Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1942, Educational Administration and Supervision

Committee: Walter A. Zaugg (Advisor) Subjects: Secondary Education

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2019, Foundations of Education: Educational Psychology

Rural secondary schools are vibrant educational institutions. Their significance and context is discounted in academic literature. The categories of distance and people per square mile used by federal agencies, researchers, and policy makers do not adequately contextualize rural. This theoretical dissertation proposes that rural is more than distance and people per square mile. Specifically, it asks if the idea of a double helix of place and social capital is a justified theoretical framework for exploring and understanding the nature of rural secondary schools. This dissertation proposes an extension of the existing literature on place theory with the addition of social capital. Place and social capital collide, meld, mold, and march all that is rural secondary school into being. If rural schooling is to be respectfully studied, then the place of that schooling and the social capital relationships of those involved in that schooling much be addressed and acknowledged. The Double Helix Framework of Place and Social Capital offers the explanatory power needed to describe, explain, predict, and improve the nature of rural secondary schools.

Committee: Florian Feucht (Committee Chair); Dale Snauwaert (Committee Member); Paul Theobald (Committee Member); Nancy Staub (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology

Doctor of Education (EdD), Ohio University, 2011, Educational Administration (Education)

This qualitative case study examined the ways in which one rural Midwestern high school and its surrounding community responded to increased diversity. The purpose of the study was to explore how teachers, administrators, school staff, and community members in the district understood the character of the community's demographic changes and the influences of these changes on the academic and social life of the school. The school's responses to increasing community diversity were of particular importance to the study. Data collection included hour-long interviews with 34 participants, document analysis, and observations. Data were analyzed using a three-step process: initial coding, linking codes in conceptually coherent categories, and theme building. Data analysis revealed three themes. First, educators and community members exhibited class biases toward poor students and their families. Second, educators and community members conflated race and ethnicity with social class, expressing many of the same negative beliefs about minority students as they did about poor students. These respondents displayed deficit thinking toward poor and minority students and blamed these students' cultural backgrounds for their low levels of academic engagement and performance. Third, a small group of change agents in the school and community advocated for poor and minority students, but they encountered the apathy and resistance of most educators and many community members. The findings of this study fit with earlier literature about demographic change in rural areas. This literature revealed that social tensions and biases often resulted from shifting demographics in rural communities and schools. In addition, previous work on educators' tendency to view low-socioeconomic status and minority students from a deficit perspective were similar to the perspectives voiced by the educators who participated in this study. Furthermore, some critical literature on poverty training supported th (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Aimee Howley (Committee Chair); Renee Middleton (Committee Member); Craig Howley (Committee Member); Greg Foley (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; Elementary Education; Secondary Education

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Leadership Studies

The purpose of this correlational research study was to examine the degree to which five student risk factors (marijuana use, alcohol use, prescription drug use, household composition, and delinquent behavior) predict student-school connectivity. For the study, a secondary data source was used comprising of 557 secondary school students. The data was collected by a small urban/rural north central Ohio school district in May of 2011. Student results were gathered through the use of the Youth Health and Risk Survey. Three research questions guided the study. The study examined gender, grade level, and household composition differences; substance use compared to national norms, and best predictors of student-school connectedness. Results showed females had significantly higher use of alcohol. Results also indicated grade level differences included: higher uses of substance in grades 9-12, higher levels of delinquent behavior in grades 6-8, and the lowest levels of student-school connectedness was in grade 9. Household composition differences were observed when comparing two parent households and households without two parents. Results showed students living with someone other than their parents had significantly higher uses of marijuana, alcohol, and prescription drugs; additionally, students living outside their parents' home had the lowest levels of student-school connectedness. Results indicated that the studied sample had significantly higher uses of alcohol (28%) and marijuana (12.9%) when compared to national rates of use (alcohol 13.6% and marijuana 7.4%). Lastly, results showed the combination of perceived risk of drug use, delinquent behavior, and alcohol use was significant in predicting student-school connectivity. Several conclusions were drawn from the study results. First, household composition is a critical factor in the development of student-school connectedness. Students living in household that are absent of parents may be at risk for a nume (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Rachel Reinhart Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Wendy Watson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Joyce Litten Ed.D. (Committee Member); Todd Nichols Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; Middle School Education; Secondary Education