Educational Leadership Commons^™

(Trans*)Gressing Discourse: Producing And Disrupting Normativity In Education For Trans* Students With Dis/Abilities, Meagan Meredith

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation investigates how political rhetoric, education policy, and educational community member discourse construct, circulate, and contest meanings about trans*ness and dis/ability in K-12 public schools. In doing so, the study examines how meanings about normativity are discursively produced and disrupted for students living at this specific intersection. Grounded in a trans* methodology, this study performs a critical discourse analysis through a rhizomatic reading of policy texts, political rhetoric, and publicly available stakeholder discourse. This work responds to a gap in the literature that fails to understand the complexities experienced by trans* students with dis/abilities, particularly in hostile school climates. …

An Exploration Of Teacher Exodus In Predominantly African American Secondary Public Schools Amid Covid-19, Keith Demond Ford

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

For some time, K-12 teachers across America have been resigning from classrooms in large numbers. Like many of the nation’s communities, schools in American neighborhoods of color have seen an overwhelming amount of teacher resignations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to existing literature, education’s traditional systemic norms and health protocols which were initiated during COVID-19 motivated classroom teachers to leave their jobs. This qualitative study uses a phenomenological methodology as it discovers that an interrelatedness of factors influences six participants to resign from their classroom teaching roles at predominantly African American middle and high schools during and immediately following …

Case Study Exploring How Data-Driven Decision-Making Influences Culture At A Title I Elementary School, Cameron K. Ramirez

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

This qualitative case study explores how data-driven decision-making influences school culture at a Title I elementary school in Texas. Grounded in the conceptual frameworks of data-driven decision-making (Gill et al., 2014) and transformational leadership (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2005), this study investigated how school leaders and staff implement, interpret, and sustain data practices within a high-accountability context. Using a phenomenological approach, interviews were conducted with the principal, assistant principal, two instructional specialists, and three teachers, and artifacts were collected for data triangulation. The findings revealed that effective data use is cultivated through immersive, contextualized professional learning, collaborative systems, leadership modeling, and …

Case Study Examining The Effects Of Mentorship On The Attrition Of Novice Principals In Urban School Districts, Nikia Barnett

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The evolving role of school principals has undergone a significant transformation, shifting from traditional teacher management to a multifaceted leadership position that balances managerial and instructional responsibilities with a primary focus on enhancing student achievement. As principals now face increasingly complex challenges, including heightened school accountability, widening student achievement gaps, diminished community support, and fluctuating parent engagement, state programs and school districts struggle to provide adequate support to ensure the retention and longevity of these pivotal educational leaders in their roles.

This study examined how eight novice principals (with 0–5 years of experience) in urban school districts perceived mentorship influenced …

The Commuter Student Experience: Challenges And Impacts On Student Success, Seth A. Ressl

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Commuter students at large public universities often face barriers to engaging in campus co-curricular activities, primarily due to off-campus commitments, which can affect their academic success and retention. Drawing on student engagement theory, this qualitative narrative study explores commuter students’ experiences with co-curricular involvement and its perceived impact on their academic performance, skill development, social connections, and persistence at a large public four-year university. Data collected through in-depth interviews with commuter undergraduates were analyzed to identify common themes regarding students' perspectives, challenges, and impact related to co-curricular activities. The findings suggest that active involvement in student organizations and campus events …

Teacher Self-Efficacy In The Wake Of Natural Disaster, Megan L. Mccleskey

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This study examines teacher self-efficacy after natural disasters, analyzing qualitative data from 10 high school educators from urban, suburban, and rural areas. Using qualitative methodology, interviews were conducted to investigate the impact of natural disasters on teachers’ professional confidence. Findings suggest that natural disasters influence teachers’ self-efficacy, affecting instructional planning and relationship building with students, colleagues, and administrators. This research contributes to understanding how educational institutions can better support teachers in crisis, offering actionable recommendations for professional development and administrative support.

Social-Emotional Learning In High School: How High Schools Engage, Educate, And Empower Youth, Jessica L. Atkins

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

In recent decades, the mental health needs of youth have increased, as has interest in social-emotional learning (SEL) in K-12 schools. SEL instruction has been proposed as a way to meet these growing needs while schools struggle with shortages of school-based mental health professionals. While extensive research has been conducted regarding SEL, the majority of these studies have focused on structured programs in preschool and elementary-level populations. As a result, students at the secondary level, particularly those in high school, have received limited attention. In this dissertation, I present my research that explores SEL at the high school level.

This …

Behind The Scenes: Instructional Coaches’ Perceptions Of Curriculum Leadership Development, Cora C. Garner

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Since the 20th century, instructional coaching has influenced curricular and pedagogical practices that impact student achievement in K-12 schools; however, the existing literature provides minimal evidence of their experiences in curriculum leadership development. To fill the research gap, this study explores instructional coaches’ perceptions of their professional learning related to curriculum development and leadership. The research questions included (1) How do ICs perceive professional learning opportunities for curriculum leadership? and (2) How do instructional coaches describe the development of their curriculum coaching knowledge and practices? Upon applying the conceptual framework, which included the Saylor et al. (1981) curriculum development model …

Association Between Workplace Training Design And Student Experience, Jonmichael M. Mcburnett

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ABC (pseudonym) developed the Design Quality Checklist (DQC), so the organization could adopt a set of quality standards for workplace training courses to improve student experience of training. However, the organization cannot determine if the instructional quality criteria that comprise the DQC were developed using rigorous, evidence-based methods for instrument construction unless there is some alignment between the DQC tool and the student experience ratings of workplace training. This study aims to examine the relationship between student experience outcomes in professional development training courses and the DQC instrument used to evaluate them, as to validate the usefulness of the DQC …

"I'M That Girl": Exploring Black Women College Students’ Identity Expression And Hip-Hop, Fallan S. Frank

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Despite the expansion of the literature on Black women in college student identity development, there is little understanding of how Black college women express their identity and what influences the expression of their multiple identities. This study focuses on understanding to what extent the significant cultural influence of Hip-Hop influences Black women college students’ expression of their multiple identities within the various college environments. As Hip-Hop culture increasingly becomes significant within contemporary college student life, it is more critical than ever to understand its impact on Black college women’s identity expression and lived experiences as they navigate college. Thus, in …

Effect Of Financial Factors On The Postsecondary Participation And Choice For First-Generation Students, Deanna L. Pickney

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As first-generation students make the decision to pursue postsecondary education and choose a specific college, they are currently met with the reality of rising tuition costs and a student loan debt crisis. First-generation students come often from low socio-economic backgrounds and their comprehension of the higher education financial system can vary significantly. This quantitative study uses data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 to examine the financial factors that contribute to first-generation students’ postsecondary education participation and choice by age 22. The guiding theoretical framework is Bourdieu's theory of capital that supports the notion that acquisition of college …

Postsecondary Participation And College Choice For Students With Disabilities: Does High School Matter?, Dana J. Kermanian

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Students with disabilities (SWDs) face unique challenges when it comes to the transition from high school to college. There is a lack of research regarding the effectiveness of college preparation for SWDs during their high school years. This quantitative dissertation explored the role of high school-built academic and social capital and other high school specific factors in increasing the likelihood of postsecondary participation and choice of a 4-year college. Bourdieu’s (1986) sociological theory of forms of capital provided the theoretical framework for the study. The study employed the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09; National Center for Education Statistics, …

(Un)Hidden Whiteness: A Critical Policy Analysis On Race-Related Education Policies, Kerry Foraker Green

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Over the last three years (2020-2023), many state legislatures responded to grassroots campaigns for social justice by enrolling legislation that explicitly and implicitly bans Critical Race Theory (CRT) and controls race-related instruction and training. This study examines race-related educational policies enacted by Iowa, Texas, and Florida legislation as leading examples of these efforts. The research question guiding this study was how educational school policies related to CRT in Texas, Florida, and Iowa are framed in state documents. The legislative frame includes the process and language that is utilized in crafting these bills to reveal the policies origins and goals. Three …

Spare The Rod: African American Students’ Experience Of Postsecondary Student Conduct Processes, Melissa Sanders

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Although African Americans enroll at postsecondary institutions at similar rates as other ethnic groups, consistently, they lag in degree completion. This has led to lower wages, fewer employment opportunities, and higher health disparities among African Americans. Consequently, the literature is full of studies attempting to increase Black student degree attainment. This includes their perception of campus climates, academic preparedness, and sense of belonging. However, other opportunities to promote and encourage African American scholastic success, such as the disciplinary process, are understudied. To address this gap, I utilized a phenomenological qualitative study to examine the way African Americans perceived the impact …

The Me You Can’T See: Stories Of Black Male Elementary Teachers’ Experiences And Decisions To Teach, An Endarkened Storywork Study, Trevor Dustin Mccray

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Black male teachers in PK-12 make up less than 2% of the teacher workforce with an undetermined representation in elementary education. Although there have been efforts to increase their representation in the field, there remains a lack of Black males entering the classroom as teachers. In addition, there has been limited research examining ecological systems' influence on Black male teachers' elementary teacher experiences and their decisions to teach in early childhood education. In response, this proposed qualitative Endarkened Storywork study examined Black male elementary teachers' experiences and highlighted the perceived influence of Black males teaching in early childhood education through …

What’S Mentoring Got To Do With It: Examining The Role Of Mentoring In The Success Of Historically Black College And Unviersity (Hbcu) Presidents, Jacolahn Deshawn Dudley

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Over the years there has been an increase in the turnover of Historically Black College and University (HBCU) presidents. As the turnover rates at HBCUs continues to increase, many higher education researchers have noted that HBCUs are currently being plagued by a leadership crisis (Evans et al., 2002; Freeman & Palmer, 2020; Kimbrough, 2017). Despite heavy criticism by media and academic researchers, very few recommendations have been made in regard to combating the “leadership crisis” at HBCUs. Of the studies conducted, researchers have recommended that one way to counter the rapid turnover of HBCU presidents is by engaging in some …

The High Cost Of Leaving: Veteran Teachers In Islamic Schools, Hanan Almasri

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Utilizing a traditional qualitative approach, this study explored the experiences of veteran teachers in Islamic private schools and their retention decisions through the lens of the job embeddedness framework, which examines the attachment factors that keep people in their positions through three distinct dimensions (Links, Fit, and Sacrifice) The participants in this study include eight veteran teachers with five or more years’ experience teaching at the same school and two current principals. The study site is a private, well-established, K-12 Islamic school in North Texas. The participants engaged in semi-structured, in-depth interviews to share their motivations for remaining at their …

Parental Involvement And Satisfaction: A Comparative Study Of High-School Charter Schools And Traditional Public Schools, Nicholas Thompson-Davis

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this study is to examine parents’ levels of satisfaction with school choice by comparing charter and traditional public schools at the secondary level. The main assumption of the study is that parental satisfaction with school choice is related to parental involvement with children’s education and their views of school-home communication. The study is guided by Bourdieu’s theory of capital to interpret parental involvement efforts and their assessment of school-home communication as ways to acquire social capital for themselves and their children. Epstein’s framework of parental involvement allows for operationalizing the concept with respect to school and out-of-school …

The Medicalization Of Communication: An Analysis Of The Policies And Educational Practices Surrounding Patient And Physician Interaction, Ramona Jewelmaria Dorough

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation explores the medicalization domains through three studies to assert that communication exists in all facets of the patient- physician relationship. The first study is a policy analysis that examines the institutional domain through policies and educational standards created in the medical community that dictate the importance of communication. The second study examines medical students' level of clinical empathy using the Jefferson Scales of Empathy. The second study ties to the conceptual domain of the medicalization of communication, showing the creation of terminology (i.e., clinical empathy, clinical communication) helps uniquely identify and measure empathy through communication. The third study …

Pipeline To Power: A Creative Exploration Of My Journey To Black Youth Empowerment, Junichi Uehara Lockett

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Through an arts-based autoethnography, I explored the influences and experiences that informed my approach to leading Black youth empowerment programming. Although there is a significant amount of scholarship on Black youth empowerment programming and its importance to Black children, there is limited literature on how one becomes a Black youth empowerment facilitator in the community. I sought to answer the following questions: (1) How did external forces and people inform my approach to leading Black youth empowerment programming? (2) How did my inner drive and consciousness inform my approach to leading Black youth empowerment programming? (3) How does a critique …

Performance-Based Funding In Texas: Sensemaking Experiences Of Administrators At Hispanic-Serving Community Colleges, Kathleen Elizabeth Launius

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Despite the expansive literature on higher education performance-based funding (PBF) policies, there is an oversaturation of quantitative studies focused on measuring metric performance at the statewide level. These studies have largely found that PBF fails to meet its goal of improving graduation rates and has unintended consequences for historically underserved student populations (e.g., Black, Latinx/a/o, low-income) and under-resourced institutions (e.g., community colleges, minority-serving institutions). Further, the limited qualitative studies have revealed widespread positive attitudes and institutional changes at the campus level in the early stages of policy implementation. However, the literature fails to critically examine campus-based attitudes and experiences over …

"And Still I Rise": Exploring Black Women's Joy While Aspiring To The College Presidency, Courtney E. Matthews

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Despite the expansion of literature on Black women college presidents, there is an oversaturation of the struggles Black women experience once in the role that is rooted within the role of racism and sexism. This study focuses on understanding how Black joy influences Black women's aspirations to pursue university or college presidencies at historically white institutions (HWIs). The legacy of Black joy in Black communities is one of healing, resistance, and restoration. Yet, little is understood about how Black joy impacts Black women's experience in higher education. Black women’s journeys to the presidency are a unique exploration of their present-day …

Black Male Baccalaureate Degree Attainment: The Relationship Between Single- Mother Status, Family Background Factors, High School Gpa And College Engagement, Michael T. Russ

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Low bachelor’s degree attainment rates for Black males is a multiplex problem due to the array of academic and non-academic factors affecting student experiences. Among these factors, family factors play an important role in students’ development and educational success, particularly for Black students. While previous research has explored some contributing factors to the low degree completion rate of Black males, there is a paucity of research specific to how the status of the single-mother household impacts Black males’ degree completion. Therefore, this study sought to examine the relationship between household status and Black male college engagement and degree attainment. Furthermore, …

Regional Accreditation Of Southern Colleges And Universities, Ricardo Rodriguez

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Higher education regional accreditation presents problems for colleges and universities in the Southern states. Research on regional accreditation has focused on qualitative approaches to understand how institutions experience accreditation reviews or on quantitative methodologies to examine a single issue of accreditation compliance. However, research has not examined the results of reaffirmation reviews in an entire region and in relation to institutional characteristics. This study aims to examine regional accreditation records of two-year and four-year institutions in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) membership to understand the most challenging standards of accreditation and explore the relationship …

The Influence Of Black Greek Membership On The Academic Engagement Of African American Male Students, Cedric D. Shelby

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the experiences of Black male students who are members of Black Greek Letter Fraternities (BGLF) while attending a large institution. This study examines the academic practices of the fraternity members, and the effects fraternity membership has on their academic progress. For this study, four Black male undergraduate fraternity members and five graduates shared stories of their undergraduate experiences and how being in a fraternity impacted their academic progress. Semi-structured questions were used during the interviews to explore the student’s academic engagement and they focused on the following research question: 1. …

Principal Retention: The Perceptions Of Veteran Secondary Principals Who Remain In Their Roles As Instructional Leaders, Coletha Tucker Johnson

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The role of school principals has changed from being managers to instructional leaders. As a result, many principals do not feel prepared to lead under these conditions, in which some leave their campuses within the first five-years of service. Despite school districts implementing educational reforms to attract and retain principals, turnover persists and is more pervasive in secondary settings when compared to elementary campuses. This study explored the perceptions of six veteran secondary principals (five-years or more at their campus) from two Texas school districts and whether self-confidence in their abilities or self-efficacy impacted their effectiveness as instructional leaders, thus …

Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills, And Social Identity: Experiences Of Social Work Faculty In Managing Controversial Classroom Discussions, Tiara Anice Thomas

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

There is a dearth of literature on how social work faculty manage controversial conversations in the classroom. This qualitative study addresses the deficit in the literature by using Deardorff’s (2008) Intercultural Competence model, the literature on the role faculty social identity plays during teaching, and the lived experiences of eight social work faculty at a four-year public research university. The four themes that emerged in this study’s findings are: 1) preparation, 2) interactions during discussions, 3) engagement, and 4) social identity. Guided by Deardorff’s Intercultural Competence model, the study revealed that faculty knowledge, attitudes, and skills substantially influence the ways …

The Overlooked Majority: The Socialization Of New Field-Trained Community College Professionals, Ke'ana Bradley

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Community colleges play a crucial role in the educational outcomes of the communities they serve. Two-year colleges often have fewer staff than their four-year counterparts, many of whom are fulfilling more than one functional area. As such, it is important that these professionals are prepared to perform their roles well and understand the needs of the students they serve. According to research, student affairs is made up of 80-85% of field trained practitioners, or those who enter the field without a graduate degree in higher education. More than 50% leave the field within the first five years and unsuccessful socialization …

Teacher Perceptions Of Educational Supports That Help Bridge The Science Achievement Gap For English Language Learners: A Phenomenological Study, Monica Esquivel Manning

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English language learner (ELL) students account for 19.6% of the Texas public school system (Texas Education Agency, 2019). National and state assessment data showed a learning gap between ELL students and their non-ELL counterparts, specifically in science (Texas Education Agency, 2017a; United States Department of Education, 2015). This qualitative study was conducted to examine how teachers of ELL students in a dual language program perceived the educational supports they received affected student achievement in science. The teachers who were interviewed had worked diligently to reduce the achievement gap in science. Using social cognitive theory as a theoretical framework, I explored …

Un-Making The Grade: The Relationship Between District Accountability Scores And Property Values, Staci L. Barker

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and achievement is well documented. While federal and state accountability systems have attempted to close achievement gaps for economically disadvantaged students, underlying neoliberal assumptions of fair evaluation through ranking lead to a disregard for this context. Within this framework, better measures of SES are needed, as current measures such as free- and reduced-price lunch (FRL) lack the nuance to distinguish between levels and aspects of poverty. Similarly, an understanding of how such metrics influence accountability systems is also needed, particularly newly implemented systems under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Using correlation and regression analysis, …