Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Solidifying Segregation Or Promoting Diversity? School Closure And Rezoning In An Urban District, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Kimberly Bridges, Thomas J. Shields

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

Purpose: Layered with myriad considerations, school closure and rezoning processes in urban school systems are politically fraught with the potential for damaging consequences. This article explores the politics and impacts of a closure and rezoning process in Richmond, Virginia, through the lens of themes applicable to urban school systems and students across the nation. These include the intersection of closure and rezoning with growing White reinvestment in urban school systems, as well as the importance of focusing on diversity and equity during a time of intense pressure to close schools.

Research Methods/Approach: Drawing on the case of Richmond, …

Keeping The Promise: Factors Affecting Timing To Merit Scholarship Loss, Jacob P.K. Gross, Angela D. Bell, Matthew Berry

Journal of College Access

Despite increased attention paid to the advent and development of state merit scholarship policies (such as Georgia’s Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) and some evidence that suggests differences in scholarship retention by socioeconomic status or other student characteristics, little empirical work has explored factors affecting scholarship retention. Moreover, no work has explored what affects the timing of scholarship loss. This study employs event history modeling to ascertain not only what factors impact students’ retention of the West Virginia PROMISE Scholarship but also when these factors are most influential.

Novanet's Effect On The Reading Achievement Of At-Risk Middle School Students, Alice Harris Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At-risk and special education students in the 7th and 8th grades in a rural middle school in western Alabama, in the years following the introduction of the No Child Left Behind federal legislation in 2002, failed to achieve adequate yearly progress in reading. School districts are increasingly implementing flexible computer-based intervention programs to improve their students' reading achievement. Using a between-group design, the purpose of this study was to determine whether NovaNET, a newly adopted reading intervention program, enhanced the reading attainment of at-risk and special education students. Guided by constructivist theory, archived reading achievement data from the 2009-2013 Alabama …

Type Of First Term Course Failure And Community College Degree Completion, Jill Stearns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Community colleges are the largest segment of higher education institutions in the United States providing access to historically underserved populations and growing numbers of first generation college students. Increasing college degree attainment is a national priority with new expectations of accountability. Despite decades of educational research, community colleges have startling low completion rates. Within the framework of Tinto's theory of retention, a predictive analytics model could provide community colleges the opportunity to drive custom intervention and support services to students. The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of Biglan's taxonomy for categorizing courses for potential use in …

Professional Learning Communities In A Juvenile Correctional Facility, Altarene Wagner Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is little evidence concerning the impact of professional learning communities (PLCs) at juvenile correctional facilities. This qualitative case study explored the implementation of a PLC at a juvenile correctional facility school that housed students 10 to 19 years of age in southeastern United States. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of teachers and paraprofessionals about how the PLC supported their work as they designed, constructed, and delivered instruction at the correctional facility. The social interactions among engaged educators through collaboration, collective inquiry, reflections, and communication derived from constructivist learning theory. Qualitative methodology included document review …

Nurses' Occupational Trauma Exposure, Resilience, And Coping Education, Sherry Lynn Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nursing education courses and professional development (PD) do not include coping and resilience training for registered nurses (RNs) who work in emergency departments (EDs). Exposure to traumatic events, death, and dying may lead to health issues, substance abuse, stress symptoms, nursing staff turnover, and compassion fatigue among ED RNs. Without training, the pattern of adverse outcomes may continue. The purpose of this study was to explore ED RNs' experiences with occupational traumatic stress (OTS), and their recommendations for change to nursing PD programs, using a qualitative bounded intrinsic case study. The conceptual framework for this study included social learning and …

Teacher Perception Of Technology As A Conduit To Acquiring Critical Thinking Skills, Wanda Pearl Patrick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Seventh-grade and eighth-grade special education students struggle to learn higher-order thinking skills in pre-algebra and algebra that can be addressed by using technology. However, little is known about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers' attitudes toward use of and their actual use of calculators and technology to access students' development of higher-order thinking skills. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of rural middle school Grade 7 and 8 STEM teachers in one Western state. This study used Gardner's multiple intelligences and Armstrong's neurodiversity theories as a framework. Participants were 10 Grade 7 and …

Examining Administrator Perceptions On The Success Of A Ninth Grade Transition Model, Felicia Renee' Walker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ninth grade students are at a greater risk of dropping out of high school than are other grade-level populations. Factors such as a lack of academic preparedness, social and developmental changes, and the decline of parental support often result in 9th grade students falling behind in their academic work. Using holistic education as the conceptual framework, the goal of this intrinsic case study was to explore the perceptions of school and district office administrators on the impact that a 9th grade transition program has on the 9th grade retention and dropout rate of a high school located in the southeastern …

Inclusion And Attitudes Of Adolescents In A Camp Setting, Deborah Musher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite increased inclusion of individuals with special needs in educational and leisure settings, people with disabilities continue to experience social isolation. Research indicates that negative attitudes play an important role in contributing to this marginalization. This study examined the impact of an inclusion program at a residential summer camp on the attitudes of its typical participants. Participants in the treatment group (n = 30) experienced contact with peers with disabilities through structured, intentional programming while participants in the control group (n = 77) experienced less formal inclusive encounters. The Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes toward Children with Handicaps (CATCH) scale was administered to …

Chinese International Students' And Faculty Members' Views Of Plagiarism In Higher Education, Alan Edward Grigg

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As the enrollment of Chinese international students (CIS) increased at a private institution in the Midwest, so did suspected cases of plagiarism. This study addressed the problem of how faculty members grappled with CIS' interpretation and application of Western-based views of plagiarism. The purpose of the study was to identify similarities and differences in the views of these 2 groups. Social cognitive theory, intercultural adaptation theory, and neutralization theory framed this qualitative case study. The research questions focused on how these particular CIS interpreted and applied the Western concept of plagiarism to assignments and exams, the impact of classroom practices …

Using The Power Of 3 With Total Joint Surgery Patients, Lynda M. Sanchez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of patient education is to provide patients and their families with the tools needed to care for themselves after discharge from the hospital, but shortened hospital stays, limited health literacy, language, and age can impede the patient's comprehension of the information provided. Researchers have found that the lack of effective patient education is related to 30-day hospital readmissions. The Power of 3 educational tool, designed by Sanchez and Cooknell, addressed the factors that impeded effective patient teaching by using the adult learning theory and low health literacy concepts. The Power of 3 was implemented as a quality improvement …

Personal Perspectives About Sustaining Inclusion In School Environments For Children Wih High Functioning Autism, Jeanne Malecki Wiatr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students, at a partial hospital setting in Western Tennessee with high functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) were being removed from general education classrooms. Researchers have indicated that restrictive settings preclude interaction with neurotypical peers and access to general education experiences. The purpose of this case study was to examine educational inclusion for children with HFASD from the perspective of 2 teachers, 2 therapists, and 2 parents of students at the distirct site. This study was grounded in the principles of social learning theory and theory of mind, executive function, and central coherence processes. The guiding research questions focused on how …

Factors Of Resilience That Support University Art And Design Students, Ruth C. Morgan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Graduation rates in bachelor's degrees in the United States continue to be lower than stakeholders expect, despite the many advantages of college completion. This phenomenological study investigated the interplay between resilience, coping strategies, and college completion for undergraduate art and design students in an effort to improve graduation rates. The purpose of this study was to address gaps in the literature regarding art and design students' resilience and academic success. Findings were interpreted using 3 conceptual frameworks: resilience theory, Bronfenbrenner's ecology of human development, and Dweck's theory of mindsets and self-beliefs. Research questions guiding this study addressed the external and …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Manipulatives During Middle School Math Instruction, Angela L. Vizzi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a Colorado school district, school personnel and parents were concerned that middle school math proficiency levels were low for 2011-2014 and math teachers were not using manipulatives in their classes to increase math performance. The district's math coordinator did not foresee providing specific professional development (PD) for math manipulative use to address these concerns. Without this PD, math teachers may be ill-quipped to teach math concepts when using manipulatives, which, in turn, could lead to further poor math performance. The purpose of this qualitative bounded collective case study was to explore middle school teachers' perceptions of PD and perceived …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Differentiated Instruction In Elementary Reading, Olwen Suzette Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many teachers in a low socioeconomic school district in Florida struggle with differentiating instruction for the large at-risk population; however, one school has been identified as a high functioning school. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate how classroom teachers at the high functioning school are differentiating instruction and how their reading coaches are supporting the teachers in designing instructional interventions. Guided by the concepts of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and Tomlinson's differentiated instruction, this study examined the connection between these 2 concepts and explored approaches to the creation of an instructional model to support at-risk …

Promote Comprehension In The Reading Classroom, Antoine Kevin Flanigan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students at 3 elementary schools in the southern region of the United States struggled with or failed to meet grade-level expectations in reading comprehension. School district leaders had little understanding regarding the perceptions of educators, care givers, and community supporters on the strategies to increase reading comprehension. To address that gap, the purpose of this study was to explore participants' perceptions regarding reading strategies and comprehension instruction practices in the local setting. The conceptual framework was based on the elements of Fisher's and Frey's work: (a) effective teaching in reading strategies, (b) reading instructional comprehension practices, (c) effective caregiver involvement, …

Collegiality Among Full-Time Professors In A Mexican University: Perceptions And Challenges, Carlos Alberto Castañon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Currently, institutions of higher education in Mexico have some changes in their educational and institutional policies on training and updating of the professorate. In this context, reforms of higher education, academics have had to adapt to new forms of academic work in both ways individually and collectively. Today it is possible to identify the diversity of functions that have Mexican academics to achieve a quality education. However, today, collegial work among professors has not been solved efficiently in universities of Mexico. The current study addresses the collegiality among full-time professors in a higher education institution in Northern Mexico. The purpose …

Case Study: Moral And Ethical Decisions Some Students Make Pursuing Their Doctoral Degrees From Accredited For-Profit Universities, Anne Pinchera

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study is to identify issues some doctoral students face in obtaining their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from accredited for-profit colleges and universities. The three participants attended for-profit universities in the past five years and failed to obtain their doctoral degrees. Data collection is through an initial demographics survey, qualification survey, vignettes, and the interview itself. Data analysis from the Coding Manual for Qualitative Research by Johnny Saldana is used to analyze the data collected from problems doctoral students encounter in pursuit of their doctoral degree (Saldana, 2013). The theoretical foundations for this project come …

College And Career Readiness:Texas House Bill 5 Reform Realities In A Far-West Texas School District, Tomas Sigala

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Efforts by the 83rd Texas Legislature (2013), along with decades of state legislative measures to address access and equity for Texas school children, helped create House Bill 5 (HB 5). This policy stipulates that public schools need to more accurately reflect a college and career readiness culture through the expansion of curriculum options for students, the reduction of standardized testing, and the enhancement of school accountability (Texas Education Agency, 2014a). These type of outputs provide the structure and guidance that schools need to streamline a successful student pathway aimed at preparing them for a college and career choice. If students …

The Gateway Grade: The Ninth Grade Academy Practice In Terms Of Student Performance, Adam Robert Starke

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the concept of the ninth grade academy structure in Texas high schools affects a variety of variables indicative of student achievement. Data representative of performance by students served in 30 schools with a separately structured ninth grade academy were compared to data representative of performance by students served in ninth grade at 30 schools with a traditional high school setting. A group of six variables in the category of student assessment performance were analyzed, and a group of four variables that are related to college readiness or the risk of not …