Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of The Principal When Parents Are Increasingly Involved In Decision-Making, Inge Ellefson Edd

Dissertations

The role of the principal has been changing in relation to the increasing parent involvement in decision making and the educational restructuring in Alberta, Canada. The purpose of this study is to describe and examine a selected principal in her role in a school, during the 1994-1995 year, where parents from the school council and staff from the school share some of the decision making. The school chosen for this study had the principal working collaboratively with the parents and staff. A case study methodology is used to describe and examine interviews with the parents, teachers, superintendent's designate and the …

Integrating Knowledge And Action: A Study Of Leadership In The Development Of Master's Degree Programs In Liberal Studies, Janet L. Littrell Edd

Dissertations

Master's degree programs in liberal studies (MALS programs) have proliferated in the United States over the past twenty years. Studying the leadership relationships that faculty and administration form during the MALS program development process provides insight into how non-traditional graduate programs may be developed in the future. The purposes of the study were to investigate the development of MALS programs, and to examine the leaders and followers who successfully advanced the MALS program development agenda. The specific objectives of the study were (1) to examine the theoretical bases and curricular frameworks of MALS programs; (2) to explore how individuals and …

The Experiences Of Mid-Career Elementary Teachers, Susan H.L. Johnston Edd

Dissertations

The demographics of the teaching population in British Columbia indicate a significant number of teachers in mid career. Their cares, concerns, and interests dramatically influence educational activity in the province. The experiences of these educators lie within a context of major restructuring of the entire provincial school system and substantive educational change mandated by the government of British Columbia. Using a phenomenological approach, this study explores the experiences of seven, mid-career, elementary school teachers in one British Columbia school district; investigates how these teachers experience system-wide, mandated, educational change; and suggests implications of these understandings for leadership practice. During three, …

Involving Latino Parents In The Middle-Level School: A Study Of First-Generation And Second-Generation Mexican And Mexican-American Parents, Elva Hernández Mora Edd

Dissertations

The middle school level years demand critical attention in educational reform. Culturally diverse students in the United States show levels of academic achievement which are lower then those of other students. Children from oppressed minority groups often show high rates of dropping out as well as poor academic achievement. They are often profiled as students who are unmotivated and who have parents that are unresponsive to their growth and development in terms of educational attainment. However, this conception of poor academic achievement and lack of parental involvement is unfounded since research indicates that culturally diverse parents value education and have …

Women Mentoring Women: A Phenomenological Study, Jacqueline Jachym Fitzpatrick Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experience of ten business and professional women who have experienced a mentoring relationship as a mentor or protegee with another woman, to understand the essence of their mentoring experience, and to know more about their participation as mentors. This study began with the assumption that women who experienced mentoring whether from women or men would be active mentors themselves. However, the data reveal an important contradiction.

Since women are entering the business and professional ranks of the work force at an increasing pace, there are greater numbers of women who …

Voices Of Midlife Tomboys: A Narrative Study, Jan Secrist Edd

Dissertations

Women's lives have been increasingly researched in the last thirty years, offering greater understanding of their roles and relationships within our patriarchal culture. It is now readily understood that adolescence tends to mute the positive sense of self and authentic voice of young girls in our current culture, and midlife tends to relax these restrictions, allowing self and voice to emerge once again. Many women in their middle years rediscover the spirited, independent, and competent identity left behind when they accepted cultural restrictions to conform to a world that was not of their own making. In spite of the increased …

The Wrath Of Ignorance: Schizophrenic Policies In Access To Health Care For Undocumented Latinas, Antonia J. Spadaro Edd

Dissertations

This study focuses on the problems of health care access experienced by undocumented Latinas: women from Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Those who are undocumented may encounter significantly reduced access to health care, for the risk of discovery causes them to be more furtive in their activities. Undocumented immigrants to the U.S., especially Latin women, confront myriad obstacles in obtaining health care that are sociocultural, political, economic, and personal. The problem of competing policies in the health care arena represents one of the most formidable obstacles for undocumented persons. These conflicting conditions are such that some services …

School Reform: Leadership Through Shared Decision-Making, Mary Juliet Martel Edd

Dissertations

Educational reform has a long history and schools have gone through cycles of change. This study, however, focuses on the last ten years of reform, often referred to as the restructuring movement. Shared decision making is one of the fundamental changes promoted by this current reform effort. Restructuring the decision-making process to include teachers and parents is a significant change from the hierarchical process that has been in place in most of today's schools. It is time to recognize that schools are complex social institutions that experience change only through its people. By giving those closest to children a stronger …

An Evaluation Case Study Of The Effects Of A Learning Style Awareness Program For Ninth Graders At An Independent School, Dorene Casey Mclaughlin Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of a year-long learning style awareness program and its effects on locus of control and academic achievement in a ninth grade population. This study was also designed to collect subjective data from students on their perceptions of responsibility for their own achievement, ability to identify their individual learning style, a willingness to ask for help, and in addition, over parental conflict. This study was conducted, using a sample of 76 ninth graders, at an independent college preparatory school in a large Southern California city. All subjects were administered the National …