This study was designed to investigate teachers' perceptions of the role middle school principals played as instructional leaders in 2 rural schools in southwest Virginia. The 2 middle school participants in the study included only teachers in schools classified Fully Accredited by the accountability standards of the No Child Left Behind for changing the academic status of their schools from Needs Improvement in 2005 to Fully Accredited for 2006 to 2009 inclusive. This study examined teachers' perceptions of the principal's role as an instructional leader for school improvement in changing the status of the schools from Needs Improvement to Fully Accredited. This study examined middle school teachers' perceptions of 3 leadership characteristics middle school principals should possess as an effective instructional leader for school improvement. This qualitative research project examined middle school teachers' perceptions of the impact of school vision, teacher collaboration, and student academic needs for improving student achievement during a school improvement process. This qualitative study gathered information through the use of online surveys, interviews, and summative student achievement scores to determine teacher's perceptions of the effectiveness of their principals as instructional leaders. Results of this study suggested principals should rely on researched-based practices for maintaining and sustaining high student achievement and high teacher expectations for instructional accountability. This study provides useful information for future instructional research on 3 leadership characteristics and their impact on instruction and student achievement.

This phenomenological research study explores how districts in Massachusetts support and hinder the work of professionals in the inaugural role of Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I). Through a qualitative approach, the study engaged six Directors of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from suburban and urban school settings in semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The data analysis revealed several key themes including the challenges of managing ambiguity and uncertainty of the role, the urgency for supporting BIPOC stakeholders, the emotional toll that comes from a focus on racial issues, and the difficulties of navigating resistance from within and outside of the school district. Overall, the findings suggest that districts should consider creating and utilizing standards for practice to clarify the work and function of Directors of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Further, investing in developing coaching skills in these directors will allow for transformational work to take place within the organization. Instituting self-care supports similar to clinical supervision models may combat the racialized stress experienced by these practitioners. Lastly, the researcher recommends that senior district leaders such as the superintendent become the lead voice organizing and communicating equity goals and initiatives within the district.

A Head of a vocational educational program should set up activity goals for the school organization in order to improve it. The Aim of this Study is to search for needs for improvement in a quality perspective. Semi structural interviews with a teacher, a student, an employer and a representative for political governance and deep study of political documents is the empirical platform for the analysis. To interpret the material the “Free-Space model” by Gunnar Berg (2003) is used in combination with the “Driving-Force model” developed by the Danish pedagogue Christian Helms-Jørgensen (2006). The study is a case study and the conclusion couldn´t be generalized But it is indicated that a deeper dialogue is needed between the actors to create an equal picture of the education. The main differences in approaches are.1)The vision of the work with equality and multicultural perspectives2)The Definition of the Professional role3)The Definition of what Quality in Education isIt is also indicated, as Researcher earlier have shown, that this professional sector is influenced by a strong culture that can counteract new knowledge and definitions.To reach increased validity in this educational programme deeper studies in this differences of definition can form a platform for improvement. A Method for make a dialogue possible between the actors in order to create an equal picture is to establish a forum where policy documents, definitions, exams and development can be discussed. Another Method to improve the equal picture could be to, with communication actions, show the values that the actors are asking for.

The purpose of this research study was to examine the strategies and techniques facilitated by urban middle school administrators to increase student achievement in low performing schools and to meet the Accountability Performance Index growth requirements. Literature concerning the methods used by educational administrators in facilitating academic change in urban education for school improvement was examined. The researcher collected and analyzed three kinds of data: (a) from interviews, (b) from direct observation, and (c) from written documents to better understand how strategies and techniques were implemented. For the purposes of this study, five schools were selected that (a) had similar demographics and student populations, (b) were low performing as outlined by the Academic Performance Index (API) for the State of California, and (c) were required to improve student achievement. All schools implemented a variety of new strategies and techniques that were effective in producing positive results for school improvement. Teachers received additional training in new methods of standards-based instruction. The respondents purchased and utilized a variety of programs that specifically addressed improvement in math, reading, and discipline. Emphasis was also placed on increasing attendance. Suggestions for future research and recommendations for school improvement are included in this dissertation.

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The use and analysis of data has become a keystone in national policy for educational improvement and a foundational condition in the award of federal grant monies (U.S. Department of Education, 2008, 2009a, 2009b, 2010). Principals are expected to lead their schools in the use of data and are accountable for adequate yearly progress (AYP) for the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Effective use of data can move educators toward student centric learning plans and interventions which improve achievement. While current literature emphasizes the importance of assessment data used to guide sound instructional decisions, gathering scores and generating reports by grade and level does little at individual schools unless there is strong site-based leadership to guide faculty and staff in targeting areas of improvement, implementing a plan, monitoring progress, and adjusting actions. This qualitative case study describes how the principal's leadership guided a journey of data-focused decision making at one middle school. This dissertation describes use of data in decision-making processes to promote student learning from the perspective of a school which has been implementing data-focused decision making for several years and was selected for its established use of student assessment data. This research focused on the processes individuals and groups use to better understand and use data within a school context and the role of school leaders in supporting these actions. The intent of this case study is to describe and understand how school leaders make the use of data an integral part of the operation within a middle school in a large suburban mid-Atlantic school district. By looking at how principals embed data analysis and interpretation in the decision-making processes of the school and engage teachers in the use of data to promote student learning, findings could be useful as a guide to other educational leaders as they implement site based actions and related professional development for school-based leaders and teachers. / Ed. D.

This study examined public primary school teachers' perceptions of the factors contributing to safe school learning environments. Teachers' perceptions and behaviors were examined to assist task force members to develop and conduct a self-study process for enhancing a safe learning environment for pupils. Twenty-eight primary school teachers from one public primary school in Malawi participated in the study. Data on teachers' perceptions and behaviors were collected through a survey. Frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the survey data on teachers' perceptions. The data from the self-study process generated the discussions in the task force meetings where teachers shared their perceptions of classroom practices that contributed to a safe learning environment. The task force conducted a four-step self-study process. The steps of the process were building awareness and community, developing a group focus, implementing the ideas of the group focus, and reflecting on the practice. The participating teachers' experiences suggested that the process discouraged teachers from direct instruction and encouraged them to actively engage students more in their learning. As a result the teachers experienced fewer discipline problems in their classes. The perceptions of teachers in the survey indicated that the school environment was generally positive for teaching and learning. However, there were some elements that could adversely affect school safety. For example, there were problems in maintaining some of the school facilities such as books and children's latrines. The finding of the self-study process indicated that the school could develop elements of school safety. For example, the teachers in the study developed positive attitudes toward their teaching and learning. They reported for school activities on time and involved learners in their learning. The study had a number of implications for teaching and learning and teacher educators. The self-study process, for example, was able to change teachers' attitudes about their learners, thereby enhancing the learner-teacher classroom relationship. Suggestions for further research are also given. For example, further studies could focus on the replication of the study in other schools in order to examine the self-study process in different school contexts. And such replication could assist further understanding and refinement of the self-study process for addressing school safety as well as other identified school problems. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to measure the association between school-wide student achievement on the English and mathematics Standards of Learning (SOL) tests and the degree of implementation and length of time implementing Response to Intervention (RTI) in Virginia middle schools. Recognizing that RTI is a complex process (Fuchs and Deshler, 2007; Mellard, Frey, and Woods, 2012; Mellard, McKnight, and Jordan, 2010; VanDerHeyden, Witt, and Barnett, 2005), some middle schools may experience uneven degrees of implementation in their attempts to adopt the RTI model (Mellard, Frey, and Woods, 2012). Principals serving grades 6 through 8 exclusively in Virginia were surveyed using an adapted version of the Self Assessment of Problem Solving Implementation (Castillo, J., Batsche, G., Curtis, M., Stockslage, K., March, A., and Minch, D., 2010), a Likert-like scale, to determine the degree of RTI implementation and the length of time the school had been implementing RTI. The school's implementation score and the number of years the schools had been implementing RTI were regressed against the school's school-wide scaled scores on the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests in English and mathematics. Analysis of the association between Response to Intervention implementation levels and the number of years a school had implemented Response to Intervention failed to reveal significant findings on student achievement in reading. RTI implementation levels showed a significant negative association with mathematics SOL scaled scores in the participating middle schools. / Ed. D.