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A Case Study Of Turnaround Principal Identification And Selection In One Urban School District, Kondra T. Rattley

Education Dissertations and Projects

Through a case study approach, this qualitative study examined public school district leaders’ perspectives on turnaround principal competencies and actions. Furthermore, this study explored the strategies for identifying and selecting turnaround principals among district leaders in one district and their perceptions of the challenges associated with turnaround principal shortages. Participant responses were compared to existing, research-based turnaround principal competencies and led to direct reflections of the existing competencies. The research findings indicated that participant perspectives of the competencies associated with turnaround principals reflect existing, research-based competencies. The results also indicated that the participants placed more emphasis on certain competencies than …

Transformative Leaders: A Mixed-Methods Study Of The Role Of Transformational Leadership And Its Impact On Teacher Efficacy, Hunter Odus Jolley

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to examine the relationship between the specific transformational leadership behaviors that relate to impacting or enhancing teachers’ self-efficacy. The need to better understand leadership models that provide for more self-effective instructors is integral in building a strong educational system. Previous research had yet to explore specific dynamics of transformational leadership and define whether or not it has any impact on teacher self-efficacy.

The study was conducted utilizing a single school district in the southeastern United States. Three schools within the system representing elementary, middle, and high school levels were studied. Instructors at each school were given …

The Relationship Between Parent Participation And Student Success In A Long-Term Weight Loss Immersion Program, Susan Mary Trotter Borgman

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study focused on the relationship between student success in a long-term weight loss immersion treatment program and parent participation in the program; parent participation is defined as engaging in similar healthy behaviors at home while their child is in the program including (1) parents also striving to achieve or maintain a healthy weight; (2) parents self-monitoring of weight loss behaviors/healthy habits; (3) parents reducing/eliminating high fat foods in the home and increasing nonfat/low fat foods in the home; (4) parents improving family support in the home; and (5) parents facilitating healthy family functioning in the home.

The problem addressed …

Impact Of Freshman Academy Experiences On Student Academic Intrinsic Motivation, Shirley C. Sealy

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to explore the transition of a group of ninth-grade students into a large rural upstate South Carolina high school. The primary focus was to ascertain the students' levels of academic intrinsic motivation toward English, math, science, history, and their general orientation toward school learning, and to explore those freshman academy experiences that the students felt most directly impacted these attributes. The freshman academy at this school was implemented in 2006 as a district initiative to strengthen the transition to high school and ultimately increase the graduation rate.

This was a mixed methods case study in which …

Elementary Principals' Perspectives On Opening New Schools In A Large Urban School District, Tammie Taylor Sexton

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine in detail the experiences of four elementary school principals who have gone through the process of opening new year-round schools in the past 5 years in a large urban school district in North Carolina. In particular, this study examined and documented the procedures that the principals used in opening the new schools, as well as in making the schools operational. It examined the principals' perceptions regarding the tasks and procedures involved in opening a new public elementary school and how to go about this process successfully in a rapidly growing school …