Education Commons^™

Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First: Exploring School Principals’ Stress And Workplace Well-Being, Dl Alex Alexander

Education Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to highlight the importance of studying and promoting well-being to help manage stress and prevent burnout among school principals, examine potential gender disparities, and to consider implications for future practice. Grounded in a positive psychology framework, this study examined the correlations among school principals’ workplace well-being, perceived stress, self-compassion, and intent to remain in their roles using a non-experimental, descriptive survey method. In Washington State, 124 school principals responded to an online survey over a span of 11 weeks. Descriptive, correlation, moderation, independent t-test analyses were performed on quantitative data, and qualitative data was …

The Impact Of Embedded Coaching On Educational Leader Professional Practice, Heather J. Sanchez

Education Dissertations

School and district leadership is complex work. Educational leaders today are charged with a myriad of responsibilities, ranging from everyday operational duties to strategic development of school improvement plans. Leaders are expected to be experts at everything ranging from transportation to transforming teaching and learning. Gone are the days when a leader was expected to manage the school or district. Today leaders are expected to meet the robust needs of staff, students, and families inclusive of social-emotional needs, academic needs, and physical needs. Today’s leaders are expected to be transformative, to have skills sets that enable them to effectively partner …

Equitable Hiring Practices For Hr Directors: It Is All About The How, Jennifer B. Harlan

Education Dissertations

District Human Resource departments are tasked with developing rationale, policies, and a hiring process that prioritizes hiring high quality applicants that reflect diverse backgrounds with proven experience and success with district student populations. Staff must hire diverse candidates but to do so, they must examine the implications for equitable hiring practices and remove obstacles and barriers currently in place. The purpose of this paper is to research district action plans and system changes that are taking place in schools to hire a diverse staff. State laws, district policies, and action plans are a great step but how the steps are …

The Implementation Of Restorative Justice Practices: An Exploration Into Administrators' Experiences, Sacha Starr Helling-Christy

Education Dissertations

In this paper, transformative learning theory and restorative justice practices, as well as the empirical research done to link theory to practice, are explored. As Mezirow (2018) stated, transformative learning is “the process by which we transform problematic frames of reference (mindsets, habits of mind, meaning perspectives)—sets of assumption and expectation—to make them more inclusive, . . . open, reflective and emotionally able to change” (p. 116). In other words, people’s life experiences help shape their opinions and worldviews, and most people are resistant to change these ideas the more solidly they are planted in one’s minds as being correct. …

Leadership Influence On Collective Teacher Efficacy In Multi-Cultural Teams: A Mixed-Methods Study, Yaru Zhou

Education Dissertations

As evidence for positive effects of collective teacher efficacy on student performance and teacher well-being grow, increasing efforts have been made worldwide to understand how teachers’ beliefs in the team’s capacity form in schools. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach; 90 teachers from seven international schools in China participated in the survey, and eight teachers from these schools joined focus group interviews. This paper seeks to understand the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of instructional school leadership and collective efficacy, and how individual leaders’ character strength of encouragement and structural factors, including school levels and cultural dimensions, affect the relationship. Quantitative …

A Case Study Analysis Of Elementary Teachers' Attitudes About Student Discipline And The Implementation Of Restorative Justice, Kaitlyn M. Spore

Education Dissertations

This study examined the attitudes of elementary school teachers regarding student discipline and the implementation of restorative justice practices. The present research was conducted at a public elementary school in the greater Seattle area. All participants were teachers at the public elementary school, and were purposefully selected based on their years of experience, age, gender, and grade level taught. The study utilized qualitative case study methods to analyze the participants’ attitudes regarding discipline, specifically the use of exclusionary discipline, and their views on implementing restorative justice practices as an alternative to exclusion.

Key Words: restorative justice, school discipline, exclusions, suspensions, …

Sustainable Change In Public School Districts, Angela Cheri Franklin

Education Dissertations

Reform is a reality for many school districts and schools. When faced with reform movements, districts and schools must address both the immediate implementation and the sustainability of the reform. This dissertation study is informed by two theories centered on reform implementation and sustainability: Organizational Learning Theory by Leithwood, Aitken, and Jantzi (2006) and Coburn’s (2003) Theory of Sustainability. Current empirical research in this field identified particular factors that lead to successful implementation of reform and long-term sustainability. A monitoring tool was used to investigate factors such as: vision for reform, decision making, professional development, innovation and change, effectiveness of …

International School Director Turnover As Influenced By School Board/Director Relationship, Zakariya Palsha D+Z30:Ae30

Education Dissertations

In recent years, public school superintendents have faced increased demands from rigorous federal and state accountability standards. Yet, researchers have reported that academic improvement does not happen by chance but rather through effective leaders with ample time to implement broad, sustainable reform. The purpose of this study was to examine the self-reported causes of turnover of international school directors, specifically, whether the relationship between the school board and the international school director is linked to length of tenure of the international director. The theoretical framework that addresses superintendent turnover as influenced by internal board dynamics, including school board/superintendent relationship, is …

Dynamic School Psychology: Perceptions Between School Psychologists, Teachers, And Administrators On School Psychology And Paradigm Shift Theory, Homero Flores

Education Dissertations

The purpose of this research paper is to gain current perceptions of school psychology services and paradigm shift theory in school psychology by school psychologists, teachers and administrators within public school systems. The paper will focus on the history of school psychology, federal legislation, and IDEA. Surveys were collected from school psychologists, teachers and administrators regarding perceptions of school psychology and paradigm shift theory in school psychology services. Although the results were non-significant, results of the surveys indicate similar results to previous perceptual surveys. While teachers and administrators would like more services in general from school psychologists, school psychologists remained …

Cognitive Style And Conflict On Superintendent-School Board Teams, Douglas J. Asbjornsen

Education Dissertations

Abstract

Cognitive Style and Conflict on Superintendent-School Board Teams

By Douglas J. Asbjornsen

Chairperson of the Dissertation Committee:

Dr. Thomas Alsbury

School of Education

Quality learning and high student achievement are primary goals of K-12 public school education. Superintendent-School Board teams can have a positive impact on both. Collaboration is critical to these teams’ effectiveness and efficiency. Research has suggested conflict can have a negative impact on collaboration and may be related to the diversity on the team. One type of diversity is cognitive diversity within the construct of cognitive style, as defined by the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Theory (A-I Theory). …

Superintendent And School Board Attitude And Beliefs Alignment And Its Relationship To Student Achievement, Justin John Blasko

Education Dissertations

Research examining the relationship between school boards and student achievement continues to expand. Many studies have focused on the influence of school board attitudes and beliefs concerning governance. These studies have demonstrated statistical differences between reported attitudes of high achieving school districts and low achieving school districts. This study focuses on the relationship between the school board and superintendent. It specifically addresses whether aligned responses to a governance survey demonstrate a statistical relationship with student achievement.

The study relied upon ex-post facto data available through the Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA). WSSDA has collected survey data since 2011 using …

Washington State School District Superintendent Use Of Social Media For Public Relations And Communication, Jonathan R. Tienhaara

Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine usage and perception of superintendent participation in social media for the purposes of public relations and communication in the State of Washington. Tenets of Social-Customer Relationship Management (Social-CRM) were used as the theory to support how social media can be used to establish and enhance public relations with school district stakeholders. Washington’s (N = 295) school district superintendents were electronically surveyed to collect data on their use and perception of social media utilization for public relations and communication. The data were analyzed to determine how Washington superintendents use social media for …

Organizational Monitoring Systems And Student Academic Achievement, Adam Swinyard

Education Dissertations

Organizational Monitoring Systems and Student Academic Achievement

By Adam Swinyard

The current context of K-12 education emphasizes a strong focus on standardized test results to inform school improvement planning. Concerns about this phenomena center around the methodology used to determine actions intended to improve student achievement. Some educational experts suggest many schools rely solely on test results to develop school improvement plans (SIPs). Subsequently, solutions often address symptoms rather than foundational issues. As a result, schools fall into a cycle of selecting new initiatives that do not produce sustainable improvements. The concept of becoming a learning organization by using a …