Educational Leadership Commons^™

An Examination Of Florida's High Stakes Testing: A Post-Hoc Study Of The Academic Achievement Of Students With Borderline Intellectual Functioning, Rhonda Mcmahon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study compares achievement of students with borderline intellectual functioning by investigating differences in Florida Standards Assessment results for those who received special education services and those who did not receive services. A review of the literature finds research focused on this population is limited with few effective strategies identified to help these students keep pace with the increasing demand of today's classrooms. This post-hoc causal-comparative study uses an analysis of variance to determine if there are statistically significant achievement differences in Florida Standards Assessment results in English Language Arts and Mathematics for students when examining the effect of the …

Student Experiences With University Accessibility Services: A Quantitative Inquiry, Charles Hilston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of an accessibility services office on student achievement and cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA). This research was a quantitative exploratory study designed to investigate student experiences with using accessibility services and transitioning into a Major Southeastern University (MSU) in the United States. Participants in the study were actively enrolled undergraduate students with a learning exceptionality. The students that completed the questionnaire answered questions regarding their experiences with using the services provided by the office, along with their experiences with transitioning into the university. The results of this research are intended …

Engagement In Online Math Courses: An Exploration Into Success Rates Of Professors Who Use Engagement Tools In Online Learning, Shauna Rogan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

As more college courses transition to hybrid and fully online models due to Covid-19, the classroom environment for higher education has changed and will continue to do so (Bonk, 2020). As online learning continues to grow, a challenge of not connecting with the instructor can be a concern. Success in the online classroom is possible for students who may feel they are alone in online learning (Holbeck & Hartman, 2018). With the right combination of engagement tools, student interaction with the curriculum, class, and professor result in a meaningful learning experience (Holbeck & Hartman, 2018). The history of online education, …

An Investigation Of The Excess Credit Hour Surcharge Policy And Its Impact On First-Time-In-College Students At A Large Metropolitan University In The State Of Florida, Lynn Grabenhorst

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

An Excess Credit Hour policy "assesses a tuition surcharge for any credits taken beyond a predetermined threshold" (Smith, 2017, para. 1). In 2009, the State of Florida implemented legislation on excess credit hours at four-year public institutions, Fla. Stat. § 1009.286 (State of Florida, 2012). Legislation found under title forty-eight (XLVIII) of the K-20 Education Code, Fla. Stat. § 1009.286, relating to "Educational Scholarships, Fees, and Financial Assistance," discussed the "intent of the Legislature to encourage each undergraduate student who enrolls in a state university to complete the student's respective baccalaureate degree program in the most efficient way possible…" (State …

The Lived Experiences Of Faculty In The Covid-19 Pandemic Shift In Instruction, Alison Hammack

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study sought to understand the lived experiences of mathematics faculty teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic's rapid shift from on-campus instruction to online education. Faculty are the primary influencers at a college. Their perspectives on the challenges and changes to teaching practices may determine a college's response to improving teaching and learning during a crisis. At the time of the COVID-19 transition, many faculty had no experience creating and teaching an online course, and some had previously been resistant to teaching online. Using a phenomenological approach, nine participants at a large state college were interviewed using the Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform …

Remote Learning During Covid-19 On Internal Medicine Residents' Education: Barriers And Enhancements Through Lived Experiences, Stephanie Rivera-Velazquez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The COVID-19 pandemic uncovered instructional changes within higher education. Accommodations for continued instruction included a transition to remote learning. However, little research exists regarding the experiences of medical residents during this transition in their education while combating the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study, phenomenological in nature, aimed to explore the lived experiences of internal medicine medical residents at one medical college in Central Florida regarding the transition from face-to-face instruction to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eleven participating medical residents underwent semi-structured interviews via Zoom. Garrison's Community of Inquiry conceptual model and Hall and Hord's Concerns-Based Adoption Model …

Impacting Website Visitor Engagement Through Information Provision, Will Buntin

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Enrollment in library science programs has been on a downward trend for several years (Association for Library and Information Science Education, n.d.). At the School of Information Science in the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky, enrollment in the online library science master's program dropped 28% from 2012 to 2018. With a student population in fall 2018 of 177 and a targeted enrollment (set by program faculty) of 240, the program administration has been exploring ways to recruit more students without further stressing the resources available to the School. The Director and Assistant Director of the …

The Power Of Connections: An Online Doctoral Program's Use Of Strategic Onboarding To Enhance The Doctoral Experience, Jeri Heileman

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

A positive doctoral experience is rooted in an understanding of the expectations and reality of doctoral–level work. Students need specific knowledge, skills, and mindsets to complete coursework, critically analyze research, and write and defend a research dissertation. Despite a mutual commitment to academic achievement and graduation by faculty and students, attrition in doctoral programs remains high. This rate is even higher for those in online programs. Additionally, there are many challenges doctoral students experience outside of the core curriculum. The challenges facing students vary depending on the phase of the doctoral journey and the individual development of each student.

This …

Improving Self-Efficacy Of Teams Supporting Administrators And Teachers Through Communities Of Practice, Boyd Gudgel

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

The purpose of this study was to enhance the capacity of high school team staff members to support high school-level administrators and teachers providing services to students with disabilities in Jefferson County Public Schools. This task was accomplished by increasing their Individual Education Program (IEP) knowledge and skill acquisition through the implementation of a Community of Practice (CoP) as an intervention. Increasing staffs knowledge and skill in properly implementing a student’s IEP, may make them more efficacious in supporting high school level administrators and teachers.

The study used a mixed-methods action research design to collect and analyze data to inform …

Meeting Transfer Students Where They Are: A New Organizational Approach To Transfer Student Communication, Support, And Recruitment, Daniel Wright

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Transfer students have long played a significant role in the growth and diversity of colleges and universities. Recent research points to a continuous decline in enrollment over the coming decade (Kelderman, Gardner, & Conley, 2019), and as tuition costs continue to increase and enrollment numbers decrease, institutions of higher education have begun turning to transfer students to fill their lecture halls and football stadiums. A key variable in higher education’s transfer recruitment blind spot is a fundamental lack of understanding of the structural and organizational changes needed to both attract and retain these non-traditional students (Tobolowsky & Cox, 2012). For …

Housewives To Heroines: Continuing Education For Women At The University Of Kentucky, 1964-1988, Allison L. Elliott

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Beginning in the early 1960s, the movement for the continuing education for women (CEW) brought together a seemingly unlikely alliance of American activists, educators, philanthropists, and government agencies. Fueled by philanthropic funds, accelerated by the quest for “womanpower” to bolster national defense, and aligned with regional workforce needs as well as the personal goals of individual women, CEW programs pioneered new models of academic advising and student support that continue to influence higher education practitioners today. By studying the experiences of both administrators and students involved with CEW at the University of Kentucky, this study sheds light on how one …

The Language Of Power: An Investigation Of How The Macropolitics Of Education Policy Affects The Micropolitics Of Schooling English Learners, Catherine E. Vannatter

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The population of English Learners (ELs) continues to increase across the United States, and these students persistently perform below their native English-speaking peers in measures of academic achievement. Federal government leaders passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, which modified how state and local educational agencies identify, instruct, assess, and reclassify ELs and revised what funding EL programming could receive. In this multiphase study, I investigated how the macropolitics of federal and state policy became enacted in the micropolitics of a mid-sized school district in Kentucky. Through an initial phase of document review followed by a mixed methods …

The Appalachian Commitment Of Berea College: A Review Of Historical Figures, Narratives, And An Analysis Of Programmatic Outcomes, Rebecca E. Tucker

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Since its founding in 1855 Berea College has continuously defined and redefined itself based on eight Great Commitments that collectively shape Berea’s mission. All Bereans, from students to alums to Presidents, have a responsibility to review and evaluate the ways in which Berea College is acting on each of its eight Commitments. This study offers a review of Berea’s Appalachian Commitment, “To engage Appalachian communities, families, and students in partnership for mutual learning, growth, and service” (Berea College, 2017). The following three articles seek to understand some of the ways in which Berea College leaders have interpreted and acted on …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Teacher Grit, Technology Self-Efficacy, And Technology Integration, Joshua Jeremiah Shiloh Marsh

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The use of educational technology applications has grown tremendously in the last decade. Instructors are now equipped with hardware and software applications previously unavailable, such as mobile and interactive technologies. These tools can have tremendous impact on students’ learning and teacher practices. Teachers can improve their assessment capabilities through technology integration, provide better learning opportunities for students with learning disabilities, and promote deeper learning practices. Due to these benefits, budgets at the federal, state, and local levels of the United States now have specific allocations regarding technology-related purchases. Nevertheless, barriers remain regarding the effective integration of technologies in public schools. …

Feminist Catholic Organizational Identity: A Phenomenological Study Of Charism In The Lay Educator Of A Notre Dame De Namur Learning Community, Kathleen Barrera Quiazon

Doctoral Dissertations

The Catholic schools of women’s religious congregations in the United States possess a distinctive Catholic identity, owed in great part to the charism of their founders and the feminist worldview that emerged in the sisters’ mission, communal narratives, and ministries. With the decline of women religious across the country, schools and congregations ask questions for the future of that identity in the hands of lay educators. As with many religiously sponsored schools, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and their lay partners in education are engaged in these critical questions for their own learning communities across the country.

This …

Fifty Years Of Underrepresented Student Advocacy At One Jesuit Secondary School, Sonya Cotero Arriola

Doctoral Dissertations

Across the United States Conference, Catholic and Jesuit secondary schools are experiencing tremendous change in their student demographics. Schools of today are being challenged to consider what true inclusion looks like within their community vis-à-vis students whose racial, economic, sexual and gender identities do not fit the traditional Catholic or Jesuit school mold. The racial and social order of the United States is replicated within Catholic and Jesuit schools, even when those same communities claim to promote values of inclusion and opportunity. History offers valuable insights to school communities grappling with these questions.

This qualitative study centers the efforts of …

Towards Charism Identity: A Catholic Identity Case Study Through The Lens Of Laudato Si’, Kristofer Ross Koller

Doctoral Dissertations

This case study evaluates the current relevance of how Catholic identity is conceived as an evaluative tool in accreditation processes. Catholic identity, though a concept inconsistently defined among various international contexts, is nevertheless utilized reductively as criteria for K-12 Catholic school accreditation in the United States, primarily through the framework of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools (NSBECS). Using the example of a secondary school with an explicit Catholic charism-based commitment to environmental sustainability, this dissertation collects qualitative data in an exploratory manner to evidence how schools that may seem insufficiently Catholic according to currently utilized frameworks …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Teacher-Student Relationships, Whitney Pasch

Theses and Dissertations

The single most impactful person in a student’s life is his or her teacher, and the relationships that are cultivated within a teacher’s classroom are lasting. When teachers bring adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) into the classroom, the influence of these traumatic events may have an effect on the development of teacher-student relationships. To better understand the potential relationships between teachers with two or more ACEs and their students, a qualitative case study guided by the following research questions was conducted: 1) What are teachers’ perceptions of the development of relationships with students when the teacher has experienced at least two …

Ambitious And Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed And Struggle In American Higher Education, Sara Vander Bie

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

Sara Vander Bie reviews Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education by Yingyi Ma, published by Columbia University Press, 2020.

Examining Culture In Rural High-Poverty Schools, Kassandra E. Champion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized quantitative survey methods to evaluate how rural schools are affected by students living in poverty. There are many attributes to a school’s culture. Successful leadership, high-quality teachers, and active students are three of the biggest factors. Schools located within a 265-mile radius from Newell, SD with a school population of less than 600 comprised the population for this study. This area encompassed schools in five states. Schools were contacted, surveyed, and assessed based on quantitative statements and open-ended questions. Considering that a school is dynamic, the high school teachers from four different subjects were all assessed. 58% …