Education Commons^™

Determining The Change Styles Preferences Of Principals In South Carolina's Secondary Schools With A Background In The Fine Arts, Sterling Bernard Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Very little research has been published regarding the change style preferences and leadership styles of secondary principals in South Carolina who have a common background. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to identify the preferred change style preference of principals in South Carolina that have an arts background and the change style preferences of principals without an arts background. This study would also determine if these styles were the same or different. Quantitative data were gathered from online administration of the Change Style Indicator (CSI), the South Carolina Department of Education, and the South Carolina Association of School …

Which Student Characteristics Correlate With Discipline Referrals? A Case Study Of A Diverse, High-Poverty Rural School District In The South, Jeannie Baltimore Monson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the correlates of discipline referrals in a diverse, high-poverty rural school district. The framework is based upon the Diamond (2004) study which, like this research, was built on the notion that socioeconomic inequality is a major factor for disproportionality in student discipline. This study identified the assets and deficits of the sample population and analyzed them in relationship to the referrals accrued. This study was conducted in a small, rural, southern school district. Of the population, approximately 78% are on free and reduced lunch and is made up of Caucasian students, 53%, …

Bibimbap: Identity Construction In Korean Third Culture Kids During Higher Education, Megan I. Beard

Theses and Dissertations

Amidst increasing interconnectedness and transmigration of the 21st century, a number of families are leaving South Korea for business, work, or education; their children are raised as Third Culture Kids (TCKs)—children who accompany their parents abroad. This study used the lens of cultural globalization to examine how Korean TCKs used their life experiences to inform their identity construction, especially during higher education. Participants were Korean students and recent alumni from universities in Korea, the United States, and abroad who had spent at least three childhood years living outside Korea with their families. Data were collected through a series of unstructured …

A Legal Analysis Of Court Cases And Administrative Investigations Related To Violations Of The Clery Act: Getting Good From The Bad And The Ugly, Tiffany Nichole Richardson

Theses and Dissertations

College brochures paint pictures of beautiful campuses, diverse student populations, renowned professors, and the best educational programs. What colleges never include in those brochures are the ugly crime statistics. In 2012, higher education institutions reported 41,708 liquor arrests, 20,486 burglaries, 4,837 forcible sex offenses, 951 hate crimes, and 31 murders. The reporting requirement, along with other regulations, has been required of institutions of higher education since 1990 under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, yet so many colleges and universities are facing lawsuits, investigations, settlements, and fines for failing to comply. This legal …

Principal Longevity, Leadership Behaviors, And Student Academic Achievement, Jennifer Mcleod Swearingen

Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing Pearson’s correlation and other forms of data analysis, the researcher explored relationships between principal longevity, leadership behaviors, and student academic achievement in this study. Additionally, the study considered the degree to which leadership behavior ratings seem to be associated with student academic achievement. The researcher found positive correlations among all three variables, with the strongest correlation being between principal longevity and student academic achievement. The only correlation that was found to be statistically significant was between principal longevity and student academic achievement. The researcher was also able to identify the highest and lowest rated leadership behaviors for principals with …

The African American Male Achievement Dilemma Through The Eyes Of The African American Male Superintendent, J.R. Falor Green

Theses and Dissertations

This research study explores the perspective of African American male superintendents on the African American male achievement dilemma. How do African American male superintendents theorize and respond to the underachievement of African American male students? Do their experiences give them greater insight, and how has this potential insight contributed to the implementation of initiatives that have improved the performance of this subgroup? Three major theoretical perspectives were explored during my review of the literature. Critical Race, Social Reproduction, and Oppositional Culture Theory encompassed the most consistent themes during my research, and helped to situate the study within the broader education …

How School Leadership Develops Parental Involvement Strategies With Social Capital In Four South Carolina Middle Schools, Anthony Neil Boatwright

Theses and Dissertations

Passed in 2001, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandate requires schools to have a comprehensive plan for addressing parental involvement. Identifying successful practices to increase social capital and academic achievement in lower socio-economic schools appears to be the area that is having the most impact. Principals can contribute to higher success rates by generating productive partnerships between the school and parents/guardians. The purpose of this study is to describe the parental involvement strategies that four successful South Carolina (SC) middle school principals used and to identify successful practices being implemented to increase social capital and academic achievement. The researcher …

Leadership Perspectives On International Education For Public School Students In South Carolina: Two Case Studies, Frederick Eugene Brown

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores how two rural public school districts in South Carolina conceptualize and implement an international education, according to the perspectives of administrators and teachers. This comparative case study of two public school districts spans the districts’ elementary, middle, high and career center schools and seeks to understand how the presence of a major multinational corporation influences school internationalization. The data on their perspectives on internationalization were drawn from interviews. I interviewed the school principal and teachers involved in internationalizing the curriculum, policy and practice in each of the ten schools. In addition to school level personnel, I interviewed …

Virtual High Schools Versus Brick And Mortar High Schools: An Analysis Of Graduation Rates For Low Socio-Economic Students In South Carolina, Alice Denise Montgomery

Theses and Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001 was designed to ensure that all students are receiving an appropriate education. All states were mandated to implement state-wide assessments to monitor student achievement. With the identification of student needs that came from the results of state-wide assessments, leaders at both the state and district levels began to develop programs to address these needs. The virtual high school is one of the alternative settings for education that came out of this movement. Full-time virtual high schools have a growing enrollment every year. However, the progress these schools are making in the …

Intensive Dual Enrollment: Early Credits Or Empty Promises, Brian J. Modarelli

Theses and Dissertations

American high school students are afforded a wide array of opportunities to earn college credits. Industrious secondary students are enrolling in early credit options in steadily growing numbers, and are expecting the benefit of entering the university of their choice with several college credits already completed. However, an unmistakable lack of standardization and predictability exists regarding the transferability of college credits earned by secondary students. The purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between the selectivity level of a university and that university’s willingness to accept either an associate degree or the transfer credits from an early credit …

Why Teachers Stay: Elementary Teachers Share Perceptions Of The Job Since Legislative Reforms In Wisconsin, Catherine Marie Clarksen

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

WHY TEACHERS STAY: ELEMENTARY TEACHERS SHARE PERCEPTIONS OF THE JOB SINCE LEGISLATIVE REFORMS IN WISCONSIN

by

Catherine M. Clarksen

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2014

Under the Supervision of Dr. Leigh Wallace and Dr. Latish Reed

The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of elementary public school classroom teachers who remain in the teaching profession amidst legislative reforms that impacted their wages, benefits and working conditions. The study involved ten teachers who were perceived by their building principals as having a direct impact on positive student achievement. Additionally, each participant was required to have taught for a …

The Transition To College: An Acculturation Comparison Of Domestic And International Students, Kim Omachinski

Theses and Dissertations

Domestic and international students face challenges when transitioning to college. Researchers believe first-year intervention programs and orientation are important in successful transition to the university environment. Student involvement from the beginning of the first semester helps create a connection to college and a sense of belonging. Domestic and international students traverse homesickness, financial issues, lack of social support, changes in routine, and academic issues while navigating life away from home. Additionally, students experience a turning point that can often create a change in educational trajectory that results in continuing in college, transferring out, dropping out, or seeking help. The turning …

Contradicting Conventional Wisdom: Women Presidents' Abilities To Forge Purposeful And Instrumental Relationships For Institutional Outcomes, Susan Amy Woollen

Theses and Dissertations

CONTRADICTING CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: WOMEN PRESIDENTS' ABILITIES TO FORGE PURPOSEFUL AND INSTRUMENTAL

RELATIONSHIPS FOR INSTITUTIONAL OUTCOMES

Susan A. Woollen

268 pages May 2015

There is a perception in the literature that women presidents are weak in the function of instrumental relationship building. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the practices developed and utilized by women presidents of 4-year institutions to identify and build relationships with key constituents whom they recognized as having resources that could lead to institution building and to learn how the presidents secured those resources.

Through an interview format, 12 presidents elaborated on the internal …

Transforming A System: Leadership To Implement An Intervention And Referral Services Process That Assists Teachers, Michael Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Improving instruction to meet diverse student needs via early, intensive, and continuing intervention is an essential part of a comprehensive strategy to serve all students now and to produce the graduates 21st century society requires. Yet, meaningful school reform with transforming leadership, innovative vision, conversations among teachers, and authentic student achievement still remains elusive today. Our limitations in putting new ideas into practice come not from a lack of will or effort, but, in part, from the influences of our personal stories, mental models, and an immunity to change. This action research study explores educators' perceptions and behaviors in implementing …

Reflections Of Self: Images Of People With Specific Learning Disabilities And Attention Deficit / Hyperactive Disorder In Children's Literature, Elizabeth R. Hayes

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I explored the portrayals of people with a specific learning disability or with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children's literature. Eighteen books were analyzed to determine what themes and messages were being conveyed to children.

The major themes were about friendship, and overcoming issues associated with a SLD or AD/HD. In addtion, the portrayals suggest that children with SLD and AD/HD have similar problems like their peers with these conditions. However, there were portrayals of stereotypical roles and usage of negative language.

Promoting Emotional Intelligence In Adolescence Through Service-Learning, Maggy Hanna, Rosetta Treece

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study addresses emotional intelligence (EI) development, through the implementation of service-learning curricula, in adolescents ages 13-18. An interrupted time series with non-equivalent multi-group design was used for this study. This design included multiple pre-tests, an application of a treatment, and post-tests at varying time interval to eliminate internal invalidity threats due to history and the instrumentation (Gay & Airasian, 2000; Shadish, Cook, & Campell, 2011). In this study, global trait EI scores were used to test the theory that engagement in service-learning can positively impact EI growth in teens in the middle and high school settings. The rationale …

Multimethod Study Of A Higher Education Special Admissions Policy: Exploring How Student-Athletes Navigage Their Educational Experiences, Sean Hendricks

Theses and Dissertations

In higher education, it is the role of the institution to ensure the success of all students, even those that failed to meet general admission requirements (Tinto, 1993). This explanatory sequential mixed methods study explored the challenges associated with enrolling student-athletes at a Division III institution with less than desirable admission standards (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). This study examined 199 specially admitted student-athletes that enrolled at Kerry State between 2007 and 2011 and found that increasing tuition, a lack of support and proper advising, time constraints, and issues related to student engagement have contributed to the lack of success …

A Case Study: The Implementation Of The English Language Arts Common Core State Standards In A Secondary School Setting, Adam Angelozzi

Theses and Dissertations

This study provides insight into the curriculum and policy implementation process of the English Language Arts (ELA) Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in a secondary high school setting. The most critical factor to successful implementation of both policy and curriculum involves instructional leadership that provides ongoing support and resources through knowledge- and capacity-building activities. McLaughlin (1976) describes that implementation of educational policy constitutes a mutually adaptive process between the policy implementers and the setting; accordingly, changes in relation to the originally intended outcomes occur across the organizational hierarchy and between policy actors (Anderson, 2011; Fullan, 2007; Sabatier & Mazmanian, 1980). …

A Feminist Investigation Of Gender Performance Through A Reflection On The Process Of Certification In A Nontraditional Educational Leadership Program, Kimberly Clark

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to better understand the role of gender performance for aspiring school leaders through a reflection of their journey through the administrative pipeline. The transformation of professional aspirations throughout and following the certification process and during employment was also analyzed. Finally, the appealing factors of a nontraditional administrative preparation program were evaluated to better understand the role of alternative licensure programs in advancing women school leaders. Using heuristic qualitative methods, 18 women graduates of New Jersey's Expedited Certification for Educational Leadership program participated in focus groups and 5 returned for individual interviews. Coding was employed …

Perceptions Of Cooperating Teachers Concerning The Student Teaching Field Experience, Dawn Marie Paulson

Theses and Dissertations

PERCEPTIONS OF COOPERATING TEACHERS CONCERNING

THE STUDENT TEACHING FIELD EXPERIENCE

Dawn Paulson

142 Pages December 2014

This study explored the views of cooperating teachers on (a) their work with student teachers and university supervisors, and (b) ways to improve the student teaching process. In a mixed-methods sequential explanatory study, 153 cooperating teachers answered closed-and open-ended questions using an electronic survey; then a subset of 12 participated in follow-up interviews. All participants taught at rural or semi-rural middle schools and high schools in Central Illinois; all had experience with student teachers from a mid-sized institution in that area.

Major findings of …

Exploring The Relationship Between Faculty Perceptions Of Chairperson-Faculty Member Communication Exchanges And Department Climate, Jodi Lynn Hallsten Lyczak

Theses and Dissertations

Leadership communication has many consequences: those that affect an organization and its outcomes, and those that affect the followers. In academia, one of the most important leadership roles is that of the departmental chairperson. Through her or his communication, the academic chairperson influences nearly every aspect of departmental life for faculty, including organizational climate. In fact, it can be argued that the chairperson helps both create and sustain the department climate for faculty.

One perspective of leadership and communication posits that leadership is enacted in the dyadic communication that occurs between the leader and the follower. According to Leader Member …

College Student Unions: A Delphi Study Regarding Purposes, Amenities, Barriers And Future Influences, Michelle Annette Janisz

Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to understand and forecast the changing role of the student union in the modern era and specifically explored the purposes served by student unions, what specific amenities and services contribute to serving those purposes, the barriers student unions face in meeting those purposes, and the most important influences that will shape the college and university student union of the future. A review of the history of college and university student unions, the components of campus environments, the role of student unions in student recruitment and retention, and the influences of environmental psychology anchor the research. The …

A History Of Academic Freedom In America, John Karl Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the history of academic freedom in America through the focus of three interpretive models--the Gentleman Scientist Model, the Liberty Model, and the Professional Model--to show how the concept evolved over the past century. It examines violations of academic freedom, AAUP statements, and debates about the meaning of academic freedom to show how it remains a contested concept. It concludes that by studying the origins and changes in the idea of academic freedom in America, current controversies can be better understood.

The Role Of Principal Leadership In Special Education: A Delphi Study, Martha Simon

Theses and Dissertations

Changes in the New Jersey principal evaluation system coupled with the demands of leading programs for students with disabilities has resulted in the need for school principals to understand and apply leadership skills that will result in successful achievement for all students. The purpose of this qualitative Delphi study was to explore the behaviors, characteristics, skills, and knowledge elementary school principals identify as essential for leading and supporting successful special education programs in public elementary school settings. Twenty-six elementary school principals with a record of success in leading special education programs provided expert insights through three rounds of data collection …

Predictive Modeling And Alumni Fundraising In Higher Education, Mark Walcott

Theses and Dissertations

Institutions of higher education can benefit from using predictive modeling and data mining techniques to enhance capital and fundraising campaigns to yield higher levels of financial contributions. The purpose of this study was to enhance the sophistication of alumni fundraising by using predictive modeling and data mining techniques to address: (a) What factors are most likely to predict the likelihood of alumni making a financial contribution, and (b) What factors are most significant in predicting the amount of money alumni will contribute. Among the 17 variables used by this study those of significance for predicting the likelihood to give included: …

Distinguishing Assessment From Accountability: Honoring Student Learning And Values In Assessment, Erin Elizabeth Pearce Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Accountability is documented as one of the two major forces for engaging in assessment (Ewell, 2002, 2009; Keeling, 2006; Keeling et al., 2008; Love & Estanek, 2004; Terenzini, 1989). Due in part to neoliberalism's influence on education assessment rhetoric and discourse, accountability dominates how assessment is understood and practiced. The dominance of the accountability rhetoric effects how student affairs educators perceive and value assessment. The purpose of this study is to explore why assessment is not a pervasive or consistent practice within student affairs. Through an interpretivist case study examination of Manresa University's division of student affairs, participant observation, document …

Building Parent Support For Implementation Of Assessment For Learning ( A4 L ) At The High School Level, Sarah Highfill

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers articulate the positive effects of parental engagement with education. Networking with parents has become a recent focus for educational leaders working to enhance learning. With parent presence diminishing within secondary schools and emphasis on formative assessments rising, this study examined the possibility of family support to supplement the Assessment for Learning (A4L) reform implementation. Using an action research framework, four research questions were addressed. These included what attracts parents to support Assessment for Learning (A4L) reforms at the high school level, the value parents place on assessment reform, and what affects parent perceptions and influences their support of the …

Data Driven Decision Making: Data Interplay Within A High School District, Chris Heilig

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this single embedded case study was to examine how a district data team coordinated by the central office influenced the data driven culture in the district's schools that receive Title I funding. The conceptual framework is centered on conducting the process of data driven decision-making through collaborative leadership and data analysis for the purpose of educational change. The research questions guided the investigation to discover how teachers and administrators are using data to make decisions, their perception of data driven decision-making, and the impact made by central office and building leadership to initiate the change to a …

Raising Awareness In Study Abroad, Leslie Gassler

Theses and Dissertations

As a result of globalization, U.S. students need to acquire international knowledge, intercultural communication skills, and a global perspective in order to compete, succeed, and contribute to the interconnected world and global economy of the 21st century (Leask, 2001; Obst, Bhandari, & Witherell, 2007). Study abroad programs have been found to provide students with the necessary skills and competence required for the 21st century. The purpose of this action research study was to examine honors students' intercultural competency and the barriers they saw to studying abroad, and to develop of online study abroad information and promote a study abroad information …

High School Teachers' Mental Model Change As Related To Online Instructional Tools, James Cernansky

Theses and Dissertations

The mental model shift of high school teachers regarding instructional methods related to online instructional tools was examined in this ethnographic study. The actual change in instructional techniques was also examined. Ethnographic research design was employed using teacher interviews, teacher survey, classroom observations, and lesson plan examination. The study took place at a comprehensive public high school in the mid-Atlantic region with approximately 1900 students and 200 staff members. The researcher found that a positive mental model change did occur after one year of a one-to-one iPad initiative. Teachers reported that they used online instructional tools to motivate their students …