Dissertations / Theses: 'Improvement of schools'

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Bennett, Maureen E. J. "Inspection : a catalyst in school improvement." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.366758.

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Kessler, Rodney R. "Study of school resource uses in selected Wyoming schools." Laramie, Wyo. : University of Wyoming, 2008. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1799889121&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=18949&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

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Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Wyoming, 2008.
Title from PDF title page (viewed on Nov. 20, 2009). Includes supplemental PDF file of case studies of Wyoming schools/districts. Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-111).

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Fry, Thurman Jeffrey. "School improvement councils as change agents." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 1999. http://etd.wvu.edu/templates/showETD.cfm?recnum=442.

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 1999.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xv, 191 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-167).

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Graham, Khalil. "CALIFORNIA TURNAROUND SCHOOLS: AN ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANT EFFECTIVENESS." UKnowledge, 2013. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/edl_etds/6.

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of School Improvement Grants (SIGs) in the state of California (CA) in increasing student achievement using the turnaround implementation model. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) included educational priorities focused on fixing America’s lowest achieving schools. SIGs (i.e., up to $2 million per school annually over 3 years) to the nation’s persistently lowest achieving public schools required schools accepting these awards to implement a federally prescribed school-reform model. Of these models, the school turnaround model is the most aggressive and least used. Using data from CA, the researcher analyzed student achievement results in reading and mathematics at six high schools in CA over a three-year span between their pre- and post-SIG-award year.

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Bruner, Carl. "School improvement planning and the development of professional community /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/7801.

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Björkman, Conny. "Internal capacities for school improvement : Principals' views in Swedish secondary schools." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Pedagogik, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-1921.

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The aim of this thesis was to describe and analyse principals´ views of collaboration forms, staff development and leadership, as critical internal capacities for school improvement, in five more successful and four less successful Swedish secondary schools, and compare the qualitative similarities and/or differences in the principals´ views at the level of schools. A successful school is understood to be a school where pupils accomplish both the academic objectives and the social/civic objectives in the National Curriculum. The empirical materials used were collected through semi-structured interviews with the principals and deputy principals, and through general school observations in the nine schools. The perspective of principals´ views was used as the unit for analysis, in order to reflect the principals´ way of thinking about the internal capacities, as principals´ views were expected to be an important indication of how principals act and interact with teachers in their specific context. To create such a model for analysis meant creating views, generated from empirical text, that deepened the understanding of the meaning of collaboration forms, staff development, and leadership, as critical internal capacities for school improvement. These views were then interpreted with the help of two theoretical concepts; structure and culture. The creation of the model made it possible to analyse and describe the school observations and the principals´ views of the three critical internal capacities, in the same usage. The question of what is decided helped to describe and understand the structure in a school, which in educational sociology is understood as the division of labour. The question of how the decisions are realised helped to describe and understand the culture in a school, the distribution of work. By using the theoretical concepts of structure and culture it was possible to unfold the power relations and the modes of control in the schools, regarding the three internal capacities for school improvement. One part of the result was the constructed view types for collaboration forms, staff development and leadership. It was possible to construct three qualitatively different view types: A principal distributed and team-based/involving view type, a principal distributed and teacher-based/traditional view type, and a politically distributed and principal-based view type. The last view type only appears in relation to staff development. When connecting the principals´ views of the three internal capacities in the different schools to the different view types, the results show that the ´team-based` view type dominates in all of the more successful schools, as well as in one of the less successful schools. In two of the less successful schools the ´team-based´ view type has become a vision for the principals to strive for in relation to the experienced reality of the ´teacher-based´ view type. The remaining less successful school is dominated by the ´teacher-based´ view type. Principals´ views of external collaboration forms, the connections with the world outside the school-house, are interesting, as all schools no matter the level of success, are ´teacher-based´.

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Björkman, Conny. "Internal capacities for school improvement : principals' views in Swedish secondary schools /." Umeå : Pedagogiska institutionen, Umeå Universitet, 2008. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=018653247&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.

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Myers, Kate. "School improvement in action : a critical history of a school improvement project." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.284318.

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Kimm, Linda L. "Effective Leadership Practices in Improvement-Required Schools." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2020. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1703279/.

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This mixed-methods study identified the effective practices of the principal and leadership team in an Improvement-Required (IR) high school that significantly influenced student achievement and guided their school from IR to a rating of Met Standard in one year. IR or F schools under the new system are schools that failed to meet the state accountability target goals. The high school in this study had a large culturally and economically diverse student population with a high percentage of English learners. The leadership practices were identified through four themes revealed by the qualitative data analysis of focus group and individual in-depth interviews: (a) importance of instructional, collaborative leadership, (b) intentional planning of effective instruction for all students, (c) consistent use of data to guide instruction, and (d) ongoing, data based, targeted staff development. The study findings are significant due to strong corroboration between the qualitative data collected from the interviews and the quantitative results from the faculty survey.

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Stoll, Louise. "Making schools matter : linking school effectiveness and school improvement in a Canadian school district." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1992. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10006575/.

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Wilson, Jan. "A study of school improvement : understanding the processes and outcomes of planned pedagogical improvement in independent preparatory schools." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2004. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/4065/.

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This thesis describes the processes and outcomes of planned pedagogical improvement in a group of independent preparatory schools. It is an ethnographic investigation of these schools, which were researched and reported as multiple composite case studies. The research focuses upon two unusual and different aspects of school improvement. Firstly, a central theme of the study is the importance of the dynamic between improvement in classroom practice and the concomitant modification to school organisational arrangements.T he cases tudiesi nvestigate the essenceo f the mteractional processes that the schools experienced during implementing a process of pedagogical improvement, and as a result, a model is proposed to suggest a possible way of understanding the school improvement processes in these schools. Secondly, the research has been undertaken in the independent primary (preparatory) sector, where there has been little research undertaken and a dearth of literature that is useful and relevant to the culture of these schools specifically. The thesis examines and analysest he constraints,p roblems and successesth at the schools faced; and in particular considers individual and organisational capacity building, the stages that the teachers and schools moved through, the processes, consequences and outcomes and whether the pedagogical improvements could be sustained. The writer presents an empirical model of the process and argues that the evidence could be related, in a meaningful way, to other independent preparatory schools. The outcomes of the evidence appears to indicate that effective pedagogical improvement processes, that focus on modifying classroom practice and improving children's achievement, can be strategies for educational change; which can lead to adaptations and improvements within the organisational management arrangements, systems and controls within the school to support teaching and learning.

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Link, Bill D. Baker Paul J. "Quality management and school improvement a comparative analysis of three elementary schools /." Normal, Ill. : Illinois State University, 2006. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1251859831&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1178890693&clientId=43838.

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006.
Title from title page screen, viewed on May 11, 2007. Dissertation Committee: Paul J. Baker (chair), Joseph Pacha, Norman D. Durflinger, Jeffry B. Nelson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-216) and abstract. Also available in print.

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Nockles, David Peter. "Student perceptions of effective schooling." University of Sydney, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/5322.

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Doctor of Education (EdD)
Increasingly the Australian educational environment in which schools find themselves is one where schools are expected to achieve successes for their students and furthermore allow their successes or lack thereof to be compared with ‘transparency’ against the successes of other schools. The overriding principle expected from the politicians and society in general is one of providing parents with the best information possible on which they will be able to base their decision as to which school will be the best for their children. This notion is noble and honourable, one at which little criticism can be levelled. However, as researchers in the ‘Effective Schools’ and ‘Improving Schools’ research fields have discussed for decades, measuring the effectiveness of schools is not an easily achievable goal. It is far too easy to fall into the trap of using simplistic and narrow measures that supposedly allow easy comparisons. This study takes the view, as does most research to date, that univariable measures of school effectiveness are fatally flawed. The current trend in many western nations to simply compare the academic success of schools, however that might be measured, does little to measure the effectiveness of schools. What is most concerning is the growing trend of creating league tables of comparison and in some educational systems to use such tables to determine school funding. Equally disturbing is the amount of research that seeks to examine what students consider important in an effective school. There is a great deal of research on what characteristics parents, teachers, politicians and other key stakeholders consider an effective school to have but extraordinarily there is comparably very little research on what students consider important. This study seeks to somewhat address this inadequacy by measuring what students in their senior years of schooling in a single independent school in New South Wales, Australia perceive to be appropriate and useful measures of effective schooling. In so doing this research also examined if in the students’ minds their current school is effective and most significantly examines why students hold the views they have concerning effective schools. In order to achieve this aim, this study took a qualitative research approach to discover Student Perceptions of Effective Schooling. The theoretical orientation adopted was to both verify current theory of effective schooling as well as suggest possible developments, modifications and improvements to current theory in light of the students’ perceptions. As such both inductive and deductive analysis of the data took place. The data was collected using a range of methods from traditionally quantitative research tools, such as surveys, through to the qualitative research tool of focus groups. The results of this study demonstrated that while the current research has developed a good multivariable approach to measuring school effectiveness there were significant areas the students believed needed greater or lesser emphasis. The importance of technically good teachers, separate from the need for good and caring teachers, as well as the need for schools to be safe places were all important measures of effective schools. The ability of the school to engage students outside the classroom and provide a relevant and diverse academic curriculum was also considered essential for effective schooling.

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Smith, Martin Dunbar Kinnucan Henry W. "An analysis of the No Child Left Behind Act using gradual switching regressions." Auburn, Ala, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10415/1789.

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Palmatier, Randy Laverne. "The nature of professional development in a high-performing urban elementary school /." Digital version accessible at:, 1999. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/main.

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Chapman, Christopher James. "A study of external intervention and school improvement in schools facing challenging circumstances." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2004. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/3673/.

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Central Government has identified a group of schools deemed to be 'Schools facing Challenging Circumstances'. These schools tend to be low attaining schools that serve socio-economically deprived communities. A range of policy initiatives have resulted in a number of centrally driven interventions aimed at improving these schools. This thesis focuses on the relationship between external intervention and school improvement in schools facing challenging circumstances. The research strategy consisted of three phases, combining case study and survey approaches to explore two examples of centrally driven external intervention. Phases one and two adopted a case study approach to explore OfSTED inspection and the Schools facing Challenging Circumstances Initiative as mechanisms for improvement, while phase three consisted of a survey to triangulate data and explore some general questions pertaining to external interventions. Thus, this research adopted a mixed methods approach collecting interview, questionnaire and documentary evidence from a range of sources and perspectives. The findings are based on data collected from interviews with over 150 teachers in 21 schools and survey data collected from a further 94 teachers in 6 schools facing challenging circumstances in one LEA. This is the first study to explore the relationship between external intervention and school improvement in this particularly challenging group of schools. The findings suggest that if widespread reform is to be achieved a more sophisticated approach to external intervention must be developed. Rather than treating these schools as a homogeneous group, interventions must be differentiated to match individual school cultures, capacity for change and development phase. In conclusion, a typology of schools facing challenging circumstances is presented. It is argued that this typology can inform our thinking to support more sophisticated approaches to intervening and improving these schools.

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Moro, Jessica M. "School Improvement Grants at Work| A Study of Urban, Public New England Schools." Thesis, Pepperdine University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10600004.

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Education policy and mandates have changed drastically over the last 40 years. As politicians began adopting educational platforms as part of their political agenda, the educational standards of the United States have risen. Politicians have specifically targeted underserved populations as the focus of their educational reforms. Programs such as Race to the Top, FERPA, and No Child Left Behind are examples of politicians attempting to provide all students with equitable educations, regardless of ethnicity, gender, and economic background.

Just as it is naïve to believe that all students learn the same, it is also naïve to believe that there is one perfect program that will meet the needs of all students in all areas of the country. Under the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2009, the US Department of Education strove to close the education gap with the introduction of School Improvement Grants. The SIG provided federal funds to underserved schools through a rigorous application process. The funds were available to approved schools for 3-year period. The purpose of this grant was to help underserved schools create and implement a program that was tailored to meet the needs of their students, while promoting academic growth.

This study focused on urban, public New England schools who received SIG funds between 2010 – 2016. Through semi-structured interviews with administrators at identified successful SIG schools, a list of best practices has been compiled as a reference for future urban, public New England schools who receive SIG funding. The key findings of this study indicated that communication, strong leadership, collaboration, and good staffing choices played a significant role in the success of the SIG programs. The conclusion of this study indicated that while schools and students have a vast range of needs and difficulties, there are several common shared experiences that could possibly help other administrators in their quest to implement a successful SIG program.

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Bassett, Stephanie Diane. "Examining the Use of Federal School Improvement Grant Funds and Academic Outcomes in Schools Denied Accreditation and Priority Schools within the Commonwealth of Virginia." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/51744.

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The purpose of this study was to examine how federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) funds were allocated and what differences existed between allocation patterns and overall student achievement outcomes as measured by annual measurable objectives (AMOs) established by the Virginia Board of Education in schools denied accreditation and those attaining full accreditation while under school improvement sanctions. School reform in K-12 education has seen many changes. The federal government has intervened, implementing stringent mandates for increased student achievement and sanctions for school divisions not meeting the required benchmarks. Within the Commonwealth of Virginia, schools not meeting annual measurable objectives (AMOs) in the content areas of reading and mathematics or graduation rates for high schools are identified in one of three categories: priority, focus, or as a Title I or Non-Title I school that has not met one or more of the AMOs (Virginia Department of Education, 2014). Schools designated as priority received 1003(a) and/or 1003(g) federal school improvement grant funding to implement research-based school reform initiatives. The goal of this study was to provide a descriptive analysis of the relationship between SIG funding and overall student achievement that will add to the current research. The population studied was schools identified as denied accreditation within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Additionally, comparable data were examined from ten priority schools previously accredited with warning that became fully accredited while under school improvement sanctions. Accreditation ratings from the 2013-2014 school year were utilized. Descriptive statistics revealed differences existed among allocation patterns in the group of schools denied accreditation and the group of priority schools that achieved full accreditation while under school improvement sanctions. Descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests revealed SIG funding had a positive impact on student outcomes in reading among the group of schools denied accreditation and the group of priority schools that achieved full accreditation while under school improvement sanctions. Findings indicated mathematics student outcomes did not experience the same benefit from SIG funding.
Ed. D.

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Goodman, Elizabeth. "A Case Study of a Succesful, At-Risk High School." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/29522.

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There are local and national cries for high school reform, especially in our at-risk high schools; however, close examination of our at-risk high schools shows some are succeeding despite the odds against them. This is a case study of such a successful, at-risk high school. The National Association of Secondary Schools defines an at-risk school as one having a student population of at least 50% minority students, 50 % free and reduced lunch students, and 90 % or better graduating and being accepted into college. Bright Star High School was chosen because it fits these criteria and it was recognized by school officials inside and outside of the school district for its high student performance on a variety of other student achievement indicators. The collection of data took place over a twelve month period between June 2006 and June 2007. This case study answers two questions: (1) What makes Bright Star High School so successful? (2) How did it become this way? In response to the first question, the findings show that there is not one factor that makes the difference but multiple factors that interact with each other. These factors include: (1) common vision and mission; (2) a safe and secure, small, personalized environment; (3) strong, instructional leadership; (4) a faculty that functions as a learning community; (5) rigorous academic programs and intervention and support strategies (6) parent involvement. The factors identified in this case study are similar to those identified in other successful, at-risk schools and to those reported in related literature and research studies. In response to the second question, the findings show: (1) the Bright Star faculty nurtured a culture that supports and encourages the establishment and maintenance of a collaborative learning community; (2) changes at the district, state, and national levels in graduation requirements, accreditation requirements, and the No Child Left Behind Act had a powerful impact; (3) real change takes time, persistence, patience and an understanding that it is messy and not easy.
Ph. D.

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Bugg, Kent A. Baker Paul J. "Quality assurance and improvement planning in Illinois high schools." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9995664.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2000.
Title from title page screen, viewed May 4, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Paul J. Baker (chair), Albert T. Azinger, Elizabeth T. Lugg, William Rau. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-149) and abstract. Also available in print.

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Simpson, Kathy Tiller. "Effects on academic achievement of small learning communities by student ability level, race, and gender : a dissertation presented to the faculty of the Graduate School, Tennessee Technological University /." Click to access online version, 2006. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=93&did=1296090801&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1256240759&clientId=28564.

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Bylsma, Pete. "Differences in staff perceptions of school quality /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/7541.

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Neville, Lynn Bertino Baker Paul J. "Quality assurance and improvement planning in two elementary schools case studies in Illinois school reform /." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1998. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9924351.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1998.
Title from title page screen, viewed July 14, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Paul J. Baker (chair), Dianne E. Ashby, William C. Rau, Nancy E. Gibson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-144) and abstract. Also available in print.

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Lenart, Erin Boothe. "Leadership in School Improvement: Planning and Providing for Barriers to Student Learning." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/91937.

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When it comes to improving schools, context always matters (Murphy, 2013, p. 260). School leaders are "masters at brokering" (Murphy, 2013, p. 259) change. These changes are usually through the transfer of programs, interventions, and structures that worked elsewhere and pay little regard to the conditions and context that made them work (Murphy, 2013). School improvement reform will require "substantive systemic change" (Adelman and Taylor, 2007, p. 55) that considers the "current culture of schools and intended school improvements" (Adelman and Taylor, 2007, p. 56). This study will use a qualitative, multiple case-study methodology, a semi-structured interview protocol, and a document review to identify how school leaders in five, accredited high or mid-high poverty Virginia middle schools both identified and provided resources to address barriers to student learning. The instrumentation tool for this study was based on the learning or enabling components of the Adelman and Taylor improvement model (2008). The tool was used to qualify the school leaders' site-based school resource allocation and then analyzed for common themes. The study found that some learning or enabling supports were more represented than others. The study also found that there were three key leadership traits among school leaders who had effectively resourced the learning supports: instructional leadership; human-resource leadership; and culture and expectations leadership. Implications from this study include the need for further research on models for school improvement that require schools and districts to identify, plan, and provide for barriers to student learning. A second implication is the need for further study on leadership traits that might exist in school leaders who not only recognize but are able to inspire the implicit and explicit need to plan and provide for overcoming barriers to student learning.
Doctor of Education
The process of improving schools is important. The decision-making and school improvement structures that most schools employ is one that focuses mainly on classroom instruction with little regard to planning for students who may struggle because of outside barriers, like the effects of poverty, lack of exposure to background knowledge, or insufficient schooling and experiences. This study used a qualitative, multiple case-study methodology, a semi-structured interview protocol, and a document review to identify how school principals in five, accredited high or mid-high poverty Virginia middle schools both identified and provided resources to address barriers to student learning. The study used the learning or enabling components of the Adelman and Taylor improvement model (2008) to qualify the school leaders’ site-based school resource allocation and then analyzed them for common themes. The study found that some learning or enabling supports were more represented than others. The study also found that there were three key leadership traits among school leaders who had effectively resourced the learning supports: instructional leadership; human-resource leadership; and culture and expectations leadership.

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Meeks, Lynne Hagens. "An evaluation of the Jacox elementary school improvement program." Diss., This resource online, 1994. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-06062008-164022/.

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Varayuth, Pattanasiriruk Riegle Rodney P. Strand Kenneth H. "School stakeholders' perceptions of total quality improvement principles in private vocational schools in Thailand." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 2003. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p3087871.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2003.
Title from title page screen, viewed October 19, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Rodney P. Riegle, Kenneth H. Strand (co-chairs), George Padavil, Albert T. Azinger. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-165) and abstract. Also available in print.

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Tartt, Fannie Harrison. "School improvement: the relationship between effective school characteristics and student achievement in selected Dekalb County Schools." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 1986. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/1832.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between effective school characteristics and student achievement after the first year of implementing a school improvement project. The intent of this study was to analyze what occurred in terms of processes and products and to compare changes in school characteristics and student changes achievement in the treatment schools in the control schools. The study posed the following questions: 1. Was there a difference in the treatment group and in the control group in changes in effective school characteristics: environment, goals, leadership, expectations, time-on-task, monitoring student progress, and home/school relations? 2. Was the treatment group more successful than the control group based on student achievement of the basic skills? 3. What was the relationship between effective school characteristics and student achievement? The study encompassed the use of an experimental design and employed techniques of ethnographic studies. Each group, treatment and control, consisted of three schools that were matched on socio-economic status and on student achievement. Six principals, 150 teachers, and 2,228 students were involved in the study. The treatment consisted of leadership training on effective school characteristics, the development and implementation of a school-based improvement plan, and staff development. The Connecticut · School Effectiveness Questionnaire, the California Achievement Test, and observed behavior were used as measurement tools. Data collected on thirty-five variables were subjected to t-tests, correlations, and factor analysis. The results of the study appear to warrant the following conclusions: 1. The DeKalb County school-based model was successful in improving effective school characteristics in the treatment group. The treatment was highly related to each of the following effective school characteristics: environment, goals, leadership, expectations, time-on task, monitoring student progress, and home/school relations. This finding was verified by observed behavior. The control group did not show significant ii improvement in any of the seven effective school characteristics. 2. There was no significant relationship between the treatment and student achievement gains in mathematics and in reading when gains were disaggregated by individual students. 3. There was a significant relationship between achievement gains in reading and in mathematics in the treatment group when gains were aggregated. 4. There was a moderately significant relationship between mathematics gain and reading gain. 5. The treatment group was successful in improving the achievement of students in each quartile. The control group was successful scores of students in quartiles, but was not in improving the first, successful the achievement second, and third in improving the achievement of students in the fourth quartile. 6. There was no significant relationship between student achievement and each of the following characteristics: environment, goals, leadership, expectations, time-on task, monitoring student progress, and home/school relations. 7. The characteristics impacted the most during the first year of implementation were leadership, time-on-task, monitoring student progress, and goals. 8. The pretest characteristics that showed high relationships with each of the posttest characteristics iii were environment, expectations, and home/ school relations. 9. A high relationship was evidenced between pretest achievement and posttest achievement in mathematics and in reading. Reading achievement was also related to mathematics achievement. 10. When socio-economic status, sex, and grade were controlled, no significant relationship existed with any of the other thirty-two variables used in this study.

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Mamrak, Bob. "An investigation of a Mississippi Whole Schools Initiative model school." Diss., Mississippi State : Mississippi State University, 2009. http://library.msstate.edu/etd/show.asp?etd=etd-03232009-111302.

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Mack, Yejide Safiya. "Leading School Improvement: African American Women Principals in Urban Educational Settings." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1276534166.

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Cobb, Nell B. Wheeler Pamela H. Lian Ming-Gon John. "The Chicago algebra project a historical organizational case study /." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1994. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9521330.

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1994.
Title from title page screen, viewed April 5, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Pamela H. Wheeler, Ming-Gon John Lian (co-chairs), Carol A. Thornton, Kenneth H. Strand, Maribeth N. Lartz. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-127) and abstract. Also available in print.

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Mees, Gregory W. "The relationship among principal leadership, school culture, and student achievement in Missouri middle schools." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/5540.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on June 10, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

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Harper, John R. Baker Paul J. "The role of teams in quality assurance and improvement planning in two Illinois middle schools." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1999. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9960416.

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1999.
Title from title page screen, viewed July 27, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Paul J. Baker (chair), Dianne E. Ashby, George Padavil, Glenn Schlichting. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-182) and abstract. Also available in print.

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Worts, Nancy Headrick. "High school students perceptions of the educational program at their school as a result of the A+ schools program /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 1999. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p9946314.

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Glickman, Edward J. "Site-based management : a study of selected New Jersey elementary schools /." Access Digital Full Text version, 1993. http://pocketknowledge.tc.columbia.edu/home.php/bybib/1139688x.

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Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1993.
Includes tables. Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Jonathan Hughes. Dissertation Committee: Frank Smith. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-197).

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Daniel, David S. "School-Wide Effects of Implementing Response to Intervention in Virginia Middle Schools." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/64281.

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The purpose of this study was to measure the association between school-wide student achievement on the English and mathematics Standards of Learning (SOL) tests and the degree of implementation and length of time implementing Response to Intervention (RTI) in Virginia middle schools. Recognizing that RTI is a complex process (Fuchs and Deshler, 2007; Mellard, Frey, and Woods, 2012; Mellard, McKnight, and Jordan, 2010; VanDerHeyden, Witt, and Barnett, 2005), some middle schools may experience uneven degrees of implementation in their attempts to adopt the RTI model (Mellard, Frey, and Woods, 2012). Principals serving grades 6 through 8 exclusively in Virginia were surveyed using an adapted version of the Self Assessment of Problem Solving Implementation (Castillo, J., Batsche, G., Curtis, M., Stockslage, K., March, A., and Minch, D., 2010), a Likert-like scale, to determine the degree of RTI implementation and the length of time the school had been implementing RTI. The school's implementation score and the number of years the schools had been implementing RTI were regressed against the school's school-wide scaled scores on the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests in English and mathematics. Analysis of the association between Response to Intervention implementation levels and the number of years a school had implemented Response to Intervention failed to reveal significant findings on student achievement in reading. RTI implementation levels showed a significant negative association with mathematics SOL scaled scores in the participating middle schools.
Ed. D.

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Pace, Gordon T. "A study of the relationships between financial characteristics of schools and the Missouri school improvement program accreditation standards /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2002. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p3052204.

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Stanley, Michael A. "The success of Waccamaw School : a case study of an anomaly /." Electronic version (Microsoft Word), 2003. http://dl.uncw.edu/etd/2003/stanleym/michaelstanley.doc.

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Karr, Marla Jill. "Middle school restructuring and renewal in one Missouri school district from the perspective of a district administrator." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/5977.

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 12, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

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Savidge, Elizabeth Ann. "The importance of relationships in the renewal process of one middle school." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/5925.

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 12, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

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Stephens, Deborah Kathryn. "The importance of ownership in the renewal process of one middle school." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/5956.

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 13, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

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Cavanagh, Robert F. "The culture and improvement of Western Australian senior secondary schools." Curtin University of Technology, Faculty of Education, 1997. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=11830.

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The operation and development of Western Australian senior secondary schools is based upon traditional theories of organisational management and school administration. The study sought to explore alternative conceptions of the nature of schools and the processes by which they can be improved.Examination of research on school effectiveness revealed that student learning outcomes were consequential on the values and norms of the staff of schools. These values and norms constitute the culture of a school and govern the professional activity of teachers. School culture can be contrasted with the formal school organisation in which the work of teachers is prescribed by explicit rules and regulations. Viewing schools from a cultural rather than organisational perspective requires conceptualising the school as a learning community. A learning community is bonded together by common expectations about the roles of teachers and the learning of students. The predominant consideration is the educative mission of the school and not the requirements of the formal organisation. Organisational development is viewed as cultural transformation. The improvement of the school is facilitated by the growth of a school culture which is supportive of the professional needs of teachers and the educative needs of students.The study utilised a developmental mixed-method research approach to investigate the nature, temporal stability and improvement of the culture of local senior secondary schools.A quantitative instrument was developed to measure aspects of school culture identified in the school effectiveness literature. The School Cultural Elements Questionnaire (SCEQ) provided a measure of the level of teacher efficacy, emphasis on learning, collegiality, collaboration, shared planning and transformational leadership in local schools. The SCEQ data were supplemented by data from a ++
stratified sample interview programme in two schools. Empirical findings indicated school culture was internally dynamic, in interaction with its external environment and capable of changing. Interview data provided examples of internal and external influences on the maintenance, growth and decline of school culture.The results of the empirical phases of the study were applied in the development of a model of school culture, the School Improvement Model of School Culture. The model contained six cultural constructs which are characteristic of school culture and the processes by which it can be transformed. The model was then applied in a detailed examination of practical and theoretical aspects of Western Australian systemic school improvement initiatives. The effectiveness of these initiatives was explained as a consequence of implementation strategies and their interaction with the prevailing school culture.The study is important for school level personnel, school improvement programme designers and educational researchers. In particular, the School Improvement Model of School Culture provides a significant alternative conception of the nature of schools and the processes by which they improve.

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Lewis-Briggs, Stephanie Kay. "The effectiveness of small learning communities in program improvement schools." Diss., UC access only, 2009. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1907248581&sid=1&Fmt=7&clientId=48051&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009.
Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-105). Issued in print and online. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations.

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Sams, Roderick Donnel. "Lessons from a rural Georgia school on developing successful professional learning communities." Click here to access dissertation, 2007. http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/archive/fall2007/roderick_d_sams/Sams_Roderick_D_200708_edd.pdf.

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Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2007.
"A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." In Education Administration, under the direction of Meta Harris. ETD. Electronic version approved: December 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 110-118) and appendices.

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44

Floyd, David Graham. "An examination of the links between the pedagogical culture of primary schools, school effectiveness and school improvement." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1999. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10006625/.

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This study examines the proposition that values and beliefs about teaching and learning are of critical importance in determining pupil outcomes. Using a sample of teaching staff from 32 primary schools, I attempt to identify these beliefs and their links with school effectiveness and school improvement. School effectiveness is measured in terms of pupil progress on Suffolk Reading Tests taken at 6+ and 8+ from 1994-6. Data about pedagogical values and beliefs were collected using interviews, questionnaires and Ofsted reports. An outlier framework was used to analyse effectiveness and improvement, and to determine if either was associated with a pedagogical culture based upon the ideology of progressivism which the work of Plowden and Piaget supposedly spawned during the early 1970s. It has been argued that this ideology still continues to influence primary practice and has been largely responsible for a perceived decline in standards of literacy. The results of this study suggest that differences in pedagogical culture between outlier groups are not nearly as wide ranging as some critics of primary practice suggest. However, although the differences may be few, they may still explain the apparent divergence in effectiveness since they appear to relate to pedagogical goals, methods, and certain leadership strategies. Differences between schools in which the rate of pupil progress improved substantially between 1994-6 and those in which it declined, appeared even less marked. This study also explores the challenges involved in linking research into school effectiveness with school improvement, and suggests that the lack of synergy between the two, particularly in the sphere of teaching and learning, can be partly transcended through the concept of pedagogical culture which is common to both fields of enquiry. The study concludes by positing a model that uses pedagogical culture to link both the school effectiveness and school improvement paradigms.

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Craig, Margaret Anne. "The culture of Church of England voluntary aided schools and their contribution to school improvement." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2001. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10020375/.

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Ettinger, Robert S. "Shifting From a Plan to a Process: School Improvement Plans in the Cambridge Public Schools." Thesis, Harvard University, 2015. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:16645012.

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Although school improvement plans (SIPs) are common in American school systems, they are widely viewed as compliance documents that have little connection to the daily work of improving teaching and learning. In this capstone, I describe and reflect on my experiences as a resident in the Cambridge (MA) Public Schools. My goal was to build district- and school-level systems and structures to shift the role of the SIP away from a document that sits on the shelf and towards a component of an on-going process of improvement. To achieve this goal, I collaboratively designed SIP templates that focused on shorter-term outcomes and actions, developed a protocol for school teams to reflect on progress towards those shorter-term outcomes, facilitated the collaborative development of district feedback about SIPs, and piloted the Data Wise Improvement Process in two schools to promote the connection between SIPs and daily instruction. The results of these strategies were generally promising. Most principals and non-teachers (e.g. coaches) reported that this year’s SIP process was more likely to improve teaching and learning than last year’s process. However, principals were more positive than teachers about the improvements to this year’s SIP process, suggesting that the gains in shifting from a plan to a process had not yet reached classroom teachers. This pattern is problematic because it is classroom teachers who must change their practice in order for student learning to improve. My analysis led me to expand my initial theory of change to include the role of accountability in addition to the focus on support in my original design. My implications for Cambridge and the sector as a whole focus mainly on promoting the development of “internal accountability,” defined as an agreement about the norms, values, and expectations (Elmore, 2004) between teachers, principals and instructional coaches. In addition, my experience suggests that district leaders should create “external accountability” by holding schools accountable not just for writing the plan, but using it continuously with structured reflections. Finally, this capstone suggests that district leadership teams should also develop internal accountability for engaging in an on-going process of improvement.

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Norberg, Susanne. "Cultural Backgrounds and School Development : A Study of Scandinavian International Schools." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, Fakulteten för humaniora och samhällsvetenskap (from 2013), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-28260.

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The purpose of this study is to investigate if cultural backgrounds affect how staff from Scandinavian international schools view school development. The study is based on the alternative hypothesis that cultural backgrounds affect school development. A survey was sent to seven Scandinavian international schools with questions designed to detect the views respondents have on school development based on the two most prominent school development perspectives; school improvement and school effectiveness. I investigated and analyzed respondents’ views about their own development work at their school today and what they would like it to look like. In addition, I examined what processes and standards they considered important when engaged in school development work. Also, I wanted to see if there were any differences in views depending on where the respondents had had their higher education, were born, or if years spent in Scandinavia had influenced their views. The results indicated that it is not statistically likely that respondents’ cultural backgrounds affect their views on school development. There could be many reasons for this outcome but since these have not been studied, I can only speculate. One reason could be that the majority of the respondents have spent more than ten years in Scandinavia which might have homogenized the respondents’ views on school development. Another reason could be that the majority of the respondents come or have had their higher education in either an English speaking country or in Scandinavia.

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Cowie, Michael. "Talking heads : a critical analysis of the quality assurance relationship between secondary schools and an education authority." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.300671.

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This thesis is set within a policy context, which contains inherent tensions and contradictions. These relate to changing systems of governance and control and to a Government driven 'Quality Initiative', which puts pressure on schools and education authorities. The implications of these changes for school improvement are explored by focusing on the relationship between secondary headteachers in Aberdeen and the Education Authority, and by considering concepts and theories drawn from the wider literature on quality and the research literature on accountability, power, organisation theory, school effectiveness and school improvement. Two sets of extended interviews were held with headteachers. The first set was conducted prior to the re-organisation of local government in Scotland in 1996. Second interviews were conducted in 1997. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Analysis of the first data set, using analysis software, suggested that insufficient account is taken of the organisational context within which school improvement is expected. In a second set of interviews headteachers were therefore asked to comment on a series of vignettes depicting different forms of structural relationships. Emerging concepts were related to relevant concepts and theories in the literature. Extended interviews with the Director of the former Regional Authority, the Director of the new Authority and an Educational Officer with specific responsibilities relating to quality assurance provided insight into the perspectives of those in influential positions within the Authority. The findings question the extent to which control mechanisms are likely to support meaningful improvement, suggest a need for a radical shift in emphasis, and point towards an extended, collaborative and collegiate role for headteachers in formulating Education Authority policy on quality. In the final analysis, underlying managerialist assumptions about the rational nature of change are set against an alternative conception. This supports a process-based definition of quality.

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Knowlton, Anne. "Getting it right a multiple case study of exemplary ARI schools /." Birmingham, Ala. : University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2008. https://www.mhsl.uab.edu/dt/2008d/knowlton.pdf.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2008.
Additional advisors: Nataliya Ivankova, Foster Watkins, Martha Barber, Margaret Rice. Description based on contents viewed May 29, 2008; title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 224-235).

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Lam, Yue-ban. "Pastoral care as a process indicator of quality schools." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1999. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B21304816.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Improvement of schools'

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