Education Commons^™

Influential Factors Of School Culture On Teacher Self-Efficacy And Motivation: An Ethnographic Case Study, Katrina Washington Rouse

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this qualitative study was to determine the influence of teacher perception of ownership and empowerment on teacher self-efficacy and motivation. Tools of ethnography were used to create a descriptive narrative of teacher perceptions. Data was collected through focus group and individual interviews.

Results show that teacher perception of ownership and empowerment can influence teacher self-efficacy and motivation. Even though most teachers are intrinsically motivated, teachers still wanted to feel valued. Other factors that influence teacher perceptions of ownership and empowerment included relationships with colleagues and opportunities for shared leadership

This study concludes that teacher perception of ownership …

Crew As A Tool To Foster Belonging At School, Leendert De Visser

Master of Education Program Theses

This research study evaluated the effectiveness of Crew as a model to cultivate a sense of belonging among high school students. Crew, as it was implemented at this school, involved the daily meeting of a group of approximately twelve students of different genders and grade levels with the goal of building a sense of community in the student body. The participants were students at a private Christian high school in Ontario, Canada. The study consisted of a closed-ended survey of the student body and semi-structured interviews with eight students. The results of the study revealed that students perceived Crew, as …

Culture Change: Examining The Impact Of Professional Learning Communities And Trust On School Culture, Jessica Floyd

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact professional learning community (PLC) implementation and collegial trust have at the organizational level and the effect these elements have on the positive school culture that nurtures academic achievement in select rural Title I elementary schools located in southeastern North Carolina. An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach was used to design the study. The study occurred in two phases. Phase 1 was the collection of quantitative data from the Learning Community Culture Indicator (LCCI) 4.0 survey (Williams et al., 2007) and the Team Trust Inventory (Costa & Anderson, 2011). Phase 2 …

Peer Coaching At An Independent School, Lindsay Anderson

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research study investigated the effects of peer coaching on an independent school’s culture, professional development, and growth mindset. The participants were eight middle scholar teachers, including the researcher. Each participant volunteered to be a part of a peer coaching pilot team in the spring semester of the 2018-2019 school year. Throughout the course of the pilot program, the participants were surveyed and interviewed independently on the topics of school culture, professional development, and growth mindset. As a team, the participants engaged in pre-observation, observation, and post-observation meetings as well as a final interview to debrief the pilot peer …

Writing Development Of Emerget Bilinguals: School-Wide Contextual Factors, Alma Rosa Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

The State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) measures Texas public school students’ knowledge and skills in many areas, including fourth grade writing. This system requires that students meet a certain performance standard score in writing to be successful. This state mandate impacts many Texas districts, teachers, and students. Districts must be prepared with necessary resources and tools to meet the writing needs of all students, including emergent bilinguals.

This case study focused on investigating how a bilingual teacher in a bilingual campus taught writing to her emergent bilinguals. Using the writer’s workshop approach, which many districts implement to …

Creating Grace And Space: The Foundation On Which Progressive Educators Build A Sense Of Belonging And Safety For Marginalized Gender And Sexual Diverse High School Students, Lisa M. Ortiz

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This descriptive case study focused on a single high school community which is intentional in its efforts to craft a school culture, fostering belonging and safety in students who are Gender and Sexual Diverse (GSD). The researcher examined the perspectives of classroom-based and non-classroom-based educators, as they strove to articulate how they address the needs of this student-population without negatively impacting academic and other school priorities, and how they incorporate understandings regarding this population into their practice. Through a multi-phase process including interviews, observations, focus group, and document analysis, the researcher explored how seven educator-participants navigate changing demographics both personally …

The Impact Of Classroom Management On New Teachers At A Newly Opened Elementary School, Larry Peaden Jones

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation in practice outlines an action research project that was designed in order to solve the research question of: What is the impact of Capturing Kids’ Hearts on improving the classroom management of beginning teachers and district new-hires in a new elementary school setting? This question was proposed on the idea that classroom management is something that many teachers will face as a challenge; especially beginning teachers. The Capturing Kids’ Hearts program was also determined to be beneficial as it contains attributes that would allow any teacher to obtain some useful information from the information. This action research project …

Studies In The Creation And Implementation Of School Cultures: Two New York City Stand-Alone Charter Schools, Olivia-Beate A. Franzini

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the last thirty years the United States has seen a rise in charter school education and with that an influx of discussion over the best way to successfully educate college and career ready students. Many of these charter schools have their own unique philosophy on education and disciplinary codes to aid in the attainment of their success. The following case studies were conducted through participant observation in two start-up charter schools. At the time of study both institutions were in their second year of creation. These schools have opposing philosophies on education; the first School “A” is an independent …

Professional Learning Communities And School Culture: A Case Of Study In District-Wide Implementation Of A Plc, Jaime Lopez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study is to explore what influence a school district’s transformation to a PLC had on culture. In particular, the study examined what dimensions of a PLC are evident, how the district approached the change process, and its influence on student achievement. The methodology employed in this study is a Type 2 single-case study. Data regarding this district’s implementation of a PLC, and its influence on school culture was gathered via sources of evidence common in case study research; survey, documents, archival records, direct observations, and interviews. In summary, the findings suggest the following; (1) PLC work …

A Case Study Of Three Rural Schools: Factors, Characteristics, And Conditions That Influence School Performance Scores, Jacqueline L. Mason

Doctoral Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to explore three rural Louisiana PK-12 schools with high percentages of minority and high poverty populations and to examine how activities, conditions, events, policies, and procedures in these schools might be associated with their consistent growth in School Performance Scores across the period 2001-2005. Qualitative data were collected from individual interviews, researcher observations, focus groups, and analyses of school documents. Constant comparison theory was used to triangulate data across the three schools and to identify emerging themes and patterns common to all schools. The study was one of mixed methods; most of the data …