Educational Leadership Commons^™

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Lisa C. Loecher

Graduate Research Papers

Society will continue to change, and schools will have to meet the challenges of those changes. To meet these challenges, it will be vital to keep abreast of innovations and current trends in education. Motivating teachers to examine and reflect upon their teaching, and empowering them to implement their ideas and programs will be keys to a successful school.

The Feedback Loop - Winter 1997, Nova Southeastern University

The Feedback Loop

No abstract provided.

A Preferred Vision For Administering Schools : A Reflective Essay, Vicki Mueller

Graduate Research Papers

Just as the role of the school is changing to fit the needs of our students and society, the role of the school administrator is changing to meet the needs of the school. The school administrator should be viewed as important liaison between the school and the community. More and more, their role is proactive as opposed to reactive, as it appears to have been years ago. If an administrator takes the time to make contacts and build relationships, the loyalty and commitment by students, parents, staff and community will help to assure success and prosperity for all.

Where Am I Going? Where Have I Been?, Teresa R. Coenen

Graduate Research Papers

The task of writing a reflective essay is to describe my educational philosophy and beliefs, how they were framed and formed, and how I hope to apply them in future applications. In order to understand my goals, one must first look at the path that has lead me to these goals. Before I can truly understand where I am going, I must first review where I have been. I have never – not even for one minute – regretted my decision to become an educator. In the last seven years, I have never wished to skip a single day of …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Joyce M. Bechtel

Graduate Research Papers

The term instructional leader encompasses many aspects. The instructional portion includes the knowledge base, the master teacher, the evaluator, the mediator, and the communicator with parents, community and teachers. The leader portion includes the perceptive director, the goal directed visionary, and the organizer with enthusiasm and energy.

Teachers depend on the principal to assist them in gaining instructional skills and utilizing curricular material that is necessary to teach effectively. The principal should be their master teacher and evaluator. As an evaluator, a principal will confer with and provide feedback to the staff, and will evaluate the education programs.

A Vision For The Administration Of A Secondary School : A Reflective Essay, Steve E. Dodge

Graduate Research Papers

In order to keep a school running smoothly today administrators must be able to perform a wide variety of jobs effectively. The key role that any principal must play is that of a leader. The ability to lead determines how effective an administrator will be in carrying out all of the other roles. The leadership of a school's instructional program is an area in which the principal has perhaps the greatest potential to influence the largest number of people. Through this role one impacts all programs of the school.

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary/Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Brad E. Small

Graduate Research Papers

The success and future of our nation, if not the entire world, depends on educating our children. For this reason, I have decided to seek anew career in educational administration after serving as a teacher and coach for.the past twelve years.

As the building principal, you lead by example. What the principal does on a regular basis overtime, becomes the most important aspect of the school (D. Else, Personal. Communication, 1997). I really understood the power of that statement. When looking back at my former principals, I can see how their actions helped or hindered their leadership. Students and.staff will …

Community Needs To Remove Rose-Tinted Glasses To Examine Ethnicity, Create Environments For Success, Scharron Clayton

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The purpose of this paper is to briefly explore the topic of ethnicity as it relates to successful living within a community. In light of the work of historians such as Schlesinger 1993), and contemporary pieces by Desouza (1995), and Herrnstein and Murray (1994), this is timely. I can recall a conversation with a local CEO who was convinced that the "American Identity" was being threatened by any focus on ethnicity and difference. His fear of the changing fabric of society, forced him to embrace a position which would cling to the past systems of domination by promoting a "we're …

Alternative Conceptions Of A Structure For Interconnectedness, Carmen Montecinos

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Before we can help others "understand our interconnectedness," we ourselves must be aware of the social, political, and economic structure of the network(s) we seek to build. Following a framework developed by Riane Eisler and David Loye (1990), two contrasting understandings of the "world order" entailed in the construction of global interconnectedness will be outlined. The first approach involves a hierarchical structure, and the second approach involves an egalitarian partnership. These two models involve radically different assumptions, social practices, and consequences.

People who understand global interconnectedness from these approaches mean something quite different when they say "One is the only …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools: A Reflective Essay, Brent Winterhof

Graduate Research Papers

Schools are the best place to work. There are daily changes and activities from 6:30 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. Each year is a fresh start for everyone. Knowledge about teaching and learning is increasing constantly. The curiosity and youthful exuberance of the young people make everyday a challenge. In the big picture of life, these are reasons that I went into education and want to continue.

Altering Belief Systems Through Education, Ken Alberts

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The vast majority of people we interact with on a daily basis profess to believe that diversity of all kinds is desirable and should be actively promoted in all aspects of our society. For many of us, the idea of diversity has a positive connotation. Unfortunately, there is too often an inconsistency between what we profess and what we practice. Since both our personal and our community's future will be impacted in a dramatic way by the understanding of our individual ethnicity, priority should be given to exploring ways in which this understanding can foster success in all our relationships.

Challenging Our Prejudices, Developing An Inclusionary Vision, Elaine A. Pfalzgraf

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The people who live in our community are more diverse from each other than at any time in our history. They are diverse not only in the areas of race and ethnicity, but also in the areas of sexual preference, physical ability and disability, income levels, age, religion, and family constellation.

How can we as a community work collaboratively to bring about not only tolerance but acceptance, inclusion, and celebration of the diversity of our people? What can we do to make certain that harsh and destructive polarization, alienation, exclusion, and isolation does not occur and that inclusion, involvement, engagement, …

Diversity: From The Sidelines, Betty Jean Furgerson

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Until nearly a year ago I spent the greater portion of my adult life attempting to formulate strategies to encourage European Americans to join in the development of ways to help communities learn to value diversity. It has been my experience that most African Americans have spent tremendous amounts of psychic and physical energy, thoughts, time, and activities in very much this same way. This has been true because the acceptance of diversity is advantageous to African Americans who are perceived as the victims, the undeserving, or the less than human, and have little, if anything at all, to risk. …

The Relationship Of Teacher Retention To Personality Style At Visionquest National Limited, Beth Ann Rosica

Dissertations

Problem. VisionQuest National Limited is a treatment and education program for court-placed students. Recruiting and retaining quality teachers is a problem faced by VisionQuest administrators. Over the course of a school year, there are usually several teaching-position vacancies, and turnover is high, especially in the first few months of employment.

Method. The Keirsey Temperament Sorter, a derivative of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, was administered to all VisionQuest teachers to determine their personality type. The personality types of the VisionQuest teachers were compared to those of teachers in the general population. Length of employment of VisionQuest teachers was also analyzed in …

Educational Excellence For Administrating Schools : A Reflective Essay, Cynthia J. Lapel

Graduate Research Papers

A visionary leader must look at what the organization should be like to achieve educational excellence, and then be willing to undertake the necessary steps to achieve the vision. Educational excellence will take a strong-hold only when it evolves from a community commitment for excellence. This community consisting of students and teachers, as well as parents and the public, led by a visionary administrator, will develop a commonly held vision to achieve educational excellence for their school district.

Executive Summary, Dave Else

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Forty-five K-12 educators, University representatives, and community leaders were invited to the conference held on the University of Northern Iowa campus. Individuals were selected based on their keen interest in cultural diversity, equity issues, their skills as communicators, and their enthusiasm for exploring issues in an in-depth and interactive environment. The purpose of the conference was to stimulate dialogue to better understand differences and the potential strengths of our diverse community and to use this newly developed knowledge base to construct an action agenda designed to implement recommendations which lead to equity for all. Participants were organized to address the …

Begin With Listening Dialogs, Jan Ott

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

I'm a P.K. (preacher's kid). As a youngster, I heard many a sermon on the "golden rule." But more importantly I grew up in a middle class home that modeled decency and goodwill ... most of the time. I also grew up in a Midwest community where differences were defined by "farm girl or city girl," by "popular or unpopular," by "smart or dumb," or by "good-looking or ugly." Most of my friends were a lot like me--White, middle-class kids who went to Sunday School. Admittedly, some _of my friends were Catholics and some were Lutherans. My mother, a Norwegian, …

Issue Area Three: How Can We Provide Opportunities And Design Support Systems For People Of Diversity Without Creating Dependency?, Janet Mcclain

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Our initial discussion focused on developing a clear understanding of key words included in this broad issue. This two-fold question was interpreted by our group in the following manner:

How can we (each one of us as individuals and groups of individuals) provide opportunities for people of diversity (all people, but specifically ethnic/racial groups)?

How can we (each one of us as individuals and groups of individuals) design support systems for people of diversity (all people, but specifically ethnic/racial groups) without creating a constant state of dependency?

With this clarification of terms, our group proceeded to identify five critical issues …

A Fairy Tale About Teacher Research In Conservative Times, Collaborative Action Researchers For Democratic Communities, Suzanne Soohoo, Lani Martin, Tom Wilson, Emily Wolk

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Collaborative action research involves creating spaces for thoughtful discussion, not only about classroom practices but about schooling in general. The fairy tale created by the authors of this piece raises questions about autonomy, control, and the need for participation in the context of the current conservative climate.

Journal Of Pedagogy, Pluralism And Practice, Volume 1, Issue 2, Fall 1997 (Full Issue), Journal Staff

Journal of Pedagogy, Pluralism, and Practice

This issue of the Journal of Pedagogy, Pluralism and Practice is dedicated to the memory of Paulo Freire who died on May 2, 1997 at the age of 75. Paulo Freire is the author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, The Politics of Education, Pedagogy of the City, Pedagogy of Hope and many other books that have created a radical discourse on liberatory education and have influenced teachers, theorists and cultural workers throughout the world. His last book, Pedagogia da Autonomia: Saberes necessários à prática educativa, is not yet translated in English, but is expected soon, possibly …

Theses And Dissertations: A Guide To Writing In Social And Physical Sciences, Isadore Newman, Carolyn Ridenour, David M. Weis, Keith Mcneil

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This practical volume is designed to assist graduate students in planning, conducting, and writing theses or dissertations in the social and physical sciences. Numerous examples are provided and many tips are included to facilitate completion of the thesis or dissertation. This record contains Chapter 1, which discusses the components of what is usually found in chapter 1 of a dissertation or master's thesis.

Working Together : A Conference On Doctoral Studies In The College Of Education At The University Of Northern Iowa, April 11-12, 1997, Joane W. Mckay

Faculty Book Gallery

This document is one outcome of the Invitational Working Conference, April 11-12, 1997, on Doctoral Studies in the College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa. Sponsored by the College Committee on Doctoral Studies and the Institute for Educational Leadership at the University of Northern Iowa, the conference gave UNI faculty in the College of Education, practitioners in the local schools, and candidates in the doctoral program the opportunity to discuss five main issues:

■ Distinctive Qualities of the Ed.D. Program

■ The Student's Role in Shaping Doctoral Study

■ Doctoral Research/Scholarship

■ Doctoral Program Delivery: Organization and Staffing …

1996-97 Annual Report, Building The Capacity Of Learners & Leaders, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Annual Reports

It is our pleasure to share with you the eleventh annual report of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. As a unique learning enterprise, IMSA builds the capacity of students, teachers and policymakers to improve and transform mathematics and science teaching and learning.

The 1996-97 year was marked with many historic events...events that commemorated our past as well as events that charted our course for the next decade.

Preface

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) is a Division of the College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Institute's mission is to promote the improvement of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education throughout the State of Iowa. To fulfill this mission the Institute serves as a catalyst for: informed dialogue on educational issues impacting the schools of Iowa, region, and nation; developing collaborative relationships with individuals and/or organizations external to schools; and education policy development.

This compilation of position papers and issue area group consensus reports represents the individual and collective wisdom of community, school, …

Community Signals And Community Diversity: Creating "Welcome Signs" For All Persons, R. Allen Hays

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The issue of the separateness of Waterloo and Cedar Falls must be understood within a larger framework of the difficulties of social interaction and the sharing of community space among those of different ethnicity, race, gender, or other potentially diverse characteristics. Earlier this year, I prepared a Fair Housing Analysis for the City of Cedar Falls, as required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (CSBR, 1996). The federal government is, of course, primarily interested in the enforcement of federal statutes regarding fair housing, but it is also interested in the affirmative efforts being made by a community to …

Youth Ethnic Dialogues Provide Base For Community Understanding, Susan M. Johnson

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that does" (cited in Lt. Governor's Newsletter, Diversity Conference, Spring, 1996). Mead's quote made quite an impact as I read it in a newsletter shortly after we had had a dynamic experience at Cedar Falls High School last winter. Twelve hundred students participated in small group "dialogues" led by peer facilitators. One hundred students volunteered their time to be trained to facilitate these discussions. This small group of students set a precedent at our high school that "it was definitely not …

Helping People Develop A Global Perspective, Leander Brown

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

In the 1996 Fall issue of the linker, a publication from the Grant Wood Area Education Agency in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Robert Anthony suggested that if we circle all of the articles in our daily newspaper dealing with the world at large we might be surprised by the number of circles covering our paper. He also suggested that if we noted the number of minutes devoted to international news on our favorite nightly network news program, we might again be surprised. Anthony asserted that it is clear that we will be affected by global events throughout our lives and that …

Ways To Mobilize The Community, Alice F. Culpepper

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

We, as a group, need to first understand how the Waterloo/Cedar Falls community, as a whole, feels about diversity. A community cannot be successful if its people have not realized the enormity of the diversity issue. We must acknowledge there are differences in all of us; whether that difference is in culture, ethnic heritage, race, national origin, religion, gender, age or disability.

“On major challenges to diversity ... A major challenge is fear - fear that with change, there are those who are going to lose - lose jobs, lose contracts, lose status, lose seats in higher education and graduate …

Strategic Plans Can Build Bridges, Linda Martin

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Addressing the potential strengths of a diverse population in a democracy where citizens accept and practice equality of rights, opportunity, and treatment involves citizens in the Cedar Falls/Waterloo metropolitan area who value this definition of what a democracy should be.

The strengths of individuals, groups of individuals, and communities of individuals need to be identified. A long-range strategic plan to focus these strengths needs to be developed to best utilize these strengths to enhance the community environment. A long-range strategic plan of communication can be a vehicle for individuals, groups of individuals, and communities of individuals to develop in-depth relationships …

Understand Diversity Through Acceptance, Tolerance, Gloria Stigler

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

No two people are alike, not even identical twins. When we experience differences in others on a mezzo or macro level, we tend to feel an uneasiness if they are of another race, religion, culture, have different sexual preferences, or are physically or mentally challenged. It is extremely important that we deal with diversity because our society is changing, growing, and becoming more and more diverse. We, as citizens of the United States of America, have to realize that we are not a homogenous society and that no one race, ethnicity, religion, etc., is superior to another. We have to …