Education Commons^™

Personality Type, Self-Efficacy, And Learning Style Preference: A Quantitative Study Of Ninth-Grade Students In Missouri, Katie Lee Mock

Dissertations

Personality types, learning style preferences, and self-efficacy domains of ninth-grade students in southwest Missouri were explored in this study. The study was conducted to shed light on needs assessments used to identify learner differences due to the rise of mixed-ability classrooms. Five selected schools participated in the study during the 2019-2020 school year. The Big Five Personality survey was used to identify the dominant personality type of each participant: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, or neuroticism. The Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) was used to identify the dominant self-efficacy domain for each participant: academic, social, or emotional. The Thinking and Learning …

Perceptual Differences Between Lighthouse Team Members And Non-Lighthouse Team Members Regarding School Attendance, Classroom Discipline, And School Climate In Leader In Me Schools, Nina J. Henson

Dissertations

The Leader in Me is a school approach with a focus on socioemotional education adopted by over 3,000 schools across the globe (Soutter, 2018, p.8). As culture continues to change with technology and new social aspects, character education programs must continue to adapt as well to support student needs within schools (Rocco, 2018). This quantitative study was designed to identify differences in perceptions of Lighthouse Team members and Non-Lighthouse Team members about how the Leader in Me impacts student attendance, classroom discipline, and school culture. Surveys were sent to educators in 22 schools in southern Missouri who had implemented the …

Study Of Preservice Teachers’ Preparation For Di: Investigating Data For Secondary Teacher Candidates In One Research University, Matthew Trp Dittrich

Dissertations

This dissertation, A Study of Preservice Teachers’ Preparation for DI: Investigating Data for Secondary Teacher Candidates in One Research University, was a mixed methods study of secondary data that analyzed the results of undergraduate and graduate teacher candidate scores on the three different instruments, which were used by a midwestern university in their teacher preparation program for state teacher certification. The purpose of this study was to examine if graduate preservice teacher candidates and undergraduate preservice teacher candidates were equally prepared in the area of differentiated instruction. The study also included an examination of preservice training among these teacher candidates. …

A Mixed-Method Study Analyzing The Impact Of Continuing Education On K-12 Educators, Jennifer Sue Edler

Dissertations

Teachers are consistently developing learners that independently seek to gain knowledge and skills throughout life (Blaschke, 2012). Educators must desire to learn new and improved skills to gain knowledge. The new regulations and qualifications, and standards surrounding a career in education require teachers to become continual learners. Professional development is the practice of teachers continuing to grow in their fields and varies depending on personal preference, personal interests, and professional history, as well as addresses issues present in their district or school (Day, 1999). Educational policies and laws outline the need for high-quality professional development for teachers. However, little evidence …

Block Versus Traditional Scheduling In High School: Teacher And Student Attitudes, Martin James Spence

Dissertations

The focus of this study was to identify the preferred schedule type (block or traditional) for students and teachers in high schools. Additionally, the purpose of the study was to explore why high schools should assess how time is used during the school day. Survey responses about time management practices of students and teachers at one high school were reported, and implications for how to construct a schedule based on the survey responses were explored. Students and teachers with experience in block and traditional scheduling formats were surveyed for the study. Participants received an online survey and were asked to …

A Comparative Study Of Teacher Efficacy Based On Their Years Of Service, Aaron Robert Thomas

Dissertations

Efficacy is thought to be one of the most influential factors in student achievement however, there appears to be little research on how efficacy and years of service are related. Research which does investigate this area mainly focused on preservice and teachers who are starting their careers. This mixed-methods study was designed to determine if there was a correlation between years of service and collective and self-efficacy as well as gain insights into teachers’ perceptions of both collective and self-efficacy. Results of the study found self-efficacy followed an arc pattern, starting out low then rising to its peak for teachers …

Self-Determination Theory And Faculty Behavior: A Quantitative Study Of Faculty Leaders' Use Of Assessment Evidence, Joseph D. Levy

Dissertations

Despite assessment of student learning being essential work in higher education, a number of institutions have noted faculty could more effectively be using assessment results (Jankowski et al., 2018; Kuh et al., 2015; Metzler & Kurz, 2019; Suskie, 2014). This study applied Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a theoretical framework to provide context for faculty behavior associated with assessment actions (Fuller et al., 2016; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Mostly quantitative data were collected via electronic survey of faculty program leaders at a single institution, National Louis University (NLU). Results indicated a significant and positive relationship suggesting an increase in meeting the …

What Are The Impacts Of Setting Student Learning Objectives On Classroom Instruction And Student Achievement?, Jessica Plaza

Dissertations

Student learning objectives have emerged as a tool to not only measure student growth, but also as a tool to assess an educator’s impact on student learning. The purpose of this inquiry was to determine what, if any, impact student learning objectives have on an educator's instructional planning and delivery, and then create a change plan that addressed the strengths and needs of the educators involved in order to further support growth in utilizing student learning objectives to positively impact student learning.

This research utilized a mixed methods approach to this inquiry. There was analysis of educator reflections submitted as …

The Primary Dilemma: Determining And Overcoming Barriers To A Focus On Prekindergarten Through Grade 3, Sarah Turner Lukas, Sarah Turner Lukas

Dissertations

In 2017, reporters of national data in regard to reading ability among American, fourth grade students indicated low proficiency and achievement gaps. These results were also consistent within the state and district under study. There is a need to increase the focus on prekindergarten and primary grade education taking place prior to the grades in which federally mandated, accountability assessments for student learning take place. The purpose of this study is to determine the potential barriers to a paradigm shift at the state and district levels from a focus on state-assessed grade levels to prekindergarten and primary grade levels. The …

Gaps In The Mental Health System,Justice System And The Transition To Adulthood: An Analysis Of Unmet Needs, Maria Gremli Sanders

Dissertations

ABSTRACT More than two million adolescents and young adults are interconnected with the justice system every year. An alarming number of transitional age young adults (ages 17-25 years) in the United States justice system suffer with serious emotional problems that have at least one diagnosable mental health illness. The multiple needs for rehabilitation among these young adults have often gone unmet, and thus, they have become an extremely vulnerable subgroup in the justice system. The purpose of this study was to explore issues of disparity within mental health services, the justice system, and the unmet needs of transitional age young …

How Informal Education Programs Can Learn From Higher Education Assessment: Evaluating The Morton Arboretum's N-Act Program, Jeremy A. Joslin

Dissertations

As a response to the debate about the worth of completing a degree, higher education has built a set of assessment practices intended to quantify the change in a student as they matriculate from a first year to a graduate controlling for the different backgrounds of students. Cultural institutions like museums, zoos, aquariums, and public gardens face similar questions about the value they bring to their communities, and traditionally have relied on attendance-based data as a matter of convenience that falls well short of demonstrating impact as an informal learning setting. This study suggests higher education’s assessment practices can be …

The Effects Of Character Education Programs On School Climate And Student Discipline In Grades 6-8 Through The Eyes Of Substitute Teachers, Javier Lozano

Dissertations

This research study used surveys and one on one interviews conducted with substitute teachers to investigate whether character education programs in a middle school setting can be observed having a noticeable impact on school culture and climate. The study observed findings through the lens and perspectives of substitute teachers to see if guest teachers reported a significant difference in their experience between schools of character versus schools that did not practice character initiatives. The study investigated this Research Question through exploring four topics: 1) how substitute teachers described schools that are actively involved in character education versus those schools that …

An Empirical Study Of Design Parameters For Planning Two-Level And Three-Level Cluster Randomized Trials To Detect Moderator Effects, Qi Zhang

Dissertations

In the last two decades, we have seen an increasing number of impact studies in education that are designed to detect a meaningful average treatment effect, which answers the what works question. Recently, researchers have started to consider how to expand the design of impact studies to answer questions regarding the treatment effect heterogeneity across different contexts, such as for whom and under what conditions programs work. Answering these questions is imperative in the quest to make evidence-based and context-relevant decisions to improve educational outcomes for all students.

Many of the impact studies utilize a cluster randomized trial (CRT). CRTs …

Effects Of Participation In The Summit Learning Platform By Gender On Student Academic Achievement, Taryn Enjoli Echols

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects by gender of the Summit Learning Platform on student achievement in mathematics, English, reading, and Science measured by the ACT Aspire Summative Assessment for ninth-grade students in four schools in Arkansas. This study provides an in-depth study of mastery learning versus personalized learning through the Summit Learning Platform. The theoretical framework is centered on the comparisons of the mastery mode of learning. Schools A and D participated in the Summit Learning Platform for 2 years. Schools B and C did not participate in the personalized learning platform. Scores from 120 …

A Study Of One-To-One Computer Usage And Student Levels Of Engagement And Rigor And Teacher Perception, Matthew Mooney

Dissertations

At the time of this writing, one-to-one technology programs at the secondary level were increasingly common in public schools in the United States. The debate over the value and benefit technological devices provided continues. The researcher compared observational data from a school prior to one-to-one computer implementation and post one-to-one computer implementation, collecting the Depth of Knowledge associated with the classroom learning activity. Using a rigor and engagement technology tool for data collection, classrooms were observed the year prior to a one-to-one program and then the following year, during the implementation. This quantitative study revealed the overall rigor levels did …

Variables Affecting Student Veterans’ And Student Service Members’ Success In Higher Education, Warren Ray Spadoni

Dissertations

The researcher recognized four independent variables identified as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, mild traumatic brain injury, and traumatic brain injury which influenced the educational attainment of student veterans and student service members in post-secondary education. There were six dependent variables identified as integration, transitioning, social learning, social cognition, quality of life, and perceived self-efficacy which were recognized by the researcher as having influenced the educational attainment of student veterans and student service members in post-secondary education. The researcher posited higher education institutions did not fully understand or acknowledge the combat or service-related independent variables organic to student service members or …

Undergraduate Educational Research Experiences In The Study Of Interior Design, Julia Virginia Pimentel Jiménez

Dissertations

Designers create social constructions (experiences and interactions) for human beings among themselves and with and within interior environments to enhance meaning in people´s lives (Poldma, 2011). Those social constructions are created through the design process developed by the interior designer; that process relies heavily on design research. Therefore, it is at the undergraduate level that the passion for research should start for interior design (ID) students. Faculty in ID programs need to encourage that passion by engage students in meaningful learning experiences such as how to ask questions about users, functions, activities, and aesthetics.

This study explored what types of …

A Mixed-Method Investigation Of The Best Practices Of Online Education In Southwestern China At Four Public Universities By Yu Hao, Yu Hao

Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to discover the best practices of online education in Southwestern China in order to improve the quality of online education in the region. The Chinese overall higher education online courses and programs are continuously expanding (Chou & Lu, 2013). However, the Chinese southwest region’s online education was still in its initial stages, which lacks research and reports regarding regional online education development. This study is innovative research essential to assist in online education development in Southwestern China. The researcher conducted this study at four universities that reflected the local culture. According to Baghdad …

Student Achievement And Teacher Efficacy In Multiage Team-Taught Versus Single-Age Classrooms, Troy A. Marnholtz

Dissertations

This study was conducted to compare the effects of classroom setting on student performance and teachers’ sense of efficacy. In this study, student performance on the Missouri Assessment Program grade-level assessments at the third and fourth-grade levels was utilized to compare the multiage team-taught classroom setting versus singleage classroom setting. The teachers’ sense of efficacy on the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) survey was also analyzed to compare multiage team-taught classroom setting and single-age classroom setting. The data were interpreted to support that students in multiage team-taught classroom settings outperformed similar age students in single-age classroom settings on the …

Program Evaluation Of A District’S Elementary School Wellness Curriculum To Improve Undergraduate Training, Katie Boyer

Dissertations

This doctoral research project examined elementary teachers’ preparation to teach health content (Emotional, Relationships, Growth and Development, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Hygiene, Safety, Substance Use/Misuse, Diseases, Environmental/Consumer/Community Health) within the framework for a state’s certification and qualifications. The study used a mixed-methods approach in a Midwest school district to discover components of undergraduate certifications, current teaching methods, and potential modifications to the curriculum. While all surveyed elementary teachers were licensed to teach the health content, many were not formally qualified to teach the material due to content gaps in their teacher preparation programs. The study concluded that undergraduate institutions preparing teachers …

An Exploration Of Preschool Choice With Low-Income Families: The Critical Role Of Positive Attitudes, Behavioral Norms And Control Beliefs, Laurel E. Schmitt

Dissertations

Since the 1960s preschool has been seen as a potential equalizer for children of poverty as they enter kindergarten and long term studies of state and federal preschools have documented positive impacts, especially for low-income students. What has yet to be deeply explored is guardians’ decision-making processes to explain the lack of enrollment even when the stated barriers are eliminated (Obi, 2011; Payne, 1994; Swartz, 1996).

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and interpret, through a phenomenological lens, how low income parents and guardians made decisions to enroll their child or dependent in a preschool program. I …

Dominican Nursing Students’ Self-Reported Mastery Of International Nursing Competencies, Wady Ramirez

Dissertations

The Dominican health care system has many challenges to meet the legal and the population’s health care expectations (La Hoz, 2018; United States Agency for International Development, 2013). The purpose of this study was to evaluate how well Dominican nursing students, who have completed their internship but not yet defended their final career project, assessed themselves against a set of international nursing competencies. In addition, the purpose was to explore any differences in their self-assessments based on whether these students completed their internship at public health care centers or not. Finally, the goal was to determine to what extent do …

Saudi Arabian Science Teachers And Formative Assessment In The Gender Segregated Male School System, Khalid Abdullah Kariri

Dissertations

Formative assessment is a key pedagogical tool that allows teachers to make instructional assessments in real time for the improvement of student learning. It gives students the opportunity to provide evidence of their learning thus giving teachers assurances that their hard work is not in vain. Formative assessment is commonly practiced in Western schools, while most Saudi science classroom teachers rely on end-of-unit summative assessment. A review of the literature reveals that very little research has been done related to Saudi teachers’ use of formative assessment in science classrooms. The goal of this dissertation was to address this absence of …

Teachers’ Experiences In Schools That Serve Rural Communities In The Dominican Republic: Their Readiness To Respond To Challenges, Nidia Beatriz Columna Pérez

Dissertations

In 2016, the Dominican Institute for Evaluation and Research of Educational Quality (IDEICE), indicated educational inequalities due to the geographical location of schools in the Dominican Republic. Despite several policies enacted by the Ministry of Education, including curriculum and teacher credentialing reforms, success indicators such as completion rates and academic performance still suggest a major achievement gap. Limitations in understanding the unique characteristics of schools that serve student in rural communities contribute to education policies that may not be sufficiently sensitive to those circumstances. One particular area of insufficient understanding is the manner in which teachers experience teaching in schools …

Parent And Guardian Perspectives Regarding Attendance: Evidence From A Governmental Early Childhood Education And Care Program, Rita L. Cruz Santelises

Dissertations

In 2013, the Dominican government began the implementation of a national plan called Quisqueya Empieza Contigo (QEC) (Exec. Order No. 102, 2013), aimed to fulfill the needs of children zero to five years old holistically. The National Institute of Comprehensive Care (INAIPI, acronym in Spanish) carries two of the most ambitious programs embedded in this national plan. Early Childhood is the governmental institution authorized to carry out this recent intervention. The intervention has increased coverage of early childhood services through two programs: Programmed Comprehensive Family Care centered on the community (Centro de Atención Familiar e Infancia, [CAFI]) and the Comprehensive …

The Effects Of Socioeconomic Status On Mathematical Achievement, Joshua Lee Holt

Dissertations

Socioeconomic background is one of the strongest, best-established predictors of a student’s academic achievement (Claro, Paunesku, & Dweck, 2016). The purpose of this study was to conclude the difference in mathematics achievement levels based on socioeconomic status determined by the concentration of free and reduced price meal rates in elementary schools grades K-4. Identification of specific mathematics achievement gaps could lead to a more individualized program of instruction and increased awareness of professional learning needs at instructional sites. To recognize if there was a difference in mathematical achievement levels based on socioeconomic concentration, three quantitative research questions were asked as …

Music Education As A Strategy To Narrow The Achievement Gap: A Causal-Comparative Analysis Of Band And Choir Enrollment And Academic Achievement Of Low Socioeconomic Status Students, William Zwikelmaier

Dissertations

There is a gap in the knowledge pertaining to socioeconomic status as a variable in academic achievement among students those who enroll in band and/or choir in public high schools in America. Research has shown that students who engage in music study consistently show higher levels of academic achievement in other subjects compared to their non-music study peers. It is necessary to study those who typically do not perform at the same academic levels as their peers (low socioeconomic status (SES) students) and determine if the formal study of music alone can serve as a strategy to contribute to closing …

A Phenomenological Study Of Teacher Perceptions Of Blended Learning: Definition, Adoption, And Professional Development, Gregory A. Katzin

Dissertations

Blended learning has become a popular alternative to traditional instruction. Professional development that supports teachers’ practice of the phenomenon continues to evolve (Shand & Glassett Farrelly, 2017). The purpose of this phenomenological, mixed method study was to investigate high school teachers’ perceptions, through the lens of Knowles’ adult learning theory (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2015), of the definition of blended learning, the impact previous professional development had in shaping definitional understanding and implementation of blended learning, and perceptions of future professional development needs. Few studies have focused on secondary blended learning professional development and the impact shared definitions of blended …

Using Online Interventions To Address Summer Learning Loss In Rising Sixth-Graders, Scott Osborne, Robert Shaw

Dissertations

Summer learning loss affects students to different degrees across curriculum areas. Traditional content review methods have often included workbooks or practice packets that lacked real-time feedback to the student. This study provided optional weekly online math and science review lessons to rising sixthgraders in two midwestern schools over the ten-week summer break. Students received both automated feedback from the online environment and teacher feedback in response to student questions or information students needed to acquire mastery. Students also had the opportunity to revise and edit their work. A test group, summer computer-based intervention group (SCBI), and a control group, completed …

Leading For Excellence: Leadership Behaviors That Support A High-Achieving School Environment, Amy Parangan

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine the degree of importance for the 12-step principles proposed by Harvey, Drolet, and DeVore (2014) to create a K-12 school environment that fosters high student achievement as perceived by public school elementary principals in Northern California. A secondary purpose was to explore and describe the leadership strategies for implementing the 12-step principles proposed by Harvey et al. (2014) to create a K-12 school environment that fosters high student achievement as perceived by public school elementary principals in Northern California.

Methodology: The researcher used sequential explanatory mixed methods for this …