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Thesis (M.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

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The purpose of this study was to identify factors that contribute to the differences in teachers' and principals' perceptions of the principal's leader behavior. Data were collected from a systematically selected sample of principals in the 19,046 public high schools in the database of a commercial school mailing list company. Survey packets were sent to the principals. One hundred sixteen survey packets were returned with 106 being usable. Principals completed Part I of a questionnaire designed to measure the principal's perceptions of his or her own leader behaviors. Each principal was asked to purposely select six teachers"one in English, math, science, social studies, vocational education, and special education"and have them complete a questionnaire to measure the teachers' perceptions of the principal's leader behavior. The criterion variables were determined by subtracting the mean teachers' response from the principal's response on each item for each school. The mean teachers' responses on Part II of the questionnaire served as measures of the predictor variables. Principal components analyses were conducted to reduce the data and create meaningful scales. The data were then statistically treated three different ways: (1) by identifying the criterion variables using the difference scores, (2) by identifying the criterion variables using the difference scores when principals' responses only from the questionnaires were used, and (3) by identifying the criterion variables using the difference scores when teachers' responses only from the questionnaires were used. Predictor variables were the principal's modeling of ideal behavior, the principal's skill in teacher evaluation, the teachers' overall awareness of the school, the teachers' perceptions of discipline procedures, and the demographic categories of principal's and teachers' experience, principal's gender, school size, and school type. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine relationships between the criterion and predictor variables. Principals' modeling of ideal behavior was a significant predictor of every criterion variable in every model. Principals' skill in teacher evaluation was a significant predictor of the principal's quality of communication in every model. School awareness, discipline procedures, and demographic variables were not significant predictors of the criterion variables. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to provide data that could be used to improve staff development in Virginia's Regional Alternative Education Centers. Characteristics of participants and of centers were identified as factors to investigate. The personal characteristics of the participants were age, gender, position, attitude toward staff development, and total years of experience in education. The center characteristics were location, age of center, grade levels served, number of staff employed, number of students served, number of special education students served, budget for staff development, pooling of resources, center leadership, number of certified general education teachers, and number of certified special education teachers. Quality of staff development was measured on the following dimensions: learning environment, time for learning, planning, evaluation, materials, techniques, funding, content, rewards for participation, use of adult learning principles, and transfer of learning. The design was both quantitative and qualitative. A questionnaire was mailed to 99 administrative coordinators, teachers, and counselors in 26 participating regional centers. Quantitative responses were analyzed with descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and multiple regression. The qualitative phase involved three focus groups with four participants in each group " one administrative coordinator, one counselor, and two teachers. Three centers were chosen at random from three different geographic regions in Virginia " urban, suburban, and rural. Nominal group techniques were used to create a prioritized list of recommendations for staff development at the centers. Factors that best predicted the quality of staff development were the quality of center leadership, attitude toward staff development, and grade levels served. The prioritized lists of strategies from the focus groups included funding for inservice travel, providing training during workday, using teambuilding techniques, working with stakeholders, increasing number of staff employed, and having stakeholders provide timely services. A major implication of the study was that one theory with independent predictor variables did not relate to the quality factors. A more accurate description evolved"a family of theories. The family consists of three separate theories, with each theory identified by the predictor variables that were found to be associated with specific quality variables. / Ed. D.

Advocates of privatizing education suggest that traditional public schools are not adequately preparing students for college, career readiness, and global citizenship (Lobosco, 2019; Schneider and Berkshire, 2020; Tienken and Mullen, 2016). Charter school supporters believe charter school students perform better than public school children on state standardized tests (Lubienski and Lubienski, 2014). Advocates for traditional public schools promote the idea that there are no significant differences between public and charter schools in academic achievement (Chen, 2020b; Fischler, 2021). This study compares public and charter elementary school students in terms of their reading and math assessment scores, both as measured by the Virginia Standard of Learning (SOL) for the 2018-2019 school year. Data were collected and analyzed on 642 students enrolled in three of Virginia's elementary charter schools and three traditional public schools in Loudoun County and Richmond City. SOL assessment data for the public and charter schools were compared for the overall student population per grade level to determine if there is a significant difference for the 2018-2019 school year. A two-way ANOVA was utilized in this study. Results indicated no significant differences in the reading mean SOL assessment scores between traditional public elementary and public charter school students: F (1, 636) = .119, p = .730. Additionally, results showed no significant interaction between school type and grade level between traditional public elementary and public charter schools: F (2, 636) = 1.076, p = .342. However, findings revealed a significant difference in the reading SOL assessment scores between grade levels of traditional public elementary schools and public charter schools: F (2, 636) = 4.473, p = .012. Furthermore, results from the math analysis indicated no statistical differences in math SOL scores between traditional public elementary schools and public charter schools: F (1, 636) = .000, p = .997. Also, findings indicated no significant difference in the math SOL scores between the grade levels of traditional public elementary and public charter schools: F (2, 636) = .520, p = .595. / Doctor of Education / Advocates of privatizing education suggest that traditional public "brick-and-mortar" schools are not adequately preparing students for college, career readiness, and global citizenship (Lobosco, 2019; Tienken and Mullen, 2016; Schneider and Berkshire, 2020). Charter school supporters believe charter school students perform better than public school children on state standardized tests (Lubienski and Lubienski, 2014). Advocates for traditional public schools promote the idea that there are no significant differences between public and charter schools in academic achievement (Chen, 2020b; Fischler, 2021). This study compares public and charter elementary school students in terms of their reading and math assessment scores, both as measured by the Virginia Standard of Learning (SOL) for the 2018-2019 school year. Data were collected and analyzed on 642 students enrolled in three of Virginia's elementary charter schools and three traditional public schools in Loudoun County and Richmond City. SOL assessment data for the public and charter schools were compared for the overall student population per grade level to determine if there is a significant difference for the 2018-2019 school year. This study did not reveal any significant differences in reading and math SOL scores between traditional elementary public schools and public elementary charter schools. However, findings in this study revealed significant differences in reading SOL scores on average among grade levels. Conversely, findings did not reveal any differences in math SOL assessment scores on average between grade levels of traditional public elementary school and public elementary charter school students.

The prevailing purpose of this dissertation is the preparation of an historical account of public schools in Roanoke County from 1870 to 1920. The primary focus rests with the cultural, economic, political, and geographic factors that affected the evolvement of public schools in Virginia relative to Roanoke County Public Schools, a system in southwest Virginia. Within this framework the system is described as part of a valley-wide setting, where citizens, educators, events, funding, curriculum, and other components played an integral part in the shaping of the current system. The methodology employed in this study is qualitative in approach and utilizes recognized historical and ethnographic techniques. The Guba model, which allows for periods of discovery followed by refinement and verification, is suited to the nature of this study. The researcher initially conducts inquiry designed to discover data and generate ideas. After the initial inquiry period, the researcher refines and corroborates data. The cycle of broad inquiry followed by more critical analyses of specific occurrences can repeat itself several times. Verification is accomplished through the validation of sources based on triangulation, a method of cross-checking in which three or more sources are used to corroborate findings. Data is collected in an eclectic fashion, using the nature of the research questions to determine appropriate techniques. Primary sources are used when available, supplemented by secondary sources. Outcomes have not been predetermined but evolved as the research progressed. General interview guidelines have been used, but remained felxible enough to allow for probing and expansion of relevant topics. It is anticipated that the history of Roanoke County Public School from 1870- 1920 will -provide an accounting of historical developments within this time frame; -enrich the legacy it leaves to future generations; -develop an appreciation for the obstacles and trials that people overcame; -create as accurate an interpretation as possible from available data; -develop a sense of the past as a precursor to the present; -provide an avenue for practical use of this knowledge in developing a better future plan; -provide an historical account of public school education in Roanoke County that has heretofore been meager; -contribute to a broader body of historical information on Roanoke County / Ed. D.

Evangelical Christians have in recent years manifested great dissatisfaction with public schooling. Because evangelicals represent a large segment of the American populace, their dissatisfaction has had a significant effect on the functioning of the public schools. More importantly, dissatisfaction on the part of evangelicals has led them to form private Christian schools which have drawn pupils from the public ones. This study has analyzed the problems evangelicals face in public education, the historical framework of those problems, and the attempts currently being made to solve them. This has been done from an evangelical perspective. In addition to reviewing the literature available on the subject, the author utilized information gleaned from a study of 31 evangelical youth, and a survey of evangelical educators representing all evangelical colleges offering a degree in education. The study dealt with problems stemming from failure within evangelicalism as well as problems attributable to the public schools. Conclusions and proposals for change were stated based upon the information provided in the study. Proposals included the suggestion that preparations be made for the possibility of a complete evangelical break with public education should immediate and effective efforts not begin to regain evangelical confidence. / Ed. D.

Experts have suggested that a restructuring of the organization of schools is one way to improve the teaching profession. One way to bring about such a restructuring is to allow teachers the opportunity to build collegial relationships. Advocates of peer coaching believe that it can be used to bring about this opportunity to build collegial relationships and allow for the restructuring of schools in order to create a more professional working environment in which teachers work and learn together. This restructuring should decrease isolation of teachers by creating a working environment of trust and allowing for greater resources sharing among the teachers. In turn, teachers' levels of job satisfaction should increase which ultimately should result in better teaching. However, there is little, if any, empirical support for this claim. Administrators who are interested in restructuring schools need information about the implications of building such collegial relationships on the profession of teaching and the working environment of the school. In order to provide this information, 565 teachers in a large suburban Virginia public school system that had implemented peer coaching for a two-year period were surveyed. A questionnaire was used to document the ‘teachers' levels of job satisfaction and perceived usefulness of peer coaching, as well as their perceptions about the degree to which trust and sharing of resources (interactions) existed in their schools. The data collected from the questionnaire was entered into a computer using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS^x). Specifically, descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and Pearson product-moment correlations were used to describe selected variables and V explore interrelationships between the variables. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine to what extent differences existed between elementary, middle, and high school teachers on the selected variables in the study. Based on the results, the teachers agreed that peer coaching was useful and that they trusted each other. Their participation in resources sharing tended to be more infrequent than frequent. They were satisfied with their teaching jobs. Further, it was found that pairs of the variables were positively and moderately correlated except for a weak correlation between resources sharing and job satisfaction. This meant that, on the whole, the more useful teachers found peer coaching, the more satisfied they were with their jobs, along with perceiving greater degrees of trust and resources sharing. No differences were found to exist among the three levels of teachers on the A usefulness of peer coaching or job satisfaction. All levels differed on the degree of trust that existed in their school. Middle school teachers differed from elementary on the frequency of resources sharing. In conclusion, peer coaching appears to have reduced isolation among the teachers and provided teachers the opportunity to learn about their teaching on the job. Further training in feedback skills and group process skills along with more opportunities to observe one another are recommended as ways to further reduce isolation and create conditions in which teachers are more able to collaboratively solve problems. / Ed. D.