Education Commons^™

Investigating The Predictive Validity Of Three Measures Of Number Sense, Bethany Politylo

Doctoral Dissertations

Number sense has been identified as an important foundational skill in the development of later mathematics competence. Although number sense has historically been difficult to define in the educational literature, operational definitions of the construct typically consist of a collection of early numeracy skills or “number sense components” such as quantity discrimination, rote counting, and one-to-one correspondence. Consequently, assessments of number sense tend to measure a wide variety of these skills. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive validity of three measures of number sense: the Test of Early Numeracy (TEN), Number Sense Brief Screener (NSB), and …

Performing Critical Consciousness In Teaching: Entanglements Of Knowing, Feeling And Relating, Kathleen A. Mcdonough

Doctoral Dissertations

At a time when education reform is guided by neoliberalism, accountability and standardization have reshaped teaching as highly technocratic and threatened the democratic possibilities of public education. Even so, many teacher education programs have taken up the call to prepare teachers to teach for social justice, whether framed as multicultural education, critical literacy, or critical pedagogy. A construct that ties these pedagogical approaches together is critical consciousness, with the aim of some teacher education efforts to evoke critical consciousness among preservice teachers. This study focuses on exploring how nine educators from elementary grades to higher education experience and enact critical …

Reading Queerly In The High School Classroom: Exploring A Gay And Lesbian Literature Course, Kirsten Helmer

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore how teaching an English literature curriculum centered on the stories, experiences, cultures, histories, and politics of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) people constitutes a meaningful site for teaching and learning in a high school classroom. The dissertation offers insights on how the teaching of LGBTQI-themed texts in English language arts classes can be reframed by bridging the goals, practices and conceptual tools of queer theory to critical literacies teaching. The project follows principles of critical qualitative research and employs an ethnographic case study approach with the purpose of transforming educational …

Postive Behavioral Interventions And Supports In Out Of School Time: Providing Professional Development Via Consultation And Performance Feedback, Sheera Hefter

Doctoral Dissertations

American youth are in need of supervision after the school day concludes. After School Programs (ASPs) provide students with safe and supportive venues that have the potential for encouraging student growth and development. ASPs across the country struggle to find high quality professionals to staff their programs; adequate training for these professionals is also limited. There is also significant evidence linking strong teacher-student relationships to both academic and social success. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a framework that has a strong evidence base to support success in promoting a proactive approach to behavior management within school settings. The …

Using Social Network Analysis To Investigate The Relationship Between School-Based Team Communication Networks And Implementation Of Positive Behavior Support Systems, Shannon K. Barry

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school-based team communication networks and implementation of school-wide reform efforts and initiatives, namely Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The study employed social network analysis (SNA) to determine if a relationship was present between the structure and properties of the team communication network and the level of implementation of PBIS, the position and properties of the PBIS leadership team and the level of implementation of PBIS implementation, and the quality of internal process for collaboration of the PBIS leadership team and PBIS implementation. It was predicted that schools in …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Leadership Practices Of School Principals And Effectiveness Of School Counselor Practice, Yolanda D. Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

School counselors, whose role is often viewed as peripheral and isolated from teaching and learning, can help principals, teachers, students, and parents balance the duties and responsibilities involved in continuous student growth and performance. The purpose of this research is to examine the working relationship between school principals and school counselors and to assess how school principal leadership practices influence school counselor practice and effectiveness. This study utilized a conceptual framework that describes the relationship between concepts from the literature that may lead to school counselor effectiveness. This qualitative study investigates the leadership practices of school principals and how this …

Cultivating Communities Of Practice To Develop Local Preparedness For Climate Change, Konda Reddy Chavva

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this research was to study the effectiveness of field facilitators’ (FFs) community of practice in improving ways in which FFs and farmers communicate and work together to strengthen farmers’ climate change preparedness through identifying locally suitable adaptation strategies in drought-prone districts of Andhra Pradesh State in India. In development initiatives like the one studied, FFs are often the key liaison person with each community—farmers in this case. FFs interact regularly with farmers, with whom they establish and sustain critical relationships over time. Further, they take the lead in building farmers’ capacities by contextualizing technical information that professionals …

Program Evaluation Of The Strong Start Curriculum As A Selected Intervention For Early Elementary Students, Katherine A. Meyer

Doctoral Dissertations

Consistent with the need for implementation research and prevention programming for students in schools, the current study evaluated the implementation and outcomes of Strong Start, a social-emotional learning program, as a supplemental intervention for students in kindergarten through second grade at risk for developing emotional and behavioral problems. This intervention took place during the first year of a county-wide restructuring of mental health supports and was part of a multi-tiered system of supports provided in schools. A mixed method program evaluation was conducted to examine four areas of interest. First, the contextual factors related to program adoption were examined; …

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …

"For A Future Tomorrow": The Figured Worlds Of Schoolgirls In Kono, Sierra Leone, Jordene Hale

Doctoral Dissertations

Current research in Sub-Sahara Africa suggests that young women face challenges in accessing and completing schooling, due among other things to gender related school based violence (Bruce & Hallman, 2008; Dunne, Humphreys, & Leach, 2006; Lloyd, Kaufman, & Hewett, 2000). These studies, while valuable in providing documentation on school enrollment and school leaving, do not explore the motivational framework where young women remain in school. The purpose of this dissertation is to trace how schoolgirls’ identities or “figured worlds” (Gee, 2011) are co-constructed in particular contexts by the same cohort of schoolgirls, their teachers, households, and communities through an ethnographic …

School Counselor Advocacy With Lgbt Students: A Qualitative Study Of High School Counselor Experiences, Maria E. Gonzalez

Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, advocacy has become a centerpiece of the school counseling profession, (American School Counseling Association (ASCA), 2005; Field, 2004). Nevertheless, there exists a dearth of empirical research on school counselor advocacy in general and virtually none as it relates to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students specifically. To begin addressing this gap in the literature, the purpose of this qualitative dissertation study was to examine the experiences of high school counselors in the southeastern United States who have served as advocates for and with LGBT students across identity groups, with a specific focus on race and class. …

Outreach Practices Of A Small College Counseling Center: A Comprehensive Model To Serve The College Community, Jessica R. Ferriero

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past 10 years college counseling centers (CCCs) have been urged to broaden their focus considerably and to serve the entire campus community due to increases in student mental health issues. Engaging in outreach efforts is one way to address campus wide needs. However, few research efforts have been conducted to systematically investigate how outreach is practiced at a small college. The dialogue around outreach has focused on single programs at large institutions rather than the network of interventions that occur on a campus. The purpose of this study is to understand the web of relationships between a counseling …

Understanding Health Issues Among Adolescent Females In A Northeast Province Of Afghanistan, Amina Davlatshoeva

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of the health issues facing adolescent females (ages 18-21) in rural, northeastern Afghanistan. Incorporating participant observations, in-depth interviews, and narrative inquiries, this study seeks to illustrate adolescent females’ perspectives on health issues. To achieve this goal, ten adolescent females were interviewed in rural, northeastern Afghanistan during 2010. The participants were between 18- and 21-years old. The one-on-one interviews were conducted in a multiple-response format and were structured around three research questions:

• How does a young female’s understanding of health issues shape her identity in northeastern Afghanistan?
• In what ways …

Developing Spatial Reasoning Skills In General Chemistry Students, Deborah L. Carlisle

Doctoral Dissertations

The study of organic chemistry requires the understanding and use of spatial relationships, which can be challenging for many students. Prior research has shown that there is a need to develop students’ spatial reasoning skills. To that end, this study implemented guided activities designed to strengthen students’ spatial skills, with the aim of preparing students for organic chemistry and other future STEM courses. Students, taking the second semester of a two-semester general chemistry course, engaged in these activities. This study followed a quasi experimental design, in which the experimental (n = 209) and the control group (n = 212) were …

The Application Of Information Integration Theory To Standard Setting: Setting Cut Scores Using Cognitive Theory, Christopher C. Foster

Doctoral Dissertations

Information integration theory (IIT) is a cognitive psychology theory that is primarily concerned with understanding rater judgments and deriving quantitative values from rater expertise. Since standard setting is a process by which subject matter experts are asked to make expert judgment about test content, it is an ideal context for the application of information integration theory. Information integration theory (IIT) was proposed by Norman H. Anderson, a cognitive psychologist. It is a cognitive theory that is primarily concerned with how an individual integrates information from two or more stimuli to derive a quantitative value. The theory focuses on evaluating the …