Education Commons^™

Negotiating Incomplete Autonomy: Portraits From Three School Principals, Taeyeon Kim, Jennie Weiner

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study builds on research scrutinizing school autonomy in policy and school governance by shifting the focus from a formal structural view of autonomy to examining how principals negotiate autonomy in their daily work. Drawing on multiple dimensions of autonomy and street-level bureaucracy, this study examined how principals, as both professionals and bureaucrats, work to expand and strategize their autonomy in practice.

Research Methods/Approach: We used portraiture to document and interpret the experience and perspectives of three principals at urban, suburban, and rural PK-12 traditional public schools in the Midwest of US during the 2018–2019 school year.

Findings: Principals …

Principals’ Experiences Of Autonomy In Nebraska Schools With Increased Hispanic/Latino Student Populations, Gary Czapla

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This phenomenological qualitative study explored the autonomy experienced by five Nebraska public school principals as they lead their respective schools that have growing Hispanic/Latino student populations. This study determined if the principals’ autonomy has increased, decreased, or been impacted in any manner due to these changes of student demographics.

In-depth interviews were conducted with five principals working in schools where there has been an increase of Hispanic/Latino/ELL students over the last decade. This study revealed that the principals perceived that they have experienced a loss of autonomy. This study revealed the principals lacked autonomy to manage resources and personnel they …

The Effects Of Parental Involvement On The College Student Transition: A Qualitative Study At A Large Midwestern University, Lauren Edelman

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative research studied the phenomenon of parental involvement in the college transition process and sought to understand if students perceived they were affected, relative to the development of independence and autonomy, by the amount of parental involvement they experienced during this transition. Six traditional college freshmen were interviewed and asked about their relationships with their parents, their parent’s involvement during the college search, application, and transition process, and how they perceived this involvement affected their development of independence and autonomy.

This study explored the effects of parental involvement as students transitioned from high school to college. The study looked …

A Mixed Methods Study Of How The Transition Process Impacts The Autonomy Of Pre-Service Secondary Mathematics Teachers, Linda Kasal Fusco

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This mixed methods study sought to identify the impact that transition into the practice of teaching had on the autonomy of pre-service secondary teachers of Mathematics. It was based on the belief that a Mathematics teacher’s autonomy depended on: beliefs about Mathematics and how it was learned, reflections on the teaching practice, and social constraints of a secondary school culture. Data was collected between January 2009 and March 2010. In Phase I (Quantitative) the participants (N = 30), selected from ten State University of New York teacher preparation colleges and universities, completed five instruments to quantify the three factors of …