Education Commons^™

The Perceptions Of Former Students As To The Importance Of Post-Secondary And Career Planning In An Alternative High School Setting, Trudy Hill-Jones

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Graduates from alternative schools continue to struggle in areas of post-secondary education and careers beyond high school. School systems adopt various initiatives and support programs related to post-secondary education and career planning without taking the initiative to collect data about the students and their post-secondary and career experiences during and beyond high school. This study seeks to explore the lived experiences of former high school students’ alternative educational pathways and their perspectives on the importance of post-secondary and career planning in an alternative high school setting. A qualitative methodology that consisted of open-ended questionnaires and individual telephone interviews with …

District Solutions For Resource Effectiveness: A Local Education Agency Leadership Approach, Tammy Saleem

Dissertations

Decades of laser focused attention on student assessment score data had an adverse impact of stifling the development of data skill sets in one Local Education Agency (LEAs). Implementing one district resource daily throughout each school year for over three years had the potential to cultivate and yield higher data skills for staff compared to the effect of a one point in time report of yearly assessment scores. Monitoring district resources for effectiveness offered a solution oriented approach to advance staff data skill sets with implications for student growth. Adapting the federal education policy maker strategy of using a policy …

Elevating The Response To Intervention Framework: Positioning Data To Forge Change Needed For Stronger Rti Practices, Tammy Saleem

Dissertations

The Change Plan study reflects an extended interest originating from the Saleem (2019) program evaluation study. The Saleem (2019) program evaluation revealed the absence of critical elements used to mobilize RtI supports and trigger adjustments to Tier II level interventions. Following the program evaluation were two meaningful action research activities including efforts of elevating the RtI framework and improving data collection forms. The plausibility of deep rooted factors continuing to exist in current RtI operations prompted research efforts of the Change Plan. Using Wagner’s 4C’s “As Is” and “To Be”diagnostic tools provided a lens into RtI orientations and sustained behaviors …

Short-Term Athletic Foreign Tours And Student Learning Outcomes: A Program Evaluation, April L. Elsbernd

Dissertations

Many studies have shown that the same student learning outcomes observed in long-term study abroad can be met during short-term programs, if executed correctly. Intercollegiate athletic foreign travel tours (AFTs) are similar to short-term study abroad programs, but little research has been done on these programs. By analyzing qualitative and quantitative data from surveys of student-athletes who recently participated in AFTs, as well as interviews with relevant staff members, I was able to determine strengths of the program and identify areas for growth. The evaluation process shaped organizational change recommendations, along with an institutional policy that will allow the AFT …

A Meta-Synthesis Of The American And The European Standards For The Accreditation Of Counseling Training Programs, Natalia Zapolsky

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how the European Standards for the accreditation of counseling training programs compare to CACREP standards and to each other. The differences and commonalities between standards have been defined through a meta-synthesis of integrated findings from a large body of inter-related qualitative studies and reinterpretation of the synthesized data.

This qualitative meta-synthesis research was intended to contribute to the process of counseling globalization by exploring the unique cultural features and aspects of the European and the U.S. accrediting systems for counseling training programs. This research revealed 1) the commonly recognized areas that …

A Study Of The Impact Of Site-Based Mathematics Professional Development On Student Mathematics Achievement, Christine Attenhofer

Dissertations

Student achievement at one suburban elementary school under study dropped notably in mathematics in one school year, as measured by the state standards assessment. The purpose of this inquiry was to determine what impact ongoing, on-demand, job-embedded, site-based professional development opportunities provided by a full-time, site-base math content area specialist had on teachers' instructional practices and students' mathematics achievement. I implemented a mixed methods approach to this inquiry. I analyzed the end of the year state mathematics standards assessments for second through fifth grade students following the implementation of full-time, site-based professional development provided by a math content area specialist …

The Impact Of Professional Development Of Effective Teachers In Low Performing Schools, Brian Gibson

Dissertations

Abstract

Professional development is a substantial contributing factor to the success or lack of success in low-performing schools. Specific student-focused professional development can be used to increase academic achievement, school culture, and the level of effective teaching. A lack of attention to school-specific professional development can contribute to low student achievement, diminished school culture, and reduced teacher efficiency. In Florida, public schools have implemented the “4 Professional Development Standards” (Planning, Learning, Implementation, and Evaluation) to act as a tool to identify best practices in schools and classrooms as well as to determine what professional development is needed to improve instructional …