Dissertationen zum Thema „Results of education“

Researchers and practitioners have indicated that current teacher evaluation systems do not distinguish differences between teachers. In an attempt to redesign the current system and create a more effective system, legislative mandates required the use of multiple measures in the teacher evaluation systems of states receiving federal money. As a result student perception surveys became one of the multiple measures being considered for use in the teacher evaluation process. In this study, student perception survey results and certified evaluator observation results were analyzed to determine if there was a significant linear relationship between students' and evaluators' perceptions of effective teaching. Central tendencies, minimum, maximum, and standard deviation were calculated using the scores of both variables for each indicator to find the variability within the data sets. Additionally, a Pearson r was used to determine the strength and direction of the relationship between the two variables using six teaching indicators designed through the Network for Educator Effectiveness teacher evaluation program. The Pearson r revealed a significant linear relationship between the two variables for two of the six indicators and a weak to moderate positive relationship for the remaining four. Finally, quartiles of students' and evaluators' scores were calculated and analyzed to further explore potential relationships between the variables. Quartile patterns indicated a potential positive relationship for all six indicators. The results from this study can be used to help local, regional, and state decision-makers better understand the advantages and disadvantages of the various measures commonly used to evaluate teaching personnel.

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) was signed into law on November 29th, 1975 by Republican President Gerald Ford and as he signed it, he acknowledged that while the intent of the law was a step forward, the aspirations were complex. The law was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990, and has undergone updates and revisions roughly every five years since its inception. Despite these continual modifications, the academic and social outcomes for students with disabilities lags far behind that of their regular education peers. In 2012, the Office of Special Education Programs initiated Results-Driven Accountability (RDA) to measure and improve the efficacy of Special Education programs.

In contrast to previous iterations of IDEA monitoring, RDA is not based solely on procedural compliance but makes a critical shift to evaluating special education services by also weighting student outcome based indicators. The literature traces the data that led to the practical and philosophical change to RDA and points to the critical role of State Education Agencies (SEAs) in the success of this initiative. SEAs, long expected to offer training, technical assistance, support and monitoring to all districts with special education programs, are now tasked with the implementation of RDA.

Through this qualitative case study, the researcher sought to investigate the efforts of a SEA in leading the implementation of RDA by focusing on the initial phases of that process with select Local Education Agencies who are participating in the pilot program. Seven school districts were involved in that program and three of those participated in semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with the researcher. During the interviews, participants were asked to reflect on the process of the RDA pilot program, known as the State Identified Measurable Result (SIMR), and how, in the perception of each district representative, the SEA had best assisted with the implementation scheme. Those interviews were analyzed for recurrent themes about the implementation process and the role of the SEA as perceived by each district. The researcher then conducted a comparative document review to triangulate the information from the interviews with the written plans from the SEA to check for congruency and response to the concerns and perceptions of the initial implementers.

The researcher concluded that the SEA, in providing a designated literacy coach and instructional strategy assistance through the implementation process, helped to create an environment for improved educational outcomes for students with disabilities in the schools that were part of the pilot program, and that the SEA did incorporate the SIMR LEA’s input on areas of challenge in the implementation of RDA.

The researcher also concluded that LEAs face many barriers to the implementation of RDA, and although most of the barriers are not directly under the control of the SEA, they cannot be ignored as the SEA prepares for a state-wide implementation of RDA.

Forskning på resultat av pedagogiska insatser för skolbarn med diagnos inom autismspektrum (ASD) insatt i ett multifaktoriellt helhetssammanhang är inte vanligt förekommande. Det över gripande syftet är att ge en översikt över pedagogisk forskning som innefattar redovisning av resultat av pedagogiska insatser för skolbarn med diagnos inom autismspektrum och att koppla denna forskning till systemteori och ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, WHO, (www.socialstyrelsen.se, ICF- CY, (www.who). Forskningsfrågorna är vilka pedagogiska strategier är relaterade till vilket utfall för personer med diagnos inom autismspektrum (ASD) i åldrarna 6-20 år, i vilken utsträckning forskningen om elever inom autismspektrum är grundad på ett generellt systemteoretiskt tänkande och/eller ICF och hur man forskningsmässigt bygger upp evidens och vilka är delaktiga i denna process.

Studien är en systematisk forskningsöversikt i vilken 875 abstracts granskats. 36 studier har inkluderats. Skäl till exkludering har varit att studierna saknat beskrivning av pedagogiska insatser, resultatredovisning och/eller utfallsmått. Studier med otydliga diagnoskriterier, endast en deltagare med ASD och studier publicerade före 1999 har exkluderats. Resultaten visar att det saknas forskning om de långsiktiga effekterna av pedagogiska insatser i skolåldern för den aktuella elevgruppen. Forskarna inom området har i allmänhet inte arbetat utifrån en systemteoretisk grundtanke även om det förekommer sådana inslag. Delaktighetsbegreppet och ICF har inte varit utgångspunkt för någon av de inkluderade studierna men någon form av delaktighetsaspekter för individen eller familjen fanns i några studier. Det var vanligast att rapportera resultat på aktivitetsnivå men i några studier rapporterades ökad delaktighet. Forskningsprojekt med ett empowerment perspektiv saknades. Huvudslutsatserna är att det behövs mer preciserade sätt att ställa forskningsfrågorna, kanske i form av komponentstudier, fler långsiktiga helhetsprojekt och ett utvidgat evidensbegrepp. En tankemodell som ICF är särskilt motiverad runt ASD eftersom det krävs stora pedagogiska insatser för att lära dem användbara kunskaper och färdigheter i ett livssammanhang.

Many Canadian school districts use standardized reading achievement data to support reading instruction. Over 30% of 9th-grade students in the Anglophone School District-South (ASD-S) have not met targets for the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA), a graduation requirement in New Brunswick, Canada. This study compared archival reading scores of 6th-grade students from 2009-2012 with the same students’ scores in 9th-grade from 2012-2015, to determine if 6th-grade scores were a predictor of 9th-grade results. Rendering the impact illiteracy plays on society, this study applied the theoretical framework of social theory from Bourdieu’s (1977, 1984, 1986) view of social mobility and Turner’s (1960) view of contest mobility. A quantitative design employed a regression analysis to determine how standardized reading scores for three cohorts of students in 6th-grade between 2009-2012 compared with the reading achievement test scores as 9th-grade students in 2012-2015. A sample of 1,200 students was selected. A paired samples t test determined which level(s) of reading comprehension (literal, inferential, or critical) presented the most difficulties for students between 2009-2015. Results of the study concluded that 6th-grade overall reading scores were a predictor of 9th-grade overall scores and that inferential and critical levels of reading comprehension were areas of concern. These findings are intended for administrators and District leadership in ASD-S to support the implementation of an intervention year in Grades 7 and 8 to address this problem. This research promotes positive social change by identifying potential pathways for improving adolescent reading skills for New Brunswick youth.

The purpose of the current study was to test the theory of action hypothesized for the Mathematics Formative Assessment System (MFAS) based on results from a large-scale randomized field trial. Using a multilevel structural equation modeling analytic approach with multiple latent response variables decomposed across student, teacher, and school levels of clustering, the current study found evidence of effects of MFAS that were consistent with the MFAS theory of action. First, assignment to the treatment condition was associated with higher mean student mathematics performance and a higher prevalence of small group instruction compared to schools assigned to the control condition—both of which are outcomes hypothesized to result from MFAS use. Also, a positive association between teacher-level mathematics knowledge for teaching and student mathematics performance was found in the current study, which is consistent with the interrelation of constructs specified in the MFAS theory of action. However, evidence of the particular linkages of MFAS use→teacher knowledge→classroom practice→student mathematics performance and the putative cascade of effects that would substantiate the mechanisms of change posited in the MFAS theory of action were not detected in the current study. Thus, positive effects of MFAS on teacher and student outcomes were substantiated; however, as to how the effects of MFAS on teachers transfer to improved outcomes for students remains to be empirically demonstrated. Based on my review of the results from the current study and consideration of the literature on formative assessment as it relates to the design of MFAS tasks and rubrics, I discuss a proposed modification to the theory of action that specifies the addition of a direct path from MFAS use to student mathematics performance, in addition to the indirect path currently specified.

U.S. companies continue to grow and expand overseas. They also outsource business processes. There were approximately 350,000 call center employees in India in 2009 (Lundby, Parthasarthy, & Kowske, 2009) and another 350,000 in the Philippines by 2010 (Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation, 2010). The success of employees who are not U.S. citizens, yet work for American companies, has become critical. These individuals are, many times, hired by and work for organizations located in the U.S. yet are native to, stationed in, and supervise operations in countries around the world. The leadership and cross-cultural acumen of individuals in these positions can be critical to their success or failure as employees of American organizations as well as to their ability to successfully lead members within their own organizations to achieve successful results.

This research project was conducted by a third party to preclude any bias as the researcher is also the owner of the organization under study. The research examined leadership behaviors as well as cross-cultural sensitivities of individuals in these positions in order to ascertain whether there were differences between these self-reported attributes and the results generated by particular organizational units. Qualitatively, the researcher interviewed senior executives at a number of firms (not associated with his own organization) with respect to leadership and cross-cultural sensitivities of mid-level managers to ascertain if, from the perspective of these senior executives, common threads could be identified that would lead to a greater understanding of the issues of leadership and cross-cultural sensitivities in these mid-level positions as well as efforts that could impact organizational results.

The resulting data indicated that there was not a significant statistical relationship between any of the leadership acumens or cultural identifiers and managerial performance. In the qualitative data, senior leaders overwhelmingly indicated that Focused Drive, Trusted Influence, and Conceptual Thinking were defining leadership behaviors between higher and lower performers.

This quantitative, quasi-experimental, ex post facto analysis examined the relationship between the English proficiency level (ELP) attained by English Learners in the state of Georgia in 2016 and 2017 and their performance on standardized core content assessments administered entirely in English. From the theoretical perspective of validity theory, the researcher investigated the alternative hypothesis that the results of standardized content assessments administered in English to English Learner students yield little meaningful data that can be interpreted and used with validity in and of themselves. To investigate this interpretation, the researcher analyzed 176,941 individual 2016 and 2017 Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS) assessment records (N = 102,312 for 2016; 74,649 for 2017) matched to the corresponding ACCESS for ELLs scores (N = 34,420 for 2016; 35,805 for 2017), employing linear regression to quantify the degree to which ELP influenced English Learner students’ performance on standardized assessments in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies and to define the threshold proficiency level at which the preponderance of English Learners were able to score at the Developing and Proficient levels on the content assessments.