Education Commons^™

The Work Of Elementary Principals In Supporting New Teachers In Ontario, Publicly-Funded, English Speaking Schools, Jennifer M. Gonyou-Brown

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Teachers benefit from instructional, emotional, institutional and physical supports in their early years of practice (Lipton & Wellman, 2003). Yet, with a teacher surplus in Ontario, many early career teachers (ECTs) spend years in transient, short-term work prior to qualifying for the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP). As school leaders, Ontario elementary principals develop and facilitate supports for the ECTs in their school. However, principals have identified their workloads to be demanding and intensifying (Pollock, 2014b). ECT support development is one of many responsibilities that principals undertake in their work.

This qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews with twelve elementary principals …

Understanding And Negotiating The Secondary Vice-Principal Role: Perspectives Of Secondary Principals, Louis Lim

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation explores how secondary principals understand and negotiate the secondary vice-principal role. The principal assigns vice-principal duties so there is no standard description for the vice-principal role (Ontario Ministry of Education, 1990). My conceptual framework, based on the notions of role and work, informed the study.

Using an interpretive basic, generic qualitative study approach, I conducted single 60 to 90 minute semi-structured interviews with 13 secondary principals from four Ontario district school boards. Data analysis was on-going and used a modified version of the constant comparative method for themes to emerge.

Findings indicated that secondary principals expect their vice-principals …

The Merge Of Social Network Sites And Professional Development: A Case Study Of Twitter Usage Among Minnesota K-12 Principals, Nathan D. Rudolph

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

Over past decades, the position of principal, like that of technology, has evolved and changed drastically. Today, the changing face of Internet technologies is merging with the changing face of educational professional development (United States Department of Education, 2010; Veletsianos, 2012). Due to rapid growth and change within the technology industry, there is limited research about the relationship of technology and professional development.

Although some research can be found regarding the manner in which scholars, academics, educators, and students are using [Social Network Sites] in education,there is little research that pertains specifically to usage of this tool by school principals. …

Common Leadership Responsibilities Of Principals Of Successful Turnaround Schools, Jezelle Fullwood

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover which leadership responsibilities, within the domains of trust, communication, learning, and shared leadership, did elementary and middle school principals of successful turnaround schools perceive as most necessary to lead a turnaround intervention model school.

Themes were identified related to leadership responsibilities, practices and processes of turnaround principals within the domains of trust, communication, learning, and shared leadership identified by Fritjof Capra (2002) and the twenty-one leadership Responsibilities identified by Robert Marzano (2005). This study contributed to the literature to understand what it took to improve, or “turnaround” a school that …

Principals’ Perspectives On The Professional Development Process And Its Outcomes, Sara Kathleen Moore

Dissertations

This study examined principals’ perspectives on the professional development process and its outcomes. Principals are in the best position to ensure a connection between research-based best practices and what actually happens in the classroom, but there is little research on how principals actually select professional development for their staff in the field. This study was conducted in a Midwestern state using data gathered from public elementary school principals in the form of a survey. The sample included all K-5 and K-8 elementary principals on record with the state department of education, with 242 principals responding. It examined how much control …

The Role Of The School Leader In Collaboration Between Regular And Special Education Teachers, Jospeh Raymond Sciullo

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In 2004, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) aligned to language found in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA 2004). This reauthorization required students with disabilities to have access to the same curriculum as their non-disabled peers. This languages means that practices in instruction and assessment for students with disabilities must be aligned to the academic content standards established in each state (Parrish & Stodden, 2009). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of school leadership within the context of teacher collaboration and the factors that contribute to their level of …

Rural Principals On The Move: Why They Leave, Cynthia Hansen

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the personal, institutional, and environmental factors that influenced a principal’s decision to leave his or her school. Respondents included six elementary principals in rural Minnesota who left their positions within the past year. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed for themes. Transferability and credibility were enhanced through the participation of the researcher in a bracketing interview to identify potential biases, independent coding by an outside analyst of the bracketing and regular interviews, and repeated checks with respondents about transcriptions, codes, and themes. Themes were codes that occurred in at least four …

Principal Perceptions Of Standards-Based Teacher Evaluation In West Virginia, Brent Douglas Griffith

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Standards-based teacher evaluations have become the norm in many states due to an increased focus on student achievement and teacher effectiveness. These evaluations have become integral to the improvement of classroom instruction efforts and the planning of specific professional development for teachers. West Virginia deployed a new standards-based teacher evaluation system in 2014, using the West Virginia Professional Teaching Standards as a basis for measuring teacher performance and growth in certain areas. The new evaluation system also included teacher self-reflection and goal-setting portions. The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of school principals as to the effectiveness …

Latina Principals In Southern California: A Phenomenological Look Into Their Journey Towards Leadership, Fabiola Bagula

Dissertations

California is home to almost 15 million Latinos, however, according to the 2015 State of Higher Education Report for California, only 12% of the Latino population between the ages of 25 and 64 has a baccalaureate degree or higher, compared with 42% of the White population. Latina students have some of the lowest levels of educational attainment at every point in their K-12 journey and in general, very low occupational attainment. Given these troubling findings, this research sought to understand and tell the stories of Latinas in k-12 leadership positions in Southern California. In this study, Latinas describe how they …

The Experience Of Principals At Catholic Schools Implementing A Pranayama Practice For Stress Coping, Scott Roos

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored and documented the experiences of Catholic School principals in Northern California who implemented a one-month pranayama (yoga breathing) practice to help reduce their stress. The participants, four men and three women, were primary and secondary school principals at Catholic schools, including both diocesan and independent Catholic schools. This study utilized an embedded mixed methods design in which both qualitative and quantitative data were collected concurrently. Participants were asked to practice Ujjayi pranayama for eight minutes a session four times per day. Participants took the Administrator Stress Index and Perceived Stress Scale at the start of the intervention …