Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Educational city'

The purpose of this study is to investigate the existing influences faced by today’s urban inner-city elementary school principals that impact the successful implementation of reform strategies as measured by student achievement data. The study examines dynamics such as the characteristics and qualities, leadership style and behavior, instructional leadership, school community, and political influences encountered by principals assigned to low-income urban inner-city schools and the impact of these forces on student achievement in South Los Angeles elementary schools. It utilizes a mixed method design phenomenological approach. The quantitative phase entails the use data from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ)-5X from Mind Garden Institute and the Principal Instrumental Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) authored by Hallinger (1982). Information was collected from interviews with principals, assistant principals, and approximately 30% of classroom teachers at two underperforming schools. Grounded within the Coherence Framework by Fullan and Quinn (2015) and the Public Education Leadership Project (PELP) Coherence Framework by Childress, Elmore, Grossman, and King (2011), the study provides an insight into the effectiveness of the principal position and its impact on school reform efforts. The findings of this study revealed the transformative style of leadership is most preferred as it allows stakeholder voice in decision-making. Data also verified that urban innercity principals devote the least amount of time in their day to instructional leadership activities. These activities are focused on framing the school’s goals and coordinating the school curriculum and require emphasis on engaging in the behaviors that develop the school’s learning climate. Moreover, several themes emerged from the study. These included (a) teacher “voice” in school-wide decisions impacts reform efforts; (b) the school community severely impacts the principal’s decision-making towards school improvement; (c) the principal’s style of leadership influences teacher commitment; (d) the political/district influences can limit reform efforts.

This research was designed as an autoethnographic study using the researcher's own reflections, observations, and experiences to determine if smaller high schools are better for inner-city students than a large high school learning environment. Autoethnography is increasingly used as a research method, pushing the boundaries of qualitative inquiry by focusing on a phenomenon in the life of the researcher as the central aspect of study (Fetterman, 2010). Based on interviews, student and teacher surveys, and personal journals and diaries, the study focused on my work as a teacher in a large inner-city high school in a California school district. The large high school was converted to three smaller schools in 2003. Told in vignettes that describe my perceptions and the perceptions of the other participants in my study regarding the conversion from large to small schools, selected stories document the factors that led to my conclusions. The key issue in this study, then, involved the perception of the stakeholders as to whether small schools were more advantageous for student success.

My study revealed some interesting facts about small schools. Small schools foster closer relationships between the adults and students and among the students themselves. As a result, students feel more engaged with the school community, and these close relationships are accompanied by greater mutual respect. It seems that it is difficult to be abusive to others who you know and value which the students themselves recognized.

For years, before the implementation of the small school concept, Clark High School's campus was riddled with crime. The student body lived in California, in an area plagued with violence and poverty and all the social ills that accompany this environment. Safety has always been an issue for parents, teachers, and students. I have clearly demonstrated that, when it comes to small schools, students in urban areas benefit from a safer environment. For example, I did not witness the number of fights or shootings that I did when Clark was a large school. Also, after Clark High School converted into three small schools, there was a decrease in student suspensions.

The purpose of this heuristic study was to explore and describe conservatory-trained violin performance major students' perceptions of their lived experience in violin learning from childhood to the music schools in New York City. The seven participants were undergraduate, graduate-level violin major students selected from the three major music schools in New York City. The primary data was collected via face-to-face audiotaped interviews, which became the narrative data.

The first question addressed students' perceptions of one-to-one violin instruction regarding expectations and values. The findings suggested that (1) autonomous thinking, boosted confidence, and transcultural learning were invaluable gains from instruction; (2) a reciprocal relationship existed between the amount of new ideas gained and one's performance outcome in lessons, which connoted students' recognition of self-responsibility in determining the quality of lessons; and (3) an ideal teacher encourages independent thinking, provides honest feedback, and respects students' individuality.

The second question asked students' perceptions toward power relationship and degree of autonomy in decision-making. The findings suggested that (1) interpretive demands seemed to cause a stronger impact to student-autonomy when compared to repertoire and technique-related demands; and (2) students adopted different reactive patterns and conflict management strategies to deal with conflicts and power struggle in the violin studio.

The third question explored students' perceptions toward the helpfulness of other courses to violin performance. The findings suggested that while all students were adept at independent learning, some students reported music theory/history courses were helpful in empowering interpretive/performance autonomy.

The last question investigated students' perceptions toward the interrelationships among self, music, violin performance, and culture. The findings suggested that (1) students' self-concept of ability in violin playing might be correlated with degree of autonomy and self-perceived technical competency; (2) the meaning of violin performance was to attain self-fulfillment in two domains: personal and social; and (3) performance autonomy might be circumscribed by socio-cultural expectation and economic condition.

This study implies that students' continued participation in violin learning might be influenced by economic concern, competitive environment, and self-concept of ability in violin playing. Violin teachers may need to help students maintain a sound professional development.

U.S. and world communities face the challenges of understanding how children grieve and of giving them sufficient social and educational support. Inner-city minority adolescents have not been represented well in the bereavement and attachment literature. The purpose of the quantitative study was to use the attachment theory to understand the impact of parental bereavement on these adolescents. Data were collected using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), the Piers-Harris Children's Self- Concept Scale (2^nd ed.), and school records. MANOVAs were used to analyze the influence of attachment organization, bereavement status, and gender on self-concept and academic and behavioral functioning in school. Results indicated that securely attached adolescents functioned better across all 3 variables than did insecure and unresolved/disorganized adolescents. There were no differences in functioning in the bereaved group according to attachment organization. Results according to gender indicated that although the female participants experienced more academic success and had fewer behavioral difficulties in school, their self-concept was more negative than was that of their male counterparts. There were no differences in functioning in the bereaved group according to gender, but compared to the entire sample, the bereaved females no longer functioned better than males, academically or behaviorally, and there were no longer differences in self-concept. Possible positive social changes from these findings include improvements in school-related student support such as promoting the use of the AAI, linking educational and clinical environments, and assisting schools in developing safe-base classroom environments that could better meet students' needs according to their attachment organization and bereavement status.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the college-related self-efficacy of 12th Grade English learners enrolled in a public charter school in Southern California. College-related self-efficacy is defined as a student's belief that they can attend college. This qualitative exploratory study was designed to explore the beliefs and attitudes that current English language learners (ELL) have regarding the possibility of attending college. A cross sectional data collection approach was utilized to explore college-related self-efficacy during English Learner's senior year. The senior class studied was the first to experience a high-school pathway designed to culminate in English language learners having both the academic skills and having completed the coursework to make them college-ready and competitive during the admissions process.

The findings of this study support the following conclusions. Explicit adult investment in ELL success impacts how students describe their college-related self-efficacy. Language acquisition impacts the ability to communicate both academic and social-emotional growth. According to ELL students, personal efficacy and college-related self-efficacy share descriptive traits. Students perceive their college-related self-efficacy as a choice impacted by both external and internal input. As default experts for ELLs, teachers are in a position to impact college-related self-efficacy. College-related self-efficacy is impacted by factors outside the school campus and outside the school-day. English learners need additional time outside of their senior year to understand college applications and the college experience. Students view additional opportunities to practice language as a key component of social immersion and acculturation. Explicit attention to belief in ELL student potential is an avenue of improving college-related self-efficacy.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in the percentage of suspensions and expulsions between African American males and the combination of males of other ethnicities based upon school district settings of city and county in K-12 public school divisions in Region II of Virginia. The researcher analyzed archival data from approximately 65,000 males in Grades 2–10 enrolled in Virginia’s public schools in Region II. To analyze quantitative data, descriptive statistics, such as the mean and standard deviation scores, were used as well as frequency distributions and measures of central tendency. Two two-way analyses of variance were conducted to understand if there was an interaction between the two independent variables (student ethnicity and school district setting) and the dependent variables (number of suspensions and number of expulsions). The study results indicated that there were no recorded expulsions in the data file, as the values were all 0. There were suspensions, however, and the results indicated that there was a statistically significantly greater proportion of suspensions among African American males than the combination of males of other ethnicities. Additionally, there was insufficient evidence to determine if a difference exists between city and county schools in the percentage of suspensions, nor was there a significant ethnicity–division-type interaction. The findings from this study may have important implications for educators and local and state policymakers who may be considering ways to improve discipline practices in public schools.

In the last two decades, research has increasingly demonstrated that public investment in high-quality early care and education, particularly when focused on low-income children, pays off in terms of improved outcomes for young learners in academic achievement and overall well-being (Heckman, 2011). Now, a growing evidence base within the early childhood field also demonstrates that socioeconomic status (SES) diversity in early learning settings improves kindergarten readiness and social-emotional development for all children (Reid, 2012).

To contribute to the early childhood field’s efforts to better understand how parent choice and program leadership foster SES diversity within community early learning programs, this in-depth case study examined two high-quality SES-diverse community early education program sites operating in Baltimore City. Interviews were conducted with program executive-level and site-level leaders, staff, and a purposeful sample of parents of varying income levels. A parent focus group was also conducted. In addition, program-level leadership of early learning community programs in Baltimore City with a Maryland quality rating of two or more stars were surveyed.

Key findings of this study include, 1) Despite their shared belief in its implicit value, parents across the income continuum aren’t explicitly seeking out enrollment in socioeconomically diverse early care and learning programs; 2) Within the two selected socioeconomically diverse program sites, program recruitment and engagement approaches are neither explicit or refined enough to appeal universally to parents across varying economic backgrounds; and 3) Both parents and leaders also may struggle against their own class-based social identities and deeply internalized value systems, including perceived superiority and privilege, in in enacting either the program choice or transformational leadership that drives the development socioeconomically diverse settings. Finally, this study informs leadership actions policymakers may take to promote the development and sustainability of socioeconomically diverse high-quality early learning programs.

This quantitative research study investigated if there is a relationship between middle school principals’ leadership style in high-performing and low-performing schools in New York City. To address the problem and to answer the research question, a survey instrument adapted by Tomal (2007) was used to determine the principal’s leadership style. The New York City Department of Accountability RPSG Research Data Department provided the student achievement data. Ten middle school principals, three from high-performing schools and seven from low-performing schools participated in the study. High-performing schools achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years and low-performing schools did not make AYP for two consecutive years. Principals completed a 30-question leadership survey to determine their preferred style: abdicator, collaborator, compromiser, enforcer, and supporter. The principals’ leadership style was then matched to the school’s Performance Index (PI) from the 2015 New York State English Language Arts and Mathematics assessment. An independent t-test was used to analyze the principal’s response to the leadership survey. The data indicated that principals from high-performing and low-performing schools differ on 5 out of 30 statements on the leadership survey. However, due to the small sample size, the results are not statistically significant.

The New York City Public School System has experienced many education reforms over the decades. In 2002, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was granted mayoral control of the New York City Public School System. The continuous reform efforts affected superintendents’ roles. This change focused on systemic reform rather than local reform, which was one of the community district superintendents’ responsibilities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the evolving role of superintendents during frequent change efforts introduced in the New York City Public School System between 2002-2016. This study investigated the changing role of superintendents and how the various organizational changes and practices affected school leaders. It also investigated if any transition supports existed for superintendents during the frequent change efforts.

Research participants included thirteen New York City superintendents who first had experienced the various change efforts for at least five years or more in the role of superintendent. This study was guided by two research questions in which six themes emerged. The findings of the study suggest that all of the 13 participants agreed that frequent transitions affected how they approached their responsibilities. The results also revealed that superintendents that had developed trust in their districts, were able to maintain those relationships during all the change efforts. In addition, all of the participants concurred that their role was to build leaders. This study also found that all participants agreed that before policies are instituted, all educational stakeholders, including parents, must have input. Additionally, the participants acknowledged that the constant change of policy throughout the last decade resulted in lack of consistency and continuity and was not conducive to success. Eight out of the 13 participants agreed that the transition support over the last two years (2014-2016) was substantive. The participants agree that the current administration, seems to have a better approach in introducing and managing change efforts. One of such approaches is the ability for superintendents to provide ongoing support to their principals and monitor instructional changes enables superintendents to fairly evaluate outcomes.

Literature shows that one of the major issues affecting the achievement of inner-city African- American male students in public-schools is the ineffectiveness of disciplinary procedures. These studies have shown a direct positive relationship between student behavioral problems and academic failure. This study was an attempt at answering Noguera’s (2008) call for understanding more fully how African-American males come to perceive schooling, in particular their discipline experiences, and how environmental and cultural forces impact this perception of their behavior and performance in school. This was a qualitative study that heard the stories of inner-city African-American male students who were pushed out of public-schools through disciplinary measures. This study was based on racial components that fit directly into the structure of Critical Race Theory (CRT). The qualitative research method of portraiture was used to answer this study’s research question because it was relative to the problems that African- American male students face in their inner-city schooling experiences. The participants in this study were at least eighteen years old, African American, and pushed out of an inner-city public high school based on disciplinary consequences. Each participant shared environmental, cultural, and schooling experiences through a series of three interviews. The study found that environmental and cultural forces had a negative affect on the ways that these African-American males perceived their experiences in public-schools. The study concluded that these young men found success in private-continuation-schools, and that educators and policy makers should consider implementing the practices of these alternative schools in U.S. public-schools.