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Research Into The Characteristics Of Effective High School Principals: A Case Study Of Leadership Practices Used In The High School Setting, Gregory G. Wilkey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study came about largely due to my own personal belief in the centrality of the role the high school principal plays in the life of a young adult. I believe most people think of the school principal solely as an administrator who deals with personnel, discipline, facilities, events, transportation, parents, and so forth. While those are some of the responsibilities of a high school principal, I see the role of a high school principal with a much broader perspective. In addition to being an effective school manager, today’s high school principal must be a strong and visionary leader who …

Everything Rises And Falls On Leadership: An Assessment Of Undergraduate Leadership Development Programs At The University Of Arkansas - Fayetteville, Louis Anthony Love

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today's students are the leaders of tomorrow, and their ability to lead in the 21st century will be critical to the sustainability of life, and the nation's ability to prosper will depend on the quality of leadership demonstrated at all levels of society. Student leadership development in institutions of higher education has never been more vital than it is today. In order to provide society with excellent and effective leadership that will be capable of handling unprecedented domestic and global economic and medical crises, as well as properly managing technological advancements, institutions of higher education must invest in the development …

Collegiate Academic Enhancement Programs: The Benefits Of Multi-Year Programs Compared To The Benefits Of One-Year Programs For Traditionally Underrepresented Students, Derriell M. Springfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student retention rates and graduation rates currently play a major role in measuring the success of institutions of higher education. To contribute to the likelihood of this success many institutions offer programs designed to increase the academic performance of their students especially those classified as incoming freshmen. Others are more focused and target those who are from underrepresented populations. Nonetheless not many programs have been designed to aid those students in the subsequent years that follow freshman year.

The purpose of this research project was to determine if there are significant differences in the success of those students who participate …

School Culture And Leadership: Teacher Perceptions Of Title I And Non-Title I Schools, Krista R. Crum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to see if teachers perceive a significant difference in school culture and leadership in Title I and non-Title I schools. Specifically, this researcher considered the possibility that teachers working in Title I schools have lower perceptions of their school’s culture and leadership than teachers working in non-Title I schools. A quantitative study was used to find the perceived differences between school culture and leadership in Title I and non-Title I schools. A quasi-experimental design was selected because preexisting data were collected on teachers in an upper East Tennessee region. The data were collected from the TELL …

Requirements Of Change Management Necessary For Secondary School Leaders In The Emirate Of Abu Dhabi In Light Of New School Model., Fatima Salem Musabbeh Al Ka'abi

Theses

This study examines the requirements of change management necessary for secondary school principals in the emirate of Abu Dhabi in light of new school model through conducting change management requirements utilizing a questionnaire on secondary school teachers in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain Educational Zones during 2011-2012. The study employs a qualitative research paradigm, where there are 47items and one an open-ended question are combined in a questionnaire used to collect data. The sample included 1080 teachers from both sexes out of 72 schools in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain presenting cycle 3. The study found that the requirements of …

It's Not Just About The Technology: Changing The Focus From Technology To Collaboration In Videoconferencing Room Design, Tamela W. Smith

Dissertations

Videoconferencing technologies are being increasingly utilized in today’s business and educational environments. However, implementation rates continue to be lower than projected, and user perceptions on the level of collaborative environment provided by videoconferencing rooms vary widely, depending on room design. This study found that, while few videoconferencing professional characteristics impact the level of collaborative environment designed for end-users, the perceived closeness levels provided to end-users significantly impacted their perceptions on the technology. The study also found that videoconferencing professionals’ views and end-users’ views on the level of collaboration within videoconferencing environments vary significantly. By shifting the design of videoconferencing rooms …

Program And Abstracts Celebration Of Student Scholarship, 2013, Office Of Research And Sponsored Programs. Morehead State University.

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Reports and Publications

Program and Abstracts from the Celebration of Student Scholarship on April 24, 2013.

A Data-Based Evaluation Process For Superintendents, Matthew Shane Baker

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the College of Education at Morehead State University by Matthew Shane Balker on April 16, 2013.

An Investigation Of The Common Characteristics Of High Poverty, High Performing Rural K-8 Schools, Beth Ann Pennington

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Reinvesting In Art Education In Putnam County: An Analysis And Case For The Castle, Emily Miller '13

Honor Scholar Theses

The Putnam County Coalition for Education and Creative Arts (a.k.a. The Castle), among other organizations within the United States, has begun to tackle this issue of a middling education. The Castle’s mission is to partner with schools in Putnam County, Indiana, to invigorate the curriculum in such a way that arts learning becomes naturally embedded. Utilizing local artists, teaching artists, and the resources of a nearby university, The Castle has brought free programming to Fillmore Elementary and Greencastle Middle Schools since January 2012. This booklet’s goal is not a “how-to” on creating an educational system like Finland’s. It has several …

The Role Of The Community College President In Fundraising: Perceptions Of Selected Michigan Community College Presidents, Matthew W. Miller

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This multiple case study examines the role of the community college president in fundraising as perceived by selected Michigan community college presidents. Over the past few decades, fundraising from private sources has become increasingly important in the fiscal landscape of community colleges. Pfeffer and Salancik’s (1978) work in resource dependence theory provides a theoretical framework for this study. In a resource dependent environment, community colleges are changing their activities in an effort to pursue alternative revenue sources. Using a qualitative approach, data from interviews were analyzed to examine the perspectives of four presidents regarding their overall leadership role in fundraising …

Visualizing Interaction: Pilot Investigation Of A Discourse Analytics Tool For Online Discussion, John Mccormick

Staff Scholarship

Discussion boards are perhaps the most commonly used collaboration tool in online courses. However, native discussion tools in learning management systems are limited in their ability to show interaction patterns among learners. Tools that provide more robust visual representations of discussions can improve instructors’ understanding of how students are interacting and, as a result, their ability to intervene when identifying suboptimal interaction patterns. This paper presents an exploratory investigation of one such tool, Social Networks Adapting Pedagogical Practice (SNAPP), examining its potential to help faculty understand and react to discussion patterns. Emerging learning analytics tools such as SNAPP can enhance …

African American Women In Higher Education: Challenges Endured And Strategies Employed To Secure A Community College Presidency, Lois M. Britton

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore challenges experienced and successful strategies employed by African American women currently serving as community college presidents. Studies show 35% of community college presidents are expected to retire by the year 2015 (Schultz, 2001), thus opening opportunities for aspiring African American women to secure a community college presidency. However, some of the literature reviewed for this study suggests that if efforts are not made to support the upward mobility of these women, there is a possibility that the number of African American women who are able to secure a future presidency …

Teacher Leadership: Emergent Leadership In A Complex System Functioning As A Professional Learning Community, Andrea Lorene Voshell

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The extent to which organizational, social, cultural, and leadership contexts within schools support or impede the complexity of emergent leadership as it relates to professional learning communities was investigated in this study. Through in-depth interviews exploring ways in which teacher leadership manifests itself, the ability of teachers to understand their own leadership capacity, and how their emergent leadership influences others, data from this study reshape the notion that schools do not need to reform, but need to transform from traditional schools of teaching into contemporary schools of learning, providing the type of professional knowledge needed to foster 21st century skills …

Maximizing Community Action: An Internship With Be The Change, Rachel Rosenbaum

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

From 3 April 2013 to 28 April 2013, I interned with the Brisbane branch of Be The Change, an organization that promotes ecological, social and spiritual sustainability through their empowering symposiums, in Australia. I focused on creating a tool to help symposium participants take community action after the event. My goal was to create a resource for Be The Change to use across Australia to further its impact, attend a symposium and implement sustainable actions in my everyday life.

In the 140 total hours of work I completed, I helped plan a symposium, participated in workshops and events within the …

A District-Wide Study Confirming The Relationship Between Professional Learning Communities And Student Achievement In Elementary Schools, Joseph Samuel Backman

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have studied professional learning communities for over two decades. Educators have utilized the elements of professional learning communities in their schools to improve instruction and student learning. Yet, there is limited empirical evidence that establishes, describes, and confirms this relationship. This study was completed to better understand the nature, strength, and types of relationships between the individual elements of professional learning communities and student achievement. The sample for this study was 26 elementary schools, 439 teachers, and nearly 11,000 students. An analysis of professional learning communities and student achievement data through hierarchical linear modeling indicated that each of the …

Systems Appraisal Feedback Report (2013), Aqip Program, Higher Learning Commission

Accreditation

This document includes the feedback report from the Higher Learning Commission on the Systems Portfolio submitted in 11/2002.

Structuring A Teacher Education Program For Faculty Collaboration And Second-Order Change, Tammy V. Abernathy, Shanon S. Taylor

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

The purpose of this paper is to describe the structure and functions of an integrated elementary special education undergraduate teacher program (Integrated Elementary/Special Education Teacher Education Program, ITEP). By abandoning our old “enhancement model” of teacher education, we redesigned our program into a “merged model.” We examine this restructuring from the perspective of first- and second- order change, and we discuss the obstacles we found that prohibit meaningful second-order change. Finally, we briefly discuss how our experiences in designing ITEP and our state’s devastating fiscal crisis have affected our teacher-education programs and nudged us into more authentic second-order changes.

A New Approach To Explain Policy Reforms In Vietnam During Ðổi Mới By Developing And Validating A Major Policy Change Model For Vietnam, Huan Van Dang

Dissertations and Theses

The Renovation Program - Ðổi Mới in Vietnam since 1986 have posed a puzzling policy question: why have some policy areas experienced radical changes while others have experienced only limited and incremental changes? This policy puzzle provided the focus for this dissertation in which a model of major policy change was developed to provide a new way of explaining the policy reforms in Vietnam over the past two decades. The model was developed based on three bodies of literature: (1) the most well-developed theories and models of policy change process created in the U.S and their application to the non-U.S …

Leadership For Change: Insights Gleaned From One District’S Implementation Of An Educational Innovation, Crystal V. Shelby-Caffey Ph.D., Ronald A. Caffey Ph.D.

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

The research reported here is extracted from a larger study aimed at describing the challenges and barriers to implementing the two way immersion (TWI) program at Stark Elementary School (a pseudonym). While Stark’s TWI program is used as the backdrop for the current discussion the perspective taken here is to examine the actions (and lack of action in some instances) of Stark’s administrators and describe how those actions impacted other stakeholders and led to challenges during the implementation process. The findings illuminate the need for leaders to gain support for proposed changes while maintaining dialogue with stakeholders and developing other …

Air Force Institute Of Technology Research Report 2012, Office Of Research And Sponsored Programs, Graduate School Of Engineering And Management, Afit

AFIT Documents

This report summarizes the research activities of the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management. It describes research interests and faculty expertise; lists student theses/dissertations; identifies research sponsors and contributions; and outlines the procedures for contacting the school. Included in the report are: faculty publications, conference presentations, consultations, and funded research projects. Research was conducted in the areas of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electro-Optics, Computer Engineering and Computer Science, Systems and Engineering Management, Operational Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics and Engineering Physics.

2012-2013 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2012-2013 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

First-Generation Freshman College Students: Factors Impacting Retention For The Subsequent Year, Laura Colson Mclean

Education Dissertations and Projects

Against all odds, first-generation college students continue to enroll in postsecondary schools with aspirations of obtaining a bachelor's degree. Unfortunately, many have not successfully reached their goal, which in turn has affected retention rates of colleges and universities. There are programs that provide academic support and advising to increase retention for first-generation college students. However, there are academic and nonacademic needs of the students that colleges, universities, and public policymakers have neglected to address.

The purpose of this research study was to determine from 168 first-generation college students at 5 participating institutions, what factors impacted their enrollment after their first …

The University Of New Hampshire Engaged Scholars Academy: Instilling In Faculty Principles Of Effective Partnership, Charlie A. French, Julie E. Williams, Judy Tang, Eleanor Abrams, Lisa Townson, Mahaela Sabin, Lorilee R. Sandmann, Cameron P. Wake

Natural Resources & the Environment

Over the last decade, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) has promoted mutually beneficial partnerships between faculty and community partners vis-à-vis the Engaged Scholars Academy (ESA), a faculty development program aimed at enhancing faculty understanding of the principles of partnership and engaged scholarship. This research seeks to determine whether and how the ESA has impacted faculty-community partnerships around engaged scholarship. Findings suggest that Engaged Scholar Academy participants – as compared to non-participants – have a deeper understanding of the principles of partnership, are more likely to feel their scholarship is enhanced, spend more time with partners, engage their partners throughout …

Wellness Magazine 2013 Issue, Office Of Recreation And Wellness

Wellness Magazine

No abstract provided.

Examining The Teacher Perceptions, Implementations, Barriers, And Benefits Associated With The Missouri Reading Initiative, Paula Suzanne Roberts

Dissertations

Reading is an essential skill taught during elementary academic years. The Sunny Day School District recognized the need of locating a reading program tailored to effectively meeting the instructional needs of students. A preliminary question was, “how do we increase the reading achievement of all our students?” In response to this instructional concern, the Sunny Day School District decided to implement the Missouri Reading Initiative (MRI), a state program created to assist teachers with scientifically research based reading instructional strategies. This study addressed the problem of a lack of a program evaluation for the MRI program as implemented within the …

Applying Principles Of Psychology To Contemporary Society, Gary J. Burkholder

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Surrounding The Implementation Of Colorado Senate Bill 10-191'S New Teacher Evaluations, Sarah Melvoin Bridich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2013, many public education reform efforts in the United States of America center on testing and accountability. Recent data revealed that teachers have the single greatest in-school impact on student learning; however, the methods to assess teacher effectiveness are widely criticized for not holding teachers accountable and, consequently, are experiencing significant legislative attention. In 2010, Colorado passed Senate Bill 10-191: The Great Teachers and Leaders Act to improve student learning by revising teacher and principal evaluations, including linking them to student learning data, and eradicating tenure.

Teachers, administrators, and policymakers hold critical roles in the implementation of this bill, …

Do Psychologists Demonstrate Bias Based On Female Client Weight And Ethnicity? ;An Analogue Study, Lindsay C. Varkula

ETD Archive

Although anti-fat bias and discrimination have been widely documented (see Puhl, Andreyeva, & Brownell, 2008), few studies have examined whether psychologists exhibit biases toward clients who are fat. Only one study (Locker, 2011) examined whether client characteristics of ethnicity and weight influenced therapists' bias no studies have exclusively examined psychologists. This analogue study investigated psychologists' biases toward a hypothetical client (vignette adapted from Zadroga, 2009) when the client characteristics of weight (average/obese) and ethnicity (African American/European American) were manipulated. Participants in this study included a national sample of 194 licensed, currently practicing psychologists. A 2 (client weight) x 2 (client …

Belonging, Believing, Being: A Journey Toward Social Justice, Stacey Lynn Williams

School of Leadership and Education Sciences Dissertations

Using Participatory Action Research, this study examined the student and staff’s experience of exploring social justice at the University of San Diego’s Women’s Center. Looking specifically at how the Center shaped the way that we understand and take up social justice, the inquiry examines our understanding and approach to our learning. Through artistic expression and dialogue, the research utilized a participatory approach that offers learning for both those interested justice and those committed to collaborative research models. I offer reflections about my own practice as an educator while sharing insights from participants in terms of the work of pursuing a …