At-risk factors continued to influence students' academic progress after intervention. </p>

<p>This study examines the perceptions expert teachers have about the ways the culture and the context of their schools influence their definition of expertise and their enactment of expert teaching. The teachers, nominated as expert by their respective school principals, teach in the same city, but in three schools with distinctly different contexts and cultures. The underlying assumption of this study is that expertise in teaching, in different school contexts and cultures, may present itself in distinct and particular ways. </p><p> The teachers are examined through case studies constructed with the use of interviews, observations, and school documents. Each teacher articulates qualities of expertise, which fall into three distinct categories. They describe personal attributes, perspectives on teaching and specific classroom practices. </p><p> The teachers were adept at acknowledging factors in their school culture and context that influenced their teaching and were aware of the organizational structures of their schools and the impact that brings to bear on their practice. They define qualities of expertise in their teaching practice that are more similar than different, yet their core educational beliefs and philosophies differ one from the other in substantial ways as does their teaching practice. Each believes that expert teaching practice requires distinctive teaching that best meets the needs of their very distinct populations of students. </p><p> One of the main implications of this study is that it may be easier to get teachers to generate characteristics of an expert teacher, but far more complex to explore a teacher&rsquo;s personal vision and qualify a teacher&rsquo;s commitment and motivation, which appear to be the true distinguishing characteristics of each of these teachers. These complex processes may need to be more thoroughly addressed in teacher education, school reform and educational research to gain a better picture of what comprises expert teacher practice. </p>

<p>The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of educationally-related peer relationships, students&rsquo; understanding of faculty expectations, and student characteristics on the persistence of doctoral students in non-traditional, residential, cohort programs in educational leadership. Drawing on the concepts of academic and social integration (Tinto, 1975, 1993) and role ambiguity (Rizzo, House, &amp; Lirtzman, 1970), this correlational, cross-sectional study used a quantitative survey instrument to examine students&rsquo; perceptions of their doctoral program experiences. </p><p> Scales were drawn from four existing instruments to measure students&rsquo; relationships with peers and students&rsquo; understanding of faculty expectations. In addition, demographic questions that are typical to persistence studies were included to measure student characteristics. Participants chose to respond to the survey either online or via postal mail. A total of 243 participants responded to the survey, yielding a 54.73% response rate. </p><p> Hierarchical logistic regression was used to answer each of the research questions. Gender, educationally-related peer relationships, and students&rsquo; understanding of faculty expectations increased the odds of persistence of doctoral students in educational leadership cohort programs. The influence of race, marital or domestic partner status, and the number of dependents varied based on the program of study that was examined. Age and employment did not influence the persistence of doctoral students. Peer relationships were recognized for being more assistive in achieving persistence than was previously understood. Therefore, the results of this study may help to refine theory on doctoral student persistence as it pertains to peer relationships. Students with a clear understanding of faculty expectations were more likely to persist than students who were uncertain about faculty expectations. This outcome was expected given the critical role that faculty play in clarifying students&rsquo; responsibilities and helping them navigate their graduate programs. Several recommendations were offered to administrators to assist them in developing environments that foster collaborative relationships among students and accessible relationships between students and faculty. </p>