Digital Commons Network^™

Strategies For Creating A Unique Culture In Preparation For Campus Relocation: A Process Evaluation, Dana Ague

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The relationship between a college and its founding church changed as the college developed its liberal arts programs and leaders sought to create an independent new culture from the church. Using Clark's organizational saga framework, the purpose of this study was to assess the effects of culture change on this institution. The research questions examined strategies that leaders used to transition the campus to its new reality. A formative, qualitative, process-oriented evaluation was used to collect interview data from 22 institutional leaders and other key stakeholders; data were also collected from institutional documents. The data were then coded and analyzed …

Combining Appreciative Inquiry And Emotional Intelligence To Understand And Improve The Professional Development Of K-12 Teachers, Jamie Elizabeth Dewitt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Creating meaningful and effective professional development (PD) programs for K-12 teachers is an ongoing challenge. The problem is exacerbated when PD models are implemented without fully aligning PD resources and plans with the training needs of teachers and the organization. The guiding question sought to understand the experiences of teachers at an online charter school about the implementation of PD as a means for improving student outcomes. The purpose of the study was to find ways to enhance PD in order to improve student outcomes at the school. The conceptual framework for this study is interwoven through the constructs of …

A Case Study Of The Leadership Program At Andrews University: Its Origins And Early Development As Reflected In Documents And Relics, Participant And Faculty Interviews, And Participant-Observation, 1994-2003, Priscilla Tucker

Dissertations

Purpose. The Leadership Program was established at Andrews University in 1994 as a non-traditional, competency-based, adult-oriented doctoral program. The purpose of this case study was to relate the story of the creation and development of the Leadership Program from 1994 through 2002 by examining the concepts incorporated into the program and the experiences of participants, faculty, and staff involved in the program during those years.

Method. Using a case-study approach, I have examined the conceptual development and procedural evolution of the Leadership Program at Andrews University from 1994 through 2002; that is, from the year of the program’s …

How Do District Level And Building Level Leaders Collaborate To Implement Mandated Change?, Gwendolyn Zimmermann

Dissertations

This research study examined how school leaders, in particular the associate superintendent of curriculum and a junior high school principal, in the same district collaborated to plan for and implement mandated change. In this research study, the mandated change was that of the State's adoption of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.

This study utilized a case study methodology. The case study included one case of an associate superintendent of curriculum for the district and a junior high school principal located in suburban Cook County bounded within the timeframe of August 2012 to October 2013. The district identified had …

Superintendent Leadership And Collective Bargaining Processes, Procedures, And Outcomes, Kevin David Rubenstein

Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between superintendent leadership practices and collective bargaining processes and procedures using a sequential explanatory, mixed methods approach. In phase one of the study, superintendents in the State of Illinois were asked to complete the Leadership Practices Inventory - Self Assessment (2013) (LPISelf) and a demographic profile to identify the type of bargaining that had been used in the most recent negotiations with the teacher's union in their district. The LPI-Self yields data to identify a dominant leadership practice among five leadership practices including "Model the Way," "Inspire a Shared Vision," "Challenge the Process," "Enable Others …

Investigating The Effects Of Facilitating A Participatory Action Research Study At A High School With Small Learning Communities, Elizabeth Willingham Ferrell

Dissertations

In this dissertation, I present three frameworks through which participatory action research (PAR) can be investigated. PAR is a cyclical process through which members of a community identify a problem, create a solution that is customized to their setting, implement their solution, and collect data to assess their improvement plan's effectiveness and to guide modifications for subsequent iterations. In each of three articles, I focus on one framework, its contributing theories, and present findings from my nine month study which took place at a high school on Chicago's northwest side. Each article and framework has its own guiding research questions, …

A Correlation Study Of Leadership Indicators And Literacy Outcomes: Examining A State Adopted Leadership Assessment Model, Abigail Deann Woods

Theses and Dissertations

In an attempt to shed light on the possible impact certain leadership practices might have on student outcomes in literacy, this research considers the relationship of selected effective leadership traits and their impact on the implementation of a literacy intervention program. If it is true that all schools' have as their primary goal to prepare students for the rigorous learning, reading and analyzing required that is expected to be successful in the future, then examining the role that leadership might have on that goal remains important. Further, it is the hope that this analysis might further educators' understanding on the …

Examining The Words And Actions Superintendents Used To Lead An Educational System Through A Culture Shift Following The Occurrence Of A Scandalous Critical Incident, Dale Ross Fisher

Dissertations

The dissertation examines the words and actions district superintendents used to lead an educational system through a culture shift following the occurrence of a scandalous critical incident. This qualitative study deeply investigated the specific words and actions as offered by the superintendents of two educational systems and members of their respective leadership teams. Those actions were then filtered through two lenses. The first lens was John Kotter's eight steps for change, and the second lens was Thomas Sergiovanni's five sources of authority. The study generated five themes of specific actions taken by the superintendents, determined that four of Kotter's eight …

How Does Focus On Form Affect The Revising Processes Of Esl Writers?: Two Case Studies, Eun-Young Julia Kim

Faculty Publications

This study considers the ongoing “grammar correction debate” in second language writing by examining how a focus on formal accuracy would affect the revising processes of ESL writers and the students’ written products. A case study approach was used to find out how two ESL students would respond in the two different rewriting situations: (a) when there is no explicit expectation for them to produce grammatically correct text, and (b) when this expectation was clearly present. The protocol analysis and interviews with the participants showed that students’ revision processes had not been affected by the kind of instruction and expectation …

Professional Dialogue, Reflective Practice And Teacher Research: Engaging Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers In Collegial Dialogue About Curriculum Innovation, Kym M. Simoncini, Michelle Lasen, Sharn Rocco

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

While embedded in teacher professional standards and assumed aspects of teacher professionalism, willingness and ability to engage in professional dialogue about practice and curriculum initiatives are rarely examined or explicitly taught in teacher education programs. With this in mind, the authors designed an assessment task for pre-service teachers that required them to interview their supervising teachers about the implementation of sustainability as cross-curriculum priority in the Australian national curriculum, and to write a reflective account of the process. Forty-seven early childhood pre-service teachers and their supervising teachers consented to the interview transcripts and reflective accounts being used as research data. …

Review Of Reflecting On The Future Of Academic And Public Libraries By Peter Hernon And Joseph R. Matthews, W. Bede Mitchell

University Libraries: Faculty Publications

Review Excerpt: A book about trends and issues shaping the evolution of American libraries by Peter Hernon and Joseph Matthews is almost self-recommending. The authors have many years of teaching, research, and service to the profession under their belts and are recognized as significant and influential leaders. Reflecting on the Future of Academic and Public Libraries offers guidance to library leaders on how to anticipate and manage change. Hernon and Matthews fear that librarians who are reactive and deal only incrementally with today’s profound challenges will preside over the withering of libraries into little used warehouses of legacy collections. The …

Advance (Spring 2014), Georgia Southern Division Of Continuing And Professional Education

Division of Continuing & Professional Education

No abstract provided.

Transformational Leadership And A Culture Of Efficacy: A Search For Correlation In The Alabama Two-Year College System, Johnny H. Mcmoy

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This research project explores the predominant leadership characteristics among community college presidents as measured by Bass and Avolio’s transformational leadership continuum, the degree of collective teacher efficacy among faculty, and any correlation that exists between them. The populations studied are the presidents and faculty of community colleges in Alabama. Two instruments were employed, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) developed by Bass and Avolio (1995) and Goddard’s CE-SCALE (2000, 2002), as a measure of collective teacher efficacy.

The researcher found evidence of mid-range collective efficacy scores among faculty and strong evidence of pervasive transformational leadership characteristics among college presidents. The researcher …

Leading Through Laughter: Humor And Perceived Effectiveness Of P-12 Principals, Laurie B. Mascolo

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The field of leadership has yielded boundless research studies across disciplines, with a plethora in the business and political realms. The medical field and other social science have also joined the ranks, with education now entering the landscape. Educational leadership is a burgeoning field of research, but very little has been studied regarding the impact of humor and educational leadership. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between the humor style and the perceived effectiveness of school principals, the leadership style and the perceived effectiveness of school principal, as well as possible relationships between and …

Advance (Fall 2014), Georgia Southern Division Of Continuing And Professional Education

Division of Continuing & Professional Education

No abstract provided.

Library Annual Report

Library Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Instituting Large Scale Change At A Research Intensive University: A Case Study, Robert Drake, James Crawford, Chad Rohrbacher

Publications

This paper uses Bolman and Deal’s four analytic frames to examine the difficulty of instituting large-scale change at one research-intensive university. In this case, the partially successful attempt to implement a new curriculum for undergraduates at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is explored. The authors theorize that if an institution is to attempt a far-reaching, innovative transformation, it must have consistent leadership and the commitment of middle managers. Otherwise well-crafted plans are doomed to meet resistance.

Doorways And Walls: Peer Coaching As A Means To Change Instructional Practice, Chad Garber

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Joyce and Showers (1980) described the impact that a peer coaching relationship can have on teachers as they work to transfer learning that occurs during professional learning opportunities to the classroom. Theory, demonstration, practice, and feedback are critical elements of professional development, yet, according to some research, only when the support of a peer coaching practice is provided, will significant numbers of teachers (as many as 90%) implement new strategies into the classroom. The purpose of this study was to determine if the presence of a peer coaching relationship impacts the instructional practice of high school English teachers. This qualitative …

Outcomes Of Global Service-Learning: A Content Analysis Of Student Reflection Essays In Camp Adventure Child And Youth Services, Kasee Fuller

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to determine common outcomes of participation in a global service‐learning program. More specifically, a content analysis was conducted on the culminating reflection essays of college and university students participating as staff members in Camp Adventure™ Child and Youth Services (CACYS) service‐learning program to determine if outcomes identified by the students reflect Derek Bok’s Eight Core Competencies in higher education. The study focused on the students’ overall comments offered in reflection papers, which provide information regarding student learning outcomes, derived benefits, and ways in which challenges were addressed. Such reflections offer enhancements to personal growth …

The Transition From Clinical Practice To Academic Citizenship In Nursing Faculty, Valerie S. Schluter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experience of female registered nurses who transitioned from clinical practice to a faculty role in a baccalaureate program of nursing as experienced by the study participants. An improved understanding of the experience of registered nurses who transition from clinical practice to academic citizenship in an academic community will fill a gap in the literature and assist administrators of schools of nursing in planning faculty orientation and development programs to facilitate a successful transition of new nursing faculty members into academic citizenship in an academic community. Most nursing faculty members begin …

Longevity Of Women Superintendents, Kim C. Sethna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public schools are facing a leadership crisis regarding the lack of women superintendents in the United States. Although, historically, women have dominated the positions of classroom teachers and outnumbered men in receiving administrative leadership certificates, there is a disproportion in the number of men and women superintendents leading the nation's approximate 14,000 public schools. While current researchers describe the complex roles that the superintendency entails, there is little data on gender differences, specifically, how women superintendents achieve longevity in this role. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the longevity of women superintendents in public school …

Integration Of Technology Into A Nursing Curriculum Using A Mixed Method Approach, Susan Ramnarine-Singh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2011, the Institute of Medicine and 2010 Affordable Care Act addressed the need to use technology in nursing programs. The purpose of this study was to understand faculty perceptions of technology use and integration into the nursing curriculum at a college located in Texas. Lewin’s change theory acted as the theoretical framework to explore organizational dynamics involved in effective strategies. The guiding research questions explored faculty perceptions of technology use, types of technology used, and correlation to teaching experience using a convergent mixed-method approach. Thirty faculty members completed the Teacher’s Intention to Use Technology survey and 15 faculty members …

Principals' Perceptions Of The Most Important Components In An Effective Principal Preparation Program, Frank Alcorta Zavala

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers in educational leadership have identified a need to improve principal preparation programs to meet today's educational demands. According to school administrators in the local area, not all leadership preparation programs used the same pedagogies to prepare future leaders, and principals were critical of existing leadership practices. School districts, students, parents, and community stakeholders would benefit from well-prepared administrators who can apply the most effective habits of principalship. The conceptual framework of the study was derived from J. Davis and Jazzar's 7 habits of an effective principal preparation program. For this qualitative case study, 16 principals were interviewed to find …

Individualized Consideration: Poverty Countermeasure, Lawrence Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite more than $1 trillion spent annually on poverty remediation, impoverishment in the United States persists unabated. With a U.S. poverty rate greater than 10% for more than 4 decades, economics are neither poverty's cause nor cure. As such, non-economic poverty remedies require exploration and expansion. Linking greater leadership and poverty theories, this non-experimental, cross sectional, quantitative, survey-based research effort correlated individualized consideration's (IC) practice with collegiate athlete graduation rates in order to identify and isolate possible leadership based social poverty remediation measures. Leveraging a two-stage random sample, this research effort correlated student athlete Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (form 5X) responses …

Sustainable Revenue Generation System For Nonprofit Institutions Of Higher Education, Graig Arcuri

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social and individual spending on higher education has outpaced social and individual economic growth, resulting in nonprofit institutions of higher education (NIHEs) growing increasingly dependent upon unsustainable governmental subsidies and tuition increases. The purpose of this study was to examine the interactions among components of the nonprofit university system, existing revenue generation methods, and sustainability of revenue generation, thereby generating a new sustainable revenue theory for nonprofit universities within the United States. This qualitative grounded theory study used a multiphase design incorporating data from the literature review, historical documents, and phone interviews from a theoretical sampling of 10 NIHEs. Participants …

Strategies For Easing Faculty-Management At Institutions Of Higher Education, Sarah H. Vanslette, Zachary A. Schaefer, Kathy Hagedorn

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

With calls across the discipline of communication to use our research to enhance the lived experience of organizational members and employees of all industries, this essay focuses on the often tense communication between university faculty and university leaders. Using communication and business scholarship as our foundation, we recommend communication strategies that should facilitate better communication between university faculty and management. These strategies will not only help faculty and staff overcome disagreements and avoid uncivil discourse, but the strategies can also be applied to uncivil non-academic workplace environments. The authors will also outline how these incivilities and recommended communication strategies play …

Complete Issue, Volume 33, Issue 1

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the complete issue for Volume 33, Issue 1 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

An Issue Of Equity: Assessing The Cultural Knowledge Of Pre-Service Teachers In Teach For America, Eric Ruiz Bybee

Faculty Publications

This literature review examines the research on the development of “cultural knowledge” for preservice teachers in Teach for America program. “Cultural knowledge” refers to a teacher’s awareness of the sociopolitical contexts of education and the development of critical consciousness about issues of educational equity. After a brief introduction to the organizational structure of TFA, I will discuss some of the recent research on the organization-- much of which has focused on achievement, teacher preparation, and the public policy implications of the program. Then, I will examine themes in the research on the cultural knowledge of preservice teachers’ in traditional preparation …

The Relationship Between Servant Leadership Style And Michigan Public School Superintendents As Measured By Meap Reading And Math Proficiency, Antoinette Pearson

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Community College Pathways: A Narrative Inquiry With One Student, Philip Ross

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Developmental education is a field that has a long history in higher education in the United States. Some have called it remedial education, but the field promotes a pedagogy that addresses what it claims is broader in the development of the whole person, his or cognitive, social/behavioral, and vocational growth. This study, set in a Midwestern community college, acknowledges the absence of recognition of the role of developmental education in higher education and responds to a lack of qualitative research in this area. A six-month study using narrative inquiry results in the documentary Crossroads Community College: Flying Solo and following …