Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Altgeld Gardens: Evolution Of Culture And Educatiion In An Isolated African American Community, Beverly Anne Lesueur

Dissertations

Altgeld Gardens, a Chicago public housing project, was selected for this study because its unique attributes were designed as a model, self-contained complex located in a geographically and socially, isolated area of Chicago built to house African American war armament workers and their families beginning in the mid-1940’s. Oral testimonies from teachers and community members chronicle significant changes to the local culture and the primary school’s efforts to provide effective instructional services within the cultural context of this community. The most effective and frequently used modification of instruction was the incorporation of culturally relevant pedagogy. The goal was to effectively …

The Roles And Responsibilities Of The Principal As Perceived By Illinois K-8 Principals Who Belong To Generation X, Keith Westman

Dissertations

The roles and responsibilities of the school principal have changed throughout the years, and, with that, the face of the principalship has changed, too. The average age of principals in the United States is 57 with a significant portion of those individuals retiring within the next ten years (United States Department of Labor, 2008). As these principals retire, the qualities and characteristics of the next generation of principals must be identified. However, it may not be as easy to fill these vacancies as it once was. Within the context of the research that has been done on Generation X, the …

Student Access To Advanced Placement (Ap) Coursework: Principals' Beliefs And Practices, Steve Wood

Dissertations

Advanced Placement® (AP®) courses provide high school students an opportunity to be exposed to the rigors of college while they are still in high school. Since school policies play a role in the opportunities for students to pursue these courses, educational leaders must be aware of the ways in which their personal beliefs and school practices influence the course-taking patterns in their students.

This study investigated the relationship between principals' personal beliefs and perceptions of school practices, and the opportunities for students to successfully complete rigorous Advanced Placement coursework. The study utilized a questionnaire distributed to eight-eight principals of schools …

First-Year College Students And Faculty: A Comparison Of Expectations For Success, Jodi Ellen Koslow Martin

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify and explore academic, social, and career-related expectations that first-year college students believe lead to their collegiate success as defined by their perception of persisting in higher education. Further investigation determines how these expectations align with faculty expectations of student success. Eight first-year college students and eight college instructors were interviewed about their expectations at a small, private college. Criteria for first-year students include residing on campus and graduating from high school within the last year. Eligible faculty teach at least one class at the first-year level.

The data from student interviews …

An Historical Analysis Of The Chicago Public Schools Desegregation Consent Decree (1980 - 2006): Establishing Its Relationship With The Brown V. Board Case Of 1954 And The Implications Of Its Implementation On Educational Leadership, Shawn L. Jackson

Dissertations

This study provides an historical analysis of the Chicago Public School Desegregation Consent Decree, while illustrating its relationship with the Brown v. Board of 1954. It provides and analysis of the mission and objectives of all three versions of the Consent Decree which include: The Original Consent Decree 1980, The Modified Consent Decree 2004, and The Second Amended Decree 2006. The study also provides an account of the Brown v. Board case of 1954, defining the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as the conduits between the landmark case and the Chicago …

Building Level Principals As Change Agents In A Response To Intervention Reform Initiative, Kristen Elizabeth Ninni

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the principal in a systems change effort. Utilizing Response to Intervention (RtI) as a means of studying principals as change agents, this researcher examined the principals' ability to implement and sustain a reform effort such as RtI as perceived by the principal, problem solving team, and teachers. This study examined how the perceptions influenced the change process and the extent to which the principal demonstrated characteristics of change such as knowledge of change, self-efficacy or their belief in their ability to make changes, and skills of change as supported …

The Caller And The Called: How Young Adults Understand Vocation In Their Lives, John A. Dahlstrand

Dissertations

While scholarly research offers some insight into the career decision-making process, it says little about how individuals discern their callings and how the vocational discernment process affects career choice. Accordingly, this study generated baseline understandings in both of these areas that proved theoretically and practically fruitful and which have the potential to serve as a launching pad for future research. These new understandings are critical because decisions relating to career choice and vocation are of particular importance to college-aged adults.

This study was informed by a conceptual framework identifying seven key domains that were assumed to potentially shape students' understanding …

The Obama Effect And Its Relationship To The Perceptions Of Blacks On Education And Social Mobility, Lydia K. Young

Master's Theses

The educational system in the United States has been characterized as political, a meritocracy (Hurn, 1992), a structure that socializes citizens (Warren, 1996), a system that marginalized those of races marked other or defined as minority by society (Ratvich, 1983; West, 1993; Katz, 1999) and, most importantly for this study, the key to a more equitable society through schooling and personal beliefs and the possibility of lifelong achievement (Anderson, 1988). Our educational system, ever changing and complicated by definition and action, plays a large role in one's perception of the ability of people to achieve social mobility -- especially for …

Attitudes Towards Global Civic-Mindedness And Engagement Before And After Study Abroad: A Study Of Undergraduate Students At International Study Abroad Centers Of An American University, Mousumi Mukherjee

Master's Theses

Mousumi Mukherjee

Loyola University of Chicago

ATTITUDES TOWARDS GLOBAL CIVIC-MINDEDNESS AND ENGAGEMENT BEFORE AND AFTER STUDY ABROAD:

A STUDY OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT

INTERNATIONAL STUDY ABROAD CENTERS OF AN AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

In recent years Study Abroad has come from the periphery to the center of Higher Education programs in the U.S. Students from across the world has been studying abroad in the U.S. for decades because of the advanced research and infrastructural facilities here. Compared to the international students studying abroad in the U.S., the number of U.S. students studying abroad has been negligible according to Open Doors data reported …

Messages Of Nationalism In Mexican And U.S. Textbooks: Implications For The National Identity Of Transnational Students, Danielle Lane Jerdee

Master's Theses

This study uses qualitative content analysis to compare fifth grade social studies textbooks in Mexico and the United States to provide insight on how messages of national identity change as students migrate between school systems. The following research questions will guide the analysis: Given that one of the roles of textbooks is to form a national consciousness through mythmaking, how do messages of national identity conveyed in Mexican and U.S. textbooks conflict? How are the topics of immigration and citizenship presented in each nation's textbooks? In what ways do differences in the accounts of history between Mexico and the United …

Cyberspace And The Defense Of The Revolution: Cuban Bloggers, Civic Participation, And State Discourse, Renee Naomi Timberlake

Master's Theses

In this thesis I address how Cuban bloggers are contesting state sanctioned modes of civic participation and censorship. I begin to address this question with a discussion of the creation and perpetuation of a state sponsored hegemonic discourse, followed by the alternative, counterhegemonic discourses which appear in the blogs of Cuban writers Yoani Sanchez and Claudia Cadelo. The two authors are tapping into the internet, overcoming state imposed, island-wide bans on their websites, and voicing their dissent against and frustration with a government that professes a discourse of solidarity and socialism while enacting a reality of inequality and market-based economics.

Short-Term Study Abroad Programs And The Development Of Intercultural Sensitivity, Barbara Elizabeth Zarnick

Master's Theses

This study focuses on the growing popularity of short-term study abroad programs and aims to determine the impact of such programs on producing intercultural sensitivity. A pre and post-departure survey were administered to undergraduate and graduate students to analyze students' perceptions of their own intercultural sensitivity prior to a short-term study abroad experience and after. This study uses the Intercultural Sensitivity Index developed by Christa Lee Olson and Kent R. Kroger in 2001 to assess the students' levels of intercultural sensitivity. The study reveals that this particular short-term experience had minimal impact on participants' levels of intercultural sensitivity, but illustrates …

A Preliminary Study: Body Dysmorphic Disorder In Division I Women’S Collegiate Soccer Players, Tammy D. Jones

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

The prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) among collegiate athletes has not been clearly determined. The purpose of this study was to determine if there are symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder found in Division I women’s soccer players. The researcher hypothesized that there would be some symptoms found within the participants of sport and that there was a need to research this area further.

The study consisted of four participants who participated in semi-structured interviews. The subjects were asked a series of questions from the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Modified for Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD-YBOCS) to determine if they indicated …

The South Omaha Community Scholarship Program: A Qualitative Study Of Persistence Of Hispanic Students At Bellevue University, Tracy J. Mctavish

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

The purpose of this case study was to determine the impact of the South Omaha Community Scholarship Program on the persistence of the Hispanic students who participated. Previous research on Hispanic student persistence has focused on the reasons why students do not persist and more recent research has been conducted on programs and retention efforts, colleges and universities are implementing on their campuses. This study researched a specific program, The South Omaha Community Scholarship Program, designed to provide financial, academic and other needed resources to help Hispanic students persist to graduation. The researcher believes this study was important because it …

What's Race Got To Do With It?: A Historical Inquiry Into The Impact Of Color-Blind Reform On Racial Inequality In America's Public Schools, Lillian Dowdell Drakeford

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation examines the history and impact of color-blind educational reform in the post-Brown era on racial inequality of educational opportunities and outcomes in America's public schools. Through the lens of critical race theory and race critical theory, the dissertation employs a dual analysis. A macro analysis of the evolution and impact of colorblind educational reform on the national level is juxtaposed with a micro, case-study analysis of the history of color-blind educational reform at a historically Black high school. The historical analysis of the relationship between race and education encompasses intellectual and social aspects of education in the U.S. …

Preparation For Teaching In Urban Schools: Perceptions Of The Impact Of Traditional Preparation Programs, Crystal Timmons

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During 2 decades of debate about teacher preparation education practitioners and policymakers have called for a more skilled professional teaching force (Darling- Hammond, 2010). Of particular concern has been poverty’s impact on education -- specifically in struggling urban schools -- prompting legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which shifted funding formulas in an effort to directly target poor students and struggling schools (Talbert-Johnson, 2006). The major purpose of this study was to explore novice teachers’ (teachers in their second to fourth year of teaching) perceptions of their preparedness to teach in urban schools following completion of …

The Administration Of Community College Blogs: Considering Control And Adaptability In Loosely Coupled Systems, Troy A. Swanson

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study using a multiple case study method is (1) to further the understanding of how community college administrators and blog authors strike a balance between organizational control and adaptability when implementing and using blog technologies and (2) to create a model that will help administrators better strike this balance within a loosely coupled system of college units and individuals. The rise of Web 2.0 technologies, which allows for direct publication to the Internet, presents two conundrums for community colleges: the conundrum of control and the conundrum of adaptability. As the oldest implementation of Web 2.0 technologies, …

Baby Boomer And Genx Elementary Principals : Differing Perspectives On Schooling, Lisa M. Fry

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Studies on generational analysis inform us that each generation is shaped by the influences they share during their formative years. The common experiences and historical circumstances experienced during this time influences their generational identity and results in a world view that is unique to that generation. This world view and generational identity impacts their belief system and practices as they emerge as leaders in mid-life.

While the current structures and policies that guide today's educational system were established by the Baby Boomer generation, we could see significant changes as the Baby Boomer behemoth begins to leave the workforce. Around the …

Threads In A Tapestry: An Ethnographic Evaluation Of Milken Community High School’S Tiferet Fellowship Program, Roger Jason Fuller

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explored an essential question, "What does the lived experience of students in the Tiferet program mean for them and others?" By exploring the background, implementation, and lived-experiences of two academic-year sophomore cohorts from Milken Community High School in Los Angeles as they lived and participated in a semester study abroad program at the Alexander Muss Institute of Israel Education in Hod HaSharon, Israel, the study shows the impact-of that experience on the students in the program and the school culture at large. The study engaged in a description of the program’s development and evaluation of the lived-experiences as …

Show And Tell: A Unique Approach To The Professional Educator's Portfolio, Elizabeth Hubler Cameron

Honors Program Theses

Today's educators need to be increasingly innovative in their self-marketing to ensure the best outcome of any job search or promotion opportunity. Skills and credentials are important, but increasing importance is being placed on tangible materials and substantiated data that one has to support their teaching style and educational philosophy. New job applicants need to find ways present themselves as distinct from other applicants. The following proposal outlines a creative thesis project that seeks to utilize traditional portfolio and resume components, combined with unique and technologically advanced selections, re-designed to demonstrate the fullest creative and innovative potential. The complete title …