Leadership Matters: Developing And Growing Leaders To Lead High-Needs Schools, Mona Dickson

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The role of a principal has changed since its inception. This dissertation explores the transformative role of school principals in the American educational landscape. With a keen focus on the historical and contemporary nuances, this study meticulously traced the evolution of the term “principal.” The underlying dynamics shaped by gender biases, stringent accountability measures, and the innate pressures enveloping the position are highlighted. An emphasis is placed on principals leading high-needs schools, revealing a spectrum of challenges, often intensified by socio-economic and infrastructural disparities. The study delved into these leaders’ diverse experiences and expectations through qualitative lenses of semi-structured interviews …

From Experiences To Beliefs: An Exploratory Case Study On Science Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Emergent Bilinguals, Yamil Ernesto Ruiz

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Emergent bilingual (EB) students in the US are those who are in the process of developing academic English proficiency. EBs are some of the fastest growing populations of students in American public schools. There exists a great deal of research geared towards developing both curricular resources and instructional strategies to best support EBs in the science classroom, however many of these professional development studies lament the lack of growth in terms of achievement in science learning outcomes of EBs. It is possible that due to a lack of transformation in their beliefs that the teachers in these studies do not …

Restorative Practices: Implementing An Alternative To Disproportionate Out-Of-School Suspension And Expulsion Rates Of Black Students, Ezra Cowan

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This research describes the application of improvement science focusing on implementing restorative practices (RP) to decrease suspension and expulsion rates of Black students. Black students are suspended and expelled disproportionately compared to their White peers in South Carolina. Due to the high suspension and expulsion rates, school districts are implementing restorative practices to decrease the suspension and expulsion rates of minorities. This study utilizes a qualitative method of data collection and analysis to determine if the use of RP is effective in decreasing suspension and expulsion rates of Black students. RP employs two informal and two formal tools for conflict …

The Power Of Play: The Role Of Children’S Museums In Kindergarten Readiness, Catie Davis

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This study explores the transformative potential of play in preparing young children for Kindergarten, focusing on the intersection of children's museums, caregiver interactions, and school readiness. The study, conducted over an eight-week Pop-Up Classroom program at The Flowerfield Children's Museum, included 52 participants, primarily from low-income backgrounds. Through a mixed-methods approach, including participant observations and caregiver surveys, the research aimed to answer the fundamental question: What is the role of play in preparing children for Kindergarten?

Two significant findings emerged. Firstly, the study illuminated the pivotal role of play in nurturing social-emotional development and communication skills among children. Structured observations …

Making The Move Toward Meaningfulness In Learning Activities: Enhancing Teacher Self-Efficacy In Student Engagement Through An Instructional Coaching Approach In Improvement Science, Maureen Tiller

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Student engagement is a common problem in schools today and a challenging one to solve. Choosing to dive deeper into this complex problem at one high school, ten teachers participated in a coaching cycle designed to impact self-efficacy in student engagement with the support of the school’s instructional coach in collaboration with the principal. One overarching research question guided this improvement science study: What impact does an instructional coaching cycle focused on meaningfulness in learning activities have on teachers’ self-efficacy in student engagement? To answer the research question, I conducted a quantitative and qualitative data analysis of pre- and …

The Effects Of Math Pathways On Pupils In Poverty, Edward Kameen

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This was a Mixed Methods study that evaluated the implementation of a Math Pathways Program at Crestview High School. The study leveraged Improvement Science and a long-range PDSA cycle with the aim of improving outcomes for Pupils in Poverty in Dual Credit math courses. This study sought to answer three research questions. The first two research questions were answered with quantitative data and the final research question was answered with qualitative data. The research questions that guided this study were (1) What effects did the Math Pathways Program have on the enrollment of Pupils in Poverty in Dual Credit math? …

Efficacy Meets Inquiry: Impact Of Lesson Study And Reflective Inquiry On The Development Of Novice Teacher Self-Efficacy, Taylor B. Hering

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Novice teachers often struggle to meet the demands of an expansive workload in their first years in the classroom. As reality sets in, district, school, parent, and communal needs often diminish the excitement of their first classroom, thus leading to low rates of teacher efficacy and early-career burnout. This is an educational dilemma because teacher vacancies are rising in schools such as Mockingbird High, a southeastern school with high poverty rates and varying racial demographics. This study aimed to determine if Lewis and Hurd’s (2011) lesson study model, an instructional intervention, influences novice teacher efficacy during the transitional period from …

The Use Of The South Carolina School Improvement Model - Quick Cycles In Sixth-Grade Science Classrooms, Jennifer Gnann

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Using data to make informed decisions about instruction strengthens a teacher’s delivery of content within the classroom. However, many teachers have not been taught how to properly use a model of rapid improvement cycles to analyze data and apply it to their classroom instruction. I modified the South Carolina School Improvement Model so that it could be used in short cycles to see how teachers used it to plan for, monitor, and adjust instruction in their classrooms.

I conducted a single case study over a six-week period in which I instructed two sixth-grade science teachers on how to use the …

Embracing Identities And Affirming Agency: Exploring Effective Mentorship For Women Doctoral Students In Engineering Disciplines Using An Intersectional Lens, Jennifer Brown

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Positive mentoring experiences are crucial for retaining and advancing those who hold marginalized identities in STEM, as they foster a greater sense of belonging and self-efficacy that encourage these students to persist in their fields. Marginalized identities in STEM include, but are not limited to, women, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), low-income, first-generation, neurodivergent, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Oftentimes, these identities intersect, introduce additional nuance in interactions within engineering spaces, and affect the mentoring support that both mentees and their mentors require.

Prior research has shown the reciprocal value that is created when graduate students are …

An Evaluation Of Clemson University’S Cooperative Extension Services Online Learning Programs And Framework For Program Development And Evaluation, Christina Leard

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The COVID-19 pandemic brought online learning to the forefront with the need to define online learning with best practices. Clemson University Extension conducted a retrospective observational study compiling survey data from virtual extension agents and supervisor’s conducting online programs. A literature review analyzed terminology for online learning to obtain a standardized definition to define online learning for Clemson Extension Services programs; evaluate and identify through literature strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges (SWOC) of on-line learning; determine and identify online learning competencies for instructors, assessment and evaluation; and analyze and evaluate response data from virtual extension agents delivering online programs in …

Addressing Mercury Contamination From Artisanal Gold Mining In Colombia: Pollution Exposure, Health Risk, And Educational Efforts In The Communities Of La Toma, Colombia, Kelli Mccourt

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Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has become a primary environmental and public health concern in the region of Colombia known as Alto Cauca. The predominantly Afro-descendent communities of Yolombó and La Toma in Alto Cauca have experienced pollution linked to the use of mercury in the ASGM process. For the past decade, mercury has emerged as a contaminant of increasing concern in the communities due to its toxicity and ability to bioaccumulate and biomagnify. Likewise, mining in the region raises concerns over the leaching of metals into local waters. Given the complexity of risk and pollution in the communities, …

Leveraging Professional Learning To Impact Leadership Of Technology Integration, Tennille Woodward

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School and district leaders lack awareness of the depth and complexity of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Education Leaders and how the implementation of the leader standards provides for students and teachers to learn relevant skills and strategies. Continuing the work of Schoenbart’s 2019 dissertation, the Education Leaders Technology Survey (ELTS) provides a self-assessment for education leaders to reflect on their leadership of technology integration and provides baseline data for this study. Professional learning around the ISTE Standards for Education Leaders provided through a Canvas course provides education leaders with a theory of action to …

Make It Make Sense: An Exploratory Examination Of Teacher Sense Making Around Culturally Responsive Classroom Management, Ricardo Devon Robinson

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This study takes place at a middle school in Charleston County, South Carolina. The study examines how White women educators make sense of being exposed to the content in Don’t Let Them Be Misunderstood, a professional development about Culturally Responsive Classroom Management (CRCM). Guided by sensemaking theory and the dispositions of culturally responsive pedagogy, this exploratory study documents White women teachers’ responses to Don’t Let Them Be Misunderstood using multiple sources of data including semi-structured interviews, transcripts from the session, and transcripts from a post-exposure focus group. These data illustrate teacher’s sense-making around and includes thoughts around how to improve …

The Effects Of The Esol Program On African American Vernacular Speaking Students Reading, Marquice Clark

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South Carolina’s public education system is broken. For the past several years, the State of South Carolina and the nation have somehow managed to do the nearly impossible. Both have produced more English Language Learning (ELL) students to be proficient in English Language Arts (ELA) (i.e., reading, writing, and usage) than native English speakers. The issue of low black performance on state and national standardized assessments has always been a cumbersome task for America's public school system. Although Black students comprise more than 30 percent of the total student population in America, more Limited English students are demonstrating a higher …

Mindfulness As An Emotional Well-Being Tool For Beginning Teachers, Brittany Crumley

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Today’s early educators are responsible for providing a stimulating learning environment to facilitate student academic outcomes, in addition to providing a positive emotional climate to support student social-emotional functioning. Early childhood educators engage with various physical and emotional stressors throughout the workday (e.g., disruptive behaviors, standardized assessment), and to be effective, they must be able to cope with their own emotional reactivity. Teacher experiences of work stress may lead to decreased performance, burnout, and poor student outcomes, creating serious concerns for the education environment. One transferable strategy to help teachers’ emotional well-being is mindfulness self-care (e.g., breathing practices), which can …

In This Skin, At This Institution, At This Time: Black Women University Administrators’ Stories Of Survival During The Pandemic And Racial Reckoning, Kyra Lobbins

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The underrepresentation of Black women in executive leadership positions at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) persists, despite their high-achieving credentials and degrees. However, crises such as the racial reckoning and the pandemic have revealed an increase in the number of Black women called upon to lead under risky circumstances, a phenomenon referred to as the glass cliff theory. In this study, I examine the leadership strategies and behaviors of Black women executives at PWIs during these critical periods. Specifically, I explore how these leaders make meaning of their adverse experiences and crucible leadership moments and whether these experiences equipped them for …

Examining The Influence Of The Classroom Environment On Motivation, Belonging, And Academic Confidence In Engineering Education: A Relational Developmental Systems Approach, Robert O'Hara

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This dissertation explores the impact of the classroom environment on undergraduate engineering students by integrating three manuscripts using the process-person-context-time (PPCT) model within Bioecological Systems Theory. Each manuscript focused on students’ sense of belonging, motivation, and academic confidence. The study confirms prior research suggesting a link between students' perceptions of the environment and their sense of belonging, motivation, and academic confidence. The findings highlight the complex nature of student and classroom environment relationships throughout their college experience. Moreover, the results are demonstrated across different engineering majors. Overall, this dissertation highlights the significance of understanding the complex interactions between students and …

Exploring Academic Opportunities For Military-Connected Students: A Systems Theory Approach, Georgia Mckown

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Military-connected children experience frequent disruptions to their daily lives as a result of military lifestyle demands like frequent relocations and service-related separations from their service member parent. These disruptions impact all areas of their lives including their homes and schools. While the body of research concerning military-connected children’s experiences at school has grown over recent decades, little is known about specific individual and contextual factors that may serve as assets or constraints. Knowing more about specific factors that influence school experiences for military-connected youth is a critical step in promoting and scaling home- and school-based interventions.

This three-paper dissertation begins …

Implementation Of An Early College Design In A Rural High School: Empowering Place-Conscious Leadership To Affect Change And Overcome Barriers To Innovation, Michael Timko

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This qualitative, improvement science, autoethnograpic case study aims to examine a unique perspective on rural research through the lens of place-conscious leadership. With an identified problem of inequity in advanced-level course offerings, which resulted in lost student opportunities and student attrition to neighboring schools, the leadership at Forest Lakes High School (FLHS) in rural South Carolina began the ambitious journey of reframing their narrative. As a scholarly researcher and administrator at FLHS, I had the unique opportunity to immerse myself fully in all aspects of this study. My dual positionality allowed me to study this process while sharing the lived …

Bridging The Gap Between High-Stakes Testing And 21st Century Skills, Patricia Gosnell

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The purpose of this research study is to determine how successful teachers allocate class time between the need for students to meet high-stakes testing and creating a constructivist learning environment that prepares students for real-world careers. In this study, I used an explanatory sequential mixed method design to explore how much class time teachers of English Language Arts (ELA) and math allow for constructivist activities and direct instruction. The findings showed that teachers of gifted and talented (GT) and advanced classes who use 70% or more of their class time for constructivist learning still successfully have 60% or more of …

Supporting Nontenure Faculty In Documenting Teaching Effectiveness In A Faculty Learning Community, Becky Tugman

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This case study project explored the benefits of peer-supported review of teaching (P-SR) as part of a faculty learning community (FLC) to help increase nontenured track faculty's confidence in submission materials for annual evaluations and faculty promotion. The high-stakes evaluation guidelines can be vague, and nontenured faculty may have limited submission support. The FLC format was used to increase submission confidence and understanding of effective teaching evidence by offering a space for collaboration and problem-solving in a collective and meaningful way. The literature supporting professional development using the FLC framework model has grown since Milton Cox introduced it in 2004. …

Exploring Transfer Students’ Perceptions Of Their Transition Experience In Calculus 2 At A Research Intensive Institution: A Schlossberg’S And Tinto’S Theory Approach, Steven Edalgo

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This study explored the lived experiences of eleven transfer students as they described their experiences in Calculus 2 at very high research land grant institutions (R1). This qualitative investigation focused on the psychological phenomenon of transition as the transfer students perceived, reflected, made sense, and understood their transition experience. Furthermore, this study explored transfer students’ understanding of how they perceive the attributes of their success or lack of success in Calculus 2.

Employing the use of Schlossberg’s Transition Framework along with Tinto’s Persistence/Departure Framework, the perceptions of the transition experience was analyzed through the lens of this conceptual framework. The …

Managing Teacher Attrition: Improving Teacher Self-Efficacy Through The Implementation Of Professional Learning Communities, Stephanie Peagler

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Teacher retention is at a more critical place in education than ever before. School districts are struggling to hire and retain teachers, partially due to COVID-19 and its overwhelming impact. Teacher retention was an issue for South Carolina public schools before and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study focused on how the implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) can increase teacher self-efficacy and teacher retention rates within a large high school in South Carolina. An improvement science study with a concurrent mixed methods study with an embedded qualitative study approach was used throughout the research study to …

Teaching Them To Fish: Using A Districtwide System Of Supports To Improve College And Career Readiness In A Rural School District, Lavonia Johnson-Davis

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This dissertation served as a case study that examined the impact of a districtwide system of support drawn from existing literature and organizational structure and management. The identified framework, the Limelight County College and Career Readiness Intervention (LCRI) Framework, utilized the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle of improvement science. Three reoccurring themes or focus areas were identified as significant: curriculum instructional framework redesign, comprehensive guidance, and professional development.

While the study's findings are constrained by the density of the data gathered within a limited time frame, the findings provide many opportunities for longitudinal studies and confirm the integrity of …

Black Oral History As A Culturally Sustaining Practice In The Secondary Social Studies Classroom, Elizabeth Mcdonald

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This study explores how a Black oral history project can be used in a secondary social studies classroom as a culturally sustaining practice. This study uses case study methodology to answer the research question, how are Black oral histories a form of culturally sustaining practice in secondary social studies classrooms? This dissertation explores the literature surrounding Black education, culturally sustaining pedagogy, Black history and race education in social studies, and oral history. Culturally sustaining pedagogy is used as the theoretical framework for this study. This study explores the use of Black oral history in a social studies classroom at the …

Addressing The Elephant In The Room: An Exploratory Multiple Case Study Of Principals’ Perceptions Of Opportunity Gaps, Their Leadership Practices And Access To Advanced Placement Courses For Marginalized Students, Parker Morse Andreoli

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Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, achievement gaps have guided education reform work. The focus on these gaps in student outcomes has been standardized and has lacked consideration of the inputs that create the academic achievement disparities between demographic groups of students. These gaps are often tied to the segregation of learning opportunities, both across and within schools, and perpetuate racist and classist stereotypes of students. A critical need to shift attention from gaps in achievement to a more appropriate measure, opportunity gaps between racially minoritized students and their White peers, is needed. In this …

Long-Term English Learner: One Voice And Perspective Of Schooling Experiences, Donna Confere

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The term Long-term English Learner (LTEL) is problematic. The terminology is used in schools and based upon the number of years that a student has been in US schools and has not met the criteria for reclassification as no longer requiring language support services, accommodations, or continued annual assessment, as required by the federal government for those with a second language learner designation. It can carry with it a connotation of a deficit for the student who remains an English learner beyond five years. This study centered around interviews and observations of a student who met the criteria for being …

Expanding Tolerances For Wobble: Pushing Through Tensions To Provide Critical Literacy Pedagogy, Daniel Stockwell

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Secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers are in unique positions to support their students in critical literacy practices so youth can use reading and writing to advocate for social change and use what they learn in class to make the world more equitable (Morrell, 2005; 2008). This is possible if secondary ELA teachers embrace the full liberatory potential of their subject and if they intentionally enact critical literacy pedagogy (Morrell, 2008; 2017). Unfortunately, current sociopolitical discourse surrounding teaching, particularly surrounding what texts are deemed appropriate to be included in schools (see Limbong, 2022; Stout, 2022), and the outcry against the …

Coming Home: Challenges Of Reintegration For Returned Migrant Women In Northern Albania, Marsida Tafilica

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Return migration is the movement of people from host countries to their country of origin after spending a period of time abroad. The aim of this doctoral research is two-folded: Firstly, it aims to explore migration and return migration experiences of Albanian women in order to understand the difficulties experienced during and after migration and how they handled obstacles. Secondly, it analyzes how women migrants perceive successful reintegration.

Drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews of 19 Albanian women who returned to the city of Shkodra, the research seeks to answer the following questions: (1) Upon return, what are the perceptions of …

Instructional Leadership Practices And Problem-Solving Processes Among Secondary School Principals During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Matthew Moore

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The purpose of this study was to explore principals’ reflections on effective instructional leadership problem-solving and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, principals have very few evidence-based guidelines for providing instructional leadership during a global pandemic, presumably, improvising solutions to novel instructional challenges. To generate selected secondary principals’ reflections about instructional challenges during COVID-19, I used the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), an open-ended method developed by Flanagan (1954) for ascertaining participants. I selected 10 secondary school principals from the 20-school district region in a single state in the Charlotte-Atlanta corridor. All began their professional careers as teachers and their service …