Educational Leadership Commons^™

Thriving In Leadership: Strategies For Making A Difference In Christian Higher Education. By Karen A. Longman, Denise Ross Haynes

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

THRIVING IN LEADERSHIP: STRATEGIES FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN CHRISTIAN HIGHER EDUCATION. By Karen A. Longman (Ed.). Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press (2012). Paperback, 336 pages.

Editor Karen Longman, together with “seventeen seasoned senior-level college and university administrators,” offers “fresh perspectives on what is required to thrive in leadership and to shape institutions where both employees and students flourish” (p. 25). Besides being practical, resourceful, and relevant, this work has a nextlevel profundity in the way it invites the reader into a personal dialogue about her personal leadership calling. While most of the current literature discusses leadership primarily as …

Presidential Views Of Leadership In Seventhday Adventist Higher Education, Christopher C. Combie

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

Dissertation Notice:

Ph.D. dissertation, University of South Florida, 2014.

Full Text of Dissertation

This qualitative study explored the perceptions of presidential leadership in Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) higher education in North America. The perceptions included the identification of leadership competencies and leadership styles that promote the mission of the

SDA church in higher education. The study also identified the personal and professional experiences of SDA college and university presidents that contributed to their successful accession to the presidency. The presidents came from the 12 non-medical SDA colleges and universities in the continental United States and Canada. The three themes that emerged …

The Experience Of Teachers And Deans In An Intensive Weekly Observation/Feedback Model, Kathleen A. Grinwis

Dissertations

This phenomenological study looked at the lived experiences of 12 teachers and deans participating in an intensive weekly observation/feedback model in several charter school academies. In this model, teachers and deans work to grow as educators and to reach their professional development goals. While we know that a major factor in increasing the proficiency rate of our students is improving teacher effectiveness, not as much is known about how to provide the necessary guidance for teachers’ professional growth and efficacy development. The challenge for leaders is to develop effective systems of supervision that support teachers and administrators as they work …

A New Group Of Leaders; The Assistant Principal Academy For Instructional Leadership And Development, Katrice M. Cotton

Dissertations

In order to develop the skills needed for the role of today's school leader, providing quality professional development and learning opportunities to administrators is essential. The district created systems of administrative support to provide multiple learning experiences to adequately prepare leaders to serve at the school level. Riverwoods Public Schools invested in professional development that provided instructional leadership support. Professional development sessions provided new assistant principals with opportunities to network and engage in dialogue that provided examples of best practice in instruction.

A Case Study To Discover The Factors Impacting North Georgia School Leaders' Choices In Assignment Of Co-Teaching Partnerships, Donna Cherveny

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Assignment of co-teaching partnerships fails to be recognized fully in the current base of literature. Literature documents the impact of teachers on educational environments and student success, hiring choices of school leaders, and the implementation of co-teaching; however, literature is lacking at the junction of these topics. The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to discover the factors that impact choices of North Georgia school leaders when assigning co-teaching partnerships. Participants included 13 school leaders from 7 North Georgia school districts who are responsible for assigning co-teaching partnerships. Results of the study demonstrate that personal characteristics, professional experiences, …

The Role Of The School Leader In Collaboration Between Regular And Special Education Teachers, Jospeh Raymond Sciullo

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In 2004, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) aligned to language found in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA 2004). This reauthorization required students with disabilities to have access to the same curriculum as their non-disabled peers. This languages means that practices in instruction and assessment for students with disabilities must be aligned to the academic content standards established in each state (Parrish & Stodden, 2009). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of school leadership within the context of teacher collaboration and the factors that contribute to their level of …

Principals’ Perspectives On The Professional Development Process And Its Outcomes, Sara Kathleen Moore

Dissertations

This study examined principals’ perspectives on the professional development process and its outcomes. Principals are in the best position to ensure a connection between research-based best practices and what actually happens in the classroom, but there is little research on how principals actually select professional development for their staff in the field. This study was conducted in a Midwestern state using data gathered from public elementary school principals in the form of a survey. The sample included all K-5 and K-8 elementary principals on record with the state department of education, with 242 principals responding. It examined how much control …

Student-Teacher Connection, Race, And Relationships To Academic Achievement, Timothy Brian Mabin Jr.

Dissertations

Urban, primarily minority and low-SES students continue to lag behind their suburban white non-low SES counterparts in terms of academic achievement. Some previous research suggests that strong bonds between teachers and students help such students succeed. This study therefore sought to investigate any relationships between student-teacher connection, race, and academic achievement.

Student perceptional data on student-teacher connections (i.e., a teacher caring about them) and student achievement data in the areas of math and reading from 3,359 high school students within a large urban Midwestern school district was examined. In addition, the race/ethnicity of both the students and teachers were examined …

Strengthening Tier 1 Elementary Reading Within A Multi-Tiered System Of Support, Carla N. Osborn

Masters Theses

Training teachers about the foundational reading skills is an important step in creating students who are proficient readers. However, training is not enough. Teachers need support through instructional coaching. Even with coaching support, sustainability of these practices will be a challenge if systems are not in place throughout the district to support ongoing implementation. By combining the processes of creating a Multi-Tiered System of Support, reading training, and instructional coaching, sustainability of practices can be possible. Research does not currently exist as to whether the combination of these efforts has increased student achievement in reading at the elementary level. This …

2016 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

The Experiences Of Stakeholders In District-University Administrator Preparation Partnerships, Jacob Mckinley Wilson Iii

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Collaborative partnerships between school districts and universities focused on school leadership development are a part of a recent effort to provide the field of public education with leadership for the 21st century. The research clearly indicates that the demand for educational administrators far outweighs the number of available qualified candidates. This qualitative research proposal, influenced by the research tradition of phenomenology, was designed to examine an important but often overlooked component of the school district–university partnership process. The stakeholders, representatives from both the school district and the university involved in the partnership, are key to the successful development and implementation …

Does Global Citizenship Education Predict Identification With All Humanity?, Alpha Amber Scott Belt

Dissertations

Scholars and leaders agree institutions of higher education must prepare students to live, work and thrive in a global community. Nevertheless, there remains much discourse and debate surrounding what it actually means to be a global citizen, and what are the appropriate learning opportunities that will best serve to achieve this goal. This quantitative study examined whether or not participation in global citizenship education opportunities predicts how a student identifies him- or herself in relation to all humanity as measured using the Identification with All Humanity (IWAH) scale (McFarland et al., 2012). Four research questions were examined 1) does participation …

Effects Of Eliminating The Cap On The Number Of Participants In The Statewide Parental Choice Program, Reginald Lawrence Ii

Dissertations

Funding provided for public education is also being utilized for charter, private and /or parochial voucher schools across the state of Wisconsin. Policy was passed that eliminates current enrollment caps in the statewide parental choice program. In 2016-17, enrollment is limited to 1% of the district’s school age population and increases by 1% annually until it reaches 10% then lifts entirely. In advocating against the proposed policy, three critical issues emerged – the cost of funding the additional program, the moral obligation to educate neediest students, and grading school performance. Policy recommendation includes, leave remaining enrollment cap in place, create …

Exploring The Impact Of The Masstransfer Program: A Look At Latina/ Latino Student Transfer Success At A Two Year Hispanic-Serving Institution Into A Four Year Non-Hispanic University In Massachusetts, Lizette V. Rivera

Dissertations

The majority of Latina/Latino students enrolling into higher education are doing so through community colleges. Latina/Latino students are not transferring at comparable rates to their peers. This study explored the impact of the MassTransfer program on the transfer success of Latina/Latino students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) community college into a 4-year state university in Massachusetts. Twelve students were individually interviewed for this study. Six of the students attend an HSI community college. The remaining six students were enrolled in a Massachusetts state university and had successfully transferred from the HSI in this study. The MassTransfer program encourages degree specific …

Improving Student Behavior Through The Use Of Greater Teacher Accountability Measures, Tequila S. Kurth

Dissertations

This change leadership plan examined the fidelity of implementation of strategies teachers learned during professional development at an elementary school in a large Midwestern urban school district. Emphasis was placed on the quality of teacher-student relationships as well as the strategies teachers used to address undesired behaviors. Also included were actions I took as an administrator with struggling teachers. While it was evident that in order to change student behaviors it would be necessary for teacher behaviors to change, making this change happen through greater teacher accountability measures proved to be challenging. Teacher resistance made it clear that the best …

School Readiness Of First Grade Charter School Students: An Evaluation Of An Early Childhood Program, Dr Shandowlyon L. Hendricks-Williams

Dissertations

This program evaluation studied the effectiveness of an early childhood program as it relates to school readiness. The early childhood program of a charter school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin had been operating for over thirty without an evaluation of its effectiveness. To examine the effectiveness of the early childhood program, seventy-two students were evaluated using a teacher-developed First Grade Readiness Checklist; the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Test and Success for All (SFA) Assessment. School readiness, as a multifaceted construct, included five domains: academic, behavioral, emotional, social and self-help-skills.

The results of the survey indicate that the early childhood program …

Raising Expectations: Utilizing Research-Based Methods Linking Teacher Expectations And Student Achievement (Tesa_: A Change Leadership Plan, Jarita Rashe' Steward

Dissertations

This Change Leadership Plan details the progress of a pilot group of Kindergarten, third, fifth, and sixth grade teachers in a K-8, Title 1 School as they observed one another utilizing the expectations strategies from the Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement Program (TESA). In this second year of work, strategies from the previous year were reviewed, and new strategies were added as reinforcement. The pilot group observed their colleagues, discussed their observations, and reported what they noticed during the observations. This research also employed researcher observations. Data from all observations, research, discussions and interviews were charted. One of the most …

Improving Student Achievement Of Private School Students Receiving Title Services: A Positional And Dispositional Change Plan, Dr Shandowlyon L. Hendricks-Williams

Dissertations

This change plan examined the current competencies, conditions, culture and context of a for-profit education corporation which resulted in low student achievement, “As Is”. As a means of developing strategies and actions for change, the competencies, conditions, culture and context necessary to increase student achievement was explored “To Be”. A change plan was developed and implemented. The change plan addressed my personal immunities to change as well as strategies and actions needed to improve student achievement. Private school students receiving title services were assessed using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test in May of 2014. The results of that …

The Current State Of Youth Leadership Development Programming In Nebraska, Kathryn M. Brock, L. J. Mcelravy

UCARE: Research Products

Young leaders are an underutilized resource that can significantly impact a community’s human resource capital, and their development is essential for the transfer leadership through the generations. There is insufficient evidence to prove that youth leadership development programming truly increases young students’ influential capacity; additionally, there is no way to metrically determine programming success. To gain an understanding of the current status of youth leadership programs in Nebraska, fourteen youth programs claiming leadership as one of the top curriculum priorities were interviewed for the purpose of collecting quantitative data to be compiled to make general observations about programming strengths and …

The Retention And Persistence Of First-Year, First-Generation College Students At A Mid-Size Public University: A Mixed Methods Case Study, Tiffany M. Gethers

All Capstone Projects

Student retention is an intricate and multi-layered issue facing postsecondary institutions across the United States. Although a complex issue, one trend is clear, research on student persistence reveals that more students withdraw from their institution within the first year of college. An additional and continuing dilemma is the disproportional attrition of first-generation college students, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds. The purpose of this case study is to examine the transition of Governors State University (GSU) from an upper-division graduate university to a four-year traditional institution and its impact (in terms of curricular and co-curricular programs and services) on the …