Digital Commons Network^™

School Leader Perceptions About The Implementation And Utility Of Restorative Practices, Danielle Rutig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study examined school leaders' perceptions of using restorative practices within their schools. Participants included twelve school leaders who had experience with utilizing and implementing restorative practices. School leaders included: principals, assistant principals, deans, and administrative assistants. Research indicates that restorative practices are adapted to support specific school goals. Restorative practices are not practiced in isolation, as school leaders often couple restorative justice with social-emotional learning, trauma-informed practices, and other social-emotional supports. Restorative practices are tied closely to CASEL’s social emotional framework.

Data were collected via semi-structured interviews using a virtual platform. Themes that emerged from the analysis …

On-Campus Mental Health Service Use Among College Students With Autism: A Case Study Applying The Andersen Behavioral Model Of Health Services Use, Estella C. Lilyquist

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The unique set of impairments and limitations presented by students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make the accessing of campus-based nonacademic resources more difficult and complicated than their typically developed peers. Each year, the rate of students entering college with disabilities continues to grow, but their mental well-being is relatively poor. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to apply the conceptual framework of the Andersen behavioral model of health services use (ABMHSU) to the experiences of college students with ASD to understand and predict their utilization of campus-provided mental health resources. The participants were seven college students with …

The Vigor Of Creative Materialism: Making The Hidden Stories Of Underrepresented Engineering Students Visible, Katherine A. Robert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite decades of initiatives, engineering education continues to lack diversity. The proportion of women, BIPOC, LGBTQA+, low-income, first-generation, and disabled students in engineering education remains below national population levels. The culture of engineering is a barrier to increasing participation in engineering for students from these communities. The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore the experiences of underrepresented engineering students as they are socialized into the culture of engineering. I theorized a novel conceptual framework called creative materialism that combines culturally responsive methodologies, new materialist theory, and arts-based research methods. Two research questions were used to guide the study. …

A Qualitative Study Of Leadership Tools And Traits That Foster Effective Relationships In Rural School Communities, Julie Boyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify leadership qualities and practices that nurture relationships in school settings. The central question framing this study was: What leadership tools and traits foster effective relationships in rural school communities? I conducted semi-structured interviews in a small Northwestern school district. Non-classroom leaders and classroom leaders, who will be referred to using pseudonyms, were recruited from the elementary, middle, and high schools based on recommendations from the district’s superintendent. Prior to conducting interviews, participants were provided with a framework based on Kouzes and Posner’s (2017) exemplary leadership practices and asked to choose five …

Reducing Barriers To Reporting Campus Sexual Victimization: Exploration Of Gender Microaggressions, Campus Climate, Institutional Betrayal And Institutional Courage, Rebecca Ellsworth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine college cis-women’s experiences with gender microaggressions and perceptions of campus climate, institutional betrayal, and institutional courage, how those experiences and perceptions are related, and how each predicts college students’ likelihood of reporting sexual assault to the University. College cis-women (n = 483; 84.3% White) at a private predominantly-White Catholic university in the northeastern United States completed a 153-item survey, the data from which was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t tests, Pearson correlations, and linear regressions.

Gender microaggressions were found to be prevalent at the University, with perpetration by peers more common …

The Cart Before The Horse?: A Phenomenological Study Of The Perspectives And Experiences Of Maker Education Supervisors In Independent Schools (9-12), Jesse Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, makerspaces have increased in popularity all over the globe (Lou & Peek, 2016) and their addition continues to be a popular trend in the K-12 educational space. In the K-12 environment, the decision to implement a makerspace frequently consists of finding, repurposing, or building a suitable space, and outfitting it with the latest technology trends with the anticipation that ‘if you build it, they will come.’ As a director of a makerspace, my experience is that integrating curriculum across disciplines, or creating pedagogical goals for the makerspace, frequently becomes a priority after the space is designed …

Public Good And Common Ground: Writing Democratic Engagement Into Community-Campus Partnerships, Deanna Fracul

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on identifying essential characteristics of initiatives that build cooperative relationships and solidarity to advance democratically engaged community-campus partnerships. As such, it involves understanding the conditions that undermine these relationships, the critical practices that strengthen them, and the role of community engagement professionals in facilitating them. Fundamentally, this research is interested in explicating what worked and did not within Leon Ford's Voices Project@Duquesne University, an after-school mentoring program that evolved into a community-engaged writing initiative and dialogic space. This qualitative research project utilizes modified appreciative inquiry questions. Emerging from organizational studies, appreciative inquiry is an asset-based approach to …

Regenerating Professional Learning: The Influence Of Relationships On Teacher Identity, Agency, And Advocacy, Todd W. Mckinley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Professional development for teachers gained more attention with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 2001. However, reform efforts spurred by this act focused mainly on training for specific programs and curriculum materials, resulting in little attention to instruction. In the last thirty or more years, new approaches to professional development have emerged, with teacher leadership, in particular, gaining more attention in studies as an important mechanism for reforming classroom practice to raise student achievement. Research has mainly examined collaborative frameworks to sustain teacher growth through professional learning communities situated within the context of schools and …

Teacher Instructional Strategies Impacting Rural, High-Poverty Student Academic Outcomes, Erin Kinney Burt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is an abundant amount of interest among educators surrounding what actions can be taken by the government, local representatives, school boards, administrators, and teachers to assist rural, high-poverty students flourish academically. An uninspiring truth related to this subject is many times, a student receives the education the state and local communities are able to provide based on the quality of teachers they are able to retain and the resources available. Instructional strategies teachers implement could influence the quality of education students receive and could leave a community in a constant cycle of dependency and hardship. The purpose of this …

Building Comprehension: A Causal Comparative Study Of Factors Contributing To The Oral Reading Fluency Of First Graders, Kimberly Michelle Shaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are charged with the task of reaching all students academically in hopes all students will become proficient readers by third grade. Oral reading fluency is a predictor in academic success since fluency reflects comprehension. Students often come to school unprepared in their earliest years due to a lack of opportunity and/or early literacy experiences, creating an achievement gap, a disparity in academic performance between groups of students. This study identifies the correlation between socioeconomic status, race, gender, and preschool enrollment and the oral reading fluency of first-grade readers as indicated by the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills …

The Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy And Academic Achievement Of First-Time First-Year Students Enrolled At A Technical College, Heather Marie Hoppe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student persistence, retention, and completion are continued concerns in higher education. While external influences contribute to persistence and retention, the focus of this research study was to determine the academic self-efficacy and self-regulated factors that influence the academic achievement of first-time first-year students who persist from the fall to spring semester at a Southeastern technical college. One hundred four first-time first-year students who persisted from fall 2021 to spring 2022 completed an Academic Self-Efficacy Survey. There were five significant predictors identified in the analysis. The three self-regulated learning tasks: “I can finish homework assignments by deadlines,” “I can organize my …

Leadership Development In Education For Sustainable Development: Evaluation Of Higher Education Students In Sustainable Development Programs, Michelle Dzurenda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has been working decades towards reaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to create peace and prosperity for people and the planet. The 2030 Agenda was created as an urgent call to action, a global partnership, and a comprehensive plan to work towards the 17 SDGs. For this study, the focus is on Goal 4- quality education and the impact of leadership on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Leadership on ESD has been a more recent topic and under researched. By making advancements in leadership on ESD there will be positive …

Investigating The Most Valued Components Of The South Carolina Teaching Fellows Program By Graduates Who Have Remained In The Education Profession, Amanda Jane Darden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The vision of every elementary, middle, and high school in the United States is to deliver an excellent educational setting to each and every student who enters their school building. Educational research overwhelmingly demonstrates that a primary factor contributing to an “excellent educational setting” is having highly qualified and effective teachers (Rice, 2003). However, the teacher supply and demand issues currently facing our nation is significantly compromising the ideal of providing excellent educational settings in our schools. Teacher attrition is a problem that faces schools throughout the United States. The number of teachers leaving their positions to pursue other careers …

A Study Linking Title 1 Strategic Resource Allocation To Student Academic Success In South Carolina Public Schools, Brenton Jerrod Coe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Strategic instructional resourcing has become an important topic in public education, the most lucrative and expensive business in the United States. It is estimated which the United States spends about $612.7 billion annually on public education. This study will analyze and synthesize data from Title I schools in South Carolina, specifically in the area of resource allocation and its relationship to student academic success. Historically, public education has provided all citizens with an equal and equitable opportunity to receive an adequate education. Over time, access to strong public education can impact the lives of students with regard to social mobility. …

Covid-19'S Impact On School Principals' Self-Efficacy As Managerial Leaders, Krystle Marie Ballatore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation in practice (DiP) employs qualitative research and educational theories to examine the impact of COVID-19 on school principals' self-efficacy in one South Carolina school district. Its theoretical framework is based on Bandura's (1977, 1986, 1997) social cognitive theory. The dissertation begins by outlining the specific problem at hand, relevant general concerns, and a purpose statement. This problem serves as the foundation for the research questions: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted principals' self-efficacy as their schools' managerial leaders? How do these principals' experiences vary in degree of impact by school level (i.e., early childhood, primary, elementary, intermediate, middle, …

Comparison Of Traditional To Hybrid Modality Of Instruction, Paul Michael Spadaro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruption in education across the United States. Prior to the pandemic, students in third grade struggled with low reading proficiency, a difficulty that predicts persistent academic struggles, school dropout, and even delinquency. Districts in South Carolina and around the United States adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in various ways, and among these strategies were a traditional learning modality, where students attended school only in-person and when possible, and a hybrid learning modality, where students alternatively attended in-person and remotely. It is important to understand the potential impacts of these scheduling decisions on …

Workplace Factors That Contribute To Teacher Intent To Leave The Profession, Teresa Blount Gibbons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a nationwide shortage of qualified teachers, with 90% of all teacher shortages caused by teacher attrition (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2019). This study surveyed public school K-12 teachers in South Carolina to gain an understanding of workplace factors that contribute to teacher intentions to quit/ teacher attrition. The current design measures teacher stress perceptions of workplace factors as the relational theoretical lens to determine teacher intention to leave or likelihood of attrition. The results of a study suggest that student stressors and workload are the most important factors in teacher attrition. A qualitative analysis of student stressors found that …

Adaptability: Its Professional Capital And Influence On Secondary Science Teacher Job Satisfaction, Kristy A. Floyd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Following a 15-year decline, the United States is experiencing the lowest educator job satisfaction ever recorded amidst a critical teacher shortage. Discussions of how to retain teachers are part of everyday conversations in education. Although much research has been conducted on the many factors influencing job satisfaction, one factor that has yet to be thoroughly studied is teacher adaptability. Everyday challenges such as new curricula, policy changes, and the COVID-19 pandemic require teachers to be adaptable. This study analyzed the results of a teacher survey that examined the elements of professional capital to determine how they affected teacher adaptability and …

Impostor Phenomenon, College-Going Knowledge, And Staff Expectations: Ramifications On First Time In College Students Enrollment, Julia A. Vickery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A lack of technically trained, skilled, and educated workforce has become a critical issue in Texas. Furthermore, an educated workforce improves communities and individuals with economic, health, and personal benefits. Community colleges not only provide open-access admissions and low-cost tuition but are specifically aligned with educating the technical and industrial skilled workforce. Although a post-high school education has never been more accessible or necessary for obtaining high-earning jobs, post-high school college enrollment is declining, and conventional reform strategies do not appear to be effecting change. Graduating high school students aspire to attend postsecondary training by applying and being accepted but …

Special Education Teacher Attrition: K-12 Administrator Perspectives, Tia Alove Stevens-Hicks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Teacher attrition is a significant contributor to the teacher shortages, with preretirement attrition accounting for two thirds of all attrition. Special education teachers leave teaching at significantly higher rates than their general education peers. In addition, there is a greater demand for special education teachers due to the increase in public school students requiring special education services. As a result, many K–12 administrators and other educational leaders often fill vacant positions with unqualified or new teachers with less experience than their predecessors. Special education teachers have reported that teachers who remained in their positions reported high levels of administrative …

Women In Executive Level Education Leadership Positions: Perceptions, Challenges, And Supports., Adrienne Usher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the perceptions, challenges, and lived experiences of women, in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, holding executive level leadership positions to inform tailored support strategies. As female educators aspire to higher levels of leadership in schools and districts, limited avenues of structured informal and formal support exist. A review of literature reveals an understanding of how female educators have been historically positioned in education which provides a foundation for present day challenges. Research is lacking on utilizing these lived experiences and challenges as a source to provide informed support. In order to take educated steps to a more …

Resident Assistants As Students And Personnel During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Amy Korstange

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the experiences of students working as resident assistants (RAs) in college or university housing departments during the March 2020 COVID-19 shutdown. Twelve current and former RAs participated in qualitative interviews exploring their experience as their institutions shut down because of COVID-19. Three broad categories of experience were found: RAs who were considered essential employees and required to work during the pandemic, RAs who were given the option of working during the pandemic, and RAs who were laid off at the beginning of their pandemic. The central research question was regarding the perceived experience of RAs …

Selecting Classroom Grading Practices: A Qualitative Study Exploring Teacher Experiences, Tallye Gass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research was to understand the experience of selecting grading practices for a high school math or English classroom. There is no existing research related to understanding this phenomenon. This phenomenological study included three participants who were purposefully selected based on specific criteria: They must teach math or English in grades 9, 10, 11, or 12 and have at least three years of teaching experience. The participants were interviewed using videoconferencing software, and the interviews were recorded and transcribed. Open and axial coding was used to analyze the data. The theoretical framework applied for the interpretation …

Perception Of Social Media As Seen By Educational Leadership Online Graduate Students, Todd Emma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand student perceptions of social media as they relate to the programs of study for online graduate students participating in an educational leadership department (hereafter referred to as EDLR) in Tennessee. As institutions of higher education are being affected by declining enrollments, increasing tuition, rising numbers of nontraditional students, global events, and continuing budget cuts, understanding student perception of the educational experience is a fundamental element for understanding ways to address the uncertain future of higher education. Through a series of in-depth interviews, data were collected and analyzed to provide a framework …

Advising Minority Pre-Med Students: Perceptions Of Pre-Med Advisors At Institutions In The Southeastern Association Of Advisors In The Health Professions Region, Victoria Street

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore pre-medical advisors’ perceptions on their role in the pathway to medicine for students historically underrepresented in medicine (URiM) and to gain insight into barriers these students face. While a small amount of research exists on the perspective of URiM pre-medical students on the pathway to medicine, no analysis has been conducted on the role pre-medical advisors play. The underlying framework of this research study focused on the experience of advisors through the lens of academic advising approaches, self-authorship theory, and capital theory to make a strong collective framework to begin understanding …

Emotional Intelligence Of Leaders In Higher Education And Its Impact On Employees, Jenny R. De Los Santos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to further understand the relationship between the emotional intelligence of faculty who have moved up into administrative positions and nonfaculty leaders within university academic affairs. Higher education institutions have a history of high employee turnover. There is a lack in the hiring process within higher education, and the lack of a hiring process causes difficulties when leaders go from faculty or staff roles to administrative and supervisory roles with little training on managing their emotions and employees’ emotions, hindering leaders from thriving in their leadership positions. The sampling was leaders from traditional …

Professional Learning Community Conflicts And Teacher Leader Conflict Management From Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives, Amanda B. Dunn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, phenomenological study examined the nature of conflict within professional learning community (PLC) collaborative groups and the teacher leader’s management of the conflict from the teacher, teacher leader, and administrator perspective at suburban secondary schools. Purposive, criterion sampling based on job title and having at least one year of experience at a PLC campus qualified participants to capture the phenomenon’s characteristics. Semistructured interviews of three administrators, four teacher leaders, and two teachers were recorded and transcribed before an initial round of open coding. After analyzing open codes, the data were analyzed using closed coding, which established common themes. The …

A Par Reflection: The Power Of Teacher Voice, Anna Marie Warren

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher voice is missing in systemic change. This PAR study explored some of the barriers in education today that prevent teachers from using their voices and the leadership skills needed to empower teachers to use their voices in change processes. The study was implemented on two secondary school campuses with two teams of PAR researchers. Data were collected using a triangulation of PAR forms, journal reflections, and Likert surveys. While identifying barriers hindering teachers from using their voice, the qualitative study also aimed to provide a platform where teachers could express and use their voice to cause change in their …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Underrepresentation Of Division I Minority Women Athletic Directors, Jacquelyn K. Timmons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the factors women of color in athletic administration perceive to be contributors to the underrepresentation of minority women in Division I athletic director leadership positions. The study sought to identify and understand barriers that ostensibly impact women of color. Moreover, it serves current and future minority women to overcome similar trials to advance their collegiate athletic careers. Furthermore, the study sought to provide a lexicon of strategies that minority women regard as bridges to the racial and gender leadership gaps within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) organization. Previous studies are …

An Examination Of The Relationships Between Campus Administrators And Special Education Teachers And Its Influence On Teacher Retention, Tai Lea Peacock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher shortages have plagued U.S. school districts for many years now as special education and other high-need fields struggle to retain highly qualified teachers. School leaders must gain a better understanding of why special education teachers are leaving at such alarming rates in order to formulate a plan for improving retention. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to examine how campus administrators’ relationships influence the retention of special education teachers. Leader-member exchange theory, which contends that the relationships between leaders and followers impact our work environment and job satisfaction, served as the theoretical framework of this study. A …