Education Commons^™

Issues Of Racial, Ethnic, And Gender Diversity In Preparing School Administrators, Carolyn Ridenour, Patricia F. First, Angela Lydon, Michelle C. Partlow

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The four authors teach in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of Dayton. Each taught a new course that addressed issues of diversity in schools, focusing on race, ethnicity, and gender. Each developed the course in a unique way and in distinct settings, though each involved:

1. Reflecting holistically on the experience of teaching the course in order to generate common themes explaining what the experience meant to the faculty as individuals and as women (Blackmore & Kenway, 1993).

2. Examining students' work, behaviors, communication, and attitudes in order to infer level of, as well as changes in, …

Cultural Change Paradigms And Administrator Communication, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Public school reform has taken three distinct turns over the past two decades. In the early 1980s, most policymakers blamed a lack of educational productivity on lazy students. Influenced by this argument, virtually every state legislature enacted laws lengthening the school year, lengthening the school day, and increasing high school graduation requirements. Within a relatively short period of time, however, the would-be reformers concluded that intensification of student experiences was insufficient to produce significant improvements. While not abandoning their original conviction, they shifted their attention to a second target-educators. The result was a flurry of proposals to revise or eliminate …

The Experience And Meaning Of A Marianist Education Today: A National High School Study Of Mission And School Culture, Carolyn Ridenour, Alan Demmitt, Jill L. Lindsey-North

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Focus groups conducted with students, parents, teachers, and alumni (N=540) at 13 Catholic Marianist high schools provided rich insights into the experience and meaning of the education provided at these institutions. While academic excellence was a common thread woven across meaning given by both parents and teachers, students and alumni articulated a meaning replete with images of belonging. That these schools valued persons holistically (rather than solely academically) permeated most groups. Using theories of organizational culture as the foundation, the relationship between missions and the meaning of life in these schools is discussed.

The School Superintendent: Theory, Practice, And Cases, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This book provides both theoretical and practical insights into the evolving responsibilities associated with being the chief executive officer of a school system. Treats school administration as a science and a craft involving professional artistry, and examines the position in relation to challenges and potential frustrations and accomplishments. Describes contemporary superintendency in the context of four role conceptualizations (professional educator, business manager, statesman, social scientist). Traces the evolution of each role's expectations and discusses their continued emphasis in current practice. Considers policy development -- with an emphasis on deregulation and decentralization. Focuses on relevant issues, including communication, decision making, ethical …

The Organization And Planning Of Adult Education, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The heightened interest in and the rapid expansion of adult education has become a trend in a variety of environments. In order to serve these developing areas, educators, personnel directors, as well as staff development specialists require improved methods for planning learning activities within their own unique organizational contexts.

In The Organization and Planning of Adult Education Kowalski examines the issues created by providing a social service in diverse organizational settings and presents a format for initiating and developing adult education programs. In order to comprehend the complexity of the context of programming within an organization, two novel components are …

Theses And Dissertations: A Guide To Writing In Social And Physical Sciences, Isadore Newman, Carolyn Ridenour, David M. Weis, Keith Mcneil

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This practical volume is designed to assist graduate students in planning, conducting, and writing theses or dissertations in the social and physical sciences. Numerous examples are provided and many tips are included to facilitate completion of the thesis or dissertation. This record contains Chapter 1, which discusses the components of what is usually found in chapter 1 of a dissertation or master's thesis.

Meanings Underlying Student Ratings Of Faculty, Carolyn Ridenour, Stephen J. Blatt

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine how undergraduate students interpret the items on a faculty evaluation instrument. Most research on faculty evaluation is quantitative (Marsh and Bailey 1993). Our first study was also quantitative. After we produced a profile of quantitative ratings of faculty by students across all departments in our university in an earlier study, we wanted to go beneath the numbers to their meaning. We designed the present qualitative study to investigate what the items on that form meant to students.

Public Relations In Educational Organizations: Practice In An Age Of Information And Reform, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This collection of readings addresses the greatest demand being placed upon educational administrators in this, the Age of Information — using technology to create two-way communication systems within their organizations and between their organizations and their communities. The author integrates theories and techniques taken from a wide variety of leading theorists and practitioners in both public relations and educational administration to provide an interdisciplinary, contemporary foundation for practice.

Adolescent Suicide: The Implication Of Coping, Family Functioning And Their Interactions For Prevention And Intervention, Ronald F. Bobner, David M. Weis, Carolyn Ridenour, Pam Gulley Smith, Kathy Kormos, Ben E. Lanpher

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

It has become apparent over the past ten years that the role of the family has been identified as an increasingly significant variable with regard to adolescent suicide. Some authors go as far as to say that "family related factors appear to be, very little information is available about the family characteristics of youths that kill themselves. Furthermore, family characteristics of youths who attempt suicide are often described as a side feature of investigations of other factors, and these generally focus on the family characteristics only after an attempt has occurred. Little is known about those family factors that are …

School District Restructuring: An Evaluation Process To Determine Effectiveness, Carolyn Ridenour, Thomas J. Matczynski, C. Daniel Raisch

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Much has been written concerning the need for schools to restructure. In scores of books and journals on school restructuring, suggestions have centered around such concepts as: decentralization, school-based management, and collaborative decision-making. Although these models have been utilized over a number of years, there is limited evidence relating to their effectiveness.

Almost no research studies have concluded that such restructuring models have impacted the academic lives of students. The purpose of this article is to describe a program evaluation process utilized in conducting a study of school restructuring in a mid-sized, urban school district. The strategies used, results obtained, …

Administrators' Understanding Of The Federal Special Education Mandate: Individuals With Disabilities Education Act., William R. Nelson, Carolyn Ridenour

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

With the passage of the Education for all Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) in 1975, the United States Congress sought to provide educational opportunity to all children. In 1990, with added amendments, the law was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Turnbull reported in 1993 that Congress had found approximately one-half of the nation's eight million children with disabilities were not receiving an appropriate education and about one million were receiving no education at all. Clearly, in the past two decades since the passage of the Education for all Handicapped Children Act school administrators have, on a daily …

Chasing The Wolves From The Schoolhouse Door, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Interestingly, warnings about the deterioration of America's schoolhouses have generated only limited public reaction. State legislators, governors, federal officials, and corporate executives — all of whom were exceedingly eager to react to earlier education reports such as A Nation at Risk- have been amazingly silent. Where are the legislative proposals to eradicate this problem? Where are the creative ideas from managers in private industry? Where are the calls for establishing a national commission to address this crisis? The most likely response to these questions is that the cost of solving the problem is simply too great. Accordingly, neither those who …

Case Studies On Educational Administration, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This book immerses prospective administrators in the realities of practice and decision-making through the use of a wide range of open-ended case studies. Effective practice in school administration involves making decisions about management of schools and reform, including state deregulation, district decentralization, and school restructuring. Leaders need to think beyond management and consider how to affect school culture, professional development, and changing populations. The cases in this book will help leaders address those issues by honing three key skills: (1) How to identify and solve problems; (2) How to develop and evaluate alternative solutions; (3) How to continuously refine professional …

Preparing Teachers To Be Leaders: Barriers In The Workplace, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Efforts to prepare teachers to be leaders are often impeded by a number of barriers in society and schools. Obstacles in the workplace are largely products of organizational cultures and climates that place teachers in subordinate roles. The argument is made that consideration of these barriers must be incorporated into revisions of teacher education curricula.

Keepers Of The Flame: Contemporary Urban Superintendents, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

A wealth of qualitative data concerning urban districts and their school superintendents in the United States is contained in this book. Theodore J Kowalski examines the lives of 17 urban school superintendents focusing on their problems and aspirations. Of particular significance is the discussion of how factors such as community environment, organizational change and culture, and the person in the job combine to influence decision-making and administrative behaviour.

Factors Underlying Effective College Teaching: What Students Tell Us, Carolyn Ridenour, Stephen J. Blatt

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The researchers analyzed 28,000 student evaluations of faculty across 46 departments for one academic term. A 27-item instrument on which students rated faculty was used. One global item assessing overall instructor effectiveness was predicted most strongly by three items: namely, students' perception that the instructor was prepared, presented subject matter clearly, and was interesting. The predictors of students, perceiving that they "learned a lot" were the ratings on three items: the instructor was interesting, the course met the objectives, and the instructor was well-prepared. Being prepared and being interesting seem to be critical characteristics for university faculty in the classroom.

Case Studies Of Beginning Teachers, Theodore J. Kowalski, Roy A. Weaver, Kenneth T. Henson

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Case Studies of Beginning Teachers offers a collection of 35 case studies of first-year teaching experiences — a mixture of true dilemmas and best solution scenarios — that bridge educational theory and practice to shed light on actual problems and challenges new teachers most often confront.

Contemporary School Administration: An Introduction, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Contemporary School Administration presents a pragmatic approach to school administration as a career choice, offering a broad, comprehensive overview of educational leadership in both public and private schools.

The initial chapters provide a foundation for understanding leadership and management, the primary components of administration. Common questions students ask regarding academic study, licensure, job opportunities, income, and career development are featured in the early chapters. The text is also unique in that it covers critical topics ignored in most other introductory books. Examples of these topics include private schools, women and minorities in administration, and communication. Content does not overlap with …

New Conceptualizations Of Intelligence: An Interview With Robert Sternberg, Carolyn Ridenour

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Robert J. Sternberg, IBM Professor of Psychology and Education, Yale University's Psychology Department has developed the triarchic theory of intelligence, which he discussed in this interview. A graduate of Yale and Stanford Universities, his research has dealt with theories of intelligence, individual differences in cognition, thinking and reasoning, problem solving, and multi, variate data analysis with latent variables and observable variables. He is a productive writer, having authored approximately 30 books, and authored or coauthored more than 300 articles and book chapters. His most recent book is Metaphors of the Mind (1990), published by Cambridge University Press.

Case Studies On Teaching, Theodore J. Kowalski, Roy A. Weaver, Kenneth T. Henson

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Case Studies on Teaching is a unique book designed to infuse reality into the process of preparing teachers. The contents are based on real issues and needs faced by new teachers at they commence their professional careers in elementary and secondary school classrooms. The thirty-six cases offer myriad opportunities for utilizing the case method of instruction. This method has received acclaim in law, medicine, and business curricula. Regardless of the professional context, case studies create interactions that mandate active learning.

Planning And Managing School Facilities, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Theodore Kowalski addresses the administrative procedures associated with planning and managing school facilities. Practitioner interest in school facilities has been growing rapidly in recent years because decades of neglect, poor planning, and cost cutting have created a situation in which large numbers of America's school buildings are in need of major repair or replacement.

At the same time, the realization that costs related to repair and replacement have escalated significantly has fueled a new concern among school facility planning and management.

Writing for school administrators, superintendents, and board members as well as graduate students in education, Kowalski discusses planning from …

Community Education: Processes And Programs, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

"Community education is on the threshold of a major breakthrough. It has captured the imagination of both educational and lay leaders throughout the U.S."

Although these words are an appropriate description of community education today, they were written by V. M. Kerensky 14 years ago. An idea that never took hold to the degree its advocates predicted, community education, nevertheless, refuses to die. Over the past two or three years, the interest of educationalleaders has been stimulated once again by this proposal for expanding the mission and decision-making processes of public schools. In 49 of the 50 states (Hawaii being …