Education Commons^™

The Impact Of The Summarization/Paraphrasing Strategy, Frayer Model, And Student Engagement On Reading Comprehension, Yolanda Janiece Reilly

Education Dissertations and Projects

This mixed-methods research examined student achievement in reading comprehension as measured by the North Carolina End-of-Grade Test for Reading Comprehension, and specific reading strategies (Frayer Model & Summarization/Paraphrasing strategy) in Grades 6–8 classrooms. The purpose of this research was to determine if a difference exists in student reading comprehension achievement between students instructed using the Frayer Model and students instructed using the Summarizing/Paraphrasing strategy, when used with fidelity, and which reading strategy students found to be more engaging between the Frayer Model and Summarization/Paraphrasing strategy. Engagement is a major factor in education that impacts achievement in the classroom as well …

A Study Of High School Students Of Military Personnel And Their Perceptions Of Support In A Rural Public School, Eileen Marie Farley

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study sought to understand the unique social and emotional characteristics of the high school military-affiliated students and student perceptions about the school’s efficacy in meeting those social and emotional characteristics. To address the problem, this study looked at a high school in a rural community 20 miles outside of a large military base with a 25% military-affiliated population. The quantitative study surveyed students in the ninth and eleventh grades using a previously validated tool, the California Healthy Kids Survey, and the data were collected and analyzed by loglinear analysis. The data suggested that while the military students felt supported …

Examining The Culturally Responsive Practices Of Elementary Educators, Rebekah Lawing Duncan

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to study teacher perceptions about working with students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Twelve elementary schools were studied. Teachers completed the Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Self-Efficacy (CRCMSE) Scale. Data collected during this dissertation will be of use to school and district leaders as they plan professional opportunities for elementary teachers. The purpose of this dissertation was to determine if an association exists between teacher ratings on the CRCMSE Scale and the years of experience of the teacher. A focus group discussion of 15 teachers was utilized to answer the following questions: How prepared do you feel to …

A Comparative Study Of Two Graduation Pathways: Traditional Vs. Stem At A Southeastern High School, Chemisi Asha Kogo-Masila

Education Dissertations and Projects

This mixed-methods study approach investigated the impact of standardized tests on student achievement from the STEM program and the traditional program in a suburban high school. Qualitative data were collected from interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires to get perceptual data from teachers. Quantitative data were collected from different demographic information and the standardized tests American College Testing (ACT) and end-of-course examination (EOC). An independent sample t test, the Chi-Square Test of Independence and Pearson R Correlation of association test were used to analyze the data collected. Documents with the graduation rates for the participants were reviewed, and both programs had …

Effectiveness Of The Career And College Promise Program In Increasing College Readiness At A Rural North Carolina Community College, Ashley Paris Day

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study addressed the effectiveness of the North Carolina Career and College Promise (NCCCP) program using Conley’s (2010) framework for college readiness in determining and promoting college readiness for students participating in the program at a rural North Carolina community college. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used in this study. Phase I involved quantitative data collection and analysis from existing statistical data in the form of NCCCP student final course grades (n=886), general education math common assessment scores (n=98), and CCP student (n=27) and instructor (n=9) responses to perception college readiness surveys. The quantitative data analysis was followed …

An Examination Of The Impact Of Induction On Teacher Efficacy, Julie Anne Stanley

Education Dissertations and Projects

States have turned to effective induction programs in response to rising teacher attrition rates and a widening student achievement gap. Comprehensive induction programs that develop highly efficacious teachers report a decline in teacher attrition, an increase in job satisfaction, and a rise in student achievement. The intent of this research was to assess the level of the perceived self-efficacy of fourth-year teachers across the domains of instructional strategies, student engagement, and classroom management following the completion of the county’s induction program. The study explored the induction program’s structure in a large, urban North Carolina county to evaluate the extent of …

Writing Focused Professional Development For Content-Area Teachers: The Effects Of Writing Instruction On Content-Area Student Achievement, Amanda Edwards Whatley

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of writing on the content areas when coupled with ongoing professional development and support for content-area teachers. Research shows that writing is an essential skill for success in and beyond the school setting. Research further indicates that writing plays an important role in student learning through its development of cognitive processes; however, in general, writing as a mode of learning is not a focus of either pre or in-service teacher training. As such, writing beyond note-taking and fill-in-the-blank activities is not necessarily a strategy utilized in content-area teacher classrooms. This …

Passion For Teaching: Self-Efficacy Of Elementary Special Education Teachers Who Have Persisted In The Special Education Teaching Field For At Least 5 Years., Lisa Diane Stewart

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study was to gather perceptions of elementary general curriculum special education teachers who have persisted in the special education teaching profession past the 5-year mark. Based on Bandura’s (1977) Social Cognitive Concept of Self-Efficacy Theory, this study sought to understand self-efficacy in elementary general curriculum special education teachers who have remained in special education for at least 5 years. Lived experiences of nine elementary general curriculum special education teachers were gathered through three in-depth interviews. Follow-up interviews provided rich, thick description and member checking was utilized to triangulate the data.

First-Year Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Readiness For The Classroom, Kathryn Elizabeth Pritchard

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study addresses the impact of teacher preparation programs on novice teachers’ perceived readiness for the classroom. An explanatory sequential mixed-method, three-phase design was used involving two collections of quantitative data and a focus group convened to explore themes that emerged from quantitative data. Data collected suggest whether the type of teacher preparation program completed by a preservice teacher impacts a novice teacher’s perceived sense of readiness for teaching. Butin (2010) discussed “translating research into effective practice has been the weak link” (p. 4) in research studies. Studying a potential connection between teacher sense of readiness for the classroom and …

Teacher Perceptions Of African American English And Its Impact On Teacher Expectations, Sabrina Keith Rhoden

Education Dissertations and Projects

This applied dissertation was designed to examine teacher attitudes toward African-American English (AAE) and how those attitudes influence teacher expectations for students who speak AAE. Previous exposure to AAE as well as differences between teacher interaction with AAE speaking students and non-AAE speaking students was investigated. Teacher expectations are more strongly related to the later achievement of children from stigmatized groups, i.e., children from minority and/or low socioeconomic backgrounds; and teacher expectations have lasting effects on these students’ performances (Jussim & Harber, 2005). Since it is estimated that up to 80% of African-Americans living in the continental United States speak …

A Case Study Of A Business-Education Partnership Through Internships, Dana Blue Chavis

Education Dissertations and Projects

Economic and demographic shifts are disturbed due to high school and collegiate dropout rates as well as discrepancies in scholastic achievement. This shift in the labor market has caused policymakers, educators, and employers to seek answers for how the knowledge and training of scholars can boost their skills to make them college, career, and life ready. Internships are resurfacing as an extra educational appeal that might bridge the gap between the knowledge and work, once these are aligned with the values and expectations of the major key players (scholars, employers, and educators) with the substantive support of policymakers. The purpose …

Making It Matters: Makerspaces’ Impact On Creativity In An Elementary School Media Center, Janet Blair Austin

Education Dissertations and Projects

This mixed-methods action research study investigated the impact of makerspaces on student creativity. Seventy fifth-grade students were exposed to makerspaces for 12 weeks. Quantitative data were collected using two assessment instruments. Prior to the experience, the students were given a preassessment of their creative potential using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). After 12 weeks, students were given a postassessment using a different form. A paired sample t test was used to analyze the pre and posttest results. In addition, teachers were asked to evaluate student creativity by completing the creativity portion of the Scales for Rating the Behavior …

Analysis Of School Counselor Leadership Practices Through The Lens Of Bolman And Deal’S Four-Framework Model, Patrice Suzette Banks-Rogers

Education Dissertations and Projects

School counselors play an integral role in school reform. School counselor leadership is key to academic, personal/social, and career readiness of all students in a school. This nonexperimental, quantitative study explored the following research questions: (1) What is the relationship between school counselors’ primary leadership orientation and specific demographic factors (current grade level served, total number of years as a counselor, and prior teaching experience); (2) What is the relationship between school counselors’ primary leadership orientation and actual and perceived job responsibilities; and (3) What is the relationship between school counselors’ primary leadership orientation and school counselors’ professional development preferences? …

Media Coverage Of Standardized Testing: A Qualitative Analysis Of Newspaper Reports In Four North Carolina Newspapers, Denita Dowell-Reavis

Education Dissertations and Projects

Standardized testing exists as part of public policy to measure the success of students, teachers, and schools. Ushered in by No Child Left Behind during the G.W. Bush era, testing came with labels for schools which opened the conversation as to whether schools were in crisis or failing. Most of the focus in research on standardized tests has centered on whether the tests were biased, if they were overused, and how they affected teaching and learning. In a comprehensive review, no studies could be found to determine what the public knows about standardized tests based on newspaper reports. This examination …

How Does A Teacher's Level Of Knowledge Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Impact A Teacher's Efficacy In Student Engagement, Instructional Practices, And Classroom Management, Pamela Humphries Merritt

Education Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study examined how a teacher’s level of knowledge of ADHD impacted a teacher’s self-efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. One hundred and twenty-three teachers participated in the study. They were asked to complete surveys and vignettes to assess their ADHD knowledge and their self-efficacy. Each efficacy subscale was calculated to determine if there was a correlation between teacher knowledge of ADHD and a teacher’s sense of efficacy. The Knowledge of Attention Deficit Disorder Scale (KADDS) was used to assess teacher knowledge. KADDS consisted of three subscales with the first subscale being general knowledge. Teachers answered …

Program Evaluation: The Impact Of An Elementary Afterschool Program On Educating The Tenets Of The Whole Child, Jacquelyn Faith Jackson

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to provide an increased understanding of what is involved in providing whole child education. The researcher of this dissertation evaluated teacher awareness, changes in instructional behaviors, and the impact on culture as a result of an elementary afterschool program. All teachers were instructed to focus on their perspective in relation to providing the tenets of whole child education in the studied elementary afterschool program. Throughout this study, teachers were the primary focus implementing strategies which were specific to a rural elementary afterschool program to investigate currently utilized strategies and teacher awareness of the different tenets and …

Middle School Administrator And Teacher Attitudes Towards Students With Mild To Moderate Disabilities In The Inclusive Classroom, William James Kimble

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine middle school administrator and teacher attitudes towards inclusion in one local education agency (LEA) in North Carolina. Administrators and teachers from three middle schools were surveyed to determine factors that impact their attitude of inclusion with regard to years of experience, gender, extent working with students with disabilities, role in education, age, highest degree obtained, number of special education courses taken in college, and expected length in education. The Attitude Towards Teaching All Students Instrument (ATTAS-mm) was used for the quantitative portion of this study. The ATTAS-mm is organized into three components …

The Perceptions Of Stem From Eighth-Grade African-American Girls In A High Minority Middle School, Lachanda Nichole Hare

Education Dissertations and Projects

Even with the existence of STEM curriculum and STEM programs that target women and minorities, African-American females still lag behind other ethnic groups in STEM fields. Reasons for the underrepresentation of females in STEM fields can be traced back to the early years of schooling. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that impact African-American females’ perspectives of STEM subjects and STEM careers. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach was used for data collection with a survey, focus group, and interview. Forty male (N=12) and female (N=28) students from different ethnic groups were surveyed. The focus group and …

Uncovering The Truth: A Phenomenological Study Of Parent Perceptions About Parent Involvement In A Rural North Carolina Community, Kate Pascoe Smith

Education Dissertations and Projects

Numerous studies have been conducted over the years to define the concept of parent involvement. This phenomenological study sought to understand parent perceptions from bicultural families of varied race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status through the personal experiences and lived stories of each participant using Irving Seidman’s qualitative method of an “in-depth interview process.” This phenomenological study looked to discover the following question: What are the meanings, structures, and essences of the lived experience of parent involvement by bicultural families in a rural North Carolina school? Grounded in Bourdieu’s (1986) Cultural Capital Theory and Olivos’s (2010) Theory: Paradigm of Tension, Contradiction …

In Their Words: A Phenomenological Study Of The Experience Of The Mentees In The Citizen Scholars Program, Margaret Kane Lee

Education Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study examined the mentoring experience of five students involved in a community-based mentoring program developed to guide high ability, low-socioeconomic students from sixth grade through high-school graduation and on to college acceptance and graduation. This study explored, from student perspectives, how each student experienced and interpreted their personal mentoring relationship. Additionally, it explored each student’s perception of how the mentoring experience influenced his or her academic achievement and academic self-efficacy. The study followed an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach and was guided by Rhodes’s mentoring model and Bandura’s work with self-efficacy. Following the analysis protocol developed by Jonathan Smith, …

The Impact Of Literacy Coaching On Teacher Efficacy When Employing A Balanced Literacy Framework, Wanda Faye Frederick

Education Dissertations and Projects

The primary goal of literacy coaching is to improve student learning. Meeting this goal requires an understanding of, and attention to, research on effective district, school, and teacher practices including a guaranteed and viable curriculum and challenging goals and effective feedback (Marzano, 2003). Research has shown that the impact of literacy coaching has increased teacher efficacy in the teaching of reading. This dissertation employed a mixed-methods study to determine the impact of literacy coaching on teacher efficacy when employing a balanced literacy framework. The participants were Grades 3–5 English/language arts (ELA) teachers from five Title 1 elementary schools within the …

Case Study Of The Classroom Culture That Impacts Teacher Efficacy Of Secondary Level Teachers Of English Language Learners, Connie Marie Davis Banks

Education Dissertations and Projects

Throughout the United States a dramatic shift in demographics is taking place, similar to the changes of the early 20th century, as thousands of immigrants cross the threshold of Ellis Island (Karathanos, 2009). Undergoing a greater makeover is the culture of classrooms and American teachers who have seen, firsthand, an increase of more than 60% of English language learner (ELL) students over the past decade (Ballantyne, Sanderman, & Levy, 2008). The purpose of this study was to develop a more in-depth understanding as to whether mainstream teachers from a school district located in upstate South Carolina perceived themselves to be …

A Mixed-Methods Study Of A Teacher Preparation Program: Preservice Teachers' Perceived Preparedness To Integrate Technology Effectively, Erin Banks Davis

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which preservice teachers within a teacher preparation program perceived themselves to be prepared to integrate technology, specifically examining the level of confidence preservice teachers perceive themselves to have towards TPACK-related skills needed to integrate technology into their instruction. Participants in this research study were solicited based on their enrollment in the selected teacher preparation program within the last 5 years; also included were current seniors enrolled in their final semester before degree completion. This research study contains a sample size of 20 participants from a small, private university in …

A Study Of Teacher Job Satisfaction, Teacher Preferred Leadership Behaviors, And The Impact Of The Leadership Behaviors On Teacher Job Satisfaction, Lorna Jackie Tobias

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study’s purpose was to examine teacher job satisfaction, teacher preferred leadership behaviors, and the impact of these behaviors on teacher job satisfaction. Current research points to a myriad of contributing factors regarding teacher job dissatisfaction including increased accountability, heavy workloads, low salary, and perceived lack of principal support. In this study, 81 teachers secondary from an urban school district in North Carolina completed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Bass & Avolio, 2004) and the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1994). This online survey identified job satisfaction levels of teachers, preferred leadership behaviors, and correlations between teacher job satisfaction and the preferred …

Family And Community Engagement In One High School: Where Perceptions Meet Practices, Coreen Ann Marie Anderson

Education Dissertations and Projects

The intent of this study was to explore the perceptions of administrators, teachers, students, and families of students in one urban high school regarding the importance of family, school, and community engagement; and to explore the steps they take, or not, to develop and sustain such engagements. The study is grounded in Bandura’s (1977, 1986) work which indicates self-efficacy influences peoples’ beliefs to perform different tasks. Additionally, the study relies on Epstein’s (1995) theory of overlapping spheres which postulates six typologies to guide family and community engagement. A two-phase, explanatory sequential mixed methods was used to obtain statistical results from …

Structured Prekindergarten: Is It A Bridge For The Reading Achievement Gap For Hispanic Kindergarten Students?, Carol Hayes Artis

Education Dissertations and Projects

Educational journals, researchers, and practitioners assert that prekindergarten yields positive academic and socialization results for those who attend (Neuman, 2007; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, 2010). This mixed-methods study was conducted to examine the impact of the prekindergarten program in County X Public School District on the kindergarten reading performance of Hispanic students. The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) was the instrument used for measurement. This subgroup’s accountability results and school performance reflect a significant gap as compared to White students. Hispanic students, whose presence in North Carolina schools is …

Use Of Technology And Perceived Level Of Engagement With 1:1 Technology, William Blake Tucker

Education Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative dissertation was designed to describe to the policymakers and stakeholders of School District Z the frequency of use of the 1:1 technology, the frequency of use of other technological devices by teachers and students, and the importance of 1:1 technology to student learning. District Z provided Chromebooks to each student in Grades 6, 7, and 8 during the 2014-2015 school year with the goal of harnessing the power of technology to engage students and ultimately to improve student achievement. The researcher developed a survey instrument to capture data from approximately 1,100 students 1 year after implementation of the …

A Study Of Student Attitudes And Dispositions Toward The Use Of The Inquiry Method In Teaching Eighth-Grade Social Studies, Michael George Bolling

Education Dissertations and Projects

Despite a recent emphasis on instruction that utilizes higher level critical thinking skills in middle schools, too many history teachers rely primarily on rote memorization due to state standards that place an emphasis on teaching to a multiple choice standardized test. The difficulty of having to teach copious amounts of information is that it can give rise to the problem of coverage. Teachers feel they must cover massive amounts of material so their students will do well on the standardized test at the end of the school year. This leaves little time for engaging the students in higher level critical …

Project Cems: Cost Efficient Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses, Wendy Brown Dellinger

Education Dissertations and Projects

The goal of any organization is to find cost efficient marketing strategies to promote their business. Project CEMS provided a template for the partnering organization to utilize for the improvement of their customer service and public image. This marketing plan consisted of four distinct yet coinciding stages, each focusing on the goals of the project. In Stage I, an interactive website was built to provide potential clientele with essential company information. During Stage II, high impact and detail oriented presentation packets were created. The focus of Stage III was on customer care which included correspondence, branded promotional items, satisfaction survey, …

Universal Diversity Training, Masonya N. Ruff

Education Dissertations and Projects

The Cleveland County Schools (CCS) district has more minorities and children living in poverty than in past years. With this increase in diverse cultures, teaching and teachers have remained the same. As a result, the achievement gap has not gotten smaller. White students are not growing and achieving as they should. There is a need now more than ever for teachers to step outside the box and do things differently. Not only must they do things differently, but they must also “see” things differently. This requires a paradigm shift.

The purpose of this project is to develop a framework for …