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Dr. Eugene Grigsby's Connections To Art, African American Life In The South, And Social Justice Education: Implications For Art Education Curriculum, Reggie A. Stephens Mr.
Dr. Eugene Grigsby's Connections To Art, African American Life In The South, And Social Justice Education: Implications For Art Education Curriculum, Reggie A. Stephens Mr.
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
DR. EUGENE GRIGSBY’S CONNECTIONS TO ART, AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE IN THE SOUTH, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR ART EDUCATION CURRICULUM by REGINALD STEPHENS (Under the Direction of Dr. Sabrina Ross) ABSTRACT Building on concepts of double consciousness (Dubois, 1903/1994), the negative effects of a lack of visibility in curricula (Woodson, 2010), critical race theory, and the notion that artists’ lived experiences of oppression encourage actions and art that challenge injustice (Bey, 2011), this study sought to demonstrate that the lives and works of Black artists from the South in the early 20th Century are pedagogical. Inspired by the critical …
Transition From Brick And Mortar To Online Teaching: Middle-Grade Teachers' Perspectives, Cathy Griffin
Transition From Brick And Mortar To Online Teaching: Middle-Grade Teachers' Perspectives, Cathy Griffin
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to investigate and understand how middle-grades teachers describe the transition from brick and mortar to online teaching of middle-grades students. A qualitative, descriptive case study design provided the framework for this study. An investigation into the lived experiences of a group of online middle-grades instructors making the transition from a traditional classroom setting to an online environment was conducted using interviews and online journaling.
The questions guiding this study were (a) How does a middle-grade teacher describe the transition from brick and mortar to online teaching of middle-grades learners? (b) What do middle-school teachers …
The Caring Beliefs And Practices Of Effective Teachers, Barbara D. Mccollum
The Caring Beliefs And Practices Of Effective Teachers, Barbara D. Mccollum
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Current educational reform tends to emphasize an impersonal test-driven approach to teaching while the present research maintains this reform is inequitable because it neglects the personal component of teacher caring, which is necessary to reach all students, especially disaffected underachievers. The purpose of the present multi-case study was to determine the caring beliefs and practices of six effective teachers in two Title I Elementary schools in a central Georgia school system, how these beliefs and practices manifested in the classroom, and in what ways the teachers’ beliefs and practices may have been influenced by their own cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds …
Classworks As A Means To Gaining Equity In The General Education Math Classroom: Perceptions Of Students Receiving Special Education Services, Diane Marshall
Classworks As A Means To Gaining Equity In The General Education Math Classroom: Perceptions Of Students Receiving Special Education Services, Diane Marshall
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
With the importance of math steadily increasing, researchers in the field of special education have made efforts to increase the performance of students with disabilities (Fuchs et al., 2008; Gersten, Jordan, & Flojo, 2005). Despite the deficits these students face, the trend has been for many years that most students with disabilities in math receive their instruction in the general education classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions that students receiving special education services have regarding the effectiveness of Classworks, a computer-assisted instructional program, in helping them gain equity in the general education math classroom. Critical …
Instructional Technology Integration And Situational Interest In Math, James A. Thompson Iv
Instructional Technology Integration And Situational Interest In Math, James A. Thompson Iv
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Motivating students to be engaged in learning, especially in math, has been a perennial challenge for educators. Over the past 20 years, instructional technology has become an increasingly prevalent teaching tool that, according to many educational observers and researchers, can have a transformative effect on teaching and learning because of the way that it engages today’s students. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the relationship between students’ perceptions of technology integration and situational interest in middle school math so that educational planners will be better informed when making instructional decisions concerning the use of technology in the …
An Examination Of The Correlation Between The Seven Critical Leadership Functions And Middle School African-American And Hispanic Student Achievement, Shannon A. Flounnory
An Examination Of The Correlation Between The Seven Critical Leadership Functions And Middle School African-American And Hispanic Student Achievement, Shannon A. Flounnory
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This quantitative study examined possible correlations between each of the seven critical leadership functions and achievement in the areas of mathematics for eighth grade African-American and Hispanic students. The 117 participants included school leaders and students from 12 of the 19 middle schools in a metropolitan school district in the southeastern region of the United States. Principals from the middle schools in the district distributed the Critical Leadership Functions Questionnaire to members of their leadership team (e.g., assistant principals, school counselors, department chairs, etc.). CRCT scores measured student achievement. The researcher conducted a correlation study, using Pearson’s multivariable correlation data …
Chaos Theory, Theology, And Curriculum: Striving Towards The Impossibility Of The Gift, Thomas B. Jones
Chaos Theory, Theology, And Curriculum: Striving Towards The Impossibility Of The Gift, Thomas B. Jones
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
It was once thought that small influences could not have a large impact on a grand scale. However, in the 1960s Edward Lorenz discovered that very small disturbances in weather conditions could have a great effect on huge weather systems. With an understanding of chaos theory, which posits that everything matters, I argue that a life based on the lessons of a theology inspired by postmodernism can provide a lens through which to see and act in this chaotic world. By living by this belief, the ability to give the true gift, which is an impossibility and is always to …
A Mixed Methods Case Study Exploring The Outcomes Of Implementing A Digital Learning Management System In A Fourth Grade Language Arts Classroom, Sarah C. Mayberry
A Mixed Methods Case Study Exploring The Outcomes Of Implementing A Digital Learning Management System In A Fourth Grade Language Arts Classroom, Sarah C. Mayberry
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Classrooms of today are in continual flux and state and local mandates are constantly reforming the curriculum in order to help prepare students to compete in a global society; in addition, advancements in technology have greatly impacted today’s students and how they learn as well as the way teachers instruct. As educators, we need to recognize what our students need to become successful citizens in today’s society, which often requires students to be critical evaluators of various types of information and requires them to become literate across a wide range of literacies. Not only is it critical that classroom teachers …
Untold Stories And Silenced Voices: Lives Inside A North Georgia Elementary School, Donna S. Troupe
Untold Stories And Silenced Voices: Lives Inside A North Georgia Elementary School, Donna S. Troupe
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This is an inquiry into the lived experiences of Southern, white, female teachers who teach their overwhelmingly Southern, white student populations in a rural/suburban North Georgia elementary school. I explore the obstacles and challenges they face as they experience the negative and crippling effects of the policies and practices forced upon them in their teaching and learning environments. Drawing upon the theoretical works of Dyer (1997), McIntosh (2012), Anderson & Collins (2007), Morrison (1992), Jupp (2013), Sleeter (1993, 2003), Smith (1944,1949), and hooks (1992) on race and critical white studies; the works of Apple (2001,2008), McLaren (1998), Foucault (1977), Freire …
Transition Competencies: Secondary Special Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Frequency Of Performance, Tonisha L. Johnson Ed. D.
Transition Competencies: Secondary Special Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Frequency Of Performance, Tonisha L. Johnson Ed. D.
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Millions of high school students are receiving special education services from teachers who may be inconsistently performing competencies during transition planning that leads to sustainable, postsecondary success. Secondary special education teachers’ frequency of performance of transition competencies during transition service delivery are essential to fulfilling their duties and responsibilities towards effectively implementing the Individualized Education Program of students with disabilities. The purpose of this descriptive study is to examine the correlation among secondary special education teachers’ perceptions of their transition competencies’ frequency of performance, during annual transition services. This study employed a quantitative methods approach involving an adapted version of …
May I Walk Beside You? Exploring The Journey Into The Careers Of African American Women In Childcare Through Their Stories, Lisa K. Heusel Dr.
May I Walk Beside You? Exploring The Journey Into The Careers Of African American Women In Childcare Through Their Stories, Lisa K. Heusel Dr.
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In this study the African American childcare provider’s life experiences are heard through the use of narrative inquiry and oral history. Often perceived as individuals who could not become teachers in the K-12 system, the women presented tell the reader in their own words what factors lead them to becoming childcare providers. By focusing on oral history, the stories told solidify the idea of the past creating the present. Education, religion, socioeconomics, culture and racial issues play an important part in each person’s life. Therefore, these factors were the main focus when participants were asked to describe their lives. The …
Digital Echoes Of The Igeneration: An Examination Of Digital Media Used In 21st Century Education, Monica Greenway Radcliff
Digital Echoes Of The Igeneration: An Examination Of Digital Media Used In 21st Century Education, Monica Greenway Radcliff
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study explores the use of digital media as three teams of middle grades students create an original film about a topic of their choosing. The impetus of the study is fueled by a personal curiosity to see how students learn when given the freedom and flexibility to research and explore outside of a standards-based environment using digital media. Equally important, I wanted to examine the participatory process; as well as how this process affected the students' views, values, and to what extent, if at all. This study was made possible due to the 2011 JOCO Film Festival. Each of …
Powerful Print: Identifying The Influence Of Narrative Reading Over Student's Opinion Formation, Sarah A. Lord
Powerful Print: Identifying The Influence Of Narrative Reading Over Student's Opinion Formation, Sarah A. Lord
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study examined the ways in which reading works of fiction affects the formation of student’s opinions and attitudes by using literature circles discussions and journal writing. It uses Louise Rosenblatt’s (1938) Reader Response Theory supported by Lev Vygotsky’s (1962) writings about the social dynamics of language development. Methodologically I followed the example of literature circles set forth by Janice Almasi and Linda Gambrell (1994, 1995).
Participants were fifth grade students in a rural South Georgia elementary school who participated during the 2010-2011 school year. The students participated in small peer-led discussion groups. The students chose the books they would …
Are Best Practices In Literacy Culturally Relevant? An Investigation Into What Primary Literacy Teachers Do To Teach Literacy Skills To Minority Students, Tammie Pittsley
Are Best Practices In Literacy Culturally Relevant? An Investigation Into What Primary Literacy Teachers Do To Teach Literacy Skills To Minority Students, Tammie Pittsley
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine if average primary (K-3) teachers were implementing best practices in literacy with culturally relevant teaching in their classroom practice. The cooperating district is located in southeastern Georgia and is a majority minority district. The school district personnel predominantly consists of White female teachers; however, the student population has become increasingly diverse. As a result, the need to teach literacy skills while incorporating the tenets of culturally relevant teaching is increasingly important. The study consisted of an online survey using the platform Survey Monkey and two focus group interviews. The survey …
Two Small Rural Schools Under Siege: An Oral History 1969-2012, Deborah Costlow Cartee
Two Small Rural Schools Under Siege: An Oral History 1969-2012, Deborah Costlow Cartee
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study is an oral history of the small rural community of Portal, Georgia, its two local schools, and its residents’ successful fight to keep these community schools. Guided by the theoretical framework of critical theory and the works of critical researchers, namely Paulo Freire (1998), Michael Apple (2006), Jean Anyon (2005), and Henry Giroux (2001), one purpose of this study was to discover what we can learn from the experiences of citizens in one small rural community who have been affected by consolidation. Since the account of the relationship between the Portal community and its hometown schools remains untold, …
Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Development Activities Which Result In Successful Integration Of Classroom Instructional Technologies, Lisa Blackmon
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Recent research demonstrates the expectation of the use of technology in schools. Advances in technology often require teachers to learn new methods of teaching while trying to keep up with rapidly increasing technological changes. Unfortunately, many teachers report being inadequately prepared to utilize instructional technologies in their classrooms. School leaders have the complex task of providing effective training that meets their teachers’ needs. In this quantitative study, the author sought to determine teachers’ perceptions of professional development activities which result in successful classroom integration of instructional technologies in schools. Teachers from two school districts in Georgia were surveyed. Data were …
Reimagining The Liberal Arts In An Age Of Technoscientific Progress, Melanie Moore Watson
Reimagining The Liberal Arts In An Age Of Technoscientific Progress, Melanie Moore Watson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The following study will investigate the impact of dismantling liberal arts curriculum during an era of dramatic technoscientific progress. I will explore the development of the posthuman focusing specifically on the areas of virtual reality and biomedicine. As I unravel the implications that virtual reality and biomedicine will have on society in the coming decades, I will describe how a new liberal arts curriculum must be entertained by educators in order to maintain innovation, play, and ethical considerations in posthuman developments. In order for our students to become contributing members of a global community, they must be given the opportunity …
Cultivating The Environmental Awareness Of Third Graders Through Inquiry Based Ecopedagogy: Impact On Students’ Achievement And Attitudes, Lori Jackson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to assess the impact on third grade students’ achievement and attitudes when integrating an inquiry based learning with a technology-based public service announcement component into a pollution, recycling, and conservation unit of instruction. The theoretical frameworks for this study were inquiry based learning and ecopedagogy. Forty third grade students participated in the mixed method action research study. A control group (N=19) was taught using the science textbook lesson and activities. An experimental group (N=21) was taught using the four strands of science learning practices. Quantitative data collected were pre-test and post test content, …
Inquiry, Efficacy, And Science Education, Heather Christa Scott
Inquiry, Efficacy, And Science Education, Heather Christa Scott
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Developing learners who are equipped to think critically about the vast information circulating around them is essential in their preparation for a role in society today. The use of effective inquiry-based instruction is not a widespread practice among K-12 classrooms. Many secondary and post-secondary science instructors see the valuable link between students asking questions and the development of critical thinking. Inquiry-based instruction provides student opportunities to ask questions, design methods of investigation, gather information, and finally reach conclusions based on evidence. However, this instruction style is rarely used in the classroom, particularly in elementary classrooms. This study examines the relationships …
Do The Opportunities Offered During The School Day Provide The Recommended Physical Activity Levels For Children?: An Assessment Of The Upson County Pre-Kindergarten And Elementary School Physical Activity Occurrences, Cheryl Lynn Robinson Gaddis
Do The Opportunities Offered During The School Day Provide The Recommended Physical Activity Levels For Children?: An Assessment Of The Upson County Pre-Kindergarten And Elementary School Physical Activity Occurrences, Cheryl Lynn Robinson Gaddis
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Problem Statement: Almost 90% of students do not meet the national recommendations for physical activity in school. The purpose of this study was to determine the need for school policy changes to incorporate classroom-based physical activity programs in an effort to increase school physical activity levels for children in grades pre-kindergarten through five by assessing the levels of and the barriers/facilitators to physical activity engagement.
Methods: This was a sequential explanatory mixed methods study utilizing school board members, principals, and teachers in the Upson County School System as participants. The online survey was adapted from the School Health …
Moments When The Weak Gained Ground: Viral Video As A Curriculum Of People, Michael J. Ryan
Moments When The Weak Gained Ground: Viral Video As A Curriculum Of People, Michael J. Ryan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Author's abstract: The public school curriculum has devolved into merely being a political football for the forces of the dominant culture, no longer even attempting to serve the People of the community or the students that the school ostensibly should serve. In the absence of a curriculum that is meaningful to People, another curriculum has spontaneously appeared outside of school via shared online media between social networks. This new curriculum, identified by a relatively wide viewership and its challenge to social injustice, oppressive conventions or hegemonic forces, is a curriculum of viral videos shared because of their meaning and cogence …
Equal Or Not? An Exploration Of Eighth-Grade Students' Experience Of Algebra, Janice L. Reyes
Equal Or Not? An Exploration Of Eighth-Grade Students' Experience Of Algebra, Janice L. Reyes
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Over the past two decades, a considerable amount of algebra instruction nationwide has shifted from high school to middle school. In Georgia, all eighth-grade students have been required to take a course that is equivalent to about 80 percent of a traditional Algebra 1 course. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how a selected group of eighth-grade students in a suburban Georgia middle school experience algebra within the eighth grade mathematics curriculum. A qualitative research design was used to investigate students’ perceptions of algebra, the strategies employed by teachers to teach algebra, students’ difficulties with algebra, and …
Curriculum Circus: Juggling Curriculum, Science, And The Arts, Domenica Devine
Curriculum Circus: Juggling Curriculum, Science, And The Arts, Domenica Devine
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Education should open the door to better lives and better jobs. The fact is that it does not. In part, there are many causes including rigidity, political interference, and the separation between disciplines that we teach without context and without dialogue with our students. Specifically, I think that we should use education as a way to help students make better choices and have a better life. One way we can do it is by reconciling science with the other disciplines. And that is what is at the heart of curriculum studies.
There is a pervasive belief that the Western ideology …
Towards A Critical Coaching Curriculum, Hunter M. Chadwick
Towards A Critical Coaching Curriculum, Hunter M. Chadwick
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Author's abstract: This historical case study utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis in order to investigate its availability or absence within American football coaching curriculum outside of the traditional education setting. The study examines texts written by or about football coaches to find where critical pedagogy exists and what it looks like within coaching curriculum. The research attempts to add to the conversation of critical pedagogy, critical theory and their use outside the classroom. Critical pedagogy is investigated in this study in order to add validity to its use within football coaching school curriculum. Critical theory is discussed as a positive element …
Military Children And Holistic Education: A Narrative Reflection On Classroom Practice, Edith Allison
Military Children And Holistic Education: A Narrative Reflection On Classroom Practice, Edith Allison
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation uses autobiographical narrative inquiry as a source of knowledge-generating reflection to examine how the educational needs of military children might be met through the use of holistic educational practices rather than a (well-intentioned) traditional, standardized curriculum. Data were gathered through observation; personal experience as a military child, military member, mother of military children and teacher of military children; journal entries and vicarious experiences shared by students, parents, educators and other invested in this population of learners. Experiences were compiled into fictional composites to protect the identity of all parties as well as national security. These composites were then …
The Literary Coach As Instructional Leader: How Three Literacy Coaches In Rural Georgia Improve Teacher Practices, Carletha Y. Doyle
The Literary Coach As Instructional Leader: How Three Literacy Coaches In Rural Georgia Improve Teacher Practices, Carletha Y. Doyle
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Author's abstract: The bar has been raised on student achievement in the United States and on teaching quality as well. Compelling evidence confirms that a teacher's mastery of the academic content of what he or she teaches is critical to engaging students and inspiring them to academic excellence (Addey, 2000; Wilkinson, 2002). In order to truly impact instructional effectiveness, transformations must occur on the frontlines as teachers put research based theories into practice. A major obstacle facing literacy coaches and leadership teams is identifying an effective implementation model and practice that promotes and support high quality literacy instruction through direct, …
High School Transformation: The Lived Experience Of Teachers Moving To Small Learning Environments, Reginald Lawrence
High School Transformation: The Lived Experience Of Teachers Moving To Small Learning Environments, Reginald Lawrence
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Author's abstract: Educators faced with a decline in student achievement and increases in dropout rates are seeking ways to provide the best possible educational environment for students (Oxley, 2005). High school transformation, also known as the small schools movement, is a reform that is gaining currency in the world of education (Meier, 2006). Alien (2001) observed that high school transformation is the process of altering the makeup of a large comprehensive high school, also known as a traditional high school, into small high schools or small learning communities at the same location. The teacher is the most important component of …