Education Commons^™

Equity And Excellence: The Story Of Lake Shore Community High School's Quest For Racial Justice In Education, Marcus Campbell

Dissertations

Institutional racism is integral to U.S. social structure, including the public schools. Instituting a limited high school detracking program as a strategy to deal with racial achievement disparities faced strong community resistance. Leadership and a perfect storm of social and political factors made successful implementation of a detracking initiative possible. School community leaders and staff were interviewed about their experiences of systemic change to further access for students of color to honors classes. Results suggest some leadership qualities and characteristics that facilitated the change; the external factors that contributed to the successful change for racial equity are also detailed.

Impact Of Single Gender Programs On Achievement, Attendance, Discipline, And Character: A Program Evaluation Project, Carla L. Sparks Dr.

Dissertations

The instance of single gender education in American public schools has risen since the 2006 amendments to Title IX permitting public schools to separate boys and girls for academic purposes. The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of single gender education to promote gains in student academic achievement, increase attendance levels, support character development, and decrease student discipline problems. The context of this inquiry is a large public school district that incorporates single gender education applications across the district. My study is focused on an all-girls middle school and an all-boys middle school, and it demonstrates outcomes …

Utilizing A Systematic Approach To Problem-Solving In The Elementary School Setting: A Program Evaluation Project, Edie Sohigian

Dissertations

Sunnyside Elementary School, an anonymous name, had a high number of discipline referrals. The purpose of this inquiry was to develop and follow an action plan to reduce behavior issues. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods of inquiry, I collected discipline and academic achievement data as well as survey data to analyze the impact of the Eight-Step Problem-Solving Process on the rate of discipline referrals. Although the overall number of referrals increased, other significant findings were determined. The leadership team and faculty must be vested in the action plan as a priority in order to achieve positive results. It was …

An Evaluation Of Teacher Morale In Four Elementary Schools: The Difference A School Makes, Jennifer Blackburn

Dissertations

This Program Evaluation Plan (PEP) investigates teacher morale in several schools and explores how it may possibly relate to school grade. There are many factors that influence teacher morale, but I believe that school grade plays a major role; and this dissertation takes a closer look as to how some teachers and administrators feel about their schools and positions. By implementing a questionnaire, and conducting interviews with teachers and administrators, I was able to discover that school grade is weighing in teacher morale.

This study breaks down the findings from the questionnaire that was given and offers some recommendations on …

Searching For Innovation, Creativity And 21st Century Skills: A Case Study Of A Suburban Elementary School District, Robert Alexander Serdar

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to seek out and identify the traits, attitudes and characteristics of innovative, creative and highly effective teachers within a suburban elementary school district. Participants included five elementary teachers who were identified by their colleagues as being exceptionally innovative, creative and fostering 21^st Century Skills. The research method for this qualitative case study consisted of teacher interviews, student interviews, and multiple classroom observations by the researcher. From this, seven themes, or practices, of highly innovative, creative teachers of 21^st Century Skills emerged: (1) See the Teacher as Lead Learner (2) Encourage Learner Reflection …