The Hispanic population is growing rapidly nationwide, and school districts across the country are faced with the challenge of guiding these learners to high levels of success. The primary focus of this dissertation addresses the implementation in the state of Georgia of the Vision Project, which is titled A Vision for Public Education, Equity and Excellence. This project is designed to build trust and support for public education across the state, to ensure meaningful engagement within communities, and to provide rewarding educational experiences for all Georgia’s students. A secondary focus for this dissertation assesses perceptions of school leadership practices in high poverty, high “English Language Learner (ELL)” school districts. The literature review includes perceived practices that have informed (a) types of leadership teams, (b) parent involvement, (c) professional development of leaders and teachers and (d) instructional practices for high ELL schools. An instrumental case study was used to examine how specific school districts are implementing the Vision Project’s recommendations to improve public education. Moreover, there is a secondary focus on leaders in high poverty, high English Language Learner schools. The emphasis is on their perceptions of practices that have informed student learning. Two “Tier 1” districts were selected by utilizing the Vision Project Executive Director as an informant with regard to which districts were implementing the project with fidelity in the 2014-15 school year. A constructivist view to general inductive approach and thematic analysis guided the process used to identify themes in this study. From the qualitative data, four themes emerged. The themes identified within the data include: (a) the ways formal leadership teams are organized (b) professional development of teachers and leaders, (c) instructional strategies utilized to teach ELL students effectively, and (d) leaders’ perception of the impact and challenge of parental involvement in high poverty schools. Additionally, connections to areas of the GA Vision Project were noted in both School District A and School District B. This study contributes to the field of education by giving educational leaders in high poverty, high ELL schools support for planning, developing, and implementing instructional vision in their workplace and communities.

<p> In education today, Latino populations are growing, but Telles and Ortiz (2013) claim they account for the lowest academic levels and the highest levels of dropouts. Latino <i>transfronterizo</i> (literally border crossing) students and their parents in this study have high academic aspirations in spite of challenges of poverty, second language acquisition, and other difficulties which arise from U.S.-Mexico border contexts. Through dissecting the events of the 1990s and early 2000s, the progression of northern migration from Mexico and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 influenced anti-immigrant sentiment along the border and enactment of laws and policies to limit circumnavigating the international line. Misidentification as illegal immigrants creates borderland perceptions that Latinos are suspects and often results in discriminatory treatment from postcolonial dominant culture. This culture is reflected and perpetuated in schools where home language surveys identify native Spanish speakers to segregate them into Structured English Immersion programs for students with Limited English Proficiency. Ethnographic research from January of 2013 to August of 2015 included over 300 observations and 14 semi-structured interviews with seven <i>transfronterizo</i> students and nine parents revealed language disconnects between school and home. Relationships between teachers and students/parents did not exist and trust was lacking. Latino parents wanted to help students with school, but English only requirements limited their assistance. Through the use of Furman&rsquo;s ethic of community and Yosso&rsquo;s community cultural wealth, educational leaders could create communal process at schools to build the capacity of teachers and parents to create relationships and shared cultural competencies. </p>

<p> The needs of homeless students are significant and varied. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act helps ensure homeless students can access a quality education. One of the key provisions is the requirement that all LEAs identify a liaison to be in charge of meeting the needs of homeless students. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of district liaisons in regard to the needs of the homeless students they serve and the factors that facilitate and hinder their ability to meet these needs. The study was designed as a qualitative study relying primarily on interviews with 20 liaisons from a representative sample of districts in the state of Ohio. </p><p> The findings indicate that homeless students face a number of needs, including access to basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, and to social services including mental health services and drug treatment centers. Liaisons indicated that they played a less direct role in supporting students&rsquo; academic needs, instead relying on school-based staff members to support homeless students&rsquo; academic needs. </p><p> Liaisons identified a number of factors that facilitate and hinder their ability to meet the needs of their homeless students. The availability or lack of district resources like funding and personnel were especially important. In some districts, superintendents had prioritized hiring additional social or community workers. Liaisons indicated they relied a great deal on the support of these personnel. Further, the availability (or lack) of community-based service agencies greatly impacted liaisons&rsquo; work. </p><p> Finally, liaisons faced a number of competing demands that made their roles challenging. The vast majority of liaisons held another full-time role in the district, meaning they had limited time to devote to the role of liaison. Liaisons also indicated that navigating both community perceptions of homelessness (whether identified families were &ldquo;truly&rdquo; homeless or deserving of support) and the proper role of the school in the community were added challenges. </p><p> These findings suggest that additional personnel to help meet the needs of homeless students and greater coordination between schools and social service agencies would benefit both liaisons and the homeless students they serve. </p>

<p> In the summer of 2011, the Studied School District (pseudonym) initiated teacher-training on the Focused Adaptable Structure Teaching (FAST) framework, a Direct Instruction model. RISE Educational Services provided the training and additional coaching continuously until the Spring of 2014. During this period of over 2 years, the FAST framework was the standard practice for delivering instruction in the Studied School District. </p><p> The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was multi-faceted: (a) to gather recollections of implementation of the FAST framework from teachers who experienced it as a discontinued school reform measure, (b) to have these teachers describe their own practices and perceptions of their peers&rsquo; practices during implementation of the FAST framework in order to assess Fidelity of Implementation (FOI), (c) to have these teachers describe the framework&rsquo;s influence on their beliefs about teaching and learning, and (d) to have these teachers describe the framework&rsquo;s influence on their current instructional practices. </p><p> Data for this exploratory research study were collected via semi-structured interactive interviews. The 10 participants were generated from a pool of teachers who were employed in the Studied School District at the time of training and implementation who were able to provide recollections of the experience from a practitioner&rsquo;s perspective. The interviews consisted of four prepared interview questions combined with unplanned clarifying questions that allowed for deeper reflection and analysis from the participants. </p><p> After a review and analysis of the findings and conclusions, two recommendations were produced from the study. First, when implementing new instructional programs, school districts should provide extensive introductory training prior to assigning teachers the task of putting the program into practice. The second recommendation is for the supervisors of instruction to ensure the expectations of implementation are communicated clearly and consistently at the district level and school sites.</p>

<p> Federal Program Monitoring (FPM) is California&rsquo;s current education compliance monitoring process. Roughly 120 local educational agencies (LEAs) each year are selected to receive a FPM review&mdash;half on-site and half online. Through FPM, the California Department of Education (CDE) reviews a variety of categorical programs, including the English learner (EL) program, for compliance with state and federal mandates. LEAs found to be non-compliant (NC) in one or more categorical programs are required to resolve the NC findings within certain timelines or, potentially, face state fiscal sanctions. </p><p> This comparative case study explored the responses to FPM by district leaders from two urban school districts selected via a purposive sampling approach. In particular, this study investigated whether LEAs leverage FPM to improve the provision of services to English learners and, in particular, English language development (ELD) instruction. </p><p> My conceptual framework posits that the different responses by district leaders to the various forms of education accountability regimes I identify can be explained, in part, to their position on various conceptions that, ultimately, influence their willingness and their capacity&mdash;integrity serving as a mitigating factor. These responses that can be grouped into three categories: leveraged compliance, contrived compliance, or non-compliance. </p><p> As predicted by my conceptual framework, I found contrasting findings across the two districts for predictable reasons, or, theoretical replication. The Puente Verde USD had a high level of willingness to be responsive to FPM. In comparison, Windy Hills USD&rsquo;s ideological stance on ELD&mdash;incongruent with the CDE&rsquo;s&mdash;coupled with their integrity to do what they felt was the right thing, inhibited their willingness to be as responsive to FPM. Additionally, whilst both LEAs had relatively high levels of capacity to implement EL programs, Windy Hills&rsquo; lower absorptive capacity constrained further capacity building. </p><p> Although compliance monitoring, like FPM, is often seen as a bureaucratic exercise, some LEAs are able to seize the opportunity to leverage it to improve services, while others, even when possessing relatively high levels of capacity may not. Oftentimes, compliance with FPM is seen as a simple bimodal response. What this study found is that it is much more nuanced.</p>

<p>There were dual purposes of this qualitative phenomenological study. The first purpose was to describe and compare the goals, design, implementation, and outcomes of college counseling programs in college preparatory charter high schools in Los Angeles as experienced and shared by high school college counselors. The second purpose was to explore what college preparatory charter high school college counselors perceive to be the most important components in a charter high school college-going culture to assist underrepresented students with access to college and preparation to persist in higher education. This phenomenological study utilized interviews to collect data. The one-on-one interviews were with college counselors at Los Angeles college-preparatory charter high schools where at least 60% of students are from underrepresented backgrounds. The 9 interview questions were developed to learn about the goals, design, implementation, and outcomes of college counseling programs at the participants? high schools. The questions were also designed to learn about what counselors perceive as important components in a college-going culture to help underrepresented students access and persist in higher education. The study yielded 5 conclusions. First, students and families from underrepresented backgrounds rely on their schools to inform them about the college preparation process. Second, parental involvement helps hold students academically accountable and helps them pursue higher education. Third, individualized academic advising is critical for student success. Fourth, charter high schools provide insight to address student-to-counselor ratios, which influence the quality of high school college counseling programs. Lastly, students? ability to adapt and navigate changes in academic rigor, social environment, and academic community impacts their college access and persistence. The study yielded 4 recommendations. First, states, districts, and schools are encouraged to continue to address student-to-counselor ratios to enable personalized college counseling that students need. Second, it is advised that counselors have conversations about college in collaboration with parents. Third, it is recommended that schools provide opportunities via their college counseling programs to expose students to individuals from different backgrounds and to different environments. Finally, it is suggested that high schools challenge students academically to help them prepare for the academic rigor of higher education.

<p>In recent years evaluation has become a very important element in the public administration. The Swedish state administration to a significant extent both evaluates and is evaluated. This means that the evaluating state is at the same time the evaluated state. In this dissertation the institutionalization of evaluation is studied in a field within which this development has been particularly lively and interesting, namely the field of higher education. The dissertation focuses on evaluation activity that has been carried out in conjunction with central public authorities within higher education: the Office of the Chancellor of the Universities and Colleges in Sweden, the National Swedish Board of Universities and Colleges, and the Office of the University Chancellor, and encompasses the period 1964-1995.</p><p>A newly revived research tradition within political science – historical institutionalism – is used as a perspective and a methodology. Since the application of this tradition has not yet been fully tested, another purpose is to examine the practical utility of this analytical tool and the kind of knowledge that it produces. The dissertation thereby combines the fields of education policy, evaluation research and institutional theory.</p><p>The beginning of the institution has been dated to the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s. In the dissertation the forces behind the initiation of the institution are taken up. Events and developments in the field that have influenced the further development of the institution have been identified and analyzed. Developments reveal that the institution has been stable during the entire period of time under study, despite some changes.</p><p>The use of historical institutionalism as a perspective and methodology has proven satisfactory on a general level. However, special solutions have been required as problems and ambiguities have arisen. The dissertation concludes with reflections on the practical utility of historical institutionalism in political science research.</p>

<p> Time-based reform proposals are founded on the assumption that more time in school will produce great learning outcomes. Research shows that when schools adopt time-based reform initiatives, there are certain considerations that they should make and methods they should follow to ensure the change produces the outcomes intended. This was not the case in a local Archdiocese where a calendar extension was adopted by several elementary schools. </p><p> This qualitative case study focused on the adoption of a calendar extension at one Catholic elementary school. The researcher gathered data from the pastor, principal, teachers, parents, and students to determine how these stakeholders envisioned the outcomes of this change, how they perceived the time was being used for curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular purposes, and the challenges and opportunities that they felt existed after three years of implementation. Data collected over a four-month period included classroom observations, stakeholder interviews, focus group meetings, and document analysis. </p><p> An inductive analysis of the data collected was used to determine emergent themes and domains within the school. The seven themes that emerged include: decision making, planning and implementation, advantages, financial motivations, the culture of teaching, leadership, challenges and complications of the extended calendar. </p><p> Recommendations include the need for school leaders to familiarize themselves with change management techniques including setting a shared vision, establishing a collaborative implementation plan, and developing a system of assessment prior to embarking on school reform.</p>

Inclusive education occupies a central place in the education policies of South Africa (SA, 2001). This study explored whether the principles of inclusive education as set out in White Paper 6, are becoming a reality in primary school classrooms in South Africa. A literature study was undertaken to highlight the importance and the policy initiatives and principles of inclusive education. The literature review provided the framework for designing the interview questions that were utilized to gauge the perceptions and experiences of teachers regarding the implementation of inclusive education by means of focus group interviews. By means of a qualitative, phenomenological study, the focus group interviews were conducted with a convenient and purposively selected sample of primary school teachers (n = 18) in the Johannesburg South District of the Gauteng Department of Education. The interview data revealed that teachers do have an understanding of the importance of inclusive education, and appear to be knowledgeable on what the inclusive education policy entails. Furthermore, the teachers attempt to provide differentiated teaching, learning and assessment to address the wide variety of learning barriers in their classrooms. However, comprehensive knowledge about the wide variety of strategies to accommodate all learning needs appears to be lacking. The teachers noted that their training, resources and facilities are not adequate for the effective implementation of the policy principles in South African classrooms. The findings revealed that although the inclusive education policy is positively accepted by the teachers, its implementation appears to be superficial due to the cited challenges faced by the participants. The study is concluded with recommendations on how to promote the implementation of the challenging inclusive education policy principles in order to minimize the gap between policy and implementation. / MEd, Learner Support, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The current coalition government in England has expressed its commitment to establishing an autonomous teaching profession. This study argues that such autonomy cannot exist in a system that is ideologically driven by market forces and neo-liberal policy. The best situation that most teachers can hope to experience – barring a seismic shift in material conditions – is an earned and scrutinised autonomy, which is an oxymoronic concept. It is argued that the tight control exercised by the state over what happens in schools through its promotion of market forces, reinforces the ideological nature of schooling in England. The theoretical and ontological basis of the study resides in an orthodox Marxist perspective and analyses the way in which neo-liberalism has formed the basis for the material conditions under which teachers currently work. It develops this idea to demonstrate how this dominant ideology pervades current discourse about pedagogy and curriculum, reducing such discourse to a narrower consideration of ‘standards’. It considers how this diminution of what the curriculum has become has, in its turn, had an impact on teachers’ view of their professional autonomy. Data are gathered from two rounds of interviews with 22 serving teachers complemented by some written responses from them. Six others with a professional interest in education policy-making, four of whom are headteachers, are also interviewed. The conclusion is drawn that teachers’ autonomy remains restricted, with any independence of action largely contingent upon the production of outcomes measured against limited, pre-determined and ideologically driven outcomes. The study identifies a disconnection between the aspirations of teachers with regard to their professional autonomy and those of some, but not all, headteachers. A further disconnection between the aspirations of teachers and the policies of central government is also identified. Significantly, teachers may enjoy more professional autonomy in those schools which currently, and possibly temporarily, enjoy market popularity. In terms of a contribution to the debate about teacher autonomy, the study demonstrates that, notwithstanding the effects of the current policy ensemble, teachers maintain a sense of what education could offer young people that goes beyond the existing, reductive models that frame their working lives.