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The Relationship Between Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports And School Climate/Culture In Elementary Schools, Zaheerah Nadiyah El-Amin

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates, weakened climate/culture, decreased academic scores, and endangered job security, the implementation of a successful behavioral intervention program within the school setting was a necessity (Homer & Sugai, 2000). Quantitative data were obtained from two assessment tools, the School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET) and the School Climate Assessment Instrument (SCAI). To determine the levels of implementation of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and if there were significant differences in the levels of the participating schools' climate and culture, the following research questions were answered: (a) What is the level of implementation …

Evaluation Of Increased Targeted Enforcement And Community-Based Outreach And Education Programs To Increase Nighttime Seatbelt Use In East Tennessee, Kwaku Frimpong Boakye

Doctoral Dissertations

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among people aged 1-54 in the United Sates. In 2015, the number of motor-vehicle deaths on U.S. roadways totaled 35,092, a 7% increase from 2014 (32,744). Though lower gas prices and increased vehicle mileage combined with risky driving behaviors (e.g. speeding, driving while texting) account for the increased fatality rate, seatbelt non-use has been a significant contributory factor. It is estimated that nearly half (48%) of passenger vehicle occupants involved in fatal crashes each year are unrestrained.

In a recent 2014 report …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Role Of Unionization In Variations In Income Inequality Across Selected U.S. Metropolitan Areas In 1990, 2000 And 2010, Qinglin Hu

Doctoral Dissertations

Archival abstract submitted.

Implicit Bias In Pre-Service Teachers: A Mixed Methods Approach, Tara Pepis

Doctoral Dissertations

Research Goals/Questions Colleges of Education, through educator preparation programs, have applied a scattershot approach to addressing diversity through multicultural teacher education programs. These programs have not been shown to reduce bias levels in pre-service teachers and are not systematic or uniform. (King & Butler, 2015). This study focuses on an alternative approach to preparing pre-service teachers to work with diverse populations. It measured the levels of implicit bias in a sample population of pre-service teachers and attempt to reduce their implicit bias levels. The aim of the dissertation was to answer the following questions:

1. Can a brief, computer-based intervention decrease …

Secondary Teachers’ Perspectives On Response To Intervention: A National Study, Rachelle Sarah Savitz

Doctoral Dissertations

Response to Intervention is a policy that has been implemented across the country to reduce the number of students incorrectly identified Specific Learning Disabled (SLD), and to enhance the educational outcomes for all students. While most states provide guidelines or frameworks for implementation, there generally is not much provided for individual states and districts regarding how to implement RTI in their schools. With implementation happening at the secondary level and most secondary educators not having a literacy background, there is a need to find out more regarding teachers’ perceptions. This mixed-methods sequential design exploration study first used a national survey …

The Impact Of A Value-Added Model On Educational Leadership Practices In Northwest Louisiana, Candice D. Webert

Doctoral Dissertations

This study addressed the impact of VAM, concerns with VAM data, uses and interventions educational leaders provided teachers, and components perceived as necessary for VAM effectiveness as an evaluation tool. The demographics used for this study were position, school size, and experience. Due to the documented need for educational accountability from the 1960s to present, the knowledge gained in this study was valuable. While the initiative was implemented as a response to increased accountability, the perceptions and understanding of such new initiatives can impact their effectiveness; in turn, impacting educational leadership. This study focused on the effectiveness of VAM.

In …

What Is The Association Between The Financial Position Of Public Institutions To Tuition Discount Rates?, Richard Crawford

Doctoral Dissertations

Public higher education institutions have increased the practice of tuition discounting, which is the planned use of institutional provided financial aid to offset a portion of the tuition and fee price that students pay. As the cost of higher education has increased and the competition for students has increased, the use of tuition discounting as an enrollment management tool has also increased. The primary reason for the increase in the cost in public higher education, since the 2008 recession, is the funding cuts from state governments. The cuts in state funding have placed more pressure on public institutions to improve …

Improvement Of Fluorescence-Based Microfluidic Dna Analyzers, Collin Tranter

Doctoral Dissertations

A tremendous effort continues in the development of micro-total-analysis-systems; in support of this, many chemical passivation methods have been developed to enhance the biocompatibility of such microfluidic systems. However, the suitability of these passivation techniques to many fluorescence-based assays still remains inconsistent. This part of this work is focused on the performance of a third generation intercalating DNA dye when used within microfluidic devices treated with a select variety of passivating coatings. The results of these tests indicate that passivation coatings which are intended to shed DNA based on electrostatic repulsion will in fact imbibe the fluorescent DNA intercalating dye …

Affect In The Classroom: A Psychoanalytic And Cultural Exploration Of Social And Emotional Learning, Clio Stearns

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the contemporary educational construct known as Social and Emotional Learning, or SEL. It investigates how the child, the teacher and the relationship between children and teachers are figured in the SEL-managed classroom. The dissertation also examines the extent to which SEL is produced by, and productive of, culture, as well as what becomes of negative and unruly affect in the context of SEL. The dissertation triangulates data from Critical Discourse Analysis of selected SEL materials, classroom observations in two different public school elementary school classrooms, and interviews with participating teachers. A combination of Kleinian psychoanalysis and affect …

Music Of The Triangles: How Students Come To Understand Trigonometric Identities And Transformations, Neil Moshe Bornstein

Doctoral Dissertations

Trigonometry is an essential part of mathematics education (NCTM, 2000; NGA, 2010). Trigonometry is prevalent in studies of pure mathematics as well as physical applications. Trigonometric identities and transformations are particularly important. However, students and even teachers have struggled to articulate and justify trigonometric concepts (Moore, 2013; Tuna, 2013). Students have also struggled with identities and transformations in non-trigonometric contexts (Borba & Confrey, 1996; Tsai & Chang, 2009). This paper will describe a research project which articulates the critical stages through which students must pass to understand trigonometric identities and transformations. These critical stages were first hypothesized based on a …

Perception Of Administrators: Characteristics Of Effective Teachers In High-Poverty Secondary Schools And The Alignment Of These Characteristics With The Teacher Evaluation System, Toni Baggiano-Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of an effective teacher in a high-poverty school as perceived by high school administrators and the alignment of these characteristics with the teacher evaluation system. School administrators identified the characteristics of an effective teacher in a high-poverty school. The characteristics of an effective teacher in a high-poverty school were compared with the teacher evaluation tool, EDUCATEAlabama. The comparison of the characteristics of effective teachers in high-poverty school with EDUCATEAlabama revealed the attributes of an effective teacher in a high-poverty school did not align with the state evaluation tool, EDUCATEAlabama …

A Study Of Mathematics Achievement, Placement, And Graduation Of Engineering Students, Sara Hahler Blazek

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how background knowledge impacts freshmen engineering students' success at Louisiana Tech University in terms of grades in two different freshman classes and graduation. To determine what factors impact students, three different studies were implemented. The first study used linear regression to analyze which demographic and academic variables significantly impacted freshman math and engineering courses. Using regression discontinuity, the second study determined if the university's placement requirement for Pre-Calculus was appropriate. The final study analyzed factors that impact graduation for engineering students as well as other disciplines to determine which significant variables were …

A Quantitative Analysis Of A Critical Pedagogy In Catholic Secondary School Religious Studies Teachers In The San Francisco Bay Area, Alex Porter Macmillan

Doctoral Dissertations

Scholarship has indicated that Catholic, secondary school religion teachers in the United States are often not adequately prepared pedagogically and theologically (Aldana, 2015; Ramey, 2014; Schroeder, 2013; Cook and Hudson, 2006; Cook, 2001, 2000; Lund 1997). Rossiter (2011, 2010, 2007) and Crawford and Rossiter (2006) described aspects of a pedagogy that can be summarized as “Critical Interpretation and Evaluation of Culture” (Rossiter, 2011), where a number of different criteria and examples are described that can serve as a relevant pedagogy for religious education.

In a researcher designed, online, cross-sectional survey, 18 questions from relevant literature using both binary “yes / …