Educational Leadership Commons^™

Designing Effective Online Courses: Exploring The Relationships Amongst Online Teaching Self-Efficacy, Professional Development, Online Teaching Experience, And Reported Implementation Of Effective Higher Education Online Course Design Practices, Elizabeth Mcmahon

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning Infographics

How best to prepare and support higher education faculty to design and teach effective online courses is a topic of great significance to higher education institutional leaders and faculty developers. This study explored how hours of professional development along with online teaching and learning experiences were related to online teaching self-efficacy and the extent to which participants reported implementation of effective online course design practices. Using a non-experimental quantitative correlational explanatory research study design, data were collected using a questionnaire. Participants included 104 online faculty from a large public higher education system located in the upper Midwest that includes both …

American Institution Of Public, K-12 Education: An Institutional Field Under A Complexity Paradigm, Jennifer Jean Joyalle

Dissertations and Theses

Institutional fields serve as foundational bedrocks that shape and govern behaviors, norms, and practices within distinct domains of societal and organizational interactions. The emergence of machine learning and the ability to manipulate large datasets offer researchers and decision makers the potential ability to model and visualize the behavior associated with institutional fields.

This proof of concept provides an example of visualizing the changing conditions in the institutional field of public K-12 education in America as a topology. By interweaving three primary strands of theory -- institutional fields, complexity in the guise of complex adaptive systems as a paradigm, and paradigms …

Inclusive Education For All: Identifying Teacher Beliefs About Working With Students With Disabilities, Chelsea Sharek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the beliefs K-12 teachers have when working with students with disabilities in a rural Pennsylvania school district. This study aimed to identify if teachers’ personal beliefs created biases about their students and school systems; thus, forming barriers and preventing an inclusive education when working with disabled students. Instrumentation for this quantitative study is the Multidimensional Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education Scale (MATIES) survey. Findings suggest that some teachers at Sunnyside School District (pseudonym) hold personal beliefs that could create biases about their students and school system that may form barriers when working with …

Perceptions Of Curriculum Alignment And Student Achievement In Us History Courses In An Urban Characteristic Georgia School, Jameka Fields

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

This research study examined the perceptions of school leaders on the alignment of curriculum and student achievement. The purpose of this phenomenographic case study, rooted in Leitzel and Vogler’s (1994) definition of curriculum alignment, was to examine school leader and teacher perception of the relationship between curriculum alignment and student achievement as evidenced by document analysis and interviews with individuals who teach and support United States History courses in an urban characteristic Georgia high school. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the school principal, US History teachers, the assistant principal for instruction, and the assistant principal that supports and evaluates US …

Re-Thinking Education For Sustainable Development: Key Learning Insights From The Sdsn Usa Transformative Education Summit 2023, Radhika Iyengar, Sumie Song, Deepak Sridhar, Wendy M. Purcell, Ann Nielsen, Iveta Silova, Matthew A. Witenstein, Wen-Wen Tung

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This paper summarizes key learning insights from the 2023 U.S. Summit on Transformative Education organized by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network USA. Over 400 members from higher education institutions, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, students, and teachers, joined the online event held February 23-25. The Summit created a bridge between social justice issues with an historical lens and sustainable development. Learning insights include those shared by session speakers, dialogue among participants during thematic conversations and regional networking forums, comments made by attendees on session Jamboards and the Zoom Chat function, and post-Summit feedback. A high-level thematic review was undertaken to cluster …

Courageous School Leadership: Rural Principals’ Perception And Self-Efficacy In Implementing Culturally Responsive Leadership (Crl), Angela Denise Young

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

Many rural school districts face concerns stemming from rural areas’ demographic and economic state— increased student diversity, high poverty, little parental involvement, lack of technological infrastructure, low student achievement, and difficulty hiring and retaining teachers (Gutierrez, n.d.). In increasingly diverse populations, rural school leaders need culturally responsive practices to address the various traditions and needs of the changing demographics of their schools and communities. Cultural responsiveness in schools begins with resilient, courageous leadership. Culturally responsive leadership (CRL) is a concept commonly associated with urban schools; however, there is a pressing need for such leadership practices in rural districts serving diverse …

Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes, December 14, 2023

Board of Trustees Minutes

Minutes from the Wright State University Board of Trustees Meeting held on December 14, 2023.

Weakness Is The New Strength: How Vulnerability Makes Leaders Stronger, Scott Dick

Transform

Weakness is the new strength: How vulnerability makes leaders stronger is the result from the meta-analysis of five phenomenological studies designed to generate a theory that explains how exemplar leaders from five different fields used “soft-skills” and four domains of behavior to create mutual shared knowledge, resolve conflict and transform relationships to produce breakthrough results. The four domains of behavior are communication, collaboration, ethics, and emotional intelligence. The sample was composed of 75 exemplar leaders from five different professional fields and included an analysis of over 1,300 pages of interview transcripts as the main data source for the study. The …

Letter From The Editor In Chief, Jeffrey Lee

Transform

The TRANSFORM journal is a space for leaders, mentors, researchers, and practitioners of transformational leadership to be seen, heard, and valued; it is a place for making connections. Relationship-building is central to transformational leadership at all levels of an organization; this fundamental truth is a trending topic in literature. Otherwise, however, leadership can be an isolating experience.

As an ethnographer, I believe the best way to launch an academic, peer-reviewed journal is to do what I do best: storytelling. I want to share my thoughts on transformational leadership through a story in the form of a letter to my younger …

Beyond The Bell: Rebuilding Care, Civic Learning And Creativity Within Youth Spaces, Michelle R. Haapala

Masters Projects

The purpose of this research is to investigate high school age students’ opportunities within formal classroom settings to engage in care, civic learning, and creativity within a suburban, publicly-funded charter school. This study used thematic analysis and coding methods to organize and find patterns in the qualitative data from surveys distributed to education professionals at Canton Preparatory High School in Canton, Michigan. The goal is to establish a foundation of the perception of care, civic learning, and creativity within school environments and classroom settings. Overall, education professionals rated these categories positively, but with a closer investigation, a disconnect is found. …

The Impact Of Police Training Curriculum And Its Relationship To The Overall Performance Of Police Officers, Harvey A. Barnwell

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study explores the potential existence of an implicit, hidden curriculum in basic law enforcement training that may impact students' values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. The hidden curriculum refers to what students learn from their school environment, teacher and peer relationships, and the education system. If such a curriculum exists, it can influence the overall performance of police officers. A qualitative-based phenomenological design was employed to examine shared experiences to achieve this goal. The research instrument consists of semi-structured questions posed to six Newark Police Officers for no more than 60 minutes. The study will explore how a hidden curriculum …

The Overture! Then Is Here-And-Now: Hindsight Is Twenty, Twenty?, Elena Kydd

Music Therapy Theses

My existence and presence as a Black woman and graduate scholar in music therapy have allowed me to share my experience of racial trauma and oppression in the hallways of GCSU’s music therapy program. Autoethnography is the method I use to write my thesis on the relationships between Blackness, pedagogy, and music therapy. Thus, I perform an evocative autoethnographic study that allows me to share my personal experience of racial trauma and oppression within the culture of music therapy and to critique the larger social structures of whiteness that disenfranchise and dominate me and other Black student music therapists (SMTs). …

Course Correction: Navigating Equity In Ninth-Grade Advanced Placement, Sarah R. Morris, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Miranda Vernon

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

This robust mixed-methods study examines ninth-grade advanced course placement in Arkansas, revealing disparities rooted in race and socioeconomic status. Utilizing a logit analysis for a five-year pooled sample (n=163,616), we find persistent enrollment gaps for Black ninth-grade students after controlling for prior academic achievement, highlighting systemic barriers to access to advanced courses. Socioeconomic divides are also evident in our analysis. Qualitative findings from counselor interviews highlight the importance of parental involvement in course placement decisions, particularly for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Overall, we find through these interviews that districts consider a myriad of factors when considering course placement for …

New Age Insights: Filipino Millennials In Government, Mark Kevin C. Chua, Sherrie Ann C. Labid, Lovely Rose A. Bolante

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

Millennials comprise a significant portion of the demography of the current Philippine workforce. Cognizant of the unique socio-cultural environment that shaped the Generation Y cohort, this descriptive phenomenological qualitative study aimed to explore millennial employees' work expectations and experiences within a government agency in the Philippines. Four themes emerged from the in-depth analysis of the five employees' interview responses: (1) job security and financial stability, (2) socio-emotional support, (3) fulfillment, and (4) professional development opportunities. The qualitative findings of this study emphasize the importance of supporting millennial employees' career growth and fostering a healthy work environment. It indicates that millennial …

Review Of Student Agency In The Classroom: Honoring Student Voice In The Curriculum, Clyde Barnett Iii

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

A review of the book Student Agency in the Classroom: Honoring Student Voice in the Curriculum by Margaret Vaughn.

The Role Of Social And Personal Competencies In Quality Teacher Instruction, Jane Blair Laoo

Ed.D. Dissertations

Despite the appropriate and high level of concern about providing high-quality core instructional practices and educating the whole child, teacher stress and inability to understand and manage emotions stood in the way of making progress. Teaching is a highly stressful profession. Researchers highlighted the need for interventions to enhance teacher abilities and promote student success, particularly in understanding social and personal competencies. The purpose of my qualitative, interpretive study was to explore elementary school teachers’ perceptions of social and personal competencies in public K-12 rural Tennessee schools to determine how schools supported teacher social and personal competencies as a way …

The Experiences Of Teachers In Predominantly Black Schools, Kennetra Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers want to be in schools where their identities are authentically affirmed. However, some educators in predominantly Black schools perceive that they are not always afforded the same level of value and respect as their colleagues in mostly White or mixed schools. Instead, teachers in predominantly Black schools seem to have experiences associated with frustrations that often go unheard of or dismissed for various reasons. Schools with predominantly Black student populations are often associated with challenges in retaining teachers, commonly referred to as teacher retention or teacher turnover. This turnover can have an impact on the academic progress of the …

Examining The Impact That A Modified School Calendar Had On Teacher Attendance In A Rural Mississippi School District, James W. Carlisle Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Educational leaders have long recognized the certified classroom teacher as the most important factor in student performance and success. In his research article Teachers Matter: Understanding Teachers’ Impact on Student Achievement for the Rand Corporation, Opper (2019) stated, “When it comes to student performance on reading and math tests, teachers are estimated to have two to three times the effect of any other school factor, including services, facilities, and leadership” (para. 2). While district and school administrators certainly understand the impact teachers have on student performance, little has been done to mitigate the issue of teacher absenteeism, which has become …

Does Mississippi School Principals’ Age, Race, Gender, Educational Attainment, Work Experience In Education, Or Evaluation Scores Influence Accountability Points?, Braxton Dywayne Stowe

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional research agrees that only effective school principals can fully influence student achievement, and school leaders are pivotal to the success of schools in America. Researchers have linked positive student outcomes to further illustrate the point, including student achievement, to high-quality school leadership. The purpose of this study is to assist state and district education leaders in Mississippi in having a more profound knowledge of which principal demographics and characteristics are more directly correlated with the improvement of accountability scores or student achievement. The results of the correlational and regression analysis to determine the relationship between principal variables and the …

Taking Care Of What Matters: How Student Involvement And Characteristics Relate To Senior Student Sense Of Belonging, Kayla Pineda

Theses and Dissertations

Student sense of belonging has been a topic of discussion for decades; however, senior student sense of belonging has not been looked at as closely as other groups of students. As seniors transition out of college, institutions must consider that these students become the alumni who contribute through alumni donations and share their experiences with future generations of students.

Looking at data from a single very high research college campus in a rural state, the study explored variables that relate to senior student sense of belonging. Using Ahn and Davis’s (2020a) 4 domains of student sense of belonging, variables were …