Education Commons^™

Counselors And Principals: Collaborating To Improve Instructional Equity, Carl A. Lashley, Jaimie Stickl

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

School districts are held accountable for the performance of all students. This increased responsibility has caused principals and their faculties to become increasingly concerned about using performance data to improve achievement, attendance, promotion and graduation rates, dropout rates and at-risk student performance, and other indicators of school quality. An often overlooked resource in the school’s efforts is the school counselor.

School counselors are well-prepared to assist principals with data utilization and making recommendations for individual student, classroom, and school-wide improvement. Collaborative relationships between principals and school counselors can contribute significantly to school improvement efforts and to professional learning and capacity …

Locally Developed Performance Assessments: One State’S Decision To Supplant Standardized Tests With Alternative Measures, Amy Lynn Abbott

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

In 2014, the Virginia legislature removed select standardized tests from elementary and middle school grades in social studies, science, and writing. In this case study, the author investigates the experiences of key stakeholders in one large school district as they adopt alternative assessment in lieu of multiple-choice, standardized assessments. The specific aim of the study was to develop a descriptive account of one large Virginia school district’s plan for implementation of locally developed, performance-based assessments. Findings on this contemporary topic document the collaboration among district stakeholders to enact alternative assessments that assess students’ content knowledge and higher-order thinking skills. Outcomes …

Crossing The Suspension Bridge: Navigating The Road From School Suspension To College Success – How Some Students Have Overcome The Negative Implications Of School Suspension To Bridge The Road To College, Chris J. Kirkman, Heather Mcnees, Jaimie Stickl, Justin H. Banner, Kimberly K. Hewitt

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Out-of-school suspensions for middle and high school students can have negative, long-lasting consequences. Researchers have documented that suspensions have a negative impact on academic development, increase likelihood of dropping out of school, and are associated with a stronger likelihood that students will be involved in the legal system. However, there are students who overcome these negative statistics and matriculate to post-secondary education successfully. This study examines the lived experiences and personal attributes in students’ lives that enabled them to overcome a history of suspension to enter and succeed in higher education. Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, the study’s researchers interviewed individuals …

The Influence Of Balance Within The Competing Values Framework And School Academic Success On Teacher Retention, Charisse Gulosino, Louis Franceschini Iii, Portia Hardman

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

The primary aim of this study is to use the survey items from the TELL Tennessee Survey (2013) using the Competing Values Framework (CVF) to determine whether teachers' observations about a set of topically organized school climate dimensions and school performance levels are associated with their immediate professional plans. Using a three-by-two-level Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), we find that the effect of CVF “balance” and school performance level explain much of the variation in the percent of teachers who intend to stay at their current school, independent of the school’s student demographic characteristics. Specifically, the effect of having a balanced …

Beginning Teachers’ Experiences Working With A District-Employed Mentor In A North Carolina School District, Kari S. Hobbs Dr., Jennifer Putnam Dr.

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This study is concerned with the experiences of beginning teachers working with a district-employed mentor. Based on Illeris’s (2002) Three Dimensions of Learning, the study sought to understand the cognitive, emotional, and social processes involved in working with a mentor through the use of one-on one, in-depth interviews.

Nine beginning teachers participated in the study. Their assignments included elementary (n=4), middle grades (n=2), and high school (n=3). Data collection took place at the end of the school year and included Year 1 and Year 2 teachers. The study uncovered four findings related to these beginning teachers: mentors …

Letter From The Editor, Steven Bingham

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Greetings from Gardner-Webb University to wherever in the world you may be reading this letter. The growth of readership over the last year has been nothing short of astounding. More than anything else, we think the outpour of attention speaks to the dearth of opportunity to learn from practitioners who, applying the principles of disciplined inquiry, are solving one local problem at a time.

Looking to the future, we hope soon to receive contributions from emerging practitioner scholars in Organizational Leadership, those in our program here at Gardner-Webb University and those in similar programs worldwide. Another goal is to issue …

Book Review—Leading Ethically In Schools And Other Organizations, Mary Gardiner

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

No abstract provided.

Comparing The Effect Of Two Internship Structures On Supervision Experience And Learning, Robin D. Winslow, Meghan Eliason, Keith W. Thiede

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This study examined whether two different internship structures affected educational leadership students’ supervision experience, beliefs about supervision, and learning of a clinical supervision model. Some students supervised pre-service teachers placed at their schools, while others supervised in-service teachers employed at their schools (a more traditional internship). Students who supervised pre-service teachers reported using the various supervision components to a greater extent than did students who supervised in-service teachers. Although beliefs about the importance of different supervision components did not differ across groups, learning of the clinical supervision model was greater for students who supervised pre-service teachers than for those who …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Traditional And Alternative Principal Preparation Programs, Summer Pannell Ph.D., Bernnell M. Peltier-Glaze Ed.D., Ingrid Haynes Ph.D., Delilah Davis Ph.D., Carrie Skelton Ph.D.

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This study sought to determine the effectiveness on increasing student achievement of principals trained in a traditional principal preparation program and those trained in an alternate route principal preparation program within the same Mississippi university. Sixty-six Mississippi principals and assistant principals participated in the study. Of the 66 participants, 41 competed a traditional principal preparation program, and 25 completed an alternate route principal preparation program at the same university. The data included the type of principal preparation the participant received, the number of consecutive years served as a principal or assistant principal, and student achievement data for their assigned schools. …

Balanced Reading Basals And The Impact On Third-Grade Reading Achievement, Windy Dorsey

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This convergent parallel mixed method sought to determine if the reading program increased third-grade student achievement. The research questions of the study examined the reading achievement scores of third-grade students and the effectiveness of McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders™. Significant differences were observed when a paired sample t test measured progress on the Reading 3D composite, Text Reading Comprehension, and North Carolina Beginning of Grade/North Carolina End of Grade from the beginning of the year to the end of year. Responses from a teacher survey and interviews provided data that revealed teacher perceptions of McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders™ basal program and the impact …

Letter From The Editor, Steven Bingham

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Greetings from Boiling Springs, North Carolina, home of Gardner-Webb University and the Journal of Organizational and Educational Leadership. Geographically, we are nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains about one hour west of Charlotte. Virtually, we are another story.

Like Scarlett Johansson’s cosmically ascendant character, “Lucy,” said at the end of the film by the same name, JOEL is “everywhere.” Well, almost everywhere. The fact is that in the last 30 days alone, 13 institutions in 19 countries representing every continent except Antarctica has downloaded at least one article from our premier edition.