Education Commons^™

Automated Text Data Mining Analysis Of Five Decades Of Educational Leadership Research Literature: Probabilistic Topic Modeling Of Eaq Articles From 1965 To 2014, Yinying Wang, Alex J. Bowers, David J. Fikis

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the underlying topics and the topic evolution in the 50-year history of educational leadership research literature.

Methods: We used automated text data mining with probabilistic latent topic models to examine the full text of the entire publication history of all 1,539 articles published in Educational Administration Quarterly from 1965 to 2014. Given the computationally intensive data analysis required by probabilistic topic models, relying on high performance computing, we used a 10-fold cross validation to estimate the model in which we categorized each article in each year into one of 19 …

U.S. State Education Agencies’ Use Of Twitter: Mission Accomplished?, Yinying Wang

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

This study examined how Twitter was used by all U.S. state education agencies (SEAs) for public engagement in education. Drawing on the ecological model of communication, this study analyzed the latest 71,913 tweets from 40 SEAs that had official Twitter accounts. The results of correlation analysis indicate no significant relationship between the SEAs’ presence on Twitter and the SEAs’ targeted Twitter users, denoting that the SEAs’ well-intentioned efforts in communicating with stakeholders and the public by using Twitter might fall short of the public’s preferable medium for receiving information. In addition, the results of content analysis suggest that the SEAs …

Response-To-Intervention: Understanding General Education Teacher Knowledge And Implementation, Elissa M. Benjamin

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The new IDEIA (2004) mandates regarding the implementation of Response-to-Intervention (RtI) present challenges for general education teachers. The law dictates the implementation of Response-to-Intervention, which requires the application of a pyramid of interventions for students failing to make adequate yearly progress in response to general education programs. Response-to-Intervention regulations redefine general education teacher roles, increase responsibilities regarding instructional interventions for at-risk learners, and change the process used to determine qualification for specific learning disability (SLD).

A qualitative case study investigates how three general educators in a rural public elementary school understand and implement Response-to-Intervention policy. The study also examines teacher …

A Study Of The Learning-Focused School Improvement Model And Its Effects On Third Grade Reading Scores In A Suburban, Metropolitan School System, Douglas A. Daugherty

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

A STUDY OF THE LEARNING-FOCUSED SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

MODEL AND ITS EFFECT ON THIRD GRADE READING

SCORES IN A SUBURBAN, METROPOLITAN

SCHOOL SYSTEM

by

Douglas A. Daugherty

In 2001, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Education Act (NCLB). This act calls for a measurable annual increase in student achievement such that students reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic assessments.

A historical review of political involvement with education will add to that statement one more objective of the bill: to render more U.S. students globally competitive. Federal funding to state education is tied to the achievement …

The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence, Transformational Leadership, And Effectiveness In School Principals, Elizabeth B. Hebert

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

In the rapidly changing school environment effective principals are needed to make necessary changes while also developing a culture of shared responsibility and community (Hallinger & Heck, 1998; Leithwood & Jantzi, 1999). The correlation between transformational leadership and emotional intelligence was investigated in this quantitative study of school principals. Also included in the research was the investigation of the relationship between each construct and effectiveness as perceived by their teachers. The research sample was composed of 30 elementary, middle, and high school principals and five to seven teachers who worked with each principal from schools within the United States. An …

The Easy Way Versus The Hard Way: Middle-Class Black Male Students' Perceptions Of Education As It Relates To Success And Career Aspirations, Rita D. Williams

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT THE EASY WAY VERSUS THE HARD WAY: MIDDLE- CLASS BLACK MALE STUDENTS‟ PERCEPTIONS OF EDUCATION AS IT RELATES TO SUCCESS AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS by Rita D. Williams “Education is the key to success” is a common mantra on which schools base their goals and daily operations as well as the reason why most teachers enjoy job security. The majority of school personnel project two beliefs: (a) College is the appropriate next step after graduating from high school, and (b) white-collar occupations, such as professional, management, and supervisory positions, are desired career choices. However, after interacting with and observing the …

The Production Of Political Discourse: Annual Radio Addresses Of Black College Presidents During The 1930s And 1940s, Vickie Leverne Suggs

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The social and political role of Black college presidents in the 1930s and 1940s via annual radio addresses is a relevant example of how the medium of the day was used as an apparatus for individual and institutional agency. The nationalist agenda of the United States federal government indirectly led to the opportunity for Black college leadership to address the rhetoric of democracy, patriotism, and unified citizenship. The research focuses on the social positioning of the radio addresses as well as their role in the advancement of Black Americans. The primary question that informs the research is whether the 1930s …

A Historical Analysis Of The Creation Of A Cabinet-Level Department Of Education, Shayla Lois Marie Mitchell

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

This dissertation uses historical analysis to understand the political and social conditions that allowed for the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Education when many congressional representatives, state governments, and citizens of the United States were ideologically against federal involvement in education. A cabinet-level Department of Education posed problems for the United States because nowhere in the nation’s Constitution is education mentioned, thus leaving education to be a function of the states according to the 10th Amendment. This dissertation looks at calls for a department of education leading up to and including the one initiated by Jimmy Carter. Conducting a …

The Gig Is Up: Combating The Meanings Of Education Proffered By Science, Technology, And Global Capitalism, Deron R. Boyles

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

Colleagues in the academy seem to have a fascination with conceptual analysis and the term “education.” Debates are held, papers are written, and symposia take place within which definitions are articulated and modulated. Whether the point is to provide narrative, stipulative, or programmatic definitions matters little to the larger point: the quest for the meaning of “education” continues. In their turns, schooling and training are contrasted with education in order to help clarify the differences in scope, purpose, and meaning of the various terms. The concepts are often qualified in discussions of literacy, socialization, and democracy, but why? Why are …

Are Public Schools Worth Saving? If So, By Whom?, Philip Edward Kovacs

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT ARE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WORTH SAVING? IF SO, BY WHOM? by Philip Kovacs While there is a loose coalition of individuals and organizations attacking the institution of public schools, there does not appear to be a coordinated defense of public schools. Without a coordinated defense of the institution, public schools will arguably 1) grow increasingly regulated and/or 2) be shut down altogether. Given that progressive scholars believe schools should exist to maintain a pluralistic and participatory democracy, should 1) or 2) continue, the progressive goal of democracy through education becomes increasingly removed from possibility. The failure of progressive educational reformers …

Dewey's Epistemology: An Argument For Warranted Assertions, Knowing, And Meaningful Classroom Practice, Deron R. Boyles

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

In an effort to navigate the treacherous path between professionalism and social relevancy, this essay takes up an area of professional philosophy - epistemology - with the intention of reclaiming the integrative role John Dewey held for philosophy and classroom practice. Deron Boyles asserts that epistemology can and should represent an area of inquiry that is relevant and useful for philosophy of education, especially as it develops classroom practices that foster inquiry. He specifically seeks to revive Dewey’s conception of warranted assertibility in an effort to show the value of fallibilist epistemology in practical and social teaching and learning contexts. …

Would You Like Values With That?: The Role Of Chik-Fil-A In Character Education, Deron R. Boyles

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

I explore three main lines of inquiry: (1) the specifics of “Core Essentials” as a strategy for teaching character; (2) the role (and ironies) of private businesses influencing public school curricula; and (3) the assumptions inherent in the kind of teaching of character outlined by “Core Essentials.” Girding this inquiry is a concern about the problematic enterprise of teaching character, itself, as if it were an unquestionable domain. Further, the oddly-but-related contexts of childhood obesity findings and Christian influences (both general symbolism and fundamentalist indoctrination) on and in public spheres will be considered via Theodore Brameld’s Ends and Means in …

Institutes, Foundations, And Think Tanks: Conservative Influences On U.S. Public Schools, Deron R. Boyles

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

While a complete analysis of the effects of conservative think tanks is beyond the scope of this article, we include the above passage as evidence of what, on a broad scale, the “idea brokers” have been working towards. While education is only one area where neoconservative think tanks seek to influence public policy, it has become the issue for many neoconservatives. In this article, we focus on four think tanks—The Manhattan Institute, The American Enterprise Institute, The Heritage Foundation, and The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation—and what they are doing to reshape public schools in ways more suitable to neoconservative and …

Taking Care Of Business: Advertising, Commercialism, And Implications For Discourse About Schools, Deron R. Boyles

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

This essay challenges the long-standing notion that the overriding purpose of U.S.A. public schools should be to produce future workers for corporate America. It questions the current discourse-the language we use when we talk about schooling, teaching, and learning. In effect, this essay takes exception to the undergirding assumption that public schools are primarily in existence as avenues for private gain. The claim is that a new language of inquiry and critique is needed in order for teachers and students to realize a significant, if untapped potential for U.S.A. schooling: namely, critical analysis of the taken-for-granted.

A Lesson Of Human Connection: 9/11, Film, Brotherhood, And Interpretation, Deron R. Boyles

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

Brothers Gedeon and Jules Naudet were within two blocks of the World Trade Center (WTC) on the morning of September 11, 2001 when terrorists flew hijacked planes into the WTC towers. Both brothers had cameras with them, as they were engaged in shooting a documentary film about firefighters at the time. As a result, they captured unique footage from the area, including the only images from inside Tower 1, where firefighters were trying to get a handle on the situation. The footage includes sounds of falling bodies and scenes of firefighters trying to escape from Tower 1 after Tower 2 …

Private Interests Or Public Goods?: Dewey, Rugg, And Their Contemporary Allies On Corporate Involvement In Educational Reform Initiatives, Deron R. Boyles, Kathleen Knight Abowitz

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

In some ways, John Dewey lived through a time similar to what we now experience: the rise of corporate power in a historical moment of unsurpassed national wealth and consumer materialism, and the accompanying substantial influence of business interests in the structure, politics, and agendas of public school systems. Dewey’s writings in the first three decades of this century mark a kind of “wisdom of the elders,” offered by a public intellectual who experienced, at least in some form, the kind of tumultuous relationships we are currently witnessing between the economy and education.