Education Commons^™

A Shared Language: An Examination Of School Interaction Experiences Of Hispanic Ell Students In Northwest Arkansas, Tricia Tice

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

A SHARED LANGUAGE: AN EXAMINATION OF SCHOOL INTERACTION EXPERIENCES OF HISPANIC ELL STUDENTS IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

Tricia Dawn Tice

Arkansas has one of the fastest-growing Latino populations in the country (Garcia Mont, 2015; Brown & Lopez, 2013). The Northwest Arkansas corridor has the largest concentration of Latinos to date due to the area being host to some of the largest companies in the United States (Garcia Mont, 2015; Brown & Lopez, 2013). Hispanic immigration into Arkansas has greatly increased since the late 1980s (Monroe, 1999). As a result of the area growth, public schools have seen tremendous increases in the …

Effects Of Environmental Variables And Student Preference On Student Achievement, Elizabeth Francis

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

Data show Arkansas’s high school graduates underperform in several national standardized tests. Research shows that positive moods warrant better academic performances. A review of the literature proves that environmental stimuli such as lights, colors, music, etc. can significantly affect a person’s mental state. Research suggests that further research needs to be done. Suggestions for implementing mood-improving stimuli are provided for educators.

Secondary Teacher Attitudes Targeting Inclusion Of English Language Learners In Mainstream Classrooms, Jacquelin Drusilla Buttram-Brownell

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

Educational leadership in public schools have struggled to service second language learners across the United States. Although support systems in urban education settings have seemed to be fully staffed, the surge of new immigrants, has posed challenges to classroom teachers. Unspoken attitudes of bias and perception of faculty members have been menacing and could have impeded equitable practice and performance of both the English language learner and the teacher. Previous research of Reeves (2002, 2004, & 2006) has inferred teachers have struggled with their attitudes toward ELLs in their mainstream classes and have indicated professional development as being essential. Specifically, …

Examining Teacher Perceptions Of District Policies On Teacher Absenteeism In Arkansas, Tyler Stephen Reed

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

School districts have adopted policies to limit chronic absenteeism, including changing policies to incentivize teachers to take fewer days off from the school year (Mershon, 2015) due to the effects of a teacher being out of the classroom. These effects include the effects on student achievement (Clotfelter et al., 2006; Ehrenberg et al., 1991), on colleagues and the school district (Bradley et al., 2007; Miller, 2008), and the use of substitutes in lieu of a teacher (Bruno, 2002; Herrmann & Rockoff, 2010). This qualitative, phenomenological study sought to understand teachers’ perspectives regarding policies and practices that are aimed to promote …

The Effects Of "Capturing Kids' Hearts" And Building Student-Teacher Relationships In An Arkansas Suburban Elementary School Setting, Karla Lee Ann Neathery

Theses and Dissertations from 2019

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Capturing Kids’ Hearts professional development process as it relates to student-teacher relationships. This study sought to determine teachers’ perceptions regarding student-teacher relationships. The study was to ascertain the effect of the Capturing Kids’ Hearts professional development process on: (a) student attendance, (b) student achievement, and (c) student discipline. This qualitative study used the results of surveys, discipline, attendance, and student achievement data to address two suburban elementary schools’ problem of students not reaching their highest academic and social potential due to the absence of establishing relationships at schools. …

The Impact Of Teacher Mentoring On Novice Educator Retention In High Poverty Schools, Gabriel D. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations from 2019

Retaining novice teachers in today’s educational system is proving to be extremely difficult. In schools of poverty, this challenge is much more difficult. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the effectiveness of a district-mandated teacher mentoring program in a Central Arkansas School District in regards to skills, dispositions, and retention. Eight novice teachers who work in high poverty schools were interviewed as part of this study. Through transcription and analysis, themes were established to gain a clear understanding of the novice teachers’ thoughts and perceptions of the teacher mentoring program. The results indicated a strong presence of …

A Comparison Between Speech Language Pathologists' And School Administrators' Attitudes And Perceptions Regarding Professional Development, Melinda Margaret Salloukh

Theses and Dissertations from 2019

The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the attitudes and perceptions of speech-language pathologists and school administrators regarding professional development. This study contains both quantitative and qualitative survey data from speech-language pathologists and school administrators currently serving in the public schools in Arkansas. This survey, deployed over a six-week period, contained a series of Likert-type and open-ended questions that were analyzed by the researcher to answer three research questions. There were 182 speech-language pathologists and 103 school administrators who responded to this survey. The participants were chosen from an email list obtained from Arkansas Department of Education and …

A Comparison Between The Effect Of National Board Certified Teachers And Non-National Board Certified Teachers On Student Performance Of Third Graders In The Pulaski County Special School District, Sonya Whitfield

Theses and Dissertations from 2019

Of the many studies related to the effectiveness of National Board Certified teachers, there were none found that related to Arkansas teachers. This research study investigated the impact that Nationally Board Certified teachers (NBCTs) had on the achievement of third graders in the Pulaski County Special District (PCSSD). Achievement was operationally defined as scores in the content areas of reading and mathematics as measured by the ACT Aspire standardized test. This study was designed to generate data related to the effectiveness of NBCTs in meeting the academic needs of all students. In addition, the purpose of this study was to …

Crumbling Foundations: The Case For Prioritizing Self-Care Among Educational Leaders, Joshua Brent Ray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a potentially dangerous disassociation between human behavior, decision-making, and ethics and the notion that these fundamental aspects of what it means to be human originate simply as the functions of an organ. A deeper knowledge of the operation and limitations of the brain suggests biological input could possess the ability to unknowingly alter human behavior and effectiveness. This study utilizes a research-based understanding of the implications of human health and self-care habits on neurological, psychological, and behavioral function to examine the current practices of educational administrators across Arkansas while exploring systemic and job-based factors within the profession that …

Creating Caring Qualified Early Childhood Teachers: An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Teacher Efficacy And Learner-Centeredness Among Early Childhood Professionals In Arkansas, Mary Line

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The demand for degreed teachers for positions teaching children even younger than preschool age is increasing across the United States. Teacher qualifications vary from state to state, and there is increased emphasis on teacher credentials and education. The current study extends the current literature by examining variables that effect the development of teacher efficacy and aims to determine a relationship between trainability of characteristics of beliefs about learner-centered beliefs/developmentally appropriate practices and teacher efficacy. Participants were 175 teachers working in the state of Arkansas in early childhood programs teaching children birth to 5 years of age. A significant relationship was …

Toddlers And Technology: An Examination Of How The Digital Surround May Be Related To Prototypic Vocabulary Development And Social Interactions During Play, Hannah Biarnesen Hutcheson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to examine how the digital technology that surrounds young children may be related to prototypic vocabulary development and Social interactions during play. Twenty-six families in the Northwest Arkansas region with children between 15-36 months of age participated in the study. Thirteen children attended a campus preschool, six children attended a grant-funded local preschool, and seven children, all from the Northwest Arkansas area, were part of an earlier home-based study. The materials for the study included a developmental-technology use questionnaire and the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories. Archival videotaped play sessions with the seven home-based children utilized a “Little …

Social And Emotional Development And Language Outcomes In Mixed Income Preschool Classroom Environments, Misty D. Newcomb

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two different publicly funded preschool programs exist within Arkansas: Head Start and the Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program. Though philosophically similar, the different programs have dramatically different income eligibility guidelines resulting in classrooms with differing levels of economic diversity. Independent samples t-tests were conducted on initial, final, and growth scores in Personal and Social Development and in the area of Language and Literacy Development. The program with higher income guidelines had higher initial and final scores, but mixed growth scores. Multiple regression analyses indicated that starting score was the single greatest predictor of growth and of final scores. Growth was …

The Academic Impacts Of Attending A Kipp Charter School In Arkansas, Caleb P. Rose

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

KIPP Delta College Preparatory School (KIPP: DCPS), an open-enrollment charter school, opened in 2002 in Helena, Arkansas. Since its opening, KIPP: DCPS students have consistently outperformed their peers in the Helena/West Helena School district, and moreover, recent test scores suggest that white students and minority students are achieving at the same rate, essentially eliminating the achievement gap that persists between whites and minorities elsewhere in the state. In fact, KIPP's achievement record was so influential that when Arkansas lawmakers instituted a cap on the number of open-enrollment charter schools in the state, they made an exception for KIPP, essentially allowing …