Education Commons^™

Exploring The Validity Of Established Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Stage Models Of Sexual Identity Development: A Grounded Theory Study Of Women And Ethnic Minority Men., Omar Ali Shabaaz Troutman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a foundational understanding of how women and ethnic minority men come to espouse a lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity in an effort to develop a coherent theory. While stage models of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identity currently exist, their validity with the female and ethnic minority male populations was called into question. A grounded theory approach was used with participants from the southeastern United States who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Three main patterns emerged: Recognition and Progression of Identity Endorsement; Barriers to Identity Endorsement; and Rejection of Categorical Labels. …

The Ugliest Part Of The Job: Faculty Perceptions On Addressing Graduate Student Academic Misconduct, Kelly Ann Imbert Eifert

Theses and Dissertations

Faculty can play a significant role in setting the academic standards of a university, and certainly for graduate programs. Addressing academic misconduct is one of many ways to set those standards at a university. Faculty perceptions of graduate student academic misconduct impact how they address it when it occurs. To understand those perceptions, a qualitative study through a semi-structured interview protocol with a supplemental document analysis was conducted. Business faculty who teach at the graduate level were selected to interview based upon research into academic misconduct by business majors. These faculty were recruited from three different institutions that are similar …

Facilitating Embodied Instruction: Classroom Teachers’ Experiences With Drama-Based Pedagogy, Peter B. Duffy

Theses and Dissertations

There is much anecdotal evidence to suggest that drama-based pedagogies significantly contribute to improved teaching and learning. Furthermore, there is important research that demonstrates the impact on teachers when they learn about neuroscience. This research project developed six professional development sessions for six elementary school teachers to provide training on both drama-based instruction and research on embodiment. Combining these two fields presented a problem. Arts-based research is qualitative in nature where cognitive science research depends on post-positivistic assumptions of reliability and trust-worthiness. Missing from these standard measures of research (fMRI studies, STROOP Tests, reaction time tests), however, is the impact …

A Descriptive Study Of Prek-3 Alignment In South Carolina: Implications For Primary School Education, Kimberly W. Mcabee

Theses and Dissertations

PreK-3 alignment is a continuum of experiences that begins in preschool when a child is three-years-old and extends through third grade. Many early childhood educators, researchers, and policy makers believe the implementation of PreK-3 alignment has the potential to make a significant difference in schools across America. It is considered by some experts to be the most promising solution to the problems facing education today. This study was designed to determine the levels of implementation of PreK-3 alignment in South Carolina’s primary schools, which practices impact student achievement, and the levels of student achievement in these schools. Primary schools were …

A Study Of The Preparation And Retention Of Work-Based Certified Career And Technical Education Teachers In South Carolina, Sherry Rivers

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine South Carolina’s work-based certification program for career and technical education (CTE) teachers. The mixedmethods study included qualitative and quantitative analyses to answer five research questions relating to the certification program and teacher retention: To what extent are best practices evident in South Carolina’s CTE work-based certification program? What are the perceptions of CTE work-based teachers who completed the certification program? What are the first, second, and third year retention rates for South Carolina’s beginning teachers who received CTE work-based certification from the years 2003-2004 through 2008-2009? Do third year retention rates vary …

There Is An App For That: Uses Of Print And Digital Materials In The Lives Of Three Preschoolers, Rebecca Hickman Mccraw

Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic study examined the uses of print and digital materials in the lives of three preschoolers over a five-month period of time in the children’s home and community contexts in the southeast region of the United States. The research question asked: What can I learn about the literacy practices of three preschoolers as they use print and digital materials in their worlds? The children were the primary focus of the research, but adults (specifically, the children’s mothers) also served as informants. Grounded in sociocultural theory and informed by constructivist and media theories, the study is important because, while we …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Public K-8 And Middle Schools And Student Achievement In One South Carolina School District, Marc Gardner Zachary

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract This study examined the impact of grade configuration on academic achievement. Specifically compared were 6-8 middle schools versus a K-8 school in one upstate South Carolina district. One purpose of this study was to determine if the performance, as indicated by the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) reading and math tests, was different for students enrolled in grades 6-8 in a certain school configuration. The other purpose was to determine if reading and math growth during the transition year from elementary to middle school is higher in 6-8 middle schools or K-8 schools. The researcher utilized data from 3 …

An Analysis Of Erickson's Concept Of School Legitimacy In Relationship To School Success And Failure, Michael Griggs

Theses and Dissertations

School legitimacy is the approval of principal and teacher authority that derives from the school community's trust (Erickson, 1987). When clients--the various stakeholders, including parents and students--recognize their school as legitimate, they trust that those in authority will help their economic future, protect their personal identities, and look out for their best interest. The concept of school legitimacy is applied to four case studies that involve poor and minority students to examine its role in a school's success or failure. The dissertation seeks to examine the process for constructing school legitimacy through reviewing literature, case studies, and surveys. Surveys are …

The Development Of A Performance Progression For Science Teachers' Implementation Of Model-Based Teaching, Christopher Bogiages

Theses and Dissertations

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for science teachers to implement pedagogical strategies that can approximate authentic scientific practices. One such strategy, Model-Based Teaching, engages students in learning the disciplinary core ideas of science through the process of developing and using Scientific Models. Model-Based Teaching is a difficult pedagogical strategy for teachers to learn and implement. Factors such as Knowledge of Scientific Models and Modeling (KSM), understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS), and use of questioning to facilitate whole class discussions play important roles in the development of teachers' ability to implement Model-Based Teaching. This study employed a …

A Correlation Study Of Leadership Indicators And Literacy Outcomes: Examining A State Adopted Leadership Assessment Model, Abigail Deann Woods

Theses and Dissertations

In an attempt to shed light on the possible impact certain leadership practices might have on student outcomes in literacy, this research considers the relationship of selected effective leadership traits and their impact on the implementation of a literacy intervention program. If it is true that all schools' have as their primary goal to prepare students for the rigorous learning, reading and analyzing required that is expected to be successful in the future, then examining the role that leadership might have on that goal remains important. Further, it is the hope that this analysis might further educators' understanding on the …

Leadership Practice Differences In Positive Climate Schools, Latoya Nicole Dixon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the leadership practice differences in positive climate schools when grouping for school size, poverty index, and gender of the principal. This study utilized Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Practice-Self inventories as a tool for measuring perceptions of leadership practice.

The researcher surveyed 47 South Carolina elementary principals to measure leadership practices in schools with documented positive climate. Principals self assessed their leadership practices on the inventories, measuring 30 behaviors on a ten point Likert scale. The 30 behaviors are categorized into five leadership practices: 1) Model the Way, 2) Inspire a Shared Vision, …

Gender-Specific Instructional Strategies And Student Achievement In 5th Grade Classrooms, Millicent Whitener Dickey

Theses and Dissertations

There are three purposes of this mixed methods phenomenological case study. First, the researcher attempted to determine if there is evidence that teachers in single-sex classes adjust the delivery of the academic content when compared to coeducational classes. Secondly, while trying to understand the phenomenon of learning in a single-sex classroom, the researcher tried to determine which specific instructional strategies are considered most beneficial by male and female students. The researcher also looked for evidence of differences in achievement between students in single-sex and coeducational environments. Data collection occurred primarily through surveys, interviews, focus groups, and classroom observation over the …

Sea Island Cascades: An Analysis Of Principals' And Teachers' Perceptions Of Factors Related To The Overrepresentation Of African American Males Identified As Having An Emotional Disability, Jacinta Maria Bryant

Theses and Dissertations

The issue of the overrepresentation of African Americans in special education is a persistent concern that has negatively impacted African American male students, their families, school districts, and the field of special education. School districts throughout the nation report a higher representation of African American males in special education programs than their presence in the general education environment would predict. In South Carolina, 42.5 % of African Americans receive special education services whereas 53% are categorized as having an emotional disturbance (ED). Of the 53% of the African Americans categorized as ED, 79% are males. In the Charleston County School …

Qualitative Examination Of Graduate Counselor Education Students Perceptions Of Self-Awareness Pertaining To Future Efficacy In The Counseling Environment, Tara Victoria Huechtker Darby

Theses and Dissertations

Research in this study indicates that high levels of self-awareness as well as a clearly defined self-identity are related to increased levels of care and ethical decision making among counselors. An enhanced social-cognitive development of the counselor education graduate student is associated with an increased ability for them (in the future) to process legal and ethical dilemmas such as the right to die legislation and how it could affect them professionally. This study includes implications for counselors and the training and supervision of counselor education graduate students who may be affected by the right to die legislation and the way …

Data-Driven School Administrator Behaviors And State Report Card Results, James Alan Spencer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the principal behaviors that would define an instructional leader as being a data-driven school administrator and to assess current school administrators' levels of being data-driven. This research attempted to examine the relationship between the degree to which a principal was data-driven and the school's performance on standardized tests and state report card values.

The research questions are:

1. To what degree do current school principals in select districts from the Charleston area of South Carolina see themselves as data-driven leaders?

2. To what extent are the 12 specific behaviors that define a …

High School Core-Subject Instructors’ Perceptions Of General Education Track Courses And The Associated Achievement Gap, Hope Reed

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to investigate teacher perceptions of students enrolled in low-level classes. The study will investigate how high school core-subject instructors of general education (low-level) track courses perceive academic tracking and the associated achievement gap; the expectations of high school core-subject instructors who teach general education (low-level) track courses regarding general education students; and how high school core-subject instructors who teach general education (low-level) track courses perceive their ability to teach general education students. Interview questions and classroom observations will be utilized to gather qualitative data in this single method case study. In addition, teacher lessons …

Teaching To Learn: Tapping The Rich Language Resources Of Three African American Preschool Boys, Virginia Akright Miller

Theses and Dissertations

The initial purpose of the study was to better understand the effect of book genre (fiction or informational) and text choice on the spontaneous language production of African American, preschool boys from low SES households. Its methodological approach was action research that consisted of teacher/child book sharing with three participants during one-on-one, 30 minute sessions over a period of 14 weeks. Discussion during these sessions centered on the participants' book choice and were audio recorded. The transcripts of these recordings became case studies that were analyzed for behavioral patterns of both participants and teacher. Discovery of such patterns revealed changes …