Education Commons^™

The Sound Of Silence: The Educator’S Perspective On Silence During Staff Meetings, Anne Zito Edd, Karen H. Larwin Phd

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Staff meetings are a regular occurrence in schools, yet both teachers and principals typically report dissatisfaction with these meetings. The current investigation seeks to understand the viewpoints of public-school teachers on silence during staff meetings. This was the first known investigation on the topic using Q methodology. Data analysis extracted three distinct viewpoints: Get the Party Started, I Don’t Care Anymore, and Don’t Stop Believin’. This study provides the results of data analysis, responds to research questions, and makes recommendations for meeting design and facilitation. The findings indicate how the principal facilitates the meeting seems to have …

Exploring School Leaders' Perceptions Of Gifted Education Educator And Gifted Program Evaluation, Rachel Louise Geesa, Krista M. Stith

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

In an effort to better support the needs of PK-12 students identified as gifted or high-ability, school leaders need to be familiar and comfortable with supporting gifted education educators and developing and evaluating gifted education programs. Gifted education educators should have defined roles and responsibilities, and school leaders need to be prepared to effectively evaluate gifted education educators. In this mixed-methods study, we explored pre-service and in-service school leaders’ perceptions of evaluation of gifted education programs or gifted education educators through responses from one anonymous survey with 36 respondents and one optional, confidential interview with seven participants. The findings from …

Exploring Superintendents’ Understandings On Virtual Learning Responses, Kate Maxlow, Karen Sanzo

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

In this study, the authors sought to explore superintendents’ understandings of the various influences on how their districts implemented a 100% virtual learning experience for students for the 2020-2021 academic year. Understanding these influences allowed the authors to develop a framework for leading redesigns of learning systems in long-term crisis situations. In this qualitative study we conducted semi-structured interviews with fifteen superintendents in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Findings showed that districts sought to plan equitable virtual learning experiences for all students based on unintentional influences and the district’s intentional responses. We found that during an educational crisis, learning plans emerged …

Fostering The Multicultural Efficacy Of Principal Candidates, Karen D. Jones

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This mixed methods study was completed with principal preparation candidates. Data was collected using the Multicultural Efficacy Scale (MES) and focus group interviews. Principal candidates’ multicultural efficacy was measured before and after participating in monthly diversity seminars and reflections. The diversity seminars provided first-person storytelling from diverse members of school communities including individuals from different LGBTQ, race, religion, socio-economic status, and language backgrounds. The study found principal candidates had improved multicultural efficacy at the end of the year-long diversity series. Research shows this could lead to supportive behaviors as social justice-oriented school leaders.

A Case Study For The Leadership Initiative For Supporting (Bilingual) Teacher Acquisition (Lista), Sarah M. Straub, Brian Uriegas, Tingting Xu

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This paper presents a qualitative pilot study program evaluation of the Leadership Initiative for Strategic (Bilingual) Teacher Acquisition (LISTA) program in a rural region of Texas. The LISTA program aimed to empower bilingual leaders in education by addressing the limited availability of leadership coaching, particularly tailored to recognize and affirm the cultural capital of Hispanic/Latino leaders. The sessions were organized and developed by an experienced leadership coach with a strong focus on equity and social justice in the education and nonprofit sectors. Through a methodology encompassing open-ended survey questions, focus groups, and reflective journals, this evaluation assesses the program's impact …

Adjunct Faculty & Institutional Identity: Toward A Model For Acculturation, Tanya M. Tarbutton, Jill L. Swisher

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Institutions of higher education (IHEs) are charged with instilling institutional identity among all employees and this is particularly true for smaller Christian IHEs committed to the Great Commission. Following a case study of a recently dissolved institution, this article suggests that it may be worth the investment to effectively generate institutional identity among adjunct faculty even if doing so requires additional funding or capital. In this paper the authors draw on the tenets of organizational socialization theory coupled with a prescribed curriculum as a conceptual framework designed to generate institutional identity among adjunct faculty. The authors highlight a multi-phased model …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Leaders’ Cultural Competence And Academic Outcomes In Texas Public Schools, Summer Pannell, Brian Uriegas, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This study explored the cultural knowledge (CK) and cultural skills (CS) levels of Texas school leaders to determine if there was a relationship between cultural knowledge and cultural skill as well as between principals’ CK and CS levels and school academic outcomes. In comparing within-group scores, the results indicated CK scores were higher than CS scores in all participant groups. Between-group analysis revealed participants in non-Title I schools scored higher in CK, but Title I school leaders scored higher in CS. Results further indicated school leaders who identified as a member of a marginalized group scored higher in CS but …

A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of School Disciplinary Climate Between Asia And North America Using A Large-Scale International Dataset And Rasch Measurement Theory, Sijia Zhang

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

School disciplinary climate influences student outcomes. As a result, examining differences in principals’ perceptions of disciplinary climate within and across countries and regions may shed some light on decreasing achievement gaps. The quantitative study examined how principals from different geographical locations perceive school disciplinary climate differently with a subset sample obtained from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2021 package. School disciplinary climate was measured using the School Discipline and Safety subscale from the School Questionnaire. Results suggested that there existed statistically significant differences in the difficulty ordering of school disciplinary climate across regions, and these differences were …

Perspectives From African American Male Rural School Leaders Regarding Targeted Recruitment Strategies For Future African American Male Rural School Leaders, Chameeka N. Smith, Portia Gibbs-Roseboro

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

African American male educators are becoming extinct in our current United States School system. Representing less than 2% of the teaching force, our recruitment efforts will need adjustments to increase this population of educators in schools (Bristol & Mentor, 2018; Goings & Bianco, 2016; Wallace & Gagen, 2019). To address this concern, our study explores the perspective of African American male rural school leaders on the need to recruit more African American males into educational professions. Through three semi-structured interviews, 60-90 minutes, we identified the lack of opportunities and targeted recruitment strategies for this population into the field of education. …

Changing Teacher Perceptions And Actions Through Trauma-Responsive Professional Development, Jason A. Smith, Marilynn Quick

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Most teachers are not trained on how to support students who struggle with trauma. Childhood trauma not only impacts a teacher’s ability to teach, but also threatens their students’ futures. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions and actions when they participated in trauma professional development. Interviews were conducted with 5 teachers and 10 students in a Midwestern urban intermediate/middle school. By the end of the study, teachers stated that they had begun responding to disruptions in more child-centered approaches, and students noticed that their teachers began treating all students more equitably in trauma-informed manners. The …

The Theory Of Educational Attachment, Marie Lawrence

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Educational attachment bonding helps students to progress academically and to develop strong positive emotional ties with members of the educational community. This educational bond serves as a stabilizing factor and may serve to compensate for deficiencies in early attachment bonds and thus help students develop sound psychological health. Educational attachment bonds can be formed with teachers, school administrators and staff, academic club sponsors, athletic coaches, and staff or any member of the school community. The significance of Educational Attachment Theory demonstrates the need to train educational professionals on the necessity of developing secure attachment bonds with students and to reflectively …

Sorting By Lc Call Number In Excel, Daniel W. Jolley

Dover Library Faculty Professional Development Activities

Sorting by Library of Congress (LC) call number in Excel is problematic because Excel does not treat LC call numbers as numbers. In practice, this means that Excel sorts LC call numbers based on each successive digit in the call number rather than the overall value of each call number. (for example, a call number beginning with PS507 would be sorted after one beginning with PS4998 in a default Excel sort). In this presentation, I demonstrate one method for accurately sorting by LC call number in Excel.

An Evaluation Of The Privacy Policies Of Library Vendors, Daniel W. Jolley

Dover Library Faculty Professional Development Activities

This project aims to evaluate the degree to which various library vendors are taking the privacy of library users into account. In 2018, the Library Freedom Project put together a Vendor Privacy Scorecard analyzing the privacy policies of twelve major vendors, but no follow-up study seems to have been conducted by the Project since then. I intend to conduct my own updated privacy policy audit of these and other significant library vendors (particularly those used by NC LIVE) to gain a better understanding of how well these vendors are accounting for and protecting the privacy of individual library users today. …

A Survey Of Lessons Learnt From Covid-19 By School Administration Interns, Precious Guramatunhu Mudiwa, William M. Gummerson, Barbara B. Howard

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges that threatened the quality and rigor of school administration internships. A survey administered to school interns in a principal preparation program at a large comprehensive university in the southeastern part of the United States revealed a huge difference in experiences and support that students received, based upon differences in existing school infrastructure and their supervising principal. The pandemic necessitated the principal preparation program adapt some internship requirements. The number of hours required to complete the internship was reduced. The building of authentic relationships with students became a greater priority. Finally, more flexibility was allowed …

Differentiating Leadership Styles And Behaviors Of Teacher-Leaders, Joshua Desantis, Stacey N. Dammann, Anastasia Clayton

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

The rapidly changing landscape of education necessitates that schools build the capacity to swiftly pivot to new modalities, curriculum, and operations models. Much of the onus for positively responding to these changes falls to teacher-leaders. In many schools, teacher leaders are untrained and designated by virtue of their seniority. The authors posit that differences exist in the leadership styles and behaviors of professional educators depending on their role, status, and professional learning journey. Findings from the present study affirm the existence of some of these differences and, thus, could inform future efforts to designate and train teachers for leadership roles …

A Creative Approach To Promoting And Discussing Social Emotional Learning, Lori B. Doyle, Jill L. Swisher

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Social emotional learning (SEL) is an important topic in education and a desired area of professional development for teachers. This conceptual essay offers a creative approach in promoting and discussing SEL through the use of haiku poetry. The tenets from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework were synthesized into key concepts and presented as haiku poems as a pedagogical exercise to increase awareness on SEL.

Combating The Sedentary Lifestyle In A Rural North Carolina Community, Kelsey Toliver Watts

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

A rural North Carolina community is experiencing an increase in inactivity, obesity, and comorbidities. The project leader collaborated with the local health department and recreation department to implement community walking events. The events aimed to promote physical activity while providing education to the residents as to why physical activity is important. The project leader used optional pre-walking event and post-walking event surveys to assess activity change and increased knowledge. Out of the 90 attendees, 68% completed the pre-event survey and 14% responded to the post-event survey. This created limited data available for follow-up. All participants who completed the follow-up plan …

Cultural Responsibility: Whose Job Is It Anyway?, Shannon Coleman, Siobhan Cooke, Yu'vonne James, Elizabeth Younger

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This professional learning module (PLM) on cultural responsibility in the school setting is rooted in the recognition of the importance of creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment for all students and staff. This PLM module was designed to help teachers, and those working within the school setting, understand, appreciate, and effectively address cultural diversity and its impact on students’ learning experiences.

View professional learning module.

The Impact Of Student Learning Pathway Choices During The Covid-19 Pandemic On Academic Achievement, Lauren A. Canfield

Doctor of Education Dissertations

In the fall of 2020, students chose the learning pathway that best suited their situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning pathways were face-to-face, virtual synchronous, and virtual asynchronous. Because of this, in the fall of 2021, all students demonstrated learning loss. The learning loss, however, was not congruent among students. This quantitative study sought to determine if a student’s learning pathway choice during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their academic achievement as measured by grade point average, end-of-course exam scores for Algebra I, and qualification for Tier 2 academic interventions in a multi-tiered system of support. This study was conducted …

Perspectives Of African American Male School Administrators On The Recruitment And Retention Of African American Male Teachers, Maurice Thomas

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This qualitative study utilized one-on-one interviews to examine the lived experience of Black males who have successfully joined the teaching profession and moved into school administration. Their experiences shed light on factors that help attract African American males to the profession and continue to be educators. This study's research is based on Herzberg et al.'s (1959) motivation-hygiene theory. This theory addresses which factors impact job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Participants in the study expressed that they are motivated by their desire to impact students and make a difference. They emphasized the importance of representation and shared that relationships with school and …

Professional Learning Community Perceptions For Propelling Academic Growth In A Rural North Carolina School System, Steven E. Howard

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Small rural schools often struggle to facilitate true professional learning communities (PLCs) when there is one teacher per grade level in the building. The district selected for this study contained four elementary schools with one teacher per grade level and a combined middle and high school to collect perception data. Utilizing a concurrent triangulation design method, this dissertation set out to answer three research questions by analyzing the perceptions of PLCs from the lens of teachers and administrators. The research questions focused on collective efficacy impacts, student achievement impacts, and the COVID-19 pandemic impacts on PLC operations. These impacts were …

Standards, Evaluations, And Preparations: A Case Study Of The Perceptions Of Principal Pedagogy And Its Effectiveness In Developing Leaders In South Carolina, Melanie Louise Sigmon-Vaughn

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the perceptions of new principals regarding their ability to fulfill the nine requirements of the South Carolina Program for Assisting, Evaluating, and Developing Principal Performance. The findings revealed that novice administrators believed they were effective at implementing the nine principles and that a district program for new principals may assist them. Although novice principals were concerned about effective administration and school-community interactions, they felt most prepared in the areas of vision and interpersonal skills. In spite of their conviction that their principal preparation programs were beneficial, the study's novice principals emphasized an area of need …

A Mixed Methods Study Of How Elementary Teachers Cope Mentally, Physically, And Spiritually While Teaching In A Pandemic, Chavon Tyrra Bryant

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine coping strategies for teachers in elementary schools who taught during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers experienced mental, physical, and spiritual challenges throughout the pandemic, and this study shared how teachers coped. Through this study, 48 teachers serving in three different elementary schools in North Carolina completed ten 4-point Likert scale response items. The survey tool's validity was established using the Lawshe content validation index. Interviews were conducted, in addition to a focus group session. Resilience theory, a framework for improving a teacher's ability to adapt successfully when under stress or adversity, …

A Phenomenological Study: The Lived Experience Of Jamaican Immigrant Teachers Practicing In Northeastern North Carolina, Dianne Campbell-Barton

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Public school districts across the United States (U.S.) have struggled with the hemorrhaging of teachers for many years and have become creative in staffing classrooms, which includes hiring overseas teachers. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of Jamaican exchange visitor program (EVP) teachers practicing in northeastern North Carolina K-12 public and charter schools. An amalgamation of Milton Gordon’s (1964) assimilation and John Berry’s (1977) acculturation theories guided the research. Semi-structured interviews were used to capture and examine the Jamaican EVP teachers' stories of success, challenges, and resilience. The study capitalizes on the power of Jamaican EVP teachers’ stories …

Restraining The Disabled: A Program Evaluation Of Nonviolent Crisis Intervention In The Educational Setting, Taner Jarrett

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Students with disabilities are 200% more likely to be restrained by school personnel compared to nondisabled peers (Katsiyannis et al., 2020). The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of Nonviolent Crisis Intervention (NVCI) in de-escalating the risk behavior of children with disabilities from exceptional children (EC) teacher perspectives. This study was a mixed method program evaluation of the Crisis Prevention Institute NVCI program using Daniel Stufflebeam’s (1968) Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) evaluation framework. The setting for this study was a large suburban school district in the piedmont region of North Carolina. The sample included 15 NVCI- …

Middle School Teacher Perceptions Of The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sherria La Vonne Grubbs

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This paper examines the perceptions of middle school teachers on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on student achievement, attendance and enrollment, mental health, and social and economic factors. Allowing the voices of the middle school teachers to be heard was important to this study because it helped to identify some key themes of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education. For this qualitative research study, a survey was created with Google Forms and a focus group discussion was implemented using the zoom platform to gather and collect data for this study. 67 middle school teachers were invited to …

The Impact Of Professional Development On Specially Designed Instruction For Students With A Specific Learning Disability, Stacy H. Huffman

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This research study, rooted in the theoretical framework of phenomenology, examined the impact of professional development related to specially designed instruction for students with a learning disability in reading. Teachers of students who had mastered at least 50% of their IEP goals in reading or had exited from special education services were the participants in this study. In addition to the teachers, administrators and district staff who worked with these teachers and students were included. Through a mixed methods research design, 47 participants were surveyed using Qualtrics, and 14 participants were interviewed. Findings demonstrated that professional development related to specially …

Beginning Teacher Self-Efficacy Meeting The Needs Of English Language Learners Within The Mainstream Elementary Setting, Christie Mcmahon

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of beginning teacher self-efficacy when working with English language learners (ELLs) in mainstream elementary classrooms. Elementary teachers provide instruction for their students during the majority of the instructional day, and supporting students learning a new language while simultaneously learning academic concepts can be challenging. The study sought to identify in-service professional development or training beginning teachers deemed beneficial to their perceived ability to work with ELLs as well as the training or professional development they would like to receive going forward. This mixed methods study was carried out using …

Navigating Through Systems That Create Inequities: Elementary Teacher Perceptions, Sarah Rector

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This qualitative case study was designed to explore elementary teacher perceptions of what it means to provide an equitable education for their students. These perceptions allow educational leaders insight into how teachers navigate systems that create inequities and what professional development may be needed to further support equitable learning in the classroom. K-5 certified teachers were interviewed twice to gather data on their understanding of educational equity and the correlation between classroom and state testing. Four findings emerged from this study: (a) educators believed that providing an equitable education would create successful adults, (b) educators gained cultural experiences by having …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Connections Between Social And Emotional Learning And Student Success, Beth Ann Hoistad Washle

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This qualitative study was about teacher perceptions of how incorporating social and emotional learning addresses the social-emotional needs of students and relates to student success. Teacher perceptions help inform educational leaders and policy makers about the impact social and emotional learning can have on students and their success. The findings of this study led to three emerging themes. Those themes were teachers believe (a) there needs to be direct instruction in social and emotional skills; (b) social and emotional learning helps students academically by becoming self-driven, taking ownership of their learning and actions, building confidence, and persevering through challenging work; …