Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring School Leadership Styles Used To Improve Instruction And Learning In Schools, Nana Yaw Agyeman Mr, Venessa Aphane Ms

Journal of Research Initiatives

Schools are under intense pressure to improve quality and achieve long-term educational outcomes. To improve education, schools' teaching and learning environments must be improved. This research evaluated the various leadership philosophies used in South African schools to improve teaching and learning. The study's qualitative methodology included in-depth interviews with open-ended questions. A purposeful technique was used to select 16 participants from four different schools. The participants included four principals, four school management team members, four department heads, and four teachers. Themes guided the data analysis, focusing on patterns and resemblances while maintaining data quality. The study's findings revealed that school …

Middle School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Use Of Serious Games For Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Latoyia R. Stewart

Journal of Research Initiatives

Attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common childhood neurodevelopment disorder, and severe digital game use has recently shown significant promise in this psychotherapeutic area. Digital serious games have also been used as an innovative teaching and learning approach. This study aimed to explore middle school teachers' perceptions of the use of digital severe games for students with ADHD. The conceptual framework for this study was Sherry's model of game engagement. The two research questions for this basic qualitative study focused on middle school teacher perceptions regarding the benefits and challenges related to the use of digital serious games …

"It Hurts Me To Say": Preservice Teachers' Use And Disapproval Of Deficit Discourse In Urban Schools, Sherridon Sweeney, Brian Flores

Journal of Research Initiatives

Extensive research examines the development and impact of deficit discourse in schools. However, more research needs to be needed to explore how preservice teachers use this language during their preparation. Therefore, our qualitative study explored how deficit discourse became part of five preservice teachers' vernacular when speaking about children and teaching. Findings suggest participants (a) Relied on reductive labels to describe children, (b) attributed their use of these labels to their exposure to them during their practicum, and (c) demonstrated both cognitive dissonance and silent resistance toward deficit language. Implications are for teacher educators and school leaders.

An Exploration Of The Mentoring Experiences Of Ethnically Diverse Women Faculty At An Hbcu: A Qualitative Case Study, Tonya M. Brown, Ruth Boyd

Journal of Research Initiatives

This qualitative case study explored the professional and personal growth benefits for women faculty who engage in mentoring relationships at a historically black college or university (HBCU). Data were collected using one-on-one interviews with full- and part-time women faculty members who served as research participants. The participants provided data about their experiences with mentoring, including details such as the frequency of their meetings with mentoring partners, the preferred method of communication, and the areas of support resulting from the mentoring relationship. Findings indicated that mentoring relationships positively enhanced the experience for women faculty teaching in full-time or adjunct positions in …

Closing The Knowledge Gap With Literacy-Infused And Rich Social Studies Content, Jeffrey Leffler, Ksenia Zhbanova

Journal of Research Initiatives

Social studies have been marginalized in early childhood education amid the prevalence of standardized testing and political issues. However, a comprehensive approach to early education, including social studies, is gaining attention. This article emphasizes the significance of incorporating social studies into early childhood curriculum, illuminating its potential to enhance children's cognitive and social-emotional development. The second important aspect of this article focuses on the role of social studies in literacy skill development through building background knowledge, critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills of young children.

Contrastive Analysis Of English And Pashto Adjectives, Abdul Raziq Safi

Journal of Research Initiatives

Language is a systematic means of communication that employs sound or conventional symbols. Using a foreign language can be problematic when attempting to communicate or translate written or spoken language from one's native language due to structural differences between languages. Among the most widely spoken languages in the world, English is understood by approximately half of the global population. However, it is neither an official nor a second language in our country. Nonetheless, due to its significance, it is often taught as a foreign language at schools, institutes, and universities. As previously mentioned, Pashto, our language, shares structural similarities and …

Diverse And Inclusive Social Matters In Select Dissertations At Hbcus: A Summative Analysis, Vance D. Keyes, Latocia Keyes

Journal of Research Initiatives

Historically, Black colleges, universities, and social workers have shared a history of serving marginalized people. This research is conducted at a point in time when the profession and academic field of social work have expressed an interest in eliminating racism, but more so in upholding the values of social work education in support of working with marginalized populations. Social work as an academic discipline and the origin of Historically Black Colleges and Universities is introduced. The integration of social work in Historically Black Colleges and Universities is analyzed by cataloging the number and type of institutions that offer social work …

Analyzing Common Mistakes In First-Year Medicine Faculty Students’ Paragraph Writing, Pervaiz Yaseeni, Fahim Rahimi, Fareed Sahil

Journal of Research Initiatives

Academic writing is a salient skill for medical students all over the world. Academic writing starts with composing effective paragraphs, laying the foundation for students' advancement in writing during college. This study investigated common mistakes in English paragraph writing committed by the first-year medical students of the Medicine Faculty at Kabul University of Medical Sciences. Additionally, it measured the challenges that Medicine Faculty students tackled in paragraph writing. This quantitative study was conducted through an action research design. The data were collected from 52 medical students, and their work was analyzed using the developed rubrics. The data were analyzed in …

Global Best Practices In Education: A Conceptual Definition And Criticisms, Vincent Chidindu Asogwa

Journal of Research Initiatives

The "Global Best Practices" concept is subjective and varies from many perspectives based on the indicators used. As such, there needs to be a standardized and universally accepted definition of global best practices in education, which hinders the effective identification, adoption, and benchmarking of these practices across countries and educational institutions. This ambiguity challenges teachers, students, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners seeking to understand and apply global educational best practices. Hence, this explorative study investigated the conceptual definition and criticisms surrounding the concept of global best practices in education. A narrative literature review methodology was employed to systematically search, select, and …

The Impact Of Opioids On Students And Schools In Appalachian And Non-Appalachian Ohio: Educational Leader Perspectives On The Crisis, Charles L. Lowery, Chetanath Gautam

Journal of Research Initiatives

Over the last several decades, the opioid crisis has had an increasing impact on the educational environment of schools. The role that principals and superintendents have in leading schools that have been affected by opioids has been mostly overlooked in the research. The present study was conducted in Ohio, a state with areas that have some of the highest death rates due to opioid-related incidents in the nation. Purpose: This study collected data on the perspectives and perceptions of school leaders in Ohio to better understand how principals and superintendents frame their decisions regarding the opioid crisis. Design: We analyze …

Embracing Diversity In Higher Education: Teaching A Driven And Determined Approach, Melvin Jackson, Adriel Adon Hilton, Kevin Mcclain

Journal of Research Initiatives

Diversity and inclusivity are two must-teach components that the academy needs to incorporate into its curriculum to enrich student experiences. Due to globalization, technological advances, and norms, societies are becoming more homogenous. Institutions of higher learning should prioritize teaching diversity and inclusion with a driven and determined approach to prepare students better personally and professionally.

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Autonomy Support, Kimberly Hannah Siacor, Betsy Ng, Woon Chia Liu

Journal of Research Initiatives

This paper aimed to elucidate teachers' perceptions of using autonomy support in Singapore's classrooms. Science and mathematics teachers (N = 10) were gathered for semi-structured interviews after a 10-week autonomy support intervention. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis with emerging themes pre-conceived from the literature. The qualitative data provides meaningful insights into the teachers' understanding of what autonomy support entails, to which relevant examples of what teachers said and did to be autonomy-supportive were illuminated. The findings present an in-depth description of teachers' experiences of autonomy support, suggesting the interconnected nature of the autonomy-supportive features. Teachers should practice …

The Impact Of Teacher Preparedness And Professional Development On Fourth-Grade Students' Science Achievement, Craig L. Mayo, Faye Bradley

Journal of Research Initiatives

Science scores among US fourth-grade students have declined compared to their international counterparts in recent years. Recent results show that teachers are the most impactful influence on student success and accountability. Teacher preparedness and professional development are two key areas that serve as indicators of providing relevant and essential information for students' success. A correlational quantitative study was conducted to assess the relationship between teacher preparedness and professional development on fourth-grade students’ science achievement. The TIMSS 2019 data were secured from the Boston College, TIMSS, and PIRLS International websites. The data was evaluated using the SPSS 27 Hierarchical Linear Regression. …

Assessing The Influence Of The Imposter Phenomenon On Critical Leadership Competencies: Conceptual Framework Proposal, Theresa Bowen, Petrus A. Botha

Journal of Research Initiatives

Will the imposter phenomenon influence critical leadership competencies, specifically decision-making self-efficacy, and innovative work behavior? This prospective study will propose a framework to investigate the impact of the imposter phenomenon on essential leadership skills, focusing on exploring whether self-esteem acts as a mediating factor. The research will seek to evaluate the potential effects of the imposter phenomenon on leadership competencies, such as innovative work behavior and decision-making self-efficacy, among managers in South Africa. The significance of this proposed investigation stems from a recognized gap in previous studies addressing the relationship between the imposter phenomenon and these leadership skills within the …

A Digital Qualitative Ethnographic Study Of Preservice Teachers’ Perspectives And Experiences Of Teaching From To-Be Teachers, Mohamed Abdullahi Ali

Journal of Research Initiatives

This digital ethnographic study aimed to understand how and why college students decide to be teachers while many trained teachers leave the profession every year in the United States. A purposive sampling technique enabled 30 prospective teachers in a college of education to participate in this study. The research questions that guided the study were: 1) How and why did preservice teachers choose teaching as a career? 2) How did preservice teachers' perception of the drawbacks of teaching and the opportunities to support them in becoming teachers influence their decisions? The conceptual framework to understand the phenomena came from educational …

Boundaries Of Empirical Approaches In Educational Research, Christopher Olusola Omoregie

Journal of Research Initiatives

This paper critically reviews the research done in education faculties in Nigerian universities. This research, though categorized in postgraduate schools or colleges as mainly in the liberal arts/humanities and the social sciences, depends on the theories and methodologies from other disciplines. The arts and social sciences are disciplines where undergraduates in education take courses in teaching to earn bachelor’s degrees, the postgraduate level offers varied opportunities for educational research to maximize the uniqueness of mixed method research for education.

Disrupting Pedagogy: High School Students Making Sense Of The Flipped Learning Instructional Videos, Celeca A. Sukra

Journal of Research Initiatives

Technology has impacted every aspect of modern culture, including education. The influx of educational technology in schools presents opportunities to explore ways to engage students in the learning process fully. Although students may enjoy using technology in their daily lives, it is necessary to carefully consider how these students make sense of technology in the learning environment. Using the theoretical framework of constructivism, this Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) aimed to understand and describe the lived experiences of three students using technology to learn in a flipped classroom at a New York City public charter high school. The significant findings reveal …

“It’S Part Of Your Life Now Because Someone Has Exposed You To It”: The Experiences Of Adult Learners Of Color In The Clemente Course In The Humanities, Charity Anderson

Journal of Research Initiatives

At 30 sites across the United States and Puerto Rico, the Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities provides economically and socially marginalized adults with a free college course in the humanities. The experience of non-traditional adult students, particularly adults of color, is often missing from academic literature, exacerbating past injustices and increasingly marginalizing the historically underserved people and communities of color by higher education. This paper, which draws from a two-year critical ethnography of Clemente courses, examines the perspective of the adult learners of color who participated in the course. Interview and participant-observational data indicate that adults enrolled in …

Exploring Intersectionality Of Gender, Race, And Personality Traits For Black Women Leaders In Online Higher Education, Shanaya K. Anderson

Journal of Research Initiatives

Researchers have used previous literature to suggest that Black women face challenges and obstacles in seeking leadership roles at higher education institutions (HEIs). Many of these Black women have consistently and pervasively faced prevailing stereotypes, biases, and barriers as they seek career advancements at online HEIs (Nigar, 2020; Tarbutton, 2019). This qualitative phenomenological study was undertaken to examine the intersectionality of gender, race, and personality traits of Black women leaders who hold positions of department chair level or higher in HEIs. Using the theoretical framework of Black feminist thought, this research was conducted to understand better the lived experiences of …

Can I Live: Examining The Self-Worth Of Black Men Enrollment In Community College, Lavon Williams

Journal of Research Initiatives

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This study aimed to describe Black men’s self-worth and lived experience in community college. According to research, community colleges are the first option for many Black men. Through qualitative research methods, this study examines the believed self-worth of Black men enrolled in community college and matches its findings to Jay Z’s (1998) classic song Can I Live. Findings from this study identify the internal fight Black men have pursuing an education as a means to achieve upward mobility. Lastly, this study provides insight to aid policymakers, higher education practitioners, and Black families to understand better how to address Black …

Examining The Change In Preservice Mathematics Teachers’ Conceptions And Effectiveness Of Social Justice Content, Gregory A. Downing, Brittney L. Black

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study examined preservice teachers' perceptions of teaching mathematics using social justice topics to make mathematics accessible to all students. Situated at a large, public, predominantly White institution in the southeast United States, where preservice teachers are not required to take a course on teaching diverse populations, participants were asked to respond to questions surrounding their experience with a mathematical social justice activity adapted from Gutstein and Peterson (2005). Using a mixed methods approach in analyzing data from pre-and post-surveys, researchers could compare preservice mathematics teachers' initial views of teaching mathematics for social justice after participating in an intervention/activity on …

Small Historically Black Colleges And Universities Bridging Social Capital: The Use Of Language, Tone And Content To Share Information On Instagram, Pamela Peters

Journal of Research Initiatives

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained higher education institutions, especially small Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). As campuses closed and reopened, Black communities' digital divide grew, adding to the need to stay connected. This study uses social capital to examine how institutions use language, tone, content, and information to bridge social capital. An analysis of 35 small liberal arts HBCUs’ Instagram posts was undertaken to compare post frequency, types of information, engagement, tone, language, and content in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the pandemic, 2020 and 2021. This study indicates that post-oversaturation in 2020 and 2021 and information …

Healing Racial Trauma From Public School Systems, Lisa Y. Collins

Journal of Research Initiatives

Oregon needs Black educators in the K-12 public school system. In 35 school districts throughout the state, the number of students of color has risen by over 40% in recent years (Oregon Chief Education Office, 2019). The number of educators of color in the state is under 10%. The number of Black educators is even lower. Research has shown that Black educators improve all students' academic, cultural, and social aspects, especially Black students. Nationally, Black educators were impacted by the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. At that time in history, Black communities fought for civil rights as they experienced …

The Lived Experiences Of Teachers Of Color And Racial Microaggressions, Torine Champion, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

This qualitative study describes the lived experiences of teachers of color and identify commonalities within the lived experiences of teachers of color employed in predominately White K–12 schools. This study utilized interpretive phenomenological analysis, viewed through the White racial frame lens. There were 15 participants who were included in this research study. Participants were teachers of color with at least five years of teaching experience in predominately White K–12 environments. Data collection procedures included confidential virtual, semi-structured interviews with specific information the researcher wanted to explore. A lack of professional connectivity and microaggression was revealed as a theme. While teachers …

The Pursuit Of Happiness: Black Women, Diasporic Dreams, And The Politics Of Emotional Transnationalism, Rosemary Onyango

Journal of Research Initiatives

Given the increase in transnational connections and mobility, this review offers insights from detailed research on black feminism and tourism and affective connections across diasporic locations that scholars, college students, and the general reader interested in transnational mobility will find intriguing.

Associations Between Multicultural Distress, Academic Achievement, And General Stress Among Racial/Ethnic Minority College Students At A Minority-Serving Institution, Alexandra O. Gil, Franklin Dickerson Turner, Aaron A. Gubi

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study explored the relationship between multicultural distress and general stress symptoms and the academic achievement of college students attending a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI). Research suggests that students who identify as being from a racial or ethnic minority background are likely to experience multicultural distress. Such students are believed to be at greater risk of experiencing mental health and academic challenges. Many contend that being in a diverse learning setting serves as a protective factor, shielding racial/ethnic minority students from some degree of distress and thereby promoting mental health and academic well-being. In contrast, other research findings suggest that multicultural …

A Study On The Influence And Importance Of Black Science Teachers, Demetrice Smith-Mutegi

Journal of Research Initiatives

Black teachers have been known to provide positive experiences and outcomes for students, especially Black students. Nevertheless, Black science teachers are marginally represented in public classrooms across the United States, and Black students are marginally under-represented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Black science teachers provide an inherent value to the education of Black children, including their ability to make science meaningful and relevant, contribute to the community where they live and work, and relate to students' experiences more intimately. Further, All levels of education should prioritize Black science teacher recruitment, and educational researchers should provide more evidence of …

A Multivariate Investigation Of The Motivational, Academic, And Well-Being Characteristics Of First-Generation And Continuing-Generation College Students, Christopher L. Thomas, Staci Zolkoski

Journal of Research Initiatives

Prior research has noted differences in motivational, academic, and well-being factors between first-generation and continuing-education students. However, past investigations have primarily overlooked the interactive influence of protective and risk factors when comparing the characteristics of first-generation and continuing-education students. Thus, the current study adopted a multivariate approach to gain a more nuanced understanding of the influence of generational status on students' self-regulated learning capabilities, academic anxiety, sense of belonging, academic barriers, mental health concerns, and satisfaction with life. University students (N = 432, 67.46% Caucasian, 87.55% female, _Age = 28.10 ± 9.46) completed the Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale-2^{nd …}

An Overview On The Validation Of The Critical Race Theory Measurement, Erica Campbell

Journal of Research Initiatives

The Critical Race Theory Measurement (CRTM) was developed to evaluate the understanding of the six major principles of CRT and the significance of race relating to the preparation of practitioners providing services to people of color. The objective of this study was to evaluate the scale's psychometric properties. The CRTM self-assessment instrument measures the six Critical Race Theory principles. It consists of 19 items assessing endemic racism, the social construction of race, differential racialization, convergence/determinism, racial narratives, and intersectionality. The validation of the CRTM was based on its administration to 175 social work and counseling practitioners. This paper discusses the …

Higher Education Leaders’ Perceptions On The Angry Black Woman Syndrome, Latisha L. Marion, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

Capturing the voices of Black women on their experiences leading to senior-level leadership positions in higher education warranted research. University leaders must ensure that units implement fair and equitable hiring practices to promote diversity and leadership from all backgrounds. Therefore, this study intended to take an in-depth look into Black women's trajectory in higher education. For this study, the researcher proposed interviewing Black women who have acquired senior-level leadership positions in higher education. The senior-level leadership positions included deans of student affairs, vice presidents of enrollment management, vice presidents of student affairs, college or university presidents, and other senior leadership …