This study examined the perceptions of local school personnel concerning the adequacy of staff support for Compliant and Quality special educational programming in relationship to selected demographics of subjects, i.e., Role Position, Administrative Area, Highest Earned Degree, Tenure in Present Position, Number of Special Education Classes for which Principal Has Responsibility, teacher's Delivery Mode, and teacher's Area of Exceptionality. Additionally, the study examined subjects' written comments for program improvement and their ratings of tasks of staff leaders to facilitate Compliant and Quality special educational programming. Participants included 30 principals with responsibility for and 87 teachers of exceptional students. A writer-designed questionnaire was used to secure data on all variables. Statistical procedures used were T-Test, ANOVA, and correlational analysis (Pearson r); the established level of significance was 0.05. Significant relationships were found between various Compliance indicators and Number of Special Education Classes for which Principal Has Responsibility, Number of Special Education Courses Taken by principal, and principal's and teacher's Tenure in Present Position; and between various Quality indicators and teacher's Delivery Mode and teacher's Tenure in Present Position. An intercorrelation of subjects' responses regarding Compliance and Quality indicators revealed a number of significant relationships. Among principals, these were Information Dissemination and Staff Training, Material Resources, and Teacher Motivation; and, Monitoring and Staff Training. Among teachers, all relationships between Compliance and Quality indicators were found to be significant. Respondents' written responses indicated that principals perceived the need for increased resources -to facilitate mainstreaming; and teachers, the need for improved communication, increased skills' training in instruction and classroom management, and the employment of staff to conduct school level Compliance tasks. An item analysis of mean scores revealed that subjects rated staff support for Compliant programming more favorably than that for Quality programming. The general implication was that differentiated activities were needed to accommodate various demographics. The general recommendations were that special attention should be given to indicators of Quality programming, i.e., staff training, material resources, and teacher motivation; and, that a division of leaders' responsibilities should be made to ensure improvement in both components of Special educational programming, i.e., Compliance and Quality.

<p> The academic success of Division I student-athletes remains a critical issue for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institutions, since institutions who fall below the minimum academic progress rate are being sanctioned. The two groups or &ldquo;cells&rdquo; continually not meeting these requirements are black male student-athletes (BMSAs) participating in revenue-generating sports and athletes attending historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Researchers synthesized student academic success and Division I student theories to create a conceptual model of academic success for Division I student-athletes. Former research indicates that commitments, both precollege and during college, delimited to institutional, goal, and sport affect academic research and are in need of further research. Using the model as a conceptual framework, a descriptive, multiple-case study was conducted. Nine purposefully selected BMSAs at a HBCU were interviewed to gain their perspectives of the three types of commitments before attending and after interacting with academic and social systems. Secondly, they gave their perspectives on any influences of their commitments. Data were collected using semi-structured, open-ended interview protocols, a background survey, and grade transcripts. Transcripts were coded and a cross-case and within case analysis conducted. When it comes to how BMSAs develop their precollege commitments, the following themes emerged: family, the school, academics, the team, and self. In regard to their precollege commitments, the themes were the following: expectations of the institution, expectations as a student, and expectations as an athlete. The participants had no commitment changes after interacting with the academic and social systems for a semester; however, built relationships, impact of academic advisors, intrinsic motivation, and realistic identity were themes regarding how their commitments are being maintained. In the future, researchers should conduct more studies that focus on the aspects of commitments and commitment development among BMSAs at HBCUs.</p>

<p> Latina principals and assistant principals at the high school level have been overlooked in academic research. A review of literature is explored indicating how Latina, public high school assistant principals and principals are disproportionately underrepresented and face the double challenge of being a gender and an ethnic minority in the field of educational leadership. A qualitative study was conducted that begins with a statement of the problem, review of literature, and continues with a description of the research design, data collection, analysis of the data, discussion of findings, and concludes with the researcher&rsquo;s challenges. Phenomenology was the research methodology used to study four Latina assistant principals&rsquo; experiences and perceptions of barriers and support systems in relation to their career journey. Role congruity theory was used as a theoretical lens to explore the prejudices, discrimination, and career path barriers that female leaders encounter. Findings revealed that the four participants interviewed had similar experiences and perceptions concerning four main themes of motivation, challenges, support systems, and cultural identification; subthemes were also explored. Discussed is a new conceptual model which outlines the career stages of the participants. </p><p> Overall, the narrative data from the participants, the coded themes and subthemes, and the new conceptual model highlight that there are various barriers and support systems that impact Latina high school assistant principals&rsquo; career path experiences. Specifically, the challenges identified are institutional challenges in the form of poor educational leadership, prejudicial hiring practices, and internal challenges in the form of conflicts about family verses job obligations.</p>

<p> The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of attendance longevity participation in an after school program, attending one and two times or three times weekly for two years, designed to build intentional relationships and support academic success, on urban elementary school students' achievement, attendance, and positive school awards. Independent variable attendance fidelity condition one was those students who attended the Hope Center for Kids after school program regularly scheduled after school activities one and two times weekly for two years (<i>n</i> = 9) and independent variable attendance fidelity condition two was those students who attended the Hope Center for Kids regularly scheduled after school activities three times weekly for two years (<i>n</i> = 10). Same urban school district control students (<i>n</i> = 11) did not participate in the after school program served as the study control group. The null hypothesis for between group California Achievement Test Normal Curve Equivalent posttest-only average and below average reading scores where <i>F</i>(2, 27) = 2.07, <i>p</i> = .145 was not rejected. Null hypotheses were also not rejected for between group California Achievement Test Normal Curve Equivalent posttest-only average range language scores where <i>F</i>(2, 27) = 1.09, <i>p</i> = .350 and between group California Achievement Test Normal Curve Equivalent posttest-only average range math scores where <i>F</i>(2, 27) = 0.38, <i>p</i> = .687. School attendance as measured by total end of the fifth-grade year overall absence totals were not statistically different where <i>F</i>(2, 27) = 0.65, <i>p</i> = .530 and school-wide awards and recognition as measured by end of the fifth-grade year overall awards presented totals were also congruent where <i>X</i>²(2, <i>N</i> = 48) = 0.591, <i>p</i> = .744. Findings suggest that even limited student participation in Hope Center for Kids after school program resulted in achievement, attendance, and earned awards consistent with the study's control group students who were not in need of these after school services.</p>

<p> Shared governance is seen by higher education professionals as a necessity to effectively run a university. This form of governance requires that faculty at institutions of higher education have the primary responsibility over curriculum, subject matter, methods of instruction, research, faculty status, and aspects of student life which relate to the education process (American Association of University Professors [AAUP], 2011). </p><p> In order to garner the benefits of shared governance, faculty and administrators, plus governance boards should exchange information and opinions freely and often. Governance bodies should be created that facilitate communication among faculty, administrators, and governance boards (AAUP, 2011). In addition, Jenkins and Jensen (2010) argued that faculty members must be willing to commit time and energy to work and cooperate with the administration. Unless faculty members work on committees, spend hours reviewing documents and express informed points of view, sharing responsibility for governing the institution cannot succeed. Today shared governance may be weakened by the increased reliance on adjunct faculty members who may rarely be expected or given the opportunity to participate in institutional governance. This often leads to situations in which there are too few full-time faculty members to share the responsibility of governing the institution. The goal of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between academic administrators' leadership styles and two variables. These variables included faculty's level of participation in governance and faculty's satisfaction of shared governance. In addition, this study compared levels of participation in governance and the satisfaction of shared governance between full-time and adjunct faculty members.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the organizational culture of community colleges&rsquo; departments to gain an understanding of whether or not a specific style of organizational culture, as determined by the leaders, had a relationship with the level of perceived empowerment by adjunct faculty. The current use of adjunct faculty within community colleges has increased over previous years, which has drawn attention to the practice. Therefore, the community colleges&rsquo; increasing reliance on adjunct faculty has generated an interest within these domains. The relationship between organizational culture and the empowerment was explored by administrating two surveys. Department chairs were identified as leaders and completed the Denison Organizational Culture Survey (DOCS) (Denison et al., 2012). The Psychological Empowerment Instrument (PEI) (Spreitzer &amp; Quinn, 2001) was given to the followers, who were identified as adjunct faculty members. Hypotheses were formulated to assess whether there is a relationship between a specific style of organizational culture and empowerment of adjunct faculty. Both are quantitative surveys designed to produce data sets illustrating potential relationships. The two concepts were not found to be statistically significant.</p>

<p> Working mothers face the challenge of balancing multiple roles while adhering to or rejecting the societal norms associated with those roles. The unique perceptions of the effects motherhood places on the working mother can shed light on the current and best practices in providing support for working women transitioning into working mothers. The purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate workplace and relationship perceptions of postpartum women employed in higher education. A qualitative, case study approach was developed and framed with three theoretical perspectives: the theory of work adjustment, role theory, and Maslow&rsquo;s hierarchy of needs. To complete this study, 10 subjects were chosen from a Midwestern college based on the age of their children and higher education employment at the time of maternity leave. Results of this study included the emergence of six relevant themes: (a) mothers acting as superwoman, (b) fulfillment as mothers and employees, (c) inconsistency and decentralization, (d), decisions to place jobs on hold versus assigning task completion, (e) level of satisfaction based on job type, (f) strive for self-actualization, and (g) prioritization. The findings of this study were supported by previous research on the topics of work-life balance and need for social and organizational support for new mothers. Perspectives of supervisors, human resource professionals, and working fathers should be further explored in future research.</p>

<p> This study seeks to relate to two problem statements. First, higher education literature is largely missing a conversation about strategy. Second, while some universities succeed at remediating their troubles and adapting to new situations; others fail. This study, then, explores the role of strategy in developing successful solutions for financially distressed institutions of higher education. A review of current literature on strategy in general supports the research, and aided in the formulation of the four research questions. </p><p> The goal of the research was to understand specifically the strategies chosen to move the universities forward; what actions and behaviors they take in forming strategies as well as in their implementation; the role of leadership in facilitating those solutions together with their teams; how the leaders communicate their ideas&mdash;both to their teams and their institutional communities; and the ways that history, mission, and culture interact with strategy to lead to successful outcomes.</p><p> Conducted as a comparative case study of three institutions of higher education, this study seeks to better understand how strategy evolves during financially challenging times on university campuses. Colleges and universities seem to be able to successfully employ divergent strategies through innovative programs, opening new markets and/or building novel business models. Thus, the institutions were selected based on their success in accomplishing one of these three criteria. </p><p> Three small to mid-size, private, non-profit institutions of higher education comprised the focus of the case studies. The findings emerged out of site visits to the campuses, personal interviews and review of historical documents. While the histories, missions, cultures and leaders differed at each site, several common themes surfaced and the study revealed some important revelations and implications for both the literature and leaders in practice today. For instance, the findings demonstrated the significance of an aggressive approach to growing enrollment through various diversification mechanisms, as well as focusing decision-making on student needs, support and success. Ultimately, strategy matters for higher education success stories, and the universities herein studied provide models which can likely be emulated.</p>

<p> This qualitative research study examined higher education administrators experience with social media as it pertains to their profession and work. As social media use among students and the general public continues to grow, this new technology has found its way into universities in administrators&rsquo; professional and private lives. The relatively young age of social media as a technology has raised many questions for administrators about how to adapt and adopt it as a tool to ultimately improve the student experience at colleges. In this qualitative study, eight administrators at California State University, Long Beach were interviewed to explore their views, concerns, and challenges related to social media. Findings from this study show that administrators had privacy concerns utilizing social media and faced challenges navigating the dual relationships that could form on social media platforms. Administrators see the need for social media competency training that can increase the effective use of social media on a college campus. The results of this study clearly call for universities to assist administrators with adopting and adapting to new technologies, and for further research to be done on how student-teacher relationships are changing due to social media. Implications include social media use by administrators improving the universities relationship with the community, as well as developing online privacy training sessions for administrators. </p>

The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of job satisfaction/dissatisfaction and sensitivity among athletic managers employed by higher education institutions in Puerto Rico. Also, an examination of the relationship between the satisfaction and sensitivity variables was conducted. / The sample consisted of 21 male and female athletic managers. To measure the managers' sensitivity, all the head coaches (79 males and 35 females) were selected. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics for interpretation of the research questions. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficients were used to determine the relationships between job satisfaction and sensitivity. The athletic managers were found to be moderately satisfied with their job. The relationship with managers and workers, the amount of responsibility one is given, and one's immediate boss were the most important factors for individual analyses of male and female managers showed important differences between the two groups on the factors of physical work conditions, rate of pay, and chance of promotion. The most important intrinsic and extrinsic factors for satisfaction were relationship with managers and workers, the amount of responsibility, and immediate boss. / The overall analysis of sensitivity showed that the athletic managers in Puerto Rico, as a group, are sensitive to their subordinates' needs. The individual analyses of the two groups (male and female managers) indicated that the female managers were more sensitive to their subordinates' needs than their male counterparts. No correlation was found between the variables of satisfaction and sensitivity. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2507. / Major Professor: Dwayne J. Johnson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.