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Full-Text Articles in Leadership Studies

Developing An Instrument To Measure School Community Engagement With Implementation Of Information Literacy Curriculum, Candace Wexler Aiani Edd Dec 2008

Developing An Instrument To Measure School Community Engagement With Implementation Of Information Literacy Curriculum, Candace Wexler Aiani Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable survey instrument to be used by librarians and other educational leaders to measure implementation of a school's information literacy program. The goal was to create an instrument that would consider implementation of a library-centered program within the context and culture of the whole school. Once developed, the survey would identify areas of strength and weaknesses in implementation, allowing schools to design interventions and professional development opportunities to further implementation. A theoretical basis for measuring implementation as well as an initial set of dimensions of implementation was identified during …


Academic Achievement Of Students In A Charter Homeschool, Mary A. Leeds Edd Nov 2008

Academic Achievement Of Students In A Charter Homeschool, Mary A. Leeds Edd

Dissertations

A recent development in education is the public charter school as a homeschool model. In several states across the nation, a child may enroll in an independent study program of a public charter school and base his or her studies in the home. This model in the realm of education is called charter homeschool. The state of California has over 120 operating charter homeschools, also known as independent study programs or non-classroom based charter schools. The delivery of instruction from non-classroom based programs has begun to challenge traditional definitions of public schooling. The increased state accountability demands of student academic …


Improving College Retention By Identifying Factors Influencing Student Success, Maryjane Felter Leonard Edd Oct 2008

Improving College Retention By Identifying Factors Influencing Student Success, Maryjane Felter Leonard Edd

Dissertations

Too many high school graduates are failing to complete higher education programs necessary to achieve the American dream. At a time when more Americans need a degree, it's becoming more difficult to get one––particularly for low-income and minority students. Are students ill prepared to meet the challenges of college level studies due to inadequate secondary school educational program, or do colleges need to reassess their teaching programs to meet the needs of this incoming generation of students? This study was carried out in three phases in a mixed methods research design using a series of student and instructor surveys and …


Roots Of Ancient Wisdom For Contemporary Education, Patricia Ottow Keen Edd Aug 2008

Roots Of Ancient Wisdom For Contemporary Education, Patricia Ottow Keen Edd

Dissertations

Scholars have long contended that the main purpose of education is to guide youth towards more authentic, fruitful ways of being in the world; this ancient wisdom continues to challenge educators to serve as effective role models (e.g., Aristotle, 1963; 1985; Maslow, 1993; Palmer, 1998). Yet, until now, teachers' levels of self-actualization have not been investigated with valid and reliable instruments. This quantitative study used two psychometrically sound, closed-ended surveys to investigate the extent to which teachers consider themselves self-actualized and mindful; it measured the direction and strength of the correlation between their self-actualization and mindfulness scores; and, investigated the …


Academic Writing And The Pedagogical Practices Of Effective Teachers, Thomas Devere Wolsey Edd Jul 2008

Academic Writing And The Pedagogical Practices Of Effective Teachers, Thomas Devere Wolsey Edd

Dissertations

Composition, particularly when academic register is required, is a complex task. Because cognitive flexibility theory explains how humans can spontaneously restructure knowledge and adapt to situational demands, it is ideally suited to the ill-structured domain of transactional writing. Global aspects related to paragraph and whole-text structure and local operations related to word and sentence-level features define academic writing. A mixed-methods design used quantitative methods for investigation of five corpora of 10th grade students' work. Qualitative methods were used to explore the means teachers used in promoting academic writing and the interactions they intended to promote via teaching cues, including prompts. …


The Role Of Residential Learning Communities In The Faith Development Of First Year College Students, Dayanne Izmirian Phd May 2008

The Role Of Residential Learning Communities In The Faith Development Of First Year College Students, Dayanne Izmirian Phd

Dissertations

Although student development theories have recognized the complex processes of identity development, they have not adequately addressed the development of the spiritual self. Rather than given separate consideration, spiritual development is often discussed in the context of other aspects of development, such as the cognitive. Consequently, student affairs practitioners have not been adequately trained to address, facilitate, nor support the spiritual development of college students. One approach that has been proposed for facilitating the faith development of college students is Residential Learning Communities. Unfortunately, the assertion that Residential Learning Communities are a promising method of facilitating faith development in college …


How Spirituality Impacts Ethical Leadership: A Cross-Case Analysis Of Eleven Corporate Chief Executive Officers, Mary Rose Johnson Edd May 2008

How Spirituality Impacts Ethical Leadership: A Cross-Case Analysis Of Eleven Corporate Chief Executive Officers, Mary Rose Johnson Edd

Dissertations

Almost weekly, there are news accounts of corporate and government leaders breaching ethical and moral standards. Indeed, in recent years, corporate corruption and misrepresentation of the truth have appeared overwhelming. At the very least, corporate and government scandals suggest that there is currently a crisis in leadership. A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America by Mitroff and Denton, a book called a “landmark contribution” by prominent leadership scholar Warren Bennis, found that individuals and organizations that have a strong sense of spirituality are “far less likely to compromise their basic beliefs and values.” Their data suggested that spirituality may serve as …


Teachers' Beliefs About The Factors That Support Successful Second Language Acquisition Of Elementary School Students, Joann M. Mcdonald Edd May 2008

Teachers' Beliefs About The Factors That Support Successful Second Language Acquisition Of Elementary School Students, Joann M. Mcdonald Edd

Dissertations

Second language acquisition has increased in importance in elementary schools throughout the United States due, in part, to the growing numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs) as well as an economic and social demand for native English speakers to learn world languages. The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary teachers' beliefs regarding the factors that contribute to successfully learning a second language, whether students are ELLs learning English as a new language or English speakers learning a new language. More specifically, this study compared the opinions of elementary teachers of successful ELLs with teachers of English speakers successfully …


Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Provosts In Building A Student Learning Assessment-Supportive Organizational Culture: A Multiple-Site Evaluation Within The California State University System, Chris Procello Phd May 2008

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Provosts In Building A Student Learning Assessment-Supportive Organizational Culture: A Multiple-Site Evaluation Within The California State University System, Chris Procello Phd

Dissertations

Although research on cultivating support for student learning assessment at the institutional level points to the necessary involvement of all campus stakeholders, researchers have commented on the particularly important role of institutional administrators. Most research on the role of administrators in building support for assessment to date has not, however, focused on provosts, even though they are critical because of their power to determine the internal allocation of institutional resources. To address this issue, this study used a 27-question, Likert-scale survey to estimate the extent to which provosts in the California State University system have been successful in building an …


School Web Sites Within The Educational Marketplace: A Case Study Investigating The Parents As Engaged Consumer-Users, Claudia Jane Beeman Edd May 2008

School Web Sites Within The Educational Marketplace: A Case Study Investigating The Parents As Engaged Consumer-Users, Claudia Jane Beeman Edd

Dissertations

Schools -- like their corporate counterparts -- recognize the many advantages that the Internet affords. Today's schools vie for students, and thus use the web to market their services and showcase their management team (administrators, teachers, staff) and academic accomplishments. In a sense, then, web sites are the public face of education; those that are well-designed and multi-featured can enhance a district's public image and create the perception of excellence and competence. This case study explores how one suburban, K-8 school district approaches web site development, specifically, the process by which decisions about design, development, and maintenance are made (and …


E-Coaching In Organizations: A Study Of Features, Practices, And Determinants Of Use, Rebecca Vaughan Frazee Edd May 2008

E-Coaching In Organizations: A Study Of Features, Practices, And Determinants Of Use, Rebecca Vaughan Frazee Edd

Dissertations

Employee development in organizations is moving away from classroom instruction to more individualized, flexible forms of just-in-time learning and support, such as e-coaching. E-coaching, conducted partially or entirely at a distance, offers convenience, cost-savings, efficiency, and improved access to people and resources. However, research on e-coaching for work-related purposes is limited. This descriptive and exploratory study used mixed methods to examine e-coaching extent, technologies and practices, and factors that influence deployment and success in organizations. A web-based survey gathered opinions from over two hundred workforce learning and performance professionals. Semi-structured interviews gathered critical incidents from twenty e-coaches. The researcher used …


Asian American Children's Literature: A Qualitative Study Of Cultural Authenticity, Virginia S. Loh Edd May 2008

Asian American Children's Literature: A Qualitative Study Of Cultural Authenticity, Virginia S. Loh Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to systematically analyze Asian-American children's trade books in terms of their cultural authenticity and to examine the perceptions of producers (authors) and consumers (teachers) as related to the cultural authenticity of such books. I wanted to understand the role of Asian-American children's trade books in research and classroom practice and also to understand the perspectives and preconceptions of these producers and consumers. By conducting this qualitative study on the cultural authenticity of Asian-American children's trade books, I hoped to fill a gap in the current discourse knowledge which does not adequately include the Asian-American …


Private And Public University Students' Perceptions Of Cultural Adjustment Problems In Study Abroad Programs, Walter R. Heinecke Edd May 2008

Private And Public University Students' Perceptions Of Cultural Adjustment Problems In Study Abroad Programs, Walter R. Heinecke Edd

Dissertations

In a world that is increasingly integrated by economics, communications, and politics, higher education is asked to deliver graduates who can function professionally in the international arena. One way to do this is through study abroad programs, which have skyrocketed in popularity among American students over the last 15 years, increasing by 83% to more than 205,000 students in 2007. Despite the obvious benefits associated with such programs, there are challenges to living abroad as well—especially for young adults. To get some sense of these challenges, during the 2005-2006 academic year 114 study abroad students from 2 Southern California universities …


The Nonprofit Ethics Survey: A Contextual Approach, Audrey Dawn Barrett Phd Apr 2008

The Nonprofit Ethics Survey: A Contextual Approach, Audrey Dawn Barrett Phd

Dissertations

Organizational ethics require the attention of nonprofit leaders as regulatory trends and accountability measures increase. In spite of this interest, little empirical research has been conducted on ethics assessment within the nonprofit sector and more importantly, no survey instrument currently exists exclusively designed for nonprofit organizations to assess the perceptions of ethics within their organization. This lack of tools and information prohibits comprehensive self-assessment, and forces a reactive, single-loop approach to ethical issues, rather than a feedback system based on actual data. To address this need, the Nonprofit Ethics Survey provides a practioner-friendly survey designed to assess the perceptions of …