Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, ED Policy and Leadership

The voices of students can provide educators with valuable information as to what makes a difference in learning. Using six subscales: relationships with teachers, relevancy of curriculum, rigorousness of instruction, frequency of rigorous instruction, opportunities for student voice, and the importance of instructional characteristics; this study explored the voices of high school seniors in a large Midwest suburban high school.The study was designed and conducted as descriptive research to gather and examine the perceptions of high school seniors 18 years of age or older. Using a questionnaire based upon the work of Wallach et al. (2006) and the Praxis III Assessment for Beginning Teachers (ETS, 2001, 2008), the 38 quantitative items and one qualitative inquiry captured powerful results. Validity, utility, and reliability of the instrument were assured through field tests, a pilot study, and statistical analyses. The data response, or tangible population, of 298 subjects indicated strong relationships with teachers and rigorousness of instruction in the large Midwest suburban high school in comparison to the Small Schools Project funded through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. However, relevancy of curriculum and opportunities for student voice remain opportunities for improvement for this large high school.

Committee: Philip Smith PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Robert Hite PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Bryan Warnick PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education