Educational Leadership Commons^™

Teacher Attrition, Retention, And Preservice Preparation, Kimberly Y. Wesley

All Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether teacher preparation programs are equipping preservice teachers for responsiveness to principal leadership styles and the impact on teacher perceived organizational fit. Determining whether preservice programs prepare teachers for the dynamics of the school environment could be beneficial in improving retention and attrition. A qualitative design was utilized to gather data through interviews with instructors, students, and alumni of a teacher preparation program in the Midwest. Syllabi and coursework were analyzed for incorporation of preparation for responsiveness to diverse leadership styles.

A Model Of Segmenting A High-Cost Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Initiative, Paul Adams

All Capstone Projects

This project aimed to create a working model worthy to include within Schneider, Walker, and Sprague's description of a five-stage process of parceling out high-cost Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) initiatives. In 2002, the Department of Education and Department of Justice sponsored Schneider as the lead author for introducing and promoting CPTED initiatives for the first time in schools. This project's funding mechanism was created to help assist with the procurement of a highly priced CPTED initiative (key-less card system) for Suburban College.

Suburban College had faced a reoccurring pattern of theft from its classrooms and common areas. The …

Understanding Millennial, Generation X, And Baby Boomer Preferred Leadership Characteristics: Informing Today’S Leaders And Followers, Lee-Volker Cox

Dissertations

Purpose. This quantitative study’s purpose was to describe and determine the degree of difference and importance of leadership characteristics as perceived by Baby Boom, Generation X, and Millennial generational cohort followers in STEM-related U.S.-based or headquartered aerospace and computer organizations as measured by the Multigenerational Leadership Characteristics Questionnaire (MLCQ).

Methodology. This was a cross-sectional, nonexperimental, comparative and correlational quantitative, ex post facto study. A web-based MLCQ was developed after conducting an academic literature review. Participants used a 6-point Likert scale identifying the importance of 30 characteristics with 2 aggregation questions identifying the most and least important characteristics; 408 members of …

Living Out Faith: Reflections On Motivation For Academic Achievement And Career Choice, Felicia D. Richardson-Mcgee

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

It has often been said that conversations concerning religion, sex and politics should be avoided in most, if not all social settings. In general, it was believed that discussions on these topics could lead to very heated and argumentative debates as the participants openly expressed their views on these subjects. Increasingly, however, religion has become a popular discussion topic in many areas, such as politics, health and medicine, and even the business world. This is likely because religion, for many, is an important part of daily life. It shapes how individuals see themselves and others in the world and may …

Rediscovering Deep Time: Sustainability And The Need To Re-Engage With Multiple Dimensions Of Time In Leadership Studies, Rian Satterwhite, Kate Sheridan, Whitney Mcintyre Miller

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The current article makes the case that increasing our comfort with and responsiveness to extended timescales—both the far future and past—is essential to leadership against the backdrop of wicked challenges that shape the current and future leadership landscape. We offer a loose structure of four dimensions of time—present, near, distant, and deep time—to help advance this work. We frequently fail in thinking about the broader impact of our leadership work for generations to come and to ground that work in our extended, collective history. In order to think about lasting leadership, and particularly when utilizing a framework of sustainability and …

The Nature Of Teacher Learning In Collaborative Data Teams, Robert Michaud

The Qualitative Report

As data teams have grown in popularity in recent years, they have been increasingly looked to by educational researchers because of the tantalizing prospect of combining teachers’ on the job professional development with increased and effective data use to drive instruction. Data teams have been increasingly implemented within schools by educational leaders attempting to take advantage of what teachers learn from each other in the context of a data team. Many conceptual models of data team function have been proposed, but few empirical studies have examined how teachers learn from collaborating with each other in a data team. This paper …

Teacher Understanding Of Curricular And Pedagogical Decision-Making Processes At An Urban Charter School, Rodolfo Cuevas Jr.

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study featured two research endeavors. The first was a narrative inquiry of six teachers at Weedpatch Charter School as they understood curricular and pedagogical decisionmaking. These teachers, along with the Weedpatch Charter School founder, participated in this study soon after the curriculum and instruction decision-making had undergone a democratization effort whereby a top-down administrative approach was replaced by a teacher-led effort. Ironically, WCS school leadership welcomed the latter effort, despite the antiteacher legacy of the charter movement, which has long featured “at will” employment and no collective bargaining. The second component of this study was critical discourse analysis …

Changing Mindsets: A Case Study Of A Community Of Practice Between Charter And Traditional Public School Leaders In The School Leaders Network, Manuel Nicolas Ponce Jr.

LMU Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the essential elements of a community of practice intended to increase communication and collaboration between traditional public and charter school leaders. Members of the Los Angeles Cohort of the School Leaders Network participated in this study.

This case study triangulated observation, interview, and document review data to identify the factors that were most beneficial to this particular community of practice. Drawing on the research of communities of practice, constructivism, and leadership theory, these factors were articulated into five domains with the hope that, with further research, this framework could influence the creation …

Perceptions Regarding The Use And Experience Of Information And Communication Technology From Female Students In A Catholic Middle School, Julio Cuauhtemoc Tellez

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Despite advancements in the search of equity, females still struggle to find acceptance in the field of information and communication technology. Research indicates that differences in perception of ability of ICT use begin to manifest in the middle school level. This mixed methods study explored the experiences and perceptions of 46 middle school females and males to expose possible influential factors about the use of ICT by females. The dissertation study occurred in two phases. The first phase involved a survey that was given to the entire middle school. Data from the survey provided participants for the second phase, which …

Engaging The Lived Realities Of Adult Immigrant English Language Learners: A Case Study Of Literacy For Consciousness, Todd Eckel

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study had two goals. The first goal was to understand how a critical, non-formal, adult literacy program addresses the challenges and successes, which the students and volunteers identify at Amanecer Adult School. The second goal was to explore the perception of the student Spanish-speaking immigrants on the extent to which this program contributes to their second language acquisition and critical citizenship. These goals were examined through studying a local nonprofit organization, Amanecer Adult School, (AAS) that espouses critical literacy as its main goal. Using qualitative methodology and an inductive analysis approach to the data, the findings of the …

The Impact Of Catholic High School Education: Catholic High School Young Adult Alumnae Perception And Engagement In Social Justice Related Activities, Antony John Joseph Gaspar

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods research investigated how young adult alumnae from a Catholic female high school perceive the impact of their high school service experience concerning their "beliefs" about the importance of service, current "engagement" in service, and their beliefs about and engagement with four Catholic Social Teaching principles (life and dignity, care for the poor, solidarity and common good, and rights and responsibilities) related to social justice.

This research draws data from young adult alumnae from a Catholic female single-sex high school in a metropolitan city of the United States. The data collection included a web-based survey (N=131), individual interview …

Women Principals Of Jewish Secular High Schools In Israel: Access And Progress, Dana Michelle Lebental

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative investigation focused on women high school principals at Jewish secular schools throughout Israel. Despite challenges, Israeli women have succeeded in obtaining over half of the principal positions at Jewish secular high schools, but the degree to which there is equal gender access to leadership roles in the school system remains unclear. This study examined whether there was clustering of women in high school principal positions in certain geographical areas, the process by which these women obtained principal positions, what obstacles the women overcame, and an analysis if respondents differed by district in terms of their career paths, career …

A Study Of Teacher-Buy-In And Grading Policy Reform In A Los Angeles Archdiocesan Catholic High School, Christian Martín De Larkin Ii

LMU Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Schools Of Education In A New Era Of Accountability: A Case Study Of An Annual Report Process Used To Advance A Professional Learning Community, Manuel A. Aceves

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Institutions of higher education are entering a new era, one where cost, value, and quality are at the front of mind. To proactively ensure long-term viability, institutions must operate differently. This qualitative case study examined how the St. Alexander University School of Education’s Annual Report Process impacted institutional decision-making. Additionally, the study explored how the Annual Report Process could facilitate learning and improvement for a school of education.

Using the Professional Learning Community model as the conceptual framework, document analysis, process analysis, and semi-structured interviews were used as the primary methods for data collection. Using pattern analysis, four themes emerged …

Latinas’ Access To Advanced Placement Courses: A Case Study Of A Catholic Female Single-Sex High School, Jennifer Maria Pérez Aguilar

LMU Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine Latinas’ access to Advanced Placement/ Honors courses in a Catholic female single-sex high school and to examine their experiences and perspectives when they are granted or denied access into an AP/Honors course. This study also aimed to explore how the Catholic single-sex high school is aligned with the Catholic, single-sex, and Advanced Placement advantage for Latina students who have been granted or denied access to an Advanced Placement/Honors course. The case study focused on one Catholic all-female high school in the Western United States and participants included Latina current students and …

The Significance Of National Association For The Education Of Young Children Accreditation In Elevating Quality Of Early Childhood Education: Administrators’, Teachers’, And Parents’ Beliefs About Accreditation And Its Process, Kristine Vardanyan

LMU Theses and Dissertations

The following is a doctoral dissertation that studied administrators’, teachers’, and parents’ perceptions and attitudes related to an early childhood center/preschool accreditation experience. A qualitative case study of one preschool center focused on the influence that the decision to pursue accreditation and implement the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) self-study process had on administrators, teachers, and parents. Interviews with administrators, teachers, and parents explored (a) issues that motivated the pursuit of NAEYC accreditation; (b) the NAEYC guidelines and their experience of the self-study and quality-improvement process; and (c) their perception of outcomes following accreditation. Current NAEYC …

Physics First: Impact On Sat Math Scores, Craig Earl Bouma

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has become a national priority and the call to modernize secondary science has been heard. A Physics First (PF) program with the curriculum sequence of physics, chemistry, and biology (PCB) driven by inquiry- and project-based learning offers a viable alternative to the traditional curricular sequence (BCP) and methods of teaching, but requires more empirical evidence. This study determined impact of a PF program (PF-PCB) on math achievement (SAT math scores) after the first two cohorts of students completed the PF-PCB program at Matteo Ricci High School (MRHS) and provided more quantitative data …

Transformational Leadership: A Qualitative Study Of Rural Elementary Schools In Fresno County, Xavier Piña

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Principal leadership is crucial to improving school effectiveness and positively affecting organizational culture in the midst of expectations from education reform mandates. Principals who provide direction and exercise influence can inspire commitment from organizational members to attain shared goals. Rural school principals face unique obstacles and situations as documented in the research and literature. This qualitative research study aimed to provide insight as to the perceived impact of transformational leadership behaviors and characteristics on organizational culture. This study also provided insight as to the transformational leadership behaviors and characteristics perceived to positively affect organizational culture. The protocols, which included interviews, …

Examining The Reliability And Validity Of Adept And Celdt: Comparing Two Assessments Of Oral Language Proficiency For English Language Learners, Gina Chavez

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Few classroom measures of English language proficiency have been evaluated for reliability and validity. Researchers have examined the concurrent and predictive validity of an oral language test, titled A Developmental English Language Proficiency Test (ADEPT), and the relationship to the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) in the receptive/listening and expressive/speaking domains. Four years of retroactive data representing 392 student records were obtained from a local urban school district in Los Angeles County with a significant proportion of English language learners. After preparing the data file for analysis, data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) …

Disability And Power: A Charter School Case Study Investigating Grade-Level Retention Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Esther Lorraine Perez

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Students attending charter schools, including those with learning disabilities, are subject to policies set by individual charter management organizations. One practice used within some charter schools is grade-level retention, or having students repeat a grade level. Literature overwhelmingly indicates that retention is associated with negative outcomes, yet the practice continues to be used. One particular charter school that uses a strict retention policy and retains students with learning disabilities was studied to understand how the process unfolds. Using the conceptual frameworks of critical disability theory and critical pedagogy, the study draws inferences regarding how this phenomenon blends with ableism and …