The College of Education

Announces the Final Examination of

Eric Thomas Jones

for the degree of

Doctor of Education

April 8, 2016 at 10:00 am

 Ball Hall, University of Memphis

Memphis, TN

Biographical Sketch

Bachelor of Arts, Education/History, Freed-Hardeman University

Master of Education in Instructional Leadership, Administration and Supervision, Freed-Hardeman University

Education Specialist in Instructional Leadership, Administration and Supervision, Freed-Hardeman University

Advisory Committee

Reginald Green, EdD, Interim Chair, Department of Leadership, Committee chair

Louis Franceschini III, PhD., Research Assistant Professor, Department of Leadership

William Hunter, EdD, Assistant Professor, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership

Donald Hopper, PhD, Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Leadership

Major Field of Study

Leadership & Policy Studies

Period of Preparation: 2012 – 2016

Comprehensive Examination Passed: October 2013

Title of Dissertation

THE EXISISTENCE.OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES IN WEST TENNESSEE SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON TEACHER JOB SATISFACTION

Abstract

Of the six Professional Learning Community (PLC) dimensions theorized by Hord, the 307 secondary school teacher respondents in this study suggested that two dimensions—namely, “Shared Personal Practice” and “Supportive Conditions: Structures”—tended systematically to be underrepresented at their schools. The under representation was irrespective of their schools’ categorization as either high- or low-achieving. As anticipated, statistically significant positive relationships were observed between all six PLC dimensions and the mean on a 20-item measure of “satisfaction with teaching.” However, when the means on the six PLC dimensions were simultaneously entered as predictor variables into a multiple regression model using “satisfaction with teaching” as the criterion, the only PLC dimension that proved to significant relationship with the outcome while controlling for the other five was “Shared and Supportive Leadership.” As with the means on the PLC measure, a schools’ status as either high- or low-achieving did not appear to moderate the strength of relationship the six PLC predictors and the “satisfaction with teaching” criterion. Moderating effects were tested by examining each pair of correlations individually using the Fisher r to z transformation as well by creating six interaction terms and including them in a hierarchical multiple regression model. Implications of these outcomes for school leaders who wish to improve the effectiveness of PLCs at their schools are discussed in the final chapter.

The College of Education

Announces the Final Examination of

Katharina A. Azim

for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

March 28^th, 2016 at 12:00 pm

103 Ball Hall, University of Memphis

Memphis, TN

Biographical Sketch

B.Ed., English language education and literature, Fontys University of Applied Sciences

B.Ed., German language education and literature, Fontys University of Applied Sciences

M.Ed., German language education and literature, Fontys University of Applied Sciences

M.A., English language education and communication, Utrecht University

Advisor yCommittee

Christian Mueller, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research, Committee co-chair

Alison Happel-Parkins, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research, Committee co-chair

Yeh Hsueh, Ed.D., Associate Professor, Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research

Laurie MacGillivray, Ed.D., Professor, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership

Major Field of Study

Educational Psychology and Research

Period of Preparation: 2013-2016

Comprehensive Examination Passed: September 2015

El Ghorba Fil Gharb: Conceptualizing Ethnic Identity with Saudi Women Graduate Students in the U.S.

Abstract

This narrative inquiry examined how ethnic identity is conceptualized in the stories of Saudi women students living and studying in the United States. This was done using theorists from the field of ethnic identity and enculturation research, as well as postcolonial feminist critique to address various layers of marginality and power relations. Participants included seven women enrolled as international students in a graduate program at a Northeastern U.S. university. Unstructured life-story interviews of 2 to 2.5 hours were conducted to elicit narratives of how the women positioned themselves ethnically and how they were positioned by their surrounding while living in the suburbs of Gamuston (pseudonym). The rhizoanalytic approach of “plugging in” (Jackson & Mazzei, 2012) theorists into the women’s narratives was used to interrogate the intricate workings of ethnic identity positionalities in the socio-cultural, gender, and geopolitical contexts that inform them.