Education Commons^™

Mentorship Within Developmental Networks: A Phenomenological Study Of Black Women Tenured Associate Professors And Their Path Toward Full Professor, Jenifer F. Godfrey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The problem of inadequate representation of Black women in tenure track faculty positions is both pronounced and longstanding. With Black women making up less than 2% of full professors, this is particularly true at institutions categorized as R1 – Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity by The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. College faculty have long been the focus of scholarly research. However, studies focused on mentorship to be promoted to full professor for associate professors generally, and Black women associate professors specifically, are lacking. Using a conceptual framework that defined mentorship broadly as developmental networks and …

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 …

The Principal’S Role As Mentor In New Teacher Attrition Rates: The Importance Of Teaching Teachers, William Dockery

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. Research tells us that it takes years of deliberate practice and ongoing coaching to become an “expert” in any field and that it can take from 3 to 7 years for a new teacher to grow into an effective educator. Yet, in America today, more than 50% of teachers quit in their first 5 years of service. In low performing economically disadvantaged schools, teachers leaving the profession in their first 3 years increases to 60%. The impact of highly effective teachers on students’ success can be seen through the increase in percentile on Math scores, moving the needle …

We Don’T Have To Do All Of It Alone: A Phenomenological Study On How Mid-Level Leaders In Community Colleges Flourish Through Collaboration And Advocacy, Mackenzie Taylor Klinker Hutchins

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe the formal and informal leadership development experiences of mid-level leaders promoted within Washington State Community Colleges.

Methodology: This phenomenological study identified and described the formal and informal leadership development experiences of 17 mid-level leaders promoted within Washington State Community Colleges. Respondents were purposively chosen based on specific criteria and recommendations of two expert sponsors. The researcher collected data through semi-structured interviews, where the participants provided descriptive data that would aid in answering the study’s research questions.

Findings: Analysis of the qualitative data from 17 mid-level leaders promoted within …

Teacher Attrition: Supporting Teachers Through Mentorship, Tiffany A. Kamper

Culminating Experience Projects

A wealth of research demonstrates that teachers of all career levels are leaving the profession due to dissatisfaction with a variety of working conditions and lack of growth opportunities. Teachers desire a better work-life balance, opportunities to progress in their careers, and collaboration with co-workers and school leaders. Additionally, the research shows that teachers stay in education when they are valued and given the opportunity to use their expertise and voice. Mentorship programs support early-career teachers, while giving midto-late career teachers the opportunity to use their expertise. This project is the development of a two-tiered mentorship program that combines instructional …

Community Transformation: Asian American Community Leaders, Brian Ahn

Adult Education Research Conference

Utilizing in-depth interviews, theories, and concepts in analysis, this study examines how a group of Asian American leaders transformed their community politically, socially, and economically.

Magnetic Hallway Huddles: Attract And Retain High-Quality Professionals, David Wolff, Carissa Gober, Donna Zerr

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

This presentation was conducted for a national conference about mentoring. The authors discussed Tinto’s Model of Institutional Departure and Schlossberg’s Model for Analyzing Human Adaptation to Transition as theoretical frameworks to explain the transition and retention of university professors. The focus on the study was the three authors who transitioned to the same university during the 2022-2023 academic year. Authors discussed their experiences of the transition and found themes related to the mentoring process that that acclimated them to the institution and influenced their retention.

Leader Developers: Perspectives Of Mentor Principals In An Administrator Preparation Program, Patricia Virella, Casey Cobb

Journal of Educational Supervision

Principal preparation programs use various components to develop candidates, including course work, core assessments, and field-based internships or practicums. The internship represents an exceptionally high leverage learning opportunity (Lochmiller, 2014). The success of the internship depends highly on the abilities of a mentor via informal instructional supervision. Mette (2020) explains that supervision has a potential transformational quality. This study explores mentorships in a university principal preparation program through the mentor’s perspective. We interviewed a sample of mentors nominated as effective by peer and program informants. We learned that mentors were deliberate in developing three specific skills -- metacognitive ability, developmental …

Mentoring Urban African American Male Students In Secondary School, David Jacoby Collins

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This narrative inquiry evaluated how a school-based mentorship program called The Chamber of Scholars: African American Male Mentoring Intervention, which served exclusively African American male students in high school, impacted the participants’ identification with academics, perception of mattering to their school, and academic performance. The program was evaluated using a pre-interview and a post-interview of all participants, daily field notes of activities, and weekly journals. The study found that participants who regularly attended daily intervention sessions for ten weeks increased their identification with academics (value of school). The study also found that participants who regularly attended daily intervention sessions for …

Evaluation Of Check-In Check-Out At Harden Middle School, Alondra Escobar

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone was implemented at the Wellness Center in the Harden Middle School, a public school located in Salinas, California. The school has observed a drop in student grades in recent years and adopted the Check-In Check-Out (CICO) program to support students between the ages of 12 and 13 experiencing behavioral issues. To increase the impact of CICO, the school has experimented with customizing the program’s criteria for participation. The Capstone consisted of evaluating the impact of CICO on students’ grades under the participation criteria employed during the spring of 2021 by comparing participants’ grades and behavioral referrals before and …

African American Women Leader Perspectives On Advancement Strategies In A Community College System, Laquanda Rena Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAfrican American women are not retained or advanced in the community college system, resulting in an underrepresentation of African American women in administrative decision-making roles. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine the experiences of African American female leaders in the community college setting and to explore the strategies that these women used to obtain these positions. Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven African American women in decision-making roles within a southeastern state’s community college system. Critical race theory and Black feminist theory helped to inform how race and gender impacted the selection of strategies used by …

Relationship Between Mentorship And Career Advancement: African American Women In Higher Education Leadership, Torialyn Draper Crook

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed through this study is the underrepresentation of African American women in higher education leadership positions in the United States. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore to what extent mentorship predicts the career advancement of African American women in higher education leadership positions in the United States. Guided by Kram’s mentoring framework, 74 African American women who applied and obtained career advancement in the past 5 years in higher education leadership positions completed Toland Mentoring survey. The logistic regression model results showed statistical significance X2(1) = 38.911, p < .001, meaning mentoring was a predictor of career advancement for African American women. The Nagelkerke R2 = .54 indicates that 54% of the variation in getting advancement or not was based on mentoring. The recommendations for further study include comparing female and male mentoring, establishing best practices at institutions where the presence of African American women in higher education is increased, and exploring the effectiveness of formal mentoring programs at institutions of higher education. Mentorship can lead to positive social change by cultivating an institutional climate that reflects the overall student population proportionally. From a social change perspective, increasing the mentorship opportunities of African American women within higher education institutions can provide crucial role models and reveal new approaches to address the populations they represent.

Conceptualizing Mentorship In Contemporary Professional Settings, Nathan R. Vann, Mitsunori Misawa

Adult Education Research Conference

Although there are many mentorship-related scholarships, there is still a lack of understanding of how mentorship is implemented effectively in professional settings. This paper explores mentorship strategies in workplaces.

Women Superintendents’ Mentoring Experiences And Attainment Of The Superintendency, Araceli Chavarín

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The underrepresentation of women in the school superintendency in the United States may be attributed to a lack of role models, mentoring, and educational networking. The problem that this study addressed is the lack of insight into how mentoring influences women’s attainment of the superintendency. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the mentoring experiences women superintendents identified as important in their lives and work. The conceptual framework of this study was based on Higgins and Kram’s developmental network. The research questions in the study explored how women superintendents describe mentorship experiences in their careers and describe …

Help Wanted: The Call For Transformative Women Leaders In Higher Education, Lisa Emery

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This research considers the need for transformative change in higher education admissions policies and student success initiatives in the wake of significant impending changes in the demographics of the college-going population. The role of the chief enrollment management officer (CEMO) was examined for its potential to shape policies around access and equity within an institution. It is predicted that hundreds of CEMO positions may become available due to high turnover within the next few years, creating an opportunity for more women to step into this executive-level role. In this causal comparative quantitative study, data was collected from 211 current CEMOs …

The Predictability Of Types Of Mentoring Relationships On The Perceived Performance Behaviors Of College Undergraduate Students, Jeffery Lindsey

Dissertations (2016-Present)

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictability of types of mentoring relationships on the perceived academic success, retention status, graduation status, and progression status of undergraduate students in the United States. Specifically, this study focused on the predictable relationship between types of mentoring relationships such as peer mentorship, faculty mentorship, e-mentorship, and group mentorship on the perceived academic success, retention status, graduation status, and persistence status of undergraduate students. For this study I utilized a correlational design. A survey was used to collect quantitative data from undergraduate students. A purposive sample of the population was necessary for …

¡Sí Se Puede!: Understanding The Experiences Of Latina Students During Their Doctoral Journey At A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Flor Del Rocio Acevedo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The existing body of literature on Latinas has mostly been focused on the undergraduate student experience (Hernandez, 2002; Hurtado et al., 1996; Kena et al., 2016; Tinto & Goodsell, 1994; Torres, 2004). Additionally, despite the increasing participation of women in graduate education since the 1980s (Walker et al., 2008), Latinas have been and continue to be underrepresented in doctoral programs and the professorate (Myers, 2016). In spite of recent increases in enrollment, Latinas attained just 8.8 percent of the doctoral degrees awarded from 2018-2019 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2020). As Latinas are projected to account for a third of …

Mentee Perceptions Of Public School Superintendent Mentorship In A Rural, Midwest State, Erin Lehmann, Dave Olson, Dan Leikvold, David De Jong, Kristine Reed

Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy

Superintendent formal mentorship programs have traditionally relied on geographic proximity and mentor availability to pair new superintendents with mentors. This study examines which mentor characteristics contribute to mentee satisfaction with the formal mentorship program. This study used a quantitative research design in which participants completed a survey used to compare mentor characteristics to mentee satisfaction with the program. 73 (49.6%) superintendents participated in the study, of which 19 had participated in a formal mentorship program. The overall research results suggest that two mentor characteristics, Leadership/Disposition Qualities and Mentor Availability had a significant positive relationship to mentee satisfaction with the formal …

Next-Level Leadership: Preparing Assistant Principals For Campus Leadership, Jerry R. Burkett

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

The workload of campus leaders continues to increase with new expectations for evaluation and supervision, changing legislative mandates, and mounting pressures for improved school accountability. Educational Leadership preparation programs are built on national and state standards related to principal leadership and competency. However, while principal preparation programs have focused intently on instructional leadership development for future principals, most educational leadership candidates do not immediately enter the principalship but rather start their administrative careers as assistant principals. School districts can implement a comprehensive training protocol for their emerging principals using research-based practices to ensure assistant principals have the training, coaching, and …

The Impact Of School Socioeconomic Status On The Effectiveness Of A Statewide Principal Mentoring Program, Michael Portwood

Dissertations

The professional demands on today’s school principal are varied and expansive, and as a result, relevant training and preparation is of utmost importance. Because of these rising demands, principal turnover is not uncommon, especially in low-SES schools. Formalized and strategic principal mentoring, however, has been shown to reduce principal attrition, keeping leaders in their roles and contributing to increased student achievement. This quantitative study examined the responses from school leaders on their experiences in a statewide principal mentoring program and analyzed the connection, in relation to their administrative peers, between their experience as a protégé and their status as a …

Principal Preparation And Mentorship In Professional Standards For Educational Leaders, Caroline Whitney Rinella

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The role of a principal looks very different from years ago and responsibilities principals are charged with have evolved significantly over time. In nearly all states, principals receive training and certification under the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSELs) with focus in the following areas: 1. Mission, Vision, and Core Values, 2. Ethics and Professional Norms, 3. Equity and Cultural Responsiveness, 4. Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, 5. Community of Care and Support for Students, 6. Professional Capacity of School Personnel, 7. Professional Community for Teachers and Staff, 8. Meaningful Engagement of Families and Community, 9. Operations and Management, and 10. …

Administrative Best Practices For Engaging New Faculty, Michael G. Strawser, Russell Carpenter, Shanti Bruce, Kevin Dvorak

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Presenters and participants will discuss how Millennial faculty may a) change the higher education system; b) adapt their own internal wiring to fit higher education; and c) relate to faculty/staff of other generations. Participants will also address issues related to millennial faculty engagement and professional development, expectations of communication, and responses to campus sexual harassment.

The Battlefield Of The Academy: The Resilience And Resistance Of Black Women Faculty, Jacqueline Hester

Theses and Dissertations

This research study explored the resilience of 8 Black women faculty teaching at historically white institutions (HWIs). Crenshaw's (1991) intersectionality, Ladson-Billings and Tate, (1995) critical race theory, and resilience theory are the three theoretical frameworks used in this study to examine the experience of Black women faculty in HWIs. The purpose of this study was to address these experiences to advance the conceptual understanding of resilience as a form of resistance. The research methodology selected involved a qualitative study that used narrative inquiry as a platform for Black women faculty to share their personal narratives and examined the strategies that …

Contextual Factors In Early Career Teaching: A Systematic Review Of International Research On Teacher Induction And Mentoring Programs, Benjamin Kutsyuruba, Keith D. Walker, Lorraine Godden

Journal of Global Education and Research

Early career teachers (ECTs) are situated in a dynamic contextual landscape that both influences their development and practice and dictates professional expectations for instruction and professional learning. This systematic review of international research literature sought to establish the understanding of teacher induction and mentoring program support of ECTs through the following research questions: 1) which nations and regions are represented in research literature that details formal or programmatic support of ECTs? 2) what international research evidence is there to describe various contextual factors that affect experiences of ECTs? and, 3) how do teacher induction and mentorship programs respond to the …

Understanding The Experiences Of Multiracial Faculty Members: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Gianna E. Nicholas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to understand the experiences of multiracial faculty at a public, four-year university in the United States, including the challenges and supports that may affect their role and responsibilities within academia. Another objective of this research study was to center the voices of multiracial faculty. While there is much research on faculty of color, research specifically on multiracial faculty is limited, indicating an even greater need to explore the experiences of this population. This qualitative, phenomenological study utilized semi-structured interviews with six, multiracial faculty members. This study’s findings have implications for institutional policies and practices regarding faculty …

Building Blocks Of Effective Leadership, Katherine Frank, Kristi Haik, Royce Smith

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Three individuals will share their perspectives about mentoring and guidance within academia. They will discuss how the networking, questioning and formation of feedback opportunities in their relationships have contributed to their evolution as administrators—from department chair to provost.

Institutional Mentorship For Bridge Program Students: Fostering Meaningful Engagement, Elizabeth Hoehn Mcdermott

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study explored the relationships between at-risk, bridge program students and institutional mentors. The purpose of this dissertation was to learn more about the ways that bridge program students’ relationships with institutional mentors may (or may not) influence students’ development of academic confidence and campus engagement. Bridge programs are designed to foster student mentoring relationships with both faculty members who teach within the programs, as well the administrators and staff members (usually student affairs professionals) who run the program. Thus far, the research on bridge programs has been overly focused on predictive student attributes and quantitative outcomes (e.g. GPA or …

Mentoring The Millennials: Induction Of The Millennial Generation In Education, Christopher M. Brown

Dissertations

This research explored who the Millennial teacher is and revealed the relevancy of current teacher induction programs for them, as well as through the lens of the school leaders responsible for induction programming.

Research Questions

1. How do millennial generation teachers perceive their induction programs as new teachers?

a. What are the perceived needs of millennials in their first year of teaching?

b. How does induction programming meet these needs?

c. What are the perceived effectiveness of these programs to meet millennial needs?

2. How do building/district level leaders perceive the induction of millennial generation teachers?

a. What are the …

Becoming By Believing: One Fraternity And Sorority Life Professional’S Journey In Finding Her Voice, Kimberlee Monteaux De Freitas

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

While fraternity and sorority life continues to make headlines and is called upon regularly to validate the purpose it holds to remain on college campuses today, many still believe that when fraternity and sorority are done right, it is one of the best opportunities on college campuses today outside of the classroom. Much of their success is due to the efforts and support of the fraternity and sorority life professionals.

This dissertation will offer the first Scholarly Personal Narrative of a mid-level, seasoned, fraternity and sorority life professional working in higher education. Current research shows the average age of a …

Academic Entitlement And The Decision-Making Of Tenured Professors, A. Roland Chambers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Academic entitlement is a concern in higher education because of the potential societal and market driven influences on credible scholarship. Most of the research has focused on negative attitudes and behaviors attributed to students. The considerations of tenured professors who interact with academically entitled students and strategies for effective classroom management has not been fully explored. Constructivism provided the theoretical framework for the qualitative case study. Data were collected from open-ended, semistructured interviews with a purposeful sample of 10 tenured professors from a state college in the Southeastern United States to explore (a) the meanings participants attributed to academic entitlement, …