Teacher Leaders’ Perceptions of Charter School Principals’ Instructional Leadership Practices

Teacher leaders are a population to consider when observing instructional leadership or the instructional leadership behaviors of the school principal. While teacher leaders may formally or informally fulfill different roles in the school, depending on the school’s needs and the principal’s vision. A voice rarely illuminated within research, teacher leaders should have the ability to perceive and speak to the instructional leadership behaviors of the school principal. It is through the display of the instructional leadership behaviors and implementation of processes and programs that teacher leaders are able to more accurately perceive and communicate beliefs about their school principals’ practices regarding instructional leadership. One overlooked presence in the research on instructional leadership practices is the charter school principal. To address this issue, our goal is to examine the instructional practices of the charter school principal from the lens of Mendel’s five effective leadership practices for instructional leaders as perceived by the teacher leader. Several concepts emerged from this phenomenological study indicating that teacher leaders perceive that effective charter school instructional leaders (a) use diverse communication styles with all stakeholders, (b) promote professional capacity, (c) employ varied data to inform instructional practices and decisions, (d) have a visual and resounding vision statement, and (e) maximize and preserve instructional time for teachers with few daily interruptions

The Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers' Attitudes Toward the Inclusion of English Language Learners in Mainstream Classrooms

The purpose of this study was to investigate pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of English Language Learners (ELLs) in mainstream classrooms.  The main themes addressed in this study included pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their professional training, responsibilities, and overall perceptions of ELLs.  The sample in this study included education majors and English as a Second Language (ESL) majors.  The 74 participants were enrolled in the Bachelor degree program at a southwestern Tennessee university.  Data was collected by allowing participants to respond to an online survey.  The results of the phi coefficient analysis provided a correlation between pre-service teachers’ perceptions and ELLs.  Overall, participants indicated positive attitudes towards working with ELLs in mainstream classrooms

Abnormal coagulation factor VIII transcript in a Tennessee Walking Horse colt with hemophilia A

Hemophilia A is an X-chromosome-linked disorder caused by a deficiency in factor VIII (FVIII). Although foals have been diagnosed with hemophilia A based on deficiency in FVIII activity, causative gene mutations have not been identified. The genomic DNA and cDNA encoding FVIII of a Tennesee Walking Horse colt affected with hemophilia A and the genomic DNA of his dam and a normal unrelated horse were analyzed with no splice site or coding sequence abnormalities identified in any of the horses. Polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were then performed on hepatic cDNA from the affected colt and an unrelated normal horse, and no product was obtained for the sequence between and including exon 1 and exon 2 in the affected colt. Based on these results, suspected mutations were identified in the noncoding region of FVIII (intron 1), and genomic sequencing of intron 1 in the dam and the affected colt suggested maternal inheritance

The major genetic determinants of HIV-1 control affect HLA class I peptide presentation.

Infectious and inflammatory diseases have repeatedly shown strong genetic associations within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC); however, the basis for these associations remains elusive. To define host genetic effects on the outcome of a chronic viral infection, we performed genome-wide association analysis in a multiethnic cohort of HIV-1 controllers and progressors, and we analyzed the effects of individual amino acids within the classical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) proteins. We identified >300 genome-wide significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the MHC and none elsewhere. Specific amino acids in the HLA-B peptide binding groove, as well as an independent HLA-C effect, explain the SNP associations and reconcile both protective and risk HLA alleles. These results implicate the nature of the HLA-viral peptide interaction as the major factor modulating durable control of HIV infection