Education Commons^™

In Defense Of Public Schools: A Toolkit From The Midwest, Ferial Pearson, Ann Hunter-Pirtle

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

One of the defining features of public schools is that they operate at the will of the people, with public oversight from elected school boards. In addition to being free and open to all, free from religious affiliation, and promoting civic understanding and participation, much of what makes public schools public happens through the democratic process. We have noticed that many teachers are so overworked and overwhelmed - rightly focused on their own classrooms and their own students’ day to day struggles - that it’s not easy for them to engage and advocate for themselves and their students in the …

Alignment Of School Improvement Plans With District Professional Learning Plan: A Policy Advocacy Document, Scott Carlson

Dissertations

This paper advocates for a local policy connecting a standards-based district professional learning plan to individual school improvement plans for the purpose of improving targeted instructional behaviors and student learning outcomes. Currently, my district’s school improvement plans follow a general template focused on student subgroup deficits and standardized test scores with little emphasis on professional learning aligned to educator and student outcomes. A local policy that aligns school improvement plans with a district professional learning plan would be consistent with recommendations from the Illinois P-20 Council (2017) and help the local school board understand how a district professional learning plan …

Skills And Student Affairs: A Discourse Analysis, Shannon Mckechnie

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Media, industry, and other public actors have claimed that a ‘skills gap’ exists in students exiting post-secondary education and entering the workforce. The Ontario provincial government has developed policy, the Highly Skilled Workforce Strategy, to provide directives to universities in the province to provide skills development to students to aid in closing the gap and providing a workplace relevant education. In this study, I explore the experiences of student affairs and services (SAS) staff responsible for enacting provincial policy related to skills development at the university level by investigating the discourses that shape policy and practices of these staff …

American Education Through Films And Documentaries, Carol Huang

Open Educational Resources

A social foundation of education

A Multi-Case Study Of Electronic Communication Policy In Rural East Texas School Districts, Laura Lynn Dacus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to conduct a policy analysis regarding electronic communication between educators and students in three rural East Texas school districts. The policy analysis for each district began with the initial implementation of teacher communication via electronic sources provided by the districts. The focus of the study was limited specifically to the policy regulating nonschool related, electronic communication by educators with students. The challenge faced by school districts to embrace technology with one-to-one classrooms, virtual classrooms, constant connectivity, school texting applications, and open availability to teachers via email, complicates restrictions placed on non-school related …

Social Construction Of Power In Policymaking: A Case Of Cybersecurity Articulation Agreements In Virginia, Michael Paul Moore

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Existing research into the creation of articulation agreements focused solely on the functional aspects of these documents, such as maximizing transfer credit. However, little is known about the experiences of faculty and administrators at the community colleges and universities who create articulation agreements and how their experiences affect partnerships between institutions. This is especially important for high-stakes articulation agreements in industries that are under-employed, as institutions are expected to enroll large numbers of students to meet the demands of the market. Who takes charge in the creation of such articulation agreements is of interest for leaders of institutions seeking to …

Program Evaluation: Diffusion From Policy Literature To Improve Assessment In Information Literacy Instruction., Seth Porter

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Assessment and program evaluation is a key aspect of the 21st-century academy and library, however, this critical service is often an afterthought or the responsibility of a librarian with little to no knowledge of data analysis or program evaluation. This brief lecture will cover the best practices in program evaluation through the framework of policy analysis. Diffusing best practices from outside disciplines will help build a more robust assessment program in information literacy instruction.

Education, Not Restriction, Is Key To Reducing Harm From Offshore Gambling, Sally Gainsbury, Alex Blaszczynski, Brett Abarbanel

College of Hospitality Faculty Research

Australian internet gambling policies have been refined and prohibitions on illegal gambling sites clarified in recent years. These offshore sites not only pose potential harm to consumers in the form of fraudulent and deceptive dealings, but also have long-term consequences through reducing the tax dollars generated by the licensed market. Our research takes a closer look at why gamblers use offshore sites, and the implications of this for policymaking.

The Private School Advantage: Evidence From School Vouchers And Educational Leadership, Mohammad Danish Shakeel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

School choice is becoming increasingly popular around the globe. Broadly the term ‘school choice’ is used to describe the options available for families to send children to school(s) other than the one they are residentially assigned to. Private school choice interventions known as ‘school vouchers,’ offer public or private funding to enable families to send their children to private school.

Research in 1970s and 80s by James Coleman and his colleagues showed a private school advantage in student achievement and graduation rates, in comparison to traditional public schools. Competing evidence was presented by Christopher Lubienski and Sarah Lubienski in 2013, …

The History Of Massachusetts Transfer And Articulation Policies In Contexts Of Evolving Higher Education System Structure, Coordination, And Policy Actors, Daniel De La Torre, Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Community colleges carry out dual missions providing occupational and collegiate preparation in local communities across the United States. These institutions prepare students for advanced study via transfer policies that lead to enrollment in baccalaureate institutions. State higher education systems use transfer and articulation policies to strengthen academic pathways between two-year and four-year institutions. These policies rely on established governance to facilitate student transfer between sectors. The transfer and articulation literature stresses the importance of statewide policy guidelines, yet little has been written about the process of transfer policy development involving state higher education governance and policy groups and actors. The …

How Language Policies And Practices Affect Classrooms In Schools And Colleges, Gwendolyn F. Stanley

Master's Theses

To understand the origin of this documentation pertaining to How Language Policies and Practices Affect Classrooms in Schools and Colleges goes all the way back in time to the 1800s. The year of 1890 was the time, when the so-called minority generation in the United States came to realize that, injustice was going to be at a standstill unless some action would take place. This country was set on uncertain written standards that were bound to have been noted as constitutional. The constitution says this, and the constitution states that, “While the 13^th Amendment to the United States Constitution …

Young People’S Views Of Government, Peaceful Coexistence, And Diversity In Five Latin American Countries: Iea International Civic And Citizenship Education Study 2016 Latin American Report, Wolfram Schulz, John Ainley, Cristián Cox, Tim Friedman

Dr Wolfram Schulz

ICCS 2016 was the second cycle of the IEA Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS). ICCS studies the ways in which education systems from around the world prepare young people to undertake their roles as citizens in society. In Latin America, this area of learning is set within particular challenges and contexts. Compared to established Western democracies, most countries in this region returned to democratic rule only three or four decades ago or even more recently, and their political, social, and economic stability continues to be called into question. Surveys have consistently found that commitment to democracy among adults in …

Action Research For The Development And Integration Of Child Protection Policies And Practices At Private Schools In Egypt, Hana Abdelsalam

Capstone and Graduation Projects

Violence against children is a widespread phenomenon in Egypt. The education sector has a large role to play in preventing violence and promoting child-wellbeing inside and outside schools. This study reviews the literature, assesses the current status and attitudes regarding School-Based Child Protection and documents a nine-month action research project conducted with International British Schools. Data is collected via six school visits, a baseline questionnaire administered to 60 respondents from 44 schools, field notes, participant feedback and participant reflections. The paper discusses lessons learned on the school’s needs, challenges and opportunities, as well as culture-specific aspects and contextual factors that …

Using Postsecondary Research To Influence The Policy Process, Donald E. Heller

School of Education Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

The Mckinney-Vento Act: Moving Beyond Aspirations To More Effective Implementation, Michael Cermak

Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative research study is to investigate teachers' knowledge of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McK-V; the Act) and their perceptions of how to best meet the needs of the population of homeless students in schools. The literature base has shown that implementation of the Act has been largely inconsistent due to the lack of formal implementing regulations and a lack of awareness on the part of many educators. A professional development presentation was developed for teachers in order to increase their knowledge, and following the use of a pre/post/ delayed post-test survey, ascertain the impact of …

Public Policies Involving Pregnant And Parenting Secondary Students From Perspectives Of Educators, Tomecole Hilliard-Carlton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite a significant drop in the number of pregnant adolescents and reforms to fight

gender discrimination under Title IX, teen pregnancy and risk factors including poverty,

stigma, and substance abuse, which may lead to different negative outcomes, such as

depression, social isolation, and lowered self-esteem remain a persistent problem in the

United States. Due to these factors, pregnant and parenting teens have been noted to drop

out of high school prematurely. Using incrementalism as a theoretical framework, the

purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore and describe Title IX

compliance and local policies and practices of educators …

First Line Of Defense: Protecting Youth On Campus, Tina C. Carter, Alyssa King

Division of Community Engagement Resources

Many institutions recognize the need for a centralized process to address the safety of youth on campus. Legislation, publicized incidents, state and national laws, and research have pushed this topic to the forefront. In an effort to educate, mitigate risk, and create consistency, the implementation of university-wide youth protection policies has become a common practice. While each campus is different, foundational components to these policies can create a cultural shift and educate individuals on their role in reporting abuse and neglect. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) launched its youth protection policy, Safety and Protection of Minors, in July 2016. The …

Mary And Frances Youth Center, Alyssa King

Division of Community Engagement Resources

The Mary and Frances Youth Center opened in 2007 on Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Monroe Park campus in Richmond. Its facilities include two private tennis courts and a number of classrooms designed for youth-centered programming and training. The youth center’s flagship program since opening has been Lobs & Lessons, a nationally recognized tennis and learning program, but it also hosts and leads Discovery summer program, which provides middle-school students with in-depth experiences in science, technology, engineering, arts and health sciences. In addition to these programs, the youth center co-manages the implementation of the Youth Program Quality Intervention, a quality improvement …

Young People’S Views Of Government, Peaceful Coexistence, And Diversity In Five Latin American Countries: Iea International Civic And Citizenship Education Study 2016 Latin American Report, Wolfram Schulz, John Ainley, Cristián Cox, Tim Friedman

Civics and Citizenship Assessment

ICCS 2016 was the second cycle of the IEA Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS). ICCS studies the ways in which education systems from around the world prepare young people to undertake their roles as citizens in society. In Latin America, this area of learning is set within particular challenges and contexts. Compared to established Western democracies, most countries in this region returned to democratic rule only three or four decades ago or even more recently, and their political, social, and economic stability continues to be called into question. Surveys have consistently found that commitment to democracy among adults in …

Strategies Of Policy Advocacy Organizations And Their Theoretical Affinities: Evidence From Q-Methodology, Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Policy advocacy is an increasingly important function for many nonprofit organizations, yet their advocacy activities have largely escaped theoretical grounding. The literature on nonprofits has described how they engage in policy advocacy, without linking them to theories of policy change. The policy studies literature, on the other hand, has explained how various forms of influence result in policy change, but has largely ignored organizational perspectives on those processes. These two literatures remain largely disconnected. Drawing upon interviews with a purposive sample of policy advocacy directors at 31 nonprofit organizations, this study applies Q-methodology to identify and describe six distinct policy …

Employability In A Global Context: Evolving Policy And Practice In Employability, Work Integrated Learning, And Career Development Learning, Martin Smith, Kenton Bell, Dawn Bennett, Alan Mcalpine

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This research project was activated to explore trends emerging in the intersecting domains of employability, work-integrated learning, and career development learning. In late 2015, researchers, academics, and career practitioners from Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada gathered to attend an Employability Masterclass at the University of Wollongong. Attendees explored questions around employability in vocationally specific and non-vocationally specific degrees. The language and conversations highlighted the influence of global contexts on strategies and practices in transnational settings-specifically, how employability is defined and supported across the breadth of university activity.

Policy Mediation And Curricular Integration In A Texas Charter School, Brian Diedrich

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this study are the processes of curricular integration in a Texas charter school. At the campus level, vertical and horizontal curricular integration requires attentive teacher and administrative observations, effective collaboration, and the experience to mediate how these components affect classroom instruction. Teacher observations are the first step in the process of differentiation and intervention that keeps students from falling behind. Administrative observations direct the activities of teachers as defined by state and institutional documents. The institutional emphasis on cultural preservation makes this charter school beneficial as a research site because the curricular focus and overall mission of …

Mind The Gap: Mapping Skills In Higher Education Project Summary, Melody Viczko Dr, Shannon Mckechnie, Natasja Van Buggenhout, J. Eduardo Álvarez Barrios

Education Publications

The call for reform in higher education has been a focus of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for over a decade. This call for reform is driven by a stated “skills gap” between the skills of graduates and the needs of the labour market. Student groups have also voiced their concern about the skills gap and its impact on future employment.

Predicting Certification Success For The Family Nurse Practitioner, Tammy Lee Gravel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High-stakes licensure or certification examinations are required for many health professions disciplines to ensure safe entry-level practice. Accrediting agencies set a benchmark for graduates' first-time licensure or certification success as a measure of program effectiveness. Failures of graduates on licensure or certification examinations may directly affect the school's recruitment and retention of qualified students and faculty, as well as institutional financial viability. A health science university has added Health Education System, Inc. (HESI) standardized examinations using computer adaptive testing into the family nurse practitioner (FNP) master's program to support certification success, although research on these advanced practice examinations as related …

Predictors Of Medical Students’ Attitudes Towards Abortion And Their Changes Overtime, Rebecca Elizabeth Morales

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

As new legislation is regularly being introduced to minimize Roe v. Wade’s protection of women’s right to choose in a medical setting, it is imperative to study what predictors may have an impact on abortion attitudes within the demographic of medical students, as well as how these predictors impact one’s willingness to provide the service in the future. The current study then, uses data collected in 2000 and 2015 from a medical school located in Virginia, and in collaboration with a research university in the state to examine what factors are associated with a willingness to provide an abortion, as …

Interculturalism In Higher Education In Ireland: An Analysis From A Strategy, Policy And Practice Perspective, Brid Ni Chonaill

Articles

Education is instrumental in preparing students to participate in increasingly diverse Irish, European and global societies, with higher education having a part to play in the process. Issues around migration and cultural diversity have gained less attention in the higher education sector in Ireland than at primary and post primary level with a few notable exceptions. Higher education is regarded as having a “critical role” to play in terms of “enriching Ireland’s cultural life, nurturing our understanding of our own national identity and that of other cultures and belief systems” [1]. Influenced by developments at European Union level, the approach …

Faculty And Staff Perceptions About Concealed Carry Initiatives And Their Effect On Campus Safety: A Multi-State Examination, Heidi Marie Ahl-Quanbeck

Theses and Dissertations

Concealed carry on campus is a polarizing debate affecting higher education today. Concealed carry refers to the carrying of a weapon in public while concealed from view. Prompted by isolated instances of gun violence as well as the changing gun culture within our society, ten states now permit weapons on campus as a result of legislation or institutional policy. Yet, little is known about faculty and staff perspectives on concealed carry on campus initiatives or how weapons could affect perceptions about campus safety. The purpose of this study is to better understand faculty and staff perspectives on concealed carry, to …

Bullied, Hawked, And Scrutinized: Adult Literacy Practitioners’ Affective Reactions To State And Institutional Power, Amy Pickard

Adult Education Research Conference

This study explores adult literacy practitioners’ affective responses to contemporary policy regimes, in order to inform efforts to improve working conditions for practitioners and, by extension, the educational experiences of learners.

Keeping The Learning Going: Using Mobile Technology To Enhance Learning Transfer, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Every year billions of dollars are spent on development aid and training around the world. Little attention is paid, however, to the sustainability of the various interventions. Some studies suggest that technology usage can serve as an effective post-learning intervention to enhance the transfer of learning. Currently, there is a limited body of research examining how best to follow up after an educational professional development program in Africa. This qualitative exploratory study sought to address the gap in education development policy by examining three schools in Ghana, West Africa. This study helps increase our understanding of how technology can promote …