Middle School Teachers' Perceptions Of Barriers Of Managing Student Behavior,
2011
Walden University
Middle School Teachers' Perceptions Of Barriers Of Managing Student Behavior, Winifred Nicole Whitlock
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Despite training and support, many middle school teachers struggle to create, implement, and enforce research-based strategies to manage students' behaviors. The purpose of this case study was to examine teachers' perceptions about the barriers of managing student behavior. The research questions investigated 9 teachers' perceived barriers of managing student behavior at one middle school and the observed actions of these teachers' reactions to student behavior. Each participant was asked to participate in a 45-minute semistructured interview to examine their perceived barriers of managing student behavior and the strategies they use to manage student behavior relative to McGregor's theories X and …
A Case Study Exploring The Transition To Middle School From The Perspective Of Students,
2011
Walden University
A Case Study Exploring The Transition To Middle School From The Perspective Of Students, Kelly A. Rappa
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
The transition to middle school is often associated with negative effects on academic achievement, motivation, self-esteem, and psychological well-being. Educators at a Grade 6 through 8 middle school in the northeastern United States observed students struggle with the adjustment to middle school. Research suggests that developmentally responsive schools can significantly reduce the potential negative impact of middle school adjustment. Drawing upon developmental theories from the works of individuals such as Piaget, Erikson, and Maslow, the purpose of this single-case study was to capture the opinions, thoughts, and perceptions of the students transitioning into middle school to better understand how they …
Teachers' Perceptions Of Reading Achievement For Kindergarten-3 Rd Grade Students Of Low Socioeconomic Status,
2011
Walden University
Teachers' Perceptions Of Reading Achievement For Kindergarten-3 Rd Grade Students Of Low Socioeconomic Status, Vicki L. Curtis
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
The three tiered reading model and the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are two initiatives being used to identify struggling readers of low socioeconomic status. While there is abundant information with statistical reports from various researchers, there is little research available as to what educators implementing DIBELS in the school environment perceive about the instrument, what it measures and what it fails to take into account. It is important to examine all aspects and views of an initiative being widely used across the nation to close the reading achievement gap. Educators working with students of low socioeconomic …
Focusing Professional Development By Differentiating For Teachers,
2011
Walden University
Focusing Professional Development By Differentiating For Teachers, Amy Weber-Salgo
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
This study addressed the problem of low student achievement in elementary school mathematics and investigated the level of knowledge held by the teachers. Previous studies have shown that students who succeed in mathematics are more successful during their school years, including college, and earn a higher income level as adults. A theoretical framework of andragogy framed three research questions for investigation. The first question focused on the current professional development needs of the teachers. The other two questions investigated whether the mathematical knowledge relating to teaching (MKT) correlates with the socioeconomic level of the school or correlates with annual yearly …
National Music Education Standards And Adherence To Bloom's Revised Taxonomy,
2011
Walden University
National Music Education Standards And Adherence To Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, Vada M. Coleman
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Pressures from education reforms have contributed to the need for music educators to embrace new and diverse instructional strategies to enhance the learning environment. Music teachers need to understand the pedagogy of teaching and learning and how these affect their praxis. The purpose of this multiple case evaluative study was to investigate the instructional methods used in 10 middle school general music programs to assist students in obtaining the National Standards for Music Education. Bloom's revised taxonomy was the theoretical framework used to evaluate the teaching praxis of the participating teachers. The research questions for the study addressed the effectiveness …
Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of Barriers English Language Learners Face In Mathematics,
2011
Walden University
Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of Barriers English Language Learners Face In Mathematics, Martha A. Franklin
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
There is a disparity of mathematics achievement between native English speakers and English language learners (ELL). This study sought to understand the barriers ELL kindergarten students faced in being successful in mathematics. The purpose of this qualitative, instrumental case study was to explore kindergarten teachers' perceptions regarding English language learner's access to the mathematics curriculum and instruction. The conceptual foundation for this study drew from social development theory, which contends social interaction using language is necessary for cognitive development such as learning mathematics concepts. Individual interviews of 8 kindergarten teachers were conducted to understand kindergarten teachers' perceptions of the barriers …
The Effect Of Elementary Mathematics Coaching On Student Achievement In Fourth, Fifth, And Sixth Grade,
2011
Walden University
The Effect Of Elementary Mathematics Coaching On Student Achievement In Fourth, Fifth, And Sixth Grade, Stewart, Merita Trimuel Stewart
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Due to recent waivers and current expectations of teacher performance, schools have been tasked to close their student achievement gaps in mathematics by 2014. Yet students still have not performed well in mathematics, which may be a direct link to teachers' instructional practices. Identifying a coaching model to improve student achievement and teachers' instructional practices is important to district leaders, school administrators, and teachers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how a coaching practice with teachers affected student achievement in elementary mathematics. The theoretical foundation of this study was the coaching model, first used by Joyce and Showers, …
Factors That Influence Special Education Teachers' Career Decisions In A Rural School District In Southern Indiana,
2011
Walden University
Factors That Influence Special Education Teachers' Career Decisions In A Rural School District In Southern Indiana, Theresa Lemons
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Attrition of special education teachers is a national problem resulting in lost monetary resources, school climate discontinuity, and lower student achievement. Within a small, rural district in southern Indiana, special education teacher attrition has risen since 2008 and continues to rise. District administrators want to retain teachers to ensure a continuity of instructional services for students with special needs. To explore this problem, an intrinsic qualitative case study was employed, guided by a research question that investigated the factors that special education teachers and administrators perceived as influencing special educators' career decisions. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and Billingsley's schematic representation of …
Efficacy Of A Summer Intervention To Improve Gateway Mathematics Examination Scores,
2011
Walden University
Efficacy Of A Summer Intervention To Improve Gateway Mathematics Examination Scores, Arthur Wesley Jackson
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Less than 50% of students from an inner-city high school in a southeastern US state who took the GATEWAY mathematics exam (2001-2007) earned a passing score on the first attempt, prompting teachers at the school to begin a summer intervention program based on Bandura's Self Efficacy Theory, to help them succeed on a subsequent reexamination. The program featured (a) extended learning time, (b) mastery learning, (c) direct instruction, (d) single-sex grouping, and (e) teacher collaboration. A survey of recent scholarly literature indicated that these 5 characteristics positively impact student learning and performance. The goal was to increase student understanding of …
The Impact Of Inclusion On The Achievement Of Middle School Students With Mild To Moderate Learning Disabilities,
2011
Walden University
The Impact Of Inclusion On The Achievement Of Middle School Students With Mild To Moderate Learning Disabilities, Ruth Carol Hawkins
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
According to IDEA and NCLB requirements, students with disabilities are held to the same standards established for nondisabled students. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the impact of a special education inclusion program for middle school students with mild to moderate learning disabilities. Student outcomes were measured based on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test scores for reading/language and mathematics. The theoretical foundation for this study was Vygotsky's social development theory applied to special education inclusion programs to support learning within the general curriculum for students with mild to moderate learning disabilities. An independent samples t …
Effects On 8th Grade Advanced Placement English Class High-Stakes Test Achievement Using Extended Time Blocks,
2011
Walden University
Effects On 8th Grade Advanced Placement English Class High-Stakes Test Achievement Using Extended Time Blocks, Douglas M. Corbett
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Student performance on high-stakes tests continues to be an important issue for school administrators. This quasi-experimental, quantitative study investigated the relationship between the amount of time 8th grade students spent in advanced placement English classes using an extended block schedule and their achievement on language arts sections of the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) high-stakes tests. The study was based on Carroll's theory relating instructional time and student learning. The guiding research questions investigated if extended time blocks in advanced placement English would improve student achievement scores on the language arts sections of NJASK tests. The study …
The Impact Of Differentiated Versus Traditional Instruction On Math Achievement And Student Attitudes,
2011
Walden University
The Impact Of Differentiated Versus Traditional Instruction On Math Achievement And Student Attitudes, Valerie D. Gamble
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
With the implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB), all schools are held accountable for student achievement. One southern US Title I school failed to meet NCLB mandated math standards for several years and was placed on program improvement. The purpose of this study was to compare math achievement of 34 students in fifth grade using differentiated instruction via Math out of the Box (MOOTB) and math achievement of 34 students in fifth grade using traditional textbook instruction. A second purpose was to determine if there was a difference between student attitudes toward math relative to confidence, value, enjoyment, …
A Case Study Of Differentiated Instruction In Upper Elementary Mathematics And Reading Classrooms,
2011
Walden University
A Case Study Of Differentiated Instruction In Upper Elementary Mathematics And Reading Classrooms, Laponya Alexandria Burris
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Elementary students in one school have shown a decline in proficient and advanced performance on statewide assessments. This decline increased for reading and mathematics achievement from 2003--2008, especially for disabled and minority students in grades 3--5. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine the extent to which differentiated instruction was implemented in instructional practices to increase student academic performance. Vygotsky's theory of constructivism, Bruner's theory of problem solving, and Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences provided the conceptual frameworks for this study. The research questions focused on the instructional strategies and resources used by teachers. Data included interviews, …
Examining Students' Reflections On Literacy Activities Focused On Poetry Reading And Writing,
2011
Walden University
Examining Students' Reflections On Literacy Activities Focused On Poetry Reading And Writing, Celeste Long
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Motivation, which is based on experience, is crucial in promoting literacy acquisition; however, little research has explored what children experience during literacy activities such as poetry reading and writing. This phenomenological study explored what elementary students experienced during literacy activities focused on poetry. Educational reform inspired by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is based on a narrow range of quantitative research and does not consider the multifaceted nature of literacy and the experiences of the learner. Bruner's psychocultural theory and the belief that an individual's experiences are the core of existence were the philosophical and theoretical frameworks …
The Effectiveness Of Response To Intervention To Improve High School Students' Reading Skills,
2011
Walden University
The Effectiveness Of Response To Intervention To Improve High School Students' Reading Skills, Ann-Marie Popwell
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
High School students in a local school district were having reading-related difficulties in certain subject areas and were at risk of failing high school courses. Success in reading is important because students must read the content within the End of Course Test in core content subjects, and their success on this test determines their eligibility for high school graduation. The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a Response to Intervention (RTI) reading class designed to improve reading skills for at-risk high school students. The constructivist learning theory was the theoretical framework for this study. The research …
Transforming Classroom Discourse And Pedagogy In Rural Zimbabwe Classrooms: The Place Of Local Culture And Mother Tongue Use,
2011
Aga Khan University
Transforming Classroom Discourse And Pedagogy In Rural Zimbabwe Classrooms: The Place Of Local Culture And Mother Tongue Use, Jacob Marriote Ngwaru
Institute for Educational Development, East Africa
Rural African classrooms are still practicing discourses and pedagogies that contribute towards students' continued underachievement and marginalization. The use of behaviourist-based pedagogical approaches and the exclusion of learners' socio-cultural experiences including their mother tongue (MT) still characterize most classroom practices. The use of classroom discourse that severely constrains opportunities for pupil participation and the development of higher order thinking skills has also been noted. This paper describes an intervention based on the principles of transformative and constructive developmental pedagogy designed to improve approaches to teaching and learning in a primary school in rural Zimbabwe. Examples of prevailing classroom practices organized …
The School Superintendent: Roles, Challenges, And Issues,
2011
University of Dayton
The School Superintendent: Roles, Challenges, And Issues, Theodore J. Kowalski, C. Cryss Brunner
Educational Leadership Faculty Publications
The purposes of this chapter are to detail the development of the office of school superintendent, to examine issues of gender and race, to identify contemporary issues affecting practice, and to identify future research topics. The first two sections provide historical perspectives summarizing how the position has evolved over the past 150 years at three different levels-state, intermediate district, and local district. A discussion of the position's history produces five role conceptualizations; having evolved over the past 150 years, these characterizations provide a mosaic of contemporary expectations. Next, considerable attention is given to the causes and implications of race and …
The Personal Values Of School Leaders In Pakistan: A Contextual Model Of Regulation And Influence,
2011
Aga Khan University
The Personal Values Of School Leaders In Pakistan: A Contextual Model Of Regulation And Influence, Sharifullah Baig
Professional Development Centre, Gilgit
This paper illuminates the sources of personal values and their influence on the leadership practices of two school head teachers in the particular context of Pakistan. A comparative case study method has been followed within the qualitative research paradigm where semistructured interviews, observations, and document analyses were used as the main data collection tools. This study finds that the types of personal values and the motivational bases for the acquisition of such values are very much contextually-centered. The data for both principals, despite the exceedingly different characteristics of their childhood communities, reveals that the inherent religious and communal values of …
The Promise And The Reality: Exploring Virtual Schooling In Rural Jurisdictions,
2011
Sacred Heart University
The Promise And The Reality: Exploring Virtual Schooling In Rural Jurisdictions, Michael Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
The history of online learning at the K-12 level is almost as long as its history at the post-secondary level, with the first virtual school programs beginning in the early 1990s. While these opportunities were designed as a way to provide rural students with access to more specialized courses, as opportunities have become organized into virtual or cyber schools the nature of students served by these institutions have broadened. Unlike online learning in general, much less is known about virtual schooling – even less of which is based on systematic research. Regardless, the growth and practice of virtual schooling has …
Daily Practices Elementary Principals Utilize To Increase Student Readingachievement: A Case Study Of Successful Michigan Elementary Schools,
2011
Western Michigan University
Daily Practices Elementary Principals Utilize To Increase Student Readingachievement: A Case Study Of Successful Michigan Elementary Schools, Susan L. Johnson
Dissertations
This case study examined three K-5 schools, one 3-5 school, and two K-2 Analysis of the data provided six dominant themes related to the research questions: Behavior/Positive Behavior Support, Visibility, Professional Development, Team/Distributed Leadership, Data, and Deliberate/Focused. The dominant themes were cross tabbed with the theoretical frameworks from Marzano et al. (2005) and Fullan (2008a). Connections were made to both Marzano et al.'s Seven Responsibilities of the School Leader for Second-order Change and 21 Responsibilities of the School Leader as well as to four of Fullan's Six Secrets of Change. This study supports previous research and adds to the literature …
