The Malawi Ministry of Education's Policy and Investment Framework (PIF) (1999–2009) on Basic Education highlights four major areas, as targets for educational reform. These areas are access, equity, efficiency and quality. One of the strategies identified to help improve quality is the provision of professional development support services to teachers. However, it is not clear as to what conditions in the teacher-learning milieu facilitate effective professional development of teachers. This study investigated such conditions. Ethnographic approaches were used to investigate the problem in two districts, of Chiradzulu and Balaka, in the Southern Region of Malawi. Focus group discussions (FGDs), individual interviews, and case studies were principal research methods. Forty teachers, eleven head teachers, one Primary Education Adviser (PEA), four Assistant Center Coordinators (ACCOs) and six education officials participated in the study. Overall findings show that Malawi has structures and opportunities necessary for teacher-learning purposes. However, these structures and opportunities are neither well developed nor effectively coordinated to facilitate efficiency in the implementation of the teacher-learning programs. Consequently, the teacher-learning system is fragmented, incoherent and quite contradictory. Specific findings of the investigation include the following: (1) Teachers are interested in professional development, but they are not consulted enough on matters concerning their professional development. (2) Implementation strategies of some teacher-learning programs are perceived as redundant and overloaded. (3) Teachers and heads who participated in the study did not demonstrate knowledge of policies regarding their professional development; and, (4) numerous systemic problems abound that compromise the provision of professional development opportunities to teachers. These issues call for a rationalization of the teacher-learning system, and the institutionalization of the teacher-learning programs. To that effect, the researcher recommends that (1) A national strategy for teacher education, now being developed, needs to be faithfully implemented, in order to provide professional development to teachers in a systematic and concerted manner. (2) Ministry should create a forum for providers of teacher-learning programs and services, where issues pertaining to teacher learning can be thrashed out, on a regular basis; and, (3) ways of consulting and targeting teachers directly, for professional development, need to be sought.

As in other developing countries, students' access to secondary education in Malawi has been a growing problem. Yet secondary education is crucial for human resource development. That is, the way people are allocated into the educational ladder directly influences human capacity building. This study analyzed how policies constrain the transition of rural primary school students to secondary school. The study answered two major questions: what do standard eight (grade eight) repetition, selection, and community day secondary school policies mean to teachers, students and parents? And what is the relationship between standard eight repetition, knowledge of the policies, and students' aspirations for secondary education? These questions were explored through a concurrent mixed methods design. Using purposeful sampling, data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaire, and document review. The results suggest that secondary school selection at standard eight is problematic and that participants showed ignorance of the policies guiding the selection process. Consequently, they behaved contrary to the policies' demands by encouraging students who are not selected to repeat, hence affecting their access to secondary education. Assessing repetition and selection policies, participants felt the policies are not beneficial because students' repetition does not necessarily result from the students' own problems. In addition, implementation of the policies was found to be negatively affected by failure to track repeaters in the education system. It was also found that policy communication to rural schools is not effective and there is lack of grassroots stakeholder participation in the policy formation process. As a result, participants felt powerless to influence policy change. Because of the many problems in rural areas, participants felt rural schools should have special policies to facilitate students' access to secondary education. On the conversion of Distance Education Centers to Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSSs), participants felt the conversion did not solve pre-existing problems and has decreased students' access to secondary education. CDSSs still offer low quality education and the communities are not empowered to run them. Due to problems in CDSSs and rural areas, participants requested the government to help their children attend better conventional schools with boarding facilities, qualified teachers, and adequate resources. The study ends with policy recommendations.

Efficacy is your personal belief that you are able to accomplish the task before you, and teacher efficacy has been correlated with increased student achievement. School reform policies that mandate interventions in under-performing schools may have an impact on teacher efficacy. This study investigates a mandated school reform policy called Performance Improvement Mapping, and the possible effect it may have on teacher efficacy. This study was conducted over two years, using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The nine teachers in the study completed a baseline Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TES) in 2005, and a second think-out-loud administration of the TES in 2007. All thirteen participants of the study, including nine teachers, two district/DOE liaisons, the principal and the school counselor participated in several interviews over the course of the study. Data from the efficacy scales and the interviews were triangulated with information from researcher observations and a review of pertinent documents from the Department of Education, the district and the school. Efficacy is a personal belief, and the results of this study represent the perceptions of educators as they reflected upon the experience of writing a School Improvement Plan while participating in the Performance Improvement Mapping process. The findings of this study will be informative for those who write school reform policies, administrators at the state, district and school level, and for the educators who teach our children. The findings of the current study indicate that the PIM process did affect teacher efficacy for the people who participated in the PIM training. The process did not, however, have a generalized effect on members of the staff who did not participate in the training. It appears that for PIM to be effective in facilitating whole-school improvement, all faculty members in the school need to experience PIM training. This study also documents the many factors that influence school reform, teacher efficacy, and student achievement. The results of this study will provide valuable information for the Massachusetts Department of Education as they review the Performance Improvement Mapping process, and as they implement future school reform policies.

This dissertation is a study of school administrators' perspectives on leadership behaviors associated with the role of the school principal. It is guided by five research questions: What behaviors do the participants, as a group, find most/least characteristic of effective principals given contemporary demands of the role; (2) How can the attitudes or perspectives of the participants, as a group, toward effective principal's behaviors be described; (3) Are there any clusters of persons within the group who ranked the descriptors of effective principal behavior similarly; (4) How can the attitudes or perspectives of these clusters of individuals who ranked the descriptors of principal behavior similarly be described; and (5) How are the rankings related to demographic and district characteristics? Thirty principals and other school administrators from eleven (11) Massachusetts school districts and one (1) educational collaborative participated in a q-sort involving 21statements that had been validated in a previous study and completed a follow-up questionnaire that provided an opportunity to comment upon individual statements and to explain why they prioritized the statements as they did. The sorts were subjected to factor analysis to identify any similarities among the sorts. A single factor was carried forward for analysis. Based upon the rankings of statements by the individuals whose sorts loaded on this factor and the qualitative data they provided to explain how they completed the q-sort, the labels "goal-oriented" and "schoolhouse-bound" were applied to this factor. This study then investigates the interaction of education policy and leadership models to connect the findings of this study to the work several prominent researchers and theorists in the field of educational leadership including Blase and Blasé, Sergiovanni, Leithwood, Spillane, and others. Based upon the principal's perspectives it seems likely that this group will continue to refine the teaching and learning processes at their schools to attain higher levels of student achievement, but they are not likely to initiate radical transformations of their schools' cultures. The current policy context of education reform, and for the foreseeable future, reinforces a notion that school leadership is based upon formal authority and technical decision-making.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to record the perceptions of seven new superintendents of schools who are participating in the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents' (M.A.S.S.) Mentoring Program. The study explores these seven superintendents' ideas and thoughts about leadership and their own evolution to the position of school superintendent. Furthermore the study investigates how each of these superintendents believes his/her background, experience, and career path has influenced him/her in the role of school superintendent. Finally the research documents the stories of these seven superintendents, resulting in conclusions and recommendations about the evolution of school leaders and how M.A.S.S. may assist in developing new school leaders. An exploratory case study method was used to gather data and document the stories of seven newly appointed school superintendents. The case study methodology was influenced in part by I. E. Seidman's model of the in-depth phenomenological interview. The data was analyzed for common categories and recurring themes resulting in three broad categories for analysis: personal background; continuing education and work experience; and on-the job dynamics. Each of these broad categories was further divided into three subsets, resulting in an analysis of the data into nine specific subdivisions. Analyzing and categorizing the data resulted in eight conclusions as well as four recommendations, which are presented in Chapter VI of the study. One of the major conclusions of the study speaks to the extraordinary influence of families, particularly parents, in shaping the values, attitudes, and leadership styles the participants brought to, and manifested in, the position of school superintendent. A major recommendation suggests that school leadership models reflected in the literature, e.g. Fullan's four components of leadership development and sustainability, be incorporated into leadership development programs provided by school superintendents at the local level. Suggestions for further study include replication as well as in-depth investigation of specific leadership programs in operation at the local school district level as well as those in partnership with professional associations and higher education.

This study explored the conditions of competition that are implicit in the idea that market-based school reform will improve schools. The research was conducted in Washington, D.C., which provides three theoretically competing schooling options to its public students: the traditional, publicly managed public school system; publicly financed but privately managed charter schools; and the D.C. voucher program, which pays private-school tuition with public funds. Based on interviews with high school principals directing the three types of schools, the study found minimal competition among the types of schools. While all the principals were committed to school choice, there actually was little rivalry among the three types of high school principals. The majority of the principals actually knew little about and felt minimal impact from the other types of high schools. While recruitment of families and students is a major measurement of competition, the study could not find a connection between the level of enrollment and the recruitment efforts of the principals or the quality of information they provided potential families and students. The study also focused on structural issues that could explain the minimal competition among the three types of schools and concluded that, during the period of the study, they were not designed to compete and did not perceive strong incentives to do so.

The Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA), which impacts most aspects of K--12 education in the Commonwealth, was officially signed into law in June of 1993. This systemic Act called for changes in funding, curriculum, school governance, teacher licensure, time on learning, as well as district, local and individual accountability. After over a decade of reform there are schools that have not been able to increase academic achievement as measured by the state assessment system. The populations affected most are minority and socio-economic disadvantaged students. If unable to boost academic achievement these low performing schools face sanctions, such as restructuring and state takeover. The purpose of this study is to examine public school elementary teachers about their implementation of, perceptions, and attitudes towards MERA. Specifically, it focuses on curriculum, assessment, and school based decision-making within low performing schools. Qualitative research methods are used in this study. The major data source are interviews with teachers focusing on curriculum, assessment and school-based decision-making. Grounded Theory methods developed by Strauss and Corbin (1998) are employed to manage and analyze data. The study examines how key pieces of reform efforts are implemented in schools that are struggling increase the academic performance of students. Analysis shows that some components of the reform effort are not implemented adequately and may explain low academic achievement in the schools under examination.

This dissertation considers the problem of school board use of student achievement data as a policy driver and a factor in board decisions. Drawing on literature addressing information utilization, decisionmaking, and school board culture, the study examines board data use in ten school districts in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Data collection includes interviews with and surveys of board members and administrators, and policy audits. Findings describe three profiles of data use (active, passive, and non use) and conditions, board member characteristics, and superintendent behavior associated with active board engagement with data in policy development and resource allocation, and active seeking of a wide range of data. Conditions associated with board use of data as a policy driver and a primary element in resource allocation include: (1) superintendent is committed to a vision of distributed leadership, educates the board regarding the programmatic and instructional implications of student achievement data, (2) superintendent and board jointly develop mission, goals, and plan with measurable objectives, and (3) superintendent and board members share an explicit belief that all students are capable of achievement through effort in a supportive school environment. In these districts, board members believe in the importance of their work both for the short term and for the long term and are literate with respect to both educational reform and assessment, respect state tests, and understand the board's role and its accountability for all students under educational reform. The superintendent provides reports explicitly connected to the district mission, goals, and plan, and employs someone who board members perceive as assessible for and responsive to informal inquiries about achievement data. Board members act in accordance with norms that include (1) respect for the complementary roles of board and superintendent, (2) a preference for discussion and problem solving over immediate action, and (3) a focus on results. In these districts, both superintendent and most board members have served for a long time in their current roles. Narrowly focused board commitment to a single issue is absent, as are extreme fiscal stress and extreme pressure from the state department of education for improved student performance.

Abstract not available