Education Commons^™

Understanding Inter-And Intra-Generational Communication Methods Utilizing A Framework Of Message Sensitivity, Thomas Edwin Craft Jr.

Dissertations

This study was designed to determine if differences existed between generations surrounding their preferred communication methods. In examining the social identity perspective of groups, scholars have found that many groups are categorized based on the social structure in which they exist. Generational groups have created their own social structure and set of cultural norms that define each generation. In a recent report released by the Pew Research Center (2010), when the younger generation was asked an open-ended question, "What makes your generation unique?", 24% of those asked responded "Technology Use." One of the unique differences among these generations is the …

Triple A: Alternative For At-Risk Adolescents?, Shelly Mills-Walker

Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative, causal comparative study was to examine the extent to which attending an alternative educational program at some point during high school could likely influence the graduation rate of at-risk students in an urban school district in the state of Missouri. Four years of nonrandom samples of graduation data from 2006 through 2010 were retrieved from the district’s student information system specific to race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and special education services. The 4 years of nonrandom samples were averaged, and the mean graduation rates of these populations of adolescents were calculated and compared to measure …

How Do Teacher Qualifications Impact Student Achievement In Relation To The Achievement Model Established By The Mississippi Department Of Education?, Timothy Darren Holland

Dissertations

The following study was conducted in a six-county geographical region and involved teachers from various high schools that taught classes which were involved in the subject area testing program. Each participant taught one of the four state-mandated subject area classes that are tested to determine achievement levels and accreditation ratings for each high school.

The focus of the study was to collect information from each teacher regarding the qualifications they held during the 2009-2010 school year and to compare those qualifications with the mean scale score for each teacher’s subject area classes. The researcher focused on five separate teacher qualifications …

An Investigation Of Support, Goals, And Incentives Among Minority And Nonminority National Board Certified Teachers, Melissa Salana Collins

Dissertations

National Board Professional for Teaching Standards play a pivotal role in the classroom of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT). NBCTs have been recognized for increasing student achievement. There are more than 90,000 NBCTs in schools across the United States, but the ratio of nonminority to minority NBCTs, according to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards report of 2004, was 89% to 11%. The intent of this study was to examine the levels of support among minority and nonminority NBCTs to determine which combination of support factors and incentives would best predict the successful completion of the NBCT process by …

Teacher Professional Development And Its Effects On Reading Instruction, Kristen Lea Suarez

Dissertations

The world of education is an ever-evolving profession. We, as a society, have learned so much about education and how we can better benefit our students. Students depend on education to equip them with the tools needed to become successful. This dissertation addresses the need for and adequacy of today’s teacher professional development in Reading instruction and how that training can translate into more meaningful classroom education.

The writer surveyed elementary Reading teachers in grades 3-6 from two school districts in southern Mississippi to determine their perceptions concerning various elements of the professional development training they received during the 2009-2010 …

Teacher Preparedness For Teaching And Assessing Depth Of Knowledge, Shelly Rankin Holmes

Dissertations

In the state of Mississippi, students in grades 3 through 8 are required to take an annual assessment, called MCT II, in Language Arts, Mathematics, and, more recently, Science. The results of this assessment may cause punitive consequences for each school and school district. State leaders have become increasingly concerned with student performance and accountability. Therefore, they have redesigned this assessment to accommodate a more challenging curriculum and to ensure alignment with national standards. The unanswered question is whether or not we have adequately prepared teachers for the increase in rigor and depth of knowledge for this assessment. A questionnaire …

The Relationship Between Readability Level Of Mississippi's Middle Schools' Websites And Seventh Grade Language Arts Mct2 Scores, Anna Marlene Graves Pickard

Dissertations

Today’s educators face the unprecedented challenge of increasing achievement for all students. One response has been to increase and improve parent involvement and school-to-home communication through the use of school websites. The quantitative section of this study analyzed the readability grade level of the website as it relates to state test scores. For the qualitative section of the study, a sample of middle school principals’ levels of interest and involvement with parents through the website and other methods of communication for student achievement were examined through the use of principal interviews.

Seventh grade Language Arts MCT2 scores from 205 Mississippi …

Student Achievement In Block And Non-Block Schedule Schools, William Shelton Smith Jr.

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the number of minutes allocated for high school instructional periods influences student achievement. The study also examined the perceptions of principals regarding one method of instructional time allocation, block scheduling.

The study examined the differences in student achievement on a high school exit examination in the content areas of Reading and Mathematics between schools in a southern state using a four-period block schedule and schools using a non-block schedule in order to ascertain if the type of schedule has any impact on student achievement. Additionally, information pertaining to scheduling was collected …

Saturday Academy: Student, Parent, And Teacher Perceptions Of An Intervention For At-Risk Middle School African American Students In A High Poverty School, Meoldy Latrice Witherspoon

Dissertations

I examined the perceptions of parents, students, and teachers of Saturday Academy, an intervention for students who are at risk of failing academically. The problem is that nearly half of students who attend high school may be at risk of dropping out before they graduate. The purpose of this study was to describe, evaluate, and analyze the perceptions of students, parents, and teachers of Saturday Academy. This study is significant because at-risk students are in need of an intervention that helps them to be successful at school. The study was conducted in a small middle school within a large school …

Counselor Perception Of Effective Components Of Suicide Prevention Programs In Four-Year Colleges And Universities, Melanie A. Schicker

Dissertations

More than 34,000 Americans take their lives each year. Twelve percent of those suicides are in the 15-24-year-old age group. Although, overall for this age group, suicide is the number three cause of death, across college campuses it is quickly becoming the second leading cause, with accidents being number one. There are multiple contributing factors for suicide and suicidal ideation among the college population and many campuses have suicide prevention information; however, fewer have actual suicide prevention programs in place. Several areas that contribute to suicide risk for college-aged students were reviewed including: (a) depression, suicidal history, and hopelessness; (b) …

Closing The Achievement Gap Between Boys And Girls, Helen Finley

Dissertations

The critical role of accountability on schools has intensified the need to understand the impact of intervention strategies and best practices on literacy. Of particular concern is the underachievement of boys and identifying the learning differences between boys and girls. Examined in this quantitative study were the strategies and practices implemented by Blue Ribbon and Gold Star school educators to increase the literacy skills of primary-aged boys. Strategies and practices were determined through a Likert scale survey distributed to six Missouri Blue Ribbon and Gold Star schools and an equal number of schools that were not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress. …

Missouri Charter Schools And Educational Reform, Phillip James Guy

Dissertations

In 1998, Missouri‟s two largest school districts, St. Louis and Kansas City, had become, in the eyes of many, completely dysfunctional. In court-ordered attempts to end desegregation and improve academically, each district built costly and extravagant magnet schools; however, low test scores and high dropout rates continued. These problems, and others, would cause both districts to lose their state accreditations in the next ten years. In an effort to put the focus back on student learning and force these districts to improve, Missouri lawmakers passed Senate Bill 781. This bill allowed charter schools to open and operate within the Kansas …

The Effects Of School Climate Change On Student Success In A Fifth And Sixth Grade School, Kim M. Harris

Dissertations

The significance of the study was to examine intentional strategies to improve school climate relative to student school success as measured by academic achievement, attendance, and student behavior. It was important to understand how student school success was affected by factors related to school climate improvement such as leadership and change processes, initiatives to improve student sense of safety and connectedness, and factors such as time, relationships, grade span, and alignment in academic focus. Understanding how school climate could promote student school success was significant in this study, as was an understanding of the differences between school culture and climate …

Identifying Key Factors In Implementing And Sustaining Response To Intervention: A Comparison Of Schools Currently Implementing Rti, Carrie Ann Schwierjohn

Dissertations

Since the reauthorization of IDEIA in 2004, school leaders across America have labored toward implementing a new process or model called Response to Intervention, in the hopes of lowering the high rates of students identified as Learning Disabled and increasing overall student achievement, by providing skilled interventions to struggling students. As schools and district administrators push to effectively implement the key features outlined by state and federal legislation, many schools lack the strategies, resources, and tools to ensure quality implementation of the RtI model. Research indicated that improper implementation and a lack of fidelity to the prevailing characteristics of the …

A Statistical Comparison Of First Time Praxis Ii Pass Rates Between Homegrown 4 Year Students And Transfer Students Of A Medium Size Suburban University: A Six Year Study, Jason Edward Holmes Jr.

Dissertations

In order to meet the federal mandate specified by the No Child Left Behind Act to demonstrate content competency for teaching certification, students must pass a written examination. Missouri and 37 other states chose the Praxis II to satisfy requirements. Presently, schools of education advertise the passing rate of the Praxis II as 100%, since students can take the Praxis II until they pass. This study examined only the first time Praxis II pass rates for undergraduate students in a medium sized university over a six year period. The quantitative, predictive non-experimental research study statistically analyzed first time Praxis II …

The Relationship Between Study Island And Student Achievement, Nathan Travis Bracht

Dissertations

Many schools in America have issues with raising overall achievement as well as the achievement of subgroup populations on state tests required by No Child Left Behind. This quantitative study determined whether an online program called Study Island significantly effected overall and subgroup achievement on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests in communication arts and mathematics at the elementary and middle school levels. The results will inform school officials in this district and similar districts on whether Study Island can meet the needs of their teachers and students. The students in the study began using Study Island in preparation for …

Implementing A Summer Fitness Program To Enhance Fitness Test Scores, Keith A. Price

Dissertations

Presently, there is general disquiet about the poor fitness and obesity levels being displayed by young people in the USA. Given my concern about this as a Physical Education teacher, I conducted a qualitative action research project that involved running a six-week Summer Fitness Club for elementary students in Grades 1-5. The purpose was to see if this program could make a difference in the fitness test scores of the children and to monitor the implementation of that program. The course was designed to operate four days a week for six weeks with each session lasting two hours. Each session …

Special Education Learning Environments: Inclusion Versus Self-Contained, Al E. Lohman

Dissertations

The field of special education has been challenged by the quandary over which educational environment provides the best academic opportunities for students with learning disabilities: self-contained versus inclusive. Proponents of self-contained classroom placement have insisted students with learning disabilities placed in self-contained classrooms receive better instruction due to the reduced class sizes and the efficient delivery of special education services. Proponents of inclusive classroom placement expound inclusive classrooms allow students with learning disabilities to engage in enhanced learning via emersion into the regular education population. To assess both learning environments, disaggregated data from the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) were collected …

Predictors Of Mathematics Majors At The Post-Secondary Level Of Education, Megan L. Reineke

Dissertations

While there are numerous studies examining the courses students take at the secondary level and how different levels of mathematics courses can affect student achievement in beginning post-secondary mathematics courses, there are no studies that examine math majors at the post-secondary level of education. In addition, many reports stating gender and ethnicity gaps in the field of mathematics fail to discuss the issue surrounding what type of student pursues a mathematics degree. Understanding mathematics majors, including the types of high schools they attended and their ethnicities, may provide some insight into which students are becoming interested in the area of …

Grade Retention And Social Promotion Among Middle School Students, Travis C. Shaw

Dissertations

The use of grade retention and social promotion among middle school students in Missouri was analyzed in this study. Quantitative data were gathered from 115 middle school principals who completed an online survey regarding grade retention and social promotion. Qualitative data were collected from five middle school principals in southwest Missouri who participated in an interview. The five principals selected students from their respective schools to participate in an interview where additional qualitative data were collected. The students who were selected had been retained or socially promoted while in grades six through eight. Data collected from the survey showed 68% …

The Socioeconomic Achievement Gap In Mathematics, Adam Meador

Dissertations

Currently in the United States a gap exists in the education of high and low socio-economic students. There is an education available for the socioeconomically challenged and a different system of education for those who live in a higher socioeconomic status. The purpose of this study was to explore the achievement gap in mathematics for elementary students. Specifically, the gap between the students’ scores who attended a school with a free and reduced price meal percentage below 25% and students’ scores who attended a school with a free and reduced price meal percentage above 75% was explored. Additionally, the focus …

Investigating Smartboard Technology For Mathematics Education To Improve The Learning Of Digital Native Students, Amy Yvonne Spears

Dissertations

The SMARTBoard is a technology teaching tool that engages students in learning and enhances a mathematics curriculum. This study consisted of data from student and teacher surveys of technology items that are available and which can be used in the classroom, a personal self-interview conducted by the researcher to establish her technology journey, an item analysis of a diagnostic mathematics test to establish a base for measurement, and a seventh grade standarized mathematics test from the state of Missouri to complete a measurement of the effects of technology use on student achievement. The researcher compiled data from multiple sources, which …

An Analysis Of Attendance Policies And High School Attendance Rates, Dawn Michelle Brenner

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the relationship between the dependent variable, average daily attendance rate, and the independent variables, socio-economic status, student enrollment, and the type of attendance policy implemented in the 85 public high schools in southwest Missouri. The types of attendance policies were sorted into one of three pre-determined categories: punitive, reward, or affective. Data were collected for each of the independent and dependent variables. A percentage was calculated by dividing the number of policy types within each category by the total number of policy types. Then the data were organized based on the average …

Investigating The Transition Process When Moving From A Spiral Curriculum Alignment Into A Field-Focus Science Curriculum Alignment In Middle School, Randi Kay Alwardt

Dissertations

This investigation examined the transition from a spiral science curriculum to a field-focus science curriculum in middle school. A spiral science curriculum focuses on a small part of each field of science during each middle school year, more of a general science concept. In contast to that, the base of a field-focus curriculum is that each grade level focuses on a specific field of science, more of a high school like concept. The literature reviewed provides a history of science education, the steps of the change process, and the importance of professional development. The literature review provided a basis for …

Beating The Odds: A Low Equalized Assessed Valuation Elementary School With High Standardized Test Scores, Brian Levin

Dissertations

This mixed methods study examines what makes Bluffview Elementary School a success as measured by the ISAT, the mandated state test of Illinois. Despite national reports of achievement gaps and low test scores, Bluffview Elementary has shown sustained success in educating children. This paper reviews how Bluffview Elementary students are achieving success, and what similarities exist among other highly successful, low equalized assessed valuation (EAV) schools. This study utilized a meta-analysis from more than 20 studies reviewing successful schools to first identify which characteristics contribute to the success of a low EAV school. The studies, most of which examined elementary …

Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Introduction Of Universal Secondary Education In St. Lucia, Verneta Lesforis

Dissertations

Developing countries are constantly trying to improve their educational systems because research suggests that increased education can have benefits for individuals and countries in terms of better health, higher wages and increased stability. The most recent change in educational policy in some of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) including St. Lucia is the implementation of Universal Secondary Education (USE) to provide secondary school access to all students. There has been little research on the perceptions of teachers from the various islands about the introduction of USE. This study sought to identify the perceptions of the secondary school teachers …

The Effects Of A Systematic Progress Monitoring Program On Sixth Grade Middle School Reading Scores And Teacher Perceptions, Jamie Alexander Smith

Dissertations

The development of quality educational programs, designed to meet the needs of all students, is a pivotal responsibility of educators and yet a considerable challenge due to the diverse needs in each school. Many consider the Response to Intervention (RtI) model to be one initiative with the greatest potential to improve education for all students (Tilly, 2006). RtI is a process that screens students for concerns, uses scientifically based strategies to teach, intervenes to address identified learning needs, assesses and charts progress, and ultimately adjusts the educational support to meet the varied needs of all learners (Dickman, 2006). A vast …

Examination Of Existing Strategies To Support State Physical Fitness Standards: A Case Study Of A Large Mid-Western Urban School District, Tyrone D. Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify which Missouri Physical Education Fitness Assessment strategies were implemented by high schools in the Study School District to meet state physical fitness standards and to identify physical fitness personnel perceptions of district-provided support for physical education programs and their possible benefits to students involved. Results may increase reader awareness of fitness related health issues such as teen obesity and early onset diabetes. The secondary data used for this research study was obtained from the study school fitness assessment results. The researcher generated the Teacher Resource survey administered by the district. Responses to …

Comparing Differences In Math Achievement And Attitudes Toward Math In A Sixth Grade Mathematics Enrichment Pilot Program, Tamara Tow

Dissertations

High-stakes assessments have encouraged educators to ignore the needs of the top performers. Therefore, the Oakwood School District decided to implement a mathematics pilot enrichment program in order to meet the needs of the advanced mathematics students. As a result, this study used quantitative data to determine if there was a significant change in the academic achievement and attitudes over the course of the year of sixth-grade students in the enrichment math pilot program. The curriculum for the pilot program centered on the same topics as the regular program, however, it involved more application of the basic concepts and of …

A+Nywhere Learning System Comparative Analysis Of Direct Instruction And Online Learning Using The A+Nywhere Learning System In A Secondary Alternative High School, Patricia Mary Lee

Dissertations

In 2010, the problem of high school students dropping out of high school continues to plaque school districts across the United States. All students can learn when provided with opportunity, ample support systems, and encouragement to succeed. In this mixed methods study, the researcher investigated whether utilizing an online curriculum instead of direct instruction was an effective instructional tool for at-risk high school students attending an alternative high school. After the 2008–2009 school year, teaching methods at the participating high school were changed from direct instruction school to the A+nyWhere Learning System (A+LS) for communication arts, math, science, social studies, …