Welcome to Ocean Blvd Insights LLC, where action research is used to examine and improve faculty trust in schools.

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Ocean Blvd Insights LLC also provides coaching to improve overall wellness and joy in work through mindfulness, gratitude practices, and goal setting.

Seeking Educators for a UNLV Action Research Study on Faculty Trust

Seeking Educators for a UNLV Action Research Study on Faculty Trust​

About This Study

My name is Jess, and I am a doctoral student at UNLV, pursuing a degree in Executive Educational Leadership through the Educational Policy and Leadership Program. I am conducting an action research study on faculty trust in principals, specifically focusing on how female principals in Title I schools cultivate and improve trust with their faculty in the post-COVID-19 era. This research study is part of my dissertation, and I invite you to consider participating.

Purpose of This Study

The purpose of this qualitative study aims to identify specific behaviors that female principals in Title I schools engage in to build trust with their faculty since the COVID-19 pandemic. This study hopes to shine a light on behaviors and actions female Title I principals take to build faculty trust in a post-pandemic education environment, specifically through Brené Brown’s B.R.A.V.I.N.G. elements that include boundaries, reliability, accountability, vault (confidentiality), integrity, non-judgment, and generosity (Brown, 2018). This action research study follows a cyclical approach that includes acting, observing, and reflecting to ensure the developed strategies are practical, relevant, and adaptable (Stringer & Aragon, 2021; Kemmis, 1982).

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Who can Participate?

• Timeframe: Educators (teachers, principals, and central office administrators supervising principals) who worked from January 2020 to January 2023.  

• Role Consistency: Educators who remained in the same role (teacher, principal, or central office administrator supervising principals) from January 2020 to January 2023. Educators could have worked in different schools and/or different school districts.  

• Geographic Location: Educators who worked in Arizona (AZ), California (CA), Colorado (CO), Nevada (NV) (excluding Clark County School District), New Mexico (NM), or Texas (TX) from January 2020 to January 2023.

• Gender: Teachers and central office administrators supervising principals can be female or male. Principals must be female.  

• School Type: Educators who worked in and/or supervised principals in Title I schools from January 2020 to January 2023. 

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Exclusion Criteria

• Geographic Exclusion: Nevada educators (teachers, principals, and central office administrators supervising principals) who worked in the Clark County School District.

• Principal Gender Exclusion: Male principals.

• Title I Exclusion: Educators (teachers, principals, and central office administrators supervising principals) who did not work in Title I schools from January 2020 to January 2023 for the entire time.  

• Geographic Exclusion: Educators (teachers, principals, and central office administrators supervising principals) who did not work in AZ, CA, CO, NV, NM, or TX.

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What to Expect & Incentives

• An opportunity to share your insights and experiences

• Contributions will help improve school leadership practices.

• The study will be conducted in three phases.

• Phase 1: Focus Groups

• A confidential 60-minute virtual focus group. 

• Small group discussions (3-7 participants) will be held via Zoom with central office administrators supervising principals, female elementary school principals leading Title I schools, and Teachers working with female principals in Title I schools. Each participant will receive a $50 Amazon gift card for attending the one-hour focus group. Participants will also have the opportunity to review the transcript of their focus group discussion via email within seven days to confirm its accuracy.

• Phase 2: Playbook Development and Webinar

• Insights from the focus groups will be used to create a Faculty Trust Playbook containing actionable strategies for principals. I will then provide a 30- to 45-minute webinar on the Faculty Trust Playbook, which can be attended live or viewed as a recording. Focus group participants who attend the webinar or watch the recording and complete the post-webinar Faculty Trust Playbook Survey will receive an additional $50 Amazon gift card.

• Phase 3: Implementation and Reflection

• Principals who participate in the focus groups will have the option to implement strategies from the Faculty Trust Playbook and complete a survey two weeks later to assess their effectiveness. The results will inform refinements to the Playbook. Participating principals will receive another $100 Amazon gift card for completing this post-implementation survey.

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Benefits of Participating in the Action Research

Your participation will contribute valuable insights into trust-building practices and the development of a practical guide (Faculty Trust Playbook) for school leaders navigating post-pandemic challenges to improve faculty trust. While there may be no direct benefit to you personally, this playbook can potentially enhance professional learning for other school leaders.

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Risks of Participating

All research studies involve some level of risk. In this study, the risks are considered minimal. However, you may experience some discomfort when discussing topics related to faculty trust.

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Eligibility

• To determine your eligibility for this study, please complete this short Google Form. Once you submit the form, I will contact you with further details. Thank you for your time and consideration. I appreciate your dedication to education and look forward to the possibility of working with you.

• LINK to Eligibility Survey

• I will contact you within a week to inform you of your eligibility and next steps.​