Education Commons^™

Branches In The Pipeline: Status-Seeking In Principal Licensure Candidates, Madhu Narayanan

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This paper investigates the reasons and motivations that people pursue administrative licenses. Questions such as who enrolls, why they choose to seek an administrative license, and what are their future goals, are all relevant to address challenges of principal attrition and turnover. With calls for the development of quality, equity-focused leaders, it is important to understand how motivations of entrants align with those of school districts and policy makers. This paper contributes to the research on the so-called “principal pipeline” by analyzing the reflections of candidates from an institutional perspective. This view considers modern schools to be social structures governed …

Must Be Present To Win: Principals' Perspectives On Exclusionary Discipline, William Jeremy Cohen

Dissertations and Theses

One of the persistent challenges in United States elementary schools is the ongoing use of exclusionary discipline practices. In Oregon, despite the application of a number of legal and policy shifts intended to reduce the use of suspension and expulsion in K-5 and K-8 schools, particularly for students of color, there continues to be an increase year-to-year of the number of students being excluded, the percentage of students excluded, and an increasingly disproportionate use of exclusion for students of color. Although the research shows that removing students from the learning environment does not improve student behavior nor improve overall school …

Emotional Intelligence And Resonant Leadership: Investigating School Principals' Preparation And Professional Development In Response To Covid-19 And Other Challenges, Ashlie Kaye Miller

Dissertations and Theses

Research has shown that high levels of emotional intelligence and resonant leadership can reduce workplace stress and increase the health, wellness, satisfaction, and performance of employees. Many K-12 principals face a myriad of challenges that tend to produce chronic stress, including the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, it is unclear how the preparation and professional development (PPD) programs available to principals incorporate and encourage resonant leadership practices that are needed to effectively cope with these challenges. This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to examine the perceptions of K-12 principals in Oregon regarding: (a) their needs and challenges, especially …

Voices Of Teacher Graduates: Preparation For Black Mattering In Schools, Loyce E. Caruthers, Jennifer Waddell, Bradley Poos, Ashley N. Smith

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The Institute for Urban Education (IUE) began in 2005, following unitary status of Kanas City Public Schools in 2003, as a four-year undergraduate urban teacher preparation program to prepare students to interrupt school-centered practices of Eurocentric identity and antiblackness. A program feature entails recruitment of high school students from urban communities and scholarships to support fulltime preparation without employment distractions. Graduates commit to teach for a minimum of four-years in an urban school. Our investigation incorporated BlackCrit with in-depth interviews to capture the experiences of nine graduates in the schools where they teach or engage in school leadership. While testimonials …

The Experiences Of Teachers Successfully Teaching Reading To Black Students, Kevin Michael Walker

Dissertations and Theses

Racist laws and subsequent educational policies and practices have resulted in schools in the United States failing to teach Black students reading. Historically, a racial achievement gap in elementary reading has existed throughout the history of the United States and has persisted to current times. As the population of students of color increases in the United States, we must investigate how teachers create equitable educational outcomes for students who have been historically underserved and oppressed by our education system. Teachers who are successful in ensuring our Black students have the opportunity to experience success in reading are actively disrupting the …

Settler Colonial Curriculum In Carlisle Boarding School: A Historical And Personal Qualitative Research Study, Patrick Gerard Eagle Staff

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation research study brings together a historical account and one scholar's personal and family stories of how Indigenous children were stolen and sent to the first Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) boarding schools and tribal schools. In the case of the researcher's family, the educational experiences at Carlisle Indian Industrial School immediately started a traumatic assimilation process on Indigenous children that instilled generational trauma for them and their descendants. At these schools, Indigenous children were forced to conform to a foreign European school designed to abolish their Indigenous identity that demanded they give up their language and culture to …

School Safety Assessment: Responses From School Principal Interns, Cynthia Johnson

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

School shootings in America occur with alarming frequency and little predictability or allowance for preparation and planning. This crisis demands attention and assessment from a variety of stakeholders, especially school leaders. Future school leaders require a curriculum that includes safe school assessment and intervention. Washington state school administrator interns responded to a safe school assessment checklist of key attributes to assess their knowledge of safe school planning and intervention. The findings indicate inconsistency in preparation and planning and provide an opportunity for school leaders to address school safety that can lead to the preparation and development of an extensive network …

Administrators' Insights Into The Preparation And Performance Of New Teachers, Sarah J. Kaka, Jennifer A. Tygret

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

There are few studies that focus on the perceptions and experiences of school administrators toward new teachers; however, understanding of both are required for accreditation. Furthermore, the school administrators’ perceptions of the training, as well as teachers’ performance and impact on student learning during their first years of teaching is vital to determine how new teachers are performing in the classroom. This case study explored these perceptions and three main themes emerged: Indicators of New Teacher Effectiveness, Evidence of Impact on Student Learning, and Identified Areas for Growth. Insight for understanding ways to improve teacher preparation are included.

The Balancing Act: A Look At Dynamic School District Boundaries, Sheila Martin, Madison Levy

Metroscape

How do school districts throughout the Portland region respond to changes in student populations that cause overcrowding or under enrollment? In this article, we explore some of the key trends in school enrollment, describe the challenges faced by some of the districts in the region, and describe how different districts address those challenges.

Perceptions Of Hmong Parents In A Hmong American Charter School: A Qualitative Descriptive Case Study On Hmong Parent Involvement, Kirk T. Lee

Dissertations and Theses

Parental involvement plays an essential role in the United States (U.S.) educational system. However, parental involvement poses many challenges for Hmong parents in American schools. Many assumptions are made on the parts of teachers, staff, and Hmong parents about parents' roles pertaining to their involvement in their children's education. Hmong parents struggle to reconcile beliefs, attitudes, and values that they bring with them from Laos with the expectations found in the U.S. due to their unfamiliarity with the U.S. educational system.

This study employed the used a qualitative, descriptive case study approach to examine the perceptions of Hmong parents involvement …

The Use Of Anti-Bullying Policies To Protect Lgbt Youth: Teacher And Administrator Perspectives On Policy Implementation, Michelle Lauren Holliday

Dissertations and Theses

Although in recent years there has been increased attention on bullying prevention and bullying legislation in the United States, there is limited research on the implementation of anti-bullying policies. Moreover, few studies have addressed the use of anti-bullying policies to protect LGBT youth from bullying. The present study seeks to examine the role of anti-bullying policies as a means to protect against bullying based on perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. Qualitative interviews with high school teachers, administrators, and staff members within an urban school district in the United States were conducted to gain insight into how those charged with …

Principal Leadership Practices In High Poverty K-5 Model Schools In Oregon, Janice Marie Adams

Dissertations and Theses

Children living in poverty in the United States face some of life's greatest challenges, including achieving academic success in school. Evidence is also emerging of a growing income disparity in America that affects families, communities and local labor markets in ways that can undermine the effectiveness of schools serving disadvantaged populations (Duncan & Murnane, 2011). Evidence exists, however, that high academic performance is within the reach of all children in high poverty schools, and that principal leadership is a contributing factor.

This study examined principal leadership practices in three high poverty K-5 elementary schools in Oregon identified as Model schools …

Leadership And Decision-Making Skills Of High Poverty Elementary School Principals In An Era Of Reduced Resources, Kevin Eugene Spooner

Dissertations and Theses

Recently, a great deal of interest has been generated around the role of principal and its effectiveness, especially its impact on improving teacher instruction and student learning. Waters, Marzano, and McNulty (2003) concluded that one quarter of all "school effects" on achievement can be attributed to principals. While there is general agreement on the principal's importance and affect, do we understand how principals have adapted to changes in schools with reduced resources and increased learning needs of students? How have principals made decisions in an environment where resources have been reduced over time? Given the stories of retired principals from …

Developmental Perspectives On Motivational Resilience: Predictors Of Eighth-Grade At-Risk Students' Academic Engagement And Achievement, Heather Anne Brule

Dissertations and Theses

This study uses the concept of stage-environment fit (Eccles et al., 1993) in conjunction with self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) to guide an investigation of at-risk eighth graders' motivational and academic resilience. A developmentally-calibrated method was used to divide students into motivational and academic resilience groups based on their resilient, average, or stress-affected levels of academic engagement and GPA. Data from 167 eighth graders and 155 sixth graders were used to examine the extent to which students' ratings of autonomy, teacher support, peer support, and engagement in garden-based education were related to resilience group membership, and whether these four …

Mathematical Content Knowledge For Teaching Elementary Mathematics: A Focus On Whole-Number Concepts And Operations, Eva Thanheiser, Ian Whitacre, George J. Roy

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report represents part of a recent effort to summarize the state of knowledge of prospective elementary teachers' (PTs') mathematics content knowledge and the development thereof. Extensive reviews of the research literature were conducted by a recent PME-NA Working Group across various content areas. This report focuses on whole number and operations. Research in this area is scarce. What we do know from the literature is that PTs' knowledge of whole number and operations is insufficient and in need of improvement. PTs reason about whole numbers and operations in ways that are tied to the standard algorithms. At the same …

Designing Innovative Alternatives To Traditional High Schools: What Leaders Need To Know, Chester Roy Edwards

Dissertations and Theses

The need for new and innovative alternatives to traditional high schools has never been greater. Never designed to graduate all students on time, traditional high schools and their high dropout rates have remained unchanged for the last 30 years. Improving secondary schooling for all young people is a worthwhile social and educational objective. Many school leaders want to create alternative high schools but may lack the knowledge of what to do, nor may they have a comprehensive design process to follow.

The research question explored in this dissertation is: What do leaders in education need to know to design innovative …

Developing The Instructional Leadership Skills Of High School Principals In Tanzania: A Problem-Based Learning Approach, Peter N. Siamoo

Dissertations and Theses

Underachievement among secondary students in Tanzania is tragic: the failure rate on the national exams after the fourth year is between 65 to 100 percent (Mushi, 2011). The literature affirms that student learning is primarily improved by enhancing quality classroom instruction while the second most impactful strategy is consistent school leadership to ensure that effective practices are utilized in the classroom (Blase & Blase, 2004; Chenoweth & Everhart, 2002; Fink & Markholt, 2011; Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004; Leithwood, Harris, & Strauss, 2010; Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005). Despite the research, the researcher's pilot study revealed that there is …

Finding The Gifted Child's Voice In The Public Elementary School Setting: A Phenomenological Exploration, Keely S. Porter

Dissertations and Theses

Who are talented and gifted (TAG) students and how do we meet their unique needs in the elementary school setting? The body of literature clearly articulates the unique intellectual, social and emotional needs and characteristics of TAG students. Additionally, the literature supports the implementation of differentiated teaching strategies and affective curriculum to help meet these unique needs. This descriptive phenomenological study allowed gifted children, in fifth grade from a Pacific Northwest suburban elementary school, to share their lived experiences through reflective narratives and art. The data collected generated a central theme of Friends and general themes of Awareness, Feelings, Learning, …

Not For The Faint Of Heart: The Social Construction Of Oregon Charter Schools, Anthony Dean Valley

Dissertations and Theses

Over the past two decades, pressure to both reform public education and provide educational choices for families has led to the creation of charter schools. Charter schools are based on the premise of operational autonomy in exchange for accountability for agreed upon results. Their appeal is widespread, with over 2,000 charter schools opening in the United States since 1990.

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study is to describe the process of initiating a charter school. Eight key informants representing five Oregon charter schools were included in the study. These key informants were directly involved in the formation of their …

Factors Influencing Middle School Teachers To Change Classroom Practice In Response To Standards-Based Reform, Gayle Yvonne Thieman

Dissertations and Theses

In an environment of systemic educational reform, which emphasizes the alignment of curriculum standards, instructional practices, and assessments, an important question arises: What are the factors which influence teachers to change their classroom practice in response to standards-based reforms ? My study examined the initial legislative model, Washington Education Reform Act HB1209 (1993), and tested other factors that led to changes in classroom practice in three middle schools which are currently implementing HB1209.

The case studies included multiple sources of evidence (administrator and teacher interviews, surveys, classroom observations, focus groups, and documents). The data were analyzed for each school individually …

An Evaluation Of A Staff Mentor Program For At-Risk Students In An Oregon High School: Cake (Caring About Kids Effectively), Gail Lenore Hayes

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the effect of a staff-mentoring program with students identified as at-risk of becoming early leavers. This mentoring program, Caring About Kids Effectively (CAKE), was implemented at a suburban secondary school in Oregon serving grades 9 through 12.

The study of the CAKE program had four research components: (a) indicators of school success (GPA, attendance, and attitudes toward school) were compared between at-risk students and those not at-risk; (b) indicators of school success were analyzed over the time at-risk students were mentored to find any significant change; (c) indicators of school success and enrollment status at graduation was …

A Comparative Study Of Perceptions Of Superintendents, High School Principals, And High School Department Chairs On The Role Of The High School Academic Department Chair: The Voice Of The Administrator, William Anthony Korach

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this exploratory descriptive study was to provide a first step in clarifying the role of the high school academic department chair as it is currently practiced in the state of Oregon. The study examined from the administrative perspective the potential for the continued development of the educational leadership role of the department chair as an administrative resource for instructional improvement. A researcher-constructed questionnaire was used to gather data from 27 Oregon school district superintendents, 34 high school principals, and 118 high school department chairs from English, math, science, and social studies departments in those same high schools.

Being An Assistant Principal, Becoming An Administrator: An Organizational Socialization Study, Connie Dickman

Dissertations and Theses

Many school administrators begin their careers in educational administration as assistant principals. The literature on assistant principals contributes very little to an understanding of the perspectives that assistant principals develop during their organizational socialization experiences and of the conditions and processes that influence the development of these socialization outcomes. The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical understanding of the perspectives that emerge from assistant principals' organizational socialization experiences. Symbolic interactionism established the theoretical and methodological foundation for this study. The sensitizing concepts of perspective (Becker, Geer, Hughes, & Strauss, 1961), situational adjustment (Becker, 1964), and organizational boundary …

A Non-Decision-Reaching Decision-Making Process, Wei Wei Lou

Dissertations and Theses

Decision-making processes are among the most important activities within human organizations. This dissertation is a case study of decision-making in the review of high school graduation standards in an urban school district. The review process lasted three years and was terminated before any decision was reached concerning graduation standards. The purpose of this study is to answer three questions: Why would a decision-making process be terminated before any results are achieved? Under what circumstances do decision makers choose to let the process die? What do such decision making processes reveal about the organization? This case study employs the rational choice …

Characteristics Of Marginally Achieving Secondary Students And The Nature Of Their School Experience, Aeylin Summers

Dissertations and Theses

In American high schools, students are sorted into three "tracks" to cluster resources for students of similar abilities and interests. Much is known about the high track student, and especially in the past decade, the low track or "at-risk" student. However, the middle track--or marginally achieving student--has been largely overlooked in the literature. Acknowledged as "lost in the middle" (Judson, 1992), as well as deserving of higher quality of service in their school systems (Powell, Farrar, & Cohen, 1985), marginal achievers-defined here as having a GPA of 1.5-2.5, still maintain a profile of invisibility. Current reform efforts to increase student …

A Diagnostic Analysis Of Elementary Principal' Practices Which Serve Youth At-Risk Of School Failure, Rikki Kenneth Patrick

Dissertations and Theses

This study provides a description of the practices elementary school principals employ to reduce the likelihood that at-risk youth will actually experience school failure. The problem investigated in this study is reflected in this broad question: What is the relationship of principals' practices to the provision of service for at-risk youth?

Differences in the importance and frequency of use of practices by principals were compared. Variables such as school size, percentage of students who are eligible for free lunch, percentage of students who are at-risk, student mobility, and principal's rating of how successfully their school is serving at-risk youth were …

A Study Of The Career Education Program At Mountain View Intermediate School, Beaverton School District #48, Beaverton, Oregon, William Calvin Greene

Dissertations and Theses

The following report deals with the career education program at Mountain View, one of six intermediate schools in the Beaverton school District #48.

During the summer of 1974, four Mountain View faculty members developed what they titled the Mountain View Intermediate School Career Educational Resource Guide (CERG).

The faculty members developed this guide keeping in mind the requirements of the Master Plan but also adding specific references relating to what direction they felt the career education program at Mountain View should take.

The CERG was designed in such a way that career related activities for each grade level were broken …

A Program Of School Social Work, Phyllis Marie Jaszkowiak

Dissertations and Theses

School social work is in a state of flux. Traditional casework services in the schools, as the only function of the school social worker, is becoming less viable.

The study of Assumption school and area points out some problem areas, as well as strengths. In view of these problems and strengths, a broadened school social work program is discussed. The program centers around prevention, treatment, and research. A basic principle upon which all is based is a team approach of social work, school, and community. The discussion leads to the community school concept, which is currently seen as one of …

A Study Of Open Space Schools, Carol Ormiston

Dissertations and Theses

By the spring of 1972 Beaverton School District had five open space schools in operation and three others under construction. These schools are built without separate, individual classrooms. Space is more flexible and can be used in a number of ways. Open space buildings provide the setting for a new kind of teaching and learning process.

Within the Beaverton School District, the Department of Administrative Services was requested to provide information regarding the operation of the open space teaching and learning process. As a result a plan was developed for a descriptive study of some aspects of open space as …

"Speech", Edith Green

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.