Educational Leadership Commons^™

Students As The Golden Resource: Incorporating Student Voice Into Overall School Culture, Dominick M. Lupo

Dissertations

This study is a program evaluation of AGA Middle School’s current school culture as it relates to being either a student-centered culture or an adult-centered culture. Following the analysis of the program evaluation, this study also set out to gather the voices of the students of AGA Middle School in order to determine the positive relationship building strategies and characteristics that teachers whom have positive relationships with students have in common. Employing a mixed methodology of survey data along with individual student interviews from each grade level (six through eight), this study found that the current school culture committee, the …

Personalizing Professional Learning For Teachers: Pursuing Equity Through Systematic Personalization, Megan M. Mccarter

Dissertations

Our school system has not changed much in the last 100 years, yet our society and the job market are drastically different. In general, we are not preparing young people for life after high school in a meaningful way; the reality for minority and low-income students is even more depressing. We need to change how education works for students, we need to personalize for their individual needs, push them to collaborate, to innovate, and to own their own learning. This can only happen if we change how we develop, support, and retain teachers. This study examines models of and reflections …

Business Leaders’ Strategies For Addressing Employee Turnover And Promoting Stability, Ke Huang

Leadership Education Capstones

One of the major issues that business leaders face are high rates of employee turnover. From 2013 to 2017, the annual total separation rate increased by 38.1 to 43.0 across all industries (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). This demonstrates that employee turnover is increasing over time in the United States. Turnover is problematic because it forces business leaders and managers to replace reliable and trained employees with new employees, which is a timeconsuming process that is often quite costly. Out of all industries that deal with employee turnover, the hospitality industry is known for having one of the highest employee …

Escapando Las Trampas: Teacher Preparation For Mexicanas, Larissa Perez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Developing Maestras face and overcome linguistic, academic and cultural forms of gatekeeping while trying to navigate through our current education system. For this Capstone Project, the impact that gatekeeping has on developing Maestras and how it affects their academic and professional aspirations was investigated. This is an important issue for developing Maestras, the University of Gringolandia as well as for the education system of Nepantla county. The success of developing Maestras Mexicanas closes the racial gap and directly impacts the student success rate within Nepantla county. The literature and data results analysis indicate that the gatekeeping practices that keep Mexicanas …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Ut Extension Program Assistants' Use Of Communication Technology In The Workplace And Their Ability To Successfully Communicate With Coworkers And The Community, Izetta Slade

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between the level of communication technology use in the workplace by University of Tennessee Extension program assistants and their interpersonal communication skills. There were seven quantitative research questions and one qualitative question. The main research question explored whether a significant difference existed in employees’ reported levels of communication skills in the workplace, as measured by the sociocommunicative orientation (SCO) scale, based on employees’ reported levels of communication technology use. Other questions explored whether there was a significant interaction between employees’ reported levels of communication technology use and their job positions on their levels of communication …

Educator Perspectives Of High-Stakes Testing In An Urban School District In Deep South Texas, Sergio R. Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how the high-stakes testing setting and the state assessments have influenced elementary teachers and other school professionals’ approach to preparing students for standardized tests. Policymakers and the public see standardized tests as simple quantifiable measures of school quality and student learning. They assume that high stakes tests will influence teachers and students to try harder and that the results will be used rationally to benefit all students.

Fredrick Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory was used as a framework for this research. Study participants included nine experienced elementary school educators in a large urban district …

Middle School Outreach Efforts To Involve Immigrant Parents: What Are The Perceptions Of School Personnel And Immigrant Parents?, Marcella Denise Franklin-Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the years, a concern plaguing the education world is parent involvement. Ongoing research indicates students whose parents and family members are involved tend to experience greater academic achievement and decreased behavior issues (McNeal, 2015). With regard to parent involvement, immigrant parent involvement takes this concern to a new level with regard to the growing racial and ethnic diversity in education (Outley & Skuza, 2019). Guided by Epstein’s six types of involvement and Yosso’s community cultural wealth, this study explores one urban middle school’s outreach efforts to involve immigrant parents. In this qualitative case study, one middle schools’ stakeholders-the principal, …

Factors That Contribute To Pk-12 Teacher Retention In One Midwest School District, Jeffery Phillips

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine relationship of the distinct factors to PK-12 teacher retention in one Midwest school district. This study was an examination of multiple factors, including work environment, fit, compensation and benefits, leadership, performance management system, peer support and mentoring, that contributed to the retention of PK-12 teachers with different levels of education, certifications, experience, career plans, and military affiliation. The questions on the Teacher Retention Survey used a Likert-type scale to measure teacher perceptions about retention factors to address 8 research questions.

For this study, I surveyed the population of 704 current PK-12 …

Student Retention In Community College Engineering And Engineering Technology Programs, Harrison Orr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An ex-pos-facto non-experimental quantitative study was conducted to examine the academic, financial, and student background factors that influence first-to-second year retention of engineering and engineering technology students at U.S. community colleges. Analysis of the five research questions was done using a chi-square test and multiple logistic regressions. Data were obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Beginning Postsecondary Students 2012/2014 (BPS: 12/14) study. Computations were performed using PowerStats, a web-based statistical tool provided by the NCES, as well as IBM SPSS 25.

The sample population consisted of students who entered postsecondary education for the first time in the …

Black Family Engagement Through Communication Technology: A Phenomenological Study From The Perspective Of Urban Public High Schools Parents In The Greater Boston Area, Mariette Bien-Aime Ayala

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Black family engagement is the key to improving the life outcomes of young Black students (Clark, 2015; Mestry & Grobler, 2007). Recently, as a response to a need for better family engagement in K-12 education, new technologies have emerged. As educators, it is important to study the effectiveness of these new communication technologies, as well as how Black families are experiencing opportunities for engagement through them. Guided by critical race theory and capital theory, I ask: How do Black families experience opportunities for engagement with their children’s high schools through the use of communication technologies? To find this answer, in …

Examining The Educational Experiences Of Community Day School Graduates: A Narrative Inquiry, Willie J. Jones Iii

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Community day school graduates enter society with decisions about college, career, and work. Community day schools operate as a non-traditional education system that provides a separate and often unique education to many disenfranchised students, with lessened accountability protocols to assess whether these systems prepare graduates for life after high school. The number of community day schools and enrollment is declining, due in part to excessive changes within the law and stricter guidelines required to be met.

Veterans Using Mindfulness Practice To Cope With Trauma & Operational Stress Injuries, T'Challa Azhar Stuckey

All Theses And Dissertations

Psychological distress due to military operations is impacting returning veterans mentally and physically. The purpose of exploring literature relating to veterans is to determine if mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) are beneficial in managing the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data generated by the research question “What are the therapeutic benefits of mindfulness-based interventions, if any, in managing the symptoms of PTSD among veterans?” were explored to determine the effectiveness of using mindfulness-based coping skills to manage symptoms such as hyperarousal, intrusive recollections, and avoidance. The studies that were analyzed reported on veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces …

A Systematic Literature Review Of School Leadership Intelligences For The Development Of Neuro-Educational Leadership, Sheria Nicole Pope

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to systematically examine primary research about the integration of school leadership intelligence and effective leadership practices. Neuroscience as it relates to school leadership is an emerging topic in the field of education. The conceptual framework for this study was focused on three areas of intelligences and their relationship to applied neuroscience. The theoretical foundations were derived from Goleman’s emotional intelligence, Glasser’s conversational intelligence, Ang and Van Dyne’s cultural intelligence, and Thorndike and Stein’s social intelligence. The theoretical underpinnings for each intelligence was aligned to Rock’s SCARF Model (status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, fairness). A systematic …

Exploring The Effects Of Policies On Military Readiness, Renard Dominique

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify factors of military policies that are counterproductive to III Marine Expeditionary Force’s (MEF) organizational readiness. The III MEF/Marine Corps Installation Pacific (MCIPAC) Liberty Regulations of Japan and Battalion Order (BnO) 11000.1C Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) Regulation are two governing policies to which Marines and Sailors attached to III MEF and MCIPAC commands are subjected. The following research questions were formulated utilizing the Zero-Defect Theory and the Theory of Humanism as a conceptual foundation: How does perception toward the III MEF/MCIPAC liberty and BEQ regulation influence personal acceptance and adherence to these policies; …

Toward Critical Counseling: A Content Analysis Of Critical Race Theory And Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Community College Counselor Education, Lyman A. Insley

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Prior to the early 1990s, most counselor preparation programs did not have multicultural competencies. Therefore, a call was made for the use of multicultural competencies in counselor preparation programs. Yet, the popularization of multicultural competencies of this time in education had a Eurocentric bent, a kind of colorblindness

More recently, scholars confirmed that these Eurocentric multicultural competencies had become the primary template from which counselor preparation programs taught culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy. Therefore, a call was made for the use of critical race theory (CRT) in counselor preparation programs to challenge and change Eurocentric cultural competence.

Purpose: This …

Financial Aid Director: Educator, Leader, Or Manager, Jessica Mohon Flogaites

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The landscape of higher education is ever-evolving, and the financial aid office, in particular, has experienced drastic changes throughout the years in order to become the massive and complex system that is known today. Considering that financial aid can directly influence major institutional benchmarks such as enrollment and graduation rates, and the fact the position of financial aid director is not standardized across institutions of higher education, a further look into the primary role of a financial aid director is important and necessary. This study will allow for a better understanding of what behavioral characteristics are most closely associated with …

The Impact Of Student Perception Data On Teachers: A Multisite Case Study At Midwestern K–12 Catholic Schools, Brandi Y. Bibins-Redburn

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

For as long as there have been teachers, there have been efforts to determine the most constructive way to evaluate teacher effectiveness. Research has shown that traditional administrator evaluations do little to improve struggling teachers and that most teachers nationwide are able to earn satisfactory ratings even when they are not performing in a satisfactory manner. This study aims to determine whether using student perception feedback as part of a comprehensive teacher evaluation process would lead to improved practice and targeted professional development. The following questions were investigated in this research: 1. Does student perception feedback drive teachers to reflect …

Causal-Comparative Study: Differences In Academic Achievement By Levels Of Social-Emotional Skills In Grade Five Students, David Frederick Salvatelli

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Students’ social-emotional skills contribute to academic achievement and life success. This causal-comparative study examined differences in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) achievement test scores among grade five students by their levels of proficiency (low, moderate, or high) in particular social and emotional skills, namely, academic self-efficacy, persistence, self-control, mastery orientation, and social competence. Participants were 115 grade five students from Title I schools in a metropolitan school district in south Florida. Each social and emotional skill was assessed using the Child Trends Social and Emotional Skills Survey battery. Multivariate Analysis of Variance, Analysis of Variance, and post hoc tests …

Academic Self-Concept Of Dual Credit Secondary Career Technical Education Students, Scott D. Griggs

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Dual credit continues to expand in approach, including a single course, multiple courses, up to associate degree offerings embedded in high schools, career technical education (CTE) programs, and located in a range of secondary and postsecondary locations. As of the 2010–2011 school year, 82% of all public secondary schools had students enrolled in dual credit courses (U. S. Department of Education, 2013). In the 2016–2017 school year, 73% of CTE courses of study included both high school and postsecondary credit (U.S. Department of Education, 2018). Existing dual credit research focuses heavily on academic impact, college credit, and continuation, along with …

An Urban District's Middle School Response To The Impact Of Relational Aggression: A Case Study, Billy Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The proposed study is a qualitative design that utilizes a collective case approach. The purpose of this study is to examine administrator response to the academic and social impact that relational aggression has on girls between sixth through eighth grade at Thorn Rose Public Schools. The participants in this study are administrators from the district with diverse racial, gender identity, and ethnic backgrounds. The theories that guide this study are Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) founded in the work of Jean Miller, M.D., and Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development. The (RCT) theory assumes that humans have a natural drive toward acceptance and …