Educational Leadership Commons^™

Teacher Attrition In Elementary Schools, Amanda J. Almy

Masters Projects

All schools want to have the best teachers in place and have them stay until they retire from a school district. They want teachers that are able to teach each and every child to help them reach their full potential without having to rehire and retrain new teachers who leave the district fairly quickly. It would be ideal if schools were able to retain the best teachers so these teachers can continue to grow and become more effective. These teachers would be able to teach to higher standards and better assist their students as time goes on. For schools to …

Morehead State University's Caep Accreditation Handbook, Kristie R. Williams

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Kristie R. Williams on March 22, 2023.

Alternative Techniques For Blind Low Vision Students Enrolled In Coding Courses, Robert Jaquiss

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

BLV (blind low vision) students face difficulties when taking coding classes. Individual Development Environments (IDE) can be inaccessible which make it difficult if not impossible for BLV students to complete coursework. Alternative techniques are described which will allow a BLV student to successfully complete coursework. The author has found the Command Line Interface (CLI) is often a recommended alternative to a Windows based IDE interface. Many blind computer programmers use the Windows and Linux command interfaces which are described as part of this discussion.

Student Perceptions Of Learning Loss Following Traumatic Multi-Event School Closures: A Phenomenological Study, Robert Todd Mitchell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of students who suffered learning loss due to multiple school closures during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 academic years while attending Bay District Schools (BDS) in Bay County, Florida. The theoretical framework utilized in this study was Weiner’s Attribution Theory (AT). Weiner (1974) posited that the pursuit of understanding the motivation of an individual’s behavior requires attributing one or more causes to the behavior. Using attribution, I engaged participants in their personal narratives in order to understand and interpret their experience, motivation, and dimension of behavior regarding the …

Kīpuka Leo: A Phenomenology Of Leadership In Hawaiian-Focused Charter Schools, Megan Lee Kawatachi

Educational Studies Dissertations

In Hawai‘i, the Hawaiian-focused charter school emerged as a call to action in communities that desired places of learning grounded in Native Hawaiian epistemologies, pedagogy, culture, language, and self-determination. Driven by the intention to decolonize schooling, Hawaiian-focused charter schools are still obligated to abide by the United States federal and Hawai‘i state mandates of publicly funded institutions. This phenomenological study sought to explore the experiences of eight po‘o kumu (leaders) from seven Hawaiian-focused charter schools as they develop kula (schools) from within the community, culturally rooted and responsive, while operating in a modern, Western context. Through face-to-face interviews, po‘o were …

Underrepresentation Of Minority Students In Higher Level High School Classes In The Low Country Of South Carolina: A Case Study, Lori Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study is to explore the process and the experiences of teachers in recommending minority students for advanced placement (AP) and honors-level high school classes. The theory guiding this study was the invitational theory introduced by Purkey (1978). The invitational theory focuses on the phenomenon that learning is enhanced when people are encouraged to participate or invited into an educational experience. This case study was set in three high schools in a suburban school district in the Low Country of South Carolina and explored the experiences of 12 teachers with the recommendation process. Data collection …

Educator Experiences Implementing Multi-Tiered Systems Of Support In A Title I School: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Whitney Anita Wiggins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenology was to understand educators’ perceptions of the impact of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) interventions on students’ academic achievement and disruptive behavior, as well as their perceptions of barriers that may undermine the impact of these interventions. Despite the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and interventions known as response to intervention (RtI) and positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), students at the study site schools, a Title I elementary school and Title I high school in rural North Carolina, continued to demonstrate academic underachievement and behavioral problems. With the implementation of intensive …

Improving Digital Literacy Through A 1:1 Digital Device Implementation: An Applied Study, Sherry Watts

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this applied study was to solve the problem of the need to improve digital literacy for students on an urban middle school campus in South Texas and to design a solution to address this problem. I collected data using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Teachers and instructional coaches were interviewed via the Zoom video conferencing online platform to explore how teachers and instructional coaches described the relationship between the deployment of a 1:1 digital device program and the improvement of students' digital literacy on their middle school campus. I collected quantitative and qualitative survey data from teachers …

A Case Study: Exploring High School Extracurricular Activities' Sponsors' And Coaches' Experiences With The Inclusion Of Ninth--Grade Students As A Marginalized Population, Kimberly Swaney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to explore the inclusion process for extracurricular activity sponsors and coaches at a rural high school in southwestern Pennsylvania. The theory guiding this study was Maslow’s theory of human motivation as it provided a structural format that was useful for implementing an inclusive process into extracurricular activities. This was a qualitative, single case study with a purposeful sampling of 11 participants representative of extracurricular activity sponsors and coaches in a rural school district. The central research question was: How do high school extracurricular activities’ sponsors and coaches describe their experiences with the inclusion …

A Creative Approach To Promoting And Discussing Social Emotional Learning, Lori B. Doyle, Jill L. Swisher

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Social emotional learning (SEL) is an important topic in education and a desired area of professional development for teachers. This conceptual essay offers a creative approach in promoting and discussing SEL through the use of haiku poetry. The tenets from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework were synthesized into key concepts and presented as haiku poems as a pedagogical exercise to increase awareness on SEL.

The Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On What Teachers Want From A Principal To Be Successful: A Study On Teacher Perception, Erika Niles, Kristen Pelster

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if COVID-19 has shifted what teachers perceive they want from a principal. In addition, the researchers sought to find what post-COVID-19 teachers want from a principal for them to succeed. Success is defined as feeling supported emotionally, having the proper resources, and maintaining a desire to stay in the profession.

Researchers used a concurrent mixed-methods design to collect data. Because data were not collected before the pandemic, researchers used a retrospective design to gather pre-COVID-19 data. The survey instrument had nineteen pairs of Likert-based questions, aligned with 19 qualities that are historically …

Restorative Schools: A Consultation Case Study For Moving From Theory To Practice, Annmary S. Abdou, John Brady, Amy-Jane Griffiths, Alec Burrola, Julie Vue

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The current case study examines the process and components of a multi-site school-wide restorative justice (SWRJ) implementation program. Using Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology and the Outcome Logic Model (OLM), the authors describe results from a collaborative program evaluation conducted by university researchers and external specialists implementing SWRJ in five middle schools. OLM results include operational definitions and analyses of the program’s implementation resources, activities, outputs, and outcomes, as well as findings surrounding gaps in practice and outcome monitoring. Key learnings from this case study included the importance of administrator buy-in, focused implementation teams, strong professional development systems, and the …

Establishing A Student-Centered Culture: A Case Study Identifying Leadership Skills Of Exemplary School Principals, Katie Booth

Dissertations

Purpose: The phenomenological study identifies and describes how elementary school principals who have been recipients of the Terrel H. Bell Award develop a student-centered school culture.

Methodology: This qualitative study identifies and describes an elementary school principals’ ability to build guided coalitions and form strategic visions to ensure a student-centered culture. Participants were purposefully chosen based on specific criteria. The researcher collected data through semi-structured interviews, observations, and artifacts. Data was coded and themes were identified allowing the researcher to analyze findings and draw conclusions.

Findings: Analysis of data from 13 participants led to 10 major findings on how …

Following The "Iron Lady" And Finding A University: A Phenomenological Study Of Organizational Identity, Erin Pearson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Higher education culture is steeped in institutional identity and ties to history. But what happens when that history is challenged, and an institution must change its name? While a merger was not initially intended for Kearney State College, merging into the University of Nebraska system was the only way to reflect the change and growth that emulated the type of institution it had become. By interviewing sixteen participants that lived the experience of the merge, a concise and collective history of the events that led to the creation of the University of Nebraska at Kearney was obtained and studied. Through …

Grit And Leadership: How Exemplary Middle School Principals Use The Principles Of Grit To Accomplish Extraordinary Results, Gabriela Aldana

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe how exemplary middle school principals use the five principles associated with grit (courage, conscientiousness, long-term goals, resilience, and excellence versus perfection) to accomplish extraordinary results in their organization.

Methodology: This phenomenological study described the lived experiences of exemplary middle school principals in Los Angeles and Orange County. The participants were selected through nonprobability purposeful sampling and met the criteria for exemplary middle school principals. As a member of a thematic research team of nine peer researchers and three faculty advisors, we developed a semistructured interview protocol for data …

To Teach Or Not To Teach: A Qualitative Study Of Pre-Collegiate Grow Your Own Teacher Programs And The Perceptions Of Alumni, Current Staff, And Former Staff, Natasha T. Pitt

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The teaching profession is in peril. Teacher recruitment and teacher retention are issues that have compounded the teacher shortage crisis, particularly in Black and Latinx communities. Research has demonstrated that there are a plethora of academic and socio-emotional benefits when Black and Latinx teachers are educating Black and Latinx students. The lack of Black and Latinx people choosing to pursue the profession is especially glaring. American public schools are becoming more racially diverse; however, the teaching force does not mirror the racial diversity of the students. While this issue of a lack of teacher racial diversity must be addressed with …

Student Willingness To Report Weapons And School Violence At A Rural Secondary School In Arkansas: A Quantitative Study, Travis Poole

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

School safety continues to be a concerning and vital topic in education. This quantitative study examines the willingness of students from a rural Arkansas school district to report weapons being brought to school or violent occurrences happening at school and analyzes the behavior associated with students reporting or not reporting. The study examines barriers that exist to help to explain why students would not report weapons or violent incidents to staff members or adults in the school district. The study surveyed 52 students from a secondary school with Likert-style survey questions. The questions were grouped into different variables such as …

The Investigation Of First-Year Wellness Programming In College To Reduce Stress And Anxiety Levels, Charlotte Muriel

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The COVID-19 pandemic brought mental health to light, although college students have long been experiencing mental health struggles. First-year experience courses have been shown to relieve some of the stresses associated with the college transition (Holliday, 2014); however, the existing programming does not meet the needs of college students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the increased need for mental health services and counseling on college campuses, there is a need for additional support for students dealing with wellness concerns.

This action research study used a three-phase exploratory sequential mixed methods design. Phase One included two audio-recorded focus group …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Disability Status Disclosure, Accommodation Use, And Student Success: Curricular And Co-Curricular Implications, Kaela Marie Parks

Dissertations and Theses

Colleges and universities rely on the individualized accommodation process to ensure access for students with disabilities, however, there is ample evidence that educational inequity is pervasive. This study used a critical and comparative quantitative methodology (n=6,500) to investigate data from a large urban community college, analyzing the relationship between final grades and accommodation eligibility and use across academic disciplines and curricular modalities (in-person vs. on-line) to identify implications for the academic success of students with disabilities. Results indicate disability inequity varies across racial identity groups and racial inequity persists across disability status groups. Results also indicate that accommodation may be …

Movers, Switchers, And Exiters: Teacher Turnover During Covid-19, Andrew Camp, Gema Zamarro, Josh B. Mcgee

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

In this brief, we examine teacher turnover in the state of Arkansas both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In line with available reports from Washington State, North Carolina, and South Carolina, we find evidence of increased teacher turnover in Arkansas entering the current school year. However, a large proportion of this turnover can be explained not by teachers leaving the education sector but switching to non-instructional roles such as principals or instructional coaches. The use of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds may be driving these transitions. A survey of schools conducted by the National Center for …