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Full-Text Articles in Education

Making It To The Next Grade: How Elementary School Principals Make Sense Of Grade Retention Policies For English Learners, Lynmara Colón Dec 2021

Making It To The Next Grade: How Elementary School Principals Make Sense Of Grade Retention Policies For English Learners, Lynmara Colón

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Critical approaches to policy suggest that policy, even in the most apparently democratic polity or institution, codifies and extends the interests of those who disproportionately wield power (Levinson et al., 2009). While many people are involved in conversations and decisionmaking processes related to the implementation of grade retention or promotion policies, the final decision is made at the school level. Critics of grade retention, meanwhile, also warn that retained students may be harmed by stigmatization, reduced expectations for their academic performance on the part of teachers and parents, and the challenges of adjusting to a new peer group (Schwerdt et …


Culturally Responsive School Leaders: Actions, Barriers And The Impact Of Critical Self-Reflection, Dawn Louise Kramer Jul 2021

Culturally Responsive School Leaders: Actions, Barriers And The Impact Of Critical Self-Reflection, Dawn Louise Kramer

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The importance of culturally responsive pedagogy has gained prominence in the last few decades. Educational leaders have a significant impact on student outcomes and, as such, it is important that leaders are culturally responsive to meet student needs. The purpose of this study was to use qualitative case study methodology to gain a better understanding of culturally responsive school leaders including their daily actions, the barriers they face and the role of critical self-reflection in their practice. The research design and methodology of this study take into consideration the study’s focus on culturally responsive school leadership through the theoretical triad …


Micropolitical Influences On Teacher Leader Selection & Enactment, Jennifer Lynn Arthur Thomason Jul 2021

Micropolitical Influences On Teacher Leader Selection & Enactment, Jennifer Lynn Arthur Thomason

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The teacher leader phenomenon is plagued with uncertainty but has potential to be a catalyst for building school capacity and increasing school improvement. Questions remain about defining teacher leadership, roles of teacher leaders, and how they carry out a quasi-leadership role in a traditionally hierarchical system. Research on micropolitics in education, specifically how micropolitical influences within an organization affect teacher leader selection and enactment, is lacking. This phenomenologically informed study explored micropolitical influences on teacher leader selection and enactment through the shared experiences of teacher leaders and administrators. Purposeful, criterion sampling was used to select administrator and teacher leader participants. …


Exploring The Incongruence Between Traditional Neo-Managerial Norms, The Science Of Learning, And The Goals Of Social Justice: A Phenomenological Study Of Educators Lived Experiences Inside This Paradox, Donica Ouckama Hadley Jul 2021

Exploring The Incongruence Between Traditional Neo-Managerial Norms, The Science Of Learning, And The Goals Of Social Justice: A Phenomenological Study Of Educators Lived Experiences Inside This Paradox, Donica Ouckama Hadley

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

While some scholars have critiqued the continued dominance of scientific management on how we conceptualize and run schools (Cuban, 1990; Myran & Sutherland, 2019; Tyack & Cuban, 1995), it remains the dominant paradigm, and even with some surface level structural changes, these have had little impact on the undergirding theories that shape the field (Clandinin & Connelly, 1998; Cuban 2012, Tyack & Cuban, 1995). However, what is particularly troubling, is that scientific management as the dominant theory of action is more grounded in principles of efficiency and uniformity than principles of human agency, learning, equity, and social justice, and therefore …


The Pursuit Of Equitable Virtual Learning: District Leaders’ Understanding Of The Influences On Designing 100% Virtual Learning Experiences During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kathleen Wolfe Maxlow Apr 2021

The Pursuit Of Equitable Virtual Learning: District Leaders’ Understanding Of The Influences On Designing 100% Virtual Learning Experiences During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kathleen Wolfe Maxlow

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam required all schools to close their doors from March 13, 2020, through the remainder of the school year, causing districts in the Commonwealth to create distance learning plans for PreK-12 education within a matter of weeks. The continued fluctuation of COVID-19 positive case numbers throughout the spring and summer led to several school districts choosing to open the 2020-2021 school year using a 100% virtual model for all students. This qualitative, grounded theory study sought to determine how superintendents understood the influences on the design of their district’s 100% virtual learning plans. …


Institutionalized Perceptions Of Student Behavior And The Student Conduct Paradigm Shift In Virginia’S Public Schools, Tiffany D. Hardy Apr 2021

Institutionalized Perceptions Of Student Behavior And The Student Conduct Paradigm Shift In Virginia’S Public Schools, Tiffany D. Hardy

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

In 2019, the Virginia Board of Education approved the Model Guidance for Positive and Preventive Code of Student Conduct Policy and Alternatives to Suspension as a framework for school divisions to revise student behavior practices and policies. The model guidance reflects substantive changes in procedure, language, and data collection as compared to prior sanctions based codes of conduct. The goal of the model guidance is to implement a balanced approach to student behavior through proactive, constructive, and equitable practices. Consistent with current research, the guidance indicates a significant emphasis on social-emotional learning, intervention, and restorative practices. The language, coding, and …


Measuring Up: A Case Study Of School Finance Equity Among Five Middle Schools, Christen A. Cohoon Apr 2021

Measuring Up: A Case Study Of School Finance Equity Among Five Middle Schools, Christen A. Cohoon

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between intra-district per-pupil expenditures in five middle schools in within the same school division using an equity audit. Broadly, the distribution of resources was examined. Specifically, how intra-district per-pupil expenditures influenced horizontal and vertical equity measures was explored. The questions central to this study were: (a) Does variation exist among schools? (b) What is the per-pupil expenditure by school? (c) When examining per-pupil expenditures, what differences exist? (d) To what extent does the district funding system meet the standards for horizontal and vertical equity? The history of educational funding was …


Institutional Context Drives Mobility: A Comprehensive Analysis Of How Academic And Economic Factors Relate To International Student Enrollment At United States Higher Education Institutions, Natalie Irby Cruz Apr 2021

Institutional Context Drives Mobility: A Comprehensive Analysis Of How Academic And Economic Factors Relate To International Student Enrollment At United States Higher Education Institutions, Natalie Irby Cruz

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

International student enrollment (ISE) has become a hallmark of world-class higher education institutions (HEIs), particularly as global student mobility has grown exponentially worldwide in the last several decades. Although the United States (U.S.) has welcomed the largest numbers of international students since the 1950s, ISE shrunk by 10% in the previous three years from an all-time high of 903,127 students in 2016/2017 (IIE, 2019). A synthesis of research studies about international student mobility and enrollment highlights the significant role that academic and economic rationales play for international students who choose the United States. This quantitative, ex post facto study focused …


Narratives From Appalachia: The Current Stories Of Lgbtq Community College Students, Todd A. Cimino-Johnson Apr 2021

Narratives From Appalachia: The Current Stories Of Lgbtq Community College Students, Todd A. Cimino-Johnson

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

LGBTQ students are ubiquitous on community college campuses across the United States. The exact number of LGBTQ students is unknown and often their needs are ignored. LGBTQ students face harassment and discrimination at higher rates than other minority groups. This study was conducted to gather the current narratives of LGBTQ students attending community colleges in the Appalachian Region. This study aimed to determine what LGBTQ students are experiencing on community college campuses across Appalachia. Fifteen students took part in a one-on-one semi-structured interview for this qualitative study. All students were currently enrolled in a program of study when the interviews …