Education Commons^™

Mandatory Busing And Desegregation: Wichita, 1954 – 1999, Pilar Pedraza-Bailey

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Wichita opened its first officially integrated school in 1954. Yet, by 1965, approximately 85% of schools in Wichita were predominantly white. After a 1966 complaint to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) and a protracted legal battle, a federal administrative judge ordered the district to come up with a plan for integration or lose federal funding in 1971. The resulting mandatory busing plan remained in effect in Wichita for more than 40 years. Yet, in 2016, nine years after the official end of mandatory busing in Wichita, 25% of the city’s schools had already returned to what the …

Social Media In Baptist Churches, Robin Amankwah

Dissertations

The integration of social media into Chicago Baptist Churches congregants recently increased over the last few years. This research study allowed church leaders to determine if social media was an effective media outlet in Baptist churches on the Southside of Chicago. The evaluation research approach was to assess the effectiveness of social media, in particular Facebook and Instagram. Within this conceptual framework, the researcher was able to produced flexible, fixed, and multi-design strategies to abstract a full spectrum of evaluation. The subsequent methodology focused on the dual use of social media and themes that coincide, specifically, marketing, politics, communication awareness, …

Sensemaking In The Process Of Inquiry: A Qualitative Case Study Of A Networked Improvement Community, Bethany Fillers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There are persistent and pervasive issues plaguing American education, and almost seventy years of educational reform efforts have failed to adequately improve educational outcomes for many of America’s children. Networked improvement communities (or NICs) are a type of social organization created to address such problems and are proposed as an effective and efficient way to organize improvement efforts. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the sensemaking experience of a newly-formed networked improvement community as members engaged in inquiry around a chosen problem of practice. During network initiation, NIC members engage in experiences to collaboratively identify and …

Enablers And Barriers Influencing African American Administrators’ Career Advancement At Predominantly White Institutions Of Higher Learning, Larry Webster

Dissertations

Many Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) of higher learning do not have enough African Americans to lead their institutions in curriculum development, mentoring, recruitment, and governance (Reyes & Rios, 2005). Previous studies have attributed the modest representation of African American administrators to systemic barriers impeding the recruitment and advancement of African Americans at PWIs of higher learning (Jones, 2007; Perna, Gerald, Baum, & Milem, 2007). Ideally, the administrative leadership at PWIs of higher learning would adequately represent—ethnically and racially—its student population (Higgs, 2014). Levin, Walker, Haberler, and Jackson–Boothby (2013) suggest minimal progress in hiring African American administrators at PWIs of higher …

The Importance Of Leadership Motivational Activities In Encouraging International Students To Return To Their Tier 1 Universities, Eric Hall

Dissertations

Abstract

The problem is international students are not returning to their undergraduate Tier 1 institutions during a period when quality student enrollment is essential, and there is scant research on academic advising strategies that can be used to combat international student attrition at these universities (O’Keefe, 2013). Studies have often lumped all international students together and made efforts to attract more international students, but the reasons why international students chose research universities, and returned, were not being investigated in this manner (Hegarty, 2014).

The purpose of this proposed study was to gain an understanding of the decision-making and reasoning processes …

Creating Sustainable Support Systems For The Cultural Integration Of International Students At A Medium Size Ontario University, Muzi Li

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This OIP investigates the lack of cultural integration and support for international students at Medium-Size Ontario University (MSOU). The support for cultural integration of the international students at MSOU is inadequate and international students are facing social, emotional and academic challenges as they are not provided with the needed assistance to acclimatize to Western culture. Three potential solutions to address the PoP are demonstrated and evaluated. The chosen solution of implementing extended orientation and workshops is inspected in detail. Transformational Leadership and Confucianism are examined to ensure their relevancy and appropriateness to address this PoP and OIP and connected to …

Bridging The Gender Gap: Women In Stem Management, Kathryn Skeeters

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to study the current effects of training and accommodations on women in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fields. Currently, there is a lack of women at the senior levels in the STEM field. This study evaluates the current literature as well as the personal experiences of 14 subjects. This information was collected through interviews. No personal data besides gender and age is communicated in the paper, with company names and signifiers removed. With the information gleaned from this research, the study evaluates the current programs and assesses a path forward. The assumption from …

Teacher Perceptions Of Environmental Science In Rural Northwestern New Mexico Public Schools, Marie Quiahuitl Julienne

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

In this study, I explored what teachers perceive as the factors that impact their teaching of environmental science in rural secondary level schools in northwestern New Mexico. I adapted Bronfenbrenner’s (1994) ecological systems model, based on four environmental subsystem levels (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem), as the conceptual framework to address the major research question of this study, and developed 18 interview questions to explore teachers’ perceptions of factors that influence their teaching of environmental science. I investigated the perspectives science teachers have about environmental science topics and the influences they perceive that affect how they teach environmental science, and …

The Impact Organizational Factors Have On Role Ambiguity Amongst School Social Workers, Melissa Kichura

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore what organizational factors increase or decrease role ambiguity amongst school social workers. This study attempted to provide practical information for schools on the influence of specific organizational factors on role ambiguity so that they can provide a supportive work environment for school social workers and students. A cross-sectional survey design was used to provide a snapshot of the current organizational factors impacting the ambiguity of school social work roles from a sample of 73 members of the School Social Work Association of America. Some findings were not congruent with the literature. The …

How Professional Physical Therapist Education Programs Develop Cultural Competence Within Their Students: An Exploratory Concurrent Mixed Methods Study, Dustin E. Domingo

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this exploratory concurrent mixed methods study was to describe experiences that shape the factors of cultural intelligence (CQ) as perceived by students of professional physical therapist education programs. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to determine whether any particular factor of cultural intelligence influenced one’s overall cultural competence according to the cultural competence continuum by Cross et al. (1989).

Methodology: Students in a professional physical therapist education program completed a questionnaire, which included Likert scale questions, open ended questions, and a 37-item self-assessment based on the expanded cultural intelligence scale by Van Dyne …

Crisis Leadership And Management Of Superintendents During The 2017-18 California Wildfires, Dianna Kitamura

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods heuristic research study was to discover how school superintendents described their crisis leadership and management experiences during the 2017-2018 wildfires in California through the lens of the Five Critical Tasks of Strategic Crisis Leadership framework of sense making, meaning making, decision-making and coordination, learning, accounting (Boin, 't Hart, Stern, & Sundelius, 2017). Additionally, this study determined the extent to which school superintendents identify their use of the Five Critical Tasks of Strateby Dianna W. Kitamuragic Crisis Leadership framework.

Methodology: This explanatory, sequential mixed methods heuristic research study investigated a quantitative survey and qualitative …

Amplifying 'Whispered Interventions' Into Loud And Forceful Cries, Joelina Robinson Machera

Theses and Dissertations

An equitable educational environment includes the voices of the individuals and the power of their stories. For marginalized people, particularly women of color, surviving school means existing in oppressive environments which require the stealing of knowledge while struggling to obtain an education (Collins, 2002). It is imperative that institutions acknowledge the specific complexities women of color face in the academy (Crenshaw, 2017). This study is designed to make meaning of the journey of Black women doctoral students using counterstories and composite stories to capture and learn from their lived experiences. Through the (re)covery and (re)telling of the stories of Black …

Exploring The Impact Of Diversity Training On The Development And Application Of Cultural Competence Skills In Higher Education Professionals, Kendra Cabler

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years the terms diversity and inclusion have become major buzzwords across industries and fields of study. Within the field of education broadly, and higher education in particular, a shifting student demographic can be seen across the country. Issues of equity and inclusion have become central complexities for present day educational strategists, and organizations committed to cultivating a culture of inclusion must do so with intentionality. In the context of higher education, this often requires the intentional development of professionals within a particular college or university. There has been a great deal of research concerning the development of cultural …

Building Young People’S Capacity For Critical And Transcendent Engagement: Examining The Institution, The Community, And The Individual As Protagonists Of A School Setting, Livia Dittmer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As a powerful socializing force in Western society, schools have significant influence on young people’s development into adulthood. As powerful agents of societal maintenance and change, adolescents have significant influence on communities and institutions such as schools. In this embedded case study, I use structuration theory, German Critical Psychology, and systems thinking to examine the dynamic relationship between institutional structures and student agency in a school setting. I specifically examine the influence of this relationship on young people’s capacity for critical and transcendent engagement, constructs described further in this work. In the setting of Nancy Campbell Academy (NCA), an international …