Education Commons^™

Exacerbating Inequality: Public Schooling In The Era Of Neoliberal Standardization, Johanna Panetti Barnhart

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This work is inspired by Jean Anyon’s (1981) landmark ethnographic study, “Social Class and School Knowledge” in which she detailed the differential and class-based constructions of knowledge across five elementary schools. While this research study in no way aims to be a revision of Anyon’s work, it uses her findings to set a foundational premise that curriculum and instruction often work to contribute to the reproduction of social class. Further, this research builds on these findings to examine and analyze social class reproduction in the current neoliberal policy context of standards-based reform. A key policy shift since Anyon’s research is …

The Perceived Mentoring Experiences Of Male And Female Doctoral Students In Sociology, Macsu A. Hill

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Over the years, women have made significant strides in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Nevertheless, women continue to be underrepresented at the graduate and academic career entry levels, and minority women continue to lag behind Whites in navigating the pipeline to an academic career in the STEM disciplines. In sociology for instance, women overall are well represented at the BA level, but experience a steep decline when moving to doctoral education and then into subsequent academic careers. Numerous explanations have been advanced by educators and researchers to explain the dearth of underrepresented minority (URM) female doctoral students. …

Collaborative Practices In Special Education: An Exploratory Study, Blanka Pentek, Katherine Sadoff, Evelyn Tang

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Objective: This exploratory survey study examined collaborative practices of professionals working in special education. The basis for the survey was the Conceptual Model of Collaboration (CMC), created by Hess and colleagues (2017).

Methods: 27 professionals who work in special education participated. Cross tabulation tests and Pearson's correlation tests were run to determine relationships between the variables.

Results: The findings indicated that the majority of participants value collaboration for student outcomes and professional development. Most participants agreed on common facilitators and barriers to collaboration. Collaboration primarily takes place in IEP meetings, through email and text messaging and is frequent in all …

What Makes A House A Home? Supported Living Environments For Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Rose Meadows

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

My research aims to address how supported living environments for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) can best support their stakeholders. This is an inherently human and personal problem, but existing research tackling this problem utilizing a person-centric and/or resiliency theory lens or framework is lacking. My research will use the perspective of parents/guardians and staff/caregivers in combination with existing knowledge and research to create ideas for how to maximize support in supported living environments for adults with ASD and their families. This is a qualitative study that uses a humanized approach and in-person interviews with stake-holders to highlight their …

Expectations And Participation Among Drama Students, Alexander Pryor

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Not all students are willing to participate actively in a drama class. Most studies about drama and participation focus on the use of drama in other academic disciplines, and there is a lack of information about students’ participation within the drama classroom. This study examines the role that students’ experiences and expectations play in their educational outcomes in drama class. Students from two beginning drama classes at a public high school participated in this study. They were introduced to a short unit on social theater and on Augusto Boal’s Forum Theater. Throughout this unit students responded to journal prompts addressing …

Repairing Wounds And Promoting Belonging And Resiliency In A Tracked English Classroom, Emily Wolper

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

A large body of research shows that academic tracking has the potential to negatively impact a student’s feeling of belonging on campus. However, students express a greater sense of belonging when they take classes with students who mirror some aspect of their identity. The purpose of this study was to understand the complex ways in which students in tracked or low-level classes develop their identity as learners and experience belonging at school with a predominantly white students and staff. Participants included students who were enrolled in Academic English and Support English classes during the 2017-2018 school year. Support students participated …

The Cost Of Going Big: Class Size In Middle School Physical Education, Jason Gatti

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Class size is a perennial issue that has been debated and researched for years. While there has been a significant amount of research conducted on the impact that class size plays on the teaching process, much of this research has focused on core academic subjects. California education code exempts Physical Education (PE) from student cap limits, which has resulted in a disparity in class size between academic core subjects and PE. Despite this, there is a distinct lack of scholarship concerning class size and its impact on the teaching process in middle school PE. This research attempts to fill this …

Iba Newsletter [May 2018], Communications & Public Affairs Department

IBA News

No abstract provided.

Access To Culturally Responsive Teaching For English Language Learners : Mainstream Teacher Perceptions And Practice On Inclusion., Tamela N. Compton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation was designed to inform educators, practitioners, and policy makers on equity-based instruction for ELLs by examining secondary teachers’ perceptions and practice on inclusion. A dominant qualitative research design was used for this study. A survey adapted from Reeves (2002) research on secondary teacher’s attitudes and perceptions on the inclusion of English as a Second Language (ESL) student in mainstream classrooms was administered to 212 secondary teachers in three high schools who have shown significant growth in their ESL student enrollment. The study then interviewed six teachers who participated in the survey on their personal experiences with instructing ELLs …

Factors Influencing The Retention Of Women Faculty In Stem Disciplines., Carrie J. Christensen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Low numbers of women faculty in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines continues to be a concern in higher education. Even though completion of STEM degrees by women has increased in many disciplines, increases in the number of women faculty have not been seen. Additionally, women continue to leave faculty positions at twice the rate of men. In order to remain globally competitive, the US needs to retain a diverse STEM professoriate. This dissertation examined the factors influencing the retention of women faculty in STEM disciplines and their over-representation in non-research intensive institutions. The analysis was broken into two …

Institutional Processes To Determine Community Engagement Impact : A Collective Case Study., Amanda Marie Bowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, collective case study is designed to examine the processes by which urban, metropolitan institutions determine the impact their community engagement has within the local community. The study addresses the lack of research on community engagement at the institutional level, the processes that track and coordinate engagement, as well as the perspectives of community partners in this work. Research is more developed regarding individual engagement activities and student learning outcomes than it is to institutional accountability structures or community impact. Studies that center the institution as the unit of analysis are needed to address these limitations in research and …

A Qualitative Approach To Examining The Rules Of A Community College And Industry Partnership., Cara Dimattina-Ryan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the governance structure of a successful community college and industry advisory board that collaborate to improve regional workforce development initiatives. The institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework was used as a lens to describe the partnership. The results determined that there were many informal rules that governed the relationship between the community college and industry partners, which led to successful implementation of decisions. The community college leaders created the informal rules with the purpose of encouraging involvement among industry stakeholders, sharing power among all the participants, and facilitating communication. The findings …

A Case Study Of Teacher And Principal Perceptions Of A School-Wide Positive Behavior Intervention And Supports Framework In An Urban Elementary School., Cassaundra Lynn Watkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This single site case study examined the perceptions of teachers and the principal of a persistently low achieving elementary school in a large urban school district. Using the Concern-Based-Adoption-Model (CBAM), which originated in Fuller’s (1969) study of perceptions of pre-service and practicing teachers and used by Roach, Kratochwill and Frank (2009) as a tool to ascertain support for the implementation of research-based practices, teacher and principal perceptions of the effectiveness of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) framework were examined. Interviews and document analysis were utilized to collect data and triangulate teacher and principal perceptions of obstacles and supports …

"Triggers": Systematic And Social Cues For Black College Student Racial Self-Consciousness And Rejection Sensitivity, Race-Based., Leanna T. Luney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have examined black student well-being in varying ways including through the framing of race-based rejection sensitivity (Downey & Feldman, 1996; Mendoza-Denton, Downey, Purdie, Davis, & Pietrzak, 2002) and racial self-consciousness (Clark & Clark, 1939). Research shows that black students perform worse academically when they display high levels of race-based rejection sensitivity and racial self-conscious levels (Brannon & Taylor, 2015; Clark & Clark, 1939; Koehler & Skvoretz, 2010), and feelings of racial self-consciousness or rejection sensitivity stem from discriminatory and prejudicial experiences. However, research has not fully connected the broader context surrounding black students in college to their high levels …

Principal Professional Development And Principal Self-Efficacy In An Urban School District., Brian Thomas Garrett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Educator professional development (PD) is a heavily relied upon method for school improvement, and administrator professional development (APD) is a key element to nearly all school reform efforts. District-wide APD in large school districts can carry a heavy cost in financial and human resources. Moreover, PD is frequently too inadequately planned and/or implemented to bring about lasting positive change in educator practice, school reform, and student achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between principal PD focused on culture/climate or instruction and principal self-efficacy in an urban school district. Through hierarchical linear multiple regression (HLMR), this …

Fostering Sense Of Belonging : A Multi-Case Study Of Black Male Retention Initiatives., Jarrod Elliott Druery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The retention and graduation rates of Black male collegians continues to be a work in progress for colleges and universities in the U.S. Researchers have highlighted impediments to student success and degree attainment of this population at historically White institutions (HWIs)—with racism being prominent. As a result, recent efforts have been made to promote success and persistence among Black men in college. Within the last decade, Black male initiatives (BMI) have emerged on college campuses across the country. BMIs are programs aimed at increasing persistence and success among Black male collegians. Based on the newness of these initiatives, there is …

Conciencia Bilingüe : The Multilingual And Academic Writing Practices Of Undocumented Immigrant Activists., Sara Del Pilar Alvarez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research and community-based engagement focuses on the critical examination of the texts that 12 U.S. Southern and New York City undocumented young adults have produced in relation to immigrant rights advocacy. Adapting Lillis and Curry’s 2010 text-oriented ethnography methods and drawing on a collective framework informed by García and Wei’s (2014) theorization of dynamic bilingual practices, translingual theories of language difference in academic writing (Horner et. al, 2011; Lu & Horner, 2016), and Flores’s and Rosa’s (2015) call for raciolinguistics as a way to interrogate academic writing, this study examines the bilingual stances that these immigrant activists bring …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Empathy Skills Training In Reducing Schadenfreude Of Students With Bullying Tendencies: A Single Case Research Design, Maria Cecilia Montenegro

Theses and Dissertations

Main researcher implemented a small series (N=3) single-case research design to assess the effectiveness of a five-session empathy skills training for elementary-aged children. An analysis of participants’ scores on schadenfreude and empathy levels using the percentage of data points exceeding the median (PEM) yielded non-conclusive results concerning the training’s effectiveness. The present study makes the argument that these results might be a consequence of self-reporting errors concerning social desirability and limited training sessions, and then it presents other possible forms of measurement for schadenfreude and empathy.

In- And Out- Of-School Literacy Practices Of Student Refugees: A Cross-Case Analysis In A South Texas Middle School, Maria L. Mendez

Theses and Dissertations

As the leading U.S. state currently welcoming all kinds of refugees, Texas has a public school system that offers a formal education to refugee students (Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration, 2015). For many student refugees, formal schooling begins in this system. Thus it is important to understand how Texas public schools support the linguistic and academic development of these diverse learners. In order to fill this research gap, this study examines student refugee school-based literacy interactions in the U.S. public school system and how these practices connect or do not connect with the literacy practices these students experience in …

Early Childhood Teachers' Perception Of Their Principal's Leadership And The Relationship On Their Own Job Satisfaction And Self-Efficacy, Maria F. Rincon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a correlation exists between Early Childhood teachers’ sense of job satisfaction and their sense of self-efficacy. Teachers in this study participated voluntarily and answered a set of questionnaires that collected data regarding their current opinions and perceptions of their school principal’s leadership, job satisfaction, and self-efficacy beliefs.

An Autoethnographic Exploration Of The Professional And The Person: A Life's Journey Of A Hispanic Superintendent In South Texas, Gonzalo Salazar

Theses and Dissertations

Leadership effectiveness is often defined in terms of, a leader’s ability to motivate followers towards a collective goal, mission or vision (Knippenberg, Knippenberg, Cremer & Hogg, 2004). However, a leaders’ understanding of their own identity; how education, culture, upbringing, values and morals helped shape the self (Leary, & Tangney, 2002; Anzaldua, 2015; and Guajardo & Guajardo, 2017) and how the leader functions as a contributing member of the organization (Knippenberg & Hogg, 2003) is critically important.

Demographers have long held that by the year 2050, our nation will be increasingly more diverse and that there will be no racial or …

How Do We Teach All Students In Monolingual Classrooms? A Study Of Transfer And Translingualism, Norma Denae Dibrell

Theses and Dissertations

I take the work of Lorimer and Nowacek in “Transfer and Translingualism,” as a starting point to address these questions. In “Transfer and Translingualism” they argue that transfer and translingualism “both index movement among contexts, practices, or meaning” while “neither suggests a neutral carrying over of knowledge from one context or language to another” (260) and thus acknowledge prior knowledge and prior experience. Lorimer and Nowacek call for transfer researchers to look at language diversity “beyond recognition of difference to the matrices of power that regulate that difference” and to ask questions about how to measure transfer (261-262). Consequently, in …

Underrepresentation Of Latino Students In Gifted And Talented Programs: How Appropriate Are The Assessments Used For Identification, Deidra D. Tafolla

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the possible reasons behind the underrepresentation of Latino students in gifted and talented programs. This study investigated four South Texas school districts and their gifted and talented program matrices, by examining the manuals used to explain and describe the assessments that identify Latino students in gifted and talented programs. A matrix is a design based on a criterion that a school will use to identify gifted students. Carrillo’s (2013) Mestiz@ Theory of Intelligences (MTI) was used to analyze the manuals of the assessments most commonly used by the school districts to identify Latino students and were …

Teaching And Living In La Frontera: Teacher Perceptions Of Mexican Immigrant Students' Lived Experiences With Border Violence, Edith Trevino

Theses and Dissertations

This research is grounded in the truth of my own lived experience with border violence in La Frontera. Gloria Anzaldua (1987), describes the U.S. Mexico border (La Frontera) as an “open wound where the Third World grates against the First World and bleeds”(p. 3). Border violence in La Frontera is discussed in this research through four lenses which create a nexus of intertwined connections within curriculum and education. I use the lens of a grieving displaced daughter, a desperate mother trying to find support for her traumatized child in a failing educational system, a teacher who tries to honor her …

Hispanic Male Self-Efficacy And Its Effect On Persistence, Jennifer Mendoza Culbertson

Theses and Dissertations

The Hispanic male population has experienced a decline in four-year college enrollment rates and bachelor degree completion within the past ten years. To address this issue, this study focused on Hispanic male college freshman students, self-efficacy, and persistence in a South Texas four-year higher education institution. The study utilized an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach. For the quantitative analysis, an efficacy survey, College Self-Efficacy Inventory, of Hispanic male students enrolled in mandatory freshman courses was analyzed. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine what amount of the total variance in persistence may be accounted for by self-efficacy. Qualitative data was …

A Study Of The Teaching Beliefs Of Globe Teachers, Laila Ali

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching beliefs of GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) teachers, and to analyze their pedagogical practices. This study contributes to bridging the gap between our understanding of teachers’ beliefs of teaching science with inquiry and practicing science in class with inquiry. A descriptive research approach was used for both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Data was collected from seventy-two trained GLOBE teachers across the U.S. using Qualtrics.com.

Quantitatively, the pedagogical beliefs of GLOBE teachers were measured using the Beliefs about Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL) questionnaire. Differences between …

Exploring Experienced Educators' Perspectives On Teacher Professional Development: Potential Implications For English Language Learners, Mary Mann Endress

Theses and Dissertations

Growth in the ELL student population triggers a need for more educators equipped to address the academic and linguistic needs of this growing population. Through a phenomenological case study, this dissertation addresses the following over-arching research question, "What can be learned about the implementation of professional development for teachers of ELLs from the reflections and experiences of former ESL/Bilingual educators?" This dissertation provides a look at PD through the reflective lenses of retired educators who worked directly with ELLs and teachers of ELLs. Data were collected from a questionnaire, interviews and a focus group describes how participants. Through their stories …

Investigating Faculty Perceptions Of Technological Pedagogical, And Content Knowledge (Tpack) At A Newly Established University, Jessica Daniell Hruska

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is in response to Garrett’s (2014) dissertation on “A Quantitative Study of Higher Education Faculty Self-Assessments of Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPaCK) and Technology Training” which has been the inspiration and guide throughout the design of this study. The purpose is to assess the perceptions of tenure and non-tenure faculty on technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPaCK) at a recently established university in Texas. More specifically, this study compared and contrasted the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPaCK) of faculty use of technology tools in face-to-face, blended learning and online environments as methods to enhance learning based …

Fostering The Concept Of Autonomy In School-Aged Children, Michelle Newcombe

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Studies show that autonomy in school-age children helps students in terms of academics and in becoming well-rounded members of the society (Bandura, 1993). This senior capstone explores how autonomy is taught successfully in Japanese schools, explains its structure, and how it can be facilitated. Through the use of literature review as well as surveys conducted with 12 Japanese exchange students and 15 Liberal Studies students, results were inconclusive and are premature to determine how the concept of autonomy is fostered in U.S school-aged children. However, the literature review found that in Japanese elementary schools, educators use the Self-Determination theory and …

Career Exploration For At-Risk Youth, Diana A. Tinajero Pacheco

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone project is on career exploration for At-Risk youth. This topic is important because too often disadvantage students do not receive career development. These students are simply encouraged to complete high school with little to no direction regarding what to do after high school and their futures. While implementing prevention programs to decrease dropout rates is important, it is also essential to educate students about vocational and careers that will prepare them for life after high school. To accomplish this, a 3-day lesson was delivered to a credit recovery class at Greenfield High School in Greenfield, …