“How Can He Be So Cruel?” Examining Issues Of Trust In School Improvement Efforts, Jacqueline R. Wettlaufer, Steve Sider

Education Faculty Publications

In this case, a high school vice-principal encounters tension and anger when she rewrites a staff member’s report card comments without his knowledge. The case narrative examines the conflict that arises when, under time constraints and pressures to produce student reports, the vice-principal acts on a decision she believes is ethically correct only to find that she incurs a significant setback with staffing relationships largely due to wavering of trust. The analysis examines how transformational leadership builds self-efficacy in all staff founded on trusting relationships. Professional reflection provides a conduit through which educational leaders can assess their own practice and …

Internships And Post-Graduation Employment, Camilla Kaye Mears

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Internships help prepare college students to be work-ready upon graduation while affecting primary stakeholders in the internship experience to include not only the college student but also the higher education institution (HEI) and employer. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between college internship participation and post-graduation employment. If a relationship existed, then does that conclude that internships should be mandatory at HEIs? This study utilized a historical dataset of the May 2018 graduating class from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. SPSS software was used to analyze two categorical variables of …

Usefulness Of Field Experience Component Of A Principal Preparation Program, George Roberts

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A lack of knowledge about the usefulness of a field experience component within the associate principal preparation program for assistant principals drove this study. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the beliefs of system leaders and past participants regarding the usefulness of the field experience component and to examine archival end-of-course survey data from past participants. Constructivism and adult learning theory constituted the conceptual framework. Twelve leaders who were participants or administrators of the program within a large mid-Atlantic school district in the United States were participants. Qualitative data sources included interviews and archival data from the …

Native American Parent Perceptions Of Their Children's Success In Reading And Mathematics, Kandace Cheryee Robertson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The focus of this study was on how to help narrow the achievement gap between Native American students and their non-Native peers in an urban Oklahoma school district. A qualitative case study approach was used to answer the questions of how parents of Native American students perceive their children's academic success in reading and mathematics in Grade 1- Grade 12 and why they believe their children have consistently (or historically) performed below district, state, and national expectations in these subjects in an attempt to better understand the achievement gap. Progress reports, institutional reports, and standards-based test scores were indicative of …

A Phenomenological Study Of High-Performance Teachers' Happiness At School And Home, Sarah Abuaqel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research study is focused on understanding the phenomenology of happiness of High Performing Teachers (HPT) working in an elementary school located in a Midwest City. The purpose of the study was to understand positive and negative emotions of HPT, through their experiences at work and home. Qualitative methodology through in-depth interviews was employed for this study. Tomkins' affect theory of happiness (ATH), was used to assess and explore positive and negative emotions of participants of the study. In this study a purposeful sample of 11 participants that work in elementary school located in a Midwest City, participated in in-depth, …

Secondary Physical Education Teachers’ Perceptions Of Adolescent Females’ Cardiovascular Fitness, La Shundra T. Carter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cardiovascular fitness levels in physical education have decreased for males and females in an inner-city high school, with female cardiovascular fitness decreasing the most. Cardiovascular fitness is important because participating in cardio exercises decreases health issues such as obesity and cardio problems. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the views of teachers regarding low cardiovascular fitness among adolescent females in physical education and how a professional development could help teachers to address the problem. Bandura’s social learning theory was used as the study’s conceptual framework. Semistructured and open-ended interview questions were used to collect data from …

Strategies For Reducing Voluntary Employee Turnover In Public Schools, Peggy Teresa Proctor-Matos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The oversight of systematic approaches to reducing voluntary employee turnover decreases educational institutions’ budgets and performance. In the United States, public schools spend over $2.22 billion annually in voluntary employee turnover costs. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies public school leaders use to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The population consisted of 3 leaders from 1 public school located in Georgia, with successful experience reducing voluntary employee turnover. The conceptual framework for this study was grounded in Vroom’s expectancy theory. The data collection process included semistructured interviews and organizational documents and artifacts. Data were analyzed …

Characteristics Of Successful Elementary Principals As Instructional Leaders, Phonecia Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was the lack of consistency of implementation of instructional leadership practices by elementary principals. Little research existed at the time of this study to inform current practitioners about specific instructional leadership practices that positively effect student growth based on the perceptions of successful practitioner. The purpose of this study was to describe specific instructional leadership behaviors perceived by elementary school principals to have a positive effect on student growth and to describe the contextual factors that affect the different levels of implementation of these behaviors. The conceptual framework for this study was instructional leadership. …

Staff Members' Perceptions Of General Education Development Programs In Virginia's Correctional System, Andrew Lee Beamon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Virginia Department of Corrections mandates that all offenders without a high

school diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED) are required to be enrolled in

GED programs offered in the prison system. However, these programs have shown

varying rates of success. Supported by the constructivist theory, the purpose of this

qualitative case study was to identify how correctional education staff members

perceived the effectiveness of the GED programs. Data from surveys and interviews with

9 educational correctional staff members were collected and analyzed for themes.

Findings indicated that (a) participants use computer software for effective instruction,

(b) offenders who were …

The Role Of Animal-Assisted Interventions In Communication Skills Of Children With Autism, Jennifer Ann Friedrich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties with social communication and prosocial behaviors. Due to a lack of social communication and social interaction skills among children with ASD, special education teachers are tasked with providing meaningful social opportunities to them to facilitate their learning of these skills. Special education literature lacks research studies about how dog-based animal-assisted interventions (AAI) can improve social communication outcomes for children in a school setting. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study, guided by Bowlby's theory of attachment and the human-animal bond concept, was to explore, describe, and improve the understanding of …

Improving The General Education Development (Ged): Retention And Completion Rates Of Low Income Adults, Kimberly Mashaun Rice

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retaining adult education students has been a growing concern. The new GED requirements have generated low completion rates for a free GED program in a 3-year period, in a non-profit agency in a Southeastern state. Instructors are concerned about this problem and need to understand the factors that are inhibiting adult learners from successfully attaining their GED. This qualitative research design was the most appropriate to answer the research questions to determine the experiences that caused the adult learners to not complete the program and identify potential educational strategies needed to improve retention. Sticht's functional context theory was the conceptual …

Mentor Teachers' Perceptions Of Effective Mentoring Strategies, Paula Tomlinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educators at a public high school in Southeastern United States depend on mentor teachers to minimize the attrition rate among beginning teachers, yet the strategies implemented by mentors lack definition and clarity. The purpose of this study was to explore mentor teachers' perceptions of effective mentoring strategies and their needs when mentoring new teachers. Maslow's humanistic learning theory guided this bounded basic qualitative study. The research questions focused on the mentoring strategies mentor teachers perceived as effective and the needs of the mentors. Ten high school mentor teachers, who currently mentor new teachers, were purposefully selected to participate in individual …

Kindergarten Reading Readiness And Developmental Indicators For The Assessment Of Learning, Terry Lynn Wood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The acquisition of early childhood literacy skills is a predictor of academic success in elementary education. In a local school district, 22% of children entering kindergarten were assessed as having a gap in their reading readiness skills (RRS) based on their pre-K scores on the Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL-4). The average kindergarten beginning-year difference on the Reading Baseline Inventory (RBI) between the students with a gap and students without a gap was 15 out of 100 points. The purpose of this quantitative research was to examine the change between fall and spring RBI scores of kindergarten …

Perceptions, Lived-Experiences, And Environmental Factors Impacting The Crime-Reporting Practices Of Private College Students, Kelly Lynn Arney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was assessing the perceptions of student's on how the campus climate impacts their likelihood of reporting crime. Victimization studies have been conducted at large universities and community colleges; however, there remains a lack of research regarding private colleges. This study was designed to examine the reasoning behind students' crime-reporting behaviors and the influencers that impact their decisions. Cohen and Felson's routine activity theory along with the collective-efficacy theory were used as frameworks to analyze the crimes that occur to college students as well as to explore the reasons for not reporting some crimes to law …

The Collaboration Experiences Of Elementary School Intervention Specialists In Inclusive Classroom Settings, Donisha Noel Bailey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Collaboration is one of the most significant components of inclusive education, according to professional literature. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of intervention specialists in terms of collaboration with general education teachers in elementary school inclusive classrooms and administrative support of collaboration. The collaboration and the community of practice theories were used for the conceptual framework in this study to understand how collaboration is an ongoing interaction between people to achieve a common goal. Research questions were designed to understand the perceptions of intervention specialists who work in inclusive classrooms regarding collaboration and administrative support by …

Factors Contributing To Military-Veteran Student Success, Charlene Sutton Cofield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The enrollment of military/veteran students at U.S. colleges and universities is growing steadily; however, factors affecting their academic success need further investigation. Guided by Tinto's student integration model and Bean and Metzner's model of nontraditional student attrition, the relationships between student characteristics and academic success for military/veteran, and civilian students were investigated. For this nonexperimental study, preentry characteristics (military/civilian status, race/ethnicity, age, gender, transfer credits) as well as 1st-year academic performance (total terms attended and grade point average [GPA]) archived in 393 students' records were examined to determine whether these variables predicted 4 student success measures: retention after 1 year, …

Qsen Competency Confidence Levels In Two Groups Of New Registered Nurses, Yvonne A. Davila

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Healthcare agencies and stakeholders expect registered nurses to be competent at all times. When nurses are not confident in competencies, negative patient outcomes can occur. The purpose of this quantitative quasiexperimental with posttest only study was to investigate Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competency confidence levels of 2 groups of new nurses who had 5-6 months of clinical experience. Framed by the Duchscher theory and the QSEN framework, the research question was developed to examine the differences between QSEN competency confidence levels of new nurses who participated in a prelicensure program plus a residency program and nurses who …

The Effects Of Common Core State Standards In Mathematics On Inclusive Environments, Byron S. Jordan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) require students with learning disabilities in mathematics to use a range of cognitive, skills, and foundational numerical competencies to learn and understand complex standards. Students with learning disabilities in mathematics experience deficits in cognitive processes skills and foundational numerical competencies which have emerged as underlying barriers associated with mastering CCSSM. Examining the impact of high-stakes assessments on readiness for college and careers and student achievement may provide evidence that deficits in cognitive processing skills and numerical competencies can impact achievement levels. Using the cognitive theoretical frameworks of Bandura and Gagné, along with …

Teachers' And Principals' Perceptions Regarding The Implementation Of Project Based Learning, Kenneth Ray Moore Ii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The majority of teachers in a medium-sized, rural, low socioeconomic high school in the U.S. state of Arkansas were not implementing mandated project-based learning (PjBL) or were not implementing the method with fidelity, which was problematic because students may not have been reaping benefits associated with the method. The reasons underlying those conditions were not well understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study, which was reflected in the study's 2 main research questions, was to better understand why teachers at the focus school were not implementing PjBL or were not implementing PjBL with fidelity and to generate potential solutions for …

Psychological And Contextual Antecedents To Student Engagement Profiles Of Ninth Grade Students, Wendy Ann Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student engagement is a determinant for students' academic success, readiness for higher education, and social agency. The purpose of this qualitative, case study was to explore ninth grade students' perceptions of the contextual and psychological factors that influence the development of student engagement profiles. The ecological systems theory was used as the framework for the study. Through purposive sampling, 15 participants were selected, and 5 groups of 3 were formed based on participants' engagement profiles as identified by cooperating teachers' categorization and the results of the Student Engagement Instrument. Using semi structured interviews, data were gathered for the 4 research …