732 research outputs found
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Community College Library Personnel Value Conflicts with Library Services that Target and Track Segments of Student Populations
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this study was to identify and describe potential value conflicts and operational concerns perceived by community college library personnel who participated in the development and implementation of newly formed partnerships between academic libraries and student services to build equity-focused student success programs enacted by the California legislature through categorical funding. An additional purpose of this study was to identify and describe actions necessary for the successful implementation of these partnerships.
Methodology: The target population was California community college library personnel who were directly involved in the new library-student equity partnerships. A total of 15 participants from 10 colleges were identified through purposeful sampling. Data was gathered through a semi-structured interview instrument.
Findings: The findings of this study indicated value conflicts in patron privacy, equal access to materials, and the use of restricted funding for library operations that influenced partnership formation. Operational and logistical challenges encountered by the partners were identified, as were strategies taken to mitigate those challenges. The study indicated that library personnel felt the partnerships had a positive impact on student success and helped integrate libraries into institutional priorities that advance student equity.
Conclusions: The researcher concluded that academic library personnel will be challenged to explore ways to fit deeply-ingrained library values into educational assessment activities as libraries participate in integrated student success initiatives. Library personnel who are partners in institutional initiatives require an expanded role in the decision-making process for resource allocation to ensure the successful development of specialized, categorically funded programs.
Recommendations: Recommended areas of further research included exploration of ways libraries can contribute to outcomes-oriented programs while maintaining guiding principles of privacy and equal access. Research into the unintended consequences of reliance on narrowly-defined categorical funding sources should also be explored. As libraries continue to expand their role in integrated academic support, there is also need to explore user perceptions of the academic library experience in order to continuously develop and provide essential user-centered library services
How Exemplary Urban Superintendents Build Trust With and Between School Board Members
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was to identify and describe what strategies exemplary urban superintendents perceive as most important to build trust with school board members using the 5 domains of competence, consistency, concern, candor, and connection. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to identify and describe strategies exemplary urban superintendents perceive as most important to build trust between board members.
Methodology: In this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, surveys and interviews were used to secure data from exemplary superintendents to identify, emphasize, and highlight the strategies they used to build trust with and between school board members. While the surveys enabled the researcher to identify strategies, interviews were used to acquire a deeper understanding of the superintendent’s perspective on how to build trust with and between school board members.
Findings: The exemplary urban superintendents surveyed and interviewed for this research study emphasized the importance of the behaviors related to the 5 domains of competence, consistency, concern, candor, and connection when building trust with and between school board members. The exemplary urban superintendents also illustrated the importance of communication, establishing relationships, developing a rapport, and governance training when building trust with and between school members.
Conclusions: By identifying and describing the strategies exemplary urban superintendents use to build trust with and between school board members through the 5 domains of competence, consistency, concern, candor, and connection, superintendents, school board members and those aspiring to fill those roles can develop best practice protocols to strengthen their respective organization.
Recommendations: Further research is recommended, which will broaden, expand, and strengthen this study by replicating the study with a broader population, identifying strategies to restore trust once it has been compromised, identifying essential trust strategies by gender, and examining communication in greater depths
Academic Achievement and Participation in Out-of-School Educational Robotics Competitions for High School Latino/a Students in Southern California
No full textPurpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in academic performance in mathematics as measured by class grades between high school Latino/a students in Southern California who participated two consecutive years in robotics competitions and high school Latino/a students who did not participate. A secondary purpose was to examine the difference in mathematics academic performance between Latino and Latina students who participated in robotics competitions. A third and final purpose was to describe the experiences of Latino/a college students who participated in robotics competitions and how those experiences influenced their interest in pursuing a STEM college degree.
Methodology. This study used a mixed-methods ex post facto research design. The quantitative portion of the study involved retrieving archival student data that involved eight high schools from a Southern California secondary school district. The qualitative portion of the study included face-to-face interviews with seven Latino/a college students who participated in robotics competitions. These students were also part of the quantitative dataset.
Findings. The quantitative findings resulted in no significant statistical differences in mathematics performance between Latino/a students who participated and Latino/a students who did not participate in robotics competitions. There were also no significant statistical differences between male and female students who participated. The qualitative findings indicated that mathematics achievement of Latino/a students who participated in robotics competitions was high. Students credited their robotics experiences for achieving at a high level in mathematics. Students described that these experiences had a significant influence on their interests in pursuing STEM college degrees. Students responded that equal opportunity should be offered to all students to participate in robotics regardless of their academic levels.
Conclusions. Participation in robotics competitions can influence Latino/a students to achieve at a high level in mathematics and to pursue STEM college degrees. Latino students did not have a significant higher mathematics performance than Latina students who participated in robotics competitions.
Recommendations. Future research on the influence of robotics on grades should be conducted considering a larger student population across several high school districts to include an analysis of ethnicities, gender, grade levels, and specific academic courses including science
The Impact of Male Gender Dissonance on Women’s Potential Eligibility for Advancement to K-12 Public School Superintendent
No full textPurpose:The purpose of this phenomenological replication study was to discover what behaviors female administrators exhibit that may prompt male administrators with whom they work with in California public educationto demonstrate behaviors associated with gender dissonanceand to discover any impact these dissonant behaviors may have on women’s potential eligibility for advancement to the position of K-12 school superintendent.
Methodology:This qualitative phenomenological replication study explored the experiences of seven female and seven male K-12 public school superintendents in Orange, San Diego, and Riverside Counties in California. Respondents were selected based on delimiting criteria and a purposive criterion sampling method. Interview questions and protocols were performed based on the original study conducted by Dr. Ryder in 1998. An expert panel was assembled to evaluate the four interview questions and probes and field testing was conducted to further obtain feedback on the instrument and process. Face-to face interviews were conducted to collect data and software coded emergent themes aligned with the conceptual areas.
Findings:Examination of qualitative data was aligned to the four conceptual areas: role confusion, communication differences, cultural differences, and women’s personal power. Findings show that females display specific behaviors associated with gender dissonance that cause men to exhibit dissonant behaviors. The majority of the participants felt that behaviors associated with gender dissonance impact eligibility for advancement to the position of K-12 public school superintendent.
Conclusions: The study concluded that women need to gain confidence in order to move to higher leadership positions. Women need to be aware that their dress can cause dissonance. Women need to mentor/sponsor each other. Women need to display decisive decision-making abilities in leadership. Women are expected to meet all responsibilities both personally and professional. The #MeToo movement has impacted how men and women interact in educational administration. Emotions exhibited by females in the workplace need to be controlled. The good ol’ boys club continues to be prevalent in educational administration. Finally, men and women need to be aware of behaviors that prompt gender dissonance.
Recommendations: Eight areas of further research were recommended to enhance the literature, including replication studies with different populations