<p> This dissertation begins using Pierre Bourdieu (1979b), Gloria Ladson-Billings (2009), and Jean Anyon (1980) as a theoretical framework to examine how culturally relevant curriculum influences student engagement. This qualitative study utilized narrative inquiry to examine the effect of culturally relevant curriculum and student engagement. Four research questions were used in interviews of students, parents, teachers, and administrators, and were as follows: To what extent does culturally relevant literature influence student engagement with academic material in fourth grade? What common themes related to culturally relevant curriculum emerge when observing and listening to authentic voices of parents and fourth graders? Based on research findings of this study, what curricular and instructional recommendations can be made related to the influence of culturally relevant curriculum on student engagement in fourth grade? Does culturally relevant literature engage students more than traditional curriculum in a fourth- grade classroom? Social and cultural capital is demonstrated through all three themes of school culture, curriculum, and instruction. Used as a tool to guide pedagogy, teachers and administrators were able to form trusting relationships allowing for more behavioral and affective student engagement. Using authentic voices from the 14 interviews, two themes emerged from school culture, including relationships and identity; three themes emerged from curriculum, including making connections, human resources, and physical resources; and three themes emerged from instruction, including communication, support, and interactive environments.</p>

This study was designed to aid in determining the curricular direction which will be taken for the program in the preschool educational facility where the study took place. The target population for participation in this study was Black, four-year-old children who met the preschool facility’s operational definition for being disadvantaged. The study took place over a period of one school year with the primary aim being to determine curriculum components which are effective with the target population. The study utilized an experimental design and implemented an experimental curriculum with 30 children who were participants in the control group. A pre-test, teach, then post-test method was used. At the conclusion of the study, a statistical analysis of the collected data was made by using t-test computations. The findings show that, even though both the experimental group and the control group made significant gains in the areas assessed, the experimental group made gains that were significantly greater than those made by the control group.

<p> This quantitative research study investigated if there is a relationship between middle school principals&rsquo; leadership style in high-performing and low-performing schools in New York City. To address the problem and to answer the research question, a survey instrument adapted by Tomal (2007) was used to determine the principal&rsquo;s leadership style. The New York City Department of Accountability RPSG Research Data Department provided the student achievement data. Ten middle school principals, three from high-performing schools and seven from low-performing schools participated in the study. High-performing schools achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years and low-performing schools did not make AYP for two consecutive years. Principals completed a 30-question leadership survey to determine their preferred style: abdicator, collaborator, compromiser, enforcer, and supporter. The principals&rsquo; leadership style was then matched to the school&rsquo;s Performance Index (PI) from the 2015 New York State English Language Arts and Mathematics assessment. An independent <i>t</i>-test was used to analyze the principal&rsquo;s response to the leadership survey. The data indicated that principals from high-performing and low-performing schools differ on 5 out of 30 statements on the leadership survey. However, due to the small sample size, the results are not statistically significant.</p>

<p> The high stakes accountability environment in which schools currently operate demands leadership behaviors that produce enhanced student outcomes. However, school principals are often caught in a complex web of competing stakeholder demands within large bureaucratic systems. Specifically, principals must fulfill high stakes accountability mandates while also cultivating an environment that enhances stakeholder morale while maintaining the health, safety and well-being of students and faculty. This study explores the influence of transformational, transactional, and servant leadership behaviors on collective faculty trust within a high-stakes mandated testing environment using the theoretical framework of Self-Determination Theory. Additionally, this study will explore the relationship between principal leadership behavior and collective faculty trust in colleagues and collective faculty trust in the principal to gain a better understanding of leadership behavior outcomes.</p>

<p> Reform is a common tool used by policymakers to increase student achievement. Unfortunately, reform efforts are not always successful. However, researchers have demonstrated that school culture and climate both impact student achievement (Cavanaugh &amp; Dellar, 1997; Cohen, Fege, &amp; Pickeral, 2009; D&rsquo; Alessandro &amp; Sadh, 1998; MacNeil, Prater, &amp; Busch, 2009; National School Climate Council, 2007; Peterson &amp; Deal, 2009; Stolp, 1994; University-Community Partnerships, Michigan State University, 2004). The overarching question explores the relationships among school culture, school climate, teacher efficacy, and collective efficacy and their impact on reform movements. Secondary questions are: what is similar and contrasting among the constructs; how are the constructs interrelated; and in what ways can these constructs impact school reform efforts? For the purposes of this study, school climate is viewed as a manifestation of school culture, with teacher and collective efficacy as part of the cycle that impacts reform efforts.</p>

<p> African American students continued to underachieve in STEM academics and remained underrepresented among college students majoring in STEM fields and the STEM workforce. This underperformance had negative consequences in that these students likely did not have adequate STEM subject knowledge and skills, especially in mathematics, to compete in the 21st-century workforce. Hence, African American parents and teachers may need to collaborate more frequently to facilitate African America students&rsquo; engagement and learning in mathematics. The collaboration between parents and teachers had been documented as a strong predictor of African American student academic achievement, including African American achievement in STEM subject areas. The purpose of this qualitative, case study was to explore and to describe why African American parents and high school teachers did not frequently collaborate to facilitate student engagement to learn mathematics. Two semi-structured interview guides designed for parents and teachers were used to ensure that the interviews were focused and covered the same questions for each participant. The participants for this case study were two math supervisors, six ninth-grade mathematics teachers, and three parents of African American students in a large northern New Jersey school district. It was found that ninth-grade math teacher participants (100%) perceived that they fostered parent-teacher collaboration to facilitate African American students&rsquo; engagement to learn mathematics. African American parent participants (100%) perceived that they involved in their children education at home, but the conflict between their work schedule and the district scheduled parent-teacher conferences prevented them from collaborating frequently with teachers. African American parent participants (100%) believed that caring teachers contributed to develop their willingness to collaborate with teachers to motivate their children to be engaged to learn mathematics. Recommendations for future research include investigating how caring teachers contributed to develop the willingness of African American parents to collaborate with teachers.</p>

Integrity within employees is on the forefront as a person with integrity is one that is honest and trustworthy. In contrast is an employee with low integrity that could be associated with acts of fraud, corruption and theft. The purpose of this report is to address the proposition that higher integrity levels within employees will lead to lower financial stock losses. In addition the integrity levels of all employees were measured to see whether the integrity level of permanent employees were higher than those of temporary employees. Strategies were implemented in order to develop the integrity level of Clover Nelspruit’s employees. The strategies included addressing the situational factors desirability, group norms and risk together with focusing on communication regarding integrity. The monthly averaged stock loss for the period June to September 05 was considerably lower than the previous eleven months which led to the confirmation that improving a person’s integrity can be positively associated with lower financial losses caused by internal theft. In considering only the employees who passed the lie factor in the measurement instrument the results were also in agreement with the theory that temporary workers might be more likely to engage in counterproductive behaviour than those employed as permanent workers.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / prominent military and civilian leaders. While their missions are similar, there are differences in the approach each Academy undertakes to achieve this endstate. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and evaluate how officer development is applied at the respective service academies, what similarities and differences exist, what the respective strengths and weaknesses of each program are, and to discuss the future developments of the officer development programs. Chapter I provides an introduction including the background, methodology, and organization of this thesis. Chapter II examines the core values, missions, and visions of the two service academies. Chapter III compares current leadership theory to the concept of the military as a profession as introduced by Samuel Huntington (1957) and James Burk (2002). Chapter IV describes the leadership/management/ethics courses and the character development programs in place at the two service academies. Chapter V discusses the methods and procedures used during the research phase of this thesis. Chapter VI reveals the themes present from the data collected and Chapter VII presents the conclusions, recommendations, and areas for future research. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / This thesis examines contemporary ideas on leadership with special emphasis on how these concepts affect the development and selection of senior leaders. Leadership is a complex discipline and is described and analyzed through different leadership theories and models. Ongoing leadership research is promoting more integrative leadership constructs. Common features of effective leadership are present in the different models, as well as common characteristics of effective leaders. Organizations must have a single, clearly defined leadership model, closely coordinated with its selection and development strategies. The leadership model must be relevant and meaningful for the people in the organization and be consistent with the organizational culture. The leadership model should underpin selection and development activities, and this applies in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and other organizations. Developing leaders within the organization is more effective than recruiting leaders externally. The concept of a leadership pipeline is examined. To select the best people for future leadership roles, succession management and talent management systems should be established. Leadership development strategies include education, training, job experiences, action-learning projects, and mentoring and coaching. The ADF and other organizations should use an integrated leadership development framework incorporating the different learning strategies to develop future leaders. / Lieutenant Colonel, Australian Army

<p> The central focus of this quantitative, correlational study is to examine the relationship between happiness found in the work place and employees&rsquo; engagement that leads to organizational success. Employee engagement has been touted as the next frontier that will help organizations to achieve success. This is because passionate employees will ensure that they are productive in the work place. Happiness has been argued to be one of the factors that enhance employee engagement. The collected data shows a positive correlation between happiness and engagement of the employee. This is an important finding as it can be used by organizations to fast track their development by ensuring that employees are happy. The establishment of a positive correlation between these two aspects ensures that an organization can benefit greatly when it enhances employee happiness. In addition, measures can be put in place to ensure that employee happiness is enhanced, a move that would lead to a more productive organization and faster growth. Although the concept of employee engagement and its relationship to happiness has been around, this study goes further to confirm that happy employees are more engaged and this leads to organizational success. Organizational culture and environment affects the performance and approach of employees. Leadership in the organization is a vital aspect as it ensures that employees are provided with the right environment to carry out tasks and be content with the work. With this new knowledge, leaders can take measures to improve employee happiness, which will lead to employee engagement and, consequently, improve the prospects of organizational success.</p>