Educational Leadership Commons^™

School Crisis Plans: Are You Prepared?, David Alan Dolph

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The majority of states have statutes requiring school districts to develop school safety plans focused on preventing and responding to crisis situations. Plans may include protocols for disseminating school safety plans to appropriate personnel; mandatory fire, tornado, or active drills; and community involvement.

Although the degree of comprehensiveness of those plans depends on state legislation, all should include the basic elements offered here, focused on creating secure school environments.

Teachers’ Nascent Praxes Of Care: Potentially Decolonizing Approaches To School Violence In Trinidad, Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams

Africana Studies Faculty Publications

Zero tolerance, punitive and more negative peace-oriented approaches dominate school violence interventions, despite research indicating that comprehensive approaches are more sustainable. In this article, I use data from a longitudinal case study at a Trinidadian secondary school to focus on the role of teachers and their impact on school violence; I show that institutional constraints are not fully deterministic, as teachers sometimes deploy their agency to efficacious ends. In combining Noddings’ postulations on care and Freire’s notions of praxis as a symbiosis of reflection and action, I explicate the nascent praxes of care of six teachers at this school, as …

Educational Leadership Newsletter December 2016, Educational Leadership Department, University Of Southern Maine

Educational Leadership Newsletters

Inside this issue:

• From the Chair
• 50th Anniversary of Educational Leadership Program
• Southern Maine Partnership Update
• Thinking About Internship?
• Spring 2017 Schedule

Graduate Internship In Agricultural Education-John H Pitman High School, Turlock, Luke F. Gocke

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship report includes validation documents required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at John H. Pitman High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The internship included a project which consisted of researching and implementing safety inside a high school mechanics and welding classroom. Vocational Education enhances the learning experience for students and ensuring a safe environment promotes the learning process.

Effects Of 1:1 Computing By Ses On Student Motivation, Engagement, And Literacy Achievement, Bryan Appleton

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the effectiveness of the combination of 1:1 computing with collaborative instructional strategies. In the first and second hypotheses, exposure to a 1:1 computing environment in a literacy classroom (participation versus no participation) and SES (participating versus not participating) were the independent variables. The dependent variable for Hypothesis 1 was positive student motivation. The dependent variable for Hypothesis 2 was positive student engagement. Hypothesis 1 revealed that the interaction between the independent variables was significant. In the two groups participating in the 1:1 Program, the students not participating in the free and reduced …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Supervision And Job Satisfaction Factors Among Residence Directors And Resident Assistants, Stephen A. Berg

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Supervising Resident Assistants (RAs) on college campuses is one of the most critical roles of housing staff members. The RA position is difficult based on the number of responsibilities the job requires; it is filled with multiple stressors, such as role ambiguity and role conflict. Supervision is a critical skill for student affairs professionals to possess yet there remains little research on the supervision of RAs. In this study, the relationship between perceived levels of synergistic supervision, training, and job satisfaction factors was examined among residence directors (RDs) and RAs. The researcher sought to fill this gap the in the …

Examining The Social Effects Of Community-Based Mentoring On At-Risk Adolescent Girls, Nina L. Price

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to examine which strategies of mentoring, if any, have a positive impact on adolescent girls who engage in potentially at-risk social behaviors, which may negatively affect their self-esteem academic performance. The female students who participated in this study attend a large high school in Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, are between the ages of 15 and 18, and are mentored by volunteers of The TurnAround Agenda Outreach Center. The study is informed by two theroretical frameworks which seeks to guide a study of human interactions: social learning theory (Bandura,1997) and attachment theory (Bowlby, 1980). …

Gender Behavior Types, Teacher-Student Interactions, And Mathematics Performance: An Empirical Analysis Of Texas High School Students, Sheila Gayle Fleming

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this study was to explore the gender behavior types for both female and male high school students. Using the gender behavior types as a lens, the study examined the existence of any differences in teacher-student interactions and mathematics performance by gender behavior type, and investigated factors that predict students’ mathematics performance A survey was used to collect data concerning student self-concepts, student perceptions of teacher-student interactions, background characteristics, and course enrollment. The sample was drawn from high school students at a North Texas High School enrolled in Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 during Spring 2015. The …

Fourth Amendment Knowledge In Student Housing: A Study Of Texas Public University Officials, Gregory L. Hladik

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze Texas public college and university housing professionals’ knowledge of constitutional Fourth Amendment law using a 20-question True/False/Unsure survey. This survey was designed to investigate the legal literacy of housing officials in order to determine what they know and what predictors are associated with greater or less knowledge. The participants in the study were full and part-time employees and student resident assistants of Texas public college and university housing programs. In total, 245 participants completed the survey in its entirety. The survey results were analyzed using Qualtrics where multiple regression was used …

The Effective Practices Of Tasa Honor School Boards In Texas: A View Through The Lens Of Scott's Three Pillars Of Institutional Theory, Kendra Leigh Nelson

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Quality public schools are linked to the effectiveness of their school boards, and voting for local trustees, elected lay men and women, impacts the overall condition of local communities (Foster, 2014). Experts believe school board adeptness and efficiency can be increased by improving procedures (Sell, 2005). Looking through the lens of institutional theory, the purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of Richard Scott’s three pillars of institutionalization (regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive forces) through exploring specific procedures of TASA Honor Boards as compared to demographically similar boards. This study relied on content analysis of school board meeting minutes …

Ideological And Legal Predictors Of U.S. Court Of Appeals Justices’ Voting In Title Vii National Origin Employment Discrimination Cases In K-16 Education, Lori Marie Del Bosque (Reyes)

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

This study investigated the influence of: (1) judges’ political ideology as measured by party-of-the- appointing president and DW-nominate scores; and (2) legal precedent as measured by voting which occurred before or after the 1991 amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on judges’ liberal and conservative voting between 1964 and 2015 at the United States Court of Appeals in Title VII national origin decisions impacting K-16 education, using binary logistic regression as its main statistical tool. The principal findings for this group of K-16 decisions are: (1) ideology, as determined by party-of -appointing president, is an effective predictor of …

Recipients Of Major Scientific Awards A Descriptive And Predictive Analysis, Andrew Calvin Barbee

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Recent trends demonstrate an increase of women in leadership roles, STEM fields, and participating in higher education including graduate and doctoral programs, which is a result of Title IX. This quantitative study considered major scientific awards awarded to females and examines demographic characteristics of awardees from the Nobel, National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and National Science Foundation (NSF). More specifically, the following awards were examined the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the NAS Public Welfare Medal, and the NSF National Medal of Science within the discipline of Physical Science. Also, this study focused on equality to determine if a fair playing …

Understanding The Perceptions Of Mattering, Feelings Of Burnout, And Job Satisfaction Of Resident Assistants At Four-Year Midwestern Universities, James C. Stoner

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Since first conceptualized in the 1970s, employee burnout has received much scholarly attention in various service-oriented fields. While some disciplines have benefited from an abundance of burnout research (e.g., nursing, education), other specific jobs have received limited attention. One such position is the Resident Assistant (RA) job on college campuses. RAs serve a critical, service-oriented role in higher education and have a wide range of difficult job responsibilities. As such, RAs are not immune to burnout. The limited existing research on RA burnout has failed to address the foundational cause of burnout; that is, the relationships between RAs who provide …

Backpacking Brothers: An Experiential, Adventure Education Program To Transform Rape Culture And Prevent Sexual Violence, Matthew Lynn

Capstone Collection

Sexual violence is a public health crisis in the United States and globally, that has devastating interpersonal, social, psychological, spiritual and economic impacts. The root causes of sexual violence are tied to all forms of oppression. The normalization and perpetuation of sexual violence is buttressed by cultural paradigms used by media, religion, education and other systems that maintain rigid gender roles and power dynamics. There are promising initiatives for preventing sexual violence before it occurs. This paper explores one of those initiatives called Backpacking Brothers. The purpose of Backpacking Brothers is to engage middle school boys in an adventure education …

Workplace Spirituality And Employee Work Intentions : Examining The Relationship And The Mediating Role Of Ethical Leadership., Paula F. Soder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined the extent to which workplace spirituality was associated with work intentions, and whether ethical leadership served as a mediator of the relationship between workplace spirituality and work intentions. The study begins with an overview of the significant workplace spirituality literature, and a brief overview of work intentions and ethical leadership. A convenience sample of 405 U.S. based adults, employed full-time were surveyed. Using correlation and path analysis, results from the study showed a positive strong association between workplace spirituality and employee work intentions, and mediation via ethical leadership. The findings of the study provided support for both …

Professional School Counselors : Integral Stakeholders In The Recruitment, Retention, And Support Of African American, Latino, And Low-Income Students In Advanced Placement Programs., Damien Sweeney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have been conducted that show the importance of diversifying Advanced Placement Courses. However, Griffin and Steen (2011) state that: Despite a vast body of literature that stresses the importance of school counselors in addressing inequities that exists in schools, few articles provide concrete strategies that school counselors can infuse in their practice. More research is warranted because many school counselors face barriers when trying to implement systemic change in the schools. (p. 76) This qualitative research study is based on a collective phenomenological case study of six participants (five Professional School Counselors and one Director of School Counselors) …

Finnish Teacher Collaboration: The Behaviors, Learning, And Formality Of Teacher Collaboration, Bruce H. Eschler

Theses and Dissertations

Finnish teachers continue to receive significant attention among educators, educational leaders, and policy makers in the United States and around the globe. In addition, teacher collaboration continues to receive support as a meaningful part of teacher work and practice. Teacher collaboration is frequently described in various ways within different contexts. This study aims to: (a) better understand the nature of Finnish teacher collaboration by examining three teacher collaboration behaviors (sharing information and knowledge, planning, and problem-solving); (b) explore the extent to which Finnish teacher collaboration is formal (or school-required) collaboration and informal (or voluntary) collaboration; and (c) investigate …

Measuring The Effectiveness Of A Two-Period Algebra Class: A Program Evaluation, Tracey K. Landry

Dissertations

This paper details a program evaluation of a two-period freshman Algebra course in a two-high school district. The study examines the degree to which the two-period course is an effective intervention for freshman math students as compared to the one-period freshman Algebra course by reviewing student assessment data, student growth indicators, and course enrollment data. In addition to quantitative data, student, teacher, and administrator perceptions of the course inform the investigation into the two-period remedial math class. The paper concludes that the two-period math program is not having the desired impact and should be reconfigured or reconsidered altogether.

Targeted Professional Learning To Implement A Biliteracy Model: A Change Leadership Plan, Nicole M. Robinson

Dissertations

With the achievement gap for students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and their non-LEP peers widening rather than closing in Brighton School District 32 (pseudonyms are used throughout this change plan), it became clear that a change of the bilingual program model was necessary. This change plan examines the need for change in the current traditional Transitional Bilingual Education program to an extended Developmental Bilingual Education model with an emphasis on teaching for biliteracy. Because altering the bilingual program model requires a significant change in teaching practices and beliefs, this plan focuses on implementing a targeted professional learning plan to …

Assessing A District's Culture Through An Annual School Culture Audit: A Policy Advocacy Document, Robert Tomic

Dissertations

Healthy school cultures play a significant role in improving a student’s educational experience as well as creating a professional environment for staff. Sustaining a positive school culture throughout a K-8 district allows for similar experiences for students and provides stability at the staff level throughout the district. The recommended policy for Yorktown School District would require each school to complete an annual school culture audit to ensure the presence of a strong foundation for all stakeholders. Utilizing the School Culture Triage Survey on an annual basis to determine strengths and areas to focus on will provide a school and district …