Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

University Presidents And The Role Of Fundraising At Private Liberal Arts Universities, Greeley Robert Myers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the last decade, private liberal arts universities have experienced financial difficulties requiring the need to raise private funds. The financial viability of these universities depends on the ability of university presidents to raise money; however, challenges remain to carry out this task. To increase fundraising effectiveness at the university being examined, this case study identified skills and practices of 10 university presidents who achieved fundraising success during their tenure, such as the completion of a capital campaign or the growth of the university's endowment. Transformational leadership style traits were considered to determine their alignment with the successful fundraising behaviors …

Successful Strategies Used To Increase The Reading Comprehension Of Second Graders, Patricia Reda Reda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A southeastern elementary school evidenced many students with a consistent decrease in oral reading fluency (ORF) rates as the 2nd grade year progressed, leading to weakness in reading comprehension in the 3rd grade. Reading comprehension is critical for academic success, as students who merely decode words do not gain knowledge from the text. This qualitative case study explored the successful strategies, both inside and outside of the classroom, used by parents and teachers of this southeastern elementary school to positively impact the reading comprehension rates of 2nd grade students. Constructivism and transactional learning served as the conceptual frameworks for this …

Teacher Education In Central Equatoria, South Sudan, Catherine Hahs Brinkley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Without education, many South Sudanese will continue living in poverty. There are numerous factors that limit their educational opportunities including tribal warfare, colonialism, missionary malpractice, civil wars, a high illiteracy rate, low government funding, and threats of war. These factors have left a substantial deficiency in available training for teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine the pedagogical needs of the teachers of South Sudan. Within a conceptual framework of participatory action research, this qualitative study examined educators' view of the effectiveness of the teacher education that they had received, the pedagogical needs of teachers, and the ideal …

Educator Perceptions Of Visual Support Systems And Social Skills For Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders, David James Miller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face unique social skills challenges as they transition into independent living environments and seek fulfilling relationships within their communities. Research has focused on social education and interventions for children with autism, while transitioning young adults with ASD have received insufficient attention. The purpose of this multisite case study was to explore perceptions of school personnel related to the use of visual support system (VSS) technology and enhancement of social skillsets for young adults with ASD. Information processing theory and social learning theory provided the research framework. Research questions addressed perceptions related to the …

A High School Dropout Prevention Program For At-Risk Students, Cynthia M. Wallace

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Dropping out of high school is an issue that has faced the educational system for years. At a high school in Mississippi, the dropout prevention plan implemented was not beneficial to all at-risk students because it mainly focused on academic issues. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand why students dropped out of high school and to gather strategies for a dropout prevention plan. The conceptual framework was based on 5 factors: general deviancy, deviant affiliation, family socialization, structural strain, and academic quandary. The research questions inquired about experiences that caused students to drop out and suggested …

The Experiences Of High School Teachers Who Have Encountered Burnout, Jimmie Lee Mckinley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative case study addressed the impact of administration and school leadership on teachers who encounter burnout. The purpose of this project study was to examine this phenomenon through the experiences of Grades 9-12 classroom teachers, which ultimately could reduce the amount of early retirees, reduce the amount of illnesses among teachers, and increase the enthusiasm and vitality of educators. The conceptual framework was based on Bandura's social learning theory. Interview data were collected from four high school educators using purposive sampling, through semi structured face-to-face inter-views, and were coded using a line-by-line content analysis for emergent themes. Findings included …

Parent And Principals' Perceptions Of Cyberbullying In 21st Century Rural Elementary Schools, Kathleen Virginia Hosterman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cyberbullying is a common form of harassment and aggression engaged in by today's youth. This phenomenon is affecting primary-school-aged children as technology devices are now made available to elementary school students in rural settings. Based on the framework of Bandura's social cognitive theory, this mixed methods project study included a survey to quantitatively investigate the associations between parental knowledge of the phenomenon of cyberbullying and children's grade levels, and a focus group to gather qualitative data from school principals regarding their perceptions of the extent and impact of cyberbullying in 4 rural elementary schools in Massachusetts. Due to highly skewed …

Faculty And Student Perceptions Of Reading And Language Arts Preparation And Preparedness For The State Subject Area Test, Ingrid Ahrens Massey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since changes to the reading/language arts State Subject Area Test (SSAT) in late 2010, elementary education teacher candidates at a teacher training college in the Southern United States have experienced declining scores resulting in test failure and delaying student teaching and graduation. The purpose of this case study was to identify factors that students and faculty perceived as most beneficial in preparing students to pass the SSAT. Constructivism served as the conceptual framework for this study addressing the effects of collaboration, hands-on learning, and application of knowledge. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 6 elementary education students who had taken …

Effects Of Direct Instruction Common Core Math On Students With Learning Disabilities, Joseph Ifeanyi Monye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. students with learning disabilities' math skills acquisition has been on the decline in recent years. Studies show that teachers using traditional methods of teaching math lack knowledge of task analysis, chunking, sequencing, mass practice, modeling, and repetition of instruction. These components of direct instruction or pedagogical activities are hallmarks of special education teaching and are collectively described as cognitive support pedagogy. The study evaluated direct instruction teaching strategies to teach Common Core math to middle school students with learning disabilities, to determine if the current downward trend in math skills acquisition amongst them can be reversed. The theoretical framework …

Characteristics Of Effective Reading Language Arts Teachers In Closing The Achievement Gap, Latasha Price Bassette

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined an urban school district in the southern United States that continued to experience student achievement gaps despite the implementation of initiatives as the African American Success Initiative. The school leadership needed a deeper understanding regarding what strategies were successful with closing the achievement gap. Using Gay's theory of cultural responsive pedagogy, the purpose of this study was to identify inward attributes, outward strategies, and professional development perceptions of teachers with no achievement gap among ethnically diverse students. Employing an instrumental case study design, 8 middle school reading teachers who closed the reading achievement gap were interviewed; these …

The Difference In Attitudes Of Regular And Special Education Teachers Toward Inclusion, Janice Lorraine Brown-Oyola

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inclusion has been introduced throughout the educational community as a method to increase math and reading scores of underachieving schools on standardized tests. The problem was that teachers were not effectively implementing inclusion. Guided by Bandura's (1994) self-efficacy theory, which hypothesizes that a person's sense of efficacy provides information of their capability and the ability to assess their performance, the purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to determine if there was a significant difference in attitudes on inclusion between regular and special education teachers using the 4 subsections of the Scale of Teachers: Attitudes Toward Inclusive Classrooms through an …

A Modified Program Evaluation Of Training For Employer Compliance With Health Insurance Requirements, Joanneandi Davenport

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A training program was established in the Midwestern United States to help employers understand compliance requirements of the health insurance industry. The purpose of this study was to conduct a modified program evaluation of the effectiveness of Pay or Play, a portion of a larger Benefit Compliance Program. The reason for the evaluation was the high percentage of remediation needed for administrators of employee health insurance following Pay or Play seminar sessions, which posed the question of program effectiveness in education of participants. This study is important because administrators of employee health insurance are responsible for understanding compliance regulations and …

The Lilead Survey: A National Study Of District-Level Library Supervisors: The Position, Office, And Characteristics Of The Supervisor, Ann Carlson Weeks, Jeffrey Discala, Diane L. Barlow, Sheri A. Massey, Christie Kodama, Kelsey Jarrell, Leah Jacobs, Alexandra Moses, Rebecca Follman, Rosemary Hall

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The school district library supervisor occupies a pivotal position in library and information services programs that support and enhance the instructional efforts of a school district: providing leadership; advocating for the programs; supporting, advising, and providing professional development to building-level librarians; and representing school library programs to stakeholders in the school system and the community at large. With funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Lilead Project was founded at the University of Maryland in 2011 to "study, support, and build community among school district library supervisors" (Lilead Project n.d.). To gain a better understanding of supervisors--who …

Examination Of An Independent School’S Site-Based Summer Program, Susan W. Keogh

All Theses And Dissertations

This study examined the summer program offered by a pre-kindergarten through grade twelve independent school. Three levels of theory, individual, group, and organizational, were utilized to analyze the experiences of students and instructors. The variety of opportunities and instructional design elements, the intentional alignment to the traditional school year, collegial discussions connecting summer learning and the school year, and evidence of the school’s mission were examined.

Findings revealed a wide-range of educational experiences and the benefits of continuous learning that are evident the following school year. Class designs incorporated instructional elements supported by individual learning theories. Academic standards and expectations …

Development Of A School District: The Role And Contributions Of Clark County, Nevada School District Superintendents, 1956 – 2000, Patrick W. Carlton

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Initial Student Impressions And Affinity Towards The Institution, Andrew Doto

Masters Theses

This study attempted to explore the relationship between the university affinity and initial impressions of undergraduate students at a mid-size, Midwestern university. A quantitative study was employed after acquiring data using Berquam's (2013) Relationship Quality Student Affinity instrument, which measured a student's commitment and pride, as well as their initial impressions towards the university. Results from the Chi Square test for independence showed evidence that initial impressions were related to university affinity, aligning with prior research. Other results from the study indicated that initial impressions and university affinity were also related to university choice rank. Recommendations were made for the …

Universal Design: A Student Affairs Perspective, Becca Lynn

Masters Theses

College is one of the most exciting times in an individual's life and could also be one of the most challenging. Students are coming in to college needing amenities and different accommodations for a variety of different reasons; very commonly, learning and physical disabilities. Utilizing qualitative methodology, this study aimed to explore five different student affairs areas on campus to see if they provide a universally designed environment for college students with both learning and physical disabilities. Each professional shared their knowledge of universal design, universal strategies that they currently use, areas professionals believe are the most accommodating on campus …

Factors Influencing Student Major Selection At A Community College, Kellie Jean Keck

Masters Theses

College students are influenced by many different things the moment they arrive on campus. This study was an exploratory study that examined what factors influenced student major selection at a rural Midwestern community college. Qualitative interviews were conducted with (N = 6) sophomore level participants that were previously undecided but had since declared a major. Participants were asked a series of questions about their major selection process including their experiences as an undecided student, who, and what may have influenced their major selection, what role monetary returns played in their major selection, and how comfortable they are with their …

The Recruitment Of Sexual Minority Students In Higher Education, Jorge El-Azar

Masters Theses

In a time when universities actively recruit diverse groups of applicants, some universities are seeing the need for a diverse student population and advancing their recruitment initiatives to recruit specific groups of students. The LGBTQ+ community has been perceived as an invisible community (Cegler, 2012) by some universities, but other higher education institutions are seeing the value of specifically recruiting students who identify as a part of this community. This study was designed to focus on the initiatives universities are implementing to effectively recruit students who identify as LGBTQ+. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher interviewed six participants who identified …

Setting The Agenda For Stem Literacy In Higher Education: A Content Analysis Of The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Maya Abdallah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Enhancing achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is a long-standing national concern. The current national agenda, to instill an "all hands on deck" approach to creating a STEM literate citizenry, calls for broadening the scope of inclusion in STEM efforts. A critical population, higher education administrators, faculty, and staff are a valuable resource to advancing this agenda. Under the proposed Agenda Setting Communication Theory (ASCT) model developed for this study, their level of exposure to needed information is an important indicator of their potential participation in this agenda. As the leading news medium for the higher education community, …