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Investigating Novice White Teachers In African American Classrooms: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Cultural Responsiveness, Debra J. Barrineau

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

INVESTIGATING NOVICE WHITE TEACHERS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN CLASSROOMS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF

CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS

by

Debra J. Barrineau

This study deconstructed the degree to which novice White teachers in an elementary school in a rural middleGeorgiadistrict were aware of and prepared for the challenges inherent in teaching in a predominantly African American classroom. Four novice, White teachers participated in the study. The student population of the school was 72% African American, nearly 10% White, and more than 17% Hispanic. Using a phenomenological approach, data were collected using an open-ended questionnaire in order to determine the teachers’ perceived academic and …

Analysis Of Background Check Policy In Higher Education, Gregory T. Owen

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

In the higher education environment today, lack of agreement about background checks between campus community members, fueled by unresolved tensions between security and privacy, has led many universities to adopt a patchwork of fragmented background check policies. Many of these policies have been created and accepted without careful consideration of the wide array of risks and complexities involved with background checks. This policy analysis examined the experiences and history behind Georgia Institute of Technology’s adoption of background check policy. This was achieved through interviewing relevant constituents and analyzing of all available/related official policy documents associated with Georgia Tech’s Pre-employment Background …

Student Access To Higher Education: A Historical Analysis Of Landmark Supreme Court Cases Missouri Ex. Rel. Gaines V. Canada, Registrar Of The University Of Missouri, 1938, And Grutter V. Bollinger, 2003, Ansley K. Daniel

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

STUDENT ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION

A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF LANDMARK SUPREME COURT CASES

MISSOURI EX. REL. GAINES V. CANADA, REGISTRAR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI, 1938,

AND

GRUTTER V. BOLLINGER, 2003

by

Ansley Knox Daniel

The purpose of this study is to identify primary themes related to student access to higher education and establishing diversity in higher education classrooms through a comparative analysis of the 1938 Gaines v. Canada case and the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger case. Both of these Supreme Court opinions have significantly impacted student access to higher education. The landmark ruling in …

Decision Making In Intercollegiate Athletics: One Institution's Journey To Maintain Title Ix Compliance, John W. Rowland

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

DECISION MAKING IN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS:

ONE INSTITUTION’S JOURNEY TO MAINTAIN

TITLE IX COMPLIANCE

by

John Rowland

The allocation of resources and participation opportunities in intercollegiate athletics has been a debate among researchers for nearly 40 years. Title IX and traditionally male-dominated budgeting practices continue to be opposing forces that shape the financial and gender makeup of university athletic departments. In fact, the need to be Title IX compliant often dominates discussions when structural changes occur in athletic departments. This case study analyzed the decision making process of distributing resources and participation opportunities at Division I University from 1998 to …

Students' Perception Of Engagement In A Third-Grade Writing Classroom, James D. Spinks Jr.

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Educators have been challenged for many years to engage their students, but often students still seem to be disengaged (Klem & Connell, 2004). Research indicates student engagement is critical to student achievement and success in school (Appleton, 2008; Connell, Spencer, & Aber, 1994; Easton, 2008; Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). Student engagement is imperative in all subject areas, yet, after considering the research, writing is a particularly significant school subject that may be impacted by student engagement.

Considering the research on engagement and the need to improve students’ literacy achievement, there is a compelling reason to know how and when …

Academic Culture, Business Culture, And Measuring Achievement Differences: Internal Auditing Views, Benjamin S. Roth

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

ACADEMIC CULTURE, BUSINESS CULTURE, AND

MEASURING ACHIEVEMENT DIFFERENCES:

INTERNAL AUDITING VIEWS

by

Benjamin Sterling Roth

This study explored whether university internal audit directors’ views of culture and measuring achievement differences between their institutions and a business were related to how they viewed internal auditing priorities and uses. The Carnegie Classification system’s 283 Doctorate-granting Universities were the target population. Directors for 144 institutions (51%) returned questionnaires providing their views of academic culture and measuring achievement differences; the importance of internal auditor attributes, and types, subject areas, and determinants of internal auditing work; and whether operational audits of research, teaching, and …

Women's Experiences Of The Tenure Process: A Case Study At A Small Public Southeastern University, Debra J. Cody

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe women’s experiences and challenges encountered during the tenure process at one institution, if and how they overcame those challenges, and if the challenges are consistent with those that appear in the literature. Higher education is comprised of a majority of male faculty members and administrators, but data show that women have surpassed men in earning doctorate degrees. Nevertheless, the rate at which women achieve tenure is not equal to that of men. Most of the literature on tenure is based on institutionalized power, gender inequities, policies, criteria, and the experiences of males, …

Effectiveness Of A Computer-Based Program For Improving The Reading Performance Of Deaf Students, Kenneth L. Moore

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of the reading component of Ticket to Read®, a computer-based educational program, developed to improve hearing students’ fluency could improve deaf students’ fluency in order to improve comprehension. Fluency, the ability to read text accurately and automatically, forms a bridge from decoding to comprehension. This research is significant because the median reading level of deaf students who graduate high school has remained around a fourth grade level equivalent for the past thirty years, and there is a paucity of research that examines evidence-based practices to improve the reading performance …

Exploring College Readiness: Self-Perceptions Of Early College Students, Kim Renee Ramsey-White

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

EXPLORING COLLEGE READINESS: SELF-PERCEPTIONS OF EARLY COLLEGE STUDENTS

by

Kim R. Ramsey-White

Research shows that too many students are graduating from high school ill-prepared to be successful in the postsecondary environment. This study examined the high school experiences of dual-enrollment students who participated in an Early College High School, and how the students perceived their high school experiences in preparing them for college. Additionally the study sought to understand the role that social capital played in the students’ preparation for college. In-depth interviews with 13 African American students, some of whom were first-generation college attendees, were used to illuminate …

Value, Networks, Desegregation, And Displacement At One Of Georgia's Black High Schools, Athens High And Industrial School/Burney-Harris High School, 1913-1970, Tene A. Harris

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

This dissertation tells the local history of one of Georgia’s earliest all-black accredited high schools, Athens High and Industrial School/Burney-Harris High School (AHIS/BHHS), in an attempt to add to the collective history of the all-black segregated school. The study investigated the Clarke County, Georgia school system, pre- and post- Brown, focusing on the uncovered themes within new research interpretations - the value within the segregated schools, networks among the all-black segregated schools, the costs and consequences of desegregation, and the displacement of black educators.

Within the history of black education there is a recent effort to present alternative interpretations concerning …

Gentrification And School Choice: Where Goes The Neighborhood?, Amy Childers Roberts

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

This dissertation explores parent-gentrifiers’ lived experiences of the school-selection process, including the social networking and the influence of those social networks in their selection of schools. School choice and parent involvement are forms of social capital, and such social capital represents the results of social networking and parental agency. The unknown is how this scenario manifests itself in gentrifying parents’ school-selection process in Atlanta’s Kirkwood and Grant Park neighborhoods. Gentrifying children’s absence in urban public schools is of interest as residential areas integrate, while schools (re)segregate. The research paradigm is interpretivist as it investigates the qualitatively different ways in which …

Practicing Gender: A Feminist Ethnography Of An All Girls' After-School Club, Alison A. Happel

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The institution of schooling is one of the most formative spaces in which young people learn about gender norms and expectations. Rather than being a biological given, gender identity is achieved through gender practices and gender achievements (Butler, 1990/1999; Nayak & Kehily, 2008). This study was a year-long ethnography during which I observed an all girls’ after-school club. The club included 15 girls who were in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. The majority of the club’s participants were African American girls. This ethnography utilized participant observation and interviews. Club documents were also analyzed during data analysis. My primary research question …

What Is The Lived Experience Of Laywomen Who Serve As Catholic Elementary School Principals In Their Roles As Faith Leaders?, Jamie Faser Arthur

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Catholic schools in the United States have experienced daunting challenges since Vatican II (1962-1965) with a 45% decrease in number attributed to decisions made by Church leaders. Traditionally led by religious, the National Catholic Education Association (2010) reported 97% of Catholic schools are now staffed by lay people. This research details the importance of Catholic schools to the evangelizing mission of the Church, defines the role of laity, and acknowledges a lack of programs that support lay Catholic principals. Past studies provide a snapshot of trends, list expected competencies, and compare their positions to public school counterparts. The literature review …

Gender And Leadership: Female Rotc Cadets' Perceptions Of Gender And Military Leadership, Darbra J. Mahoney

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Gender continues to be an impediment for women in military leadership positions, particularly in Reserve Officers’ Training Corp (ROTC) training programs in higher education. This study examines the social construction of gender by female cadets in a predominately male military environment. According to Herbert (1998), female soldiers strike a balance between being feminine enough to be considered a woman yet masculine enough to be considered a military leader—sustaining a view that finds these women are viewed as less than competent officers. Achieving equilibrium between femininity and masculinity is a common thread in much of the literature on female military leadership. …

Working Beyond 9 To 5: The Impact Of A University-Wide Alternative Work Arrangements Policy On Student Affairs Employees, Pamela D. Anthony

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Alternative work arrangements (AWA) policies allow employees to select varied work schedules that are both conducive to the organization’s goals and to employees’ personal needs. Though common in the business sector, such policies are rarely articulated within American colleges and universities. Practitioners within the student affairs profession regularly work beyond the average 40-hour week due to the fundamental nature of their work with students’ co-curricular involvement outside of the classroom; as a result, the lack of work-life balance can result in high employee turnover which can be detrimental to an organization. Utilizing grounded theory, a qualitative methodology that allows researchers …

Through The Eyes Of Gay And Male Bisexual College Students: A Critical Visual Qualitative Study Of Their Experiences, Matthew K. Robison

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT) college students have a history of suffering from discriminatory, marginalizing, and prejudicial attitudes and practices on American college and university campuses. Implementing a critical qualitative methodology, this study examined the lived experiences of 9 out gay and bisexual male college students at an urban research university located in the southeastern United States. The study focused on three research questions:

1) What is the college experience like for an individual who identifies as an out gay or male bisexual student?

2) What does safety mean to an individual who identifies as an out gay or …