Digital Commons Network^™

Middle-Income Latinos In Middle-Class Communities: A Study On Parental Involvement Dynamics, Rafael Inoa

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The academic underperformance of students of Latino backgrounds is a serious cause for concern in the United States, especially considering the significant portion of the total U.S. population that Latinos constitute. Since parental involvement is known as a powerful resource in helping all students succeed academically, it can be used as a way to counter the achievement gap that Latinos are currently facing. However, middle-class Latinos, who are also plagued by this gap in academic achievement, are continuously overlooked throughout the educational literature. The current study lays focus on this group by centering on the perspectives of middle-income Latino parents …

Deaf Children’S Science Content Learning In Direct Instruction Versus Interpreted Instruction, Kim B. Kurz, Brenda Schick, Peter C. Hauser

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This research study compared learning of 6-9th grade deaf students under two modes of educational delivery – interpreted vs. direct instruction using science lessons. Nineteen deaf students participated in the study in which they were taught six science lessons in American Sign Language. In one condition, the lessons were taught by a hearing teacher in English and were translated in ASL via a professional and certified interpreter. In the second condition, the lessons were taught to the students in ASL by a deaf teacher. All students saw three lessons delivered via an interpreter and three different lessons in direct ASL; …

An Empirical Comparison Of The Effect Of Missing Data On Type I Error And Statistical Power Of The Likelihood Ratio Test For Differential Item Functioning: An Item Response Theory Approach Using The Graded Response Model, Patricia Rodriguez De Gil

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the context of educational research, missing data arise when examinees omit or do not reach an item, which generates an item nonresponse problem. Using a simulation approach, in addition to conducting complete data analyses, this study compared the performance of six methods for treating item nonresponse in the context of differential item functioning (DIF). The effect of missing data on the Type I error and statistical power of the Likelihood Ratio test for DIF detection in small scales was examined in the context of Item Response Theory (IRT-LR), using polytomous, Likert-type data and the graded response model. The effect …

Wcrp Survey 2005-6 Raw Data, Harry Denny

Purdue Writing Lab/Purdue OWL Datasets and Research Projects

No abstract provided.

“There’S Still That Window That’S Open”: The Problem With “Grit”, Noah Asher Golden

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This narrative analysis case study challenges the education reform movement’s fascination with “grit,” the notion that a non-cognitive trait like persistence is at the core of disparate educational outcomes and the answer to our inequitable education system. Through analysis of the narratives and meaning-making processes of Elijah, a 20-year-old African American seeking his High School Equivalency diploma, this case study explores linkages among dominant discourses on meritocracy, opportunity, personal responsibility, and group blame. Specifically, exposition of the figured worlds present in Elijah’s narratives points to the attempted obfuscation of social inequities present in the current educational reform movement and our …

A Study Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support And Behavior Intervention Support Teams And Their Impact On Student Behavior In Six Missouri Middle Schools, Cody Guy Hirschi

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) and Behavior Intervention Support Teams (BIST) and their impact on managing student behavior in sample schools in Missouri by using methodological triangulation. Office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) and Safe School Act Violations during the 2012- 2014 school years in the SW-PBS, BIST, and No Model (control group) sample schools were analyzed to determine if there was a significant difference in the numbers of ODRs and Safe School Violations. Teachers from the sample schools were given the opportunity to participate in a survey to gather their perspectives about the …

Qualitative Phenomenological Study Exploring Instructional Practices That Contribute To Academic Success For Public Elementary School English Language Learners, Mechelle Champion

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore effective instructional strategies of mainstream classroom teachers working with English Language Learners (ELLs). Many teachers feel unprepared to adequately educate English Language Learners. School systems have attempted to rectify this situation by providing teachers with professional development that provides instructional strategies which may or may not be effective. This study answered the questions: What teaching strategies do teachers and administrators perceive to have the most positive impact on learning for ELLs?; How does the culture of the classroom and school impact ELLs’ academic success?; and What are building level administrators’ …

A Qualitative Grounded Theory Study In Understanding The Teacher/Student Relationship In The College English Freshman Composition Classroom, Jean Tweedy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative grounded theory study is focused on the teacher/student relationship that develops in a freshman composition class when writing is being taught and how that relationship exists during the writing process. Notes were generated through field observation of three freshman English 101 classes, personal interviews with 12 students who were members of the three freshman English 101 classes observed by me, and final grade records for each student in each class obtained from the registrar’s office. The ability and perceived willingness of the English teacher to communicate with students is the prime motivating factor for confidence within the students …

“I Am More Productive In The Library Because It’S Quiet”: Commuter Students In The College Library, Mariana Regalado, Maura A. Smale

Publications and Research

This article discusses commuter students’ experiences with the academic library, drawn from a qualitative study at the City University of New York. Undergraduates at six community and baccalaureate colleges were interviewed to explore how they fit schoolwork into their days, and the challenges and opportunities they encountered. Students identified physical and environmental features that informed their ability to successfully engage in academic work in the library. They valued the library as a distraction-free place for academic work, in contrast to the constraints they experienced in other places—including in their homes and on the commute.

Academic Interventions And Academic Achievement In The Middle School Grades, Toby G. Kite

Dissertations

After the passing of the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004, many schools began to use a Response to Intervention (RtI) model instead of the discrepancy model when identifying students with specific learning disabilities (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011). When elementary schools adopted the RtI model, it was shown to be successful with any students who need academic interventions (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011). The success at the elementary level has led to middle schools adopting the model with varying success (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011). In this study, middle schools that have developed …

2015-2016 Common Data, Morehead State University. Institutional Research & Analysis.

Office of Institutional Research & Analysis Publication Archive

2015-2016 issue of the Common Data.

Reassessing The Criteria Of Competence In Schools (1973), Edna Shapiro

Bank Street Thinkers

Shapiro defines competence in the various contexts in which it is used. She relates the findings of two studies carried out at Bank Street involving young children which illustrate how more sophisticated research strategies are necessary for evaluating competence in school.

A Program Evaluation Of A Literacy Intervention For Reluctant Middle School Readers, James Allison

Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine if the literacy intervention program for reluctant readers in one middle school was effective as measured by an increase in student reading scores measured by the Student Reading Inventory Assessment. I investigated perceptions of 100 students and 28 teachers regarding the literacy intervention program through the use of district-administered surveys. I also interviewed eight teachers regarding their delivery of the literacy interventions in the classroom setting. The literacy intervention program targeted the population of students identified as reluctant readers who were not already receiving any reading intervention, but were reading below …

Effects Of Dual-Language Immersion On Students’ Academic Performance, Jennifer L. Steele, Robert O. Slater, Gema Zamarro, Trey Miller, Jennifer Li, Susan Burkhauser, Michael Bacon

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Using data from seven cohorts of language immersion lottery applicants in a large, urban school district, we estimate the causal effects of immersion on students’ test scores in reading, mathematics, and science, and on English learners’ (EL) reclassification. We estimate positive intent-to-treat (ITT) effects on reading performance in fifth and eighth grades, ranging from 13 to 22 percent of a standard deviation, reflecting 7 to 9 months of learning. We find little benefit in terms of mathematics and science performance, but also no detriment. By sixth and seventh grade, lottery winners’ probabilities of remaining classified as EL are three to …

The Impact Of E-Readers On The Domains Of Reading Comprehension In High School Students, Erika Zeidler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

n this quasi-experimental static comparison group design, a homogenous sample of 128 American Literature (high school juniors) students were placed in a comparison and treatment group to determine whether e-readers can improve decoding skills and language comprehension, the two main domains of reading comprehension. Both groups took a pre- and posttest that measured their reading comprehension skills in both areas. The comparison group read a class assigned novel in a traditional paperback version while the treatment group read the novel on either a Kindle or a Kindle app on his or her smart phone or device. The treatment group was …

Special Educators’ Perceptions Of Using Educational Rap Music To Build Phonemic Awareness Skills For Students Identified With Mild Intellectual Disabilities: A Phenomenological Study, Martha Plumlee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to understand special educators’ experiences and perceptions of using rap music to teach phonemic awareness skills to students with mild intellectual disabilities, in three Smith County (pseudonym) public school self-contained special education classrooms. A purposive sample utilized six participants in data collection comprised of semi-structured interviews, observations, documents, and one focus group. Data was analyzed using phenomenological reduction. Using Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory, Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligences theory, and Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning theory, the essence of the shared experiences and perceptions were reported. An analysis of the data from semi-structured …

Pim Pedagogy: Toward A Loosely Unified Model For Teaching And Studying Comics And Graphic Novels, James B. Carter

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

The article debuts and explains "PIM" pedagogy, a construct for teaching comics at the secondary- and post-secondary levels and for deep reading/studying comics. The PIM model for considering comics is actually based in major precepts of education studies, namely constructivist foundations of learning, and loosely unifies constructs inherent therein with other available frames and frameworks for studying comics. As such, the article fills a dire need in the scholarly literature on comics pedagogy and paves a way for those who seek to teach comics courses in the future but who need direction and for those who seek to study/read comics …

Perspectives On The College Readiness And Outcome Achievement Of Former Intensive English Language Program (Ielp) Students, Meghan Oswalt

Dissertations and Theses

Program evaluation (PE) is important for ESL programs but also difficult. As the scope of PE has grown, student voices have increasingly been included. Alumni provide unique perspectives, but Portland State University's (PSU) Intensive English Language Program (IELP) currently has no exit survey. Furthermore, little research uses alumni data, so this constructivist, mixed-methods study used data triangulation to compare the perceptions of former IELP students with those of three other stakeholder groups -- the topic: IELP student preparedness for PSU. Both online surveys and interviews were conducted, and participants included 63 former and 33 current IELP students, 27 IELP faculty …

No.4, September 2015: Incorporating Scaffolded Dialogic Reading Practice In Teacher Training: An Opportunity To Improve Instruction For Young Dual Language Learners In Transitional Kindergarten, Carola Matera Ph.D.

Education and Policy Briefs

Findings from a joint collaborative between the Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) at Loyola Marymount University and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to provide professional development and coaching to Transitional Kindergarten (TK) teachers on the Scaffolded Dialogic Reading (SDR) are presented in this policy brief. SDR is a method to enhance language skills through dialogue and research-based scaffolds between teachers and small groups of children mediated through repeated readings of storybooks. The purpose of this brief is to: 1) state the opportunity to ensure Dual Language Learner (DLL) support within California’s TK policy; 2) provide a …

Media Literacy And The Hungarian National Core Curriculum – A Curate’S Egg, Anamaria Neag

Journal of Media Literacy Education

In recent years, Hungary has been frequently criticized about press freedom issues by organizations including Human Rights Watch, Freedom House and others. In the current situation, it is thus imperative to understand how media literacy is positioned in public education. The objective of this paper is to analyze the 2012 education curriculum on media education in Hungary and to evaluate the definitions used for constructing media literacy in the National Core Curriculum (NCC). For doing so I apply tools derived from Critical Discourse Analysis and I seek to identify the educational goals of media literacy education. The new NCC brought …

Digital Competence Assessment. A Proposal For Operationalizing The Critical Dimension, Ida Cortoni, Veronica Lo Presti, Pierluigi Cervelli

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The European Commission considers the development of digital competences a strategic action to spread and to develop a more active digital participation of citizens. The objective is to increase the level of digital competence in the European citizens up to 2015 and to reduce the number of those who don’t use new technologies and don't surf the net. At the base of an active citizenship there are creativity skills, the ability to support one’s own point of view, the ability to quest, to have a critical reflection, communicative, collaborative, problem solving and listening abilities. Scholars have started to create shared …

A Phenomenological Study Of Adult Reading Motivation, Audra Blyseth

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the factors that influence young adults’ (aged 18 to 24) reading experiences, reading habits and behavior, and desire to read. Three research questions guided this study: (a) How do young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 describe the factors that influence their reading experiences? (b) How do participants describe the effect of factors on their reading habits and behavior? (c) How do participants describe the effect of factors on their personal desire to read? Participants included young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. Data collection methods …

Elementary Students’ Perceptions Of Gender Equity In Mathematics Classes, Debra Jacobson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There have been various research studies stating that in elementary school, gender bias in all subjects is nonexistent. However, other researchers interested in gender equity in the mathematics classroom have recognized that gender bias does not occur in early elementary school grades but exists by middle school. Thus, research in this area is greatly needed. This study examined children in the third, fourth, and fifth grades to determine whether students’ perceptions of their own mathematical abilities relate to their perceptions of their teacher’s beliefs about gender bias in mathematics. Pearson Product-Moment correlation and Point-Biserial correlations were used to analyze data. …

Tacit Cultural Knowledge: An Instrumental Qualitative Case Study Of Mixed Methods Research In South Africa, Debra Rena Miller

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Notwithstanding the dramatic expansion of mixed methods research, research methodologies, methods, and findings are culturally situated. Problematically, studies conducted outside the global north often embrace canonical methodologies aimed at understanding concepts more explicit than tacit. Learning about the needs of researchers and participants in South Africa may bring to light taken-for-granted assumptions in Anglo-American orientations of mixed methods. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore aspects of tacit cultural knowledge that contextualize mixed methods research in South Africa.

In-person interviews among South African professors as well as a corpus of books, sections, journal articles, and theses informed the …

Hacking Assessment, Phillip Dawson

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Hackers exploit weaknesses in a system to achieve their own goals. In this paper I argue that hacking presents a significant threat to the growing world of online assessment. This threat needs to be addressed through a variety of means; technological anti-hacking approaches will not be sufficient. The most effective ways to prevent hacking may be changes to the assessment tasks themselves to make hacking less tempting; these approaches also have a range of positive side effects in terms of authenticity, transparency of criteria, and ensuring tasks involve work beyond the exam. I conclude with a brief exploration of the …

One Academic Year Study Of Experiences Of One Cohort Of Graduates From A Midwestern University’S Teacher Education Program, Chris Albers

Dissertations

Teacher attrition is a growing problem within the education system in the United States. A study that tracked the experiences of graduates of a particular program was designed to gauge the program’s success. There were three research questions. The first asked, What are the first year teaching experiences of Midwestern University educator preparation program graduates? The second question was in two parts and asked, What do graduates of Midwestern University educator preparation program perceive as the strengths and weaknesses of their ability to carry out their duties as a first-year teacher? How does this change from August to May? The …

The Development Of Intercultural Competency In School Psychology Graduate Students, Susan C. Davies, Abigail A. Lewis, Amy E. Anderson, Elana R. Bernstein

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

School psychologists often have the opportunity to work with students and families from varied backgrounds and cultures. While this can be an exciting and enriching part of the job, it can also be daunting for some practitioners, particularly those who are inadequately prepared. A number of strategies have been implemented in school psychology training programs to improve students’ intercultural competency.

This exploratory study investigated the results of one university’s short-term study abroad program for school psychology graduate students. Pre- and post- intercultural development assessments were given to school psychology graduate students who completed a course abroad; results were compared to …

Investing In Workforce Literacy Pays: Building Employer Commitment To Workplace Language, Literacy And Numeracy Programs, Justin Brown, Michael Taylor, Phillip Mckenzie, Kate Perkins

Vocational, adult and professional education research

In September 2012 the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) contracted the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to conduct this study into the financial return to employers from investing in workplace literacy training programs. The Australian Government, through its Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIISRTE), contracted the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) to manage the project. Over 2013-14, this study developed and trialled a set of data collection instruments in pilot mode with seven training programs funded under the Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) program. This report presents the results from the study in the …

Campus Writing Centers, Student Attendance, And Change In Student Writing Performance, Suzana G. Brown

Dissertations

This dissertation examined the relationship between students attending a writing center and the change in students’ writing performance over the course of a semester. The study also sought to determine whether demographics (age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, and whether a student is a first-generation college student) were related to students’ change in writing after they attended a college writing center.

Five Mississippi colleges and universities participated in the study. The study began with 110 students; however, only 78 students submitted two essays during the semester. Of those, 34 reported that they attended the writing center, 28 reported that they did …

Tennessee Per-Pupil Expenditures In Special Education And Academic Achievement, Melanie C. Davidson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Federal legislation known as the No Child Left Behind act has required states to close achievement gaps. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between special education spending by districts in the state of Tennessee and standardized achievement for students with disabilities.

Secondary data were obtained from the Tennessee Department of Education’s website (www.tn.gov/education). Data from each local education association were collected for the years of 2010-2014 in the areas of special education spending, special education population, and TCAP proficiency percentages in reading and math grades 3-8. Data from each local education association were collected …