Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 277-285). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-160). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Also available in print.

No description available.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers‟ perception(s) of the relevance of performance indicators for school improvement and development in Namibia. The study employed a case study involving two school principals, two heads of department (HODs) and five teachers. Interviews were used to collect the data. The study found that almost all teachers acknowledge the importance of the PIs and believe that they succeed in improving the provision of quality education if they are properly implemented. The study also found that both school principals experience many challenges with the implementation of these PIs. The analysis was framed by interpretive theory as the study is exploratory. Performance indicators (PIs) have become the yardstick by which internal and external school evaluators can assess whole school performance. The focus of this case study was on Grade 10 school performance in the Katima Mulilo rural circuit and an urban secondary school in the Caprivi education region of Namibia. Grade 10 is one of the school levels in which low academic performance has been found to be common in the Caprivi region. The study included a literature review of studies on performance indicators in different parts of the world. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMING: No Afrikaans abstract available

To impact student learning, educators’ implementation, or transfer, of new knowledge, skills, dispositions, and practices to daily work is the primary purpose of professional learning. The purpose of this study was to assess the multivariate relationship between individual and work environment characteristics as measured by the Collective Efficacy Scale and Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire, respectively, and learning transfer factors as measured by the Learning Transfer System Inventory. The sample consisted of 249 PK-12 grade school- based instructional staff members of an education association. Canonical correlation and commonality analyses required using the two individual and work environment characteristics of learning culture and collective efficacy as predictor variables of the five learning transfer factors of performance self-efficacy, transfer-effort performance expectations, performance outcome expectations, performance coaching, and resistance to change to evaluate the multivariate between the two variable sets. Learning culture and collective efficacy demonstrated a relationship to resistance to change and performance outcome expectations. Learning culture and collective efficacy were insufficient to transfer-effort performance expectations, attend to performance self-efficacy beliefs, and increase support for transfer (i.e., performance coaching) factors. These findings might guide the decisions and practice of individuals with responsibility to plan, implement, and evaluate professional learning, and provide the conditions necessary for changing educational practice while increasing support for and building educators’ confidence about implementation. Further research may confirm the findings and enhance generalizability.

The purpose of the study is to investigate which possibilities SENCos have to work with school development. By interviewing principals and sencos working in school we hope to get answer to this question. We also want to find out how SENCos may contribute to develop “a school for all” by implement the special educational perspective. The study is based on following questions; How do principals and SENCos define school development? Which function does the SENCo have in the school development work? Which possibilities does the SENCo have to work with school development whether he or she is a part of the management? How does the SENCo contribute with the special educational perspective in “a school for all”? Theoretical perspectives in the study are organization research and system theoretical perspective. The study is based on a qualitative method with semi structured interviews with principals and SENCos. The result has been interpreted by a hermeneutic theoretical approach. Our research may contribute to clarifying the complex role of the SENCo in school development questions. Both principals and SENCos discloses the definition of school development to be extensive and difficult to describe. The role SENCo may have in questions about school development is dependent of the principals leadership and wich background the SENCo have, it may also vary over time according to school needs. The result shows that it is not obvious that the SENCo participate in the management, but the conclusion is that when they do, their influence in school development questions appears to be more of a strategic role. The SENCos in this research do feel that they work with questions about school development unlike the saying of previous research. The important role of SENCos by giving all students the best presumptions is underlined by all of the interviewed principals. The study ends with a discussion where the result is problematized by earlier research and suggestions of further research is also given.

Thesis advisor: Diana Pullin / It is widely accepted that school leadership has both a direct and indirect impact on student achievement. Hitt and Tucker’s (2016) Unified Leadership framework summarized a decade of work by numerous researchers identifying the five most effective leadership domains that influence student learning. Using that work as a conceptual framework, this qualitative case study analyzed one of the five interdependent leadership domains in an urban elementary school that succeeded in educating traditionally marginalized students and outperformed other schools with similar demographics in the district. This study focused on the fourth of Hitt and Tucker’s (2016) key leadership domains or practices: creating a supportive organization for learning. Creating a supportive organization for learning is important because just as teachers need to establish a sense of well-being and trust for students to learn in their classroom, administrators must establish the same sense of trust and comfort to create an environment where teachers can teach to their highest capacity. This study explored whether the key leadership practices of creating a supportive organization for learning were present in a school and whether the school leaders believed that presence of the attributes contributed to the effectiveness of the school. This study found that the five attributes of creating a supportive organization for learning were present at the school in that the principal built capacity in her building, the school resources targeted student achievement and there was a belief that all students can learn. Importantly, the superintendent also highlighted the principal’s ability to push her staff to continuous results without pushing so hard that they lost trust in her and love for the students they serve. There were, however, opportunities for improvement including creating a clear set of district supports for schools and improving cultural proficiency at the school level. We also found that administrators in the district believe that school leaders have made the school successful by setting high expectations for the students, no matter their situation, and created a culture of productive collaboration that was focused on continuously improving student achievement, key components of creating a supportive organization for learning. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Educational intermediary organizations, as defined by Honig (2004a), are characterized by their internal placement within schools as they mediate change among groups during the policymaking process. As intermediary organizations work to bring about internal changes, however, they are still performing their core external functions by operating as independent organizations. This case study examined the alliance between a school district and an intermediary organization and how together they designed and implemented a well-received pay-for-performance program that evolved into a wider school improvement program, using the following research questions: (a) How did ISIP act as an intermediary organization in the North Plains Community School District during the policymaking process to influence the program's success and influence the change beliefs of those it affected, (b) How did ISIP act as an intermediary organization in the North Plains Community School District during the professional development sessions to influence the change beliefs of those it affected and influence the program's success, and (c) How did the evolving school improvement efforts challenge the collaboration between ISIP and the North Plains Community School District? Data collection for this descriptive case study occurred during the 2008-2010 school years in the North Plains Community School District as it participated in a state-funded, pay-for-performance grant. District administrators and teacher participants were interviewed, state and district documents were reviewed, and observations were conducted of the pay-for-performance committee meetings and professional development series that accompanied the pay-for-performance assessment. Findings from this study demonstrate how the pay-for-performance policy was the vehicle for change that provided the opportunity and motivation for the school district, via the pay-for-performance committee, to develop and implement new programs. The district hired the intermediary organization to be the facilitator and driver of their change vehicle, giving the pay-for-performance committee the capability to design an accepted policy and implement it. In addition to facilitative duties, the intermediary organization performed its primary function by providing professional development to district teachers. Furthermore, the findings expand previous research of intermediary organizations by examining the challenges brought about by the unique and complicated internal-yet-external roles of intermediary organizations during the policymaking process.