Education Commons^™

Culturally Relevant Practices And Community: Increasing Minority Leadership In School Administration To Improve School Climate, Cassandra Suggs, Joy N. Rogers

Dissertations

This dissertation and research looks into the area of Culturally Relevant Practices and Leadership in K-12 schools and the potential effect on all students in having minority leadership present. The research dives into interviews of teachers, hiring leaders, district leaders and building leaders. It also uses survey results from over 700 students, with the central theme of the questions around school safety, climate, culture, support, academics and a sense of belonging. The research purpose was to look into the potential positive effect on students and staff, if Culturally Relevant Practices and hiring of minority leadership was in place within school …

Poetics Of The [Selves]∞: An Active Aesthetic, Alena Tunprasert-Ahrens

Dissertations

This practitioner-based research reports on the development and assessment of a transdisciplinary pedagogical model for the learning sciences. The theoretical underpinnings of Poetics of the [Selves]^∞ draw from three domains of knowledge: (1) mindfulness, (2) positive psychology, and (3) contemporary performance. The approach is designed to create positive self-transformation in participants as a result of engaging them in a sequence of activities that require different modes of reflection. The model was tested in two settings: a collaborative learning space, and a university classroom. The sample from the first workshop included individuals from the general public, and middle and high-school …

The Missouri Student Transfer Program, Howard E. Fields Iii

Dissertations

In 1993, the state of Missouri passed the Outstanding Schools Act. This law was created as a means to ensure that “all children will have quality educational opportunities, regardless of where in Missouri they live.” Section 167.131 of this law states that an unaccredited district must pay the tuition and transportation cost for students who attend an accredited school in the same or adjoining district. This portion of the law became known as the Student Transfer Program.

The Riverview Gardens School District (RGSD) was one of three unaccredited school districts in the state of Missouri in 2013. With close to …