Education Commons^™

Leadership Transfer In Rural Communities: A Mixed Methods Investigation, Lindsay J. Hastings, Hannah Sunderman, Matthew Hastings, L.J. Mcelravy, Melissa Lusk

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

The United States is poised to experience one of the largest transfers of leadership in its history, markedly impacting rural community sustainability efforts. The purpose of this exploratory sequential mixed methods study was to identify themes related to rural leadership transfer using grounded theory and to test the facilitation of effective leadership transfer using structural equation modeling. Adult and youth leaders (N = 19) from three nominated rural communities comprised the qualitative phase and secondary data from a 2015 rural survey (N = 1991) comprised the quantitative phase. Mixed methods results indicated the environment conducive for effective leadership transfer (via …

Learning To Lesson Plan: A Mentor’S Impact On Pre-Service Teachers, Kelly M. Gomez Johnson, Connie L. Schaffer Dr, Lela E. Nix, H. Emily Hayden

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

Lesson planning is considered an essential skill of teachers. As pre-service teachers first encounter the fundamental principles of planning for instruction, the complexity of planning to support the rigorous learning goals of content, curriculum, and individual student needs could be daunting. The mixed methods study explored how mentoring influenced early-program pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997) and progression through stages of concerns (Fuller, 1969) in relation to lesson planning. Participants, secondary early-program pre-service teachers enrolled in a Midwestern teacher preparation program, included a target group who received mentoring and a comparison group who did not. Using constant comparison techniques guided by …

Using Comparative Rating Analysis And Mixed-Method Degree-Of-Change Ratings To Evaluate Graduate-Level Instruction In Leadership Development: Alec 802 Developing Leadership Capacity In Organizations And Communities – A Peer Review Of Teaching Portfolio, Lindsay J. Hastings

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

ALEC 802 Developing Leadership Capacity in Organizations and Communities prepares graduate students in leadership studies to become highly skilled at analyzing human systems using leadership as a frame and designing training and development solutions to help those human systems run more effectively. ALEC 802 utilizes a three-tiered case study approach as the primary evaluation mechanism of student proficiency as a professional leadership development specialist. Each case study tier builds upon the previous and offers a gradual reduction in supporting infrastructure. This course portfolio utilized a comparative rating analysis of each case study assignment by learning objective as well as a …

Systems Alignment For Comprehensive Faculty Development In Liberal Arts Colleges, Vicki L. Baker, Laura G. Lunsford, Meghan J. Pifer

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Using an alignment framework, the authors explore faculty development initiatives in liberal arts colleges in order to understand the connection between organizational priorities and processes as connected to faculty members’ stated needs. The study draws on mixed methods data from The Initiative for Faculty Development in Liberal Arts Colleges (IFDLAC), including survey andinterview data from the 13 member institutions of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA).The authors offer future implications for faculty development practice.

A Mixed Methods Approach To Examining The Getting Ready Intervention For Supporting Young Children With Challenging Behaviors, Miriam E. Kuhn

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Families and preschool teachers of children with persistent challenging behaviors are taxed daily by difficulties presented in care and management of such children in their homes and early education settings. This study utilized a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach in three phases to better understand a collaborative partnership model of intervention, Getting Ready (Sheridan, Marvin, Knoche, & Edwards, 2008), for supporting preschoolers with challenging behaviors attending Head Start or state-funded pre-kindergarten programs. Preschool teachers received professional development and individual coaching to help them improve partnerships and collaboratively plan with parents to promote children’s growth, and enhance parent-child interactions.

In Phase …

Fidelity Of Implementation, Teacher Perspectives And Child Outcomes Of A Literacy Intervention In A Head Start Program: A Mixed Methods Study, Dawn Davis

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The success of early childhood interventions have been influenced by the degree to which they were implemented with fidelity (e.g., Davidson, Fields & Yang, 2009; Dusenbury, Brannigan, Falco, & Hansen, 2003; Elliot & Mihalic, 2004), meaning “the degree to which teachers and other program providers implement programs as intended by the program developers” (Mellard & Johnson, 2008, p. 240). This study examines relations among implementation fidelity, teacher characteristics, their perceptions, and child literacy outcomes within a preschool literacy intervention using a mixed methods design.

This study examines child literacy outcome data from 247 preschool children and fidelity, perceptions and demographic …

Spoken Spanish Language Development At The High School Level: A Mixed-Methods Study, Aleidine Kramer Moeller, Janine Theiler

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Communicative approaches to teaching language have emphasized the centrality of oral proficiency in the language acquisition process, but research investigating oral proficiency has been surprisingly limited, yielding an incomplete understanding of spoken language development. This study investigated the development of spoken language at the high school level over five consecutive years, involving more than 1,500 students representing 23 school districts. Quantitative Standards-Based Measure of Proficiency speaking scores and student-produced qualitative spoken samples (n > 6,000 samples) contributed to an understanding of the development of spoken language. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) revealed a consistent growth trajectory of spoken language development, and results …

Exploring Student Perceptions To Explain The Relationship Between Physical Activity And Academic Achievement In Adolescents: A Mixed Methods Study, Megan J. Hylok

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A nationwide survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control in 2007 reported 65% of high school students did not meet the recommendation that youth participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week (CDC, 2008). While research has focused its attention primarily on bodily health, growing evidence supports the benefits of physical activity on brain health (Ratey & Hagerman, 2008). Physical activity is important and many adolescents are not meeting the recommendation, therefore, it is important to explore the adolescent perceptions to understand which factors influence physical activity participation. The significance of this study …

A Mixed Methods Study Of How The Transition Process Impacts The Autonomy Of Pre-Service Secondary Mathematics Teachers, Linda Kasal Fusco

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This mixed methods study sought to identify the impact that transition into the practice of teaching had on the autonomy of pre-service secondary teachers of Mathematics. It was based on the belief that a Mathematics teacher’s autonomy depended on: beliefs about Mathematics and how it was learned, reflections on the teaching practice, and social constraints of a secondary school culture. Data was collected between January 2009 and March 2010. In Phase I (Quantitative) the participants (N = 30), selected from ten State University of New York teacher preparation colleges and universities, completed five instruments to quantify the three factors of …

Pathways To Reflection: Exploring The Reflective Analytical Practices Of Novice Teachers, Emily Hayden

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This mixed methods study explores reflective practices of novice teachers teaching in a University Reading Clinic. Novices’ reflective practices are compared to those of experienced teachers in a pilot study. A theoretical model of novices’ reflective practices is developed and tested. Twenty-three novices wrote structured reflections after each teaching week. Theoretical coding identified six themes: Description, Confidence, Locus of Control, Adaptations, Discourse,Transfer. Graduated scoring and ANOVA explored trends, correlations, effects among themes. Confidence followed a significant linear trend. Adaptations, Discourse, Transfer followed significant quadratic trends. Significant correlations were found between Description-Discourse, Locus of Control-Discourse, Locus of Control-Adaptations, Discourse-Adaptation Slope. Significant …