<p>Catholic schools are in need of innovative change. The problem lies in how to construct the elements of change to create viability for a school in the face of rapid declining enrollment. Responding to this type of environment as an educational leader requires qualities and characteristics similar to those of first responders in a medical emergency, a term I coined as the triage principal. This autoethnographic research study was designed to answer three research questions: 1. As a new principal at Michael, the Archangel School (MAS), a Catholic school in danger of closing, what challenges did I experience? 2. As a new leader, how did I respond to the challenges to bring about change at MAS? 3. What did I learn from this first year leadership experience? This autoethnographic study is constructed from my voice as a first year, first time principal, using several data sources: my blog, my archival field notes, and three interviews from archdiocesan leaders. Each of the given data sources had contained a data collection procedure resulting in overarching thematic patterns that led to generalizations based on the past experiences at MAS and my review of the literature. The weaving of the past and present of my life's leadership journey in combination with the culture and the people that surround me for this study, has made me realize that I do have a story worth sharing, a story that can potentially help others who might find themselves seemingly lost and alone.

<p>In a rapidly changing society, education must make adjustments and keep learning focused on the needs of students by providing increased opportunities for success. Classrooms are filled with students of different cultural backgrounds which makes education a challenge to every building leader and teacher. The challenges are how to design instruction and implement it to meet the academic and social needs of all learners. Understanding different lifestyles, languages, word context, body language, traditions, and dress present opportunities for educators to expand their cultural knowledge and create learning objectives for students which ultimately affect student achievement in the educational environment. </p><p> The focus of this study was to determine the characteristics of a successful, diverse school and the training needed for staff to support students and the district. To give educational stakeholders more insight into what characteristics are need to create a culturally proficient environment that creates learning opportunities for children, data was collected, analyzed and coded. The coding revealed eight axial codes and from there four main theories emerged: (a) leadership, (2) instructional model, (3) environment that supports diversity and, (4) parent and community involvement. </p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the perceptions that first year K&mdash;12 principals had about their mentorship relationship while leading their school through transformational change. The transformational change from the 1997 California Content Standards to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) caused a significant shift in the focus of educational leaders in California. Along with this challenge, there are many other new experiences that a first year principal will encounter. Mentorship is one way to support new principals to effectively navigate these new experiences. </p><p> The target population was first year K&ndash;12 principals in Fresno County during 2013&ndash;2014 who were involved in a formal mentoring relationship. The homogeneous sample included one high school, two middle, and three elementary principals. The interview protocol was created by the researcher to address the four research questions. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data, which were, then, transcribed into NVivo for coding using the grounded theory approach to data analysis. </p><p> Each of the four research questions produced key findings in order to contribute to the overall conclusion of the study, which was that the mentor was more important to the success of the mentorship relationship than the design of the program and that the person chosen to be a mentor needs to (a) believe in their mentee's ability to lead change, (b) have a similar mindset as their mentee in how to lead change, (c) be familiar enough with the current system of their mentee in order to help him/her navigate through the change, and (d) build a trusting relationship with their mentee.</p>

<p> The U.S. Department of Education statistics report increasing numbers of students with learning disabilities and other non-apparent disabilities enrolling in higher education. This change in student demographic presents new challenges to institutions and disability service professionals to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. The purpose of this study was to attain a deeper understanding of the decision-making experiences of the disability service professionals charged with making accommodation decisions with the intent of informing professional development opportunities that will help build the confidence and effectiveness of these high-stakes decision-makers. The research questions were addressed using a mixed methods research design utilizing a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews of disability service professionals in the northeast region of the United States. Major findings from this study included a surprising yet optimistic decrease in importance disability service professionals placed on specific documentation components in order to make accommodation decisions, the significance of building collaborative relationships on their campuses, and the considerable time and resources they devote to educating faculty on alternative methods of assessment to more effectively teach an increasingly diverse student population. The results of this study underscore the importance of disability service professionals on increasingly diverse campuses and the role they play in enhancing accessibility and ultimately contributing to the culture of diversity on their campuses. Professional development opportunities for higher education administrators are discussed, which include shifting the training focus from documentation and accommodation decision-making to understanding learning and teaching styles, as well as developing soft skills related to interdepartmental collaborative problem-solving.</p>

<p> Through the evolving arena of educational reform over decades, educational policy with emphasis on teacher evaluation has become a priority. This study investigated the benefit of support as identified via observation evaluation scores through an online professional learning system. Teachers with an evaluation rating of needs improvement and ineffective were offered a professional learning opportunity in order to provide support and measure improvement by the observational rubric used in teacher evaluation. A quantitative research design was utilized through the collection of archival observational data over a two-year period as well as survey data to gather teachers&rsquo; perceptions of their own improvement post training. </p><p> Results suggested teachers benefitted from the online professional learning as participants improved their scores and categorical ratings. Teachers who participated confirmed that they perceived they improved in their instruction after participating in the module. It is important to note that the teachers who were invited to participate and those who chose not to participate improved in their teacher observable scores and categorical ratings in year two. The research is consistent with the value of professional learning and has implications for policy makers both at the state and district level.</p>

<p>ABSTRACT Yemeni women have a subordinate position in the conservative, male-dominated society, and girls? education remains a challenge. The school curriculum perpetuates the traditional values of social injustice, and Yemen is in the last place among 142 countries for gender equality. The purpose of this case study was to explore the role of the education curriculum in Yemen, to describe how that curriculum represents women, and to explore how that representation impacts the place of Yemeni women. The conceptual framework drew on theories of gender equity and equality in education, and their application to Yemeni curricula and girls? education. Data were gathered from eight Yemeni women aged 25 to 35, using both face-to-face and electronic questionnaires. Data analysis began with coding and categorizing until themes emerged to identify the absence of female voices in curriculum and the role of literature in promoting gender equality. The Yemeni curriculum does not effectively address social justice and girls? education. Research findings suggested that a relevant literature curriculum that included Yemeni women authors and subjects could motivate Yemeni women to think critically about their status in society and encourage the voices of women to narrow the gender disparity. Findings showed that the inclusion of women in the Yemeni curriculum could have the following three critical impacts: inspiring the minds of both boys and girls, developing girls? self-esteem, and empowering young women leaders. Recommendations included a revision and development of the current Yemeni curriculum so that it features both males and females as equal citizens and encouraging greater public awareness of the value of women?s experience in the development of the country. This may help to build a sense of equality and social justice.

<p>Recognizing the importance of reflection about teaching as a fundamental activity to promote faculty development, the present research was conducted to: 1) explore the practices of instructional reflection of four undergraduate level professors at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), 2) understand how these practices influence their teaching and professional development, and 3) analyze their reflective practices based on traditional theories of reflection, namely Dewey's Reflective Theory, the Critical Thinking Movement, Schon's Reflective Practitioner Model, Critical Pedagogy, and Mezirow's Transformative Learning. A qualitative, multiple-case study was designed for this study, with interviews and observation of classes. Collected data were transcribed, categorized and coded; findings were presented in narrative form. Among the results stands out that professors critically examine their teaching practices through: 1) dialogue with colleagues and students, 2) reading of various types of materials, 3) writing about their teaching, 4) peer class observation, and 5) analyzing course evaluations and program assessment results. From their testimonies it also follows that reflection influences their teaching and professional development because they: 1) privilege questioning and critical dialogue as instructional strategies par excellence, 2) democratize their classrooms, 3) continuously update their courses, 4) experiment with new assessment strategies; 5) promote active learning and 6) create new courses. Classical theories of reflection converge in the professors' reflectivity. In addition, they integrate elements from other theoretical perspectives?e.g. feminism, Queer Theory, postmodernism, general education, and inter and transdisciplinarity? with which they enhance and reinvigorate their instructional reflection. Of potential interest for university academic leaders was the finding that, in general, participating professors understand that their reflective practices occur in spite of, and not supported by, the university administration, which they perceive as disconnected from the real needs of teachers and students.

<p> The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore and describe the practices of teacher leaders in a PLC content team along with the supports they received and needed as well as the challenges they encountered during implementation of the Common Core State Standards for high school mathematics in a Southern California school district. Because research shows most change initiatives require active leadership and yet are difficult to sustain there existed a need to study and describe the experiences of the teacher leaders during this curricular change to the Common Core State Standards. The experiences described by the seven teacher leaders participating in this study strengthen the practices of using collaborative content groups lead by teacher leaders. Common themes of teacher leader practices included having updated knowledge and skills about the reform through multiple trainings, honest and trusting relationships with their peers, sharing experiences and ideas, along with a shared vision and purpose, timelines and agendas. The supports received by the teacher leaders included the support of leadership through a TOSA or coach, the structure and time of the collaborative PLC content teams and on-going professional development. The challenges experienced by the teacher leaders were the need for more time and materials. </p><p> The conclusions confirm that teacher leaders are the experts in their subject who practice building relationships through sharing of experiences and focusing on the goals for student improvement. Nine conclusions from this study confirm that the important practices of teacher leaders are knowledge of the change in curriculum to provide a common vision and purpose for student learning, using norms, agendas and timelines to stay focused on the goals, building trusting relationships and an environment of trying new things and sharing experiences. The leadership supports required include the PLC team time and structure including stronger administrative direction at the beginning and more choice as the work continues, the support of a TOSA or coach who advocates for the teachers and teacher leaders through communication, direction and resources and the additional support through on-going and continual professional development. The needs and challenges of the teacher leaders include more time to development, assess, adjust and improve the curriculum and the need for materials for both the teachers and students.</p>

<p> This qualitative case study explored how principal leadership influenced teacher motivation to seek out professional development opportunities on new technology. Two groups of participants included: 36 middle school teachers, and three principals in an urban area in Arizona. Information was collected for this study in two ways, teacher focus groups and principal interviews. Four research questions were developed: 1) What principal leadership factors motivated teachers to seek out professional development opportunities on the use of new technologies, 2) How did principal leadership influence collaboration among teachers resulting in a "learning" culture to share professional development "best" practices, 3) How did proactive teacher use of new technology result in these teachers modifying their instructional approaches in the classroom, and 4) How did principal leadership style determine what the nature of the process is that will be followed to determine how teacher requirements for professional development on new technology are fully met? This qualitative approach was derived from the theoretical foundation based on the work of Guskey, with more emphasis on principals and their ability to influence and motivate their teachers. The results and implications of this study supported (a) principals as the instructional leaders of their schools, (b) a need for better quality professional development workshops, and (c) motivation of teachers to seek out and share the content of professional development workshops with other teachers However, these results are not generalizable due to the sample size and use of only one school district in urban Arizona. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> Principal leadership, professional development, collaboration, technology, and teacher motivation.</p>

<p> The purpose of the current study was to discern what differentiated administrative supports teachers perceived they needed to continue pursuing their teaching careers based on the problem of high teacher attrition confounding educational leadership. The population receiving the survey was all of the 21,174 public school teachers working in a highly populated county in Texas. This cross section of teachers included teachers of both genders and of all of the racial groups from K-12 public schools defined as urban, suburban, and rural. The number of survey responses included in the analysis was 809. When scoring the perceptions of administrative supports the majority of the teachers answered affirmatively that the supports were important. The highest support item score as agree or strongly agree was 99.75% for discipline, while the lowest item score as agree or strongly agree was 84.17% for technology. The mean, or average, administrative supports scale score for all 10 items of the 809 completed surveys was 4.54 out of a possible 5.0, with a standard deviation of .400. For the hypotheses, no significant differences in administrative supports scale scores were found when the questions were analyzed by experience level, type of preparatory training, teachers' age, race, or principal tenure at campus. Statistical differences were found by gender, level of education, and type of school. Male teachers showed less need for administrative supports than their female counterparts. For teachers' highest level of educational attainment, master's degreed teachers perceived support to be more important than their bachelor degreed peers. High school and early childhood teachers both showed a higher need for support, with early childhood teachers demonstrating a slightly higher need for administrative support than their high school counterparts. </p>