Education Commons^™

Impacts Of Student-Led Sustainability Efforts At Fresno State, Marissa E. Acosta, Michael B. Mayfield, Feng Teter, Juana Lozano, Alcira Lucha, Ayanna Alewine, Beth Weinman, Devon Lee, Robert Cordova, Natalie Hedden

CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change

As California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) continues to develop institutional capacity to improve sustainability within the contexts of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the university mission, and strategic objectives identified by the California State University (CSU), student activism has played a critical role in establishing the groundwork for current efforts. Despite progress towards an overarching goal of integrating sustainability into all parts of the institution, near constant turnover within the institution and student-led organizations often leaves uncertainties about institutionalization, with questions often arising about the respective roles of faculty, staff, and students. It …

Jamaican Secondary School Principals' Work And Occupational Well-Being, Annette R. Walker

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This qualitative research explores Jamaican secondary school principals’ work and occupational well-being. Research on the topic of principals’ work and occupational well-being has largely been conducted in developed countries (e.g., Canada, Australia, Ireland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, etc.). The aggregate conclusion in these countries suggests that principals’ work has implications for their occupational well-being. Given that Jamaica, a developing nation, has adopted North American leadership standards and policies, it is necessary to examine if Jamaican secondary school principals’ work presents occupational well-being issues. Through qualitative semistructured interviews with 12 Jamaican secondary school principals, the study investigated these principals’ work. Specifically, principals’ …

Understanding The Experiences Of Underemployed First-Generation Hmong Graduates, Mong Vang

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Underemployment has a rich and lengthy body of literature spanning across multiple disciplines, such as economics, business, psychology, and sociology. Past scholars studying the phenomenon have provided a framework for understanding underemployment and have identified the harm it has on organizations and individuals. Although underemployment is not a new phenomenon, gaps are present in understanding how it affects first-generation, Hmong graduates. This study provides a framework for bridging this gap. As such, this study answered three questions related to how underemployed, first-generation, Hmong college graduates describe their experience finding adequate employment after graduation, perceive the relationship between their personal upbringing …

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 …

Work Stress: A Review, Analysis, And Extension Of The Job Demands-Control (-Support) Model, Marcus J. Fila

Dissertations

Occupational stress and health literature is devoted to understanding and predicting the phenomenon of stress in the workplace, given its costly implications to individual and organizational health and well-being. The job demands-control (-support) (JDC(S)) model has been highly influential in occupational stress and health literature for over 37 years, and has been the theoretical foundation of more empirical studies than any other work stress model. To date, over three-hundred published studies have examined relationships between various forms of demands, control over work, and support on numerous physical and psychological strains. However, several issues concerning the model have yet to be …

Exploring The Working-Lives Of Unemployed And Underemployed Teachers In Ontario, Michael W. Mindzak

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation explores the working-lives of unemployed and underemployed teachers in the Canadian province of Ontario. Over the past decade, the number of new teachers unable to secure employment within the teaching profession in Ontario has continued to grow. As the oversupply of teachers is expected to persist, an extremely competitive labour market has made the position of being an un(der)employed teacher increasingly “precarious” (Ontario College of Teachers, 2014, 2015).

However, such concerns must also be examined within the context of the contemporary world of work and society. Standing’s (2011) understanding of precarious work and the precariat provides a theoretical …

Creating Supportive Working Environment For Academics In Higher Education; Country Report Ireland, Marie Clarke, Aidan Kenny

Book/Book Chapter

A major new study involving almost 1,200 academics calls for ‘significantly increased and sustained levels of investment’ and increased staffing levels to meet continued growth in student numbers. Almost three-quarters of respondents feel their working conditions are deteriorating.

The Report ‘Creating a Supportive Working Environment for Academics in Higher Education’ by Marie Clarke, Aidan Kenny and Andrew Loxley, is published Monday, June 22^nd. It was commissioned by the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) and involved consultations throughout Irish third-level institutions.

The Report points out that funding to the third level …