Educational Leadership Commons^™

2017-04-10 Statement By Professor Caric For Faculty Regent, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Statement by Professor Caric for the position of Faculty Regent delivered on April 10, 2017.

2017-04-10 Statement By Professor Royar For Faculty Regent, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Statement by Professor Royar for the position of Faculty Regent delivered on April 10, 2017.

2017-04-10 Statement By Professor Pidluzny For Faculty Regent, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Statement by Professor Pidluzny for the position of Faculty Regent delivered on April 10, 2017.

Students At Kansas Newspaper Prove Democracy Isn't Dead Yet, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

In May of 1897, Mark Twain was in London finishing up an around-the-world speaking tour he had started two years earlier. He got there right after his cousin, James Ross Clemens, who had fallen ill while visiting London a couple of weeks earlier. In a letter he wrote on May 31, Twain addressed rumors saying that he had fallen deathly ill and had even died. "I can understand perfectly how the report of my illness got about," he said, adding: "I have even heard on good authority that I was dead." It was his cousin's illness that was ascribed …

Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes, April 7, 2017

Board of Trustees Minutes

Minutes from the Wright State University Board of Trustees Meeting held on April 7, 2017.

Leadership Practices That Create A Sustainable Collaborative Community, Regina Tillman

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover the principal leadership practices perceived as supporting the development of professional learning communities and a sustainable collaborative culture. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to examine principal leadership practices school teachers in Antelope Valley School Districts perceive as important to creating a sustainable professional learning community. This study contributed to the literature to understand the important leadership practices that support the implementation and sustainability of professional learning communities. The participants in the present study were elementary principals and teachers implementing professional learning communities in Antelope Valley elementary school …

Joy Castro [Speaker], Installation Of The 20th Chancellor Of The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Ronnie D. Green, April 6, 2017, Joy Castro

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Administration: Reports, Papers, Publications, and Presentations

Remarks by Joy Castro for Ronnie Green's installation as Chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, presented April 6, 2017.

Examining The Impacts Of Middle School Disciplinary Policies On 9th Grade Retention, Elise Swanson, Heidi Holmes Erickson, Gary W. Ritter

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

In this paper we estimate the impact of exclusionary discipline given in 8th grade on the probability of 9th grade retention. We use a rich seven year, student level, panel dataset from Arkansas. We use a novel approach by limiting our sample to students who switch schools between 8th and 9th grade. This movement gives each student a fresh start, and removes the potential confound of a student’s reputation as a “problem student” that could influence teachers to be harsher on students who already have a disciplinary record. We find that students who receive exclusionary discipline in 8th grade are …

Managing Reform Efforts In Times Of Uncertainty: Effects Of Principal Support And Leadership On Teachers’ Implementation Commitment To Common Core Reform Initiatives, Lee Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) require a major shift in instructional practices among teachers. Such changes cause much uncertainty as teachers’ roles and identities begin to change. Major school reform creates difficulty for school leaders who must develop teacher support and dedication to ‘top-down’ reform initiatives in their classrooms. Literature suggested that proper support from building and district leaders is needed to reduce the uncertainty caused by such changes. Guided by organizational change theory, the purpose of this study was to examine whether perceived organizational support (POS), perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU), perceived principal support (PPS), and principal and teacher …

Contextual Determinants Of Mathematics Achievement: A Closer Look At The Influence Of Principals' Instructional Leadership, Teachers' Preferred Instructional Approaches, And Academic Optimism, Tremayne White

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether certain contextual factors pertaining to principals and teachers influenced U.S. eighth grade students’ math achievement. More specifically, the study comparatively examined the direct and mediating predictive influence of teacher instructional approaches (i.e., teacher-directed, constructivism), academic optimism (i.e., academic emphasis, collective efficacy, faculty trust in parents/students), teacher self-efficacy, and principal instructional leadership (i.e., define school mission, manage instructional program, promote positive learning climate) between the first (lowest achieving) and fourth (highest achieving) quartiles by controlling for SES and students’ attitudes toward math. The study employed a causal comparative design utilizing data from …

Reducing Recitivism: How To Combat Repeat Suspensions And Improve Student Achievement, Derrick King

FL MED Educational Leadership Capstones

This project is intended to take examine how Mount Olive High School can implement an alternative school program to reduce the number of students who are habitually absent from school, reduce the number of students receiving out of school suspension, and improve this demographic of student’s overall student achievement. This project explains what alternative school is, its pro’s and con’s, and how it has been proven effective in other schools. This project examines the steps which were taken at Mount Olive to implement this program into its school. The project provides data on the effect the alternative school had on …

Evaluating School Vouchers: Evidence From A Within-Study Comparison, Kaitlin P. Anderson, Patrick J. Wolf

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are the “gold-standard” for estimating causal impacts of educational programs. Students subject to lotteries, however, often are not representative of the broader population of students experiencing the educational treatment. With few exceptions, researchers are not able to determine how much selection bias exists when various quasi-experimental approaches are used in place of experimental ones within a school choice context. We are left wondering about the magnitude of the internal-for-external validity tradeoff that education researchers often face. This study assesses the extent to which methods such as propensity score matching or observational models with control variables can …

Graduation Policies In A Public High School (A Case Study), Erika K. Stump, Erin Connor, Catherine Fallona, Bernadette Doykos

State of Education

This report shares research conducted in a case study of one higher performing high school to examine the practices, challenges and facilitators of implementing a standards-based curriculum and proficiency-based diploma systems.

Education Reform In West Virginia And The Effect Of District Takeover, Michael Cunningham, Eugenia Damron, Jessica Hanna

Leadership Studies Faculty Research

The original purpose of this venture was to provide a tool for West Virginia county school board members to perform a mandated annual self-assessment on board effectiveness and to provide appropriate feedback to them. This tool was in the form of a survey instrument that captured both quantitative and qualitative data. A one-way ANOVA analysis, along with descriptive statistics, and an emergent category analysis were performed to interpret the data and provide the needed feedback to the school boards. However, a post-hoc analysis of this state-wide data (55 districts) revealed differences in the data between autonomous districts and those that …

Educational Leadership Newsletter April 2017, Educational Leadership Department, University Of Southern Maine

Educational Leadership Newsletters

Inside this issue:

• From the Chair
• 50th Anniversary of the Educational Leadership Program
• Southern Maine Partnership Update
• Fall 2017 Schedule
• Maine's Public Schools: Worth the Investment - a White Paper sponsored by the Maine School Management Association written by Andrew R. Dolloff PhD

Nonprofit Board Of Director Training: The Experiences Of Chief Executive Officers In Western Kentucky, Matthew L. Hunt

Dissertations

This reality-oriented inquiry investigates chief executive officers’ experiences of board training within 501(c)(3) nonprofit acute care hospitals. This study provides an insight into the practices, barriers, and drivers of board training. Katz’s (1955) skillsbased leadership model serves as the theoretical framework for this study. The model suggests leadership skills are not innate but can be developed through training. This qualitative study includes nine in-depth interviews with chief executive officers to acquire a rich description of the phenomenon of interest throughout nine 501(c)(3) nonprofit acute care hospitals.

A constant-comparative analysis and inductive analysis are employed to develop six themes related to …

The Goal-Driven, Resilient, And Influential Teens Program In Kentucky High Schools: The Impact On Social And Emotional Learning And Influencing Factors, Brant Von Goble

Dissertations

In order to assess the effects of the Goal-driven, Resilient, and Influential Teens (GRIT) program on social and emotional learning and academic performance in high schools throughout Kentucky, data from several sources were compiled and analyzed. These sources included results from the Student Engagement and Performance (STEP) survey, an instrument developed by the Rock Solid Evaluation Team at Western Kentucky University and administered yearly to high school students and teachers, and school-level academic and socioeconomic data from the Kentucky Department of Education. Additional data on fidelity of GRIT program implementation were obtained from FranklinCovey, the GRIT program’s developer and publisher. …

Leadership In Charter Schools A Case Study Of Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy, Sarah Defeo

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

This case study seeks to identify the leadership practices in a high performing charter school in order to determine specific practices that are effective, especially when educating minority and underprivileged students. This study is partnered with Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy (BVP), a mayoral charter school system consisting of six schools grades k-12. BVP is performing significantly statistically better than neighboring districts as well as Rhode Island schools as a whole. This research explores the leadership approaches and practices used to drive the success achieved by BVP. The data collected for this study derives from interviews with school administrators, faculty, …

The Impact Of A Value-Added Model On Educational Leadership Practices In Northwest Louisiana, Candice D. Webert

Doctoral Dissertations

This study addressed the impact of VAM, concerns with VAM data, uses and interventions educational leaders provided teachers, and components perceived as necessary for VAM effectiveness as an evaluation tool. The demographics used for this study were position, school size, and experience. Due to the documented need for educational accountability from the 1960s to present, the knowledge gained in this study was valuable. While the initiative was implemented as a response to increased accountability, the perceptions and understanding of such new initiatives can impact their effectiveness; in turn, impacting educational leadership. This study focused on the effectiveness of VAM.

In …

Are The Leadership Behaviors Of K–12 Leaders In Mid-Western Urban School Districts Influenced By Their Beliefs And Attitudes Regarding Spirituality?, Ericka M. Taylor

Dissertations

Working in a stressful and chaotic environment can be difficult for building principals in urban school districts (DeNisco, 2013; Stokley, 2002; Thompson, 2004). Presumably, the job is only expected to get more arduous with the increasing demands to improve student achievement (Allison, 2012; Kimball & Sirotnik, 2000; Queen & Schumacher, 2006). What is quite apparent today is that the role and responsibilities of the principal have changed dramatically over the past twenty years (Carlson, 2012; Hill-Yeverton, 2003) shifting from a factory model of management of learning to one in which teachers and principals have to create more student-centered and project-based …