Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Administrators'

Administrators are under the intense pressures of accountability to meet expectations in both student achievement and school improvement. To survive the intensity, administrators must exercise data informed leadership of which the epicenter is effective data use. This descriptive study was designed to examine the perceptions of administrators’ data use through the framework of the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Specifically, the study examined their beliefs regarding the importance of data use, the data tasks and skills they perform in their current positons, and the extent of their preparation to use data from their administrative preparation program, as well as elicit their perceptions as to what data skills should be taught in preparation programs.

Prior literature indicated that administrative programs were not adequately preparing administrators to effectively use data and it lacked the specificity as which data skills were most effective in the exercise of data informed leadership. Only a few studies offered a restricted examination of data use incorporated in an overall study but no study exclusively examined administrators’ data use through the three aspects of this framework. A slightly modified version of Sheboy’s (2006) administrators’ data use survey (ADUS) with a 5-point Likert scale was used in this study.

The data indicate administrators’ have positive attitudes towards data use and regularly perform particular data tasks in their role as administrators. The data did not indicate agreement one way or the other regarding their preparation to use data though further analyses indicated a significant difference between the groups of administrators’ based on time periods since completing an administrative leadership program. The data indicate a strong agreement regarding the mandatory inclusion of certain data skills into preparation programs; the participants also provided very specific suggestions as to what other skills should be included in the preparation. Overall, though the findings indicate some improvement in the preparation of administrators in data use skills, there is still disconnect between what skills they perform, what they suggest should be required in preparation programs, and their actual preparation to use data.

The teacher-student relationship is a vital component to the social, emotional, and academic growth of students. Nationwide the one constant in teachers’ classrooms are the observations by administrators. Administrators play a supporting role for students and teachers in our modern educational system.

The present case study examined four middle schools in a school district in Southern California. Four principals, four assistant principals, six teachers, and one superintendent of human resources were interviewed. Classroom observations with administrators were also conducted. Previous terms used to describe negative teacher affect have been teacher bullying, student maltreatment, and student victimization. Teacher affect was chosen to delineate the behaviors rather than the intentionality.

The findings suggest administrators look to the students and their interaction with the teacher to help recognize positive or negative affect. Although no formal training takes place, much informal collaboration among administrators happens behind the scenes to decide on how best to support a teacher demonstrating negative affect. All participants agreed the best way for administration to encourage positive affect was by modeling it themselves with staff and students. Creating a positive school environment for staff and students was important and most participants noted the belief of positivity coming from the top, at a district level, and flowing down into the classrooms. The suggestions for the educational community are concepts that can be implemented simply and economically to support a positive learning environment.

This study examines whether or not empathy can be increased in school administrators through blogging. Five school administrators blogged for three months, shared posts with each other, and used narrative writing techniques. A mixed methods analysis was completed. The Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index was administered as a pre and posttest. Results were calculated using a dependent t test. No statistical significance was found. The quantitative analysis was completed using a computer assisted qualitative data analysis program called MAXQDA. The analysis revealed that the majority of posts included reflection, an essential element of empathy. Currently, school administrators have been tasked with the dual roles of leadership and management. Their interpersonal skills, especially empathy, must be honed to ensure their efficacy. The study was modeled on research completed in the medical field using physicians in training. Results from the medical field showed that blogging did increase the physicians’ capacity to change perspectives and to reflect. The difference between blogging for physicians and school administrators, though, is that blogging also served as an easy way for administrators to establish a communication and professional network. Perhaps, through blogging, it is possible to increase the administrator’s capacity for reflection, perspective taking, and ultimately, for empathy for all of their stakeholders.

The purpose of this study was to an investigate school administrator perceptions of their authority to intervene in disciplinary issues that arise from students’ use of social media. The overarching question for this proposal was: How do educational leaders view their role in protecting students and the learning environment from student misconduct that occurs off campus?

The exponential use of personal technology allows students to continuously interact with each other, even off school campus. Some of this interaction represents a continually unwanted harassment between students. In Louisiana, there have been at least three documented cases of students committing suicide following negative exchanges online with their peers. Such negative communications between students may also disturb the learning environment of the school. School districts may also vary in their approach to addressing issues originating either off campus or on social media.

Leadership as organizational practice and its study as a phenomenon have been traced to the beginning of civilization. In the landscape of the 21st century, executives who lead their companies to thrive in the global economy are challenged to have and effectively apply a broad range of leadership skills in their daily work in a constantly changing environment. They have to continuously adapt their behaviors and those of their organizations in order to develop a corporate culture and sustain their competitive edge. Change once was episodic; deliberate, planned, and executed. But in today’s turbulent environment, change is constant and the role of senior executives in leading organizational change is to provide leadership that fosters a shared mindset, new behaviors, and culture. This phenomenological study will examine the best leadership practices of turnaround K–12 public school administrators in LA County who have led a major change effort in their respective organizations. The need for change usually induces a high degree of stress (Kets de Vries & Balazs, 1998; Lichtenstein, 2000), thus the best executives who lead positive change efforts embrace change as their real job and need more than one approach for leading it, ensuring its institutionalization in the organization’s daily practices, hence transforming the organization through an innovation-driven culture. Data were collected from 15 turnaround public school administrators and superintendents in the form of a 12–question, semi-structured interview scheme, which focused on their past cognizance of leading such efforts in their organizations. The key findings of this study generated 94 themes among which 80 answered 4 research questions. Conspicuously, communication, collaboration, situational leadership, and transformational leadership emerged as the best leadership practices of these turnaround K–12 public school administrators. Similarly, participants indicated that having a clear understanding of the school improvement model, involving parents early, understanding the why, empowering others, being one’s own brand, being proactive, improving teacher recruitment and selection, and changing the culture increase the chances of success of a turnaround effort. As a result of the study findings, a framework of recommendations emerged for endeavoring and current turnaround administrators who embark onto similar efforts.

Educational administrators are expected to provide guidance to various stakeholders within the school environment. Educational administrator personality traits and leadership style were the focus of this study. Two research questions guided the focus of the current study. The first question examines the association between the degree of the transformational leadership style, the transactional leadership style and the laissez-faire leadership/non-leadership style and the magnitude of the Big Five personality traits of California unified school district administrators. The second question explored the relationship between educational administrator school type (elementary, middle and high school) with leadership style as well as personality traits. Although several studies focus on leadership style and personality traits independently, little is known about the interaction between school administrator’s leadership style in relation to their personality traits. Additionally, few studies have investigated the relationship between administrator school type (elementary, middle and high school) with leadership style as well as personality traits. This quantitative study utilizes a self-report survey design with a sampling of 376 California unified school district educational administrators. Study data was collected using the Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ:5X – Self) to measure leadership style as well as the Tem Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) used to measure personality traits. Findings from this study indicate a statistically significant relationship between educational administrators’ leadership style and personality traits. Furthermore, results indicate a statistically significant difference detected between the educational administrators’ school type (elementary, middle, high school) and leadership style in relation to their personality traits.