Digital Commons Network^™

Attitudes Of Migrant Receiving And Home District Teachers And The Academic Successes Of Migrant Children, Martha Alicia Cantu

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this research was to investigate the attitudes of teachers in receiving and home districts toward migrant students and measure the academic achievement of migrant students. The study also serves the purpose of accessing the preparation needs of teachers who work with migrant students.

The instrument used to gather the attitudinal data from 215 receiving and home district teachers was the Migrant Education Survey . The surveys were mailed or delivered to the receiving and home district migrant teachers. Initially, 125 migrant students were selected as participants for the study. However, only 77 were used in the final …

Retention Of Beginning Teachers: A Comparison Of Teachers Prepared Through An Alternative Certification Program And A Center For Professional Development Of Teachers Field-Based Program, Glendelia Muniz Zavala

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Teacher retention has been a matter of concern for the past several years. Teacher shortages occur in critical academic and geographic regions. In South Texas, teacher turnover has consistently remained higher than the national average. More importantly is a high attrition rate among beginning teachers. Recent studies reported that 19% of novice teachers leave teaching after the first year and approximately 50% leave the profession within the first five years of teaching. Numerous studies have investigated various factors that contribute to teacher attrition, however, few have been conducted to determine the impact of teacher preparation paths on the retention of …

Mexican American Women: Unique Superintendents In Texas, Maria Cristina Quilantan

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The number of Mexican American women educators is disproportionate to the number of Mexican American women in administrative positions, especially at the superintendency level. During the school year 2001–2002, there were 1,175 superintendents in the State of Texas; 939 male, 66 Mexican American males; 159 White females, and 10 Mexican American women. The stereotypical sex-role expectations are evident among Mexican American women; these expectations are governed by a value system that follows tradition and culture in which docility and passivity are inculcated at a very early age. The organizational structure of the public school system also marginalizes the involvement of …

Sustainable Results In Urban Middle Schools: How Principals Use Systems Thinking To Lead Effective Change, Peggy H. Burke

Educational Studies Dissertations

This study presents the stories of four urban middle school principals engaged in reform that is grounded on the core principle that every early adolescent has the capacity for high-level intellectual development. Data collected over two years through formal interviews and informal conversations with principals and teachers, school and district surveys and reports, student test data, and personal observations were analyzed from a systems thinking theoretical framework to assess each principal's ability to implement reform that produced sustainable results. A systems thinking framework articulates the importance of a leader's ability to: 1) conceptualize the whole and recognize patterns; 2) aspire …

Academic Achievement As A Function Of Attributions Of Success And Failure And Socio-Cultural Variables In Mexican-American Students, Mary Alice Reyes

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this research was to examine Mexican-American 8th grade students' attributions of success and failure in school-related contexts. The relationship between and among these attributions, socio-cultural variables and academic achievement was also explored and analyzed. Attribution theory formed the theoretical foundation for the study.

The study utilized three instruments as the primary sources of self-reported data: the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS ), Student Achievement Responsibility Survey ( SARS ) (Ryckman, 1985), and the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanic Youth ( SASH-Y ) (Barona & Miller, 1994). Other data including gender and migrant status were obtained from …