Education Commons^™

A Causal-Comparative Study Of Teachers' Attitudes Toward Science Teaching Based On Biological Sex, Teaching Experience, And An Instructional Resource In An Urban Elementary School Setting, Melissa Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative, causal-comparative research study analyzed the difference in teachers’ attitudes toward science teaching in an urban elementary school setting based on biological sex, teaching experience, and the use of a science instructional unit of study. The study was significant because it revealed that teaching experience influenced elementary teachers’ attitudes toward science teaching, contributing to the body of knowledge about elementary teachers in an urban setting and related to science education. A convenience sample of 120 study participants in the Georgia urban area was selected. The teacher participants completed the online ten-minute Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science instrument that measured …

Engaging Drama: Does Drama Increase Student Engagement In A Second-Grade History Class?, Jasmine Villanueva

Student Research Submissions

This research investigated how drama integration benefitted students’ academic achievement and their engagement in history. This study integrated drama and history in a second-grade class, by allowing students to create tableaus to present and share information. The study used pre and post assessments, an attitudes survey to measure students’ attitudes towards history before and after integration, and the researcher also recorded student engagement at the beginning and end of drama integration. This study showed significant improvement in student content knowledge through the use of tableaus, and inconclusive results as far as engagement and student attitudes were concerned.

Relationships, Learning, And Motivation For One Virtual Literacy Camp During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Caitlin Spears, Heather D. Young

Educational Considerations

This article focuses on one university literacy camp for kindergarten through sixth grade students that shifted from traditional in-person instruction to a virtual setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The change from an in-person camp to a virtual camp setting created an opportunity for research in investigating students’ attitudes towards literacy, literacy learning, and participation within the newly formatted virtual literacy camp. Twenty-six kindergarten through sixth grade students were interviewed at the beginning and conclusion of a semester-long literacy camp regarding their attitudes toward learning and participation in the literacy camp. Throughout the data, researchers noted the theme of relationships as …

Books That Tell My Story: Transforming The Attitudes Of Australian Preservice Teachers Towards Children’S Diverse And Multicultural Literature., Kym M. Simoncini, Hilary Smith, Lara Cain-Gray, Darlene Sebalj

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Children’s literature is ubiquitous in Australian classrooms with picture books playing a particularly important role in early childhood classrooms. Teachers use children’s literature to teach early literacy concepts including vocabulary and to help children learn about the world and their identity. Historically, the majority of children’s literature has featured White characters and perspectives, excluding many children from seeing themselves and their lives reflected in books. The aim of this study was to explore how an assessment task that asked preservice teachers (PSTs) to select an underrepresented aspect of children’s literature, locate books on that topic, and reflect upon their own …

The Effectiveness Of Cooperative Learning In The Reading Classroom, Amelia Tankersley, Joshua A. Cuevas

Perspectives In Learning

This research examined the effectiveness of specific methods of cooperative learning on reading comprehension, motivation, and attitudes. The study implemented Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) and the Jigsaw method in a rural public elementary school and included 60 participants from 3rd grade reading classes. One group used the CSR method to read information on four different topics while the other group read information on the same topics using the Jigsaw method. After controlling for initial attitudes, motivation, and global reading comprehension, the results indicated that neither of these methods led to greater gains in these areas than the other. However, when …

Grade Retention: Knowledge And Attitudes Of Teacher Educators And Preservice Teachers, Jenny Pearson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Grade retention, otherwise known as “failing” or “being held back”, is a common practice for schools when they feel a student is not performing at or meeting school standards. While grade retention is a popular practice, very little research supports the use of it as an effective intervention over other interventions (Jimerson, 2001). A survey, structured around Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985) was distributed to preservice teachers and teacher educators at a Midwestern university to examine their knowledge and beliefs about grade retention, as well as the prevalence of the topic of grade retention in teacher training. Results from …

A Case Study Analysis Of Elementary Teachers' Attitudes About Student Discipline And The Implementation Of Restorative Justice, Kaitlyn M. Spore

Education Dissertations

This study examined the attitudes of elementary school teachers regarding student discipline and the implementation of restorative justice practices. The present research was conducted at a public elementary school in the greater Seattle area. All participants were teachers at the public elementary school, and were purposefully selected based on their years of experience, age, gender, and grade level taught. The study utilized qualitative case study methods to analyze the participants’ attitudes regarding discipline, specifically the use of exclusionary discipline, and their views on implementing restorative justice practices as an alternative to exclusion.

Key Words: restorative justice, school discipline, exclusions, suspensions, …

Attracting Preservice Teachers To Remote Locations, Kenneth D. Young, Peter Grainger, Dennis James

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teaching in rural/remote regions poses many challenges to teachers and is identified as a priority research area by the state government. Despite initiatives by the state government and university providers to solve the issue through various incentives designed to attract teachers, the problem remains significant. This research describes and analyses the impact of a regional university initiative to attract teachers to rural and remote locations in Queensland. The data was gathered through analysis of responses from preservice teachers completing education degrees at a regional university in Queensland. The data revealed that a pre-graduation teaching placement to a rural/remote region resulted …

The Effects Of Emotional And Instrumental Support On Students’ Mathematical Attitudes, Victoria M. Calabrese

Honors College

This study tests to see if a correlation exists between students’ attitudes towards mathematics and teacher pedagogy through emotional and instrumental support. Emotional support is defined as an individual’s perception of a mathematics teacher as being warm, friendly, caring, and empathic (Katz & Gueta, 2010). Instrumental support is defined by an individual’s perception of a mathematics teacher’s instruction, whether the teacher is considered to be helpful, and if the teacher provides guidance when needed (Spielberger, 1979). Two surveys were administered and three interviews were conducted to investigate this hypothesis. The first survey consisted of 12 Likert scale items, 5 open-ended …

An Investigation Of Attitudes And Perceptions Of Preservice Teachers Compared To First Year Teachers Toward Inclusion, Nancy Eugenia Douglas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract: over the last decade the mandated "push" for full inclusion has changed the dynamics of our general education classrooms to the extent that our general education teachers do not feel adequately prepared to teach. The lack of preparation may affect the pre-service teachers' attitude and perception of students with disabilities in a general education classroom. The limited research in this area prompted this study. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to investigate how the perceptions and attitudes of inclusion and teacher efficacy differ from preservice teacher candidates to first year teachers. Preservice teacher candidates (n=40) and first …

Elementary Teachers' Views Of Environmental Education, Rose M. Hotchkiss

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine teachers' views of environmental education (EE) at the elementary level. The study addresses teachers' attitudes toward the EE at the elementary school level and their self-efficacy in teaching EE.

The study's sample consisted of 201 randomly selected kindergarten through fifth grade United States public school teachers. The participants completed an on-line survey with eight percent of the respondents participating in follow up interviews. The questionnaire measured two constructs; Teachers Attitudes Toward EE and Teacher Efficacy in EE. Teachers Attitudes Toward EE had 3 subscales; Advocacy for EE, Stewardship in EE, …

Parental Attitudes Toward Using Inventive Spelling With Kindergarten Age Children, Sue Dearden

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Across the United States millions of children are reciting spelling lists, participating in Spelling Bees, and taking spelling tests. In fact, a significant portion of an elementary child's school day is devoted to learning to spell words traditionally or correctly. With such an emphasis being placed on spelling, it is logical to assume spelling traditionally is valued in our society. However, a different philosophy, Whole Language, takes an opposite approach on how writing and spelling should be incorporated in the classroom. Whole Language focuses on children learning to write and read at the same time. The focus is not on …

Attitudes Toward Reading Held By Second Grade Students When Instructed In First And Second Grades Using The Basal Approach And The Whole Language Approach, Anne L. Kepner

All Graduate Projects

The attitudes toward reading held by second grade students when instructed using the basal approach and the whole language approach were studied. Forty surveys given to students at the end of their second grade year were analyzed. The results showed support for the hypothesis that students, taught reading by the whole language approach in first and second grades will have a more positive attitude toward reading than students taught reading by the traditional basal approach in the first and second grades.

Attitudes Toward Educational Aspirations Among Selected 13-17 Year Old Chinese-American Students And Their China-Born Parents : An Exploratory Study, Jeffrey Craig Lee

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The preset study was undertaken to collect data which would help to identify any changes that have occurred concerning the attitudes and perceptions to be found between the identified generations. The study will specifically attempt to find out whether the change has in any way given the female the opportunity to strive for greater educational accomplishment and potential than was true of previous generations.

Although some research has been conducted on the China-born Chinese and their American-born children whose birth dates fall between 1940 and 1949, few studies have been reported concerning the children of the China-born Chinese who are …