Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sociopolitical Crisis And The Rise Of A Social Justice Superintendent In Charlottesville, Sara Lourdes Epperly

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative case study examined one school superintendent’s handling of a sociopolitical crisis event over the course of its phased unfolding. A review of literature in the fields of both crisis management and social justice educational leadership supplied a conceptual lens for viewing the case. Key concepts from the crisis management literature included staged intervention, organizational learning, and transformative leadership. Key concepts from the literature of social justice educational leadership included criticality, inclusion, relationshipbuilding, and capacity-building. The study methodology involved the conduct of 17 interviews and collection of more than 100 related documents. Analysis of the data supported a series …

District Promotion Policies For Students With Disabilities: Examining Principal Interpretation And Implementation, Latoya Exum Floyd

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The number of students receiving special education services have steadily increased in the United States over the past decade. Students with disabilities (SWD) historically score lower on high stakes tests, and they require considerations beyond academic achievement for promotion. The growing number of SWD and accountability measures included in district promotion policies has resulted in a wide range of principal interpretation of district promotion policies. A principal’s interpretation of district promotion policies affects the district’s high school graduation and dropout rates. Therefore, unclear promotion policies can lead to inconsistent interpretation; which can lead to greater retentions and dropouts for SWD …

The Relationship Between Virginia Title 1 Spending And Minority Male Graduation Rates: A Longitudinal Study, Anastacio B. Marin

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Over the past two decades, education funding in the United States has been redistributed to schools that lack sufficient financial resources to meet the needs of students (Boyle & Lee, 2015). The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), was enacted to increase academic accountability and achievement throughout the nation’s public-school systems. Nationwide, there is a persistent achievement gap between historically marginalized students and their affluent peers. This gap is evident in the Commonwealth of Virginia when measuring student proficiency on End of Course Assessments (EOCAs). For schools serving a large …

The Relationship Between The Earning Of Career And Technical Industry Credentials And The Virginia Economy, Anjanette Mcfadden Hendricks

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Nationally, the labor market is calling out for workers to fill the increasing number of job vacancies, but those qualified, skilled, and able to fill them are limited in supply or retiring in large numbers. As America’s key industries offer high salaries in return for candidates with the necessary skills and credentials to fill their vacancies, the skills learned and third-party industry credentials earned in secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs seem to make a perfect fit for the student, employer, and the economy. However, unlike the favored US educational model of the four-year degree, the continued outdated perception …

A Multiple Case Study Investigating Principles Of Design And Implementation Of Operational Safety Plans For Crises At Colleges, Universities, And Affiliated Institutions, Antonio Passaro, Jr.

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

In the wake of the 2007 Virginia Tech tragedy, the Virginia state legislature mandated that all college-affiliated institutions create an operational safety plan for natural and manmade crises. Previous empirical research has mostly focused on documenting faculty and students’ perceptions of campus safety, preparations for manmade crises over natural disasters, and enhancing specific aspects of emergency responses for future incidents. Thus, design and implementation “best practices” for higher education operational safety plan protocols is an understudied, yet burgeoning area of inquiry. To address this literature gap, a comparative case study of five institutions was conducted using a novel document analysis …

Trust Issues: A Case Study Of The Relationship Between Trust And Reform Implementation, Courtney R. Wilson

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Reform creation and implementation tends to focus on the mechanics needed to ensure intended outcomes are achieved. School relationships are affected by the tension caused by reform implementation. Research suggests trust among teachers and between teachers and their administrator affects the way teachers make sense of, implement, and use new reform efforts. Given the demands reforms place on schools, trust has the potential to impact and encourage the implementation of reform and the maintenance of relationships. A qualitative case study method was used to decipher the impact trust plays in the implementation of reform. The concept of trust is used …

Quasi-School Leaders: The Lived Experiences Of High School Counseling Directors And Their Role In Schools, Andrea Cherice Simon

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The aim of this study is to explore the lived experiences of high school counseling director’s and how their principal and district school counseling supervisor shape their experiences as leaders. The role of high school counseling director’s is increasingly complex, unique, and oftentimes misunderstood. They are often viewed as leaders and change agents in student’s overall success due to their unique skill levels in advocacy and collaboration (Kaffenberger, Murphy, & Bemak, 2006; McMahon, Mason, Daluga-Guenther, & Ruiz, 2014; Young, Millard, & Kneale, 2013). However, principal’s and district school counseling supervisors are key players in defining the role and responsibilities of …

Student Success Coaching In Virginia Community Colleges, Angela Lawhorne

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Community college students face many barriers when they start college, especially if they are from first-generation families, are low-income, or identify as a minority. Retention and completion for these at-risk students are relatively low compared to those with higher socioeconomic backgrounds (Bettinger & Baker, 2014). To improve these statistics and promote academic persistence, some Virginia Community College System (VCCS) colleges have implemented student success coaching under the Chancellor’s College Success Coach Initiative (VCCS, 2011). This entails not only assisting students with academic coaching, but also with career, financial, and personal matters that may affect their academic success. The researcher sought …

International Student Recruitment, Retention, And Transfer Efforts At Top Community Colleges Hosting International Students In The United States, Alejandra Diaz-Rangel

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The number of international students enrolled at community colleges across the U.S. has significantly shifted in recent years. As a result, higher education institutions across the country have developed and integrated rationales for attracting and retaining international students to their campuses. The purpose of this research study was to examine international student recruitment, retention, and transfer efforts taking place at community colleges in the U.S. The data that influence the international student recruitment, retention, and transfer plans set forth by community colleges in the U.S. was collected from decision makers at 15 U.S. higher education institutions through the means of …

Property, Wealth, Race, And Power: An Introduction To Critical Resource Theory, Andrew Whitfield

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

School funding inequality is an issue that has plagued America and the Commonwealth of Virginia for years (Owings & Kaplan, 2020). Understanding the role that funding plays in education is one that is of extreme importance today This study explored the relationship between income inequality and how education is funded. This study follows a quantitative study approach using correlational methods. This study takes multiple facets from Critcal Theory, Critical Race Theory, and Resource Dependency Theory to introduce a new theory, Critical Resource Theory The results indicated there is a practically significant relationship between income inequality and education funding. These findings …

Transformational Leadership Qualities Among Students Within Doctoral Higher Education Leadership Programs, Joshua Lee Howell

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Transformational Leadership Qualities Among Students Within Doctoral Higher Education Leadership Programs is a mixed-method study utilizing program evaluation of course descriptions and transformational leadership fostering activities, interviews with program chairs surrounding transformational leadership fostering activities, and completion of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x™) survey results from doctoral higher education students and their programs within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Researchers in the field of Higher Education and Leadership indicated that Transformational Leadership was more apt for college and university presidency, that doctoral degrees were more preferable for college and university presidency, and as doctoral higher education programs provide students with curriculum …

Neglected Cultural Outcomes That Impact Hispanic-Serving Institution Policymaking, Amanda Kate Burbage

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The Higher Education Act (HEA) Title V is designed to expand opportunities, increase attainment, and enhance institutional quality and stability of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The assessment of Title V goals relies on enrollment, retention, and graduation rates which reflect organizational outcomes that policymakers prioritized without deference to student population, institutional mission, and funding levels. Title V policymakers do not currently consider the ways HSIs centralize the racialized experiences of students and institutions do not uniformly collect or report cultural outcome data despite its relevancy to Hispanic student success.

The purpose of this study was to draw on criteria identified in …

Cultural Capital, Habitus, College Persistence And Graduation Among Black Immigrant-Origin Undergraduates: A Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study, Erica M. Richards Chew

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Black immigrant-origin students are a significant sub-population of the total Black college student population, and they are persisting and graduating more frequently than Black U.S.-origin students. This study explored cultural capital and habitus and how they shaped the college persistence and graduation of Black immigrant-origin undergraduates and alumni from four-year postsecondary institutions. A basic interpretive qualitative design, guided by cultural capital theory, was used to explore thirteen Black-immigrant-origin students’ and graduates’ perspectives in-depth; and to describe their subjective meanings, actions, and social contexts from their point of view. Participants grew up with a habitus of achievement that came from the …

The Association Of The National Assessment Of Educational Progress Scores And Variance In State Education Requirements, Patrick M. Doyle

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Since the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution, states have the function to set policy that varies drastically from state to state. This study examines the relationship of state fiscal effort and per pupil expenditure and graduation rates over a 10-year period. Furthermore, this study will look at the relationship between NAEP scores, compulsory attendance, graduation rates, course credit requirements, and hours of instruction. Research is necessary to show a relationship between the varying policies set forth by each state. This research will help policy makers, school leaders, and school localities to assess their own states’ policies and outcomes …

Policymakers' Decision-Making: A Critical Policy Analysis On Performance-Based Funding, Laura Rose Inez Soulsby

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Over the last three decades, state governments have been challenged by financial recessions. With limited resources, it is not surprising that taxpayers demanded greater accountability over state funds, and neoliberalism, a political ideology that prefaces a strong economy and individual marketplace choices, spread. Scholars have argued that performance based funding (PBF) policies for higher education, which ties financial resources to specific metrics of achievement, is a result of that spread. In contemporary literature, scholars are examining the impacts of PBF and limitations, especially for community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions. Research on the PBF policy making …

Virginia Standards Of Accreditation: A Case Study Of Sensemaking And Policy Implementation In A School District, Shana Nicole Remian

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between how school leaders at both the district and school level make sense of a policy change and how that understanding affects implementation. Specifically, this study explores how different factors affect individual sensemaking and the effect that has on policy implementation. Using an embedded case study methodology, data were collected through sixteen, semi-structured interviews. Additionally, field observations and document analysis were conducted to triangulate the data. Data were coded and analyzed to determine three major categories--policy ambiguity, internal and external factors, and communication. These three categories were integrated to form …