Educational Leadership Commons^™

Campus Safety And The Impact Of Emergency Alert Systems, Madelyn Elliott

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study is to understand the impact emergency alert systems have on campus safety for Rowan University members using a quantitative survey. With a need to examine how universities and campus communities react to emergency scenarios, this study will focus on the reactions of those at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey and how they respond to emergency alerts. Through the research completed, we will look into how community members of Rowan University view their safety on the Glassboro campus, the effectiveness of Rowan’s emergency alert systems, when Rowan sends out the emergency alerts, and how …

University Administrators’ Visions For The Recovery Of International Student Exchange In A Post–Covid-19 World, Yusuke Sakurai, Yukiko Ishikura, Ryoko Nakano, Yuki Nabeshima, Yu Sengoku, Akito Okada, Sachihiko Kondo

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: Little is known about how international functions of higher education, such as exchange programmes, can be resumed during recovery from a disruptive global crisis, such as COVID-19. We collected the opinions of administrators of international exchange programmes regarding their plans to resume their exchange programmes in the recovery phase and identified variations in the responses concerning institution type (public vs. private) and the presence or absence of a medical school.

Method: We used multiple-choice survey questions in our study, resulting in 180 valid responses. We examined overall patterns using descriptive statistics and institutional uniqueness using Fisher’s exact test.

Results: …

Overview Of The Proceedings Of The 2022 Inclusion In Science, Learning A New Direction, Conference On Disability (Island), Cary A. Supalo, Jasodhara Bhattacharya, Daniel Steinberg

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The 13th annual Inclusion in Science, Learning a New Direction, Conference on Disability was hosted by the Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM), a National Science Foundation funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), and Princeton University on September 16-17, 2022 at Bowen Hall. This annual conference included presentations that featured innovative research done by science educators in formal and informal education contexts, ranging from pre-K-12 to higher education, and science education researchers, access technology developers, and others interested in the full inclusion of persons with disabilities into the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. The 2022 ISLAND …

From The Editors..., Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Special Education: Inclusion And Exclusion In The K-12 U.S. Educational System, Erik Brault

Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Education defines students with disabilities as those having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities. Previous research has found that students with disabilities placed in inclusive environments perform better academically and socially compared to students with disabilities who are placed in segregated environments. Yet, we know that inclusion in K-12 general education classrooms across the country is not consistently implemented.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the effects, if any, of general education high school teachers’ personal and professional experiences and knowledge on their attitudes toward educating …

Utilizing New Technologies To Measure Therapy Effectiveness For Mental And Physical Health, Jonathan Ossie

Dissertations

Mental health is quickly becoming a major policy concern, with recent data reporting increasing and disproportionately worse mental health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, increased substance abuse, and elevated suicidal ideation. One specific population that is especially high risk for these issues is the military community because military conflict, deployment stressors, and combat exposure contribute to the risk of mental health problems.

Although several pharmacological approaches have been employed to combat this epidemic, their efficacy is mixed at best, which has led to novel nonpharmacological approaches. One such approach is Operation Surf, a nonprofit that provides nature-based programs advocating the restorative …

Equalizing Postsecondary Transition For At-Promise Youth Receiving Special Education Services: A Chance To Succeed, Karla R. Sanchez

Dissertations

Postsecondary transition can be difficult for At-Promise Youth Receiving Special Education Services (APYRSES). Special educators supporting postsecondary transition often manifest traditional and institutionalized forms of oppressive education while dismissing collective values and beliefs.

This qualitative case study examined the beliefs and attitudes shared by three special education teachers after being introduced to a justice-focused, humanizing intervention to facilitate postsecondary transition for APYRSES. The conceptualized intervention was grounded in liberatory educational frameworks and drew from critical, culturally affirming, sustaining, and humanizing theories that foster cultural reciprocity, self-determination skills, and antiracist social–emotional justice learning to afford opportunities for APYRSES to succeed. The …

Racism Without Race: The Racialization Of Middle Eastern And North African Students At U.S. Colleges, Hannah Mesouani

Dissertations

Although a growing body of literature covers the experiences of international students at U.S. colleges, the stories of those who do not fit into the U.S. racial schema remain untold. This study examined how Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) students understood their racial identities given the United States’ tense history with Islam and the MENA world. Using foundational texts on critical race theory, current scholarship on Arab Americans and foreign-born students, and facets of the Ethnic Identity Scale (EIS), this study examined the experiences of MENA students who study amid a national backdrop of xenophobia and racialized Islamophobia. This …

Leadership Styles In Ncaa Division I Athletic Administration And Their Relationships To Job Satisfaction, Valerie Gomez

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

As an industry, college athletics has become a focal point of much attention and scrutiny as a result of increasing moral and ethical scandals, as well as lucrative media and personnel contracts. Scandals such as admissions fraud, academic cheating, and financial crimes are a cause for concern regarding the leadership within Division I athletic departments. Organizational and individual outcomes have been associated with leadership. While extant research has focused on the leadership of coaches and the athletic director, the leadership of the senior-level leadership team has been largely neglected. Given the structure of many Division I athletic departments, the senior-level …

Active Imagination, Wellbeing And Ways Of Seeing: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Experiences Of Adult Learners With Visual Impairments, Steinberg Henry

Educational Studies Dissertations

Six female and two male adult learners who became blind between the ages of 20 and 75 years participated in this study conducted by a blind researcher. The purposely sampled eight were interviewed virtually by way of Zoom. In combination with Johnny Saldana’s work on codes, this study used the NVivo framework for determining structuring categories, selecting node themes, code frameworks and final codes from the first interview. 291 codes were clustered under 26 node themes. NVivo’s word frequency search and Word Tree were applied to clarify and lend a number value to participants’ codes. The second interview, administered after …

When Culturally Responsive Practices Meet Social-Emotional Learning: A Guide For Educators, Sharon Ju-Ting Cheng

Master's Projects and Capstones

Many educators hope to give their students quality and well-rounded education while balancing all the contents they need to learn. Social-emotional learning (SEL) and culturally responsive teaching, however, are two areas that teachers seem to struggle with (Stark et al., 2021). Teachers have encountered situations where it was difficult for them to support their students due to the cultural differences between the teacher and student (Heineke & Vera, 2021). This lack of professional development in the culturally responsive aspect is concerning.

The shortfall of training leads to failure to apply these practices into schools. For newcomer students, who are usually …

'Formation In Distinctive Dimensions Of Our Way Of Proceeding': Preparation Of Lay Directors Of Works In Jesuit Schools, Perry T. Petrich Sj

Master's Theses

The purpose of the study was to determine how lay directors of works in Jesuits West secondary schools can be formed to best serve as faith leaders. The study consisted of secondary research in which interview data and surveys from studies on lay formation in Jesuit universities and lay leadership of Bay Area Catholic High Schools were used to determine whether or not formation of lay directors of works in faith leadership is possible, what the objectives of that training should be, and how that training can be offered. This analysis determined that lay formation is both possible and necessary. …

Interest Convergence And Neoliberalism: Effects On Entry-Level Staff Of Color Who Perform Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Higher Education, Jesse N. Avila

Master's Theses

Higher education was not originally built to benefit people of color. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are many ways in which universities seek to change higher education. However, higher education has a staff retention problem and is at risk of losing more than half of its current workforce. Retention problems also impact entry-level staff of color who perform DEI in universities. Through a lens of interest convergence and neoliberalism, this qualitative study gathered the experiences of entry-level staff of color who perform DEI in student affairs, looked at how their experiences are shaped by the structures of the university, and …

Leading Department Causes Of Acculturative Stress Among International Students At A South Jersey Public Institution, Meagan Kathleen Mcferren

Theses and Dissertations

The study in this paper was conducted at Rowan University, a South Jersey public institution founded in 1923. The purpose of this study was to collect data regarding various university departments that might cause and affect acculturative stress in international students and determine which area has the greatest impact on the students’ stress levels at the university. During the 2022-23 academic year, I distributed an anonymous online survey to the majority of Rowan international and domestic students, both undergraduate and graduate, to better understand their perspectives of specific campus resources and departments. In this paper, I state my questions as …

Local Voices: Counterstorytelling And Retention Of Faculty Of Color In Oregon's Community College System, Kristin Christophersen

Dissertations and Theses

The Oregon community college system employs a full-time faculty workforce that is overwhelmingly White. This study aimed to research why the representation of faculty of color in the state’s community colleges remains low by conducting interviews with faculty of color about their experiences at these public 2-year institutions using counterstorytelling as research methodology. Using critical race theory as a theoretical framework, this study collected and analyzed the counterstories of seven faculty of color in a variety of institutions and regions across one state about their experiences with institutional racism and how it impacts their persistence strategies and retention patterns.

Equity And Inclusion For Gender Diverse Middle School Students, Xiaoyan Nadler

Education | Master's Theses

About a third of teenagers experience an anxiety disorder, with steadily increasing numbers (McCarthy, 2019). LGBTQ+ students have a history of being a group without a voice because the dominant gender classification was a binary male or female model. They have seldom dared to express and identify their real selves. According to Lewis (2020), this form of oppression could make them feel unwelcome, overlooked, and unsafe, eventually creating tremendous anxiety. This qualitative research focused on understanding what creates an inclusive and safe learning environment for all students, including students who identify as LGBTQ+. Interviews were conducted with students, parents, and …

Accreditation, Affordability, And Accessibility Of New Non-Profit Colleges In The United States, Adam Braus

Education | Master's Theses

Time-series data analysis demonstrates that the number of new colleges has dropped off gradually since its peak in the 1960s, and precipitously after the 1990s. The total number of new colleges is severely depressed, and among new colleges, religious, for-profit, and public colleges have started at a rate of 5x the number of private, secular, and non-profit ones. Interviews with contemporary secular, non-profit college founders and accreditation experts suggest that accreditation is the primary barrier to starting a new college. If we view higher education as an oligopoly or “cold cartel,” it explains the gradually falling quality and precipitously rising …

Pragmatist Thinking For A Populist Moment: Democratic Contingency And Racial Re-Valuing In Education Governance, Kathleen Knight-Abowitz, Kathleen M. Sellers

Democracy & Education

We examine school governance in populist era, using contemporary readings of pragmatist philosophy. We are in a “populist moment,” a time of uprisings and movements of the demos making political claims (Mouffe, 2018). School officials in the U.S. are subject to an array of political demands in the form of protests and campaigns. We focus on the struggles around critical race theory in K–12 schools. Glaude (2017) has advocated pragmatism’s use in light of racial revaluing and democratic struggle. Rogers’ work (2009) has highlighted inquiry, founded on contingency, in the face of disagreement and power struggles. These scholars show us …

Connection Before Correction: The Impact Of Restorative Practices On Students With Disabilities, Katrina Shirley

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

As an alternative to zero tolerance discipline policies that focus on punitive, exclusionary, and often predetermined consequences for a disruptive behavior, many educators in schools across the United States have started implementing restorative practices (RP) in their classrooms. RP focus on building relationships and classroom community. Educators implement RP as a preventative behavioral strategy for community building, but also as a responsive strategy to handle conflict in order to repair harm and restore relationships. Current research on RP include quantitative studies, many resulting in a reduction of exclusionary discipline, or qualitative studies with participants in middle and high school. This …

Principal Self-Efficacy And Principal Self-Reported Resilience Strategies - An Investigation Of Bermuda School Principals, Holly R. Richardson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Discussions surrounding the importance of the role of strong school leaders in effecting positive change in schools is an international discussion. It is believed that strong focused leadership in schools is key to school improvement (Yin, 1994, NAESP, 2013) This desire for improved education outcomes is also a focus in Bermuda. Internationally, research has focused on the skills and competencies of leaders that lead successful schools. There is also emerging research that examines the underlying constructs that may be related to successful leaders - namely principal efficacy and resilience. In fact, Versland and Erickson (2017) have commented that “Principal self-efficacy …

Restoration: Emerging With Courage, Michelle C. Hughes Dr.

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This essay, first presented at the conference (name has been changed) as a talk at anonymous university, examines one pre-service faculty’s scholarly journey. Written during the Covid-19 pandemic, the author highlights research about professional teaching dispositions specifically exploring the disposition of courage. The essay reveals how the author’s research and scholarship became life-giving during a challenging season. The author encourages colleagues to cultivate space to reflect, summon courage and consider where they can seek and find restoration in their work and scholarship. The author concludes that seeking restoration is a life-giving practice that reminds educators of our faith and calling––and …

A Delphi Study To Determine The Organizational Supports Necessary For Middle School Counselors To Be Successful And Positively Influence Student Outcomes, Debbie Monroe

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study is to identify, from the perspective of expert counselors, the roles that middle school counselors perform during their workday, to rate the importance of the roles identified, and to identify organizational supports necessary for middle school counselors to successfully perform each of the six most important roles identified. Additionally, this study seeks to gain feedback from expert middle school counselors on how to best align the necessary organizational supports with the identified most important roles.

Methodology: The Delphi method was utilized for this study through an electronic survey that asks participants a combination …

Being Culturally Relevant And Responsive: A Comparative Analysis Of The Girl Scouts Of Usa Leadership Experience Program To The Diné Philosophy Of Hózhó And The Kinaaldá, To Illuminate Leadership, Rekindle Identity, And Revitalize Language Among Diné Girls, Deborah J. Belone

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

How does analytically comparing the Girl Scouts of the United States of America’s (GSUSA) Leadership Experience program to the Diné philosophy of Hózhó (harmonious way of life) and the Kinaaldá (female puberty ceremony) positively affect the unique diversity of each Diné girl and give attention to leadership skills, self-identity, and the Diné language? This is the research question that guided this research study of comparative analysis. In addition, there are three subquestions: (a) How does aligning the GSUSA Leadership Experience program to the Diné philosophies of Hózhó and the Kinaaldá build leadership skills, positive self-identify, and a healthy social and …

Book Review Of Beyond Provincialism: Promoting Global Competencies In Teacher And Educator Preparation, David Sandles

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

With an increased emphasis on intercultural and global competence, teacher preparation programs around the world are stridently searching for growth opportunities for students in these areas. An important resource to this discussion is Beyond Provincialism: Promoting Global Competencies in Teacher and Educator Preparation, which supplies readers with scholarly, pragmatic approaches to developing students’ knowledge quotients with salient ideas that revolve around food insecurity, school improvement, communities of practice, mathematics education, internationalization of the curriculum, place-based education, and distance learning. Expertly linking these global issues to the United Nation’s Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs), the authors seek to educate educator preparation …

How Do Faculty And Staff Perceive The Effectiveness Of Student Support Systems That Promote The Retention Of First-Generation College Students?, David Shawn Wolff Dr.

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Research showed faculty-student interactions impact student engagement and was a primary factor to student retention (Kuh & Hu, 2001; Means & Pyne, 2017; Swecker et al., 2013; Tinto, 1987). The literature revealed while retention may be an issue for many institutions, there is a greater need to address retention specifically related to first-generation college students (FGCS). Students often seek advice from faculty and staff when faced with questions about their academic progress. Faculty and staff voices need to be collected regarding their perceptions of the effectiveness of the support systems used within an institution that promote retention for FGCS. This …

Leading With Equity Through Action: The Theory Of Racial And Gender Equity Advancement In Rural Schools, Anna Gross

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

All students deserve an equitable education. Rampant misinformation has flooded the educational world, and society as a whole, turning the concept of “equity” into something that has become politically charged. However, all students are different, and differences must be acknowledged and celebrated to ensure all students receive the education they need to thrive both academically and socially.

The purpose of this study is to examine equitable practices in rural schools. Using a constructivist paradigm, a grounded theory research approach was utilized through collection of qualitative data to theorize why some rural schools are further advanced than other rural schools of …

The Relationship Between Teacher Efficacy, Leadership Support, And Professional Learning Communities: Implications Of A Pilot Study, Shana Spriggs-Loring

Theses and Dissertations

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Evaluating Equity: Examining Inclusionary Practices From Educational Organizations To Improve The Education Experience Of Lgbtqia+ Students, Jillian G. Torrento

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This qualitative study explored the ways in which education policy and practices within public schools are addressing the needs of minoritized populations with a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ students. This study first employed a document analysis to investigate the federal, state, and district-level equity practices that are mandated or elective in addressing the needs of marginalized populations and LGBTQIA+ students. Secondly, a critical discourse analysis was conducted to examine the specific language, word choices, and symbols found within the public documents that signify equitable practices pertaining to minoritized student populations and the LGBTQIA+ community. Ultimately, the goal of this study …

The Effects That Spaces And Places Of Campus Have On Undergraduate Students, Ashley Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Student sense of belonging on campus is changing post COVID-19 pandemic, and this is because the way students utilize spaces on campus has evolved. Facilities on campus can impact the way students feel they belong based on how the spaces are set up and where students go in between classes (Samura, 2018). This study investigated the relationship between providing accessible, specific physical spaces and the participants' perception of student belonging. Undergraduate students enrolled full time at Rowan University were interviewed to collect data, and a qualitative research approach was used to analyze the data. Results conclude that there is a …

The College Search Process Of Rural, First-Generation Students, Tia Miles

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

First-generation college students (FGCS) continue to be one of the largest growing groups of students across higher education. Being a FGCS comes with a unique set of challenges when facing the choice of a college or university. This research aims to identify barriers that FGCS face in the college search process to provide student support professionals with information and recommendations on how to effectively support FGCS in the college search process. Previous research has often focused on the matriculation, retention, and graduation of FGCS. It is important to understand how FGCS select an institution of higher education to improve retention …