Digital Commons Network^™

Self-Care Practices, Work Experience, Educational Setting, And Burnout Among School Counselors, Paul Sylvester-Nwosu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractSchool counselors should be well-adjusted in their personal and professional lives and possess a keen, accurate perception of their self-care practices. However, people drawn to careers in school counseling are often at risk of developing burnout due to high professional demands and limited resources supporting their self-care and well-being. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to investigate the relationship between the independent variables of self-care practices, years of work experience, and educational settings and the dependent variable of levels of burnout among practicing school counselors in K-12 suburban educational settings in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. …

Developing Teacher Leaders Through Professional Development Offered In A District Teacher Forum, Suzanne T. Koty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher attrition is an ongoing problem in education, and the lack of leadership opportunities contribute to that problem. Teachers who serve in leadership roles are more likely to remain in the profession and positively impact students and the profession as a whole. However, there is little qualitative research to address how teachers develop the needed leadership skills to take on additional leadership roles. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the experiences of participants in a District Teacher Forum. The District Teacher Forum is a cohort of teachers identified as Campus Teachers of the Year led by the …

Culturally Responsive Leadership And Distributed Leadership Practices In A Stem School, Cynthia Bradley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Culturally responsive leadership practices and distributed leadership are strategies that could aid racially diverse students to become successful in STEM courses and later in a STEM field. The purpose of this study was to explore culturally responsive leadership practices and distributed leadership within a STEM school to support racially diverse students. Distributed leadership and culturally responsive leadership practices were the conceptual frameworks of the study used to explore the rationale for the decision-making within a school. The research questions addressed the challenges and opportunities of implementing culturally responsive leadership practices and distributive leadership to enhance the diversity of students in …

Special Education Teacher Retention In The Early Years, Caroll Brant

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The intent of this qualitative study was to examine the impact of intrinsic motivators and extrinsic workplace experiences on the retention of beginning special education teachers of students with low incidence disabilities (LIDs). This study was designed in response to district leaders’ shared concerns of the continuous turnover experienced annually in several districts in a region of a southern state. Two research questions were developed to gain a deeper insight into the influence intrinsic and extrinsic factors have on beginning special education teachers’ decisions to stay in the self-contained, LID classroom. Ten beginning special education LID teachers participated in interviews …

Investigating Middle School Teachers’ Experiences In Inclusive Classrooms, Jilleane Archie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Meeting the needs of students with disabilities, while implementing research-based instructional strategies in inclusive settings, presents an array of successes and challenges for both general and special education teachers. The problem at the local study site was that both general and special education teachers faced challenges as they implemented inclusion practices to meet the College and Career Readiness Performance Index, Closing Gaps component improvement targets for students with disabilities. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate general and special education teachers’ successes, challenges, and needs as they implemented inclusion practices in middle school classrooms. This study was …

Administrators’ Roles And Practices In The Implementation Of Positive Behavioral Interventions, Frances Correa-Phelps

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Positive behavior intervention support is a behavioral approach that was implemented in the early 2000s across the United States to assist educators in addressing the behavioral concerns of students with special needs. Since its implementation, it has been used to assist students at all levels with emotional and behavioral needs to achieve academic success in over 20,000 schools. However, there was a reported lack of administrative support and insufficient understanding regarding administrators’ roles in the process. The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study was to examine administrators’ roles and decision-making practices in implementation of the behavioral intervention approach across …

Educator Perceptions Of Participation In A Vertical Professional Learning Community, Katherine Orlando

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many researchers have studied best practices within school-based professional learning communities (PLCs). Practitioners need to understand more about different PLC configurations, such as vertical PLCs across schools, and how leaders influence implementation and outcomes. The purposes of this case study were to understand vertical PLC participant perceptions of leadership and school improvement, educator growth, and the effectiveness of the vertical PLC structure. The conceptual framework incorporated leadership of change, commitment to continuous improvement for individuals and organizations, and support of active and compelling adult learning. A collaborative, vertical PLC structure in a medium-sized public school district in a Mid-Atlantic state …

Developing Teacher Leaders Through Professional Development Offered In A District Teacher Forum, Suzanne T. Koty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher attrition is an ongoing problem in education, and the lack of leadership opportunities contribute to that problem. Teachers who serve in leadership roles are more likely to remain in the profession and positively impact students and the profession as a whole. However, there is little qualitative research to address how teachers develop the needed leadership skills to take on additional leadership roles. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the experiences of participants in a District Teacher Forum. The District Teacher Forum is a cohort of teachers identified as Campus Teachers of the Year led by the …

Urban High School Principals' Leadership Practices And Academic Progress For At-Risk Students, Mary Delouise Duhart-Toppen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have shown that principals are vital to improving student academic achievement. Urban principals often face significant challenges in their environments and have large populations of at-risk students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and describe the perceptions of urban high school principals regarding the type of leadership practices needed to support the academic progress of at-risk students. Elements from transformational leadership, transformative leadership, and effective leadership practices informed the conceptual framework. Research questions addressed how principals described and perceived the practices, processes, and procedures used to create environments that support students in urban high schools …

Best Leadership Practices And Actions For Leading A Transition In Curriculum Framework In Secondary Schools, Jennifer Lynn Tyrrell

Dissertations

Instructional leadership is one of the primary responsibilities of administrators within secondary schools. as administrators assume the role of instructional leaders, it is important to note that having the ability to guide a school or district through the process of organizational change is critical. Specifically, within the area of curriculum, change is constantly occurring. This qualitative research study was designed to identify a list of best leadership practices/actions for instructional leaders to use when leading a school or district through the process of changing its framework for curriculum development. the researcher replicated the research of Alexander Carter (2016) who studied …

Being And Belonging: Student-Teachers’ Contextual Engagement In Schools, Enda Donlon, Elaine Mcdonald, Sabrina Fitzsimons, Pj Sexton

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

While School Placement is long established as a central component of Initial Teacher Education programmes, there is an increasing awareness that these placement experiences should go beyond the practical activities most directly associated with teaching. This paper considers how engagement in a school placement period with a focus on non-teaching activities contributes to the professional and personal development of student-teachers, and to their sense of ‘belonging’ while on placement. Drawing primarily on the analysis of data obtained from online logs maintained by student-teachers during this predominantly non-teaching placement, it establishes the activities that they engaged in, and their reflections and …

Entangling Our Thinking And Practice: A Model For Collaboration In Teacher Education, Peta White, Jo Raphael, Shelley Hannigan, John Cripps Clark

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Collaboration is a key component of our practice as teachers and teacher educators and there is a need to develop generative models for collaboration among teacher educators. We have created and tested a model of collaboration. Data were drawn from: recordings of monthly group meetings; discussion threads and documents on our leaning management site; individual interviews with all members of the group conducted three times across the project; and reflections on these interview transcripts by individual annotation and group discussions. The model includes a collaborative overarching research project and, nested under this mantle, a series of focused research projects conducted …

A Pedagogy Of Hope: Levers Of Change In Transformative Place-Based Learning Systems, Michelle G. Heaton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In response to mounting wicked environmental problems and an outdated U.S. educational system, this dissertation investigates transformative place-based education as an adaptive boundary system that connects individual learning to positive social-ecological change. The research approaches learning through a systems lens through a novel framework of Social-ecological Systems, Place-based Education, and Transformative Learning Theories. A three-part mixed methods approach, including content analysis of the literature, phenomenological interviews with experts in place-based education, and fuzzy-logic cognitive mapping with educators at three schools practicing the principles of place-based education, is used to examine transformative place-based education from the perspectives of current U.S. place-based …

Latinx Diversity Officers In Higher Education: Capacitating Cultural Values As Champions Of Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion, Maria Teresa Chavez-Haroldson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this research study is to share scholarly data that may assist in the recognition and cultural understanding of LatinX Chief DOs in higher education institutions. This multi-phase, qualitative study critically considers the participants’ sociopolitical, psychological, and, cultural situated-ness as equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) leaders in higher education institutions (HEIs). Despite the psychological stressors, the participants described how and why they are energized by their commitment to creating change as social justice campeonas (champions). This study explains why LatinX DOs leading EDI institutional change in the 21st century, places them in precarious sociopolitical circumstances. Cultural values are …

Exploring Health Attitudes And Academic-Community Engagement Of Faculty At Accredited Schools And Colleges Of Public Health In The U.S., Maria I. Olivas

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Academic-community collaborations (ACCs) help communities identify health problems/priorities, improve social determinants of health, engage in the design and implementation of projects, and provide students with opportunities to learn outside the classrooms. Extensive research has focused on exploring challenges, facilitators, lessons learned, and best practices for conducting ACCs and engaging in partnerships. Nevertheless, no studies have evaluated the intra-organizational health attitudes of faculty in schools and colleges of public health and their impact on academic-community engagement. Organizational health attitudes matter because these are basic underlying assumptions that can shape the culture of academic-community engagement at schools and colleges of public health. …

Status Of Women’S Leadership In The Instructional Technology Field, 2014-2018, Kerrian A. Gordon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the leadership status of women in the instructional technology field during the period 2014-2018. Five areas of leadership were examined (a) faculty rank in instructional technology programs, (b) positions on editorial boards of leading instructional technology journals, (c) publications in leading instructional technology journals, (d) presentations at leading conferences in the instructional technology field, and (e) leadership of four leading professional organizations in the field.

The study utilized a quantitative content analysis research method. A code sheet was developed for the five areas of leadership. Research Question 1: What was the leadership …

University Interactions: Forms, Peculiarities And Tensions, Nkechinyem Omeife, Conor Horan

Conference papers

Interactions between university and industry or society mainly occur in the form of transfer and/or collaborations. However, both forms have mostly been discussed as transfer thus, the underpinnings of both forms are not often discussed. As a result, the tensions (contradictions, dialectics and paradoxes) embedded in the interactions are also overlooked (not explored). This paper proposes to explore the underpinnings of the both forms of interaction and the tensions therein. Transfer is often linked with incubation and acceleration with concerns around absorption and diffusion of knowledge and through channels such as publications, conferences, teaching and pedagogy, joint research and knowledge …

Establishing And Sustaining National Partnerships In Professional Development And The Recognition Of Open Courses In Teaching And Learning Through Digital Badges., Roisin Donnelly, Theresa Maguire

Journal Articles

This article discusses a national partnership in Irish higher education between the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning and the sector. The partnership initiative focussed on the scalable design and development of a suite of open-access professional development (PD) courses in teaching and learning. The empirical work explored the role and value of digital badges as professional recognition for open courses, and in particular the transformative experience of the collaborative course design teams from teachers into teachers-as-designers. Each course has been mapped to Ireland’s national PD framework for all staff who teach. This initiative aimed to provide …

Impact Of Positive Psychology In Pk-12 Settings, Daniel Paul Butler

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Educator burnout is threatening the well-being of society, having a financial impact on the United States, as well as influencing the optimal growth of students and the quality of our educational system. Overexposure to stress while trying to meet countlessdemands can lead to burnout and jeopardizeworkforceretention. Stress, burnout, and teacher attrition have reached alarming levels, threatening quality instructionand subsequent student achievement (Steinhardt et al., 2011). The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding ofthe effect of the Happiness Advantage | Orange Frog positive psychology framework and whether schools that employ these techniques experience a significant difference in their …

Instructional Leadership Practices And School Leaders' Self-Efficacy, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer, Carter Akins, Antonio P. Gutierrez De Blume, Richard E. Cleveland, Summer Pannell

Leadership, Technology & Human Development: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate instructional leadership practices and the degree to which these practices predict the leadership self-efficacy of school leaders while controlling for years of experience as a school leader. With educational reform focused on school accountability, principals must attend to tasks that lead to school improvement. Identifying such tasks as instructional leadership practices and gaining a more comprehensive understanding of instructional leadership practices through leadership self-efficacy may contribute to school improvement. The methodology utilized a survey and the participants were 100 principals and assistant principals of public schools in the southeastern United States, …

Designing Leadership: Using Design Thinking To Create, Practices, And Implement A Formal Leadership Development Program, Jon Samuel Wedding

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine what happens when design thinking is used to create a leadership development program, increase leadership competencies, and participants perceptions of design thinking. This study uses action research to examine the experiences and design thinking to create a leadership program in a formal hierarchical. This study collected data during a two-cycle action research process. The findings from this study revealed that design thinking can be used to create a formal leadership development program. The ability to use design thinking’s human centered design can also help increase the leadership competencies of trust and collaborations. …

Corporate Trainers’ Intent To Adjust Training Programs For Fostering Employee Self-Efficacy, Peter Cronrath

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

To stay current on technology trends, trainers are tasked with providing cost-effective training to meet the needs of the organization. It is not known if to develop employee self-efficacy, organizational trainers should consider making changes to their programs in accordance with (a) generational needs of employees, (b) methodology of training, and (c) position levels of employees in an organization. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional correlational study was to determine whether there is a correlation between organizational training professionals’ intent to make changes to training programs and if self-efficacy development is considered in generationally different individuals at different position levels …

Elementary And Middle School Administrators’ Perceptions On Implementing Change Toward Inclusion Practices, Nicole J. Taguinod

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inclusive education programs exist in public schools to provide equitable education opportunities for all students, including students with disabilities. However, the processes for administrators to implement change toward inclusive classrooms and achieve program sustainability remain unclear. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative case study was to investigate campus administrators’ perceptions concerning challenges and facilitators that influence the implementation and continuation of inclusion practices and their roles in initiating change. An integration of Fullan and Quinn’s coherence framework and Lewin’s 3-step change model was the conceptual lens for the study. Research questions were focused on how administrators view aspects that hinder …

Educational Program On Human Immunodeficiency Virus For Clinic Staff, Margaret Ayoade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Medical assistants (MAs) and nurses provide primary care to patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, differences in their standard workflow were observed to affect the provision of preventive care. This warranted intervention due to prevalence of ongoing HIV-related stigma that affects HIV prevention and care. The practice-focused question asked whether an educational program could fill an identified gap in knowledge to assuage the fears of MAs and nurses providing care to HIV-positive patients. The project was guided by Kolb’s experiential learning theory and Lewin’s change theory. The purpose was to develop an educational program to educate the …

Preparing Clinical Faculty To Teach And Reinforce Hourly Rounding, Lisa Bailey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A gap exists in the knowledge of clinical faculty teaching prelicensure students about hourly rounding. The purpose of this project was to develop an educational program to prepare clinical faculty teaching student nurses to conduct hourly rounding. Hourly rounding trained faculty ensure safe practice by students and adherence to hospital policies. Hourly rounding includes the 4 Ps, which entails the assessment of “potty”, pain, position, and possession/periphery. Models and theories used to inform the project included the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 10-step process for developing training courses, Knowles’ theory of adult learning, Kirkpatrick's evaluation model, and the Accreditation Commission for …

Retail Business Leaders’ Strategies To Increase Employee Engagement And Workforce Productivity, Sada Hye Jaman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retail leaders face increased performance challenges due to disengaged employees. Disengaged employees cost United States’ organizations $77 billion to $96 billion in lost revenue annually. Grounded in the transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies retail leaders use to improve employee engagement and increase workforce productivity. Data were gathered from semistructured, face-to-face interviews using open-ended questions with 4 retail business leaders in the eastern region of the United States who effectively used strategies to engage sales associates and increase workforce productivity. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis through inductive coding of phrases …

How High School Teachers In Guam Use Facebook For Instructional Purposes To Promote Interactions, Sanjay Sharma

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the popularity of Facebook amongst students and teachers for personal use, the problem is a lack of understanding of how high school teachers use Facebook for instructional purposes to promote learner-learner and learner-instructor interactions. Focusing on how and why some high school teachers incorporate Facebook in their teaching practice may broaden the range of teachers' instructional tools to use Facebook. The purpose of this case study was to explore the mastery experiences of how and why high school teachers decide to use Facebook activities for instruction. Vygotsky's social constructivism theory and Bandura's self-efficacy form the conceptual framework for types …

Leadership Strategies For Success Of Small To Medium Urban Enterprises, Gregory Ricardo Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the important role small businesses play in economic success, 50% of small businesses fail within 5 years of startup. Some small-to-medium enterprise (SME) owners cannot sustain operations and face closure because of a lack of leadership strategies to operate their business successfully. Grounded in the transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore leadership strategies that have been successful for SME owners in urban areas to sustain their business more than 5 years. The participants were 3 SME owners in urban areas of Atlanta, Georgia, who have been in business for more than …

Early Childhood Educators’ Use Of Students’ Assessments For Data-Driven Decision Making, Brandy Shanice Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem addressed by this study is that educators do not know how students’ assessments are being used for data-driven decision making to plan for instruction and design curriculum. Data-driven decision making has been implemented throughout the Southeastern region of the United States for several years as part of public-school reform efforts. The purpose of this basic qualitative study with interviews was to explore how early childhood principals, academic coaches, and teachers used students’ assessment data for data-driven decision making to plan for instruction and design curriculum in two rural schools. This study addressed local concerns about how educators …

A Look At Vision: Perspectives Throughout The Organizational Hierarchy Of The Christian University Context, William Kyle Brantley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research supports vision as a central tenet to leadership. Just as important as the content of vision is how it is communicated. However, once a vision is cast, far less is known about how it is communicated throughout the organization and how it influences members throughout the organizational hierarchy. For faith-based organizations like Christian colleges and universities, vision is particularly important as it serves to steer the institution toward a greater realization of its faith-based identity. This study contributes to the empirical research on vision, its communication, and its effect, as both the nature and impact of vision communication within …