Education Commons^™

Grounded School Choice In Uganda: Community Building From The Bottom To The Top, Jennifer Bennett, Joe Bishop, Shima Tondar

Impact: A Journal of Community and Cultural Inquiry in Education

The non-profit organization, From the Bottom to the Top, has been working with the people of west-central Uganda to rebuild the education system, develop increased access to sustainable schools, and promote community involvement in school decisions. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of students, parents, teachers, and community members related to their choice of specific schools in a rural area of Uganda, which have been working in cooperation with From the Bottom to the Top. Interviews focused on students and families’ motivations to choose the school their children attend and observations of sustainable development efforts in their …

Exploration Of The Reflective Supervision Relationship: Meaning Making, Communication, And Transformative Learning In Educational Environments, Elizabeth Betsy Stoelt

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Reflective supervision is ongoing professional development, often utilized by the social work field that originates from infant mental health supervisory practices. Reflective supervision increases one’s capacity to become aware and manage the strong emotions that are inherent in direct service work and understand relational dynamics within families and between professionals and family members. Using the 3 central tenets of collaboration, reflection and regularity, the goal of reflective supervision is to develop and maintain effective service delivery by understanding the practitioner’s positionality. This study utilized the practice of reflective supervision with five educators over a 10-week period of time. The goal …

Black Women At The Crossroads: Agency, Interruptions, And Oppression In Education, Kimberly D. Ferrell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation utilizes intersectionality, critical race feminism (CRF), Black feminist research and case studies to explore Black women’s oppression in education. This research study contributes to a growing body of work on Black females’ experiences of marginalization socially and educationally. The aim of this research was threefold: (a) to provide a theoretical analysis on the marginalization of Black females in society and exercising agency; (b) to explore my own memories and amplify my voice through an autoethnography, highlighting personal lived experiences of oppression in education; and (c) to provide a qualitative analysis on Black women oppression, amplifying the voices of …

Separate But Equal? A Look At Michigan Public School Districts, Travis Michalak

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that schools that are separate are inherently unequal and that the desegregation of schools should take effect with “all deliberate speed.” Decades later, there are still schools whose student bodies are comprised of over 90% minority students. The following study aimed to understand the relationship between minority segregated schools and their graduation rates, as well as the relationship between student poverty rates and the racial composition of schools and the resulting effect these variables have on school funding. Using data collected from the Michigan School database, this study …

Student Involvement: A Comparative Study Of Eastern Michigan University And Oxford-Brookes University, Meaghan Lynch

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Through a comparative analysis of Eastern Michigan University and Oxford-Brookes University, it has been determined that despite being similar in size and reputability, student organizations look significantly different. The researcher determined a strong first step in discussing why the two universities have such differing approaches to student involvement would be to investigate the value found in extra-curricular participation for students that occur in both countries. The researcher explored this difference and discusses what each institution could learn from the other and continue to grow and develop their extracurricular programs.

The Digital Self: A Qualitative Approach To Studying Female College Students' Use Of Social-Networking Platforms, Megan Christine Gore

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to understand how female college students make use of social networks, specifically how they use the medium to connect with others. Researching socialnetworking use pertaining to the phenomenon of connection will give a richer understanding of female students’ lived experience of social networking. Many quantitative studies have been conducted about social networking, but more qualitative measures are needed to explore social networking. With the continuously changing social-networking platforms, there is little research that sheds light on social-networking use among female college students. My goal was to conduct a qualitative research study that examined female …

A Study Of The Factors Involved And The Strategies Employed By Michigan School Districts In Developing Deficit Elimination Plans, Sue C. Carnell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to study the factors that contribute to financial deficits, examine the strategies used to reduce deficits, and explore the barriers that may prohibit the reduction of financial deficits. As part of legislative mandates, school superintendents are faced with creating a deficit elimination plan to reduce the financial deficits facing their districts. In 2013, the State of Michigan began to shut down financially challenged districts for the first time. School districts labeled as “deficit districts” struggled to remove the designation assigned to them. Fifty-eight traditional Michigan public school districts with financial deficits between school years …

Perceived Barriers To Technology Integration, Adam J. Hartley

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This mixed-methods study explores the potential barriers to change related to the integration of technology among elementary teachers. Data were collected through the use of a survey, interviews, and focus groups. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) developed by Hall and Hord (2001) was used to capture teacher perceptions of the technology integration. Additional qualitative data were gathered through an open-ended questionnaire, and followed up with interviews and a focus group with eight teachers from the district studied. Two teachers, from each of the four elementary buildings within the school district, were chosen. The population of this study consisted of approximately …

A Quasi-Experimental Study On Students' Perceptions And Intended Use Of Digital Recording Technology In A College Technology Classroom, Zenia Bahorski

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This quasi-experimental study employed a modified Technology Acceptance Model approach in conjunction with a Perceived Classroom Interaction Model. The study investigated the impact of digital audio recording of college classroom lectures on students' perceptions of interaction levels, usefulness, and use of the digital media.

The study surveyed six introductory computer science and technology classes. Previous computer knowledge was not assumed. The results found no significant differences of students' perceptions of interaction levels in traditional classroom lectures. However, gender was found to have a significant effect on speaking in class when a recorder was present. No significant differences were found when …