Education Commons^™

Teaching Experience And Perceived Challenges For School Administrators Regarding Job Stress, Respect, Student Achievement, Assessment & Evaluation, And Professional Development, Erika H. Bradley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether an administrators’ professional teaching background and years of administrative experience influence their perceptions of the opportunities and challenges they face guiding the improvement of teaching and learning. Specifically this research analyzed administrators’ perceptions of level of stress, respect among colleagues and school community, professional development, student achievement, and assessment and evaluation. Participants in this study consisted of Tennessee and North Carolina principals, assistant principals, and associate principals within a 60 mile radius of the East Tennessee State University campus. Data were collected through an online survey system, Survey Monkey. The …

Early Interventions And Student Achievement, Alana S. Hillman

Dissertations

Educating children is a costly endeavor; however, when children with special needs enter kindergarten unprepared emotionally, socially, or academically, the increased costs and support systems have to be absorbed by the schools and communities. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference between the academic achievement of students participating in Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) compared to students without ECSE services with DIAL-3 scores ranked in the 20th percentile or below. Achievement scores for second and third graders in one urban school district were utilized to compare the scores of ECSE and non-ECSE students. …

The Relationship Between Weather And Lunar Changes On Student Achievement And Measures School Districts Utilize To Combat Potential Impact, Kendra Stuart

Dissertations

Classroom disruptions present an obstacle to raising student achievement for teachers and school administrators. This study was designed to investigate potential relationships between weather, specifically barometric pressure, or the lunar cycle, and whether either had a direct correlation with student discipline referrals. The intent was to discover trends concerning barometric pressure or lunar phases and their predictability on the number of discipline referrals. Data were collected on three years of elementary student discipline referrals and compared to barometric pressure readings and lunar phases over the same period. The study also surveyed elementary principals on current measures school districts are utilizing …

A Study Of Best Practices And Student Achievement In Elementary And Middle School Reading, Tracey L. Hankins

Dissertations

Reading and writing proficiency are skills necessary to be successful academically and in today’s workplace. Literacy skills are directly linked to a better quality of life, the ability to read labels, civic documents, to expand knowledge, and to boost self-esteem (SIL International, 2012). Teaching reading and writing is a complicated arena in education and must be addressed in a systematic manner in order for students to excel. In this study, state test scores in Communication Arts for students in grades 3 through 8 in Missouri were examined to determine the top 10% of schools. Once the top 10% of schools …

A Study Of Student Engagement Activities, Discipline Referrals, And Student Achievement In Reading First Schools, Shelly Lynette Fransen

Dissertations

High quality student engagement activities are essential if students are to be successful learners. Over the years, many instructional strategies and models have been devised to encourage teachers to develop student engagement activities that result in high achievement. The Reading First Model initiative was introduced as a part of the No Child Left Behind legislation and was implemented in hundreds of schools across the United States over the last twelve years. Yet, in 2009, federal funding for Reading First was eliminated. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between student achievement on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) …

The Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Making Middle Grades Work, Darryl Rene Porter

Dissertations

Many school districts throughout the United States utilize educational programs in their schools to improve student achievement. The Southern Regional Education Board recognized that to improve graduation rates in high school, students’ academic performance in middle schools needed to be improved, which gave rise to the Making Middle Grades Work initiative. The researcher conducted this study to determine the perceptions of the effectiveness of Making Middle Grades Work initiative. Participants in this study included 114 teachers and 18 administrators. The participants indicated their perceptions of the effectiveness of the Making Middle Grades Work initiative by responding to questions on a …

The Relationship Between Positive Behavior Support And Task Completion In The Elementary School Setting, Kristin Renee Freiberger

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

In many elementary schools in low-income neighborhoods, students face many everyday challenges that prevent them from developing habits of successful achievement. Children often exhibit a lack of motivation regarding task completion. Positive behavior support enhances task completion in the elementary school setting. The purpose of this study is to find successful tools teachers can use to promote academic task completion. Students in an elementary school classroom received instruction on task completion and specific interventions to use. They were then evaluated in the math subject area for the number of tasks completed during a one month time period. Different groups of …

Student Extracurricular Participation, Student Achievement, And School Perception: An Elementary School Perspective, John M. Israel

Dissertations

Research studies of extracurricular activities have illustrated specific relationships between participation and certain student characteristics, such as higher grades, higher standardized test scores, higher attendance, fewer discipline issues, and increased positive school perception. Since so much of the previous research on extracurricular activities has focused on the secondary education level, the researcher questioned whether or not these same relationships would be present in elementary school students who participated in extracurricular activities. This research study was conducted at one elementary school in a large metropolitan area to determine what, if any, relationships among variables including length of time participating in the …

Unpacking The Study Of Instructional Improvement: Issues, Outcomes, And Implications Of Three Comprehensive School Reform Efforts, Gabriella Silva Gorsky

Master's Theses

There is a long history of educational reform efforts in the United States. Current literature on school reform suggests that a comprehensive approach that involves implementing instructional change across many instructional domains is more effective at producing the types of far-reaching improvement desired compared with mono-focal approaches focusing on a single new strategy. This study explored the impacts and outcomes of the Accelerated Schools Project (ASP), America’s Choice (AC), and Success for All (SFA) within the Study of Instructional Improvement (Ball, Cohen, & Rowan, 2010) schools to answer three primary questions: Are student outcomes on TerraNova mirrored by outcomes on …

The Effects Of An Education Recovery Team On Teacher Professional Practices, Collective Teacher Efficacy And Student Achievement In Persistently Low Achieving Schools, Stella Ann Burns

Online Theses and Dissertations

This paper is an exploration of the daily work of education recovery teams in turnaround schools in eastern Kentucky. Data used for this analysis were collected from the Kentucky Department of Education. Data from the identified persistently low achieving schools was compared to pre and post-test over one school year to determine the effectiveness of the turnaround practices on the low achieving schools. Forty-one schools have been identified in the state as low performing; sixteen in the eastern service region. Findings from this study lend insights into the work of education turnaround and best practices of education recovery teams. The …

Relationships Between Teacher Perceptions Of Principal Leadership And Student Achievement In Kentucky Appalachian High Schools, James I. Dantic

Online Theses and Dissertations

High Schools located in Kentucky's rural Appalachian region have historically performed below average on national and state assessment instruments. These schools are located in a geographically isolated region with high unemployment, almost stagnant population growth and limited economic resources. Principals of these Kentucky Appalachian Schools are charged with raising student achievement and ensuring college and career readiness for all students in this challenging environment.

This correlational research examines principal leadership as determined by teacher responses on Kentucky's 2011 TELL survey and its relationship with student achievement as defined by school level performance on 2011 ACT and gains in student performance …

An Examination Of Teacher Efficacy On Student Achievement In Regional Juvenile Detention Centers And Youth Development Centers In Kentucky, Scott Tyrone Ferguson

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the self-efficacy of teachers who work in the juvenile detention and youth development centers in Kentucky and how their level of self-efficacy influences their students' efforts to complete high school. This study is important because it provides information that contributes to the improvement of education for students incarcerated in juvenile detention and youth development centers in Kentucky. A quality education for these students ensures they will have the same opportunity for success that was afforded them in their regular school.

Youth committed to the juvenile detention and youth development centers are considered …