Education Commons^™

What Is The Role Of An Athletic Director At The High School And College Levels?, Richard O'Donnell

Master of Science in Kinesiology

What is the role of an athletic director? Athletic directors work in both high school and college level settings. Not all athletic directors run their programs the same way. This proposed study involves a survey of high school athletic directors and college athletic directors. The survey would gather data on leadership style, delegation tactics, daily tasks, annual planning, and fundraising. If conducted, this study will provide information on how high school and college athletic directors are similar, as well as how they are different. This study would benefit those already in the profession and those who are aspiring to become …

Evaluation Of A District’S Leadership Development Pipeline, Alyta T. Harrell

Education Theses and Dissertations

Leading a school campus is an increasingly challenging and critical task that requires effective leadership. It is important to identify the specific leadership skills needed to create a culture conducive to learning, meet the unique needs of a particular campus and community, and enable continuous improvement. The leadership development pipeline aimed to identify, develop, and support potential school leaders, fostering their growth through targeted professional development, mentoring, and support. This mixed methods embedded experimental model study evaluated the effectiveness of a district's leadership development program, focusing on best practices for school leaders. The study employed a combination of quantitative data …

Disengaged Or Differently Engaged? Students’ Motivations, Expectations, And Engagement In The Multi-Expectational Undergraduate Experience, Clifford Davidson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines the undergraduate experience from the student perspective, specifically as it applies to the dominant engagement success narrative. is narrative articulates that, for undergraduate students to successfully navigate and gain the most from their time at university, they must engage in educationally purposive activities and enriching educational experiences. Research also connects students’ motivations for enrolling in university to engagement and suggests that intrinsically motivated students are more likely to engage according to the dominant narrative, leading to a successful undergraduate experience. Conversely, students who are more extrinsically motivated tend to not engage correctly or at acceptable levels and …

The Use Of Artificial Intelligence In Higher Education: A Study On Faculty Perspectives In Universities In Egypt, Farah S. Sharawy

Theses and Dissertations

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an emerging technology that is transforming various aspects of society, including higher education. This paper examines faculty perspectives from five different institutions; The American University in Cairo (AUC), The German University in Cairo (GUC), The Arab Academy for Science and Technology (AAST), Ain Shams University, and Cairo University, on the use of AI in higher education in teaching and learning in Egypt, with all its challenges and resources available to support it, and how it can be used to achieve equity and accessibility. This research was conducted through a qualitative study using semi-structured one- on-one interviews …

Teachers’ And Principals’ Perceptions Of The Influence Of Principal Behaviors On Middle School Culture, Heather Daniel

Ed.D. Dissertations

Before this study, the research was limited regarding teachers’ perceptions of their principals and the influence on school culture. Even less research was dedicated to self-perceptions of principals’ behaviors within a middle school setting. Due to the lack of research, further investigation was necessary to understand specific behaviors performed by middle school principals and their influence on school culture. In this study, and teachers from one Tennessee county responded to questionnaires to investigate the relationship between perceptions of teachers and principals on principal behaviors and the influence on school culture. Through this study, principals and teachers listed multiple principal behaviors …

Teachers' And Principals' Perceptions Of Principal Behaviors On Middle School Culture, Heather Daniel

Ed.D. Dissertations

Before this study, the research was limited regarding teachers’ perceptions of their principals and the influence on school culture. Even less research was dedicated to self-perceptions of principals’ behaviors within a middle school setting. Due to the lack of research, further investigation was necessary to understand specific behaviors performed by middle school principals and their influence on school culture. In this study, and teachers from one Tennessee county responded to questionnaires to investigate the relationship between perceptions of teachers and principals on principal behaviors and the influence on school culture. Through this study, principals and teachers listed multiple principal behaviors …

How Teacher Implemented Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum Impacts Collective Teacher Efficacy And Influences Teacher Beliefs About Job Satisfaction, Lisel Patrylow

Dissertations

“Teachers are the engine that drives social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in classrooms and schools, and their own social-emotional competence strongly influences their students” (Schonert-Reichl, 2017, p. 137). I wanted to examine if teachers benefited from teaching SEL. The purpose of my study was to examine if teachers perceived benefits to their Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) and job satisfaction beliefs when they taught SEL. The context of my research was elementary schools in one school district. I conducted surveys with elementary school classroom teachers and counselors. The findings from my study indicated that classroom teachers perceived that their SEL …

Student Proficiency On High School Math Assessments And Their Relation To College And University Math Readiness, Tiffany Robinson

Dissertations

Data indicate that a significant number of first-year college students were inadequately prepared in high school to complete university-level mathematics courses. The purpose of this study is to evaluate student proficiency on high school mathematics assessments and their relation to student preparedness for university-level mathematics courses. The context of my study is a cohort of diverse, high school senior students in one state in the United States who have shown proficiency on mathematics assessments. The methodology I used was a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data, comprised of student and faculty index surveys at the high school and university level …

Leadership Identity Development Among Aspiring Women Leaders In Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study Of Formal Mentoring, Malia E. Roberts

Dissertations

Men have held the majority of presidencies, vice-presidencies, deanships, and other top administrative positions on college campuses since 1950 (Parker, 2015). The disproportionately low representation of women holding leadership roles in higher education is even more urgent considering few women ever reach the senior most leadership levels (Hannum et al., 2015). As such, the American Council on Education not only identified the need to increase the presence of women in leadership positions and to cultivate a pipeline of future leaders, but also the need to provide formal leadership training opportunities for women (Howard & Gagliardi, 2018). While various higher education …

School Principals As Leaders Of Educational Environments In School Settings: Recontextualization Of American Educational Practices In China, Wei Zhang

Dissertations

Chinese principals play a significant role in recontextualizing the U.S. principals’ practices in leading their school reform and student outcomes in Chinese social, cultural, and educational contexts. The purpose of this basic qualitative study is twofold: (1) to describe and interpret how Chinese principals make meaning of their experiences as active democratic leaders and (2) to identify the challenges they are going through in creating an educational environment based on the creative use of U.S. research and theory supporting best practices for principals. The study has a total of 50 participants (n=50) across the United States (n=32) and China (n=18). …

The Rural Post-Graduation Plan Development Model: Advancing Student College Choice By Centering Rural Communities, Steve Jenks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College choice models have been used since the 1980s to try and explain the processes and influences high school students use to decide if and which college to attend after graduation. These models focused solely on college attendance and lacked attention to the nuanced needs and resources found in rural communities. In this three-paper dissertation, a new, rural-centric model is proposed, tested, critiqued, and revised. The first paper proposes a new conceptual model of Rural Post-Graduation Plan Development using a critique and synthesis of prior college choice models, Critical Rural Theory, Funds of Knowledge, and socio-ecological models. The second paper …

A Program Evaluation Of The Reasons Some Educators Do Or Do Not Remain In The Teaching Profession, Joshua Karren

Dissertations

Abstract According to Sutcher et al. (2016), hundreds of thousands of teachers (eight percent of the overall United States teaching force) leave the profession annually for various reasons. These reasons include dissatisfaction with some parts of their jobs, including poor leadership, lack of control over teaching, family or personal reasons, pursuing a job outside of education, retirement, and financial reasons. The purpose of this study is to understand why teachers choose to stay at their school, why they leave certain schools and what school and district leaders can do to keep teachers in their classrooms. The context of this inquiry …

Racism Without Race: The Racialization Of Middle Eastern And North African Students At U.S. Colleges, Hannah Mesouani

Dissertations

Although a growing body of literature covers the experiences of international students at U.S. colleges, the stories of those who do not fit into the U.S. racial schema remain untold. This study examined how Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) students understood their racial identities given the United States’ tense history with Islam and the MENA world. Using foundational texts on critical race theory, current scholarship on Arab Americans and foreign-born students, and facets of the Ethnic Identity Scale (EIS), this study examined the experiences of MENA students who study amid a national backdrop of xenophobia and racialized Islamophobia. This …

Special Education: Inclusion And Exclusion In The K-12 U.S. Educational System, Erik Brault

Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Education defines students with disabilities as those having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities. Previous research has found that students with disabilities placed in inclusive environments perform better academically and socially compared to students with disabilities who are placed in segregated environments. Yet, we know that inclusion in K-12 general education classrooms across the country is not consistently implemented.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the effects, if any, of general education high school teachers’ personal and professional experiences and knowledge on their attitudes toward educating …

Equalizing Postsecondary Transition For At-Promise Youth Receiving Special Education Services: A Chance To Succeed, Karla R. Sanchez

Dissertations

Postsecondary transition can be difficult for At-Promise Youth Receiving Special Education Services (APYRSES). Special educators supporting postsecondary transition often manifest traditional and institutionalized forms of oppressive education while dismissing collective values and beliefs.

This qualitative case study examined the beliefs and attitudes shared by three special education teachers after being introduced to a justice-focused, humanizing intervention to facilitate postsecondary transition for APYRSES. The conceptualized intervention was grounded in liberatory educational frameworks and drew from critical, culturally affirming, sustaining, and humanizing theories that foster cultural reciprocity, self-determination skills, and antiracist social–emotional justice learning to afford opportunities for APYRSES to succeed. The …

First-Year Engagement And Intention To Return In Higher Education: A National Study Of Undecided Major Students, Jacqueline Galler

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Research suggests that a student’s persistence in higher education is influenced by their academic preparation, commitments, and involvement, (Tinto 2005). Predictors including student demographics, academic preparation and commitments have shown in previously studies to affect the rate at which students persist in higher education, (Pascarella & Terenzini 2005, Astin & Oseguera 2005, Terenzini & Reason 2005). Involvement at an institution contributes to a students’ engagement and intent to persist in higher education or at a specific institution. Researchers have found that students engage in the university, academically and socially, based on how their values align with the institution, feedback they …

'Formation In Distinctive Dimensions Of Our Way Of Proceeding': Preparation Of Lay Directors Of Works In Jesuit Schools, Perry T. Petrich Sj

Master's Theses

The purpose of the study was to determine how lay directors of works in Jesuits West secondary schools can be formed to best serve as faith leaders. The study consisted of secondary research in which interview data and surveys from studies on lay formation in Jesuit universities and lay leadership of Bay Area Catholic High Schools were used to determine whether or not formation of lay directors of works in faith leadership is possible, what the objectives of that training should be, and how that training can be offered. This analysis determined that lay formation is both possible and necessary. …

Improving Collaboration With Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Parents Of Students With Extensive Support Needs, Isabel Yates

Education | Master's Theses

The purpose of this research is to understand how to improve collaboration between schools and culturally and linguistically diverse parents of students with extensive support needs who receive special education services. Previous research defined collaboration as a conceptual construct in which principles of shared respect and responsibility are applied to practice (Emmons & Zager, 2018). The collaboration between families and schools is legally mandated but not explicitly explained to teachers or parents how to succeed in engaging respectfully with all families (Cheatham & Lim-Mullins, 2018). The increased complication of supporting nondominant, culturally and linguistically diverse families in addition to the …

Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Self Efficacy, Job Satisfaction, And Organizational Commitment Of Science And Math Teachers In Alabama, Andrew N. Wood

Dissertations

This study investigated the correlations between occupational citizenship behaviors, self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of math and science teachers. The purpose was to discern how these variables interacted to determine how best to support these teachers so they may be more likely to stay teaching in their organizations until retirement. The researcher surveyed math and science teachers within the State of Alabama. There were 314 math and science teachers who completed the survey instrument. Six hypotheses were evaluated to determine if all the variables had positive relationships with each other. From the correlation analysis, used for hypothesis testing, total …

Being Culturally Relevant And Responsive: A Comparative Analysis Of The Girl Scouts Of Usa Leadership Experience Program To The Diné Philosophy Of Hózhó And The Kinaaldá, To Illuminate Leadership, Rekindle Identity, And Revitalize Language Among Diné Girls, Deborah J. Belone

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

How does analytically comparing the Girl Scouts of the United States of America’s (GSUSA) Leadership Experience program to the Diné philosophy of Hózhó (harmonious way of life) and the Kinaaldá (female puberty ceremony) positively affect the unique diversity of each Diné girl and give attention to leadership skills, self-identity, and the Diné language? This is the research question that guided this research study of comparative analysis. In addition, there are three subquestions: (a) How does aligning the GSUSA Leadership Experience program to the Diné philosophies of Hózhó and the Kinaaldá build leadership skills, positive self-identify, and a healthy social and …

Leading With Equity Through Action: The Theory Of Racial And Gender Equity Advancement In Rural Schools, Anna Gross

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

All students deserve an equitable education. Rampant misinformation has flooded the educational world, and society as a whole, turning the concept of “equity” into something that has become politically charged. However, all students are different, and differences must be acknowledged and celebrated to ensure all students receive the education they need to thrive both academically and socially.

The purpose of this study is to examine equitable practices in rural schools. Using a constructivist paradigm, a grounded theory research approach was utilized through collection of qualitative data to theorize why some rural schools are further advanced than other rural schools of …

How Do Faculty And Staff Perceive The Effectiveness Of Student Support Systems That Promote The Retention Of First-Generation College Students?, David Shawn Wolff Dr.

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Research showed faculty-student interactions impact student engagement and was a primary factor to student retention (Kuh & Hu, 2001; Means & Pyne, 2017; Swecker et al., 2013; Tinto, 1987). The literature revealed while retention may be an issue for many institutions, there is a greater need to address retention specifically related to first-generation college students (FGCS). Students often seek advice from faculty and staff when faced with questions about their academic progress. Faculty and staff voices need to be collected regarding their perceptions of the effectiveness of the support systems used within an institution that promote retention for FGCS. This …

How Doctoral Students In A Formal Leadership Program Conceptualize Followership: A Mixed-Methods Study, Katy J. Johnson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this exploratory mixed-methods study was to determine how doctoral students in a formal leadership program conceptualize followership. The methods used to conduct this analysis included distributing a Qualtrics (released in August 2022) survey and conducting one-on-one interviews with a sample of degree-seeking doctoral students within a formal leadership program. The researcher collected quantitative and qualitative data addressing students’ followership style, leadership attitudes and beliefs, and perceptions of followership. These data were analyzed concurrently using a triangulation design. A total of 67 students completed the survey, and seven students were interviewed. The findings revealed that the participants employ …

Beginning Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions Of Impactful Self-Resiliency Skills: A Qualitative Study, Kjersten Skatvold

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Special educators are in high demand and greatly needed to meet the growing population of special education in public schools today. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain an understanding of how beginning special educators lived experiences and utilized their self-resilience skills which impacted their retention in the field of special education. With an increasing rate of attrition in the field of special education, exploring self-resilience factors that impact the retention of beginning special educators was imperative to understanding how to best support these early career educators. The increasing demands and pressures that beginning special educators are required …

Evaluating Equity: Examining Inclusionary Practices From Educational Organizations To Improve The Education Experience Of Lgbtqia+ Students, Jillian G. Torrento

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This qualitative study explored the ways in which education policy and practices within public schools are addressing the needs of minoritized populations with a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ students. This study first employed a document analysis to investigate the federal, state, and district-level equity practices that are mandated or elective in addressing the needs of marginalized populations and LGBTQIA+ students. Secondly, a critical discourse analysis was conducted to examine the specific language, word choices, and symbols found within the public documents that signify equitable practices pertaining to minoritized student populations and the LGBTQIA+ community. Ultimately, the goal of this study …

Empowerment Agents: How Student Affairs Professionals Facilitate The Persistence Of Undocumented Students, Tiffany Paige

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated how student affairs professionals (SAPs) assist undocumented students in their designated institutional roles, and how their support empowers undocumented students to persist. This research sought to document and assess how student affairs professionals—who interact with undocumented students— identify and respond to the issues they face in their work. Built on the theoretical frame of social capital, and using a thematic analysis design set forth by Braun and Clarke (2012), the researcher interviewed seven SAPs and used a phenomenological approach to design the study and to collect and analyze the data.

Two findings and five corresponding themes …

Testing Accommodations Decision-Making Policies And Procedures At New York Area Independent Schools: A Qualitative Study, Scott Wilson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this study was to better understand educators’ perceptions of testing accommodations decision-making practices at New York area independent schools. Through the analysis and coding of questionnaires, interviews, and documents, this study explored perceptions and descriptions of testing accommodations decision-making procedures as reported by learning specialists, administrators and psychologists employed at 20 independent schools in the greater New York City area. Several significant findings emerged. The study’s interview participants, in contrast to their public-school counterparts included in previous research studies, feel like they have the training and support necessary to make or contribute to decisions. The study also …

General Education Teacher Challenges With Teaching English Learners In The Mainstream Classroom: A Qualitative Study Of 3rd-5th Grade Elementary General Education And Esol Teachers’ Perceptions, Joanne Gauthier

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

This qualitative study focused on the challenges that 3rd through 5th grade general education teachers faced while supporting and teaching English Learner (EL) students in the classroom from the perspectives of general education and ESOL teachers, based on their experiences in the classroom. This study took place at an urban Title 1 elementary school in the southeastern United States. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the teacher challenges surrounding EL instruction and its impact on student achievement. The theoretical frameworks that informed this study were culturally responsive teaching and critical teacher leadership. Several data gathering …

A Phenomenological Examination Of The Lived Experiences Of African American Female Superintendents In The State Of Arkansas, Debra Denise Goodwin Myton

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of African American female Superintendents in the State of Arkansas. One of the major educational issues is the limited number of African American female superintendents in the USA and the state of Arkansas, in particular. African American women venturing into the superintendency are hindered in their goals by their double minority status as women and African Americans (Wiley et al., 2017). A qualitative, narrative research lens was used in this study to capture the individual career advancement of African American female Superintendents in the State of Arkansas. …

The Effects Of Peers For Young Adults On Anxiety And Quality Of Life For Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alysha Cecile Dagg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social skills deficits as well as comorbid anxiety are two characteristics commonly experienced by people with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Level 1 (ASD-1; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These characteristics are also both contributors to a lower quality of life for young adults (Smith et al., 2019). The current study aimed to identify how the quality of life and anxiety are affected by social skills intervention, specifically the PEERS® for Young Adults program (Laugeson, 2017). PEERS® for Young Adults is an evidence-based social skills intervention intended to support individuals with ASD-1 (Laugeson, 2017). Prior research has demonstrated its success in both …