Education Commons^™

Teaching The Common Core State Standards (Ccss) Using Interdisciplinary Units: A Qualitative Case Study Of How Secondary Core Curriculum Teachers Implement The Ccss Using Interdisciplinary Units (Ius), Ella Jones Burch

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how teachers understood and practiced using IUs to teach the core disciplines of the CCSS. The strategy of inquiry was a single case study in an urban high school where teachers of English, science, social studies, and math courses discussed IUs, and some teachers were observed using IUs. Data from public documents, teacher and student participant interviews, teacher classroom observations, a teacher survey, and field notes were analyzed and produced themes around the implementation of IUs.

The findings of this study indicate that teachers perceive how to conceptualize an IU, …

Understanding Why Students Take Industry-Based Credentialing Examinations: Instrument Development And Pilot Study, Jennifer H. Lawrence

Doctoral Dissertations

Educational credentialing is complicated for students with the addition of industry-based credentialing (IBC) in traditional academic and career and technical fields (Bahr, 2015; Lumina Foundation, 2015; Xu & Ran, 2015). Human Capital Theory and Cognitive Engagement Theory framed this study which looked at IBC training from the student point of view (Grisham, 2013; Saldana, 2016; Walters, 2004). The body of literature on credential training is sparse and largely focused on institutional policy rather than student perception and participation (Bahr, 2015; Xu & Ran, 2015). There is evidence that salaries are positively correlated with IBCs and studies show that employers pay …

Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Perceptions Of Proof In The Secondary Mathematics Classroom, Gregory S. C. Hine, Kristin Lesseig, Kaleinani S. Boardman

Gregory S.C. Hine

What Students Tell Us About School If We Ask, Nancy K. Votteler, Mary E. Robbins, Debra Price

School Leadership Review

This article examines what school climate factors students perceive as helping them be successful in school, and what school administrators can do to aid the process. Specifically, the questions that drove this inquiry were

• How does sociocultural theory impact student voice and student engagement in the classroom?
• How does caring pedagogy impact student voice and student engagement in the classroom?
• What school climate factors do students perceive as helping them to be successful in school?

The Effectiveness Of An Online Credit Recovery Program On Improving The Graduation Rates Of Students At Risk Of School Failure, Carrie Eddy, Julia Ballenger

School Leadership Review

Students are dropping out of high school at alarming rates. Reports suggest that between 6,300 and 7,000 high school students drop out daily (Dessoff, 2009; Stanley & Plucker, 2008), and more than 1.3 million students drop out each year (Long-Coleman, 2009; Zehr, 2010). In the United States, nearly one in five individuals has not earned a high school diploma or General Equivalency Degree (GED) (Kaufman, Alt, & Chapman, 2004). Every member of society feels the impact of high school dropouts, given the enormous economic and social costs (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2009). For example, over the course …

Community And Student Engagement: A Committee's Weaknesses And Strengths, Stacy Hendricks, Malinda Lindsey

School Leadership Review

Good, bad or indifferent. .. things are not always as they seem. The first glance often deceives many. School districts are no different; districts face many challenges every day, and with these challenges come weaknesses and strengths. Some of the challenges include areas such as assessment and accountability, teacher turnover, vouchers, diversity, bullying, technology, and funding (Cavanagh, 2011; Harris, Irons, & Crawford, 2006; Nelson, 2014; Ronfeldt, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2013; Spector, 2013; & Terry, 2010). With these challenges, legislative mandates often create a level of apprehension or uneasiness for school district personnel. In May 2013, House Bill (HB) 5 was …

Texas School District Liability In Pupil Transportation: A Legal Analysis Of The Texas Tort Claims Act And Sovereign Immunity, Kayne M. Smith, Melissa Arrambide, Timothy Letzring, Chuck Holt

School Leadership Review

Despite information and research being available in the area of tort liability, including relevant topics in public school law, there are limited resources on the topic for school transportation litigation. The question arises with the motor driven vehicle exception of sovereign immunity and how this may pertain to litigation involving school bus services.

I'M Telling: A Quantitative Analysis Of Reporting Cyberbullying Versus Reporting Of Traditional Bullying In A School Setting, Amy Burkman

School Leadership Review

Bullying is a widely used, familiar term for aggressive behavior traditionally perceived as a customary rite of passage, particularly during a child's early middle school and high school years (Lusk, 2012). The old adage, kids will be kids, is a common misperception based on lack of knowledge about the impact of bullying exhibited by parents, educators, and community members. Bullying in all forms has become a larger issue for law enforcement, educators, and society as a whole. An increasingly growing phenomenon, cyberbullying, has become a new form of this aggressive behavior in society. Bullies have essentially moved beyond the school's …

The Predictability Between Demographic And Institutional Variables Of Texas High School Principals And Their Attitudes Towards Parental Involvement, Michael D. Milstead, Nicole Walters, Lillian Poats

School Leadership Review

Over the past decades, the public school enterprise has been saturated with a myriad of social, political and academic ills. Problems such as reductions in state and federal funding, double digit percent student drop-outs, misidentification of students with learning disabilities, insufficient development of language skills in limited or non-English speaking students, shortage of highly qualified classroom teachers, unsafe schools, and students lacking college readiness are a few barriers to a student’s success in school. Perhaps the most disturbing of these issues, however, is the high percentage of students from low income households who are not meeting academic standards on statewide …

Breaking The Silence: Discussions About Disability, Sex, & Gender Identity, Janet Sauer, Kirsten Bond, Cassidy Donahue, Molly Wolber, Hannah Hunter, Elizabeth Bellin, Katherine Deluga

Violence Against Women conference

Silence often accompanies topics about disability, sexuality, and gender identity. This panel of Lesley students, alumni, and faculty discuss the issue of silence involving social stigma and ignorance that can often lead to violence against people with disabilities. The panelists participated in an interdisciplinary course, Disability Studies, in which students chose to research these topics for their social action projects and papers. Panelists who see themselves as allies and/or self-identify as disabled share their research, personal experiences, and interviews with the audience to provide insights into some of the systematic exclusion of people with disabilities in these discussions, particularly in …

Patterns Of Failure In Texas Urban Improvement Required Schools: An Equity Audit Expansion, John A. Branch, Melissa M. Leigh

School Leadership Review

The achievement gap is a concept that has long been explored in education; students of color, low socioeconomic status, those who speak languages other than English, and students labeled as special education perform lower on student achievement tests and often receive less in terms of funding and resources (Harris & Hopson, 2008). Brown (2010) stated, "As a result, these students, without realizing it, often fall into a predetermined mold designed for school failure and social inequity" (p. 2).

Drop In Or Drop Out: A Case Study On The Effects Of Academic Track Placement, And Levels Of Student Skill And Will, On Successful Ninth-Grade Completion, Channell M. Wilson-Segura

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The ninth grade is a transition year from middle school to high school where many students struggle to successfully navigate a new environment, new teachers and peers, new academic and behavioral expectations, and the concept of graduation requirements. This qualitative study examined the effects of academic track placement, and student levels of skill and will, on successful ninth-grade completion in one New Mexico Title I high school. It also provided insight into their perceptions of the success factors and challenges that they felt impacted their ability to successfully promote to the tenth-grade, and thus, remain on-track for graduation.

This study …

Poor Queer Studies: Class, Race, And The Field, Matt Brim

Publications and Research

This study asks, What are the material conditions under which queer studies is done in the academy? It finds a longstanding association of queer studies with the well-resourced, selective colleges and flagship campuses that are the drivers of class and race stratification in higher education in the U.S. That is, the field of queer studies, as a recognizable academic formation, has been structured by the material and intellectual resources of precisely those institutions that most steadfastly refuse to adequately serve poor and minority students, including poor and minority queer students. In response, “poor queer studies” calls for a critical reorientation …

Differences In Dropout Rates As A Function Of High School Size For Students In Poverty: A Texas Multiyear, Statewide Study, Amy R. Ambrose, George W. Moore, John R. Slate, Cynthia Martinez-Garcia

School Leadership Review

Child poverty in the United States, with regard to student achievement, has grave challenges for the children who face poverty (Scott & Pressman, 2013). Not only is living in poverty associated with lower academic achievement, but student poverty is also associated with lower rates of school completion (Borg, Borg, & Stranahan, 2012; Cooper & Crosnoe, 2007; Kena et al., 2015). Consequentially, students who do not complete high school are more likely to (a) serve time in prison, (b) need government assistance, and/or ( c) die at an earlier age (Messacar & Oreopoulos, 2013). With the increasing number of children who …

The Relationship Between School Climate And Teacher Self-Efficacy In A Rural Virginia School System, Paige Lacks, Scott B. Watson

School Leadership Review

School climate is one of the most significant factors in solidifying an effective learning environment. In today’s complex educational system, leaders face daily challenges in the world of high stakes testing and state accreditation that force them to ensure that they have implemented reforms that will provide sustained improvement in student achievement. As a result, school leaders and teachers must possess the ability to change and adapt to their conditions for continuous organizational improvement despite possible resistance from stakeholders. Moreover, with diverse teacher experience levels, leaders consistently assess and evaluate the instructional practices in their building to empower teachers to …

Understanding Stem Identity Construction: An Ethnography Of An All-Girls Stem Club, Pasiewicz Marie Loyola

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative ethnography follows 11 high-school girls through their experiences in an all-girls after-school STEM club in a privileged school setting. This study uses Gee’s concept of identity and a feminist poststrutural framework to understand their experiences and how they use the club to re/construct their gendered STEM identities. Through interviews, focus groups, observations, and document analysis, this study found that the after-school club offers girls a space to not only learn about STEM, but also provides a space for girls to understand the gendered nature of their interactions with peers and adults in STEM classrooms. Data shows that girls …

Understanding The Academic Achievement Of African American Scholars: An Intrinsic Case Study Of An Urban High School, Cluny Lavache

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This qualitative intrinsic case study focused on the academic achievement and success of African American alumni students in an urban school district in New York City. The researcher sought to answer the following research questions: (a) How do urban, African American high school alumni perceive and describe the quality of education they received as impacting their studies and their success?; (b) How do alumni describe the social and cultural factors that contributed to and influenced the quality of education they received?; and (c) How do social and cultural factors influence their trajectory towards high academic achievement and/or success? Data were …

Developing Serious Games In Engineering Education: Innovation At The Nexus Of Food, Energy, And Water Systems, Nathan Rice

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations and Theses

At a time when food, energy, and water (FEW) are of the utmost concern to the security and health of the world, an initiative has begun to understand the interactions between these systems. The goal of Innovation at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems (INFEWS) is to bring together research fields that typically work in their own silos to solve complex problems increasing the resiliency and sustainability of the FEW system. Stemming from this initiative was a project to produce an educational immersive simulation game to teach youth about how their food is produced, systems thinking, and sustainable …

Why Teach With Pbl? Motivational Factors Underlying Middle And High School Teachers’ Use Of Problem-Based Learning, Huei-Chen Lee, Margaret R. Blanchard

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

This quantitative study examined factors underlying middle and high school teachers’ choices about whether to use problem-based learning (PBL). Survey items measured respondents’ perceived competence, autonomy, and relatedness, and the value and costs they placed on implementing PBL. Teachers who have taught with PBL (n = 126) had significantly more formal PBL professional development, higher levels of perceived competence and value for this pedagogy, perceived more support from peers, and perceived lower costs than did the non–PBL use teachers (n = 30). Findings highlight the importance of formal PBL professional development in increasing teachers’ intention to implement PBL …

A Love-Hate Relationship: Personal Narratives Of Pride And Shame As Patriotic Affects, Mark E. Helmsing

Occasional Paper Series

The Office of Alumni Relations for George Mason University—in Fairfax, Virginia, where I teach—is located centrally on the campus. The exterior of the building faces a busy walkway, displaying in vinyl lettering the official slogan of the university’s alumni association: “once a Patriot, always a Patriot.” This motto refers to the university’s Patriot mascot and implies that once a person joins the university as a student, that person becomes a Patriot and will forever remain a Patriot, which, the alumni office presumably hopes, will result in feelings of goodwill that prompt generous financial contributions from alumni donors.

In considering the …

Fostering Democratic Patriotism Through Critical Pedagogy, Hillary Parkhouse

Occasional Paper Series

When I was a high school US history teacher in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, I sometimes wondered about the relationship between patriotism and critique of one’s nation. Specifically, I questioned just how critical students could be without becoming disaffected toward the United States. I tried to be honest with my students about the nation’s mixed record of democracy—how the country was founded on ideals of equality and yet stole land from Native Americans, kidnapped millions of Africans as part of a massive system of chattel slavery, and denied the vote to women until 1920. But I …

Why Education Matters: Political Participation And Interpretive Experiences At High School, Samuel V. Stoddard

Doctoral Dissertations

Political scientists have long recognized educational attainment as a strong predictor of voter turnout, but the mechanisms through which educational experiences lead voters to the polls remain under-explored. This research begins the process of opening the proverbial black box of education to understand the specific types of scholastic experiences that encourage voting. Grounded in previous findings by scholars of policy feedback and political socialization, I use a mix of qualitative and quantitative data analyses to reveal that nonacademic high school experiences can have powerful and lasting interpretive effects. Results show that participants in performance and service-based extracurricular activities are commonly …

Female Students’ Academic Engagement And Achievement In Science And Engineering: Exploring The Influence Of Gender Grouping In Small Group Work In Design-Based Learning Contexts In High School Biology, Miancheng Guo

Doctoral Dissertations

In the past 30 years, although much effort has been made to narrow the gender gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), females are still largely underrepresented in some important STEM fields, such as physics and engineering (NSF, 2007). To deal with this situation, people from different sectors have long reached a common understanding: Educators must improve school girls’ interest, participation and engagement in STEM subjects (e.g., Office of Science and Technology Policy, 2013). In the K-12 classroom, small group work has been shown to promote an equitable environment for girls’ learning in science and have a positive impact …

Teacher Education And Professional Development On Classroom Assessment In Bangladesh: Exploring Policy And Practice Through A Vertical Case Study, Sumera Ahsan

Doctoral Dissertations

Formative Classroom Assessment (FCA) can be the single most powerful activity to promote students’ learning (Hattie, 2009). In Bangladesh FCA is not in practice (Ahsan, 2009). Policies and teacher preparation on FCA are the two factors that influence the practice of formative assessment in classrooms (Stiggins, 1999; Plake, 1993). In my research I aimed to learn how different actors, discourses, and materials come together to produce policies on FCA in policy network and translate the policies in a Teachers’ Training College (TTC), and in classrooms in an urban school. I used ‘critical socio-cultural approach to policy as practice’ (Levinson, Sutton …

Teachers As Leaders: An Autoethnographic Account Into The Way That Personal Spirituality Influenced One Teacher's Leadership In A South Louisiana High School, Scott Mckneely Blanchard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this autoethnographic study is to better understand the role spiritual leaders have in both educational settings and in the motivation of students. An overarching question guides this autoethnographic study: Is spiritual leadership, influenced by Christianity, an appropriate form of mentoring-leadership relationships in public secondary schools? The specific research sub-questions for this study address the following: 1. How do servant leadership and spiritual leadership help create this autonomous learning environment identified by Deci and therefore reduce the number of amotivated students? 2. How can understanding the student as an individual help a teacher confront the issues with motivation …

Developing Political Thinking And Discussion Skills In Civics Classrooms. A Book Review Of Teaching Politics In Secondary Education: Engaging With Contentious Issues, Patricia G. Avery

Democracy and Education

In Teaching Politics in Secondary Education: Engaging with Contentious Issues, Wayne Journell displays his passion for politics, teaching, and research. He provides secondary social studies teachers and teacher educators with practical ideas for reorienting civics and government instruction toward the political sphere as it is, not the idealized politics often portrayed in textbooks. Drawing heavily from his research on civics classes during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, Journell focused on two primary instructional goals: developing students' skills in political (or policy) thinking and discussions of controversial political issues. This accessible, informative, and inspiring book offers teachers a good first …

Political Simulations: An Opportunity For Meaningful Democratic Participation In Schools, Isolde De Groot

Democracy and Education

Political simulations are considered promising tools to instigate democratic learning in schools. This article reports a qualitative inquiry into student involvement in the organization of the 2012 mock elections—the shadow elections that schools can organize in conjunction with the official elections—in eight high schools in the Netherlands. The objective of this inquiry is twofold: to evaluate student involvement in mock elections in these schools and to lay the theoretical groundwork for further quantitative inquiries into student participation in political events. For the deductive analysis of student roles in organizing the mock election, I adapted Fielding and Moss’s (2012) “patterns of …

Last Year's Choice Is This Year's Voice: Valuing Democratic Practices In The Classroom Through Student-Selected Literature, Michael D. Boatright, Amelia Allman

Democracy and Education

The authors of this article explore democratic practices in the classroom by using student-selected literature. After multiple class sets of student-selected young adult novels were purchased using grant money, the authors set out to see what happens in a classroom when student choice is at the forefront of pedagogical decision-making and how students resonated with and voiced their experiences reading about those chosen novels. Because canonical texts are often used to help students understand allusions in contemporary texts, one adolescent novel and one canonical novel became the focal points for this project. With democratic practices undergirding this project, the authors …

Black Middle Class Parental Investment In Their Children's Higher Education, Michael George Flanigan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The persistent negative racial disparity in the higher educational achievement of Black students in the United States has societal implications for employment, income trajectory, home ownership, and wealth accumulation. It is widely accepted that parental investment is crucial across all races in enhancing the academic performance of students and, ultimately, facilitating intergenerational socioeconomic progress. Although numerous studies have looked at the ways in which parents invest, a paucity of research has examined how Black middle-class parents engage in preparing their children for higher education. This narrative study explores how Black middle-class parents perceive the value of college, their understanding of …

Empowering Indigenous Learners Through The Creation Of Graphic Novels, Deborah Begoray, Alexis Brown

Journal of Media Literacy Education

In this paper, we examine how Indigenous and non-Indigenous adolescents identify media influences as health/wellness related. We conducted research over a six-week period in two alternative high school settings: a culture-based Indigenous education program at one school and an arts-based program at another school, both in the same small, Western Canadian city. We taught students from both programs the principles of critical media health literacy. Small groups of students from the Indigenous program wrote narratives. Then small groups of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in an arts-based education program converted these stories into graphic novel/comic book format. Findings indicated a broad …