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Predicting Teacher Value-Added Results In Non-Tested Subjects Based On Confounding Variables: A Multinomial Logistic Regression, Nathan Street Jun 2017

Predicting Teacher Value-Added Results In Non-Tested Subjects Based On Confounding Variables: A Multinomial Logistic Regression, Nathan Street

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teacher value-added measures (VAM) are designed to provide information regarding teachers’ causal impact on the academic growth of students while controlling for exogenous variables. While some researchers contend VAMs successfully and authentically measure teacher causality on learning, others suggest VAMs cannot adequately control for exogenous influences on the classroom. Furthermore, because VAMs are primarily connected to student performance on standardized, high-stakes exams and those exams are resoundingly considered to be inadequate measures of true student learning, educators and educational leaders assert VAM results are moot. The purpose of this study was to consider the potential for student background, teacher preparation, …


Teachers' Perceptions Of School Climate In High Performing Schools And Low Performing Schools, Briget Ethier Jun 2017

Teachers' Perceptions Of School Climate In High Performing Schools And Low Performing Schools, Briget Ethier

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, causal comparative research study was to determine if there was a significant difference in teachers’ perceptions of school climate between high performing schools and low performing schools. The study investigated teachers’ perceptions of overall school climate, collaboration, decision-making, instructional innovation, student relations, and school resources. Data was collected from 75 teachers in three high performing schools and 75 teachers in three low performing schools from one school district. The Revised School Level Environment Questionnaire (Revised SLEQ) was the instrument utilized in the study to measure teachers’ perceptions of overall school climate in addition to the …


A Case Study Describing Practices And Beliefs Of Teachers Who Are Effective In Their Classroom Behavior Management In A Diverse Rural School System In Georgia, Busani Siphambili May 2017

A Case Study Describing Practices And Beliefs Of Teachers Who Are Effective In Their Classroom Behavior Management In A Diverse Rural School System In Georgia, Busani Siphambili

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this nested case study was to describe the practices and beliefs of teachers who are effective in their behavior management with minority students (African American) in three rural schools. This study was shaped by Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural behavior theory that states that learning is a social process and the origination of human intelligence in society or culture. It also emphasizes that the development of thinking is a shared process, not an individual one, and that children learn by participating and sharing other people’s frame of reference. Social interactions play an important role in the development of cognition. …


The System For Teacher And Student Advancement And Embedded Professional Development: A Case Study, Laconti Bryant May 2017

The System For Teacher And Student Advancement And Embedded Professional Development: A Case Study, Laconti Bryant

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of educators who participated in The System for Teacher and Student Achievement (TSTSA) and ongoing, applied professional development at multiple school sites in The School District of the Southwest. The guiding theories guiding this study were Knowles’ Adult Learning Theory and Mezirow’s Transformational Learning Theory to understand their experiences and perceptions about participating TSTSA and ongoing, applied professional growth for a minimum of three years. Participants in this study took part in face-to-face field interviews. In addition, documentation, direct observations, and participant observations were considered, compared, …


The Difference In Job Satisfaction Between Full-Time And Part-Time Early Childhood Educators Working In Public And Private Schools In South Carolina, Allison Hepfner Apr 2017

The Difference In Job Satisfaction Between Full-Time And Part-Time Early Childhood Educators Working In Public And Private Schools In South Carolina, Allison Hepfner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to determine if there was a difference in perceptions of job satisfaction among full-time and part-time teachers who work in both private and public early childhood centers in South Carolina. This study adds to the literature by investigating the impact of work employment classification and type of school on job satisfaction of Early Childhood educators. It is important to investigate the job satisfaction of early childhood educators because job dissatisfaction and high turnover in centers can negatively impact young children. This study allowed 200 participants throughout multiple early childhood centers in South …


Empowered Intersectionality Among Black Female School Leaders: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Carla Mcneal Apr 2017

Empowered Intersectionality Among Black Female School Leaders: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Carla Mcneal

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Black female school leaders remain underrepresented as educational leaders in the K-12 context as marginalizing factors persist in the field. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black female school leaders through the lens of intersectionality. For this research study, intersectionality was defined as the intersecting realities of oppression. For the Black female, it is her race and gender. The following research questions were addressed: How do Black female school leaders describe their experiences with the intersectionality of race and gender? How (if at all) do participants’ experiences w/intersectionality influence their leadership practices? …


Teacher Working Conditions: Perceptions Of Novice And Experienced K-12 Virtual School Teachers, Tiffany Francis Mar 2017

Teacher Working Conditions: Perceptions Of Novice And Experienced K-12 Virtual School Teachers, Tiffany Francis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine if there is a difference between novice and experienced teachers’ perceptions of the working conditions at the K-12 virtual school. This study examined the teachers’ total years employed at the school to determine if a difference exists in the groups’ perceptions of the teacher working conditions. Teacher working conditions were measured by the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions (NC TWC) survey that was administered to North Carolina teachers. A causal-comparative research design was used to conduct the study. A convenience sample of (N = 318) licensed K-12 virtual school instructors participated in …


The Relationship Between Reading Fluency And Lexile Measures, Joshua Purvis Mar 2017

The Relationship Between Reading Fluency And Lexile Measures, Joshua Purvis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

With increasing emphasis being placed on teachers to show an improvement in student achievement, schools are relying on indicators such as reading fluency and reading comprehension to gauge student progress throughout the year. Since the growth on these assessments are used in calculating teachers and administrators’ yearly job evaluations, the significance of these measures has never been higher. Teachers and administrators want to know if the time spent on measures such as reading fluency is worth the sacrifice in the instructional day, when this time could be spent on teaching state mandated standards. The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental correlational …


The Relationships Between School Climate, Teacher Self-Efficacy, And Teacher Beliefs, Paige Lacks Dec 2016

The Relationships Between School Climate, Teacher Self-Efficacy, And Teacher Beliefs, Paige Lacks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study examined the relationship between school climate, teacher self-efficacy, and teacher beliefs. Teachers at two middle schools in rural southern Virginia participated in the study. Middle school teachers were surveyed using the School Climate Index to collect information about teacher-perceived views on their school’s climate and the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale to gather information about teacher self-efficacy. Pearson Product-Moment Correlations were used to measure the relationship between school climate and teacher self-efficacy as well as teacher self-efficacy and four teacher-perceived climate factors, including collegial leadership, teacher professionalism, academic press, and community engagement. Data analysis did not provide …


Teacher Evaluation: The Relationship Between Performance Evaluation Ratings And Student Achievement, Erin Alexander Sep 2016

Teacher Evaluation: The Relationship Between Performance Evaluation Ratings And Student Achievement, Erin Alexander

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Performance Evaluation Reform Act established new policies for teacher evaluation ratings, the inclusion of student growth, the acquisition of tenure, and the dismissal process in Illinois. As a result, standards-based performance ratings and student achievement are factored into summative evaluation ratings. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between performance evaluation ratings and student achievement to contribute to the current body of research. Participants in the study were drawn from a sample population of fifth grade students (n=317) and teachers (n=19) in elementary schools (n=7) from a school district located in a western suburb of the …


A Phenomenological Investigation Of Elementary Educators' On-The-Job Experiences After Self-Selected Professional Development, Cindy Manzanares Sep 2016

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Elementary Educators' On-The-Job Experiences After Self-Selected Professional Development, Cindy Manzanares

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to describe elementary educators’ on-the-job experiences after completing a self-selected professional development (PD). This study was guided by the overall question: How do elementary educators describe on-the-job experiences after completing self-selected professional development? To provide further direction of the vast experiences three sub questions were utilized. (a) To what extent, if at all, have practices from the professional development been implemented? (b) What factors are perceived to positively impact implementation of the professional development? (c) What factors are perceived to negatively impact implementation of the professional development? Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory, …


A Phenomelogical Study Of Reclassified Elementary School English Learners’ Perceptions Of Their Educational Experiences, Fernando Betanzos May 2016

A Phenomelogical Study Of Reclassified Elementary School English Learners’ Perceptions Of Their Educational Experiences, Fernando Betanzos

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to provide an insight into how former English learners’ educational experiences allowed them to attain English language proficiency and meet grade level standards in English Language Arts. This study was informed by the theoretical frameworks of Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, and Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, as they pertain to English learners. The data collection procedures included student semi-structured interviews, elementary school principal semi-structured interviews, and review of site documents such as student work samples, report cards, attendance records, discipline records, state standardized test scores, Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment scores, and English …


A Phenomenological Study: Students' Perceptions Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports In Pennsylvania Middle Schools, Brenda Zack Nov 2013

A Phenomenological Study: Students' Perceptions Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports In Pennsylvania Middle Schools, Brenda Zack

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of middle school students in schools that have implemented School-wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS) at the universal tier with fidelity. Much of the research on SWPBS has focused on achievement gains, discipline improvement, implementation process, and school personnel perceptions. There was a lack of research regarding students' perceptions of their real-life experiences of SWPBS. The rationale for this study was that students' perceptions can assist in improving SWPBS implementation at the universal level and promote implementation for schools considering SWPBS. The central question was what meaning do middle …


Qualitative Legal Research: Issues Pertaining To Student Use Of Personal Handheld Technology, Corie Franklin Nov 2013

Qualitative Legal Research: Issues Pertaining To Student Use Of Personal Handheld Technology, Corie Franklin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In an effort to support school leaders in policy development, this research is an evaluation of jurisprudence related to student use of personal handheld devices. The qualitative legal analyses of 15 recent court cases representing both federal and state jurisdictions were analyzed to determine patterns and trends within the decisions of the courts. The researcher sought to identify the following: The way the U.S. courts addressed the balance between students' civil liberties and the interest of school officials in maintaining and operating safe, orderly, efficient, and effective learning environments. The identifiable trends within the legal cases related to student use …