<p> Athletic programs have been an exciting staple of the higher education experience for over a century. Although student athletes have been studied near exhaustively in higher education research, less attention has been paid to the relationship of athletic academic staff members and corresponding institutional operations in supporting student athlete goals. This study was designed to create a full, rich description, ultimately contributing to the literature of the cultural, social, economic, and academic environment of the staff of the athletic academic support unit from 1991-2014. The overall research question is thus: How has NCAA legislation shaped the administrative institutional action at the "Big Football University" athletic academic support unit from 1991-2014? </p><p> A case study methodology was chosen for the research design. The study utilized a constructivist epistemological orientation and two theoretical lenses: Organizational Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory. Data collection was conducted through interviews with key informants and primary and secondary document analysis. Data displays, domain analysis, and open coding was be used to answer the research question. To increase both internal and external validity, trustworthiness tactics were used ensuring that the results matched reality, that there was a saturation of data, and that a truthful portrayal was created by providing a clear synthesis of patterns found. During data analysis, four constructs were used as macro categories for themes including University Responses, Identity Changes, Legislative Influences, and Leadership and Role Conflict.</p><p> The results from this study led to three major findings. First, the data collected has the ability to contribute data furthering research in the fields of Social Identity Theory, Organizational Identity Theory, and constructivist epistemology influences in higher education environments. Next, the hyper focus of the study on one institution's administrative choices was a pragmatic choice by the researcher to be able to recommend how other schools can adjust their own support services if they are faced with similar scenarios. And lastly the study highlights the need for more athletics research to improve practice within the field.</p>

<p> According to the Centers for Disease Control (2013), every year an estimated 13 to 20% of children in the United States suffer from mental health disorders. School mental health services developed to address the learning barriers experienced by these children achieve variable rates of success (Adelman &amp; Taylor, 2011; Center for School Mental Health, 2011). Reasons for this variability include lack of integration of these initiatives into comprehensive school reform efforts (Adelman &amp; Taylor, 2011), lack of inclusion of school mental health staff in the school improvement planning process (Nastasi, Varjas &amp; Moore, 2004), and lack of consideration of the local school context in their selection and implementation (Ringeisen, Hendersen &amp; Hoagwood, 2003). A group of 15 school teachers and mental health staff of a small Texas school district conducted this action research study about the status of its school mental health services. Individual interviews of the participants served as the initial basis for group meetings during which participants identified weaknesses in their mental health services, prioritized issues to be addressed, and developed an action plan to be presented to school administrators, and the Board of Education. Consistent with the findings of other research studies on school mental health (Center for School Mental Health, 2011), the three main areas of concern identified by the group included poor role clarification among school personnel responsible for mental health functions, lack of teacher training about mental health disorders and related classroom management strategies, and unclear policies and procedures. The process and outcome of the study support the use of participant action research as a method to aid in the development of locally relevant school mental health programs.</p>

<p> This exploratory study examines the individual and family effects on intergenerational educational attainment mobility giving focus to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, a small, newly-independent nation in the Caribbean region. </p><p> This study used a quantitative approach to provide an educational attainment profile of The Bahamas and to examine the effects of individual and family factors on the transmission of education from parent to child. The principal data sources used were the last three census reports produced in The Bahamas and the Bahamas Living Conditions Survey (BLCS) 2001dataset. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis techniques were engaged. Transitional matrices, calculated using various soico-demographic variables, enabled the intergenerational mobility regarding education to be determined. Logistic regression, using a range of explanatory variables, allowed for the measurement of individual and family effects on three states of intergenerational educational attainment mobility (IEM). </p><p> Findings revealed that while the majority of Bahamians have an 'intermediate' level of education, over the last two decades the percentage of persons with only a 'basic' education declined while the percentage of those with an 'advanced' education increased. Additionally, the Prais-Shorrock Mobility Index suggests that, from an educational attainment point of view, children are fairly independent of their parents. However, some socio-demographic groupings, such as the younger birth cohorts, urban dwellers and those entering school after the establishment of the Ministry of Education in 1964 are more educationally mobile than others. </p><p> When measuring the effects of parental education, individual and family factors on the three states of IEM, the following conclusions were drawn. Regarding parents' education, the educational attainment of the father appears to be more of a predictor of IEM than the education of the mother. Nationality, as an individual explanatory variable, seems rather predictable. The other three individual factors, while having some predictive value, seem far less consistent as predictors of IEM. Finally, parental occupational status is the only family factor that has demonstrated any effect on IEM.</p>

<p> Though many American educators embrace technology in classrooms, administrators can create policies that inhibit technology such as mobile phone use in classrooms or on district property. These policies range from restrictive with no mobile phone use permitted, to liberal in which unrestricted use of mobile phones is allowed. The purpose of this case study was to explore the divergent and convergent perceptions of mobile phone use and mobile phone policy across multiple groups of stakeholders in one northeastern Pennsylvania public high school. Focus groups of administrators, teachers, students, and parents were formed and group interviews were conducted to understand the perceptions of current mobile phone use, perceptions of the current mobile phone policy, and how the perceptions compare across stakeholder groups. The findings of this study uncovered three main themes: conflicting interpretations of the policy's purpose, inconsistent enforcement of the policy, and support for a more effective policy by bringing your own device to school. Stakeholders had a range of interpretations regarding Mountain Peak High School's mobile phone policy, which could be categorized into two main typologies: restrictive or liberal. The data from this study also showed that due to the range of policy interpretations, staff members at Mountain Peak High School were not enforcing the mobile phone policy consistently. During data collection, it was discovered that a pilot group of Mountain Peak teachers were allowed to have their students bring their own device to school. The findings of this study may help educational leaders evaluate and construct a more appropriate mobile phone policy for their respective school district.</p>

This project examines “positive change” with regard to queer/LGBTTITQetc. education-activism in Vancouver, British Columbia directed at building what has been described as “queer-friendly schools” through the development and implementation of policy, as well as activist work connected to those efforts. I employ elements of autoethnography and participatory research by documenting and analyzing my education-activist work in this context and that of others with whom I have done this work. I situate this project within the broader context of the education system and queer/LGBTTITQetc. education-activist efforts in British Columbia. In the process, I problematize what is meant by or capable of activism and “positive change.” As demonstrated in the literature review, various understandings of sexuality, gender, activism, educational leadership, and “positive change” are available to inform queer/LGBTTITQetc. education-activism. This thesis examines how these understandings sit in tension with the practicalities, limitations, and contradictions of activist engagement at the school district level of a complex, politicized public school system. My engagement with the literature, documentation of the practical work, and exploration of a number of guiding questions with the project’s participants comprise the bulk of this project.

This study examines educational leadership internship experiences at four public University System of Georgia universities. It is a qualitative multiple case study. The research presented contributes to the literature by providing information about leadership training through internship programs that was collected via interviews with program faculty and documentary analysis. Presentation of the data in this manner offers a comprehensive description of internship experiences at four universities within the state of Georgia. This description helps explain the linkages between classroom knowledge and its application as it relates to the internship experience. This study also utilizes cross-case analysis. Following the comprehensive presentation of each individual case, the four cases are considered together, and analyzed for similarities and differences. The purpose for analyzing the data in this manner is to provide both an in-depth analysis of each program and an understanding of the similarities and differences in internship experiences throughout the state of Georgia. The research presented in this inquiry contributes to the literature by providing information about internship programs through interviews with program faculty and data collected from the programs. The findings of this study could be of interest to university personnel as they examine and modify their criteria for designing internship experiences. Additionally, this investigation contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive description of internship experiences at four universities. Through this study, the voices of the university personnel and information from the data collected provide insight into the overall experience of the educational leadership internship. Finally, this study provides insight into the correlation between classroom knowledge and the application of this knowledge within the field through internships.

<p> This study confirmed the prediction of Coleman and Hoffer (1987) that a school actively supported by one employer and nested within the parents' workplace could replicate the functional communities surrounding Catholic Schools that raised the academic outcomes of disadvantaged urban youth. Rather than a single `something new' suggested by Smrekar (1990), this small sample suggested that a whole spectrum of school communities had emerged around workplace neighborhood schools sponsored by commercial real estate developers in cooperation with providers from franchisor-operated and national chains of workplace neighborhood schools. It was found that rather than being created in school communities, social capital had become a commodity in the "education marketplace" that was donated, purchased, and bartered. Working parents indicated that schools with high levels of parental involvement made their personal involvement more manageable. Gatekeepers and school cultures that marginalized parents impaired the flow of high quality social capital into school communities. Longitudinal data surfaced that suggested charitable social capital that marginalized the families of disadvantaged urban children had a negative impact on the professional career trajectories of "scholarship kids" in their adult lives. Finally, it was also noted that interracial marriages appeared to promote interracial informal familial bonding among co-workers and within school communities. </p>

<p> This case study describes a prevented school rampage attack at a rural-suburban high school in the northeastern region of the United States. A school rampage attack occurs when a heavily armed student assaults a school with the intent to inflict harm on everyone in that school. The case was bounded by a single high school where a school rampage attack was prevented. This study will inform school leaders about rampage attacks while adding to the literature in the field of preventing school rampage attacks. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (1999) and the United States Secret Service along with the United States Department of Education (2002) researched school shootings and found that in most cases studied, someone knew of an attack before it occurred; this was referred to as leakage. The central question was how did information leakage assist in the prevention of a school rampage attack at a rural-suburban high school? Qualitative data including interviews of school leaders, documents, and media accounts was collected. The data was analyzed by the researcher and the commercial software product, NVivo. The results support that leakage did occur prior to the actual attack and was the main reason the attack was prevented. The school's system for monitoring students worked. The student who plotted the attack was marginal with mental health issues. School leaders and law enforcement worked cooperatively. More research is needed that focuses specifically on prevented school rampage attacks.</p>

<p>The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to address that gap in the literature and investigate whether current collective bargaining agreements have affected school reform efforts. The study was grounded in the pragmatic view with the goal of finding common contractual roadblocks to programmatic change and common solutions being used by educators to avoid them. To support this research, the following areas of literature were reviewed: (a) the history and scope of NCLB and the controversy surrounding its resultant reforms, reforms, (b) the role of collective bargaining in California public school districts, and (c) the impact of collective bargaining agreements on school reform efforts. </p><p> This research targeted the 56 California school districts in the Inland Empire's Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Data were collected via an online survey, individual semi-structured interviews, and a document review. </p><p> Key findings regarding the impact of contract language on reform efforts were (a) the importance of a collaborative relationship between the teachers association and the district and/or the presence of a contractually required implementation process for reforms, (b) perceived restrictive contractual language and the lack of an implementation was common among subjects who viewed the contract as having a negative impact, (c) hours of employment/meeting times, class size and evaluation procedures were the contractual perceived as having the most impact on reforms, and (d) teacher benefits and leave policies were perceived as having the least impact. </p><p> The study concluded that the more collaborative the relationship was between the district and union the more likely it was that they would be able to work with each other and overcome any contractual issues together. Districts that do not have a program implementation protocol find the process to be more confrontational for all stakeholders. Curricular leaders were not always cognizant of their role in dealing with the contract's impact on reform initiatives and demonstrated a detachment from their colleagues in human resources. Participants in this research held similar opinions regarding the ideal role of the contract regarding programmatic change. </p><p> This study may lead future researchers to explore other connections between contracts and reforms. It may also lead current educational practitioners to consider the effectiveness of reform implementation practices and union relationships in their own districts and ways to improve them. </p>

<p> No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, was the signature education legislation of the George W. Bush administration. NCLB was but the latest evolution of at least two previous reauthorizations of the ESEA. In 1988 continued receipt of Title I funds to schools was first linked to increased student achievement scores (LeTendre, 1991). The1994 ESEA reauthorization under Bill Clinton saw the federal government go further by tying Title I funds to standards-based curriculum reform (DeBray, 2005). What has made NCLB so different was the punitive approach it took toward Title I schools. The law guaranteed that parents would have the option of opting out of schools that were deemed failing under the law. Failing was defined as a school that had not reached its annual yearly progress goals or, AYP, for two consecutive years. </p><p> This study compared two sets of Title I middle school students: students who remained in their home school, and a matching group of students who chose to opt out of their Title I school and into another school that was not under federal sanctions. Results indicated that students who chose to opt out of their home school did show academic growth. However that growth was similar to their peers who remained in their home school with regard to reading. However, growth was significantly less than their peers with regard to mathematics; thus casting doubt as whether the federal mandate of using school choice as means of improving student achievement was having its intended effect. Implications for future research and practice will also be provided.</p>