Education Commons^™

Teacher Perceptions Of Reading Aloud Informational Texts To K-2 Students, Kim Cooper

Ed.D. Dissertations

Beginning in the 1950s, learning to read was a major focus in elementary schools. Children typically began their reading journey with listening skills. Hearing sounds for letters, then words, come to life from the pages of a book were engaging to children. One way teachers engaged students in learning to read was to read aloud to them in their classrooms. Typically, teachers in Kindergarten through 2nd grade (K-2) read aloud fiction storybooks. I conducted this basic qualitative interpretive study to research teachers’ perceptions of reading aloud informational texts to students in their K-2 classrooms. There was a gap in the …

Teachers’ And Principals’ Perceptions Of The Influence Of Principal Behaviors On Middle School Culture, Heather Daniel

Ed.D. Dissertations

Before this study, the research was limited regarding teachers’ perceptions of their principals and the influence on school culture. Even less research was dedicated to self-perceptions of principals’ behaviors within a middle school setting. Due to the lack of research, further investigation was necessary to understand specific behaviors performed by middle school principals and their influence on school culture. In this study, and teachers from one Tennessee county responded to questionnaires to investigate the relationship between perceptions of teachers and principals on principal behaviors and the influence on school culture. Through this study, principals and teachers listed multiple principal behaviors …

K-12 Teachers’ Perceptions Of Preparedness And Training To Provide Instruction And Support To English Language Learners, Rebecca Doxsee

Ed.D. Dissertations

The increased number of English language learners in the general education classroom created the need for teachers to be knowledgeable about how to instruct and support English language learners. Due to the minimal extant literature related to K-12 teachers’ preparedness and training, specifically regarding English language learners, the purpose of this qualitative, interpretive study was to examine the perceptions of Tennessee K-12 teachers related to preparedness and training to provide instruction and support to English language learners in the general education classroom. I emailed the questionnaire to 63 potential participants and received questionnaire responses from 44 (69.84%) K-12 teachers. I …

Elementary School Educators’ Perceptions Of Discipline Policies And The Overrepresentation Of Discipline Outcomes In Urban Settings, William Casey Cooper

Ed.D. Dissertations

Since the formation of schools, schools have developed ways of understanding discipline and ensuring a safe and orderly environment. Governmental personnel began to influence local school policies beginning in 1989, with United States President Ronald Reagan’s War on Drugs campaign. This led to the creation and development of zero-tolerance policies. School districts implemented zero-tolerance policies, which helped lead to the overrepresentation of discipline outcomes (i.e., punishment) among certain demographics. Following the Critical Race Theory theoretical framework, I interviewed 12 participants to determine their perceptions of discipline policies and the overrepresentation of discipline outcomes in urban settings. My participants included elementary …

Third Grade Students' Occupational Aspirations And Perceptions Of Parents' Career Satisfaction, Tiffany Corum

Ed.D. Dissertations

At the time of this writing, little research had been completed on the occupational aspirations of students and students’ perceptions of their parents’ career satisfaction. I completed a qualitative study in which I compared the occupational aspirations of 14 third-grade students, 7 girls and 7 boys, from a low socio-economic school and 14 third-grade students, 7 girls and 7 boys, from a high socio-economic school within the southeastern region of the United States. I also compared these students’ perceptions of their parents’ career satisfaction. I conducted one-on-one interviews with students in which they answered questions about their occupational aspirations and …

Elementary English Language Arts Demonstration Classrooms: Professional Development In Action, Danielle Hamilton

Ed.D. Dissertations

Illiteracy impacts the society of the United States socially, economically, physically and mentally. The inability to read has been linked to grim outcomes such as poverty, criminal activity, and poor health. By 2020, the term science of reading had gained traction in the educational realm rather than being isolated knowledge in the cognitive psychological research field. Even though research has shown the most effective methods for teaching reading, teachers in the United States were not aware of the convergent scientific evidence. School districts have the responsibility and moral imperative to provide effective professional development for elementary teachers to instruct students …

The Relationship Between The Supportive Principal Behavior Dimension And Teachers’ Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy In Rural Schools, Elizabeth Lackey

Ed.D. Dissertations

Abstract

The researcher focused on the principal behavior dimensions that principals exhibited in interactions with staff members and the relationship those behaviors had on teachers’ sense of self-efficacy in rural schools. In this study, the researcher surveyed 96 rural elementary school teachers in a southeastern state to examine the relationship between the principal behavior dimensions using the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire-Revised for Elementary Schools and teachers’ sense of self-efficacy using the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale. The researcher used a Pearson r to analyze the results of three research questions related to the relationship between the supportive principal behavior dimensions …

Teacher Perspectives Of Their Implementation Of Guided Reading Instruction, Kristi Presley

Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of guided reading in the classroom and the perception teachers had related to their own self-efficacy in their implementation of guided reading instruction. Using an interpretative qualitative methodology, this researcher interviewed twelve teachers in Tennessee concerning their implementation of guided reading instruction in their classrooms. This researcher designed and utilized a Guided Reading Fidelity Checklist for the purpose of analyzing the collected data. This researcher identified misalignments regarding the fidelity of the implementation of guided reading instruction. The findings of this study demonstrate a need for teachers to have further …

Teachers' And Administrators' Perceptions Of Departmentalization In Elementary Schools, Mary Day

Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine administrator and teacher perceptions of the two primary classroom organizational structures in kindergarten through second grade within a rural East Tennessee school district: 1) departmentalized and 2) self-contained. Data were collected from seven elementary schools. The number of survey respondents were: 25 kindergarten through second grade teachers and eight administrators represented a 63% return rate for teachers and an 80% return rate for administrators. This researcher determined three primary categories among the administrator and teacher responses from both organizational structures: 1) student and teacher relationships, 2) classroom transition, and 3) academic …

“Be Calm, Keep Calm”: A Study Of Fourth-Grade Students’ Experiences Of High-Stakes, Marcinda Asburry

Ed.D. Dissertations

The researcher examined the experiences of fourth-grade students as they prepared for and took the TNReady assessment, which is considered a high-stakes test. The sample size consisted of three boys and two girls who attended a private school located in rural Southeastern Tennessee. Through drawing protocols, interviews, and student writings. The researcher found the boys in this study experienced more anxiety as compared to the girls when it came to preparing and taking the TNReady assessment. The researcher also found that students emphasized the role of the teacher in helping them deal with anxiety that they experienced. Research regarding how …

The Effect Of Advanced Stem Certification On Elementary Achievement, Christopher Stotts

Ed.D. Dissertations

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education has become a panacea for many woes in our country’s educational and economic systems. Each year schools struggle with judiciously allocating their limited funds to various STEM programs in hopes that they may reap academic returns. This study examined the effect of a STEM certification from the AdvancED educational accreditation organization on elementary student achievement. The researcher analyzed extant student achievement data from twenty Georgia elementary schools that earned the AdvancED STEM certification to investigate any statistically significant difference between pre-certification and post-certification scores. The researcher analyzed scores from four content areas: English …

The Effect Of Comprehensive Instructional Program On Grades 3-8 Student Achievement, Marcia Shortt

Ed.D. Dissertations

Student achievement and the state Standards of Learning testing was a critical criterion for success for school districts, administrators, and teachers. The researcher in this study investigated the efficacy of the Comprehensive Instructional Program in improving student achievement in reading and mathematics and whether school configuration impacted student achievement. The population consisted of all students in District A in Virginia who took achievement tests in reading and math in 2012-2018. The researcher determined there was a significant difference in reading and math scores between pre‑implementation and post-implementation in grades 3-8 as measured by the Virginia Standards of Learning testing program …