dc.contributor.advisor | Busch, Steven D. | |
dc.creator | Wyatt, Ronald | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2012-01-10T14:58:57Z | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2012-01-10T14:58:59Z | |
dc.date.available | 2012-01-10T14:58:57Z | |
dc.date.available | 2012-01-10T14:58:59Z | |
dc.date.created | December 2010 | |
dc.date.issued | 2010-12 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10657/177 | |
dc.description.abstract | Research in education, criminology, and sociology has long suggested that there is a
strong, reciprocal connection between students’ behaviors in school and their academic
achievement. Student misbehavior in schools has also been described as a serious problem by
the public as well as school practitioners. Traditionally, assistant principals are assigned the
responsibility of managing student discipline in schools and maintaining the learning
environment in classrooms. Despite the important role that assistant principals perform to
ensure that teachers can teach in a safe and effective atmosphere, little research has been
conducted that examines the complexity of the role of assistant principals. The majority of the
existing research examines the managerial roles and responsibility of the assistant principal and
does not address the complex interactions and leadership skills that are necessary to sustain the
learning environment of schools.
The purpose of this study is to provide and describe the perceptions of assistant principals
regarding student discipline as well as their perceptions regarding the manner in which teacher
behaviors impact student discipline. The results of this study will expand the knowledge base
regarding the complex role and expectations of the assistant principal and provide useful
information that can be used to inform graduate level educational leadership courses and the
preparation of school leaders.
The study is significant because the current emphasis in education regarding assessment
based accountability has made it paramount for administrators to increase the achievement levels
of all students. Student misbehavior diminishes the time and learning focus in the classroom,
and the students involved often lose valuable instructional time while serving a disciplinary
placement that removes them from the classroom. Understanding the perceptions of assistant
principals regarding student discipline and the effects that teacher actions can have on it is
significant because assistant principals are responsible for addressing and improving student
behavior in the classroom. In addition to being the person responsible for managing the campus
wide discipline program, the assistant principalship also serves as a succession track for the
principalship.
For this study, 371 practicing campus assistant principals from a large, Gulf Coast
metropolitan area were interviewed. The survey utilized cognitive interviews and the items
measured the assistant principals’ perceptions regarding the importance of student discipline as
well as their perceptions regarding the reasons why some teachers have very few discipline
issues in their classrooms while others seem to have constant misbehaviors regardless of the
student populations that they teach. | |
dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.subject | Student Discipline | |
dc.subject | Assistant Principals | |
dc.subject | Effective Schools | |
dc.subject.lcsh | School discipline--Texas--Gulf Region | |
dc.subject.lcsh | Classroom management--Texas--Gulf Region | |
dc.subject.lcsh | Educational leadership--Texas--Gulf Region | |
dc.subject.lcsh | Assistant school principals--Texas--Gulf Region | |
dc.title | Voices of Assistant Principals on the Importance of Student Discipline to Effective Schools | |
dc.date.updated | 2012-01-10T14:58:59Z | |
dc.type.genre | Thesis | |
thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Education | |
thesis.degree.level | Doctoral | |
thesis.degree.discipline | Educational Leadership | |
thesis.degree.grantor | University of Houston | |
thesis.degree.department | Educational Leadership and Cultural Studies | |
dc.contributor.committeeMember | MacNeil, Angus J. | |
dc.contributor.committeeMember | Emerson, Michael W. | |
dc.contributor.committeeMember | Prater, Doris L. | |
dc.type.dcmi | Text | |
dc.format.digitalOrigin | born digital | |
dc.description.department | Educational Leadership and Cultural Studies | |
thesis.degree.college | College of Education | |