Education Commons^™

Special Education Leadership Practices That Support Postsecondary Transition Service Delivery For Students With Severe Disabilities, Laurel A. Peltier

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT SPECIAL EDUCATION LEADERSHIP PRACTICES THAT SUPPORT POSTSECONDARY AND TRANSITION SERVICE DELIVERY FOR STUDENTS WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES SEPTEMBER 2015 LAUREL A. PELTIER, B.A., GORDON COLLEGE, WENHAM M.A., UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND, KINGSTON C.A.G.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ed.D. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by Dr. Mary Lynn Boscardin In the past decade, researchers have made new forays into understanding educational leadership and the connections between leadership practices and outcomes for students. While evidence-based leadership practices at the building and district level are critical to the success of students in general and special education settings as a whole, the need for …

Implementing Universal Social And Emotional Learning Programs: The Development, Validation, And Inferential Findings From The Schoolwide Sel Capacity Assessment, Cheyne A. Levesseur

Doctoral Dissertations

In order to effectively transport universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs into natural settings, it is important to understand implementation barriers that may hinder the likelihood of successful outcomes (Fixsen, Naoom, Blasé, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005). The current study is primarily based on the notion that within the planning phase of implementation, few technically adequate assessment measures targeting both organizational capacity (OC) and provider characteristics (PC) for SEL programming actually exist. The purpose is to extend the SEL implementation assessment literature by developing a new rating scale designed to measure SEL implementation barriers (School SEL Capacity Assessment [SSCA]) and …

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?: Factors Impacting The Decision To Study Abroad Among Students Who Have Expressed Intent, April H. Stroud

Doctoral Dissertations

Study abroad is recognized as a valuable and increasingly essential aspect of higher education in America. Yet, for all the positive attention and high-profile initiatives aimed at expanding participation, the percentage of U.S. undergraduate who studies abroad remains small. Developing a better understanding of the factors that contribute to or hinder study abroad participation is critical to expanding participation. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine factors that influence participation among students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who have expressed formal intent to study abroad. Specifically, this dissertation investigates who is more likely to study abroad and who …

Catch The Bus: Investigating The Correlations Between Teacher Collaborative Action-Taking And Self-Efficacy, Tara B. Brandt

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the correlations between particular teacher collaborative actions and teachers’ sense of self-efficacy. Additionally, descriptive analyses provided a snapshot of current collaborative action-taking across US schools, and elucidated teachers’ present sense of self-efficacy. This study utilized existing data from the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (sponsored by the OECD), which was completed by 1,926 lower secondary teachers from just over 120 different American schools. Multivariate correlational analysis confirmed that frequency of US teachers’ participation in collaborative actions significantly correlated to higher levels of teacher self-efficacy. Actions with the highest correlations included: taking …

Using Social Network Analysis To Investigate The Relationship Between School-Based Team Communication Networks And Implementation Of Positive Behavior Support Systems, Shannon K. Barry

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school-based team communication networks and implementation of school-wide reform efforts and initiatives, namely Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The study employed social network analysis (SNA) to determine if a relationship was present between the structure and properties of the team communication network and the level of implementation of PBIS, the position and properties of the PBIS leadership team and the level of implementation of PBIS implementation, and the quality of internal process for collaboration of the PBIS leadership team and PBIS implementation. It was predicted that schools in …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Leadership Practices Of School Principals And Effectiveness Of School Counselor Practice, Yolanda D. Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

School counselors, whose role is often viewed as peripheral and isolated from teaching and learning, can help principals, teachers, students, and parents balance the duties and responsibilities involved in continuous student growth and performance. The purpose of this research is to examine the working relationship between school principals and school counselors and to assess how school principal leadership practices influence school counselor practice and effectiveness. This study utilized a conceptual framework that describes the relationship between concepts from the literature that may lead to school counselor effectiveness. This qualitative study investigates the leadership practices of school principals and how this …

Principals’ Perceived Influence Over New Teacher Retention, Meredith Coates

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT Studies report that nearly a third of novice teachers leave the field before their third year of service (Ingersoll, 2002), and almost half of novice teachers leave the field before completing their fifth year of service (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003; Johnson, 2004). These rates of turnover have remained steady (NCES, 2011). Schools are workplaces where teachers face a multitude of factors that collectively contribute to job satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Generally, research has indicated that administrative support has a profound effect on the experiences of new teachers (Ingersoll & Kralik, 2004). The purpose of this phenomenological study is to examine 6 principals’ …

The Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Framework And Transformational Leadership Alignment: An Investigation, Martin J. Mcevoy Jr

Doctoral Dissertations

The recent Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Regulations (CMR 35.00) articulates goals that include growth and improved performance by teachers. Despite this stated goal, however, it is unclear if the policy is consistent with transformational leadership, which has shown correlation with growth and performance. In fact, the policy may instead bring about unintended consequences associated by some with evaluations in general, such as promoting “inspectional and fault finding supervision . . . [that] has serious consequences for the improvement of teaching and student achievement” (Glanz, 2005, p. 3). Through a discursive analysis of the Educator Evaluation Regulations (CMR 35.00) and semi-structured interviews …

Investing In Grindr: An Exploration Of How Gay College Men Utilize Gay-Oriented Social Networking Sites, Michael T. Dodge

Doctoral Dissertations

The use of social networking sites appears to be a dominant fixture in the lives of college students. Recent studies estimate that over 94% of traditionally aged college students utilize social networking sites (Matney, Borland, & Cope, 2006; Salaway, Katz, Caruso, Kvavik, & Nelson, 2007: Smith & Caruso, 2010). College students’ near universal adoption and use of social networking sites is having a significant impact on how they develop identity and interact with others (Lloyd, Dean, & Cooper, 2007; Martínez Alemán & Lynk Wartman, 2009; Torres, Jones, & Renn, 2009). Studies have explored the impact of gender differences on social …

Welcome To Guyland: Experiences Of Trans* Men In College, D Chase J. Catalano

Doctoral Dissertations

Trans* identified men have emerged as a growing college and university population in higher education who have not as yet received specific research attention. I studied the experiences of trans* men in higher education and focused on their descriptions of gender identity and the advice they would offer to trans* men (or potential) trans* men about navigating college. With my focus on gender identity I hope to understand the experiences of those men who had, at one time, self-identified or been identified by others as a woman and/or female and who currently identity as man, male, masculine, or trans man. …

Quality By Association Across North-South Divides: United States Accreditation Of Mexican Institutions Of Higher Education, Gerardo Blanco Ramírez

Open Access Dissertations

Institutional accreditation in higher education presents a dual reality: Accreditation is intended to hold colleges and universities accountable through external evaluation and, at the same time, accreditation constitutes an opportunity for higher education leaders to assess, improve, and communicate the quality of their undertakings. In an increasingly global field of higher education, quality practices become diffused across national boundaries. U.S. institutional accreditation is one of the quality practices embraced around the world; institutions of higher education, particularly in the Global South, aspire to obtain U.S. institutional accreditation. While important, this phenomenon has gone largely unexamined in research. This study follows …

The Problem With Problem Identification In The Process Of Educational Reforms In The Kyrgyz Republic, Gulzat Kochorova

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of this paper is to expose issues that are being identified as ‘problems’ or ‘challenges’ of the Kyrgyz education in general, and of higher education in particular. Drawing on the specifics of the identified problems, this paper will also analyze theoretical assumptions upon which they are based. This is important because identified problems and their projected solutions are going to constitute further reform attempts, and ultimately shape the future of the educational system of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Teacher Attrition: Why Secondary School Teachers Leave The Profession In Afghanistan, Hassan Aslami

Master's Capstone Projects

This study examines factors influencing teacher attrition in public secondary schools in Kabul, Afghanistan. Substantial increments in the school-age population, the Education for All (EFA) mandate, and a “seven-fold” growth in number of students during the last decade have collectively increased the demand for teachers in Afghanistan; whereas, teachers from the public schools are leaving the teaching profession in large numbers. The lack of teachers poses serious challenges for the education system especially for Ministry of Education.

This exploratory study focuses on the reasons for the departure of both current and former teachers. It also explores and suggests some strategies …

Place And The Politics Of Knowledge In Rural Bolivia: A Postcoloniality Of Development, Ecology, And Well-Being, Karen Marie Lennon

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of the dynamics of place and people in a rural municipality in southeastern Bolivia. A study of the dialectical relations between knowledge, ecology, and culture that are manifest through the daily life of the municipality, it is an ethnography that illuminates the multiple discourses of colonialism, nationalism, modernity and decolonization that overlay one another. The contradictions and tensions produced through these intersecting discourses represent major obstacles to the project of "decolonization" and the formation of viable and equitable "intercultural" relationships, as promoted by the indigenous leadership which is the governing party of the Bolivian state …

Mitigating Negative Externalities Affecting Access And Equity Of Education In Low-Resource Countries: A Study Exploring Social Marketing As A Potential Strategy For Planning School Food Programs In Malawi, Martha Magreta-Nyongani

Open Access Dissertations

School feeding programs enhance the efficiency of the education system by improving enrollment, reducing dropouts and increasing perseverance. They also have the potential to reach the poor, directly making them an effective social safety net. In many low-resource countries, school feeding programs are designed to protect children from the effects of hunger. Unfortunately, the continuity of such programs is threatened by over-reliance on external funding. Given the patterns of withdrawal of external support, countries that rely on donor funds to implement such programs need to develop plans that will move them from external to localized support. It is well documented …

A Professional Development Program For The Mother Tongue-Based Teacher: Addressing Teacher Perceptions And Attitudes Towards Mtbmle, Rebecca J. Paulson Stone

Open Access Dissertations

This study investigates teacher attitudes about language and education. The purpose of the study is to help program designers develop professional development efforts that successfully address some of the major identified challenges teachers face when transitioning into Mother Tongue Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTBMLE), including negative attitudes. It also suggests protocols and issues that trainers should consider when designing professional development for MTBMLE teachers.

The research question guiding this study is:

1. Do teachers' attitudes towards and knowledge about mother tongue-based instruction change after they participate in professional development that is consistent with good professional development practice?

a. What were teachers' …

Strengthening The Education Management Information System (Emis) In Tanzania: Government Actors’ Perceptions About Enhancing Local Capacity For Information-Based Policy Reforms, Assela M. Luena

Master's Capstone Projects

Strengthening the Education Management Information System (EMIS) in Tanzania is an important task, as the government needs quality data and information to support the creation of sound policies, making plans and managing educational resources. Well-functioning EMIS can ensure achievement of national goals to provide quality education, which is the basis for facilitating economic growth and sustainable development. The government also needs quality data and information in order to enhance monitoring and evaluation of the education sectors’ performance and ensure the right direction for achieving the intended goals and objectives.

Creating a sustainable and efficient EMIS is a challenge that requires …

Experiencing Shadow Education: The Rural Gambian Context, Colleen King

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to gain insights into the practices that emerge at the community and school level to promote change and to understand the underlying values at play in local educational practice compared to and inside the larger structure of national or state level educational planning. The phenomenological approach to this study focuses on the lived experience in the provision, monitoring and receiving of educational services in the rural Gambian context. Attitudes and perceptions are explored, divorced from assumptions about universal educational goals. This provides a descriptive, rather than evaluative, record of the relationship and meaning that …

A Renovation To Develop Community, Build Connections And Support Student Needs In The Southwest Residential Towers At The University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Brittany L. Haughton

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In a time of increased admissions at State Colleges and Universities students are at risk for various concerning factors including decreased academic performance, feelings of isolation and alienation from faculty, staff and their peers, and other issues of mental health. Intentional architectural programming, primarily the public spaces within residence halls, can help to alleviate these issues for students and ensure that they are connected to their residential community not only academically but personally.

This thesis will discuss how the increase in college admissions has affected residence hall communities and the personal development of students attending large academic institutions. It will …

Latinas In The Pipeline To Baccalaureate -Prepared Nursing: Challenges And Supports In Persistence To Degree And Professional Licensure, Cheryl Ann Sheils

Open Access Dissertations

The United States is rapidly becoming a more racially diverse nation. Racial minority groups are projected to make up 47% of the total population in 2050 and if current population trends continue, they are projected to surpass the non-minority population by the end of the twenty-first century. Furthermore, the Latino population, already the nation's largest minority group, is expected to triple in size and is projected to account for 29% of the total U.S. population by 2050. Unfortunately, the educational pipeline has created a shortage of Latinos in higher education. At the same time, the United States is suffering from …

Rethinking Reiche, Tracie J. Reed

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Part I of the study examines the differences between two environmental assessment methods for the K‐12 education sector: the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Schools Version 3.0 and the British Research Establishment’s (BRE) BREEAM Education issue 2.0. Credit requirements are compared side‐by‐side and against recommendations from researchers in areas such as acoustics, lighting and indoor environment quality. Strengths in the two schemes and areas for improvement are highlighted, with acknowledgement that each scheme offers components and techniques from which the other could benefit. Part II of the study introduces the Howard C. Reiche Community School in Portland, Maine. …

Bully Victim Identification And Intervention Program For School Nurses, Nora Zinan

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

School nurses see bullies and their victims as visitors to the health office with physical and emotional symptoms. Yet school nurses feel unprepared and unqualified to deal with bullying issues. They are not included as team members in the whole school approach to bullying prevention. METHOD: Eleven school nurses from Greenfield, Northampton and the Union #38 School district participated in The Bully Victim Identification and Intervention Program for School Nurses. Participants completed the Perceptions of Bullying Questionnaire (Hendershot, Dake, Price & Larty, 2006) prior to the training, immediately following the training and 1 month after the training. RESULT: All of …

Policy Options To Finance Public Higher Education In Afghanistan, Frank Mcnernery

Open Access Dissertations

While recovering from decades of conflict and trying to adjust to an incipient free market economy, public higher education in Afghanistan is currently confronted with rapidly increasing enrollment and inadequate government financing. The imbalance between high demand for and insufficient supply of higher education has led to a decrease in the quality of education and an urgent need to develop non-state sources of funding. Using Johnstone’s (1986) diversified funding model as the conceptual framework, this exploratory case study reports actors’ attitudes and perceptions of the financing policy options for Afghan public higher education and the impediments to introduce this model …

Leadership Continuity: Enhancing The Cycle Of Leadership In Academic Departments, Nancy Buffone

Open Access Dissertations

In the corporate world, leaders typically plan for succession, carefully grooming their heir apparent. In academia, however, it is rare for such planning to occur at the institutional level, much less the departmental level. This multiple case study explores how twelve department chairs in one public research university think about leadership development for their departments. While succession planning - as defined in traditional management literature - does not occur in academic departments, current chairs are active in promoting leadership continuity - purposefully preparing and cultivating potential leaders who have the skills and knowledge to most readily step in as chair …

The Influence Of Parent And Community Involvement On Local School Councils In Massachusetts, Leslie B Stein

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

Education reform efforts in the last fifteen to twenty years at the state and federal levels have provisions for family/community involvement in the schools based on beliefs that partnerships lead to higher student achievement and better outcomes for students, parents and teachers. These requirements have embraced the concept of parent and community involvement in various forms including some aspects of school governance. The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 included this concept of participatory governance with the establishment of local school councils (LSC). The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the function and influence of local school …

Detailed Report Of Multigrade Workshop & Evaluation Summary, Center For International Education

Learning Initiatives for Rural Education

From May 18 to 21st, the international workshop of the project "learning initiatives for Rural Education" (LIRE) took place at Lamentin Hotel in Saly/Somone, Mbour, Senegal. The Workshop was organized by the Ministry of Pre-school, elementary, and Middle Schools of Senegal in collaboration with The World bank, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

The LIRE project was financed through the World Bank-administered Bank-Netherlands Partnership Program (BNPP). Since August 2007, the project has been working with teachers, head teachers, inspectors and local education partners and administrative officials on training, materials development, monitoring tools and community advocacy around multi-grade pedagogy. The approach …

Final Report, Center For International Education

Learning Initiatives for Rural Education

Since August 2007, the Learning Initiatives for Rural Education (LIRE) project in Senegal and The Gambia has strengthened educators' capacity to deliver and support quality multi-grade (MG) education in rural areas with low population densities. In a truly collaborative approach, the LIRE project worked with 20 demonstration schools (13 in Senegal and 7 in The Gambia) to develop a teacher training manual and teachers' guide that was locally appropriate and in keeping with the curricula of each country. The LIRE team was truly international, with team members in Senegal, The Gambia and in the United States. The team met regularly …

The Role Of An Educational Website In Providing Better Opportunities For Kabul Education University, Siddiqullah Barikzai

Master's Capstone Projects

Technology has played an important role in improving and expanding education worldwide. Website is a part of technology through which institutions and companies can easily and cheaply share and advertise their profiles with rest of the world.

Kabul Education University (KEU) where I used to teach is a newly established (2003) university in Kabul (the capital city); it trains professional teachers for secondary schools. The university did not have a website till recently (June 2009), while all other public universities in Kabul had it. So, I developed a website for it due to the demand of the university administrators, teachers, …

Farmer Literacy Practices: A Comparative Study Of Farmers In Kurnool District Of Andhra Pradesh, India, Konda Reddy Chavva

Master's Capstone Projects

ABSTRACT The goal of the study was to understand farmer literacy practices, and how farmer participants perceive the usefulness of Farmer Water School (FWS) training. Studying the farmer literacy practices was to help identify farmer friendly methods, and design effective messages for dissemination on crop choices, decisions, and sustainable groundwater management. To understand the usefulness of FWS training to farmers, a comparative study of FWS participants and non-FWS pa11icipants' perceptions on crop-water management, crop choices, and agriculture practices was undertaken. The study focused on the farmers of Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, India.

The research questions driving this study included: …

Education As A Political Act: Drawing From Critical And Feminist Pedagogies To Build And Implement An Adult Education Curriculum, Wendi Carman

Master's Capstone Projects

This paper is part reflection on the curriculum building experience and part analysis of the experience with regards to the academic literature on adult education. Reflection on the experience and discussion of some theories in AE are followed by a collection of suggested resources for the curriculum, many of which speak to the issues I highlight in the paper. Adding a gender perspective to the curriculum will not only touch on issues that are commonly overlooked, but it will provide a more complete picture of issues discussed. Because the curriculum will undergo a process of constant evolution, I do not …