This dissertation aims to define the connection between one's perceptions of self and how one conceptualizes leadership. This study first conceptualized my own identity, seeking to connect my past experiences and interactions with others utilizing a term borrowed from Eastern philosophy, samskara, to see how they impact my current practice within…

The power of being a first-generation college student was a life-changing experience. The barriers that existed for first-generation students were often fearsome. However, being a first-generation student was also a time of excitement because first-generation students had unique viewpoints, and it was a significant time of self-development. Higher…

Many believe that teacher leaders can positively impact a school system, lifting the level of student achievement as well as cultivating a positive professional culture of learning (Carver & Feiman-Nemser, 2009; Lieberman & Miller, 2004; Nolan & Palazzolo, 2011; York-Barr & Duke, 2004). Drawing on the researcher's own lived journey…

This study is focused on exploring ways to disrupt imbalanced power dynamics in educational settings, specifically elementary schools. It includes reflections of the researcher's journey and experiences as a teacher in District of Columbia public and charter schools and how those experiences shaped who she became when she entered school…

With the development of increasingly advanced technologies, interactions with and via these technologies have become even more central to human activity. Technology is utilized in both sanctioned and unsanctioned ways within language and literacy classrooms around the world making questions, concerns, and curiosities around educational potentials…

This dissertation investigated the relationship between students and teachers in the context of writing pedagogical practices and writing curriculum. This study sought to extend the understanding of classroom relationships, specifically centered around writing instruction. Three dyads of teachers and students were observed as they interacted and…

Educational leaders today are well versed in the complex and often overwhelming nature of their respective roles. The difficulty of educational leadership increases exponentially when implementing innovative practices like competency-based learning that challenge every aspect of the traditional structure and function of schools, thereby requiring…

An ongoing concern in higher education is the disjunction between how faculty teach and how students learn best. A primary objective of higher education is to produce content experts, which does not automatically translate to expert teachers of content. Lacking formal instruction on how to teach their content, faculty often teach in the same…

Play is an important dimension of learning for all students. When students are allowed to play, amazing things happen. Students start to tell stories, explore new concepts, and learn in authentic ways. Some of these experiences are constructed with peers, while others are created individually. Discoveries are made by connecting one student's ideas…

The goal is to shine light theologically on the role of transformational leadership in the missional church. What concepts about pneumatological discipleship, influence, power, authority, and transformational leadership suit a radically missional church? Radical missional challenges demand new notions about servant and transformational leadership.…

Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the Kansas State Department of Education implemented the Kansans Can School Redesign project (Redesign, hereafter) with the aim of fundamentally changing teaching and learning. The project was borne out of the feedback Kansans from across the state provided about what they believed education should be for…

The purpose of this autoethnography is to provide analysis of personal leadership experiences during times of educational distress in order to extend understanding of the nuances of educational leadership for new and experienced leaders. An autoethnography is a qualitative research method in which the researcher is also the subject of the study.…

This healing feminist autoethnography examines my gendered experiences as a school principal during the 2021-2022 school year, centering upon two research questions: How can personal accounts of sexist experiences disrupt gendered norms in educational leadership? And how can I, as a feminist leader, exist authentically and truthfully in…

A recent phenomenon within the Deaf Indonesian communities brings up the debate of capitalization to the forefront; here the issue is of capitalizing "Tuli", which appears to reflect Western Deaf tradition's influence, instead of using "tuli". This issue led to this study on Tuli Indonesian identity. The data is based on the…

This doctoral action research dissertation is coauthored as a qualitative three-article dissertation; each article leverages a different qualitative approach to the research. Article 1 focuses on the existing depth of literature regarding higher education faculty and their practice of social justice within their roles. Article 2 is a critical…