Historically, the role of district central offices has been to efficiently execute policy and compliance demands around enrollment, funding, licensure, facilities, and academic standards with little attention to the processes and learning that is needed to promote high-quality instruction. This capstone examines the implications of organizing…

This dissertation explores the lived experience of short-term substitute teachers in K-8 public school settings, aiming to deconstruct common assumptions and identify areas for improvement in support systems. A case-selection variant of an explanatory sequential mixed methods design was utilized. In the first phase of the study, quantitative data…

This qualitative case study focuses on the impact of neoliberal education reform on an urban charter school serving students of Color. This study has two main objectives: to examine how neoliberal reform influences the goal-oriented actions of data meetings (DMs) in an urban elementary school and engages in a formative intervention methodology to…

In August 2021 the Governor of Illinois passed a mandate (SB 818) that expanded the requirements for comprehensive sex education in schools. One purpose of the bill was to help ensure that sex education is inclusive and affirming of the LGBTQIA+ community. There is an abundance of research that shows that LGBTQIA+ students feel excluded from sex…

Mainstream America needs a reorientation. Despite the focus portraying all Black Americans as living in inner-city poverty by mass media or social scientist, the African American middle-class is growing. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand African American middle-class graduating students on Historically White College…

The University of Arkansas System eVersity was established in 2014 by the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees. More than 80% of the student population at the institution is non-traditional, with time or location restrictions that prevent participation in on-campus degree programs. eVersity Engage is a required orientation course…

Research on principal leadership is extensive; however, studies suggest such research cannot be generalized across all contexts, as educational leaders' needs are a result of the specific context in which they work. Since there is limited research on principal leadership in the Dominican Republic (DR), the country can benefit from current and…

In 2018 the Trump Administration's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) under Betsy DeVos moved to institute new recommendations for implementing Title IX in American educational institutions. In this dissertation I converse with the OCR regarding their new guidelines for interpreting Title IX in colleges and universities with respect to sexual…

This study provides evidence that systematic management of change can facilitate the implementation of first-year experience programming that leads to improved results in retention and student success for community college students. The study includes four major themes: (a) first-year experience, (b) change management, (c) change leadership, and…

Since the publication of the groundbreaking 1983 report A Nation At Risk: The Imperative For Educational Reform and the enactment of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2001, America's public schools have undergone dramatic changes. These significant changes have required school administrators to be more of an educational leader to students and staff,…

The purpose of this replicated study was to discover the critical dimensions of leadership demonstrated by two Catholic school principals who successfully facilitated change in their schools, and the strategies and skills they practice to create that change. These leaders were deemed effective because they were recommended by the Assistant…

This study explores how a problem-solving based professional learning community (PLC) affects the beliefs, knowledge, and instructional practices of two sixth-grade mathematics teachers. An interview and two observations were conducted prior to beginning the year-long PLC in order to gather information about the participants' beliefs,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived strengths and limitations of the AdvancED/NCA district model of accreditation. Indiana public school superintendent, principal, and teacher results were examined in order to determine effective systems model improvement efforts. The survey results of district-accredited staff members from…

This study examined how stakeholders in one school district located in a remote town perceived the instructional improvement efforts of the district, as well as the constraints and enablers of implementing instructional reforms. A qualitative approach, consisting mainly of interviews with teachers, principals, district administrators, and other…

This study seeks to describe how elementary principals in a large Washington school district perceived the district office administration's implementation of Response to Intervention over a four-year period. RTI is a widely used intervention system that requires schools to assess whether each of their students is learning, adapting instruction for…