Educational Leadership Commons^™

Examining How Black Administrator Employment Decisions Are Impacted By The Behaviors Of Supervisors, Annie Wilson Whitaker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how Black, public school administrator employment decisions are impacted by the behaviors of supervisors in Virginia. Commonalities among the lived experiences of Black, public school administrators were examined in order to identify specific behaviors which impact employment decisions.

Transcendental phenomenological qualitative research design was utilized. Participants were identified through gatekeeper introductions and then narrowed through snow-ball sampling. Data was collected through open-ended face-to-face interviews with 12 Black, public school administrators in Virginia via a secure online platform. The data was analyzed in order to identify emergent themes which represent the lived …

Learning To Navigate The Unknown: The Importance Of Critical Reflection And Collaboration For Community College Faculty During A Pandemic, Karen Ann Ladley

Education Doctorate Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic caused sudden and dramatic shifts in educational systems worldwide, including colleges and universities. Students, faculty, and service staff found themselves navigating uncertain times and addressing challenges they had not faced previously. The use of critical reflection and collaboration became crucial for faculty as they struggled to engage students in different ways. Understanding students’ needs and addressing them effectively became priorities with reflection and collaboration both cost-effective and convenient methods. Following this time of uncertainty, faculty can continue using reflection and collaborative learning communities to address new challenges and obstacles, especially at community colleges where money, time, and …

Using Cliftonstrengthstm For Professional Development: Recommendations For Practice, Nancy A. Watkins, Cynthia Gautreau, Daryl V. Watkins

Publications

This article explores how a culture of strengths-based leadership can positively impact professional development for school site administrators. The strengths of school district administrators were measured through the administration of CliftonStrengths™ assessment. Themes that emerged were determined through the assessment and qualitative analysis of responses. A sample of convenience 50 principals and assistant principals from a public school district in Southern California participated in this research. The findings revealed that the common talent themes among school site administrators were relationship building, executing, influencer, and learner. This study supports future practices to enable human resources personnel to design targeted professional development …

Blinded By Whiteness: Middle-Class White Teachers’ Explorations Of Identity And Deficit Discourse At The Intersection Of Race, Class, And Perceived Ability, Tracy Driehaus

Education Doctorate Dissertations

A legacy of placing children of color and poverty at the center of the “problem” of race and class in education has left us in a holding pattern marked by a prevailing deficit discourse and problematizing of students. Scholars agree that the predominantly white, middle class, female teaching force who occupy US public school classrooms embody and perpetuate these inequitable educational practices endemic within this system. In this study, a small population of White, middle class teachers--including the researcher--organized within a Professional Learning Community (PLC) explored identity and deficit discourse at the intersection of race, class, and perceived ability. Grounded …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of An Alternative Evaluation Model, Karen A. Chase

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The body of research shows the importance of teacher effectiveness on student achievement. To ensure teacher effectiveness, states have enacted legislation that governs the processes for teacher evaluation. However, these systems have not proven to be as effective as once anticipated. One of the flaws pertains to the evaluation system’s inability to differentiate feedback based on teacher ability. For this reason, the New Jersey Department of Education has provided school districts the option to use an alternative evaluation model, The Reflective Practice Protocol. This option is available to teachers who have been rated as highly effective. The purpose of this …

The Impact Of Blended Professional Development On Teacher Efficacy And Practice, Sonia Hood

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the impact of blended professional development on teacher efficacy. The variables hours of blended learning, subjects taught, and years of experience were investigated. Additionally, teacher efficacy was analyzed across domains of student engagement, instructional practices, and classroom management. Multiple regression analyses were conducted, and the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale was administered to 112 teachers to investigate the following research questions: (a) What is the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and blended professional learning? (b) Is teacher efficacy influenced by the amount of time spent receiving blended professional learning, by the years …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring Teachers’ Perceptions Of Virtual Professional Development Through The Lens Of Adult Learning Theory, Mary-Ellen Montauredes-Kakalos

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study design explored the lived experiences of teachers’ perceptions of virtual professional experiences through the lens of adult learning theory. The participants were comprised of elementary educators from a suburban county in New York state. The participants in this study were all forced to shift to virtual teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research questions addressed were how do educators describe their experiences with virtual professional development, what characteristics of adult learning do educators value most, and how does virtual professional development compare to traditional in person professional development as it relates to educators' professional growth …

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 …

Centering Educational Resilience On Mission Through Research, Professional Development, And Collaborative Teaching, Anneris Coria-Navia Phd, Glynis M. Bradfield

Faculty Publications

External triggers such as the global pandemic have inevitably caused paradigm thinking shifts. These challenging times present opportunities to reimagine the possibilities of Seventh-day Adventist Education in the areas of research, professional development, crisis management, differentiating instruction, collaborative learning, and holistic student service in person and online. Supported by action research, this presentation reviews effective teaching frameworks and best practices that education in varied contexts can leverage to transform the challenges into opportunities for philosophical realignment spurring renewal of mission and improvement of practice. Through the study and reflection of our own educational experience through crisis, we present lessons learned …

Strategies For Supporting Professional Growth In Early Childhood Team Members, Kristin Goetz

Graduate Teacher Education

Early childhood education (ECE) teachers, including pre-service and in-service workers, have reported the need for ongoing professional development support (Boyer, 2004; Buettner, Hye Hur, Jeon & Andrews, 2016; Brown, Cheddie, Horry, & Monk, 2017). Specific targeted support for professionalism was addressed as a retention strategy for the future of ECE (Boyer, 2004). The lack of consistent minimum qualifications for ECE teachers has contributed to a number of teachers in the field having little understanding regarding professionalism as a whole when teacher careers commence. The quality of learning and teaching in the classroom has been said to be largely determined by …

Cultivating Culturally Responsive Elementary Teachers In A Suburban Title I School, Angela L. Mack

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

Research suggests increased enrollment of students with diverse cultural, racial, linguistic, and social backgrounds will continue in schools across the United States over the coming years; thereby, imposing a challenge for some teachers with differing backgrounds to instruct culturally and linguistically diverse students. Without adequate professional development focused on culturally responsive teaching, it has been purported teachers will continue to adopt deficit perceptions and subpar practices that negatively impact students of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Thus, this study aimed to explore how a series of in-service professional development focused on culture, race, and pedagogy may influence teacher perceptions and …

Exploring Teachers’ Perceptions Of Assessment Literacy In A High Performing School District In New Jersey, Marlena Celebre-Baird

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

As teachers gain experience, their assessment knowledge base, personal beliefs, and the educational context come together to shape their identity as an assessor. Therefore, assessment literacy is not simply a stagnant knowledge base of skills but rather that takes shape over time, through reflective teaching continues to develop. This study sought to add to the body of research that highlights and describes, through the lens of the teacher, how beliefs and contextual factors influence a teachers’ assessment literacy in practice.

A qualitative case study methodology was selected for this study to explore how elementary K–5 teachers’ personal beliefs play a …

Next-Level Leadership: Preparing Assistant Principals For Campus Leadership, Jerry R. Burkett

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

The workload of campus leaders continues to increase with new expectations for evaluation and supervision, changing legislative mandates, and mounting pressures for improved school accountability. Educational Leadership preparation programs are built on national and state standards related to principal leadership and competency. However, while principal preparation programs have focused intently on instructional leadership development for future principals, most educational leadership candidates do not immediately enter the principalship but rather start their administrative careers as assistant principals. School districts can implement a comprehensive training protocol for their emerging principals using research-based practices to ensure assistant principals have the training, coaching, and …

Getting Started: The Impact Of Training On Teacher Self-Efficacy And Implementation Of Arts Integration Strategies, Sharon J. Reid-Kane

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Arts integration is a proven cross-cultural methodology for instructing through and with the arts (Sterman, 2018). Professional development experiences are met with enthusiasm and interest; however, a disconnect exists between completion of training and implementation of learned practices. Providers are, therefore, led to question program design and delivery (The Kennedy Center, n.d.). The purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate the impact of training on perceptions of self-efficacy of teachers participating in The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ professional learning programs and the implementation of arts integration strategies. Using a researcher-created instrument, 51 teachers from within …

Direct Response To Usb64: Focus On Compliance Or Improved Student Learning, Patrick Edward Flanagan

Theses and Dissertations

Using the professional literature surrounding change knowledge, this study assesses Utah public school districts' response to Utah Senate Bill 64 (USB64) that was passed in 2012. USB64 required school districts to ensure that principals were evaluating teacher performance through the use of a chosen evaluation tool. The chosen evaluation tool needed to include evaluation rubrics tied to the state teacher standards. USB64 was passed with the intent to improve classroom instruction and thereby improve student learning in Utah schools. Utah school districts complied with USB64 requirements and timelines. Districts successfully identified and adopted observation tools that principals could use to …

Life Is Complicated: The Urgent Call To Support Student Wellbeing Through Social Emotional Learning, Taya Kinzie

Dissertations

Abstract:

Students face increased mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety, trauma, racial trauma, and suicide risk, in addition to opportunity gaps. Despite educators’ work to support students through mental health services and despite the existence of social emotional learning (SEL) programs within the school environment, the impact on student learning and long-term post high school outcomes can feel overwhelming. There is also a perception that the responsibility for SEL belongs only to social workers, psychologists and counselors. The primary research question is; how does embedding of SEL practices vary within instructional, non-instructional, and leadership roles? The related questions are: to …

Teacher Perceptions Of Educational Supports That Help Bridge The Science Achievement Gap For English Language Learners: A Phenomenological Study, Monica Esquivel Manning

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

English language learner (ELL) students account for 19.6% of the Texas public school system (Texas Education Agency, 2019). National and state assessment data showed a learning gap between ELL students and their non-ELL counterparts, specifically in science (Texas Education Agency, 2017a; United States Department of Education, 2015). This qualitative study was conducted to examine how teachers of ELL students in a dual language program perceived the educational supports they received affected student achievement in science. The teachers who were interviewed had worked diligently to reduce the achievement gap in science. Using social cognitive theory as a theoretical framework, I explored …

The Impact Of Culture On Learning Transfer In Burkina Faso And Ghana, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Culture is a predominant force in people’s lives that impacts learning and thus culture influences learning transfer. Because working across nations has become the norm and every year billions of dollars are spent on professional learning around the world, it is crucial for organisations to understand the role culture plays in the learning transfer process. Using a multidimensional model of learning transfer and the six dimensions of national culture model as conceptual frameworks, this qualitative study used a case study approach to examine the impact of culture on learning transfer in Burkina Faso and Ghana, West Africa. Interviews were conducted …

Examining The Effects Of A Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Community On Teacher Efficacy Toward Inquiry-Based Science Instruction, Samuel Joel Northern

Dissertations

Improving STEM education is pivotal to our country’s economic future and security. Unfortunately, most young students have limited access to standards-based science education. Science instruction is notoriously difficult to implement in the early grades. This dissertation explored the root causes for the lack of effective science instruction in elementary schools, including accountability testing, instructional time, historically weak standards, family factors, teacher efficacy, and professional development.

This study aimed to understand how elementary school teachers’ attitudes promote or hinder the implementation of science instruction. This study’s primary driver to improve science education in the early grades was a curriculum-based professional learning …

The Centrality Of Cultural Considerations In Facilitating Training For Adults, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Teaching and learning are social and cultural activities. Across cultures people have different ways of communicating, interacting, and learning. Consequently, learning may not occur without understanding the role national cultures play on organizing and facilitating training events. This study is part of a larger study that took place over a period of six years, from 2013 to 2019, in West Africa. Using Hofstede et al., (2010) Six Cultural Dimensions model as a conceptual framework, this paper sought to examine the extent to which factors of national culture influences the facilitation of professional learning among school principals in two West African …

Collaborative Inquiry To Support Critically Reading Children’S Literature, Laurie Rabinowitz, Amy Tondreau

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article provides an overview of a qualitative study investigating how K-5 classroom teachers describe their beliefs, concerns, and planning process for enacting read alouds featuring characters with disabilities. The study explored educators' close reading of picture books to elicit the unpacking of beliefs about individuals with disabilities conveyed by children’s literature. Through dialogue about social issues in picture books with colleagues, teachers sharpened their own critical literacy skills to bring into the classroom. Based on our findings, we offer a collaborative inquiry cycle that teacher groups can replicate to critically read children’s literature for different social justice issues.

Implementing Inclusive Education In Early Childhood Settings: The Interplay And Impact Of Exclusion, Teacher Qualities And Professional Development In Ghana, Francis R. Ackah-Jnr, Hyacinth Udah

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Inclusive education (IE) in the early years enhances young children’s learning, socialization, and development; yet, children with disability are one group that is often isolated, excluded, or marginalized in early childhood education. This paper examines jointly the perceived exclusion practices, teacher qualities, and professional development and the interplay and impact of these factors on effective inclusive early childhood education. Drawing on data collected from individual interviews with teachers and headteachers in a large early childhood and school setting in Ghana, findings of this qualitative study indicate the exclusion practices of teachers. The findings suggest that resistance to IE limits learning, …

Ready To Engage? Urban Middle School Teachers’ Responsiveness To Targeted Engagement Interventions On Their Virtual Instructional Practices: An Action Research Study, Svetlana Nikic

Dissertations

Teachers’ effectiveness is associated with their instructional practices and is ultimately linked to students’ learning outcomes. In order to impact teachers’ effectiveness, schools focus substantial effort and resources on professional development led by an assumption that teachers’ classroom practices can be improved through targeted interventions. Even if this premise is correct, little information is available about how much a teacher’s practice may change through interventions, or which aspects of instructional practice are more receptive to improving teacher effectiveness (Garret et al., 2019).

This study took place at an urban middle school and examined teachers’ responsiveness to targeted engagement intervention in …

Teacher Retention And Attrition In Missouri: Who Should Solve The Problem? A Three-Tiered Analysis Of Teacher Retention And Attrition In Missouri, Joshua Flores

Dissertations

Abstract

Teacher attrition is an ongoing issue in the United States and more specifically in the state of Missouri. This dissertation, using a three-tiered analytical approach, offers suggestions, recommendations, and strategies, aside from raising salaries or increasing benefits packages, that schools, their districts, and leaders can implement to bolster teacher retention. The findings are based on the practices of successful districts, buildings, and leaders. The first level of research included semi-structured interviews with district level personnel to offer guidance and recommendations that can be implemented at the local school district level. Similarly, the second level of research utilized the same …

Preparing Pk-8 Teachers To Engage In Discussions Regarding Race, Mckenzie Hallstrom

Leadership Education Capstones

The purpose of this study is to discover what PK-8 teachers need to be prepared to engage in discussions regarding race with their students and to explore specific strategies to support teachers. Historically, Black students have been disadvantaged by the educational system and their voices silenced by pervasive racism. Using Critical Race Theory in education, this qualitative study will discuss barriers and strategies to engaging in race-discussions. This study will also discuss leadership implications for better supporting PK-8 teachers to be able to engage in race-discussions with their students. Ultimately, this study argues that PK-8 teachers are unprepared to engage …

Culturally Diverse Student Engagement And Professional Development Needs Of Undergraduate Faculty: A Qualitative Case Study, Christina R. Luther

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This qualitative single-site case study explored how undergraduate faculty members engaged culturally diverse students and determined the professional development needs of those faculty members to engage culturally diverse student populations. Exploring culturally sensitive practices will enable faculty members of institutions of higher education (IHEs) to engage diverse student populations. Determining the professional development needs of IHEs faculty members will assist IHEs’professional developers to implement training that will enhance the engagement of culturally diverse student populations. Qualitative data were collected through interviews from five undergraduate education faculty members at an institution of higher education (IHE) in the southeastern region of the …

Examining The Influence Of Professional Development And Pre-Service Training On The Use Of Self-Regulation Pedagogical Practices Of Middle School Teachers, Lauren A. Porter

Theses and Dissertations

Academic self-regulated learning (SRL) skills closely align with the 21st century skills that lead to student success. Research demonstrates that academic achievement is closely related to the use of SRL in the classroom and that teacher practices are fundamental in imparting these skills to their students. It is not clear, however, how teachers are acquiring these skills and/or how their knowledge of metacognition and SRL are generalized into their pedagogical practices. This quantitative study examined the relationship between use of SRL pedagogical practices and teacher exposure to pre-service training and professional development, as well as their years of teaching, subject …

Novice, Alternatively Licensed Career And Technical Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Development, Desiree Seay

Ed.D. Dissertations

In this qualitative study, I address novice, alternatively licensed Career Technical Education (CTE) teachers’ perceptions of professional development support in a southeastern school district in the state of Tennessee. The lack of tailored professional development opportunities created issues for CTE teachers because of the complexity of their teaching responsibilities. Research on effective methods of professional development for beginning CTE teachers existed; however, there were few research studies on program implementations and their effectiveness. To gather data, I used a Google survey to establish an initial, two-tiered criterion for participation, and participants who met the criteria participated in one-on-one interviews. Specifically, …

Training And Support Systems And Their Impact On First-Year Teachers In Kentucky, Ashley E. Dunn

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study surveyed elementary school teachers across the state of Kentucky in regards to these four main concepts: (a) identifying the challenges and needs of FYT, (b) identify and explore the trainings provided to FYT, (c) identify and explore the supports provided to FYT, and (d) identifying what is needed to effectively support FYT. The driving question of the study asked: what are the training and support experiences of first-year K-5 teachers and how can these experiences be improved for future educators? Based on this question, the following hypothesis was created: having been provided comprehensive induction programs, FYT will …

A Program Evaluation Of One School’S Third Through Fifth Grade Instructional Practices, Yvette Edwards

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the instructional practices implemented by teachers using the State Standards were effective for instructing students in Grades 3-5 who were economically disadvantaged. The context of this inquiry was an urban elementary school in a large public school district in the United States of America. The need to implement an effective strategy to improve teacher instructional practices to improve student achievement using the State Standards was an issue in schools of the district under study with students who were economically disadvantaged. The need to meet the rigor necessary for students to obtain …