Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Gender Differences In Student Engagement Among Emerging Adults Attending A Small Faith-Based University, Melvin P. Shuster

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

The single best predictor of the success of university sponsored student development activities is the degree to which the students are engaged in these activities (Kuh, 2007). Sax (2008) observes though that much of our understanding of the impact of the college experience is based on the study of students in the aggregate, with relatively little work done on how the college environment differentially influences men and women. The present work investigated gender differences among Emerging Adults (ages 18- 29) (Arnett, 2000) in their engagement of university sponsored activities at a small faith based university located in Northern California. The …

Examining Kentucky Public Schools: Gender Differences In An Index Measure Of Accountability For Academic Standards, Khin Thazin Myint

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Kentucky public education system has made progress over the past 20 years after a number of reforms beginning in 1990. A stated goal of these reforms has been not only to improve the overall performance of students in a school, but to also ensure that no student groups be allowed to fall behind. To accomplish this, the state has adopted and implemented goals that are shared with those of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, including school accountability and a goal of proficiency for all students by the year 2014. However the most recent analysis of three statewide …

Graduate School Choice And Recruitment: An Assessment Of The Martin School Applicant Data System And Its Utility For Supporting Administrative Decisions, Leslie A. Curtis

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Student recruitment and retention are issues of importance for both graduate schools and graduate programs alike. Administrative decisions must be made, regarding these topics, which will best benefit the school or program. Within the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration, those decisions can be influenced by data collected on current and past students. Analysis of data obtained from the student admissions application and a survey sent to students accepted into the Martin School can inform these management decisions. The information developed can highlight areas of recruiting concern such as attracting a higher number of high-quality in-state applicants, increasing diversity, …

Competition Among Public Schools: An Analysis Of Kentucky Public Elementary Schools, Sarah L. Burns

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study relied on data gathered on school identifiers and characteristics, student and teacher characteristics, and index scores of Kentucky public elementary schools, collected from 2001-2008 at the school level. An extensive literature review was completed in order to examine the effects of competition on public schools, both positive and negative.

This paper focused on the impact of public school competition on academic index scores in Kentucky school districts. Competition was measured in two ways: by the number of schools available per student in the district as well as the total district enrollment controlling for the total number of schools …

Educational Advancement: Decision Influences Regarding Attendance And Level Of Post-Secondary Education, William Spears

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The intent of this study was to determine which characteristics from a group of student, teacher, and school characteristics had a significant influence in affecting enrollment in education beyond high school. There are social benefits from having a more educated populace, the Kentucky political system has highlighted intentions to increase enrollment in institutions, and Kentucky has lagged behind the nation and most states in its ability to continue educating the populace beyond high school. Most of the previous efforts to examine postsecondary attendance decisions have focused on the demographics of students with the implication that those student characteristics are the …

Graduate Faculty Workloads: Recognizing Scholarship And Student Engagement At The Comprehensive Regional Institution, Mark Doggett

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

The character of graduate work is one of scholarly endeavor with highly qualified graduate faculty that work with students to culminate their experience through the completion of a graduate project, thesis, or dissertation. Inherent in this activity is the expectation that faculty will devote themselves to produce scholarly works of their own, spend the time needed to counsel and guide students through the process, and serve as members or chairs of various thesis/project/dissertation committees. Additionally, an increasingly accepted perspective of scholarly activity is the generation of external support for programs, research, and regional economic development, of which faculty and graduate …

Keeping True To The Cathedral Within: A Case Study Of Wheaton Academy And The Initiation, Development, And Fulfillment Of Its Christian Saga Of Social Justice, Barbara Dill-Varga

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on a case study of Wheaton Academy, a nondenominational Christian high school in West Chicago, Illinois. This study seeks to understand, through a study of its organizational saga, how and why this antebellum academy has survived for over 157 years and to what extent it has been able to maintain its founding fathers' Christian vision of social justice. Robert Benne's framework, focused on Vision, Ethos, and People as detailed in Quality with Soul, provides a useful lens to organize the study through three phases of the life of the school's saga: initiation, development, and fulfillment.

The central …

Athletic Academic Reform: Does The Level Of Spending On Academic Services By Athletic Departments Affect The Academic Progress Rates Of Revenue Sports?, James W. Batley

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study examines the relationship between the level of spending on academic services per student-athlete for 22 athletic departments within the Division I structure and the recently established performance measure outlined in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Academic Reform: the Academic Progress Rate (APR).

The importance placed on student-athletes to learn, develop, and maintain academic eligibility has led to the implementation of a number of academic tutorial and support programs provided by college and university athletic departments. This analysis investigates the relationship between the level of spending on student-athlete academic services and student-athlete academic performance for two …

Achievement, Engagement, And Behavior Outcomes Of Youth At Risk Following A Pre- Eighth-Grade Summer Academic Enrichment Program And Participation In A School- Wide, School Year Long, Ownership, Mastery, And Grading Initiative, David K. Alati

Student Work

A significant difference was found for youth at risk who refused the pre-eighth-grade summer academic enrichment program pretest-posttest comparisons for total reading (t (19) = 2.05, p = .05 (one-tailed), d = 0.473 but not for reading vocabulary t (19) = 1.58, p = .07 (one-tailed), d = 0.351, and reading comprehension t (19) = 1.65, p = .06 (one-tailed), d = 0.392, also where all test scores were in the direction of improvement. No posttest-posttest Analysis of Variance difference was observed for between groups reading achievement test score comparisons. A pattern of significant language test score improvement was …

The Effect Of Varying Levels Of Reading Delimitations On The Ability Of Students With Disruptive Behavior Disorders Admitted To A Residential Treatment Center To Demonstrate Language-Based Pro-Social Behavior Replacement Skills, Tanya D. Wright

Student Work

Group 1 students (n = 18) with Disruptive Behavior Disorders and co-occurring reading delimitations with measured reading comprehension scores greater than one standard deviation below the mean, pretest beginning compared to posttest ending 12-week behavioral treatment Core Behavior Occurrence measures were all observed in the direction of lower posttest mean scores and student core behavior improvement with eight of the 11 Core Behavior Occurrence measures (73%) found to be significantly different. Group 2 students ( n = 22) with Disruptive Behavior Disorders and co-occurring reading delimitations with measured reading comprehension scores equal to but not more than one standard …

Secondary Principals At The Center Of School Reform: Portraits Of Leadership, Daniel James Evans

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The number of studies related to school reform and principal leadership styles confirms both the interest in how the two might be related and the enigma that schools and principals present as research topics. The art and science of school reform is hard to figure. While many studies attempt to make sense of an overlapping and competing set of variables that are found in good schools, nearly all studies have confirmed some support for principals as a key ingredient to school improvement.

This study seeks to add to the increasing amount of research related to principal leadership styles in an …

Self-Directed Learning Characteristics Of First-Generation, First-Year College Students Participating In A Summer Bridge Program, Jeffrey Drummond Hall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to advance understanding of self-directed learning characteristics of first-year, first-generation college students participating in a summer bridge program. Understanding the experience of these students in higher education can lead to the development of programmatic and pedagogical strategies to better meet the needs of this at-risk student population.

This study was conducted at the University of South Florida (USF), a large, public research university in Tampa. Participants were recruited from the Freshman Summer Institute (FSI), a summer bridge program for first-generation students at USF.

Theoretical frameworks from higher education and adult education literature merged to …

The Relationship Of Principal Resiliency To Job Satisfaction And Work Commitment: An Exploratory Study Of K-12 Public School Principals In Florida, Jason Pepe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics associated with resilient school leaders. Principals juggle multiple responsibilities and work under increasingly stressful conditions. Despite recent role changes, added job responsibilities, and increased accountability, some principals remain remarkably resilient while working in a tumultuous environment. Using Henderson and Milstein's (2003) definition, principal resiliency was described as "the capacity to spring back, rebound, successfully adapt in the face of adversity, and develop social, academic, and vocational competence despite exposure to severe stress or simply to the stress that is inherent in today's world" (p. 7). This empirical study tested the theory …

Global Leadership In Higher Education Administration: Perspectives On Internationalization By University Presidents, Vice-Presidents And Deans, Janice Sullivan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to identify international university administrators' perspectives on organizational strategies to support higher education internationalization. Internationalization is the conscious effort to integrate international, intercultural, and global dimensions into the ethos and outcomes of higher education (NAFSA, 2008). A descriptive survey design method was used and the instrument entitled "Strategic Internationalization Priority Scale" was developed for this research. This study is quantitative and cross-sectional. The online survey was sent to 1,043 top university administrators at 149 universities in 50 countries. These universities had active international agreements with the University of South Florida at the time of …

The Influence Of Time Spent By Students Engaged In Co-Curricular Involvement, Online Social Networking And Studying And Doing Coursework On Their Academic Achievement, Regina Young Hyatt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between time spent by students engaged in student co-curricular involvement, online social networking, and studying on their academic achievement. Additional factors such as student residence, gender, ethnicity, class standing and work for pay were also considered. Existing literature supports the concept that the more time students spend in educationally purposeful activities, the more likely students are going to be successful. Little research exists regarding the use of current versions of online social networking, and the relationship it might have to student academic achievement as measured by grade point average. Therefore, …

Preparing For The New Normal, Judith A. Ramaley, Sally M. Johnstone

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our focus in this article is on designing a new conceptual model for using the resources we have and generating more. We have no reason to think that a new way of financing higher education will come anytime soon, so instead we are reinventing how we operate the institution. If a new model does come along, we plan to be ready to take advantage of whatever is created.

In The Midst Of Organizational Change: A Survey Of Employee Perceptions Toward Separate Accreditation For Regional Campuses At The University Of South Florida, Rhonda S. Moraca

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify how employees in the University of South Florida System (USF System) perceived changes in their organizations and the system as a result of having separate accreditation for each campus in the USF System. This survey research provided a "snapshot" of employee perceptions at a particular point in time. The study was unique because it provided a picture of the perceptions of employees while each campus was at a different point in the organizational change process. The theoretical concept from Bolman and Deal's (2003) four frame theory was used to develop the dependent …

To See And Be Seen: Exploring Layers Of Instructional Leadership And Supervision In The Enactment Of A District-Wide Teacher Evaluation Reform, Jenifer E. Neale

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes instructional leadership and evaluation protocols from a large, diverse district in the Southeastern United States in order to investigate layers of accountability and tensions created when principals are asked to fill the dual roles of both instructional leader and supervisor in a newly implemented teacher evaluation system reform. For this dissertation I investigate the role of the principal as a colleague and mentor and compare this with the role of the principal as supervisor and evaluator in hierarchical systems. I include the role of the peer evaluator, a new position, in my analysis. Critical discourse analysis is …

Swirling: An Examination Of Time-To-Degree, Reasons, And Outcomes Associated With Multi-Institutional Transfers, Alytrice Robinson Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Swirling is an emergent transfer pattern among college students. Swirlers are students who may have participated in a combination of reverse transfer, lateral transfer, or traditional transfer patterns. The available research on swirling has been predominately quantitative in nature. This study was designed to obtain qualitative data on multi-institutional transfers from a qualitative perspective.

A heuristic phenomenological approach grounded in the transformational learning theory method was used to obtain data. The data were obtained via an online blog-based interview. The interview revealed six themes in regards to why students swirl. This study also addressed time-to-degree and outcomes associated with students …

Perceived Leadership Practices Of Student Affairs Professionals: An Analysis Of Demographic Factors., Edwing Delamour Daniel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Student affairs professionals in higher education are expected to provide leadership in many ways on their campuses. Obtaining a more complete picture of the leadership characteristics of the profession is therefore important in informing those in the profession who provide continuing professional development programming and for those who teach in graduate student affairs programs. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to determine whether there were differences in the perceived leadership practices of student affairs professionals when analyzed by the independent variables of race, gender, level of current position, age, and highest degree earned.

The instrument used in this …