Education Commons^™

K-12 Principals And Special Education: A Study Of Mississippi Principals’ Knowledge Of Special Education Policies And Procedures, Jodi Cameron-Polk

Dissertations

This study sought to assess the knowledge of Mississippi K-12 public school principals and assistant principals in special education law, policies, and procedures concerning the six principles (i.e., zero reject, non-discriminatory evaluation, least restrictive environment, free appropriate public education, due process, and parent participation) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. This study also sought to establish by which method (i.e., university coursework, administrative trainings, on-the-job experiences, self-taught research, or did not learn this) they acquired their knowledge of special education law, policies, and procedures. The researcher adapted Jesteadt’s survey tool to ascertain participants’ special education teaching …

Self-Efficacy And Burnout Among Mississippi Mild/Moderate Special Education Teachers, Stacey Anne Price Frye

Dissertations

This study sought to determine if there was a relationship between Mississippi mild/moderate (certification endorsement number 221) special education teachers’ levels of self-efficacy and burnout, as well as to determine which factors influenced self-efficacy and burnout. Teachers from across the state of Mississippi responded to an online questionnaire that collected demographic data, the Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Teacher Burnout Scale.

The results of the correlation research showed that subscales of Student Engagement and Instructional Strategies are positively correlated. Subscales of Student Engagement and Classroom Management are positively correlated. The Teacher Burnout survey subscale of Coping had a …

Digital Equity: Difficulties Of Implementing The 1:1 Computing Initiative In Low-Income Areas, Demetric D. Williams

Dissertations

Successful One-to-One Computing Initiative implementation requires educators to communicate and collaborate effectively with everyone in the learning community. However, other factors such as teacher’s professional development, student’s perception, and parent’s perception often affect the implementation of the One-to-One Computing Initiative. School districts, which serve low-income areas in Mississippi, have difficulties ensuring students and communities have access to the information technology they need to participate outside the school setting. The concept is often called digital equity. However, when officials do not address the capacity, there is a vital threat to the participants’ civic, cultural, employment, lifelong learning, and access to essential …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Exploring Relationships Among Professional Preparation, Professional Development, And The Implementation Of Sex Education In Mississippi, Joyee Washington

Dissertations

The state of Mississippi has led the nation in high rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents, despite mandating sex education in public schools for over a decade (SIECUS, 2011; SIECUS, 2016; SIECUS, 2017). Although studies conducted among Mississippi sex educators in the K-12 setting have shown that teachers receive very little to no professional development and desire more training, there is little supporting evidence to understand the position of professional development relative to sex education implementation in the state (Kolbo, Werle, Ismail, Arrington, Harbaugh, & Esters, 2015; Arrington, Ismail, Werle, Esters, Frederick, Ellis, & Kolbo, 2018). …

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 …

Administrators’ Beliefs Of The Organizational Effectiveness Of The Mississippi Association Of Independent Schools, Anthony Shane Blanton

Dissertations

The Mississippi Association of Independent Schools was born out of the turbulent years of the Civil Rights Era. Plessey v. Ferguson in 1896 had established the doctrine of separate but equal facilities, including schools. While the decision in Brown v. Board of Education, handed down by the Supreme Court in 1954, ruled that no student could be denied admittance to public schools because of race, the state of Mississippi continued to maintain separate schools for Blacks and Whites. Even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was designed to end a number of racial inequities, was passed, Mississippi and …

Perceptions Of Segregation, Desegregation, And Integration From Burglund High School Students In Mccomb, Mississippi, Cynthia Loren Lamkin

Dissertations

Black-American history has been, and continues to be, one rich with struggle and progress throughout a multitude of past and current events – including the White resistance to Blacks becoming educated and the segregation and inequality permeating education, politics, and general living for centuries. It is necessary to gather a further understanding of the Black perspective regarding direct experiences of discrimination in education in order to cultivate pedagogy by which all students may have an equal chance to thrive. This study of the memories shared by former students who did and did not participate in the walkout on October 4, …

Employee Participation In A College Based Wellness Program: Leader Support, Incentives, Job Satisfaction, Absenteeism, And Self-Efficacy, Tara Rebekah Rouse

Dissertations

This study investigated employee participation in a college based wellness program using the following factors: leader support, incentives, job satisfaction, absenteeism, and self-efficacy. Specifically, the research was conducted to determine whether there was a significant relationship or difference in participation in a college based wellness program when looking at leader support, incentives, and individual self-efficacy and if participation made any difference on job satisfaction and/or absenteeism. The theoretical framework of this research is based on Bandura’s social learning theory, also known as social cognitive theory and was supplemented using Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior. This study could be beneficial to …

Teachers' Awareness Of Cultural Diversity And Academic Achievement In Ninth Grade Academies And Senior High Schools, Jamellah Whipps-Johnson

Dissertations

High school graduation rates are higher than they have ever been in 40 years, but disparities continue to exist for students of color and students from poverty when compared to their counterparts. High school reform efforts like creating small learning communities are promising, but small schools alone do not improve student outcomes. Personalization and responsive learning environments are essential to improving academic achievement in high schools, and particularly for ninth graders.

A monocultural teaching force paired with a racially and culturally diverse student population necessitates an examination of teachers’ awareness of cultural diversity particularly in the high school setting where …

Academic Support Staff As Servant Leaders And The Relationship To Student Satisfaction, Joan M. Arrington

Dissertations

This study examined servant leadership practiced by academic support staff of academic departments within four-year, post-secondary institutions. These support staff include employees within academic departments such as secretaries, administrative assistants, and coordinators that do not have managerial responsibilities and are not instructional faculty. The target population for this study was all full-time and part-time students, both undergraduate and graduate, eighteen years of age or older, and enrolled at post-secondary four-year higher education institutions in Mississippi. Results based on the data collected suggested a majority of academic support staff rated at four of the seven institutions exhibited the characteristics of servant …

Gender Inequity In The Representation Of Women As Superintendents In Mississippi Public Schools: The "No Problem Problem", Deidre Joy Seale Smith

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the phenomenon of continuing underrepresentation of female superintendents in Mississippi K-12 public schools. The study was conducted during the 2014-2015 school year. At the time of the study, women represented 23% of the overall population of superintendents in Mississippi public schools. Fourteen women who were serving as superintendents in Mississippi during the 2014-2015 school year participated. Interviews were conducted, and the qualitative data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. The data were analyzed using constructs associated with feminist theory, feminist postsructural and feminist standpoint theoretical frameworks. Two primary themes emerged as a result of this …

Mississippi High School Assistant Principals' Perceptions Of Their Readiness To Pursue The Principalship And Factors That Might Influence Readiness, Bennett Teague Burchfield

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if certain factors, as well as the influence of these factors, affect the perceptions of assistant principals’ readiness to pursue the principalship. Mississippi high school assistant principals (n=107) responded to an online questionnaire that gathered personal and professional demographic data and also collected a readiness rating as well as an influence of factors ratings both based on a 5-point Likert scale.

A multiple linear regression was used to predict the readiness of assistant principals to pursue the principalship based on personal and professional factors as well the influence of those …

Preferences For Intrinsic And Extrinsic Sport Motivators Of Mississippi's Public Sschool Teachers, Jason Hugh Rayborn

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if Mississippi’s teachers teach for the same motivational reasons that athletes practice their sport. Certified teachers (N=380) from Mississippi were asked to complete a modified version of the Sport Motivation Scale-II (SMS-II) survey. This modified version of the instrument, the SMS-II-ED, included 18 questions from 6 different extrinsic, intrinsic, and a-motivational subgroups and one qualitative question for a total of 19 questions. Preliminary demographic items included teacher’s grade level taught (K-5, 6-8, 9-12), years’ experience (1-10, 11-19, 20+), and previous high school or collegiate sport participation (yes or no).

Descriptive statistics were …

Developmental Education At The Community College: An Exploration Of Instructional Best Practices And The Relationship Between Integration, Student Involvement And Rates Of Completion, Beverly Gayle Strickland Lewis

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the developmental education process within the community college system in Mississippi. Tinto’s (1993) Integration Theory and Astin’s (1993) Theory of Student Involvement were employed as a framework to assess and understand the relationship between academic integration, social integration, student involvement, and rates of completion.

This concurrent mixed method study identified best practices related to the successful completion of developmental education courses from the vantage point of the faulty and administration at the community college. A total of ten faculty and administrators from five of the community colleges in Mississippi were given a …

Effective Instructional Strategies Utilized In Successful And High Performing Secondary Schools In The Southern Region Of Mississippi, Jeanifer Lynn Pearson

Dissertations

The schools in the United States have implemented measures intended to close the achievement gap for over fifty years (Solomon, 2009). The mandates handed down by the federal government cannot be altered. Therefore, schools are required to determine specific measures that increase student academic success. Prior research has demonstrated that schools can be successful if effective leadership at the district, school, and classroom level was present (Gregory, 2003; Johnson, Livingston, & Schwartz, 2000). At the classroom level, it was the leadership of the individual teacher to determine the creation of innovative techniques aimed at academic success of all students (Farr …

A Beacon Of Light: Tougaloo During The Presidency Of Dr. Adam Daniel Beittel (1960-1964), John Gregory Speed

Dissertations

This study examines leadership efforts that supported the civil rights movements that came from administrators and professors, students and staff at Tougaloo College between 1960 and 1964. A review of literature reveals that little has been written about the college‘s role in the Civil Rights Movement during this time. Thus, one goal of this study is to fill a gap in the historical record.

A second purpose of this study is to examine the challenges of progressive leadership at a historically Black college in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement when a White president was at the helm.

When Dr. …

A Study Of Federal Academic Earmarks And Research Funding In Relation To The Institutional Research Culture Of Research University/High (Ru/H) Institutions In Mississippi, James Hubert Young Iii

Dissertations

Nationally, reductions in public funding for higher education, a stagnate economy, looming sequestration, and a divisive political culture present a complex and challenging dynamic for research universities in pursuit of external funding for their research programs and infrastructure needs. These universities and their research initiatives have relied on significant federal investment in research and development as a source of competitive research funding for more than half a century.

Over the last thirty years, congressionally directed funding for research, referred to in the study presented here and throughout the literature as academic earmarks, emerged as an alternative means to achieve research …

The Relationship Between Shared Leadership, Teacher Self-Efficacy, And Student Achievement, Anjanette Fuller Zinke

Dissertations

Decisions about ways to improve student achievement have been of concern over the years (Reeves, 2011). Multiple reforms have been attempted (Evers, 2000; Marzano, 2000), but researchers have differed in viewpoints on their effectiveness (Jennings & Rentner, 2006; Rose, 2010). State test scores in Mississippi have not risen to levels mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and waivers have brought new challenges to districts (Ravitch, 2012). Administrators have to focus their attention in areas other than new programs and new personnel to correct the path of education (Coburn, 2001; Hargreaves & Macmillan, 1995; Sledge & Moorehead, …

Administrators And Teachers' Perceptions Of Key Components Of The School Improvement Grant, Willis Anthony Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to assess administrators and teachers’ perceptions of key components of the School Improvement Grant (SIG). This study explores whether or not administrators and teachers believe the SIG’s key components have a positive impact on school improvement.

The participants for this study were drawn exclusively from five of the eighteen SIG schools that received the School Improvement Grant in Mississippi. All of the teachers and administrators at each school were invited to participate in the study. A total of 97 educators participated in the study, 22 administrators and 75 teachers.

The findings from this research …

An Examination Of Mississippi Public School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Their Professional Development Experiences In Raising Student Achievement, Daniel Martin Rushing

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the elements needed to produce a high quality professional development program for teachers. The researcher sought to determine possible factors that had a significant relationship to Mississippi public school teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of their professional development experiences in raising student achievement. Furthermore, the researcher wanted to identify possible inequities with professional development opportunities for teachers in Mississippi. It is the hope of the researcher to highlight the characteristics of effective professional learning defined by research that would kindle a desire in classroom teachers to advance their skill levels …

The Relationship Between Academic Optimism And Academic Achievement In Middle Schools In Mississippi, Laquanta Murray Nelson

Dissertations

As we constantly seek to increase educational attainment and increase student achievement in the United States, it is critical that we not only look at the effect of research based instructional practices or socioeconomic status on academic achievement, but also at any other factors that may potentially have a positive impact. The current state of education in Mississippi is still behind that of its counterparts, which suggests that providing schools with extra funds and an aligned curriculum alone will not raise student achievement.

According to Beard, Hoy, and Hoy (2009) academic optimism is a factor that influences academic achievement, even …

Establishing Construct Validity Of The Biology I Subject Area Testing Program In Mississippi, Christy Michelle Hollis Philippoff

Dissertations

Science education has undergone many revisions since it was permanently embedded in the country's educational curriculum at the end of the 19th century. Some of these revisions occurred as a direct result of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This legislation placed more accountability on schools than ever before by requiring that all students pass a series of standardized tests (USDE, 2010). High schools in Mississippi require four areas of standardized testing: English II, Algebra I, U.S. History, and Biology I (Wroten, 2008). The focus of this study is the Biology I Subject Area Test.

In an effort to …

Attitudes, Knowledge, And Experience With Dropout Prevention Strategies Of Mississippi Teachers And Administrators, Harold Kirk Lucky

Dissertations

Mississippi has been overly burdened with a high dropout rate for generations but in 2007 began a program to correct this problem based on the requirements of No Child Left Behind that requires all school to reduce their dropout rate. The purpose of this study was to compare the attitudes, knowledge, and experiences of Mississippi teachers and administrators with the State of Mississippi’s dropout prevention efforts and ultimately determine if they are supportive of the dropout prevention efforts. The study used a questionnaire designed by the researcher. A total of 386 questionnaires were returned from school districts across the six …

The Relationship Between Readability Level Of Mississippi's Middle Schools' Websites And Seventh Grade Language Arts Mct2 Scores, Anna Marlene Graves Pickard

Dissertations

Today’s educators face the unprecedented challenge of increasing achievement for all students. One response has been to increase and improve parent involvement and school-to-home communication through the use of school websites. The quantitative section of this study analyzed the readability grade level of the website as it relates to state test scores. For the qualitative section of the study, a sample of middle school principals’ levels of interest and involvement with parents through the website and other methods of communication for student achievement were examined through the use of principal interviews.

Seventh grade Language Arts MCT2 scores from 205 Mississippi …

Retention, Social Promotion, And Dropout Rates In Mississippi, Jennifer Jo Woodruff

Dissertations

There has been much research in the past two decades about the dropout problem in America. Dropout rates have become a focal point for all public schools in the nation largely due to components of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Dropout Prevention Act that associate monetary rewards to schools that raise the graduation completion rates to 90%. The dropout rates for the United States rank the educational system 17th for graduation completion rates among developed countries. Mississippi has repeatedly earned the title of low-ranking among all states in the nation.

Dropping out of high school is followed …

The Impact Of Fast Forword On Mct Scores And Student Achievement, Michael Harvey Van Winkle

Dissertations

Educators today were concerned with how the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 dealt with the improvement of education throughout the United States. Schools should have put forth a greater effort and reduced the achievement gap between different groups of students based on race, gender, special education status, and if that student was economically disadvantaged. A problem was identified as low student MCT scores in the state of Mississippi. A tutorial method that claimed to help improve students in the areas of reading and language was identified as Fast ForWord.

This study set out to find if there was …

Factors That Contribute To A Successful Secondary Vocational Education Program In The State Of Mississippi, Erin Leigh Parker

Dissertations

This study was designed to assess and identify factors that make a vocational program successful. Using qualitative methods for collection and analysis of data, vocational instructors and students in programs identified to be successful were interviewed to better depict the classroom setting, teachers, methods, etc. of these successful programs. Participants included instructors of and students enrolled in secondary vocational programs in the state of Mississippi identified to be most successful according to C-PAS test scores in each of the following training areas: Building Trades (carpentry), Business and Computer Technology, Marketing Management Technology, and Allied Health. MS-CPAS test scores were analyzed …