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The Influence Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Mississippi Public Schools To Improve Adolescent African American Males' Literacy Achievement, Shawnese Davis

Dissertations

This study used a quantitative approach to measure Mississippi secondary teachers’ understanding and their extent of using culturally relevant pedagogy to increase students’ literacy performance, specifically African American males. The researcher identified school districts with 50% or more African American students. The data collected in this study was used to compare reading high growth (40%) school teachers’ use of culturally relevant pedagogical teaching approaches to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in their understanding and frequency of using culturally relevant pedagogy to increase students’ reading performance. A 38-statement survey instrument was adapted from McKinley’s Strategies and Behaviors of …

Will Teachers Implement Instruction Aligned To The Common Core State Standards?: Utilizing A Predictive Model, Audrey Lynn Harper

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a predictive model for secondary (i.e., grades six through twelve) teachers’ intent to implement instruction aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Two differing TPB models were investigated utilizing a regression analysis. The first model included TPB elements including attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (i.e., self-efficacy) while the second model included two additional measures including perceived knowledge and accurate knowledge. Because a measure for secondary teachers’ sense of efficacy for literacy instruction did not exist to measure the construct in …

The Influence Of Administrators On Literacy Instruction Through The Promotion And Selection Of Professional Development, Lucy K. Johnston-Josey

Dissertations

Literacy is a key component to success in school and in life. Literacy has been a focus of education since 1965 when President Jimmy Carter announced a “war on poverty.” Since then, history has shown that educators should place an emphasis on literacy within schools. Because literacy is so important, I set out to explore how administrators influence literacy through the promotion and selection of professional development.

Mississippi was chosen as a basis for the study because it falls below the nation in terms of literacy rates on the National Assessment for Educational Progress assessment. Nineteen participants from four school …