Education Commons^™

Inclusive Education For All: Identifying Teacher Beliefs About Working With Students With Disabilities, Chelsea Sharek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the beliefs K-12 teachers have when working with students with disabilities in a rural Pennsylvania school district. This study aimed to identify if teachers’ personal beliefs created biases about their students and school systems; thus, forming barriers and preventing an inclusive education when working with disabled students. Instrumentation for this quantitative study is the Multidimensional Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education Scale (MATIES) survey. Findings suggest that some teachers at Sunnyside School District (pseudonym) hold personal beliefs that could create biases about their students and school system that may form barriers when working with …

Understanding Unacceptable Graduation Outcomes For Historically Excluded Trio Student Support Services Students, Erica Willis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this mixed-methods study is to define the problem and to understand the system that has been leading to unacceptably low graduation outcomes for historically excluded Trio Student Support Services (Trio SSS) students at Mid-Atlantic University (MAU), a pseudonym. To achieve the primary purpose extant documents and institutional data that can shed light on system processes and institutional conditions that perpetuate disparities in graduation outcomes, particularly for historically excluded racial groups that exist at the intersection of first-generation status and/or low socioeconomic status, will be analyzed. The secondary purpose of this study is to identify potential change …

Changing The Face Of Reading Instruction: Do Culturally Relevant Passages Increase The Effects Of The Repeated Reading Intervention For Middle School Black Girls With Reading Difficulties (Bgrds)?, Olajumoke Edith Oshokoya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that fewer studies have focused on improving the reading abilities of middle school Black girls (Morris, 2007). As BGRDs progress through K – 12 grades, they increasingly rely on basic and advanced reading skills (i.e., oral reading fluency [ORF] and comprehension) to learn. Providing BGRDs with engaging reading passages that are relevant to their prior knowledge, background, interests, and experiences, is more likely to motivate them to read, and eventually improve their reading skills (Cartledge et al., 2015). While there is a growing body of literature focused on Black students’ experiences, currently no study has explored the …

Exploring The Role Of Communication In Relational Outcomes In A High School Setting, Paul S. Butler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An action research study in a high school setting applies the Organization-Public Relationships (O-PR) theoretical frame to a short-term communications initiative designed to elicit measurable engagement in the initiative and increased parent feelings of commitment and trust in their relationship with the school. A survey administered before the initiative yields actionable data on communication needs and preferences, levels of satisfaction, and parent feelings of commitment and trust. Survey data gathered after the communication initiative is used to determine changes in levels of satisfaction, commitment and trust. Among the findings are verified and consistent indications of secondary engagement in the communication …

Minoritized Medical Students' Integration Of Professional Identities: A Phenomenological Study, Travis Erickson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study fills a gap in the extant literature by exploring how medical students with minoritized identities make meaning about sense of self-definition and emerging professional identities while enrolled in medical school. More specifically, the focus of this study explored how minoritized medical students perceived their sense of self and dimensions of identity were shaped during their medical education, and what perceptions these medical students had about how they manage their professional identity development. Emergent themes included: (a) making connections between self-definition and professional identities, (b) past experience of difference shaping identities, (c) self-definition with complexity, (d) fluidity as …

Special Education Teachers’ Emotional Well-Being And Work-Related Stressors In The School Environment, Mallory J. Laravie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is little to no research regarding novice elementary special education teachers (SETs) and their emotional well-being while in the school environment. The goal of this work is to illuminate special education teacher’s voices missing in previous research. Additionally, this research examines the impact of work-related stressors on novice elementary SETs' emotional well-being in the school environment. The theoretical perspective of heuristics is used to illuminate a problem or answer a question about the lived experience of the researcher. Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) transactional theory of stress and coping framework guided the research question development, data analysis, and presentation of …

Investigating Saudi Arabia University Teachers’ Level Of Self-Efficacy In The Components Of The Tpack Model, Nouf Alghamdi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to investigate the level of self-efficacy amongst instructors regarding the various components of the TPACK model in their teaching within Saudi Arabia. TPACK represents a viable nexus between technology and educational content, creating successful educational technology integration. Existing research demonstrates a need to study TPACK further in the context of instructors’ level of self-efficacy in the components of the TPACK model (Lee and Kim, 2017). However, this dissertation will investigate instructors’ level of self-efficacy towards utilizing technology in their classrooms. In doing so, the study will adopt a quantitative approach using a survey to gain insights into …

Educator Perceptions Of The Care And Instruction Of Trauma Exposed Students In A Small, Urban, Christian School., Amanda L. Petters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students of color in low socio-economic, high crime urban areas are exposed to a higher level of trauma than their White contemporaries. The trauma that they bring into school with them create challenges for their teachers working to eliminate barrier to students’ education. Widespread efforts have been attempted to thwart the social injustices that many students of color experience in schools including disproportionality around implementation of school rules and the equitable access to curriculum. I used Critical Race Theory to frame my study around students of color in urban areas experiencing disproportionate levels of trauma, and their teachers’ level of …

Educational Robotics And Computational Thinking In Elementary School Students, Sonia D. Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the role of educational robotics in fostering computational thinking in elementary settings, both in classrooms and extracurricular programs. Among growing concerns over K–12 students’ computational thinking deficits, the research evaluated the impact of Lego EV3 and VEX IQ platforms. Data was sourced from lesson plans, student work surveys, and teacher interviews and then subjected to thematic analysis using a qualitative approach. The participants were Texas educators engaged in robotics instruction, even though specific robotics statistics are absent in the Texas Education Agency. Instructional strategies varied from hands-on experiences to translating mathematical concepts into robotic actions. A key …

Alumni Giving From Online Learners: A Logistic Regression Study, Jaqlyne S. Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alumni giving is increasingly important to the vitality of institutions of higher education. With governmental financial support of public institutions steadily declining, understanding philanthropic giving is more important than ever. Advancement offices that serve alumni populations benefit from analyzing predictors of the behavioral phenomenon of charitable giving. It is also known that enrollment in distance education programs is on the rise in the United States. For university administrators and advancement professionals to be proactive in cultivating relationships with alumni that attended through an online modality, more research was needed to understand what motivates philanthropic giving from this alumni constituency. Using …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Perceptions Of Inclusive Preschool Education Through The Lens Of Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Educators., Brooke Noon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Young children with special needs have been educated in early childhood settings with typically developing peers for over 40 years. Successful educational inclusion in the least restrictive environment requires appropriate aids and supports (Individuals with Disabilities Act, 2004). Although researchers have studied many aspects of special education, little investigation has been conducted on the perspectives of dual certified interdisciplinary early childhood educator’s (IECE) perceptions on full inclusion in preschool. This study was designed to examine the connection between the perceptions of IECE teacher’s experiences as a dual certified educator in preschool. In total, 10 IECE teachers were interviewed and completed …

“I Became Myself”: Exploring Cultural Learning Through Stories And Storytelling., Leah Halliday-Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite broad acknowledgement in education that culturally responsive teaching is essential to meeting learners’ needs, defining and operationalizing culturally responsive teaching remains a challenge. Along with being designed to meet the needs of students from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds who have traditionally been underserved, one commonly identified feature of culturally responsive teaching is building on students’ cultural assets to promote their learning. And while stories and storytelling are among the most common teaching tools, storytelling pedagogies tend to use stories to deliver content or to assess student learning. This dissertation explores collaborative story sharing as an approach to helping …

Educator Perceptions Of The Care And Instruction Of Trauma Exposed Students In A Small, Urban, Christian School., Mitzi L. Phelan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is the endeavor of this research project to investigate how a gap in understanding and communication of an advisory program’s fundamental purpose could potentially impact the thoughts and beliefs of teachers in shaping their perceptions of an advisory program’s efficacy. To this end, the purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the lived experiences of twelve teacher-advisors in two high schools in Shelby County, Kentucky to understand their concepts of an advisory program’s efficacy. Using convenience sampling, twelve teacher-advisors participated in semi-structured interviews, providing insight into three research questions regarding teachers’ beliefs, intentionality, and challenges of implementing a …

Exploration Of Privilege And Preschool Teachers’ Demographics Associated With Teachers’ Self-Efficacy In Culturally Responsive Classroom Management, Katherine Madison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Every child in America is entitled to a free public education; however, racial disparities in academics and discipline continue to grow in America’s school system (Glock et al., 2019; Muñiz, 2019). These racial disparities begin in preschool, following the students throughout their school years. African American students, specifically African American males, are three times more likely than their Caucasian peers to be suspended in preschool (CRDC, 2016; Musu-Gillette et al., 2016). Suspension at an early age correlates with students entering juvenile detentions, prisons and incompletion of schooling (Love, 2014; Meek & Gilliam,2016; Muñiz, 2019). Culturally responsive teaching and classroom management …

Community College Students' Perceptions Of Sense Of Community And Instructor Presence In The Online Classroom, Marla Cartwright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, comparative, quantitative study was to determine if there were significant differences between the perceptions of male and female community college students about the importance of sense of community (SoC) in online classes and sense of instructor presence (IP) at eight southern, public, community colleges using survey data. It was the intent of the study to determine if there were significant relationships of students’ perceptions of the presence of sense of community in online classes among factors of age, race, grade point average, cumulative credit hours, credential type, major area of study, and number of previous …

Childhood Trauma In Early Care And Education: Understanding School Administrators’ Perceptions, Olawale Olubowale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods study explores childhood trauma with a primary focus on the beliefs and attitudes of elementary school administrators in their ability to offer trauma-informed leadership and assist their teachers in trauma-informed care (TIC) and education. Participants at various stages of their careers were recruited from elementary schools across 10 U.S. states (N = 240). Employing an explanatory sequential mixed method design, Phase I assessed school administrators’ attitudes using the attitudes related to trauma-informed care scale (ARTIC-45) (see Appendix A). Phase II employed semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data to explain further and clarify the quantitative results. Findings suggest …

Dual Enrollment Matriculation Rates At Tennessee Board Of Regents Community Colleges, Jacob Cutshall Church

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive, quantitative study is to explore the matriculation rates for first-time, full-time freshmen who were previously enrolled in dual enrollment courses while in high school at one of the 13 public community colleges in Tennessee. Percentages, means, standard deviations, ranges, percentages, and proportions were used to describe the data from the 13 public community colleges in Tennessee. The total number of dual enrollment students from 2016 to 2021 across the 13 community colleges over the five-year period was 80,051. Of the 80,051 students, 16,727 students matriculated to their home institution and 63,324 did not. Findings from …

Convolution And Autoencoders Applied To Nonlinear Differential Equations, Noah Borquaye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Autoencoders, a type of artificial neural network, have gained recognition by researchers in various fields, especially machine learning due to their vast applications in data representations from inputs. Recently researchers have explored the possibility to extend the application of autoencoders to solve nonlinear differential equations. Algorithms and methods employed in an autoencoder framework include sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics (SINDy), dynamic mode decomposition (DMD), Koopman operator theory and singular value decomposition (SVD). These approaches use matrix multiplication to represent linear transformation. However, machine learning algorithms often use convolution to represent linear transformations. In our work, we modify these approaches to …

Educators’ Perceptions Of Trauma-Informed Instructional Practices In One Northeast Tennessee School District, Alecia Burleson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the perceptions of classroom-level educators regarding the application of trauma-informed instructional practices. This was achieved by evaluating educators' understanding of the influence of trauma on students, their level of familiarity with trauma-informed instructional practices, and their assessments of the effectiveness of these practices. Trauma refers to an individual's response to a single traumatic incident, a succession of traumatic events, or extended exposure to a traumatic event (SAMHSA, 2014). As awareness of the prevalence of childhood trauma has increased, it is acknowledged as a serious public health issue (Lang et al., …

Strategic Blended Learning: 9-12 Teacher Perceptions Of Digital Engagement Post Covid-19, Brandon D. Weaver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study examined teacher perceptions on the relationship between technology, student academic behaviors, and performance in blended 9^th-12^th grade settings through pre-COVID-19 Pandemic and post-COVID-19 Pandemic learning experiences. This replicate study explored the relationship between teacher perceptions of student motivation and student autonomy and their relation to technology implementation in face-to-face instruction and blended learning environments. Particularly, this study analyzed how student motivation and student autonomy were affected by blended learning technologies and teaching strategies introduced after the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Data were examined to investigate teacher perceptions on the relationship between technology, student …

Parent Choice: Learning Pods Or Public Education During Covid-19 Pandemic, Shari Kinney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the decision-making process of K-12 parents living in the Appalachian Highlands who chose to remove their children from traditional public schools to join learning pods (sometimes referred to as pandemic pods) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to answer this overarching question, the researcher focused her study on two areas: first, what were the possible push factors that influenced parents to remove their children from public schools, and secondly, what were the pull factors that lead parents to choose learning pods over other school choice options. Through the data collected …

College Commute Distance And Retention For First-Time, Community College Freshmen, Michael O'Hagan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative correlational study was to investigate whether any significant relationships existed between one-way student commute distance and retention for first-time, community college freshmen. Additional student success metrics such as three-year graduation rates, enrollment status, credit hours attempted and completed, and GPA were also analyzed for any possible relationship with commute distance.

Archival student data were collected from the participating institution, a public community college in the southeastern United States with four separate instructional site locations. This study followed the incoming class of 2016, entering in the fall semester, through the end of their third year, …

Administrators’ Perceptions Of Alternatives To Suspension In Virginia Urban Public Schools, Hayley Poland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of the use of alternatives to suspension of high school administrators in Virginia urban public schools. The phenomenological research design allowed better understanding of the participant’s view and perception of their use of alternatives to suspension. While there is research focusing on the use of alternatives to suspension, there has been little research in Virginia urban public schools on the perceptions of administrators on the use of alternatives to suspension. The framework this research study utilized to focus the data analysis was Social Learning Theory.

Data collection strategies included …

Papa Was A Missing Stone: An Exploration Into The Lived Experiences Of Father-Absent African American Women, Jamila Jordan Moody

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study examines the lived experiences of adult father-absent African American women to extrapolate from their stories the meaning they attached to the experience and to hear in their own words how they perceived the absence of their father shaped their lives and affected them socially, emotionally, behaviorally, and educationally. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom audio-conferencing with adult African American women who ranged in age from 20-62 years of age living in various parts of the U.S. The findings of this study revealed that father-daughter relationship bonds held a special meaning to each participant as most …

Perceptions Of Educators On Motivational Strategies Influencing Middle School Students In Mathematics Courses, Amy Rigsby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined educators' perceptions of motivational strategies influencing and motivating middle school students to comprehend and perform in mathematics courses. This study used interview data from 15 participants with 2 to 30 years of teaching experience. Educators may utilize this information in multiple settings within the classroom to influence and motivate students in mathematics courses.

Data collection strategies included one-on-one semi-structured middle school educator interviews. Analysis of data occurred in three phases: (a) categorization of data under the five organizational factors, (b) building the explanation in narrative form, and (c) re-examination of the data. The analysis of the …

Understanding Burnout Through The Lens Of Teachers During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Study, Rita Marie Garcia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract As teachers make their way back to the classroom for the 2023–2024 school year, teacher burnout is manifesting itself mentally, physically, and emotionally. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 epidemic a global pandemic, which forced unwanted change in many organizations, especially education (Pressley, 2021). In the state of emergency schools were forced to close and new teaching methods were erected abruptly. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation describes the professions of teaching as one of the most stressful occupations in the United States. Although stress is inevitable, the COVID-19 pandemic has created new stressors and demands …

Professional Collaboration In Small Rural Schools: Teacher Perceptions Of The Role Of School Administrators, Brian A. Bettis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative research study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of school administrators’ support of collaborative planning in small rural schools. Although there has been much research conducted on teacher collaboration through Professional Learning Communities, there has been little documentation of teacher collaboration in small rural schools (DuFour et al., 2020; Hansen, 2015; Moore, 2018). This research study examined teachers’ perceptions of collaboration and the role that school administrators play in the work to establish, support, and maintain collaborative teaming structures.

Data collection strategies included individual interviews of practicing teachers, serving in small rural schools. Analysis of …

Art And Interdisciplinary Opportunities For Literacy Instruction: A Qualitative Study To Examine Educator Perceptions In The Rural Setting, Courtney Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine educator perceptions of teaching art and implementing literacy and interdisciplinary strategies in rural northeast Tennessee school districts. This study explored interdisciplinary connections and opportunities to expand access to literacy acquisition in the art room. Participants included twelve educators who served as art instructors, literacy specialists, and district supervisors in rural public-school systems in Tennessee's First Congressional District. Data were collected through virtual interviews using a semi-structured format. To qualify for the study participants held positions as elementary or secondary art teachers, literacy specialists, or district supervisors in rural northeast Tennessee …

The Experiences Of Students During Covid-19 School Disruptions, Brandi Bullock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of educators with respect to student experiences between March 2020 and February 2021 related to academics, social-emotional health, and safety and security. Data collection strategies included one-on-one interviews with 12 educators in one East Tennessee school district. To qualify for the study, participants had to have taught during COVID-19 schooling disruptions and have taught either 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade in the 2022-23 school year. Data analysis was based on Systems Theory (Laszlo & Krippner, 1998) and Change Theory (Fullan, 2020). The results revealed 5 key themes that …

An Empowerment Evaluation Of Colorado Mountain College’S Mountain Scholars Program Via Latino Alumni Aspirational Goals And Outcomes, Laura Anne Bruch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative inquiry evaluated Colorado Mountain College’s (CMC) in-house Mountain Scholars Program (MSP) via semi-structured interviews with five of its Latino alumni. This study’s assets-based social justice/transformative philosophical framework included David Fetterman’s methodological empowerment evaluation and Tara Yosso’s conceptual community cultural wealth (CCW) theory. This dissertation in practice examined the gap in literature with regards to an in-house student support services program evaluation that partners with the community and focuses on Latinos’ aspirations and aspirational outcomes. I wanted to be a worthy witness to the student demographic group at CMC, as well as at most American postsecondary institutions, considered the …