Other Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Learning To Fly: The Impact Of Project-Based Learning On Development Of The 4cs In The Elementary Grades, Deborah Francois

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the impact of project-based learning on K-5 students’ development of the 4Cs (Critical Thinking, Communication, Creativity, Collaboration) as perceived by elementary charter school teachers.

Methodology: A phenomenological design was selected to address the research questions for this study. Through purposeful sampling, 12 charter elementary teachers who met a pre-determined set of criteria (including the routine integration of project-based learning within their instructional programs) were selected to participate in virtual, semi-structured interviews. All teachers were employed by charter schools located in six counties within California. The interviews were conducted using …

Strength, Beauty, And Resilience: The Impact Of Self Reflection & Exploration Of Memory On Postmodern Feminist Educators, Inside And Outside The Classroom, Maryjo M. Rosania-Harvie

Education Doctorate Dissertations

This study utilizes an autoethnographic methodology, informed by narrative inquiry, to explore the impact of memories on feminist educators. The participants in the study included two of the researcher’s former colleagues and one former student. The study's goal was to examine how the relationships between researcher and participant and the memories they shared impacted them as educators; in the process, the concept of authenticity in educators was examined in relation to the research and the participants’ feminist and postmodern approach. The researcher collected qualitative data through interviews, personal journals, timelining, and an epistolary writing exercise to define authenticity and explore …

Examining How Black Administrator Employment Decisions Are Impacted By The Behaviors Of Supervisors, Annie Wilson Whitaker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how Black, public school administrator employment decisions are impacted by the behaviors of supervisors in Virginia. Commonalities among the lived experiences of Black, public school administrators were examined in order to identify specific behaviors which impact employment decisions.

Transcendental phenomenological qualitative research design was utilized. Participants were identified through gatekeeper introductions and then narrowed through snow-ball sampling. Data was collected through open-ended face-to-face interviews with 12 Black, public school administrators in Virginia via a secure online platform. The data was analyzed in order to identify emergent themes which represent the lived …

From The Editors..., Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Guide To The Ezekiel Ezra Smith (E. E. Smith) Collection, Velappan Velappan

FSU Leadership Collection

Ezekiel Ezra Smith (b. May 23, 1852 – d. December 6, 1933) was an educator, soldier, statesman, and businessman. He served as the principal and later president of the North Carolina State Colored Normal School of Fayetteville, later known as Fayetteville State University for over forty years. Currently, the available digital materials range from 1874-1907.

Biography and image of the history marker are courtesy of the State Library of North Carolina and NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Catalogs are courtesy of Shaw University Archives. Deeds are courtesy of Cumberland County Register of Deeds.

The Role Of Poetry In Cultivating Attentiveness, Curiosity, And Affinity In The Science Classroom, Albert Cheng, Rian Djita

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Poetry is endemic to classical education and often studied for its own sake. However, poetry is also posited to possess a pedagogical power not shared by prose or formal scientific language. Poetry’s distinctive effects on learning outcomes have been well articulated by philosophers since Plato and Aristotle, but their claims have not been subjected to an empirical test. We fill that gap in this study. We collaborated with a local classical grammar school and divided kindergarten, first grade, and second grade classrooms into two groups for a two-week science unit. One group of classrooms integrated poems about the topic of …

Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now? An Analysis Of Pension Structure And Retirement Timing, Dan Goldhaber, Cyrus Grout, Kris Holden, Josh B. Mcgee

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Over the last two decades, twenty-two states have moved away from traditional defined benefit (DB) pension systems and toward pension plan structures like the defined contribution (DC) plans now prevalent in the private sector. Others are considering such a reform as it is seen as a means of limiting future pension funding risk. It is important to understand the implications of such reforms for end-of-career exit patterns and workforce composition. Empirical evidence on the relationship between pension plan structure and retirement timing is currently limited, primarily because, most state pension reforms are so new that few employees enrolled in those …

Feedback Preferences Of University Student-Teachers From Supervisors And Their Rationale In Teaching Practicum, Innocent B. Rugambuka, Josta L. Nzilano

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This study examines the feedback preferences of university student-teachers (STs) from supervisors and the rationale for the preferences during teaching practicum (TP). It involved second-year STs (N = 109) of a government-owned university in Tanzania. The study sought to achieve two objectives: (i) explore the type of feedback preferred by STs from their supervisors during TP; and (ii) elicit the reasons for the feedback preferences during TP. Interviews and focused group discussions were used for data collection. The findings indicated that STs mostly prefer written (59%) over oral (38%) and blended (3%) types of feedback. However, the rationale for the …

Gender Gaps In Math Performance, Perceived Mathematical Ability And College Stem Education: The Role Of Parental Occupation, Lina Anaya, Frank P. Stafford, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Despite the promising future of employment opportunities in occupations related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), women remain underrepresented in some STEM occupational fields. We use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to study the role of gender differences in achievement and self-perceived ability in math during childhood, along with parental occupation (science-related versus non-science-related jobs), in the subsequent decision of majoring in science in college. Our findings suggest a loss in STEM enrollment by otherwise qualified young women and highlight the potential importance of parental occupation in STEM in encouraging women's participation in certain STEM fields.

Leading From A Distance With Lessons From Online Teaching To Engage A Remote Workforce, Heather J. Leslie Phd

Learning Design Center: Staff Scholarship

With many organizations and institutions now operating remotely due to the global coronavirus pandemic, leaders are now finding themselves in a position where they have to effectively lead and manage people and projects from a distance. Some are predicting that remote work may be a new normal for many organizations, with companies offering work-from-home opportunities permanently (Kelly, 2020). Because of the long-term implications for remote working, leaders will need competencies to successfully engage remote workers using new and creative strategies, techniques, and technologies. The field of online pedagogy has useful applications for engaging remote teams particularly in areas of communication, …

Investigating The Relationship Between Negative Selection Into Online Schooling And Achievement Growth, James D. Paul, Jay P. Greene

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Program evaluations that measure the effects of online charter schools on student achievement will be biased if they fail to account for unobserved differences between online students and students in the comparison group. There are theoretical and empirical reasons to believe that students who enroll in online schools disproportionately face challenges that are not accounted for in administrative data. This paper investigates some of the negative factors that motivate parents to enroll in online schools. We combine data from an online charter school survey—that asked why parents decided to enroll in online schooling—with three years of achievement and demographic data. …

Understanding How Covid-19 Has Changed Teachers’ Chances Of Remaining In The Classroom, Gema Zamarro, Andrew Camp, Dillon Fuchsman, Josh B. Mcgee

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The 2020-2021 academic year was a trying year for teachers. We use a nationally representative sample of teachers from the RAND American Teacher Panel to document that teachers’ stated consideration of leaving the profession increased during the pandemic. We also study factors associated with teachers’ consideration of leaving the profession and high levels of job burnout during the pandemic. Approaching retirement age (being 55 or older), having to change instruction modes, health concerns, and high levels of job burnout all appear to be important predictors of the probability of considering leaving or retiring from teaching. Hybrid teaching increased consideration of …

Overcoming Self-Sabotage: The Self-Sabotaging Behaviors That Impact The Career Development Of Female Charter School Superintendent/Ceos, Heather Vennes

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods study was to identify and describe self-sabotaging behaviors experienced by female charter school superintendent/CEOs and to explore the impact these behaviors had on their career development. A secondary purpose of this study was to identify strategies employed by female charter school superintendent/CEOs to overcome self-sabotaging behaviors.

Methodology: An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study design was utilized to identify and describe the self-sabotaging behaviors displayed by female superintendent/CEOs within the charter school system and explore the impact of these behaviors on their career progression. This study identified strategies that female charter school superintendent/CEOs utilized to …

Quantifying Traditional Public School Opposition To Charter Schools: Double Whammy From School District Staffing And Funding?, Martha Bradley-Dorsey

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Using time series data with several OLS regressions and fixed effects models with suitable controls, I find that higher school district full-time equivalent staff counts (FTEs) are associated with lower charter share in states with Right-to-Work (RTW) laws. I find also that proportional expenditures per pupil are negatively associated with charter share in non-RTW (“union”) states. Charter schools have grown rapidly but not uniformly across states, with 2018 enrollment ranging from 0.0 to 17.1% of traditional public school enrollment. Researchers have generally focused on party, urbanicity, teacher union strength, and racial and ethnic politics to explain variations in charter enrollment. …

The History And Work Of The Centre For Early Childhood Development And Education (Cecde) (2001-2008), Elizabeth Dunphy Dr, Maire Mhic Mhathuna

Articles

Growing international interest in ECEC policy in the 1990s resulted in increasing awareness of its significance for education policy in Ireland. Arising from this, in 1999, Ready to Learn: A White Paper for Early Childhood Education was published. This led to the establishment of the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE). This chapter charts in chronological order the history and work of the CECDE from its inception in 2001 until its closure in 2008. It documents the governance, structures, strategic direction and management of the Centre. It foregrounds the outputs of the Centre including research reports, international conferences …

Examining School Administrator Perceptions Of Preparational Experiences Of Effective Educational Leadership, Jared S. Jones

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine what preparational experiences are necessary for assistant principals to effectively transition to the principalship. Fifteen principals completed a 21-item survey and answered seven interview questions to better understand how the North Carolina Standards for School Executives aligned with the daily tasks and responsibilities of school principals. The data also gathered principals’ leadership perceptions, the impact of preparational experiences, and assistant principal preparation. Results from the study concluded that all seven primary North Carolina Standards for School Executives accurately reflected and aligned with the tasks and responsibilities that school principals encountered …

Armored Vulnerability: Stories Of Leader Resilience Among Black Female Principals, Nichole R. Ijames

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The study employed a qualitative phenomenological design in its exploration of leader resilience, as shared through the lived experiences of 10 Black female principals. Semi-structured interviews were used to capture and examine Black women’s perceptions of how they have grown from the challenges they have experienced in the principalship. The study capitalized on the power of stories to amplify the voices and perspectives of this marginalized group of leaders. Their stories of resilience hold significance in improving our understanding of how to better provide culturally responsive leadership development for Black female principals. Findings from the study revealed five dominant themes …

Student Loan Debt And First-Generation Community College Students, Sandra A. Fuentes

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The rising costs of college attendance and changes in financial aid packages leave students with little option other than to incur a debt of some amount. Unfortunately, colleges often fail to provide adequate financial literacy and student loan information so prospective students planning to attend college can make informed decisions. Student loans may seem attractive in the short term because, unlike other loans, repayment does not begin immediately. However, the accrual of student loan debt leads to long-term financial consequences, including the opportunity to build economic wealth after graduation. Utilizing a basic qualitative research design, I explored first-generation community college …

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, …

Women Seeking The Public School Superintendency: Navigating The Gendered And Racialized-Gendered Job Search, Rachel M. Roberts

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

I have been an educator for my entire career. First, as a teacher and over the last decade as a school administrator. During my tenure, I have continually noticed the underrepresentation of women in the highest office: the school superintendent. This has vexed me over the years, and as a scholar practitioner in leadership and change, I have devoted my research to unearthing the inequalities and disproportional realities that exist within high-profile leadership, particularly the public school superintendency. Utilizing a grounded theory approach, this dissertation sought to better understand what happens at the micro-level, especially during and after the superintendent …

Principals’ Perceptions And Understandings Of Teacher Leadership, Anna Hart

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

No singular definition of teacher leadership (TL) exists in empirical literature or practice in the field. This lack of clarity has greatly impacted the implementation of TL in American schools. The purpose of this study qualitative case study was to investigate public school principals’ perceptions and understandings of TL in an effort to better inform continued efforts toward its ubiquitous application in American schools. Principals’ definitions of TL fell into three categories: action-based, quality-based, and role-based definitions. Principals’ recognition of the work of teacher leaders in schools fell into two parallel categories: action-based and role-based leadership. Findings reveal that many …

An Evaluation Of The Impact Of The Student-Teacher Relationship On Student Achievement And Behavior, Sarah James

Dissertations

Researchers have documented the importance and value of the teacher-student relationship for over 20 years. The purpose of my study was to determine if teachers who had a positive and highly effective relationship with their students, as documented with informal and formal observations, also had higher student achievement and a lower discipline referral rate when compared to their non-highly effective peers. The context of this inquiry was kindergarten through eighth grade teachers in one public school district. In my study, I demonstrated both quantitative and qualitative data which matched current research to support teachers who are highly effective with building …

The Effects Of Blended Learning On Student Achievement Within Various Environments: A Program Evaluation, Christine Nicole Harris

Dissertations

Educational K-12 learning environments have had limited to no change over many decades. Due to recent initiatives to social-emotional programs, school safety measures, and the need to increase academic achievement, there has been a push for school choice options that go beyond the traditional ways of learning. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of blended learning on student achievement within various environments in Grades 3-8. I used a mixed methodology to compare quantitative extant data from Achieve3000®, State Standardized Assessments, as well as qualitative data through teacher, parent, and student surveys. I collected 229 student extant …

The Impact Of Using Avid And Avid Schoolwide On Achievement, Equity, Access, And Opportunities For High School Students: A Program Evaluation Project, Patra Cooks, Patra W. Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of my research was to determine if the use of AVID strategies had any impact on academic achievement and college and career readiness. Additionally, I evaluated whether AVID school-wide can support all students. The context of this study included AVID Teachers and AVID Coordinators across the United States. The outcomes indicated that 80% of AVID students enrolled in the AVID Elective successfully completed rigorous course work. Furthermore, the study outcomes disclosed which strategies supported students the most with academic success. The AVID coordinators often used writing strategies, while the AVID teachers used collaborative strategies to support student learning.

Teachers’ Knowledge About And Preparedness For Retirement: Results From A Nationally Representative Teacher Survey, Dillon Fuchsman, Josh B. Mcgee, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Adequately saving for retirement requires both planning and knowledge about available retirement savings options. Teachers participate in a complex set of different plan designs and benefit tiers, and many do not participate in Social Security. While teachers represent a large part of the public workforce, relatively little is known regarding their knowledge about and preparation for retirement. We administered a survey to a nationally representative sample of teachers through RAND’s American Teacher Panel and asked teachers about their retirement planning and their employer-sponsored retirement plans. We find that while most teachers are taking steps to prepare for retirement, many teachers …

Perceptions Of Classroom Management Coaching At District A Independent School District, Ashley L. Brittain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed teacher retention and research-to-practice gaps in the literature related to classroom management coaching and what types of teacher support are the best and why. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of teachers, campus administrators, and campus intervention coaches regarding District A Independent School District’s campus intervention coach model. This study attempted to understand better the perceptions of how the campus intervention coach model influences teachers’ decisions to remain in the profession; how teachers, campus administrators, and campus intervention coaches perceive the campus intervention coach model’s effectiveness in reducing the percentage of …

Supporting Students With An Autism Spectrum Disorder In Engineering: K-12 And Beyond, Jennifer L. Kouo, Alexis Hahn, Sarah Morton, Jay Gregorio

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Individuals with disabilities, including individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. With the importance of STEM skills in future employment and other disciplines, effective instructional strategies must be identified to enhance early and sustained access to STEM for students with ASD. However, the literature identifying effective STEM-specific supports and practices for this population of students is sparse and regarding engineering, there are no empirical studies that focus on teaching engineering skills to students with ASD. Therefore, the article aims to provide an overview of the available literature on the perspectives …

An Artificial Intelligence Tool For Accessible Science Education, Jacob D. Watters, April Hill Dr., Melissa Weinrich Dr., Cary Supalo, Feng Jiang Dr.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

One of the most important issues in accessible science education is creating a laboratory workspace accessible to blind students or students with visual impairments (VI). Although these students are often provided access to the science lectures, they are usually denied full participation in hands-on laboratory work. Current solutions to this problem focus on providing special accommodations such as asking sighted lab partners to complete the hands-on work. Although the accessibility of laboratory devices in modern science education has been improved in recent years, students with VI often remain passive learners. In this work, we developed a new artificial intelligence tool, …

Making Scientific And Technical Materials Pervasively Accessible, Jason J.G. White

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

In this paper, the question is explored of what policies, standards and practices are desirable to ensure that hardware, software and publications in the sciences and associated disciplines are created from the outset to be accessible to people with disabilities. Insight into this question can be obtained by considering the unique accessibility challenges that these materials pose, including complexities of notation, language, and graphical representation.

Having analyzed what sets this problem apart from broader issues of accessibility, the advantages and limitations of current international standards are reviewed, and contemporary developments in standards and policies are considered from a strategic perspective. …

The Perceptions Of Teachers Of Students With Visual Impairments On Students With Visual Impairments And Graphing: How To Teach, Ashley N. Nashleanas Ph.D.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Many gaps exist in what is known around teaching students with visual impairments (SVI) about how to use graphs (Rosenblum et al., 2018; Rosenblum & Herzberg, 2015; Zebehazy & Wilton, 2014a;2014b;2014c). When teachers first experience a student with a visual impairment, some of the questions that come to mind are: How can I be sure this student understands what I am saying about these graphs I show on the board? Will this student be able to keep up? The study herein, based on findings from Author (2018), serves as a guide for teachers to consider in the case that SVI …