An analysis and comparison of school improvement planning models

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the use of Breakthrough Thinking, as a planning model and selected measures of efficiency and effectiveness in the development of a School Improvement Plan. The measures of efficiency reviewed were: (a) number of meetings, (b) number of person hours, and (c) extent of community participation. The measures of effectiveness reviewed were: (a) district criteria, (b) state criteria, and (c) expert panel ratings. A total of 14 elementary schools participated in the study; two of the 14 schools were selected for an in-depth investigation. The findings of this study were presented through an examination of the data as it related to the following two hypotheses: Hypothesis 1--There is a positive relationship between the selected measures of efficiency and the use of Breakthrough Thinking in the development of a School Improvement Plan and Hypothesis 2--There is a positive relationship between the selected measures of effectiveness and the use of Breakthrough Thinking in the development of a School Improvement Plan. The study supported the following two conclusions: (a) regarding efficiency measures, the analysis of number of person hours and community participation supported Hypothesis 1; and (b) regarding effectiveness measures, district criteria, state criteria and expert panel ratings supported Hypothesis 2. Recommendations of the study included: (a) training educational leaders in the expanded use of Breakthrough Thinking, and (b) the use of Breakthrough Thinking in the development of School Improvement Plans. It was further recommended that a similar study be conducted with a larger sample size with additional provision for an expanded naturalistic design.

Notes

This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your thesis or dissertation, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by downloading and filling out the Internet Distribution Consent Agreement. You may also contact the project coordinator Kerri Bottorff for more information.

Graduation Date

1994

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Bozeman, William C.

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Educational Services

Degree Program

Educational Leadership

Format

Print

Pages

221 p.

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Identifier

DP0020790

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education; Education -- Dissertations, Academic

Accessibility Status

Searchable text

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS