Education Commons^™

The Experiences Of Formerly Incarcerated Black Male Students At A Northeast Community College, Ashtian C. Holmes

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry is to understand the experiences of formerly incarcerated Black male students who attend a Northeast urban community college and the unique barriers they encounter while navigating the institution. The United States imprisons more people than any country in the world, and Black men are disproportionately overrepresented in the United States criminal legal system. At the same time, Black men, are severely underrepresented in higher education and lag behind their White and female counterparts in nearly all indicators of collegiate success, including enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. Formerly incarcerated individuals face unique and substantial barriers …

A Phenomenological Study Of Middle School Teachers’ Experiences Of Implementing Social Promotion Policies In A Public School District, Kelley L. Duffy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe middle school teachers’ experiences of implementing social promotion policies at a public school district in the southern United States. The study advanced understanding about teachers’ perceptions implementing social promotion policies and how those perceptions impacted their professional behaviors and identity. Weick’s sensemaking theory guided this study as it explains how individuals define and give meaning to their reality when ambiguities and uncertainties exist. The study was designed to explore the central research question, what are middle school teachers’ shared experiences with social promotion policies at a public school district in …

System-Level Leaders’ Local Control Of Teacher Supervision And Evaluation Under Every Student Succeeds Act, Douglas Wieczorek, Israel Aguilar, Ian M. Mette

Organization and School Leadership Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article investigates school system leaders’ influence and control over local teacher supervision and evaluation systems (TSES) guided by the United States’ (U.S.) Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Using qualitative, textual document analysis methods, we analyzed 50 states’ ESSA policies to determine the extent to which local education agencies have flexible TSES authority granted by state and federal guidelines. The study findings indicate that a majority of U.S. state-level policies mandate standardized TSES tools and processes at the local district level. In order to optimally meet students’ and teachers’ needs, we recommend that systems-level leaders prioritize community driven visions for …

Making It To The Next Grade: How Elementary School Principals Make Sense Of Grade Retention Policies For English Learners, Lynmara Colón

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Critical approaches to policy suggest that policy, even in the most apparently democratic polity or institution, codifies and extends the interests of those who disproportionately wield power (Levinson et al., 2009). While many people are involved in conversations and decisionmaking processes related to the implementation of grade retention or promotion policies, the final decision is made at the school level. Critics of grade retention, meanwhile, also warn that retained students may be harmed by stigmatization, reduced expectations for their academic performance on the part of teachers and parents, and the challenges of adjusting to a new peer group (Schwerdt et …

Teachers Report Card 2021: Teachers’ Perceptions Of Education And Their Profession, Australian College Of Educators

Australian College of Educators - National

Teachers play a central role in the development of Australia’s young people. It is essential that their voices are heard by those who make and decide policy, and by others who influence their learning and development. The NEiTA-ACE Teachers Report Card 2021is based on a survey of amplifying the voices of teachers on the state of education and on their profession.

The Relationship Between Virginia Title 1 Spending And Minority Male Graduation Rates: A Longitudinal Study, Anastacio B. Marin

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Over the past two decades, education funding in the United States has been redistributed to schools that lack sufficient financial resources to meet the needs of students (Boyle & Lee, 2015). The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), was enacted to increase academic accountability and achievement throughout the nation’s public-school systems. Nationwide, there is a persistent achievement gap between historically marginalized students and their affluent peers. This gap is evident in the Commonwealth of Virginia when measuring student proficiency on End of Course Assessments (EOCAs). For schools serving a large …

Teachers' Efforts To Support Undocumented Students Within Ambiguous Policy Contexts, Hillary Parkhouse, Virginia R. Massaro, Melissa J. Cuba, Carolyn N. Waters

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Although education scholars have recently focused greater attention on the experiences of undocumented youth in schools, few studies have examined educators' perceptions of their roles and responsibilities with regards to this population. Since the 1982 Supreme Court decision Plyler v. Doe guaranteed education to this group and barred schools from inquiring about immigration status, little additional policy has offered guidance on how schools can support this group while also refraining from identifying it's members. Policies are particularly lacking in new destination areas where there are fewer resources and less infrastructure for new immigrant populations. As increasingly harsh immigration enforcement policies …

The Changing Ecology Of The Curriculum Marketplace In The Era Of The Common Core State Standards, Emily Hodge, Serena J. Salloum, Susanna L. Benko

Department of Educational Leadership Scholarship and Creative Works

This manuscript explores how the changing policy context of common standards may have influenced the provision of curriculum materials in the United States. Many educational reforms do little to change the nature of classroom instruction, and prior research has argued that this constancy is, at least in part, due to the common use of instructional materials from a small set of large publishing companies (Rowan in J Educ Change 3(3–4):283–314, 2002). However, common standards have been in place in many states since 2010, creating the potential for states to create and share curricular materials with each other, as well as …

Understanding Racial Inequity In School Discipline Across The Richmond Region, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Adai Tefera, David Naff, Ashlee Lester, Jesse Senechal, Rachel Levy, Virginia Palencia, Mitchell Parry, Morgan Debusk-Lane

MERC Publications

This report comes from the MERC Achieving Racial Equity in School Disciplinary Policies and Practices study. Launched in the spring of 2015, the purpose of this mixed- method study was to understand the factors related to disproportionate school discipline outcomes in MERC division schools. The study had two phases. Phase one (quantitative) used primary and secondary data to explore racial disparities in school discipline in the MERC region as well as discipline programs schools use to address them. Phase two (qualitative) explored the implementation of discipline programs in three MERC region schools, as well as educator and student perceptions …

Cognitive Assessment Of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students:Evidence For Current Practices, Aaron Pomeranz, Hannah Luken

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Evidence from placement data show that culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students are over-identified for learning and intellectual disabilities (Donovan & Cross, 2002). Cognitive assessments play a central role in correctly identifying CLD students for special education services. This study reviewed the literature to determine support for three methods of cognitive assessment with CLD students. Search results revealed that although there was considerable research supporting the use of the Cultural-Linguistic Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM) and Nonverbal Assessment, there was also much research disputing their use. Much of the support the C-LIM and Dual Language Assessment was not from peer reviewed research. …

Karmel Oration: Leading Schools And School Systems In Times Of Change: A Paradox And A Quest, Toby Greany

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

The ‘paradox’ in this title refers to a set of contradictions that sit at the heart of education policy in many school systems. Policymakers in these systems want things that, if not inherently at odds, are nevertheless in tension— such as a tightly defined set of national standards and a broad and balanced curriculum; academic stretch for the most able and a closing of the gap between high and low performers; choice and diversity and equity; and so on. The ‘quest’ is for leaders and leadership to resolve these tensions in practice. School autonomy policies have placed huge power in …

Quality Education In Idaho: A Case Study Of Academic Achievement In Three High-Poverty Rural Schools, Christine Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research is bridging the achievement gap for students living in poverty through quality education. Such a study is important because the percentage of students affected by poverty is increasing and the persistent gap in achievement evidences that the right to quality education for students in poverty is not being met. This is mixed-methods study of three high-poverty elementary schools in Idaho. Both quantitative (achievement test scores) and qualitative data (interviews of seventeen teachers and principals) are compared and contrasted. The findings provide evidence that quality education for students in poverty requires relatable curriculum, teachers who are …

Do School Discipline Policies Treat Students Fairly? A Second Look At School Discipline Rate Disparities, Kaitlin Anderson, Gary W. Ritter

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Much work has documented that African-American students are more likely to receive expulsions and suspensions than their white peers. These disparities are troubling, but researchers and policymakers need more information to fully understand this issue. We use three years of student level discipline data for an entire state to assess whether non-white students are receiving different disciplinary consequences from their white peers in the same schools, for similar infractions and with similar behavioral history. We find that Black students received more severe (longer) punishments than their White peers in the state for the same types of infractions. These differences are …

Teachers Report Card: Teachers' Perceptions Of Education And Their Profession, Australian College Of Educators

Australian College of Educators - National

The inaugural ASG-ACE Teachers Report Card, a joint initiative between ASG and the Australian College of Educators (ACE) surveyed teachers on a range of issues including testing, curriculum, stress, wellbeing, support, engagement, satisfaction, technology and opportunity at schools. The report confirmed teachers are passionate about their job, with 96 per cent of respondents saying they find teaching rewarding, and 91 per cent of teachers either 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with their profession. Nine out of 10 teachers reported a sense of pride about their profession and speak positively about their jobs to their friends and family. This is not surprising …

Hiring The Most Effective Teachers: An Examination Of Policy And Practice In Pennsylvania, Barbara Launi Powers

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Hiring the most effective teachers not only has an impact on America’s children, but on America’s economic future as well. For two decades, much research about the failings of America’s schools has been conducted. Since the advent of No Child Left Behind (2002), never has more focus been applied to teaching quality. Hiring the best teachers for our children leverages the single largest in-school influence on achievement. James Coleman, in his seminal work, The Coleman Report (1967), notes that a child’s home socio-economic status and race are more significant influences than any in-house school influence. Subsequent research on teacher quality …

Authentic Servant-Leadership Exemplified By Early Childhood Educator David Lawrence Jr.: A Case Study, Blanca Correa-Cespedes

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Advocacy and leadership style are essential concepts in education. This qualitative case study was undertaken to demonstrate how Robert K. Greenleaf’s servant-leadership framework could be a useful framework to adopt by educational leaders and child advocates. Servant-leadership identifies the needs of others as a primary goal of leadership. The study contributes to understanding the value of exemplary servant-leadership and advocacy in public education as demonstrated by David Lawrence Jr. The researcher addressed questions regarding how Lawrence embodies servant-leadership traits and explored how a servant-leader has been positively influencing early childhood public educational policy in Florida to benefit all children.

There …

The Predictive Power Of Community, Family, And School Variables On Student Achievement On The Nj Ask Language Arts Literacy In New Jersey In Grades 6 And 7, Meredith Fox

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This non-experimental, correlational, explanatory, cross-sectional study using quantitative methods sought to determine which combination of 20 out-of-school community demographic factors, while controlling for two school level variables, predicted and accounted for the most variance in New Jersey schools’ percentages of students scoring Proficient or above on the 2010 NJ ASK Language Arts Literacy in sixth and seventh grades. This study focused on both community variables and school level variables to determine whether the current federal and state evaluation policies in place for schools and school personnel that utilize student outcomes on high-stakes standardized assessments are reasonable. The study examined over …

School Policies, Leadership, And Learning With Technologies : An International Comparative Study, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

Little research has been conducted into the links or intersections between school leadership, teaching and learning with technologies, and the quality of students' outcomes at school. While it is recognised that principals hold a central position in leading schools pedagogical and administrative practices, little is known about what is the role of the school principal in implementing policies that are aimed at improving the quality of teaching and learning in schools, or to achieve smart student learning outcomes. These issues are examined in this paper by reviewing and analysing national school education policies from Singapore, Finland and Hong Kong: countries …

Is School Reform Working?, Geoff N. Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Asynchronous Learning Networks: Policy Implications For Minority Serving Institutions And For Leaders Addressing Needs Of Minority Learners, Janet K. Poley

IACE Hall of Fame Repository

For minority serving institutions, policies that support learners call for decisions about equity, quality, cost, impact on national economic performance and international global relationships