The Shining School Upon The Hill: Teacher Subjectivity In A "Successful" Charter School, Gareth David Connor Mitchell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation adds to the growing body of literature on charter school reform. Through the use of double insight, this paper details the tensions between school structures and teacher experience at a “successful” urban charter school. How do teachers construct their subjectivities in relation to a charter school’s mission and guiding philosophy? What are the inter-actions between these teacher biographies and the school’s prominent structures? This paper problematizes common discourse on charters, often reduced to identifying schools as either “good” or “bad,” to contribute to a more nuanced discussion between charter advocates and opponents.

This research utilizes a theoretical framework …

The Influence Of Student Housing And Selected Academic And Personal Demographic Characteristics On The Retention Of Students From The Second To Third Year At A Research University (Ru/Vh), Loren S. Mcintyre

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of participation in a content-based residential college versus non-participation in a content-based residential college on retention in the second year of study at a research university-very high research activity (RU/VH) in the southern portion of the United States. The dependent variable of the study was whether or not the traditional-age, first-time freshman students enrolled at the study institution in their fifth semester, or second to third year, of study. The target population for this study was defined as traditional-age, first-time college freshmen who enrolled in a research university-very high research …

Leveraging The Social Network To Support Engagement In An Academic Environment, Glenn M. Gibeson Iv

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between selected social network characteristics and engagement among faculty at a research university (RU/VH). In 2013, a restructuring initiative targeted seven departments from different colleges at a public research university (RU/VH) located in the Gulf Coast region of the United States with a student population of more than 30,000. These departments were restructured to form a new academic college within the university. The archival sample for this study includes the faculty of the newly formed college who were in attendance at the initial college faculty meeting.

Network data were …

Faculty And Staff Knowledge And Perceptions Of African American College Students With Bipolar Disorder Experiences While Attending A Predominantly White Institution, Tiffany Sharell Zachery

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

There are few qualitative studies that document the knowledge and perceptions of faculty and staff about college students that has bipolar disorder. Previous studies of college students with mental health challenges have been found to focus only on a particular race, be outdated, largely quantified (Stein, 2014), or only focused on certain disorders such as: autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, or depression. This qualitative study responded to this gap in the literature by gaining an understanding of university faculty and staff knowledge and perceptions of African American college students with bipolar disorder experiences while attending a Predominantly White Institution, their perceptions …

Teaching Introductory Statistics To Graduate Students In The Social Sciences: A Mixed Method Investigation Of The Effectiveness Of Simulations In Statistics Education, Liuli Huang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of using simulations as an instructional tool in an introductory doctoral level statistics course. The study focuses on the impacts of simulations on students’ attitudes and understanding of statistical concepts, as well as how the simulations could inspire students’ positive attitudes and improve statistics performance or would fail to help. In addition, since the statistics anxiety has been a primary obstacle to students’ statistics education, and “statistics anxiety” is experienced by as many as 80% of graduate students (Onwuegbuzie, 2004). The researcher is interested to explore the details of …

Ethical Leadership: A Study Of Traits And Behaviors Of Leaders In Higher Education Today, Samuel L. Wyatt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the traits and behaviors of an ethical leader as perceived by tenured and tenure-track faculty at a research university (RU/VH) in the southeastern portion of the United States. The researcher utilized a researcher-designed survey instrument which consisted of 44 possible traits and behaviors of an ethical leader and selected demographic characteristics.

Examination of the study results revealed that the majority of respondents were male (66.20%) and tenured (75.00%). Additionally, the largest group were Professors (49.60%), and had been at the study institution for less than l0 years (38.20%). Most of the …

Education As A Moral Responsibility: Foucault's Subjectivity And Confucian Cultivation, Wei Guan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The current state of education focusing on standards and assessment, according to Wu (2004), reduces education to “technical problems and individual deficiencies, subject to surveillance and quality managerial procedures” (p. 308). This work uses Foucault’s discourses of discipline and power to understand standardization as a political utility of control that makes children docile subjects through “a set of practices by which one can acquire and assimilate” (Foucault, 1988, p. 31). The process of standardization provides an ineffective grounding for achieving a worthwhile life as children are shaped as results-driven individuals (Shun & Wong, 2004). Baker (2008) believes that only through …

Perceived Teacher Preparation For Managing Parental Involvement In Parochial High Schools In A South Louisiana Catholic Diocese, Susan T. Crochet

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the perceived level of preparedness for managing parental involvement and the source of that preparation among secondary teachers in parochial high schools in a south Louisiana Catholic diocese. The target population of the study was secondary parochial school teachers in Louisiana. The accessible population was secondary parochial high school teachers in one Catholic Diocese in south Louisiana. Data were collected using a survey design. Key findings indicate that most of the participants held a bachelor’s degree and that most obtained their preparation for dealing with parental involvement on their own …

Educating The "Miseducated": A Case Study Of Middle School Teachers’ Experiences Providing Culturally Responsive Practices For Black Male Adolescents, Latrisha Yvette Dean

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This case study explored eight middle school teachers’ experiences working with Black adolescent males at different Louisiana schools. The selected participants represented various identities and shared their perceptions of their teaching and management practices. This case study also examined the teachers’ mindsets and beliefs about teaching Black male students. Finally, the teachers discussed how they perceive their own racial identity, gender, socioeconomic class, and other identities when working with Black males. I explored their experiences by conducting face-to-face semi-structured interviews. A comparative within-case and cross-case analysis was used to review the data and connect it to the research questions that …

A Multiple Case Narrative Examining The Experiences Of Alumni Of A Minority Research And Training Program, Gretchen Schneider Burton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The implementation of minority research and training (MRT) programs at the post secondary level has risen to close the educational achievement gap and build undergraduate pathways to generate a highly skilled and diverse STEM pool. Although the numbers of advanced science related degrees have slowly increased over the past decade, partially due to the utilization of MRT programs, this increase has not been adequate to establish an impactful representation in either academic or industry research careers. Numerous studies identify various support interventions influencing positive outcomes among MRT participants achieving graduate degrees. However, majority of the studies utilize quantitative or a …

Deterritorializing Dichotomies In Teacher Induction: A (Post)Ethnographic Study Of Un/Becoming An Elementary Science Teacher, Maria Ferris Greene Wallace

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Un/becoming an elementary science teacher is a dynamic phenomenon, yet the process is often intentionally limited to several taken-for-granted assumptions in research on science teacher induction. Inherent to research on beginning science teacher induction is also the construction of certain truths beginning science teachers, science teacher educators, and researchers think, feel, and live. This study complicates prevailing truths shaping notions of beginner, novice, induction, and traditions of inquiry as an ethicopolitical commitment to those implicated. In doing so, this study illuminates more expansive ways science teacher educators and those studying induction might study and understand the experiences of beginning science …

Understanding How Incoming First Year College Students Develop Academic Performance Expectations: A Qualitative Case Study, Christina Marie Coovert

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to explore how incoming first year students develop their academic performance expectations, differences between students in the development of academic performance expectations, and lastly the role of the university has in communicating expectations to students. The researcher utilized case study research to examine various perspectives related to the development of academic performance expectation. Research methodology included, participant interviews, document analysis and observation. Research findings are highlighted by ten first year college students’ experiences; half of the participants were previously higher performing and the other half were previously lower performing. Performance was based on …

Who Stays And Who Leaves? Predicting College Student Persistence Using Comprehensive Retention Models, Adam C. Elder

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to use a comprehensive framework to examine academic, psychosocial, noncognitive, and other background factors that are related to retention at a large, public four-year institution in the southeastern United States. Specifically, the study examined what factors are most important in predicting first-to-second year retention both before the student enrolls at the university and after completion of their first semester of coursework. Data were drawn from institutional records, a survey instrument designed to measure psychosocial constructs, the ACT student record, and the National Center for Education Statistics. The sample for the study consisted of 12,342 …

The Holistic Undergraduate Growth Experience: A Case Study Exploring The Development Of A Student Success And Retention Program, Bianca Briana Teats

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This case study depicted the development and implementation of the Holistic Undergraduate Growth Experience (HUGE) student success and retention program that spans the second year of undergraduate study to graduation. This study set out to expand student development theory and practice to include an international perspective, specifically one from the Middle East. An increased amount of attention was dedicated to examining the development of the aforementioned program than to its actual implementation in order to provide a more comprehensive framework. Based on the findings associated with this study, recommendations were made not only to the host institution for the study, …

Finding Voice In The Academy Through Yellow Storytelling: An Asian American Autoethnography On Suffering In Higher Education, Thuong Thi Nguyen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT Higher education institutions in the United States (U.S.) were founded for a select segment of the population, i.e. white Christian men from upper socioeconomic classes (Thelin, 2011). Research shows the policies, pedagogies, and practices created for use within majority populations and dominant cultures are not as beneficial or effective for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. As the U.S. becomes more diverse and college enrollment among diverse students increases, higher education institutions need to identify more holistic approaches and investigate alternative methods to better serve these populations. This dissertation is a response to that need. In order to offer other alternatives, …

Prison To School To Redemption: A Full Circle Channel To The Complete ‘School-To-Prison Pipeline’, Kristen Alana Antoine

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate education and self-efficacy for incarcerated men who have chosen to pursue post-secondary educations despite being in the confinement of the PIC. A narrative inquiry design was used. This is where the story of a real life problem or situation is used to provide sufficient background data in order to analyze and solve a problem. It was important to share the stories of the participants so that readers could understand the overall effects of education and religion in this culture. The study data was collected through participant letters, face-to-face discussion, PASCI survey, artifacts, …

An Examination Of The Impact Of Venture Philanthropy On The Mission Of Higher Education, Shon Baker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Across the United States, state legislative funding declines are forcing colleges and universities to rapidly adjust to a variety of shortfalls in revenue. Even the most prosperous universities, normally immune to decreases in funding, find themselves experiencing financial difficulty. To offset fiscal gaps caused by budget shortfalls and legislative decisions, university presidents are increasingly turning to fundraising as a means of filling the financial void and no donors are more poised to give transformational gifts than venture philanthropists. While the donations of venture philanthropists are highly sought, little research has been given to the potential for threats to academic freedom …

Archbishop Rummel's Leadership In Troubled Times: Spiritual And Secular Discourses To Integrate Parochial And Public Schools In New Orleans, Kristina Mckenzie-Hudson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the pastoral letters of Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel. Rummel served as the archbishop of the New Orleans archdiocese during a very tumultuous period in New Orleans’ history, 1935-1964. In the four decades before Rummel’s arrival, the archdiocese of New Orleans became increasingly segregated. Segregation became Church policy, as the New Orleans Catholic Church shunned its integrationist roots. As the infamous school crisis of 1960 raged in New Orleans and gained national attention, as leader of the Catholic faithful, Rummel would be confronted with the seminal question of his tenure, what was his stance on segregation in the …

Pre-College Credit And Examination Programs: One Size Fits All?, Guadalupe M. Lamadrid

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to utilize a comprehensive 9-16 dataset to quantitatively examine which pre-college credit programs are the most significant predictors of college achievement as defined by college GPA, first to second year retention, time to degree and graduation date. A qualitative analysis was conducted, which via the use of a survey allowed students to share their perceptions and feeling regarding their pre-college credit experiences. Data for this study was obtained from institutional sources and consisted of 9-16 detail high school record, admissions, financial aid, scholarship and enrolled student information. Univariate and Multi-variate statistical analyses …

The Effect Of Rule-Based Scaffoldings On Second Grade Students' Digital Storytelling, Xue Wen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Digital storytelling is a powerful method for revitalizing literacy instruction. Past research suggested that digital storytelling activities improve students’ writing skills through construction of various types of stories. However, little research has investigated in what ways educators can promote students’ interests and actual abilities to express narrative discourse in a digital format. Recent research indicated that the use of story grammars help students develop sophisticated stories. From this perspective, Labov’s story grammar emphasized two functions of good story structure: reference—the listeners (or readers) are told what happened, and evaluation—the speakers (or writers) reveal their attitude toward the events of the …

How I Got Over: A Study Of The Tenure Experiences Of Black Female Professors At Predominantly White Institutions, Veta E. Parker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the tenure experiences of seven Black female professors as they pursued tenure at select public higher/highest research activity predominantly white institutions. This study was pursued in an attempt to determine what challenges were presented during the tenure process. More importantly, this study sought to determine the role of mentorship in the pursuit of tenure. In addition, recommendations for success were offered to Black females who are currently pursuing tenure or who may choose to enter the academy. A narrative research study was utilized for this study which was informed by Black Feminist Thought. This allowed for a …

A Mixed Methods Analysis Of School- And Student-Level Effects: Mathematics Course Completion And Achievement Beyond Algebra 2 Among Mexican American Female High School Students, Lester Archer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the United States, as the Hispanic population continues to grow, persistently low mathematics achievement among Mexican Americans continues to exist, particularly among girls. Low mathematics achievement places this group in a disadvantaged position. As such, a multistage mixed method study was implemented to investigate possible factors associated with mathematics achievement and the probability of taking mathematics courses beyond Algebra 2 among Mexican American female high school students. The Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS:2002) database provided the quantitative sample (n = 710) of respondents who self-identified as Mexican American, female, and had a math IRT score. A parallel sample (n = …

Private Vs. Public: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Student Experiences And The Influence Of Anti-Discrimination Policies With Respect To Religion, Shalonda Michelle Skidmore

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

For a vast majority of Americans, religion is an integral part of life. In fact, 10:30am on Sundays is considered the most holy time in the United States as most persons have just left, are currently attending, or are on their way to their various places of worship. Believing in organized religion comes with challenges, as religion has often been the basis and justification for discriminatory practices. These challenges can cause emotional tension, especially to those who identify with teachings that religions have traditionally condemned. This document sought to determine if religion matters to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) …

A Phenomenological Investigation Into The Experiences And Perceptions Of Teachers Education Program Graduates At Public Historically Black College And Universities In Louisiana, La'quita Maya Magee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As a growing number of students from racially and culturally diverse backgrounds enter United States’ public schools, fundamental changes in our educational system are essential to ensure the educational equity and academic achievement of all students. Historically, students from diverse racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds perform lower on multiple indicators of school success than their White counterparts (Howard, 2015; Ladson-Billings, 2000, 2009). Scholars and theorists attribute the low academic performance of students of color to two obtrusive and related factors: the disparity between the demographic profiles of teachers and student, and the absence of multiculturalism and culturally responsive pedagogy in …