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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Convergence Or Divergence Of Values? A Comparison Case Study Of Teacher Credentialing Programs, Rachel Homel Rice Phd May 2014

Convergence Or Divergence Of Values? A Comparison Case Study Of Teacher Credentialing Programs, Rachel Homel Rice Phd

Dissertations

Educational commentators have long debated whether or not public school teaching is a profession. The definition of a profession is commonly anchored in Andrew Abbott's criteria, which include knowledge (specialized and academic), jurisdiction (diagnosis, treatment, professional inference), and control (ethics, professional organizations, licensure). Teachers in most states need to complete credentialing programs to be licensed. The purpose of this study was to explore what teacher credentialing programs at three diverse universities are doing to build teaching as a profession. The guiding research questions were: (1) What is the relationship between teacher credentialing programs and the professionalization of teaching? (2) What …


Culturally Responsive Leadership: A Case Study To Explore Stakeholders’ Perceptions Of Culturally Responsive Leadership In A K-12 Public Charter School In North Carolina, Kimberly Michelle Jones Goods Jan 2014

Culturally Responsive Leadership: A Case Study To Explore Stakeholders’ Perceptions Of Culturally Responsive Leadership In A K-12 Public Charter School In North Carolina, Kimberly Michelle Jones Goods

Dissertations

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore stakeholders’ perceptions of the culturally responsive leadership practices of charter school leaders. The goals were: (a) to explore how the school leadership team perceived culturally responsive leadership in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina, (b) to explore how the teachers perceived culturally responsive teaching and learning in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina, and (c) to explore how parents perceived a culturally responsive home-school connection in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina. Because this study involved an examination of stakeholders’ perceptions of culturally responsive leadership in a …


Factors Influencing The Decision Of High School Graduating Seniors In Corozal, Puerto Rico, To Pursue University Studies, Aned Yarelis Muñiz Gracia Edd Jan 2010

Factors Influencing The Decision Of High School Graduating Seniors In Corozal, Puerto Rico, To Pursue University Studies, Aned Yarelis Muñiz Gracia Edd

Dissertations

A university education has become a ticket out of poverty for persons living in highly competitive labor markets. Consequently, access to higher education and the factors that motivate university enrollment have long been studied. However, prior to this study, no noteworthy studies with a focus on high school students and their perceptions about higher education had been conducted in Puerto Rico. This lack of research is surprising because Puerto Rico has one of the world's most competitive job markets where a university degree can mean the difference between dependence on welfare and governmental assistance and a life of self-sufficiency and …


Examining The Role Of Meaning-Making And Cultural Competence In How Teachers Understand And Approach Their Work With Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students, Sarina Chugani Molina Edd Jan 2010

Examining The Role Of Meaning-Making And Cultural Competence In How Teachers Understand And Approach Their Work With Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students, Sarina Chugani Molina Edd

Dissertations

The tapestry of classrooms today is transforming into a mosaic of colors, languages, and backgrounds. As the population of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students continues to rise, a deeper understanding of how teachers construct meaning and understand their internal and relational experiences when working with these students has become an important area to examine. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of teachers' meaning-making systems and their cultural competence as it relates to their work with CLD students. Kegan (1982, 1994) provides a constructive developmental lens, which was used in this study, to understand how …


California Education Foundations: A Mixed Methods Study, Laura J. Deitrick Phd Jan 2009

California Education Foundations: A Mixed Methods Study, Laura J. Deitrick Phd

Dissertations

Limited and unstable funding for education has inspired supporters of schools to seek private funds to help pay for public education. Private funds generated at the local level could also, conceivably, reinstate at least a modicum of local control of public schools. Local control, in California at least, has been minimized over the last 30 years as a result of a number of legal decisions related to equity and ballot initiatives such as Proposition 13. One mechanism for channeling private funds to public schools is nonprofit education foundations linked to schools or districts. The total number of these foundations has …


Factors That Motivate Or Discourage Movement Into School Leadership Positions And The Implications For Recruitment Policy And Practice, Ginger Lee Blackmon Edd May 2007

Factors That Motivate Or Discourage Movement Into School Leadership Positions And The Implications For Recruitment Policy And Practice, Ginger Lee Blackmon Edd

Dissertations

Public schools in the United States are facing one of the most extensive transformations in school leadership. Districts face the difficult challenge of recruiting and training school leaders who have the capacity to deal with the growing demands and responsibilities placed on school site administrators. Despite a surplus of people certified for administration, the changing demands of the principal's job precipitated by national reform efforts have left a shortage not only of qualified applicants, but also in the total number of applicants (qualified and unqualified) willing to carry the burden of the job. This study investigated the factors that influence …


Asian American Females In Educational Leadership In K-12 Public Schools, Dina Castillo Pacis Edd May 2005

Asian American Females In Educational Leadership In K-12 Public Schools, Dina Castillo Pacis Edd

Dissertations

The research on educational leadership has largely excluded the perspectives of women and minorities. As school age populations become increasingly diverse, the need for principals from diverse backgrounds also increases. However, the research data shows that females and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in educational leadership positions. In an effort to address the lack of minority females in educational leadership, particularly Asian American females, more research needs to be conducted on their perceived barriers to upward mobility, as well as their perceptions of educational leadership. Only when the voices of Asian American female minority administrators are heard, will they be better …


The Relationship Between Leadership Styles And Labour Disputes In British Columbia's Public Schools, Yanping Wang Edd May 2004

The Relationship Between Leadership Styles And Labour Disputes In British Columbia's Public Schools, Yanping Wang Edd

Dissertations

For the last decade, adversarial relationships between teachers' associations and district administrators in the British Columbia public school system have been commonplace, frequently resulting in formal grievances and arbitration. Since dealing with these issues imposes enormous costs on both teachers' unions and school boards, this study used hierarchical regression analysis to explain why some schools have fewer grievances filed than other schools in the province. Specifically, this study used data gathered from 160 principals in the British Columbia public school system to examine the extent to which school demographics and principal leadership style helped explain variation in the rate of …


Job Satisfaction, Leadership Styles, And Teaching Practices Among Cnmi Public Elementary School Teachers, Charles J. Algaier Edd Jun 2003

Job Satisfaction, Leadership Styles, And Teaching Practices Among Cnmi Public Elementary School Teachers, Charles J. Algaier Edd

Dissertations

This study investigated whether teacher leadership styles and teaching practices influenced teacher job satisfaction among public elementary school teachers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The study answered the following questions: (1) what is the level of job satisfaction among public elementary school teachers in the CNMI; (2) to what extent do CNMI teachers fall into the personal leadership style categories of transactional or transformational; (3) to what extent do CNMI public school teachers prefer either didactic or constructivist teaching practices; (4) to what extent do demographic factors, preferred leadership styles, and preferred teaching practices affect the degree …


Instructional Leadership In Guam's Public Elementary Schools, Evangeline Quitugua San Nicolas Edd Mar 2003

Instructional Leadership In Guam's Public Elementary Schools, Evangeline Quitugua San Nicolas Edd

Dissertations

This study explored the current instructional leadership behaviors of elementary principals in Guam as perceived by the principals and teachers, and examined their perceptions on which instructional leadership functions should be shared or delegated in schools. The Principals' Instructional Management Rating Scale, developed by Dr. Phillip Hallinger and modified by the researcher, was used to gather data for this study. Four hundred eighty teachers (53%) and eighteen principals (81%) in Guam's public elementary schools participated, and there was no evidence of non-response bias. From this study, findings revealed that both principals and teachers shared the same perceptions regarding their principals' …


Perceptions Of Principal Effectiveness And Teacher Morale: A Study Of Public Secondary School Teachers On Guam, Michelle M.S. Santos Edd Jan 2003

Perceptions Of Principal Effectiveness And Teacher Morale: A Study Of Public Secondary School Teachers On Guam, Michelle M.S. Santos Edd

Dissertations

For more than a decade, the public schools on Guam have suffered from low student test scores, high turnover rates and low levels of teacher morale. Although there may be many explanations for this persistent problem, an important part of any solution is improving the overall level of teacher morale, which of course, can be influenced in many ways by the actions of the principal. In an effort to determine both the level of teacher morale among secondary school teachers on Guam as well as the factors that may help explain it, including the perceived level of principal effectiveness, this …


School-Based Management In Alberta: Perceptions Of Public School Leaders, 1994–1997, Robert James Wilson Edd Jan 2001

School-Based Management In Alberta: Perceptions Of Public School Leaders, 1994–1997, Robert James Wilson Edd

Dissertations

In 1994, the Government of Alberta, Canada, instituted major fiscal measures designed to reduce operating costs and a large provincial debt. In tandem, Alberta Education restructured public education by: reducing the number of school districts, redefining the role of school boards, increasing the involvement of parents, initiating Charter schools, expanding student testing, downsizing Alberta Education, improving delivery of services to children, and mandating the implementation of school-based management in all public schools (Alberta Education News Release, January 18, 1994). The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how the implementation of school-based management, through the first three …