Education Commons^™

Curricular Agency: Contemplating Curriculum As A Process To Empower Teachers, Matthew L. Spurlin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using the qualitative method of Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism (Eisner, 1991) and an interview structure based on the commonplaces (Schwab, 1969), this study involved working with four exemplary teacher educators to externalize their internal process of curricular decision-making. Contemplating their own curricula as a dynamic process rather than a finished product, the study identifies where in that process their curricular agency—their educational agency, and their human agency (Bandura, 2006)—is found. This operationalization of curricular agency within curricular theory provides an empowering perspective of teacher-centered education as a response to teacher burnout.

Examining The Role Of Liaison Librarians As Research Collaboration Partners: A Mixed-Methods Multiple-Case Study, Kawanna Michelle Bright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This sequential, mixed-methods study explored the professional relationship-building experiences of academic liaison librarians and university professors with a focus on research collaborations. A survey was administered and Chi-square and Spearman's rho analyses conducted on 2,650 responses to identify associations between organizational and individual factors and liaisons' work, perceptions of relationship-building experiences, and confidence in supporting faculty research. Following the survey, seven liaison-faculty pairs were identified and interviewed, and case study analysis utilized to explore specific liaison-faculty research collaboration relationships.

The study explored factors associated with liaisons' work, perceptions of faculty relationship-building, and confidence in supporting faculty research. The most salient …

Mississippians In Physics: Perspectives And Practice In A Search For Physics Excellence, Paul D. Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-method study represents a broad evaluation of the physics views of Mississippi physics students and physicists, along with an analysis of graduate school data, in a search for answers which might improve physics education in Mississippi. Descriptive statistics were calculated using data from eight graduate degree programs (from Fall 2003 through Full Summer 2012) at the University of Mississippi. This was done to find the percent of graduate degrees in each degree program which were awarded to in-state residents. It was found that of the eight University of Mississippi graduate degree programs in the study, two programs awarded a …

Examining Factors Related To Teacher Turnover In Mississippi School Districts And The Relationship Between Teacher Experience, Teacher Turnover, And Student Achievement, Angela Wheeler - Bass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Experiences Of Mississippi Community College Students Who Are Deaf And Hard Of Hearing, Ronda Bryan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Professional Skill Development For Collegiate Recreation Student Employees, Peter Jacob Tulchinsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Practitioners in the field of collegiate recreation have begun to place greater emphasis on the co-curricular learning experiences of undergraduate students who are employed in collegiate recreation departments. Institutions have implemented learning outcomes and career readiness assessments to measure student knowledge acquisition through on-campus employment. Astin (1993) suggested that on-campus, part-time employment positively impacted student development, specifically in terms of timely degree completion and more frequent self-reporting of cognitive and affective growth, while Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) reported that undergraduate employment is also linked to the attainment of higher levels of professional responsibility. The Dissertation in Practice (DiP) will examine …

African American And First-Generation Students’ Perceptions Of And Experiences With An Academic Cohort, Sovent Zantrell Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Underrepresented student populations are faced with numerous barriers and are often overlooked on many college campuses. The aim of this research was to better understand academic cohorts and if they help reduce some of the barriers faced by African American and first-generation students which can ultimately affect retention and persistence to graduation. In order to gather this information, interviews and surveys were conducted with students once enrolled in the foundations for academic success track (Fastrack) program at the University of Mississippi. Results from the interviews and surveys indicate that while the Fastrack program seemed to support successful social transitions for …

Engagement Strategies And Their Impact On Underserved Students, Marquis Mccloud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Experiences Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Mississippi Community Colleges, Krystal Michelle Berry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

L2 Teachers' Efficacy: The Impact Of Professional Development, Nino Jakhaia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quasi-experimental explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined the impact of a 25-hour professional development on English as a foreign language (L2) teachers’ sense of efficacy in writing instruction in the country of Georgia. It also explored the links between teachers’ beliefs about teaching writing, self-efficacies in instructional strategies, and the professional development. A convenience sampling technique was used to select teachers for participation in the professional development. The quantitative data was collected through the teacher efficacy scale. The qualitative methods in the form of semi-structured questions about efficacy were used to enhance the data by examining teachers’ perceptions of the …

Identifying Predictors Of New Teacher Retention, Bonita Lanoza Maready

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifying Predictors of New Teacher Retention Abstract High teacher turnover is a financial and instructional problem in schools on the national, state, and district level. Because the greatest proportion of teacher attrition (not related to retirement) and turnover occurs in the first five years of beginning a teaching career, retaining new teachers is critical to the effective use of shrinking education budgets and bringing about instructional stability, particularly in high-poverty and high-minority schools and districts. The study utilized restricted-use data from the 2007-2012 Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study (BTLS) to identify predictors of teachers remaining in their initial teaching assignment into …

A Relational Study Of International General Certificate Of Secondary Education (Igcse) Scores To The American College Test (Act) Scores In A Mississippi Innovative High School, Dane Nicholas Aubé

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract: the purpose of the quantitative, correlational study of expo/facto data was to determine if a relationship exists between the Cambridge international general certificate of Secondary Education College and career readiness PUM scores and the corresponding act subsection scores of eleventh graders at a municipal pubic high school in a southern state. The degree of correlation between the two assessment results illustrated the effectiveness of the Cambridge curriculum in preparing students for the college and achievement on the act. The research is particularly important to Mississippi because Cambridge is a pilot program for the state. Performance data from Corinth school …

The Relationship Between Metacognitive Awareness Of Reading Strategies Use And 10th Grade Students' College And Career Readiness Achievement In English Language Arts, Davida Smith-Keita

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between 10th grade students’ metacognitive awareness of readings strategies use and their college and career readiness achievement in English language arts as a primary focus of research and, secondarily, the relationship between metacognitive awareness of reading strategies use and Lexile® growth as a measure of reading ability. The explanatory research design for this quantitative study included a statistical analysis of scores from the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI) (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002), existing college and career readiness achievement scores from the 2016-2017 Georgia Milestones 9th Grade Literature and Composition summative assessment, and existing …

African American And First-Generation Students’ Perceptions Of And Experiences With An Academic Cohort, Kim Barnes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Underrepresented student populations are faced with numerous barriers and are often overlooked on many college campuses. The aim of this research was to better understand academic cohorts and if they help reduce some of the barriers faced by African American and first-generation students which can ultimately affect retention and persistence to graduation. In order to gather this information, interviews and surveys were conducted with students once enrolled in the foundations for academic success track (Fastrack) program at the University of Mississippi. Results from the interviews and surveys indicate that while the Fastrack program seemed to support successful social transitions for …

Armatures For Success: Advancing Racial Equity For Funeral Service Technology Students, Angela Massey Hopper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive, exploratory action research study, using both qualitative and quantitative methods, was to identify students at risk of failure on a post-graduate licensure exam and to develop and implement improvement models to improve exam performance. The participants were alumni of the funeral service technology program at Northwest Mississippi Community College. African American graduates of this vocational course failed at increasingly disparate rates above Caucasian graduates in the national board licensing examination, despite commensurate post-secondary scholastic achievement. The quantitative research portion of the study statistically analyzed student performance measures in funeral service classes to reveal areas of …

Paper Chase: Perceptions Of The Pursuit Of Academic Scholarly Productivity Among Faculty Writing Group Participants, Deidra Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This autoethnography uses the researcher’s personal journey from professional writer to emergent academic scholar to examine the perceptions of the frequent pursuit of academic scholarly productivity among faculty writing group (FWG) participants. The case study, based at a Southeastern U.S. research-intensive university, adds to extensive analyses of FWGs as a means of faculty development that positively influences the frequency of scholarly work; it is significant because unlike most studies on FWGs, this study focuses on understanding more deeply the sway that “publish or perish” directives hold on FWG participants, delving into faculty reactions to academe’s explicit pressures that professors regularly …

Perceptions Of Executive Female Leaders In Athletics, Lynnette Y. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 1981 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) developed the designation of Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) within the membership. With the addition of women’s athletic programs in the NCAA starting in the 1981-1982 season, the NCAA knew there was a need to guarantee at least one executive woman was seated at the decision-making table to support the new female teams ("NCAA SWA brochure," 2011). Title IX legislation was already a decade old when the NCAA added women’s teams and the platform to grow women in sport was forefront (Glazor-Raymo, Townsend, & Ropers-Huilman, 2000, p. 184). Today, there are women in …

The Relationship Between Note-Taking Method And Grade Point Average When Controlling For Act Score And Self-Regulation Ability In Undergraduate Students, Donna Lee Gurley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A sample of 130 students from a mid-sized research university in the southern United States were asked questions about their note-taking practices, particularly about the percentage of classes in which they had taken notes on a laptop for both the previous semester and for their entire undergraduate career. Note-taking method was then entered as an independent variable along with composite ACT score and each students' score on the Self Regulation Survey (SRS) (Schwarzer, Diehl, & Schmitz, 1999) into a multiple regression analysis to determine the extent to which there is a relationship between note-taking method and grade point average. No …

Leadership Development Programs In College Athletics: An Exploration Of The Student-Athlete Experience, Jeffrey O'Brien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of twelve college student-athletes, from two NCAA Division I institutions, who participated in leadership development programs provided by their athletic department. There is a demonstrated need for this level of exploration as evidenced by the growing trend of college athletic departments providing leadership development programming for their respective student-athlete populations. However, there is not a commensurate level of scholarship related to the effectiveness of these programs, nor is there an understanding of the lived experiences of the student-athlete participants that is grounded in research. Therefore, this qualitative …

Applied Software Tools For Supporting Children With Intellectual Disabilities, Ahmad Abualsamid

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We explored the level of technology utilization in supporting children with cognitive disabilities at schools, speech clinics, and with assistive communication at home. Anecdotal evidence, literature research, and our own survey of special needs educators in Central Florida reveal that use of technology is minimal in classrooms for students with special needs even when scientific research has shown the effectiveness of video modeling in teaching children with special needs new skills and behaviors. Research also shows that speech and language therapists utilize a manual approach to elicit and analyze language samples from children with special needs. While technology is utilized …

Interpersonal Behavior Traits And Their Relationship To Administrator-To-Teacher Feedback: A Quantitative Study, Robert Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore what, if any, relationship exists between the interpersonal behavior traits held by administrators and the quality of the feedback they provide to teachers. The Interpersonal Behavior Survey (IBS) was used to develop interpersonal behavior profiles for all the school-based administrators from a moderately sized school district who consented to participate in the study. Additionally, the comments submitted as feedback to teachers by the participating administrators were reviewed and scored using a rubric. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine what, if any, relationship exists between the traits measured by the IBS and …

Exploration Of Teaching El Students Using The Arts With The Focus On Theatre Arts, Carinita Quintero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Education has become a revolutionary field in which constant change and diversification of students in the classroom has sought for much differentiation in lessons and instructions. One of the popular forms for differentiation is that of drama or theatre techniques. Theatre has been used in many forms for fostering education. One of the elements from ESL teacher's experience is using theatre in the English as a Second Language classroom or EL class to aid students in learning English. The study focused on the influence theatre arts components have on students learning English as a second language. I proposed to present …

An Exploration Of The Perceived Change In Administrators' Skill In Giving Targeted Feedback, Kathryn Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers require research-based feedback from their instructional leaders to push their practice forward. Opportunities to intellectually struggle, develop and communicate our understanding is a venue for learning. Professional learning provides these opportunities and current leadership issues require administrators to deepen their instructional leadership expertise. Results of this study revealed ways of preparing instructional leaders with the skills to give targeted feedback to teachers as evidenced by the alignment of administrators and teacher results. The ability to give feedback to teachers needs to be part of a collaborative cycle as evidenced in the growth from September 2016 to January 2017 survey …

Lexico-Grammatical Complexity In Eap Student Writing: A Learner Corpus Analysis, Ekaterina Goussakova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this descriptive linguistic study, the lexico-grammatical complexity of placement and exit English for Academic Purposes (EAP) student writing samples was analyzed using corpus linguistic methods to explore language development as a result of student enrollment in the EAP program. Writing samples were typed, matched, and tagged. A concordance software was used to produce lexical realizations of grammatical features. A comparison was made of normed frequency counts for nine phrasal and clausal features as well as raw frequencies for type to token ratio (TTR), average word length, and word count. In addition, the contribution of variables such as advanced grammar …

Black Males In Programs For High Achievers At A Community College: Exploring The Qualitative Nature Of Academic Success, Gerald Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Most of the literature concentrating on Black males, focuses on retention problems that have gone unresolved. The purpose of this study was to explore qualitatively the nature of the academic success of Black males in programs for high achievers at a community college. A detailed literature review was completed, focusing on educational themes such as motivation, high achievers, persistence, and honors programs. The theoretical framework used was GRIT developed by Duckworth (2007). The researcher used a six-step process as suggested by Moustakas (1994) to determine results. In addition, interviews were conducted with seven Black males who were defined as high …

Boots On The Ground: A Participant-Oriented Approach To Program Evaluation, Nikki Djak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite best efforts to fully prepare pre-service teachers (PSTs) with the knowledge and skills they will need as educators, many universities nationwide fall short of doing so. Poor or unrelated pre-service preparation of education majors prior to graduation creates disconnects between college coursework requirements and real-world expectations of educators, which decreases the value of these education programs. It also leaves many PSTs entering internship and subsequent first-year employment ill-prepared to handle all of the classroom responsibilities expected of them, which contributes to another nationwide problem: low retention of novice teachers. To address comprehensive preparation of PSTs, professors at one large …

Stem Academic Engagement In Young Children With Autism: A Single Case Design Study, Yixuan Ji

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher examined the academic engagement in Circle Time activities and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) activities for three young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who attended a large Orange County Public School, enrolled in an ASD preschool classroom. Given the increasing number of children diagnosed with ASD each year and many STEM job opportunities for individuals with ASD, it is becoming important to know how young children with ASD learn and engage in STEM activities. Strengths of individuals with ASD in the STEM field have been reported in several research studies (Chen & Weko, 2009; Kirchner, Ruch …

Implementing Gameplay Skills To Increase Eye Contact And Communication For Students With Emotional Behavioral Disorder And Comorbid Disabilities, Celestial Wills-Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of gameplay activities using a structured social skills program to increase both eye contact responses and the number of verbal responses during peer relationships for students with comorbid disabilities in a clinical setting. This SEL intervention was modified for children with comorbid autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and emotional and behavioral disorder (EBD). A single-subject, multiple-baseline, across-participants design was used. Participants included adolescents (n = 6) with comorbid disabilities, predominantly ASD and EBD, their board-certified behavior analysts (BCBA), and six behavior technicians. The researcher established and maintained face-to-face reciprocal peer social engagements (communication) …

The Unheard Voices Of Nontraditional Students In Higher Education: Learning To Become A Student, Marcelo Julio Maturana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the lived experiences of older students who work and have family responsibilities while attending an undergraduate program full-time. Research indicates that this segment of the student population is the only one that is growing today and is projected to grow in the future; this also is the largest the group of students that does not finish their studies in spite of the many services aimed at supporting students' academic success. This study critically investigated the category of the nontraditional student and reviewed the literature about students' college experiences, including the limitations of its theoretical assumptions to describe …

A Study Of The Influence Of The Restorative Justice Model On Out-Of-School Suspensions In A Large School District, Brian Agard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether the Restorative Justice model influenced the number of days that students were suspended out-of-school or the number of out-of-school suspension incidents. In addition, the researcher analyzed whether the Restorative Justice model had different impacts for the subgroups of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch (FRL), English Learners (EL), students qualifying for exceptional student education services (ESE), and three ethnic subgroups (White, Black, and Hispanic) in an urban school district in Central Florida for the sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students for the seven school years from 2010-2011 to 2016-2017. Primary …