Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item Role of elementary school leaders in special education decisions(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2020) Seger, Christa Mae; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: William RuffThis study was designed to gain an understanding of tasks elementary building leaders are personally involved with special education building tasks and identify building leaders who self-identify as highly engaged in special education. Instructional leaders must have a full understanding of educational practices as they relate to special education. Building level leaders are asked to perform many different tasks daily. With over 7.0 million students identified as needing special education services, many building leaders struggle with their knowledge of special education and their role. Many Educational Leadership programs do not require a building leader to be educated specifically in the area of special education practices and law thus creating a disconnect in instructional leadership. A case study design was used in answering the four research questions. A survey, Questionnaire on the Special Education Roles and Functions of the School District and/or Building Level Administrator, was administered to elementary building level leaders in one western urban school district in Denver, Colorado. Once quantitative data was collected and analyzed, a qualitative phase using interviews with self-identified highly engaged elementary leaders was conducted. The findings suggest principals who are highly engaged in special education tasks have an understanding of their role and what strategies are needed to be an effective special education instructional leader. These strategies include being (a) collaborative, (b) accountable, and (c) being in a position to create trusting, authentic relationships with stakeholders. It is important for building leaders to have appropriate training to (a) access information through on-the-job training, (b) to prevent a lack of knowledge in IDEA tasks, and (c) be held accountable for ensuring special education programs are adequately supported in their building.Item Impact of leadership on early childhood education program quality(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2018) Barney, Norah Lee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: William RuffThe evaluation of early childhood education programs includes focus on child outcomes and later academic success, but little is known about the impact of preschool leadership on early childhood education program quality. The purpose of this qualitative comparative case study was to investigate the relationship between early childhood leadership and preschool program quality among Preschool Development Grantees (PDG) in a rural northwest state. Two research questions were used to guide the study (1) how does a preschool leaders approach to leadership influence preschool program quality? (2) How does the instructional delivery model influence the leaders approach to program quality? Results from this study hope to continue to advance early childhood initiatives in the state and perhaps suggest a leadership model which leads to higher quality programs. This study also hopes to inform organizations that are planning on starting preschools within their community and the impact of program structure. There are two program structures examined in this study. The first is a preschool located in a K-12 building. The second is a mixed-delivery model of preschool and Head Start students located in one school. Two PDG sites were purposefully selected using Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) data. School leaders were interviewed and assessed using the Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI) which was used to gather multiple perspectives about each leader's behavior. Data analysis revealed three themes: the importance of relationships, leadership orientation, and leadership candor. Results indicate that some leaders are more transactional than transformational and that the structure of the program assisted with a better understanding of Child Guidance. Further study needs to be done on the history and background of preschool sites to determine the type of leader that is needed at the time. Also, a more in-depth broader study could be completed to examine how leadership affects high quality programs.Item Piikani School leadership(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2018) Hall, Omaksaakoomapi Bradford Roy; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: William RuffThis dissertation focuses on Piikani school leadership as shared through the narratives and experiences of a retired school leader. Noonaki's experiences chronicle her longevity in school leadership and steadfast commitment to integrating the Piikani culture and language into the schools she led on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Noonaki's stories provide a realistic view of school leadership challenges she faced and offer her thought provoking knowledge to inspire current and aspiring school leaders to accept the Piikani values into their practices. School leaders are key to advancing Piikani values, culture, and language into the schools they serve on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Therefore, school leaders when developing relevant leadership practices, are called upon to commit themselves to practice ai-sii-moki' (guidance, teaching, and discipline), as they encounter and mitigate challenges among community stakeholders, specifically focusing on how they each can support student success. Through Noonaki's transfer of knowledge from her to the researcher, this exchange encapsulates her experiences into stories, told in the places where she practiced school leadership. Community Centered Digital Storywork (CCDS), is an integrated Piikani knowledge dissemination framework, that leverages cultural protocols to capture Piikani ways of knowing. Noonaki inspires current and aspiring school leaders to build their skills and practices around the Piikani values of okamotsitapiyiisin (honesty), ainnakowe (respect), aahsitapiitsin (generosity), waattosin (spirituality), matsisskii or iiyiikittahpii (courage), maanistapaisspipii (humility), and kimmapiiyipitsinni (compassion).Item Principal leadership, collective teacher efficacy, and high reliability organization principles : creating high-performing high schools(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2016) Filpula, Linda Ruth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Tena VerslandThe purpose of this multiple embedded case study is to understand how principal leadership develops and maintains collective teacher efficacy (CTE) in rural high schools, and how CTE and high reliability organization (HRO) principles contribute to the development of a high-performing rural high school. Four Montana high schools were selected for this study based upon students above average composite ACT scores and graduation rates for two consecutive years. The third criterion was that each school's principal had to have been in that leadership position longer than four years. Each school completed Goddard and Hoy's Collective Efficacy Scale (2003) to ascertain the level of the teaching staff's collective efficacy and provide descriptive data. The principal and a teacher focus group from each school were then interviewed separately. From the data analysis, three themes emerged across all four schools. First, principals had developed 'situational awareness' to effectively manage their schools. Second, principals had well established and effective formal and informal channels of communication. Third, principals had a continuous school improvement process in place to make improvements. Principals have a key role to play in the development of CTE as well as the implementation of HRO principles in their schools to create a high-performing school. The results of this study can provide new insights on how principals develop collective teacher efficacy (CTE) and utilize the five high reliability organization principals to create a high-performing high school in rural Montana.Item Examining the pathways and supports leading MSSE program graduates into leadership roles(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2016) Solberg, Kathryn Vaplon; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mary LeonardThis study examined the pathways taken by science teachers to move into leadership roles, specifically teachers who had participated in and graduated from the Master of Science in Science Education (MSSE) program at Montana State University. Distributed teacher leadership has been identified as having the potential to improve schools, however, little is known about the pathways teachers take to move into leadership roles, how schools go about distributing leadership, or the supports that help teachers develop leadership skills. There is also a need to better determine how teacher leadership development and progression is supported through graduate programs. This research was a two-level quantitative-qualitative research. The first level used a survey to explore the leadership roles teachers filled and the pathways teacher leaders took to move into leadership roles. The second level focused on creating case studies of eleven MSSE program graduates. Case study data was used to further examine and provide deeper insights into the pathways teachers used and the motivators or supports that encouraged them to move into or take on leadership roles. Case study data was also used to determine the extent to which participants perceived the MSSE program supported or contributed to their leadership development and progression. Specific supports provided by the program were identified. The study provided evidence that the pathways taken by teachers tend to follow two main trends: teachers either volunteer in order to fill a void or address a need, or teachers are recruited by an administrator to fill a leadership role. The formality of the leadership role did not determine the formality of the pathway taken to move into the role. Conclusions include a descriptive framework for pathways taken to leadership and descriptions of specific supports provided by the MSSE program as identified by MSSE program graduates.Item Sex-role attitudes and sex composition as variables affecting female leadership in small task structured groups(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1977) Root, Loretta MarieItem The role of student government in leadership training(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1961) Kober, Johann E.Item Self-concept, interpersonal relations, and group leadership characteristics in a leadership training situation(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1972) Handley, James EdwardItem Mentoring student leadership : a comparison of two high school programs and the development of student success(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2015) Westlake, Renee Elyse; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: William Ruff.School district leaders, by coaching teachers to be mentors via professional development, can elevate student success through the establishment of student leadership (Daggett, 2012). Mentoring student leadership by guiding students in skills, practices and behaviors is a topic that has the potential to take student success to a more rigorous and relevant level for all learners (Magner, Soulé & Wesolowski, 2011). This study was intended to reveal how participation in programs that mentor leadership contributes to the development of the portraits of the Common Core State Standards (Wilhoit, 2010) in students. Since 21st century skills have been combined with the Common Core State Standards for the purposes of student achievement in a variety of literature, the researcher cross-referenced these and developed a working model of mentoring student leadership utilizing: 1. Leadership practices (Kouzes & Posner, 2006) 2. Identity leadership theory behaviors (Haslam, Reicher & Platow, 2011) 3. 21st century skills (McGaw, 2009) 4. Portraits of the Common Core State Standards (Wilhoit, 2010) Student leaders and adult mentors were the participants in this multiple case study: high school pupils who experience specific mentoring in student leadership and teachers who mentor these students. Through interviews, observations, and document analysis, programs that offer a prescribed framework orchestrating the development of leadership were examined. Lack of research in mentoring student leadership was investigated through the study. By exploring two high school programs that guide adolescents through a formal framework, it was possible to witness a snapshot of the development of student leadership. Although the student groups studied were diverse, five similarities were discovered when student leadership was mentored : citizenship, communication, collaboration (Griffin, McGaw & Care, 2010), representing the group (Nohria & Khurana, 2010), and modeling the way for others (Kouzes & Posner, 2008). Utilizing an existing mentoring model (Rhodes, 2002), a new model for mentoring leadership was structured and is still being developed. Viable information gathered about developing student leadership and adolescent success suggests expanding the study outside of the high school examined to other communities and states. If a goal in education is to increase student success through leadership development, exploring other influences on student leadership will be valuable as a next step in facilitating progressive education.Item The influence of principal leadership responsibilities on professional learning communities : perspectives of high school teachers and principals(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2015) Hehn, Jeril Lyn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jayne DowneyThis study investigated teacher and principal perspectives regarding how principal leadership responsibilities influence the functioning of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). PLCs are a concept and a structure through which schools can address and respond to the myriad social, political, and technological forces that educators face today. By utilizing principal leadership responsibilities associated with second order change as a basis for identifying the needs of PLCs, data was gathered to analyze and inform principals in how to determine the needs of their PLCs. Such information can then be used to develop a school improvement plan to meet PLCs at their current level of functioning, and focus on addressing the specific needs of each PLC in a targeted manner that employs differentiated leadership designed by principals to positively impact teaching and learning. The purpose of this embedded case study was to examine how teachers and principals describe the influence of principal leadership responsibilities on PLCs. The case study was conducted at a class AA high school in Montana consisting of five principals, 95 teachers, and approximately 1830 students in the initial years of PLC implementation. The primary sources of data collection were: teacher and principal focus group interviews, document analysis, researcher's journal, and the use of archival collective efficacy data. Findings suggest the importance of clear ideals and beliefs; an emphasis on the need for principals to support teachers in differing ways; varying interpretations of principal leadership responsibilities between PLCs as well as between principals and teachers; and various levels of PLC functioning. As principals seek to develop and implement continual school improvement plans to enhance teaching and learning, they must understand the needs identified by their PLCs and develop a differentiated leadership plan to utilize principals' time, talents, and resources to meet those needs and support positive PLC functioning. Recommendations are made for further research.