Education Commons^™

The Effect Of Co-Teaching On Student Achievement In Ninth Grade Physical Science Classrooms, Karen M. Lafever

Dissertations

Co-teaching is a method that is increasing within schools across the US as educators strive to leave no child behind. It is a costly method, having two paid instructors in one classroom, with an average of 24 students shared between them. If it significantly increases the achievement of all students, it is well worth the costs involved. However, few studies have analyzed the effectiveness of this method on student achievement. This research follows the academic accomplishments of students in a ninth grade physical science course. Nine sections of the course “Force and Motion” were taught with a single teacher, and …

Teacher And Administrator Perceptions Of In-School Suspension Programs On Changing Student Behavior And Academic Success In Schools, John Scott Rimes

Dissertations

This study was performed to examine the perception of teachers, in-school suspension (ISS) staff, and administrators on the effectiveness of the in-school suspension program in changing students’ behavior and academic success at various schools with different performance levels according the current Mississippi Accountability Model. The 32 schools included in this study were located in the central region of Mississippi. The survey was administered during the spring semester of 2012. Data from the ISS survey determined that there was no relationship between the school performance level and the perceptions of ISS.

Overall, the researcher found that there was no evidence supporting …

The Impact Of Teacher Administered Positive Behavioral Support Interventions On The Behavior And Achievement Of Intermediate Level Students Identified With Measured Moderate, Mild, And Low Disruptive Externalizing Behaviors, Gregory W. Betts

Student Work

Students who demonstrated moderate (n = 18), mild (n = 22), or low (n = 46) externalizing behaviors as rated by teachers on the Universal Behavior Screen at the research school decreased the amount of externalizing behaviors displayed in the research school setting. At posttest 61 students scored in the low range, 24 students scored in the mild range and one student scored in the moderate range demonstrating the effectiveness of the school wide positive behavior support program which focused on a positive proactive reinforcement intervention for all students. While posttest NeSA-Reading scores showed no significant improvement, …

The Impact Of Prolonged Participation In A Pro-Social Cognitive Behavioral Skills Program On Elementary Age Students, With Behavior Related Disorders, Behavior Accelerative, Behavior Reductive, And Return To Regular Classroom Outcomes, Ted H. Esser

Student Work

Overall, pretest-posttest results indicated statistically significant pretest beginning program compared to posttest ending program percentage of behavioral improvement for on task, following directions, and positive interactions outcomes improvement for individual students who completed the elementary grades pro-social cognitive behavioral skills program within one school year or less ( n = 16), within one to two school years (n = 14), and within one school year or less ( n = 15). These results indicate program intervention effectiveness for these students. The posttest ending outcomes compared to posttest ending for on task, following directions, and positive interactions outcomes for individual …

The Impact Of Low, Moderate, And High Military Family Mobility School District Transfer Rates On Graduating Senior High School Dependents' Achievement And School Engagement, Jeffrey K. Rippe

Student Work

The results of this study suggest that there were no significant differences in the academic performance of military dependents' with low (n = 20), moderate (n = 20), and high (n = 20) mobility school district transfer rates compared to non-military control students (n = 20) before completing high school. The findings were not consistent with some past research on student mobility. The research school district takes the goal of the Interstate Compact, which is to replace the widely varying treatment of transitioning military students with a comprehensive approach that provides a uniform policy in every school …

The Impact Of A Year-Long, Same School Social Skills Instruction Program On Students' With Verified Behavioral Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, And Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders Perceptions Of Program Effectiveness, Gregory G. Gaden

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a year-long, same school classroom social skills instruction program on students' with verified Emotional Behavior Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders perceptions of program effectiveness. This study indicated that youth can demonstrate pro-social replacement social skills and reflects that students, parents, and teachers differ in their perceptions of how well the social skill instruction is impacting student outcomes in the areas of inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, learning problems, and defiance/aggression as measured by the Conners 3 Rating Scales. The results of this study suggest that when children and …

Urban Elementary Teachers’ Perspectives And Practices, Meredith Elise Murray

Doctoral Dissertations

Urban teachers alone cannot solve the complex social and economic problems that plague urban communities and schools; however, their efforts to effectively educate inner-city youth can begin to break the cycle of disadvantage. Therefore, urban teachers’ perspectives are essential in understanding the process of effectively instructing urban youth. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives and practices of five urban educators through a postpositive theoretical lens. Participants for this study were five urban educators kindergarten through fourth grade, all of whom were teaching at one urban school. The participating teachers were chosen by criterion sampling with the …

Is There A Relationship Between Ninth Grade Transitional Programs And At-Risk Student Achievement?, Susan Marie Stoddard

Dissertations

Transition into the ninth grade has long been a critical juncture for students as they make the move to a larger environment with less personal support and a more rigorous academic challenge. In an effort to help make the move from middle-to-high-school transition as smooth as possible, school districts are using Ninth Grade Academies, or innovative transitional strategies designed to address the key factors contributing to students dropping out: poor academic achievement, disengagement, and poor attendance. The purpose of the study was to determine if a statistically significant relationship existed between the type of ninth grade transitional program and at-risk …

Interviewing Practices Of Principals And The Role That Biases May Have On The Hiring Process, Lisa Ann Redmon

Dissertations

This causal-comparative study examined reported practices by principals when hiring assistant principals. Two hypotheses were under investigation. The first hypothesis was Principals will hire assistant principals with similar characteristics rather than hire assistant principals with dissimilar characteristics, and the second hypothesis was Principals who use structured interviews to hire assistant principals will hire assistant principals with dissimilar characteristics more often than principals who use unstructured interviews to hire their assistant principals. Over 100 principals and their assistant principals from three school districts were invited to participate. Sixty-three principals and 67 assistant principals participated in the study. The responses from …

Administrators And Teachers' Perceptions Of Key Components Of The School Improvement Grant, Willis Anthony Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to assess administrators and teachers’ perceptions of key components of the School Improvement Grant (SIG). This study explores whether or not administrators and teachers believe the SIG’s key components have a positive impact on school improvement.

The participants for this study were drawn exclusively from five of the eighteen SIG schools that received the School Improvement Grant in Mississippi. All of the teachers and administrators at each school were invited to participate in the study. A total of 97 educators participated in the study, 22 administrators and 75 teachers.

The findings from this research …

An Examination Of Mature Interpersonal Relationships Among International And American College Students, Bona Aidoo

Dissertations

Educating students to relate harmoniously with people from different backgrounds has become an important agenda for student affairs professional because of the increasingly diverse nature of the American society. The purpose of this study was to assess how American and international college students develop mature interpersonal relationship skills. All the participants were from a mid-sized comprehensive institution in the Southern United States. The two main constructs measured were tolerance and quality of relationships. Attempts were also made to identify other predictors that may influence mature interpersonal relationships: gender, age, educational level, and academic achievement as measured by GPA. Both quantitative …

Whole-School Inclusive Reform: "It's What's Best For Kids”, Nicole M. Declouette

Teaching and Leadership - Dissertations

This qualitative case study investigates a school and university inclusive reform project, called the All Means All Project, and how it is understood and experienced by teachers and administrators at Kennedy School, a K-8 school in the northeast United States. The All Means All Project began when two university professors called into question the practice of placing students with disabilities in segregated special classrooms. Their goal was to create a collaborative, multi-dimensional approach to providing all students with access to rigorous academic instruction and promoting a sense of belonging through students' full-time membership in general education classrooms. This reform was …

The Relationship Between Perceptions Of School Climate And Student Achievement In Schools That Use Jostens' Renaissance Programs, Amy Yarborough Coyne

Dissertations

Each school has unique attributes and a personality that gives the school a distinct climate. Psychological qualities that schools possess might include trust, collaboration, cooperation, teaching attributes, expectations, community involvement, and engagement (Rhodes, Camic, Milburn, & Lowe, 2009). Given information regarding school climate, relationship needs, and motivation, the purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of teachers involved in change and improvement processes and to determine whether academic change was related to the use of programs such as Jostens’ Renaissance.

The participants of this study consisted of 242 faculty and staff from five public schools from three separate …

The Relationship Between Teacher Classroom Practices And 21st Century Students' Academic Dishonesty At The Secondary Level, Marguerite Beth Bellipanni

Dissertations

With the rise in the number of high schools students admitting to academic dishonesty on national surveys, educators must examine what is happening in the classroom to determine a cause for this increase. Past research has shown that students cheat for a variety of reasons. Much of it has shown that students are able to neutralize their cheating to external reasons such blaming the teacher, competition for good grades, or not understanding the task at hand. The literature has also revealed that students cheat because they feel that there is no enforcement of consequences for academic dishonesty.

The purpose of …

America Reads-Mississippi Future Teacher Corps: A Study Of Program Completers' Perception Of Factors Influencing The Decision To Become And Remain Classroom Teachers, Deborah Green Moore

Dissertations

Despite the number of programs in Mississippi that focus on developing and training teachers, the State continues to face a critical teacher shortage. This non-experimental, ex-post facto, quantitative study investigated the America Reads- Mississippi (ARM) Future Teacher Corps (FTC) program, an AmeriCorps program in Mississippi with a mission to improve the reading skills of students, encourage public awareness, support literacy, and help increase the number of certified teachers in Mississippi. FTC, a sub-corps of ARM, was created in 2007 to address teacher shortages through structured community education and teacher-specific training, with the goal of increasing the number of certified teachers …

What Professional And Personal Strategies Do Successful Principals Possess To Cultivate A School Culture That Promotes Academic Success In A Blue Ribbon School, Carlos Lateetha Mckinney

Dissertations

Principals who are presiding over schools that have received a blue ribbon certification have evidently used specific professional and personal strategies, as well as behaviors, to enhance the academic and social culture of their schools. The current study examined Mississippi Gulf Coast Schools that received blue ribbon status in the last six years. A survey of administrators, teachers, and staff members was conducted.

The research confirmed that a correlation exists between personal and professional behaviors of the principals who have presided over Blue Ribbon Certified Schools and teacher morale. These principal behaviors are deemed instrumental in the building of a …

Influence Of Teacher Qualifications, Experience, Instructional Methods, And Professional Development On Student Achievement On The Mississippi Writing Assessment In Grades Four And Seven, Stacy Kihneman Garcia

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if teacher qualifications, experience, instructional methods, and professional development influenced student achievement on the Mississippi Writing Assessment in grades four and seven. The study was conducted in the three coastal counties of southern Mississippi. Participants were fourth or seventh grade teachers who taught in one of the eight school districts that were included in the study.

Participants were asked to provide information regarding their qualifications, amount of classroom experience, preferred instructional methods, and feelings on professional development. Also requested from each teacher was his/her classroom average on the Mississippi Writing Assessment from …

African American Male Elementary Teachers' Perceptions On Factors That Influence Their Retention And Attrition: A Qualitative Study, Lemanski Chante' Walker

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and explore American male elementary teachers’ perceptions on factors that contribute to decisions to remain in or exit the teaching field, specifically elementary education. Ten African American male elementary teachers participated in the study. The theory from this study was the Motivation–Hygiene theory (Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 2010). The study was conducted on the basis of Phenomenology with the use of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow, 1954). Research yielded African American males’ perceptions. Data were collected consisting of one on one interviews. The interview data were analyzed and collected using Colaizzi’s …

An Examination Of Mississippi Public School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Their Professional Development Experiences In Raising Student Achievement, Daniel Martin Rushing

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the elements needed to produce a high quality professional development program for teachers. The researcher sought to determine possible factors that had a significant relationship to Mississippi public school teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of their professional development experiences in raising student achievement. Furthermore, the researcher wanted to identify possible inequities with professional development opportunities for teachers in Mississippi. It is the hope of the researcher to highlight the characteristics of effective professional learning defined by research that would kindle a desire in classroom teachers to advance their skill levels …

The Effectiveness Of A District-Wide Training Initiative On Determining Preparedness Of Educational Leaders In A Large, Southeastern Louisiana School System, Jeanne Bordelon Wagner

Dissertations

A nationwide shortage of qualified, experienced applicants to fill the roles of educational leaders has led to a hiring crisis among school districts across America. The diminishing pool of applicants, accompanied by a high turnover rate of practicing administrators and increasing accountability demands, has revealed the importance of recruitment and retention of educational leaders. As the roles of school administrators are constantly evolving and increasing in complexity, recruiting skillfully trained personnel proficient in all dimensions of school leadership is a catalyst for increasing student achievement and for reducing principal attrition rates. The purpose of this research was to reveal perceived …

Seeing The Chemistry Around Me – Helping Students Identify The Relevance Of Chemistry To Everyday Life, Tracy Lynn Moore

Dissertations

The study attempted to determine whether the use of a series of reading and response assignments decreased students’ perceptions of chemistry difficulty and enhanced students’ perceptions of the relevance of chemistry in their everyday lives. Informed consent volunteer students enrolled in General Chemistry II at a community college in the southeastern United States during the Spring 2012 semester participated in this study. Students were assigned to read a series of short articles that connect chemistry to a specific aspect of everyday life and then answer a series of questions for each article. Open-response research instruments (initial questionnaire and final questionnaire) …

Serving Youth Who Are Serving Time: A Study Of The Special Education Services For Incarcerated Youth In A Short-Term Care Facility, Sachiko Hoshide

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the communication between sending court and community schools of a County Office of Education’s (COE) Alternative Education program and the receiving juvenile detention facility of a county in a Western state and how the communication between the two facilities affected the level of special education services provided to incarcerated youth, specifically the occurrence of 30-day placement IEPs. The juvenile detention facility was selected as a site because it was a lighthouse program, one of the few chosen to pilot the juvenile detention alternatives initiative (JDAI). JDAI sought to lower the number of incarcerated youth through viable alternatives …

Towards A Classroom Community: Interaction, Culture And Mindfulness In Second Language Learning, Janae Suzanne Hollenback

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation of the author’s works while a student in the Master of Second Language Teaching Program at Utah State University. The core of this work is the Teaching Philosophy, which is prefaced with the author’s observations of “what works” and “what doesn’t work” in education based on her experience as a student. This is followed by a brief description of the author’s intended professional environment. The Teaching Philosophy itself explores various research and other influences which have inspired the author’s direction and preferences for effective language teaching. The three artifacts in this portfolio constitute the author’s …

Female Academic Department Chairs At A Public, Very High Research Activity University: Exploring Their Career Pathways To Success, Tamara Marcelle St.Marthe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The advancement of women into academic leadership remains a problem facing public, high-research activity universities. While there are more women who are qualified to assume the position of department chair in research institutions today than there were 30 years ago, women still lag behind their male counterparts in holding these academic leadership roles. The purpose of this study was to examine the personal and professional career experiences of women department chairs in a public, very high research activity institution, and to provide advice to women faculty seeking to become a department chair in the future. The department chair is among …

Do Honors Programs Make A Difference During The First Year Of College? The Development Of Critical Thinking Skills And Exposure To Good Practices In Undergraduate Education, Amanda Kay Moore

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This longitudinal study analyzed pretest-posttest data to 1) examine the influence of honors programs on first-year college students' critical thinking skills, 2) to determine whether students in honors programs receive more exposure to good practices in undergraduate education than their non-honors peers, and 3) to assess the effect of good practices on critical thinking. The quasi-experimental study also investigated whether the influence of honors programs on critical thinking skills varied in direction and magnitude for male versus female students and White versus students of color. To replicate an earlier study conducted by Seifert et al. (2007), the current study utilized …

Trait Differences In Gender In Technology Use And Study Habits Of Rural Community College Students, Phillip Marc Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting the study was to explore the trait differences by gender of the study habits and technology use patterns of rural community college students. Significant research and data presently exists at the university level specific to study habits and technology use, but little research had been conducted targeting those topics in a rural community college setting.

The following questions guided the research:

1. What were the study habits of rural community college students?

2. How did rural community college students use technology?

3. Were there significant differences, by gender, in the study habits of rural community college …

Predictors Of Academic Success For The National Board Dental Hygiene Examination And The Southern Regional Testing Agency Clinical Exam, Melissa Gail Efurd

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting this study was to investigate and describe the relationship between applicant criteria for a dental hygiene program and subsequent outcomes on credentialing exams: the National Board Dental Hygiene Exam and the Southern Regional Testing Agency clinical exam. Because admission criteria play a crucial role in applicant selection, choosing students, that will successfully complete the program as well as the necessary credentialing exams, is a particularly crucial task for admission committees. The study had three elements. First, it investigated the relationship between the variables of age, undergraduate GPA and scores from the Psychological Services Bureau Health Occupations …

The Relationship Of Peer Acceptance, Age, Gender, Ethnicity, And Appearance Among Preschoolers, Kora Klaire Stuffelbeam

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine preschool children's acceptance of peers. The term peer acceptance is defined as "the degree a child is Socially accepted or rejected by his or her peer group." Johnson et al. (2002) found children between the ages of three and five were able to develop friendships and Social skills that would impact their acceptance among peers. The study determined if children based their choice of peers according to a child's age, gender, ethnicity, appearance, and/or Social skills. The subjects of this study were 31 children whose ages were three-, four-, and five-years-old who …

Pre- And Post- Wage Differences Of Trade Adjustment Assistance Job Training Participants In Arkansas, Kimberley Hall Gordon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A number of costs are associated with the implementation of trade agreements not the least of which is the cost to the American workforce. The information age ushered in an era of globalization unlike anything the world economy had experienced before. As countries raced forward to dominate emerging markets and grow market share, millions of American workers were left in the wake. A remedy to the plight of the dislocated worker was found in trade adjustment assistance, specifically in job training benefits.

This study examined the wage differences experienced by Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) job training participants served through the …

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 …