Educational Leadership Commons^™

Communicating Crisis To Youth: The Role Of Caregiver Crisis Communication In Youth Sensemaking And Recovery., Ronda Oberlin Nowak

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

A qualitative study was conducted of the response to student deaths by the administrators of two rural high schools. The events are looked at in the dual context of incident management and communication processes, using Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) theory. Interviews were conducted with administrators and with members of a student support team that responded to these and similar events. The study finds that negotiation of meaning that takes place between students, and between students and caregivers, is key in students’ processing of the event that they are experiencing. It can also equip them to be more resilient to …

College Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder Enrolled In Stem Disciplines And Their Experiences With Support Systems: A Qualitative Exploration, Michelle Howell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

As the number of individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) increases, the number of those individuals graduating from high school with the goal of pursuing postsecondary education also increases. For those students with ASD interested in pursuing higher education, Wei et al. (2013) found that they have a propensity to pursue STEM disciplines. The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to explore the ways students with ASD pursuing STEM disciplines described their experiences with support before and during college. Using Schlossberg's (1984) 4S Transition Model as a framework, the researcher conducted interviews with ten students to explore the challenges …

The Effects Of A Strengths Based Faculty Coaching Intervention On First-Year Undergraduate Student Academic Confidence: A Mixed Methods Action Research Study, Conrad Alfred Davies Sr.

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Deficiency remediation models of education imply that students may enter the university with deficiencies, problems, or needs that imply the student needs to be “fixed” before they can proceed in their academic studies. In contrast, strengths-based education models infer that students come to the university with inherent talents, natural propensities, and behaviors that can be leveraged to overcome their challenges. These differing perspectives can influence the effectiveness of university policies designed to improve student retention. This mixed methods action research study, undergirded by student development theories, examined the effects of a strengths-based, faculty-led coaching intervention on first-year undergraduate students’ academic …

International School Heads’ Self-Efficacy And Governance: An Intervention, Joshua Ashley Garrett

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

As international school heads (ISHs) advance through the school leadership pipeline, many find the transition to their new roles and responsibilities as an executive leader difficult, and as a result they struggle to fulfill the expectations of their governing board. In conversations with ISHs in the International Schools Organization (ISO), a pseudonym, several attributed this problem to the lack of preservice, executive leadership training. Most ISO school heads were trained as teacher-leaders and school principals. They excelled in these roles and were consequently promoted to executive leadership. However, very few received formal training in executive leadership, as required of most …

Action Research As Professional Development: Creating Effective Professional Development In Every Classroom, Lori A. Cambareri

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Professional development is a critical component of teacher professional growth that directly influences increased student learning and achievement. As professionals, teachers continue to develop their knowledge and skills with the aim of improving their teaching to assure that students can learn better. A huge investment in time and resources is invested in teacher professional learning every year. However, teachers report, and research supports, that teacher professional development often does not meet teachers’ needs and does not perform its integral function of creating a sustained change in teacher behavior that leads to a corresponding positive change in student achievement. This problem …

Fostering A Sense Of Community Among Teachers Via A Community Of Practice: A Mixed-Methods Action Research Study, Apryl Clark Moore

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Communities of Practice (CoPs) are learning communities that can improve the skills and knowledge of teachers and improve a sense of community. CoPs are designed to cultivate relationships among teachers and develop professional practices that increase a sense of community and knowledge attainment. This study examined the use an online CoP to increase teachers’ sense of community during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Teachers joined a private online community and shared resources about classroom management strategies.

A mixed-methods action research approach was adopted for this research study. Quantitative data was captured from pre- and post-intervention surveys that collected information about teachers’ …

Leading In The Digital Age: A Multi-Case Study Of Leading Digital Citizenship, Ryan C. Schubart

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This study explored how school leaders make sense of and address digital citizenship as defined by Ribble (2011), and investigated what successes and challenges school leaders experienced while implementing digital citizenship programs in large Southeastern technology-rich schools. This bounded cross-case study, undergirded by Weick’s (1995) Theory of Sensemaking, is also designed to explore how school leaders implement digital citizenship programs at technology-rich schools in a large. 1:1, Southeastern public-school district, and how they view their role as producers of digital citizens.

Findings indicated that an influx of computer technology caused school leaders to make sense of digital citizenship and address …

Leadership Storytelling Of Rural School Superintendents Engaged In Change And Innovation, Tony Barrett

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation examined the leadership storytelling uses and practices by rural, public school superintendents in North Georgia who are engaged in change and innovation through agreements with the state in exchange for flexibility waivers from Title 20 of the Georgia Code. This study was the result of the participation of five rural, Appalachian superintendents in semi-structured interviews. Two of the districts were Strategic Waivers School Systems (SWSS) and three of them were Charter Systems. The context of this study was framed by Georgia’s broad flexibility waivers which encourage school districts to promote and pursue innovative approaches in K-12 education. The …

The Public Service Motivation Of Kentucky 4-H Youth Development Agents, Kimberly Adams Leger

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The Cooperative Extension Service is known for bringing research and education from the land grant universities to local communities across the state through its County Extension Agents. Kentucky Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Agents have a rich history of educating youth in life skill development. 4-H Agents who traditionally served in these roles often continued their public service until retirement. In recent years, the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service has documented a decline in 4-H Youth Development Agents' retention. An online survey was administered to explore Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Agents' employment motivation in Kentucky. Given CES agents' role as …

An Explorative Study Of Kentucky Teacher Leader Graduate Programs: Response To Policy Change, Bailey M. Ubellacker

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Teacher leadership is a growing practice for supporting K-12 teachers and students. Recent policy regulations in the Commonwealth of Kentucky mandated a change in the professional standards used by approved graduate programs that prepare teacher leaders. To support this foundational change, program leaders designed programmatic goals, curriculum, structure, and tasks to align with the Teacher Leader Model Standards that emphasize promising research-based practices. The programs support development of teacher leadership through pedagogical approach, requirements, and programmatic structure.

Using a qualitative, multi-site case-study approach, this dissertation explored Kentucky teacher leadership graduate programs to understand how teacher leaders were formally prepared. Program …

Distance Education Administrators Starting Online Programs In Higher Education: A Case Study Of The Tasks, Processes, And Challenges Of Change To E-Learning, Jason P. Johnston

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

While total enrollment for Title IV universities in the United States has declined 4 percent from 2013-2018, overall online course enrollment has rapidly increased by 22 percent (National Center for Education Statistics, 2020). Not long ago, distance education had limited diffusion in universities and was considered a tertiary, experimental “add-on” to education (Burnette, 2015). Now, online learning is becoming a transformative power striking profound influence and change on all aspects of higher education (Otte & Benke, 2006). Beaudoin (2015) claims this may be the most crucial change impacting education since the printing press. This study explores the tasks, processes, and …

Global Competence And Deeper Learning: Secondary Principals’ Perceptions In An Intermountain District, Lorren Amanda Siebert

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Education has become increasingly global in recent years. Student and teacher global competence have been studied at length. School administrators’ application of global competencies in their administrative practice has not been explored until recently. Secondary school administrators’ global competencies were investigated under seven tenets. The aim of this study was to examine how secondary principals in one Intermountain school district perceived and implemented global competencies in their current professional practice. Further, this study explored how those global competencies translated into deeper learning educational leadership practices.

A sequential explanatory approach was utilized for this two-phase mixed method study. Quantitative survey data …

Administrators Building Social Capital To Foster Informal Teacher Leadership In Type C International Schools In Vietnam, Robert Preston Williams

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The goal of this study was to explore how administrators build social capital among expatriate teachers to foster informal teacher leadership in type C international schools. The researcher employed a single-site case study in an international school in Vietnam. A theoretical framework based on Bourdieu’s (1986) social capital theory was used to design the research instruments and analyze the data.

In phase one, the researcher collected survey data with the participants being the teaching staff at the international school. The data were used to conduct a social network analysis to identify informal teacher leaders (ITLs), identify subgroups, and compare network …

Technology Leadership Practices Of Appalachian School Leaders During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Todd Norton

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The COVD-19 pandemic caused a global disruption to education. In some parts of the United States, schools were cancelled for the year, while others shifted their educational offerings to a distance learning model. Kentucky announced short term closures beginning March 13, 2020, but on April 20th the Kentucky Governor announced that schools would not reopen for in-person instruction for the remainder of the academic year. Many school districts quickly developed a plan to continue a modified version of school. In Appalachia, some school leaders were uniquely prepared because their district had implemented a 1:1 device program. In a 1:1 program, …

Catalyzing Change In Higher Education: Social Capital And Network Leadership In The Competency-Based Education Network, Bruce William Haupt Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Collaborative inter-organizational networks can be effective at catalyzing and supporting the generation and diffusion of new models and practices. With shared purpose, structure, and resources, network organizations can facilitate knowledge exchange and the growth of inter-organizational relationships. In this study, I sought to better understand how network organizations influence social capital and the spread of innovative practices. Of particular interest were the roles of national network and sub-national network organizations (sub-networks), and the interactive learning processes of network newcomers. I focused on the diverse array of colleges and universities involved in the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN), and their efforts to …

Dysconscious Racism And Racial Microaggressions In The Public School System, Ryan Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

Dysconscious racism and racial microaggressions are two forms of racism that exist in public schools today. Dysconscious racism is a form of racism that “tacitly accepts the dominant White norms and privileges” in a given environment while racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace indignations to the target person or group whether it was intentional or unintentional (Sue et al., 2009). Teachers of color face these subtllte forms of racism within their own workplaces. The researcher conducted a qualitative study by interviewing six public school K-6 teachers of color of different ethnicities who teach in various school districts across the South …

An Exploration Of The Intersection Of Critical Disability Theory, Multiple Dimensions Of Identity, And Institutional Policy On Students' Persistence Towards Degree Attainment, Michael Gilmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain insight into the personal experiences of undergraduate students with learning disabilities and what they identify as impediments to their degree attainment. This study was guided by a conceptual framework connecting the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity, Critical Disability Theory, institutional policy/practices, and barriers to the persistence of students towards degree attainment. This qualitative study utilized ten in-depth interviews with undergraduate students who identify as having learning disabilities. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Moustakas's (1994) model of analysis. Through this analysis, an understanding was gained of how the participants …

Women C-Suite Executives In Cybersecurity: Transformational Experiences And Gender Barriers On Their Leadership Journeys, Toni C. Plato

All Theses And Dissertations

Cybersecurity is one of the fastest growing industries with a critical role in protecting businesses and people from attacks that continue to grow and affect our nation. There is an increasing gap between the demand to fill jobs in the field and the skilled professionals available. Women currently fill less than 17% of those skilled positions. Understanding the paths of success and the barriers experienced by women cybersecurity leaders is key to determining how to fill the skill gap in the industry. This study uses a qualitative methodology with a descriptive phenomenological design to answer the research questions from the …

Faculty Leadership Practices In Graduate Hybrid Education, Weina Li Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Hybrid education is an instructional delivery format that includes both online learning and traditional classroom learning and is often seen as the best of two worlds. It is one of the fastest-growing trends in higher education because of its countless educational benefits. Studies reviewed about hybrid learning focused on various areas, including student engagement, student attitudes, faculty experiences, learning effectiveness, and supporting technology tools. However, a review of the literature revealed scant studies focused on faculty leadership, especially graduate-level education faculty's leadership strategies and their influence on teaching. Faculty leadership is a critical component that is directly related to effective …

Educational Equity In Independent Schools: A Phenomenographic Study Of School-Wide Equity Practices, Barriers, And Leadership Behaviors Necessary To Achieve Diversity, Inclusion, And Cultural Competence, Christopher Gerard Lemieux

Theses and Dissertations

Independent schools are facing equity changes that had long been avoided, consequently, schools are now faced with adopting equity practices designed to produce equitable outcomes. Equity practices adopted have not been realized without corresponding leadership behaviors necessary to change cultural norms as well as overcoming associative barriers. This study explored how Heads of school in Southern California described the school-wide equity practices they utilized, barriers encountered, and the leadership behaviors that were necessary for achieving diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence at their school. This study used a phenomenographic design and included 11 Heads of school identified as having exemplary school-wide …