Education Commons^™

Adoption And Integration Of Best Practice Methods In Secondary English Teaching, Gretchen Rumohr-Voskuil

Dissertations

Commencing with a critical examination of the history and rhetorical force of the term "best practice," this dissertation undertakes a qualitative study of three secondary English teachers, considering their adoption and integration of best practice methods. The subjects, represented by urban, suburban and rural secondary schools, were National Writing Project participants identified as "exemplary teachers" by a NWP site director. "Best practice" methods analyzed included the process model for the teaching of writing and literature, student decision-making, and a low-risk writing environment. Factors that were found to influence the adoption of best practice methods included undergraduate and preservice experiences, intern …

Relationships Among Elementary Teachers' Self-Perceptions Of Musical Intelligence, Perceived Value Of Instruction Through Music, And Classroom Instructional Practices, Peggy Jo Hubbard Mccullough

Dissertations

This study was designed to examine educators' perceptions and practices of instruction through music. Using primarily quantitative methods for collection and analysis of data, correlations were sought among the primary variables: elementary teachers' perceptions of the value of instruction through music, their self-reported frequency of instruction through music, and their self-evaluated level of musical intelligence. The hypothesis for this study was that a positive correlation existed between any two of the three variables.

Participants included elementary teachers representing instructional grades one through five from four elementary schools in the southeastern part of the United States. To collect data, a survey …

Does Change In Timbre Alter Stereotypy Movements Exhibited By Three Persons With Diagnoses Of Mental Retardation And Autism Spectrum Disorder: Three Case Studies, Kathy Wade Webb

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to observe and collect data while monitoring the responses of three individuals to recorded presentations of four folk songs. The individuals, or participants, were all residents of a state-run facility in the southern region of the United States. The participants were females diagnosed with mental retardation and autism spectrum disorder, and they all exhibited one or more stereotypy behaviors in some form or another. The primary purpose of the study was to see if change in timbre of the songs would alter the stereotypy movements exhibited by these participants as the songs were presented …

From Picture To Word To The World: A Multimodal, Cultural Studies Approach To Teaching Graphic Novels In The English Classroom, Shannon Renee Mortimore

Dissertations

Sequential narratives such as comics, graphic novels and Manga (Japanese-style comics) have long been popular in youth culture. Recent attention has shifted to the potential of utilizing these alternative texts in the secondary classroom, yet very little information for English teachers exists regarding how to engage students in close, careful, and culturally informed analysis of these works. While there is a long tradition of thoughtful analytical teaching about literary texts, when it comes to the study of various media with strong image content, language arts teachers often may not know how to proceed. Indeed, preconceptions about the legitimacy of comics …

“The Negro Speaks Of Rivers” An African Centered Historical Study Of The Selfethnic Liberatory Education Nature And Goals Of The Poetry Of Langston Hughes: The Impact On Adult Education, Sarah E. Howard

Dissertations

The purposes of this historical study were to 1) document the Selfethnic Liberatory adult education nature and goals of the poetry of Langston Hughes (from 1921 to 1933); and 2) to document the impact this poetry had on members of the African Diaspora. In addition, the goal of this research was to expand the historical knowledge base of the adult education field, so that it is more inclusive of the contributions of African Americans.

This study addressed the problem that the historical and philosophical literature of the field does not to any significant degree include the intellectual and adult education …

Metacognitive Awareness And Strategy Use In Academic English Reading Among Adult English As A Second Language (Esl) Students, Yuko Iwai

Dissertations

This mixed method research study explored the role of metacognitive awareness in reading among adult English as a Second Language (ESL) students of various academic levels enrolled in a university in the southeastern part of the United States of America while engaged in academic reading. In addition, this study examined metacognitive reading strategies employed by those students.

In the quantitative portion of the study, 98 students responded to the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) instrument and a background information questionnaire. The SORS measured metacognitive awareness and use of reading strategies. In the qualitative portion of the study, six students (two …

Organizational Leadership : A Study Of The Perceptions Of Servant Leadership Practices And Beliefs, And Its Implications For A Private Christian Institution Of Higher Education In Brazil, Jose Iran Miguel

Dissertations

Purpose. This study verified the perceptions of the workers of Brazil Adventist University (UNASP) regarding the beliefs and practices of servant leadership by using data collected online through the instrument called the Organizational Leadership Assessment (OLA), focusing on six key areas of organizational health, according to three independent variables, which are leadership categories, campus, and gender.

Method. As a quantitative comparative study, the relationship between dependent and independent variables was determined by means of a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and a 2 by 3 factorial design in order to observe significant differences and interactions between variables. …

Readiness For Inter-Institutional Collaboration Among Adventist Institutions Of Higher Education In North America : Stages Of Change, Robert Arthur Paulson

Dissertations

Problem

The current sociological and economic environment faced by higher education in North America has inspired many institutions to form consortiums in an attempt to enhance institutional viability. The Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities (AACU) is a consortium of 15 Seventh-day Adventist institutions of higher education in North America. This consortium was formed as an attempt to increase collaboration, enhance quality, and augment institutional viability. The purpose of this study was to describe the current inter-institutional environment for collaboration among AACU member institutions. Currently, there has not been formal research into the collaborative environment of the Association of Adventist …

Perceptions Of Teachers On Systemic Factors Related To Student Performance In Seventh-Day Adventist Secondary Schools In Zimbabwe, Sophie Masuku

Dissertations

Problem. The Regional officer of Matabeleland North region in Zimbabwe was concerned over the poor student pass rates in these regions. The Education Director of the Zimbabwe Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists also voiced the same concern about the poor student pass rates, especially in the West Zimbabwe Conference, which is comprised of Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, and Bulawayo regions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of teachers on student support and student factors that influence the academic performance of students attending Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools in Zimbabwe, focusing mainly on school, community, and student factors. …

Image-Of-God Motif In The Writings Of Ellen G. White : A Search For A Distinct Voice In Educational Philosophy, Kevin D. Grams

Dissertations

Problem. Ellen White’s image-of-God motif and its influence on Seventh-day Adventist educational philosophy has not been examined thoroughly by thesis, dissertation, or other academic research. This dissertation is a significant effort toward fulfilling this need by examining and contextualizing White’s writings on the image of God as well as examining the educational ramifications of the motif.

Method. This is a historical/analytical investigation involving a search of Ellen White's writings to locate, identify, and examine passages that refer to the image of God, especially as it relates to education. These passages were then contextualized and studied to determine how White used …

Mixed-Method Analyses Of Federal Court Decisions During 1980-2007 Involving Race And Sex Discrimination Under Title Vii Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964 And Faculty Tenure Denial Decisions In Higher Education, Jannifer Crittendon

Dissertations

Purpose

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 has become the foundation of modem federal equal employment opportunity law. The application of this law to adverse tenure decisions, however, may differ from other adverse employment decisions because of judicial deference toward institutions of higher education. This present study analyzed published federal court cases decided during the period 1980-2007 involving Title VII, tenure denial, and higher education. This will contribute to understandings of the relationship between federal courts, faculty, and higher education by analyzing the extent of a statistical association between case and/or plaintiff characteristics and case outcomes; and isolating those institutional …