Education Commons^™

Examining Systems To Improve Third Grade Literacy: Focus On Schools With High Poverty Index, Brenda Kelley

Theses and Dissertations

This improvement project was designed to ensure students enrolled in elementary schools with a high poverty index received literacy instructional strategies that promoted literacy achievement. When analyzing Graham County School data, I noticed third-grade students attending high poverty elementary schools were not achieving literacy success at the same rate as third-grade students attending low poverty elementary schools. An improvement team, consisting of myself, administration, and teachers at a high poverty elementary school implemented the improvement science framework to further study the root causes of this problem. Utilizing the six principles of the improvement science framework, problem focused and user centered, …

Coaching And Developing Non-Certified Instructional Staff In Key Literacy Practices, Holly Nicole Bigos

Culminating Experience Projects

Paraprofessionals are vital staff members of elementary schools that often provide small group instruction for struggling students to develop key literacy skills. Despite the critical contribution paraprofessionals can provide, schools often neglect to adequately train and develop these staff members to support students’ instructional literacy needs. This project explores the relevant history of paraprofessional staff in schools and the current need for increased development and support of these staff members. Additionally, modern sustainable solutions are explored to develop paraprofessional literacy knowledge and instructional skills for these vital staff members. Programming recommendations are grounded in adult learning theory, feedback and coaching, …

P-12 School Administrators' Experiences, Opinions, And Perceptions Of Speech-Language Pathologists In Written Language Instruction And The Response To Intervention, Alison Webster

Dissertations

Many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are employed in public school systems as part of the special education department to work with students with deficits in oral and written language skills. The literature shows a direct relationship between oral language development and early literacy skills. SLPs can provide a preventative role through the multitiered systems of support (MTSS) or response to intervention (RTI) programs. However, many SLPs report barriers to accessing students in the general education setting. One of these reported barriers is a lack of administrative support. Therefore, this research explored factors that impact a P-12 school administrator’s experiences, opinions, and …

Cornrowed Literacy & Lives: A Qualitative Case Study On Teachers Lived Experiences Through Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction, Ashley N. White

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

This qualitative case study explores the lived experiences of thirteen certified elementary educators who teach literacy to students of color. The theoretical framework that guides this study is Abolitionist Teaching (Love, 2019). This study’s data collection is based on teacher surveys, conversational interviews and an artifact analysis. This study was centered on the following questions: (1) What are the lived experiences of certified elementary educators who teach literacy to students of color? (2) What are the lived experiences of certified elementary educators in planning and implementing culturally responsive literacy instructional practices? The themes that emerged from this study were teachers' …

Mapping The Historical Discourse Of A Right-To-Read Claim: A Situational Analysis, Mursalata Muhammad

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation project used an interpretivist qualitative research design to study how the right-to-read claim made by seven teenagers attending Detroit public schools in 2016 reflects, addresses, or describes contemporary discussions about educational access. Using situational analysis (SA) as a theory/method, the entirety of the claim comprises the situation of the social phenomenon being studied, not the people. This research combines critical race theory (CRT) with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems and uses situation analysis to map historical discourses to conduct a study that examines the history of a present situation of inquiry as presented by this question: How does the 2016 …

Understanding The Virginia Literacy Act, Candace Bechtold, Kimberly Bridges, David Naff, Joan A. Rhodes, Valerie Robnolt, Tara Davison, Suzanne Alexandre, Michael Crusco, Karli Johansen, Amber Butler, Allison Yandle, Jennifer Askue-Collins, Jean Samuel, Sharrie Merritte, Regina Frazier

MERC Publications

This research and policy brief from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) offers an overview of the Virginia Literacy Act. It is structured to explore the following questions: 1) What are the recent trends in reading achievement in Virginia? 2) What are the policy implications of the VLA for Virginia school divisions? 3) What does the research say about Science of Reading (SoR)? 4) What core instructional programs are approved to meet the VLA? It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations.

Click here to listen to our podcast episode on the Virginia Literacy Act and click here …