Education Commons^™

The Relationship Between Secondary School Teachers' Perceptions Of Principal Ethical Leadership And Organizational Health, Jessica H Chambers

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive, correlational study was to determine if any significant relationships existed between secondary school teachers’ perceptions of principal leader integrity as measured by the Perceived Leadership Integrity Scale ([PLIS], Craig & Gustafson, 1998) and schools’ organizational health as perceived by secondary school teachers and gauged by the Organizational Health Inventory for Secondary Schools ([OHI-S], Hoy & Feldman, 1987). The study also explored the seven OHI-S dimensions: (1) Institutional Integrity, (2) Initiating Structure, (3) Consideration, (4) Principal Influence, (5) Resource Support, (6) Morale, and (7) Academic Emphasis—and their relationships with the demographics of the sample. The sample …

Exploring The Role Of Email, Blackboard, And Facebook In Student-Instructor Interactions Outside Of Class: A Mixed Methods Study, Olivia Laura Halic

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation was a mixed methods triangulation design combining quantitative and qualitative components. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, it examined the association between the frequency and quality of students’ online interactions with instructors and the quality of student-instructor relationship. Second, this study explored the meanings of student-instructor interactions mediated by online tools. Quantitative data were collected via an online survey from 320 undergraduate students enrolled at a public research university. Qualitative data sources were in-depth interviews with six undergraduate students and six professors, observations of student-instructor interactions on Facebook, and artifacts of student-instructor interaction via email. Hierarchical …

Exploring The Concerns Of Teachers And Principals Implementing Response To Intervention In A Pilot Project: Where Policy And Practice Collide, Lisa Michele Bilton

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods, multi-site study was to identify and explore the concerns of teachers and principals implementing a pilot Response to Intervention (RTI) model in three elementary schools in the southeast United States and to determine whether these concerns differed significantly from the beginning to the end of the first year of implementation. The Stages of Concern from the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (George, Hall, & Stiegelbauer, 2006; Hord, Rutherford, Huling, & Hall, 2004) served as the theoretical framework for the design and analysis of this study.

Between Fall 2008 and Spring 2009, 18 participants, including six administrators and …

Self-Direction And Technology Use Among New Workforce Entrants, Lila Louise Holt

Doctoral Dissertations

With the knowledge age evolving, colleges and universities should be ever vigilant to assure that the pedagogies practiced are adequately preparing future workers with skills required to keep pace (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006). Business managers have identified self-direction and technology use as increasingly important in the 21^st century (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2006), yet a gap in research of pedagogies that advance self-directedness and promote technology use has been found. To help identify new pedagogies, the purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between self-directed learning (SDL) and technology use of people …

A Comparative Analysis Of School Counselors' And School Principals' Perceptions Of School Counselors' Activities, Deborah K Buchanan

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional survey study was to compare school counselors’ and principals’ perceptions of the frequency with which school counselors perform activities that align with the ASCA National Model (ASCA, 2005) and those activities that do not, as measured by the School Counselor Activity Rating Scale (SCARS) (Scarborough, 2005). Results indicate that the school counselors and principals that participated in the study agreed that school counselors are spending most of their time engaged in activities that align with the ASCA National Model (ASCA, 2005). Significant differences (p < .05) appeared on 10 items in which five were related to counseling activities, primarily as they relate to small group counseling. Principals indicated their school counselors were conducting small group activities related to academic and substance abuse issues more frequently than the school counselors indicated. Other areas that showed significant differences (p < .05) between school counselors’ and principals’ responses included …

"Your World Stops": The Relationship Chiasm Between Teachers And Students In Court-Mandated Adult Education, Rondal David Mottern

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the experiences of teachers working with court-mandated students in GED/ABE programs. While there is a considerable body of literature on adult correctional education, this literature almost exclusively deals with teachers and students working within incarceration settings, where students are in jail or prison. There is a lack of research on the experiences of teachers working with students who are a part of the correctional system but are placed within the community, i.e., students who are in community corrections programs such as probation and parole. This study begins to fill that void in the research literature. This research …

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 …

Improving Facilitation Through Levelising: Reflecting In And On Practice, Willard Donald Creekmore

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the experience of engaging in reflective practice through the framework of Levelising. Reflective practice has been of interest to professionals and educators of professionals for many years. However, Levelising is a recently introduced approach. Levelising categorizes the reflective process into four modes. These modes include an awareness of what is occurring (Level I), considering one’s actions (Level II), considering one’s conceptual frame (Level III), and considering the conceptual frames of others (Level IV). This study focuses on my personal experience of improving my facilitation using Levelising as a framework for reflective practice. The context of the study …

A Survey Of Tennessee Extension Agents’ Perceptions Of The Tennessee Extension Agent Performance Appraisal System, Joseph Leonard Donaldson

Doctoral Dissertations

This study aimed to describe extension agent perceptions of the Tennessee Extension Agent Performance Appraisal System. A survey instrument was developed to address the research questions. The instrument had two sections: Satisfaction with the Current Appraisal System (14 items) and Satisfaction with Appraiser Performance (7 items). The instrument was reviewed by an expert panel and pilot tested with a group of 39 extension agents. The instrument was deployed online to the study population.

The population studied consisted of all extension agents employed by the University of Tennessee and Tennessee State University in January, 2010 (N=312). The total completed responses were …

Bullying, Victimization, Associated Distress & Transition Among Intellectually Gifted Children, Taylor Kaine Pelchar

Doctoral Dissertations

This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of bullying and victimization among children identified as gifted who are in the last grade of elementary school (4th grade) and first two grades of middle school (5th and 6th grades). Additionally, I investigated if the children experienced distress associated with bullying and victimization and if the distress varied systematically across the three grades. The study took place at one elementary school and two middle schools located in Tennessee. There were a total of 35 participants [4th grade (n = 15), 5th grade (n = 13), and 6th grade (n =7)]. The results indicated …

Between Centralization And Decentralization: Changed Curriculum Governance In Chinese Education After 1986, Tingting Qi

Doctoral Dissertations

China’s curriculum system has been undergoing substantial transformations since 1986. In response to public criticism of the highly prescribed national curriculum, the central state of China is attempting to build a more inclusive system which is composed of national curriculum, province curriculum and school-based curriculum. The new curriculum system accommodates more flexibility in carrying out national curriculum policies and even encourages local input in curriculum development and management. Apparently, the current curriculum reform in China is moving toward decentralization.

The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the complexity of decentralization reform in China’s curriculum system and examine the dynamics …

After The Final Bell: The Self-Directed Learning Practices Of Elementary Teachers, Susan Renee Wagner

Doctoral Dissertations

Are elementary teachers self-directed learners? If so, do their learning activities outside their classrooms translate into their classrooms? The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship, if any, between elementary teachers’ self-directed learning and activities in their classrooms. A two phase, mixed methods design first utilized a quantitative study from which the results were used to denote the type of data collected in the second, qualitative phase. The quantitative Phase I of this study involved using a survey instrument in order to identify self-directed learners and identify categories of teacher learners. These quantitative data were gathered through the …

The Impact Of Singapore Math On Student Knowledge And Enjoyment In Mathematics, Jenny Taliaferro Blalock

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the Singapore Math curriculum and approach to teaching on enjoyment and knowledge in mathematics in one rural school district in north Louisiana. The quantitative data used were collected from a Math Enjoyment Inventory and a mixed skills pre and posttest. Additional supplemental data were collected from a Teacher Response Form. All data were gathered in the 2010–2011 school year, and an intact population was utilized. Participants were categorized into two groups, the Singapore Math group and the traditional math group. The participating district implemented Singapore Math in the fall …

The Perceptions Of Teachers And Principals In Regard To Teacher Leadership And School Improvement, Carolyn Sue Hartwell Barfield

Doctoral Dissertations

While the importance of effective leadership is undisputed, few studies have addressed what the role teachers have in effective leadership that promotes school improvement. This study draws on data analyzing survey responses from principals and teachers to better understand the perceptions of teachers and principals in regard to teacher leadership and to further examine perceptions of the role teacher leadership plays in school improvement. Also considered were needs, rewards, and barriers to effective teacher leadership, as well as the overall interest teachers have in becoming teacher leaders. The Teacher Leadership Roles survey was developed by the researcher and administered to …

Balancing Student Participation In Large College Courses Via Randomized Credit For Participation, Daniel Fox Mccleary

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study was an extension of research reported by Krohn (2010), which showed that daily credit for self-reported participation in designated credit units tended to balance participation across students (i.e., fewer non-participants, more credit-level participants, and fewer dominant participants). The purpose of the current study was to determine if similar results would be achieved by randomly selecting half of the discussion days in designated credit units for participation credit.

The study was done in 3 large sections of an undergraduate class (approximately 54 students per class). Students self-recorded their in-class comments each day on specially designed record cards. At …

Inter-Rater Reliability And Related Variables Of A Newly Developed Measure Of Quality Of Student Participation, Lisa Nicole Edge

Doctoral Dissertations

Some researchers suggest that quality is preserved when students are rewarded for quantity of class participation (Boniecki & Moore, 2003; Bruss, 2009; Mainkar, 2007; Zaremba & Dunn, 2004); however, few studies have targeted the systematic assessment of participation quality. The primary purpose of the study was to develop a reliable system for rating quality of student participation, investigate whether quality of participation is preserved when students are given credit for the amount of class participation, and examine the relationship between participation quality and important course variables.

The researcher in the current study developed a rating system to evaluate the quality …

Validation Of The Monitoring Academic Progress: Reading (Map: R): Development And Investigation Of A Group-Administered Comprehension-Based Tool For Rti, Angela Nicole Hilton-Prillhart

Doctoral Dissertations

Monitoring Academic Progress: Reading (MAP: R), a silent, group-administered screener was piloted as part of a comprehensive Response to Intervention program. MAP: R along with AIMSweb© Maze and STAR reading were administered to 1,688 students in Grades 1-3. Overall alternate-form reliabilities for MAP: R resulted in moderately high stability (Grade 1 = .79, Grade 2 = .78, and Grade 3 = .75). Test-retest reliability was .90 for Grade1, .84 for Grade 2, and .89 for Grade 3. Concurrent validity, correlations for MAP: R and AIMSweb© Maze ranged from .43 to .69, with correlations for MAP: R and STAR ranging from …

Preservice Secondary School Mathematics Teachers' Current Notions Of Proof In Euclidean Geometry, Michael Ratliff

Doctoral Dissertations

Much research has been conducted in the past 25 years related to the teaching and learning of proof in Euclidean geometry. However, very little research has been done focused on preservice secondary school mathematics teachers’ notions of proof in Euclidean geometry. Thus, this qualitative study was exploratory in nature, consisting of four case studies focused on identifying preservice secondary school mathematics teachers’ current notions of proof in Euclidean geometry, a starting point for improving the teaching and learning of proof in Euclidean geometry.

The unit of analysis (i.e., participant) in each case study was a preservice mathematics teacher. The case …

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 …

The Relationship Between Racial Identity And The Socialization Of Black Ph.D. Students At Predominantly White Institutions, Ferlin Garbe Mcgaskey

Doctoral Dissertations

Successful graduate student socialization has been characterized as the acceptance and adoption of disciplinary values and beliefs into the students’ identity (Bragg, 1976; Weidman, Twale, & Stein, 2001). Some scholars assert that assimilating the values and beliefs of the discipline may be difficult for Blacks students as their cultural beliefs and values may be incongruent (Antony, 2002; Tierney & Rhoads, 1994). Surprisingly, there appears to be no empirical studies exploring this assertion for Black Ph.D. students. The purpose of this study was to determine if cultural beliefs and values influence the socialization experiences of Black Ph.D. students. Specifically, using racial …

Creating A Supportive Dialogic Environment: How A Group Of Chinese Students Experience Collaborative Learning In An Intensive Reading English Class, Rong Li

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how a group of Chinese students made meaning of their collaborative learning experiences as they engaged in creating a supportive dialogical environment in an Intensive English Reading class. The class utilized dialogue as inquiry along with activities that facilitated communication to approach the learning process. These activities included: pre-class writing, in-class presentations, after-class reflections, and small group online discussions. Students and teacher engaged one another in questioning and responding that implemented a process of reflective dialogue about texts and knowledge of language.

Thirty sophomore English major students participated in this study, ten …

Testing The Fit Of A Model Of Faculty Departure Intentions For Women Faculty In Stem And Non-Stem Disciplines, Amanda Marie Blakewood

Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Much warranted attention over the past few decades has been devoted to the problem of retaining women faculty in academe, particularly in areas where they poorly represented such as in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This study uses descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling techniques to test an existing model of general faculty departure intentions (Zhou & Volkwein, 2004) on three samples of faculty (a) women faculty, (b) women faculty in STEM, and (c) women faculty in non-STEM fields. Findings revealed that although several significant pathways to intention to leave for women faculty in STEM and in …

A Comparison Of Four Frameworks Of Teacher Leadership For Model Fit, Corey Alan Dehart

Doctoral Dissertations

Research has shown that effective school leadership has a positive influence on school effectiveness and student achievement. Current reform efforts include teachers, both formally and informally, as leaders of schools. However, there are currently no widely-accepted measurements or models to assess both formal and informal teacher leadership in schools. The purpose of this study was to compare model fit for the four-factor model of teacher leadership to model fit for three alternative models. The four-factor model was developed during the second administration of the Teacher Leadership Inventory (TLI), and the three alternative models were developed from the results and recommendations …

A Validation Of The Monitoring Academic Progress Mathematics: An Experimental Multidimensional Group Administered Curriculum-Based Measure Of Mathematics Fluency And Problem Solving, Michael Brandon Hopkins

Doctoral Dissertations

The study investigated the psychometric properties of a newly developed math curriculum-based measure, the Monitoring Academic Progress: Mathematics (MAP:M), through examination of its internal consistency, alternate-form, slope, and test-retest reliability and validity. Participants included 1688 first through third-grade students from a school district in Northeast Tennessee. Application of Generalizability Theory produced reliability coefficients, score variances, and standard-error-of-measures (SEM) for both absolute and relative decisions based on a particular number of probes. MAP:M reliability coefficients for relative decisions ranged from .67 to .97 across eleven probes. The highest percentage of score variance at all three grades was attributed to the Person …

Assessing Effectiveness Of Multicultural Readings In Increasing Ethnocultural Empathy For Undergraduate Students, Tripti Bhaskar

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined how multicultural readings included in the introduction to psychology curriculum were linked to an increase in students’ multicultural interest and sensitivity. Specifically, this study investigated the impact of reading and discussing multicultural articles on students’ ethnocultural empathy, universality-diverse orientation, and openness to diversity. Second purpose of the study was to examine possible individual differences associated with response to the intervention. Participants in the current study were undergraduate students enrolled in five sections of the introduction to psychology class, which were randomly assigned as control and experimental groups. The multicultural readings are four original research articles that examine …

Examining The Relationship Between Fact Learning And Higher Order Learning Via Retrieval Practice, Pooja Kay Agarwal '01

Doctoral Dissertations

The development of higher order skills is a desired outcome of education. Some believe that higher order learning can be improved directly, whereas others argue that higher order learning can be improved via the enhancement of factual or conceptual knowledge. The relationship between fact and higher order learning is often speculated, but empirically unknown.

This project examines whether retrieval practice via quizzing, a strategy typically used to enhance fact learning, can be used as a strategy to improve higher order skills in both laboratory and applied settings. In the current study, higher order skills were considered to comprise the understand, …

Effects Of Random And Delayed Participation Credit On Participation Levels In Large College Courses, Kathleen Briana Aspiranti

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was directed toward improving the balance and consistency of student participation by thinning, randomizing, and delaying credit for student participation. Each of three sections of a large college course (n = 55) employed a different contingency for choosing the days in which participation credit was awarded: (1) credit units identified ahead of time, (2) credit units announced at the end of the course, and (3) credit units randomly selected by students at the end of the course. For all contingencies, random selection of 2 out of 4 discussion days in each credit unit occurred at the conclusion of …

Sleep Habits Of High School Students: An Intervention To Improve Them, John Edward Wallace

Doctoral Dissertations

Adolescence is a time of tremendous growth: physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally. Many experts state that good sleep habits are very important for adolescents and emotional well-being. The few studies of adolescents' sleep habits have reported that many high school-age students sleep less than eight hours when their bodies actually need nine hours a night. Research has found a relationship between shortened sleep duration and chaotic sleep patterns to overall poor school performance.

Sleep problems among adolescents have been found to be associated with anxiety, depression, inattentive behavior, social problems, aggressive behavior, and delinquency. Additional studies indicate that adolescents who …

Faculty Perceptions Of The Factors Enabling And Facilitating Their Integration Of Instructional Technology In Teaching, Charles Michael Sturgeon

Doctoral Dissertations

This study employed a survey research design to identify factors that facilitate university faculty to integrate computer-based technologies into their teaching practice. The purpose of the study was to measure the practices and perceptions of higher education faculty toward instructional technology. The designed survey instrument established a series of five personal profile categories. The five categories were used as variables manipulated to enable a series of statistical analyses to examine factors that enable faculty to use technology in their teaching. The survey was electronically administered to faculty in 36 universities in the Appalachian Region; a target population of approximately 4000 …