Educational Leadership Commons^™

Parent Perception Of The Parent And Placement Team Process, Deborah Perry

All Theses And Dissertations

Special educators face a growing number of legal implications as they strive to meet students’ needs as identified on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). Once identified as requiring special education services, students have an (IEP) to track their progress on goals and objectives. All IEP meetings require the family’s attendance and feedback as part of the process. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) noted that parent feedback is required in the IEP document. This study collected information about parents’ perceptions of the IEP process. Individual interviews were completed with 13 engaged parents to document their experiences working through the IEP process. …

The Student Placement Decision-Making Process: A Study Of Administrator Considerations, Jonathan Roland Normand

All Theses And Dissertations

A myriad of factors are considered in the out-of-district placement process of special needs students, but there is not a standardized process for weighing these. Little is known about how Maine School Administrators weigh each factor to determine the appropriate placement. This interpretive phenomenological study examined the question: What is the hierarchy of priority of the factors used to determine out-of-district placements by Maine special education administrators?

Six special education administrators representing different geographic areas of the state of Maine were interviewed individually. The researcher utilized a purposive sampling method to recruit from within the targeted population those who have …

Understanding The Importance Of Formative Assessment Programs In Undergraduate Medical Education, Matthew Gentile

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to investigate the impact and relationship formative assessment in undergraduate medical education has on summative assessment performance. Previous research has investigated the important role formative assessment has on the broad education process (Menéndez, Napa, Moreira, & Zambrano, 2019). This research study examined that role in undergraduate medical education. This research study utilized a preexisting de-identified data set consisting of 332 third-year medical student assessment records from five different cohorts. The initial analyses investigated the differences in summative assessment performance for students who completed a formative assessment program during their third year of …

Astrodance: Engaging Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Students In Astrophysics Via Multimedia Performances, Jason Nordhaus, Manuela Campanelli, Joe Bochner, Thomas Warfield, Hans-Peter Bischof, Jake Noel-Storr

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The dynamics of gravitating astrophysical systems such as black holes and neutron stars are fascinatingly complex, offer some of nature's most spectacular phenomena, and capture the public's imagination in ways that few subjects can. Here, we describe AstroDance, a multi-media project to engage deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students in astronomy and gravitational physics. AstroDance incorporates multiple means of representation of scientific concepts and was performed primarily for secondary and post-secondary audiences at ~20 venues in the northeastern US prior to the historic first detection of gravitational waves. As part of the AstroDance project, we surveyed ~1000 audience members roughly split …

Mission Unaccomplished: Beyond “Talk[Ing] A Good Game” To Promote Diversity And Inclusion, Tara Lehan, Heather Hussey, Ashley Babcock

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Guided by feminist standpoint theory and scholars’ calls to move beyond merely counting individuals to understand the extent to which higher education institutions are diverse, the authors invited faculty members, staff members, and administrators from minoritized groups to describe their perceptions and experiences, including those associated with diversity and inclusion efforts at their institutions. In association with various dynamics, these individuals frequently described such initiatives as mostly talk with little to no meaningful objectives and outcomes. Based on these findings, we provide a three-step process that can be followed to disrupt and dismantle systems of (dis)advantage to promote greater diversity …

Fostering Equitable Opportunities For All Students Through Transfer Of Equity Knowledge, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

To date, there has been little research conducted among school leaders on how new equity knowledge gets transferred to schools. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the extent to which educational leaders attending a year-long equity program are able to transfer the newly acquired knowledge to their professional lives. Findings reveal that leaders were able to use new equity knowledge in their personal and professional lives. Further analysis identifies enhancers and inhibitors to the transfer of such equity knowledge. The researcher provides policy recommendations related to facilitating and sustaining the transfer of equity knowledge among school leaders.

The Pedagogy First Approach To Blended Learning: Concept And Practice, Sharon Flynn, Rob Lowney

Excellence in Teaching Series

Rob Lowney and Sharon Flynn explore the concept of Pedagogy First in Digital Teaching and Learning

Knowledge And Access: An Investigation Into Course Material Models At The Collegiate Level, Jonathan David Sadhoo

All Theses And Dissertations

For over 1,000 years, physical textbooks have been the primary course material tool utilized to facilitate knowledge transfer from the instructor to the student population. In current times, multiple barriers to success have emerged for the modern student of higher education, including affordability, accessibility, and quality. In addition, student engagement with the course material can be a critical factor for student achievement. Taylor & Parsons (2011) indicated that student engagement levels in the classroom are linked with overall success in the course. Within higher education, faculty and academic administrators are at the front lines, attempting to reduce and eliminate these …

Soft-Skill Development In Co-Curricular Programs: An Evaluation Of A Community College Student Leadership Program, Michael James Fischer

All Theses And Dissertations

Colleges are vital for the provision of a trained workforce. As of 2017, over 1,100 community colleges were serving about 41% of the undergraduates across the nation. The emphasis on preparing students to enter the labor market has led to colleges developing integrated academic and co-curricular programs. Many professionals in higher education believe that education happens best in a truly integrative learning environment, where both academic and student affairs programs are used to educate the student.

The New Hampshire Community College Student Leadership program was developed to help students gain soft-skills, as identified by the National Association of Colleges and …

Building Student Development Through Creative Writing Workshops, Kerry C. Hoey

All Theses And Dissertations

This qualitative study describes out-of-school education facilitators’ perceptions, beliefs, and values regarding the promotion of personal and social, cultural, and academic and career development through creative writing workshops. The focus on the facilitators of the creative writing workshops is to explore the perceptions, beliefs, and values they have regarding the theories they use to inform their curriculum, and, therefore, how they promote student development. The researcher believes that a better understanding of the facilitators’ descriptions and perceptions of students and student development within creative writing workshops allows educators and community leaders to proceed from a more informed perspective in terms …

Examining The Challenges And Benefits Of Inclusion In Urban Secondary Schools, Jeff James Spaletta

All Theses And Dissertations

American high schools with full-inclusion programs often struggle to offer effective academic instruction to students with disabilities. While academic researchers have conducted studies on inclusion programs, a literature review revealed a dearth of academic studies specific to inclusion programs in secondary schools. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the attitudes of general-education teachers in urban, Title 1 high schools regarding the ability of those teachers to provide effective academic instruction to students with disabilities in schools that offer full-inclusion education. This study was motivated by three research questions: 1) What are the attitudes of teachers working in …

Exploring A New Path For School Climate & Safety Assessment, Skip Wilhoit

All Theses And Dissertations

The passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2001, ushered in a new era of federal oversight in state educational accountability systems. While the act may have succeeded in identifying schools in need of support and creating data systems to help inform parents and assist educators in establishing clear and consistent goals, the state accountability systems created under this law were widely criticized for their narrow academic focus and failure to include the holistic and multifaceted nature of school quality. In response, the federal government replaced NCLB in 2015 with The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The …

The Relationship Between Exclusionary Discipline, Race, Socioeconomic Status, And Graduation Rates At 4a, 5a, And 6a High Schools, Ryan M. Cavazos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High school graduation is a significant predictor of future success. In most cases, a high school graduate will earn more money and live a healthier lifestyle than those who do not graduate from high school. The graduation rate in the United States is lower than the graduation rate of many other industrialized countries. Three known predictors of graduation rate are the number of exclusionary discipline assignments a student incurs, the race of the student, and the socioeconomic status of the student. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between graduation rate, exclusionary discipline, race (nonwhite), and low …

The Impact Of Graduate Assistantships On The Preparation Of Early Career Student Affairs Professionals, Mary L. Skinner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the graduate assistantship experiences of early career master’s prepared student affairs professionals and examined the role these assistantships played in the preparation for their current position. The study included 10 participants who had all graduated with a master’s in higher education within the past 5 years, had participated in a graduate assistantship within student affairs, and worked full-time within a student affairs department at the time of the study. Each participant took part in a one-on-one interview that was recorded, transcribed, and reviewed for themes. I followed Braun and Clarke’s (2012) six-phase approach to thematic …

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 …

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 …

“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, …

New York Early Care And Education Survey: Understanding The Impact Of Covid-19 On New York Early Childhood System, Kate Tarrant, Mark Nagasawa

Straus Institute for Thriving Children & Families

This is the first in a series of reports based upon a survey conducted with 3355 early childhood educators across New York City and New York State, which sought to understand how they were faring during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic (May 2020). Among the key findings were: (1) at that time the emotional stress of the pandemic was affecting respondents more than health and financial stressors; (2) Educators’ need for mental health supports exceed other areas of support requested; (3) approximately 70% were engaged in remote instruction in New York City and half were providing remote instruction …

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 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 …

Infographic: Principal Wellbeing – Sources Of Stress And Support, Dominique Russell

Teacher infographics

The latest Principal Health and Wellbeing Survey reveals 19 sources of stress for school leaders. In this infographic, we look at the top 10 sources of stress reported by school leaders, and their top 5 sources of support.

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.

How Teachers Of Different Content Areas Use And Define Rubrics, Abigail Bremer

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study serves to fill a gap in the research with regard to what we know about the actual implementation of rubrics in secondary classrooms. By discovering the connections between a secondary teacher’s content area and the ways they use and identify rubrics, this study begins the work of clarifying academic language and implementing practices that will be significant to the growth and development of all students. A qualitative case study, this research began with a survey that included responses from teachers in each core content area: mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts. Three hundred thirty-seven secondary teachers from …

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 …

Evaluating An Evidenced Based Program: Ruling Our Experiences (Rox) For 9/10-Year-Old Girls In The Yough School District, Lisa Mumau

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During elementary school years, girls experience social, emotional, and physical changes that affect their abilities to manage relationships and establish positive images of themselves. Given the aforementioned issues, girls need effective elementary school programming to support positive self-esteem and the development of girls’ Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Competencies. The purpose of this mixed-method study focused on evaluating the Ruling Our Experiences (ROX) program for 9/10-year-old girls. The methods used were designed to address the three research questions: Based on the implementation of the ROX program in Yough elementary schools, to what extent do participants exhibit a greater level of positive …

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.