Education Commons^™

Gifted Culturally Linguistically Diverse Learners: A School-Based Exploration, Robin M. Greene

Teaching and Learning Sciences: Doctoral Research Projects

The purpose of this case study was to explore educators’ perceptions of characteristics, needs, and practices relating to gifted culturally linguistically diverse learners. The research questions guiding the study included the following: What are educators’ perceptions of the characteristics, needs, and practices related to gifted culturally linguistically diverse learners? How do educators describe gifted culturally linguistically diverse learners? How do educators describe their understanding of culturally responsive teaching as it relates to diverse gifted learners? What are school-based practices for gifted culturally linguistically diverse learners that support or hinder learning?

This study focused on an elementary school within Colorado. Seventeen …

What Gets Lost In The Numbers: A Case Study Of The Experiences And Perspectives Of Black And Latino Faculty In Academic Medicine, Sylk M. Sotto Santiago

Higher Education: Doctoral Research Projects

The doctoral research examines the experiences and perceptions of underrepresented minority faculty in academic medicine through a case study approach. The study focuses on several stages as presented through a model referred to as the faculty life cycle. Specifically, the study addresses the socialization, mentoring, and professional development experiences of URM faculty in academic medicine. How do URM faculty experience their environment, culture, and climate in academic medicine? And what is their perception of the impact of diversity and inclusion initiatives and offices in academic medicine? This study utilizes the conceptual frameworks of Inclusive Excellence (IE} and Culturally Engaging Campus …

An Examination Of Leadership Behavior: Improving Family Engagement In An Urban Latinx School Community, Mary Elizabeth Graft

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

The following is a technical report based on the qualitative case study of a school principal in a representative urban high school in the Rocky Mountain West. The purpose of this study was to better understand the extent to which an urban high school principal in a high poverty school can implement behaviors that increase family engagement within a Latinx school community. The research question in this study was: What leadership behaviors are impactful in developing and increasing Latinx family engagement in an urban high school?

The principal was observed for a year and interviewed extensively regarding his beliefs, practices, …

A Quantative Study Of The Relationships Among Teacher Social Capital, School Leadership And School Performance In Colorado Schools, Ellen Jane Winiarczyk

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

This study examined the relationship between teacher perceptions of teacher social capital, school leadership and school performance in schools across Colorado. The following three research questions framed the study: l) What is the evidence of teacher social capital within teacher perceptions of their school working conditions; 2) What is the relationship between teacher perceptions of school leaders and teacher social capital; and 3) What is the relationship between teacher social capital and school academic performance? Using data collected by the Colorado Department of Education in the 2015 Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) survey of teachers, school leaders and other …

Principal Perceptions As Literacy Leaders At High-Need Elementary Schools, Janet Marie Lear

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation study explores the perceptions of principals as literacy leaders and the enactment of these perceptions in high-need elementary schools. Literacy leadership, as perceived by principals, was analyzed based on interview data from six participants. Individual cases were studied for the unique characterizations each participant brought to the construct of literacy leadership through their own lived experience. Cross-case analysis was conducted in order to draw out themes among participants. Conclusions suggest that there are commonalities among principals' perceptions and enactments as literacy leaders in high-need elementary schools. Participants focused on: adoption of literacy programs and curricular fidelity; data use …

Measurement Of Online Student Engagement: Utilization Of Continuous Online Student Behaviors As Items In A Partial Credit Rasch Model, Elizabeth Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student engagement has been shown to be essential to the development of research-based best practices for K-12 education. It has been defined and measured in numerous ways. The purpose of this research study was to develop a measure of online student engagement for grades 3 through 8 using a partial credit Rasch model and validate the measure using confirmatory factor analysis. The dataset for this research study comprised approximately 20,000 online students in grades 3 through 8 from five different online schools. Two random samples of 10,000 students each were drawn for the measure development process and the validation of …

Teaching In Good Faith: An Exploration Of The Personal, Professional, And Philosophical Evolution Of First-Year Educators, Katherine Newburgh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The teaching profession is notoriously difficult. The attrition rate for teachers in their first three years is 25% compared to the national attrition rate of 3.4% (BLS, 2016). Many studies indicate that teaching conditions and school culture influence a teacher's decision to stay or leave (Headden, 2014; Loeb, Darling-Hammond, & Luczak, 2005), but very few studies explore in depth the existential shifts that occur in teachers in their first year. It is this researcher's belief that the seed of attrition is planted in the first year, and that by attending with greater sensitivity to the struggles experienced by first-year teachers, …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of How Campus Environments Shape The Success Of Racially Minoritized Faculty At Predominantly White Institutions, Raquel Wright-Mair

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite existing and emerging research on the experiences of racially minoritized faculty members in the academy, little scholarship addresses how Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) cultivate campus environments that support the success of racially minoritized faculty members. Utilizing the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) model as the theoretical framework to inform the design and implementation of this inquiry, this qualitative study provided an in depth understanding about what aspects of campus environments contributed to racially minoritized faculty succeeding in the academy. Specifically, a phenomenological approach allowed participants to share their everyday lived experiences through one-on-one interviews. A total of twelve racially …

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Adult Esl Classrooms: A Case Study Of A University Intensive English Program, Arongna Borjigin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the English as a second language (ESL) teachers' perceptions and implementation of the culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) in an Intensive English Program (IEP) in Mountain University (pseudonym). IEPs are university-based language learning institutes for the pre-admission of English language learners (ELLs). The monolingual approach to ESL teaching does not fit the diverse language and cultural backgrounds of ELLs. It brings challenges for both ESL teachers and ELLs in IEPs. CRP encourages teachers to incorporate students' home cultures and first languages in their teaching and to bridge the gap between school culture and students' home culture, …

Access To And Success Within High Ability Tracks In Title I Schools: The International Baccalaureate, Melissa Gordon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With a growing number of low-income students in the United States, it is critical to address persistent gaps in educational attainment. This study examined the postsecondary enrollment rates of students in Title I schools offering high academic ability tracks such as the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and explored access to these high ability tracks. Results indicate that the IBDP is available to low-income and minority students in Title I schools, although their participation rates were much lower than the participation rates of the average Title I student body. Nevertheless, once students participate in the IBDP, race/ethnicity and income appear …

The Spaces Between Us: A Queer<=>Intersectional Analysis Of The Narratives Of Black Gay International Students, Bryan S. Hubain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The experiences of international students along the lines of race and ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and nationality are virtually unknown. This study utilizes experience-centered narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of Black gay international students, and how they are racialized and sexualized in American higher education. Using a Queer and Intersectional framework, this study highlighted power structures and processes that continue to marginalize Black gay international students in the U.S. and in their home countries. Their narratives reflected significant moments or events that were important to them and how they understand their identities and realities. This study provides a strong foundation …

Pre-College Sources Of Influence For Traditionally Underrepresented Students Attending College: A Social Network Analysis Approach, Rebekah Kester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined a variety of sources of influence for traditionally underrepresented students at a primarily White institution of higher education. The sources of influence ranged from 2-way communications in high school to 2-way communications in the community, and from 1-way communication influences in the school such as AP courses, to 1-way communication influences outside of the school such as social media. The data were collected via an online survey distributed to first time in college freshmen in the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. The survey results were analyzed using ANOVA and social network …

An Exploration Of Teacher, School And District Leaders' Perspectives Regarding The Integration Of Instructional Technology In An Alternative Middle School: A Descriptive Case Study, Lauren Marie Kohl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The promise of using instructional technology to enhance student learning has been a dream and a goal for more than 30 years. During these past few decades, the reasoning has shifted from providing word processing, to supporting information access, to preparing students to become global citizens in our continually evolving technological world. While many educators are successful in these endeavors, there is still a disparity across the spectrum of consistent, intentional technology integration for learning. This varies not only from school district to school district, but between schools within districts, as well as from classroom to classroom. There has been …

The Effects Of A Goal-Setting Intervention On Delinquent Adolescent Group Treatment Outcomes, Paul D. Grimsley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Goals guide and motivate behavior. An extensive amount of research has linked specific goal characteristics with improved performance and wellbeing (Fujita & MacGregor, 2012; Locke & Latham, 2002). In group psychotherapy, goals are often established at the onset of treatment and commonly not reviewed again until the end of treatment. This model does not teach goal-setting skills or provide feedback to guide goal pursuit. This study utilized a quasi-experimental design to assess the effects of a goal-setting intervention on group treatment outcomes of adolescents with a history of delinquent behaviors. The eight-week (12-session) intervention provided support in establishing goals consistent …

Effects Of Collaborative Problem Solving Training For Parents Of Children With Challenging Behavior In A Public School Setting, Tyra B. Vickers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of the Think:Kids Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) Parent Group Therapy curriculum is to help parents recognize the underlying skill deficits contributing to their child's challenging behavior, identify pathways leading to the behavior, and make environmental changes to prevent problem behavior. This quasi-experimental study assessed the effects of implementing a 6-week, 12-hour Think:Kids CPS parent curriculum in a public school setting with an intervention group compared to a non-random waitlist group. Data was collected for both groups at pre-, post-and one-month follow-up on the following measures: the Parent Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI); the Parenting Stress Index, 4th edition, Short …

Factor Invariance Of The Standard Achievement Admission Test By Gender And School Types, Mohammed Alqabbaa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the factorial structure of the SAAT with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Specifically, a CFA of a four-factor model (the hypothesized model) was tested to see if the model had good fit as well as a model generated from an EFA. The EFA showed that the SAAT test only measured two factors (biology and chemistry), not the four posited by the test developers. The CFA provided good fit to a two-factor model; however, a CFA showed that the hypothesized four-factor model also fit the data well and so the hypothesized model was selected …

Family Engagement In Postsecondary And Workforce Readiness In A Suburban School District: An Exploratory Study, Keisha Kayon Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the focus on graduating all students and preparing them for postsecondary pursuits increases, schools are examining their practices in supporting how students are successfully prepared (Gutmann, & Ben-Porath, 1987; Guilfoyle, 2013). This study examined how the diversity of the family structure that now permeates modern day society can be used as a true partnership that embraces inclusivity and as a credible component to the postsecondary pursuits of students. Through the lens of the existing literature and a new theoretical framework, The Model of Family Engagement in Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (FEPWR), the researcher identified the intersections between family engagement …

Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs And Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching: How Teachers' Mkt Shifts In Planning And Impacts Their Beliefs And Instructional Practice, Paul Conley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to understand how a teacher developed Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching and how that knowledge can shift teacher's beliefs and instructional practice, I worked with a teacher to deeply plan and implement six mathematical lessons.

The research suggests that planning can be a vehicle to develop a teacher's Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching. In addition, as a teacher's Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching started to develop through lesson planning, the teacher's beliefs about her own knowledge of mathematics started to increase which started to shift the teacher's instructional practice.

This combination of a stronger Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching, self confidence …

A Collective Case Study: Student Voice And The Implications For Partnership, Activism And Leadership, Brian Eric Duwe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, collective case study was to explore urban high school student and teacher perceptions of student voice, specifically in the areas of partnership, activism and leadership. This study addresses the Civic Opportunity Gap, which impacts urban youth and the disjuncture between the civic ideals of the United States and their day-to-day experiences within the civic institutions that shape their lives. This study was designed to examine the following three questions: What opportunities exist within the urban high school setting for partnership, activism and leadership? What are the perceived barriers that influence opportunities for partnership, activism …

Developmental Education Redesign: An Analysis Of Cooling Out In A Community College Mathematics Assessment Preparation Program, Megan Rector

Higher Education: Doctoral Research Projects

Developmental education is a critical issue in higher education, particularly within community colleges. Each year, thousands of students enroll in community colleges, yet many are unprepared for college-level work. These students are often required to enroll in developmental courses before they can enroll in college-level courses, and these courses are often a barrier to student success. In recent years, a number of community college systems across the United States have redesigned their developmental education programs in an attempt to improve student outcomes.

This project examines one such statewide redesign that uses a qualitative case study analysis to apply Burton Clark’s …

The Long And Unconventional Road: Stories Of Financial Challenges And Systemic Barriers In College Completion For Adult Women Undergraduate Students, Michele Anne Tyson

Higher Education: Doctoral Research Projects

The following doctoral research studies the experiences and stories of adult post-traditional undergraduate women through a feminist narrative inquiry. The study focuses on the financing of a college degree and will be explored through understanding the educational journey of each participant to highlight personal struggle and system barriers. Currently literature about the importance of institutional and federal assistance for this population is absent from higher education. Using a feminist theoretical framework and narrative inquiry, this study describes the importance and value of educating women to both individual families and societal good.

A Description Of Early Access In Colorado, Ruthi Manning-Freeman

Teaching and Learning Sciences: Doctoral Research Projects

Early access, as defined in Colorado statute, remains optional. There is a shortage of administrative units engaged in an early access process to admit gifted young learners ahead of neurotypical age peers. Only 21 school districts currently use their addendum as evidenced by the receipt of Colorado state funding. Indeed, “there exists a basic lack of awareness of the effectiveness of the intervention, the impact on the student’s social-emotional development, as well as concern for the lack of consistent procedures for making this decision” (Assouline, Colangelo, Van Tassel-Baska, & Lupinski-Shoplik, 2015, p. 54). In this retrospective mixed-methods study, the researcher …

Uncovering The Gifts In English Language Learners, Sheri J. Collier

Teaching and Learning Sciences: Doctoral Research Projects

This research study addresses the problem of practice of the underrepresentation of English language learners (ELL) in gifted and talented (GT) services. The literature provided several reasons for the underrepresentation of ELL students being identified as gifted. One reason cited in the literature was teachers’ lack of referrals or understanding the characteristics of ELL students who may be gifted (Barkan & Bernal, 1991; de Wet & Gubbins, 2011; Esquierdo & Arreguín-Anderson, 2012; Ford & Grantham, 2003; Harris, Rapp, Martínez, & Plucker, 2007). The literature also stated assessment play a major role in identification practices (Anguiano, 2003; Barkan & Bernal, 1991; …

Fandoms In The Lives Of Gifted Individuals With Imaginational Overexcitabilities, Jessica B. Delallo

Teaching and Learning Sciences: Doctoral Research Projects

Fandoms are communities, either officially or unofficially organized, that are dedicated to the love of a particular person, team, fictional series or character (Barton & Lampley, 2014). According to the Belonging theory (Gailliot & Baumeister, 2006), people yearn for belonging because it provides them with a sense of identity, self-esteem and self-worth. Gifted individuals often have unique social-emotional characteristics, such as overexcitabilities (OE), which set them apart from their non-gifted, non-OE counterparts because they actually experience life in a very different way (Neihart et al., 2002). The purpose of this study was to examine the role of fandoms in the …

Exploring The Lives Of Gifted Women, Christine Ann Winterbrook

Teaching and Learning Sciences: Doctoral Research Projects

Exploring the Lives of Gifted Women is a narrative collection that shares the lived experience of five diverse gifted women. These women were identified as gifted and talented through a formal psychological evaluation. They were served in gifted programming in elementary and secondary school. This qualitative narrative study revealed the lived personal experience of being a gifted female throughout the lifespan for these five diverse gifted women. The internal gifted characteristics and external influences that affect gifted women’s relationships, social and emotional health, achievement, and overall wellbeing were analyzed. The results of this study also examined the internal and external …

Collaborative Conversations With Parents And Caregivers Of Black Gifted Students, Rebecca A. Mckinney

Teaching and Learning Sciences: Doctoral Research Projects

This research study attempts to address the persistent problem of practice of inequitable identification and programming for culturally and linguistically diverse gifted learners. One of the possible root causes of this persistent problem is the lack of parent engagement from culturally and linguistically diverse parents and caregivers (Jolly & Matthews, 2012; Grantham, Frasier, Roberts & Bridges, 2005). This phenomenological study targets parent and caregiver engagement of African American or Black parents and caregivers through the collaborative development of parent education. Participants were parents or caregivers of African American or Black school age children in metro Denver who participated in four …

The Limitations On Colorado School Districts Adoption Of An Early Access Addendum Process, Lindsey Reinert

Teaching and Learning Sciences: Doctoral Research Projects

Colorado House Bill 08-1021: Early Access is legislation that is an optional based policy for school districts in the state of Colorado to choose to implement. The basic parameters within this state legislation is identified highly gifted students defined as academically gifted, socially and emotionally mature, who are in the top 3% of the gifted peer group, motivated to learn, ready for advanced placement, and have exhausted the resources of preschool or home schooling. Colorado House Bill 08-1021: Early Access passed in 2008, but as of 2017 only 42% of school districts had a process registered with the state department …

Seeing The Unseen: An Educational Criticism Of A Gifted School, Kate A. Bachtel

Teaching and Learning Sciences: Doctoral Research Projects

There is systemic oppression of gifted children in many traditional school models resulting in disenfranchisement (Chu & Myers, 2015; Delisle, 2014). Yet, how can teachers be responsive to aspects of student development that they cannot see or do not understand? All students deserve instruction responsive to their unique strengths and needs, inclusive of gifted students. This study explores the aspirations and practices of a school designed to empower diverse gifted children. The selected school site is located in an urban area in the western United States and has been serving gifted students with a creative approach for more than 25 …

The Impacts Of Principals' Knowledge And Advocacy On Gifted Programming In Site-Based Districts, Colleen E. Urlik

Teaching and Learning Sciences: Doctoral Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of elementary principals’ knowledge-base and advocacy on gifted and talented (GT) programming within their school in a site-based district. This study sought to understand principals’ knowledge-base, acquisition of knowledge, and advocacy behaviors in an effort to support principals in the future to better understand and support GT programming within their schools. The research questions which guided this study were: How does the knowledge-base of a principal impact gifted and talented programming within his or her school? How does the advocacy behaviors of a principal impact gifted and talented programming within …

Affective Learning Opportunities For Gifted Adolescents, Jessica Anne Howard

Teaching and Learning Sciences: Doctoral Research Projects

The importance of teaching children and adolescents about affective content has recently become more of a priority in the realm of education, especially when working with gifted learners. The Colorado Department of Education requires that students on Advanced Learning Plans (ALPs) write an annual academic and affective goal. The problem of practice guiding this research is the lack of services and support for gifted adolescents to achieve healthy affective development and to write affective goals. It appears that opportunities for students, especially secondary students, to learn about affective content are limited. This multiple case study examined factors contributing to gifted …