Educational Leadership Commons^™

Principals' Perceptions Of Brain-Based Learning, Tami Hudson Godman

Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed by the study was a lack of research on principal’s perceptions of brain-based learning and the potential impact on classroom instruction. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the principal’s perceptions of brain-based learning and instruction at their schools. The following research has been conducted using a qualitative paradigm. A case study involved a focus group of 12 principals and additional interviews with four of those principals. The qualitative data were thematically coded to provide information on patterns and practices within a variety of schools in the area. The findings offer the educational …

An Analysis Of Superintendent And Principal Perceptions Regarding The Supervision And Evaluation Of Principals, Courtney Ann Mckim, David Hvidston, Barbara J. Hickman

Journal of Educational Supervision

The goals for this study were to examine principals’ perceptions regarding their own supervision and evaluation and compare to superintendents’ perceptions regarding the supervision and evaluation of principals. Three research questions guided the inquiry: (1) What are the perceptions of principal and superintendents’ regarding their own supervision?; (2) What are the perceptions of principal and superintendents’ regarding their own evaluation?; and (3) What are the differences in perceptions of principal and superintendents’ regarding supervision and evaluation? This study followed a descriptive format and used a 20 item on-line survey to measure principal and superintendents’ perceptions regarding critical elements in their …

A Phenomenological Hermeneutic Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Spanish Elementary Dual Immersion Principals, Osvaldo Garcia

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological hermeneutic study was to describe the lived experiences of Spanish elementary dual immersion school principals who have led or are leading in Spanish elementary dual immersion schools. At this stage in the research, Spanish elementary dual immersion schools were generally defined as educational institutions designed to provide instruction in English and Spanish. The following central research question guided the study: What is the leadership experiences of Spanish elementary dual immersion school principals? The researcher delved into the challenges, benefits, and transformational leadership traits of Spanish elementary dual immersion school principals. The theory which guided …

Teaching For Equity: A Case Study Of Teachers’, Vice Principals’, And Principals’ Perspectives In Three High-Poverty Elementary Schools In Ontario, Canada, Abhilasha Duggal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Elementary students in high-poverty schools have diverse learning needs. Their academic and social learning, in particular, varies between students - especially so for those students from culturally non-dominant backgrounds. In 2009, the Ontario Ministry of Education mandated that all school boards in Ontario develop and implement equity education policies, as specified in Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119: Developing and Implementing Equity and Inclusive Education Policies in Ontario Schools (2009). This dissertation explored the implementation of Ontario’s Equity Strategy in three highpoverty elementary schools within one district school board in Ontario. This exploratory case study investigated the following research questions: 1. How …

The Principal’S Role In Expanding Multicultural Understandings In Predominantly White, Rural, Middle School Grades, Jacquelynne Chase

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the principal’s role in expanding multicultural understandings in predominantly White, rural, middle school grades. A review of the literature provided information on three areas: (a) benefits of expanding multicultural understandings, (b) implementing multicultural understandings, and (c) school leaders’ role. The literature did not include information to address a prevalent problem in Massachusetts: Principals of rural, predominantly White schools with middle grades typically do not consider expanding multicultural understandings a priority. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study used a closed-response survey and in-depth interviews with principals across Massachusetts. The survey was sent to …

Teacher Leaders’ Perceptions Of Charter School Principals’ Instructional Leadership Practices, Frednardo Davis, Mary K. Boudreaux

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Teacher leaders are a population to consider when observing instructional leadership or the instructional leadership behaviors of the school principal. While teacher leaders may formally or informally fulfill different roles in the school, depending on the school’s needs and the principal’s vision. A voice rarely illuminated within research, teacher leaders should have the ability to perceive and speak to the instructional leadership behaviors of the school principal. It is through the display of the instructional leadership behaviors and implementation of processes and programs that teacher leaders are able to more accurately perceive and communicate beliefs about their school principals’ practices …

Principals’ Perceptions Of Teacher Evaluation Reform From Structural And Human Resource Perspectives, John Wilson Campbell, Mary Lynne Derrington

Journal of Educational Supervision

Driven by Race to the Top funding and quickly designed and deployed in 2010-2011, a new teacher evaluation policy in Tennessee altered principals’ supervisory practices regarding their use of time for observation and reporting, their interaction with teachers, and the methods for giving teachers performance ratings. In addition, student test score data were integrated into final ratings, and professional consequences were linked with those ratings. Researchers in this study followed fourteen school principals over a five-year period to understand how their perceptions of new evaluation policy components affected their implementation. Data were analyzed using the structural and human resource frames …

Stress And Coping Among Public School Principals In A Midwest Metropolitan Sample, Jason A. Kaufman

Educational Leadership Department Publications

The present study sought to investigate perceptions of stress and coping among public school principals. School principals are daily called upon to make decisions regarding a range of unscripted events. The position can be stressful, and stress is known to interfere with sound decision making. It was predicted that present samples of school principals would report a mean level of elevated stress. Contrary to expectations, school principals did not report an elevated level of stress. They instead reported an ostensibly effective reliance on problem-focused and emotion-focused coping skills. It remains unclear how the school principals developed such adaptive means for …

The Relationship Between The Supportive Principal Behavior Dimension And Teachers’ Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy In Rural Schools, Elizabeth Lackey

Ed.D. Dissertations

Abstract

The researcher focused on the principal behavior dimensions that principals exhibited in interactions with staff members and the relationship those behaviors had on teachers’ sense of self-efficacy in rural schools. In this study, the researcher surveyed 96 rural elementary school teachers in a southeastern state to examine the relationship between the principal behavior dimensions using the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire-Revised for Elementary Schools and teachers’ sense of self-efficacy using the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale. The researcher used a Pearson r to analyze the results of three research questions related to the relationship between the supportive principal behavior dimensions …

Increasing Instructional Leadership: An Applied Research Study On The Effects Of Developing Principals As Instructional Leaders In The Magnolia County School District, Leigh Anne Newton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This applied research study seeks to improve principal capacity as instructional leaders. The need for principals to increase their instructional leadership capacity became evident with the ever-changing requirements of state accountability and student achievement. Using four elements in this study, cohort-based professional development for principals, principal PLCs, data meetings, and consultant and district administrator campus visits, the program sought to develop and grow principal leadership. Surveys, focus groups, and interviews were used in the study. The findings reveal improvement in instructional leadership capacity in the district and can provide educators with information, including an action plan, to implement instructional leadership …