Date of Award:
5-2017
Document Type:
Dissertation
Degree Name:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department:
Education
Department name when degree awarded
Curriculum and Instruction
Committee
Patricia Moyer-Packenham
Abstract
School leaders are expected to make decisions that improve student mathematics achievement. However, one difficulty for school leaders has been the limited amount of research concerning content-specific (e.g., mathematics) school leadership and its effects on student achievement. School leaders do not make decisions in isolation; rather, they make decisions as part of a complex adaptive system (CAS), as proposed by complexity theory. The purpose of this study was to explore the role the school leader plays in students’ mathematics achievement through the lens of complexity theory.
The researcher collected survey data from K-12 school leaders and conducted focus group interviews to answer the research questions. The researcher found a significant regression equation predicting the school-wide average SAGE mathematics proficiency scores based on several characteristics of the school leader and student demographics. Distinctive patterns emerged in the decisions and actions made by school leaders based on school-wide SAGE mathematics proficiency. Results suggest that the school leaders’ first role in promoting higher student mathematics achievement is to directly and indirectly facilitate a shared vision of mathematics education between stakeholders in the CAS. The school leader’s second role is to actively work to recruit and retain the highest quality teachers possible.
Checksum
cc586eea817c05108ebf138669344530
Recommended Citation
Bullock, Emma P., "An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study of the School Leaders’ Role in Students’ Mathematics Achievement Through the Lens of Complexity Theory" (2017). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 6096.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6096
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