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Transforming to 21st Century Learning Environments: Best Practices Revealed through a Study of Exemplar Schools
No full textABSTRACT
Transforming to 21st Century Learning Environments: Best Practices Revealed through a Study of Exemplar Schools
by Kelly Wilbert
As the world’s economy shifted from the Industrial age to the Knowledge age, the prerequisites of current and future careers also transformed. Trends revealed that students in school now are preparing for jobs that do not currently exist. Investigating strategies to meet the challenge of transforming instructional practices was a focus of this research. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to identify and describe best practices used at elementary schools in California recognized as exemplary by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning. To support the essential research question, what are the best practices used in identified exemplary schools, data were collected from two identified exemplar elementary schools in the state of California through interviews, observations, and artifacts
Exploring the Lived Experiences of Exemplary National Blue Ribbon Elementary School Teachers in Improving Student Learning Through Effective Coaching Conversations With Their Principals: A Phenomenological Study
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this study was to discover and describe how exemplary National Blue Ribbon Elementary School teachers improve student learning through effective coaching conversations with their principals. A second purpose was to explore the barriers they encountered to holding these conversations and actions they took to overcome barriers. The theoretical framework for this study was grounded in Lev Vygotsky’s sociohistorical viewpoints of development which relies on social interaction as an ingredient in the process of learning.
Methodology: This study employed a qualitative methodology utilizing in-depth and semi-structured interviews of 12 participants. Participants were identified in collaboration with the participants in a related thematic study. The researcher collected and coded data collected via the interviews. The interview protocol was directly correlated to the research questions for this study.
Findings: Examination of data indicated an assortment of findings. Participants identified nine major themes for how they develop coaching conversations with their principals. Four major barriers were identified, along with additional actions taken to overcome these barriers. The most common findings were relative to trust, collaboration, and communication.
Conclusions: Conclusions included actions that should be taken by both principals and teachers in order to foster relationships and school cultures that result in coaching conversations focused on student learning. Participants in this study preferred engaging in coaching conversations to improve student learning as opposed to more formal evaluations.
Recommendations: Eleven areas of further research were recommended to expand the body of literature based on the findings and conclusions of this study
Exploring the Perceptions of Leadership and the Effect on Employee Engagement
No full textThe quantitative study examined the perception of leadership and its impact on employee engagement. The study focused on several key areas related to leadership and engagement. A theoretical background on leadership and employee engagement were presented, along with the problem and purpose of the study. A discussion of the significance and inclusive value, questions related to perceptions of leadership and engagement, an assessment of the significance of the problem, and a walk-through the anticipated methodology were also provided. The study used the Transformational Leadership Skills Inventory (TLSi) to gather data related to how leaders perceive their own leadership skills and how employees perceive their leaders’ leadership skills, as well as the Employee Engagement Survey to collect data on employee workplace sentiment. Data was analyzed, determining that a significant difference existed between the leaders’ self-perception and employees’ perception of their leaders’ leadership skills. Furthermore, the analysis reported that a correlation existed between employees’ ratings of leaders and employees’ ratings of their own engagement
Going from Breakdown to Breakthrough: Human Resource Professional\u27s Perspective of Conflict in K-12 Public Education
No full textThis study was conducted independently, but in collaboration with a team of peer-researchers who came together to study the lived experience of exemplar leaders in diverse organizations as they transformed conflict to reach common ground. This study contributed to the collective work by looking at K-12 Human Resource Officers (HROs) as the population of interest. HROs are often at the center of resolving conflict, yet only a few emerge as exemplar leaders. These exemplar leaders were the target population situated in the phenomena under investigations. The team selected a qualitative phenomenological approach, in an attempt to uncover what strategies exemplar leaders used to transform conflict to find common ground using the six domains of conflict transformation behaviors: collaboration, communication, emotional intelligence, ethics, processes, and problem-solving. Evidence showed that exemplar leaders tended to integrate these domains, rather than using them separately, for a more powerful impact in transforming conflict and finding common ground. Interviews, observations, and artifact data identified shared practices and behaviors to represent a more powerful repertoire of conflict transformation skills
Understanding Millennial, Generation X, and Baby Boomer Preferred Leadership Characteristics: Informing Today’s Leaders and Followers
No full textPurpose. This quantitative study’s purpose was to describe and determine the degree of difference and importance of leadership characteristics as perceived by Baby Boom, Generation X, and Millennial generational cohort followers in STEM-related U.S.-based or headquartered aerospace and computer organizations as measured by the Multigenerational Leadership Characteristics Questionnaire (MLCQ).
Methodology. This was a cross-sectional, nonexperimental, comparative and correlational quantitative, ex post facto study. A web-based MLCQ was developed after conducting an academic literature review. Participants used a 6-point Likert scale identifying the importance of 30 characteristics with 2 aggregation questions identifying the most and least important characteristics; 408 members of 13 aerospace and computer organizations located throughout the United States served as a sample STEM organization population, exceeding the required 384 for a 95% confidence level at p ≤ 0.05. Survey access was negotiated with each organization. MegaStat and Qualtrics analyzed the data. Descriptive statistics including mean, standard deviation, and percentages determined characteristic importance within each generation. Inferential statistics were used to identify significant differences between generational pairings with a One-Way ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD to determine pairing applicability.
Findings. Unique generational leadership characteristic preferences and priorities including cohort identities were discovered. Generational similarities and differences were identified. Tukey\u27s HSD determined significant differences for 4 generational pairings related to mentoring, ethics, leading by example, and innovation. A holistic analysis of data and research indicated additional characteristic differences and potential multigenerational trends regarding ethics, innovation, work focus, and feedback.
Conclusions. Leaders must lead from the front with a bold vision and recognize generational differences and similarities. They must drive organizational change balancing independent and individual constructs. Disturbing follower trends of the preference for fewer new ideas and lower ethical standards must be reversed or the United States risks losing its lead in STEM fields.
Recommendations. Continued research must include longitudinal studies into generational differences emphasizing other industries, cultures, and identifying multigenerational trends. Expanded research is recommended to determine motivators and other variables impacting characteristic preferences. Furthermore, inclusion of the iGeneration is vital. Finally, determine if generational difference-aware leaders are more or less effective and if they develop higher performing teams
The Relationship of Communication Styles of Millennial Employees with the Communication Satisfaction and Perceptions of Communicator Competence of Their Supervisors
No full textEach generation in the workplace shares characteristics that distinguish them from the generations before them. These differences in personality, behavior, and attitudes can result in intergenerational conflict, and these dynamics were identified by researchers when describing the interaction between young Millennial workers and their supervisors of the older generations. However, research did not explicitly test if these differences extend to the different communication styles that people exhibited in their verbal interactions. One such communication style paradigm, the Mok’s Communication Styles Survey (MCSS), describes the actual communication style of an individual, and was used to see if Millennials communicated differently than their supervisors. The purpose of this study was to administer the MCSS to determine the communication style of Millennial employees working in professional service organizations. Also, the study investigated the relationship between the Millennials’ communication styles and their communication satisfaction with their supervisors, and the perceived communicator competence of their supervisors as determined by the Interpersonal Communication Satisfaction Inventory (ICSI) and the Communicator Competence Questionnaire (CCQ), respectively
Exploring the Lived Experiences of Exemplary National Blue Ribbon Elementary School Principals in Improving Student Learning Through Effective Coaching Conversations With Their Teachers: A Phenomenological Study
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this study was to discover and describe how exemplary National Blue Ribbon elementary school principals improve student learning through effective coaching conversations with their teachers. A second purpose was to explore the barriers they encountered to holding these conversations and the actions to overcome these barriers.
Methodology: This study utilized a phenomenological design. The primary source of data collection was a standardized open-ended interviews. Using inductive analysis, the data were coded and themes were identified that aligned to the research questions.
Findings: Data analysis revealed that exemplary National Blue Ribbon elementary school principals used coaching conversations to improve student learning. Participants identified using powerful questioning, building trusting relationships, being close to teaching and learning, listening, providing specific feedback that promotes action and assuming the teacher is a professional as ways they develop coaching conversations with teachers. Four barriers to holding coaching conversations were identified. Additionally, the following were identified as actions to overcome the barriers: honesty, increasing support, positive reinforcement, scheduling time on calendar to engage in coaching conversations, and peer pressure.
Conclusions: The researcher concluded that effective coaching conversations improve student learning as they experience better relationships with their teachers that can serve as a catalyst to transform a school culture focused on growth for all stakeholders. Principals who were able to identify and address barriers to coaching conversations improved the overall teaching quality at their schools.
Recommendations: Seven areas of further research were recommended to increase the body of knowledge related to these variables
A Mixed-Methods Study Examining Effective Practices for Increasing Secondary Student Enrollment in Career and Technology Education Courses
No full textABSTRACT
A Mixed-Methods Study Examining Effective Practices for Increasing Secondary Student Enrollment in Career and Technology Education Courses
by Richard Radcliffe
The purpose of this exploratory mixed-methods study was to discover and explore the factors that encouraged and discouraged enrollment in Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways at California comprehensive high schools. In addition, this study examined the recruitment methods used by CTE pathways and sought to determine which ones were most beneficial. A sample of district CTE administrators from Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties were interviewed to develop the initial findings of this study, and then upon completion of the interviews, the same administrators were asked to complete a survey ranking the themes that emerged from the interviews. The results of this study could be used by CTE administrators throughout California to guide the recruitment practices used by the CTE pathways within their districts. The findings from this study identified factors that were most likely to discourage and encourage enrollment in the CTE programs of study as well as the CTE recruitment methods that were considered most beneficial. Further research is recommended regarding the negative stigma associated with CTE, the impact of the instructor on recruitment, CTE alignment with academics, the impact of CTSO participation, alignment with higher education, the value of CTE teaching experience for CTE administrators, and the appropriateness of career exploration versus career training for high school students at a comprehensive high school
Recruiting Best Practices in Prospecting: Developing the Skills Necessary to Recruit an All-Volunteer Army—A Delphi Study.
No full textPurpose. It was the purpose of this Delphi study to discover what the best practices are for implementing telephone, virtual, face-to-face, and referral prospecting, as reported by an expert panel of Army Recruiters when targeting 17-24 year olds.
Methodology. This Policy Delphi study was accomplished in three sequential rounds, with 19 homogeneous expert participants whose mode of operation is remote, anonymous, and computerized. The rounds explored a complex recruiting process through the lens of expert Army Recruiters. The process of discovery, consensus, and implementation identified: (a) planning practices, (b) lead sources, (c) establishing rapport, (d) identify goals/needs/interests, (e) overcome assumptions, (f) engendering a commitment, and (g) overcoming barriers best practices.
Findings. No single dominant prospecting best practice method was identified all seven areas of prospecting. The most cumulative consensus best practice coded responses involved telephone and face-to-face prospecting methods. Many coded best practice responses crossed into multiple methods. The discovery, consensus, and implementation process identified homogenous themes as constant best practices such as active listening, asking open-ended, fact-finding purposeful questions, identifying solutions to a need, and product knowledge.
Conclusions. The Delphi best practice research of real experience, historical successes and literature support that the recruiters who have social awareness and are able to manage relationships by sharing a common experience with the prospect, ask open-ended fact finding questions, empathetic listening, restate answers, communicate the Army benefits that can help the prospect achieve their goals, and provide information about the modern Army are using best practices for engendering a commitment in prospecting will be more efficient in making recruiting mission.
Recommendations. Further research is advised to add to the scientific rigor of best practice theory. Conduct a quantitative study to obtain macro results and a qualitative study for micro results and compare best practice results. Investigate the outlying best practice response results to reduce the risk of a flawed consensus. Replicate best practice research methodology to identify and describe other critical recruiting areas of emphasis (i.e., interviewing, processing, and leading future soldiers) in the Army and in other branches of service, allied services, industry and in education
From the Voices of California Female High School Principals: Examining Barriers and Support Systems in a New Era of Educational Reform Through the Lens of Activity Theory
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceived barriers and support systems female high school principals experienced, through the lens of activity theory, while attaining and serving in their current position during the newest era of educational reform in a specific geographical region.
Methodology: Semistructured interviews were conducted with current female high school principals to gather data on the barriers and support systems they experienced. The theoretical framework of activity theory was used to analyze the subjects’ interaction with their environment as they sought the outcome of becoming and serving as high school principals.
Findings: Women who serve in the position of high school principal face a unique and complex set of tensions as defined by activity theory.
Conclusions: Hiring of more male principals than female principals results in a perceived barrier for aspiring female high school principals. Community provides the greatest support system for aspiring and serving female high school principals. The interaction of female high school principals, whether during the time of attaining their position or while serving in their position, with their environment as defined by activity theory creates both barriers and supports that result in a complex web of tensions that are unique to the female experience. Most women felt the most support while attaining their positions. Finally, gender role theory continues to play a part in the perception of the high school principalship as a masculine endeavor.
Recommendations: Future research should be conducted on formal female-to-female support groups throughout California, the success of women principals who engage in the support structures available through structured leadership styles, the lived experiences and perceived barriers and support systems of male high school principals, perceived barriers and support systems of female elementary and/or middle school principals, behaviors that combat the perceived gender role discrepancy between female and male high school principals, the role of athletic coaching experience in the hiring of high school principals, the motivations that lead women to the high school principal position, the “unspoken” rules pertaining to the high school principal position, and the perception of personal power in regard to the high school principal position