Education Commons^™

An Evaluation Of A Cooperative Extension Internship Program, Lisa Ellis Mccormick, Karen A. Vines, Subrato Kumar Kuri

The Journal of Extension

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the Virginia Cooperative Extension internship program from the perspective of student participants and their supervisors. Three focus groups were conducted with internship supervisors from the summer of 2019. Student survey data was used to identify concerns from the student perspective to inform the supervisor focus group questions. In addition to the questions, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis was also used to collect qualitative data within the supervisor focus groups. Findings suggest areas of strength that can be used in marketing as well as opportunities for program improvement.

A Mixed Methods Study Of South Carolina Reading Policy On Teacher Knowledge, Matthew Ferguson

All Dissertations

This sequential explanatory mixed methods study examines the impact of the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) professional learning intervention on teacher knowledge within the context of South Carolina's reading policy.

Quantitative analyses of pre- and post-assessment data indicate significant improvements in teacher content knowledge of foundational literacy skills following LETRS training. Descriptive statistics and paired-samples t-tests demonstrate substantial gains in knowledge, particularly in Volume 1 of the LETRS curriculum. The study reveals notable increases in pre- and post-assessment scores, suggesting the effectiveness of LETRS in enhancing teacher expertise.

Qualitative findings from focus groups highlight the positive …

Equipping Educational Leaders To Lead Data Democracies: A Case Study, Diane Sigmon

All Dissertations

Educational policy, technology, and data now converge to establish a new educational leadership concept, data democracies. The movement away from a few technically skilled staff as gatekeepers of all things data is quickly accelerating. The emergence of data democracies represents a significant paradigm shift in education, necessitating a corresponding response from educational leaders and their training systems. Leaders must possess high data literacy to effectively interact with data and derive meaningful insights. Additionally, systemic changes are required to foster a cultural shift towards viewing data as a tool for growth rather than punishment. However, the existing body of research in …

Factors Affecting Teacher Retention In A Selected South Carolina School District: Perspectives Of Administrators And Teachers, Alvilda Graham

All Dissertations

In this qualitative descriptive case study, I explored the issue of teacher retention, a growing concern within public K-12 education systems in the United States, particularly in South Carolina. I aimed to understand the unique organizational factors within individual school districts that influence retention decisions from the perspectives of teachers and administrators at the middle school level. I focused on a selected South Carolina school district (SSD) and explored the viewpoints of teachers and administrators regarding teacher retention. To better understand their lived experiences, I conducted semi-structured interviews and surveys with middle school teachers and administrators. Using an improvement science …

Experiences Of Vertical Transfer Students In The Department Of Biological Sciences With The Transfer Credit Process: A Phenomenological Study, Laura Love

All Dissertations

The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to highlight the experiences of undergraduate STEM vertical transfer students. Through the lens of Schlossberg’s Transition Theory, this study sought to better understand how students make sense of the transfer credit process and which support structures facilitated their understanding. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using qualitative methods with eight biological sciences and vertical transfer students currently enrolled at a large public four-year land-grant research institution in the Southeast United States. All participants had successfully transferred from one of 16 technical colleges within the state. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, three themes were identified. This …

Leveraging Professional Learning To Impact Leadership Of Technology Integration, Tennille Woodward

All Dissertations

School and district leaders lack awareness of the depth and complexity of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Education Leaders and how the implementation of the leader standards provides for students and teachers to learn relevant skills and strategies. Continuing the work of Schoenbart’s 2019 dissertation, the Education Leaders Technology Survey (ELTS) provides a self-assessment for education leaders to reflect on their leadership of technology integration and provides baseline data for this study. Professional learning around the ISTE Standards for Education Leaders provided through a Canvas course provides education leaders with a theory of action to …

Leadership Matters: Developing And Growing Leaders To Lead High-Needs Schools, Mona Dickson

All Dissertations

The role of a principal has changed since its inception. This dissertation explores the transformative role of school principals in the American educational landscape. With a keen focus on the historical and contemporary nuances, this study meticulously traced the evolution of the term “principal.” The underlying dynamics shaped by gender biases, stringent accountability measures, and the innate pressures enveloping the position are highlighted. An emphasis is placed on principals leading high-needs schools, revealing a spectrum of challenges, often intensified by socio-economic and infrastructural disparities. The study delved into these leaders’ diverse experiences and expectations through qualitative lenses of semi-structured interviews …

Make It Make Sense: An Exploratory Examination Of Teacher Sense Making Around Culturally Responsive Classroom Management, Ricardo Devon Robinson

All Dissertations

This study takes place at a middle school in Charleston County, South Carolina. The study examines how White women educators make sense of being exposed to the content in Don’t Let Them Be Misunderstood, a professional development about Culturally Responsive Classroom Management (CRCM). Guided by sensemaking theory and the dispositions of culturally responsive pedagogy, this exploratory study documents White women teachers’ responses to Don’t Let Them Be Misunderstood using multiple sources of data including semi-structured interviews, transcripts from the session, and transcripts from a post-exposure focus group. These data illustrate teacher’s sense-making around and includes thoughts around how to improve …

The Effects Of The Esol Program On African American Vernacular Speaking Students Reading, Marquice Clark

All Dissertations

South Carolina’s public education system is broken. For the past several years, the State of South Carolina and the nation have somehow managed to do the nearly impossible. Both have produced more English Language Learning (ELL) students to be proficient in English Language Arts (ELA) (i.e., reading, writing, and usage) than native English speakers. The issue of low black performance on state and national standardized assessments has always been a cumbersome task for America's public school system. Although Black students comprise more than 30 percent of the total student population in America, more Limited English students are demonstrating a higher …

Trauma-Informed Gatherings: What Does It Mean And What Does It Take?, Chelsea Williams, Jamie Bain

The Journal of Extension

As community members continue to experience racial trauma at both individual and community levels, our Extension team responded by adapting an anti-racism leadership training program to be more trauma-informed. Our team designed a tool using Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s trauma-informed principles to support public health practitioners to facilitate trauma-informed meetings. This tool can be a starting point for Extension professionals to create more trauma-informed gathering spaces in all areas of their work.

Implementation Of An Early College Design In A Rural High School: Empowering Place-Conscious Leadership To Affect Change And Overcome Barriers To Innovation, Michael Timko

All Dissertations

This qualitative, improvement science, autoethnograpic case study aims to examine a unique perspective on rural research through the lens of place-conscious leadership. With an identified problem of inequity in advanced-level course offerings, which resulted in lost student opportunities and student attrition to neighboring schools, the leadership at Forest Lakes High School (FLHS) in rural South Carolina began the ambitious journey of reframing their narrative. As a scholarly researcher and administrator at FLHS, I had the unique opportunity to immerse myself fully in all aspects of this study. My dual positionality allowed me to study this process while sharing the lived …

In This Skin, At This Institution, At This Time: Black Women University Administrators’ Stories Of Survival During The Pandemic And Racial Reckoning, Kyra Lobbins

All Dissertations

The underrepresentation of Black women in executive leadership positions at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) persists, despite their high-achieving credentials and degrees. However, crises such as the racial reckoning and the pandemic have revealed an increase in the number of Black women called upon to lead under risky circumstances, a phenomenon referred to as the glass cliff theory. In this study, I examine the leadership strategies and behaviors of Black women executives at PWIs during these critical periods. Specifically, I explore how these leaders make meaning of their adverse experiences and crucible leadership moments and whether these experiences equipped them for …

Addressing The Elephant In The Room: An Exploratory Multiple Case Study Of Principals’ Perceptions Of Opportunity Gaps, Their Leadership Practices And Access To Advanced Placement Courses For Marginalized Students, Parker Morse Andreoli

All Dissertations

Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, achievement gaps have guided education reform work. The focus on these gaps in student outcomes has been standardized and has lacked consideration of the inputs that create the academic achievement disparities between demographic groups of students. These gaps are often tied to the segregation of learning opportunities, both across and within schools, and perpetuate racist and classist stereotypes of students. A critical need to shift attention from gaps in achievement to a more appropriate measure, opportunity gaps between racially minoritized students and their White peers, is needed. In this …

Managing Teacher Attrition: Improving Teacher Self-Efficacy Through The Implementation Of Professional Learning Communities, Stephanie Peagler

All Dissertations

Teacher retention is at a more critical place in education than ever before. School districts are struggling to hire and retain teachers, partially due to COVID-19 and its overwhelming impact. Teacher retention was an issue for South Carolina public schools before and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study focused on how the implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) can increase teacher self-efficacy and teacher retention rates within a large high school in South Carolina. An improvement science study with a concurrent mixed methods study with an embedded qualitative study approach was used throughout the research study to …

The Development Of A Backyard Composting Project Through Community Engagement, Donald J. Scully, Jeffrey A. Young, Bryan J. Hains, Kristina Hains

The Journal of Extension

It can be argued that public forums are a valuable and essential tool for Cooperative Extension professionals. This article narrates the innovative use of the public forum action steps outlined in Kahl’s (2016) “A Convener’s Guide to Hosting a Public Forum”. The primary objective was to address illegal dumping and littering concerns with the Extension professional's role to engage the community. The resulting “Backyard Composting Project” demonstrated that public forums are valuable in creatively engaging urban audiences. Ultimately the authors illustrate how a community concern can be addressed using innovative programming to reach what Extension considers to be …

A Multi-Agent Modeling Social Network Analysis Of Cooperative Learning Groups Within A Simulated Adult Education Classroom Learning Environment, Leverett Bruner

All Dissertations

Illiteracy and a lack of a high school diploma are impediments to a fulfilled and meaningful life. Low or reduced literacy and non-attainment of a high school diploma are significant problems in the United States. Adult education can be a vehicle to address these ever-present issues. A disproportionate number of students in adult education are minorities, members of lower socioeconomic statuses and traditionally marginalized groups who lack effective literacy skills and/or a high school diploma. Adult education and its related entities can serve as a vehicle to address these pervasive issues, but adult education as a program type is a …

My Superintendent Journey From Educator To Activist: An Autoethnography Across Three Decades, Betty Bagley

All Dissertations

Superintendents rise to the highest level of professional educational leadership within local communities. National statistics show increasing turnover in that district-level position. Superintendents come and go, which means their accomplishments fade in time. Superintendents rarely tell their stories of successes, failures, pressures, expectations, challenges, or any experiences within their highly visible role. This gap shows a lack of access to superintendents’ perspectives, and that gap may affect current and aspiring superintendents’ potential.

Given a two-century historical gap in the literature about educational leadership with few accounts from superintendents’ perspectives, my study described my journey through three superintendencies from 1993 to …

The Perceived Role Of School Counselors In Ramp And Non-Ramp Schools, Rob Rhodes

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceived roles of elementary and secondary school counselors within schools with comprehensive school counseling programs and those without such programs. Central to this study are questions of how school counselors’ roles are perceived differently within Recognized ASCA Models Program (RAMP) schools and non-RAMP schools. I this study, I examined the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Professional Mindsets and Behaviors (see Appendix 1), as outlined in the ASCA National Model (ASCA, 2012), as well as school counselors’ professional practices and perceived roles in RAMP and non-RAMP schools.

Through interviews and comparative analysis, …

A Narrative Inquiry Of Selected Women’S Career Pathways To State-Level Leadership In Agriculture, Timothy Keown

All Dissertations

In this study, I used a qualitative narrative inquiry to examine stories from three individually selected state-level agricultural sector women leaders as they described their career paths to leadership roles. This purpose of the study was to address the problem of a lack of practical understanding of women leaders’ experiences in pursuing, achieving, and keeping leadership roles within the agricultural industry. The existing literature shows that women are less likely to hold an agriculture leadership role in their career. To establish the research question, I used feminist educational theory. This theoretical framework and the associated epistemology of narrative inquiry served …

The Struggle Is Real: Understanding Impacts Of Racial Microaggressions On Black Teachers, Joshua Miller

All Dissertations

Despite the progress that has been made regarding racism in education, Black teachers continue to be an underrepresented community among the teaching population. Addressing this underrepresentation can begin with better understanding the experiences of these Black teachers who have served in K-12 institutions. Although these experiences are multifaceted, educational leaders can make strides toward racial equity by fully understanding and acknowledging the impacts that racist interactions have on an individual’s work experience. By using racial microaggressions as a means of analysis researchers and practitioners can better understand the breadth and scope of these covertly racist attacks. Recognizing the influence of …

To Give Or Not To Give: A Qualitative Descriptive Study On Alumni Giving Behavior At A Historically Black College And University, Shanaee Bodrick

All Dissertations

This qualitative descriptive study explores alumni giving behavior at a private North Carolina Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Specifically, this research examined HBCU alumni experiences, perceptions, and motivations and how these factors influence their decision-making process when contributing financially to their alma mater. This research provides the historical background of HBCUs and how these institutions have been critical in shaping their education and communities. The findings of this study provide the basis for future research on HBCU alumni donors and non-donors. It exposes commonalities and differences between donors and non-donors. In all, this study may act as a reference …

Increasing Classroom Teachers' Use Of Linguistically Responsive Strategies To Support English Language Learners: A Mixed-Methods Study, Christie Shealy

All Dissertations

With the dawn of the new decade, English Language Learner (ELL) populations began to grow in states without structures and professional learning to equip teachers to face the changing demographic of the classroom. In response to the growth of the knowledge gap between classroom teachers in South Carolina and their diverse classrooms, I conducted a study based on improvement science principles. As a long-standing ELL program coordinator, I experienced the need to increase linguistic responsiveness in classroom teachers on a daily basis. The application of the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle utilized mixed methodology to gather data to increase classroom teachers’ use …

Developing And Advancing The Listening Lift Program To Improve How Leaders Listen As A Means To Communicate More Effectively, Jeremy Spielman

All Dissertations

In this study, I examined the cognitive improvement process associated with advancing the skills and behaviors of active listening. Through the utilization of the improvement science dissertation in practice (ISDiP), with a strategize, implement, analyze, and reflect (SIAR Cycle) theory of improvement, I developed and utilized an active listening modification tool to better understand and support 10 executive educators’ willingness to improve communication, build trusting relationships, and share perception of power in conversations. The proposed improvement action tool centered around four simple and direct strategies to change how executives engage as listeners. The Listening LIFT, (L) refers to Limit distractions, …

The Effects Of The Avid Program On Rural Student Growth In Middle Grades Mathematics, James Allen

All Dissertations

From this mixed method study, I present my findings on the effects of selected aspects of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program on rural middle school students’ mathematics achievement. Previous research on the AVID program has focused on implementation in urban schools, although rural communities’ student populations continue to grow.

Most research on AVID’s success in urban settings show positive correlations between how long students participate in the AVID program and their college readiness. Other research about predictors of college success shows students who do not enroll in advanced level mathematics courses in middle school are less likely to …

Network Of Folx: Applying The Use Of Community Cultural Wealth To The Experiences Of Black First-Generation Hbcu Students, Maurice Williams Jr

All Dissertations

Despite improvements in the rates of college admission over the past few decades, college persistence and graduation rates continue to be problematic, particularly for marginalized students—students of color and students from low-income and/or first-generation families at all institutional types. When attention is shifted to Black first-generation students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), persistence research neglects to include how Black first-generation college students own their educational experience to gain access to college and persist through graduation nor does the research examine cultural factors that help these students persist through the college-going process. Building from both student persistence and community …

“This Is Anonymous, Right?” A Qualitative Study Of Why Higher Education Students Cheat, Anne Marie Rogers

All Dissertations

Academic dishonesty occurs in higher education. Students who choose to cheat will find a way no matter the assessment type, learning environment modality, and deterrents. Academic integrity in online assessments has been prevalent even before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to the recent increase in online learning modalities, cheating is at the top of faculty concerns, and many instructors believe that online assessments open the door for cheating.

I conducted a root causal analysis using an improvement science framework to identify why students cheat in higher education. This study identified two major themes of reasons students participate in academic dishonesty. …

Selected Female High School Athletic Directors Describe Their Career Trajectories, Mary Helen Coleman Martin

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT

There is an underrepresentation of women in the formal role of athletic directors in the interscholastic sport setting. Additionally, little is known about the lack of female representation at the interscholastic level. Utilizing phenomenological methodology, this study explored the career paths and lived experiences of interscholastic athletic directors. Using purposeful sampling, 13 female interscholastic athletic directors took part in semi-structured interviews. Emerging ideas from the lens of current female interscholastic athletic directors offer implications about direction and information needed to assist inspiring young females as they ascend the career ladder in becoming interscholastic athletic directors.

It’S Just An Idea: How Rural Teachers Implement Personalized Learning Within The Education System, Kedralyn L. Folk

All Dissertations

This exploratory case study revealed how rural educators navigate the shift required to implement personalized learning. I collected qualitative data at HMK8, where a personalized learning framework was implemented. This study used improvement science theory to understand the experience of rural teachers’ implementing personalized learning by exploring the experiences of rural educators applying personalized learning practices in the classroom and reviewing how rural educators explain their support needs. About 40% of schools in South Carolina are rural, so this study focused on rural teachers’ needs. The data analysis is rooted in sensemaking theory, which I use to explain and understand …

Perceptions Of Secondary Principals Regarding The Effectiveness Of The Program Of Alternative Certification For Educators (Pace) In South Carolina, William Whitfield

All Dissertations

In this dissertation, I report the findings of a mixed-methods study I conducted in the state of South Carolina with secondary principals (middle and high school). The purpose of this two-phase, sequential mixed methods study was to examine the perceptions of secondary principals regarding the effectiveness of the Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE), South Carolina’s state supported alternative certification program. In the first phase, I used quantitative survey research to understand secondary principals’ perceptions of the PACE. In the second phase, I identified eight secondary school principals who had experience hiring PACE certitifed teachers and conducted semi-structured interviews …

Black Families Matter: Exploring The Sociocultural Impacts Of Race And Class On Parental Engagement, Keneisha Harrington

All Dissertations

Across diverse educational spaces, parental engagement is regarded as a critical factor in determining student academic achievement. However, dominant narratives of low-income African American parent (LIAAP) disengagement have been perpetuated in scholarship and practice, adding to the centuries of misuse and maltreatment Black families have experienced historically by way of educational institutions in the United States. Therefore, to counter these narratives and better understand parental engagement from the perspectives of LIAAP, in this three-article dissertation, I explored the impacts of race and social class on LIAAP engagement. Through a Critical Race Theory (CRT) lens and a phenomenological Community-Based Participatory …