Educational Leadership Commons^™

Understanding The Personal Significance Of Our Academic Choices, Maria Savva

Publications and Research

Savva maps the intrapersonal journey that paralleled her academic journey as an international doctoral student based in Cyprus. She describes changes in her research question and how she used the solitude often associated with the doctoral journey to create a space whereby she looked inwards to better understand her academic choices and her relationship to those choices. Through critical examination, she was able to gain a deeper understanding of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors behind her decision to pursue a doctorate and her selection of research topic. This, in turn, allowed her to harness the qualities of agency and resilience …

The ‘Peripheral’ Student In Academia: An Analysis, Maria Savva, Lynn P. Nygaard

Publications and Research

Pulling together the various themes that emerged within and across the narratives, this chapter explores four broad categories of challenges and opportunities:

1. Demands associated with being a ‘peripheral’ student and the function of social networks in developing a sense of belonging.
2. Issues related to supervisory and other faculty relationships.
3. Struggles related to identity, language and/or culture.
4. The role of expert, novice and ‘impostor’ labels in internalizing a scholarly identity.

Each category is unpacked, while also examining the personal characteristics and institutional features that helped the authors along the journey to becoming scholars. After each section, implications for institutional policy and …

Navigating The Pass: Distance, Dislocation And The Viva, David Channon, Maria Savva, Lynn P. Nygaard

Publications and Research

Channon examines the challenges of completing a doctoral degree across different geographical locations and changing job roles. His experience illustrates how logistical challenges involved in carrying out research far removed from the research site, political turmoil and changes in employment status can all necessitate changes in the planned research trajectory. He reflects on an emotional journey, including a particularly challenging viva experience, where he struggled to maintain ownership of his work as a result of distance, dislocation and attempting to heed Introduction 7 conflicting sources of advice. Importantly, Channon’s story brings to light a less-studied phenomenon: the role of faculty …

The Impact Of A Dual Language Environment On Social And Emotional Competency, Anne Parker

Doctor of Education Dissertations

As SEL is intentionally embedded into a student’s school experience, it is important to explore contexts in which SEL can be further enhanced. Because the bilingual brain has shown high correlation to social and emotional behaviors, this study examined the dual language environment and the impact on a student’s SEL. The setting is a K-5 global and dual language immersion school, and the study examined the social and emotional competency of students learning in the K-3 dual language immersion cohorts compared to K-3 students in the traditional learning cohorts. The study used the Devereux Student Strength Assessment (DESSA)-Mini from Aperture …

"The Lady From North Carolina": The Perils And Limitations Of External Expertise, Aprille J. Phillips, Edmund T. Hamann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This paper examines a state department of education’s (SDE) decision to contract a consultant to “turnaround” schools, per a logic of outsourcing for external expertise. Our ethnographically informed case study explores whose knowledge had the most worth in diagnosing areas for improvement and identifies this case as part of a trend to rent competencies, under a neoliberal guise of efficiency, but at the expense of system capacity or learning.

A Transdisciplinary Approach To International Teaching Assistants: Perspectives From Applied Linguistics, Heidi Fischer

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ambitious And Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed And Struggle In American Higher Education, Minghui Hou

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

In this new publication, Syracuse University Associate Professor Yingyi Ma employs a mixed-method research design to examine and analyze the educational motivations, experiences, and trajectories of a new wave of Chinese undergraduate students from diverse family backgrounds with an emphasis on “the duality of ambition and anxiety” (p. 7). This book challenges the stereotyped expectations of Americans in regards to Chinese students (for instance, that all are from well-off families and have poor English skills). Ma argues that it is pivotal to consider the educational, social, and cultural backgrounds of Chinese internationals in their processes of self-formation in order to …

Disconnected Youth: The Journey To Educational Re-Engagement: The Alternative Education Experiences Of Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (Bipoc) Youth, Latoya L. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Over 2.5 million youth remain disconnected from education or the workforce well into their adult lives. Nearly one-third of youth who remain disconnected are Black, Indigenous Persons of Color (BIPOC) from low-income communities. The purpose of this research study was to gain an understanding of what systems and processes support re-engagement for formerly disconnected, and subsequently re-engaged, BIPOC students from alternative high school programs in the State of California. The following research questions guided this qualitative narrative study: How do former disconnected youth ages 19-26 years of age describe their experience in traditional public schools compared to that of alternative …

No. 9, September 2021: Leaders’ Perspectives On The Preparation Of Bilingual/Dual Language Teachers, Magaly Lavadenz, Ph.D., Jongyeon Ee, Ph.D., Elvira G. Armas, Ed.D., Grecya V. López, M.S.Ed.

Education and Policy Briefs

This research and policy brief uplifts findings from a 2020 survey of 223 California school district leaders. Findings regarding the preparation of beginning bilingual/dual language educators indicate that leaders rated teachers’ linguistic competencies in two languages as the most important ability, followed by teachers’ understanding of bilingualism and biliteracy development and linguistic pedagogical knowledge. Respondents rated beginning bilingual teachers’ preparation to meet the needs of their districts/schools as “moderately well” (M=3.1 out of 5). The brief concludes by identifying policy recommendations for state and local levels as well as for institutions of higher education policies and practice in this statewide …

Culturally Responsive School Leadership Agility: A Journey Through Critical Self-Reflection, Deborah Mckelvey Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how school leaders can differentiate their approach using a self-reporting psychometric instrument called the Emergenetics® Profile when engaged in critical self-reflection. Using a multiple case study approach, three urban school leaders engaged in the deconstructing and reconstructing of knowledge frameworks specific to deficit thinking. The Emergenetics Profile served as a lens to critically self-reflect in order to differentiate their approach to the disrupt deficit thinking practices in their schools (Browning 2007; Khalifa, 2018; Shields, 2018). This study integrated these insights from critical self-reflection and the awareness gained by school leaders through their Emergenetics preferences to change their …

Instructional Coaching For Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Kelly Shorb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Growing up with a global perspective and teaching in highly diverse schools has fueled my desire to understand how instructional coaching and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy work together in education. This case study examined the current practices of instructional coaches to understand how they incorporate components of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. Through observations and interviews of three coaches and a director this study explored the interactions, behaviors and language of coaches as they engaged with teachers to explore and understand prior knowledge, beliefs and current incorporation of CRP with teachers. The literature review provides an in-depth description of each of the components …

Intercultural Competence And Practice: The Contribution Of Teachers' Beliefs, Values, And Attitudes To The Implementation Of Culturally Responsive Practices And Mandated Eld Professional Development, Deborah Ormsby

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

Public school teachers in the State of Colorado are required to complete 45 hours of English language development (ELD) training to ensure that they are properly supporting the English learners in their school. The literature suggests that teachers’ beliefs, values, and attitudes (intercultural competence) toward English learners matter in their receptiveness to the training and their ability to engage in and implement culturally responsive practices. In order to understand how the ELD training might actually impact a teacher’s ability to support English learners, a mixed methods design comprised of the administration of Ponterotto’s Teacher Multicultural Attitudes Survey followed up by …

A Qualitative Study Of The Lao American College Experience, Jerry Sithiphone

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The majority of the Lao American population arrived in the United States after the end of the “American War in Southeast Asia” in 1975 as political refugees. Nevertheless, as Asian Americans, Lao Americans are also stereotyped to be the “model minority” and therefore do not face the same educational and socioeconomical challenges like other communities of color. However, Lao Americans are not the model minority and face numerous obstacles as the community is overlooked and history is forgotten by mainstream America. The lack of scholarly literature on Lao Americans highlights not only the general misunderstanding of the community, but also …

Human Capital Formation And Return Migration Within Mong Communities In Rural/Semi-Rural Northern California, Chong Yang

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This research uses computational grounded theory to explore the human capital formation and stay/return migration experiences of well-educated Mong adults living in various rural/semi-rural Northern California localities within Butte, Yuba, and Sutter Counties. Rural vitality is dependent on the return of these well-educated rural-raised adults. Out-migration of rurality’s best and brightest contributes towards a brain drain and the hallowing out of rurality’s human capital. Findings of this research is conveyed using two research articles examining two different points on the continuum of rural vitality. The first article examines 19 Mong adults’ educational experiences within their rural communities and college education. …

Educational Policies And Schooling For Arabic Speaking Refugee Children In Australia And Turkey, Nina Maadad, Munube Yilmaz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper aims to compare refugee settlement and education policies between two geographically and culturally distinct nations, Australia and Turkey. Due to its geographical position in the Middle East, Turkey now hosts millions of refugees especially following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Australia also has a long history of hosting and supporting refugees from many countries and the Arabic-speaking nations are no exception. Conducting a comparative historical analysis, this study aims to fill the gap in our knowledge about the education policies and practices of both countries. Based on the expectations and needs of refugee students, …

Educating For Global Competence: Co-Constructing Outcomes In The Field: An Action Research Project, Kristina A. Van Winkle

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Capacity building for globally competent educators is a 21st Century imperative to address contemporary complex and constantly changing challenges. This action research project is grounded in positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship, relational cultural theory, and relational leadership practices. It sought to identify adaptive challenges educators face as they try to integrate globally competent teaching practices into their curricula, demonstrate learning and growth experienced by the educators in this project, and provide guidance and solutions to the challenges globally competent educators face. Six educators participated in this three-phase project, which included focus groups, reflective journal entries, and an exit interview. Data …

Teachers Of Color's Perception On Identity And Academic Success: A Reflective Narrative, Lynette Suliana Sikahema Finau

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Research and scholarship in multicultural education has consistently affirmed that as a result of the long standing racial academic achievement gap and the current teaching force not reflecting the changing demographics of students in the United States, students of color continue to be deprived from having teachers who look like them and who may bring similar life, social, and cultural experiences that can increase the value they place on academics. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of teachers of color and how they perceive their identity as significant and meaningful to their profession and its …

“In The University But Not Of The University”: Examining Institutionalized Counterspaces Through A Staff Perspective, Omar A. Ramirez

Master's Theses

Using a qualitative case study, this thesis examines a university counterspace that serves Students of Color through the perspective of the staff who work in that space. The case study aimed to explore four areas of investigation: the interviewees’ knowledge and perceptions of 1) the history of their counterspace; 2) the purpose of their counterspace; 3) the benefits of their counterspace; and 4) challenges of their counterspace. The counterspace was a program within a large, 4-year, public, R-1 research university. Five staff from the counterspace were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the data suggests that students were an essential part …

Full-Service Community School Intervention: Case Study Of Somali Parent-School Engagement Within A Rural Midwestern School District, Anne Leland

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning Infographics

The purpose of this three-stage qualitative phenomenology case study was to characterize Somali refugee parents’ understanding of their role in school-parent relationships and investigate the impact of a research-based parent involvement intervention model adapted for use with this study. Research questions included: 1) What are Somali refugee parents’ understanding, perceptions, and expectations of school parent involvement; and 2) Did the adapted training intervention, designed to enhance school-parent relationships and parent engagement behaviors among Somali refugee parents, succeed? Following an initial interview stage, Epstein’s School-Family-Community Partnership Model (2019) was adapted and used to design a training intervention that was delivered as …

Schools’ Civil Rights Obligations To English Learners: Leadership Perceptions On Key Issues, Pamela R. Schwallier

Dissertations

English Learners (ELs), who now represent nearly 10% of all K-12 public school students, 4.8 million of who speak over 400 different languages and dialects, continue to lack equitable educational opportunities as demonstrated through gaps in achievement outcomes, poor graduation rates, and identified systemic barriers related to the intersectionality of language, culture, race, and racism (Crump, 2014; DeMatthews & Izquierdo, 2017; Menken & Solorza, 2015; Morita-Mullaney, 2018; National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition [NCELA], 2015, 2018). This quantitative study captured over 800 K-12 educational leaders’ perspectives, via an anonymous electronic survey, on key issues regarding equitable programs for ELs that …

Black Girls In 3d Disruptive, Defiant, And Disrespectful: Case Studies Of Culturally Responsive And Sustaining Classroom Management Practices In An Urban Middle School, Janeen Perry-Campbell

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Extensive research has been conducted on the disproportionate amount of suspensions that occur among Black boys, however, there is an emerging body of research that suggests that the rate of suspensions among Black girls is increasing. The most common behaviors that Black girls receive office referrals for, are subjective behaviors such as being disruptive, defiant, and disrespectful. (Nunn, 2018). The purpose of this study was to examine how Culturally Responsive Classroom Management (CRCM) strategies reduce the disproportionate amount of suspensions that Black girls received. This qualitative study conducted through case studies focused on how the teachers’ culturally responsive and sustaining …

Reopening America's Schools During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Protecting Asian Students From Stigma And Discrimination, Daisuke Akiba

Publications and Research

The COVID-19 outbreak has prompted a rise in stigma and discrimination against people of Asian descent in many areas in the world, including the United States1. Anti-Asian hate incidents, which have ranged from verbal attacks, refusal of service to physical assault, continue to transpire in the U.S., and they put psychological and physical well-being of Asian children at increased risk. Discussions toward reopening of U.S. schools thus far, however, seem to have exclusively included the infection-related concerns and pedagogical consequences of continued disruptions in face-to-face instructions. Hence, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders need to have plans in place …

The Experiences Of Undocumented Students In College: Dreams And Aspirations In Their Own Words, Marcelo Juica

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the lived experiences of seven undocumented immigrant college students living in Massachusetts as they negotiated the sociocultural, socioeconomic, and institutional challenges of their college experience. Three research questions guided this study: (1) What role do undocumented college students believe sociocultural factors play in influencing an immigrant student’s successful college experience? (2) What were the various ways undocumented college students reported institutional and economic factors that affected their college experiences? (3) How did the students develop resilience to overcome social and systemic setbacks while pursuing higher education? A narrative methodology was used, and the participants were selected …

Exploring North Texas Elementary Principals’ Viewpoints Regarding The Influence Of Culturally Responsive Teaching On School Climate And School Culture, Monica Latrice Tatum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Public schools in the United States have become more diverse due to immigration and the mass exodus of the White population to the suburbs. Growing demographic changes and a consistently White educational labor force raise concern regarding how schools address the needs of their diverse student populations. Much research exists concerning teachers’ implementation of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices. However, a void remains in the literature regarding the role of school leadership in this process. An understanding of culturally competent principals’ perspectives on CRT needs more attention to address how school leaders create safe and equitable environments for diverse …

Brain Science And Parent-School Relationships In A Title 1 Elementary School In Massachusetts: A Basic Qualitative Study, Arij Rached, Simone Elias, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

Bandura's (1977) social cognitive theory contends that people think, learn, and perform based upon a sum of personal (e.g., beliefs, emotions, behaviors), social (home-school relationships), and environmental (school culture). Also, research has already determined that collaboration between home and school leads to better children's social-emotional learning (SEL) (August, Anderson, & Bloomquist, 1992; Cooper & Redfern, 2016; Grant & Ray, 2018). Thus, a basic qualitative research tradition was used to better understand elementary public-school parents' perceptions of the impact of parent-school relationships on children SEL development in a Title 1 school in Massachusetts (MA). Thru the lenses of brain science, a …

Family Engagement During Covid-19, Mark Nagasawa

Straus Institute for Thriving Children & Families

This is an infographic summarizing findings from a survey conducted in May 2020 (n=3355) about how the COVID-19 was affecting early childhood educators in New York. Unsurprisingly, the survey responses reflected respondents' multimodal creativity and professional commitment to connecting with children's families. Responses also suggested some underlying tensions, such as school-centric notions of family engagement (i.e., more academically focused) vs. family-centric perspectives (i.e., offering emotional and material support to families). Ultimately the survey's contribution lies in shedding some light on important, difficult-to-resolve issues that must be debated as the world moves towards "post" pandemic life (e.g., services, supports, and accessibility …

Racial Battle Fatigue And Black Male Higher Education Administrators, Joshua Walehwa

Dissertations

Racial Battle Fatigue was first coined by Dr. William A. Smith as a theory describing the burnout of African Americans in higher education institutions. While much of the current research focuses on the faculty and student experiences, in various formats, this provides an autoethnography capturing the various phases of a Black Male higher education administrators experience with experiencing and coping through Racial Battle Fatigue. The belief behind this approach focuses on the value of storytelling and autoethnography in particular in research, the interconnected nature of life experiences that impact professional life as well as the reverse, and a call to …

Special Issue Editors' Introduction: Voices From The Field: Centering Southeast Asian Americans Through Policy, Practice, And Activism, Loan Thi Dao, Peter T. Keo

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

Introduction: Voices from the Field: Centering Southeast Asian Americans through Policy, Practice, and Activism

For Us: Towards An Intersectional Leadership Conceptualization By Black Women For Black Girls, Angel Miles Nash, April L. Peters

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This article is based on a STEM education case study that illumines the work that three Black women school leaders do specifically on behalf of Black girls, and in examining their asset-based approaches, conceptualises their work by articulating an intersectional leadership framework. By historicising and explicating the rich legacy of Black women school leaders, and specifically including the theoretical dispositions in which their pedagogy is rooted, we shine a light on the lacuna that exists in educational leadership that specifically articulates their praxes when working on behalf of students with whom they identify – that is, Black girls. Black women …

Full-Service Community School Intervention: Case Study Of Somali Parent-School Engagement Within A Rural Midwestern School District, Anne Leland

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

The purpose of this three-stage qualitative phenomenology case study was to characterize Somali refugee parents’ understanding of their role in school-parent relationships and investigate the impact of a research-based parent involvement intervention model adapted for use with this study. Research questions included: 1) What are Somali refugee parents’ understanding, perceptions, and expectations of school parent involvement; and 2) Did the adapted training intervention, designed to enhance school-parent relationships and parent engagement behaviors among Somali refugee parents, succeed? Following an initial interview stage, Epstein’s School-Family-Community Partnership Model (2019) was adapted and used to design a training intervention that was delivered as …