Digital Commons Network^™

Where Is The Community? A Qualitative Case Study Of A School Closure In An Urban School District, Anthony Mcwright

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

Family and community engagement are a proven strategy for strengthening schools. Across the United States, parents and community members have pressed school boards and district leadership for more transparency and broader participation in decisions about school turnaround. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the decision-making process for the school closure of Rocky Mountain High School, a neighborhood school in an Urban School District in the Rocky Mountain West and the impact it had on the community. To better understand this dilemma, a case study method was used to identify real-life perspectives of community members associated with …

Inclusive Schools For Students Served By Special Education: How Central Office Supports Principals, Lynn Reynolds Saltzgaver

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

Principals shape school culture and the teaching practices that students experience and engage with every day. Today’s leaders need regular access to learning and support that will influence their ability to lead schools for social justice for students identified with disabilities.

District leaders have a responsibility to develop and support principals to provide equitable and high-quality learning experiences for students who have been identified with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to analyze the Mountain Meadow School District’s role in supporting the development of leaders for social justice for students identified with a disability. This qualitative case study examined …

Do You Hear Us? Amplifying Alternative Pathways For High School Pushouts Through Youth Participatory Action Research, Rob A. Duren

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

The school-to-prison pipeline (STPP) metaphor encapsulates and describes a set of legislative policies and educational practices that systematically funnel African American, Indigenous, and Latinx students from the classroom into the juvenile and criminal justice system at disparate rates. An emerging solution to address high school pushout and the STPP has been to develop Alternative Education Campuses (AECs). However, there is a current gap in the research that amplifies the counter narratives of students currently enrolled at an AEC, through their own words, using Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). Studies conducted with students who have been labeled “high-risk” are especially lacking. …

White Racial Framing In The Principalship: Implications For Culturally Responsive School Leadership, Guerin Gray

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

The history of the American educational system is rife with examples of racism and denial of equal access and opportunity to students of color. Despite efforts to close the opportunity gap, inequity remains. In this action research study, I explored my own leadership, utilizing surveys of stakeholders and focus group conversations to gain perspective on how my leadership impacts the school community. I compared these experiences with the tenets of culturally responsive school leadership that is a path toward greater equity. Concurrently, I reflected deeply upon my leadership, enlisting critical colleagues to help uncover ways in which my leadership toward …

Measuring The Connective Action Of Black Lives Matter Activists: A Psychometric Investigation Into Twitter Data, Paige Alfonzo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many protest movements from the last twenty-first century have become increasingly networked and personalized. Several scholars have tapped into this change coining terms such as participatory action, digitally mediated action, computer-mediated communication, issue-based organization, and what I focus on in this project, connective action. Building on the ideas percolating across the literary landscape at the time, Bennett and Segerberg (2012) introduced the logic of connective action based on emergent characteristics they observed in post-2010 large-scale social movements. Both the logic of connective action and related work have become deeply ingrained in today's social movement scholarship. As such, I felt it …

How Parents, Teachers, Psychologists, And Educational Environments Influence Developmental Transitions Of Preadolescent Twice-Exceptional Students, Karen B. Arnstein

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this collective case study was to examine the perceived developmental transitions of preadolescent, twice-exceptional students to understand both the supports and barriers from the perspective of parents, teachers, and psychologists. The case for this study, located in a western U.S. state, was a private school educating twice-exceptional students. The research questions guiding the study included the following: How do parents perceive growth in both academic and psychosocial development? How do educators perceive growth in both academic and psychosocial development? What are the supports that promote successful developmental transitions? What are the barriers that inhibit successful developmental transitions? …

Impacted Youth: Why School Psychologists Need To Consider Diverse Approaches Of Support, L. Morgan Beidleman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines trends among youth who are highly impacted by multiple adverse experiences. It outlines potential patterns of risk and protective factors often experienced by this population and encourages school psychologists to recognize, consider, and advocate for the needs of these youth. It goes on to describe and interpret the cultural practices of Leadership Coffeehouse, a Denver-based social enterprise that seeks to support disconnected youth through professional development and hands-on learning. Finally, because of the unique training school psychologists receive, considerations for expanding the role into non-traditional educational settings are proposed.

School Facet Through Surrounding Factors: A Geospatial Analysis Of Community Social Capital Impacting Elementary Schools, Sajjid Budhwani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School performance rating is an important factor which not only provides a quick snapshot of how the students are performing on various measurement indicators but also decides a school’s future course of actions, strategies, resources, and its existence. Despite its significant importance, the school performance framework does not consider where the schools are geographically located and the surrounding factors within which they operate. The researcher of this study presented a landscape of the surrounding factors and its impact on the elementary schools within Denver Public Schools district. In this study, the surrounding factors are geospatially analyzed to determine the extent …

Pivotal Perceptions: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Trauma-Informed Practices In An Urban School, Marni Choice-Hermosillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study sought to examine the experiences of teachers in an urban K-8 school after a system-wide whole school implementation of trauma-informed practices. The practices teachers implemented in their classrooms that aligned with their personal perceptions of trauma-informed practices and its efficacy were explored. Additionally, the personal and professional barriers to implementation were also investigated. Identified practical strategies at both the elementary and middle school levels included establishing and maintaining relational trust and classroom community, actively teaching emotional regulation skills, and teaching and reinforcing rituals, routines and expectations throughout the school year. Lack of confidence and previous personal assumptions …

Supporting The Affective Needs Of Gifted Readers: An Educational Criticism And Connoisseurship Study, Kimberly G. Freed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this Educational Criticism and Connoisseurship Study was to analyze the perceptions of parents and teachers of reading supports and barriers on the affective development of gifted readers. The research questions that guided this study were: What do parents and teachers perceive as the most effective reading supports that promote the affective development of young gifted readers? What do parents and teachers perceive as the major barriers that hinder the affective development of elementary gifted readers? How can children’s literature be used to support or hinder the affective development of gifted readers? Participants of this study were parents …

Portraits Of Professional Collaboration: Faculty-Librarian Teaching Partnerships, Carrie L. Forbes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many regional accrediting organizations for higher education have embraced information literacy as a key component for both student success and student learning outcomes. Through embedded librarianship practices, librarians are now taking a leading role in developing and promoting users’ information literacy skills and in adopting an active classroom teaching approach. Faculty-librarian team teaching is a best practice for integrating information literacy into the higher education curricula, but the extant research has largely focused on the barriers to collaboration. Using Walsh and Kahn’s (2010) model of “collaborative working” as a conceptual framework, this dissertation explores the qualities and characteristics of four …

Gifted Identification In Young, Historically Underrepresented Populations: A Phenomenological Study, Meryl A. Faulkner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the implications of the low numbers of identified gifted young, historically underrepresented students. The research questions that guided this study were: what are educators’ experiences of the gifted identification process of young, historically underrepresented students? What are parents’ experiences of the gifted identification process for their young, historically underrepresented child?

Participants were parents of a student from an underrepresented population (American Indian or Alaskan Native, Latinx, Black or African American, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander) identified gifted in second grade or younger or educators who were involved in the …

Living The Dream: Building Self-Determination To Improve Postsecondary Outcomes, Pete Gladstone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite recent federal legislation outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) reauthorization of 2004 that mandates effective postsecondary transition planning for all students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), students with intellectual disability (ID) continue to experience inequitable postsecondary outcomes, particularly in the areas of postsecondary education (PSE), employment, and independent living (Lipscomb et al., 2017). It has been established that one effective method for improving those outcomes is to develop students’ self-determination abilities, and there is near unanimous agreement within the education community that doing so should be a primary objective during the transition process (Izzo & Lamb, …

What Happens Next? A Grounded Theory Exploration Of The Psychological Impact Of Leaving The Gang, Alana C. Liskov

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Very little research exists regarding the psychological impacts of gang membership and the mental health needs of gang members. Of the few studies that have been conducted, gang members were found to have increased rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (1.77 odds), current substance abuse (2.58 odds), oppositional defiant disorder, (1.24 odds) and conduct disorder (4.05 odds) (Harris, Elkins, Butler, Shelton, Robles, Kwok, Simpson, Young, Mayhew, Brown, & Sargent, 2013). Violent ruminative thinking, violent victimization and fear of further victimization were also significantly higher in gang members and believed to account for high levels of psychosis and anxiety disorder in gang …

Brokering Access, Belief And Opportunities: A Phenomenology Of Black Principals’ Leadership Through A Racialized Lens, Natalie Denise Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The educational landscape of the twenty-first century currently faces several significant challenges, including widening academic opportunity gaps. These gaps suggest that there is need to examine the perspectives of leaders in the role of principals more deeply. However, as leadership theories continue to develop, there has been limited research conducted on the impact of principals’ racialized experiences and their approach to leadership. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to center race by exploring the essence of Black principals’ understanding of their racialized experiences and its meaning to their leadership and school communities. Findings indicate that Black principals’ (a) understanding …

Retaining Gifted Individuals For The Sustainability Of Rural Communities, Jessie B. Matthews

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Retaining Gifted Individuals for the Sustainability of Rural Communities examined the supports and barriers to young gifted adults’ choices regarding living in rural communities. The narrative methodology revealed the perceptions of remote rural community members through single, face-to-face interviews to understand the challenges and opportunities young gifted individuals encounter. Through community member interviews, participants echoed sentiments indicating supports, barriers, and the power of place play a significant role in gifted individuals’ desire to remain in their local community. The findings suggested through celebrating place, engagement in the local community, and encouragement to solve local problems, gifted individuals will engage in …

Nurturing Excellence: A Case Study Of High School Learning Environments For The Gifted, Ryan A. Mcclintock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The nuanced and complex cognitive and social-emotional needs of high school gifted learners are not sufficiently met through accelerated coursework like Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate alone. Addressing their needs requires the design, implementation, and leadership of programming that maximizes their agency, curiosity, and confidence. Such programming should be fully modern in its conception and allow gifted high school students to construct and share products of their learning with respect to issues of global importance. The purpose of this study was to explore high school learning environments designed to maximize the agency, confidence, and curiosity of gifted and talented secondary …

Building Community In The Classroom For Culturally Linguistically Economically Diverse Gifted Learners, Michelle Elaine Norberto-Whipple

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of active community building in a classroom with culturally linguistically economically diverse (CLED) gifted learners in a semirural school district who underachieve. The central research question was, how does actively building classroom community interact with CLED gifted learners who underachieve? The research questions were the following: What are educators’ perceptions of CLED gifted learners who underachieve? How do educators implement community-building in the classroom? What are parents’ perceptions of actively building community in the classroom with CLED gifted learners who underachieve? The four primary categories that emerged were (a) meeting …

Early Childhood Educator Knowledge: An Exploratory Study Regarding Giftedness And Students Of Color, Stephanie A. Peralta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine general early childhood educator knowledge and perceptions of curricula relevant for early childhood gifted students of color. The research questions that guided the study were the following: How does preschool through second grade curricula support or impede academic success for gifted students of color? How does preschool through second grade curricula support or impede social emotional learning for gifted students of color? What are the perspectives of educators regarding inclusive practices including Critical Race Theory, within a preschool through second grade gifted curricula?

In reviewing the literature and national data concerning representation …

Underachieving Profoundly Gifted Adolescents, Marisa Soto Harrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Underachieving Profoundly Gifted Adolescents is a phenomenological study that explores the lived experiences of five underachieving profoundly gifted adolescents. Profoundly gifted individuals are those whose IQ scores are at the 99.9th percentile. This study was a means to explore factors that contribute to underachievement among this subpopulation of gifted students. In-depth interviews with young adults provided insight into the personal experiences of underachievement in profoundly gifted adolescents. Parents also took part in interviews to provide an additional perspective on the underachievement experience. Findings indicated five themes that contribute to underachievement among this population. Expectations were a major contributor to underachievement. …

Identification Of Gifted Characteristics Using The Behavioral Assessment Scale For Children—Third Edition, Kristine Zytka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children who are gifted are at-risk for being misidentified with emotional and behavioral disorders (Daniels & Piechowski, 2009; Mullet & Rinn, 2015; Webb, 2016). Challenges exist in conclusively defining giftedness, assessing giftedness, and understanding common behavioral patterns among gifted individuals (Bracken & Brown, 2006; McClain & Pfeiffer, 2012). Because gifted children typically exhibit common behavioral patterns, it is important for school psychologists to understand gifted behavioral characteristics, how to assess these characteristics, and how to differentiate between common gifted behavior and maladaptive behavior (Daniels & Piechowski, 2009; Webb, 2016). This study examined the value of the BASC-3 in identifying gifted …

College, At What Cost? African American/Black Women Undergraduate Students’ Perception Of Institutional Policy Levers, Tamara D. White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is exploring how institutional policy levers impact retention for African American/Black women undergraduate students at a private four-year predominantly white institution in a mid-western state of the United States. Retention of African American/Black women undergraduate students is not a widely researched area. In this exploratory case study, eight African American/Black undergraduate junior and senior women, ten administrators and one focus group of six African American/Black women were interviewed. Artifacts were collected from the administrators. The data collected was analyzed using the culturally engaging campus environment model. The experiences of the African American/Black undergraduate women were examined in academic …

Black Finesse Amidst The Political Science Paradigm: A Race-Grounded Phenomenology, Janiece Zalina Mackey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this research, I develop a methodology that I call Race-Grounded Phenomenology (RGP). The scope of this study investigates how Black undergraduate students navigate the discipline of political science. An eclectic array of critical theories of race unveil the ways in which Black undergraduate students exhibit flair and tenacity, or what I call Black Finesse. The eclectic array of critical theories of race utilized in this study include critical race theory, critical whiteness studies, and identity enactments. However, this study focuses on the Black student experience amidst the socialization of political science or what I call the political science paradigm. …