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The Facade Of Instructional Leadership – The Patterns And Priorities Of Principals In Guiding And Driving Effective Classroom Instructional Practices, Jerad Hyden

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The Façade of Instructional Leadership: The Patterns and Priorities of High School Principals in Guiding and Driving Effective Classroom Instructional Practices

Abstract

By Jerad Hyden

University of the Pacific 2023

Classroom walkthroughs are the consistent and systematic observation of instruction in the classroom, and despite research indicating classroom walkthroughs drive student achievement and promote learning, high school principals fail to implement effective classroom walkthroughs on a consistent basis, resulting in teachers not receiving enough guidance and support to improve instruction for student learners. The purpose of this study was to assist and empower high school principals as instructional leaders through …

Faculty Adaptation To Emerging Instructional Technologies In Higher Education, Marilyn Murrillo

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how and why faculty adopt podcasting as an instructional technology tool in their teaching. Podcasting is an instructional technology tool being used for teaching and learning in higher education. Faculty may record lectures with audio, video, and/or PowerPoint slides to instruct students on class material. Students may access podcasts at their convenience through various devices, including mobile devices and computers. Research has shown that students who use podcasts to study for tests tend to perform more successfully on tests. This study was a qualitative multiple case study of seven California community college faculty using podcasting as an …

It Is Better: An Autoethnographic Study; "Why" It Is And The Perceived Protective Factors Along The Way, Michael Dennis Cowan

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

LGBTQ individuals have many risk factors and have difficulty navigating going through school because of all the social issues. This study is an autoethnography that looks into the perceived protective factors of a gay male educator. I was challenged to change my dissertation to share my story of being a teacher and dealing with many different risk factors. My committee introduced me to autoethnography and shortly after, I was speaking with a student when the topic of the “It Gets Better” campaign came up. The student said to me, “Prove it.” My dissertation has been a living document with many …

A Survey Of Multicultural Counselor Training Courses In Selected California State University System Programs, Mary Wood Reibson

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The study examined the perceptions of counselor trainees and faculty for multicultural training courses. It developed curriculum information, compared program emphases in the training categories of awareness, skills and knowledge, and explored training importance and opportunity. Professional guidelines were reviewed to identify the training expected from courses which prepared counselors to work with clients from diverse populations. Survey forms were developed and administered to trainees and faculty. The resulting data were analyzed by descriptive methods, primarily of mean scores and ranked preferences. The Kruskal-Wallace and Mann-Whitney interpretations of group differences were used to identify statistically significant variations in group responses. …

First Language Instruction And Second Language Acquisition Among Spanish Speaking High School Students: A Case Study, Dolores Villarreal Del Barco

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This case-study had as its principal focus the applicability of James Cummins' theory of developmental interdependence in language acquisition to secondary age students. This theory postulates that, for younger children, the development and strengthening of the first language can ultimately lead to a more rapid and efficient acquisition of the second. The study set out to test the hypothesis that secondary age Limited English Proficient (LEP) students who receive Primary Language Arts instruction demonstrate higher levels of English acquisition than do comparable students who do not receive this instruction. The primary language of the students was Spanish. A quasi-experimental research …

Influences Of Censorship Challenges On State Textbook Adoption Criteria Which Affect School Curriculum, Karen Marie Moore

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study explored censorship in the public schools through the analysis of the changing textbook adoption criteria of the twenty-two adoption states to determine if new, subtle challenges of censorship suggest previously undiscovered effects on the established school curriculum. Adoption criteria (1975-76 and 1985-86) from the twenty-two adoption states were requested. State statutes were also reviewed. A content analysis focusing on the specified criteria needed for text adoption and the amount of public participation in the adoption process was conducted. It was found that few requirements have been added to the textbook adoption criteria since 1975 although some changes have …

A Study Of The Perceptions Of Parents In Sacramento County Who Choose Home Schooling For Their Children, Elizabeth Louise Knopf

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to (1) investigate the reasons parents in Sacramento County choose home schooling for their child(ren); (2) describe selected characteristics of the parents; (3) describe selected characteristics of their child(ren); (4) describe the educational programs used in the home schools; (5) describe the perceptions home schooling parents have of local public school administrators; and (6) describe the commitment these parents have to home schooling. Method. A mailed questionnaire was used to collect data. The population used in this study was 117 families who either filed a private school affidavit with the Sacramento County Office …

The Effects Of Word Processing And Two Common Instructional Methods On The Essay Revisions Of Twelfth Grade Students, Jon Louis Walther

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Statement of the problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interaction between two common instructional methods--the use of editing questions and the use of models--and word processing in the revisions of twelfth-grade students. This study addressed the following questions: Will students' revisions of analytical essays be significantly affected by the used of word processing? Will students' revisions be significantly affected by the use of editing questions or writing models? And will there be a significant interaction between instructional method and computer use? Methods. A sample of 33 twelfth-grade students wrote four essays under four different conditions: word …

A Content Analysis Of The Developmental Bibliotherapeutic Implications Of The Books Nominated For The California Young Reader Medal (1975--1986), Armin Richard Schulz

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the developmental bibliotherapeutic implications of the California Young Reader Medal nominated books from 1975-1986 in six different selected categories of thematic content. Emotional Health, Self-Awareness, and Identity Needs; Cultural Differences; Family Relationships and Dynamics; Peer Relationships and Dynamics; Physical Limitations and Handicaps; and Economic Situations and Factors. Findings. Primary Category books, largely modern fanciful fiction, demonstrated limited developmental bibliotherapeutic potential. However, story illustrations affected the over-all impact of the story. Intermediate Category books had greater levels of potential, especially stories dealing with family, peers, and emotional health. The greatest levels of …

Factors Relating To The Acquisition Of Computer Literacy And Computer Science Skills In California High Schools, Sarah Budinger Peterson

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that related to the acquisition of computer skills in California high schools. Procedures. The first part of the study was examination of data from a sample of 63 California schools: scores from computer skills tests, achievement tests, and other pertinent information. The second part was an in-depth study of four schools taken from the sample of 63 schools with high or low scores on computer skills tests. Case study methodology was used with the sample of the two high scoring and two low scoring schools to examine other factors that …

An Examination Of Sense Of Story In Proficient Bilingual, Partial Bilingual, And Monolingual Children As Evidenced In Stories Told In English, Kathleen Kenfield

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine what differences, if any, existed among monolingual (English) children, partial bilingual (English-Spanish) children, and proficient bilingual (English-Spanish) children in the level of sophistication of their sense of story. Sense of story was defined as the degree to which one has internalized the features, conventions, and structures of the story genre. Sense of story was analyzed in three areas: structural complexity (number of words, number of T-units, mean length of T-units, number of characters, number of incidents), story convention usage (use of past tense, formal beginning, formal ending, use of quoted and described …

A Comparative Study Of The Effects Of Two Approaches To Teaching Reading Comprehension On Achievement Of Fourth And Fifth Grade Students Of Middle And Low Socioeconomic Status, Alfred John Gordon

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Problem: The problem was divided into two parts. The first part investigated the question whether students who were taught reading comprehension skills by the PIRAMID objective-based approach showed a greater gain than students who were taught the same skills by use of the basal reader approach. The second part was to ascertain the degree of concordance between results of the criterion-referenced test (CRT) and results of the norm-referenced test (NRT).

Purpose: The purpose was twofold: (1) to compare gains in reading comprehension achievement of an experimental group with gains of a control group, and (2) to compare the pretest and …

Decision-Making: A Model For Optimization Of Input-Output Relationships In Urban Compensatory Education Programs., William G. Webster Sr.

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The problem of this study was to develop a model for (1) statistical analysis of arrays of input in urban Compensatory Education programs, and (2) prediction of optimum arrays of such input as an adjunct to decision-making in future program formulation. The ultimate purposes of the research engaged in were: (1) improvement of administrative and curricular strategies in urban education by elimination of effort-duplication and expenditure-duplication; and (2) development of a statistical device with applicability to both decision-oriented and conclusion-oriented research for ongoing program improvement.

A Comparison Of An Extended Individualized Reading Instructional Program With The Regular Reading Instructional Program And Its Effects Upon Reading Skills Of Selected Black Junior High School Students Who Areunderachieving In Reading., Lily Burn (Titer) Small

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

It was the purpose of this study to investigate the premise that if a reading program is based on individual interest, those individuals participating in the program will be motivated to read and will make greater gains in vocabulary skills, comprehension skills, and total reading skills than those taught by a non-individualized approach. The research undertaken fer this study utilized thirty-nine, Black, seventh grade students who were underachieving in reading. These subjects were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and two control groups.

The analysis of covariance procedures were used to measure gains in vocabulary achievement, comprehension achievement, and total …

An Exploratory Content Analysis Of Creative Thinking In Elementary School Science Textbooks For Grades One, Three, And Five., Anthony Thomas Rinaldi

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the content of textbooks for levels one, three, and five of six elementary science series to determine the extent to which the development of creative thinking skills was emphasized.

The Effects Of The Program Improving Classroom Instruction Through Self-Analysis" (Parsons, 1975) On The Characteristics Of Verbal Interaction In Classroom Settings, Robert Whitman Smith

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The ICI system consists of materials which guide the teacher in analyzing his own teaching behavior, so that he can gain an objective understanding of his strengths and weaknesses. With the system the only observer is the teacher himself; it is he who will view and analyze the tapes. The classroom thus becomes the learning place for the teacher, as well as for his pupils.

The problem of dealing with the actual process of teaching is quite different from the construction and testing of curriculum content. In this case the focus is on the strategy of presentation, rather than the …

The Effect Of Paraprofessional Assistance On The Academic Achievement Of Migrant Children, Lelia Mccain Veaco

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of paraprofessional assistance on the academic progress of lower achieving intermediate grade migrant children.

An Experimental Study Of The Effects Of Compulsory Arithmetic Homework Assignments On The Arithmetic Achievement Of Fifth-Grade Pupils, Eugene Edward Grant

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The major purpose of the study was to determine the effects of tho assignment of arithmetic homework by the teacher from the textbook, and teacher assigned differentiated homework prepared by the investigator upon the achievement of fifth-grade students as measured by standardized tests of arithmetic computation, concepts, and application. A secondary purpose of the study was to determine whether the assignment of the two forms of homework would have a differential effect upon the achievement for girls and boys and for low and high IQ groups.

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Teaching A Twelfth Grade Government And Sociology Class In An Environment Saturated With Study Trips And Resourcespeakers With The Effects Of A Traditional Course In Government And Sociology When Both Are Offered In A Voluntary Summer School Program, Edward Botton Morrison

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The intent of the concentrated summer school program offered in Sacramento was to create a “saturated environment” in which the study of government would become participation in government in action rather than the study about government. The question posed was: Will instruction in government carried out in an environment saturated with study trips and resource speakers prove a more effective method for preparing twelfth grade students for citizenship than is instruction in a traditional government class?

The experimental approach was approved by the school district and was scheduled for implementation during the summer session of 1969 at one high school …

A Comparative Study Of The Character Representation Of California's Dominant Minority Groups In The Officially Adopted California Reading Textbooks Of The 1950'S, 1960'S, And 1970'S, Ralph Yarnelle Mckay

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

It was the objective of this study to collect and analyze data concerning how the dominant minority groups in California - Spanish speaking-speaking, Negro, American Indian, and Oriental American - have been and are currently portrayed in those state adopted reading textbooks that are/and have been the most commonly used in California elementary schools since 1953.

The investigator used the process of content analysis to gather data in order to answer the following questions: (1) Are the identified minority group characters represented in the state adopted California elementary reading textbooks of the 1950’s?; (2) When represented, what is the portrayal …

Major Difficulties Encountered By The Beginning Elementary School Teacher, John William Pirtle

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

There are many beginning teachers who need assistance in achieving instructional competence. It is this problem with which the study was concerned. The problem may be stated as follows: What are the major difficulties encountered by beginning elementary school teachers, and what supervisory techniques are employed to assist these teachers?

The specific purposes of this study were as follows: (1) To identify the major difficulties of beginning inexperienced teachers and to determine what skills, techniques, and resources are most helpful in assisting them.; (2) To identify the supervisory techniques that principals and supervisors employ in their supervision of beginning teachers.; …

A Survey Of Speech Education In The High Schools Of California, Marian Helen Mellgren

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Perhaps the first justification for the inclusion of speech in today’s curriculum is the very evident predominance of oral communication in our lives. Painter has pointed out that “oral communication is the vehicle for 90 percent of the exchange of ideas.”

A second justification for the belief that speech education is important today lies in the fact that our country is a democracy. Democracy is essentially a government by talk, a government in which problems are not settled by force, but in which problems are talked out of existence or into solution. Long ago Aristotle identified communication with political freedom …

A Study Of Elementary Teachers' Reactions To Certain Supervisory Techniques, Morton Murov

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

There is a feeling among teachers and supervisors alike that something should and could be done to improve relationship between these two groups of professional workers.

It was the general purpose of this study to make available to those interested in the field of supervision a summary of teachers' reactions to certain supervisory technique.

The specific purposes of the study are:

1. To make a statistical study to determine whether elementary teachers are receiving constructive aid from the general supervisor.
2. To survey the relationship between the teacher and the supervisor.
3. To determine whether the relationship between the teacher and supervisor can …

An Elementary Science Course Of Study Developed For Use In The Stockton Unified School District, David H. Smith

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Elementary science has made rapid strides in the last four or five years. In our elementary schools we have the laymen and scientists of tomorrow. The masses should have a speaking acquaintance with science and know the value to society through its modern inventions and discoveries. Knowledge of facts discovered by scientists give rise to conceptions that vitalize thinking in many fields and cause the redirection of human activities. Scientific conceptions such as time, space, change, variety, adaptation, and interrelationships have exerted profound influence upon thinking in wide areas of human affairs. These concepts can never be mastered, but they …

The Creative Writing Of Poetry In The California Secondary Schools, Wesley Mills Pugh

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Creation was once a prerogative of the gods. For ages the magic word "genius" served as a harrier to isolate from the common man that one in whom burned the spark of constructive originality. In the past we have never considered the possibility of his being one of the teeming throng who Invade our classrooms daily; or having given way to such an absurdity, we have hastily dismissed the Idea, feeling that, if he were, his presence would surely be announced by the choir invisible or some other divine agency.

Of recent years we have experienced a change of opinion. …