Education Commons^™

Effective Leadership For The Implementation Of The Common Core State Standards: Principal Behaviors That Develop Professional Capital To Create Conditions For Positve Change, Eileen Beth Brett

Dissertations

Identifying specific leadership behaviors of elementary school principals that create conditions for positive change is critical to implementing educational reform. The purpose of this research is to identify specific leadership behaviors of principals that have positively impacted the implementation of the Common Core State Standards through the development of professional capital.

The Common Core Standards represent a recent movement to create national standards, founded on the belief that schools have an obligation to ensure that all students are college and career ready (McLaughlin & Overturf, 2012; Conley; 2014a). Implementing the Common Core has challenged principals to develop leadership skills to …

Maintaining And Improving Academic Achievement In The Midst Of Significant Demographic Change: A Case Study Analysis, Aaron Raatjes

Dissertations

The research of Mei Jiun Wu (2013) indicates that demographic change greater than 1% has significant impact on the achievement performance of school districts. This study analyzes a single district that experienced an average of 1.25% demographic change per year consisting of an increase of non-White students from 2002 to 2015. Despite this compounding change, the district was able to maintain and improve academic achievement. This study utilizes Marzano and Waters' (2009) framework for school leadership as well as Lindsey, Nuri-Robins, and Terrell's (2009) Framework for cultural proficiency to better understand how the district was able to maintain and improve …

Making Use Of Teacher Mentors: Understanding The Impact Of Teacher-Student Relationships On Student Academic Achievement, Sara Haas

Dissertations

The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) has determined that if a high school student completes freshman year with the necessary course credits to be promoted to tenth grade and has no more than one F for one semester/course in a core content area then they are considered on track to graduate high school within four years and ultimately be college and career ready (Allensworth & Easton, 2005). The CCSR did further research and published a report examining the factors that indicated what a middle grades student would need to be on track as high school freshman …

The Challenge Of Leading Change: How Sources Of Authority And Change Management Models Intersect To Promote School Improvement, Samantha Joyce Lam

Dissertations

A gap in research exists that demonstrates how principals use their authority to make decisions and how that intersects with change management models. The purpose of the study is to examine how one elementary school principal has led change and how teachers perceive the effectiveness of the change. The study seeks to explore principal's and teachers' perceptions of the impact of the change on the school.

Through a bounded, qualitative case study design, the researcher used several techniques to gather data: teacher survey, principal interview, teacher interview, and document analysis. Multiple sources of data were used to adequately shed light …

Perceptions Of Value And Perceived Strengths Of Arts Education During An Age Of Accountability: Conditions And Qualities That Shape A Citizenry - Implications For Leadership, Stephen Tyler Plank

Dissertations

This research examines the perceptions of arts education during periods of educational efficiency and accountability focusing specifically on the arguments made by advocates for the value of arts education within the Chicago area. It is intended to help leaders understand how we can learn from our past through revealing cyclical behaviors that can guide future decisions about how best to lead a school.

This study utilized a mixed methodology of historical documentary with oral history to compare two distinct time periods in education focusing on schools that operated in opposition to the norms of the time. Historical documentary was used …

Eq, Not Just Iq: The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence And The Success Of High School Principals Who Have Been Awarded The Illinois Principals Association's High School Principal Of The Year Award, Rowena Mak

Dissertations

As educational reforms become more complex, the role of the principal as a change agent also becomes more challenging and dynamic. To confront the leadership demands of schools, principals require focus, passion, wisdom, courage, and integrity.

An underlying assumption of these traits is the principal's emotional fortitude. Emotional intelligence is as complicated as it is organic, in that its foundation rests on an individual's awareness of himself/herself and how these emotions drive his/her ability to relate with others. With this comes the question, what makes a successful principal? The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between a …

Women In Leadership And The Politics Of Power, Caitlin Maeve Kendall

Master's Theses

With the use of intimate interviews, this qualitative research study employed an experiential, story-telling approach to gather a more thorough understanding of individual female experiences in leadership positions in the field of education in relation to the literature on female leadership in a gendered workforce. Although this study only included the experiences of several women leaders in the field of education in the Chicago area, the preexisting research on the topic guided the interview questions and divulged the nexus between a culture of systematic gendered hierarchy in the workplace and the strategies and characteristics of success employed by female leaders …

Biblical Lessons For Educational Leaders: The Servant Leadership Of King David, Apostle Paul, Dr. Joe Hairston, Dr. Tim Markley, Tracy D. Lett

Dissertations

This qualitative research study used the methodology of historical documentation. Primary and secondary sources were gathered alongside of the original sources for Servant Leadership as espoused by Robert Greenleaf in "The Servant as Leader" (1970). The New International Version (NIV) of the Bible will be referenced as a primary source and a host of primary and secondary sources regarding Superintendents Hairston and Markley will be supplied. Throughout this study, Greenleaf's definition and eighteen characteristics of a servant leader will be the framework for interpreting the biblical passages as they relate to the leadership of King David and Apostle Paul, as …