Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

How Doctoral Students In A Formal Leadership Program Conceptualize Followership: A Mixed-Methods Study, Katy J. Johnson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this exploratory mixed-methods study was to determine how doctoral students in a formal leadership program conceptualize followership. The methods used to conduct this analysis included distributing a Qualtrics (released in August 2022) survey and conducting one-on-one interviews with a sample of degree-seeking doctoral students within a formal leadership program. The researcher collected quantitative and qualitative data addressing students’ followership style, leadership attitudes and beliefs, and perceptions of followership. These data were analyzed concurrently using a triangulation design. A total of 67 students completed the survey, and seven students were interviewed. The findings revealed that the participants employ …

School Improvement Tool, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

School and system improvement

Research shows the powerful impact that school leadership teams can have in improving the quality of teaching and learning. Effective leaders create cultures of high expectations, provide clarity about what teachers are to teach and students are to learn, establish strong professional learning communities, and lead ongoing school-wide efforts to improve teaching practices. The School Improvement Tool describes the practices of highly effective schools and school leaders. The SIT assists schools to review and reflect on their strategies to improve the quality of classroom teaching and learning. It supports school-wide conversations – including with families, school governing bodies, local communities, …

Towards An Ecosystem Of Youth Leadership Development, Trisha Swed

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study is aimed at understanding how youth leadership development programs can be more inclusive and promote a broader range of leadership values, qualities, and behaviors by focusing on young people who have been disaffected by leadership development programs. The study design was intended to provide a creative space for youth to engage in meaningful conversations about their evolving concepts and expectations of leadership. Using critical youth participatory action research to engage a group of youth, cohort members co-created a new youth leadership development program while addressing their identified challenges and needs. Findings from this study highlight the importance of …

Leadership And Instructional Coaching: A Synthesis Of Approaches And Practices That Promote Change, Katie L. Perkins

Essays in Education

The aim of this educational essay is to provide a literature-based synthesis of the leadership approaches and practices of instructional coaches that best support teacher development. The essay is grounded in transformational leadership theory (Bass & Avolio, 1990) and synthesizes three main constructs for effective instructional coaching. These constructs include: andragogical practices (Knowles, 2015), the ethics of care (Beck, 1994), and organizational change (Burke, 2014). Incorporating these leadership practices may encourage effective teacher-coach relationships, promote teacher development and retention, and ultimately increase student success.

Leading With Heart: How Exemplary K-5 Principals Demonstrate Transformational Leadership Through Heart-Based Practices, Teresa Hubbard

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe how exemplary K-5 principals in Southern California lead from the heart using Mark Crowley’s (2011) 4 principles (building a highly engaged team, connecting on a personal level, maximizing employee potential and valuing and honoring achievements) to accomplish extraordinary results in their schools.

Methodology: This study utilized a qualitative phenomenological methodology to study the behaviors of elementary principals. This study, due to current Covid restrictions, included virtual one-on-one interviews that were held via the Zoom online platform. The data collected included audio and video recordings, written transcripts, and artifacts from school …

Leadership In Physical Therapist Education: Instructional Strategies And Assessment Methods Used Among U.S. Capte Accredited Programs, Gretchen R. Prather

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The physical therapy profession has recently placed greater significance on leadership education and research at all levels of professional development. Excellence and innovation in physical therapy practice must address leadership development beginning in professional education. This call for reform has been adopted broadly, including from an accreditation standpoint. The challenge now becomes to determine the most effective ways for preparing student physical therapists to lead in today’s fluid healthcare environment. This study examined leadership content among U.S. CAPTE accredited physical therapist education programs and, specifically, the instructional strategies and assessment methods frequently used to develop emerging leaders. An online survey …

Doctor Of Physical Therapy Students’ Perspectives On Leadership Development In The Context Of The Proposed Leadership Competencies Framework For Physical Therapists, Laura Stephens

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Leadership is an emerging field in physical therapy professional research. Research efforts have concentrated on identifying the most desirable leadership skills and behaviors for practicing physical therapists, or on curricular interventions implemented in specific educational programs. This study utilized a qualitative phenomenological design to investigate the perspectives of 21 current and former student leaders from Marshall University School of Physical Therapy, specifically investigating the scope and effectiveness of available opportunities in developing leadership skills and behaviors. Participants were also probed regarding their motivation for pursuing pre-professional leadership development opportunities. Findings from this study suggest the available opportunities are effective to …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Teacher Grit, Technology Self-Efficacy, And Technology Integration, Joshua Jeremiah Shiloh Marsh

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The use of educational technology applications has grown tremendously in the last decade. Instructors are now equipped with hardware and software applications previously unavailable, such as mobile and interactive technologies. These tools can have tremendous impact on students’ learning and teacher practices. Teachers can improve their assessment capabilities through technology integration, provide better learning opportunities for students with learning disabilities, and promote deeper learning practices. Due to these benefits, budgets at the federal, state, and local levels of the United States now have specific allocations regarding technology-related purchases. Nevertheless, barriers remain regarding the effective integration of technologies in public schools. …

Black Parent Advocacy And Educational Success: Lessons Learned On The Use Of Voice And Engagement, Mark Mcmillian

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

“The opportunity is there, this is what I think of when I think of role models, I think of my experience” (Anthony—a participant in this study—commenting on the effectiveness of advocating for his child). Black children encounter racism in American schools and parents need to advocate for them. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how Black parents developed and used their voice to advocate for their children in a predominantly White educational system with a history of racially disparate outcomes. Particularly, this study drew on the experiences of 15 participants, two men—one was a grandfather—and 13 women, …

Next-Level Leadership: Preparing Assistant Principals For Campus Leadership, Jerry R. Burkett

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

The workload of campus leaders continues to increase with new expectations for evaluation and supervision, changing legislative mandates, and mounting pressures for improved school accountability. Educational Leadership preparation programs are built on national and state standards related to principal leadership and competency. However, while principal preparation programs have focused intently on instructional leadership development for future principals, most educational leadership candidates do not immediately enter the principalship but rather start their administrative careers as assistant principals. School districts can implement a comprehensive training protocol for their emerging principals using research-based practices to ensure assistant principals have the training, coaching, and …

The Role Of The School District In High-Performance Title One Schools In South Texas, George Padilla, Roberto Zamora, Federico Guerra Jr.

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

A mixed research study was designed and conducted to identify effective characteristics of high-performing, high-poverty schools. Four South Texas Title 1 schools identified as High Performing Schools by the Texas Education Agency in 2016 were selected for the study. To be selected, these schools were also required to meet or exceed a set of criteria applied by the researchers. An effective school model, comprised of eleven characteristics and school processes, was developed based on a synthesis of effective school research and served as the theoretical framework for the study. The characteristics include Culture, Leadership, Instruction, Improvement, Home and Community Relations, …

Leading System Transformation: A Work In Progress, Greg Whitby, Maura Manning, Gavin Hays

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Internationally, the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted the education sector. While NSW has avoided the longer periods of remote learning that our colleagues in Victoria and other countries have experienced, we have nonetheless been provoked to reflect on the nature of schooling and the systemic support we provide to transform the learning of each student and enrich the professional lives of staff within our Catholic learning community. At Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP), a key pillar of our approach is to create conditions that enable everyone to be a leader. Following the initial lockdown period in 2020 when students …

Leader Development Of The Health Information Management (Him) Professional, Theresa Jones

Dissertations

This study contributes to the body of knowledge in leader development by examining how higher education programs in a female dominated profession assist learners in developing person-related characteristics that support leader development. A ten-part online survey was sent to directors of health information management (HIM) programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM). Results suggest an opportunity for improvement in the curriculum for development of person-related characteristics critical for leadership positions. In the interest of the progression of women these results should be taken into consideration.

A Comparative Case Study Exploring The Experiences Of Women Leaders In Academic Affairs And Administration In Higher Education Through The Lens Of Intersectionality, Johniqua S. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

There is an increasing concern about the absence of women in senior positions in academia and administration within institutions (Johnson, 2016). There is limited research to compare the journeys of women leaders in academics and administration. This study is an examination of women’s experiences of perceived barriers to leadership roles in faculty and administration. Using comprehensive interviews, this study explores personal accounts to emphasize apparent barriers to career advancement. The goal of the study is to explore women in senior positions in academia and administrative paths to leadership. The male dominated society has made it challenging for women to grow …

From Barriers To Success: How Elementary School Principals Strategically Lead Schools To Become 21st Century Learning Exemplar Schools, Heather Gold

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the barriers and support systems elementary principals describe, through the lens of Activity Theory, they experienced while leading their schools to achieve 21st century learning exemplar status.

Methodology: This phenomenological study examined the perceptions of 15 elementary and K-8 principals and their respective assistant principals regarding the barriers and support systems they experienced while leading their schools to achieve 21st century learning exemplar status. Participants were selected based on the criteria that they had been identified as exemplary by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21); were public, non-private, …

Leading Organizational Learning, Jessica C. Wells

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Leadership is hard to define but easy to recognize and is found in every facet of life. Leaders themselves range from good to bad, the extremities of which are determined by their character, actions, perception of self, how they are perceived by others and their worldviews. An individual’s values provide the basis for ethical decisions, which makes self-awareness a critical element in the development of one’s leader identity. This article provides an overview of leader identity development and offers ways for leaders to apply ethics in their everyday lives.

Teachers’ Experiences Of A District’S Transformational Leadership Design Program: A Qualitative Study, Jarit Unrau

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Facing the rapidly changing 21st-century education, educational organizations strive for innovative ideas to continuously motivate their teachers to enhance student performance. iLead is a district’s pioneering attempt to incorporate transformational leadership's essential elements, the four I’s, Inspirational Motivation, Idealized Influence, Intellectual Stimulation, and Individualized Consideration, into its program design and implementation to develop a collaborative learning culture through teacher motivation and the focus on improving student achievement. The iLead program has drawn statewide attention by winning the 2020 California Golden Bell Awards recently. The annual awards promote excellence in education and recognize prominent California schools’ and districts’ programs and exemplary …

Black Women Leaders In Municipal Government: Leading With Ability, Agility, And Authenticity, Chao Mwatela

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

This research study explored skills and competencies that Black women need to achieve upward mobility into leadership roles in municipal government in the United States (US). The study also reveals how Black women navigate the intersection of race and gender in upward mobility. Three Black women in leadership roles in municipal government during the fall semester of 2021 participated in the study. Feminist leadership theory for social transformation and the theory of intersectionality supported this study. Responses provided insights into abilities needed for upward mobility, strategies Black women use to address the intersection of race and gender in upward mobility, …

Raw And Pure Education In The Society, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

What does education mean to individuals in the world today? Education is a way one can attain or improve his or her ability to lead and survive in the society of ours. Without educational training of the mind, it may be impossible to realize the importance of adaptability of living in the environment. Without education, It may also be difficult to embellish the use of both the mental and physical attributes possessed by individual beings.

What really is education? Education is the training of the mind to perform desire functions or to perpetuate the modality of obtaining an end or …

A Comprehensive Audit Of Professional Development For K-12 School Leaders In The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Melissa Davis Hill, Melisa J. Naumann, Timothy M. Tillman, Major R. Warner Jr.

Doctor of Education Capstones

The intent of this paper is to provide a mixed-methods audit of professional development provided to K-12 school leadership in Virginia's diverse landscape to include identification of providers, funding, effectiveness, and expectations.

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, geographical, political, and socio-economical differences across 132 school divisions cause variability in leaders' experiences with professional development. A mixed-methods approach was used, including a review of current literature, an online survey, virtual interviews, and virtual focus group discussions. This data collection results in a comprehensive audit of professional development provided to school leaders in Virginia's diverse landscape. The study defines effective professional development …

Teacher Perceptions Of Curriculum-Driven Technology After Working With Instructional Technology Coaches In Middle Schools In One Southeastern School District, Julie Pepperman

Ed.D. Dissertations

The use of curriculum-driven technology in K-12 public schools was mandated by federal law. School and district leaders were required to provide curriculum-driven technology professional development and support to teachers. The use of the curriculum-driven technology coach was an option some schools chose to meet the curriculum-driven technology professional development requirements and needs of their teachers. The purpose of this research was to explore one school district’s middle school teachers’ perceptions of the importance of curriculum-driven technology and their perceived self-efficacy in using curriculum-driven technology in instructional practice after collaborating with a curriculum-driven technology coach. This qualitative study was conducted …

Virtual Empowerment: The Exploration Of Leadership Aspirations Of Young Nepali Girls Using Virtual Participatory Action Research, Sara Safari

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adolescent girls in developing countries, especially those from impoverished backgrounds, face many challenges, such as cultural preference for sons, child marriage, and gender-based violence and harassment, which limit their access, opportunities, and leadership skills. The purpose of this study was to create a virtual empowerment and leadership program for young women based on extant literature, as well as best practices empowerment programs from South East Asia and empirical data. The main goal of the study using Virtual Participatory Action Research (V-PAR) was to organically create a leadership development program where the participants are the developers of the program. The goal …

Trust In Leadership To Develop Collaborative School Culture And Effective Implementation Of Professional Learning Communities, Kara Mieszanek

Dissertations

DISSERTATION: TRUST IN LEADERSHIP TO DEVELOP COLLABORATIVE SCHOOL CULTURE AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Kara N. Mieszanek National Louis University

ABSTRACT

In education, we are constantly working toward increasing student achievement. Often, we pursue technical elements such as implementing programs, data analysis, utilizing assessment tools, embedding evaluation systems, etc. However, there is another critical element that may all too often get overlooked—the culture. The purpose of this study was to strip away all the layers required to achieve systemic change by observing what is at the core of it all: trust. Through qualitative and quantitative research, I took …

The Relationship Between The Next Generation Content Area Reading Professional Development Program On The Effectiveness Of Teaching Literacy Strategies In High School Biology Classes, Tia Pridgen Brown

Dissertations

The need for effective content area reading teachers have continued to increase since the introduction of one public school districts’ Content Area Reading Professional Development (CAR-PD) in 2006. In 2011, modifications were made to improve the program, and it became known as the Next Generation Content Area Reading Professional Development (NGCAR-PD). The purpose of this program evaluation is to investigate the relationship between NGCAR-PD certified Biology teachers and their ability to implement reading strategies with science content effectively. The context of this inquiry is a mid-sized public school district that has implemented the program since 2006 at the middle and …

Bringing Out The Best Of Leaders, Teachers, And Students In The Midst Of Covid-19: Lessons Learned From Russell County, Alabama, Adam Kilcrease Phd

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 caused negative effects related to the economy, families, and the public education sector; however, one system in Russell County emerged from the pandemic with stories to share. The purpose of this article was to describe an effective School Closure Plan related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russell County, Alabama. Guided by the system's superintendent, leaders, teachers, students, and guardians joined forces to navigate the unfamiliar roads of the health crisis while providing continued opportunities for students to learn in virtual and blended formats. With a focus on critical standards outlined by the Alabama State Department …

Investigating Leadership Styles Of Childcare Directors, Michelle P. Grantham-Caston

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this study was to contribute to the literature on childcare director’s leadership styles and director’s self-perception. For leaders in childcare to be effective they must possess skills, characteristics, and traits of effective leadership which have been identified in the seminal literature of Bass (1995) and Burns (1979). This quantitative study examined early childhood leaders self-identification with the leadership styles in The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) (Bass & Avolio, 1995) as well as other demographic variables which could contribute to early childhood leaders’ self-perception of leadership styles. This study was to break apart the three overarching leadership styles …

Teacher Expectations, Self-Efficacy, And Collective Efficacy In Three Tennessee Literacy Networks, Amanda Tinker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was a significant difference in the dependent variables- teacher expectations, self-efficacy, and collective efficacy among the three levels of the independent variable- membership in one three literacy networks in Tennessee- Leading Innovation for Tennessee (LIFT), Read to Be Ready Coaching Network (RTBR), and Tennessee Early Literacy Network (TELN)- and if significant correlations existed between the dependent variables for each network. The population consisted of 161 K-3 Tennessee teachers who had been involved in the work of one of the three networks. Participants responded to an online survey via Google …

Leading For Excellence: Leadership Behaviors That Support A High-Achieving School Environment, Amy Parangan

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine the degree of importance for the 12-step principles proposed by Harvey, Drolet, and DeVore (2014) to create a K-12 school environment that fosters high student achievement as perceived by public school elementary principals in Northern California. A secondary purpose was to explore and describe the leadership strategies for implementing the 12-step principles proposed by Harvey et al. (2014) to create a K-12 school environment that fosters high student achievement as perceived by public school elementary principals in Northern California.

Methodology: The researcher used sequential explanatory mixed methods for this …

Leading For Excellence: Behaviors And Strategies Of Assistant Superintendents Of Curriculum And Instruction That Support A High-Achieving School Environment, Robert Sherlock

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods study was to determine the degree of importance for the 12-step principles proposed by Harvey et al. (2014) to create a K-12 school environment that fosters high student achievement as perceived by public school assistant superintendents of curriculum and instruction (ASCIs). A secondary purpose was to explore and describe the leadership strategies for implementing the 12-step principles proposed by Harvey et al. (2014) to create a K-12 school environment that fosters high student achievement as perceived by public school ASCIs.

Methodology: This explanatory mixed-methods research design used qualitative and quantitative data to analyze …

Is It Who Am I Or Who Do You Think I Am? Identity Development Of Adolescents With Substance Use Disorders, Danielle N. Treiber

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to unearth how adolescents with substance use disorders achieve the task of identity formation and the construction of self-concept in the midst of the drug culture and society that exists. It sought to uncover the social constructs designed to ignore and/or remove human complexities and allow an intersectional approach to be brought to a study on this population. Historically, there has been a failure to investigate the underlying social attitudes and behaviors that impact the very delicate and vulnerable process of finding self. Psychosocial and relational adjustment are strongly influenced by the extent to …