Bogotch, Ira

The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of instructional leadership
on student achievement through the instructional leadership of principals, assistant
principals and math department heads at the high school level. The Principal
Instructional Management Rating Scale was used to quantify instructional leadership in
ten different job functions.
The research questions were as follows:
1. Can the instructional leadership of principals, assistant principals, and math
department heads be described at the high school level?
2. Whose instructional leadership has the greatest relationship to student
achievement, principals, assistant principals, or math department heads?
3. Does team alignment in instructional leadership matter to student
achievement? 4. Does socioeconomic status moderate the relationship between the job function
and student achievement?
Instructional leadership questionnaires were distributed to the principal, the
assistant principal in charge of curriculum, and the math department head in all public
high schools in five of the seven largest counties in Florida. The unit of study was the
instructional leadership role linkage between the principal, the assistant principal, and the
department head as it related to student achievement.
The study found that (a) principals exhibit instructional leadership behaviors at a
higher frequency than assistant principals and math department heads, (b) instructional
leadership team alignment does not correlate to math achievement, and (c) principals'
and assistant principals' behaviors correlate to math achievement, but math department
heads do not. The study also found that student achievement is moderated by
socioeconomic status.
These findings suggest that the administrative setup in schools should be
examined. The alignment of instructional leadership behaviors did not significantly
correlate with student achievement; however, the correlation was positive in eight of the
ten job functions. Differentiation of roles may be the key to understanding why
alignment and achievement are positively correlated.
Mixed method studies may also need to be used in future research, as this study
contradicted other studies in the area of the department head's influence. Finally, the role
of the department head should be studied in depth. This role may be the critical, yet
indirect link to student achievement.

This study problematizes teacher education, and its accreditation guidelines as set
forth by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. The analysis herein
conceptualizes teacher education as contextually contingent on sociocultural
metanarratives, as functioning paradigmatically through consensus and gatekeeping
mechanisms, and as a structure existing within a matrix of discipline and surveillance that
is designed to perpetuate status quo power dynamics. This conceptualization grounds
dominant teacher education modalities within a specific meta-theory orientation.
Through this analysis, the author also explores an alternative conceptualization of
teacher education that appeals to the educative power of contextual awareness,
ontological sensitivity, and democratically recursive pedagogical and relational
processes. Such a conceptualization reflects an alternative meta-theory orientation. For the purposes of this analysis, the author employed textual analysis of sampled
website literature from Teacher Education Programs in six geographic regions within the
United States. This textual analysis was grounded in the aforementioned
conceptualizations and was intended to reveal meta-theory orientations as expressed in a
program’s official text.

Children of extreme poverty, who attend schools in impoverished neighborhoods,
traditionally fall years behind their counterparts before they reach school age. While there
have been numerous studies done on the effects of poverty on student achievement, there
are few remedies for closing the gap for students in poverty. Additionally, educators in
schools that serve a majority of students of poverty find that they have limited resources
but are given more mandates than schools in economically richer areas.
With the increasing mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act, educators are
struggling to incorporate the new demands into budget that are stretched beyond capacity.
Are there strategies that advocates for better education can use to mobilize legislators to
make greater provisions for education? The members of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission felt that they
could bring change to the educational provisions by changing their state 's constitution.
They changed the terms of art of the education article of Florida's constitution to increase
the duty required of the legislature to provide for education. Further, they provided a
definition of their concept of adequate provisions for education.
This study seeks to determine if the change ofthe language of the educational
article of Florida's constitution will impact the outcome of a challenge to the adequacy of
the Florida's educational provisions.

The conceptual framework of this study suggested that Socio-Cultural Leadership
was composed of the following four factors: Instructional Domain, Emotional Domain,
Community Domain, and Cultural Domain. Furthermore, it was posed that these factors,
collectively and independently, directly impacted student achievement in schools ofhigh
poverty. From this framework, the Socio-Cultural Leadership Questionnaire was
developed (SCLQ). The research questions that guided this study were:
1. Do the items of the survey instrument divide into the four domains as
described?
2. What is the relationship, collectively and independently, between SocioCultural
Leadership and student achievement in high-poverty schools?
3. Is the frequency in observed principal behaviors different between lowperforming
and high-performing schools? Therefore, the purpose of this study was to, via exploratory factor analysis; verify
that these four factors existed as described and to, via regression analysis, find the direct
relationship between the resulting factors and student achievement in high poverty
schools. High poverty schools were defined as schools where 50 percent ( 40 percent for
high schools) or more of the student population participated the federally funded Free
and/or Reduced Price Lunch Program. This study also sought to differentiate these
findings according to the performance levels of the schools sampled.
The pilot study, the descriptive statistics, the principal components analysis, and
the measures of internal consistency, all provided the researcher with empirical evidence
to establish the reliability and validity of specific SCLQ items along with the significance
of the resulting factors. Two of the five SCLQ subscales that resulted from the factor
analysis, OP (outreach to parents) and MIPD (management of instructional process
detractors), positively correlated with student achievement in the total sample (n = 903).
There is a less than 5 percent chance that these findings were due to a Type I sampling
error. Finally, principals in high-performing schools exhibited behaviors indicated by
subscales OP (outreach to parents) and MIPD (management of instructional process
detractors) significantly more than principals in low-performing schools.

This research was based on a multi-case study design focused on the leadership
practice of high school principals and assistant principals and their roles in improving
graduation rates. The study sought to answer one overarching research questions: In
schools that demonstrate an increase in graduation rates what leadership practices are
evidenced in principals and assistant principals and teacher leaders. One sub-question
addressed the tools and interventions that the leadership team practices in relation to
improving graduation rates and the second sub-question addressed the accountability of
changing standards with respect to graduation rates. A third sub-question sought to
answer how interactions of principals and assistant principals relevant to improvement in
student performance are interpreted by faculty and staff. The purposeful sample from
each of the three high schools consisted of one principal, four assistant principals and one
teacher leader. Data collection methods included interviews, observations and qualitative document review of high school graduation rates.
The study reveals six major findings: (a) school leaders establish a clear vision,
mission or goal to increase graduation rates, (b) identification, management and
evaluation of academic enrichment programs are necessary interventions for student
success, (c) school leaders build a culture of student learning and achievement through a
system of processes, programs and support initiatives, (d) the leadership team is
knowledgeable, strongly motivated and devoted to their role as leaders in serving all
students, (e) school leaders use data as guiding variables in making decisions regarding
at-risk student achievement and success, and (f) school leaders develop and foster
positive relationships with students and teachers.

Community colleges provide open access and affordable options for higher education to a growing population of adult English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States. Language minority groups, particularly native Spanish speakers, are currently the fastest growing demographic in the nation. Community college English as a Second Language (ESL) courses constitute a vital support for these students by providing adult ELL students with foundational college literacy skills. With the growing demand for college graduates in today's workforce, language minority students, like their native English-speaking (NES) counterparts, need to leave college with vendible work credentials. Community colleges need practical and affordable ways to improve learning and degree completion rates of their English language learners. College ESL programs face two key challenges in realizing this goal: (1) providing quality language preparation for college-bound E LLs, and (2) developing efficient ways to deliver curricula to a student population that has limited financial resources and time. This was a single institution case study that investigated two ESL curriculum models at a large urban community college. The study compared the academic performance and persistence of ELL students who studied in a sheltered ESL curriculum to ELL students who studied in a concurrent enrollment ESL curriculum that combined college-level courses with advanced ESL study. The researcher analyzed student data from college archives: transcript data, admission data, and course performance results. Data from three student groups were salient to the study -- students in concurrent enrollment courses (partially-mainstreamed ESL students), students in traditional ESL courses (not mainstreamed), and native English speakers in freshmen-level general education courses. The study described the relationship between the two types of ESL curriculum and the academic performance and persistence of ELL students in each program. Findings showed that advanced ELL students were able to successfully complete select college courses as they finished their ESL program. Results indicated that early access to college courses motivated students to persist. This study can help ESL practitioners and administrators in higher education determine if a concurrent enrollment curriculum model is a viable alternative for intermediate and advanced level ELL students.

The purpose of this research was to assess how prepared Florida's State University System (SUS) institutions have been during the past five years (2008-2013) in responding to the challenges of globalization. The research also established institutional trends for the past five years (2008-2013) and projections for the next five years to seize the opportunities offered by globalization and to produce graduates with global competency skills. Ten of the 12 SUS institutions studied in this research were Florida A&M University (FAMU), Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), Florida International University (FIU), Florida State University (FSU), University of Central Florida (UCF), University of Florida (UF), University of North Florida (UNF), University of South Florida (USF), and University of West Florida (UWF). The research was conducted as a case study using multi-method approach. The quantitative analysis was based on the information collected from the institutions and from the integrated postsecondary education data system (IPEDS). The qualitative analysis was based on the institutional mission statements, vision statements, and strategic plans. The quantitative analysis used six data parameters to compute a globalization composite index (GCI) for institutional comparisons and for establishing trends and future projections. Integrating quantitative and qualitative analyses led to the research findings of this study. Based on this study, the institutional preparedness for globalization has been low for six SUS institutions (FAMU, FAU, FGCU, UCF, UNF, and UWF) and has been medium for the remaining four (FIU, FSU, UF, and USF). The trend analysis showed that institutional preparedness could be improved significantly if robust and focused efforts are made over the next five years. In that case, the institutional preparedness for FAMU, FGCU, UNF, and UWF could ascend to medium; for FAU and UCF, it could improve to medium+; and for FIU, FSU, UF, and USF, it could reach high. The research concluded with some recommendations to help the leadership of Florida and the SUS institutions in responding effectively to the challenges of globalization. A few recommendations for future research in this field also are provided.

This phenomenological, mixed-method study compared and contrasted virtual K-
12 school leadership with traditional face-to-face leadership. All 106 participants served
for a minimum of two years in each setting. The study was conducted in two phases in
order to reveal consensus and dissensus points of view. Conceptually, a postmodern
framework was used to deliberately create spaces for new leadership ideas to emerge
through surveys and interviews. The data included teachers and leaders from charter,
district, and state virtual K-12 schools. Phase one of the study used a modified Delphi
methodology, consisting of an Internet-based survey and semantic differential survey.
The second phase was a round of interviews, seeking similarities and differences between leadership in the two domains. Using the lens of postmodernism, the nuances of difference arising from contextual factors were examined, along with the often-unheard voices of dissensus within the ranks of virtual K-12 leaders and teachers. Among the major findings, the study revealed no significant differences in
leadership between traditional and virtual K-12 leaders. A new paradigm of “leadership
by design” was uncovered as one possible means of innovating through virtual K-12
leadership.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine “pockets of success”
through the voices of participant stakeholders in low socio-economic status urban high
schools and communities to identify opportunities and structures that can improve postsecondary outcomes for students. Examining those pockets of success to rise above the dynamics that obstruct pathways to success, and identifying opportunities for students to transcend their social, economic, and human condition, are the impetuses for the study. The study design is grounded in portraiture, created by Lawrence-Lightfoot and Hoffman-Davis (1997), to detail the intricate dynamics and relationships that exist in high schools. Portraiture steps outside of the traditional boundaries of quantitative and qualitative research to converge narrative analysis with public discourse in a search for authenticity. Identifying what the participants value, how they create and promote opportunities for students, the school’s role in rebuilding the surrounding community, and the community’s priority for graduates, provided the groundwork. The review of the literature reconstructs the term “opportunity” in the context of the urban high school, aligning it with the moral purposes of education. It traces the history of educational and social justice barriers for minority students, outlines the impact of leadership decision-making on the evolution of the urban high school, and addresses increasing the capacity of schools to create opportunities for students to succeed. Participants revealed the foundations for success, challenges and goals toward success, conduits to facilitate that success, and collaborations required to build an agenda to couple school-based stakeholders, civic groups, and national organizations to the creation of a national platform to improve outcomes for urban public high school students in disenfranchised communities.

The study started with a presumed conviction that there was ample evidence in Florida universities and in the community at large that students of color made up a large proportion of the student population. Meanwhile, I observed in classrooms, and realized that the diverse student population offers an opportunity to explore and understand issues of interest about diversity. With the changing demographics in the United States and a more inclusive university system, students of diverse cultures, racial, and ethnic backgrounds are making American education both more exciting and more complex. This qualitative study seeks to uncover the cultural and philosophical underpinnings of multicultural responsiveness of higher education faculty at two South Florida universities. The study recognizes the central role of faculty in delivering instruction in ways that are most understandable to cultural diverse populations Twenty faculty members from two universities were interviewed and observed. They demonstrated positive interest and responses to the study. Most faculty support the view that an integration of well balanced multicultural education is necessary, especially in today's classrooms that are more diverse than in the past. The findings of the study confirm that a number of faculty believe that there are characteristics of culture that must be attended in order to provide quality multicultural education to students. The results of the study also indicate a coherence of faculty willingness to modify their instruction although not specifically to align with the model used in this study. The model cannot be applied with equal success to all faculty members. It comprises of a number components that can be used with flexibility in numerous educational settings. Participants in this study provided important information about their practice, their views about the multicultural trends and changes of attitude toward classroom diversity.