Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1968, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1984, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Education (EdD), Ohio University, 2022, Educational Administration (Education)

Challenging student behavior is a concern for teachers and administrators across the United States, and the situation in West Virginia is no different. In response to these behaviors, principals often use an exclusionary approach to discipline, including detentions, suspensions, and expulsions. While research indicates a functional approach to discipline is a highly effective strategy, teachers rarely utilize this approach, and little is known about if and when principals do. This qualitative study explored how principals define challenging behavior and make discipline decisions, identify which discipline practices they use, and determine if they apply the Circumstances View of Behavior (attributing a person's behavior to learning history and/or their environment) or a functional approach to discipline (considering why a behavior is happening) when making decision-related decisions. This was accomplished using discipline vignettes, semi-structured interviews, post-interview surveys, and document analysis within a Reflexive Thematic Analysis framework with a Multimethod Research design. This study synthesized a more comprehensive definition of challenging behavior for the participants and outlined traditional disciplinary practices along with an alternate approach expressed by one participant. The findings indicate that nearly all participants only partially subscribe to a Circumstances View of Challenging Behavior and a Functional View of Behavior and that partial subscription was not enough to shift their disciplinary decision-making away from progressive, exclusionary practices.

Committee: Charles Lowery (Committee Chair) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Early Childhood Education; Education; Educational Leadership; Educational Psychology; Educational Theory; Elementary Education; School Administration; Special Education; Teacher Education

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2023, Leadership and Change

The recent worldwide pandemic impacted educational systems on a global scale, forcing school leaders to reimagine educational structures as they faced the ongoing wounding of the unprecedented, shared trauma wrought by COVID-19. Mandated U.S. school closures in March of 2020 forced an immediate transition to distance learning and presented unforeseen academic and social challenges for students, educators, parents, and school leaders. As school campuses re-opened over the next year, the pandemic continued to present hardships. School leaders were tasked with developing systems to follow appropriate health and safety measures, develop systems to accommodate stakeholders' individual health circumstances, and communicate school policies regularly to those affected by them while still prioritizing the needs of students and their academic progress. Using comparative case-study methodology, this study explored the relationship between school leadership, school climate and organizational resilience in response to the ongoing wounding of COVID-19 from its onset in March of 2020 to the declared end of the pandemic in May of 2023, at two small independent elementary schools. This study illuminated the experiences of the schools' leaders and provided actionable and transferable guidelines for educational leaders facing organizational trauma or crisis. The five key findings support practical implications for school leaders striving to support organizational resilience. They include: the importance of positive school climate, enhanced communication, adaptive capacity, organizational structure and embracing change. The study concludes with implications for future research. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu/) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu/).

Committee: Laurien Alexandre PhD (Committee Chair); Elizabeth Holloway PhD (Committee Member); Shana Hormann PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1954, Educational Administration and Supervision

Committee: John E. Gee (Advisor) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Elementary Education

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1954, Educational Administration and Supervision

Committee: John E. Gee (Advisor) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Elementary Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1981, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1964, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1955, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1954, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1967, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1955, Educational Administration and Supervision

Committee: Charles W. Young (Advisor) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Elementary Education

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1946, Educational Administration and Supervision

Committee: Walter A. Zaugg (Advisor) Subjects: Educational Leadership

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1955, Educational Administration and Supervision

Committee: Charles W. Young (Advisor) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Elementary Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Educational Studies

Social and emotional learning has been recognized for positively impacting students' social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes (Durlak et al., 2011; Dusenbury & Weissberg, 2017; Taylor et al., 2017). State departments of education have taken this research and implemented statewide social and emotional learning standards for educators to incorporate into their curriculum (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning [CASEL], 2019; Ecklund et al., 2018; Yoder et al., 2020). However, there is a dearth of research on the experiences of educators who plan, prepare, deliver, and evaluate the SEL standards. Additionally, the 2020-2021 school year was profoundly impacted by the COVID-19 health pandemic that created additional challenges for educators trying to meet academic and SEL standards (Darling-Hammond & Hyler, 2020). The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of elementary educators who were implementing the state SEL standards during the COVID-19 health pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 elementary educators licensed as either general education classroom teachers, principals, or school counselors and worked for at least two years. Participants were from a midwestern state that had kindergarten through twelfth grade SEL state standards. Moustakas' (1994) phenomenological reduction process was utilized to describe the essence of the participants' experience that included: a need to prioritize SEL, a focus on relationship building while navigating barriers to connection, awareness of adult SEL needs, and educational inequities highlighted by COVID-19. Implications for elementary educators, educational training programs, and educational policy makers are discussed in addition to recommendations for future research.

Committee: Brett Zyromski Ph.D (Committee Chair); Colette Dollarhide Ph.D (Committee Member); Belinda Gimbert Ph.D (Committee Member); Dustin Miller Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Education; Education; Educational Leadership; Elementary Education; School Counseling; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1982, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1981, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1972, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education