Browsing by Subject "School management and organization"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

An analysis of administrative duties performed by superintendents of city schools in Texas
(1930) Gray, Hob; Pittenger, Benjamin Floyd, 1883-1969
The effects of high-stakes testing on central office organizational culture: changes in one school district
(2007) Champion, Bret Alan, 1969-; Olivárez, Rubén; Ovando, Martha N., 1954-
The purpose of this study was to determine what impact high-stakes testing had on one school district's central office organizational culture, and how changes affected district-wide practices, central office administrators and campus principals. Three research questions guided the study: 1) What changes in the central office organizational culture occurred due to the increased implementation of and pressure from high-stakes testing? 2) How have the changes in the central office culture affected district administrators and campus leaders? 3) How have changes in central office organizational culture affected district-wide practices? This study utilized a qualitative methodology and a case study approach, focusing on one Texas school district. Three types of data collection methods were used: focus groups, interviews, and document review. The data were coded and analyzed using the constant comparison method in order for themes and propositions to surface. This resulted in a rich description of the case and provided answers to the three research questions. The findings of the study revealed that high-stakes testing has affected the central office organizational culture, as well as campus and district administrators, in four distinct ways: It has instilled fear of failure and fear of losing one's job; it has invoked frustration, both because of the narrow focus of the test and the demands of outside stakeholders; it has inhibited freedom, particularly in goal-setting; and it has improved focus by ensuring the use of research-based teaching practices and detailed student achievement data analysis. These changes have led to six alterations in district-wide practices: more precise student data analysis, reactive and targeted intervention for particular grade levels and students, increased discussion about testing throughout the district, improved curriculum alignment in classrooms, research-based professional development, and district support staff members becoming aware of testing demands. The findings contribute to literature in the field by investigating the connection between two areas of research, high-stakes testing and school district central office organizational culture. The study generated information to assist practitioners as they work to maintain or improve school district organizational culture while implementing high-stakes testing or other high-impact, mandated changes.
A history of the state school system in Texas, 1876-1884
(1946) Lewis, Leonard, 1895-; Eby, Frederick, 1874-1968
Key administration conditions for the successful establishment of an international distance learning partnership
(2006) Levey, Stephen; Roueche, John E.
America's economy and workforce continue to become increasingly high-tech, knowledge-based, and globalized. As this occurs, community colleges continue to seek ways to educate their growing diverse student populations through international programs. One way is through distance education. But simply offering an international online program does not ensure success. Administrative support, justifications, rationales, and design issues combined with quality instructional development, course delivery, and special pedagogical considerations are musts. Many administrative issues have not been fully identified in the literature, particularly in regard to community colleges. Therefore, the need for distinguishing these essential conditions is especially important. As increasing numbers of distance learning courses and online degree programs are offered by community colleges, one of the more significant and growing opportunities for expansion is the international market. Spawned by the widespread growth and increasing capabilities of the Internet, workforce globalization, increasing diversity, shrinking budgets, and the need for increased revenue, online programs have the capability of producing rich and varied opportunities for colleges and students on both sides of international borders. But international boundaries are not easily leaped through technology. Community college administrators should only pursue international online partnerships when they have a clear understanding and definition of the appropriate environment, student and institutional needs, capabilities required, or goals for such a program - not before. The study asks the question, “What are the key administrative considerations and/or conditions that need to be in place for a community college to establish an international distance learning program in a partnership with a foreign higher education institution?” To clarify, the study confines itself to administrative aspects as they pertain to the creation of such a program, not ongoing operation and/or maintenance. Practical action research is used as the methodology for the study. This methodology asserts that educational investigators can be personally involved in the research of their areas of specialization. Being the administrator at Houston Community College responsible for working with TecMilenio (a division of Monterrey Tec, Monterrey, Mexico) to establish a distance learning partnership, the author occupies an appropriate position to conduct this study.
The ruler and the ruled : complicating a theory of teaching autonomy
(2007-12) Lepine, Sherry Ann, 1961-; Reifel, Robert Stuart
This study was designed to compare teachers' perceptions of teaching autonomy at two economically diverse elementary school campuses to determine factors that influence teachers' perceptions of their ability and authority to make important decisions regarding their classrooms and students. Using a quantitative measure developed by Pearson & Hall (1993), the Teaching Autonomy Scale (TAS), fifty teachers, twenty-five from each campus, rated their teaching autonomy. The TAS served as a sorting and selecting tool to place teachers in two cohorts: low and high teaching autonomy. From these cohorts, ten teachers were selected to participate in an interview and discussed factors that influence their individual authority in making important classroom decisions. Teachers also discussed actions of resistance and conformity to mandates, reform initiatives and policies, which influence their ability to exercise teaching autonomy. Previous research has defined teaching autonomy as a measurable and quantifiable construct (Pearson & Hall; Pearson & Moomaw, 2005), as well as a professionally conferred characteristic awarded the teaching professional upon completion of the degree and meeting the licensing requirements for public school educator. Findings of this study point to teaching autonomy as a state of being that is best understood through a theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism (Blumer, 1966; Mead, 1934) and role-identity theory (McCall & Simons, 1966). The findings indicated a need for a different conceptualization of teaching autonomy. An original grounded theory is proposed that describes teaching autonomy as a series of identities, which are by nature transitory and shifting, rather than as a fixed score on a set of indicators. Further complicating this theory are the varying governance structures in schools that contribute to teachers taking both active and passive roles when exercising authority over the decisions important to the classroom. Schools that operate democratically, as learning organizations, cultivate teaching autonomy and value the professional input of teachers concerning decisions that impact the classroom and student achievement. Schools that operate bureaucratically do not necessarily value a teacher's input into decision-making. Additionally, teachers in the study acted autocratically regarding their teaching autonomy and made decisions in isolation, even in a tightly coupled policy environment. Governance structures influenced the teachers' selection of two roles, ruler or ruled and eight identities were described by teachers in the study they used when exerting or deferring individual authority over the top-down decisions imposed by external authorities. The role identity theory presented by the author offers a better explanation of how teachers enacted and described the phenomenon of teaching autonomy at their campuses than does previous research. Implications for future research, for school leaders and for policy are based on the conclusion that teaching autonomy is state of being that must be understood from an interactionist perspective alongside the characteristics of the teachers' workplace.