This article examines "neoliberalism" inside two American public high schools. The work of one leading critical theorist, Mark Olssen, is explained and examined. Particular attention is paid to Olssen's concepts of "homo economicus" and "manipulatable man." It is concluded that Olssen's theories on neoliberalism…

This study examined how the professional development initiative of Reading Apprenticeship (RA), which included the support of a school-based literacy coach, impacted two high school Title I teachers and their students. In the field of education, much is known about the qualities of professional development which lead to improved learning on the…

This paper is a research dissertation based on a qualitative case study conducted on Teachers' Experiences within a Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) process. The study site was a Title I elementary school in a large school district in Central Florida. Background information is given in relation to the need for research that was conducted on the…

The standardized math test scores of approximately 48 African American and Hispanic students from 4 different classes at a rural Title I elementary school located in the southern United States decreased by 10 points on the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards Test. For this qualitative case study, purposive sampling was used to recruit four…

Sixty years after "Brown v. Board of Education," retention trends indicate that there is a Black teacher shortage. Research shows that Black teachers' retention rates are often lower than the retention rates of White teachers. Black teachers report low salaries, lack of administrative support, and other school variables as reasons for…

Since the inception of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, instructional coaching has increased in low-performing schools with limited research. Practices of instructional coaches have varied greatly and the impact on school improvement is unknown. This study analyzed daily log entries of instructional coaches serving 23 Title I and three School…

Meaningful community involvement has been linked to enhancements in student achievement and quality of educational experiences. Assistant principals are positioned to build effective partnerships yet remain understudied in the leadership preparation field. This qualitative study investigated how assistant principals (N = 9) serving historically…

The amount of research on successful Title One Schools is woefully inadequate. Because so much money has been allocated for this program, more in depth research is imperative. A qualitative exploratory case study of one school and eight participants, including a principal, an assistant principal, a math coach and four teachers, focuses on the…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) established guidelines pertaining to student achievement and included requirements regarding parental involvement and communication between the school and home. Various issues stand in the way of realizing the level of parental engagement desired by educators and ordered by NCLB. Parental participation…

The purpose of this research is to provide insight into immigrant Latino parents' perspectives on parental involvement in elementary school settings as influenced by the Title I Family Literacy Program (TFLP). A comparison is made of Latino parents who have been participating in the TFLP for more than one year, participants new to the program and…

The purpose of this study was to explore and report on the impact of coaching as an embedded part of professional development has on teacher learning and practice in the context of educating English Language Learners (ELLs). A close examination was made of what teachers, coaches and principals believe to be effective professional development and…

This qualitative study was implemented in an urban, Title I school district in the southern portion of the United States. The problem the study addressed was that the various phenomena pertaining to the implementation of the principal professional learning community (PPLC), as perceived by the 14 participating elementary school principals, had not…

This report measures trends in performance among urban schools receiving federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) awards as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Council of the Great City Schools aims to document how member districts of the Council of the Great City Schools implemented SIG and specifically what…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 put great pressure to improve student achievement upon principals. Because the principals' work is much more complex since NCLB, it demands a more sophisticated set of skills and understandings than ever before. This qualitative case study examined changes in the principal's role and how current accountability…

This study examined superintendents' or designees' perceptions in light of NCLB (2002) and to understand parental involvement through the lens of Epstein's Framework of Parent Involvement (1992, 1995, 2002). The central problem was that despite parental involvement legislation, implementation and effectiveness of policies, and programs varies…