<p> The ubiquity of technology in our daily lives sometimes obscures the fact that there are segments of American society who continue to experience a digital divide. The focus of this quantitative study was to explore a measurement instrument that can assess technology capacities among higher education institutions; thus, helping detect whether digital divides are present in this unit of analysis. A conceptual model of technology capacity based upon Barzilai-Nahon's (2006) digital divide index served as the theoretical foundation for this research. </p><p> Employing confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses, this study found that the ability to access technology along with the student experience with technology were the two factors that best defined technology capacity for an institution. Additionally, this study recognized that institutional characteristics such as institution location, size, Carnegie classification, and sector influence differences in institutional technology capacities. The research found the technology capacities of rural institutions trailed the technology capacities of institutions located in cities, suburbs, or towns. It was also found that institutions with more than 20,000 students and doctoral institutions far exceeded the capacities of smaller institutions and those of other Carnegie classifications. </p><p> One challenge of this study was the available data sets originally gathered in 2008 and 2009 by EDUCAUSE. The results garnered from these data sets revealed there was a digital divide within higher education. However, with the speed of change in the technology landscape, further research is needed to determine whether these divides persist today. The validated instrument developed by this study will make future and repeated measures of technology capacity attainable for researchers.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of Lesbian and Gay senior administrators regarding their self-identity and coming-out in the workplace, and their perceived effectiveness as leaders at higher-education institutions. Senior administrators in this study were second line, and reported to the President/Chancellor or Provost of an institution; their titles generally were Provost, Vice President, or Dean. Past research studies did not specifically address the self-identity and perceived leadership effectiveness of Lesbian and Gay senior administrators at colleges and universities, and the effect their coming-out had on their workplace experiences. </p><p> This study used a qualitative phenomenological approach within a constructivist paradigm. After the initial participants were recruited for the study, a snowball technique of purposive sampling was used to identify additional participants. In-depth interviews were performed with eight participants who were self-identified as Gay or Lesbian and who occupied a senior administrative position at a college or university in the United States for at least 3 years. </p><p> The analysis of the findings from the lived experiences of the senior administrators in the workplace revealed four main themes, which were memorable leadership experiences, coming-out in the workplace, Lesbian and Gay identity and leadership effectiveness, and multiple self-identities of Lesbian and Gay leaders in the workplace. The lived experiences of these self-identified Lesbian and Gay senior administrators were affected by their past and present experiences; they described those experiences as memorable, either as accomplishments or as challenges. The participants' choice to come out at their workplaces was affected by the "comfortableness" they felt with their coworkers, the partners in their lives, the needs of LGBT students, and the views of the institution president or other influential individuals. The participants perceived their Lesbian and Gay identity to be both an integral part of their self-identity, which they reported to have "very successfully" integrated into their leadership, and of their leadership effectiveness.</p>

<p> The primary purpose of this study was to determine if effective university police officers differ from less effective university officers based on their perceptions/dispositions according to perceptual psychology theory. By establishing that effective university police officers possess specific dispositions, strategies can be developed to identify these dispositions in police officer candidates during the hiring process and to continue supporting their dispositional growth afterwards. This could potentially lead to the hiring of effective university police officers who are more likely to become engaged in the university community and ultimately improve organizational effectiveness. Effective university police officers typically approach their duties with the same philosophy as effective educators, social workers, or coaches would approach their work. Four dimensions associated with officer effectiveness were studied: perceptions of self as identified, perceptions of others as able, perceptions of purpose as larger, and a frame of reference as people-oriented.</p>

<p> Prior research has explored many facets of innovation, provided models of governance maturity, and analyzed the impact of corporate decision-making on innovation. However, there is little research on IT governance maturity in higher education or on IT innovation in organizations outside of the IT industry. Findings from previous research were ambiguous regarding whether a mature IT governance process helps or hinders innovation. This study fills a gap in existing knowledge by reviewing the literature and examining the interaction of IT governance and information technology innovation at five major U.S. universities. It provides insights into the structures and processes necessary for IT governance to facilitate technology innovation and the factors required for effective IT governance in higher education. </p><p> Highly effective IT governance processes focused on collaboration and communication were associated with greater integration of radical innovation into institutional processes than effective IT governance processes that focused primarily on the prioritization of large enterprise projects. Incremental technology innovations were pervasive among all schools studied. IT governance was found to be more effective under a delegated model of decision-making authority that empowers IT governance bodies than under a CIO-centric model. The inclusion of a faculty, students and business units in IT governance committees was associated with a stronger innovation culture.</p>

<p> Parent satisfaction with and knowledge of the IEP system were examined as part of this study. Overall, local parent satisfaction was found to be decent with the current system, and a positive and significant correlation was found between overall satisfaction and parent knowledge of rules and regulations. However, a strong relationship between satisfaction and other more specific variables was not found. Responding parents also provided open ended feedback concerning their experiences with the special education system to date, which will be of practical benefit to school staff members moving forward.</p>

<p> Problem and Purpose</p><p> The American K-12 school principal is responsible for providing a learning environment that is physically and emotionally safe. An abrasive teacher who displays bullying behaviors towards students is a threat to that environment, impeding student academic progress and decreasing student perceptions of safety. Principals intervene, with risk to themselves. </p><p> This study sought to understand principal intervention by: (a) estimating the prevalence of abrasive teachers, (b) asking how principals identify abrasive teachers, (c) classifying situational elements that enhance or inhibit the principal's motivation to intervene, (d) exploring the interventions principals used, (e) examining the effects those interventions had on the schools, and (f) searching for patterns in interventions that might be helpful to theorists and practitioners. </p><p> Method</p><p> A fully integrated, mixed-methods design was used in collecting and interpreting data from 515 surveys and 21 semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The volunteer sample was composed of K-12 principals from California public and private schools. Findings were based on the perceptions of the principals. Principal perception was used due to the principal's legal and moral responsibility for the school, its students, and its teachers, and due to his/her access to all school stakeholders. </p><p> Results </p><p> The study found that four out of five (80.1%) of the schools represented in the study currently have&mdash;or in the past 3 years have had&mdash;an average of 2.9 abrasive teachers. The teachers were disproportionately distributed across grade levels, subject areas, sex of the teachers, years of teaching experience, and race. </p><p> The study identified five types of teacher maltreatment of students: verbal, professional, physical, non-verbal, and social. The study found that student symptoms could be grouped under the headings of emotional states, psychosomatic manifestations, fight responses, flight responses, and asking for help. The study also categorized the various theories principals hold to explain why a teacher would use abrasive behaviors. </p><p> Nearly half of the reported interventions resulted in improved teacher performance as perceived by the principal. Nearly a quarter resulted in the teacher leaving the classroom, and a little more than a quarter resulted in no change or in the worsening of the situation. Local teacher unions sometimes worked cooperatively with the principal who was striving for the professional improvement or removal of a teacher. More often, unions impeded the principal's role of safeguarding the learning environment for each student. Due to the exploratory nature of this study, additional textual analyses were conducted, and 14 additional hypotheses and 18 sub-hypotheses were tested. </p><p> Conclusions and Recommendations</p><p> From the findings it was concluded: (a) abrasive teachers were present in a large majority of schools, (b) anxious principals were less likely to use interventions that required action with tangible outcomes, (c) schools need a systemic approach to dealing with aggression on all levels within the school community, and (d) principals and unions should develop ways to maintain teacher protections without sabotaging student learning. </p><p> Implications for practice include six recommendations for school stakeholders, three themes that should be included in professional development for principals, and 12 pieces of advice that veteran principals wished to give to rookie principals. The study ends with six specific recommendations for further research.</p>

<p> Because data on alumnae/i is difficult to collect and change over time, obtaining up-to-date information on graduates &mdash; for the purposes of highlighting their professional achievements and facilitating networking &mdash; is a challenge faced by many higher education institutions. Social networks provide a means for alumnae/i to share successes, but viewing this information typically involves an account or a paid subscription. In this project, I address these issues by designing and implementing a free, easy-to-use, and updateable Mills Computer Science alumnae/i website backed by a database. The website has the potential to showcase the most recent or impressive alumnae/i achievements and prominently feature all graduates' accomplishments via their profiles. Additionally the database can store manually provided alumnae/i information and extract further data from LinkedIn. Evaluations of the project indicate that users and administrators find the website easy to search, navigate, and update and the information provided helpful. Because of its versatile design, this project could serve similar needs for other disciplines and institutions. </p>

<p> This non-experimental dominant-less dominant mixed-methods study examined data specific to principal and teacher perceptions of the leadership support for Indian Education for All (IEFA) professional development in their school. The data from each instrument were compared to (a) the administrators' and teachers' Peak Stage of Concern of the Indian Education for All innovation, (b) the highest IEFA training level attained, and (c) the amount of time that administrators and teachers report spending on supporting and implementing IEFA in their school and classroom. Spearman's <i>rho</i> correlations were utilized to examine these relationships. </p><p> This study examined if the level of leadership support, or the level of training received by teachers, had the stronger relationship to the teacher's highest stage of concern. Additionally, this study examined which factor&mdash;the level of leadership support, or the level of training received by teachers&mdash;had a stronger relationship on the amount of time spent on implementing the Indian Education for All innovation in the classroom. </p><p> Leadership support was defined by the <i>Standards for Professional Learning</i> (Learning Forward, 2011), and measured by the Self-Assessment Inventory 2 (SAI2). The Peak Stage of Concern is identified by scores on the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) and is useful in determining a teacher's "readiness" for implementation of a new program in their classroom (George, et al., 2008). The levels of IEFA training were defined by the Montana Office of Public Instruction's three-tiered training model. </p><p> Statistically significant relationships were found between the Highest Level of IEFA Training completed by the teacher to that of two other variables (a) the teacher's Peak Stage of Concern, and (b) the actual amount of time the teacher implements IEFA in the classroom. The data from this study revealed a clear indication that the highest level of IEFA training the principal participated in had a positive and statistically significant relationship to the teacher's highest level of IEFA training. This study found that it is the level of IEFA training completed by the teacher that has the stronger relationship to both the teacher's stages of concern and their classroom implementation of the mandated initiative.</p>

<p> This qualitative study determined the role that high school principals have in leading the implementation process of Response to Intervention (RtI) within their high-school mathematics curriculum. School districts that have not met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) need to change instructional practices in order for struggling and failing students to achieve success. RtI is a process that is used to support student learning and improve teacher instructional practices to achieve that success, but many mathematics teachers are in need of leadership and direction in order to accomplish this task. As a qualitative study, subjects were interviewed in order to learn about their RtI implementation process in their high schools' mathematics curricula. This study sought to find the core components essential for successful implementation of RtI within their schools' mathematics curriculum and the leadership responsibilites, of a high-school principal, that influence the implementation process within a high school mathematics curriculum. A comparison analysis of the data was done to identify trends of the implemenation process amongst the schools. Data was collected through electronic interviews from principals of the participating high schools. The participating high schools had at least 80% of the general education students meeting AYP in mathematics. A seven step process was used to analyze the data. Data revealed that transformational leadership qualities are a necessary component for successful implelentation of an initiative as RtI. From the analysis, further research will be determined.</p>

<p> This longitudinal study highlights changes to the demographics of the superintendency for the 15 year period from 1996 through 2011 and career paths of those New Jersey superintendents in position in 2011. The findings are for all districts in New Jersey as well as contextually based on the districts&rsquo; geographic locations, socioeconomic standings, and school configurations. The purpose of the study is to provide thought provoking findings and stimulate research of administrative leadership in education. </p><p> Demographically, the most significant change during the 15 year period is the number of female superintendents. From 1996 until 2011, the percentage of female superintendents rises from 13% of all New Jersey superintendents to 28%. Socioeconomically, the largest increases in female superintendents occur in the two highest socioeconomic groupings. </p><p> Average annual salaries rise from $100, 912 in 1996 to $167,905 in 2011 for New Jersey superintendents. When separated by gender, in 1996, the average salary for women is 6% less than the average male salary. In 2011 female superintendents earn 7% less. Racial/ethnic minority superintendents earn more than the average annual income for all superintendents for the entire length of the study, from a 9% differential in 1996 to 12% in 2011. </p><p> While the career paths for the New Jersey superintendency typically move through the education system, from teacher to principal to assistant superintendent. A second career path appears to be emerging with 18% of the 2011 superintendents recruited from outside the New Jersey educational system. </p><p> Superintendent movement between districts and out of the system impacts districts through high turnover rates. While statewide tenure for superintendents averages at five years, in the context of district grade configurations, the average tenure for superintendents in k-12 and k-8 districts drops to 2.7 years and increase to 7.5 years for superintendents in special school districts. Socioeconomically, average tenure for the poorest and two wealthiest socioeconomic groups (DFG A, I, J) is at 2.7 years.</p>