Educational Leadership Commons^™

The Future Is Now: Examining The Black Student College Selection Process, Johnnie Johnson

All Theses And Dissertations

College selection factors is a subject that seemingly changes on an annual basis, largely due to the shift in the importance of factors to each incoming undergraduate class. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the factors that influence the decision of Black students over a 15-year period, as well as the factors that influence current students. This study answered questions related to which factors are important and revealed the results of college experiences of Black students. Using survey and interview data from Black students who have completed or who are presently attending college at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI), this study …

Mentors And Social Relationships: The Impact On Adjunct Professors, Amy Elizabeth Egan

All Theses And Dissertations

Adjunct professors are growing in numbers across higher education institutions. There are mentor programs at many universities, but there is little research into the social aspects of mentoring relationships. The traditional format of mentor programs is a structured program between a senior faculty and a new faculty member. This qualitative study of a medium sized public university focused on mentor programs between adjunct and full-time faculty. Three research questions were addressed during the study. The first question was: what is the past experience of the participants in group mentor programs? The second question was: what characteristics were valued within the …

Cultivating Women College Presidents: Difference Makers, Karen (Kas) Metzler

All Theses And Dissertations

The intention of this qualitative research study is to interview women who are college presidents/chancellors at two- or four-year, public higher education institutions in California about their experiences that have contributed to where they are today. There were twenty-six (26) participants in the study.

The research questions for the study were inspired by the statistics that show the current representation of women college presidents at two and four-year, public institutions in California is greater in comparison to the national statistic. The researcher became curious as to how and why women college presidents in California were thriving in a system that, …

In-Season And Out-Of-Season Academic Performance Of Secondary School Student-Athletes, Toney L. Farr Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The in-season and out-of-season effects of sports participation on academic performance vary depending on the level of play from middle school through collegiate athletics. The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant difference exists between in-season academic performance and out-of-season academic performance of student-athletes in a low-income high school. The number of students participating in high school athletics has continued to rise for 33 consecutive years as increases in the commercialization of high school athletics affect the athletic identities and academic achievement of student-athletes. Little research has been done to examine the effects of in- and out-of-season …

Predictors Of Zero Tolerance Policy Violations Among High School And Middle School Students, Anthony J. Roberson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study embarked on identifying social and economic variables to predict violations of zero tolerance policies. The objective of this study was to identify a set of variables that may predict circumstance that lead a student to violate zero tolerance policies. This study explored whether a set of five risk factors: (i) grade level, (ii) retention, (iii) suspension, (iv) race, and (v) gender can predict the criterion variable, zero tolerance policies violation. The research design supports the examination of the null hypothesis of no predictive relationship between the predictor variables grade level, suspension, race, and gender and the criterion variable …

The Effectiveness Of Inquiry And Computer Based Learning In Remediation Of Science Students, Kelli Caras

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The state of Virginia requires science Standards of Learning tests to be conducted as a graduation requirement as well as a measure of teacher performance. In an attempt to increase graduation rates, the state has adopted an expedited retake policy allowing certain students to retest if their scores were close to passing but fell short. No requirement, however, was given as to the means of remediation that the students must attend in order to retest. This quantitative study examined the effectiveness of three instructional strategies in improving student performance during the retest. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design was used …

Elementary School Building Leaders’ Experiences With Leading Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports (Pbis) Initiatives In Upstate South Carolina: A Phenomenological Study, Jason Michael Ramey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of elementary school building leaders with leading Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) initiatives in upstate South Carolina. The theories guiding this study were the growth mindset theory (Dweck, 2006) and the transformational leadership theory (Bass, 1996) as they tie into the experiences of building leaders through their journey. The central research question in this study was: What are the building leaders’ experiences leading PBIS initiatives in an upstate South Carolina elementary school? This study sought to discover the experiences of building leaders who were implementing PBIS. The …

The Relationship Between Student Math Achievement And Teachers Utilizing A Process Involving Interim Instructional Assessments, Douglas B. Greer

Dissertations

According to recent national and state level assessments, only about one-third of Michigan students are proficient in secondary math. Previous studies have been inconsistent in demonstrating the impact of an interim assessment process on student achievement, especially with high school mathematics. Moreover, previous studies were not found to utilize Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) to test such a relationship, especially a three level HLM that links secondary students to a primary math teacher. Therefore, the purpose of my study was to ascertain the extent to which math teachers utilized an interim instructional assessment (IIA) process within middle and high schools, and …

Apartment Residents' Understanding Of And Satisfaction With Water Savings Devices, David Farmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the human population increases, the way we use and manage our supply of drinking water becomes even more important. The purpose of this study was to determine residents’ satisfaction level of and performance rating of new water savings devices installed in their apartments. Specifically the investigation focused on ratings of shower heads, kitchen faucet aerators, bath faucet aerators, and fill valve and flapper systems.

This quantitative survey included residents at 4 apartment complexes in Tennessee using a paper questionnaire (N = 626). The participants were grouped by age, ethnicity, gender, and whether or not they had experienced both nonrestrictive …

Examining The Relationship Between Research Climate And Faculty Productivity At An Emerging Academic Health Center In The Southeastern U.S., Hagan E. Walker

All Dissertations

Logistic regression analysis was utilized to determine the relationship between research productivity and the research climate, as measured by 155 clinical faculty survey responses, in an Academic Health System in the Southeastern U.S. Subscales addressing the institutional characteristics of goals, culture, mentoring, network, resources, time, communication, rewards, opportunities, and governance were used as independent variables. The dichotomous dependent variable was whether clinical faculty were productive in research as measured by IRB protocols.

Results indicated that a positive view of the research climate for networking and resources significantly improves the odds for clinical faculty showing increased research productivity. The study demonstrated …

Community College Presidents’ Leadership Styles And Perceived Impact Of Personal Leadership Style On Faculty Relations, Claudia Grooms

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to develop an understanding of a group of two-year college presidents’ various leadership styles as well as to explore perceptions of their relationship with faculty and the manner in which personal leadership style impacts faculty relations. College presidents employed by a two-year college system in the southern United States were asked to complete an online MLQ Leadership Style Survey and a Demographic/Perceptual Questionnaire to obtain this data. A Transformational Leadership Style was identified as the predominant leadership style with a Transactional Leadership Style with Contingent Rewards as a very close second. …

The Impact Of Leadership Development Programming On The Career Pathways Of Females In Higher Education, Kathleen G. Shultz

All Theses And Dissertations

In an era of women running fortune 500 companies and holding some of the highest political offices, there is no denying that progress has been made in addressing gender diversity in leadership. In the 21st Century there is still a considerable gap in the representation of females in high level leadership positions across all major industries, illustrating that there is still considerable work still left to be done. Higher education is entering a time when a significant number of presidents will be retiring, offering an unprecedented number of vacancies in these and other executive level leadership positions. Understanding these circumstances, …

Teacher Preparation: Implementing Theory Into Practice, Loni Rae Miller

All Theses And Dissertations

Teacher preparation programs are mandated to prepare teachers that are ready for the changing landscape of the education profession. New accreditation requirements in preservice assessments and certification requirements for highly qualified teacher status are requiring teacher preparation programs to review their course plans. The purpose of the qualitative study was to examine how the graduates of a traditional teacher preparation program were implementing the PBL project design in their first year of teaching after receiving scaffolded instruction of the educational theory. The researcher explored which factors the graduate perceived allowed them to use PBL in their classroom. Using qualitative interviews, …

The Principal’S Impact On The Success Of Mathematics Professional Development, Michael Chad Staheli

Theses and Dissertations

Principal involvement is recognized as a key component to success in professional development implementation. Both the principal efforts undertaken, and the visions stated influence teacher development and student achievement. Using the instructional, transformational, and learning-centered models of leadership, as well as frameworks in vision, and organizational theory, this research sought to clarify the impact of principal involvement on student performance. Interview data was collected from 16 principals participating in a mathematics professional development program entitled the Comprehensive Mathematics Initiative. Of the participants, 9 of the principals were from schools that achieved high levels of student performance on standardized mathematics tests …

Turning Points In The History Of St. Mary’S University School Of Law (1980–1988), Vincent R. Johnson

St. Mary's Law Journal

St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas has existed for nearly a century. Thus far, there have been seven important written histories of St. Mary’s University School of Law, but no one has yet attempted to write a comprehensive history of the law school, nor have any members of the faculty published autobiographies. Having taught law at St. Mary’s since 1982, Professor of Law Vincent R. Johnson shares his first-hand account about the life of the law school during most of the 1980s (specifically 1980 to 1988). That period encompasses the bulk of the deanship of James …

Career Pathway Orientation Courses And Their Influences On Student Career Decision Making, Daniel Weidner

Dissertations

High schools must create skill- and decision-making experiences to support student college and career readiness and effective transitions to careers. However, traditional career education models have lacked effectiveness. This study examines a career pathway model that includes career orientation courses focused on developing career awareness and advising, confirming and challenging student’s career decision-making. Surveys and interviews were used to identify impacts these courses had on student career choice and the influence different aspects of the orientation course had on their decision-making. From this, best practices were identified, changes to the model were proposed and modifications to policy were developed to …

Group Development For Transformational Change: Co-Creating And Co-Developing An Efficient Peer Advisor Team At San Diego State University Using The Group Analysis System Bart And Feminist Leadership, Delia Contreras

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

Current leadership development programs often neglect the development of group leadership, especially when working with a culturally diverse group. The purpose of this study was to enhance my ability to lead a group of student advisors currently enrolled in the Counseling and Social Change Program at San Diego State University. The data gathering process included surveys, a review of documents, a formal peer advisor training, and a reflective focus group. Through this process and grounded in feminist and group relations theory I worked both with the student advisors and the director of the program to develop a successful team dynamic. …

Doctor Of Education Newsletter 2019, Donavan Bailey, Brooke Boulton, Bryan Boysen, Richard Breuninger, Kara De La Fosse, Amanda Durnen, Nichelle Guillaume, Sam Jones, Joe Mollner, Carson Perry, Meghan W. Sinning, Susan Webber

Education Doctorate Newsletters

WSU Doctor of Education Inaugural Cohort 2019

Winona State University has an astounding reputation for educational practitioner preparation programs in the College of Education. As the summer of 2019 commences, a new journey begins for the inaugural cohort of doctoral students who embark on their quest to obtain Doctor of Education degrees.

The Use Of Task Based Language Teaching (Tblt) As To Improve Descriptive Writing Skills, Inayanti Inayanti, Sisilia Setiawati Halimi Dr.

International Review of Humanities Studies

Writing skills are one of the skills that must be mastered by language learners. As an effort to improve writing skills, the researcher uses the Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) approach. The TBLT approach is carried out on 19 level 1 students of the English Literature study program in learning descriptive writing skills in English. The type of research conducted is Classroom Action Research (CAR) in collaboration with lecturers of Writing 1 class. The research is supported by qualitative and quantitative data to determine the students’ improvement in the process of learning descriptive writing using TBLT. The results show a …

The Impact Of Academic Leaders ‘Empowerment On Organizational Development In Northern Borders University, Yousif Mohamed Alnaser

International Journal for Research in Education

This study intends to measure the impact of academic leaders' empowerment according to the dimensions (Clarity of purpose, morale, fairness, recognition, teamwork, participation, communication, work environment) on organisational development according to the dimensions (Technology, Strategy and Structure, Services, Culture) in Northern Border University in 2016-2017. The study used descriptive statistics to analyze the data collected from 100 respondents within a population of 150 academic leaders. Regression analysis and tests of significance have been used. The results imply the existence of high degree effect of the academic leaders' empowerment on the organisational development. It shows also significantly statistics differences due to …

Faculty–Librarian Collaboration: Information Literacy Integration In Second Year English Writing And Composition, Cynthia Charles

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The collaboration of instruction in higher education academic courses leads to integrating information literacy into teaching and learning in the higher education curriculum. Information literacy refers to the skills and strategies necessary for accessing, evaluating, organizing, transforming, and transmitting information (UNESCO, 2007). This qualitative study intended to explore the collaboration of 10 faculty and 10 librarians who integrate information literacy instruction into their academic curriculum. The study explored how faculty and librarians perceived collaborations affecting undergraduate students who were enrolled in required second year English writing and composition courses, and who attended 4-year public colleges and universities in Louisiana. This …

Undergraduate Admissions Decisions Of Selective Institutions: The Impact Of Social Media Information, Ashley Renea Allison

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This causal comparative study examines the impact of decisions made by college admissions personnel at colleges and universities ranked as Highly Competitive, Highly Competitive Plus, Most Competitive, Very Competitive, and Very Competitive Plus by Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges (2018). Admissions representatives were asked to evaluate social media content of hypothetical applicants to their institution then complete a trait inference task based on the Deese-Roediger-McDermott false recognition paradigm. A total of 413 institutions were invited to participate in the online activity to establish the effect of online impression formation by admissions personnel and its impact on admissions decisions. The survey …

Financial Matters And Student Success Rates: Undergraduate Transfer Students At The University Of San Diego, Timothy Duran

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

The purpose of this action research was to examine my ability to address the challenges transfer students at the University of San Diego face in navigating the financial aid (FA) process. The participants and I shared first-person narratives about the challenges in student success across a 3-cycle action research project. This research contributes to comprehending the impacts FA have on the transfer student population and how I, along with my colleagues, may better retain students through FA negotiations and processes. Findings from this research include varied responses on how transfer students felt supported during the matriculation process as well as …

The Influence Of Social Capital On Community Sustainability In Meacham Park, Missouri During 1996 -1999, Sheila Green-Samuels

Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of social capital on the phenomenon of community sustainability in Meacham Park Missouri, a Black neighborhood located in south St. Louis county. It is believed that social capital influences the collective action needed to create structures which lead to economic growth essential to community sustainability (Farrell, 2007, Ginwright, 2015; Putnam, 1993). The core idea of Robert Putnam’s social capital theory is there is value in social networks (Putnam, 2000, 1993). Examined were experiences of current and past residents of Meacham Park using social capital constructs to analyze the significance …

Lessons From The 1800s: Creating The Miss Porter's School Digital Archive, Deborah Smith

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

College preparatory (“prep”) schools have their roots in the New England region of the United States; many predate the nation's most illustrious colleges and universities. The archives at these schools contain items of importance to American history in the 1800s. However, few schools have trained archivists managing their physical collections and even fewer have created digital archives to increase access. Founded in 1848, Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut was one of the first independent schools devoted to the education of young women. This article reviews the creation of the Porter's digital archive in 2018 and examines issues specific to …

Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes, July 18, 2019

Board of Trustees Minutes

Minutes from the Wright State University Board of Trustees Meeting held on July 18, 2019.

Blending Credit & Non-Credit Courses: Best Practices, Opportunities, Barriers, Keisha Samuels, M. Todd Estes, Heather Eckman, Kelly Gillerlain, Shanda Jenkins, Wendy Miller-Edwards, Olivia Reinauer, Nicole Walker

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Community colleges offer an array of programs designed to help students meet different goals. Noncredit education provides training for students seeking targeted, often shorter, courses for personal and professional enrichment (Cohen, Brawer, & Kisker, 2014). Many community colleges are now increasingly emphasizing noncredit workforce education as they support regional workforce development efforts and strive to meet the needs of their local industry partners (Van Noy, Jacobs, Korey, Bailey, & Hughes, 2008). Despite the millions of students enrolled in these courses and their potential to generate revenue for the institutions delivering programs, Voorhees and Milam (2005) refer to noncredit community college …

Accelerating Student Success: The Case For Corequisite Instruction, Maggie Emblom-Callahan, Nekisha Burgess-Palm, Sandra Davis, Amanda Decker, Heather Diritto, Shana Dix, Camisha Parker, Eric Styles

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

The successes of corequisite remediation courses and supplemental instruction over traditional remediation courses such as the modular Math Essentials have been widely and recently documented (Logue, Watanabe-Rose, & Douglas, 2016). Corequisite reform is an important strategy to improve student completion of higher education goals. A robust corequisite model integrates gateway course content with lifelong tools such as time management and study skills that help students beyond the scope of one course. Corequisite remediation may not completely eliminate developmental courses; however, “a fundamental redesign of the support system for academically underprepared students” will include corequisite remediation (Vandal, 2014). This broader “support …

Promoting The Value Of Career Education Programs, David Howell, Maryanne Serignese, Shawn Anderson, Rachel Dodson, Joshua Mcdowell, Jesse Miller, Dana Newcomer, Regina Sanders, Brooklyn Shehan

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

12.5 million secondary and postsecondary students are currently enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in the United States (“Career,” 2019). CTE programs provide students with the academic skills, technical skills, knowledge, and training necessary to succeed in future careers and to become lifelong learners (“Career,” 2019). Students are prepared for the workplace as a result of a competency-based learning approach and through partnerships with local employers who provide hands-on experience and work-based learning opportunities (“Career,” 2019). By 2020, 65 percent of American jobs will require some postsecondary education or training, with half of these positions requiring an associate …

Taking The Leap (Learner Engaged Advising Programs): Vccs Advising Practices And Recommendations, Valerie Burge-Hall, Latoya Garrison, Leigh Giles-Brown, Dan Lepore, Melanie Mcnall, Christine Pauly, Andrew Quinn, Lisa Vaughn Jordan

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) administration identified the need for adequate and proactive advising programs to foster student success. This paper presents a review of “best practices” in advising to determine commonalities, provides a comparison with current VCCS advising practices, and offers recommendations that support the goal of ensuring high quality advising programs.