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<p> This dissertation explores the need for critical transformative leaders who critique oppression within schools and have a desire for social justice. This study attempts to learn more about the principal practices that maintain or disrupt the status quo and what ritual patterns emerge in relation to the work of principals. Two public elementary school principals were observed over the course of a three-day period to better understand the challenges that critical transformative leaders face in the field of education. Four lessons emerged regarding the ritual patterns of principals studied: (a) an emphasis on solidarity, which creates ends that support status quo practices and restricts the development of dialogue centered on social justice issues, (b) the need to expose the hidden curriculum through praxis and work toward liberation, (c) a limited resistance in leadership practice, and (d) that a theoretical understanding of social justice leadership is not enough for transformation to occur in schools. The lessons learned in this study suggest that the neoliberal influences placed upon public schools and public school principals are a major obstacle preventing principals from doing critical transformative work. Furthermore, the academic coursework that principals are involved in is not a sufficient condition for doing critical transformative work. These themes suggest that there is a great need to find ways to open dialogue amongst principals, school staff, parents, and those who make policy decisions so that these groups can begin examining oppressive conditions in schools. Reflection and action against unjust policies are essential to aspects of praxis for which dialogue can be used as a vehicle for change.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to investigate the similarities and dissimilarities of leadership traits that create leader buy-in for an educational leader and a football coach; specifically, emotional intelligence, communication style, job competency, vision, and ethics, between an educational leader and a sports coach. The rationale of this study was to create recent literature that provided insight for leaders in multiple areas on how to transfer leadership skills to establish common goals and missions within their organizations. </p><p> Data was collected using a survey completed by 154 volunteer participants, along with interviews of 12 volunteer participants. A focus group of four volunteer participants was completed as well. The researcher also interviewed the leaders themselves to gain their own perspective of their leadership characteristics and ability to achieve constituent buy-in.</p><p> The survey results indicated at least 87%, and in many cases, over 90%, of constituents either <i>strongly agree</i> or <i>mildly agree </i> that his or her leader maintained control of his emotions (emotional intelligence), had an accurate understanding of his own strengths and weaknesses (emotional intelligence), communicated effectively (communication style), understood the skills and responsibilities needed to do his job effectively (job competency), understood the follower&rsquo;s responsibilities and role within the organization (job competency), successfully communicated the vision of the organization (vision), and displayed ethical behavior (ethics) throughout the course of his job. The interviews and focus group provided anecdotes and personal testimony to support the results of the survey.</p><p> The most prevailing themes that emerged from the data related to creating constituent buy-in fell under Emotional Intelligence; specifically, relationship building and making a personal connection. To that end, participants in both groups stated that the leader made them feel &lsquo;valuable,&rsquo; &lsquo;important,&rsquo;&rsquo; &lsquo;truly knew&rsquo; them and &lsquo;cared about them&rsquo; as much in a personal way, if not more than in a professional way. Participants indicated the leaders were also good in the other four areas as well. Statements made regarding their communication style were &lsquo;inspiring&rsquo; and &lsquo;clear&rsquo; while data from participant responses about job competency were &lsquo;a good coach&rsquo; and an &lsquo;ability to make tough decisions.&rsquo; Responses about vision were consistent in both groups in that a larger percentage of participants noted they could &lsquo;see&rdquo; the direction the organization was going because of how the leader described it and they wanted to be a part of fulfilling it. Both leaders rated high in ethics as well.</p>

<p> Using semiotics theories as a guide, the qualitative examination of storytelling literature and current storytelling practitioners provides research support for a list of storytelling components. Analysis of story building components discovered from literature in comparison to the results from research questionnaire responses by current storytellers confirms the existence of a historic list of regularities in storytelling practice. The analysis of current storytelling literature, narrative research literature, and historic Western European literature enables the development of five descriptive statements guiding the formation of a story. The comparison of the beliefs and practices of current storytellers to the five descriptive statements guiding the formation of a story provide a research method confirming regularities in storytelling practices across historic and ethnic boundaries. The resulting list of story components support the central research question.</p>

<p> The goal of this study was to allow high school graduates who attended both traditional and alternative education schools to speak about their experiences in both schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of high school graduates who attended an alternative school and explore how they made meaning of their experiences. </p><p> This research was a basic, qualitative study exploring the voices of graduates. All graduates spent at least nine weeks in an alternative school to be deemed fully able to gauge their experience in an alternative school. Interviews were semi-structured and in-depth, allowing the graduates to speak freely in response to the questions. The graduates were also asked to write a letter to a student who may have been in the same situation they were in before being attending the alternative school. A set of a priori codes was developed before interviewing, which was based on information from the literature. </p><p> The findings of the interviews and letters provided rich information as to the importance of alternative education. A recurring theme observed in the results was the impact of instructional personnel on their experience at both the traditional and alternative high schools. Graduates credited the environment to their success, both in terms of the physical and emotional feeling in the building. When asked about making meaning of their experience, four themes emerged from the participants in their interviews: the way the graduates viewed themselves and others at the alternative school, their self-evaluation, their determination, and the role of their family. </p><p> This research can provide practical applications in the field of education. Principals and educational administrators can use this research to help students in alternative high schools, using the information to design programs to fit the needs of their students based on the information provided by the graduates. Teachers at both traditional and alternative schools can use this research to help them reach students who may be struggling as the graduates in this study did.</p>

<p> Advanced Placement curricula have become significant components of instruction for high school students in the United States, consuming resources and shaping education in ways that affect high school students both within and outside the AP classroom. Educational research has documented significant gaps in educational equity for some demographic groups and substantial advantages for others. Peer reviewed literature exploring the relationship between the level of educational challenge offered within a school and educational equity within the same school is quite limited. In the absence of the appropriate research, planners and policy makers cannot properly evaluate whether educational strategies emphasizing rigorous instruction, such as is found in AP curricula, would help to address the racial gap in equity, contribute to that gap, or have no effect on educational equity. </p><p> The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between the size of a school&rsquo;s program to provide college-level instruction and the racial equity of that program. Quantitative methods were used to answer this question in a single Mid-Atlantic state, using the relative size of each high school&rsquo;s Advanced Placement program, per graduating senior, as an indicator of the size of the school&rsquo;s program to provide college-level instruction to its students. Racial equity was measured by comparing the relative numbers of AP exams per Black or Hispanic graduating senior with the corresponding numbers for all other seniors in the school. Additional qualitative data analysis investigated trends in student choice of AP exams. </p><p> Quantitative statistical tests found no statistically significant relationship between the size of a high school&rsquo;s AP program and the rate of Black or Hispanic participation in that program, or between changes in the size of a high school&rsquo;s AP program and changes in the rate of Black or Hispanic participation in that program. This neutral result implies that educational leaders can deal with AP planning and with educational gaps among subgroups of students as separate issues rather than as interrelated topics. Qualitative explorations identified several trends, including an apparent general decrease in the proportion of AP exams taken in English and Mathematics as the size of a school&rsquo;s AP program increases and an apparent changes in the proportions of certain exams, including an increase in the proportion of Science exams taken in Environmental Science, an increase in the proportion of Mathematics exams taken in Statistics, and a decrease in the proportion of Science exams taken in Biology for schools with larger AP programs.</p>

<p>This study examined the interrelationships between principal beliefs and expectations on the principal&rsquo;s capacity to create the conditions for equity and excellence that result in increased student achievement for all students. The study population consisted of three elementary school principals with demonstrated success in increasing student achievement for all students in the selected schools during the fall and winter of the 2015&ndash;2016 academic year. Data included semi-structured interviews, participant shadowing, and artifacts observed or collected during the study period. Using the portraiture methodology, collected data informed the development of portraits of the participants to answer the research question &ldquo;How do personal beliefs, organizational structures, and decision-making processes influence principal practice in leading for equity?&rdquo; The study found that these three principals demonstrated democratic ethical leadership practices influenced by their personal and professional experiences. The research concluded with the construction of parallels between principal beliefs and the organizational structures and processes they employ to support equity and excellence for all students. </p>

<p> The study was designed to understand the role that the school leadership team (SLT) plays in fostering practices consistent with organizational learning. The study population included five administrators and eight teacher leaders in a large, comprehensive high school in a mid-Atlantic school district. A qualitative case study approach was employed, purposively selecting a site where the SLT members were intentionally involved in distributed leadership based on expertise. The findings indicated that SLT members engaged in four practices associated with improved teaching, all of which, past research suggests, are also aligned with organizational learning: providing feedback, engaging in collaborative decision-making, building positive relationships, and focusing on student results. Collaborative roles facilitated collegial discourse about teaching practices and built a culture of trust among members of the SLT. Collaborative structures supported common goals, values, and norms. Further, fostering a collaborative environment supported knowledge building and the development of shared ideas about teaching and learning. The school&rsquo;s administration, including a strong collaborative principal, provided leadership and support for the work of the SLT throughout the study.</p>

<p> Researchers have explored various antecedents to teacher efficacy in an effort to shape leadership practice to promote this elusive construct. This study was conducted as a meta-analysis of the extant literature regarding principal leadership and teachers&rsquo; sense of self-efficacy. After a comprehensive search, a sample of 29 studies were determined to have met the inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. These studies referenced Bandura&rsquo;s theory of self-efficacy as a theoretical framework and tested a correlation between teacher efficacy and principal leadership.</p><p> The purpose of this study was to deepen the understanding of how much, if at all, principal leadership affects teachers&rsquo; sense of self-efficacy. The research questions for this study were as follows: (a) To what extent is school principal leadership associated with teachers&rsquo; sense of teaching efficacy? and (b) Does the relationship between school principal leadership and teachers&rsquo; sense of teaching efficacy vary as a function of the measured leadership constructs? (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify the challenges faced by rural school superintendent/principals and the corresponding strategies used to mitigate those challenges. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.) </p>