Secondary Education Commons^™

Addressing Haitian High School Students’ Educational Challenges Through Their Self-Cultural Awareness, Gregory Louis

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The study is grounded in the understanding that culturally responsive education practices can promote academic success and empower students to navigate multiple cultural contexts. A review of literature highlighted the complexities of Haitian students' educational experiences, the impact of cultural identity on academic achievement, and the need for further research on this topic.

The research employed in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Haitian high school students and their parents to gather data on their experiences, perceptions, and attitudes towards education and cultural identity. The study aimed to contribute to a deeper understanding of the educational experiences of Haitian students and inform strategies …

Curious Minds, Critical Thinkers: Contextualization-Based Instruction In Secondary Social Studies, Kelcie J. Mashburn

Masters Projects

Research shows that many secondary students lack the critical thinking skills necessary for academic and civic success. Traditional instructional methods that prioritize content coverage and recall fail to help students develop and apply this skill. Effective instruction requires educators to move beyond these traditional methods and intentionally design curriculum that incorporates instructional strategies that engage students in analysis, investigation of diverse perspectives, and formulate evidence-based conclusions. This project addresses this gap by presenting a contextualization-based curriculum unit designed to support and build critical thinking skills among secondary Social Studies students. The result is a unit that immerses secondary Social Studies …

Understanding And Responding To Childhood Trauma In The Classroom, Kara L. Ganzer

Master of Arts in Human Services

This capstone explored childhood trauma as a significant public health and educational issue because of its widespread impact on children’s development, learning, behavior, and educational experiences. A review of the current literature was conducted to examine adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), the neurobiological and developmental effects of childhood trauma, its impact within educational settings, and the trauma-informed approaches for supporting students who have experienced adversity. The literature suggested that childhood trauma can disrupt brain development, executive functioning, emotional regulation, attention, memory, and stress-response systems, contributing to academic, behavioral, and social-emotional challenges within the classroom. Findings also highlighted the important role schools …

Methodologies For Encouraging Creative Expression Within The Curriculum, Ian D. Martzke

Masters Projects

Many students struggle to find creative expression within the school curriculum. Indeed, since the 1990s we have seen a rise in average IQ but a reduction in scores through the Torrance Test for Creative Thinking (TTCT) (Kim, 2011). In the course of this project several methodologies for creative problem solving will be described and several lessons will be described that will both explain and model these methodologies of creative problem solving. These lessons will utilize the creative process (Wallas, 1926) and be written to include student choice (Hogan et al. 2020) specifically, within the instructional framework known as Teaching for …

What Makes Implicit Bias Training Effective? An Examination Of Training Program Interventions And K-12 Educator Experiences, Kyleigh K. Mcaloon

McNair Summer Research Program

Differences in disciplinary referrals based on race have led many to argue that bias may influence disciplinary decisions. Implicit bias (IB) training is designed to address such disparities by raising awareness of biases that may impact assessment of behavior and disciplinary decisions. In recent years, many have questioned the validity of IB as a construct and also the potential impact of training. Some scholars argue that these programs fail to produce meaningful behavioral change and may unintentionally reinforce or increase bias. The aim of the present study was to investigate how individuals receive and respond to such training. Sixteen K-12 …

Comparative Analysis Of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Implications For Active Learning And Assessment At Various Curricular Levels Of Stem And Health Sciences In Developed Versus Underprivileged Countries, Vinay Munlapudi, Santanu De

FDLA Journal

Today’s all-pervasive emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) necessitates a comprehensive evaluation of its role in education, especially for occupational disciplines in health sciences and STEM. AI has reshaped student learning and instructors’ navigation of the evolving, post coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) global academic landscape. This study aimed at encapsulating evidence-based AI implications for student-centered, active learning and assessment at various curricular levels of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and health sciences education in developed versus underprivileged or less developed countries. An extensive, scoping review of 65 recent, scholarly publications was conducted over six months through diverse search engines (PubMed, Google …

Rockin’ Rover On The Rainbow Road, Michael Kolta, Lawrence Burgee, Ying Yuan

Transformations

This paper presents a progressive series of age-appropriate lesson plans for grades K-12 that all use the same interdisciplinary activity to educate students about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) simultaneously. Technology from Texas Instruments (TI) was employed including a TI Nspire graphing calculator that can run Python programs, a TI Innovator Hub, and a TI Rover. The TI Rover is a small, robotic car that has sensors and is controlled by the calculator via the Hub hardware interface. A Python program was developed that uses the color sensor in the Rover to detect the color on colored paper …

Student Teachers Are Watching: What Are They Seeing?, Sarah J. Kaka, Taylor M. Kessner

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This article examines the apprenticeship of observation that shapes preservice social studies teachers during clinical placements. Grounded in Lortie’s apprenticeship of observation and Bourdieu’s habitus, we draw on classroom observations collected by student teachers across several states. Findings suggest that cooperating teachers most often modeled traditional, teacher-centered instruction, including lecture and textbook-based work, while offering fewer examples of inquiry, discussion, or primary-source analysis. We argue that these everyday observations shape preservice teachers’ professional dispositions and that teacher educators, cooperating teachers, and field personnel should more intentionally provide access to ambitious, student-centered social studies practice.

We Are All In This Together Now: Exploring Community Based Partnerships Focusing On Hip-Hop Based Education, William C. Hunter, Tarol Page Clements, Gregory Washington

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

This article explores a community-based collaborative partnership between three Hip-Hop educational nonprofits, Upward Light Community Cyphers, Project STAND (Social-Emotional, Transition, Academic and Network Developing), and the Center for the Advancement of Youth Development (CAYD), all focused on mental health support for youth, and a public-school program that has serves students with and without exceptionalities. The goal shared by all organizations involved is enhanced educational access and engagement for students with and without exceptionalities. Rooted in the core elements of Hip-Hop — emceeing, DJing/music production, breakdancing, and graffiti art, the collaborative partnership has offered culturally sustaining, arts-integrated instruction that supports both …

The Effects Of Using Hip-Hop Song Lyrics During Instruction For Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Jonte C. Taylor, Millie Rodriguez

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

Hip-hop pedagogy has emerged as a culturally responsive instructional framework designed to increase student engagement, identity affirmation, and academic achievement by incorporating elements of hip-hop culture into classroom instruction. Despite growing interest in hip-hop-based education, limited empirical research has examined its effectiveness for students with disabilities, particularly students identified with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). This study investigated the effects of using hip-hop song lyrics during English language arts instruction to teach literary devices to three secondary students with EBD using a single-case multiple-baseline-across-participants probe design. Three comparison students receiving traditional textbook-based instruction were also included. Dependent variables included instructional …

Teacher Experience And Perception Of Feedback Literacy In The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, Carla B. Mills

Dissertations

Writing instruction in schools remains a significant area of concern even after decades of awareness that students are not performing at proficient levels upon high-school graduation. This phenomenographic case study investigated teacher feedback literacy at the secondary level through interviews with teachers of writing-intensive International Baccalaureate Diploma Program courses and document analysis. Areas of feedback literacy strength included teacher awareness of designing positive class environments, attending to the socio-emotional needs of their learners, extensive use of both rubrics and exemplars, and frequent provision of verbal feedback. Document analysis revealed the presence of explicit instruction in written feedback, rubric use, and …

Bridging The Gap: Educator Experiences Supporting Students During The Transition From Middle To High School, Sarah Little

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of middle and high school educators supporting students during the transition from middle to high school. This study contributes to the literature of middle to high school transition practices by focusing on districts with a single high school and two middle schools. Coherence Theory was the primary framework for understanding how transition systems function in practice, while Transition Theory and Constructivism provided a supporting lens to provide further context to ground the research in analysis of organizational, developmental, and cognitive alignment.

Data collection strategies included one-on-one semi-structured …

A Qualitative Examination Of Tennessee Secondary Stem Teachers’ Perceptions On Professional Development Needs, Amber W. Ogle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to research secondary STEM educators’ perceptions of PD needs. This study focused on the lived experiences of educators actively teaching in STEM subject disciplines in grades nine through 12. The essential question for this research study was: How do Tennessee secondary STEM teachers perceive the relevance, applicability, and impact of PD opportunities? The research was rooted in Knowles’ (1984) theory of adult learning, Andragogy, and Learning Forward’s (2022) Standards for Professional Learning.

Data were collected through 15 semi-structured, one-on-one online interviews. The transcripts of these interviews were analyzed, and frequently used language …

At Risk Students: Ensuring A Successful Transition Into High School, Angela Espada

Education Theses and Dissertations

This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice concentrated on the persistent problem of freshman course failure at a large, diverse, Title I high school serving a military-connected community in Central Texas. Although intervention programs existed, an increasing number of ninth-grade students were consistently failing one or more courses during their first year of high school, which revealed several gaps in the campus’s system of support. The Improvement Science framework and two Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles were used to examine the factors contributing to freshman course failure and to assess the interventions implemented to improve academic success as students transitioned into high school. …

Using Assessments Intentionally With Consideration For English Language Learners, Elizabeth Ropp

Masters Projects

Assessment systems in the United States are failing English Language Learners (ELLs), and it has become apparent that action must be taken to try and right this injustice. There is a wide achievement gap between native English speakers and non-native English speakers when it comes to performance on state, local, and classroom assessments. Unfortunately, many teachers report that they do not feel adequately prepared to support ELLs both on classroom assessments and on mandatory state or local tests. With an ever-growing increase in ELL enrollment in American schools, it is imperative that teachers are given tools to help them better …

Measuring Administrative Hiring Confidence Of Music Teachers In The Context Of Shallow Hiring Pools, Aaron M. Strum

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and measure the confidence of K-12 administrators in hiring music faculty. This study also aimed to analyze administrators’ perspectives and confidence in key stages of the hiring process, including defining job expectations, posting, advertising, interviewing, and selecting highly specialized music teachers in K-12 settings. Confidence of K-12 administrators can be gauged through their understanding of how well an applicant aligns with the specific needs of the school’s program. Three research questions guided this investigation: (1a) How confident are K-12 administrators in their understanding of music teaching pedagogy when interviewing music teacher candidates …

Black Women Science Teachers’ Contextual Knowledge Shapes Technology Integration To Support Culturally Responsive Teaching In Secondary Science Classrooms, Ashley M. Thomas

Dissertations

The number of Black and Brown high school students entering college to study science and technology majors is declining. Because they encounter shared intersectional experiences in the science and technology fields, Black women have a unique connection with their students that builds on teaching practices grounded in culturally responsive teaching (CRT). The mixed methods study was bounded to one school district that had a CRT initiative and provided training to its teachers. The study used a pre-validated survey regarding the perceptions of CRT in a technology-supported learning environment and identified the tools and practices Black female science teachers (BFSTs) use …

Navigating Dual Standards: Secondary Educators Integrating English Language Standards To Achieve English Proficiency, Calleigh Herrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

English Learners represent one of the fastest-growing student populations in the United States, creating increased demands on secondary educators to support both language development and academic achievement. As accountability expectations continue to emphasize grade-level proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA), educators serving English Learners must navigate the intersection of English language proficiency standards and content-area instructional requirements. While English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA-21) standards are intended to support language acquisition and access to academic content, educators often face challenges integrating language development goals with grade-level ELA expectations. As such, secondary educators play a critical role in …

Disruption, Recovery, And Divergence: How Prepandemic Achievement Levels Shaped Learning Loss, Recovery, And Spending Efficiency In Tennessee Public High Schools, Wilson Boyd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant and uneven learning loss in Tennessee public high schools. The statewide ACT composite average fell from 20.2 in 2019 to 19.1 in 2021. By 2024-2025, it recovered only to 19.3. During the same period, Tennessee received approximately $3.86 billion in additional federal funds and $1.15 billion in new state funding. This ex post facto quantitative study examined whether prepandemic achievement levels predicted learning loss severity and recovery patterns of a census of 322 Tennessee public high schools from 2018-2019 through 2024-2025.

The study used two theoretical frameworks. Baumol's cost disease theory predicted that structural productivity …

Perceptions Of Family Involvement And Its Influence On High School Attendance: Voices Of Families And Mathematics Teachers, Amber Phillips

Dissertations

Chronic absenteeism continues to be a growing concern in high schools, particularly in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. Although family involvement has been widely studied in elementary and middle schools, less is known about how families and mathematics teachers experience school-based family involvement at the high school level. This qualitative case study explored those perspectives at a rural high school in Northwest Georgia. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with five families and five upper-level mathematics teachers, and a focus group was conducted with eight mathematics teachers. Interview and focus group transcripts were analyzed using structural and focused coding to …