This investigation sought information about principals and their relationship with computer technology. Several questions were fundamental to the inquiry. Are principals prepared to facilitate the attainment of technology's promise through the integration of computer technology into the teaching and learning process? Are principals prepared to use computer technology to accomplish administrative and managerial tasks? What can be stated about principals' current expertise to use computer technology? Principals' responses to items on the Computer Technology Survey enabled an examination of their (a) role in facilitating and participating in the integration of computer technology into teaching and learning, (b) perceptions about computer technology for managerial and administrative tasks, (c) expertise acquired to use computer technology, and (d) professional development needs to enhance computer technology skills.
The purpose of this study was to examine the causal effects among the variables mentoring, job stress, incivility, organizational commitment, and occupational commitment on faculty job satisfaction and the intent to stay in academia of Georgia's associate degree nursing (ADN) faculty. An 87-item Nursing Faculty Job Satisfaction and Intent to Stay Questionnaire was constructed from seven existing instruments and validated. A total of 134 of 217 (61.8%) nursing faculty responded to the survey. A structural equation model was generated and tested to examine the relationships among variables and to identify the effects on job satisfaction and intent to stay in academia.
Since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, high stakes testing has continued to be one of the major driving forces behind educational reform. In this study, Georgia teachers' beliefs about the effects of high stakes testing were examined. A random sample of teachers from 100 of Georgia's elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools responded to a 49-item survey measured on a fivepoint Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Items were grouped into six domains: curriculum, teaching, work satisfaction, stress, accountability, and students. Teachers' responses did not differ by gender, educational level, or school level. African American teachers responded more positively than White teachers on the survey. Teachers' positive and negative responses were discussed and recommendations were made for teachers and school leaders.Keywords: accountability, high stakes testing, standardized testing, teachers Kaback (2006) indicated that due to America's obsession with testing, high stakes standardized testing will not become an endangered species anytime soon. Although there has been some resistance in education circles during the last 10 years, the general public, policymakers, and parents continue to demand better school performance and view the results of high stakes testing as proof of learning (Scherer, 2005;Wahlberg, 2003). The results of high stakes tests may reveal to taxpayers that their investment is producing quality outcomes (Lederman & Burnstein, 2006).As taxpayers, many parents want information allowing them to make comparisons of their children's and school's performance.Driesler (2001) reported 90% of parents wanted information that would allow the comparison about their children and schools. Moreover, 83% of parents indicated that high stakes tests provide important information about their children's education. Poll and survey data have indicated a positive view of standardized testing by the general public (Phelps, 2005). Phelps indicated the percentage point differential between positive responses and negative responses to standardized testing varied from a +90% for students passing a graduation test, a +39% for ranking schools, and a +28% for promoting students to the next grade. In a recent survey of parents, Tompson, Benz, and Agiesta (2013) reported parents think standardized testing should be used to (a) ensure students meet adequate national standards (83%), (b) rank or rate schools (65%), (c) evaluate teacher quality (60%), and (d) determine whether or not students are promoted or can graduate (58%).
Disproportionate representation occurs when the percentage of an identified group enrolled in special education varies significantly from that group's overall percentage of the school population (Harry, 1994). Response to Intervention (RTI), a paradigm for educational intervention, is designed to minimize many factors contributing to disproportionality. The study examined disproportionality risk ratios for African American students, ages 6 through 21, who received special education services in a southeastern state supporting the RTI initiative during the 2006-2009 school years. Data suggest that African American students identified with a specific learning disability experienced increased referral and placement in special education in the three years corresponding to the initial RTI implementation efforts. Definitive conclusions about the fidelity of RTI implementation or effectiveness of intervention are beyond the scope of the current study, but disproportionality findings may be used as a comparative baseline for future research. Intervention Disproportionate RepresentationDisproportionate representation, or disproportionality, occurs when the percentage of an identified group enrolled in special education varies significantly from that group's overall percentage of the school population (Harry, 1994). Disproportionality is a complex problem and a host of contributing factors has been cited in the literature to include societal factors, racism in education, classroom management failures, cultural unresponsiveness, varied definitions and implementation of special education, as well as biases in the educational and referral process itself (Armor, 2006;Artiles & Bal, 2008;Artiles & Trent, 1994;Coutinho & Oswald, 2000;Evans, 2005;Farkas, 2003;Harry & Klingner, 2007;Miller & Ward, 2008;Monroe, 2005;Patton, 1998;Singham, 2003;Skiba, Poloni-Staudinger, Simmons, Feggins-Azziz, & Chung, 2005;Warner, Dede, Garvan, & Conway, 2002). The negative implications of disproportionality include curriculum limitations, lower academic achievement, decreased participation in postsecondary education, and decreased employment opportunities for those identified and placed in special education (Patton, 1998).The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004 incorporated into oversight of special education mandate that states and districts analyze disproportionality data and take action to reduce imbalances (Bollmer, Bethel, GarrisonMogren, & Brauen, 2007). The primary measure of the incidence of disproportionality currently used in analyzing data is the risk ratio. A risk ratio "compares a racial/ethnic group's risk of receiving special education and related services to the risk for a comparison group," providing a measure of risk for an ethnic group of receiving special education services (Bollmer et al., 2007, p. 187). A weighted risk ratio is a more complex calculation in which a particular district's level of risk is divided by that of risk for all other students in that state (Bollmer et al., 2...
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