Digital Commons Network^™

Teaching And Learning Courageous Followership: An Action Research Study, Karen Walker Schwab

Theses & Dissertations

Followership has been shown to be a developmental stage of leadership. Yet, there is a lack of followership theory in the health-care context. The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to explore how introducing Chaleff’s dimensions of courageous followership influences the undergraduate nursing students’ views of the follower role and informs their nursing practice. Secondary research questions asked how knowledge of these dimensions influences the nursing students’ views while advocating, collaborating, and addressing lateral violence. Using purposeful sampling, 12 participants were recruited for this study. After attending a followership seminar, they completed online reflections and participated in individual …

The Influence Of Instructional Coaches On Special Educators’ Skills And Effectiveness, Julie Olsen

All Theses And Dissertations

Instructional coaching has been a practice in public schools since the early 1990’s and began in the area of reading coaching. While coaching has expanded nationally to include other content areas over the years, there is little information regarding the use of Instructional Coaches who are experts in the field of special education. This qualitative study, grounded in Vygotsky’s (1934) sociocultural theory of human learning and Jim Knight’s (2007) partnership theory, examines the ways in which Instructional Coaches influence special educators’ skills/effectiveness and the experiences special educators have with coaching models in a K-8 public school district. Thirteen special educators …

A Case Study On Educators' Perceptions Of Leader Behaviors Throughout Response-To-Intervention Implementation Id: 11941, Thomas Strickland

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this two-case study was to describe the perceptions of middle school administrators and teachers concerning leader behaviors throughout the implementation of Response-to-Intervention (RTI) programs. The theory which guided this study is transformational leadership theory (Bass, 1990) as it related directly to how administrators and teachers perceive leadership behaviors throughout the implementation of RTI programs. The importance of this study is significant to administrators, teachers, and other educational stakeholders as it is directly related to implementation of RTI programs in school, which aid in enhancing student performance. Participants included 2 administrators and 10 teachers who are employed at …

A Qualitative Study Of The Positive Transformation Of Public High School Cultures As Perceived By Administrators, Teachers, And Classified Staff Members, Amy L. Besler

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to discover the factors which contribute to the positive transformation of a comprehensive public high school’s culture as perceived by the school’s administrators, teachers, and classified staff. An additional purpose of the study is to determine what similarities and differences exist between the perceptions of administrators, teachers, and classified staff.

Methodology: The researcher identified comprehensive public high schools within the state of California where measurable growth in positive perceptions of school culture had been achieved within the preceding two to four years. Of this target population, six schools were identified, through …

Teachers’ Expectations Of Educational Leaders’ Leadership Approach And Perspectives On The Principalship: Identifying Critical Leadership Paradigms For The 21st Century, Canute Sylvester Thompson Dr.

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Using an exploratory design, with a sample of 97 teachers, this research sought to ascertain teachers’ perspectives on the behaviours and approaches that educational leaders, particularly their principals, should display. This exploration was done against the backdrop of the attitudes to, and expectations of, leaders that are deemed to be characteristics 21^st century perspectives on leadership.

The research uncovered four main behaviours that teachers expected their principals and other educational leaders to employ in their leadership approaches. These behaviours are: recognition of staff’s commitment, facilitation of participation in decision-making, embrace of teachers’ diverse strengths, and openness to criticism.

The …

Seeing Polar Bears In A Snowstorm: Examining Racial Equity Work In A Predominantly White Suburban School, Timothy Hayes

Dissertations

This three-part dissertation examines efforts to address racial equity at a predominantly white, suburban school. The first part is a program evaluation of Pacific Educational Group's Beyond Diversity Workshop. The second part proposes a change leadership approach to implementing a youth participatory action research project examining racial equity at the school. The final part proposes a professional development policy ensuring all teachers are prepared to engage in racial equity work at the school.

Understanding The Public Education Gender Gap Amid Secondary And Central Office Administrators, Danielle L. Taylor

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Despite advances in political movements and societal awareness, there is still an obvious gender discrepancy among U.S. public education secondary school and superintendent positions plaguing our nation. Data indicates that most middle and high school classroom teaching positions are filled by women and yet more campuses and districts are led by men. The literature review uncovered two main categories that lead to this gap: external and internal factors. Societal bias, stereotypes, and hiring practices are among the external causations of this margin. Likewise, work life balance and self-desire to combat old organizational structure impact women internally from assuming advanced leadership …

Exploring Teacher’S Attitudes And Behaviors In Implementing Instructional Technology Into Curriculum, Letitia Walters

Dissertations

This program evaluation explored how effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development can occur despite teachers limited technology competencies. Theses competencies increase when teachers have desire and opportunities to become better acquainted with utilizing digital tools. Perceived technology integration skills of teachers solely, cannot predict the effective integration of technology in student products to address new learning (Ertmer, 2005). Technology integrated lesson plans, the relationship between teachers' beliefs and their use of various strategies to integrate technology and a model that teachers can use to guide them through the necessary changes they will need …

Building The Organizational Leader Brand: Change Agent, Scholar, Thought Leader, Barbara Holmes, Christopher Hahn, Carson Perry

Leadership Education Capstones

Who we are matters. Developing the personal brand communicates to the world the values that fuel daily leadership habits and practices. Exposure to branding is constant in everyday life. People are continuously exposed to various brands, including clothing, vehicles, food selection, recreation, and media. Building the organizational leader brand requires the same processes, strategies, and tactics as branding and promoting traditional products, yet is much more involved. Research supports that millennial audiences connect best with individuals, rather than organizations. Consequently, effective personal branding is essential to building trust and a reputation that supports such viable relationships within organizations. Successful brands …

A Challenge To Inclusive Excellence: What We Can Learn From A Jesuit Catholic University, Terri Lewis-King

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper draws attention to the ethics of the organization (institutional structure) to fulfill its mission by examining what does it mean that a Jesuit higher education institution strives for "inclusive excellence". From a staff member lens, what does the campus climate tell us about how that impact is felt. The result of this project are tools for professionals to use in their assessment and development of organizational support for staff.

Three Perspectives Of Planning, Implementation, And Consistency In Instructional Coaching, Judith Tanner, Lisa Quintis, Thomas Gamboa Jr.

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

School administrators are choosing or required to implement instructional coaching on their campuses to improve student-learning opportunities. The school community must be aware that effective instructional coaching is job embedded, encourages teachers to become reflective practitioners, and requires time to commit to the implementation. School administrators must support instructional coaches by ensuring there is significant time allotted to provide coaches time in the classroom to observe, provide feedback, and support classroom teachers in their practice and reflection. Instructional coaches build trust and rapport with the instructional staff by implementing best-practice protocols, providing feedback, and planning the next steps. The instructional …

A Qualitative Study On The Influence Of Quality Systems In Meeting Performance Funding Criteria In Wisconsin Technical College System Institutions, Kinga N. Jacobson

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

This case study investigated the influence of quality systems on meeting performance funding criteria in Wisconsin Technical College System institutions. Using qualitative text-analysis methodology, the case study identified the common processes, systems, values, and culture of three Wisconsin Forward Award-recognized technical colleges, looking for ways these characteristics were used for attaining performance-based funding goals. Sources analyzed included the colleges’ Wisconsin Forward Award application documents and evaluator feedback reports, and the transcripts of six interviews conducted with professionals with expertise in organizational effectiveness and performance funding at these institutions. Findings indicated that the entities shared quality, benchmarking, feedback, strategic planning, and …

An Exploration Of The Manner In Which Personal Spirituality Influences Five New Hampshire Principals’ Decision-Making, Carolyn Nicole Squires Cormier

All Theses And Dissertations

Educational leaders face difficult decisions on a regular basis. These decisions, often associated with educational leadership and organizational change, are influenced by a variety of factors including the leader’s personal spirituality. This phenomenological study explores the manner in which the personal spiritual beliefs of five New Hampshire public school principals influence their workplace decision-making. The purpose of the work is to describe the essence of the experience of having one’s personal spirituality influence educational decision-making in an effort to provide school leaders an opportunity for metacognition. Data analysis reveals that the participants’ personal spirituality provides purpose, integrity, and perspective to …

The Leadership Behaviors Of College Freshmen, Kevin Wallace

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to determine if a difference exists between leadership behaviors of male and female college freshmen and the amount of extra or co-curricular activities they participated in during high school. Leadership was measured using the Student Leadership Practices Inventory (S-LPI) (Kouzes & Posner, 2013) and was guided by the theoretical framework of leader identity development (LID) as promulgated by Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, and Osteen (2005) and revised by Komives, Longerbeam, Osteen, Owen, and Wagner (2009). Participants consisted of 98 male and 84 female incoming college freshmen attending a mid-size Catholic university located …

The Dynamics Of Gender Identity And Implicit Bias Impacting Women's Executive Leadership Development Programs And Female Executive Leadership Coaching, Emelina Belle

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

The implicit gender bias and stereotypes in our society continue to impact gender diversity in executive leadership roles within organizations. The critical demand of high-potential talented female leaders to fill the gap in the corporate pipeline of senior executive positions continues to increase in our global world. Our technologically advanced society impacts this demand, the global climate of organizational change, the competition in products and services, and the impact of implicit bias and gender stereotypes influence …

A Mixed-Methods Study: Self-Efficacy And Barriers To Participation In Workplace Wellness Programs, Massiel Perez-Calhoon

Dissertations

America needs a healthy workforce to sustain the country. The scourge of obesity continues to plague Americans despite government initiatives such as the Affordable Care Act and wellness programs in the workplace to combat this epidemic. However, despite initiatives to make America healthy, barriers continued to impede the nation’s health. Lack of awareness and sensitivity to what motivates individual participants versus group participants built formidable barriers to accessing all workplace employees equitably. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the intent of this study was to explore the relationship between self-efficacy and the impact on participation and engagement when …

So Do Values: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Quality Matters, Paul G. Nagy Iii

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

In the first part of the 21^st century, community colleges in the U.S. have embraced exclusively online coursework as a major part of their curriculum. Yet students at community colleges face a variety of impediments--including socioeconomic and cultural barriers--to their success in online coursework, and research at community colleges has revealed that success in those online courses has varied widely for the diverse student populations of those colleges. Such selective success of students lends itself to inquiry regarding why online learning has become such a prominent educational arrangement at community colleges. A review of the history and policy context …

Transformational Leadership: An Urban Leaders' Autoethnography, Joyce M. Roberts

Dissertations

My story of lived experiences is told through a transformational leadership lens whereby the leader is charged with identifying the need for change, creating the vision to guide the change through inspiration and executing the change in tandem with committed members of the group. An autoethnography is a style of autobiographical writing that explores an individual's unique life experiences in a natural setting. The researchers' lived experiences are scholarly and justifiable interpretations supported by multiple sources of evidence and artifacts.

Managing Reform Efforts In Times Of Uncertainty: Effects Of Principal Support And Leadership On Teachers’ Implementation Commitment To Common Core Reform Initiatives, Lee Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) require a major shift in instructional practices among teachers. Such changes cause much uncertainty as teachers’ roles and identities begin to change. Major school reform creates difficulty for school leaders who must develop teacher support and dedication to ‘top-down’ reform initiatives in their classrooms. Literature suggested that proper support from building and district leaders is needed to reduce the uncertainty caused by such changes. Guided by organizational change theory, the purpose of this study was to examine whether perceived organizational support (POS), perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU), perceived principal support (PPS), and principal and teacher …

Single Gender Programming In A High School Setting: A Program Evaluation Project., Agnes Ghansah, Agnes Ghansah Ed.D.

Dissertations

This project discusses the effectiveness of single-gender classes in a secondary school setting. Stakeholders efficiently leverage all available time for highly engaged, innovative learning in a variety of interconnected contexts as a means for improving student-learning gains. This research project investigates deeper into how student academic achievement can be enhanced and by so doing, reduce disciplinary problems or see if there is a correlation.

The project analyzes student test scores data of those in single gender classes and those in mixed classes and compares the result. Attendance and disciplinary issues are investigated among students of single-gender classes and their counterparts …

Implementing A Cohort Model For Algebra 1, Geometry, And Algebra 2 At One High School: A Change Leadership Project., Agnes Ghansah, Agnes Ghansah Ed.D.

Dissertations

This project addresses a high school that has low test scores in the mathematics department. The scores, especially of the core math courses are at or below that of the district level. I investigated into potential causes of the problems and how this could be rectified by proposing a change.

I collected some students’ tests scores data of the math courses, and then conducted surveys and interviews of the teachers of these courses to gain a better insight into the problem. The results prove my previous notion that the scores were not good and that both teachers and administration would …

The Impact Of Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports On Attendance Rates And Office Discipline Referrals At The Middle School Level, Amy Gill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

When the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and more recently the College and Career Ready Performance Index, was put into effect, schools felt pressure to increase student achievement and bring up attendance rates in order to make adequate yearly progress or now high index scores. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach that many schools have implemented in an attempt to decrease disruptive student behavior and possibly increase student attendance. The purpose of this quasi-experimental causal comparative study was to examine the impact of the treatment of PBIS, with its basis in behavioral theory, on …

Vision, Mission, And Technology Implementation: Going One-To-One In A Catholic School, Vincent Cho

Journal of Catholic Education

As one-to-one computing initiatives become commonplace, some Catholic school educators might find themselves wondering what, if anything, such technologies might have to do with Catholic identity. This case study drew upon survey and interview data to explore the intersection of Catholic vision and mission with the implementation of a one-to-one (BYOD) initiative. The study finds that Catholic values informed the school’s support of teachers, as well as its efforts to help students navigate the personal and social issues associated with devices. In the end, teachers were positive about one-to-one. Many teachers had experimented with devices in their classrooms, and some …

Developing The Skills Of Principals In Low-Performing Schools, Stephen R. Jenkins, Randall D. Peffer

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 Stephen R. Jenkins and Randall D. Peffer on March 20, 2017.

Hbcus: Accreditation, Governance And Survival Challenges In An Ever-Increasing Competition For Funding And Students, Jerry Crawford Ii

Journal of Research Initiatives

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are facing challenges to their continued existence on several fronts. One is fiscally, as federal funding for education has been cut and the responsibility for paying for higher education has been levied on students and parents. Another challenge is the amount of endowment dollars available to them and lastly, there are questions today as to if HBCUs are still needed in a society that has allowed African-Americans to enroll in Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Both of these challenges are contingent on the most critical issue – accreditation. The loss of accreditation of units and …

The Role Of The Principal Walk-Through, Karen Lee Holgersen

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the principal's perspective of the efficacy of the principal walk-through as a tool to improve and gather formative feedback about teaching. Principals from selected schools in one district were interviewed to further clarify their feelings and provide insight into how they engaged in the process. The findings suggest that the principals in this study have adapted the classroom walk-through to meet the current requirements of an instructional leader.

The Perceptions Of High School Principals In Three Central And Northern California School Districts On The Implementation Of Restorative Practices And Resistance To Change Through The Theoretical Lens Of Kotter’S Eight-Stage Change Model, Dena M. Fiori

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and describe the perceptions of high school principals in three Central and Northern California school districts on the implementation of restorative practices and resistance to change through the theoretical lens of Kotter’s eight-stage change model.

Methodology: For the purpose of this study, the case study method was used to answer descriptive and explanatory questions that focus on the what, why, and how the research occurred during the implementation of restorative practices (Yin, 2011). The purpose of conducting a descriptive case study was to understand further, via interviews, the perspectives …

An Exploration Of Teacher, School And District Leaders' Perspectives Regarding The Integration Of Instructional Technology In An Alternative Middle School: A Descriptive Case Study, Lauren Marie Kohl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The promise of using instructional technology to enhance student learning has been a dream and a goal for more than 30 years. During these past few decades, the reasoning has shifted from providing word processing, to supporting information access, to preparing students to become global citizens in our continually evolving technological world. While many educators are successful in these endeavors, there is still a disparity across the spectrum of consistent, intentional technology integration for learning. This varies not only from school district to school district, but between schools within districts, as well as from classroom to classroom. There has been …

Management Skills For The Contemporary College President: A Critical Review, David V. Tolliver Iii, Jahn W. Murry Jr.

Journal of Research on the College President

This review of the literature related to the contemporary college president attempted to describe changes to the presidential role during the past 30 years. In addition to describing changes to the role, the review explores the personal, organizational, interpersonal, and leadership skills required for leading a contemporary university. The findings particularly note that with the changing demands for accountability in higher education, presidents are being forced to spend more of their time and be more focused on issues of finance, law, and public interactions. These issues tend to collide in discussions of public policy and within the framework of state …

Establishing And Maintaining Collective Faculty Trust In The High School Principal, Brenda M. Damiani

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the process by which high school principals established and maintained collective faculty trust in the principal (FTP). High school principals face the challenge of establishing FTP in settings generally larger than their colleagues in elementary and middle schools which can impact the level of trust. The rich descriptions from participants about the process by which they established and maintained FTP adds to the limited qualitative literature about FTP, especially in the context of high schools. The findings from this study can serve as a guide to new and experienced high school principals as they establish and maintain …