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A Qualitative Descriptive Study Exploring The Perceptions Of New Teacher Induction Supports, Tonya Dixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem of novice teachers leaving the profession in the first few years of their career represented a global issue and an increased attrition rate. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the perceptions of novice U.S. teachers and effective systemic supports provided to new teachers through the lens of social capital. For this study, the intangible components of social capital emerged through the development and fostering of mentoring relationships in an induction program. The methodology used was a qualitative descriptive study using a survey, interviews, and thematic analysis of the survey and interview data collected. The …

Elementary English Language Learners' Perceptions Of Teacher Care In The Classroom, Carol Boodram-Wright

Theses & Dissertations

English Language Learners (ELLs) experience care in the classroom based on prior experiences, teacher and student relationships, academic support, health support, and safety. The purpose of this study was to understand how ELLs experience care in the classroom with their classroom teacher as described by six ELL participants. A positive teacher-student relationship rooted in care, comfort, safety, and trust enhanced ELLs' engagement with their classroom teacher. The findings of this qualitative narrative study revealed that unconditional support and individualized quality time contributed to ELLs’ well-being in the classroom. Interpretations of care from the ELLs’ narratives depicted how experiences in the …

The Influence Of Secondary Principals' Perceived Trust Of Assistant Principals And Central Office Supervisors On Principal Self-Efficacy For Instructional Leadership, Cody J. Reutzel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although self-efficacy has been studied widely in education, variables associated with the self-efficacy of principals have received relatively limited attention. The current study investigated the relationship between secondary principals’ perceptions of trust in their assistant principal and central office supervisor and their own self-efficacy for instructional leadership. Surveys were collected from 80 secondary principals. Open-ended questions were utilized to gain greater understanding of the behaviors contributing to principals’ perceptions of trust and feelings of self-efficacy. Data were analyzed using correlation and multiple regression. Quantitative results revealed that no statistically significant relationship is present between trust perceptions in the relationships investigated …

Perceptions Of Elementary School Principals Regarding Strategies To Build Trust Among Staff To Support Positive Change, Laurel Cole

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

Trust is essential between elementary school principals and teachers, for it is a necessary ingredient in well-functioning organizations, especially schools. The problem addressed in this phenomenological study was the lack of practical strategies for principals to build trust with teachers effectively and efficiently to facilitate positive change and, ultimately, to support student achievement. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand how elementary school principals can quickly build trust with their teachers to facilitate positive change. Through the literature review, the researcher examined historical definitions of trust and early trust studies, the creation of trust and strategies for …

The Currency Of Teacher Trust In Working Conditions For Teacher Retention, Jeanette White

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Virginia Public schools continue to face teacher shortages, and policymakers and school leaders are desperately seeking ways to influence teachers' decisions to stay at school. This multi-site case study of seven elementary schools offers a conceptual framework to examine how teachers' trusting relationships with students and parents relate to working conditions and retention. Teacher interview excerpts, an overall measure of teacher working conditions using the Virginia Climate and Working Conditions Survey (Virginia Department of Education, 2021), and school-level descriptive statistics were analyzed to examine the relationship between teachers' perceptions of trust and other working conditions within their schools. In this …

How Teacher-Student Relationships Shape Student Engagement And Interest In Science, Destini N. Braxton

Theses and Dissertations

The current research on emotional engagement and teacher-student relationship is abundant and acknowledges education as an environment that thrives on social interactions and causes a variety of emotions to be present in the classroom. However, research on the relationship between Black and Latinx students’ teacher-student relationships and students’ emotional engagement and interest in science in urban middle school science classrooms remains scarce. Unfortunately, Black and Latinx students often experience a) mixed social interactions with their teachers, b) a lack of relatability to science instruction, and c) a combination of positive and negative emotions during science instruction and activities. This phenomenological, …

Exploring Misinformation Campaigns And How To Defend Against Them, Michelle S. Kuralt

Theses and Dissertations

Misinformation campaigns can have very real and lasting effects. Misinformation has been known to impact elections, create vaccine hesitancy, and increase polarization within societies. This paper reviewed existing literature regarding misinformation research, collected information from research participants to discern factors which may contribute to an increased susceptibility to misinformation, and examined Rule Based Training and a training program which utilized both rules and mindfulness to ascertain if these training programs might be effective in reducing participant susceptibility to misinformation.

Investigating The Relational Element Of Trust In Teacher-Principal Relationships: An Autoethnographic Case Study, Angela Bradley

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This autoethnographic case study was designed to investigate the relational aspect of trust, a characteristic of servant leadership, in the teacher-principal relationship. This trusting bond is an often overlooked, foundational element of a school’s success. I examined the role that trust plays in enhancing a school’s culture and how trust is established and maintained among one principal and teachers under my supervision. In addition, as researcher, I sought to uncover specific indicators that trust was present on a school campus. Finally, I sought to examine trust’s effects on collaboration and organizational commitment.

Through weekly reflections, I sought to examine my …

Connecting School Climate And Trust: A Content Analysis Of Elements Of Trust In Student And Staff School Climate Surveys, Katherine Thyen

Master's Theses

This study aims to make a concrete connection between trust in schools and school climate. Research indicates that both trust and school climate can positively impact school experiences and performance for teachers and students, but no formal connection has been made between these two elements of schools. In order to answer this study’s research questions of “What differences in frequency and context of trust dimensions exist between student surveys and teacher surveys?” and “How are survey items related to trust dispersed across school climate domains?”, a directed qualitative content analysis was performed. School climate surveys administered to students and teachers …

A Study Of The Perceptions Of School Administrators On Fostering Relational Trust With Teachers In Texas Urban Charter Schools, Meesha-Gay Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accountability has placed immense pressure on principals leading K-12 public charter schools to increase standards for success. Overwhelmingly, principals accept the charge to produce promising results every day, despite the public scrutiny principals may ensue for not meeting the state’s standard of excellence. Principals are expected to drive high academic standards, initiate instructional vision, interact with parents, oversee policy mandates, address students’ needs, and foster relationships with teachers. The daily demands requiring principals’ attention stimulate stress and may cause principals to wrestle with prioritizing trusted relationships. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand how principals foster relational …

A Mixed Methods Study Of How High School Principals Build Trust With Staff Using Weisman’S Five Domains Of Trust Model, Danielle Clark

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this mixed method case study was to identify and describe how high school principals establish trust with teachers using the five domains of connection, concern, candor, competence, and consistency (TVI, 2010). In addition, it was the purpose of this study to determine the high school principals’ perceived degree of importance of the five domains for building trust.

Methodology. This mixed methods research design used quantitative and qualitative data to analyze the research questions related to trust between high school principals and their staff. The study combined surveys and in-person interviews. The quantitative data were gathered via …

School Innovation: A Phenomenological Study Of Leadership, Kevin H. Storch

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to gain an understanding of what school innovation looks like as well as how school and district leaders address the concept. Technology has forever changed society. We must be careful not to confuse school innovation as the implementation of technology in the classroom. Educational leaders face the challenge of engaging students in meaningful learning opportunities that go beyond rote memorization and performance on standardized assessments following NCLB and Common Core. This study identifies characteristics of school culture that are necessary for innovation to take place. Principal and district leaders have to be knowledgeable …

Trust In Schools, Student Race, And Third Grade Reading In New York City Public Schools, Alexa Sorden

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study examines the relationship between teachers' and parents' trust in the school principal in association with third-grade students reading proficiency as determined by the New York State Testing Program. In addition, this study examines the association between combined trust scores and their influence on Black and Latino students’ reading proficiency. This study merged preexisting New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) Learning Environment Survey data and the New York State Testing Program examination data. Six hundred eleven schools comprised the final sample from the 708 public elementary schools that currently make up the NYCDOE traditional public school system …

Servant Leadership On Burnout Among Physicians In Residency Training, Karen Grant-Hewitt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Physicians in residency training (PIRTs) in the United States are facing extreme burnout. The prevalence of burnout among physicians in residency training may cause adverse consequences such as medical malfeasance, alcoholism, or suicide due to physical and mental exhaustion. The purpose of this study was to analyze the servant leadership style of physician trainers and burnout among PIRTs in academic medical centers in the United States to ultimately increase wellness and thereby mitigate burnout. Servant leadership was the theoretical foundation for this study. This research investigated whether servant leadership characteristics of physician trainers played a statistically significant role in burnout …

Principals’ Perspectives Of Trust And Vulnerability In Leadership: A Grounded Theory Study, Megan Ostedgaard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Leadership is a challenging task and leading well requires interpersonal skills that inspire those they lead to follow them. The aim of this grounded theory study is to explore the experiences of educational leaders who thoughtfully engage in trust-building and express vulnerability in their leadership practices. This study explored how six principals at kindergarten through 12th grade schools experience trust and vulnerability as building leaders. Three research questions guided this study: how do leaders experience trust, how do leaders generate trust, and how do leaders experience vulnerability.

In this study, we begin by understanding the background to the problem and …

Hazy Team Composition Processes: Shared Team Leadership, A Strategy To Team Excellence In Higher Education, Pervaiz Masih

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teamwork is an emergent property of efficacious organizations. Team-based and result-oriented organizational structures are gaining momentum, increasing 6% each year. Over 80% of organizations globally deploy teams by putting ordinary people to work together for extraordinary performance. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center is a unique institute that teaches foreign languages in an immersive and team-based environment. This mixed-methods research study investigated (a) the teaching team composition processes, (b) the applicability of trust and diversity in team composition, and (c) the impact of shared team leadership in the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Data were collected from 82 …

Supporting Effective School Board Governance, Dwayne Michael Zarichny

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

The contextual landscape for superintendents in Alberta is changing. Managing the board was once the main responsibility of the superintendent. With the implementation of the superintendent leadership quality standard, superintendents are now expected to demonstrate a number of competencies as part of their role. One major competency is supporting effective governance practices of the board they serve. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) addresses the Problem of Practice (PoP) focused on building superintendent and trustee efficacy in moving towards more effective governance practices. The objective of this OIP is to introduce a new approach to governing which will result in …

Teacher-Student Relationships And Their Effects On School Culture, Craig Curtis

Dissertations

Teacher-student relationships are an important part of every school’s culture. This study used surveys and interviews to find to what extent teacher-student relationships impact school culture. In the end, the research found that teacher-student relationships have a significant impact on school culture and an action plan and recommendations were suggested for the school’s continued growth and improvement in the area of school culture with a focus on teacher-student relationships.

The Relationship Between Leadership Behaviors, Trust In Leadership And Teacher Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Tonia Y. Havard-Dew

Ed.D. Dissertations

As greater accountability is placed on school districts, in response to the increased demands of federal and state policies and mandates, teacher workloads and responsibilities have been increased to meet those demands. School districts rely on teachers’ commitment to students’ educational pursuits and their willingness to demonstrate behaviors that exceed their formal role expectations to facilitate student success. These behaviors, known as organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), cannot be required, but play a critical role in ensuring a district’s success. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between teachers’ trust in their administrator and teachers’ OCB through …

Coequal Responsibility For Feedback And Trust In Teacher Professional Development, Stefanie Whitney

Doctorate in Education

Instructional feedback offers a critical contribution to teacher professional development aimed at improving student learning outcomes. The most influential feedback comes from principals who have developed strong collegial relationships with teachers through observation-based understanding of their instructional practices, intentional interpersonal connection, and collaboration on shared goals. In essence, collegial relationships between principals and teachers nurture the development of trust, an essential element in the process of giving and receiving feedback. Unfortunately, instructional feedback has historically been delivered through teacher evaluations, which attempt to serve two contradictory purposes: To evaluate for retention and to nurture professional development. These dual purposes have …

The Trust-Based Classroom: An Analysis Of Current Trends In Social And Emotional Learning And The Development Of A New Trust-Based Approach To Art Education, Ellen Prasse

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

Many current social and emotional learning (SEL) programs cite building trust as a key factor to an effective SEL program. Despite these references, however, they often lack an emphasis on teaching methods of building trust between students and their peers, the teacher, and the environment. Instead they focus on a specific aspect of teaching like the procedural practices of Responsive Classroom or communication and open-mindedness as in Open Circle. Explicitly building trust, however, could create an art classroom atmosphere conducive to high quality learning. This paper analyzes current trends in social and emotional learning and outlines the characteristics of the …

Culture Change: Examining The Impact Of Professional Learning Communities And Trust On School Culture, Jessica Floyd

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact professional learning community (PLC) implementation and collegial trust have at the organizational level and the effect these elements have on the positive school culture that nurtures academic achievement in select rural Title I elementary schools located in southeastern North Carolina. An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach was used to design the study. The study occurred in two phases. Phase 1 was the collection of quantitative data from the Learning Community Culture Indicator (LCCI) 4.0 survey (Williams et al., 2007) and the Team Trust Inventory (Costa & Anderson, 2011). Phase 2 …

Faculty And Dean Attitudes Toward Institutional Civic Responsibility, Mutual Trust, And Civic Mindedness At Two Year Colleges, David W. Kobilka

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Two year colleges are often characterized as America’s “democracy colleges” implying a difficult to implement dual mission of democratizing education for all, and advancing the democratic purpose of civic engagement. Although such goals may be explicit in a college’s mission statement, how faculty or their deans receive that mission is not well-documented. Research suggests that for a college to advance a civic mission, those involved must themselves be civically minded. Moreover, for any mission to succeed, faculty and their deans must trust one-another. However, there is scant research specific to two-year colleges in these areas. This research attempted to address …

Trust In Leadership To Develop Collaborative School Culture And Effective Implementation Of Professional Learning Communities, Kara Mieszanek

Dissertations

DISSERTATION: TRUST IN LEADERSHIP TO DEVELOP COLLABORATIVE SCHOOL CULTURE AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Kara N. Mieszanek National Louis University

ABSTRACT

In education, we are constantly working toward increasing student achievement. Often, we pursue technical elements such as implementing programs, data analysis, utilizing assessment tools, embedding evaluation systems, etc. However, there is another critical element that may all too often get overlooked—the culture. The purpose of this study was to strip away all the layers required to achieve systemic change by observing what is at the core of it all: trust. Through qualitative and quantitative research, I took …

Trust Issues: A Case Study Of The Relationship Between Trust And Reform Implementation, Courtney R. Wilson

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Reform creation and implementation tends to focus on the mechanics needed to ensure intended outcomes are achieved. School relationships are affected by the tension caused by reform implementation. Research suggests trust among teachers and between teachers and their administrator affects the way teachers make sense of, implement, and use new reform efforts. Given the demands reforms place on schools, trust has the potential to impact and encourage the implementation of reform and the maintenance of relationships. A qualitative case study method was used to decipher the impact trust plays in the implementation of reform. The concept of trust is used …

Developing Trust In A Cross-Functional Workgroup: Assessing The Effectiveness Of A Communication Intervention, Scott De Long

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Business organizations increasingly understand the benefits of forming cross-functional teams, which include collaborative efforts on new initiatives and solving for current issues in the organization. Putting together a group of people from different disciplines, however, is not enough to obtain the results businesses are looking to achieve. To be effective, groups must form into a team. There are two distinct differences between a group and a team. To build a team, a group must coalesce around a unifying mission, understanding, and agreement on the purpose of the team and what they need to accomplish to be successful. The second qualifying …

A Wrap Around Poverty Intervention Model: Leveraging Social Capital Reduces Poverty, Robert James Cook

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

In 1964, the United States began to wage a war to end generational poverty using antipoverty policies and programs, with controversial results. The theory exists that wraparound (WA) poverty intervention programs are effective in helping participants develop relational assets (RA) and social capital (SC) to overcome the effects of poverty, yet few organizations are seeking solutions to chronic poverty using these methods. One such program is The Open Table (TOT). Their concept uses 6-9 mentors who meet weekly with a brother/sister for one year to help them identify and achieve their financial, educational, occupational, health and family goals. The Open …

Increasing Trust And Teacher Voice In Order To Improve Teacher Evaluation In Chicago, Tim Riff

Dissertations

Chicago Public Schools’ teacher evaluation program includes cycles of observation and feedback as well as student test scores to determine teacher evaluation scores. Teachers have expressed support for and trust in this teacher evaluation program, yet they have misgivings about the inclusion of standardized student test scores. An examination of best practices in teacher evaluation and its implementation in Chicago, through the voices of the teachers and evaluators, identifies opportunities for improvement. By supporting teachers and administrators to engage in professional conversations, offering teachers a voice in how teacher evaluation is implemented, and eliminating the use of standardized student test …

The Impact Of Trust And Organizational Commitment On Professional Development Intention Among Community College Faculty: A Grounded Theory Approach, Malene Lalla Arnaud

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation

Faculty are integral in designing an environment that allows students to succeed. The landscape of community colleges has changed with an increase in technology and evolving student populations. Professional development is necessary to allow faculty to adapt to the current and future landscape of community college education. The purpose of this research study is to explore the reasons why community college faculty do not participate in professional development through grounded theory inquiry. This research focuses on the trust relationship between faculty members and administrators and the faculty’s organizational commitment to professional growth. The researcher investigated the following research questions using …

Elementary School Principals’ Experiences With Trust And Trust-Building, Emily Luuri

Educational Studies Dissertations

Research on leadership within schools has examined principals’ varied and complex tasks and highlighted their responsibility to promote positive relationships with their staff. Prominent in that research and in the professional literature on school leadership are arguments that staff trust of a principal—resulting from the principal’s trust-building actions—is a crucial factor for school improvement. Despite this priority, there remains a need to study the ways in which principals come to understand the nature of trust and cultivate it within schools. Thus, the purpose of this narrative study was to examine the stories of elementary school principals to derive an understanding …