Education Commons^™

Factors Influencing Special Education Teachers' Mathematics Teaching Efficacy, Owen Martin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research examined the relationship between secondary special education teachers’ mathematics teaching efficacy and the number of years of teaching experience, years of co-teaching experience, and number of math content coursework taken at the undergraduate level. Students with special needs continue to score significantly lower than their general education peers on Virginia’s standards of learning mathematics tests. A quantitative, non-experimental correlational research design was used in this study. The targeted sample consisted of approximately 120 collaborating special education teachers in two school districts in southeastern Virginia. The Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (MTEBI) was measure mathematics teaching efficacy and teacher …

The Perceptions Of Elementary Principals About Their Role In The Establishment Of Collaborative Workplaces In Their School Buildings, Bradley Sullivan

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this case study was to develop an understanding of the elementary principal’s perceived role in creating and sustaining a collaborative workplace environment within their school. Collaboration among education professionals, when used effectively, is one strategy that has demonstrated improvement of instruction and student learning. As such, in this context the role of the principal becomes more complex and challenging. This study examined the perception of the elementary principal’s role regarding the establishment and perpetuation of a collaborative workplace environment for teachers that is focused on improving student learning within their buildings.

In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 …

Success Despite Socioeconomics: A Case Study Of A High-Achieving, High-Poverty School, Thomas Brent Tilley, Samuel J. Smith, Russell L. Claxton

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Effective school leadership is becoming more difficult than ever with the challenges of increased accountability and high stakes testing that are components of federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. These challenges are more pronounced in schools with high rates of poverty. This was a case study of a high performing, high poverty school that has consistently been one of the highest performing elementary schools in the state. The purpose of the study was to describe the leadership that exists at the school, the culture of the school, and programs that contribute to the school’s success. The researcher conducted observations …

Teacher Collaboration As Professional Development In A Large, Suburban High School, Marlie L. Williams

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative study explored the impact of teacher collaboration in a professional learning communities (PLC) school on teacher self-efficacy. Through the collection and analysis of personal interview data from 20 teachers in a large, suburban Midwestern high school, the impact of structured teacher collaboration was evaluated for its impact on changes in teachers’ instructional practices, their feelings of responsibility for student learning, positive adult interdependence, and changes in teacher self-efficacy. Experts in educational professional development identify the importance of sustained, collegial learning. This study explored the structure of one high school’s professional collaboration model, the measures in place for goal-setting, …

Building Leadership: The Knowledge Of Principals In Creating Collaborative Communities Of Professional Learning, Chad M. Dumas

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Research literature is replete with the importance of collaboration in schools, the lack of its implementation, the centrality of the role of the principal, and the existence of a gap between knowledge and practice--or a "Knowing-Doing Gap." In other words, there is a set of knowledge that principals must know in order to create a collaborative workplace environment for teachers. This study sought to describe what high school principals know about creating such a culture of collaboration.

The researcher combed journal articles, studies and professional literature in order to identify what principals must know in order to create a culture …