Education Commons^™

Nigerian Policy On Child Labor: An Evaluation Of The Education Sector Preparedness For Effective Policy Implementation, Samuel Effiong Ekong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A number of studies have been conducted about policy failures in Nigeria; however, little is known about the state of stakeholders' readiness to implement any government policy. Using the functionalist theory of Durkheim and the infrastructure theory of Frischmann, the purpose of this exploratory case study was to evaluate the level of preparedness of the education sector to implement the Nigerian policy on child labor, which was adopted on September 11, 2013, by the federal executive council of Nigeria. Preparedness in this study was conceptualized as the ability of the education sector to absorb children of school-going-age who quit all …

Examination Of Resource Allocation And Student Achievement, Jo Ann Neal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the raise in per-pupil expenditures, the achievement gap between economically advantaged and disadvantaged students continues to increase. Education proponents are scrambling to understand the complexities of local school funding. The No Child Left behind deadline stipulated that all students must be proficient in language arts and mathematics by 2014. The constructivist theory served as the conceptual framework for the study. Performance data were obtained from the State of New Jersey Department of Education and the United States Department of Education. This quantitative study determined whether a significant relationship exists between the allocation of fiscal resources and students' test scores. …

Successful Employee Retention Strategies In Childcare Centers, Ahmad Shaheen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fifty percent of childcare employees leave their jobs by the close of their 5th year of experience. The purpose of this exploratory single case study was to explore what retention strategies some childcare center directors use to retain their employees in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. The research population consisted of 5 childcare center directors who successfully implemented retention strategies in 5 different childcare centers. The conceptual framework for this study was the Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman motivation-hygiene theory. Data were collected via semistructured interviews with the directors and from centers-handbooks and strategic plans. Coding, word frequency, and thematic analysis …

Internet Technology As A Means Of Delivering Reading Instruction In The Content Areas, Kimberly Rose Pintok

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to students not meeting minimum proficiency levels in reading, a central Florida middle school that was rated an A school for 4 years consecutively dropped to a B rating during the 2012-2013 school year and was 10 points away from dropping to a C rating in the 2013-2014 school year. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe classroom implementation of Internet technology in a middle school classroom in an attempt to address the steady decline in reading scores. Guided by Piaget, Dewey, and Vygotsky's social constructivist view of education, this study explored if and how teachers used …

Factors That Impact African American High School Equivalency (Hse) Students' Pursuit Of Higher Education, Jamiyla Chandler-Melton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African Americans account for a disproportionate percentage of students who pursue college education in comparison to European Americans. Indeed, a considerable number of African American High School Equivalency (HSE) students are not enrolling in college once they earn their HSE diploma. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine 3 African American HSE students' perceptions about factors that influenced their pursuit of higher education at the selected HSE study site. These 3 students were selected for their inclusion because of their ethnicity, enrollment in the HSE program, academic underpreparedness and lack of pursuit of higher education, and strong …

Implementing Growth Mindset Principles For Girls In Stem Elementary Classrooms Through The Creation Of A Children's Book, Jessica Van Westering

Honors Undergraduate Theses

With an emphasis on STEM education in schools, young girls begin to have an idea that math and science skills are based on one’s natural ability. A fixed mindset is the belief that one possesses an ability that comes naturally. Many girls, starting at the elementary level tend to interpret a lack of skill for being dumb, and therefore, give up on difficult subjects like math and science. On the other hand, a fluid theory of intelligence, or growth mindset is when a student values effort and understands that these “abilities” come from hard work and taking on new challenges. …

Representations And Impacts Of Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Ideals In Children's Literature For Young Children, David B. Foresman

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Children’s literature plays a critical role in shaping how children view themselves and the world around them. This is especially true in regards to outgroups such as the transgender and gender nonconforming communities. Transgender individuals have been gaining increased visibility in the past few years. The misconceptions surrounding these topics are not exclusively found outside the classroom. Title IX was expanded to include gender identity as recently as 2014. Yet, much confusion and apprehension is present when discussing the topic of transgender and gender nonconformity, especially in the elementary school classroom. To address these misconceptions, inclusion of these outgroups into …

Questioning As A Civic Act: An Examination Of How Social Studies Teachers Define, Develop, And Cultivate Questions For Inquiry, Rebecca Glasgow Williams Mueller

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The present qualitative study used socio-cultural theory (Wertsch, 1998), pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1987), and reflective practice (Schön, 1983) to examine how social studies teachers define and develop inquiry questions. Existing literature reflects a long tradition of equating inquiry with high quality social studies instruction (e.g., Barton & Levstik, 2004; Bruner, 1977; Griffin, 1942) and arguing that successful inquiry hinges on an engaging question (Barton & Levstik, 2004; Grant, 2003), but relatively little attention has been paid to how teachers characterize and develop questions for use with inquiry (Grant & Gradwell, 2010). The main research question was: How do high …

An Exploration Of Teacher Retention In Rural School Districts In Eastern Kentucky, Jeremy Watts

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Teacher retention rates are staggeringly low across the United States. Nearly 20% of public school teachers leave their position from one year to the next, a majority of schools have a turnover rate of 50% every three years, and over 50% of teachers leave the education field within the first five years of employment. This retention problem impacts all type of public school systems—urban, suburban, and rural school districts.

This study examined teacher retention in elementary and secondary schools in three rural school districts in eastern Kentucky. Review of district and school documents about teacher retention informed the selection of …

Understanding The Relationship Between Teacher And Organizational Intercultural Competency In International Schools: A Mixed Methods Study, Sally Emily Hirsch

Doctoral Dissertations

The number of international schools and their student populations are increasing around the world. These schools are culturally diverse educational spaces, providing opportunities for cultural understanding but also cultural conflicts. Teachers working in international schools need to be able to provide culturally relevant and responsive curriculum as well as be able to communicate effectively and appropriately with students, other teachers, administrators and parents. Research shows that students do best academically when taught by teachers who are interculturally competent yet there is a gap in current research on how this skill is developed in international teachers, and identified by school leaders. …

An Investigation Of Multimedia Instruction, The Modality Principle, And Reading Comprehension In Fourth-Grade Classrooms, Laura Angela Sandoval

Doctoral Dissertations

Elementary-school teachers are faced with the responsibility of finding the most effective ways to educate their students using multimedia approaches. The use of instruction with visuals and audio has resulted in positive learning outcomes on retention and transfer tasks for junior-high and high-school students. This approach that results in the modality principle has been tested less frequently in elementary-aged students.

The purpose of this study was to examine two different multimedia instructional approaches to investigate which condition offers beneficial learning outcomes through recall and transfer assessments during a lesson on different types of energy in fourth-grade classrooms using a Powerpoint® …

Training In Summarizing Notes: Effects Of Teaching Students A Self-Regulation Study Strategy In Science Learning, Michelle Mendoza Nebres

Doctoral Dissertations

The last two decades of national data assessments reveal that there has been a sharp decline in nationwide standardized test scores. International assessment data show that in 2012 a very low amount of American students were performing at proficiency or above in science literacy. Research in science literacy education suggests that students benefit most when they are self-regulated (SR) learners. Unfortunately, SR poses a challenge for many students because students lack these skills. The effects of having learned few SR strategies at an early age may lead to long term learning difficulties—preventing students from achieving academic success in college and …

Predicting Pre-Kindergarteners’ Executive Function Skills: The Role Of The Classroom, Caitlin Daly

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

"Boys Learn The Teacher, And Then They Learn The Subject": The Importance Of The Teacher-Student Relationship In Engaging High School Boys In The Writing Classroom, Leslie Ellis

Masters Theses

This thesis explores methods for engaging high school boys in the writing classroom. Chapter one describes the differing beliefs scholars have about boys' educational situation, specifically in English language arts. Several researchers and scholars describe boys' situation as dire because boys have failed to improve as girls have over the last sixty years. These researchers cite various reasons for boys' academic stagnation, such as learning styles, hormones, brain structure and development, the feminization of the classroom, motivation, engagement, and teaching styles. These factors may contribute to the gender gap in writing. Other scholars deny the urgency of boys' lack of …

Holography In The Secondary Physics Curriculum, Stephen P. Hogan

Masters Theses

This paper presents a unit plan for effective implementation of a holography learning activity in the secondary science physics classroom. The study of holography has traditionally been limited to collegiate optics courses due to financial and physical constraints. Recent developments in the technology of holographic film has eliminated these two limiting factors. Recent secondary educators who have introduced holography with their secondary science classes have completed the activities, without much discussion or explanation regarding the scientific principles that allow the phenomenon to occur. In this paper we develop a foundational unit plan that finishes with holography as the pinnacle activity, …

Analysis Of Middle Level Trade Books With Gender And Sexual Minority Content, Jena Borah

Masters Theses

Middle school is often the time students become aware of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and in many schools, perceived nonheteronormative behavior is penalized through bullying. One way schools can reduce bullying and increase successful learning environments is to include trade books that feature gender and sexual minorities. State and national standards set expectations for social and emotional learning as well as critical analysis of high quality reading materials. This research analyzed trade books from the 2013 and 2014 Rainbow Lists which were chosen by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association as …

A Phenomenological Study Of Professional And Practical Changes Experienced By Teachers Involved With Action Research In A Learning Community Master’S Program, Jay Dean Meiners

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In the United States, the majority of teachers have a master’s degree or higher. However, there exist concerns in the literature that having an advanced degree does not make teachers better. There thus needs to be a way to improve the outcome of a master’s degree in education so that teachers do advance their practice and bring change to their classrooms as a direct result of their experience in a master’s degree program. By focusing on the use of action research in a learning community, the intent of the present phenomenological study was to discover changes that occurred in teachers …

Examining Early Childhood Gender Socialization Through Children’S Picture Books, Kendra Leigh Pospisil

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This analysis examines gender representations found in children’s picture books through a symbolic interactionist perspective, employing conceptual ideas produced by West and Zimmerman (1987) and West and Fenstermaker 1995). Through a qualitative content analysis of 20 picture books from the past 15 years, I examine how gender is portrayed through both human and animal characters. I find that children’s picture books reflect our patriarchal society as they are male-centered, male-dominated, and male-identified (Johnson 2014). Children’s picture books depict patriarchal gender portrayals and provide children with examples of gender performances that satisfy patriarchal gender norms. This research has implications beyond books; …

Impression Management Strategies Of College Professors With Disabilities, Chelsie Gaspar

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This qualitative study examined how college instructors with disabilities utilize impression management strategies in order to enhance their ability to teach more effectively in the classroom. Eight instructors from mid-size universities and community colleges across the United States were interviewed. A thematic analysis approach was used to identify emergent themes pertaining to the ways in which college instructors with disabilities use impression management in the classroom. Results showed that instructors in this study use a wide variety of impression management strategies in order to influence how they are perceived in the classroom and to improve their teaching effectiveness. These strategies …

Observation And Coaching As A Professional Learning Model To Support The Implementation Of Co-Teaching, Mary Alice Henley

Dissertations

Purpose

This qualitative study provides a description of a professional learning model using observation and coaching for teachers who participated in training regarding co-teaching to support the implementation of co-teaching.

Method

The study involved participants who were general and special educators from grades K-12 across urban, rural, and suburban school districts in Connecticut. The study included 329 observations of 136 co-teaching teams from 44 schools in 14 districts over the course of 14 years. Classroom observations of 15-20 minutes were initiated in schools with co-teachers in their natural settings using an open-ended observation protocol recorded on the Connecticut Co-Teaching Technical …

The Social And Emotional Learning And Character Education Of K-12 Online Students : Teacher Perspectives, Anna Warwick Nolan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACT

Teacher Educators' Use Of Research-Based Literature In Their Pedagogical Practice, Leigh Yannuzzi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Teacher education programs are situated at a critical point of intersection between the worlds of P-12 education, higher education, and educational policy. However, description and analysis of teacher educator programs, and specifically teacher educator practice, has yet to consider the role research literature plays in faculty work with pre-service teachers. This study provides an exploratory examination of knowledge dissemination in teacher education and analyzes mechanisms for, challenges to, and influences on the use of research literature with pre-service teachers. It contributes to scholarship by providing new knowledge about how teacher education faculty use the dissemination mechanism of course syllabi to …

An Exploration Of Teacher Candidate Perceptions Concerning Their Political Role In Social Studies Education, Brian Zagrocki

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study argued that the purpose of social studies education is intimately connected with civic engagement. The function of civic engagement shifts in accordance with the political roles a teacher plays in the classroom (Westhaimer & Kahne, 2004). The literature review defined the possible parameters of these political roles. The research then explored how secondary social science and elementary teacher candidates, if at all, planned to address the political issue of civic engagement in education and their self-awareness as political actors. This research study aimed to expand the available body of research on this topic by exploring the perceptions of …

Preservice Teachers' Perceptions Of The Influence And Value Of An Embedded, School-Based Field Experience, Beverly V. Zambrano

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study explored how preservice teachers perceive the influence and value of an embedded, school-based field experience. Information was gathered from preservice teachers using surveys and a focus group interview. The data collected showed that an embedded field experience tied to a language arts methods course was generally a positive influence leading to great self-efficacy. Further, the data compared similarly to research supporting the notion that embedded field experiences generally have the effect of strengthening preservice teachers’ self-efficacy. Looking at Bandura’s work in Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change, it shows that early interactions and successes will …

The Instructional Technology Resource Teacher: A Descriptive Case Study Of Deployment, Use, And Perceptions, Mary Sepelyak

Theses and Dissertations

This case study describes one professional development approach to support technology integration at all public schools in one large county in central Virginia. Using data obtained from daily time logs, the frequency of Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (ITRT) use by classroom teachers was analyzed. Descriptive statistics were used to describe overall percentage of ITRT use, the various types of professional development requested by teachers, the consistency of those activities over time, and if the frequencies of activities varied as a function of school level, Title I status at the elementary level, or subject area taught by teachers at the secondary …

Black Creoles In New Orleans (1700-1971): The Life Of The Educated, Talented, And Civilized Black Creoles, Troy Lenard Simon

Senior Projects Spring 2016

My senior project focuses on the black Creoles from the 1700s to the 1900s in New Orleans. My senior project explains what it means to be a black Creole in New Orleans. I talk about the history and the culture of the black Creoles and do a close exegesis of three texts from three different authors: George Washington Cable, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, and Ernest James Gaines. Using their works, I go into depth about the black Creoles' lifestyle and what makes them different from the Americans. I refer to the black Creoles as les gens de couleur libres, the Free …

Understanding The Impact Of A Global Universal Design For Learning (Udl) Virtual Classroom On Jamaican Educators Through The Lens Of How People Learn (Hpl), Kathryn W. Best

Theses and Dissertations

This case study examined learning components and outcomes of the UDL Virtual Classroom project, a web-based professional development program that was a collaboration between educators in the United States and Jamaica. The study applied the HPL lens (NRC, 2000) in order to understand the ways that Jamaican educator-participants perceived the integration of learner-centered learning, knowledge-centered learning, assessment-centered learning, and community-centered learning in the program itself, and also examined the impact of these components, despite numerous hurdles, on teachers’ mindsets and practices and the engagement and performance of students in their schools and classrooms. The researcher’s intent was to address the …

Unearthing The Seeds Of Oppression And Injustice Within Education: Using Intuition, Care, And Virtue To Guide The Educative Process And Cultivate Morality., Lucas Worsham

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The emphasis of the inquiry is on the domain of education and the relationship present between the teacher and student more specifically. Essentially, the first part of the thesis outlines how the larger social-political system impacts the domain of public education, with the predominant issues of adversity becoming manifest at the level of the relationship that exists between teacher and student. The second part of the work utilizes the problems discovered and their impact on human experience to propose a virtue/care based method for approaching the relationship with the student in a way that both aligns more closely with the …

The Phenomenon Of Teacher Leadership And Cross-Cultural Confusions: What Teachers' Narratives Reveal About School Leadership And Intergroup Communication, Jennifer M. Green

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

English Language Learners (ELLs) comprise the largest growing subgroup of students in the United States, yet for decades this special population has persistently underachieved as compared to White non-Hispanic students in the public school system. Throughout the nation, ELLs receive an array of services from English as a second language pull-out to sheltered content instruction to dual language education. Much debate has centered on instructional programs for ELLs and the language of instructional delivery. The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of teacher leadership during the adoption and implementation of a one-way dual language education program at …

Navigating The New American Classroom: How Adjunct Faculty Empower Themselves To Reach Out To The New Diverse Population Of Students, Yvonne Macrae

Educational Studies Dissertations

With widened access to higher education, and a rise in the enrollment of diverse students, it is increasingly important to understand the experiences of the adjunct faculty members who teach these students. While a number of studies have been conducted on adjunct faculty, most of them focus only on the challenges they face in higher education in general. Few studies have been conducted specifically on their experiences teaching business and management courses in a college of professional studies and/or continuing education. In this qualitative study, thirteen adjuncts with 4 to 30 years of teaching experience in two different universities were …