Education Commons^™

Disparities In Behavioral Expectations For Elementary Students With Emotional Behavioral Disorders Compared To Their Classmates, Justine Lee

Culminating Projects in Special Education

Educators often view students with emotional and behavioral disorders as students who cause disruption, require generous amounts of energy, and are overall taxing on classroom management and instruction. The perception of effort that EBD students require and their potential achievement, downplays the true potential of the individual. The main focus of this paper was to examine the disparities in behavioral expectations for students with emotional behavioral disorders in comparison to their classmates.

The Skin I’M In: A Critical Content Analysis Of Picture Books Written By Black Authors, Angela Latrece Justice

Dissertations

This study seeks to explore the experiences of Black male protagonists in picture books. The following question guided this study: How do Black authors demonstrate a commitment to social justice? The theoretical framework that guides this study is Critical Race Theory (CRT), which aids in understanding how Black authors use experiential knowledge to represent experiences that challenge dominant ideologies about Black males. The sample consists of 20 pictures books all written by Black authors and published within the United States from 2018 to 2021. The deductive and inductive approaches to critical content analysis is used as it is effective for …

Leadership Identity Development Among Aspiring Women Leaders In Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study Of Formal Mentoring, Malia E. Roberts

Dissertations

Men have held the majority of presidencies, vice-presidencies, deanships, and other top administrative positions on college campuses since 1950 (Parker, 2015). The disproportionately low representation of women holding leadership roles in higher education is even more urgent considering few women ever reach the senior most leadership levels (Hannum et al., 2015). As such, the American Council on Education not only identified the need to increase the presence of women in leadership positions and to cultivate a pipeline of future leaders, but also the need to provide formal leadership training opportunities for women (Howard & Gagliardi, 2018). While various higher education …

Using The Lens Of Flourishing To Understand The Professional Well-Being Of K-12 Teachers Who Have Worked In Urban Schools For Over A Decade, Candis M. Thomas

Dissertations

Historically, urban public schools with high concentrations of high-poverty, low-achieving students, report having difficulty attracting, developing, and retaining qualified and effective teachers (Ansley et al, 2019; Petty et.al, 2012; Simon & Johnson, 2015; Wilder, 2012). A common explanation to the attrition crisis in urban schools is that teachers are suffering from stressors (e.g., student characteristics, school climate, concerns for safety, lack of parental support, accountability measures), that leaves them burnt out. Yet, there are experienced and qualified K-12 teachers who are committed to working in these schools. Advances in the field of positive psychology, has spilled over into the educational …

School Principals As Leaders Of Educational Environments In School Settings: Recontextualization Of American Educational Practices In China, Wei Zhang

Dissertations

Chinese principals play a significant role in recontextualizing the U.S. principals’ practices in leading their school reform and student outcomes in Chinese social, cultural, and educational contexts. The purpose of this basic qualitative study is twofold: (1) to describe and interpret how Chinese principals make meaning of their experiences as active democratic leaders and (2) to identify the challenges they are going through in creating an educational environment based on the creative use of U.S. research and theory supporting best practices for principals. The study has a total of 50 participants (n=50) across the United States (n=32) and China (n=18). …

The Dual Education System In Egypt: The System's Challenges And The Way Forward, Raghda Khaled Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

The technical education and vocational training (TVET) system is a model of education that is popular all over the world. It is implemented in several countries and consists of several models. One of these models is the dual educational system. It is one of the booming TVET educational models that are common in Europe, especially in Germany. Since Egypt adapted the German dual educational model since the 1990’s, this thesis discusses the dual educational system in Egypt through the lens of governance and quality management. Currently, Egypt is collaborating with several national and international policy advisors on enhancing the dual …

The Rural Post-Graduation Plan Development Model: Advancing Student College Choice By Centering Rural Communities, Steve Jenks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College choice models have been used since the 1980s to try and explain the processes and influences high school students use to decide if and which college to attend after graduation. These models focused solely on college attendance and lacked attention to the nuanced needs and resources found in rural communities. In this three-paper dissertation, a new, rural-centric model is proposed, tested, critiqued, and revised. The first paper proposes a new conceptual model of Rural Post-Graduation Plan Development using a critique and synthesis of prior college choice models, Critical Rural Theory, Funds of Knowledge, and socio-ecological models. The second paper …

The Vigor Of Creative Materialism: Making The Hidden Stories Of Underrepresented Engineering Students Visible, Katherine A. Robert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite decades of initiatives, engineering education continues to lack diversity. The proportion of women, BIPOC, LGBTQA+, low-income, first-generation, and disabled students in engineering education remains below national population levels. The culture of engineering is a barrier to increasing participation in engineering for students from these communities. The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore the experiences of underrepresented engineering students as they are socialized into the culture of engineering. I theorized a novel conceptual framework called creative materialism that combines culturally responsive methodologies, new materialist theory, and arts-based research methods. Two research questions were used to guide the study. …

An Action Research Study On Visible Learning Feedback And Motivational Interviewing Concerning Underserved Advanced Placement Students, Lori A. Vaughn

Dissertations

Underserved minority students participating in Advanced Placement (AP) courses encountered increased academic pressures, in addition to inequitable conditions in education. The following study addressed inequity, as well as self-motivation, self-regulation, feedback practices, and student autonomy. The researcher implemented Visible Learning Feedback, an academic intervention, focused on bridging the gap in knowledge (Brooks et al., 2019; Hattie & Yates, 2014). Furthermore, the researcher designed a Motivational Interviewing (MI) pilot program, a client-centered approach concentrated on participant social-emotional well-being (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). The study’s purpose involved improving AP exam scores, increasing post-test essay grades, and raising self-motivation and self-regulation measurements through …

Transactional And Transformational Leadership In The Superintendency: A Phenomenological Study Of Three Upper Peninsula Superintendents’ Experiences, Lisa A. Coombs-Gerou

All NMU Master's Theses

This study aimed to analyze and provide an understanding of how three rural public school superintendents in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan practiced transformational leadership. Transformational leadership includes the elements of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration (Burns, 1978). Transformational superintendents must lead our schools to provide students with the best educational opportunity. The study focused on the superintendents experiences in deciding to become a superintendent, their beliefs about leadership, and how they approached decisions through a transactional or transformational process. The study also sought to provide insight into the relationship with their school board and how …

Conservative And Cultural Clashes With Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Bryan Z. Anderson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis analyzes the multifaceted debate over the use of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in United States public schools, while also emphasizing the ways in which withholding CSE is a strategy to uphold the white supremacist patriarchy. The work begins by historically framing the evolution of sexuality education through the United States’ history. This leads to the current discourse around CSE and the ways in which it is the optimal support for American youth today. After setting this foundation, the thesis looks at conservative figures and groups who are seeking to prevent public school adoption of CSE standards, as well …

Somebody Gave Somebody Some Kind Of Heat About Something: Teaching Controversial Topics In The Politically Polarized Suburbs, Melanie Waller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Scholarship on social studies education, agrees that there is inherent value in teaching students to deliberate, consider multiple perspectives, and work together. Teaching with deliberative pedagogies means teaching students to discuss and consider multiple perspectives. This kind of teaching can engage with controversial topics, or topics that spark disagreement in the classroom. At their best, deliberative pedagogies and engaging with controversial topics can prepare students to participate in deliberative, democratic life (Hess & McAvoy, 2013; Parker, 2003; Gibson, 2020). Deliberative pedagogies can work to prepare students to engage in an ideal democratic environment, where all perspectives are given fair weight, …

English Learners In Nyc, Raquel Neris

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

English Learners in NYC is a Digital Humanities project that intersects Migration Studies and Foreign Language Learning Studies by presenting a podcast series about the learning experience of international students in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs at English schools in New York City. The project aims to provide visibility to the educational migration in this specific context and to promote a discussion on how international students and educators can reimagine their teaching and learning experience. It also aims to reveal ESL schools' challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they incorporated digital technologies during and after this event. …

The Impact Of Parent Training On Student Executive Functioning Skill Use, Nicole Tapia

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

This study implemented three parental training sessions in a private pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade school to educate parents of pre-kindergarten through first grade students regarding executive functioning skills in order to determine if teacher's observations of children's classroom behavior and executive functioning skill use and parent's knowledge of executive functioning skills were impacted. Executive functioning skills allow children to plan and achieve goals and have been shown to improve literacy and math proficiency. Executive functioning skills, working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility, used simultaneously, allow children to complete complex mental tasks such as critical thinking (Cortes et al., 2019; Centers …

A Program Evaluation Of The Reasons Some Educators Do Or Do Not Remain In The Teaching Profession, Joshua Karren

Dissertations

Abstract According to Sutcher et al. (2016), hundreds of thousands of teachers (eight percent of the overall United States teaching force) leave the profession annually for various reasons. These reasons include dissatisfaction with some parts of their jobs, including poor leadership, lack of control over teaching, family or personal reasons, pursuing a job outside of education, retirement, and financial reasons. The purpose of this study is to understand why teachers choose to stay at their school, why they leave certain schools and what school and district leaders can do to keep teachers in their classrooms. The context of this inquiry …

Narratives Of Perseverance By Latina Women Paving Their Way To Success In Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, And Math (Steam) Higher Education, Toni Carmichael

Dissertations

The purpose of this narrative study was to understand the experiences of successful Latina women attaining higher education in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) and the challenges they have overcome along the way. Additionally, I sought to examine ways in which these students challenged the stigma of invisibility often attached to Latino communities. Representatives from Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Mexico, the participants of this study were seven women employed in various areas of STEAM with higher education degrees.

Cultural Capital and Feminist Cultural Studies provided the theoretical framework for this study. The three-dimensional narrative design was applied …

Identity And Public History, William Holderfield

Dissertations

This paper considers the creation of identity and self through interaction with museums. By understanding whether there is a correlation between how someone views themselves and their placement within society and the national narrative, consideration of alternative actions in combating social issues is possible. Likewise, through this knowledge, there is the potential for museums and public spaces to become of greater interest as places where topics relating to social concerns are presented and discussed. A qualitative research method was used to gather evidence of the correlation between identity and museums and revealed a relationship between identity and self-understanding and museum …

Career Adaptability: A Phenomenological Examination Of High School Student-Athlete's Perception Of Their Adaptive Skill Development, Aretha Barnes

Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined high school student-athletes’ perspectives on their adaptive skill development and how their experiences with sports influenced their career development techniques. The study aimed to provide insight into the formation of the adaptive skill development of high school student-athletes to promote post-secondary planning that includes career options outside of the world of sports. Twelve graduated student-athletes who participated in revenue sports at the senior high level completed the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale and participated in an interview designed to measure adaptive attitudes, behaviors, and competencies. Participants’ interview responses were coded based on behaviors, attitudes, and competencies that correlated …

A Program Evaluation Of Prekindergarten Program In One School District, Alicia Eubank

Dissertations

I explored the potential impact of position and salary change on prekindergarten teachers in a public-school district in a southern state. I provided an educational, economic, political and moral/ethical analysis in partial support of this change for the district.

The current policy in the district is that the school year prekindergarten teaching positions are considered non-instructional. However, the summer prekindergarten program teachers are certified teachers as per state requirements. The new policy will make all prekindergarten teaching positions require state certification. This change would give them the financial pay and benefits included with the position change and keep them in …

Reclaiming And Reconceptualizing Accountability, Joseph Hailpern

Dissertations

This body of work contributes to the exploration of the intended and unintended consequences of the policy levers, referred to as education accountability policy, that have driven entire systems toward the inclusion of student performance data into educator performance ratings and the impact on the profession. Only from an extensive understanding of where we have been can a reimagined path forward be born to serve our youth and society better. This mixed methods dissertation does so by uncovering the legal landscape that defines the policy levers and bringing educators together in focus groups to delve deeply into these levers’ impact …

Improving Second Language Learning Through Performance-Based Assessment Practices, Maria Granados

Dissertations

From the time of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) to the present day, standardized testing has become the benchmark measure for student assessment and school accountability in the United States. Multilingual learners are a vulnerable population with more testing and accountability requirements than mainstream students. Not only are they required to learn a second language, but they are also assessed within the same standardized testing paradigms as their peers - native speakers of the English language. This study aimed to examine and evaluate the benefits of instructional practices and assessments that provide multilingual students and teachers prompt and …

(Re)Envisioning Factors Contributing To Black Men’S College Success: An Ecological And Critical Reflection Using Photovoice, Collette Brown Rogers

Dissertations

This research uses modified photovoice combined with an ecological and antideficit approach to amplify the voices of Black men who have completed college degrees. The study explores the question: What factors contribute to college completion for Black men? Using a qualitative approach and the Ethos platform to collect images, photo captions, and critical reflection data from a purposive sample of five Black men. Data analysis included inductive and deductive coding, data organization within the ecological systems, and member checking to validate the findings. The study acknowledges the unique challenges Black men face in pursuing higher education. It emphasizes the importance …

How Teacher Implemented Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum Impacts Collective Teacher Efficacy And Influences Teacher Beliefs About Job Satisfaction, Lisel Patrylow

Dissertations

“Teachers are the engine that drives social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in classrooms and schools, and their own social-emotional competence strongly influences their students” (Schonert-Reichl, 2017, p. 137). I wanted to examine if teachers benefited from teaching SEL. The purpose of my study was to examine if teachers perceived benefits to their Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) and job satisfaction beliefs when they taught SEL. The context of my research was elementary schools in one school district. I conducted surveys with elementary school classroom teachers and counselors. The findings from my study indicated that classroom teachers perceived that their SEL …

Increasing Life Skills While Decreasing Depression, Anxiety, And Stress In Transitional Aged Youth: A Person-Centered Mentorship Approach, Allanah Roberts-Headley

Dissertations

Transitional Aged Youth (TAYs) are young adults between 18-24 who have recently aged out of the foster care system and are now a part of the Extended Foster Care system (EFC). Unfortunately, this population is not guaranteed familial or social support. They have to rely on basic knowledge and skills obtained while in the foster care system to help with navigate their world. Most TAYs end up homeless, unemployed, and incarcerated. There is also a high pregnancy rate among TAYs. Due to the limited assistance they receive upon entering EFC, they are at a higher risk of experiencing mental health …

Social And Emotional Learning: An Examination Of Perspectives On Using Faith-Based Supports As An Option In Public-School Communities, Remus Galvin

Dissertations

The present study involved an examination of perspectives on offering faith-based support as an option on an individual basis for social and emotional learning (SEL) within a public-school community. The research consisted of a survey of former and current public-school students and parents (N = 26) and a focus group interview of five former and current school administrators to gather their perspectives of their tenure within public schools and the need to provide access to faith-based supports within a public-school community. After analyzing the data, a majority of the survey participants agreed that access to faith-based supports for SEL …

The Impact Of The Wiki-Enhanced Tblt Approach On High School Students’ Writing Skill In A Boys’ Public School In Al Ain, Uae, Abdullah Mahmoud Taha

Dissertations

This study investigated the impact of the wiki-enhanced task-based language teaching (TBLT) approach on students’ writing skill in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, it explored the students’ and teacher’s views and perceptions toward the implementation of the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach. The study data were collected quantitatively and qualitatively from two classrooms in a public high school in the UAE, which consisted of 30 students. The quantitative data were collected via a pretest–posttest design from the two assigned groups of students: the control and experimental groups. The qualitative data …

The Role Of School Leadership In Preparing High School Teachers To Engage In Restorative Practices, Margaret Chmura

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

In schools across the United States, student discipline policies have traditionally been punitive, removing students from the educational. Researchers have shown that punitive consequences are often assigned inordinately to subgroups of students (e.g., Black or Brown students and special education students). Restorative practices are an alternate approach to punitive consequences and are transforming student discipline in schools across the country. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover types of support that are needed from school leaders in transitioning teachers to the use of restorative practices in the high school setting. Five teacher participants engaged in the study …

An Educator's Guide To Implementing Employability, Jerry Jay Cloud

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Jerry Jay Cloud on May 31, 2023.

“I’M Now Always Thinking About Math”: Exploring Mathematics Identities, Beliefs, And Lived Experiences Through Ypar, Maya A. Severns

Theses and Dissertations

This youth participatory action research (YPAR) study employing survey and case study design sought to explore and document the influence of YPAR participation on Black and Latine high school students’ perceptions of their mathematics identity development, what they learned about their peers’ and their own mathematics perceptions and lived experiences, and their recommendations for change in their own school and mathematics education in general. Eight high school participants were invited to engage in 12 YPAR study sessions that drew on the literature of mathematics identity, equity in mathematics education, and YPAR and were grounded in a theoretical framework including culturally …

Declining Participation In Youth Sports And Its Contributing Factors, Aaron Shackle

Master of Science in Kinesiology

This study was designed to research the declining participation numbers of youths, ages 5 to 18, in organized sports in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Specifically, this study would look into reasons as to why youth sport participation numbers are on the decline. While the total number of youth athletes are difficult to ascertain, it is known that from 2008 to 2019 the total number of athletes participating in youth sports have been in decline for both male and female athletes (“From 2008”, 2021) Participants will take home a survey that they can complete on their own or with a parent or guardian …