Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Programs On Teacher Morale, Samuel J. Smith, William A. Royal

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The effect of School Wide Positive Behavior Support (SW-PBS) on teacher morale was examined using the Purdue Teacher Opinionnaire (PTO). Faculty members of two rural Tennessee middle schools participated. The treatment group experienced initial implementation of a SW-PBS program and was both pretested and posttested. The middle school where the control group taught was posttested without implementation of SW-PBS. A paired t-test was applied to analyze the data, showing improvements at a significance level of .05 in the factors of facilities, rapport with the principal, and community pressures. Findings suggest that teachers are likely to have increased levels of morale …

Longitudinal Trend Analysis Of Performance Indicators For South Carolina's Technical Colleges, Mohammad Hossain

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
This study included an analysis of the trend of performance indicators for the technical college sector of higher education in South Carolina. In response to demands for accountability and transparency in higher education, the state of South Carolina developed sector specific performance indicators to measure various educational outcomes for each of the 34 public colleges and universities in the state. Performance indicators allow an institution to compare its position in key strategic areas to peers, to past performance, or to previously set goals. The state assigned 13 performance indicators to the technical colleges. The study analyzed six specific indicators …

Sustainability Of The Educational Strategy Looping In Middle School Settings, Darcy Smith

Education Doctoral

This qualitative study explores teachers’ and administrators’ experiences with the strategy looping in middle school settings. Whereas schools should seek to match ageappropriate, research-based strategies to the needs of students, introducing and sustaining change in public school settings is challenging. Whereas some schools fail to deliberately provide structures to support the development of positive student-teacher relationships, other schools with structures in place meet with varying degrees of success. Within interviews and focus groups, obstacles teachers and administrators experience implementing looping programs were explored using the following broad questions: (a) What are the lived experiences of teachers and administrators involved in …

Quality Of Life In The Nursing Home: An Outcome That Matters, Carol Dumond

Education Doctoral

This quantitative study collected information to determine how elders living at the nursing home studied perceived their quality of life, determined if there are differences in quality of life among neighborhoods, and if there are differences experienced by those living in private rooms compared to shared rooms. A descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional design was applied. An instrument that focused on enhanced quality of life, the Quality of Life Scales for Nursing Home Residents, was used to guide 155 structured interviews. Data collected provided information on eleven domains of quality of life including safety, physical comfort, food enjoyment, meaningful activities, relationships, …

Understanding Teachers' Change Towards A Reform-Oriented Mathematics Classroom, Linnae Denise Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Within the current mathematics teacher population there are teachers that want to change from traditional teaching styles to become more reform-oriented (i.e. focusing on student understanding rather than procedures). Many of these teachers do not know how to begin this change. This research looks into the tools that are most valuable for teachers as they change from traditional teaching practices to include more reform-oriented teaching practices. Through this phenomenological study, six successful reform-oriented teachers were interviewed to understand what tools they found to be most valuable in their process of change. The interviews uncovered a common guiding principle that facilitates …

Science Literacy: Hand In Glove With Numeracy, Gerry G. Meisels

Numeracy

Science Literacy requires numeracy as part of its foundation, and much of Numeracy draws on examples and applications from the sciences. They share the goal of creating a society that is mathematics numerate and science literate, and are interrelated. National priorities to strengthen both among all our students are driven by practical considerations of economic competitiveness that increasingly depend on technological innovation. It is also critical to each individual for long-term job opportunities and for informed citizenship. With up to 80% of 21st century jobs requiring mathematics and science skills, a large majority of the 2,900,000 students who graduate from …

Innovations In Management Training: Training Business Personnel Along The Structural Method, Papiya Deb, Madhav. Welling

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Trained manpower that can infuse order into the system is the need of the hour. This could be the most important contribution of well-managed companies that have developed a sound management cadre. Commercial organizations are best equipped to play a critical missionary role for two reasons- their vast and influential presence as also sound environmental management which is good business. Issues of social perspective now occupy important boardroom space. Corporate houses traditionally employing managerial skills to enhance the bottom line and shareholders value are increasingly reexamining their managerial skill and policy mix. There is yet unrecognized but a significant corporate …

The Relationship Between Organizational Culture And Sovereignty Of Merit Principle In Iran National Company Of Petrochemical Industry, Gholamreza Jandaghi, Seyed Borghei, Hossein Khanifar, Maryam Eslampour

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

It is needed in new world today that organization for their survival should search for new ways. One of these factors which help the organization in this aim is meritocracy. This happening is not accomplished in vacuumed. Other factors also have roles in this process; especially the culture of every organization may make the basic of sovereignty of merit principle because the unique culture of every organization shows the way of understanding and give meaning to event for individual.

Leadership In Tunisian Higher Education From The Perspective Of The Efqm Excellence Model, Raoudha Kammoun, Omar Ben-Ayed

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Since the early 1980s, the concept of quality has been a central focus of attention in the debate of higher education (HE). Over time, many developed countries have experienced a growing concern for quality in HE such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, and the United States of America, amongst others (Anyamele 2004, Becket and Brookes 2005). The focus on quality leads many developed countries to acknowledge the benefits of the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) within their institutions (Kanji and Tambi, 1999). However, quality movement is rather slow in the HE of developing countries. Indeed, some HEIs have …

Deans Of Career And Technical Education: Charting The Course To Senior Administration, Shelley Zarovsky Levin

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the essential leadership practices, abilities, and experiences of Deans of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and to consider how these Deans of CTE fit into the succession process of the community college. A qualitative case study was conducted with three dyads of career Deans and their supervising senior administrators, using the comparative case method to analyze the data collected from the participants.

The data were collected from in-person participant interviews on their respective campuses. One Dean of CTE and the supervising senior administrator were at a rural college; one dyad was at …

Community College Succession Planning: Preparing The Next Generation Of Women For Leadership Roles, Angela Kaysen Luzbetak

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore strategies to enable community colleges to develop and cultivate women for leadership roles through succession planning. According to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the pace of administrative and other key staff retirements exceeds the pace at which these positions are being re-staffed (Shults, 2001). One might question why the purposeful development of future community college leaders is critical. Community colleges currently face a crucial leadership crisis in the United States. Pending retirements and the lack of succession planning to fill upcoming vacancies is reaching a critical turning point. The Chronicle …

Undergraduate Commencement Exercises Program, May 22, 2010

Bryant University Commencements

Undergraduate Commencement Exercises Program, May 22, 2010.

Graduate School Commencement Exercises Program, May 20, 2010

Bryant University Commencements

Graduate School Commencement Exercises Program, May 20,2010.

A Study Of Leadership Styles That Lead To Academic Achievement Of Hispanic Students, Mitzi Harris Smith

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between secondary principal leadership style and Hispanic student achievement. Student achievement was measured by the graduation rate for each school. The principals' leadership styles were defined by scores in the Leadership Orientations Profile. The online survey was sent to 549 potential participants with 105 responses. Four types of schools were included in the data: public, alternative, charter, and continuation. Sixty-three percent of the public high school principals were male. Eighty percent of the non-public school principals were female. Most of the principals in the study had eight or less years …

Are Dental Hygiene Faculty Meeting Suggested Educational Adea Guidelines For Dental Hygiene Faculty Members?, Mary Sailo

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The ADEA has created policy and also suggested guidelines for dental hygiene faculty qualified to teach within dental hygiene education. Within the policy and guidelines statements, the ADEA has included a background in education and specific degree levels for dental hygiene faculty that support educationally prepared faculty members. To determine if dental hygiene faculty are following policy and guidelines suggested by the ADEA, a survey to collect data regarding type of degree and specific educational coursework was sent to dental hygiene program directors of dental hygiene programs across the United States. A total of 228 full time and part time …

A Summer Literacy Intervention For Struggling Readers At The Middle School Level Using Strategies In Comprehension, Fluency, Vocabulary, And Positive School Climate To Improve Reading Comprehension: An Evaluation Study, Jeffrey Joseph Haug

Dissertations

A middle school created an intervention called the Summer Literacy Program to increase reading comprehension levels. The middle school believed that by exposing students to fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies in a positive school culture, reading comprehension levels would improve. The program was created due to a high number of students reading below grade level. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the four-week Summer Literacy Program designed to provide extra interventions for struggling readers. The study is significant because it demonstrated that a four-week summer program can improve reading comprehension levels. The statistical analysis for …

A Change Management Effort In One Large Public Organization: An Exploration Of The Perception Of Needed Skills For Managing Change, Brian Paul Knudsen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Public managers are a key component of a bureaucracy. The reliance on a public manager by an elected official is high as is the expectations that these managers have the necessary skills to manage a public organization. The goal of this study was to explore what elected officials perceive are skills needed by managers to lessen the impact on the human resource, financial, and political challenges when faced with significant change efforts in order to meet their expectations and that of the citizens to whom the organization is responsible.

Findings indicate that managing upward and managing the political impacts are …

Identifying Practices That Facilitate Effective Implementation And Sustainability Of Research-Based Professional Development Strategies, Emily Victoria Bryan Kibodeaux

Dissertations

This study was designed to determine whether significant differences existed in the level of implementation of a professional development strategy, the attitude of teachers toward this professional development strategy, and the knowledge of teachers regarding this professional development strategy. After teachers were trained on the professional development strategy, three treatments were utilized in the project: administrative observations and feedback, participation in a professional learning community (PLC), or training follow-up. Twenty-four teachers from four different schools in a school district in South Mississippi participated in the project over an 8 week time period. This quasi-experimental study collected pre- and post-treatment data …

Secondary School Teachers’ And Principals’ Perceptions Of Online Learning To Support Instruction And Student Learning In An Urban School District In New York State, Theodora C. Waters

Education Doctoral

This study investigated secondary school teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of online learning (OL) to support instruction and student learning in an urban school district in New York State The literature is replete with examples that demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of online learning in comparison to high-quality, face-to-face instruction (Watson, 2008). However, in the absence of statewide policy and legislation as an incentive to adopt online learning, the researcher determined that it was important to identify and examine secondary school teachers’ and principals’ perceptions relating to the use of this technology and their motivations to adopt it to support instruction …

Exploring Novice Urban Elementary School Principals' Socialization Into The 21st Century Principalship, Michelle Walczak-Corsi

Education Doctoral

This qualitative interview study used data from in-depth semi-structured interviews, field notes, documents. and participant demographic information sheets to understand novice urban elementary school principals' experiences with socialization into the 21 51 century principalship. The primary research question guiding this study asked what resources novice urban elementary school principals drew upon to navigate the first three years of the principalship. A research subquestion asked what influenced the participants' socialization into the principalship. Findings indicated that principals actively pursued ongoing learning and drew upon an array of resources comprised of inside mentors, outside coaches, and personal mechanisms. Their use of resources, …

The Middle School Transition In Private Schools: Student Perceptions, Eileen Atkinson

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract THE MIDDLE SCHOOL TRANSITION IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS: STUDENT PERCEPTIONS By Eileen Irby Atkinson, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010 Director: Cheryl Magill, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership Students transitioning into the middle school often experience difficulty adjusting to their new environment. During this transition, declines in academic motivation, academic achievement, and connectedness have been noted. Most research on this transition has taken place in public school settings. This research investigated the impact of the middle school transition in …

Improving The Experience And Satisfaction Of Leaders And Staff In Clusters And Merged Parishes., Karen M. Rinefierd

Education Masters

No abstract provided.

Aviation & Maritime Homeland Security: A Comparative Case Study, Staphanie Aileen Webb

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Business and Public Affairs at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Public Administration by Stephanie Aileen Webb on April 14, 2010.

Naccs 37th Annual Conference, National Association For Chicana And Chicano Studies

NACCS Conference Programs

Chicana/o Environmental Justics Struggles for a Post-Neoliberal Age
April 7-10, 2010
Grand Hyatt

Pod Network News, Spring 2010

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: POD Network News

No abstract provided.

Positive Behavior Supports, Michelle Miley

Education Masters

Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is being implemented in an increasing number of schools across the nation. Positive Behavior Support is a positive and preventative systems approach to addressing discipline problems with a goal of improving behavior and academic outcomes. This study researched the degree of implementation fidelity in two suburban high schools. It investigated the effects of implementing with fidelity and the unique challenges to implementing at the secondary level. An Effective Behavior Survey was used to measure the status of current implementation. A two item questionnaire was used to identify the impact of implementation and the challenges at a …

Differing Administrator, Faculty, And Staff Perceptions Of Organizational Culture As Related To External Accreditation, Claire Procopio

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

There is an inherent tension in the U.S. system of accreditation. Historically, the system has been one of self-regulation (Brittingham, 2009). As access to higher education has grown, however, and the concomitant flow of federal money to colleges and universities has increased, the federal government and the taxpayers it represents have called for more and more external reporting of measures of college quality. Critics of the current system would like more external oversight to create what they have termed variously a “culture of quality” or a “culture of evidence” (Bardo, 2009; Crow, 2009; Kelderman, 2009; Understanding, 2001). The most dissatisfied …

Chinese Women Administrators In Higher Education: Developing Leadership Throughout Life, Susan Madsen

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The development of leadership has been a critical concern of many organizational leaders in various sectors (public, private, and social) across the globe. To better understand this complex phenomenon, researchers (e.g., Bass, 1990; Bennis, 1989) have been conducting leadership studies for decades in various disciplines (e.g., education, management, psychology). Yet, studies in these disciplines on developing women leaders are just emerging as an important focus of researchers and practitioners in many countries throughout the world. In many regions it has become evident that the process of developing women leaders is particularly multifaceted and challenging. There are numerous complexities inherent in …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of School Counselors' Conceptualization And Implementation Of Multicultural Competence, Jasmine Knight

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

School counselors need multicultural competence to implement comprehensive school counseling programs that promote the academic achievement of all students. Prior research demonstrates that school counselors have reported high levels of multicultural competence. However, there is no evidence that this self-perceived competence translates into practice. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of how practicing professional school counselors conceptualize multicultural competence and how they implement it into their work. To explore this topic, 12 practicing school counselors from a southeastern, urban school district participated in individual interviews, focus groups, and documents reviews. A research team analyzed …

Internationalization Efforts In United States Community Colleges: A Comparative Analysis Of Urban, Suburban, And Rural Institutions, Natalie Jean Harder

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Research demonstrates employers value international experiences when hiring employees. Community college students who do not have global or international experience risk being less valuable to employers than students who have such experience. With community colleges educating up to one-half of all U.S. undergraduates, more focus on internationalization is warranted in order to ensure student competitiveness in today's global labor pool. This ex post facto study of 2006 survey data from the American Council on Education (ACE) found a low level of internationalization occurring at most community colleges. Delineating community colleges according to their urban, suburban, or rural Carnegie classification found …