Education Commons^™

Dismantling Anti-Blackness In Teacher Education: Centering Black Epistemologies To (Re)Construct Elementary Language Arts Education For Linguistic And Racial Justice, Jasmyn Kymberly Jones

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Black students and their linguistic resources are undervalued, disdained, disrespected, and disregarded in language arts classrooms. Not only is Black Language often ignored in English language arts instruction, but language more generally remains largely hidden within elementary ELA. Elementary ELA educators are tasked with teaching a vast array of skills, content, and concepts. So, teacher education programs are responsible for ensuring that preservice teachers leave prepared to take on the task of cultivating language arts classrooms that foster students’ literacy development. However, traditionally, literacy teacher education and the ELA curriculum has maintained white mainstream English as the standard for which …

Impact Of School Librarians On Elementary Student Achievement, Lois D. Wine

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is evidence that a full-time certified school librarian, trained and licensed based on state requirements, impacts fourth grade and fifth grade student scores on reading and/or mathematics end-of-year state achievement tests. Following over 30 years of school library impact studies, primarily correlational and qualitative studies, the school library field continues to have a lack of strong evidence of school librarian impact. This quasi-experimental matching design was conducted to determine if students who had full-time certified school librarians attained higher achievement scores than students who did not have full-time certified school …

Service Learning And The Experiential Learning Cycle In Elementary School, Brittney D. Rose

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

There has been an increase in interest in service learning in the past decade (Kuh et al., 2017). However, there has been less attention given to service learning in elementary school, particularly to service learning that does not focus on academic outcomes for the students (Scott & Graham, 2015). This qualitative instrumental case study utilized focus groups with fifth grade students, interviews with educators, education specialists and a nonprofit representative, and observational notes to explore students’ and educators’ experiences as they participated in a service learning project in conjunction with a nonprofit organization. Findings indicate that specific collaborative practices, such …

Science In The School Library Inquiry Model (Sslim): A Mixed-Methods Case Study Of The Implementation Of A Science And Information Inquiry Curriculum In An Elementary Library, Bree L. Ruzzi

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Data indicate that students in the U.S. may start school with lower levels of science understanding and that these levels may consistently remain lower throughout their public-school career. With deficits in science achievement starting in the earliest years of students’ education, benefits may be gained by exploring alternate resources and alternative environments that can support young student’s science education and achievement. A largely unexplored area for science instruction is in the school library. This dissertation, a mixed-methods, case study, examined the creation and implementation of a novel information and science inquiry model and curriculum, SSLIM. This curriculum was created and …

A Continuum Of Care: School Librarian Interventions For New Teacher Resilience, Rita Reinsel Soulen

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

School librarians occupy a unique position to offer supports for first year teachers to build resilience, reduce burnout, and ensure retention. The researcher used the psychology theory of resilience to develop the Continuum of Care model which initiates in mentoring and moves toward a collaborative partnership. Fifteen school librarians in one urban district recruited 26 new teachers in their schools to form the treatment group. All new teachers in the district were surveyed to establish their initial level of resilience and collect demographics. A comparison group of 26 new teachers were matched by scores on a resilience scale at the …

When It Is Troublesome To Do Right: A Narrative Analysis Of The Continual Censorship And “Sivilizing” Of Huckleberry Finn, Angela P. Branyon

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation is a part of a broader program of research that investigates intellectual freedom. The study focuses on developing understanding in three distinct, but related, research areas – the American historical and cultural narrative of race, the historical discourse of intellectual freedom, and the role The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can play in adding to and perhaps changing these historic stories. By using historical narrative inquiry, data was examined from each story to find correlations among the discourses Where previous research centers on and develops the reasons why Huck Finn has been challenged, this research focuses on how …

Implementing Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Strategies Using Children's Literature In The Urban Multicultural Preschool: Examining Teachers' Language Dialect Beliefs And Practices, Nicole Victoria Bailey Austin

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This study examined preschool teachers' implementation of culturally and linguistically responsive strategies using children's literature in an urban multicultural preschool. Through a qualitative phenomenological design, this research aimed to expand understandings of language dialect and achievement in early childhood education and examine preschool teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices regarding identified home languages—African American Vernacular English and Hispanic American English, Academic Language, and code switching. The phenomenon under investigation was early childhood professionals' beliefs and frequency of home language dialect use within the classroom and implementation of culturally and linguistically responsive strategies within the classrooms of an urban multicultural preschool …

School Library Advocacy: Perceptions Of Building Influence, Elizabeth A. Burns

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Hartzell (1997) suggests that many in the school community do not know the value the school library program contributes to the educational landscape, and stakeholders cannot articulate the roles and responsibilities of the school librarian. Advocacy for a school library program is the deliberate and sustained effort to foster understanding of the program while influencing the attitudes of key stakeholders. It includes raising awareness, increasing knowledge and gaining influence for the position of the school librarian. The national professional organization for school librarians, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), maintains a multi-tiered definition of advocacy, with marketing and public …

Autism Assessment Scale For Children (Aasc): The Development Of A Dsm-V Aiigned Questionnaire To Screen School-Aged Children For High Functioning Autism, Christine Hebert

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the latent factor structure underlying the Ellis Functional Assessment (EFA) for children with high-functioning autism (HFA), to compare the latent factor structures for under-identified subgroups of children (older children, gifted children, female children), and to design a pre-screening assessment for HFA based on those results. The scope of the study is limited to children who have been identified as having HFA and whose parents completed the EFA while patients of a mid-Atlantic clinical practice specializing in autism spectrum disorders. The methodology uses preliminary factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to both analyze …

Perspectives Of International Students Performing Service-Learning In The United States: A Case Study With Amizade, Suzanne Beth Unger

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Past research has demonstrated consequences of service-learning and impacts of service-learning experiences on students and community members in domestic and international settings. Researchers have this topic in developing countries; however, few have studied international students' perspectives on doing service-learning in a developed country. This qualitative study aims to determine how students recognize their lives, and lives of community members in need are impacted as a result of their Amizade Global Service-Learning program in the United States. The investigation employs Cone and Harris' (1996) conceptual framework of service-learning to examine interpersonal, sociocultural, and psychological components of the experience. Data were collected …

Addressing The Needs Of Students With Color Vision Deficiencies In The Elementary School Library, Karla Bame Collins

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Color vision deficiencies affect approximately eight percent of the male population (Birch & Chisholm, 2008; Cole, 2007; Jenny & Kelso, 2007; Neitz & Neitz, 2000), yet the condition is often overlooked in the educational setting despite the pervasiveness of color in the school (Suero et al., 2004). The purpose of this study was to explore how elementary school librarians provide instruction and prepare the library environment to meet the needs of students with color vision deficiencies.

This mixed methods study consisted of two components. The first component was a questionnaire administered to elementary school librarians throughout Virginia to gather data …

“This Intense Desire To Know The World”: Factors Influencing The Selection Of Multicultural Children's Literature, Kasey L. Garrison

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Multicultural children's literature offers readers the opportunity to experience new perspectives and cultures or reaffirm and develop their socio-cultural identity (Boston & Baxley, 2007; Yokota, 2009). The availability of diverse titles for youth is critical in enhancing 21st Century literacy and social skills (AASL, 2007; Common Core, 2010; Krashen, 2004). The purpose of this study was to identify factors influencing collection development and the selection of multicultural children's literature in public library collections in geographically and demographically diverse communities across one southeastern state.

Employing a mixed methods design, the researcher first surveyed ten library system collections totaling 70 libraries …

Adjustment Experiences And Ethnic Identity Attitudes Among High School Students In Advanced Academic Programs, Tiffany Michelle Hall

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

African American high school students have been historically underrepresented in advanced placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and dual enrollment (DE) programs. The adoption of more equitable admissions practices has helped many school divisions develop a more ethnically diverse AP, IB, and DE student body. Despite increased African American student enrollment, retaining these students remains an ongoing problem. Equally troubling is the persistent achievement gap that exists between African American and White students in AP, IB, and DE programs African American students do not perform as well as Whites on program exit exams nor do they complete these programs at a …

Where Is The Learning In Smaller Learning Communities? Academic Press, Social Support For Learning, And Academic Engagement In Smaller Learning Community Classrooms, Christopher Michael Fischer

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The extent to which Academic Press and strong social relationships impact Academic Engagement in smaller learning communities (SLCs) situated in large comprehensive urban high schools was investigated. Data were collected through classroom observations, student questionnaires and focus groups with teachers and analyzed using descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and content analysis of focus interview transcripts. Findings from the survey data confirm those found in much of the existing literature, namely that students experiencing high levels of Academic Press were more often the most academically engaged. This finding was also confirmed for African American students in high Academic Press …

A Meta-Analysis Of Supplemental Educational Services (Ses) Provider Effects On Student Achievement, Shanan L. Chappell

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The 2001 renewal of the United States' Title I program, which provides federal funds to schools with large populations of low-income students, instituted the Supplemental Educational Services (SES) program in which schools in their third year of failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) are required to offer after-school tutoring in core subjects to low-income students, provided by public or private tutoring agencies. States are responsible for implementing, overseeing, and evaluating the SES programs; currently, several states and large local school districts have performed evaluations, with many more in the process of publishing results from statewide SES studies. Although state …