Grounded within an understanding of literacy as social practice, this dissertation interrogates the disconnect between the ways youth are positioning themselves in online spaces as text designers and the way they are viewed as literacy learners in many urban public schools. Using a connective ethnographic approach that blends place-based and…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the effective beliefs and practices of successful principals at high schools with a Hispanic population of at least 30%. Eight highly effective high school principals who excelled in their leadership of schools were interviewed. Each met the following criteria: They must…

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the extent to which school counselors in Alabama are engaged in accountability practices consistent with the ASCA National Model and other contemporary views of the school counselors' roles and responsibilities. This study includes a sample of 420 professional school counselors. Participants…

There is limited information on changes to accreditation standards and practices, especially related to diversity. The narrow focus of prior studies and the public's limited understanding of accreditation and its criteria have contributed to this gap in the literature. This qualitative study used intellectual biography as its framework to narrate…

One thing is certain, accountability is here to stay; accountability exposes the good, the bad, and the ugly. The academic achievement gap between non-White and White students continues to exist in the disaggregated data in individual campuses, within school districts, and within comparison studies across the nation. Thus, school leadership is…

In 2002, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation greatly enhanced the school accountability movement in the US and resulted in pervasive influence, mandating student achievement outcomes in low-income school communities. Of particular challenge has been the NCLB requirement to advance student achievement each year according to designated…

Increased accountability through federal and state education policies has resulted in a growing demand for educators to access, understand, and utilize the various types of data to adapt their practice. These data include student work, district benchmarks, observation of instruction, and high-stakes state assessments, among others. Despite the…

Recent trends toward globalization have engendered interest in comparative educational systems, pointing toward more fundamental change beyond the current focus upon accountability measures. This phenomenological study considered the effect of extrinsic motivators on the intrinsic motivation of academically gifted students in Germany and the…

From the inception of public education, the curricula of schools have been debated. As early as 1893, higher education and governmental committees sought to establish what, when, and how cognitive level curricula would be taught. In times of national need, as when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the educational system was called upon to help…

Recently there has been a keen interest in the area of mathematics and finding the best methods of instruction. For instance, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has placed new levels of accountability on educators for the success of students with their education, especially in mathematics. Certain areas of mathematics, such as Algebra, have been…

Retaining teachers continues to be problematic for educational leaders across the country. With these numbers steadily increasing, one must examine the reasons as to why teachers are leaving the profession and how school administrators can address these problems if schools are going to maintain and increase their levels of success. Reasons…

In recent decades, researchers have made considerable contributions to the field of new teacher induction. More specifically, they have demonstrated that an effective induction program can increase teacher effectiveness and decrease teacher attrition (Ingersoll & Smith 2004; Ingersoll & Strong 2011; Villar & Strong 2007). Yet, little…

This case study examined the intersection of collegiate-level student learning outcomes assessment with regional accreditation to understand how regional accreditation policies and practices leverage student learning outcomes efforts on US college campuses. To that end, the standards of each of the regional accreditation agencies were carefully…

In recent years, the responsibility for the desegregation of American public schools has transitioned from federal court mandates to school board programs and policies. There is widespread belief that this has resulted in the resegregation of schools across the country. One popular policy that is purported to provide the opportunity for voluntary…

Schools with student populations comprised predominantly of students of color, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and English Learners have traditionally been relegated to subpar educational opportunities. The accountability of the No Child Left Behind Act prodded schools to reexamine their instructional practices and implement more effective means…