Educational Leadership Commons^™

Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Integration Of Technology Into Pedagogy, Joe George Gerez

All Theses And Dissertations

The aim of this qualitative exploratory case study was to examine middle school teachers’ perceptions of the integration of technology into pedagogy. Data collection occurred from analyzing middle school teacher’s experiences, observations, and motivation following a technological implementation initiative into pedagogy. The evaluation of the study data included the analysis of surveys and interpretation of in-depth interviews of teachers. A pedagogical focus on teacher integration of technology supported by the self-determination theory as the research study’s theoretical framework examining human motivation was appropriated to the case study. As educational leaders face significant challenges in understanding the impact of teachers’ perceptions …

Critical Soft Skills And The Stem Professional, Elizabeth J. Kranz

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the implementation of soft skills that are critical to the success, as defined by promotability and long-term career trajectory, of STEM professionals from the perspective of STEM professionals and those with whom they work closely. Participants for the study represented two professional categories, (a) late-career STEM professionals and (b) human resources professionals with experience in succession planning for STEM professionals. These two groups of participants were selected for their experience with the soft skills and capabilities necessary for STEM professional career progression.

The primary research question was: What components and …

The Effects Of Whole Child Education Safety Needs, Brittany Valdez

All Theses And Dissertations

The research topic explored in this study are the outcome effects of the whole child education model. The purpose of the study was to examine these outcomes due to the current state of federal laws providing states and schools more flexibility to incorporate these programs into their accountability systems. The research questions sought to address the efficacy of the safety tenet of these programs and to determine if schools implementing whole child programs had demonstrated fewer suspension related incidents, increased student performance, and evidence of a safe school building, climate, and culture. The setting for this study was an elementary …

How Private International School Leaders Meet The National Education Transformation Agenda In Dubai, Marie-Pascale Addison

All Theses And Dissertations

In 2014, Dubai Government adopted the United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Agenda, a strategic plan for Vision 2021, whereas leaders are associated with improving the quality and accessibility to education, which represents a major priority in sustaining economic prosperity and achieving social development goals (Government of the UAE, 2016). Managing this seven-year transformation plan in the educational context has been reported in part by Litz and Scott (2016), in which their study revealed that Emirati school leaders needed to change their leadership practice in order to align with the National Agenda expectations. This study explores critical challenges and opportunities for …

The Impact Of Prior Communication About Organizational Turbulence On Members’ Perceptions During Institutional Change, Evelyn J. Thomas

All Theses And Dissertations

In this qualitative study, the researcher explored the perceptions of select faculty who were experiencing their university’s sale of their college to another academic entity, and to whom accurate levels organizational turbulence might not have been fully communicated prior to significant institutional change. Communicating levels of organizational turbulence is an important factor, and it is a necessary first step in transformational change. Members’ prior perceptions of organizational turbulence could affect their willingness to accept and progress through a substantive change plan. In this study, the researcher used turbulence theory as a conceptual framework to explore the level of foreknowledge of …

What Do Students Think? A Study Of Maine Community College System Online Education, Jennifer Graham, Lynne Nelson Manion

Virtual Research Symposium 2019

Poster by Jennifer Graham, UNE Doctorate of Education Class of 2017, presented on June 15, 2019, for the UNE College of Graduate and Professional Studies' Virtual Research Symposium.

Social Media In A High School English Class, Angela M. Wells

Virtual Research Symposium 2019

Poster by Angela Wells, UNE Doctorate of Education Class of 2019, presented on June 15, 2019, for the UNE College of Graduate and Professional Studies' Virtual Research Symposium.

Teachers Respond To Impact Of Intelligent Mathematics Tutorial On Students’ Motivation And Engagement, Francis Xavier Tweedie

All Theses And Dissertations

Secondary school mathematics proficiency continues to be a point of concern, as the current National Report Cards continue to show insufficient change. For middle school students, grades six through eight are formative years, as they begin to shape emotional connections and make a decision about their ability and motivation to do mathematics. These early decisions are paramount to how they approach mathematics learning in later grades. Student motivation is a critical function of students’ affective domain, engagement in the classroom, and their self-belief for learning. Teachers play a significant role in this process by providing supportive and effective learning environments …

Unheard Voices: Student Perceptions About Cultural Competence In The Independent School Classroom, Valerie Gillespie

All Theses And Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study examined the perceptions of students of color about cultural competence in the independent school classroom. Current research defines the importance of cultural competence as a means to enhance engagement and feelings of acceptance. This study addressed research questions related to cultural competence in education which stemmed from perceptions of students of color that identified as Asian, Black, or Latino(a). The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine perceptions of students of color and gain a sense of their experiences in an independent school environment. Data was collected through a survey and interviews where personal stories …

Teacher Beliefs On Balanced Literacy And Collective Efficacy In Kindergarten, Dominic Depatsy

All Theses And Dissertations

The research problem of this study was teacher beliefs about early literacy pedagogy. Research over the past 15 years had made significant strides in studying the complex relationships between teacher beliefs and practices (Fang, 2006). Teacher beliefs play an important role in teachers’ work (Biesta, Prestly, and Robinson, 2015). The purpose of the study was to understand how kindergarten teachers’ beliefs about early literacy instruction influenced how they integrated direct instruction and whole language approaches into their teaching and support of language acquisition in the classroom. The subjects were fourteen kindergarten teachers (participants) who currently teach in three different elementary …

The Lived Experience Of Healthcare Leadership Dyads: Perceptions Of Agency, Susan Murphy Campanelli

All Theses And Dissertations

Healthcare leadership is evolving in response to recommendations from the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Physicians and administrators are partnering to form leadership dyads. These leadership dyads are focusing on improving healthcare quality, decreasing costs, and improving access. Existing literature on healthcare dyads explores leadership training needs for physicians, focuses on the differences between physicians and administrators, and emphasizes the need to develop role clarity for dyad leaders. There is a lack of empirical literature exploring how the physician and the administrator develop into a leadership team and extend shared leadership into their organization.

This phenomenological study applies Bandura’s (1986) …

The Need For Academic Reform In Vietnamese Higher Education (Vhe) To Align With Employers’ Expectations, Hoang-Yen (Maya) T. Dang

All Theses And Dissertations

The effort to comprehensively reform Vietnamese higher education (VHE) in order to produce an educated workforce better able to contribute to economic development is a major concern not only of educators and the Vietnamese government but also of employers, workers, and the general populace.

Successful implementation of VHE’s “Vision 2020” relies on legal change together with macro-policies to support these educational initiatives. For the purposes of this study, however, the author focused on the current state of VHE in providing employable graduates to meet the needs of Vietnam’s knowledge economy in the 21st century. In particular, through an analysis of …

The Role Of The Technology Coordinator In Supporting The Successful Implementation Of A 1:1 Chromebook Initiative, Justin Cutts

All Theses And Dissertations

1:1 Technology programs continue to increase in popularity across the United States and beyond. This phenomenon has the potential to increase student engagement and achievement. Previous research has demonstrated that devices alone do not guarantee this outcome. While many studies have examined the key factors for implementing a 1:1 technology program, few have examined the role that Technology Coordinators must take in professional development to maximize this implementation. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the relationship between a high school Technology Coordinator’s understanding of the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and their technology leadership capacities as …

Considerations Of A Tuition Reset At Small, Non-Selective Liberal Arts Colleges, Lynda J. Holt

All Theses And Dissertations

Small, non-selective liberal arts colleges have been increasingly caught in a cycle of deepening discount rates to ensure student enrollments while raising tuition rates to earn more funds from students paying the full cost. However, continually discounting tuitions to attract students can lead to a point of diminishing returns, at which the college is no longer able to achieve the net revenue necessary to cover the operational costs of the institution. Several colleges have undertaken a tuition reset to both lower listed tuition and limit the discount rate at the college. The action to undertake a tuition reset is a …

Leader Perspectives On Leadership Professional Development (Lpd): Impact And Implications For Training Efficacy, L. Rachel Cubas-Wilkinson

All Theses And Dissertations

In the United States, the field of Professional Development is a $160 billion per year market. The single largest audience of focus for professional development investment by organizations within the U.S. are leaders. Despite their position as important stakeholders, little is known or understood about their perceptions regarding leadership professional development (LPD). The purpose of this study was to explore how leaders in the U.S. understand and describe their viewpoints, beliefs, and attitudes of LPD. A qualitative, multi-case investigation was launched to bring discovery of leader perspectives as to the impact of LPD at a personal, team, and organizational level. …

Compassion Informed Mindfulness For Teachers: A Case Study, Michael Peter Nolden

All Theses And Dissertations

The professional duties of teaching can be stressful. The social pressures many teachers face beyond their workday (finances, family, career, peers, etc.) may exacerbate their feelings of work stress. Mindfulness-based practices in education show evidence they can alleviate teachers’ stress. The purpose of this study was to explore the framework of compassion as informed mindfulness in the professional lives of educators. Compassion Informed Mindfulness for Teachers (CIMT) was an original 6-week mindfulness-based intervention protocol (90 min. per week) addressing compassion, self-compassion, common humanity, mindfulness, and resilience exclusively for educators. Analysis of data through an ethnographic case study, supported by triangulated …

The Influence Of Noncognitive Skills In Physician Assistant Education, Lynn Eckrote

All Theses And Dissertations

A holistic approach to the admission process in a physician assistant (PA) program can emphasize skills beyond the traditional measures of cognitive skills. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences that directors of physician assistant programs have with applying the MMI as a measure of noncognitive skills in the admission process. Physician assistant programs often do not put an equal focus on cognitive and noncognitive skills. This study addressed the research question: What experiences have PA directors had with applying the MMI as a measure of noncognitive skills in the admission process? The participants of this study …

Improving Kindergarten Transition Practices For Students With Special Needs, Julia "Sandy" Flacke

All Theses And Dissertations

The transition to kindergarten is a magical milestone for children and families. For students identified with special needs, there are additional worries and celebrations to share with the transition team. The research site included in this study comprises pre-K programs that operated through a cooperative agreement between a Maine school district and Head Start. In the State of Maine, preschool students who are identified with a disability are provided services and programming through a Maine Department of Education (MDOE) agency: Child Development Services (CDS). For public pre-K programs in Maine, this created a unique situation. While the pre-K programs are …

The Impact Of Student Mindsets In The Virtual Math Classroom, Katrina Kremer

All Theses And Dissertations

Mindset has been studied in multiple traditional school settings, but its interaction with transactional distance in a virtual school environment is missing from the current research. This dissertation explores the experiences of students and learning coaches in a virtual high school through a series of interviews in order to present a better understanding of how students and learning coaches perceive the role of mindset and transactional distance in their interactions with each other, the content, and the teacher. The case study design applied the lenses of Transactional Distance Theory and Mindset Theory to descriptive coding of interview transcripts and relevant …

A Study Of Elementary School Involvement By Parents Currently Serving In The U.S. Armed Forces, Jonathan W. Williams I

All Theses And Dissertations

A phenomenological qualitative research study was conducted using currently serving military parents with children enrolled in elementary school. The intent of the research was to reveal factors that contributed to military parents’ participation in the education of their elementary-aged child, analyze factors that contributed to the lack of involvement of military parents in the education of their elementary-aged child, and deduce ways the elementary school, that serve military families, can encourage parental involvement in the education of their child. The study was aimed to understand better how the parent–school partnership of military families can be improved.

Narratives from the nine …

Blended Learning In Elementary Schools: An Interdependent Enterprise, Carrie J. Pratt

All Theses And Dissertations

This qualitative case study, bounded by a scope of leadership, was one way to analyze how leaders encouraged teachers to leverage blended learning in the public elementary school. The theoretical framework lending to cognitivism included sociocultural cognition and contingency theory. With the central phenomenon and research question, “What leadership aspects encourage teachers to leverage blended learning in elementary schools?” the researcher sought to understand the power of leadership and teacher perceptions as change occurs in the public elementary school, integrating blended learning. Subquestion 1 was used to pursue information about teacher identified leadership support that teachers perceived to be helpful …

Integrated Student Services: Exploring Integration On Community College Student Success, Charles Michael Scheetz

All Theses And Dissertations

Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) have become like hospitals where there are multiple offices in centralized locations. One of the areas that need further study is how to integrate these services effectively and efficiently to service students. Healthcare has developed the triage model and IHEs are starting to bring this model into the educational settings. This qualitative study of a community college’s integrated student service model reviewed the impact of the model on student success of a specific student population. The overall problem was a lack of data about the impact of integrated student services on specific student population success. …

Succession Planning For K–12 Leadership: Educators' Perceptions Of A Public School District Leadership Development Program, Stephanie R. Sanschagrin

All Theses And Dissertations

An overarching problem that public school districts are facing is a lack of succession planning. Without a succession plan in place, districts are not prepared for the future when it comes to staff development. This lack of foresight and planning causes a ripple effect leading to insufficient leadership. A district-level leadership development program could lessen this burden by providing support for educators with exposure to leadership skills at a school or district level prior to earning an advanced degree. This researcher used a collective case study methodology to investigate a common experience across multiple perspectives. This study utilized demographic questionnaires, …

The Potential Of Rethinking The Teacher Observation And Evaluation Model, Cheryl L. Lang

All Theses And Dissertations

Today, across the United States of America, ongoing efforts are underway to transform the teacher evaluation system into a useful and manageable tool for improving teaching and learning in the classrooms. Currently, school districts in Maine are required to implement teacher observation and evaluation systems as a method of improving instructional practices in the classrooms. According to Mezirow’s adult learning theory, adults learn best when the learning fits into their frame of reference that has been long cultivated through maturity into adulthood, and they become invested in what they are learning. School districts have an opportunity to make teacher observations …

Place-Based Learning As An Effective Methodology For Developing Self-Efficacy Skills In Students With Learning Disabilities, Melodee Carter-Guyette

All Theses And Dissertations

Research shows that place-based learning is a proven methodology in supporting students in achievement of their academic and social needs. There are inconsistencies related to documenting its success with learning disabled students, especially in the area of self-efficacy. This study attempted to fill this gap in the literature by exploring the perception of educators regarding self-efficacy of students with learning disabilities who have experienced environmental science place-based programs. Elementary educators were recruited from a broad pool of participants via social media. One hundred seventy surveys were received from educators in the six New England states. Five participants provided in-depth information …

An Evidence-Based Faculty Development Program For Online Teaching In Higher Education, Ruth Chisum

All Theses And Dissertations

A critical component in the successful implementation of online education hinges on providing faculty development opportunities that promote the utilization of pedagogical best practices in online teaching. While such training programs are on the rise, institutions are no closer to a universal consensus on how to design and evaluate such efforts. Historically, the success of faculty development programs has been measured via post-completion satisfaction surveys, attendance counts, and faculty perceptions of the usefulness of the content immediately following a training event. However, such metrics rarely provide an accurate measurement of the true efficacy of training, which in the context of …

Unpacking The Cultural Relevance Of The High School Experiences Of African-American Males, Damiso A. Josey

All Theses And Dissertations

Despite the vast research on cultural competence and student engagement, little is known about the perspectives of the Black male students who have graduated from any New Jersey public schools This qualitative, phenomenological, multi-case study examines the experiences of Black male students who have been educated predominantly by White educators. The gap in the literature highlights the need for researchers and educators to examine teacher cultural competence from the students’ perspective as it impacted student engagement in the educational process. Student disengagement is a factor in school dropout and a racial/cultural gap exists between Black male students and educators not …

The Efficacy And Limits Of The Collegiate Men Of Distinction Mentoring Program, D'Angelo S. Taylor

All Theses And Dissertations

Black men collectively have not achieved the same success in graduation or retention as their counterparts in higher education. At the University of Southern Indiana, the four-year graduation rate for Black men sits at 1.5 percent which is more than twenty points lower than the 22 percent national average (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). The purpose of this research was to examine the effectiveness and limitations of the Collegiate Men of Distinction mentoring program. This program was created to combat low persistence rates among the Black male population at the University. In creating the program, young men were given …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Professional Learning Communities, Violet E. Eyanagho

All Theses And Dissertations

The professional learning community (PLC) is an essential organizational structure in education, intended to cultivate a collaborative culture, improve professional practices, increase student achievement, reform failing schools, and sustain high achieving schools. Because there is little in the literature which examines teachers’ perceptions of the PLC concept and the work accomplished in the PLC process, the problem studied here was teachers’ perceptions of their work in PLCs at a middle school in Texas. The two research questions addressed the roles of the PLC teams and their individual members in improving student learning. A grounded theory approach was used in the …

How Ideology And Pedagogy Impact Technology Adoption In The Classroom, A Causal-Comparative Study, Christopher J. Bernard

All Theses And Dissertations

As the world changes from an industrial driven society to one more focused on services and knowledge, the drive for change within higher education is mounting from both students and employers. With the availability of the vast majority of the world’s knowledge available to an ever-increasing populace via the Internet, students and employers alike are no longer satisfied with the three r’s – reading, writing, and arithmetic. Instead, employers are expecting graduates to be knowledgeable of the three C’s – collaboration, communication, and creative problem solving to negotiate a progressively complex global market.

Through advances in cognitive science, we now …