Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

The Relationship Of Principal Conflict Management Style And School Climate, Miriam Miley Boucher

Theses and Dissertations

Using a mixed-methods design, this study examined conflict management styles of elementary school principals in South Carolina and the relationship of conflict management style and school climate. The Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II,

Form B, which identifies five styles of managing conflict, was used to determine principal conflict management style preferences. Eight indicators on the South Carolina school report cards were used to measure school climate. Seven principals were interviewed to obtain additional information on conflict management style preferences. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Spearman's rho statistic. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed to provide qualitative data. Principals …

Major Adjustment: Students' Transition Experiences Leaving Selective Undergraduate Degree Programs, Helen Mulhern Halasz

Theses and Dissertations

This multi-campus, qualitative study investigated how undergraduate students previously enrolled in selective majors described coping resources utilized during the transition of leaving their previous major and selecting a new academic degree program. The study also examined which resources students identified as most valuable, and coping resources most influential in their retention decisions. Research about students in selective degree programs has been absent for the last 20 years, and previous research studies have not given voice to the experiences of students in transition between majors. The conceptual underpinning of this study was the 4 S System (Goodman, Schlossberg, and Anderson, 2006), …

Relationship Between Principal Change And Influence Styles: Is There An Impact On Teacher Retention?, Leslie J. Howder

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between principal leadership styles, specifically change and influence styles, and teacher retention in the Low-Country region of South Carolina. Utilizing the Change Style Indicator and Influence Style Indicator, the researcher surveyed 25 principals from Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester 2 School Districts. The results were analyzed and compared to teacher retention rates from South Carolina State School Report Cards. Three relationships were analyzed: 1) correlation between change styles and influence styles, 2) correlation between change styles and teacher retention and 3) correlation between influence styles and teacher retention. …

A Case Study Of Principals' Knowledge Of Early Childhood Literacy, Christine Elizabeth Leblanc

Theses and Dissertations

Nationally approximately 40 percent of third grade students do not read at grade level. Principals play a critical role in providing leadership in the implementation of Response to Intervention (RtI) to ensure that students not making adequate yearly progress receive targeted instruction to address their deficiencies. The purpose of this study is to explore the experience of five principals through an investigation of their understanding of the reading process as it relates to the implementation of RtI in their schools. I specifically wish to understand: What do principals know about early childhood literacy and how do they use that knowledge …

The Relationship Between Principal Longevity And Student Achievement In Middle Schools In South Carolina, David Dewayne Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between the longevity of a middle school principal and student achievement. Three research questions guided the research to determine if there is a relationship. To complete the study, the researcher used data collected from the South Carolina Department of Education including PASS scores in reading and mathematics, ESEA index, gender of principals, poverty index of schools, and school size to determine the relationships. Data were collected using the South Carolina School Report Card for 2012.

Middle Schools in South Carolina were used for the study. The results …

An Analysis Of The Current Use And Future Intentions To Use Mobile Learning Strategies Among Full-Time Community College Faculty, Stephanie Denise Frazier

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study examined how full-time community college faculty members in southern states use mobile learning (m-Learning) strategies as tools for student engagement. Specifically, research questions were designed to measure the current use of six key m-Learning strategies: augmented reality, file/resource sharing, gaming/simulation, reference/research applications, social media, and text messaging. This study also probed into faculty attitudes and beliefs in four areas: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine existing relationships between these four determinants and the intentions of faculty members to use m-Learning strategies in the forthcoming academic year. Additionally, research …

Perceptions Of Innovations: An Examination Of South Carolina Superintendents, Alfred Lamont Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of South Carolina public school superintendents regarding individual and organizational attitudes toward innovation. Specific characteristics of South Carolina public school superintendents and public school districts, including enrollment, poverty level, school report card grades, age, gender, and years of experience, were analyzed to determine individual superintendents' and their school districts' orientations toward innovation. The findings have the potential to provide much-needed guidance to superintendents in training so that they may be better equipped to meet the challenge of school reform and innovation in relation to student achievement. In addition, the study …

Re-Examining The Past And Rethinking The Future At Mount Mulanje Forest Reserve, Malawi: New Directions For Local Engagement, Mary Christian Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1980s, broad recognition has been given to the need for and the benefits of aligning the protection of biodiversity in threatened forest ecosystems with measures to address the needs and desires of people living near and depending on those ecosystems. With this research project I focus on one such ecosystem found at the Mulanje Mountain Forest Reserve (MMFR) in southern Malawi. Large amounts of money and time have been put forth by local, national, and international donors and conservation organizations to support the goals of biodiversity conservation and social development at MMFR. In order to explore how managers …

Teacher Silence In South Carolina Public Schools, Daniel Crockett

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study of South Carolina public school teachers investigated how comfortable educators are raising problems or concerns to their administration. Five variables, including years of experience, trust in administration, mobility aspirations, relationship with principal, and content of message were examined to see their influence on teachers' comfort levels when voicing such problems or concerns. In addition, teachers were asked to identify the reasons for being hesitant about raising organizational concerns. The study concluded by determining if comfort level varied in different public school settings (elementary, middle, and high).

The sample consisted of 595 South Carolina public school teachers and …

The Impact Of Poverty, School Enrollment, And Ninth-Grade Transition Programs On Promotion To Tenth Grade In Thirty South Carolina High Schools, Mark Shannon Hopkins

Theses and Dissertations

This study attempted to determine the impact of poverty, school size, and the presence of a ninth grade transition program (independent variables) upon promotion to tenth grade (dependent variable). Three sets of ten South Carolina high schools were purposefully selected for the study: one from high, one from medium, and one from low poverty index ranges. Poverty information was gathered from SCDE Poverty Index lists, and school size and tenth grade promotion rate were calculated from enrollment data supplied by the SCDE. A ninth grade transition was defined by identifying eight common transition practices in current literature and sample school …

Perspectives On Transitioning To The Assistant Principalship Among Peers: A Qualitative Study Of Six New School Administrators, Everette Hix Workman

Theses and Dissertations

The role of the assistant principal in the public schools is under studied and undervalued. As the largest group of school administrators and as future principals in training, the assistant principals' socialization process begs understanding. This study questions the transition from teacher to assistant principal, accounting for the setting and context of the move into school administration. Through a qualitative, in-depth phenomenological interview study of six assistant principals in their first years as public school administrators, this study focuses on their lived experiences with the transition. The theoretical framework constructed to examine the lived experiences of these six recently transitioned …

The Effects Of Ability Grouping On Gifted & Talented Third, Fourth, And Fifth Grade Students In Selected South Carolina Public School Districts, Tammy Tara White

Theses and Dissertations

This is a quantitative research study using archival data to focus on the achievement of Gifted & Talented students in two South Carolina public school districts. The researcher used an open cohort comparative research design for this study. This study attempted to find if differences in student performance existed between students labeled as Gifted & Talented in South Carolina based on their model for instruction. The researcher used their Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) test scores in English Language Arts (ELA) and math achievement scores and compared them to the students' placement in special class model Gifted & Talented …

The Glass Cliff: An Examination Of The Female Superintendency In South Carolina, Blanche Boyd Bowles

Theses and Dissertations

South Carolina public school districts are confronted with a series of difficult circumstances and rely more on female superintendents than the national average. The investigation of female South Carolina superintendents was guided by the glass cliff conceptual framework. The glass cliff represents situations where females are promoted over males to risky or precarious leadership positions where the chance of failure is high

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to examine the relationship between the sex of South Carolina public school superintendents to (a) self-reported transformational leadership behaviors and (b) select district indicators indicative of the difficult circumstances confronted …

Principal Leadership And School Culture With A School-Wide Implementation Of Professional Crisis Management: A Redemptive Vs. Punitive Model, Mark Thomas Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Principal Leadership and School Culture within

A School-Wide Implementation of Professional Crisis Management:

A Redemptive vs. Punitive Model

By

Mark Thomas Adams

This qualitative study investigated the nature of the relationship between principal leadership and school culture within a school-wide implementation of Professional Crisis Management (PCM). PCM is a comprehensive and fully integrated system designed to manage crisis situations effectively, safely, and with dignity. While designed primarily to assist individuals in crisis situations, much of the system is comprised of non-physical interventions in the form of crisis prevention strategies and positive reinforcement that were effective with students at all points …

An Assessment Of Instructional Coaching: Results Of A Survey Of Selected School Districts In South Carolina, Heather Clayton Gordon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine teachers' perceptions of instructional coaching. Four research-based instructional coaching best practices were identified for the development of a survey. The four instructional coaching best practices were: collaborating with teachers to address school-wide instructional concerns and practices, collaboratively planning with a teacher to identify when and how an instructional intervention might be implemented, modeling instructional practices in teachers' classrooms, and observing teachers and providing teachers with feedback. Data were collected through the researcher constructed Teachers' Perceptions of Instructional Coaching survey. Elementary teachers in four school districts in the Upstate of South Carolina participated …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Cultural Change In A Challenged High School During The Implementation Of The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, Victoria Crowell

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Academically failing schools are under scrutiny from government education administrators, policymakers, and the general public, due to chronic inabilities to lower dropout rates and to educate students who can pass high-stakes graduation assessments. States’ efforts to adhere to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act have led to the development of accountability systems to determine adequate yearly progress (AYP) and to assign schools grades, as well as wholesale reassessment of current educational programs, which are often replaced with more rigorous curricula.

Among curricular programs that have been sought as reform measures for academically failing schools is the International Baccalaureate Program …

Nontraditional Graduate Students' Satisfaction With Their Transnational Educational Experience, Christopher Ihesiaba Nnoduechi

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This retrospective, nonexperimental, quantitative study was designed to explore nontraditional students’ perceptions of satisfaction with their graduate education experience in a customized transnational educational context. This study was undergirded by theories and concepts gleaned from multiple disciplines. Disconfirmed expectations theory of consumer satisfaction derived from expectancy theory, which describes the motivations and behaviors of consumers who purchase a service but cannot fully evaluate the service until it has been consumed, provided the overarching conceptual framework for the research.

This research analyzed data from 62 graduates of a customized, transnational Master of Education program in educational leadership. Participants responded to a …

Exploring The Role Of The Principal In Elementary Teacher Retention And Migration As Perceived By Elementary Teachers In Rural School Districts Of North-Central Pennsylvania, Diana L. Barnes

Dissertations

Problem. Teacher migration and attrition are costly to educational institutions and negatively impact students' education. Teachers migrate to other positions and/or leave the profession for different reasons. Research of literature indicated that one influence on the teacher's decision to migrate to another position or to leave the profession is lack of principal support. This sequential mixed-methodology study explores elementary teachers' perception of the relationship between principal support and teacher retention and migration in the rural elementary schools of north-central Pennsylvania.

Method. To explore the role of the principal, this sequentially mixed-methodological study used a focus group to identify elementary teachers' …

Graduate Student Senior Survey Report: Students’ Reflections Of The Uni Graduate Program, 2012-2013 Academic, Megan Vogt

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

-- Abstract --- iii
-- Demographics --- 1
-- Principal Activity after Graduation --- 2
-- Location --- 3
-- Educational Plans --- 4
-- Participation of Scholarly & Academic Activities --- 5
-- Importance of Program --- 6
-- Satisfaction of Program --- 7
-- Preparation of Future Career Skills --- 8
-- Academic & Social Environment --- 9
-- Survey Highlights --- 10
-- Appendix --- 11

The Relationship Between Curriculum-Based Measures In Oral Reading Fluency And High-Stakes Tests For Seventh Grade Students, Sawyer Hunley, Susan C. Davies, Christina R. Miller

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between oral reading fluency and performance on a statewide reading achievement test for middle grades students. Participants in this study were 75 seventh-grade students. One month before the students were administered the state test, each student read three probes from their current basal reader to determine an oral reading fluency rate. The Ohio Grade 7 Reading Test scores were correlated with oral reading fluency rates to determine the extent of the relationship between the results. Results support the use of oral reading fluency assessment as a valid tool for identifying …

Chairs Mentoring Faculty Colleagues, Jeff Kerssen-Griep

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Many academics struggle to manage the changes that come with suddenly being responsible for chairing a group of peers. As in skilled classroom instruction, leading an academic unit invokes specific structural, strategic, tactical, and interpersonal abilities. New chairs often quickly have to add ways of thinking and acting that are beyond the precise expertise that got them to that point in the first place. With our focus on understanding process, communication scholars may be better equipped than some others to understand this role shift’s dynamics, but often we struggle as mightily as our chemist or engineering or nursing peers to …

Who Are We Educating? Why Undergraduate Students Choose To Major In Communication, Christopher J. Carpenter, Bree Mcewan

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This study examined student traits and major characteristics that might lead students to choose communication as a major by collecting survey responses from 476 undergraduate students. Attitudes about the major and potential jobs, expected norms from parents, and areas of perceived behavioral control based on student anxieties were analyzed as predictors of choosing the communication major. Short term benefits of taking communication classes as well as the long-term benefits predicted students’ intention of graduating with a communication major. The perception that the major required little math was associated with choosing the major for those higher in math anxiety.

Rethinking The Classroom: One Department’S Attempt To Connect Student Learning And National Events, John A. Mcarthur

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Communication programs have a rich anecdotal history of connecting student learning to real-world experience. Yet, the same programs, including ours, often privilege classroom-based instruction and instructor-led experiential learning over other types of experiences. When community organizers announced a national mega-event for our city, faculty in our communication department knew that we wanted to use it as a learning experience. We brainstormed ideas, most of which were classroom- and semester-based concepts typical of traditional topics courses. But, one of our faculty members suggested that we think outside of the concept of classroom. What resulted was a unique experience unlike any we …

Comparing Communication Doctoral Programs, Alumni, And Faculty: The Use Of Google Scholar, Mike Allen, John Bourhis, Nancy Burrell, Andrew William Cole, Emily Cramer, Keith Dilbeck, Nathanael England, Jennifer Morey Hawkins, Melissa Maier, Rebecca Mullane, Kim Omachinski, Kikuko Omori, Deborah Decloedt-Pincon, Angela Victor, Kara L. Willes, Anna Nicole Zmyslinski

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This paper examines three aspects of doctoral programs in Communication: (a) how doctoral department faculty compare using combined citations to published work using Google Scholar, (b) the contribution in quantity and quality (measured by citations) of alumni teaching in doctoral programs, and (c) identifying the top 25 most cited communication doctoral faculty in Google Scholar. The goal is to provide a series of additional alternatives for faculty and program evaluation beyond simply counting the number of published journal articles.

The Application Of Basic Communication Skills To Higher Education Administration, Kelly Rocca Delgaizo, Ann Bainbridge Frymier, Timothy P. Mottet

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Communication skills are a core requirement for administrators in higher education. Evidence for this proposition can be found in the job announcements for administrators and in the conferences they attend. The Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences’ (CCAS) annual conference is a place for deans and other administrators from around the country to gather to work on becoming better at “deaning.” For the past few years, a pre-conference workshop titled “Conflict Management for Deans,” has been offered, and serves as a perfect example of the importance of our discipline to higher education administration. In a quick review of the …

Developing A Pre-Departure And Re-Entry Orientation For Study Abroad Students At The Univerisidad Católica De La Santísima Concepción, Jennifer Ramos

Capstone Collection

Due to the Chilean government’s recent realization of the importance of international education, the concept of studying abroad is gradually becoming a more realistic opportunity for students pursuing undergraduate degrees in Chilean tertiary education than before. However, although the opportunities have increased, the support services/guidance offered to the students has remained at an extremely limited standstill. The Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción (UCSC) is a small private university located in Chile’s second largest city, Concepción. The majority of the students attending the UCSC are from the lower half of the socioeconomic scale in Chile as well as first-generation university …

A Study Of Assistant Principals’ Perceptions Of The Principalship And Their Career Aspirations, James Dewitt Oliver Iii

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The importance of attracting, selecting, and retaining effective principals is essential. Due to the negative perceptions of the principalship, there are concerns about who will fill these vacancies. Therefore, this study focused on perceptions of second and third year assistant principals toward the principalship and their career aspirations. The following research questions guided this study: (a) How do assistant principals perceive the role of the principal? (b) What are the factors that influence assistant principals’ motivation to seek or not to seek a position as a school principal? The research design used a qualitative approach to ascertain in-depth information to …

Suggestions For The Design Of E-Learning Environments To Enhance Learner Self-Efficacy, Charles B. Hodges

Leadership, Technology & Human Development: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Perceptions Of Urban School Principles Regarding The Education Of Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Jean-Dominique Herve Anoh

Educational Studies Dissertations

This research investigated the perceptions and attitudes of principals and headmasters about the inclusion of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), the factors supporting or inhibiting school leaders in their effort to implement inclusive practices, and the approaches they use to initiate, facilitate, support and sustain the inclusion of students with EBD. Grounded in a mixed-method research, this investigator surveyed 71 school leaders and interviewed five of them. Descriptive and correlational findings supported by qualitative results reveal that principals and headmasters exhibit positive attitudes toward the inclusion of students with EBD. Overwhelmingly, attitudinal predictive variables such as school characteristics …

The Social Intelligence Of Principals: Links To Teachers' Continuous Improvement, Joan Mcquade

Educational Studies Dissertations

Despite multiple efforts to reform 21st education to better meet the needs of all students, school improvement successes have been sporadic and debatable. Research suggests that significant improvement lies within the purview of teachers and principals, and this current research provided the underpinnings for the study. Based on neuroscience research and the continuous improvement concept, I examined linkages between principals' social intelligence and teachers' continuous improvement. Using a mixed method sequential explanatory research approach, the study consisted of four phases that employed both quantitative and qualitative measures. Massachusetts' principals (127) and teachers (331) were contacted by email to participate in …