This study assesses the role a teacher-led social studies group played in the evolution of three teachers' professional biographies over the course of seven years. It uses a conceptual framework based on Priestley, Biesta and Robinson's (2015) theory of teacher agency to explore the ecological relationships between professional biography, the…

This mixed-methods case study explores the establishment, change, and sustainability of grading practices among high school teachers. Through Q-methodology, this study investigates teachers' perspectives on grading, their motivations for adopting alternative practices, and the challenges they face in implementation. The study's findings reveal…

Educational policy in the United States in the past decade has focused on eliminating the achievement gap by establishing legislation orienting educators toward research-based evidence and increased accountability at all levels of the system (Daly, Liou et al., 2014). Educational leaders play an important role in initiating and maintaining change,…

Schools and districts face continuing pressure to implement educational reforms that will bring about improved academic outcomes for all students. Successfully implementing these needed reforms requires individual administrators to distribute leadership activities throughout the network of leaders present at the site and district level, more…

This dissertation brings together two research strands that study: (a) the ways in which physics and STEM students contribute to growing capacity for institutional change within collaborative teams and (b) the support structures of graduate programs through an innovative methodology grounded in network science. The first research strand is…

Higher music education presents a unique opportunity to examine change within higher education due to the digital revolution in the music industry over the past two decades. The purpose for conducting this study was to describe, map, and explain the strategies that higher music education programs are using to adapt to the digital revolution in the…

The purpose of this study is to create a model of tertiary vocational education in Kenya. Despite considerable progress in Kenya over the last 20 years, current education models, low attendance, and low academic proficiency levels preclude many vulnerable learners from becoming employable. Utilizing semi structured interviews of eight Kenyan…

This study examines the internal and external networking strategies of leaders furthering potentially disruptive innovations in higher education. The goal of the research was to understand specifically what types of networks they develop, activate, and leverage; the functions of those networks; and the ways they engage them to further their…

Opportunities for deep, sustained organizational change exist when teachers are included in the conception and implementation of the reform model. Yet top down, hierarchical systems push teachers farther away from this process instead of drawing them closer. Leaning on theoretical frameworks that indicate that teachers build collective…

States seek college and university consolidations or mergers to facilitate greater efficiency and fiscal responsibility among their public, post-secondary educational institutions. However, differing cultures between institutions can lead to conflict, controversy, and ultimate failures in such institutional consolidations (Ribando & Evans,…

The year 2014 has been described by scholars as transformative in how consumers interact with technology and media. Pointing to such digital milestones as the explosion of social media and mobile technology and the decline of traditional television ratings, these scholars have described the evolution as a move from a "broadcast era" to a…

This dissertation addresses three separate questions in human capital and development economics. In the first chapter, I study how college admission concerns drive students' field choices in a field-specific college admission system. To study this question, I leverage a college admission policy reform in Ethiopia that sharply increased the…

The purpose of this study was to gain an essence and understanding of the phenomenon of leadership turnaround through the qualitative lenses of principals who have experienced the change. Research questions included the intrapersonal, environmental, and contextual factors related to leadership turnaround. Principals matching the criteria…

This mixed methods study used self-administered questionnaires ( N=132) and in-depth interviews (n=10) with Pakistani women ages (18-25 years) in Punjab, Pakistan, to determine how the role of schools of thought, reform of educational opportunities, and higher education in particularly affected women's empowerment. Community collaboration and…

The present study investigated the district-wide characteristics of relational ties among a sample of K-12 teachers implementing the Common Core comprehensive education reform. This study addressed deficits in current scholarly understanding of the social influences in schools that impact delivery of educational reform efforts such as the Common…