Education Commons^™

Examining How Black Administrator Employment Decisions Are Impacted By The Behaviors Of Supervisors, Annie Wilson Whitaker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how Black, public school administrator employment decisions are impacted by the behaviors of supervisors in Virginia. Commonalities among the lived experiences of Black, public school administrators were examined in order to identify specific behaviors which impact employment decisions.

Transcendental phenomenological qualitative research design was utilized. Participants were identified through gatekeeper introductions and then narrowed through snow-ball sampling. Data was collected through open-ended face-to-face interviews with 12 Black, public school administrators in Virginia via a secure online platform. The data was analyzed in order to identify emergent themes which represent the lived …

The Effectiveness Of A Fitness Mentoring Program On Life Skills In At-Risk Youth, Delaney Dunlap

Undergraduate Honors Theses

BACKGROUND: The Aspire program is an eight-week program for troubled youths around the Canberra, Australia community that is run by former Canberran of the year and Canberra Raiders Captain Alan Tongue. The program aims to build self-esteem, develop social skills, help teach the effects actions have on others, understand how practice and hard work provide support, give purpose in life, and teach other practical, lifelong skills. During the program, Alan uses a combination of various activities including fitness, teamwork, discussion, writing, and self-reflection to help youth see their potential. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the lasting …

Mentoring: Attitudes And Perceptions Of New Lawyers, Mindy Thomas Fulks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tennessee does not have a formal state-wide required mentoring program for Tennessee lawyers. Mentoring programs are available to Tennessee lawyers but no uniform standards exist. It has been suggested that providers of mentoring programs should develop strategies for improving and expanding mentoring experiences for new lawyers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate attitudes towards mentoring by Tennessee lawyers who are within their first 5 years of practice. The researcher sought to identify the perceptions of new lawyers regarding mentoring to better understand mentoring’s role within the legal profession.

The methodology for this study was nonexperimental quantitative survey research. …

New Faculty Mentoring In Respiratory Care Programs, Kristen L. Mchenry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Because of the potential age-related mass departure of seasoned educators in respiratory care programs, higher education institutions should develop strategies for attracting practitioners who hold or are pursuing graduate degrees to transition to academia. The purpose of this study was to identify current mentoring practices of new faculty members in Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) accredited respiratory care programs in the U.S. and to identify the perceptions of program directors regarding the observed impact of program mentoring practices.

The methodology for the study was quantitative nonexperimental survey research. The survey instrument was an electronic questionnaire. The survey consisted …

School Principals’ Sources Of Knowledge, Arland Early Perkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what sources of professional knowledge are available to principals in 1 rural East Tennessee school district. Qualitative research methods were applied to gain an understanding of what sources of knowledge are used by school principals in 1 rural East Tennessee school district and the barriers they face to using knowledge sources. This study questioned whether these resources are adequate for, accessible to, and used by school principals. In this study I examined principals’ perceptions of the need for a district-led mentoring program.

The study first consisted of a preliminary data collection procedure. …

Teacher Induction Programs In North Carolina: Factors Relating To Job Satisfaction And The Intent To Remain In The Profession, Hannah S. Reeder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Attrition rates continue to rise for beginning teachers. It is alarming that almost half of all new teachers leave the profession within their first 5 years. The “revolving door” that is created negatively affects student achievement. The most common solution to decreasing teacher turnover rates is implementing a comprehensive new teacher induction program. Comprehensive induction programs are designed to increase teacher efficacy, promote quality professional development, and facilitate a collaborative work environment among teachers (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2004).

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine beginning teacher induction programs in the state of North Carolina and the …

Mentors And New Teachers: A Qualitative Study Examining An East Tennessee School Systems Mentoring Program., Nikki Lynn Manning

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With almost half of all new teachers leaving the profession in the first few years, it is imperative that school systems find ways to support and retain these new teachers. Formal mentoring is a growing necessity. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the effectiveness of one school system's mentoring program.

This study included 4 sets of mentor and mentee teachers. Each set consisted of a beginning teacher in her 1st year of teaching and an experienced teacher trained by the school system to serve as a mentor. This study was conducted in a rural East Tennessee School …

Perceptions Of Mentors And New Teachers: A Case Study Of A Mentoring Program In Northeast Tennessee., Gregory Scott Wallace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study included 9 new teachers all of whom were assigned master teachers as mentors. The study also included 11 mentor teachers who participated in this study. There were 20 participants in this case study. The study was conducted in the Johnson City School System.

This qualitative case study was conducted by interviewing 20 participants in the mentoring program. Eleven mentor teachers and 9 new teachers were chosen through purposeful sampling. A list of possible participants was obtained from the Johnson City Schools Central Office and an email was sent to possible participants explaining the nature of the study. Participants …

Examination Of How Attraction Dimensions Predict Collaborative Mentoring Relationships In College Students., Ashlee Lorraine Poppo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has identified that one limitation of traditional mentoring occurs when there is a mismatch between the mentor and the protégé in work styles and personalities. Further, most of the literature on mentoring has not examined the informal mentoring that occurs between college students. Recent research has identified this type of peer mentoring as collaborative mentoring. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of interpersonal attraction in the development and success of collaborative mentoring relationships and to further examine which attraction dimension was the best predictor of the success of the relationship. Multiple regression analysis showed task …

An Evaluation Of Perceptions Of A Mentoring Program Of Beginning Teachers In A Rural East Tennessee Secondary School., Mike Frazier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers, especially beginning teachers, continue a trend of leaving the profession at alarming rates within the first 5 years resulting in excessive costs to school systems and diminished instructional quality. Some programs, however, have shown impressive results. The purpose of this qualitative study, using an emerging interview process, was to examine the perceptions of beginning teachers in their 1st or 2nd year and those of veteran 3- to 5-year teachers regarding the effectiveness of mentoring and other guidance they received as beginning teachers in a secondary school and to understand their vision of how mentoring should be structured for beginning …

An Examination Of Teacher Education Programs And School Induction Programs In Their Preparation Of Teachers For The First Year Of Teaching., Nancy Kay Dillon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify beginning teachers' perceptions of how colleges and universities can improve their teacher preparation programs and what school systems can do to ensure that first-year teachers have a successful and satisfying experience in the classroom. A total of 20 first and second-year elementary teachers participated in 20 separate, qualitative interviews. The information collected from the interviews was inductively analyzed.

Several themes reflecting the perceptions of study participants emerged during the data analysis process: (1) a belief that college classes did not reflect or prepare new teachers for the "real world" of teaching. (2) …

Perceptions Of High School Principals And Senior Army Instructors Concerning The Impact Of Jrotc On Rates Of Dropout And Transition To College., Lawrence Neil Marks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of high school principals and their Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) senior Army instructors about the cost effectiveness and value of JROTC in impacting dropout and transition-to-college rates at their schools. The purposeful sample for this study included principals and senior Army instructors at three high schools, two in northwest North Carolina and one in northeast Tennessee.

The research investigated the per-student costs for the operation of the JROTC programs; the dropout rates for JROTC and non-JROTC students; the transition-to-college rates for JROTC and non-JROTC students; and the perceptions …