Digital Commons Network^™

Catholic Schools And Covid-19: Paycheck Protection Program (Ppp), Leaders And School Closure, Vincent Bradley

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Catholic school survival, the efficacy of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and the views and actions of Catholic school leaders during this period. A significant body of literature has documented Catholic schools’ success in educating children, particularly minority students in inner cities. Catholic schools, however, have faced declining enrollment and substantial school closures since 1965. Few studies have explored in granular detail the factors that contribute to school closure. The quantitative phase of this mixed methods study examined variables related to school closure in prior …

Engaging Families In The Academic Lives Of Preschool Children: An Action Research Study, Denise Fultz

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The practice of family engagement enables families and school staff to share responsibility for child development in a partnership characterized by mutual respect for the influential role each plays in a child’s academic life. Unsatisfactory outcomes of family engagement practices with families of preschoolers warranted the implementation of a family engagement intervention program central to this action research study. The Engage Every Family: Five Simple Principles framework guided family-school collaborative efforts to increase family efficacy for engaging preschoolers in developmentally appropriate learning activities at home. Engagement activities were provided in the form of virtual workshops and collaboration on social media. …

Students With Gifts And Talents: A Resource Guide, Cty Ireland, Dublin City University, Center For Gifted Education, William & Mary

Center for Gifted Education Reports

Excerpt from publication: "The format for this book is very simple and we wanted to make it as user-friendly as possible. For too long in the field of gifted education there has been an assumption that high ability students are a homogeneous group. Hopefully this guide will help to dispel this myth once and for all and we can celebrate the different types of gifted students, the different strategies that can help them and we can embrace the heterogeneity of the group.

Each section of the book will cover advice for students, parents, teachers and policy makers. To emphasise the …

Place-Based Estuary Science Education At Machicomoco State Park, Anna Caputo

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Project description:

This experiential estuary science field trip program was initially created as a master's capstone project by Anna Caputo in partnership with Machicomoco State Park, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), and the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (CBNERR). The ultimate goal of the project is to strengthen community estuarine literacy in the local area by teaching students who will be future marine scientists, community leaders, watermen, and environmentally conscious citizens. The program is designed to highlight the coastal habitats at the state park, the issues those habitats are facing, and how science and monitoring efforts done …

An Investigation Of Experiential Learning: A Program Evaluation Of The William & Mary D.C. Summer Institutes, Roxane Olson Adler Hickey

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The principal purpose of this program evaluation was to determine how the 2010–2019 alumni of the William & Mary (W&M) D.C. Summer Institutes (DCSI) perceived their participation helped them achieve career readiness. Existing literature on experiential learning methods and practices has suggested great value in such opportunities, but less information existed about the outcomes of internship programs in higher education. As leaders consider what their institutional operations look like following the COVID-19 global pandemic and demand for quality internships rises, research on what works in high-impact programs, such as DCSI, offer valuable data for faculty, administrators, and students. A total …

District-Based Supports For Alternatively Licensed Special Education Teachers: An Action Research Study, Hayley Flynn Mullins

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Staffing shortages in public schools have reached a crisis level. Although pervasive, this crisis has disproportionally impacted the field of special education. Due to the dual roles of special education teachers, specifically serving as teacher and case manager, and other factors, such as addressing the needs of a highly diverse student population, these teachers are more susceptible to attrition. Alternate pathways to licensure have provided an opportunity to address special education staffing needs; however, these opportunities come with risks, specifically when strategic support is not provided, resulting in the most at-risk teacher and student populations being paired together. Limited research …

Implementation, Outcomes, And Perceived Effectiveness Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports (Pbis) In A Title I School: A Program Evaluation, Brady Payne

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Students who miss instructional time as a consequence of discipline infractions can manifest outcomes reflected in both dropout and incarceration rates. The school-to-prison pipeline refers to the impact of exclusionary responses to discipline infractions that push students out of school and into the criminal justice system. African American students of low socioeconomic status are often subjected to exclusionary discipline practices. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation aids the mitigation of discipline infractions, without relying on exclusionary practices. However, there is limited research on program efficacy and specific PBIS outcomes for African American students in combined Title I schools. This …

Fostering The Funny: A Case Study Of Undergraduate Women In Collegiate Comedy Troupes, Jaymi Courtenay Thomas

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

During a global pandemic, another pandemic of loneliness impacted undergraduate college students and influenced the way members of the 18-25-year-old population lived and learned throughout a time of intentional distancing. Additionally, the insurgence of loneliness impacts members of the 18-25 age group in startling rates. This qualitative case study explored how undergraduate women who participate in comedy troupes fostered community while living and learning during a global pandemic known as COVID-19 between the spring of 2020 and the fall of 2021. The research added to the body of knowledge on how comedy and levity can enhance wellness and how humor …

A Program Evaluation Of A District Designed Virtual Academy In A Small Rural School District, Margaret Anne Bryant

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The Virtual Learning Model (VLM) can be the best learning modality to foster personalized learning for K-12 students. This research study aims to bring to light the expectations of an appropriate district designed VLM for a rural school district in Virginia as it pertained to creation, implementation, as measured by the Virginia Department of Education criteria model, student attendance, and student assessment scores. The data for this process and product study were collected through a mix-methods approach across elementary Grades 3-5. Findings discussed in this study include an appropriate VLM, attendance rates for participants for three years prior to participation …

A Phenomenology Of Affective Engagement In Advanced Placement Courses, Matthew Wade Henry

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This phenomenology of affective engagement experienced by advanced students in Advanced Placement (AP) courses at River City High School (RCHS)was conducted in order to better understand the potential affective experience of all enrolled and future students in AP courses. Additionally, this phenomenology sought to help improve negative affective experiences as needed and continue to enhance positive experiences of all students in advanced (TAG) programming which includes AP courses. The overall categories of Others, Stress, and Inspiration were revealed through potential themes collected from the student experience. Students experienced affective engagement relating to Others through both positive and negative interactions. In …

"I Just Couldn't Do It Anymore": A Study Of Post-Pandemic Teacher Burnout, Jeremy Riggs

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Teachers are burning out at an elevated rate following the COVID-19 pandemic and little research has been conducted to understand what is contributing to their burnout. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand what factors in the post-shutdown pandemic environment are contributing to burnout in veteran teachers (teachers with more than 10 years of teaching experience), and why some of these teachers subsequently decided to leave the profession. The central research question was, what factors are contributing to burnout in veteran teachers in the post-shutdown pandemic environment? The theoretical framework used in this study was the Job-Demands Resources …

Leveraging Technology To Support The Goals Of Dual Language Bilingual Education: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study, Paola Gabriela Mendizábal

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study explored how and why dual language (DL) teachers used technology and the extent to which their use of technology supported the goals of DL of bilingualism, biliteracy, academic achievement, and sociocultural competence. The study was guided by Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) technological pedagogical content framework, Bunch’s (2013) pedagogical language knowledge, Biesta’s et al. (2015) teacher agency framework, and Moersch’s (1997) levels of technology implementation framework. In the quantitative phase, data was collected with an original survey, and in the qualitative phase, data was generated through observations, interviews, and artifacts. Survey responses were analyzed using …

Seasons Of Change: A Discourse Analysis Of University Rhetorical Response During A Generational Pandemic, Todd S. Moellendick

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Institutions of higher education are no strangers to crisis situations. From world wars to campus violence, colleges and universities across the United States have been both directly and indirectly affected by these crisis situations. However, in the early part of 2020, higher education was faced with a situation that transcended anything colleges and universities had seen before—COVID-19. What made COVID-19 so unique was how the disease quickly permeated throughout the United States. Thus, a stage was set for institutions of higher education to defend their campuses and communities from a most historical pandemic. This study, understanding the historical significance of …

Using Process Mapping As A Tool To Improve Institutional Procedures For Rural Transfer Students: An Action Research Study, Alison Rife Weston

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This study investigated the transfer pathway between a rural university and a community college to understand what procedural barriers exist for student degree attainment within existing structures. Process mapping was used as the intervention to examine the influence of enrollment and student services processes and investigate the perceptions of process mapping among student affairs staff and allow them to make suggestions for changes to policy and procedure in their work. Participants were selected for their role in the transfer process at one of the two institutions and convergent mixed methods methodology through a constructivist lens was used to collect and …

Understanding K-12 Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence: Theory, Measurement, And Validation, Ke Huang

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Teacher emotional intelligence (EI) plays an important role in teachers’ professional lives. After surveying the topic and the gaps in the relevant literature, I conducted three studies to advance our current understanding of teachers’ EI. The first study involved a meta-analysis review that examined the relationship between K-12 teachers’ EI, self-efficacy, and burnout. It found that there is a significant positive relationship between K-12 teachers’ EI and teacher self-efficacy as well as a significant negative relationship between teachers’ EI and teacher burnout. The second study involved developing and testing the Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence Scale (TEIS), which measures teachers’ EI in …

In Pursuit Of Equity And Excellence: Using Value-Added Measures To Guide Educational Policy, Practice, And Parental High School Decision-Making, Lavare Henry

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The quality and effectiveness of schools in Jamaica are a matter of national interest due to the significant investment made by the country in the public education system. While there have been limited studies assessing the performance of high schools, one noteworthy study (The Patterson Report) used value-added measures to evaluate school quality (Patterson, 2021). The Patterson report was significant as it attempted to separate the school's contribution from external factors when evaluating the performance of Jamaican high schools. The student's performance on the Caribbean Examination Council's exams was compared against their intake performance on Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT). …

Development Of The Thriving In Eating Recovery Scale: A Measure For Life Beyond Disorder, Morgan Walker

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Researchers, clinicians, and individuals with eating disorders have varying perspectives regarding the outcomes of eating disorder recovery. This study introduced the concept of thriving in recovery with the development of a new assessment: the Thriving in Eating Recovery Scale (TIERS). The purpose of this study was to establish initial evidence for the reliability and validity of the TIERS to assess the behavioral, social, and psychological markers of eating disorder recovery. A non-clinical sample of 1,247 participants, recruited by Amazon’s Mechanical Turk online crowdsourcing site, provided initial data on the TIERS, as well as the Eating Disorders Recovery Questionnaire (EDRQ), Brief …

Assessment Beliefs And Practices Of Literature-In-English Teachers In Nigeria, Eucharia Okwudilichukwu Ugwu

The William & Mary Educational Review

This study examined secondary school teachers' beliefs about the purpose, importance, and principles of assessment. Forty-seven Literature-in-English teachers in the Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria, were sampled using the mixed-method research design. Literature-in-English Teachers' Assessment Beliefs Questionnaire (r=.76) and Literature-in-English Students' Class-Assessment Checklist were used in collecting quantitative data. Ten teachers were interviewed. Analyses of data suggest that teachers considered assessment an essential element of teaching, but they could not translate their beliefs into practice. Possible causes of the inconsistencies were not established, suggesting areas for future research. Some recommendations were made.