Browsing by Author "Smith, Barbara S."

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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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    Child Study as a Prereferral Mechanism at the Elementary Level in a Southwestern Virginia Local Education Agency
    Seibert, Horace Alan (Virginia Tech, 2000-04-04)
    The purpose of this study was to investigate the child study process in a local education agency (LEA) with four elementary schools. These data determine the extent that prereferral interventions are being implemented and whether these strategies influence the outcome of the Child Study Committee (CSC) decision. All referrals to the CSC for the 1998-1999 school year (n=108) at the elementary level were examined to describe the students who are referred according to four primary independent variables of gender, grade level, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). Free or reduced lunch was used as the measure for SES. Students referred were members of the total elementary population of 1884 students in the LEA. The total population was described according to gender, grade level, ethnicity, and SES. Using cross tabulation techniques, the percentages of CSC referrals in each category are compared to the population. Chi-square analysis was used to determine the significance (p<.05) of any differences in the observed distribution of this mutually exclusive categorical data. Records of CSC meetings were reviewed to identify the presence of prereferral interventions. Prereferral interventions are recommendations given by the CSC to help remedy a student's problem before referral for evaluation for special education is made. Two independent raters examined the reason for referral and the recommendations made by the CSC. The reasons and recommendations were categorized according to academic problems, behavioral problems, or one of three possible combinations of both. Inter-rater reliability was measured using percent agreement across all categories and Cohen's kappa was calculated to provide additional rater validation. Rater results were used to check for congruence between the problems leading to the referral and the interventions recommended. Records of students who were referred for evaluation for special education were studied to determine the percentages found eligible and ineligible, and were examined according to gender, grade level, ethnicity, and SES. Compared to the population, the group of students referred to the CSC during the 1998-1999 school year was over-representative of males and of students with low SES. Most referrals to the CSC were for academic reasons. In cases where the CSC did not recommend a full evaluation for consideration of special education services, the committee recommended prereferral interventions. The recommendations of the committee typically were congruent with the reason for referral, but often did not specifically state who was responsible for implementing the interventions recommended.
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    Democracy in education: a philosophical analysis and ethnographic case study
    Smith, Barbara S. (Virginia Tech, 1993)
    A philosophical and historical review of the evolving and growing definition of democratic education through the writings of John Dewey, Nel Noddings, and Joyce Rothschild was accomplished in a literature review that included commentaries from the works of Jesse Goodman, John Goodlad, Amy Gutmann, Hugh Sockett, Kenneth Strike, and Maxine Greene, and others. The review of literature leads up the to the ethnographic case study of an alternative school that has been in existence for twenty-two years and is a member of the National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools. As an ethnographic work, I "write the culture" as I find it at Connectionist School with a special interest in the systemic, organic differences between their democratic organization and traditional bureaucratic public and private schools. The study is a contribution to school reform efforts that are directed toward transformation of schools (Goodlad, 1990; Strike, 1993; Sockett, 1993) and emphasizes the need for a pervasive ethic of care (Noddings, 1984, 1992).