Dance programs in higher education have become progressively interested in establishing community-campus partnerships as a means of minimizing the research to practice gap, leveraging resources, and supporting community progress. Limited research has been published on the best practices and types of relationships that exist between leaders who…

Since the founding of the United States, scholars and policymakers have argued that education should not merely train the minds of students, but also prepare them for active participation in a democratic republic. This dissertation, divided into three chapters, studies the leaders, schools, and content that shape students' character. While…

This study sought to identify predictive relationships between the Catholic school superintendent's life experiences, faith practices, and leadership attributes and their perceived capacity to deliver faith leadership and mission leadership. Life experiences include superintendents' religious formation, work experience, and leadership preparation.…

A wave of presidential transitions is expected in higher education within the next several years (ACE, 2017). While the transition of a president can be a monumental and celebrated occasion for a college or university, it is many times accompanied by work disruptions, job uncertainty, and turnover of senior administrators (Overend, 2011; Smerek,…

Leadership development is an essential practice for aspiring leaders. If leaders are to perform at their best, and position themselves for future growth opportunities, the development of change leadership skills is essential. This study explores the knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs of aspiring community college leaders at the Great…

This study's purpose was to generate a context-specific analysis and description of the inclusion process at a Midwestern university, and how leaders make sense of said process. The participants in this study are members of an inclusion training program; these participants represent the perspective of stakeholders as well as designated leadership…

This dissertation-in-practice investigated which leadership behaviors school principal supervisors perceived most important for principals to facilitate exemplary classroom instruction. Furthermore, the study identified what principal supervisors perceived is needed to develop a training to improve instructional leadership skills for principals to…

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and other healthcare professional education programs have been charged with developing a culturally competent healthcare workforce in order to better meet the needs of diverse communities and reduce health inequities. The purpose of this quantitative, longitudinal, quasi-experimental educational intervention…

This problem solution narrative inquiry explored how expectancy-value theory impacts teachers' decisions during dialogic discussions. This paper delved into challenging moments teachers faced during dialogic discussion implementation. The purpose was to use this data to better inform the development of teacher-centered and more supportive…

This qualitative case study was an examination of the perspectives, beliefs, and experiences of rural reservation elementary teachers' implementation of and professional development with a multitiered system of support (MTSS) framework as it relates to reading and collective teacher efficacy. Teacher participants experienced adherence to the…

Although there are federal regulations requiring gifted education, the implementation and fidelity with which these programs are implemented are varied and often incomplete. This study explored the impact grading systems have on the implementation of gifted programming standards by comparing teacher perception data between schools with traditional…

The global dimensions of knowledge production have shaped internationalization which has greatly impacted U.S higher education. The transformation of higher education heavily influenced by neoliberal globalization, massification, and marketization have diminished the core tripartite mission of the university in teaching, research, and service to…

A national preschool company is using the Ascend Curriculum to help prepare students for kindergarten. Yet the curriculum currently has no school readiness outcome data. Because of curricula's critical role, schools should investigate their curriculum's effect upon students' outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was…

Food routines play a special role in Latino families. Using a cluster randomized trial with 248 children (M age = 67 months) from 13 schools, this study investigated the impact of a four-week family program designed to capitalize on food routines in improving Latino kindergarteners' outcomes in the U.S. There were moderate-to-large impacts on…

This conceptual paper proposes an acknowledgement & forgiveness dialectic as a core foundation to faculty development of inclusive teaching. With increasing diversity across United States' university campuses and an increasingly tense sociopolitical climate, there are renewed calls for racial justice and equity pedagogies on college campuses.…