Education Commons^™

Disrupting Education: High School Principals’ Efforts To Lead Disruptive Innovation And The Influence Of Isomorphic Mechanisms, Katie Cummings Catania

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Students today require skills and dispositions different from those of the past. Despite ongoing efforts to initiate change in schools through reform efforts, little has changed within educational institutions. Current reform efforts do, however, create conditions for principals to lead disruptive innovation within their schools. Research is limited on innovation implementation in education and the various ways isomorphic forces may hinder or contribute to the design and adoption of disruptive innovations. The purpose of this study was to examine how high school principals lead disruptive innovation. Additionally, this study sought to understand how the mechanisms of isomorphism influence the adoption …

Communities Of Practice And Legitimate Peripheral Participation: Teacher Learning In Social And Situated Contexts, Ryan Patrick O’Meara

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Learning through social interactions in situated contexts represents a significant means by which teachers in schools learn their craft (Brown & Duguid, 1991; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Orr, 1996, Scribner, 1999). While research into the phenomenon of situated teacher learning exists, research into teacher’s learning and evolving expertise with the context of high stakes accountability environments is lacking to date (Boylan, 2010; Davies, 2005; Hodkinson & Hokinson, 2003; Pyrko, Dörfler, & Eden, 2017). This case study explored how teachers with 5-10 years of experience have learned in social and situated contexts. Teachers studied taught within two different subject areas within …

Quasi-School Leaders: The Lived Experiences Of High School Counseling Directors And Their Role In Schools, Andrea Cherice Simon

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The aim of this study is to explore the lived experiences of high school counseling director’s and how their principal and district school counseling supervisor shape their experiences as leaders. The role of high school counseling director’s is increasingly complex, unique, and oftentimes misunderstood. They are often viewed as leaders and change agents in student’s overall success due to their unique skill levels in advocacy and collaboration (Kaffenberger, Murphy, & Bemak, 2006; McMahon, Mason, Daluga-Guenther, & Ruiz, 2014; Young, Millard, & Kneale, 2013). However, principal’s and district school counseling supervisors are key players in defining the role and responsibilities of …

Possible Self Dynamics Of Community College Students Engaged In 3d Printing In Informal Environments, Lawrence Ralph Nightingale Jr.

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The overall number of students from diverse backgrounds and women that graduate from community college with degrees in high paying Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines is unacceptably low. The number of opportunities to gain exposure to STEM-based expressions of technology to overcome the dearth of exposure in high school is limited in community college. 3D Printing uses computer-controlled machines to build physical objects one layer at a time starting from the bottom up. The computer-controlled nature of 3D Printing provides a low risk, low cost platform to exercise elements of computer programming and engineering.

This study was a …