Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2013, EDU Policy and Leadership

Policy makers have increasingly turned to school choice and, particularly, charter schools, in an effort to increase educational quality and equity for elementary and high school students. Many school choice policies work under the assumption that parents, acting as rational agents, will choose the best possible school for their child when given the opportunity and, collectively, these choices will increase the aggregate quality of K-12 education. Parent rationality is an important component to this market-based model which is one aspect of a larger set of neoliberal reforms that reach far beyond education. This study draws on twelve interviews with fourteen parents and six observations of charter school informational meetings at two schools to argue that parents are not purely rational and thorough in their choice process. I argue that parents use heuristic devices, mental approaches to select and analyze information surrounding a complicated decision, that rely on experiences and memories of place-based geographical aspects of the schools in their choice sets. Parents came to understand the schools as geographical places through their experiences of certain aspects of the schools such as the student body, the physical building, the surrounding community, and their sense of belonging or familiarity with the school. Parents did not make their school choice decisions in a careful, measured, and rational manner. Instead they relied on visceral memories, first impressions and experiences of the geographical aspects the schools they considered. This study adds to existing research that problematizes the notion that parents will rationally choose the best schools for their children. It also highlights several key issues that policy makers and school leaders can address in order to help parents in their choice process.

Committee: Bruce Kimball Dr. (Advisor); Jan Nespor Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education Policy; Geography; Political Science; Psychology; Public Policy; Social Research; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Public Policy and Management

In the past fifty years, governments across the world have experimented with a variety of market-based reforms to improve public service delivery. Market-based policies have been particularly influential in efforts to reform K-12 education governance in the United States. Prominent examples of these reforms include laws establishing public charter schools, private school choice policies, and performance accountability systems based on standardized tests. This dissertation explores the systemic consequences of these reforms on K-12 schools and students in Ohio. The first essay analyzes the cumulative effect of state and federal reforms on private school enrollments in Ohio from 1998 to 2018. The second essay estimates the impact of Ohio's original Educational Choice Scholarship Program, which provides publicly funded vouchers for eligible students to attend private schools, on private school enrollment patterns. Lastly, Essay 3 examines the impact of No Child Left Behind, a major performance management reform passed in 2002, on the distribution of students and resources by economic status across schools within districts in Ohio. Together, these essays explore ways in which education policies in the last two decades have reshaped the educational landscape in Ohio and redefined the roles of different types of schools in educating students.

Committee: Stephane Lavertu (Advisor); Vladimir Kogan (Committee Member); Trevor Brown (Committee Member) Subjects: Education Policy

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2022, Educational Leadership

There is currently no designated policy, procedure or staff in place to facilitate the objective of increasing student yield. As a result, magnet applications and acceptance of invitations to attend Owl Middle School is approached without a strategy which makes planning difficult and negates the ability to determine effective methods. Filling these public-school magnet seats is a priority as student enrollment equates to staff funding from the state and school doors being open (NCES, 2020). Identifying policy to increase 6th grade magnet students is determined by setting achievable goals. Setting achievable goals for increasing magnet students begins by identifying specific, measurable, achievable, time bound and realistic objectives. Elementary schools with similar demographic populations will be targeted with recruitment efforts through speaking engagements at the schools, parent information nights, and printed material in English and Spanish distributed to prospective families and students. The purpose of this study is to understand the effectiveness of this targeted marketing and to develop a process of continuous improvement thus potentially increasing 6th grade magnet student yield. Two semi-structured virtual interviews consisting of five questions were conducted for 10 families regarding their decision of school choice and the impact marketing had. Findings included a need to incorporate digital marketing along with honoring the power of student decision making in this school choice process.

Committee: Davin Carr-Chellman Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Black Studies; Education; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Educational Theory; Multicultural Education; Pedagogy; School Administration; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Education, Miami University, 2020, Educational Leadership

Students make a choice to attend the Career Technical Centers (CTC) in Ohio. This choice involves leaving their home school district(s). Students are leaving the known to go to the unknown. The research question is, "Why did students choose to attend a CTC, and how did their career outcome expectations influence their decision to attend?" The data were collected utilizing both a quantitative questionnaire and a qualitative focus group. Utilizing the theoretical framework, Social Cognitive Career Theory, the data were analyzed through the lens of a student's self-efficacy, career interests, and career outcome expectations. The analysis indicated three themes: career education, decision-making, and career and college readiness. The participants in the study were current second year students at the career center, which made them seniors in high school. These students had made the choice to attend a CTC and also made the choice to return and stay for a second year. Participants voluntarily participated and completed an anonymous survey and also volunteered to participate in a focus group. The survey and focus group questions focused on the reasons students enrolled in the CTC. The results indicated a strong influence of a student's self-efficacy in the decision process that included career interests and career outcome expectations. The quantitative data of the questionnaire provided statistical analysis of questions asked; the qualitative questions provided additional details and specific examples. The research project was a problem-in-practice, and the data gathered will be utilized to implement strategies to maintain and grow enrollment at the Ohio CTC. The final analysis indicated five areas of implication to the problem-in-practice. The study collected the research data directly from the students who experienced the decision-making process personally. This is their opportunity to tell their story.

Committee: Kathleen Knight Abowitz Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Lucian Szlizewski Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); James Swartz Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Vocational Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Educational Studies

The purpose of this study was to examine how charter school authorizers conceptualize and navigate policy implementation as intermediary organizations. Through a phenomenological multi-site case study design, fifteen Ohio charter school authorizing staff across three organizations shared the ways in which they operate, navigate policy, access resources, and respond to the use of incentives and penalties in policy. With Honig's (2004) theory of intermediary organizations as a conceptual framework, I explore the role of charter school authorizers as mediating actors of state-level policy. Three major findings are shared: 1) while charter school authorizers largely conceptualize their roles to be innovators and gatekeepers, the demands of policy requires them to be more; 2) authorizers rely heavily on the state-issued performance rubric in determining their organizational priorities; and 3) authorizers access a variety of organizational processes and resources in navigating policy implementation. Additionally, findings indicate that authorizers are generally unresponsive to the promises of incentives but do modify behavior to prevent the receipt of penalties. The dissertation concludes with a discussion on the isomorphic pressures of policy on organizational structure, implications for stakeholders, and recommendations for future research.

Committee: Karen Beard (Advisor); Belinda Gimbert (Advisor); James L. Moore III (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Educational Leadership

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Educational Studies

This dissertation examines the ways that teachers in charter schools respond to market pressures to recruit students to their schools. Policymakers in the United States promote charter schools to introduce competition into the education system in an effort to increase quality, efficiency, and innovation in schools. Charter schools do not draw a pre-determined student body based on their geographic location. Rather, charter schools start with no students and must recruit every child who enrolls in the school. A key assumption underlying these policies is that school personnel will feel competitive pressures when they do not meet their enrollment needs and make changes to their educational approaches to attract more students. One unintended consequence of charter school policies is that teachers may be drawn into work to recruit students to their school in addition to their full-time work to educate students. Drawing on sensemaking theories and employing a multiple-case study methodology focusing on 12 teachers at seven schools, I examine the ways that teachers come to understand and act on the need to recruit students to their school. There are several notable findings. All teachers in this study were surprised by the need to recruit students and experienced ambiguity both around how to respond and whether they would keep their jobs if they did not meet enrollment numbers. Teachers engaged in multiple different actions to recruit students, although there was a high level of variation in the extent to which teachers participated in student recruitment work and the ways that they experienced competitive pressures. The factors that shaped sensemaking include the extent to which schools are under pressure to recruit students, teachers' conceptions of their school's mission, ethical considerations, the extent to which teachers experienced burnout, and characteristics of school leaders. Teachers' sensemaking of student recruitment work also led them to create competitive d (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ann Allen Dr. (Advisor); Belinda Gimbert Dr. (Committee Member); Jozef Raadschelders Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Organization Theory; Teaching

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2018, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

Ohio's school funding system is complex. The average taxpayer has at best a limited understanding about how their public schools' revenues and expenditures are collected, distributed, and expended. Overlay on the already complicated funding model with a myriad of school choice options with various funding mechanisms and amounts results in increased complexity. Even educational professionals and policy makers lack a clear appreciation of all the mechanics and implications of school choice and fiscal strain it can place on local school district budgets. This study focuses on the economic impact that Ohio school choice programs have on local public school districts and its potentially deequalizing effects. A literature review traces the evolution of choice programs and their prevalence nationally, before describing Ohio's school choice options and their financing. A quantitative review of the impact of school choice programs on 11 school districts in one of Ohio's 88 counties reveals the flow of public tax dollars among public districts and between public school districts, community academies, private schools, and other educational providers. Findings illuminate the widely unrecognized interaction between school choice and the state school finance system. It furthermore reveals the potentially de-equalizing effects when local revenues, as contrasted to the state formula aid, are sent to other districts or providers, while other districts retain state aid for students they do not educate. Additionally, findings clarify the consequences for traditional public school budgets bearing pressure over local programs, decision-making, and the delivery of a “thorough and efficient” education that students are guaranteed by the Ohio Constitution.

Committee: Charles Vergon JD (Committee Chair); John Hazy PhD (Committee Member); Charles Jeffords PhD (Committee Member); Charles Howell PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education Finance; Educational Leadership; School Administration; School Finance

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Agricultural, Environmental and Developmental Economics

In recent years the `farm to table' trend, the idea of understanding linkages between agricultural supply, food systems, and the food that is consumed, has been growing in popularity. This dissertation takes this idea a step further and examines topics on the progression from `farm to health outcomes.' It is important to recognize not only that food systems impact the way consumers eat, but that those food choices impact health outcomes and the way that medical care is consumed. The three essays of this dissertation examine three separate points along this continuum to improve the understanding of how food systems, food choice, health outcomes, and healthcare consumption interact. The first essay evaluates factors associated with school districts' decisions to participate in farm to school (FTS) programs. I leverage the USDA's Farm to School Census to analyze factors associated with FTS participation, the types of FTS activities implemented, and the challenges faced by participating school districts. I use spatially articulate data to estimate the spatial spillover effects of FTS participation. The results demonstrate that both school characteristics and local farm production factors are associated with FTS participation. The estimated spatial spillover effect is positive, suggesting that areas with a high penetration of FTS activities have lower barriers associated with implementing FTS programs. In my second essay, I shift to evaluating how parent-child pairs make the daily school lunch decision. Meals served in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are on average more healthful than alternatives, implying that increasing participation in the NSLP can improve nutrition for a large number of children. However, there is little understanding of the household decision process that determines participation in the NSLP. This study uses a parent-child choice experiment to assess the impact of both parent and child on NSLP participation. The results show that b (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Brian Roe (Advisor); Allen Klaiber (Committee Member); Ani Katchova (Committee Member); Jill Clark (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Economics; Behavioral Sciences; Economics

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2015, College of Education and Human Services

School closure has become an accepted method of school reform policy as outlined in federal legislation found in The No Child Left Behind Act. The academic literature regarding school closure is limited and tends to be quantitative in design, focusing on the relationship between student achievement and school closure and/or student transitions. Qualitative studies around this topic have only recently emerged, focusing on the immediate impact of school closure and transition. There is a need for a retrospective study, reflecting on the long-term effects of school closure on individuals and their communities, as told by the students who experienced it. This study seeks to understand the experience of DeVilbiss students who attended the high school in the year its closure was announced, and who transitioned to a neighboring high school for the 1991-1992 school year. Using semi-structured interviews to explore issues related to transitions, the study will examine identity, social capital, relational trust, community connectedness and engagement, school and community pride, tradition, and the sense of belonging. The study will offer insight into the long-term effects of school closure, particularly through the eyes of those who experienced the closing of DeVilbiss High School. The study has implications for current and future policy decisions.

Committee: Anne Galletta Ph.D (Committee Chair); Joanne Goodell Ph.D (Committee Member); Marius Boboc Ph.D (Committee Member); Brian Harper Ph.D (Committee Member); Leigh Chiarelott Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Academic Guidance Counseling; Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Counseling Education; Counseling Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Economic Theory; Education; Education Finance; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Educational Psychology; Educational Sociology; Psychology; Public Policy; School Administration; School Counseling; School Finance; Social Psychology; Social Research; Sociology; Sustainability; Teacher Education; Urban Planning

MA, Kent State University, 2014, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography

Charter schools are often an effort to ensure that all children, no matter where they live, have access to a quality education. However, access to the educational market is not evenly distributed across society or space; school choice has an inherent geographic component. Children choosing to go to a charter school are constrained in their choice by their social and spatial place. The research questions ask from which traditional public schools do charter schools receive their students, compares the two schools, and investigates why students go to their charter school. Charter schools in Columbus, Ohio serving grades 9-12 are the focus of the study. State report card data of traditional public and charter schools is used, along with surveys of charter students, to address the research questions. The results point to Columbus charter schools perpetuating the racial, class, and educational achievement inequality already found in traditional public schools.

Committee: David Kaplan (Advisor); Jennifer Mapes (Committee Member); Tricia Niesz (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Geography

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, Social Work

Social workers are increasingly concerned with disparities in academic performance across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. This significant social justice issue requires a better understanding of various methods to reduce inequity. School choice is one policy initiative that allows parents/guardians to choose schools other than their neighborhood schools, potentially increasing competition among schools and placing parents/guardians in the roles of “consumers.” Despite discussions of parent/guardian authority in school choice, few studies examine parent/guardian empowerment in a school choice context. This study seeks to address this gap in the research. As school social workers focus on school-home connections, they also play a key role within school choice policy implementation. They may assist parents/guardians in their decision-making, providing information and potentially empowering families to engage in their children's education further. Empowerment is one specific component of a social work perspective that is integral in school choice settings. In addition, it may provide insight into parents/guardians' school choice decisions, ultimately improving understanding of school choice as a mechanism to reduce educational disparities. The current study utilized cross-sectional survey research with parents/guardians to examine the following research questions: (1) Is Parent/Guardian Empowerment and Prioritization of Academic and Nonacademic Factors related to Parent/Guardian Satisfaction with School Quality; and, (2) Is Prioritization of Academic and Nonacademic Factors a moderator of the relationship between Parent/Guardian Empowerment and Parent/Guardian Satisfaction with School Quality? The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase of this study developed and tested a measure of parent/guardian empowerment using data collected from a cross-sectional online survey with parents/guardians throughout the United States (N = 226). The second phase (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dawn Anderson-Butcher (Committee Chair); Audrey Begun (Committee Member); Amber Moodie-Dyer (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Educational Sociology; Social Research; Social Work

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Educational Policy and Leadership

This research provides an in-depth view of the decision-making process used by African-American parents when enrolling their children in church/ faith-based schools. The specific questions guiding this research project were: What do African-American mothers believe are the primary purposes of education for their children? Why have some African-American families chosen to not enroll their daughters and sons in public schools? What are the factors that lead individual African-American mothers to look to faith-based education for their children's education? What specific criteria do African-American mothers use when considering and selecting an educational program for their children? What sacrifices are African-American families willing to make in order to secure a quality educational experience for their children? This study was conducted using the Delphi Method which requires the establishment of a "panel of experts" with whom the research questions can be explored. African-American mothers or other primary caregivers who 1) attended a selected African-American protestant congregation; and, 2) had children enrolled in a faith-based school in grades kindergarten through eight, were recruited to serve on the panel. Nineteen mothers agreed to serve as "expert-participants." The Delphi process included an initial round during which expert-participants responded to an 8-item open-ended questionnaire that was issued online. Subsequently, a questionnaire of 151 position statements was developed from the synthesized responses. Sixty of the position statements were appropriate for use with the Delphi Method. At the completion of the study, panel members achieved consensus* on 47 items that explored: 1) the purposes of Kindergarten – 8th grade education; 2) the factors why families looked beyond public schools to choose faith-based schools; and, 3) the components of an ideal K-8th grade education. Areas where consensus was not achieved provided additional information in explor (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Seymour Kleinman (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2007, Educational Leadership

Access to a quality education is a recurring theme in the history of African-Americans. From America's infancy to the present, African-Americans have steadfastly held to the conviction that a quality education was inextricably intertwined with notions of freedom and upward mobility. Historically, most African-American parents relied on public schools to provide that education. However, by the mid-1980's, many African American parents became disillusioned with public education, and those who possessed the requisite resources to do so, began to abandon urban public schools, choosing to educate their children in suburban schools, independent private schools, and parochial schools. Researchers studying school choice primarily focus on charter schools and school voucher programs, giving little consideration to the abandonment of urban public schools by the African-American middle class. This qualitative study investigates the experiences of seven middle class African-American parents to ascertain how they constructed their decisions to exclude urban public schools as educational options for their children. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews, which allowed for the structure of qualitative inquiry and the flexibility and fluidity of natural conversations. In addition, more than twenty-five informal interviews and conversations with African-American parents of various socioeconomic levels were conducted. The parents' narratives revealed five concerns: academic achievement; discipline and safety; teacher quality; racism, and cultural issues. An analysis of those concerns resulted in two major findings. First, parents do not believe urban schools possess the requisite resources to effectively educate their children and enable them to gain admission to a reputable college or university. Second, parents do not believe their children can acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed as a prerequisite to become economically and socially successful i (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Richard Hofmann (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2024, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

This dissertation investigates biocultural diversity index scores for 470 schools in Central Indiana from 2010 to 2020 while simultaneously examining racial and ethnic disparities between schools and their local communities. Indiana Department of Education and U.S. Census Bureau data was utilized to analyze changes in biocultural diversity, variations among school types, and school-community diversity relationship. Biocultural diversity index scores increased consistently from 0.36 in 2010 to 0.41 in 2020. Traditional public schools consistently scored higher (0.38 in 2010, 0.42 in 2020), while charter schools (0.37 in 2010, 0.41 in 2020) and non-public schools (0.24 in 2010, 0.35 in 2020) displayed lower scores. Traditional public schools maintained a small positive diversity differential (3% in 2010, 2% in 2020) compared to local communities. Charter and non-public schools were less diverse than their local communities with non-public schools improving from 16% less in 2010 to 11% in 2020 and charter schools improving from 20% less in 2010 to 16% in 2020. Practical implications for policymakers include informed strategies to promote diversity and equity within the educational landscape. The study acknowledges limitations and emphasizes the dynamic nature of biocultural diversity, urging continued consideration in educational policy and practice.

Committee: Jane Beese EdD (Committee Chair); Richard Rogers PhD (Committee Member); Daniel Van Dussen PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Educational Leadership

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Educational Studies

This dissertation presents a study of the gap between the “market story” that has been leveraged to justify market-based reforms, specifically charter schooling, in American public education and the process through which actually existing market-style arrangements are accomplished in their local contexts. In three separate articles, one theoretical and two based on an empirical case study, I problematize narratives that naturalize the formation of markets by addressing the unrealistic assumptions of the undergirding neoclassical economic theory and attending to the complicated, effortful political and technological work that goes into reformatting a city's educational infrastructure into something that approximates a market for schools. The case that provides the empirical grounding for my latter two articles is a study of Indianapolis educational reform over the past two decades, with a specific focus on the role of a local nonprofit called the Mind Trust. In the first article, I trace the origins of the market concept in the field of neoclassical economics and identify a set of attendant theoretical assumptions that are invoked when framing social arrangements as markets. Given that these assumptions can be readily observed to diverge from empirical reality, I argue that educators and educational researchers can understand the market as a normative rather than descriptive concept. In the second article, I analyze the early stages of school choice market-making in Indianapolis with a focus on the construction of an alternative governing coalition of actors that match the capabilities and functions of the traditional schooling infrastructure. I find that network-building is as important to the implementation of market-based policies as it is in the process of getting these policies passed. In the third article, I reframe markets as sociotechnical constructions and analyze several key market-making technologies that support the accomplishment of a market-like stru (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jan Nespor (Advisor); Bryan Warnick (Committee Member); Ann Allen (Committee Member) Subjects: Education Policy

Master of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2023, Education

The present study investigated the effects teacher selection of professional development had on the implementation of the learned professional development. A group of 15 elementary school teachers participated in the study in which they were asked to complete surveys and participate in professional development. All teachers were assessed on their thoughts about professional development within the school, were given the opportunity to choose a professional development, and then ultimately implement the new professional development into their classrooms. The results showed that implementation of the professional development was not positively affected by teacher selection.

Committee: Brian Yontz (Advisor); Kathryn Randenburg (Committee Member); Amy McGuffey (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; Educational Theory; Elementary Education

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), University of Findlay, 2023, Education

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of Flipgrid-based discussion activities with student-selected nonfiction texts on middle school students' motivation to read. The study investigated how teacher training affected teachers' comfort and confidence in using Flipgrid. While various discussion-based activities have been used with students, including Flipgrid, very little research has been done on its use with middle school students. Following a qualitative research design, this study obtained teacher perceptions through open-ended interviews on their Flipgrid experience and training and students' reading motivation. Student perceptions on Flipgrid, reading motivation, and student-selected texts were obtained through a Google form survey. Main findings indicated high teacher confidence due to the training they received and positive perceptions of Flipgrid-based discussion activities and student-selected text on students' reading motivation. Overall student perceptions were mostly positive about using Flipgrid and reading choice. Conclusions and implications showed positive effects with comprehensive training, which could be used with teachers training other teachers. With adequate training, teachers may be able to utilize student-centered learning, such as Flipgrid and student choice, to positively impact students' motivation to read.

Committee: Amanda Ochsner (Committee Chair) Subjects: Education; Language Arts; Middle School Education; Reading Instruction; Secondary Education; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2021, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

School choice is a contentious issue in the United States. Based on a free market system where competition drives performance, supporters believe that underperforming schools should be forced to close if they are unable to keep up with the higher performing districts. However, schools are founded on the institutional theory, which inhibits their responsiveness to innovation and competition. Proponents of school choice argue that families have the right to decide where their children are educated, and many school districts benefit financially when they gain student enrollment. Supporters believe that choice provides families with opportunities to seek schools that provide a higher quality of education than their residential districts. Those who oppose school choice believe that choice is a divisive tool separating rich and poor, Black, and White. Opponents believe that the fiscal implications that result from students exiting their residential districts leave the neediest students without access to the education they're entitled to. Opponents believe that additional implications, such as social and transient repercussions, add to the negative impact of school choice on our most at-risk population: impoverished and minority students. Based on research, there is little evidence to support a causal relationship between school choice and a leveled playing field for needy students; however, benefits are noted for some students who consistently open enroll. Positive effect size estimates were noted in math only, reading only, and math and reading combined; school choice across time after the first year a student participated in open enrollment; the 5-8 grade band; and for achievement by race. Because this study utilized a meta-analysis, there are limitations to consider. Specifically, data are limited to what is available in existing research. Publication bias and heterogeneity may also impact results as they skew data. In this study, test scores were utilized (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Larwin PhD (Advisor); Adam Earnheardt PhD (Committee Member); Jake Protivnak PhD (Committee Member); Patrick Spearman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Finance; Education History; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Educational Theory

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2020, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

This study investigates the relationship between Ohio interscholastic varsity football playoff success and a set of variables derived from the extant literature with explicit attention towards those factors related to school choice initiatives. This quantitative study utilized multiple statistical tests to investigate these relationships with the specific intent of informing future policy revision and development. Significant results include the correlation between previous year playoff appearances and the percentage of open enrollment students in a district, the relationship between the percentage of open enrollment and both playoff depth and previous year playoff appearances, and significant differences for participants with previous year playoff appearances at both the regional final and state final levels in their respective percentages of open enrollment students. Results also suggest a positive correlation between school type (public or private) and playoff success. One interesting finding is the results did not suggest an advantage in post season success for teams that are affected by divisional movement based on size or competitive balance in the year of the initial movement. Statistically, significant results also reveal a correlation between playoff depth and certain district demographical factors such as percentage of non-White students, typology, and percentage of socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Key implications include the effects of athletic playoff success on subsequent season playoff success, the need to evaluate factors other than divisional movement for competitive balance, the disproportionate success of private school football teams at the championship level, and nexus between deep playoff success and select demographical factors.

Committee: Karen Larwin PhD (Committee Chair); Charles Vergon JD (Committee Member); Adam Earnheardt PhD (Committee Member); Kenneth Miller PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Educational Evaluation; Educational Leadership; Sports Management; Statistics

MA, Kent State University, 2019, College of the Arts / School of Art

This case study research describes how a mid-career art teachers makes visible holistic approaches to art education in a choice-based practice in an urban public charter school. It includes a dual review of literature on the topics of choice-based and holistic practices in contemporary art education. The findings of this case study research describe a detailed analysis of how holistic and choice-based approaches support each other in practice.

Committee: Linda Hoeptner-Poling Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Art Education; Education Philosophy