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Browsing by Author "Powell, Susan T."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Educational Leaders' Decision-Making: Presence, Influence, and Strength of Personal Values, Morals, and Ethics
    Strickler, Mark Rosen (Virginia Tech, 2009-04-01)
    The study investigated the degree to which the personal values, morals, or ethics of educational leaders enter into their decision making processes. A review of the literature suggests that leadership preparation programs for educators do not adequately equip aspiring administrators for the ethical challenges in a global society. The scholarship of John Dewey and Donald Willower in the field of educational leadership laid the groundwork for the dual methodology pilot study conducted with high school administrators and retired superintendents. Retired division superintendents from Virginia were interviewed to yield a database of thematic strands for developing ethical construct statements. Demographic data was collected in the first portion of the survey. In the second portion of the instrument, respondents indicated strength of relevance for each of twenty valuation statements applied to each of the four ethical scenarios. The third section ended by respondents assigning one of four value labels to each of the ethical scenarios. Implications for further research include early administration to members of new leadership preparation cohorts for comparison at program completion.
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    Leadership and School Success: The Practices and Behaviors of Principals in Successful At-risk Schools
    Powell, Susan T. (Virginia Tech, 2004-12-03)
    Students in many at-risk schools are not achieving at the same academic levels as their counterparts in middle-class schools. Many live in poverty, lack background experiences that would help them be successful, have parents who have not completed high school and may not speak English as their first language. The challenge for educators is how to ensure these students are successful despite these obstacles. This is even more critical today due to the rigid standards set by both state and federal legislation with the advent of the Standard of Learning tests in Virginia and the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. Students not meeting these standards will not be eligible to graduate from high school, a prerequisite for social and economic success in our society. A review of the literature indicates that the behaviors and practices of the principal influence and contribute to the success of students and leads to the thesis of this study: Effective leadership contributes to school success. Two key questions are asked: "What are the leadership behaviors and practices of principals in highly successful school with high concentrations of at-risk students?" and "How do principals in these schools influence the learning outcomes to close the achievement gap?" This study answers these questions by examining the behaviors and practices of principals in successful at-risk schools with a study of one successful at-risk school supported by a survey of the teachers in that school and two other successful at-risk schools. The findings led to some of the following conclusions: the vision of the principal is paramount for school success; the culture of the school must be as nurturing to teachers as the students; the teaching of the curriculum is foremost; the principal protects time for teaching and provides programs to address individual students' differences; the culture must embrace families as it does teachers and students; the principal is sometimes a "benign dictator" who makes decisions without the consideration of the teachers, and the primary job of the principal is instructional leader. Some of the recommendations propose that principals in at-risk schools know and articulate a vision for their schools success; create a warm and nurturing environment for all stakeholders; know the curriculum and recognize effective classroom instruction; provide programs that address individual students' needs and time on task for learning; understand when they must be the "benign dictator" instead of a collaborative leader; and use effective managerial skills in order to perform the primary job of principal: instructional leader.
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    Site-Based Management – Principal Perceptions and Behaviors after 19 Years of Implementation
    Gauch, Pamela K. (Virginia Tech, 2011-02-04)
    With the advent of the No Child Left Behind legislation and the culture of standards-based education that it brings, it is imperative for educators to focus on the academic growth of students. Indeed, the nation's schools, school districts, and states are being held accountable for student achievement. Administrators in numerous school districts across the United States have implemented a popular reform initiative, Site-Based Management SBM), to improve student achievement. District leaders must examine the efficacy of SBM, where the authority, autonomy, and responsibility for student learning are devolved to the school level, to ensure that SBM is yielding intended results and to ensure fidelity of its implementation. This study examined principal perceptions and implementation of SBM in the Prince William County School District in Virginia after 19 years of implementation. The investigator administered an SBM survey to a population of all 86 principals in the school district. Of those, 78 completed at least part of the survey, for a return rate of 91%. The study focused on the perceptions of principals under SBM and their implementation of SBM as defined by the functions of the School Advisory Council and the shared decision-making processes used at the school level. Variables of the study were principals' years of experience with SBM and the grade level at which they work. Principals reported positive perceptions of SBM, in particular, the perception that SBM contributes to improvements in student achievement and to a climate of enhanced stakeholder satisfaction. A third of the principals indicated that SBM requires principals to spend too much time on administrative tasks. Principals with more than 10 years of experience reported more positive perceptions than principals with zero to three years experience with SBM. Principals reported that School Advisory Councils spend the most time developing, monitoring, and evaluating the school plan. Principals' years of experience with SBM were not related to the functions of their School Advisory Council, but principals with more than ten years of experience with SBM indicated a significantly higher use of consensus as a shared decision-making process. No significant relationship was found between the school level at which principals work and their perceptions of SBM. While not significant, middle school principals rated the School Advisory Council function of aligning the school budget with the school plan slightly higher than principals at other levels. There was no relationship between principals' school level and their use of shared decision-making processes. Principals reported strengths of SBM to be autonomy in making instructional decisions; flexibility with budget; building teacher leaders; and shared decision making. Challenges to the successful implementation of SBM were budget issues; too much time away from instructional focus; and the need for ongoing training.