Educational Leadership Commons^™

Inclusive Settings In Belizean Primary Schools: A Focus On Teacher Practices, Katherine A. Curry, Jentre Olsen, Ed Harris, Candy Garnett, Dian Danderson

Journal of Global Education and Research

Educators in Belize are charged with ensuring that all Belizeans are given an opportunity to acquire a quality education that promotes personal development and productive citizenship. Consequently, Belizean law now requires all children from ages five through fourteen to attend at least eight years of primary school. Students with special needs have historically not received accommodations in the education system, so many teachers struggle with meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities in these inclusive settings. This qualitative case study explored teaching strategies and contextual factors in inclusive primary classrooms in Belize and was conducted in the form of …

Examining Teachers’ Perceptions Of Preparedness To Teach In Low-Income Schools Upon Completing A Master Of Arts In Teaching Degree, Aisha Collins

Dissertations

Recent teacher shortages after the 2020 to 2022 COVID pandemic disruption of education systems have increased interest in Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) targeting teacher candidates who obtained earlier degrees in fields other than education. This mixed methods research project employed surveys and semi-structured interviews to examine perceptions of early career teachers who completed a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) preparation program in a midwestern U.S. urban, low-income setting. These MAT EPP program completers described their views of their preparation program, including the EPP’s perceived strengths and areas for improvement framed by Danielson’s four domains of teaching responsibility: Planning and …

How Did School Administrators Manage The Crises During The Covid-19 Outbreak?, Sadegul Akbaba Altun, Mustafa Bulut

Journal of Global Education and Research

The focus of this research was to investigate how school administrators in Turkey managed the crises caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, which was a deadly threat for humanity worldwide. The research questions guiding this study are: 1) Did schools have a crisis plan? 2) If yes, how was the plan implemented in a crisis situation?; 3) What kind of changes were made in the plans?; 4) What should administrators do in such crisis situations?; and 5) What was done in the COVID-19 outbreak? The research was conducted as a qualitative case study which involved 105 school administrators. Due to the …

Equipped For Change: A Grounded Theory Study Of White Antiracist School Leaders’ Attitudes And Perceptions Of Racial Consciousness In Educational Leadership, Thomas Joseph Peterson

Education (PhD) Dissertations

There is substantial evidence that issues of race and racism and are common in U.S. public schools, especially those greatly impacted by poverty and racial segregation. Unfortunately, it is highly likely many of these occurrences either go unrecognized, unacknowledged, or are perpetrated unknowingly by White educators and administrators—many of whom are well-intentioned, but lack the critical lens necessary in challenging and dismantling them. For White people, the enculturating normativity of White racial dominance, maintained by the social conditioning of Whiteness, facilitates an environment of racial ignorance and insignificance, leaving most painfully oblivious to the damaging complexities of racism in contemporary …

The Relationship Between Discipline-Specific Subject Matter Knowledge And Discipline-Specific Science Teaching Efficacy Of Elementary Teachers, Douglas Ball

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because a teacher's confidence in their ability to teach science is associated with instructional methods and their persistence in the face of challenges, improving science teaching confidence becomes critical for improving science teaching of young children. Science teaching confidence also varies by discipline for elementary teachers: physical science teaching confidence tends to measure lower than life science. This discrepancy leads to elementary teachers engaging in less effective science teaching practices with physical science than life science. A teacher's subject matter knowledge influences their confidence in their ability to teach that subject. Subject matter knowledge impacts science teaching confidence because when …

Learning Mindset Dimensions And Completion Status Of Tennessee Community College Students, Donna Sue M. Shellman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this nonexperimental, quantitative study was to analyze relationships between three learning mindset dimensions (growth mindset; purpose and value; and sense of belonging) to retention and persistence to graduation among first-time, full-time Tennessee community college student graduates and nongraduates who attended one of 13 institutions in Fall 2019. In addition to comparing Tennessee community college graduates and nongraduates’ learning mindset dimensions, I analyzed student subgroups to explore those dimensions with regard to gender and race. Additional analyses included correlations between students’ growth mindset scores; purpose and value scores; and social belonging scores.

Analyses included Tennessee Board of Regents’ …

Exploring The Experiences Of Underrepresented Students Pursuing Health-Related Graduate Or Professional Programs, Alison Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many years graduate and professional education programs for the health professions have sought to increase the diversity of their student body to include students from a wider variety of backgrounds. Increasing the diversity of healthcare providers is an essential component of addressing inequities in healthcare. However, despite initiatives to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions, these professions remain largely White and female. Previous researchers have sought to identify the reasons that racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in healthcare, and the barriers to persistence and success. Little research exists explaining why men are underrepresented in the …

International Parents Navigating Parental Involvement In A U.S. School: A Call For Intentionally Responsive Schools, Elizabeth Gil, Şerafettin Gedik, Dion Efrijum Ginanto

Journal of Multilingual Education Research

Focusing on a group of international parents who came to the United States as visiting scholars, graduate students, or their partners, this qualitative study delineates the nature of their experiences as they navigated learning about parental involvement in a U.S. school. Despite the parents’ extensive formal schooling in their home countries, they still experienced parental involvement as a process of adaptation to and discovery of expectations and permitted forms of involvement in the United States. They often learned of opportunities informally through contact with other parents. The school personnel with whom they engaged were critical in supporting their adjustment to …

The Effect Of Technostress On The Motivation To Teach Online In Higher Education Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Perceptions Of Business Faculty, Stacy Boyer-Davis, Kevin Berry, Amy Cooper

International Journal for Business Education

This study investigated the relationships among technostress creators (techno-complexity, techno-insecurity, techno-invasion, techno-overload, and techno-uncertainty) on the motivation to teach online using the Motivation to Teach Online – Faculty Version scale. Data were collected from faculty members of the Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (MOBTS), a member of the AACSB Business Education Alliance, and the American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences (ASBBS), an interdisciplinary professional organization comprised of faculty teaching in accounting, finance, management, marketing, organizational behavior, and computer information systems early 2020 (N = 307). The findings indicated that techno-stressed faculty are less motivated to teach online. Techno-insecurity …

Improving The High School And College Classroom Experience For Learners With Refugee Status: Theory, Practice, And Change., Kayte Thomas, Sara-Jean Lipmen

Journal of Applied Disciplines

Refugee populations are increasing globally, and children make up more than fifty percent of those displaced. Unique experiences that come with forced migration including fragmented education, trauma, family separation, grief, and adverse other effects can impact learning in the classroom for refugee students. Existing data indicates that schools lack sufficient protocols to meet the needs of students with refugee status who consistently face risks associated with ill-prepared learning environments, and therefore must rethink possibilities to address this. By adopting strategic decolonized approaches, educational leaders can create supportive environments which improve instructional methods and learning outcomes for these students as they …

Establishing Connectivity And Trust In High Schools During Covid-19, Lisa De Leon, Matthew D. Wilkens

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

Although meta-leadership was originally a framework used to examine healthcare leadership in crisis, it is also a valuable framework for educational leadership. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused school leaders to endure a crucible of fire in every area, such as balancing children’s safety with losses to education quality. The action plans of educators are frequently in flux as the pandemic evolves and unfolds. The continuation of this crisis has led to uncertainty, and at times, chaos.

This study examines how meta-leadership, with emphasis on connectivity, has been applied by educational leadership in American high schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 …

Higher Education Leaders’ Perceptions On The Angry Black Woman Syndrome, Latisha L. Marion, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

Capturing the voices of Black women on their experiences leading to senior-level leadership positions in higher education warranted research. University leaders must ensure that units implement fair and equitable hiring practices to promote diversity and leadership from all backgrounds. Therefore, this study intended to take an in-depth look into Black women's trajectory in higher education. For this study, the researcher proposed interviewing Black women who have acquired senior-level leadership positions in higher education. The senior-level leadership positions included deans of student affairs, vice presidents of enrollment management, vice presidents of student affairs, college or university presidents, and other senior leadership …

Exploring The Challenges Of Breaking The Glass-Ceiling: A Historical Perspective, Tonya P. Cooper, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the voices, experiences, and factors promoting the leadership career paths of senior-level women of color in higher education and to capture their voices how they were able to overcome the barriers and challenges to breaking the glass ceiling on leadership career paths to senior-level administration in higher education. A phenomenological research method was employed to capture the participants’ voices, experiences, and leadership career paths of their roles in higher education. Results show that the women of color in the study confirmed the perceived challenges and barriers, perceptions of establishing a career …

The Association Of Neighborhood Schools Assignment Plan With Economic, Racial And Academic Outcomes In One North Carolina District, Theodore Kaniuka

Journal of Research Initiatives

When unified status was granted to numerous school districts, school boards developed redistricting plans to implement neighborhood schools. Social justice advocates decried these plans as they reversed over 40 years of progress, as many of these efforts resulted in resegregating schools homogenously grouped by race and wealth. Using piecewise and Difference in Difference regression with publicly facing data, this study assessed the association between neighborhood school attendance plans, school racial and economic balance, and student reading achievement. The results indicate that in one North Carolina school district over 15 years, (a) schools became more racially segregated, and (b) the achievement …

A Phenomenological Study That Examines The Perseverance Of Young Single Mothers Who Have Earned A College Degree, Christine Marie Kirkpatrick

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to understand perseverance in young single mothers who have earned a college degree. The theory guiding this study is Duckworth’s theory of grit since many students who complete undergraduate degrees experience barriers related to the components of grit. Participants for this study were single mothers who have completed a college degree from an institution of higher learning in central Pennsylvania by the age of thirty. Data for the study were collected utilizing one-on-one interviews, personal timelines, and focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using Moustakas’ data analysis processes, including horizonalization, reduction, and …

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Christian Leaders' Competency Development Experience: Prepared To Equip The Laity, Shamekia Shonta' Smith-Tucker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Research indicates that missional or nondenominational U.S. churches may include more than 60,000 such churches, representing at least 12 million followers (Thumma, 2020). Additionally, some ministry leaders predict denominational affiliation will wane over the next decade (Earls, 2021a), as will the training and other support they offer. The purpose of this phenomenological study will be to assess and understand the experiences of missional ministry leaders after participation in a structured or unstructured competency development program and their ensuing dynamic engagement in ministry. Dynamic engagement will be defined as "fully engaged and intentional" (MacFarland, 2019, para. 1), as evidenced by implementing …

Discouragement And Supportive Relationships In Latin Pastors Planting Churches In Virginia, North Carolina, And Tennessee, Jeannette Arroyo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The present study investigated the impact of discouragement on Latin pastors planting churches in the missionary field and provided a psychological resource for pastors coping with the challenge. Due to their unique characteristics, supportive relationships were investigated regarding how it impacts the variable of discouragement due to emotional exhaustion and the absence of self-care (Williams, 2019). Since pastors and ministers face this challenge regularly (Stott, 2014), exploring networks for support and help in distress is essential. Social constructivists see motivation as a social phenomenon crucial for individuals, and the Adlerian Theory (Carlson & Englar-Carlson, 2017) calls attention to relationships and …

A Phenomenological Understanding Of K-12 Leaders’ Lived Experiences Of Changing From Teacher-Centered Practices To Student-Centered Practices, Claudia Burregi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to understand the process of changing from teacher-centered practices to student-centered practices for K-12 educational leaders at Blue Ocean school district (pseudonym) in Louisiana to equip students with 21st-century skills. The theory guiding this study is Lewin’s change theory, which undergirds the premise that as individuals embrace change, they are better equipped to support the vision of why change is needed, ultimately leading to lasting change. A transcendental study was used to capture the essence of the change from TCL to SCL experience of ten educational leaders from seven schools in BOSD …

A Quantitative Examination Of Emotional Intelligence Among Primary And Secondary School Principals In The Guam Department Of Education, Forrest Ceasar Anderson Chargualaf

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study aims to evaluate the Guam Department of Education (GDOE) primary and secondary school principals’ emotional intelligence in Guam to inform emotional intelligence-based professional development training. The significance of the study is it establishes an emotional intelligence baseline for GDOE and yields contextual data to help create emotional intelligence-based professional development for GDOE school principals. The study is a non-experimental, correlational quantitative research design with a proposed sample size of 84 GDOE school principals, consisting of two populations: GDOE primary (42) and secondary school principals (42). From the sample pool of 84 school principals, 45 school participants met …

Go On…Shatter It! A Qualitative Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Gender-Based Prejudices Of Senior-Level Women Administrators At Community Colleges Across Texas, Janene Marie Dotts

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the qualitative transcendental phenomenological study aimed to understand the gender-based prejudices and obstacles and barriers for women pursuing senior leadership roles at community college in Texas. The Role Congruity Theory of Prejudice toward Female Leaders, plays an essential part in understanding how women were perceived when in a leadership position, guides this study. Semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and letter writing were conducted with 14 women who had achieved senior-level administration roles at a community college. By horizontalizing, reducing, and ultimately determining a composite structural description or substance of participants' experiences, Moustakas' phenomenological analysis method was used to …