This study is based on data from eight interviews with principals who lead schools in particularly vulnerable areas, where gang crime, exclusion, overcrowding and poverty are commonplace. The research questions are about their own view of their work in relation to the context. The purpose of the study is to deepen the knowledge of principals' work in urban schools. The study has a narrative approach and is examined from a hermeneutic perspective. These stories are analyzed partly individually but also together to examine if patterns or categories appear in the stories. The context emerges and is filtered in this way through the patterns formed by the principals' stories. The context studied is the societal and socio-cultural context. In order to be able to put the principals' stories in a common context, sociological thinking is used. The interview material in the study is analyzed as narrative, i.e. coherent stories. The analysis is done in two stages. The first step to create a narrative from the interview material. These created coherent stories are then analyzed as the second step. That analysis is made in two parts where each part is aimed at answering one of the research questions. The results show that four areas appear in the principals' stories. The first is the clear orientation for increased student outcomes described in the stories. Here, a clear shift from a care focus towards a knowledge focus is described. The second category deals with communication patterns and relationship building, which is described as particularly important based on the context the principals find themselves in and which reappears as a cornerstone in all work. The third category appearing is how organization and governance are used to have an effect on student learning. Here school development efforts and changes in roles within the operation are described, for example expansion of two- and three-teacher systems, team leader organization, cooperation with and between first teachers and development of recess activities. The final category is about the social responsibility that the principals describe and trust in education and in students. Within this category, high expectations of and trust in the students recur in stories. / Den här studien är baserad på data från åtta intervjuer med rektorer som leder skolor i särskilt utsatta områden, där gängkriminalitet, utanförskap, trångboddhet och fattigdom är vardag. Detta med frågeställningar om deras egen bild av sitt arbete i relation till kontexten. Syftet med studien är att fördjupa kunskapen om rektorers arbete i särskilt utsatta områden. Detta görs genom att undersöka rektorers berättelser om sitt arbete i denna specifika kontext. Studien har en narrativ ansats och undersöks ur ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv. Dessa berättelser analyseras dels enskilt men även tillsammans för att se om mönster eller kategorier framträder i berättelserna. Kontexten framträder och filtreras på så sätt genom de mönster som bildas av rektorernas berättelser. Den kontext som studeras är den samhällsgemensamma och den sociokulturella kontexten. För att kunna sätta rektorernas berättelser i ett gemensamt sammanhang används ett sociologiskt tänkande. Intervjumaterialet i studien analyseras som narrativ, dvs sammanhängande berättelser. Analysarbetet är gjort i två steg. Det första steget är att skapa narrativ av intervjumaterialet. Därefter analyseras dessa skapade sammanhängande berättelser. Den analysen är gjord i två delar där varje del riktas mot att besvara en av studiens frågeställningar. Resultatet visar att fyra områden framträder i rektorernas berättelser. Den första är den tydliga orientering för höjda kunskapsresultat som beskrivs i berättelserna. Här beskrivs en tydlig förskjutning från ett omsorgsfokus mot ett kunskapsfokus. Den andra kategorin handlar om kommunikationsmönster och relationsbyggande som beskrivs som särskilt viktigt utifrån den kontext rektorerna befinner sig i och återkommer som grundbult i allt arbete. Den tredje kategorien som blir tydlig är hur organisation och styrning används för att ge effekt på elevers lärande. Här finns skolutvecklingsinsatser och förändringar av roller inom verksamheten t ex utbyggnad av två- och trelärarsystem, arbetslagsledarorganisation, samarbetet med och mellan förstelärare samt utveckling av rastverksamhet. Den avslutande kategorin handlar om det samhällsansvar som rektorerna beskriver och tilltro till utbildning och till elever. Inom denna kategori återkommer höga förväntningar på och tilltro till eleverna i berättelser.

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The primary focus of the current study was to determine if there is a relationship between size of high school and advanced academic achievement as measured by the Virginia Index of Performance while statistically controlling for multiple combinations of the following variables; socioeconomic status, urbanicity of school, per-pupil expenditure, and student-teacher ratio. The combinations of variables used in the current study were determined by knowledge gained in the review of the literature. Level of award on the Virginia Index of Performance, school enrollment, percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch prices, per-pupil expenditures, student-teacher ratios, and school locale were collected for all high schools in Virginia with 9th-12th grade configurations for school years 2006-07 through 2008-09. A sequential multiple regression analysis was conducted using level of Virginia Index of Performance award earned as the dependent variable and school size as the primary predictor variable while statistically controlling for per-pupil expenditure, student-teacher ratio, socioeconomic status, and urbanicity in different combinations. The analyses performed on the collected data revealed that school size, when other variables were accounted for, was not a significant predictor of performance on the Virginia Index of Performance incentive program. When the analyses were performed for Research Question 2, however, socioeconomic status was found to be a significant predictor of performance on the Virginia Index of Performance incentive program. Multiple limitations should be noted when interpreting the results of the analyses. The main limitations to the current study were a restricted population of schools due to confines placed on grade configurations of schools included in the study and the initial criteria of making Adequate Yearly Progress for two consecutive years in order to be eligible to receive an award in the Virginia Index of Performance program. The combination of these restrictions resulted in a large number of schools being excluded from the current study. Due to the range restrictions placed on the studied population, the relationship between size of school and advanced student achievement could be stronger than reported. Future research should include a less restricted population of schools and other measures of advanced student achievement. / Ed. D.

The study examined the relationship between building conditions and overall student behavior as well as the relationship between building conditions and the behaviors of student subgroups that include Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Students with Disabilities (SWD). The study controlled for over-crowdedness, socioeconomic status, and attendance. The study included 10 school facilities in a medium-sized school division in Virginia. Building conditions were determined through facility engineering and educational condition. Facility Condition Indexes (FCIs) described facility engineering conditions. The Revised Commonwealth Assessment of Physical Environment (CAPE) instrument initially developed by Cash (1993) and revised by Cash and Earthman (2019) assessed facility educational conditions. The CAPE instrument provided overall, structural and cosmetic facility condition scores and was administered to principals. Student behavior was determined by student overall behavior indexes as well as subgroup-based behavior indexes representing the ratio of discipline incidents divided by student population. School-specific over-crowdedness indexes were utilized. Free and reduced lunch percentages were used as a measure of socioeconomic status. For attendance, the study used attendance indexes described by the percentage of students who were absent for at least 10% of the academic year. To establish the potential relationships between building conditions and student behavior in each student subgroup, the study used quantitative analysis utilizing hierarchical multiple-variable regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA) through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The researcher conducted individual single-predictor and multiple-variable hierarchical regression models. ANOVA was utilized to explain the total variance in the regression model, and the variance due to each predictor. The researcher identified regression relationships, their statistical significance, and interpreted results to reach a conclusion addressing each research question. Potential relationships between building conditions and student behavior were highlighted. The study identified that higher numbers of disciplinary incidences were related to higher absenteeism rates within all student groups. Further, lower numbers of Hispanic student disciplinary incidences were associated with poorer student populations. In terms of facility conditions, lower numbers of Hispanic student and SWD disciplinary incidences were associated with improved cosmetic facility conditions and lower numbers of SWD disciplinary incidences were associated with improved overall facility conditions. / Doctor of Education / The study examined the relationship between building conditions and overall student behavior as well as the relationship between building conditions and the behaviors of student subgroups that include Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Students with Disabilities (SWD). Over-crowdedness, socioeconomic status, and attendance were mediating factors. The study included 10 school facilities in a medium-sized school division in Virginia. Building conditions were determined through facility engineering and educational condition. Facility Condition Indexes (FCIs) described facility engineering conditions. The Revised Commonwealth Assessment of Physical Environment (CAPE) instrument initially developed by Cash (1993) and revised by Cash and Earthman (2019) assessed facility educational conditions. The CAPE instrument provided overall, structural and cosmetic facility condition scores and was administered to principals. Student behavior was represented by the ratio of discipline incidents divided by student population for overall students and student subgroups. School-specific over-crowdedness measures were utilized. Free and reduced lunch percentages were used as a measure of socioeconomic status. For attendance, the study used the percentages of students who were chronically absent. To establish the potential relationships between building conditions and student behavior in each student subgroup, the study used quantitative analysis utilizing hierarchical multiple-variable regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA) through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The researcher assessed the impact of each facility condition individually as well as collectively on student behavior. ANOVA was utilized to explain the total contribution attributed to each predictor. The researcher identified relationships, their statistical significance, and interpreted results to reach a conclusion addressing each research question. Potential relationships between building conditions and student behavior were highlighted. The study identified that higher numbers of disciplinary incidences were related to higher absenteeism rates within all student groups. Further, lower numbers of Hispanic student disciplinary incidences were associated with poorer student populations. In terms of facility conditions, lower numbers of Hispanic student and SWD disciplinary incidences were associated with improved cosmetic facility conditions and lower numbers of SWD disciplinary incidences were associated with improved overall facility conditions.

La dépression représente un enjeu de santé publique majeur au début de l’âge adulte en raison de ses nombreuses répercussions à long terme. Les jeunes adultes provenant de familles ayant un faible statut socioéconomique (SSE) sont particulièrement susceptibles de développer des symptômes dépressifs. Selon le Modèle du stress familial (Conger et al., 1993), les difficultés économiques et financières exerceraient des effets directs sur la santé mentale des parents et sur la qualité de la relation conjugale qui auraient ensuite des répercussions sur la santé mentale des jeunes. Cette étude visait à étudier le rôle médiateur de la détresse psychologique parentale et des conflits familiaux à l’adolescence dans l’explication du lien entre le SSE familial à cette même période et les symptômes dépressifs au début de l’âge adulte. Cette relation a été testée auprès d’un échantillon (n = 350) d’adolescents âgés de 14 à 19 ans provenant majoritairement de milieux défavorisés de Montréal et de régions avoisinantes et surreprésentant les élèves ayant abandonné leurs études avant d’obtenir leur diplôme. Un lien direct a été observé entre les conflits familiaux et les symptômes dépressifs au début de l’âge adulte. Toutefois, contrairement aux hypothèses, aucun lien indirect n’a été observé entre le SSE et les symptômes dépressifs via les processus familiaux. Des analyses supplémentaires impliquant d’autres aspects de la vie ont, par ailleurs, démontré un lien indirect entre la structure familiale et ces symptômes via les conflits familiaux. Des enjeux méthodologiques et des pistes d’explication théoriques seront discutés pour tenter d’expliquer les résultats. / Depression represents a major public health issue in early adulthood due to its many long-term repercussions. Young adults from families with low socioeconomic status (SES) are particularly susceptible to developing depressive symptoms. According to the Family Stress Model (Conger and al., 1993), economic and financial difficulties have direct effects on the mental health of parents and on the quality of the marital relationship, which in turn impact the mental health of young people. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of parental psychological distress and family conflicts in adolescence in explaining the link between family SES during this same period and depressive symptoms in early adulthood. This relationship was tested with a sample (n = 350) of adolescents aged 14 to 19 coming mainly from underprivileged backgrounds in Montreal and surrounding regions and overrepresenting students who had dropped out of school before obtaining their diploma. A direct link has been observed between family conflicts and depressive symptoms in early adulthood. However, contrary to hypotheses, no indirect link has been observed between SES and depressive symptoms via family processes. Additional analyzes involving other aspects of life have, moreover, demonstrated an indirect link between family structure and these symptoms via family conflicts. Methodological issues and theoretical explanations will be discussed to try to explain the results.