<p> This study examined how stakeholders in one school district located in a remote town perceived the instructional improvement efforts of the district, as well as the constraints and enablers of implementing instructional reforms. A qualitative approach, consisting mainly of interviews with teachers, principals, district administrators, and other school-level staff, was used to examine the perceived effects of the district's instructional reforms in five areas: (1) adopting a set of goals to guide the district's actions; (2) implementing instructional reform; (3) improving professional development; (4) supporting district and school administrators to become instructional leaders; and (5) encouraging the use of data to diagnose student learning needs and guide instruction. School-level interviews were conducted within four of the district's elementary schools selected to represent the district on a number of demographic and academic variables. The overall findings for these five areas were as follows. Respondents spoke primarily about changes to reading instruction as the district's top priority. The district's efforts to reform classroom instruction resulted in all elementary schools implementing, in varying degrees, the structures the district established for teaching reading. These levels of implementation were achieved through a gradual process and were met with initial resistance from principals and teachers. The district's shift to providing job-embedded professional development proved to be a major support in establishing a consistent teaching approach. Literacy coaches represented the main source of job-embedded professional development and played an important role in providing teacher professional development. Principals strove to achieve the district's expectation for them to become instructional leaders in their buildings, although some struggled with the content expertise required to be an instructional leader, while others expressed difficulty in managing their time between being a building manager and an instructional leader. Finally, the district's instructional improvement efforts were informed by student achievement data and teacher observation data, as teachers used formative and summative assessments to monitor students' progress and to provide appropriate levels of intervention to students.</p>

No description available.

<p> Cohorts of 48 entering biological science majors was recruited in the fall of 2007 and again in 2008 and 2009 for the Interdisciplinary Science Experience (ISE). These ISE students enrolled in their own sections of standard courses of physics, chemistry, and biology. In these courses average ISE student out-performed their non-cohort peers by up to a full letter grade. A qualitative analysis of ISE student interviews illuminates the student experience and shows how the ISE students perceived themselves to be different than their non-cohort peers. Quantitative modeling of student performance shows that higher grades are correlated with multiple factors. These factors includes admissions characteristics such as high school GPA, and SAT scores, as well as demographic information. These trends support and elaborate on the selection narratives told by participants. Additionally the quantitative model found that higher student performance is predicted by structural aspects of the ISE program, specifically the timing of course, enrolling as a freshmen in many of their courses, and the sequencing of physics and chemistry courses. There is a statistically significant benefit to student performance in general and organic chemistry courses associated with completing the first quarter of the Physics for Bio-Science majors prior to enrollment. Further the combination of quantitative and qualitative data suggest that there is a epistemological transfer of problem solving skills and outlook from the physics to the chemistry courses.</p>

<p> Prior research has been conducted examining the effects of multiple attributes' affect on persistence and graduation rates at higher education institutions (HEIs). This research has examined individual, family, peer, neighborhood, and institutional characteristics and their relationship with college graduation rates. There has been very little research conducted on the relationship of regional quality of life (QoL) on educational attainment. This study examined nine separate aspects (Income and Wealth, Housing, Educational Attainment, Work/Life Balance, Health Status, Personal Security, Environmental Quality, Social Capital, and Jobs and Earnings) of QoL to determine their relationship with the graduation rates at both two- and four-year HEIs. It was found that relationships exist between most of the social indicators of QoL and graduation rates. These findings lead to areas of interest that the stakeholders in higher education can consider when making policy changes that effect human capital development.</p>

<p> This embedded mixed method study addresses the problems teachers have reported in believing themselves capable to implement the Common Core State Standards with students in special education. This study examines the effect professional development on implementing the Common Core State Standards had on the participating teachers' self-efficacy beliefs. The participants (N=21) in this study were drawn from a 20-day professional development for teachers based on implementing the Common Core State Standards. The instrument used in the study was the Teacher Efficacy Beliefs System-Self. Data were subject to both statistical and qualitative analysis. </p><p> The results of this study provide insight into the self-efficacy beliefs of the participants during and shortly after professional development about implementing the Common Core State Standards with students in special education. The Wilcoxon test of signed ranks revealed a significant increase in the TEB-S subscale areas of Accommodating Individual Differences and Managing Learning Routines, but not in Positive Classroom Climate. Qualitative analysis of data found both support for the statistical findings and also contradicted the statistical findings. Further qualitative analysis showed that practices presented in the professional development such as using the arts, formative assessment, and technology were effective in maintaining their teachers' self-efficacy beliefs after professional development. Factors unrelated to the professional development, such as support from administrators and colleagues and poorly working technology were not supportive in carrying over the increase in teachers' self-efficacy beliefs in implementing the Common Core State Standards with students in special education. </p><p> The study is framed by Social Cognitive Theory and organized into 5 parts. Chapter I provides an overview of the study. Chapter II includes a review of literature related to teachers' self-efficacy belief's Common Core State Standards, and professional development. Chapter III describes the methodology of the study. Chapter IV presents the results of the analysis of data. Chapter IV reports the findings of the study and presents the conclusions of the study and ideas for future research.</p>

<p> Transformational leaders seek to make disciples of their followers. They strive to elevate followers to a position of empowerment in order to realize mutual goals. There is evidence that transformational leadership is effective during change initiatives. In the United States, the field of education is in constant flux as lawmakers address national educational concerns, particularly as students are compared with their peers internationally with disappointing results. Reform measures, standards-based education, and federal and state policies affect teachers, who are the leaders in their classrooms, and principals, the leaders of leaders. In education, as in other industries, organizational commitment is related to transformational leadership. In the state of Indiana, a 2011 law allowing state public funds to be utilized for school choice scholarships provided nearly 20,000 students in 2013-2014 the opportunity to choose which school to attend. The program continues to expand every year with 60% of Indiana students eligible for some level of scholarship. This choice opportunity for families and students has created an environment of uncertainty regarding enrollment numbers for principals and teacher-leaders in all schools. Furthermore, the culture of nonpublic schools may change as choice students go through the process of enculturation. Nonpublic school teacher-leaders may experience classroom management difficulties, parental concerns, and commitment loss during this process. The new environment of public schools may also create stress for principals and teacher-leaders as ambiguity&mdash;real or perceived&mdash;may affect the school as a whole. </p><p> This study&rsquo;s purpose is to examine the leadership style of principals and the relationship of that style to the organizational commitment of teacher-leaders in the environment of educational change. This dissertation also addresses the question of determining the leadership style of principals in Indiana in the midst of a change environment. Additionally, if organizational commitment is related to transformational leadership style in other contexts, is that true in the state of Indiana in an environment of school choice? If Indiana principals&rsquo; predominant leadership style is not transformational leadership, then what is it? And is there a difference in leadership style or organizational commitment in public schools versus nonpublic schools in this environment?</p>

<p> This qualitative, phenomenological study explored Sexual Health Education (SHE) through the lens of 11 public school teachers who formally taught sex education. It explored the levels of comfort and barriers that educators possessed when they communicated SHE to adolescents. One community within the State of Indiana was examined. Eleven 7-12^th grade educators among three school districts shared their beliefs, values, and feelings regarding SHE instruction and levels of sexuality comfort. As a result, the concept of sexuality comfort was reconstructed, and three findings emerged from the data that can contribute to further research in the fields of education, communication, and health. They include: (1) An inclusive sexual health education program can provide educators with more sexuality comfort, (2) Teacher training and instructional materials relate to an educator&rsquo;s sexuality comfort level and willingness to communicate SHE, and (3) An educator&rsquo;s level of sexuality comfort will likely increase if engaged in SHE decision-making policies.</p><p>

<p> This case study explored the viability of using a Critical Friends Group (CFG) dialogue protocol within a novice teacher induction program to facilitate dialogue about equity in a diversifying suburban school setting. The study included two research questions: How do novice teachers in a suburban school district with shifting demographic diversity make sense of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities? How does an equity-focused community of practice using a dialogue protocol affect novice teachers&rsquo; praxis through their understanding of how to address issues of student equity in their instructional practice? Even in a high performing suburban school, novice teachers had significant dilemmas of equity in their classes. Consequently, the novice teachers did not feel suitably trained or capable of providing the range of differentiation necessary to equitably meet the needs of their students. Thus, the novice teachers admitted to teaching by subjective intuition and asking for guidance from colleagues. The effects of adding the dialogue protocol included both an improved sense of trust among participants and of personal efficacy among the novice teachers. Questions posed during the dialogue protocol challenged the novice teachers&rsquo; personal biases, ethics, and decisions. Overall, the dialogue sessions created a space to help each of the novice teachers understand their options, responsibilities, and resources to improve their instructional praxis. This study recommends future research be conducted about the longitudinal impact of implementing a Critical Friends Group (CFG) dialogue protocol into the California induction credentialing process. This includes research into how to train mentors to facilitate group dialogue sessions, and collect and analyze student outcomes data.</p><p>

The 1944 Education Act left open how the secondary schools system was to be organised. This study traces the functioning of the system in the second largest local education authority in the country over a period of twenty years. The effects on administration resulting from changes in political control are documented. Certain policy decisions are described in considerable detail in order to analyse the variety of roles played by administrators at local and central government level, by elected representatives, by teachers and by parents. The thesis is organised into three main parts. First the general background is outlined, covering the relevant issues that arose during the war-time debate on education, the 1944 Education Act and national secondary schools policy since that Act, and the local government structure established after 1944 for the provision and administration of the education service in Middlesex. The second part reviews policy-making and administration within the framework of a selective schools system. Here the formulation of the early post-war development plans and the establishment of comprehensive schools are discussed. A detailed account is given of the administrative and political complexities arising from selection at the age of eleven. The third part deals with fee-paying day grammar schools to which a minority of pupils were sent at public expense. This section assesses the nature of the inter-dependency between the private and state sectors of education, and shows the extent to which this affected local education authority decisions at various levels. It is concluded that the impetus for change in the secondary schools system does not come from any single group in society, and that changes in administrative practice are closely related to changes in public opinion. Indeed, these two factors reinforce each other.

<p> The three studies in this dissertation were carried out with the intention of showing how Indigenous communities in critically endangered language settings can &ldquo;bring their language forward&rdquo; (Hornberger, 2008) by encouraging Indigenous youth participation and integrating technology into Indigenous language revitalization efforts in and out of educational settings. Indigenous youth play a pivotal role in determining the future of their languages (McCarty, et. al, 2009). However, youth are often situated in contexts where they no longer have adequate supports to learn and use their Indigenous languages (Lee, 2009; McCarty, et.al, 2006; Romero-Little, et.al, 2007; Wyman et al, 2013) and Indigenous languages are continuously marginalized and unequally contested by other dominant languages (Tupas, 2015; Zentz, 2017). The study within was situated in a multilingual and multicultural urban area in Indonesia marked by complex dynamics of language shift and endangerment in and out of school settings, where the teaching of Indigenous language at school was managed by the local government and limited as a subject to two hours a week. However, the study also documented multiple existing and potential resources for language revitalization, and demonstrated possibilities for building language revitalization efforts on youth language activism and the availability of technology in and out of schools. In the first study, I examined the implementation of Lampung teaching in schools in Bandar Lampung, looking at the outcomes, challenges, and achievements of existing programs, and available resources for further developing and improving the programs. In the second study, I present ethnographic vignettes of three Indigenous youth and young adult language activists from three different Indigenous communities in Indonesia, highlighting how study participants initiated wide-ranging language activist efforts, and suggested new ways to encourage other youth to participate in Indigenous language revitalization. In the third study, I invited eight young adult language activists to share their stories of language activism with students in three Lampung language classrooms in Bandar Lampung, Indonesia, and help facilitate students&rsquo; Lampung language learning and use in online spaces together with Lampung language teachers. In the three studies, I triangulated quantitative data from sociolinguistic surveys and writing and speaking tests with qualitative data from interviews, focus group discussions, observations and documentation of language use in on and offline contexts. Overall findings from the three studies show how positioning youth and young adults as a resource (Wyman, et. al, 2016), and building on young peoples&rsquo; engagement with contemporary technology as a tool (Thorne &amp; Reinhardt, 2008; Reinhardt &amp; Thorne, 2017), can help youth learn, use and advocate for their Indigenous languages, offering hope for supporting language vitality in the future. Findings also demonstrate the potential for top down and bottom up language planning initiatives (Hornberger, 2005) to support youth Indigenous language learning and use beyond classroom settings, and encourage youth participation in community efforts to reverse language shift.</p><p>