Education Commons^™

Can A Modified Model Un Support Civic Empowerment?, Leora Mincer, Jennifer Leger, Lucy Wilson

SPACE: Student Perspectives About Civic Engagement

No abstract provided.

Leading The Initial Implementation Phase Of Tandemed In Relationship With The Pittsburgh Public Schools, Brian C B Barnes

Journal of Research Initiatives

TandemEd facilitates Black communities to create campaigns that highlight their positive racial identity and self-defined educational purpose. This article examines leadership of the initial implementation phase of the TandemEd community initiative in relationship with the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) focusing primarily on the interactions with the superintendent and executive director of the superintendent’s office. The results included ongoing support from PPS as TandemEd formed a citywide steering committee of highly community legitimated persons, executed a leadership and campaign academy for thirty-five Pittsburgh youth, and facilitated design and delivery of various cable television commercials on identity and purpose in the Greater …

From A Bag Lunch To A Buffet: A Case Study Of A Low-Income African American Academy’S Vision Of Promoting College And Career Readiness In The United States, Edward C. Fletcher Jr., Erik M. Hines, Donna Y. Ford, James L. Moore Iii

Journal of College Access

The purpose of this research study was to examine the ways in which stakeholders at a low-income, predominantly African American STEAM academy implement initiatives that support the college and career readiness of their students. We found that a shift in leadership efforts to ensure that academy students were prepared to be both college and career ready provided equity and access to a quality and individualized curriculum through the implementation of career academies. As a result, stakeholders believed that students were more included, valued, and engaged in the school.

Understanding Teacher Experience With Instructional Coaching To Inform Program Improvement Reflecting The Principles Of Adult Learning Theory: A Mixed Method Case Study, Shay Reitz

Graduate Theses & Dissertations

Instructional Coaching (IC) is a strand of Professional Development (PD) during which an instructional coach provides individualized support and feedback to teachers, focused on instruction, generally within the context of the teacher’s classroom (Kraft et al., 2018). This fully integrated mixed method case study examined teacher experience with IC in order to understand which operational and emotional components of IC had the greatest perceived impact, in order to inform program improvement. Adult learning theory served as the conceptual framework for this study; the process of teaching adults is known as andragogy (Knowles, 1980). Andragogy indicates that teaching adults in a …

Pedagogies Of Possibility : A Study Reconceptualizing The Teacher's Role In A Reggio-Inspired Urban Preschool Classroom., Christina Louise Angleton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education is an innovative and often imitated “way of being” with young children (Rinaldi, 2006). Reggio-inspired teachers enact rich pedagogical stances in their work with young children. In North American contexts, the approach is frequently associated with wealthy, suburban communities. Adopting a feminist methodology, this dissertation explores the pedagogical moves one teacher made as she enacted the identity of a Reggio teacher in an urban preschool classroom. The theoretical framework guiding this study is grounded in feminist poststructural, postmodern, and decolonization scholarship, each of which inform a movement known as Reconceptualizing Early Childhood …

When Healing And High-Stakes Meet: Restorative Justice In An Era Of Racial Neoliberalism, Dani O'Brien

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on a 3-year ethnography, this dissertation documents the story of Presente, an explicitly critical youth-led restorative justice group attempting to dismantle the school-prison nexus and create a more youth-centered culture at their high-reform high school. This dissertation addresses the questions: How does serving as a restorative justice peer leader impact students? What challenges and opportunities arise as the school tries to transition to more restorative practices? And how do the values central to restorative justice come up against, challenge, and get challenged by neoliberal education reform?

Democratic Education And An Urban Teacher Residency: A Case Study, Bryan P. Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

Over the course of American schooling scholars note that democratic education and citizenship have not been abandoned, but perhaps marginalized or pushed aside, as test scores and achievement have become the most desired outcomes. Democratic education must move out of the margins and into high priority. The current political climate of increased division and divisiveness could not illustrate this need any more. Another well-documented challenge within the American educational system, particularly in high need areas is the need for highly qualified teachers. Urban Teacher Residency (UTR) programs have offered a possible solution to this growing problem in recruiting, training, and …

A Sustainable “No Excuses” Charter School Model, Kelly Lerash

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As a participant observer working in a charter school and researching charter schools, I critically examine a particular charter school in New York City. I begin with my educational journey and the challenge of being a participant observer. I transition to focus on a general overview of “No Excuses” charter schools in NYC, looking closely at Uncommon Charter Schools, Achievement First Charter Schools, KIPP NYC, Success Academy Charter Schools and Democracy Prep Charter Schools. Next, I share my experiences working for five years in a “No Excuses” Charter School, using a specific lens to examine what makes that school different …

The Role Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In The Preparation Of Secondary Teacher Candidates For Successful Teaching Of Diverse Learners: A Multiphase Mixed Methods Case Study, Rosalyn Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

The dramatic demographic shift occurring in this country makes it essential that our nation examines its policies, practices, and values as they relate to culturally diverse learners. That this student population remains underserved needs immediate attention. One arena that can become a part of the solution to the underachievement of diverse learners is teacher education and preparation programming.

The purpose of this research study was to give attention to this issue and to understand what an urban teacher education program (UTEP) with an educational equity and social justice mission does to prepare its secondary teacher candidates (STCs) to work successfully …

The Case For A Socio-Cultural Approach To Literacy And Student Support Services, Marina Palomino-Bach, Julia Fisher

Journal of Catholic Education

Many urban Catholic high schools pride themselves as developing our students in a holistic way. In these schools, educators are able to develop and support their students in both a moral and an academic sense. This belief in educating the whole child is appealing to many families, especially those in our most underserved urban contexts. Families in these urban contexts look toward Catholic high schools as offering the necessary holistic support and guidance needed to achieve academic, collegiate, and moral success and stability. As co-developers of a newly launched Academic Resource Center within one urban Catholic high school setting, however, …

Learning To Teach In An Urban Teacher Residency, Lauren Gatti

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In this article, I employ sociocultural theory to analyze the learning to teach process of two novice teachers enrolled in one Urban Teacher Residency (UTR). Findings show that Genesis and Jackie were differentially drawing on programmatic, disciplinary, relational, experiential, and dispositional resources as they learned to teach in an urban context. I show that programmatic resources of supervision and classroom management requirements (i.e., Doug Lemov’s Teach Like a Champion) not only differentially influenced teachers’ learning and development but also differentially impacted the development of trust with students.

The Possibilities Of Being “Critical”: Discourses That Limit Options For Educators Of Color, Thomas M. Philip, Miguel Zavala

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Through a close reading of the talk of a self-identified critical educator of color, we explore the contradictions, possibilities, limitations, and consequences of this identity for teachers and teacher educators. We examine how the performances of particular critical educator of color identities problematically intertwine claims of Freirian pedagogy with crude dichotomizations of people as critical and non-critical. We explore how particular tropes limit the productive possibilities of being critical for other educators of color and erase the centrality of dialogue, reflexivity, and unfinishedness that define Freirian-inspired notions of being critical.

How Do Middle School Core Content Area Teachers In A Title 1 School Use Cooperative Learning In The Context Of High Accountability For Student Proficiency: A Multiple Case Study, Martha Cunigan-Wells

Dissertations

This action research case study describes how content area teachers in a middle school with low reading achievement levels utilize cooperative learning and curriculum integration (with a focus on the integration of literacy skills and thinking skills) in their content area given the current context of accountability for student mastery of tested core content outcomes. The participants were four urban middle school teachers from the core areas of science, social studies, mathematics, and language arts who had varying levels of training and experience with cooperative learning and curriculum integration. Data sources included audio-recorded pre-conferences, video-taped classroom observations, audio-recorded post-conferences, and …

The Influence Of A Reform-Based Mathematics Methods Course On Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs, Brian R. Evans, Jacqueline Leonard, Kathleen Krier, Steve Ryan

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Beliefs about teaching mathematics and urban students’ ability to learn mathematics are often overlooked in the discourse on highly qualified teachers. Altering teacher experiences has the potential to change their beliefs. It was found in this qualitative case study that preservice teachers’ beliefs about teaching mathematics to urban students were changed after teachers taught brief sample lessons to their peers and watched video episodes of quality teaching. These findings suggest preservice teacher beliefs can be positively changed after taking reform-based mathematics methods courses. Additional studies are needed to determine if these changes can be sustained during teacher induction.

Educating For A Critical Democracy: Civic Participation Reimagined In The Council Of Youth Research, Nicole Mirra, Ernest D. Morrell, Ebony Cain, D'Artagnan Scorza, Arlene Ford

Democracy and Education

This article explores civic learning, civic participation, and the development of civic agency within the Council of Youth Research (the Council), a program that engages high school students in youth participatory action research projects that challenge school inequalities and mobilize others in pursuit of educational justice. We critique the neoliberal view of democracy that dominates in the existing research, policy, and practice around urban school reform and civic education and instead turn to evidence from social movements and critical social theory as a foundation for a reimagined, more robust vision of critical democracy. Through our analysis of the activities that …

Personalismo, Small Schools, And Latino Students' Academic Success, Isabel Mesa Collins

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

A growing body of research indicates that Latino students continue to struggle academically presenting educators and school leaders with serious concerns about a cultural achievement gap. Guided by the work of Lee & Loeb, (2000); Lee & Freidkin, (2007) and Stevens, (2008) who have examined small personalized learning communities, this paper examines the concept of personalismo as a conduit for establishing a platform that may help narrow the achievement gap within the Latino population in the public school system. Through a series of T-Tests, conducted in two small public schools with varying levels of personalismo, within a Chicago Public School …

Mouthy Students And The Teacher's Apple: Questions Of Orality And Race In The Urban Public School, Alyssa D. Niccolini

Occasional Paper Series

This paper will seek to investigate our oral fixation - standardizing language, controlling consumption, and regulating "appropriate" oral expression - especially in the context of an inner-city, low income, and minority populated school.

The Impact Of The “Universal Voyager Literacy” Reading Program On Reading Achievement And Instructional Practices In An Urban School District, Shanika L. Hope

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Studies

Founded in 1994, Voyager Expanded Learning is a provider of K-3 in-school reading programs, as well as K-8 reading intervention programs for school districts throughout the United States. Voyager Universal Literacy's systematic, precise framework fully addresses the five elements of reading instruction, through an explicit succession of ability growth. Voyager Universal Literacy was developed to be a comprehensive program encompassing the subsequent requisites: in-school broad reading program, progress monitoring methods, extensive-day and summer activities, home learning syllabus, implementation monitoring, and on-going professional development. Voyager Universal Literacy Program activities are organized to provide a thorough range and progression for reading instruction. …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of The Success For All Whole-School Reform Model On The Elementary School Proficiency Assessment And The New Jersey Assessment Of Skills And Knowledge In An Urban District, Winston D. Jackson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Balanced Literacy Versus Basal Reading Instruction For Urban African-American, Title I Third-Grade Students, Julie Ann Perkins

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study compared third-grade reading achievement of urban African-American, Title I students using a basal reading series with those using a balanced literacy program to determine whether the highly structured skills-based methods advocated by The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act actually foster or impede reading achievement in an urban school setting.

Two hundred forty-five third-grade African-American, Title I students from an urban elementary school in southeastern Virginia served as subjects for the study. Subjects were studied as intact groups to avoid disruption in the educational setting. Participants in the control group were third-grade classes of urban African-American, Title I …

A Comparison Between First-Year Alternative Certified Teachers And First-Year Traditional Certified Teachers Based On Students' Academic Achievement: The Case Of A High-Need Urban Southeast District In Virginia, Abdou Maty Sene

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Studies

Debate about teacher supply and demand has been renewed in recent years by an increased concern about the reduced numbers of students entering teacher education programs and the resulting teacher shortages. Thus, American schools are experiencing teacher shortages, especially in low-income urban areas, because of increased school enrollment, teacher retirement, reduction of class size, teacher attrition, and turnover related to low salaries, job dissatisfaction, lack of administrative support and influence over decision-making. Recently, the increased interest in teacher quality has been the topic of debate for educational policy makers, and many researchers have focused on teacher certification.

The purpose of …

A Meta-Analysis Of The Effects Of Multicultural Education On The Racial Attitudes Of Pre-K Through Grade 12 Students: A Comparison Of Curricular Intervention And Reinforcement Dimensions In Suburban And Urban Educational Settings, Ogochukwu Nkeiruka N. Okoye-Johnson

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This meta-analysis examined the effects of multicultural education on the racial attitudes of students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Multicultural education, which evolved as a direct result of the push for ethnic studies in schools, was operationalized for this study as programs and curricula dealing with racial and cultural diversity.

The findings of thirty selected studies were synthesized in this meta-analysis to examine whether students exposed to multicultural education developed more positive racial attitudes than students who did not. This meta-analysis compared the effect sizes of two dimensions of multicultural education, curricular intervention and reinforcement, to see the relative effectiveness …

Cognitive Complexity And Empathy As Predictors Of Leadership Style In An Urban College Student Population, Scott B. Harrison

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The amount of variation in leadership style predicted by cognitive complexity and empathy was investigated. Differences in cognitive complexity and empathic ability according to students' educational levels and leadership styles was also tested. Leadership style was determined by Fiedler's (1967) Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) measure; cognitive complexity was defined by the Cognitive Complexity Index (CCI), a subscale of the Learning Environment Preferences (LEP; Moore, 1987) instrument which measures Perry's (1998) scheme of intellectual and ethical development; and empathy was measured by Hogan's Scale of Empathy (1969) as scored on the Hogan/Em subscale of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI; Gough, 1987). …

A Study Of Efficacy Beliefs For Urban And Suburban School Teachers Trained In A Brain-Based Model Of Instruction, Linda Crescione

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Effects Of Applied Technology Instruction On Mathematics Achievement And Career Interests Of Urban Seventh-Grade Students, Eric M. Fischer

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The present study has been implemented to provide insight as to how, given limited resources, Technology Education curricula might be developed to best support the unique goals of an urban middle school aerospace magnet program. It was hypothesized that applied academic strategies, including interdisciplinary hands-on aerospace and computer-assisted instructional activities, would affect larger gains in mathematics achievement and would enhance career-interest development of urban seventh-grade students to a greater degree than would non-participation in such instruction. A randomized subjects, pretest-posttest control group design was used to assess treatment effects upon 71 urban seventh-grade students. Dependent variables were measured using the …

Sleep Patterns And The Behavior Of Children In The Second-, Third-, And Fourth-Grades In Urban Public Schools, Yolanda Cardelli Hampel

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This investigation examined the relationship between nocturnal sleep patterns and behaviors in the classroom of seventy-four girls and fifty-nine boys from second-, third-, and fourth-grades attending five urban public schools in Norfolk, Virginia.

The dependent variables were the classroom behavior that was subdivided into five personality areas for objective assessment of the student's adjustment areas labeled self, social, school, home, and physical. The objective assessment was observed and documented on a seventy-eight item questionnaire by their primary classroom teachers who were familiar with the subjects behavior. The parents observed and recorded data on a sleep log listing independent variables such …

A Study On Teacher Change To Developmentally Appropriate Practice In The Primary Grades Of An Urban Elementary School, Kerry Sullivan Lambert

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this research was to study the process of change from traditional teaching practices to developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), following training. The population for this study consists of kindergarten and first grade teachers, in urban elementary school comprised of student at-risk for school failure. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies were utilized. The quantitative measures provide evidence of the degree of change made by teachers and render a context for the qualitative findings. The variables of DAP were measured pre- and post-training to determine change in teaching practices that occurred after training. Two observation instruments were utilized to measure …