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An Exploratory Correlational Study Examining the Relationship Between the Teacher's Perceptions of School Community Leadership and Student Success in Selected Title I High Schools
No full textWithin a school organization, the principal drives leadership action to address the needs of the entire school community. However, principal action that is not accepted as a shared vision will ultimately fail. This is especially true in high needs schools where collaboration and climate are key factors in overcoming contextual barriers. With a growing educational gap and dwindling resources, it is vital for a greater understanding in of effective leadership for increased student achievement in Title I high schools. The purpose of this exploratory quantitative study was to uncover the relationship between the perceptions of school community leadership and student achievement in Title I high schools. The teacher perception of leadership provided relational factors to the student achievement variables of measurable student success. Quantitative data was collected through teacher surveys and archival data including Pennsylvania Future Ready Index (Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2019), as defined by Keystone standardized test proficiency scores, graduation rates, attendance, and percentages of student college acceptance rates. The data was statistically analyzed using correlation and regression measures for significance in relationships of student success to teacher perceptions of school community leadership characteristics. Correlational relationships were determined to exist between teacher perceptions of principal leadership as a factor in student achievement on both standardized proficiency tests and on the rate of post-secondary transition of graduating seniors in Title I high schools. Furthermore, individual factors, including clearly defined instructional practices, showed significant correlational relationships across school sites and inverse relationships with reported Future Ready standard scores. The results support the assumption that the teacher perception of leadership affect overall student achievement. Keywords: principal, leadership, perception, achievement, Title IEd.D., Educational Leadership and Management -- Drexel University, 201
Developing Students' Skills for the 21st Century: The National History Day Model as Academic Enrichment
No full textToday's students must engage in programs and activities to help them build skills for the future that go beyond traditional academics. National History Day (NHD) is a year-long intensive research program that provides students the opportunity to participate in historical research and then creatively express their analysis and interpretation of their research. The program has demonstrated results not only for students with identified gifts and talents but also for students in "general education" classes, as well as for students with special needs. The purpose of this case study was to explore the ways students who participated in the NHD program at one middle school developed and enhanced the skills identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21) as the 4 Cs: creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. These skills were enumerated through the exploration of students' NHD experiences. Literature pertaining to the importance of teaching 21st century skills, students' acquisition of skills through NHD participation, and an examination of the current curricula for NHD instruction served as the research foundation for this study. The case that was studied was the production of an NHD project. The researcher collected and examined data from various stakeholders about their interactions with this experience. Documentation and artifacts from the NHD program were also analyzed. This instrumental case study included a focus group and one-on-one interviews with current high school students who participated in NHD at the middle school level, one-on-one interviews with parents of student participants, and one-on-one interviews with teachers who have experience working with these participants. The researcher used first cycle coding and thematic analysis to analyze the data. Findings from study participant groups confirmed students' participation in NHD helped them develop and enhance skills that will be valuable to them in school, career, and life. The results suggest the benefits of the NHD approach to teaching and learning for all students and inform practices that can be adapted by teachers, parents and administrators to design future middle school programs that help students develop and enhance 21st century skills. Recommendations that emerged from this research include bringing the NHD approach to all levels of learners across multiple curriculum areas, intentional teaching of 21st century skills, a shift in NHD teaching to focus on skills rather than on content, and professional development for teachers facilitating this model of inquiry-based learning.Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Management -- Drexel University, 201
Multiscale Modeling of Thixotropy in Soft Clays
No full textThixotropy is a material property that describes how a substance can 'soften' upon continues deformation and heal back to the 'thicker' state over time when left to rest. It is also a fundamental soil behavior mechanism that governs multiple time-dependent engineering properties of soft clays (e.g., the evolution of stiffness, strength, and sensitivity over time).While significant understanding of thixotropy of colloid systems has been achieved since the initiation of the field of thixotropy in the early 1920s, current knowledge on soil thixotropy is still based primarily on some pioneering work performed in and prior to the 1960s and, since then, new developments have been scarce and fragmental. Such a paucity of new findings and the disparity in thixotropy research and advancement between colloid science and soil mechanics provide an impetus to this research. Therefore, this project that integrates multiscale computational and experimental efforts is to study soft clay thixotropy. The work done in this study aims to examine and simulate the clay particle-scale development of thixotropy under various environmental conditions (time, water chemistry, and temperature) and at different size scales. This innovative bottom-up multiscale modeling approach serves to understand the physics underlying macroscopic soft clay thixotropic behavior. The overall goal of the project is to create the enabling knowledge on the macroscale mechanical and microscale structural mechanisms of soft clay thixotropy and hence to append some new time-dependent soil behavior to the geotechnical knowledge base. It is to develop an understanding of the micro- to macro-linkage of soft clay thixotropy through the development of a versatile molecular dynamics (MD) simulation tool to accurately duplicate the time-dependent interactions between clay particles and to provide a framework for the study of the three-dimensional mechanical behavior of soft clays. The value of this project stems from three aspects: (1) the geotechnical knowledge base on soil thixotropy will be expanded with new understanding, particularly the effects of physico-chemical factors such as temperature and porewater chemistry; (2) both the macroscale mechanical and microscale structural mechanisms of thixotropic hardening of soft clays will be uncovered via multiscale computational research; and (3) the linkage between quantitative time-dependent clay fabric evolution and macroscale thixotropic processes will be developed. Because soil thixotropy plays an important role in many engineering problems, the project also can generate significant practical impacts to geotechnical engineering, particularly the design and construction of engineering systems involving soft clays. Examples include evaluation of pile and suction caisson setup, design of wind farm foundations, and disposal of dredged materials, among others. Moreover, the multiscale investigation methodology developed through this project can be generalized to other more complex soil research topics and can also serve as a generic approach for other basic research queries.Ph.D., Civil engineering -- Drexel University, 201
Coca-Cola and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study of Sustainable Development in Education in Kenya
No full textThe launch of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 included the private sector as a key actor to improve sustainable development across 17 targets, including education. Utilizing a qualitative case-study approach, the research provides insight into the implementation of a Fortune 500 U.S.-based company's investment in sustainable development through exploration of the Coca-Cola Company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) education programs in Kenya and their impact on the beneficiary. The following questions guided this research: a) How does Coca-Cola represent its CSR education activities in public relations materials? b) Who are Coca-Cola's partners for program planning, implementation, and evaluation of CSR education activities in Kenya and what is the value of Coca-Cola's work to these partners? c) What challenges have Coca-Cola partners experienced implementing CSR education activities in Kenya? d) What strategies did Coca-Cola develop to overcome such challenges? e) What challenges or tensions remain and what does this suggest for the futher of CSR in education? Through an exploration of Coca-Cola's partners, specifically those working on water conservation, entrepreneurship, and scholarships, this study illuminates the ways business-society relationships in education can work to overcome structural barriers limiting access to education, such as financial constraints, discriminatory sociocultural beliefs, and gender inequality. The study contributes to the literature on corporate social responsibility, education, and international development.Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Management -- Drexel University, 201
The Manifestation of Burnout in Theatre Arts Administrators
No full textBurnout is a mental and physical phenomenon caused by work-related stressors that can be aggravated or subsided by a person’s environment or personality. The causes and effects of burnout have been heavily studied in a variety of occupations, though the arts have historically been excluded from the conversation. This study uses the history of burnout methodology to examine how burnout manifests in theatre arts administrators through one-on-one in person interviews conducted over a series of months with 10 Greater Philadelphia Area professionals. Care was made to assure that the 10 interviewees varied in roles and locations within the organizational hierarchy of their organizations. The study found that these 10 theatre arts administrators exhibited symptoms of burnout similar to the symptoms exhibited by those studied in the empirical burnout research. It was also revealed that these artist’s environments, like the environments of the empirical research subjects, affected their tendency to experience burnout. Further analysis with new subjects is needed if these findings are to be made generalizable for the greater arts administration public.M.S., Arts Administration -- Drexel University, 201
The Impact of Mural Programs on Minority Communities in the United States
No full textMurals have gained increasing attention from scholars and governments regarding the significant role they play in especially those marginalized minority communities. In Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco, murals have uplifted the cities and communities from various aspects. Beyond that, in these cities, arts organizations have increasingly realized the benefit and value of mural-making and incorporated multi-themed mural projects as a collaborative approach to rebuild and enhance both a community landscape and a cultural landscape. Through analysis of the case studies of the Mural Arts Philadelphia and the Asian American Women Artist Association, and research on the Social Public Art Resource Center, this study has demonstrated that mural-making practices are of significant importance for minority community engagement and cultural representation. These engagements have had long-lasting and positive impacts on the community and community members.M.S., Arts Administration -- Drexel University, 201
Collaborative Networks in the Arts: A Case Study of Americans for the Arts
No full textCollaborative networks within the nonprofit sector can improve organizational capacity, increase longevity, and improve sustainability of organizations. Within the arts and cultural field it is difficult to determine if and how these types of networks are being utilized, as well as the means necessary to support them. This thesis provides an in-depth analysis of the networks that are structurally supported by Americans for the Arts to understand the structural needs of a sustainable collaborative network. This includes having a backbone structure of support for administrative tasks to the network, allowing involvement for leadership, and creating an evaluation system. Through interviews with both AFTA Staff and network leadership, this case study analyzes the network structure in place well as presents barriers for participation that exist within the cultural field based on member feedback. Suggestions for future research emphasize the creation of an evaluation process for such culture-based collaborative relationships as well as analyzing different network structures over time for their effectiveness.M.S., Arts Administration -- Drexel University, 201
Interweaving Narrative and Gameplay to Cultivate Empathy for Anxiety and Depression
No full textMono no Aware, a single-player narrative-driven game, was developed to generate empathy for the mental and physical effects of anxiety and depression. Utilizing narrative, aesthetics, and design, the game’s core loop describes the experience of having anxiety and depression, while introducing common process therapy techniques as coping strategies. In this game, we developed a unique game mechanic of rewiring the brain as a way to mesh both narrative and gameplay together.M.S., Digital Media -- Drexel University, 201
A Mixed Methods Case Study: Exploring Teacher and Principal Perceptions about Effective Principal Leadership Behaviors that Influence Student Academic Achievement in Philadelphia Area High Schools
No full textIn the Philadelphia area, there are too many high schools where students are not making adequate academic progress, as measured by the Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System (PVAAS). As a result of this insufficient academic progress, there are many young adults lacking the minimal skills necessary to enroll in college or to enter into the workforce. The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to explore principal leadership behaviors and characteristics, and the extent in which they contribute to the achievement of students in urban high schools within the Philadelphia region. In every institution of learning, the overarching goal should be centered on providing students the necessary skills to assist them in growing academically, as well as socially. Principals as the leaders, of K-12 buildings, play an important role in ensuring that students receive the best education possible, while also maintaining and creating a safe environment for students and staff members. The research question for this investigational study was: What is the relationship between principal leadership behaviors and high school student achievement in urban districts within the Philadelphia area? The researcher used the following sub-questions to provide answers to the overarching question: (1) What leadership behaviors do teacher respondents perceive as positively impacting student achievement in urban high schools; (2) What leadership behaviors do principal respondents perceive as positively impacting student achievement in urban high schools; (3) How do principals describe the direct effects of their leadership behaviors on urban high school student achievement; and (4) How do principals describe the indirect effects of their leadership behaviors on urban high school student achievement? At two high schools in the Philadelphia region, 27 teachers and two principals participated in this mixed methods study. The high school teachers completed a survey using the well-known and validated Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS), designed for teachers by Dr. Philip Hallinger. The two principal participants took part in a semi-structured interview and completed the PIMRS survey designed for school leaders. The semi-formal interviews, scheduled for 30 minutes, were recorded using two digital devices and transcriptions were electronically and manually completed. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to interpret and analyze quantitative data while InVivo and hand coding was used for qualitative data analysis. From the analysis of the qualitative data, three major themes emerged for principal behaviors: (a) data collection and analysis is essential, (b) curriculum and instruction must be monitored and (c) school culture is a factor. This study may inform current and future school leaders on the leadership behaviors essential to improving academic achievement. Considerations for further research in the area of principal leadership are offered.Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Management -- Drexel University, 201
Exploring the Experience of Instructor and First-Year Student Creative Self-Efficacy in a Higher Education Institution's Multi-Disciplinary Creativity Curriculum: A Phenomenological Study
No full textThis phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of three instructors and three first-year students in a multi-disciplinary creativity curriculum at a single HEI. In addition, the study explored the creative self-efficacy (CSE) of instructor and student participants, to provide further understanding of the relationship between creativity curriculum and CSE, given the importance of CSE on creative production. Creativity's importance is often mentioned in 21st Century education; it is also regarded as a necessary skill in industry. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have a key role in designing and implementing curricula that imbue students with a level of creative self-efficacy that can solve the societal challenges of the future. As HEIs continue to develop curricula related to creativity, understanding the experience of primary stakeholders, i.e., instructors and first-year students, within the creativity learning environment, remains elusive. Emerging themes identified similar and dissimilar experiences related to experiencing creativity, accomplishing the curriculum course learning goals, and understanding CSE. Results and conclusions of this study demonstrated that there is tight alignment of instructors' domain of expertise and their view of creativity. For students, any alignment with their related academic interests was negligible. For both participant groups, there were differing views on the role of the instructors, course expectations within the learning environment, and inherent constraints related to creativity, risk-taking, resilience, and assessment. These results led to a series of recommendations related to course design and assessment, as well as future contributions to creativity literature by additional research in the area of CSE and creativity curriculum. Keywords: creative self-efficacy, creativity, creativity curriculum, first-year students, multi-disciplinary, problem solvingEd.D., Educational Leadership and Management -- Drexel University, 201