Education Commons^™

Networked Improvement Community Hub Leadership: A Unique Case Study Of State Education Agents Of Change, Lori Dolezal

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) are emerging, yet few empirical studies have examined implementation factors, efficacy, and outcomes. Fewer have examined structures, dispositions, and behaviors of NIC hub leadership, especially hubs led by State Education Agencies (SEAs). This unique, qualitative case study explores adaptive leadership and emerging improvement leadership models in the context of a NIC hub operated exclusively by an SEA. Through semi-structured interviews and document reviews, this study investigates how SEA hub leaders establish conditions to build educator capacity for continuous improvement within a NIC model, focusing specifically on leadership structures, behaviors, and mental models. Provisional findings demonstrate alignment …

Culturally Responsive Adult Education For Non-Western Learners, Asma Ali M. Abunaib

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Although education theory in general includes important insights related to the relationship between multiculturalism and pedagogy, a critical analysis of what are considered culturally responsive western adult education methods, such as Experiential Learning Cycle & Dialogue Education (ELC) suggests significant adaptations should be made when applied in settings with non-western learners. This paper highlights the challenges and opportunities of utilizing adult education methods as a framework in delivering learning opportunities in non-western settings or for non-western, new American communities in western settings. Specifically, the author discusses her experience in one Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Darfur, Sudan, presenting her …

Iraq: My Stories Of Life, Liberty And Leadership, Kenneth Smith

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

...this war is lost, and the surge is not accomplishing anything...

- Harry Reid, April 19, 2007

Human nature prevails. Our desire is to live. Our unalienable right is to be free; to enjoy the fruits of our labor. How we spend our limited time on this earth pursuing happiness is up to each of us: uniquely, individually, with our own distinctive personality, intellect and motivation. In the following personal exploration and scholarly analysis, I discuss how our inherent gift of life and the desire for liberty form an integrated platform from which leadership personifies itself in the lives of …