Education Commons^™

Design Thinking As A Common Language Between Higher Education And Employers, Johnna Denning-Smith

Dissertations

This qualitative study explores student skill preparedness for the work force through semi-structured interviews and focus groups with current college students, faculty members, and employers. Responses from study participants were transcribed, coded, and thematically organized into the following four categories of skills that employers seek in recent college graduates: critical thinking skills, resiliency, workplace skills, and discipline specific skills. The findings include participant perceptions of the importance of these skills and whether higher education effectively prepares recent graduates for the workforce. As part of this discussion, design thinking is presented as a bridge between these groups and as a solution …

A Study Of Collaborative Skills Of Graduates Of A National, Faith-Based, Leadership Development Program, Eileen Kooreman

Dissertations

Collaboration is often cited as a long-term benefit of participation in leadership development programs. Successful collaboration requires unique leadership skills, which rely on trust and influence rather than authority and position. Collaboration takes place over the passage of time. Evaluation of leadership development programs that focus on outcomes after the passage of time is rare making it difficult to confirm if a relationship between the collaborative skills taught and measurable collaboration activity exists.

This study was able to draw on the alumni of the DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative, a national faith-based leadership development program that maintains on-going relationships with its …

Examining The Existence And Importance Of Ten Skills For Successful School Leaders From Saudi Principals’ Perspectives, Khalifah Albalawi

Dissertations

In 2011, the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Saudi Arabia began reform of its educational system to improve school performance, especially student achievement. The MOE has realized the importance of developing school leadership to lead the process of change, focusing on principals as change agents. The new MOE vision, therefore, places principals at the center of education reform initiatives. As a result, principals are expected to enact different roles, and must improve their leadership capacities to successfully lead reform efforts. Specifically, the new expectations for principals include:

• Building a vision concentrated on student education and learning,
• Developing the process of …

A Study Of Prekindergarten Impact On Early Literacy Readiness, Lakeisha Shantae Stokes

Dissertations

The awareness of the positive impact of prekindergarten programs on the success of early literacy of students has heightened due to the research performed on the topic (Barnett et al., 2003; Cohen, 1996; Magnuson & Waldfogel, 2005). The purpose of this study was to evaluate prekindergarten student gains in the development of early literacy skills, depending on their prekindergarten program experience. The study further examined Head Start and public school prekindergarten teachers’ knowledge of early literacy skills.

Results from the prekindergarten teacher survey indicated that public school prekindergarten teachers had higher levels of education than Head Start prekindergarten teachers. The …

Employability Skills In The Undergraduate Business Curriculum And Job Market Preparedness : Perceptions Of Faculty And Final-Year Students In Five Tertiary Institutions, Patrick Antonio Williams

Dissertations

Problem

For several decades educators, researchers, and employers have expressed concern about the quality of business graduates that are entering the workplace as entry-level professionals. The major concern of these stakeholders is that many students who are leaving tertiary institutions lack the necessary employability skills needed for career success. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate if undergraduate schools of business are adequately preparing their students for the workplace through the incorporation of employability skills throughout the curriculum. To achieve this purpose, the study measured the perceptions of both final-year undergraduate business students and their professors to determine …