Education Commons^™

Bullying In The Workplace: Are Principals, Assistant Principals And Licensed Administrators Confident Identifying And Addressing Adult Bullying?, Emily Rustman

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

The Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) defined bullying as a, “repeated, health-harming mistreatment by one or more people of an employee by means of verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, humiliation, work interference, sabotage, exploitation of a known vulnerability, or a combination of any of all of these” (2013, WBI U.S. National Survey). According to a 2010 WBI national survey, “An estimated 54 million Americans report being bullied at work” (2013, WBI).

The purpose of this study was to determine if quality professional development or training had been provided to Minnesota principals, assistant principals, and licensed administrators related to identifying and addressing workplace …

Faculty Perceptions Of Effectiveness And Impact Of Professional Development For Teaching, Research, And Service, Claudia Vela

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to examine faculty perceptions of effectiveness and impact of professional development for teaching, research, and service in a higher education institution in South Texas. This study provided quantitative and qualitative data from 165 faculty members from a Hispanic Serving Institution in South Texas. Participants in this research consisted of tenured 56.9% (n = 95) and tenure-track 41.1% (n = 69) faculty members who taught in different departments in the colleges of Health Affairs, Sciences, Liberal Arts, Engineering and Computer Sciences, Business and Entrepreneurship, and Education and P-16 Integration. The …

Teacher Perceptions Of School-Based And District Professional Development, Ashley Kennedy

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

Professional development is a leading topic of discussion in the field of education. Because teachers are responsible for implementing relevant instructional practices, meeting the instructional needs of students, and taking ownership of their professional development goals, understanding teacher perceptions of school-based and district level professional development is critical. The purpose of this study was to investigate how K-12 teachers perceive school-based and district professional development. This study aimed to answer three questions: How do teachers perceive school-based and district professional development? What types of professional development experiences do teachers find effective? Do recent professional development experiences influence how teachers collaborate …

Meeting Yourself Without Rose Colored Glasses: An Urban Public School, Shenelle Dubose, Apryll Mendez

Dissertations

The impact of a culturally relevant professional development series on classroom teacher’s cultural lens was determined. Fifty teachers from two different school districts participated in 16 hours of professional development in an attempt to impact their understanding of how culture and instruction are connected.

During the professional development, participants took part in activities, dialogues and reflections designed to impact their cultural competency. The content of the four professional development sessions included (a) videos on culturally relevant teaching; (b) discussion of cultural identity of participants and how it surfaces in the classroom; (c) discussion of the culture, values, and beliefs of …

Seeing Polar Bears In A Snowstorm: Examining Racial Equity Work In A Predominantly White Suburban School, Timothy Hayes

Dissertations

This three-part dissertation examines efforts to address racial equity at a predominantly white, suburban school. The first part is a program evaluation of Pacific Educational Group's Beyond Diversity Workshop. The second part proposes a change leadership approach to implementing a youth participatory action research project examining racial equity at the school. The final part proposes a professional development policy ensuring all teachers are prepared to engage in racial equity work at the school.

Exploring Teacher’S Attitudes And Behaviors In Implementing Instructional Technology Into Curriculum, Letitia Walters

Dissertations

This program evaluation explored how effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development can occur despite teachers limited technology competencies. Theses competencies increase when teachers have desire and opportunities to become better acquainted with utilizing digital tools. Perceived technology integration skills of teachers solely, cannot predict the effective integration of technology in student products to address new learning (Ertmer, 2005). Technology integrated lesson plans, the relationship between teachers' beliefs and their use of various strategies to integrate technology and a model that teachers can use to guide them through the necessary changes they will need …

Teacher Perceptions Of An Evaluation Process: A Qualitative Case Study, Lisa M. Puckett

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of the evaluation system currently used in their district. This study was guided by the following research question: How do teachers perceive the teacher evaluation process in a Midwestern Teacher and student Advancement Program (TAP) school? The theoretical foundations used in this study were Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and Kirkpatrick’s four levels of evaluating training programs. The researcher learned that Midwestern teachers in a TAP school perceived the evaluation system to have impacted their teaching in a positive manner and, at the same time, contributed to their stress level. …

The Influence Of Administrators On Literacy Instruction Through The Promotion And Selection Of Professional Development, Lucy K. Johnston-Josey

Dissertations

Literacy is a key component to success in school and in life. Literacy has been a focus of education since 1965 when President Jimmy Carter announced a “war on poverty.” Since then, history has shown that educators should place an emphasis on literacy within schools. Because literacy is so important, I set out to explore how administrators influence literacy through the promotion and selection of professional development.

Mississippi was chosen as a basis for the study because it falls below the nation in terms of literacy rates on the National Assessment for Educational Progress assessment. Nineteen participants from four school …

Competency Development In Community-Based Occupational Therapy, Sunny R. Winstead

All Theses And Dissertations

The aims of this study were: a) to discover which strategies community-based occupational therapists (OTs) find most effective for developing the competencies that have been identified as unique to community-based occupational therapy (OT) practice, b) to examine respondents’ perceptions of the effectiveness of their academic training and of current professional development resources, and c) to explore respondents’ suggestions for improving academic training and continuing education for OTs in community-based practice. Data collection was completed using an electronic survey that targeted members of the American Occupational Therapy Association who have experience in community-based OT. The survey was completed by 81 OTs …

Analysis Of School Counselor Leadership Practices Through The Lens Of Bolman And Deal’S Four-Framework Model, Patrice Suzette Banks-Rogers

Education Dissertations and Projects

School counselors play an integral role in school reform. School counselor leadership is key to academic, personal/social, and career readiness of all students in a school. This nonexperimental, quantitative study explored the following research questions: (1) What is the relationship between school counselors’ primary leadership orientation and specific demographic factors (current grade level served, total number of years as a counselor, and prior teaching experience); (2) What is the relationship between school counselors’ primary leadership orientation and actual and perceived job responsibilities; and (3) What is the relationship between school counselors’ primary leadership orientation and school counselors’ professional development preferences? …

Navigating The Complex Practices Of Specialized Literacy Professionals In Formalized Teacher Leadership Positions, Thea Anne Yurkewecz

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation reports on how one school community engaged in a professional development grant initiative that incorporated teacher leadership. Teacher leaders may have numerous roles and responsibilities that support the professional learning and instructional practices of school communities. This study examined the experiences of three specialized literacy professionals as teacher leaders and professional development facilitators. Case study methodology (Merriam, 1998; Stake, 2005; Yin, 2009) and the six principles of adult learning (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2005) provided a framework to capture the contextual and descriptive practices of how these teacher leaders navigated their roles and responsibilities. Three important findings emerged …