Educational Leadership Commons^™

How Virginia Public School Superintendents Spend Their Time, Eric Armbruster

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine how Virginia public school superintendents spend their time. The primary goal of this study is to determine the differences in how superintendents allocate their time in regards to their involvement with specific tasks. This descriptive study is designed to determine the level of involvement of superintendents throughout the state of Virginia in the areas of fiscal management, facility management, personnel, student personnel and special services, support services, instruction and curriculum, and community relations. This study investigates how much time is spent by superintendents in specific performance areas as defined by the Guidelines …

Learning Communities Or Support Groups: The Use Of Student Cohorts In Doctoral Educational Leadership Programs, Christy J. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-method study explored how students in a doctoral educational leadership cohort at one university used the cohort structure as a learning community or as a method of social support. Survey data were collected from 45 past and present cohort students and qualitative data were collected from three focus groups of 15 participants total. The survey measured four factors: General Cohort Experience, Trust Within the Cohort, Network, and Community of Learners. Quantitatively, one cohort was found to be significantly different from the others in terms of Trust Within the Cohort; and the 60 hour cohorts were found to be more …

Aligning Instructional Practices With Content Standards In Junior Secondary Schools In Indonesia, Rumtini Suwarno

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the degree of alignment between instructional practices and national curriculum standards, which may vary as a function of teacher characteristics. Using self-reports from teachers about their experiences teaching the national curriculum standards, the study explored three aspects of the alignments: (1) topic coverage, (2) level of difficulty for teachers to teach, and (3) level of difficulty for students to learn. While topic coverage is determined by the percentage of the national curriculum standards topics taught during the year of 2008-2009, the level of teacher difficulty to teach and the level of student difficulty to learn are assessed …

Latino Educators Of Tomorrow: Culture-Specific Mentoring For The College Transition, Anna Trevino

Theses and Dissertations

The population of Latino students is growing faster than any other ethnic group in U.S. public schools today; however, the number of Latino teachers throughout the nation has remained low. The Latino Educators of Tomorrow is a new and ambitious Latino educational career program designed to increase the number of Latino students entering teaching as a profession. This research addressed the following questions: 1) What do participants identify as influential in their trajectory towards becoming an educator, and why?; 2) How do LET instructors, acting in the role of mentors, influence participants' desires and plans to become educators, and why?; …

A Descriptive Study Of Funded Homeless Education Programs: Barriers And Supports In New York State, Kerri A. Canzone

Theses and Dissertations

With the issue of homelessness ever-present in our educational system, it is important to examine current barriers and supports in the education of students experiencing homelessness. It is also critical to examine the academic achievement of this special population of at-risk students. Descriptive information was sought about types of barriers to education access and success, as well as supports and academic achievement in New York State-funded Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and to ascertain what educational leaders are doing to meet the educational needs of their homeless student population. Regional differences among barriers and supports were examined, as well as English …

Considering Distributed Leadership And Its Effects On Teacher Leadership Practices And Student Achievement, Justin Finney

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined the construct of distributed leadership in schools. This work presents the results of a theory building study investigating the following research questions: (a) In schools, is there a relationship between distributed leadership practices and increased student achievement? (b) How does distributed leadership shape and inform the experiences, practices, and agency of teachers and school administrators within a school that espouses a distributed paradigm with regard to its leadership and management practices? These questions were considered through a longitudinal mixed methods study of the leadership practices at Grantham Middle School and Bishop Elementary. The findings suggest that distributed …

Nurse Anesthetist's Perceptions Regarding Utilization Of Anesthesia Support Personnel, Mary Ford

Theses and Dissertations

Anesthesia support personnel (ASP) provide direct support to health care providers administering anesthesia (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists [CRNAs] and anesthesiologists). Because these anesthesia providers are caring for a patient whom they cannot legally or ethically leave unattended, ASP are employed to bring them extra supplies or equipment, prepare equipment for the case, maintain and clean equipment, and generally function as directed by the anesthesia provider. Given the limited literature and importance of ASP in maintaining equipment essential to safe practice, it is necessary to describe the population to understand who is functioning in this role to insure that these individuals …

Does Growth Data Make A Difference?: Teacher Decision Making Processes Using Growth Data Versus Status Data, Patricia Fox

Theses and Dissertations

This experiment examined decisions made by teachers using only status data with those made by teachers using growth and status data. Middle school math teachers from five schools within a single school division located in Virginia participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to either the status only or growth and status group. They were then asked to analyze a sample set of class data and complete a survey in which they rated the success of four types of students, identified teacher strengths and weaknesses, and rated their confidence in and the usefulness of the data received. Teachers with …

Principals' Opinions On The Impact Of High-Stakes Testing On Teaching And Learning In The Public Elementary Schools In The State Of Utah, Raylene Jo Hadley

Theses and Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) brought high-stakes testing to the forefront of American public education. With its call for teachers and schools to be accountable for academic performance, NCLB has focused the spotlight on yearly progress, as measured by students' test scores. Issues associated with this charge include the questionable reliability of tests, the variation evident in state standards, and the consequences an emphasis on high-stakes testing may have on teaching and learning in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate the consequences of high-stakes testing on teaching and learning in public elementary …

Eight Years Of Ubiquitous Technology Access And Digital Curricula: Business And Marketing High School Teachers’ Perspective, Eckert Mary

Theses and Dissertations

This research was conducted during the 2009-2010 school term as a case study of a large school division’s technology initiative after eight years to chronicle its effect on high school business and marketing teachers’ use and integration of technology. The 18 teachers were business and marketing teachers from eight high schools, two technical centers and one alternative school who participated in the one-to-one laptop initiative from its inception and who were asked to participate in the study. A web-based survey on technology use and adoption was administered to 18 high school business and marketing teachers. The researcher conducted a total …

The Decision Making Process Of Informal Caregivers Of Dementia Family Members Regarding Nursing Home Placement, Rebecca Merritt

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the decision making process of caregivers placing their elderly family members in a nursing home facility. Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) was used, as well as the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). ELT was utilized in an effort to understand the learning that took place during the caregiving experiences, and CIT was used to better understand the critical incidents that led the caregivers to seek nursing home placement. A sample of twelve former informal dementia caregivers between the ages of fifty-seven and eighty-seven was drawn from the metropolitan Richmond, Virginia area. In-depth interviews were …

The Asher And Dane School Districts' Mentoring Models: The Relationship Between Mentoring And Retention Of Beginning Teachers, Po N. Chou

Theses and Dissertations

Diverse mentoring models have been implemented by educational organizations to address teacher retention, but debate continues over which mentoring model is most beneficial. Two school districts in Utah, USA, hereafter referred to as the Asher and Dane (pseudonyms) School Districts, provide distinct approaches to mentoring. Both the Asher and Dane School District have used veteran teachers with full-time teaching loads to mentor beginning teachers. The Dane School District, however, has recently implemented a unique and distinct mentoring model in addition to in-school mentors. In this model, full-time released teacher "coaches" with specialized mentoring responsibilities are assigned by the district to …

Elementary Teachers' Assessment Beliefs And Practices, Sarah Calveric

Theses and Dissertations

Increased state and federal accountability measures have made the assessment of student performance one of the most critical responsibilities of classroom teachers; yet, inadequate opportunities for preservice and inservice training leave many teachers feeling ill-prepared for this task. Adding to the complexity of building teachers’ assessment literacy is the relationship between assessment beliefs and classroom assessment practices. This quantitative study utilizes a validated, online survey to examine how elementary teachers’ (n = 79) define their assessment beliefs (conceptions) and how these beliefs influence which assessment practices are valued within the classroom. Findings suggest that despite teachers’ limited exposure to assessment …

One Principal's Educational Leadership In A Rural And Low-Performing Middle School In Virginia: A Case Study, Clara Lynn Fletcher Sodat

Theses and Dissertations

This case study examined the leadership practices of one middle school principal in a low-performing rural school in Virginia. The experienced principal participant was in his first year of leadership at the school; he had led other low-performing schools to improved achievement that resulted in earning state accreditation as well as meeting federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) student proficiency targets. The focus school had failed to meet AYP for five consecutive years. The qualitative research design for this study included in-depth, semi-structured interviews with teachers, the principal, the assistant principal, and the principal’s supervisor; a total of 18 interviews were …

Headteacher Visibility, Teacher Characteristics, And Headteacher Trustworthiness: Perceptions Of Secondary School Teachers In Mukono District, Uganda, David Mckay Boren

Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that students perform better academically in schools with higher levels of trust than in schools with lower levels of trust. School leaders are primarily responsible for building cultures of trust but are often at a loss as to how to do so effectively. With the assumption that as perceptions of school leader trustworthiness improve, teachers will be more likely to place their trust in that school leader, this research seeks to clarify how Ugandan headteachers improve teachers' perceptions of headteacher trustworthiness. In particular, we examined how specific types of headteacher visibility related to teachers' perceptions of headteacher relational …

It Governance As An Institutionalized Organizational Response In Higher Education: Case Studies Of Three Public Universities, Evelyn E. Winston

Theses and Dissertations

The changes in the environment of higher education related to globalization, immigration, rising social-economic inequality, the knowledge economy and cultural identity (Benjamin, 2003, Collis, 2003) are requiring institutions to make some basic strategic choices. One of these decisions is the extent to which institutions of higher education will make conscious decisions to effectively govern scarce and expensive IT resources. As the role of information technology (IT) evolves into an integral part of most organizations (Liew, 2006), there have been "dramatic technological changes that have transformed computing from a back room utility to a strategic organizational resource" (Ross & Feeny, 1999, …

Professional Development Of Principals: An Alignment Study Of The Master Principal Institute's Curriculum With Effective Leadership Practices For School Improvement, Brenda J. Haynes

Theses and Dissertations

The two-fold purpose of the study was to determine whether or not the Arkansas Leadership Academy's Master Principal Institute's (MPI) five curriculum content standards were aligned with the literature of effective educational leadership practices, and to ascertain if there were significant relationships among the principals' leadership practices that were related to improved student achievement as measured by the annual Arkansas Benchmark Examinations. In determining the alignment of the curriculum standards of the MPI with current research for the first research question, an assessment matrix (Appendix A) was developed by the researcher, which contains the curriculum standards and the research content …

Perceptions Of State-Funded, School District-Based Principal Preparation Programs In Virginia 2004-2006, Kathryn Kirk

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods case study described and analyzed the 2004-2006 district-based principal preparation programs in Virginia. This dissertation explored goals stated in proposals for funding as well as program director and program completer perceptions of goals, content, processes, and outcomes for the 10 principal preparation programs that stemmed from the Commission to Review, Study, and Reform Educational Leadership. Data collection employed three phases: Phase I focused on the 10 grant proposals; Phase II involved semistructured interview questions centered on perceptions of nine participating program directors; Phase III investigated perceptions of 75 program completers who responded to a web-based survey. Data …

Defining Well-Being From Inside The Navajo Nation: Education As Poverty Derivation And Poverty Reduction, Donald R. Baum

Theses and Dissertations

The stated purpose of this study was to facilitate Navajos through a process of determining for themselves what poverty is, what indicators determine well-being, and what factors contribute to the phenomenon of poverty on the Navajo Indian reservation. The study used a Q-Squared Participatory Poverty Assessment to gain a better understanding of how the Navajo culture and Navajo people themselves view and operationalize wealth and poverty. Semi-structured participatory interviews performed with 22 Navajo Indians, in the reservation communities of Chinle, Arizona, and San Juan, New Mexico, discussed and determined what it means to be poor in Navajo households and communities, …

Gendered Distances: A Methodological Inquiry Into Spatial Analysis As An Instrument For Assessing Gender Equality In Access To Secondary Schools In Mukono District, Uganda, Patrick Richard Wawro

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on how accessibility to secondary schools in the Mukono District of Uganda is related to the sex and gender of the student and the distance that separates the student's home from the school they attend. This research is methodological inquiry exploring the use of spatial analysis, specifically how cognitive and metric distances can be used as alternatives to gross enrollment rates (GER) and net enrollment rates (NER) for assessing gender equality in realized accessibility to secondary schools. Student home locations were collected for 756 secondary students, including 437 boarding students and 319 day students from 8 different …

A Multidimensional Measure Of Professional Learning Communities: The Development And Validation Of The Learning Community Culture Indicator (Lcci), Courtney D. Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

Because of disunity among prominent professional learning community (PLC) authors, experts, and researchers, the literature was studied to develop a ten-element model that represents a unified and reconceptualized list of characteristics of a PLC. From this model, the Learning Community Culture Indicator (LCCI) was developed to measure professional learning community (PLC) implementation levels based on the ten-element model. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to determine the structural validity of the LCCI. Factor analyses provided successful levels of fit for the models tested in representing the constructs of the LCCI. Reliability measures also indicated high levels of internal consistency …

High-Stakes Testing Under The No Child Left Behind Act: How Has It Impacted School Culture?, Rashel Anderson Tingey

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of high-stakes testing under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on school culture. Individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with first grade through sixth grade teachers and principals from two of Nebo School District's schools located in Utah. Their responses were categorized into twelve themes. Most of the teachers and principals reported that high-stakes testing negatively impacted student and teacher motivation, teaching and learning, and curriculum. They also discussed negative effects of the application questioned the accuracy of high-stakes testing. Fewer teachers and principals communicated positive effects of …

Relationship Of Mathematics Curriculum On Student Achievement As Related To Instructional Leadership, Stephanie M. Nehus

Theses and Dissertations

NCLB has forced schools to raise student achievement. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between mathematics curriculum and student achievement on the ACTAAP 8th grade Mathematics Benchmark exam. The population identified was all schools in Arkansas containing 8th grade. A simple random sample was drawn which encompassed 3 different mathematics curricula: traditional, standards-based, and balanced (N = 150). Student mathematics achievement data from a three year period (2005 - 2007) were collected on all schools that responded through the Arkansas Department of Education website in conjunction with the NORMES website, and included the percentage of students …

Virginia Public School Superintendents’ Perceptions Of The Leadership Practices Utilized To Lead Urban, Rural, And Suburban School Divisions, Brian P. Fellows

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in the perceptions of the leadership practices utilized by Virginia superintendents in rural, urban, and suburban school divisions. Never before in the history of public education has the spotlight shone so brightly on the field of public education. The federal government seeks guarantees that every child is being educated based on a minimum level of standards and that every school in the country is making annual progress. In this era of accountability, school systems, superintendents, principals, and teachers across Virginia are under immense pressure to have their individual …

The Effect Of Sustained Principal Development On The Development And Maintenance Of Collaborative Activities In Schools., Sarah Westerberg

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effect of sustained principal development through membership in the BYU Principals Academy on collaborative activities and teamwork in schools. Principals who participated in the BYU Principals Academy received preparation and training to assist in the development and maintenance of professional learning communities in their schools. A 39-item online survey that focused on attitudes and experiences with teamwork and collaboration was disseminated to 12 teachers at each school where the principal was a member of the Principals Academy and where e-mail addresses were available. In addition, a control group of teachers from schools where the principal had …

The Role Of Perceptions Of Female Administrators Regarding The Gender Regimes In Urban Co-Educational Secondary Schools In Uganda, Frances Naluwemba

Theses and Dissertations

Leaders and policy makers in Uganda developed a national strategy of placing female administrators in traditionally male-dominated coeducational secondary schools in the belief that their vision would promote equitable education by changing gender regimes that play in schools. Gender regimes are patterns of gender arrangements that could disadvantage the education of boys or girls (Connell, 2002). The purpose of this study was to discover if female administrators perceived and had developed strategies to change gender regimes in their schools. Participants were 13 female administrators of government-supported coeducational mixed/day secondary schools in Kampala and Wakiso urban districts. Participants ranged in age …

Creating Leaders: A Correlational Study Of The Principal's Leadership Impacting An Innovation For Sustainability, Felicia L. Bell-Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations

Literacy reform is at the forefront of the accountability movement in the education arena today. School principals must tackle one of the most perplexing problems facing education reform: how to understand and change the culture of the school. Literacy instruction can become the catalyst for school change in the reform effort. Leadership for change can evolve within a professional learning community, in which school principals act as change facilitators, collaboratively leading the reform efforts in their schools. A person that is in the position to facilitate change within a system is considered a change facilitator. In schools, this may include …

When West Meets East: Communicative Language Teaching In China, Rong Li

Theses and Dissertations

With radical social change and educational reform taking place in China since 1976, the English teaching system there has been changing accordingly. The Chinese Traditional Method (CTM) is giving way to the Western Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach. This research is a study of both Chinese and expatriate English teachers who are involved in classrooms and affected by reforms. The goal of this research study is to identify the extent to which Chinese and expatriate English teachers use CLT in China, to discover the possible factors that prevent them from using CLT and to explore an English teaching method that …

The Perceived Healthy Practices Of School Board Governance: Strategic Planning And Decision Making To Impact Student Achievement, Steven Todd Jordahl

Theses and Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of legislation of 2001 has impacted legal responsibilities school boards have in addressing best practices of governance as it relates to the impact on student achievement. NCLB suggests that school boards develop a governance structure, a decision-making model, and strategic planning exercises to support the achievement of all students. However, many school boards across the country still engage in practices that do not focus attention on achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine if student achievement of selected Minnesota School Districts is impacted by the practices of school board governance. The …

Elementary School Administrator Technology Skills And Their Impact On Teacher Technology Integration Competencies, Jason Douglas Hornbacher

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the technology competencies of elementary school administrators and the technology integration competencies of teachers under their leadership. This study examined data from Phases V and VI, which were the last year and the year following the end of the North Dakota Teaching with Technology Initiative (ND TWTi).

The data collection tool was the Professional Competency Continuum (PCC) profile assessment. The data from this survey were preexisting and spanned from 1999 to 2006. ND TWTi provided technology training and support to North Dakota teachers and administrators. The PCC measured the …