Leaders in U.S. faith-based schools are tasked with meeting a variety of expectations concerning student growth, including academic achievement, religious identity, and more general character formation. This qualitative study examines the perspectives of administrative leaders in several independent Islamic schools across the United States in pursuit of these goals and the strategies they use to address the challenges of balancing academic excellence, a nurturing Islamic environment that cultivates Muslim identity in students, and preparation for navigating American society and culture. As Islamic schools face increasing skepticism and scrutiny amid domestic and global tensions in a context of rising religious extremism, the roles of these school leaders have never been more layered and essential to the success of their schools and to our understanding of school leadership more broadly. The purpose of this study is to provide a more precise understanding of the challenges, successes, and strategies these leaders face and implement. This study’s findings confirm that, while the academic and social tensions are complex, intentional and thoughtful leadership can help create a culture of clear expectations that permeates the school community. By embracing the community that surrounds them, including students, alumni, families, staff, and outside organizations, U.S. Islamic school leaders foster cultural alignment and coherence that greatly assist in meeting their multifaceted school missions.

Research has established that one of the most important functions assistant principals can learn is how to be an instructional leader. Some school districts have incorporated problem-based learning (PBL) in their building-level principal preparation programs for assistant principals. This study examined one approach to PBL, the Problem of Practice (PoP) project embedded in the new Level II Certification Program of a central Florida school district through a case study of six assistant principals’ experiences and perspectives based on interview, meeting observations and artifact data. The study revealed major challenges associated with implementation of the PoP projects and found that collaboration with the Level II committee was critical for their completion. The study also identified that the integration of the PoP project into the School Improvement Plan seems to be key to the success of the PoP projects. The recommendations based on these findings are made to district leaders as they continue to improve the PoP project as a central feature of the Level II Certification Program. Keywords: problem-based learning; assistant principal training / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / 2019 / November 6, 2019. / assistant principal training, problem-based learning / Includes bibliographical references. / Motoko Akiba, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sandra Lewis, University Representative; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member; Courtney Preston, Committee Member.

Student engagement is an essential component to student learning. Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) has focused on providing schools with a unified approach to delivering quality classroom instruction. Despite the alignment and commonalities present, underlying issues still need further investigation. Discrepancies within student proficiency and learning gains exist across schools throughout the district. The purpose of the study was to investigate what patterns exist among fourth- and fifth-grade teachers across four schools within the district concerning the use of instructional practices and how these practices relate to levels of student engagement. This study investigated the relationship between student engagement, instructional delivery, and student achievement through a mixed-methods, comparative case analysis. Data were collected through classroom observations of sixteen teachers working in four MDCPS schools. A convergent mixed methods design facilitated a single-phase approach for simultaneously collecting qualitative and quantitative data. Observations provided correlations between High-Order Learning Tasks and Authentic Learning as well as Explicit Instruction with Connecting to Prior Knowledge and Providing Feedback. The primary instructional strategy used was teacher questioning. Furthermore, Student Engagement yielded varied degrees of correlation in association to the Instructional Delivery while compared to the Student Engagement indicators which generated weak correlations. Additional research is needed to identify which instructional strategies may predict higher levels of student engagement in the classroom as well as other observational tools that corroborate various forms of engagement. Professional development in the areas of Explicit Instruction, Use of Questioning, Providing Feedback, and Use of Technology is critical to building teacher capacity.

Student engagement is an essential component to student learning. Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) has focused on providing schools with a unified approach to delivering quality classroom instruction. Despite the alignment and commonalities present, underlying issues still need further investigation. Discrepancies within student proficiency and learning gains exist across schools throughout the district. The purpose of the study was to investigate what patterns exist among fourth- and fifth-grade teachers across four schools within the district concerning the use of instructional practices and how these practices relate to levels of student engagement. This study investigated the relationship between student engagement, instructional delivery, and student achievement through a mixed-methods, comparative case analysis. Data were collected through classroom observations of sixteen teachers working in four MDCPS schools. A convergent mixed methods design facilitated a single-phase approach for simultaneously collecting qualitative and quantitative data. Observations provided correlations between High-Order Learning Tasks and Authentic Learning as well as Explicit Instruction with Connecting to Prior Knowledge and Providing Feedback. The primary instructional strategy used was teacher questioning. Furthermore, Student Engagement yielded varied degrees of correlation in association to the Instructional Delivery while compared to the Student Engagement indicators which generated weak correlations. Additional research is needed to identify which instructional strategies may predict higher levels of student engagement in the classroom as well as other observational tools that corroborate various forms of engagement. Professional development in the areas of Explicit Instruction, Use of Questioning, Providing Feedback, and Use of Technology is critical to building teacher capacity.

This graduate project was part of a group project completed by five school and district administrators in Hillsborough County, Florida. The project began because of our passion for teachers who are able to establish a culture of care in their classrooms that support students academically but transform their learning through experiences that enable them to be more highly engaged and productive students, regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, perceived academic abilities, and backgrounds. My project component looked at research on teacher expectations and their effects on student success. Why does the color of a child's skin tone trigger lower expectations by some teachers? Why does this occur? How can school leaders and teachers confront preconceived notions that create barriers for high expectations for marginalized students? Selected literature was reviewed that concentrated on perspectives on teacher attitudes, systemic biases, and teacher expectations. I applied what I learned to exploring gaps in district emphasis on diversity and equity and potential approaches to engaging teachers and school leaders in collaborative and challenging conversation. In an examination of four major district documents, the terms ‘diversity of students’, ‘cultural diversity’, ‘high expectations for all students’, ‘multicultural awareness and equity’ each appeared only once. Professional development for teachers and school leaders was needed to focus on inquiry, self-reflection, curriculum development, and instructional approaches to surface and address implicit biases that contribute to low expectations for marginalized students.

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