Educational Leadership Commons^™

Understanding The Lived Experience Of Late-Entry English Learners In The Vista Canyon Unified School District, Joseph W. Boffa

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Many researchers have attempted to identify best practices, habits, and conditions of English Language Learners (ELs, ELLs) pertaining to school success. It is clear EL students pose unique and significant challenges, yet unclear what strategies and program models educators can implement to motivate learning, improve educational experiences, and appropriately acknowledge and reward these learners’ accomplishments. Few studies have attempted to determine the difficulties and challenges associated with academic success and probability of graduation for Late-entry English Learners (LEELs), defined as those entering the school system as eighth-through-twelfth grade students. Their test scores weigh heavily on high-stakes standardized testing accountability measures. …

Autoethnography And Teacher Education: Snapshot Stories Of Cultural Encounter, Maureen F. Legge

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper I discuss how I framed and wrote an autoethnographic personal narrative of my lived experience as a New Zealand physical education teacher educator in the presence of two cultures, Māori and Pākehā. Central to my qualitative study was writing as a method of inquiry. Using this method I wrote a series of descriptive ‘snapshot stories’ derived from field experiences, over an 11 year period, that involved close and prolonged encounters with physical education teacher education (PETE) students in tertiary classrooms and 4 day marae stays. The storied accounts served as data for self-reflexivity about my role as …

Faith, Resistance, And The Future: Daniel Berrigan’S Challenge To Catholic Social Thought, Kurt Nelson

Journal of Catholic Education

Review of Faith, Resistance, and the Future: Daniel Berrigan’s Challenge to Catholic Social Thought.

Culturally Responsive Caring And Expectations For Academic Achievement In A Catholic School, Christian Dallavis

Journal of Catholic Education

This article draws from a larger dissertation study that applied ethnographic and historical research methods to explore the intersection of culturally responsive pedagogy and Catholic schooling in immigrant communities. In particular, this article presents qualitative data analysis to describe student achievement expectations at a contemporary urban Catholic elementary school. By examining teacher, student, and parent perspectives on academic achievement, the article explores the degree to which the caring demonstrated at the school is/is not consistent with a notion of “culturally responsive caring” in the scholarly literature surrounding theories of culturally responsive pedagogy.

Transforming Catholic Education Through Research: The American Educational Research Association Catholic Education Special Interest Group, Shane Martin

Journal of Catholic Education

Catholic schools in the United States and abroad face numerous financial, cultural, and structural challenges due to contemporary education policies and economic trends. Within this climate, research about Catholic education is often conducted and leveraged in efforts to serve schools’ most immediate needs. To be certain, research aimed at finding solutions to pressing problems is important—indeed, essential—to Catholic schools’ survival. However, it is also important that research on Catholic education connect to larger questions, issues, and discourses in education—both private and public—in order to contribute important insights and bring otherwise marginalized voices to bear in contemporary educational debates.

Editors' Comments, Mary Mccullough, Karen Huchting, Martin Scanlan

Journal of Catholic Education

We are pleased to announce the new name for the Journal: The Journal of Catholic Education.

Vietnamese International Student Repatriates: An Exploratory Study, Anh Le

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

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the experiences of Vietnamese international students who returned to Vietnam after graduation from a U.S. higher education institution (henceforth, the repatriates). Areas to be explored include the transitional period, perceptions of the relevance of the U.S. education to their current life, reflections on their experience in the U.S., and their future plans. The knowledge drawn from this study can serve as useful reference information for current and future recruitment efforts, support services, and courses geared toward Vietnamese international students.

The current study aimed to explore the experiences of the mostly unheard …

Redefining Pedagogy: Dialogues On Transformative Immersion, Praxis, And Reflection, William Robertson, Judith Munter

Selected Works Temporary Series

This article examines transformative teaching and learning in higher education today, with a focus on faculty member as change agent. Developed from fourteen months of ongoing, critical dialogue, the article describes and deconstructs faculty members’ lived experiences as scholars-practitioners in three nations and their corresponding roles in institutions of higher learning in the U.S. As multi-culturally situated practitioners, each one describes the role of diverse international/intercultural lived experiences, including Fulbright exchanges, community based research, and service-learning in and with diverse communities. The voice of an emerging scholar, (graduate student) as discussant is interspersed throughout the dialogue, connecting faculty members’ experiences …

Mitigating Milliken? School District Boundary Lines And Desegregation Policy In Four Southern Metropolitan Areas, 1990–2010, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley

Educational Leadership Publications

Over the past half century, law and policy have helped cement tremendous inequities into the structure of our cities. District boundary lines separating multiple, unequal school systems within a single metropolitan (metro) area play a central role in structuring racial and economic isolation. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics, this study explores how patterns of school segregation are linked to desegregation policy and district boundary arrangements in four southern metro areas. Findings indicate that while city-suburban mergers create far more potential for meaningful school desegregation within a school system, simply eliminating district boundaries is not enough. Corresponding …

An Examination Of The Correlation Between The Seven Critical Leadership Functions And Middle School African-American And Hispanic Student Achievement, Shannon A. Flounnory

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This quantitative study examined possible correlations between each of the seven critical leadership functions and achievement in the areas of mathematics for eighth grade African-American and Hispanic students. The 117 participants included school leaders and students from 12 of the 19 middle schools in a metropolitan school district in the southeastern region of the United States. Principals from the middle schools in the district distributed the Critical Leadership Functions Questionnaire to members of their leadership team (e.g., assistant principals, school counselors, department chairs, etc.). CRCT scores measured student achievement. The researcher conducted a correlation study, using Pearson’s multivariable correlation data …

Preparing School Leaders To Advocate For Social Justice: A Case Analysis Of Social Justice Tenets In A Leadership Preparation Program, Jessica Costa

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

School leadership preparation for social justice is a pressing concern in an era of achievement gaps and a rapidly increasing population of largely marginalized students: English learners. This case study explored how one university leadership preparation program infused social justice tenets into the training. Following a qualitative methodology, data collection focused on documents, interviews, and class observations. In recent years, critical race theory (CRT) has garnered much attention in education scholarship as a way to examine racialized practices and social injustices that persist in U.S. schooling. This study used CRT as a basis for the theoretical framework and interpretive lens …

The Effects On Students' Intercultural Competence From Intensive Intercultural Service-Learning Through The $100 Solution™ Model, Nadia De León Sautú

Dissertations

This study evaluates the effects of an intensive intercultural service-learning program on the intercultural competence of undergraduate students enrolled in Cultural Diversity in the U.S., a general education course at Western Kentucky University. This program utilized The $100 Solution™ model, in which groups of students partnered with local immigrant and refugee families, to teach them about U.S. culture, learn about their cultures, and implement a project to assist them in their integration process. The program included two hours of out-of-classroom work for over twelve weeks. Through the principle of reciprocity, The $100 Solution™ model provided an interaction framework in which …

The Effect On Cumulative Language Acquisition Increase For English Language Learner Students In Kindergarten Through Third Grade Who Attended Multiple Years Of Summer Remediation Programs, Gregory Anthony Baker

Open Access Dissertations

Baker, Gregory A. Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2013. The Effect On Cumulative Language Acquisition Increase For English Language Learner Students In Kindergarten Through Third Grade Who Attended Multiple Years Of Summer Remediation Programs. Major Professor: Marilyn A. Hirth

Already academically at risk, students in the rapidly growing English Language Learner (ELL) student population in the United States face additional challenges due to regression of English language acquisition over the average ten-week agrarian summer break when they return to homes in which Spanish was the primary language spoken. While the influence of summer learning loss has been investigated in different contexts …

Increasing Diversity In The City Schools: Unexplored Paths Of Opportunity, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Kimberly M. Bridges, Thomas J. Shields, John V. Moeser, Renee Hill

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

In its school rezoning and closure process from May 6 - June 3, 2013, the Richmond School Board voted to close 3 schools and change 14 elementary school zones despite opposition that overwhelmingly outweighed support at both public hearings. Though there were a wide range of concerns cited, including the rushed timeline, lack of transparency and absence of clear criteria for closing and rezoning these schools, many stakeholders expressed particular disapproval related to the potential increase in racial isolation that would result from the plan, formally known as Option C.

While regional efforts to promote school diversity—a central theme of …

The Call For Cultural Responsiveness: Teachers' Perceptions About The Interplay Between Culturally Responsive Instruction And Scripted Curricula, Kathryn Elizabeth Toppel

Dissertations and Theses

The increased focus on the implementation of scientifically research-based instruction as an outcome of No Child Left Behind ("Understanding NCLB," 2007) has resulted in the widespread use of scripted reading curricula (Dewitz, Leahy, Jones, and Sullivan, 2010), which typically represents Eurocentric and middle class forms of discourse, knowledge, language, culture, and historical interpretations as academic knowledge (Howard, 2010; Delpit, 2012). In an era where the number of culturally and linguistically diverse students is increasing rapidly (Ginsberg, 2007), it is essential to consider that educational practices relying entirely on prefabricated content may require modification because, as recognized in the funds of …

China's 80后 And 90后: The Next Generation Of Leaders In The World's Next Superpower, A Students-Teaching-Students Course, Patrick Slavin

Senior Honors Projects

In light of China’s recent reemergence as a global superpower, it is becoming increasingly important for westerners to understand its history and culture. For current college students, the culture of China’s youth is particularly pertinent.

In this project, a course, HPR 107: Chinese Youth Culture, was designed and taught through the Students-Teaching-Students program, which provides senior Honor’s Program students the opportunity to design and teach their own Honor’s Program course. The HPR 107 course focuses on China’s 80后 and 90后 generations, those born in the 1980s and 1990s, respectively.

This multi-faceted project includes: subject matter research, course development, pedagogy development, …

Spanish-Speaking Parents' Negotiation Of Language And Culture With Their Children's Schools, Ronda L. Bickmore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Latinos are now the largest public school minority population in the U.S. Because of a shift in the states, cities, and counties where Latinos are choosing to live, many schools that did not previously serve substantial numbers of Latinos are doing so now. Additionally, many of the Latinos in these new settlement areas are recent immigrants who speak little or no English. This qualitative study examined how immigrant Latino parents who speak little or no English supported their children in the English-speaking school system of the U.S. It specifically examined how 12 Spanish-speaking parents negotiated language and culture with their …

Improving Principal Quality For Schools With English Learners: Reculturing Instructional Leadership [Aera Paper], Noni Reis, Barbara Flores

Faculty Publications

In this paper we draw attention to the importance of school leadership on the academic achievement of English Learners. Furthermore, we suggest that school leaders can play a key role in advocating for equitable policies that will improve the academic achievement of English learners. For within-school factors related to student achievement, school leadership quality is second only to the effects of the quality of curriculum and teacher’s instruction (Heck & Leathwood, 2000; Leithwood and Riehl, 2003). The literature reports, however, that the influence of school leadership on student learning is not so evident in low-performing schools (Riordan, 2003). Furthermore, studies …

An Assessment Of Diversity Competence Among College Seniors: An Exploratory Study, Lung-Chiuan Chiang

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In our increasingly diverse global workforce, both employers and institutions of higher learning want to know if colleges and universities equip their students with adequate cultural competence skills. Reliable instruments to measure cultural competence levels for a general student body are not widely available, however. In this report, a self-developed 33-item instrument was designed to assess college seniors’ cultural competence levels, including sub-scales for cultural awareness and cultural knowledge. An expert panel was selected to establish content validity. A pilot study was conducted to improve the design of survey format. The Cronbach’s alpha was .770 according to the reliability test. …

Transformative Leadership: An Asset-Based Approach To Leadership For Diverse Schools And Learners, Marilyn Sudsberry, Brooke Kandel-Cisco

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Traditionally, school leadership has been viewed as emanating from a sole source, the school administrator. This top-down perspective suggests that school leadership lives and dies by the leader's specific skills, mind-set, and preferred activities. This perspective ultimately oversimplifies the difficult work that school administrators must navigate in order to ensure the success of all learners. While there is no doubt that many individual school administrators are empathetic and compassionate educators, unilateral decision-making means that the cultural, linguistic and social lenses utilized to inform decision-making are limited to the perspective of the administrator.

In this chapter we propose that school leadership …

Classroom Intercultural Competence In Teacher Education Students, Interns, And Alumni, Christine K. Holland

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the impact of a student teaching internship upon the classroom intercultural competence (CIC) of teacher education students and alumni. Phase I employed quantitative methodology to compare the intercultural competence as measured by Ross, Thornson, McDonald, and Arrastia’s (2009) Cross Cultural Competence Inventory (3CI) for three groups. The 3CI is a 63-item survey that uses corresponding questions to assess intercultural competence. Survey items are scored with a 6-point, strongly agree-to-strongly disagree Likert scale (Thornson, 2010). The three groups included teacher education students enrolled in a field observation course, students enrolled in …

Early Literacy Practices And Beliefs About Education Among Hispanic Families In Jacksonville, Florida, Maira Luz Martelo

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hispanic children in the United States are more likely to fall behind in several literacy measures even before they enroll in prekindergarten programs. There are some structural and non-structural factors that have a direct impact on Hispanic children’s early literacy skills. Among the non-structural factors this mixed-method study explored Hispanic caregivers’ beliefs about education as well as their literacy practices at home.

The study compared two groups: diverse Hispanic caregivers with 4-year-old children enrolled in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Program (VPK) and diverse Hispanic caregivers whose 4-year-old children were not enrolled in VPK. A total of 125 diverse Hispanic caregivers responded …

A Study Of The Effects Of Charter Schools On Achievement, Attendance And Selected Mitigating Factors In A Midwestern State’S Small Urban School Districts, Frederick C. Clarke

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether students attending urban charter schools did better, or worse, than students attending traditional public schools, over a five-year time period, in a Midwestern state. Thirty-one urban school districts affiliated with a Midwestern Urban Education Association, and corresponding charter schools, located within these Midwestern school districts, were selected to participate in this study.

This study utilized a quasi-experimental research design and was supported by the earlier research of Dr. Gary Miron and Dr. Jerry Horn from Western Michigan University (Miron & Horn, 2000; Miron & Horn, 2002; Miron, 2005) and Dr. Scott …

The Effect Of The Parent Liaison On Latino Student High School Completion And Parent Involvement, Jeanne Thompson Walker

Dissertations

The graduation rate for Latinos in the United States has consistently lagged behind the high school completion rate of White and Asian students in the United States. Efforts to bring equity to schools and improve high school success among Latinos have been inconsistent even after the implementation of No Child Left Behind Legislation. The use of a Spanish speaking parent liaison is gaining momentum as an intervention strategy in elementary schools, often funded by Title 1 grants to schools with large populations of socio-economically disadvantaged students. The Parent Liaison position is also being utilized in some high schools to encourage …

Leadership Practice In Elementary School Dual Language Programs: A Collective Case Study, Joanie K. Monroy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research in effective programming for English language learners has demonstrated the efficacy of dual language education as a model for closing persistent achievement gaps for this growing population of students. With goals of high academic achievement, linguistic proficiency in two languages, and cross-cultural proficiency, dual language education is an enrichment model of education that eschews the deficit thinking often associated with language-minority students. Based on the promise of enriched education for all participants, the number of dual language programs is increasing nationwide. As districts across the United States plan for the implementation of dual language programs, identifying effective leadership practices …

Factors Influencing The Institutionalization Of Diversity In Higher Education, Kelly S. Meier

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

To understand the impact of diversity in higher education, it is important to consider the critical role that diversity plays in the educational process. This requires a broader understanding of the influence diversity can have on the curricular, co-curricular, and interpersonal experience of a developing college student (Denson & Chang, 2009). Strategies for anchoring diversity as a core value or relating it to the inner workings of an institution are in demand (Chun & Evans, 2008). The purpose of this study was to identify highly actualized diversity initiatives and practices that can be replicated at other institutions meeting the sample …

Let's Talk About Race: Developing Anti-Bias Curricula In Elementary Schools, Harper Keenan

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study investigates the theories and potential teaching practices for implementing an anti-bias curriculum in today's elementary schools. Drawing on the work of Louise Derman-Sparks (1989, 1997, and 2011), Frances Kendall (1996), Gary Howard (2006), Ann Pelo (2000 and 2008), six characteristics of effective anti-bias curricula are explored and analyzed as frameworks for developing curricula. In addition, the study chronicles the experience of one grade level team of four teachers working to transform the social studies curriculum they were given into one that is more intentionally anti-bias. Finally, it offers lessons learned and implications for future curriculum development.

Factors Influencing International Students' Academic And Sociocultural Transition In An Increasingly Globalized Society, Chung-Hsien Hsu

Dissertations

This study is a mixed-method study. It consists of a quantitative study and a qualitative study. The quantitative study focused on international adult learners’ experiences of adaptation to American academic and social cultures. The qualitative study then investigated their experiences of cultural transition.

Based on the definition of globalized influences (Finger, 2005) and existing studies discussing the effects on globalized educational environments (Merriam & Young), factors related to globalized influences were selected and used to examine the extent to which these factors have affected international students’ adaptation to learning and life in the American university. Additionally, the other two variables, …

A Cultural Approach To Understanding Professional Experiences Of Foreign-Born Faculty In U.S. Educational Leadership Preparation Programs, Iryna M. Khrabrova

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate professional experiences of foreign-born faculty members serving in U.S. educational leadership preparation programs utilizing a cultural approach to discern their lived experiences related to professional life. Cultural values reflected in professional life experiences were explored. The information gathered through phenomenological approach was used to analyze the influence of national background on the professional experiences of foreign-born faculty in educational leadership preparation programs.

Fostering A Consciousness Of Academic Success With Latino English Language Learners In High School: The Role Self-Efficacy And Social Capital Play, Miguel Angel Huerta LóPez

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to suggest ways in which educators can foster a consciousness of academic success with Latino English language learners in high school using self-efficacy and social capital as assets. The concentration of this study is to look at the English language learner population at Vista Valley High School. A total of twelve students participated in this study. Each student will be interviewed twice with at least six additional students being interviewed a third time.