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. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

<p> In international schools, a range (75&ndash;80%) of students is non-native English speakers. However, many of these schools do not offer mother tongue (MT) programs to these students. These globally mobile students&rsquo; MT proficiency levels depend on whether or not their school offers an MT program. As a result, MT teachers must teach students who possess a wide range of proficiency levels in their MT. This study applied the lens of sociocultural theory to provide more complete description of the Japanese MT program in an international school including the school&rsquo;s organization, language policy, and MT curriculum development. Rather than just describe instructional MT practices, this single case study examined the educational context of the school and the Japanese MT program by conducting semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and documents in this international school offering an International Baccalaureate Diplomat Program (IBDP). The findings of this study were (a) a lack of written language policy, (b) a lack of common curriculum, (c) a lack of curriculum cohesion, (d) the Japanese MT language program offering combination of the day- school curriculum in grades 7&ndash;10 and the after-school curriculum in grades K-6, and (e) differentiated instruction implemented by the three Japanese teachers to the students who have different MT proficiency levels. Although international schools have a commitment to rich language development, they still need to reflect on how to improve the language curriculum including strengthening the organization structure of MT instruction and enhancing the curriculum cohesion of MT instruction across grade levels.</p><p>

<p> In education, mentoring is pivotal in the early development and long-term success and self-directed efficacy of new teachers. With increasing acknowledgment of the importance of mentoring as the preferred means of induction support for new teachers, mentors can serve to positively impact the overall quality of teaching and learning. Yet, like the induction protocols in other professional occupations, the nature of induction programs in education has taken a variety of forms in more recent years. For mentors, these experiences create added obligations and time away from their own professional responsibilities. Although previous research points to the importance of mentoring and its effectiveness in supporting novices, giving voice to the induction mentor as related to the most effective practices for high quality induction mentoring merits further investigation and an obligation to those who lead them. </p><p> The purpose of this study was therefore to contribute to the body of knowledge and literature pertaining to high quality mentoring experiences, specifically as related to the lived experiences and perceptions of effective practices for preparing, developing, and retaining K-12 teacher induction mentors. The participants in this study consisted of K-12 teacher induction mentors at a teacher induction program in Southern California. This study was made possible through the utilization of a phenomenological method, namely through a qualitative phone interview approach. </p><p> The findings led to the following five conclusions: (1) prior life and professional experience are pivotal to the manner in which situational learning is acquired and internalized, strongly influencing the way mentors engage in future action; (2) induction mentor preparation and support are crucial to the success of the mentor in their service to new teachers and in their own professional development as educators; (3) time is pivotal to the formulation of and reaping of quality induction experiences; (4) the value of required induction projects is key to the significance of the induction work; and (5) meaningful reflective practices are fundamental to the internal motivation and transformation of the mentor as a professional learner. Implications for policy and recommendations for additional research are discussed at the end of the study.</p><p>

<p> Private sector businesses employ performance pay compensation plans in order to incentivize increased employee effort. Legislation offers opportunities for school districts to experiment with performance pay plans in an attempt to encourage teacher effort, productivity, competition, and recruitment. Despite the potential benefits of performance pay, providing a task-contingent reward for an interesting activity has the tendency to undermine an individual&rsquo;s intrinsic motivation for a task. This study sought to assess psychological ownership as a potential moderator for the undermining effect, which may shield an individual&rsquo;s feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, allowing for intrinsic motivation in light of a task-contingent reward. This study analyzed data from 127 undergraduates and graduate students enrolled at Long Island University, CW Post Campus and an additional 27 teachers from Brooklyn, New York. Full and trimmed path analyses were conducted on a series of Likert-type scales to test three primary hypotheses. The findings confirmed that a task-contingent reward undermined intrinsic motivation for an interesting task. This study&rsquo;s psychological ownership intervention and the combination of the intervention with a task-contingent reward also negatively effected intrinsic motivation. Job-based psychological ownership, a measurement of feelings of possession, however, did positively effect intrinsic motivation providing evidence that feelings of psychological ownership lead to feelings of intrinsic motivation. This study contributes to the fields of psychological ownership theory and self-determination theory by presenting empirical evidence connecting these two theories. Recommendations are offered for the improvement of teacher motivation, job design, compensation and educational policy. </p><p>

<p> The opportunity for the nation&rsquo;s students to secure gainful employment and economic stability is becoming increasingly tied to the attainment of postsecondary education (OECD, 2016). Student postsecondary success is tied to students&rsquo; level of college and career readiness, which can be partially attributed to the quality of education received in their K-12 studies. Current standards-based reform policy connected to the Common Core State Standards has been developed to promote college and career readiness through the provision of equitable standards for all students. The introduction and successful implementation of the CCSS requires teachers to shift their instruction to assist students with mastering the standards. As these changes are implemented across the nation, it becomes imperative that teachers understand the changes required of students as well as instruction tied to the standards, and can implement them, enabling students to master the concepts and skills associated with their grade and preparing them for the postsecondary studies needed to assist with the attainment of educational equity and a foundation for postsecondary success (Rothman, 2011). The CCSS are now 7 years old, and Louisiana educators have been using them as a basis for instruction for the past 5 years. Are Louisiana teachers fully aware of what instruction aligned to the standards truly means, and their role in advancing equal educational opportunities for students and the achievement of postsecondary success? </p><p> This phenomenological case captures data regarding teachers&rsquo; experiences with and understanding of the CCSS, the types of thinking required of college and career ready students, the instructional shifts needed for students to successfully access the standards, and the roles of teachers and of the standards in advancing equal educational opportunities for students. Based on the analysis of data from interviews and focus group discussion, the researcher found that (1) teachers are aware of the types of thinking and instructional shifts required of the CCSS, but are still experiencing a steep learning curve, and (2) although equity and equal educational opportunity are the intent of the standards, it may not be the reality. The reality is that the teacher makes the difference and provides the opportunity.</p><p>

<p> The current mixed method study explored the job satisfaction perceptions and retention plans of 241 secondary science teachers from seven North Texas school districts. For the current study, an email questionnaire was sent to seven districts across 83 secondary campuses, which included 51 middle schools and 32 high schools. The current study intended to find reasons why secondary science teachers continue to teach or decide to leave the profession. The participants&rsquo; perceptions and intentions to continue teaching were gathered through an online survey which gathered data across seven job satisfaction domains. Demographic and retention responses provided additional data on each participant. Through a quantitative analysis of Likert type survey responses and qualitative analysis of open-ended retention responses, the current study explored secondary science teachers&rsquo; perceptions and intentions to stay teaching. The quantitative analysis of survey data found significant differences in almost all of the job satisfaction domains for all teachers. There were also significant differences across some demographic groups as well. Through a qualitative analysis, motivation to teach was the leading predictor for retention. On the other hand, school culture and compensation were the top reasons for teachers planning to leave the classroom. </p><p>

<p> Approximately 80% of students attending community colleges intend to earn a bachelor&rsquo;s degree; however, only 17% attain the goal (Horn &amp; Skomsvold, 2011). The Complete College America (2011) initiative signaled a paradigm shift from access to higher education to public policy defining success as completion, graduation, and transfer. Despite efforts made, community colleges are falling short of reaching their two-year to four-year college completion goals (Monaghan &amp; Atwell, 2015). Attention to transfer students and their role in the college completion agenda has become a focus of recent research. There is, however, minimal understanding of transfer admission pathways such as Joint Admission programs and their relationship to degree completion. </p><p> This non-experimental causal-comparative ex-post facto study investigated the relationship between a Joint Admission Agreement (JAA) program and two-year to four-year degree completion and time to degree completion, and was guided by these research questions: 1. Is there a relationship between JAA student participation and bachelor degree completion? </p><p> 2. Is there a difference in bachelor degree time-to-completion between JAA and non-JAA transfer students? </p><p> 3. To what extent and in what manner is variation in bachelor degree completion rates explained by four-year GPA, total number of transfer credits, degree type, Pell and demographics on JAA and non-JAA? Ex-post facto data of JAA and non-JAA transfers (n = 846) who earned an associate&rsquo;s degree and transferred to a state flagship institution from 2011 to 2015 were collected and analyzed using SPSS software. A t-test analysis indicated participation in JAA (n = 121) showed a positive, significant relationship to four-year degree completion, t = 5.038, p = .001, M = .70 compared with non-JAA M = .47. A t-test analyses showed JAA t = 4.28, p = .001, M = 2.12 had .33 of a year faster rate of time-to-completion over non-JAA, M = 2.45. Results of ANOVA analysis showed demographics has no effect on time-to-degree completion. </p><p> This study filled a gap in the literature in finding a positive relationship between JAA participation and both four-year degree completion and time to completion. The results may suggest consideration of both system and institutional policy initiatives to promote and encourage JAA participation.</p><p>

<p> Today 17 elite private colleges in the U.S. have offered no-loan policies, which replace student loans with grants, scholarships and/or work-study in the financial aid packages awarded to all undergraduate students eligible for financial aid. Generally, the goal of these policies is to increase the socioeconomic diversity of campuses and to reduce the amount students borrow to finance their education. However, since the 2007&ndash;2008 credit crisis two colleges eliminated their no-loan policies for all students on financial aid and several restricted the policies to their lower-income students on financial aid. Therefore, this qualitative case study explored the financial implications of no-loan financial aid at private elite liberal arts colleges. </p><p> Leaders from various offices involved in planning and implementing no-loan policies at four colleges were interviewed: two campuses that maintained their full no-loan policies after the financial crisis of 2007&ndash;2008 and two that did not. The leaders were interviewed to understand how no-loan policies were financed and managed; how they affected operating budgets and other academic priorities; and how they were communicated to college constituents. </p><p> Findings from this study provided a more nuanced understanding of why some schools maintained and others retracted no-loan financial aid. Contrary to reports in the news, endowment losses, while symbolic of financial distress, were not the only reason that schools retracted no-loan policies. Endowment losses in the context of other internal and external budget pressures resulting from the credit crisis and Great Recession led to this decision. Each college in this study made a series of tradeoffs in how to balance mission and market pressures in a new budget reality where all three of their primary revenue sources were constrained. These competing priorities included how to increase faculty lines and compensation, reduce teaching loads, fund capital projects, reduce student loan debt, and distribute scholarship aid to ensure proportional socioeconomic diversity on campus. Higher education policymakers and leaders can use this study&rsquo;s findings to improve institutional policies and practices in higher education finance.</p><p>

<p> Though much is known about the school environments that increase students&rsquo; access to opportunity, the process for developing conditions that presage such outcomes remains a pertinent area of study. The reality that widespread school performance has yet to realize the promise of true educational equity, particularly in urban settings, attests to the challenge. In the search for solutions, one response across decades has been to grant schools autonomy, a trend that continues today. The goal of this research study is to understand the process by which a school in such a context builds its capacity to improve student outcomes. With capacity seen as a function of available information, the relationships and organizational structures are given particular attention knowing that such mechanisms serve as conduits for information exchange in organizations. It is seen the presence of strong relationships and strong organizational structures are necessary but not sufficient for productive information exchange. In order to realize their full utility, leadership must cultivate relational trust and manage expectations of their duties as leader. Moreover, organizational activity must align to the school&rsquo;s desired direction and capitalize upon available capabilities. Finally, the importance of clear communication about autonomy&rsquo;s multiple dimensions related to schools is seen. The results of this case study suggest that relationships and organizational structures can illuminate the complex work of serving students in the context of a school granted autonomy while calling for greater nuance in the idea&rsquo;s conceptualization as a means for school improvement.</p><p>

<p> The principal is ultimately responsible for decisions regarding the master schedule at the elementary level of education (Canady &amp; Rettig, 2013; Young, 2008), and these scheduling decisions are influenced by multiple factors (Benamati, 2010; Harris, 2013; Howard &amp; Rakoz, 2009). Although principals have become increasingly aware of the need to use data to make informed decisions (Holcomb, 2012; Marzano, Waters, &amp; McNulty, 2005; O&rsquo;Neal, 2012), data pertaining to the relationship between scheduled opportunities for students to participate in physical activity and academic achievement is limited. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of principals&rsquo; scheduling decisions regarding how much time is designated for daily physical activity for third grade students in Virginia and the relationship between these decisions and academic performance. </p><p> A survey of public school principals was used to collect information regarding scheduling decisions, as well as the role of accountability, wellness legislation, and other factors that may possibly influence decisions. This survey collected scheduling information regarding the opportunity for students to participate in physical activity as part of the scheduled curriculum. These data were compared to each school&rsquo;s academic achievement, which was measured by students&rsquo; performance on Virginia&rsquo;s Standards of Learning (SOL) exams in third grade reading as reported by school leaders. </p><p> Based on the results of this study, school leaders identified multiple factors influencing their scheduling decisions pertaining to opportunities for students to participate in physical activity. These factors of influence were coded into six categories: accountability demands of the SOLs, student health, autonomy limitations, time limitations, resource limitations, and liability risks. School leaders reported accountability demands of the SOLs as having the greatest influence on their scheduling decisions. </p><p> Based on the data reported by school leaders, there is a significant positive correlation between the daily duration of scheduled physical activity and the academic performance of the school on the Grade Three Reading SOLs. Adjusting for socioeconomic status using the percentage of students receiving free or reduced priced meals, the scheduled duration of physical activity was a better predictor than the duration of reading instruction in predicting academic performance.</p><p>