Education Commons^™

Visual Literacies And Young Children’S Writing: Creating Spaces For Young Children’S Voices And Engaging In Authentic Writing Experiences, Elizabeth Presto

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Young children engage in multimodal written expression. The research in this study explores the spaces that were created, and the stories created by children in an after-school comic club. The club utilized the Writer’s Workshop model to support the Being a Writer program that is used in the Ocean View School District (Ocean View School District is a pseudonym). I created a supplemental writing program that utilized visual literacy instruction and taught the lessons in the club. The theoretical framework incorporated developmentally appropriate writing instruction, visual literacy elements, and sociocultural theory. This study employed an action research methodology with multiple …

Teacher Perspectives On Formative Assessment Within A Primary Classroom, Dawn M. Macdonald

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Research has acknowledged the importance of the beliefs of educators and how their beliefs have implications impacting their classroom practices (Clark, 1987; Doyle 1997; Zhou & Urhahne, 2018; Graham & Pajares, 1997). Teachers’ beliefs have been a significant topic for researchers due to the contribution they provide for the development of teaching and learning (Gilakjani & Sabouri, 2017). Above all, with increasing attention on teacher quality and effectiveness internationally there has been little research looking at the influences between teachers’ classroom practices and their judgments on student learning (Devine, Fahie, & McGillicudy, 2013).

Further research may benefit teachers who are …

Creating More Equitable Opportunities In Early Childhood By Highlighting Parent Voice: A Qualitative Case Study, Julie Dawn Sill

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative, single embedded case study, framed on Bioecological Systems Theory, Adult Learning Theory, and a Family-Systems Intervention Model investigates the reasons parents and caregivers of young children enroll in and complete parent education classes during the birth to three-year period, as well as the supports that may contribute to positive early parent-child communication or the barriers that may prevent these interactions from occurring (Bronfenbrenner, 2005; Dunst & Trivette, 2009; Knowles et al., 2020). Convenience sampling was used to recruit adult participants from a community organization in the Southeastern USA whose mission was to improve the school readiness of its …

Black Teachers’ Collective Wisdom As Social Justice Pedagogy: A Black Feminist Narrative Analysis, Jacqueline Cora Boone

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

In this age, 21st century, where social issues surrounding race and gender are impassioned and escalating, black feminists and Black Feminist Theory are leading the charge in bringing salience through activism and engagement. Doing post structural qualitative research aims to dismantle a myth of scientific knowledge that emphasizes triangulation and transferability of research with the use of multiple representations of experience. This research investigates critical issues in qualitative research, specifically the ontological challenge that researchers commonly encountered in depicting experience and social reality. The turn to experience and lived stories has expanded the modes of qualitative research by hearing marginalized …

A Case Study Exploring The Nature Of How Prekindergarten Teachers’ Mathematics Instruction Decisions Relate To Their Mathematics Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Raleta Summers Dawkins

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The mathematics knowledge students develop in prekindergarten is key to their ability to make sense of more complex mathematics in the future (C. T. Cross, Woods, & Schweingruber, 2009; Ginsburg, Lee, & Boyd, 2008). Research continues to present evidence that there is a mathematics achievement gap between minoritized students living in lower socioeconomic communities compared to their peers before entering kindergarten (Arnold, Fisher, Doctroff, & Dobbs, 2002; Duncan et al., 2007; Sonnenschein & Galindo, 2015; Wang, 2010). The joint position statement issued by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics …

Service Learning And The Experiential Learning Cycle In Elementary School, Brittney D. Rose

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

There has been an increase in interest in service learning in the past decade (Kuh et al., 2017). However, there has been less attention given to service learning in elementary school, particularly to service learning that does not focus on academic outcomes for the students (Scott & Graham, 2015). This qualitative instrumental case study utilized focus groups with fifth grade students, interviews with educators, education specialists and a nonprofit representative, and observational notes to explore students’ and educators’ experiences as they participated in a service learning project in conjunction with a nonprofit organization. Findings indicate that specific collaborative practices, such …

Mothers’ Voices In Early Childhood Education: A Dual Case Study Of Resettled Refugee Mothers’ Perspectives, Rebecca John

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The U.S. admits approximately 70,000 refugees each year. Many of these are families with young children. Refugee populations differ from broader immigrant populations in their background and experiences, yet they are rarely disaggregated from other immigrant populations within educational studies. Many refugee families meet the eligibility guidelines for early childhood educational programs, such as Head Start or public PreK programs; however, they often have difficulty navigating the enrollment process (Gross & Ntagengwa, 2016; Hooper, Zong, Capps, & Fix, 2016). To date, little is known about the specific experiences of resettled refugee mothers and their perspectives of navigating the early childhood …

Implementing Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Strategies Using Children's Literature In The Urban Multicultural Preschool: Examining Teachers' Language Dialect Beliefs And Practices, Nicole Victoria Bailey Austin

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This study examined preschool teachers' implementation of culturally and linguistically responsive strategies using children's literature in an urban multicultural preschool. Through a qualitative phenomenological design, this research aimed to expand understandings of language dialect and achievement in early childhood education and examine preschool teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices regarding identified home languages—African American Vernacular English and Hispanic American English, Academic Language, and code switching. The phenomenon under investigation was early childhood professionals' beliefs and frequency of home language dialect use within the classroom and implementation of culturally and linguistically responsive strategies within the classrooms of an urban multicultural preschool …

An Examination Of The Reading First Program At A Southeastern Virginia Elementary School And The Impact On K–2 Student Reading Achievement, Leslie Ford Lippard

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Reading First was a federal initiative aimed at improving reading instruction and implementing programs and strategies grounded in scientifically-based reading research. The legislation was predicated on research findings that high-quality reading instruction and intervention in the primary grades significantly reduces the numbers of students who experience difficulties in later grades. This study examined the Reading First program at an elementary school in southeastern Virginia from 2006-2008. Specifically, the researcher investigated the impact of the independent variable, the tier three model of intervention on K-2 student reading achievement. Quantitative data was garnered from 792 K-2 student participants attending the research site. …