Education Commons^™

Navigating New Frontiers: A Narrative Of Cte Administrators Leading Rural Innovation, Claire Bass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public school districts play a pivotal role in the well-being of rural communities. To help mitigate the impact of labor market trends, societal shifts, and the skilled labor shortage, rural schools are in the initial stages of expanding innovative career pathways. As such, career and technical education (CTE) administrators serve their rural communities by facilitating robust career pathways to support local labor markets. Due to a skilled labor shortage, a declining labor force participation rate, and a rapidly evolving labor market, there is a lack of qualified and certified personnel to fill industry jobs (Davis et al., 2022). School districts …

An Examination Of Early Childhood Leadership In Public Elementary Schools: A Mixed Methods Study, Wesam Alshahrani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As state-funded Pre-K programs in elementary schools continue to grow, elementary principals are increasingly responsible for supporting, supervising, and leading these programs. Therefore, examining elementary principals' early childhood leadership competencies and the factors influencing them may help understand and improve their experiences as early childhood education (ECE) leaders. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study examined the ECE leadership of Tennessee public elementary school principals in two phases.

In the quantitative phase, statewide surveys were used to collect data from 67 principals. The survey comprised 51 items assessing nine ECE leadership competencies, synthesized from statements of leading ECE and elementary education …

Art And Interdisciplinary Opportunities For Literacy Instruction: A Qualitative Study To Examine Educator Perceptions In The Rural Setting, Courtney Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine educator perceptions of teaching art and implementing literacy and interdisciplinary strategies in rural northeast Tennessee school districts. This study explored interdisciplinary connections and opportunities to expand access to literacy acquisition in the art room. Participants included twelve educators who served as art instructors, literacy specialists, and district supervisors in rural public-school systems in Tennessee's First Congressional District. Data were collected through virtual interviews using a semi-structured format. To qualify for the study participants held positions as elementary or secondary art teachers, literacy specialists, or district supervisors in rural northeast Tennessee …

Leadership Qualities Of Female Presidents Serving The Tennessee Colleges Of Applied Technology System, Kelli Kea-Carroll

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to examine the leadership styles and characteristics of leadership of 11 female presidents in the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology system. The administrators’ perceptions of successful leadership, desirable outcomes of institutional leadership, and improvements resulting from perceived successful leadership styles that guided each participant’s work as a technical college president were examined. Using the research questions guiding this study, data were collected from individual, in-depth interviews with each female, technical college president. The analysis of the interviews identified the leadership styles of democratic, situational and participative as being the most common among …

Perceptions Of Roane State Community College Presidents On The Events Shaping The Institution’S Leadership History, John Norris Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A major focus of policymakers in recent years has been community colleges, which have been viewed as potential engines for economic advancement and student success. I examined the leadership history of Roane State Community College, a two-year institution of higher learning serving a nine-county service area mostly in rural East Tennessee as perceived by individuals who have served as the college’s presidents. Five current and former presidents were interviewed about their experiences as president and their perceptions of the college’s history. Narrative research was used to recount a history of Roane State Community College, and the key events and factors …

Women In Leadership: A Narrative Study On The Elements That Manifest Barriers And Opportunities, Misty Sweat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this narrative inquiry study is to explore the barriers and opportunities women in K-12 leadership face, particularly with how they navigate conflicts in their work-life balance and in what ways they have been afforded opportunities. Work-life balance will be generally defined as the reconciliation of the conflicting demands and obligations between a women’s professional requirements and her personal life. Opportunities will be defined as events that lead to a woman’s career advancements and accomplishments. The study was designed to identify perceived barriers and opportunities during both the ascension to and experience of holding a public K-12 educational …

Teacher Expectations, Self-Efficacy, And Collective Efficacy In Three Tennessee Literacy Networks, Amanda Tinker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was a significant difference in the dependent variables- teacher expectations, self-efficacy, and collective efficacy among the three levels of the independent variable- membership in one three literacy networks in Tennessee- Leading Innovation for Tennessee (LIFT), Read to Be Ready Coaching Network (RTBR), and Tennessee Early Literacy Network (TELN)- and if significant correlations existed between the dependent variables for each network. The population consisted of 161 K-3 Tennessee teachers who had been involved in the work of one of the three networks. Participants responded to an online survey via Google …

Emotional Intelligence And Decision-Making In Higher Education Administrators In Post-Secondary Institutions In Eastern Tennessee, Rachel Ellis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the impact of emotional intelligence on decision-making in higher education administrators. A qualitative research design was used for this study. Data was collected in three phases from the following sources; survey, case study submissions, and open-ended face-to-face interviews. The research data, about emotional intelligence and decision-making, were collected form ten higher education administrators. Constant comparative method was an important part of the data collection process for this study. Range of participant leadership experience was 3-8+ years and participant roles were either, Department Chair, Program Director, Dean, Provost, and President. The findings …

Factors That Contribute To Pk-12 Teacher Retention In One Midwest School District, Jeffery Phillips

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine relationship of the distinct factors to PK-12 teacher retention in one Midwest school district. This study was an examination of multiple factors, including work environment, fit, compensation and benefits, leadership, performance management system, peer support and mentoring, that contributed to the retention of PK-12 teachers with different levels of education, certifications, experience, career plans, and military affiliation. The questions on the Teacher Retention Survey used a Likert-type scale to measure teacher perceptions about retention factors to address 8 research questions.

For this study, I surveyed the population of 704 current PK-12 …

An Exploration Of Resilience: Evaluating Resilience Scores Among Honors Undergraduates Involved In Leadership Programs, Amy Van Buren

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Resilience is vital to college and university student success. Furthermore, resilience is necessary for successful leadership. Student leadership programs must consider resilience building as part of successful program development. By considering resilience as a factor in student leadership success and future leadership success, programs may encourage the development of leaders who are highly equipped to lead and continue to lead in the long term. Because of the need to promote resilience building through leadership program development, the researcher sought to explore the potential relationship between participation in leadership activities and student resilience scores.

The purpose of this quantitative research was …

Teacher Perceptions Of Professional Learning Communities On The Instructional Climate At Flintville Elementary School In Lincoln County, Tn, David Golden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore teacher perceptions of Professional Learning Communities on the instructional climate at Flintville Elementary School in Lincoln County, Tennessee. Participants in the study included five teachers, the evaluation supervisor, and one parent from Flintville Elementary School. Through the analysis of interviews and a review of documents collected from Professional Learning Communities (PLC) meetings in grades Pre-K through 8, the investigator was able to extract meaning and code the data into categories that led to an understanding of the perceptions being researched.

Professional Learning Communities at Flintville Elementary School have changed the instructional climate concerning …

Ireach Blended Learning Model And Reading Lexile Growth Of Freshmen In Maryville City Schools, Whitney Ann Schmidt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Maryville City School system has implemented the first year of the iReach blended learning model for which all students in the school district have access to either a laptop or an iPad to support their learning every day. The availability of research on the impact of iReach is limited because the blended learning instructional model is relatively new and has not yet been subjected to numerous research studies. The purpose of this ex post facto quasi-experimental quantitative study was to compare student reading Lexile growth data collected through the use of the Reading Comprehension Assessment before and after iReach …

Middle Grade Academic Achievement And Socioeconomic Status On North Carolina State Report Cards, 2012 - 2013, Lauren Dotson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the era of accountability in our nation‘s public schools, high-stakes standardized testing is the primary methodology for determining academic achievement; results from end-of-grade standardized testing are published annually in state and national report cards that are used as an instrument for determining school and teacher quality. What standardized tests do not take into consideration, however, are external environmental factors that have an impact on academic achievement; this research project focuses upon the effects of socioeconomic status on academic achievement on the middle grade student in North Carolina in 2012 and 2013. These years were chosen to comparatively analyze student …