Article #5
A
Particularly Degraded Case of Intellectual Corruption of Education Professors: The Abominable Dissertation of Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams
Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Lisa
Sayles-Adams’s dissertation, African American Women Principals: A
Phenomenological Study to Explore Their Experiences in K-12 Leadership, published in 2022 after approval of a
committee at Minnesota State University/Mankato consisting of Natalie Rasmussen
(dissertation adviser), Candace Raskin, and Efe Agbamu, is an intellectual abomination.
For a reason that I have not yet determined,
Sayles-Adams took the highly unusual step of putting the dissertation on
“embargoed” (delayed availability to the public) status for almost two years
after publication. The dissertation
became available in November 2024.
Dissertations cannot be altered once these
doctoral theses have been approved by a candidate’s committee and submitted to
the library of the college or university at which the doctorate is received.
The dissertation completed, approved, and submitted by Lisa Sayles-Adams is a
confoundingly terrible presentation of research, full of misspelled words, word
usage errors, run-on sentences, and awkward syntax. Further, the dissertation is gravely flawed
with regard to structure, presentation of findings, and analysis of data.
The dissertation that appeared to the public
in November 2024 should have never been approved by the committee. In my own document, commencing with these
“Introductory Comments” and continuing in the chapters that follow, I provide a
detailed analysis of the above-mentioned flaws and others. In doing so, I analyze each of the five
chapters in the Sayles-Adams dissertation:
Chapter I (along with “Acknowledgments” and “Abstract”), “Background of
the Problem”; Chapter II, “Review of the
Literature”; Chapter III,
“Methodology”; Chapter IV, “Findings”;
and Chapter V, “Discussion.”
As of November 2024, continuing into February
2025, Sayles-Adams’s dissertation was listed on “Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works
for Minnesota State University, Mankato,” at link, https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1266/ . According
to librarians at University of Minnesota/Mankato, Sayles-Adams withdrew the
dissertation from the Cornerstone listing on 17 February 2025; in early March 2025, as I concluded
preparation of this analysis, the Sayles-Adams dissertation was still listed as
“withdrawn” at that site. Readers may go
to the above link to observe the withdrawn status of the dissertation.
Once again, then, Sayles-Adams withdrew her
dissertation from public view, creating more mystery as to why Sayles-Adams is
so hesitant to submit her dissertation to public scrutiny. This runs counter to the very idea of
doctoral dissertations, the purpose of which is to contribute to the
intellectual universe of public knowledge.
A few months ago, the Sayles-Adams
dissertation once again was presented in a situation with few precedents. Members of the public may now make an appointment
with librarians at Minnesota State University/Mankato to read the Sayles-Adams dissertation
only in the librarian
Sufficiently
discerning readers of Lisa Sayles-Adams’s dissertation will readily observe the
many flaws of English usage, the structural problems of the dissertation, the
poorly executed interviews of the participant principals, the failure to follow
up with questions that could have produced material of considerable value in
understanding the experiences of these women, and the lack of any meaningful
contribution to scholarly literature.
Contrast the unwillingness of Lisa Sayles-Adams
to post her dissertation for broad public reading, in the manner of all of the following
dissertation until one arrives at that year of 2022 and discovers the strange
status of the Sayles-Adams dissertation >>>>>
Theses/Dissertations
from 2025
Exploring
Front-Line Implementers Perceptions to Inform Tier 1 PBIS Implementation
Coaching, Sammi Cowger
Embodied
Affliction: Somalis’ Perception of Trauma, Ahmed M.
Hassan
A
Qualitative Examination of Special Education Directors' Beliefs Regarding
Restrictive Procedures, Jennifer L. Krueger
Racial
Diversity Matters: Experiences of Dental Hygienists of Color in Education and
Practice, Sonika Masih
Theses/Dissertations
from 2024
A
Phenomenological Study of the Utilization of Student Voice by Midwest Urban
Secondary Schools within School Improvement Plan Strategies, Jessica
Peifer Busse
Facilitating
Posttraumatic Growth Among Service Members and Veterans Through a Book Study
Group Intervention, Susan Craig
Guided
Self Placement as a Stand-Alone Assessment, Judy
Endres
A
Critical Phenomenological Study of White Educators who Engage in Antiracism,
Maria-Renée D. Grigsby
Practices
to Recruit and Retain Teachers of Color in Rural Minnesota Schools, Eric
Hudspith
Mental
Health Among Somali Women in the United States, Khadra
M. Hussien
How
I Got Over: Long-Serving Black Women Principals Coping with Microaggressions, Chreese
Jones
Enhancing
a School Readiness Skill Through a Mindfulness-Based Intervention: Soles of the
Feet, Caitlin J. Moen
Examining
Latinx Principals' and Assistant Principals' "Desafios" in K-12
Education in the Upper Midwest, Melisa Rivera
Comparing
the Effects of Choice and Performance Feedback on the Writing Fluency Outcomes
of Elementary Students, Collin M. Seifert
ENHANCING
COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS OF HMONG ADOLESCENTS THROUGH GROUP WORK IN HIGH
SCHOOL, Xeev Vang
Holistic
Assessment of Counseling Self-Efficacy Development among Counselors in Training
from a Regression Model, Shu-Ching Wang
Centering
Students of the Global Majority in United States Community College Critical
Internationalization Programming: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study, Jennifer
T. Westmoreland
Environment
and Belief: Investigating the Dakota Archeological Record, Anna Kay
Wiitanen-Eggen
Theses/Dissertations
from 2023
Tier
II Behavioral Intervention: A Direct Comparison of Two Versions of Class Pass, Madeline
Cordle
Determining
the Quality of the Evidence Base for Incremental Rehearsal, Emily K.
Fischer
Removing
Barriers and Establishing Gender and Sexuality Alliances in Schools: A
Qualitative Analysis of GSA Advisor Experiences, Maxwell
L. Keller
Combining
the Word Box Intervention and Syllabication to Support the Acquisition of
Advanced Decoding Skills, Elizabeth Kinsey Hawley
Intellect
Does Not Have an Accent: The Lived Experiences of Women Native Speakers of
Spanish with Professional Leadership Positions in United States and Have an
Accented English Speech, Isabel E. Rodriguez-Mendoza
Investigating
Emerging Bilingual Learner Related Field Experiences in School Psychology
Graduate Training, Austin Rogers
Instructional
Practices that Promote Reading Growth in K-3 Students: A Qualitative Study of
Highly Effective Reading Teachers, Valora J. Unowsky
Theses/Dissertations
from 2022
Investigating
the Effectiveness of the Positive Reinforcement Components of Tootling, Kennedi
J. Alstead
Perceptions
of Faculty and Administration on the Value of Service-Learning in the Tenure
and Promotion Process at a Public Midwestern University, Odbayar
Batsaikhan
Pathways
Towards an Engineering Baccalaureate Degree - Critical Incidents and Factors
Leading Students to Choose Community College: A Phenomenological Study, Joan
Zitur Carter
The
Perspective of Black Male Middle School and High School Students in a Mentoring
Program, Quennel W. Cooper
The
Effectiveness of a Caregiver Delivered Phonics Intervention for At-Risk
Students, Iwalani Dela Paz-Miller
Effects
of Daily Spaced Versus Massed Practice on Spelling Word Retention Among
Struggling Spellers, Melissa Engel
Relationship
Between Student Hope and Academic Achievement, Deanna
S. Fosness
Death
Anxiety: A Quantitative Exploration of Professional Counselors Experiences, Kaitlyn
Judith Kaus
Cover-Copy-Compare
as a Math Fact Fluency Intervention for Students in an Alternative Special
Education Program, RaeLynn J. Lamminen
Recognizing
Capital: A Study of Cultural Wealth, Grit, and Student Success, Jessica
Lauritsen
Exploring
the Effects of Creativity and Student Success on Community College STEM
Students Taking Fine Arts Courses, Jimmy LeDuc
What
Rural Middle School Students Who Have Been Bullied Can Teach Us About Bullying:
A Phenomenological Study, Sarah Lendt
Family
Involvement in Charter Elementary Schools: A Case Study Using the Family
Involvement Questionnaire-Elementary Version (FIQ-E), Dorothy
M. Lipski
Investigating
Beliefs: White Female Teachers' Perceptions of Black Boys and Their Subsequent
Achievement-A Qualitative Study, Kirky L. Morris
Increasing
Above and Beyond Behavior Through Social Emotional Learning, Lars
Olson
Accelerated
Growth: A Case Study of Teacher Beliefs and Instructional Strategies That
Promote Achievement for Students of Color, Astein
K. Osei
African
American Women Principals: A Phenomenological Study to Explore their
Experiences in K-12 Leadership, Lisa Sayles-Adams
Comments
This
dissertation can be viewed in-person by appointment only in the University
Archives at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Contact the University
Archives to set up
an appointment during normal business hours.
Fundamental
Factors for Success: Engineering Faculty and Industry Partners, Molly F.
Schaefer
The
Ability of DIBELS to Predict Proficiency on the Minnesota Comprehensive
Assessment and the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs,
Katherine Schultz
Virtues
and Values: A Transcendental Phenomenological Examination of Professional Coach
Trainers' Use of Virtue Ethics as a Tool in Their Practice, Julianne
Schwietz
Do
They Make a Difference? Twin Cities Magnet Schools in the Heart of Metropolitan
Inequity and Segregation, Scott A. Thomas
Theses/Dissertations
from 2021
The
Impact of Professional Perspectives on Team Participation and Satisfaction on
Intent to Implement Interventions Determined by Multidisciplinary Teams,
Julieanna Bowen
Supporting
Resilience in Reserve Component Spouses During Deployment: The Impact of Family
Life Cycle Phase and Deployment History on Social Support Needs, Jennifer
L. Ceminsky
Academic
Writing Challenges Experienced by International Students in a Midwest U.S.
University: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Padam B. Chauhan
Understanding
How Experienced World History Teachers in Minnesota Choose Course Content: A
Mixed Methods Study, Kathleen Ferrero
Faculty
and Dean Attitudes Toward Institutional Civic Responsibility, Mutual Trust, and
Civic Mindedness at Two Year Colleges, David W. Kobilka
Novice
Professional School Counselor Development: An Interpretative Phenomenological
Analysis of Supports and Resources, Lynn M. O'Brien
The
Impact of Cultural Competency on the School Improvement Process: A
Phenomenological Study, Michelle deKam Palmieri
“Positive”
Student Behavior: Investigating Educator Perceptions of Student Behavior in
Terms of Willingness to Reward and Magnitude of Reward, Kelsey
Stangler
Predicting
Mental Health Counseling Professionals’ Willingness to Discuss Sexuality Issues
with Clients, Becca L. Thompson
Examining
Differences in Rural, Micropolitan, and Metropolitan School Psychologists Roles
and Delivery of Mental Health Services, Ashley A. Williamson
Theses/Dissertations
from 2020
Alignment
or Detachment: College Educators’ Perceptions of Experiential Learning Pedagogy, Wayne D.
Finseth
An
Examination of Nature Relatedness, Nature Exposure, and Quality of Work-Life
Among Student Affairs Professionals, Breanne Hiivala
Students'
Preparation for College Through Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID)
Programs and Dual Enrollment, Brian P. Jones
Transformational
Teaching in a Culturally Passive Environment in Higher Education: A
Phenomenological Study of STEM Professors, Julie M.
Kjeer
Applying
Peer Tutoring to Spelling at the Elementary Level, Ashlee
Lundberg
Effects
of Synchronous Group Work on Learning and Community in Online Mathematics at
Community Colleges, Carrie L. Naughton
Telepsychiatry
Preferences Among College Students Diagnosed and Undiagnosed with a Mental
Health Condition, Wendy Schuh
Predicting
Academic Outcomes of Reinstated Technical College Students Following an
Academic Suspension, Erica E. Stene Winkler
Effects
of Aromatherapy on Academic Success, Perceived Stress, and Coping Skills of
Graduate Students, Lakisha S. Witter
Managing
Students as Volunteers: Community Organizations’ Perspectives of
Service-Learning Placements, Bradley Wolfe
Theses/Dissertations
from 2019
Cyberbullying
Prevention and Intervention: Perspectives of School Psychologists and School
Counselors, Rachel E. Burlet
Engagement
and STEM Degree Completion: An Analysis of the Relationship Between
Time-To-Completion and Engagement and Pre-College Variables, Karina
(Harstad) Clennon
Death:
A Qualitative Content Analysis of Counseling Journals, 1986–2016, Aaron
Suomala Folkerds
Perceived
Barriers of Homeschooled Students Moving into Higher Education: Case Stories
and Qualitative Perspectives, Lizbeth Kliewer
Evaluating
the Effects of Tootling When Implemented in Special Education Classrooms
Providing Behavior Supports, Jannine E. Ray
A
Mixed Methods Study on Engineering Students' Perceptions of Their Future
Careers, Catherine McGough Spence
Racial
Microaggressions and Alienation Among Hmong American College Students, Bruce
Yang
Theses/Dissertations
from 2018
My
Truth, My Telling: Experiences of Black Women Principals in a Poetry-themed
Workshop on Race and Gender, Antonia Felix
Improving
Mathematical Skill: The Perceptions of Rural Minnesota Mathematics Educators, Michael
Haskins
The
Experience of Microaggressions within Cross-Racial Videoconferencing
Supervision: A Case Study, Jamie Hedin
Effective
Characteristics of Rural English Learner Programs, Sarah
Huseby
A
Study of the Soft Skills that Contribute to the Success of Newly Graduated
Business Students in the Workplace, Promeet Jaswant Singh
What
Happens Now? Coaching and Leading Following a Student-Athlete Death - A
Phenomenological Study, Peter McGahey
African-Centered
Pedagogy: Exploring Black Male Identity and Achievement through an
African-Centered Lens, Kenneth Turner Jr.
Theses/Dissertations
from 2017
Adolescents'
Experiences Returning to School after a Mental Health Hospitalization, Pamela
Iverson
Perceptions
of Students With and Without Limited Formal Schooling, Sarah
Schmidt de Carranza
Investigating
the Effects of Performance Feedback and Choice as a Writing Fluency
Intervention, Samantha Jean Steinman
Instructional
Design: How Secondary Teachers Promote Student Comprehension of Informational
Text, Patti Strukel
Women’s
Choice in College STEM Majors: Impact of Ability Tilt on Women Students’
Educational Choice, Audie Jane Willis
Theses/Dissertations
from 2016
Missing
Voices: Journeys of Pre-Service Teacher Candidates and Graduates of Color in a
Predominantly White Teacher Education Program, Robbie
R. Burnett
IT
Centralization and the Innovation Value Chain in Higher Education: A Study for
Promoting Key Innovations Through Innovation Management and Organizational
Design, Edmund Udaya Clark
Cognitive
Complexity, Mindfulness, and Reflection in Mental Health Professionals,
Dharshini Goonetilleke
Spirituality
in Higher Education: A Narrative Analysis of Its Use for Decision-Making, Jeffrey
Francis Judge
The
Relationship between College Students' Use of Facebook and their Feelings of
Alienation from their Institution, Oleksandr Komarenko
A
Phenomenological Study of Professional and Practical Changes Experienced by
Teachers Involved with Action Research in a Learning Community Master’s Program, Jay Dean
Meiners
Performing,
Sensing, Being: Queer Identity in Everyday Life, Justin
J. Rudnick
Self-Directed
Learning in PBL, Ron Ulseth
Faculty
and Student Perceptions of Effective Online Learning Environments, Kayla L.
Westra
Student
Perceptions of Academic Advising at Two-Year Colleges, Wayne T.
Whitmore
Stakeholder
Management in High School Athletics: An Individual-Level Analysis., Jennifer
Zdroik
Theses/Dissertations
from 2015
Through
the Looking Glass: Barriers and Coping Mechanisms Encountered by African
American Women Presidents at Predominately White Institutions, Maria
Louise Baxter-Nuamah
The
Fertility Problem Inventory and Infertility-Related Stress: A Case Study, Staci
Leigh Born
Feminist
Identities: Career Choices and Experiences of College-Educated Women, Kerry
Diekmann
A
Validation of the Family Involvement Questionnaire-High School Version, Katlyn
Ann Grover
A
Phenomenological Investigation of Clinical Intuition among Alcohol and Drug
Counselors, Zach Hansen
Linking
Reading Assessment Data to Intervention Using the 4-Box Instructional Decision
Making Model, Jeremy Husfeldt
Literacy
Strategies Successfully Implemented by Secondary Social Studies Teachers, Kelly
Killorn
A
Phenomenological Study of the Experience of Counseling for Women with
Addictions, Jennifer Karin Londgren
A
Grounded Theory of Women's Leadership Experiences in Higher Education:
Navigating from the Director Level, Laura Ann Maki
Students'
Perceptions of Life Skill Development in Project-Based Learning Schools, Kimberly
Ann Meyer
Investigating
Stability Balls in the Classroom: Effects on Student Behavior and Academic
Productivity, Natasha A. Olson
Early
Career Principal Development: A qualitative case study of Principals'
Perceptions of Participation in the Institute of Engaged Principal Leadership, Teri
Marie Preisler
Increasing
Paraprofessional Fidelity of Implementation Through Performance Feedback, Dana
Nicole Shea
Theses/Dissertations
from 2014
Implementing
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports at the Secondary Level, Sheri L.
Allen
The
Identification of Successes and Barriers in Establishing Professional Learning
Communities From Principals' Perspectives, Katie
Carol Clarke
Leadership
Curricula of Professional Athletic Training Programs,
Elizabeth Drake
The
Development of a Teacher-Rating Measure of Positive Behavior, Sara Ann
Ebsen
Determining
Effective/Ineffective: The Barriers Facing Minnesota Teacher Remediation, Matthew
John Hillmann
Perspectives
of Female Leaders in Athletic Training, Kyle Matthew Momsen
Experiences
and Perspectives of Clinical Supervisors in Cross-Cultural Supervision: The
Impact of Supervisor Race and Ethnicity, Masahiko
Sato
Seclusion
and Restraint Policy and Practice: Are We Doing the Right Thing?, Laura L.
Strunk
Effects
of a Cross-Age Peer Tutoring Intervention on English Language Oral Reading
Fluency in a Belizean Grade School, Marcia Ruth Sytsma
Using
a State-wide Survey to Determine the Impact of Positive Behavior Interventions
and Supports on Students' Self-Reported Perceptions, Feelings, and Behaviors, Rachel
Youngblom
Theses/Dissertations
from 2013
Trait
Emotional Intelligence, Perceived Discrimination, and Academic Achievement
among African American and Latina/o High School Students: A Study of Academic
Resilience, Nicholas Russell Abel
Contextual
Pedagogy: A Praxis Engaging Black Male High School Students Toward Eliminating
the Achievement Gap, Timothy Alan Berry
Building
Self-Directed Teachers: A Case Study of Teachers' Perspectives of the Effects
of Cognitive Coaching on Professional Practices, Kevin S.
Bjerken
A
Systematic Analysis of Paraprofessional Job Expectations: Development of the
Paraprofessional Survey of Expectations Tool (P-SET), Angela
Maxine Christenson
Prevent-Teach-Reinforce
for Function-based Behavior Intervention Planning in Positive Behavior Support, Brett
William DeJager
Measuring
Success for English Language Learners from a Multi-dimensional Perspective, Randy
Haley
Assessing
the "Goodness of Fit" Between Scholarly Assertions and Audience
Interpretations of Media Images of Black Male Athletes, Emily J.
Houghton
Organizational
Culture as a Function of Institutional Type in Higher Education, Jason
Alexis Kaufman
Choice
Amount and Choice-Making in Children: A Comparison of Children with and without
Symptoms of ADHD, Liesa Klein
An
Examination of the Influence of Formative Self-Assessment on College Student
Mastery Orientation in College Courses, Jamie Lynn Mahlberg
International
and Cross-Cultural Application of the Good Behavior Game, Julene
Douty Nolan
The
Good Teacher: A Qualitative Analysis of Perceptions of Asian American Parents, Mariam
Zia Qureshi
Building
a Culture of Innovation: A Case Study in Digital Integration, Anthony
H. VonBank
An
Investigation of the Relationship Between School Failure and At-Risk Students'
General Self-Efficacy, Academic Self-Efficacy, and Motivation,
Marguerite Josephine Wentzel
Examining
Culture and Structure: A Case Study of Three Middle Colleges, Anne F.
Weyandt
Submissions
from 2012
Student
Teacher Perceptions of the Impact of Mentoring on Student Teaching, Lori Kay
Bird
A
National Study of the Ethical Dilemmas Faced by Student Conduct Administrators, Mary C.
Dowd
Factors
Influencing the Institutionalization of Diversity in Higher Education, Kelly S.
Meier
Principal
Perceptions of the Relevancy of the K-12 Minnesota Principal Competencies, Paul
Peterson
Theses/Dissertations
from 2011
Freshman
Student-Faculty Interactions and GPA: Predictors of Retention and Overall
Satisfaction, Katelyn Romsa
Submissions
from 2010
Emotional
Intelligence and Cognitive Moral Development in Undergraduate Business Students,
Elizabeth Pluskwik
Submissions
from 1997
The
Effects of Individual, Contextual, and Moral Intensity Factors on Environmental
Ethical Decision Making, Brenda L. Flannery
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