Educational Leadership Commons^™

The Perspective Of Black Male Middle School And High School Students In A Mentoring Program, Quennel W. Cooper

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This qualitative phenomenological study explores the perspectives of Black adolescent males in an in-school mentoring program. There are predictable data in education that consistently show that Black males have the lowest graduation rates and the highest behavior suspensions. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a mentoring program containing all the essential components was a successful intervention to help Black males succeed in education.

The study affirmed that a mentoring program led by a strong Black male mentor fostered a fraternal brotherhood, taught academic and social skills, and kept Black males engaged and successful in middle and high …

A Quantitative Examination Of The Impostor Phenomenon In Community College And Technical College Presidents In The Upper Midwest, Jeffrey Pool

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this dissertation is to study the impostor phenomenon feelings in community and technical college presidents in the upper Midwest. This research is grounded in the previous works of Dr. P.R.Clance and uses her Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) to evaluate the strength of impostor phenomenon feelings. Previous research has examined business leadership, women in leadership roles, university faculty, and students, but there is currently no research that applies specifically to higher education leadership. The research specifically examines the strength of impostor feelings in correlation to the president’s race, gender, and length of time in a presidency.

Exploring The Effects Of Creativity And Student Success On Community College Stem Students Taking Fine Arts Courses, Jimmy Leduc

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study examined overall success and creativity in students taking STEM courses at a Midwestern community college. There were four hypotheses in this study. The first was that STEM majors who had taken one or more fine arts courses would report a higher GPA than STEM majors who have not taken fine arts courses. The second was that there would be a positive correlation among STEM majors between the number of fine arts courses taken and grade point average. The third is that STEM majors who had taken one or more fine arts courses would demonstrate greater creativity than STEM …

Perceptions Of Academic Self-Concept: Testimonios Of Junior High School Latinas, Ernestina Aguilar

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Eurocentric and marginalizing schooling practices hinder Latino student persistence in US Schools. Furthermore, an intentional focus placed on Latinas uncovers compounding layers of oppression permeating the educational system. Through an analysis of testimonios, this qualitative critical narrative study better understands the schooling experiences and academic self-concept of seven Latina junior high students. Guided by Latino Critical Race (LatCrit) and Intersectionality Theories, it contributes to understandings of how Latina youth experience the transition from elementary to junior high school and how they perceived themselves as scholars. Testimonios were captured through a three-part series of semi-structured videoconference interviews. Data analysis utilized tenets …

Why K-12 Public School Bus Drivers Stay In Their Jobs, Brian Patrick Carey

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study was designed to understand why K-12 public school bus drivers stay in their jobs. Currently, there is a perceived shortage of public school bus drivers nationally and locally. Many students ride the bus to and from school every day and without bus drivers, student access to education maybe at risk. This study was undertaken to learn if there is anything that public school administrators can do in the work environment to reduce turnover intentions of bus drivers. In 2021, surveys were provided to 301 bus drivers in 32 school districts in upstate New York to assess their turnover …

Does Mattering Matter? : An Analysis Of Mattering And Persistence Rates Of Eop And Non-Eop Students, Glenn David Pichardo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The multitude of benefits of college student retention for individuals, higher education institutions as well as our society has caused many researchers, administrators and policy makers to examine the causes of college student attrition as well as interventions that can potentially increase the success of students in post-secondary education. This study expands upon previous research on college student retention by utilizing Nancy Schlossberg’s theory of mattering and marginality as a lens to understand the retention of college students (Schlossberg, 1989). Based on Rosenburg and McCullough’s (1981) seminal work on mattering, Schlossberg (1989) developed a theory of mattering and marginality. Mattering, …

A Case Study Of School Turnaround: How Leadership Behavior, Professional Learning, And Efficacy Building Can Impact Student Performance, Winter Goodson

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of school turnaround through an examination of educator perceptions of the implementation of Voelkel’s (2014) framework for professional learning communities (PLCs), collective efficacy, and transformational leadership, which provided the theoretical framework for the study. This study explored the processes that take place in one of the previously lowest-performing elementary schools in the state to explore the patterns of behavior and beliefs of the team engaged in the work of turnaround. During this study, 19 educators completed a 25-question survey instrument with a 5-point Likert scale that measured the aforementioned constructs …

Retention Of African American Male Teachers, Lessons Learned From The Field, Patrice Holmes

Doctor of Education Dissertations

A lot of research has been written on why African American males decide to leave the field of education; factors such as pay, job satisfaction, prestige, and lack of growth opportunities are major influencers on their decisions. A number of studies noted that African American males face job discrimination in a variety of subtle and not-so-subtle ways which contribute to their leaving the profession. This research surveyed African American male teachers who left the classroom to share personal reflections that led to leaving the classroom and what steps could have been taken to retain them in the classroom. The research …

The Importance Of Mentorship, Sponsorship, And Politics For Women Of Color Who Aspire To The Superintendency And Other School Leadership Roles, Cicily Mccrimmon

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if mentorship and sponsorship could help identify the potential political pitfalls or “hidden rules” of senior-level leadership to increase the identification, recruitment, and retention of minority women, specifically African American women in the role of superintendent or executive at the school and district level. This phenomenological study explored how leadership expectations for women of color have changed over time; however, the narratives illustrate that perceptions related to women of color in senior-level leadership have largely remained unchanged. The absence of the narrative for minority women in leadership, including the limited number serving …

Exploring White Racial Identity Development Within Christian Colleges, Glen Kinoshita

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

Racial identity development is a growth process in which many college students engage as they regularly interact with peers and instructors from diverse backgrounds. As compositional diversity, as well as diversity of thought, lags at Christian colleges, the purpose of this qualitative, narrative study was to understand how White students who have undergone significant progress in their racial identity development, describe their process while attending predominantly White, evangelical, Christian colleges. Three participants from three Christian colleges/universities were interviewed, a total of nine, White student participants. One college was located in the Pacific Northwest and two colleges were located in Southern …

Growth: 21 (2022) Full Issue

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

The full issue of the twenty-first edition of Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development.

Advising And Supporting College Students Experiencing Imposter Syndrome: A Christian Perspective, Jeannine Kranzow

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

For Christian student affairs educators, it is essential that the methods of advising and supporting students be in line with biblical directives for a whole and holy life. This paper will examine approaches for advising and supporting students experiencing imposter syndrome. Current research on impostor syndrome is presented as well as a discussion of ways that Christian insight can provide additional guidance and awareness for supporting struggling students. By connecting both biblical wisdom and the current scholarship, a Christian perspective of impostor syndrome, anchored in a discussion on spiritual warfare, is offered. Using this perspective, recommendations for practice are identified.

Living Life Together: A Qualatative Study Of Taylor University's Lifestyle Covenant, Jana Roste

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

Taylor University, a small, Christian, liberal arts institution in the Midwest, utilizes a lifestyle covenant which outlines expectations for campus life to promote character development and fulfill the university’s mission. In pursuit of exploring community members’ perceptions of the Life Together Covenant (LTC), the larger qualitative study, consisting of individual interviews with ten senior students, ten staff members, and ten faculty members, found that participants generally perceived the LTC as a guide or set of expectations to live cohesively at Taylor. This article focuses on the student findings and analyses. Students generally perceive and experience the LTC in a legalistic …

Nature Rx: Improving College-Student Mental Health, Christina Brandsma

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

Christina Brandsma reviews Nature Rx: Improving College-Student Mental Health by Donald A. Rakow and Gregory T. Eells, published by Cornell University Press, 2019.

Finding Jesus In The Storm: The Spiritual Lives Of Christians With Mental Health Challenges, Jeffrey Tabone

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

Jeffrey Tabone reviews Finding Jesus in the Storm: The Spiritual Lives of Christians with Mental Health Challenges by John Swinton, published by Eerdmans, 2020.

Algorithms Of Opporession: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, Jazmin Dantzler

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

Jazmin "JD" Dantzler reviews Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Stafiya Umoja Noble, published by NYU Press, 2018.

The Effects Of Nomophobia On Employee Engagement, Amber Joy Shirlyn Daniel

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The study outlines the path that the researcher took to investigate the phenomenon of nomophobia as it relates to employee engagement. In the first two chapters, the researcher outlines a synopsis of the problem, presents gleanings from a review of pertinent literature on employee engagement and nomophobia, and articulates a basic conceptual framework for the study. The researcher also shares how the data was collected and analyzed in the third chapter of this document. In the fourth chapter, the method is articulated and finally, results and recommendations are shared in the last chapter.

Relationship Between Student Hope And Academic Achievement, Deanna S. Fosness

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Educational research is ubiquitous; however, agreement on best practices is not. Although parents, teachers, students, and communities have a vested interest in students' success, varying practices of what is taught, how it is taught, and to whom it is taught are still debated.

This study expands upon work done by Dr. Scott Wurdinger and Dr. Ron Newell in which their research shows that student hope and NWEA math and reading scores appear to be correlated. To expand upon those results, demographic information was used to see if a difference exists amongst dichotomized groups. The results indicate that the difference in …

Student Experiences With University Accessibility Services: A Quantitative Inquiry, Charles Hilston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of an accessibility services office on student achievement and cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA). This research was a quantitative exploratory study designed to investigate student experiences with using accessibility services and transitioning into a Major Southeastern University (MSU) in the United States. Participants in the study were actively enrolled undergraduate students with a learning exceptionality. The students that completed the questionnaire answered questions regarding their experiences with using the services provided by the office, along with their experiences with transitioning into the university. The results of this research are intended …

Engagement In Online Math Courses: An Exploration Into Success Rates Of Professors Who Use Engagement Tools In Online Learning, Shauna Rogan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

As more college courses transition to hybrid and fully online models due to Covid-19, the classroom environment for higher education has changed and will continue to do so (Bonk, 2020). As online learning continues to grow, a challenge of not connecting with the instructor can be a concern. Success in the online classroom is possible for students who may feel they are alone in online learning (Holbeck & Hartman, 2018). With the right combination of engagement tools, student interaction with the curriculum, class, and professor result in a meaningful learning experience (Holbeck & Hartman, 2018). The history of online education, …

An Investigation Of The Excess Credit Hour Surcharge Policy And Its Impact On First-Time-In-College Students At A Large Metropolitan University In The State Of Florida, Lynn Grabenhorst

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

An Excess Credit Hour policy "assesses a tuition surcharge for any credits taken beyond a predetermined threshold" (Smith, 2017, para. 1). In 2009, the State of Florida implemented legislation on excess credit hours at four-year public institutions, Fla. Stat. § 1009.286 (State of Florida, 2012). Legislation found under title forty-eight (XLVIII) of the K-20 Education Code, Fla. Stat. § 1009.286, relating to "Educational Scholarships, Fees, and Financial Assistance," discussed the "intent of the Legislature to encourage each undergraduate student who enrolls in a state university to complete the student's respective baccalaureate degree program in the most efficient way possible…" (State …

The Lived Experiences Of Faculty In The Covid-19 Pandemic Shift In Instruction, Alison Hammack

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study sought to understand the lived experiences of mathematics faculty teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic's rapid shift from on-campus instruction to online education. Faculty are the primary influencers at a college. Their perspectives on the challenges and changes to teaching practices may determine a college's response to improving teaching and learning during a crisis. At the time of the COVID-19 transition, many faculty had no experience creating and teaching an online course, and some had previously been resistant to teaching online. Using a phenomenological approach, nine participants at a large state college were interviewed using the Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform …

Remote Learning During Covid-19 On Internal Medicine Residents' Education: Barriers And Enhancements Through Lived Experiences, Stephanie Rivera-Velazquez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The COVID-19 pandemic uncovered instructional changes within higher education. Accommodations for continued instruction included a transition to remote learning. However, little research exists regarding the experiences of medical residents during this transition in their education while combating the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study, phenomenological in nature, aimed to explore the lived experiences of internal medicine medical residents at one medical college in Central Florida regarding the transition from face-to-face instruction to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eleven participating medical residents underwent semi-structured interviews via Zoom. Garrison's Community of Inquiry conceptual model and Hall and Hord's Concerns-Based Adoption Model …

Transformational Leadership In Higher Education Programs, Joshua L. Howell, Kim E. Bullington, Dennis E. Gregory, Mitchell R. Williams, William L. Nuckols

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The current mixed-method study investigates transformational leadership qualities through higher education doctoral programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This study relies on three data points: interviews with graduate program directors of higher education doctoral programs (whether PhD or EdD), a program evaluation of programs, and Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x™) survey results from students within said programs. Data were collected from the five public universities that offer higher education doctoral programs within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Students completed a self-rating using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x™) and then were peer-rated by colleagues to strengthen the validity of the study. Additionally, themes …

The "Unite The Right" Rally And Charlottesville City Schools: The Transformation Of A Crisis, Sara Lourdes Epperly, Jay Paredes Scribner, Karen L. Sanzo

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Educational leaders at all levels must be prepared to address crises and their aftermaths. The conventional wisdom on crises and their management suggests that while crisis can originate from myriad sources, they largely proceed according to predictable stages. Our study draws from traditional and more critical literature on crisis and crisis management to understand the case the 2017 Unite the Right rally and its impact on Charlottesville City Schools. Specifically, we unpack the unfolding nature of the crisis and the district superintendent’s leadership through each phase of the crisis. We use the notion of paracrisis and crisis of challenge to …

Impacting Website Visitor Engagement Through Information Provision, Will Buntin

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Enrollment in library science programs has been on a downward trend for several years (Association for Library and Information Science Education, n.d.). At the School of Information Science in the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky, enrollment in the online library science master's program dropped 28% from 2012 to 2018. With a student population in fall 2018 of 177 and a targeted enrollment (set by program faculty) of 240, the program administration has been exploring ways to recruit more students without further stressing the resources available to the School. The Director and Assistant Director of the …

The Power Of Connections: An Online Doctoral Program's Use Of Strategic Onboarding To Enhance The Doctoral Experience, Jeri Heileman

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

A positive doctoral experience is rooted in an understanding of the expectations and reality of doctoral–level work. Students need specific knowledge, skills, and mindsets to complete coursework, critically analyze research, and write and defend a research dissertation. Despite a mutual commitment to academic achievement and graduation by faculty and students, attrition in doctoral programs remains high. This rate is even higher for those in online programs. Additionally, there are many challenges doctoral students experience outside of the core curriculum. The challenges facing students vary depending on the phase of the doctoral journey and the individual development of each student.

This …

Improving Self-Efficacy Of Teams Supporting Administrators And Teachers Through Communities Of Practice, Boyd Gudgel

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

The purpose of this study was to enhance the capacity of high school team staff members to support high school-level administrators and teachers providing services to students with disabilities in Jefferson County Public Schools. This task was accomplished by increasing their Individual Education Program (IEP) knowledge and skill acquisition through the implementation of a Community of Practice (CoP) as an intervention. Increasing staffs knowledge and skill in properly implementing a student’s IEP, may make them more efficacious in supporting high school level administrators and teachers.

The study used a mixed-methods action research design to collect and analyze data to inform …

Meeting Transfer Students Where They Are: A New Organizational Approach To Transfer Student Communication, Support, And Recruitment, Daniel Wright

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Transfer students have long played a significant role in the growth and diversity of colleges and universities. Recent research points to a continuous decline in enrollment over the coming decade (Kelderman, Gardner, & Conley, 2019), and as tuition costs continue to increase and enrollment numbers decrease, institutions of higher education have begun turning to transfer students to fill their lecture halls and football stadiums. A key variable in higher education’s transfer recruitment blind spot is a fundamental lack of understanding of the structural and organizational changes needed to both attract and retain these non-traditional students (Tobolowsky & Cox, 2012). For …

Housewives To Heroines: Continuing Education For Women At The University Of Kentucky, 1964-1988, Allison L. Elliott

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Beginning in the early 1960s, the movement for the continuing education for women (CEW) brought together a seemingly unlikely alliance of American activists, educators, philanthropists, and government agencies. Fueled by philanthropic funds, accelerated by the quest for “womanpower” to bolster national defense, and aligned with regional workforce needs as well as the personal goals of individual women, CEW programs pioneered new models of academic advising and student support that continue to influence higher education practitioners today. By studying the experiences of both administrators and students involved with CEW at the University of Kentucky, this study sheds light on how one …