Educational Leadership Commons^™

Does Reading Historical Drama Increase Historical Knowledge And Empathy? The Case Of Dorothy Sayers’S The Man Born To Be King, Albert Cheng

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Literary theorists have argued that literary reading fosters empathy, a claim that has substantial empirical support. In this study, I consider the more specific case of reading historical drama and its potential to foster historical empathy among secondary school students. Although several educational interventions for fostering historical empathy have been proposed, none have yet considered the potential of reading historical drama. I evaluate an intervention where students engaged with selected plays from Dorothy Sayers’s The Man Born to be King that depict the Nativity and Easter narratives. After the intervention, I find that these students, compared to students who did …

A Phenomenological Study Of Women Principals Who Resigned During The Pandemic, Jessica A. Urbaniak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is well established that principal turnover is of grave concern in the U.S. (Goldring & Taie, 2018; Levin et al., 2020) and may have been exacerbated due to the pandemic (Steiner et al., 2022). This transcendental phenomenological study explored the experience of women principals at P-12 schools in the U.S. who voluntarily left their roles during the pandemic. Data was collected from five participants through two semi-structured interviews and a visual representation of their experience. The essence of this phenomenon was: the pandemic allowed for reflection which intensified the need for women principals to feel in harmony with their …

The Influence Of Power On Racial Identity And Social Power: Learning While A Minority In A Bullitt County High School In Kentucky., Michele Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to examine the influence of power on racial identity and social awareness of minority high schools’ students in Bullitt County, Kentucky. The research will come from the student perspective of those attending high school with students predominantly from another racial background. Using purposeful sampling, 12 students participated in semi-structured interviews, providing insight into three research questions regarding racial identity, social power, and social awareness. Student participants used their voice to share their lived educational experiences attending school with students from another racial background. Interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed using In Vivo and …

Sense Of Belonging For Black Families At Their Child's School: Factors That Promote, Inhibit, And Oppress., Jill Handley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how the perceptions about family engagement structures influence the sense of belonging for Black families at their child’s school. Qualitative participatory action research (PAR) design was used for this study and purposeful homogenous sampling (Creswell, 2012) was used to select participants. The participants for this study were Black parents/guardians of students in grades K-12 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. This qualitative study used the World Café method to collect multiple data points that were triangulated to contribute to the trustworthiness of the study (Glesne, 2006). Epstein’s Model of Overlapping Spheres and Bourdieu’s …

School Accountability Within The Dominican Republic: A Qualitative Study Of School Principals’ Beliefs And Knowledge, Massiel Cohen Camacho

Dissertations

The school accountability system in the Dominican Republic (DR) involves the use of several national assessments, the reporting of such data, and the training of principals on how to use such data as part of school improvement efforts. While this type of indicator accountability system does not include specific consequences, there is still significant measuring and reporting of student achievement data, with the implied connotation of teacher and principal responsibility for specific school outcomes. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of research on what school principals know about such school accountability in the DR, and how they …

Communication Quality And Relational Self-Expansion: The Path To Leadership Coaching Effectiveness, Angela M. Passarelli, Mai P. Trinh, Ellen B. Van Oosten, Amanda Varley

Management Faculty Publications

Leadership coaching—a relational process by which a professional coach works with a leader to support their development—is a common component of learning and development portfolios in organizations. Despite broad agreement about the importance of the coaching relationship, relational processes remain undertheorized, failing to account for the growth and intertwining of coach-leader self-concepts as they engage in a generative and co-creative coaching process. To address these shortcomings, we reconceptualize the relational process within coaching as one of relational self-expansion and theorize that the communication channel and communication quality impact relational self-expansion which, in turn, influences coaching effectiveness. Our hypotheses are tested …

The Lived Experience Of Counseling Students In Natural Disaster, Amy M. Sirocky-Meck

Dissertations, 2020-current

After natural disaster, survivors may experience moderate to severe signs and symptoms of emotional distress which may subside or worsen as time passes (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2022). Adults pursuing higher education when natural disaster strikes experience an additional array of unique issues which may exacerbate symptoms of emotional distress (Wilkinson et al.,2013). To create and improve curricular and co-curricular structures that meet the needs of their students, educators in many health and mental health disciplines can draw from a variety of quantitative and qualitative studies, particularly those focused on how their disciplines’ students navigate the experience …

Indigenous Student Responses Of Resiliency To Adversity, Aaron Billie

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The purpose of this study was to analyze the responses of Indigenous students as they experience situations that are adversarial and precarious. One of the goals of this study was to empower voices of Indigenous students in providing an avenue to share their genuine stories of resilience. I served as both researcher and mentor as I applied a Navajo framework to the analysis of the data known as Nitl‘iz Saad bee Hozho Iina Sila (NSBHIS), or beautiful lifeways exist within the language of precious elements. The four areas of this framework held up the salient outcomes from the research which …

Understanding The Academic And Socio-Cultural Experiences Of Academically Underprepared Males And The Risk And Protective Factors Influencing Degree Attainment In A Community College System, Diego J. Trujillo

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This study aimed to identify the risk and protective factors that influence persistence, retention, and degree attainment among academically underprepared male students at a community college in Northern New Mexico. Understanding the context of developmental education was deemed crucial for this research, as open-access institutions, particularly community colleges, serve as the starting point for many students' educational journeys. Evaluating the experiences and educational pathways of these students is of great importance to address the existing achievement gaps. The research focused on understanding the experiences of these students and the factors that hindered or supported their persistence and degree completion.

By …

Exploring The Experiences Of Underrepresented Students Pursuing Health-Related Graduate Or Professional Programs, Alison Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many years graduate and professional education programs for the health professions have sought to increase the diversity of their student body to include students from a wider variety of backgrounds. Increasing the diversity of healthcare providers is an essential component of addressing inequities in healthcare. However, despite initiatives to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions, these professions remain largely White and female. Previous researchers have sought to identify the reasons that racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in healthcare, and the barriers to persistence and success. Little research exists explaining why men are underrepresented in the …

School Leader Perceptions About The Implementation And Utility Of Restorative Practices, Danielle Rutig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study examined school leaders' perceptions of using restorative practices within their schools. Participants included twelve school leaders who had experience with utilizing and implementing restorative practices. School leaders included: principals, assistant principals, deans, and administrative assistants. Research indicates that restorative practices are adapted to support specific school goals. Restorative practices are not practiced in isolation, as school leaders often couple restorative justice with social-emotional learning, trauma-informed practices, and other social-emotional supports. Restorative practices are tied closely to CASEL’s social emotional framework.

Data were collected via semi-structured interviews using a virtual platform. Themes that emerged from the analysis …

In This Skin, At This Institution, At This Time: Black Women University Administrators’ Stories Of Survival During The Pandemic And Racial Reckoning, Kyra Lobbins

All Dissertations

The underrepresentation of Black women in executive leadership positions at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) persists, despite their high-achieving credentials and degrees. However, crises such as the racial reckoning and the pandemic have revealed an increase in the number of Black women called upon to lead under risky circumstances, a phenomenon referred to as the glass cliff theory. In this study, I examine the leadership strategies and behaviors of Black women executives at PWIs during these critical periods. Specifically, I explore how these leaders make meaning of their adverse experiences and crucible leadership moments and whether these experiences equipped them for …

Addressing The Elephant In The Room: An Exploratory Multiple Case Study Of Principals’ Perceptions Of Opportunity Gaps, Their Leadership Practices And Access To Advanced Placement Courses For Marginalized Students, Parker Morse Andreoli

All Dissertations

Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, achievement gaps have guided education reform work. The focus on these gaps in student outcomes has been standardized and has lacked consideration of the inputs that create the academic achievement disparities between demographic groups of students. These gaps are often tied to the segregation of learning opportunities, both across and within schools, and perpetuate racist and classist stereotypes of students. A critical need to shift attention from gaps in achievement to a more appropriate measure, opportunity gaps between racially minoritized students and their White peers, is needed. In this …

Managing Teacher Attrition: Improving Teacher Self-Efficacy Through The Implementation Of Professional Learning Communities, Stephanie Peagler

All Dissertations

Teacher retention is at a more critical place in education than ever before. School districts are struggling to hire and retain teachers, partially due to COVID-19 and its overwhelming impact. Teacher retention was an issue for South Carolina public schools before and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study focused on how the implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) can increase teacher self-efficacy and teacher retention rates within a large high school in South Carolina. An improvement science study with a concurrent mixed methods study with an embedded qualitative study approach was used throughout the research study to …

Implementation Of An Early College Design In A Rural High School: Empowering Place-Conscious Leadership To Affect Change And Overcome Barriers To Innovation, Michael Timko

All Dissertations

This qualitative, improvement science, autoethnograpic case study aims to examine a unique perspective on rural research through the lens of place-conscious leadership. With an identified problem of inequity in advanced-level course offerings, which resulted in lost student opportunities and student attrition to neighboring schools, the leadership at Forest Lakes High School (FLHS) in rural South Carolina began the ambitious journey of reframing their narrative. As a scholarly researcher and administrator at FLHS, I had the unique opportunity to immerse myself fully in all aspects of this study. My dual positionality allowed me to study this process while sharing the lived …

For Us By Us About Us: Constructing Latinx-Centered Higher Education Institutions, Cynthia K. Orellana

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Higher education institutions’ organizational identities, cultures, and praxis have neglected to honor the values, culture, and knowledge assets of Latinx communities, making it difficult to gain educational justice and equity, which could be attained through Latinx-centered models of higher education. The Latinx higher education experience needs to be deconstructed and reconstructed by resisting whiteness as normative and including People of Color as “holders and creators of knowledge” (Bernal, 2002). Alternatives to normative higher education institutions are limited in the literature, particularly those that have been founded by Latinx communities. Thus, the purpose of the study was to explore how organizational …

The Negative Effects Of White Teachers Biased Views Towards African American, Alisha M. Brown

Masters Projects

This study explores the possibility that teachers' prejudices against African Americans have an impact on the academic performance of black students. Data show that Black students perform academically lower than any other group of students. This problem needs to be solved in order to guarantee that every student obtains the best education possible. One solution to this issue is to implement culturally responsive teaching in the classroom. Culturally sensitive instruction benefits both the teacher and the student by fostering a sense of community. Additionally, it will increase students' in-class participation. Teachers will learn the fundamentals of eliminating prejudice and becoming …

The Relationship Between Discipline-Specific Subject Matter Knowledge And Discipline-Specific Science Teaching Efficacy Of Elementary Teachers, Douglas Ball

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Because a teacher's confidence in their ability to teach science is associated with instructional methods and their persistence in the face of challenges, improving science teaching confidence becomes critical for improving science teaching of young children. Science teaching confidence also varies by discipline for elementary teachers: physical science teaching confidence tends to measure lower than life science. This discrepancy leads to elementary teachers engaging in less effective science teaching practices with physical science than life science. A teacher's subject matter knowledge influences their confidence in their ability to teach that subject. Subject matter knowledge impacts science teaching confidence because when …

Investigating The Impact Of Gender Composition On Team Performance: A Cross-Cultural Study Of Student Teams, Maria Randazzo-Davis, Christopher Nelson Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

This study investigated if the gender composition of teams impacts performance by examining the relationship between student-level variables of cultural intelligence and global knowledge and team-level variables of team performance. Data were collected from 1,922 students across 40 countries participating in 446 teams. Results of independent samples t-tests and multiple regression analyses at the student and team levels showed that gender and international status were related to global knowledge and cultural intelligence, whereas gender, global knowledge, and cultural intelligence were all significantly related to team performance. The coefficient of variation was found to be low, suggesting that other variables might …

Teaching And Assessing With Taxonomies, Tony Shannon

International Journal for Business Education

The development of taxonomies which articulate learning outcomes are necessary to disconnect the silos among educators, employers and learners (Mathews, 2019; Uranis et al.) What are taxonomies? A taxonomy is a systematic classification of objects. Why do they matter? Without systematic classification and coding it is difficult to compare or combine objects. How are they relevant to teaching and learning? In the years after the Second World War, educational psychologists saw the progress made in the biological sciences with taxonomies and started to apply them in education. Among the first to appear in the mid-50s was the work of Bloom.

Microcredentialing, Tony Shannon

International Journal for Business Education

According to Andrew Norton, ”We are regularly being told that in an era of technology-driven labour market change we will need to reskill and retrain much more than we did in the past. Perhaps we will. But it is hard to find evidence for this in the available data.”

Alignment Of Learning Outcomes And Assessment, Tony Shannon

International Journal for Business Education

Too often there can be data for inputs and outputs, but there is often missing information for intermediate phases. Here then we show the development of intermediate parts of the design of an assessment process which aligns with the learning outcomes of a unit or subject within a course. This is prior to the design of any soft computing for implementing and automating the process. These unit learning outcomes are subsets of the learning outcomes of the course of which the unit forms a part, and these course learning outcomes reflect the graduate attribute of the institution: that is, those …

Special Education Fiscal Effort And Juvenile Adjudication: A Financial Relationship Exploration, Sarah E. Finley

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Educational leaders stretch pennies, often in futile attempts, to provide equitable educational opportunities for all students. An educated populous, or lack thereof, heavily impacts not only students, but also local, state, and national economies, job markets, and public safety. Knowing where to exert public school fiscal effort to reduce juvenile crime is an issue with implications that reach far beyond the field of education. By employing a quantitative approach and analyses examining slopes of fiscal effort for special education and juvenile adjudications, this study explores the relationship between the two factors. The research points out several connections between special education …

Principals’ Perceptions Of School Sponsored Field Trips, Melissa Suzanne Giannantonio

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the views, attitudes, and ideas that school principals have on school-sponsored field trips. As society continues to change it is increasingly necessary to contemplate the growing significance of field trip facilities’ educational roles and garner “information about the audiences they serve” (Anderson et al., 2015, p. vii). Additionally, the past decade has seen a decline in the number of field trips taken by schools, and in 2020, field trips came to a complete halt due to COVID-19 (Center for Disease Control (CDC), 2020; Mathews, 2014; Mehta, 2008; Plummer, 2014; Reeves & …

The Influence Of Extracurriculat Activities On Engagement And Environment Elements Of School Culture At Two Title I Middle Schools In Alabama, Jeremy Jones

Ed.D. Dissertations

Limited research had been conducted on the role extracurricular activities had on school culture. Even less was dedicated to how middle school educators perceived how extracurricular activities influenced school culture. Due to the lack of overall research, further research was necessary to develop a better understanding of the influence of extracurricular activities on school culture, more specifically the Safe Supportive Schools Model’s engagement and environment elements of school culture. The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study was to examine educators’ perceptions of the influence extracurricular activities had on the Safe Supportive Schools Model’s engagement and environment elements of school …

The Experiences Of Teachers Providing Feedback Using One-To-One Technology On Teacher-Student Relationships: A Phenomenological Study, Robert Christopher Magee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe teacher perceptions of teacher-student relationships while using one-to-one technology to provide feedback. The theory guiding this study was Vygotsky’s theory of learning as it describes learning as a social process. A transcendental phenomenological design was used for this study with a social constructivist worldview as the study sought to understand the perceptions of teachers within the one-to-one learning environment and their relationships with students when providing feedback using one-to-one technology. The central question for this study was: How do teachers describe relationships with students while using one-to-one technology to provide …

An Embedded Single-Case Study: Identifying Jrotc Teachers' Leadership Practices That Influence Secondary Learning Environments, Naangela Lolee Sue O'Neal

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory embedded single-case study was to identify the effective JROTC teacher’s leadership practices in five U.S. public secondary schools in Virginia that positively influence classroom learning environments. This study’s central question was: How can JROTC teachers’ leadership practices and behaviors influence innovative classroom instructions? The conceptual framework was Kouzes’ and Posner’s leadership model on positive leadership transformation. The research was conducted to identify factors attributed to the problem that leadership used by the JROTC teachers was ineffective, despotic, and irrelevant to modern students’ needs. The methodology used a qualitative exploratory embedded single-case study design because …

Association Between Intent To Persist, Self-Efficacy, And Burnout Among College First-Year Stem Students, Shereza Marina Phekni

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative non-experimental predictive correlational study aimed to explore the relationship between intent to persist, academic self-efficacy, and burnout among college first-year STEM students. The study is important since there are high dropouts of undergraduate college STEM students that cause vast gaps in the STEM labor market. This study utilized a convenience sample of 112 STEM first-year students enrolled from a private university in southern United States for the spring semester of the 2023 school year. The setting for the study was primarily through virtual collaboration. Participation was voluntary and contact with participants was via social media and flyers with …

Qualitative Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study: The Lived Experiences Of School Leaders Who Have Worked Through A Merger, Olga Nelly Collazo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study describes the lived experiences of school leaders who worked through the processes of school mergers in New York State. The central research question that guided the study was: What are the lived experiences of school leaders who worked through the processes of a school merger? In addition, guiding questions were implemented to understand the phenomenon of school mergers. The guiding questions are: How do school leaders maneuver and manage the organizational structures impacted by the processes of a school merger? What role do school leaders play in the environmental demands influencing the processes of a …

Differences In Faculty Self-Efficacy, Views, And Institutional Support Towards Teaching Competency-Based Education Online: A Non-Experimental, Causal Comparative Study., Randy Gale Canivel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study is to examine differences in perceived self-efficacy, views, and perceived levels of institutional support among nursing, business administration, or teacher education faculty who teach online competency-based education (CBE). This study employed a causal-comparative design with a sample of 51(N= 51) CBE faculty who teach at colleges and universities in the United States. During the fall semester, the CBE Views and Self-Efficacy survey (CVSE) was distributed measuring perceived self-efficacy of CBE, views on CBE, and perceived levels of institutional support on a Likert-type scale with 42 items divided into four domains. Data analysis was …