Education Commons^™

Principal Coaching In A Large Urban District: A Correlational Study Examining The Relationship Between Coaching And Early Career Principals’ Self-Efficacy, Matthew Irving Pearson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between ICF coach-ing and early career principals’ self-efficacy related to their a) management skills and b) instructional leadership. The sample for this study were principals in a larger urban school district in the northeast who began their principalship between July 2017 to June 2021. This was a correlational study in which the researcher investigated early career principals’ perceptions of their self-efficacy related to management skills, and b) self-efficacy related to instructional leadership in a large urban school district. The survey instrument used for this study was Tschannen-Moran and Gareis (2004) …

Mentors’ Perspective On Mentoring Practices For New Teachers: A Qualitative Study, Rosa Smith-Norman

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological research study explores the lived experiences of mentors as they share their perceptions of mentoring practices to better understand how participatory experiences affect the professional growth of new teachers. Using a phenomenological research design helps to better understand the participants’ perceptions and personal meaning making processes that emerge from their first-person lived experiences of their professional practice. This study explores how ongoing participatory experiences have served to shape one’s perceptions about teaching and learning though the use of best mentoring practice strategies. To this end, this study triangulates the data by conducting an initial email interview questionnaire …

Exploring The Influence Of School Location On School Resource Officers’ Perceptions Of Their Roles And Priorities, Larry A. Potts

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the widespread presence of school resource officers (SROs) in public schools for decades, their proper roles and priorities have remained unsettled because those roles are often varied, complex, conflicting, and ambiguous. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how SROs perceive their roles and priorities and whether school location influences those perceptions. Qualitative research methods provided opportunities for one-to-one interviews with SROs and their supervisors. Two elements embedded in the design consisted of a descriptive questionnaire provided to the SROs before their interviews, and a qualitative interview question designed to elicit a percentage estimate response from SROs. …

Does Race Still Matter? An Exploration Of Race And Mentoring Relationships From The Perspective Of Early Career Teachers Of Color And Mentors, Franchesca R. Ho Sang

Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring has been attributed to lowering attrition rates of teachers. At present, the majority of teachers in the United States are White and female. The national teacher workforce does not represent the student body. Although there have been recent initiatives to improve the diversity within the teacher workforce, by explicitly recruiting teachers of color (TOC), the attrition rates of these teachers are negating the effects of recruitment efforts. Previous research has pointed to the need to consider race in novice TOC mentee and mentor matches, as cultural capital theory suggests common knowledge and experience may lead to stronger mentor relationships …

Crossing The Threshold: Factors That Influence The Beliefs Of First Year Teachers Regarding Reform-Based Mathematics Instruction, Quinn H. Braden

Theses and Dissertations

Teacher preparation programs invest significant resources to influence the beliefs of preservice teachers, including clinical faculty who mentor preservice teachers during practicum experiences. Despite the work of university personnel to guide preservice teachers' beliefs, their influence wanes once preservice teachers cross the threshold into inservice teaching. New mentors, including mentor teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators take the place of university personnel. This quantitative study examined how the beliefs of 77 novice inservice teachers changed toward reform-based mathematics instruction during their first year of teaching. Of the 77 subjects, 50 were interns and 27 had completed student teaching. Near the end …

“We Make A Life By What We Give”: The Impact Of A High School Mentoring Program On The Perceptions And Academic Achievement Of Black Males, Brandon R. Ross

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study describes how a high school mentoring program impacts the academic achievement and postsecondary planning of Black male students. It further explores the perception Black male students have on school and their White teachers. The theoretical frameworks that support this research are social bonding theory (SBT) and critical race theory (CRT). This study used a qualitative design through a survey to examine the following research questions: “How does a high school mentoring program impact the academic achievement and perception of school for Black male students?” The study further examined “How a high school mentoring program impacts the …

Using Cognitive Coaching To Facilitate Instructional Reflection, Brooke Walczak

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive Coaching is a model (Costa & Garmston, 1985) designed to help teachers to become more self-directed in both their workplace and their lives. This single case study sought to analyze the effects of the Cognitive Coaching Model on instructional reflection. It also examined the coach's reflection on their strategies and how these strategies affected instructional reflection. One Reading Education graduate student conducted four coaching rounds with one veteran teacher who was teaching preschool for the first time. Data included video recordings, observational notes, Cognitive Coaching Self-Assessments, and researcher journals. This data was analyzed using a comparison/grounded theory that used …

The Impact Of Content-Specific Virtual Mentoring On Job Satisfaction And Attrition: A Mixed Methods Study Of Delaware Arts Teachers, Rachel M. Hoke

Theses and Dissertations

Teacher attrition is most prevalent among novice teachers and occurs largely as a result of poor job satisfaction. Content-specific mentoring interventions demonstrate effectiveness in combating novice teacher attrition, but are inaccessible by visual and performing arts teachers due to their status as one-person departments within school buildings. This mixed methods action research implemented virtual delivery of content-specific mentoring for novice arts teachers to mitigate geographic isolation throughout the state of Delaware. Research questions assessed (1) the intervention’s impact on attrition intentions, (2) the intervention’s impact on job satisfaction, and (3) perceptions of mentoring by novice and experienced arts teacher participants. …

Influencing The School Leadership Pipeline: The Attributes And Readiness Of Principals To Mentor Their Assistant Principals, Megan C. Carrero

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the complexities and challenges faced by principals on a daily basis, the literature posits that mentoring can be impactful to the individual mentee, as well as the potential benefits to the system in which they serve (Gross, 2009). While the benefits of mentoring are reviewed from the perspective of psychosocial development (Mertz, 2004), professional development (Gray et al., 2007), career development (Williams et al., 2009), the topic of readiness for principal mentoring is lacking in the literature. This study is a qualitative interview study conducted with five middle school principals and five middle school assistant principals in South Carolina. …

From Admission To Graduation: Finding Meaning, Achievement, And Identity In Student Support Programs, Sharod L. Tomlinson

Theses and Dissertations

Black and Latinx male students’ college completion rates are much lower than their White male peers. Mentoring is essential as it helps to cultivate students’ college aspirations, prepare them for a successful transition from high school to college, and connect them to academic and social supports once on campus. Mentoring programs are a useful way to support students as they matriculate in higher education settings. For Black and Latinx students, the mentoring relationship can provide academic, social, and career guidance that is invaluable during undergraduate years. Using qualitative narrative research to explore how support programs impact the collegiate experiences Black …

The Statistical Impact Of Faculty Mentoring Programs On Ninth Grade Student Achievement, Kevin Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Students’ transition from middle to high school is challenging on many levels. Research has shown that students who perform poorly academically during their freshman year are more likely to graduate later or drop out of school altogether. By studying the literature surrounding the transition to high school, I will identify elements of effective transition programs (the totality of transition activities a district employs). This will be a convergent mixed method study, where I will use Social Support theory as a framework to examine the statistical significance of faculty mentoring programs impact on grade student achievement during the 2018-2019 school year. …

Factors That Contribute To Motivation And Student Achievement As Adolescents Transition From Elementary To Middle School Or Junior High In One Urban District In The Rio Grande Valley, Lizette Villarreal Longoria

Theses and Dissertations

This study will examine factors that contribute to the decline in achievement scores in reading and mathematics when students transition from elementary to their first year in middle school or junior high school. It will test the hypothesis that motivation is not a function of mentors, academic support, teams, parental involvement, transition experience, math perception, and reading perception for students transitioning from elementary to middle school or junior high school. In this quantitative research study, data will be collected using a multiple linear regression analysis to examine the factors that contribute to motivation and the achievement score decline in reading …

Improving Mentoring In Higher Education, Camey Lei Andersen

Theses and Dissertations

As universities and institutions of higher education seek to improve retention, persistence, well-being, and overall college experience satisfaction for their students, there is an increased emphasis on mentoring in higher education. Improving mentoring in higher education--the specific tools, training, and practices that develop effective mentors--remains an often-elusive goal for college administrators and university mentoring programs and in research. This research examined available research on effective mentoring and provided recommendations for how to create successful mentors and mentoring programs in higher education. This dissertation is a three-article format presentation of information about mentoring in higher education. The first article is a …

The Impact Of A District Supported Mentoring Initiative On Reading Achievement Of African American Male Students, Brooke Wray-Fisher Rowe

Theses and Dissertations

This action research seeks to examine the impact of a district supported mentoring program and its effect on the reading achievement of a group of African American male students. The participants received routine, sustained mentoring during a three-year period of time. All of the schools involved are Title I and within the same county.

The action research involved the collection of various forms of achievement data such as the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP®) assessment, Fountas and Pinnell benchmark assessment, and the South Carolina College- and Career- Ready assessment, specifically in the area of reading. These assessments allowed the researcher …

Outcomes For Professionals And Companies Through Student-Professional Reverse Mentoring Sessions, Nicholas Burr Gubler

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative inquiry explores the outcomes that professionals, and their companies, experience when they participate in a student-professional reverse mentorship. Professional development is used across all trades and professions as a way to increase employee skills and improve product/service quality. Reverse mentoring, where a novice teaches the more experienced individual, is a relatively new approach in professional development. When the reverse mentoring scenario is between students and professionals, instead of professionals and their colleagues, we know that students benefit from the reverse mentoring process but little is known about what outcomes the professionals experience. This research reports that professionals experience …

The Impact Of Self-Regulated Learning Tutoring And Mentoring Program On Black Males In Eighth-Grade Science, Julie Liddle Lott

Theses and Dissertations

The problem of practice described in this paper was identified by the state testing gaps between White and Black male students at a middle school in central South Carolina. This identified problem of practice led to the development of the research question: What is the impact of a tutoring and mentoring program using self-regulated learning strategies on my Black male students and their academic achievement in eighth grade science? The purpose of this study is to determine if a tutoring and mentoring program will affect the academic achievement of my Black male students in science.

The action research model being …

The Impact Of Mentoring At- Risk Youth On The Socialization Process Of Pre-Service Teachers, Theresa Allgaier

Theses and Dissertations

While much is known about how traditional field based practical experiences in teacher preparation programs impact the socialization of pre-service teachers, less is known about how practical experiences within after-school programs and other contexts influence pre-service teacher socialization. Relatedly, many scholars have sought to understand at-risk youth and have investigated teachers’ experiences with these students within the context of schools and the gym. The purpose of this study was to understand how mentoring at-risk youth in an after-school program impacted the socialization of six pre-service teachers. Occupational Socialization Theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. Six PETE majors, in …

Effect Of Relational Support On Educational Outcomes In An At-Risk Charter School In Florida, Eunice Casey

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this applied dissertation was to explore how effectively a one-on-one mentoring relational support program would influence outcomes in attendance, academic achievement, and behavioral issues at an at-risk charter school in Florida. The majority of the students at the selected charter school are at-risk students, defined as such because their present level of academic achievement is significantly below that of their peers. At the selected charter school, students struggle with low attendance, low academic achievement, and a high number of behavioral infractions. More specifically, low attendance at this school is associated with low academic achievement. This includes failure …

First-Year Teachers Perceptions Of The Mentoring Component Of The New Teacher Induction Progra, Bonnie M. Belanger

Theses and Dissertations

The present action research study examines first-year teachers’ perceptions of the mentoring component of the New Teacher Induction Program (NTI Program) and specifically levels of helpfulness of their mentors in the Eastern Georgia School District (pseudonym). The Eastern Georgia School District (EGSD) lacked a comprehensive induction program; therefore, EGSD developed the NTI Program to assist first-year teachers as they transition into their professional careers. The data set comprises a survey and semi-structured interviews collected at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. Descriptive statistics and an inductive analysis allowed data to be analyzed and interpreted. Findings of the study indicate, …

Understanding Public Health Professional Socialization And Professional Identity Formation Experiences, Jennifer M. Freiheit

Theses and Dissertations

Public health is in unstable times with funding decreasing, an exodus of retirees, and a paradigm shift with emergency preparedness and response critically changing the identity of the profession. Public health is at a grave trigger point where if something is not done, the entire field may be in jeopardy of caving in to consolidations, poor succession planning, and a field that cannot work toward the health of the public if they themselves are not operating well. It is commonly accepted that orientation practices exist in public health agencies, but the orientations that currently exist lack transfer to full socialization …

Improving Induction Of New Preschool To 12th Grade Teachers Through Differentiated Induction Activities Tailored To Individual Teachers' Needs, Timothy Teehan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the mixed methods pilot study, which used qualitative interview data and quantitative survey data, was to investigate the impact of providing induction activities tailored to individual teacher's needs on new preschool to 12th grade teachers in their first to fourth year of teaching. The district's attrition rate has been significantly higher than the 30% attrition rate experienced across the nation. This study asks: How can an individualized targeted multi-faceted induction program for teachers in the first to fourth year of teaching prepare individuals for the responsibilities of teaching? From the perspective of mentors, principals, and teachers in …

Relational Embeddedness In Mentoring Relationships Between Prospective K-12 Education Leaders And Their Mentor Principals, Maridee Beeston

Theses and Dissertations

Prospective education leaders face challenges in a demanding environment often lacking critical resources necessary to make a difference in schools. The potential to acquire these resources may be found in the mentoring relationships formed during internships in educational leadership preparation programs. A lack of understanding exists regarding variations in the nature of these mentoring relationships—specifically in terms of relational embeddedness—the type and degree to which partners form ties embedded within a social relationship. Variations in relational embeddedness may impact mentoring quality and the potential to acquire the resources needed to succeed in demanding school environments. Theoretical frameworks in mentoring and …

Outcomes Of Mentoring Relationships Between University Service-Learning Students And Language Minority Students, Casey C. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores mentor outcomes of university students serving in service-learning mentoring relationships between university service-learning student volunteers and language minority student mentees. These outcomes are helpful in improving academic and personal progress for both the student mentors and the mentees. The mentoring relationships may be particularly important given the challenges facing an increasing number of language minority students in communities and schools today. Research indicates that student mentees perform better academically when mentors assist in their learning and growth. As part of the greater network of educational and community leaders, university administrators have the opportunity to create mentoring opportunities …

Mentoring: Experiences Of Physical Education Teachers With In-Content And Out-Of-Content Mentors, Molly Bosché Sharer

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates teachers' experiences with mentoring programs. An interpretive paradigm was used. Four hour-long interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed to examine mentoring experiences. Participants included one in-content mentoring pair (an early career physical education (PE) teacher and a veteran PE teacher) and one out-of-content pair (an early career PE teacher and a veteran kindergarten teacher). Guiding the research were the questions: What are the experiences of physical educators with mentors inside their content area? What are the experiences of physical educators with mentors outside their content area?

Findings showed that mentoring is an important support to provide …

Perceptions Of Recipients Of A Florida High School Dropout Prevention Program’S Scholarship About The Influence Of Mentoring And Student Advocacy On Success And Persistence In Higher Education, Tracy Lyn Johnston

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to help a specific Florida high school dropout prevention program better understand the factors that influence the postsecondary persistence rates of their scholarship recipients. The program administrators want to explore the scholarship recipients’ perceptions regarding the role of mentoring and student advocacy in his/her academic success or college persistence. To understand the scholarship recipients experience better, a mixed methods study was conducted with current program scholarship recipients to gain insight into the individual student’s perception of factors including mentoring and student advocacy that influenced student success and completion in college.

Information gained from the student …

Perceptions Of Cooperating Teachers Concerning The Student Teaching Field Experience, Dawn Marie Paulson

Theses and Dissertations

PERCEPTIONS OF COOPERATING TEACHERS CONCERNING

THE STUDENT TEACHING FIELD EXPERIENCE

Dawn Paulson

142 Pages December 2014

This study explored the views of cooperating teachers on (a) their work with student teachers and university supervisors, and (b) ways to improve the student teaching process. In a mixed-methods sequential explanatory study, 153 cooperating teachers answered closed-and open-ended questions using an electronic survey; then a subset of 12 participated in follow-up interviews. All participants taught at rural or semi-rural middle schools and high schools in Central Illinois; all had experience with student teachers from a mid-sized institution in that area.

Major findings of …

Experiences Of Beginning Teachers In A Resident Teacher Program: A Phenomenological Study, Emmanuel Adjei-Boateng

Theses and Dissertations

There has been considerable attention and focus, in the field of education, on development support for beginning teachers. Beginning teachers are very important to the success and future of education. Their success in the classroom is very critical. The Resident Teacher Program or a teacher residency is a comprehensive means of providing beginning teachers with developmental support. This initiative is usually organized through the concerted efforts of a college of education and school district. Within this dissertation, attention is given to the potential or real benefits and to the successes and challenges of an existing Resident Teacher Program. In a …

Balancing Support And Challenge Within The Mentoring Relationship, Tiffanie Joy Miley

Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring is a common element of new teacher induction aimed at easing beginning teachers' entry into the profession and assisting beginning teacher growth and development. Previous research has shown that mentors are comfortable supporting beginning teachers but are reluctant to provide challenge-activities that will help beginning teachers improve their practice. For optimal growth to occur, mentors should balance support and challenge in their work with beginning teachers. This descriptive study employed multiple cases to examine the relationship of two junior high school mentors with their mentees. The mentors in this study work in a school district with an established and …

A Model For Peer Mentor Learning: Designing For Skill-Acquisition Among Undergraduate Peer Mentors, Bryce D. Bunting

Theses and Dissertations

This design report details the development of a summer training experience for peer mentors in the Freshman Mentoring program at Brigham Young University. The purpose of the project was to develop an extended training program which would assist peer mentors in developing core mentoring skills necessary for their work with first-year students. The design of the training was informed by a number of theoretical frameworks including experiential learning, reflective practice, and narrative design. The training was evaluated using a post-then survey instrument as well as analysis of qualitative data collected from learners throughout the training. Analyses of these data suggested …

The Content Of Electronic Mentoring: A Study Of Special Educators Participating In An Online Mentoring Program, Roberta Gentry

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the content and frequency of interactions that occurred in an electronic mentoring program involving beginning special educators and their mentors. In addition, the characteristics of mentors’ and mentees’ and perceived outcomes of mentees’ were provided. This study sought to address questions about the types of support that new special educators seek and receive. A mixed method research design was utilized to explore the archived transcripts of mentors’ and mentees’ discourse as well as mentees’ and mentors’ post-surveys. Data were analyzed through the use of quantitative and qualitative methods and interpreted through the …