2020 Volume 8
2020 - Volume 8 Open Issue: Scholarship Across the University
| Individual articles can be accessed below. The full volume of the journal is available at the following link: |
Small business entrepreneurs face high failure rates, yet the success of local, state, and national economies relies on the success of small business. With a lack of capital commonly cited as a reason for failure, entrepreneurs must find ways to predict business survival. Grounded in pecking order and enactment theory, the central question was whether the amount of bootstrapping financing, measured by a bootstrapping survey, and numbers of employees significantly predicts firm success, measured by firm age in years. A predictive correlational quantitative research method with a cross-sectional survey design was used to answer the research question. Study participants (n = 111) were owners of small businesses in the state of New Hampshire who had been in business for a minimum of 5 years. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicated that bootstrap use and number of employees did not significantly predict business survival. The majority of entrepreneurs surveyed used at least one method of bootstrap finance to support their business. Bootstrapping methods with the highest rate of use were offering the same conditions to all customers, negotiating the best payment terms with suppliers, and buying used equipment rather than new equipment. Keywords: Bootstrap finance, bootstrapping, small business finance, pecking order, theory of enactment | |
This qualitative case study examined the perceptions held by a group of high school teachers in their first year of service regarding the pre-service training each received in the three core classroom management strategies. The study explored the phenomenon of high school teachers in urban school districts beginning their teaching careers without the adequate preparation and training to effectively manage behavior. Canter’s Assertive Discipline model provided the theoretical framework, and four dominant themes emerged from the data. Participants claimed a need for more training using positive reinforcement strategies in their classrooms, more practical behavior modification strategies and less theory, a much larger volume of observation and practicum activities, and more emphasis to be placed on building positive relationships with the students. There is clear demand for teacher-education reform, and this study creates a systematic outline for implementing practical, logical changes to advance pre-service teacher training in America and abroad. Keywords: positive and negative consequences; pre-service teachers; classroom management; Canter; mentor; observations | |
The purpose of this paper is to examine the utilization of nonfiction narratives in Holocaust education to determine if they are a valuable pedagogical tool that leads the learner to a higher state of moral decision-making. This research correlates with Lawrence Kohlberg’s moral development findings (1971), and uses a mixed methodological approach studying data from surveys and learner-generated journal entries. More than 60 7th grade social studies learners were asked to complete a unit of study on the Holocaust. This study of the Holocaust included reading the nonfiction narrative Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust (2004) by Allan Zullo and Mara Bovsun. Results indicate that learners are capable of reaching a level of deeper thinking where an adolescent makes connections and inferences beyond a simple recall of information. The experiences that narratives capture ultimately serve as starting points for students to examine a much broader range of moral questions. Keywords: Holocaust, Education, Moral Development, Adolescent Literature, History Education | |
In higher education, there are multiple executive leaders (e.g., chancellor, vice chancellor, president, provost, assistant provost, and deans) who are individuals prominent in leading many institutions and educators. While empowered leaders have changed over the centuries, there continues to be the vexing question regarding what are the best leadership strategies needed to lead educational institutions more effectively? Many leadership styles have emerged from the 1970s until the present to include the visionary, charismatic, transformational, and transactional; nevertheless, in these changing times, researchers continue to explore a variety of combined styles that are most beneficial. This literature review is a scholarly study that focuses on multiple leadership strategies and discusses the benefits of using polarity leadership in higher education based on an integrative review of the literature. The paper presents valuable information regarding why using polarity leadership in conjunction with other leadership styles are most important at this point. It is hoped that presenting polarity leadership will provide new thoughts of adaptation for upcoming academic leaders. Understanding the concept of polarities and how other leadership dimensions can work congruently can offer transitioning leaders new-found approaches to adopt in their professional practices. Furthermore, this study offers insight into successful factors that academic administrators can use daily to increase efficacy. Keywords: Transformational and transactional leadership, polarity leadership, polarity, autocratic leadership, charismatic leadership, cross-cultural leadership, democratic leadership, facilitative leadership, laissez-faire leadership, transformational, and transactional leadership. | |
| Among the varied approaches policy makers and administrators use to encourage students to smoothly transition from high school to college is the use of concurrent enrollment programs on both college and high school campuses. While use of this strategy has been trending upward in recent years, few empirical studies have been done to verify the efficacy of these programs. The focus of this study was to determine factors of student perception of the overall efficacy of metro Denver area concurrent enrollment programs. Prior to this study, it was not known to what extent student participation in concurrent enrollment programs in the metro Denver area would predict student perception of program efficacy. The study contributes to a larger body of literature on the factors that influence student perception of the efficacy of concurrent enrollment programs and provides an insight into factors that may help determine overall how effective concurrent enrollment programs are in accomplishing their purported goals. | |
Embedded Peer Mentors at Grand Canyon University: A Model for Enhanced Learning in Developmental Writing Classes and Enhanced Soft Skills for Education Majors JENNIFER M. SANTOS | TIMOTHY B. SIMS Read Article | This article explores the role of embedded peer mentors in large developmental writing classes as both an intervention for the developmental writers and as an experiential learning experience for the mentors themselves, who develop the soft skills needed for teacher efficacy. In the Grand Canyon University (GCU) peer mentoring pilot, education majors served as in-class mentors for developmental writing students. This pilot was co-designed by two students and one faculty member. Initial observations suggest that the peer mentoring process can help developmental students develop resilience and improve writing skills; for education majors who serve as mentors, the peer mentoring process helps bridge the gap between concept introduction and student teaching. Allowing education majors to develop their skill sets before practicum enhances their self-efficacy while at the same time building writing efficacy for developmental learners. |
| Moving from Image to Narrative to Voice EILEEN GROOM Read Article | As I review rubrics used for evaluating writing in my institution, I notice how voice often is a low priority or nonexistent criterion. Writing, however, with a voice awakens a reader; writing without a voice numbs the reader. Beginning with an image and moving to a narrative may provide writers with a voice, as it has for me. This article is a contemplation resulting from my own writing on the importance of images in generating not only a narrative but also a voice, in other words, a sense that a unique individual is conversing with another, the reader. |
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