Education Commons^™

A Call For Protection And Planning: A Case Study Of Vulnerable Populations And School Shootings, Jason E. Covarrubias

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

School shooting prevention has become a priority for educational leadership for nearly twenty years. The brutality and significant loss of life distinguish the attacks at Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary School (Jonson, 2017). However, lawmakers encounter difficulty with the wide range of behaviors, program initiatives, and risk management efforts involved to ensure the safety of all children (Cowell & McDonald, 2018). Coincidentally, a national model for school-based emergency plans has not been identified, which leaves many school districts inadequately fit to keep the student population safe in the event a school shooting were to occur on a campus …

The Relationships Among Organizational Support, Teacher Well-Being, And Teacher Resilience In Secondary School Teachers, Lisa Journell

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationships among perceived organizational support, teacher well-being, and teacher resilience in secondary school teachers in Ohio public schools. An explanatory sequential mixed methods research design was employed. In phase one, survey data were collected from Ohio public school teachers (n = 254, grades 6-12), and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the structure of the relationships between the variables of interest. In phase two, using a phenomenological approach, follow-up interviews were conducted with a subset of participants (n = 10) to examine the lived experience of teachers with high and low levels of teacher resilience. …

The Effects Of Leading With Empathy On Faculty Morale In A Montessori Setting, Andrea O'Brian

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

"The purpose of this action research was to study whether a change of actions in school leadership, specifically leading with empathy, would effect faculty morale in a Montessori school. There is a common understanding that actions of school leadership are critical to creating a positive work environment. From the literature reviewed, while there are many factors that influence the morale of faculty, the actions of school leadership had the most significant impact and were also the simplest to implement in terms of cost and resources. The theory of servant leadership provided a framework for this research because it supports my …

A Qualitative Study On Teacher Perceptions Of Self-Contained And Departmentalized Classrooms At The Elementary Level, Dana R. Wiggins

Theses and Dissertations

Classroom organizational structure and the impact on student achievement has been a major concern for decades for elementary teachers and administrators (McGrath & Rust, 2002). At the elementary level, the expectation is teachers are experts in all curriculum areas, and for elementary teachers these areas are English, language arts, writing, science, social studies, and math. Most elementary teachers believe they are generalists and are unable to be experts in every subject area. This concern has significantly influenced school administrators’ decisions about best practices and classroom organization to maximize student learning. One way administrators are addressing this problem is by departmentalizing …

A Phenomenological Study On The Motivating Factors Influencing Participation In Tennessee’S Governor’S Academy For School Leadership, Amy B. Horton Mrs.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Educational administration is such a demanding field, so it is important to understand why an aspiring principal would self-select to commit to an optional yearlong, intensive professional development activity with very little compensation and no promotion. Motivation may prove to be a key component of the recruitment and sustainability of professional development activities. By discovering the factors affecting both personal and professional motivation of beginning administrators to participate in a professional development led by the collaboration among the Tennessee Department of Education, Vanderbilt University, and Governor Bill Haslam, the researcher hopes to gain an understanding that may apply to future …

School Administrators' And Teachers' Perceptions Of Single-Gender Classrooms In Coeducational Public Middle Schools Within South Carolina, Shemmicca M. Moore

Education Dissertations and Projects

The academic achievement gap between male and female students set in motion a flurry of initiatives to help address male underachievement. The amendments made to Title IX allowed single-gender education to become a viable option for addressing those gaps in achievement. After the adjustments made to Title IX, South Carolina led the nation in the implementation of single-gender classrooms. In fact, South Carolina was the only state to have an office dedicated to ensuring the successful implementation of single-gender programs. This quantitative study examined the perceptions of school administrators and teachers concerning the effectiveness of single-gender education. The study surveyed …

The Relationship Between Teacher Absenteeism And Fourth-Grade Student Mathematical Achievement, Charles Michael Brouillette

Doctoral Dissertations

Within public schools throughout the United States, an emphasis has been placed on improving education for all students. In turn, this has resulted in legislators and policymakers placing an emphasis on assessing student learning and holding the education community accountable. In this study, the researcher examined one variable in the accountability effort: teacher absenteeism. The major purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher absenteeism and fourth-grade student mathematical achievement.

Data for this study were generated from nine school districts located in northern Louisiana. Data consisted of attendance records of fourth-grade teachers and student performance on the …

Implementation Of Initiatives To Reform The Quality Of Education In Rural Ghanaian Junior High Schools, Agatha Inkoom

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Despite Ghana's record investment in education, in 2008, only 40% of students passed the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) at the end of junior high school and gained admission into senior high school. Urban schools continue to outperform rural schools and the gap between Ghana‟s best and worst performing schools continues to widen. This study investigated the effectiveness of education policy implementation and how this has impacted on education reform in one rural district of Ghana‟s Upper West Region. The research investigated the status of education in Junior High Schools, the impact of Reform 2007 and the factors that influenced …

Program Evaluation: The Effects Of A District-Led Leadership Preparation Program On Aspiring School Leaders, Tammra Bethune Reel

Education Dissertations and Projects

The researcher of the dissertation evaluated a district-led school leadership preparation program using Stufflebeam's (2003) Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) model for program evaluation. The study had a management-oriented approach to program evaluation because it will enable effective decision making regarding the program's design. In addition, the program evaluation took a formative approach as program characteristics were analyzed and collaboration with program participants occurred in order to determine which aspects of the Administrative Mentoring Program (AMP) were most beneficial to those directly involved.

Data for the study were obtained through the processes of a researcher-created participant survey and personal …

Field Force Dynamics, Policy Adoption, And Educational Change: Formulating A Heuristic Model, Timothy E. Jordan

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This research investigated factors that influence secondary teacher decisions on policy adoption. Adoption, as used in this study, is defined to include both the decision to adopt a policy and the action of implementing the policy, a process that requires changes in teacher behavior as well as classroom and school culture. One of the major difficulties with policy implementation is the failure to achieve effective behavioral changes in school sites and actual classrooms. It is anticipated that the results of this research will be useful to teachers as well as developers and administrators of future policies. The theoretical foundation for …

The Effects Of The No Child Left Behind Act Of 2001 On The Current Educational System, Morahima Villanueva

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This research study presents a historical view of the United States Federal Government's initial involvement in the country's educational systems and the motives behind these educational reforms. It explores the impact these reforms have had in the country's schools and how the implementations lead to the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) under President George W. Bush. It discusses the role of the four pillars under NCLB and the changes that it has brought about in the current educational system. This study also focuses on the impact that NCLB has had on a small rural …

Do Principals Make A Difference? An Analysis Of Leadership Behaviors Of Elementary Principals In Effective Schools, Rosemarie Gomez Maciel

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Studies have shown principal instructional leadership behaviors to be a factor in student achievement. There has been little research on principal leadership instructional behavior in schools where the principal and student body are predominately Mexican-American.

This causal-comparative study examined the relationships among the school, the achievement scores of third grade students as measured by the reading portion of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) and leadership behaviors of elementary school principals. A key variation in this study is that the sample is entirely comprised of Mexican-American leaders of schools that have undergone (within three years after the naming of …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of Hearing Examiner Legislation In Texas Teacher Dismissal Cases, Sofia Annette Adams-Valdez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

As of January 1996 a new process has been implemented in teacher dismissal cases in Texas public schools. In the new process a hearing examiner is assigned by the Texas Education Agency to oversee fact-finding duties in mid-contract teacher dismissals, thereby circumventing the previously exclusive adjudicative role of school board members in dismissal cases.

This study explores the implementation of the 1995 legislation that resulted in major changes to the teacher dismissal process in Texas, an important component of the larger and broader educational reform mandates that have been gradually introduced by the Texas legislature over the last decade.

Qualitative …

The Perceived Competency Of Hispanic Teachers In Teaching Classes Of Diversity Is A Function Of Demographic And Personality Traits, Melissa C. Martinez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

For the past three decades, multicultural education has remained a focal point in the culture wars that United States education has encountered. Multicultural education is an educational reform movement that continues to evolve as ethnic minorities make their educational concerns and needs known. The forces driving the reform effort extend beyond linguistic and cultural diversity to include issues of academic diversity, gender, social class and sexual orientation (Wilhelm, 1998). How do educators address these needs, and how does the interaction among these diverse groups impact students and society?

The purpose of this paper is to determine the perceived competency of …

Comparison Of The Transformational Leadership Practices Of Principals Of Charter Schools And Principals Of Traditional Public Schools In Louisiana, Charles W. Patterson

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to compare the transformational leadership practices of principals of charter schools and traditional public schools in Louisiana. A causal-comparative research design was utilized. All charter schools were asked to participate in the study, and a matched sample of public schools was selected for the comparison group.

Key findings suggest that charter school and traditional public school principals possess transformational leadership skills. However, there was no difference between the groups in the extent to which they practiced these behaviors. Teachers' perceptions did not differ from principals' self-reported practices. Personal and professional characteristics did not …

The Effects Of Consideration And Initiating Structure Exhibited By Principals On Teacher Morale In Selected Louisiana Secondary Schools, Robert Wayne Webber

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine whether a statistically significant relationship exists between the leadership styles of principals and teacher morale in the public secondary schools of north Louisiana, as perceived by teachers. The Ohio State studies and Getzels and Guba's Social Systems Model for educational organizations provided the theoretical framework for this study. Selected demographic variables of gender of the teacher, years of teaching experience, and race of the teacher were considered in this study. Information on teacher morale was collected from teachers in 14 randomly selected schools of north Louisiana. Data were obtained concerning teacher morale using the …

A Study Of Personnel Practices Related To Teacher Aide Programs, Kent H. Pratt

All Master's Theses

A growing number of school districts have used teacher aides or paraprofessionals. State Boards of Education have voiced concern that directors and administrators develop and follow sound personnel policies in the hiring of teacher aides. It was the purpose of this study to propose guidelines for (1) selection of teacher aides, (2) training of teacher aides, (3) supervision of teacher aides, and (4) evaluation of teacher aides. The increasing use of teacher aides has focused attention on a need for an organized program related to the problem. This study investigated programs which proposed guidelines administrators and teachers could use in …

Comparison Of Two Plans For Administration Organization Of The School Districts Of Sanpete County, Leon F. Christiansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Educational administration exists to develop and guide the educational program. Every local public school system is a legal agency of the state for the conduct of public education. State laws usually set up the administrative units for school districts and places upon local boards of education the responsibility for the management of the local schools. Such boards represent the people of the state, and the district, and they perform a large number of legally designated functions.

The constitution of the State of Utah states clearly the responsibility for the maintenance and establishment of the schools. The following are extracts from …