There has been extensive research done on varying leadership styles as well as how school leaders employ these styles in order to improve students’ academic achievement. However, little literature exists that discusses how leadership style affects a principal or assistant principal’s approach to managing student discipline. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine how school leaders perceive their leadership style and how their style affects the way they address student discipline in their school buildings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 principals and assistant principals from an urban, public school district in northern New Jersey who served students in grades four through eight to answer the following research questions:
RQ1: How do principals and assistant principals’ perceived leadership styles impact their leadership practices and approach to student discipline?
RQ2: How are student discipline outcomes affected by the perceived leadership styles of principals and assistant principals?
This dissertation shares the thematically coded data gathered through the interviews. Participants discussed demonstrating care for students, staff, and families, even when they did not specifically identify Caring Leadership as their individual style. This caring approach was critical to building positive relationships and determining disciplinary consequences for students that served as alternatives to suspension and other forms of exclusion from schools. This was especially important to the school leaders who participated as they and their staff continue to navigate providing high-quality education to all students in this post-pandemic world.
This qualitative study analyzed how five middle-school Language Arts teachers from an elementary school in the Northeastern United States implemented Critical Race practices to meet the curricular, social, emotions, cultural and educational needs of urban students. This research examines how critical race theory practices were used to meet the curricular, social, etc. needs of K-6 students. The pathway which led the researcher to this study began with a question, as in the case of all research: How are teachers using small group instruction to target Critical Race Theory practices (CRT) within the theoretical framework? Participants in this study include five middle-school English Language Arts teachers in an urban school. This research is developed from data acquired through five interviews. Interview transcriptions were analyzed, organized, coded by the NVivo software, and the researcher also cross-checked for accuracy. The emerging themes were building relationships, social and emotional learning, district policy, small group instruction, and student engagement.
More research is needed to focus on how teachers are currently implementing the Critical Race Theory practices into the curriculum and how it can inform and drive student teaching and learning. The recordings were then transcribed using WebEx transcription software. Transcriptions from interviews were analyzed, organized, and validated by the NVivo software. Five themes emerged from this study.
Building relationships surfaced early as a theme, supported by teachers knowing their students, by establishing well-balanced relationships before teaching the content and placing an inference on students' interest and motivation.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) surfaced as the second theme providing planning time for the students to work collaboratively to address students' individual needs. The other themes focused on district policy, student engagement, and small group instruction.
In 2017–18, the number of learners ages 3–21 who received special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was 7.0 million, or 14% of all public-school learners. Of that 7.0 million, 13% were Hispanic learners (NCES, 2019). Among ELLs with disabilities, nearly 50% had specific learning disability, and 21% with a disability were identified as having a speech or language impairment (USDOE, n.d.). School professionals erroneously refer ELLs to special education and once referred, the student has a greater than 50% chance of being identified as disabled (Becker & Deris, 2019). The purpose of this study is to understand how teacher perceptions and preparedness impact the referral rate of Hispanic ELLs into special education and related services. As the population of ELL/LEP/ESL increases, so does the number of possible incorrect referrals. This study was conducted through qualitative methodology, using targeted questions via questionnaire for middle-school teachers throughout New Jersey. The responses were used to determine patterns and themes of teacher experiences and perceptions in whether teachers feel they can distinguish between a language barrier and a learning disability. Findings indicated that teachers with less preparation and/or experience working with ELL/LEP/ESL students, special education students, or students with both a language barrier and a learning disability feel they are able to distinguish between a language barrier and a learning disability and would refer an ELL/LEP/ESL student to I&RS and/or Special Education regardless of legal disallowances.
Sexual assaults have continued to remain an issue at colleges across the country. Students have admitted to being sexually assaulted while attending college. These students have reported their sexual assaults to college staff, Title IX coordinators, and members of their college community. The US federal government legislation Title IX ensures that colleges have sexual assault prevention programs available to their students. The Title IX legislation ensures that students feel safe on campus, and it prevents sexual assault cases. Title IX investigates colleges and universities throughout the United States to see if they follow the Title IX guidelines. The government provides funding to colleges that follow Title IX legislation. If the college does not follow Title IX, the government will withhold government funding. For colleges to obtain Title IX financing, the college needs to have a Title IX coordinator, report sexual assaults, and have in place a sexual discrimination policy (Office of Civil Rights). Title IX legislation ensures that students do not get discriminated against based on their sex when looking for employment and in college programs.
The purpose of this study is to review how Title IX coordinators in three different universities in New Jersey handle sexual assault cases and implement sexual assault prevention. The three colleges that were studied are a medium commuter university, a large private university, and a large public university. The researcher conducted a qualitative study by conducting interviews with Title IX coordinators. The study investigated how the Title IX coordinator implemented Title IX policies and created sexual assault prevention programs. It looked into the effectiveness of different colleges or universities sexual assault prevention program. This can help analyze how different colleges or universities have various similarities when implementing sexual assault prevention on their campus.
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact Jesuit tenets have on the attitudes of survivors of workforce reduction who were employed at Jesuit institutions of higher education during the early years of the COVID-19. The researcher interviewed seven current employees from five different Jesuit institutions to ascertain their feelings toward the tenets of magis (to do more), cura personalis (care for the whole person), and cura apostolica (care for the institution) and understand how each influenced their beliefs about workforce reduction. The research revealed that during the workforce reduction, cura personalis received greater privilege over cura apostolica because reduction in force was viewed as the elimination of people rather than the elimination of positions; employees of Jesuit institutions felt they were exploited in the name of cura apostolica and magis; and Jesuit tenets do not create heightened employment expectations associated with a psychological contract. Understanding Jesuit employees’ attitudes toward workforce reduction can shed light on the ability of buzzwords/tenets/credos within a corporate/educational/business culture to either strengthen or weaken said culture, especially during times of crisis such as one that is financial.