Education Commons^™

For The Love Of Teaching: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experience Of Moral Education, Anne Marie Foley Ruiz

Doctoral Dissertations

Moral aspects of teaching arise each and every day, yet we lack information about how prepared teachers feel about this critical aspect of teaching. This multi-case study explores perceptions of five pre-service teachers in an elementary teacher education program in Western Massachusetts. A series of interviews explore their histories prior to the program and their experiences in the program as related to the pre-service teachers’ orientations to the moral work of teaching. Research questions address the awareness and self-efficacy of student teachers in implementing the moral aspects of teaching. Using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006), this study explores beliefs …

Transformative White Identity As A Teacher Educator: A Poetic Narrative Autoethnography, Scott E. Jenkinson

Doctoral Dissertations

Whiteness, white privilege, and white supremacy are oppressive power structures that invisibly condition educational relationships among all students, teachers, and teacher educators. To undermine this destructive pattern, white teacher educators must actively commit to an ongoing and life-long process of white identity (re)formation that informs antiracist pedagogical praxis and models self -reflective practices for their pre-service teachers. The purpose of this poetic narrative evocative autoethnography is to show but one example of how a white teacher educator might begin this emotionally forward transformative experience.

The researcher, a white teacher educator at a southeastern United States public 4-year institution, developed a …

Shifting To Critical Empathy: Exploring The Ideological Becoming Of Secondary Teachers During Critical, Dialogic Professional Development, Maria Mcsorley

Doctoral Dissertations

The limited research concerning empathy within secondary education continues to focus on student empathy, rather than shifting the gaze to teacher empathy. Moreover, while teacher empathy is generally conceptualized as an innately positive quality, skill, or disposition, the research (while limited) suggests that empathy without deep understanding of social and structural inequity has demonstrated risk. Teachers who, for example, develop and express empathy across lines of difference without knowledge of systemic inequality (particularly about how inequity shows up in schools) have the potential to oversimplify or overidentify with an “other’s” experience (Boler, 1999). This can lead to the false confirmation …

An Assessment Of The Professional Development Of Special Education Teachers In Saudi Arabia, Raja Almutairi

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to assess the current state of professional development activities of Saudi special education teachers in comparison to the research-based professional development practices of special education teachers. A survey of professional development evaluation and job satisfaction that describe three components was electronically collected from 613 special education teachers who were actively employed in Saudi public schools during the 2019/2020 school year. The results show that participating in professional development activities contributed to the study’s special education teachers’ satisfaction with their teaching profession. Additionally, the findings suggest that improvements to the professional development practices that are …

“I Missed A Lot Of Childhood Memories”: Trauma And Its Impact On Learning For Formerly Incarcerated Adolescents In The Age Of Zero Tolerance Policies, Alberto Guerrero

Doctoral Dissertations

The literature makes abundantly clear that trauma has a detrimental impact on students’ academic and behavioral efforts. It also challenges the notion of zero tolerance disciplinary practices being effective in redirecting student behaviors, making schools safer, and creating an environment that is conducive to learning. Yet, our current school climate consists of educators who have not been exposed to trauma-informed learning, while also incorporating disciplinary practices that are both draconian in nature and push students out of their learning spaces. This unfortunate reality is felt even more harshly by students who return to schools following an incarceration. This phenomenological study …

An Examined Life Of A Language Teacher Of Chinese: An Autoethnographic Investigation Into Agency, Ying Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

There is a paucity of research about and done by L2 Chinese educators regarding the theoretical construct of agency. It is also noted that the qualitative inquiry is marginalized in L2 Chinese research field, let alone the narrative study of the agency of experienced by L2 Chinese-teachers. In this dissertation research, I aim at filling in the gap by conducting a longitudinal autoethnography which captures over a decade (1997-2017) of my personal and professional development with an agency perspective. The highly personalized autoethnographic accounts open up my personal and professional life as an experienced, college-level, transnational, early 40’s female native …

Chilean Teachers Responses To And Understanding Of Student Interaction With Diverse Peers In The Classroom, Javier Martín Campos-Martínez

Doctoral Dissertations

Chile’s educational inequality has sparked intense debates in recent years (Cabalin & Bellei, 2013; Stromquist & Sanyal, 2013). While there is a wide consensus concerning the crucial role that teachers play in fostering inclusion in the classroom, research suggests that Chilean teachers, often without intent or awareness, reinforce exclusionary student interactions marked by social class and gender hierarchies (Carrasco, Zamora, & Castillo, 2015; SERNAM, 2009; Tijoux, 2013). Although teachers’ motivation and concern for questions related to exclusion and inclusion in education are spreading, navigating exclusionary dynamics can be particularly challenging especially since teachers’ initial and continuing professional education seldom addresses …

When Healing And High-Stakes Meet: Restorative Justice In An Era Of Racial Neoliberalism, Dani O'Brien

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on a 3-year ethnography, this dissertation documents the story of Presente, an explicitly critical youth-led restorative justice group attempting to dismantle the school-prison nexus and create a more youth-centered culture at their high-reform high school. This dissertation addresses the questions: How does serving as a restorative justice peer leader impact students? What challenges and opportunities arise as the school tries to transition to more restorative practices? And how do the values central to restorative justice come up against, challenge, and get challenged by neoliberal education reform?

Adopting Active Learning Classroom (Alc) Technology And Overcoming Barriers: A Faculty Development Intervention Model For Technology-Enhanced Learning Spaces, Bradford D. Wheeler

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this study was to understand how instructors use technology, and what challenges they face, but also to increase the participants’ understanding of Active Learning Classroom (ALCs) technologies as it applies to their teaching by applying action research methodologies. This study also seeks to lay a foundation for additional research on ALCs, education technology, and the needs of instructors in terms of faculty development in technology. This study investigates a group of 13 faculty members in multiple disciplines teaching in ALCs. Thus far, research on the impact of technology-enriched learning environments like Active Learning Classrooms has typically centered …

Exploring Experiences, Perspectives, And Identity (Re) Formation Processes Of African High School Students In U.S. Public Schools, Brenda M. Muzeta

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the experiences of African high school students in U.S. public schools. Specifically, the study explores how African students negotiate their identities in a new education environment. Drawing on Asante’s (1980) Afrocentric theoretical framework, Erikson’s (1968) theory of identity and Tajfel and Turner’s (1979) social identity theories, this interview-based qualitative study seeks to describe and interpret how African high school students make sense of their new schooling experiences. One of my major goals of the study is to honor, recognize and bring to life the voices of African high school students. Their experiences are often minimized, their voices …

Critical Language Awareness In An Ell Urban Language Classroom: Transforming A Latina Teacher’S Language Ideology, Yvonne V. Fariño

Doctoral Dissertations

How can language be re-conceptualized as a tool and resource in contested pedagogies? Vygotsky theory of the mind (1978, 1986, 1998) and Engeström Activity Theory (1987, 1992) document how learning and development are situated within sociocultural contexts (Scribner & Cole, 1981; Tharp & Gillmore, 1988). Vygotsky theory of the mind (1978) central tenet is “understanding everyday activities and of cognitive processes” (Mondada & Pekarek Doehler, 2004: 467), or the process of appropriation itself, as it happens in everyday practices without isolating it from social context or human agency. Even though the goal of activity theory claims to be multi- voiced …

Modeling As Teaching: Preparing Preservice Teachers To Implement Universal Design For Learning, Eric Jordan Moore

Doctoral Dissertations

Increasing diversity and growing achievement gaps among diverse groups in U.S. public schools has resulted in increased pressure on teacher education programs to prepare teachers effectively to meet the needs of contemporary students. Research is needed to establish best practices of teacher education that carry forward into future practice. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has been proposed as a framework to help address the need for more flexible learning environments, but limited research has been conducted to determine best practices for supporting preservice teachers in learning this complex framework. In this dissertation study, I examine the notion that education research …

Seguimos Luchando: Women Educators’ Trajectories In Social Movement Based Popular Education Projects In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jennifer Lee O'Donnell

Doctoral Dissertations

Through a multisite ethnographic investigation, I provide a look at the vision and practices of women teaching in the popular education sector, particularly those who impact social, economic, and political public spaces in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As an alternative to Freirean based education theory, which may overshadow the collective work of women in popular projects, this work highlights women’s commitments to education that contests neoliberal reform, transforming not only curriculum and pedagogies, social practices, and discourses inside classrooms, but the communities where they live as well.

Shared Focus/Collective Responsibility: The Lived Experience Of Educators As Members Of A Data Team In A Connecticut Public High School, Abbie-Jean M. Lareau

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT SHARED FOCUS/COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY: THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF EDUCATORS AS MEMBERS OF A DATA TEAM IN A CONNECTICUT PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL This study explores the experiences of five high school English Teachers in a Connecticut public school acting as an Instructional Data Team as prescribed by the Connecticut Accountability for Learning (CALI) model. Data Teams are teams of educators that participate in collaborative, structured, scheduled meetings, which focus on the effectiveness of teaching as determined by student achievement. Data Teams adhere to continuous improvement cycles, analyze trends, and determine strategies to facilitate analysis that results in action. Data Teams can …

Exploring The Ways New Faculty Form Beliefs About Teaching: A Basic Interpretive Study, Beth Ann White

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the formation of beliefs about teaching held by faculty in their first three years of teaching in higher education classrooms and their perceptions of the ways those views may or may not have changed as they gain experience. This study followed a basic, interpretive approach with a sample of new faculty who explored the formation and enactment of their beliefs about teaching in higher education. Based on a thematic analysis of the interview data, three themes were identified as influencers of belief formation: modeling, teaching experience, and formal instruction. Changes in belief …

Turning Around The Culture Of Teaching And Learning: A Turnaround School Success Story, Rachael B. Lawrence

Doctoral Dissertations

In 2009-2010, Riverton Elementary School in Portland, ME was awarded a School Improvement Grant (SIG), supported by the Federal Department of Education (Federal DOE) through the Maine Department of Education. With this funding, Riverton undertook the challenge of the turnaround school model between 2010-2013, which resulted in positive change in academic achievement for their students and an improved teaching and learning climate and culture. This dissertation examines why the turnaround model may work, what is currently known about SIG funded turnaround schools, and what the specific actions and changes that led to the successful turnaround of this school were. While …

Reclaiming Voices And Identities: An Examination Of African American Educators’ Experiences Before And After Brown V. Board Of Education, Leta Hooper

Doctoral Dissertations

The Brown v. Board of Education rulings in 1954 and 1955 are often regarded as cases that set the precedent for dismantling schools operating on a racially “separate but equal” system. The outcome of the Brown v. Board of Education rulings led to the closing of Black schools as well as the dismissal and displacement of Black educators (Fultz, 2004). Black educators’ experiences of teaching in segregated and desegregated schools, as well as their role in challenging inequitable education conditions, are topics that continue to be ignored in mainstream society (Fultz, 1995; 2004; Siddle-Walker, 2013). The purpose of this life …

Enriching Teacher Self-Efficacy Through A Support Centric Evaluation Model: A Mixed Methods Study Of Team's Impact On Teacher Self-Efficacy, Elizabeth Marie Norton

Doctoral Dissertations

The effectiveness of teacher evaluation systems is determined by the extent to which they can support improved instructional practice. Research suggests that implementation factors such as attitudes of school leaders (Kimball & Milanowski, 2009), perceptions of fairness (Delvaux, Vanhoof, Tuytens, Vekeman, Devos, & Petegem, 2013), the relationship of the evaluator and the teacher (Weber, 1987), and the quality of the feedback provided can all impact the effectiveness of the evaluation system (Conly & Glasman, 2008; Danielson, 2012; Delvaux et al., 2013; Weber, 1987). This mixed methods study attempted to determine the extent to which these implementation characteristics occurring within the …

Postive Behavioral Interventions And Supports In Out Of School Time: Providing Professional Development Via Consultation And Performance Feedback, Sheera Hefter

Doctoral Dissertations

American youth are in need of supervision after the school day concludes. After School Programs (ASPs) provide students with safe and supportive venues that have the potential for encouraging student growth and development. ASPs across the country struggle to find high quality professionals to staff their programs; adequate training for these professionals is also limited. There is also significant evidence linking strong teacher-student relationships to both academic and social success. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a framework that has a strong evidence base to support success in promoting a proactive approach to behavior management within school settings. The …

Catch The Bus: Investigating The Correlations Between Teacher Collaborative Action-Taking And Self-Efficacy, Tara B. Brandt

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the correlations between particular teacher collaborative actions and teachers’ sense of self-efficacy. Additionally, descriptive analyses provided a snapshot of current collaborative action-taking across US schools, and elucidated teachers’ present sense of self-efficacy. This study utilized existing data from the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (sponsored by the OECD), which was completed by 1,926 lower secondary teachers from just over 120 different American schools. Multivariate correlational analysis confirmed that frequency of US teachers’ participation in collaborative actions significantly correlated to higher levels of teacher self-efficacy. Actions with the highest correlations included: taking …

Coaching Conversations: Discourse Within Reading Recovery Teacher Leader Training, Kristi Dawn Swafford

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the discourse of literacy coaching conversations within the Reading Recovery Teacher Leader training year. Both Reading Recovery and literacy coaching have been well researched, however there were gaps in the literature concerning the role of the Reading Recovery Teacher Leader within Reading Recovery and the details of literacy coaching interactions, specifically the language of coaching sessions. This study sought to address these gaps in the literature by examining the discourse of Reading Recovery Teacher leaders and their coaches as they participated in literacy coaching sessions during their 2014.2015 training year. Eleven coaching …

“Beyond The Four Walls Of My Building”: A Case Study Of #Edchat And The Power Of Connectedness, Virginia G. Britt

Doctoral Dissertations

Professional development is an important aspect of all teachers' careers as a way to continually grow and enrich his/her craft. It is particularly important for K-12 American teachers because of the continual push to increase student achievement. With the introduction of social media networks, teachers are able to connect and learn from others outside their school building to those across the world. While we know Twitter and other social media sites have grown in popularity with educators, we still do not know what is happening within this online space and how it supports teachers. The purpose of this case study …

The Relationship Between Demands And Resources And Teacher Burnout: A Fifteen-Year Meta-Analysis, Tammy Marie Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

This meta-analysis explored the phenomenon of teacher burnout— the biggest contributor to teacher attrition (Owens, 2013; Unterbrink, 2014; Yu, 2015). The focus of this study was to use meta-analytical procedures to explore the relationship between burnout dimensions (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of personal accomplishment) and specific demand and resource correlates. Demand correlates included work overload, role conflict, role ambiguity, and student misbehavior. Resource correlates included peer support, supervisory support, and decision-making. This meta-analytical research method encompassed fifteen years of published and unpublished studies from January 2000 through January 2015. A total of 116 studies met the following inclusion …

Principals’ Perceived Influence Over New Teacher Retention, Meredith Coates

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT Studies report that nearly a third of novice teachers leave the field before their third year of service (Ingersoll, 2002), and almost half of novice teachers leave the field before completing their fifth year of service (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003; Johnson, 2004). These rates of turnover have remained steady (NCES, 2011). Schools are workplaces where teachers face a multitude of factors that collectively contribute to job satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Generally, research has indicated that administrative support has a profound effect on the experiences of new teachers (Ingersoll & Kralik, 2004). The purpose of this phenomenological study is to examine 6 principals’ …

Impacts Of The Game-Centered Approach On Cognitive Learning Of Game Play And Game Performance During 5-Week Of Spring Season With Intercollegiate Female Soccer Players, Kanae Haneishi

Doctoral Dissertations

Game-centered approaches have been increasingly recognized for their features and the impacts in coaching profession. Research with the game-centered approach is still underdeveloped in coaching sports and physical activities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe the impacts of the game-centered approach on cognitive learning of game play and game performance during 5-week of spring season with intercollegiate female soccer players. Game performances at beginning, mid, and end of the season were examined through Game Performance Assessment Inventory (GPAI) with seventeen participants. Cognitive learning of game play was also assessed with instant recalls and practice journals with all …

Teachers’ Experiences Of Professional Development In (Post)Crisis Katanga Province, Southeastern Democratic Republic Of Congo: A Case Study Of Teacher Learning Circles, Paul St J Frisoli

Doctoral Dissertations

Teachers in (post)crisis contexts face an array of de-motivating factors such as insecurity, lack of pay, difficult working conditions, minimal leadership, and feeling undervalued (Johnson, 2006; OECD, 2009; Shriberg, 2007). To bolster their motivation and support their teaching, teachers in these settings need a forum where they feel valued as professionals (Asimeng-Boahene, 2003; Bennel & Akyeampong; Kirk & Winthrop, 2007). One model of teacher professional development (TPD) known as "Teacher Learning Circles"(TLCs) is currently being implemented in Katanga province in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for early grade reading teachers. TLCs strive to help teachers adopt innovative teaching techniques …

Speaking Volumes: Professional Growth In Book Studies, Elizabeth Smith Blanton

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative dissertation is to provide a description of the professional book study experience and gain insight into its use to support teacher professional development. Research on the use of professional book studies has been conducted in colleges, and by university researchers in public school settings. There is also a large field of research on leisure book clubs, providing insight into their popularity. Little research exists, however, on professional book studies from the point of view of the educators who were the participants. This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of 12 educators who voluntarily participated in …

Cooperating Teachers As Models Of Best Practice: Student Teachers' Perceptions, Connie B. Melder

Doctoral Dissertations

The selection of expert, effective cooperating teachers who can foster successful student teacher experiences and serve as primary role models for teacher candidates is central to the success of student teaching. However, a lack of consensus exists among education professionals on a standardized definition of effective cooperating teachers. The purpose of this dissertation study was to determine if student teachers' perceptions of cooperating teachers' modeled actions of professional standards differed across four certification grade bands: (a) early childhood certification (grades PK-3), (b) elementary certification (grades 1-5), (c) secondary content (grades 6-12) certification in English, mathematics, science, and social studies, and …

Understanding Contradictions In Teacher-Learner Identity, Digital Video, And Goal-Directed Activity In A Blended Graduate Reading Education Course, Jennifer K. Lubke

Doctoral Dissertations

More teachers are experiencing professional development within blended/virtual learning communities, which I consider a fruitful avenue for expansion of new literacies in K-12 classrooms. However, new literacies challenge traditional structures in education even as new rules of corporate-sponsored reform and high-stakes accountability serve to reinforce these structures. Within this context of contradictions, a cohort of teachers from a rural, remote county in the southeast United States participated in a blended learning environment in their final semester of graduate-level coursework in Reading Education. Some of the teacher-learners, whose own attitudes and motivations toward technology were as diverse as the tools themselves, …

The Impact Of Beliefs And Curricular Knowledge On Planning For Science: A Multisite Case Study Of Four Teachers, Jessica L. Horton

Doctoral Dissertations

This descriptive multisite case study details how the beliefs and curricular knowledge of four science teachers in a southeastern school district affected their planning for science instruction.

Through the analysis of interviews, think-aloud planning records for one unit of instruction, and related documentation, categories were identified and connections drawn to how their beliefs and knowledge influenced planning for instruction.

The four teachers in this study jointly expressed certain beliefs about how students best learn science. They expressed beliefs that students best learn science through hands-on activities, through discourse, and by building the student’s knowledge base. The teachers also expressed beliefs …