Education Commons^™

The Digital Divide Through The Lens Of Critical Race Theory: The Digitally Denied, Stacy Gee Hollins

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine African American community college students’ availability to technological resources and how that availability affects their success. In this study, technological resources include access to the internet, software, hardware, technology training, technology support, and community resources. This study included six community college professors and six African American community college students enrolled in a Midwest community college. A major tenet of Critical Race Theory, storytelling, was used to give voice to students who lack sufficient access to technological resources referred to as the digitally denied. Data from this study can create an …

Perceptions Of Teacher Evaluation Systems At Cte Centers In Michigan, Michael A. Martel

Dissertations

This study investigated Career and Technical Centers in Michigan and their teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of their teacher evaluation systems which include a student growth mandate. CTE center teachers and principals were asked to provide their perceptions on how well their teacher evaluation systems provide information to improve teaching and learning. Differences between teachers and principals were explored.

The study was quantitative in design using survey research to obtain perceptions of CTE center teachers and principals. The data collection tool utilized a Likert scale moving from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Open-ended questions provided system quality information from respondents. Demographic …

Understanding The History Of Institutionalization: Making Connections To De-Institutionalization And The Olmstead Act For Persons With Intellectual Disabilities In The State Of Illinois, Nancy A. Cheeseman

Dissertations

What is the historical connection between deinstitutionalization and the Olmstead decision? The purpose of this study was to examine and analyze policy within a historical perspective the connections between institutional care, deinstitutionalization, the Olmstead decision, and the effect on persons with intellectual disabilities lived experience, in the state of Illinois.

The data collected include, the transcripts of interviews with four participants, artifacts from policy documents and historical papers accessed from the Disability Museum online journals. The creation of a table for use in coding themes as associated with 5 (out of 18) core concepts for disability policy.

The Olmstead decision …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Professional Development And The Impact On Elementary Principals Instructional Leadership, Isa Dearmas

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological investigation is to identify and describe professional development components that elementary school principals in the Santa Clarita Valley perceive as having the greatest impact on their instructional leadership related to building teachers’ capacity for improving classroom instruction.

Methodology: To investigate the professional development of elementary school principals in the Santa Clarita Valley and the impact on instructional leadership, the study will follow a phenomenological research design that includes a series of interviews. This research design will focus and describe professional development components and the perspectives of elementary school principals with regard to professional development …

Preferences For Intrinsic And Extrinsic Sport Motivators Of Mississippi's Public Sschool Teachers, Jason Hugh Rayborn

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if Mississippi’s teachers teach for the same motivational reasons that athletes practice their sport. Certified teachers (N=380) from Mississippi were asked to complete a modified version of the Sport Motivation Scale-II (SMS-II) survey. This modified version of the instrument, the SMS-II-ED, included 18 questions from 6 different extrinsic, intrinsic, and a-motivational subgroups and one qualitative question for a total of 19 questions. Preliminary demographic items included teacher’s grade level taught (K-5, 6-8, 9-12), years’ experience (1-10, 11-19, 20+), and previous high school or collegiate sport participation (yes or no).

Descriptive statistics were …

Latino Students In Suburban High Schools: An Examination Of School Malleable Predictors Of High School Graduation, Kira Jean Hicks

Dissertations

Despite recent gains, Latino students drop out of high schools in the United States at a higher rate than their peers and at a significant cost. As more Latino students move to the suburbs, it is important for suburban high schools to meet their needs and solidify their path to graduation. Practices that appear to be promising in keeping students on track to graduate have been developed and studied in urban education settings and need to be validated with other populations and settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the indicators that are predictive of on time graduation …

Exploring The Impact Of Mindfulness On Adolescents: A Mixed Methods Approach, Poonam Desai

Dissertations

As social emotional learning gains greater focus, identifying effective interventions for high-risk students, such as students with Emotional/ Behavioral Disorder (EBD), becomes a priority. Mindfulness, as an intervention, offers a unique set of skills to increase emotional awareness and regulation, while also teaching key social emotional skills (Singh et al, 2007). Mindfulness, or the nonjudgmental observation of one's thoughts, feelings, and emotions, has roots in Buddhist philosophy, but is used secularly in the fields of psychology, medicine, and education (Baer, 2003). In this mixed methods study, the researcher aims to examine the experiences of adolescents who have EBD at an …

Incomplete Reporting: Addressing The Problem Of Outcome-Reporting Bias In Educational Research, Brian Patrick Trainor

Dissertations

Outcome-reporting bias is a problem that pervades many research disciplines including education. Outcome-reporting bias involves any time the outcomes presented in a published journal article do not accurately reflect all of the outcomes that were collected throughout the course of a study. In other words, when outcome-reporting bias is present, the information which is disseminated to the academic research community is incomplete and can lead to serious problems over time. Some of these problems include school districts implementing interventions based on incomplete or inaccurate data, as well as the problem that naturally arises for those implementing meta-analysis or systematic review …

Attitude, Subjective Norm, And Perceived Behavioral Control As Indicators For Nurse Educators’ Intention To Use Critical Thinking Teaching Strategies: A Structural Equation Model Analysis, Angerlita Yolanda Smith

Dissertations

Problem

Deficiencies in new nursing graduates’ ability to use critical thinking skills have been documented. Researchers have found that the continued use of traditional teaching methods and less student-centered approaches for critical thinking development has contributed to this problem. This particular issue has evoked much concern for institutions and organizations involved with the safe delivery of patient care. The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the relationship between the factors educator characteristics, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control in a hypothesized model that may influence nurse educators’ intention to use instructional methods that promote critical thinking in …

Educator's Implementation Of The Connecticut Guidelines For The Identification And Education Of Children And Youth With Autism, Linda K. Grimm

Dissertations

The Problem

As the number of children with autism needing educational support continues to increase, combined with the limited availability of resources, this study aims to examine how educators responsible for teaching children with autism have experienced implementation of the Connecticut Guidelines for the Identification and Education of Children and Youth with Autism (2005), (Guidelines). At this time there have been no studies done in the State of Connecticut to assess the implementation of the components for effective education of children with autism, as set forth in the Connecticut Guidelines.

Method

The Connecticut Autism Needs Survey, an on-line self-report survey …