Education Commons^™

How Do The Perceptions Of Early Childhood Teachers Towards Their Early Childhood English Language Learners (Ells) Govern Their Pedagogical Practices With The Early Childhood Ells In Their Classrooms?, Kerry Rizzuto

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this parallel mixed-methodology study was to examine, through a critical lens, how the perceptions of early childhood teachers towards their early childhood English Language learners (ELLs) govern their pedagogical practices. The study was conducted in ten (N = 10) early childhood classrooms, ranging from grades pre-K to third grades, in one suburban school with a culturally and linguistically diverse student population. Quantitative data was gathered through the administration of Pohan and Aguilar's (2001) Professional beliefs about diversity 5-point Likert scale. Additionally, qualitative data was collected through interviews, classroom observations, and material artifacts. The same sample of participants …

Why Do Teachers Hate Ai N'T? Eighteenth-Century Ideologies And Attitudes In Twenty-First-Century Classrooms, Robin Elise Halsey

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the impact of various historical events on the development of the English language and its grammar. Specifically, this project highlights how the ideologies about language held by eighteenth-century grammar-writers have influenced the pedagogical approach of teachers of English, persisting into the twenty-first century. Further, the rationale behind these language ideologies is explored in order to gain important insights into the seemingly prescriptive nature of the majority of grammar texts produced in the eighteenth century and beyond.

The origins of four particular points of grammar and usage that are commonly attacked by teachers, grammarians, and others are examined. …

Factors Affecting Student Satisfaction In Different Learning Deliveries, Kuang-Yu Chang

Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed the relationship between student satisfaction and four interaction variables--student-content, student-instructor, student-student, and student-technology--in online, blended, and traditional learning settings. Demographics, previous experience with the Internet, and discussion-board applications were also investigated.

There were 916 respondents, including 185 in online settings, 90 in blended settings, and 641 in traditional settings, to Strachota's (2002) Online Satisfaction Survey. Participants took the survey either in an on-site classroom (traditional learning) or through e-mail, website link, or the Blackboard course management system (online setting). Participants in the blended setting could choose between completing the survey on-site or online, but were asked to …

Illinois Secondary Agriculture Teachers' Perception Of Critical Development Of Undergraduate Experiences, Alicia Jo Gullidge

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to provide the leadership of Illinois Agricultural Education with an understanding of what practicing teachers feel were the most important experiences in their pre-service teacher education program that ensured they were prepared for the classroom. This information can be used to streamline the teacher education programs and eliminate experiences that are perceived to be less relevant to preparing teachers. It is believed that this will assist with ongoing efforts dealing with recruitment and retention.

The area's that will be addressed in this survey will be demographics and pre-service events that future agriculture teachers are …

Parental Support Group Member's Views On Inclusion, Kaitlyn Blasy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure the view that parents involved in support groups for parents of children with special needs have on inclusion. Parents were surveyed using the "Parent Opinion About Inclusion/Mainstreaming" questionnaire developed by Leyser and Kirk (2004). Children whose parents completed the survey were ages 4 through 20 and were included in various educational settings. Parents were found to be generally supportive of the idea of inclusion. Benefits of inclusion included social skills for both students with and without disabilities, academic skills, and equal opportunities. Perceived problems with inclusion included experience and adaptability of general …

Teaching Expressive Writing To High School Students With Learning Disabilities Using Direct Instruction, Self-Regulation, And Computer-Assisted Instruction, William Lindsey

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects on a combination of Direct Instruction (DI), self-regulation strategies, and computer-assisted writing instruction for high school students with learning disabilities (LD). Five students with LD participated in the study. A multiple baseline research design across students with ABC phases was used. During the baseline, the participants were required to free write 3 to 4 stories based on a topic. During the intervention, the combined strategies were taught, and students were guided to practice in developing their own stories. After two weeks, they were required to complete 2 stories to evaluate …

Perceptions Of Educational Administration Pre-Service Training By Former Illinois Superintendents Currently Serving As University Professors, Douglas Raymond Kaufman

Theses and Dissertations

PERCEPTIONS OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION PRE-SERVICE TRAINING BY FORMER ILLINOIS SUPERINTENDENTS

CURRENTLY SERVING AS UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS

Douglas R. Kaufman

179 pages December 2009

The 1983 publication of A Nation at Riskwas the start of the latest chapter in the long history and development of the public school superintendent. A Nation at Riskbrought new pressure and awareness on university programs that train school administrators coupled with suggestions on how to improve their effectiveness. This study describes many of these suggested reforms and investigates their effectiveness and rate of implementation.

This qualitative study describes the experiences and perceptions of pre-service learning …

Relationships Between Motivation, Self-Efficacy, Mindsets, Attributions, And Learning Strategies: An Exploratory Study, Christopher Lackey

Theses and Dissertations

Motivation, self-efficacy, beliefs about intelligence, and attributions about academic performance all play important roles in student success. To determine the relationships between these factors and the influence of demographics upon them, an online quantitative survey was taken of college students measuring their self-perceptions of these factors. The survey was comprised of items from three existing surveys: the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), the Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale, and the Revised Causal Dimension Scale. First- and second-year students, generally at the highest risk of attrition, were targeted in order to explore whether these factors could shed light on persistence. …

Mark Twain And Critical Thinking In The Secondary Classroom, Daniel Zehr

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study will explore and evaluate the school literacy practices of high school-aged participants at the freshmen level (grade 9). It will interpret their analysis, comprehension, and critical thinking skills through an examination of confidence, abilities, and fluency through discussion and student-led dialogue. Building on previous research regarding critical thinking skills, the researcher hopes to articulate the ways in which students with varied levels of ability (grades 9-12) may be able to use their literacy learning to demonstrate critical thinking skills that will enhance their reading fluency, comprehension, and analytical skills and to foster an appreciation of literature and …

Beliefs And Instructional Practices Of Four Community College Remedial Mathematics Instructors, Robin Marie Wucherer

Theses and Dissertations

BELIEFS AND INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES OF FOUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE REMEDIAL MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTORS

Robin M. Wucherer

285 Pages August 2011

In an extension of research linking teachers' beliefs about mathematics and their instructional practices at the Prek-12 level, the present study examined and documented both the beliefs and instructional practices of four community college instructors who teach remedial mathematics. Data was collected through survey, observations, interviews, and classroom artifacts. The results of the survey, the Modified Standards Based Belief Instrument (MSBI), showed one-third of 39 community college mathematics instructors had beliefs about mathematics and the teaching and learning of mathematics that …

An Examination Of Student Perceptions Of Regional Safe School And Public School Services, Elizabeth Degruy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of students with Individualized Education Programs who attend regional safe schools of their educational experiences. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that students with disabilities be provided a free, appropriate, public education in the least restrictive environment; however, the students who participated in this study had been removed from their home public schools. This study employed a qualitative research methodology to investigate the students' perspectives on their experiences at public schools and a regional safe school.

Participants in this study were 8 high school students with disabilities who attended …

Discursive Tactical Negotiations Within And Across Literacy Coaching Interactions, Carolyn S. Hunt

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, the researcher employed de Certeau's theoretical insights into cultural production in everyday life to examine how literacy coaches and teachers discursively negotiated issues of identity, power, and positioning during coaching interactions. The study also explored how literacy coaches and teachers enacted emotions within these discursive negotiations of identity, power, and positioning; and how physical, social, and ideological spaces were shaped by and reflected in coaching interactions. Data were generated during a yearlong qualitative study of literacy coaches and teachers interacting within a mid-size, suburban district in the U.S. Midwest. The researcher used a microethnographic approach to discourse …

The Ethos Of Excellence In An Effective School: A Study Of An Exemplary Urban School, Karen Danita Gyenfie

Theses and Dissertations

THE ETHOS OF EXCELLENCE IN AN EFFECTIVESCHOOL:

A STUDY OF AN EXEMPLARY URBAN SCHOOL

This research project was organized in three phases. Phase I began with the selection of the high performing urban school site to be studied. Phase II of the study centered on the researcher's study of the school's policies, curriculum, instructional practices, personnel, and related artifacts. The researcher processed, analyzed, and coded all data in accordance to qualitaive standards in order to identify those indigenous practices that impact the success of the school.

The findings of the study including the following:

1. School improvement is a multifaceted …

Innovation In Academic Libraries During A Time Of Crisis, Dane Michael Ward

Theses and Dissertations

During a period of rapid social and technological change, academic Academic libraries and librarianship are experiencing a period of great change, or crisis, influenced by multiple factors including emerging technologies, declining budgets, and changing information. More than a transitory historical phase, these changes represents a fundamental transition between paradigms (Kuhn, 1962). Academic libraries and librarianship are moving from a paradigm focused on collections and books to a paradigm focused on learning. Within this context, innovations are new processes, services and products that facilitate this transition to the new paradigm.

Beyond this definitional work, the work serves as an exploration of …

Community College Faculty Members' Perceptions Of Professional Development For Online Instruction: A Qualitative Study, Danielle Jubanyik

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to investigate community college faculty members' perceptions of the professional development they have received for the implementation and teaching of online courses. The current body of literature is focused mainly on colleges and universities, and the researcher uncovered a gap in the literature, which often bypassed community colleges. I employed the research method of semi-structured interviews with 14 community college faculty members of varied backgrounds and experiences who shared their perceptions and experiences of the professional development they received to teach online. The main themes uncovered by this dissertation study were 1) …

The Influence Of Familial Responsibility, Extra-Curricular Activity Participation, And Employment Status On The Undergraduate Academic Performance Of Traditional And Non-Traditional Aged Students, Constance Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

The present research investigated the influence of family responsibility, financial responsibility, and co-curricular activities on academic performance among traditional aged and non-traditional aged undergraduate students. It explored the association between non-academic variables and age on academic performance to determine whether there is a significant impact on academic success with students. A review of the existing literature presents factors previously implicated in affecting student performance and overall satisfaction. Data was collected from current and/or previous undergraduate students' (n=86) completion of a 16-item questionnaire, a survey developed by the principal researcher, assessing experiences and perceptions regarding collegiate satisfaction and role demands during …

Generalization Of Executive Function Skills In Inclusion Settings For Students With Asperger's Syndrome, Cassandra Marcone-Wright

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this single case investigation were to research the effects of an intervention designated to prepare a student with Asperger's Syndrome for placement within a public high school. The student attended a specialized private school for grades 3-8. Upon entrance into eighth grade, the student entered the intervention program. This program included placement in a mainstream eighth grade social studies class with the accompaniment of the examiner. The intervention included daily feedback and strategies aimed to increase occurrences of task completion, increase executive function skills within the class setting, and decrease maladaptive behaviors. The identical areas of interest …

Financial Retrenchment: A Phenomenological Study Of Two Public School Districts In One Community, John Andrew Asplund

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how two school districts within the same community reacted to the closure of an electric generating power plant that provided approximately 45% of each district's property tax revenue.

The districts under study were chosen for two reasons: (1) They were both affected by the closure of the power plant, and (2) They exemplify the peculiar nature of Illinois public schools. Even though both districts exist in the same relatively small town and serve the same families throughout their schooling, they remain separate, yet parallel, entities.

The two districts are parallel in that the power plant was responsible …

The Effects Of An Undergraduate Algebra Course On Prospective Middle School Teachers' Understanding Of Functions, Especially Quadratic Functions, Jonathan Taniola Duarte

Theses and Dissertations

Although current reform movements have stressed the importance of developing prospective middle school mathematics teachers' subject matter knowledge and understandings, there is a dearth of research studies with regard to prospective middle school teachers' confidence and knowledge with respect to quadratic functions. This study was intended to fill this void. It generated information on prospective teachers' knowledge of quadratic functions as well as of their confidence to answer questions involving quadratic equations and multiple representations of functions.

The study employed a multiple-perspectives design, with data being collected from different vantage points - documents, pre- and post-teaching tests, artifacts, interviews, classroom …

Bullying Among Middle School Students, Paige Pfeiffer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in opinions between students and the staff (teachers, non-certified support staff and certified support staff) in a suburban middle school with regard to bullying. The researcher summarized data from a survey administered to 671 participants within the school setting. The researcher analyzed which questions were relevant to the hypothesis, twelve questions were scored and the scores of students were then compared using a t-test to those of teachers, non-certified support staff and certified support staff. Overall, significant differences were noted between student and staff perceptions of bullying, and scores of …

Homophonic Translation, Appositional Writing, And The Monster, Ryan Landry Clark

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation features a combination of critical and creative work

exploring the ethics of appropriative writing and the reparative potential of homophonic translation. The opening essay examines the ethics of appropriation- based poetry and introduces the concept of what I call "appositional writing," a term to describe ethically-minded works of poetry that make use of appropriative writing methods. The next three parts of this dissertation are each appositional writing projects that make use of homophonic translation as the primary method of composition. "Arizona State Bill 1070: An Act" is a homophonic translation of the anti-immigration bill of the same name. …

Understanding The Support Needs Of People With Intellectual And Related Developmental Disabilities Through Cluster Analysis And Factor Analysis Of Statewide Data, Yuwadee Viriyangkura

Theses and Dissertations

Through a secondary analysis of statewide data from Colorado, people with intellectual and related developmental disabilities (ID/DD) were classified into five clusters based on their support needs characteristics using cluster analysis techniques. Prior latent factor models of support needs in the field of ID/DD were examined to investigate the factor structure of the support needs construct using confirmatory factor analytic procedures.

Fostering Culturally Responsive Teaching In An Urban Preschool: A Qualitative Case Study, Denise Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Preschool years are significantly important for students in urban districts. Early childhood helps set the foundation for learning about school culture. Students who are able to connect their home environment to the school environment tend to do better in their academic setting. Fostering a pedagogy that is culturally sensitive to students is a teaching stance that enables success with curriculum and addresses the inequities that accompany low socioeconomic students. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore four urban teachers' formal understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy within an urban preschool. The teachers' espoused and enacted practice formulated the …

Parental And Peer Support In The Lgbt Community, Andrew Midgley

Theses and Dissertations

The unique challenges faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students are putting pressure on parents, teachers, and school psychologists to find potential solutions. The purpose of this study is to examine variables that have the potential to decrease levels of depression and bullying victimization experienced by LGBT youth. Adults who identify as LGBT were asked to complete a survey reflecting on their experiences in high school. Findings indicate that parental support and peer support are associated with decreased levels of depressive symptoms. There is also an indication that the presence of a student-run LGBT support and/or advocacy group …

Exploring The Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching Of Japanese Teachers, Ratu Jared R. T. Bukarau

Theses and Dissertations

In the past two decades there has been an increased effort to understand the depth to which mathematics teachers must know their subject to teach it effectively. Researchers have termed this type of knowledge mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT). Even though recent studies have focused on MKT, the current literature on the subject indicates that this area remains underdeveloped. In an attempt to further refine our conception of MKT this study looked at MKT in Japan. In this thesis I explored and categorized the MKT of three experienced Japanese cooperating teachers (CTs) by looking at the content of their conversations …

The Effects Of School Type On Kindergarten Reading Achievement: Comparing Multiple Regression To Propensity Score Matching, Farrin Denise Bridgewater

Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Students taught at private schools by and large attain higher marks on reading achievement tests than do students taught at public schools. This difference is further aggravated by race, socioeconomic status, and reading ability at the entry of kindergarten.

PURPOSE: The goal of this nonexperimental study was to investigate whether students in either school type vary in reading achievement when they are measured on similar confounding variables (i.e., race, SES, and reading scores at the entrance of kindergarten).

METHODS: Propensity score matching, a method used to estimate causal treatment effect, was used to analyze the original sample of 12,250 …

A Qualitative Case Study On Teachers' Identities, Ideologies, And Commitment To Teach In Urban And Suburban Schools, Talonda Michelle Lipsey

Theses and Dissertations

Using narrative inquiry, this study employed a Critical Race Theory lens to examine the ways in which identity factors such as race, culture, socioeconomic status, and gender work in concession with teachers' ideologies, as demonstrated by their values, beliefs, and perceptions about race, to inform their teaching practices, experiences with students and families of color, and commitment to teach. The main question this research study sought to examine was: How do teachers' identities and ideologies, as demonstrated by their values, beliefs, and perceptions, influence their decisions to remain in or leave urban and suburban classrooms?

The study focused on the …

Reading Comprehension And Nursing Education: A Missing Variable Associated With Nursing Student Attrition?, Debra L. Lajoie

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

READING COMPREHENSION AND NURSING EDUCATION:

A MISSING VARIABLE ASSOCIATED WITH

STUDENT ATTRITION?

by

Debra L. Lajoie, MSN

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

December, 2013

Under the Supervision of Susan Dean-Baar, PhD, RN, FAAN

The goals of nursing faculty and administrators are to select students most capable of completing the nursing program and to provide academic support needed for program completion. However, despite stronger entrance requirements, educators are still baffled by the persistent attrition from nursing education programs. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the level of reading comprehension of two groups of students, a pre-nursing student …

Impact Of The Arthritis Foundation's Walk With Ease Program On Self-Efficacy, Quality Of Life And Pain Reduction In A Group Format, Kelly Nicole Reese

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the Arthritis Foundation's Walk With Ease Program for individuals with self- or medically-diagnosed arthritis within a group format. The study also investigates the individuals' perceptions on self-efficacy, quality of life and pain reduction pre- and post- intervention.

Background: The prevalence of arthritis is increasing and this places a major burden on individuals, health systems and social care systems globally. Osteoarthritis, the most common arthritis condition, is a major cause of impaired mobility and disability for aging populations. Osteoarthritis affects millions of people around the world. Self-management programs like the Walk With Ease Program have …

Grammar Enhanced Biliteracy: Naskapi Language Structures For Facilitating Reading In Naskapi, William Joseph Jancewicz

Theses and Dissertations

The Naskapi language is the language of instruction in the early primary grades of the school in the Naskapi community. Only recently have Naskapi-speaking teachers received formal instruction in pedagogy, with a cohort of Naskapi teachers following courses for their Bachelor of Education degree towards careers teaching in the Naskapi language in their local school. These adults are highly motivated to become literate in their mother tongue in order to teach or prepare curriculum materials in the Naskapi language. This thesis explores how basic grammatical structures can be mastered, and provides insight into the form that pedagogical grammatical instruction should …