Education Commons^™

Strengthening The Teacher Toolkit: Effective Autism Inclusion Methods, Roxanne Guel

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone Project is on Autism inclusion methods. This is an important issue for teachers because they are often not given the tools and resources to effectively include their students with Autism Spectrum Disorders into a general education classroom. It is argued that some of the most effective methods include peer-mediated instruction, antecedent procedures, and school-wide organizational change. Considerations of the issue, should include the perspectives of both Special Education and General Education teachers. Three themes/action options emerged from an analysis of the data and were explored as ways to address the issue presented. Antecedent procedures are …

A Tradesperson’S Transition To Vocational Technical (Vt) Teaching, Susan J. Sylvia

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study examined survey and interview data collected from tradespeople who transitioned to vocational technical (VT) teaching in regional vocational technical schools in Massachusetts. This study included two research questions that inquired about how tradespeople’s prior experiences, beliefs, and thoughts influenced or inspired them to pursue a transition to vocational technical (VT) teaching and about how their anticipated transitional experiences aligned with their actual transitional experiences. The survey phase included 170 respondents. Survey responses provided an overview of participants, which was integral in identifying four interview participants who were digitally recorded during one-to-one interview sessions. A multiple Case Study …

Discovering The Leader Within: An Autoethnophenomenographic Study Of Mindfulness In Educational Leadership, Alyssa Fraser

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study combined autoethnographic and phenomenological methods to examine a researcher-leader’s attempt to cultivate cognitive, relational, and emotional capacities through regular mindfulness practice, and how the cultivation of such capacities aligns with the enactment of leadership. The interrogation of lived experience and self-analysis was entered with the intention to better understand the promise of mindfulness as a resource for the development of educational leaders. This study explored the perceived connections between mindfulness practice and the enactment of educational leadership by examining internal and external perspectives of an individual leader’s practice. Methods of self-observation, including both interval and occurrence recording …

Implicit Bias In Pre-Service Teachers: A Mixed Methods Approach, Tara Pepis

Doctoral Dissertations

Research Goals/Questions Colleges of Education, through educator preparation programs, have applied a scattershot approach to addressing diversity through multicultural teacher education programs. These programs have not been shown to reduce bias levels in pre-service teachers and are not systematic or uniform. (King & Butler, 2015). This study focuses on an alternative approach to preparing pre-service teachers to work with diverse populations. It measured the levels of implicit bias in a sample population of pre-service teachers and attempt to reduce their implicit bias levels. The aim of the dissertation was to answer the following questions:

1. Can a brief, computer-based intervention decrease …

A Program Evaluation Of A Worksite Wellness Initiative For Weight Loss, Nicholas Martinez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation of ACME’s worksite weight loss initiative and collect evidence relative to the efficacy of the program. An anonymous online survey was administered to participants of the weight loss initiative. The survey was designed to gather information relative to the research questions, which explored the initiative’s barriers to participation, alignment of initiative with the goals of participants, utilization of initiative resources, overall strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement for the weight loss initiative, as well as the respondents’ general profile for the six dimensions of wellness. Reporting of data included …

An Investigation Of Turkish Middle School Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Orientations Towards Direct And Inquiry Instructional Approaches, Selcuk Sahingoz

Dissertations

One of the most important goals of science education is preparing effective science teachers which includes the development of a science pedagogical orientation. Helping in-service science teachers improve their orientations toward science teaching begins with identifying their current orientations. While there are many aspects of an effective science teaching orientation, this study specifically focuses on effective pedagogy. The interest of this study is to clarify pedagogical orientations of middle school science teachers in Turkey toward the teaching of science conceptual knowledge. It focuses on what instructional preferences Turkish middle school science teachers have in theory and practice.

The purpose of …

Teaching While White: White Identity Development And Antiracism For Educators, Amber Mackenzie Taylor

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project explores the use of mindfulness in antiracist professional development for educators, documenting the development and implementation of workshop curriculum across three conference settings. The purpose of the project was to engage White educators in the important inner work of understanding White racial conditioning and actively challenging the institutional and structural racism inherent in our education system. Beginning with an understanding of race, racism and Critical Race Theory, the curriculum was designed to support White educators in developing their own racial identities to further their own personal development. The workshop focuses on White Identity development (Helms, 1990) to support …

Integrating Idea Mapping Into Professional Development And Practice: A Guidebook For Educators, Sarah Rose Parsons

Master's Projects and Capstones

The daily metrics of the teaching profession can prove emotionally and physically taxing, especially when compared to the current rapidly growing veil of technological advancement and a lack of support from one’s community and administration in their field. The means of support for professional development, which are often presented in schools for educators, focus mostly on students and content delivery. These programs rarely pay attention to the personal growth of the individual educator. Educators can in turn help themselves if they are provided with the tools and time to do so. Thus, this project seeks to serve that purpose, founded …

Cooperating Teachers' Experiences Mentoring Preservice Teachers, David H. Lewis

Special Education ETDs

Abstract

Recent literature was reviewed to locate articles with perspectives and attitudes of cooperating teachers who work with preservice teachers at school sites in coordination with institutions that have teacher preparation programs in general and/or special education. The results showed an emphasis in reporting the external aspects of being a cooperating teacher such as the daily activities, and little was reported about the internal aspects of being a cooperating teacher such as personal experience and rationale for working a preservice teacher into a classroom. This led to the research question “What do cooperating teachers report as their experiences while mentoring …

Impacts Of Professional Development In Integrated Stem Education On Teacher Self-Efficacy, Outcome Expectancy, And Stem Career Awareness, John Geoffrey Knowles

Purdue Polytechnic Doctoral Dissertations

This research analyzed the effects of teacher professional development and lesson implementation in integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) on: 1.) Teacher self-efficacy and their confidence to teach specific STEM subjects; 2.) Teaching outcome expectancy beliefs concerning the impact of actions by teachers on student learning; and 3.) Teacher awareness of STEM careers. High school science and technology education teachers participating in the Teachers and Researchers Advancing Integrated Lessons in STEM (TRAILS) project experimental group attended a ten-day summer professional development institute designed to educate teachers in using an integrated STEM education model to implement integrated STEM lessons. The …

Factors Contributing To The Problem Of Student Absenteeism In A Rural School, Angela Denean Durborow

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Student attendance would seem to be a vital link in measuring student success in school. If students are not in school, they miss instruction from the teacher. Without instruction it seems incredibly difficult to complete the work needed to pass classes and be successful in school. The research explored the problem of practice of student absenteeism in a rural school. The study was conducted using mixed methods research methodology, specifically a sequential mixed methods research design. The research questions were as follows: (1) What explicit or implicit messages are parents and the school sending about school attendance? (2) What is …

Strategies Of Reading As A Second Language Instruction Across Curriculum In Secondary Grades, Anisa A. Ben Idris

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored what themes of best practices teachers report using in real classrooms to teach reading skills to ESL students across curricula. It examined teachers’ applications of the following five themes in their instruction as a regular routine described as best practices in the literature for teaching diverse students: (1) providing comprehensible input, (2) teaching learning strategies of metacognition to bridge the gap between school literacy practices and home literacy practices (3) lowering the affective filter, (4) implementing formative assessment, and (5) cooperating between teachers and ESL facilitators. The study involved teachers from two high schools in one school …

The Quiet Discrimination Of Lowered Expectations: A Study On The Independent Living Needs Of Severely Disabled Individuals In Kansas, Joe Dalgarn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing the independence of individuals with severe disabilities is of increasing concern to schools and federal agencies. Improving quality of life for high needs individuals with disabilities is an objective of transition programs, which allow consumers to adapt from one aspect of life to the next. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between variables (a) vocational assessment and exploration; (b) workplace readiness training; (c) independent living skills; and (d) self-advocacy and self-care and the independence level of individuals with severe disabilities residing and receiving their education within an institutionalized setting. Finally, this study will examine the …

Childhood Anxiety Within The Classroom: A Professional Development Experience For Educators, Madeline Garlough

Honors Projects

Education majors are required to complete a significant amount of coursework related to student behaviors and best practices regarding these behaviors. However, this coursework lies heavily on the side of disruptive and aggressive behaviors. Much less is taught about students who experience quiet conflict, despite childhood anxiety being one of the most prevalent disorders that children face. The purpose of this project is to provide teachers and future teachers with information about how to best assist these anxious students within the classroom.

Because of the nature of this project, it is also necessary to understand how teaching adults differs from …

The Missouri Student Transfer Program, Howard E. Fields Iii

Dissertations

In 1993, the state of Missouri passed the Outstanding Schools Act. This law was created as a means to ensure that “all children will have quality educational opportunities, regardless of where in Missouri they live.” Section 167.131 of this law states that an unaccredited district must pay the tuition and transportation cost for students who attend an accredited school in the same or adjoining district. This portion of the law became known as the Student Transfer Program.

The Riverview Gardens School District (RGSD) was one of three unaccredited school districts in the state of Missouri in 2013. With close to …

Students With Intellectual Disabilities Accessing Postsecondary Education Settings: Promoting Education Equity: Seeing Students For Their Ability First And Supporting Their Development As Contributing Members Into A Diverse Society, Kathleen N. Mercier

Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine and describe the lived experiences of seven students with intellectual disabilities (ID) participating in two postsecondary education (PSE) settings in Southern California that were aligned to the Think College Standards-Based Conceptual Framework for Inclusive Higher Education.

Through a qualitative approach of ethnography, the researcher examined various stakeholders’ awareness and ability to support students with ID in higher education settings in an effort to support future development of PSE programs for students with ID. Methodology tools included classroom observations, individual interviews, and examination of artifacts from the sample of PSE settings in …

Trauma Sensitive Schools, Maria Bowker

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent research has shown that an astounding number of children have faced adverse childhood experiences. Due to this fact, many of the students sitting in American classrooms have traumatic backgrounds that can cause a variety of side effects including a lack of academic focus, depression, PTSD, and low social-emotional abilities. Schools are the perfect place to implement trauma sensitive frameworks to provide these students an accessible education. Effective trauma sensitive schools are relational, empowering, and consistent. With these traits, research has shown that depression and PTSD symptoms can be reduced, behavior problems can be decreased, and attendance can increase.

International Students Career Development: Acculturative Stress And Career Outcomes, Sneha J. Pitre

ETD Archive

International students face many challenges as they adapt to a new host country. These challenges are present in social, psychological, academic, and career domains of life. Although students aim to reduce the difficulties encountered in the acculturation process, negative experiences often have a harmful impact. Acculturative stress can negatively affect mental and physical health, as well as career outcomes. The literature focusing on the career-related needs and placement concerns of international students with relation to acculturative stress is scare and needs further exploration. The present study investigated the relationship between acculturative stress and the career outcomes of work hope, career …

The Effects Of Adapted Physical Education On Students With Down Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis, Christopher Ij Bolt

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Objective: The purpose of this study was to synthesize findings from physical activity interventions on children and adolescents with Down syndrome.

Design: The present study employed a quantitative research synthesis design. The overall conclusions of past research highlight important issues related to physical activity interventions performed on children and adolescents with Down syndrome.

Methods: Standard meta-analytic procedures incorporating inclusion and exclusion criteria, literature search, coding procedures, and statistical methods were used to identify and synthesize 24 studies with 258 independent samples. Cohen’s (1988) criteria for effect sizes were used to interpret and evaluate results.

Results: The average treatment effect for …

An Analysis Of Teachers' Perceptions Of Bullying At The Elementary School Level, Tiffany Wilson Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers in elementary schools are often faced with countless disruptive bullying behaviors, which cause them to lose valuable classroom instruction time. In addition, bullying victims have shown a decline in academic success as compared to students who are not bullied. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to explore teachers' understanding and awareness of bullying behaviors and policies at the elementary school level, particularly in an elementary school in a southeastern state that has experienced large increases in student disruptive behavior over the past 2 school years. Bandura's social cognitive theory served as the conceptual framework. Semi-structured interview …

History Teachers' Perspectives Of Time Constraints, Engagement, And Relevance In The Curriculum, Christy Mimie Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the last 20 years, many state school administrators have reduced social studies instructional time in favor of time dedicated to reading or math skills due to the pressure of standardized testing. The purpose of this qualitative case study, which was based on constructivist theories about learning and schema theory, was to analyze teachers' perspectives on teaching history lessons, in terms of engagement and relevance, while working within new time constraints. Purposeful sampling was used to select 6 teachers for interviews; all had experience teaching social studies courses at the upper elementary and middle levels in a public school district …

Technology-Based Professional Development For Teaching And Learning In K-12 Classrooms, Nijia Byrd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban Georgia school district, teacher satisfaction surveys revealed that technology-based professional development was not equipping teachers with the skills or support needed to implement technology into their teaching practices. The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to explore teachers' experiences and perceptions of technology-based professional development and its effect on self-efficacy. Guided by Piaget's constructivist theory, this study was based on the perspective that teachers often construct knowledge rather than gain it. Guiding questions explore the experiences teachers have had with technology integration in daily teaching practices, their self-perceived competency level and self-efficacy regarding technology, their attitudes …

Mandated Continuing Education And The Competency Of Illinois Physical Therapists, Denise Lynn Hunter Ethington

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Continuing education (CE) mandate laws are passed by states because it is in the public interest. The intent behind the passage of Illinois's CE law for physical therapists is to protect public health and safety through ensuring the competency of providers. However, studies into the impact of mandated CE on competency have been mixed. The problem addressed by this study was whether Illinois's CE law was effective in improving the competency of physical therapists and its impact on patient care. The purpose of this study was to understand what role mandated CE played in developing the competency of physical therapists …

Students' Decision-Making After Florida Senate Bill 1720: Guiding Students Through Math Placement, Rebecka Jo Sare

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

After Senate Bill (SB) 1720, exempt students enrolling in colleges in Florida no longer have to take a college placement test or enroll in developmental education courses before enrolling in college-level classes. SB1720 caused Florida colleges to find new methods of placement for incoming students, a concern because incorrect placement can have detrimental effects for the student and institution. Bounded rationality theory and Bahr's interpretation of student typology informed this study. The purpose of this survey study was to compare the exempt students who enrolled in remedial math to those who enrolled in college-level math. Research questions asked what differences …

Fall Prevention In A Neurological Care Unit, Claudeth Jeffrey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Patient falls are an ongoing concern for health systems in the US and in the setting where this project took place. Inpatient falls affect consumers and health providers because falls often result in patient morbidity and mortality, legal risk, increased length of stay, and increased costs. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the existing fall prevention protocol at the site where this project took place and to make recommendations for an evidenced-based fall prevention protocol. The professional practice model was the conceptual model that guided the exploratory descriptive project. A review of the site's fall prevention policies and …

Improving Depression Screenings For Adults Living With Hiv/Aids Through Education And Training, Shermanda Brumfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are 4 times more likely to have a diagnosis of depression than persons without HIV. The specific problem at a rural clinic in a southern region of the United States, was a lack of continuity in the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) screening procedures that made sure that PLWHA were screened, identified, and referred. Early identification and treatment can help patients cope with barriers that affect health outcomes. The purpose and goal of this project was to develop and implement an evidence-based depression screening protocol to improve clinical staff practices and adherence to the PHQ-9 …

Exploring The Impact Of Postgraduate Preservice Primary Science Education On Students’ Self-Efficacy, Christina Maria Norris

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The effectiveness of science teaching in primary school is dependent upon teachers’ self-efficacy to teach science. Low self-efficacy has been linked to avoidance of teaching primary science; therefore, preservice teacher self-efficacy requires fostering to have graduates keen to teach primary science. Through an embedded mixed method intrinsic-case study, this research explored the impact of postgraduate preservice primary science education on students’ self-efficacy. This research examined the postgraduate students’ self-efficacy as the lens to determine the effectiveness of the design and pedagogical instruction of the unit and its tutors. Data sources included the use of pre/post surveys encompassing the Science Teaching …