Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration Commons^™

Test Anxiety: Prevalence, Effects, And Interventions For Elementary School Students, Lauren Talbot

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

No abstract provided.

What It's Like To Be A Migrant Worker, Jonathan Harris

Migration in Global Context Symposium

This lesson was used for my seventh and eighth grade students to illustrate the difficulties in a life of a migrant worker. Our school changed our main fund raiser from selling World's Finest Chocolate to Fair Trade Chocolate over concerns of fair wages and conditions for the workers. This lesson, combined with a lesson from the parent volunteers on the business side, illustrated how unfair the conditions and pay were for migrant workers.

An Analysis Of A Middle School Curriculum: Through The Lens Of Personal Responsibility, Social Responsibility, And Social Justice, Kristen Ashley Clark

Theses and Dissertations

One of the fundamental goals of 21st century schools is for students to become independent thinkers through the use of comprehensive academic curriculum that merges academic and social skills to prepare students to compete and engage in an increasingly changing world. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the ways in which three of Schwab’s four functions, social responsibility, personal responsibility, and social justice, were embedded and measured within core academic curriculum. The study also examined how teachers perceived students’ behaviors as a result of a social justice mindset.

The study was conducted using a traditional qualitative methodology …

The Implementation Of A New Teacher Evaluation Model: A Qualitative Case Study Of How Teachers Make Sense Of The Marzano Evaluation Model, Brian P. Donahue

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how teachers understood and changed their instructional practice in response to imposed teacher evaluation requirements. The strategy of inquiry was a single case study, representative of a large suburban high school adapting to the changes required under the provisions of Achieve NJ, the policy mandating new teacher evaluation (Yin, 2009). The theoretical framework of sensemaking and sensegiving guided the analysis of how teachers processed the changes to their evaluation system and the role the context played in the implementation of the MTEM (Weick, 1995, Gioia & Chittipeddi, 1991). Data was …

Exploring My Leadership Practice In Connection To The Support System For Second- To Fourth-Year Non-Tenured Teachers, Joseph Patrick Vespignani

Theses and Dissertations

This autoethnography study offers a personalized story of an elementary school principal's leadership growth and application to practice as a result of the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership program at Rowan University. Specifically, this study explored leading change to support second- to fourth-year non-tenured teachers. It is connected to the larger issue of new teacher attrition that continues to plague public schools across the nation. It is also aligned with the recent mandate of AchieveNJ that every public school in New Jersey must establish a School Improvement Panel (ScIP). Through reflective practice, I conducted a self-analysis of my leadership …

The Coaching Principal: Building Teacher Capacity Through The Texas Teacher Evaluation And Support System (T-Tess), Nathan R. Templeton, Kent Willis, Lavelle Hendricks

Education Doctorate Faculty Works

In response to mandates from the United State Department of Education, Texas revamped its educator evaluation systems to better support teacher professional growth. This best practice research informs practitioners of strategies to build teacher capacity through the leadership coaching attributes necessary for effective implementation of the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS).

Citation: Templeton, N., Willis, K., & Hendricks, L. (2016). The Coaching Principal: Building Teacher Capacity Through the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS). International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 8(4).

Building Better Courses: Examining The Content Validity Of The Inacol National Standards For Quality Online Courses, David Adelstein, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

In 2011, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning released the second iteration of the National Standards for Quality Online Courses. These standards have been used by numerous institutions and states around the country to help design and create K-12 online courses. However, there has been no reported research on the validity of the standards or the accompanying rubric. This study compares all elements under the five main standards to contemporary K-12 or higher education online course literature. The research concludes with suggested changes and additions, as well as an explanation as to how the research connects to a larger …

A Case Study To Discover The Factors Impacting North Georgia School Leaders' Choices In Assignment Of Co-Teaching Partnerships, Donna Cherveny

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Assignment of co-teaching partnerships fails to be recognized fully in the current base of literature. Literature documents the impact of teachers on educational environments and student success, hiring choices of school leaders, and the implementation of co-teaching; however, literature is lacking at the junction of these topics. The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to discover the factors that impact choices of North Georgia school leaders when assigning co-teaching partnerships. Participants included 13 school leaders from 7 North Georgia school districts who are responsible for assigning co-teaching partnerships. Results of the study demonstrate that personal characteristics, professional experiences, …

Principals’ Perspectives On The Professional Development Process And Its Outcomes, Sara Kathleen Moore

Dissertations

This study examined principals’ perspectives on the professional development process and its outcomes. Principals are in the best position to ensure a connection between research-based best practices and what actually happens in the classroom, but there is little research on how principals actually select professional development for their staff in the field. This study was conducted in a Midwestern state using data gathered from public elementary school principals in the form of a survey. The sample included all K-5 and K-8 elementary principals on record with the state department of education, with 242 principals responding. It examined how much control …

The Impact Of Involvement In Educational Politics On New Jersey Teachers' Job Satisfaction, Self-Efficacy, And Work Locus Of Control: A Survey Research Study, Kayla Lott

Theses and Dissertations

A paradigm shift has occurred for the field of education with a renewed focus on accountability and performance. This increase in accountability along with new mandates and regulations are factors that lead to low teacher retention, especially for young teachers with less than five academic years of experience (Shen et al, 2002). Unfortunately, teachers have little influence on the creation or implementation of new education reform initiatives. The purpose of this survey research was to explore the relationship between teacher involvement in educational politics, job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and work locus of control. This study measured these variables using the Brayfield-Rothe …

The Assessment Of Scientific Reasoning Skills Of High School Science Students: A Standardized Assessment Instrument, Shane Hanson

Theses and Dissertations

The main goal of science education has been achieving scientific literacy. However, this has been no easy task considering that scientific literacy has many definitions that involve a plethora of activities. This means that assessing the topic becomes quite challenging, especially if this is done with some sort of overarching instrument. Fortunately, Shamos (1995) has characterized the many dimensions of scientific literacy into three levels. These dimensions can then be assessed individually, making the task of assessment less overwhelming. The highest level, true scientific literacy contains dimensions that are discussed in this study, which already have individual assessments. Wenning's Nature …

The Nature Of Teacher Learning In Collaborative Data Teams, Robert Michaud

The Qualitative Report

As data teams have grown in popularity in recent years, they have been increasingly looked to by educational researchers because of the tantalizing prospect of combining teachers’ on the job professional development with increased and effective data use to drive instruction. Data teams have been increasingly implemented within schools by educational leaders attempting to take advantage of what teachers learn from each other in the context of a data team. Many conceptual models of data team function have been proposed, but few empirical studies have examined how teachers learn from collaborating with each other in a data team. This paper …

Turnaround Elementary Principals In Rural Missouri, Julie C. Delaney

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rural high poverty schools can often be invisible to those not living in rural areas. The number of students in rural areas is not far below the number of urban students, yet there has been little attention or research about rural school student achievement (Arnold et al., 2006; Pitchford 2011; Richard, 2005). The state of Missouri has established a program entitled Top Ten By Twenty. This initiative has been an impetus for change in rural high poverty schools. The program has led to increased student achievement in more than 60 rural high poverty schools. In this study, these schools were …

Washington State School District Superintendent Use Of Social Media For Public Relations And Communication, Jonathan R. Tienhaara

Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine usage and perception of superintendent participation in social media for the purposes of public relations and communication in the State of Washington. Tenets of Social-Customer Relationship Management (Social-CRM) were used as the theory to support how social media can be used to establish and enhance public relations with school district stakeholders. Washington’s (N = 295) school district superintendents were electronically surveyed to collect data on their use and perception of social media utilization for public relations and communication. The data were analyzed to determine how Washington superintendents use social media for …

Relationship-Based School & Classroom Management, Ryan Lucas, Matt Teegarden

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Participants will learn about the four roles of relationship-based classroom and school management in working with students of all ages. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on previous interactions with students (some that went well and some that didn't go so well), learn which role is their strength ("go-to" role), and identify the role with which they need peer support. This presentation is given lecture style with encouraged audience participation and includes plenty of laughter, practical applications, and"just-in-time" ideas to implement the very next day.

Building Successful Academic And Behavioral Programs For At-Risk Youth: Low And No Cost Options, Jeannette Hallam

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

In order to effectively educate all students and make progress in closing the achievement gap, we must look at two areas for school improvement: positive relationships, and school policies and procedures. Participants in this group will walk away with strategies for building positive relationships, reducing the drop-out rate, and assisting students in meeting their goals. Participants will also learn how to evaluate current policies and procedures that may be restricting student growth or achievement through data awareness.

Rigor Demystified, Now What?: Applying & Aligning Webb’S Depth Of Knowledge To Literacy & Math Instruction., Barbara Serianni, Kelly Brooksher

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

After exploring the four levels of cognitive rigor in Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK) and the alignment to the Common Core. Participants will further engage in hands-on activities designed to model the application of DOK in the content areas of literacy and mathematics to improve instructional alignment, increase student engagement, and ensure appropriate rigor in classroom activities and assessment.

A Case Study Of The Challenges And Strategies Of Rural School Superintendent/Principals In California, Christine Mccormick

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify the challenges faced by rural school superintendent/principals and the corresponding strategies used to mitigate those challenges. The role of the superintendent/principal is considered to be one of the most challenging administrative roles; little if no research had been conducted on the challenges and strategies of this dual administrative role. The target population for the present study was the forty-six superintendent/principals in California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA), Region 2. Three superintendent/principals from this target population, who have served four years or more in their role, were selected to …

An Overview Of The Every Student Succeeds Act, Charles J. Russo

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Controversial since becoming law in 2002 as the re-authorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been portrayed by critics as federal overreach in education, even as supporters viewed the bill as a necessary reform to improve the academic performance of students in K–12 schools. Regardless, NCLB proved so unwieldy that 43 states and the District of Columbia received waivers from many of its accountability provisions in return for adopting policies favored by the U.S. Department of Education (Layton 2015).

The recent seven-year-overdue re-authorization of the law received widespread bipartisan support …

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Strategies For Change In New Jersey’S Teacher Evaluations: How Principals Make Meaning Of The Danielson Framework For Teaching, Sara Jane Van Ness

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, education in the United States has been framed within a context of crisis where American students have been perceived as unable to compete with their international peers in an increasingly competitive global environment. Some responses to this perceived crisis included reforms, which changed teacher evaluation policies. In New Jersey, the Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey (TeachNJ) Act mandated that districts use a state-approved model for evaluations, the most popular of which was the Danielson Framework for Teaching (FFT). The FFT has become an integral part of teacher evaluation reform, and this study …