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OpenBU is Boston University’s digital institutional repository for scholarly articles, theses and dissertations, preprints, and grey literature. This repository enables BU researchers to share, disseminate, and preserve their scholarship, and makes their research more accessible
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Identifying organizational structures that impact leader-member exchange and instructional support for retention of high-quality teachers
(2025) Moreno, Caitlin Fenn; Scott, Stacy
This study utilized a qualitative case study approach to examine the complex central phenomenon of teachers' perceptions of Administrative Support and organizational structures. Administrative Support was defined by the combination of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and Instructional Support as each component influenced different aspects of Administrative Support and teacher satisfaction. LMX pertains to the dyadic relationship between an employee and their leader and strong LMX is characterized by feelings of mutual trust, respect, and value. Instructional Support relates to a teacher's feelings of motivation, pride, and success within their profession. Data was collected through a survey that included known survey tools, LMX7 and The Consistent Employee Performance Management tool. Follow up semi-structured interviews with 10 veteran, high-quality teachers were conducted to elicit their perceptions of Administrative Support in 24 different school structures. The cross-case analysis identified themes that indicated strong LMX and high levels of Instructional Support were linked to organizational structures that enabled growth mindsets and cultures of trust, respect, and safety. This study revealed teachers’ perceived strength of LMX increased a teacher’s desire to stay within a school and perceived strength of Instructional Support increased feelings of success and job satisfaction. Combined, schools with strong LMX and strong Instructional Support had teachers with the highest satisfaction, positive school culture and growth mindsets. There were four key findings regarding organizational structures that enabled feelings of support for teachers. 1) Mechanisms for frequent, regular, collaborative support existed in schools with high LMX and high Instructional Support. 2) The implicit or explicitly defined purpose of evaluation impacted how teachers felt trust and supported instructionally. 3) The volume and quality of time spent with one’s evaluator impacted feelings of support. 4) Schools where teachers reported higher levels of LMX and feelings of Instructional Support structured clear roles to support the instructional feedback and evaluation process such as Instructional Coaches, with limited span of control and scope of responsibilities. Recommendations for restructuring evaluation processes and roles to enable feelings of administrative support, and therefore job satisfaction for teachers, are discussed.
World history: analysis of teacher autonomy of content and diversity within curriculum
(2025) Lingley, Alina M.; Young, Jeffrey M.
This study examines teacher autonomy in world history classrooms, especially in relation to choosing multicultural and diverse material to include in curriculum when using the 2018 Massachusetts Social Studies Frameworks. Seven teachers from small suburban Massachusetts high schools with a majority white population were interviewed to understand the lived experience of their choice in curriculum content. Through an extensive literature review, the importance of teaching history, including diverse content in world history classrooms, and use of culturally responsive practices is considered, specifically in the context of helping students to become productive global citizens. The research found that world history teachers felt they have autonomy and with that autonomy, world history teachers’ choices of what to include in content are influenced by access to quality resources, their own personal experiences, student backgrounds, and a responsibility to expose students to multiple perspectives in the larger world context. The study also revealed that the Massachusetts World History standards, a document used in the guidance of curriculum creation, contain a majority Eurocentric content. Despite this, teachers in this study reveal their curricular choices attempt to provide students with multiple perspectives and diverse content when possible. Implications of this study suggest that there are areas of improvement for support of world history teachers from administrators, curriculum creators, and policy makers.
What comes next: detained youths’ perspectives on school reentry
(2025) Boulanger, Bethany; Young, Jeffrey M.
Formerly incarcerated youth often face disproportionately low school attendance and high dropout rates, yet little research centers their voices in understanding these outcomes. This phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of seven youth, aged 14 to 18, currently detained in hardware-secure facilities within the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS), and their plans for school reentry. The purpose was to examine internal and external factors that motivate or deter these youth from returning to school following their release from detention. Data were collected throughsemi-structured interviews to reflect participant perspectives. Major themes emerged including relationships with teachers and school staff, family influence, desire for social connection, and future aspirations. Positive relationships with school adults, peers, and supportive families motivated participants, while stigma, cultural disconnect, and strained peer relationships served as deterrents. Participants described school as a pathway to career and life stability, frequently connecting education with goals like college, trade work, or financial security. Every participant planned to earn a high school credential, though the reality of these plans post-release remains uncertain. Findings inform recommendations for schools, juvenile justice agencies, and future researchers. Emphasizing student voice and grounded in Positive Youth Development (PYD), this study highlights the need for restorative, relationship-centered practices that address barriers to reentry and foster belonging for justice-involved youth.
The perceived relationship between administrators and instructional coaches and impacts on teacher practice from the perspective of the instructional coaches
(2025) Dunbar, Shauntell; Smith-Mumford, Pipier
This qualitative phenomenological study explored the perceived relationship between school administrators and instructional coaches from the perspective of instructional coaches, focusing on how this relationship influences teacher professional development and instructional practice. Drawing on transformational leadership theory, the study examined how trust, communication, and collaboration shaped the effectiveness of coaching and school improvement efforts. Data were collected through surveys and semi-structured interviews with instructional coaches working in public schools across four counties in Massachusetts. The analysis followed Colaizzi’s seven-step method, highlighting three key themes: the role of trust and communication in administrator-coach relationships, collaboration, shared leadership in supporting teachers’ professional development, and structural and cultural barriers that hinder coaching effectiveness.Findings revealed that instructional coaches who had strong, trusting relationships with administrators felt empowered and included in leadership planning, while those with limited administrative engagement experienced inconsistent communication and unclear role expectations. Coaches also emphasized that active administrator participation in professional development efforts significantly strengthened the impact of coaching. However, structural challenges such as leadership turnover, lack of district-wide coaching policies, and insufficient administrator availability undermined the continuity and success of coaching initiatives.
This study contributes to the literature by centering the voices of instructional coaches and identifying critical factors that influence their ability to support teachers. Recommendations include establishing clear coaching policies, ensuring consistent administrative support, and embedding coaching within school leadership structures. By addressing these challenges, schools and districts can better align coaching efforts with school improvement goals and sustain meaningful instructional growth.
The myth of originality
(2025) Wang, Andrew
The other day, I looked back to those special days when I was a kid. I would sit in front of a blank sheet of paper with a colored pencil, and freak out. I was a very neurotic kid. Nothing I could put on the paper seemed right. No beauty could come out of my mind and through my hands. There were a lot of neuroticisms I had to overcome in order to appreciate and engage with art, and a big one was a notion of “originality” in my head which always stopped me from actually making art. To kid me, art was about bringing something from nothing, and to take inspiration was to cheat. Art was the pure expression of coming up with an image in the mind and then transmuting it perfectly onto the page. As I grew up, I learned how a lot of my favorite artists worked, and my childlike notion of “originality” started to feel only like a one-sided illusion, held in the viewer but never in the artist themselves. Whenever I would read the history of a piece of art, I would look for the “originality” and it would never come.
The mete and the muse: the uncategorical American identity
(2025) White, Jocelyn
I often forget myself. Having moved around so often in my youth, I question if I can justify stating I am from New York, or Los Angeles, or even Hailey, Idaho. Over this past winter break, I visited four separate locations: New York, Los Angeles, New Jersey, and New Orleans, the home of my mother’s side of the family. Despite never having been there myself, I am close with my relatives in Louisiana - my mother’s cousin, her parents, and her six-year-old daughter, whom I adore.
Red in my memory
(2025) Wang, Nancy
Each year, as the first new moon of the Chinese lunar calendar marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year, the visual language of celebration takes over, with red emerging as the dominant hue in decorations, art, and symbols. Preparations for the New Year begin, with ubiquitous 福 taped onto windows and doors, symbolizing more than just a wish for happiness—believed to invite fortune. Rolls of couplets (春联 ) are placed on the doors, while peach blossoms and bamboo adorn the windows. Each year, as the streets of Chinatown come alive with the beats of lion dances and firecrackers, I’m showered with confetti and given 红包 (red envelopes) filled with money. Every action holds special meaning, symbolizing the giving or receiving of luck for the new year. In the drawer of my desk, I keep a collection of red envelopes from each year, as though hoarding luck itself. Often adorned with gold details and its year’s designated zodiac animal, these envelopes carry more than just monetary value—they symbolize the passing of blessings and the continuity of fortune across generations. The act of giving and receiving red envelopes, in art, represents familial bonds and the transmission of good fortune within the community.
The museum of fine arts’ presentation of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture
(2025) Bennett, Cameron
When you walk into the main Ancient Greek and Roman gallery of the MFA, you are immediately faced with several marble sculptures, pots, and friezes. It looks like a traditional exhibition of ancient art. In fact, the focal point of the gallery is a colossal Roman statue called Muse with the Head of Juno . The statue is practically the epitome of what comes to mind when we think of Ancient Greek and Roman sculpture, with its flowing drapery and gleaming marble. The gallery is set up in a way so that one weaves through life-size sculptures and all white marble, but another one stands out. It is a Roman copy of the Athena Parthenos, and to the side is a screen with a technological rendering of what she is thought to have looked like. The position of the screen behind the sculpture forces you to reimagine the Athena Parthenos, as well as all other Greek and Roman sculptures.The text on the wall goes on to explain “The Myth of Classical Whiteness,” stating that objects in the gallery marked with a color wheel have traces of pigments and urges the viewer to “experience ancient art as it was meant to be seen.” Science and technology are now forcing museums to present a more accurate presentation of this art, and consequently forcing us to reevaluate our memories and perceptions.
The wereldmuseum: art, colonial legacies, and the power of reclamation
(2025) Plantinga, Carter
The Wereldmuseum in the Netherlands stands as a powerful reflection of the intersection between art, colonial history, and cultural identity. Once a repository for artifacts collected during Dutch colonial rule, the museum has transformed into a space that critically examines the legacy of colonized art and its place in contemporary discourse. By shifting its focus from mere exhibition to a more reflective engagement with history, the Wereldmuseum raises crucial questions about ownership, representation, and the ethics of display. It’s leading the charge for artistic and historical institutions to grapple with their colonial legacies, but is it enough? For centuries, the colonial powers appropriated, categorized, and displayed the artistic expressions of the lands they conquered. Dutch colonial administrators, missionaries, and traders amassed vast collections of paintings, textiles, sculptures, and ceremonial objects, often stripping them of their original meanings and context. These works, removed from their cultural landscapes, were exhibited through a Eurocentric lens, reinforcing narratives of exoticism and subjugation.
Fragments of light: memory, art, and the longing to preserve
(2025) Yermekova, Maya
What is art without nostalgia? Artists and writers alike are fueled by longing for something so distant in their memory and imagination that they often find themselves in desperate attempts to replicate that which was once lost. I myself suffer from nostalgia — its waves hitting me every now and then, convincing me that life, enshrouded in the veil of memory, is much more beautiful, appealing, and desirable compared to what I can see, feel, and hear right in front of me, right in this moment. I find myself incapable of seeing clearly with my eyes constantly seeking to catch a glimpse of something familiar. Yet, memory is distorting and so are all of my attempts to replicate the past.