The Post-Provisioning Model (PPM) is a Resource Allocation Model (RAM) used by the Department of Education to optimize the distribution of available educator resources to public schools. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education adopted the PPM to distribute the total available posts to all public schools in an equitable, transparent and resource-efficient manner. The PPM is a formula-driven model that primarily allocates educators, as human capital, to public schools based on learner enrolment numbers. In addition to allocating teaching staff, the PPM allocates the School Management Team (SMT) to each school. The outcome of the PPM formula is called the Post-Provisioning Norm (PPN). The implementation of the PPM has presented various challenges in the management of public schools. The primary aims of this study were to investigate any possible weaknesses of the PPM and to critically evaluate and explore school managers’ views of the PPM in the management of public schools. For the purposes of this study a complex probability sampling procedure was used. The participants were chosen from the principals within KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education in iLembe District. A sample size of 217 principals participated in the survey, which was drawn from the population of 420 school principals. The literature review undertaken in chapter 2 and the field research conducted in chapter 4 revealed that there is a gap between the ideals of the PPM and its implementation. It was found that there was a poor understanding of the technical aspects of the PPM formula among principals of public schools. There is evidence of equitable quantitative distribution of posts through the PPM. However, it was discovered that the PPM does not take into account the distribution of qualified educators. Hence, some of the allocated posts in public schools were often filled by under-qualified or non-qualified staff. The appointment of qualified educators was skewed. Further findings of this study revealed, amongst others, the inability of the PPM to provide for and promote the needs of a diverse curriculum in rural areas, and the inability to factor in and balance for the variable that some public schools raise millions of rands in school fees, which enables the advantaged schools to employ additional educators. The primary recommendations of this study are that principals be trained, on an annual basis, on the workings of the PPM and that the South African schools Act No.84 of 1996 must be amended to grant authority to the Head of Department of the province to appoint and deploy qualified educators to public schools. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

ABSTRACT ROSS CARTER Traffic-related Pollution Exposure Assessment of Fulton County and Atlanta Public Schools (K-12) in Proximity to Major Highways and Expressways Background: A number of studies have linked traffic-related pollutant exposures to asthma in children. Health conditions such as asthma can contribute to school absenteeism and missed learning opportunities as well as place a major burden on health resources. Although children spend a significant amount of time in school, few states have adopted school siting policies that prevent the placement of schools near major highways. Furthermore, schools often fail to take appropriate steps (e.g. adequate HVAC and air filters) to address indoor air quality concerns for students. The study was designed to identify the number of schools and the number of children in Fulton County and Atlanta Public Schools that attend schools in proximity to major highways and expressways where they are likely to have greater exposure to traffic pollution. The results of this study can be used to build an evidence base for stricter school siting guidelines, for planning safe routes to school, and for mitigation strategies to limit pollutant exposures for children who attend high-risk schools. Methods: Highway, expressway, county, and school shapefiles were overlaid using ArcMap in ArcGIS version 10.1 (ERSI, USA). A circular buffer with radius 0.5 mile (~ 800 m) was created for each school. ArcMap geospatial tools were used to identify major highways and expressways with these buffers. Results: A total of 119 of the 225 schools in Fulton County and Atlanta Public school districts were identified as being located within 0.5 miles of a major highway or expressway. Of the 119 schools meeting the intersection criteria, 72.2% (86 of 119 schools) were designated Title I. Conclusion: Approximately half of schools were located within 0.5 miles of a major highway or expressway. This may result in elevated levels of traffic-related air pollution on the school campuses and potential increased exposure for students. Proper air filter selection, HVAC maintenance, and air quality programs as well as land use, planning, and assessment measures are recommended for these schools to help mitigate exposures.

In my critical discourse analysis of The Intown Academy's (TIA) various documents and media—including the school's charter petition, charter, Parent-Student Handbook, and website—I articulate the school's subjectifying narratives and analyze how these narratives function to (re)produce particular subjects according to tropes of threat/crisis, opportunity, corporate/non-profit benevolence, and personal responsibility. Identifying these subjects, I analyze how they are effected/affected by the practice of education at TIA. To this end, I examine the various practices of school discipline codified in the Parent and Student Contracts in TIA's 2012-2013 Parent Student Handbook, including mandates for the wearing of school uniforms, volunteer labor, and reorientations of the family and the private space of the home. I conclude that TIA discursively produces indebted subjects whose educational and economic survival depends on the reorientation of their lives in service to the school.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of Educational Leadership

By 2014, Indiana public schools are required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and Public Law 221, the state's K-12 comprehensive accountability system, to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) by assuring that all students achieve proficiency in mathematics and language arts, demonstrate high attendance and graduation rates, and under the direction of a broad-based school/community steering committee submit an improvement plan to the Indiana Department of Education and a state-approved accrediting agency. According to various school improvement models, the school/community steering committee should include all stakeholder groups: administrators, licensed and non-instructional staff, parents, community members, and when appropriate students. However, non-instruction staff members are many times excluded or under-represented in the school's efforts to improve. This descriptive study was conducted to investigate the extent to which non-instructional public school employees are included in school improvement efforts. A survey was emailed to randomly selected public elementary, middle, and high school principals in Indiana. The researcher sought to understand the degree to which non-instructional staff participate in school improvement groups and activities, the tasks assigned and completed by non-instructional staff that participate, factors that limit participation in school improvement activities, and principals' perceptions regarding the value added by non-instructional staff to school improvement efforts. Responses from the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The researcher found few studies in the current literature that investigated the role non-instructional staff play in school improvement. The findings from this study were discussed and used to establish new understanding in the area of stakeholder involvement, specifically with non-instructional employees, in the school improvement process. Recommendations were made to administrators and school improvement teams for ways to include non-instructional staff in efforts to achieve the school's goals as well as a recommendation for additional research in this area. / Department of Educational Leadership

Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that may have influenced the decision to implement tablet technologies within classroom environments. These factors were grouped and limited to three distinct areas: social and political influences, perceived benefits of implementation, and influence of varying types of hardware, software and operating systems. Results indicate that if technology leaders felt external pressures to keep pace with technological advancements of other corporations, they were more likely to report pressures from the other social political factors being studied. Multiple perceived educational benefits were identified including improvement to classroom instruction, increased differentiation of instruction, enhanced collaboration, better communication and positive public responses. Hardware preferences were found to describe the characteristics found in the Apple line of products. Despite the identification of these perceived educational benefits, a majority of those responding felt that tablet devices did not impact student testing achievement. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of the study was to determine at the school district level, what relationships exist, if any, between Indiana school corporation SAT mean scores (a limited output measure of student achievement and aptitude) and six intervening input variables: (1) operating expenditures per pupil, (2) instructional expenditures per pupil, (3) per capita income, (4) corporation enrollment size, (5) degree of population density, and (6) at-risk index characteristics.The study provided a review of the research and related literature on relationships between high school SAT scores, public school expenditures and other intervening input variables. The study addressed questions about relationships and effects of expenditures and other input variables upon SAT scores. The need to examine individual district variation in SAT performance was motivated by the influence comparisons of SAT scores have on public perception of education and the resultant impact on state and local education policy.A principal goal of the study was to add to the understanding of the relationships between public expenditures directed to education, specific demographic and compositional student characteristics, and education performance as measured in SAT mean scores.The study incorporated Pearson product moment correlations and stepwise multiple regression procedures to determine the existence of variation in outputs accounted for by variation in the specific inputs. Initially a Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to test each of the six null hypotheses. Statistical significance was sought in each instance at the .01 level. Stepwise multiple regressions were then used to examine the SAT output relationships with compounded variables.The following conclusions were drawn from the findings and the summary tables reported in the study: 1. Low per capita income is associated with a decline in SAT scores and higher per capita income to associate with higher SAT scores.2. Increased performance on the SAT is not dependent upon the amount spent in total General Fund expenditures per pupil, however, an increased amount spent on instruction tends to raise SAT scores.3. A high at-risk index presence is associated with lower SAT scores whereas a low at-risk index tends to be associated with higher SAT scores.4. Urban density does not effect SAT scores in a statistically significant manner.5. The size of the school corporation has no relationship to SAT scores.Overall total General Fund expenditures were not shown to significantly affect SAT scores, although such costs were not shown to be detrimental in the multiple regression analysis. More importantly, instructional expenditures per student were demonstrated to be one of three significant factors affecting higher SAT scores. The other significant variables were poverty and high at-risk factors, which were shown to be associated with lower SAT score levels.The data and the study strongly suggest that, if school authorities, legislatures, private business and parents continue to use the SAT scores as a prime barometer and target for educational success, we should immediately begin to compensate dramatically for the atrisk and per capita income deficits in individual students and impacted schools, and maximize financial resources into proven classroom instructional strategies. If the public wishes to narrow the gap in SAT scores, then policy makers need to examine the educational-environmental liabilities of low income, single parent home, and the appropriate level of instructional cost which will generate acceptable SAT results. / Department of Educational Leadership

The major intent of the investigation was to determine the existing level of cost differentials for selected education program categories in the state of Indiana. The categories of prekindergarten and kindergarten, grades one through six, grades seven through-twelve, mentally handicapped, physically handicapped, compensatory and vocational education were selected as program categories for study. Secondary concerns were to describe the patterns of 1971-72 public school funding for the state of Indiana by government level and to recommend a new concept for distribution of state funds to Indiana local schools based on the developed program cost differentials.Sources of revenue were taken from Report of Statistical Information for Indiana School Corporations 1971-72 School Year for the 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72 school years. Percentages as to major categories of revenue were computed for the above years.The Education Cost Differential Basic Data Instrument was developed for collecting data to achieve the major purpose of the study. Seventy-four Indiana school corporations were sampled from a population of all Indiana reorganized school corporations which had grade organizational patterns of 6-6, 6-2-4, or 6-3-3 for the school year 1971-72. Eighteen responded with timely usable data. State cost differentials for each program were computed by dividing reported net current operating expenditures for each program area by total full time equivalent pupils in ADM for the program. State cost differentials were computed by dividing the average cost per full time equivalent pupil in ADM for each program by the cost per pupil for the basic program, grades one through six.Conclusions of the study included:1. The major fiscal support for public school corporations in Indiana is provided from localsources.2. Percentage of the total revenue from local sources has constantly increased for the public school systems from July 1, 1967 through June 30, 1972.3. The Indiana General Assembly has not provided fiscal support commensurate with the rising costs of public education.4. Federal support as a percentage of total fiscal support of public education in Indiana is below the national average.5. Elementary programs, grades one through six, have the lowest net current operating expenditure and were assigned a cost differential index of 1.000.6. Secondary programs, grades seven through twelve, represent the second lowest net current operating expenditure with a cost differential index of 1.095.7, The cost differential index for vocational education programs is 1.256.8. Prekindergarten and kindergarten have a cost differential index of 1.271.9. The cost differential index for compensatory education is 1.633.10. Mentally handicapped programs have a computed cost differential index of 2.559.11. The cost differential index for physically handicapped programs is 2,821.In comparing Indiana cost differential indices with cost differential indices developed in similar studies but different populations, the vocational index of 1.256 is indefensibly lower and, therefore, questioned. Only five of the 18 respondents supplying data may account for the variation.The Indiana General Assembly should enact legislation which would provide a distribution formula for state aid to local school districts which weights per pupil allocations based upon program cost indices. The weighted pupil concept could be effectively employed to determine state allocations by multiplying the number of weighted pupils in ADM by a uniform dollar allotment for pupils with an index of 1.000. The cost of the state guaranteed program, to avoid built-in inequities, should be defined as net current operating expenditures.