<p> This mixed-methods study was conducted to determine if there was a significant relationship between extracurricular and/or co-curricular participation and leadership styles of beginning superintendents in the state of Missouri. First-year superintendents from 63 school districts in Missouri were invited to participate in the study, and 28 participated. The first instrumentation used in the research was a Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X Short Form, created by Bass and Avolio (2004), consisting of 45 leadership style questions and was administered on-line through Mind Garden, Ltd. In addition to the MLQ 5X-Short, participants were invited to complete a second survey created by the researcher, the Profile of Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Participation Questionnaire, was administered on-line through Survey Monkey and consisted of nine demographic and background questions. This particular survey also asked participants to identify past involvement in extracurricular and/or co-curricular activities and to answer three open-ended questions regarding their perceptions of the impact, if any, of those activities on their leadership experiences. The quantitative and qualitative data indicated many of the first-year superintendents had participated in extracurricular and co-curricular activities in high school and/or college. Many participants also reported they believed these activities had made a significant impact on their lives, including leadership skills.</p>

<p> The focus of this study was to examine the impact of Missouri Leadership for Excellence, Achievement, and Development (MoLEAD) program on the school district administrators who attended and their constituents. After three cohorts of school leaders have attended the MoLEAD training, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education authorities have yet to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The purpose of this study was to determine the value and benefit of administrators attending the MoLEAD professional development. The participants of this study included school administrators who attended MoLEAD training in Cohort One in the state of Missouri. Data from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MODESE) was reviewed, along with the participants&rsquo; survey results. The outcome of the study indicated no correlation between administrators&rsquo; participation in the MoLEAD training and their students&rsquo; achievement test scores. Participants responded to open-ended questions and replied that the MoLEAD training offered great collaboration opportunities, but the program needed updating. Participants in Cohort One of MoLEAD scored highest in the area of Model the Way on the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) Survey; no school districts who experienced an increase in school achievement scores as measured by Missouri School Improvement Plan (MSIP) Phase 5. The essential elements identified in this study served MoLEAD directors and provided MoDESE insight into supporting the improvements needed in this established program.</p>

<p> Student mobility is &ldquo;students moving from one school to another for reasons other than being promoted to the next school level&rdquo; (Rumberger, 2002, p. 1). In this qualitative study, the researcher detailed how student mobility impacted four rural intermediate elementary schools in two select counties in southwest Missouri. Four principals, four counselors, and four classroom teachers were interviewed to learn how high student mobility impacted these participants, mobile and non-mobile students, and schools overall. There has been ample research on student mobility in the primary grades and in high school, but very little research exists dealing with intermediate elementary students. Many common perceptions among those interviewed arose after data were analyzed. Participants agreed highly mobile students were more likely to struggle academically and socially than stably enrolled peers. In addition, interviewees felt highly mobile student populations presented more difficulties for teachers and administrators to successfully educate all children. The need for more effective enrollment and new student orientation practices surfaced as means to minimize the negative effects of high student mobility in the studied schools. Also, the need for more efficient communication with parents of mobile students was highlighted. Schools in this area must find ways to streamline curriculum and procedures to provide shared mobile students the opportunity to find academic and behavioral success. Conclusions from this study may help school leaders better address the needs presented by a highly mobile student population.</p>

<p> The position of the Superintendent of Schools is multifaceted and complex. The superintendent is responsible for instruction, personnel, general business operations, budget, finance, law and politics. Do existing superintendent preparation programs adequately prepare individuals for the duties and responsibilities that they will face on a day to day basis? Research on this topic is becoming more prevalent but, because of individual state licensing and certification requirements, the research is often either generalized or it is state specific. There are few identifiable studies on superintendent preparation in New York State. </p><p> Current research indicates that superintendents felt that their administrative preparation programs were lacking in specific areas such as finance, budgeting and law and that the programs needed improvement. Therefore, research in this area is important because improving the quality and content of superintendent preparation programs will have a positive impact on the individual&rsquo;s readiness to assume the position. </p><p> The study is a qualitative study that will utilize a series of semi-structured interviews with individuals that are currently working as a Superintendent of Schools in New York State. The interviews focused on their perceptions of their administrative preparation programs, their internships, and the relevance of their coursework to the performance of their day to day duties. The interviews were structured to elicit comments and discussion regarding the personal experiences of those interviewed with regards to those aspects of their preparation program that was most beneficial to their role&rsquo;s as superintendent and those aspects that were least beneficial. Interviewees were also asked to make recommendations regarding ways to improve administrative preparation programs.</p>

<p> Two coinciding trends in education have given rise to this study: the political cycle of school reform and the heterogeneous nature of the charter school landscape. Since Minnesota became the first state to pass a charter law in 1991, the dramatic increase in the number of charter schools has provided opportunities for researchers to try to categorize the success of charter schools. Although the number of charter schools have almost doubled from 3,689 to 6,004 from 2005-2006 to 2012-2013, an average of approximately 500 charters have opened and more than 160 charter schools have closed per year during these eight years of the available data. However, students who attend charter schools do not have a monolithic educational experience. The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of students and parents in relation to enrolling in a specific brick and mortar and several cyber charter schools, and if applicable, leaving said schools. </p><p> This qualitative study explores the lived experiences of students and parents who reside in a rural public school district and chose to attend a cyber charter or brick and mortar charter school. Survey responses and information gathered from interviews of students and their parents/guardians were analyzed to illuminate the research questions. While the results will not be generalizable, this study has led to an understanding of what led these students to enroll in charter schools and if applicable, why they chose to leave. More specifically, three themes emerged from the data: (1) Family members, primarily mothers, significantly impacted students&rsquo; decisions to employ choice to enroll in charters; (2) The lack of extra-curricular activities in charters had a substantially negative impact on students&rsquo; experiences and (3) Educational quality was the foremost characteristic named in the determination to transfer out of a charter school. While there has been research on charter schools separate from studies on perceptions of school age children with respect to education programming, this examination indicates the need to unite charter research and student voice aspects within the realm of educational research. </p>

<p> This research addresses moral decision making and the experience of public school principals. It also explores the possible influence mentoring has on principals&rsquo; abilities to confront complex decisions when clear ethical choices do not exist. This study incorporates a survey methodology, exploring the relationship between principal mentoring programs and schemas of morality in principals&rsquo; decision making. I used the Defining Issues Test-2 (Bebeau &amp; Thoma, 2003; Rest &amp; Narvaez, 1998) as the quantitative measurement tool to assess moral reasoning in this study. The survey also included questions about mentoring experiences and principal demographics. The DIT-2 uses the following three moral schemas that Rest (1973) identified: Personal Interest Schema, Maintaining Norms Schema, and Postconventional Schema. Rest based the three schemas on Kohlberg&rsquo;s (1958) moral development theory, which provides a framework for understanding various levels of moral judgment. The first part of my research involves determining the moral schemas principals use when making moral judgments. Principals in various studies have not only identified a need to improve moral judgment, but also areas of improvement that would most benefit them (Dempster and Berry, 2003; Drago-Severson, 2012; Henry, 2010). As a result, the second part of my research explores how principal mentoring programs with an ethics component impact moral judgment in principals.</p>

<p> Principals who are able to develop a high level of trust and establish positive relationships with teachers in a given school have greater opportunities to increase student achievement. This study reviewed the leadership factors that can increase or decrease the level of trust between teachers and the principal in rural elementary schools. A mixed methods study allowed for the most thorough review and interpretation of the data. Quantitative data was gathered from surveys regarding trust level and leadership styles. The results from the quantitative data indicated significant differences in faculty trust in the principal and the leadership styles between two principals from the six studied. This provided two schools in which to conduct the qualitative research. Interviews were held with the principal and four teachers at each school. The interviews provided rich data for analysis regarding the factors that enhance or decrease the faculty trust in the principal. Four themes were found to impact the faculty trust: relationships, communication, interpersonal skills, and a direct style of leadership. Of equal value were the development of relationships and possessing good communication skills. Having the potential to greatly influence both relationships and communication was the interpersonal skills of the principal. A principal who used a direct style of leadership and watched too intently for the mistakes teachers make was determined to have a negative impact upon trust. It was demonstrated that trust takes time and consistency to develop, but it may be destroyed easily. All of this was evaluated within the unique environment of the rural elementary school. </p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to highlight the narratives of Native American youth to develop an understanding of social practices supporting and hindering educational achievement and attainment for Native American youth from their own perspectives. In this study, young adults who have recently completed K-12 education in a small rural school district tell their story of their schooling experiences. Understanding their lived experiences contributes to the body of research regarding Native American schooling in the Pacific Northwest. </p><p> This study adds to our understanding of schooling for Native American students who attend public schools in rural borderland settings. Though limited in scope, the personal retrospective accounts contain rich descriptions of the lived experiences of the five participants from which to gain directions for educational practice and educational research. Tribal Critical Race Theory analysis of in-depth individual semi-structured interviews with five young adults ages 19-24 from a confederation tribal organization in the Columbia Plateau yielded four major themes. These themes are: The legacy of colonization still present in schools, schooling, and social contexts, importance of school credentials/credentialing to move on with life, power of relationships to shape our realities, and forging our own reality.</p><p> Future leaders from public schools and tribal education agencies in rural borderland settings can use this research to inform educational practices for Native American students. Future researchers may wish to replicate this study increasing the scope, range of participants, and locations to further our understanding of schooling practices supporting and hindering educational achievement and attainment through strengths based explanations.</p>

<p> Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore new principals&rsquo; and assistant principals&rsquo; lived experiences and perceptions of California teacher tenure law and challenges they faced when determining if a probationary teacher was ready for tenure. </p><p> Methodology. Phenomenology was the chosen methodology for this study. Semi-structured, in-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted face-to face with participants in a private setting of their choice to obtain new administrators&rsquo; perspectives on teacher tenure. Eleven new principals and assistant principals who served in the capacity of administrator for two years or less and who already went through the evaluation process experience were interviewed representing three southern California school districts. </p><p> Findings. The study identified four major themes and thirteen overarching themes as perceived by new principals and assistant principals: job protection, non-arbitrary dismissal, comfort to try new things, difficult to terminate, teacher complacency, brief decision window to determine tenure, lack of diversity in the evaluation process, feedback and coaching, increased years to grant tenure, collaboration, informal classroom walkthroughs, student growth, and professional growth. </p><p> Conclusions. The results of the study led to recommendations for improving the tenure system. The study revealed the need for a probationary period longer than two years before granting tenure. Administrators need training and support to assist with due process, difficult dismissal policies, and teacher evaluations to provide teachers meaningful feedback and purposeful coaching. Create diversity in evaluations by including: peer and administrator input; how teachers collaborate and work with peers, parents, students, and administrators; and student growth/learning. </p><p> Recommendations. A comprehensive tenure evaluation system should be built based on the conclusions of this study. Future researchers should widen the investigation by replicating the study to include support staff; completing a longitudinal study by looking at state requirements for training teacher evaluators across the nation; conducting studies on computer applications to assist in teacher evaluations; and examining the different dismissal processes/policies in each state to determine where difficulty lies in the removal of ineffective teachers.</p>

<p> Literature evaluating the impact of faculty workload on student outcomes of graduation and first-time pass for the National Council on Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN&reg;) is limited. Current models of workload are not specific and do not define the number of hours the faculty spends doing the work. In this day of decreased funding and increased requirement for quality in academia, it is important for nurse educators to understand how quality program outcomes, finances, and faculty workload are connected and impact student involvement. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the program outcomes of graduation and first-time pass on the National Council on Licensure Examination &ndash; Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN&reg;) for Bachelor of Science Nursing Accelerated (BSNA) student graduates in programs that used a traditional faculty workload model versus a clock hour faculty workload model.</p><p> The study, though limited, did begin to evaluate the impact of faculty workload on program outcomes. The intent and goals of the study were to research traditional workload models and alternative models proposed to address the cost of education and establish a baseline of how the models may impact program outcomes. In addition, the intent included evaluating how future changes may ultimately impact the student. Implications of the study included the consideration by faculty, school of nursing administration, and university administration of how faculty workload impacts the classroom and practice environment. Recommendations for further research conclude the study. </p>