Education Commons^™

Internship Experiences For Aspiring Educational Leaders: Student Understanding And Effectiveness, Adam Douglas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate East Tennessee State University alumni's perceptions of the effectiveness of internship experiences as students learned the PSEL and TILS standards and the role of mentor support as they prepared for principalship. The participants obtained their administrative license and worked currently with an administrative license that is current in the state they reside. This research focused on the perception of the PESL and TILS standards, the effectiveness of the 540-hour internship experience, and the value of the site based and university mentor as the participants completed their activities in multiple settings.

Findings supported …

Do School Finance Courses Teach What Aspiring Principals Need To Know, Steve Baule

Essays in Education

This study conducted a review of school finance syllabi in order to determine how the topics presented in midwestern school finance courses for aspiring school administrators align with the topics identified as important by a previous study of practicing school administrators. The study highlights discrepancies between what practicing educational administrators articulate as the most important topics early career principals need to master in comparison to the topics university syllabi include.

The Relationship Between Leadership Styles Of A Principal And African-American Student Achievement In Elementary Reading, Joel James Abe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between the self-assessed leadership style of a building principal and the achievement of elementary African-American students on a state level reading assessment. The results of this study could have an impact on principal training and preparation, impacting decisions made by central office personnel, as well as improving the performance of the identified group of students in reading. The relationship between a principal’s self-assessed style of leadership and the combined pass rate of third through fifth grade African-American students in their school on the end-of-year state assessments. Principal leadership …

Ineffective School Leadership: Teachers Weigh-In, Jerry Burkett, Sonya D. Hayes

School Leadership Review

Effective school leaders are essential to the success of the school environment. Teachers have left schools due to poor and ineffective campus leadership, but often do not report the reasons why they left or do not have a safe mechanism in place to support their claims and drive campus change. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand the perceptions of teachers who work in elementary, middle, and high schools in Texas on the qualities of ineffective principals and how these qualities affect teacher retention. Respondents in an open-ended survey reported that ineffective principals lacked character, professionalism, and ethics; …

Sustainable Leadership During Turbulent Times, Paul Marietta

Dissertations and Theses

Teachers, administrators, and staff in schools are leaving the profession at unprecedented rates. The principal pipeline has significantly decreased in the past years and our public school system is at a breaking point. Now more than ever, we need to focus on sustainable leadership during turbulent times and helping the organization, students, families, teachers-and also their leaders-thrive. This dissertation proposal follows the Portland State University (PSU) multi-paper format which comprises a compilation of three papers in a journal article style format, with sole or multiple authors, and although PSU policy does not require it, the topic of the papers in …

Perceptions Of School Administrators On The Role Of Support Systems In Attrition Among Principals And Assistant Principals, Karina N. Gonzalez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School administrators hold complex, varied, and challenging roles. As literature has suggested, these campus leaders must acquire a vast amount of information and knowledge during their formative years in leadership. Yet, the majority have reported that educational preparation programs do not adequately prepare them for the realities of their roles. Without purposeful, structured guidance, school administrators are left to navigate the complexities of their roles with little support or in isolation, which leads to exhaustion, burnout, and attrition. Attrition results in instability for teachers and students and has a financial impact for school districts. The district of study has experienced …

The Principal’S Role As Mentor In New Teacher Attrition Rates: The Importance Of Teaching Teachers, William Dockery

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. Research tells us that it takes years of deliberate practice and ongoing coaching to become an “expert” in any field and that it can take from 3 to 7 years for a new teacher to grow into an effective educator. Yet, in America today, more than 50% of teachers quit in their first 5 years of service. In low performing economically disadvantaged schools, teachers leaving the profession in their first 3 years increases to 60%. The impact of highly effective teachers on students’ success can be seen through the increase in percentile on Math scores, moving the needle …

Because “Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast:” An Examination Of Selected Minnesota Principals’ Use Of Social Media To Influence School Culture, Alicia Fischer

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of high school principals about the impact their use of social media has on school culture. The problem of this study emerges from the lack of empirical research in the field examining the ways in which high school administrators use social media platforms to influence school culture. The urgency in the need for the research is derived from the increased use of social media in education as well as other industry areas. School principals have been using social media for real-time communication and updates, however this study’s focus is on …

A Professional Profile Of Culturally Responsive Continuation High School Principals, Benjamin Charles Wardrop

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

With more than 10% of all high school age students taking classes at a continuation school at some point in their high school career, this normally forgotten alternative learning environment is one that serves many of our most historically marginalized student groups: Black, Latinx, those with learning differences, and English Learners (Ruiz de Velasco et al., 2012). Leadership in schools is the difference-maker in student learning efficacy (Wahlstrom et al., 2010; Whitaker, 2020). This qualitative study was situated on the theoretical framework created by Madhlangobe and Gordon (2012), Culturally Responsive Leadership (CRL). The aim of this study was to build …

Grit And Leadership: How Exemplary Middle School Principals Use The Principles Of Grit To Accomplish Extraordinary Results, Gabriela Aldana

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe how exemplary middle school principals use the five principles associated with grit (courage, conscientiousness, long-term goals, resilience, and excellence versus perfection) to accomplish extraordinary results in their organization.

Methodology: This phenomenological study described the lived experiences of exemplary middle school principals in Los Angeles and Orange County. The participants were selected through nonprobability purposeful sampling and met the criteria for exemplary middle school principals. As a member of a thematic research team of nine peer researchers and three faculty advisors, we developed a semistructured interview protocol for data …

How Exemplary Title I Elementary School Principals Lead With An Infinite Mindset, Lindsey Rae Gatfield

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how exemplary Title I elementary school principals perceive practices of Sinek’s infinite mindset framework are embedded in their organization to inspire achievement of extraordinary results. A further purpose of this study was to understand organizational supports and barriers exemplary Title I elementary school principals perceive affect infinite mindset development. Methodology: This phenomenological study explored experiences of exemplary leaders and their perceptions of how the five practices of infinite mindset are embedded in their organization. The target population for this study was exemplary Title I elementary school principals in Orange …

Weathering The Storm: Veteran Elementary Principals Navigating Hyperstress Through The Covid-19 Pandemic, Matt Hilderbrand

Educational Leadership Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

School Districts across the nation are looking for the best principals to lead their schools. There is a need for highly effective school principals in public schools for the benefit of students, staff, and the general community. The role of the principal can offer extensive challenges and elevated levels of stress. School principals face this elevated pressure and stress on a continuous basis. Veteran principals, those who have led for a decade or more, have come to understand this stress. However, the consuming impact of the COVID-19 pandemic created hyperstressful conditions for elementary principals. Hyperstressful environments are classified as intense …

An Exploration Of Hispanic Female Principals’ Career Advancement Through The Lens Of Intersectionality, Natalie Baptiste

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceived impact of barriers created by the intersection of gender and ethnicity on the advancement of Hispanic females to the K-12 principalship. A second purpose of this study was to identify strategies Hispanic females leverage to overcome barriers due to intersectionality while advancing to the K-12 school principalship.

Methodology: This qualitative research study employed a phenomenological approach to describe the lived experiences of nine Hispanic female principals serving in public K-12 schools in Orange and Riverside counties in California. Data collection included an interview protocol of 13 …

The Relationship Between Systems Thinking By Building Leaders And Academic Outcomes For Marginalized Students, Dunham Obadiah

Education Dissertations

Despite the attempts by lawmakers to legislate a closing of the achievement gap, persistent gaps in performance for students based on ethnicity, race, economic level, disability, and first language persist throughout public schools in the United States. Occasionally, a principal will receive attention for raising the performance of minoritized groups in their school. However, while admired, the principal’s efforts are not easily replicated. Furthermore, principal development programs fail to produce building leaders that can reliably achieve the change marginalized communities need.

There have been numerous studies that have shown that principals impact the academic performance of their students. For the …

Through The Looking Glass: An Autoethnography, Jennifer Pryor Halter

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an autoethnography studying my experiences as a female high school principal in the south. Autoethnography is qualitative research that analyzes personal experiences to understand a particular culture (Ellis et al., 2011). I share my lived experiences in fictionalized composite examples to protect myself and others possibly implicated in the research (Law & Fine, 2004). Through analysis, I use feminist theories and metaphors to understand the school and community and the presence of southern culture in this school’s context. Through research, I found glass metaphors describing women in leadership roles and their obstacles (Simpson & Kurma, 2015). I …

Examining Attention To Leadership When Hiring School Administrators In A High Poverty, Ethnically Diverse School District: A Case Study, Veronica A. Tigert

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to understand the hiring practices of a school district when considering a principal and how the school district attends to leadership within those hiring practices. The central premise of the study was leadership matters and is second to teaching in student achievement. However, the historical record paints a picture of less than adequate attention to effective hiring practices and a limited scope when addressing leadership. A small school district in California was selected to participate in the study. The design incorporated mixed methods to analyze the hiring practices through a survey …

A Mixed Methods Inquiry Into The Decision-Making Of California’S Principals During Local Control, Adrienne Ortega-Magallanes

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The 2013 implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula and Local Control Accountability Plan in California granted school districts the opportunity to create their own expense plans based on student needs, with the aim of returning decision-making to those closest to students. Within subsidiarity is the belief that those at the least centralized decision-making level should have the dignity and freedom to decisions that affect the problem at its source, in this case, how to improve student achievement. It is argued here that principals, who have a strong indirect link to student achievement, are the least centralized. To explore the …

Standards, Evaluations, And Preparations: A Case Study Of The Perceptions Of Principal Pedagogy And Its Effectiveness In Developing Leaders In South Carolina, Melanie Louise Sigmon-Vaughn

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the perceptions of new principals regarding their ability to fulfill the nine requirements of the South Carolina Program for Assisting, Evaluating, and Developing Principal Performance. The findings revealed that novice administrators believed they were effective at implementing the nine principles and that a district program for new principals may assist them. Although novice principals were concerned about effective administration and school-community interactions, they felt most prepared in the areas of vision and interpersonal skills. In spite of their conviction that their principal preparation programs were beneficial, the study's novice principals emphasized an area of need …

Administrators' Capacity For Supporting Reform-Oriented Science Instruction: An Urban School District Case Study, Venicia Ferrell, Joanna K. Garner

Center for Educational Partnerships Publications

Secondary school administrators play a vital role as instructional leaders, but little is known about their knowledge of science practices and perceptions of strategies for supporting reform-oriented science instruction. This multiphase, mixed-methods Q-Methodology study explored administrators' perceptions of instructional leadership and, in particular, high-quality science instruction. After a concourse of 40 items was developed through a review of literature and an expert panel, n = 22 administrators from one urban school district completed a Q-sort and a post-sort questionnaire in which they commented on a lesson excerpt. Principal components analysis with varimax rotation was used to assimilate the participants into …

A Phenomenological Study Of Principals’ Perceptions Of Instructional Leadership In The Context Of Mandated Teacher Evaluation, Gabrielle P. Delatte

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The literature on instructional leadership includes the practices in which principals can engage (Stein & Nelson, 2003) and discusses how the principal’s leadership practices can be mediated by the teacher observation tool within the teacher evaluation system (Spillane, Halverson, & Diamond, 2001). However, the literature includes less about how and why leaders enact those instructional leadership practices (Spillane et al., 2001; Spillane, 2006) and how the teacher evaluation tool might or might not be influencing that how and why. The purpose of this qualitative study is to produce a description of how principals perceive the instructional leadership they provide teachers …

The Predictive Relationship Between Grit, Servant Leadership, And Growth Mindset In Public School Administrators, Dawn E. Lyons

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Research on grit, growth mindset, and servant leadership theories has found that implementing these theories in school settings can positively impact student achievement. However, a study has not been conducted investigating the combined effects of the three theories. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive linear relationship of grit (criterion variable), growth mindset (predictor variable), and servant leadership (predictor variable) with school administrators. This study used a quantitative prediction design utilizing the self-report measures of the Grit-S Scale, the Growth Mindset Scale, and the SL-7. Thirty-four principals, 25 assistant principals, and nine elementary interns in a school …

Reinventing Identity In Transition From Principal To Professor: A Collaborative Autoethnography, Forrest J. Kaiser, Jennifer Bailey

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

School leadership is a fast-paced job where stakeholder feedback is frequent, and decision-making requires quick thinking and strong organization. When school leaders transition from practitioner to scholar, they face a dramatic change in pace and responsibility. Unlike their peers who come from academia, practitioner-scholars experience a unique context and career shift that requires navigating unfamiliar organizational structures and translating existing skills into new contexts. This collaborative autoethnography explores the lived experiences of two junior faculty who recently transitioned from the campus principalship to the tenure track professoriate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a process of individual writing, group reflection, and …

The Phenomenological Study On The Impact Of Servant Leadership For Establishing A Culture Of High Performance As Perceived By Middle School Principals Of Title I Middle Schools, Freddie Chavarria

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe Title I middle school principals’ perceived impact of the seven servant leadership constructs developed by Patterson (2003) on establishing a culture of high performance.

Methodology: The qualitative phenomenological method was used to describe and explore the middle school principals’ perceived impact of the seven servant leadership constructs developed by Patterson (2003) on establishing a culture of high performance. This method was selected by a thematic team of eight peer researchers to best examine the core meanings of K-12 leaders lived experiences. The sample for this study was middle …

How Exemplary High School Principals Who Utilize Heart-Led Principles Achieve Extraordinary Results, Jeyan Danesh

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe how exemplary high school principals in Riverside and San Bernardino counties lead from the heart using Mark Crowley’s four principles (building a highly engaged team, connecting on a personal level, maximizing employee potential, and valuing and honoring achievements) to accomplish extraordinary results in their organizations. Methodology: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 8 high school principals to better understand how the use of heart-led principles can lead to extraordinary results on a high school campus. Interview data were collected, transcribed, and coded for themes, allowing the researcher to triangulate data and …

Professional Learning Cultures At Work: How Principals Serve As Catalysts For Learning, Christopher J. Tranberg

Doctoral Dissertations

Principals are an influential factor in a child’s academic success (Manna, 2015; Louis et al., 2010; Waters et al., 2003). Although the path of influence is often indirect, principals affect student learning by developing and sustaining strong professional learning cultures (Hattie, 2009; Leithwood & Jantzi, 2012). As a result of the complexities surrounding principalship, a desire to understand the attributes, skills, and leadership actions of successful principals persists as an international focus of educational research. This study examines principalship through the experiences of various stakeholders within a school system utilizing a descriptive single case study ethnographic qualitative approach. This approach …

Actions Of The Principal: Influences On Teacher Self-Efficacy And Motivation, Amanda Maslen Conner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Classroom teachers are a significant influence on student achievement. Numerous studies indicate that teacher motivation and self-efficacy influence their effectiveness in the classroom. Furthermore, studies indicate that the leadership behaviors of the principal can influence the school culture and have a direct impact on teacher motivation and self-efficacy. This study sought to determine if a relationship exists between certain behaviors of administrators and a teacher's self-efficacy and motivation. The study used a correlational design using The Teacher Motivation & Job Satisfaction Survey (TMJSS), The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), and the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). There were 72 high …

The Effect Of Leadership Change On School Climate, Brian D. Bannen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School climate affects student achievement, feelings of safety within the school, and teacher job satisfaction. Concurrently, the principal is often seen as someone with a direct influence on the climate of the school, and therefore someone who has a direct role in shaping these aspects of school climate. Recent data suggests that about one in five principals leaves the profession every year, which means that every year, one in every five schools experiences a change to its climate, and a change to its achievement, safety, and teacher satisfaction. If this trend continues, schools are going to continue to feel the …

Leading With Heart: How Exemplary K-5 Principals Demonstrate Transformational Leadership Through Heart-Based Practices, Teresa Hubbard

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe how exemplary K-5 principals in Southern California lead from the heart using Mark Crowley’s (2011) 4 principles (building a highly engaged team, connecting on a personal level, maximizing employee potential and valuing and honoring achievements) to accomplish extraordinary results in their schools.

Methodology: This study utilized a qualitative phenomenological methodology to study the behaviors of elementary principals. This study, due to current Covid restrictions, included virtual one-on-one interviews that were held via the Zoom online platform. The data collected included audio and video recordings, written transcripts, and artifacts from school …

Beginning Teachers' Perceptions Of Administrator Involvement In The Beginning Teacher Induction Process: A Phenomenological Study, Rachel Shepherd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how the involvement of the principal and assistant principal in the beginning teacher (BT) induction process influences both self-efficacy and retention from the perspective of beginning teachers in a rural district in northwestern North Carolina. While research exists that highlights the importance of an induction process for beginning teachers in their first year of teaching and the need for fostering self-efficacy among beginning teachers, little analysis has been conducted specifically on the role of the principal or assistant principal in building beginning teachers’ self-efficacy during that process. The underlying framework of this …

Case Study: Exploration Into Principal's Educational Leadership Training And Their Preparation To Lead Special Education Programs In Schools, Tyriq D'Shon Simmons

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to explore the educational leadership training experiences in special education for school principals of public charter schools in Washington D.C. Guiding this study, is the theory of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), contributed by Shulman (1986), and the social constructivist theory contributed by Lev Vygotsky (1978). These theories seek to explain the relationship between what principals are expected to know and do based on leadership content knowledge and practical application, specifically in terms of leading special education programs in schools. The central question of this study is: What are the experiences of school principals …