Thesis advisor: Lauri Johnson / District leadership has been found to have a measurable effect on student achievement by creating conditions within which teachers and administrators frame their daily work with children. The superintendent is uniquely poised to build the needed infrastructure of support and assure its alignment with the philosophy and mission of the district and, in turn, with the work of the school. By attending to the habits and conditions that allow a staff to work as a unit, superintendents are able to contribute to the development of a community of professional learners within and among district schools. This qualitative case study analyzed district leadership practices that support ongoing teacher growth in a Massachusetts school district by examining the work of the superintendent and the impact of his leadership on the ongoing development of a community of professional learners at the district and school level. Data included interviews with teachers and administrators, artifact analyses, and observations of district meetings. Findings reveal the superintendent's use of a PLC process to model and provide support to school-level leaders by encouraging broad-based participation in the skillful work of leadership; establishing a clear vision which resulted in program coherence; fostering a system of inquiry-based accountability that informed decision making and practice; and nurturing organizational relationships that involved high district engagement and low bureaucratization which supported school-based collaborative teacher growth. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Collaborative action was undertaken in response to the continued criticisms of formal coach education. It is strongly felt that we can no longer merely criticise what is not happening in terms of coach learning, but a key requirement now is to demonstrate other options. In the UK up to 80% of coaches are volunteers who reach out to around eight million people involved in sport. This valuable workforce is largely forgotten and the bureaucratic structures which oversee formal coach education are merely concerned with quotas and income generation. A fundamental problem with formal coach education is the way in which learning is decontextualized and a knowledge deficit remains. Coaching is multifarious and complex and we need to consider better ways in terms of how we prepare people for this. The Coach Learning and Development (CLAD) programme was devised and implemented in October 2013 to May 2014 at a community rugby club in Wiltshire. Over this 8 month period a range of strategies for coach learning were integrated into CLAD to evidence methods which benefitted the transition of knowledge(s). The theoretical endeavours of Basil Bernstein are introduced to SCR for the first time, particularly the ‘pedagogical device’ to understand, theorise and develop insight into the type of educational contexts that can better support the learning of volunteer coaches. Findings suggest that CLAD as collaborative action learning was successful in transforming coaches to engage with more positive and contemporary forms of coaching pedagogy. Namely ‘game based pedagogies’ argued to be theoretically underpinned by the ‘constraints based approach’. Empirical insights are given in the hope that this can spur further methodological enquiries that move beyond the mere criticism of coach education. SCR needs research endeavours that shift beyond the ‘bricolage’ where knowledge is transferred into the real world to influence real change. Therefore, the findings also draw on the pivotal features of CLAD to not only support more value laden research commitments, but to inform policy developments and practice that can re-configure more successful outcomes for coach education and coaches.

This study analyzed all published research articles examining the relationship between professional community efforts (plc) (used here as a broader category than, but inclusive of, Professional Learning Communities or PLCs) and student academic achievement (SAA) that reported primary research findings published before January 1, 2015. This study specifically identified primary, quantitative studies of SAA that in context are plc, but which may or may not be labeled as such, that were published before January 1, 2015. Analyses examined how many studies of plc and SAA were of a descriptive, correlational, causal comparative, quasi-experimental,or experimental design type, evaluated the internal validity of their findings, and assessed the generalizability of each study based on normative expectations of implementation and study design type. Each of the 57 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were evaluated using a Design and Quality of Implementation Matrix. Findings indicated that none of 57 primary research efforts examining plc and SAA exhibited acceptable levels of generalizability. For articles demonstrating high design and implementation scores, threats to external validity are presented and discussed. Recommendations are provided for improving the generalizability of research in plc.

The purpose of this case study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of what factors are most influential to the successful integration of technology. In the Junior High with the highest technology usage in a preexisting statewide technology initiative, data were collected from six teachers and one administrator through interviews and observations. Teachers primarily highlighted factors related to support and product functionality as influential. This study also examines factors such as change management, learning environment, and student motivation to understand the relationship of these factors to teacher perceptions of factors that influence technology integration. Though many influential factors emerged that all seemed highly interrelated, the most common theme that emerged across all factors was that letting teachers show each other how to use the technology to make life easier and improve learning for students may result in higher levels of technology integration.

This thesis recounts the history of the Portland Learning Community, an experimental institution of higher education founded in 1970 by a group consisting mostly of former faculty and students at Reed College. The Learning Community was funded by the Carnegie Corporation and affiliated with Antioch College.

The Advanced Placement program allows high school students who pass an end of course Advanced Placement exam to receive college credit for college level courses completed during high school. The problem addressed by this project study is that, in the school under study, there is low enrollment in Advanced Placement classes even though many students qualify for these courses. Using a case study research design and collecting qualitative data, this study examined the influence parents have on student course selection. This study followed the theories of Epstein which indicate that involved parents positively influence their children's academic achievement. The research questions centered on the level of parental involvement in their child's course selections and their knowledge of Advanced Placement courses. Parents identified ways the school could help them be more aware of student academic choices available to their children. Data for these questions was gathered from 9 face-to-face interviews and 1telephone interview. An analysis schema, including theme coding and trend analyzing of the data, answered the questions and revealed the parents had no knowledge of the Advanced Placement courses, and they need direct communication from the school. The research led to the development of a Parental Learning Community. The project emanating from this study is a 3-part workshop. In part 1, parents learn how important their involvement is in their child's academic success. Part 2 informs parents about Advanced Placement classes. Part 3 obtains parent commitment to join the Parental Learning Community and keep it active. Positive social change may include increasing graduation rates, identifying ways schools can better support parental involvement, and preparing graduates for successful post-secondary education.

U.S. educational leaders struggle with declining mathematics achievement among students as compared to other countries. The problem for this study was low standardized mathematics scores in one district in a major city in the Southwestern United States. The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed method project study was to analyze the effectiveness of professional learning communities (PLCs) on the mathematics critical thinking pedagogy among teachers in 2 elementary schools. The conceptual framework focused on work by Olivier, Hipp, Huffman, and Hord on the efficacy of PLCs for improving teacher pedagogy. Research questions addressed in this study were designed to explore teachers' perceptions of PLCs according to Olivier, Hipp, and Huffman's 6 professional learning characteristics for improving math critical thinking pedagogy, as well as the efficacy of the structure of the PLCs. Data were obtained via open-ended interviews and focus groups, and employed descriptive analysis using grounded theory where conceptual categories emerged from the survey data. Likert scale data were also gathered via a survey, which was triangulated to form conclusions regarding the research questions. Key findings indicate that teachers perceive PLCs positively; however, they indicated the need for more time and administrative support for mathematics PLCs. The project that resulted from this research is a PLC professional development session that guides schools' mathematics PLCs and addresses critical thinking pedagogy and the need for school and district support for mathematics PLCs. Social change may result by improving teachers' mathematics critical thinking pedagogy and giving students mathematics instruction needed to compete in a global economy.

This study addressed a prevalence of low achievement in science courses in an urban school district in Georgia. National leaders and educators have identified the improvement of science proficiency as critical to the future of American industry. The purpose of this study was to examine parent involvement in this school district and its contribution to the academic achievement of successful science students. Social capital theory guided this study by suggesting that students achieve best when investments are made into their academic and social development. A collective case study qualitative research design was used to interview 9 parent participants at 2 elementary schools whose children scored in the exceeds category on the Science CRCT. The research questions focused on what these parents did at home to support their children's academic achievement. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview protocol and analyzed through the categorical aggregation of transcribed interviews. Key findings revealed that the parents invested time and resources in 3 practices: communicating high expectations, supporting and developing key skills, and communicating with teachers. These findings contribute to social change at both the local and community level by creating a starting point for teachers, principals, and district leaders to reexamine the value of parent input in the educational process, and by providing data to support the revision of current parent involvement policies. Possibilities for further study building upon the findings of this study may focus on student perceptions of their parents' parenting as it relates to their science achievement.

The purpose of this study was to measure the quantity, quality, and types of collaboration amongst K-12 music teachers in the state of Iowa. Survey responses (N = 97) were analyzed and grouped according to teacher characteristics. This sample of music educators reported the least collaboration on post-instruction, evaluative activity, such as reviewing assessments, data collection and analysis, and peer-observation. Respondents rated other parts of the collaborative process, such as group dialogue, decision-making, and action-taking, more highly. Teachers with a higher level of education reported more collaboration than less educated counterparts, while band teachers reported lower levels of collaboration quality compared to their choral and general music peers. Respondents also indicated that collaboration tends to increase with job continuity, but declines somewhat after teachers reach 25 years in the same school. Middle school teachers indicated the highest levels of collaboration, while K-12 teachers reported the lowest. Further, those teaching in larger schools recorded higher levels of collaboration than their smaller school colleagues. These results suggest that this group of K-12 music teachers in Iowa engage in moderate levels of collaborative activity overall and moderate to low levels of evaluative activity. Demographic results also reveal strengths and weaknesses of various subgroups’ collaborative habits. Researchers have found that high quality teacher collaboration improves teaching and learning outcomes. These results have implications for administrators providing professional development, preservice teacher educators, professional organizations, and current practitioners in the field who desire to implement more and higher quality collaboration for the purpose of instructional improvement.

Disruptive behaviors in elementary schools are a serious concern for teachers. With mounting pressure from school district administrations, state and federal government agencies, and the communities in which these schools reside, teachers often struggle to determine the best path to achieve consistent student engagement. When inappropriate behaviors are not managed effectively, academics suffer. Positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) have been shown to be effective in reducing such behaviors. Professional Learning Communities (PLC) have also become very common in schools as teachers are organized into teams to collaborate and plan learning opportunities and methods for the instruction and assessment of students. The present study examined the effects of PBIS implementation through the PLC on the teaching staff in 7 elementary school classrooms. This is a case study in which selected teachers were observed and interviewed to determine their level of and concerns regarding implementation and subsequent adoption level. Results indicate that the teachers all have unique experiences with PBIS and related interventions that either reduce their use or support their belief that it is an effective system. Their PLC collaboration is also discussed as it was proposed to be the medium and data catalyst for implementation. Limitations and implications of this study for researchers and practitioners are discussed.