Maintaining the Human Touch in Educational Leadership

It is a pleasure to be invited to contribute to this special edition of the TCPEA School Leadership Review. TCPEA has been a valuable organization for me as the relationships that have been fostered through it have enabled me to grow personally and professionally. This has led me to consider some of the issues that educational leaders are facing today and will continue to face in the years to come which are focused on the notion of how to effectively maintain human relationships. While few leaders agree on everything, there is no doubt that we all agree this is a complex time for our schools. My focus of this article is to consider three of the challenges before us to maintain the human touch in our profession: Identifying appropriate responses to the dilemmas that are occurring due to technology advances which include movement to hybrid/blended and fully on-line teaching venues, Establishing covenant communities in our diverse classrooms and beyond, and Nurturing our professional relationships as educational leaders. While these three topics might seem unrelated, I believe they all are connected to our shared humanity and all have the potential to develop or diminish the human touch

A Comparison of Bullying in Four Rural Middle and High Schools

Bullying in rural school settings is clearly a problem and some of our students are suffering as a result.. Bullying is defined in this study of 819 rural middle and high school students as when a student is exposed repeatedly to negative actions by one or more other students. Students responded to a questionnaire about how often and where bullying occurred and who students told. Analysis of the data reported frequencies, and the Pearson chi-square was used to test for significance (p \u3c.05) for gender and school level. Results indicated that while there are many similarities, there are some differences in bullying at these two levels that should be considered when reducing bullying. First, students should be encouraged to develop positive strategies to react to name calling and teasing particularly at the middle school level. Second, administrators and teachers must communicate better with students that they care about reducing bullying, especially at the high school level

Teacher and student demographic variables which predict teacher referral of males for special education evaluation

Past research has shown that African American/Black males are referred for special education evaluation at disproportionately higher rates compared to males of other racial/ethnic groups. Special education placement for African American/Black /Black males has been linked to adverse outcomes such as lower teacher expectations, low academic performance, and increased likelihood of dropping out of school. This study addressed the question of whether student and teacher demographic variables predicted how likely a teacher would refer male students for special education evaluation and whether there were significant differences in teacher ratings of severity of behavior based on race/ethnicity of male students. Principles from cultural theory and social exclusion theory were used as the conceptual framework to guide this research. Results from a multiple linear regression revealed that teacher years of teaching experience, race of teacher, race of student, and teacher attitude toward inclusion were statistically significant predictors of teacher referral to special education. However, results from an ANOVA did not show any significant differences in teacher ratings for severity of described classroom behavior based on male students’ race/ethnicity. Findings from this study could be used to advocate for educational and professional development programs which promote teacher awareness of how teacher and student demographics may influence teachers’ decisions to issue referrals to special education. The educational training and professional development seminars could also guide teachers in developing culturally sensitive and responsive practices for teaching students of various cultural backgrounds that, in turn, could promote social change by reducing the number of referrals for special education evaluation among African American/Black male students

Teacher and student demographic variables which predict teacher referral of males for special education evaluation

Past research has shown that African American/Black males are referred for special education evaluation at disproportionately higher rates compared to males of other racial/ethnic groups. Special education placement for African American/Black /Black males has been linked to adverse outcomes such as lower teacher expectations, low academic performance, and increased likelihood of dropping out of school. This study addressed the question of whether student and teacher demographic variables predicted how likely a teacher would refer male students for special education evaluation and whether there were significant differences in teacher ratings of severity of behavior based on race/ethnicity of male students. Principles from cultural theory and social exclusion theory were used as the conceptual framework to guide this research. Results from a multiple linear regression revealed that teacher years of teaching experience, race of teacher, race of student, and teacher attitude toward inclusion were statistically significant predictors of teacher referral to special education. However, results from an ANOVA did not show any significant differences in teacher ratings for severity of described classroom behavior based on male students\u27 race/ethnicity. Findings from this study could be used to advocate for educational and professional development programs which promote teacher awareness of how teacher and student demographics may influence teachers\u27 decisions to issue referrals to special education. The educational training and professional development seminars could also guide teachers in developing culturally sensitive and responsive practices for teaching students of various cultural backgrounds that, in turn, could promote social change by reducing the number of referrals for special education evaluation among African American/Black male students

African American Female College and University Presidents: Career Path to the Presidency

The purpose of this study was to investigate the career paths and educational preparation of African American female college presidents. Forty-three of the 59 college presidents responded to a Likert-type survey. Findings indicated that African American female college presidents were more likely to hold a doctorate in education and came to the presidency from a variety of positions, often from other institutions or outside of education

Race and Residence: Prospects for Stable Neighborhood Integration

Analyzes changes in the racial composition of large metropolitan neighborhoods from 1990 to 2000, using data from the Neighborhood Change Database

Helping Younger Students: A Cross-Age Tutorial Program

The faculty in Castle Hills Baptist School, with an age-diverse population-225 high school students, 125 middle school students, and 350 elementary students-in three adjoining buildings, became interested in starting a cross-age tutorial program. After reviewing the literature, the faculty recognized the need for careful planning (Rosenshine and Furst 1969); high intensity instruction (Cohen, Kulik, and Kulik 1982); and a structured program ( Graesser and Person 1994). Believing that cross-age tutoring could benefit teachers, younger children, and older students, teachers looked to tutoring to further academic growth and increase interest in academic subjects (Fitz-Gibbon 1977; Yacc and Cannon 1991; Cochran 1993; Drake 1993; Gartner and Riessman 1994)

Fluorescence visualization of a convective instability which modulates the spreading of volatile surface films

The spontaneous spreading of a thin liquid film along the surface of a deep liquid layer of higher surface tension is a ubiquitous process which provides rapid and efficient surface transport of organic or biological material. For a source of constant concentration, the leading edge of a nonvolatile, immiscible film driven to spread by gradients in surface tension is known to advance as t^3/4 in time. Recent experiments using laser shadowgraphy to detect the advancing front of spreading films indicate, however, that immiscible but volatile sources of constant concentration spread with a reduced exponent according to t^1/2. Using a novel technique whereby fluorescent lines are inscribed in water, we have detected the evolution of a thermal instability beneath the leading edge of volatile films which strongly resembles a Rayleigh-Bénard roll. We propose that the increased dissipation from this rotational flow structure is likely responsible for the reduction in spreading exponent. This observation suggests a conceptual framework for coupling the effects of evaporation to the dynamics of spreading

Effects of Simulated Student Interaction on Student Perceptions of Teaching Presence

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the instructor posting in online discussions as a simulated student; particularly the impact simulated student interaction (SSI) had on the instructor/student relationship. Student perceptions were examined using a modified version of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) survey to determine what impact SSI had on teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence within the online classroom. The full 34 item CoI Survey was piloted in the summer of 2014 at a small comprehensive university located in northeast Texas. A factor analysis was conducted on the data and the top items from each factor in the instrument extracted. The resulting 17 item instrument demonstrated both validity and reliability. This modified CoI Survey was used in the fall of 2014 with three special education courses making up a control group and an intervention group in a pre-post experimental design. An ANOVA was performed to compare the results of the pre-course and post-course surveys by group. The ANOVA showed a statistically significant difference for all three factors for the intervention group between the pre- and post-course survey, while no significance between surveys was shown for the control group

The relationship between self-esteem and academic success among African American students in the Minority Engineering Program at a research extensive university in the Southern portion of the United States

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between the self-esteem and academic success of African American students in the Minority Engineering Program (MEP) at a research-extensive university in the Southern portion of the United States. The nature of the study required the use of descriptive, comparative, and correlational research methods. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory Adult Form (CSEI-A), a 25-item dichotomous self-report questionnaire was used to measure the level of self-esteem of all respondents. CSEI-A data was collected through the use of an on-line survey program, called Zoomerang©. Data on the specific demographic and academic variables related to the objectives of this study was collected from the University’s official records in the College of Engineering. The target population of this study was defined as African American students enrolled in a Minority Engineering Program at a research extensive university in the Southern portion of the United States. A census of 260 African American engineering students was selected to participate in the study, and a total of 121 completed the on-line survey resulting in a 46.5% response rate. Overall high levels of self-esteem were demonstrated. The mean CSEI-A score was determined to be 71.64/100. Findings of the study indicated that there was a positive relationship between level of self-esteem and demographic variables, such as parent’s highest educational level completed, year of classification, cumulative GPA, and engineering major GPA. Furthermore, findings revealed that respondents with high cumulative and engineering GPA’s were found to have higher levels of self-esteem. Stepwise multiple regression analysis of dummy coded variables gender, age, year of classification, and parent’s highest educational level completed as possible predictors of CSEI-A scores revealed that year 1 students reported lower CSEI-A scores than all other students. However, year 1 students who reported their parent’s highest educational level completed as a bachelor degree or higher scored higher on the CSEI-A than year 1 students who reported their parent’s highest educational level completed as an associate degree or lower. Results from this study support the need for the inclusion of a self-esteem building component into the retention efforts of the program. The researcher also recommended that the study institution develop first-generation college student retention strategies, such as individual and group counseling, intensive orientation programs, first-year experience courses, and learning communities