An Analysis of Principal Attrition in a Large Urban School District

Principal attrition is a national problem particularly in large urban school districts. Research confirms that schools that serve high proportions of children living in poverty have the most difficulty attracting and retaining competent school leaders. Principals who are at the helm of high poverty schools have a higher turnover rate than the national average of three to four years and higher rates of teacher attrition. This leadership turnover has a fiscal impact on districts and negatively affects student achievement. Research identifies a myriad of reasons why administrators leave the role of principal: some leave the position for retirement; some exit based on difficulty of the role and lack of support; and some simply leave for other opportunities within and outside of the profession altogether. As expectations for both teacher and learner performance drive the national education agenda, understanding how to keep effective principals in their jobs is critical. This study examined the factors that principals in a large urban district identified as potentially affecting their decisions to stay in the position. The study utilized a multi-dimensional, web-based questionnaire to examine principals’ perceptions regarding contributing factors that impact tenure. Results indicated that: • having a quality teaching staff and establishing a positive work-life balance were important stay factors for principals; • having an effective supervisor and collegial support from other principals, were helpful supports; and • having adequate resources, time for long-term planning, and teacher support and resources were critical working conditions. Taken together, these indicators were the most frequently cited factors that would keep principals in their positions. The results were used to create a framework that may serve as a potential guide for addressing principal retention.

The Effect of Attentional Focus on Singing Voice Quality: Towards the Interdisciplinary Experimental Investigation of Singing Pedagogy

Instructional methods employed by teachers of singing are mostly drawn from personal experience, personal reflections, and methods encountered in their own voice training (Welch & Howard, 2005). Even in Academia, singing pedagogy is one of the few disciplines in which research of teaching/learning practice efficacy has not been established (Crocco, et al., 2016). This dissertation argues the reason for this deficit is a lack of operationalization of constructs in singing, which, to date has not been undertaken. The researcher addresses issues of paradigm, epistemology, and methodology to suggest an appropriate model of experimental research towards the assessment of teaching/learning practice efficacy. A study was conducted adapting attentional focus research methodologies to test the effect of attentional focus on singing voice quality in adult novice singers. Based on previous attentional focus studies, it was hypothesized that external focus conditions would result in superior singing voice quality than internal focus conditions. While the hypothesis was partially supported by the data, the researcher welcomed refinement of the suggested research model. It is hoped that new research methodologies will emerge to investigate singing phenomena, yielding data that may be used towards the development of evidence-based frameworks for singing training.

EXAMINING SECONDARY MATHEMATICS TEACHER CANDIDATES’ LEARNING AND ENACTMENT OF MATHEMATICS TEACHING PRACTICES: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY

This qualitative case study explored three teacher candidates’ learning and enactment of discourse-focused mathematics teaching practices. Using audio and video recordings of their teaching practice this study aimed to identify the shifts in the way in which the teacher candidates enacted the following discourse practices: elicited and used evidence of student thinking, posed purposeful questions, and facilitated meaningful mathematical discourse. The teacher candidates’ written reflections from their practice-based coursework as well as interviews were examined to see how two mathematics methods courses influenced their learning and enactment of the three discourse focused mathematics teaching practices. These data sources were also used to identify tensions the teacher candidates encountered. All three candidates in the study were able to successfully enact and reflect on these discourse-focused mathematics teaching practices at various time points in their preparation programs. Consistency of use and areas of improvement differed, however, depending on various tensions experienced by each candidate. Access to quality curriculum materials as well as time to formulate and enact thoughtful lesson plans that supported classroom discourse were tensions for these teacher candidates. This study shows that teacher candidates are capable of enacting discourse-focused teaching practices early in their field placements and with the support of practice-based coursework they can analyze and reflect on their practice for improvement. This study also reveals the importance of assisting teacher candidates in accessing rich mathematical tasks and collaborating during lesson planning. More research needs to be explored to identify how specific aspects of the learning cycle impact individual teachers and how this can be used to improve practice-based teacher education courses.