Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration Commons^™

Rural Nebraska Elementary Students' Aspirations To Attend Institutions Of Higher Education, Brock T. Rezny

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Numerous studies exist on college and career readiness in the middle and high school grades, but these studies often exclude the elementary grades. Even less research has been done regarding this topic in rural education. With more research indicating a need for college readiness beginning in elementary school, this study adds to the literature by seeing if rural elementary students in Nebraska have aspirations for continued education and who influences those aspirations. The sample population of this quantitative study were fourth graders in five rural schools in an athletic conference in Nebraska. The survey was created with collaboration from two …

Preparing For Change: An Examination Of An Urban School's Extra-Curricular Activities And Professional Learning Communities In Creating A Culture Ready For Change, Linda Brown-Bartlett

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study is to examine the use of extra-curricular activities and professional learning communities to create a school culture ready for academic change. This unique approach to implementing change, in a historically failing urban middle school, utilizes a two pronged approach focusing on personalizing strategies specific to the school based on student and staff expressed needs. The study takes place at Sonia Middle School located in the United States' fifth most dangerous and impoverished city, Bartlett, New Jersey. Numerous academic reform models have failed to improve teaching and learning. The researcher hypothesizes these programs failed …

Evaluation Of Gifted Education Using A-F School Grading Accountability Systems, Daniel R. Arndt

Honors Scholar Theses

A recent trend in accountability systems in the United States has been grading schools on an A-F scale. Some of the evaluation components included in these systems are standardized test proficiency rates and student growth measures. Traditionally, these systems have not emphasized accountability for gifted education programming or services. The accountability systems of the sixteen states in the U.S. under these A-F systems were analyzed for indicators that involve gifted education, which does not yet have a federal mandate or centralized decision-making. The frequency of evaluation components were compared at the high school and elementary school levels. The only gifted …

Secondary School Counselors' Identification Of Strategies For Meeting The Needs Of High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder Students Placed In The General Education Program, Sandra Griffin

Theses and Dissertations

The rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorder has resulted in more children being educated in the general education setting resulting in concern about their educational experience. School counselors as advocates, leaders, and collaborators in schools have special training and skills to educate and assist teachers design more effective and useful strategies. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine what secondary school counselors identified as the issues and challenges they experienced when working with students diagnosed with HFASD, the strategies they employed to assist these students, the strategies counselors utilized to collaborate with parents and teachers, and the …

The Effects Of External Controls On Teachers' Development Of Technology Competencies In An Economically Disadvantaged District, Oscar Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

Exponential growth in technological innovations has changed the dynamics of global economic competition. These changes have redefined the relationships between economy and education, which has redirected national and state interest toward the development of human capital within public schools to meet the demands of a new knowledge-based economy (Martens, Rusconi, & Leuze, 2007; Sahlberg, 2006). This study will explore the effects of external controls on education as they affect reform policies, the technical core of teaching and learning, and teachers' development of technology competencies at an elementary school level within a socioeconomically disadvantaged setting. The study will attempt to determine …

Middle School Plunge: A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring 6th Grade Students' Perceptions Of Their Transition To Middle School Experiences And Its Influences On School Achievement And Performance For Urban Youth, Lakecia Hyman

Theses and Dissertations

Minority students from inner cities care greatly about their education and want to be successful in school (Corbett & Wilson, 2002). This mixed-methods study sought to explore the correlation between urban students' perceptions of their middle school transitional experiences and The Middle School Plunge academic decline phenomenon that impacts minority youth once they move into 6th grade (West & Schwerdt, 2012). Some researchers on the topic assert that middle school grade configurations influence student achievement outcomes and that students who remain in K-8 settings outperform their peers who attend stand-alone 6th-8th grade middle schools (Carrell & Hoekstra, 2009; Jacobs, 2012; …

Calderwood Writing Initiative At Umass Boston, Denise Patmon, Carolyn Wong, Cedric Woods, Elena Stone

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Founded in 2003, the Calderwood Writing Initiative is dedicated to improving the teaching and practice of expository writing. In the past, the Initiative has sponsored a wide variety of experimental programs & approaches.

What Superintendents Should Do To Position Their Districts To Be Prepared For The Changing Nature Of Technology In The Next Ten Years: A Delphi Study, Ean Ainsworth

Dissertations

Over the past twenty years, schools and districts have been faced with the challenge of integrating technology into their classroom instruction. The rapid rate of evolution that technology changes has placed new burdens on school and district leaders to plan meaningful professional development, create and develop effective policy, and focus on school and district culture. In the coming years, the changing nature of technology is not expected to slow down and most certainly will accelerate. The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify what K-12 superintendents should do to position their districts to be prepared for the changing nature …

Making Oral Communication A Successful Part Of The Common Core, Jon A. Hess

Communication Faculty Publications

Adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represents the first time that oral communication has been included in the curriculum requirements for K–12 education in many states. If done well, this change will provide important benefits to students. However, effective implementation will require collaboration among policymakers, educators, and experts in oral communication.

As educators work to strengthen primary and secondary education in the United States, many agree that schools need educational standards that are grounded in today’s needs and shared across states. The CCSS have emerged as a potential solution, and the majority of states have adopted these standards. …

Beyond Nafsa: An Assessment Of Professional Development Needs Of Secondary-Level International Education Professionals, Emily A. Keizer

Capstone Collection

For many professionals, attending a conference or workshop offered by a professional organization is a logical course of action. These resources help to expand knowledge of a field, improve performance at work and connect those who share interests. Almost every field has an organization or association of some sort that offers these type of professional development opportunities for individuals seeking to learn and grow in their work. However, high school level International Education professionals struggle to find this type of resource.

As an emerging subset of International Education, the field of international high school student advising is in need of …

A Qualitative Study: Student Mothers' Perceptions Of Homogeneous And Heterogeneous Advisory Groupings In Secondary Settings, Vanessa Pellington

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study explored the perceptions of young student mothers in high school regarding their experiences in homogeneous advisory groupings as compared to heterogeneous advisory groupings. An extensive review of the literature revealed a gap in research regarding the grouping methods for non-academic classes, such as advisory program groupings (Benson & Poliner, 2013; Galassi, et al., 1998; Hallam, et al., 2004; Song, et al., 2009; Weilbacher & Lanier, 2012). The purpose of this qualitative research study was to add to the body of knowledge that addresses the types of advisory grouping students perceive best meet their needs. In this …

Race, Culture And Agency: Examining The Ideologies And Practices Of Us Teachers Of Black Male Students, Quaylan Allen

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines teachers of Black male students in a United States secondary school setting. Qualitative methods were used to document teachers' ideologies of and practices with their Black male students. In general, teachers drew upon competing structural and cultural explanations of Black male social and academic outcomes, while also engaging in practices that contested school barriers for Black males. Teacher beliefs about and practices with their Black male students were inconsistent in many ways, yet their agency on behalf of Black males might be understood as essential to Black male educational progress.

The Limits Of Federal Disability Law: State Educational Voucher Programs, Wendy Hensel

Faculty Publications By Year

The U.S. Department of Justice is currently investigating the state of Wisconsin with respect to its administration of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), which provides low-income students with public money to attend private schools. Faced with complaints of disability discrimination by private schools accepting voucher students, DOJ has ordered Wisconsin to oversee and police these schools to ensure compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which applies to states and their agencies, and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which applies to recipients of federal funding. Although conditioning its directive on the state's coverage under these …

Masculinities, Gendered Expression, And The Social, Emotional, And Academic Well-Being Of High School Boys, Cynthia Bazinet

Educational Studies Dissertations

There has been longstanding concern over the seemingly intractable problem of boys’ academic achievement. Despite extensive research, there is little consensus among researchers and educators regarding best practices and approaches in mitigating and remediating the problem. This mixed-methods study sought to illuminate the issue further by focusing on the meaningful lived experiences of six young men aged 18 to 24 who attended and graduated from a central Massachusetts public high school. The study asked participants to reflect through prompted writing upon the stresses and pressures as well as the factors and conditions that affected their abilities to manage their performativities …

A Primer On Federal Statutes Affecting Education, Charles J. Russo

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Before the Supreme Court’s monumental decision banning racial segregation in schooling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the federal government had little direct involvement in national education policy. Subsequently, the federal government has assumed a major role in setting national education policy.

The federal government’s first post- Brown major legislative enactment, in 1958, was the adoption of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA). Enacted largely in response to the Soviet Union’s launching of Sputnik 1, the NDEA, made federal funds available to education institutions to focus on areas considered critical to national defense, such as mathematics, science, and foreign …

Catalyst Schools: The Catholic Ethos And Public Charter Schools, Rebecca A. Proehl Phd, Heather Starnes Ma, Shirley Everett Mba

Journal of Catholic Education

During the past decade, Catholic leaders have been exploring options to revitalize the faltering Catholic school system especially in urban centers. One route being explored by dioceses and religious orders is opening what have been called “religious charter schools.” Though not technically religious schools, they integrate many of the same values and pedagogical approaches as found in faith-based schools. In this article, the authors examined three Chicago public charter schools that are modeled on the successful San Miguel Schools, which are run by the Christian Brothers and are located in impoverished urban areas. After interviewing 40 participants, observing 20 classrooms, …

Examining The Underlying Currents Of High School Girls' Perceived Stem Self-Efficacy And Science Course Options: A Mixed Methods Study, Jill Patterson

Theses and Dissertations

Increased demands for a STEM-literate workforce have emerged in response to sustainability issues that threaten human welfare. A workforce capable of addressing such issues would need to be competent, have an understanding of Earth as a system and related physical science principles, and available, be willing to pursue such fields. Workforce concerns about contributors' competency and availability are further fueled by students' persisting underachievement in science and women's underrepresentation in STEM degrees and careers. While New Jersey students, in comparison to other states, are achieving in science, girls remain underrepresented in physical sciences. From a feminist lens of social cognitive …

P17 Black Male Summit, Brandon Jackson

Black Male Summit

Tale of Two African American Males and Their Journey to Ivy League Schools: A Case Study

How do we get more African American males to show their GREATNESS and academic prowess? Can Black Males attend Ivy League schools? How do we prepare our Black Male Scholars for college and career readiness to maximize their education?

Moisés Sáenz: Vigencia De Su Legado (English Translation), Edmund T. Hamann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This book mainly offers the biography of Moisés Sáenz (1888-1941), founding architect of Mexico's system of public schooling and former student of John Dewey, describing in particular his roles in creating rural schools, initiating bilingual education (for Mexico's indigenous populations), and experimenting with linkages between schooling and community development. The volume also includes the author's reflection on the relevance of learning about Profr. Sáenz for his own intellectual trajectory (which includes studying the movement of students between Mexico and the US) and reflections by Mexican educators Humberto Leal Martinez and Juan Sánchez García.

Building A Culture Of Hope For At-Risk Students, Emily Louise Gibson, Robert D. Barr

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Presenters will share research on the school culture differences found between high-performing and low-performing high-poverty schools. Participants will learn about A Culture of Hope and the four Seeds of Hope. After learning explicit steps and strategies for collecting and using survey data, participants will practice using surveys to assess components of school culture, and develop additional survey questions relevant to individual circumstances.