Educational Leadership Commons^™

A Validation Study Of The Administrator Data Use Survey, Francis Nicholas Sheboy

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this study was to create an original instrument, the Administrator Data Use Survey (ADUS), to assess practicing school administrators' perceptions of the importance of data to school improvement, the importance of data to their position, and the degree to which they feel their graduate preparation in educational administration adequately prepared them for the data use demands of their position. Validation panels were used to assess construct, content, criterion, and face validity of the ADUS. In addition, factor analysis was utilized for construct validation. The ADUS was sent to a random sampling of practicing administrators from New York …

Best Practice: Long-Term Commitment To An Organization, Philip A. Reed, G. Eugene Martin (Ed.), Christopher M. Martin (Ed.)

STEMPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Initiating Community Engagement For Enhancing Preservice Teacher Education, Peter Hudson, Sue Hudson

EDU-COM International Conference

Facilitating community engagement in education is promoted and emphasised in university policies and strategic plans. How can a university facilitate innovations to develop collaborative partnerships with its community? This paper presents leadership processes for initiating community engagement with an Australian university and highlights examples of innovations in Science Education for Sustainable Living (SESL) with preservice teachers‘ reflections on their teaching practices. Data collection included observations of practice, interviews, minutes of meetings, and written correspondence with a wide range of participants (i.e., senior QUT staff, lecturers, preservice teachers, principals, school executives and teachers, and other community members). A four-step process for …

Perceptions Of The Evidence Of A Servant Leadership Culture Among Educators In The P-12 School System In The North American Division Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Donovan B. Ross

Dissertations

Problem Statement. The Seventh-day Adventist church has consistently advocated that adherents to this religion should be Christ-like in every aspect of their lives. They should be of service to others as they create a community of believers who are loving, kind, and considerate of others. These ideals form some of the characteristics of servant leadership. The question therefore is whether servant leadership is being practiced in the P-12 school system. No study related to the presence and practice of servant leadership in the P-12 school system of the NAD has been conducted. Research was needed to determine the perceptions of …

Alternative Teacher Certification: An Investigation To Determine The Effectiveness Of Alternative Teacher Certification In The State Of Florida According To Principals' Perspective, Nelson Torres

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alternative Certification Programs (ACPs) have been established in 47 states across the country, including Florida, to help alleviate the teacher shortage many public school districts have been experiencing during the last two decades. This teacher shortage has been reported to be more prevalent in areas where fully qualified and committed teachers are most needed. Current literature has identified areas such as inner-city schools, at-risk and minority students, bilingual education, math and physical sciences, and the special education field as the educational areas where the shortage is most significant. Faced with this dilemma, states have instituted ACPs as unconventional ways to …

A Case Study: Alternative Certification, Neleffra Marshall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was a heuristic, descriptive case study of the Alternative Certification Program in 4 central Florida counties. The purpose of this study was to: (a) identify the awareness of the existence of the reported alternative certification components implemented by 4 counties in Florida, and identify any additional components; (b) determine the importance of the targeted teaching criteria needed for successful teaching as identified in the literature to the ACP teacher, principal and coordinator; (c) determine the advantages/disadvantages of the program as viewed by the ACP participants, principals, and coordinators; (d) identify how many of the 4 counties kept data …

A Preferred Vision For Leading Schools : A Reflective Essay, Neal E. Thompson

Graduate Research Papers

In my wildest dreams, I never thought that I would pursue a career in education, let alone become a scbool leader. No one in my family had gone beyond a high school education. However, in my father's dying moments, he encouraged me to never quit pursuing an education. My father died during my senior year in high school and after high school I floundered in a community college for a couple of years, but I did continue pursuing an education. I began to dream of becoming an educator and coach. I was influenced by previous coaches, teachers, and my father's …

Differences In Academic Performance And Self-Regulated Learning Based On Level Of Student Participation In Supplemental Instruction, Ana Mack

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined differences in academic performance and self-regulated learning based on levels of student participation in Supplemental Instruction (SI) sessions in two introductory undergraduate biology and chemistry courses offered at University of Central Florida in the Spring 2006 semester. The sample consisted of 282 students enrolled in the biology class and 451 students enrolled in chemistry. Academic performance was measured using students' final course grades and rates of withdrawal from the courses. The self-regulated learning constructs of motivation, cognition, metacognition, and resource management were measured using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Relationships between students' gender and ethnic …

A Study Of Florida Public Elementary School Principals' Job Satisfaction Following The Implementation Of Florida's A+ System For Grading Schools, Robert Paswaters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem of this study was to examine the impact of Florida's A+ program of accountability on elementary principal job satisfaction. Specifically, the study was conducted to determine the relationship between a school's grade and principal job satisfaction. Of primary interest was the extent to which school accountability impacted principal satisfaction with the facets of Work on Present Job, Pay, Opportunities for Promotion, Supervision, People on the Present Job, and the job as a whole. The instruments used, the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) and Job in General (JIG) were provided through the JDI Research Office housed at Bowling Green State …

National Merit Finalists At The University Of Central Florida-Trends, Attrition, And Retention 1997-2005, Jill Norburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the trends, attrition and retention rates of National Merit Finalists at the University of Central Florida between the years of 1997 to 2005. This study was intended to provide information for higher education practitioners, faculty, and administrators to help them better understand the expectations and current trends of National Merit Finalists. The problem was to determine how to increase recruitment and retention while decreasing the attrition rates of these highly desirable students. The importance of this study includes identifying trends that may aid in future recruitment efforts for National Merit Finalists; finding …

A Comparison Of Mentored And Non-Mentored Novice Elementary Principals In Respect To Job Satisfaction, Colleen Skinner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if mentoring programs had an impact on job satisfaction for beginning elementary principals in the state of Florida. It also examined if the following factors impacted job satisfaction: (a) length of the mentoring program, (b) frequency of meetings, (c) selection process for the mentor, (d) the position of the mentor, or (e) age and gender of the beginning principal. The population for the study consisted of 108 elementary principals with more than six months and less than fours years of experience in the state of Florida. Twenty-four districts participated in the study, …

Teacher Retention In Brevard County, Florida K-12 Schools, Kenneth Winn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive study was designed to determine the extent to which selected self-reported practical and professional factors of teaching influenced teacher job satisfaction and retention within the K-12 public education system. The population of the study was 1321 certified teachers from a large Central Florida school district. The researcher developed the survey instrument based on the constructs of teaching known for motivating teachers to remain within the public school setting (Brunetti, 2001; Farkas, Johnson, & Folena, 2005). The researcher's survey was based on the studies of Perie (1997), Brunetti (2001), and Gary (2002). The researcher personally distributed 1321 surveys, respondent …

The Relationship Of Student Achievement To Prinicpals' Self-Reported Use Of The Four Frame Theory, Donna Poniatowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was developed to provide information about the relationship of principals' use of Bolman and Deal's (1991) four frame model of leadership to student achievement. The collection and analysis of student Florida Comprehensive Assessment Testing (FCAT) data over a 2 year period served as a measure to indicate whether or not an increase in reading mean scale score occurred from 2004 to 2005. Comparative analysis of both sets of data using multiple regressions was used to determine if there was a relationship between the self-reported leadership orientations of the principals and student achievement. In addition, the study was intended …

An Examination Of The Service-Learning Program At A Comprehensive University Through The Lenses Of Program Theory And Institutional Theory, Cathy Duff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Case study design, employing qualitative research methods, was used to document and examine a mandatory service-learning program at a new, comprehensive, public university. The study examined service-learning from multiple perspectives. Institutional theory provided a framework for examining the influence of the environment on the conceptualization, adoption, and implementation of service-learning. Program theory was used to identify and analyze the program's conceptual underpinnings, including goals and objectives, intended outcomes for students, and program processes. Knowledge of how a program is supposed to work is useful for developing assessment questions, evaluating institutional effectiveness, and improving program performance. The study included a review …

A Faith-Based Program Evaluation: Moral Development Of Seminary Students At The Louisiana State Penitentiary, Bruce Sabin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct an outcomes-based program evaluation for the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) campus of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The study included one primary research question, with two subquestions. The primary research question asked to what extent students in the program developed moral judgment consistent with program goals of rehabilitating students and preparing them for effective ministry. The first subquestion asked whether statistically significant differences existed in the moral reasoning of students of different class years. The second subquestion asked whether statistically significant differences existed in the moral reasoning of students of different …

Student Achievement As A Function Of Class Size And Pupil-Teacher Ratio, Robert T. Becker

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Background: The degree to which class size is able to produce positive, enduring effects on student achievement has been and continues to be vigorously debated. Comparative studies have clouded the issue with imprecise use of the terms class size (CS) and pupil-teacher ratio (PTR), making it difficult to draw clear conclusions regarding the effects of class size on student achievement.

Purpose: To assess differences, if any, in achievement between students attending classes where the class-size is approximately n = 17 and students attending classes where the class-size is approximately n = 25 and the pupil-teacher ratio is approximately …

Portrait Of An Urban Elementary School: Place-Based Education, School Culture, And Leadership, Michael Thomas Duffin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explored the interaction between place-based education, school culture, and leadership at one elementary school in an inner city section of Boston, MA. The centerpiece is a stand alone research portrait that tells a story about how an external program, a willing and ready school community, and a skillful school leader reinforced each other to achieve a shared vision under challenging conditions. From an under-subscribed school in chaos and lacking focus, the subject school transformed into a vibrant, highly sought school with a pervasive, environmentally-oriented culture and curriculum. Portraiture methods were adapted to a utilization-focused evaluation purpose, drawing on …

Educational Leadership, Aaron J. Stecker

Graduate Research Papers

A leader is someone who can find a way to make it happen. In education, a leader is someone who can motivate a learning community to work together to achieve greatness. A quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes on my folder states, "Greatness is not where we stand, but in what direction we are moving; We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but sail we must" (Holmes et al, 1858). Educational leadership is a calling that will see its fair share of both good and bad days. Quality educational leaders will be someone who can steer the …

Critical Elements For Leading Secondary Schools, Darci J. Wagner

Graduate Research Papers

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "living and learning must go hand in hand." I cannot remember a time in my life when this was not true. As a child, school was always a positive experience for me. I loved the challenge of mastering new skills. As I progressed through high school and college, I had the opportunity to develop my thinking and reasoning skills through challenging courses taught by master teachers. These teachers served as role models for me, displaying dedication and passion for their subject matter as well as their students.

Self-Harm : A Review Of Its Nature, Assessment And Treatment, Cj Yerington

Graduate Research Papers

Self-harm is becoming more and more prevalent in clinician offices and is still an occurrence that mental health professionals do not agree upon in several ways. To this day, there is a debate among mental health professionals, as even to what term it should be referred to as, the exact definition that should represent selfharm, and most importantly the proper and most effective way to treat it. Amongst all of the professional disagreeing there are clients who are presenting with self-harm and are not getting proper treatment and, in some cases, may be walking away with worse self-harm ideations than …

Self-Perceptions And Peer Influence On Bullying Behavior, Jaime Strickler

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this paper is to determine the self-perceptions of bullies and peer influence on bullying behavior. These variables were chosen in an attempt to understand some of the potential causes of bullying behavior and to examine their effects during bullying episodes.

While the self-perceptions of bullies may be positive or negative, it is unclear as to the direction of influence between self-perceptions and bullying. Peer influence on bullying can vary from situation to situation, but it is clear that peers do have an influence in bullying situations.