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The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of teacher stress and anxiety as reported by middle school classroom teachers in a selected school district in Education Service Center, Region 20, Texas. The selected district included 13 middle schools where a total of 825 teachers were surveyed. Survey responses were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine if there were significant differences (p>0.05) in response to questions involving selected demographic variables. Findings in the study included the following: 1. There was a statistical difference (p>0.05) in state and trait anxiety scores between teachers of TAKS subjects and teachers of non-TAKS subjects. 2. Within the two groups of teachers of TAKS subjects and teachers of non- TAKS subjects, there were statistical differences (p>0.05) in the state and trait anxiety scores, which support that a correlation exists between state and trait anxiety. 3. There was no statistical difference in state and trait anxiety scores between teachers of TAKS subjects and teachers of non-TAKS subjects in selected demographic variables used for the study. The following are recommendations for further study: 1. Only middle school teachers were used in a selected district for this study. A larger scale study should be conducted to enhance empirical data to determine if teacher stress and anxiety are impacted by state-mandated tests for all grade levels. 2. This study focused on data collected from 13 public schools. Similar studies should be conducted on private and charter schools. A comparison can then be made to determine if these schools show comparable results in teacher stress and anxiety. 3. The study involved only schools within the city limits. Further research could include studies in rural areas to determine if teachers exhibit similar state and trait anxiety scores as do counterparts within city schools. 4. Selected demographic variables in this study were found not to have a significant difference in teacher stress and anxiety between teachers of TAKS and teachers of non-TAKS subjects. Further studies should be conducted to determine if other demographic variables contribute to teacher stress and anxiety.

This longitudinal study has examined an Australian primary school's change processes as it has striven to transcend government-mandated environmental education in New South Wales. Woodridge Primary School initiated "Environment Woodridge", a comprehensive reform effort, in March of 2003. Since then the staff have worked to integrate programmatic, concept-based, experiential environmental learning throughout core curriculum.Eight years of change processes have been examined through three visits to the school over the span of three years. Woodridge Primary School is a friendly place where collaborative decision-making has paved the way for many successful initiatives bringing the school much recognition. The school's dedicated teachers, who have proven themselves skilled change agents, together with an enthusiastic and driven principal, have a definite vision for their school. Beyond manifesting a caring atmosphere where technology and the environment are major foci, the Woodridge staff has worked to maintain their identity as a unique and progressive school.Several researchers feel that the application of ecological understandings to school change processes will bring more fruitful reform efforts (Cooper, 1993, Fullan, 1997, Sarason, 1971, Selby, 2000). This research offers a new ecological framework for examining school culture and change processes. The interaction of energy flow, the cycling of mater, interrelationships, and change allow a natural system to flourish. Thus, these concepts were applied to the study of this school.Earthkeepers, the first program to be implemented in the Environment Woodridge reform effort, received tremendous support and created quite a buzz among the community when it was initiated in 2003. However, in 2006, energy surrounding the program had dissipated, the principal was the only member of the staff driving the program, and curricular integration and application of Earthkeepers concepts was falling away. The ripple effects caused by a government-mandated reform had thwarted Earthkeepers curricular integration. Further, Woodridge teachers felt that the increasing pressure of mandated reforms had made it difficult for them to maintain their own vision of the school. This research offers an in-depth examination of how a successful school has dealt with the impacts of mandated monoculture.

Mandated collaboration networks are an overly studied topic in the field of public administration and management, with the emphasis on these studies however focused on the failures to accomplish its collaborative aims. The role that mandated collaboration networks play today in enabling societies and governments alike,  to realize insurmountable challenges through their  collaborative efforts is however not being paid as much attention as it should be, yet through it, huge socio and economic benefits are derived.  This study recognizes the part mandated collaboration network plays by seeking to further investigate the role, power and trust play in influencing managers towards attaining efficiency. Data was collected from 7 managers from the public sector, with some public managers, tasked with the responsibility of playing oversight role and disbursing funds and other public managers tasked with implementing the services, all working towards achieving a regional goal within Västerbotten region. By conducting semi-structured interviews with them, the aim was to find out the daily encounters they faced in implementing their activities and achieving their goals. In order to analyze this study adequately, theories were derived from governance, principal agency, structuration theory, Long & Sitkin integrated trust and control framework  that enabled me to come up with a conceptual framework. The findings of this framework were particularly insightful in regards to how managers in mandated collaboration network can use trust in ensuring that they achieve their desired efficiency goals. The findings show both power and trust in mandated collaboration network play a coordinative and regulative role in ensuring that the goals are realized. Calculative trust alongside formal controls can be used to address challenges that managers encounter in realizing their goals. Relational trust can also be nurtured, however at an interpersonal level or with peers that perform the same activities but not at an institutional level such as the mandated collaboration network. Attaining efficiency in the mandated collaboration network is however also further compounded by contextual matters both internal and external that hamper its attainment.

The No Child Left Behind Act directs states to establish annual assessments to measure student mastery of state-established learning expectations. American public school students in grades 3 through 8, with few exceptions, take a series of state-mandated assessments each year; students in grades 10 through 12 take a series of state-mandated assessments at least once during those years. NCLB and state laws mandate considerable consequences if students do not perform well on the assessments. Research suggests that the standardized tests associated with NCLB affect curricula and pedagogy. What is not known is the level of control teachers believe they have over the curricular and pedagogic changes, and how that level of perceived control affects teachers’ perceptions of their ability to prepare students for the state-mandated tests. The purpose of this research study was to examine how teachers’ perceptions of autonomy affect their perceptions of efficacy regarding state-mandated testing. Data were collected with the Teaching Autonomy Scale (Pearson & Hall, 1993) and follow-up interviews with teachers from a suburban Connecticut public school district. The findings of the study suggest that teacher perceptions of autonomy do not significantly affect their perceptions of efficacy regarding the state-mandated tests associated with NCLB. The findings also suggest that teacher perceptions of autonomy do affect how teachers view the state-mandated standardized tests. Teachers with high perceived autonomy tended to report that the state-mandated tests had less of an impact on their classroom practices; had some discretion regarding how to use curricular materials in their classes; said that their students performed well on the state-mandated tests because the students engaged in authentic learning exercises that taught the students the skills and concepts assessed by the tests; tended to view the state-tests as assessments of the reading, writing, and math curricula; and tended to report that the state-mandated tests had mostly positive effects on education. Implications for practice, public policy, and further research are presented. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

The purpose of this research study was to determine the effectiveness of four different class schedules on students' academic achievement on end-of-course testing and whether a specific class schedule is more conducive to student academic achievement on state-mandated standardized tests. Georgia Department of Education provided archived public data for the 2009-2012 school years for a high school with an approximate population of 1,400 students. This high school implemented different class schedules; a 4x4 block schedule, A/B block schedule, a mixed block and traditional period day, or traditional period schedule. The main research question was focused on students' state standardized end-of-course test scores performance (N = 8,972) between students instructed using 4 different class schedules. Data were analyzed using an ANOVA to determine whether there was a significant difference attributable to a specific curricular schedule. Students' academic achievement on state standardized testing showed a significant increase in math for students instructed on the block and A/B block schedule. The results were viewed through the theory of constructivism, as it is used to advocate for forms of block scheduling to promote increased instructional techniques and student academic achievement. Although the schedules taken in totality not show an improved student academic performance based on the schedule under which instruction occurred, the individual course analysis reflected statistically significant differences in the content area of math. The findings of this research promote positive social change by adding to the understanding of the effectiveness of different schedules on student academic achievement.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate predictors of therapeutic alliance among a sample of 46 adults with substance misuse who were convicted of felony offenses and court-mandated to attend substance use treatment as part of their probation requirements. For this study, I purposed four hypotheses: (1) older participants will report a stronger therapeutic alliance with their therapist. (2) women will form a stronger therapeutic alliance with their therapist than men, (3) higher levels of distress will be associated with lower therapeutic alliance, and (4) people with more extensive criminal and substance use histories to have poorer therapeutic alliance. Data was collected quantitatively, utilizing a questionnaire method. Bivariate correlations were run on all study variables, as well as a multiple linear regression model. Results of this study found that older participants and number of months incarcerated predicted weaker therapeutic alliance. No statistically significant findings were found in relation to the DASS-21 or gender.

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