Educational Leadership Commons^™

Increasing Female Enrollment In High School Computer Science Education, Zenovia Brown Frazier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Women have played a vital role in the field of computer science and information technology (IT), developing some of the most essential components of modern IT” (Purdue University Global, 2018). Despite their prominence and achievements in these career fields, computer science has experienced a noticeable decline in the representation of females in industry and in programs of study. This is not a phenomenon reserved for the college classroom and/or the world of work, but is a situation present across schools in the P-12 arena, to include ZBF High School. As such, the purpose of this work was to examine the …

Investigating Leadership Styles Of Childcare Directors, Michelle P. Grantham-Caston

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this study was to contribute to the literature on childcare director’s leadership styles and director’s self-perception. For leaders in childcare to be effective they must possess skills, characteristics, and traits of effective leadership which have been identified in the seminal literature of Bass (1995) and Burns (1979). This quantitative study examined early childhood leaders self-identification with the leadership styles in The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) (Bass & Avolio, 1995) as well as other demographic variables which could contribute to early childhood leaders’ self-perception of leadership styles. This study was to break apart the three overarching leadership styles …

Methods In Practice: Grounded Theory In Media Arts Education Research, Kyja Kristjansson-Nelson

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Grounded theory qualitative research is a powerful method of practice, particularly for researchers aiming to explore complex processes through the perspectives and experiences of others. Grounded theory is also a powerful method of practice for researchers seeking to deepen a field of study in which the literature is thin and few theories exist. However, grounded theory is an often-overlooked research method, perhaps due to its inherent messiness. The purpose of this article is to demystify grounded theory practices by walking the reader through a grounded theory study conducted by the author in the field of media arts education. The study’s …

Synching Up On A Satisfaction: A Mixed Methods Study Exploring Synchronous Online Classroom Learning Satisfaction In The Corporate Training Environment, Andrew S. Burklund

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Despite rapid evolution and innovation, “online learning” is no longer a universal term. There is a need to expand the existing research base to include subsets of online classrooms and include more diverse populations of learners. The overarching question for this study focused on synchronous online classroom satisfaction in a corporate setting. The researcher analyzed four years of historical learner-satisfaction data from post-class Level-1 satisfaction surveys from a Fortune 100 company. In total, 15,577 learner responses were collected, analyzed, and converged with data collected from employee focus groups related to synchronous online classroom satisfaction. The statistical analysis of learning satisfaction …

Reflections I And Ii: Reflexiones Desde La Educación Y Las Artes En La Era Covid-19 | Reflexões Da Educação E Das Artes Na Era Da Covid-19 | Reflections From Education And The Arts In The Covid-19 Era, Peter Mclaren, Wang Yan, Petar Jandrić

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Reflection I comes from the North American context, from Chapman University (USA). Peter McLaren is a professor at Chapman University, a researcher of reference in the international field of critical pedagogy. Wang Yan is a researcher in the Faculty of Educational Studies at Chapman University, her current research interest include Culture and Curricular Studies. Reflection II is developed by Petar Jandrić, professor at University of Applied Sciences of Zagreb (Croatia), researcher and expertise in understanding the intersections between critical pedagogy and information and communication technologies.

“You’Re Almost In This Place That Doesn’T Exist”: The Impact Of College In Prison As Understood By Formerly Incarcerated Students From The Northeastern United States, Hilary Binda, Jill D. Weinberg, Nora Maetzener, Carolyn Rubin

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This qualitative study examines the immediate and lasting impact of liberal arts higher education in prison from the perspective of former college-in-prison students from the Northeastern United States. Findings obtained through semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated people are presented in the following three areas: self-confidence and agency, interpersonal relationships, and capacity for civic leadership. This study further examines former students’ reflections on the relationship between education and human transformation and begins to benchmark college programming with attention to the potential for such transformation. The authors identify four characteristics critical to a program’s success: academic rigor, the professor's respect for students, …

Implementing The Siop Model To Support English Language Learners, Pamela T. Chandler

All Theses And Dissertations

Children who are English as a Foreign Language Learners (EFL) and/or English language learners (ELLs) are missing critical content-specific learning. These students are transitioning into mainstream classrooms, lacking basic literacy foundation skills, including vocabulary, grammar, comprehension, phonology, and meaning, which is preventing them from accessing grade-level content. Teachers who are charged with educating English language learners are not always provided with sufficient professional development that will allow them to meet the students’ needs. ELL students need specific instructional strategies that will address their learning needs as well as language development. The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation …

The Effect Of An Educational Workshop On High School Future Farmers Of America Parliamentary Procedure Leadership Development Teams, Brooke Gilstrap, Alyssa Snow

Agricultural Education and Communication

Within the California Future Farmers of America Association (FFA), there are a variety of Leadership Development Events (LDE’s) including the Parliamentary Procedure contest. Within this contest students sharpen their knowledge through reviewing Robert's Rules of Order and applying this knowledge to an exam as well as a live demonstration. Through this contest, students also improve upon their public speaking skills and research agricultural education and industry issues. Students compete in several invitational contests before entering the sectional, regional, and state levels of competition where their advanced knowledge comes into play with a wider audience. Over the span of California, there …

The Effects Of Project Lead The Way Launch Curriculum On Elementary Girls’ Perception And Career Interests In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics, Mina Blazy

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The United States has examined the quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education since before the turn of the century. STEM educators are still having the conversation around why more women are not joining STEM pathways. Girls and boys as early as birth are curious about the world; through their own lens they learn about gravity from dropping spaghetti on the floor or seeing a small insect on the wall. As children get older they are influenced by the perceptions of their parents and peers.

This study looked at the perception and career interests of girls in STEM …

The Relationship Between School Climate And Student Achievement At The Middle School Level In Georgia, Curtis Brett Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

School leaders from all over our nation are under scrutiny and pressure to raise their students’ academic achievement. Good standards-based classroom teaching, supportive teachers, administrators, and parents, and a motivated student all make for a high achieving student. But what is the relationship of the school’s climate to the achievement level? Does the student’s socioeconomic status affect academic achievement? This study collected data from 431 traditional public middle schools in the state of Georgia serving students in Grade 6 through Grade 8 exclusively during the 2017-18 school year. A stepwise multiple regression was used to examine the relationships in both …

The Primary Dilemma: Determining And Overcoming Barriers To A Focus On Prekindergarten Through Grade 3, Sarah Turner Lukas, Sarah Turner Lukas

Dissertations

In 2017, reporters of national data in regard to reading ability among American, fourth grade students indicated low proficiency and achievement gaps. These results were also consistent within the state and district under study. There is a need to increase the focus on prekindergarten and primary grade education taking place prior to the grades in which federally mandated, accountability assessments for student learning take place. The purpose of this study is to determine the potential barriers to a paradigm shift at the state and district levels from a focus on state-assessed grade levels to prekindergarten and primary grade levels. The …

Competency-Based Education Through The Lens Of Personalized Learning In A Large Public High School, Marcus J. Belin

Dissertations

When students end the chapter of high school, the question education must ask is, “What does it take for a student to walk across the stage and receive their high school diploma?” Is it a transcript full of passing letters ranging from A–D or is it a known belief that students do not have gaps in their knowledge and can apply their knowledge in real-world situations? This study identifies the problem and the basis of research in the program evaluation. It also focuses on identifying a policy that best supports competency-based education (CBE). Lastly, the study …

Computer-Based Learning: Effects On Student Learning And Interpretation Of Curriculum, Hasani Jackson

Dissertations

ABSTRACT In 2010, the Superintendent of Prestige School District (a pseudonym) implemented online learning programs that would cater to student learning while increasing achievement. With the adoption of computer-based programs into Prestige School District System, curriculum specialists wanted to align programs to the Common Core State Standards initiated by the Department of Education. Through gathering quantitative and qualitative data on behalf of various stakeholders within Prestige School District, the goal of this study was to uncover the key elements of online learning programs that can be improved to enhance student achievement. Results provide a foundation for positive learning initiatives that …

Black Girls Matter: The Impact Of Historical Representation On Contemporary Education, Carolyn Strong

Dissertations

A long history of misogynoir and negative stereotypes about Black
girls and women can be found throughout the literature and popular
culture of the United States. These stereotypes inform the lived
experience of Black girls and women, and in particular interfere with
African American girls’ ability to thrive in a school environment. An
autoethnographic research approach shows that various strategies, in
particular, Black girl-centric spaces, have proven to be helpful in
supporting Black girls who have to negotiate varying degrees of
hostility in general environments. These could be applied more broadly
to improve Black girls’ mental, psychological, physical, and
educational …

“Give Them A Firm Handshake, Look Them In The Eye, Try To Make A Connection”: Critical Graduate Perspectives On School Advancement Practices Of De Marillac Academy, Alicia M. Tapia

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation engages graduates of De Marillac Academy, a NativityMiguel school in San Francisco, in critical inquiry regarding school advancement practices. Graduates were asked how they participated in school advancement practices face-to-face with guests and donors, through media, on-campus and off-campus at their Annual Scholarship Benefit. Graduates engaged in photo and video elicitation interviews, in which photos and videos were used to spark commentary regarding their thoughts and experiences in advancement settings. As Catholic school educators, we are called to investigate the effects of a student’s formal and hidden curriculum in all aspects of their educational experience. This study found …

Supporting Our Troops In Higher Education: Veteran Admissions Training Program, Steven Delgado

Master's Theses

An overview of a Veteran Admissions Training Manual for a California State University campus.

Review Of The Vulnerable Heart Of Literacy: Centering Trauma As Powerful Pedagogy., Zipporah Galimore

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

In The Vulnerable Heart of Literacy: Centering Trauma as Powerful Pedagogy (2019), Elizabeth Dutro provides educators with heart-felt, inquiry-based strategies for using trauma as pedagogy in literacy classrooms. This book describes how to situate both educators and children to provide testimony and be critical witnesses in an effort to allow life knowledge, empathy, and wisdom be brought to classroom learning experiences. Dutro uses classroom vignettes and student work samples to illustrate how the concept of trauma as pedagogy can be applied across genres. Experiences and examples of literacy instruction in children's work from several elementary classrooms, from second grade through …

Faculty Role In Student Career Development: A Qualitative Study, Marianne Jacullo Brosnan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

As chief architects of curriculum, faculty are largely responsible for student learning outcomes. Given the cost of higher education and the amount of debt students incur, higher education stakeholders want to know if higher education is worth the investment.

Student career preparedness is an important goal of higher education. While research has been dedicated to college student development, career decision-making, and student-faculty interaction from a student perspective, little is known about the faculty perspective and their role in student career preparedness in a specific articulated way.

In this study, the phenomenological perspective provided a framework for data collection and analysis. …

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

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

ABSTRACT

Current research has recognized considerable benefits of parent and family engagement with their children’s schools. However, research shows many systemic and individual barriers to effective parent and family engagement. Located in a rural Minnesota setting, Faribault Public Schools (FPS) has a large population of Somali refugee parents with limited English proficiency. Based on data from FPS, children from these families are falling behind in school. The FPS system has acknowledged the need to enhance engagement with these families to more effectively support their children’s success in school.

The purpose of this quasi-experimental, qualitative case study was to characterize Somali …

Centering Community Voices Through Children's Literature: Co-Authoring An #Ownvoices Picture Book For The Maine Migrant Education Program, Melanie Shelton

Master's Theses

Since its inception, the field of migrant education has been characterized by a tension between honoring the subjectivity of migrant families and positioning them as victims. This same tension exists in the analysis of children’s picture books that depict the daily lives of migrant farmworkers. In response to Eve Tuck’s (2009) call for a moratorium on damage-centered research in the field of education, this report describes the collaboration process between a representative of the Maine Migrant Education Program and a migrant

farmworker and her family to write, illustrate, and present an autobiographical picture book. Las aventuras, travesuras, y peligros del …

Perceptions Of Students Of Color About Their Experience In An Alternative High School: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Massene Mboup

Dissertations and Theses

Public schools in Oregon have been struggling to include students of color and teachers of color for so long. Students of color represent more than one third of the school population, yet remain underserved, underrepresented, and over disciplined. Most of their teachers and support staff are White; the teachers of color represent less than 8% of the teaching staff. The students of color attend comprehensive high schools that generally ignore them--or push them out. Some students of color end up in alternative schools.

My problem of practice was the oppression of students of color in urban schools. Specifically, my research …

Exploring Stem Kit Diagrams For Braille Readers In Inclusive Classrooms, Sariat A. Adelakun Dr

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Diagrams appears in many school subjects but more prominent in science and mathematics taught in schools. Accessing these diagrams in an inclusive classroom has been identified to be problematic for blind students partly due to the teaching resources available and personnel type, support and sufficiency. Diagrams are mostly omitted by teachers leaving the blind person out in such classroom to access portion of education received by their peers. In many instances, questions with diagrams are treated as bonus for blind students in some countries which is not fair to them. This study explored the efficacy of STEM Kit diagrams on …

Effects Of Participation In The Summit Learning Platform By Gender On Student Academic Achievement, Taryn Enjoli Echols

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects by gender of the Summit Learning Platform on student achievement in mathematics, English, reading, and Science measured by the ACT Aspire Summative Assessment for ninth-grade students in four schools in Arkansas. This study provides an in-depth study of mastery learning versus personalized learning through the Summit Learning Platform. The theoretical framework is centered on the comparisons of the mastery mode of learning. Schools A and D participated in the Summit Learning Platform for 2 years. Schools B and C did not participate in the personalized learning platform. Scores from 120 …

Analysis Of The Hiring Process To Ensure That The Best Teacher Candidate Is Selected For A Small Southwestern Pennsylvania School District, Barbara Pagan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher selection through a survey of the top 100 elementary schools in Pennsylvania and analyzing commercially produced screening tools. In order to hire the most effective teachers, districts must pay attention to the characteristics they desire in a teacher and ensure that their measures are aligned with those qualities (Little, Goe, & Bell, 2009). This dissertation examines the teacher hiring practices in Brentwood Borough School District in Pennsylvania, in hopes of improving the current hiring process. The researcher developed two research questions to guide the study. The principal researcher used a combination …

Quality In All Levels: A Model Defining And Measuring Quality In Bioethics Education, Ercan Avci

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to the lack of academic studies in the quality assessment of bioethics education, this dissertation aimed to propose a normative model, Quality in All Levels (QAL), to define and measure quality in bioethics education. The QAL model described quality in bioethics education as conformance to the goals and determined these goals as (1) increasing ethical knowledge, (2) improving ethical skills to strengthen ethical sensitivity, awareness, and judgment, (3) developing ethicalbehavior, and (4) promoting cultural competence. The dissertation utilized Avedis Donabedian’s three approaches: structure, process, and outcome to formulate quality standards and indicators in bioethics education. In respect of …

Creative Pedagogy And Praxis With Social Media: Applications In And Out Of The Qualitative Research Classroom, Anna Cohenmiller, Nurlygul Smat, Aisulu Yenikeyeva, Kuralay Yassinova

The Qualitative Report

Research methods courses can provide essential opportunities for graduate students to develop themselves as researchers. This article offers insights into the application of creative pedagogy and praxis for a graduate-level qualitative research methods class. Students learned and applied the innovative research method—gender audit as process and method—to understand the gendered nature of University social media accounts. Applying principles of collaborative learning and hands-on practice, students gained confidence in themselves as researchers while examining a contemporary issue affecting higher education institutions.

Sustainable Journalism Education: A Curriculum Review And Revision Of The Winona State Journalism Program, Doug Westerman

Leadership Education Capstones

This report seeks to understand the current state of the journalism program at Winona State University (WSU). Through faculty interviews, a survey of students, and a review of journalism curriculums throughout the country, the report concludes with curriculum recommendations, in the hope of assuring, maintaining and sustaining the WSU journalism program in the ever-changing news ecosystem.

Ferndale High School Agriculture Department, Theresa Noga

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship and project report includes documentation required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Ferndale High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The supporting material includes information to receive state and local funding, outline the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of Ferndale High School, the agriculture program and the community.

Exploring The External Barriers Faced By Female Military Spouses In Pursuit Of Higher Education, Richelle Keilholz

Theses and Dissertations

The study discusses the insufficient amount of research concerning the unique barriers faced by female military spouses in the pursuit of higher education. Although the information on military veterans in education has increased exponentially over the last decade, little is known about their female spouses. By adopting a narrative analysis approach to qualitative research, the study explored the perspectives of female military spouses and the barriers they may face in pursuit of higher education. Seven female military spouses were asked to complete 30-minute to 60-minute interviews with the researcher, to consider a more personalized experience. The following three primary research …

Connecting To History Through Service-Learning: A Qualitative Case Study Investigating Student Engagement In Core History Courses, Kimberly D. Stokes

Theses and Dissertations

Surveys have shown that students are not enthusiastic about taking history in college; some describe the discipline as boring and unnecessary. College is a setting where students are investing in themselves, exploring new knowledge to build a career, and gaining insight into the person they want to become in the future. Learning history through a traditional lecture method where memorization of names, dates, and events seems to be the norm is not appealing to students. Universities, promoting the thought that a well-rounded education is beneficial, commonly add history to the collection of general education core courses that are required for …