Browsing by Author "White, David Owen"

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    An Analysis of Career and Technical Education's Influence on Graduation Rates in the Commonwealth of Virginia
    Avery, Cecil Hart (Virginia Tech, 2023-06-05)
    Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), signed into law by President Obama on December 10, 2015, amended several K-12 accountability requirements. ESSA defined high school graduation rate for the first time in federal education law. In ESSA, the Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR) was defined as the ratio of the number of students who graduated with a regular high school diploma over the course of four years divided by the number of students who made up an adjusted cohort. Under ESSA, high schools that graduate less than 67 percent of their students were labeled as low performing. The graduation rate differed significantly between high schools and was influenced by multiple factors. Among other factors, the difference in graduation rates might be attributed to increased dropout rates among groups, such as males, racial minorities, low socioeconomic (SES) families, and schools that were located in urban areas (Bower et al., 2013). This study was modeled after the work of Blowe (2011) and White (2015). A quasi-experimental analysis of ex post facto data was conducted to determine if CTE completion affected students' standardized assessment scores and graduation rates. The purpose of this study was to determine if the completion of Career and Technical Education (CTE) sequences was associated with the graduation rates among Virginia students for the 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 cohort years. In addition, the study examined whether there were statistically significant differences in graduation rates among CTE finishers, non-CTE finishers, and total students when regional classifications were considered. School graduation data from the 132 school divisions were grouped according to The National Center for Education Statistics' designated locale classifications type to determine if CTE sequence completion and locale type were associated with graduation rates of each geographic region. The researcher used quasi-experimental, comparative analysis, t-test, and ANOVA to analyze the graduation data of each locale type. The study determined that CTE finishers' graduation rates were significantly higher than students who have not completed CTE programs. In addition, regional classifications had a statistically significant influence on the overall graduation rates for all students.
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    Assistant Principals' Perceptions of Preparedness for the Principalship as Defined by the Assistant Principal Development Framework
    Phipps, Melanie Kalimerakis (Virginia Tech, 2022-01-19)
    A review of literature on the preparation and training for assistant principals showed that there are gaps in the current support structures in place to encourage them to be effective in their position or prepared to assume other leadership roles (Armstrong, 2009; Barnett et al., 2012; Morgan, 2018). The role of assistant principal is an important area of educational leadership that has historically been underrepresented in the literature, and it is "one of the least researched and least discussed topics in educational leadership" (Weller and Weller, 2002, p. xiii). The researcher adapted the quantitative methodology techniques and survey tool of Inabinett's (2015) study titled, The Nourishment of Assistant Principals: The Effective Development of Future School Principals in Alabama. The researcher focused on assistant principals' beliefs about their preparedness for the principalship and how their real and ideal development compared to one another. Specifically, the study considered the five elements (professional development, mentoring, aspiration, networking, and experiences) from the Assistant Principal Development Framework as being instrumental in preparing assistant principals for the principalship. The purpose of this study was to identify assistant principals' self-reported perceptions regarding their job experiences as defined by the Assistant Principal Development Framework. This study reported assistant principals' perceptions of their ideal development compared across each of the five domains of the Assistant Principal Development Framework. Additionally, this study identified specific professional development that assistant principals perceive they need to become future principals and determined which components of the Assistant Principal Development Framework were currently utilized in their leadership practice. This study sample included assistant principals in one PK-12 school division in Virginia. The research questions guiding this study were: 1) What are the self-reported perceptions of assistant and associate principals' levels of preparedness for the principalship based on their real job experiences? and 2) How do their self-reported perceptions compare to their ideal development across each of the five domains in the Assistant Principal Development Framework? The research method included a researcher-adapted survey titled the Assistant Principal Perceptions Survey. The survey instrument consisted of 63 items: 11 demographic questions, 51 Likert-scale questions, and one open-ended question. Descriptive statistics, including a paired sample t-test, were used to analyze the data and identify findings and implications. Results from this study revealed that assistant principals perceived a difference between their current job experiences and what their ideal experiences should be to prepare them for the principalship. Participants reported the need for readily accessible professional development, opportunities for networking with other administrators, formal mentoring, and more experience in the areas of curriculum and instruction, organizational management, student achievement, and professional and ethical behaviors. Furthermore, the findings provide educational leaders with relevant research and awareness related to assistant principals' perceptions of their preparedness for the principalship.
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    Facilities Infrastructure Needs and Practices to Support Technology Implementation in Two Rural School Divisions in Virginia
    Jarvis, Michael Christopher (Virginia Tech, 2018-03-23)
    The purpose of this study was to determine the planning, installation, and maintenance necessary for school buildings to support technology initiatives in two rural school divisions in Virginia. The research questions guiding this study were: (1) What short-term and/or long-term plans are put in place for building and maintaining facilities infrastructure to support technology initiatives? (2) What physical components, equipment, and personnel are necessary for adequate facilities infrastructure to support technology initiatives? (3) What are the perceived infrastructure barriers to effective integration of technology in a school building? This qualitative study used purposeful sampling. The interview participants selected for this study were division-level technology leaders and their technology staff. The participants taking part in this study were at various stages of their profession, and at differing years of service, within their respective school divisions. The findings of this study may help division superintendents and division-wide technology leaders make more informed decisions regarding school building needs to support technology initiatives. The findings from this study indicate there is no agreement for how to build and maintain school buildings to support technology initiatives. However, there are several barriers to successful implementation of technology initiatives. Findings also uncovered common themes for best practice in how to plan and implement for school buildings to support technology initiatives.
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    The Impact of Career and Technical Education (CTE) on Student Academic Achievement and Graduation Rates in the Commonwealth of Virginia
    White, David Owen (Virginia Tech, 2015-07-27)
    The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 required that states set clear standards for what all students should learn, and hold schools accountable for student progress in the areas of language arts, reading, and mathematics to assess their abilities (USDOE, 2002). However, while NCLB emphasizes the core academic subjects (i.e., English, reading/language arts, mathematics science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography), it neglected to address Career and Technical Education (CTE) (i.e., agriculture; business and information technology; family and consumer sciences; marketing; health and medical sciences; technology; or trade and industry) in any part of the legislation. The purpose of this study was to compare the academic performance of CTE completers and non-CTE completers in the Commonwealth of Virginia on the Standards of Learning (SOL) Reading and mathematics assessments, and graduation rates. This study was modeled after and was an extension of a previous study by Blowe (2011), and represented a quantitative, quasi-experimental, correlational evaluation of ex post facto data to determine the effects of being a CTE completer on student academic success in high school. The findings show that the mean pass rate for CTE completers was higher than the mean pass rate for non-CTE completers for both the EOC Reading and EOC Algebra II SOLs, and that the mean graduation rate for CTE completers was higher than the mean graduation rate for non-CTE completers for each of the graduation cohorts years included in the study. An additional finding was the discovery of reporting discrepancies in division-reported data published by the VDOE. The findings in this study provided the researcher with valuable insight into the potential role of CTE in an improving schools model, including the utilization of a rigorous CTE curriculum as a strategy for improving SOL scores and graduation rates for all students. Additionally, this information may prove beneficial to educational and legislative leaders in developing policies governing CTE curriculum throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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    Transformative-based Alternative Education Program: A Study of Teacher and Leadership Perceptions
    Clements, Alecia Dawn (Virginia Tech, 2021-10-18)
    The purpose of study was to identify the perceptions of school leaders regarding the effectiveness of an alternative education transformative day program following the first year of implementation. While some divisions were dissolving their alternative education programs, the school division highlighted within this study prioritized and revitalized the division's alternative education program from a behavior-based night program to a transformative-based day program. The goal of this study was to collect and analyze data that could present next steps for the transformative-based alternative education program in order for division and school-based leaders to continue refining and improving upon the existing foundation established during its inaugural implementation year. The selection of a purposeful sample was used to meet the objective of the study. The sample size for this study included a combination of up to 15 alternative education teachers, principals, and central office leadership members. The research interventions and investigational agents for this study included approved web-based surveys via Qualtrics and virtual interviews for data collection. The study's survey instrument included one twenty question survey session, and voluntarily respondents participated in a ten-question virtual interview via Google Meetings. Interview questions probed beyond the survey questions in order to provide qualitative data obtained from division and school-based alternative education leadership. The findings of this study, which include the value of stakeholder perception, alternative approach, climate and culture, and alternative course offerings/credit recover, could provide alternative education leaders with tangible next steps for program development by identifying elements necessary for growth and program success as noted by the stakeholders themselves. By analyzing the perceptions of alternative education teachers, principals, and central office leadership, data presented can lead to intentional measures for revising, growing and furthering the existing success of the transformative-based program. Additionally, recommendations for future study, such as how to increase the program's perception to stakeholders of the transformative-based program, could be used to inspire subsequent studies and to support division leadership when finalizing decisions regarding funding, program implementation, and professional development.