Date

2014

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Toni Stanton

Keywords

ACSI, Christian, instrument, leadership, principal, survey

Disciplines

Education | Educational Administration and Supervision | Educational Leadership | Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration | Special Education and Teaching

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop and field-test the School Leader's Special Education Decision-Making Scale and to determine its validity and reliability for use with Christian school leaders. This 11-item scale, derived from the literature, measures the attitudes of Christian school leaders towards decisions to implement a special education program based on four factors: shared vision, parental considerations, teacher input, and religious concerns. This study was exploratory in nature and sought to extend a previous qualitative study by determining a way to quantify six intangible factors identified in that study. Three panels of experts in the fields of education and research examined the survey and provided feedback during its development. The instrument was distributed online to administrators in the central and southeastern parts of the United States, whose schools were members of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). Dimensions were assessed using a principal component factor analysis and internal reliability using Cronbach's alpha.

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