Education Commons^™

Mi Voz: Latinx Student Perceptions Of Affirmative Action On Their College Application And Enrollment Told Through Their Funds Of Knowledge, Ashley J. Idrees

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

In this study, I explored how LatinX students understood affirmative action strategies used by higher education institutions through their Funds of Knowledge and how this knowledge shaped their post-secondary decisions. Using a qualitative case study design, I conducted semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations, and document analysis to center the voices of those underrepresented in the academy to support high school to university transition. The LatinX students’ awareness of affirmative action was present and, in many cases, was a factor in their decision to attend an institution of higher education. This awareness was often the result of guidance from an influential figure …

A Descriptive Policy Analysis Of State-Level Universal Preschool Adoption, Holly Higgins Wilcher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Presently, the United States does not have a publicly funded, comprehensive, universal ECE system. The fragmented and piecemeal approach to providing ECE creates social injustice and inequity for many young children (Kagan & Roth, 2017; Kagan, 2009). With the absence of comprehensive and streamlined federal ECE policy, several states have attempted to at least provide universal preschool to all four-year-old children. For states that aim to adopt universal preschool, it is critical to understand the factors, political conditions, and policy environments conducive to creating preschool policy change. Although many states would like to provide universal preschool, very few have been …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Racialized Experiences Of Southeast Asian American Community College Students, Varaxy Yi Borromeo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Southeast Asian American (SEAA) (e.g., Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese) students' educational realities are often masked by assumptions that all Asian Americans are model minorities. However, SEAA students have also been racialized as deviant minorities to explain disparities faced by the community. Relatively minimal scholarship has explored how race and racism shape their experiences. In this study, AsianCrit provides a framework for exploring the racial realities of SEAA students in community college. Qualitative research methods were employed to explore in-depth the ways they experience race and racialization. Specifically, this study is a phenomenological exploration of their lived racialized experiences and …

An Examination Of Leadership Behavior: Improving Family Engagement In An Urban Latinx School Community, Mary Elizabeth Graft

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

The following is a technical report based on the qualitative case study of a school principal in a representative urban high school in the Rocky Mountain West. The purpose of this study was to better understand the extent to which an urban high school principal in a high poverty school can implement behaviors that increase family engagement within a Latinx school community. The research question in this study was: What leadership behaviors are impactful in developing and increasing Latinx family engagement in an urban high school?

The principal was observed for a year and interviewed extensively regarding his beliefs, practices, …

Pre-College Sources Of Influence For Traditionally Underrepresented Students Attending College: A Social Network Analysis Approach, Rebekah Kester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined a variety of sources of influence for traditionally underrepresented students at a primarily White institution of higher education. The sources of influence ranged from 2-way communications in high school to 2-way communications in the community, and from 1-way communication influences in the school such as AP courses, to 1-way communication influences outside of the school such as social media. The data were collected via an online survey distributed to first time in college freshmen in the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. The survey results were analyzed using ANOVA and social network …

Transformative Leadership: A Case Study Of Schools In A Network Designed To Improve Turnaround Schools, Ivan James Duran

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

This summary presents the findings of professional research conducted over one year by a doctoral student working in an urban school district. The purpose of this research was to examine the perceptions of school leaders and teachers in two turnaround school networks that used different approaches to improving student learning outcomes. The goal was to compare one network's approach with the other network's approach to assess what factors leaders and teachers perceived to make a difference in improving student achievement in turnaround schools. One network focused on addressing the turnaround challenge through transformative leadership theory, which includes the following tenets: …

The Invisible Schism: Teachers’ And Administrators’ Differing Perceptions Of Education Reforms, Sarah Melvoin Bridich

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Faculty Scholarship

This study examined teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of education reforms, focusing on a state legislated education bill that altered teacher evaluations. A mixed-method design, including an electronic survey, was used to gather perceptions of Colorado Senate Bill 10-191: Great Teachers and Leaders Act from teachers and administrators in the Rockies School District (RSD), as well as these two groups’ general perceptions of teacher evaluations, education reforms, and change. Results revealed that teachers collectively hold similar views of education reforms, as do administrators; however, how each group perceives these elements of education policy and reform differs significantly. Both teachers and administrators …

Examining The Relationship Between Principal Leadership And School Climate, Eric Stephen Lane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the relationship between transformative school principal leadership and school climate. The population of this study consisted of two middle schools with grades ranging from six through eight and one high school with grades ranging from nine through twelve. These schools are within the state of Texas. Quantitative data were obtained by using two instruments, the Principal Leadership Questionnaire (Jantzi & Leithwood, 1996) and the School Climate Assessment Instrument (Alliance for the Study of School Climate, 2014), and evaluated to determine if (a) correlations exist between the factors of transformational leadership and …

A Meta-Analysis Of Research-Based Reading Interventions With English Language Learners, Maritza Torres

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Response to Intervention (RTI) model, introduced as part of the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 2004, is a proactive process of early interventions and evidence-based instruction for all students. RTI has additional intensive and individualized interventions to prevent student underachievement, including students at risk for academic failure and culturally and linguistically diverse students (Vellutino et al., 1996; Donovan & Cross, 2002; Francis, Rivera, Lesaux, Kieffer, & Rivera, 2006; Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006; Vellutino, Scanlon, Small, & Fanuele, 2006; Al Otaiba et al., 2009). Klingner and Edwards (2006) suggest that the needs of culturally and linguistically …

Exploring Trends In Disproportionality Of Emotional Disturbance Classification After The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (Ideia), Ghirmay Alazar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the trends of disproportionate representation of African American students in special education when compared to Caucasian special education students in emotional disturbance category as well as the trends in disproportionality of emotional disturbance classification after the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA). African American students in special education are disproportionately represented when compared to Caucasian special education students but uncertainty persists regarding the nature and the extent of the problem (Aud et al., 2010; Countinho & Oswald, 2002; Skiba et al., 2006, 2008). This study employed a mixed methods multiple …

How Global Education Is Understood And To What Extent It Is Implemented In One Educator Preparation Program, Lydia Valentina Amewu-Sirleaf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed method study investigated the overarching question "how global education is understood and implemented in an educator preparation program in a Colorado university". The sub-questions used to answer the research question are:

* How is global education/perspective understood and implemented by the faculty?

* How do students perceive global education/perspective to be implemented in the program?

* How are the faculty and student's perspective similar and how are they different?

* How do the documents and artifacts support this?

The faculty members and pre-service teachers in this program were the research participants in the study. This area of research …

Ways Of Knowing In A Blended Learning Cohort, Dawn Michele Mcwilliams

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

The following is a report on the content analysis of threaded discussion boards from three blended learning cohorts. The purpose of the content analysis was to determine whether an individual’s way of knowing (WoK), or epistemology, could be perceived through a content analysis of historical data in the form of online threaded discussion boards. The research question in this content analysis was “What ways of knowing emerge from online discussion threads within a yearlong university cohort?”

The researcher used a priori coding scheme based on the literature surrounding WoK to explore the online threaded discussions of three blended learning cohorts. …

Understanding The Leadership Capacity And Practice Of Assistant Principals, Thomas Lee Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the leadership capacities and practices of assistant principals. The research also sought to determine what relationships existed between capacity and practice and to see if there was a difference based on experience, context and personal characteristics.

Since the majority of principals first serve as assistant principals, their work and experiences as assistant principals will have significant consequences (Kwan, 2009). The literature has long held and continues to challenge the notion that the role of assistant principal is adequate preparation for the principalship (Chan, Webb, & Bowen, 2003; Harris, Muijs, & Crawford, 2003; …

School Principals' Attitudes Towards Performance Based Compensation, Carolyn A. Stephenson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this study is to determine the attitudes of school principals regarding a performance based compensation system. This study identifies the attitudes towards specific factors that should be considered in the implementation of a system of performance based compensation. The data have been analyzed to determine if a principal's demographic characteristics affect his/her level of agreement with performance based compensation and the factors for implementation. In addition, this study unveils areas of concern that principals have conveyed regarding the implementation of a performance based compensation system.

Data was obtained from 444 public school principals representing 444 schools …

A Phenomenological Study Of How Anti-Racist Leadership Training Principles Impact The Actions Of Middle School Principals, John Gregory Kennedy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The national crisis of the academic achievement gap is one of the most impactful phenomena for the nations' public schools. This study used a phenomenological qualitative research design to capture the essence and perceptions of building principals' experiences related to principles of anti-racist leadership training. The researcher interviewed ten principals who had provided numerous questions in an interview format, to gain insight into the attitudes, beliefs, and leadership practices as they relate to the eradication of the achievement gap at their respective sites. The researcher conducted ten, in-depth, interviews with specific questions related to the achievement gap. All of the …

Narrowing Of Curriculum: Teaching In An Age Of Accountability, Donna Kay Newberg-Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation made clear the need for increased accountability of U.S. public schools in 2002, there has been a trend toward narrowing curriculum in social studies and other core subjects to focus predominantly on what is tested through state exams. Concerns exist regarding the unintended consequences of curriculum narrowing on low, middle and high socioeconomic status (SES) students in public schools.

The Center on Education Policy (CEP) and National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) have been tracking the effects of NCLB since it took effect in 2002 and found that 71 percent of districts nationwide …

Examination Of Universal Screening In Response To Intervention At The Secondary Level, Debra Allison Layland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine three means of universal screening to identify students in need of reading interventions at the secondary school level. Specifically the results of the Colorado State Assessment Program (CSAP), the Test of Silent Contextual Reading Fluency (TOSCRF) (Hammill, Wiederholt, & Allen, 2006) and the Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency (TOSWRF) (Mather, Hammill, Allen, & Roberts, 2004) were used to group students in a Response to Intervention Framework of Tier 1 (needing no intervention), Tier 2 (needing intervention) and Tier 3 (needing intensive intervention). Categorization results were compared to determine the accuracy of …

English Teachers And English Language Learners In Middle School Classrooms: Perspectives And Practices, Elmer Celso Manzanares

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public school classrooms in the United States are composed of an increasingly diverse population of learners. The number of students with limited proficiency in English has grown exponentially across the United States, yet their level of academic achievement lags significantly behind that of their language-majority peers.

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes, opinions and practices of middle school language arts/reading teachers regarding the inclusion of ELL students and the support they receive in their classrooms. The researcher administered a survey to 171 language arts/reading middle school teachers and interviewed six teachers from fourteen schools in a …