<p> Education reform has increased accountability measures for principals to ensure all students are achieving. Although student achievement should be the primary focus of a principal, the various responsibilities of the principalship can overshadow instruction. Due to the large number of students, multitude of course offerings, extra-curricular activities, discipline, and operational issues, many high school principals are inundated with responsibilities and challenges that may cause less time to be allocated to curriculum and instruction. These multiple responsibilities can also lead to principal burnout and high turnover rates. To understand how high school principals managed their time to ensure curriculum and instruction was a priority, a qualitative study was conducted. The researcher collected and analyzed data from semi-structured interviews, observations, and documents. The portraiture methodology was then employed to create portraits that would provide a realistic perspective of the high school principal&rsquo;s experience. The instructional principals in this study each had a co-principal to manage the principalship. This structure should have guaranteed curriculum and instruction would be a priority. However, there were still challenges that would disrupt the focus from instruction. Even with the division of responsibilities, principals felt ownership for anything that transpired on the campus. In spite of the demanding time requirements of the high school principalship, the leaders in this study were very dedicated to the role and student achievement</p>

<p> High levels of teacher turnover are the norm in American and International Overseas Schools. Studies in public and private schools in the United States established that high levels of teacher turnover are related to decreased academic performance, low levels of school climate and incur a financial burden. This study proposed the use of incentives to retain desirable teachers as a cost effective means to improve school climate and academic performance. Seventeen of forty-one American Overseas schools in Europe participated in this study. Teachers identified the incentives that are most influential on their decision to re-sign for at least one additional year. Heads of school identified the incentives they felt where most influential as well as those that they are allowed to use by tradition and school board policy. This study found re-signing bonuses, annual flights home and increased housing allowance to be the most influential incentives for teachers and the least accessible to heads of school.</p>

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The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to identify the differences, if any, between the perceptions held by urban school teachers of urban school principals’ administrative leadership behaviors and urban school principals’ self-assessments of their leadership behaviors and (2) to determine if the responses of the principals relative to school activities that implement the leadership behaviors correlated with their self-assessments. The study was limited to 209 teachers and 55 principals in the Atlanta Public School System, Atlanta, Georgia. Three instruments developed by Selective Research Incorporated were used: (1) the Teacher Administrator Questionnaire administered to teachers; (2) the Administrator Self-Assessment Questionnaire administered to principals; and (3) the Administrator Perceiver Interview, a face-to-face, taped, structured interview, administered to thirty of the fifty-five principals. These three instruments have a common basis; that is, each instrument is developed around the twelve life themes espoused by Selective Research Incorporated as characterizing administrative behaviors that facilitate the growth of teachers, which in turn facilitates the growth of students. These life themes are Mission, Manpower Development, Relator, Arranger, Catalyzer, Audience Sensitivity, Group Enhancer, Discriminator, Performance Orientation, Work Orientation, and Ambiguity Tolerance. Analysis of variance was used to test the first set of null hypotheses at the .05 level of significance as to the differences between the perceptions held by urban school teachers relative to urban school administrative leadership behaviors and the assessments of urban school principals of their administrative behaviors. The null hypothesis was rejected for each of the twelve hypotheses related to the twelve life themes. Teachers’ perceptions of principals’ administrative behaviors were different from the principals’ assessments of their own administrative behaviors. When the teachers were grouped by the variables sex, race, age, years of teaching experience, and academic training, they were consistent in their perceptions of principals’ administrative behaviors. However, teachers with more academic training rated the principals significantly higher on theme Delegator than did teachers with less academic training. When the principals were grouped by the same variables, only black principals and older principals differed in their self—ssessments. Black principals assessed themselves significantly higher than did white principals on seven of the twelve life themes, and older principals assessed themselves significantly higher than did younger principals on three of the twelve life themes. Pearson Correlation Coefficients were computed to test the second set of null hypotheses at the .05 level of significance as to whether the principals’ responses in a structured interview correlated with their self-assessments. The null hypothesis was accepted for each of the hypotheses. The principals’ responses during the interviews to questions regarding school activities that reflect administrative behaviors described by the twelve life themes did not correlate with their self-assessments relative to conducting school tasks in keeping with the twelve life themes. The major recommendations resulting from this study are as foIlows: I. A longitudinal study should be made using the teacher—rating and principal-assessment instruments as a basis for planning and conducting in-service training for administrators, followed by post administration of the instruments 2. On-going use of the procedure employed in this study can be used by individual school administrators in an effort to assess needs in relation to staff morale

This study examines the effectiveness of two reading interventionists and their teaching methodologies with students in grades K-2. The two interventionists were selected because they are the two teachers responsible for reading intervention in the primary grades. The students were selected because they are being served by the interventionists and they are performing below proficient in reading. Many students come into Title I schools underperforming for a variety of reasons. These include a lack of literacy resources in their homes and also a lack of outside experiences. Many parents in this school setting are working poor. They hold jobs, but do not have a much time to spend with their child due to making ends meet financially. A case study approach was used to gather data. The researcher conducted three observations on each teacher for a total of six observations. All three grades levels (K-2) were observed in a pull out setting. The observer utilized an observation instrument and also an interview protocol to interview both teachers. Additionally, student achievement was analyzed using DIBELS Reading 3D data. The data was collected at the beginning of the year and the end of the year and compared to measure student reading growth. The researcher found that both teachers regardless of age, race, and experience were effective at raising student achievement with at risk students. There were no significant differences in the achievement between males and females, between students who received free and reduced lunch and those who did not, or among ethnicities. First grade students however made significantly higher gains than the other two grade levels in this study. Both teachers showed 100% growth according to Reading 3D scores. Additionally, they agreed that given autonomy and time to plan and build trust with regular education teachers they were more successful. They believe in the importance of accountability and providing supports to underachieving students. The conclusions drawn from the findings suggest that various teaching methodologies which include differentiation, a focus on the big five components of reading, and small teacher to student ratios were successful. Strong connections with students were seen from each teacher as they both knew their children and their strengths and weaknesses. This research suggests that given full autonomy to deliver instruction without a scripted program, both teachers were highly effective. Districts should use teachers, such as the ones in this study, to conduct professional development trainings on best practices in literacy. Leaders are encouraged to give teachers more autonomy in their classrooms. Intervention should be considered in higher grade levels to bridge gaps in reading.

Hip-Hop educational research is critical to understanding the plight of black boys in public schools throughout the United States. This qualitative inquiry fills a void in the research literature that often fails to include the emic perspectives of the participants involved. To confront the challenges black male youth face in school studies that capture their salient voices about lived-experiences are crucial. Nonetheless, this critical ethnography provides a praxis for educational practitioners to use to gain valuable insight into the minds of school age black males. This study contributes to the canon of educational research by situating hip-hop culture and its various elements as independent variables that have a direct impact on black male youth and their attitude in school. This study is also different in that it adds three additional components to hip-hop culture that include fashion/style, language, and behavior. Historically, these three elements are discussed as a part of the four cornerstones: DJing, Rapping/emceeing, Breakdancing, and Graffiti Art. However, this investigation isolates these three as separate elements that should be included in discussions about hip-hop educational research due to their profound influence on the current generation of black male youth in public schools throughout the United States.

The purpose of this study is to examine dialectal diversity and to determine if there is a significant relationship between teachers' emphasis on standard English and their teaching styles and their perceptions about their teachers. This investigation involves a correlation study of the aforementioned independent and dependent variables in Cobb County Public School District in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. The independent and dependent variables were moderated in terms of ethnicity and gender. The findings of the study were that students perceived that their teachers' emphasis on standard English was significantly related to their teaching style and their expectations of students. Students perceived their teachers as having higher expectations for students that spoke standard English. In addition, students believed that their perceptions of teachers' emphasis on standard English resulted in teachers engaging them more with group work and classroom discussions. Further, a major finding in this study found that students concluded that they perceived teachers' emphasis on standard English was significantly related to their linguistic self-esteem. However, students held tightly to their dialects in spite of their perceptions. Thus, "dialect persistence" challenges traditional views about dialectal diversity and teachers' perceived impact on students' use of standard English. Thus, the findings of this study suggested that dialectal diversity among students critically effects their learning potential and potential for success within the educational environment.

In this study, the researcher explored the juncture between the community development and educational reform movements in distressed urban communities and investigated why institutions, such as school systems, are critical to the success of the community development movement. The study utilized a multimethod approach employing three qualitative data sources—interviews, observations, and document review—to access the implementation of comprehensive reform in urban renewal communities and to determine if the presence of reform strengthens the value of teamwork, collaboration, and communication. A major emphasis of this ethnography was the introduction of the Urban Change through Community Engagement Theoretical Framework that identifies the close relationships among three mediations of experience, which are exemplified as (a) critical connections to collaborate, coordinate, and communicate; (b) the exchange of ideas, which reflects attempts at understanding relations through decisions, judgments, perceptions, and responses; and (c) commitments, which make it possible to consider the resources of tradition and culture that ultimately leads to collaborative building, a collective agenda, equity, and excellence. The hermeneutic model of interpretation continually puts forth relevant questions to challenge older beliefs and reaches beyond issues, policies, and structures to establish a focused analysis. The researcher found that there are barriers that must be removed, which will aid policymakers, practitioners, and community activists in their work to close critical gaps that relate to race, class, and culture, consequently ensuring the success of the new model. Perhaps more importantly, the reason that the community development and school reform movements have not produced realistic models for educating students of color and radically reconstructing urban communities is because the movement does not effectively challenge structural forces that continually reproduce nihilistic conditions. Without attacking the structural barriers, the community development and school reform movements fail to challenge the causes of distress and underdevelopment in urban communities.

Over the past 20 years, numerous reform efforts have been made to improve the quality of teacher education programs at higher education institutions throughout the nation. Currently, limited research has been conducted to assess the factors that contribute to the PRAXIS I pass rates at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of specific academic and personality factors on the PRAXIS I pass rates at three HBCUs in the state of Georgia. Specifically, this study was conducted to address the student performance on PRAXIS I, to identify the perceptions of students who have taken PRAXIS I, and to determine possible strategies for improving PRAXIS I preparation programs at HBCUs. A 47—item survey instrument was administered to teacher education majors (N=121) who were classified as either sophomore, junior, or senior to identify their perceptions of selected academic and personality factors that might impact their performance on PRAXIS I. Using a Pearson correlation analysis to measure the significance between the dependent and independent variables of the study, the findings revealed that there were no significant relationships between the dependent variable, PRAXIS I pass rates, and the independent variables academic program quality, teacher education faculty quality, locus of control, student assistance and support, and academic support preparation programs. Significant, but weak relationships were found between PRAXIS I pass rates and the independent variables cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) and perceived self-efficacy. There was, however, a significant relationship between PRAXIS I pass rates and SAT score (r = .656 at the .000 level). A Step-wise multiple regression analysis indicated that SAT score, with a beta coefficient of .618and a t-value of 6.027, was a strong contributor to pass rates on PRAXIS I. The findings did indicate that scores on PRAXIS I increase significantly when students participate in PRAXIS Ipreparation activities prior to taking the exam. The findings of the study revealed that an increasing number of non-traditional students are pursing bachelor’s degrees in teacher education. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that HBCUs develop a teacher education institute that caters to the needs of all teacher education students from the pre-freshman to the post-baccalaureate levels. It is also recommended that policymakers increase the participation of HBCU faculty in the development of teacher certification and licensure exams. Finally, it is recommended that further research be done to examine additional personality factors that my contribute PRAXIS I pass rates as well as expand the study to HBCUs in other states.

This study examined parents' and teachers' perceptions of the relationship between teacher-parent interactions and teacher behavior in elementary schools in Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. The study was based on the premise that interactions between teachers and parents are related to teacher behavior in the classroom. Teacher-parent conferencing, teacherstudent interactions, and teacher expectation of students were identified as indicators of teacher behavior. Moderator variables included ethnicity, gender, and grade level. A survey was developed to gather data for this research investigation and the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. The researcher found that parents and teachers at the elementary school level reported a statistically significant relationship between teacher-parent interactions and the way teachers behave toward parents and students. The study also found some differences in perceptions between parents and teachers in certain areas. The conclusions derived from the findings of this study suggest that frequent and positive communications between teachers and parents are vital factors in students' well being. The results of this investigation clearly identifies the need for parents and teachers to stay in contact and positively so, with one another. Also, the study found that teachers tend to stay away from children whose parents are perceived to be negative and hard to deal with. Children stand to gain academically and socially if parents and teachers are complimentary of one another.