Education Commons^™

Perceptions, Learner Characteristics, And Preferences Of Limited Literacy Moroccan Women: The Feasibility Of Acquiring Darija Literacy Skills Through M-Learning, Nada El Maliki

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the perceptions, learner characteristics and preferences of Moroccan women with limited literacy skills towards the use of their smartphones to improve reading literacy skills in Latin script Moroccan Darija (LSD). The goal was to generate a range of recommendations for instructional designers, curriculum developers and education policymakers designing literacy programs for the target population. Specific focus was given to the fundamental reading sub-skill of matching letters to sounds (also known as phonemic awareness or decoding) for the Darija language. This study employed target population analysis (TPA) as a phenomenological approach that consisted of interviews with a sample …

Calculating The Cost Of New Student Matriculation In A Midwestern Community College, Daniel Joseph Kelly

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the cost of new student matriculation at a midwestern community college. Employing activity-based costing, the study allocates costs from the college’s operating budget to determine the cost of new student matriculation, the matriculation cost per student, and the point at which, in credit-hours, the college recovers the matriculation cost. Efficiency is used as a conceptual framework to discuss the college’s ability to move as many new students as possible through the matriculation activities at the lowest possible cost. A key finding was the college is spending a considerable amount of time and money to matriculate new students …

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership: An Application To Student Affairs, Alexander David Snowden

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to show the prevalence of emotionally intelligent leadership (EIL) that exists among student affairs professionals. The study evaluates the scores among student affairs professionals on the Emotionally Intelligent Leadership for Employees: Inventory (EILE-I) by utilizing information such as educational background, level of experience, gender, and racial identity.

The survey instrument, the Emotionally Intelligent Leadership for Employees Inventory, was designed and administered to 1068 student affairs professionals. Statistical tests from the responses included descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and analysis of variance. Results showed that student affairs professionals scored an average of “Somewhat …

A Teacher Shortage And Lack Of Representation In The Classroom: A Neoliberal And Critical Race Study Of The Broken Teacher Pipeline And The Impact On Education Majors, Sara Piotrowski

Theses and Dissertations

Teacher education attrition is a largely understudied topic, especially from the perspective of the college student. What factors prevented education majors from graduating with a teaching degree? There are countless studies about teacher attrition within the first five years in the classroom (DeAngelis et al., 2013; Kopkowski, 2008; Office of Postsecondary Education [OPE], 2015), but the research is sparse when it comes to the retention rate of education majors. Why do students get accepted and enter college as education majors and then not graduate with a degree to become a teacher? The purpose of this study was to consider factors …

Collaborative Teacher Action Research: Improvement Science As Professional Development?, Carol L. Munson

Theses and Dissertations

There is growing consensus in the education world about the need to change the dominant practices in P-12 teacher professional development, which do not respect teacher knowledge and are unconnected to teachers’ daily work, to be more consistent with new and ambitious visions for school reform. This study employed collaborative action research, using improvement science, in which a small cadre of teachers worked through problems of practice to examine the effect on their practice and student learning. In this research project, I implemented a systematic evidence-based process developed by Anthony Bryk, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of …

Factors That Influence Parent Communication Decisions For Their Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Child In Illinois, Karla A. Giese

Theses and Dissertations

The development of language in a deaf or hard of hearing child is dependent upon early and effective communication access (Marschark, 2018; Marschark & Hauser, 2012; Pittman, Sass-Lehrer, & Abrams, 2016; Scott & Dostal, 2019; Scott & Henner, 2020). For many parents of deaf and hard of hearing children, the most common early decisions that are made are related to communication and supporting language development, which is recognized by many in the field as a prime factor in early language acquisition (Decker, Vallotton, & Johnson, 2012; Sass-Lehrer, 2018). However, there are a lack of effective strategies for sharing information on …

Special Education Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions Of Cooperating Teachers’ Co-Teaching Relationships: A Qualitative Study, Christianna N. Vehlow

Theses and Dissertations

During clinical experiences, in-service teachers provide models of instruction for pre-service teachers to learn. With the inclusion of students with special needs in general education settings, these models of instruction often include co-teaching. It is vital for pre-service teachers to see productive co-teaching models since co-teaching is a complex form of instruction differing greatly from traditional solo instruction. Currently there is a dearth of research in the fields of co-teaching and special education regarding the influence of perceived quality of co-teaching modeled in clinical experiences and the development of pre-service teacher attitudes and confidence toward co-teaching. This study sought to …

Being Black While Leading: A Mixed Methods Study Of Black Administrators' Experiences In U.S. Public Schools, Latasha Marie Schraeder

Theses and Dissertations

This transformative explanatory sequential mixed methods design study framed by the theories of Critical Race Theory and Community Cultural Wealth used a survey and semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of Black administrators in PK-12 public schools in the United States. Within the first, quantitative, phase of the study participants completed a survey that collected demographic data and responses related to the six forms of cultural capital via Likert Scale style and opened ended questions. There were 65 responses, with 42 (N = 42) of the responses being complete. In the second, qualitative, phase of the study two participants were …

Black While Leading: Unmasking The Anti-Black Lived Experiences Of Senior-Level Black Men Administrators At Historically White Institutions, Dujuan Eugene Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the anti-black lived experiences of 9 senior-level Black men who are administrators at Historically White Institutions. Black critical theory (BlackCrit) and theory of marginality and mattering are the guiding frameworks used to examine the lived experiences of the Black administrators. The purpose of this study was to reveal the ways that Black senior-level administrators process, navigate, and make meaning of their lived experiences and anti-blackness at HWIs. Critical ethnography was used as the research methodology to help reveal the personal reflections and strategies that Black men who are senior-level administrators engage in to combat the pervasiveness of …

The Experiences Of Black Women In Diversity Roles At 4-Year Predominantly White Institutions, Tristen Brena� Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Many Black women professionals at predominantly White colleges and universities share similar experiences regarding racism, sexism, and classism at their institutions. However, there is a dearth of research regarding the experiences of Black women who specifically work in diversity related positions at four-year predominantly White institutions (PWI). The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of Black women who hold diversity related roles at PWIs. For the purpose of this study, diversity positions were defined as roles held in housing and residence life as well as in multicultural affairs departments and centers. Using a qualitative research approach …

The Influence Of Instructor Mental Illness Disclosure On The Perceptions Of Mental Illness, Classroom Climate, Teacher Credibility, Homophily, And Social Attraction, Kirsten L. Bridgemen

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses the lens of Communication Privacy Management theory to analyze the impact an instructor’s depth of disclosure of their mental illness can have on mental illness stigmatization, classroom climate, as well as teacher credibility, homophily, and social attraction. Participants responded to a series of quantitative-based questions regarding a hypothetical syllabus with varied levels of a teacher disclosing their mental illness. Results indicated that none of the investigated dependent variables were negatively affected by the hypothetical instructor’s disclosure, and mental illness stigmatization was lessened. Implications, limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.

Building College-Going Self-Efficacy For Rural Middle School Students, Laura Ann O'Donnell

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study examines the role of an explicit college-going intervention on the self-reported levels of college-going self-efficacy for rural middle school students. While there are a multitude of variables that influence a student’s decision to pursue formal education beyond high school, this study focused on college-going self-efficacy, which is one of the constructs included in the Social Cognitive Career Theory. Rural seventh grade students answered fourteen questions from a College-Going Self-Efficacy scale pre-intervention and then completed the same questions post-intervention. The intervention consisted of lessons that addressed common barriers students see as prohibiting them from going to college, including …

Elementary School Teachers’ Perspectives And Practices Of Multicultural Education In Indonesia, Robby Anggriawan

Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of the study was to investigate multiculturalism and multicultural education perspectives and practices of elementary school teachers in Indonesia. The research was designed as a qualitative case study which focused on seven elementary school teachers as study participants. In this study, semi-structured interviews are used to evaluate teachers’ understanding of culture as defined by Creshaw (1989, 2008) and multiculturalism concept by using four levels of understanding multiculturalism as defined by Nieto (1994, 2017). As well as elementary school teachers’ practices of multicultural education implementation as outlined by Banks (1999, 2019). The results of the study showed that …

An Analysis Of School Climate Surveys As A Measure Of Student Voice, Deanna L. Oliver

Theses and Dissertations

Student voice may seem like a new concept; however, it has a long history of being engrained in public schools in the United States. The trend towards incorporating and expanding student voice opportunities in high school is based on the tenets of democracy. Educators seek to provide an opportunity for students to practice democracy in their school environment. Students are commonly disregarded as viable stakeholders in their schools. The Illinois State Board of Education offers students in grades 4 through 12 the opportunity to provide input on their schools using the Illinois 5Essentials Survey.

This research sought the input from …

The School Leader Paradigm: Field Testing For The Development Of Principals Along A Continuum Of Improvement, Todd John Vilardo

Theses and Dissertations

Aligned with contemporary research on developing effective school leaders, a consortium of state principals’ associations established the School Leader Collaborative and developed the School Leader Paradigm (School Leader Collaborative, 2016) to help school leaders be intentional about their professional growth. This study used descriptive analysis to compare the School Leader Paradigm’s competencies and attributes with the development of school principals’ leadership at each of four phases of their careers: Aspiring, Launching, Building, and Mastering. A descriptive analysis of the full range of this study’s data, identifying the attributes, competencies, and intelligences that school leaders at each phase of their development …

Orientation And Mobility Service Decisions: What Is Guiding Them If It Is Not Assessment?, Lauralyn Kay Randles

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: In this study, I sought to determine what tools are used during assessment and service delivery decisions. Also, the study worked to explore O&M specialist’s perceptions of factors impacting assessment results and service delivery decisions. Methods: A survey was employed to gather this information from O&M specialists spread throughout Midwest region of the United States. Seventy six O&M specialists completed the survey sharing about their experiences with O&M assessments and service delivery decisions. Analysis was completed using Microsoft Excel and a researcher establish codebook. Results: The participant’s caseloads and employment details varied greatly from one to another. The results …

Small-Town Living: Do Illinois Universities Understand The Rural College Student?, Erik Andrew Dalmasso

Theses and Dissertations

Rural students are confronted with unique challenges when considering postsecondary choices. According to McShane and Smarick (2018), scholarship on this overarching issue is limited, as it is “often shunted to specialized journals that have not been able to integrate findings into the broader education policy conversation” (p. 1). Rural students, and to a broader extent, rural education have little voice in the postsecondary pathways that have been created within higher education (Goldman, 2019). Recruitment of rural students, financial aid policy, remediation/developmental programming, state and federal postsecondary legislation have largely treated rural students in tandem with their urban and suburban peers, …

The Battlefield Of The Academy: The Resilience And Resistance Of Black Women Faculty, Jacqueline Hester

Theses and Dissertations

This research study explored the resilience of 8 Black women faculty teaching at historically white institutions (HWIs). Crenshaw's (1991) intersectionality, Ladson-Billings and Tate, (1995) critical race theory, and resilience theory are the three theoretical frameworks used in this study to examine the experience of Black women faculty in HWIs. The purpose of this study was to address these experiences to advance the conceptual understanding of resilience as a form of resistance. The research methodology selected involved a qualitative study that used narrative inquiry as a platform for Black women faculty to share their personal narratives and examined the strategies that …

An Analysis Of Campus Services For International Students At Institutions In The Midwest, Sylvia Miriyam Findlay

Theses and Dissertations

Higher education campuses are becoming ethnoculturally diverse with the influx of international students from various parts of the world and must modify their international student recruitment and enrollment strategies in response to this trend. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of student affairs personnel to campus services for international students by comparing what should be provided to what is being offered. The study also attempts to identify the gap in their perceptions. Services identified in the literature were examined using the Briggs and Ammigan (2017) collaborative programming and outreach model, which combined concepts of student engagement …

The ‘ Dialogic’ Of Pedagogical Design: Elementary Teachers Who Consistently Integrate Digital Technologies, Aaron R. Gierhart

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the pervasiveness of digital technologies in society and educational settings, gaps in digital participation for elementary learners and means-end views of the benefits and effectiveness of digital innovations for teaching and learning persist. The focus on digital technologies at the elementary level must shift to critical pedagogy in order to promote effective teaching and learning and equitable student participation in an increasingly digital society. A teacher’s pedagogy continually evolves across their entire life journey and is never fully mastered; therefore, in order to better understand the development of pedagogical design with digital technologies by elementary teachers, it was vital …

High School Students Activities And Learning Experiences: Students’ Views Of An Ipad Initiative, Susan E. Hess

Theses and Dissertations

With the increase of technology in classrooms today, school districts are using devices to prepare students to be literate in the digital world. Besides using computers, schools are introducing iPads as a way to give their students experiences with digital learning. One district embarked on a district-issued one-to-one iPad initiative in which every student was given an iPad to use for their academic and personal use. Despite iPads infiltrating high school classrooms, little research exists on the students’ perspectives of the use of the iPad for personal and academic use and the impact they have on student learning. In this …

Public Policy And The Sustainability Of Tanzanian Private Universities, Simon Lucas Taabu

Theses and Dissertations

There has been a surge of universities in general and private universities in particular in the last three decades throughout the world. This expansion has been unanticipated in some countries, but in others especilly in SSA expansion came as a result of public policy change. The current globalization movement can be attributed to most of the reforms taking place in higher education institutions although unique features have been observed in different contries and regions. This expansion has not been paired with resource increase and hence putting quality of education, accessibility, equality and quality issues into question. Scholars have expressed doubts …

Exploring The Relationship Between Members Of Lifelong Learning Institutes And Host Institutions, Jon Charles Neidy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between an individual’s involvement in Lifelong Learning Institutes (LLIs) and his or her propensity for philanthropic giving to the institute or its hosting college or university. The dataset was acquired through a survey administered to eleven Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLIs) in the United States. Data analysis was conducted on seven research questions which explored how the length, type, and frequency of participation, as well as the level satisfaction, commitment, and feelings of community may relate to an LLI participant’s inclination to donate. The findings of this study reveal these …

Answering The “More And Cheaper ” Push Of The Completion Agenda: What Does It Cost An Illinois Public University To Deliver A Bachelor’S Degree?, Melissa R. Pitcock

Theses and Dissertations

Using readily available data, this study estimated the costs incurred by an Illinois public university to deliver a bachelor’s degree. Building on previous scholarship, the study used the transcript (based on the graduate’s path to the degree) and catalog (based on the major’s requirements listed in the university catalog) approaches to estimate costs, from three administrative purviews, for native and transfer students graduating from six different academic areas in fiscal 2015. Costs per credit hour were gathered from data prepared annually by the university for the state’s board of higher education.

A primary finding of this study was that costs …

You Belong Here: Residence Halls As Disparate Predictors Of Sophomore Year Persistence At Predominantly White Institutions, James Raymond Neville

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to compare the influence of residence hall living on student persistence between white and nonwhite students at predominantly white institutions. The Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) 2012/2014 longitudinal study dataset was acquired from the National Center for Education Statistics. A logistic regression was run to determine the predictive value of residence on student persistence by census race group. The findings of this study reveal that residence halls are not accomplishing as much for Black and Latino students as they are for White students. The results of this study challenge PWIs to take additional steps to …

A Critical Walk Down Illinois Career Pathways, Michael Cermak

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) enrollments in Illinois public high schools. Emphasis is placed on considering how enrollments of students of color differs from their white peers. Gender and racial imbalances prove pronounced in STEM-related career pathways and reveal a large proportion of students of color enrolled in courses leading to low-skill, service-sector occupations. Given future economic and social implications, I recommend future researchers consider how students of color select and how underrepresented students are placed by institutional members and practices into CTE courses.

Knowledge, Concerns, And Interventions Related To D / Deaf English Learners, Molly Beth Turner

Theses and Dissertations

In education today, there is an increasing population of individuals who are d/Deaf/Hard of Hearing and English Learners (d/DHH/ELs). This population of students need innovative teaching strategies to achieve optimal outcomes. Schools are challenged with providing education to these students, and there are many barriers to overcome. Teachers receive little to no education on how to teach this combined population of learners. Students who are d/DHH/ELs arrive to the educational setting with many barriers that are present in both the school and home.

A review of the literature revealed that minimal strategies exist to support the d/DHH/EL population. Literacy strategies …

Navigating For The Adult Student: Ways To Help Adult Students Transfer Successfully From Community Colleges To Universities, Bethany M. Craig

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the research that exists about transfer students, there is limited literature on the services that colleges and universities provide to adult students who transfer from community college to university. The number of adult students who participate in postsecondary education continues to grow. The purpose for this mixed method exploratory study was to gather data through both telephone conversations and a survey of transfer coordinators at Illinois institutions of higher education, including community colleges, public four-year institutions, and private, nonprofit four-year institutions. The study sought to understand what transfer coordinators perceive their colleges and universities are doing to help adult …

Social Emotional Learning Through Depression Education In A High School Setting, Antonette Minniti

Theses and Dissertations

Education on depression is an important part of social emotional learning. Lacking emotion regulation skills tend to lead to larger problems, such as academic struggles, disconnect from peers, strife at home and trouble in interpersonal relationships. Research in depression education or educational programs connected to mental health literacy are minimal, especially at the high school level. The purpose of this research will focus on examining the impact of one depression education program, John Hopkins Hospital’s Adolescent Depression Awareness Program (ADAP). ADAP is a three-day program that informs students about the facts of depression, how it is treated, and what to …

Promoting Persistence Among Lgbtq Community College Students, Gregory D. Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

A vast amount of research has been devoted to the persistence and retention of college students since the 1970s. Recent research has focused on targeted populations such as first year students, racially minoritized, students with low social economic status and students at the developmental/remedial level. Nevertheless, limited scholarly research has been conducted on the persistence and retention of another category of students, sexual and gender minorities. This qualitative study examined the experiences that promote persistence among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) community colleges students. Interviews with eight LGBTQ students from three community colleges in the state of Illinois …