Theses/Dissertations - Educational Leadership

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2104/4806

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Low-income student definitions of prestige on selective college campuses.
(2024-05) Hogness, Kaylee C., 2000-; Alleman, Nathan F., 1975-
As the landscape of higher graduation changes, so too does the definition of a ‘prestigious’ school. One way in which change is evident is the recent shift in ranking methodologies which now place more emphasis on the experiences of marginalized students. This study seeks to explore the expectations and experiences of Low-income students experiencing food insecurity on selective college campus in conjunction with their definitions of prestige. We found that students think of prestige in ways consistent with existing literature such as the selectivity of institutions, as well as new ways such as alumni success. Student definitions of prestige correlate with two major expectations that students have for their institutions: academic challenge and financial resources. While in some aspects students are experiencing these factors the realities of food insecurity layer new challenges for students to navigate, which requires them to give up some part of their student experience. This study ends with a discussion of the implications for these students and the schools they attend, as well as suggestions for future research and practice.
The role of challenge, support, and student interactions in fostering student success.
(2024-05) Harvey, Noah C., 2001-; Sriram, Rishi.
In the dynamic landscape of higher education, understanding factors contributing to student flourishing and academic success remains crucial. Drawing on seminal works by Sanford (1966), Sriram et al. (2020b), and Tinto (1993), this study investigates the intricate relationship between challenge, support, student interactions, GPA, and broader constructs of flourishing and sense of community. Through validating scales measuring challenge and support, it reveals the pivotal role of this beneficial balance in shaping student outcomes. Findings suggest that fostering intentional interactions, particularly academic, social, and deeper life interactions with peers, significantly influences flourishing and sense of community. Surprisingly, experiencing excessive challenge correlates with increased GPA, challenging Sanford's (1966) theory. Implications extend to practice, advocating for strategies to enhance student interactions. This study enriches understanding by elucidating pathways for promoting student success and wellbeing in higher education.
Forging pathways : how low-income STEM students navigate college on a free tuition program.
(2024-05) Wilby, Taylor, 1992-; Alleman, Nathan F., 1975-
In light of the ever-increasing cost of tuition, colleges and universities are starting to turn to free-tuition programs as a way to make college affordable for those students demonstrating the most need. In particular, STEM majors offer a unique chance to understand the true effectiveness of this financial aid as students in these programs traverse some of the hardest academic courseloads on campus. This proposed project, therefore, seeks to answer the following question: How and in what ways is the college-going navigation of low-income STEM students influenced by a free tuition pathway in a selective, affluent university? Answering this question will help higher education scholars and practitioners understand how low-income STEM students negotiate the barriers and possibilities present on campus, and free tuition programs can be better modified to improve the student experience.
Navigation of food insecurity in LSES Latina students through community cultural wealth.
(2024-05) Harris, Sarah Ann, 2000-; Alleman, Nathan F., 1975-
Throughout this paper I study the navigation of food insecurity in LSES Latina students at selective, normatively affluent universities through the framework of Community Cultural Wealth. From my analysis I propose three categories of how this population of students navigate food insecurity, direct-material navigation, indirect material navigation, and indirect non-material navigation. Within these categories, I also analyzed how the seven Community Cultural Wealth capitals interacted with these elements. All three categories had significant familial and social capital within them. Aspirational capital, which was found in the indirect non-material category, was also found to lead to navigational capital in the two material categories. The implications of this study include helping students maximize their use of Community Cultural Wealth capitals while still addressing institutional systems that fail these students.
Decreasing the dropout rate : examining the effects of mindfulness on decreasing anxiety in off-track-to-graduate high school students.
(2024-05) Borden, Raymond, 1976-; Urick, Angela.
This quantitative study examines the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in reducing anxiety levels among off-track-to-graduate high school students. These findings suggest that mindfulness-based practices hold promise as an intervention strategy for alleviating anxiety symptoms in this at-risk student population.
The effectiveness of Title I funding : an improvement science quantitative study.
(2024-05) Salazar, Xochitl G., 1984-; Urick, Angela.
After more than 50 years, the supplemental resources afforded through Title I have yet to eliminate the academic achievement gap between low socioeconomic students and their advantaged peers in fourth grade reading scores in k-12 education. As the largest educational intervention of the United States, Title I is designed to close the achievement gap between students living in poverty and their advantaged peers. The practical intervention chosen for this study will abide by the purpose and method of improvement science; however, the researcher will modify the PDSA framework to serve the outcome of this intervention. The researcher will conduct one PDSA cycle that will consist of two phases that exceed 90 days (about 3 months).
Assistant principals : the disruptors of oppressive discipline practices.
(2023-12) Brown-Warrens, Traniece Antwonette, 1986-; Urick, Angela.
The assistant principal is the gatekeeper of student discipline and is the key to closing the disproportionate discipline gap between Black and White students. Assistant principals can help close the gap by engaging in Culturally Responsive School Leadership professional development that allows them to become self-aware of their implicit bias, utilize an intervention tool that can serve as a guardrail between their implicit bias and discretionary discipline decision-making, and engage in the practice of critical self-reflection. Black students will stand a chance to be heard in discipline conversations and receive more inclusive consequences, allowing them more seat-time to access their education.
Organizational socialization of new professionals in student affairs : a model for improving early career outcomes and combating attrition.
(2023-12) Mills, Zach E., 1991-; Sriram, Rishi.
The purpose of this study was to test a model for conceptualizing the socialization experiences of new professionals in student affairs, particularly in light of the high attrition rates commonly documented in the literature. Whereas past research has examined individuals as the locus of socialization, this study analyzed organizations as the primary agents of socialization. Specifically, this study sought to test Van Maanen and Schein’s (1979) Theory of Organizational Socialization in the context of student affairs and with a population of new professionals. Van Maanen and Schein theorized there are six types of organizational socialization tactics that can be used to predict organizationally desirable socialization outcomes such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and (lack of) intent to quit. This study also sought to test the formation of professional identity as an additional outcome of socialization. Using a national sample (n = 304) of new professionals in student affairs, this study used structural equation modeling to test if Van Maanen and Schein’s theory would be representative of student affairs, and if so, examine the relationships among variables. The final model demonstrated that Van Maanen and Schein’s theory is representative in student affairs, and the findings provided several implications for theory and practice. The validated model provides a tool for student affairs leaders to effectively conceptualize and design organizational socialization efforts. Further, the model demonstrates the importance of professional identity as a socialization outcome highly correlated with other desirable outcomes. Recommendations for practice include: (1) the importance of intentionally designed socialization efforts for improving organizationally desirable outcomes; (2) organizationally desirable outcomes come in groups, reinforcing the importance of well-designed organizational environments; (3) organizationally desirable outcomes inversely correlate with intention to quit, demonstrating the value of socialization in combating attrition; and (4) the particular effectiveness of investing in and affirming the individual talents and skills of new professionals in fostering organizationally desirable outcomes.
Examining the implementation of culturally responsive leadership and critical self-reflection in Texas urban schools : a quantitative study.
(2023-12) Wallace, Gabrielle Amber, 1993-; Urick, Angela.
This study explored the relationship between how Texas school leaders perceived that their behavior aligned with the implementation of Culturally Responsive Leadership (CRL) and how these perceptions related to the influence of principals on fellow school leaders, the frequency of CRL-aligned leadership development, and the district's readiness to institutionalize CRL through leadership development. During this study, a conceptual survey was developed emphasizing CRL’s Domain One: Critical Self-Reflection. The survey garnered 136 responses from principals, assistant principals, and instructional coaches, using a quantitative, correlational, non-experimental approach. The data analysis from the conceptual survey resulted in the final subscales, including critical self-reflection regarding unconscious biases, pre-existing emotional intelligence skills, openness and willingness to express Culturally Responsive Leadership, principals' influence among fellow school leaders, the frequency of CRL-aligned leadership development, and district readiness for institutionalizing CRL through leadership development. The subscales were used to conduct a correlational analysis, which revealed three themes in the findings. The first theme denoted that Texas urban school leaders demonstrate a readiness to embrace Culturally Responsive Leadership in the domain of Critical Self-Reflection. While causation is not established, the study hints at a propensity for the cultivation of cultural responsiveness, particularly critical self-reflection through on-the-job experiences. Moreover, the second theme in the findings suggests additional variables are needed to determine whether Texas urban school districts are prepared to utilize leadership development as a means to institutionalize Culturally Responsive Leadership. Moreover, Texas urban school leaders required more than frequent leadership development to institutionalize Culturally Responsive Leadership. Additionally, the third theme in the research findings implied that urban school principals in Texas who exhibited Culturally Responsive Leadership influenced assistant principals and instructional coaches to adopt similar behaviors. Again, while causation is not confirmed, the results revealed a predisposition to foster healthy organizations as a strategy to institutionalize Culturally Responsive Leadership. The analysis and findings demonstrate that the conceptual survey utilized in this study is a validated and reliable quantitative tool for understanding and bolstering Culturally Responsive Leadership.
Consuming Christian higher education : an analysis of administrators' imaginations for consumption and neighborliness.
(2023-08) Madsen, Sarah E., 1993-; Alleman, Nathan F., 1975-
Administrators at Christian colleges and universities must tend both mission and market, as commodification and competition threaten the formational capacities of these faith-based institutions of higher learning. Consumption, or the use and exchange of goods, services, and relationships can account for these distractions – and their implications on neighbor-love, a central telos of Christian higher education. However, minimal scholarly and practical attention has been given to the confluence of Christianity, consumption, neighborliness and higher education. Guided by the macro-theological prophetic tradition and the micro-sociological theory of symbolic interactionism, this qualitative study was thus guided by the following research question: How do administrators at Christian institutions understand, critique, and reimagine consumption, and what do their imaginations and implementations reveal about the formation, practices, and aims of neighborliness in college? Socio-theological analysis of semi-structured interviews with 15 participants across nine Christian colleges and universities revealed administrators’ truth-telling, lament, and hope related to material and spiritual formation. Study administrators’ accounts coalesced as a narrative of Christian higher education as both a formative institution and as a business enterprise, where theological and organizational distinctiveness were variously pursued. Attention to consumption and neighborliness in Christian colleges and universities, then, can illuminate institutional and administrative movement toward either excellence or idolatry.
School improvement planning in Arkansas' K-12 schools : a quantitative survey study.
(2023-08) Williams, Heather A., 1989-; Urick, Angela.
School improvement plans became a critical component of school improvement in the wake of the United States’ federal accountability systems, including No Child Left Behind (2002) and Every Student Succeeds Act (2015). School improvement plans, or SIPs, were part of a formalized process for compliance purposes and, often, did not impact an organization’s performance. The purpose of school improvement plans, under the context of the federal accountability systems, was to develop year-long objectives for each population of students which included year-long strategies and resources. Monitoring of SIPs occurred at the beginning and end of every school year. Research in improvement planning transitioned from the traditional approach of planning to continuous improvement research (CIR). The CIR approach to school improvement planning emphasizes the importance of the practitioner as researcher of short-cycled studies of small changes that lead to more systemic improvement (Deming, 2002). Research also outlines the influence of leadership in school improvement planning. Not all leadership is equal. There are leadership behaviors that influence school improvement. This study sought to determine the extent that principals in Arkansas utilized the traditional approach to school improvement planning or the continuous improvement approach to school improvement planning. This study also sought to determine which approach to school improvement planning influences student achievement, as measured by ESSA School Index. Although there was not much difference in the overall combined means, on average, more principals in Arkansas utilize traditional planning approaches to school improvement planning as compared to continuous improvement planning. The findings of the correlation found that traditional planning and continuous improvement planning are highly related. Leadership factors were also identified as influencing planning. Suggestions are made for practioners, and further research is recommended in this area.
Early childhood education administrators' knowledge and skills of leadership practices and core competencies.
(2023-08) Burton, Anna L., 1986-; Urick, Angela.
With limited knowledge surrounding the role of the ECE administrator, it is critical to understand what leadership skills and core competencies they use as a leader in their programs. Understanding the relationship between administrators who are currently enrolled in a statewide quality improvement program and their knowledge and practices of leadership skills identified by research and state resources to improve quality will help to further our understanding of the role of the ECE administrator and help to guide future programs and supports for administrators throughout the state-using a conceptual framework where school characteristics, state agencies, and administrators’ demographic influence their leadership skills. A self-administered survey was distributed, and a combination of quantitative analyses was used to understand the differences between groups and their knowledge of core competencies and practice of leadership. Additionally, logistic regression was used to understand how administrators' leadership skills and demographics influence their knowledge of core competencies.
"Beyond those gates" : how the process of earning a college degree in prison shapes a person's hoped-for self.
(2023-08) Abouras, Rachel, 1994-; Alleman, Nathan F., 1975-
The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to explore how the process of earning a college degree in the prison context shaped the hoped-for selves of 23 formerly incarcerated individuals. My research focus was twofold: First, I wanted to understand how the content of participants’ hoped-for selves changed as a result of earning a college degree in prison; then, I wanted to understand what aspects of the higher education in prison (HEP) context contributed to those changes. Using a conceptual framework that combined symbolic interactionism (Blumer, 1969) with possible selves theory (Markus & Nurius, 1986; SI-PSs), I was able to explore how certain contextual factors–namely, learning interactions and the physical environment–influenced what participants understood to be desirable, yet plausible, for themselves in the future. Findings revealed that participants tended to envision their future selves in increasingly community service-oriented terms while attending college in prison. Additionally, participants often saw themselves pursuing further education in the future. These community-oriented, academic future selves remained consistent even after one’s release from prison. Further, findings highlighted how interactions where participants felt validated by their faculty, connected to their peers, and/or were able to develop increased self-awareness significantly influenced how they viewed themselves in the future. Participants’ hoped-for selves were, in other words, largely shaped by three overlapping processes which I refer to as confirmation, connection, and contextualization. These processes each necessitated and facilitated a capacity to be vulnerable and expose oneself emotionally in an environment where vulnerability was typically discouraged. This study thus underscores the importance of vulnerability in the prison college classroom, as well as the unique ways in which the prison environment may, paradoxically, enhance a person’s learning experience. Implications for research, theory, and practice are outlined and discussed.
Student interactions with peers and their influence on first-semester GPA.
(May 2023) McDowell, Kristen M., 1994-; Sriram, Rishi.
This study focuses on the extent peer interactions in first-year college students affect their first-semester GPA by utilizing the Academic, Social, and Deeper Life Interactions Instrument to measure the experience of college students through their interactions with peers (Sriram et al., 2020a). I created a structural equation model to illustrate the pathways of relationships between the latent variables—Academic Interactions with Peers, Social Interactions with Peers, and Deeper Life Interactions with Peers—to the dependent variable of GPA. The social interaction's direct path to deeper life interactions was significant (β = .66, p < .001). The academic interaction's direct path to deeper life interactions was also significant (β = .22, p < .002). Deeper life interactions had a direct effect on GPA that was significant (β = .24, p < .01). This is the first study to demonstrate that peer interactions—and in particular deeper life interactions—positively influence GPA.
“Lithuanian is the English” : how language policy and ideology condition internationalization by mediating access to spaces of opportunity and community at a Lithuanian University.
(May 2023) Hoye, Kathleen A. R., 1990-; Alleman, Nathan F., 1975-
The purpose of this study is to understand how the language ideologies embedded within de jure and de facto language policies inform and relate to the socialization and language practices of graduate students, faculty, and administrators of a prominent Lithuanian university. Few studies have explored how language policies and language practices shape the socialization experiences of graduate students, faculty, or administrators. Little is known about how these dynamics change in post-Soviet and minoritized-majority language contexts, such as Lithuania where the national language has substantial symbolic and communicative power. This study integrates a symbolic interactionist theoretical perspective with the glonacal agency heuristic as a framework to understand how faculty, graduate students, and administrators negotiate the complex and sometimes contradictory relationship between language policies and language practices in ways that influence interpersonal interaction and communication. The findings from this study demonstrate that national and institutional de jure policies effectively regulated the languages of core academic activities, and indirectly functioned as gatekeeping mechanisms that maintained the Lithuanian-dominant demographics of academic faculty by perpetuating privileged employment pathways. Furthermore, the findings show how faculty, administrators, and graduate students exercised their agency to engage in language practices in spatially and socially dynamic ways, allowing them to strategically capitalize on the benefits of using English in selected “international” spaces and activities that aligned with their motivations and institutional incentives, while also maintaining the existing linguistic hierarchy that privileged Lithuanian in most local social, academic, professional spaces. Lastly, this study’s findings reveal how these circumstances contributed to asymmetrical socialization, with access to information, resources, and opportunities that privileged the experiences of Lithuanian-speakers, compared to their non-Lithuanian speaking counterparts.
“Everything is a toxic competition” : how social interactions contribute to self-efficacy beliefs and resulting behavior in vocal divisions.
(May 2023) Deger, Brynn R., 1998-; Sriram, Rishi.
Musicians identify deeply with their craft, signaling the importance of self-belief as an important social variable to examine with implications spanning to vast areas of their identity. Believing in one’s own abilities, or self-efficacy, has been identified as the dominant informant of one’s self-perception, action, efforts, and achievements (Bandura, 1997). This study investigates the role self-belief plays in college music students’ quest towards excellence in character and craft. Specifically, how do social interactions inform undergraduate vocal experiences and perceptions of self-efficacy in a vocal division when combined with each student’s cognitive positioning (i.e., fixed or growth mindset)? Findings revealed that students' self-efficacy is highly dependent on their vicarious experiences, positioning their ability as superior or inferior as a vocalist. Implications based on this research are for music educators to increase awareness of social-interaction's impact on students' wellness and initiatives to improve persuasive structures.
Selling place, selling faith : what Christian university tour guides reveal about a theology of place.
(May 2023) Woodford, Madison N., 1999-; Alleman, Nathan F., 1975-
Christian college campuses are theologically-imbued places of higher learning. Drawing from their personal experiences and professional trainings, campus tour guides are uniquely positioned to introduce a theology of place to prospective students. From a qualitative paradigm and symbolic interactionist approach, this project investigated the lives, work, and meaning-making of ten tour guides through interviews, as well as official and personal campus tours to answer the following research question: How do tour guides on a Christian college campus experience, interpret, and convey a theology of place to prospective students? Study findings reveal that guides felt connected to their campus community and experienced God’s presence everywhere, privileged realities they– through symbols, objects, and interactions – strategically shared and subtly normalized for tour-goers. This study ultimately illuminates the challenges of mission-based practice, shedding new light on how students uniquely navigated these tensions, and challenging higher education practitioners to think theologically about the campus places they work to promote.
Invisible and ambiguous : the racialized experience of Asian American administrators in Christian higher education.
(May 2023) Jeong, Elijah Gunwon, 1985-; Alleman, Nathan F., 1975-
This qualitative study investigated the racialized experiences of Asian American administrators in Christian higher education. Through personal interviews with 23 Asian American administrators across Christian higher education, the study aimed to provide a more complex analysis of the administrators' racialized experiences. The analysis focused on three specific factors: (1) challenges and barriers, (2) unique racialization, and (3) assets, capital, and strengths leveraged to resist and succeed in higher education. The results showed that the challenges faced by Asian American administrators were not reducible to a single factor but were a result of a host of different factors. The findings revealed that participants discussed three identity-based challenges (racial, gendered, and religious) and two other key administrative challenges (lack of Faculty and Staff of Color and ineffective racial diversity efforts). Additionally, the study found that Asian American administrators not only faced the various challenges and barriers faced by all People of Color, but also faced challenges and barriers that were specific to Asian Americans, such as the consequences of navigating the Black White Binary, including invisibility and ambiguity. Despite these challenges, Asian American administrators were not passive victims of marginalization, but instead resisted, persisted, and leveraged various strengths and assets in their work as Christian higher education administrators. The findings identified and described seven forms of cultural capital leveraged in Christian higher education: aspirational, familial, linguistic, social, resistant, navigational, and spiritual.
The outrageous idea of Christian coaching : a “grounded theology” of faith-sport integration among coaches at CCCU institutions.
(August 2022) Strehlow, Sean M., 1990-; Glanzer, Perry L. (Perry Lynn)
The relationship between faith and learning is a central question in Christian higher education. However, faith integration in the co-curricular realm, specifically intercollegiate athletics, remains a nascent line of inquiry and an area for expanded scholarship. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative dissertation was to lay an empirical foundation for a theory of faith-sport integration from the experiences of athletic coaches at CCCU institutions. This study conceptualized faith-sport integration, both, as a coaching philosophy as well as a process of identity coherence between coaches’ Christian and professional identities. In this study, I employed grounded theology, as a qualitative method that merges grounded theory and practical theology to generate new theological frameworks that illuminate faithful practice (Stevens, 2017). My analysis included in-depth interviews with 45 head coaches of NCAA Division III programs at CCCU institutions, with diverse representation of geographical location and denominational affiliation (within the evangelical tradition). Findings include a descriptive analysis of participants’ professional and pedagogical practices that integrate faith and sport, as well as an explanatory account of the narrative process that tracks how coaches come to understand faith-sport integration and apply it to their programs. A new theological framework for coaching and its implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Pandemic teaching : application of universal design for learning in eighth-grade English language arts and reading.
(2021-04-09) Sharp, Amy A., 1982-; Wilson, John E. (Professor)
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of education globally, requiring educators to teach online and in-building with social distancing protocols. In this context, U.S. school districts were tasked with addressing learner variability in new ways. The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand the application of universal design for learning (UDL) strategies used by eighth-grade English language arts and reading educators in the Texas Independent School District, a one-to-one public school district. The study contributes to the literature on the effectiveness of UDL-based practices by addressing how course design is essential to meeting students' diverse learning needs in synchronous remote learning or socially distanced in-building learning during an emergency. The researcher captured the application of UDL during course design, combined with district-approved digital tools and teaching strategies, to understand how this practice affected course delivery in the synchronous remote and socially distanced, in-building learning environments. A literature review, review of district structures and systems, and qualitative case study of a three member, eighth-grade professional learning community were used to study the application of UDL during the pandemic. The researcher coded and analyzed the data obtained to reveal three themes with six subthemes. The first theme, change in purpose, contained one subtheme: ready-to-learn based upon life situations created a need-to-know and apply for survival. The second theme, change in course materials and content delivery, included three subthemes: (a) the validity of the content, (b) how the content was structured, and (c) the importance of clarity concerning how information was being delivered to their students. The last theme, change in teaching perspectives, was associated with the following subthemes: (a) modifying teaching strategies as the awareness of learner variability increased and (b) innovations supporting nontraditional teaching methods as the participants recognized varying student learning needs in their synchronous remote or in-building instructional settings. Findings revealed the need to develop a comprehensive, district-wide approach to addressing learner variability through professional development and the professional learning community model.

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