Education Commons^™

The Challenges Of Persisting First Generation College Students: A Comparison Between Students With Trio Support And Those Without, Claudean Kizart

Dissertations

This qualitative study examined first generation college students who persisted towards completing baccalaureate degrees with and without the assistance of TRIO, a federally funded program that assisted first-generation college students with obtaining baccalaureate degree. The researcher gathered empirical data through conducting semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 20 first-generation students from two universities who were beyond their first year of college and possessed a 2.0 or higher grade point average (GPA). Interviews were retrospective, as all students were upper-class college students who completed at least one year of college at one of two four-year universities. It was important to the study design …

Determining How Tertiary Education And Human Capital Formation Influenced Economic Expansion In Israel, Japan, And Norway From 2000-2010, Erin Lee Kalkbrenner

Dissertations

Researchers have calculated the relationship between human capital development and economic output by various means of econometric modeling and by use of numerous indicators under the context of an assortment of human capital theory. This study was conducted to identify new interpretations of the expansion of human capital in the form of tertiary education enrollment in the countries of Israel, Japan, and Norway from 2000 to 2010. The researcher applied an OLS non-linear regression to establish four hypotheses, including modeling with regional dummy variables to generate point estimates for each country in order to analyze each country’s educational policy implementation. …

Utilizing Canines In A Public School Setting: A Case Study, Krista J. Tate

Dissertations

Children and adolescents arrive at schools with more than just academic needs. Unfortunately, accountability is paramount in the minds of legislators, thus making test scores top priority for most public educators. For decades, pet therapy and pet assisted activities have been quite successful in mental health institutions, hospitals, and nursing homes. However, the body of work concerning pet therapy and pet assisted activities in public education is limited. The purpose of this case study was to determine if pet therapy is successful in a southwest Missouri school district and to examine how teachers and administrators employ their pet therapy dog. …

Two Case Studies Of The University Strategic Planning Process, Robert Lawrence Salter

Dissertations

This is a study of how the quality of a university strategic plan can be assessed on the basis of content validated rubrics. It further explores of the dynamics of how the choice of a planning process, i.e. inclusive or non-inclusive, can be affected by strategic intent, change capacity and leadership style of the organization’s President. As the definition of a quality strategic plan document is established by the study, the next problem the study addresses is the gap in higher education literature about the import of clear strategic intent, i.e. the focus on what the organization is trying to …

Perceptions Of General Education Deans And Department Chairs Of Their Colleges As Learning Organizations, May Charmayne Mulligan

Dissertations

Higher education institutions are being pushed towards increased assessment practices because of rising costs, mass access, new delivery methods, and rising competition on the national and global scale. Academic deans and department heads are at the center of these assessment efforts, and assessment should guide changes within the organization for improvement. Learning organization theory provides a framework for creating an environment favorable to assessment and improvement. Six learning organization principles – learning, communication, measurement, problem-solving, structure, and vision – were used for this study.

An online questionnaire was used to capture the perceptions of deans and department heads as to …

Improving The Design Of Cluster-Randomized Trials In Education: Informing The Selection Of Variance Design Parameter Values For Science Achievement Studies, Carl D. Westine

Dissertations

The purpose of this three-essay dissertation is to provide practical guidance to evaluators planning cluster-randomized trials (CRTs) of science achievement. In an educational setting, interventions are often administered at the cluster level, while outcomes are typically measured at the student level through standardized achievement testing. When evaluating an intervention, a CRT is appropriate because it allows for treatment to be modeled at a different level than the unit of analysis, and properly accounts for the violation of independence that occurs due to nesting. Accurately designing a CRT involves estimating variance parameters (i.e., intraclass correlations [ICCs] and percent of variance explained …

The Study Of The Impact Of Professional Learning Communities And Student Achievement, Jori K. Phillips

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference existed between student learning, using the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), and Professional Learning Community (PLC) implementation within fifth-grade populations in the state of Missouri. The following research questions were utilized to drive the research: What is the difference in MAP communication arts scores for fifth-grade students in Missouri districts that have adopted the Missouri PLC model as compared to those that have not adopted the Missouri PLC model? What is the difference in MAP math scores for fifthgrade students in Missouri districts that have adopted the Missouri PLC model …

Comparing The Effect Of Two Types Of Computer Screen Background Lighting On Students’ Reading Engagement And Achievement, Jennifer A. Botello

Dissertations

With increased dependence on computer-based standardized tests to assess academic achievement, technological literacy has become an essential skill. Yet, because students have unequal access to technology, they may not have equal opportunities to perform well on these computer-based tests. The researcher had observed students taking the STAR Reading test (Renaissance Learning, 2009) and noticed a variance in scores in relation to classroom performance. The researcher intended, therefore, to explore variables that may affect the performance of students on a computer-based reading assessment. The researcher tested two different technology-related variables as students took a summative exam, the STAR Reading test. The …

Student Perception Of Teacher Feedback And The Relationship To Learner Satisfaction In A High School Online Course, Lesli Nichole Lemmon

Dissertations

The focus of this study was to examine a high school online learning experience. This study used Hattie’s (2009, 2012, 2014) four levels of feedback to determine the most frequent levels of feedback provided to online learners. This study also determined if a correlation existed between students’ perceptions of the amounts and levels of feedback they received from their instructor and overall course satisfaction. The four overarching questions addressed in this study were as follows: What levels of feedback (task, process, self-regulation, personal) are an online teacher using when responding to student work? At what level are students satisfied with …

Examining The Effects Of Act Assessment Of High School Graduates On College Enrollment And College Readiness, Diana H. Iborg

Dissertations

A college education is essential to the future. Those with a college degree will make a higher income and be affected less by economic instability. Employment requiring a college degree will grow, while jobs that do not require postsecondary education will decline. Yet barriers exist that keep all students from attaining a college education. It is the charge of schools to prepare students so they not only enter college, but also have the necessary skills to be successful in college-level courses. Federal initiatives mandate periodic assessments to ensure student learning and to hold schools accountable. However, scores from these assessments …

Evidence Of Leadership Competencies In The Journal Of Mary Easton Sibley, A Pioneering 19th Century Women’S College Founder, Julie Anne Beard

Dissertations

Little has been written about Mary Easton Sibley, the founder of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, which until its acceptance of men in the mid-20th century was the oldest women’s college west of the Mississippi River and stands today, a thriving private coeducational institution, as the second oldest college west of that demarcation. This dearth of literature seemed unwarranted since Sibley was as progressive as her more famous East Coast contemporaries (Mary Lyon, Catharine Beecher, et al). All were motivated by the socially progressive Protestant evangelical movement known as the Second Great Awakening and by the founders’ quest for …

Factors That Influence Special Education Teacher Retention, Samantha Lou Henderson

Dissertations

In this study, the factors that influence special education teachers to remain in their profession for at least five years were identified and analyzed. The study involved a mixed-methods design including a survey and interviews with experienced special educators. The survey items and their categorizations as relational support or organizational factors were based upon Billingsley’s (2004) landmark research. The population consisted of special educators who remained in their current teaching positions for at least five years. The sample group for the survey included 35 veteran special educators from eight school districts in Missouri, and the stratified interview sample of five …

An Exploration Of The Characteristics Of Public Relations In Regards To Face-To-Face Versus Distance Learning In Two Private Liberal Arts Higher Education Settings, Cessna Catherine Smith Winslow

Dissertations

This study explored perceptions of Public Relations (PR) among graduate higher education publics regarding distance learning as contrasted with face-to-face learning contexts. The research questions assessed student, faculty and administrator perceptions of characteristics of PR: trust, communication, quality, respect and rigor. Participants included students and professors who had experienced both online and face-to-face learning, as well as administrators from two private universities. The larger of the two schools was in the Midwest region of the United States, and at the time of this study, was relatively new to online instruction. The smaller school was located in the Southeast region and …

Benchmarking The Use Of Learner-Centered Teaching Practices In Missouri Community Colleges, Vivian Kathleen Elder

Dissertations

Learner-Centered (LC) teaching focuses on shifting the role of an instructor from a provider of information to a facilitator of learning. Several Missouri community colleges have declared themselves LC institutions through use of the term in their mission statements and/or strategic goals. Although a metric for demonstrating this commitment, in the form of a rubric created by Dr. Blumberg (2009) existed, it was not in common use at the time this study was conducted. Additionally, a void existed on how the traits of LC instructors differed, if at all, from the traits of more traditional instructors. This quantitative, causal-comparative study …

A Case Study Of The Leadership Program At Andrews University: Its Origins And Early Development As Reflected In Documents And Relics, Participant And Faculty Interviews, And Participant-Observation, 1994-2003, Priscilla Tucker

Dissertations

Purpose. The Leadership Program was established at Andrews University in 1994 as a non-traditional, competency-based, adult-oriented doctoral program. The purpose of this case study was to relate the story of the creation and development of the Leadership Program from 1994 through 2002 by examining the concepts incorporated into the program and the experiences of participants, faculty, and staff involved in the program during those years.

Method. Using a case-study approach, I have examined the conceptual development and procedural evolution of the Leadership Program at Andrews University from 1994 through 2002; that is, from the year of the program’s …

Teacher Perceptions On Teacher Leadership And Shared Vision In Nc Schools: A Correlational Study Using The Nc Teacher Working Conditions Survey, Mary M. Hemphill

Dissertations

As the landscape of public education continues to evolve, so does the leadership and vision required to meet the needs of this ever-changing academic platform. No longer is academic research focusing solely on school leadership required to lead 21st century students and educators toward success, but rather it is focused on the plethora of factors that inform the development of thriving learning communities across our nation. While much of the educational discourse on leadership and vision speaks to the development of strategies, pedagogies, and leadership preparation for school leaders, there are deficiencies in the literature on teacher leadership and shared …

A Mixed-Methods Comparison Of Standards-Based And Traditional Gradebooks In One High School, Kevin P. Mabie

Dissertations

Online gradebooks have gradually become a staple of schools in the 21st century. Students and parents have immediate access to grades, and the composition of these grades is transparent. While the purpose of the online gradebook may have initially been for the conveniences such systems offer the school and its stakeholders, it has also served as a catalyst for gradebook reform. Gradebook construction strategies have been called into question, and solutions which allow gradebooks to provide more accurate and specific information have been developed. This study explored student learning growth through the use of two different online gradebooks: a traditionally …

The Effect Of Prosody Instruction On Reading Fluency And Comprehension Among Third-Grade Students, Tammy B. Overstreet

Dissertations

Problem

Many students are failing to become proficient readers with current instructional methods used in American schools. Students frequently make improvements in two of fluency’s dimensions, rate and accuracy, but these improvements have not consistently correlated to improvements in reading comprehension, which is the objective of reading. The automaticity plus prosody (APP) model was developed by this researcher from Topping’s deep processing fluency model to explain why teaching and assessing the multiple dimensions of fluency (rate, accuracy, and prosody) improve comprehension. The purpose of this study was to compare students in a private school in a small town in southwestern …

An Evaluation Of The Bachelor Degree In Accounting Program In A Ghanaian Private University, Samuel Adaboh

Dissertations

Problem: There is the growing demand by all stakeholders (teachers, students, employers, governments, and society) for universities and colleges to be more accountable in preparing their products for the challenges of the 21 ^st century. Such demands have fueled interest in the evaluation of student learning in virtually all disciplines in college. There are calls for pedagogic innovations that will improve student learning in college. If any success can be achieved in addressing the challenge of improving the quality of products from higher education, then colleges and universitieshave need for reliable data. Such data can be obtained partly through an …