Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Online And Hybrid Graduate Student And Advisor Preferences, Melody Mayo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The focus of this study was the advising style preference of graduate-level students and advisors in online and hybrid programs at a university in rural Arkansas. Students and advisors will benefit from the results because the advisors will have a greater understanding of expectations during an advising session. The problem stems from the fact that graduate level advising is not considered important by administrators at the study institution. The purpose of this study was to determine how graduate level advisors can better serve students and to use the results as a tool for advisor training. The study was guided by …

Measuring Self-Perceived Clinical Preparedness With Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Clients, Kimerly D. Patterson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counselors and counselor educators must serve clients regardless of culture, race, disability, sexual orientation, and age. Counselor educators have attempted to stay abreast of new methods to enhance counselor competencies to adequately counsel lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clients. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the extent of the relationship between self-perceived clinical preparedness of working with LGBT clients and self-perceived attitudinal awareness towards LGBT clients as moderated by levels of religious commitment of licensed professional counselor (LPC) using a feminist and multicultural theory framework. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) quantitative analysis software program …

Let's Enjoy Teaching Life: An Autoethnography Of A Novice Esl Teacher's Two Years Of Teaching English In A Private Girls' Secondary School In Japan, Danielle Nozaka

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This thesis is an account of a beginning ESL teacher’s two years teaching abroad at a private all-girl’s secondary school in Nishinomiya, Japan. It is an autoethnography and includes written and visual artifacts from the author’s time spent teaching English to junior high school students.

Elementary Teachers' Self Efficacy For Improving Student Achievement, Regina Ann Epps

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The local problem that prompted this study was declining student achievement scores in the 4th and 5th grades at a Title 1 elementary school in the southeastern U.S. As a result, school administrators initiated an environmental change from a self-contained classroom structure to departmentalization and team teaching for 4th and 5th grades. The purpose of the study was to investigate perspectives of teachers and administrators regarding their needs to address their own self-efficacy for improving student learning, and their perspectives of the team teaching and departmentalization processes in enhancing student achievement. The conceptual framework for this study was Bandura's theory …

A Case Study Of Teachers Implementing The Framework For 21st-Century Learning, Tabatha Sue Stover

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Framework for 21st-Century Learning (The Framework) is focused on the mastery of core subjects and been found to be essential to student success. Teachers in a suburban school district in Ohio were struggling to address the challenges associated with the implementation of The Framework. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how teachers implemented the program in their classrooms. Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development guided the exploration of how elementary teachers were implementing critical elements of The Framework to scaffold literacy instruction. A qualitative case study design was used to allow the researcher to examine the …

Language Of Instruction And Puerto Rican First Graders' Ethnic Categorizations, Margarita Marichal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The use of subtractive bilingual models in Puerto Rico may influence children's construction of social categorizations. There is a gap in the literature related to linguistics, ethnicity, and systems of education and acculturation of a majority group. The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the influence of the language of instruction and teachers' communicative practices in private and public schools on first graders' ethnic identity construction in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The conceptual framework of the study was based on Markus's unified theory of race and ethnicity, Berry's bidimensional model of acculturation, Tajfel and …

Social And Emotional Learning Needs Of Gifted Students, Derek.Phelan Allen Phelan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compared to their peers, gifted and talented (GT) students have unique social and emotional needs. As schools mandated social and emotional learning goals for each GT student, support at the state level was limited. The purpose of the study was to answer the guiding question of how students could benefit from implementing key elements in a GT social and emotional curriculum. The study was guided by Corso's approach to promoting and developing positive social-emotional behavior. Data were collected from questionnaires administered to 32 statewide GT experts. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 of those GT experts. Thematic data analysis followed …

Critical Thinking And Clinical Judgment In Novice Registered Nurses, Sheila Tyne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The health care field has become increasingly more complex, requiring new nurses to be prepared upon graduation to respond to a variety of complex situations. Unfortunately, many graduates from associate degree nursing (ADN) programs are not able to think critically upon entering the work force. This presents a major problem for the nurse and for the employer. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to gain a deeper understanding of the graduates' perceptions of their ability to critically think during their first year of clinical practice, and if they believed their program prepared them to be critical thinkers. The key …

Urban High School Educators' Perceptions Of Pre-Service And In-Service Conflict Resolution And Violence Prevention Education, Sean M. Brooks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Studies have shown that conflict resolution and violence prevention education may be lacking within school-based environments. There is a gap in the literature regarding pre-service and in-service conflict resolution and violence prevention education for urban high school educators. The purpose of the study was to understand the experiences and perceptions of urban high school educators' pre-service and in-service conflict resolution and violence prevention education, and the student health-related antecedents that contribute to both. Utilizing a case study methodology, this study emphasized the diverse geographic locations of urban high school educators' pre-service institutions and the perceptions of their pre-service and in-service …

An Assessment Of The Financial Literacy Of Undergraduates At One Community College In Texas, Melissa J. Weathersby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a Texas community college, stakeholders wanted to strengthen the financial literacy module offered in the student development course for undergraduates. The problem was that no formative data existed on students' financial literacy, and it was not known if knowledge of financial literacy for students who participated in a prior financial literacy class in high school differed from students who had not. The purpose of this study was to obtain formative data regarding students' needs for financial literacy education and to examine whether the knowledge of financial literacy for college students who participated in a prior financial literacy class in …

European Alternative Preschool Philosophies, Styles, And Emergent Literacy Skill Development, Lynne M. Lawson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many American preschool children enter kindergarten without the emergent literacy skills needed to learn to read. To address this problem, this multicase qualitative study investigated the emergent literacy practices at Steiner Waldorf-inspired and Reggio Emilia-inspired schools. The research questions focused on how alternative preschool philosophies help staff cultivate emergent literacy skills in young children. The conceptual framework came from Piaget's cognitive development theory, and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory. The study included eight participants from two Reggio Emilia-inspired and two Steiner Waldorf-inspired preschools. Data were collected through open-ended interviews, observations, and analyses of de-identified student work, then subjected to thematic cross-case analysis. …

Motivators And Demotivators Of Dominican Immigrant High School Esl Students In Puerto Rico, Luis A. Amador

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem is that Dominican student immigrants enrolling in Puerto Rican high

schools need to be English proficient and the English as second language program (ESL)

is not effectively supporting these students to develop English proficiency to graduate

from the target high school. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand

the perceptions of Dominican immigrant ESL students regarding motivators and

demotivators in ESL classes to develop English proficiency at the target site. Using

Krashen's conceptual framework, students' perceptions of motivators and demotivators

regarding ESL classes, and their suggestions for improving the ESL instruction were

explored. A qualitative …

Small College Title Ix Coordinators' Response To Male Complainants, David Scott Chambers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Male survivors of sexual assault face increased mental health concerns due to commonly held beliefs and lack of quality services. College and university administrators, under guidance provided by the Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Education, must respond to all incidents of sexual misconduct, no matter the gender identity of the complainant or respondent. The purpose of this multiple case study was to investigate how the Title IX Coordinators at small colleges understand and implement governmental guidelines to decrease the secondary victimization experienced by male survivors by analyzing current policies and programs. Critical theory provided the conceptual framework …

Phenomenological Dynamic Of How Adhd Student Recidivism Affects Alternative Education Teacher Services, Lisa A. Charette

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem in this study involved the student cycling, or recidivism, problem associated with specialized education environments. In particular, alternative education students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are cycling in and out of alternative and regular education at a concerning frequency. This student recidivism problem affects the services of teachers who are trying to transform them into permanent regular education learners. The purpose of this study was to obtain specific information from these teachers, via the research questions, as it applies to the theoretical foundation of Bandura's self-efficacy construct, and methodological design of the study. The qualitative method of …

Curricular, Instructional, And Co-Curricular Factors Perceived To Influence Students Dropping Out, Kimberly Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

District administrators face concerns over students dropping out of school without a high school diploma. District personnel in a Mississippi urban school district identified specific curricular, instructional, and co-curricular factors that prompted students to leave school. The purpose of this bounded qualitative case study was to explore perceptions of principals, teachers, and counselors regarding factors that influenced students' disengagement and dropping out of school. Battin-Pearson's theory of academic mediation, which attributes poor academic performance and student-centered learning to students dropping out, framed this study. The research questions focused on how district personnel identified and monitored at-risk students and provided interventions …

College Teachers' Perceptions About Teaching Global Competency, Izabela Agata Majewska

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

National and international organizations emphasize the importance of teaching global competence in American higher education as a way of preparing students for the rigors of a globalized workforce. Lack of nation-wide educational initiatives aimed at providing institutional guidelines for assessing international relations (IR) courses for this skill acquisition requires colleges to rely on their own resources and ingenuity. Presently, no course assessment methods for gauging global competency attainment exist at Florida College. The purpose of this study was to investigate faculty perceptions of instruction and learning of global competence. Mezirow's transformative learning theory was the conceptual framework that guided this …

An Exploration Of Male College Student Departure In The Southcentral United States, E. Ted Siebert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Male college students' attrition has been a concern for higher education for 3 decades. This study focused on why young male college students leave postsecondary education before graduating. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences former male college students that led to their decision to leave a community college in the Southcentral United States. Research questions in this generic qualitative study were: How do men describe their experiences leading to the decision to discontinue their community college education and what supports do men perceive colleges could offer to support their decision to continue postsecondary education. Astin's theory …

The Effects Of Academic Parent Teacher Teams On Latino Student Achievement, Barbara Dee Bench

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Decades of research have noted the importance of parent involvement in students' academic success. Less is known about parent engagement models that aim to increase Latino students' reading achievement. This project study examined the effectiveness of a 2-year parent engagement program implemented to address poor reading achievement of Latino elementary school students in a small urban district. The purpose of this study was to determine disparities in student scores between those parents who participated in the program and those parents who did not participate. The research questions examined parent engagement levels in comparison to increased summative reading scores. Based on …

Middle School Parents' Beliefs Regarding Learning Management System Use In Mathematics, Vaughn Malcolm Bradley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Middle school is a critical time in students' learning of mathematics, something a Learning Management System (LMS) is designed to help parents support. What remains unknown is how parents use an LMS to monitor their children's progress in mathematics. This qualitative case study explored how parents from one midAtlantic middle school with 543 students used an LMS, EdLine, to support their children's autonomous achievement in mathematics. Expectancy-value theory and social cognitive theory made up the conceptual framework used to evaluate study findings. A criterion-based process was used to select nine middle school parents from grades 6, 7, and 8 as …

Factors Affecting Employee Persistence In An Online Management Development Certificate Program, Todd D. Chester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An important approach to prepare new managers for increased responsibility is participation in online management development programs; however, there is a lack of information about the factors that affect employee completion of these programs. This study addressed how chief executive officers (CEOs) can implement these programs to rapidly develop new managers who are qualified to serve in the leadership roles left behind by many retirees. This qualitative descriptive case study explored employees' perceptions about persistence in an online management development certificate program at a U.S. nonprofit organization. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and Rovai's composite persistence model provided the conceptual framework for …