Education Commons^™

Examining The Impact Of Web-Based Training Modules Among Special Educators And Paraprofessionals Who Support Students With Autism, May Ahn

Dissertations

Although researchers have clearly identified evidence-based ABA practices for children with autism, the research-to-practice gap in implementation continues to exist in schools. This may be due to lack of staff development and knowledge in specific instructional methods (Odom, Collet-Klingenberg, & Hatton, 2010). Moreover, the delivery of training may be a factor in staff development. For example, workshops are one of the most common ways professionals access training (Brock, Huber, Carter, Juarez, & Warren, 2014). However, workshops often have limited impact on implementation of new knowledge. Advances in technology have made online training more accessible for educators as a delivery option. …

Transfer Student Success: Latinx Students Overcoming Challenges At Two- And Four-Year Institutions Towards Baccalaureate Degree Attainment, Ajani Mcarthur Byrd

Dissertations

As the largest post-secondary educational system, community colleges enroll nearly 35% of all college students (American Association for Community Colleges, 2014). However, the vast majority of students attending two-year institutions aspiring to vertically transfer (from community college to four-year institution), fall short of their academic goals and do not obtain a baccalaureate degree (Student Success Score Card, 2013). To this end, the extant literature has illustrated students of color, especially Latinx and African American students, transfer and graduate at disproportionately lower rates than their white counterparts. Qualitative researchers have explored this phenomenon; yet, often fall short of highlighting the specific …

An Exploration Of African American Parents' Level Of Trust In Special Education Meetings, Kizin Burton-Fox

Dissertations

There is a plethora of research to suggest that there are a number of benefits to parent participation in a student's education, including improved education outcomes for students (Cheung & Pomerantz, 2012). However, there has been no real consensus on whether or not African American parents demonstrate appropriate involvement in their children's education since parent participation has typically been defined according to the norms of White middle class culture (Fields-Smith, 2005). Nevertheless, African American students have been found to demonstrate some of the lowest levels of academic achievement compared to their White counterparts, even when socioeconomic factors are taken into …

My Leadership Experiences With Peace Circles As A Restorative Practice, El-Roy Estes

Dissertations

Restorative practices emerged on the scene within the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) as of recent. In 2006, CPS revamped their Student Code of Misconduct handbook from a strict and stern "zero-tolerance" voice to a more sensitive and subtle "restorative talk" approach. With this transition in effect, the school's culture and climate are expected to positively improve and at the same time support the social and emotional and academic performance of the students. Peace Circles is one of the alternate solutions to address these issues by decreasing out-of-school suspensions and improving social and emotional and academic learning. This capstone self-study will …

Exploring The Implications For Educational Leadership: A Case Study Of Cristo Rey St. Martin College Preparatory High School, Julie Lynn Frey

Dissertations

This is a case study of Cristo Rey St. Martin High School, member of the Cristo Rey Network. Cristo Rey St. Martin has been able to make gains in closing the gap with regard to student entrance into college for low-income minority students, making it a unique and appropriate case to study. The purpose of this research was to study the formation of the leadership at Cristo Rey St. Martin College Preparatory High School.

The case study consisted of interviews, observations, shadowing of the principal, and document analysis.

Major finding include mission creation explicit to student achievement, a student centric …

An Examination Of Multicultural Competence And Racial Colorblindness Among School Psychologists, Sandy D. Flores

Dissertations

The field of school psychology has developed a strong commitment to culturally competent practice. However, there is a lack of literature examining multicultural competence among school psychologists. The present study sought to address this need using a two-pronged approach. First, the study expanded the research base for a self-report multicultural competence scale by administering the measure to a sample of practicing school psychologists. Second, the study investigated the relationship between racial colorblindness and self-perceived multicultural competence among school psychologists by administering an additional racial colorblindness measure. Given that similar fields have identified the negative impact of racial colorblindness on multicultural …

The Effects Of Teacher Self-Efficacy With The Inclusion Of Students With Autism In General Education Classrooms, Tekita Quashell Gordon

Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continues to rise at an astonishing rate. As many schools attempt to create an inclusive environment that is conducive for students with autism's academic success, it is important that we recognize the teacher's role in creating an inclusive classroom. Teachers with high self-efficacy have a positive impact on student achievement. Therefore, this qualitative study explores the effects of a teacher's self-efficacy with the inclusion of students with autism in a general education classroom.

Eleven general education teachers were interviewed in order to gain insight into their experience and perceptions on the inclusion of students with autism. …

An Exploration Of Elementary Teachers' Beliefs And Perceptions About Science Inquiry: A Mixed Methods Study, Linda Hamadeh

Dissertations

In order for science-based inquiry instruction to happen on a large scale in elementary classrooms across the country, evidence must be provided that implementing this reform can be realistic and practical, despite the challenges and obstacles teachers may face. This study sought to examine elementary teachers' knowledge and understanding of, attitudes toward, and overall perceptions of inquiry-based science instruction, and how these beliefs influenced their inquiry practice in the classroom. It offered a description and analysis of the approaches elementary science teachers in Islamic schools reported using to promote inquiry within the context of their science classrooms, and addressed the …

The Blackboard And The Colorline Madeline Morgan And The Alternative Black Curriculum In Chicago Schools 1941-1945, Michael Hines

Dissertations

On May 28, 1942, Chicago Public Schools adopted a new curriculum with the rather mundane title Supplementary Units for the Course of Study in Social Studies. Although the title was less than provocative, the content was revolutionary, both for Chicago and for the nation. The Supplementary Units marked one of the first times that a major American public school system had adopted African American history as part of its standard, citywide social studies curriculum. The story of the development, adoption, and implementation of this curriculum intersects issues of race, politics, history, and education. At its center are the efforts of …

Maintaining College Access In A Post Recession Era: A Multi-Level Competing Risks Model, Brendan Martin

Dissertations

Post-Great Recession budgets cuts and funding freezes have decreased the level of institutional resources available to recruit and retain undergraduate students. To optimize remaining expenditures in this challenging climate, new analytical approaches must be considered to evaluate and interpret pre-enrollment student data. To date, much of the higher education literature has focused on predicting enrollment using traditional fixed or mixed effects binary logistic models. While robust, these modeling approaches are constrained by standard statistical assumptions, do not account for the timing of students' enrollment decisions, and cannot efficiently incorporate censored data points or competitor information. This study applies a multi-level, …

Technology Integration In Context, Joanna Marshall

Dissertations

This study employed an ecological framework to examine how multiple contextual variables from the state biosphere, district biome, school habitat and classroom niche impact how teachers decide to integrate technology. It was an opportunity to observe how a teacher's Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge operates in a classroom in response to the building, district and state contexts. It was conducted in multiple classrooms in one school and with science teachers. It included a self-study component. It provided an opportunity to directly observe the interactions between students and teacher as distinct species in the classroom when technology integration occurred. This allowed me …

Critical Media Literacy Instruction With Teacher Residents In Urban Catholic Schools: A Comparative Case Study Approach To Implementation And Critical Transformational Learning, Jennifer K. Shah

Dissertations

Critical literacy is a cultivated habit that students learn in order to read media texts in their world more consciously. The Catholic context is ideal for work around critical media literacy due to a continued mission and vision around social justice. This research fills gaps in literature relating to critical media literacy in Catholic schools. The goals are threefold: (1) to study the transformational learning of teacher residents as they learn about and implement critical media literacy in urban Catholic schools, (2) to identify supports and barriers related to this process in order to better address critical media literacy implementation …

Wilson Fundations Program Evaluation For An Urban Kindergarten Setting, Tonika Rene' Terrell

Dissertations

Many urban schools, throughout the United States of America, experience major academic challenges in preparing Kindergarten students to become proficient readers, to achieve academic success throughout the formal educational process. The purpose of this research study was to examine how the implementation of the Wilson Fundations Program, in an urban Kindergarten setting, impacted student literacy achievement and growth. The Wilson Fundations Program is a systematic, explicit, and highly structured mult-sensory language program for students in K-3 grade. The Wilson Fundations is based on principles of the Wilson Reading System which provides instruction for a comprehensive reading, spelling, and handwriting program. …

Implementing Social Emotional Learning (Sel): An Evaluation Of Illinois Teachers' Capacity To Provide Sel Instruction And Use The Illinois Sel Standards, Daniel Louis Philippe

Dissertations

In 2003, the state of Illinois passed the Children's Mental Health Act, becoming the first state to develop standards focused specifically on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) while mandating the use of SEL instruction in schools. Over a decade and a half later, it is unclear to what degree, if any, Illinois teachers are aware of the standards as a means to guide SEL instruction, or if they possess sufficient awareness of SEL as a framework to systematically support social-emotional development in the first place. In recent years, SEL has received much attention in the field of education. A body of …

Maintaining And Improving Academic Achievement In The Midst Of Significant Demographic Change: A Case Study Analysis, Aaron Raatjes

Dissertations

The research of Mei Jiun Wu (2013) indicates that demographic change greater than 1% has significant impact on the achievement performance of school districts. This study analyzes a single district that experienced an average of 1.25% demographic change per year consisting of an increase of non-White students from 2002 to 2015. Despite this compounding change, the district was able to maintain and improve academic achievement. This study utilizes Marzano and Waters' (2009) framework for school leadership as well as Lindsey, Nuri-Robins, and Terrell's (2009) Framework for cultural proficiency to better understand how the district was able to maintain and improve …

Elementary Principals' Perceptions Of School Psychological Services, Tiffany Marie Voight

Dissertations

There is a growing need for school psychologists to reform and restructure their roles in order to meet the mental health needs of student populations (Adelman & Taylor, 2003). Many school psychologists, district (school psychologists serving multiple schools) and building (school psychologists serving one school) are in favor of changing roles and responsibilities, but are faced with resistance from administrators when advocating for change (Adelman & Taylor, 2003). The purpose of this research study was to investigate elementary principals' perceptions about school psychological services. Survey research was utilized to measure elementary principals' perceptions of school psychological services provided by district …

Centering The Margins: Elevating The Voices Of Women Of Color To Critically Examine College Student Leadership, Natasha T. Turman

Dissertations

The leadership viewpoints of Women of Color (WOC), in general, and WOC collegians specifically, are not widely available or recognized. This exclusion and oversight is a disservice to all. The inadequate inclusion of WOC's perspective in leadership literature is due to the assumptions of race and gender neutrality in leadership studies. Viewing leadership as a set of universal constructs, garnered from a select few and generalized to a great many, is not adequate to understanding the leadership experiences of WOC within dominant-culture environments. To address these deficits, critical leadership scholars have proposed that leadership be (re)conceptualized from a multicultural perspective, …

Childhood Obesity Programming In Schools: A Mixed Method Program Evaluation Of The Cope Healthy Lifestyles Teen Intervention, Lindsay Viellieu

Dissertations

The current study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the COPE Healthy Lifestyles TEEN program with adolescent females within a suburban high school setting. The program assessed changes in Body Mass Index, knowledge and behaviors relating to nutrition and physical activity and self-concept. The study also focused on participants' perspectives on program components and how those components facilitate change. The results of this study indicate the program increased knowledge relating to nutrition and physical activity; behaviors relating to physical activity; and self-concept. Given the on-going nature of the childhood obesity epidemic worldwide and the relationship between mental health and …

Corrective Reading And Middle School Students With Specific Learning Disability, Diane Wallendjack

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine how much impact a two-trimester implementation of the Corrective Reading Comprehension program had upon the reading skills of special education students receiving instruction in small group special education English Language Arts classes. The goal was to gather data on the effectiveness of the Corrective Reading Comprehension program as an intervention for middle school students with specific learning disability, as measured by two different types of data, and supported by student and teacher acceptability measures. Data was collected over the course of the 2015-16 school year in order to answer the following four …

Understanding The Level Of Achievement Bilingual Education Fosters In Students, Erica Mallett

Master's Theses

Traditional approaches to examining the effectiveness of bilingual programs typically compare them to monolingual programs and rarely discuss the meaning and complexity of the notion of achievement therein. A vertical case study framework is used to examine this local phenomenon at a bilingual elementary school in Chicago, Illinois across local, national, and global contexts. This vertical case study aims to answer the question; how does a bilingual program define the notion of achievement and work to facilitate that achievement for students? To do this, I conducted interviews and analyzed policy documents to examine how achievement is defined in bilingual education …

The Sustainability Of Evaluation Capacity Building Interventions: An Exploratory Study, James Wade

Dissertations

Evaluation capacity building (ECB) is a practice that can help organizations conduct and use evaluations; however, there is little research on the sustainable impact of ECB interventions. This study provides an empirical inquiry into the sustainability of multiple ECB interventions. Ten ECB practitioners, identified through snowball sampling, were interviewed. They identified 16 organizational leaders from non-profits, higher education institutions, and foundations that "bought in" to ECB and were at least six months removed from an ECB contract. Analysis of these interviews resulted in a blended empirical and theoretical model that highlights the developmental process of ECB sustainability. This model highlights …

Los Recién Llegados: Construyendo Collaborative Relationships Between Recently Arrived Salvadoran Parents And Educators In The Nation's Capital, Ingrid Tamara Colon

Dissertations

This qualitative study explored recently arrived Salvadoran parents in Washington, D.C. The primary purpose of this dissertation was to learn the perspectives that recently arrived Salvadoran parents have about their children's education to build and sustain collaborative relationships in schools. This study holds implications for schools, school administrators, teachers, teacher preparation programs, policy makers, and educational researchers serving recently arrived Salvadoran immigrants. Specifically, this dissertation calls for educators and stakeholders to directly learn from recently arrived Salvadoran parents to identify and address the unique needs of their children in U.S. schools.

This dissertation examined the following question: What perspectives do …

Making Use Of Teacher Mentors: Understanding The Impact Of Teacher-Student Relationships On Student Academic Achievement, Sara Haas

Dissertations

The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) has determined that if a high school student completes freshman year with the necessary course credits to be promoted to tenth grade and has no more than one F for one semester/course in a core content area then they are considered on track to graduate high school within four years and ultimately be college and career ready (Allensworth & Easton, 2005). The CCSR did further research and published a report examining the factors that indicated what a middle grades student would need to be on track as high school freshman …

The Challenge Of Leading Change: How Sources Of Authority And Change Management Models Intersect To Promote School Improvement, Samantha Joyce Lam

Dissertations

A gap in research exists that demonstrates how principals use their authority to make decisions and how that intersects with change management models. The purpose of the study is to examine how one elementary school principal has led change and how teachers perceive the effectiveness of the change. The study seeks to explore principal's and teachers' perceptions of the impact of the change on the school.

Through a bounded, qualitative case study design, the researcher used several techniques to gather data: teacher survey, principal interview, teacher interview, and document analysis. Multiple sources of data were used to adequately shed light …

Reframing Learning To Teach Diversity: Multicultural Curriculum Within A Cosmopolitan Context, Seungho Moon

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

This qualitative study explores the possibilities of reframing multicultural teacher education in the context of critical cosmopolitanism. I examine the ways in which 34 pre-service and in-service teachers learn to teach diversity and multicultural issues in their curriculum. I use three sets of coursework materials, including course discussions, small group presentations, and midterm and final papers to investigate their conceptualisations of diversity and equity issues in education. I present two salient themes as they reframe to teach diversity by reviewing both local and global conflicts: (a) analysing the frame of recognition and (b) revisiting the notions of self-other and interrelationality. …

Why Post-Humanism Now?, Amy B. Shuffelton

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports In High Schools: A Case Study From New Hampshire, Hank Bohanon, Joanne Malloy, Kathy Francoeur

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

The quality of a school’s social environment is critically related to student outcomes, including academic performance, attendance, student behavior, and high school completion rates. New Hampshire engaged in a dropout prevention initiative between 2006 and 2012 that focused on implementation of the multi-tiered Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework combined with an intensive, student-driven school-to-adult life transition intervention for the highest-need youth. This paper presents a case study of how one high school in the New Hampshire dropout prevention project implemented PBIS at all three tiers of support: school-wide, targeted, and intensive. The case study includes a description of …

A Content Analysis Of Catholic School Written Discipline Policies, Daniel L. Philippe, Claudia M. Hernandez, Pamela Fenning, Katie Nicole Bradshaw Sears, Emily M. Mcdonough, Elizabeth Lawrence, Michael Boyle

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

School discipline has traditionally endorsed the use of exclusionary practices (i.e. suspension and expulsion). Such practices can have a negative short- and long-term impact on student lives, and tend to be enforced disproportionately with certain student populations. Although public school discipline policies have received increased scrutiny in recent years, Catholic school policies have received very little attention. This study presents the results of a content analysis of the written discipline policies of 33 Catholic secondary schools from two dioceses within a major metropolitan area. Results suggest that although variability exists in the types of behaviors included in formal written policies, …

Strength In The Face Of Adversity: Resilience Among Mexican Nationals And Mexican Immigrants To The United States, Melissa L. Morgan, Rufus R. Gonzales

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

This exploratory, qualitative study looks at resilience in Mexican Nationals and Mexican Immigrants. Eight Mexican Nationals and six Mexican Immigrants participated in one to three hour semi-structured interviews that asked about their perceptions of stressors, motivation and success in life. Participant responses were analyzed thematically for resilience using Thematic Analysis (Boyatzis, 1998). Contrastive Analysis of themes indicated that resilience can differ based on cultural circumstances (i.e., Mexican National/Mexican Immigrant) given that barriers and therefore potential gains differ by population. In further results, resilience was highlighted as the result of a process, or combination and interaction of experiences as opposed to …

Exceptional Learner's White Paper: One Spirit, One Body, Michael J. Boyle, Pamela R. Bernards

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.