Educational Leadership Commons^™

Examining Strategic Supports For Students With Executive Dysfunction Transitioning To Postsecondary Education: A Qualitative Study, Desiree Rutter

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to provide a voice and perspective of the lived experiences of participants with executive function deficits and develop an understanding of its effect on their transition to a four-year university. The following research question guided the study: What support do students with executive function deficits transitioning to post-secondary education need to be successful? The problem addressed in the study was determining what support students with executive function deficits need for a successful transition to postsecondary education. The phenomenological qualitative study utilized a retrospective lens to interview students who were 18 years or …

Examining The Effects Of Best Practice Designs And Professional Training Of Personalized Learning Programs On Closing Achievement Gaps, Nancy Renee Lively

Student Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative grounded theory study explored how best practice designs for personalized learning plans could support the learning needs of students in closing achievement gaps. The traditional educational system has been found inadequate in addressing the individual educational needs of students. The Personalized Learning Continuum Framework was utilized to investigate the various design elements and effects that personalized learning programs could have in helping address student educational needs. Data was gathered via Zoom meetings and interviews with eight participants: an assistant superintendent, four principals, a program director, a teacher, and an educational consultant. The results highlighted several design elements for …

The Perceived Preparedness Of Elementary General Education Teachers Serving Students With Special Needs, Rachel Lauren Schmidt

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study was to explore the preparedness of K-5 general education teachers through their lived experiences of teaching and working alongside special education teachers in the inclusive classroom. Data were gathered from thirteen teachers across Louisiana who participated in a semi-structured interview that focused on the following three research questions: (1) What are the lived experiences of elementary general education teachers regarding preparedness in teaching students with special needs under IDEA in the general education setting? (2) How do elementary general education teachers describe their preparedness to collaborate with special education teachers through their lived …

Influence Of Organizational Constraints, Principals' Authentic Leadership, And Teachers' Coping Strategies On Teachers' Psychological Well-Being, Jennifer Renee Watkins

Student Theses and Dissertations

Teacher shortage and teacher attrition has been one of the most sustaining educational issues for policymakers and educational leaders. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of current organizational constraints and principals’ authentic leadership on teachers’ psychological well-being. Carol Ryff’s (1989) Psychological Well-Being Theory guided the current study. Ryff emphasized that optimal psychological functioning is required for the development and self-realization of an individual. The theory of psychological well-being is multidimensional and has six distinct dimensions of psychological wellness. The study examined the influence of organizational stressors and principals’ authentic leadership. It hypothesized that while organizational stressors …

Examining The Influence Of Access To District Provided Prekindergarten On First Grade Students’ Academic And Social Emotional School Readiness, Jennifer Brooks

Student Theses and Dissertations

The study explored teachers’ perceptions of how district provided prekindergarten influences academic and social emotional school readiness for first grade students in a low socioeconomic school district in Southern Arkansas. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development and Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development were the guiding theories. A qualitative case study design was employed. Data was collected through two-round interviews with seven teachers who teach first grade students in a low socioeconomic district in south Arkansas. The interview questions were derived from the Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards. The interviews were transcribed and then coded to derive themes. Findings showed …

Examining The Value Of Active Recess Blocks: Its Effect On Student Academic Achievement And Behavior, Morgan Paige Taylor

Student Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, the active recess blocks students received during the 2020- 2021 and 2021-2022 school years at Valley Grove Middle School are evaluated to determine increased physical activity effects on students' behavior and academics. The problem of reduced recess blocks and their relationship to lower academic outcomes, precisely three recess blocks or more per school day, is examined. This dissertation posits that increases in recess blocks may increase academic outcomes and produce fewer behavior infractions for not following instructions. This quantitative study aims to explain the association between students' academic and behavioral performance when given more time to engage …

Shifting Educational Paradigms To Match Learners: Sustaining Cultures, Languages, And Paradigms Through Educational Sovereignty, Lona R. Running Wolf

The Montana English Journal

The U.S. system of education was developed by visionary forefathers that knew American democracy would be stable only through educated citizens. The system was developed to produce citizens that would carry on the new world's vision and values. The educational system was built within that paradigm. Simultaneously, Indigenous tribes in America were being stripped of their traditional educational systems whose purpose was also to develop productive citizens of their communities and carry on their values. Traditional educational systems among tribes developed children with positive self-identity carrying the pride of their culture, language, and paradigm. That is not the case for …

Teen Mothers Forgotten: The Gap Between High School And Higher Education, Sarah Ruth Morris

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Though the national teen birth rate has declined since 1991, teen motherhood is still associated with educational and lifetime disparities among women who give birth at ages 15-19. Using the Understanding America Study data, I examine teen mothers' educational and financial outcomes with nearest-neighbor matching. My sample is 1,335 mothers with 118 teen mothers, and I define teen mothers as mothers who had children at 15-17 years old. Compared to mothers who did not have children at ages 15-17, I find marginal significance that teen mothers are less likely to graduate high school at 10 percentage points less. More significantly, …

Reclaiming And Reconceptualizing Accountability, Joseph Hailpern

Dissertations

This body of work contributes to the exploration of the intended and unintended consequences of the policy levers, referred to as education accountability policy, that have driven entire systems toward the inclusion of student performance data into educator performance ratings and the impact on the profession. Only from an extensive understanding of where we have been can a reimagined path forward be born to serve our youth and society better. This mixed methods dissertation does so by uncovering the legal landscape that defines the policy levers and bringing educators together in focus groups to delve deeply into these levers’ impact …

Conversations: Matthew A Witenstein With Satang Nabaneh, Satang Nabaneh, Matthew A. Witenstein

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

For this issue’s Conversation, Matthew Witenstein speaks with Dr. Satang Nabaneh, Director of Programs at the Human Rights Center and Research Professor of Law, both positions at the University of Dayton. The conversation was recorded via Zoom on 3rd April 2023. Several topics are highlighted including Dr. Nabaneh’s insights on human rights work (in Africa and globally), decolonization, global education and amplifying voice. Notably, her expertise and deep experience as a legal scholar and human rights practitioner who has worked across multiple countries, regions and continents, offers our DIME audience keen insights that can impact our research, practice and policy …

Leadership Identity Development Among Aspiring Women Leaders In Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study Of Formal Mentoring, Malia E. Roberts

Dissertations

Men have held the majority of presidencies, vice-presidencies, deanships, and other top administrative positions on college campuses since 1950 (Parker, 2015). The disproportionately low representation of women holding leadership roles in higher education is even more urgent considering few women ever reach the senior most leadership levels (Hannum et al., 2015). As such, the American Council on Education not only identified the need to increase the presence of women in leadership positions and to cultivate a pipeline of future leaders, but also the need to provide formal leadership training opportunities for women (Howard & Gagliardi, 2018). While various higher education …

The Vigor Of Creative Materialism: Making The Hidden Stories Of Underrepresented Engineering Students Visible, Katherine A. Robert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite decades of initiatives, engineering education continues to lack diversity. The proportion of women, BIPOC, LGBTQA+, low-income, first-generation, and disabled students in engineering education remains below national population levels. The culture of engineering is a barrier to increasing participation in engineering for students from these communities. The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore the experiences of underrepresented engineering students as they are socialized into the culture of engineering. I theorized a novel conceptual framework called creative materialism that combines culturally responsive methodologies, new materialist theory, and arts-based research methods. Two research questions were used to guide the study. …

Cal Poly Rodeo | Improving Speed And Consistency Of Student Athletes: Goat Tying, Taylour Q. Latham

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

Cal Poly Rodeo is an amazing program for student athletes competing in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA). These athletes are expected to obtain a 2.0 GPA in 12 or more units, while being active in practices, and rodeo activities. Mandatory goat tying practice is held every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00 AM. During this time athlete performance is observed and recorded on Tuesdays, and broken down on Thursdays to implement areas where they can improve. The purpose of these practices is to give the athletes feedback from another point of view, and take those points into their own practices …

Improving Second Language Learning Through Performance-Based Assessment Practices, Maria Granados

Dissertations

From the time of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) to the present day, standardized testing has become the benchmark measure for student assessment and school accountability in the United States. Multilingual learners are a vulnerable population with more testing and accountability requirements than mainstream students. Not only are they required to learn a second language, but they are also assessed within the same standardized testing paradigms as their peers - native speakers of the English language. This study aimed to examine and evaluate the benefits of instructional practices and assessments that provide multilingual students and teachers prompt and …

The Impact Of Culturally Responsive Teaching On The Achievement Of African American Students, Jessica Clark

Dissertations

Culturally responsive teaching is a pedagogical practice that incorporates cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of students to make learning encounters more relevant and effective. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of culturally responsive teaching on the academic achievement of African American students. The context of this inquiry is at a minority-majority Title I high school within a large urban school district. The district and evaluation school previously adopted a culturally responsive teaching initiative. My mixed-method study captures the quantitative performance of students within the school in teachers' classrooms using culturally responsive …

Transactional And Transformational Leadership In The Superintendency: A Phenomenological Study Of Three Upper Peninsula Superintendents’ Experiences, Lisa A. Coombs-Gerou

All NMU Master's Theses

This study aimed to analyze and provide an understanding of how three rural public school superintendents in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan practiced transformational leadership. Transformational leadership includes the elements of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration (Burns, 1978). Transformational superintendents must lead our schools to provide students with the best educational opportunity. The study focused on the superintendents experiences in deciding to become a superintendent, their beliefs about leadership, and how they approached decisions through a transactional or transformational process. The study also sought to provide insight into the relationship with their school board and how …

June 2023 Bulldog Alumni & Friends News, Kari Jones, Garrett King

Bulldog Alumni & Friends News

• Summer picnic!

• SWOSU Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame

• Live Auction & Dinner

Social And Emotional Learning: An Examination Of Perspectives On Using Faith-Based Supports As An Option In Public-School Communities, Remus Galvin

Dissertations

The present study involved an examination of perspectives on offering faith-based support as an option on an individual basis for social and emotional learning (SEL) within a public-school community. The research consisted of a survey of former and current public-school students and parents (N = 26) and a focus group interview of five former and current school administrators to gather their perspectives of their tenure within public schools and the need to provide access to faith-based supports within a public-school community. After analyzing the data, a majority of the survey participants agreed that access to faith-based supports for SEL …

A Program Evaluation Of The Reasons Some Educators Do Or Do Not Remain In The Teaching Profession, Joshua Karren

Dissertations

Abstract According to Sutcher et al. (2016), hundreds of thousands of teachers (eight percent of the overall United States teaching force) leave the profession annually for various reasons. These reasons include dissatisfaction with some parts of their jobs, including poor leadership, lack of control over teaching, family or personal reasons, pursuing a job outside of education, retirement, and financial reasons. The purpose of this study is to understand why teachers choose to stay at their school, why they leave certain schools and what school and district leaders can do to keep teachers in their classrooms. The context of this inquiry …

The Preparation Of Educators To Implement An Sel Curriculum, Helen Elayan

Dissertations

Professional development and training for adults in a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum are essential to the successful implementation of SEL for students. The purpose of my study was to determine the perceptions of teachers' professional development for implementation of a social emotional learning curriculum. The context of this study was a small independent school as well as schools throughout the US. The findings of my study indicated that educators in both contexts wanted training prior to student implementation, preferred training with peers, and wanted to only implement one schoolwide initiative per year. I recommended that leaders at all schools …