The Relation of Dropout Prevention Programs in West Virginia Scho

Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Theses, Dissertations and Capstones 2016 The Relation of Dropout Prevention Programs in West Virginia Schools to Dropout Rates and Principal Perceptions of Effectiveness Vicky Callison Cline vcline10@gmail.com Follow this and additional works at: http://mds.marshall.edu/etd Part of the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons Recommended Citation Cline, Vicky Callison, "The Relation of Dropout Prevention Programs in West Virginia Schools to Dropout Rates and Principal Perceptions of Effectiveness" (2016) Theses, Dissertations and Capstones 1023 http://mds.marshall.edu/etd/1023 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Marshall Digital Scholar It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar For more information, please contact zhangj@marshall.edu, martj@marshall.edu THE RELATION OF DROPOUT PREVENTION PROGRAMS IN WEST VIRGINIA SCHOOLS TO DROPOUT RATES AND PRINCIPAL PERCEPTIONS OF EFFECTIVENESS A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of Marshall University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership by Vicky Callison Cline Approved by Dr Louis K Watts, Committee Chairperson Dr Edna Meisel Dr Tom Hisiro Dr N Dwight Livesay Marshall University May 2016 ii © 2016 Vicky Callison Cline ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this study to my husband, Mark, who colors my life with his music and art; to my father, Dale Callison, who taught me that meaningful work was the best way to find happiness; to my mother, Judy Callison, who inspires me to enjoy life and keep chasing my dreams; to my children, Emily and Ethan, who have brought me great joy and strengthened my resolve; to friends like Daryl, Kim, and Jeanne, who listened to my complaining and encouraged me anyway, and to Avian and all future grandchildren, who represent the future and everything we hope it will be iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to express sincere appreciation to the faculty of the Marshall College of Education and Professional Development for their support and encouragement, particularly Dr Louis Watts, my Committee Chairperson and mentor, who started me on the path to a doctoral degree and supported me throughout the process His ability to laugh—and make me laugh—even as he told me to revise yet again was inspirational, and I appreciate the way he helped me keep things in perspective I thank Dr Edna Meisel for her assistance with statistical analysis, for the way she helped me actually enjoy statistics in class, and for her insistence on getting it right I thank Dr N Dwight Livesay, for his wise counsel and encouragement Dr Livesay always helped me to see the bigger picture, and he is one of the kindest human beings I have ever known I would also like to thank Dr Tom Hisiro for being willing to step in and work with me on short notice Finally, thanks must also go to Dr Michael Cunningham, for his insistence on attention to detail and guidance throughout the many years of this program These dedicated professionals inspire and mentor students every day, and I will always appreciate them v TABLE OF CONTENTS SIGNATURE PAGE ii COPYRIGHT iii DEDICATION iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF TABLES ix ABSTRACT x Chapter One: Introduction, Overview, Problem Statement West Virginia’s Challenges Statement of Purpose……… Significance and Justification Limitations of Study Research Questions Delimitations Definitions Chapter Two: Review of the Literature History of Dropout Prevention Studies in the United States 11 Programs to Address Dropout Rates 13 Use of Multiple Approaches to Address Dropout Prevention 15 Organization of Dropout Prevention Programs in West Virginia 17 Principals’ Role in Dropout Prevention 20 vi Chapter Three: Research Methods 22 Research Design 22 Research Questions 23 Population and Sample 24 Instrumentation 24 Data Collection and Analysis 25 Chapter Four: Findings 27 Sample 27 Analysis of Data 27 Question One 27 Question Two 29 Question Three 30 Question Four 32 Question Five ………………………………………………………………… 34 Provision for Protection of Student Information 35 Chapter Five: Summary Discussion of Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations 36 Discussion of Findings 36 Question One 37 Question Two 38 Question Three 38 Question Four 39 Question Five 39 Conclusions 40 vii Recommendations 47 Best Practices 47 ZoomWVe 48 Longitudinal Studies 48 Program Participants Studies 48 Implementation Studies 49 REFERENCES 50 APPENDICES 60 APPENDIX A: ANONYMOUS SURVEY CONSENT 60 APPENDIX B: SURVEY INSTRUMENT 61 CURRICULUM VITAE 63 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Percentage of Schools with Each Program in Place in 2014-15 Page 29 Table Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Between Number of Programs in Place and Graduation Rate Page 30 Table Principal Perceptions of Effectiveness of School Programs Using Chi Square and Means Page 32 Table ANOVA – Relationship Between Principal Perceptions of Effectiveness and Graduation Rate Page 34 Table Difference in Mean Graduation Rate due to Programs in Place/Not in Place Page 35 ix Implementation Studies Finally, to trace graduation rates over the time period of implementation of a specific dropout prevention program could be helpful in evaluating a program’s effectiveness, but this should also include a careful study of the method of implementation The current study looked at principals’ perceptions, and while principals agreed in their overall assessment of program effectiveness, there is little statistical evidence to indicate these perceptions have a relationship to graduation rate The study raised many interesting questions For example, how involved with dropout prevention programs were the principals who answered the study? How were programs set up and evaluated? On what did principals base their assessment of program effectiveness? Interviews with principals themselves could offer insight into these questions and others raised by the study Graduation rates in West Virginia are improving, and the dropout prevention programs in place throughout the state undoubtedly have had some impact on that phenomenon, but more studies need to be conducted To fully understand the impact of these programs on graduation rate, a much more in-depth look at the programs and participants, the methods of implementation, and the impact of the program on graduation rates over time would be needed Perceptions of principals, administrative personnel, and students themselves continues to be of interest as well, and more study exploring the relationship between perceptions and programs may help guide dropout prevention efforts 49 REFERENCES Achieving Graduation for all West Virginians (2011) Recommendations from the National Governors Association State Strategies to Achieve Graduation for All Planning Grant Retrieved from https://www.wvhepc.org/resources/Recommendations_from_ NGA_Planning_Grant.pdf Alliance for Excellent Education (2011) The high cost of high school dropouts: What the nation pays for inadequate high schools Retrieved from http://all4ed.org/wpcontent /uploads/2013/06/HighCost.pdf Army Junior Reserves Officer Training Corps (2015) Retrieved from http://www.usarmy jrotc.com/jrotc-program/jrotc-program-information Aud, S., and Hannes, G (Eds.) 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Principals’ Feedback—that principals received via United States Postal Service and also the form exported from the online survey program used initially to collect information from principals 61 62 CURRICULUM VITAE Vicky Callison Cline EDUCATION Marshall University Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, 2016 Marshall University Education Specialist, Curriculum and Instruction, 2014 Virginia Commonwealth University Master of Science, Mass Communications, 2001 Honors: Phi Kappa Phi West Virginia University Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, 1989 Honors: Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa West Virginia University Bachelor of Arts in English, 1989 Honors: Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa Enterprise State College Associate of Science in Business Administration, 1985 Honors: Phi Theta Kappa CERTIFICATION State of West Virginia, Professional Teaching Certificate, Permanent Specializations: English/Language Arts State of West Virginia, Principal, Permanent State of West Virginia, Supervisor General Instruction, Permanent State of West Virginia, Superintendent, Permanent PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 1989-1997 1997-2001 2001-2005 2005-Present English/Journalism Teacher, King William County, Virginia Public Relations Officer/Journalism Teacher, King William County, Virginia Director of Technology/Public Relations Officer, King William County, Virginia Director of Technology & Testing, Greenbrier County, West Virginia HONORS AND RECOGNITION 2006-Present 2014 2013 2012 2008-2012 2005 2005 Testing Advisory Council, West Virginia Department of Education Wrote/received Innovation Zone Grant GEHS/Eastern/Western Middle Wrote/received Innovation Zone Grant, Greenbrier East High School Wrote/received Innovation Zone Grant, Greenbrier West High School ACT Plan/Explore Advisory Council, WVDE Regional Technology Director of the Year, State of Virginia Project Director, Four Rivers Technology in Education Consortium 63 ... overview of programs in place in West Virginia Findings offer insight into commonly used programs directly related to West Virginia? ??s guidance document for dropout prevention and initiatives put in. .. cohort group in 2011-12 Statement of Purpose The purpose of this study is to gather information about the kinds of dropout intervention programs in place in 2014-15 in West Virginia high schools and... and offer educators more opportunities to tailor intervention efforts to local needs Organization of Dropout Prevention Programs in West Virginia Evaluating the programs in place in West Virginia