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Middle Level Education In Rural Communities: Implications For School Leaders, Douglas D. Thomas Nov 2005

Middle Level Education In Rural Communities: Implications For School Leaders, Douglas D. Thomas

The Rural Educator

Middle level teachers and administrators working in small or rural schools often face unique obstacles in implementing recommended middle level practices. From sharing staff and schedules with other school sites, to inappropriate instructional techniques, to a general lack of understanding of the middle level philosophy, these obstacles can be a source of frustration for school leaders and hinder school improvement initiatives. A better understanding of these issues and the discussion of potential solutions will benefit teachers, administrators, and policy makers in improving middle level education in rural communities. By building on the positive characteristics found in rural and smaller schools, …


Meeting The Learning Needs Of Students: A Rural High-Need School District’S Systemic Leadership Development Initiative, Tricia Browne-Ferrigno, Brenda Maynard Jul 2005

Meeting The Learning Needs Of Students: A Rural High-Need School District’S Systemic Leadership Development Initiative, Tricia Browne-Ferrigno, Brenda Maynard

The Rural Educator

The Principals Excellence Program (PEP), a cohort-based professional development project for administrator certified practitioners, is one of 24 projects a cross the United States supported by federal funds from the No Child Left Behind legislation. The three-year program is conducted through a partnership between Pike County School District, a high-need rural system in Central Appalachia, and the University of Kentucky, located 150 miles away. A major goal for PEP is improved school leadership focused on enhanced student learning. Findings in this paper include inprogress evaluations of program impact toward (a) preparing school leaders to promote learning success for all, (b) …


Improved Professional Development Through Teacher Leadership, Wesley D. Hickey, Sandra Harris Mar 2005

Improved Professional Development Through Teacher Leadership, Wesley D. Hickey, Sandra Harris

The Rural Educator

Research suggests the need to provide leadership opportunities for teachers within school settings in order to increase professional collaboration and community. This research explored one rural district’s professional development model, which was evaluated to determine its potential in developing teacher leaders. This district’s professional development model utilized their exemplary teachers to develop other teachers through formal presentations that were traditionally taught by non-district experts. This study utilized a practitioner research methodology to determine effectiveness of using teachers as leaders. Data were collected to determine the impact on the teacher leaders and the effectiveness of the presentations as perceived by the …


School Council Member Perceptions And Actual Practice Of School Councils In Rural Schools, Thomas Pharis, Randall V. Bass, James L. Pate Mar 2005

School Council Member Perceptions And Actual Practice Of School Councils In Rural Schools, Thomas Pharis, Randall V. Bass, James L. Pate

The Rural Educator

In a time of growing interest in accountability, sharing school governance with parents, teachers, the community, and business leaders has become a norm. School councils or advisory groups have become a requirement for schools in many states. This research examined school council members’ perceptions of issues addressed by the councils and council effectiveness in rural Georgia. Additionally, this research examined the relationship between council members’ perceptions of school council effectiveness among council member constituent groups and the difference between council members’ perceptions of issues addressed and actual issues addressed. The research identified factors school council members believed to be important …


Us Women Top Executive Leaders In Education: Building A Community Of Learners, Margaret Grogan Feb 2005

Us Women Top Executive Leaders In Education: Building A Community Of Learners, Margaret Grogan

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

American women have been known for their leadership throughout the history of the United States. Not always called leadership, their management activities have earned them the reputation of being strong, resilient women capable of great initiative. This translates into the current notion of a woman educational leader as evidenced in a recent study. Based on the AASA (2003) national survey of women superintendents and central office administrators, conducted by Margaret Grogan and Cryss Brunner, this paper focuses on what characterizes women educational leaders and how they are shaping the most powerful position in U.S. education.


Perceptions Of Teachers And Administrators Of The Organizational Supports For Inclusion Programs In Southwest Florida Elementary Schools, Brian Douglas Moore Jan 2005

Perceptions Of Teachers And Administrators Of The Organizational Supports For Inclusion Programs In Southwest Florida Elementary Schools, Brian Douglas Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The success of exceptional student education, although dependent upon the teachers involved, is largely made possible both by the role the school principal performs and the organizational support provided by the school district. The primary purpose of this study was to identify the sources and components of organizational support required to implement the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education classrooms. The provision of resources by administrators, particularly the building principal, is an example of an organizational support that helps students with disabilities learn successfully in this setting. These resources include funding, special curricula, adaptive technology, organizational resources such …


Spiritual Dimension In Educational Leadership, Rosalina Ruiz Jan 2005

Spiritual Dimension In Educational Leadership, Rosalina Ruiz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Spirit-filled experiences have been customarily silent in the discourse of education. This area has been misunderstood and solely left to the religious arena to discover its development creating compartmentalized concepts and depriving other organizational systems from implementing its rich resourcefulness. This study seeks to provide ontological and epistemological knowledge to uncover and understand the power of the spiritual dimension in the life of successful educational leaders. By conceptualizing spirituality in educational leadership, this qualitative study seeks to explore successful educational leaders' use of spirituality to strengthen their effectiveness as it relates to school and their performance. Based on the major …


Transparent Templates Of Principals, Mary Chang Jan 2005

Transparent Templates Of Principals, Mary Chang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploration of the personal constructs of principals was intended to reveal the transparent templates they create and attempt to fit over the realities of their world. This study sought to go beyond externally imposed descriptions of the leadership behavior of principals by exploring their personal constructs to discover the meaning that principals ascribe to their leadership behavior in anticipation and interpretation of events. Kelly's (1955) personal construct theory provided the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions were addressed through qualitative inquiry. Data were collected in a process that began with full context elicitation, laddering, and triadic analysis, …


Echoing Their Ancestors, Women Lead School Districts In The United States, Margaret Grogan Jan 2005

Echoing Their Ancestors, Women Lead School Districts In The United States, Margaret Grogan

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Women have been involved in leadership activities throughout the history of the United States. Not always called leadership, their capacities to deal with difficult situations, and to manage enterprises have been earned them the reputation of being strong and resilient, capable of great initiative. This article draws briefly on this history to situate a discussion of how women are shaping the most powerful position in U.S. education - the superintendency. Using published findings from the AASA (2003) national survey of women superintendents and central office administrators, conducted by Margaret Grogan and Cryss Brunner, the article argues that women are still …


An Analysis Of Perceptions Of Online Instruction By Department Chairs In The Field Of Higher Educational Administration In The United States, Edna Lynn Levernier Jan 2005

An Analysis Of Perceptions Of Online Instruction By Department Chairs In The Field Of Higher Educational Administration In The United States, Edna Lynn Levernier

Legacy ETDs

The rapid global emergence of a multi-billion dollar electronic (e)-leaming industry has forced department chairs in the field of educational leadership and administration in higher education institutions across the United States to assess the value, quality, and legitimacy of online instruction. For many, the concept of online education significantly challenges deeply held pedagogical beliefs and educational values such as academic freedom, protection of intellectual property rights, academic integrity, and quality. For others, the "fit" of online education with existing departmental and institutional mission statements, cultures, budgets, reward systems, policies and procedures, is unclear or uncertain. In an age where "technology …