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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Designing Place-Sensitive Professional Development: A Critical Ethnography Of Teaching And Learning Argumentative Writing, Sarah N. Holland
Designing Place-Sensitive Professional Development: A Critical Ethnography Of Teaching And Learning Argumentative Writing, Sarah N. Holland
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the experiences of teachers participating in a two-year professional development program designed by the National Writing Project and funded by a U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) grant. Informed by New Literacy Studies’ ideological model of literacy as a Social practice and rural literacies’ notion of pedagogies of sustainability, this study employs critical ethnography and discourse analysis to analyze the discourse of teachers participating in the College-Ready Writers Program (CRWP) in order to understand how professional development might be adjusted to re-empower teachers. Data sources included field notes, interviews, lesson …
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
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 …
Learning Experiences And Perspective Transformation In Evangelical Faith-Based Adult Nonformal Education Programs, Philip Gerke
Learning Experiences And Perspective Transformation In Evangelical Faith-Based Adult Nonformal Education Programs, Philip Gerke
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The study adapted an existing instrument to examine perspective transformation and its associated factors in participants of evangelical faith-based adult nonformal education in the Midwestern United States. Stratified random one-stage cluster sampling of 11 churches produced a nonprobability sample (N = 597) that was significantly (p < .05) different from the population of the geographical location of the study. An 86% majority self-reported a level of agreement or stronger of perceived transformation of perspectives, but differences predicted by gender were insignificant. The difference in perceived perspective transformations between respondents aged 40-59 that had the highest levels and respondents aged 60 and above that had the lowest levels was significant. The factors of influential individuals, personal reflection, and thought-provoking learning assignments significantly predicted all four factors of perspective transformation; the Writing Assignment factor was a significant negative predictor of only the Perception of Change factor, and a significant positive predictor of only the Future Benefits factor. The study recommended that additional research on faith-based frames of reference and age category differences. The study also recommended that faith-based practitioners consider emphasizing transformative learning experiences and personal reflection in their programs for adults.
Reading And Religion: Reconciling Diverse Reading Patterns And The First Year Composition Classroom, Evelyn Baldwin
Reading And Religion: Reconciling Diverse Reading Patterns And The First Year Composition Classroom, Evelyn Baldwin
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
While tolerance is the supposed standard of the first-year composition classroom, the writing patterns and argumentation skills of self-identified Christian students often frustrate teachers and create classroom dissonance and interpersonal divergence. This work looks at what apologetic and devotional texts these students are reading before they enter the classroom and then analyzes these works to see how well their content aligns with Composition I reading and writing requirements. To do this, the study takes information from two very distinct groups: religious leaders of young adults and Composition I instructors. The study begins by surveying religious workers to identify the top …
The Effects Of Summer Reading Programs On The Academic Achievement Of Elementary Students, Renee Deshommes
The Effects Of Summer Reading Programs On The Academic Achievement Of Elementary Students, Renee Deshommes
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Children with weakened academic skills face the possibility of having less access to higher education, or advanced career opportunities later in life. Such disadvantages, if not addressed, may result in a series of diminished opportunities that may affect a child's overall quality of life. Several educational experts suggest that the negative effects of the academic achievement gap are cumulative, and many educational experts also believe that the achievement gap between high and low socioeconomic students continues to be a persistent problem for which few solutions have materialized. The potential for summer reading programs to be implemented as a mechanism to …
Subtle Messages: An Examination Of Diversity In The Illustrations Of Secondary Level One French Textbooks, Stephen Richard Adamson
Subtle Messages: An Examination Of Diversity In The Illustrations Of Secondary Level One French Textbooks, Stephen Richard Adamson
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Textbooks in all content areas have been criticized for the hidden curriculum that subtly teaches messages, which elevate some cultural groups while diminishing the efforts and contributions of other cultural groups. Research into the hidden curriculum and inclusion of diversity in French textbooks has been limited. The present study focused on the inclusion of diversity in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, disability, and body size present in the illustrations of the three newest French One textbooks. Results indicate that diversity has increased but the diversity within the illustrations does not always mirror the actual demographics of the United States …
The Self-Efficacy Beliefs Of Black Women Leaders In Fortune 500 Companies, Latonya R. Jackson
The Self-Efficacy Beliefs Of Black Women Leaders In Fortune 500 Companies, Latonya R. Jackson
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Black women are underrepresented in leadership positions within organizations. The extent to which self-efficacy influences the advancement potential of Black females is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the self-efficacy beliefs of black women in leadership positions and to determine how Black women leaders' careers are influenced by their self-efficacy beliefs. Participants for the study were determined using convenient random sampling. The objectives of this study were to determine the profile and level of self-efficacy, and leadership practices of participants based on tenure (length of time in a leadership position), age comparison and work experience (total number …
A Proposal For A Writing Center And A Peer Tutor Training Course At Fayetteville High School, Katie Colleen Stueart
A Proposal For A Writing Center And A Peer Tutor Training Course At Fayetteville High School, Katie Colleen Stueart
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The following thesis is a proposal to begin a writing center at Fayetteville High School. The first part of the thesis document describes the research supporting the implementation of a writing center. The rest of the thesis provides the syllabus for the peer tutor-training course.