Educational Leadership Commons^™

Female Leaders - It’S Not Just About Gender: A Case Study, Nancy Lambe, Jeanne D. Maes

International Journal of Leadership and Change

From the passing of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, females have competed for previously all male-held jobs. Suddenly finding themselves on unfamiliar ground, women needed workplace survival guides more than workplace success guides. Over the years, numerous studies have tracked women on their way to the top of organizations. These studies noted while there are more women in the workplace today, overall women are still struggling with career advancement and, in particular, with role models for successful managerial leadership. As of 2014, nearly 52% of all professional-level positions in the United States were held by women; yet they …

The Fallacy Of Selecting The Right Person For The Job, Seth Allcorn, Howard F. Stein, Carrie M. Duncan

International Journal of Leadership and Change

Recruiting senior level higher education executives is more challenging than the customary and presumably rational approach of forming a search committee, running an advertisement or hiring a search firm, interviewing candidates, and making a selection. This article discusses many of the organizational dynamics that suggest logic and rationality often are lacking in recruiting for these important positions. The inevitable presence of conflicting interpersonal and intergroup dynamics that may not be discussable in any meaningful way compromises recruiting outcomes. Hiring the best person for the position may well not occur.

Leadership In Higher Education In A Culture Of Declining Relevance And Incivility, Sam Evans

International Journal of Leadership and Change

The institution of higher education is experiencing numerous challenges, and questions are surfacing regarding our relevance in an environment where the focus is on workforce development. Concerns are being raised about the preparation of our graduates for the demands of the workplace and, internally, we are dealing with behaviors characterizing a culture of incivility. These are not new concerns, but the prevalence of disconnects between higher education and the realities of the workplace appear to be increasing. These perceptions of disconnects tend to be exacerbated by behaviors occurring on university campuses that in some cases have become violent and/or disruptive …

Prestige-Seeking Across Urban-Serving Research Universities, Desiree Zerquera

International Journal of Leadership and Change

This manuscript seeks to better understand the extent to which urban universities have pursued prestige over time. I situate the institution-level decisions made by campus leaders over time and within the higher education context to better understand how these efforts collectively reflect broader forces within the higher education environment towards prestige that aligns with standards of excellence misaligned with the equity-serving mission of urban-serving universities. Findings demonstrate widespread engagement in prestige seeking among urban universities, with greater engagement in areas of enhancing research revenue, graduate enrollment and completions, and enhancing incoming student SAT scores. Implications for administrators at these institutions …

University Identity Change Through A Psychological Sense Of Community Framework: A Case Study Of The Elimar Model, Elizabeth F. Turesky, Mary Anne Peabody

International Journal of Leadership and Change

Leading through identity change is a highly emotive experience. When leadership is understood as an emotional community development process, the benefits for repurposing identity are greatly enhanced. This article introduces a change model that embeds emotional awareness throughout a four-phased process, adapting concepts originally presented in McMillan and Chavis’s (1986) psychological sense of community (PSOC) theory and Scott and Jaffee’s (1989) change curve model. In this case study, we focus on a four-year multi-campus northeastern United States public university as a model to investigate how individuals in leadership positions consider the role of affect in creating positive identity change to …

The Effect Of Campus Configuration On Ninth-Grade Achievement, James M. Finch, James L. Pate, Lantry L. Brockmeier, Michael J. Bochenko, Dianne C. Dees

International Journal of Leadership and Change

The purpose of this mixed-methods sequential explanatory research study was to determine whether there were significant differences between high schools having no freshman facility, a freshman wing, or a freshman campus on eight student performance measures. A second purpose was to examine principals’ perceptions of how their schools transition freshmen and how these transition strategies and arrangements worked. Of the eight ANOVAs conducted, only one analysis was statistically significant between the school configurations. In facilities using a freshman campus, high school students with disabilities earned significantly more core credit units than their counterparts in schools using no freshman facility. During …

Chinese Higher Educator Perceptions Toward Leadership Effectiveness In Regard To Gender, Kanglei Meng, John Baker

International Journal of Leadership and Change

This article discusses Chinese educator perceptions of effective leadership behaviors in order to determine how these teachers define effectiveness and whether a correlation exists between their perception and leaders’ gender. Factors include conscious and unconscious gender bias, Chinese culture, historical background, and identity. As a male-dominated country, China has been deeply influenced by Confucianism; hence, limited attention has been on female leadership. The article identifies and reviews three Women’s Revolutions in China and their effects in the past century in order to predict the status of female leadership. The researcher used the Chinese version of the LPI survey and conducted …

Azucena Villaflor, The Mothers Of The Plaza De Mayo, And Struggle To End Disappearances, Sam Mcfarland

International Journal of Leadership and Change

Azucena Villaflor, a poor Argentine woman with little education did more than any other person to place the problem of “disappearances” on the world’s agenda. In 1977, Villaflor led in creating the Mother of the Plaza de Mayo to protest the Argentine’s dictators disappearing of thousands of its own citizens. A person is “disappeared” when a government or its agents kills that person, hides their remains, and denies any knowledge of their whereabouts. Thousands were disappeared by Argentina’s dictatorship between 1977 and 1983; thousands of others have been disappeared around this world. The work Villaflor stated led to the creations …

Analytics: Potential In Higher Education, Brian Brausch, Joseph Cangemi, Keith Moody

International Journal of Leadership and Change

Analytics is altering the world of business and leadership as companies take advantage of its descriptive and predictive capabilities. Industries incorporating analytics into their daily operations are outperforming their competitors, generating greater profits and reducing expenditures. Following industry’s lead, higher education is beginning to make sure of big data to induce academic success by means of increased enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. Incorporating analytics into the decision-making process and overarching operations of an organization may yield considerable outcomes in corporate and academic environments. Integrating analytics into corporate culture requires collaborative partnerships focused on mutual interest and leadership expertise. This article …

The Effects Of Informal Mentoring On Adjunct Faculty Job Satisfaction At An Open Enrollment University, Kevin Nanna

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Job satisfaction has long been considered a predictor of employee loyalty and retention. On the academic side, adjunct faculty have played a key role in post-secondary education for decades. As use of part-time adjunct faculty increases, now more than ever colleges should be focusing on attracting and retaining qualified adjunct faculty. Increasing enrollment, a changing demographic of student, modern technology and cost implications are all reasons why there has been an increase in demand for non-tenured or part-time faculty. With increased demand comes competition for the most qualified and able instructors. While competitive salary is a consideration, there are many …

The Impact Of Mentorship On The Motivation To Learn: A Phenomenological Study Of High School African American Male Students At Risk For Failure, Godwin M. Prospere

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how at-risk male African American students who attend Title I inner-city high schools in Central Florida, and are at risk for failure, perceive mentorship impacts their motivation to learn. The theories that guided this study were Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, and Bandura’s social cognitive theory of self-efficacy, as each theory describes the basic needs that must be satisfied before an individual can be motivated to learn, and the role of interaction in developing self-efficacy and the motivation to learn. The central research question that guided this study sought …

Dual-Career Couples: A Coup Or To Cope In Academia, Kendall D. Isaac

Theses and Dissertations

Dual-career couples are common in academia. Indeed, anyone presently working at a higher education institution can likely make a cursory and informal inquiry to see if there are couples on his campus and quickly realize that several exist. Couples working on the same campus can bring with it certain positives such as increased institutional loyalty and productivity, as well as certain negatives such as departmental frustration at a trailing spouse hire and possible discord at times when the couple’s relationship lacks harmony. In an attempt to delve deeper into this phenomenon and to explore the pros and cons associated with …

Syrian Refugee Students' Acadmic And Social Experinces In American Public Schools, Donia S. Almadani

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The present research explores the experiences of Syrian refugee students in American schools. This qualitative research project is based in interviews of five Syrian students from refugee backgrounds aged between 11-18 years old who had come to the United States after the civil war raged in Syria in 2011. This qualitative research examines the educational barriers and supports, from the Syrian refugee students' perspectives, by understanding their educational and social experiences. Based on the findings, these five Syrian refugee students had both positive and negative experiences in the United States schools. Major themes were found in the data that are …

African American High School Students’ Attitudes Toward Mathematics And Perceptions Of Extant Culturally Relevant Pedagogy And Ethnomathematics, Brice Le Anthony Scott

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

African American students' severe underachievement in mathematics in comparison to their peers has been framed as an achievement gap that continues to widen despite the efforts of many education scholars and leaders. Throughout history in the United States, mathematics education has been designed, developed, and delivered within a Eurocentric philosophy. Consequently, African American students have been at a systemic disadvantage in terms of perceiving the cultural relevance of mathematics; which has served as a detriment to their academic success. By merging ethnomathematics and culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) into a theoretical framework, this study investigates these issues and proposes a shift …

Digital Natives' Perceptions On Feeling Understood By Teachers: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Informing 21st Century Education, Dennis D. Perez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the academic and social experiences of digital natives at Patrick Harrison High School (pseudonym) located in southern California. The research questions addressing the study were: (a) What are digital natives’ academic and social experiences; (b) How does feeling understood by teachers shape digital natives’ learning experiences; and (c) How does the use of social media, the Internet and digital devices contribute to 21st-century education as perceived by digital natives? Prensky’s (2001) theory on digital nativity, Gordon’s (1988) theory on feeling understood, and Vygotsky’s (1978) constructivist learning views informed the study. …

A Multiple-Case Study On The Perceptions Of Teacher Autonomy In A Traditionally Structured And A Teacher Powered School, Jerry Wright

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to examine teachers’ perceived autonomy in two different school settings. The theory that guided this study was Bandura’s social-cognitive theory, specifically focusing on the three aspects of human agency. The research question was used to investigate the similarities and differences of teachers’ perceptions of autonomy in two schools one traditionally structured and the other teacher-powered. Thirteen participants from two separate settings, one teacher-powered school and one traditionally structured school were selected for this study. Participants were selected using criterion-sampling methods to ensure that all participants were teachers within their setting. Teacher-powered …

Reimagining The Discourse: Media Representation Of Women In Boston Public Schools' Superintendency, 1991 - 2016, Lisa M. Cullington

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the relationship among public discourse, power and leadership for women superintendents in Boston Public Schools. For this qualitative study, I use a feminist poststructural discourse analysis (FPDA) to examine newspaper articles from The Boston Globe from 1991 to 2016. Through a FPDA, I illuminate the ways in which women superintendents have been discursively produced amidst neoliberal educational reform movements. In this study, I focus on how the superintendent’s role was conceptualized as a male endeavor in The Boston Globe, and the implications of this for current educational leaders.

Two major discursive stages frame the study’s time period: …

Leadership For Student Engagement, Felicia Angelle

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

There is a need for educational leaders to improve student engagement in the intermediate classrooms in elementary schools. Student engagement has mainly focused upon increasing student participation and students being compliant in completing classwork. Research over the last two decades has examined how without active student engagement, cognitive student learning will suffer. The years of research have identified several causes for why students are not engaged, including low motivation, a decrease in positive attitude towards school, and high dropout rates. If educational leaders are going to make strides to improve these issues then they must dive into the depths of …

A Baby Boomer’S Journey On The Path To Gender Equity, Sheri Williams

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

This personal poem chronicles a baby boomer’s journey on the path to gender equity and access. The poem recounts events that shaped the author’s positionally as a woman and educator. The journey starts with early life experiences, narrates events in the author’s schooling and career, and springs forward to a more just and hopeful future. Readers are invited to pen their own past, present, and future journey by considering how their lives have been influenced by the intersections of age, gender, class, race, political belief, culture, history and other subjectivities.

Cognitively Guided Instruction In Elementary Mathematics: Understanding Factors That Influence Classroom Implementation, Teresa A. Conowal

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

This study focused on the teaching technique known as cognitively guided instruction (CGI), through which teachers explore the individual learning styles of their students and use the information they gather to teach more complex concepts more effectively. The focus of this study was on 10 elementary mathematics teachers, with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of the reasons they are making limited use of CGI techniques in their classrooms. The study used interviews and classroom observations of the 10 participants to identify the factors influencing their willingness or reluctance to apply CGI techniques to their instructional practices. The study …

University Update - May 2018, Academic Affairs

University Updates & Communications from the University President

No abstract provided.

Considerations In Promoting Parent And Family Involvement, Staci M. Zolkoski, Donna M. Sayman, Calli G. Lewis-Chiu

Diversity, Social Justice, and the Educational Leader

It has been recognized for decades that parent and family (PF) involvement is a vital component of students' educational experiences. Moreover, PF involvement is identified as an important protective factor for students. Thus, school administrators and educators understanding and encouraging positive relationships between families and schools may be one way to promote academic, social, and emotional success for youth throughout their lives. The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature on PF involvement and delineate a proposed model of PF involvement to foster resilience in children and youth.

Growing Together: Personal Reflection And Understanding Can Foster Team Development, Rachael Layne

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This paper describes my journey through the CCT program and how it impacted me as an individual, as an officer in the Air Force, as well as those with whom I interact on a regular basis. I explore the concepts of creative problem-solving, dialogue processes, reflective practices, and research and engagement and how they enabled me to be a better leader. These topics oscillate between introspective ideas and self-development to focusing on how a better understanding of one’s self will allow for a better understanding of group and team dynamics. The final portion of the paper describes the culmination of …

A Descriptive Study Of School Climate And School Culture In Selected Public Secondary Schools In New Jersey And New York, James A. Horton Jr.

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this study was to describe the school climate and school culture in selected public secondary Priority Schools, Focus Schools, and Reward Schools in New Jersey and New York. This study used the United States Department of Education’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Flexibility Waiver definition to identify Priority Schools, Focus Schools, and Reward Schools. The grades ranged from ninth to twelfth grade. The lists of schools were identified from the 2016 New Jersey Department of Education and the New York State Education Department lists of Priority Schools, Focus Schools, and Reward Schools (NJDOE, 2016; NYSED, 2016). …

Sustaining Change Towards Racial Equity Through Cycles Of Inquiry, Román Liera, Alicia C. Dowd

Department of Educational Leadership Scholarship and Creative Works

Many national, state, and institutional policies and initiatives advocate for change in higher education through structured forms of data use. The case study of “Old Main University” presented in this article shows how local reformers (n=9) drew on data and data use tools provided by a long-term action research project implemented at the university to advance racial equity goals at their university. The case narrative utilizes practice theory, cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), and narrative inquiry to illustrate how administrative leaders and faculty at Old Main University coordinated their efforts in a sustained manner through two cycles of practitioner inquiry …

Perceptions Of Middle School Math And Language Arts Teachers On High-Stakes Testing Cultures In Public Schools, Robert Daniello

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Instruction in public schools today is highly prescribed to meet state standards, which, in turn, prepare students for success on standardized assessments. Teachers in language arts and mathematics are being held accountable for standardized assessment results in their end-of-year, summative evaluations. The development of curriculum and delivery of instruction is being impacted and, most specifically, revised and paced according to skills required to demonstrate levels of proficiency on standardized assessments. No Child Left Behind (2001) changed the game for teachers and started the mandate of placing teacher accountability and evaluation on high-stakes tests. However, it was difficult to place a …

The Relationship Between Principal Leadership Behavior And Student Achievement In Low Performing Schools, Janice E. Garland

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the relationship between principal instructional leadership behaviors and student achievement in the context of low-performing Title I-eligible schools. The intent was to identify specific leadership behaviors that evidenced a relationship to improved student academic achievement in Virginia’s identified priority schools. Results of teacher surveys regarding principal tenure and experience and school size and level were analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics and simple regression models.

While results revealed no significant correlation between principal leadership behaviors and student achievement in English/Reading, a significant positive relationship was found between principal leadership behaviors and mathematics. The strongest relationship between …

Improving Instructional Practice Via Walkthrough Implementation: A Superintendent Centered Perspective, Michael J. Celoski

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions and reflections of former and current superintendents of suburban public school districts throughout the state of New Jersey regarding their districts’ use of classroom walkthroughs as a means to improve instructional practice. Comprehensive, in-person, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight superintendents. The participants were purposefully selected based on their qualifications, their willingness to participate in the study, and their experience using the walkthrough protocol.

Utilizing interview questions that were steered by the study’s three overarching research questions, the researcher was able to delve deeply into the perceptions and reflections …

Structural / Organizational And Human Capital Determinants Of Variations In Women Attaining The Full Professorship At Research Universities, Sandra Darkey

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

While there is evidence of substantial progress in the past generation in women’s representation on college and university faculties, the data shows female underrepresentation persists – at the higher academic ranks and is greatest at the Research Universities. Schuster & Finkelstein (2016), report an increase from 342,059 to 717,359 in the head count for female faculty - a 109.7% overall growth between 1993 and 2013. Data from IPEDS, however, shows that women’s proportionate representation at the rank of full professor increased only from 13% to 24% at Doctoral/Research Universities between 1993 and 2013 and indeed the proportion of all women …

Exploring Parental Involvement In Public Secondary Schools In Imo State, Nigeria: The Role Of Socioeconomic Status, Longinus Nwakire Ugwuegbulem

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Recent academic achievement gaps of public secondary students in Imo State, in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB examinations posed a threat to students’ aspiration to college education. The poor academic achievement level was denting previously achieved high academic record in Imo State. This trend was disturbing to parents and educators. However, this trend could be remedied if appropriate educational policy was enacted and implemented in secondary schools. One educational policy initiative that seemed to have worked in some countries is parents’ participation in their children’s education, otherwise, called “parental involvement.” Studies have shown that parental involvement in the education of their …