Education Commons^™

A Qualitative Inquiry Into One Teacher’S Metacognitive Processes As They Influence Reading Instruction, Jennifer Antoniotti-Neal

Dissertations

Despite over 40 years of research on the importance of metacognitive strategy instruction for increased student reading achievement, minimal research has been conducted to explore teacher’s explicit awareness of their metacognition and their ability to think about, talk about, and write about their thinking (Block & Pressley, 2002). Therefore, this qualitative case study investigates one teacher’s understanding of metacognitive awareness and missed opportunities for metacognitive comprehension strategy instruction in a reading classroom. One fourth-grade reading teacher from a proficient rural elementary school participated in this study. The data analysis results suggest that the participant’s metacognitive knowledge was limited and comprehension …

Graduate Student Retention: An Examination Of Factors Affecting Persistence Among Master's Program Students At Comprehensive Public Institutions, Scott S. Gordon

Dissertations

This study focuses on persistence efforts at the master’s level at regional comprehensive public institutions, with student interviews and document research used as data sources. The interviews are conducted with students who are currently enrolled in or have graduated from master’s programs at one of the two institutions studied, while the documents examined were texts for internal and external constituencies.

While Tinto’s Longitudinal Model of Doctoral Persistence is used as a guide for the research, a variety of student retention models are examined that encompass both undergraduate and doctoral persistence. Challenges include the lack of models specifically intended for master’s …

Examining Teacher Practices Related To Student-To-Student Discourse In The Middle School Classroom, April Dawn Craft

Dissertations

As schools strive to develop 21st century learners equipped with skills in critical thinking and communication, the use of research-based teaching strategies, such as student-to-student discourse, is a necessary component of highly effective instruction. Research has shown that the way in which a teacher facilitates discourse in the classroom has a powerful impact on student learning and achievement. This case study examines the beliefs and instructional practices of a middle grades science teacher as they pertain to the use of student-to-student discourse, or students' use of a set of common language patterns in order to construct meaning or to develop …

Community Literacy, Community College, And Community Leadership In The Rural South: A Tenuous Triangle, Denise Kay Perdue

Dissertations

This study explores a small, southern, rural community’s interrelational domains engaged in literacy development and the choices made by community leaders related to their understanding of literacy. Community domains affected by community members’ literacy deficiencies is ascertained by acknowledged sentience to the problem; however, the response to the challenges of inequitable access and denied liberties to all its members (i.e., education, employment, social strata, and governance) serves to articulate disparities in leadership for social justice and equity.

Within the context of ontological and epistemological assumptions, the transformative leadership conceptual framework by Brown (2006) of adult learning theory, transformative learning theory, …

The Relationships Among Instructional Leadership, School Culture, And Student Achievement In Kentucky Elementary Schools, Karen H. Mackey

Dissertations

In an era of increased accountability and educational reform, schools and districts are searching for strategies to increase student achievement. The principal’s role has changed during the quest for school improvement to being an instructional leader. Principals are seeking knowledge to improve leadership behaviors and approaches to ultimately enhance student achievement. The perceptions of teachers concerning principal leadership behaviors and school culture are vital to educational growth.

This quantitative research study expands the focus of principal instructional leadership and school culture by examining their relationships to student achievement. Hallinger’s (2011) Leadership for Learning model provides a theoretical framework for this …

Teacher Responsiveness To Engaging African American Males: A Qualitative Examination Of Inclusion And Understanding, John D. Marshall

Dissertations

This study examined the influence of teacher practices on the engagement of African American males. Two teachers were selected for observation while teaching African American males. The teachers for this study were found to have a propensity to be culturally responsive and to exude some of those qualities while engaging the African American males. The observations were held in one high school with a high percentage of African American males. The observations, supported by field tested inventories, the Culturally Responsive Inventory Observation Protocol, and the Multicultural Education Awareness Survey, revealed that teachers with an understanding of inclusion and responsiveness (1) …

Students' Perceptions Of A Teacher Leader Master's Program, Evgenia Mauzy

Dissertations

Teacher leadership is one of the key components of school success. However, teacher leader education has not been the focus of research. This quantitative study explores the central research question: What are the perceptions of teachers completing the Western Kentucky University Masters of Art in Education (MAE) Teacher Leader Program regarding their level of professional preparation?

A Likert-type double matrix descriptive survey with correlational design covered students’ perceptions of level of professional preparation on a 5-point scale at the beginning and the end of the program for the ten MAE Program Standards. All data were gathered from students in the …

Does Global Citizenship Education Predict Identification With All Humanity?, Alpha Amber Scott Belt

Dissertations

Scholars and leaders agree institutions of higher education must prepare students to live, work and thrive in a global community. Nevertheless, there remains much discourse and debate surrounding what it actually means to be a global citizen, and what are the appropriate learning opportunities that will best serve to achieve this goal. This quantitative study examined whether or not participation in global citizenship education opportunities predicts how a student identifies him- or herself in relation to all humanity as measured using the Identification with All Humanity (IWAH) scale (McFarland et al., 2012). Four research questions were examined 1) does participation …

Disruptive Leadership: A Grounded Theory Study Of How Three Kentucky Women Are Leading Change, Christian N. Ryan

Dissertations

In this grounded theory study, I explored the process of leadership demonstrated by three women in south central Kentucky as a unique model of leadership: disruptive leadership. These citizen leaders seek to solve wicked problems, disrupting the unacceptable status quo by offering better alternatives. The study is guided by the following research questions: (1) What does it mean to be a disruptive leader?; (2) What are the central concerns of leaders facing wicked problems?; (3) What motivates leaders to solve such problems?; (4) What strategies are employed to address such problems?; and (5) How can disruptive leadership be distinguished from …