Education Commons^™

Exploring Appreciative Advising As An Equity Approach For African American Students: A Grounded Theory Study Of Academic Advisors At Predominantly White Institutions (Pwis), Valerie Harper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

EXPLORING APPRECIATIVE ADVISING AS AN EQUITY APPROACH FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY OF ACADEMIC ADVISORS AT PREDOMINANTLY WHITE INSTITUTIONS (PWIs)

By

Valerie J. Harper

October 28, 2019

Dissertation supervised by Professor Gretchen Givens Generett

African American matriculation into postsecondary education continues to rise, but degree conferral remains low (Hoston, Graves, & Fleming-Randle, 2010). Arguably, Harper and Hurtado’s (2007) research, as far back as 1992, stated black students and other students of color have dealt with alienation, isolation, and stereotyping at PWIs; this continues to persist today (Lee, 2018), which may interrupt the academic success of African …

Despite Overcrowding, School Siting Process Stalls New Buildings, Megan Conn

Capstones

More than half of New York City’s 1.1 million students attend an over-utilized school, where the number of students enrolled exceeds the official capacity. But for years, the School Construction Authority has been slow to identify and acquire sites to build new schools. When City Council ordered a task force to review nearly 30,000 potential sites, the SCA excluded parent representatives from the analysis process, then reported that only two sites could potentially be used for schools. Though the SCA contracts with commercial real estate brokers to identify sites, the agency has declined to specify how many sites the brokers …

Pursuing The Anchor Mission In A Fragmented Suburban Setting, Karl Guenther, Todd Swanstrom, Thomas George

Political Science Faculty Works

Increasingly, suburban universities find themselves in communities facing challenges that inner cities have had to deal with for decades, including concentrated poverty, housing vacancy, and underperforming school districts. While the problems are similar, the institutional context is different. Compared to central cities, suburban municipal governments generally lack the resources necessary to sustain robust community economic development initiatives. Further, suburbs often lack the rich landscape of nonprofit organizations that were built up over many decades in central cities. This article reflects on the experience of the University of Missouri‐St. Louis as a case study of a suburban anchor institution. This experience …

An Analysis Of Interventions For Chronically Absent Students In Grade 6-8 Within Middle Schools In Somerset, New Jersey, Nicholas Solomon

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The aim of this research was to find effective, efficient, and practical interventions that can help educators in Somerset, New Jersey support chronically absent students by facilitating their coming to school and being productive students.

This study explored the definition of chronic absenteeism, along with the impact chronic absenteeism has on education, economically disadvantaged students’ impact on chronic absenteeism, strategies to improve chronic absenteeism, and chronic absenteeism case studies that have been utilized in schools across the nation.

Interviews were conducted with educators in order to gain a clear understanding of their perceptions/beliefs regarding the impact educators can have on …

Personalizing Professional Learning For Teachers: Pursuing Equity Through Systematic Personalization, Megan M. Mccarter

Dissertations

Our school system has not changed much in the last 100 years, yet our society and the job market are drastically different. In general, we are not preparing young people for life after high school in a meaningful way; the reality for minority and low-income students is even more depressing. We need to change how education works for students, we need to personalize for their individual needs, push them to collaborate, to innovate, and to own their own learning. This can only happen if we change how we develop, support, and retain teachers. This study examines models of and reflections …

Closing The Opportunity Gap For Low-Income Urban Minority Students In Turnaround Schools, Cleophas Rodgers

Dissertations

As we prepare to address and stem many of the systemic racist policies that plague our low-income minority students, we have to remain diligent and innovative in our attempt to provide our low-income minority students, as early as pre-kindergarten, access to opportunities that will ultimately prepare them for post-secondary success. This study focuses on how accountability policies and expectations for turnaround schools have had a long-term impact on the type of opportunities students who attend these schools will ultimately have. This study also proposes two policies that work to not only increase opportunities for low-income urban minority students who attend …

Perceptions: A Comparative Case Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Urban And Suburban African American Administrators, Edward E. Wilson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Despite the research conducted on this group, African Americans continue to be underrepresented in educational leadership, particularly in districts with growing minority populations. This qualitative, narrative-based study sought to build on previous research conducted on African Americans working in education, specifically within leadership as principals. By examining the perceptions of urban and suburban African American principals, this research contributed to the understanding of an emerging need within education where many districts are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of student populations, yet still lack diversity within their leadership ranks. The purpose of this study was to be intentional in comparing the …

Can Free College Programs Level The Playing Field? An Exploratory Study Of Understanding Non-Economic Persistence Barriers For Low-Income Students, Alan Byrd

Dissertations

The rising cost of higher education has created substantial access and persistence barriers for low-income students. Consequently, gaps in educational attainment between low-income students and their middle- and high-income peers have continued to widen over the last few decades. Colleges and universities have taken notice of these growing disparities, and several institutions have responded by developing need-based financial aid programs to close unmet need gaps for Pell Grant recipients. These last-dollar financial aid programs have opened doors for more low-income students to attend selective institutions, but it is unclear how these programs will influence their persistence and completion rates. The …

The Benefits Of Music Education In Urban Education, Emily E. Mattulke

The International Undergraduate Journal For Service-Learning, Leadership, and Social Change

In an attempt to show the benefits of music education in urban education, a student observer’s own accounts are analyzed alongside empirical data. The studies of Adrian Hille, Jürgen Schupp, and Peter Miksza are paired with her own anecdotes to create a full picture of music’s effect on a child’s education, especially those from lower income environments. Conclusively, it is found that urban education thrives in the presence of music education, and that the slow stripping away of music programs in American education is detrimental to these benefits, especially for those in impoverished areas where the benefits can be extremely …

The Experiences Of Black Women Doctoral Students Through The Transparency Of Black Feminist Thought, Makeda Porter-Carr

Black Issues Conference

The Experiences of Black Women Doctoral Students through the Transparency of Black Feminist Thought delivers the incomparable experiences that black women encounter during their course of studies in a doctoral program. The experiences of black women in doctoral programs are vastly different from any other group due to preconceived notions.

The conference is adequately conversing on the power of the black female and the how education looks in the black community and this presentation touches on both topics to generate further discussions.

A Black African Teacher’S Experiences In America: Examining The Lived Experiences Of A Black African Teacher Working In A Midwestern Public School, Valentine Malumbila

Dissertations

Using sociocultural theoretical approach, intersectionality of race, Critical Race Theory, and Bakhtin’s authoritative and persuasive discourse as a theoretical framework, this study explores the various diversities that I encountered as a Black African working and living in America. The diversity that I, like many other Black African immigrants in America, suffer results from culture shock due to lack of culture capital to comprehend and make sense of my surroundings. The lack of culture capital left me exposed to me some degrees of ethnic profiling, isolation and loneliness, and grieving due to loss of family and things that mattered the most …

The Story Of Growth: A Case Study Of New Jersey Underperforming Underprivileged High School, Michelle L. Shelton

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Socioeconomics has been a factor that exposes the disparities in student achievement across communities within the state of New Jersey, and as a result of the disparities, in 1985, the Education Law Center filed the first ruling of Abbot v. Burke; this case ruled that significant funding be provided in an effort to ensure that underprivileged students within these underperforming districts receive public education in accordance with the state constitution. However, despite the funding efforts, since 1985, (87%) of the 31 school districts identified as Abbott not only remain underprivileged, but they also remain underperforming. Therefore, to remedy the underperformance …

Moving The Needle On Diversity: Why It Matters, José M. Torres

Publications & Research

It is imperative that leadership in business, education and other fields reflects the reality of our more diverse world and the need for more multifaceted and creative thinking.

Choice Without Inclusion?: Comparing The Intensity Of Racial Segregation In Charters And Public Schools At The Local, State And National Levels, Julian Vasquez Heilig, T. Jameson Brewer, Yohuru Williams

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

We conduct descriptive and inferential analyses of publicly available Common Core of Data (CCD) to examine segregation at the local, state, and national levels. Nationally, we find that higher percentages of charter students of every race attend intensely segregated schools. The highest levels of racial isolation are at the primary level for public and middle level for charters. We find that double segregation by race and class is higher in charter schools. Charters are more likely to be segregated, even when controlling for local ethnoracial demographics. A majority of states have at least half of Blacks and a third of …

Promoting Inclusion In A "Struggling School": Supporting Co-Teachers Through Critical Appreciative-Inquiry Based Professional Development, Louis Olander

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the extent to which the beliefs and practices of teachers who work in a “struggling” school can be shifted towards inclusiveness through an action research based professional development program. The school was struggling in that it was charged with the education of children who are marginalized by a range of social forces while simultaneously accountable to institutional priorities. Broadly speaking, these institutional priorities preferred behaviorist punishment and technocratic approaches to meeting student needs, devaluing and decontextualizing students’ proficiencies as test scores and special education labels, in turn impeding inclusive change. Over the course of four months, an …

Class Matters: School Affluence And Other Predictors Of Attainment For Wealthy And Poor Students, Alison Brockhouse

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Public schools in the United States are becoming increasingly segregated by socioeconomic status. Though the educational consequences of socioeconomic segregation are well researched, segregation is often ignored or exacerbated by education reform. To learn more about the wider implications of socioeconomic segregation, this study utilizes theoretical frameworks derived from Max Weber’s theory of social stratification to analyze over 10,000 students’ experiences from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Education Longitudinal Study (ELS) 2002, 2004, and 2012 waves of data collection. More specifically, this research explores the impact of attending an affluent high school on long-term educational attainment. It finds …

Tensions, Dilemmas, And Radical Possibility In Democratizing Teacher Unions: Stories Of Two Social Justice Caucuses In New York City And Philadelphia, Chloe Asselin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the tensions, dilemmas, and radical possibilities faced by two social justice caucuses in democratizing their teacher unions: the Movement of Rank-and-File Educators (MORE) in New York City and the Caucus of Working Educators (WE) in Philadelphia. It asks: What radical possibilities and structural constraints are generated and/or illuminated by educator activists in MORE and WE? To frame the research, this dissertation examines the historical, political, economic, and social contexts in which the caucuses exist and the daily realities that they face; provides an overview of educational and union politics in New York City and Philadelphia; and analyzes …

Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports And The Perceptions Of Middle School Teachers: What Works During Implementation Of A School-Wide System Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports, Jeffrey L. Soucie

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

According to Jensen (2016), the number of students affected by poverty is accelerating and continues to grow. Many children growing up in poverty experience anxiety, irritability, aggression, or are in need of positive adult relationship (Collins et al., 2010), Schools are looking to proven research-based behavioral support frameworks, such as PBiS, to help students of poverty with academic and behavioral development. A majority of research on the PBiS lacks descriptive insight from stakeholders responsible for implementation of the framework in schools. Therefore, studies are needed to explore the perceptions of stakeholders to determine effective behavioral practices to help students of …

Chilean Teachers Responses To And Understanding Of Student Interaction With Diverse Peers In The Classroom, Javier Martín Campos-Martínez

Doctoral Dissertations

Chile’s educational inequality has sparked intense debates in recent years (Cabalin & Bellei, 2013; Stromquist & Sanyal, 2013). While there is a wide consensus concerning the crucial role that teachers play in fostering inclusion in the classroom, research suggests that Chilean teachers, often without intent or awareness, reinforce exclusionary student interactions marked by social class and gender hierarchies (Carrasco, Zamora, & Castillo, 2015; SERNAM, 2009; Tijoux, 2013). Although teachers’ motivation and concern for questions related to exclusion and inclusion in education are spreading, navigating exclusionary dynamics can be particularly challenging especially since teachers’ initial and continuing professional education seldom addresses …

The Challenges Facing Women Leaders In Mid-Level Positions At Urban Community Colleges, Kia L. Hardy

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Although women lead at higher rates overall at community colleges, they continue to lead at lower rates in senior-level positions compared to men within those institutions. Women serve as presidents in 36% of community colleges (ACE, 2017). Additionally, community college presidents are currently retiring at rapid rates, and this turnover in leadership is expected to continue (Phillipe, 2016; Shults, 2001; Tekle, 2012). As community colleges face current and future reductions in senior-level leadership, women in mid-level leadership roles should be considered to fill the leadership gap.

Previous studies have examined the leadership challenges faced by women leaders, but there has …

Women In History: Virginia Roth – Innovative Educator, Barbara Shousha

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

“There has to be a better way.” In 1964, Virginia Roth, then known as Sr. Pacis principal at Ryan High School in Omaha, Nebraska, set out to devise a new system of education. Her goal, as expressed in her essay, “A Model for an Alternate High School” was to, “realize those objectives we defined as essential for education.” The “we” referred to the School Sisters of St. Francis, the religious order to which she belonged at that time. Roth described the period from 1964 to 1966 as a “two year experimentation program of brainstorming, trying new methods, committee work for …

Equitable Access In Education: Access To Joy, Choice Options, And Strong Neighborhood Schools, Noah Hollenkamp, Albert J. Sanders Jr., Lindsay Schuessler

Dissertations

The purpose of this co-authored dissertation was to understand equitable access of quality educational opportunities in St. Louis, Missouri. Through the following research, we present a better understanding of equity and access in education from a classroom level, on a school level, and finally, on a regional level. This collection of research is the effort of a group of committed and concerned educators seeking to understand the ways of making quality education accessible for all families, specifically in the areas of school choice, quality neighborhood schools, and play in the classroom. By equitable access, we mean all families being able …

A Geographic Account Of Economic, Health, And Educational Disparities In Hartford’S Sheff Region, Casey D. Cobb

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

In the current study, I use geographic techniques to examine the distribution of key housing, economic, health, and educational indicators in metropolitan Hartford. I focus in particular on factors that bear upon the lives of children in this area, also known as the Sheff region—a reference to the long-standing Sheff v. O’Neill school desegregation lawsuit. The results reveal substantial disparities in the geographic distribution of important resources and outcomes across the racially and economically stratified region. Despite earnest school desegregation efforts, the opportunities, access, and resources available to children in municipalities across the metro Hartford region remain starkly different. Children …

Assessment Of Teacher Dispositions With The Etq2: A Guided-Reflection And Rasch Model Analysis, W. Steve Lang, Lasonya L. Moore, Judy Wilkerson

LaSonya Moore

A Phenomenological Study On The Mentoring Experiences Of Teachers Of Color In New Orleans, Ingrid Alvarado Nichols

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring has been used for centuries as a way for a person to pass on knowledge, skills, or support to a less experienced person. Mentoring in the workplace, however, was not studied until the early 1980s, and then more than a decade later, mentoring was studied in the context of the K-12 teacher workforce. Mentoring has improved teacher effectiveness (Yuan, 2015; Koedel, 2009; Campbell and Malkus, 2011); increased teachers’ self-efficacy (Ingersoll & May, 2011; Saffold, 2005; Louis, 2016); and contributed to teacher retention (Ingersoll & Kralik, 2004; Cohen & Fuller, 2006). Most mentoring studies and theories, however, have been developed …

The Influence Of An Abstinence-Only Intervention On The Risk Behaviors Of Urban Middle School Students, Alison J. Wakefield

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

In this dissertation, findings on the factors that influence risk-avoidance behaviors among Hispanic and African American middle-school students are presented. The findings were based on a randomized study in which middle-school students were randomly assigned to receive either an abstinence-only curriculum or a comprehensive health curriculum.

Initial findings suggest that middle-school students and their attitudes toward sexual activity were closely associated with their relationships with both their parents and peers. The pivotal indicator for student engagement research indicated that the higher the level of engagement between teen and parent, the more likely the teen is to follow the interventions. Should …

Comparison Of National Assessment Of Educational Progress (Naep) Reports And State Physical Education Mandates, Erick Alfonso

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

There have been several studies that analyzed the relationship between physical education and academic achievement at a local level, but a longitudinal analysis across the United States has not been done. An understanding of the relationship between physical education policies across the United States and academic achievement at the state level may provide insight into best practices to ensure that comprehensive physical education policies are adopted in all states. Using data from the Society of Health and Physical Educators and The National Assessment of Educational Progress, I investigated the relationship between physical education policies and academic achievement. Minor relationships with …

Borderlands Of Teenage Mothering: Life Stories Of Latinx Teen Mothers From A Critical Feminist Perspective, Ashley Burciaga

Doctoral Dissertations

Borderlands of Teenage Mothering: Life Stories of Latinx Teen Mothers from a Critical Feminist Perspective Rather than trying to understand and support teenage mothers, society has stigmatized and marginalized them, even more so for women of color. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of teenage mothers of color as they reflected back on their teenage years in school, at home, and in their communities. Participants were asked to photograph people, places, and things that reminded them of their time as a teen mom. Open-ended semi-structured interview questions along with photo elicitation were implemented to support the …

What's The Deal With Childcare: Childcare As A Women's Issue - And Why It Should Matter To Everyone, Jenny Janssen

Sociology Student Work Collection

A Visual presentation of a feminist perspective on access to affordable childcare, including how it affects various spheres of women's lives, and how it affects society at large. This zine briefly examines the historical context of Federally funded daycare during WWII, current effective childcare systems in place in other developed nations, and the many consequences which the lack of affordable childcare has on women and the entire economy in the USA today.

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 …