Digital Commons Network^™

Outstanding Educational Performance Awards: Highlighting High-Achieving Arkansas Schools, 2013, Vera R. Deberg, Sarah M. Burks, Prairey Walkling, Gary W. Ritter

Arkansas Education Reports

The GPA measure, we believe, is a better representation of student achievement on statewide standardized exams. In this report, we are presenting a list of the top 25 schools in each area. In some cases, these "top 25 lists" will contain more than 25 schools as some schools' GPA scores will be identical. This is not a new phenomenon, as we also exceeded 25 schools in previous reports when using the percent proficient and advanced metric as an indicator for student achievement; however, there are fewer ties using the more precise GPA measure.

After we present our overall snapshot of …

Risky Business? An Analysis Of Teacher Characteristics And Compensation Preferences, Daniel Henry Bowen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teacher quality has a significant impact on both student learning gains and later life outcomes. With this is mind, policymakers implement reforms to attract and retain more effective educators. A major obstacle for designing these policies is that the ingredients for training, as well as initially identifying, effective teachers remain largely a mystery. However, there are strong theoretical arguments for certain education policy reforms producing improvements in the quality of the teacher workforce. One increasingly popular example is performance-based pay. Performance pay has the potential to better align teachers' incentives to produce increases in student achievement. Paying teachers based on …

Sexual Pleasure And Enhancement: Implications For College Sexuality Education, Jessica Maureen Harris

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what sexual activities and behaviors college students are participating in, including the use of sexual enhancement products during both partnered and solo sexual activities. Pleasure and sexual satisfaction remain largely absent from today's sexuality education curricula, resulting in most young adults not being aware of the importance of "sexual pleasure, including autoeroticism, as a source of physical, psychological, intellectual and spiritual well-being" (WAS, 1994).This study looked at college students and their the use of sexual enhancement products during partnered and solo sexual activities, in order to provide a set of baseline measures …

Preservice Candidates' Rating Of Effectiveness In Agricultural Education Through Structured Communication With Cooperating Teachers, Christopher Lee Hunt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between cooperating teacher and student has been found as one of the key elements that affect the overall teaching efficacy of student teachers and their decision to enter the teaching field after graduation (Edgar, 2007; Edgar, Roberts, & Murphy, 2011,2008; Kasperbauer et al., 2007a; Roberts, Greiman, Murphy, Ricketts, Harlin, & Briers 2009; Roberts, Harlin, & Briers, 2007, Roberts, Harlin, & Ricketts, 2006; Roberts Mowen, Edgar, Harlin & Briers, 2007, Stripling, Ricketts, Roberts & Harlin, 2008; Wolf, 2011; Wolf et al., 2010). Therefore, determining impacts towards teaching efficacy during the student teaching experience could play a vital role in …

Perceived Impact Of Character Education Program At A Midwest Rural Middle School: A Case Study, Sandra Jean Goss

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today there exist a concern for the safety and success of students in the public education system. Families, educators, and community members are concerned with the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of students in an environment where incidents of violence are growing. Events like the school shootings at Jonesboro, Arkansas, and at Columbine High School left our nation concerned with the problems within the school system. Many believe that character education can be an effective solution. The purposes of this study are to describe key elements of one school's character education program, and to determine the impact that this program …

"There Were High Hopes And High Projections:" Examining The Social Construction Of Target Populations In The Policy Design Of The Arkansas Lottery Legislation, Kristopher D. Copeland

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lottery policies have been created by many states to generate additional funds to support public initiatives, such as higher education scholarships. In 2009, Arkansas adopted a lottery to generate higher education scholarships. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the Arkansas state lottery policy design process to better understand how the Social construction of higher education students and other citizens became embedded within the policy. The Social construction of target populations theory (Ingram & Schneider, 1993), guided three research questions regarding how policy actors in Arkansas Socially constructed citizens while designing lottery legislation, how these Social constructions …

Congruent And Incongruent Effects Of Ethnic Music On Ethnic Menu Item Selection, Ryan David Muniz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated what impact ethnic music had on ethnic menu item selection. College students were randomly divided into three groups and listened to one randomly assigned sound treatment in sensory booths. Three hundred and five participants completed the questionnaire with measures of expected price value and willingness to pay value. One of the groups listened to an Italian folk music, the second group listened to a Thai folk music, and the third group listened to a restaurant background noise in order to examine if the music will impact each participant menu items selection and perceived price values. The result …

Contributing Factors That Affect The Achievement Of African-American Females Taught By Caucasian Teachers On The Arkansas Literacy Exam: A Case Study, Felicia Renee Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative intrinsic case study was designed to assist Caucasian educators with the researched academic skills and behaviors to engage African-American females in the learning environment. The study provided strategies and recommendations to promote self-worth, self-motivation, self-efficacy, and morale in African-American females when they did not perform as well as or higher than their Caucasian peers in a high school English classroom on the state literacy examination instructed by a Caucasian teacher. The research site was a low socioeconomic urban high school with a majority of minorities with several native based home languages. The study took an in-depth approach to …

Perceptions Of Equality And National Identity Amongst Young British South Asian Muslims In Bradford, England, Simon J. Reid

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the wake of urban riots and terror attacks in the United Kingdom, British public debate and policy have focused on the nation's immigrant communities. These debates have commonly called into question whether immigrant communities in Britain are sufficiently integrated into "mainstream" society and included in the nation. These questions have been particularly focused on the country's immigrant Muslim communities because they have, over the years, been accused of segregating themselves from, and within, British society. This study explored the local and national identities of young British South Asian Muslims in Bradford, which is one of the largest Muslim communities …

Workforce Preparedness Of Information Systems Students: Perceptions Of Students, Alumni, And Employers, Susan Bristow

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Employers of newly hired higher education graduates report their new workforce is not prepared. Further research was required to discover insights to the workforce readiness gap. This concurrent mixed methods study explored what competencies influenced employer's perceptions of the work-readiness of Information Systems (ISYS) undergraduate students and discovered ISYS graduates' and current ISYS students' perceptions of their work-readiness. Participants consisted of a convenience sample including 69 ISYS program upperclassmen, 20 ISYS program alumni, and 8 employers of the ISYS program graduates. ISYS program alumni completed an online Qualtrics survey to measure the participants' perception of their workforce preparedness. ISYS program …

The Relationships Between `Push' And `Pull' Factors Of Millennial Generation Tourists To Heritage Tourism Destinations: Antebellum And Civil War Sites In The State Of Arkansas, Kayla Diane Kesterson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated `push' and `pull' motivational factors which influence Millennial Generation tourists' decisions to visit heritage tourism destinations and their knowledge of Civil War and Antebellum heritage sites within the state of Arkansas. A descriptive, six-section survey was distributed to Millennial students from varying degree fields at three universities within Arkansas. Four hundred twenty-four participants completed the questionnaire with measures of demographic information, visitation and frequency to heritage tourism sites, push factors, pull factors, heritage tourism sites in Arkansas, and historic preservation participation.

The results of this study showed that although Millennial students do not visit heritage sites frequently, …

Dropping Out In Southeast Kansas: Why Students Leave School Early, Garon Kent Wire

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study takes a deeper look into the lived experiences of students in southeast Kansas who have dropped out of high school. As a result, school and community leaders are better informed to create effective strategy, policy, and practice in dropout prevention.

Framed as a phenomenology, data was collected by conducting in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 12 participants and a focus-group interview with four participants. The researcher administered a survey/questionnaire to an additional 15 participants. Utilizing the Streamlined Codes-To-Theory Model (Saldana, 2009); organizational, structural, and elaborative coding techniques were implemented to reduce the data into categories, which led to the …

Criteria For Initial Appointment In Rank And Subsequent Promotion For Faculty In Two-Year Public Colleges, Michael Aaron Orf

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The growth of community colleges over the last five decades has not been met with a commensurate expansion of knowledge about policy development. In order to address this gap in knowledge, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of rank among two-year colleges in the United States; to identify the criteria used to determine rank upon hire for transfer and vocational faculty; to identify the criteria used to determine promotion for transfer and vocational faculty; and to determine if there are differences in criteria between transfer faculty and vocational faculty at initial appointment and subsequent promotion. Additionally, the study sought …

The Impact Of Counselor Level Of Spiritual Well-Being On The Morale, Global Symptoms, And Global Impairment Of Adolescents Receiving Treatment For Substance Use And/Or Other Mental Health Disorders: A Pilot Study, Michael William Holland

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years there has been a movement towards a holistic perspective of human nature in the counseling leading to increased interest in the nature and role of spirituality in counseling and the counseling process. In the present study multiple regression analysis is used to determine whether Counselor Level of Spiritual Well-Being, or aspects thereof, namely, Counselor Level of Existential Well-Being and/or Counselor Level of Religious Well-Being, as measured by the Spiritual Well-Being Scale significantly impacts client outcomes, namely, Morale, Global Symptoms, and Global Impairment as measured by the Health Dynamics Inventory for adolescents receiving treatment for substance use and/or …

Compared To What? The Effectiveness Of Synthetic Control Methods For Causal Inference In Educational Assessment, Clay Stephen Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Synthetic control methods are an innovative matching technique first introduced within the economics and political science literature that have begun to find application in educational research as well. Synthetic controls create an aggregate-level, time-series comparison for a single treated unit of interest for causal inference with observational data. However, the strict statistical assumptions associated with matching methods for causal inference raise concerns for unobserved bias related to some data models and availability. The small but increasing set of existing synthetic controls studies with student achievement measures as the outcome of interest suggest that research is warranted into the effectiveness of …

Understanding Faculty And Non-Traditional Student Perceptions Of Self-Directed Learning In A Practical Nursing Program, Carmen Marie Rogers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to identify and investigate nursing faculty and student perspectives of self-directed learning in a practical nursing program. It also explored the degree to which student's perceptions of self-directed learning exhibited factors consistent with that of critical thinking. This study is important because self-directed learning and its critical thinking elements are essential in providing safe, competent, effective, and efficient nursing care within practice and education. Using an explanatory case study design the practice of self-directed learning within a practical nursing program was examined through the use of: classroom observations, interviews with nursing faculty, nursing students, and document …

Environmental Literacy Of Sixth Grade Students In Arkansas: Implications For Environmental Education Reform, Lisa Suzanne Wood

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental education must be better integrated into K-12 curriculum to advance environmental literacy. Producing a citizenry that can understand and address the complex environmental issues facing the world today and in the future is essential to sustainable life on this planet.

Using the Middle School Environmental Literacy Survey, 6th grade students across Arkansas were surveyed to obtain a baseline measure of environmental literacy based on the four domains of environmental literacy included in the survey; ecological knowledge, environmental affect, cognitive skills, and behavior. Individual domain scores were combined into a composite environmental literacy score. Results were then compared to the …

The Managerial Activities And Leadership Roles Of Five Achieving The Dream Leader College Presidents, Teresa Marie Mace

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A significant increase in community colleges' (CC) presidential retirements is resulting in a huge loss of critical knowledge and experience. Recognition of this has led to numerous efforts and initiatives to prepare future community college leaders. These efforts have included numerous attempts to identify the competencies, skills, and leadership traits considered essential to performing the president's job. Unfortunately, most of the topics identified in self-reported assessments and personal interviews were not based on actual observations of what successful presidents do.

Unlike studies about community college presidents over the last 30 years, this study utilized Henry Mintzberg's (1968) structured observation methodology …

Demographic Changes In The Arkansas Public Schools: A Five Year Comparison, Reed Greenwood, Vera Deberg

Arkansas Education Reports

This report provides a glimpse into the changes in public school demographics in Arkansas at the state, county and district level over a five-year period. This report compares enrollment information from the fall of 2007 to the fall of 2012 based on data obtained from the Arkansas Department of Education website during the summer of 2013 (Arkansas Department of Education, Data Center).

Charter School Authorizers, Reed Greenwood, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Two types of charter schools exist in Arkansas: open-enrollment charter schools, which operate independently of any district, and district conversion charter schools, which operate within an existing school district. Charter schools have more autonomy on certain rules and regulations than traditional public schools; however, charter schools are held accountable for academic results and fiscal matters, as defined by the charters contract. Charter schools are approved and held accountable by a charter authorizer. In the 2013 General Assembly, a law passed to change Arkansas’ charter authorizer from the State Board of Education to a newly created panel within the Department of …

Public School Choice And Desegregation In Arkansas, Kaitlin P. Anderson, Jennifer W. Ash, Sarah M. Burks, Gary W. Ritter

Arkansas Education Reports

Public school choice is an umbrella term for policies that allow students to enroll in a public school other than their residentially-assigned school. Public school choice, also called openenrollment, is typically divided into two categories: intra-district choice, transfers to schools in the same district, and inter-district choice, transfers to schools in other districts.

2012-13 Arkansas Test Results, Michael L. Crouch, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In early August, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) released the 2012-2013 test score results. The following brief will highlight the results of these tests, compare achievement scores over time, and provide a glimpse of regional achievement results for the following exams:  Benchmark Exam (Grades 3-8)  End-of-Course Exam (Algebra I, Geometry, Biology, and Grade 11 Literacy).  Iowa Test of Basic Skills (Grades 1-9)

High School Seniors' Financial Knowledge: The Impact Of Financial Literacy Classes And Developmental Assets, Kathy Ngoc Nguyen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Low levels of financial literacy among high school students are a growing concern in the United States. High school students lack the financial knowledge to make important financial decisions. Financial literacy and money management skills are important for high school students as they transition into an ever-changing economy. High school students, who are financially literate, are likely to develop positive financial behaviors and make positive financial decisions. Previous studies show that financial literacy classes can increase financial knowledge.

The present study has three objectives. First, this study examined whether the Money Management Skills for Young Adults Class increased high school …

"An Easy Switch": A Descriptive Case Study Exploring The Shift Toward Informational Text Accompanying The Implementation Of Common Core State Standards In Five Primary Classrooms, Heather Denise Kindall

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to discover how the newly implemented Common Core State Standards (CCSS) may have changed teachers' practices and philosophies regarding literacy instruction and to determine which teaching strategies were being presented in regard to informational text in the studied Kindergarten through second grade classrooms.

The research was conducted in five classrooms within one elementary school in the mid-Southern United States. The study design involved semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and teacher-reported lesson plans over a fourteen week data collection period. The aim of this research was to portray a vivid description of the implementation …

Computer Access, Teacher Skills And Motivation To Take Online Professional Development In The Riyadh School District, Haya Mohammad Albrkhil

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eight hundred Saudi Arabia educators from the Riyadh District participated in this study to determine teachers' access to computers, computer skill level and motivation to enroll in online courses pertaining to professional development. Participants, who were chosen according to a stratified sampling technique, completed a survey which provided the data for the study.

The correlation between the motivation to take online courses and the computer skill perception of participants was weak but statistically significant indicating that as the rate of computer skills perception increases, the rate of motivation to take online classes increases as well. Other factors pertaining to increased …

Recruitment And Retention Of Kindergarten Through Grade 12 African American Male Educators In Rural Environments, Shannon Tre'mario Jernell Lewis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African American male teachers represent a disproportionately low number of educators in the American public school system. This lack of representation has implications for understanding, interacting with and educating the growing population of students of African descent in public schools. In addition, all students benefit from experiencing African American males in classrooms for cultural and educational reasons. For these reasons, recruiting and retaining African American males for careers in education is imperative.

This dissertation investigated the reasons African American males do not select careers in education given the history of this career and its prominence for people of African descent. …

The Impact Of Selected Academic And Demographic Variables On Mathematics College Readiness Predicted By Act, Marcia Sue Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine the degree to which academic and demographic variables affected the ACT results used in determining college readiness. This quantitative research study followed a non-experimental correlational design. A multiple regression was used to analyze archival data to determine the impact the combined Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment and Accountability Program (ACTAAP) mathematics end-of-course (EOC) score, high school GPA, and highest mathematics class completed had on the ACT mathematics exam. In addition, a hierarchical multiple regression model was used to determine how English language learner (ELL) status and socio-economic status (SES) impacted students' ACT performance …

Teachers' Perceptions Toward Implementing English As A Foreign Language At Kindergarten: What Can We Learn From The Case Of Kuwaiti Kindergarten Teachers?, Kawthar M. Habeeb

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The teaching of English as a foreign language has a promising outlook in the nation of Kuwait. Recent policy reflects language development theories that see early childhood as an especially good period for the learning of a foreign language. Thus, English is now taught at 30 public kindergartens in Kuwait. However, the program apparently was implemented quickly, with little consideration for how teachers and other stakeholders would respond to it. This paper explores that program in the context of the perceptions and views of teachers affected by it.

A review of the existing curriculum points towards deficiencies, and investigation of …

Using Oral Reading To Self To Improve Oral Fluency Of English Language Learners, Suwanna Klomjit

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to study the effect of oral reading-to-self on adult English Language Learners' oral fluency and their perception toward oral reading-to-self. This experimental study used a pretest-posttest design. The participants (N = 63) were recruited and randomly assigned to a control group (n = 30) and an experimental group (n = 33). The speaking test: Klomjit Lincoln Measure of Spoken English (KLMSE), developed by the researcher, was administered as both pre and posttest. The treatment was an assignment to read out loud-to-self. The Evaluation of Using Oral Reading to Improve Oral Fluency, a quantitative scale …

Defining Characteristics Of An Integrated Stem Curriculum In K-12 Education, Vinson Robert Carter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to obtain consensus concerning the defining characteristics of integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum. This study utilized a three round modified Delphi study to solicit recommendations from experts of STEM education in order to: 1) create a set of categorical and defining curricular components needed to develop and implement appropriate integrated STEM curriculum; 2) identify the characteristics that set integrated STEM education curriculum apart from single-discipline curricula; 3) discuss the components necessary to gauge whether an initiative, project, or curriculum should be referred to as integrated STEM education; and 4) examine whether …