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University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Honors Theses

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Articles 1 - 17 of 17

Full-Text Articles in Education

Gerrymandering In A Selection Of Central Alabama School Districts, Rebekah Cahill Dec 2023

Gerrymandering In A Selection Of Central Alabama School Districts, Rebekah Cahill

Honors Theses

School district gerrymandering, the process of drawing district lines that intentionally steep the demographics to create a more homogeneous student population, has been a significant factor in cementing Alabama’s reputation as being academically underperforming. This is especially true in central Alabama’s Jefferson County, where forced integration and shifting area demographics have resulted in a significant number of unusual school district secessions. In this paper, I argue that school districts within Jefferson County, Alabama, have created boundaries that put certain students at an educational disadvantage, which has had significant impacts on third grade reading achievement in struggling districts. I perform a …


Junior Year Gpa - Understanding Its Predictive Relationship To High School Ranking, Act Score, And The Shift To Online Learning, Emily Nicole Miller May 2022

Junior Year Gpa - Understanding Its Predictive Relationship To High School Ranking, Act Score, And The Shift To Online Learning, Emily Nicole Miller

Honors Theses

Considerable amounts of resources are allocated to assist and retain students during their first and second years in college, and many universities provide extra support to students as they prepare to graduate and start their professional careers; however, resources are not often specially aimed at third year students (i.e., students in their junior year). The primary goals of this study were to contribute to the body of literature and gain a better understanding of the relationships between students’ ACT scores, their Tennessee High School Quality ranking scores, and their cumulative GPA at the end of their junior year. This research …


Creating A Classroom Culture, Molly Cahill May 2022

Creating A Classroom Culture, Molly Cahill

Honors Theses

Throughout my academic and creative life I have been in many different kinds of classrooms each possessing different values and practices. The art classroom for me was a place of exploration and play, arguably its chief and most important purpose. My thesis seeks to explore how art teachers can foster a creative classroom culture in which students are pursuing some form of expression and how art educators can engage with their students on an equal level and create together. I will also explore how the teacher as a practicing artist can further support and supplement this classroom culture. My thesis …


Community Schools: Effectiveness Of Addressing Barriers To Education In Suburban Communities, Tiffany Patterson May 2022

Community Schools: Effectiveness Of Addressing Barriers To Education In Suburban Communities, Tiffany Patterson

Honors Theses

Over the years, the once thought of as stable suburban community has seen a significant increase in poverty and homelessness which has impacted students in similar ways as it has students in urban area schools and has resulted in the implementation of community school programs. According to Pew Research Center in 2020, there were 37.2 million people living in poverty, 16.2 million live in the suburbs, 15.1 million reside in urban communities – and collectively 11.6 million are minors. Community school programs have grown in popularity as an intervention in urban communities to address challenges that students have encountered which …


Mental Health And Its Impact On The School-To-Prison Pipeline: A Look At Tennessee Schools, Briana Brady May 2021

Mental Health And Its Impact On The School-To-Prison Pipeline: A Look At Tennessee Schools, Briana Brady

Honors Theses

This project sought to examine if and how school-based mental health service accessibility affected long-term student interactions with the criminal justice system. The study is both quantitative and qualitative; it researched existing literature and theories on the subject matter and also sourced over 750 data points published by varying organizations and agencies. By using proxy data including school guidance counselor-to-student ratios, out of school suspension rates, and juvenile court referrals, this research tested whether or not a direct relationship existed between the number of school counselors and both out of school suspensions as well as juvenile court referrals. The findings …


The Changing Classroom: A Thematic Analysis On The Impacts Of The Coronavirus Pandemic On Children And Educators Of A Montessori School, Briley Holbrook May 2021

The Changing Classroom: A Thematic Analysis On The Impacts Of The Coronavirus Pandemic On Children And Educators Of A Montessori School, Briley Holbrook

Honors Theses

The Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has drastically changed day-to-day functioning in American culture and the outlook of many essential institutions, specifically the education system. A halt in learning for most American school children in the spring semester of 2020, as well as necessary adaptation of the day-to-day functions of educational facilities in the fall has altered the learning environment for children and educators like never before. Research on historical disruptions in education, such as natural disasters and public health crises, provide a partial framework for federal approaches to the modern-day pandemic and their potential consequences. Modern technology has provided an …


It Crits Different: Analysis Of Dungeons & Dragons And Tabletop Roleplaying Games As An Oral, Collaborative, And Immersive Genre Of Literacy, Olivia Haslett May 2021

It Crits Different: Analysis Of Dungeons & Dragons And Tabletop Roleplaying Games As An Oral, Collaborative, And Immersive Genre Of Literacy, Olivia Haslett

Honors Theses

With the introduction of multimodality enhancements to literature, such as e-books and audiobooks, alongside the resurgence of Tabletop Roleplaying Games such as Dungeons & Dragons, there has been little consideration for how these two seemingly unrelated fields marry into a new opportunity for literary development. These games often have a fundamental purpose: storytelling. Storytelling has long since been an oral tradition which has been converted into its literary form: books. Books tell us their story without the need of company and are often written by a sole author. However, with more and more Tabletop RPGs coming into popularity, storytelling is …


Classroom To Classroom: How Many Do You See? The Lack Of African American Teachers In K-12 Public Schools And How To Address This Issue Through Diverse Curriculum Development In Teacher Education Programs, Deonna Starks Aug 2020

Classroom To Classroom: How Many Do You See? The Lack Of African American Teachers In K-12 Public Schools And How To Address This Issue Through Diverse Curriculum Development In Teacher Education Programs, Deonna Starks

Honors Theses

This study provides a descriptive study of DEI courses and admissions requirements among 4-year public universities and colleges. Using data and formation collected from Georgia State University, University of Georgia, Kennesaw State University, Fort Valley State University, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, University of Memphis and Middle Tennessee State University, this thesis will examine the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) courses offered at each individual university and propose a ClearPath and recommendations for further implementation of DEI curriculum and the retention and recruitment of preservice African American teachers. Previous research shows that the …


Forest Kindergarten And The Perception Of Parents, Rebecca Boyer May 2020

Forest Kindergarten And The Perception Of Parents, Rebecca Boyer

Honors Theses

This study investigates one public school forest kindergarten in the southeastern U.S. The purpose of this study is to determine the perception of parents of a kindergarten classroom context that is somewhat unique for U.S. public schools (forest kindergarten). The researcher believes that there is a unique perception that parents of forest kindergarten students have, and this study seeks to identify and describe them in order to inform 1) the participants and participating school system so that they can make informed decisions for this and future school-context reform models, and 2) the education research community at large so that U.S. …


African Spirituality As Female Empowerment In The Works Of Yvonne Vera And Toni Morrison, Annie Dockery May 2020

African Spirituality As Female Empowerment In The Works Of Yvonne Vera And Toni Morrison, Annie Dockery

Honors Theses

This thesis will use close reading and postcolonial and feminist criticism to argue that Africans and African-Americans, and consequently the works of Zimbabwean author Yvonne Vera and African-American author Toni Morrison, are connected by memory and rememory, including spirituality, generational trauma, oral tradition, and ritual reenactment and that this connection comes through the Middle Passage. The works of both authors reveal a transatlantic tradition of Black women employing African spirituality to challenge or overcome what bell hooks calls the oppressive systems of imperialist White supremacist capitalist patriarchies; however, despite the spiritual link between the peoples, Africans and African-American culture can …


Through The Elementary School Years: Self-Regulation Predicting Social Competence With Student-Teacher Relationships As Mediators, Kelsie Anderson May 2020

Through The Elementary School Years: Self-Regulation Predicting Social Competence With Student-Teacher Relationships As Mediators, Kelsie Anderson

Honors Theses

Using a longitudinal, nationally representative dataset, ECLS-K:2011, research was conducted to determine the predictive relationship between Self-Regulation in kindergarten and first-grade years and Social Competency in the third- and fourth-grade years of elementary school. Along with this, Student-Teacher Relationships were studied to determine if they could mediate the relationship between Self-Regulation and Social Competency. These aspects have been extensively studied individually in previous research, but this study looks at how these aspects work together and the implications that these relationships have. The current study documented that a) Working Memory predicts indices of Behavioral Engagement and Internalizing Behavior Problems in the …


The Problem-Solving Workshop: Adapting Process Improvement Methodologies For K-12 Educators, Madison Chan May 2020

The Problem-Solving Workshop: Adapting Process Improvement Methodologies For K-12 Educators, Madison Chan

Honors Theses

Lean and Six Sigma have been lauded in the manufacturing sector for their ability to streamline processes, reduce waste, minimize variation and defects, and improve the bottom line. Although these methodologies have begun to spread to other industries, their impact has been relegated to certain areas and has largely missed others. One area that bears strong consideration is education. Education is heavily process-based and notoriously tight on resources. It is hypothesized that if educators were taught the basics of these strategies and were able to implement them in the classroom setting, the effectiveness of both teaching strategies and classroom operations …


More Than A Wheelchair In The Background: A Study Of Portrayals Of Disabilities In Children's Picture Books, Sarah Caroline Crawford May 2016

More Than A Wheelchair In The Background: A Study Of Portrayals Of Disabilities In Children's Picture Books, Sarah Caroline Crawford

Honors Theses

A review of scholarly research conducted between 2004 and 2014 revealed that portrayals of disabilities in works of children’s literature were historically poor, containing stereotypical and negative characterizations. While noting some improvements, researchers still decry a lack of balance in roles of power between characters with disabilities and those without, a lack of depth in storylines and levels of character development, and disproportionate representations of disability categories, male and female characters, and cultural minorities in comparison to the true population (Altieri, 2006; Dowker, 2004; Dyches & Prater, 2005; Dyches, Prater, & Leininger, 2009; Golos & Moses, 2011; Golos, Moses, & …


Bystanders And Bullying: A Reflective Examination Of College Students' Experiences, Katherine Marie Larsen Dec 2014

Bystanders And Bullying: A Reflective Examination Of College Students' Experiences, Katherine Marie Larsen

Honors Theses

This study examines the individual responses of bystanders to bullying based on situational and personal variables. Using self-report data collected on 935 university students, these variables were used to determine if there was a relationship between the variables and the decision to intervene in a bullying situation for a friend. The results suggested that race, sexual orientation, and direct forms of bullying (physical and cyber bullying) have a relationship between an individual’s choice to intervene in a bullying situation for a friend. The findings failed to support the hypothesis that personal factors such as gender, socio-economic status, and a history …


Tennessee: The Birth And Development Of Performance-Based Funding In Higher Education, Evan Williams May 2014

Tennessee: The Birth And Development Of Performance-Based Funding In Higher Education, Evan Williams

Honors Theses

Tennessee was the first state to introduce performance based funding metrics into their higher education system in 1979. Over the past 30+ years, the state reevaluated and amended their formula every five years. What was initially an additional allocation that could be earned on top of an institution’s standard budget has now become the sole method of allocating funds for higher education in Tennessee. In 2010 the Tennessee legislature passed the Complete College Tennessee Act, Which put the state on the path to be the first state in the nation that allocates 100% of higher education funds on the basis …


Defining A Cross Content, Cross Cultural Curriculum For Foreign Language, Hannah P. Seage May 2014

Defining A Cross Content, Cross Cultural Curriculum For Foreign Language, Hannah P. Seage

Honors Theses

This thesis posits a 4th grade foreign language curriculum emphasizing cultural content in a parallel structure to social studies content as a means of addressing the interdisciplinary literacy stressed in the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Both the cultural content element and the parallel curriculum structure are compared to viable alternative emphases or structures prevalent in contemporary pedagogical material and practice. Standards of comparison for content foci are derived from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages aligned with the CCSS and standards of comparison for curriculum structure are derived …


Developing A Cross-Cultural And Cross-Content Foreign Language Curriculum, Sophia R. Seage May 2014

Developing A Cross-Cultural And Cross-Content Foreign Language Curriculum, Sophia R. Seage

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to clarify the implementation of the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary French curriculum described in the associated work, Defining a Cross-Cultural and Cross-Content Foreign Language Curriculum (Seage). Using Social Studies as the primary source of cross-content exchange, the proposed curriculum is composed of three units of entry level French instruction that position the learner to acquire a second language through the broader process of acquiring an understanding of a second culture. By connecting the underlying philosophy outlined in the accompanying work to the recently implemented Common Core State Standards and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' …