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An inquiry into Scott's instituional theory

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Date Issued:
2014
Summary:
This dissertation evaluates the veracity of Richard Scott’s three pillars of institutionalization: regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive. The test of his theory is whether the processes and practices within the environments of the three pillars can account for differences between academic performance and athletic performance in Miami-Dade County, Florida public schools. Scott’s model of institutionalization works better in predicting academic success than it does athletic success in the context of this study as evidenced by the majority of the findings coming from the scholastic realm. The primary methodological approach was to obtain publicly available measures of academic performance and resources for 31 high schools in Miami-Dade County, FL, and then evaluate relationships between these academic indicators and measures of 􀀃 􀀃school athletic performance. Pearson (parametric) and Spearman (non-parametric) correlation coefficients were calculated to estimate the strength of association between school characteristics and measures of academic and athletic performance. These analyses further informed the construction of stepwise multiple linear regression models that regressed the dependent variable (a measure of academic or athletic performance) with a range of possible independent variables all related to individual school characteristics. Improvement in the academic categories included in this dissertation (math, science, reading, and writing) has been the goal of a great deal of legislation that deals with education at the federal, state, and local level. The top indicator of a school’s academic performance was the number of highly qualified teachers within a school. Cultural-cognitive pillar indicators of socioeconomic status, including minority rate and percentage of students in a school who are eligible for free lunch, were negatively associated with academic performance. Thus, normative and cultural-cognitive processes can have a significant impact on whether laws and legislation have their intended effect. In the end, it is reasonable to conclude that all three pillars complement each other in interdependent ways within Scott’s institutional framework with different pillars taking prominence as time and circumstances change.
Title: An inquiry into Scott's instituional theory.
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Name(s): Bright, Marcus, author
Miller, Hugh T., Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
College of Design and Social Inquiry
School of Public Administration
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2014
Date Issued: 2014
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 147 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: This dissertation evaluates the veracity of Richard Scott’s three pillars of institutionalization: regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive. The test of his theory is whether the processes and practices within the environments of the three pillars can account for differences between academic performance and athletic performance in Miami-Dade County, Florida public schools. Scott’s model of institutionalization works better in predicting academic success than it does athletic success in the context of this study as evidenced by the majority of the findings coming from the scholastic realm. The primary methodological approach was to obtain publicly available measures of academic performance and resources for 31 high schools in Miami-Dade County, FL, and then evaluate relationships between these academic indicators and measures of 􀀃 􀀃school athletic performance. Pearson (parametric) and Spearman (non-parametric) correlation coefficients were calculated to estimate the strength of association between school characteristics and measures of academic and athletic performance. These analyses further informed the construction of stepwise multiple linear regression models that regressed the dependent variable (a measure of academic or athletic performance) with a range of possible independent variables all related to individual school characteristics. Improvement in the academic categories included in this dissertation (math, science, reading, and writing) has been the goal of a great deal of legislation that deals with education at the federal, state, and local level. The top indicator of a school’s academic performance was the number of highly qualified teachers within a school. Cultural-cognitive pillar indicators of socioeconomic status, including minority rate and percentage of students in a school who are eligible for free lunch, were negatively associated with academic performance. Thus, normative and cultural-cognitive processes can have a significant impact on whether laws and legislation have their intended effect. In the end, it is reasonable to conclude that all three pillars complement each other in interdependent ways within Scott’s institutional framework with different pillars taking prominence as time and circumstances change.
Identifier: FA00004085 (IID)
Degree granted: Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Organizational sociology
Sports -- Psychological aspects
Sports -- Sociological aspects
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Links: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004085
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004085
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.