Education Commons^™

Writing Focused Professional Development For Content-Area Teachers: The Effects Of Writing Instruction On Content-Area Student Achievement, Amanda Edwards Whatley

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of writing on the content areas when coupled with ongoing professional development and support for content-area teachers. Research shows that writing is an essential skill for success in and beyond the school setting. Research further indicates that writing plays an important role in student learning through its development of cognitive processes; however, in general, writing as a mode of learning is not a focus of either pre or in-service teacher training. As such, writing beyond note-taking and fill-in-the-blank activities is not necessarily a strategy utilized in content-area teacher classrooms. This …

How Does A Teacher's Level Of Knowledge Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Impact A Teacher's Efficacy In Student Engagement, Instructional Practices, And Classroom Management, Pamela Humphries Merritt

Education Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study examined how a teacher’s level of knowledge of ADHD impacted a teacher’s self-efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. One hundred and twenty-three teachers participated in the study. They were asked to complete surveys and vignettes to assess their ADHD knowledge and their self-efficacy. Each efficacy subscale was calculated to determine if there was a correlation between teacher knowledge of ADHD and a teacher’s sense of efficacy. The Knowledge of Attention Deficit Disorder Scale (KADDS) was used to assess teacher knowledge. KADDS consisted of three subscales with the first subscale being general knowledge. Teachers answered …

An Analysis Of The Personal And Behavioral Health Impact Of A Hybrid Day Treatment Model On Secondary Students, Matthew Davis

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation, with roots in Cognitive Restructuring Model and Circle of Courage® Model, was designed as a phenomenological qualitative study that gathered the perspective of former students who were enrolled in a specific hybrid day treatment program model. These students were all involved in a day treatment program model in a rural town in western North Carolina. The study specifically evaluated how this experience affected the students in terms of future choices and behaviors. These students participated in individual interviews and data were coded through the use of the ATLAS.ti and SPSS software programs. Through coding and analysis, themes were …

A Study Of The Self-Determination Of High School Students In A Blended Learning Environment And Meeting The Goals For 21st Century Student Outcomes, Vincent Keith Wilks

Education Dissertations and Projects

The 21st century has ushered Generation Z into every educational setting. Their expectations for how, where, and how fast they learn are as diverse their world views. With the use of electronic, mobile learning devices increasing each year, there is a noted deficiency in research to provide insight into how this computer-based learning is impacting students in high schools.

In this investigation, a self-paced, internet-based instructional program is utilized by students in a brick-and-mortar location with a certified teacher as well as anywhere the student has an internet connection and a computer device.

An internet based, five-part Likert scale survey …

Beliefs On Behavior: The Influence Of Constructed Beliefs Of Discipline On School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports (Pbis) Fidelity Of Implementation, Elizabeth Baynes Johnson

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation explores the association between teacher perceptions of behavior and teacher implementation of PBIS. Adding to previous research on various links between teacher demographics and behavior approaches, this research aims to provide an analysis of any such association to enlighten teacher knowledge and inform potential behavior change.

The quasi-experimental quantitative approach utilized in this study identifies any statistically significant correlations between approach to behavior and implementation fidelity. Quantitative data compiled via surveys and data collection analyzed by behavior approach are explained as well as analyzed in terms of predictability based on the independent variable of teacher behavior approach as …

The Impact Of A Grade Nine Transition Program On Student Success In The Piedmont Region Area Of North Carolina, Phillip Jermaine Johnson

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Grade 9 transition program at an urban high school in the piedmont area of North Carolina. Grade 9 is a pivotal year that determines which students prevail and which students fail to finish high school (Hertzog, 2003). It is essential that schools put in place components that ease the transition into high school and provide ongoing support.

Investigation measuring instruments that were used by the researcher included a student survey and a teacher survey which involved Grade 9 students and those teachers who taught Grade 9 students. The data that …

Impact Of Stress-Coping Strategies On Perceived Stress, Intrinsic Motivation, And Self-Efficacy Levels Of Students, Tanya M. Hudson

Education Dissertations and Projects

Impact of Stress-Coping Strategies on Perceived Stress, Intrinsic Motivation, and Self-Efficacy Levels of Students. Hudson, Tanya M., 2013: Dissertation, Gardner-Webb University, Stress/Coping/Adolescents/ Motivation/ Self-Efficacy/Stress-Coping Strategies Stress-coping strategies are identified by researchers as conditions used suitable to a situation when adolescents have a change in their environment or a stressor that they cannot control. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the impact of stress-coping strategies on perceived stress levels, levels of intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy. According to the research, stress results from an imbalance between the requirements of the environment and one's ability to cope with it (Aldwin, 2007). …

Evaluating The Impact Of The Beginning Teacher Induction Program On The Retention Rate Of Beginning Teachers, Adriane Lenette Watkins Mingo

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examined the Beginning Teacher Induction Program of a rural school system in North Carolina. The effects of mentoring, induction sessions, administrative support, ongoing staff development, and other support offered at the system level to beginning teachers were carefully analyzed.

The researcher used eight themes based on the objectives of the school system's Beginning Teacher Support Program: improving beginning teachers' skills and performance; supporting teacher morale; communications; collegiality; building a sense of professionalism and positive attitude; facilitating a smooth transition into the first and second years of teaching; putting theory into practice; preventing teacher isolation; building self-reflection; and retaining …

An Evaluation Of The Right Choices Program To Determine Effectiveness In Delivering Constructive Interventions And Providing An Early Support Program In Order To Modify Behavior Of First-Time Student Offenders Who Commit Drug And Violent Acts, Lisa B. Barnes

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the study was to perform a program evaluation of the Right Choices Program to determine the program's effectiveness in delivering constructive interventions that modify student behavior once students have left the program and have returned to their regular learning environment. This mixed-method evaluation consisted of an experimental-comparison design approach that included interviews with program participants, completing focus groups, and comparison of the number of out-of-school suspensions that participants received after completing the Right Choices Program.

The researcher and trained interviewers administered a survey to the 16 certified staff members working in the Right Choices Program including the …

Social Capital: Relationship Between Social Capital And Teacher Job Satisfaction Within A Learning Organization, Timothy Lee Chazon

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to study the relationship between Social Capital and teacher Job Satisfaction for 11 selected North Carolina Middle Schools. This study uses the learning organizational theory and social capital theory as theoretical constructs for studying the complex relationships between school as a Learning Organization (LO), Social Capital (SC), and teacher Job Satisfaction (JS). SC encompasses the interactive-interpersonal relationships and the values that are placed on those relationships whose collaborative efforts provide collective leverage to obtain an agreed-upon task. SC, according to Subramaniam and Youndt (2005), is intrinsically tied to Human Capital (HC), which is the individual knowledge, …

A Case Study Of The Impact Of A High School Advisory Program On Student Behaviors And Relationships, Matthew W. Stover

Education Dissertations and Projects

This case study dissertation was conducted to determine the perceptions of teachers and students about the school's advisory program. From 2003 to 2008, the high school had 279 student dropouts out of an average student population of 950. As a result of the student dropouts, the school adopted an advisory program. The studied school created the advisory program to change student behaviors and build student and staff relationships.

The research questions that guided the study were: (1) What was the impact of Check and Connect on student and staff relationships; (2) What was the impact of Check and Connect on …