Education Commons^™

Educator Perspectives On English Learner Identification: An Explanatory Mixed Methods Study, Rachel E. Hoffman

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore English learner identification and placement through the lens of teacher knowledge and attitude, with the goal of identifying ways to ensure that the intended outcome (correct identification and placement) occurs. Employing explanatory mixed methods research, data was collected from teachers and other educators in the Jackson Public School district through both a web administered survey and one to one phone interviews. The survey data showed that the number of ELs that an educator has had in the past few years had a statistically significant effect on educator knowledge, but none of the …

Convergence Of Senior Administrators And Professional Employees: Case Studies Of Institutional Transformation Via Convergent Hybrid Planned And Emergent Change, Michael C. Metzger

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Higher education institutions are struggling to engage in transformational changes to meet novel environmental forces. These struggles in part may be due to change approaches that lack coordination of professional employee and senior administrator change activity. Kezar’s (2012) Kaleidoscope Convergence—could address such separation of change agent activity. However, a limited understanding of the approach currently exists. This study seeks to gain a better understanding of how and why convergence is used for institutional transformation and engage in analysis to improve the utilization of convergence methods. Research has been organized for this study with a conceptual framework assessing institutional context, desired …

More Seats At The Table: An Examination Of The Role Of Natural Supports In Promoting Postsecondary Transition For Students With Disabilities In Rural Maine, Elizabeth Stone-Sterling

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Students with disabilities who receive special education services are entitled under federal law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that includes measurable postsecondary goals and identifies the transition services that are needed in order for the student to reach those goals. Transition planning for students with disabilities in rural areas can be uniquely challenging due to lack of access to transportation, service providers, and accessible programs. Failure to prepare for postsecondary education or employment is correlated with life-long challenges, including poverty, un/under-employment, and limited educational attainment. Natural supports, in the form of family …

The Entanglement Of Gender, Science, And Interdisciplinarity: Standpoints Of Women Phd Students In Interdisciplinary Traineeships, Kate Bresonis Mckee

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Grounded in the suggestion by Rhoten and Pfirman (2007) that the core practices of interdisciplinary research were embedded with gendered properties and thereby held the potential to offer more welcoming spaces for women’s participation and advancement in scientific fields, this study investigated how women PhD students’ participation in the specific context of interdisciplinary training programs influenced their educational and professional socialization. Narrative inquiry methodology guided in-depth interviews with 19 women PhD students who were participating in one of three National Science Foundation-funded Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) programs at three research universities in the greater Northeast region of …

Lost In Translation: Understanding Education Policy Implementation In Nepal, Sushmita Subedi

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the impact of the School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP), a national education reform in Nepal, on primary and secondary education. The study uses mixed-methods to analyze indicators of educational outcomes and identify the underlying environmental, organizational, and individual factors that affect reform implementation.

The first phase of the study is a quantitative analysis of annual, district-level data on 75 districts for 10 years, from 2006 to 2016 using regression models to predict dropout and promotion rates. The second phase of the study is a qualitative analysis of the perceived effectiveness of SSRP using in-depth interviews with 33 …

High School Teachers' Perceptions Of Social Studies In The Context Of Accountability, Kristina M. Kelleher-Bianchi

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe urban public high school social studies teachers’ perceptions of social studies curriculum narrowing and its influence on their professional identity within the context of Massachusetts’ school accountability policies. This study gave nuance to larger quantitative studies by allowing policy and school leaders to hear directly from teachers who mediate the influence of accountability policies on students. It examined these questions: What were public school teachers’ understandings of the influence of testing pressure in their school? What were high school teachers’ experiences with social studies curriculum narrowing? How did teachers perceive their …

Educators Bailan With Policy Et Le Pouvoir In The Educação Of Multicultural And Multilingual Learners (Wida Eld Standards And The Education Of English Learners), Fernanda Marinho Kray

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The larger frame of this study contributes to the literature that examines how educators negotiate, contest, appropriate, and reconstruct federal and state-level policy in their classrooms. More specifically, the study contributes to the field of language education policy, and in particular to how educators make sense of, and implement, English Language Development (ELD) Standards. I focus on WIDA ELD Standards, as they are currently in use in 42 U.S. states, territories, and federal agencies as well as more than 500 international schools throughout the world. The literature review identifies a problem for standards-based education systems using the 2012 WIDA Standards …

Where Do We Come From? A Quantitative Study Of The Backgrounds And Professional Qualities Of Special Education Transition Specialists In Massachusetts, Jennifer Carr Callison

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The position of secondary Special Education Transition Specialist has evolved into a pivotal role in the transition planning process for students with disabilities. Through state level legislative efforts, licensed Special Educators and select others are able earn a Transition Specialist Endorsement through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Yet, there is no requirement that school districts in Massachusetts have a person on staff who solely acts as a Transition Specialist or employ a person who holds a Transition Specialist Endorsement. Further, little is known about those across the Commonwealth working in this unique capacity. Using a self-administered questionnaire, …

Public-Private Partnerships In Education: A Vertical Case Study Of The Right To Education Act (2009), India, Sheetal Gowda

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

One of the most contentious issues that elicits heated debates in the field of international and comparative education is the role of private actors in the provision of educational services using public monies. As the programmatic idea of public-private partnerships (PPPs) gains momentum internationally, educational PPPs has emerged as a key strategy in reducing educational and social inequities. Despite growing research evidence suggesting the contrary, the neo-liberal agenda of positioning PPPs as the best mechanism for achieving educational rights enshrined in international declarations and national constitutions continue to be perpetuated. Of particular relevance to this study is Section 12(1)(c) of …

Painting The World Crimson: The Global Spread Of Graduate Management Education As Facilitated By Harvard Business School, Keshav Krishnamurty

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The growth and spread of business education worldwide is a phenomenon of contemporary interest, because it has enabled the expansion of a global managerial class that operates as social and economic elites worldwide in a time of growing inequality. I take a historic approach to this contemporary phenomenon by examining the role that Harvard Business School (HBS) played in the 1950s and 1960s in the conceptualization and launch of the now very prominent Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ahmedabad. Using the archival materials at the Special Collections of the Baker Library at Harvard Business School, my research uncovers which …

The A/Effects Of Implicit Bias On The Academic Success Of Black Students Attending Urban Public Schools In The Northeastern Region Of The United States, Nadine R. O'Garro

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The history of racism in the US is so ingrained in American culture that it has become normalized. This is true even in education. Despite well-documented reports that Black students are being subjectively and harshly disciplined for minor in-school infractions, there is a resistance to discussing how teachers are not being prepared to teach in culturally responsive ways. This study sought to shed light on how the impact of institutionalized racism, manifesting as racial microaggressions and implicit biases, are adversely impacting the classroom learning experiences of Black students in middle and high school. The findings of this study reveal the …

Socio-Economic Well-Being Of International F-1 Students Living And Working In The United States, Elena K. Taborda

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

According to United States law, international F-1 students are nonimmigrant aliens residing in the United States temporarily. Yet, they are more than just short-term visitors, as many of them live in the country for years while pursuing their postsecondary studies. Since international students are foreign citizens, their rights and freedoms are bound by the constraints of the country’s immigration policies. This study is concerned with work-related restrictions imposed on F-1 students by the U.S. government, positioning international students’ limited opportunities for employment as being in violation with their basic human right to economic and social development.

This multi-method project drew …