Education Commons^™

College And Career Readiness Effects On Minority Male College Retention, Naquiyah Hodges

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The continuously low college retention and low degree attainment of African American and Hispanic men is a generational and decades-long hindrance to the elevation of these marginalized communities in the United States and the state of Texas. In Texas, the last 3 years’ worth of data has proven college-readiness rates of African American and Hispanic college students were significantly lower by large margins than White students in English language arts, math, and both subjects by large margins. Consistent low college retention rates of minority men produce a need to conduct further research of how this phenomenon affects minority men …

Elementary Grade Students’ Perspectives On The Impact Of Adult Behaviors On School Climate, Tameka Walker

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

Social and emotional learning (SEL) had become a focus of educators around the world because of global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing social unrest that hurled the topic to the forefront of today’s educational conversations (Bozkurt, et al., 2020) Despite this recent interest in SEL, it is not a new concept. This research informs educational leaders on students’ perceptions of school culture and contributes to literature that has shown that improvements in students’ social and emotional skills transfer to other areas of their lives. The teaching of reading, writing and arithmetic is not enough to equip today’s …

Teachers’ Perceptions On The Effects Of Covid-19 On Juniors And Seniors In High School, Martha J. Meredith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the academic, social, and emotional effects of COVID-19 on 11th- and 12th-grade students. There has been little documentation regarding the specific change that the pandemic has had on these students; it is imperative that we look at the effects of COVID-19 on the students who experienced COVID-19 pandemic.

Data collection was completed through individual interviews. Analysis of data occurred in three phases: (a) categorization of data under the four organizational factors, (b) building the explanation in a phenological form, and (c) re-examination of the data. The analysis of the narrative study was …

Belonging And Banding Together: Perspectives And Insights Of Newly Recruited Ell Musicians, Edward Francis Luckey, Edward Luckey, Edward Luckey

Education Doctorate Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to bring forward the lived experiences of English Language Learner (ELL) musicians who were new to the band program as of the Spring of 2021. This study was born out of previous coursework and reflection where it became apparent that more must be done to provide access to our band program for students who are in our ELL program. Therefore, the research question that guides this study is “What are the lived experiences of ELL band students?” The methodology is primarily a pursuit of the stories and lived experiences of the ELLs via a …

The Impact Of One Can Impact The Majority: Benefits Of Social And Emotional Learning, Melissa Perez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For my 2022 senior Capstone Project, I chose to focus on looking at the benefits of implementing and teaching Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills to today’s students, their families and educators. Social and Emotional Learning involves teaching students: self awareness, self management, responsible decision making, social awareness and relationship skills. With these skill sets, communities that are composed of students, families and educators, can create beneficial impacts amongst each other as a butterfly effect. One teacher was interviewed on how they incorporate social and emotional learning into their classroom and what they think could be done to improve it. …

Exploration Of Strategies Of Teacher Leaders For Responding To Students Experiencing Trauma Framed In Casel's Social And Emotional Learning Theory, Kimberly Dionne Parrott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to explore strategies for supporting students experiencing trauma as perceived by teacher leaders framed in CASEL’s social and emotional learning theory. A descriptive instrumental case study design utilized data from online interviews and voluntarily submitted artifacts of nine middle school teacher leaders to investigate strategies used to support students experiencing trauma. Data were manually coded to determine themes indicating recommend strategies used to support students who have experienced trauma. The overall findings revealed that teacher leaders require professional development focusing on trauma-informed practices to suitably support students who are experiencing trauma. …

Second Language Learning In Elementary Years: Cognitive And Social-Emotional Benefits, Brooke Elenbaas

Culminating Experience Projects

All through the world bilingualism is a normal part of school, work, and culture creating cognitive and social-emotional benefits (Fan, 2016; Marian & Shook, 2012). The United States is a unique educational system, distinctly geared towards monolinguals, specifically English, especially in the elementary schools. The absence of second language learning at the elementary grades is a gap districts should seek to fill as research shows brain development positively effecting cognitive and social-emotional learning during this early stage of development (Abutalebi et al., 2011). This project is an in-service designed for elementary school districts pursuing a better understanding of why second …

Changed Agents: Cultivating Students’ Civic Identity Through Participation In A Social Justice-Themed Book Club As A Subversive Approach To Critical Literacy In Education, Elizabeth Schucker

Education Doctorate Dissertations

Through an embedded social justice-themed book club and approach to subversive critical literacy experiences, students gain the necessary skills-based knowledge, which cultivate civic awareness, identity, and civic agency, inviting them to develop perspective of real-world issues and concerns. Transformative teaching practices engage teachers and students in the joy of the partnership model as social justice-themed texts provide the opportunity for liberation and synthesis. The students who participate in the social justice-themed book club acknowledge and welcome the discourse as co-investigators in the real-world inquiry. While engaging in twelve authentic literacy-based subversive experiences, students challenge their own opinions and cultivate a …

Growing Citizens: Students’ Social Emotional Learning Via School Gardens, Kathryn Markham-Petro

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The importance of social and emotional learning in the life of a student is now being recognized as a factor for academic and life success. How a garden can help in the promotion of skills related to social and emotional learning will provide further justification for the implementation of gardens in schools. The purpose of this exploratory, interpretivist qualitative study, with data collected from a purposive sample of educators involved in classroom-based education within schools, was to explore the social and emotional practices of primary grade students (kindergarten through grade five). The sample size consisted of 14 educators who were …

Perceptions In A Changing World: Teachers' Attitudes Towards The Implementation Of Educational Innovations With A Focus On Social And Emotional Learning, Tiana Holmes

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ attitudes toward the implementation of educational innovations - with an explicit focus on social and emotional learning (SEL) and new teacher mentor (NTM) programs. Because teachers are primarily responsible for absorbing new information and implementing educational programs directly to students, their attitudes may influence how the program is perceived, the program’s delivery, and may also impact the program’s outcomes. Support for novice teachers is often regarded as necessary and warranted in many schools, and researchers unfailingly reveal findings that demonstrate the effectiveness of SEL; specifically in traditional school settings (Slaten, Irby, …

The Preparation And Self-Efficacy Of Teachers Of Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disabilities, Claire F. Higgins

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Inadequate preparation, combined with challenging work conditions, contribute to the shortage of skilled special educators in the United States (Levenson, 2011). Because teacher quality is linked to student achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2001), the discrepancy in access to qualified teachers has remained a serious issue, particularly for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD), whose intensive needs present great obstacles to learning. Although the research identifies strong content knowledge and social emotional competence as critical skills for educators (Bridgeland, Bruce, & Hariharan, 2012; Shulman, 1986), current standards for licensure (as they apply to EBD teachers) largely overlook these attributes (Massachusetts Department of …

Implementing Universal Social And Emotional Learning Programs: The Development, Validation, And Inferential Findings From The Schoolwide Sel Capacity Assessment, Cheyne A. Levesseur

Doctoral Dissertations

In order to effectively transport universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs into natural settings, it is important to understand implementation barriers that may hinder the likelihood of successful outcomes (Fixsen, Naoom, Blasé, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005). The current study is primarily based on the notion that within the planning phase of implementation, few technically adequate assessment measures targeting both organizational capacity (OC) and provider characteristics (PC) for SEL programming actually exist. The purpose is to extend the SEL implementation assessment literature by developing a new rating scale designed to measure SEL implementation barriers (School SEL Capacity Assessment [SSCA]) and …

"True, She Has The Culture You Need": A White Teacher In An Urban School Critically Reflects On The Hidden, Social, And Academic Curriculum, Mathew Arlen Mclean

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is an auto|ethnography , meaning it places the author's experiences at the center of analysis. The thesis argues that educators from the dominant culture can share the burden of change placed on students of color by critically reflecting on their positionality--or the way they socially construct their understanding of who they are in the world and therefore their relationship to educational structures and school actors. The analysis focuses on the author's transition from suburban to urban teaching and how this experience, combined with a broadening of theoretical perspectives, increased his criticality and, therefore, ability to re-conceptualize his …