Educational Leadership Commons^™

Student Experiences With University Accessibility Services: A Quantitative Inquiry, Charles Hilston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of an accessibility services office on student achievement and cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA). This research was a quantitative exploratory study designed to investigate student experiences with using accessibility services and transitioning into a Major Southeastern University (MSU) in the United States. Participants in the study were actively enrolled undergraduate students with a learning exceptionality. The students that completed the questionnaire answered questions regarding their experiences with using the services provided by the office, along with their experiences with transitioning into the university. The results of this research are intended …

Engagement In Online Math Courses: An Exploration Into Success Rates Of Professors Who Use Engagement Tools In Online Learning, Shauna Rogan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

As more college courses transition to hybrid and fully online models due to Covid-19, the classroom environment for higher education has changed and will continue to do so (Bonk, 2020). As online learning continues to grow, a challenge of not connecting with the instructor can be a concern. Success in the online classroom is possible for students who may feel they are alone in online learning (Holbeck & Hartman, 2018). With the right combination of engagement tools, student interaction with the curriculum, class, and professor result in a meaningful learning experience (Holbeck & Hartman, 2018). The history of online education, …

An Investigation Of The Excess Credit Hour Surcharge Policy And Its Impact On First-Time-In-College Students At A Large Metropolitan University In The State Of Florida, Lynn Grabenhorst

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

An Excess Credit Hour policy "assesses a tuition surcharge for any credits taken beyond a predetermined threshold" (Smith, 2017, para. 1). In 2009, the State of Florida implemented legislation on excess credit hours at four-year public institutions, Fla. Stat. § 1009.286 (State of Florida, 2012). Legislation found under title forty-eight (XLVIII) of the K-20 Education Code, Fla. Stat. § 1009.286, relating to "Educational Scholarships, Fees, and Financial Assistance," discussed the "intent of the Legislature to encourage each undergraduate student who enrolls in a state university to complete the student's respective baccalaureate degree program in the most efficient way possible…" (State …

The Lived Experiences Of Faculty In The Covid-19 Pandemic Shift In Instruction, Alison Hammack

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study sought to understand the lived experiences of mathematics faculty teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic's rapid shift from on-campus instruction to online education. Faculty are the primary influencers at a college. Their perspectives on the challenges and changes to teaching practices may determine a college's response to improving teaching and learning during a crisis. At the time of the COVID-19 transition, many faculty had no experience creating and teaching an online course, and some had previously been resistant to teaching online. Using a phenomenological approach, nine participants at a large state college were interviewed using the Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform …

Remote Learning During Covid-19 On Internal Medicine Residents' Education: Barriers And Enhancements Through Lived Experiences, Stephanie Rivera-Velazquez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The COVID-19 pandemic uncovered instructional changes within higher education. Accommodations for continued instruction included a transition to remote learning. However, little research exists regarding the experiences of medical residents during this transition in their education while combating the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study, phenomenological in nature, aimed to explore the lived experiences of internal medicine medical residents at one medical college in Central Florida regarding the transition from face-to-face instruction to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eleven participating medical residents underwent semi-structured interviews via Zoom. Garrison's Community of Inquiry conceptual model and Hall and Hord's Concerns-Based Adoption Model …

Transformational Leadership In Higher Education Programs, Joshua L. Howell, Kim E. Bullington, Dennis E. Gregory, Mitchell R. Williams, William L. Nuckols

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The current mixed-method study investigates transformational leadership qualities through higher education doctoral programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This study relies on three data points: interviews with graduate program directors of higher education doctoral programs (whether PhD or EdD), a program evaluation of programs, and Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x™) survey results from students within said programs. Data were collected from the five public universities that offer higher education doctoral programs within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Students completed a self-rating using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x™) and then were peer-rated by colleagues to strengthen the validity of the study. Additionally, themes …

The "Unite The Right" Rally And Charlottesville City Schools: The Transformation Of A Crisis, Sara Lourdes Epperly, Jay Paredes Scribner, Karen L. Sanzo

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Educational leaders at all levels must be prepared to address crises and their aftermaths. The conventional wisdom on crises and their management suggests that while crisis can originate from myriad sources, they largely proceed according to predictable stages. Our study draws from traditional and more critical literature on crisis and crisis management to understand the case the 2017 Unite the Right rally and its impact on Charlottesville City Schools. Specifically, we unpack the unfolding nature of the crisis and the district superintendent’s leadership through each phase of the crisis. We use the notion of paracrisis and crisis of challenge to …

Impacting Website Visitor Engagement Through Information Provision, Will Buntin

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Enrollment in library science programs has been on a downward trend for several years (Association for Library and Information Science Education, n.d.). At the School of Information Science in the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky, enrollment in the online library science master's program dropped 28% from 2012 to 2018. With a student population in fall 2018 of 177 and a targeted enrollment (set by program faculty) of 240, the program administration has been exploring ways to recruit more students without further stressing the resources available to the School. The Director and Assistant Director of the …

The Power Of Connections: An Online Doctoral Program's Use Of Strategic Onboarding To Enhance The Doctoral Experience, Jeri Heileman

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

A positive doctoral experience is rooted in an understanding of the expectations and reality of doctoral–level work. Students need specific knowledge, skills, and mindsets to complete coursework, critically analyze research, and write and defend a research dissertation. Despite a mutual commitment to academic achievement and graduation by faculty and students, attrition in doctoral programs remains high. This rate is even higher for those in online programs. Additionally, there are many challenges doctoral students experience outside of the core curriculum. The challenges facing students vary depending on the phase of the doctoral journey and the individual development of each student.

This …

Improving Self-Efficacy Of Teams Supporting Administrators And Teachers Through Communities Of Practice, Boyd Gudgel

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

The purpose of this study was to enhance the capacity of high school team staff members to support high school-level administrators and teachers providing services to students with disabilities in Jefferson County Public Schools. This task was accomplished by increasing their Individual Education Program (IEP) knowledge and skill acquisition through the implementation of a Community of Practice (CoP) as an intervention. Increasing staffs knowledge and skill in properly implementing a student’s IEP, may make them more efficacious in supporting high school level administrators and teachers.

The study used a mixed-methods action research design to collect and analyze data to inform …

Meeting Transfer Students Where They Are: A New Organizational Approach To Transfer Student Communication, Support, And Recruitment, Daniel Wright

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Transfer students have long played a significant role in the growth and diversity of colleges and universities. Recent research points to a continuous decline in enrollment over the coming decade (Kelderman, Gardner, & Conley, 2019), and as tuition costs continue to increase and enrollment numbers decrease, institutions of higher education have begun turning to transfer students to fill their lecture halls and football stadiums. A key variable in higher education’s transfer recruitment blind spot is a fundamental lack of understanding of the structural and organizational changes needed to both attract and retain these non-traditional students (Tobolowsky & Cox, 2012). For …

Housewives To Heroines: Continuing Education For Women At The University Of Kentucky, 1964-1988, Allison L. Elliott

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Beginning in the early 1960s, the movement for the continuing education for women (CEW) brought together a seemingly unlikely alliance of American activists, educators, philanthropists, and government agencies. Fueled by philanthropic funds, accelerated by the quest for “womanpower” to bolster national defense, and aligned with regional workforce needs as well as the personal goals of individual women, CEW programs pioneered new models of academic advising and student support that continue to influence higher education practitioners today. By studying the experiences of both administrators and students involved with CEW at the University of Kentucky, this study sheds light on how one …

The Language Of Power: An Investigation Of How The Macropolitics Of Education Policy Affects The Micropolitics Of Schooling English Learners, Catherine E. Vannatter

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The population of English Learners (ELs) continues to increase across the United States, and these students persistently perform below their native English-speaking peers in measures of academic achievement. Federal government leaders passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, which modified how state and local educational agencies identify, instruct, assess, and reclassify ELs and revised what funding EL programming could receive. In this multiphase study, I investigated how the macropolitics of federal and state policy became enacted in the micropolitics of a mid-sized school district in Kentucky. Through an initial phase of document review followed by a mixed methods …

The Appalachian Commitment Of Berea College: A Review Of Historical Figures, Narratives, And An Analysis Of Programmatic Outcomes, Rebecca E. Tucker

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Since its founding in 1855 Berea College has continuously defined and redefined itself based on eight Great Commitments that collectively shape Berea’s mission. All Bereans, from students to alums to Presidents, have a responsibility to review and evaluate the ways in which Berea College is acting on each of its eight Commitments. This study offers a review of Berea’s Appalachian Commitment, “To engage Appalachian communities, families, and students in partnership for mutual learning, growth, and service” (Berea College, 2017). The following three articles seek to understand some of the ways in which Berea College leaders have interpreted and acted on …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Teacher Grit, Technology Self-Efficacy, And Technology Integration, Joshua Jeremiah Shiloh Marsh

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The use of educational technology applications has grown tremendously in the last decade. Instructors are now equipped with hardware and software applications previously unavailable, such as mobile and interactive technologies. These tools can have tremendous impact on students’ learning and teacher practices. Teachers can improve their assessment capabilities through technology integration, provide better learning opportunities for students with learning disabilities, and promote deeper learning practices. Due to these benefits, budgets at the federal, state, and local levels of the United States now have specific allocations regarding technology-related purchases. Nevertheless, barriers remain regarding the effective integration of technologies in public schools. …

Feminist Catholic Organizational Identity: A Phenomenological Study Of Charism In The Lay Educator Of A Notre Dame De Namur Learning Community, Kathleen Barrera Quiazon

Doctoral Dissertations

The Catholic schools of women’s religious congregations in the United States possess a distinctive Catholic identity, owed in great part to the charism of their founders and the feminist worldview that emerged in the sisters’ mission, communal narratives, and ministries. With the decline of women religious across the country, schools and congregations ask questions for the future of that identity in the hands of lay educators. As with many religiously sponsored schools, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and their lay partners in education are engaged in these critical questions for their own learning communities across the country.

This …

Fifty Years Of Underrepresented Student Advocacy At One Jesuit Secondary School, Sonya Cotero Arriola

Doctoral Dissertations

Across the United States Conference, Catholic and Jesuit secondary schools are experiencing tremendous change in their student demographics. Schools of today are being challenged to consider what true inclusion looks like within their community vis-à-vis students whose racial, economic, sexual and gender identities do not fit the traditional Catholic or Jesuit school mold. The racial and social order of the United States is replicated within Catholic and Jesuit schools, even when those same communities claim to promote values of inclusion and opportunity. History offers valuable insights to school communities grappling with these questions.

This qualitative study centers the efforts of …

Towards Charism Identity: A Catholic Identity Case Study Through The Lens Of Laudato Si’, Kristofer Ross Koller

Doctoral Dissertations

This case study evaluates the current relevance of how Catholic identity is conceived as an evaluative tool in accreditation processes. Catholic identity, though a concept inconsistently defined among various international contexts, is nevertheless utilized reductively as criteria for K-12 Catholic school accreditation in the United States, primarily through the framework of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools (NSBECS). Using the example of a secondary school with an explicit Catholic charism-based commitment to environmental sustainability, this dissertation collects qualitative data in an exploratory manner to evidence how schools that may seem insufficiently Catholic according to currently utilized frameworks …

Ambitious And Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed And Struggle In American Higher Education, Sara Vander Bie

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

Sara Vander Bie reviews Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education by Yingyi Ma, published by Columbia University Press, 2020.

Examining Culture In Rural High-Poverty Schools, Kassandra E. Champion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized quantitative survey methods to evaluate how rural schools are affected by students living in poverty. There are many attributes to a school’s culture. Successful leadership, high-quality teachers, and active students are three of the biggest factors. Schools located within a 265-mile radius from Newell, SD with a school population of less than 600 comprised the population for this study. This area encompassed schools in five states. Schools were contacted, surveyed, and assessed based on quantitative statements and open-ended questions. Considering that a school is dynamic, the high school teachers from four different subjects were all assessed. 58% …

Exploring The Influence Of A School-Based Therapy Dog Reading Program On Reluctant Readers’ Motivation To Read And Reading Fluency In The K-4 Setting., Laura A. Carino

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This mixed-methods research study focuses on students’, teachers’, and parents’ perceptions of the influence therapy dogs in schools can have on reluctant readers’ attitudes about reading and motivation to read at school and at home as well as exploring changes in the participants' oral fluency. Eight student participants read to our school therapy dog in a 1:1 setting two times each week throughout a six-week period. Before beginning the sessions, each student completed a reading perception survey to serve as a baseline for each child's motivation to read. Each student was also interviewed, seeking information about each child's feelings about …

More Than Just Lip Service: A Phenomenological Study Of Urban Public Charter School Leaders Of Color In Los Angeles, Korey S. Hlaudy

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about how school leaders of color implement social justice leadership praxis within the urban public charter school context, especially amid a global pandemic and heightened racial injustice. This study aimed to better understand the phenomenon of being a social justice leader of color, specifically examining how these leaders implemented practices and policies aimed to minimize the marginalizing conditions within their school communities. The dissertation study was qualitative in nature and utilized a phenomenological framework to provide an in depth understanding of the policies, practices, and mindsets of nine school leaders of color (eight principals and one assistant …

Women In Senior Leadership Roles Career Mobility, Challenges, Success Stories And Need For Future Research, Giselle Flores Martin

Doctoral Dissertations

Women in Senior Leadership Roles Career Mobility, Challenges, Success Stories and Need for Future Research Women represent 57.4% of the US working population (~77M in 2019). From this, 51.8% held positions in managerial or professional roles. Although women represent over half of the working population and have demonstrated success in management and professional roles, they face challenges in attaining senior level leadership roles across multiple fields. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to look at how women respond to these challenges as they navigate their careers and ultimately the tools they used to successfully advance to senior level leadership …

Impact Of Covid-19 On New Teacher Retention And Perceived Supports In A Northern California Public School District, Rebecka Maxkenzie

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study examined teachers, schools, and district approaches to new teacher retention with a COVID-19 spin. In the changing world of a global pandemic and shifting teaching modalities, including distance or hybrid learning environments, teachers reflected on their experiences of adaptation. Interviews with teachers in their first three years in the profession were conducted to share the stories of new teachers amid COVID-19. New teachers were recruited through a snowball sampling technique from a large school district in the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. To answer the research questions, participants were interviewed about the presence or absence …

The Principalship: Transitional Leadership Considerations For Overcoming Obstacles To Lab School Implementation In Partnership With An Urban School District In North Carolina, Tasha Hall-Powell

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Colleges and universities have taken on the legislative challenge within the state of North Carolina to engage civically through joint efforts with school districts within counties with dire challenges to improve academic and social and emotional outcomes for children. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of lab school processes and their impact on teachers and student outcomes. This is a qualitative study of school leaders, teachers, families, and support personnel within a university lab school to determine their impact on at-risk populations in kindergarten through Grade 5. Data from this study were obtained using a qualitative …

A Case Study Analysis Of Alternative Out-Of-School Suspension Strategies Used In Title I Elementary Schools In A Large Urban School District, Jonathan Brooks

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compile or detail alternative out-of-school suspension (OSS) strategies using a qualitative method. Within this study, I evaluated the overall thoughts and perceptions of stakeholders, including teachers, school staff, and administrators as it relates to the strategies being used in Title I elementary schools in a large urban district. The following terms or word combinations were searched: alternative, elementary school, decreasing, reducing, attendance, restorative practices, principal, assistant principal, perceptions, stakeholders, teachers, strategies, out-of-school suspension (OSS), elementary, urban school, multi-tiered system of support, restorative practices, positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), and zero tolerance. After …

Examining School Administrator Perceptions Of Preparational Experiences Of Effective Educational Leadership, Jared S. Jones

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine what preparational experiences are necessary for assistant principals to effectively transition to the principalship. Fifteen principals completed a 21-item survey and answered seven interview questions to better understand how the North Carolina Standards for School Executives aligned with the daily tasks and responsibilities of school principals. The data also gathered principals’ leadership perceptions, the impact of preparational experiences, and assistant principal preparation. Results from the study concluded that all seven primary North Carolina Standards for School Executives accurately reflected and aligned with the tasks and responsibilities that school principals encountered …

Armored Vulnerability: Stories Of Leader Resilience Among Black Female Principals, Nichole R. Ijames

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The study employed a qualitative phenomenological design in its exploration of leader resilience, as shared through the lived experiences of 10 Black female principals. Semi-structured interviews were used to capture and examine Black women’s perceptions of how they have grown from the challenges they have experienced in the principalship. The study capitalized on the power of stories to amplify the voices and perspectives of this marginalized group of leaders. Their stories of resilience hold significance in improving our understanding of how to better provide culturally responsive leadership development for Black female principals. Findings from the study revealed five dominant themes …

Supporting Teacher Retention Through A Trauma-Informed Lens, Nicole C. Reddig

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between trauma-informed practices and teacher burnout and turnover. For the past decade, schools across the United States have seen high levels of burnout and turnover amongst their educators. At the same time, young children are experiencing high levels of exposure to traumatic events in childhood, affecting their behavior, social and emotional health, and ability to learn. While teachers play an important role in the support system for these students, they are also at risk for experiencing secondary trauma and burnout. To mitigate the effects of trauma, trauma-informed practices have been introduced in schools to respond …

Higher Education And Food Access: A Case Study Of Food Access Initiatives And Their Community Impact, Rebecca Wheaton

All Master's Theses

Food security issues are being prioritized across college campuses and among student communities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While basic needs services are typically available on campuses, there is still a discrepancy between availability and accessibility. Ellensburg, Washington, has vulnerable food-insecure populations, including Central Washington University (CWU) students, whose access issues involve not only social, cultural, and political dimensions, but also practical considerations like transportation, distance to grocery stores, and affordability of food resources. A central concern of this research is to understand food as constitutive of different forms of symbolic, cultural, and economic capital following Bourdieu’s Theory …