Education Commons^™

The Culture Of Innovation In Seminaries And Institutes Of Religion: A Phenomenological Study, Griffin Dean Sorenson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of seminary principals in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion (S&I) as they have been called to innovate within an environment that may not support it. The central research question is What are the beliefs, attitudes, and desires of instructional leaders (seminary principals) in released-time seminary programs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regarding a call to innovate in a culture that may not support it? The theory guiding this study is Christensen’s disruptive innovation theory, as it outlines what is required to support innovation …

Addressing The Adoption Gap: Exploring Resistance To Evidence-Based Practices Among Ncaa Coaches, Lawrence W. Judge, Jeffrey Petersen, Olivia Huffman, Selen Razon

Journal of Applied Sport Management

Athletic coaches strive to achieve optimal performance from their athletes and teams, yet many coaches fail to utilize new evidence-based practices (EBPs) with potential to improve performance. Many sport leaders and administrators seeking to assist and support positive change face resistance from coaches. This paper explores the lack of usage of EBPs among NCAA coaches and the subsequent effects on athlete performance and development. This problem is conceptualized through the theoretical underpinnings of diffusion of innovation theory and social cognitive theory. Application of resistance to change theories identifies action steps to help overcome barriers in the implementation of EBPs including …

The Sci – Dot: A New Dimension Of Scientific Innovation For Persons With Blv., Ashley N. Nashleanas Ph.D.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Throughout history, students with blindness and low vision (BLV) have been vastly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines with regards to both K-12 education and post-secondary endeavors (Burgstahler, 1994; Supalo, 2010). This underrepresentation of students with BLV in STEM is due to limitations in technology that allow them to access data in a laboratory setting, thus inhibiting their abilities to partake actively in data acquisition with their peers. The Sci-Dot, a multiline, refreshable braille and tactile graphics display capable of logging scientific data in real time with the support of Vernier Science Education’s (VSE) Go-Direct Bluetooth sensors, …

Public School Superintendents In Virginia: Innovating In The Educational Context, Daniel Firing Keever

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This research study, using institutional theory as a framework, examines the role of superintendents in promoting and impacting innovation in Virginia's public schools. The study engaged fourteen current Virginia superintendents in semi-structured interviews, exploring their perspectives on fostering an innovative culture within their school districts. Three primary themes emerged from the research: defining innovation, the role of superintendents in leading innovation, and the challenges and barriers to innovation. Generally, the findings highlight that innovation fundamentally involves thinking differently, finding creative solutions, and bringing about meaningful organizational improvements. The study emphasizes that innovation is essential for adapting to the evolving needs …

Building Dynamic Capabilities Towards Innovation And Flexibility, Marianne Iaboni Marando

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

In March 2020 most Higher Education Institutions around the world quickly moved to online learning and work with only one week to prepare. While the pandemic forced us to do this quickly and without a well thought out plan, most of us met this challenge. The World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency on May 5, 2023, but many institutions had started the return to “normal” before then. This Organizational Improvement Plan starts with the vision that rather than retrenching back to “normal”, Ontario Polytechnic, a large polytechnic institution in Ontario, Canada, should be …

Developing Certificate Programs To Increase Departmental Student Enrollment, Jennifer B. Lemoine, Anita Hazelwood

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Colleges/universities must think of innovative methods for attracting students to their campuses. Certificate programs have proven to do this. This presentation will address the decisions to offer certificate programs, the advantages and disadvantages for doing so, and will take participants through the step-by-step process of implementing these types of programs.

Innovating Education Through Design Thinking: A Case Study Of Problem-Solving Educators, Matthew Pimental

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study aimed to identify methodologies and practices that enable innovation to thrive in the public education system. Design thinking (DT) was selected for examination given its demonstrated ability to: (a) make people and teams more innovative , (b) change institutional cultures to be more creative and solution-oriented, and (c) create conditions necessary for innovation to thrive within established organizational structures. This intrinsic case study explored the experiences of a group of educators who used design thinking to innovate solutions to the intractable problems they faced. Participants in this study were teachers and administrators who received training in DT, and …

Trust In Academia: How Chief Academic Officers Build And Maintain Faculty Trust, Marc A. Smithers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the role of academic leadership has grown more complex, particularly as leaders are increasingly tasked with leading educational innovation initiatives, building faculty trust has become an essential task for chief academic officers (CAOs). Due to the general lack of research into this role, though, little is known about how they understand and approach building faculty trust. The purpose of this qualitative, single, holistic case study was to understand how executive academic administrators at private colleges approach building and maintaining trust with their faculty in general and also through educational innovation and what specific challenges they have identified in these …

From Isolation To Innovation: A Journey From The Past To The Future In A Saskatchewan High School, Krista L. Keeley

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores how professional learning can impact the modernization of practice and culture in Sunnybrook High School (SHS, a pseudonym), a small urban high school in Saskatchewan. The Problem of Practice (PoP) highlights the gaps between SHS’s common practice, the predominantly used factory model of education, and the desired practice, a 21^st century model of education. Teacher isolation is found to be the determinant factor hindering innovation within SHS and solutions to address the PoP focus on ending this practice to increase effective professional learning through collaboration. Using social constructivism as the foundational theory, the …

Empowerment By Design: Classroom Innovation And Inquiry Through Design Thinking And Action Research, Cory Rayala

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly standardized and assessment-driven educational systems are failing to meet the needs of many students, replacing their love of learning with a fear of failure. Importantly, the fear of failure is a common mindset of not only students but also teachers, administrators, and policymakers. This qualitative, action research study is situated in a design thinking/growth mindset conceptual theory that posits that the design thinking process can serve as a meaningful growth mindset opportunity for teachers and students. The prototyping mindset inherent in design thinking may mitigate the fear of failure by focusing on rapid iteration rather than striving for perfection. …

How Can Education Support Prepare Students For A Workforce Focused On Innovation? A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Scott Allen Myers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand how faculty members and administrators describe their experiences in preparing their students for an innovation-focused 21st century workforce. The guiding theories associated with this study were Kolb’s experiential learning theory (ELT) as a gauge for modeling the learning process and Bloom’s taxonomy to assess learning levels. The relationship between Kolbs ELT, Bloom's taxonomy, and this study was conceptualized as a gauge to assess learning skill effectiveness. The central research question associated with this study was: How do faculty members and administrators describe their experiences preparing their students for an innovation-focused …

Initiating Leadership Development In A Vuca Environment, Merike Kolga

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Organizations across the world are continuously undergoing change - some of which is by choice; the majority of this change is in response to the pressures the external environment. In today's world, organizations need to be agile. They need to be able to meet the challenges and develop creative ways to attract and retain talent as part of their business strategy. When organizations are strong, their process and procedures are working well in support of their business operations, and their employees are engaged as healthy and constructive components of a high-functioning, complex, adaptable system. Organizational adaptation is imperative in the …

Technology Leadership Qualities In Secondary School Principals In Nebraska Who Support Student-Led Social Media Teams, Jill M. Johnson

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

This study addresses secondary school principals in Nebraska who are dealing with the negative ramifications of their students’ social media interactions. To combat the problem, this study sought to identify the technology leadership qualities possessed by secondary school principals in Nebraska who support student-led social media teams. A purposeful sampling of six secondary school principals in Nebraska, who have all been practicing principals for at least three years, engaged in individual semi-structured interviews via Zoom in January 2021. The primary research question was: What technology leadership qualities are possessed by secondary school principals in Nebraska who support student-led social media …

From Barriers To Success: How Elementary School Principals Strategically Lead Schools To Become 21st Century Learning Exemplar Schools, Heather Gold

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the barriers and support systems elementary principals describe, through the lens of Activity Theory, they experienced while leading their schools to achieve 21st century learning exemplar status.

Methodology: This phenomenological study examined the perceptions of 15 elementary and K-8 principals and their respective assistant principals regarding the barriers and support systems they experienced while leading their schools to achieve 21st century learning exemplar status. Participants were selected based on the criteria that they had been identified as exemplary by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21); were public, non-private, …

Leadership Storytelling Of Rural School Superintendents Engaged In Change And Innovation, Tony Barrett

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation examined the leadership storytelling uses and practices by rural, public school superintendents in North Georgia who are engaged in change and innovation through agreements with the state in exchange for flexibility waivers from Title 20 of the Georgia Code. This study was the result of the participation of five rural, Appalachian superintendents in semi-structured interviews. Two of the districts were Strategic Waivers School Systems (SWSS) and three of them were Charter Systems. The context of this study was framed by Georgia’s broad flexibility waivers which encourage school districts to promote and pursue innovative approaches in K-12 education. The …

Towards Sustainable Mixed Reality Technology Institutionalization At A Major Urban College In British Columbia, Canada, Brent Fraser Mekelburg

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The organization at the centre of this Organizational Improvement Plan, College X, is a publicly funded college located in a major urban centre in British Columbia, Canada. The problem of practice is the inconsistent implementation for disruptive technology—mixed reality (MR). Currently, faculty are in charge of integrating MR into andragogy. Decisions that enable or hinder MR institutionalization are made by administration; faculty needs and administration support are not necessarily aligned. Failed institutionalization not only deprives learners of the opportunity to acquire digital literacy skills but also threatens institutional legitimacy. Within his role as a program leader, the author proposes a …

Practical Measurement For Strategic Growth In An International School District, Daryl Stevens

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The accountability era of the past three decades failed to produce significant educational change, yet the standardized measures of student performance in primarily cognitive domains that epitomized that era continue to consume a disparate amount of energy and influence a disproportionate degree of decision-making in education organizations. That strategic-growth-crippling perseveration on standardized assessments is compounded by a general lack of change-process training, understanding and purposeful use in education contexts, and particularly exacerbated by the inability of education organizations to institutionalize effective innovations. The purpose of this study was to understand how a school district’s leadership team might move beyond a …

Supporting Professional Development Through Digital Principal Leadership, William Sterrett, Jayson W. Richardson

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

A core role of the K-12 school leader is to support and nurther the growth of others. That growth is commonly thought to be at the student level. However, school leaders must also focus on the growth of their teachers. School leaders are adjusting to a world where technology has crept into many aspects of the profession. And sometimes, technology innovation comes during a time of sudden disruption, such as the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020 where digital learning and leadership become the new norm, even when uncertainty and change were omnipresent. As such, while it is clear that principals …

Subsidiarity & Innovation During The Pandemic, Timothy Uhl

COVID-19 and Catholic Schools

As the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded, Catholic schools have been faced with numerous challenges, including finances, human resources, and curriculum. Catholic schools are founded on the principle of subsidiarity, a system that provides an uneven capacity for each school. This essay reflects on the impacts of subsidiarity in this time of crisis, concluding that a system founded on allowing each school to make its own decisions has provided uneven results.

Subsidiarity & Innovation During The Pandemic, Timothy D. Uhl

Journal of Catholic Education

As the pandemic has unfolded, schools have been faced with challenges in finance, human resources, and curriculum, to name only a few. A system founded on subsidiarity provides an uneven capacity for each school. A system founded on allowing each school to make its own decisions has provided uneven results.

The History Of The Doctoral Program In Organizational Leadership At Brandman University From An Innovation Theory Perspective: Alpha Cohort 2012, Jennifer Dinielli

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this historical research study was to document the development of the Doctoral Program in Organizational Leadership at Brandman University from concept and design to implementation with the Alpha cohort of 2012. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to chronicle the decisions that guided program development and the factors that influenced key leaders and decisions from an innovation perspective of Bolman and Deal’s four-frame model of structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frames. Methodology: In this historical study, artifact and relic review and interviews were utilized to secure data from key leaders involved in …

Our Moonshot: Dighton Public Schools, Kelly Arnberger

Educational Considerations

“Through redesign you have the opportunity do whatever you choose to do to make your school reflect the needs and desires of your community. I believe our public-school teachers can do the great things we keep hearing private and charter schools do if we would just let them.” Randy Watson said something to that effect at Dighton in January, 2017. We would now have permission to make our school reflect the true mission, vision, and values of our community without constraint. Sounds great! At least many of us in attendance listening to Dr. Watson that day thought so. We chose …

The Kairos Model: Best Leadership Practices For Small-To-Medium Sized Management Consulting Firms, Edward Eng

Theses and Dissertations

Breakthrough technologies and ever-increasing customer demands are paving the way for new entrants to disrupt the traditional management industry. With their capacious resources, industry incumbents have mitigated these emergent forces by integrating digital capabilities into their arsenal of services. Without the capacity of market leaders, small and medium-sized business consultants are struggling to compete effectively. To fill this research gap, this study strove to develop a practical framework to help small- to medium-sized business consultants act more purposefully amidst growing competitive pressures.

The researcher chose a qualitative grounded theory design to collect data through face-to- face, semi-structured interview questions. Insights …

From Rocks To Amethysts: Combination Innovation To Increase Student Achievement In School, Jason M. Hall Mr.

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

My final project at the International Center for Studies in Creativity applies the Torrance Incubation Model of Learning, Creative Problem Solving, Design Thinking, creativity scholar George Land’s Transformation Theory, and skills I have gained during my work on the MSc in Creativity. My work herein provides new and useful combination innovations that catalyze creative ways of analyzing, operating more successfully within, and improving upon current state, federal and district mandates and programs in public education. This project is middle school based. The core combination innovations are designed to assist school administrators, instructional coaches, and classroom educators in their daily work …

Factors Influencing Faculty Use Of Screencasting For Feedback, Berlin Fang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored faculty concerns in using screencasting to give feedback, why they choose to adopt it, and what training and support would benefit them in the adoption of such a method. This is a single embedded case study using a stages of concern questionnaire, semistructured and open-ended interviews, as well as media comment reviews as data collection methods. Some 21 professors from a southwestern private university participated in the research, representing 51 potential participants who have been exposed to screencasting for feedback through software ownership, training, or coaching. After the completion of this questionnaire, 16 participants were interviewed in …

Peer Observation As A Job-Embedded Professional Development Tool, Daniel J. Breiman

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Teacher professional development is typically provided outside of the workplace, and is therefore disconnected to daily classroom practices. An alternative model of professional development is peer observation, which is contextualized through coaching and collaboration in the classroom. To date, research and investigation into the practice of peer observation is lacking. To fill that gap, this study examined the influence of peer observation on teacher practice, while identifying factors that were most beneficial and challenging about peer observation and its influence on workplace collegiality.

This study used qualitative methods and action research that allowed teachers to be part of the research …

Blended Learning In Elementary Schools: An Interdependent Enterprise, Carrie J. Pratt

All Theses And Dissertations

This qualitative case study, bounded by a scope of leadership, was one way to analyze how leaders encouraged teachers to leverage blended learning in the public elementary school. The theoretical framework lending to cognitivism included sociocultural cognition and contingency theory. With the central phenomenon and research question, “What leadership aspects encourage teachers to leverage blended learning in elementary schools?” the researcher sought to understand the power of leadership and teacher perceptions as change occurs in the public elementary school, integrating blended learning. Subquestion 1 was used to pursue information about teacher identified leadership support that teachers perceived to be helpful …

Faculty Adaptation To Emerging Instructional Technologies In Higher Education, Marilyn Murrillo

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how and why faculty adopt podcasting as an instructional technology tool in their teaching. Podcasting is an instructional technology tool being used for teaching and learning in higher education. Faculty may record lectures with audio, video, and/or PowerPoint slides to instruct students on class material. Students may access podcasts at their convenience through various devices, including mobile devices and computers. Research has shown that students who use podcasts to study for tests tend to perform more successfully on tests. This study was a qualitative multiple case study of seven California community college faculty using podcasting as an …

Superintendents And The Micropolitics Of Innovation In Rural School Districts, Catherine Nunn Lawless

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Research shows that public school districts that follow traditional means of instruction and assessment are insufficiently preparing students for success in the today’s global world. As a result, students are entering into higher education institutions and the workforce without the necessary skills to succeed in these 21^st century environments. Extant literature suggest that there is a broad consensus on this perspective in public and private sectors nationally and globally. Evidence shows that some school district superintendents and their respective school boards continue to focus on improving the current practices and student academic performance and assessment. Other instructional leaders recognize …

The Role Of Leadership In School Innovation: A Case Study, Savannah Adkins Denning

Dissertations

Expansive research on leadership, particularly school leadership, has suggested leaders have an indirect impact on student outcomes, as leaders build a school’s academic capacity, which elevates teaching and learning (Hallinger, 2010). Though there is significant empirical research regarding school leadership, there is a lack of research investigating the intersection of leadership and innovation. In terms of innovation, “personalized learning,” has become an emerging topic among education researchers, as scholars seek to understand the potential impact personalized learning strategies have on student outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to explore how leadership interacts with innovation. This study specifically explored the …