Education Commons^™

The Role Of School Leaders In Creating A Learning Ecosystem Through School-Community Partnerships, Lisa Dimartino

Educational Studies Dissertations

This multi-method study examined survey and interview data collected from current K-12 school leaders in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Southeastern Massachusetts to determine the role school leaders play in creating a learning ecosystem through school-community partnerships. This study included three research questions that inquired about the degree to which principals believe school-community partnerships improve schools, the ways partnerships are currently developed, and the identification of factors and conditions that promote or inhibit partnerships. Data was collected in three phases, including survey responses from 25 school leaders, followed by interviews with five respondents, with the final phase consisting of document …

Unlocking The Potential For Every Teacher To Lead: A Phenomenological Study Of Informal Teacher Leadership, Jennifer M. Martin

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study of informal teacher leaders used a phenomenological method of research to investigate the lived experiences of teachers who have led in schools without a formal title or position of leadership. The study used a mixed methods approach to gathering data including a survey of 111 secondary educators in Eastern Massachusetts and 10 interviews with informal teacher leaders at the high school and middle school levels. The study inquired about how informal teacher leaders understand the concept of teacher leadership, what motivates and prepares them for leadership, the factors and conditions that encourage or discourage engagement in informal …

Mompreneur Immunity: An Exploration Of Meaning-Making And Relational Support Of Self-Employed Women With Children, Felicia Newhouse

Educational Studies Dissertations

The 21^st century has seen a substantial increase in female entrepreneurship. A large portion of these entrepreneurs are mothers who combine entrepreneurship with looking after their children, also known as “mompreneurs” (Collins English Dictionary, 2011). Given the current growth of women-owned businesses (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2018), it is especially important to examine the work-life experiences of women who are creating and sustaining entrepreneurial ventures while raising children. There are few studies that address mompreneurship (Ekinsmyth, 2011; Lewis, 2010; Nel, Maritz, & Thongprovati, 2010), leaving an empirical gap in understanding the experiences of mother entrepreneurs. This dissertation addresses the question …

Cultural Priming And Psychosocial Factors In The Achievement Of Hispanic And White Students, Richard Peters

Educational Studies Dissertations

The rationale for this study is that the achievement gap between Whites and Hispanics can be influenced by reconceptualizing the learner process as one that integrates culture, motivation, and psychosocial variables, with academic performance. The study investigated the role of three psychosocial variables in achievement: familism, academic self concept, and ethnocentrism. It also reconceptualized one’s culture as a toolkit for instrumental use on tasks in another culture, adopted the dynamic constructivist approach to culture’s influence, and applied the original definition of acculturation, of mutual influence of groups in contact, to achievement. A pretest/posttest comparison group design was used. White and …

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 …

Teaching Literacy To Nonliterate Spanish-Speaking Students With Interrupted Formal Education (Sife): The Freire-Udl Literacy-Alfabetización Model And Guide, Maria João Mendes

Educational Studies Dissertations

This research has focused on the creation of the Freire-UDL Literacy-Alfabetización Model and its application to practice in the development of a Teacher’s Guide to support educators in teaching literacy/alfabetización to nonliterate Spanish-speaking students with limited or interrupted formal education (SIFE/SLIFE) in 40 hours or less. A two-fold problem was the impetus to this study: The urgency to teach a significant number of nonliterate Spanish- speaking SIFE/SLIFE to read effectively through their home language (L1), Spanish; and the need to support Spanish bilingual middle and high school SIFE educators in teaching their nonliterate Spanish-speaking students how to read in a …

Harmonies And Dissonances: The Relationship Between Values Taught And Values Experienced In Three Values-Oriented High Schools, Barbara Merson

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the relationship between values taught and values experienced in three values-oriented high schools, i.e., high schools whose educational philosophy and objectives include an emphasis on specific values. The research questions focused on description of values taught and experienced within the schools, the perception of leaders and teachers about this relationship, and the theories of action developed by school leaders and teachers to enhance the relationship. Primary data sources included interviews with leaders and teachers, observations of classrooms and public spaces, and document reviews in each school. Data were analyzed both within each school and across the …

Collegiate Women In Saudi Arabia: Leading Collectively For The Development Of Self, Others, And Society, Miznah Alomair

Educational Studies Dissertations

This is a constructivist grounded theory study that explored and investigated the leadership understandings of collegiate women in Saudi Arabia’s private non-profit universities, the opportunities they have to develop leadership, and how and why they develop leadership. The researcher engaged in semi-structured interviews with 25 collegiate women who have experiences in student leadership in one or more cocurricular program at their respective university. The findings revealed that collegiate women: (a) have a collective sense of the importance in developing their leadership potential to better themselves, to better each other, and for the betterment of the Saudi Arabian society; (b) they …

Environmental Education In Urban Green Space: Understanding Educator Practice, Jennifer Klein

Educational Studies Dissertations

Over the past 10 years, urban ecosystems have gained attention and interest among environmental education scholars and practitioners alike. This is thought to be due to increased awareness of the growing human population, the percentage of land across the world now classified as urban, and an overall understanding that urban systems are unique ecological systems worthy of their own approach to environmental education programming. To date, much urban environmental education in urban systems has focused on program participant outcomes—social, emotional, and academic.

This mixed-methods study introduces a middle-range framework through which to understand the instructional practice of environmental educators who …

Action Research And Teacher Voice: A Pathway For Transforming Our Schools Into Learning Organizations, Susan Inman

Educational Studies Dissertations

Our PreK-12 schools face increasing complexities such as accountability, diversity, closing the achievement gap, and working in an era of standards-based reform (Drago-Severson, 2009). The purpose of this inquiry was to understand teachers’ experiences with one type of learning experience, action research, and to investigate the impact of this experience on the teachers’ practice and voice. Three research questions guided this inquiry:

• What are the experiences teachers have as they utilize the action research process?
• How do teachers find that their experiences with action research impact their practice?
• What connections are there between the action research process and …

The Way Of The Artist Educator: Understanding The Fusion Of Artistic Studio Practice And Teaching Pedagogy Of K-12 Visual Arts Educators, Christopher M. Strickland

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this autoethnographic study was to examine the experiences of Artist Educators and how they perceive the fusion of their artistic studio practice and teaching pedagogy impacts their creative and teaching practices. This study involved a focus group of six individuals, including the researcher. All the participants were practicing artists, currently employed or recently retired K-12 Visual Arts Education certified in the states of Maine or New Hampshire and members of the Kittery Art Association. This study used a combination of interviews and an arts-based method for data collection. All the data were analyzed and resulted in the …

The Leadership Of Principals And Their Influence On Student Learning In Public And Private Schools In Tripura, India, Pinto Paul

Educational Studies Dissertations

Previous studies of leadership have shown that principal leadership is the single most influential factor in student learning, next to classroom teaching. They provided information that can be used for creating, supporting, and sustaining principal leadership practices to increase student learning. This study identified the factors and conditions that influence the leadership practices of principals, the various ways principals say that they influence student learning, and the challenges they face in helping others to improve student learning in Tripura. Northeast India. These data were drawn from open-ended questions used in in-depth face-to-face interviews with six public school principals and a …

Practitioner Research In Schools: Revealing The Efficacy Agency Cycle, Edward Resnick

Educational Studies Dissertations

Years of high stakes testing and managerial directives to improve student test scores created a trend of teachers’ declining sense of efficacy and agency. Researchers have yet to examine the perceptions of teachers following requirements to improve student engagement and school climate in an effort to improve academic performance following the authorization of local and national educational accountability reforms. The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers perceive their efficacy and agency in response to the addition of nonacademic measures and the requirement of documented input from teachers and other stakeholders into educational policy planning procedures. Veteran K-12 …

"Can You Just Move The Curtain?": Stories Of Women From The Educational Underclass At The College Door, Janet Kaplan-Bucciarelli

Educational Studies Dissertations

Although millions of adults with a high school diploma or GED need and want to further their education by attaining a postsecondary credential, the majority do not succeed. It is widely known that marginalized adult learners arrive at college academically underprepared and that they face numerous barriers to participation once they enroll. But very few studies look at adults’ life experiences, assets, and perspectives on college before they enroll—when they are still “at the college door.”

This qualitative study explores the stories of ten women (ages 29-56) in pre-college transition classes in the Northeast US, and how their familial, school, …

An Investigation Into Learning And Development Associated With Embodied Mindfulness, Kristen Picard

Educational Studies Dissertations

The intention of this study was to increase understanding of how Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teachers cultivate embodied mindfulness. Recent publications reveal that embodied mindfulness is an essential competency for teaching mindfulness-based interventions. However, there is a gap in the literature related to how MBSR teachers learn or develop this competency. A qualitative phenomenological study influenced by a constructivist paradigm was designed to uncover the essence of MBSR teachers’ experiences of learning and developing embodied mindfulness. The participants were 10 MBSR teachers, defined as adults who received the designation of Qualified or Certified MBSR Teachers from the University of Massachusetts …

Perspectives And Expectations Of Native Spanish-Speaking Parents About Their Children's Education In An American Elementary School, Franklin D. Rothwell Ii

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study inquired about the perceptions of Spanish-speaking immigrant parents about their children's experiences in a Massachusetts elementary school, the expectations they have for their children's education, and their understanding of their role with regards to their children's education. The phenomenological design and analysis concentrated on parents' lived experience as they and their families interacted with the school. Thirty-eight parents of English learners participated in answering a questionnaire and ten were later interviewed. Findings reveal that parents of English learners face obstacles in understanding American schooling and often rely on information from others and comparisons with their own previous …