Rozprawy doktorskie na temat „Classroom leadership”

This qualitative case study explored how the classroom management practices of sampled teachers in a private school in central Oregon influenced classroom disruptions. Through the study, the researcher was able to provide insight on the differences in specific classroom management processes between teachers who had a high number of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) classroom discipline referrals versus those who had a low number. The phenomenon studied was how the classroom management practices and culture that the teachers developed in their classroom influenced the effectiveness of management of their students. Triangulation of data involved using teacher interviews, classroom observations, and classroom artifacts. Four research questions framed this study. Two models providing the theoretical foundation included Sugai and Horner positive behavioral support (PBS) and Edgar Schein’s model of culture. Two of the themes emerged as significant in advancing knowledge of teachers’ classroom management. First, in the area of teachers’ perception of classroom management, the teachers with high level of classroom referrals and those with low level of classroom referrals perceived that they had effective classroom management practices. Second, teachers with a low number of referrals appeared to take a more holistic approach to classroom management, while teachers with a high number of referrals used a more traditional approach to classroom management. Additional qualitative and quantitative research should further explore the effectiveness of a holistic classroom management model versus a more traditional classroom management model.

Before the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975), most efforts to educate students with disabilities happened in isolation. Within the last 40 years, a growing number of districts and individual schools have experimented with inclusive models in hopes of successfully educating students with and without disabilities in the same classrooms; however, general education students still hold negative attitudes toward students with disabilities. The contact hypothesis of intergroup contact theory postulates that prejudicial attitudes toward out-groups can be alleviated if the following conditions are present in and around contact situations: equal status, cooperation, common goals, and institutional support. The purpose of this dissertation was to create and validate the Intergroup Relations Classroom Environment Scale (IRCES), a teacher self-report survey instrument that, within K-12 classrooms, measures the four aforementioned conditions along with two additional conditions that theorists have added to the original list. Data collected from an extensive review of the literature, focus groups with experienced K-12 teachers and administrators, and interviews with social and cognitive psychologists were used to generate scale items; exploratory factor analyses were conducted to test the hypothesized six-factor model and reduce the number of items; and, the IRCES subscales were correlated with other classroom and school environment scales to assess convergent and discriminant validity. Analyses resulted in a 43-item, multidimensional scale that theoretically and practically matches the six optimal contact conditions. The IRCES provides researchers, administrators, and teachers with further knowledge of how to create and maintain a safe learning environment for all students.

Emotional labor refers to the efforts workers engage in to manage the expression of their feelings in order to meet organizational goals or norms. Although education researchers have established emotional labor among classroom teachers, the nuances and effects of emotional labor in classroom settings still requires more study and understanding. In particular, as researchers have identified the connections between emotional labor and stress among educators, they have posited that providing instruction on the constructs of emotional labor may help to decrease those feelings of stress. Researchers have not yet studied this idea. The aim of this study was to fill that gap by creating and evaluating an in-service training program for educators that teaches about the constructs of emotional labor.

The study design incorporated both qualitative and quantitative measures to determine not only if teachers can increase their understanding of emotional labor constructs through in-service training, but also how they apply these new understandings in their daily practice. The participants included 22 K-5 classroom teachers from an elementary school in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Over the course of 10 weeks, the teachers participated in five 30-minute long training sessions that were delivered via direct instruction, whole group discussion, and small group discussion. They completed a pre-test and post-test around the first direct instruction training session to determine if their understanding of emotional labor increased after the training. As the training program continued over the course of four more sessions, the participants completed journal entries, which were analyzed to determine how the teachers were recognizing and understanding emotional labor in their practice. The analysis of the journal entries and post-test results serve to extend the field of emotional labor research, because it established that this group of teachers increased their understanding of emotional labor and applied their new learning to their practice. The findings from this study may also be interpreted as a call to action for further research, because the participants requested additional training during which they could talk with colleagues about how to manage the stress they feel related to emotional labor.

The inspiration for this research came from a question asked of teachers, why do we need to learn this? Although John Dewey promoted the use of real world experiences over one hundred years ago, many mathematics classrooms are still void of relevant connections for students. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of nationally certified mathematics teachers on relevance in order to describe their instructional practice, analyze their motivations and barriers in providing relevant connections, and explain the gap between research-based knowledge and current instructional practices.

Twelve teachers participated in this research study. Six themes emerged from the data: approaches to relevance, accomplished practitioners, professional development, school culture, student apathy, and instructional planning. After conducting standard qualitative analysis, Bronfenbrenner’s ecosystem emerged as an explanation for the external forces affecting students. However, a second similar ecosystem was uncovered that affected the classroom teachers. This expansion of Bronfenbrenner’s ecosystem from one to two ecosystems explains the cultural forces impacting the interactions between teachers and students in the classroom. The barriers to effective research-based instructional practice reside in two sets of forces, Dual Ecosystems Affecting Learners and Teachers (DEALT). The implications for leaders desiring academic excellence include looking outside of the classroom to impact school improvement.

Although many studies have shown good effectiveness of student-centered instruction in a variety of educational settings, relatively few have focused on alternative learning environment (ALE) programs. This research study compared the learning outcomes of ALE students in a one rural Arkansas delta school sequentially utilizing a teacher-centered and a student-centered learning environment. Additionally, this research addressed how each environment nurtured independence skills, leadership, and social growth. Significant differences were observed in academic achievement, and student views about the classroom environment were well documented. A Mixed-Methods design was incorporated for quantitative and qualitative measures to compare learning outcomes in both student-centered and teacher-centered classroom environments. Quantitative measures included a student survey designed to measure student views and perceptions of both environments and that of academic grades. Qualitative measures included classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, student-focus groups, and journal entries. Research participants’ were alternative learning environment students and one primary investigator. The primary investigator was the teacher of the ALE classroom where implementation of student-centered and teacher-centered learning that included 25 student participants took place. Student-centered methods were based on democratic (Dewey, 1938), and constructivist (Vygotsky, 1978) principles. Teacher-centered methods were based on (Skinner, 1953) and (Lynch, 2010) ideologies and their incorporation of student lecture as the means for effective instruction. Data findings of this study indicate ALE teachers can incorporate a student-centered classroom environment that engage students, promote independence and leadership skills and promote higher academic achievement.

Military students are a population of learners who must move several times during their service member parent's careers. Adolescents may be more affected by these frequent moves, as the moves occur during a crucial time of physical and emotional development. Social capital theory best underpins this research study, as adolescents begin to value the social capital established among peers and then become affected by the breaks in social capital as they are forced to move. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the degree of the relationship, if any, of military middle school students' standardized test scores and grade level turnover to determine if grade level turnover had an impact on the outcome of the students' annual standardized test scores. Enrollment and archived tests data were collected from 18 DoDEA schools that serve grades six through eight. The independent variable was military middle school classroom turnover, and the dependent variables were the students’ test scores on the TerraNova3. Nine bivariate correlations were conducted for each school year and by grade level to analyze the data. Five subject areas were tested per test, and the results of these 45 analyses indicate 5 weak correlations. Post-hoc Bonferroni and a familywise error correction were conducted to correct the insufficient power and inflated alpha values. The results of this research can be valuable to educators who are unfamiliar with a transient population of learners, more specifically the adolescent military student population and how it could be correlated with academic success.

The multiage classroom design that has its origin in the rural, single-age classroom that blanketed the United States in the 1800s is returning as a viable alternative to the single-age classroom. The author looked at the perceptions of the parents and teachers that were impacted during two rural elementary schools' transition away from the single-age classroom to a multiage classroom design. The study specifically looked at the school-wide transition to the multiage design in grades kindergarten through fifth grade by examining the overall effect the multiage design had on these two groups, the value of the components of the multiage that were thought to be appealing by the administration, and the impact the change had on student academic achievement. Overall, there was positive support of the transition to the multiage design by parents in all of the areas studied, but the teachers, even though they demonstrated support, were significantly less supportive than the parents in a few of the areas examined. It was also found that this study supported earlier research stating the academic impact of the multiage design was not significantly different either positively or negatively. This author provided information that will allow future districts to better identify what will gain the support of the parents and teachers when transitioning to the multiage classroom design.

The purpose of this study was to update the analysis of the traditional viewpoints associated with increasing national and local teacher turnover rates by exploring alternative contributors to this challenge. Numerous studies have demonstrated the national focus on this topic consistently and predictably attributes to the growing attrition phenomenon primarily to financial considerations. This study considered the possibility that other more humanistic contributors, often overlooked in the literature, could be playing a more significant role in discouraging permanency in the classroom than is commonly realized. More specifically, it sought to examine the extent to which feelings tied to a positive, safe, and orderly learning environment contributed to teacher intentions to stay, and how teachers, parents and administrators perceived school efforts to ensure peaceful classrooms.

To carry out this study, the researcher collaborated with an urban inner-city school district, and obtained descriptive information from teachers, parents, and administrators all focused on their perceptions surrounding teacher attrition, classroom climate as affected by student behavior, and the possible link between concerns in both areas. The researcher analyzed inputs from members of each group and found that a large number of the teaching staff identified the classroom, and more humanistic considerations, as being of greater significance in deciding whether to stay in their position than did other participants who were more aligned with the literature. The researcher also became aware that teachers, individually, often expressed greater concern for the system as a whole, more than behaviors in their own classroom.

Finally, realizing that the target school system for this study operates within a state known by its financial struggles regarding educator’s compensation, the researcher also concluded that there is a great possibility about the staff responding to this study having already come to terms with a meager compensation, as compared to other teachers across the nation. As such, it is believed that this study brings up a solid perspective that does give heavier weight to more humanistic factors playing a greater role in teacher decisions to leave their work. However, realistically teacher priorities, be they humanistic or financial, might be different in locations where there is more dynamic activity surrounding educator compensation.

Experiential learning theory, student driven learning methods, and brain research related to learning and memory support the use of experientially based learning activities in a traditional classroom. It is the author’s opinion, however, that teachers rarely make use of such activities, termed Learning Games in this paper, as a means to help students learn, retain, and recall material presented in the classroom. Reasons include a lack of training and a perceived limit of time for the inclusion of experientially based teaching techniques. Others argue that experiential learning resembles unguided learning and places undue demands on student working memory that can hinder effective learning. This paper presents support for the use of Learning Games, activities developed by the author based on research and the value of ‘fun’, ‘play’, and ‘games’, to enhance the learning process. Significance of the study is to increase the acceptance of experiential learning in a traditional classroom, to dispel preconceived notions, and to expand on a teacher’s diversity of teaching techniques to offer more opportunities for student learning. A mixed methods research design is used to evaluate student preference to experiential learning pedagogy to that of traditional classroom instruction. The results showed no significant difference in student preference between experiential and traditional pedagogy. Possible reasons include factors related to the school’s culture and traditions, student demographics, teacher inexperience, and classroom environment. Heuristic inquiry reveals the researcher’s teaching philosophy and methods incongruent to the research setting.

Despite the expressed need for bicultural teachers, research on teacher attrition has demonstrated that a growing number of bicultural educators are leaving the classroom. Bicultural male teachers, in particular, experience high rates of teacher attrition. Schools, unfortunately, are contexts in which Latino male teachers are constantly experiencing dilemmas related specifically to both their gendered and racialized positionality as males of color.

Grounded in Antonia Darder’s critical bicultural framework, this autoethnographic study explored the complex factors that drive Latino male teachers out of the classroom, through an in-depth and grounded examination of a Latino male teacher who left the classroom. The study contributes to the conversation on bicultural teacher attrition, gendered relations, and their relationship to both teacher preparation and the education of bicultural students.

Furthermore, the study explored how racism, sexism, classism, trauma, and heteronormativity mitigate the experiences of Latino male teachers, and how these manifest themselves through the hidden curriculum, asymmetrical relations of power, gendered essentialism, policing of behavior, the culture of silence, conditions of isolation, and disabling cultural response patterns. The implications of such factors in the life of one Latino male teacher are carefully analyzed and discussed, in an effort to consider their significance in rethinking teacher preparation programs, with respect to the needs of Latino males. Moreover, the study offers an engagement with critical autoethnography as a significant tool of reflection in the educational process and emancipatory process of bicultural teachers.

From the early days of academia, classroom incivility has been acknowledged as counterproductive to the social contract of an educational environment; however, due to the subjectivity of what constitutes uncivil behavior, classroom incivility continues to be open to interpretation. The recent surge in classroom incivility has been attributed to changes in generational culture, parenting styles, K–12 educational practices, technological customs, and consumeristic/narcissistic attitudes of students. A marginal amount of classroom incivility literature has focused on higher education settings; even more scant is the literature that has explored uncivil behaviors in social work education environments.

This quantitative study examined students’ perceptions of classroom incivility in social work education, using the theoretical framework of social exchange theory. The sample included 203 social work students; nearly 78% were enrolled in the Master of Social Work program and approximately 22% were enrolled in the Bachelor of Social Work program in a public university in southern California. A majority of the sample expressed some level of concern regarding the severity of the uncivil behaviors listed in the survey; however, the participants appeared to be polarized in their responses concerning the frequency of uncivil behaviors. Based on these findings, implications for field internship and professional practice were identified and recommendations were made to assist undergraduate and graduate programs to recognize what is potentially the new norm in social work education settings and to promote a dialog regarding how students are educated and socialized into the social work profession. This research did not clarify the issue of what constitutes classroom incivility; rather, it generated questions for future research regarding probable causes, consequences, and effects of uncivil behaviors in social work education.

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe, analyze, and interpret a comparison of assistant superintendents’ perceptions of the impact of classroom walk-throughs as a model of teacher development designed to monitor and improve instructional practices in 12 school districts in Connecticut. A major focus of this study is whether the practice of classroom walkthroughs have an impact on with improving instructional practices. According to Marshall (2012a), “Classroom observations, student achievement, and feedback from students are important, but they’ll only improve education if they’re used wisely” (p. 50). This research study is informed by a comprehensive review of the literature related to teacher evaluation models, including the practice of classroom walk-throughs, brief visits, and instructional rounds, prior to interviewing assistant superintendents about their perceptions of the impact that classroom walkthroughs have on improving instructional practice. Marshall (2012c) indicates that “In most schools, by contact or by tradition, administrators give advance notice of their formal observations and teachers quite understandably take their performance up a notch or two” (p. 19). There are social and professional implications of this inquiry-based research that need to be considered. A social implication is the relationship to teacher acceptance behavior of the implementation of classroom walk-throughs that could change school culture. Professionally, relationships between and among teachers and building administrators could become stronger in terms of creating a professional learning community. Conversely, there could be resistance to the change process that impacts potential positive results. Conducting a phenomenological study through a carefully designed methodology will result in qualitative reflection and findings that will support the assistant superintendent subjects as they examine the impact of individual walkthrough models on improving instructional practices.

Teachers face many barriers regarding technology integration and depend on the campus principal to meet their technology needs. The principalship has shifted from instructional leader to digital instructional leader. The purpose of the current qualitative research study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions of principal digital leadership behaviors that impact technology use in the classroom. In this qualitative study, 24 teachers who teach reading, English language arts, and/or math were interviewed. The data from the interviews was collected and analyzed to identify themes and patterns using NVivio 11 Pro, a software program for analyzing qualitative data. The researcher analyzed and coded the data as trends and patterns were revealed in the teachers’ perceptions of principal digital leadership behaviors that impact technology use in the classroom. The data indicated there are several principal digital leadership behaviors teachers perceive impact technology use in the classroom. However, there were three principal digital leadership behaviors teachers perceived to have the greatest impact on technology use in the classroom: principal-led hands-on technology training opportunities, principal attitude towards technology and technology integration, and principal-led technology support.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if classroom configuration—departmentalized and self-contained—is related to the academic achievement of Grade 6 students in a large urban school district as measured by California Standards Test (CST) scores in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) when controlling for prior academic achievement, language, and gender. To this end, existing CST scale scores for the years 2010-2012 were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regressions which allowed the researcher to determine the unique contribution classroom configuration contributed to student achievement. A 22-item researcher-designed questionnaire was also distributed to Grade 6 teachers (n=36) in the participating school district to capture teacher perceptions regarding what type of classroom configuration is best for Grade 6 students.

Three conclusions based on the findings were drawn. First, classroom configuration had no meaningful impact on student achievement in English Language Arts as measured by the CST. Second, classroom configuration had no meaningful impact on student achievement in math as measured by the CST. Third, departmentalized teachers did not differ significantly on opinions of the instructional benefits of each configuration when compared to self-contained teachers.

This study presented several implications for practitioners and researchers. One implication is student achievement is due to a variety of factors; therefore, factors outside of classroom configuration must be examined to determine what school level factors best predict student achievement. Quality of instruction most likely makes more of a difference than any structural element. Also, schools should make classroom configuration decisions based on local factors such as student needs and teacher qualifications.

Conclusions are inconsistent with some studies aimed at determining the impact of classroom configuration on student achievement indicating further research on the topic is needed. With the current shift in education to Common Core standards and assessments, the study should be repeated in different settings using the same instrument to measure student achievement as this method might provide more consistent findings. Future studies that measure teacher efficacy may also explain more of the variance in student achievement.

Leaders in today’s public schools must offer professional development to provide support to teachers without overwhelming them or adding more to their plates (Preciado, 2015). With ever-expanding responsibilities and accountability for teachers in the classroom, providing much-needed support is a top priority (Preciado, 2015). Teacher attrition is costly to school districts, and it is largely due to lack of support for teachers (Neason, 2014). Edwards (2015) reported teachers who grow in efficacy stay a longer length of time in one district, increase their implementation of new teaching strategies, and have more positive attitudes toward professional growth. The focus of this study was to determine the relationship between teacher efficacy and their use of Cognitive Coaching^SM tools such as wait time, pausing, paraphrasing, and asking mediative questions in the classroom. A survey to measure teacher efficacy in the areas of student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management was shared with two certified trainers for Cognitive Coaching^SM. Those trainers, in turn, emailed a link to the survey to teachers in southwest Missouri who had completed the eight-day Foundations Seminar. Data were collected and analyzed through Qualtrics. There was a positive relationship between the level of Cognitive Coaching ^SM tools implemented and teacher efficacy. This information is of significance to school leaders when making decisions regarding where to invest professional development money for teachers.

There is a need to address behavior discipline problems in special and general education setting classrooms. Disruptive behaviors are a major concern as they create excessive stress and demands for classroom teachers and school administrators to address them. Effective interventions are needed to properly address them. Moreover, classroom disruptions affect the instructional process and learning outcomes. Disruptive behaviors do not just occur in regular school classroom settings, but in After School Program (ASP) classrooms as well. After school program classrooms that operate on regular school sites are important to students, school staff, and parents. Educational researchers found that there is a lack of evidence based interventions for ASP staff to address the behavior issues that impact the quality of the service that they provide students. The purpose of this study was to assess an evidence base intervention (EBI) called the Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC) in an ASP classroom to address disruptive behaviors and academic disengagement. A single-subject multiple baseline methodology design was used to conduct a four week intervention study of the DBRC. Three students in a third grade after school program class were observed at different times during the intervention and the ASP instructor provided behavior ratings on a report card of the student's behavior. Analysis of the study consisted of a visual inspection of direct behavior observations and DBRC rating graphs to determine if the DBRC intervention changed behavior. Study results revealed that the DBRC intervention had some impact on the participants' behavior overall but did not result in decreasing disruptive behaviors of students in the third grade after school classroom. Interviews were also conducted after the study with the participants and the ASP teacher. However, results of the qualitative data showed positive attitudes towards the DBRC as a tool for communication and collaboration among parents and school staff in the ASP setting in the future.

In partial response to poverty, food insecurity, and other risk factors believed to adversely impact academic achievement, school districts have begun to implement the Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) program. While research identifies health, nutrition, and achievement-related benefits of school meal programs, few studies focus on leaders' perceptions of the BIC program. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of district and school leaders on the BIC program implemented in their schools, as well as to examine their recommendations for long-term program success.

This case study employed Bolman and Deal's framework through which structural, human resources, political, and symbolic aspects of the BIC program were examined at two elementary schools. Twelve participants were interviewed. Findings indicated that leaders perceived the BIC program to be a valuable social program with benefits that outweighed its flaws. They recommended the importance of school-site support, implementation differentiation, an improved menu, and the establishment of a food donation program or classroom food storage system to ensure BIC program success.