A substantial body of literature has examined teacher induction programs. Previous research has highlighted program characteristics, associated activities, and the impact on issues such as retention and student achievement. However, little research has examined the potential for induction activities to go beyond meeting the most basic short-term needs of novices and instead create the meaningful learning opportunities that lead to sustained growth. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis, this multi-case study describes the induction experiences of five second-year middle-grades STEM teachers prepared in an urban teacher residency program. Participants completed a two-year induction program, during which they received induction support from their school, district, and residency program. This research describes the induction supports (e.g., mentoring, professional development, formal induction course, and action research group) available to the participants and the utility ascribed to each of these supports by the teachers. Using Cochran-Smith and Lytle’s theories of teacher learning (1999; 2001) as the theoretical framework, the research examines how induction supports facilitate pathways to teacher learning. Additionally, this framework serves to identity how different induction supports position teachers along the continuum from users to generators of knowledge. The individual cases underscore that participants had access to induction supports that created opportunities for them to be users, co-creators, and generators of knowledge. The participants did report some appreciation for these latter approaches and a positive impact on their practice and growth; however, the participants ultimately favored supports that were more prescriptive. While these supports did not necessarily contribute to their growth, they met their needs at the time and, ultimately, that is what mattered most. / Urban Education

This study examines the role of parental cultural capital as it pertains to whether a student attends a chosen school and whether the quality of the school a student attends is a function of cultural capital. Three theory-based factors representing cultural capital and three factors that represent facets of school quality were created using principal components analysis. Logistic regression was used to determine that cultural capital does play a role in whether a student attends a chosen school. In fact, one aspect of cultural capital, institutional engagement, is the strongest predictor of whether a student attends a chosen school. Linear regression models shed light on the role that different forms of cultural capital and choosing may play in the quality of school that the student attends. While the results are complex, I am able to conclude that cultural capital and choosing do play a role in the quality of school that a student attends, but community and school district characteristics, as well as parental socioeconomic status may play a stronger role. Models control for student and school district characteristics and school clustering effects. Suggestions for future research and implications for policy are discussed. / Urban Education

This study examined organizational routines and teachers' experiences in two urban public elementary schools. The study advances the scholarship on teachers' work through a nuanced examination of instructional routines in order to illuminate teachers' experiences with accountability based-reforms. Using neoinstitutional theory, this study employed ethnographic methods to examine instructional routines in two schools of varying AYP-status: one high-performing school and one low-performing school. Observations and interviews were conducted with a total of 17 teachers over the course of two school years. Findings indicated that routines were a recoupling mechanism, used to more closely align teachers' tasks with the goals of accountability policy. The implementation and performance of routines was both similar and distinct between the two schools. There were distinct differences in the intensity and the pervasiveness of mandated instructional routines between schools. However, regardless of AYP-status, routines served to rationalize teachers' instructional tasks by reducing variation in the form and content of classroom instruction. Accordingly, the process of recoupling and the resulting rationalization of teachers' tasks resulted in teachers experiencing reduced professional discretion, depleted intrinsic rewards, and compromised relationships with students and with each other. Under these circumstances, accountability policy moved teaching away from professionalization and undermined efforts to sustain teachers over time. / Urban Education

This is a historical study of the modern standards movement starting in 1983 with the landmark report, A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, and concluding in 1995 with the publication of the revised Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The study was done through a review of available archival papers, written documents, and oral testimony. The purpose of this study was to analyze critically the modern standards movement as a context to the development and implementation of the revised Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools. Objectives of the study were to identify key events and key characters that impacted the standards movement and identify issues that evolved. A main focus of the study was to develop a documentary history that identified themes that linked events and showed connections between past and current events. Phase one of the process involved data collection from appropriate literary sources and writing the history as portrayed in written documents. Phase two of the process was done through the collection of oral testimony from key informers, especially in the Virginia movement and weaving that testimony logically and chronologically into the appropriate documentary history. Phase three of the process concluded with the identification of main themes that linked events and implications for future studies. / Ed. D.

"No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) has generated considerable attention within the education world. The purpose of this thesis is to question how local governments, i.e., local Boards of Education, have reacted to the current involvement and demands of the federal government. NCLB has only started to have an impact on local schools in the last few years as they have begun to fall into various categories of being "in need of improvement" based on failing to meet established goals. School boards are put in a position to rethink their programs and reevaluate their own efforts as they attempt to insure students are meeting the benchmarks established by the federal and state governments and that Highly Qualified Teachers are in every child's classroom. This thesis looks at the actions of six districts in southern New Jersey that are not meeting these mandates and the actions of the Boards of Education towards student achievement and hiring teachers. Demands and requirements of federal and state legislation and policies are narrowing the areas in which school boards can take action. Those actions that are being taken appear to be led by the district Superintendent. This lack of leadership by the elected officials may eventually lead to school boards that are more and more community advisory boards and less and less governing bodies. / Master of Arts

Although originally conceived as an educational intervention for at-risk students, modern career academies have expanded their scope to programs designed to promote critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills to be successful in an advanced career path. Through the integration of career and technical education courses and a rigorous, college preparatory academic curriculum, career academies serve as a key piece of a larger strategy for developing a well- prepared STEM workforce. This study focuses on the Virginia Governor's STEM Academies, a state-wide initiative containing programs designed to expand options for the general student population to acquire STEM literacy and other critical skills, knowledge and credentials that will prepare them for high-demand, high-wage, and high-skill careers. Currently, 22 Academies exist serving students across 36 Virginia School Divisions. Using educational administrative data housed within the Virginia Longitudinal Data System, I examined the Virginia Governor's STEM Academies regarding characteristics of student participation and the relationship between Academy participation and high school and postsecondary outcomes. Using multi-level regression modeling, I found that male students, Asian and Hispanic students, and non-economically disadvantage students have a higher rate of Academy participation. After matching students with propensity score matching on demographic and early academic characteristics, I find that Academy participants are more likely to take Algebra II at an earlier grade, enroll in more Career and Technical Education and dual enrollment courses, and declare a STEM major after enrolling at a postsecondary institution. This research provides a valuable new contribution to the study of career academies after such educational programs have undergone a paradigm shift to preparing students for high-demand, high-wage, and high-skill careers. By incorporating propensity score matching and multi-level regression model, I employ a statistically rigorous approach that can serve as important benchmarking of the enrollment and academic outcomes of the Virginia Governor's STEM Academies. / Doctor of Philosophy / Although originally conceived as an educational intervention for at-risk students, modern career academies have expanded their scope to programs designed to promote critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills to be successful in an advanced career path. Through the integration of career and technical education courses and a rigorous, college preparatory academic curriculum, career academies serve as a key piece of a larger strategy for developing a well- prepared STEM workforce. This study focuses on the Virginia Governor's STEM Academies, a state-wide initiative containing programs designed to expand options for the general student population to acquire STEM literacy and other critical skills, knowledge and credentials that will prepare them for high-demand, high-wage, and high-skill careers. Currently, 22 Academies exist serving students across 36 Virginia School Divisions. Using educational administrative data housed within the Virginia Longitudinal Data System, I examined the Virginia Governor's STEM Academies regarding characteristics of student participation and the relationship between Academy participation and high school and postsecondary outcomes. Using multi-level regression modeling, I found that male students, Asian and Hispanic students, and non-economically disadvantage students have a higher rate of Academy participation. After matching students with propensity score matching on demographic and early academic characteristics, I find that Academy participants are more likely to take Algebra II at an earlier grade, enroll in more Career and Technical Education and dual enrollment courses, and declare a STEM major after enrolling at a postsecondary institution. This research provides a valuable new contribution to the study of career academies after such educational programs have undergone a paradigm shift to preparing students for high-demand, high-wage, and high-skill careers. By incorporating propensity score matching and multi-level regression model, I employ a statistically rigorous approach that can serve as important benchmarking of the enrollment and academic outcomes of the Virginia Governor's STEM Academies.

The purpose of this study was to find out about school board decision making regarding the treatment of transgender students in Virginia's public schools' policies. The research questions were (1) What is involved in deciding to adopt policies addressing equitable treatment of, and access to education for, transgender students? (2) What influences school boards' adoption of educational equity policies? Participants and school divisions were selected based on their participation in policy decision making for the equitable treatment of transgender students. Data collection involved a one-on-one interview with a school board member and recordings of local school board meetings, committee meetings, and workshops. Common themes were developed through multiple readings of interview and meeting transcripts. Major findings include policy alignment with beliefs and values, trust between stakeholders, legal status of the policy and related topics, implementation and real-world scenarios, and decision makers' background and experiences. Additional data points evidenced community input, advice of school division staff, timing in relation to other contextual events, the political landscape, and equity discussions also impact school board decision making. Suggestions for policymakers involve focusing on creating systems to ensure equitable access to decision making for varied populations and creating frameworks for impartial decisions when controversy is involved. Implications for practitioners are also explored: (a) learning about policy decision makers' backgrounds, beliefs and experiences; (b) preparing presentations and information based on top factors impacting decision making and (c) focusing on implementation outcomes with community input. These results may impact adoption of educational equity policies more efficiently by school boards, potentially resulting in supporting previously excluded student groups' access to equal education and increased success, no matter their identity. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to find out about school board decision making regarding the treatment of transgender students in Virginia's public schools' policies. The research questions were (1) What is involved in deciding to adopt policies addressing equitable treatment of, and access to education for, transgender students? (2) What influences school boards' adoption of educational equity policies? A single one-on-one interview was conducted with a school board member, and 15 meeting recordings were transcribed and analyzed through multiple readings. The top 10 factors associated with school board member decision making are reported as findings and data points. Findings include policy alignment with beliefs and values, trust between stakeholders, legal status of the policy and related topics, implementation and real-world scenarios, and decision makers' background and experiences. Considering these findings, policymakers may wish to implement systems to ensure (a) equitable opportunities for people to serve as school board members, (b) trust is built between stakeholders, or (c) community-specific feedback is received. Policymakers may also wish to develop a decision-making framework for equity policy decisions. School division staff and policy advocates could consider these findings in focusing their efforts on aspects they can influence and providing complete and thorough presentations to school board members. By attending to these factors, school division staff and policy advocates may be able to more efficiently have educational equity policies adopted by school boards, potentially resulting in supporting previously excluded student groups' access to equal education and increased success no matter their identity.

African Americans diagnosed with diabetes are less likely to self-manage diabetes-specific modifiable risk factors. As a result, utilization of healthcare services occurs at a greater rate than other racial groups, and thereby incurs higher than expected healthcare costs. This ethnographic study explored the elements of diabetes educational material African Americans in a large city in the southern part of the United States found most useful to facilitate self-management of their disease. Bandura's self-efficacy theory provided the theoretical framework. Research questions addressed the preferred educational content, layout of material, and methods for educational delivery and caregiver support. A purposive sample of 30 African Americans with diabetes who had engaged in diabetes education classes participated in this study. Data were collected through in-depth personal interviews, which were inductively coded and then categorized around emergent themes. A key finding of this study is that participants preferred group learning formats, but perceived educational material to be confusing and difficult to understand. They also expressed some preferences for the use of color, pictures, and presentation of graphical information that may provide the basis for a revision of educational materials. Interestingly, participants indicated a tendency to seek out church members rather than family for support. The positive social change implications of this study include recommendations to healthcare professionals to adopt educational curricula that reflect cultural nuances and needs of target populations in order to support better health outcomes for at-risk populations and cost efficiency improvements.

This study addressed the problem of poor attendance adversely affecting grades and learning. Current school policies do not address problematic attendance for all school-aged children, perpetuating trends of academic failure. The research objective was to determine if unexcused absences had a greater negative impact on a high-stakes test compared to excused absences and then develop a manual of best attendance policies to better serve all school-aged children. This study sampled 10,403 students in a southern United States county. Bivariate regression and ANOVA analyses examined the scores students earned on their first attempt at the Social Studies Georgia High School Graduation Test (SSGHSGT) in relation to these students' excused and unexcused absences for grades 9 through 11. Unexcused absences had a significantly greater impact than excused absences on SSGHSGT scores. Scores decreased an average of 1.33 points for every unexcused absence, whereas each excused absence resulted in a score reduction of only 0.47 points. Given the need demonstrated by these results, a manual of best practices was developed from initiatives that had been empirically proven successful in preventing absences. The initiatives, drawn from the theoretical foundation of family systems, employ schools, parents, neighborhoods, peers, government agencies, and teachers to cumulatively influence student decisions about attendance. By preventing students from developing problematic attendance, positively impacting student grades, raising graduation rates, and reducing delinquency-related crimes these improvements can create a positive social change for students, parents, and particularly school personnel who are held responsible for academic achievement.

Budgeting and allocation decisions made by school districts have a direct impact on education in local communities. Little, however, is known about budgetary allocation and decision-making practices involving federal Impact Aid received by military-connected districts as no national guidelines exist to guide the allocation of this funding source. Using Sielke's garbage can decision model as the foundation, the purpose of this multiple case study of 5 school districts located throughout the United States was to explore how school districts use Impact Aid to achieve educational adequateness for military-connected children. Research questions focused on how school districts make budgetary decisions in regard to Impact Aid and military-connected students. Data were collected from 5 semistructured interviews with school administrators, budget analysts, as well as over 350 publicly available policy documents. All data were inductively coded and categorized to apply frequency of references and through open and descriptive coding emerged 4 thematic elements. The key findings of this study showed that sequestration and information management had the largest impact on how Impact Aid funding was spent by school districts. The results of this study provide evidence in support of Sielke's garbage can decision theory. The implications for social change stemming from this study include recommendations to policy makers regarding improving allocation methods, which may in turn improve the effectiveness of education funding leading to adequate and equal education support for all public school students.