This phenomenological, qualitative research study examined the experiences that influence students’ decisions to laterally transfer from one four-year institution to a public, regional, liberal arts university in the southeastern United States of America. The lack of prior research on the study of lateral transfer students and my professional interest in the topic have prompted the study. Most research studies look at the academic achievement of vertical transfer students; few studies examine lateral transfer students as an independent subpopulation. Two 30- to 60-minute interviews with 18 lateral transfer students were conducted. Of the 18 lateral transfer students, nine were enrolled at the research site for at least one year and persisted to a second year, and nine were in enrolled in their first semester at the research site during their interview process. Horizonalization (Moustakas, 1994) and imaginative variation were used to determine the reasons for departure and persistence across four-year institutions, in addition to discovering how lateral transfer students transition academically and socially. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2017. / August 14, 2017. / departure, lateral, persistence, student, transfer / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathy L. Guthrie, Professor Directing Dissertation; Diana Rice, University Representative; Bradley Cox, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

This study researched authentic leaders (Avolio & Gardner, 2005) who were selfaware of their values, beliefs, ethical philosophies, and character strengths while using this knowledge to strengthen their self-regulation. They used positive modeling to enhance follower development, which ultimately promoted veritable and sustainable outcomes personally and professionally that integrated with the authentic leader's purpose in life. Higher education, as a multi-billion dollar industry, uses shared governance that creates challenges for its leadership. Authentic leaders who hold senior administrative positions within higher education are often confronted with varying levels of administrative challenges, especially immoral, unethical, or illegal policies and practices. Senior administrators are often the frontline for creating, supporting, and maintaining either an inauthentic culture at their institution that supports the status quo or an authentic culture at their institution that promotes and supports positive change focused on the common good. This study reviewed the literature regarding eudaimonia, positive psychology, positive leadership, and higher education administration. The focus was on authentic leaders who were senior administrators in higher education administration. This study utilized life stories to identify the common themes within these senior administrators' lives that allowed them to develop into authentic leaders who had the moral courage to take courageous principled-action against immoral, unethical, and illegal policies and practices within their institutions. This study produced a theoretical model that was juxtaposed against Avolio and Gardner's (2005) Authentic Leader Model confirming their research, as well as extending their research into the moral courage and courageous principled-action research domains. This study has primary value for persons interested in having a deeper understanding of leadership, positive leadership, authentic leadership, moral development, moral courage, courageous principled-action, and higher education administration. This study has secondary value for persons interested in developing as an authentic leader, working effectively within higher education administration, or aspiring to develop the moral courage that will support their willingness and capabilities for taking courageous principled-action. / text

The purpose of this study was to identify possible differences in the role expectations held by selected referent groups of the Bilingual Education Administrator. The study employed a questionnaire as the principal data-gathering instrument. The role expectations held by the selected referent groups were identified and compared. The "jury method" was used in the development of the initial data-gathering instrument, and a jury of experts identified a list of functions of the Bilingual Education Administrator. A selection panel of coders categorized the functions into five major administrative functions. The final questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 500 subjects in the State of Arizona. The six referent groups studied were found to be in general agreement when the role of the Bilingual Education Administrator was treated generically. However, disagreement was disclosed in one out of five major administrative functions and in four out of 23 specific functions. When the role was analyzed according to the five major administrative functions, disagreement was encountered in the innovative and change agent functions as bilingual education program directors and elementary teachers not in bilingual education programs were compared. It was also found that bilingual education program directors assigned a significantly higher priority to innovation and change agentry. When each of the 23 specific functions (listed under the major administrative functions) were analyzed, significant differences were noted in the functions dealing with (1) the integration of philosophy, goals, and objectives, (2) recruiting and hiring, (3) parent involvement, and (4) local financial support for bilingual education. In drawing general conclusions, it can be said that membership in a particular referent group can be considered a reasonable predictor of certain expectations of a role. Educational administration preparation programs should include, in their course requirements, sufficient content dealing with bilingual education theory, curriculum, program models, and research findings. In order to lessen the degree of conflict which now surrounds the role of the Bilingual Education Administrator, it may be advisable, in some cases, to change some of those functions which ordinarily cause disagreement and assign them to other superordinates.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2007. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." Under the direction of Abebayehu Tekleselassie. ETD. Electronic version approved: May 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-160) and appendices.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 89 p. : col. ill. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-62).

<p> International expatriate schools require educational leaders to guide culturally diverse stakeholders as they prepare students to address world problems. In the United States, effective educational leadership has been demonstrated as necessary to implement research-based practices. However, researchers have not yet established the leadership needed from expatriate kindergarten through Grade 12 school leaders seeking to develop global citizens. This gap leads to the question of how international expatriate educational leaders demonstrate empathetic, emotionally self-managed, or interculturally sensitive skills when meeting a school&rsquo;s global-minded strategic plan. The purpose of this case study was to describe expatriate school leaders&rsquo; perceptions of how they and their peers demonstrate these skills. The conceptual framework included distributed leadership, emotional intelligence, and intercultural sensitivity in the context of global citizenship. Data from an expatriate middle school in China included interviews with school leaders, documents, and researcher notes. The results indicated that expatriate leaders demonstrated empathy through social responsibility, emotional self-management through personal and professional competence, and intercultural sensitivity through active civic engagement. International expatriate schools may benefit if educational leaders demonstrate support and concern and provide examples of the global-mindedness expected of students. These results can guide faculty members&rsquo; professional competencies toward implementing instructional programs that target the development of global citizens. Social change could result from international expatriate schools applying described models of distributed leadership toward a unified and socially just purpose.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative case study was to ascertain the perceptions of a principal regarding leadership insights into the ability to lead effectively in urban and multicultural education settings. The researcher determined that the potential existed for this participant, who was actively working to address issues brought on by diversity, to serve as a role model for culturally-responsive teaching through a case study. The increasing diversity among prekindergarten to Grade 12 students requires a more adequately trained, culturally aware faculty and staff. This case study used the theoretical lenses of the critical race theory, the model of Black identity development, and White identity development to examine the experiences of diverse cultures upon academic social structures. Four main research questions guided this study to determine the principal&rsquo;s ability to lead in a multicultural urban setting effectively: (a) what are the principal&rsquo;s perceptions about cultural awareness and his/her responsibility for serving increasingly diverse students, staff, and communities; (b) in what ways does a principal&rsquo;s perceptions of his/her capacity to lead effectively and demonstrate cultural awareness in an urban school with increasingly diverse students, staff, and communities evolve in practice over time; (c) what are the principal&rsquo;s perceptions of their past effectiveness to lead in a culturally responsive manner while serving increasingly diverse students, staff, and communities; and (d) what are the principal&rsquo;s perceptions of their preparedness to lead in a culturally responsive and culturally competent manner while serving increasingly diverse students, staff, and communities. School principals play a critical role in improving schools. This in-depth study interviewed a principal that had demonstrated 3 years of effective multicultural leadership experience over a diverse ethnic and gender population of students within the public urban school system.</p><p>

<p> Understanding mathematics is an essential part of everyday life and can range from simple tasks such as using basic math skills to more complex tasks. Success in mathematics is a requirement for success in today&rsquo;s modern world. A gap in developing mathematical skills can create complications and interfere with job opportunities. Another basic essential for success in society is reading. There are important problems associated with students who cannot read successfully, such as higher dropout rates. Studies have shown that learning a foreign language during elementary school increases a child&rsquo;s ability to develop cognitive skills, and research has shown that proper development of cognitive skills improves a student&rsquo;s ability to read and perform mathematical skills successfully. Research studies involving dual-language/two-way immersion schools suggest that students at these schools obtain higher scores on achievement tests in both mathematics and reading. This study is a meta-analysis of studies involving dual-language/two-way immersion schools in an effort to confirm the hypotheses that (1) there are differences in student performance when comparing students who learn foreign language in elementary school versus those who don&rsquo;t, and (2) students score higher in reading, vocabulary, and/or mathematics if they learn foreign language in elementary school when compared to those who don&rsquo;t. The meta-analysis began with 51 quantitative research studies but was narrowed down to 17 after categorizing the studies. Using weighted effect sizes and Cohen&rsquo;s <i>d</i>, the results for the <i>d</i> values were .64 (medium) for vocabulary, .22 (small) for reading, and .11 for mathematics. Only homogeneity tests were calculated in each category. The Q values indicated homogeneity for the category of mathematics only. Therefore, additional research is suggested, beginning with heterogeneity testing.</p><p>

<p> This dissertation examined community college transfer students&rsquo; perceptions of how mental health concerns interfere with academics, the ability to stay in school, graduate, and transfer to a 4-year university. The study also examined if community college transfer students perceive that mental health counseling improves their ability to stay in college, graduate from community college, and overcome barriers that interfere with the ability to transfer to a 4-year university. The study employed descriptive statistics and one-way between subjects ANOVAs to examine the effects of demographic characteristics and presenting mental health concerns on the ability to remain in community college, graduate from community college, and transfer to a 4-year university. Eta squared post hoc test revealed medium to large effect sizes. The participants were 65 transfer students consisting largely of white, female community college graduates between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four from a mid-sized, southeastern United States university. Significant findings for differences in perceptions were found based on students&rsquo; presenting concerns for counseling and demographics.</p><p>

Many African-American congregations in urban settings have established after-school tutorial programs as a means of assisting students toward better academic performance. While there is some consensus that church sponsored tutoring programs in the Black community are welcome and should be encouraged, to date the research documenting what is actually taking place in these programs and what the responses are of those affected by the programs is generally sparse. Descriptive case studies of tutoring activities sponsored by two churches, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Church of Springfield, Massachusetts and the New Covenant Presbyterian Church of Miami, Florida, form the basis of this study. These free tutoring programs are an attempt to offer remediation to inner-city youngsters within the context of volunteer staffing patterns based upon the caring tradition of the African-American church. Background information was gathered from church and tutoring program records, giving attention to program purpose, evolution, and organization. Interviews and questionnaires were used to gather data on the perceptions of those involved with these tutorial efforts (students, tutors, and parents) concerning the program's effectiveness in helping students academically. A telephone survey of twenty other churches located in differing urban areas was taken regarding their tutoring experiences and these responses were compared with the perceptions of individuals involved in the case studies. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Church program's fifteen year history betrayed a continual metamorphosis in the program while the New Covenant tutoring experience was much more brief, slightly more than a year. Similarly, among the churches programs surveyed, some tutorial programs had long histories and others were new. The perception was widespread among persons involved with the twenty-two programs that these activities were of positive benefit to the students involved. Among community-based organizations, many Black churches have long histories and extensive resource networks within their neighborhoods which make them reliable community alternatives for the establishment of relatively low-cost remediation programs that could prove highly effective. Follow-up research documenting actual impact on academic performance is needed.