Education Commons^™

The Manifestation Of Principal Training: Preparing Assistant Principals For Assuming The Role Of Building Leader, April S. Hodges

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Today’s school principals are required to lead in a new environment marked by unprecedented responsibilities, challenges, and managerial opportunities requiring them to be trained to face these challenges. Although a great deal of literature exists on the specific issues that should be addressed or considered when trying to redesign or restructure a leadership program, there was little that explicitly addressed the assistant principal or how that position specifically could be used to help better prepare aspiring leaders for the role of principal. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to provide a greater depth of knowledge and understanding …

Emotionally Connected: The Role Of Emotional Intelligence In The Work Of School Leaders, Tanzy Lewis Mason

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During this era of accountability and standardized testing, school leaders have been inundated with reform models that seek to increase student achievement. However, without effective leadership at the school level, most of these reform efforts will likely fail. The purpose of this study was to examine the practices of school leaders and the role of emotional intelligence in their work in establishing a school culture. Qualitative methods were used to gain insight into the events, processes, and structures that school leaders encountered as they enacted leadership practices. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with four school leaders. Teachers who worked with …

Intrinsic, Future-Oriented Goal Awareness And Two-Year College Graduation, Brent A. Stubbs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The two-year college graduation rate is at an all-time low. Curricular and program designs are not making the sweeping changes needed for the outcomes desired. While higher education continues to be sold as an economic good, research is pointing to the predictive nature of intrinsic, future-oriented goal (IFOG) awareness on sub-goal adoption and its relation to course success and intention to persist. This cross-sectional, correlational study desired to uncover the relation between IFOG and graduation. A modified version of the Aspirations index was provided to a group of new students and those on-target to graduate (last semester) in an effort …

The Relationship Between Middle School Lexile Growth And School Nutrition, Lori A. Joiner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Children in poverty tend to have malnutrition and iron deficiency, and often receive their only meals for the day from a school nutrition program. Students of poverty are underperforming their academic peers. The average reading score of a student can be predicted by the accumulated levels of childhood poverty. Research has found that iron can have a positive impact on brain health. Nutrition deficiencies during the adolescent years may increase the risk of decreased cognitive function. School breakfast and lunch programs follow USDA guideline that limit portions, fats, salts, and sugars, but do not fortify vitamin and minerals necessary …

The Relationship Between Teachers' Perception Of Data-Driven Instructional Leadership And Their Sense Of Efficacy And Anxiety For Data-Driven Decision-Making, Jarvis J. Price

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the relationship between teachers’ perception of data-driven instructional leadership and their sense of self-efficacy and anxiety towards data-driven decision-making. Additionally, the research study examined if teachers’ school level (elementary or secondary) influenced their perception of data-driven instructional leadership and their sense of self-efficacy and anxiety towards data-driven decision-making. The researcher utilized a correlational research design and correlational/regression analysis to conduct this study based on the theoretical framework of Bandura’s social learning theory. The researcher surveyed 300 full-time certified educators in a rural school district located in the southeastern United States using the …

A Phenomenological Study Of Teachers' Emotional Responses To Tkes, A High-Stakes Evaluation System, Kristina J. Hirsch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers experience a plethora of emotions relating to being evaluated and we are losing a lot of good teachers due to some of these emotions. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate how teachers at one rural high school describe their emotional responses to evaluation and the implementation of TKES as well as if there were gender differences in their responses. This research is important because teachers need to understand that their emotions are not taboo and they are not alone in the evaluation process. Additionally, evaluators benefit from knowing how teachers respond to evaluation so that they …

Examining Work-Related Factors That May Predict Teacher Retention Intention In Rural Georgia, Katrina M. Evans-Dobbs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized a quantitative, statistical, non-experimental design to collect, analyze, and interpret data or variables that might impact retention of beginning teachers (0-3 years of experience) and experienced teachers (more than 3 years of experience) in a rural county school system in Georgia. The following variables were examined: retention intention, job satisfaction, job autonomy, workload pressure, leadership support, work experience, lateral/non-lateral status, induction, and mentoring. There were 728 participants from 14 elementary schools, five middle schools, and four high schools. This study found there were no statistically significant differences in retention intention between lateral and non-lateral teachers. There was …

A Meta-Assessment Of An Institution's Administrative Assessment Processes, Cynthia Groover

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many institutions establish assessment teams to assist faculty in developing their knowledge of and confidence in conducting academic program assessment, and some extend these teams to address administrative and student affairs assessment as well. These teams may function as more formal distributed leadership models, as described by Spillane (2006), or they may be less formal groups with little or no leadership roles. Regardless of their level of formality, these teams are often used to implement other resources such as rubrics, peer review, and feedback, but the effectiveness of these resources and processes is not commonly reviewed through an intentionally designed …