The alternative school in this case study has experienced resistance to the assignments the past few years. Present enrollment consists mostly of African American male students, whose parents complain about constant fighting, inadequate educational resources and the lack of class selections necessary for student academic progress. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of teachers and parents regarding academic information, and general information, they perceived have had the greatest impact on behavior, discipline, and achievement in the school environment. In addition, parents' primary concerns about student assignment to the alternative school were explored. Constructivist learning theory was used to guide the study and research questions addressed the perspectives of teachers and parents about best practices concerning the behavior and academic achievement problems among black males attending the school. Data collection included interviews with 20 past and present parents and 15 teachers selected using purposive sampling. Data analyses involved using Hatch's nine-step typology to code data and analyze for common themes. The results indicated that the alternative school has generally been successful in promoting student achievement and facilitating correct behaviors of assigned students. However, parents' views differed regarding with the school environment. To address these differences, a professional development project was developed that included working with teacher, parent and student perspectives regarding academics and behavior concerns that were affecting the functioning of the school. Positive social change might occur as stakeholders realize the return of alternative school students to the educational environment who have the potential to be productive members of the community.

Parental involvement in schools has been linked to student academic success and dropout prevention. However, some parents are disenfranchised by the educational system because they do not know how to become involved in the schools. The purpose of this study was to identify the barriers to parental involvement in a rural school district with increased dropouts and low academic success. Epstein's framework provided structure to analyze the ways parents participate in schools, classify the barriers, and organize suggestions for improvement. The research questions focused on African American parents' perceptions of barriers to parental involvement by using a focus group, interviews, and a questionnaire. A qualitative research design and case study interviewing approach identified barriers to parental involvement. The sample consisted of 20 African American parents of middle and high school students. Data analysis included coding and categorizing themes. Findings revealed 4 specific barriers to parental involvement that included (a) unclear understanding of parental involvement, (b) inadequate school communication, (c) ineffective school leader support, and (d) communal disintegration. In addition, most parents identified varied teacher conference times as the most effective influence in promoting parental involvement. The project stemming from this doctoral study is the beginning of an ongoing parent engagement network that will utilize the educational network platform Edmodo to aid parents in implementing effective parental practices. The potential for social change includes increased academic success, improved behavior, and increased esteem among students as a result of active parental involvement.

Impulsive choice (i.e., preference for smaller, sooner over larger, later rewards) is cross-sectionally and longitudinally associated with drug dependence in humans. Similarly, impulsive choice is associated with greater drug self-administration in rodents. These findings suggest that impulsive choice plays a causal role in drug use. However, little research has been designed to experimentally test this hypothesis or the boundary conditions under which it may operate. The research reported in this document examined the relation between impulsive choice and alcohol consumption in rats. We developed and refined an experimental method, in which rats were pre-exposed to delayed rewards, to produce trait-like reductions in impulsive choice. We then examined the effects of this manipulation on subsequent alcohol consumption. If impulsive choice is causally related to alcohol consumption in this rodent model, then reduction of impulsive choice should be accompanied by a reduction in alcohol consumption. However, in the experiment presented in Chapter 2, reductions in impulsive choice for food rewards were accompanied by unexpected increases in alcohol consumption. Accordingly, the goals of the experiments in Chapters 3 and 4 were to help determine the conditions that produced this unexpected finding. Results reported in Chapters 3 and 4 suggest that the unexpected results reported in Chapter 2 were dependent on the way in which alcohol was introduced in that experiment and perhaps other variables specific to orally consumed alcohol (e.g., taste, slow onset of pharmacological effects). Moreover, in Chapter 3, examination of our own and newly reported data suggests that the naturally occurring relation between impulsive choice and alcohol consumption in rodents is not as robust as it is for other drugs of abuse (e.g., psychostimulants, such as cocaine or nicotine). Nonetheless, the work reported in these experiments developed a method of reducing impulsive choice which may be used in future research to examine its related effects on consumption of other drugs of abuse.

The Vermont Educational Quality Standards, passed in 2014, require students to graduate high school based on proficiency not merely by the accrual of course credits. The deadline to implement this policy is 2020, and thus, high schools across Vermont are feverishly revamping their systems and structures to support this change. Like many reforms, teachers are at the forefront of putting this policy into practice. The purpose of this study is to understand how teachers experience the shift to implement proficiency-based learning practices in their classrooms and how administrators support teachers in making this transition. Two Vermont high schools were selected for this study. Both were well underway with formal implementation efforts. An online questionnaire was provided to all teachers at both schools. The district curriculum coordinators and all school administrators, in addition to any instructional coaches, were interviewed on a one-on-one basis. Four teachers from each site, representing a variety of subject areas (math, science, ELA, and social studies) were also interviewed on an individual basis. Furthermore, a variety of documents were analyzed from each site, including grading policies, teacher handbooks, and other artifacts related to the implementation of proficiency-based learning. Findings suggest that teachers were actively engaged in implementation efforts within their classrooms but found the process challenging. Certain aspects of proficiency-based learning prove to be more difficult than other elements to put into practice. Engaging in a “pedagogical triage”, teachers were selective with regard to which aspects of proficiency-based learning they attempted to implement. Given a lack of time and resources and the complex nature of the reform, teachers generally implemented those elements that were easier to put into practice. Furthermore, school and district administrators provided a variety of supports and resources to assist teachers’ sensemaking of proficiency-based learning practices. Intentional educational infrastructure that included instructional coaches, assessment cycles, professional learning communities, and curriculum materials, were evident at both the high schools in this study. Overall, the changes teachers discussed were more evolutionary than revolutionary. This study illuminates the specific challenges with implementing proficiency-based learning in a high school setting and how teachers experience putting proficiency-based learning into practice in the classroom. Additionally, the role of instructional coaches emerged as a key element of a coherent educational infrastructure in supporting teacher sensemaking of policy messages. Proficiency-based learning holds promise as an education reform but will only work with a coordinated educational infrastructure and a timeline that allows teachers to full comprehend all aspects of the policy.

Third-grade students in a small rural school district in North Carolina are not meeting reading benchmarks on End-of-Grade Tests. Parents and educators have concerns regarding the service delivery plan for students with disabilities who have deficits in reading. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the roles and responsibilities of special education and general education teachers in relation to Common Core Reading Standards instruction for students with disabilities. Vygotsky's theory of social constructivism and concept of the zone of proximal development formed the conceptual framework for the exploration of how students' academic needs are met with appropriate support in the learning environment. The study's research questions addressed the perceptions of 4 special education teachers and 5 general education teachers as they considered placement, monitored students' reading progress, and implemented instructional strategies. Purposeful sampling was used to select the 9 participants to participate in the interview. Data were analyzed inductively using categories and themes. Eight themes emerged from the special education teachers and 6 themes developed from the general education teachers. The common themes that developed from both teachers were: progress monitoring, time/scheduling, and communication. The most important finding is the need for professional development to improve collaboration. This case study may promote social change by documenting the process that coteachers engage in to support disabled students' reading progress. This is significant because it offers evidence that general and special education teachers can use reading instruction strategies in inclusion settings to address students' reading deficit.

Current administrators at a Northeast metropolitan area Catholic school have not formally identified the needs that support leadership development for their future and novice administrators. Compounding this problem, an increasing number of Catholic school lay administrators are taking on leadership roles traditionally held by members of religious communities whose membership is steadily declining within the United States. This case study examined the experiences of current administrators to identify leadership development needs for novice and future administrators at a Catholic secondary school. The study's framework was derived from the concepts of leadership succession planning and mentoring. A purposeful sample of 10 current lay administrators at a Catholic secondary school was used to provide interview data in response to standardized questions designed to elicit their perceptions. An inductive approach was used to analyze the data through the identification and coding of common themes that emerged from the range of participant responses. The findings demonstrated that active leadership planning, purposeful mentoring, and prioritizing the continuity of religious identity were critical needs for the development of novice and future administrators at the particular metropolitan Catholic school in question. The findings may be used to codify the leadership development process at the research site and to provide a model for other Catholic secondary schools to develop administrator preparation programs that address common leadership requirements for the future.

An urban middle school in the northeastern United States was having a problem with low performance on state annual reading tests on the part of students with learning disabilities. Consequently, the middle school was not meeting the reading academic targets that were set by the Department of Education in the northeastern United States. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative case study was to explore special education teachers' experiences and perceptions about how teaching reading to students with learning disabilities was affecting special education teachers' pedagogy. Glasser's choice theory, which theorizes that an individual's behavior is chosen, formed the conceptual framework.- Research questions guiding this study focused on special education teachers' perceptions and experiences teaching learning-disabled students to read and how experiences and perceptions affected pedagogical practice. The qualitative methodology included a purposeful sample of 5 special education teachers who provided reading instruction to learning-disabled students who participated in semistructured interviews. Typological analysis of data followed an open coding process to identify categories and themes. The findings indicated special education teachers' experiences led them to feel underprepared to adequately instruct due to a lack of a specified special education curriculum and materials. The resulting project included a professional development series for secondary education teachers to enhance reading instructional practices and locate special education resources. The findings may lead to improved pedagogical practice for special education reading instruction, resulting in positive social change through increased reading achievement for students with learning disabilities.

Universities are exploring the use of e-books in order to mitigate the high cost of textbooks. The study university was providing both delivery modes to students but was considering adapting to using e-books exclusively. An investigation of users' perceptions on textbook delivery modes had not been conducted at the local site. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of students about using e-books and the experiences of textbook directors in the decision-making processes regarding the use of e-books versus textbooks. The Davis' Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) served as the conceptual framework for the study and was used to establish an interview guide. A sample of 12 participants was recruited from the local university in Michigan and was comprised of 5 undergraduate students, 5 graduate students, and 2 textbook directors. For maximum variation, participants were recruited from a variety of courses, while textbook directors were recruited and interviewed based on their roles as university textbook buyers. Individual interviews were conducted and the transcribed data were open coded and analyzed thematically. Results of the data analysis indicated that 6 out of 10 students favored using hard copy textbooks versus e-books for a variety of reasons, while both textbook directors favored providing students with an assortment of delivery modes based on their experiences with student textbook preferences. Implications for positive social change include providing the administration at the local site with data on the perceptions of students regarding the mode of textbook delivery and textbook directors' recommendations for providing both e-books and hard copy texts. Being responsive to students' preferences for learning materials allows for the possibility of improved learning outcomes.

The process of identifying talented and gifted (TAG) students in one local northeastern middle school was generally inconsistent with the state and local school district identification policies. The result was that qualified students were not always identified for this program, and this practice became a rationale to conduct a modified policy analysis of the TAG program placement procedures. The local school district policies on TAG are based on the gifted program standards of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). Using the NAGC standards as the conceptual framework, the implementation of district policies on identification of students into the TAG program were explored in this case study of one school. The purpose was to clarify the implementation of the TAG program processes in accordance with NAGC standards and state policy. Data were collected from multiple sources through interviews with guidance counselors, teachers, the data coach, and local middle school administrators who were involved in placement of TAG students, and from review of policy documents and archived data. Data from interviews and document review were analyzed using typological analysis model in alignment with the NAGC standards from which themes formed a policy compliance/noncompliance basis for a white paper. In this white paper, recommendations were made to the local district that included screening consistency for all students, using multiple measures for qualification, and assuring certification of testing personnel. Social change implications include the potential to improve TAG identification policy for those responsible in this district and other similar districts for placement consistent with state and NAGC standards.

In the local school district under study, there has been a lack of professional development (PD) in classroom management, and challenging student behaviors in the classroom are increasing, eroding teachers' self-efficacy. The purpose of this correlational study, guided by a constructivist theoretical framework, was to examine the relationship between teachers' self-efficacy in the classroom when addressing challenging student behaviors and the amount of PD that the teachers have had in classroom management. The convenience sample comprised 99 teachers from 8 elementary schools; this total was based upon a response rate of 45%. The instrument, the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), was administered via SurveyMonkey-®. Although the Pearson product-moment correlation showed that PD in classroom management and teachers' self-efficacy were not significantly related, the descriptive TSES results indicated that teachers needed specific guidance in addressing challenging students, as evidenced by the lowest score on the TSES for the question asking teachers how well they are able to educate the most difficult students. Instead of planning another series of broad PD sessions for teachers, a behavior management manual was designed to simultaneously help teachers manage challenging student behaviors and increase their self-efficacy in the classroom when addressing challenging student behaviors. The goal is to provide teachers with a manual that they can reference to find resources to address challenging student behaviors and allow them to focus on academic achievement. This behavior management manual for teachers has implications for positive social change in that it can educate teachers on how to manage challenging student behaviors and potentially improve academic performance.