Digital Commons Network^™

Determinants And Outcomes Of Psychological Contract Fulfillment Between Principals And Teachers: A Comparative Analysis In Charter And Regular Public Schools, Necati Sahin

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to comparatively analyze the determinants and outcomes of teachers’ psychological contract fulfillment in charter and regular public schools. Guided by the relevant literature, teachers’ trust in their principals, teachers’ obligations, and principals’ obligations were the determinants of psychological contract fulfillment. The outcome variables were teachers’ extra role behaviors and teachers’ in-role job performance. Principal’s authentic leadership was involved as the moderating variable between psychological contract fulfillment and outcome variables. The participants were the teachers and principals who worked at charter schools and regular public schools in central Arkansas. In total, 198 participants (85 …

Profiles And Culture: Multi-Level Latent Profiles Based On Personality Traits And Facets And Profile Influences On Performance Outcomes Across Cultures, Weiwei Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Personality research has traditionally adopted a variable-centric approach but recently more studies have adopted a person-centric approach. A person-centric approach can provide additional insights in that it explores for multiple unobserved subgroups within a population and examines the extent to which relationships may differ across subgroups. The current study adds to this growing area in four ways. First, studies have attempted to identify common personality profiles, but results have been inconsistent and very few studies have examined work-relevant samples. The current study addresses this issue based on a large sample that is diverse in terms of industries, occupations, and countries. …

The Impact Of A Professional Learning Community (Plc) On 10 Early Career Teachers Who Seek To Understand The Meaning And Practice Of Teacher Leadership, Laura Alsbrooks Goldzung

Theses and Dissertations

Early career teachers are eager to engage in leadership given supportive cultural conditions, relevant training and development, and school structures encourage all members to contribute to the teaching process. The aim of this action research study was to explore the meaning and practice of teacher leadership with 10 early career teachers through participation in an eight-week professional learning community (PLC) book study. Selected readings informed group discussion topics and reflections in journal entries. Qualitative data analysis revealed three themes that work in concert to create conditions that support teacher leadership at ABC Elementary School (ABCES): communication, professional trust, and a …

The Role Of The Top Management Team In Orchestrating Big Data Analytics For Competitive Advantage, Sujatha Rayburn

Theses and Dissertations

In today's big data era, the recognition of big data analytics (BDA) as a competitive differentiator is making companies invest heavily in its potential. However, for most companies, this requires a significant transformation that needs to be led from the top. Thus, the top management team's (TMT) managerial resources will be key to how BDA resources and existing BDA ordinary capabilities are further orchestrated as dynamic capabilities. This study grounded in the Upper Echelons theory, the Dynamic Managerial Capabilities (DMC), and Resource Orchestration frameworks sought to understand the impact of the managerial resources of cognition, human and social capital on …

The Effects Of A Process Analysis Diagnostic Tool On The Accuracy Of Identifying Process Level Disconnects, Vincent Alexander Bello

Theses and Dissertations

Research in the area of Organizational Behavior management (OBM) has demonstrated the effectiveness of behavior analytic interventions on performance in workplace settings. Despite the utility of these procedures, functional assessments used to identify variables maintaining performance deficits have been underutilized and underreported in the OBM literature. Research on functional assessment has been particularly scarce in the area of behavioral systems analysis (BSA), a subfield of OBM that focuses on changing organizational performance through the individual, process, and organizational levels. Without empirical validation of preintervention assessment in BSA, it is unclear to what extent these assessments contribute to the effectiveness of …

A Case Study: An Examination Of Historically Black Colleges And Universities' Recruitment Of Non - Black Students, Viola Alexander

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study examined a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) recruitment practices that consolidated with Predominantly White Institutions (PWI) and the new HBCUs effort to increase non-Black students' enrollment. The purpose of this study is to examine the institutional recruitment practices, recruiting practices that target non-Black students, and non-Black students' perception of their recruitment experience. There is an extensive amount of literature regarding recruitment practices; however, literature regarding recruiting practices for non-Black at an HBCU is limited.

The study participants included three Admissions Recruiters, an Associate Director of Admissions, a Vice President for Enrollment Management, and twenty-three non-Black …

How Do Literacy Coaches Function As Policy Actors?, Angela Vaughan

Theses and Dissertations

How do literacy coaches function as policy actors? Using a case study of literacy coaches in a small, rural South Carolina school district, this dissertation explored the ways coaches act as policy actors, the policies coaches create, and how they institutionalize policy.

This study focused on literacy coaches as policy actors. The South Carolina Read to Succeed R2S legislation of 2014 created coaching positions to support teachers in meeting the needs of students and to assist in meeting the requirements of the legislation. These professionals are usually successful master teachers chosen to share their content and instructional expertise. The coaches …

Building Community Among International Students Through Purposeful Selection Of Fictional Literature, Michael Robert

Theses and Dissertations

Purposefully selecting text is a longstanding challenge for teachers of multinational, adult learners enrolled at language schools. International students come from diverse cultural backgrounds, have been educated in different academic systems, are of different ages, and have separate interests; therefore, it is difficult for teachers to effectively select text to meet this disparate student group’s needs. The purpose of this action research investigation was to identify an effective strategy to select reading material that fosters student engagement through a shared reading interest.

This action research investigation used exploratory qualitative methods in a constructivist grounded theory approach. I conducted semi-structured interviews …

Practitioner Inquiry: Supporting Teachers During A National Pandemic, Carol Brooke Scott

Theses and Dissertations

During this practitioner inquiry, action research study, teachers from a suburban elementary school in the southeastern part of the United States were purposefully sampled to investigate their overall successes and challenges as they were forced to abruptly change their instruction during the global COVID-19 pandemic to engage students in various learning environments such as face-to-face instruction, hybrid instruction, and virtual instruction. A collaborative practitioner inquiry group intentionally designed professional development based on the successes and challenges indicated by teachers through the use of the Atlas: Looking at Data protocol. Data collection methods consisted of a reflective survey, extensive memoing, and …

The Relationship Between Enabling District Structure And Principal Self-Efficacy In South Carolina, Justin Lee Nutter

Theses and Dissertations

The role of the school principal is ever expanding in both scope and complexity. School districts must consider how to recruit, develop and retain principals to lead their schools. Principal self-efficacy (PSE) is primal to the leader’s overall positive effect on teaching and learning, yet the antecedents of PSE are not fully defined. This quantitative study used social cognitive theory to investigate the potential influence of enabling district structure (EDS) on the development of PSE within South Carolina public-school principals. Due to increased focus on consolidation of the state’s schools, the study also explored the potential relationship between EDS and …

Formation Of A Professional Learning Community To Promote Metacognitive Teaching: An Action Research Study, Margaret Gregg Long

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods action research study examined how implementing a Professional Learning Community (PLC) supports the development of metacognitive teaching. Participants were ten technical college science instructors. While PLCs are common in K-12 education, they are less employed at the postsecondary level. There is a gap in the literature regarding PLCs in the context of postsecondary education, and the metacognition of postsecondary level educators. A PLC was used as an intervention over a 15-week semester to aid in the development of metacognitive teaching. Instructor use of metacognition was assessed using pre- and post-surveys, questionnaires, and interviews. The study's results supported literature …

Turning The Page: Using Foucauldian Rhetorical Criticism To Evaluate Literacy Center Communication, Sarah Monsma

Theses and Dissertations

Literacy, or the ability to read at or above a determined level, is an important and necessary skill. Many adult education programs exist to provide adults with specific educational resources. Literacy centers and programs contribute a vital resource to their respective communities, in helping adults who struggle with reading obtain their goals. In this thesis, I focused on the one such organization in particular, the Literacy Center of West Michigan. This organization utilizes regularly updated forms of online communication, including a News & Blog site on their website with 165 articles pertaining to the experiences of learners, background of staff …

A Reference Architecture For Rapid Cubesat Development, Sean R. Kelly

Theses and Dissertations

The CubeSat class of nanosatellites has lowered the barrier of entry to space and has rapidly gained popularity in recent years. To successfully design a CubeSat system in a rapid cycle conducive to academic timelines, a Reference Architecture geared towards University CubeSat development would be helpful. A Reference Architecture would speed up the development process by providing a template, capturing previous work and lessons learned from subject matter experts, providing a framework to focus on the CubeSats design rather than the fine details of modeling software. A Reference Architecture can also add functionality that student teams could use and improve …

Resilient Maintenance Infrastructure: Dynamic Repair Network Designs To Effectively Manage Supply Chain Disruptions, David W. Wallace Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Supply chains are facing numerous changes contributing to their increase in complexity and vulnerability to disruptions. Subsequently, decision-makers lack a transparent, generalizable tool to quantify supply chain resilience and assess additional resilience investments. This research facilitates a more profound understanding of the intricacies and interrelation of supply chain nodes and constructs. It integrates the Area under the Curve (AUC) metric to quantify performance or any organizational measure of competitive advantage amid a disruption. Due to its structural resemblance to various organizational platforms, the subset United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 engine repair and supply network is modeled employing discrete-event simulation. …

Do The Tactics Of Armed Groups Affect Organizational Behavior? The Case Of Kidnap For Ransom, Tyler Young

Theses and Dissertations

N/A

Factors That Influence Nonprofit Sector Employees’ Motivation: A Case Study From Egypt, Nada Shaaban Miry

Theses and Dissertations

The issue of employee motivation received much attention in the last few decades. That attention came from its significant practical and theoretical role in the field of management. To understand how motivation influences employees’ behavior, we have to know that every employee is motivated differently based on their preferences and characteristics. Therefore, it is essential to discover individual motivation factors for each employee. This study examines the factors that stimulate employees’ motivation and explain how to use those motivational factors to improve employees’ performance and engagement. It focuses on three non-profit organizations in Egypt and provides empirical evidence of the …

Student Voice: From Token Participation To Engaged Partnership, Lisa A. Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

The education system is under increased scrutiny, imposed accountability, and transparency while school leaders are expected to seek input from a range of external stakeholders including parents, community officials, organizations, politicians, and businesses to improve schools and increase student achievement (Fullan, 2000). Unfortunately, there is a wealth of untapped insight from key stakeholders and educational beneficiaries, students, who are excluded from sharing their perspectives and ideas in determining school policy and practice (Zion, 2009). Due to their positional lens and unique perspective, designating students as authentic stakeholders so that they have space to participate in the democratic decision-making of educational …

Teacher Perceptions & Practice Of Technology Integration Before And After Picrat Matrix Professional Development Intervention, Donald H. Heberer Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Professional development provides support and training to teachers using new technologies. Several educational technology models, guidelines, and frameworks have provided educators a guide to effective technology integration. Building upon previous models like the SAMR model (Puentedura, 2013), the TPCK model (Misrah and & Koehler, 2005), and the RAT model (Hughes, 1998), a new model called the PICRAT matrix (Kimmons, 2018) has emerged. PICRAT accounts for both the student’s interaction with educational technology and the teacher's use of technology in instructional practice. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher perceptions and instructional practice on educational technology before and after …

Professional Development And The International Baccalaureate Programme: A Case Study On The Impact Of Professional Development Offered By The International Baccalaureate Programme On Teacher Pedagogical Practices, Robert Soto

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past two decades legislators have made two significant attempts to reform the field of education by placing more emphasis on assessments and accountability. In 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and during Barack Obama’s presidency the Race to the Top (RTTT) competitive grant was initiated. The NCLB Act and the RTTT initiatives focused on increasing rigor in the classroom, the development of standardized expectations and assessments, and building the capacity of teachers. These historic acts led to an emphasis on professional development (PD) as the vehicle used to bring about educational …

An Examination Of The Perceptions Of Teachers, Administrators And Instructional Support Staff About The Use Of Data To Guide Instruction In A Catholic Diocese, In The Northeastern United States, Michael B. Connell

Theses and Dissertations

Educators have an abundance of student data available to guide their instructional decisions. Federal and State legislation has repeatedly incorporated accountability measures to ensure learning equity. Current research revealed that effective data use in the classroom to guide instructional decisions requires a complex network of resources, supports, and practices. This quantitative research study, informed by Sociocultural Theory, investigated teachers, administrators, and instructional support staff perceptions regarding teachers’ use of data to support instruction, their attitudes toward data, and the supports that help teachers use data. The study was conducted in one suburban Roman Catholic Diocese in the Northeastern United States …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Initiating A Critical Global Literacy Curriculum In The Rural High School English/Language Arts Classroom, Amy Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary society consists of emerging globalization where students will face global issues and will be expected to think critically in the professional realm. However, critical literacy and global literacy are often largely ignored in the rural high school ELA classroom where fewer cultural opportunities exist and less diversity is evident (Riley, 2015). The purpose of this study was to address a significant need for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of implementing a critical global curricular framework in a rural high school ELA classroom. Additionally, this study aimed to uncover both student and teacher perspectives regarding this implementation as well as …

Educational Equity In Independent Schools: A Phenomenographic Study Of School-Wide Equity Practices, Barriers, And Leadership Behaviors Necessary To Achieve Diversity, Inclusion, And Cultural Competence, Christopher Gerard Lemieux

Theses and Dissertations

Independent schools are facing equity changes that had long been avoided, consequently, schools are now faced with adopting equity practices designed to produce equitable outcomes. Equity practices adopted have not been realized without corresponding leadership behaviors necessary to change cultural norms as well as overcoming associative barriers. This study explored how Heads of school in Southern California described the school-wide equity practices they utilized, barriers encountered, and the leadership behaviors that were necessary for achieving diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence at their school. This study used a phenomenographic design and included 11 Heads of school identified as having exemplary school-wide …

Teacher Demoralization, Mental Health, And The Moderating Effect Of Shame Resilience, Chelsie Terez Hultz

Theses and Dissertations

The first purpose of this study was to extend the literature on teacher demoralization (Santoro, 2011) by providing the second attempt to measure the phenomenon done by Carlson-Jaquez (2016). Exploratory factor analysis was used to analyze construct validity of an original self-report instrument for the assessment of teacher demoralization analyzed as three sub-scale constructs: shame, lack of autonomy, and uncertainty. Data was collected from a population of K-12 educators in one mid-western public-school district. Participants completed a self-assessment survey shared via email and rated their level of agreement on twenty-one questions. Five demographic questions began the survey’s 26 questions. Data …

In Film, I Too Sing, America: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Black Male Filmmakers, Charles Opong

Theses and Dissertations

This study is about the lived experiences of Black male filmmakers’ global identity, and representation. This study is pertinent as Black males are often portrayed as stereotypical characters when they are much more meaningful people to society. Black male creators’ stories are being told but not by them and not from the perspective of how they want to be seen while contextualizing the humanity of Black male film creators. This study explored two research questions: What are the lived experiences of being a Black male creator in the film industry? And to what extent do Black males feel their identity …

Organizational Dissonance In The Context Of Organizational Decline And Turnaround Of A Security Printer: A Quantitative Case Study, Tina Marie Ramirez-Dominguez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative study was to examine organizational identity dissonance experienced by an organization's social actors in the context of organizational decline and turnaround utilizing factor structures from five years of pre-existing, employee surveys to determine whether differences in factor scores occurred over the 5-year time frame. Organizational identity dissonance is the psychological stress or discomfort experienced by an organization's social actors from holding two or more contradictory attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors (McLead, 2008) in relation to the organization's identity. A social actor is an individual participating in a communal environment (Whetten & Mackey, 2002). A communal …

The Effects Of Collaborative Leadership Practices On Employee Satisfaction Levels, Thomas Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Successful organizations understand how employee satisfaction levels affect the bottom line. Establishing the best practices for managing employee satisfaction is paramount so human resource directors can share information. This literature review will help educate human resource practitioners and researchers to understand better the history, the existing research, and the benefits of properly managing employee satisfaction levels. When employees become dissatisfied, it can lead to a lack of trust, poor communication, and retention problems. Obtaining information on managing employee satisfaction levels can be difficult for aspiring human resource leaders. Through this phenomenological research study, human resource executives will share their knowledge …

Support For Students With Disabilities: How Awareness And Accommodations Differ Across Faculty Members Within The Postsecondary Context, Toby Tomlinson Baker

Theses and Dissertations

This case study sought to determine the most salient needs of higher education faculty who instruct and accommodate students with disabilities (SWDs). Therefore, the faculty were analyzed as a community in a university setting. Currently, the accommodations that faculty provide for SWDs vary from institution to institution. Additionally, certain variables, such as faculty’s years with the university, budget, size, and location of the institution impact the level of support provided and what specific accommodations SWDs receive.The purpose of this qualitative case study was to develop an in-depth understanding of the current level of knowledge that faculty obtain for accommodating SWDs. …

Creating A Collaborative Culture: Can Online Learning Circles Spark Innovation And Promote Intrapreneurship?, Christian Deveaux Greer

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional organizational structures can be stubbornly inflexible and woefully under-optimized for cross-departmental project collaboration. Leaders seeking to innovate within the confines of these structures often have to empower themselves to create ad hoc agile teams that foster creative problem-solving, unlock social capital, and generate value early and often. As the President & CEO of a nonprofit science center in the Midwest, I have discovered that some of our most valuable ideas have sprouted and bloomed because distributed leaders, operating essentially as intrapreneurs, discovered ways to use their informal social networks to break through silos and successfully collaborate across departmental lines. …

Forward Solutions In Digital Learning Transformation: A Study In Navigating 21st-Century Organizational Learning For Learning & Development Professionals, Malika Afiya Viltz-Emerson

Theses and Dissertations

While there is a substantial volume of information on digital transformation in companies and basic knowledge of the learning functions in organizations, there is little academic research on the skilling required of Learning and Development Practitioners or Professionals (LDPs) and the impact 21st century digital transformation has on their role. This mixed methods study shares lived experiences and the perceptions of LDPs and identifies challenges with which they are faced. Overall, the study explores transformation of LDPs within the construct of organizations and the digital evolution. The study reviews how LDPs are adapting to the rapid changes and the evolution …

Corporate Venturing In The Media & Entertainment Industry: Contextual Factors That Influence Corporate Venture Decision Making, Graylind R. Wherry

Theses and Dissertations

This research study focuses on Corporate Venturing (CV) within the Media and Entertainment(M&E) industry and investigates factors that influence CV decision-making. CV provides a viable strategy to facilitate innovation and organizational change within companies; however, this area is understudied within the M&E industry. Companies that make up the entertainment industry may not have specific insight into how best to exploit this opportunity. Specifically, this study looks at the influence of firm characteristics, industry characteristics, and other outside factors using the PESTLE strategy model characteristics impacting the parent or venture unit's CV decision-making within the M&E industry. In terms of this …