Education Commons^™

Student-Athlete Retention: An Analysis Of Student-Athlete Retention At A Small, Private, Highly Residential Ncaa Division Ii Institution In The Southeast, Malcolm Kendrick Reed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Retaining students in higher education is ever-changing, requiring continual evaluation and institutional commitment to ensure measures are implemented to meet the varying demands of today’s college students. Student-athletes make up a large percentage of the overall student population on many college campuses, thus, warranting further research to understand trends and factors that impact the retention of this key group of students. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that contributed to the retention of student-athletes at a small, private, highly residential NCAA Division II institution in the Southeast.

The study focused on the experiences of student-athletes at …

Creating Unicorns: Teaching Iep Literacy And Accommodation Self-Advocacy Through Asynchronous Interactive Video Modules, Kathleen M. C. Dorr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Data indicate that individuals who disclose their disability status to self-advocate for accommodations at the postsecondary level may be as rare as the mythical unicorn. During the 2019–20 school year in the United States, 7.3 million public education students aged 3–21 years received some form of special education services. These students account for 14% of the nation’s public school enrollment (Irwin et al., 2021). In one study, only 20% of high school students reported having received any instruction on reading and understanding their own Individualized Education Program (IEP; Agran & Hughes, 2008). In another study, only 19% of postsecondary students …

The Post-Pandemic Influence On Social Emotional Learning In The K-12 Music Classroom, Jodie Michelle Rowe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to understand the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the post-pandemic state of social emotional learning in music classrooms. This study addresses a vital need for an investigation into the current social emotional needs of students in music classes to then provide information on common practices for music teachers to utilize with their students to best meet these current needs in social emotional learning and communities of practice. The methodology utilized for this study was a qualitative narrative study approach, with focus groups serving as the main form of data collection. Results of …

Covid-19 & Mathematics Achievement: A Casual-Comparative Study, Jay M. Johnson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation

Learning loss due to COVID-19 and the digital divide will have dire consequences for low-income students. This study used the Faucet Theory (Alexander et al., 2001) as a theoretical framework to determine the extent that the COVID-19 learning environment impacted the Southern Public Schools District’s African American, low-income, and high-income high school students’ proficiency level based on the Algebra I section of the 2020-2021 Louisiana Education Assessment Program (LEAP) assessment. The researcher used archival data from the LEAP, a causal-comparative research design, and a one-way ANOVA to test the hypotheses and answer the research question. The results of the one-way …

The Influence Of Social Stories On Early Learners, Kate Whiting

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

This action research study was conducted in a two or three-day-a-week preschool class within a suburban area in the Midwest. This study collected observable student behavior over four weeks. The study aimed to decrease anxiety and undesirable behaviors among preschool-aged students within a classroom setting. Undesirable behaviors include prolonged anxiety when transitioning from the first learning environment, home, to the second, school. In addition, behaviors such as trouble following routine expectations and transitioning within a preschool classroom. The student participants in this research were given Social Stories to help ease anxiety within the preschool classroom during routines and separation from …

Systemic Theoretical Instruction: Tense And Aspect In Italian A Sociocultural Study Of American Learners Of Italian, Charles Joseph Panarella, Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

University-level language and second-language classrooms typically use general rules of thumb to teach grammar without considering its conceptual aspects and cultural origins. These general rules of thumb are normally taught using a communicative approach to language teaching which typically places little emphasis on immediate corrective feedback and learner development. Most assessments are static in nature and focus on right and wrong answers rather than their origins (i.e., learner development and microgenesis). The lack of corrective feedback and lack of considering affective factors have the potential to negatively influence language acquisition in terms of motivation and self-efficacy. In addition, foreign language …

Using Critical Questions To Improve Perspective Taking Online, Christina M. Nishiyama

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As technology continues to change human interactions, it has become increasingly important to create computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments that enhance perspective taking to support constructive groupwork. To meet these aims, this study examined perspective taking before and after a social annotation activity that incorporated critical questions in the experimental condition. Results from 163 undergraduate students showed that using critical questions improved the quality of perspective taking in written dialogue and using social annotation increased perspective taking over time for all participants. Findings offer important research implications in the CSCL and collaborative argumentation fields, as well as broaden opportunities …

Promoting Preschoolers Actual And Perceived Motor Competence During Recess: A Need-Supportive Motor Skill Intervention, Ana L. West, Joonyoung Lee, Tao Zhang

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Using the self-determination theory (SDT) to create a need-supportive teaching environment to promote children’s learning, this study aimed to implement a need-supportive, structured fundamental motor skills (FMS)-based intervention during preschoolers’ 30-minute recess (2 lesson plans; 6 lessons/week for four weeks), and to examine intervention effects on preschoolers’ FMS and perceived competence. Twenty-four preschoolers (Mage = 4.80, SD = 0.32; 54% girls) were randomly assigned to intervention (N = 13) and control (N = 11) groups. Pre- and post-assessments measured actual FMS and perceived competence. A repeated measure MANOVA showed significant improvements between the groups over time …

Temporal Changes In Energy-Balance Behaviors And Home Factors In Adolescents With Normal Weight And Those With Overweight Or Obesity, Senlin Chen, Chelsea L. Kracht, Robbie A. Beyl, Amanda E. Staiano

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

This study aimed to examine the temporal changes in energy-balance behaviors and home factors in adolescents with normal weight and those with overweight or obesity (OWOB). Adolescents or parent proxies completed survey assessments two to four years before (T0; n = 82), ≤ six months before (T1; n = 68), and ≤ three months after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak (T2; n = 82), to capture energy-balance behaviors (i.e., physical activity [PA], screen time, sleep) and home factors (i.e., food environment, food worry, parent support for PA). At T0 and T1 (before pandemic), participants visited our laboratory for anthropometric measurements. At …

Instructional Leadership Practices And Problem-Solving Processes Among Secondary School Principals During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Matthew Moore

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore principals’ reflections on effective instructional leadership problem-solving and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, principals have very few evidence-based guidelines for providing instructional leadership during a global pandemic, presumably, improvising solutions to novel instructional challenges. To generate selected secondary principals’ reflections about instructional challenges during COVID-19, I used the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), an open-ended method developed by Flanagan (1954) for ascertaining participants. I selected 10 secondary school principals from the 20-school district region in a single state in the Charlotte-Atlanta corridor. All began their professional careers as teachers and their service …

Understanding The Factors Affecing Expatriate Teacher Retention In A Cross-Cultural Setting: A Case Study Of An American International Sschool In Panama, Roberto Flores

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that affect expatriate teacher retention. The research aimed to identify the factors that contribute to expatriate teacher adaptation and retention in cross-cultural settings. As the demand for expatriate teachers has increased with the growth of international schools, retaining them has become a persistent challenge. The scarcity of literature on expatriate teacher retention, combined with high turnover rates and an expanding demand for such teachers, highlights the need for further research in this area. Therefore, this study aimed to fill this gap by exploring the factors that impact expatriate teacher retention …

The Perceived Role Of School Counselors In Ramp And Non-Ramp Schools, Rob Rhodes

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceived roles of elementary and secondary school counselors within schools with comprehensive school counseling programs and those without such programs. Central to this study are questions of how school counselors’ roles are perceived differently within Recognized ASCA Models Program (RAMP) schools and non-RAMP schools. I this study, I examined the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Professional Mindsets and Behaviors (see Appendix 1), as outlined in the ASCA National Model (ASCA, 2012), as well as school counselors’ professional practices and perceived roles in RAMP and non-RAMP schools.

Through interviews and comparative analysis, …

A Narrative Inquiry Of Selected Women’S Career Pathways To State-Level Leadership In Agriculture, Timothy Keown

All Dissertations

In this study, I used a qualitative narrative inquiry to examine stories from three individually selected state-level agricultural sector women leaders as they described their career paths to leadership roles. This purpose of the study was to address the problem of a lack of practical understanding of women leaders’ experiences in pursuing, achieving, and keeping leadership roles within the agricultural industry. The existing literature shows that women are less likely to hold an agriculture leadership role in their career. To establish the research question, I used feminist educational theory. This theoretical framework and the associated epistemology of narrative inquiry served …

Our Voices Matter: Engaging Middle Grades Hispanic Students In A Summer Literacy Program, Macy Christine James

All Dissertations

This study explored the literacy engagement of Hispanic rising seventh grade adolescents during a summer literacy program. Using a participatory social justice mixed methods design (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2018), students’ voices were used to design and refine an instructional model proposed to increase their level of engagement in literacy tasks. Through a literacy motivation survey and focus group interviews, students’ perception of motivating and demotivating literacy experiences affecting their levels of engagement were gathered and analyzed. Following this exploration, a design-based approach was employed to create an initial model that would be refined by identifying the enhancing and inhibiting factors …

Encontre Mi Voz: Consejitos De Mi Madre, Testimonio Del Margen: Experiences Of A Former Chicana Administrator In Student Services At A Hispanic Serving Institution, Carla Cardoza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For a very long time, Chicanas have experienced longstanding marginalization and oppression in higher education. They have been subjected, degraded and their voice silenced due to long-standing discrimination and oppression. Thus, the number of Chicanas in leadership roles in higher education is dismal. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how I found my voice through testimonio and self-reflection of my endured experiences and challenges as a former Chicana administrator in student services at a Hispanic Serving Institution. This study employed the theoretical frameworks of consejos and consejitos (Delgado Gaitan, 1994; Sanches & amp; Hernandez, 2020) and a …

Reflections On Pre-Kindergarten Pedagogical Practices For Latine Preschoolers: An Autoethnography, Cynthia Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This personal reflexive account of my experiences as a Latine Pre-K teacher and Instructional Coach represents the adversities that many early childhood education public school teachers face within marginalized public-school campuses. Using myself as the subject and researcher within the context of area public school districts provided the drive to seek social justice for disadvantaged Latine preschoolers in their quest for an equitable footing in public school offerings. Through the participant's lens, I chronicle my experiences as a prekindergarten public-school teacher and later as a multi-district instructional coach using the qualitative methodology of both emotive and analytical/interpretive viewpoints. This genre …

Rising Responsiveness: The Roles And Influence Of U.S-Mexico Borderland Public University Board Leaders On Student Diversity, Daniel Rodriguez Dominguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The study sought to learn how governing boards of public university systems located along the U.S.-Mexico border exercise their roles and influence over matters of student diversity. Traditionally, governing boards have been dominated by older white males and have concentrated their attention on high-level financial issues. In addition, the boards have enacted policies and rules directed to traditional student populations of young white males who earn their bachelor's degrees in four years. This notion is no longer valid and is being challenged by increasingly enrolling diverse communities. Student body composition on campuses nationwide have changed noticeably since the beginning of …

The Effects Of An Intervention Using Pokemon Trading Card Game On The Decoding Abilities Of Children, Derek Emmett

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The present study focuses on illustrating the relationship between word decoding instruction and word decoding abilities within the context of a trading card game. Additionally, an argument for reading motivation and improvement of literacy skills is made. Three participants between the ages of 9 and 13 were recruited for participation in this study. Several decoding strategies such as phonemic awareness and morphological awareness strategies were implemented and trained over the course of several trading card games. Performance in decoding of several lists of compiled nonwords following treatment phases were systematically measured by the researcher. Two of the three participants demonstrated …

Experiencing Transition: Bilingual Teachers' Voices In A Dual Language Program, Beatriz Garcia Soria

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study is to gain insight into the experience of bilingual teachers undergoing a change of bilingual education program, from a TBE model to a DLBE model . This study documents the ways the bilingual teachers experienced changes in their language ideologies, their teaching practices, and the support, or lack thereof, from the administration and the community. This study contributes to the existing literature on bilingual teachers and bilingual education by centering the voices of the teachers during the process of change of bilingual education models. The study also adds to the literature because of the …

A Qualitative Case Study Of The Role Of Reflective Practices In Pre-Service Dance Teachers' Development Of Pedagogical Content Knowledge And Critical Consciousness, Josey Marie Pickett

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative case study investigates the ways stakeholders in a senior/seminar teaching practicum construct and engage in reflection. It also explores the ways these modes of reflection intersect with pre-service dance teachersâ?? development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and critical consciousness (CC). Specifically, the study contributes to the minimal amount of literature on the use of reflective practices in dance teacher education by using the theoretical framework of reflection-in-action and embodiment to bring greater attention to the informal, social, dialogical, and embodied dimensions of teaching and learning. Themes identified related to pre-service dance teachersâ?? development of PCK and CC in …

From Teacher To Campus Leader: An Autoethnographic Study Of An Assistant Principal At A New Mexico Elementary Campus Post Covid-19, Mona E. Plaza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began its effect on public school education. With online classes, students without remote access, and teachers with little to no experience in technology-based instruction, students, parents, and teachers were navigating the unknown. We have returned to campus, and routines are back in place, but education will never be the same. This autoethnography explores the first year of a teacher transitioning to an assistant principal on a small New Mexico elementary school campus as the education system recovers from the fallout of the pandemic. The purpose of this study is to use research as a …

Ready Or Not, Here I Come: Understanding The Cohort-Based College Readiness Experiences Of Economically Disadvantaged First-Generation Latinx Early College High School Students, Dianna Rios

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Economically disadvantaged Latinx students have continued to graduate high school at higher rates; however, despite various college readiness initiatives, colleges and universities have been least successful in retaining and graduating Latinx of any group. Several studies have indicated that too many high school students are graduating ill-prepared to handle the demands of post-secondary education and successfully earn a college degree. Given the increase in national and state goals to improve college readiness outcomes, this study examined the college readiness experiences of economically disadvantaged, first-generation Latinx students in cohort-based practices such as ECHS, AVID, and NTN. In addition to understanding how …

A Mixed Method Approach To Explore Lecturers' Pedagogical And Content Knowledge, Students' Perspectives And Learning Experiences In Mathematics For Social Science Course, Julio Hector Solis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Research indicates that institutions and teachers' pedagogical and content knowledge are essential to student learning and achievement. Nevertheless, teachers' knowledge and practices have been researched primarily in K-12th grades. Therefore, there is a gap in understanding teaching practices in higher education. Moreover, research has forgotten about exploring math classes for non-STEM majors. With this in mind, this research investigates how students perceive math professors' pedagogical and content knowledge and their effect on students' learning experiences in the context of mathematics for social science classes. To achieve this, this study takes a mixed-methods approach in its use of an observation protocol, …

Epistemological Framing In Statistics Courses For Psychology Students, Carlos Manuel Vargas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As psychology grows in popularity, most students select professions related to therapy, which constantly deem statistics courses as irrelevant and accentuate negative attitudes. This study explores perspectives of knowledge, also known as epistemological frames, that students enrolled in a psychology-based course in statistics generate and the extent to which these relate to attitudes. Research evidence the existence of productive and unproductive epistemological frames; the former involves automatic thought processes that require minimal effort or sense of voluntary control, while the latter prompts conscious learning efforts. This study follows an explanatory sequential design as it begins with a quantitative phase analyzing …

A Case Study On Understanding How Servingness Is Enacted Through Undergraduate Academic Advising At A Hispanic-Serving Institution (Hsi) On The U.S.-Mexico Border, Brenda Velazquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Both undergraduate academic advising and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) play a key role in Latinx student success. The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to explore servingness within the context of undergraduate academic advising at Border University (BU) - an HSI on the U.S.-Mexico border. The overarching research questions were: 1) How is servingness enacted through undergraduate academic advising at BU? and 2) What role do academic advisors play in enacting servingness? Conceptually, this study was guided by Garcia et al. (2019) Multidimensional Conceptual Framework of Servingness in HSIs and the existing literature on HSIs.

Data was collected from twelve …

An Intrinsic Case Study On The Implementation Of Project-Based Learning For Emergent Bilinguals And The Role Of Teacher Self-Efficacy At A Dual Language Campus On The U.S.-Mexico Border, Guadalupe Vela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to understand the implementation of PBL at a dual-language campus on the U.S.-Mexico border (Stake, 2000). Project-based learning in a dual language setting can meet the demand for all students, especially emergent bilinguals, to receive equal and equitable learning opportunities that promote access to content knowledge regardless of student language proficiency (Howard et al., 2007; O’Brien et al., 2014). However, the success of implementing an innovation, such as PBL, is facilitated by the teacher’s belief in the tools and ability to enact the approach (Bandura, 1977). Therefore, the study also considered how …

A Systematic Compilation Of The Diversity, Equity, And Social Justice In Education (Desje) Program, Cynthia Ochoa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Exceling in formal education is one way to improve a personâ??s social mobility and life chances (McMahaon & Oketch, 2013). However, there is a long line of educational inequity in the United States from the founding of the nation to the present. People of color and minorities have fought long and hard for educational equity, with the most effective approaches being grassroots mobilization and court battles (Lopez & Burciaga, 2014). This includes examples such as California schools denying entrance to Chinese American children to enter schools based on their ancestry in the 1800s; the arrest of Margaret Douglass for teaching …

When The Odds Are Against You: A Critical Literature Review Of The Pedagogical Implications Of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Cynthia Ochoa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Exceling in formal education is one way to improve a personâ??s social mobility and life chances (McMahaon & Oketch, 2013). However, there is a long line of educational inequity in the United States from the founding of the nation to the present. People of color and minorities have fought long and hard for educational equity, with the most effective approaches being grassroots mobilization and court battles (Lopez & Burciaga, 2014). This includes examples such as California schools denying entrance to Chinese American children to enter schools based on their ancestry in the 1800s; the arrest of Margaret Douglass for teaching …

Early Childhood Coursework In The Preparation Of Teacher Candidates For Linguistically And Culturally Diverse Students, Jesus Castellon

Theses and Dissertations

The continual growth of linguistically and culturally diverse students in schools proposes a challenge for teachers to address their academic and linguistic needs. Therefore, it is important to note the preparation of new teachers to address these needs. The purpose of this study is to explore what teacher candidates understand about teaching in linguistically diverse settings. This study reviewed the coursework understanding of three teacher candidates as they progressed through a teacher education program. Coursework was analyzed and coded using the framework of knowledge, skills, and dispositions (KSD’s) to investigate what teacher candidates understood. Commonalties and differences between teacher candidates’ …

Parent-Focused Interventions, Family Need, And Family Adjustment For Parents Of Children With Autism, Sara Alexandria Carse

Theses and Dissertations

Children with autism often have disability-specific deficits such as delays in communication and social interaction, restricted interests, rigid thinking patterns, repetitive behaviors, atypical responses to sensory experiences, and challenging behaviors (Balbouni et al., 2016; Bishop et al., 2012; Chistol et al., 2017; Anixt et al., 2018). As a result, parents of children with autism face unique challenges compared to parents of neurotypical children and report high levels of stress, especially towards their child’s challenging behaviors (Stadnick et al., 2017). Parent stress has been shown to cause dysfunction in family adjustment (Keen et al., 2010). Families may seek child-focused or parent-focused …