dc.contributor.author	Cooper, Andrew W.
dc.coverage.spatial	United States, Georgia	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2019-04-09T20:07:06Z
dc.date.available	2019-04-09T20:07:06Z
dc.date.issued	2018-08
dc.identifier.citation	Cooper, Andrew W., "A Qualitative Case Study of How a Title I High School Principal Strategized for Student Achievement," Ph.D. Diss., Valdosta State University, August 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/10428/3348.
dc.identifier.other	E27AFA15-524F-91BF-4EC3-6AF3133C6540	UUID
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10428/3348
dc.description.abstract	After years of costly school improvement efforts, including Georgia’s most recent $400 million Georgia Race to The Top Grant, the state’s high schools have failed to significantly improve school-wide student achievement. The purpose of this study was to analyze a high performing Georgia Title I high school principal who has participated in school improvement efforts at his assigned school where school-wide student achievement has improved significantly under his leadership. The purpose of the study included efforts to determine the lived experiences of the identified principal, what barriers the principal faced, and what strategies the principal used to deal with the complexities of improving school-wide student achievement. Purposeful sampling methods were used to choose a principal of a Georgia Title I high school. The chosen principal led his school to improvements in student achievement, including a 20% increase in graduation rate and an 18-point increase in the Georgia CCRPI score. The study’s findings determined numerous methods the principal used to increase student achievement at the Title I high school. Teacher participants and the principal discussed how the culture established at the school played a vital role in the school’s turn around. The principal was touted for his clear communication style and for supporting those around him. The principal encouraged his teachers to innovate instructional practices and also initiated an alternative center to directly help students who were short on credits to accelerate their learning, which directly affected the graduation rate at the school.	en_US
dc.description.tableofcontents	I: INTRODUCTION 1 -- Statement of the Problem 2-- Purpose 3-- Research Questions 3-- Significance 4 -- Conceptual Framework 5 -- Summary of Methodology 9 -- Limitations 10-- Definition of Terms 13-- Summary 16-- II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 17 -- Introduction 17 -- Description of Literature 21-- The State American Education 21 -- Practices Principals May Use 2 9 -- A Complex Environment 29 -- Leading for Student Achievement 35 -- School Culture/The Hidden Element 43-- Inferences for Forthcoming Study 48 -- Summary 53-- III: METHODOLOGY 54-- Methods 54 -- Research Design and Rationale 56-- Rationale for the Single-Case Study 56 -- Foreshadowed Problems/Exploratory Questions 57 -- Research Procedures 58 -- Research Setting 58 -- Procedures for Recruitment/Participation 59-- Data Collection 62 -- Interviews 63 -- Observations and Field Notes 65-- School Documents 67 -- Data Analysis 68 -- Interviews 68 -- Observations and Field Notes 69 -- School Documents 69 -- Further Construction of the Case Study 70 -- Threats to Validity 71 -- Human Participants and Ethics Precautions 75 -- Summary 76 -- IV: RESULTS 79-- The Principal’s School 81 -- Elway High School 81 -- The Principal’s Story 83 -- Principal Doug Rainey 83-- Discussion of Themes 90 -- Themes—Principal Doug Rainey 94 -- Leading the Vision 94 -- The Right Place at the Right Time 98 -- Leaving No Child Behind 105 -- Remaining True to Your Values Through Barriers 111-- Summary 117-- V: RESULTS CONTINUED 119 -- Participant Profiles 121 -- Teacher 1121 -- Teacher 2122 -- Teacher 3124-- Teacher Input on Themes126 -- Envisioning Student Success 126 -- The Element of Trust 131 -- Supporting Teachers for Student Success 135 -- Overcoming Old Mindsets 139-- Summary 142 -- VI: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 143 -- Research Questions—Final Findings 144 -- Research Question 1 144-- Research Question 2 148 -- Research Question 3 152 -- Final Thematic Conclusions 156 -- Vision 157-- Relationships/Communication 160 -- Rigor/Instructional Practice 163 -- Barriers 166 -- Limitations of the Study 168 -- Recommendations for Future Research 170 -- Final Conclusions 172 -- REFERENCES 177 -- APPENDIXES 193 -- Valdosta State University Participation Consent Form 193-- Valdosta State University Protocol Exemption Form 195	en_US
dc.format.extent	280 pages. 1.31 MB.
dc.format.medium	PDF
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf [fmt/354]
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.rights	This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgment. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.	en_US
dc.subject	Dissertations	en_US
dc.subject	Education	en_US
dc.subject	Academic achievement	en_US
dc.subject	High school principals	en_US
dc.subject	Georgia	en_US
dc.subject	Race to the Top (Program : U.S.)	en_US
dc.title	A Qualitative Case Study of How a Title I High School Principal Strategized for Student Achievement	en_US
dc.type	Dissertation	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Department of Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology of the Dewar College of Education and Human Services	en_US
dc.description.advisor	Green, Robert B.
dc.description.committee	Tsemunhu, Rudo E.
dc.description.committee	Truby, William F.
dc.description.committee	Nobles, Kathy
dc.description.committee	Cruz, Becky K. da
dc.description.degree	Ed.D.	en_US
dc.description.major	Education Leadership	en_US