Matching Items (13)
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- All Subjects: Educational leadership
- Creators: Judson, Eugene
Description
Parents die during the lives of their children. If the child is an adolescent, that death will impact the student's education immediately or in subsequent years. Findings show the death of a mother does impact the daughter's education. It is imperative educators are willing to work with the student at the time the death occurs as well as in the ensuing months. Seidman's (2006) three-interview format was used as a template for the interviews of 11 women, ranging in age from 19 to 78 and whose mothers died when the women were adolescents. The interviews were primarily conducted in one sitting, transcribed, and then analyzed for common themes that connected to the research on the topic. Those themes include grieving, the role of caring in education, the role of teacher as the second mother, mother-daughter relationships, and the impact of parent death on schooling. These themes from the data cross cut with thematic strands within the study's theoretical framework: the nurturing and empathetic role of the mother, a desire of the daughter not to be different, and the ethics of caring. Findings in this study reveal that the negative impacts of mother loss are felt in diffuse ways, such as a lack of academic or emotional encouragement. Many women discussed the need and availability of support groups including groups at colleges. One practical implication of these findings is schools need to become caring communities in which caring is the norm for all students and teachers, thereby providing all students with needed support in times of crisis. The implications for further research include the impact of the mother death on the education of daughters, how volunteering with an organization related to the cause of the mother's death assists the daughter and types of programs most important to a student's success in post-secondary education. Adolescents are in a time of great change in their lives, and for a daughter, the loss of a mother has an everlasting, life-changing impact.
ContributorsRatti, Theresa Helen McLuskey (Author) / Mccarty, Teresa L (Thesis advisor) / Fischman, Gustavo E. (Committee member) / Powers, Jeanne M. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
ABSTRACT For more than thirty years the gender gap in science and related careers has been a key concern of researchers, teachers, professional organizations, and policy makers. Despite indicators of progress for women and girls on some measures of achievement, course enrollment patterns, and employment, fewer women than men pursue college degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. According to the results of national assessments, the gender gap in science achievement begins to be evident in the middle school years. Gender and school science achievement involve a complex set of factors associated with schools and child/family systems that may include school leadership, institutional practices, curriculum content, teacher training programs, teacher expectations, student interests, parental involvement, and cultural values. This ethnographic case study was designed to explore the context for science education reform and the participation of middle school girls. The study analyzed and compared teaching strategies and female student engagement in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade science classrooms. The setting was a middle school situated in a district that was well-known for its achievement in reading, math, and technology. Findings from the study indicated that while classroom instruction was predominantly organized around traditional school science, the girls were more disciplined and outperformed the boys. The size of the classrooms, time to prepare for hands-on activities, and obtaining resources were identified as barriers to teaching science in ways that aligned with recent national science reform initiatives. Parents who participated in the study were very supportive of their daughters' academic progress and career goals. A few of the parents suggested that the school's science program include more hands-on activities; instruction designed for the advanced learner; and information related to future careers. Overall the teachers and students perceived their science program to be gender fair. Eighth grade participants who had career goals related to science and engineering, indicated that their science instruction did not provide the rigor they needed to improve their critical skills for advanced placement in high school. Recommendations include the need for professional development on inquiry-based science, equitable student achievement, and diverse perspectives in science education.
ContributorsSmiley, Bettie (Author) / Powers, Jeanne M. (Thesis advisor) / Appleton, Nicholas (Committee member) / Macey, Donna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
As schools across Arizona worked to meet NCLB's AYP requirement in 2010-2011, they were also labeled and sanctioned by AZ Learns. This phenomenological study focused on six effective high school principals in two Arizona school districts to ascertain how accountability policies impacted the principals' job responsibilities, autonomy, and ability to pursue social justice on their campuses. Interviews were conducted in three phases: superintendents, three principals from the superintendents' recommendations of effective school leaders, and three teachers from each school. In addition to analysis of individual principal leadership patterns, comparisons were made across districts, and from school to school within the same district. The goal of the study was to determine if and how principals were able to accomplish their goals for their school. The principals' leadership styles were examined through a Vortex Leadership Framework that posited principals at the center of a vortex of varying leadership roles, interests, and external forces, including accountability, autonomy, and limited resources. Key findings included (a) high school principals' responsibilities now include selling change to their staff, (b) principals' accountability is limited more by district constraints than by state or federal accountability, (c) principals must contend with rigid one-size fits all accountability standards that do not always meet the needs of their students, and (d) principals' autonomy is tied to their resources, including funding for staffing and programs.
ContributorsBatsell, Holly (Author) / Powers, Jeanne M. (Thesis advisor) / Mccarty, Teresa (Committee member) / Davey, Lynn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The problem of practice addressed in this mixed methods action research study is the underachievement of fifth-grade students in mathematics. This study explores the effects of an innovation designed to help students develop a growth mindset by utilizing self-regulation strategies to improve academic growth in mathematics. Students’ underachievement in mathematics has been illustrated by both state and international assessments. Throughout the decades, mathematics instruction and reforms have varied, but overall students’ psychological needs have been neglected. This innovation was designed to develop students’ psychological characteristics regarding facing challenges in mathematics. For this purpose, two guiding theories were utilized to frame this research study, Dweck’s mindset theory and self-regulation theory. To address the research questions of this study, pre- and post-questionnaire data, observational data and student work was analyzed. Results of the qualitative data indicated that the innovation positively impacted students’ mindsets and use of self-regulation strategies. However, quantitative data indicated the innovation had no effect on students’ use of self-regulation strategies or academic growth, and a negative impact on students’ mindsets.
ContributorsManchester, Sarah (Author) / Judson, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Moses, Lindsey (Committee member) / Ellis, Raquel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
ABSTRACTLeading change is one of the most daunting tasks for K–12 site leaders. It is well established that the site leaders’ influence on student learning is profound, and the importance of implementing changes to improve practice is paramount. This action research study aimed to examine how a research-based professional development and coaching program could impact site leaders’ attitudes, beliefs, practices, and the teachers’ perceptions. The study occurred over 14 weeks at a public elementary school. The intervention contained two professional development sessions, which included learning and planned implementation of research-based strategies and weekly coaching sessions once the school year started. The theories that supported this study included change leadership, distributed leadership, transformational leadership, social cognitive theory, sensemaking, and literature on veteran teachers.
A mixed methods action research design using quantitative and qualitative data was gathered simultaneously through a pre- and postintervention collection. Data was gathered from Monday Memos, a staff meeting observation, staff meeting agendas, coaching field notes, the Staff Perception Survey, and interviews which were all used to analyze then address the research questions. During the qualitative data analysis, the codes were categorized, and themes were examined to determine any shifts from the initial data compared to the postintervention data. Due to the small sample size and lack of data normality on the Staff Perception Survey, instead of a conventional t test, the more conservative nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test was applied to assess pre-to-post differences. Results indicated no statistically significant differences between the pre- and postintervention survey among individual items or collective construct items (i.e., teacher voice, shared vision, removing obstacles, and building culture).
The results suggest that there was a shift in how the site leaders conceptualized their role as a leader of change through the coaching program intervention. It was expanded, hopeful, and the site leaders saw the increased weight of their role in the impact of leading change. Further, through the research-based coaching program, site leaders changed their practice regarding their consistency and both expanded and shifted change strategies. In conclusion, limitations give perspective while implications for practice and research provide for an exciting future.
ContributorsBaldwin, Jennifer Sue (Author) / Judson, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Hermanns, Carl (Committee member) / Plough, Bobbie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Over the past several decades, there has been a shift toward gender parity in enrollment in colleges and universities across the United States. While more women have been enrolling in institutions of higher education, there has been a stagnation in the graduation rates of these women. This mixed methods study sought to understand the role that imposter syndrome, and its contributing factors, gender microaggression and stereotype threat, play in women persisting and graduating with their bachelor’s degree. The literature suggests that imposter syndrome as well as its contributing factors of gender microaggression and stereotype threat can prompt women to opt out of situations where their feelings of self-doubt are subject to external confirmation. To assess how participating in a series of Leadership Development Program (LDP) workshops affected these constructs, data collection was comprised of pre-post survey design and qualitative focus group interviewing. Survey analysis indicated that the symptoms of imposter syndrome decreased as a result of completing the LDP workshops. The focus group highlighted the importance of creating a support system that allows women to address feelings of imposter syndrome and to overcome the negative thought patterns. While this study did not provide definitive support for the LDP workshops in increasing the rate of women graduating with their bachelor’s degree, it did provide insight into its effectiveness in addressing the symptoms of imposter syndrome and providing essential support to overcome associated negative thought processes.
ContributorsYantorno, Christina (Author) / Judson, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Hillman, Amy (Committee member) / Ivie, Tara (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The problem of practice addressed in this mixed-methods research study is assessing whether participating in professional development workshops helped community college instructors improve their pedagogical practices, leading to improved student success and achievement rates. In this study, I explore the effects of an intervention I designed to help English 101 instructors teach a new, direct-placement composition class, which was created to comply with the mandates of AB-705, an educational reform bill in California. I used three guiding theories to undergird and evaluate the intervention: Darling-Hammond et al.'s Accountability Approach (2014), Freire's Critical Pedagogy (1970), and Kirkpatrick and Kayser-Kirkpatrick’s Model of Training Effectiveness (2009). To address the research questions of this study, I analyzed pre- and post-surveys, faculty interviews, and student success and retention data. The results from the data were mixed. While the quantitative survey data did not support the claim that the College of the Canyons (COC) SkillShare Workshops affected instructors’ attitudes about teaching and their teaching behaviors, the qualitative interview data showed that the workshops did improve instructors’ professional capacities and were a valuable professional development resource. Additionally, the quantitative institutional data demonstrated that workshop participation significantly increased instructors’ student success and retention rates.
ContributorsTerzian-Zeitounian, Alene (Author) / Judson, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Ross, Lydia (Committee member) / Meuschke, Daylene (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Studies of discourse are prevalent in mathematics education, as are investigations on facilitating change in instructional practices that impact student attitudes toward mathematics. However, the literature has not sufficiently addressed the operationalization of the commognitive framework in the context of Calculus I, nor considered the inevitable impact on students’ attitudes of persistence, confidence, and enjoyment of mathematics. This study presents an innovation, founded, designed, and implemented, utilizing four frameworks. The overarching theory pivots to commognition, a theory that asserts communication is tantamount to thinking. Students experienced a Calculus I class grounded on four frames: a theoretical, a conceptual, a design pattern, and an analytical framework, which combined, engaged students in discursive practices. Multiple activities invited specific student actions: uncover, play, apply, connect, question, and realize, prompting calculus discourse. The study exploited a mixed-methods action research design that aimed to explore how discursive activities impact students’ understanding of the derivative and how and to what extent instructional practices, which prompt mathematical discourse, impact students’ persistence, confidence, and enjoyment of calculus.
This study offers a potential solution to a problem of practice that has long challenged practitioners and researchers—the persistence of Calculus I as a gatekeeper for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). In this investigation it is suggested that Good and Ambitious Teaching practices, including asking students to explain their thinking and assigning group projects, positively impact students’ persistence, confidence, and enjoyment. Common calculus discourse among the experimental students, particularly discursive activities engaging word use and visual representations of the derivative, warrants further research for the pragmatic utility of the fine grain of a commognitive framework. For researchers the work provides a lens through which they can examine data resulting from the operationalization of multiple frameworks working in tandem. For practitioners, mathematical objects as discursive objects, allow for classrooms with readily observable outcomes.
ContributorsChowdhury, Madeleine Perez (Author) / Judson, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray (Committee member) / Reinholz, Daniel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Community college students make up nearly half of all college students (41%) and community colleges provide a unique opportunity for educators to instruct students in a more close-knit learning environment. While one goal at Estrella Mountain Community College is to support all students in their learning, some students, particularly Black and African American students, face equity gaps in milestones such as successfully completing classes, which may be due in part to a lower sense of belonging in the classroom. To address this problem of practice, a book study was conducted using the tenets of Communities of Practice (CoPs) to explore Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain (CRT-B) by Zeretta Hammond. The study aimed to enhance educators' self-efficacy in culturally responsive teaching (CRTeaching) and cultural care and empathy towards their students, which was aligned with the goal of increasing inclusion and belonging in EMCC classrooms. This is because CRTeaching has been found to boost students' sense of belonging in classrooms. Pre- and post-measures were used to assess any changes in these constructs, with educator participants also distributing surveys to their students before and after the book study. Both surveys included quantitative and qualitative measures, with additional interviews conducted with four educator participants.
The study found a significant increase in educators' self-efficacy for CRTeaching and general instruction, as well as a non-statistically significant increase in cultural care/empathy and students' sense of belonging and inclusion in the classroom. This increase was documented using several measures. Qualitative findings from both groups were also closely analyzed, leading to the development of a conceptual framework that can be used to advance CRTeaching or increase buy-in for such professional development opportunities in the future.
ContributorsWager, Erica (Author) / Judson, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Ross, Lydia (Committee member) / Van Puymbroeck, Christina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
The purpose of this quantitative action research study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an organization-wide book study in the K-12 environment. A growing charter school network was working towards an improved organizational culture to meet its mission. This study examined whether an organization-wide book study can make a difference in workplace belongingness, one of the core beliefs of the network. Bloom's Revised Taxonomy shaped the design of three distinct format options for the book study: facilitated, book club, and asynchronous. The study compared participants and non-participants in workplace belonging. Workplace belonging was measured using the Jena and Pradhan Workplace Belongingness Scale. Additionally, the study analyzed how the three different formats are more or less effective according to the Kirkpatrick Four-Level Model of Evaluation. The book study format effectiveness was measured using a modified version of the Lau, Henry, and Ebekozien training survey. Results were mixed. There was no significant difference found in workplace belonging among the three formats, and there was no significant difference found between the control group and experimental group. Significant difference was found in the facilitated format’s overviews and discussions when compared to the asynchronous group. Significant difference was also found in the book club’s discussions when compared to the asynchronous group.
ContributorsFowler, Betsy (Author) / Judson, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Maddin, Brent (Committee member) / Assisi, Nicole (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024