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Globalization and Higher Education in Florida's State University System
Title
Globalization and Higher Education in Florida's State University System.
Creator
Ilyas, Mohammad, Bogotch, Ira, Florida Atlantic University, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
Abstract/Description
The purpose of this research was to assess how prepared Florida's State University System (SUS) institutions have been during the past five years (2008-2013) in responding to the challenges of globalization. The research also established institutional trends for the past five years (2008-2013) and projections for the next five years to seize the opportunities offered by globalization and to produce graduates with global competency skills. Ten of the 12 SUS institutions studied in this...
Show moreThe purpose of this research was to assess how prepared Florida's State University System (SUS) institutions have been during the past five years (2008-2013) in responding to the challenges of globalization. The research also established institutional trends for the past five years (2008-2013) and projections for the next five years to seize the opportunities offered by globalization and to produce graduates with global competency skills. Ten of the 12 SUS institutions studied in this research were Florida A&M University (FAMU), Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), Florida International University (FIU), Florida State University (FSU), University of Central Florida (UCF), University of Florida (UF), University of North Florida (UNF), University of South Florida (USF), and University of West Florida (UWF). The research was conducted as a case study using multi-method approach. The quantitative analysis was based on the information collected from the institutions and from the integrated postsecondary education data system (IPEDS). The qualitative analysis was based on the institutional mission statements, vision statements, and strategic plans. The quantitative analysis used six data parameters to compute a globalization composite index (GCI) for institutional comparisons and for establishing trends and future projections. Integrating quantitative and qualitative analyses led to the research findings of this study. Based on this study, the institutional preparedness for globalization has been low for six SUS institutions (FAMU, FAU, FGCU, UCF, UNF, and UWF) and has been medium for the remaining four (FIU, FSU, UF, and USF). The trend analysis showed that institutional preparedness could be improved significantly if robust and focused efforts are made over the next five years. In that case, the institutional preparedness for FAMU, FGCU, UNF, and UWF could ascend to medium; for FAU and UCF, it could improve to medium+; and for FIU, FSU, UF, and USF, it could reach high. The research concluded with some recommendations to help the leadership of Florida and the SUS institutions in responding effectively to the challenges of globalization. A few recommendations for future research in this field also are provided.
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Date Issued
2015
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004507, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004507
Subject Headings
Education and globalization, Education, Higher -- Effect of technological innovations on, Education, Higher -- Florida, Educational change -- Florida
Format
Document (PDF)
Perceptions of tenth-grade mathematics teachers and school administrators toward Florida's school accountability system: The A+ Plan
Title
Perceptions of tenth-grade mathematics teachers and school administrators toward Florida's school accountability system: The A+ Plan.
Creator
Ferrer, Lourdes., Florida Atlantic University, Decker, Larry E.
Abstract/Description
The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn how high school mathematics teachers and school administrators perceived Florida's school accountability system, the A+ Plan. This inquiry was conducted during the spring of 2001, in one of the largest urban school districts in Florida, with a sample of 27 participants, 21 teachers and 6 administrators, pre-selected from a high, an average, and a low performing high school. Data was gathered in the form of tape-recorded interviews, hand...
Show moreThe purpose of this qualitative study was to learn how high school mathematics teachers and school administrators perceived Florida's school accountability system, the A+ Plan. This inquiry was conducted during the spring of 2001, in one of the largest urban school districts in Florida, with a sample of 27 participants, 21 teachers and 6 administrators, pre-selected from a high, an average, and a low performing high school. Data was gathered in the form of tape-recorded interviews, hand written field notes, and document analysis. This study found that the school performance grade, teaching assignment course level, and race or ethnicity were not a source of variability in participants' perceptions. The A+ Plan was unanimously viewed as a bureaucratic reform initiative that used a power coercive approach to obtain compliance. Participants believed that the A+ Plan's fundamental belief that "every child can learn and that no child should be left behind" was unrealistic, and did not share the plan's central assumption that students' performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test is the direct result of their performance as teachers. They believed that students' natural abilities and personal motivations to learn surpass any other variable in determining the students' level of achievement. The FCAT was judged as an ineffective and unfair tool for teachers' accountability purpose because it did not provide information about students' academic growth in a year, and also, because it compared schools that differed in their students' demographics. The participants believed that they should not be held accountable, punished or rewarded for their students' performance on the FCAT because their students' scores on the mathematics section of the test was the outcome of their previous mathematics experience and English language proficiency. They believed that the school grade was merely a reflection of the school population, and that publicizing grades made the hiring and retention of qualified teachers more difficult and damaged their professional reputation and esteem in the community at large. The participants held that the A+ Plan was creating an environment where teachers perceived their work as more stressful and less rewarding because of what they view as unfair and unrealistic standards.
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Date Issued
2001
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/11967
Subject Headings
Mathematics teachers--Florida--Attitudes, Educational change--Florida, Educational accountability--Florida, School administrators--Florida--Attitudes
Format
Document (PDF)
Sustaining reform efforts in Broward County schools: A study of the Coalition of Essential Schools
Title
Sustaining reform efforts in Broward County schools: A study of the Coalition of Essential Schools.
Creator
Moffitt, Sharon., Florida Atlantic University, Pisapia, John
Abstract/Description
States, districts and schools continuously institute school reforms that propose to meet the needs of all students. Reform efforts come and go at such a rapid pace, it is often difficult for a school to participate in a reform effort long enough to give it a chance to succeed. This study looked at the internal and external contextual factors that contribute to the sustainability of a reform effort within a school. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of the level of...
Show moreStates, districts and schools continuously institute school reforms that propose to meet the needs of all students. Reform efforts come and go at such a rapid pace, it is often difficult for a school to participate in a reform effort long enough to give it a chance to succeed. This study looked at the internal and external contextual factors that contribute to the sustainability of a reform effort within a school. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of the level of integration of the core values of the Coalition Of Essential Schools (CES) into the management and instructional practices of the school and sustainability of the reform effort. This research is based on the belief that reform efforts must be maintained long enough to become the "way we do things" to have a significant impact on student achievement. Thirty schools within Broward County participated in this study. A survey questionnaire was developed by the researcher and 252 responses were returned. This study employed a quantitative study that was correlational in nature. Principal turnover results were surprising, as principals changed, sustainability rates rose. Findings indicate principal turnover and coordinator turnover had little impact on integration levels of the core values into the school's practices. The correlation between a school's socio economic status and sustainability found that schools with high numbers of students on free and reduced priced lunch had lower rates of sustainability. Research also indicated schools who were CES members for more than four years had high levels of integration of the core values into the school's practices. Finally, research showed that teacher turnover had a significant relationship to the level of integration of the core values of the CES into the school's practices and to the sustainability of the reform effort within the school.
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Date Issued
2006
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12209
Subject Headings
Coalition of Essential Schools, Educational change--Florida--Broward County--Case studies, Teacher-administrator relationships, School management and organization
Format
Document (PDF)
Teacher involvement in school reform
Title
Teacher involvement in school reform.
Creator
Urban, Vickie Dodds, Florida Atlantic University, Maslin-Ostrawski, Patricia
Abstract/Description
This exploratory and descriptive case study of a cadre of teachers focused on their involvement in school reform through their participation as facilitators and coordinators in the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) in the Broward County, FL Public School System. The purpose of the research was twofold. First, the research was conducted for the purpose of trying to discover characteristics common to the CES facilitators and coordinators used in this study. Second, the research was conducted...
Show moreThis exploratory and descriptive case study of a cadre of teachers focused on their involvement in school reform through their participation as facilitators and coordinators in the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) in the Broward County, FL Public School System. The purpose of the research was twofold. First, the research was conducted for the purpose of trying to discover characteristics common to the CES facilitators and coordinators used in this study. Second, the research was conducted to describe the experiences and attitudes of these CES facilitators and coordinators in regard to their school reform efforts. Thirty-seven CES facilitators and coordinators participated in the quantitative part of the study. Thirteen of those 37 were interviewed for the qualitative portion of the research. Research showed that the participants in this study were highly self-directed, lifelong learners who were committed to education and school reform. Besides revealing the participants' perceptions of the benefits of involvement in school reform, the research also showed that many of the participants spent less time in the classroom as their role in school reform increased. Finally, the research showed that there are a growing number of teacher leaders who, having taken on new roles and responsibilities, do not fit in the present school organizational structure.
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Date Issued
1997
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12530
Subject Headings
Educational change--Florida--Broward County--Case studies, Coalition of Essential Schools, Teacher-administrator relationships, School management and organization
Format
Document (PDF)
Soil of misfortune: Education, poverty, and race in a rural south Florida community
Title
Soil of misfortune: Education, poverty, and race in a rural south Florida community.
Creator
Gonzalez, Juan Carlos., Florida Atlantic University, Kirsch, Max H.
Abstract/Description
This dissertation addresses the structural components of education in the United States and how they have hindered the ability of a community's black and brown children to obtain the knowledge and resources needed to succeed and adapt to the changing circumstances of their region and beyond. It will do so through a case study of a small community in the American South, where the failure of education to provide access to the American dream has been clearly demonstrated in persistent poverty...
Show moreThis dissertation addresses the structural components of education in the United States and how they have hindered the ability of a community's black and brown children to obtain the knowledge and resources needed to succeed and adapt to the changing circumstances of their region and beyond. It will do so through a case study of a small community in the American South, where the failure of education to provide access to the American dream has been clearly demonstrated in persistent poverty and lack of opportunity available to its residents. Belle Glade, Florida is a rural community centrally located within the Everglades Agricultural Area. Fifty years after the historic 1954 Brown vs. Board decision, which outlawed school segregation and the separate but equal claims of Plessy vs. Ferguson, little has changed in this poor rural community. This study shows that this community, rather than representing an isolated case, is reflective of many small non-metro communities of the American South. Though integration initially intended to balance the great disparity that existed between the schools for black children and schools for white children in regards to facilities, materials, and curriculum, in Belle Glade and throughout the South those same disparities still exist today. This study argues that current state education policies, modeled after the federal government's "No Child Left Behind Plan," are a veneer for a separate and unequal educational policy and practice in the state of Florida. It seeks to explore and document why this has occurred, and place this case study within the larger context of structural inequalities on the local, national and global levels. How is it that the "freest nation in the world" with the largest gross national product has yet to fulfill its most fundamental promise to this community---equal opportunity and access to quality education? Thus, this dissertation asks why regardless of the policies, plans, curricula and tests the district and state adopt, at times with the best of intentions, nothing seems to improve the conditions of these black citizens? More importantly, when these issues are addressed, who speaks, under what conditions and for whom?
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Date Issued
2005
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12161
Subject Headings
Social capital (Sociology)--United States, Segregation in education--Florida--Belle Glade, African Americans--Education--History--20th century, Educational change--Florida--Belle Glade, Race relations in school management--Florida, Discrimination in education--Florida
Format
Document (PDF)