<p> Principals play a critical role in how a school performs and what type of culture it will have. However, most principal evaluation relies heavily on practices and beliefs grounded in 20th century educational paradigms or adheres to outdated behavioral checklists. This mixed methods study explores the current realities of principal evaluation in southeastern Idaho and the perceptions of 127 principals and superintendents. Findings suggest that there is a variance between written evaluation policies and current practices. Further, there was a statistically significant difference in the perceptions of principals and superintendents in nearly every aspect of principal evaluation studied. The study supports the need to revise and examine current practices being employed to assess principal job performance.</p>

<p>Although all of the schools in the target school system adhere to a school improvement process, achievement scores remain mediocre or stagnant within the overseas school in Italy that serves children of United States armed service members. To address this problem, this study explored the target school&rsquo;s improvement process to discover how different stakeholder groups viewed that process. The aim of these investigations was to determine if different stakeholder groups&rsquo; competing values hindered the school&rsquo;s improvement efforts. The conceptual framework of this study was Schein&rsquo;s organizational culture theory along with recent findings by Creemers and Kyriakides that show that school culture must be addressed in order for a school to improve. The research design was a single case study. Four different stakeholder groups were interviewed, two school improvement committee meetings were observed, and seven school-improvement related documents were examined. <i>ATLASti</i> qualitative analysis software was used following Hatch&rsquo;s typological analysis method. Two major themes, <i>Teachers versus Technocrats</i> and <i>Pre-Fourth Way</i>, revealed the importance of school culture. The recommended project, a Networked Learning Community (NLC), was designed to build a positive culture by promoting collective responsibility, empowering innovation, and building capacity. This study will promote positive social change by demonstrating how school improvement occurs and by providing a research-based plan for a NLC that can help shift the trajectory of the static moderate achievement levels in the case study school and the target school system. </p>

<p> In the last 5 years, industries have begun to recognize a growing gap in the production of college graduates in areas of STEM. Researchers in various industries believe this gap will create a significant loss of competitive edge in the STEM fields, which will leave the United States pursuing STEM graduates from foreign countries and may ultimately leave the US behind in the industry of science, technology and innovation. This qualitative study analyzes the value and impact of STEM teacher leaders in secondary education. A phenomenological study was conducted with 10 secondary school science and math teacher leaders in order to gain a better understanding of teacher leaders' perceptions, classroom practices and the role of a STEM teacher leader. This study addresses the following research questions: 1) What attributes define effective STEM teacher leaders, according to teacher leaders who have completed the Center for Math and Science Teaching system? 2) What success strategies, among teacher leaders of the Center for Math and Science Teaching program, have enabled further development of teacher leadership? 3) What is the best model in developing teacher leaders, according to literature from 2005 to present? 4) What is an optimal model of developing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) teacher leaders within secondary education? This research aims to explore teacher leaders' perceptions of their role as a teacher leader based on strategies learned from CMAST and past experiences. Findings from this study provide critical data for making informed decisions on including important elements when implementing an effective STEM teacher leader system or program, and the impact it can create on science and math teaching and learning in secondary education. The investigator concludes this study with the development of a STEM teacher leader model that merges these findings with existing research.</p>

<p> When Bill Gates published his book <i>"The Road Ahead"</i> (1995), he summarized the transformative implications of the personal computing revolution and described a future profoundly changed by the arrival of a global information super highway. Almost twenty years later, the tsunami of online programs and the MOOCs (massive online open courses) is impacting the structural integrity of postsecondary institutions and changing the competitive landscape of higher learning at an unprecedented pace. When Allen and Seaman (2013) asked the question of whether faculty acceptance of online education increased in their Sloan Consortium annual report, only 30.2% of chief academic officers believe their faculty accept the value and legitimacy of online education. This rate is even lower than the rate recorded in 2004. With an apparent widening gap between institutional strategy and faculty acceptance, each organization needs to conceptually map its <i>road ahead.</i> However, only an institution as a whole can decide for itself what kind of change is needed and define what constitutes evidence of lasting change. This implies a unique transformation of institutional philosophy, culture, strategy, and reward systems for faculty members. </p><p> Complex adoptive system (CAS) theory (Olson &amp; Eoyang, 2001), suggests that the most powerful organizational transformations occur not at the macro level but rather at the micro level where behaviors and changes began to emerge. Thus, instead of trying to measure, evaluate, or categorize which faculty member fits into which stage of online faculty development under which framework, this study asked four tenured faculty members to reconstruct their experiences on why they teach online, how they learn to teach online, and what factors influences their journeys to teaching online. Their narratives painted a landscape of faculty acceptance in institutions and the online learning phenomena in our society. Ultimately, their stories are really about <i>change.</i> By studying the "change agents" in a changing organization in a changing industry, this study is not an exercise to identify the best practices. Rather, this study hopes to inspire new ideas for new ways to conceptually frame the problem facing the faculty, the institution, and the industry in their <i>road ahead </i>in teaching online. </p><p> The researcher hopes that this study may be used by institution leaders, faculty developers, and other faculty members to: (1) assess the level of progress of their current and future distance learning program, (2) determine how distance learning programs should be established, (3) evaluate faculty development efforts, (4) improve strategies and implementations for institutionalization of their distance education programs, including academic programming and faculty reward structure, and (5) improve online student retention and learning outcomes. </p>

<p> Colleges and universities are responding to the force of globalization by encouraging faculty and administrators to develop programs that support students in the global worlds of work and of citizenship. Through a partnership with the Salzburg Global Seminar's International Study Program (ISP), San Jos&eacute; State University (SJSU) is making efforts to "globalize the campus" through institutional change. The ISP draws on the Salzburg Global Seminar's experience with the Universities Project and with other institutions of higher education in the United States to create the desired change. This paper examined the progress of the SJSU Salzburg Program (the Program), drawing on a framework for success created by the Universities Project and on the author's experience as a participant in the Program.</p>

<p> The purpose of this exploratory study was to analyze how high school principals approached developing a collaborative culture and providing collaborative leadership in a large high school setting. The population sample for this study was 82 principals of large comprehensive high schools of grades 9 through 12 or some combination thereof with student populations of more than 1700 students from nine states in the middle region of the United States including Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. Of the 82 respondents, 81 fully completed the survey and one was incomplete. The survey was developed from questions from several survey instruments by Dr. Jeffrey Glanz, Professor, Yeshiva University, Dr. Jerry Valentine, Professor Emeritus at University of Missouri, Dr. Hank Rubin, Professor at South Dakota State University, and the researcher.</p><p> Quantitative data examined beliefs, practices, and self assessments by the principal based on collaborative leadership, collaborative learning, and school culture. Inferential statistics were used to draw conclusions from the sample population tested. The study through an analysis of variance and bivariate correlations analyzed differences sorted by degree of collaboration and relationships among variables correlated with collaborative learning and leadership of principals in a large high school setting. In addition, demographic data were analyzed using ANOVA to test for correlations between these interrelated variables of the degree of collaborative learning in the school as described by the schools&rsquo; principals (a) the degree to which the principals&rsquo; self-described their leadership practices, (b) the degree to which the principals&rsquo; self-described their beliefs about collaborative leadership, and (c) the demographic characteristics of the principals&rsquo; professional experiences and background. </p><p> The study found principals in large high schools their learning practices, their beliefs about collaborative leadership, examples of their work, and their perceptions about the degree of collaborative learning were evident. The study found there are significant differences in leadership practices and beliefs for schools that are perceived as more collaborative compared to those perceived as less collaborative. The study found, however, there was no significant relationship between demographic characteristics of professional experiences and background were related to collaborative leadership and learning practices and beliefs. Overall, the findings from this study created awareness about the uniqueness of collaborative leadership in a large high school setting and how principals of large high schools can more readily facilitate collaborative learning in these complex settings.</p>

<p> The complexities surrounding public school funding are not unique to Ohio. There have been numerous legal challenges in the State Supreme Courts and seminal cases from the U.S. Supreme Court which have assigned the practices and formulas by which schools are funded to the individual states. Although previous research has investigated voter approval related to school referenda from the 614 public school districts in Ohio, a significant question remains as to which factors are affecting the school districts and their attempts to pass school operating levies. This study focuses on seven typologies developed by the Ohio Department of Education for comparing districts based on nine demographic variables and the factors which predict the outcomes of first attempt school operating levies within each of those typologies.</p><p> The following research question was developed to provide researchers and practitioners information on factors affecting school levy referenda in Ohio public school typologies: What factors (proposed levy size in mills, length of the levy, election month, type of levy, effective millage rate, and value per pupil) are significant predictors for the passage for first attempt operating levies proposed between the years 2002 and 2010 in each of the seven Ohio Department of Education Typologies? According to the Ohio Secretary of State's certified election results, 2,199 school operating levies were on the ballot during this time frame with 327 being first attempts. These 327 first attempt school operating levies comprised the data set for this study.</p><p> Using binary logistic regression, the results of this study indicate four of the six variables tested were significant predictors of first attempt school operating levy passage. The proposed levy size in mills (Typologies 3 and 6), election month (Typology 2), type of levy (Typologies, 1, 2, 3, and 6), and effective millage rate (Typology 2 and 6) were found to be factors significant at the p &lt; .05 level. From this, practitioners and researchers can begin to investigate how these factors are being addressed in current and future operating levies. The results of this study have presented practitioners in all 614 school districts in Ohio with evidence of the factors which affect first attempt operating levies within the different typologies. Without a radical change to Ohio's school funding formula, the practice of relying on voters in each school district to pass tax levies will remain; therefore, a "one size fits all" approach to passing proposed referenda is not recommended. </p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the relationship between a school&rsquo;s percentage of African American students enrolled and the placement of an African American principal for all of Florida&rsquo;s K-12 traditional public schools during the academic year 2010-2011. This study also sought to determine if this relationship was moderated by each school&rsquo;s level, size, letter grade, socioeconomic status (FRL), gender of principal, as well as gender and race of the presiding district superintendent. Lastly, the relationship between each moderator variable and the placement of African American principals was examined. The ultimate objective was to determine if limited opportunities still widely exist in the placement of African American principals throughout Florida.</p><p> Data were collected and analyzed using quantitative methods for 2,705 schools that served as the units of analysis. Using correlational analysis, the study found that a significantly positive and moderately strong relationship existed between a school&rsquo;s percentage enrollment of African American students and the placement of an African American principal. Moreover, only socioeconomic status significantly moderated this relationship. Lastly, principal race significantly related to each of the moderator variables except for African American district superintendents.</p><p> The study&rsquo;s conceptual framework consisted of legal, organizational, and human level theories that underlie the placement of public school principals in our post-civil rights era. From a legal perspective, although <i> Brown</i> and its progeny of civil rights laws valiantly set out to eliminate race and racism from schools and in the workplace, the findings revealed that race continues to be a factor in determining inequity in principal placements. At the organizational level, the race of a principal seemed to carry the greatest value in determining inequities at high school level placements, and in schools based on levels student achievement and student poverty. Through the lenses of the ASA and RMT frameworks that make up the human resource theory, this study found White superintendents were less apt to place African American principals in majority African American schools than African American, and especially Hispanic, superintendents.</p>

<p> Florida has been a leader in the K-20 educational reform in an effort to ensure the seamless transition into postsecondary education for all students, but specifically improving preparation for, and access to, higher education for populations traditionally marginalized and underrepresented in higher education. The purpose of this study was to examine the demographic composition of students participating in dual enrollment programs in Florida, and the relationship between dual enrollment participation and postsecondary success, as measured by student persistence and degree attainment, moderated by race, gender, and Pell status. Alexander Astin&rsquo;s (1993) I-E-O student involvement theory was chosen as the theoretical lens with which to guide the design and analysis of the study.</p><p> A quantitative analysis of archived student records retrieved from the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness at a large urban state college in Florida was used in this study. The analytical sample included 2614 first-time-in college students in the fall 2009 semester. Data was analyzed via SPSS, version 20, using descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and discriminant analysis. The analysis revealed that students who were dual enrolled were more likely to persist in college and more likely to earn a degree than their non-dual enrolled peers. A discussion of the findings and conclusions in relationship to earlier studies are enumerated followed by recommendations for K-20 school leaders and future research.</p>

<p>The purpose of this multiple case study described and compared practices utilized to implement the School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) approach at 3 purposely selected Central California elementary school sites. More specifically, this study described and compared: (a) school practices for defining and teaching school rules/expectations; (b) the reward systems being used; (c) systems for documenting and reporting office-managed student behavior violations; (d) systems for collecting and summarizing discipline referrals; (e) the priority given to improving behavior-support systems in school site plans; (f) school budget allocations for SWPBS; and (g) district support, financial and otherwise, for SWPBS at these schools. </p><p> This study did not attempt to prove a causal relationship between SWPBS and improved student achievement; rather, it focused on describing and comparing specific practices that these 3 schools were utilizing in relation to the SWPBS approach. The intention was thus to learn more about specific practices that might be replicated in other schools. </p><p> This research was qualitative in nature and utilized a multiple case-study methodology. Interviews, observations, and artifact reviews were conducted at 3 Central California elementary schools, all purposely selected because they had each implemented the SWPBS Framework for more than 1 year, had subsequently decreased negative student behavior, and had increased student achievement. 3 types of data were collected in order to understand each school&lsquo;s SWPBS practices and the level of support for the program. School principals, campus supervisors, and classroom teachers were interviewed; classroom and playground observations were conducted; and reports were reviewed by the researcher and the principal. The 3 types of data were triangulated for each school and compared. </p><p> The findings led to the conclusions that SWPBS is a systems approach that uses interventions to help students succeed in school. Furthermore, it has to have consistent, committed leadership in order to be successful. It has to be built on the foundation of implementing clear and precise rules that are embedded in all areas of the school. Lastly, SWPBS can be implemented without the district&lsquo;s assistance; however it is difficult to sustain unless the district fully supports the approach. </p>