David Coker

Fort Hays State University · Graduate School

The present study explores how graduate students in an educational leadership program in the United States constructed reflections during an internship. An archival review of students' assignments for a class was conducted. A constant comparison analysis which used grounded theory was carried out. Findings suggest there were two major typologies of...

Aim/Purpose The purpose of the research was to examine the function and application of delimitations—what the researcher includes and excludes in a study—in the dissertation process. The aim was to map the delimitations process to improve research, rigor and relevance of findings, and doctoral completion rates using a formalized and standardized ap...

Most public K-12 schools in the United States enact a school improvement plan each year based upon the state testing results from the previous year. Despite the many frameworks, research, and recommendations, few scholars tackled what the plans contain and the results. Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods model, two stages examined school i...

Doctoral students and researchers commonly practice reflexivity in the research processes. Covert autoethnography was autoethnography which was denied by claims of reflexivity and statements of being unbiased, neutral, and objective. In the research, 15 educational leadership dissertations using qualitative research from 15 universities in the Unit...

Outside of education, many academic disciplines developed and promulgated checklists to evaluate the quality of qualitative studies. This article used an embedded mixed methods approach in three stages: development of a conceptual framework reviewing 62 guidelines; a content analysis of key areas of the guidelines; and review of dissertations to se...

Little is known about monkeypox public concerns since its widespread emergence in many countries. Tweets in Germany were examined in the first three months of COVID-19 and monkeypox to examine concerns and issues raised by the public. Understanding views and positions of the public could help to shape future public health campaigns. Few qualitative...

Research into asynchronous online discussions (AOD) produced conflicting, contradictory results. A central problem was AOD often did not produce a high level of engagement and critical thinking. Synthesizing best practices, a dialectical framework was developed around concrete, actionable levers to improve thinking in online and remote courses. Usi...

The purpose of this chapter is twofold: explore problems in juvenile delinquency and derive a macrobarrier to change. Juvenile delinquents have histories and complex needs which are poorly understood by educators. A barrier is the failure to understand the needs of juvenile delinquents through the leader-member exchange. Understanding the plight of...

Public schools widely use mission statements, and many educational administration programs teach mission statements as a necessary lever for school improvement. A mixed methods investigation examined three levels. An experiential phenomenological analysis examined graduate students’ experiences with mission statements within their own schools and p...

While proponents claimed Response to Intervention (RtI) improved student learning and prevented failure, there was an absence of research in effectiveness. Applying action research within a case study, there was an investigation into the process of reforming and improving RtI within a short-term juvenile detention center in the Midwest of the Unite...

Although there are many articles and recommendations to improve learning, often centered on a theory or concept, we have found a gap: Many of the recommendations fail to translate because there are no steps beyond the general. To enact a transformation of the asynchronous learning space, defined actions and obstacles provide instructors a way to im...

Thematic analysis is a methodology with wide use in content analysis and field work through interviews, observations, and focus groups. Despite popularity with researchers, there are several questions and problems with the methodology. There was an absence in exploration and explanation of the methods and hidden steps in thematic analysis. Using a...

Most studies on grit examined participants who were more successful than others and found grit was a significant factor. There was a gap in the literature for participants with extreme failure, first-time-detained juvenile delinquents, and the impact of grit. The purpose of the present study was an explanatory and exploratory study of grit and the...

Remote learning predominates the research literature during the COVID-19 pandemic, while remote work structures and workflow research were unknown. A rapid scoping review was conducted for remote work and workflow for 2020-2021. After locating and screening articles, a qualitative synthesis of the literature explored trends and themes using themati...

The purpose of this chapter is twofold: explore problems in juvenile delinquency and derive a macrobarrier to change. Juvenile delinquents have histories and complex needs which are poorly understood by educators. A barrier is the failure to understand the needs of juvenile delinquents through the leader-member exchange. Understanding the plight of...

The validity of the Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale (SISE) in adolescents was not well established, and how self-esteem manifested in newly incarcerated juvenile delinquents was poorly described. Using a retrospective study with archival records, the SISE was compared to other measures of self-esteem, grit, mental health, and academic self-concept in...

The present study provides a description and analysis of the plight of first-time detained juvenile delinquents in the United States and the impact of noncognitive attributes and academic achievement on grades. Juvenile delinquents have poor outcomes as adults in higher rates of drug abuse, poor high school graduation rates, and lowered employment...

Magazine article with strategies to improve remote work from industry leaders. Published in District Administration at https://districtadministration.com/5-strategies-to-improve-remote-work/?highlight=coker

COVID-19 mitigation efforts resulted in many schools making the transition to online and remote instruction. Juvenile delinquents, as a group, attained lower academic achievement before the pandemic, and little was known how juvenile delinquents' education fared after schools ceased face-to-face instruction. Using a mixed methods approach, three st...

The present study explores how first-time detained juvenile delinquents compare to nondelinquent youths on academic and noncognitive factors. Little is known about newly detained juvenile delinquents, as most studies of juvenile delinquents deal with long-term facilities. Using archival records, a review was conducted at a small, regional juvenile...

The purpose of this study was to explore the roles, perspectives, and actions of teachers and students for first-time-detained juvenile delinquents by examining a reading intervention for a student. Using an action research methodology, the reading intervention was explored within the broader context of the history and operations of the juvenile de...

National organizations in the United States issued policy proposals for returning to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative review, using the constant comparison model, examined six policies from different organizations. The policies operate on the notion of a progressive curriculum, with the values of equity, access, and adaptations dr...

Many researchers report risk ratios of White students to Black students with disabilities to show disproportionality and draw the conclusion discrimination exists. Risk ratios, upon further inspection, have methodological and philosophical problems which challenge the usefulness. A qualitative literature review provides a framework for understandin...

This policy paper reviews research and practices of K-12 schools transitioning to remote learning and offers recommendations to improve student academic achievement. There are many problems facing schools’ move to remote learning, with poor participation and uneven results. Research findings show there is a crisis, with stagnating academic achievem...