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Walden University

2015

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Qualitative

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Education

Parents' Perceptions Of And Experiences With School Counselors, Robyn Jean Emde Jan 2015

Parents' Perceptions Of And Experiences With School Counselors, Robyn Jean Emde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has found that parents may feel isolated from their children's schools due to their own problematic educational experiences or their lack of understanding their children's school experiences. Current literature explores stakeholders' perceptions of school counselors but lacks specific context from a parental perspective. Validating parents' perceptions of and experiences with school counselors enhances students' academic success by providing insight about what motivates parents to invest in their children's schools and how school counselors influence parental involvement. Utilizing key concepts related to the importance of parental involvement for student success, this qualitative study focused on the experiences and perceptions of …

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Observations And Teachers' Perceptions Of The Implementation, Benefits, And Challenges Of Breakfast In The Classroom, Dixie Shaffer Jan 2015

Observations And Teachers' Perceptions Of The Implementation, Benefits, And Challenges Of Breakfast In The Classroom, Dixie Shaffer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The federal government established nutrition assistance programs such as the School Breakfast Program and school districts have implemented Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) to improve participation rates, yet millions of low-income children do not partake in these programs. Thus, many school districts are failing to meet the nutritional needs of the low-income population, which can have negative effects on a child's healthy development. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to observe and explore teachers' perspectives regarding school breakfast implementation in a small school district in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Research questions examined experiences with implementation, …

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Army Medics With College Degrees Who Transitioned To Civilian Life, Alex Giberson Jan 2015

Army Medics With College Degrees Who Transitioned To Civilian Life, Alex Giberson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Few colleges and universities have adopted the practice to provide credits for the majority of undergraduate coursework for military career training. Easing the transition from military to civilian life has become a priority for the Department of Defense, yet there is a significant gap in empirical knowledge regarding the potential benefits of a college degree on soldiers exiting the military. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of Army Medics who have transitioned back into civilian life after graduating from a college degree program that grants significant credit for military training. This phenomenological study used a …

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Towards More Effective Teacher Professional Development Initiatives, Laura Sebastian Hooks Jan 2015

Towards More Effective Teacher Professional Development Initiatives, Laura Sebastian Hooks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) and Race to the Top (2009) legislation have forged new school accountability measures and led to a sharp increase in demand for teacher professional development (TPD). However, data revealed that there is a disconnection between the training that teachers receive and its implementation, limiting its impact on student achievement. This qualitative case study's purpose was to reveal major barriers to TPD implementation and provide suggestions for crafting more impactful TPD. Based on the social constructivist foundation, this study sought to address the factors that increase teachers' receptiveness to more effective teaching techniques. It …

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Formative Program Evaluation Of A Professional Learning Community In An Urban Elementary School, Cherie Laverne Ameyaw Jan 2015

Formative Program Evaluation Of A Professional Learning Community In An Urban Elementary School, Cherie Laverne Ameyaw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a professional learning community (PLC), school personnel participate in focused collaboration to improve adult learning and facilitate student achievement. Implementation of a PLC is often haphazard and not evaluated for effectiveness, resulting in poor implementation. This study, a PLC-specific qualitative formative program evaluation, addressed a lack of documented PLC effectiveness at a local urban elementary school in the southern United States. The purpose of this project was to determine how teachers described the functioning of their PLC. The conceptual framework for the study was Hord and Tobia's 6 characteristics of a PLC. The research questions focused on how teachers …

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A Phenomenological Study Of Ged Graduates Meeting College Readiness Standards At A Community College, Kelley Mischel Jones Jan 2015

A Phenomenological Study Of Ged Graduates Meeting College Readiness Standards At A Community College, Kelley Mischel Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative study was designed to understand the experiences of General Educational Development (GED) graduates enrolling into a community college. Research had not been conducted to explore the experiences of GED graduates completing the 2014 version of the exam and transitioning to college. Guided by Schlossberg's college transition theory and Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, this phenomenological study included 11 participants who described their experiences through written narratives and interviews. Participants described their experiences of being an adult education student while preparing for the exam, the steps within the GED test preparation they considered important to matriculation toward college enrollment, and …

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School Violence And Teacher Resiliency At A Midwest Elementary/Middle School, Jounice Blackmon Wright Jan 2015

School Violence And Teacher Resiliency At A Midwest Elementary/Middle School, Jounice Blackmon Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate, from the perspective of teachers, the possible effect of school violence on teacher resiliency. School violence has been studied with respect to student behavior and academic success, as well as socioeconomic influences, but not with respect to teacher resiliency, as expressed by teachers themselves. Resiliency theory was the conceptual framework. Participants were all teachers of Grades 2-8 at an elementary/middle school in the Midwest. Twelve in-depth interviews were transcribed into text data and analyzed for common themes. Using NVivo, Version 10, I was able to more easily manage the volumes of …

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College Leve Inqury Learning's Influence On Later Science Thinking Behavior, Eric Gordon Chesloff Jan 2015

College Leve Inqury Learning's Influence On Later Science Thinking Behavior, Eric Gordon Chesloff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Society needs scientists who can collaborate to become keener analysts so that they might better inform citizens. College students who are well educated in science are likely to become better analysts. The purpose of this grounded theory constructivist-oriented study was to illuminate the influence of undergraduate freshman inquiry learning on thinking skills in science courses during the senior college year. The conceptual framework involved the 3 components of the cognitive learning cycle: exploration, concept invention, and application. Research questions concerned college seniors' perceptions of their freshman process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) experience in general chemistry and its influence on their …

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