Education Commons^™

Incentives And Their Effect On Retention And Comprehension Of Mathematical Ideas, Dylan Mathess

Honors Projects

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the benefits and/or disadvantages of providing rewards to students as a result of understanding and applying mathematical concepts during class time and on assessments. Rewarding student behavior by means of incentives have been used in the past to reward behavior and less on content knowledge. The goal was to analyze the effects of incentives on retaining and comprehending mathematical concepts. After analyzing the data, it was proved that providing incentives did not have a significant impact on demonstrating knowledge of mathematics.

Parents Opinions Matter: The Impact Of Incentives On Parent/Child Workshops Within The Raising A Reader Program, Samantha Kennedy

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

This action research focused on the incentives parents/guardians found valuable when participating in parent/child workshops within the Raising a Reader program. The research took place over six weeks within the public school system in a low-income, rural district in Maryland. All parents and guardians with children in prekindergarten and kindergarten classes received invitations to be a part of the research. The research utilized artifact data from previous parent surveys, inquiry data consisting of pre and post assessments, and observational data during parent/child workshops. Data findings suggest that parent/child-centered incentives are most valuable to parents, including spending time with, reading with, …

Enhancing Overall Communication And Onboarding Procedures At Case Management Of The Carolina, Loren Mcneal

Education Projects

Case Management of the Carolina, a young case management organization, serves patients who qualify for community long-term care services. The organization employs less than 10 people but is struggling to retain qualified case managers. Onboarding, communication, and rebranding were some of the surface issues the owner was facing. Tammy Gordon, a previous and experienced case manager, partnered with me to help remedy some of those problems. Survey research and interview research were used to assist in diagnosing the true cause of turnover. Recommendations for new orientation documents were provided to assist with onboarding. Several virtual platforms were recommended to support …

Increasing Parental Engagement In Social-Emotional Learning At Home Through Incentive Based Program: A Guideline For Implementation, Shawn P. Kiley

Culminating Experience Projects

Current policies and practices strive to increase parental engagement with school activities with varying degrees of success. A lack of clear expectations and guidelines of how parents can engage in social-emotional learning within the home decreases the effectiveness of the social-emotional curriculum and negatively impacts the child’s mental health. This project attempts to create opportunities for parents to engage in social-emotional learning activities within the home while also addressing barriers that often prevent parents from engaging under typical standards. Children whose parents are engaged in their lives and school-based activities feel a better sense of belonging within their family and …

Effects Of School Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports In An African American All-Boys Urban School, Theresa Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract Teachers and administrators spend a great deal of time addressing minor to moderate school discipline behaviors with punitive actions such as suspensions and expulsions from school. Past research has revealed that such punitive actions do not correct the unwanted behavior, and extensive use of punitive disciplinary actions have been linked to negative outcomes such as repeated suspensions, repeating grades due to time missed from school, increased likelihood of dropping out of school, or potential involvement in the juvenile justice system. This single case study design addressed the following research question: How school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) affected …

The Evaluation Of The Jostens Renaissance Incentive Program And The Impact It Has On Students At A Southwest Florida High School, Saneik Buchanan

Dissertations

As state requirements for academic achievement continue to become more rigorous, school administrators and counselors strive to create positive school environments. Therefore, administrators and counselors must find creative incentive programs tailored to meet the needs of respective school settings, such as the Jostens Renaissance incentive program. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the Jostens Renaissance education incentive program at one Title I high school in Southwest Florida by studying the relationship among students’ GPAs, attendance, and disciplinary issues before participation in the program. The evaluation was a quantitative, quasi-experimental design that utilized pre-existing data of …

Identifying The Best Practices That Are Being Used To Promote Higher Education In Both Civil Service And Non-Civil Service Police Departments, Raymond Trigg

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study was conducted to identify the best practices that are being used to promote higher education in both civil service and non-civil service police departments. This study also examined the higher educational incentives/policies that are currently established in municipal police departments to promote continued higher education. Factors such as tuition reimbursement, educational incentive pay, higher education standards for promotion and hiring, and rank and time of service were examined. Based on this examination, policy recommendations can be made to affect the level of education for municipal police officers positively. The organizational analysis provided a look at previously unseen aggregate …

Identifying Factors That Influence The Continuing Education Choices Of Municipal Police Officers, Sean O'Connor

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study was conducted in an attempt to identify factors that influence the continuing education choices of municipal police officers. By examining factors such as tuition reimbursement, educational incentive pay, CEO education level, higher education standards for promotion and hiring, rank, and length of service, policy recommendations can be made to positively impact education levels among municipal police officers. In phase one of analysis, levels of organizational education were presented along with each variable’s presence in each department. Aggregate data is provided to give the reader an overview of higher education incentives and attainment within the County. In phase two, …

Incentives And Teacher Effort: Evidence From Lagos, Nigeria, Simileoluwa Adebajo

Master's Theses

According to recent research (Hattie, 2003), teachers contribute to around 30% of the overall variation in student achievement and success – more than any other influencing factor. This study seeks to understand how different types of incentives (monetary, near monetary and non-monetary incentives) influence the “effort” of public school teachers as perceived by the students in Lagos, Nigeria using a novel measurement tool – the teaching effectiveness survey – to measure the teachers’ outcomes. Using a randomized field experiment where students evaluate the changes in their teachers’ effort with a standard teaching effectiveness survey and differences in differences estimation, we …

Inentives And Education: Experimental Evidence From Medellin, Colombia, Theodore D. Wisinski, Alessandra Cassar

Master's Theses

This research uses an experimental design to investigate how incentive structure influences goal achievement among disadvantaged high school students in Medellin, Colombia. Of particular interest is how treatment effects influence school performance as well as how this may vary with differing key characteristics of the participants. Medellin, Colombia, like much of South America suffers from high levels of inequality in the city proper. Improving educational outcomes in impoverished neighborhoods is essential for the growth of these neighborhoods and the greater community in which they are located. The model used in this experiment is inspired by the Family Independence Initiative (FII). …

Goal Effectiveness In Achieving Educational Outcomes: Experimental Evidence From 9th Graders In Medellin, Colombia, Daniel Salicath, Alessandra Cassar

Master's Theses

Does goal setting among low-income ninth graders leads to higher average goal achievements of educational outcomes? This question is explored by a field experiment motivated by the acknowledged California-based Family Independence Initiative (FII), to analyze the effectiveness of individual goal setting, incentives and self-help groups on the achievement of educational goals. By randomizing treatments and control with the cooperation of the Secretary of Education in Medellin, different classrooms were assigned to five different experimental groups that met systematically for five months. The results show that goal setting is a cost-effective method to help low-income students achieve educational outcomes. Setting a …

Education Policy Factors Contributing To Special Education Identification, Sivan Tuchman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vital to the discussion around special education is the topic of identification and de-identification as having a disability that impacts one’s education. Variation in special education enrollment across geographic locations, racial groups, and schooling sectors causes researchers to question the process and incentives involved in identification and de-identification. The studies that comprise this dissertation aim to analyze the effects that educational policies have on special education identification and subsequent enrollment. Specifically, the studies cover the special education finance, school accountability, and school choice policies.

The special education finance reform effort of switching from a prospective to a capitation funding system …

Employee Participation In A College Based Wellness Program: Leader Support, Incentives, Job Satisfaction, Absenteeism, And Self-Efficacy, Tara Rebekah Rouse

Dissertations

This study investigated employee participation in a college based wellness program using the following factors: leader support, incentives, job satisfaction, absenteeism, and self-efficacy. Specifically, the research was conducted to determine whether there was a significant relationship or difference in participation in a college based wellness program when looking at leader support, incentives, and individual self-efficacy and if participation made any difference on job satisfaction and/or absenteeism. The theoretical framework of this research is based on Bandura’s social learning theory, also known as social cognitive theory and was supplemented using Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior. This study could be beneficial to …

Cash On The Table? A Behavioral Analysis Of Refund Claimants And Annuitants In The Illinois Teachers' Retirement System, Martin F. Lueken

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation documents pension benefit choices made by public school teachers enrolled in the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System (TRS), where they choose between taking a lump-sum withdrawal of their refundable contributions and deferring a pension benefit. The analysis explores the extent to which vested teachers enrolled in TRS separate from service with positive pension wealth, estimates how much money is "left on the table" at a conventional discount rate, and investigates what types of teachers display higher or lower discount rates as indicated by cashout patterns. To control for the relative attractiveness between choices, the analysis relies on three central …

Causes Of Job Turnover In The Public School Superintendency: An Explanatory Analysis In The Western United States, Toby A. Melver

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine the factors that affect public school superintendent turnover in five western states. An explanatory theory was developed to cover all of the possible variables and show the relationship between those variables. The questions that guided this research study were:

(1) What environmental factors influence the tenure of superintendents in western states?

(2) What governance factors influence the tenure of superintendents in western states?

(3) What personal factors influence the tenure of superintendents in western states?

(4) What are the incentives and/or disincentives that influence the tenure of superintendents in western states? …

An Investigation Of Support, Goals, And Incentives Among Minority And Nonminority National Board Certified Teachers, Melissa Salana Collins

Dissertations

National Board Professional for Teaching Standards play a pivotal role in the classroom of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT). NBCTs have been recognized for increasing student achievement. There are more than 90,000 NBCTs in schools across the United States, but the ratio of nonminority to minority NBCTs, according to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards report of 2004, was 89% to 11%. The intent of this study was to examine the levels of support among minority and nonminority NBCTs to determine which combination of support factors and incentives would best predict the successful completion of the NBCT process by …

A Study Of The School Principal Labor Market In Arkansas: Implications For Incentive-Based Compensation Policies To Improve Principal Quality, Marc Jacob Holley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Improving principal quality in Arkansas may be a partial solution to the public policy problem of low performing public schools. Just as policymakers in other states are beginning to explore incentive-based compensation policies to improve principal quality, education policymakers in Arkansas should look to these policies as a way to align goals and minimize agency costs. Setting incentives tied to transparent, publicly available performance measures can resolve monitoring difficulties inherent in principal-agent relationships and can improve goal congruence by signaling clearly about policy priorities. Before plowing forward with performance pay reforms for school principals, Arkansas policymakers could make better decisions …

Reduction Of External Suspensions Through The Use Of An Effective Administrative Discipline Plan, Sharon Hill Shaulis

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The author developed and implemented a model program to reduce the number of external suspensions in a middle school. The program's aims were to make sure that disciplinary actions such as suspension did not interfere with a handicapped student's rights to an appropriate education, and to reduce the total number of external suspensions focusing on exceptional students. The program contained three basic components: a suspension module, suspension red,1ction techniques, and computerizing data base management of all suspension data. After school staff were inserviced on proper suspension procedures a consistent administrative discipline plan was implemented. This plan consisted of non-violent crisis …