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Full-Text Articles in Education

Role Ambiguity In An Era Of Accountability: A Collective Case Study Of The Texas School Board President Experience, Kerri Daugbjerg Sep 2014

Role Ambiguity In An Era Of Accountability: A Collective Case Study Of The Texas School Board President Experience, Kerri Daugbjerg

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe role ambiguity for three school board presidents at Rydell Independent School District in Rydell, Texas. In describing role ambiguity as the school board president perceives it, I sought to describe how role ambiguity is impacted by one's self-efficacy, state accountability standards, and transformational leadership capabilities. Research questions framing the study included: How does the school board president's self-efficacy influence role ambiguity? How does role ambiguity impact the school board president as a transformational leader in the district? How do Texas accountability standards impact role ambiguity of the school board president? …


The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction, Teacher Absenteeism, And Intermediate School Achievement In Math And Language Arts: A Correlational Study, Daniel Winters Aug 2014

The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction, Teacher Absenteeism, And Intermediate School Achievement In Math And Language Arts: A Correlational Study, Daniel Winters

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the relationship between teacher absenteeism and student achievement in math and language arts in the rural environment. Classical Economic Theory was used as a foundation in combination with Choice Theory and The Model of Learning to examine the role of the teacher and how the chronically absent teacher impacts the quality of learning for the student. The nature of substitute teaching was reviewed as well as how a break in continuity of instruction, caused by the chronically absent teacher, affects the overall quality of the educational environment. The amount of time teachers are absent from instructional duties …


A Case Study Of The Characteristics Of A Lead Administrator Of A Full-Time Faith-Based Virtual School, Todd English Jul 2014

A Case Study Of The Characteristics Of A Lead Administrator Of A Full-Time Faith-Based Virtual School, Todd English

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this instrumental case study is to investigate the leadership characteristics of the lead administrator at East Online Academy (EOA). At this stage in the research, characteristics will be generally defined as the daily actions that affect the success or failure of leading the organization. The term "lead administrator" will refer to any individual who is the overall leader of the organization. The lead administrator for this study will be the director of the online school. The rationale for the study is a void in the literature addressing the characteristics of an administrator in the daily operation of …


The Effect That Confidence Has On The Behavior Of The Principal And Superintendent As The School's Educational Leader, Thomas Thompson Jul 2014

The Effect That Confidence Has On The Behavior Of The Principal And Superintendent As The School's Educational Leader, Thomas Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative bounded, multi-site case study was to explore the effect that confidence has on the behavior of the principal and superintendent as the school's educational leader. The participants of this study were principals and superintendents of eight K-12 institutions in Northern Colorado. While the data addressing this multi-level epistemological observation are revealed through the narrative process, the framework for observing and codifying the research was derived from a qualitative multi-site case methodology where participants engaged in interviews and surveys, and whereby the researcher synthesized three research fields into one. Data were collected from the participant leaders …


Leadership Qualities Necessary For Educational Leaders To Become Effective Turnaround Principals: A Grounded Theory Study, Sherri Irish Jul 2014

Leadership Qualities Necessary For Educational Leaders To Become Effective Turnaround Principals: A Grounded Theory Study, Sherri Irish

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was two-fold: to understand how educational leaders help failing schools and to generate a theoretical model to explain the leadership qualities necessary to elicit a successful turnaround. Four research questions related to turnaround principals' experiences and leadership qualities guided this study. Participants included four middle and high school principals within the state of Michigan. Participants were selected based on their involvement in successfully turning around a failing school. Data was collected through surveys, interviews, and observations. Data was analyzed using the grounded theory process of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding …


Understanding Teacher Perceptions Of Bullying And Effectiveness Of An Anti-Bullying Policy: A Case Study Of Suburban High School Teachers In The Southwestern U.S., James Isom May 2014

Understanding Teacher Perceptions Of Bullying And Effectiveness Of An Anti-Bullying Policy: A Case Study Of Suburban High School Teachers In The Southwestern U.S., James Isom

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this multiple-case study was to understand teacher perceptions of bullying and the effectiveness of the current anti-bullying policy of a suburban district in the southwestern U.S. Teacher perceptions will be generally defined as what teachers personally believe about bullying and how they perceive the effectiveness of the district's anti-bullying policy. Data was collected from three sources, interviews, teacher journals, and observations. Cross case synthesis was used to treat each case separately and then combine identified themes across cases. Data showed that teachers perceive the policy to be somewhat effective. However, significant gaps exist that need to be …


Working On The Work Framework For Engagement: Impacting Students' Perceived Learning, Attitudes Toward School, And Achievement, Michael Forehand Apr 2014

Working On The Work Framework For Engagement: Impacting Students' Perceived Learning, Attitudes Toward School, And Achievement, Michael Forehand

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A quasi-experimental, pre-test post-test nonequivalent control group study was utilized to determine the difference in students' perceived learning, attitudes toward school, and achievement when participating in classes utilizing engagement design qualities as compared to students in classes not utilizing engagement design qualities. To inform the relationship between student engagement, perceived learning, attitudes toward school, and achievement, Csikszentmihalyi's Theory of Flow was utilized as a theoretical framework along with the implementation of Schelchty's Working on the Work (WOW) Framework with 178 third grade students in a Metro-Atlanta school system. A perceived learning questionnaire, the Elementary Form of the Battle Student Attitude …


Working Towards School Goals At Lion Elementary: A Phenomenological Study, Benjamin Butcher Apr 2014

Working Towards School Goals At Lion Elementary: A Phenomenological Study, Benjamin Butcher

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study was to understand the perspectives of educators regarding school goals at Lion Elementary. Perspectives concerning school goals were generally defined as the importance of competing priorities as described by participants. This research can inform educators about whether perspectives regarding school goals were aligned, and provide insight regarding the reasons behind similarities and differences by having considered several questions: (a) What were the perceptions of the principal and teachers regarding school goal priorities? (b) What were the main challenges they perceived for meeting school goals? (c) What factors contributed toward schools successfully meeting goals? …


Return On Investment: A Multisite Case Study Of Cost-Effective, High Achieving South Carolina School Districts, Timothy Nelson Apr 2014

Return On Investment: A Multisite Case Study Of Cost-Effective, High Achieving South Carolina School Districts, Timothy Nelson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this multisite case study was to understand and explain how a school district can be cost-efficient and sustain high student academic achievement. Based on a 2011 study, three school districts were selected because they had high ratios of student academic achievement to per pupil expenditures. The school districts differed in size, geographic location, student body demographics, and district organizational structure. Using a postpositivist perspective and a transformational leadership theoretical framework, 15 in-depth interviews with district leaders and school principals were conducted along with evaluation of district archives and South Carolina school report card data. A flexible, qualitative …


Effects Of Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports On Middle School Student Achievement, Chad Knowles Apr 2014

Effects Of Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports On Middle School Student Achievement, Chad Knowles

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Today's teachers face more frequent and more severe challenges than perhaps any generation of teachers that have come before them. Administrators attempt to support teaching in an environment of ever-increasing accountability and dwindling financial resources with new and innovative strategies. One such strategy employed by modern educators has been the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) model for clear behavioral expectations and pyramids of intervention for targeted support for students. This study compared a middle school that employs PBIS with a middle school that does not, to determine if there was any statistical improvement realized on academic achievement. Two diverse …


Educators' Perceptions Regarding Common Core State Standards And Professional Development, Christine Hipsher Mar 2014

Educators' Perceptions Regarding Common Core State Standards And Professional Development, Christine Hipsher

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the impact of the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Georgia K-12 on the professional development needs of educators. Across the United States the enactment of a Common Core State Standards went into effect. The primary goal of the Common Core State Standards movement was to clarify standards. Accordingly, this study reviewed Social Learning Theory and Constructivism. The research questions in this study examined the types of support educators requested. The research conducted in this multiple case study analyzed teachers' perceptions about the implementation of the CCSS and …


The Relationship Between Principal Leadership And Teacher Morale In The Elementary Schools In A Northwest Georgia School District, Daniel Webb Mar 2014

The Relationship Between Principal Leadership And Teacher Morale In The Elementary Schools In A Northwest Georgia School District, Daniel Webb

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the difference between 2012 CRCT math sores based on principal leadership styles and teacher morale, as well as the relationship between teacher morale and 2012 CRCT math scores at each of the 12 elementary schools within a Northwest Georgia county school district. There is a gap in current research regarding the importance of teacher morale and principal leadership at the elementary level, and another gap exists in research that compares teacher morale and student success. Teacher morale was quantified through the use of the Purdue Teacher Opinionaire (PTO), principal leadership practices were quantified through the use of …


The Relationship Between Servant Leadership And Student Achievement In Southwest Virginia Schools, Christopher Crabtree Feb 2014

The Relationship Between Servant Leadership And Student Achievement In Southwest Virginia Schools, Christopher Crabtree

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this correlational study is to test the theory of servant leadership that relates the servant leadership characteristics of school principals to student achievement in Southwest Virginia schools. The primary independent variable was principals' servant leadership characteristics as derived from a self-assessment survey (SASL). The dependent variable was student achievement as measured by students' scores on the Virginia Department of Education Standard of Learning achievement tests in math and reading. Other variables tested were principal total experience in education, principal total experience in administration and principal education level. The data analysis chosen for this research is the Pearson …


Grade Retention Rates: Impact Of Standards-Based Grading As Compared To A Traditional Grading System In 3rd And 5th Grades, Mishea Dean Jan 2014

Grade Retention Rates: Impact Of Standards-Based Grading As Compared To A Traditional Grading System In 3rd And 5th Grades, Mishea Dean

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Student retention is a contentious issue that has spawned considerable debate among school leaders and policymakers. NCLB's accountability requirement has led to the development of a standards-based grading system to ensure students master content and so schools can meet AYP goals. This causal comparative study examined whether a change from a traditional grading system to a standards-based system affected the student retention frequency rate. Convenience sampling was used to collect retention data on third and fifth grade students who attended four Title 1 schools in northeast Georgia during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years when the grading system changed. A …


Development Of An Instrument To Measure The Attitudes Of Christian School Leaders Towards Factors That May Influence Their Decisions To Implement Special Education Programs, Julia Elliott Jan 2014

Development Of An Instrument To Measure The Attitudes Of Christian School Leaders Towards Factors That May Influence Their Decisions To Implement Special Education Programs, Julia Elliott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to develop and field-test the School Leader's Special Education Decision-Making Scale and to determine its validity and reliability for use with Christian school leaders. This 11-item scale, derived from the literature, measures the attitudes of Christian school leaders towards decisions to implement a special education program based on four factors: shared vision, parental considerations, teacher input, and religious concerns. This study was exploratory in nature and sought to extend a previous qualitative study by determining a way to quantify six intangible factors identified in that study. Three panels of experts in the fields of …


Novice, Rural New York State Teacher Perceptions Of Their Classroom Management And How These Perceptions Affect Their Job Satisfaction And Retention, Shawn Bielicki Jan 2014

Novice, Rural New York State Teacher Perceptions Of Their Classroom Management And How These Perceptions Affect Their Job Satisfaction And Retention, Shawn Bielicki

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological inquiry listened to the voices of five novice teachers from a rural area in New York about their encounters with classroom management and their perceptions of job satisfaction and retention. Data were triangulated through the use of four audio recordings, an online focus group featuring two online discussion board topics and two online discussion board replies, and two individual phone interviews per participant. Data analysis resulted in nine emerged themes. Findings indicated that participants felt (a) experience was necessary to succeed; (b) issues with classroom management are part of the job; (c) approaches to classroom management were …