<p> Effective teaching strategies can be defined as utilizing the higher levels of Bloom&rsquo;s taxonomy, which include understanding, application and analysis (Flynn, Mesibov, Vermette &amp; Smith, 2004). Teachers that use effective teaching strategies can significantly impact the future earnings of their students. Students that are recipients of these strategies receive a higher quality of K-12 education, which leads to a higher caliber of colleges and universities chosen. As a result of the higher education institutions attended, students become more competitive when entering an evolving workforce, earning higher salaries. This study explores the effective teaching strategy of storytelling. It identifies best practices of storytelling leaders in education. The literature reveals a link between successful storytelling practices and adult learning theory. There is also a connection between the impact of storytelling and the neuroscience of the brain. The findings are expected to help leaders in education who want to practice storytelling in their leadership practice. As a result of interviewing participants in this study, several themes were discovered that pointed out key factors in best storytelling practices. Some key findings include using stories to encourage critical thinking skills, heighten self-awareness among students, and activate brain triggers that produce an emotional connection around a subject matter. The data collected in study is believed to contribute to the effectiveness of future storytellers who wish to use storytelling as an effective teaching strategy in their leadership practice.</p>

<p> The increase of intense pressures to ensure long-term education reforms have created a challenge to school leaders as they direct and nurture the abilities of others. Although there is no single model of successful leadership, there is a common repertoire of values and actions used for sustainable school improvement. Raising capacity is a key task for principals. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand and describe suburban elementary principals&rsquo; practices and perceptions as change leaders related to capacity building. The study further explored the reciprocal effects model on how principals responded to the changing environment. Three principals, their superintendents and one teacher for each case provided data collected through interviews, documents, and a researcher journal. Inductive and deductive analysis were used, first within-case and then through a concluding cross-case. Findings confirmed that building capacity is all encompassing. As principals seek to build capacity, there are many interconnected actions. Results demonstrated varied practices, skills, and responsibilities used among principals, including: setting goals; professional development; collaboration; teacher leadership; and shared responsibility. This study can provide guidance to universities, Boards of Education, and other administrators. Recommendations for further research include expanding the sample to include secondary principals and to explore capacity building in rural and urban settings. Additionally, there should be continued research on the reciprocal effects model using mixed methods.</p>

<p> The role of school superintendent has become increasingly complex. As school district leaders deal with new curriculum standards, increased accountability, and limited financial resources, they are in need of quality professional development tailored to their needs. This qualitative study explores personal, cultural, and structural factors that impact executive coaching for school superintendents. </p><p> Executive coaching, a widely accepted practice for supporting CEO&rsquo;s in the business world, offers unbiased feedback and help developing solutions to complex issues. Existing research establishes the appropriateness of executive coaching for school superintendents, but does not address how to make it more widely available. This study compares the experiences of superintendents who have been coached with those who have not. Through interviews of coach/superintendent pairs, coaching program leaders, and non-coached superintendents, four coaching models were examined. It considers the various uses of superintendent coaching, and identifies factors that impact its implementation. </p><p> The findings extend much of the business research into the school setting. Results suggest that coaching positively impacts superintendents and their districts, offering more benefit than other models of professional development. Cultural factors, including the influence of boards of education and superintendent colleagues, have a strong impact on coaching success, as does a lack of clear coaching vocabulary. Personal factors&mdash;coach and superintendent attributes, and coach/ superintendent relationship also were important. This study may benefit superintendents who desire meaningful professional development. It also benefits those who coach superintendents. Organizations that serve superintendents and school boards may also benefit.</p>

<p> The United States (U.S.) is undergoing a paradigm shift in manufacturing as it progresses from an era of low skill employees who stood in one place controlling machines that drilled, stamped, cut, and milled products that passed through the effective and efficient assembly line, to one that is derived from scientific inquiry and technological innovation referred to as advanced manufacturing (PCAST, 2011). Presently, manufacturing firms employ ten percent of the nation&rsquo;s employees directly and impact numerous organizations along its supply chain and financial sector (Giffi et al., 2015). The U.S. currently has a manufacturing base that comprises twenty percent of its total gross domestic product and is expected to continue to grow (PCAST, 2011; NSTC, 2012; Giffi et al., 2015). Specifically, Giffi et al. (2015) predicts more than two million jobs will go unfilled in advanced manufacturing by 2020 due to the inability to find qualified employees and the increasing demand for customized products. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to identify principals&rsquo; perceptions on the necessity to prepare students for careers in advanced manufacturing in public high schools in New York State, excluding New York City, with student populations of 600 or fewer students. Specifically, this study examined high school principal leadership actions for incorporating 21st century skills and the use of tools and machines (hard skills) in technology education classrooms to support a student career pathway for careers in advanced manufacturing. </p><p> Findings showed that principals believe advanced manufacturing is a viable career opportunity and have increased technology education offerings aligned to careers in advanced manufacturing. However, the data suggest principal leadership actions supporting the development of hard skills is not consistent with the needs identified by advanced manufacturing organizations. In regards to principal leadership of 21st century skills, findings show that significant positive relationships exist in the incorporation of these skills in technology education courses and through their principal leadership actions. However, principal leadership actions were not significantly correlated to assessing student development and mastery of 21st century skills.</p>

<p> Structured mentoring programs for new principals are designed to support and enhance their professional abilities. Providing mentoring support for new principals has benefits that extend beyond the novice principal to the mentor, school, and school district. Although the benefits of principal mentoring are established, mentoring of new principals is not a common practice in many school districts. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of principals and district administrators regarding the benefits and challenges of principal mentoring, as well as perceptions surrounding implementation. This qualitative phenomenological research was structured to describe views on principal mentoring and determine areas of focus for mentoring. This study examined views of principals and district administrators in a semi-rural area of Idaho, a state without mandated or funded principal mentoring. </p><p> The data from the participants in this study produced three areas that should be part of a formalized mentoring process: personal (organization, time management, emotional support, managing stress, and professional ethics), instructional leadership (district-specific learning and curricular requirements, teacher support and evaluation, using data to make decisions, and staff development), and management (district financial and policy processes, student behavioral issues, difficult relationships and stakeholders, and legal compliance). The three areas are foundational for a program and need balance to help support student learning. Mentoring can ensure the necessary balance.</p>

published_or_final_version / abstract / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

<p> Instructional leadership for high school principals is becoming more important as principals are being held increasingly accountable for student achievement results. Principals are next to teachers in impacting learning in the classroom. The problem for high school principals is that they do not feel prepared to be instructional leaders for their school. There are many tasks a principal must handle throughout the day and these tasks take time away from principals acting as the instructional leader for their school. Principals are also not always supported in their development as an instructional leader. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how high school principals have developed into instructional leaders, the obstacles they encountered during this process and their perceptions of the types of external support they received in instructional leadership. The participants in the study included six high school principals from four different school districts. The principals had all been on the job for at least one year. Interview and document data were collected and analyzed for common themes. The findings of the study suggested that when principals receive external support in instructional leadership, there are indications that they begin to develop in this area. District support, mentoring and coaching, team support and reading with purpose were important in the development of the principals. The findings also suggested two obstacles, time and people, for principals as they lead their schools in instruction. Finally, the study&rsquo;s findings indicated the principals who receive support had positive views of that support. Based on the results of the study, recommendations were made for providing a strong system of support for high school principals in the area of instructional leadership.</p>

<p> Research on school turnaround has been centered on individual schools and principals. This research argues the principal&rsquo;s role is essential to turnaround (Herman et al., 2008; Leithwood &amp; Strauss, 2008, 2010). There has been little research on what role superintendents play to influence school turnaround. This qualitative study explored the self-perceptions and reflections of ten superintendents (representing city, rural and suburban settings) that led districts in which schools turned around. The central question investigated the role and leadership approach of these superintendents. Along with exploring the superintendents&rsquo; leadership through Bass&rsquo;s (1985) transformational leadership theory, Rawls&rsquo; (1971) concept of social justice also underpinned the study. This framework was appropriate considering mostly poor and minority students attended the nearly 5,000 chronically low-performing schools in America (Stuit, 2010; USDOE, 2014). Despite decades of effort, low-performing schools continue to deprive many students of an excellent education. Former Education Secretary Arnie Duncan argued a quality education remained an unresolved civil rights issue (Duncan, 2014). Using primarily interviews and document review, results provided a deeper understanding of the challenges district leaders faced during turnaround efforts. While superintendents self-identified having various leadership styles, collaboration and stakeholder engagement emerged as important. Superintendents also spent time navigating resistance, addressing personnel challenges, promoting instruction, and attempting to create district focus. Superintendents often cited a social justice belief, but acknowledged stakeholder influence and district culture sometimes led to a compliance mindset. The study suggested that superintendents must consider their district&rsquo;s context to determine their approach for inspiring stakeholders to champion educating <i>all</i> students. </p>

<p> This mixed-methods study was conducted to determine if there was a significant relationship between extracurricular and/or co-curricular participation and leadership styles of beginning superintendents in the state of Missouri. First-year superintendents from 63 school districts in Missouri were invited to participate in the study, and 28 participated. The first instrumentation used in the research was a Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X Short Form, created by Bass and Avolio (2004), consisting of 45 leadership style questions and was administered on-line through Mind Garden, Ltd. In addition to the MLQ 5X-Short, participants were invited to complete a second survey created by the researcher, the Profile of Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Participation Questionnaire, was administered on-line through Survey Monkey and consisted of nine demographic and background questions. This particular survey also asked participants to identify past involvement in extracurricular and/or co-curricular activities and to answer three open-ended questions regarding their perceptions of the impact, if any, of those activities on their leadership experiences. The quantitative and qualitative data indicated many of the first-year superintendents had participated in extracurricular and co-curricular activities in high school and/or college. Many participants also reported they believed these activities had made a significant impact on their lives, including leadership skills.</p>

<p> The focus of this study was to examine the impact of Missouri Leadership for Excellence, Achievement, and Development (MoLEAD) program on the school district administrators who attended and their constituents. After three cohorts of school leaders have attended the MoLEAD training, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education authorities have yet to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The purpose of this study was to determine the value and benefit of administrators attending the MoLEAD professional development. The participants of this study included school administrators who attended MoLEAD training in Cohort One in the state of Missouri. Data from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MODESE) was reviewed, along with the participants&rsquo; survey results. The outcome of the study indicated no correlation between administrators&rsquo; participation in the MoLEAD training and their students&rsquo; achievement test scores. Participants responded to open-ended questions and replied that the MoLEAD training offered great collaboration opportunities, but the program needed updating. Participants in Cohort One of MoLEAD scored highest in the area of Model the Way on the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) Survey; no school districts who experienced an increase in school achievement scores as measured by Missouri School Improvement Plan (MSIP) Phase 5. The essential elements identified in this study served MoLEAD directors and provided MoDESE insight into supporting the improvements needed in this established program.</p>