Digital Commons Network^™

Mindfully Organizing Collective Teacher Efficacy: A Case Study Of Efficacious Educator Teams, Bruce "B.C." Preston

All Theses And Dissertations

Collective teacher efficacy (CTE) has well documented positive effects on student outcomes (Goddard et al., 2017), teacher job satisfaction (Buonomo et al., 2020), and educator persistence (Guidetti et al., 2018) in the face of challenging tasks. Characterized by the collective belief in the group’s capability to successfully accomplish tasks associated with their professional practice (Donohoo, 2018), what influences group efficacy belief formation remains an underdeveloped area of academic and practical understanding (Tschannen-Moran et al., 2014). To better understand the influences that shape CTE beliefs, and how those influences contribute to the known sources of CTE, a multiple–case study design was …

The Perceptions Of School Psychologists Regarding The Disproportionality In Special Education For Students Of Color: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Jessica Ann Marshall

All Theses And Dissertations

Racial disproportionality in special education has been a problem of practice since Dunn called attention to it in 1968. Research has demonstrated the adverse effects on students including stigma, labeling, reduced access to high-quality educational opportunities, restrictive settings, and lower expectations and educational outcomes. Little research on disproportionality has examined how individual characteristics and societal factors intersect with specific school variables and contexts. Using disability critical race theory as a lens for exploration, this qualitative phenomenological study examined the phenomenon of disproportionality situated within a specific context to uncover how local factors may contribute to the incidence of disproportionality. Seven …

How Canadian School Leaders Perceive Their Capacity To Foster Culturally Responsive School Practices To Influence Student Outcomes, Heather Saunders

All Theses And Dissertations

Despite numerous studies on race relations and racism in Canada, there is a relative paucity of research on school leaders’ perceptions of cultural responsiveness in the Canadian educational system. Racial diversity among students enrolled in Canadian schools has increased dramatically over the last few decades. The diversity gap between a racialized student population and White school leaders continues to widen, with more than 95% of Canadian school leaders being White (Turner, 2015). The primary objective of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore school leaders’ perceptions of how culturally responsive practices improve student outcomes. This study was guided by the …

Mindfulness And Its Impact On Leader-Employee Relations In Higher Education Social Work Departments, Autumn A. Straw

All Theses And Dissertations

This sequential, fixed, mixed-methods study explores how mindfulness practice by leaders in higher education social work programs influences the leader-employee relationship among a sample of higher education social work department leaders and their faculty. This study was developed out of the intersection of personal, professional, and academic interests in both mindfulness and leadership. Additionally, this study fills a gap in the existing literature on how leaders’ individual mindfulness practice influences the relationship between them and their employees (Reb et al., 2019; Rooney et al., 2021; Urrila, 2021).

The results of this study were that the sample of social work higher …

A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Of Public School Teachers’ Experiences While Teaching During A Pandemic, Andrew M. Bard

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of K-12 public school teachers related to stress and burnout while teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three research questions guided this study: (1) How do K-12 public school teachers describe their lived experiences while teaching during a pandemic?, (2) How do K-12 public school teachers describe their perceptions of stressors related to teaching during a pandemic?, and (3) How do K-12 public school teachers describe their experience as learners while adapting to teaching during a pandemic? Constructivism and social constructivism were applied as the conceptual and theoretical …

Factors That Correlate With Student Engagement And Success In Honors Student Theses At A New England Public Institution, Megan Williams

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the factors that correlate to successful outcomes on honors theses at an undergraduate public institution compared to findings collected from several private liberal arts colleges. Utilizing Kuh’s (2008) theory of engagement and success as a theoretical framework, this study sought to understand how participation in a single high-impact practice – a culminating senior experience – impacted sense of belonging, engagement and success in an honors senior thesis. An anonymous online survey (Trosset & Weisler, 2018) was deployed to answer two research questions: does a positive student-faculty relationship correlate to engagement and …

Perceptions Of Induction: A Phenomenological Case Study, Kimberly L. Stephens

All Theses And Dissertations

The first months of teaching can significantly diminish a probationary teacher’s perception of their ability when the nuances of the job and students become overwhelming. On average, a school will lose three out of every 20 teachers annually. The problem this study researches is how faculty and staff provide support for probationary teachers. Too often, induction models remain underdeveloped, understudied, and rarely are formative assessments associated with faculty interactions. In this study, the dynamic interplay between the individual, the environment, and behavior establish a deeper understanding of the teacher network as a social system with expected returns. The tenets of …

Exploring Factors Influencing First Generation Undergraduate College Students’ Perceived Social-Self Efficacy (Psse) And Ability To Socially Integrate With Academic Advisors, Kaycee Leigh Gnatowski

All Theses And Dissertations

Academic advisors are an integral part of the undergraduate college student experience. Primarily recognized as one of the first connections to an institution that a college student encounters, academic advisors provide students with guidance, support, resources, and mentorship throughout a student’s academic journey at the institution. Although academic advisors are found to have a profound impact on a college student’s academic and social development, persistence to degree completion, and retention rates at the institution, many undergraduate college students are unable to socially integrate with academic advisors, primarily during a student’s sophomore year of college. A student’s sophomore year of college …

Chronic Absenteeism: Exploring Challenges And Obstacles That Impact Students’ Attendance In Northern Maine Rural Schools, Leland Caron

All Theses And Dissertations

Educational success relies heavily upon consistent school attendance (Rogers & Feller, 2018). In Maine, a student is identified as chronically absent when 10% or more of the days enrolled in school are missed due to excused or unexcused absences (Maine Department of Education, 2019). Chronic absenteeism impacts millions of students across America each year. National data identified that approximately five to seven and a half million school-aged students miss a month or more of school each year (Chang & Davis, 2015). This qualitative interpretative phenological study (IPA) was designed to fill some of the gaps in the literature on chronic …

The Perceptions Of Instructional Coaches Regarding Relational Trust With Teachers: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Kathleen A. Provost

All Theses And Dissertations

Instructional coaching continues to be a professional development model that many districts utilize to foster professional growth among their teaching staff. Although instructional coaches are usually content area and pedagogical specialists hired as experts, there is a high level of teacher resistance to instructional coaching due to lack of trust reported between coaches and teachers in the kindergarten through 12th grade setting. Although previous research has signified the need for instructional coaches to build trust with their teaching colleagues, few studies captured the lived experiences of instructional coaches in how they build relational trust. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological …