Education Commons^™

Perceptions Of Indiana’S Engineering/Technology Education Classroom Teachers As Measured By The Characteristics Of Technology Education Survey, Steve E. Rogers

Purdue Polytechnic Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine Engineering/Technology Education (ETE) teachers’ perceptions of Project Lead The Way’s (PLTW) pre-engineering program in the state of Indiana utilizing the Characteristics of Technology Education Survey (CTES) (Daugherty, Hill, & Wicklein, 1996). The study focused on the perceptions of teachers who were and were not teaching PLTW’s pre-engineering curriculum as they related to curriculum content, teaching methodology, curriculum integration, and fit of curriculum in school environment. Two hundred and eighty two or 51.3% of Indiana high school ETE teachers responded to the 46 question CTES. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of …

Do Culturally Engaging Reading Materials Matter? An Analysis Of Rural Libraries In Burkina Faso, Erica Ernst

Master's Theses

Academics have noted the lack of culturally relevant reading materials in African libraries. Book collections are primarily composed of donated materials from western countries intended for a western, rather than African audience. This research project aimed to gain insight onto children’s reading preferences in the rural Burkina Faso and to learn about the popularity of local photo books that were added in 2009. Quantitative methods examined library book checkout records in three categories of African, French, and local photo books. Additionally the library subscription records were used in order to gain information about the children including age, gender, and ethnicity. …

An Examination Of A Parochial Choice School Serving Latina/O Students: Perceptions, Realities And Promises, Tatiana Joseph

Theses and Dissertations

In Milwaukee, The Milwaukee Parental School Choice Program (MPCP) is a program that "allows low-income Milwaukee Students to attend participating private or religious schools located in Milwaukee with no charge for tuition if certain eligibility criteria are met" (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction). The program allows for qualifying families to use a portion of the public educational funding selected (voucher) for their student to attend a public school or the private school of their choice. For low income families, school choice is an opportunity to flee from schools that struggle with dropouts, absenteeism and low achievement in hopes of a …

The Accidental College Student, Phyliss Dubinsky Shey

Masters Theses

This narrative study began as a retrospective of an in-depth interview study with a young woman who navigated the move from a large, suburban school system in the mid-Atlantic region before the fifth grade to a small, isolated rural school in Southern Appalachia in the 1990s. She graduated from the only high school serving the county in which she lived. Over the course of two formal interviews, hundreds of informal conversations for more than ten years, and particularly through writing this analysis (Goodall, 2000), I realized that even though there were vast differences between our ages, cultural backgrounds, and current …

What Is The Participant Learning Experience Like Using Youtube To Study A Foreign Language?, Yuan-Hsiang Lo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research is to explore and understand participants' experience using YouTube to learn a foreign language. YouTube and learning has become more and more popular in the recent years. The finding of this research will be adding more understanding to the emerging body of knowledge of YouTube phenomenon. In this research, there are three interviews and two questionnaires. The interviews are conducted to find in-depth responses from participants; the questionnaires are used to inquire demographic and basic information about the participants. There are twelve themes found in this research. These themes reflect on the perceived experience using YouTube to learn …

The Preservation Of Effective Instructional Practices In An Era Of Education Reform: The Experiences Of Exemplary Teachers Of English Language Learners, Leanne Mary Evans

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the experiences of four teachers nominated for their reputations as highly effective educators of English language learners. The intent is to explore how the teachers respond and react to changes and expectations of education policy and investigate how daily decision-making processes are affected. Three themes emerged from the data that suggest the participants have a cognizance of their own expertise, recognize and react to discriminatory action, and make decisions to take active roles to work toward change. Based on their expertise and ability to recognize inequities, the teachers made decisions to …

Acculturation And Identity Development Of Deaf Ethnic Minorities, Glennise Candice Schlinger

Masters Theses

This study examined whether experiences in the family and the education systems could influence Deaf ethnic identity development. Data were collected via administration of the Deaf Acculturation Scale (DAS). Participants’ responses were assessed as outlined by the developers of the DAS (Maxwell-McCaw & Zea, 2011). Results suggested that parents’ attitude towards their child’s deafness may affect the deaf individual’s identity development. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with four deaf ethnic minority participants: One Venezuelan American and three African American. Two hearing parents (both mothers) also participated in the interview: one Venezuelan American and one African American. Thematic analysis was used …

From Expulsion To Success: Perceptions Of Expelled Students About Their Expulsion Process And Resumption Of Education, Julie Slocum Dahlgren

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods study examined expelled students in a Northwest public school district of 3,400 students. The purpose was to analyze perceptions of expelled students from 2003-2010 (N-68) regarding their expulsion process and experiences relating to the resumption of educational pursuits. Data was collected from a questionnaire designed by the researcher and distributed to 44 students and from transcribed and coded testimony from four students. The research centers on the whys and wherefores of student expulsions, asking questions that could help schools and school districts penetrate more deeply into the expulsion process, questions that focus on how students perceive their own …

Theory Versus Practice: A Study Of Strategy Making In Five Public Mba Programs, Michael Alwyn Wilde

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined whether coercive, normative and mimetic isomorphic mechanisms contribute to the strategies public MBA programs develop and implement in their quests to differentiate themselves. An additional purpose was to examine whether influential environmental elements impact strategy development in ways that make these organizations more similar than different.

In depth interviews were conducted in an attempt to discover the experiences and perspectives of five current directors of MBA programs in public institutions of higher education. Purposeful sampling, in the form of convenience sampling within a clearly defined population, was used.

The findings suggest that none of the five MBA …

Movement In Learning: Revitalizing The Classroom, Marcus Van

MA TESOL Collection

Movement is a vital part of our every day lives, and it is also important for a healthy brain. The following paper examines the shift from movement based learning to a more restrictive rote format, which often has adverse effects on learning. This work discusses the ways in which teachers are under pressure to “teach to the test” instead of creating student-centered classrooms. Some of the side effects of a test-centered approach are low self-esteem (from not meeting strict academic requirements) and behavioral problems in students.

Adding more movement to lessons can provide variation and relief from the rote-only system. …

The Impact Of Water On Girls' Formal Education: A Study Of Kenyan Secondary Schools, Jennifer Emick

Master's Theses

This study applies a human rights lens to view how the lack of access to potable water in Kenya’s rural areas impacts girls’ education. This research is intended to serve as a baseline for iteration and expansion, with the long-term goal of developing a greater understanding of the ways in which water development projects and the smarter provision of basic resources can be used as strategies for achieving gender equality in both education and civic participation.

"Men To The Rescue" - The Influence Of Male English Teachers On Boys' Literacy Achievement, Margaret Anne Watson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In light of current debates and media-generated concerns about the impact of feminization on boys’ literacy achievement and in particular the call for male teachers to address this problem, this thesis investigates the influence of male teachers in terms of their capacity to impact positively on boys’ literacy achievement. This Ontario study created “spaces” (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p. 23) for secondary-school male English teachers and their male students to speak about the multiple and complex contextual and pedagogical factors (i.e., teacher knowledge, socioeconomics, streaming) influencing their experiences in the secondary-school English classroom. By drawing on feminist poststructural, Foucauldian and …

Gender In Head Start Preschool Classrooms: Children's Experiences And Teachers' Perceptions, Swapna Anil Purandare

Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers who have studied the process of socialization have found that preschool is one of the first social exposures to direct teaching of societal norms including norms about gender-roles. Further, it has been found that there is a difference in teachers’ behavior toward boys and girls in preschool classrooms but most studies on gender differences in preschool classrooms have been conducted with middle-class populations. Thus, the primary purpose of this study was to examine how preschool age children from low-income families (in Head Start) might have different experiences in their classrooms depending on their gender.

In order to achieve the …

High School Horticulture Curriculum, Margaret Maratsos

Horticulture and Crop Science

Horticulture is just one of the many topics covered in a high school agriculture curriculum, and yet, there are very few lesson plans or resources available to teachers for these classes specifically. The objectives of this project were to compile a set of lesson plans, lab plans, and tests that would emphasize interactive and investigative learning. The lesson plans were written in such a way that they reflected a certain set of standards, set down by the state of California, and were meant to serve as a bare outline of topics that would be discussed within a week’s worth of …

From No Choice To Forced Choice To School Choice: A History Of Educational Options In Milwaukee Public Schools, James Kenneth Nelsen

Theses and Dissertations

Americans cherish freedom and value local control of education. The issue of "school choice," a movement that supports publicly funded tuition vouchers for students who attend private schools, appeared on the public agenda in the 1980s and has remained a controversial topic into the twenty-first century. Milwaukee had one of the first and most expansive school choice programs in the United States. If one is to understand school choice, one must understand its origin in Milwaukee. Milwaukee moved through three eras of choice--the eras of "no choice," "forced choice," and "school choice." The Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) followed a "comprehensive" …

The Impact Of Arranging Music For The Large Ensemble On The Teacher: A Phenomenological Exploration, James Teodor Lindroth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of what arranging music in the large instrumental ensemble music setting came to mean to the teachers doing the arranging. Four secondary music teachers (N=4) were asked to create a musical arrangement for one of their school ensembles. Over a period of seven weeks, participants rehearsed their arrangement with their students. This study was guided by research on creative identity, the self, and various identity theories from the field of the social sciences. Data were collected by way of in depth semi-constructed interviews, field observations, and journals; and were …

World Percussion Approaches In Collegiate Percussion Programs: A Mixed-Methods Study, Patrick Michael Hernly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As world percussion has grown in popularity in American colleges and universities, two main problems have emerged. The first problem is that no known source exists detailing how percussion instructors have incorporated world percussion into their collegiate teaching. A review of the literature has highlighted four main approaches to incorporating world percussion in collegiate percussion programs: applied study, group performance, travel experiences, and guest expert visits. The second problem is that systematic research on world percussion traditions has been carried out much more often by music education researchers, anthropologists, and ethnomusicologists than by percussionist-performers, so the relationship between theory and …

"The Need For Nature: Exploring Youth Leadership Development Through Outdoor Activities", Margaret A. Dudley

Capstone Collection

Youth are increasingly spending more time indoors. A young person spends hours in front of different screens, tuned out to their natural surroundings. When numerous studies have linked spending time outdoors to physical, mental, and emotional health, this increase in indoor time is disturbing. Youth living in apartment complexes in the Western Suburbs of Minneapolis do not have a lot of natural outdoor space close to their homes or transportation to parks, to enrich creativity and promote independence. This paper explores what has been called, the nature-deficit disorder, among youth today, and how one organization, the CONECT (Community Organizations Networking …

Social Entrepreneurship In Egypt: Turning Revolutionary Ambition Into Tangible Results, Chris C. Blackwood

Capstone Collection

Social Entrepreneurship in Egypt: Turning Revolutionary Ambition into Tangible Results is a research paper that seeks to provide a model for sustainable social entrepreneurship (SE) development in Egypt and the surrounding Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The research consists of two primary areas: 1) the field of SE as a whole, along with traits shared by successful social enterprises, and 2) the modern Egyptian context, and the integration of best SE practices in the country and surrounding region during the modern revolutionary era. This is a paper that focuses on social change, and thus several social change theories …

Learning Without Being Taught: A Look At How Schools, The Home And The Neighborhood Influence "Race" Conceptualization, Owen Christopher Gaither

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Where do we get our ideas about the concept of `race'? The conceptualization of `race' has long been a topic of interest in the social sciences and society in general. The word `race' has been used and defined in different ways and different purposes throughout U.S. history. The definition of `race' therefore is arbitrary, changing according to the situation, but the consequences of how the word `race' is used are concrete and effect peoples lives daily. This research, in accord with much of the literature on the topic, shows that public schools play a major role in the conceptualization …

Design Of Indio High School Agriculture Shop, Justin Mcbride

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

The Liberty High School Greenhouse Project: Solar Powered Deep Water Culture, Aeroponics, & Drip Irrigation, Ryan Mcbride

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

A Day With The Mustangs, Bryanna De Oca, Leanne Jones, Brian Peters

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

How The West Was Settled: Teacher's Guide, Leah Sloan

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Mountain Movement: The Design, Implementation, & Evaluation Of A Youth Yoga Program, Abigail A. Long

Capstone Collection

Abigail Ann Long – PIM 70

Mountain Movement: The Design, Implementation, & Evaluation

of a Youth Yoga Program

May 2012

Mountain Movement is a youth yoga program designed to introduce children to the sustainable practice of yoga as well as convey the ability to recognize stress and utilize relaxation techniques. Children face a number of challenges throughout their daily lives. These challenges, ranging from academic pressures to bullying, can create stresses with negative impacts. Yoga is an activity that can provide children with tools and methods to better deal with and cope with these challenges. Mountain Movement has demonstrated that …

Perceptions Of College Readiness And Social Capital Of Ged Completers In Entry-Level College Courses, Donalyn L. Lott

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Examining the efficacy of literacy improvement, general education development (GED) completion, and GED completers’ perceptions of college readiness and social capital was the purpose of this study. The participant sample (n=321), derived from the target population (N=1050), consisted of former participants of Adult Literacy Education (ALE)/GED programs in the Greater New Orleans area (GNO), who have earned the GED credential, and, are currently enrolled in entry-level courses at two community colleges in Southeast Louisiana; specifically, in Orleans and St. Bernard parishes. The study was framed by the social capital theoretical perspective.

The study used quantitative methodology, with …

San Antonio High School Food Justice Program: A Handbook And Evaluation Of Edible Education, Katherine B. Tenneson

Pitzer Senior Theses

This senior environmental studies thesis explains and analyzes edible education through a food and gardening program at a continuation high school in Claremont, California. The first chapter situates the program-specific analysis by providing background information of the edible education movement, a history of the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California, and an explanation of why food is a powerful teaching tool. The second chapter delineates the program by describing all of its components and compiling essential resources and teaching documents. The third chapter is based on interviews with 9 of 12 involved students and 7 teachers, and thoroughly explains the outcomes …

Thinking And Reading Among College Undergraduates: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Critical Thinking Skills And Voluntary Reading, Kimberly Tanner Hawkins

Doctoral Dissertations

Many scholars have weighed in on what it means to think critically. Although there has not been agreement on a clear definition for the term “critical thinking,” scholars have agreed on some common skills involved in critical thinking. These skills—inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, analysis, evaluation, and inference are the same ones involved in the ability to read and read well. While many studies have involved critical thinking in college students, none has examined critical thinking and its relationship to reading. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between voluntary reading, academic achievement (as measured by GPA), …

The Impact Of A Direct Care Training Program On The Self-Efficacy Of Newly Hired Direct Care Employees At State Mental Health Facilities, Marcus Wayne Lewis

Dissertations

Self-efficacy has been shown to be an important element in the success of individuals in a variety of different settings. This research examined the impact of a two week new employee orientation training program on the general and social self-efficacy of newly hired direct care employees at state mental health facilities. The research showed that the training program did not have a statistically significant impact on the social self-efficacy of the new employees after the training or after one month on the job. The research also showed that the two week new employee orientation program did not have a statistically …

Program Evaluation Of Preceptor Preparation And Effectiveness In A Local Nurse Residency Program, Margaret Covelli

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Preceptors are vital to the success of new graduate registered nurses in their transition to practice as they assist the new nurse in developing skills, competency, and confidence. Most residency programs may include training for preceptors but there may not be evidence that preceptor preparation makes a difference in the retention of nurse residents or the relationship to favorable evaluations of preceptors from the residents. This study evaluated and compared the effects of preceptor training on competency levels of the resident and therefore retention.

The methodology was a post hoc descriptive study of variables that included demographics, surveys from residents …