Other Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Examining The Decisional Ethic Of Textbook Adoption In Christian Schools: A Collective Case Study, Cecil Phillips

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study is to examine the decisional ethic Christian school administrators employ when evaluating textbooks for adoption in Christian schools. The study affirms the truism that Christian schools ought to be decidedly Christian and focuses upon textbook adoption practices in Christian schools. A multisite, qualitative research design is employed to examine current practice of textbook adoption among a purposive sample of secondary schools within the Southeast region of the Association of Christian Schools International. The research questions address such administrative leadership factors as organizational values and learning objectives, textbook content criteria and features, and the …

Students With Physical Disabilities - Reflections On Their Experiences With Work Preparation Programs, Services And Accommodations In A Higher Education Institution, Claudia Castillo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For a variety of reasons, college students with disabilities encounter stressors beyond those of students who do not have disabilities. One of the more salient examples is that students with disabilities are required to disclose that they have a disability and to communicate with faculty and staff in order to receive academic accommodations, as afforded to them under sub-part E of Section 504 of the Education and Rehabilitation Act of 1974. Therefore, postsecondary institutions are required to make appropriate accommodations available to students with disabilities, but they are not required to proactively seek them out.

The purpose of this study …

The Influence Of Chronic Absenteeism On Grade 6, Grade 7, And Grade 8 2014 New Jersey Assessment Of Skills And Knowledge, Cheryl A. Dunlap

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This cross-sectional, correlational, explanatory study aimed to explain what influence, if any, chronic absenteeism has on Grade 6, 7, and 8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK) performance, in the aggregate, when controlling for other influential student and school demographic variables. Student achievement scores on the Grade 6-8 ELA NJ ASK and Mathematics NJ ASK were analyzed separately. Analyses were conducted using simultaneous regression, hierarchical regression, and binary logistic regression models. All student data explored in this study pertained to 220 Grade 6-8 middle schools located in New Jersey during the …

The Participant Effects Of Private School Vouchers Across The Globe: A Meta-Analytic And Systematic Review, M. Danish Shakeel, Kaitlin Anderson, Patrick J. Wolf

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

School voucher programs (a.k.a. opportunity scholarships) are scholarship programs - frequently government funded - that pay for students to attend private schools of their choice. Many private school vouchers programs have been initiated around the world with the goal of increasing the academic performance of students. Voucher programs are often viewed as a way to increase achievement and satisfaction for individual students and families, while at the same time creating competitive pressures that encourage other schools in the area to improve. Countries like Chile and India have developed extensive school voucher programs. While many studies have been conducted on school …

Comparing And Validating Measures Of Character Skills: Findings From A Nationally Representative Sample, Gema Zamarro, Albert Cheng, M. Danish Shakeel, Collin Hitt

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Though researchers now are aware of the potential importance of character skills, such as conscientiousness, grit, self-control, and a growth mindset, researchers struggle to find reliable measures of these skills. In this paper, we use data collected from the Understanding America Study, a nationally representative internet panel to study the validity of innovative measures of character skills based on measures of survey effort. We believe surveys themselves can be seen as a behavioral tasks and that respondents provide meaningful information about their character skills by way of the effort they put forward on surveys. In particular, we compare measures of …

Transfer Students Bleed Purple Too, Katherine E. Ford

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This research study investigated the transfer student process in the College of Education at James Madison University. A survey was conducted to analyze the transfer student process using both quantitate and qualitative information. Twenty-two transfer students responded, giving perspective on the academic, social/cultural, and psychological challenges faced during their transition to James Madison University.

Results of the data analysis showed that the greatest problem in the transfer process lies in the area of poor academic advising. Non-transferrable credits, unnecessary class enrollment, and prolonged graduation dates are three of the top academic issues transfer students face. Socially, transfer students feel isolated …

Beyond Behavior, Craig C. Laupheimer

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

Teaching to engage students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can inspire the whole classroom and make teaching and learning engaging and exciting. Although teachers and students alike face a challenging educational landscape, much can be done to empower students with special needs. Teaching with the whole classroom in mind with an emphasis on hands on, explorative and inspirational learning experiences to accommodate for these students strengthens and causes student engagement and agency. This article highlights the challenges and potential breakthroughs possible for classroom instruction specifically where the ADHD student is concerned and looks towards teaching mindfulness and empowerment as …

Relating Administrators’ Training In Technology Integration And Their Attitudes Toward Technology In Southeastern Virginia Schools, Abbie Martin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the study was to determine if there is a relationship between amount of training administrators receive in technology integration and their attitudes toward technology. Previous research has revealed a relationship between teachers’ attitudes (Shiue, 2007; Shoffner, 2009), training (Adcock, 2008; Donnell, 2009; Lei, 2009; Sadik, 2008), and actual usage of computers. However, a gap in the research exists around the role and influence of administrators’ training and attitudes on the integration technology. A quantitative correlational research design was employed to investigate three hypotheses: the relationship between training and attitude, age and attitude, and years of administrative experience …

Qualitative Case Study On The Perspective Of Pennsylvania Superintendents On Distance Education In K-12 Public School Districts, Stephanie Pennucci

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Distance education is rapidly changing the way K-12 students learn. School districts use it for course recovery, to supplement the curriculum with additional courses, and to offer alternative educational opportunities. Pennsylvania’s 500 public school superintendents face a unique challenge in an economic recession, severe cuts in state funding, and competition from cyber charter schools. The purpose of this qualitative intrinsic case study is to understand the impact of distance education on the experiences of Pennsylvania public school superintendents as they deal with the influence of distance education in their programs, particularly the implementation of cyber charter schools. As the educational …

Transitioning First-Career Skills Into A Second Career In Teaching: A Collective Case Study Of Effective Elementary School Teachers, Timothy Simmons

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to understand how first-career skills were utilized by highly effective second-career elementary school teachers in northeast Tennessee. The guiding research question for the study was: How do the skills acquired in a first career affect second-career elementary school teachers? The theories that guided this study were experiential learning theory developed by David Kolb and transformative learning theory developed by Jack Mezirow as they focus on the importance of experience and perspective in the learning process. The sample for this study was comprised of five second-career elementary school teachers, four elementary school …

The Effect Of Classroom Walkthroughs On Middle School Teacher Motivation, Karen Dickenson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this pretest-posttest control group experimental study was to see the effect of classroom walkthroughs on middle school teacher motivation. The independent variable was; classroom walkthroughs and the four dependent variables were teachers’ self-concept of the ability to affect student achievement, teachers’ attitude toward the principal, teachers’ beliefs of the principal’s value and expectations for achievement, and teachers’ belief about future utility of efforts. The instrument used in this study was the Teacher Motivation Diagnostic Questionnaire. Sixty-eight language arts and reading participants from the grades 5-8 at 6 middle schools in Southwest Virginia were used. Six diverse public …

Measuring Teacher Conscientiousness And Its Impact On Students: Insight From The Measures Of Effective Teaching Longitudinal Database, Albert Cheng, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Although research has been unable to find strong links between observable teacher characteristics and a teacher’s ability to improve student achievement, it has generally not considered the role that teacher non-cognitive skills play in affecting student outcomes. In this article, we validate several novel performance-task measures of teacher conscientiousness based upon the effort that teachers exert completing a survey and use these measures to examine the role that teacher conscientiousness plays in affecting both student test scores and student non-cognitive skills. We conduct our analysis using the Measure of Effective Teaching Longitudinal Database where teachers were randomly assigned to their …

The Fiscal Effects Of Eliminating The Louisiana Scholarship Program On State Education Expenditures, Julie R. Trivitt, Corey A. Deangelis

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Eliminating the Louisiana Scholarship Program has been proposed as a way to reduce state education expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year. Drawing upon Louisiana’s education funding formulas, we determine that the overall effect of removing the program will increase state education expenditures. It is true that the state would avoid $41.6 million of spending if the voucher program is eliminated. However, each current voucher student who returns to a public school increases the local district’s necessary education expenditures without increasing the local tax revenue for schools, obligating the state to provide increased funding to the district. While our results depend …

The 80 Percent Pension Funding Target, High Assumed Returns, And Generational Inequity, Robert M. Costrell

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Generational inequity in pension funding is highly sensitive to the lax policies of 80- percent funding targets and high assumed returns to investment. I develop a simple, powerful relationship between steady-state (SS) inequity in contributions – the percent of extra contributions to fund prior cohorts – and the SS unfunded ratio. I then show how the SS unfunded ratio is governed by x-percent funding targets and the gap between assumed and true returns. The SS degree of inequity is over 60 percent under an 80 percent funding target and over 50 percent with a one point gap between assumed and …

Journal Of The National Collegiate Honors Council, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2016) [Complete Issue]

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

In this issue:

Forum Articles

An Agenda for the Future of Research in Honors •George Mariz

Research on Honors Composition, 2004-2015 •Annmarie Guzy

A Tradition unlike Any Other: Research on the Value of an Honors Senior Thesis •H. Kay Banks

Research In, On, or About Honors •Marygold Walsh-Dilley

Portz-Prize-Winning Essay, 2015

“Flee from the Worship of Idols”: Becoming Christian in Roman Corinth •Dorvan Byler

National Research Studies

Demography of Honors: The National Landscape of Honors Education •Richard I. Scott and Patricia J. …

Authentic Servant-Leadership Exemplified By Early Childhood Educator David Lawrence Jr.: A Case Study, Blanca Correa-Cespedes

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Advocacy and leadership style are essential concepts in education. This qualitative case study was undertaken to demonstrate how Robert K. Greenleaf’s servant-leadership framework could be a useful framework to adopt by educational leaders and child advocates. Servant-leadership identifies the needs of others as a primary goal of leadership. The study contributes to understanding the value of exemplary servant-leadership and advocacy in public education as demonstrated by David Lawrence Jr. The researcher addressed questions regarding how Lawrence embodies servant-leadership traits and explored how a servant-leader has been positively influencing early childhood public educational policy in Florida to benefit all children.

There …

Washington State School District Superintendent Use Of Social Media For Public Relations And Communication, Jonathan R. Tienhaara

Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine usage and perception of superintendent participation in social media for the purposes of public relations and communication in the State of Washington. Tenets of Social-Customer Relationship Management (Social-CRM) were used as the theory to support how social media can be used to establish and enhance public relations with school district stakeholders. Washington’s (N = 295) school district superintendents were electronically surveyed to collect data on their use and perception of social media utilization for public relations and communication. The data were analyzed to determine how Washington superintendents use social media for …

The School Choice Voucher: A 'Get Out Of Jail' Card?, Corey A. Deangelis, Patrick J. Wolf

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

In this report we examine crime rates for young adults who experienced Milwaukee's citywide voucher program as high school students and a comparable group of their peers who had been public school students. Using unique data collected as part of a longitudinal evaluation of the program, we consider criminal activity by youth initially exposed to voucher schools and those in public schools at the same time. We also consider subsequent criminal activity by the students that stayed in the voucher program through 12th grade compared to those who were in public schools for the same period. We show that the …

Pre-College Deaf Students’ Understanding Of Fractional Concepts: What We Know And What We Do Not Know, Keith Mousley, Christopher Kurz

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Mathematical knowledge and skills are crucial to success in academics and the workplace. The Common Core State Standards emphasizes fraction teaching and learning in elementary school. This mixed-method study explores fraction concept understanding among 14 deaf and hard of hearing participants between the ages of 8 and 16, as quantitatively measured by their ability to describe the properties of fractional numbers, convert between fractional numbers and their visual representations, and determine the order and equivalence of fractional numbers. Furthermore, the qualitative study was supplemented by interviews with the deaf participants and surveys with their parents and teachers to examine use …

Measures Of Student Non-Cognitive Skills And Political Tolerance After Two Years Of The Louisiana Scholarship Program, Jonathan N. Mills, Albert Cheng, Collin Hitt, Patrick J. Wolf, Jay P. Greene

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

This report examines the short-term effects of the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) on students’ non-cognitive skills and civic values. While a growing number of studies have evaluated K-12 school voucher programs along academic dimensions, few have focused on the development of non-cognitive skills and civic values. This study aims to address that gap by providing the first analysis of differences in self-reported measures of grit, locus of control, self esteem, and political tolerance associated with the LSP. Using results from a phone survey of applicants to the program, we find little evidence of differences between LSP scholarship recipients and non-recipients. …