Education Commons^™

Teaching For Social Justice With Standards-Based Secondary English Language Arts Curriculum, Alison George Dover

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

Teaching for social justice is the attempt by classroom teachers to use their position in the classroom to promote social and educational reform within and despite current educational conditions and mandates. However, while a growing number of K-12 teachers have published anecdotal reports of their attempts to teach for social justice in secondary classrooms (e.g., Bender-Slack, 2007; Christensen, 2000; Singer, 2005), there is great variability among these accounts, and scant evaluation of their impact on specific academic, behavioral/motivational, and attitudinal outcomes (see Grant & Agosto, 2008; Kelly & Brandes, 2008; Poplin & Rivera, 2005).

This qualitative study addresses this research …

The Influence Of Parent And Community Involvement On Local School Councils In Massachusetts, Leslie B Stein

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

Education reform efforts in the last fifteen to twenty years at the state and federal levels have provisions for family/community involvement in the schools based on beliefs that partnerships lead to higher student achievement and better outcomes for students, parents and teachers. These requirements have embraced the concept of parent and community involvement in various forms including some aspects of school governance. The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 included this concept of participatory governance with the establishment of local school councils (LSC). The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the function and influence of local school …

Adult Student Persistence In Online Education: Developing A Model To Understand The Factors That Affect Adult Student Persistence In A Course, Raymond J Mcgivney

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the persistence of adult students in online undergraduate courses at the community college level. Quantitative analysis of survey results from 476 students enrolled in on-line courses at two community colleges indicate that desire to complete the degree, previous experience in on-line courses and assignment completion are the strongest predictors of course completion. The findings from this research also provide the basis for making recommendations for future research and improving policy and practice. Finally, the results of this study suggest the basis for developing new models for understanding persistence …

Teacher Change Facilitated By Sustained School Situated Professional Development: Exemplar Learning Of Technology Enhanced Formative Assessment (Tefa), Karen St. Cyr

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

This case study instantiates longitudinal change over a two year period by examining the role of School Situated Sustained Professional Development (SSSPD) on the evolution of the participant's practice. The participant was a secondary science teacher who emerged as an exemplar in integrating Technology Enhanced Formative Assessment (TEFA) pedagogy into her practice, which was facilitated by personal response systems (PRS). The research question was: What could be revealed about the impact of SSSPD by studying teacher learning of a teacher who emerged as an exemplar? The participant was one of ten teachers learning the TEFA pedagogy. Professional development (PD) that …

The Effects Of Teaching/Learning Environments On The Creative Process Of Learning Evidenced Through A Movement Analysis Tool: The Kesternberg Movement Profile, Rebecca R. Burrill

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

This research looks at the effects oflearning environments on the creative process of learning. The literature search addresses fundamentals of, and relationships between learning, creative process and art-making through neurophysiological, aesthetic, and psychobiological theory. These three things are further tied together through a movement analysis tool-the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP)-which underscores the common tie between the three: bodily movement in the forces of space, weight, and time of the three-dimensional world in which we live.

The Kestenberg Movement Profile was used to analyze the movement of preschool children in three activity categories of movement: formal activities, improvisational dance, and art-making. …

Legal Rights Of Students In The Public Schools: A Descriptive Case Study Of The Center For The Study Of Student Citizenship, Rights And Responsibilities In Dayton, Arthur E. Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

The Center for the Study of Student Citizenship, Rights and Responsibilities was established in Dayton, Ohio in October of 1970. This Center was one of the first student advocacy centers to be established in the nation, and was to assume the posture of investigating and providing answers to many problems that students and parents were being confronted with in the public school system in Dayton, Ohio. Financial support received from Legal Services Division of Research and Demonstration Programs of the United States Office of Economic Opportunity enabled the Center to function more effectively in achieving its primary task, that of …