College of Education Theses & Dissertations

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Browsing College of Education Theses & Dissertations by Content Type "Thesis"

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    An analysis of the role of the assistant superintendent in charge of instruction
    (University of Oregon, 1969) Klein, Russel Eugene, 1926-
    This study was concerned with the role expectations held for the position of assistant superintendent in charge of instruction by the incumbents of the focal position, superintendents, and principals; and the assistant superintendents' perceptions of the expectations of superintendents and principals. The purpose of the study was three-fold: 1) to determine the degree of intraposition consensus, or agreement, within the three role-defining groups regarding their expectations for the behavior of the assistant superintendent; 2) to determine whether or not there were significant differences among the three role-defining groups regarding their expectations for the behavior of the assistant superintendent; and 3) to determine whether or not there were significant differences between the assistant superintendents' perceptions of the expectations of superintendents and principals and the expectations expressed by assistant superintendents, superintendents, and principals. The study was based upon data collected from 41 superintendents, 50 assistant superintendents, 86 secondary school principals, and 224 elementary school principals. A comprehensive role norm inventory consisting of 71 role norm statements was used to identify respondents' expectations and perceptions regarding the relationship of the position of assistant superintendent to that of superintendent and principal. In addition to posing two questions dealing with intraposition consensus, the study projected fourteen hypotheses. These hypotheses were related to the problem of interposition consensus regarding the expectations of the role-defining groups, and to the relationship of the assistant superintendents' perceptions to their own expectations and to the expectations of superintendents and principals. The level of intraposition consensus for each of the role-defining groups was found to range from an almost complete lack of consensus to almost complete consensus depending upon the particular role norm in question. All role-defining groups exhibited a higher level of intraposition consensus regarding how assistant superintendents should act toward superintendents than they did regarding how assistant superintendents should act toward principals. Intraposition consensus was also higher on dependent behavior role norms than on independent behavior role norms. Perception errors on the part of assistant superintendents occurred more frequently when predicting the expectations of superintendents and principals for the appropriate behavior of assistant superintendents toward principals, than was the case when predicting the expectations of superintendents and principals for appropriate behavior toward superintendents. Assistant superintendents were found to perceive superintendents and principals as having expectations similar to their own expectations for the behavior of the assistant superintendent. In those instances where statistically significant differences occurred between the expectations of one role-defining group and those of another, these differences occurred most often on role norms dealing with assistant superintendents' behavior toward principals. While statistically significant differences occurred on individual role norms, the expectations of superintendents for the behavior of assistant superintendents did not differ significantly with the expectations of principals on 83 per cent of the role norms included in the inventory. statistically, significant differences were found on only four role norms when the expectations of secondary school principals were compared with those of elementary school principals. When the expectations of assistant superintendents were compared with the expectations of superintendents, statistically significant differences were found on only nine role norms. Thus, the expectations of these two groups were similar for 87.3 per cent of all role norms. The expectations of assistant superintendents were found to differ significantly from those of all principals on nine role norms. Again, the expectations of these two groups were similar for 87.3 per cent of all role norms. Thus, the findings of the study supported the hypothesized relationship that assistant superintendents, superintendents, and principals hold similar expectations for the role of the assistant superintendent.
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    Evaluating Psychometric Properties of the Korean Translated Social Emotional Assessment Measure for Korean Preschool Children
    (University of Oregon, 2012) Young, Ah Kim Park
    Children’s social emotional competence affects school achievement as well as later job success. Social emotional competence can be promoted when appropriate social emotional interventions are provided. To provide quality intervention, it is essential to use measures that include functional skills, promote team collaboration, and monitor changes in children’s performance over time. A Curriculum Based Measure (CBM) can support the connection between assessment and intervention. In Korea, an increasing rate of social emotional problems among young children has been reported. The need for culturally appropriate CBMs for Korean children is critical for providing quality interventions. This study explored whether the Korean translated Social Emotional Assessment Measure (KSEAM) is a valid and reliable measure to assess social emotional competency in Korean preschool children and evaluated teachers’ and parents’ perceptions of the utility of the KSEAM. Participants consisted of 160 parents and 66 teachers of 160 children between the ages of 36 and 77 months. Using data from the initially-completed K-SEAM (n=160), Cronbach’s alphas for parent and teacher data were .95. Correlations between the first and second K-SEAM completed by parents and teachers were statistically significant (i.e., .87 for parents and .81 for teachers). Using the first K-SEAM data completed by parents and teachers (n=160), inter-rater correlation was statistically significant, r = .31, p < .01. Moderate correlations were found between the K-SEAM and the Korean translated Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social Emotion completed by parents as well as teachers (i.e., -.61 for parents, - .54 for teachers). The results show moderate correlation between the K-SEAM and Korean translated Child Behavior Checklist (-.58) or Kongju Early Developmental Assessment System (.48). Most of parents (77.6%) and teachers (74.2%) completed the K-SEAM within 10 to 30 minutes. A majority of parents (88.1%) and teachers (89.4%) felt that items of the K-SEAM were very easy or easy to understand. Most participants felt that the response choices were very easy or easy to select (77.5% of parents, 63.8% of teachers). Over 70% of parents and teachers indicated that the K-SEAM was helpful to identify previously suspected or newly detected concerns about their children’s social emotional development.
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    Policy and Persistence: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Case Study of "Last Mile" Students at Portland State University
    (University of Oregon, 2012) Wubbold, Joseph Mark
    In an extension of educational attainment research, this exploratory mixed- methods case study examines the influence of institutional policies on the behavior of five cohorts (n=925) of traditional first time, full time (FTFT) freshmen – called “Last Mile” students – at one urban research university located in the Pacific Northwest. Last Milers are defined as FTFT students who persist to the fifth year of enrollment but do not graduate by the end of their sixth year; the cut point for federal graduation rates. Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) was chosen as the theoretical framework for this study as the case subject is undergoing a period of internal change brought on by external forces beyond its control. In a classic PET response, the university has overcome its institutional inertia and is working to improve an area of perceived weakness – graduation rates – before resetting itself. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected for this study. Extant student and institutional characteristic data were provided by the case subject. Additional data were collected from Last Mile students via a researcher created online survey. This study supports four findings: 1) Formative interviews, contextual institutional data and student success expenditures data affirm the use of PET as the study’s theoretical framework; 2) Student survey data confirm that most of PSU’s planned interventions are supported and likely to yield the desired results of improved graduation rates, over time; 3) Difficulty obtaining complete student data supports the need for a more systematic approach to centralized data collection, particularly as PSU begins a transition to strategic enrollment management; and 4) As PSU enters the era of managing to metrics, it would be wise to consider the cautionary principle of PET; that organizations treat the time following a change as a trial rather than a reset period. While a trial-period does not guarantee the success of the organizational change, it does provide the necessary conditions for an organization to enact change when it is in the midst of punctuation. These findings have practical application to internal PSU policy and may have theoretical implications for college graduation rate research as well.
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    The Technological Imperative in Educational Organizations: An Investigation of Structural and Personnel Factors Associated with the Flexibility of Instructional Technology in Public Elementary Schools
    (University of Oregon, 1978-12) Balderson, James Henry
    This study of public elementary school organizations explored relationships among properties of three major variables: technology, structure and personnel. The relationships were examined (a) in the light of Charles Perrow's theoretical formulation of the "technological imperative" which states that the nature of an organization's technology determines the nature of its organizational structure and (b) in the light of the author's notion that the educational attitudes of organizational personnel were likely to affect the technology and structure of educational organizations. The general research problem was stated as follows: Are public elementary school organizations characterized by systematic variation in relationships among properties of personnel attitudes, technology and structure? Four research questions were derived from the study's theoretical framework: 1. Is there evidence that the technological imperative operates in educational organizations? This question was addressed by an examination of (1.1) relationships of instructional flexibility (a measure of technological routineness) with the following structural characteristics: (a) bureaucratization of teacher behavior, (b) influence over school-wide matters, and (c) influence over classroom matters; and (1.2) the effects of control variables on the hypothesized negative relationship between instructional flexibility and bureaucratization of teacher behavior. 2. What weights may be assigned to characteristics of supervisory and instructional personnel regarding their association , if any, with instructional flexibility and properties of organizational structure? This question was addressed by an examination of (2.1) relationships of the educational attitudes of principals and staffs with instructional flexibility and (2.2) bureaucratization of teacher behavior and (2.3) the powers of two models to describe causal relationships among these variables. 3. What few variables compared with instructional flexibility best predict bureaucratization of teacher behavior? 4. What few variables compared with bureaucratization of teacher behavior best predict instructional flexibility? Data was collected by a questionnaire survey of 41 elementary schools in a large urban western Canadian school district. Computerized multivariate statistical techniques, including path analysis, were used to examine the data.