Education Commons^™

Improving Student Satisfaction And Wellbeing In An International Baccalaureate Program: An Improvement Science Study, Michael Fisher

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This research aimed to improve student satisfaction and wellbeing in an International Baccalaureate (IB) program, located in the US Virgin Islands, through the implementation of an improvement science dissertation in practice (ISDiP). The study utilized a framework of Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) over the course of a 90-day improvement cycle. A networked improvement community (NIC) met throughout the cycle to develop a shared understanding of the problem of practice and context, develop a theory of improvement, collect data related to that theory, and make adjustments based on that data.

The NIC identified four primary drivers they believed would result …

Exploring The Relationship Between College Mathematics Remediation Status And Continued Persistence In Mathematics Of Community College Students, Morvarid Javadi Pourhassan

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study analyzed the relationship between community college students’ math remediation status and their continued persistence in math. Continued persistence outcomes included college math course completion, seeking a STEM degree pathway, degree attainment (STEM or any degree), and degree completion time (STEM or any degree). Demographic variables and math-placement- level were investigated as predictors. The study used secondary data from students enrolled in math courses at a large Pacific Northwest college between Fall 2016 and Fall 2019. Exploratory data analysis, logistic regression, and chi-square were used to analyze the secondary data. The analysis found a statistically significant impact of age …

An Exploration Of Elementary Mathematical Performance During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rachel Sunshine Herron

Doctor of Education (EdD)

School disruptions impacted public schools in Oregon for fifteen months. As a result, mathematical performance may have been impacted. School districts, educational leaders, and policymakers need information on how and to what extent disruptions to in-person learning have affected student mathematical performance. This was a non-experimental, post-hoc quantitative causal-comparative study. Existing i-Ready data was used to explore if there was evidence of significant differences in mathematical performance within and between gender and ethnicity- based groups of fifth-grade students as a result of the pandemic. The results of this study revealed that differences in students’ mathematical performance did change during the …

An Examination Of Peer-Led Professional Development In Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports, Sarah E. Flynn

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study evaluated the peer-led professional development (PD) program at Lincoln Elementary School in Woodburn, Oregon. This qualitative study took place upon the return of staff and students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through surveys and observations, the research determined perceived barriers of staff in continuing the use of and learning more about the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework. This study collected the participants’ attitudes and understandings after their time in peer-led and peer-designed PD in PBIS in the first quarter of the 2021-2022 school year. Participants of this study included staff of an elementary school including teachers, specialists, …

A Multiple Case Study Exploring Cte Faculty Members’ Account Of Working With Id Professionals In The Course Design Process, Nicole Lewis

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This multiple case study examined the working relationship between CTE faculty and ID professionals in the course design process from the perspective of faculty. The study explored the methods and choices around equity that CTE faculty make when working on course design and delivery. The narratives of the CTE faculty are shared. A cross-case analysis was conducted to reveal three main themes. The themes include 1) impact of communication, 2) defined project is key, and 3) creating a shared culture. While there was no cohesive theme for methods and choices around equity, the study found the results to be reflective …

Lived Experiences Of Liberal And Conservative Educational Leaders Navigating Solutions To Highly Contentious And Polarizing Sociopolitical Education Problems, Troy Fisher

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The intent of this qualitative multiple case study is to explore the lived experiences of two different school leaders that have lived through the same polarizing contentious political experience. One of these leaders self-identified as liberal and the other as conservative. More specifically, the purpose is to identify similarities and differences in the strategies these school leaders utilized as they navigated the political challenges so as to bring partisan, polarized groups together – while still maintaining a quality instructional program for their students. The narratives of these two school leaders were captured through semi-structured in-depth interviews and two political survey …

Rethinking Grading: Exploring High School Teachers' Experiences With Changing To A Nontraditional Grading System, Sarah E. Leonard

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This exploratory case study examined the experiences of high school teachers who made sense of and enacted a gradeless system in their classes. The study explored what led the teacher participants to make such a significant shift in their thinking and practice as well as what supports and/or challenges they experienced in the process of implementing a nontraditional grading system. The three participants constituted a unique case as they explored an alternative grading model quite different from the traditional 0-100-point model that tends to be the dominant system in public high schools. The findings revealed that the nontraditional systems they …

The Impact Of Empathy-Building Activities: Implementing The Anti-Defamation League's No Place For Hate Program, Heidi Blackwell

Doctor of Education (EdD)

During the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 school years, the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) No Place for Hate program (NPFH) was implemented in a cooperating high school (COHS) to see if empathy-building activities had an impact on school climate. The purpose of this study was to review the implementation and impacts of a semi-structured program on creating safe, welcoming schools. Data collected from schoolwide surveys, focus groups, and group meetings that happened throughout the 2 school years provided information around students’ sense of belonging, connection, and purpose at school, the pros and cons of the NPFH program, and its place in the school …

A Descriptive Analysis Of The Impact Of Mindfulness-Based Intervention For Public Educators During Covid-19, Amy Joynt

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Educators face high levels of stress, occupational burnout, and anxiety (Kurtz, 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic further exasperated occupational stress to higher levels and the long-lasting impact of the pandemic are still unknown. The consequences of burnout are enormous and previous research suggests mindfulness is a promising intervention that has the potential to remediate this issue (Ott et al., 2020). This exploratory analysis examines the results of preexisting data gathered from over 400 Oregon educators who participated in a mindfulness-based intervention aimed to combat the exasperated stress experienced during the 2020-21 school year. Little research has analyzed the effects of an …

Paraeducator Experience Participating In Professional Development: A Phenomenological Perspective, Loren K. Sickles

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This qualitative research used a phenomenological method to foreground Washington State instructional paraeducator voices describing their experiences participating in state mandated professional development certification program. The participants all received a minimum of 14 hours, out of 98 hours, of the state’s required professional development for the paraeducator certificate program. An unstructured interview method was utilized to allow participants to openly describe their experience participating in the professional development and describe impacts the professional development had on how they understand their role and responsibility as a paraeducator. Analysis of the data was conducted through the lenses of two adult learning theories, …

The Correlation Between Rural Oregon High School Students' Sat And Asvab Scores With High School Gpa, Gender, Race, And Ethnicity, And Ses As Moderators, Kelly Garvin

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study analyzed secondary standardized test score data for 11th grade students on the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) within a rural school district. Specifically, the study examined how each of the SAT and ASVAB’s composite and subtest scores are distributed. This study also sought to examine how each of the tests’ student scores correlated to each other and to high school grade point average (HSGPA). While most of the research pertaining to the SAT and ASVAB has been done internally by the College Board and Department of Defense, these studies have focused …

The Impact Of Social-Emotional Curriculum Training On Oregon 4th-8th Grade School Teachers' Emotional Intelligence, Tiffany Marie Fotre

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this study was to examine the trait emotional intelligence (Trait EI) levels of teachers who have implemented an SEL curriculum. In addition, the aim was to discover if there was any difference in teachers’ Trait EI levels depending on gender, years of experience, and level of education. Using a quantitative research design, the Trait EI levels of teachers who participate in an SEL curriculum with an adult component called RULER were compared to the Trait EI levels of teachers who teach an SEL curriculum without an adult component. This data was used to determine if there is …

Corporate Gaslighting: Can Isolated Training Help? A Narrative Study, Jade Singleton

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this narrative study is to investigate whether isolated anti-corporate gaslighting training, leveraging vignettes, could be of value to organizations. Findings responded to three research questions: (1) How do participants identify when the vignette shifts into corporate gaslighting territory? (2) What perceptions do Learning & Development professionals have of the training experience? (3) What do participants believe the usefulness of this isolated training is for organizations like theirs? Study participants were three professionals across Learning & Development and Human Resource roles. After the anti-corporate gaslighting training session, administering vignette testing, and finally interviewing the group to gauge their …

New Teachers Enacting Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Literacy Instruction, Sarri A. Gibson

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This multiple case study investigated the experiences of majority culture teachers at the beginning of their careers as they navigated enacting culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) in their literacy instruction. The study explored how the new teachers described and enacted CRP in their classrooms, what they described as formative to their work as culturally relevant educators, what they identified as challenging, and what they found to be sustaining. The study shares case reports of each participant followed by a cross case analysis. Several themes were noteworthy from the analysis: 1) participants viewed an event or time period as formative, 2) participants …

Mathematics Achievement And Native Language Within Dual Immersion Programs, Cristina Alcaraz-Juarez

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This quantitative inferential study used ex post facto data that were previously acquired from Oregon school districts’ hosting TWI/dual immersion students’ mathematics achievement scores (SBAC), to determine if there was a statistical difference in math achievement between the two-native language (NES and NSS) students. The math SBAC data for academic school years 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 was disaggregated by native language (NES and NSS) and by grade levels 3, 4, and 5 see Tables seven, eight and nine. The statistical tools used were mean, population proportion, two-tailed t-test and two-tailed 2-sample z-test to compare sample proportion. This research concluded, the …

Grade Determination: An Exploration Of High School Teacher Cognitive Processes, Bonnie Robbins

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This think-aloud study closely examined the cognitive processes of four high school teachers as they made grade determinations for two hypothetical students. This study serves to give insight into the often veiled process of how secondary teachers make final decisions about students’ summative grades and what cognitive biases and heuristics they rely on to make such grade decisions and, if relevant, grade changes. Each teacher participated in a two-part interview: in part one, teachers were presented with two student vignettes detailing academic, extracurricular, and background information and were directed to think aloud their process as they determined each student’s ultimate …

Hired, Not Retained, And Leaving Drained: Assembling Teacher Attrition Through Drama Theory And Theatre Of The Oppressed In Nevada K-12 Schools, Jonathon M. Josten

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Teacher retention and attrition dominate the conversation with various stakeholders in the education field. Despite the continued attention, teacher attrition continues to be a significant issue nationally and in the state of Nevada specifically. This study analyzes this multi-faceted issue through the lens of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed and Jim Bryant’s Drama Theory to provide a holistic view of the educator’s experience and the possible factors leading to attrition. The study uses an original play to examine a fictional school to assess the personal factors that may lead these educators to consider leaving the profession. Then, this study …

Exploring Student Teacher's Lived Experiences With Supervisor Feedback, Kristin M. Rich

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Despite receiving feedback from a university supervisor, student teachers often do not show responsiveness to that feedback. This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of student teachers receiving feedback from their supervisors during a post-observation conference by using a framework of three conditions for learner improvement. The study aimed to enhance what student teachers valued, what they understood, and how they responded to their supervisors’ feedback. What they shared highlighted two significant factors influencing their responsiveness to feedback: (1) a knowledge of their learners and (2) a desire to be treated as professionals. These two factors determined whether they applied …

"Why Stay?" Experiences Of Persistence In Former Education Support Staff Who Become Second-Career Teachers, Christine Bullock

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Teacher attrition and shortages are a rapidly expanding issues across the U.S. that accelerated during the pandemic. Understanding why teachers persist in a profession where so many leave has become of paramount importance for educational stakeholders as they look to recruit, train, and retain new professionals. Second-career teachers now represent a growing percentage of these new educators; they enter a challenging field in the wake of so many departures. This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the unique lived experiences of four current PreK-12 second-career educators who came to teaching from an education support staff role, and who have persisted in the …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Nurse Faculty Commitment, Timothy A. Yett

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Given the lack of research on nurse faculty career commitment, this phenomenological research study aimed to investigate why nurse faculty choose to stay committed to their career when incentives to leave are high during a persistent nurse faculty shortage. This study used phenomenological reduction through the lens of the Three-Component Model (Allen & Meyers, 1990) of commitment to explore the lived experiences of nurse faculty working full-time in the Pacific Northwest. Through the lens of the Three-Component Model, three themes emerged: (a) nursing education as “a calling”; (b) mentoring as a framework for developing and retaining nurse faculty (c) nurse …

Cte Instructor Retention: Considering The Factors Impacting Turnover And How Use Of Funding Affects Instructor Satisfaction, Matt Boase

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Career Technical Education (CTE) has become a focal point in modern education. In addition to offering benefits to the individuals enrolled in programs, the associated careers often fill the greatest needs in the United States’ workforce. This qualitative study sought to answer how the nearly $1.3 billion of federal funds combined with additional local and state investments could be used to assist with CTE instructor retention moving forward. Health Science education was focused upon in this study because of the employee shortage within associated careers and the consistent employment opportunities nationwide, but findings can be applied to other CTE areas …

A Multiple Case Study Of Oregon’S K-12 Accountability Transformation: A Journey To Include Outcome Mapping, Shay Mikalson

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This multiple case study investigated the experiences of three Oregon K-12 educational leaders and their perspectives on the potential of Outcome Mapping, through the implementation of the Student Success Act, as a catalyst for improved statewide accountability and increased academic achievement for Oregon's students. Outcome Mapping is a theory-driven model developed from the "black box" problem in accountability that focuses its measurement on the process by which change occurs, instead of just the results of the change, attempting to ultimately link cause and effect relationships. Few previous studies have explored the use of Outcome Mapping within the context of education. …

A Professional Teacher Disposition, Defined And Assessed Through Peer Reviewed Literature From 1985 To 2021: A Narrative Review, John Hynes

Doctor of Education (EdD)

In education, the word disposition has been used to describe the social, verbal, and physical attributes teachers possess and demonstrate in their interactions with students. Educational theorists and practitioners alike agree that effective teachers are far more than simply well-educated individuals who have successfully completed a teacher preparation program. The concept of disposition contributes to the field of education by capturing the “more” that an effective teacher embodies; it is an enacted combination of an educator’s content knowledge, preparation, and ways of being. This dissertation examines the notion of disposition and explores how the term has evolved from the time …