Browsing by Subject "Principal"
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Item A Case Study of Principal Leadership in the Practice of Multicultural Education in High-Achieving Schools Serving Hispanic Students in South Texas(2012-11-09) Rios, Sylvia 1954-The primary purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the educational experiences and leadership behaviors of five South Texas high school principals, in the context of the practice of multicultural education and Hispanic student achievement. Through the recounting of the principals? personal stories, experiences, and artifacts, several themes emerged in the analyses of the data collected for this study: multicultural education, effective schools, and culturally Responsive Leadership. Subthemes for the study included high expectations, collaboration, relationships, empowering school culture, equity pedagogy, communication, vision for success, Hispanic principal leadership, and Hispanic student achievement. Findings for the study further revealed that: 1. Each of the five principals articulated, supported, and fostered a culture of high expectations. 2. Collaboration, among staff, students, and the extended learning community, was a designated priority in these high-performing schools. 3. Principals in each of the five high schools understood the significant value of developing, nurturing, and maintaining productive, caring relationships. 4. Principals understood the value of creating a school culture that empowered students and staff to aspire toward quality teaching and learning. 5. Principals understood and worked vehemently to provide equity pedagogy which addressed the needs of all students. 6. Principals understood the power of varied forms of communication in shaping and supporting the mission of their schools. 7. Principals in these high-performing schools developed and steadfastly articulated a clear vision of success for their schools. 8. Hispanic principals provided unique, relevant, and effective leadership in support of their Hispanic students. 9. Neither school/community demographics nor socioeconomic status determined the potential for Hispanic student success in each of the schools led by the study?s participants. While each of the principals in this study used a variety of means to create and support learning environments conducive to all students, each assumed personal responsibility for the success of his/her students, and each worked to empower their Hispanic students through his/her own personal histories and experiences. Thus, the significance of this study lies in the potential to impact Hispanic student achievement by developing school leaders and creating school structures that support culturally diverse students.Item A principal in transition: an autoethnography(Texas A&M University, 2007-04-25) Dethloff, Carl HenryThis research represents a highly personalized account of the complexities, interpretations, and reflections of a principal in transition from one elementary school to another elementary school in the same district. Using myself as the subject and the researcher in the social context of an elementary school provided the impetus for this self-study. Through an insider's vantage point, I have chronicled and traced the experiences of my own administrative transition using the qualitative methodology of autoethnography. This genre of qualitative research brings the reader closer to the subculture studied through the experiences of the author. While every campus and district has its own unique culture and environment, the introspection and evaluation provided by the methodology of autoethnography greatly facilitates an understanding of the processes of transition. The experiences I have encountered, the problems I face, and the interpretations derived from them will strengthen my own practice as a public school administrator and provide insight into the ever-changing administrative position called the principalship. Data gathering consisted of a reflexive journal, my personal calendar, faculty agendas, staff memos, and reflective analysis. At the completion of the school year common strands, key attributes, and coding of the data served to provide retrospective insights. These research tools were used to capture the experiences of my administrative transition. The results of this study were expressed in a personal narrative that comprises Chapters IV through VI. Chapters I through III present a traditional dissertation model that includes the introduction, review of literature, and research methodology. Chapter VII offers recommendations, a discussion of the findings and concluding remarks.Item Analysis of the Distributed Leadership Model in Public Education: A Mixed Methods Study(2011-05) Molina, Ricardo; Klinker, JoAnn F.; Hartmeister, Fred; Price, Margaret A.This research analyzed the Distributed Leadership Model (DLM) application in four public schools. The research problem links up to three research questions. The premise of the research lies on the assumption that the DLM when applied in concert with other leadership may provide educational leaders and researchers with pathways for enhancing leadership problem solving and decision making, and student performance. The DLM from MIT contains four interrelated competencies, three lenses, and a component for individual generated change. This research analyzed the DLM’s application to principals, assistant principals, and teacher leaders that coalesce into distributed leadership praxes. Via a mixed methods and the embedded design, the quantitative data supported the qualitative data. The findings revealed that the DLM potentially is a conceptual tool to assess a school’s propensity for distributed leadership. Additionally, a possible benefit of the DLM is enhancing the leadership capacity of public school leaders.Item Analysis of the principal's perceptions of the implementation and impact of the accelerated reader and other selected reading strategies used by Texas gold performance elementary schools(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Elmore, Olivia CarolKnowledge of the implementation practices of successful elementary schools will be beneficial to other elementary principals who seek to improve student success in reading. This study examined perceptions of principals from elementary schools in Texas whose schools received the Gold Performance Acknowledgement (GPA) from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for Continuous Improvement in Reading (CIR) on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) in 2002. The study had two purposes: (1) to identify the principal??s perception of the levels of implementation and impact of selected reading strategies used by selected elementary schools in Texas to improve student success in reading and (2) to determine the principal??s perception of the extent to which Accelerated Reader (AR) and AR-like recommend practices were used in selected elementary schools in Texas. The research design for this study was descriptive. Parameters, which are descriptive measures of a population, were used since all 721 members of the population were mailed questionnaires. Research was conducted during the winter of2004. Two hundred fifty-two principals responded. A questionnaire using a Likerttype scale for the principals?? responses was used to collect the data. Principals?? perceptions were measured to determine the degree of implementation and impact of AR and other selected reading strategies. Data were analyzed for all 252 respondents for selected reading strategies and by the categories of AR and non-AR schools for AR recommended reading strategies and AR-like recommended reading strategies, respectively. This study identified the characteristics of a successful reading program in Texas elementary schools. To maximize their budgets while improving student success in reading, principals should provide their teachers with professional development, implement student/teacher conferences to direct reading practice, allow students to self-select books on their independent reading level for independent reading practice, consider use of literature circles, classroom libraries and reading textbooks, review the use of rewards and posting of goals to determine if these practices increase students?? success in reading, assess computer reading programs to determine if there are less costly options available, and in schools using the AR program, review implementation practices for greater impact.Item Distributive Leadership and Student Achievement: A Case Study(2011-12) Baiza, Randy D.; Klinker, JoAnn F.; Duemer, Lee S.; Valle, FernandoThe purpose of this case study was to investigate the interactions between leaders who practice distributive leadership and followers within a school which leads to the development of routines and tools that reinforce student achievement. Education is widely held to be essential for the survival and success of individuals and countries in the emerging global market. National leaders of all stripes place education at the center of their policy agendas. Agreement is also evident about the contributions of leadership in the implementation of virtually all initiatives aimed at improving student learning and school quality. It is therefore difficult to imagine a focus for research with greater social justification than educational leadership. Although distributive leadership is widely thought to be a powerful force for school effectiveness, this belief needs to be justified by empirical evidence. This qualitative study focused on one Texas public secondary school with a majority minority student composition,which received a Blue Ribbon designation. Principal leadership behaviors, campus improvement team perceptions with regard to distributed leadership ideals served as a primary focus. More specifically, the purpose of this case study was to explore in depth relationships exhibited in an exemplary, Blue Ribbon school as identified by the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS), that enable or constrain distributed leadership ideals central to this study. Capturing essential features such as the character of the leader, leadership styles,followers and values that define curricular goals and the contextual rituals or processes used to communicate continuous improvement towards student success provided additional understanding. Multiple sources of information provided a detailed in-depth picture, including observations, interviews, documents and reports which served as criteria for data collection. The implications of this study's findings are significant. This case study adds further evidence to support research on distributive leadership and its relationship to student achievement. The research participants in particular the school district superintendent, and the school principal did not simply delegate tasks but practiced governance over the school's social and situational contexts. Through the sharing of intellect and opinion, acknowledging and maximizing expertise, teachers were called on to share their expertise in instruction as well as utilize opportunities or time, to dialogue, to share insights regarding students and the curriculum. Working together to improve instruction created shared roles pulling their expertise and initiative directed toward increasing student achievement.Item Effective leadership characteristics for student performance as perceived by high-performing Texas high school principals: a Delphi study(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Young, David EarleThe purpose of this study was to identify leadership characteristics of highperforming Texas high school principals that positively affect student performance. A secondary purpose of the study was to determine the degree of agreement between conceptualizations of leadership presented in existing research and those of successful practitioners. A Delphi panel of sixteen high school principals participated in the study. Over the course of three rounds, the members of the expert panel provided feedback to both the researcher and other members of the panel as to which leadership characteristics they felt were of critical importance to student success. The characteristics presented in the questionnaire were based upon a sound theoretical framework resulting from a thorough review of existing research. At the completion of Round Three, it was decided that consensus had been reached among the members of the panel and the data collection period was ended. Each of the questionnaires used in the study, as well as the relevant statistical analysis and frequency distributions, can be found in the appendices of this document. The major findings of the study affirm the importance of leadership and its positive impact on student achievement. First, there seems to be agreement between the body of research on leadership and the viewpoint of successful practitioners as to which leadership characteristics are essential for student success. Second, vision for goal achievement, response to diversity, and ethical practice head the list of critical leadership attributes for high school principals. Third, leadership characteristics presented in the literature base are, at least in the opinion of the high-performing high school principals involved in this study, comprehensive and are not missing any major components for student success. The conclusions and recommendations of this study could affect the performance of high school principals?????? leadership in school improvement. Its major significance can be found in its potential effect on the daily practice of individuals currently serving as school leaders, the professional growth plans of practicing administrators, and the components and focus of principal preparation programs.Item Reexamining professional development through successful principals' perceptions(2014-05) Renaud, Dora Louise; Gooden, Mark A., 1971-Principal professional development is vital to the field of education because the principal is expected to be the instructional leader of a school. Even though principals do not provide instruction directly to students, their instructional leadership practices can greatly affect teacher practice and student learning. This descriptive case study examined the variety of professional development models created in Texas ISD (a pseudonym) to determine if one model is more effective than another in enhancing job performance. This study highlighted the principals' perceptions of a variety of components within professional development such as the delivery, design, how the learning needs are met, and how they helped enhance principal job performance. This qualitative case study design was seated within the constructs of Donald L. Kirkpatrick's (2006) Four-Levels of Learning and Evaluation Model that was utilized as the analytical tool to frame the initial and heuristic questions for the principal questionnaire and interviews. This Model guided the data collection, categorization, and emergent themes. Specifically, this study investigated the following: (a) aspects of principal professional development that enhance job performance as an instructional leader, (b) types of delivery and the impact it has on instructional leadership, and (c) comparisons of delivery models to identify the most effective. Ultimately, the findings of this study seek to provide supporting information to researchers and district leaders as they plan, design, and implement future effective principal professional development. The study focused on a group of nine successful principals in a Texas urban school system identified as Texas ISD. Examining the delivery models added to the body of literature regarding how to create effective principal professional development that helps principals enhance jobs performance and offer districts an alternative to the costly price of professional development. In Texas ISD, principal professional development was used as the vehicle for scale and sustainability of districtwide educational reform. In addition, the professional development assisted with K-12th grade vertical articulation of the school system's curriculum and educational plan. To analyze the impact of professional development on instructional leadership practices, questionnaires were given and interviews conducted in which individual perceptions of successful principals in Texas ISD were conducted.Item Sensemaking as a framework for understanding how aspiring anti-racist leaders enact their learnings from a principal preparation program to disrupt the racial discipline gap(2016-05) Lippa, Amy Patterson; Gooden, Mark A.; Green, Terrance; Holme, Jennifer; Frost, Lynda; Ovando, MarthaThis dissertation emerges from an acknowledgement that robust research has shown that students of color receive a disproportionate number of disciplinary actions in American public schools compared to their white peers – a problem called the racial discipline gap. Few studies have studied school leaders’ sensemaking of the role of race in school disciplinary outcomes. Even fewer have considered how a specific type of leader – one known for aspiring to be anti-racist – makes sense of and frames the discipline gap and enacts the learnings from their principal preparation program to disrupt racial disparities in discipline outcomes. The perspective of the school principal has been found to be among the strongest predictor for rates of out-of-school suspension and expulsion. The findings from this study suggest that the sensemaking and problem-framing of the racial discipline gap by new school leaders is directly shaped by their identity as aspiring anti-racist leaders and the learnings from an anti-racist principal preparation program and their school contexts. The aspiring anti-racist leaders frame the problem at macro and micro levels, and enact both first and some second-order type change initiatives to interrupt factors of race from becoming patterns of race in school discipline. They demonstrate a limited approach to offering professional development to engage teachers in culturally relevant discussions and their formal data collection practices appear to be limited. This creates a blind spot for them in fully understanding the ways race intersects with discipline in their schools.Item Student performance and leadership practices of selected elementary school principals: a cohort study(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Arnold, Stacey RaeSchool leadership provides a critical bridge between student success initiatives and their impact on students in Texas schools. This study, which was one of four cohort studies conducted concurrently in Region V Education Service Center (ESC), Texas, examined the relationship between student performance, as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), and leadership practices of elementary school principals in Region V ESC schools. The investigation procedures for this study involved an analysis of the responses from principals and site-based decision making (SBDM) committee members from their respective campuses to the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) developed by Kouzes and Posner (2003) which evaluates the use of five identified leadership practices: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. Student performance information for the participating elementary campuses was obtained from the Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System database. This study found no linear relationship between perceived leadership practices of elementary principals and the academic success of students as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). However, a relationship between these variables is strongly supported by the literature. The data were an indication that Region V elementary principals embrace the leadership practices identified by Kouzes and Posner at least moderately (between the 30th and 69th percentile) or at a higher level (70th percentile or above). As a group, the principals in this study rated themselves higher overall in regard to perceived leadership practices than did their observers, but only significantly higher on three of the five individual practices. Principals and their observers agreed that the practice Enable Others to Act was the most frequently noted followed by the practices Model the Way and Encourage the Heart. The practices with the least reported frequency were Challenge the Process and Inspire a Shared Vision. Further analysis of the data showed that the demographic variables of gender, ethnicity, age, and years of experience in the field of education did not have an effect on survey responses of the study participants.Item Through their lenses: Exploring underrepresentation of women high school principals(2017-10-09) Malveaux, Shaleh Rene; Bustamante, Rebecca M.; Gray, Pamela L.; Polnick, Barbara E.Purpose The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of women high school principals to uncover challenges contributing to the underrepresentation of women in secondary school leadership. Moreover, this work is situated within the larger movement of educational leadership for social justice, with a focused application of a feminist theory lens and Social Role Theory. The two research questions that guided this study were: (1) How do select high school principals who are women describe their lived experiences in the principalship? and (2) What do these select high school principals who are women believe contributes to the underrepresentation of women in high school principal positions? Methodology A phenomenological approach was chosen to explore the lived experiences of seven current high school women principals in Texas. The transcendental phenomenological research approach proposed by Moustakas (1994) was employed. Transcendental phenomenology has been summarized by Moustakas as “a scientific study of the appearance of things, of phenomena just as we see them and as they appear to us in consciousness” (1994, p. 49). Women principals who have led at their current school for at least three years were the focus of the study because they have demonstrated an ability to navigate the leadership role. Data in the form of background questionnaires and individual interviews from seven women high school principals were collected and reviewed. Findings Each participant described specific experiences, as a woman, serving in the role of high school principal. In this study, four common themes emerged: (a) Servant Leadership, (b) Facing Barriers, (c) Support Systems, and (d) Advice. Moreover, participants described the challenges they faced during their tenure as high school principals, and strategies they used to overcome the challenges. Additionally, participants expressed gender bias, a glass ceiling, and family responsibilities as most damaging to women for career progression, and thus underrepresentation in the high school principalship.