Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

12-2023

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Ed. D.

Department

Educational Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development

Degree Program

Educational Leadership and Organizational Development, EDD

Committee Chair

Powers, Deborah

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Sheffield, Ron

Committee Member

Sheffield, Ron

Committee Member

Stevens, Doug

Committee Member

Hatchett, Diane

Author's Keywords

Assessment; assessment literacy; professional learning; self-efficacy; identity; phenomenology

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to gain greater understanding surrounding how administrators in northern Kentucky Independent School Districts describe their own experiences with assessments (assessment literacy). In addition, this study sought to gain knowledge from administrator experiences which may or may not have contributed to their confidence as leaders of assessment literacy. The context of this study was with the 11 Independent School Districts in the Northern Kentucky region, specifically with school level administrators. The significance of this study is to inform teacher preparation programs and current administrators of how and why individual self-efficacy and professional learning experiences may influence administrator assessment literacy. The methodology included a semi-structured interview process for collecting data as a way for participants to share their experiences in a narrative manner (Leavy, 2017). Cycle one of coding was conducted manually then initial coding and line by line. Cycle two of coding used In-Vivo coding where themes emerged aligned to the research questions to provide meaning to the experiences of the participants (Saldana, 2018). The findings support the need for teacher and administrator preparatory programs to consider more emphasis on assessment education to support a deeper understanding of assessment literacy. In addition, the findings support the need for assessment literacy based professional learning and intentional mentoring to build capacity with assessments to strengthen confidence in school leadership.

Share

COinS