National-Louis University: OASIS - The NLU Digital Commons
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“Please Stop Bringing up Family Life, We’re Here to Talk about Science”: Engaging Undergraduate Women and Women of Color in STEM through a Participatory Action Research Project
Get PDFStark underrepresentation exists of undergraduate women enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree programs. Although women have outnumbered men in undergraduate enrollment for over 30 years, these numbers do not apply to the sciences. Previous research shows that low self-efficacy is a barrier and high self-confidence is a strength for women in STEM. Participatory Action Research (PAR) addresses both sides of this issue by (1) answering the questions that exist about women in STEM and undergraduate research and (2) providing women in STEM with research experience. Thus, PAR not only helps solve the problem of self-efficacy that affects women in STEM, but also aids with self-esteem issues and other barriers they face daily. The current study is a PAR research project that uses group-level assessment, a participatory qualitative research method. In collaboration with female undergraduate coresearchers, the purpose of this PAR research project is to explore the experience of women conducting and/or seeking STEM undergraduate research experiences to inform program development at the university level
Visibility of School Leadership: Building Trust
Get PDFThis mixed methods study investigated teacher perceptions of the relationship between school leader visibility and teacher trust in that leader in two private Christian elementary and secondary schools of less than 1,000 students in California. A review of current available literature on this topic revealed three key themes: the positive effect a trusted leader has on an organization and school, the positive effect leader visibility has on building trust in leader-follower relationships, and the need for frequency and quality of leader visibility to build trust. In this study, three key themes emerged from an original survey and one-on-one, in-depth teacher interviews, which supported prior study findings and provided further insight. The three themes identified in this study include a strong relationship between leader visibility and teacher trust in that leader, teachers’ desire for frequent visibility of their school leader, and teachers’ emphasis on the critical role of high-quality visibility in increasing trust in their leader. Christian school leaders should maintain frequent, high-quality visibility in both unscheduled, informal and scheduled, formal interactions to cultivate trust and build relationships with teachers that furthers the success of their educational institution and its stakeholders
Victoria Villalpando Sánchez, Director of Public Affairs & Public Information Officer, Illinois Department of Human Rights
No full textVictoria Villalpando Sánchez (Harrison Fellow, 2011-2014) joined the Illinois Department of Human Rights in January. She serves as their new Director of Public Affairs and Public Information Officer. Previously, Victoria worked for Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, where she oversaw her brand and executive presence across digital channels for three years. Using her Civic Joy\u27\u27 strategy, she organically grew the Lt. Governor\u27s cross-platform following by 138% and achieved over 19.4 million impressions.
Prior to her work in government, Victoria worked for the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI), a national non-profit, and managed logistics for their annual national conference. Under her leadership, the USHLI conference generated the highest revenue and attendance among the organization\u27s programs from 2013-2019. Additionally, she spearheaded all internal and external communication, developed new programs and campaigns, and engaged program stakeholders. Before her departure, she took an active role in several statewide Census initiatives and chaired Forefront\u27s Illinois Count Me in 2020 Communications Subcommittee.
Although Victoria is a proud Illinoisian, she immigrated from Mexico and lived as an undocumented immigrant for nearly 27 years. This experience gave her a deep understanding of how race/ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, socioeconomic status, ability, and gender identity affect access and privilege. Despite experiencing discrimination early in life, she knows Illinois is the best place to raise a family and believes that thoughtful policies can support marginalized communities across our state.
Victoria holds a Master\u27s Degree in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University and a Bachelor\u27s Degree in Human Services from National Louis University.
To learn more about Victoria, watch her interview with NBC 5 Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern for Hispanic Heritage Month.https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/hforalhistories/1001/thumbnail.jp
How Teacher Implemented Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum Impacts Collective Teacher Efficacy and Influences Teacher Beliefs About Job Satisfaction
Get PDF“Teachers are the engine that drives social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in classrooms and schools, and their own social-emotional competence strongly influences their students” (Schonert-Reichl, 2017, p. 137). I wanted to examine if teachers benefited from teaching SEL. The purpose of my study was to examine if teachers perceived benefits to their Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) and job satisfaction beliefs when they taught SEL. The context of my research was elementary schools in one school district. I conducted surveys with elementary school classroom teachers and counselors. The findings from my study indicated that classroom teachers perceived that their SEL instruction positively benefited their CTE and job satisfaction beliefs. I recommended leaders create SEL leadership teams at the district and school level to implement SEL reforms using an SEL Strategic Action Plan
A Program Evaluation Of The Reasons Some Educators Do or Do Not Remain In The Teaching Profession
Get PDFAbstract According to Sutcher et al. (2016), hundreds of thousands of teachers (eight percent of the overall United States teaching force) leave the profession annually for various reasons. These reasons include dissatisfaction with some parts of their jobs, including poor leadership, lack of control over teaching, family or personal reasons, pursuing a job outside of education, retirement, and financial reasons. The purpose of this study is to understand why teachers choose to stay at their school, why they leave certain schools and what school and district leaders can do to keep teachers in their classrooms. The context of this inquiry is three Title I middle schools and two Title I high schools. My study demonstrated a combination of quantitative and qualitative data that matched current research, teacher surveys, and interviews with school and district leaders on what to do to keep teachers in Title I schools. School leaders are responsible for creating a culture at their respective schools. Teachers want to work in a school environment where they feel appreciated, respected, and have a voice in the doings of the school. The surveys conducted in this study have shown overwhelmingly how important culture is to teachers. School and district leaders acknowledged the value of building community in their schools. District leaders should place school leaders with experience in building collaborative cultures to improve morale and, more importantly, increase teacher retention in their schools
Advancing Health and Well-Being in Hospitality: Employers Respond to New Workforce Expectations
Get PDFKendall College at National Louis University conducted research between Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 on the status of health and well-being initiatives in hospitality. The research involved in-depth surveys with 27 hotels and 18 restaurants, for a total sample of 45 hospitality businesses located primarily in the Chicago region. In addition, working collaboratively with the national food service research firm, Datassential, a sample of 401 food service providers from across the U.S. was collected. The findings confirmed that poor working conditions have helped drive turnover and that current and prospective employees are seeking healthy, safe and inclusive work environments with reliable, supportive people who take employees’ health and well-being into consideration. In response, employers are attempting to address working conditions in the industry, with increased compensation and health benefits among the most prominent initiatives. Employers are providing greater flexibility in scheduling and touting quality-of-life factors such as paid time off, limited overtime, reduced scheduling/40-hour work weeks, and extended personal/parental leave along with fitness memberships, tuition reimbursement, retirement planning, and discounts on products and services. Mental health initiatives include EAPs and benefits that cover therapy or medication along with yoga/relaxation workshops and areas for employees to de-stress. Few participants had concrete plans to evaluate the impact of these strategies, mainly focusing on observed workplace behavior, retention and turnover data or employee feedback. A sizeable percentage of participants reported having no specific wellness programs and a small number of food service respondents responded negatively to the suggestion of supporting employees\u27 well-being needs. Future research is needed to assess which strategies work best and why to help hospitality managers know where to place their limited resources of time and resources
A Program Evaluation of Prekindergarten Program in One School District
Get PDFI explored the potential impact of position and salary change on prekindergarten teachers in a public-school district in a southern state. I provided an educational, economic, political and moral/ethical analysis in partial support of this change for the district.
The current policy in the district is that the school year prekindergarten teaching positions are considered non-instructional. However, the summer prekindergarten program teachers are certified teachers as per state requirements. The new policy will make all prekindergarten teaching positions require state certification. This change would give them the financial pay and benefits included with the position change and keep them in the early childhood field instead of leaving for other positions.
While reviewing data concerning the teaching knowledge and practices of prekindergarten teachers with a bachelor’s degree and without a bachelor’s degree it was found that certified teachers produced a higher percentage of students ready to enter kindergarten. I make the case for this policy to ensure that highly qualified teachers remain in the early childhood program and increase the quality of the prekindergarten program
Word Choice: A Neglected but Key Skill for ELL Writers
Get PDFWith all of the urgent, critical issues confronting education in general, and literacy practices in particular, why write a column on something as obscure as word choice? Word choice (sometimes called vocabulary choice or diction) often drops to the bottom of the “To Do” list for English as a Second Language (ESL), English, bilingual, and language arts teachers. Even when teachers are able to focus on writing to begin with (writing development is often the first thing cut when lessons run over), teachers of English language learners (ELLs) are too preoccupied with teaching grammar, spelling, organization, syntax, genres, and building background knowledge to spend even a moment on word choice! Also, teachers may conflate teaching vocabulary words for reading comprehension with teaching students how to choose— and use—the best possible words in writing
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP: JOURNEY TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY
Get PDFEducational leadership positions within school districts across the country are becoming more inclusive and representative of the diverse populations they serve; however, there is still a staggering gender gap within the school district superintendent position. This mixed methods research study was conducted to learn about the experiences of women who have already achieved this top position within a school district. The study involved a primarily qualitative approach through interviews with supplemental quantitative survey data. The three research questions guiding this study were: What are the unique barriers women face during their journey to the school district superintendency? What experiences and conditions either enhance or limit opportunities for women toward a journey of becoming a school district superintendent? What policy actions can local school districts or county offices of education take to hire, retain, and increase the number of female school district superintendents? The study revealed barriers experienced by women along with the conditions and experiences necessary to help remove these barriers. The conditions that support women in becoming school district superintendents are broad; however, the study revealed having the support of family, finding ways to create an equal partnership within the home, finding a district that is a good fit, and stepping into experiences that will help grow professional self-efficacy can help to break down barriers and open doors. To achieve gender parity within the school district superintendency, educational leaders, school boards, and local and state agencies need to help create the conditions that support women as they step into leadership roles
Geographically Distanced Teacher Researchers’ Perceptions About Collaborative Research During a Pandemic
Get PDFThis study examined the experiences of two cohorts of graduate students completing their research capstone course during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to examine the novice teacher researchers’ perceptions about research as they engaged in a semester long collaborative research project that was revised for their cohorts. The findings suggest that students’ perspectives and experiences were influenced by the collaborative nature of the course and that the geographic separation between the students was not a challenge for the cohorts of novice researchers. There are implications from this work that educators, especially those geographically distanced, benefit from collaborative action research as a professional development strategy