The role of the principal has become increasingly complex and challenging. Recent emphasis has been placed on the role of principals as leaders who can build a culture of learning in schools to close the student achievement gap. Outside factors such as fast-growth in Texas have caused schools to change and grow quickly, which increases the learning demands placed on principals as they seek to develop the knowledge and skills needed for effective leadership. Developing and sustaining a professional learning community is a powerful strategy that has been found to improve teaching and learning, however developing professional learning communities requires skilled leadership. Limited research exists regarding how principals learn to implement and sustain professional learning communities within fast-growth districts, therefore, with this phenomenological qualitative research, I explored the lived experiences of seven principals within one fast-growth district in Texas to explore how they learned to develop and sustain a professional learning community.

Research has shown teachers' attitudes toward students with disabilities directly affect the students' performance in the general education classroom; however, more research is needed to determine what variables influence high school teacher and support staff attitudes. The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of high school general education teachers, special education teachers, and support staff toward students with disabilities in the general education classroom. The study examined multiple variables such as gender, race/ethnicity, teaching experience, educators' role, and school size; and the impact of professional development on their attitudes toward inclusion. This study used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Data collection included the Inclusion Attitude Scale for High School Teachers (IASHST), developed by Ernst and Roger, and then focus groups for general education teachers, special education teachers, and support staff in order to triangulate the findings. The results of this study found that general education teachers may have a more negative attitude than special education teachers and support staff. However, it is important to note that members of each focus group described what they considered to be appropriate exceptions to including students with disabilities in the general education classroom.

The relatively new utilization of learning management system (LMS) facilitated blended learning in secondary public schools has grown in popularity, but there is a void in research at this level. Teachers learned how to use the LMS features and honed their blended learning design skills through their own experiences, and in observation of their students' experiences. In this study, the knowledge teachers built and the decisions they made while designing blended learning were explored. In this mixed-methods study, the quantitative and qualitative results aligned, indicating that teachers design courses using a variety of components, often in different ways. Six themes emerged. The relationships between themes were used to create a theoretical visual of the factors impacting secondary teachers' decisions in the design of LMS-facilitated blended learning. Teacher design decisions were focused on the impact their choices would have on students. Variation in course design was purposely used by teachers to differentiate for students individually; however, variation was also the result of design challenges blocking teachers from a specific design choice. The implications for practice primarily focus on removing the design challenges. The results of this study add to other foundational studies to begin to fill the research gap in the …

To conduct this qualitative dissertation study, a phenomenological approach was utilized. The purpose of the study was to examine the perspectives of highly motivated, economically disadvantaged, middle school students to discover the factors that they identified as integral to their overall development and their intrinsic motivation, over time, to learn. A key component of this study was to give voice to the students who participated in this study and utilize their perspectives as a primary data source. Participants in this study included six middle school students, identified as economically disadvantaged, two from fifth grade and four from the seventh grade. Self-determination theory was used as a theoretical framework to guide and inform the analysis of students' perspectives, obtained through individual, semi-structured interviews with each student and classroom observations. Six themes, related to students' intrinsic motivation to learn and succeed in school, were identified. Extrinsic factors were also prominent. Although students expressed a true love of learning, they also acknowledged that external factors such as grades and testing influenced their motivation to learn. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness were major factors at play in the school, classrooms, and homes of these students. Recommendation for practice suggest that teachers, administrators, and parents shift …

Existing literature provides newly identified responsibilities of the principal supervisor but lacks in information about how districts should strategically spearhead the process of initiating, implementing, and managing the changes to the role of the supervisor. In this study, I examined the behaviors and actions of one school district's executive-level leaders as they shifted the position of the principal supervisor. Findings could contribute to a new area of research in how district leaders may navigate and manage the complicated process of initiating and managing the changes to the principal supervisor's role.

In recent decades, changes to federal and state accountability policy and related teacher evaluation systems occurred in the United States with minimal input from two of the largest groups of stakeholders impacted: principals and teachers. For this case study, I explored principals' and teachers' perceptions of their experiences with the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS), specifically the role of leadership practices and use of the evaluation rubric as a policy tool within an evaluation process. The study took place at one elementary school. Teachers perceived the evaluation process as carrying out its intended purpose of improving instruction through professional growth. Principals and teachers viewed the teacher evaluation system and the teacher evaluation rubric, a policy tool designed to facilitate and inform the processes and practices used to improve instruction in their districts and schools, as effective. Important district-level decisions also impacted how principals and teachers perceived the T-TESS. District-level decisions included policy related to frequency of required observations, methods of including student performance data, decisions related whether to issue a single rating or multiple ratings, and evaluation of specialized teachers. School-based leadership behaviors and practices were also found to influence teachers' perceptions related to the effectiveness of teacher …

Two groups of students were compared to determine the impact of early intervention at the Early Childhood School on academic outcomes in later elementary school years for both math and reading. Students who were determined to be disadvantaged in some way, either by income, limited English proficiency, or having been identified as needing specialized instruction and who attended an early intervention program, prior to kindergarten, were compared to a similar group who did not attend the intervention program. Scores on district level assessments in math and reading were tracked for both groups of students through the third grade. Scores on high stakes standardized testing of the students in third grade were also analyzed. Results indicated that students in the control group outperformed students in the treatment group on the majority of district level assessments. However, the opposite was true for high stakes testing where the treatment group outperformed the control group on a consistent basis. These results were consistent, regardless of the nature of the disadvantage. Students who attended the prekindergarten program at the Early Childhood School had higher scores on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam than disadvantaged students who did not attend. Since this …

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the systems, structures, and behaviors district leaders employ and enact to assist elementary school principals' relationship with their school instructional coach. Through the synthesis of current research, the conceptual framework was developed with a focus on district leadership behaviors and instructional coaching programs. The conceptual framework consisted of professional capital theory, instructional coaching model, and principal leadership skills. This study assessed the perceptions of six instructional coaches, six elementary principals, and three district leaders from Comet ISD regarding the specific behaviors district leaders use to support the relationship between the school principal and instructional coach. The three-part data collection process included document analysis, face-to-face interviews, and focus group interviews to support the triangulation of data. Through the a priori coding process, four themes emerged that identified key district structures and leadership behaviors needed to support the relationship between the school principal and instructional coach: program clarity, principal leadership skills, professional learning opportunities, and culture of continuous learning. This study revealed a specific need to understand program implementation, accountability, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the instructional coaching program in a fast-growth district.

Professional development is a critical part of school improvement and enhancing teacher quality; yet there is limited literature about how principals design and lead effective professional development systems. The research activities in this qualitative single case study explored the leadership practices at one successful school implementing job-embedded professional development. A conceptual framework relating Hallinger's leadership for learning construct to professional development helped frame the research. Collected data included participant interviews, a focus group interview, observations, and relevant document analysis. These data were analyzed using a general inductive method to identify the prevailing leadership characteristics. The major themes that emerged during analysis were: (a) vision and goals, (b) high expectations, (c) structures and resources, (d) communication, (e) monitoring progress and providing recognition, (f) focused and ongoing professional development, (g) differentiated professional development, (h) trust and professionalism, (i) culture of learning and growth, (j) building capacity, and (k) collaboration. These themes aligned well with the initial conceptual framework. These findings support the concept that leadership for learning may have implications for school leaders trying to implement effective job-embedded professional development.

While much of the literature regarding college readiness focuses on student-specific factors, such as the individual's academic achievement; scores on college readiness assessments; and high school GPA, more research is needed to understand which school-level factors have the most influence on the percentage of college-ready graduates. The purpose of this research study was to explore the impact of various school-level factors (i.e., student demographics, college entrance exam facts, course offerings, and school characteristics) on the percentage of college ready graduates from Texas public high schools serving Grades 9-12 over a 3-year period. A multiple regression analysis conducted for each year's data resulted in three regression models, which identified various predictors (e.g. per-pupil instructional expenditures, teacher years of experience, taking advanced and/or dual credit coursework) of the percentage of college-ready graduates for schools accounting for 91.7%, 79.5%, and 65.6% of the explained variance in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. Findings from this study provide educational leaders with data that could help them to make better-informed decisions regarding potential college readiness initiatives that, ultimately, could improve student performance.

Men continue to outnumber women in public school superintendent roles by a 4:1 ratio. However, women outnumber men by a 4:1 ratio in teaching roles in public school districts. In addition, more women than men hold superintendent certificates and educational doctorates. Due to this puzzling discrepancy, it is important to understand possible factors in the form of gendered barriers to access that could lead to the unequal representation of women in superintendent positions. In this study, I examined how these barriers manifested in the experiences of female superintendents participating in the study, how they influenced the hiring experiences of these participants, and how they impacted these female leaders throughout their careers. With this study, I investigated barriers associated with holding mechanisms, gendered norms, and gendered filters that may limit women's access to superintendent roles. Women's experiences of the origins and effects of gender normative perceptions and hiring practices have potential for contributing to the study of gender equity in the field of education and beyond. Findings could provide implications for increasing women's opportunities to serve beyond central office positions in public school districts. Possibilities exist for identifying practices in organizations that have hired women to serve at the highest level …