Education Commons^™

Directors And The Nonpursuit Of Naeyc Accreditation: Varying Definitions Of Quality, Mccormick Center For Early Childhood Leadership

McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership Publications

A recent study was conducted to better understand the basis for the decision not to pursue accreditation of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Muth Reading Center Selected As Oc Marathon Charity, Chapman University Media Relations

Chapman Press Releases 2003-2011

No abstract provided.

Lindsey Wilson Vs. Cedarville, Cedarville University

Women's Basketball Statistics

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Parent Involvement On The Reading Achievement And Reading Engagement Of Students Participating In A Balanced Reading Curriculum, Ledonna M. York

Student Work

This study evaluated the reading achievement scores and reading engagement outcomes of second grade students, in an urban magnet center, whose parents were randomly selected to participate in active parent involvement training (APIT; n = 13) sessions compared to information based parent involvement training (IBPIT; n = 6) sessions. Results of the pretest posttest two group comparative study examined (a) reading achievement scores as measured by (i) Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills 6th edition (DIBELS); and (ii) Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE); and (b) reported reading engagement frequencies as measured by student (i) school absences, (ii) …

"Is Someone Reading Us?" Fourth Grade Students Respond To Postmodern Picture Books, Elizabeth Anderson Swaggerty

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this naturalistic case study was to gain understanding about the comprehension strategies successful readers employ as they construct meaning while navigating through postmodem picture books. Participants were eight fourth grade students from a large suburban elementary school in Tennessee. Data included transcripts and field notes from ten individual think aloud sessions and five group book club discussions.

Themes identified from the think aloud sessions related to the ways in which students navigated through postmodem picture books include: emotional responses, general story problem solving and postmodem story problem solving. Themes identified from the group book club discussions related …

An Historical Analysis Of The Presentation Of Controversial Issues In Journals Published By The National Council For The Social Studies (Ncss): 1973 - 2003, Kimberlee Anne Sharp

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the stance the NCSS has articulated regarding the teaching of controversial issues across a thirty – year time frame, 1973 to 2003, and to determine the extent NCSS journals presented controversial issues of importance over that period. A corollary purpose was to identify the major controversial news events for each decade in order to determine the breadth of coverage of controversial issues articles in the NCSS journals. The journals examined for this dissertation were Social Education, Social Studies and the Young Learner, and Middle Level Learning.

One thousand eight …

Secondary School Principals' Perceptions Of The Value And Impact Of High-Stakes Tests On Content And Mode Of Instruction, Clifford Davis Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Critics of government policies that expand the use of high-stakes tests in public schools claim that these tests have a negative impact on student learning. At the building level, these policies have resulted in a great deal of pressure for educators to raise student performance on these tests.

The purpose of this study was to explore secondary school principals' perceptions of the value and impact of state-mandated tests on content and mode of instruction. The entire population of 541 middle and high school principals from public schools in Tennessee was selected to participate in this study.

Secondary school principals reported …

Weaving The Threads Of Relational Connectedness Between Women: Exploring How Women Make Meaning In Their Lives Through Relationships With Other Women, Lee Ann Alley Jolley

Doctoral Dissertations

The dearth of research on women's female friendships might suggest that a woman's relationships with her girlfriends are less important than her relationships with her partner, children, or parents. Few researchers have focused on the closeness of female friendships despite the fact that those studies that have been conducted have found those friendships to be significant, and over the course of a woman's life, of great importance to her growth and development.

This study took a phenomenological approach in order to understand the lived experiences of women regarding their female friendships, focusing on how women make meaning in their lives …

Community College Students’ Perceptions Of Their Rural High School Mathematics Experience, Caroline Munn Best

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study explores mathematics education from the perspective of community college students who are recent graduates of a rural high school. The research questions relate to the students’ perception of their understanding of rural, their rural high school experience, the factors that contributed to their preparedness or lack of preparedness for college-level mathematics, and the effect that their rural education had on their preparation for college. Students enrolled in a mathematics course at a suburban community college in East Tennessee were asked to complete a survey after midterm of fall semester 2005. Information about the location of their high …

Screening Mammography Compliance In Rural And Urban Women In Tennessee, Kathleen Conroy Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

Between 1990 and 2002, breast cancer mortality rates decreased by over 2% each year. Regular screening mammography is largely credited with the decline as it permits detection of breast cancer at its most treatable stage. In the United States approximately 75% of women over forty years of age report mammography screening within the past two years. However, rates vary by age, income, education, and residence.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of screening mammography compliance in women living in rural and urban areas of Tennessee; as well as the associated risk factors with special emphasis on …

Parent Perspectives Of Family Involvement In Children’S Education: Doing Whatever They Think It Takes To Help Children Grow And Succeed, Regina Marie Curran

Doctoral Dissertations

Research shows that when families are involved in their children’s education, children’s academic achievement increases. However, parents’ views of their roles in their children’s education do not always mesh with what school administrators define as family involvement. The purpose of this study was to explore parents’ perspectives on involvement in their children’s education. The research question that guided this study was, “What do parents perceive family involvement in children’s education to be?” The tradition of inquiry used in this study was the grounded theory method that focuses on the emergence of a theory rather than the testing of one. Fifteen …

Portfolio-Based Writing Assessment: An Investigation Of Postsecondary Practices, Sharynn Owens Etheridge

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary focus of this study was to identify the commonalities of portfolio-based writing practices as occurs in existing literature; to determine how portfolio assessment is used in postsecondary English programs; to assess whether portfolio-based writing produced improvement in student knowledge and skills; and to determine the impact portfolio-based writing assessment has had on departmental practices. To achieve this end, the researcher designed and administered a questionnaire and conducted follow up telephone interviews with Writing Program Administrators (WPAs) at colleges and universities with established portfolio-based writing assessment programs. Follow up mailings of questionnaires, electronic mailings, and telephone calls were undertaken …

Scenes From The Margins: A Participatory Action Research Study About The Praxis Of Womanhood As A Different Way Of Working In Male-Dominated Professions, Jane Bingham Henry

Doctoral Dissertations

“Scenes from the Margins” is about the experience of women working in male-dominated jobs. Jobs are gendered. They are not gender neutral as we had supposed, as the people who hired us had supposed. Jobs that have traditionally been done by men are done in a masculine way. The masculine “way of working” is not a way that women can work: either it doesn’t fit them (as in what to wear and where’s the restroom) or it doesn’t suit them (as in not conditioned to act that way) or it represents behavior expectations contradictory to expectations for female behavior (as …

A Study Of Japanese Ell Students In Mainstream Classrooms, Kazue Fujiwara

Doctoral Dissertations

In today’s educational arena, English Language Learner (ELL) children have to exert a great deal of energy to be accepted by their mainstream peers. They often shun their primary languages and cultural practices in an effort to become assimilated into the mainstream.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current socialization practices experienced by particular Japanese ELL intermediate schoolchildren in Masonville (pseudonym), East Tennessee. Much of my interest was sparked by Vygotsky’s (1978) work on the sociality of learning. Through this qualitative research study, I was able to present an in-depth understanding of issues surrounding these children and …

An Investigation Of The Dependability And Standard Error Of Measurement Of Words Read Correctly Per Minute Using Curriculum-Based Measurement, Brian Charles Poncy

Doctoral Dissertations

Generalizability (G) theory was used in two studies to assess the variability in words correct per minute (wcpm) scores caused by student skill and passage variability. Study one was a small “n” study with a sample of 14 third-grade students and study 2 had a sample of 37 third-grade students. Reliability-like coefficients and the SEM based on a specific number of assessments using different combinations of passages demonstrated how manipulating probe variability could reduce measurement error. Results of the two studies showed that 69% and 81% of the variance was due to student skill, 20% and 10% of the variance …

Understanding The Role Of The School Resource Officer (Sro): Perceptions From Middle School Administrators And Sros, Teresa Renee Robinson

Doctoral Dissertations

The safety of school children is on the forefront of American’s minds. Recent sporadic shooting of innocent children while they were in the care of school officials is once again raising concerns about the level of safety and security on school campuses. It is apparent that it is increasingly difficult to protect these children while they are at school and it is almost impossible for school administrators to do this alone. It is essential that community leaders, school officials, and school communities acknowledge the necessity of intervention programs to ensure that school campuses are safe and secure. One such intervention …

Implementation Of A Special Education Parent Advisory Committee: A Mixed Methods Investigation Into The Members’ Experience Of Parental Involvement With The School System, Jeffrey Brian Romanczuk

Doctoral Dissertations

This research was intended as a mixed methods case study of the initial effectiveness of one school system’s Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (PAC). It was not until well into the study that it became clear the phenomenon at the root of the this research was actually the broader one of special education parental involvement in the schools, with the Rush County (a pseudonym) School System’s Department of Special Education as the case study. Although phenomenological inquiry is primary, the mixed methods research design employed included both thematic development and verification based on data obtained by both qualitative and quantitative …

The Effects Of Consumer Perceived Value And Subjective Norm On The Adoption Of Mobile Data Services: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of American And Korean Consumers, Kiseol Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the explosive growth of mobile phone subscribers and rapid adoption of mobile data services worldwide, the usage of mobile data services is highly variable across countries. This study attempted to reveal the differences in mobile data service adoption behavior between American and Korean consumers since it has been reported that the national culture and usage of mobile data services between the two countries is different, but mobile penetration rate is similar between the two countries. This study attempted to explain the differences in mobile data service adoption behavior between American and Korean consumers in regarding the effects of consumer …

Female School Superintendents In Tennessee: Overcoming Barriers, Vicki Cameron Violette

Doctoral Dissertations

The school superintendency is the most gender stratified executive position in the United States, with men 20 times more likely than women to advance from the level of teacher to the top leadership role in a school district (Skrla, 1999). Although the majority of teachers in public schools are women, the majority of superintendents are men (Bell & Chase, 1993; Blount, 1998; Brunner, 1999; Grogan, 1996; Mertz, 1991; Shakeshaft, 1989; Skrla, 1999; Young, 1999). Though women have made slight progress in moving into superintendent positions during the past few years, there is still a disproportionate under representation of females nationwide …

Minerva 2006, The Honors College

Minerva

This issue of Minerva includes an article on the course "Honors for All Ages," an Honors course offered at Penobscot Valley Senior College; an interview with notable Honors alum, Bernard Lown; and a celebration of the life of former Honors Program Director, Ulrich Wicks.

Come Saturday Morning ... At Bridgewater State College, Joseph H. Huber, Jamie L. Mackool

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Hawks' Herald -- December 1, 2006, Roger Williams University

Hawk's Herald

No abstract provided.

Content Subjects And Reading: Are All Teachers Reading Teachers?, Jill A. Jones

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Claiming Space: Aboriginal Students Within School Landscapes, Cathy Van Ingen, Joannie Halas

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

There is an emerging body of theoretical, historical and design research that examines the ways in which race and cultural identity are understood to be produced and represented in the landscape. Yet, there remains a dearth of research examining both the historic and contemporary effects of race upon the development of school geographies. This paper has two broad purposes. It highlights the experiential aspects of racialized geographies within schools and, at the same time, it grapples with the processes that maintain or challenge the spatial conditions for the construction of whiteness. Drawing upon in-depth case study research this paper highlights …

Editor's Notes And Front Matter, Suzanne Majhanovich

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

No abstract provided.

Presidential Address, 2006 Comparative Education In Changing Times: A View With A Southern Exposure, Cecille De Pass

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Adopting a wide angle lens to photograph selected educational vistas, the address also focuses on specificities associated with intractable challenges in comparative education. The paper offers a three part approach to discuss concomitant complexities: the first approach represents a well established historical tradition; the second, emphasizing interdependence, usually depicts the dominant mainstream perspective. In contrast, the third approach embedded in social justice, critical pedagogy, and opposition, demands significant structural changes. Understandably, the latter is the least likely to be adopted at regional, national and international levels.

Se servant d’un objectif à grande ouverture pour photographier les vues choisies de l’ …

Policy As Outcome: Inequities Generated From Unintended Policy Outcomes, Katina Pollock

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Intended and unintended outcomes of economic, political, and educational policy can create employment arrangements and work environments that limit opportunities for career advancement, professional development, and employment equity for certain groups of teachers. This paper, written from a critical lens, attempts to demonstrate how national and local policy outcomes in England have negatively impacted some educators who worked for Teacher Recruitment Agencies (TRAs) in the 1990s. In conclusion, the collective impact of policy outcomes for recruitment agency teachers has resulted in: a lack of control over workplace environment in schools that require extensive supports, financial arrangements that result in limited …

Comparing Connecticut And Finland: Teacher Friendly Policies In An Age Of Accountability, Marianne Larsen

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Educational policy makers across a wide array of settings have made concerted efforts to improve their educational systems by paying close attention to their teaching profession. The state of Connecticut in the north-eastern U.S.A. and the northern European country of Finland are two such jurisdictions. However, unlike most other settings, where low-trust, accountability based policies have been imposed on the teaching profession, Finland and Connecticut’s policies can be considered teacher-friendly. This paper compares the teacher policies implemented in those two settings over the past fifteen years. Given the well-documented link between teacher quality and student achievement, it is worth considering …

Chinese Graduate Students At North American Universities: Learning Challenges And Coping Strategies, Jinyan Huang, Don A. Klinger

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

The paper investigated four Chinese graduate students’ perceptions of the challenges they face and the coping strategies they use in their English academic learning at two North American universities. They reported experiencing the following seven major challenges in their academic learning: 1) financial difficulties; 2) problems in using English for academic purposes; 3) frustrations in becoming a permanent resident; 4) difficulty in adapting to the classroom learning environment; 5) lack of critical thinking skills; 6) acculturation problems; and 7) loneliness and academic anxiety. For each of the seven challenges they have developed corresponding coping strategies.

Cet article examine la perception …

Does School/Site Based Management (Sbm) In Japan Achieve Its Policy Purposes? A Policy Analysis Of Japanese Education Reform Regardingschool Advisors And School Management Councils, Jun Hirata

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

The purpose of this paper is to analyze decentralized education reform in Japan in terms of School/Site-Based Management (SBM). In the literature, SBM embraces two major elements, namely, the devolution of decision-making authority to the individual school level and Shared Decision-Making (SDM). In Japan, school advisors and school management councils have been established with similar purposes with SBM since 2000. However, because the decision-making authority is not sufficiently devolved to each school and many groups of stakeholders are not significantly involved in decision-making processes, a SBM form of school governance has not been realized in Japan.

Cet article a pour …