Education Commons^™

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Roles And Challenges With Inclusion, Nini Asheki Greenidge

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractMany schools have employed inclusion practices as an instructional framework, meaning general and special educators are expected to coteach students with disabilities in the general education classroom. The research problem at the local study district was that inclusion as an instructional framework challenged the roles of general and special education coteachers as well as the students they were intended to benefit. The conceptual framework for this project study was the social constructivist theory. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to gain an understanding about inclusion as an instructional framework. The research questions addressed how the experiences of the …

Preservice Teacher Efficacy To Teach Informational Text Comprehension Through Literature Circles, Amy J. Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Preservice teachers in an elementary education teacher preparation program are tasked with teaching informational text comprehension through literature circles during a literacy field experience. The problem addressed is that even after receiving explicit classroom instruction on this topic, preservice teachers expressed apprehension and self-doubt and may not have the self-efficacy to effectively teach informational text comprehension. The purpose of this project study was to explore preservice teachers' perceived self-efficacy to teach informational text comprehension. This study was grounded in a constructivist paradigm centered on Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy. The research questions concerned preservice teachers perceived self-efficacy to teach informational text …

Preschool Teachers’ Perspectives Of Professional Development Related To The Management Of Challenging Behaviors, Obioma Ijeoma Uche

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractMany young children enter preschool programs exhibiting challenging behaviors and are suspended from preschool at a rate 3 times more than K–12 students. Many preschool students who need help are instead suspended or expelled. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore private preschool teachers’ perspectives on past or existing professional development opportunities related to children with challenging behaviors and the resources/professional development needed to support these students. Knowles’ theory of andragogy served as the conceptual lens for this study. Interview questions were developed to elicit in-depth participant responses to answer the two research questions on preschool teachers’ …

Early Childhood Teacher Perspectives Regarding Preparedness To Teach Children Experiencing Trauma, Christina Lombardi-Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, approximately 26% of children will witness or experience a traumatic event before they turn 4 years old. Therefore, teachers must be prepared to meet the individual needs of children who exhibit symptoms of trauma. However, there is a gap in research regarding teachers' perspectives about how teacher preparation experiences influence teaching strategies and the creation of supportive environments for preschool children who have experienced trauma. Using Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how teachers' perspectives about teacher preparation experiences influenced their teaching strategies and the creation of supportive …

Culturally Related Curriculum And How It Influences Preservice Teachers, Ana-Alicia Gonzales

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Variation in the way that teacher preparation programs implement culturally related curriculum leads to different preservice teacher perceptions on preparedness to teach in culturally diverse classrooms. Research has indicated that preservice teachers can feel prepared after taking a culturally related course, but there is a gap in understanding how culturally related curriculum influences preparedness. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative, explanatory study was to explore how preservice teachers' perceived intercultural competence and self-efficacy, which contribute to preparedness, are influenced by forms of culturally related curriculum in a U.S. university teacher preparation program. Deardorff's model of intercultural competence, Bennett's developmental model …

The Impact Of University Writing Curriculum On Preservice Teachers' Praxis I Scores, Virginia Ann Braithwaite

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Until 2014, admission requirements for the educator preparation program at a university in the north central United States included a minimum competency level on the Praxis I basic skills writing test and completion of one general education writing course. However, evidence from the university's ETS reports showed that less than 60% of students as first-time test-takers met the required score. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the required writing course in assisting students to meet the Praxis I writing competencies. In 2014, the ETS Core Academic Skills for Educators test replaced the Praxis I. Because …

Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching In Elementary Pre-Service Teacher Training, Jason Proctor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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It was unclear how the teacher education curriculum at a regional university in the south central region of the United States developed mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) in prospective elementary teachers. Understanding how MKT develops during teacher training is important because MKT has been linked to student achievement. The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to examine how prospective elementary teachers' MKT developed while enrolled in a math and science strategies course. Guided by Ball et al.'s MKT framework and Silverman and Thompson's development of this framework, this study investigated changes in prospective teachers' MKT levels …

Understanding The Differences Between Novice And Experienced Reading Teachers, Katie Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Education researchers have documented that first-year teachers are often less effective at reading instruction than their more experienced peers. Accordingly, this qualitative, comparative case study was designed to assess the instructional skills and strategies utilized by first-year and experienced teachers using Danielson's Framework for Teaching as the conceptual framework. The research questions were used to examine two groups of teachers using the framework and the Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project's defined levels of performance for effective reading instruction. The goal was to identify the instructional differences between the two groups of teachers. Purposeful sampling was used to select 3 …

Impact Of The Southern State Teaching Program On The Preparation Of Teacher Leaders, Jenna Hallman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The roles and responsibilities of teacher leaders change as schools, districts, and states adopt new policies, procedures, and initiatives. However, little qualitative research has been conducted about how teachers develop leadership skills, particularly during preservice preparation programs. The purpose of this single case study was to explore how a community of practice prepared college graduates to be teacher leaders. The conceptual framework was based on the concepts of situated learning, communities of practice and legitimate peripheral participation. Four graduates from a state teaching program were purposefully selected as participants. Data were collected from multiple sources, including initial and follow-up interviews …

Math Teachers' Experiences Learning And Teaching Math, Kathryn Couch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

In a charter school in the Southwest United States, elementary students were struggling to

attain proficiency in math and have been failing to meet the standards in math on the

Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards test. As a result, these students may not have

been prepared for more advanced math courses as they continued their schooling, and this

failure to attain proficiency in math may continue to impact the school's ability to make

adequate yearly progress. The purpose of this explanatory case study was to explore the

perspectives of elementary math teachers toward teaching math, their preparation to teach …

Faculty And Student Perceptions Of Reading And Language Arts Preparation And Preparedness For The State Subject Area Test, Ingrid Ahrens Massey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since changes to the reading/language arts State Subject Area Test (SSAT) in late 2010, elementary education teacher candidates at a teacher training college in the Southern United States have experienced declining scores resulting in test failure and delaying student teaching and graduation. The purpose of this case study was to identify factors that students and faculty perceived as most beneficial in preparing students to pass the SSAT. Constructivism served as the conceptual framework for this study addressing the effects of collaboration, hands-on learning, and application of knowledge. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 6 elementary education students who had taken …