Astrodance: Engaging Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Students In Astrophysics Via Multimedia Performances, Jason Nordhaus, Manuela Campanelli, Joe Bochner, Thomas Warfield, Hans-Peter Bischof, Jake Noel-Storr

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The dynamics of gravitating astrophysical systems such as black holes and neutron stars are fascinatingly complex, offer some of nature's most spectacular phenomena, and capture the public's imagination in ways that few subjects can. Here, we describe AstroDance, a multi-media project to engage deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students in astronomy and gravitational physics. AstroDance incorporates multiple means of representation of scientific concepts and was performed primarily for secondary and post-secondary audiences at ~20 venues in the northeastern US prior to the historic first detection of gravitational waves. As part of the AstroDance project, we surveyed ~1000 audience members roughly split …

Reasons For The Theory-Practice Gap In Education Administration, Gary Houchens, Ysuf Badavan, Nuray Kisa

School of Leadership & Professional Studies Faculty Publications

The theory-practice gap can be defined as "a failure to apply or to relate the concepts, ideas and theories to professional conditions". The aim of this research was to explore the reasons for the theory-practice gap in the field of educational administration. Participants included 380 school administrators working in primary, secondary and high schools and 57 researchers working in different higher education institutions in Ankara. The views are collected through the questionnaire with two different forms, namely Reasons of Theory-Practice Gap in the Field of Educational Administration developed by the researchers. Data were interpreted by percentages, frequency distributions and chi-square …

Elementary Principals’ Knowledge Of And Expectations For Specialized Literacy Professionals, Abbie Mahaffey, Zora Wolfe, Katia Ciampa

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Specialized literacy professionals, guided by the International Literacy Association’s (ILA) Standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals 2017, fulfill many roles within the elementary school setting to support the literacy development of students. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate elementary principals’ knowledge of and expectations for the specialized literacy professionals’ roles and responsibilities compared to the ILA Standards. This study included 36 elementary (K-5) principals. Data was collected using an online survey adapted from a survey developed by Bean, et al. (2015) and voluntary follow-up interviews to further explore responses. Findings revealed that elementary principals consider the …

Supporting Professional Development Through Digital Principal Leadership, William Sterrett, Jayson W. Richardson

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

A core role of the K-12 school leader is to support and nurther the growth of others. That growth is commonly thought to be at the student level. However, school leaders must also focus on the growth of their teachers. School leaders are adjusting to a world where technology has crept into many aspects of the profession. And sometimes, technology innovation comes during a time of sudden disruption, such as the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020 where digital learning and leadership become the new norm, even when uncertainty and change were omnipresent. As such, while it is clear that principals …

The Partnership Imperative For Preparing Effective Principals In North Carolina Schools, Martinette Horner, Derrick D. Jordan

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

The extant literature highlights the impact principals have on daily operations, visioning, school climate, academic programming, instructional monitoring, and numerous other areas. The need for well-trained principals at the helm of schools, particularly those with large concentrations of at-risk students, has been identified as a critically important factor in improving academic outcomes. Underdeveloped leaders often struggle to improve schools and are unable to show adequate progress among the students they serve. They are also more prone to early burnout, increasing turnover rates. As such, the need to strengthen principal preparation programs has become even more evident in recent years. A …

Bringing Out The Best Of Leaders, Teachers, And Students In The Midst Of Covid-19: Lessons Learned From Russell County, Alabama, Adam Kilcrease Phd

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 caused negative effects related to the economy, families, and the public education sector; however, one system in Russell County emerged from the pandemic with stories to share. The purpose of this article was to describe an effective School Closure Plan related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russell County, Alabama. Guided by the system's superintendent, leaders, teachers, students, and guardians joined forces to navigate the unfamiliar roads of the health crisis while providing continued opportunities for students to learn in virtual and blended formats. With a focus on critical standards outlined by the Alabama State Department …

Title I Schools And Strategies That Work, Michelle Manriquez

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the strategies principals of Title I schools perceived as most effective in improving English language arts (ELA) scores by at least 10 points, through the lens of WestEd’s Four Domains of Rapid School Improvement.

Methodology: This study utilized a qualitative methodology to gather data via the California Dashboard and semi-structured interviews of 11 principals from 11 different sites in northern California that showed at least 10-point growth on the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) standardized test. The interview questions were based on the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement: …

A Comparative Analysis Of Tardiness Policies Of Elementary Schools, Diana J. Goodwin

All Theses And Dissertations

Previous research has shown that student tardiness has been a challenge for educators as far back as the institution of modern schooling. While there has been considerable research about student absenteeism, student tardiness remains an under researched area, particularly at the elementary school level. The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare tardiness policies across several large, urban school districts, investigate their alignment with current research about tardiness and school attendance, and explore the possible relationship between school tardiness policies and student academic achievement. The research questions for this study were: What are the major similarities and differences …

Building College-Going Self-Efficacy For Rural Middle School Students, Laura Ann O'Donnell

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study examines the role of an explicit college-going intervention on the self-reported levels of college-going self-efficacy for rural middle school students. While there are a multitude of variables that influence a student’s decision to pursue formal education beyond high school, this study focused on college-going self-efficacy, which is one of the constructs included in the Social Cognitive Career Theory. Rural seventh grade students answered fourteen questions from a College-Going Self-Efficacy scale pre-intervention and then completed the same questions post-intervention. The intervention consisted of lessons that addressed common barriers students see as prohibiting them from going to college, including …

Settler Colonial Curriculum In Carlisle Boarding School: A Historical And Personal Qualitative Research Study, Patrick Gerard Eagle Staff

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation research study brings together a historical account and one scholar's personal and family stories of how Indigenous children were stolen and sent to the first Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) boarding schools and tribal schools. In the case of the researcher's family, the educational experiences at Carlisle Indian Industrial School immediately started a traumatic assimilation process on Indigenous children that instilled generational trauma for them and their descendants. At these schools, Indigenous children were forced to conform to a foreign European school designed to abolish their Indigenous identity that demanded they give up their language and culture to …

The Influence Of English Language Arts Instructional Minutes On Student Achievement In Grades 6, 7, & 8, Franklin Goulburn

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to examine if a relationship existed between allocated English Language Arts (ELA) instructional minutes within a school’s bell schedule for Grades 6, 7, and 8 and its corresponding mean PARCC score for that grade. Furthermore, the study also sought to detect the presence of an interaction effect regarding time, socioeconomic status, and student performance. The study controlled for other student, faculty, and school variables as well. Data for ELA instructional time were obtained from school personnel and also through school websites. Additional variable were obtained through the New Jersey School Performance Reports …

Catholic School Educators As Adaptive Leaders: A Structure For Prophetic Action In Response To Covid-19, John T. James

Journal of Catholic Education

This article shares the perspectives of Catholic educational practitioners in the United States as they responded to the challenges of COVID-19. The article then turns to the challenges for practitioners ahead and suggests a prophetic response utilizing the adaptive leadership framework. It outlines some of the issues and questions that must be addressed for the Fall semester. It concludes with references to scripture, Pope Francis, and others regarding a prophetic response to COVID-19 as a tempestuous sea.

Investigando Los Éxitos Y Las Dificultades De Implementar Un Programa De Inmersión Dual A Través De Las Perspectivas De Tres Administradores, Victoria E. Slaybaugh

World Languages and Cultures

This Modern Languages and Literatures senior project investigates and analyses the successes and struggles of implementing a dual immersion program through interviews with three dual immersion principles. In interviewing three highly experienced administrators, ample information was collected on why some programs are prosperous while others see little success. Each individual principal had unique and valuable input, especially with regard to why their respective schools changed programs from 50/50 to 90/10, why they implemented K-12, and even why they chose to eliminate the program entirely. Using supplemental studies to more thoroughly examine the historical and social context of dual immersion, this …

Black Girls Matter: The Impact Of Historical Representation On Contemporary Education, Carolyn Strong

Dissertations

A long history of misogynoir and negative stereotypes about Black
girls and women can be found throughout the literature and popular
culture of the United States. These stereotypes inform the lived
experience of Black girls and women, and in particular interfere with
African American girls’ ability to thrive in a school environment. An
autoethnographic research approach shows that various strategies, in
particular, Black girl-centric spaces, have proven to be helpful in
supporting Black girls who have to negotiate varying degrees of
hostility in general environments. These could be applied more broadly
to improve Black girls’ mental, psychological, physical, and
educational …

Status Of Women In Nevada: K-12 Education Snapshot, Aika Dietz, Ana Rosas, Brenda Cruz Gomez, Caryll Batt Dziedziak, Jean Munson

Research Briefs

There has been a sudden increase in Nevada K-12 student population since 2003 ballooning student-teaching ratio and straining the educational system.

Essential Instructional Leadership Behaviors In High Performing, Economically Disadvantaged Schools: Potential Content For Site-Based Leaders’ Professional Development, Karen Brooks Favorite

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Professional development of site-based leadership has become a growing area of focus to effect change in schools (Houle, 2006; Barnes, Camburn, Sanders, & Sebastian, 2010; Spanneut, Tobin, & Ayers, 2012; Price, 2012; Prytula, Noonan, & Hellsten, 2013; Ganon-Shilon, & Schechter, 2017). Defining what to present in site-based leaders' professional development remains a concern (Oliver, 2005; Da'as, Schechter, & Qadach, 2018). The conceptual framework and subsequent three research questions of the study grew from the need for clarity of content for site-based leaders' professional development. Hallinger's (1982, 1990), Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) three dimensions, and its ten …

An Analysis Of The Impact Of A Social Emotional Learning Program On Transient Students’ Competencies And Perceptions Of School Climate, Kevin W. Nanney

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

With the passing of the Every Student Succeeds Act (2016), schools are now expected to assess more than just the academic achievement of their student body. While states can choose how they meet this expectation, many choose to focus on school climate. This change is important because, while crime in schools has gone down, feelings of being unsafe or bullied have gone up. To support schools in both assessing and improving their student’s perception of safety, schools have the opportunity to use social and emotional learning to improve measures of school climate, which provides indicators of student perceptions of the …

Teacher Perceptions On Awareness And Compassion Among Students Following A Human Rights Education Professional Learning Community, Anthony J. Casella

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examines the perceptions of a faculty after the interdisciplinary implementation of a human rights education platform in the context of moral efficacy in the student body. The teachers participated in a year-long professional learning community (PLC) focused on bringing human rights issues into regular classroom dialogue, modeled after the United Nations human rights education effort. This study considers the following questions: (1) How do teachers perceive the implementation of human rights discussions into their curriculum influences their students’ awareness of human rights issues? (2) In what ways, if any, do teachers perceive a difference in their students’ empathy …

Lay Faculty's Understanding And Operationalization Of Augustinian Core Values In Secondary Education, Joseph J. Zagarella

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Augustinian education is a Catholic education offered through an Augustinian lens. This education is rooted in the history and values of the Order of St. Augustine of Hippo carried forth and appropriated to the modern day by those who have steeped themselves in the life and legacy of Augustine of Hippo. This qualitative case study attempts to investigate the lay faculty participants’ understanding of three Augustinian core values and how those values are operationalized in their interaction with students inside and outside the classroom. The study also investigates if there is a perceived need for further professional development in the …

Elementary School Teachers’ Perspectives And Practices Of Multicultural Education In Indonesia, Robby Anggriawan

Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of the study was to investigate multiculturalism and multicultural education perspectives and practices of elementary school teachers in Indonesia. The research was designed as a qualitative case study which focused on seven elementary school teachers as study participants. In this study, semi-structured interviews are used to evaluate teachers’ understanding of culture as defined by Creshaw (1989, 2008) and multiculturalism concept by using four levels of understanding multiculturalism as defined by Nieto (1994, 2017). As well as elementary school teachers’ practices of multicultural education implementation as outlined by Banks (1999, 2019). The results of the study showed that …