Digital Commons Network^™

Science Education For The Future: Five Recommendations A Policy Brief For Pakistan, Nelofer Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

High quality education and particularly in the area of what is generally called STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is the greatest indicator of quality of life. Sustainable human development, eradication of poverty and removing unequal distribution of resources all depend on high quality education. High quality education in the area of science has been defined as far back as 1962 by Schwab and Brandwein as teaching through inquiry-based methods. Continuing to teach science content through rote memorization produces teachers who know of no better method to teach other than memorization. These teachers themselves lack conceptual understanding of science content …

Student Departure At West Point : An Examination Within A Total Institution, Jason C. Toole

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The United States Military Academy at West Point recruits, trains, and educates talented young

School Related Violence, Sanitation Facilities At School, And Menstrual Hygiene Management: What Is The Evidence For Their Effect On School Attendance And Learning, And How Might Population Scientists Advance This Research Agenda?, Barbara Mensch

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

No abstract provided.

The Nia Project: Baseline Report, Eunice N. Muthengi, Emily Farris, Karen Austrian

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The onset of puberty and menarche is a particularly vulnerable time for girls, when external pressures are exacerbated by their lack of knowledge of their bodies, their rights, and the implications of their decisions, and by their inability to manage puberty and adolescence safely and comfortably with appropriate menstrual health and hygiene management (MHM) products. Although several programs have previously been developed to address girls’ MHM needs globally, few have been evaluated, and where evidence does exist the results have been mixed. In collaboration with ZanaAfrica, the Population Council is evaluating the Nia Project, a set of interventions for adolescent …

Education Or Quality Of Teaching? Implications For Australian Democracy, R. Scott Webster

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The argument being made here is that democratic life is more likely if educators actually ‘educate’, rather than comply with quality of teaching approaches as promoted by the Australian federal government. Engaging with some philosophy of education can assist educators to resist being seduced by notions such as ‘quality teaching’, ‘evidence-based’ practices and ‘impact’ and to exercise the intellectual and political resolve necessary to ensure educational practices promote democracy (Biesta, 2010a) and are not surrendered to the control of non-educators. Blake et al. (2000, p. xiii) identify that philosophy is usually avoided in discussions regarding quality, evidence-based approaches and accountability …

Education Of Women In Seventeenth- And Eighteenth-Century French Literature, Armelle Tsafack Wiggins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Technology-Based Professional Development For Teaching And Learning In K-12 Classrooms, Nijia Byrd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban Georgia school district, teacher satisfaction surveys revealed that technology-based professional development was not equipping teachers with the skills or support needed to implement technology into their teaching practices. The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to explore teachers' experiences and perceptions of technology-based professional development and its effect on self-efficacy. Guided by Piaget's constructivist theory, this study was based on the perspective that teachers often construct knowledge rather than gain it. Guiding questions explore the experiences teachers have had with technology integration in daily teaching practices, their self-perceived competency level and self-efficacy regarding technology, their attitudes …

Evaluating The Equity Of Access And Achievement Within The Indiana Voucher Program, Jamie L. Garwood

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Indiana has developed the most expansive, statewide voucher program in the nation, and the only one not limited to low-income students or targeted communities. The Indiana Choice Scholarship, or voucher program, has grown from 3,911 students in 2011 to almost 30,000 in the first four years (IDOE, 2015a). This rapid growth warrants a thorough and objective evaluation of whether the program is effectively expanding access to at-risk populations, and whether that expanded access is translating into improved academic outcomes in the private schools they select. The design of this study is a two-phase, sequential, mixed-methods analysis to assess whether Indianas …

Examination Of Growth Mindset Through The Teacher Evaluation Model, Chrystal Street

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the instructional leadership practices that develop a growth mindset in teachers and to determine if the evaluation model will lead to enhanced pedagogical practices. Schools were separated into schools of affluence and poverty. Schools of affluence had less than a 35% free and reduced lunch status. Schools of poverty were identified as having a free-reduced lunch status of 45% or greater. This study examined research based instructional practices in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Other practices that are considered best practices were identified in the areas of professional development …

The Impact Of Federal And State Funded Support Programs On Academic Achievement And Persistence Of First-Generation College Students, James R. Hintz

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Initiatives to increase college completion rates and a shrinking pool of resources require colleges and universities to be strategic with institutional investments for supporting first-generation college students. Studies on both the TRIO Student Support Services program and 21 st Century Scholars program have shown students who are in support programs have higher retention and graduation rates than students who are not in the programs (Chaney, 2010; Powell, 2008; Ruiz, 2008; St. John, Musoba, Simmons, & Chug, 2002; Thayer, 2000; Walsh, 2000). This study was a mixed-method analysis of the academic achievement, retention, and graduation rate data and experiences of first-generation …

Student Demographics And Perceptions Of The Cost-Sharing Program For Financing Higher Education In Tanzania And Their Relationship To Perceived Likelihood Of Student Loans Repayment, Protas A. Makimu

Dissertations

Problem and Purpose

All over the world, the costs of higher education are becoming unaffordable for people of low and middle socio-economic status. The rising costs of colleges and universities are outpacing any growth in incomes and the price increases of other indispensable needs such as medical care, food, clothing and housing. Tanzania is facing the same problem. Because the country has very low gross enrollment rate (GER) even in comparison to other African countries, the government has established the cost-sharing program to increase students’ access to higher educational institutions and enrollment. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to …

The Integration Of Music In An Ela Classroom: Creating Pedagogical Parodies For Elementary Education, Doranna Smith

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to capitalize the effects of using music as a tool in tandem with English language arts in order for students to improve their ELA skills. Songs are already flooding the Internet and social media; such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Vine, echoing in the background of television broadcasts and commercials, and blasting across radio stations and in public areas like restaurants and malls, classroom lessons tied to current songs, are more apt to resonate with students in this era. In lieu of subconsciously humming a song by popular artist such as Beyoncé, Kanye West, …

Introduction To The Content And Context Of The Ratio Studiorum: Notes, Quotes And Commentaries On The Jesuit Educational Ideal, Karl M. Lorenz

Presidential Seminar on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

Explanatory Notes:

The topic I chose for my project was Jesuit Education in Colonial Brazil as outlined in the Ratio Studiorum of 1599. The Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis lesu {Method and System of the Studies of the Society of Jesus) defined the organization, operation and teaching methodology of Jesuit secondary and higher education institutions during the greater part of the colonial period, which extended from April 1500 when the first Portuguese explorers set foot on the Brazilian shore to July 1822 when Brazil declared its independence from Portugal. The Jesuitic Period encompassed the years between 1549 when the Brazilian …

Four Essays On A Student's Expectation That They Will Complete College, Martin Gray Hunter

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

It has been common practice in the economics literature to utilize data on observed outcomes and negate what individuals believe or expect will happen in the future. Using responses to a unique set of questions in the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97) I show that the literature could benefit in several ways by incorporating such data. The leading essay documents a positive association between a student's subjective probabilistic belief that they will complete a four-year college degree and whether or not they attend and complete college. The results indicate the following. First, although overconfident, individuals as young as …

Impact Of Family Engagement On Child Outcomes In Preschool, Kathryn S. Ingham

Graduate Research Papers

This review considered the impact of family engagement on child outcomes in preschool and what variables impact the success of family engagement in preschool. Many child outcomes are affected by family engagement. This particular work focuses on child outcomes related to literacy and approaches to learning. The variables of the family engagement examined include demographics, culture, family unit, and socioeconomic status. Many forms and degrees of family engagement are described with the degree of success for family engagement determined by the actual participants. Findings of the review point towards family engagement promoting positive outcomes for children enrolled in preschool despite …

A Study Of The Factors Involved And The Strategies Employed By Michigan School Districts In Developing Deficit Elimination Plans, Sue C. Carnell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to study the factors that contribute to financial deficits, examine the strategies used to reduce deficits, and explore the barriers that may prohibit the reduction of financial deficits. As part of legislative mandates, school superintendents are faced with creating a deficit elimination plan to reduce the financial deficits facing their districts. In 2013, the State of Michigan began to shut down financially challenged districts for the first time. School districts labeled as “deficit districts” struggled to remove the designation assigned to them. Fifty-eight traditional Michigan public school districts with financial deficits between school years …

Music Of The Triangles: How Students Come To Understand Trigonometric Identities And Transformations, Neil Moshe Bornstein

Doctoral Dissertations

Trigonometry is an essential part of mathematics education (NCTM, 2000; NGA, 2010). Trigonometry is prevalent in studies of pure mathematics as well as physical applications. Trigonometric identities and transformations are particularly important. However, students and even teachers have struggled to articulate and justify trigonometric concepts (Moore, 2013; Tuna, 2013). Students have also struggled with identities and transformations in non-trigonometric contexts (Borba & Confrey, 1996; Tsai & Chang, 2009). This paper will describe a research project which articulates the critical stages through which students must pass to understand trigonometric identities and transformations. These critical stages were first hypothesized based on a …

How Much Is Enough? Teachers’ Perceptions Of Literacy Instruction And Common Core State Standards, Carol L. Butterfield, Sulee P. Kindle

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

As public school districts and teachers seek to understand the Common Core State Standards and what it means for literacy instruction, preservice teachers in universities are also learning about literacy and standards. The International Literacy Association (2016) defines literacy as "Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, compute, and communicate using visual, audible, and digital materials across disciplines and in any context." How is this definition applied to real-life teaching in the classroom? In this study preservice teachers are involved in analyzing interview data in regards to practicing teacher perceptions and attitudes about literacy instruction and the CCSS.

High Ability Instructional Designs And Practices In Indiana, Katelynn Moats

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case-study design was to explore the similarities and differences amongst three high ability instructional models, including self-contained classrooms, pull-out programs, and cluster grouping, as well as the Educational practices of enrichment and accelerated learning, including grade skipping and single subject acceleration. This case study focused on identifying themes between each instructional model and Educational practices in Indiana school districts, with the inclusion of interviews with high ability curriculum coordinators and the analysis of pre-existing data, indicating the effectiveness of each and the performance of students, who are immersed within high ability Educational experiences. This study …

Relationship Between Athletic Identity And Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Among Korean Collegiate Student Athletes, Jong Joo Moon

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored barriers that Korean collegiate student athletes confront with regard to pursuing careers outside of professional athletics. More specifically, the purpose of the study was to identify the barriers to Korean student athletes career development, as well as to examine the relationships among the psychological constructs of athlete identity and career decision making self-efficacy. A total of 321 Korean student athletes participated in the study, including 263 men (81.9%) and 59 women (18.1%). Participants completed demographic information along with a parental influence questionnaire, the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale, Career Decision Making Self-Efficacy Scale Short Form, and two open-ended …

Response To Intervention Training: Theory Into Practice For Sixth Grade Novice Teachers In Self-Contained Classrooms, Francita Mcmichel

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study examined the experiences from the professional development provided to four novice sixth grade teachers who employ reading interventions during Tier 2. Response to Intervention (RTI) is a systematic process that provides academic reading support to students through targeted interventions. RTI, when implemented effectively, reduces the number of students being identified for special Education services. The purpose of this study was to examine the perspective of 6th grade novice teachers training in Tier 2. The four public school teachers were interviewed after school and observed during their Tier 2 intervention block. Few studies have looked at the …

Teacher Evaluations: Do Classroom Observations And Evaluator Training Really Matter?, Sarah J. Pies

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the minimum number of observations stated in a districts teacher evaluation plan, observation characteristics described in a districts evaluation plan, and the characteristic of those evaluating teachers had an impact on whether a school would receive a bonus or penalty point for Indianas A-F accountability model. This study analyzed both math and English/language arts bonus and penalty points for all schools whose district has been implementing the new mandated teacher evaluation plan since the 2012–2013 school year. This included 3,997 schools within 215 districts in Indiana. Overall, when predicting whether a …

Teacher Perspectives On Full Inclusion Of Students With Learning Disabilities In Saudi Arabia High Schools, Majed Alqahtani

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes as a basis for understanding perceptions. Also, better understanding will provide a research-validated basis from which to project pathways for change. This study employed a quantitative methodology and utilized multiple regressions and compared teachers perceptions in regard to inclusive setting for students with learning disabilities in all KSA high schools. The Opinion Relative to Integration survey included 25 questions divided into four factors as criterion variables: benefit of integration, integrated classroom management, ability to teach students with learning disabilities, and special versus integrated general Education” (Antonak & Larrivee, 1995, p. 144). …

Do Direct Behavior Rating-Single Item Scales (Dbr-Sis) Help Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Regulate?, Regina M. Hildenbrand-Moore

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As accountability of teachers has been pushed to the forefront, it has been speculated that tolerance for students with behavior problems will dissipate (Menzies & Lane, 2011). Strategies that are efficient and effective are needed to help monitor behavior change and to help students learn to regulate their behavior. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common disorder of self-regulation (Barkley, 1997). An estimated three million children in the United States take medications for attention and behavior problems associated with deficits in self-regulation (Olfson, Marcus, Weissman, & Jensen, 2002). Self-regulation interventions have been proposed as methods that are effective in increasing …

Effect Of Directed Study Of Mathematics Vocabulary On Standardized Mathematics Assessment Questions, Adel Marlane Waite

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problems under investigation included (a) Did a directed study of mathematics vocabulary significantly affect student performance levels on standardized mathematical questions? and (b) Did the strategies used in this study significantly affect student performance levels on standardized mathematical questions? The population consisted of eighth-grade pre-algebra students from two different middle schools in southern Indiana. This quasi-experimental study was of a quantitative, repeated-measures design, using a population of approximately 140 eighth-grade students with a control sample of 37 and an experimental sample of 52. I performed a repeated measures ANCOVA to analyze scores from a mathematics vocabulary posttest for each …

The Male Mentor Figure In Women's Fiction, 1778-1801, Jessica R. Evans

Theses and Dissertations--English

This dissertation follows the development of the mentor figure from Frances Burney’s Evelina published in 1778 to Maria Edgeworth’s Belinda in 1801. The mentor becomes a key figure for exploring women’s revolutionary ideas on female education and women’s roles in society. My dissertation contributes to discussions on mentoring, development of the Gothic mode, and debates over sensibility and sentimental fiction. It considers how the female mentee paradoxically both desires and criticizes her male mentor and his authority. Each author under discussion employed the mentor figure in a way that addressed their contemporary society’s issues and prejudices toward the treatment of …

A Contemporary Citation Analysis Of Geography Education Journals: 2009–2015, Thom Gerrish, Donald Patrick Albert

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This study examined the flow of citations from 713 documents emanating from ten geography education journals from 2009 to 2011. The citations generated from these articles were tracked within and between this set of journals from 2009 through 2015. Our searches found 1,067 citations, or an average of 1.5 citations per article. After excluding self-citations, the remaining citations (33.6 percent) filtered out into other geography education journals and were classified into three groups: splash, wave, and ripple. Although the Journal of Geography in Higher Education generated the largest in-degree count, it shared the lead with the International Research in Geographical …

School Improvement Grants At Work: A Study Of Urban, Public New England Schools, Jessica M. Moro

Theses and Dissertations

Education policy and mandates have changed drastically over the last 40 years. As politicians began adopting educational platforms as part of their political agenda, the educational standards of the United States have risen. Politicians have specifically targeted underserved populations as the focus of their educational reforms. Programs such as Race to the Top, FERPA, and No Child Left Behind are examples of politicians attempting to provide all students with equitable educations, regardless of ethnicity, gender, and economic background. Just as it is naïve to believe that all students learn the same, it is also naïve to believe that there is …

A Semi-Automatic Grading Experience For Digital Ink Quizzes, Brooke Ellen Rhees

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers who want to assess student learning and provide quality feedback are faced with a challenge when trying to grade assignments quickly. There is currently no system which will provide both a fast-to-grade quiz and a rich testing experience. Previous attempts to speed up grading time include NLP-based text analysis to automate grading and scanning in documents for manual grading with recyclable feedback. However, automated NLP systems all focus solely on text-based problems, and manual grading is still linear in the number of students. Machine learning algorithms exist which can interactively train a computer quickly classify digital ink strokes. We …

Pilot Investigation Into The Use Of An Anthropomorphic Breast Sonography Phantom As A Training And Assessment Tool, Jacinta Browne, Louise Cannon, Ronan Mcdermott, Max Ryan, Andrew Fagan

Articles

A device for the training and quantitative assessment of the competency of trainee radiologists in the technically challenging area of breast sonography was developed and evaluated. Currently, suitable commercially available devices are lacking, and there is a growing realization that the reliance on direct exposure to patients for learning may not represent best practice from either the trainees' or patients' perspective. Three devices (PI, PII and PIII) were designed to produce very realistic sonographic images of breast morphology with a range of embedded pathologies. The pilot evaluation used a case study research design to evaluate the role of the anthropomorphic …