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Fullerton
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Department of Educational Leadership
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- Creator:
- Wang, Lynn Ji-lin
- Description:
- This study was an exploratory qualitative study examining the experiences of front-line student affairs professionals in admissions, financial aid, and Dream Resource Centers and their dilemmas in interpreting and implementing AB 540/AB 2000. Study participants shared their narratives on how they navigated through difficult conversations, irate students, institutional polices, and state legislation. Many times, front-line professionals in admissions, financial aid, and Dream Resource Centers are the first and only people who interact with undocumented students prior to the first day of class. Front-line professionals may be the make-it or break-it persons for undocumented students to realize their dreams of attaining post-secondary education. These professionals utilized their knowledge, resources, and networks to help students navigate the collegegoing process; however, campus policies and state and federal laws, departmental silos, lack of professional development, resources, guidance, personal experiences, and knowledge of the Dreamers population dictated the capacity to which they could help. With the delay in receiving guidance from management and institutions and the demand to serve a large number of students, front-line admissions and financial aid professionals found it difficult to exercise self-discretion, which resulted in diminished levels of care and attention.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Fullerton
- Department:
- Department of Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Udealor, Sonna A
- Description:
- The purpose of this study was to describe teacher perspectives on reading instruction within professional development. The major premise is that teacher input should be utilized to improve and shape specialized professional development. This research seeks to contribute to 21st century reforms for the advancement of teacher practice in the core academic area of reading. It illuminates the need for schools to build a culture of collaborative, targeted, organized, and prescriptive professional development for reading instruction within school communities that will improve teaching and learning in all school sites.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Fullerton
- Department:
- Department of Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Griffin, April
- Description:
- The purpose of this sequential exploratory mixed methods study was to assist employers, the local economies, and California Community Colleges in identifying and defining what communication skills are necessary to be successful in a middle-skill level position. a Likert-type scale survey and focus group responses were used to determine what skills are important to middle-skill level employers, managers, and/or supervisors. Participants identified (a) communicating information effectively, (b) listening thoughtfully and carefully, and (c) communicating effectively in stressful situations as most important to job success. Focus group responses provided comprehensive definitions including the types of communication used, the nonverbal components, and the organizational influence on communication. the definitions can be used to assist in the creation and revision of communication course curriculum to better reflect the needs of a student population who may not necessarily complete a degree. Further, these findings will help California Community Colleges meet the needs of the local economy in regard to communication skills. These findings reinforce the mission and vision of California Community Colleges. Additionally, these findings argue that community colleges should look beyond completion as a measurement for success and instead look back to the California Master Plan to meet the needs of all students entering the California Community Colleges.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Fullerton
- Department:
- Department of Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Wolzinger, Renah
- Description:
- The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) program in CTE areas, and identify the ways a CTE pathway contributes to transfer readiness in the California community colleges. the study sought to inform practitioners on student equity associated with ADTs in a CTE area, and the impact to CTE students in their ability to transfer in their area of interest. to see whether underrepresented students are proportionally enrolled in pathways that lead to transfer readiness and that lead to timely transfer readiness, a chi-square analysis was conducted. the pathways in order of strongest effect of underrepresented students enrolling at a higher rate than expected were Public and Protective Services, Engineering and Industrial Technology, Family and Consumer Science, and Education. the pathways in order of strongest effect of underrepresented students enrolling at a lower rate than expected were Business Management, Health, Information Technology, and Agriculture. the study found that underrepresented students are overrepresented in pathways that do not lead to transfer readiness. There is a lack of adequate pathways for CTE students to prepare for transfer to the California State University system. the CTE pathways include a high number of underrepresented students, compounding the problem of equity in current transfer policy.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Fullerton
- Department:
- Department of Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Ehrle, Diane
- Description:
- Quality early education and kindergarten readiness are now nationally recognized as indicators of future success. A growing body of research links quality preschool education to lifelong benefits, including greater likelihood of high school graduation, higher educational attainment, greater contribution to the community at large, and lower impact on social services, government healthcare programs, and the justice system. In order to equitably prepare preschool students for 21st-century learning at the elementary level and beyond, preschool teachers must be provided with highly effective, continuous, professional learning opportunities. Research related to what constitutes highly effective in-service professional supports for preschool educators is very limited. Preschool programs now have state and federal funds available to support research-based in-service professional learning, but educational leaders struggle with the decision of which professional learning supports will most effectively impact instructional quality. The problem that this mixed methods study addressed was identifying an effective approach to support preschool teachers in meeting increased demand for content knowledge and instructional expertise to enhance the quality of the preschool experience for our youngest learners. Quantitative and qualitative results showed that the professional learning system approach implemented in Orange County, California, which included instructional coaching coupled with Professional Learning Community implementation over the course of the 2015–2016 school year statistically increased teacher efficacy in instructional strategies and classroom management and the ability of teachers to engage students. A teachers’ self-efficacy survey and interview results indicated that, as a result of participating in the professional learning system, teachers demonstrate a greater ability to provide instructional and behavior supports to struggling students, to accurately assess and use data to drive student learning, and to provide individualized learning opportunities.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Fullerton
- Department:
- Department of Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Lopez, George
- Description:
- The purpose of this qualitative case study was to analyze the impact of a middle school principal’s leadership on school culture. Working within an emerging conceptual framework, this study was grounded in four broad concepts: (a) school culture, (b) principal’s impact, (c) impacts of school culture; and (d) subcultures within school culture. the study took place at one middle school located in Southern California that was deemed negative based on teachers’, students’, and parents’ experiences. the study illuminated that the principal’s leadership was not the sole responsibility in the transformation of a negative school culture to a positive school culture. Data collection and analysis of interviews, observations, and document reviews yields other emerging themes, such as the role of teachers, parents, students, and subcultures contributing factors that either stifled or allowed the transformation of a negative school culture to a positive school culture. the study offers insight and foresight for practitioners, policymakers, doctoral students, and future researchers to learn how to transform a negative school culture to a positive school culture.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Fullerton
- Department:
- Department of Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Valdez, Vidal
- Description:
- The purpose of this study was to explore distributed leadership and how leadership practices are actualized in three selected schools in Southern California. This qualitative, multiple case study used survey research and interviews to assess how distributed leadership was practiced in three selected elementary schools located within one school district in Southern California. The major findings of this study are (a) teacher leadership emerges from principal leadership and influences the way distributed leadership is practiced and experienced, (b) teachers view their school as a decentralized model as opposed to a distributed model, and (c) teacher leadership is the outcome of multiple leaders needed. I collected survey data and interview data to explore, analyze, and triangulate, and my research method consisted of open coding, specifically breaking concepts, the interview data, and the survey data into categories, pieces, chunks, and dimensions to create “building blocks of theory” to lead to the major themes. The findings from this study can guide educational leaders to increase, spread, and develop leadership systems at the elementary school level.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Fullerton
- Department:
- Department of Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Whelan, Garrett C.
- Description:
- Women are underrepresented in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) from high school to college and into employment. as these are the fastest growing and highest paying fields of the economy this means women are missing the large economic benefits. While there has been a great deal of research into female STEM students at university, there has been almost none examining female STEM students at community colleges. the purpose of this qualitative case study explored the perceptions, experiences, and values of students, staff, and faculty involved in a program to improve the success and retention of female students in STEM at a community college in southern California. for this study one administrator, 5 faculty members, 1 staff member, and 13 students involved with the Women in Technology program at El Camino College participated in hour long, semi-structured interviews. the following five thematic categories emerged from those interviews: (a) choosing STEM, (b) peers and community, (c) barriers to success, (d) cultural issues, (e) the challenge of STEM, and (f) what a successful program looks like. the dissertation includes recommendations for policy, practice, and future research based upon the themes within those categories.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Fullerton
- Department:
- Department of Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Yang, Joyce Lee
- Description:
- Work-life balance is a challenge for principals to navigate as the ever-increasing responsibilities of the role as principal requires more time. Because time is limited, achieving balance between principals’ workloads and home responsibilities can cause a significant amount of stress. Often, women principals face additional challenges because of childcare and household responsibilities. to support principals in their practice and encourage them to enter and persist in the role, better policies and practices should be implemented at the district level. by providing more site level staffing support, fostering a culture where WLB is valued, releasing principals from non-essential meetings and obligations, and training principals to prioritize tasks, districts can help mitigate the stress and conflict principals experience due to the challenges of WLB.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Fullerton
- Department:
- Department of Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Jones, Gabriella
- Description:
- Juveniles who commit offences in the U.S. may be mandated to attend school in alternative correctional facilities. Although there are mixed findings in research focusing on general educators’ perceptions of teaching multigrade classes, research on alternative educators’ perceptions is scarce. This dissertation captured alternative educators’ perceptions of multigrade teaching in alternative and correctional educational programs in Southern California. the researcher is grounded in the transformative worldview advocating for the marginalized and for change as needed. an online survey was the quantitative method used to collect data from 60 full-time, alternative educators. Overall, the findings indicate that educators are focused on academic performance and have positive perceptions of multigrade teaching. However, the findings demonstrate that educators 50 years of age and older have less positive perceptions than their counterparts who are 49 and under. the findings also indicate that there is a correlation between the educators’ perceptions of multigrade teaching and their views of student social development. Although safety and security is a major concern in alternative schools, educators have positive views related to cooperation and other forms of prosocial behavior. the educators view older students’ helpfulness and leadership skills as an asset in multigrade classrooms. It is recommended that additional districts be included in a similar study and that the sample be evenly distributed with regard to age and gender. Obtaining the perceptions of correctional administers should also be included to gain a more holistic view of the system. It is also recommended that a change be made in credential programs to include training in teaching multigrade classes and that additional support staff be provided in classes with more than two grade levels.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Fullerton
- Department:
- Department of Educational Leadership