Education Commons^™

Borderland Voices: Exploring The Educational Journey Of Transfronterizx Students, Families, And Educators For Enhanced Engagement And Empowerment, Sobeida Velazquez

Dissertations

Transfronterizx students and their families cross the U.S.–Mexico border for academic, economic, social, cultural, and linguistic reasons. Socioeconomic disparities, deportation, and work have propelled some families to live in Mexico and enroll their U.S.-born children in U.S. schools to provide more socioeconomic opportunities in the United States. Educators of transfronterizx students are uniquely tasked to work with these nontraditional students. Moreover, transfronterizx students and their families have distinct needs in U.S. schools; as such, there is a need for further research on the transfronterizx experience in the U.S. K–12 system. This qualitative narrative inquiry study aimed to understand the experiences …

K-12 Teachers’ Experience With Professional Development On Implementing Intervention For Cognitive Reading Disorders And Dyslexia: A Qualitative Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Rosemary Balestieri

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand the experiences of the 10 K-12 teacher participants who may implement instruction and interventions for students who struggle with cognitive reading disorders and dyslexia. Instruction for intervention of cognitive reading disorders at the K-12 education level was generally defined as the multisensory approach more commonly found in schools. Instructional methods of 10 teachers at the K-12 education level for cognitive reading disorders was explored by implementing the central research question (CRQ), “What are the experiences of K-12 teachers who receive professional development to provide cognitive reading instruction with interventions specific to …

Understanding The Impact Of Pedagogical Changes In An Honors Activism Course: A Case Study, Aaron Peeksmease

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

The purpose of this portfolio is to document learning outcomes after initiating three pedagogical changes in an Honors Sociology of Activism course taught at UNL in both the Fall of 2022 and Fall of 2023. The first change was to provide students with prior student work of an assignment to see if student performance on the assignment improved. Findings indicated that providing examples of previous student work did not raise grades on the overall assignment, but did result in stronger projects for that one aspect of the overall assignment. The second change examined the impact of introducing reading quizzes and …

The Other Fifty Percent: Expressions From Special Education Teachers About Why They Persist In The Profession, Laron A. Scott, Christine Powell, Lauren Bruno, Christopher J. Cormier, Kendra Hall, Old Dominion University, Joshua P. Taylor, Katherine Brendli

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

We examined reasons special educators are motivated to persist in the profession despite challenges that often lead to attrition for this group. Participants were 21 special education teachers with six or more years of teaching experience across multiple grade levels. Data were collected via the Zoom virtual meeting platform with four focus groups. Semi-structured interview techniques were used, and data were analyzed using deductive coding procedures. Participants shared external, employment, and personal factors associated with Billingsley’s (1993) career decision framework that influenced their persistence, such as supports from school administrators with expertise in special education law, passion for students and …

Hidden Power Of "Thank You": Exploring Aspects, Expressions, And The Influence Of Gratitude In Religious Families, Joe M. Chelladurai, Loren D. Marks, David C. Dollahite, Heather H. Kelly, David B. Allsop

Human Development and Family Studies Student Research

Gratitude has been extensively studied over the past two decades. Among several predictors, aspects of religiosity and spirituality have been consistent predictors of gratitude. To explore the religious motivations and processes that foster the practice of gratitude, we under took a systematic thematic analysis using interview data from a national qualitative project of 198 highly religious families. Participants (n = 476) included mothers, fathers, and children from various socioeconomic backgrounds and from diverse religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds in the United States of America. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the participants’ homes. Data for this study were analyzed using …

What Are They Thinking?: A Qualitative Study Of Secondary Students’ Critical Thinking In Online Classes, Scott Allan Nolt

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study emerged in response to students’ struggle to understand what critical thinking is and teachers’ corresponding struggle to develop students’ critical thinking skills. In my role as an instructional designer, I studied student and teacher reactions to interdisciplinary course design that used disciplinary inquiry, problem-posing, and concept-based online learning. The primarily qualitative study focused on students’ reflections across five different social studies and English courses, along with interview data from their teachers and post-course survey data. Exploring how students experience instruction designed to develop their critical thinking skills and how instruction in critical thinking impacts students’ critical …

Portfolio For Soci 346: Environmental Sociology, Gwendwr Meredith

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Environmental sociology, SOCI 346, is the study of how social systems interact with ecosystems. As such, it is a very broad course that is tasked with understanding complex and often controversial questions about the social causes, consequences, and responses to environmental disruption. In this teaching portfolio, I enumerate how I use a backward design for crafting assessments that cater to my specific teaching goals and learning objectives for the course. In the first stage of this process, I reflected on what learning outcomes I wished to achieve and determined that structuring the course in modules aligned with the learning objectives …

Marxist Analysis Of Social And Economic Narratives In Childrens' Cartoons, Shane Mcgregor

Theses and Dissertations

Using a Marxist framework with a grounding in critical literacy, this study employs a content analysis methodology to analyze 25 episodes of five of the most popular children’s television cartoons in order to understand how these cartoons portray economic and social systems, as well as how the messages these cartoons express would tend to support these systems. In so doing, this research hopes to provide a conceptual framework that educators and parents can use as a guide for demonstration of a critical approach to understanding the curriculum of children’s media inside or outside of the classroom. Educators can modify this …

Employer Perceptions Of The Skills Gap In College Graduates’ Written Communication, Julie Minnaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. employers have reported that many college graduates are underprepared in written communication when hired and that lack of preparedness hinders these graduates’ employment success. Higher education institution (HEI) administrators need information regarding which writing skills should be taught across the curriculum to improve student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate employers’ perspectives on the written communication skills gap that hinders college graduates from being successful in their professional practice. Swales’s six characteristics of a discourse community provided a conceptual lens for the study, as graduates commencing employment represent newcomers to a discourse community. A basic qualitative …

Employer Perceptions Of The Skills Gap In College Graduates’ Written Communication, Julie Minnaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. employers have reported that many college graduates are underprepared in written communication when hired and that lack of preparedness hinders these graduates’ employment success. Higher education institution (HEI) administrators need information regarding which writing skills should be taught across the curriculum to improve student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate employers’ perspectives on the written communication skills gap that hinders college graduates from being successful in their professional practice. Swales’s six characteristics of a discourse community provided a conceptual lens for the study, as graduates commencing employment represent newcomers to a discourse community. A basic qualitative …

Identifying And Understanding Factors Which Affect Persistence In Academically At-Risk Minority Prelicensure Nursing Students: An Action Research Study, Christina L.K. Eaton

Theses and Dissertations

Increased representation of minority groups is imperative for professions like nursing and education. With the growing rate of minority racial and ethnic groups within the United States, there should be corresponding changes within these professions, however there is not. This action research study seeks to explore the factors that affect persistence in academically at-risk minority nursing students at a small Midwestern Christian University. The main research question for this study asks, “What factors do at-risk minority nursing students identify as affecting their ability to persist in our nursing program?” The use of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Social Ecological Model and Critical Theory …

Piloting A Qualitative Interview For Malaysia Primary School Active Learning Needs Analysis Regarding Learner Control Experiences, Leow Min Hui, Siti Hajar Binti Halili, Rafiza Binti Abdul Razak

The Qualitative Report

This paper describes a holistic process of a pilot test to determine the trustworthiness of semi-structured interview questions to be used in the qualitative investigation of Malaysia primary school active learning needs analysis, by focusing on the learner control peculiarity in the context. The researchers carried out the pilot test based on a sequential cycle of determining, assessment, adjustment, revisiting, and reflection. The researchers generated semi-structured interview questions mainly based on Hutchinson and Waters’s (1987) framework for analysis of learning needs. The researchers tested the semi-structured interview questions on two teacher and two pupil participants mirroring the intended subjects in …

Where Are All The African-American Women Superintendents In California, Oregon, And Washington State?, Toniesha D. Webb

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

There are many African American women in leadership positions such as Assistant Superintendents, Network Superintendents, Directors, Principals, Assistant Principals, and Coaches. There is a disconnect for African American women in leadership and the highest position of authority in a school district. This leads to the question, what are the barriers, if any, that are limiting the amount of African American Women in the far western states to transition into Superintendent positions? In the reverse, what supports did the women who are superintendents have in their leadership ascension? Finally, what structures need to be developed and formalized in order to facilitate …

Mending Art Classrooms: An Exploration Of The Benefits Of Collaborative Artmaking For Underinvested Black Youth In Richmond, Virginia, Jazmine M. Beatty

Theses and Dissertations

This arts-informed research study explored the experiences of local community artists and educators working to radically transform and heal the experiences of underinvested Black students in Richmond through collaborative arts engagement. Through a series of seven one-on-one interviews with Black teaching artists in the Richmond community, I was able to uncover how collaboration has and can continue to improve the well-being and livelihoods of Black students in Richmond. Also, by tapping into the local Mending Walls mural project, I was able to make a tangible connection between the Richmond community, art, and collaboration. An analysis of the interviews led to …

The Lived Experiences Of Selected Choral Directors During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Angela Berna Milliren

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The shift to online education during the COVID-19 pandemic found secondary choral teachers moving traditional performance-based courses to the online venue. The pedagogical changes needed include implementing technology and disseminating information through learning management systems. Relationships between teachers and students, and teachers and colleagues, were challenged with the physical distance of quarantines in the Spring of 2020. This dissertation research project examined the difficulties six teachers faced concerning technology and relationships. I sat down for semi-structured interviews with six colleagues where I asked about their backgrounds, relationships with students and fellow colleagues, and the changes the pandemic brought to their …

Exploring How Children Use Their Everyday Thinking To Construct Scientific Explanations Of The Natural World, Ashley Nicole Kooken

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to describe and explain children’s thinking present in multiple related contexts surrounding a single Earth Space disciplinary core idea in order to provide insight on whether and how children’s everyday thinking forms the basis for learning in science classrooms. As most previous work on children’s thinking focuses more on what ideas and thinking are present within specific science learning contexts, there is a knowledge gap as to how children’s everyday ideas across multiple contexts provide the basis from which they construct a deeper conceptual understanding about scientific phenomenon in the world …

Building Community Using Experiential Education With Elementary Preservice Teachers In A Social Studies Methodology Course, Stephanie Speicher

Journal of Global Education and Research

There is urgency for teacher educators to instruct preservice teachers in the tenants of social justice education. This urgency is based upon the American demographic landscape and the responsibility of educators to teach for social justice. Preservice teachers report feeling inadequately prepared to educate for social justice when entering the classroom setting (citations from below). Feelings of incompetence in social justice teaching expressed among preservice teachers coupled with minimal examination in the literature of the effects of teacher education practices that aid in the readiness to teach for social justice provided the foundation for this study. This study examined experiential …

English Language Learning Through Non-Technology Games: A Case Study Of International Students At A Lithuanian University, Nagaletchimee Annamalai, Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan, Radzuwan Ab Rashid, Giedre Valunaite Oleskevicience, Vilhelmina Vaičiūnienė

The Qualitative Report

Research on gamified language learning often involves the use of digital games. Little is known about the use of non-technology games in promoting language learning despite their accessibility. This paper aims to fill in this lacuna by providing insights into international students’ engagement in non-technology gamified English language learning in the context of a Lithuanian university. The research, which used a case study approach as its methodology, involved a total of 30 international students at a Lithuanian university together with their two instructors. They were observed for two weeks, and then interviewed by the researchers. An inductive thematic analysis approach …

Induction Coaches’ Experiences With Video-Augmented Coaching In A Video Club Model, Tara Barnhart, Victor Vega

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines the results of the first phase of a multi-year programme to integrate the use of video to support induction coaches in a suburban school district. Seven coaches participated in a video club in which they analysed videos of both their coaching conversations and mentees’ classrooms. A typological analysis of interview and video club meeting transcripts revealed perceived benefits of participation in the video club on the coaches’ sense of professional community and the quality of coaching conversations. Coaches also noted reviewing video with mentees stimulated changes in their mentees’ classroom practice. Positioning themselves as learners learning from …

#Generation Z: A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Experiences Of Elementary Title I Teachers’ Use Of Educational Technology In The 21st Century Classroom, Rachel Nichole Hernandez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenology was to describe the experiences of teachers’ educational technology use in Title I elementary schools in Central Florida. The central research question in this study was: How do Title I elementary teachers in Central Florida describe their experiences utilizing educational technology in the classroom? The theoretical foundation for this study was grounded in Bandura’s social cognitive theory, more specifically, teacher self-efficacy, which is a significant component of social cognitive theory. The design of this study was a transcendental phenomenology, a qualitative model that is most appropriate since I sought to make meaning from the …

Interactional Research Into Problem-Based Learning, Susan M. Bridges, Rintaro Imafuku

Purdue University Press Books

Problem-based learning (PBL) has been deployed as a student-centered instructional approach and curriculum design in a wide range of academic fields across the world. The majority of educational research to date has focused on knowledge-based outcomes addressing why PBL is useful. Researchers of PBL are developing a growing interest in qualitative research with a process-driven orientation to examining learning interactions. It is essential to broaden this research base so as to support PBL designs and approaches to leading students into higher-order thinking and a deeper approach to learning.

Interactional Research Into Problem-Based Learning explores how students learn in an inquiry-led …

Exploring The Effectiveness Of A Freshman/Success Academy Program Through The Perceptions Of Educators In An Urban High School, Michelle Pettiford

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of educators regarding the effectiveness of an academic success program for ninth- and 10^th-grade students who are at-risk males. The term at risk has often been utilized to describe students who have low academic performance as well as social and emotional concerns observed during the transitioning process from middle to high school. The foundation of this study centered on past and current educational initiatives, achievement gaps, and pedagogical and cultural awareness for at-risk minority students as they entered high school. I used a 2-phase process that included …

Exploring Aspects Of Science Literacy Demonstrated By Early Undergraduate Stem Majors Through A Manuscript-Style Writing Assignment, Samantha Lynn Jusino

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Over the past twenty years, scientific literacy amongst undergraduates has not improved despite their exposure to higher education science classes. Underlying mechanisms of science literacy development are poorly understood; however, exposure to authentic practices in science has been demonstrated as a means to fostering science literacy development. A unique approach to studying science literacy is through examining the three domains of the science literacy conceptual framework developed in this study, Science as Access, Science as Process, and Science as a Sociopolitical Factor and their components as they emerge through the process of writing a manuscript-style writing assignment. In …

Exploring Preparation Of Pre-Service Teachers’ English Proficiency And Pedagogy: Stories From An Efl Teacher Education Program, Abdul Hadi

The Qualitative Report

Many English teachers today are non-native speakers of English graduating from Pre-service English Teacher Education (PETE) programs in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. They undertake their teaching career in a strategic but challenging linguistic and educational situation. This paper reports findings from such a situation based on a qualitative case study of a PETE program at an Indonesian university that aimed to explore the nature of curriculum provision in preparation to develop pre-service teachers’ English proficiency and pedagogy. Data were collected from pre-service teachers, teacher educators, and program administrator using interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations. Results of …

Is It Who Am I Or Who Do You Think I Am? Identity Development Of Adolescents With Substance Use Disorders, Danielle N. Treiber

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to unearth how adolescents with substance use disorders achieve the task of identity formation and the construction of self-concept in the midst of the drug culture and society that exists. It sought to uncover the social constructs designed to ignore and/or remove human complexities and allow an intersectional approach to be brought to a study on this population. Historically, there has been a failure to investigate the underlying social attitudes and behaviors that impact the very delicate and vulnerable process of finding self. Psychosocial and relational adjustment are strongly influenced by the extent to …

Using Focus Groups To Explore Sources Of Self-Efficacy In Puerto Rican Preservice Teachers, Yitza A. Arcelay-Rojas

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This article used focus groups to explore Puerto Rican preservice teachers' perceptions of sources of self-efficacy. The present study allowed, through a qualitative design, examination of the experiences of preservice teachers at the end of their student teaching practicum. The qualitative design and the use of the focus group technique provided insight into the main sources of their perceived self-efficacy through the self-assessment of their field experience. The beginning of the student teaching practicum provoked an intense process of emotions in which the preservice teachers needed support and guidance, particularly in aspects of planning, differentiation, and classroom management. The participants …

A Look At Emotional Intelligence: A Qualitative Study Of Peer Mentorship Via Circle Of Friends, Christopher De Loach

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the lived experiences of former Circle of Friends (CoF) nondisabled peer mentors of students with multiple disabilities to discover how this mentorship program impacted Daniel Goleman’s four dimensions of emotional intelligence.

Methodology: This study employed a qualitative phenomenological design. In qualitative designs, the researcher seeks to welcome the subject’s voice into a chorus that contributes to the summative ballad of the sample. The researcher must seek to be a neutral conduit that captures those voices. Thus, the researcher in this study interviewed 14 former peer friends from the CoF program …

An Exploration Of The Factors That Motivate Gifted And Talented Rural Students To Engage In Stem, Issabella Baldwin Zurek '18, Takudzwa George '18, Clinton Oshipitan '18, Robert Luo '18, Amy Wang '18

Student Publications & Research

Research Questions:

• What motivates rural students to pursue STEM?
• How can we use these factors to engage more rural students in STEM?

Teacher Perceptions Of Parental Involvement At An Inner-City K-8 Center In The United States, Latonya Eaford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educators and researchers have long considered parental involvement to be an integral factor in the success of students. However, parental involvement is low in many U.S. schools. Guided by Epstein's parental model, the purpose of this case study was to examine teachers' perceptions and experiences of parental involvement at an inner-city K-8 center in the United States which has had low parental involvement over the last 5 years. The overarching research question concerned teacher perceptions and experiences regarding communicating with parents, encouraging learning at home, and parents volunteering. Data sources consisted of interviews, questionnaires, and unobtrusive data. Purposeful sampling was …

Influence Of Application-Based Homework On Students Who Struggle In Algebra I, Charles Seipp

Theses and Dissertations

This investigation describes a problem of practice with the academic achievement of students who struggle in Algebra I by means of an action research design. Students regularly struggle academically for a variety of reasons, as described within and are frequently identified as at-risk due to this struggle. This investigation seeks to determine if the utilization of application-based homework serves to increase achievement and student engagement in a course with such significant importance for future success as Algebra I. An example of application-based would be the use of specific content outside of the classroom, such as parabolic functions to model projectile …