Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Building-Level Administrators And Collaborative Special Education Iep Meetings: Addressing Barriers To Active And Inclusive Participation, Trevor A. Addis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors serving as barriers to effective building-level administrator participation in special education individualized education program (IEP) meetings. For the purposes of this study, research was conducted in the multidisciplinary areas of social cognitive theory and self-efficacy, along with an examination of school-building administrators as instructional leaders, the role(s) of building-level leadership in special education and building administrator knowledge and understanding of special education policies and practices. A qualitative research approach was used to examine local building-level administrator participation in the special education IEP process. Building Level Administrators, in the district were …

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 …

Inclusive Campus Recreation: Creating A Space Where All Belong, Emelia Bebee

West Chester University Master’s Theses

This thesis examines discrepancies that marginalize students, faculty and staff from utilizing or working in campus recreation facilities. More specifically, Campus Recreation departments lack strategies that ensure inclusion for all abilities, identity backgrounds and genders. This critical action research thesis considers the experiences of stakeholders and will integrate research that has been supported by seasoned scholars. In this thesis, a three-day diversity and inclusion workshop is proposed supplemented by monthly programming for faculty and staff that focuses on inclusion techniques to incorporate into departmental planning. Solid leadership of this programmatic intervention would focus on collaboration and dedication to lifelong learning. …

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

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 …

Creating Intentionally Inviting School Cultures During Crisis, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This qualitative study used Purkey and Novack’s (1988) Invitational Education as a conceptual framework to understand how 30 educational leaders in Ohio’s urban and suburban districts created intentionally inviting school cultures during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Findings indicated that leaders altered their leadership styles to focus on people rather than programs and policies in order to be more inviting. Challenges pertained to insufficient funding to provide professional development for teachers and parents and the need for more mobile devices and connectivity. This study is significant because it expands the invitational education framework to show how leaders are being intentionally inviting …

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 …

When Knowing Is Not Enough: A Narrative Exploration Of How K-12 Teachers Make Decisions About The Transfer Of Critical Competencies From Professional Learning To Daily Practice, Nell E. Ballard-Jones

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

School districts spend millions of dollars each year to provide training and learning to staff working in direct and indirect service to students (National Council on Teacher Quality, 2021). This financial commitment says nothing about what is even more important: the need for school employees and the systems in which we work to serve students more effectively. Despite vast allocations of time and money and presumably best intentions for better social and academic outcomes for students, very little data exist that reflect regular transfer and application of training/learning into professional practice (Nittler et al., 2015). By and large, schools and …

Preparing Aspiring School Principals: One Field-Based Approach, Maria De Lourdes Viloria, Lori Leyendecker, Graciela Brondo, Michael Salinas

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

In the United States, principals play a vital role in leading educational institutions. School principals are responsible for creating safe and supportive learning environments for all students. Previous studies have emphasized that all principals share one challenge, which is to identify effective instructional strategies that help decrease student achievement gaps. Studies of novice school principals are well-documented; it is also well-acknowledged that the acclimatization process for novice school principals is characterized with a high level of stress related to the organizational structures that influence the school’s culture and climate and student achievement. This study addresses the implementation of a field-based …

Why Principals Hire Recent Graduates From A Teacher Preparation Program, Laurie James, Joy Mahaiko, Jonathan Schwartz

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

Principals want to hire the most qualified teacher when positions are open at their schools. Oftentimes a preservice teacher, who recently earned their teaching certificate is their first choice. The purpose of this research was to look at the satisfaction level of elementary, middle-level, and high school principals who hired graduates from a local teacher preparation program at a nationally accredited 4-year baccalaureate-granting university in Leeward O‘ahu. The methodology utilized in the study includes four individual face-to-face interviews. Questions were asked to determine 1) desired qualities principals look for when hiring a new teacher and 2) what a local teacher …

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 …

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 …

The Influence Of Principal Leadership On Literate Practices And Instruction In A Middle School, Travis W. Duncan

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

This case study uses Nicholls’s (1987) meta, macro, and micro levels of leadership merged with Dowell, Bickmore, and Hoewing (2012) and other literacy leadership research (Conley, 1989; Hall, Burns, & Edwards, 2011; Irvin, Meltzer, & Duke, 2007; Marks & Printy, 2003) to analyze the influence of a principal’s leadership on literacy instruction. The findings are similar to the integrated leadership approach emphasized in Marks and Printy (2003) but add additional evidence of cultural and human resource leadership. Strategies and structures that built culture around literate practices were evident. Teacher empowerment and building trust in school culture were important components.

A Descriptive Multicultural Phenomenology For Culturally Responsive Leadership, Christopher J. Kazanjian, David Rutledge, Sandra M. Gandarilla

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

As public schools in the United States continue to diversify in culture, educational leaders committed to multicultural education seek qualitative research methodologies for understanding phenomena in order to build culturally responsive leadership initiatives and interventions. This paper argues that a phenomenological research methodology is appropriate and relevant to understand cultural phenomena in the 21st century school. To serve this, the authors elaborate on a descriptive multicultural phenomenological research methodology for educational leaders. A phenomenological framework positions educational leaders to understand the nature and essence of personal experience. This approach will help educational leaders better understand the experiences of the diverse …

Designing Leadership: Using Design Thinking To Create, Practices, And Implement A Formal Leadership Development Program, Jon Samuel Wedding

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine what happens when design thinking is used to create a leadership development program, increase leadership competencies, and participants perceptions of design thinking. This study uses action research to examine the experiences and design thinking to create a leadership program in a formal hierarchical. This study collected data during a two-cycle action research process. The findings from this study revealed that design thinking can be used to create a formal leadership development program. The ability to use design thinking’s human centered design can also help increase the leadership competencies of trust and collaborations. …

Superintendent Recruitment: Effects Of Superintendent Job Status, School Councils (Principal Selection Models), District Wealth, And Signing Bonus On Applicant Rating Of The Job, Mark Jeffery Martin

Dissertations

This nearly perfect replicated study (Millay, 2003) was a superintendent recruitment simulation with the purpose of investigating factors that influence recruiting qualified individuals to serve as district superintendents of public schools. The study was a factorial experiment involving a four-way 2 x 2 x 2 x (3 x S) fixed-factor betweenwithin analysis of variance (ANOVA) which yielded 24 cells. The participants in the study were Kentucky Superintendents (N = 72) and individuals in Kentucky certified to be a school superintendent (N = 72) but employed in another position.

The between-groups variables were superintendent job status (superintendent, certified), district wealth (high, …

Main And Regional Campus Assessments Of Applicants To A Rural Physician Leadership Program: A Generalizability Analysis, Terry D. Stratton, Clarence Kreiter, Carol L. Elam

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

While the selection of qualified applicants often relies, in part, on scores generated from a medical school pre-admission interview (MSPI), the growth of regional medical campuses (RMCs) – many with specialized rural tracks, programs, or missions – has challenged schools to accommodate a wider range of stakeholder input. This study examines the reliabilities of main (urban) and regional (rural) campus interviewers’ assessments of applicants to a Rural Physician Leadership Program (RPLP) located in the southeastern United States.

Data from RPLP applicants completing MSPIs on two campuses from 2009-2017 (n = 232) were examined in a generalizability analysis. In two separate …

Exploring Principals' Perceptions About Efficacy In Arizona Urban Schools Designated For The School Improvement Process, Charlotte Patterson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Studies have determined a positive relationship exists between the self-efficacy of students and academic achievement, and teacher efficacy and student achievement. For over a decade schools have been publicly targeted for school improvement in a process with implications for efficacy. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if principals’ perceptions about efficacy impacted their practices leading school improvement. Principals’ responses to two research questions led this study:

1. How do principals describe their perceptions about the efficacy of their school community relative to the school improvement status, label, or rating for their school?

2. How do principals describe …

Principal Leaders And College And Career Readiness Programs, Inna Goretaya Polishchuk

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the intersection of high school principals and college and career readiness initiatives in five high school contexts. Because school principals are responsible for setting the vision in a school, college and career readiness initiatives have the potential to overlap significantly with the principal’s direction of the school. Moreover, studies indicate college and career readiness programs might rely on the active support of the school administrator if they are to succeed. What the school leader cares about tends to be what staff focus on; therefore, this study examines how three factors influence the effectiveness of a college and …

09. Group Dynamics, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

The Group Dynamics module focuses on informing students about inter/intra group interactions, while also demonstrating the role of an individual within a group. As individuals become a part of a group, they lose a certain distinction between their personal identity and their group personality, or prototype. Individuals become part of a social categorization and comparison, and require the skills of empathy and relations to successfully communicate with not only their ingroup, but also their outgroup. An absence of awareness of the feelings around them can develop the negative effects of groupthink, as individual ideas are unheard. As fitting into the …

A Case Study Exploring Effective Leadership In Technology Integration In Three Southeastern U.S. Elementary Schools, Lauren Woodward

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the characteristics of effective leadership in technology integration for school leaders and staff members in three southeastern, U.S. elementary schools. The theoretical framework that guided this study was based on Spillane’s (2005) distributed leadership model and Kouzes and Posner’s (2012) model of transformational leadership. These theories provided an understanding of leadership practices and characteristics that fostered an environment, which successfully supported the process of technology integration. The rationale for the study was that there is a gap in the literature that addresses effective leadership and practices for technology integration. …

Unlocking Creative Potential: Catholic Elementary School Principal Perceptions Of Creativity, Kellie Scherer

Doctoral Dissertations

Church documents and scholars affirm that traditional pedagogies are ineffective in preparing students for the demands of the 21st century (CCE, 2014, p. 13, Darling-Hammond, 2010; Hartley, 2003; Kampylis, 2010; Skiba, Tan, Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2010). A review of the literature revealed that a gap in research on the Catholic elementary school principal’s understanding of and commitment to creativity exists. Even teachers who value creativity cannot fully support its development in the classroom without proper training. Continuing education coordinated by principals is one of the few opportunities for teachers to identify and confront their creativity misconceptions. The purpose of this …

Segregation Of Student Financial Aid In Higher Education: The Effects On Low-Income Students When Ebt Is Not Accepted At University Campuses In San Diego, Ca., Tanisha-Jean Martin

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

The student bodies of universities are made up of a diverse financial class of students which utilize various methods to cover financial obligations on campus, even with the use of welfare governmental assistance. Low-income students that are involved in government welfare programs are given an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card to support them while they are pursuing an education; however, every university in San Diego, CA (and nearly the entire United States), segregate EBT into an unacceptable category and refuse to accept the card at any venues on campus. The EBT card is a plastic card that can be used …

Sharpening The Saw: How To Be A Lifelong Learner While Leading A School, Bob Steffes

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

School administrators are currently faced with increased responsibilities and expectations as a result of escalating state and federal mandates. As a result, administrators need to learn new skills and acquire additional knowledge in a variety of areas such as curriculum and instruction, data analysis, assessment, and diverse classrooms. Unfortunately, while these demands intensify, budgets are tightening and making it difficult to engage in quality professional development. Finding the time, motivation and finances necessary to be a life-long learner continue to be a challenge. With his Seventh Habit of “Sharpen the Saw,” Stephen Covey (1989) warns of letting our minds atrophy …

Perceptions Of Trustees And Presidents Of The Competencies Essential For Successful 21st-Century Community College Leadership, Cliff Davis

Dissertations

An imminent wave of community college president retirements is well-documented in the literature, which will likely contribute to a serious leadership void on American community college campuses (American Association of Community Colleges [AACC], 2013; Eddy, 2013). To address this impending leadership crisis, governing boards must focus on how to develop leaders prepared to meet the unique and increasingly complex challenges of community colleges. In keeping with Katz’s (1955) three-skill conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe trustees’ and presidents’ perceptions about the importance of technical, human, and conceptual competencies to a successful 21st-century community …

Leadership Practices In Similar Schools With Varying Primary Grade Reading Outcomes: A Comparative Multiple-Case Study, Jacqueline M. Cuthill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students who are below grade level before they leave third grade are less likely to graduate. A large number of schools are failing to increase student achievement in reading, especially for students of color and those who are economically disadvantaged. Leadership can influence student achievement; however, literature lacks specifics about leadership practices that could help school leaders improve student outcomes. This multiple-case study explores the leadership practices in three similar elementary schools with varying primary grade reading outcomes and contributes details about the leadership functions of Setting Direction, Developing People and Redesigning the Organization (Leithwood, Seashore, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004). …

The Massachusetts Educator Evaluation System And Teacher Perceptions Of Professional Growth, Craig Goldberg

The Graduate Review

Teacher evaluation has gained wide-spread attention and implementation in recent decades. In 2011, the State of Massachusetts adopted new regulations for the evaluation of all teachers designed to assist in developing talented educators through self-directed analysis, reflection, planning, action steps, and collaboration. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of Massachusetts State mandated teacher evaluation on teacher perceptions of professional growth. In this study, professional growth refers to reflecting on feedback from observations as well as formative and summative meetings with evaluators to adjust practice in the classroom. Specifically, the development of a teacher’s professional growth includes …

The Relationship Between Teacher Perceptions Of Professional Learning Communities And Student Achievement, Elmer Thomas

Online Theses and Dissertations

A significant challenge facing public schools is the need to increase student achievement while having student gains enhanced through growth models. Teaching strategies/methods have evolved over the years from an "island" approach where the teacher was alone in his/her classroom and responsible for students progressing to a broader yet more specific approach to teacher professional development in order to enhance student learning.

Districts, schools, and individual teachers have long valued professional development and professional learning. These educational professional learning opportunities collectively give the district, school, and individual teachers a community at work in which a collective focus and commitment to …

Keeping The Learning Going: Using Mobile Technology To Enhance Learning Transfer, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Every year billions of dollars are spent on development aid and training around the world. Little attention is paid, however, to the sustainability of the various interventions. Some studies suggest that technology usage can serve as an effective post-learning intervention to enhance the transfer of learning. Currently, there is a limited body of research examining how best to follow up after an educational professional development program in Africa. This qualitative exploratory study sought to address the gap in education development policy by examining three schools in Ghana, West Africa. This study helps increase our understanding of how technology can promote …

Nsu Ed.D. In Human Services Administration 2018, Nova Southeastern University

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice College Archive

No abstract provided.

Interpretative Analysis Of Adult Learners’ Lived Experiences In A Uniquely Designed Higher Education Program, Latonya M. Branham

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The lived and collegiate experiences of adult learners, who are among the fastest growing student population in 21st century higher education, is the essence of this study. The study was conducted using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Fifteen baccalaureate level degree-seeking study participants consented to share their respective journeys. Twenty-one interviews were conducted for the study. Code-listed categories, themes and sub-themes emerged from two interview sessions, and member-checking sessions. Several themes were aligned to two research questions: In what ways, if any, are the distinctive needs and expectations of adult learners fulfilled through a baccalaureate level adult learner program; and, what does …