Browsing by Author "Oliveira, Anthony J."

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    The Change Process: Stages of Concern of the Standards of Learning in Superintendents' Region Seven in Virginia
    Martin, Darrin T. (Virginia Tech, 2000-03-10)
    The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of concern of central office instructional administrators, building level principals, and teachers in Superintendents' Region Seven as they implement Virginias' Standards of Learning initiative. The Stages of Concern (SOC) Questionnaire and demographic sheet were mailed to a sample of 405 instructional personnel of Superintendents' Region Seven in Virginia; 231 responded. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance procedures at the a=. 05 level of significance. Results revealed that central office instructional administrators (N=31), elementary principals (N=31), secondary principals (N=32), and elementary (N=33) and secondary teachers (N=33) not responsible for administering SOL Tests possessed profiles indicative of nonusers. The concerns for these groups were typically highest on stages 0, 1, and 2 and lowest on stages 4, 5, and 6. When the data were analyzed for elementary (N=30), and secondary teachers (N=41) responsible for administering SOL Tests, the findings identified these groups as possessing similar concerns. These groups were highest in stages 3, 6, and 2, respectively. A series of ANOVAs and Scheffes' post hoc analyses at the .05 level were conducted to analyze the data according to the group position/user or nonuser in relation to the seven stages of concern. When the participants were grouped according to position/grade level in relation to the seven stages of concern, an analysis of variance and Scheffes' post hoc were conducted to determine if the groups were significantly different at the .05 level. How practitioners feel about and perceive change will in large part determine whether or not change actually occurs in schools. The amount and scope of educational change needed to successfully implement the Standards of Learning is evident. It is believed the results of this study will provide reformers with an assessment of the various perceptions educators in Superintendents' Region Seven have regarding the implementation of the Standards of Learning. The implications and recommendations could aid reformers as they continue to implement the Standards of Learning and as they implement future initiatives.
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    Ethics and the principalship
    Oliveira, Anthony J. (Virginia Tech, 1990)
    The primary aim of this study was to produce materials on ethics which could be used in the preparation of practicing and potential principals. To examine the views of secondary school principals involved in the study, twenty scenarios were developed which portrayed situations that principals typically encounter. School divisions in Virginia were divided into four categories according to enrollment and the number of secondary schools in the division. Ten schools from each classification were randomly selected, and on-site interviews were conducted with each principal in which four of the scenarios and a survey form were employed to collect information. Responses of the principals to the scenarios were transcribed, analyzed and distilled. The scenarios and responses became the foundation for the development of a primer on ethics for use in administrative in-service workshops and principal preparation programs. The primer was used in designing and presenting in-service programs on ethics for the administrative staffs of two school divisions. Responses by principals to situations presented during the study and the in-service programs indicate that practicing and potential school administrators would benefit by having ethics included as a fundamental part of their professional preparation program.
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    Ethics and the secondary school social studies teacher
    Rogers, Catherine S. (Virginia Tech, 1996)
    The purposes of this study were to examine how teachers responded to ethical issues in the workplace and to prepare materials for use in teacher training and staff development programs. To determine teacher responses to certain ethical situations, twenty open-ended scenarios describing ethical situations were developed. Twenty social studies teachers from school divisions with 25,000 students or more and twenty social studies teachers from school divisions with 3,500 students or less were selected and on-site interviews were conducted with each teacher responding to four randomly selected scenarios. Responses were transcribed, analyzed, and distilled. The twenty scenarios and the teachers' responses were then used as a basis for the development of materials for teacher preparation programs for one college and staff development programs for one school division. All but two scenarios reflected a difference between what teachers perceived to be the action most taken by teachers and the action perceived to be the most ethical. Responses by teachers to ethical situations revealed that potential and practicing teachers would benefit by the study of professional ethics in their professional preparation program.
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    Factors influencing the acquisition and development of interpersonal skills among high school principals
    Colville, Christopher Stephen (Virginia Tech, 1996-12-05)
    This study was designed to investigate factors that influence the acquisition and development of interpersonal skills among high school principals. The study involved the identification of five principals with exemplary interpersonal skills. Two different groups were asked to identify principals with exemplary interpersonal skills. Those identified by both groups formed the list from which five principals were selected and asked to participate in the study. The study involved in-depth interviews with the five principals. During the interviews the principals were asked about their personal and professional backgrounds. Questions about their professional background included topics such as degrees and majors, positions held in education, and length of time in education and in those positions. Their personal background included questions about their activities in high school and college, family, personality, and characteristics. Individual case analysis' were done on each interview and a cross-case analysis was done on all five interviews. The results of the study suggest that the principals' interpersonal skills were not developed through formal programs but over time and through their life experiences. Some of the factors that seemed to influence the principals' interpersonal skills include: activities that exposed them to the public, strong families, the positive impact of others, and similar personality or character traits. The study also produced some recommendations for further study, implications for principal preparation programs and lessons for principals to learn.
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    A study of ways home schooling families in southwest Virginia believe public schools can better interface and assist families who choose to home school their children
    Golding, Patricia Surratt (Virginia Tech, 1995-04-15)
    As more and more families opt to home school their children, public schools are being faced with the need to know more about the families that home school their children within their division because many of these children will later enroll in public school. The purpose of this study was to determine ways that home schooling parents believe public schools can better interface and assist families who choose to home school their children. In light of the information gained from this study, public school officials may gain insight into: 1) how to effectively communicate with parents of home schooled pupils; 2) what services are needed to support the children in the home school settings in their division; and 3) what strategies need to be implemented to provide a positive transition from the home school setting to the public school setting in those circumstances where home schoolers return to public schools. A questionnaire was used to gather demographic information and to identify families to participate in a formal interview. An interview protocol was developed to obtain information. The interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. The major findings revealed that most home schooling parents would welcome a collaborative relationship with the public schools they could see benef for their children. Parents were open to receiving assistance from public schools in providing opportunities for their children to attend classes, providing inservice for parents to become more effective teachers, sharing facilities and materials, sharing information regarding curriculum improvement, and sharing ideas and mutual concerns for enhancing learning for all children.
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    Using action research to address the underachievement of middle school students
    Montgomery, Joan B. (Virginia Tech, 1997)
    Several decades of study have shown that school reform is a difficult process. Sharing the decision-making in a school and changing a school’s culture appear to be areas that promise some hope for making school reform a reality. It was the intent of this study to examine the use of action research in one school setting in addressing a school problem and its effectiveness in bringing about school reform or renewal. Data for the study were obtained from the investigator’s field notes and from participants’ journal entries, anonymous reflections, surveys, transcripts of meetings, and documents produced during the study. The investigator assumed both a participant and observer role in the study thus allowing an insider’s view of the process. Multiple sources of evidence and triangulation of data assured reasonable validity to the study. The results of this study indicated that action research is a vehicle to use to cross the disciplines in addressing a school problem. Action research 1s an effective route to increased collegiality, and professional and personal growth. It is a means of sharing leadership within a school. Although action research does not necessarily mean immediate student outcomes will be realized, it does have the potential for long-term change. This form of examining a school’s values and beliefs has implications for changing a school’s culture and thus leading to more long lasting reform.
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    We Can't Die Without Letting Them Know We Were There: Oral Histories of Konnarock Training School Alumnae and Faculty
    Hamm, Jean Shepherd (Virginia Tech, 2003-04-17)
    From 1924-1959, the United Lutheran Church of America operated a girls" boarding school in Southwest Virginia. When Konnarock Training School opened, there were few educational opportunities in the isolated mountains, especially for girls. Students from five states came to Konnarock, with some receiving eleven years of education there. Konnarock Training School recruited faculty from throughout the United States and at least one teacher from Europe. These individuals lived in the Virginia mountains, taught academic classes, and engaged in extensive community outreach. A unique level of cooperation existed among church, public schools systems, and government agencies during the school's existence. The mission of Konnarock Training School was to help women reach their potential and to become leaders in their families, their church, and their communities. Students were taught, by example and by word, that they had a place in the church, that women did not have to accept prevailing social and economic circumstances, and that they could make decisions about their own lives. The day-to-day examples given to the students became a scaffold for social change; KTS encouraged the women to become authors of their own lives. This research is essentially a case study using a feminist oral history methodology. A total of twenty-three interviews with eight women alumnae and faculty of KTS provides the basis for the study. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparative method. In addition, extensive archival material provided data for analysis. The central argument presented is that KTS was a community embodying both Christian and feminist ideals, one that looked toward the vision of a just, equitable world but that persisted in the real and imperfect world. Overlapping themes leading to a view of the school as an example of feminist theology in practice are Family and Friends, Community, Identity, A Tradition of Leadership, and An Eschatological Focus. The role that memory plays in the telling of one's oral history is also considered.