Education Commons^™

Burnout Prevention In Christian Public And Private Middle School Leaders: A Qualitative Study, Rhonda Grider Purchase

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a momentous problem in academic settings today regarding stress and burnout among academic school leaders (Francis et al., 2017). The focus of this study was to examine the prevention of professional stress in the lives of middle school academic leaders. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of what the selected participants believed was the prevention of stress and burnout in middle school leaders in Newton County, Georgia. For this study, school leaders were defined as certified principals who hold a bachelor’s level or above degree and contribute to the academic environment …

Improving Digital Literacy Through A 1:1 Digital Device Implementation: An Applied Study, Sherry Watts

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this applied study was to solve the problem of the need to improve digital literacy for students on an urban middle school campus in South Texas and to design a solution to address this problem. I collected data using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Teachers and instructional coaches were interviewed via the Zoom video conferencing online platform to explore how teachers and instructional coaches described the relationship between the deployment of a 1:1 digital device program and the improvement of students' digital literacy on their middle school campus. I collected quantitative and qualitative survey data from teachers …

Project Leadership, Ellie Russell, Paul Pechos

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

This club lesson plan is designed for middle schoolers to increase their leadership abilities through games relating to communication, cooperation, service, and leadership styles.

Peace Building Through Teacher Leadership, Jill Bradley-Levine, Seema Zainulabdin Lasi

Human Development Programme

This case study examines the motivations of, and processes used by teacher leaders to establish a peace program at their middle school. These teacher leaders creatively engaged students in transforming school culture using empowering strategies to build positive peace among students, administrators, and teachers. Theories of peace education are used as a framework to facilitate analysis of the data, which was collected through qualitative methods including observations and in-depth interviews. This study contributes to understandings of how teacher leaders promote positive peace in K-12 schools and their communities.

Building A Positive School Climate: What Principals Have Done To Effect Change, An Ethnographic Case Study, Suzanne C. Showers

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The importance of school climate has been known for over 100 years. School climate sets the tone for the teaching and learning interactions that take place within the school setting. “School climate refers to the quality and character of school life. School climate is based on patterns of students', parents' and school personnel's experience of school life and reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures” (National School Climate Center, 2015). Research indicates that positive school climates increase teacher retention, lower dropout rates, decrease school violence, and increase student achievement (Cohen, McCabe, Michelli, & Pickeral, …

The Relationship Between District Concert Band Music Performance Assessment Participation And Student Achievement In Miami-Dade County Public Middle Schools, Arthur J. N. Scavella

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the implementation and achievement score pressures of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, elective course offerings such as music have been drastically reduced, especially in the middle school setting. A great deal of correlational research has shown a positive correlation between music education in school and students’ overall academic achievement.

This study examined the correlation between those middle school students that participated in the District Concert Band Music Performance Assessment (MPA) versus those middle school students that did not regarding their achievement scores on the 2016 English language arts (ELA) and mathematics subtests of the Florida Standards …

The Relationship Of Formative Assessment To The Professional Development And Perspective Transformation Of Teachers, Kimberly K. Snyder

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study uses practitioner research to explore teacher perspectives about formative assessment. The researcher engaged in a four-month-long series of professional development sessions with one middle school and two high school English-Language Arts teachers from the Capital View School District. Understanding formative assessment as a process to monitor student learning and then customizing instruction based on the data gathered from the formative assessment is a complex skill in which teachers need practice and even coaching to become adroit. The sessions were intended to help early-career teachers better understand formative assessment and incorporate it as a strategy in their teaching praxis. …

Frequent Father Miles: A Phenomenological Study Of Divorced Fathers' Perceived Roles In Their Child's Education, Rebecca Bowman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how divorced fathers perceive their role in the education of their middle or high school child. The central focus of this study was: How do divorced fathers describe the roles they play in their child's education? The following questions guided the study: (a) How do divorced fathers describe the role they play in their child's education? (b) What are the factors that influence a divorced father's role in his child's education? (c) What can schools do to facilitate involvement of divorced fathers in their child's education throughout secondary schools? The co-researchers …

A Phenomenological Study: Students' Perceptions Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports In Pennsylvania Middle Schools, Brenda Zack

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of middle school students in schools that have implemented School-wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS) at the universal tier with fidelity. Much of the research on SWPBS has focused on achievement gains, discipline improvement, implementation process, and school personnel perceptions. There was a lack of research regarding students' perceptions of their real-life experiences of SWPBS. The rationale for this study was that students' perceptions can assist in improving SWPBS implementation at the universal level and promote implementation for schools considering SWPBS. The central question was what meaning do middle …

Teacher Qualifications And Middle School Student Achievement, Richard Buddin, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

This research examines whether teacher licensure test scores and other teacher qualifications affect middle school student achievement. The results are based on longitudinal student-level data from Los Angeles. The achievement analysis uses a value-added approach that adjusts for both student and teacher fixed effects. The results show little relationship between traditional measures of teacher quality (e.g., experience and education level) and student achievement in reading or math. Similarly, licensure test scores in general aptitude, subject-matter knowledge, and reading pedagogy had no significant effects on student achievement. Teachers with elementary school credentials had slightly better success in the classroom than did …