published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The purpose of this study is to document and analyze patterns of institutional constraints and supports that emerge when an urban elementary school, sponsored by a local university, is conceived and created in a high-stakes accountability environment. The study considers the regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive pressures placed upon the school in its early years. In its mission to provide a model of exemplary education to a minority population, it is influenced by institutions of governance, traditional schooling, the local community, the university, and others. The author documents the social and political context of the school's creation, in addition to the institutional pressures related to the school's regulatory environment, normative outlook, and cultural-cognitive beliefs and assumptions. This study uses New Institutional Theory as a framework for analyzing data from interviews, documents, and observations. The study is both a theoretical effort to demonstrate the value of New Institutional Theory in education research and a case study which attempts to answer the question: In what ways is the elementary school constrained or enabled by the institutional nature of its creation and on-going effort to be a demonstration site for best practices for elementary level education in an urban setting? This study provides a review of literature regarding New Institutional Theory and the many issues surrounding the current accountability movement. It also suggests avenues of research, including research for education policy development that may usefully address the needs of urban education today. The author aims to provide a case study that is rich enough in detail to provoke discussion of the challenges inherent in the creation of this new educational model, the university sponsored charter school in an urban environment. The author also wishes to draw a theoretical connection between the New Institutional Theory and the dynamics of teacher practice in today's political climate. The case study exemplifies the difficulty of policy implementation when the policy is not designed inclusively. Policymakers need to be sensitive to a diversity of viewpoints and sub-cultures actively operating in the environment in order to develop policy that will build local capacity for increased learning and school improvement. / text

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Duquesne University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-114) and index.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--James Madison University, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

This study had two major purposes: (a) to investigate and compare the perceptions of District Education Officers, principals and teachers about the management of secondary school effectiveness in Zimbabwe and (b) to probe contextualised secondary school management initiatives that could trigger school effectiveness in Zimbabwe. The study is divided into six interlinked chapters. In the first chapter, the problem of intractability in the management of school effectiveness in Zimbabwe's secondary schools is focused upon. The second chapter attempts to highlight the resource, social, economic, political and cultural realities of secondary school life in developing countries (including Zimbabwe) from which any theories of school management and school effectiveness must derive. The third chapter, explores different ways to understand and interpret the realities described in chapter two. To do this, the chapter focuses on ways in which "modern" and traditional" practices intersect in secondary school in Zimbabwe to produce bureaucratic facades. The fourth chapter, which is largely imbedded In the context theory, emerges from chapters one, two and three and focuses on the methodology and methods used in this study. Chapter five, which subsequently matures into a suggested framework for managing secondary school effectiveness in Zimbabwe, contains perceptual data which were obtained from 16 District Education Officers, 262 secondary school principals and 5 secondary school teachers drawn from 8 provinces, 4 provinces and 1 province respectively. Factor analysis of the existing situation In Zimbabwe's secondary schools produced 7 major variables that were perceived to be associated with secondary school management intractability In Zimbabwe: • lack of clear vision about what should constitute secondary school effectiveness; • management strategies that lack both vertical and horizontal congruence; • inappropriate organisational structures; • rhetorical policies and procedures; • inadequate material and non-material resources; • lack of attention to both internal and external environments of secondary schools; and • inadequate principal capacity-building. These perceptual data, subsequently crystallized into the following suggested management initiatives: • establishment of goals and outcomes achievable by the majority of learners; • establishment of clear and contextualised indicators for secondary schooling goals and outcomes; • establishment of democratic and flexible organisational and secondary school management processes; and • replacement of ''ivory tower", rhetoria~l policies and procedures with contextualised ones / Teacher Education / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Submitted by isabela.moljf@hotmail.com (isabela.moljf@hotmail.com) on 2017-08-29T14:05:27Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-08-30T14:36:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 0 / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-08-30T14:37:15Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-30T14:37:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2015-11-18 / Este trabalho avalia o impacto do Bônus de Desempenho Educacional (BDE), que constitui um incentivo pago aos funcionários das escolas da rede estadual de Pernambuco, mediante o cumprimento de metas educacionais pré-estabelecidas. A discussão teórico-metodológica passa por algumas pesquisas relevantes na compreensão dessa temática, com destaque para: a) os conceitos e elementos das políticas de responsabilização educacional em Brooke (2006, 2008); b) os resultados diversoS` em Hout e Elliott (2011) e Pontual (2008); c) as diferentes críticas e os efeitos não desejados em Freitas (2012) e Ravitch (2011); e d) alguns trabalhos recentes, que tentaram identificar os efeitos dessas políticas de bonificação no Brasil, como Oshiro e Scorzafave (2011) e Ferraz (2009, 2011). A questão principal é verificar se o BDE propiciou um melhor desempenho nas proficiências das disciplinas de Língua Portuguesa e Matemática entre 2008 0-201-2. Logo, o objetivo principal reside em demonstrar se ocorreu algum ganho e aferir, em caso positivo, a intensidade desse valor. A metodologia para tratar a questão principal emprega o uso de escores de propensão e pareamentos, em que cada escola do grupo de tratamento (rede estadual) "busca" um par no grupo de controle (rede municipal). Em um segundo momento, explora-se o impacto do BDE nas escolas estaduais de Pernambuco. Para tentar responder essa questão, foram realizadas análises descritivas e de regressão, com base nas respostas dos questionários de infraestrutura de escolas, alunos, professores e diretores. Os resultados gerais mostraram um maior número de escolas bonificadas entre 2008 e 2009, com o início da política. A partir de 2010,- há uma estagnação e queda desse número, havendo, no entanto, uma retomada dos patamares próximos aos dos anos iniciais em 2012. Com base nas análises dos pareamentos realizados, afere-se que as escolas estaduais obtiveram, no 9° ano do Ensino Fundamental, um ganho.de 5 (cinco) pontos em relação às escolas da rede municipal. As análises das respostas dos questionários, por sua vez, demonstram que o fato de a escola adotar um funcionamento com horário diferenciado, nas modalidades integral ou semi-integral, e apresentar menor depredação constituem elementos favoráveis ao recebimento de bônus. Também se deve destacar o próprio treinamento para os testes, que, apesar de favorecer o recebimento de bônus, ainda é um ponto controverso. / This study evaluates the impact of Educational Performance Bonus (BDE), which is an incentive paid to employees of schools of the state of Pernambuco, by fulfilling pre-established educational goals. The theoretical-methodological discussion goes through some relevant research in understanding this theme, highlighting: a) the concepts and elements of educational accountability policies in Brooke (2006, 2008); b) the various results in Hout and Elliott (2011) and Pontual (2008); c) the several complaints and unwanted effects in Freitas (2012) and Ravitch (2011); d) some recent studies that have attempted to identify the effects of these bonus policies in Brazil, as Oshiro and Scorzafave (2011) and Ferraz (2009, 2011). The main issue is to check if the BDE provided a better performance in the proficiency of Portuguese Language and. Mathematics disciplines between 2008 and 2012. Thus, the objective lies in demonstrating whether there has been some gain and measure, if so, the intensity of that. Thg methodology to address the main question employs the use of propensity scores and pairings, in which each school in the treatment group (state system) search a couple in the control group (municipal). In a second step, this work explores the impact of BDE in state schools in Pernambuco. Were performed descriptive and regression analysis to try to answer this question, based on responses from infrastructure questionnaires of schools, students, teachers and principals. The overall results show a greater number of subsidized schools between 2008 and 2009, with the start of the policy. As of 2010, there is a stagnation and a decrease of that number, there is, however, a return to levels close to those of the early years in 2012. Based on the pairing analysis performed it assesses that in the 9th year of elementary state schools, obtained five (5) points compared to municipal schools. The analysis of questionnaire responses, in turn, demonstrates that the fact of the school adopt a run with different time, in whole or in semi-integral methods, and have lower predation are elements favorable to the bonus receipt. It should also be noted that the teaching for the tests, which, despite favoring the bonus receipt, is still a controversial point.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis attempted to develop insight into why, contrary to expectation and predictions, learners in Rundu obtained better scores in a standardised English comprehension test than learners in Katima Mulilo, given that the conditions of teaching and learning were judged to be least favourable in Rundu. / South Africa

I applied McAdam's political process model for social movement analysis to examine the level of collective resistance to high stakes testing in California, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, and Texas from 1985 to 2005. Data on protest occurrences in those states were gathered from online news reports, anti-testing organization websites, and electronic interviews from individuals associated with the anti-testing movement. Variables used in the analysis included each state's key educational accountability legislation, political affiliations of state political leaders, state political leaders' support of accountability issues, student ethnicity profiles, poverty indicators, dropout rates, and collective bargaining laws. I examined the relationship between those variables and protest development in terms of the political process model's three components: framing processes, mobilizing structures, and political opportunity. I concluded California and Massachusetts, with their strong networks of anti-testing organizations, showed more instances of protest than any other state. Slightly fewer protests occurred in New York. Texas showed few instances of anti-testing protests and there were no reports of protests in South Carolina. There was evidence of framing efforts from both proponents and opponents of high-stakes testing, with proponents' framing efforts tending to be more covert. I found that anti-testing protests were primarily initiated by middle-class and affluent groups of citizens, who demonstrated greater political access but whose major concerns differed by state. Evidence showed that although all five states have Republican governors, protests emerged more readily in the three states whose legislatures had a Democratic majority. I found that protest efforts were inhibited when protesters faced serious consequences as a result of their actions. In addition, state political leaders began to take part in the anti-testing protest movement once the state became subject to sanctions under the strict performance requirements imposed by No Child Left Behind. Overall, the political process model proved to be a highly efficient analytical tool in this context.

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