Drinking Out Of The Fire Hydrant: Educators’ Perceptions Of Well-Being In A Teacher Preparation Program, Corey P. Wolfe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The process of becoming a teacher is complex, multi-layered, and often high-stakes. Teacher preparation programs are designed to equip prospective teachers with the foundational skills and knowledge needed for a successful teaching career. In addition to pursuing the academic degree in education, future teachers must meet credentialing and licensure expectations. Because of these expectations, novice teachers are often met with profound feelings of stress and anxiety. The purpose of this research exploration was designed to investigate elementary educators’ perceptions of well-being during their senior year in a pre-service teacher preparation program. Using a qualitative research design, six educators were interviewed …

The Quest For Kindergarten Readiness: A Study Of One District’S Early Implementation Of The Pyramid Model For Promoting Social-Emotional Competence, Ginny L. Gast

All Dissertations

Participation in high-quality preschool programs can help prepare young children for Kindergarten, and children demonstrating Kindergarten readiness are more likely to achieve positive outcomes later in life. With this in mind, Oakwood School District (OSD) set a strategic goal to improve the Kindergarten readiness levels of students participating in its 4K programs from 18% in 2021 to 70% by 2025. With research suggesting that school readiness outcomes are dependent on preschool program quality variables such as student-teacher relationships and emotional competencies, the Pyramid Model for Promoting Social-Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children was implemented in OSD’s 4K program sites …

Investigating Elementary Preservice Teachers' Struggles In Mathematics Problem Solving And The Use Of Scaffolds For Supporting Them, Frank Forte

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Mathematical problem solving is a topic that has seen an increased focus in recent years, highlighted by its inclusion as the first Standard for Mathematical Practice in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM). However, elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) often struggle when solving problems that are nonroutine and require higher cognitive demand. Many have little experience solving this type of problem and show an increased level of anxiety around problem solving, which impacts the way they engage their students with problem solving. To support PSTs to become better problem solvers, it is important to provide opportunities for PSTs to …

Emerging Perspectives Regarding The Implementation Of Lecturer Professionalization At Selected Tvet Colleges In Gauteng Province, South Africa, Mojalefa Daniel Maluka, Maelekanyo Christopher Mulaudzi

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

This study explored the challenges impeding the implementation of lecturer professionalisation at selected public Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in Gauteng Province, South Africa. A qualitative research approach was followed, and a case study research design was adopted. Fifteen (15) participants were selected from five colleges through a purposive sampling technique. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, which was analysed through thematic analysis on Atlas.ti. This study found that lecturer professionalisation faced personal, institutional, and systemic challenges, namely, a professional identity crisis, lack of management support, lack of pedagogical knowledge, lack of self-directedness, negative public perception, …

School-Based Agricultural Educators’ Educational Technology Integration Self-Efficacy And Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Relational Study, Macey Kleinjan, Brooke L. Thiel, Adam Marx

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teacher Technological Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, and Technological Pedagogical Knowledge and teachers’ technology integration self-efficacy through the use of TPACK and the Intrapersonal Technology Integration Scale (ITIS). In-service SBAE teachers from four upper-Midwest states were surveyed to assess their current self-efficacy related to the integration and utilization of the educational technology available in their classroom and curriculum. According to the findings of this study, SBAE teachers are using educational technology in their classrooms and curriculum daily but are only slightly confident in their ability …

Developing Standard Operating Procedures For The Dewitt Town Clerk’S Office, Noura M. Osman

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

ABSTRACT OF PROJECT

Developing Standard Operating Procedures for the DeWitt Town Clerk’s Office

This project addresses the operational inconsistencies in the DeWitt Town Clerk’s Office in Syracuse, NY, by creating a structured Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's) manual. The focus is on six high-impact processes: tax collection, water bill payments, dog licensing (new and renewals), marriage license transcript requests, and handicap parking permit issuance and renewal. Each SOP includes visual info-graphics to enhance accessibility and minimize errors. The final product is designed to improve on-boarding, reduce staff reliance on memory, increase efficiency, and align with creativity and change leadership principles.

From In-The-Head To In-The-World: Frameworks For Understanding And Applying Computational Thinking, Justin Olmanson, Gretchen K. Larsen, Azadeh Hassani

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In the five decades since Papert coined the term Computational Thinking (CT), it has become a core framework for thinking about learning, problem-solving, design, and creativity. Although CT is most commonly, and initially, associated with the cognitive orientations involved in coding and learning to code, it also includes situated and critical processes related to computational problem solving. Herein we unpack ways researchers in different fields and points in time have organized CT. We include creative coding as a uniquely generative lens for rethinking CT, outlining its potential as an expressive, constructionist, and culturally situated practice. In doing so, we explore …

Parent Involvement In Elevating Elementary Children's Educational Success, Taylor R. Arreola

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In many elementary schools, a common problem lies in the lack of overall and consistent parental involvement at home and communication with the child’s teacher. This creates challenges because if a child is not receiving extra support at home- whether due to parents' beliefs about their responsibility for education, their relationship with teachers, or barriers they may face, such as language- it can lead to gaps in the child’s educational success and may cause them to struggle in their academic journey. This project's purpose and focus are to assist parents and teachers in understanding the different implications of parent involvement. …

Double, Double, Toils And Troubles: Analyzing The “Magical” Relationships Between University Leaders’ Personality Traits And Their Self-Efficacy In Leadership Situations, Fay Ludvine Boudreaux

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This present study investigated the relationship between higher education leaders’ personality traits and their self-efficacy in leadership situations. A total of 151 leaders employed across the nine institutions within the University of Louisiana System completed a survey that prompted them to identify their personal values, traits, and skill sets, as derived from the online Pottermore quiz, the official Harry Potter Hogwarts House sorting instrument. This niche personality metric was chosen to cater to higher education’s evolving landscape, as it welcomes an influx of Millennials into leadership positions. Participants’ responses were eventually recoded to “sort” them into their respective Houses: Gryffindor, …

Engaging Scientific Sense-Making: An Analysis Of Participation Within Informal Science Interaction, Spencer Barbier

Honors Theses

While science learning in formal educational settings has been extensively examined using frameworks such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, its application to informal science educational environments remains underexplored. Informal science education—occurring outside traditional classrooms—presents unique challenges for evaluation due to its unstructured nature and diverse audiences. This action research study aimed to address this gap by developing and testing a framework that categorizes learner responses into high-order and low-order answers, based on Bloom’s six cognitive domains. The study was conducted at the Hattiesburg Zoo, where a docent volunteer presented two separate docent boxes, or mini science lessons, to members of the public. …

Support, School Climate And Teacher Wellbeing In The Wake Of Covid-19: A National Study Using Ntsp Data, Annastashia M. Teepe

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Research indicates a significant number of teachers planned to leave the profession following the COVID-19 pandemic, with national surveys in 2021 revealing about 25% considering departure. Stress, low pay, remote teaching demands, and lack of support contributed to attrition, impacting school climate, which influences productivity, collaboration, and job satisfaction, and is inversely related to turnover. The shift to remote learning also demanded new skills and exposed technological disparities. This quantitative study examined the pandemic's impact on teachers' perceptions of school climate, support, resources, job satisfaction, burnout, and intent to leave using the 2020–2021 National Teacher and Principal Survey. Factor analyses …

Treading Lightly: The Ethics Of Instructor Il/Legibility And Neutrality In The Classroom, Marcus A. Woodman

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Instructors in the classroom often describe their experiences teaching as being a performance, which often combines authenticity with boundaries to keep certain aspects of the instructor’s life out of the classroom. For queer instructors, their performance may be especially complicated; since queer identity is less visible than other types of identities, instructors must also weigh whether or not to come out to their students. In our current political moment, where queerness has yet again become a scrutinized topic (especially when in proximity to youth), teachers have an even more difficult decision to make.

This thesis uses queer theory and queer …

Mathematics Teacher Certification Status And Student Achievement: A Quantitative Analysis, Angela K. Wallace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sixty years ago, James Coleman (1966) released a report called Equality of Education where he focused on inequalities in education between Black and White students. Today, continued research has built on Coleman’s findings particularly on teacher quality and its effects on student achievement (Coleman et al., 1966). The purpose of this quantitative analysis was to explore if any relationship exists between 8th grade math and 10th grade geometry teachers’ certification status and 8th grade math and 10th grade geometry students’ achievement. By utilizing Pedagogical Content Knowledge Theory (PCK) and Mathematical Knowledge for Teachers Theory (MKT) as the theoretical frameworks, the …

Mi Testimonio: The Beginning Of My Healing Journey, Maria A. Vega

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

My testimonio, presented as my dissertation, is a deep and personal reflection on my experiences as an immigrant and multilingual student. I share my story by trenzando—braiding—lived experiences, critical analysis, and relevant research on immigration and trauma, language and identity, and the links between multilingualism and academic success. Through deep reflection and analysis, I draw on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1943), Giles and Johnson’s Ethnolinguistic Identity Theory (1981), and García’s (2009) translanguaging framework to explore the following questions:

1. How does the oppression of one’s linguistic and cultural practices affect identity development?
2. How does my story—my testimonio—empower the mother, …

A Pipeline To Prison Or A Pathway To Promise? The Inequities Fueling The School To Prison Pipeline, Ranishia Lachelle Bailey

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This systematic review proposal would investigate the school-to-prison pipeline and examine the role of pedagogical interventions in mitigating youth involvement in the justice system. By analyzing existing literature, this proposal would study and explore how school system biases, educational frameworks, and systemic factors contribute to the perpetuation of this pipeline, with a specific focus on how educational policies and disciplinary practices impact at-risk youth. The review aims to identify effective interventions that can disrupt this cycle, including restorative justice practices, trauma-informed education, positive behavioral interventions, and culturally responsive teaching. A comprehensive search strategy should be employed across various academic databases, …

Student Performance And Course Modality: The Relationship Between Outcomes, Modality, And Course Subject, Olivia Baxley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify if a significant relationship existed between teaching modality and student performance outcomes while also considering the factor of course subject being taught during the 2021-2023 academic years. Three courses were included in the research: Math 1630 Finite Mathematics, English 1010 Composition I, and Biology 1110 General Biology. Each of the three courses are introductory level courses in the math, English, and science subject. The study also included statistical analysis on gender as related to student performance outcomes.

The findings presented of this research showed a significant relationship between teaching modality and …

The Importance Of The Relationship Between General And Special Education Co-Teachers In Inclusive Preschool Programs, Ruth Copeland, Ruth B. Copeland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative case study was designed to examine the importance of the relationship between general and special education co-teachers in inclusive preschool programs. The holistic strengths-based portraiture method will be used to study the positive aspects of the relationships of two co-teaching teams. In-depth interviews with individual teachers, co-teaching teams, and administrators combined with a questionnaire and classroom environmental rating scales were used to examine the culture and community that build positive relationships between general educators and special educators who co-teach in an inclusive preschool setting. The main goal of this research was to identify critical elements that contribute to …

Barriers And Supports For Latinx Students Pursuing Higher Education, Ashanti Salazar

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

Latinx students make up a growing portion of the student body in Northwest Arkansas, yet they continue to face unique barriers in their pursuit of higher education. This study explored senior Latinx students’ perceptions of barriers and supports they encounter as they begin the college enrollment and admissions process. This research takes place at Valley High School, a majority-Latinx public school in Northwest Arkansas. My intention was to better understand how financial concerns, access to college knowledge, staff support, and school-based resources shape their school experiences, future aspirations, and decision to pursue college after high school. A quantitative approach was …

Breakthrough: How Committed, Long-Term Supports For Middle And High School Students Help Unlock The Power Of Education And Create A Lifetime Of Opportunity, Anastasia L. Borowski

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project explores the impact of Breakthrough, a program dedicated to supporting first-generation college-bound students, through the lens of a teaching fellow's summer experience. With a mission to grow educational opportunity, Breakthrough provides academic enrichment, mentorship, and support starting in middle school to ensure college becomes an option for all of its students.

This research highlights experiential data from a teaching fellow’s week-by-week responsibilities. This project seeks to share the stories of different roles within the program and their influence on student outcomes, academic pathways, and personal growth. The research highlights the unique structure of Breakthrough’s support system and its …

Investigating The Role Of School Leaders’ Feedback In Texas Noncertified Teachers’ Professional Growth And Self-Efficacy, Sonja R. Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed in this study was that the role of school leaders’ feedback in noncertified teachers’ professional growth and self-efficacy is unknown. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the perspectives of noncertified teachers’ understanding of their school leaders’ feedback and how those practices contributed to their professional growth and self-efficacy. A qualitative case study approach was used, with data collected from 12 participants across six Texas school districts through semistructured interviews, questionnaires, and classroom observation documents. Data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically, with triangulation and member-checking ensuring credibility. Two key findings emerged. First, supporting professional …

Non-Esl High School Teachers’ Instructional Training And Professional Development Needs And Their Emergent Bilingual Student Classrooms, Brynn Erin Caddell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. emergent bilingual student population continues to grow and is projected to increase nationwide. The growing population of students has specific academic and social needs that need to be addressed and provided for emergent bilingual students to be successful. This qualitative case study examined the instructional needs of high school non-English as a second language (ESL) teachers who serve emergent bilingual students and how the district can support the instructional practices of high school teachers in an urban school district in Texas. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of instructional training and professional development for secondary …

An Invitation To Language: Fostering Critical Language Awareness Through Assignment Design, Amrutha Smith

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

First-year composition (FYC) instructors are often required to teach institution-issued course outcomes alongside their personal values. The author proposes a pedagogy to identify how teachers can invite rhetorical and linguistic agency in student writers and teach toward institutional objectives. To do so, the author shares her approach for revising existing and creating new FYC assignments that invite students to use their multiple codes and languagings (ways of communicating) in their writing. The assignments are driven by translanguaging approaches in writing instruction, specifically code-meshing and Critical Language Awareness (CLA), a theoretical framework coined by Shapiro, and integrate three settings in which …

Reflections On Teaching Language And Culture In The French Dual Language Immersion Classroom, Aminata Sylla

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This portfolio is representative of the author’s work in the Masters in Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program and classroom experience. The reflection paper explores teaching French in the Dual Language Immersion (DLI) and Bridge secondary education context and evaluates specific examples of innovative teaching. The aims of this reflection are twofold: first, to reflect on how the author improved her teaching effectiveness through this experience and through the USU MSLT program; second, to suggest best practices in the French DLI classroom. Both practical and theoretical, the reflection focuses on the author’s own experiences teaching Bridge program intermediate and advanced-proficiency level …

Dove: An Interdisciplinary Framework For College Composition Instructors, Audrey Hansen

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

In this thesis, I merged personal narrative and interdisciplinary knowledge to develop a composition pedagogy framework for my fellow college composition instructors by applying an understanding of the psychological theory of attachment styles to our understanding of diversity and behavior in the classroom. I presented a personal narrative describing how I discovered a connection between attachment theory, behavior psychology, and college composition classrooms. The framework developed guides instructors step-by-step how to apply interdisciplinary psychology knowledge to the field of composition. The goal is for the theory to create more accepting and encouraging classroom environments through DOVE. D: detaching from negative …

An Alienated Population; Societal Issues And Educational Neglect In The Field Of Gifted Education, A Narrative Literature Review, Venus Jennifer Mendez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this narrative literature review is to explore societal issues and educational neglect in gifted education, focusing particularly on the underrepresentation of African American and Hispanic students. Through a comprehensive analysis of 36 peer-reviewed sources, the study reveals systemic inequities which leads to a creation of different themes stemming from racial and linguistic biases, imprecise definitions of giftedness, and the lack of teacher diversity, which collectively hinder equitable access to gifted programs. The findings magnify the urgent need for reform in identification process and procedures where the impact of having imprecise definitions and a lack of teacher diversity …

Transnational Teachers On Both Sides Of The U.S.-Mexico Border: Exploring Their Identities And Conocimiento. A Phenomenological Study With A Comparative Stance, Isaac Frausto Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The transnationalism phenomenon is at the core of an increasingly globalized world. This phenomenological study with a comparative stance explores the lived experiences and perspectives of teachers with a transnational migration background with regards to how they [re]construct their identities and conocimiento. It compares and contrasts the histories and insights from participants in the borderlands with those from the heart of Mexico. Specifically, this study contributes to the under-explored body of literature which has taken a comparative stance in looking at transnationalism in education on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Data derived from migration memory maps and in-depth, phenomenological …

Preparing Preservice Teachers To Support Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students Through The Implementation Of A High Leverage Practice, Mya Kelley

All Dissertations

The student population of United States (U.S.) schools is becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse. Similarly, students identifying as culturally and linguistically diverse students represent approximately 54% of students served under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (U.S. Department of Education, 2023). Despite increased ethnic diversity among students, the teacher workforce remains relatively homogenous, with most teachers identifying as White. Consequently, many new teachers feel ill-equipped to implement effective, evidence-based instructional practices to support culturally and linguistically diverse students. To prepare preservice teachers to meet culturally and linguistically diverse students' unique needs, teacher preparation programs must embed culturally relevant pedagogy and …

The Impacts Of Instructional Technology On The Socio-Academic Development Of K-12 Students, Alivia L. Haines

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Becoming an educator in a post-Covid society results in many unknowns in regards to the socio-academic development of students. Specifically, the utilization of instructional technology in the classroom has become a centralized topic within educational settings over the past six years. Through research conducted from peer-reviewed journals, as well as surveys with fourteen educators and one hundred and fifty-one students, the result and findings revealed that, while there is a great divide over whether or not instructional technology is a net-positive or negative classroom asset, the use of technology in instruction impacts students’ socio-academic development with the overall consensus that …

Effects Of Increased Use Of Technology In Early Years Of Child Development, Candy Guadalupe Pena Romero

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This senior capstone research project examines how the increased use of technology in early years can have a significant effect on child development, both positive and negative. In this research project, besides conducting an extensive literature review, interviews with three teachers from an early childhood education center and an administrator were interviewed and parent surveys were conducted. The result findings revealed that the increased use of technology in early years affects children’s development. The project also suggests that finding a way to balance technology with traditional play and face-to-face interactions could be a good way to promote healthy development in …

Strategies For Writing Synthesis To Learn: A Case Study Among Sixth-Grade Social Studies Students, Kalie A. Chamberlain

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Writing instruction that emphasizes strategy use helps students become better writers, especially when tackling difficult writing tasks, such as writing from sources or writing syntheses. Strategic writing instruction also supports student learning in content areas like social studies. This project examined whether Strategies for Writing Synthesis to Learn (SWSL), a mode of strategic writing instruction developed by researchers in Spain, would be effective in a new context. It also sought to understand how SWSL was perceived by students and teachers. A mixed-methods case study was used to explore both quantitative (e.g., student growth) data and qualitative (e.g., student and teacher …