Educational Leadership Commons^™

Do Academic Characteristics Predict Chinese Private University Students’ Success In English Language Testing?, Feijun Yu

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Conventional language learning theory, which holds that learning outcomes are solely associated with learners’ competencies, has begun to be disputed in the dynamic learning environment. This study used English learners’ academic characteristics from the 2014 cohort in a private university in Shanghai, China, to explore the relationship between language learners’ academic characteristics and their learning outcomes in a national standardized English examination. Via the collection of extant data, 3,580 cases were included for logistic and multiple regression analysis. Results showed factors associated with English learning are the NCEE English score, the number of tests taken by students, provincial origin, gender, …

Admitting Smarter: Refining The Admission Process Through Professional Dispositions, Catherine Snyder

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Since 2018, news agencies have shifted from reporting teacher layoffs to teacher shortages. This swift shift in the industry left many floundering to recruit enough teachers to fill classrooms. Even in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, there is still a demand for teachers, now with added online teaching skills. This article addresses one program’s admissions improvement process: an analysis of the acceptance process, improvements and changes in the process with the goal of reducing attrition, and improving the quality of candidates admitted. Several improvements were made, specifically related to introducing dispositional tools and standardizing the acceptance process across the …

Is Being Respectable Enough?: A Critical Investigation Of Code-Switching And The Lived Experiences Of Black Leaders Who Work At Nonprofits In Bridgertown, Ramona Crawford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current literature on Black nonprofit leaders is scarce, causing little to be known about the experiences that they have encountered when navigating their roles and responsibilities. Even less literature is available on these Black leaders and their usage of code-switching strategies when attempting to navigate those same nonprofits. Based on themes uncovered during the literature review this study employs an in-depth narrative inquiry qualitative methodology. While using theories such as critical race theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 200; Ladson-Billings,1998), the politics of respectability (Higginbotham, 1993) and the theory of capital (Bourdieu, 1985; 1996) the researcher examines the leadership experiences of …

A Quasi-Experimental Study On How Free College Influences Educational Equity In The United States Based On Analysis Of The Excelsior Program, Zhuoyao Liu

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

ABSTRACT

Educational equity has long been an important issue to which the U.S. government, academia, and the public have paid great attention in past decades. The federal government and state governments have successively promulgated policies to reduce the equity gap between well-represented and underrepresented students. As such, the Promise Program (a representative of free college policy) has become a popular tool to address the educational equity issue. New York was the first state in the United States that announced a statewide Promise (called the Excelsior Program) applying the free college policy to all public higher education sectors for its state …

Indigenous Women In Science: A Proposed Framework For Leadership, Knowledge, Innovation, And Complexity, Tracy Woodroffe, Ruth Wallace, Kathy Guthadjaka, Johanna Funk, Elaine L. Maypilama, Sarah Ireland, Renee Adair, Robyn Ober, Samantha Armstrong, Anne Lowell, Kellie Pollard

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Indigenous engagement in tertiary education has been contentious in Australia for many years. This was brought sharply into focus with the 2012 review into higher education, which highlighted a lack of parity for Indigenous Australians. One of the solutions to a lack of parity in participation could be the concept of a dual academy. A dual academy approach to higher education would incorporate both Indigenous and Western knowledge systems equally. Conversations and thinking about Indigenous participation and engagement in higher education led to an opportunity to coordinate a series of workshops. These workshops, conducted in Darwin, Alice Springs, and Galiwin’ku …

Understanding The Experience Of Mid-Level Community College Change Leaders, Kelley L. Conrad

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates the phenomenon of leading major change as a midlevel administrator or faculty member at a Michigan community college. Specifically, this study explores how three leaders experienced their roles in implementing the guided pathways strategic change initiative, how they describe the emotional aspects of leading change, and how they made sense of their experiences. One overarching research question guided this study: How do guided pathways leaders at Michigan community colleges experience their roles in the strategic change process?

The results of multiple, in-depth interviews are presented as three profiles, one per participant, using their own words to …

Student Chronic Absenteeism And Perceptions Of School Climate, Misty Keller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there were significant differences in student chronic absenteeism between schools with high positive scores for perceptions of central components school climate and schools with low positive scores for perceptions of central components of school climate. This study assessed the difference in student chronic absenteeism among elementary schools rated high positive or low positive as well as among high schools rated high positive or low positive for perceptions of school engagement, school safety, and school environment. A series of chi square analyses were used to analyze data to determine if there …

Advances In Global Education And Research: Volume 4, Waynne B. James, Cihan Cobanoglu, Muhittin Cavusoglu

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the fourth volume of the Advances in Global Education and Research Book Series. This volume has the following parts:

• Part 1: Adult Education
• Part 2: Curriculum and Instruction Development
• Part 3: Educational Technology
• Part 4: Education in Other Specialties
• Part 5: English as a Second Language
• Part 6: Global Competence
• Part 7: Higher Education and Educational Leadership
• Part 8: Inclusive Education
• Part 9: International Education
• Part 10: PreK-12
• Part 11: Research Methods in Education

ISBN: 978-1-955833-04-2

Adult Education

• Teaching for knowledge transfer: Best practices from a graduate-level educational psychology distance learning program
  • Bobby Hoffman
• A study on the …

An Entrepreneurship Innovative Curricular Module For Non-Business Students, Ponmalar N. Alagappar, Payam Ansari, Logaiswari Indiran

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

With growing popularity of start-ups and entrepreneurial businesses in various sectors and the government's support towards graduate entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education for non-business disciplines has been expanding in higher education institutes. To infuse entrepreneurial skills among non-business students, entrepreneurship education should be more specific and discipline-based. The relevant medium in the teaching and learning process is a module, which is a resource that contains materials, methods, limitations, and evaluation systematically arranged to best capture the student’s interest. In this paper, we will describe an innovative curricular model that was tested in developing an entrepreneurship module for students of social sciences. The …

Teachers As Change-Makers: International Volunteering As Enabling Or Hindering Their Capacity To Teach Global Development, Mags Liddy

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Teachers role in educating and preparing learners for global challenges assumes their competence and capacity to understand and engage with these challenges. This paper examines the potential of overseas volunteering to enhance teachers’ understanding of global development and to motivate them as global citizenship educators. The findings illustrate a translation dynamic between their experience and professional practices. This analysis is informed by practice theory where changes in dispositions are mediated within constraining or enabling factors of habitus. Habitus is viewed as the site of negotiation of between individuals’ agency and dispositions within social structures. This dynamic is demonstrated in two …

Economic And Sociological Factors Associate With First-Year African American Students' Enrollment In Historically Black Colleges And Universities., Vickie Gale Bridgeman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the long struggle to gain access, African Americans always have valued education. Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were established to educate Blacks. The racial integration of predominately White institutions (non-HBCUs) in the 1960s led to decreased enrollments in HBCUs and challenged their relevance. The purpose of this study is to discover what factors influence African American students to choose an HBCU today. Quantitative, secondary survey data methods were used to conduct the study. African American students at HBCUs and non-HBCUs participated in the survey. Consistent with generally accepted approaches in analyzing student college choice, this study utilized logistic …

Academy Student Ambassador Perceptions Of The Academy Model: The Successes And Areas For Growth., James Edward Mcmillin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When students see the relevance of their education, whether college-bound or career-bound, it can motivate them to seek out courses and experiences that will prepare them for life after high school (Plank, DeLuca, & Estacion, 2005). The experiences, accomplishments, and social influences a student has throughout their time in school creates meaning and helps inform how they identify career interests and make career choices (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). This is especially true in high school where students begin to develop an awareness of their career interests and start thinking about their life after high school (Erikson, 1963). As the …

Making Sense Of Inclusive Leadership In Public Higher Education: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Herbert L. Thompson Iii

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study’s purpose was to generate a context-specific analysis and description of the inclusion process at a Midwestern university, and how leaders make sense of said process. The participants in this study are members of an inclusion training program; these participants represent the perspective of stakeholders as well as designated leadership for organizational inclusion. This study utilized Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Data generation occurred through a series of semi-structured interviews. Analysis of data provided a detailed description of the sense making of inclusive leadership is provided to explain how educators experience the phenomenon contextually. Five superordinate themes emerged from this …

From Studebaker To Warp Speed: The Journey Of Frontline Supervisors From Face To Face To Electronic Learning And Communication, Lori Franke

Leadership Education Capstones

The purpose of the study is to develop a playbook for front-line supervisors and assistant supervisors to reference when sent information via electronic communications (email) on new initiatives.

What Aspects Of Teaching Generate Burnout In Teachers With Five Or Less Years Of Experience?, Paige Peterson

Leadership Education Capstones

The educational field can prove to be a stressful occupation with various aspects being more stressful than others. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the aspects of teaching that generate burnout in teachers with five years or less of teaching experience. The study used an anonymous online survey to collect data from teachers in the state of Minnesota. Research questions aimed to understand which aspects of teaching are the most stressful, how grade level (elementary, middle school, or high school) impacts burnout, and if professional development could help limit burnout. A total of 289 individuals participated …

Implementing A Standardized Lost And Found Procedure At Mayo Clinic, Andra Boyum

Leadership Education Capstones

The purpose of this project is to create standardization within the Lost and Found guideline so that stakeholders can utilize their resources with confidence.

Homeschooling, Social Isolation, And Life Trajectories: An Analysis Of Formerly Homeschooled Adults, Daniel Hamlin, Albert Cheng

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

A longstanding critique of homeschooling is that it isolates children from mainstream society, depriving them of social experiences needed to thrive as adults. Although a small number of empirical studies challenge this criticism, this research tends to be derived from self-reports of homeschooling parents about their children. In this study, analyses of qualitative interviews (n = 31) and survey data (n = 140) of adults who were homeschooled as children are performed. Most interview participants described conventional and unconventional social experiences that they felt had satisfied their social needs while being homeschooled. Participants who were homeschooled for all or most …

The Relationship Between Emotionally Intelligent Leadership, Leadership Style, And Student Achievement In High Poverty Schools, Roldan Castro

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study unfolds the amount of a relationship a principal's emotional intelligence, leadership style, and student achievement has in high poverty schools. Principal's emotional quotient was measured using the MSCEIT assessment in four areas: perceiving emotions, using emotions, understanding emotions, and managing emotions. Leadership style was measured using the MLQ 5X survey through the lens of their teachers, classifying a principal as a transformational, transactional, or passive leader. 2019 Texas Academic Progress Reports reading and mathematics scores were used for participating principals. The sample included eight participating school districts is the South Texas region, in which a range of …

A Phenomenological Collective Case Study Of Mexican American Gifted Dropouts In South Texas, Albert Irlas

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the shared experiences of formally identified gifted Mexican American students that decided to drop out of high school in the south Texas region. The researcher utilized a phenomenological collective case study approach that investigated the influences that led gifted learners to drop out of high school via a series of semi-structured interviews that collected and analyzed the shared narrative data (Creswell, 2013; Degand, 2015; Seidman, 2014). Prevailing studies have found that Mexican American gifted learners are more likely to live in economically depressed communities, more likely to suffer from linguistic and cultural …

Not Your Queer Model Minority: Exploring The Realities Of Lgb Asian American Student Affairs Professionals, Kevin Nguyen Chastain

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

LBG Asian Americans are a minority group in higher education and among Student Affairs administrators. LGB Asian Americans and their experiences have received little attention due to the intersection of sexual orientation and race. It is critical to understand the realities that this community faces and to provide an opportunity for this community to claim an identity that is both honest and transparent. The goal of this research is to better understand how the intersection of racial identity and sexuality has influenced the experiences of Asian American lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in Student Affairs roles at colleges and …

Senior Administrators In Higher Education: Following The Feminist Road To The Ivory Tower, Angelina Gomez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Today there is a considerable amount of literature documenting the gender oppression of women in the American workforce, including academia. Unfortunately, this results in an insignificant amount of literature available that narrates the successes of the few women who have navigated the labyrinth of academia and served as a President or Chancellor of a 4-year, public university. This study will help bridge the literature gap by sharing the exploits of four elite women who overcame barriers created through university policy and procedures, historical academe culture, and genderism.

A narrative analysis methodology was used to examine the ideology of leadership within …

Exploring Civic Mindedness And Social Empathy Through Storytelling: A Social Justice Oriented-Participatory Action Research Study, Ellen Whitehead

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study contributed to past research on civic-mindedness and social empathy by conducting a social justice-oriented participatory action research study at a research university with a predominately diverse student population. A participatory action research approach centers students' experiences as coresearchers, which complements the purpose of community and civic engagement, as they both support social transformation (Benjamin-Thomas et al., 2018).

This study encompasses four constructs to address how and why higher education can cultivate social change agents and invigorate civic engagement among today's college students. The constructs are civic-mindedness, social empathy, validation theory, and cocurricular cultural awareness workshop series. The coresearchers …

A Mixed-Method Study On The Mentor Experiences At A Public 4-Year University, Avisinia Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Traditionally, students sign up for peer mentoring programs to receive services and resources as mentees in order to be successful in college. Studies have shown that mentoring relationships benefit mentees (Salinitri, 2005; Morales, 2009) while others (Colvin and Ashman, 2010; Gannon and Maher, 2012; Good et al. 2000) examined how mentors received training to support mentees. The studies exploring the experiences of mentors is not as robust, this study tries to explain the self-reflection unexpected benefits of mentors who participate in peer mentoring programs.

This mixed-method study examined the experiences first-generation peer mentors have at a pubic four-year university. Though …

Leadership Qualities Of Female Presidents Serving The Tennessee Colleges Of Applied Technology System, Kelli Kea-Carroll

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to examine the leadership styles and characteristics of leadership of 11 female presidents in the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology system. The administrators’ perceptions of successful leadership, desirable outcomes of institutional leadership, and improvements resulting from perceived successful leadership styles that guided each participant’s work as a technical college president were examined. Using the research questions guiding this study, data were collected from individual, in-depth interviews with each female, technical college president. The analysis of the interviews identified the leadership styles of democratic, situational and participative as being the most common among …

Tennessee's Voluntary Prekindergarten (Vpk) Program And Kindergarten Achievement, Kindetta L. Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between Tennessee's Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) program and kindergarten achievement. I compared the academic growth of who attended a VPK program to students in Title 1 schools who did not attend a VPK program. Kindergarten gives the first easyCBM assessment in the second semester of school. I compared the easyCBM scores of the students who attended a VPK program to the ones who did not attend a VPK program. This could reveal if attending the VPK program is related to the students’ academic growth and the amount …

Educator Perceptions Of Generational Poverty, Adverse Childhood Experiences And Student Learning, Rachel Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine educators perceptions of the effects of generational poverty and adverse childhood experiences on student learning and to understand the factors that might facilitate breaking the cycle of generational poverty and adverse childhood experiences with respect to student learning.

Data collection strategies included individual interviews and document review. Analysis of data occurred in three phases: categorization of data, building the explanation in narrative form and reexamination of the data. The analysis of the data was based on Payne’s idea of generational poverty and the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACE) study.

The credibility …

Teacher Perceptions Of Shifts Within The School Culture After Implementation Of A Trauma-Informed Program, Jennifer Green

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the educators’ perceptions of shifts within the culture of Jefferson Elementary School after the implementation of a trauma-informed approach. This study focuses on examining changes to the school culture after implementing trauma-informed practices. As educators continue to feel the pressure of increased academic expectations alongside the social and emotional demands that arise from childhood trauma, increased support through trauma-informed practices becomes necessary for the wellbeing of everyone. However, there are challenges in the implementation of these practices which can impact the culture of the school.

The researcher used the qualitative method of …

The Resilience Of Black Female Leaders In Higher Education And Racial Microaggression, Simone P. Flowers-Taylor

All Theses And Dissertations

This study explored the experiences of Black female leaders in higher education and their encounters with racial microaggression. Additionally, the opportunity to understand the effects of racial slights within the workplace as either a mid to senior level leadership was also explored. Regardless of the multiple diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) trainings within higher education, Black female leaders are experiencing their share of racial inequality based on their race, gender, or both (DeCuir-Gunby et al., 2019). The unique experiences of racial microaggression encountered by Black women, aligned with the framework of both the Black feminist theory and intersectionality theory respectively. …

The Relationship Between Parental Involvement Of Hispanic English Language Learners And High School Grade Point Average, Jameka Charmaine Floyd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parental involvement has consistently been associated with a child’s academic performance. However, much less is known about the effects of parental involvement of Hispanic English language learners (ELLs) in high schools. This study addressed parental involvement of Hispanic ELLs in the high school setting where there is currently very little research. The purpose was to test the theory of overlapping spheres as it relates parental involvement to high school grade point average (GPA) of Hispanic ELLs. The research design for this study was a non-experimental, correlational design. The participants of this study were a convenience sample of parents of Hispanic …

The Effect Of Self-Efficacy On First-Generation African American College Students, Benita Lynn Cabbler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As students transition into college, some matriculate with more family, social, and academic support structures than others. Students who are the first in their families to attend college may not have the support necessary to help them succeed, influencing a need for more college resources to assist students with becoming academically successful. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine if there were significant differences in perceived self-efficacy between first-generation and non-first-generation African American college students. The independent variable was African American college student status: first-generation African American college students and non-first-generation African American college students. The dependent …