Education Commons^™

An Examination Of Implicit Values In Cornerstone Student Affairs Textbooks, Nathan Slife

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The field of student affairs is properly cautious about indoctrination. Indoctrination, after all, clearly contradicts the field's ethical statements and standards. These cautions have led student affairs researchers to investigate explicit values in the field to prevent explicit forms of indoctrination. However, recent investigations of implicit values in the discipline of psychology have revealed a potential new source of indoctrination not currently studied in student affairs. Specifically, psychological researchers have identified a system of implicit values called liberal individualism that has been found to be pervasive throughout the psychological discipline. Given the widely acknowledged link between student affairs and psychology, …

A High School Turnaround School Initiative: Effects On Students' Math And Reading Scores, Rene Alma Segler-Zender

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Since the middle of the last century, student education in the U.S. public school systems has been deemed inadequate. Critics developed measures in the form of standardized testing to measure student progress in an attempt to help facilitate reforms. In the last thirty years, the federal government has played an increasing role in school reform efforts in the form of laws and unfunded mandates. School districts have attempted to respond to federal pressure by attempting radical changes from replacing all school administration and staff to a complete curriculum overhaul. While school reform efforts have been widely documented by various groups, …

A Comparison Of Two After School Strategies For Improving The Parenting Knowledge And Parenting Perceptions Of Preschool Families Enrolled In A Title 1 Program, Rae Ette Veronna Newman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A parent is a child's first educator in communication, social/emotional skills, motor development, and academics. As the achievement expectations placed on schools increase and the schooling population continually diversifies, the need to increase the overall parental involvement in schools and their ability to assist with academics in the home becomes more significant to ensure academic success for all children. By acquiring the fundamental parenting knowledge and skills, despite the barriers and additional disadvantages, parents can overcome daily obstacles, reduce family stress, and support developing proficient children. By encouraging positive parenting skills, parents can increase their parenting self-efficacy.

The purpose of …

Closing Up Shop: Meditations On The Departmental/Programmatic Elimination Experience, Susan Beth Donoff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Departmental and programmatic eliminations represent a new paradigm in the history of American higher education. Hastened by a national economic recession and competing state funding priorities, public post-secondary institutions have turned to academic attrition as a solution to continuous budgetary shortfalls. As a means of addressing the lived experience of faculty members and department chairs, the following qualitative case study explores perceptions of implementing departmental and/or programmatic eliminations.

Utilizing uncertainty reduction theory as a conceptual framework, interviewed faculty in saved units experienced considerable strategic uncertainty, failing to understand why they had been selected for elimination. Guided by a college-wide strategic …

The Leadership Orientations And Effectiveness Of College And University Career Services Directors, Jacob A. Livengood

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Career service directors lead the third most common division within student affairs departments, but the leadership of a collegiate career services office has not been represented in higher education research. Obtaining a "good job" has consistently been noted as a main reason to attend college (Pryor, Hurtado, Saenz, Santos & Korn, 2007). The rising costs of higher education have also yielded the question, "What can college do for me?" financially and with future career opportunities (Baum & Payea, 2005; Moretti, 2004; Pryor, Hurtado, Saenz, Santos & Korn, 2007; Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, 2009). The functions of career services …

A Case Study Using Principal-Agent Theory To Explore How A Public, Four Year University Interacts With A System Office, Annie Macias

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The focus of this research was to examine the funding relationship between a single public institution of higher education and its accompanying system office. Such a study is important in order to obtain insight into the relationship between a System Office and an institution, and thus how institutions carry out their fiscal responsibilities, not directly to the state but to the System Office they serve. The study provides insight into how the System Office communicates and transacts with an institution regarding financial allocations. Also important is whether that institution receives effective communication and whether the institution's perceived expectations are as …

Comparing Division Ia Scholarship And Non-Scholarship Student-Athletes: A Discriminant Analysis Of Academic Performance, Lisa Melanie Rubin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many research studies have examined the academic performance and graduation rates of college student-athletes. The limited focus on scholarship student-athletes has overlooked the majority of NCAA student-athletes, those participating in collegiate athletic programs without athletic scholarships. Therefore, this study contributes to a gap in the literature about non-scholarship student-athletes. The following dissertation examined the academic performance, time-to-degree, and demographic and profile characteristics of Division IA scholarship and non-scholarship student-athletes. The theoretical framework for this study was work motivation viewing athletic scholarships as extrinsic rewards. The researcher applied descriptive discriminant analysis utilizing secondary data to compare scholarship and non-scholarship student-athletes across …

Exploring The Relationship Between First Year First Generation College Students And Their Parents, Jerica L. Turek

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The first year of college is one that is crucial for all students entering higher education due to the major transition issues that must be successfully navigated in order to persist to the sophomore year. Parental support has been shown to have a positive effect during this transition by providing positive coping mechanisms and allowing children to develop higher level of autonomy. The level of parental support is at a high level for members of the Millennial Generation, which is characterized by a close parent-child relationship, as well as a high level of parental involvement in the education process. While …

The Impact Of The Structure, Function, And Resources Of The Campus Security Office On Campus Safety, Patricia Anne Bennett

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The topic of this dissertation is college and university safety. This national quantitative study utilized resource dependency theory to examine relationships between the incidence of reported campus crimes and the structure, function, and resources of campus security offices. This study uncovered a difference in reported total crime rates, violent crime rates, and non-violent crime rates for colleges with police officers, internal security, contract security, hybrid departments, and no security office. This study examined the combination of institutional characteristics which best explain the occurrence of total campus crime, violent crime, and non-violent crime on campus. Two forms of data collection were …

Empowering Teachers: Characteristics, Strategies, And Practices Of Successful Principals, Cailin Patrice Ellis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study implemented an exploratory mixed-methods design to better understand how the characteristics of a principal, specifically the strategies, behaviors, and actions, lead to the perception of empowerment as perceived by the teachers themselves.

An expert panel identified three highly successful principals assigned to elementary schools within a large urban district. Each was the principal of the school for a minimum of 4 years that utilized and sustained a shared-governance structure. Site observations at the schools, as evidenced by principal supervisors, indicated a successful governance structure, strong educational focus, and a sustained data-driven design for school improvement.

The teachers at …

An Examination Of The Preparation, Experiences, And Attitudes Of Effective School Leaders Of Students With Disabilities: Voices From The Field, Patricia Ann Schultz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research reflecting the preparation, experiences, and attitudes of effective school leaders of students with disabilities is scarce despite the fervent federal requirements changing special education over the past four decades. Although there is extensive literature on perspectives and contexts of disability, the legislative journey toward special education, inclusion and educational leadership, the expanding role of the principalship, principal attitudes on inclusion, and preparing educational leaders for inclusive education, a review of the related literature revealed an absence of the skill-set and disposition needed by school leaders who are improving academic achievement for students with disabilities.

This qualitative dissertation study documents …

A Case Study Of Organizational Change: College Restructuring In Response To Mandated Department Eliminations, Brandy Dyan Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Faced with unprecedented budget cuts, Western University had implemented vertical cuts in the Spring of 2010 resulting in the elimination of two departments within their College of Education. Western University was not alone in its struggle. Institutions nationwide were coping with similar financial constraints, with freezes, consolidations, and eliminations becoming commonplace and threatening institutional quality.

The issue of how colleges and the leaders, groups, and individuals within them cope, process, and reorganize following eliminations has quickly gained importance, although there are few empirical studies to guide such changes. The existing literature on restructuring, particularly adaptability and change processes, has focused …

Job Stress, Mentoring, Psychological Empowerment, And Job Satisfaction Among Nursing Faculty, Catherine Emily Ebersole Chung

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The National League for Nursing (NLN) endorses mentoring throughout the nursing faculty career trajectory as the method to recruit nurses into academia and improve retention of nursing faculty within the academy (NLN, 2006). One way mentoring assists faculty is by easing socialization to the culture of the employing institution and decreasing faculty stress (Lewallen, Crane, Letvak, Jones, & Hu, 2003). Mentoring can also be a facilitating factor of an individual's psychological empowerment. Academia is an environment able to foster psychological empowerment, a state in which faculty may be self-directed, highly productive, confident, and find a meaningful connection to their work …

Causes Of Job Turnover In The Public School Superintendency: An Explanatory Analysis In The Western United States, Toby A. Melver

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine the factors that affect public school superintendent turnover in five western states. An explanatory theory was developed to cover all of the possible variables and show the relationship between those variables. The questions that guided this research study were:

(1) What environmental factors influence the tenure of superintendents in western states?

(2) What governance factors influence the tenure of superintendents in western states?

(3) What personal factors influence the tenure of superintendents in western states?

(4) What are the incentives and/or disincentives that influence the tenure of superintendents in western states? …

Bridging The Chasm: Emerging Model Of Leadership In Intercollegiate Athletics Governance, John C. Chandler Iii

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examined how the executive leadership model influenced the leadership and governance of intercollegiate athletics. The focus centered on understanding the role of Athletic Directors who concurrently serve as institutional Vice Presidents using the Social Constructivist framework. Qualitative analysis was utilized to achieve the kind of examination necessary to uncover the rich and in-depth perspectives of the participants. At the time of the study, there were 119 institutions housing NCAA Division IA athletic departments. Of the 119 distinct athletic departments, there were 17 athletic departments that employed an athletic director that had been appointed to the post of university …

College Choice Influences Among High-Achieving Students: An Exploratory Case Study Of College Freshmen, Derek Takumi Furukawa

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

College choice is an important process on the way to college matriculation. Understanding the motivators and influences of college choice can help an institution establish more effective methods of influencing the choice decision. This influence is even more significant among populations that are low in supply and high in demand, such as high-achieving students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore high-achieving student perceptions of the areas that may influence their college choice. In-depth focus groups and interviews were conducted with high-achieving students at a single institution in the Southwestern United States to establish perceptions of influences …

Resilient Leadership In High Poverty Schools, Edward P. San Nicolas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children in high poverty schools often receive inadequate services in dilapidated facilities while enduring inexperienced and unprepared educators (Darling-Hammond, 2004). Communities with a dense impoverished population in turn create school wide poverty, which is ultimately more detrimental than individual family poverty (Books, 2004). With most teachers leaving impoverished urban schools within the first five years, it is no surprise of the difficulty to retain qualified and professional school leaders. As suggested by Haberman (2005), attracting educators with specific qualities to fill these critical roles may be the best route to lasting success. Equally important is the possibility to transform existing …

It's A Matter Of Principal: Examining Relationships Between Leaders' Change Facilitator Style And Students' Academic Progress, Diane Lewis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

At no other time in the history of American education have school principals been faced with as many challenges as today. The era of accountability has increased the daily pressures of leading a school, while responsibility for student achievement is at an all time high.

Some studies have examined a leaders’ impact on teacher behaviors. Fewer studies have examined the possible impacts that principals have on student learning. In this study, leadership research was reviewed; not only in education, but in business, sports, and other fields. The traits and styles of leaders were explored in an attempt to define the …

Prayer In Jewish Community High Schools: Generation Y Jews In An Era Of Unlimited Choices, Yonatan Yussman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine and analyze tefilla (prayer) programs in three Jewish community high schools, as well as professional leadership practices in these schools as they related to prayer. The questions that guided this research were: (1) What does prayer education and practice look like in Jewish community high schools? (2) How is prayer education and practice perceived by key constituencies in Jewish community high schools? (3) How do educators and students in Jewish community high schools describe authentic prayer?

Site observations, interviews with students, faculty, and administration, as well as data collected from sources …

Comparing The Student Profile Characteristics Between Traditional Residential And Commuter Students At A Public, Research-Intensive, Urban Commuter University, Dan Gianoutsos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The residential-versus-commuter student comparison has been contemporaneous in higher education research since Arthur Chickering's classic study in 1974. However, the majority of these empirical comparisons were conducted at residential institutions or used a variety of institutions that were weighted toward residential institutions. Therefore, there is a need for further empirical research comparing traditional residential and commuter students at commuter institutions. This study compared the student profile characteristics, which were categorized as demographic, prematriculation, and matriculation, between traditional residential and commuter students at a public, research-intensive, urban commuter university. Status attainment served as the theoretical framework for this comparative classification study. …

Environmental Engagement Demand Differences Within And Among Holland Academic Environments, Derek K. Lester

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

College and university administrators have increased the use of measurements of student engagement to gauge the levels on their campuses. However, little research measures student engagement levels among different academic environments or different academic majors. Some research has been done that used Holland's theory of person/environment fit, and accompanying Hexagonal model, as a means to compare differences among academic environments. However, the validity of the assumptions that the model is based on has not been examined, nor the validity of the grouping of academic majors into environments.

The data set used for this study is the 2005 National Survey of …

Licensing Policies Of Public School Principals, Jerri Mausbach

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A descriptive rationalist policy analysis was used to examine current licensure policies in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. The differences and similarities between states that received Race to the Top competitive grant funds and those that did not were examined, in addition to the proposed policy reforms included in recipients of Race to the Top competitive grant funds. The demands made of public school principals in the 21st century have increased significantly. In addition to the continuing role of school manager, today's principals are also expected to be instructional leaders, and in some cases exemplary leaders.

With …

Engaging Non-Alumni Advisory Board Members In Hospitality Education, Judy A. Nagai

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Hospitality education programs within higher education institutions often rely upon members of the hospitality industry to serve as volunteer advisory board members. A common role for volunteers of an academic program advisory board is to serve as a credible link between the formal education and degree earning process to the hospitality industry, provide insight and advice on current issues and trends, assist in developing industry relationships, and share their time and resources to help promote the program (Edwards, 2008; Merrill, 2003). While volunteer advisory boards within higher education are often made up of both alumni and non-alumni, this study focused …

Analyzing The Relative Efficiency Of Nevada Secondary Schools, Jesse Welsh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A definitive answer to how to allocate school-level expenditures to yield the greatest "bang for the buck" has continually eluded education finance researchers. With increased regulation, oversight, and sanctions resulting from the No Child Left Behind Act, paired with financial strains on states' education budgets, measuring schools' production and efficiency has become urgent.

The methodology for this study was comprised of two phases. Phase I analyzed the per-pupil expenditures of middle and high schools over a three-year period and developed descriptive statistics that revealed the expenditure patterns by category. Phase II used a micro-level economic approach, data envelopment analysis, to …

A Change Of Heart: A Phenomenographic Study Of Conversation, Marjorie Kay Meckes Conner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study investigated the use of a school-level leadership model intended to explore the institutionalization of principal-teacher conversations as a tool in leading and learning. An elementary principal and two teachers at five elementary schools were selected for the study. Over an eight-week time, the principal and each teacher held a series of at least four conversations. The investigator interviewed each of the fifteen participants prior to any conversations, at the mid-point of the conversations and at the conclusion of all conversations. The purposes of this exploratory study were to document participant perceptions of the usefulness and importance of principal-teacher …

A Mixed Methods Exploration Of Principal Communication And School Climate, Reece Oswalt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Mixed methods triangulation research design was used in order to explore the relationship between principal communication and school climate. The Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire for Elementary Schools (OCDQ-RE) and interview protocols on principal communication were administered to principals and teachers at three elementary schools each having between 700-1000 students in an urban school district consisting of approximately 300,000 students. Each school had between 80-100% Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL), was designated Adequate according to No Child Left Behind Act (2001) as published in the 2009-2010 School Accountability Reports, and had a principal that had been assigned to that school for …

The Road Traveled To Becoming A Safe High School, Monica J. Pufky Cortez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many urban school districts share a common profile of high dropout rates, low graduation rates, high discipline statistics and acts of school violence, and low student achievement on assessments. Researchers have argued high schools are teaching students in ways that are not only ineffective but also fail to provide the requisite tools for students to achieve success in the 21st century (Gates Foundation, 2010). Additional voices claim urban high schools are not adequately preparing students to become successful citizens for a knowledge-based society (Cuban, 2007).

Using qualitative methodology, this naturalistic study revealed five factors that contribute to creating a safe …

Alumni Participation: An Investigation Using Relationship Marketing Principles, Lisa Ann Kelleher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study investigated in what ways alumni relations officers use relationship marketing principles, concepts, and bonding levels to strengthen the ties between alumni and their alma maters. Alumni programs and services at select high intensive research institutions of higher education were explored and an explanation was offered for how using relationship marketing in alumni relations might be beneficial. A literature synthesis, drawn from an extensive examination, evaluation, and interpretation of alumni relations and relationship marketing literature, helped to inform this exploratory study. Using a qualitative method of study, data was gathered through interviews with senior alumni relations officers, by observing …

Creating Effective Leadership Development Programs: A Descriptive Quantitative Case Study, Spencer Holt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An organization's long term success is strongly correlated with its ability to build effective and dynamic leaders. Many senior executives acknowledge that there is a lack of formal processes for developing new and current leaders who possess the appropriate skills, aptitudes, and perspectives needed to assume positions of leadership (Cadrain, 2005; Collins & Holton, 2004; Taylor, 2004). Organizations must be able to provide an environment in which future and current leaders learn how to effectively lead and carry out the missions of their companies. This study uses a descriptive quantitative case study method to explore what skills, behaviors, and practices …

Efficiency Of Fiscal Allocations In Site-Based Empowered Schools, Jerome Jay Meyer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study implemented a two phase concurrent mixed-methods design to generate a greater understanding of how elementary schools with increased autonomy in fiscal decision making allocated their money, how their site-based decisions affected allocative efficiency, and how increased autonomy affected site-based decision making when compared with a set of matched control schools within a large urban district.

Phase I compared school site expenditure patterns of site-based empowered schools to demographically matched control schools and to all elementary schools within a large urban district over four years, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08. Expenditure data were collected from the In$ite data base …