Addressing The Overall Dissatisfaction Of The First-Year Student Experience In University, Christopher E. O'Gorman Mr.

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

The concept of student experience has caught the attention of administration in postsecondary institutions, so much so, that they have dedicated departments that deal entirely with the experiences of students on campus. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) addresses the students’ overall dissatisfaction with their first-year university experience. The focus of this OIP is to provide a solution that will improve the overall experiences that students have. The OIP begins by introducing the organization through a PEST analysis and provides a framework for the problem of practice, utilizing secondary data that is publicly available. Utilizing structuralist theory as the theoretical …

Building Leadership Capacity For The Effective Implementation Of A Professional Development Tool In K-12 School In A Region In Arctic Canada, Sonia Osbourne

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) aims to identify and remediate the organizational factors that are presently leading to the faulty delivery of a professional development framework (PDFM) tool in an educational organization in the Canadian Arctic. Implementation of change initiatives in organizations is a complex undertaking and can be further complicated by contextual factors such as culture. In this region, a large percentage of students are Inuit, and teachers and school leaders are both Inuit and non-Inuit. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ), translated as Inuit traditional knowledge, is a foundation upon which education is delivered in the region. Therefore, this organizational change …

Improved Regional Education Delivery: Reach For The North Program, Elizabeth Anne Sommerfeld

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) has outlined the change plan for a problem of practice for consideration of the education mandate at MY-U’s multiple regional campuses. The overall goal of this plan is to have increased the availability of academically rigorous courses for our regional students. An assessment of the readiness of several stakeholders allowed for a student-centred focus within the political, collegial and organized anarchy paradigms in which the university organization exists. A strategy is discussed to address issues in the administration and university culture while breaking down silos for the multiple campuses. A new organizational framework is offered …

Leveraging Technology To Increase Access To Training For Registered Nurses Working Remotely In The Community And Home Health Care Sector, Hilary Dogbeson

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Registered Nurses (RNs) are expected to ensure their professional knowledge and skills are up-to-date in order to be competent and remain in good standing with their licensing body. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) focuses on promoting staff competency by addressing the problem of limited access to training for RNs who work remotely at the Community and Home Care Company (CHCC). A review of the literature suggests that staff training is essential, and there are many benefits to improving staff training, which include increased productivity, efficiency, and enhanced employee knowledge and skills. With an increase in remote employment, an increasing number …

Improving The Learning Environment Through Communication: A Systems Perspective, Allison Charlotte Alexander

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The call centre can be best described as an organizational system with three sub-systems made up of 15 sections. Systems are impacted by their environment and respond by outputting their own impact onto the environment (Jones, 2013; Kast & Rosenzweig, 2017). In the case of the call centre’s system, the environment is the caller (client), and the impact is the increased complexity in the types of questions asked. The call centre was impacted by clients who posed complex questions, and the system responded by outputting incorrect information to its clients (Internal Report, 2015). Internal research revealed that the system was …

Through The Eyes Of A Consultant: Leadership Succession Planning In An International School Setting, Hoda Etemad

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Research has shown that school leadership significantly influences institutional success and student achievement. Yet, studies indicate that in many school systems around the world, there is an absence of thoughtful and methodical leadership succession planning. The problem of practice addressed in this Organizational Improvement Plan is the lack of an equitable, systematic, and transparent approach to leadership succession planning in an international school in Country A. Using this school as the basis for this study, systems theory (Senge, Hamilton & Kania, 2015) guides a “whole-system” discussion for developing and implementing an equitable, systematic, and transparent succession planning framework. Through the …

Supporting Teacher Retention In A Proprietary Asian School, Andrew Shutsa

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores how best to support Green Planet Academy (GPA; a pseudonym), an international school in a large Asian city, in improving teacher retention beyond initial two-year contracts. The problem of practice that is addressed is the current low retention of teachers and lack of a plan to retain them. Through a variety of lenses, including a social constructivist worldview, self-determination theory, distributive leadership, and transformational leadership, the specified problem of teacher retention problem is framed and analyzed. Teachers moving around to various international schools is not out of the ordinary, indeed it is almost expected, …

Exploring The Role Of Collective Teacher Efficacy In Closing Achievement Gaps: A Review Of An Urban District Model School Program, Folusho B. Abayomi

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

Urban Academy is one of Urban Diverse School Board (UDSB)’s model schools situated in Ontario, Canada. A model school program was created to provide students with equitable access to resources and learning opportunities. Despite UDSB’s commitment to equity and inclusion, this urban school continues to experience persistent achievement gaps when aggregate data are analyzed. Based on student data, the achievement gap has been strongly connected to demographic factors such as low socioeconomic status (SES) of the parents. Educators’ beliefs and assumptions of low SES as an external factor posit achievement as a dilemma beyond teachers’ control. This Organizational Improvement …

Institutionalizing Blended And Distance Learning In Language Teaching At A Research University, Martine Rheaume

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly exploring innovative strategies to adapt to the 21^st century changing institutional context and to respond to the students’ needs and expectations. Given that technology in all its forms is ubiquitous in Education, one of HEIs’ strategical responses is the implementation of blended learning (BL) and distance learning (DL) as new pedagogies in all faculties. This organizational improvement plan (OIP) examines how a language department, part of the Faculty of Arts in a large research-focused University, can integrate BL and DL in language teaching. As this change is a significant departure from the current …

Investigating Transformational Leadership Practices In Private Schools From Teachers’ Perspectives, Asmaa Amin Chmer

Foundations of Education Theses

This study investigates teachers' perceptions of transformational leadership as practiced by private school principals in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. The study examines the leadership practices of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration, analyzed by selected demographic variables, i.e., (gender, level of qualification, and years of experience). The study was guided by three research questions. The first examined the extent to which school principals practice transformational leadership, as seen from the teachers’ perspectives. The second considered statistical differences in the practice of transformational leadership due to gender, qualifications, and experience, while the third looked at teachers’ suggestions …

To Empathize, Or Not Empathize In Educational Leadership, Mei Jiang, Shulan Lu

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

In this paper, we discuss transformational leadership and propose that empathy is at the heart of transformational leadership. We review the research on empathy and discuss the implication of these insights in educational leadership. We highlight the multifaceted and interconnected nature of empathy and discuss components of empathy that are most relevant to educational leaders. Recognizing one’s constraints on the empathy scale could protect leaders from burnout and poor decision making.

Strategies Framed Within Transformational Leadership That African American Female Principals Use To Retain Teachers In Texas High-Poverty Schools: A Case Study, Tiffany M. Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe strategies framed within transformational leadership that exemplary African American female principals implement to retain teachers in Texas high-poverty schools. Participants of this case study included 10 African American female principals from elementary, middle, high, and alternative Title 1 schools within the state of Texas. All of the principals had been on their campus at least 2 years and had a 75% or higher retention rate on their campus. The participants were asked questions based on the 4 categories of transformational leadership: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation. …

Transcending Compromise: Principal Practices Predicting Teacher Effectiveness And Teacher Morale, David George Grant

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Two leadership styles have dominated the literature- instructional leadership and transformational leadership. No study could be found quantitatively integrating principal practices from these styles in ways that simultaneously predicted teacher effectiveness and teacher morale. Therefore, this study sought to better understand the complex relationships between principal practices, teacher effectiveness and teacher morale. First, this study synthesized meta analyses of principal effects for studies produced between 1978-2008 and presented a unique empirically grounded integration framework summarizing principal effects for student achievement and teacher morale. Second, the study used this framework to explore four research questions. An online survey was utilized to …

Transformational Teaching In A Culturally Passive Environment In Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study Of Stem Professors, Julie M. Kjeer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in this country has come under increasing scrutiny as employers, government agencies, and postsecondary institutions point to the lack of prepared students in STEM-related fields. Evidence compels higher education institutions to improve the quality of teaching to better prepare students for lives of productive service. While such evidence has spurred multiple reform movements, little substantive change has actually occurred. Despite a culture of passive and transmissive learning in higher education STEM disciplines, inspirational STEM professors exist who dramatically impact students in positive and meaningful ways. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was …

A Comparative Study Of Leadership Styles In International Special And General Education Schools In The United Arab Emirates, Kaitlin M. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This study attempted to identify leadership styles of school leaders in international special and general education schools in the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, this study sought to explore the influence of various demographic factors on perceived leadership styles. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Avolio & Bass, 2004) was given to teachers across eight schools for the purpose of obtaining their perceived rating for leadership behaviors of school leaders at equivalent levels. Descriptive statistics were examined to identify prevalent leadership styles and trends in the demographics of survey respondents. Hierarchical linear models were conducted to determine the statistical significance of leadership style …

Principal Leadership And Student Academic Achievement, Brigitte Karin Manns

Education Dissertations

This case study is an analysis of the relationship between principal leadership and student academic achievement. This research is based upon two dominant leadership theories from the past four decades, namely transformational leadership, which has been studied extensively by Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio among others, and instructional leadership, which has been researched most notably by Philip Hallinger and colleagues. More recently, several researchers have proposed that transformational leadership and instructional leadership may be related to increases in student learning when used simultaneously by a school leader. This case study is an examination of the leadership style of a principal …

A Quantitative Descriptive Study Of The Self-Perception Of Southern Oregon Entrepreneurial Leaders, Rebecca Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The study helped to identify what are the leadership styles of adult entrepreneurs, and what if any factors contribute to an entrepreneurs' leadership style. The study focused on entrepreneurial leaders, over the age of 18, who own and started their own business. These entrepreneurs are a member of one of the following Southern Oregon-based business networking groups: Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (SOREDI), and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of Southern Oregon. The study explored the self-perceived leadership styles of entrepreneurs in Southern Oregon through a quantitative descriptive survey method that utilized a 45-question, Likert scale from the …