Education Commons^™

Students’ Meaning-Making Journeys Towards Self-Authorship Through Self-Designed Gap Year Experiences, Erin Garcia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological, qualitative study addressed student perceptions of their meaning-making process towards self-authorship in a self-designed gap year experience and was conducted in a public higher educational institution in the Southeast. Data was gathered through interviews from a purposeful sample of gap year program participants and program administrators. Emerging themes and categories were identified by coding and analyzing the interview data, such as continual reflection reinforces the value of individual meaning-making, self-expectations versus self-worth, the influence of societal expectations are minimized, and self-designed learning helps to solidify changes in self-authorship. The data showed a strong connection between multiple meaning-making contexts …

Advanced Placement And Dual Enrollment Courses For Economically Disadvantaged Students And 2-Year Completion Rates At Tennessee Public Higher Education Institutions, Mia Hyde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure the possible relationship between Advanced Placement and dual enrollment courses for economically disadvantaged students on 2-year completion rates at public Tennessee higher education institutions. A quantitative, quasi experimental, comparative design was used to analyze secondary data to determine if there is a relationship between Advanced Placement, dual enrollment courses, and 2-year completion rates for students in Tennessee community colleges and public universities. The sample for this study consisted of students who entered a Tennessee community college or Tennessee public university in the Fall of 2015. These students had taken at least one …

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Role Of Teacher-Parent Partnerships That Best Benefit Students In A Parochial College Preparatory High School, Sarah H. Gates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Current research on teacher–parent partnerships has increasingly focused on early childhood education. This transcendental phenomenological study expanded and extended the understanding of effective teacher–parent partnerships in secondary education at a parochial college preparatory high school. According to Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory (BST), academic growth and development in late adolescents are impacted by the overlapping systems of influence: the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify secondary educators’ perceptions of teacher–parent partnerships that best benefit students. Faculty at a parochial college preparatory high school were asked about their perceptions of parental involvement …

Strategies Exemplary Social Studies Teachers’ Implement When Facilitating Discussions About Race, Candice Nicole Jasmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers experience difficulty in introducing some sensitive and controversial issues in the classroom environment. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to identify strategies that exemplary secondary social studies teachers implement when facilitating classroom discussions about sensitive and controversial issues, specifically, racial issues framed within Singleton and Linton’s 4 agreements of courageous conversations: stay engaged, speak your truth, experience discomfort, and accept and expect nonclosure. This study utilized qualitative data collection. Semi-structured, online one-to-one internet-based interviews were used to document the lived experiences of exemplary secondary social studies teachers and the strategies they use when facilitating discussions about …

From Field To Museum: Intergenerational Education In Public Archaeology, Nicholas Daniel Dungey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Archaeologists have developed different curricula and methods within museums, classrooms, and field settings that engage the public in learning about the past. One realm of public archaeology that has received little research is studying how intergenerational education impacts engaging learners of varying ages with the past. Community collaboration and place-based education (PBE) have served as relevant topics of research for intergenerational educators. I incorporated intergenerational education methods at an archaeology summer camp at Highlands Micro School and at a temporary interactive exhibit at the History Colorado Center. I utilized surveys to determine changes in perception of archaeology that occurred between …

Between And Behind The Lines: The Life Of High School Coaches, Mary Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I write about the emotional journey of high school athletic coaches’ experiences as they move through their day as teachers, coaches, and spouses/parents. The examination of the emotions and transitions high school coaches experience has been largely unresearched. There have been examinations of teachers, the impact coaches have on athletes, and a coach as a parent, but there is not extensive research on all three roles experienced by one person. High school athletics is a tremendous part of high school, and coaches have a tremendous impact not only on their players, but on the students they teach …

Rey-Ifying A New Heroine: Interrogating The Curriculum Of Femininity In Star Wars Films, Rebekah S. Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Star Wars film trilogies are a cross-generational phenomenon. Due to its powerful and pervasive nature, the messages within Star War’s films must be problematized. As a cultural artifact, Star Wars was used to explore the representations of women across time and three generations. Using a conceptual framework based on cultural curriculum studies and feminist theory, this study explored the significance of Star Wars as gender text by interrogating the representations of women in the Star Wars film saga and what these representations teach about gender and femininity. By focusing on the themes of agency, empowerment, and identity, this work …