Educational Leadership Commons^™

Examining The Influence Of Access To District Provided Prekindergarten On First Grade Students’ Academic And Social Emotional School Readiness, Jennifer Brooks

Student Theses and Dissertations

The study explored teachers’ perceptions of how district provided prekindergarten influences academic and social emotional school readiness for first grade students in a low socioeconomic school district in Southern Arkansas. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development and Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development were the guiding theories. A qualitative case study design was employed. Data was collected through two-round interviews with seven teachers who teach first grade students in a low socioeconomic district in south Arkansas. The interview questions were derived from the Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards. The interviews were transcribed and then coded to derive themes. Findings showed …

Examining The Value Of Active Recess Blocks: Its Effect On Student Academic Achievement And Behavior, Morgan Paige Taylor

Student Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, the active recess blocks students received during the 2020- 2021 and 2021-2022 school years at Valley Grove Middle School are evaluated to determine increased physical activity effects on students' behavior and academics. The problem of reduced recess blocks and their relationship to lower academic outcomes, precisely three recess blocks or more per school day, is examined. This dissertation posits that increases in recess blocks may increase academic outcomes and produce fewer behavior infractions for not following instructions. This quantitative study aims to explain the association between students' academic and behavioral performance when given more time to engage …

Shifting Educational Paradigms To Match Learners: Sustaining Cultures, Languages, And Paradigms Through Educational Sovereignty, Lona R. Running Wolf

The Montana English Journal

The U.S. system of education was developed by visionary forefathers that knew American democracy would be stable only through educated citizens. The system was developed to produce citizens that would carry on the new world's vision and values. The educational system was built within that paradigm. Simultaneously, Indigenous tribes in America were being stripped of their traditional educational systems whose purpose was also to develop productive citizens of their communities and carry on their values. Traditional educational systems among tribes developed children with positive self-identity carrying the pride of their culture, language, and paradigm. That is not the case for …

Teen Mothers Forgotten: The Gap Between High School And Higher Education, Sarah Ruth Morris

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Though the national teen birth rate has declined since 1991, teen motherhood is still associated with educational and lifetime disparities among women who give birth at ages 15-19. Using the Understanding America Study data, I examine teen mothers' educational and financial outcomes with nearest-neighbor matching. My sample is 1,335 mothers with 118 teen mothers, and I define teen mothers as mothers who had children at 15-17 years old. Compared to mothers who did not have children at ages 15-17, I find marginal significance that teen mothers are less likely to graduate high school at 10 percentage points less. More significantly, …

Reclaiming And Reconceptualizing Accountability, Joseph Hailpern

Dissertations

This body of work contributes to the exploration of the intended and unintended consequences of the policy levers, referred to as education accountability policy, that have driven entire systems toward the inclusion of student performance data into educator performance ratings and the impact on the profession. Only from an extensive understanding of where we have been can a reimagined path forward be born to serve our youth and society better. This mixed methods dissertation does so by uncovering the legal landscape that defines the policy levers and bringing educators together in focus groups to delve deeply into these levers’ impact …

Conversations: Matthew A Witenstein With Satang Nabaneh, Satang Nabaneh, Matthew A. Witenstein

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

For this issue’s Conversation, Matthew Witenstein speaks with Dr. Satang Nabaneh, Director of Programs at the Human Rights Center and Research Professor of Law, both positions at the University of Dayton. The conversation was recorded via Zoom on 3rd April 2023. Several topics are highlighted including Dr. Nabaneh’s insights on human rights work (in Africa and globally), decolonization, global education and amplifying voice. Notably, her expertise and deep experience as a legal scholar and human rights practitioner who has worked across multiple countries, regions and continents, offers our DIME audience keen insights that can impact our research, practice and policy …

June 2023 Bulldog Alumni & Friends News, Kari Jones, Garrett King

Bulldog Alumni & Friends News

• Summer picnic!

• SWOSU Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame

• Live Auction & Dinner

Leadership Identity Development Among Aspiring Women Leaders In Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study Of Formal Mentoring, Malia E. Roberts

Dissertations

Men have held the majority of presidencies, vice-presidencies, deanships, and other top administrative positions on college campuses since 1950 (Parker, 2015). The disproportionately low representation of women holding leadership roles in higher education is even more urgent considering few women ever reach the senior most leadership levels (Hannum et al., 2015). As such, the American Council on Education not only identified the need to increase the presence of women in leadership positions and to cultivate a pipeline of future leaders, but also the need to provide formal leadership training opportunities for women (Howard & Gagliardi, 2018). While various higher education …

Cal Poly Rodeo | Improving Speed And Consistency Of Student Athletes: Goat Tying, Taylour Q. Latham

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

Cal Poly Rodeo is an amazing program for student athletes competing in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA). These athletes are expected to obtain a 2.0 GPA in 12 or more units, while being active in practices, and rodeo activities. Mandatory goat tying practice is held every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00 AM. During this time athlete performance is observed and recorded on Tuesdays, and broken down on Thursdays to implement areas where they can improve. The purpose of these practices is to give the athletes feedback from another point of view, and take those points into their own practices …

Improving Second Language Learning Through Performance-Based Assessment Practices, Maria Granados

Dissertations

From the time of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) to the present day, standardized testing has become the benchmark measure for student assessment and school accountability in the United States. Multilingual learners are a vulnerable population with more testing and accountability requirements than mainstream students. Not only are they required to learn a second language, but they are also assessed within the same standardized testing paradigms as their peers - native speakers of the English language. This study aimed to examine and evaluate the benefits of instructional practices and assessments that provide multilingual students and teachers prompt and …

Social And Emotional Learning: An Examination Of Perspectives On Using Faith-Based Supports As An Option In Public-School Communities, Remus Galvin

Dissertations

The present study involved an examination of perspectives on offering faith-based support as an option on an individual basis for social and emotional learning (SEL) within a public-school community. The research consisted of a survey of former and current public-school students and parents (N = 26) and a focus group interview of five former and current school administrators to gather their perspectives of their tenure within public schools and the need to provide access to faith-based supports within a public-school community. After analyzing the data, a majority of the survey participants agreed that access to faith-based supports for SEL …

A Program Evaluation Of The Reasons Some Educators Do Or Do Not Remain In The Teaching Profession, Joshua Karren

Dissertations

Abstract According to Sutcher et al. (2016), hundreds of thousands of teachers (eight percent of the overall United States teaching force) leave the profession annually for various reasons. These reasons include dissatisfaction with some parts of their jobs, including poor leadership, lack of control over teaching, family or personal reasons, pursuing a job outside of education, retirement, and financial reasons. The purpose of this study is to understand why teachers choose to stay at their school, why they leave certain schools and what school and district leaders can do to keep teachers in their classrooms. The context of this inquiry …

The Preparation Of Educators To Implement An Sel Curriculum, Helen Elayan

Dissertations

Professional development and training for adults in a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum are essential to the successful implementation of SEL for students. The purpose of my study was to determine the perceptions of teachers' professional development for implementation of a social emotional learning curriculum. The context of this study was a small independent school as well as schools throughout the US. The findings of my study indicated that educators in both contexts wanted training prior to student implementation, preferred training with peers, and wanted to only implement one schoolwide initiative per year. I recommended that leaders at all schools …

The Impact Of Culturally Responsive Teaching On The Achievement Of African American Students, Jessica Clark

Dissertations

Culturally responsive teaching is a pedagogical practice that incorporates cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of students to make learning encounters more relevant and effective. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of culturally responsive teaching on the academic achievement of African American students. The context of this inquiry is at a minority-majority Title I high school within a large urban school district. The district and evaluation school previously adopted a culturally responsive teaching initiative. My mixed-method study captures the quantitative performance of students within the school in teachers' classrooms using culturally responsive …

Transactional And Transformational Leadership In The Superintendency: A Phenomenological Study Of Three Upper Peninsula Superintendents’ Experiences, Lisa A. Coombs-Gerou

All NMU Master's Theses

This study aimed to analyze and provide an understanding of how three rural public school superintendents in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan practiced transformational leadership. Transformational leadership includes the elements of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration (Burns, 1978). Transformational superintendents must lead our schools to provide students with the best educational opportunity. The study focused on the superintendents experiences in deciding to become a superintendent, their beliefs about leadership, and how they approached decisions through a transactional or transformational process. The study also sought to provide insight into the relationship with their school board and how …

The Vigor Of Creative Materialism: Making The Hidden Stories Of Underrepresented Engineering Students Visible, Katherine A. Robert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite decades of initiatives, engineering education continues to lack diversity. The proportion of women, BIPOC, LGBTQA+, low-income, first-generation, and disabled students in engineering education remains below national population levels. The culture of engineering is a barrier to increasing participation in engineering for students from these communities. The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore the experiences of underrepresented engineering students as they are socialized into the culture of engineering. I theorized a novel conceptual framework called creative materialism that combines culturally responsive methodologies, new materialist theory, and arts-based research methods. Two research questions were used to guide the study. …

Providing Family Centered Care Within Pediatric Integrated Care Settings, Emily D. Bebber

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Parent engagement remains critical to pediatric care. Both pediatric medical and mental health care remains dependent upon parent/guardian engagement to support successful outcomes for children and adolescents. Efforts to enhance Family Centered Care (FCC) has been spotlighted within pediatric care since the 1950s and the inclusion of counselors within integrated behavior health (IBH) teams ushers a need for an evolved understanding of the implementation of FCC, including parent/guardian engagement across professional roles. Using an explanatory mixed-method design, I examined team implementation of Family Centered Care (FCC) among different provider types (e.g., physicians, nurses, licensed mental health providers, social workers, technicians) …

Reshaping Education In Memphis: A Single Case Study Of Turnaround Districts In An Inner-City Neighborhood, Edrika S. Thigpen

Student Theses and Dissertations

Memphis, Tennessee leans on two radical approaches to take responsibility for their most underperforming schools and turn them around. The Tennessee Achievement School District (ASD) is the state’s approach to school reform and turnaround, while the local school district elected to create an Innovation Zone (iZone) to improve schools and achieve school turnaround locally. These efforts employ strategies and approaches as outlined and defined in national and state turnaround policies. The relationship between these interventions and school improvement has not always shown a positive correlation. Students throughout the school district, especially those in historically low-performing neighborhoods and school communities of …

More Than A Test Score: Toward A More Balanced School Accountability System, Joel A. Leader, Barbara L. Pazey

School Leadership Review

Using a zone of mediation framework, we explore how one school district designed a community-based accountability system (CBAS) reflecting community stakeholders’ values, priorities, and goals. We collected rich data sets from a document analysis, focus group, and individual interviews. Our findings indicated a strong dissatisfaction with test-based accountability that led the district to engage its stakeholders in designing a CBAS using multiple achievement measures to report on district success. The importance of collaboration with other districts and leaders at the local, regional, and state levels also emerged. This study highlights the importance of stakeholder involvement, leadership, and collaboration when making …

Three Sides To Success: Exploring How Inclusive Partnerships Can Nurture Robust Family And Community Engagement In The Classroom For African-American Students, Orianna Vaughn

Education | Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which conscious family and community partnerships with middle schools can play an integral part of academic achievement for Black children. Family and community engagement play a critical role in a student’s success as support, and knowledge of their scholar’s strengths and interests can be an asset not only in the classroom, but to the scholar’s overall academic success, which can “lead to higher educational aspirations and increased student motivations'' (Bartz, et al. 2017). However, presiding narratives of disengagement and disinterest from Black parents in their scholar’s academic life have …

Assessment Of Student Leadership Training Program Based On Student Leaders Perceptions: Case Of A Private Secondary School In Zimbabwe., Constance Chifamba, Florence Zimunya

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

The purpose of this was to evaluate the effectiveness of Student Leadership training program carried out for the newly elected student leaders of a private secondary school in Zimbabwe. A qualitative descriptive case study was used in this study. Ten 10 student leaders were purposively selected from a total of 24 student leaders. In-depth interviews were used to solicit the student leaders’ perceptions on the effectiveness of the student leadership training offered to the newly elected student leaders. Data collected was analysed using thematic Analysis. Findings of the study indicate that the student leadership program was deemed effective as it …

Enhancing Culturally Responsive Practices: A Phenomenological Study On How Elementary School Leaders Demonstrate Cultural Proficiency In Teacher Development, Dana Synora Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In education, a lack of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) may mute the success of students of color. A lack of culturally responsive pedagogy practices can drastically alter students’ educational outcomes and their outlook on the value of education. This hermeneutic phenomenology explored the experiences of elementary school leaders on their mission to implement culturally responsive practices through teacher professional development. The theory guiding this study is Khalifa’s theory on Culturally Responsive School Leadership which was developed to make teaching and the entire school environment responsive to the schooling needs of all demographics of children. This phenomenological study focused on teachers’ …

A Multiple Case Study Examining Collaborative Nature Of Bahamian Pastoral Teams Considering Contextual And Biblical Transformational Leadership, Kevin Andrew Hall

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to examine the nature of pastoral leadership teams in Bahamian churches. Three Bahamian pastoral leadership teams served as the sample frame for this research, with four research questions narrowing its scope to identifying collaborative and transformational behaviors and attributes. The study collected qualitative data regarding leaders’ character formation and the role of the Christian doctrine in shaping (pastoral) team dynamics, along with data regarding pastoral (team) leadership development and the usage of spiritual gifts. The data was then analyzed to determine if the leaders’ behaviors aligned with Cooper’s (2005) contextual and …

Teacher Migration And Retention In Title I High Schools: A Phenomenological Study, Kenethia Lasundra Zachary

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teacher migration is a fundamental challenge facing many school districts in the United States (Djonko-Moore, 2016). School leaders in Title I schools, which predominately serve minority and low-income students, expressed difficulties retaining teachers who were opting to transfer to lateral positions in non-Title I schools (Whipp & Geronime, 2017). The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological research study was to identify intrinsic and extrinsic factors that led to teachers’ lateral migration from a Title I to a non-title I school. In order to highlight participants’ rationales, the principal researcher posed the following research questions: What were teachers’ perceptions of the organizational …

The Impact Of A Stem Education Program On Female And Racial Minorities' Knowledge And Attitude, Amira S. Flores

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a STEM education program, specifically STARBASE, on the STEM knowledge and attitudes of fifth grade students, as well as its effect on their pursuit of STEM careers, with a focus on female and racial minority students. Based on a sample of 197 fifth graders from a school district in Southern California, the intervention took place at STARBASE, while the control group remained at their respective schools. A quasi-experimental design was used in the study, with four experimental and four control groups. A STEM knowledge assessment and S-STEM attitude survey …

High School Teachers' Experiences Of Work-Related Stress And Resilience: A Phenomenological Study, Deana A. Diluggo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe public high school teachers’ experiences of work-related stress and resilience in the state of Connecticut. The theory guiding this study is Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory (SDT), as it looks at the impact of motivation on human behavior and the fulfillment of the three basic psychological needs of competence, relatedness, and autonomy. This study was designed to answer the central research question, uncovering public high school teachers’ experiences with work-related stress and resilience. The researcher obtained informed consent from 12 participants who participated in semi-structured interviews. Eleven of the interviewed participants …

The Experiences Of Elementary General Education Teachers Working With Students With Mental Health Deficits: A Phenomenological Study, Jordan Cole Swineford-Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of general education elementary teachers attempting to meet the mental health needs of students in their care. Ten teachers from an Eastern Virginia school district were selected to participate in this study. Individuals with experience working with distressed students were selected through purposive criterion and snowball sampling. The theories guiding this study were Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs and trauma theory (Caruth, 1995). Data from survey/questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups were collected and analyzed per transcendental phenomenology procedures to identify emerging themes from the data. The following four …

A Phenomenological Study Of Church Growth Strategies Used By Pastors Of Digital Churches During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nicholas D. Cole

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the digital church growth methods that pastors of digital churches in the United States used to increase church attendance during the 2020-2022 COVID-19 pandemic. For the purpose of this study, pastors of digital/online churches were studied. Since the 1950s, the church growth strategy for many Christian churches has been to attract as many people as possible for in-person worship services. However, in-person church attendance has declined consistently for the past 20 years. The shutdowns of churches worldwide during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic amplified this trend. The only option available …

Thriving: Best Student Ministry Practices For Reaching Generation Z Most Effectively, Seth Conner Peterson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In 1972, the Jesus movement’s proliferation brought on the professionalization of student ministry into Southern Baptist churches. Over the last 50 years, the U.S. population has increased by 110 million, yet student ministry baptisms in the Southern Baptist Convention continue to decline. Despite recent efforts by The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee to reverse the downward trend of student ministry baptisms (ages 12–17), the phenomenon persists. The public profession of baptism remains as a strong indicator that an individual has been effectively reached with the Gospel. Operating under this premise that increased baptisms indicate effectiveness in student ministry, the researcher …

Leaning Into A Critical Theory Of Love To Adaptively Engage In Teaching And Learning During Covid-19 In India And The Us, Matthew A. Witenstein, Narender Thakur

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This article considers the experiences of teachers and learners in higher education institutions that led to the need for adapted learning modalities during COVID-19. It is critical to provide reflective faculty narratives. We position them as Street-Level Bureaucrats on the front lines, who as de facto policymakers, made adaptive decisions impacting students’ educational opportunities. Consequently, this article engages experiential reflections of two university professors in the field of education, one in the US the other in India. It examines how known ways of learning changed as universities closed and teachers and students were mandated to switch to online, remote or …