Educational Leadership Commons^™

Perceptions Surrounding The Implementation Of Colorado Senate Bill 10-191'S New Teacher Evaluations, Sarah Melvoin Bridich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2013, many public education reform efforts in the United States of America center on testing and accountability. Recent data revealed that teachers have the single greatest in-school impact on student learning; however, the methods to assess teacher effectiveness are widely criticized for not holding teachers accountable and, consequently, are experiencing significant legislative attention. In 2010, Colorado passed Senate Bill 10-191: The Great Teachers and Leaders Act to improve student learning by revising teacher and principal evaluations, including linking them to student learning data, and eradicating tenure.

Teachers, administrators, and policymakers hold critical roles in the implementation of this bill, …

Transformative Leadership: An Asset-Based Approach To Leadership For Diverse Schools And Learners, Marilyn Sudsberry, Brooke Kandel-Cisco

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Traditionally, school leadership has been viewed as emanating from a sole source, the school administrator. This top-down perspective suggests that school leadership lives and dies by the leader's specific skills, mind-set, and preferred activities. This perspective ultimately oversimplifies the difficult work that school administrators must navigate in order to ensure the success of all learners. While there is no doubt that many individual school administrators are empathetic and compassionate educators, unilateral decision-making means that the cultural, linguistic and social lenses utilized to inform decision-making are limited to the perspective of the administrator.

In this chapter we propose that school leadership …

Statewide Study Of School Public Relations Personnel: Roles, Responsibilities, Relationships, And Budget Vote Outcomes, Catherine Knight

Education Student Dissertations

This two-part quantitative study expanded our understanding of school PR personnel in public school districts, particularly those who worked during the 2009-2012 budget years. Four cultural changes have redefined the paradigm of public education and served as a springboard for this study: technology-enhanced communications/ information retrieval, transparency in school district operations, accountability tied to student testing, and the Great Recession. The first section presented key facts, drawn from public information available from New York State, about school PR employment, including the number of school districts that employed PR personnel, the types of school districts most likely to employ them, and …

Urban Underrepresented Minority Students In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math: An Analysis Of The Differences Between Developmental Assets And Academic Achievement, Jovan Grant Wells

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the developmental assets and academic achievement of urban underrepresented minority male and female students in a specialized science, technology, engineering, and math program, and the developmental assets and academic achievement of urban underrepresented minority male and female students in traditional comprehensive high school programs. The findings of the study provide information regarding the influence of gender, school setting, and developmental assets that may help impact student achievement for underrepresented minorities in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. The study findings also contribute to developmental assets theory and …

The Effect Of Tonality And Rhythm On Memory Recall In Elementary General Education Classrooms: A Quasi-Experimental Study, Matthew R. Varnell

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of rhythm and tonality on an academic memory task by comparing three different treatment conditions: a poem, a rhythmic chant (or rap), and a melodic rhythm (or song). A quasi-experimental experiment was designed and implemented, specifically a pretest-posttest-posttest control-group design. This study took place in the North Texas area in an urban school district on four campuses that were minimally 50 percent economically disadvantaged.The study included 139 second-grade students who gave consent and fully participated in the research study. Data were obtained through pretesting students" knowledge of the countries of …

Teacher Attitudes And Perceptions Of The Influence Of Professional Development On Minority Student Achievement In Reading, Clarissa Jeanne Plair

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

This qualitative study is written from a phenomenological standpoint using Van Manen's (1990 ) hermeneutic lived experiences of the participants. Fourth grade teachers from a large urban school district in the southwestern U.S. completed an online questionnaire and participated in a focus group interview to provide insight into their attitudes and perceptions about how professional learning experiences influenced high levels of reading for urban, minority students living in poverty. There are few studies which connect teacher professional learning to student achievement in reading. The current study uses a Vygotskian (1978) theoretical perspective to analyze the data collected and add to …

Exploring Principals' Perceptions Of Characteristics, Practices, And Programs That Influence College Readiness For Low Socioeconomic Students In Smaller Texas High Schools: A Delphi Study, Theodis Lamar Goree

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics, practices, programs, and other factors of smaller Texas high schools that are successful at producing college-ready low-SES graduates. The analysis of the data provides insight into the characteristics, practices, programs, and other factors that influence college readiness for low-SES students. A Delphi panel of thirty-five high school principals participated in this study. The qualifying principals were leaders of Texas high schools with less than 1,000 students that had 50% or greater of the low-SES students classified as college-ready. Over the course of three rounds, the expert principals provided feedback to the …

Educator Perceptions Of The Use Of Power And Student Responses To The Use Of Power At A Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (Daep): One Texas Perspective, Rayetta M. Johnson

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

This study was conducted to reveal educator perceptions of the uses of power and student responses to that power at the Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) in one suburban Texas school district. The study was conducted in a mid-size, suburban independent school district in North Texas known as "Main ISD". Surveys were analyzed from 75 educators: 55 home campus teachers, 14 home campus administrators, and 6 DAEP teachers. All educators had the opportunity to observe students before, during, and/or after completing a placement at the DAEP. Additionally, the survey served to identify participants who were willing to be interviewed as …

An Analysis Of The Professional Self-Esteem Of Texas Teacher Educators, Benesha Bholan

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Increased pressures from a multitude of sources have directly impacted all educational institutions. A predicted shortage of qualified teachers over the next decade means it is crucial that new teachers remain in the profession and are well prepared to deal with the challenges that await them. Although teacher educators play a vital role in preparing future teachers to enter and remain in our schools, research over time has shown that they have been historically held in low esteem by faculty at colleges and universities. Self-esteem can impact job performance as well as one's own feeling of self-worth. The purpose of …

The Relationship Between Teachers' Sense Of Efficacy And Perceptions Of Principal Instructional Leadership Behaviors In High Poverty Schools, Tamela Horton

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher perceived principal instructional leadership behaviors and teacher self-efficacy in high poverty schools. Data on these variables was gathered using the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran, 2001) and the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (Hallinger, 2011). The study also explored the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and years of experience. Hierarchical multiple regression and correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between the variables. The study found a significant relationship between teacher perceived principal instructional leadership behaviors and teacher self-efficacy. Of particular note was the repeated observation that …

High School Principal Transformational Leadership Behaviors And Teacher Extra Effort During Educational Reform: The Mediating Role Of Teacher Agency Beliefs, John Eric Boberg

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Transformational leadership has been shown to affect organizational commitment, capacity development, and performance. However, these relationships have received very little attention in schools, especially high schools in the United States that are experiencing educational reform initiatives under No Child Left Behind. Using a sample of 1403 high school teachers from 12 Texas urban and major suburban independent school districts, this study tested the relationships between teacher perceived school-based transformational leadership, self-reported teacher agency beliefs, and self-reported school-wide teacher extra effort. The teacher agency beliefs included capability beliefs about collective teacher efficacy and context beliefs about the supportive nature of school …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Mexican-Immigrant Mothers' Involvement In A High-Performing Low-Income Elementary School, Isela Russell

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

This qualitative study explores how low-income first- and second-generation Mexican-immigrant mothers, the largest sub-group of the Latino population, support the academic success of their children who are in a low-income successful elementary school. The specific setting was Roosevelt Elementary located in North Texas. Participants were selected through purposeful sampling, with a total of 10 participants: six Mexican-descent mothers and four teachers. The intent is to provide an understanding of the mother's role in home-based and school-based involvement and why they are involved in the academic success of their children. Moreover, Bandura's theory (1989) of self-efficacy is selected to guide this …

Factors Of Attrition In Cohort Doctoral Education: A Self Determination Theory Perspective, Linda Ann Garcia

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Attrition rates, completion rates, and time to degree are the key areas researchers have sought to examine influencing factors and patterns of behavior that describe the departure process of students in doctoral study. Through the lens of self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), the purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine and describe the intrinsic motivation experiences of doctoral level education cohort program students, those who are still in process and those who have completed. Specifically, this study focuses on investigating the variables of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in nine doctoral-level education cohort program participants who are in …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Values, Sources Of The Values, And Its Influence On Student Personality Development: A Case Study From Pakistan, Sharifullah Baig, Zeenat Shah

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This study explores the perceptions and level of awareness of teachers’ personal values and their influence on the valuation processes of their students in the specific social and cultural context of Pakistan. Within the qualitative paradigm, this study employed the deeplystructured, self-reflection process involving six teachers from three different school sites. The research participants highlighted the morality and ethics, role-modeling, affection and empathy, nation-building, and professional competency as their articulated values. Among these values, almost all of the participants regarded morality and ethics as the most prominent of the teachers. Alternatively, the more experienced teachers in this study were more …

Organizational Culture As A Function Of Institutional Type In Higher Education, Jason Alexis Kaufman

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether organizational culture varies as a function of institutional type in higher education, and to identify whether there exists congruence between organizational culture type and leader behavior. Utilizing the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) developed by Cameron and Quinn (2011), data were collected from a sample of academic deans (n = 84) representing the colleges and universities across five states of the Upper Midwest. The results indicated a general trend toward clan cultures and congruent leader behavior for all institutional types (i.e., associate's colleges, baccalaureate colleges, master's colleges and universities, and …

Studying Overseas: Factors Impacting Intention Of Female Students In Mainland China, Yi Zhang, Jie Sun, Linda Serra Hagedorn

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Faculty Publications - Archive

No abstract provided.

Using A Cohort Approach To Convert Edd Students Into Critical Friends, Edmund T. Hamann, Susan Wunder

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Exploring the role of critical collegiality and a cohort approach to doctoral education, this chapter considers the higher education design issues that have supported education doctorate candidates' pursuit of learning and degrees buoyed by the support—emotional, logistic, and content-based—of their graduate student colleagues.

A steadfast but not previously examined feature of our department’s six-year (and counting) experience with a Carnegie Project for the Education Doctorate (CPED)-influenced Doctor of Education (EdD) program is the successful implementation of a cohort model and, in turn, the utilization of practitioners’ sense of belonging and familiarity to become each other’s Critical Friends. Looking across the …

Exploring The Role Of The Principal In Elementary Teacher Retention And Migration As Perceived By Elementary Teachers In Rural School Districts Of North-Central Pennsylvania, Diana L. Barnes

Dissertations

Problem. Teacher migration and attrition are costly to educational institutions and negatively impact students' education. Teachers migrate to other positions and/or leave the profession for different reasons. Research of literature indicated that one influence on the teacher's decision to migrate to another position or to leave the profession is lack of principal support. This sequential mixed-methodology study explores elementary teachers' perception of the relationship between principal support and teacher retention and migration in the rural elementary schools of north-central Pennsylvania.

Method. To explore the role of the principal, this sequentially mixed-methodological study used a focus group to identify elementary teachers' …

Book Review Of The Global Nomad’S Guide To University Transition By Quick, Tina L. (2010)., Yi Leaf Zhang

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Faculty Publications - Archive

No abstract provided.

Queensland Teaching And Learning Audits 2010–2012, Gabrielle Matters, Yvana Jones

School and system improvement

This paper describes the teaching and learning audits introduced in Queensland government schools in the period 2010-2012. The teaching and learning audits were based on an audit tool developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) for the Queensland Department of Education and Training (DET). The audit tool was a precursor to the National School Improvement Tool and, in 2010-2012, consisted of the first eight domains of the final tool. The Queensland experience provides a valuable case study of one education system’s use of the tool as a basis for external school reviews, school self-evaluations and school improvement planning.

Principals' Behaviors In Government Secondary Schools In Ai-Ain City: A Descriptive Study., Firas Adnan Qatouni

Theses

This study aimed to describe the principals' behaviors in government secondary schools in Al Ain City which is in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi - the United Arab Emirates. In addition, it aimed to study the effect of the principals' gender and years of experience on their leadership behaviors. In order to do that, the principals' behaviors were categorized into five domains: behaviors in human relations, trust and decision making, instructional leadership, control, and finally conflict resolution. The study used quantitative and qualitative research methods. Data were collected through a questionnaire divided into two main sections. The first section included …

The Degree To Which School’S Principal Practices Behaviors That Build Or Destroy Teachers’ Trust In Her In Cycle One Abu-Dhabi City Schools: Teachers’ Perspective., Fatema Saeed Ali Hassan Al-Menhali

Theses

This study aimed to investigate the degree of which cycle-one school principals practice behaviors that build or destroy teachers trust in them from teachers’ perspective in light of some demographic variables in public schools in Abu Dhabi City through answering the following research questions:

1. To what degree cycle one school principals in Abu Dhabi city practice behaviors that build or destroy teachers’ trust in them from the teachers’ perspectives?

2. Are there significant mean differences in teachers perceptions at the significant level (ἁ = 0.05) about the degree to which principals practice behaviors that build or destroy teachers’ trust …

Constraints To School Decision Making Process: The Perceptions Of School Principals Of Alain Education Office, Rowaya Saeed Al Humaidi Shaheen Al Ghafli

Theses

The purposes of this study were to identify the constraint faced by the school principals of Al Ain Educational Office in the school decision-making process, examine the most important type of constraints (personal, organizational, or social) for school decision- making. Also, identify the impact of the following variables (gender, age, educational qualification, and the number of experience years) to make decision and suggest how to overcome the constraints from the point of view of the study sample. The researcher used the descriptive method. Data for the study were collected through the use of a questionnaire. The population of the study …

School Psychology Programs: Graduate Preparation In Traumatic Brain Injury, Susan C. Davies

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

Although traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability among children and adolescents, it remains a low incidence category for special education identification. Students with TBI can present with unique educational and psychosocial needs. Using surveys administered to program directors and interns, this study explored how school psychologists are prepared to identify and facilitate appropriate services for students with TBI.

Accessing The Inaccessible : Educational Development And Improvement Programme (Edip) An Extenstion Of The Diamir District Gilgit-Baltistan : A Case Study, Mola Dad Shafa, Haider Fancy

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

No abstract provided.

Cultural Impacts On Saudi Students At A Mid-Western American University, Nasser Razek, Sandra C. Coyner

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

The number of Saudi students studying in the United States quintupled from 3,035 students in 2005 to 15,810 students in 2010 due to a fully funded Saudi government scholarship (Open Doors, 2010). As students originating in a cultural background differing from the prevailing principles of their higher education institutions, Saudi students face several challenges. The cultural challenges are one of the most frequently apparent among these challenges (Constantine, Okazaki, & Utsey, 2004; Miller, 2002). Building upon the relationship between the cultural beliefs and student academic achievement, this study aimed at examining the cultural aspects of the increased presence of Saudi …

Youth Development And Education In Pakistan : Exploring The Relationship, Dilshad Ashraf, Takbir Ali, Anya Hosain

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This paper provides a critical examination of the inter-linkages between youth education, development, empowerment, and engagement in Pakistan. Currently, the majority of the population falls within the youth age bracket of 15-24 years. The country stands at a critical juncture, where it can capitalize on this demographic dividend for transformational and sustainable socioeconomic growth. However, this paper argues that there is inadequate intersection and convergence between Pakistan’s national and provincial Education and Youth policy frameworks. An indepth overview of current trends in terms of quality of education and access to and participation in various forms of education programmes indicates that …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Personal/Professional Experiences And Training Of School Psychologists And Their Attitudes Toward The Education Of Gifted Students, Angela Louise Spaniolo-Depouw

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

A resurgence of interest in gifted students and gifted education highlights the importance of examining attitudes of school psychologists related to the identification and programming for gifted students. This study explored the relationships between professional experiences, personal experiences, demographics, and previous training and the attitudes of school psychologists toward gifted students and gifted education.

A sample of 125 state-certified school psychologists in Michigan participated in a two-part, web-based survey, which provided descriptive data and measured attitudes toward gifted students and their education. Data were analyzed using a combination of descriptive and inferential statistics.

Seven findings were notable in this study: …

The School Superintendent: Theory, Practice, And Cases, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The School Superintendent: Theory, Practice, and Cases is the essential guide to succeeding as a superintendent or as an administrator in another district-level position. Comprehensive in both theory and practice, this textbook and reference guide examines the role and responsibilities of school district administration in professional, social, philosophical, and political frames, while balancing perspectives of rewards and challenges commonly expressed by school superintendents. Important topics covered include the emerging role of superintendent as communicator, the changing conditions in districts and schools, inadequate funding for public schools, and the treatment of policy administration, leadership roles, and community involvement.

Building A Culture Of Innovation: A Case Study In Digital Integration, Anthony H. Vonbank

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This case study dissertation examines the implementation of digital technology in a mid-sized public school district in southern Minnesota. The methodology involved unstructured interviews and close observation of several teachers, administrators and related staff in the junior-senior high building. These observations were presented in informative vignettes that help to tell the story of the culture of innovation in this school, as well as highlight some of the implementation strategies that aid this school and district in meeting its goal to meet all learners in a 21st century society. The study identifies common barriers such as staff resistance, funding, and technology …