Education Commons^™

Teachers’ Intention To Use Digital Resources In Classroom Teaching: The Role Of Teacher Competence, Peer Influence, And Perceived Image, Attiya Baddar, Mahmood A. Khan

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: Rapid advancements in information processing and technology are causing transformations in education at an unprecedented pace. The use of digital resources is becoming essential for educators to ensure the effectiveness of their teaching. There is thus a need to transform ways and means of educating teachers to meet the new challenges. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that determine teacher intention to use digital resources in classroom teaching.

Method: The study adopted a single cross-sectional design, in which questionnaires with pre-established scales were completed by 276 university teachers from three major public universities in the …

Moving Beyond Transactional Coursework To Enhance Student Success In University Classes, Mark R. Reavis, Kuldeep Singh

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The goal of teaching is student success, but defining success can be daunting. A rudimentary description of student success involves academic achievement and students’ attainment of a high level of satisfaction with their educational process. The pinnacle of student success is transformational learning. Transformational learning is ultimately evidenced by knowledge-based, responsible, and autonomous thinking. Student engagement enhances student success. As a result, course design and assignment design are critical. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how an online discussion assignment can be used to enhance student engagement and increase student success in a university class. The assignment presented …

Results Of A One-Day Seminar On Preservice Teachers’ Incorporation Of The Udl Framework In Lesson Design, K. Alisa Lowrey, Audra Classen, Peter Paprzycki

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Students with disabilities are increasingly receiving their instruction in inclusive classrooms. General education teachers continue to report a lack of preparation to address their needs. This study examined the impact of a 6-hour professional development seminar on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to determine if preservice general and special education teachers’ overall performance in lesson design to reduce barriers, identified through increased attention to student variability, improved. Two lesson plans, preseminar and postseminar, from 242 participants were scored using a modified education field experience (EFE) rubric that included 19 evaluation criteria. A Rasch analysis was used to determine …

Leveraging The W.H.O.L.E. Experience Framework To Elevate Inclusive Learning, Morris Thomas, Susan Winchell Thomas

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The case study methodology was used to analyze instructional strategies to discuss and refine diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in two psychology courses at a community college in California’s Bay Area. A mentor and mentee professional development experience, referred to as the DEI studio, used four sessions over 5 weeks to explore reflective practice using the W.H.O.L.E. Experience framework as a guide to review current DEI practices and implement additional strategies intended to improve the engagement, experience, and success of all students. Student feedback and data were collected via a six-question student evaluation of the courses. Results showed that …

Photovoice As An Act Of Agency To Decenter Whiteness In P-12 Classrooms, Crystal V. Shelby-Caffey, Jinan Al-Hunayan

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Given the lack of diversity in the P–12 teaching force, we contend that white normativity is prevalent and remains mostly unchallenged in these settings. Acknowledging such inequities requires an intentional focus on equity in teacher education programs. The project described here facilitated in-service teachers’ growth in becoming culturally competent and critically conscious by using Photovoice in P–12 classrooms. Photovoice is a participatory action research method that uses photography to examine the lived experiences of participants. Photovoice was used to examine school-based practices that erased and silenced students while offering an inflection point from which the in-service teachers could develop and …

Redefining “Lgbtq+ Interculture” In Academia, Samantha Winterberg, Michelle Mccraney

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Members of the LGBTQ+ community often face discrimination, harassment, and exclusion in academic settings, which can negatively impact their academic and personal success. Studies have shown that LGBTQ+ students are more likely to experience negative mental health conditions, drop out of school, and struggle to find employment after graduation. Cultural humility fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion, which is critical to ensuring an equitable educational experience for all students, particularly those from marginalized communities. Intercultural understanding is essential to develop cultural humility so that attitudes reflect empathy and tolerance of differences, including sexual or gender orientation variances or ambiguity. Understanding how …

Reading-Racetracks And Self-Graphing On Literacy Performance Of Struggling Students With Behavioral Problems, Anne Barwasser, Kerstin Nobel, Matthias Grünke

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Literacy influences all aspects of life. Unfortunately, a rising number of students struggle with reading and spelling, which can result in enormous educational barriers. Difficulties in literacy accompanied by learning-related problem behavior can create additional risk factors. Effective interventions for these students should consider individual needs and focus on multiple components of learning simultaneously. The present single-case study focused on the effects of motivational reading racetracks, with and without self-graphing, on the word-reading and spelling performance of three third graders with severe literacy and behavior problems. Our intervention was carried out three times a week over a 5-week period. The …

The Continuing Influence Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Tertiary Education, Gary J. Burkholder, Erwin Krauskopf

Higher Learning Research Communications

We are pleased to publish the first regular issue (Volume 13, Issue 1) of Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC) for 2023. While the World Health Organization and the governments and health departments in most of the world have ended the COVID-19 emergency, the effects of the pandemic on operations in higher education will likely continue for some time. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) published a report (Abdrasheva, 2022) that globally examines the state of higher education two years after the pandemic began. The authors noted that in the area of teaching and learning, “slow adaptation to …

Teacher Preparedness And Implementation Of The National Pre-Tertiary Education Curriculum Framework In Ghana, Simon Ntumi, Sheilla Agbenyo, Alex Tetteh, Clarke Ebow Yalley, Abraham Yeboah, Daniel Gyapong Nimo

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Curriculum reform is a significant approach to prepare schools to be effective in meeting contemporary societal needs and imperatives. Several countries around the world, therefore, engage in curriculum reform to enable schools to prepare children with the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed in the present and future society, but implementing change following a curriculum reform is often complex. In our study, we sought to understand how teachers respond to curriculum implementation following the introduction of the national pre-tertiary education curriculum framework (NPECF) in Ghana. We employed a concurrent, nested, mixed-design strategy (embedded design) using a sample of 352 randomly selected …

Case Study Method To Increase Preservice Teachers' Experience With Ell Accommodations And Self-Efficacy, Kelly M. Torres, Samantha Tackett, Meagan C. Arrastía-Chisholm

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The enrollment of English language learners (ELLs) in American public schools continues to increase each year. The substantial growth in this population of learners makes it imperative for future educators to understand how to effectively support ELLs’ acquisition of academic content and English language proficiency. In past studies, preservice teachers have reported lower levels of self-efficacy when supporting these learners. This investigation examines how case study approaches can be utilized with preservice teachers to understand how they recommend strategies/accommodations for ELLs and their levels of self-efficacy in implementing these instructional approaches. Findings from this research suggest case studies are effective …

Student Mistakes In Elite School Classrooms: Teacher Reflections And Reported Instructional Strategies, Maleka Donaldson

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This article explores how teachers respond to student mistakes in one educational setting—an elite private high school. This qualitative study is a thematic analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with teachers at one such school. The results reveal that in their responses to student mistakes, the teachers work to build trust and emotional safety, give students agency throughout the learning and feedback processes, and ask probing questions that rigorously challenge their thinking. By considering teacher accounts of their instructional approaches and past experiences, the study adds a context-specific, real-world perspective on how teachers in an elite school frame student mistakes.

Using Emotion Regulation To Support Informed Literacy, Rachael A. Vandonkelaar

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

When it comes to fake news, no medium circulates and reaches more youth than social media. Social media can provide an opportunity for students to create and post with an authentic audience; however, social media can also perpetuate the danger of fake news. Youth across the globe emotionally engage with content several hours a day and can become vulnerable to the clickbait style of news. Therefore, although research has studied how critical literacy instruction supports informed reading, literacy instruction must also address students’ emotional regulation needs. This research-to-practice article describes the dangers of fake news on youth interactions and provides …

Forced Isolation In An Era Of Inclusion Within U.S. K-12 Public School Communities, Cheryl Burleigh, Andrea Wilson

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the forefront disparities and inequities in U.S. K–12 public school systems that affected both educators and the students they served—not only during school closures but also after in-person instruction resumed. The purpose of this scholarly essay is to shed light on the levels of isolation that occurred during the pandemic and still affect educators in K–12 public schools as they seek to foster academically rigorous and inclusive school communities. Recognizing, and then quickly responding to, historic events by implementing strategies that take into account the social determinants of learning and health is the starting point …

Perspectives Of Middle School Teachers About The Use Of Virtual Reality For Learning Spanish, Betty N. Ukera-Kajoh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Foreign language education in the United States has historically produced poor outcomes, with very few language learners achieving communicative competence. The increasing global demand for multilingual professionals makes the issue a salient one. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of U.S. middle school Spanish teachers about the use of virtual reality (VR) as an instructional tool for developing communicative competence in Spanish language. The research question, which was informed by Canale and Swain’s communicative competence theory, and educational technology theory by Huang, et al., addressed middle school Spanish teachers’ perspectives regarding their use of …

College Readiness In Writing As Determined Through Graduates’ Qualitative Perceptions, Dr. Rebecca G. Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The aim of this study was to determine why, although rigorous standards in English language arts (ELA) have been adopted in a northwestern state and were designed to build toward college readiness, high school students graduating from a college readiness curriculum are not college ready in the area of writing. The purpose of the research was to explore graduates’ perception of college readiness, how a college readiness curriculum prepared them for college writing, and ways to improve that preparation. The theory that supported this study was the concept of college readiness. The key research questions for this study addressed how …

Examining High School Teachers’ Perspectives With Culturally Responsive Teaching, Maria Victoria O'Brien

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed through this study was teachers’ inconsistent use of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) in a high school in Northern Virginia (NVHS). The purpose of the study was to examine high school teachers’ perspectives on the successes, challenges and support needed to better implement CRT at the NVHS. Ladson-Billing’s and Gay’s culturally responsive teaching theory formed the conceptual framework that guided this study. The research questions focused on teacher perspectives about the successes, challenges, and support needed with CRT. A basic qualitative design was used to capture the insights of eight high school teachers through semistructured, individual …

How Elementary Teachers Implement The Eureka Mathematics Curriculum To Improve Mathematics Outcomes, Shannell A. Swan-Clarke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many states use research-based mathematics curricula as an instructional tool to improve mathematics performance outcomes on state assessment scores. The problem was that despite the implementation of a research-based curriculum, students at XYZ Elementary School (pseudonym) had underperformed on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers standardized mathematics tests since 2018. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to discover the implementation practices of teachers using the Eureka Mathematics Curriculum to improve student outcomes at XYZ Elementary School. Dewey’s experiential learning theory was used to support and explore ideas involving the influences of curriculum implementation on …

Junior High Teachers’ Perceptions Of Differentiating Instruction For Students With Trauma, Olawanle Victoria Lawson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem for this study was that junior high school teachers faced challenges involving differentiating their pedagogy to meet academic needs of students with trauma. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore junior high school teachers’ perceptions of this topic. The conceptual framework for this study was the trauma-informed care and practice framework that is influenced by six key principles and four elements of trauma-informed care approach. Two research questions were focused on perceptions of junior high school teachers regarding differentiating instruction to meet needs of students with trauma, and supports needed to address their pedagogical challenges involved …

The Effects Of Parental Engagement Programs On Grades 3-5 Milestones Student Achievement, Deborah Malone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although the Every Student Succeeds Act sets the parameters for parents and families to be involved in their children’s education, there are no specified guidelines on how that involvement should be designed to best impact student achievement. The purpose of this study was to compare Grade 3-5 students’ mean Milestones test scores in English Language Arts, mathematics, and science (dependent variables) at two Southeastern United States elementary schools which offered parental involvement/parental engagement programs—a nonmandatory or mandatory program (independent variable), represented by School A and B, respectively. The theoretical foundations of the study were the social and human capital theory …

Educator Preparedness In The Use Of Simulation In Nursing Education, Marcelene E. Hart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractNurse educators lack preparation when using simulation as a teaching modality in educating nurses and nursing students within their clinical environment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand nurse educators’ perceptions of the challenges in preparing for simulation-based training experiences for nurses and nursing students. Vygotsky’s constructivist theory was used as the conceptual framework for the study to emphasize students’ innate ability to learn using active and hands-on processes through simulation experiences. Questions were developed to explore the challenges nurse educators encounter when preparing for simulation activities. Survey questionnaire invitations were sent through email to hundreds of …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Social Emotional Learning Instruction And High Residential Mobility Students’ Reading Literacy, Janel Dorene Morris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Based on recommendations from research, leaders in a north Texas public school district implemented social emotional learning (SEL) to address academic gaps among high residential mobility (HRM) students. Incorporating SEL instruction improves academic achievement 11 percentile points on average; however, in Adoniram School District (ASD), 2021 passing rates fell 8% from 2019 despite adopting SEL curriculum. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how ASD elementary teachers instructed SEL, and their perceptions of how SEL techniques influenced HRM elementary students’ reading literacy development. The study on social and emotional skills (SSES) conceptual framework guided this study because …

Training Strategies To Improve Salesperson Confidence And Production, William B. Bronson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many sales leaders need strategies to improve the productivity and confidence of their sales personnel. Ineffective sales training programs cost organizations billions of dollars in annual revenue and profits. Grounded in adaptive leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative mini-ethnographic multiple-case study was to explore successful strategies used by sales leaders that combine and balance virtual and online resources with traditional face-to-face training methods to increase the productivity and confidence of sales personnel. Data were collected by interviewing eight salespeople and two sales managers spanning two Texas insurance companies and reviewing company documents. Data were analyzed using Yin’s five-step process …

Examining High School Teachers’ Perspectives With Culturally Responsive Teaching, Maria Victoria O'Brien

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed through this study was teachers’ inconsistent use of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) in a high school in Northern Virginia (NVHS). The purpose of the study was to examine high school teachers’ perspectives on the successes, challenges and support needed to better implement CRT at the NVHS. Ladson-Billing’s and Gay’s culturally responsive teaching theory formed the conceptual framework that guided this study. The research questions focused on teacher perspectives about the successes, challenges, and support needed with CRT. A basic qualitative design was used to capture the insights of eight high school teachers through semistructured, individual …

Employer Perceptions Of The Skills Gap In College Graduates’ Written Communication, Julie Minnaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. employers have reported that many college graduates are underprepared in written communication when hired and that lack of preparedness hinders these graduates’ employment success. Higher education institution (HEI) administrators need information regarding which writing skills should be taught across the curriculum to improve student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate employers’ perspectives on the written communication skills gap that hinders college graduates from being successful in their professional practice. Swales’s six characteristics of a discourse community provided a conceptual lens for the study, as graduates commencing employment represent newcomers to a discourse community. A basic qualitative …

University Interdisciplinary Linked Block Schedules And Developmental Student Success, Linda S. Reeves-Wymer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Developmental education is the starting point for many 1st-year college students, especially from underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation populations. One such 1st-year program linked block-scheduled academic skill-development courses with a required interdisciplinary general education science course where instruction was provided simultaneously in a lecture format to college-ready nondevelopmental students and developmental students in three skill-development courses: reading, writing, and combined reading/writing. Although this program had existed for over 20 years, the effectiveness of the program, meaning whether the linked skill-development courses were associated with academic success, had not been assessed. Guided by Tinto’s integration theory, a causal comparative design with the …

Historically Black Colleges And Universities' Faculty Experiences With Online Course Design, Ashley Burton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Quality online course design requires course designers to make carefully informed decisions based on current resources and considerations for the learner. Some faculty at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) design online learning without the assistance of instructional designers, training, or a technological infrastructure that supports online learning. To date, there is a shortage of scholarly research about how HBCU faculty design online courses and what supports or barriers exist for them. Thus, this basic qualitative research study aimed to understand faculty’s online course design experiences at HBCUs. Instructional design, adult learning theory, and the HBCU context formed the conceptual …

Educator Preparedness In The Use Of Simulation In Nursing Education, Marcelene E. Hart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractNurse educators lack preparation when using simulation as a teaching modality in educating nurses and nursing students within their clinical environment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand nurse educators’ perceptions of the challenges in preparing for simulation-based training experiences for nurses and nursing students. Vygotsky’s constructivist theory was used as the conceptual framework for the study to emphasize students’ innate ability to learn using active and hands-on processes through simulation experiences. Questions were developed to explore the challenges nurse educators encounter when preparing for simulation activities. Survey questionnaire invitations were sent through email to hundreds of …

High School Teachers’ Perspectives On Formative Assessment In The Virtual Learning Environment, Tiffany Mcbean

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Formative assessment in the virtual learning environment is a beneficial complement to teacher pedagogy and student learning. But there is little research on high school teachers’ perspectives on the use of formative assessment in the virtual learning environment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to address this research gap. The conceptual framework was Black and Wiliam’s theory of formative assessment. Two research questions guided the study. The first addressed high school teachers’ perspectives on formative assessments in the virtual learning environment. The second addressed how teachers used formative assessment in the virtual learning environment. Semistructured interviews were conducted …

Employer Perceptions Of The Skills Gap In College Graduates’ Written Communication, Julie Minnaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. employers have reported that many college graduates are underprepared in written communication when hired and that lack of preparedness hinders these graduates’ employment success. Higher education institution (HEI) administrators need information regarding which writing skills should be taught across the curriculum to improve student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate employers’ perspectives on the written communication skills gap that hinders college graduates from being successful in their professional practice. Swales’s six characteristics of a discourse community provided a conceptual lens for the study, as graduates commencing employment represent newcomers to a discourse community. A basic qualitative …

Fourth Grade Teacher Perspectives Of Instructional Practices To Support Students With Reading Deficits, Juanita Carter Robbins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was the focus of this study was that only 30% of fourth grade students in the United States read at or above grade-level proficiency. Lack of reading proficiency affects fourth-grade students’ ability to master content presented in subjects across the curriculum and may limit their educational attainment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore fourth-grade teachers’ perspectives of instructional practices to support students with reading deficits, the challenges teachers encounter, and the resources teachers need to meet those challenges. The conceptual framework comprised Tomlinson’s model of differentiated instruction. Three research questions explored the instructional …