Julie A . Gray | University of West Florida (original) (raw)

Papers by Julie A . Gray

Research paper thumbnail of Qualitative Case Study on Virtual Simulations Engaging Educational Leadership Candidates in Ethical Scenarios that Positively Impacted Leadership Skills

International Journal of Research in Education Methodology, 2024

In this paper, the authors describe one leadership preparation program's approach to enhancing et... more In this paper, the authors describe one leadership preparation program's approach to enhancing ethics and ethical decision-making by embedding high-impact practices and experiential learning opportunities for leadership candidates. The conceptual framework for this research was based on Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) and Kuh's High-Impact Practices (HIPs) to connect theory and practice through practical feedback and leadership coaching. Using experiential virtual simulation experiences provided opportunities for Educational Leadership candidates to apply instructional and ethical leadership practices to authentic, problem-based situations in an innovative online educational leadership program. This approach allowed faculty to offer specific growth areas to strengthen and improve aspiring school leaders' ethical decision-making practices. Furthermore, the paper discusses how virtual simulation enhanced candidates' transformation learning process and bridge theory to practice in a virtual reality environment.

Research paper thumbnail of Student Satisfaction and Perceived Learning in Online Learning Environments: An Instrument Development and Validation Study

Education Leadership Review, 2022

The Student Learning and Satisfaction in Online Learning Environments (SLS-OLE) is an easy to adm... more The Student Learning and Satisfaction in Online Learning Environments (SLS-OLE) is an easy to administer 19-item, self-report measure of student learning and satisfaction in online learning environments. Past studies have reported a measure of four domains of perceived learning and satisfaction associated with their experiences with online learning in higher education. The purpose of this paper was to examine the factor structure of the SLS-OLE with a large sample of graduate students at one university located in the southeastern United States. To assess the fit of the data to the four-factor structure, a confirmatory factor analysis was employed on data collected from 337 participants pursuing an online graduate degree in educational leadership. Results indicate the model adequately fits the data and findings signify that instructor presence is the best predictor of both student satisfaction and perceived learning.

Research paper thumbnail of Central Gulf Coast CDF Freedom Schools’ Approach to Poverty and Learning Loss

Preventing School Failure, 2023

The Central Gulf Coast Children’s Defense Fund summer program has provided a solution to the issu... more The Central Gulf Coast Children’s Defense Fund summer program has provided a solution to the issues related to learning loss and poverty over the last three years. Elementary students were strategically selected from low-income, at-risk, and minority communities to participate in the Freedom Schools program. This study describes the benefits to the students, their families, and the community, as well as the Servant Leader Interns who provided the culturally relevant curriculum. The history, structure, and essential components of Freedom Schools are described for the national model and Central Gulf Coast’s approach. The benefits of the program are also shared, as well as the practical implications for the participants in this study.

Research paper thumbnail of Perspectives of Two Principals: How to Mitigate Learning Loss in Turnaround Schools

Preventing School Failure, 2023

Schools are facing many issues as a result of the recent pandemic, as well as societal pressures ... more Schools are facing many issues as a result of the recent pandemic, as well as societal pressures for all students to achieve. There have been unprecedented changes in the educational landscape with a growing concern for students’ success and learning loss. Instructional leaders are expected to make innovative changes to meet the instructional needs of all students in K-12 public schools, whether brick-and-mortar or virtual platform. Principals are called to lead their schools and organize the initiatives needed to improve the constantly shifting and complex school environment. The authors will describe the effective efforts of two school leaders who supported innovative changes that resulted in two turnaround schools and addressed student learning loss. As instructional leaders and practitioners in the field, it is essential to support and sustain initiatives that promote student achievement and lessen learning loss.

Research paper thumbnail of Immersion of High-Impact Practices: Emerging a Stronger Educational Leadership Program

Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 2022

In this research, the authors describe one principal preparation program's approach to continuous... more In this research, the authors describe one principal preparation program's approach to continuous improvement through accreditation processes. The framework for this research was based upon the Leadership-Focused Coaching (LFC) model (Gray, 2016) and a clinical approach to expand and improve an online educational leadership program by using data collected at course and program level. The faculty worked collaboratively to review the following data: certification exam results, as well as survey data from current students, supervising administrators, recent graduates, alumni, and employers. Valuable feedback were gathered and reviewed from the department's advisory council, accrediting state and national organizations, and program curriculum reviews of courses at an annual data retreat and monthly meetings. Finally, the research describes a model that other principal preparation faculty could consider as they work to improve their programs.

Research paper thumbnail of Leadership-Focused Coaching in Action: An Approach to Continuous Improvement and Supporting Public Schools

International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, , 2022

This article details the efforts of one program' s collaborative efforts toward continuous improv... more This article details the efforts of one program' s collaborative efforts toward continuous improvement and strengthening partnerships with local school districts using Leadership-Focused Coaching, a research-based model for principal preparation programs. Practical experiences and lessons learned from the ongoing online program improvement and redesign initiative are shared. In advance of two accreditation visits, data and feedback were gathered from partner districts, recent graduates, current students, and employers, which helped to identify ways in which the program could better prepare instructional leaders. This article describes the efforts, successes, setbacks, and future plans of a group of professors working to improve a program while preparing for accreditation visits and strengthening district partnerships. Résumé Cet article détaille les efforts d'un programme spécifique de collaboration afin d'assurer une amélioration continue et un renforcement des partenariats avec des districts scolaires locaux au moyen du Leadership-Focused Coaching (coaching axé sur le leadership), lequel est un modèle basé sur la recherche pour les programmes visant à mieux former les directeurs d'école. Cet article partage les expériences et les leçons pratiques tirées d'une initiative en cours qui consiste à améliorer et reconcevoir le programme en ligne dont il est question dans l'article. Avant deux visites d'accrédita

Research paper thumbnail of Organizational Vision

A Case Study Approach to Educational Leadership

Research paper thumbnail of School Climate, Culture, and Professional Community

A Case Study Approach to Educational Leadership

Research paper thumbnail of Equity and Opportunity

Research paper thumbnail of School, Family, and Community Partnerships, Involvement, and Engagement

Research paper thumbnail of Understanding community through enabling school structures and academic optimism in professional learning communities

Over the last few decades we have learned more about the importance of the organizational propert... more Over the last few decades we have learned more about the importance of the organizational properties of our schools and why some schools are successful while others fail. We intend to explore the role of enabling school structures (ESS) and the three components of academic optimism (AO), teacher trust in clients (TCL), collective efficacy (CE), and academic emphasis (AE) in the development of professional learning communities (PLCs). For this study enabling school structures will represent the formal aspect of the school as an organization, while the three components of academic optimism will comprise the informal part of the organization.

Research paper thumbnail of Leadership-focused coaching: An uplifting approach for supporting aspiring leaders

Educational leadership professors prepare aspiring leaders by providing uplifting opportunities t... more Educational leadership professors prepare aspiring leaders by providing uplifting opportunities to connect theory and practice. This paper proposes a research-based model called leadership-focused coaching, an approach to support graduate students in developing and honing instructional leadership skills and responsibilities (Gray, 2016). This paper addresses the shift in principal preparation programs from theory-to-practice to a knowledge-to-practice approach over

Research paper thumbnail of Leadership as bricolage: Innovative leadership at Southeast High School

Research paper thumbnail of Learning via the Case Method

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating the Role of Collective Trust, Collective Efficacy, and Enabling School Structures on Overall School Effectiveness

This study investigated the role of collective trust, collective efficacy, and enabling school st... more This study investigated the role of collective trust, collective efficacy, and enabling school structures on overall school effectiveness. While the concept of organizational effectiveness can be complex and difficult to measure, the results of this research demonstrated a connection of these variables to school effectiveness. Collective trust had a strong influence on organizational effectiveness, controlling for all the other variables including SES. This finding was consistent with earlier work of Tarter and Hoy (2004), which also indicated the sign{°ficance of trust in teachers· perceptions of school effectiveness.

Research paper thumbnail of Improvement, Innovation, and Reform

Research paper thumbnail of Developing professional learning communities through enabling school structures, collegial trust, academic emphasis, and collective efficacy

This study investigated the role of enabling school structures (ESS), collegial trust (CT), acade... more This study investigated the role of enabling school structures (ESS), collegial trust (CT), academic emphasis (AE), and collective efficacy (CE) in the development of professional learning communities (PLCs) in 67 schools in large southeastern school district. ESS represented the formal aspects of the school while the informal were characterized by CT, AE, and CE based upon the perceptions of teachers. As hypothesized, all of the variables shared a significant correlation with each other and collectively explained approximately 79% of the variance in PLCs development. Only ESS had a significant effect on PLCs development, which partially supported the second hypothesis.

Research paper thumbnail of Forecasting the role of enabling school structures and trust on practice in professional learning communities

Research paper thumbnail of Trust and friction: A multi-level analysis of elementary math classrooms.

Leadership and School Quality (12th Volume in Research and Theory in Educational Administration series, 2015

Understand how to maximize classroom climate factors that may positively affect student achieveme... more Understand how to maximize classroom climate factors that may positively affect student achievement scores in mathematics is vital to school improvement efforts. The focus of this study is to examine the impact teacher trust in clients and classroom friction have on elementary math achievement. Both student and teacher perceptions are explored. Surveys were collected from 482 students and their teachers, from 26 math classrooms, across ten elementary schools in Texas. Intraclass correlations were calculated to identify the level of variation in math achievement between classrooms. Next, a random coefficient HLM model was employed to identify the specific impacts that classroom friction and teacher trust in students and parents (clients) have on elementary math achievement. Finally, an intercepts as slope HLM model was created to isolate potential interaction effects between Level 1 (classroom) and Level 2 (school) variables. The results of the analyses indicate that both teacher trust in clients and classroom friction make statistically significant impacts on the variance in elementary math achievement. Teacher years of experience on campus and socioeconomic status (SES) are also examined. Implications are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of The role of enabling school structures, trust, and collective efficacy in developing international professional learning communities

This paper explores the role of enabling school structures, trust, and collective efficacy in the... more This paper explores the role of enabling school structures, trust, and collective efficacy in the development of professional learning communities in six international schools in South and Central America, each with students ranging from pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade. This study hypothesizes that enabling school structures, collegial trust, trust in the principal, and collective efficacy will individually and jointly predict the development of professional learning communities in international schools.

Research paper thumbnail of Qualitative Case Study on Virtual Simulations Engaging Educational Leadership Candidates in Ethical Scenarios that Positively Impacted Leadership Skills

International Journal of Research in Education Methodology, 2024

In this paper, the authors describe one leadership preparation program's approach to enhancing et... more In this paper, the authors describe one leadership preparation program's approach to enhancing ethics and ethical decision-making by embedding high-impact practices and experiential learning opportunities for leadership candidates. The conceptual framework for this research was based on Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) and Kuh's High-Impact Practices (HIPs) to connect theory and practice through practical feedback and leadership coaching. Using experiential virtual simulation experiences provided opportunities for Educational Leadership candidates to apply instructional and ethical leadership practices to authentic, problem-based situations in an innovative online educational leadership program. This approach allowed faculty to offer specific growth areas to strengthen and improve aspiring school leaders' ethical decision-making practices. Furthermore, the paper discusses how virtual simulation enhanced candidates' transformation learning process and bridge theory to practice in a virtual reality environment.

Research paper thumbnail of Student Satisfaction and Perceived Learning in Online Learning Environments: An Instrument Development and Validation Study

Education Leadership Review, 2022

The Student Learning and Satisfaction in Online Learning Environments (SLS-OLE) is an easy to adm... more The Student Learning and Satisfaction in Online Learning Environments (SLS-OLE) is an easy to administer 19-item, self-report measure of student learning and satisfaction in online learning environments. Past studies have reported a measure of four domains of perceived learning and satisfaction associated with their experiences with online learning in higher education. The purpose of this paper was to examine the factor structure of the SLS-OLE with a large sample of graduate students at one university located in the southeastern United States. To assess the fit of the data to the four-factor structure, a confirmatory factor analysis was employed on data collected from 337 participants pursuing an online graduate degree in educational leadership. Results indicate the model adequately fits the data and findings signify that instructor presence is the best predictor of both student satisfaction and perceived learning.

Research paper thumbnail of Central Gulf Coast CDF Freedom Schools’ Approach to Poverty and Learning Loss

Preventing School Failure, 2023

The Central Gulf Coast Children’s Defense Fund summer program has provided a solution to the issu... more The Central Gulf Coast Children’s Defense Fund summer program has provided a solution to the issues related to learning loss and poverty over the last three years. Elementary students were strategically selected from low-income, at-risk, and minority communities to participate in the Freedom Schools program. This study describes the benefits to the students, their families, and the community, as well as the Servant Leader Interns who provided the culturally relevant curriculum. The history, structure, and essential components of Freedom Schools are described for the national model and Central Gulf Coast’s approach. The benefits of the program are also shared, as well as the practical implications for the participants in this study.

Research paper thumbnail of Perspectives of Two Principals: How to Mitigate Learning Loss in Turnaround Schools

Preventing School Failure, 2023

Schools are facing many issues as a result of the recent pandemic, as well as societal pressures ... more Schools are facing many issues as a result of the recent pandemic, as well as societal pressures for all students to achieve. There have been unprecedented changes in the educational landscape with a growing concern for students’ success and learning loss. Instructional leaders are expected to make innovative changes to meet the instructional needs of all students in K-12 public schools, whether brick-and-mortar or virtual platform. Principals are called to lead their schools and organize the initiatives needed to improve the constantly shifting and complex school environment. The authors will describe the effective efforts of two school leaders who supported innovative changes that resulted in two turnaround schools and addressed student learning loss. As instructional leaders and practitioners in the field, it is essential to support and sustain initiatives that promote student achievement and lessen learning loss.

Research paper thumbnail of Immersion of High-Impact Practices: Emerging a Stronger Educational Leadership Program

Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 2022

In this research, the authors describe one principal preparation program's approach to continuous... more In this research, the authors describe one principal preparation program's approach to continuous improvement through accreditation processes. The framework for this research was based upon the Leadership-Focused Coaching (LFC) model (Gray, 2016) and a clinical approach to expand and improve an online educational leadership program by using data collected at course and program level. The faculty worked collaboratively to review the following data: certification exam results, as well as survey data from current students, supervising administrators, recent graduates, alumni, and employers. Valuable feedback were gathered and reviewed from the department's advisory council, accrediting state and national organizations, and program curriculum reviews of courses at an annual data retreat and monthly meetings. Finally, the research describes a model that other principal preparation faculty could consider as they work to improve their programs.

Research paper thumbnail of Leadership-Focused Coaching in Action: An Approach to Continuous Improvement and Supporting Public Schools

International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, , 2022

This article details the efforts of one program' s collaborative efforts toward continuous improv... more This article details the efforts of one program' s collaborative efforts toward continuous improvement and strengthening partnerships with local school districts using Leadership-Focused Coaching, a research-based model for principal preparation programs. Practical experiences and lessons learned from the ongoing online program improvement and redesign initiative are shared. In advance of two accreditation visits, data and feedback were gathered from partner districts, recent graduates, current students, and employers, which helped to identify ways in which the program could better prepare instructional leaders. This article describes the efforts, successes, setbacks, and future plans of a group of professors working to improve a program while preparing for accreditation visits and strengthening district partnerships. Résumé Cet article détaille les efforts d'un programme spécifique de collaboration afin d'assurer une amélioration continue et un renforcement des partenariats avec des districts scolaires locaux au moyen du Leadership-Focused Coaching (coaching axé sur le leadership), lequel est un modèle basé sur la recherche pour les programmes visant à mieux former les directeurs d'école. Cet article partage les expériences et les leçons pratiques tirées d'une initiative en cours qui consiste à améliorer et reconcevoir le programme en ligne dont il est question dans l'article. Avant deux visites d'accrédita

Research paper thumbnail of Organizational Vision

A Case Study Approach to Educational Leadership

Research paper thumbnail of School Climate, Culture, and Professional Community

A Case Study Approach to Educational Leadership

Research paper thumbnail of Equity and Opportunity

Research paper thumbnail of School, Family, and Community Partnerships, Involvement, and Engagement

Research paper thumbnail of Understanding community through enabling school structures and academic optimism in professional learning communities

Over the last few decades we have learned more about the importance of the organizational propert... more Over the last few decades we have learned more about the importance of the organizational properties of our schools and why some schools are successful while others fail. We intend to explore the role of enabling school structures (ESS) and the three components of academic optimism (AO), teacher trust in clients (TCL), collective efficacy (CE), and academic emphasis (AE) in the development of professional learning communities (PLCs). For this study enabling school structures will represent the formal aspect of the school as an organization, while the three components of academic optimism will comprise the informal part of the organization.

Research paper thumbnail of Leadership-focused coaching: An uplifting approach for supporting aspiring leaders

Educational leadership professors prepare aspiring leaders by providing uplifting opportunities t... more Educational leadership professors prepare aspiring leaders by providing uplifting opportunities to connect theory and practice. This paper proposes a research-based model called leadership-focused coaching, an approach to support graduate students in developing and honing instructional leadership skills and responsibilities (Gray, 2016). This paper addresses the shift in principal preparation programs from theory-to-practice to a knowledge-to-practice approach over

Research paper thumbnail of Leadership as bricolage: Innovative leadership at Southeast High School

Research paper thumbnail of Learning via the Case Method

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating the Role of Collective Trust, Collective Efficacy, and Enabling School Structures on Overall School Effectiveness

This study investigated the role of collective trust, collective efficacy, and enabling school st... more This study investigated the role of collective trust, collective efficacy, and enabling school structures on overall school effectiveness. While the concept of organizational effectiveness can be complex and difficult to measure, the results of this research demonstrated a connection of these variables to school effectiveness. Collective trust had a strong influence on organizational effectiveness, controlling for all the other variables including SES. This finding was consistent with earlier work of Tarter and Hoy (2004), which also indicated the sign{°ficance of trust in teachers· perceptions of school effectiveness.

Research paper thumbnail of Improvement, Innovation, and Reform

Research paper thumbnail of Developing professional learning communities through enabling school structures, collegial trust, academic emphasis, and collective efficacy

This study investigated the role of enabling school structures (ESS), collegial trust (CT), acade... more This study investigated the role of enabling school structures (ESS), collegial trust (CT), academic emphasis (AE), and collective efficacy (CE) in the development of professional learning communities (PLCs) in 67 schools in large southeastern school district. ESS represented the formal aspects of the school while the informal were characterized by CT, AE, and CE based upon the perceptions of teachers. As hypothesized, all of the variables shared a significant correlation with each other and collectively explained approximately 79% of the variance in PLCs development. Only ESS had a significant effect on PLCs development, which partially supported the second hypothesis.

Research paper thumbnail of Forecasting the role of enabling school structures and trust on practice in professional learning communities

Research paper thumbnail of Trust and friction: A multi-level analysis of elementary math classrooms.

Leadership and School Quality (12th Volume in Research and Theory in Educational Administration series, 2015

Understand how to maximize classroom climate factors that may positively affect student achieveme... more Understand how to maximize classroom climate factors that may positively affect student achievement scores in mathematics is vital to school improvement efforts. The focus of this study is to examine the impact teacher trust in clients and classroom friction have on elementary math achievement. Both student and teacher perceptions are explored. Surveys were collected from 482 students and their teachers, from 26 math classrooms, across ten elementary schools in Texas. Intraclass correlations were calculated to identify the level of variation in math achievement between classrooms. Next, a random coefficient HLM model was employed to identify the specific impacts that classroom friction and teacher trust in students and parents (clients) have on elementary math achievement. Finally, an intercepts as slope HLM model was created to isolate potential interaction effects between Level 1 (classroom) and Level 2 (school) variables. The results of the analyses indicate that both teacher trust in clients and classroom friction make statistically significant impacts on the variance in elementary math achievement. Teacher years of experience on campus and socioeconomic status (SES) are also examined. Implications are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of The role of enabling school structures, trust, and collective efficacy in developing international professional learning communities

This paper explores the role of enabling school structures, trust, and collective efficacy in the... more This paper explores the role of enabling school structures, trust, and collective efficacy in the development of professional learning communities in six international schools in South and Central America, each with students ranging from pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade. This study hypothesizes that enabling school structures, collegial trust, trust in the principal, and collective efficacy will individually and jointly predict the development of professional learning communities in international schools.