Education Commons^™

The Principal's Role In Teacher Retention, Sametra Danyal Chisolm

Dissertations

As efforts are made to identify factors contributing to teachers leaving or staying in the teaching profession, teacher retention continues to pose a challenge for school administrators. Factors such as principal behaviors, principal leadership, school climate/teacher morale, professional development opportunities, and teacher mentoring programs seem to positively impact teachers' decisions to remain in the profession.

The purpose of this study was to gather data to determine whether principal behaviors, principal leadership, school climate/teacher morale, professional development opportunities, and teacher mentoring programs affect teacher retention. A questionnaire, adapted from the Mecklenburg Citizens for Public Education (formally Charlotte Advocates for Education) research …

The Relationship Between The Teacher's Perception Of The Principal's Leadership Style And Personal Motivation, Aletta Marie Price

Dissertations

Educators world wide are shaping the future by the quality of education that they provide to the youth of today. Today's future relies on the impact teachers make on their students. Society, social security, and economic development are all dependent on future generations. Teachers are molding those future generations. It is no secret that if a teacher is motivated to do his/her best at enhancing education, that students have a better chance at being successful. Furthermore, if principals are exhibiting behaviors that improve teacher motivation, the result is not only an increase in student achievement, but a more successful school …

The Perceptions Of Superintendents Regarding The Need For Graduate Business Classes In Educational Leadership, Howard Leland Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the comprehensiveness of educational leadership programs regarding the extent of appropriate business knowledge attained by public school administrators. Portions of the study included a discussion of current licensing practices, academic governance, basic business requirements for leadership and management, and basic financial literacy. A further purpose was to measure the perception of how the inclusion of specific business-oriented graduate education in the certification process might increase the initial success of administrators.

The literature review supported the concept that superintendents understand change management and fiscal responsibility. Survey respondents supported these concepts by indicating the …

Ncaa Division I Head Softball Coaches' Confidence, Openness And Stigma Tolerance Toward Sport Psychology Consultants, Laurie Ann Neelis

Dissertations

This study used a mixed-method to look at NCAA division I head softball coaches confidence, openness, and stigma tolerance about sport psychology principles and consultants, as well as what sport psychology principles, time of year used, and what a Sport Psychology Consultant (SPC) can do to help division I head softball coaches have more success with their teams. These variables were measured through the use of the Sport Psychology Attitudes - Revised Coaches instrument developed by Zakrajsek and Zizzi (2007). For the qualitative component, the researcher developed five inquiries that allowed for a more in-depth response from the coaches concerning …

Gifted Education Exposure In Introductory Special Education Texts: Quantitative Text Content Analysis, Sandra Kay Hansen Wentworth

Dissertations

This present study was designed to examine and compare 10 introductory special education textbooks used in mandatory introductory special education courses. The percentage of text devoted to gifted education chapters in comparison to specific learning disabilities, behavior disorders, mental retardation, autism spectrum disorders, and speech/language/communication disorders was explored for statistically significant differences. Paired samples t tests were conducted to analyze the data. A statistically significant difference was found between the coverage of gifted education and autism spectrum disorders among the 10 examined texts. No other significant statistical findings were found between various exceptionalities among the 10 examined texts. The prevalence …

Induction And Peer Coaching Programs In A Middle School Setting, Shanti Ladawn Howard

Dissertations

While almost half of new teachers engage in some type of induction program, many programs only offer superficial types of assistance including district-wide orientations, periodic workshops, or instruction in classroom management (Gold, 1996). Some induction programs sponsored by the state institute an evaluation process that applies formulaic criteria for defining teaching behaviors to assess new teacher performances (Darling-Hammond et al., 1999). In the continued search for school improvement, there was a need to propose another option in staff development, e.g., peer coaching.

Peer coaching was examined because induction programs did not attend to the individual needs of alternatively certified teachers. …

Perceived Attitude Towards Feedback In Athletic Training Clinical Education, Jessica Lynn Emlich

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the perceived mean attitudinal score towards clinical instructor feedback, of Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) accredited athletic training education programs (ATEP) program directors/clinical coordinators and affiliated clinical instructors. Additionally, the investigator was interested to see if relationships between attitudes towards feedback and the respondent's age, sex, employment setting and years of professional experience existed.

There were a total of one hundred and fifty eight participants in this study that comprised the two groups. Program directors and clinical coordinators (PD/CC) comprised 59 of the responses and 99 were …

Teachers' Participation In Formal Induction Programs And Their Subsequent Level Of Professional Growth In Wisconsin Public Schools, Paul Edmund Blanford Sr.

Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between teachers' participation in formal induction programs and their subsequent level of professional growth as measured by two variables (graduate level credits/graduate degrees attained) as reported by public school teachers in the State of Wisconsin. In addition, selected demographic variables (teachers' age; teachers grade level taught; teachers' school district size; training and support provided to teachers in their first years of teaching; participation by teachers in mentoring and induction programs; teachers' level of education) were examined for their predictive relationships with teacher induction and professional development.

This study was conducted during the spring of 2007. …

Support Systems, Isolation, And Intended Persistence In Doctoral Education, Casey Nicole Cockrell

Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of formal academic support systems and stage of doctoral study on persistence, satisfaction, and knowledge of resources, expectations, and customs in doctoral education. Part-time and full-time doctoral students (N=141) enrolled in four public institutions in a southeastern state during the spring and summer semesters of 2007 were surveyed.

An online questionnaire, adapted from the 1999 Survey on Doctoral Education (Golde & Dore, 2001), was used to survey participants. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis were performed to define the variables. A MANOVA was performed to determine if any differences existed between formal academic support system …

The Effects Of Strategic Modeling On The Development Of Dispositions In Preservice Teachers, Janet Susan Boyce

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the professional dispositions of preservice teachers could be developed through explicit instruction during a teacher education program. The use of the Strategic Modeling Protocol (SMP) consisted often weeks of short segmented intervention prior to the beginning of each class session. The first step of SMP focused on discussions of dispositional related topics. The participants, 45 preservice teachers in their second semester of a teacher education program, also practiced applying the principles outside the classroom, which served as the second step of SMP, and prepared reflections on their experiences as the third …

Critical Components To Improve Literacy Learning For All Students, Marcia Harriet Kaye

Dissertations

The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand the critical components to improve literacy learning for all students. The central focus of the study involved looking at principles for classroom instruction in reading and writing that are essential for students to become good readers and writers. According to Allington and Cunningham, the following principles are critical: (a) the amount of time students spend on reading and writing each day, (b) the explicit teaching of comprehension strategies, (c) modeling writing and reading daily, (d) student engagement in thoughtful literacy learning, and (e) literate rich classroom environments.

Six classrooms were …

New Teachers' Perceptions On Their Preparation, Rosemary Cleveland

Dissertations

In this study, I inquired into new public school teachers' perceptions of how well prepared they were during their first year of teaching to handle a range of classroom and discipline situations by examining what percentages of new teachers felt that they were well prepared in classroom management. I also investigated whether there were possible variations in those percentages based on teacher gender, teacher level, and the percentage of minority students enrolled in school. Furthermore, I examined the relationship between new teachers' perceptions on their preparation in classroom management and their job satisfaction as well as their commitment to the …

Perceptions Of Technology Use In Rural And Urban Pennsylvania High Schools, Brenda M. Freeman

Dissertations

Purpose

Policy makers are implementing standards and developing guidelines for integrating technology into K-12 schools. With this in mind, the integration of technology into curriculum is an ever-growing point of discussion among high-school education professionals. Technology uses in teaching and learning present significant issues in educational reform literature. Rather than trying to describe the impact of all technologies as if they were the same, this study focuses on the differences in the ways technologies are being used in the classroom as well as the role technology played in instruction. There is also a need to investigate whether or not student …

Career Concerns, Pathing, And Professional Development Of High-School Technology Educators, Linda A. Tolan

Dissertations

No abstract provided.