Educational Leadership Commons^™

University Update - April 2019, Academic Affairs

University Updates & Communications from the University President

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Seeds Of Greatness By Denis Waitley, Jennifer Maynard

Marriott Student Review

Book review of Seeds of Greatness by Denis Waitley, personal anecdotes and summaries of research on the secrets to success in life and in the business world.

How Exemplary Rural Superintendents Build Trust With And Between School Board Members, Edwin Cora

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was to identify and describe what strategies exemplary rural superintendents perceive as most important to build trust with school board members using the five domains of competence, consistency, concern, candor, and connection.

Methodology: This explanatory sequential mixed-methods case study combined both quantitative and qualitative approaches, also known as an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study. Numerical data (quantitative), through use of a survey, were used to provide the researcher a broad perspective on how exemplary superintendents build trust with and between school board members. Also, narrative data (qualitative), in the form of select …

Chinese International Learners’ Acculturation At An American University, Zhuofeng Shen

Graduate Theses & Dissertations

In order to investigate the current status and challenges of Chinese international students studying and living in higher education institutions in the United States, and to explore strategies for integrating into the campus life in the United States, this study investigates the current status and challenges of Chinese students studying at a small, private, internationally focused university in the United States, in relation to cultural, linguistic, and academic adaptation. Data was collected through one-on-one interviews with students, faculty, and administrators, as well as observations both in daily courses and university-held social activities.

This study seeks to uncover the current perspectives …

Normal Schools Revisited: A Theoretical Reinterpretation Of The Historiography Of Normal Schools, Garrett H. Gowen, Ezekiel Kimball

Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs

This article provides a theory-driven account of the emergence, development, and ultimate disappearance of the normal school as a unique institutional form within higher education. To that end, this article engages new institutionalism in order to construct a composite narrative from the historiography of teacher education which counters the cursory treatment of normal schools in popular and widely-used synthetic histories of higher education. This article also responds to the challenge of better integrating normal schools into the historiography of higher education and suggests future avenues for theory-driven history.

Resisting The “Do More With Less” Culture In Higher Education And Student Affairs, Oiyan Poon, Delia Cheung Hom

Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs

This paper explores how student affairs practitioners may engage in critical cultural praxis through participatory action research (PAR). As authors, both researchers and practitioners, we partnered with one another to conduct a needs assessment of Asian American students through PAR methods at a university in the northeast United States. Unfortunately, the PAR project as initially designed did not come to fruition. We used autoethnography to understand the many barriers that prevented the completion of the project, such as lengthy and unclear IRB processes, lack of organizational stability, and limited institutional support. Finally, we offer insight into how scholar-practitioners and institutions …

Exploring The Perceptions Of Leaders In Investor-Owned Utilities In California On Managing Organizational Change Initiatives, Maria Liza Legaspi

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study employing in-depth interviews was to identify the strategies and practices executive leaders and midlevel managers of investor-owned utilities (IOUs) perceive are effective in creating employee acceptance and support of organizational change and to identify the supports and barriers executive leaders and midlevel managers perceive as affecting employee acceptance or resistance to organizational change in IOUs.

Methodology: A qualitative research design enabled the capture of deeper thoughts and insights of executive leaders and midlevel managers of 4 IOUs in California. The study delved into the strategies and practices used by IOUs that are perceived …

Exploring The Variability In Institutional Characteristics Related To Meeting Various National Stem Baccalaureate Agendas, Tim Schroeder

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions are said to drive the American economy, provide access to the middle class for underrepresented minorities, and bolster national security. Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, American STEM educators have been under pressure to improve STEM educational outcomes. In order to respond to these pressures, education policy makers must understand the relationship between institutional characteristics and STEM outcomes. In this study, I articulate three specific national STEM agendas, and then I explore the relationship between these agendas and the institutional characteristics of America’s four-year colleges and universities.

Utilizing data from the U.S. …

Dance/Movement Therapy As A Tool To Address Racism And Injustice In Service Learning, Melody Gamba

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This author developed a community engagement project within a predominately white, higher education service-learning course to explore racial identity, unrealized bias, and privilege through movement and other artistic modalities. The students explored how movement could aid in fostering community dialogue, bring awareness to their racial identity, and create a more empathetic and compassionate campus community. Through the exploration of a traditional service-learning program delivered in a primarily dominant group, this research investigates how applying a critical service-learning model in conjunction with dance/movement therapy theory may strengthen the understanding of personal and community values around racial awareness and how shared art …

Full Issue Winter 2019 Volume 14 Issue 1

School Leadership Review

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Adult Bullying In The K-12 Workplace: Implications For School Leaders, Cynthia J. Kleinheksel, Richard T. Geisel

School Leadership Review

The issue of bullying in K-12 schools usually brings images of students to mind, but a recent quantitative study of a sample from K-12 school personnel in Michigan showed that 27.8% of adults in the K-12 workplace consider themselves the target of an adult bully. This study calls for school leadership to recognize and proactively address the issue of workplace bullying in K-12 schools through policy, procedures, training, prevention, enforcement, and positive resolution to provide a safe, non-threatening environment in which to work and learn.

Influence Of Parental Involvement On Students’ Success In Title I Charter School In Texas As Perceived By Middle School Principals, Salih Aykac, Clementine Msengi

School Leadership Review

Ten middle school principals of Title I charter schools were interviewed in this qualitative, phenomenological narrative study to explore the influence of parental involvement on students’ success in Title I charter schools in Texas as perceived by middle school principals. Each interview was analyzed before combining them to develop a complete picture of the phenomenon. Coding and pseudonyms were used for each participant to maintain anonymity and confidentiality of data and records in the study. The findings suggest that most of the principals considered parental involvement as a combination of different expectations set for both parents and school. Thus, school …

An Examination Of Student Disengagement And Reengagement From An Alternative High School, Marina Escamilla Flores, Casey Graham Brown

School Leadership Review

Each year, 20% of U.S. students drop out of high school (Balfanz, Bridgeland, Bruce, & Fox, 2013). There is an abundance of research on student behaviors from researchers who explored the process of student disengagement from school (Bowers, Sprott, & Taff, 2013; Lessard, Butler-Kisber, Fortin, Marcotte, Potvin, & Royer, 2008), however there is a lack of understanding of why students disengage in the first place. This study was conducted to examine students’ perceptions of the effect of an alternative high school on their decision to either graduate or drop out.

Face-to-face interviews were conducted with ten former students and three …

Community Context: Influence And Implications For School Leadership Preparation, Tamara Lipke, Holly Manaseri

School Leadership Review

Effective K-12 leaders remain a central concern for schools and communities of all types. The purpose of this research is to examine critically the literature on issues facing leaders in rural and urban settings and present a synthesis of cross-cutting themes. The authors reviewed the theoretical and empirical literature on K-12 leadership issues in rural settings and in urban settings published between 2013-2018 in ten journals. An examination of the similarities and differences facing leaders in these settings in the United States and a discussion of the implications for leadership preparation programs is provided. Future research directions to guide the …

Organizational Citizenship And Teacher Evaluation: Using The T-Tess To Promote Ocb And Improve Student Outcomes, Elisabeth M. Krimbill, Donald E. Goess, Patricia V. Escobedo

School Leadership Review

Within the reach of institutional climate, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has received much attention in the business and psychological literature as a constructive mechanism designed to enhance group efficiency (Bateman & Organ, 1983; Organ, 1988; Podsakoff, Ahearn, & McKenzie, 1997). The essential definition indicates that organizational citizenship behavior refers to going beyond the requirements of one’s job with the understanding that taking such actions benefits the greater good (i.e., the company or school), with no expectation of reward or recognition for the action(s). Subsequent studies investigated OCB and its possible application in educational environs as a tool for improving school …

The Perceptions Of Teacher Evaluation By Teachers And Campus Administrators In A Suburban Texas District, George P. Willey

School Leadership Review

The purpose of this research is to examine the perceptions of campus administrators and teachers of the new Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS) in a suburban Texas school district. Historically, teacher evaluation systems have failed to reach the intended outcome of serving as a tool to improve teaching practices. When campus administrators and teachers perceive teacher evaluation as primarily a tool to document poor performers, the growth aspect of the evaluation process is not maximized. This research seeks to identify the perceptions of both campus administrators and teachers on the evaluation system. District leaders will be able to …

Conversational Leadership Behaviors Of Exemplary Unified School District Superintendents, Jacqueline A. Cardenas

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors that exemplary unified school district superintendents practice to lead their organizations through conversation using Groysberg and Slind’s (2012b) 4 elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality.

Methodology: This study utilized a qualitative phenomenological inquiry methodology to study the behaviors of 10 unified school district superintendents in Southern California. Semistructured interviews followed a peer researcher-developed guide and were used in conjunction with observations and artifacts to learn about the lived experiences and perspectives of conversational leadership. Data collection and analysis was facilitated by NVivo software to …

2019-04-10 Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Undergraduate Curriculum Committee meeting minutes for April 10, 2019.

Teaching Basic Cryptography Concepts Using Braille And Large Print Manipulatives, Jason Martin

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The scope of this article is to describe the creation and implementation of specialized adaptations used in teaching the subject of basic cryptography to students who are visually impaired or blind. Included is an overview of events held for visually impaired and blind transition age youth in Alabama and the methods used to engage this population in the subject of computer science. Teaching strategies utilized for this unique demographic of students are discussed as they relate to the sample cryptography lessons used during the transition day events. The construction of three forms of adapted ciphers are described in addition to …

Making 3d Laser Cut Stratigraphic Audio-Responsive Tactile Templates, Michael A. Kolitsky

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The geologic method of stratigraphy which studies the structure of the earth by making layers was employed with 3D laser cutting techniques to make more easily defined tactile regions in templates of cells, tissues and anatomic regions containing muscles and bones. Templates were made audio responsive by hand-drilling a small hole in a template and filling that hole with conductive electric paint. A finger touch to the template top side now carries a charge similar to an electric circuit to the template bottom side resting on the surface of an iPad or iPad Pro where an audio button produces audio …