Digital Commons Network^™

Why They Stay: A Qualitative Study Of Experiences Of Veteran Low-Incidence Self-Contained Special Education Teachers Who Remain In The Profession, Jessie Leyden

Dissertations

Persistent shortages of special education teachers in the United States have intensified the need to understand not only why some educators leave, but why others choose to stay. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the experiences of veteran special education teachers working in low-incidence, self-contained classrooms who choose to remain in the profession. With a particular focus on the factors that contribute to their retention beyond the first three years, the study involved a sample of ten low-incidence, self-contained teachers from a variety of states across the country. Using semi-structured interviews, the study explored how these …

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 …

Advantages Of Dynamic Representation For Related Rates Problems In Calculus, Eri Osuna

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Related-rates problems are a standard yet persistently difficult topic in first-semester calculus. Research increasingly recommends dynamic visualization tools such as GeoGebra, but direct comparisons of static and dynamic representations in related-rates settings remain scarce. This qualitative study examines how representation type shapes the quality of students' reasoning and their perceived experience during related-rates problem solving. Six mathematics students who had completed Calculus —a group of four undergraduates and a pair of graduate students—completed a static sliding-ladder task and a dynamic airplane-and-camera task supported by an interactive GeoGebra applet, followed by an interview. Findings indicate that the two representations supported reasoning …

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 …

Kindergarten Aimsweb Ela Composite As A Predictor Of Third-Grade Reading Proficiency In A Rural, High-Poverty School District, Christi J. Gentry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reading proficiency by the end of third grade is a critical milestone as students transition from learning to read to using reading as a tool for learning. In Tennessee, this proficiency is especially significant because promotion and retention decisions are linked to student performance on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) ELA assessment. This quantitative, longitudinal study examined the extent to which kindergarten readiness, operationalized as kindergarten AIMSweb ELA Composite scores, predicts third-grade reading proficiency status in one rural, high-poverty school district. Using archival student-level data, this study analyzed kindergarten AIMSweb ELA Composite scores and third-grade TCAP ELA proficiency. Logistic …

Staying The Course: Community College Student Lived Experiences On Program Completion And Motivation, Jessica Leigh Mills

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of former community college students who successfully completed an associate degree, certificate, or program of study and to understand how they experienced the personal, institutional, and environmental factors that supported their persistence to completion. The study, guided primarily by Tinto’s (1975,1988) Model of Student Departure and was complemented by Bandura’s (1988) Social Learning Theory (SLT), and Maslow’s (1943) Hierarchy of Needs, explored the extrinsic and intrinsic motivations students attributed to their successful completion of their associate degree, certificate, or program of study. Twelve former community college students who …

Teacher Autonomy In Accountability-Driven Contexts: A Phenomenological Study Of Middle School Mathematics Teachers In East Tennessee, Hollyann Perdue

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore East Tennessee middle school mathematics teachers’ experiences of professional autonomy and how those experiences relate to institutional decision making within the accountability-driven educational environment. This study utilized the Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017) as a framework to examine how teachers perceived their ability to make instructional decisions while navigating district expectations, pacing requirements, mandated curriculum, and state testing pressures. Data were collected through one-on-one semi-structured Zoom interviews with 12 East Tennessee middle school mathematics teachers representing varying levels of teaching experience, effectiveness ratings, and instructional settings, including both general …

A Four-Year Mixed Methods Cohort Study Of Professional Learning Interventions In Teacher Education Colleges In Kenya, Tanzania, And Uganda, Nyagwegwe Wango, Nipael Mrutu, Jane Rarieya, Fortidas Bakuza

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

In teacher professional learning reforms, maintaining pedagogical transformation is still a major problem, especially in settings with limited resources and policy transitions. During the four years that the Foundation for Learning (F4L) initiative was implemented in teacher education institutions in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda (2022–2025), this study looks at longitudinal patterns of improvement. The study employs a retrospective mixed-methods approach to examine two structured cycles of cohort-level data, which include interview datasets, lesson plan documents, mentoring records, questionnaire summaries, and classroom observation reports. Cycle comparisons show enhanced consistency in structured practicum feedback systems over time, better alignment between lesson objectives …

An Investigation Of The Use Of Self-Regulated Strategy Development With A Mnemonic On The Fraction Computation Performance Of Students At-Risk For Emotional/Behavioral Disorders, Melissa D. Hullett

All Dissertations

Interventions that help students organize their thinking can reduce cognitive load and support academic, behavioral, and social success. Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is an evidence-based instructional framework that combines strategy instruction with self-regulation to promote student independence and improve student confidence. A mnemonic has been shown to help scaffold support across all content areas to the level of mastery required by Stage 4 of the SRSD framework ("Memorize It"). In mathematics, where executive functioning demands are high, interventions to scaffold content must provide the metacognitive support needed for a diverse student population. This study used a multiple-baseline design to examine …

From Gatekeeping To Opportunity: Authentic Assessment In Natural Resources Education, Aradaryn Marsh

All Dissertations

Assessment practices play a central role in shaping how students engage with learning, demonstrate understanding, and participate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Despite increasing calls for more inclusive and professionally relevant educational practices, undergraduate STEM assessment remains heavily dominated by traditional examinations emphasizing memorization, speed, and standardized performance. These concerns may be particularly important within Natural Resources (NR) education, a field that requires students to integrate scientific knowledge with communication, collaboration, and applied problem-solving. This dissertation explores authentic assessment within undergraduate NR education through a multi-phase investigation examining assessment prevalence, student experiences, racially marginalized (RM) student perspectives, …

Use Of Active Learning In The Teaching Of The Veterinary Science Course, Cary Rita

All Dissertations

Agricultural education is rooted in active learning, where students develop skills and learning opportunities through hands-on experiences on classroom farms, greenhouses, and even school-based grooming salons. Recent policy and funding revisions have shifted the measures of success in agricultural education programs towards the number of students earning industry-based certifications. This shift has led to the adoption of a test-focused curriculum, often provided by the company offering the certification exam. While the certification-aligned curriculum provides strong content for veterinary knowledge, the problem is that it is often at the expense of hands-on learning. Balancing active learning while also preparing the students …

Unlocking The Behavior Code: How Function-Based Behavior Skills Coaching Empowers Teachers And Reduces Tier Iii Referrals In Mtss, Erin C. Smith-Harrah

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of behavior skills coaching on the percentage of students receiving Tier 3 intervention at an elementary school in South Carolina using a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework. The research site for this study has experienced a significant increase in students referred for and receiving Tier 3 instruction. Whereas Tier 3 instruction typically accounts for 5% of a student population, data indicate that the percentage of students who received Tier 3 instruction at the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year at this campus was 39%, with 14% identified as students …

Increasing General Education Teacher Effectiveness When Working With Students Receiving Special Education Services, Taylor Watson

All Dissertations

Although the number of students identified as having disabilities (SWD) continues to increase, general education teachers continue to demonstrate difficulty adequately supporting these students. At one South Carolina school in particular, SWD demonstrate decreased academic achievement and increased rate of discipline referrals when compared to non-SWD. This study utilized an improvement science approach in order to implement targeted instruction on high-leverage practices (HLPs) and its impact on general education teacher effectiveness.

Preliminary findings of the intervention trended positive. Teacher participants demonstrated increased understanding of HLPs following intervention, although this increased knowledge did not necessarily correlate with increased application. Students whose …

Counting The Days: The Impact Of Career And Advanced Coursework On Academic And Perceptual Outcomes For Eighth Grade Students Who Are At Risk Of Experiencing Adverse Educational Outcomes, Jamie Megna

All Dissertations

This study addressed limited academic achievement and limited access to meaningful learning opportunities among eighth grade students who are at risk of adverse educational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine how implementing career-based and advanced coursework opportunities for eighth grade students who are at risk improves student engagement with relevant and meaningful learning while supporting progress in academic achievement. The study achieved this by reducing barriers to career-based and advanced coursework to expand access to these learning environments for students who are at risk.

Using a mixed-methods design, the team collected and analyzed data to monitor the …

Growing Our Own Garden: The Implementation Of Cross Curricular And Cross Grade Level Teacher Rounds To Increase Professional Learning Individualization And Feedback, Logan Greene

All Dissertations

Educators are constantly faced with balancing the demands of teaching and professional learning expectations from their districts. Concurrently, administrators are routinely prevented from providing adequate feedback for classroom instructional practices with observations instead focused upon generic and formulaic checks for classroom activities. This results in a gap of intentional professional learning and growth for educators.

The idea of instructional rounds sought to provide teacher-to-teacher feedback for educators to grow their practice together. The original theory focused on groups of teachers operating under a school or district goal of improvement. Instructional rounds have shown positive effects for teacher happiness and student …

Teacher Self-Efficacy And Student Engagement In Rural Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Magnet Schools: A Correlational Study Within An Improvement Science Context, Deirdre L. Appleby

All Dissertations

Teacher self-efficacy in magnet-themed integration represents a critical, district-influenceable condition shaping instructional experiences in rural Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) magnet programs. Persistent under-enrollment of Black, Latinx, and economically disadvantaged students in these settings highlights ongoing inequities in access and participation that may be influenced by upstream instructional conditions. Grounded in Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory and situated within an improvement science framework, this study examines teacher self-efficacy as a key system-level factor associated with student engagement.

This study employs a correlational research design within an improvement science context to examine the relationship between changes in teacher self-efficacy and changes …

Technology Enhanced Math Instruction And Student Achievement, Barbara Warren

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This study examines how one teacher in a large rural high school in South Carolina integrates an AI technological intervention as a supplemental tool, specifically as part of blended learning, to help increase math achievement for students in Geometry with Statistics.  Evidence-based interventions, such as technology enhanced math instruction, encompass a diverse range of tools used by teachers, including an AI-driven high-dose tutorial which is a tool that educators use to diagnose, teach, and assess targeted skills.  The key to the success of the AI tutorial is that it is programmed to use evidence-based practices (Fesler et al., 2026) …

From Passive To Active Learning: How Building Thinking Classrooms (Btc) Strategies Shape Teacher Perceptions Of Student Social-Emotional Development, Diane Maria Leja

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

This qualitative Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice examined how Building Thinking Classrooms for Social-Emotional Learning (BTC-SEL), an instructional approach adapted from Liljedahl's (2021) mathematics framework, could strengthen SEL instruction in Connecticut elementary schools. The study addressed a persistent problem of practice in which traditional SEL delivery fails to engage the students most in need of support, particularly Black and Hispanic/Latino students, students with disabilities, and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Grounded in engagement theory, cognitive load theory, and social constructivism, the three-month intervention supported six elementary teachers across three Connecticut districts, including schools from District Reference Groups I and D …

Effects Of Peer-Mediated Constant Time Delay Instruction On Science Vocabulary Acquisition For Students With Moderate Intellectual Disabilities, Amy S. Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of combining peer-mediated embedded instruction with constant time-delay (CTD) procedures to improve Agriscience vocabulary learning among secondary students with moderate intellectual disability who were educated in an inclusive Agriscience classroom. A multiple-probe across participants design was conducted with three students with moderate intellectual disability. Trained peer tutors provided embedded vocabulary instruction during naturally occurring classroom activities. Results showed an increase in independent correct responding for all participants following the implementation of the intervention. Procedural fidelity, interobserver agreement, Tau-U effect size, and social validity data further demonstrated that the intervention was implemented consistently and was viewed …

University Of Central Florida Undergraduate Catalog, 2025-2026, University Of Central Florida

UCF Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Predicting Student Belonging In Computing Education: A Multimodal Machine Learning Approach Using Eeg And Survey Data, Hannah Moshtaghi

Master's Theses

Measuring students’ sense of belonging, characterized by feelings of acceptance, inclusion, and encouragement from teachers, remains a significant challenge in computing education. Prior research has associated this multidimensional construct with positive academic outcomes and has identified instructors’ growth- and fixed-mindset messaging as a potential influence. However, belonging is a complex and deeply personal experience that is difficult to capture through direct observation alone. Current measurement methods rely on self-report surveys, which may not capture every aspect of an experience that can also involve emotional and cognitive responses.

This thesis investigates whether combining EEG data recorded during a belonging questionnaire with …

The Relativity Of Education: Student Perspectives On Artificial Intelligence In Community College, Ashley Greta Magana

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This hermeneutic phenomenological study examined how diverse community college students experience and make meaning of the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into their educational contexts. Although AI is quickly transforming higher education through automated grading, personalized learning systems, and new models of assessment, the discourse surrounding its implementation remains dominated by administrators, faculty, and institutional stakeholders, while the perspectives of students, specifically community college students who are often historically underrepresented and economically marginalized, are systematically excluded. Most existing research is quantitative and centered on universities, leaving a critical gap in qualitative understanding of the most diverse population in higher …

Asm And A Culture Of Sharing, Caring, And Fun In Education, David J. Westenberg

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

One doesn't always equate a professional scientific society with sharing, caring, and fun, but in this age of public distrust, public engagement with science and active student learning are ways to regain trust. ASM holds a leadership position in promoting and recognizing the value of education in the future of our profession and is there to support your educational journey. From K12 outreach and public engagement, to professional development, to presenting and publishing scholarship of teaching and learning, ASM has been at the forefront of biology education. Under the leadership of visionary directors such as Amy Chang and now Irene …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of African American Female Leaders In Public K-12 Schools In Georgia, Tyisha Davis

Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how the intersectionality of race and gender shapes the leadership experiences of African American women in public K–12 schools. Despite comprising a significant portion of the educator workforce, African American women remain underrepresented in school leadership positions nationally, warranting deeper examinations of their professional pathways and daily realities. This qualitative study employed interpretative phenomenological analysis, guided by an intersectional framework, to understand the lived experiences of 10 African American female educational leaders across K–12 settings in Georgia. Principals, assistant principals, instructional specialists, and a superintendent engaged in semi-structured interviews analyzed through …

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 …

Effective Science Instruction For Elementary Aged Students With Significant Cognitive And Adaptive Delays, Rabecca L. Juarez

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

In Utah, students begin participating in statewide end-of-year assessments in third grade, with science added in fourth grade. Students with the most significant cognitive and adaptive disabilities participate in the Dynamic Learning Maps® (DLM®) alternate assessment, which measures student performance in English language arts, mathematics, and science aligned to Essential Elements (EE). Despite participation in statewide accountability systems, students with significant cognitive disabilities in a Southwest Utah School District have consistently demonstrated low science performance on the DLM assessment.

The aim of this project was to collaboratively create science lessons for students who participate in the alternate assessment. This project …

Music And Middle School Mathematics, Cheryl L. Hawkins

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

The purpose of this project was to see if music playing in the background while learning essential mathematics skills would make a difference in the learning process of middle school students. For nine weeks I collected data on the scores of the special education students relearning skills they had been previously taught in a general education mathematics class. The students took a baseline assessment, then had 30-40 minutes of instruction spread across two days. They then took another assessment to see what the change was. During the lessons and assessments there was one of three conditions happening, one was silence, …

History In The Social Studies Classroom: Developing Historical Literacy And Skills Through Inquiry Lessons, Nancy J. Thatcher

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This Plan B project has created a series of inquiry-based lesson plans and activities for World History classrooms that emphasize historical literacy and disciplinary thinking. Rather than producing a traditional research thesis, this project emphasizes applied historical scholarship by translating historical and professional methodology into three classroom ready instructional lesson plans that are aligned with the Utah Core Standards for Social Studies. The project reflects the History MA’s emphasis on disciplinary rigor while addressing the practical needs of public history and education with pedagogical best practices. This project responds to ongoing challenges in World History education, including constrained instructional time, …

"Fenomeno Frontera:" Family Language Policy As Lived Experience At The U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, Alejandra Sanmiguel-Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Family language policy (FLP) research expands the understanding of how families' language ideologies, language management, and language practices shape children's bilingual development. However, limited research has examined these processes among transfronterizo families living along the U.S.-México border. This qualitative narrative inquiry explores how transfronterizo families describe and negotiate their family language policies and how these policies relate to their experiences in the borderland, including their relationships with schools. Guided by family language policy and borderlands theory, this dissertation employs Seidman's (2006) three-interview series with five transfronterizo mothers raising children enrolled in dual language programs in the El Paso, Texas, region. …