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Full-Text Articles in Education

Scaffolding English Language Learners' Reading Performance, Lolita D. Mckenzie Jan 2011

Scaffolding English Language Learners' Reading Performance, Lolita D. Mckenzie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

English language learners (ELLs) spend a majority of their instructional time in mainstream classrooms with mainstream teachers. Reading is an area with which many ELLs are challenged when placed within mainstream classrooms. Scaffolding has been identified as one of the best teaching practices for helping students read. ELL students in a local elementary school were struggling, and school personnel implemented scaffolding in an effort to address student needs. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine how personnel in one diversely populated school employed scaffolding to accommodate ELLs. Vygotsky's social constructivist theory informed the study. Research questions were …


Phenomenological Study Of Empowering Women Senior Leaders In Higher Education, Mila P. Cselenszky Jan 2011

Phenomenological Study Of Empowering Women Senior Leaders In Higher Education, Mila P. Cselenszky

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of women in senior administrative and leadership roles in higher education is minimal compared to the number of women in higher education jobs in general. This phenomenological study explored pathways women took to advance in their careers and barriers that prevent more women from gaining senior administrative and leadership roles. Research questions addressed perceived barriers participants faced while trying to advance their careers, mentoring and other support strategies women in higher education employed to help them move up the career ladder, and actions female leaders took in order to help establish gender equity. Dambe and Moorad's empowerment-based/transformational leadership …


The Development Of Tracking And Its Historical Impact On Minority Students, Deberae Culpepper Jan 2011

The Development Of Tracking And Its Historical Impact On Minority Students, Deberae Culpepper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the 1920s, high school students were placed on one of three tracks: high, average, and low. Over the years, vocational education was transformed into a low track assignment for students, often racial minorities, who were perceived as less intelligent. However, the interaction between vocational education and tracking policies and practices remained unclear. Using critical race theory, this study produced an historical analysis of the interaction of these two programs. This included a systematic identification of the originating factors influencing tracking and contemporary tracking policies and practices to understand how tracking affected racial minority students' access to equal educational opportunities …


Teachers' Perceptions Of Reading Achievement For Kindergarten-3 Rd Grade Students Of Low Socioeconomic Status, Vicki L. Curtis Jan 2011

Teachers' Perceptions Of Reading Achievement For Kindergarten-3 Rd Grade Students Of Low Socioeconomic Status, Vicki L. Curtis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The three tiered reading model and the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are two initiatives being used to identify struggling readers of low socioeconomic status. While there is abundant information with statistical reports from various researchers, there is little research available as to what educators implementing DIBELS in the school environment perceive about the instrument, what it measures and what it fails to take into account. It is important to examine all aspects and views of an initiative being widely used across the nation to close the reading achievement gap. Educators working with students of low socioeconomic …


A Survey Of Fifth Grade Writing Teachers On Their Instructional Writing Practices, Susan Margaret Muehl Egloff Jan 2011

A Survey Of Fifth Grade Writing Teachers On Their Instructional Writing Practices, Susan Margaret Muehl Egloff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Writing is an essential skill that students need in order to become successful in school and beyond. Within a school district in the southwestern United States, student writing scores were not at proficient levels, and students were not prepared for graduation or employment. The purpose of this quasi-experimental research study was to compare the distribution of student writing achievement scores for 5th grade teachers who used 7 or more of the 11 components of effective writing instruction outlined by Graham and Perin to those teachers who implemented 6 or fewer of these components. In this study, a survey was given …


Stakeholders' Roles In Prioritizing Technical And Vocational Education And Training In Postconflict Liberia, Edward S. Forh Jan 2011

Stakeholders' Roles In Prioritizing Technical And Vocational Education And Training In Postconflict Liberia, Edward S. Forh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Postconflict governments and counterparts have collaborated to provide skills training to communities as a critical postconflict development strategy. In these undertakings, the role of community members remains largely undefined. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to understand the perceptions held by rural community members regarding the role they played in influencing government's policy priority for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) as a local human development strategy in postconflict Liberia. The conceptual framework was based on human capital theory and concepts of motivation and achievement. Fourteen participants were purposefully selected for the study. Data were collected …


Investigating Student Gender And Grade Level Differences In Digital Citizenship Behavior, Robert Lyons Jan 2011

Investigating Student Gender And Grade Level Differences In Digital Citizenship Behavior, Robert Lyons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rapid rise of technology, which has become embedded in all facets of 21st century society during the past decade, has fostered a corresponding rise in its misuse. Digital citizenship abuse, a relatively new phenomenon of this electronic age, is a rapidly growing global problem. Parents, schools, and society play roles in supporting appropriate online behavior. Schools must take the lead role to assess and address digital citizenship issues. This ex post facto study investigated the online actions of students in a medium-sized K-12 school district and explored possible causal relationships between online misbehavior and student grade and gender based …


National Music Education Standards And Adherence To Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, Vada M. Coleman Jan 2011

National Music Education Standards And Adherence To Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, Vada M. Coleman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Pressures from education reforms have contributed to the need for music educators to embrace new and diverse instructional strategies to enhance the learning environment. Music teachers need to understand the pedagogy of teaching and learning and how these affect their praxis. The purpose of this multiple case evaluative study was to investigate the instructional methods used in 10 middle school general music programs to assist students in obtaining the National Standards for Music Education. Bloom's revised taxonomy was the theoretical framework used to evaluate the teaching praxis of the participating teachers. The research questions for the study addressed the effectiveness …


A Case Study Investigating Teachers' Knowledge And Implementation Of Response To Intervention, Regina Sims Jan 2011

A Case Study Investigating Teachers' Knowledge And Implementation Of Response To Intervention, Regina Sims

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The local school district in the current study was struggling to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP) targets in reading because secondary students were scoring below the basic level in reading and their content area teachers had little or no training in reading deficiencies. What had been speculated, yet never tested, was the utility of teacher training in research-based reading programs and interventions on increasing reading achievement scores. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine issues hampering RTI implementation. This case study focused on analyzing the perceptions of secondary RTI teachers within an urban school district in Texas. …


The Effect Of Text-To-Self Reading Strategies On Reading Comprehension, Cathy Arlene (Legg) Cutright Jan 2010

The Effect Of Text-To-Self Reading Strategies On Reading Comprehension, Cathy Arlene (Legg) Cutright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Middle-school male students currently face a disadvantage in reading comprehension compared to female students. Research suggests the problem is that more male students score below grade level in reading comprehension because they require more cognitive scaffolding. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of text-to-self reading instruction and to compare the comprehension achievement of male and female students in 6th-grade reading and language-arts classes using guided reading of text-to-self instruction and guided reading using novels. The foundation of this study was based on constructivist theories including Dewey's pragmatist philosophy, Piaget's developmental theory, and Vygotsky's theory of zone …


The Use Of Handheld Devices For Improved Phonemic Awareness In A Traditional Kindergarten Classroom, Cristy Ann Magagna-Mcbee Jan 2010

The Use Of Handheld Devices For Improved Phonemic Awareness In A Traditional Kindergarten Classroom, Cristy Ann Magagna-Mcbee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Effective teaching strategies that improve the development of phonemic awareness are important to ensure students are fluent readers by third grade. The use of handheld devices to improve phonemic awareness with kindergarten students may be such a strategy, but no research exists that evaluates the use of these devices. This study explored the effectiveness of Bee-Bot handheld devices in kindergarten classrooms to teach phonemic awareness. A 4-month sequential mixed-methods study was conducted in four classrooms: two that used Bee-Bot handheld devices in phonemic awareness lessons and two that never used the devices. The score gain (Fall 2009 to Winter 2010) …


The Perceptions Of African American Middle School Students About Participation In Gifted Programs: A Qualitative Study To Promote Social Justice In Gifted Education, Jenelle Susan Nisly Jan 2010

The Perceptions Of African American Middle School Students About Participation In Gifted Programs: A Qualitative Study To Promote Social Justice In Gifted Education, Jenelle Susan Nisly

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American students have been historically underrepresented in gifted programs throughout the United States. Research about retaining identified African American students in gifted programs is limited. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the perceptions of a purposeful sample of seven identified talented and potentially talented African American middle school students about participation in gifted programs. The purpose of the study was to understand the meaning of participants' expectations, attitudes, and experiences with regard to participating and remaining in a gifted program or participating and then dropping out. Data were collected through individual interviews. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed that participants expected talented …


The Effects Of Oral Reading Fluency On Reading Comprehension For Students With Reading Disabilities And Specific Learning Disabilities, Renee C. Nouvelle Jan 2010

The Effects Of Oral Reading Fluency On Reading Comprehension For Students With Reading Disabilities And Specific Learning Disabilities, Renee C. Nouvelle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The gap in reading achievement continues to be consistent, despite No Child Left Behind goals to narrow these gaps among minority and other subgroup populations. This gap is especially profound for students with disabilities, and any evidence to support progress monitoring of oral reading fluency (ORF) and comprehension will inform educational policy and practice. The theory of automaticity explains that a reader can focus more attention on the meaning of a reading passage when less attention is needed for word and sound recognition. The literature has suggested that reading comprehension can be improved through efforts to improve ORF. The central …


The Effect Of Cooperative Groups On Math Anxiety, Melissa Batton Jan 2010

The Effect Of Cooperative Groups On Math Anxiety, Melissa Batton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research indicates that many students have difficulty with mathematics, which can be attributed to many factors including math anxiety. Students who experience math anxiety have poor attitudes towards mathematics and perform below grade level based on class and statewide assessments. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to investigate the effectiveness of cooperative groups on the math anxiety levels of Grade 5 male and female students. The theoretical foundation of the study included Vygotsky's social learning and Piaget's concept of knowledge. Thirty-two students from 2 Grade 5 classrooms were administered the pre and post MASC inventory. A repeated-measure ANOVA …


Perceived Attributes And Organizational Support Influencing Course Management System Adopter Status In Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Gayla Spooner Keesee Jan 2010

Perceived Attributes And Organizational Support Influencing Course Management System Adopter Status In Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Gayla Spooner Keesee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rapid growth of online learning fueled by technologies including course management systems (CMS) has transformed the traditional educational landscape. Little research shows why faculty members at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been slow to adopt this new teaching paradigm. This quantitative, nonexperimental study utilized Rogers's diffusion of innovation theory as the theoretical base. Research questions explored faculty perceptions of the CMS's attributes (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, observability) and organizational support (policies, procedures, and norms) in order to predict adopter status. The study used a convenience sample of 137 full-time faculty from 3 public and 2 private …


The Impact Of Enrollment In A Combined Reading And Learning Strategies Course On Exceptional Students' Fcat Reading Scale Scores, Coral Kathleen Hanson Jan 2009

The Impact Of Enrollment In A Combined Reading And Learning Strategies Course On Exceptional Students' Fcat Reading Scale Scores, Coral Kathleen Hanson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has shown that because remediation and support replace required and career-defining courses, exceptional students fall behind, ill equipped to act in society as autonomous adults. No Child Left Behind requires reading proficiency, so students failing standardized tests must take remedial courses. Individualized education plans often require support courses. However, there remains an important gap in the literature regarding the usefulness of reading, standardized testing, and leadership research to solve this problem. A class combining reading and support for students with exceptionalities exists at 1 high school. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the combined program …


The Relationship Between Vocabulary Development, Low Socioeconomic Status, And Teacher Discourse, Amy M. Pritts Jan 2009

The Relationship Between Vocabulary Development, Low Socioeconomic Status, And Teacher Discourse, Amy M. Pritts

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Elementary students from low socioeconomic households often begin and remain behind other socioeconomic groups in vocabulary knowledge. Many reasons for this gap, including cognitive, environmental, and educational, have been researched. The current study examined the relationship between vocabulary knowledge, socioeconomic status, and type of teacher discourse within an early elementary setting not yet explored within the research. This concurrent mixed-method research study investigated this relationship using study groups, taped classroom lessons, and the DIBELS word use fluency assessment measure. Interpretative analysis was used for the qualitative data, and correlational analysis was used to determine relationships between the discourse types and …


Nonquantifiable Instructional Factors That Contribute To Achievement In Reading For Students In Grades 3-4 In A Midwestern Urban School District, Alice Marie Figgs Jan 2009

Nonquantifiable Instructional Factors That Contribute To Achievement In Reading For Students In Grades 3-4 In A Midwestern Urban School District, Alice Marie Figgs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Currently some elementary students in large urban school districts are not able to perform well in school because they do not have strong reading skills. The recent No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal legislation has supported the use of research-based instructional materials and strategies in reading to remedy this problem; however, qualitative studies exploring the specific nonquantifiable instructional factors that contribute to reading achievement in large urban school districts are still limited. The purpose of this multiple empirical case study was to explore the instructional factors that contributed to achievement in reading for students in Grades 3 and 4 at …


A Study Of The Impact Of Imagination Library Participation On Kindergarten Reading Achievement, Lisa Embree Jan 2009

A Study Of The Impact Of Imagination Library Participation On Kindergarten Reading Achievement, Lisa Embree

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Very little research has been conducted on the impact of the Imagination Library, a Tennessee based reading program, on student reading achievement. Therefore, the purpose of this cross-sectional explanatory study was to test whether Imagination Library program participation had an impact on reading achievement for kindergarten students from 3 rural elementary schools. The theoretical basis for this study was Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, the process of scaffolding, and language learning models. ANOVA was used to test the hypothesis that reading achievement for participants was significantly different from nonparticipants and was also used to test the hypotheses of relationships between reading achievement …


Spiritual And Religious Diversity: Implications For Counselor Education Programs, Sharon R. Gough Jan 2009

Spiritual And Religious Diversity: Implications For Counselor Education Programs, Sharon R. Gough

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVC) identifies 9 core competencies for integrating spirituality/religion into practice. Previous research indicates that some mental health professionals have experienced discomfort when considering the balance between religious ideology (RI) and scientific orientation (SO) in their practice. However, no research exists assessing this potential for cognitive dissonance among mental health professionals nor has there been a test of the relative influence of RI/SO on approval of ASERVC competency integration into counselor training. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study was first to assess RI/SO cognitive dissonance and, second, to test RI/SO …


The Relationship Between Flexible Reading Groups And Reading Achievement In Elementary School Students, Gretchen E. H. Schlag Jan 2009

The Relationship Between Flexible Reading Groups And Reading Achievement In Elementary School Students, Gretchen E. H. Schlag

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the current emphasis on differentiating instruction to accommodate individual student learning needs, most reading instruction is taught primarily in static small groups or whole group settings. However, the use of flexible reading groups for reading instruction allows students to be appropriately challenged and avoids labeling a student's reading readiness as stagnant. This study examines the relationship between flexible reading groups and reading achievement of 130 fifth grade students in one elementary school. The theoretical base for the research is grounded in the constructivist theory as supported by Vygotsky and Bruner. In this quasi-experimental quantitative research study, the effect of …


An Examination Of Differences Between Online Learning For Hispanic And Caucasian Community College Students, Edward J. Beyer Jan 2009

An Examination Of Differences Between Online Learning For Hispanic And Caucasian Community College Students, Edward J. Beyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hispanic students are enrolling in community colleges at an increasing rate, and they do not succeed in community college online courses at a rate comparable to Caucasian students. Increasing Hispanic success in online education could potentially enhance their socioeconomic status. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of andragogy and constructivism, the purpose of this case study was to examine differences between Hispanic and Caucasian students in online learning and identify factors that might contribute to the reported differences in success across Hispanic and Caucasian online students. Research questions contrasted the impact of course design, Internet access, learning preferences, and motivation on …


Cognitive Preference And Ethnic Identity Among Anglo And Native American High School Students, Chad Martin Novak Jan 2009

Cognitive Preference And Ethnic Identity Among Anglo And Native American High School Students, Chad Martin Novak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Office of Educational Research and Improvement: A Project of the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research, graduation rates for Native Americans from both secondary and post secondary institutions are dismally low at 58% and 7%, respectively. Some research addresses cognitive preference and other ethnic identity, but research animating the cognitive preference---ethnic identity interplay for high school students is absent. These limitations in access to educational opportunities lead to abbreviated quality life experiences and a restriction in individual efficacy and collective agency. The following project assessed ethnic identity using Phinney's Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure and cognitive preference using …


Perceptions Of Recess And The Effects Of A Morning Recess Break On The Oral Reading Fluency Of Second Grade Students, Joy M. Walker Jan 2009

Perceptions Of Recess And The Effects Of A Morning Recess Break On The Oral Reading Fluency Of Second Grade Students, Joy M. Walker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A recent trend in schools has been to reduce or eliminate recess. The assumption behind this elimination is that less recess time provides more opportunities for learning and hence, better learning outcomes. However, little research has examined the effects of this assumption, and little is known about the relationship between recess and learning. The purpose of this mixed method quasi-experimental study was to test the massed versus distributed practice theory and the cognitive immaturity theory, and to gain a better understanding of recess and its implications for learning. The quantitative question was designed to determine whether segmenting instructional time with …


Facilitating High School Student Success Through Read 180: Analysis Of Program Impact Using Measures Of Academic Progress (Map), Holly Mcwhorter Jan 2009

Facilitating High School Student Success Through Read 180: Analysis Of Program Impact Using Measures Of Academic Progress (Map), Holly Mcwhorter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In response to its failure to meet state mandated proficiency standards in reading and mathematics over the past three years, a rural, Title I high school (LS) in South Carolina purchased and implemented the commercially available literacy program READ 180 (R180) for the 2008-2009 academic year. While previous research reported by Scholastic, Incorporated (R180) had provided support for the use of R180 in improving literacy, these studies have been criticized recently for their lack of comparable control groups, experimenter bias and lack of data from other content areas such as mathematics. The purpose of this study was to determine the …


The Impact Of Collaborative Analysis Of Student Work On Student Achievement Among Third Graders In The Area Of Writing: An Action Research Study, Jami A. Lee Jan 2009

The Impact Of Collaborative Analysis Of Student Work On Student Achievement Among Third Graders In The Area Of Writing: An Action Research Study, Jami A. Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Georgia Writing Assessment scores revealed that there were third grade students at an elementary school in rural Southeast Georgia struggling to meet the state standards. This pre-experimental, action research study examined the impact of collaborative analysis of student work on student achievement among third graders in the area of writing through a one-group pretest-posttest design. The pretest phase of this quantitative study was comprised of the collection of scored student writing samples followed by professional development training for teacher participants on collaborative analysis of student work. The posttest phase of the study included the collection of scored student writing samples. …


Changing The Negative Behavioral And Development Outcomes To A Toxic Prenatal Environment Through Maternal Education, Angela Eileen Laughlin Lebedev Dec 2008

Changing The Negative Behavioral And Development Outcomes To A Toxic Prenatal Environment Through Maternal Education, Angela Eileen Laughlin Lebedev

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of current education materials on changing maternal smoking attitudes. Children are affected by prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke. Although there are educational efforts to discourage pregnant women from smoking, the practice continues in a significant number of pregnancies. New materials, based on current research, were also evaluated for effectiveness. The theoretical framework for this study was adult learning theory presented by Knowles which made the assumption that an individual is shaped by environmental systems, that adult learning is affected by previous knowledge they bring to the learning and that adults …


The Relationship Between Learning Style Preference And Achievement In The Adult Student In A Multicultural College., Matilde E. Roig Jan 2008

The Relationship Between Learning Style Preference And Achievement In The Adult Student In A Multicultural College., Matilde E. Roig

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Minority college students have varied learning styles and process information from distinct background and cultural perspectives, which influences their learning. Accordingly, the way faculty approach teaching affects student achievement. Few minorities are in scientific fields, with a shortage of scientists predicted. A problem exists in understanding the relationship between learning style preferences and achievement of minority college students. The purpose of the study was to investigate this relationship in adult minority students in a South Florida college's biology courses. Research questions pertained to relationships between learning style preferences, race, ethnicity and grades. This quantitative study used the online Felder-Soloman Inventory …


The Effects Of Teacher Race In The Elementary School On Student Achievement Test Scores, John Stortz Jan 2008

The Effects Of Teacher Race In The Elementary School On Student Achievement Test Scores, John Stortz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The racial and gender composition of elementary school teachers does not match those of the students and this may be contributing to an inequity of achievement scores between African American and European American students. This ex post facto causal comparative study compared three levels of elementary school diversity personnel staffing on Grade 4 African American student Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) scores and differences between male African American scores and female African American scores in a suburban Atlanta county. Nine intentionally selected elementary schools were chosen representing 3 racial diversity personnel staffing levels including 39% to 50%, 25% to 27%, and …


The Impact Of Daily Writing On Kindergarten Students' Phonemic Awareness., C. A. Snell Jan 2007

The Impact Of Daily Writing On Kindergarten Students' Phonemic Awareness., C. A. Snell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether or not a significant relationship exists among daily writing and student growth in phonemic awareness. The study also considered the impact of writing on the phonemic awareness development of students at different literacy levels. Although studies exist on the importance of phonemic awareness development in reading acquisition, a deficit exists examining the correlation among daily writing and the phonemic awareness development of students representing different literacy levels. Forty students in an experimental group engaged in daily writing opportunities, while 37 students in the control group engaged in less frequent writing …