Search results

The construct of enabling school structure is empirically analyzed in this qualitative study of high schools. First, the theoretical underpinning of enabling school structure is developed. Then, six high schools, which were determined to have enabling structures in a large quantitative study of Ohio schools, were analyzed in depth using semi‐structured interviewing techniques. The inquiry fleshes out the specifics of the performance of principals and teachers in such organizations and describes the dynamics of enabling school structures in terms of their formalization, centralization, and functioning. Finally, the research demonstrates a natural and symbiotic relation between quantitative and qualitative approaches to the study of schools.

Public schools in the USA face increased pressures for more accountability and improved performance. The objective of this study was to wed two previously separated theoretical strands of educational research – economic theory and organizational theory – by using variables from each theory base to develop, compare, and test a series of explanatory models of student achievement.

A diverse set of schools was provided by 146 elementary schools in Ohio. Teachers in sample schools provided data on the collective efficacy of their schools and the Ohio Department of Education supplied demographic and achievement data. An ex post facto design was used to test a theoretical set of hypotheses and several structural models. Data were collected from the teachers in each school during regularly scheduled faculty meetings and analyzed using correlation analysis and structural equation modeling.

Collective efficacy of teachers in these elementary schools had a positive direct effect on student reading and mathematics achievement, even when controlling for SES and prior achievement; however, school efficiency was unrelated to both collective efficacy of teachers and student achievement.

This study weds two previously separated theoretical strands of educational research – economic theory and organizational theory – by using variables from each theory base to develop, compare, and test a series of explanatory models of student achievement.

Spinning the truth is deception caused by adding, subtracting, and partially displaying information while communicating with others. A theoretical framework of six elements of truth spinning was developed from the literature and tested empirically. Two dimensions of truth spinning in schools emerged – principal spin and teacher spin. Reliable and valid scales for each were developed, and truth spinning was related to the theoretically relevant constructs of role conflict, powerlessness, and trust.

An open social systems model is used to frame and test a series of hypotheses. The socioeconomic status of the environment and four internal system elements (structure, individual, culture, politics) of the school are used to explain two sets of school outcomes: student achievement and teachers' assessments of overall school effectiveness. A typical sample of 145 elementary schools in Ohio is used to test the relationships. The model and results are useful in understanding how this set of key variables as a whole defines quality elementary schools.

The pupil control ideology (PCI) studies originated at The Pennsylvania State University under the direction of Professor Donald J. Willower. Describes the beginning and evolution of the PCI studies and the role of theory in their development. PCI inquiry is now in its fourth decade and the concept of pupil control ideology and its measure (PCI form) continue to be useful to researchers as they analyze behavior in school organizations.

This inquiry is a theoretical analysis that attempts to identify the features of school structure that efficiently promote positive outcomes of organization, while limiting negative consequences that are often associated with bureaucratic structures. To that end, the concepts of enabling structures and mindful organizations are developed, contrasted, and synthesized. Then, the research and practical implications of enabling and mindful school structures are proposed and discussed.

The purpose of this research is twofold: to test a theory of academic optimism in Taiwan elementary schools and to expand the theory by adding new variables, collective responsibility and enabling school structure, to the model.

Structural equation modeling was used to test, refine, and expand an organizational path model of student achievement first developed in the USA.

The proposed organizational model was supported in Taiwan and was consistent with the initial studies done in the USA. Further, two concepts were added to the model, enabling structure and collective responsibility, both of which had significant indirect effects on student achievement through academic optimism. Moreover, the theoretical foundations (efficacy, trust, and academic emphasis) of the latent construct of academic optimism were confirmed again in this sample of schools in Taiwan.

The findings support an organizational model of student achievement, which has application in both the USA and Taiwan. The original model was supported, refined, and extended. Academic optimism is at the center of the model and explains student achievement for all students. Collective responsibility and enabling school structure both predict academic optimism directly and student achievement indirectly.

This study was designed to test the relationship between principal support of student psychological needs and faculty trust in students. Without direct empirical evidence to draw from, the line of reasoning integrated evidence on social-cognitive processes involved in trust formation and conversation theory to advance two hypotheses: (1) After accounting for school and leadership conditions, principal support of student psychological needs will be related to school differences in faculty trust in students; (2) The relationship between principal support of student psychological needs and faculty trust in students is mediated by a positive view of the teaching task.

Hypotheses were tested with a nonexperimental, correlational research design using ex post facto data. Due to the hierarchical structure of the data, hypotheses were tested with a 2-2-1 multilevel mediation model in HLM 7.03 with restricted maximum likelihood estimation.

Findings were consistent with the hypothesized relationships – principal support of student psychological needs was related to faculty trust in students and this relationship was mediated by teacher perceptions of the teaching task.

School research has primarily examined interpersonal antecedents of trust, focusing on behaviors and characteristics that position a person or group as trustworthy. This study extends trust research to the cognitive side of the formation process, calling attention to the function of mental representation in shaping trust discernments. Results suggest that cognitive processes hold promise as both a source of faculty trust in students and as a malleable mental structure that school leaders can shape through conversation.