Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Educational relationships'

Since the 1980s, community leadership development programs (CLDPs) across the United States have been developing the capacities of citizens to become effective local leaders. Generally, CLDPs focus on three key areas: building and enhancing the leadership skills of their participants; increasing participants’ awareness and knowledge about their communities; and cultivating the participants’ relationships with each other and with other community leaders. However, when it comes to evaluation studies about the impact of CLDPs, most of the scholarly work has focused on assessing the change in the leadership skills of the programs’ participants. Only limited research focuses on how CLDPs impact the ability of local leaders to work together over time to achieve collective action.

This research study investigated a type of CLDP, the American Leadership Forum-Great Valley Chapter program (ALF-GVC). Through the lens of social network theory and the relational capacity framework, it examined how relationships that are cultivated during the ALF-GVC program impact the ways in which its senior fellows work together to address community issues. Insights from the collective experience of 30 research participants revealed that the ALF-GVC program does impact the relational capacity of its senior fellows. Specifically, evidence supports that the ALF-GVC program helps create a positive internal working environment for senior fellows. The program was associated with increasing the size, diversity, cooperation, and cohesion of the research participants’ networks. As such, by expanding our understanding of how local leaders build relationships and the ways in which those relationships impact how they work together over time to address community issues, the findings from this research study contribute to the literature and practice, all of which can be used to help sustain and strengthen civic engagement in the United States.

The gaps of school funding and student achievement are particularly pronounced in Illinois, raising statewide concerns about the inequity of school funding and the injustice of the achievement gap. While Illinois educators generally recognize the differences in funding levels and achievement levels in Illinois schools, studies to determine the relationships between the two are lacking. This study examines the relationship between per pupil spending and student achievement in Illinois elementary schools. This study also examines the relationship between student achievement and racial composition of the school and between student achievement and poverty level of the school. Additionally, relationships between per pupil spending and racial composition of the school and per pupil spending and poverty level of the school are examined. Finally, this study investigates the perceptions of principals on how funding inequity in their school affects student achievement.

Adult online learners represent the largest demographic in higher education. Academic leaders increasingly use non-designer instructors (NDIs) to meet demands. NDIs have little control over course design, part of teaching presence valued by learners. This quantitative, predictive correlational study investigated 1) to what frequency online learners’ perceptions of their NDIs’ teaching presence predicted learners’ cognitive presence; and 2) to what frequency did learners’ use of instructional media resources moderate that predictive relationship, while enrolled in online courses in a private, non-profit university in the western United States. Using The Community of Inquiry (COI) survey, this study measured learners’ perceptions of presence as they related to online students’ learning and use of instructional media. Multiple regression analyses tested both hypotheses (n = 128). The first null hypothesis was rejected revealing NDIs’ teaching presence significantly predicted 52% of the variance of learners’ cognitive presence, R² = .524, p < .001, f² = 1.08. These findings expand scientific knowledge to the instructional context of NDIs and confirm prior research that found a similar role for teaching presence on cognitive presence. The study failed to reject the null hypothesis for research question two. Frequencies of instructional media use showed a nonsignificant effect on the predictive role of teaching presence on cognitive presence. Further research could examine the unique contributions of the course design sub-factor of teaching presence in the context of courses taught by NDIs.

Stress overload is the destructive form of stress when the demands of stressors outweigh the resources one has to counter these stressors. Previous research has shown it to predict illness, poor grades, and the use of maladaptive coping strategies (i.e., avoidance). This study examines the direct and indirect effects (by way of coping strategies) of stress overload on academic performance in a sample of 1,039 freshman. It was hypothesized that stress overload would be related to poor academic performance, as measured by GPA and enrollment status. Findings from hierarchical regression analyses showed stress overload and avoidance coping were related to poor academic performance. Contrary to the hypotheses, however, coping strategies did not mediate the relationship between stress overload and academic performance: instead, tests suggested that stress overload mediates the relationship between avoidance and performance. That is, stress overload may be an aftereffect of maladaptive coping strategies, in this case avoidance, and thereby has the more proximal effect on students’ academic performance. The implications of these findings for university retention efforts, and limitations of the study, are discussed.

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to investigate if and to what extent Northeast PA middle school principals’ use of a Transformational Leadership (TL) style related to their teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy. TL includes four specific leadership behaviors: intellectual stimulation, idealized influence, inspirational motivation, and individual consideration. The sample included 217 middle-grade teachers (4 ^th–8^th) from six middle schools in four school districts. Instruments included: the Multi-Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) on Transformational Leadership (TL) behaviors, and Bandura’s Teacher Self-Efficacy Scales (TSES). Transformational leadership and teacher self-efficacy were the theories used to undergird the study. Results indicated that principals’ TL style did have a statistically significant relationship with teacher self-efficacy in regard to total score (r_s = .331, p < .001), and a statistically significant relationship with each of the four components of transformational leadership: intellectual stimulation (r_s = .301, p < .001); idealized influence (r _s = .273, p < .001); inspirational motivation ( r_s = .289, p < .001); and individual consideration (r_s = .243, p < .001). Results revealed that teacher perceptions of their principals’ TL were related to higher levels of teacher self-efficacy. These results offer new insight and add to the existing body of knowledge on how principals can build higher performing schools by transforming teacher self-efficacy through attitudes of empowerment, growth, and improvement. The results of this study have implications for school leaders of all levels, educational researchers, and teachers in regard to facilitating teacher self-efficacy development by engaging in transformational leadership behaviors.

Though much is known about the school environments that increase students’ access to opportunity, the process for developing conditions that presage such outcomes remains a pertinent area of study. The reality that widespread school performance has yet to realize the promise of true educational equity, particularly in urban settings, attests to the challenge. In the search for solutions, one response across decades has been to grant schools autonomy, a trend that continues today. The goal of this research study is to understand the process by which a school in such a context builds its capacity to improve student outcomes. With capacity seen as a function of available information, the relationships and organizational structures are given particular attention knowing that such mechanisms serve as conduits for information exchange in organizations. It is seen the presence of strong relationships and strong organizational structures are necessary but not sufficient for productive information exchange. In order to realize their full utility, leadership must cultivate relational trust and manage expectations of their duties as leader. Moreover, organizational activity must align to the school’s desired direction and capitalize upon available capabilities. Finally, the importance of clear communication about autonomy’s multiple dimensions related to schools is seen. The results of this case study suggest that relationships and organizational structures can illuminate the complex work of serving students in the context of a school granted autonomy while calling for greater nuance in the idea’s conceptualization as a means for school improvement.

Supportive relationships between teachers and their students help create an environment for student success, but there remains a need for additional understanding about how to effectively promote positive teacher-student relationships in order to support stronger policy and practice in modern schools. In this qualitative analysis, I seek to deepen the research about supportive teacher-student relationships by analyzing how students, teachers, and principals described their experiences in early college high schools (ECHS) in North Carolina. Early college high schools represent a relatively new school model in which high school students earn college credits while working toward their high school diplomas. Quantitative analyses of the performance of ECHS students suggest students in early college high schools outperform their peers from comprehensive schools on a variety of measures. One important design element of these schools suggests that teachers must know students well to help them achieve academically and it is my assertion that supportive teacher-student relationships may contribute to ECHS students’ success.

For this study, I analyze qualitative data previously collected as part of a larger longitudinal study from students, teachers, and principals studying and working in 19 early college high schools in North Carolina. I employ Giddens’ theory of structuration as a lens for understanding the relationships between the agents (students, teachers, and principals) and the social structures that influence the experiences of those in the schools. I consider the leadership practices of the principals to promote supportive teacher-student relationships as well as teacher practices, and compared the adults’ claims to the students’ perceived experiences with their teachers. My findings reveal three elements in the social systems of the ECHS contribute to supportive teacher-student relationships which include the following: (1) the beliefs of teachers, students, and principals; (2) deliberate actions of principals and teachers; and (3) programs that create social spaces for such relationships to grow.

Contemporary educational theory and practice emphasizes interpersonal teacher–student relationships as a means of enhancing academic performance, promoting social development, and improving class management. Unfortunately, related policy, training, and professional standards have lagged. Into this void steps the principal, who as school leader falls the responsibility of guiding staff.

Twelve (12) principals from public secondary schools (grades 6–12) in central and coastal Virginia were interviewed, to gather their descriptions of how they perceived appropriate ethical teacher–student relationships, and their practice in promoting and maintaining them in their schools. A qualitative methodology grounded in social constructivism was employed, which included inductive coding of the transcripts, and content analysis to categorize results. Principals’ practice was then compared with theoretical approaches from literature, which included care theory (Noddings, 1984), professional development and practice theory (Shapiro and Stefkovich, 2016), and standards based professionalism (Barrett et al., 2012; Barrett et al., 2006).

The results indicated that principals envisioned positive teacher–student relationships as a critical enabler for class management and improved instructional outcomes. Foundations for the relationship were the teacher’s caring and professional behavior, and placing a genuine priority on acting in the best interest of students. The boundaries for the relationship were behaviors that detracted from, or undermined that foundation, and potentially traumatized or harmed students. Principals described the development of friendship and personally intimate relationships between teachers and students as the gateway to potential ethical relationship boundary issues, and sought to reduce opportunities for this to occur. The key factors in principal practice for promoting and maintaining ethical teacher–student relationships were described in terms of modeling expected behaviors, training staff, promoting a positive school culture and climate, and monitoring behaviors. Leadership and the ability of the principal to cope with peripheral influences on the school were also recognized as important factors. Three models from literature attempted to enhance understanding of how principals promote and maintain ethical and productive teacher–student relationships. Principals described using elements from all of these approaches, attempting to promote and develop positive attributes and skills in their staff, while at the same time monitoring and supervising their behaviors in relation to standards.

Research findings implied that ethical teacher-student relationships and associated boundaries are clearly defined conceptually, vaguely defined in policy, and ambiguously defined in practice. The absence and vagueness of policy and standards places an onus on the principal to develop teacher attributes and skills, and for teachers to be able to act semi-independently as professionals. All as principals, teachers, and schools are under intensified public scrutiny, in the age of social media and electronic communications. Principals confronted the issue by drawing on their character, experience, skills, and leadership, which they tempered to meet the context and challenges of their respective schools. Student safety and trauma (physical and psychological) surfaced as growing concerns for school leadership, and something that needed to be factored more prominently into decision making.

This study is an examination of early intervention services for infants/toddlers with visual impairments, as related to home-based services and andragogy learning theory. Early intervention refers to therapeutic services provided to eligible infants/toddlers while andragogy emphasizes how adults learning. Research discussed the implementation of andragogical factors with parents of infants/toddlers appeared limited. The null hypotheses statements addressed four variables related to infant/toddler with visual impairments assessment scores, the number of home visit units authorized by the child’s Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and implemented by the early intervention service provider, responses on the family outcome survey, and service provider responses regarding the use of andragogical factors during early intervention home visits.

The researcher examined secondary data related to assessment scores of infants/toddlers with visual impairments, the frequency of home visits implemented by a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) and/or Orientation and Mobility (O and M) specialist, comparison of early intervention units, and results of a Family Outcome Survey. The researcher co-authored the Modified Instructional Perspectives Inventory for Teachers working with Parents of Young Children (MIPI-TPC) to measure the frequency in which early intervention service providers implemented andragogical factors during home visits. Participants of this study included 30 infants/toddlers with visual impairments receiving early intervention services from a TVI and/or O and M specialist. Seventeen families completed the Family Outcome Survey and three early intervention service providers completed the MIPI-TPC. The utilization and analysis of descriptive statistics, a t-test of dependent means, and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, Analysis of Variance, and Chi-Square test determined relationships among the variables.

The results demonstrated limited relationships with assessment scores, frequency of home visits, units provided and authorized in the infant/toddler’s IFSP, and parent responses on the Family Outcome Survey. However, the MIPI-TPC results reported the service providers implementing andragogical factors within the category levels of above average and average. The prominent finding of the study supported the integration of andragogy learning theory during early intervention services. Future studies linking the two fields together may benefit the advocacy of early intervention service providers, empowerment of parents, and most importantly, infants/toddlers with developmental delays.

Private sector businesses employ performance pay compensation plans in order to incentivize increased employee effort. Legislation offers opportunities for school districts to experiment with performance pay plans in an attempt to encourage teacher effort, productivity, competition, and recruitment. Despite the potential benefits of performance pay, providing a task-contingent reward for an interesting activity has the tendency to undermine an individual’s intrinsic motivation for a task. This study sought to assess psychological ownership as a potential moderator for the undermining effect, which may shield an individual’s feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, allowing for intrinsic motivation in light of a task-contingent reward. This study analyzed data from 127 undergraduates and graduate students enrolled at Long Island University, CW Post Campus and an additional 27 teachers from Brooklyn, New York. Full and trimmed path analyses were conducted on a series of Likert-type scales to test three primary hypotheses. The findings confirmed that a task-contingent reward undermined intrinsic motivation for an interesting task. This study’s psychological ownership intervention and the combination of the intervention with a task-contingent reward also negatively effected intrinsic motivation. Job-based psychological ownership, a measurement of feelings of possession, however, did positively effect intrinsic motivation providing evidence that feelings of psychological ownership lead to feelings of intrinsic motivation. This study contributes to the fields of psychological ownership theory and self-determination theory by presenting empirical evidence connecting these two theories. Recommendations are offered for the improvement of teacher motivation, job design, compensation and educational policy.

This study uses mixed methods research to explore the phenomenon of partnerships between higher education institutions (HEIs) and nonprofit organizations (NPOs) focused on improving college access for diverse populations. Using available quantitative data, interviews and documentary evidence collected from nonprofit, four-year, private and public HEIs in Pennsylvania, this research seeks to understand whether relationships between HEIs and NPOs are a common feature of the college access landscape; how institutions understand relationships with college access nonprofits; how they use relationships to achieve particular goals including and in addition to improving college access for diverse populations; and what motivates institutions to engage in and sustain relationships. This research also considers whether there are relationships between institutional characteristics and undergraduate student diversity. Drawing from theoretical literature on the antecedents to partnership formation developed within the field of business and from organizational learning theory, this study finds that there is little agreement on what constitutes a relationship between HEIs and NPOs and a “college access nonprofit”; that HEIs rarely articulate specific, measurable goals for the enrollment of diverse populations; that relationships are used to improve direct and indirect access to students, to build trust in HEIs, to fill perceived deficits for students and families, and to address demographic pressures. Furthermore, the study finds that relationships’ effectiveness is rarely measured and that ties between entities are rarely severed, except in the case of extreme failure to meet expectations. The findings of this study suggest that what HEIs refer to relationships are instead “less formal dyadic linkages.” HEIs forms ties to NPOs primarily in the pursuit of enhanced institutional legitimacy with respect to the recruitment of diverse students, which is perceived to enhance institutions’ ability to recruit these students with greater efficiency. Relationships are also perceived to have potential to contribute to HEI’s ability to develop a pipeline of students. In addition, this study finds that the exploitation aspect of organizational learning helps explain relationship formation between HEIs and NPOs.

Most studies on relationships in education are not about human relationships in itself, but about what teachers or students perceived to be a good teacher-students relationship or the outcome of a good teacher-students relationship. This dissertation, however, attempts to unfold the complex and implicit elements of human relationships and investigate how it can be practiced in teacher-student relationships in current educational settings. For this purpose, this dissertation explores two figures who had significantly contributed to the knowledge of human relationships—Martin Buber and Jalaluddin Rumi. The aim of this study is to explore how an understanding of human relationships from a spiritual perspective can improve teacher-student relationships in educational settings and help students to learn to perceive any relationship with another person not only as multicultural relationships but also as relationships between human beings. There are three principles of spirituality in human relationships derived from the teachings of Buber and Rumi. First, the human reason cannot be the foundation of the relationships between human beings because of certain limitations. Second, there is a state of a unified-self where qualities including ones that are paradoxical to each other can be reconciled and hold together within the unified self. Third, the relationship between a human being and the world is a microcosm-macrocosm relationship. Spiritual relationship is a relationship of microcosm¹-macrocosm-microcosm² where two individuals are sharing the same macrocosm. In educational settings, teachers play an important role in establishing spiritual relationships with students. Spirituality is not something that the human reason can observe and assess. What teachers can do is to make sure that the spiritual barriers are removed and turn towards the students as a whole person. Such a relationship between teachers and students of different race and religion can possibly establish a harmonious multicultural society in Malaysia.

Educators have long been interested in how students react differently to failure experiences. What makes one student expend more effort after an academic failure, but another avoids effort or academic engagement? One avenue of research in this area has examined the influence of students’ achievement goals on their response to academic success or failure. This study sought to examine how students with various multiple goal profiles react to an imagined failure situation with respect to four outcome-focused achievement emotions (i.e., hope, anxiety, shame, & hopelessness) and effort. A k-means cluster analysis of the four AGQ-R scales produced three multiple goal profiles: Mastery High, High All Goals, and Average All Goals. Findings revealed that students in the Mastery High and High All Goals profiles reported significantly higher intended effort after the imagined failure experience in comparison to students with the Average All Goals profile. The findings appear to highlight overall protective benefit of holding high levels of mastery-approach goals, as high levels of performance-avoidance goals did not have negative effect on effort after a recent failure experience when coupled with high mastery-approach goals. Significant differences in achievement emotions between the cluster groups were not found. The results of this study are integrated with current theory, and implications for theory and practice are addressed.