<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> The role of the national park ranger is to protect, conserve, and to provide for the enjoyment of our nation's heritage. Unfortunately, today's rangers are challenged with problems in the organizational leadership of the National Park Service. The agency is currently ranked in the bottom third of federal agencies in workplace health and leadership. </p><p> As some of the most visible leaders in the National Park Service, chief park rangers were queried through a descriptive qualitative design. The open-ended survey instrument was designed to answer the following two research questions: "Assuming that formal training in leadership influences successful leadership practice, what are the perceived results and outcomes of this training?" and "What are the factors, other than training, that influence an individual's desired practice of leadership?" A total of 29 chief park rangers of an eligible 51 chief park rangers in the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service responded to the survey conducted in January 2014. Their responses were categorized as to (a) the impact of the agency's training efforts on chief park rangers; (b) the barriers to the practice of leadership as experienced by chief park rangers; and (c) considerations for improvement in the leadership of the National Park Service. </p><p> The research concluded that training, although perceived to be limited in availability, was beneficial. However, training absent experience negatively influenced leadership practice. The predominant barriers to the desired practice of leadership were the lack of training, unfavorable organizational culture, and burdensome administrative practices. Although the survey was designed to focus on the issues of empowerment, fairness, senior leadership, and direct supervision, the respondents indicated that the barriers mentioned above were of primary concern rather than problems with these specific issues. The research suggested that the efforts of the National Park Service need to focus on enhancing leadership training program management and on initiating comprehensive reform of leadership practices to include active leadership development, enhanced accountability at all levels, and specific messaging from senior management. </p>

<p> If a successful organization is one where internal strife is minimized, then it stands to reason that a successful leader is an individual who knows how to handle conflict. Handling conflict, though, should not be approached intuitively, as the field of mediation has developed numerous techniques to understand and address conflict. To date, though, these techniques have not been categorized by leadership styles. The purpose of this study was to develop such a framework to understand how conflict resolution relates to the disciplines of mediation, organizational behavior, and organizational leadership. To further this endeavor, four themes were developed. These themes drew upon a quadrant categorization methodology proposed by Leonard L. Riskin, which was then compared to four leadership styles: situational leadership, transformational leadership, leader-member exchange theory, and servant leadership. A phenomenological methodology was used and eight leaders were interviewed to understand how they approach conflict within their respective organizations. Utilizing a story provided by each leader about a conflict each encountered on a frequent basis, the researcher asked a series of randomized questions based on the themes mentioned. By categorizing each leader's response, the study found that a relationship worthy of further research existed between the position of the individual within the organization and how societal norms dictated the methodology the leader used to resolve his/her stated conflict. This relationship supported the use of specific tools developed in mediation that the leader and the organization could embrace to transcend conflict, allowing the organization and hence the leader to be more efficient.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine how a group of 12 public high school principals describe and understand the two elements of Elmore's (2006) principle of reciprocity in their practices (i.e., the accountabilities to which they are subject and the sources of development and support for their professional leadership capacities), using a grounded theory methodology. I used Seidman's (2006) three-interview structure for data collection, with each interview lasting from one to two and a half hours (totaling 60 hours). Through the eight major steps of my analysis (e.g., multiple coding passes, memoing, examination of matrices constructed from the data) of the interview transcripts and my field notes, I developed both descriptive and explanatory findings. </p><p> My descriptive findings included three typologies, which I inductively developed from what these principals shared with me. The first details 17 categories of leadership capacities. The second details 30 categories of accountors (i.e., to whom these principals feel accountable), grouped into 7 super-categories. The third details 45 categories of accountances (i.e., for what these principals feel accountable), grouped into 11 super-categories. I also discovered a critical 18^th leadership capacity&mdash;a capacity for being held accountable. </p><p> My explanatory findings included four major learnings. First, interpersonal relationships are a key driver of accountability for these principals. Second, these principals are often active co-creators of their own accountabilities. Third, academics is not necessarily the focus of their most important accountabilities. Fourth, a shortage of capacity providers and the inappropriateness of expecting certain key accountors (e.g., students) to be capacity providers undermines the explanatory and predictive power of the principle of reciprocity for these principals. </p><p> These findings will help those interested in school leadership to better understand the complexities of the principalship. This will support current and aspiring principals' efforts to take a more active role in ensuring they are prepared for the principalship. It will help those involved in the preparation and support of principals to strategically target their efforts. Last, it will inform those who wish to use educational policy as a lever to improve our schools.</p>

<p> The current study examines the connection between a change of family income and the retention of academic gains for children in low-income households who have attended a center-based preschool program. These children are often shown to lose the academic advantage they gain during preschool as they move through k&ndash;12 education in a phenomenon called fade out. A theoretical framework was constructed positing that material and psychological effects of poverty inhibit the ability of these families to support and maintain growth during this critical time when children are highly nested in the family unit. </p><p> Treating family income as a causal risk factor, a study was crafted to examine the fade out effect when family income increased during early childhood for children in low-income households. Using the ECLS-K data set, ex post facto, quasi-experimental methods were employed to analyze two comparison groups of low-income children who went through a center-based preschool program. One group gained the treatment of a constant increase in family income beginning during early childhood (LIP), while the other stayed within their starting low-income bracket throughout the study (LCP). Multiple regression analysis was used to test if this treatment would correlate to the LIP group retaining more of their preschool skills than the LCP group, measuring from kindergarten to eighth grade. Before the main dependent cognitive measures (math and reading scores) were examined, regressions on social competence variables were performed. After examination, these variables were added as controls to the academic regressions. </p><p> The results of the academic regressions showed that the LIP group correlated to nearly a one-half reduction in fade out as compared to the LCP group by eighth grade in both mathematics and reading. These findings lead to many implications for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers as well as open the door to future exploration into the subject.</p>

<p> Storytelling is often experienced as profound and transformative. Scholars view storytelling as both human essence and essential to human survival. This exploratory, qualitative study explored contemporary storytellers' reports of the good work of storytelling using the GoodWork Project (GWP) (Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi, and Damon, 2001) as the conceptual framework. Guided by the GWP this study examined cultural controls, social controls, individual standards, and outcome controls that impacted storytellers, their practice and good work. </p><p> This study applied the methodology of Gardner, Gregory, Csikszentmihalyi, Damon, and Michaelson (1997) and Gardner et al. (2001) to answer the primary research question, What do storytellers report regarding the good work of storytelling as conceptualized by the GWP (Gardner et al, 2001)? The unit of analysis was professional storytellers representing a population that that has not been studied any detailed and disciplined way. The cohort of a 12 storytellers, 3 men and nine women represented African American, Appalachian, Jewish, and Native American storytelling traditions. The protocol instrument consisted of inquiries in nine areas about their experiences, professional work, personal values, beliefs, opportunities and responsibilities relevant to storytelling. </p><p> The author conducted an in-depth one-on-one interview with 12 exemplary storytellers, all creative leaders. The complete interview was digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Storyteller responses comprised the data. The researcher hand-coded the content by hand, identifying eleven themes and GWP subtopics. For further data analysis, NVivo 10 text-analysis software was used. These steps categorized interviewees' statements according to richly interlinked motifs and ideas, which permitted the author to verify nodes showing the data's correspondence to the GWP conceptual framework. </p><p> Seven conclusions emanated from the findings describing storytellers' good work. The oral tradition, dedication to serving others, personal values, trust in storytelling community, culture and cultural heritage, and the paradox of technology impacted storytellers' good work. All of the storytellers interviewed and the overwhelming majority of contemporary scholarly literature agree with the argument that this dissertation develops, which is threefold: the human connection is at the heart of the power of story; second, the social environment for creative expression underlies the capacity of storytellers to do their professional work; and third, the opportunity to benefit other people, communities and support their own culture, also form critical features of storytellers' good work. </p><p> This study contributes to the view of storytelling as an art form and a leadership skill. It addresses the ethical questions of the use of stories and storytelling in business or corporate settings. This study described professional storytellers' experiences navigating complexities of the storytelling profession in today's highly technological and rapidly changing environment.</p>

No description available.

<p> Students attending charter schools, including those with learning disabilities, are subject to policies set by individual charter management organizations. One practice used within some charter schools is grade-level retention, or having students repeat a grade level. Literature overwhelmingly indicates that retention is associated with negative outcomes, yet the practice continues to be used. One particular charter school that used a strict retention policy and retains students with learning disabilities was studied to understand how the process unfolds. Using the conceptual frameworks of critical disability theory and critical pedagogy, the study draws inferences regarding how this phenomenon blends with ableism and power imbalances. Six teachers (four general education and two special education teachers) participated in interviews for this qualitative case study. Through triangulation of findings from individual and group interviews, trends were identified. A major finding showed that although retention is conceptualized as beneficial for the school to threat unmotivated students, for students with learning disabilities, retention is still regarded as highly ineffective and harmful. Decision making factors used with students with disabilities include particular individual characteristics, such as abilities and parental support. Discussion into participants' perception of students with disabilities as inferior, and how retention as punishment asserts the school's power, follows a review of concepts, effectiveness, and decision-making factors related to retention. Implications for educators to improve inclusive and fair school policies, in addition to rethinking traditional methods of analyzing school practices are discussed. Further research in various educational initiatives and areas of study are summarized.</p>

<p> The purpose of this dissertation was to document, analyze, understand, and describe how the environmental virtue ethics of undergraduate students were impacted after participating in a service-learning project designed to establish a new university garden. This service-learning project occurred during the fall semester of 2011, on the campus of Lighthouse University, a mid-size Catholic college campus that is located in an urban area of Southern California. The service-learning component was embedded within one environmental ethics course. Over the course of one sixteen-week academic semester, thirty undergraduates, between the ages of 18-23, each volunteered ten hours in this new on-campus garden. In addition to the student volunteer work, one of the complimentary course components required students to attend a speaking engagement hosted by Dr. Vandana Shiva, a world-renowned environmentalist. The action researcher, served as the catalyst, recorder, and facilitator of this service-learning project. In these roles, the action researcher mobilized members of the university, volunteers from the broader community, and local master gardeners to work side by side with the undergraduate students in the garden. After a qualitative analysis was conducted through the procedures of action research, local recommendations were generated in order to assist future garden-based curricular and co-curricular activities.</p>

<p> The current case study was conducted to examine the perceptions of English learners (ELs) who have not been reclassified after attending a public school for at least 6 years, as well as the perceptions of their teachers. The research questions this study investigated were: (1) What do nonreclassified ELs in the sixth grade perceive as the challenges faced during the process of acquiring academic English? and (2) What do teachers of ELs perceive are the factors that impede ELs' development of academic English proficiency, preventing them from being reclassified by the end of six years in a public school? The conceptual framework consisted of five concepts: (a) historical, political and social influences on ELs, (b) programs for ELs, (c) a description of ELs, (d) the problems of reclassification and the characteristics of long-term English learners (LTELs), and (e) teacher expectations. The theoretical foundation informing this study was critical care to counter deficit-based thinking. The goal of the study was not to critique individual teachers but to examine what was happening in the profession of teaching that was impacting some students' ability to become proficient in English. This study included focus groups and one-on-one interviews, as well as an examination of report card comments. The study utilized purposeful sampling. Five teachers and six students were interviewed. There were five themes derived from both teachers' and students' perceptions in reference to the research questions: (a) the EL profile, (b) teacher perceptions of parents (c) connecting to the learning and to motivation, (d) engagement in learning and teaching, and (e) instruction. Overall, the findings support that teachers' perceptions are grounded in deficit thinking, and the student responses indicated they had internalized these beliefs themselves. However, this study explained teacher and student perceptions using a strengths-based approach to demonstrate how to support ELs. Educators may find it useful to interview their own students as a form of self-review process in order to become more aware of their teaching methods and how students internalize the instruction.</p>