<p> This study seeks to address the question <i>"How do school and district leaders and teachers become aware of, take steps to comprehend, and form opinions about state policies?"</i> These "first impression processes" represent significant parts of the processes by which district administrators, school administrators, and teachers make sense of state policies in the course of implementation. In some settings, educators, particularly school administrators and teachers, may be less likely to be aware of and fully understand important policies by virtue of their distance from state-to-district policy messages. They also may be more likely to be subject to outside influence in forming opinions. The "first impression processes" are examined within the specific context of implementing Achieve NJ, a policy which sets forth rigorous new guidelines for teacher evaluation in New Jersey and "lands" in districts in the course of the research. It uses as a theoretical framework Weick's (1995) model of sense-making applied to a schools context. A total of 293 surveys and 71 interviews were conducted with policy pilot and non-pilot district and school administrators and teachers.</p><p> Findings indicate that district administrators best and teachers least understood policies. Awareness typically depended on position in district hierarchy. Comprehension depended on individual research and collaborative, collegial processing opportunities. These efforts were particularly effective when paired with NJDOE personnel. Opinion formation occurred in conjunction with collaborative comprehension processes and was less dependent on existing perceptions or media influence. Pilot and non-pilot educators were most similar in opinion formation, and differed most in comprehension. District officials were more aware of and better comprehended policy specifics and policy contexts. School officials were less aware and comprehending, and teachers were comparatively the least in these areas. </p><p> The following recommendations emerge from this work. State departments of education may benefit from engaging teachers more directly through diverse policy communication efforts. Departments might also work to become collaborative collegial partners with schools as educators in school settings make sense of new policies. Implementation liaisons or more-permanent support structures such as the NJDOE Regional Achievement Centers may provide opportunities for state departments of education to partner with schools in collaborative processing of significant new policies and, in turn, bring about more effective implementation and policy outcomes.</p>

<p> Educational leaders across the United States face changes affecting the educational system related to federal and state mandates. The stress of those changes may be related to superintendents&rsquo; longevity. The superintendent position has a mobility rate that is quite high. Every superintendent is different and may have a different leadership style than their predecessor. The district culture, goals, and expectations may change depending on the superintendents&rsquo; leadership style. If superintendents&rsquo; leadership style affects principals&rsquo; performance, it may affect the principals&rsquo; success or failure. The purpose of this quantitative correlational research study was to identify if correlations existed linking 126 principals&rsquo; perception of superintendents&rsquo; leadership style and principals&rsquo; performance as reflected by student achievement data. The goal was to obtain principals&rsquo; perception of the superintendents&rsquo; leadership style as measured by the MLQ and principals&rsquo; performance as measured by AIMS reading and math data from the 2011- 2012 to 2012-2013 school years. The results indicated that superintendents&rsquo; transformational, passive avoidant and transactional leadership styles did not correlate positively to math difference scores. However, the results indicated that the passive avoidant leadership style was positively, correlated to reading difference scores. The results also indicated that there was a positive correlation between reading and math difference scores. Educational leaders should be aware that the analysis of data indicates that it is plausible that passive avoidant leadership may be more complex than nonleadership as labeled in previous research.</p>

<p> The first year of college is a critical period of transition for incoming college students. Learning communities have been identified as an approach to link students together in courses that are intentionally integrated and designed with first-year students' needs in mind. Yet, learning community teaching teams are often not provided with data prior to the start of the semester about their students in order to target interventions. Also, it remains unclear as to which students are most benefitted by participating in learning communities. One question then becomes, what variables known on or before the first day of classes are predictive of first-year student success, in terms of retention and probation status, for first-year college students in learning communities? </p><p> The correlational study employed univariate and multivariate analyses on pre-college data about three consecutive cohorts of first-year students in learning communities at a regional public university in South Texas. Logistic regression models were developed to predict retention and probation status without respect to learning community membership, as well as for each learning community category. </p><p> Results indicated that group differences were not statistically significant based on either first-generation status or age for retention, while group differences were statistically significant for probation status on the basis of all of the pre-college variables except age. Although statistically significant differences were found among the learning community categories for each of the pre-college variables, there were no statistically significant group differences in their retention or probation rates. </p><p> The model to predict retention regardless of learning community membership included five variables, while the model to predict probation status included eight variables. The models for each learning community contained different sets of predictor variables; the most common predictors of retention or probation status were high school percentile and orientation date. </p><p> The study has practical implications for admissions officers, orientation planners, student support services, and learning community practitioners. It is recommended to replicate the study with more recent learning community cohorts and additional pre-college variables, as well as in programs across the nation, to contribute to the literature about the potential for learning communities to enhance first-year student success.</p>

<p> Research suggests what leaders should do or the qualities or characteristics they <i>should</i> have to be ethical leaders (Brown &amp; Trevi&ntilde;o, 2006). The ethical decision-making process that leaders should follow to avoid scandals and unethical behavior are overlooked. Few studies focused on ethical decision-making within higher education. Yet, educational leaders have an ethical responsibility that may be even more complex than those of other leaders due in part to increasingly diverse student populations enrolled in higher education that is having an impact on the growth of educational institutions on a global basis (Shapiro &amp; Stekfovich, 2011). Further, ethical scandals are no longer contained by national borders. The rapid growth of technology coupled with changes in political and societal landscapes has advanced ethical scandals to global prominence. A more collective need to understand ethical values and ethical decision-making practices on a global level has emerged. To be globally effective, leaders must be aware of the similarities and differences across and within cultures that could influence business practices (Resick, Hanges, Dickson, &amp; Mitchelson, 2006). However, cross-cultural research has not yet addressed the topic of ethical decision-making. In this study, the ethical decision-making process of higher education was not only examined in the United Stated but also in Poland. This exploratory study used the Delphi research technique to identify an ethical decision-making definition that higher administration leaders in both the United States and Poland use to make ethical decisions and identify the environmental factors that influence their decisions. Findings showed that the United States and Polish expert panels were different and showed very little in common in the identification of a definition and environmental factors. Lastly, both sets of experts identified a new process for ethical decision-making, each constructing a different ethical decision-making process model. This research on ethical decision-making provided evidence that the Polish and United States cultures are not as similar as identified in previous studies in terms of how they identify ethical decision-making and the factors they identify with influencing ethical decision-making. Using this information will create a better understanding of the practices and approaches to ethics that leaders use because of the huge influence they have and exert on people within their own organization and society around them.</p>

<p> The purpose of this multiple case study is to document how directors at private preschools have already, or are preparing for, leadership transitions. The study documents two private preschools; one preschool recently completed a leadership transition and the other is preparing for a transition that is scheduled to take place in the next five years. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with directors, teachers, and families in both centers and analysis of archival records. Data were analyzed deductively drawing on key concepts from literature discussing leadership styles, factors impacting leadership transitions in organizations, and Heifetz's theory of adaptive leadership. Findings suggest that private preschools benefit from long-term succession planning for future leadership transitions, that includes staff participation and parent feedback. This study documents examples of intentionally planned transparent and collaborative administrative and leadership change in early childhood environments.</p>

<p> This study examined the presidential leadership practices of high-performing community colleges. The purpose of this study was to better understand the intersection between leadership and high-performing community colleges in the context of a complex and challenging environment. To this end, the study examined the leadership styles of four community college presidents to determine how their leadership influences the performance of their institutions. The study included interviews of four community college presidents serving at colleges selected as winners or finalists of distinction of the Aspen Institute Community College Excellence Program. Four faculty presidents from the same colleges were also interviewed to determine their understanding of how the college president's leadership influences the performance of the institution. The researcher asked three questions related to presidential leadership and the high performance of the community college. 1) What is the relationship between leadership and high performance at community colleges? 2) What type of leadership styles and frameworks are utilized by presidents at high-performing community colleges? 3) What competencies, knowledge areas, and skills do presidents at high-performing community colleges display? The eight participants in this study were asked 12 open-ended questions pertaining to community college presidential leadership practices. Results from the studyprovide insight into the leadership of community college presidents and the high performance of their institution.</p>

<p> This doctoral project is a pilot study to assess the effectiveness of a church discipleship co-op designed to convey a biblical worldview to middle and high school students enrolled in charter homeschooling in Southern California. Research by the Nehemiah Institute indicated that 90% of Christian families in the United States send their children to forms of education that are not likely to produce a biblical worldview. Research by The Barna Group, LifeWay Research, and The National Study of Youth and Religion indicated that the vast majority of church-attending children transition into adulthood without a biblical worldview and disengage from church and Christianity as adults. Research by America's Research Group, Probe Ministries, and the Nehemiah Institute indicated that educational experiences in middle and high school determine the worldview of most children raised in Christian homes.</p><p> To address this problem some Christian families and churches are turning to public charter schools, as the fastest growing form of education in California and many other states. However, constitutional and state law restrictions forbid charter schools from presenting a biblical worldview in classes or curricula. The participants in this project combined church and family resources to provide supplemental educational experiences to convey a biblical worldview to middle and high school students while they received a public school education by enrolling in charter homeschool.</p>

<p> The purpose of my study was to explore the role of cultural values in the lived experiences of Latino college and university presidents at four-year higher education institutions and to determine how cultural values contributed to and reflected their professional strengths. Using the Community Cultural Wealth framework developed by Tara Yosso (2005) to capture the assets or forms of capital that people of color bring with them to all settings, this study utilized a strengths-based approach to examine the ways in which Latino higher education executives translated their cultural upbringing and values into skills and approaches that facilitated their ascension in the field of higher education. In semi-structured conversational interviews with 14 of the 21 identified four-year Latino college presidents, I explored a). the factors that facilitated Latino college presidents' success, b). the ways in which presidents used their cultural background and cultural values to ascend to leadership roles, and c). how their cultural backgrounds guided their approaches to and view of their role in higher education. </p><p> I conducted a qualitative study using testimonio, a form of narrative inquiry that began in Latin American studies as a way to expose the experiences and injustices endured by oppressed groups. Through testimonios marginalized individuals tell of their lived experiences to raise awareness of racism, classism or other forms of oppression and to also effect change. Testimonio and critical race theory are also based on individual narratives representing the collective experience of communities. Since this study looked at how Latino college presidents viewed the role of their cultural backgrounds in their careers, testimonios allowed me to capture the commonalities of those experiences. </p><p> This study adds to the literature by using the Community Cultural Wealth model and an assets-based approach to examine different cultural aspects or forms of capital of Latino college presidents and the role of these cultural elements in their ascent to a presidency. This study uncovered the extent to which culture has been a positive force and inspiration in the professional careers of Latino college presidents.</p>

<p> The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe, analyze, and interpret a comparison of assistant superintendents&rsquo; perceptions of the impact of classroom walk-throughs as a model of teacher development designed to monitor and improve instructional practices in 12 school districts in Connecticut. A major focus of this study is whether the practice of classroom walkthroughs have an impact on with improving instructional practices. According to Marshall (2012a), &ldquo;Classroom observations, student achievement, and feedback from students are important, but they&rsquo;ll only improve education if they&rsquo;re used wisely&rdquo; (p. 50). This research study is informed by a comprehensive review of the literature related to teacher evaluation models, including the practice of classroom walk-throughs, brief visits, and instructional rounds, prior to interviewing assistant superintendents about their perceptions of the impact that classroom walkthroughs have on improving instructional practice. Marshall (2012c) indicates that &ldquo;In most schools, by contact or by tradition, administrators give advance notice of their formal observations and teachers quite understandably take their performance up a notch or two&rdquo; (p. 19). There are social and professional implications of this inquiry-based research that need to be considered. A social implication is the relationship to teacher acceptance behavior of the implementation of classroom walk-throughs that could change school culture. Professionally, relationships between and among teachers and building administrators could become stronger in terms of creating a professional learning community. Conversely, there could be resistance to the change process that impacts potential positive results. Conducting a phenomenological study through a carefully designed methodology will result in qualitative reflection and findings that will support the assistant superintendent subjects as they examine the impact of individual walkthrough models on improving instructional practices.</p>

<p> This qualitative research explores how college and university presidents engage in the process of developing formal institutional vision. The inquiry identifies roles presidents play in vision development, which is often undertaken as part of strategic-planning initiatives. Two constructs of leadership and institutional vision are used to examine key variables such as vision development and the college presidency. </p><p> In-depth, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 10 presidents representing private and public institutions that have been or are being transformed. These interviews revealed 21 findings arrayed as: 1) seven organizing modalities, 2) five presidential roles, 3) seven role-based success factors and 4) two issues concerning balancing ownership of vision between presidents and stakeholders in shared-governance environments. </p><p> Many of the presidents developed formal institutional visions narrowly and on their own, but then undertook more inclusive processes to finalize their visions, socialize them through their organizations and integrate them into strategic planning. A related finding is that, despite pressures to engage in vision development with a broad spectrum of their communities, presidents are routinely asked to provide their visions to trustees and others during job recruitment. </p><p> Other findings include confirmation that visioning is generally part of strategic-planning exercises. Presidents often think in terms of what this study labels visionary intent, identified here as the combination of formal vision, objectives and strategies. Presidents also report relying on outside experts to play roles in visioning and strategic planning. Some presidents also spoke of balancing the need to encourage creativity and ambition among those engaged in the process with a responsibility to protect their institutions against misguided or even dangerous visions. </p><p> Numerous implications for both practice and theory emerged from this research. These include how essential it is for presidents to understand the cultural, political, historical, financial and operating contexts of their institutions prior to embarking on visioning. This includes awareness of the dynamics and visioning efforts of their immediate predecessors. </p><p> The presidents ultimately chose different courses of action to develop vision, though they all shared many best practices. In theoretical terms, this reflects an interesting Contingency Leadership approach to visioning in Complexity Leadership environments marked by the considerable Shared and Servant Leadership characteristics of shared governance.</p>