Digital Commons Network^™

Elementary Mathematics Curriculum: State Policy, Covid-19, And Teachers’ Control, Mona Baniahmadi, Bima Sapkota, Amy M. Olson

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the U.S., state guidance to schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was politicized. We used state-level political affiliation to explore whether access to curricular resources differed pre-pandemic or during pandemic remote teaching and teachers' reported control over curricular resources during pandemic teaching. We found that pre-pandemic the percentage of teachers in Republican states reported higher levels of resources overall, and use of core and teacher-created curricular resources in particular. They also reported having greater control over their curricular decision-making during the pandemic. There were no state-level differences in teachers’ level of preparation for pandemic teaching, but teachers in …

"If I Go, I'Ll Probably End Up Dropping Out Too": College Enrollment Choices In A Free College Context, Gresham D. Collom, Ashton R. Cooper, Patrick Biddix, Alexis Hartley

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Publications and Other Works

Objective: In this qualitative study, we explored why students in a free community college environment in Tennessee chose not to enroll in college or dropped out of college shortly after enrolling. Methods: We conducted 27 in-depth interviews with individuals who were eligible for the Tennessee Promise. Perna’s (2006) conceptual model for college access and choice guided our analysis. We analyzed data using a three-tier approach, which included open/emergent coding, followed by a priori/theoretical analysis. Results: We identified 15 emergent themes common among interview participants, which we then categorized into the four constructs of Perna’s model. Conclusions: …

Composite Storytelling Affiliated College Faculty Narratives In India To Propose Curriculum And Exam Policy Revisions, Matthew A. Witenstein, Joanna Abdallah

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Affiliated college academic staff members in India represent an abundance of frontline knowledges which hold great promise for impacting bottom-up policy. However, their knowledges are typically missing from the literature or not shared cross-institutionally. While it is common for them to express a lack of discretion, many find avenues for invoking high impact practices common to street-level bureaucrats. This study focuses on how they navigate university curriculum and exam policies through six emerging and high impact practices. This study highlights their high impact practices performed by illustrating meaningful mechanisms for coping and adapting to policies, and emerging insights regarding the …

Adolescent Use And Co-Use Of Tobacco And Cannabis In California: The Roles Of Local Policy And Density Of Tobacco, Vape, And Cannabis Retailers Around Schools, Georgiana Bostean, Anton M. Palma, Alison A. Padon, Erik Linstead, Joni Ricks-Oddie, Jason A. Douglas, Jennifer B. Unger

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Adolescent tobacco use (particularly vaping) and co-use of cannabis and tobacco have increased, leading some jurisdictions to implement policies intended to reduce youth access to these products; however, their impacts remain unclear. We examine associations between local policy, density of tobacco, vape, and cannabis retailers around schools, and adolescent use and co-use of tobacco/vape and cannabis.

We combined 2018 statewide California (US) data on: (a) jurisdiction-level policies related to tobacco and cannabis retail environments, (b) jurisdiction-level sociodemographic composition, (c) retailer locations (tobacco, vape, and cannabis shops), and (d) survey data on 534,176 middle and high school students (California Healthy Kids …

Closing The Gap Between College Students: An Intergroup Dialogue Program To Reach Understanding And Reduction Of Disparities, Lilly Zhou

Honors Theses

The goals of the intergroup dialogue program are exploration and collective action. The goal of exploration is to spread awareness by presenting the situation. Several students are not aware that disparities between students exist, so this dialogue provided awareness of the issue. With increased understanding of each other, collective action can be taken. Actions by a small number of students are still steps taken to reduce the gap between the financially supported and not financially supported students. Action can look like spreading awareness of the issue, advocating for policy changes, and more.

The structure of the intergroup dialogue program required …

Policy Matters: Edi Evaluation Of An Academic Library's Policies, Kimberly Shotick, Michele N. Hunt, Sata Prescott, Alissa Droog, Sarah Mchone-Chase

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Publications

Why does policy matter, and how can libraries reform their policies to create a more equitable library for library workers and library users? The authors discuss their experience in reviewing the policies of their library with an EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) lens. The authors describe how they initiated and developed this project, the factors that they considered in forming their evaluation rubric, and what they learned from the process.

An Examination Of Strategies For Reintegration Of K-12 Students Into Public School Post-Hospitalization, Jacinda Gittens

Education Theses

The reintegration process has been a challenging topic in schools, and most schools do not have policies to accommodate students' needs. Therefore, educators should develop policies to achieve a better outcome for reintegration. The aim of this paper is to investigate how the process of reintegration affects school-aged youths with chronic illness and mental health challenges who are experiencing academic difficulties. The implications are significant, including the amount of schoolwork required to pass the year after reintegration, the need for school nurses to be in contact with hospitals that students attended, and the importance of administrative involvement in the reintegration …

Exploring Creative Pedagogical Practices In Secondary Visual Arts Programmes In Ghana, Enock Swanzy-Impraim, Julia E. Morris, Geoffrey W. Lummis, Andrew Jones

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Secondary visual arts education provides learners with opportunities to develop critical thinking, and their creative potential, as part of their personal growth. This development happens when visual arts teachers actively integrate creative pedagogies to target creative thinking in learners. Ghana's 2019 National Pre-tertiary Curriculum Framework has added creativity as one goal for all learners. This research study explores teachers' perceptions and use of creative pedagogies as part of implementing this creativity into their teaching. A multi-site qualitative case study was conducted in government secondary schools within Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, and data were gathered from interviews and participant observations. The 16 cases …