How do the Catholic Schools Consultants through their leadership and relationship with Principals influence the outcomes of Catholic systemic schools in New South Wales (NSW)? This research question has been of considerable interest to the professional communities of Catholic educators. Throughout NSW there are eleven diocesan Catholic school systems, each led by a Director assisted by senior field officers called Consultants, the equivalent position of Area superintendents or inspectors in other school systems. The leadership of these Consultants is considered critical for the effectiveness of the school systems especially through their influence on and with Principals. Within this survey research study, the total population of Consultants and Principals was invited to participate, and 45 Consultants (90%) and 365 Principals (76%) responded. The research study was based on the assumption that a ‘classical’ view of leadership should be augmented by a more complex, interactive view of leadership as relationship that influenced outcomes in school systems. The study was operationalized in three dimensions. Leadership was described by ten variables, derived from Sashkin’s (1998) Visionary Leadership Theory. The relationship between Consultant and Principals was posited as a composite of two variables, Interpersonal Relation and Shared Catholic Leadership Mindset, that are viewed as explanatory, mediating variables. Three selected outcome variables are posited – Educational Outcomes, School Outcomes and Spiritual Outcomes. The fifteen variables so described were developed and/or validated for this study using confirmatory factor analysis. Additionally, the impact of three demographic background factors of gender, school type, and years of networking association between Consultant and Principals on the main variables in the study was examined. A mediated – effects survey research design was used. Survey questionnaires were sent from the local Catholic Education Office to each volunteer Consultant and to her/his associated network of Principals on a confidential basis and returned directly to the researcher. At no stage did the researcher know the identity of the respondents. Data analysis methods included comparative means analysis of Consultants’ and Principals’ perceptions of the variables; multiple regression analysis and structural equation modelling to examine the associations between variables; MANOVA analysis to examine demographic background factors; and finally some descriptive analysis of survey data to provide validation or further insights. The study results showed that both Consultants and Principals agreed that the Consultants demonstrated visionary leadership as defined by Sashkin (1998) although there were significant differences on seven leadership factors. There was high level agreement that Consultants and Principals exhibited a shared mindset, described as Shared Catholic Leadership Mindset, and outstanding interpersonal relationships. Findings about the associations between variables showed different results for Principals and Consultants. The ‘Principals’ model suggested that the two relationship variables acted as mediators between some of the ten leadership variables and the three outcome variables. On the other hand, the ‘Consultants’ model suggested that neither of the two relationship variables acted as mediators, but that only two leadership variables, Capable Management and Creative Leadership, had any influence on Outcomes. There were no significant differences on results due to gender, school type or years of networking association for either Principals or Consultants. These results, supplemented by qualitative findings, led to the conclusion that there was a need for system policy makers to reconceptualise the leadership of such Consultants to emphasise the importance of the shared mindset, and the synergistic element in the relationship between Consultant and Principals. There was a recommendation that further research replicate this study with other Catholic, Government and independent education systems. The use of structural equation modelling analysis in similar future research was also recommended.

Exclusionary discipline policies (Casella, 2003; Christle, Jolivette & Nelson, 2005; Tuzzolo & Hewitt, 2007), academic failure and school dropout are some of the most salient factors in the school to prison pipeline (Christle, Jolivette & Nelson, 2005). While previous research has explored the variability in existing exclusionary discipline policies and identified numerous factors associated with expulsion or criminal justice outcomes among youth, there has been little effort to bring these individual and school level factors together into a single predictive model that is informed by existing criminological theories. In this context, the proposed study will use multiple waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to consider how school discipline policies, demographics, and competing criminological explanations affect the risk of expulsion and then future contact with the criminal justice system. Findings reveal that school-level factors such as severe disciplinary policies, school size, and school type are weak predictors of expulsion and adult arrest. Conversely, measures of social bonding, low self-control, learning, and strain theories show promise in predicting expulsion and arrest outcomes. A history of school disciplinary actions and self-reported delinquency present themselves as the strongest predictors of expulsion and subsequent arrest. Theoretical and policy implications are considered.

abstract: The purpose of this action research study was to implement and study a systematic framework for using data inquiry and collaborative teams to improve practices that affect the post-school outcomes of students with disabilities. Teams at six high schools in a large public school district participated in a multi-level intervention involving work within their teams, collaboration with other schools, use of a web-based tool to examine data, and support from district leaders. Ultimately, teams used data to identify change targets, linked those to evidence-based predictors of post-school success, and designed action plans to change practices and programs related to post-secondary transition at their schools. The researcher used a mixed methods concurrent design to explore how participants engaged in situated learning and a process of collaborative meaning- making to reflect on and change their practices. The researcher used a collaborative team survey and observations to collect data from all teams, as well as an in-depth case study of one team to collect further data through a focus group, semi-structured interviews, artifact analysis, and observations. Qualitative data analysis incorporated both inductive and deductive approaches through initial coding, focused coding, and mind mapping. Results suggested the data inquiry process enabled school teams to construct meaning about their practices, and through collaboration, they were able to develop deeper understanding of problems and solutions. A comparison of means and standard deviations of five survey constructs indicated teams placed high levels of value on collaboration within their school teams and with other school teams. Furthermore,results suggested establishing a continuous improvement process to address post- secondary transition provided structure and sustainability for examining data and making changes in practices. This work resulted in the implementation of an ongoing continuous improvement process for special education practices in a large public school district. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2016

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:20:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2808387 bytes, checksum: 335548ec8225a562a073aa2415022046 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This work presents a hermeneutic view of organizational learning based on the interpretation of public microdata provided by INEP and IBGE. We show an overview of the progress and challenges encountered with the expansion of basic education in the Federal Institutions (FI's) of the Brazilian Northeast, stimulating the creation of specific results in the Federal Network of Vocational Education, to assess the quality of public education in the PNE interval between 2001 and 2010. The purpose of this research is given by the reflection of Senge et al. (2005) on the significance of learning for an organization and the need to develop a clear and honest understanding of the reality. We apply concepts that relate to organizational knowledge creation with organizational learning for school management, measuring educational outcomes of 52 federal schools to answer questions related to overcoming regional disparities and assessing the quality of public education. Besides variables related to intra-school factors (school results, school infrastructure, human resources and student flow), we consider the exogenous factors (social context of students). Finally, we intend to contribute to the advancement of the discussion on equality and efficiency in the provision of quality public education, as required by Article 206 of the Constitution, from the identification of successful schools and the results that indicate the importance of the family background of students. The following aspects reverberate positively in the performance of students on the results of Enem in their different areas: the educational level of the parents, the level of household income and the frequency of the student in a private school in elementary phase (before entering FI). / Este trabalho traz uma visão hermenêutica da aprendizagem organizacional a partir da atribuição de significado a dados públicos existentes no acervo de microdados do INEP e IBGE. Apresenta uma visão dos avanços e desafios encontrados com a ampliação da oferta da educação básica nos IF s da Região Nordeste, favorecendo a criação de um lastro dos resultados específicos na Rede Federal de Educação Profissionalizante, para a avaliação da qualidade do ensino público no período de vigência do PNE 2001-2010. Tal avaliação da realidade do setor educacional, a que se propõe este trabalho, ressoa a reflexão de Senge et al. (2005) sobre o significado da aprendizagem para uma organização e a necessidade de desenvolver um entendimento claro e honesto da realidade. No curso do presente estudo, foram aplicados conceitos que fazem a ligação entre a criação de conhecimento organizacional e a aprendizagem organizacional, mormente, no âmbito da gestão escolar, haja vista a mensuração dos resultados educacionais de 52 escolas pertencentes a uma mesma rede de ensino, para responder a conflitos mais diretamente ligados à superação de assimetrias regionais e à avaliação da qualidade do ensino público compreendendo além de variáveis relativas aos fatores intraescolares (resultado escolar, infraestrutura escolar, recursos humanos e fluxo escolar), os fatores extraescolares (fatores do espaço social dos alunos). Tencionamos, pois, à guisa de conclusão, contribuir para o avanço do debate sobre a isonomia e eficiência na prestação do serviço público educacional, como prevê o artigo 206 da Constituição Federal, de garantia de padrão de qualidade para o ensino no país, sob uma tendência mimética das escolas bem-sucedidas e de resultados que sinalizam a necessidade de observância ao background familiar dos alunos dos IF s, uma vez que o grau de escolaridade dos pais do aluno, o nível da renda familiar e o aspecto de o aluno ter estudado o ensino fundamental em escola particular, antes do ingresso no IF, reverberam positivamente no desempenho dos discentes em proficiências nas áreas de conhecimento avaliadas pelo Enem.