Education Commons^™

How To Cultivate Compassion As A Tool For Everyday Leadership, Paula Webster

Mindfulness Studies Theses

In this two-party thesis study, the need for compassion in our world is presented up front. Upon this foundation of the need for compassion, the building blocks that together comprise compassionate everyday leader are placed: leaders and leadership, mindful leadership, defining the everyday leader, mindfulness, compassion, and how to cultivate compassion. The evolution of broad concepts of leadership are reviewed, from a control-based approach to a more mindful leadership, social-intelligence based approach. In a mindful leadership approach, qualities of self-awareness are cultivated within and then manifest in relation to the leadership process. Everyday leadership is a more expansive and inclusive …

The Effects Of An Overnight Environmental Science Education Program On Students' Attendance Rate Change For Middle School Years, Jennifer Elizabeth Basham

Dissertations and Theses

Programs that engage middle students in participatory, real-world, and hands-on field based instruction can be a powerful asset to the educational experiences for students; motivating and inspiring some to appreciate and value school in a different way. Overnight environmental science programs have a unique opportunity to support students by creating experiences where students can participate in learning in vastly different ways from what they may engage with in the traditional 4-walled classroom, while concurrently developing a relationship with the natural world. Decreasing educational budgets and increased need to substantiate educational programs in terms of their impact on students has added …

Teachers' Attitudes And Their Effect On Placement Recommendations For Students With Cognitive Disabilities, Kathleen M. Everett

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

The implementation of Public Law 94-142 in 1974 guaranteed that students with disabilities had the right to be educated alongside their peers in the least restrictive environment. However, decades later, administrators, teachers, and parents continue to struggle to resolve the issue on how to include students with disabilities in general education classrooms, as well as how to recognize why students with cognitive disabilities were embodied more in self-contained classrooms than in comprehensive environments. In this study, I aimed to understand how special education teachers’ attitudes about inclusion, LRE, and students with cognitive disabilities influence placement recommendations. Through the qualitative thematic …

Comparison Of Beginning Teachers' And Experienced Teachers' Readiness To Integratetechnology As Measured By Tpack Scores, Heather S. Fontanilla

Dissertations

Despite a growing awareness of the importance of technology in education, increased investment and attention to preparing teachers to integrate technology into the classroom, research shows that technology continues to fail to live up to its potential for transforming education. As schools move from standards based testing to implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), an expectation exists that teachers will be using technology to transform their teaching practices. There is also an expectation that schools are providing students with 21st century skills, including the use of technology. In exploring the reasons teachers are not using technology effectively, much …

Enriching Teacher Self-Efficacy Through A Support Centric Evaluation Model: A Mixed Methods Study Of Team's Impact On Teacher Self-Efficacy, Elizabeth Marie Norton

Doctoral Dissertations

The effectiveness of teacher evaluation systems is determined by the extent to which they can support improved instructional practice. Research suggests that implementation factors such as attitudes of school leaders (Kimball & Milanowski, 2009), perceptions of fairness (Delvaux, Vanhoof, Tuytens, Vekeman, Devos, & Petegem, 2013), the relationship of the evaluator and the teacher (Weber, 1987), and the quality of the feedback provided can all impact the effectiveness of the evaluation system (Conly & Glasman, 2008; Danielson, 2012; Delvaux et al., 2013; Weber, 1987). This mixed methods study attempted to determine the extent to which these implementation characteristics occurring within the …

Effects Of Experience And Certification Level On Professional Development, Teacher Quality, And Increased Leadership Opportunities Of Nbcts, Jamie L. Burris

Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation was to provide insight into the perceptions of Arkansas National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in regard to how the certification process impacted teaching and learning and overall student achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of experience and certification level on the perceptions of NBCTs in Arkansas concerning the quality of professional development earned, enhanced teacher quality, and increased leadership opportunities as a result of the National Board Certification process. An additional purpose of this study was to determine specifically how NBCTs perceived the certification process influenced student achievement within the …

Effects Of Gender And School Size On Mathematics And Science Achievement For Students In Western Arkansas, Jason Edward Moore

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to research the effects of gender and school size on mathematics and science achievement for schools in western Arkansas. Related research revealed historical performance gaps in mathematics and science achievement between males and females, but also showed that those gaps have closed over the past few decades. However, the research also showed that there is still a large gap in the number of males and females working in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers. This study also investigated this trend within western Arkansas to determine whether the gender gap in STEM is caused …

Institutional Budget Function Allocations As Predictors Of Performance Outcomes Of Tennessee Public Community Colleges And Universities, Dearl D. Lampley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the increased use of performance funding in Tennessee and many other states, it is imperative that administrators strategically budget to meet performance outcome goals. The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between the budget function allocations of Instruction, Academic Support, and Student Services and performance outcome measures involving student success factors defined as completion of credit hours, awards of technical certificates, and awards of undergraduate degrees through the academic years of 2006-07 and 2013-14. The population included the 13 public community colleges and 9 public universities in Tennessee within the Tennessee Board of Regents and the …

Self-Efficacy And Teacher Retention: Perception Of Novice Teachers On Job Preparation, Job Support, And Job Satisfaction, Suzanne F. Redman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of novice teachers in 1 school district regarding their professional experiences. Novice teacher was defined as someone with 5 years or fewer in the teaching profession. The study was of an emergent design using phenomenological qualitative methods that included face-to-face interviews, triangulation of information, and analyzation with specific adherence given to understanding the social phenomena of the lived experience from the participants’ perspectives. Specifically, the study addressed possible relationships between novice teachers’ experiences and perceptions of success and self-efficacy that contribute to their choice of continuing in the profession …

Mentoring, Job Satisfaction, Job Dissatisfaction, And Organizational Commitment Among Graduate Nurses, Abisola Adeyomibo Santos

Theses & Dissertations

Shortage of bedside nurses has been researched for a long time. Many researchers have referred to different shortage percentages, but the American Nurse Association stated that the shortage of bedside nurses would increase in the range of 29% to 36% by 2020. It is also reported that a large number of newly graduated, newly hired nurses leave within one year as compared to newly hired experienced nurses. The purpose of this correlational study was to evaluate the influence of mentoring, mediating job satisfaction, job dissatisfaction, and, therefore, organizational commitment, on nurses who completed the nurse residency program between January 2010 …

Faculty Perceptions Of The Purpose And Value Of General Education: A Comparison Between The Liberal Arts And Health Professions, Shireen Rahman

All Theses And Dissertations

This study examined the perceptions of the purpose and value of the general education curriculum in those undergraduate faculty members who teach in the liberal arts and the health professions at the University of New England. Perceptions were evaluated within each college and then compared between each College. A mixed-methods approach was utilized with concurrent implementation of qualitative and quantitative strands. Data were gathered from the Faculty Survey on General Education which was completed by fifty-six (29.3%) of the undergraduate faculty members. In addition, twelve faculty members were randomly selected to participate in open-ended interviews. Descriptive statistics and independent t-tests …

Learning Support Effectiveness In Mathematics At A Tennessee University, Mark Dula

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Every year thousands of students graduate from high school and move on to higher education, but many of them are not yet prepared for college level courses. The Tennessee Board of Regents does not currently allow 4-year institutions to teach courses that are below college level, so many institutions are using programs such as learning support courses to assist a growing population of underprepared students. The purpose of this study was to determine if the 1-term and 2-term retention rates for students with the same ACT mathematics subsection scores were different between students who took a regular section of Probability …

Examining Teachers' Perceptions And Adaptations Related To The First-Year Of Implementation Of The Common Core State Standards In A Rural Elementary School In Central Illinois, Jason Vicich

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the latest mandated government policy of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which fully took effect during the 2014-2015 school year. The study sought to look at these changes through the eyes of a group of elementary teachers in rural Illinois as they work with and through these policy mandates during their initial year of implementation.

The study was conducted over the course of the 2014-2015 school year. Data was gathered through a three interview sequence, site visits and the administration of the SOCQ 75 …

A Simulation To Improve The Clinical Nursing Instructor’S Teaching Of Ethics To Students In The Clinical Setting, Cynthia S. Randall Dnp

All Student Scholarship

Ethical knowledge and skill is crucial to the discipline of nursing and is considered foundational knowledge for nursing practice (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2008). Nurses who assume roles in clinical teaching may be clinically competent but may have limited nursing education experience or knowledge in clinical instruction. The purpose of this project was to improve the educational experience of clinical instructors in the teaching of ethics to students in the clinical setting. This DNP capstone was a quality improvement project with a mixed method design using simulation as a teaching strategy. Eight clinical instructors from a university based baccalaureate nursing …

An Exploration Of Strategic Planning Perspectives And Processes Within Community Colleges Identified As Being Distinctive In Their Strategic Planning Practices, Lisa J. Augustyniak

Dissertations

Community college leaders face unprecedented change, and some have begun reexamining their institutional strategic planning processes. Yet, studies in higher education strategic planning spend little time examining how community colleges formulate their strategic plans. This mixed-method qualitative study used an expert sampling method to identify three AQIP-accredited community colleges in one Midwestern state that were viewed as leaders in strategic planning. Using their AQIP Systems Portfolios and interviews with their senior leadership, this study examined these colleges’ strategic planning perspectives (i.e., the “point of view” that an organization has chosen to use as a basis for formulating their strategic plan) …

From Networked Learning To Operational Practice: Constructing And Transferring Superintendent Knowledge In A Regional Instructional Rounds Network, Timothy J. Travis

Dissertations

Instructional rounds are an emerging network structure with processes and protocols designed to develop superintendents’ knowledge and skills in leading large-scale improvement, to enable superintendents to build an infrastructure that supports the work of improvement, to assist superintendents in distributing leadership throughout their district, and to develop a cadre of educational leaders focused on developing their practice (Rallis, Tedder, Lachman, & Elmore, 2006). In a platform-learning model, learning in a superintendents’ network can be viewed as occurring both individually and collectively on an external platform outside each individual school district (Schulz & Geithner, 2010). In this phenomenological study, I explored …

Creating A Framework For Success For High School African American Males: A Policy Advocacy Document, Ilandus Hampton Sr.

Dissertations

The policy advocacy document is an alternative to the traditional doctoral dissertation. This approach arose from the educational administration preparation reform agenda which calls for more thoughtful approaches to educational policy development, a concern that educational leadership express itself in a moral context, and a desire to develop reflective practices in administration. (Browder, 1995). This document attempts to ensure public schools, high schools in particular, are providing African American males with the skills and knowledge necessary to be academically successful so that they are given the opportunity and support necessary to achieve economic and social advancements throughout life. The policy …

Using Frequent, Unannounced, Focused, And Short Classroom Observations To Support Classroom Instruction, Lawrence T. Cook

Dissertations

This paper examines the need to do more frequent, short (10- to 15-minute), unannounced, and focused classroom observations to support classroom instruction. Currently, the state requires at least one to three classroom observations per teacher; the number of observations is based on tenured and rating status. Classroom observations consist of at least a 15- to 30-minute pre-observation, a 30- to 60-minute observation, and a 30- to 45-minute postobservation. The diagnostic framework of Wagner, Kegan, Lahey, Lemons, Garnier, Helsing, Howell, and Rasmussen’s (2006) systemic change plan was used. The process looked at current (As-Is) and future (To-Be) status of an organization …

Teacher Well-Being And Virginia Standards Of Learning, Matthew W. Mccarty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) were created by the Virginia Department of Education as a method to assess student learning. The SOLs were implemented in the mid-1990s and were used as end of grade and end of course assessments for grades 3-8 and secondary courses. The SOLs have taken on a foundational role within the Virginia public schools as they now count toward student graduation and teacher evaluation. Virginia now uses a teacher evaluation system that is in large part based upon student performance on the SOL assessments. This evaluation system is in place in all public school divisions …

Dual Enrollment And Community College Outcomes For First-Time, Full-Time Freshmen: A Quasi-Experimental Study, John M. Grubb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of dual enrollment course participation by comparing first-time, full-time traditional community college students who participated in dual enrollment (N=246) to peers (N=986) that did not participate. Dual enrollment participation was defined as taking one or more dual enrollment courses. The population for this study (N=1,232) included first-time, full-time students who graduated from public high schools in the service area of Northeast State Community College over a five year span from 2008 through 2012. Propensity score matching eliminated self-selection bias by controlling for confounding covariates …

Advocating For A Safe And Supportive School Environment: A Policy Advocacy Document, Zipporah K. Hightower

Dissertations

This proposed policy advocates for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to adopt the Safe and Supportive School Environment Improvement Plan. This improvement plan would be mandated for all schools that demonstrate low ratings on the 5Essentials Survey in the area of supportive environment and do not show academic improvement. The city of Chicago has implemented several projects to reform schools. The development of safe and supportive school environments has not been one of these initiatives, although there is ample data that identify which CPS schools have environments that are not conducive to learning. There is also ample research that supports the …

Higher Education Governance Structures And Operational Efficiency And Effectiveness Of 4 -Year Public Institutions, Angela H. Claxton-Freeman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study benchmarks 4-year public institutions in the Southern Regional Education Board to determine if there are significant differences between the institutions based on efficiency and effectiveness scores within the types of governance structures in operation among the states. Efficiency and effectiveness scores are also used to determine if there are significant differences between institutions based on state appropriation levels. In this quantitative study, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to collapse selected institutional data reported to IPEDS into effectiveness and efficiency scores which were then used as the dependent variables. The variable returns to scale (VRS) model was used …

The Relationship Between Ethical Regard And Academic Misconduct Among College Students, Susan Dickey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A correlational quantitative research project was conducted at a large public research institution in the Southeast to investigate the relationship between ethical regard and academic dishonesty among undergraduate college students. An online survey was completed by 273 undergraduates. Participant engagement in cheating behaviors established a Propensity To Cheat (PTC) score, which was then analyzed in conjunction with student characteristics, ethical self-perception, ethical ideology, and perception of cheating behaviors. Data were analyzed using ANOVAs, independent t tests, correlations, and descriptive statistics.

Findings indicate that students aged 22-23 were significantly more likely to cheat than students in other age ranges; Millennials were …

The Nature And Function Of Professional Support Networks For Teachers Of English Language Learners, Betsy Lynn Ferguson

Theses and Dissertations

The English learner (EL) population in the United States continues to grow. To improve their pedagogy in working with this population, many educators have received training in English as a Second Language (ESL), but the gap between ELs and their native English speaking peers persists. When teachers engage as members of professional support networks, they are more likely to successfully implement the strategies learned in their ESL professional development (Echevarria, Richards-Tutor, Chinn, & Ratleff, 2011). This study considered the nature and function of the professional support network of a district's ESL-endorsed teachers. Using network theory methods, 257 teachers and other …

National Survey On Leadership Capacity And Scaling-Up Of Pbis Implementation, Julie L. Lowery

Dissertations

This study examined State Education Agency (SEA) efforts to scale up Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation across K-12 public schools within the United States of America. The researcher used archival data to determine percentages of school within each state currently implementing PBIS and a survey method to determine each state’s status regarding standards of PBIS implementation and variables of leadership capacity. The survey instrument was the State PBIS Implementation and Leadership Survey (SPILS). The participants were SEAs from each state and the District of Columbia, as represented by PBIS Coordinators or other designated PBIS professionals. The purpose of …

Race And Ethnicity In The Hiring Process: An Experimental Study Of Millennial Undergraduate Attitudes Using Career Electronic Portfolios, Adam C. Swanson

Dissertations

The study examined whether undergraduate Millennial students living in different geographic regions of the United States evaluate a career electronic portfolio differently for racially diverse candidates. The researcher customized an online career e-portfolio for a fictitious candidate seeking to apply for a student leadership position at a college. The interactive e-portfolio contained a cover letter, resume, letter of recommendation, short biography, and a class project artifact. While the actual contents of the e-portfolio remained constant, a series of female-candidate photographs were manipulated to offer five unique study conditions. There was a career e-portfolio that displayed a photograph of an Asian …

What Keeps Us Here? Perceptions Of Workplace Supervision Among African American Men In Student Affairs, Todd C. Jenkins Jr.

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African American male professionals continue to be lower in numbers in the workplace across the United States compared to their White counterparts. However, the division of student affairs and student services of higher education institutions continue to serve as a gate way for African American men to serve as administrators. Several higher education institutions and sectors continue to invest in the recruitment and retention for African American male professionals, and research has shown that supervision is the key to employee professional development, performance, and success. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of African American male professionals’ …

Does A Positive Male Role Model Affect The Achievement Of Adolescent African-American Males? A Case Study, Elphin Maxwell Smith Jr.

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African-American males are at risk. A continuous cycle of low academic achievement, low academic attainment, and high incarceration rates threaten to end the lives of many of these young men one way or another. There are many challenges faced by African-American men that have caused economic opportunities to evade these young men. The concern is whether families, educators, and communities can help every African-American male achieve at a higher level in order to participate in better economic opportunities. This qualitative case study is designed to help families, educators, and community leaders understand and help African-American males achieve academically, close the …

The Relationship Between Middle School Design Implementation And An Open Organizational Climate, James Russell Lehman

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

The concept of middle school design found its origin through the early work of noted curriculum authority, Dr. William Alexander (Lounsbury, 2009). Recognizing the fact that preadolescents represented a time when young people were facing what may be the most difficult time in their lives, he challenged the educational community to provide a different type of instruction. Child-centered in philosophy, and centered around teacher-teacher, teacher-student, and student-student relationships, its central focus is to create a climate for personal growth and intellectual development. By its very nature it requires that people are willing to work together.

The concept of school climate …

A Partnership Between A Midwest Community College And The Highly Regulated Power Production Industry: A Case Study Regarding The Development Of An Energy Production Technology Program, Kenneth W. Flowers

Dissertations

With nearly every industry predicting severe employee shortages, the available worker pipeline, including the employed, may need to upgrade their skills. In addition, the number of jobs available will soon exceed the number of available workers, even if all the workers were skilled. This study investigated the perceptions held by key individuals within the energy industry regarding an Energy Production Technology degree program developed at one Midwest community college to help address worker pipeline issues in the energy industry.

This study discovered a void within present literature discussing the interaction between community colleges and the nuclear energy industry concerning the …