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Teachers’ Perceptions Of Job Satisfaction And School Climate In An Era Of Accountability: A Mixed Methods Study Of Two High Schools On Tennessee’S High Priority List, Jeffrey Anton Knox

Doctoral Dissertations

This mixed methods study examines how teachers and administrators react when the school is under the stress of an accountability system. In this study, teacher job satisfaction and school climate are measured as these often overlooked variables have a great impact on student academic achievement (Goddard, Sweetland, & Hoy, 2000). Accountability systems such as No Child Left Behind need to be explored for negative unintended consequences such as the lowering of teacher job satisfaction and school climate. Questionnaires, interviews, and observations are used to measure teachers’ job satisfaction and school climate of two high schools that have been on Tennessee’s …

Perceived Principal Support And Middle School Teacher Burnout, Cherie Barnett Gaines

Doctoral Dissertations

Burnout is a tripartite syndrome consisting of the constructs of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced feelings of personal accomplishment (PA) (Azeem & Nazir, 2008; Law, 2010; Yong & Yue, 2007). Teachers in the midst of burnout are in a “state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by long-term involvement in situations that are emotionally demanding” (Harrison, 1996, p. 25). The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between middle school teacher burnout and perceived principal support. The combination of the constructs of burnout and principal behaviors (i.e., supportive, directive, and restrictive) provided the theoretical framework …

Decolonial Multiculturalism And Local-Global Contexts: A Postcritical Feminist Bricolage For Developing New Praxes In Education, Katharine Matthaei Sprecher

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents a conceptual bricolage that explores complex, reflexive, and interrelated dimensions of educational praxes. My work is grounded in the assertion that the ever-changing, local-global nature of contemporary societies requires new approaches to curricula, pedagogies, policies, and practices in U.S. schools to meet the challenges and opportunities of a global era. Presenting my research and findings as four articles, I begin with a dialectical analysis of theoretical and pedagogical literatures to develop an adaptable framework for decolonial multicultural education. In Article 1, I demonstrate how this framework synergizes aspects of social reconstructionist and critical multicultural, global, and …

A Case Study Of The Full Service Community School Model: School Level Benefits In An Urban, Southern Elementary School, Elisa Cooper Luna

Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory, qualitative single case study was to explore the Full Service Community Schools model in one, urban elementary school. More specifically, the study sought to understand the impact this model had on students and teachers at one particular research site. This study was also intended to examine the impact the Full Service Community School model had on the role of school administrators. The research questions that guided this study were:

(1) How does the Full Service Community School model impact students?

(2) How does the Full Service Community School model impact teachers?

(3) What impact …

Cultural Competence And Its Impact On Student Academic Achievement In Urban Elementary Schools, Amy Louise Brace

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the relationship between the cultural competence level of urban elementary school teachers and the academic achievement of their students as measured by standardized testing. The specific research questions addressed throughout the course of this study were:
(1) What is the relationship between the (level of) cultural competence of the teacher and his/her students’ academic achievement as measured by standardized testing?
(2) How do urban elementary school teachers understand cultural competence?
(a) How do they define/describe cultural competence?
(b) What groups do they include in their definition of cultural competence?
(c) …

Examining A School’S Reform Efforts Through Capacity Building: A Case Study Of An Elementary School, Daphne Helen Odom

Doctoral Dissertations

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Due to accountability measures put in place by No Child Left Behind (NCLB), many schools identified as failing by the legislation are implementing reform efforts. This qualitative case study examined the initiatives one school put in place in order to remove themselves from the NCLB list of failing schools. Additionally, this case study sought to discover evidence of the components of capacity building in one elementary school, Cottonwood Elementary in East Tennessee. The theoretical framework of the study is based on …

School Administrator And Parent Perceptions Of School, Family, And Community Partnerships In Middle School: A Mixed Methods Study, Jackie Leblanc

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to identify, analyze, and compare the perceptions of parents and school administrators in regard to school-family partnerships in three middle schools in the State of Louisiana. The study investigated the similarities and dissimilarities between parent and school administrator perceptions, probed to determine underlying factors that may lead to apparent discrepancies, and solicited recommendations for improvements from parents and administrators. The study was based on Epstein's Six Types of Involvement framework which cites six specific areas of parental-school-community partnerships and explains how each component affects the educational process of students (Epstein, 1995; Epstein, et al., …

Grading And Reporting Purposes And Practices In Catholic Secondary Schools And Grades' Efficacy In Accurately Communicating Student Learning, Peter Imperial

Doctoral Dissertations

Few aspects of school are as controversial as the practice of grading, for grades affect students' educational opportunities. The purpose of this study was to identify the practices Catholic high-school teachers employed in determining students' grades. The study investigated the extent to which academic achievement comprised the grades teachers reported, and the extent to which teachers' practices are consistent with their expressed purposes for grading. The study also explored the extent to which Catholic teachers' grading practices are consistent with their schools' purpose for grading. Using random sampling, 486 Catholic secondary school teachers and 50 administrators from 33 high schools …