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Educational Leadership Newsletter April 2018, Educational Leadership Department, University Of Southern Maine

Educational Leadership Newsletters

Inside this issue:

• Musings from the Chair
• Southern Maine Partnership Update
• Race and Difference Dine and Discuss Symposium
• Casco Bay Math Circles
• Congratulations to the SMP Members Who Received National Board Certification
• Leadership Symposium
• Assessment Literacy Conference 2018
• What Your Office Tells Others About You
• Summer 2018 Schedule

Language Learning: A Study Of Academic Self-Efficacy In A Suburban High School, Geneviève Brand

EDL Sixth Year Theses

Students taking a foreign language in high schools generally are educated to be competent in the three modes of communication as defined by the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages. This study tool place in 9th and 10th grade foreign languages class in one, suburban school in Connecticut. At this school, some students enrolled live in that community, and some opt to attend that school rather than their neighborhood school through an inter-district program called Open-Choice (OC). All students in this school are asked to engage in a rigorous and challenging curriculum in order master these modes of communication. …

African-American College And University Presidents Perceptions Of Effective Leadership Attributes, Sidney Glenn Carthell

Dissertations

This study examined how socio-demographic factors of gender, age, institution location, institutional Carnegie Classification, degree of residential students, and size of enrollment relate to the perceptions that African-American college and university presidents had relative to effective leadership attributes. The research was a quantitative study that employed a descriptive survey with correlational design. No statistically significant differences were found between the perceptions of successful leadership attributes in the study based on gender, education, position prior to the presidency, years of experience, school type, or location. Leadership attributes of Energetic with Stamina and Ideological Beliefs were found to be statistically significant at …

Do Faculty In-Class Incivility Behaviors Predict Type Of Out-Of-Class Interactions Between Faculty And Students?, Trudy-Ann Crossbourne

Dissertations

The present study explored relationships between two larger streams of research—faculty-student interactions and destructive leadership embodied in faculty incivility towards students. While interactions with faculty outside of class offer tremendous benefits for students’ intellectual and socio-emotional development, avoidance is one of the demonstrated outcomes of destructive leadership on followers and of faculty incivility on students. The theoretical basis for this study was the premise that faculty incivility displayed in class, as perceived by students, could predict the frequency and type of interactions in which students engage with professors outside of the classroom. To test this conjecture, a sample of 785 …

Joint-Admissions Explored: Determining The Existence Of A Transfer-Affirming Culture Between Owensboro Community And Technical College And Western Kentucky University-Owensboro, Angela Loretta Higdon

Dissertations

A growing number of postsecondary students transfer from a two-year to a four-year institution. The joint admissions program between Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC) and Western Kentucky University-Owensboro (WKU-O) is a unique example of such a transfer relationship. Research is needed to understand the nature of the joint admissions relationship. The purpose of this case study was to explore the joint admissions relationship between OCTC and WKU-O, in order to determine the existence of a transfer-affirming culture, in accordance with Handel’s (2011) transfer-affirming conceptual framework.

The case study was bounded by time, including the previous three academic years (2014-2015, …

Winning On And Off The Court: An Interpretive Case Study Of A Leader’S Effectual Power And Influence, Eugene Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to study the leadership profile of a leader’s effectual power and influence. A qualitative research design is preferred to capture rich, thick personal responses from the interview participants. Semi-structured interviews were utilized with open-ended questions, which enabled the respondents to provide unique insights and reflections of their direct and indirect experiences with the research subject. Additionally, document inquiry and direct observations were used and, as an outcome, triangulation was achieved.

Effective use of power is studied in the context of a leader’s ability to influence others to induce a desired outcome. The subject’s influence …

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Higher Education Leaders As Portrayed In The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Colette Anderson Chelf

Dissertations

Leadership represents an abstraction of human thought. While functionalist theories propose leader-centric models, contemporary leadership theories embrace a postmodern paradigm acknowledging ontological and epistemological assumptions of qualitative study. This ideology suggests a multi-dimensional model of leadership that reflects the complexity and fluidity of leadership in practice. Emergent theories explore the social construction of leadership, rather than an individual leader’s traits or behaviors. Our collective understanding of leadership is manifest in the (re)creation of leadership as exemplified in social discourse such as newspaper reporting.

The purpose of the study is to reveal socially accepted archetypes assigned to higher education leaders, as …

Student Development: The Relationship Between Student Leadership And Self-Actualization, Norman G. Oliver

Selected Honors Theses

This study compared two groups of college students’ levels of self-actualization from Southeastern University, student leaders and non-leader students. The participants’ levels of self-actualization were measured using the Short Index of Self-actualization (SISA). The study followed a cross-sectional design. Participants were recruited through in-person communication, emails, and an on-campus study recruitment software called SONA. The participants completed a questionnaire containing the SISA and various demographic questions. Results indicated that the findings of the study were not statistically significant; therefore, it could not be determined whether or not student leadership is positively correlated with higher levels of self-actualization. However, a replication …

Warrior Leaders Beyond Winona State, Carley Clinkscales, Stephen Erlandson, Brad Hak, Justin Rude Hanson, Patrick Holt, Brittany Kinney, Chenxiao Li, Vanessa Richter, Marcus E. Teachout, Brittany E. York, Jeffrey Thompson, Dustin S. Anderson

Leadership Education Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Transcript (University Of Nebraska College Of Law), Volume 51, Number 1, Spring 2018

Nebraska Transcript

Dean’s Message

Professors Jack Beard, Jessica Shoemaker and Adam Thimmesch granted tenure in 2017. Professors Gus Hurwitz and Brett Stohs granted tenure in 2018.

Clinic Students participate in mobile consular clinic Atwood, Hertz and Nelson Advance to National Moot Court Competition Finals

New program helps students pursue careers in business

College partners with business school for undergraduate minor

Civil Clinic law students reach out to the community

Clinic Students participate in mobile consular clinic

Atwood, Hertz and Nelson Advance to National Moot Court Competition Finals

Heartland Optical expands mission under leadership of Conrad, ’03

The Power of Philanthropy: The latest …

Practitioner Research In Schools: Revealing The Efficacy Agency Cycle, Edward Resnick

Educational Studies Dissertations

Years of high stakes testing and managerial directives to improve student test scores created a trend of teachers’ declining sense of efficacy and agency. Researchers have yet to examine the perceptions of teachers following requirements to improve student engagement and school climate in an effort to improve academic performance following the authorization of local and national educational accountability reforms. The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers perceive their efficacy and agency in response to the addition of nonacademic measures and the requirement of documented input from teachers and other stakeholders into educational policy planning procedures. Veteran K-12 …

The Role Of The Formal Observation In Promoting Reflective Practice, Merryl B. Brownlow

Dissertations

Acheson and Gall (2011) wrote about the tension between teacher evaluation and clinical supervision. In their research they discuss the intent of clinical supervision to be a model for coaching and supporting professional growth as compared to more traditional models of teacher evaluation that were often associated with fear as a motivator. This program evaluation examines the nature of the formal observation in the teacher evaluation process and seeks to explore its role in developing reflective practitioners and promoting professional growth. This study involved researching the perspectives of teachers and administrators regarding their perceptions of the value of the formal …

Teaching Middle School Children Affected By Homelessness: An Interpretive Phenomenological Investigation Of Teachers’ Lived Experiences, Timothy B. Smart

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The human experience occupies the central role in phenomenological research. In this interpretive phenomenological study, the researcher recruited and interviewed secondary school teachers from three public urban schools in the Pacific Northwest in order to have them describe their lived experiences that relate to instructing students affected by homelessness. The researcher used two semi-structured, conversational interviews with six participants who reflected on how their classroom experiences influenced their teaching, engagement strategies, emotional states, and student relationships. The conceptual framework for this study included: Homelessness in America, public school setting, impact of homelessness, and teacher perspective. In this study, the researcher …

The Effectiveness Of Head Of Faculty In Developing Female Teachers' Practices In Al Ain Schools, Badreyah Sultan Saeed Alyammahi

Foundations of Education Theses

This study examined the effectiveness of head of faculty (HOF) in developing female teachers' practices in Al Ain schools in the United Arab Emirates. The study incorporated both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection. Both the questionnaire and the interview focused on the role of HOF in planning, teachers' professional development (PD) and the supervision of teachers. The results of the study indicated that there was a diversity of responses evident in questionnaires and interviews. The study found that although HOF play an important role in planning with teachers, coordinating PD programs and supervising teachers, HOF were reported not …

Promoting Shared Decision Making Through Descriptive Inquiry, Rachel Seher, Cecelia Traugh, Alan Cheng

All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations

This article describes the process through which faculty members at City-As-School, a progressive public high school in New York City, recently began to use descriptive inquiry to more fully actualize one of the school’s core values: a commitment to “democracy as a way of life” (Dewey 1939, 2).

Teacher Perceptions Of Evaluation Feedback, Kelly Pelletier Rush

Theses and Dissertations

A vital part of the teacher evaluation process was the feedback teachers received following classroom observations. The provision of feedback by school administrators was intended to help teachers improve their instructional practice and raise student achievement. Teachers needed immediate feedback on their performance to make the necessary instructional adjustments in order to be more effective in the classroom. Evaluation feedback needed to be useful and intentional, with suggestions and strategies for improvement. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine teachers’ perceptions of teacher evaluation feedback. Eight interviews were conducted at an elementary school in Middle Georgia, using …

Perceptions Of Relationship‐Oriented Leadership Behaviors: A Descriptive Case Study, Akeishia J. Patterson

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the relationship-oriented leadership behaviors teachers and principals perceive as being most important to the role of principal leadership. The study also focuses on how the perceptions between teachers and principals differ. Research indicates principals as being the catalyst behind and building and maintaining effective relationships with teachers. The Professional Standards for Educational Leaders serve as a framework for principals by providing them with standards that convey relationship-oriented characteristics leaders need to possess in order to be effective. The following study uses a mixed methods research design to collect data through online surveys and interviews. The surveys and …

Charter School Teacher Satisfaction And The Factors That Contribute To And Predict Satisfaction, Dylan Barnes

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this study was to identify the overall job satisfaction level and the most robust predictors of overall satisfaction of K-12 charter school teachers. Understanding the overall satisfaction level of charter school teachers and what makes up their overall satisfaction may assist charter school leaders in being more informed to address teacher attrition, mobility, and retention in charter schools. This quantitative study utilized a survey research method to address five research questions. Teachers in K-12 charter schools located in the state of Florida were invited to complete a survey on teacher satisfaction which included the 20 items of …

Leadon Alliance: Empowering Alaska's Youth Through Inclusive Programming, Megan Juneau

Capstone Collection

Alliance is an annual youth conference in Alaska designed to create inclusive and multi-cultural programming for Alaskan youth and their adult mentors. Alliance is a reimagining of a program formerly known as LeadOn. While LeadOn has been successful for the last ten years at providing workshops for Alaskan youth and adults on healthy sexuality, relationships, and leadership, it will now focus on making quality content for Alaskan Natives, Immigrants, and LGBTQ+ identities in Alaska. In the development of this idea past program participants and previous program coordinators were surveyed and interviewed to collect information about how inclusivity has or has …

A Group Leader’S Journey: Connecting Youth Development, Youth Empowerment And Social Justice Theory To Practice On The Experiment In International Living, Brian Sheffer

Capstone Collection

Youth development practitioners must be cognizant not only of youth development and social justice education theories, but also of how they—in the context of their lived experiences—engage with youth development work. My initial experiences with youth development lacked intentionality; however, as I began to critically examine my own experiences through the lens of theorists such as Freud, Piaget, Ericksen, hooks, and Freire, I realized the vitality of reflective practice. This paper unpacks my experiences as a Group Leader for The Experiment in Argentina, Nicaragua/Cuba, and South Africa, analyzing my approach to the Group Leader role and how it affected my …