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Georgia Southern University

Georgia Educational Researcher

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Full-Text Articles in Education

A Methodological Review Of The Articles Publishes In Georgia Educational Researcher From 2003-2010, Justus J. Randolph, Andrea E. Griffin, Samara R. Zeiger, Kristina N. Falbe, Noreen A. Freeman, Bridget E. Taylor, Amy F. Westbrook, Cheryl C. Lico, Cristy N. Starling, Nakiesha M. Sprull, Carolyn Holt, Kristie Smith, Hannah Mcanespie Apr 2013

A Methodological Review Of The Articles Publishes In Georgia Educational Researcher From 2003-2010, Justus J. Randolph, Andrea E. Griffin, Samara R. Zeiger, Kristina N. Falbe, Noreen A. Freeman, Bridget E. Taylor, Amy F. Westbrook, Cheryl C. Lico, Cristy N. Starling, Nakiesha M. Sprull, Carolyn Holt, Kristie Smith, Hannah Mcanespie

Georgia Educational Researcher

Methodological reviews, reviews that concentrate on research methods rather than research outcomes, have been used in a variety of fields to improve research practice, inform debate, and identify islands of practice. In this article, we report on the results of a methodological review of all of the articles published in Georgia Educational Researcher from 2003-2010. We examined the methodological characteristics, authorial characteristics, and methodological quality of those articles using quantitative content analysis. The major findings were that (a) the proportions of the type and traditions of articles published in Georgia Educational Researcher were similar to the proportions in education research …


A Preliminary Study Of Disproportionate Representation And Response To Intervention, Jade A. Enrique, Katharine S. Adams, Lantry L. Brockmeier, Larry D. Hilgert Apr 2013

A Preliminary Study Of Disproportionate Representation And Response To Intervention, Jade A. Enrique, Katharine S. Adams, Lantry L. Brockmeier, Larry D. Hilgert

Georgia Educational Researcher

Disproportionate representation occurs when the percentage of an identified group enrolled in special education varies significantly from that group’s overall percentage of the school population (Harry, 1994). Response to Intervention (RTI), a paradigm for educational intervention, is designed to minimize many factors contributing to disproportionality. The study examined disproportionality risk ratios for African American students, ages 6 through 21, who received special education services in a southeastern state supporting the RTI initiative during the 2006-2009 school years. Data suggest that African American students identified with a specific learning disability experienced increased referral and placement in special education in the three …


Boxes And Quilts? I Thought This Was College! Utilizing Pedagogical Tools To Access Students' Sociocultural Selves, Mari Ann Roberts, Marquita Jackson-Minot Apr 2013

Boxes And Quilts? I Thought This Was College! Utilizing Pedagogical Tools To Access Students' Sociocultural Selves, Mari Ann Roberts, Marquita Jackson-Minot

Georgia Educational Researcher

This reflection on practice discusses action research involving two pedagogical tools, identity boxes and culture quilts, which utilize the praxis of culturally responsive pedagogy. These tools were used to build classroom community and help students examine how their lives and education reflected “cultural themes of the society, personal themes, institutional themes, and social histories” (Creswell, 1998, p. 49). A qualitative examination of student response to the use of these tools indicated a strengthening of classroom community and the beginning of a transformative openness to, and critical examination of, cultural concepts based in what the authors term differentialities.


The Effect Of Facebook On Teaching Applicants' Employability In Georgia, J. Brandon Sluder, Amanda Andrews Benson Jan 2012

The Effect Of Facebook On Teaching Applicants' Employability In Georgia, J. Brandon Sluder, Amanda Andrews Benson

Georgia Educational Researcher

The purpose of this study was to determine if Facebook had an impact on the employability of prospective teachers in K-12 public education in the State of Georgia. The participants in this study included one hundred and ten administrators (all involved in the hiring of teachers) across the state of Georgia. These administrators were asked to answer a short survey that measured their usage of Facebook when investigating prospective teaching applicants applying at their school. The results of the study indicate that even though a growing number of administrators are using Facebook, at this time there is not a significant …


Analyzing Levels Of Feedback Delivered By Cooperating Teachers And Supervisors In A Teacher Internship: A Case Study, James Badger Jan 2012

Analyzing Levels Of Feedback Delivered By Cooperating Teachers And Supervisors In A Teacher Internship: A Case Study, James Badger

Georgia Educational Researcher

This research analyzed the feedback delivered by cooperating teachers and university supervisors in an internship, and reports how student teachers perceived the feedback they received during debriefing sessions with their mentors. Hattie and Timperley’s (2007) framework for conceptualizing effective feedback was used to analyze cooperating teachers’ and field supervisor’ assessment of the student teachers’ classroom instruction. Findings from two surveys, documents, and interviews revealed a preponderance of feedback that was devoted to instruction and classroom management with a relative paucity of feedback dedicated to the processing of instruction, consideration of student learning, and development of self-reflection in the student teachers. …


Educational Leadership Program Effectiveness: Evaluation From Graduates And Their Principals, Judith Patterson, Binbin Jiang, Mary Chandler, Tak Cheung Chan Jan 2012

Educational Leadership Program Effectiveness: Evaluation From Graduates And Their Principals, Judith Patterson, Binbin Jiang, Mary Chandler, Tak Cheung Chan

Georgia Educational Researcher

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational leadership program through the perceptions of its recent graduates and their school principals. Graduates who obtained leadership positions after graduation were surveyed and interviewed regarding their perception of their program preparation. Principals of these graduates were also interviewed by the researchers to solicit their feedback regarding essential program components of an educational leadership program to meet future challenges. Findings of this study highlighted program areas that met the educational demands and identified program areas that needed improvement.


A Quantitative Content Analysis Of Mercer University Theses, Justus J. Randolph, Lura S. Gaiek, Torian A. White, Lisa A. Slappey, Andrea Chastain, Rose Prejean-Harris, Cole Hansard Jan 2012

A Quantitative Content Analysis Of Mercer University Theses, Justus J. Randolph, Lura S. Gaiek, Torian A. White, Lisa A. Slappey, Andrea Chastain, Rose Prejean-Harris, Cole Hansard

Georgia Educational Researcher

Quantitative content analysis of a body of research not only helps budding researchers understand the culture, language, and expectations of scholarship, it helps identify deficiencies and inform policy and practice. Because of these benefits, an analysis of a census of 980 Mercer University M.Ed., Ed.S., and doctoral theses was conducted. Each thesis was coded on 10 variables. The descriptive characteristics of the theses, the predictors of the length of the theses, and the predictors of the type of research method used were investigated. The main results were that: (a) the vast majority of thesis authors was female, (b) the number …


Teacher Reflection Through Video-Recording Analysis, Anthony M. Pellegrino, Brian L. Gerber Jan 2012

Teacher Reflection Through Video-Recording Analysis, Anthony M. Pellegrino, Brian L. Gerber

Georgia Educational Researcher

The purpose of this research study was to examine the utility of video-recording self-analysis as an effective means of reflective practice for teachers. Participants were enrolled in a graduate-level education specialist program for practicing teachers based, in part, on the National Board for Professional Teaching standards–one of which explicitly focuses on reflective practice for teachers. Participants employed a formal observation instrument to guide them in this reflective activity. All participants recorded and analyzed their teaching using the observation instrument, and subsequently participated in a think-aloud session during which they discussed the activity as a reflective practice. Participants articulated that engaging …


One Urban College Of Education's Examination Of Graduates’ Employment And Retention In Public Schools, Ruchi Bhatnagar, Jihye Kim, Joyce E. Many Jan 2012

One Urban College Of Education's Examination Of Graduates’ Employment And Retention In Public Schools, Ruchi Bhatnagar, Jihye Kim, Joyce E. Many

Georgia Educational Researcher

Difficulties in recruiting and retaining well prepared teachers have plagued American urban schools for many years. This study examines the role teacher education can play in preparing teachers for urban schools. The yield rate and retention rates for teachers graduating from one urban college of education show that the mission of the program to prepare educators for the urban settings and a curriculum focused on providing theoretical and practical knowledge, skills and dispositions for instruction in high-needs classrooms has been successful. The yield and four-year retention data for graduates from this program indicate that the components of teacher preparation significantly …


Overcoming Adversity: Resilience Development Strategies For Educational Leaders, Tod Allen Farmer Apr 2010

Overcoming Adversity: Resilience Development Strategies For Educational Leaders, Tod Allen Farmer

Georgia Educational Researcher

School leadership has never been easy. However, some experts like Garcia (2005) wrote that current school leaders are facing a variety of difficulties that make sustaining school reform efforts exceedingly difficult. Collectively, these modern day challenges have the capacity to form the perfect storm. School leaders need effective strategies to cope with these difficult circumstances and to continue the thrust toward school reform. Effective coping mechanisms and resiliency development strategies that can be used by educational leaders to overcome adversity include a routine of exercise and healthy diet, a positive life view, a sustained focus on building bridges between stakeholders, …


The Effect Of Anxiety On The Measurement Of Reading Fluency And Comprehension, Jeffrey A. Tysinger, P. Dawn Tysinger, Terry D. Diamanduros Apr 2010

The Effect Of Anxiety On The Measurement Of Reading Fluency And Comprehension, Jeffrey A. Tysinger, P. Dawn Tysinger, Terry D. Diamanduros

Georgia Educational Researcher

The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between anxiety and performance on measures of reading fluency and reading comprehension in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. The study found that there is a significant negative correlation between social anxiety and reading comprehension but no significant correlation between social anxiety and reading fluency. These findings further demonstrate the distinction between the cognitive processes that underlie reading fluency and reading comprehension. The results also align with the tenets of Processing Efficiency Theory in that more complex tasks that significantly tax working memory (like reading comprehension) are more likely …


An Examination Of The Impact Of Selected Teacher Variables On Student Achievement, Comfort O. Okpala Oct 2009

An Examination Of The Impact Of Selected Teacher Variables On Student Achievement, Comfort O. Okpala

Georgia Educational Researcher

The relationship between selected teacher variables and high school student achievement was analyzed. Using the Pearson Correlation analysis, this paper tries to: 1) determine the relationship between teachers’ teaching experience and high school student achievement, 2) determine the relationship between teacher turnover rate and high school student achievement, 3) determine the relationship between teachers with advanced degree and high school student achievement, and 4) determine the relationship between teachers with National Board certification and high school student achievement. Results from the analysis showed that teachers’ teaching experiences and teachers with National Board certification were significant in explaining changes in high …


The Impact Of The Ferst Foundation For Childhood Literacy On The Home Literacy Environment, Gina B. Thomason Oct 2009

The Impact Of The Ferst Foundation For Childhood Literacy On The Home Literacy Environment, Gina B. Thomason

Georgia Educational Researcher

This study examined if, among families whose children were enrolled in the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy, there was a relationship between the home literacy environment, measured by a scale survey, and the length of time enrolled in the program. Participants were a stratified random sampling from the population of parents in the State of Georgia whose children were enrolled in the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy program. Using a pilot-tested original survey instrument, 2,100 survey packets were mailed to participants. Valid returned surveys totaled 1,082. Pearson correlation revealed a correlation of positive direction but of small strength in the …


Validation Of The Principal’S High Stakes Testing Survey, Lantry L. Brockmeier, James L. Pate, Don W. Leech Oct 2009

Validation Of The Principal’S High Stakes Testing Survey, Lantry L. Brockmeier, James L. Pate, Don W. Leech

Georgia Educational Researcher

The purpose of this study was to examine the soundness of the psychometric characteristics of the Principal’s High Stakes Testing Survey. The 48-item instrument is comprised of six hypothesized subscales (i.e., curriculum, teaching, work satisfaction, stress, accountability, and students) measured with a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). An expert panel reviewed the instrument plus an exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. Expert panel members suggested only a few minor modifications to improve the instrument. The confirmatory factor analyses yielded data to support the fit of …


Using The Sixth Edition Of The Apa Manual: A Guide For Students, John H. Hummel, Mark A. Whatley, David M. Monetti, Deborah S. Briihl, Katharine S. Adams Oct 2009

Using The Sixth Edition Of The Apa Manual: A Guide For Students, John H. Hummel, Mark A. Whatley, David M. Monetti, Deborah S. Briihl, Katharine S. Adams

Georgia Educational Researcher

Teachers, school counselors, and educational leaders should learn, or become familiar with, APA style because of their important role as consumers and authors of research. By consuming and sharing the results of research in a standardized format, educators are able to efficiently share best practices to a broad audience which in turn helps other educators meta-analyze results and use those findings to coordinate their efforts in improving student learning. The sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2010) provides the means by which students and educators can communicate. This manual contains considerable information for the student …


Validation Of The Principal’S Computer Technology Survey, Lantry Brockmeier, Nicole Gibson Jul 2009

Validation Of The Principal’S Computer Technology Survey, Lantry Brockmeier, Nicole Gibson

Georgia Educational Researcher

The purpose of this study was to provide a more in-depth analysis of the psychometric characteristics of the Principal’s Computer Technology Survey (PCTS). The PCTS developmental process yielded a 40–item survey with groups of items comprising five subscales (i.e., curriculum integration, perceptions, acquired expertise, needs assessment, and professional development). Principals’ responses to items within the five subscales was measured on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). An expert panel reviewed the instrument plus exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. This analysis resulted in a restructured instrument …


The Impact Of Single-Sex Education On The Performance Of First And Second Grade Public School Students, Katherine Bradley Apr 2009

The Impact Of Single-Sex Education On The Performance Of First And Second Grade Public School Students, Katherine Bradley

Georgia Educational Researcher

In this article, I present the findings of a single-sex public education experiment adapted from a dissertation study. The rationale for conducting this research focuses on the renewed and unprecedented interest in single-sex public education as a strategy for increasing student performance. According to various educational theorists and researchers, single-sex education is an effective instructional strategy for improving student performance. However, little is known about the impact of single-sex public education. This quantitative ex post facto research analyzes the impact of single-sex education on academic achievement, discipline referral and attendance for public school first and second grade students. The findings …


Math Island At Brewer Elementary School: A Learner-Centered Model For Education, Vikki K. Collins, H. Marguerite Yates Apr 2009

Math Island At Brewer Elementary School: A Learner-Centered Model For Education, Vikki K. Collins, H. Marguerite Yates

Georgia Educational Researcher

This paper examines a learner-centered model for the teaching of elementary mathematics established at an urban Georgia school that serves a highly mobile, diverse population of approximately 475 students. The school was on its state’s list of schools needing improvement because students continued to perform poorly on standardized tests. Math Island, a support center for students designed to facilitate the conceptual understanding of mathematics, was created, and professional development programs were implemented to assist teachers in developing their pedagogical and content expertise in the teaching of mathematics. The school made substantial progress after these initiatives were employed and was removed …


Mexican American Identities And Histories In Children’S Picture Storybooks: Thinking Critically, Thinking Diversely, Scott A. Beck Apr 2009

Mexican American Identities And Histories In Children’S Picture Storybooks: Thinking Critically, Thinking Diversely, Scott A. Beck

Georgia Educational Researcher

Each year increasing numbers of Mexican-heritage students are served by teachers with little knowledge of the history and diversity of the Mexican American community. This article introduces teachers to Mexican American history and diversity while taking a useful and critical look at children’s picture storybooks regarding Mexican-heritage peoples in the U.S. Ideas in the article regarding how to select, compare and contrast these picture books in the classroom will allow teachers to learn about their Mexican-heritage students, counter prejudices and stereotypes, and more effectively reach out to build academic and personal connections with these students.


Block Scheduling Effectiveness: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study Of One Georgia School System’S Test Score Indicators, Ellen H. Reames, Carol Bradshaw Apr 2009

Block Scheduling Effectiveness: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study Of One Georgia School System’S Test Score Indicators, Ellen H. Reames, Carol Bradshaw

Georgia Educational Researcher

A case study of the effectiveness of high school block scheduling in an urban school system was examined by considering whether the changed schedule resulted in an increase in test scores on several measures such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Advanced Placement Tests (AP), and state mandated graduation examinations. Ten years of data were gathered from the public report card on the state website. In the school system under investigation, student scores on quantitative and verbal Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) showed a significant upward trend over 10 years. Over the same 10 years, Advanced Placement Test (AP) passing rates …


Inquiry-Based Introductory Earth Science Laboratory Using Survey Equipment, Tamie J. Jovanelly Apr 2009

Inquiry-Based Introductory Earth Science Laboratory Using Survey Equipment, Tamie J. Jovanelly

Georgia Educational Researcher

A laboratory assignment entitled was developed to give high-school students an opportunity to collect, analyze, and interpret data after they have been introduced to topographic maps and associated terminology. Survey equipment (automatic level, graduated staff, and tripod) is used to collect data with the goal of creating a topographic profile along a linear transect on campus. This assignment sets itself apart from traditional introductory earth science labs because the students are using instrumentation to collect data, rather than having a data set provided for them. The benefits of this assignment include: 1) further understanding of topographic maps, 2) practice with …


Using Poetry To Improve Fluency And Comprehension In Third-Grade Students, Karen E. Newsome Oct 2008

Using Poetry To Improve Fluency And Comprehension In Third-Grade Students, Karen E. Newsome

Georgia Educational Researcher

This study examined the effects of repeated choral reading of poetry on fluency and comprehension of third-grade students (N = 76) in the southeastern United States. Student attitudes toward poetry were also measured. Students served in regular, remedial, and special education were taught reading using the school’s basal series for four weeks. Choral repeated reading of poetry was then added to the curriculum. The DIBELS ORF test, STAR reading assessment, and an attitude survey were used to assess student performance. Statistically significant gains were made during the poetry intervention in fluency (M = 18.78, p < .01) and comprehension (M = 0.33, p < .05). Slight improvements in students’ attitudes toward poetry were also observed.


Learning The Art Of Curriculum Deliberation: One Professor’S Story, Don Livingston Oct 2007

Learning The Art Of Curriculum Deliberation: One Professor’S Story, Don Livingston

Georgia Educational Researcher

This paper uses narrative methodology and theoretical sources found in the field of curriculum studies to tell the story of the author, who, while in his doctoral program, dismissed learning about the practical aspects of the field as being insipid time wasting activities. During this time, he chose to concentrate only on the theoretical aspects of the curriculum field in his doctoral studies. Yet, when he found himself in charge of two major efforts to change his department’s curriculum as well as reconceptualize a college-wide seminar program for first year students, those aspects of the field once perceived as insipid …


Why Study The Educational Policies Commission?, W. Urban Apr 2005

Why Study The Educational Policies Commission?, W. Urban

Georgia Educational Researcher

It is an honor to be asked to give this address at GERA. To acknowledge that honor briefly, and with my tongue in my cheek a bit, let me start with a brief account of my own contact with GERA, and its parent organization, AERA. This account is offered to indicate how one like me who does historical research in education has interacted with the movers and shakers in our professional educational research organizations, who largely do not do such research, over the past three decades.


The Nostalgic Turn And The Politics Of Ressentiment, Bill Reynolds Apr 2004

The Nostalgic Turn And The Politics Of Ressentiment, Bill Reynolds

Georgia Educational Researcher

The Greatest Generation, Band of Brothers, We Were Soldiers, Nick at Night, and the confederate battle flag. We are looking backward, because looking forward is too problematic. We are living within a global conservative restoration, which has gained intensity since 9/11 and gained further solidification since the most recent elections. Ira Shor elaborated the concept of the conservative restoration in his text, Culture Wars: School and Society in the Conservative Restoration 1969-1984 (1986).


The Unbearable Lightness Of Education, Robert Stake Oct 2003

The Unbearable Lightness Of Education, Robert Stake

Georgia Educational Researcher

The title of this keynote address is a play upon the title of Milan Kundera’s anti-totalitarian novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Kundera found the life of each of us greatly shaped by chance, largely indeterminate, noting our resistance to rules and customs, yet constrained by comfort, fear, and habit. He spoke of lives as events occurring but once, each moment unique in vital ways and too weak a guide to events still to come. “Everything occurs but once,” he said.