Education Commons^™

A Quantitative Study Of Factors Contributing To Early Career Teachers Leaving Their Positions In Rural, Central Minnesota, Patrick Sutlief

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

The nationwide trend of novice teachers leaving schools at a disproportionately high rate comes at a time when schools strive to develop a staff of experienced, effective educators to increase student achievement. The price of novice teacher attrition includes financial costs like recruitment and hiring as well as lost professional development young teachers take with them when they leave. Intangible costs include the negative impact on schools as organizations resulting from high turnover as well as inconsistent instruction from an ever-changing teaching staff. Ultimately, student achievement pays the price of high rates of novice teacher attrition. McCann, Johannessen, and Ricca …

Stress And Teacher Burnout: The Impact Of Mindfulness Strategies, Kelsey Milne

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

Teaching is a high-risk profession considering the impact it has on a teacher’s mental health (McLean & Connor, 2015). Since work-related stress can lead to job burnout, it is important for teachers to develop effective coping strategies to alleviate the high degree of burnout in the teaching occupation (Steinhardt, Jaggars, Faulk, & Gloria, 2011). Numerous studies pointed out the effectiveness, the ease of implementation and the cost-effective factor of mindfulness techniques to address stress and potential burnout (Abenavoli, Harris, Katz, Jennings, & Greenberg, 2014; Roeser, Skinner, Beers, & Jennings, 2012; Stanley, 2011; Winzelberg & Luskin, 1999). Mindfulness techniques have been …

Effects Of Computer Screen Color And Brightness On Student Achievement During Computer-Based Reading Comprehension Assessment, Matthew E. Houselog

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

This study examined the effect of specific computer screen settings on reading comprehension achievement using a standardized test format in an eighth-grade classroom in Rogers, Minnesota in the spring of 2019. The screen settings tested were a blue-light-minimizing setting, screen brightness, and a combination of both. A blue-light-minimizing setting alters the monitor color settings to minimize the amount of blue used in the projection of the computer screen. The effect of room darkness in combination with these screen settings was also considered. The field experiment had four research questions: Is there a difference in achievement between students who use a …

Minnesota Teachers’ Understanding, Training, Perception Of Stem Education And Its Implementation, Abdulcadir Mohamud

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

According to the CRS Report for Congress (Library of Congress, 2008), “there is a growing concern that the United States is not preparing a sufficient number of students to enter in the professions of science and engineering.” This growing concern has motivated the creation of a discipline based on the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics known as STEM. The supporters of STEM education believe that this program has more benefits than the traditional system, an obsolete system that fails to capture students’ interest in STEM subjects (Sanders, 2009).

Unfortunately, there are barriers in successfully implementing STEM programs in …

Faculty Of Color At Predominantly White Colleges And Universities, Dalton Crayton

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

Although the United States has experienced major demographic changes, such as an increased population of minorities, there still exists a very low representation of minority faculty members in institutions of higher education compared to White faculty members (Antonino, 2002).

There are very few studies that detail the challenges and supports that qualified persons of color experience in obtaining positions in higher education. Therefore, there is a need for further research to identify these challenges and supports that faculty members of color experience to provide insights for other faculty members of color who are pursuing employment at an institution of higher …

Assessment Of Leadership Practices Of Principals Of Turnaround Elementary Schools In Minnesota, Kassahun C. Wana

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

Abstract

The quantitative study examined the perception of principals in Minnesota elementary Reward Schools (also known as turnaround schools) regarding their leadership practices with reference to transformational leadership. Data for the study were collected from principals’ responses to the Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI-Self) developed by Kouzes and Posner.

The study acknowledged that transformational leadership has great potential to effect meaningful change in turning around schools; the principals in the study reported the highest frequency of engagement in the leadership practices of Enable others to Act, Encourage the Heart, Model the Way, and Challenge the Process. The fifth and last practice, …

Cell Phones In Minnesota High Schools: Principals’ Perceptions Of Impact And Policy, David Holler

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

As cell phone use has become commonplace in society, school leaders have debated the positive and negative impacts of permitting cell phone use in schools (Kiema, 2015). In 2015, New York City public schools removed their cell phone ban for 1.1 million students (Allen, 2015). A reason for reversing the ban was that the policy had a disproportionate impact on low students who were more likely to have their cell phones confiscated because of metal detectors in the schools they attended (Allen, 2015). The New York City cell phone ban also proved extremely difficult to consistently and effectively enforce (Allen, …

Factors Affecting American Indian Student Persistence In Attending A Northern Minnesota Tribal College, Delana Smith

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

Recruitment of American Indian students into college and universities has been a long-standing challenge, but retaining these students, especially those from reservations, highlights an even greater challenge. According to Guillory and Wolverton (2008), “Although a select few have successfully matriculated through higher education’s colleges and universities, institutions cannot truthfully claim success when it comes to serving this unique population” (p. 58). American Indian students are more likely to feel academically inadequate, isolated, and alienated. Many times, academic inadequacy, isolation, marginalization, or other factors became too much for them to overcome. As a result, many American Indian students leave college before …

Blended Learning Among Adult English As A Second Language Programs, Brigid Erickson

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

The rationale for the study stems from the need to explore blended learning in Adult Basic Education ESL programs as it develops as a new practice (Rosen & Stewart, 2015). Even though blended learning has been used in some K-12 schools for much longer than Adult Basic Education programs, it is not enough for leadership to make program decisions based on what is happening in typical K-12 schools. English as a Second Language (ESL) programs within Adult Basic Education programs have their own needs and “students today are electronically connected, and they expect their learning to be connected as well” …

Female Superintendent Perceptions Of Challenges In Seeking And Serving In The Position Of Superintendent Of Schools, Michelle Mortensen

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

The purpose of the mixed method study was to identify the perceptions of challenges Minnesota female superintendents report they experienced in seeking and serving in the position of superintendent of schools, including their perception regarding school-board superintendent relations. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods: the researcher designed the research questions based upon the underrepresentation of females in the superintendency and the literature review. Data collection included two phases: 1) a multiple-choice survey distributed to survey respondents through electronic mail; and 2) open-ended interviews conducted with four volunteer interviewees. The multiple-choice survey provided quantitative information while the open-ended response …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of 1:1 Technology Integration In Select Minnesota Secondary Schools, Anthony Greene

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

Abstract

While understanding and implementing technology integration in the education setting has significantly improved in the past few decades, little has been done to formulate a research-based best practice model that will follow a set of standards maintained by ISTE. Integration can be most successfully achieved through following a set of standards established by The International Society for Technology in Education - Standards for Educators. According to Ertmer (2015), teachers are expected to enrich teaching and learning, despite a number of barriers that impede them such as lack of training, staff support, and hardware and software access. These continue to …

Work-Related Stress And Coping Strategies For Elementary Teachers, Sonia Obryan

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

The purpose of the study was to examine kindergarten through fifth grade teachers’ responses regarding their work-related stressors, the type of manifestations of stress, both emotional and/or behavioral, they experienced due to work-related stress, and their identification of coping strategies used to reduce their work-related stress. The teachers who participated in the study were from identified school districts in northern Minnesota. The study participants completed a 21 question online survey based on the Teacher Stress Inventory developed by Dr. Michael J. Fimian in 1984 and through the researcher’s teaching experiences.

The intent of the study was to assist classroom teachers …

The Impact Of Immigrant Native And English Language Literacy Proficiency On Parental Involvement And School Practices, Kristi Wiese

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

The study measured perceptions of immigrant English learner parents’ native and English language literacy proficiency levels, reported challenges affecting native and English language literacy proficiency levels, and reported the effect of native and English language literacy proficiency levels on parental involvement in three Minnesota schools. Research questions were answered through analysis of data from two surveys administered to immigrant parents of English learners and K-12 public school administrators.

The study found that 92.2% of immigrant parent participants, combined, had either some or much involvement in their child’s education. The majority of non-involved participants, 69.7%, chose the lack of English language …

Children Without A Country: A Migration Educational Study Of Mexicans In Minnesota, Elia Dimayuga-Bruggeman

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

Abstract

Several undocumented Mexicans and Mexican-Americans have returned to Mexico, whether by choice or deportation, including children and youth who were born and raised in Minnesota. The research for the case study explored reasons for migration of Mexican families from Morelos, Mexico, who migrated to Minnesota, United States and how deportation affected the education of their Mexican and Mexican–American children upon returning to Mexico. Furthermore, the study also explored Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) adult student’s education system barriers encountered in the Mexican education system as they returned to Mexico from the United States. Study results indicated it is …

Implementation Of Least Restrictive Environment And Cumulative Placement Rates, Sarah Eckhoff

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has mandated students with disabilities receive a Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE) in their Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Research has unmasked a pattern of placement in more restrictive setting placements based on pre-existing programming. The study explores the effects the presence of self-contained programing has on the implementation of LRE and cumulative placement rates (CPR) in select Minnesota public elementary schools.