Education Commons^™

In Defense Of Public Schools: A Toolkit From The Midwest, Ferial Pearson, Ann Hunter-Pirtle

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

One of the defining features of public schools is that they operate at the will of the people, with public oversight from elected school boards. In addition to being free and open to all, free from religious affiliation, and promoting civic understanding and participation, much of what makes public schools public happens through the democratic process. We have noticed that many teachers are so overworked and overwhelmed - rightly focused on their own classrooms and their own students’ day to day struggles - that it’s not easy for them to engage and advocate for themselves and their students in the …

Book Review - Beyond Leadership: A Relational Approach To Organizational Theory In Education, Jim Palermo

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

The author, Scott Eacott, is a relational theorist who blends philosophy and sociology in his discussion of educational leadership. Eacott succeeds in his description of relational leadership in schools and is convincing about the situational nature of leadership, but stops short of presenting a model for applying this theory.

Perceived Principal Servant Leadership And Teacher Stress, Donald Harris

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Stress is one of the major factors in teacher attrition, a continuing problem in education. Further contributing to teacher stress are state and federal accountability measures, which put added pressure on schools and teachers to increase student performance. School leaders must navigate not only how to keep pace with these accountability practices, but how to do so in a manner that does not increase the stress on their teachers. To seek answers in how this might be accomplished, this paper investigates the relationship between perceived principal servant leadership characteristics and occupational stress in teachers. Data was collected using the Wilson …

Leadership In A Complex Adaptive System: An Exploratory Case Study Of One Faculty At A Canadian Post-Secondary Educational Organization, Helen Mawdsley

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The research study examined leadership in one post-secondary educational organization through the lens of complexity theory. The post-secondary educational organization in this study is a complex adaptive system that is entangled in uncertainty, non-linearity, and interconnectivity, where the system is under constant change and predictions based on past practice are not always possible. Leaders in this context do not have the luxury to rely primarily on history, best practices, or simplistic linear solutions in response to their challenges. This dissertation focuses on providing a connection between educational leadership and complexity theory, so that the latter can strengthen investigation of the …

Letter From The Editor, Jim Palermo

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

While the move from my chair as Managing Editor to Chief wasn’t far physically, it is a huge leap for me in part because my colleague and partner in this enterprise of JOEL, Founding Editor Steve Bingham, set the bar so high. Steve served the nascent Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership admirably as Editor in Chief through three years and six issues as we grew this small journal and explored the niche of leader/practitioner scholarship and the nexus of educational and organizational leadership. In those six issues we have explored topics such from principal preparation programs to Confucian values …

Social Emotional Learning Policy And Its Implementation In One School District In British Columbia, Jenny Kim

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Social-emotional learning (SEL), is an umbrella term that refers to students' "acquisition of skills to recognize and manage emotions, develop care and concern for others, make responsible decisions, establish positive relationships, and handle challenging situations effectively" (“What is SEL”, 2018). It has gained popularity in North America over the past two decades as schools see the need to educate students both socially and emotionally to promote responsible citizenship and personal awareness. Despite increasing belief in the importance of SEL, its implementation is still widely inconsistent (Cohen), 2006). Thus, the purpose of this research was to examine SEL as it is …

The Development Of Young Children’S Social Identity In An Era Of Digital Tools, Sharon Rochelle Kaplan-Berkley

Educational Studies Dissertations

The advancement of innovative digital technologies has created a generation of digital natives (children) growing up in a diverse environment designed by a population of digital immigrants (adults). Consequently, this everyday experience has created some dissonance in their lifestyles, raising questions for educational leaders. The purpose of this mini-ethnographic case study was to develop a deeper understanding of how engaging with digital tools shapes the social interactions of young children, and to examine the various ways online/offline social environments influence face-to-face social peer group formation and functioning. Furthermore, this study explored whether digital technology influences the developing social identities of …

Principals In Title I Schools With Teachers Integrating The New Literacies Of Online Reading And Research, Bridget Stegman

Prairie Journal of Educational Research

This article examines the instructional leadership characteristics of a principal in a Title I school with classroom teachers integrating new literacies. The two dominant frameworks guiding this study were: instructional leadership and the dual-level theory of New Literacies. This qualitative, case study design included one principal and three teachers in a Title I elementary school Northeast Kansas. The principal in this study created a culture of trust and professional growth through the following actions: goals and expectations were individualized; teachers felt safe to experiment and take risks; resources, encouragement and support occurred; opportunities for ongoing, differentiated professional development were implemented; …

Principal And Teacher Beliefs About The Impact Of Cbas On School Performance: Five High Performing High Schools In Oregon, Kevin Jon Ricker

Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative study examined how school leaders work within the structure of individual district collective bargaining agreements to improve student achievement. The study examines real or perceived barriers to improving student achievement within educational organizations from the perspective of the principals and teacher-leaders.

This study included two qualitative instruments, one for building principals and one for the building teachers, administered in five Oregon high schools recognized as successful by the Oregon Department of Education in 2014-2015. This dissertation determined the impact collective bargaining agreements had on the ability of high school principals to reduce educational disparities and close the achievement …

Improving Employees' Experience With The Performance Appraisal Process, Melanie Molnar

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Organizational changes can be successful when approached with an appreciation for an appropriate change management strategy that aligns with the organizational context and the change that is being implemented. In this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP), the performance evaluation process in place at University Y will be looked at and recommendations will be made for improvements. Special attention will be given to the requirements for a successful change management process. An authentic leadership approach is the preferred approach for the purpose of this OIP. Complex Adaptive Systems is a field within Complexity theories and will be used in order to address …

Reimagining The Discourse: Media Representation Of Women In Boston Public Schools' Superintendency, 1991 - 2016, Lisa M. Cullington

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the relationship among public discourse, power and leadership for women superintendents in Boston Public Schools. For this qualitative study, I use a feminist poststructural discourse analysis (FPDA) to examine newspaper articles from The Boston Globe from 1991 to 2016. Through a FPDA, I illuminate the ways in which women superintendents have been discursively produced amidst neoliberal educational reform movements. In this study, I focus on how the superintendent’s role was conceptualized as a male endeavor in The Boston Globe, and the implications of this for current educational leaders.

Two major discursive stages frame the study’s time period: …

Educating Boys In Jamaica: In Search Of A New Lens, Marcia Sharon-May Chin

Dissertations

The need for innovative solutions to enhance educational outcomes for Jamaican high school male students is evident. For over two decades, national exam results demonstrate that these students have consistently underachieved. Using aqualitative research design, this study explores the possibility of scaling up a student leadership educational model, developed by one U.S. school that has proven successful in educating an inner city minority male student population, to a similarly placed Jamaican high school. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with stakeholders at an all male Jamaican school and with administrators at the Ministry of Education, to understand their perceptions regarding …

An Exploration Of The Perceptions Of Teachers And Administrators On The Relationship Between Professional Learning Community Practices And School Success, Lawrence L. Haggquist

Dissertations

Purpose: Professional learning communities (PLCs) have provided a popular means by which schools have used structured collaboration to improve student outcomes. For this reason, the PLC model for collaboration has a strong reputation for helping schools achieve success. However, teachers and administrators regard the PLC efficacy differently. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe how high school teachers and administrators in Basic Aid funded school districts define success in relation to Professional Learning Community practices. A secondary purpose of this study was to explore the differences in perception between teachers and administrators in regard to defining success in …

Conceptual Model Of Educational Planning And Program Evaluation: Addressing Deficit Thinking At The Top, Melanie Lichtenstein

The William & Mary Educational Review

Deficit thinking has been attributed to on-going academic and social inequities in school districts. Scholars have discussed addressing deficit thinking before educators enter the classroom through pre-service teacher programs. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding educational leaders’ perceptions and belief systems of culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse students. The impact of deficit thinking at the leadership level can influence program, policy, and planning decisions that can negatively impact any educational change efforts. This conceptual model of educational planning and evaluation will suggest an approach to change the deficit thinking of school district leaders such as superintendents, school …

Creating An Institutional Web Of Support For Students By College Leaders: An Exploratory Case Study Of Social Capital At One Ontario Community College, Marilyn A. Ott

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Social Capital can have a positive impact on a student’s ability to be successful in their schooling (Coleman, 1987, 1988, 1990 & 1994). Coleman’s research identified norms, networks, and trust as being crucial to the definition of social capital. This dissertation explores the manifestation of / or what it “looks like” and particular outcomes of social capital within the context of a college in Ontario. Specifically, this exploratory case study (Yin, 2014) examined the perspectives of senior leadership on the ways social capital is currently evident in their college and how it contributes publically to positive outcomes for students. Data …

The Role Of Conversation In How Educational Services Assistant Superintendents Lead Change, Lisa Paisley

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors that exemplary educational services assistant superintendents practice to lead their organizations through conversation as depicted by Groysberg and Slind’s (2012b) 4 elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality. Methodology: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used in this study in order to describe the lived experiences and behaviors of exemplary leaders. The target population was educational services assistant superintendents in Southern California. Participants were selected using a purposeful, nonprobability, convenience sampling. Data gathering took the form of semistructured, in-depth interviews, observations, and artifact collection. Interviews were …

The Road Less Traveled: How Asian Cultural Values Impact The Career Choice Tendencies Of Asian American K-12 Principals, Melissa Chan-Nauli

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this constructivist inquiry study was to identify and describe the perceptions of Asian American principals of how cultural values impacted their career choice tendencies in the K-12 educational setting.

Methodology: For the purposes of providing the most authentic and genuine lived experiences and perceptions of these Asian American principal participants, the researcher engaged in three primary methods of collecting data, which included demographic questionnaire, interviews, and artifacts. The study participants were 15 current Asian American full-time principals who work in school districts located in Los Angeles and Orange County, California.

Findings. A thorough examination of study …

Shifting The Paradigm From Deficit Oriented Schools To Asset Based Models: Why Leaders Need To Promote An Asset Orientation In Our Schools, Shannon Renkly, Katherine Bertolini

Empowering Research for Educators

Schools often focus solely on risky behaviors exhibited by students, causing the school to act reactively rather than proactively. Student learning and growth must be the top priority of a school, and this can only be done by deliberately identifying and building up student assets. This asset model becomes even more important during the middle years of education. Introducing supportive adults into students’ lives is an effective method of building assets, while creating the potential for community involvement at the same time. School leaders must take charge of promoting asset-building in their school while also modelling asset development with their …

Are You A H.E.R.O.?: A Mixed Methods Study Of The Relationship Between Illinois Principals' Psychological Capital And School Culture, Karen Marie Ritter

Dissertations

Psychological Capital, developed by Fred Luthans as a byproduct of the positive psychology movement, involve the study of how applied positive states, attributes, and behaviors can improve performance in the workplace. An organization's leader needs a proactive, positive approach that emphasizes hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism to improve an organization's effectiveness (Luthans, 2002a). This study explored how a school principal's Psychological Capital influenced the school's culture, and the psychological states that best supported the school to flourish. A school leader is key in building a positive school culture, where administrators, staff, and students share a sense of purpose and commitment …

Sr. Sarah Grace: The Common Good, Caleb Wright

Ask a Sister: Interview Wisdom from Catholic Women Religious

This paper includes part of an interview with Sr. Sarah Grace from January 2, 2018. She is a women religious who has worked in education for 25 years. This paper includes a portion of the interview where she shared her perspective on the common good.

Making Headway: Developing Principals’ Leadership Skills Through Innovative Postgraduate Programs, Susan Simon, Michael Christie, Deborah Heck, Wayne Graham, Kairen Call

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Effective school leadership preparation has been regarded as desirable if not mandatory in Australia and globally for decades. Schools and school systems, higher education institutions and education jurisdictions have attempted with varying degrees of success to encourage teachers aspiring to become principals to prepare well for the complex role ahead. Research involving postgraduate education students identified that peer support, collaboration and collegial professional learning contributed towards self-development, strengthening the required Personal qualities, social and interpersonal skills of contemporary school leaders.