Education Commons^™

The Consequences Of Homophobia: Analysis Of Discriminatory Medical And Legislative Policies And Their Influence On Health Disparities, Kaiden J. Fandel

Honors Thesis

Are there specific roots that influence the introduction and incorporation of discriminatory medical policies? What are the sources of such stigma, discrimination, and prejudice, in what forms does such discrimination take place, and what negative impacts does such hatred have on health outcomes, quality of care, and health disparities? Through a review of existing literature on this topic, intertwining the examination of the evolution of discriminatory policies and other explanatory literature in the United States, this thesis aims to answer the questions above, and explain the roots of such homophobic discrimination and its prevalence in the United States. Through the …

Crossing Schools, Language, And Migration Borders: The Experiences Of Latinx And Caribbean Emergent Multilingual Mothers In K-12 Public Schools, Michelle Angelo-Rocha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anti-immigrant sentiment and "English-only" ideologies have a significant impact on educational policies, practices, and processes. This includes parental engagement, the quality of education and life opportunities offered to immigrant children, and families’ well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine how Latinx and Caribbean mothers in Florida with various immigration statuses (i.e., undocumented, asylum seekers, refugees, international students, and mixed-status) and often with limited financial resources attempt to steward their children through the U.S. educational system. The research question was: How did emergent multilingual immigrant mothers experience the K-12 education system in Florida? The sub-question was: How did schools …

High School Career Guidance: From The View Of A Street-Level Bureaucrat, George Clair Thomas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

High school counselors struggle to complete the tasks assigned to them. Often serving more than 500 students, counselors must address requirements specified by the American School Counselor Associationâ??s national model. They must also perform duties required by state and local policy, as well as campus-designated priorities. Empirical studies of school counselors have focused on identifying the duties that counselors perform, the effectiveness of training that counselors have received, and issues that occur from the standpoint of local control of counselor duties. I found no study that identified how counselors prioritize what they do or the level of discretion that counselors …

The Experiences Of Pell Grant Students Who Lose Aid: A Mixed Methods Study, Jaime Carbajal, Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Understanding the link between financial aid and college attainment is particularly important for the Federal Pell Grant program, the nation’s largest financial aid program. Many studies have shown that the Pell Grant program increases retention, persistence, and graduation rates for undergraduate students (Castleman & Long, 2016; Evans & Nguyen, 2019). Nonetheless, 80% of Pell recipients do not go on to complete a college degree within four years (Goldrick-Rab et al., 2016). One possible reason for this outcome is the way the Pell Grant program is constructed and implemented. While the Pell grant starts out as a need-based aid, it becomes …

Experiences Of Teachers Using Student-Centered Approaches In China, Raven Roytblat

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Schoolteachers in China are required by the government to transition from teacher-centered to student-centered instruction. Researchers have shown the challenges of and successes in implementing the instructional changes; however, a gap exists surrounding the challenges and successes of reforms from the perspective of teachers. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to better understand the experiences of Chinese schoolteachers as the system of education in China transitions from teacher-centered to student-centered classroom instruction. The conceptual framework for this study included Schön’s concept of the reflective practitioner and Liu and Hallinger and Knapp et al.’s work on the role of …

Professional Dispositions And Perceptions Of Principals About Inclusion In Senior Secondary Schools, Desmond Prince, George Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractProviding inclusive education for children with special educational needs and disabilities entails educating these students in general education classrooms. There are no consistent practices or regulations for administering programs for such students in general education classrooms in Sierra Leone. This problem is supported by the lack of literature about administrative inclusive education practices. This basic qualitative study was conducted to explore the professional dispositions, perceptions, and rules or regulations that school principals hold for administering programs for students with special educational needs and disabilities in general education classrooms. The conceptual framework of the study was based on moral leadership and …

The Axis Of Access: A Quantitative Ethnography Of Presidential Discourse On The Construct Of College Access In The United States, Pamela M. Donnelly

Theses and Dissertations

Federal discourse pertaining to college access requires clarified definition. Use of the college access construct has become commonplace, yet no unified refinement of meaning exists. This study, which covered U.S. presidential communications from January 2009 to October 2021, addressed the abstraction of language as leaders presented ideas, policies, and opinions. Observable trends impacting social mobility for students from underserved populations were of central interest. The research methodology, Quantitative Ethnography (QE), used the tool of Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA). Eight codes were identified through grounded analysis: Affordability, Pathway Program, Underserved Populations, Class Systems, Upward Mobility, Career Readiness, Trajectory, and Career Technical …

Constructing Curriculum: Centering Identities In Sex Education, Jozette Belmont

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sex education (sex ed) is a state-by-state and school-by-school issue, and there are no federal laws which mandate medically accurate education. In New York, schools only offer one semester of health education which often happens in the last semester of twelfth grade. Further, LGBTQIA+ people’s sexual health and identities are rarely mentioned. Therefore, this project asks: What are the ways sex ed curricula and policies in New York address the needs of LGBTQIA+ youth? To answer this question, I use a critical policy analysis to compare curriculum from the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) and Peer Health Exchange …

Strategic Educational Leadership Within The Policy-Making Arena: The Promulgation, Passage, And Practice Of Tennessee's High Performing School Districts Flexibility Act Of 2013, Robert Lawrence Hullett Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

In 2010, Tennessee’s 106th General Assembly passed the First to the Top Act (2010), a companion legislation for the federal Race to the Top Act (2009) program launched by the Obama Administration. A provision of this state law required that half of teacher and principal evaluations be based upon student achievement, which included a component of required continuous academic growth. For school districts whose students scored at the highest academic performance levels, the continuous growth component would negatively impact their teachers’ and principals’ annual evaluations. In 2012, the Williamson County Schools (WCS) superintendent requested mitigation for relieve from the Tennessee …

Weaving The Braid Of Culturally Responsive Leadership Within Policy And Governance To Improve Indigenous Student Success, Shelly L. Niemi

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores a Problem of Practice (PoP) that highlights the need for why the Board of Education and the Senior Administration team within the Raven Bay School Division (RBSD, pseudonym) would benefit from using a culturally responsive leadership approach when making decisions and how this may be achieved through policy and governance to guide their practice. The goal of this OIP is to examine why this leadership approach would be relevant for the Board of Education and the Senior Leadership team when they are making any policy and governance decisions, as it relates to Indigenous …

Trust Issues: A Case Study Of The Relationship Between Trust And Reform Implementation, Courtney R. Wilson

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Reform creation and implementation tends to focus on the mechanics needed to ensure intended outcomes are achieved. School relationships are affected by the tension caused by reform implementation. Research suggests trust among teachers and between teachers and their administrator affects the way teachers make sense of, implement, and use new reform efforts. Given the demands reforms place on schools, trust has the potential to impact and encourage the implementation of reform and the maintenance of relationships. A qualitative case study method was used to decipher the impact trust plays in the implementation of reform. The concept of trust is used …

Educator Voice And Influence In Mississippi Education Policy, Sarah Jamie Sproles

Honors Theses

This thesis attempts to discover if there are barriers educators and government actors feel are in place that prevent educator advocacy and influence in the state of Mississippi, and consequently what importance their voices hold in the policymaking and implementation processes. The research questions that are addressed in this thesis include: a) Is there an absence of educators affecting policies and if so, why? b) What are the perceptions of educators’ advocacy and engagement in laws passed regarding education? c) What, if any, barriers prevent educators’ voices from influencing laws? Qualitative data from educators and those in the government sector …

The Economic Impacts Of School Closure In Rural Maine, Heather Perry

Muskie School Dissertations

The purpose of this case study research was to examine the economic impact of school closures on three rural communities in Maine. I created a conceptual framework around six healthy community economic markers. Each of the six markers are studied in 2010 when schools were closed and then again in 2016. This data, in addition to perceptions data from stakeholders in each of the three communities was studied to determine if the closure of the school had any impact on these healthy economic markers. Findings suggest that there were no negative impact to the economic markers studied within the three …

Education's Death Row : The Standardization Network And A Persistently Lowest Achieving School In The Era Of Common Core, Valarie J. Karas

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In 2010, New York State both adopted the Common Core Learning Standards and identified the State’s first 67 “persistently lowest achieving” schools, the most severe failure designation available under the State’s accountability system as based upon standardized test performance and/or graduation rates (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2015; NYSED, 2010a). The Common Core Learning Standards were advertised as a pathway to a high-quality education for all American students (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2015; Supovitz & McGuinn, 2019). However, a public uproar occurred in the late summer of 2013 following the release of standardized “Common Core” test scores which showed an increase …

The Effects Of Oklahoma's Universal Preschool Policy On Long-Term Educational Outcomes For Students, Betsy Morgan, Madison Stoecker

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

As states have increased their commitment to early childhood education over the past two decades, a debate on the efficacy of state-sponsored universal preschool has divided policymakers, administrators, and taxpayers. Some critics of these programs argue that universal preschool has a diminishing impact which does not justify the up-front cost, while supporters argue that there are long-term positive effects of high quality, universal early childhood education which outweigh the cost. In this paper, we examine the effect, if any, that the existence of a state-funded universally available preschool program has had on county-level average ACT scores in a before-and-after multivariable …

Political Culture And Policy: The Impact Of Culture And Values On School Choice Legislation, Heather Leigh Neal

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Policy actors unite political culture, power, and values to make substantial decisions which are often subjective in nature. Politics and policy are about collective decisions, which rely on the arrangement of a group of people. As values can influence policy actors in their attempt to solve problems, it is important for policymakers to establish a balance among the most essential values. A qualitative case study approach was used to investigate how, and what ways, political culture influenced how state stakeholders interpreted or implemented policy. Power and values were explored as both can connect for the implementation of policy. If values, …

Skills And Student Affairs: A Discourse Analysis, Shannon Mckechnie

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Media, industry, and other public actors have claimed that a ‘skills gap’ exists in students exiting post-secondary education and entering the workforce. The Ontario provincial government has developed policy, the Highly Skilled Workforce Strategy, to provide directives to universities in the province to provide skills development to students to aid in closing the gap and providing a workplace relevant education. In this study, I explore the experiences of student affairs and services (SAS) staff responsible for enacting provincial policy related to skills development at the university level by investigating the discourses that shape policy and practices of these staff …

A Multi-Case Study Of Electronic Communication Policy In Rural East Texas School Districts, Laura Lynn Dacus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to conduct a policy analysis regarding electronic communication between educators and students in three rural East Texas school districts. The policy analysis for each district began with the initial implementation of teacher communication via electronic sources provided by the districts. The focus of the study was limited specifically to the policy regulating nonschool related, electronic communication by educators with students. The challenge faced by school districts to embrace technology with one-to-one classrooms, virtual classrooms, constant connectivity, school texting applications, and open availability to teachers via email, complicates restrictions placed on non-school related …

The Private School Advantage: Evidence From School Vouchers And Educational Leadership, Mohammad Danish Shakeel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

School choice is becoming increasingly popular around the globe. Broadly the term ‘school choice’ is used to describe the options available for families to send children to school(s) other than the one they are residentially assigned to. Private school choice interventions known as ‘school vouchers,’ offer public or private funding to enable families to send their children to private school.

Research in 1970s and 80s by James Coleman and his colleagues showed a private school advantage in student achievement and graduation rates, in comparison to traditional public schools. Competing evidence was presented by Christopher Lubienski and Sarah Lubienski in 2013, …

The History Of Massachusetts Transfer And Articulation Policies In Contexts Of Evolving Higher Education System Structure, Coordination, And Policy Actors, Daniel De La Torre, Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Community colleges carry out dual missions providing occupational and collegiate preparation in local communities across the United States. These institutions prepare students for advanced study via transfer policies that lead to enrollment in baccalaureate institutions. State higher education systems use transfer and articulation policies to strengthen academic pathways between two-year and four-year institutions. These policies rely on established governance to facilitate student transfer between sectors. The transfer and articulation literature stresses the importance of statewide policy guidelines, yet little has been written about the process of transfer policy development involving state higher education governance and policy groups and actors. The …

Public Policies Involving Pregnant And Parenting Secondary Students From Perspectives Of Educators, Tomecole Hilliard-Carlton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite a significant drop in the number of pregnant adolescents and reforms to fight

gender discrimination under Title IX, teen pregnancy and risk factors including poverty,

stigma, and substance abuse, which may lead to different negative outcomes, such as

depression, social isolation, and lowered self-esteem remain a persistent problem in the

United States. Due to these factors, pregnant and parenting teens have been noted to drop

out of high school prematurely. Using incrementalism as a theoretical framework, the

purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore and describe Title IX

compliance and local policies and practices of educators …

Charting Constellations Of Power: Texas Public Education Policy, Hollie Wright

MSU Graduate Theses

For decades, public education in Texas has been entrenched in neoliberalism-inspired policies that research shows largely fail to produce promised results and have a tendency to perpetuate the very problems advocates claim the policies will solve. This raises questions about the decision-makers and what is happening in the public education policy process. In line with Laura Nader’s directive for more anthropologists to make those in power the subject of their research, I used both ethnographic and social network analysis methods to ‘study up’ in Texas public education. This study describes some relationships of members of the Texas State Board of …

Influences On University Staff Members Responsible For Implementation Of Alcohol-Control Policies, Glenn A. Cochran

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Excessive college student drinking is a complex problem associated with a range of consequences including deaths, injuries, damage, health risks, legal difficulties, and academic problems. State governing boards, trustees and executives have enacted policies aimed at reducing the negative effects of excessive drinking. This study examined influences on university staff members responsible for implementation of alcohol-control policies. Deeper understanding of factors influencing alcohol-control policy implementation may help leaders improve policy making, implementation and attainment of policy objectives.

This mixed methods study utilized a sequential transformative mixed methods strategy with a quantitative survey, sequenced first, informing the prioritized qualitative multiple case …

Paralleled Support Models For Young Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Lucy Ellen Klym

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the State of Indiana, for students over the age of 14 who have been diagnosed with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the transition from special education to Medicaid waiver oversight should occur seamlessly, but gaps in integrated and aligned goal development strategies remain. As a consequence, students who need adult-based support may not be receiving the full scope of services to which they are entitled. Using common-pool resource theory as a foundation, the purpose of this explanatory case study of transitional services to Indiana Medicaid was to understand, from the perspective of disability support service staff, the barriers to effective …

An Analysis Of Campus Violence Threat Assessment Policy Implementation At Michigan Community Colleges, Russell T. Panico Jr.

Dissertations

This dissertation evaluated campus violence threat assessment policy and procedure implementation at the community college level of higher education. The importance of this topic was to provide a manageable and collaborative initiative for leadership at institutions of higher learning to identify, develop, implement, and evaluate a policy that can effectively prevent acts of campus-related violence. A mixed-methods study approach using a Likert-scale survey with supporting open-ended questions was used to guide the exploration. Bardach’s (2016) Eightfold Path for Policy Analysis was the framework used by Michigan community colleges to apply to their own unique situations. This method determined the prevalence …

Transformative Learning Facilitated Dialogue: As A Tool For Social Change An Autoethnography, Leslie A. Saulsberry

Doctoral Dissertations

It is my goal, through this autoethnography, to take you through a reflective journey and present to you my personal theory of how facilitated dialogue in the context of transformative learning, critical reflection, systems thinking, shared vision, and holarchy can create a paradigm shift in our personal consciousness, decisions, behaviors, practice, and social policies—social change. My objective is to show how each theory is like a stepping-stone in the path towards social change. The purpose of this living work is to offer an alternative way of creating a healthy and whole society by exploring how facilitated dialogue can lead to …

White Teachers’ Experiences Of Working With Black Students Within A Response To Intervention Framework: The Role Of Racialized Deficit Thinking, Sujay Sabnis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a data-based decision-making framework of service delivery that has the potential to improve educational outcomes for all students. Preliminary data appear to bolster this claim. However, it is as yet unclear whether RTI will be able to close the gap in educational outcomes that exists between students of different racial groups. Drawing on theories such as culture of policy (Stein, 2004) and deficit thinking (Valencia, 2010), this study explored the experiences of six White elementary teachers using RTI while working with Black students receiving Tier 2 or Tier 3 instructional supports. Using theoretically driven constant-comparative …

Teacher Leadership In State Education Policy, Megan Marie Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a national call for teacher leadership, which has occurred after many education reforms have struggled due to a perceived lack of teacher involvement. The purpose of this study was to examine whether teachers felt that their involvement in education policy had impact and whether there is ample teacher expertise in education policy. The overarching research question was to appraise educator perceptions of teacher impact on state education policy. The study revealed a perceived lack of teacher impact and education expertise. The conceptual framework was based on theories of adult learning and the development of expertise and supported the …

School Safety: Students And Weapon Carrying Behavior, Shadrich Levale Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research shows that risk factors may be useful clues for predicting students' potential for engaging in weapon-carrying behavior. Law makers on every level-federal, state, and local- deem the presence of weapons on school grounds to be a serious problem and a violation of school policy. A large, urban school system has put forth sustained and costly efforts to prevent students from carrying weapons to school; yet students continue to carry weapons to school in this district. The purpose of this study was to use archival data collected as part of the school system's everyday practice to identify risk factors for …

Relationship Between Internships And Employment Competencies Of Degreed Professionals Who Completed A College Internship, Shawn Barnwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An estimated 1.5 million underemployed or unemployed college graduates have one or more college degrees, and many have high loan debt. Policy makers, students, and institutions of higher education are all concerned with the question of how prepared students are to enter the workforce upon graduation, yet little is known about whether internships are a strategy to improve career preparedness and gainful employment after graduation. Guided by Dewey and Kolb's experiential learning theory, the purpose of this nonexperimental study was to evaluate the impact of internships on career preparation from the perspective of graduates, specifically to evaluate whether graduates perceive …