Education Commons^™

How And Why School Counselors Use Twitter: A Phenomenological Study, Danielle R. Schultz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School counselors are often isolated in their role because of the unique nature of their job. Lack of connection, lack of relevant professional development, role ambiguity, high stress, high student-to-school counselor ratios, and lack of professional connections are all contributors to school counselor burnout. School counselors use Twitter, a social media tool, for a variety of purposes. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experience of school counselors who use Twitter to illuminate how and why school counselors use Twitter. This study found that school counselors see the purpose of their Twitter use as professional advocacy, professional connection, and validation. …

Examining How Black Administrator Employment Decisions Are Impacted By The Behaviors Of Supervisors, Annie Wilson Whitaker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how Black, public school administrator employment decisions are impacted by the behaviors of supervisors in Virginia. Commonalities among the lived experiences of Black, public school administrators were examined in order to identify specific behaviors which impact employment decisions.

Transcendental phenomenological qualitative research design was utilized. Participants were identified through gatekeeper introductions and then narrowed through snow-ball sampling. Data was collected through open-ended face-to-face interviews with 12 Black, public school administrators in Virginia via a secure online platform. The data was analyzed in order to identify emergent themes which represent the lived …

Caring For Our Communities Of Practice In Educational Development, Christopher V. H.-H. Chen, Katherine Kearns, Lynn Eaton, Darren S. Hoffmann, Denise Leonard, Martin Samuels

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Given the backdrop of multiple concurring crises—a global pandemic, political instability and violence, and multiple structural inequalities—we see the problem of now as this: How do educational developers continue to address the wicked problems in teaching and learning when we are simply so exhausted? Our article presents the importance of communities of practice for educational developers, inviting us to witness and name the communities in which we belong; the important functions they engage; who they nurture and how; and what care is undertaken to sustain these groups and ourselves. To help educational developers understand and appreciate the ways that communities …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of An Alternative Evaluation Model, Karen A. Chase

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The body of research shows the importance of teacher effectiveness on student achievement. To ensure teacher effectiveness, states have enacted legislation that governs the processes for teacher evaluation. However, these systems have not proven to be as effective as once anticipated. One of the flaws pertains to the evaluation system’s inability to differentiate feedback based on teacher ability. For this reason, the New Jersey Department of Education has provided school districts the option to use an alternative evaluation model, The Reflective Practice Protocol. This option is available to teachers who have been rated as highly effective. The purpose of this …

Professional Development-Key To Retention Of Rural Principals?, Dawn Martin, Jason M. Clemensen

Faculty Submissions

Building principals wear many hats, not the least of which is instructional leader. Leading curriculum, instruction and school improvement efforts can be overwhelming to leaders who must also tend to the management and operational demands of the job. Rural leaders are often expected to assume even greater responsibilities with considerably less support. Although expected to design and provide professional development for others, insufficient time and funding often prevent the leader from engaging in his/her own learning and growth.
This article describes the efforts of one university to provide relevant, low-or-no-cost
professional development opportunities as a service to building leaders and …

Elementary And Middle School Administrators’ Decisions About Professional Development For Bilingual Educators, Enid Montalvo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

K–8 school administrators are expected to provide professional development (PD) to bilingual teachers that will enhance instructional practices. PD is an important factor that may lead to student academic achievement. However, it was unclear in what ways K–8 administrators provided PD for bilingual teachers to enhance instructional practices for Latino English-language learners (ELL). The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how K–8 administrators used reflective practices to identify ELL-focused PD for bilingual teachers within two Midwestern school districts. The conceptual framework for the current study was Schön’s theory of reflective practice. The guiding questions asked how K–8 …

Principal Leadership Style And Teacher Retention In China’S Bilingual Kindergartens, Feng Yang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High teacher turnover affects school development and student achievement in bilingual kindergartens in China. Relaying on this gap in practice, the project study explores how teachers perceive the influence of their principals’ leadership styles on their decisions to stay in or leave bilingual kindergartens in Shanghai. The concepts of instructional leadership, transformational leadership, and distributed leadership from leadership theory were used as the conceptual framework for the study. The research questions addressed bilingual kindergarten teachers’ reasons to stay or leave and, in particular, their perceptions of their principal’s leadership style as a retention factor. In this basic qualitative research study, …

High School Educators' Perceptions Of Professional Development Needs For Implementation Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports, Daniel Thomas Henley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem investigated by this study is that professional development (PD) provided for educators had not prepared them to implement behavior interventions and positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) to meet classroom management and students’ needs. This basic qualitative study was conducted to investigate the experiences of high school educators, who implemented behavior interventions and PBIS at the exemplar sample site, and to identify the supports, advantages, and barriers they encountered. Using Glasser’s choice and Skinner’s operant conditioning theories, research questions focused on educators’ perceptions and experiences with PD to identify the supports, advantages, and barriers at the exemplar site …

Peer-Coaching Based Professional Development: A Sample Of A School Of Foreign Languages, Sinem Arslan Dönmez, Ahmet Şahin Assoc. Prof.

Georgia Educational Researcher

The purpose of this study is to investigate the views of lecturers about the effectiveness of the implementation of the peer-coaching practice conducted at the school of foreign languages of a foundation university. The lecturers who took part in the peer coaching practice in the academic year 2019-2020 acted as the participants in this case study. The qualitative data was collected via interviews and document analysis. Content analysis and descriptive analysis methods were used in the process of data analysis. The findings from the analysis showed that peer-coaching practice consisted of lesson observations, pre and post-observation meetings, and reflection stages. …

Examining School Administrator Perceptions Of Preparational Experiences Of Effective Educational Leadership, Jared S. Jones

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine what preparational experiences are necessary for assistant principals to effectively transition to the principalship. Fifteen principals completed a 21-item survey and answered seven interview questions to better understand how the North Carolina Standards for School Executives aligned with the daily tasks and responsibilities of school principals. The data also gathered principals’ leadership perceptions, the impact of preparational experiences, and assistant principal preparation. Results from the study concluded that all seven primary North Carolina Standards for School Executives accurately reflected and aligned with the tasks and responsibilities that school principals encountered …

Principals’ Perceptions Of How To Reduce Discipline Disparities For Black Students, Brandi Lee Pineda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disparity exists in disciplinary actions taken toward Black students compared to White students in the public schools of a county school district in a Southwest U.S. state. Successful school leadership practices are needed to minimize the disproportionality of Black students being expelled, suspended, and routed to the school-to-prison pipeline. The purpose of this basic qualitative case study was to explore school leaders’ perceptions of how to reduce the disciplinary actions taken with Black students in the public schools of a county school district in a Southwest U.S. state. The conceptual framework was critical race theory. The research questions addressed (a) …

Teachers Of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students And Effective Professional Development: A Critical Review Of Research, Irish Farley

Journal of English Learner Education

Effective Professional Development (PD) is essential for teachers of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) students. Despite the continuing increase of diversity of students, teachers are underinformed with best practices for teaching and support. Many good teachers may not know how to best support CLD students. In 2018, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that only 44% of surveyed teachers who had at least one CLD student in their classroom received professional development specifically for working with these students. This review of the literature covers two distinct but related topics: why teachers of CLD students need more PD and what …

Principal Preparation For The Bahamas: A Partnership Approach, Raquel R. Edgecombe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current literature has investigated university-district partnerships in numerous ways; however, based on a review of the literature, no study has sought the insights of potential partners about the partnership arrangement prior to the start of the partnership agreement. The purpose of this study was to explore educational leadership practitioners’ understandings of partnership in principal preparation. This inquiry was guided by the following research questions: (a) How do educational stakeholders perceive the ideal partnership arrangement for the preparation of principals; and (b) In what ways do the perspectives of educational stakeholders reflect broader discourse about the quality of educational leadership preparation? …

Teacher-Efficacy With Standards-Based Education For Eighth-Grade Mathematics In A 21st -Century-Skill Framework: A Case Study, Jemmeta Demay Nesbeth

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to describe eighth-grade mathematics teachers' perception of teacher-efficacy and standards-based education within a 21st-century framework at a large suburban school district in North Carolina. Rotter's locus of control theory and Bandura's self-efficacy theory provide the guiding theoretical frameworks for this study. Both theories explain the personal characteristics of teacher qualities related to learning outcomes. This study addressed the following central research question: What is the perceived self-efficacy of eighth-grade mathematics teachers and standards-based education? I applied the extreme case sampling method to select the 12 unique participants and provide different perspectives. I collected …

Next-Level Leadership: Preparing Assistant Principals For Campus Leadership, Jerry R. Burkett

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

The workload of campus leaders continues to increase with new expectations for evaluation and supervision, changing legislative mandates, and mounting pressures for improved school accountability. Educational Leadership preparation programs are built on national and state standards related to principal leadership and competency. However, while principal preparation programs have focused intently on instructional leadership development for future principals, most educational leadership candidates do not immediately enter the principalship but rather start their administrative careers as assistant principals. School districts can implement a comprehensive training protocol for their emerging principals using research-based practices to ensure assistant principals have the training, coaching, and …

The Impact Of Culture On Learning Transfer In Burkina Faso And Ghana, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Culture is a predominant force in people’s lives that impacts learning and thus culture influences learning transfer. Because working across nations has become the norm and every year billions of dollars are spent on professional learning around the world, it is crucial for organisations to understand the role culture plays in the learning transfer process. Using a multidimensional model of learning transfer and the six dimensions of national culture model as conceptual frameworks, this qualitative study used a case study approach to examine the impact of culture on learning transfer in Burkina Faso and Ghana, West Africa. Interviews were conducted …

The Centrality Of Cultural Considerations In Facilitating Training For Adults, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Teaching and learning are social and cultural activities. Across cultures people have different ways of communicating, interacting, and learning. Consequently, learning may not occur without understanding the role national cultures play on organizing and facilitating training events. This study is part of a larger study that took place over a period of six years, from 2013 to 2019, in West Africa. Using Hofstede et al., (2010) Six Cultural Dimensions model as a conceptual framework, this paper sought to examine the extent to which factors of national culture influences the facilitation of professional learning among school principals in two West African …

Chasing Down The Educational Debt By Centering Race In Educational Supervision, Teresa Lance

Journal of Educational Supervision

Educational professional development is ubiquitous; yet the gains on student learning are minimal as measured by local, state, and federal assessment measures. Although there is widespread agreement that assessment data alone does not tell the story of what students are learning and teachers are teaching, the data is still alarming. Why is there a gap between the billions of dollars spent on professional learning and student learning outcomes? In this article, the author seeks to shed light on this disconnect, offering a framework that links deficit perspectives of Black, Brown, and Indigenous students and opportunity gaps associated with inept monitoring …

In Search Of Silver Linings: Strategies For Preparing Future Faculty During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tazin Daniels, Elizabeth Bailey, Anoff Nicholas Cobblah

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In this article, we describe our experience as a racially and disciplinarily diverse, relatively junior program team who embraced the opportunity to transform a 20-year-old professional development seminar for graduate students into a remote offering in response to COVID-19. Our efforts to support our participants and champion an institutional move toward equitable and effective virtual programming are situated alongside the psychological tolls of remote work, a global health crisis, and ongoing racial violence across the United States. We recount our experience using, as a helpful metaphor, Lewin’s change model, which describes the process of “unfreezing,” “changing,” and “refreezing” long-standing assumptions …

Examining The Influence Of Professional Development And Pre-Service Training On The Use Of Self-Regulation Pedagogical Practices Of Middle School Teachers, Lauren A. Porter

Theses and Dissertations

Academic self-regulated learning (SRL) skills closely align with the 21st century skills that lead to student success. Research demonstrates that academic achievement is closely related to the use of SRL in the classroom and that teacher practices are fundamental in imparting these skills to their students. It is not clear, however, how teachers are acquiring these skills and/or how their knowledge of metacognition and SRL are generalized into their pedagogical practices. This quantitative study examined the relationship between use of SRL pedagogical practices and teacher exposure to pre-service training and professional development, as well as their years of teaching, subject …

Teacher Perceptions About Instructional Delivery For Chinese International Students, Valerie Lorraine Marchione

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that prompted this study was that teachers at a local private school werestruggling to identify and implement appropriate instructional strategies to promote international student academic and social engagement. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher perceptions and experiences about instructing international students. The conceptual framework of this study was based on Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism. The research questions explored teachers’ perceptions about their knowledge, experiences, and perceptions of students’ school acculturation and teachers’ instructional processes. A case study design was used to capture the insights of 12 high school teachers of international students through semistructured …

Early Childhood General Education Inclusion Teachers’ Perceptions Of Professional Development, Susanne Metscher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the use of professional development (PD), early childhood inclusive teachers lack the knowledge and skills needed to support students with disabilities. It was unclear what types of PD teachers have received and what supports they still need. If teachers lack PD and the skills needed to teach students with disabilities effectively, then student progress may be negatively affected. The purpose of this basic qualitative research study and the research questions were to understand early childhood inclusive general education teachers’ perceptions of past PD experiences of working with students with disabilities and what supports they need to implement evidence-based practices. …

General Education Teachers' Self-Efficacy Perceptions Of Teaching Students With Disabilities, Hester Jackson Mallory

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over recent decades, a challenge faced in public schools in the United States is the appropriate education of students with disabilities (SWDs) in inclusive classrooms. The problem this study addressed is that, despite the implementation of inclusive practices, SWDs in a small rural school district in Virginia have low achievement rates. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine general education teachers’ self-efficacy perceptions, exploring the relationship between lived experiences with SWDs and their professional practices. The conceptual framework for this study was built upon Bandura’s self-efficacy and social cognitive theories. The research questions centered on how the …

Exploring The Strategies English As A Second Language Teachers Use To Teach Students, Unika Lasha Felton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIn the local school district under study located in southern United States, English as second language (ESL) students are experiencing lower than expected standardized testing scores according to expectations set forth by the state Department of Education. The purpose of this project study was to explore the strategies ESL teachers use to teach ESL students. The conceptual framework was Gagne’s conditions of learning theory, which is used to assess students’ lack of preparation for future academic and career success. The research question asked what strategies ESL teachers use to teach ESL students. A qualitative exploratory case study with purposive sampling …

A Comprehensive Audit Of Professional Development For K-12 School Leaders In The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Melissa Davis Hill, Melisa J. Naumann, Timothy M. Tillman, Major R. Warner Jr.

Doctor of Education Capstones

The intent of this paper is to provide a mixed-methods audit of professional development provided to K-12 school leadership in Virginia's diverse landscape to include identification of providers, funding, effectiveness, and expectations.

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, geographical, political, and socio-economical differences across 132 school divisions cause variability in leaders' experiences with professional development. A mixed-methods approach was used, including a review of current literature, an online survey, virtual interviews, and virtual focus group discussions. This data collection results in a comprehensive audit of professional development provided to school leaders in Virginia's diverse landscape. The study defines effective professional development …

Exploring Equity Through The Perspective Of White Equity-Trained Suburban Educators And Minoritized Parents, David E. Lawrence

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The intent of this qualitative critical incident study was to explore the interpretation of equity by White equity-trained suburban educators (WETSE) and minoritized parents (MP) in a Midwestern suburban school district to address and change inequitable student outcomes. WETSE and MP participated independently in focus groups. The research design used critical incident technique (CIT) as the methodology; focus groups as the data collection tool; and thematic analysis (TA) as the analytical tool. Zones of Mediation (ZONE) and Transformative Leadership Theory (TLT) were used to distill and categorize the research findings. WETSE and MP established an agreement on four themes thought …

When Knowing Is Not Enough: A Narrative Exploration Of How K-12 Teachers Make Decisions About The Transfer Of Critical Competencies From Professional Learning To Daily Practice, Nell E. Ballard-Jones

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

School districts spend millions of dollars each year to provide training and learning to staff working in direct and indirect service to students (National Council on Teacher Quality, 2021). This financial commitment says nothing about what is even more important: the need for school employees and the systems in which we work to serve students more effectively. Despite vast allocations of time and money and presumably best intentions for better social and academic outcomes for students, very little data exist that reflect regular transfer and application of training/learning into professional practice (Nittler et al., 2015). By and large, schools and …

Teacher Perceptions Of Blended Learning To Support 21st Century Learners, Nikki Hensley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand teacher perceptions of blended learning as an instructional methodology for addressing the needs of diverse learners. The researcher explored the perceptions of teachers who were participating in an ongoing professional development program within their school district. This program focused on improving teaching and learning through the implementation of a blended learning approach. The researcher examined the experiences of teachers as they learned to adapt pedagogical practices to address the learning needs of 21st century students through blended learning. The researcher sought to gain a better understanding of how teachers perceived that …

An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Professional Development On Accessibility To Online Courses By Students With Special Needs At A Regional Four-Year Public Institution Of Higher Education In West Texas, Dallas Anne Swafford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Evaluation research, including qualitative and quantitative data, was used in this study to determine the impact of professional development on online courses’ accessibility by students with disabilities. The study focused on online courses and course content. Data collection took place in phases and included self-paced, online professional development and one-on-one support sessions, a pre- and postsurvey, and a focus group interview. The study took place at a regional 4-year public institution of higher education in West Texas. Change theory emerged as the primary theoretical lens guiding the research as the study unfolded.

Becoming A Highly Effective Elementary Teacher And How To Support Teachers' Development, Tim Pressley, Riley Isom, Chalon Johnson, Amy Barnes, Laura Mcauliffe

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

As teachers enter the field of teaching, teachers look to continue to develop in order to become highly effective teachers as they are often less effective than teachers with at least some experience (Boyd et al., 2008; Ladd & Sorenson, 2017). This development may occur through the support of mentors, administration, professional development (PD), as well as through trial and error, with the most development occurring during the first several years of teaching (Koedel & Betts, 2007; Rice, 2003). However, not all teachers develop into effective teachers. Some aspects that may affect a teacher’s effectiveness are the classroom environment, instruction, …