Education Commons^™

Are Experienced Principals More Likely To Implement The Attributes Of The Three-Minute Walkthrough Program Than Less-Experienced Principals?, Trent Mosley

Dissertations

Today, in this era of accountability, school improvement rests heavily on the shoulders of building principals. Apart from being managers of school operations, disciplinarians, and community leaders, these individuals are also expected to be strong instructional leaders (Crum & Sherman, 2008). Principals now must engage in strategies that will lead the cycle of continuous improvement. One such strategy that has emerged is classroom walkthroughs (Cervone & Martinez, 2007). Classroom walkthroughs serve as a vehicle through which principals can engage teachers in a process that can lead to positive effects on teaching strategies through instructional conferences (Blasé & Blasé, 1998; King, …

Principal And Teacher Beliefs About The Impact Of Cbas On School Performance: Five High Performing High Schools In Oregon, Kevin Jon Ricker

Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative study examined how school leaders work within the structure of individual district collective bargaining agreements to improve student achievement. The study examines real or perceived barriers to improving student achievement within educational organizations from the perspective of the principals and teacher-leaders.

This study included two qualitative instruments, one for building principals and one for the building teachers, administered in five Oregon high schools recognized as successful by the Oregon Department of Education in 2014-2015. This dissertation determined the impact collective bargaining agreements had on the ability of high school principals to reduce educational disparities and close the achievement …

Enhancing The Cultural Competency Of Prospective Leaders Via A Study Abroad Experience, Douglas Hermond, Mathias R. Vairez, Jr., Tyrone Tanner

Administrative Issues Journal

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether an experiential learning opportunity, specifically a study tour experience, would improve the cultural intelligence of prospective educational leaders and would challenge them to expand their own cultural understanding and behavior. Several prospective leaders who enrolled in a graduate program in Educational Leadership volunteered to attend a study abroad program that was intended, in part, to enhance their cultural competence. They were then asked to complete a survey that measured the four domains of cultural intelligence, namely metacognition, cognition, motivation and behavior. They were also asked to respond to prompts about how …

An Exploration Of The Perceptions Of Teachers And Administrators On The Relationship Between Professional Learning Community Practices And School Success, Lawrence L. Haggquist

Dissertations

Purpose: Professional learning communities (PLCs) have provided a popular means by which schools have used structured collaboration to improve student outcomes. For this reason, the PLC model for collaboration has a strong reputation for helping schools achieve success. However, teachers and administrators regard the PLC efficacy differently. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe how high school teachers and administrators in Basic Aid funded school districts define success in relation to Professional Learning Community practices. A secondary purpose of this study was to explore the differences in perception between teachers and administrators in regard to defining success in …

Conceptual Model Of Educational Planning And Program Evaluation: Addressing Deficit Thinking At The Top, Melanie Lichtenstein

The William & Mary Educational Review

Deficit thinking has been attributed to on-going academic and social inequities in school districts. Scholars have discussed addressing deficit thinking before educators enter the classroom through pre-service teacher programs. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding educational leaders’ perceptions and belief systems of culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse students. The impact of deficit thinking at the leadership level can influence program, policy, and planning decisions that can negatively impact any educational change efforts. This conceptual model of educational planning and evaluation will suggest an approach to change the deficit thinking of school district leaders such as superintendents, school …

The Role Of Conversation In How Educational Services Assistant Superintendents Lead Change, Lisa Paisley

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors that exemplary educational services assistant superintendents practice to lead their organizations through conversation as depicted by Groysberg and Slind’s (2012b) 4 elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality. Methodology: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used in this study in order to describe the lived experiences and behaviors of exemplary leaders. The target population was educational services assistant superintendents in Southern California. Participants were selected using a purposeful, nonprobability, convenience sampling. Data gathering took the form of semistructured, in-depth interviews, observations, and artifact collection. Interviews were …

The Road Less Traveled: How Asian Cultural Values Impact The Career Choice Tendencies Of Asian American K-12 Principals, Melissa Chan-Nauli

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this constructivist inquiry study was to identify and describe the perceptions of Asian American principals of how cultural values impacted their career choice tendencies in the K-12 educational setting.

Methodology: For the purposes of providing the most authentic and genuine lived experiences and perceptions of these Asian American principal participants, the researcher engaged in three primary methods of collecting data, which included demographic questionnaire, interviews, and artifacts. The study participants were 15 current Asian American full-time principals who work in school districts located in Los Angeles and Orange County, California.

Findings. A thorough examination of study …

Teacher Perceptions Of Professional Learning Communities' Impact On Math Critical Thinking Pedagogy, Elizabeth Ann Daly

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. educational leaders struggle with declining mathematics achievement among students as compared to other countries. The problem for this study was low standardized mathematics scores in one district in a major city in the Southwestern United States. The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed method project study was to analyze the effectiveness of professional learning communities (PLCs) on the mathematics critical thinking pedagogy among teachers in 2 elementary schools. The conceptual framework focused on work by Olivier, Hipp, Huffman, and Hord on the efficacy of PLCs for improving teacher pedagogy. Research questions addressed in this study were designed to explore …