This dissertation consists of two chapters on topics in Industrial Organization. In Chapter 1, I discuss a central question of the policy debate on public education: how to get more for less. Charter schools have been a tool in this arena to pressure traditional public schools to improve or lose students to them. Moreover, charter schools…

Drawing upon principles of participatory action research, this study collected input from secondary school stakeholders (teachers, students, caregivers, alumni, staff, and administrators) to create a local definition of quality teaching for students at an urban charter school in the northeastern United States. Analysis of stakeholder input…

This study used a quantitative survey in the form of an online self-administered questionnaire to explore and describe the views of school leaders on chronic absenteeism in New Jersey public schools. The first of its kind, this statewide survey was designed for the purpose of understanding how school leaders perceive the importance of equity in…

Educational rounds are a collaborative systemic approach used to augment teacher instructional practices. The problem is educational rounds' affect on teachers of English learners and their academic achievement is under researched. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore teacher perceptions of their ability to provide…

This mixed-methods dissertation investigates the complicated relationship between the quality of formal educational attainment and political participation in the United States. Numerous federal-level education reforms, influenced by the Corporate Education Reform (CER) movement, have impacted the quality of educational attainment, and the formal…

The debate on charter schools is attributed to doubts that such schools are improving the performance of their students. While proponents of charter schools praise their flexibility and creativity, opponents of charter schools posited that charter schools increased segregation, and skimmed the cream of the crop from traditional schools (Miron,…

This study provides details of the closing of an urban charter school and the developments that took place over time. The primary focus of this research was to understand the reasons for the closing of an urban charter school, based on the passion of the founder and staff. The study examined Senge's (2000) five learning disciplines and how…

This qualitative study explored the awareness and perceptions of a select group of parents about specialty and charter school offerings in a large countywide school system in a mid-Atlantic state. The study utilized focus groups as the primary source of data collection to obtain information from parents about their knowledge and opinion of current…

The study followed a quantitative design, in which participating parents (n = 136) completed the School Quality Survey, a questionnaire designed by the researcher. The study examined the differences in perceptions in terms of the quality of the instructional programs, support for student learning, school climate, and parent-school relationships.…

Beginning in 2000, a number of new graduate schools of education (nGSEs) have been established in the U.S. in response to increasing calls for more effective teachers. Among these are programs affiliated with "No Excuses"-style charter schools, which are focused on closing the achievement gap in urban K-12 schools. Teacher education…

Legislators have implemented an accountability system in an effort to increase school quality for all students. Policymakers assume that rewards and sanctions, based on results from high-stakes testing, can improve student achievement. The accountability system does not consider environmental factors that impact student outcomes. This study…

Public charter schools have become a bigger and bigger part of the public school landscape. Online education has also grown exponentially over the past decade. In recent years a new instructional model has emerged within the charter school community. This model is known as blended or hybrid instruction. Blended instruction involves some…

Today one of the most notable school reform efforts is that of providing school choice options to families. An aim of this reform effort is to create market driven changes in the performance of traditional public schools. Of all school choice options, charter schools have emerged as an influential educational choice. As public schools, charter…

Since 2000, The Wallace Foundation, nationally recognized for its involvement in educational programs, has supported efforts to improve the training and conditions of school leaders to better enable them to improve student achievement. One of these efforts in Delaware was the development of district level aspiring leadership development programs.…