Education Commons^™

Leadership Density: An Exploratory Correlational Study Of K-8 Teachers' Balanced Scorecards And Perceptions Of Leadership, Jason David Edwards

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this study was to explore possible correlations between how individual teachers experience leadership density and their balanced scorecard totals. The literature review conceptualizes leadership density at the intersection of leadership theory and healthy school culture. Leadership density is then operationalized to a vetted theoretical framework and corresponding instrument. Existing data was derived from a public lottery-based K-8 charter school. As a balanced feedback mechanism for teachers, the site school employed an annual bonus scorecard calculator. Each teacher’s balanced scorecard included academic growth, supervisor evaluation, and parent surveys.

This research aimed to expand scholarly understandings of how teachers …

Factors Contributing To Students Seeking An Alternative Secondary School Setting, Brian Crawford

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This is a case study of six students who chose to leave a comprehensive high school that has a reputation for academic excellence. Through a triangulation of data from semi-structured private interviews with the students and their school counselors and the students’ academic records, the details of the students’ experiences at a high school exposed some of the personal factors and school-based factors that influenced their decision to leave. All of these students struggled academically, socially, or emotionally. The major thematic categories for reasons the students left that emerged from the interviews were student mobility, mental illness, socio-economic pressure, academic …

Reading Engagement In An Elementary Setting As Enhanced By Choice, Social Collaboration, And Self-Perception, Carrie Ferguson

Doctor of Education (EdD)

No abstract provided.

Acronyms And Identities: The Perceptions Of Latino Teenagers Regarding Their Experiences As Long-Term Second Language Learners, Kristina E. Granby

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the perceptions of older Latino teenagers regarding their experiences as long-term English language learners. The data were gained from in-depth interviews based on a phenomenological methodology. The participants were interviewed individually using a modified three-part interview structure. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using initial and thematic coding to identify common and related themes. The data was presented primarily using participant quotes to illustrate identified themes. The results of the study were organized into three major aspects of the culturally and linguistically diverse participants’ life experiences: Articulations of Personal …

Personality Traits And Prior Academic Learning As Predictors Of Student Success In High School Math Courses, Wilson Morris

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Academic institutions continue to find that the cost of a student’s failure of a core class has significant implications for that student’s overall academic success, from middle school through university level programs. Many intervention programs are retroactively planned as they are activated after the student has failed a number of core classes. This research investigated three measures of self-control, grit, and attitude toward math as possible predictors of student performance in a math class. Surveys were administered toward the beginning of the trimester to 46 high school students enrolled in four different geometry and algebra courses at a rural Oregon …

Perceptions Of Intelligence And Academic Achievement Among Undergraduate Students With Learning Disorders, Ashley Blake

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Students with learning disorders are one of the largest and fastest growing populations of college students with disabilities, yet many experience significant difficulty in formal academic settings. These challenges may include lower levels of academic achievement, negative perceptions of school, and negative perceptions of themselves. Research has shown that certain variables, including implicit theory of intelligence, goal orientation, and self-efficacy, are related to academic achievement. The current study sought to assess the relationships between these variables and academic achievement, as measured by cumulative GPA, among a sample of college students with identified learning disorders. Results showed medium to large correlations …

Exploring The Experiences Of Higher Education Students Involved With The Development Of A Responsive And Student-Centered Learning Support Program, Debra Park

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This qualitative study explored the perceptions and experiences of students with college support services. The researcher identified and presented training for students who had been involved with student support services for more than one academic year, to act as focus group facilitators. Another group of students who had received support services for less than one academic year, was involved in the study as focus group participants. Two general themes and five subthemes emerged from the data analysis. These include the general theme Supportive Campus Environment (three subthemes: feeling isolated and alone; open academic and personal support; and visibility/availability of support …

Teacher Perceptions Related To Teacher Effectiveness: An Application Of Hattie's Mind Frame Conceptualization, Carissa Deyoung

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher perceptions of effective teaching by giving teachers the opportunity to voice their perspectives. Teachers that were determined to be effective through observations were personally interviewed in order to explore the qualities and attributes of highly effective teachers and what they believe to have the strongest impact on student achievement and success. In addition to teacher perceptions, this study also examined how teacher perceptions aligned with John Hattie’s work on teacher mind frame. By analyzing teacher perceptions five specific themes emerged from the data. Those specific themes aligned with seven of Hattie’s …

Stuck In The Middle: A Qualitative Study Of Middle School Students Displaying Problematic Behaviors And Their Perspectives Regarding Significant School Related Issues, Marty Palacios

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study originated with questions about students who display problematic behavior in school and their unique school experience. Generally, student voices regarding their perspective about their own school experiences are absent in the scholarly literature. This lack of attention led to this investigation. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions held by a small sample of middle school children who evidence a pattern of disciplinary problems as determined by school referral data. The target students were solicited from two middle schools in the same district that met the criteria for problematic behavior and were willing to participate. …

The Relationship Between The Level Of Language Acquisition And Reading Achievement Among English Language Learners, Kathleen Barrett

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study examined two research questions: How are reading proficiency and English language proficiency assessment scores in third and fourth grades associated with fifth grade reading proficiency? As well as: How are reading proficiency and English language proficiency assessment scores in third and fourth grades associated with fifth grade English language proficiency? The purpose of this study was to better understand the relationship between English language proficiency and reading achievement in English Language Learners. This study included one cohort of English Language Learners from a middle sized district in the Portland, Oregon metro area, enrolled from their third grade school …

The Meaning Of Patient-Nurse Interaction For Older Hospitalized Women: A Phenomenological Study, Deborah Mize

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this dissertation is was to explore how older women perceived their interactions with nurses after receiving care in a hospital setting. Older women are a vulnerable population subject to being overlooked or misunderstood by the nurses caring for them, hence the importance of this study. To gather the data on older women’s lived world of nursing care, I used a phenomenological approach based on a hermeneutic framework that considers linguistic, historical, and social factors to interpret older women’s lived world of nursing care while hospitalized. I personally interviewed seven women between the ages of 66 and 81 …

A More Noble Purpose: An Educator’S Analysis Of America's Public School Policy, Amy M. Fast

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This dissertation is to invite a conversation among stakeholders of public education that there is a need for a common vision for America’s public schools. I argue that we have never had a clear purpose for our schools and that now more than ever educators in America ache for a more inspiring purpose than simply improving results on standardized assessments. I assert how focusing on the mission instead of simply the mandates and measures is how real change occurs. Until we have a common and transparent purpose that serves to inspire those in the trenches of the work, reform in …

Communicating Value: Understanding Adjunct Typology, Job Satisfaction Levels, And Professional Development Interests, Lisa P. Davidson

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Higher education institutions are navigating budget cuts, changing enrollment, and the need to differentiate from the competition. Reductions in government funding and budgetary constraints are prompting universities to reduce the number of full-time, tenure-track faculty and rely more heavily on adjunct faculty to meet their demand for instructors. Therefore it is important to determine the distinct needs and satisfaction levels of this faculty group in order to provide appropriate resources and development opportunities for them. This study sought to determine if adjunct faculty job satisfaction levels differ based on adjunct typology (Gappa & Leslie, 1993) or institutional affiliation, and to …

Investigating The Lived Experience Of Teacher Decision-Making: A Phenomenological Approach, Lynn Abeln

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe third-grade teachers’ experiences of instructional decision-making. Three third-grade teachers participated in a series of in-depth interviews designed to reveal what it is like to make instructional decisions in the complex environment of public elementary schools. Previous studies have examined a number of different factors involved in classroom instruction. The teachers in this study not only spoke about the factors that were common in the literature such as: curriculum, testing and teachers’ beliefs, but also the way they responded to the tension created by those competing factors in their instructional …

The Relationship Between Reading Enjoyment, Gender, Socioeconomic Status, And Reading Outcomes In Pisa 2009, Luke Neff

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Over the past few decades, the United States has seen a shift in classroom reading instruction away from time spent reading for pleasure and practices like Sustained Silent Reading. While researchers have found a few positive relationships between time spent reading for enjoyment and educational outcomes, these limited findings have been unsatisfactory in convincing organizations like the National Reading Panel of the efficacy of Reading Enjoyment Time. This study uses the The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 reading assessment and accompanying student questionnaires to determine the importance of Reading Enjoyment Time as a predictor of reading outcomes, especially …

Active Management Of The Third Stage Of Labor By Skilled Birth Attendants In A Rural Regional Hospital In Southern Ethiopia: A Qualitative Case Study, Marcella J. Gowan

Doctor of Education (EdD)

In Ethiopia, as in many developing countries, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal mortality. PPH can be prevented through a three-step practice called active management of the third stage of labor (AMTSL), which can be learned by a skilled birth attendant (SBA). However, most SBAs have not adopted AMTSL into practice. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the use of AMTSL among SBAs in a rural regional hospital in southern Ethiopia. Six theoretical propositions and a conceptual framework were designed to guide the research and analysis. In-depth interviews were conducted with SBAs who worked …

Bridging The Research-To-Practice Gap: Factors Affecting Teachers' Efficacy About Instruction, Tiana J. Tucker

Doctor of Education (EdD)

No abstract provided.

Perception Of Educational Equity And School Climate: A Case Study, Elisabeth Ferreira D'Azevedo

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Although educational equity and school climate are considered critical factors to ensuring the success of every student in the 21st century (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Mitchell, Bradshaw, & Leaf, 2010; Skrla, McKenzie, & Scheurich, 2009), limited research has explored the relationship and strength of association between indicators of educational equity and school climate. Literature in these areas has largely treated these areas as separate. Using quantitative data from 24,757 students and 1,404 staff, this statistical analysis investigated whether middle school students and teachers perceive equity in school climate differently based on race, and whether a relationship between perceived equity and school climate …

Nontraditional Students In Management And Accounting Programs: Investigating The Relationship Between Personality And Major Satisfaction In The Community College Setting, Brad Ward

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

High school students and working-age adults are frequently pressured by teachers, relatives, peers, employers, and state and federal governments to attend college for such reasons as obtaining new skills, increasing salary and prestige, and seeking new career opportunities (Baxter & Kavanagh, 2012; Calmes, 2014; Holcomb, 2008; Pringle, DuBose, & Yankey, 2010). Approximately 25% of these students drop out of school within the freshman year (ACT, 2013) due, in part, to a poor personality fit with their major (Jones & Jones, 2014). Consequently, attrition has become a costly problem for university administrators and taxpayers (American Institutes for Research, 2011). Personality is …

Knowing Me, Knowing You: The Dilemma Of Diversity Courses In Higher Education, Marian Derlet

Doctor of Education (EdD)

American institutions of higher education are increasingly addressing the issue of diversity. Many colleges list diversity as one of their institutional values, while others not only name diversity as a value, but also require diversity courses. This paper examines the difficulty posed by these objectives due to a lack of agreement and/or understanding of the term diversity. Traditional notions of diversity include differences of race, religion, and ethnicity. However in the 21st century, the term diversity now includes such categories as age, socio-economic status, and disability. This paper argues that as college students seek to define diversity for themselves, they …