<p> This paper examines the work of older Black women who used collaborative inquiry to process issues around living with adult children with extraordinary needs. The co-researchers met four times over the course of several months exploring many facets&mdash;economic, psychological, interpersonal, and practical;&mdash;of domestic life when two sets of related adults (older parent and adult child) cohabit. Our work involved cycles of action and reflection, using conversations, journal writing, art, poetry, storytelling, and music. </p><p> Three significant outcomes resulted from these cycles of action and reflection. First, participants grew in their commitment to and practice of self-care. Secondly, participants focused on seeking the good in the other. Thirdly, participants grew in their skills of intentional listening and releasing the outcome. </p><p> In the context of twenty-first century leadership, this focus on parenting has implications for any type of leadership, because the issues addressed and the skills involved have many areas of overlap.</p>

<p> Of the many narratives to which educators subscribe, one of the most prevalent for the past three decades is the idea that students&rsquo; success is strongly predicated on their ability to read on grade level by the end of third grade. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of half-day versus full-day kindergarten on students&rsquo; growth in reading achievement by the end of their kindergarten year. In addition, the study sought to look at the same group of students and growth in reading achievement and their ability to achieve grade-level reading by the end of third grade. In this quantitative study, students (N = 295) from a school district in suburban Chicago, Illinois, were tested to determine what growth, if any, could be seen within their kindergarten year of study. Additionally, student test results were analyzed for each successive year of schooling through third grade to determine if there were any specific variables that contribute to predicting achievement growth or overall achievement by the end of third grade. </p><p> Results of the study indicated that full-day kindergarten provides greater benefit to a student&rsquo;s overall achievement. Specifically, students who were coded as receiving free or reduced lunch support maintained a high rate of achievement in the full-day kindergarten program. In the regression analysis, the element that made the greatest contribution toward kindergarten achievement growth was not having an Individual Education Plan. Additionally, reading achievement growth was made in each grade level, with the most significant growth noted in the second grade year. </p><p> Finally, when students from each kindergarten schedule were compared to the end of year targets for reading on grade level by the end of third grade, students in the half-day program were found to have made the greatest gains. However, the selection of students for the full-day kindergarten program was comprised of students who were considered &ldquo;at risk&rdquo; and not comprised of a cross section of students with varied abilities.</p>

<p> This study utilizes the lens of student experience to provide an understanding of how students&rsquo; behavior and attitudes are influenced by first-year college leadership programs in order to promote civic engagement. This qualitative study uses semi-structured, face-to-face, individual interviews, focus groups, and an online survey at three sites&mdash;the John Glenn College of Public Relations at The Ohio State University, the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at The University of Maryland, and The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. The study reviews the best practices and principles of leadership in communicating and interacting with others through democratic dialogue and democratic deliberation. The focus of the study is on sophomores, juniors, and seniors who participated in first-year college leadership programs and how they express the value derived from their classroom and service-learning involvement in collective decision making and democratic settings for the common good of all. The findings contribute to understanding how colleges and universities may effectively implement their roles in the development of students as civic-minded citizens of an increasingly global community through first-year college leadership programs.</p>

<p> This study investigated the role of the school administrator in helping teachers to use instructional practices that led to improved student learning outcomes. The data indicated that teachers were comfortable learning from other teacher-leaders in the school. Teachers responded favorably to opportunities to participate in collegial observation and being provided specific feedback to stimulate growth. The study also confirmed that teachers looked to the school administrator to provide necessary resources and funding for professional development opportunities. Teachers need to be provided ongoing opportunities to learn and grow together through meaningful grade-level team meeting. </p><p> This study took place during the 2010&ndash;2011 school year, and investigated individually and collectively four initiatives: reorganizing grade-level team meetings to facilitate better coordination, collaboration, and peer consultation; gearing professional development opportunities toward proven learning strategies; engaging the teachers in reflective practices for self-improvement; and engaging the teachers in keeping professional growth logs. Teachers were asked to respond to a questionnaire created by the principal, to complete feedback forms as a follow up to each professional development workshop, and to evaluate the effectiveness of grade-level teams using a scoring guide. An analysis of MAP and Tungsten data, teacher created goals/outcomes, and walk-through data was used to evaluate student growth, as well. </p><p> A narrow focus on analyzing and using data to make instructional decisions had an impact on standardized test result. The instructional leaders were responsible for helping staff to understand and interpret data, create short-term and long-term goals, monitor the progress and celebrate success. </p><p> An underlying theme evolved during the study, encompassing the importance of the school leader to build positive relationships and lines of communication with the staff to guide them toward the improvement of instructional practices. </p>

<p> This study is an in-depth look at the role of grades and standardized test scores in predicting future student success in the classroom, focusing on the transition from middle school to high school. It seeks to identify how practicing high school administrators can utilize these two sets of predictor data in the decision of placing students into the high school curriculum at the freshman level. A review of the literature examines research on grades to students, standardized testing practices, success at the freshman level of high school, and the connection between high school and college level placement. </p><p> Middle school grades in a student&rsquo;s core subject area classes (math, English, science and social science) were contrasted with standardized MAP test scores administered in the eighth grade year in their ability to predict ninth grade core subject area classroom performance, in order to identify which is a better predictor of future performance. </p><p> The study takes place in a high school district in Illinois. It looks specifically at the district&rsquo;s Class of 2018 and its 223 students. In the final analysis, the study found a positive correlational relationship between both middle school grades and standardized test scores and ninth grade grades. Further analysis found that, in every research question studied, middle school grades proved to be the stronger predictor of ninth grade grades. In addition, this study found middle school grades to be far stronger of a predictor suggesting that the primary determinate of placement decisions for the ninth grade can be found in the classroom track record of incoming ninth graders and not standardized test scores.</p>

<p> Our nation faces a daunting challenge in assuring that we have a sufficient supply of well-educated, well-prepared teachers for our children. There presently exist several quality teacher preservice programs, nationally and internationally. Unfortunately, each institution varies greatly in its content and emphasis. </p><p> This research project examines a related, but often neglected, aspect of teacher success in the classroom: Are new teachers being given the content and experience that they need and desire? The results of qualitative anecdotal research find the answer to be an emphatic &ldquo;no.&rdquo; This project examines this question through a holistic approach that looks at teacher preparation through a variety of related topics. A few of these include credentialing and licensing practices, retention of teachers, teacher training programs, importance of teachers, and current challenges, to name a few.</p><p> The fact is that the success of our students is ultimately affected by the quality of the teachers that enter the classroom. It&rsquo;s the purpose of this study to raise the question of what our new teachers feel they need to be successful and whether or not those needs are being fulfilled.</p>

<p> The terms leadership and leader development are often used synonymously. However, there are different outcomes and needs associated with each type of development. Even with these differences, both types of developments may be needed to help individuals master leadership skills effectively. This study explored the critically formative processes and influences contributing to a leader&rsquo;s leadership formation and development. A framework of adult cognitive development, identity development, and spiritual development offered areas where an individual may need development for leadership, while a framework of social cognitive theory, andragogy, and transformational learning offered insights into the process of development and transformation. By using phenomenography as the research method, this study aimed to find the variation of the phenomenon and describe leadership development as the participants experienced it. This information may help organizations and individuals who are trying to develop future leaders understand critically formative processes and influences contributing to a leader&rsquo;s leadership formation and development. </p><p> The research found four categories related to the participants&rsquo; leadership development experiences within Leadership Tuscarawas and one category based on past experiences outside of the program. These categories were: (a) learning from others, (b) becoming aware, (c) building relationships, (d) emotions and feelings, and (e) leadership development experiences. Each category gave insights into what Leadership Tuscarawas alumni experienced within a leadership development program.</p><p>

<p> Research shows minority teachers positively impact minority student achievement, yet these teachers (especially Blacks and Latina/os) account for the highest percentage of pre-retirement teacher attrition rates. The primary reasons for their premature departures are a lack of autonomy relating to classroom instruction; exclusion from the school-wide decision-making process; and school culture and climate issues. These concerns could be alleviated through the agency of teacher leadership, especially when considering the finding that leadership is second only to classroom instruction when it comes to student achievement. School leaders, therefore, who adopt a distributed leadership model and nurture a culture wherein teachers are empowered to lead reform efforts, could potentially help ameliorate achievement gaps and minority teacher shortages. This mixed-methods, qualitatively dominant study sought to fill the gap in knowledge on the benefits of early career teacher leadership development for minority teachers and its potential impact on teacher attrition rates. Participants were surveyed using the Teacher Leadership School Survey as a means to determine how conducive their individual school&rsquo;s culture is/was to teacher leadership development and follow-up interviews were conducted to ascertain individual perceptions of teacher leadership and its impact on their decisions to commit to or exit the profession. Findings indicate teachers&rsquo; decisions to remain committed to the profession were largely influenced by their intrinsic motivation to teach and champion underserved students; their individual school culture&rsquo;s conduciveness to teacher leadership development; and the provision of teacher leadership opportunities. </p><p>

<p>This dissertation examines the implications of the adjunct phenomenon on higher education. The researcher utilized multiple case study and document analysis to identify the major implications the adjunct phenomenon has on higher education through the framework of organizational culture and leadership as well as the concept of the herd. This was explored through the study of adjunct faculty perceptions of the adjunct phenomenon, the shift from tenure-track to non-tenure track faculty, hiring, implementation, and employment practices for adjunct faculty. The results of this study support the conclusion that the adjunct phenomenon is impacting higher education, specifically recruitment, retention, organizational culture, and faculty resources. The findings suggest that the negative impacts of the adjunct phenomenon are experienced through the matriculation of limitations on higher education through the state of Louisiana. Additionally, departments have the power to impact the adjunct phenomenon experienced in their department through making changes to recruitment and retention practices as well as the development of organizational culture, utilizing the concept of the herd.

<p> This qualitative case study was designed to investigate graduate assistantships at the University of Central Missouri (UCM). Specifically, the researcher sought to understand how assistantships prepare graduate students for real world practices, provide a place to perfect their leaned skills, and assist with professional goal attainment. Participants of this study included current graduate assistants, previous graduate assistants, university leadership, and supervisors of graduate assistants. The conceptual framework of this research study incorporated Kolb&rsquo;s (1984), Experiential Learning Theory. This theory was chosen because it gives credibility to the concept that graduate assistantships can enrich learning and professional development (Johns, 2001; Kolb, 1984).</p><p> Data collection for this study consisted of individual interviews, a focus group and an online survey. Furthermore, data validity and reliability were enriched through strategies such as triangulation, adequate engagement in collection of data, member checking, and rich thick description (Creswell, 2014; Merriam &amp; Tisdell, 2016; Seidman, 2013). Analysis of the data revealed topics such as professional development effectiveness, opportunities and experience, and the organizational value of graduate assistantships. This information provides concrete evidence pertaining to the benefits and value of graduate assistantships at UCM.</p><p>