Education Commons^™

Mentor Teacher And Administrator Attitudes And Beliefs Toward Mentoring Programs In K-12 Education In South Mississippi, Krystle Womack

Dissertations

The teaching profession relies heavily on mentor programs to promote teacher retention, to reduce attrition and to increase the quality of new teachers. Teachers grow professionally through gaining knowledge. Mentor teachers show professional growth through knowledge gained from mentoring programs and serving as mentor teachers.

There is a significant gap in mentoring research in that the mentoring literature is limited in perspective. Research focuses solely on the perspectives of the beginning teacher or the person being mentored, but the perspective of more than one stakeholder is needed to give the full picture of induction and mentoring. This study uses a …

New Teacher Induction Programs: Effective Support Through Mentoring Programs And Coaching Practices, Katrina Morris

Dissertations

With the current teacher shortage and the numerous reported accounts of new teachers feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and ill prepared, the United States is in a dangerous situation that could result in even more of a teacher shortage if leaders do not find a way to better support new teachers and decrease the teacher attrition rate in the nation’s schools. This study involved an analysis of first-year teachers’ experiences with the new teacher induction program in District A (a pseudonym). Participants of this study were new teachers to District A, both novice and experienced teachers new to the district; building administrators; …

The Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Students In The School Setting: The Adaptations Needed For Tiered Supports, Eleni M. Gajewski

Dissertations

This study aims to evaluate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on students in the school setting and identify necessary adaptations needed, particularly through a tiered system of support. The research aims for two primary objectives by employing a constructivist framework utilizing mixed methods for data collection. Firstly, it aims to provide districts with a foundation for understanding the social-emotional and academic consequences of the pandemic on students. Secondly, its purpose is to empower districts to leverage this comprehensive evaluation as a proactive approach to cater to the diverse needs of all students. This includes responding to the challenges posed …

Adaptive Instruction Through Reflection: How Preservice Teachers Create And Implement Individualized Literacy Lessons In A University Reading Center, Jennifer Marie Lennon

Dissertations

Modern classrooms are increasingly diverse. Students vary in their academic abilities, personal interests, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and previous experiences (Allen et al., 2013). To meet the varied needs of students, educators must adapt their instruction so all are able to find success. Modifying lesson plans and changing instruction based on student needs are forms of adaptive instruction (Hoffman & Duffy, 2016; Vaughn, 2019). This study explored the metacognitive processes of preservice teachers (PSTs) as they implemented adaptive instruction within their literacy lessons in a university reading center tutoring program. Adaptive instruction was examined through two lenses: first, as PSTs …

Impact Of School Leaders’ Actions On Teachers And Their Practices, Dinara Metova

Dissertations

School leaders play a vital role in teachers' performance; while some leaders create an environment conducive to learning, collaboration, and achievement, others inadvertently contribute to teacher attrition and educational disparities. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of school leaders' actions on teachers and their practices. The context of this inquiry includes two stakeholder groups: 582 school leaders and 1,054 teachers from all 50 states who are members of Facebook Educator Groups. I implemented a mixed methods design by researching scholarly articles and using qualitative and quantitative survey data to find the most effective school leader practices …

The Permanence Of Racism In Tennessee Public Schools, Jarral Yokley

Dissertations

The qualitative case study exposed the permanence of racism beginning in the antebellum public schools of Nashville and continued in the current actions in the Tennessee legislature with the expulsion of two Black male legislators. Critical race theory is used as the main descriptor for the actions of White politicians and legislators in Tennessee who continue the oppressive treatment of Black people in the state of Tennessee.

White members of the Tennessee legislature have attempted to strategically continue white supremacy in their decision to display a depiction of one of the most deplorable, racists in the history of the state …

The Transformative Mindset Of Middle School Principals On Culture And The Impact Of Student Achievement, Christina Gfell

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how exemplary middle school principals perceived practices of Sinek’s (2019) infinite mindset framework were embedded in their organization to inspire achievement of extraordinary results. A further purpose of this study was to understand organizational supports and barriers exemplary middle school principals perceived affected infinite mindset development.

Methodology: This phenomenological study explored experiences of exemplary leaders and their perceptions of how the five practices of Sinek’s (2019) infinite mindset framework were embedded in their organization. The target population for this study was exemplary middle school principals in Harris County, Texas. …

An Exploratory Case Study Of Leadership Practices That Enable International Schools To Become Highly Effective And Learning Progressive Environments, Santha Kumar Sankara Narayanan

Dissertations

Highly effective learning progressive (HELP) environments can prepare students to be future-ready with the needed knowledge and skills to thrive in an ever-changing world. This case study captured the characteristics and measured the effectiveness of an international school working to become a HELP environment using the high-reliability schools (HRS) framework and the leadership practices that enabled them.

This mixed-method study used an explanatory sequential design, beginning with a survey of 122 teachers based on the HRS model (Marzano et al., 2014), where teachers were asked to respond to a series of statements designed to measure the case-study school’s effectiveness and …

Student Proficiency On High School Math Assessments And Their Relation To College And University Math Readiness, Tiffany Robinson

Dissertations

Data indicate that a significant number of first-year college students were inadequately prepared in high school to complete university-level mathematics courses. The purpose of this study is to evaluate student proficiency on high school mathematics assessments and their relation to student preparedness for university-level mathematics courses. The context of my study is a cohort of diverse, high school senior students in one state in the United States who have shown proficiency on mathematics assessments. The methodology I used was a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data, comprised of student and faculty index surveys at the high school and university level …

(Re)Envisioning Factors Contributing To Black Men’S College Success: An Ecological And Critical Reflection Using Photovoice, Collette Brown Rogers

Dissertations

This research uses modified photovoice combined with an ecological and antideficit approach to amplify the voices of Black men who have completed college degrees. The study explores the question: What factors contribute to college completion for Black men? Using a qualitative approach and the Ethos platform to collect images, photo captions, and critical reflection data from a purposive sample of five Black men. Data analysis included inductive and deductive coding, data organization within the ecological systems, and member checking to validate the findings. The study acknowledges the unique challenges Black men face in pursuing higher education. It emphasizes the importance …

Improving Second Language Learning Through Performance-Based Assessment Practices, Maria Granados

Dissertations

From the time of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) to the present day, standardized testing has become the benchmark measure for student assessment and school accountability in the United States. Multilingual learners are a vulnerable population with more testing and accountability requirements than mainstream students. Not only are they required to learn a second language, but they are also assessed within the same standardized testing paradigms as their peers - native speakers of the English language. This study aimed to examine and evaluate the benefits of instructional practices and assessments that provide multilingual students and teachers prompt and …

A Program Evaluation Of Prekindergarten Program In One School District, Alicia Eubank

Dissertations

I explored the potential impact of position and salary change on prekindergarten teachers in a public-school district in a southern state. I provided an educational, economic, political and moral/ethical analysis in partial support of this change for the district.

The current policy in the district is that the school year prekindergarten teaching positions are considered non-instructional. However, the summer prekindergarten program teachers are certified teachers as per state requirements. The new policy will make all prekindergarten teaching positions require state certification. This change would give them the financial pay and benefits included with the position change and keep them in …

Increasing Life Skills While Decreasing Depression, Anxiety, And Stress In Transitional Aged Youth: A Person-Centered Mentorship Approach, Allanah Roberts-Headley

Dissertations

Transitional Aged Youth (TAYs) are young adults between 18-24 who have recently aged out of the foster care system and are now a part of the Extended Foster Care system (EFC). Unfortunately, this population is not guaranteed familial or social support. They have to rely on basic knowledge and skills obtained while in the foster care system to help with navigate their world. Most TAYs end up homeless, unemployed, and incarcerated. There is also a high pregnancy rate among TAYs. Due to the limited assistance they receive upon entering EFC, they are at a higher risk of experiencing mental health …

Racism Without Race: The Racialization Of Middle Eastern And North African Students At U.S. Colleges, Hannah Mesouani

Dissertations

Although a growing body of literature covers the experiences of international students at U.S. colleges, the stories of those who do not fit into the U.S. racial schema remain untold. This study examined how Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) students understood their racial identities given the United States’ tense history with Islam and the MENA world. Using foundational texts on critical race theory, current scholarship on Arab Americans and foreign-born students, and facets of the Ethnic Identity Scale (EIS), this study examined the experiences of MENA students who study amid a national backdrop of xenophobia and racialized Islamophobia. This …

Special Education: Inclusion And Exclusion In The K-12 U.S. Educational System, Erik Brault

Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Education defines students with disabilities as those having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities. Previous research has found that students with disabilities placed in inclusive environments perform better academically and socially compared to students with disabilities who are placed in segregated environments. Yet, we know that inclusion in K-12 general education classrooms across the country is not consistently implemented.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the effects, if any, of general education high school teachers’ personal and professional experiences and knowledge on their attitudes toward educating …

Becoming Restorative: Discomfort, Praxis, And Ecstasy At The Intersections Of Restorative Practices And Teacher Identity Development, Gwynn Alexander

Dissertations

Restorative justice is inclusive of a philosophy and set of practices that have challenged long-standing paradigms that perpetuate harm in schools. Through this lens, schools are recognized as interconnected communities where the well-being and dignity of all members must be valued. While the restorative movement has demonstrated great promise in cultivating the aims of justice, educators have encountered significant hurdles in their efforts toward transformation. A substantial challenge educators face is to identify effective means through which to disrupt persistent pedagogies of violence in primary and secondary education. This dissertation proposed a pedagogy of transcendence, a framework inclusive of restorative …

Equalizing Postsecondary Transition For At-Promise Youth Receiving Special Education Services: A Chance To Succeed, Karla R. Sanchez

Dissertations

Postsecondary transition can be difficult for At-Promise Youth Receiving Special Education Services (APYRSES). Special educators supporting postsecondary transition often manifest traditional and institutionalized forms of oppressive education while dismissing collective values and beliefs.

This qualitative case study examined the beliefs and attitudes shared by three special education teachers after being introduced to a justice-focused, humanizing intervention to facilitate postsecondary transition for APYRSES. The conceptualized intervention was grounded in liberatory educational frameworks and drew from critical, culturally affirming, sustaining, and humanizing theories that foster cultural reciprocity, self-determination skills, and antiracist social–emotional justice learning to afford opportunities for APYRSES to succeed. The …

Audacious Corazón: A Nuanced Art Of Care, Dianne Bermudez Torres

Dissertations

Historically, the concept of care in higher education has focused on academic achievements, neglecting the significance of building meaningful relationships between faculty and students that engage both affective and cognitive dimensions (Noddings, 1994). Teaching with the heart, or corazón, embodies care in teaching. Employed in this study was a mixed-methods, exploratory case study approach that explored the intricate art of care and how faculty foster bilingual authorization credential teacher candidates to evolve into culturally responsive educators. Pearson et al.’s (2021) cariño pedagogy serves as a model that empowers faculty’s humanizing agency. Additionally, the study also reflected on the concept of …

Resistencia Indocumentada: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Higher Education Undocumented Students In The San Diego-Tijuana Border Region, Adan Escobedo Sanchez

Dissertations

Undocumented students face myriad obstacles while attending higher education institutions that would deter them from completing their academic journeys. Furthermore, they are placed with a dual narrative that labels them as either dangerous or exceptional. This study explored the lived experiences of undocumented students in college in the San Diego-Tijuana border region to consider what factors have led to resilience and resistance in their academic journey. By understanding these factors, the research aimed to tackle the dual narrative that burdens undocumented students from the illegality as a master status they possess.

This study used narrative inquiry and a literature review …

A Leadership Laboratory: Exploring The Use Of Case-In-Point Pedagogy To Develop Complex Thinking In Leaders, Erica Corley Jackson

Dissertations

Leadership scholars have identified a growing gap between the complexity of 21^st century organizations and the capabilities of individuals in positions of leadership to adequately address these challenges. This gap has contributed to a so-called complexity crisis—a situation in which the demands placed on those in leadership positions increases “at a rate that significantly outstrips the rate at which” leaders are cognitively developing (Rich-Tolsma & Oliver, 2016, p. 1). One way to respond to this growing need for complex adult thinking is through metacognitive development initiatives. However, finding educational methods to promote metacognitive development has proven to be …

K-12 Teachers’ Retention Of Arts Integrated Professional Development, Roxane Mcwilliams

Dissertations

Arts integration is an interdisciplinary teaching model in which the arts become a conduit for the contextualization and understanding of non-arts content. Research has shown this approach increases academic engagement and content retention (Rinne et al., 2011). The use of arts integration also provides gains for teachers. Teachers perceive their practice more innovative and better able to reach the needs of diverse learners (Bellisario & Donovan, 2012). For the benefits of arts integrated learning to be achieved, teachers must acquire the knowledge and techniques of this teaching model. This requires knowledge in both arts content as well as the pedagogical …

Nursing Faculty Perceptions Of Stress, Coping, And Intent To Leave The Profession In The Ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic: A Quantitative Study, Lynlee Morgan

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted all of society to varying degrees; this impact was especially true in higher education due to an overnight transition to distance learning and incessant pivots to meet new guidelines and overcome obstacles. Nursing faculty were significantly impacted due to the responsibility of producing safe, qualified, competent practitioners to provide care in the clinical setting. The limitations in or exclusions from clinical experiences combined with the fact that faculty were managing personal concerns and had never encountered these unprecedented conditions exacerbated the challenge of preparing new nurses. This study was critical due to the faculty role and …

How Prepared Are Educators To Work With Students Of Color, Ja're Thorn

Dissertations

From what I have experienced, there has been a lack of preparation when it comes to preparing educators to work with students of color. This research aimed to explore the importance of early childhood teachers’ cultural preparation programs when it comes to working effectively with students of color. Most of the time, teachers teach to the common core standards set in place by the state. They also implement a curriculum that is considered “best practices” for students instead of paying attention to and considering the individual student’s specific culture, family, and community values and ways of life before planning (Spies, …

Stories Of Me: Disability Identity Development In Persons With Adhd, Andrea R. Johnson

Dissertations

Theoretically, developing a strong sense of ADHD identity, adolescents can combat anxiety and stigma. Combatting anxiety and stigma can support student’s postsecondary success. How can teachers help? The study aims to explore the narratives of disability identity from the adult reflective perspective to identify potential recommendations for teachers. This mixed-methods study collected data through two semi-structured interviews of adults with ADHD, a focus group, and survey data from social media communities. The stories were analyzed for evidence of a sense of identity, pride, and self-esteem. The emerging themes provided recommendations for educators which included the need to foster relationships (teachers …

Exploring Attitudes Of Four Groups Of Stakeholders Toward Family Childcare And Recommending Best Practices To Promote Positive Experiences, Yvonne S. Williams

Dissertations

This research aimed to increase the awareness of licensed family childcare programs and use the viewpoints of four stakeholder groups to construct recommended best practices. These best practices are crucial for supporting effective business practices and providing high-quality services to their stakeholders. Online surveys and virtual interviews were used to acquire the stakeholders' perspectives. The collected data revealed three principal thematic codes: family childcare provider, family childcare business, and family childcare environment. Within these three codes, the family childcare program's areas of improvement, inconsistencies, and strengths were identified and evaluated to construct recommended professional and business best practices. Some of …

A Delphi Study Of The Strategies Necessary For Successful Improvement Of Student Emotional Intelligence Within K-8 Public School Classrooms, Megan Ybarra

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi Study was to identify classroom strategies that expert K-8 teachers use to support and promote the development of student emotional intelligence, as defined by Bradberry and Greaves (2009), within K-8 classrooms, to rate the importance of the identified strategies, and to identify specific activities to implement the four most highly rated strategies identified in Round 2.

Methodology: This study utilized the Delphi method, which is an iterative process used to collect and distill the judgments of experts using a series of questionnaires interspersed with feedback. Twenty-one expert K-8 teachers identified strategies to develop student …

The Perceived Results Of Feedback And Evaluation Of Teaching Effectiveness On Adjunct Faculty Professional Development And Growth, Luda V. Vine

Dissertations

Problem

While full-time faculty at any institution of higher learning undergo an established system of evaluation of teaching effectiveness, adjunct faculty members' experience varies greatly from institution to institution. There is little in the relevant academic literature about an effective feedback mechanism for evaluating teaching effectiveness among adjunct faculty members. Limited qualitative research has been done to understand the effects of teaching evaluations on the professional development and growth of individual adjunct faculty members. Developing an understanding of effective evaluation of teaching that will result in improved adjunct faculty professional development and growth will impact not only the faculty members' …