Education Commons^™

Importance Of Educating Girls For The Overall Development Of Society: A Global Perspective, Tabreek Somani

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Educating girls is pivotal to the development of society. Despite many global declarations and development goals, and significant effort by the international community, gender disparity in education continues to exist. This article focuses on the first research question of Somani’s 2017 study titled “Girls Have a Right to Education Too” to better understand the importance and impact of educating girls and increase awareness. This qualitative research uses primary data from 38 respondents comprising 29 interviewees and nine participants in a focus group. Participants included 16 experts and leaders in academia and development, 13 educators, four students, three development professionals, and …

The Kindergarten Environment: Finding Alternatives To Reduce Overcrowded Classrooms, Jay Rodriguez

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

This study will address the difficulties young children have when are placed in overcrowded kindergarten classrooms. Creating an effective and constructive learning environment for the early childhood years must be in a positive learning climate in a school for young children. Motivation, skills and communication amongst teachers, students and parents is a place where children receive guidance and encouragement, security and trust from the responsible adults around them.

A major element that establishes a child’s learning and guides their success is the physical environment where he/she is. When teachers cannot engage their young students in learning activities, then the teaching-learning …

Leveraging The Demands Of Edtpa To Foster Language Instruction For English Learners In Content Classrooms, Laura Baecher, Marcus Artigliere, Teresa Bruno

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This article provides insight into how a required, clinically based national teacher performance assessment for candidates becoming English-as-a-second-language specialists in many U.S. states, the Education Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA), engenders a focus on language instruction in the content-based classroom. This assessment’s focus on language within the content areas provides a positive washback opportunity to strengthen teacher candidates' language instruction in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) preparation programs connected to partner schools in which classrooms often provide sheltered content with minimal language instruction. We share how, in our large Masters of Arts program in TESOL, we have purposefully …

Professional Development As A Process Of Cultural Brokering: Positioning Coaches As Cultural Brokers, Tasha R. Wyatt, E. Brook Chapman De Sousa, Sarah C. Mendenhall

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Teachers who serve diverse students must navigate two “worlds.” One world is that of standardized curricula and pedagogy and the other is culturally relevant education. To effectively navigate these worlds, teachers need assistance from “cultural brokers” who can help make sense of the tension that emerges when these two educational worlds interact. This study analyzes the work of two Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence coaches who worked as cultural brokers to help teachers integrate multiple pedagogical models. The results indicate the coaches shifted their strategies depending on teacher preferences, and helped teachers overcome constraints within their classrooms …

Book Review: 57 Ways To Screw Up In Grad School: Perverse Professional Lessons For Graduate Students, Christiana Horn

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The selection of and transition to graduate school can be a daunting task for many students. Once accepted into a program, students continue to be faced with an assortment of challenges that they must overcome to graduate. Kevin Haggerty and Aaron Doyle, in their book, 57 Ways to Screw Up in Grad School: Perverse Professional Lessons for Graduate Students, offer graduate students key pieces of advice to propel them toward success. The book’s coverage of all stages of a graduate degree from applying to colleges to graduation and professional jobs makes it applicable for all graduate readers. Key points of …

Dissertation Completion: Higher Education’S Invisible Problem, Sarah M. Marshall, Barbara Klocko, Jillian Davidson

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Researchers agree that one in two doctoral students will not complete their degree, but there is little agreement on how to support and encourage these students in their scholarship. A qualitative inquiry was used to examine the reasons for delayed or expedited dissertation completion by doctoral students in an educational leadership program at a Midwestern university. Identified challenges of the dissertation process included imposter syndrome, writing anxiety, and overall productivity. Also identified were supports for the dissertation process, including the cohort model and strong mentorship. Findings indicated that doctoral candidates were highly influenced by personal or environmental factors and the …

Professional Development And Educational Policy: A Comparison Of Two Fields In Education, Linda E. Martin, Sherry Kragler, Denise Frazier

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The purpose of this paper is to compare two fields of research related to school reform: professional development and educational policy. A content analysis of the literature in both fields revealed two areas where they align (i.e., a focus on teachers’ professional development and the idea that change takes time) as well as two areas where there are differences (i.e., theoretical grounding of each field and planning for teachers’ learning). Considerations for successful school reform are suggested.

Home As Workplace: A Qualitative Case Study Of Online Faculty Using Photovoice, Lee Stadtlander, Amy Sickel, Lori Lacivita, Martha Giles

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The present study examined how online faculty members structure their workspace in their homes and how their work situation affects their home environment. The case study’s goal, guided by an extension of Vischer's user-centered model of the work environment, was to address this research gap through interviews and using PhotoVoice, a technique in which participants take photos and are interviewed about them. Eighteen faculty members from a large online university were recruited through ads in the faculty newsletter. The inclusion criterion was that the individual must only work online. Interested individuals completed an email interview and emailed a photo of …

A World Apart: How Distance Education Can Effectively Reach Around The Globe, Joseph J. Frantiska Jr.

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Distance education has revolutionized the field of education by giving faculty the ability to reach students anywhere on Earth. In many cases, the distances between faculty and students can be rather large with associated opportunities and challenges. An obvious challenge is the need for timely communications between faculty and students as well as among the students themselves. This can be compounded if the nature of the course requires widely dispersed students to work together as a group with the transfer of documents and frequent communications driven by deadlines as well as the desire to produce a complete document that adheres …

Three Perspectives Of Planning, Implementation, And Consistency In Instructional Coaching, Judith Tanner, Lisa Quintis, Thomas Gamboa Jr.

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

School administrators are choosing or required to implement instructional coaching on their campuses to improve student-learning opportunities. The school community must be aware that effective instructional coaching is job embedded, encourages teachers to become reflective practitioners, and requires time to commit to the implementation. School administrators must support instructional coaches by ensuring there is significant time allotted to provide coaches time in the classroom to observe, provide feedback, and support classroom teachers in their practice and reflection. Instructional coaches build trust and rapport with the instructional staff by implementing best-practice protocols, providing feedback, and planning the next steps. The instructional …

The Grade Experience Of Online Nurse Practitioner Students, Jennifer Stone, Phyllis D. Morgan, Mahaman Moussa, Linda Steele, Joshua Fogel

2017 Program & Posters

The rapid growth and demand for nurse practitioners (NPs) is expected to increase through 2020. The growing national shortage of physicians in primary care has fueled the demand for NPs. The expansion of health insurance coverage means that more people will be insured and will need health care. Online NP programs are of interest to working students. NP students often want to expedite degree completion by taking more than one clinical course per quarter (OCCPQ). This study examined grade experience differences for online NP students who took more than OCCPQ, compared to those who did not take more than OCCPQ. …

Validation Of The Doctoral Writing Knowledge And Efficacy Inventory, Lee Stadtlander, Amy Sickel

2017 Program & Posters

There has not been a validated measure of doctoral level writing knowledge nor one of doctoral writing self efficacy. In this study we developed and validated the Doctoral Writing Knowledge and Efficacy Inventory. The inventory showed validity, being correlated with writing apprehension, perceived writing self efficacy, and stage of dissertation.

Age Differences In Walden Faculty’S Satisfaction And Commitment, Lee Stadtlander, Amy Sickel, Lori Lacivita, Martha Giles

2017 Program & Posters

Very little is known about online faculty and their work habits. This survey study examined the effect of work habits and demographics on job satisfaction and commitment to the organization. The results indicate that faculty over 70 years of age are more satisfied and committed to Walden then faculty 30-49 years.

Content Area Teacher Perspectives On Integrating Literacy Strategies, Osha Lynette Smith

2017 Program & Posters

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) recommend that all educators prepare students with the literacy skills needed for college and careers. This study examined seventh and eighth grade content area teachers’ perspectives towards teaching literacy. Results indicated that teachers felt unprepared to teach reading. These findings can facilitate communication between teachers and other stakeholders regarding school literacy initiatives. Further the findings informed creation of a professional training program to provide teachers with on-site support for literacy integration.

Gamification Techniques And Millennial Generation Philanthropy, Karen Kavanaugh Kavanaugh

2017 Program & Posters

This qualitative study used Q methodology to examine how Millennials perceived the use of gamification elements might impact their philanthropic behavior. Overall Millennials appeared to embrace the idea of using gamification to further nonprofit fundraising. Five factors or donor-profiles were extracted from the Q-sort results and provided insight into not only the preferred gamification elements, but also general Millennial fundraising engagement preferences.

The Relationship Between Pre-Licensure Employment And Student Nurse Self-Efficacy, Khristina Lee Grimm

2017 Program & Posters

Lack of self-efficacy in nursing practice contributes to high levels of stress as new nurses enter the workforce, which causes turnover during their first year of practice. Little is known about how the type and amount of pre-licensure employment affects the selfefficacy in nursing practice of the student nurse.

Overcoming Pedagogical, Social/Cultural, And Attitudinal Barriers To Technology Integration In K-5 Schools, Lisa Durff

2017 Program & Posters

In this qualitative multiple case study, I interviewed educators to determine how they overcame barriers to technology integration. The findings showed that a triadic force of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors work together to influence technology integration. The present study may contribute to social change by increasing the knowledge of barriers preventing integration of technology into the elementary classroom.

Academic Achievement In Schoolwide Title 1 Elementary Schools, Kelli K. Cronin

2017 Program & Posters

This nonexperimental quantitative study addressed whether Title 1 had an effect on low socioeconomic schools by determining if Schoolwide Title 1 elementary schools in South Dakota demonstrated significant student gains in math and reading over a 5- year time period as measured by state standardized assessments.

Assessing Learning Styles Of Adults In Different Learning Environments, Theresa M. Bane

2017 Program & Posters

To support the development of more supportive learning environments, Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory (LSI) was used to assess learning styles in adult students of online, classroom, and combination learning environments. There were no significant differences in learning styles between learning environments in the sample population, though learning styles correlated with some demographic measures.

E-Mentoring The Online Doctoral Student From The Dissertation Prospectus Through Dissertation Completion, Ronald Black

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

Faculty who mentor online doctoral candidates face many of the same challenges and opportunities as those mentoring doctoral candidates in traditional, face-to-face modalities. The main difference is that E-Mentoring is based on interacting in the online space rather than interacting face-to-face, which may present challenges for both the candidate and the mentor. The concept of mentoring, which originated from Greek mythology, defined a close relationship between the mentor and the student. In Ancient India, the word Guru from the Sanskrit language stood to symbolize a caring mentor and expert teacher. Structured E-Mentor programs are formalized programs which provide training, coaching, …

Examining The Barriers To The Continuing Education Of Early Childhood Teacher Assistants, Colleen Louise Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 required teacher assistants (TAs) to obtain their child development associate (CDA) credential by September of 2015. TAs who had not obtained their CDA within the required timeframe were either demoted or terminated from their positions. However, with the increase of working parents, the need for quality early childhood education has risen. In this project study, the barriers TAs confront in regards to their decision to continue their schooling to obtain a CDA credential were examined, as were the factors that deterred or prevented them from enrolling in or completing a …

Satisfaction Of Community College Students Transferring To A Public Research Institution In Southern California, Patricia Danylyshyn-Adams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a large public research university in Southern California, community college transfer students reported dissatisfaction with their undergraduate college experience. Dissatisfied students may not graduate, may not network with undergraduates at their alma mater, and may not contribute financially to their alma mater. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore why students were dissatisfied with their college experience. Data collection included semi structured interviews with 11 community college transfer students enrolled at the university. The conceptual framework was based on Astin's student involvement theories. The data were analyzed by looking for codes that emerged from the student …

Implementing Elementary School Next Generation Science Standards, Kathy Kennedy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards requires developing elementary teacher content and pedagogical content knowledge of science and engineering concepts. Teacher preparation for this undertaking appears inadequate with little known about how in-service Mid-Atlantic urban elementary science teachers approach this task. The purpose of this basic qualitative interview study was to explore the research questions related to perceived learning needs of 8 elementary science teachers and 5 of their administrators serving as instructional leaders. Strategies needed for professional growth to support learning and barriers that hamper it at both building and district levels were included. These questions were considered …

Improving Literacy For Diverse Low Socio-Economic Status Middle School Students, Vivian Fowler Means

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban district, Surfside School personnel were concerned that student literacy proficiency levels were low during 2011-2014 and teachers had not been able to close the achievement gap despite a focus on literacy practices and literacy professional development (PD) provided by the district. The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions of teachers and administrators in relation to the best instructional practices for increasing self-efficacy when teaching literacy skills and related literacy PD for teachers. Knowles' andragogy theory and Vygotsky's social learning theory formed the theoretical foundation of this study, which hold that PD should provide …

Overcoming The Challenges Of Retaining Novice Teachers In A County Public School By Ernst Albert, Ernst Albert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retaining novice teachers in a Northeast Florida county public school is an ongoing challenge. Research indicates that 14% of new teachers will leave the field within 5 years. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the major factors that contributed to this unique group of novice teachers' decisions to continue to teach at the school during their first 5 years in the field. The societal model served as the conceptual framework for this study of factors affecting teacher turnover, with emphasis on teacher and school characteristics in relation to teacher attrition. Data collected from 9 interviews and an …

Happily Ever Resilient: A Content Analysis Of Themes Of Resilience In Fairytales, Stephanie Goloway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One in 4 children in the United States lives in a family impacted by the chronic, heritable disease of substance use disorder (SUD), also known as alcoholism or addiction. Recent research has demonstrated that resilience is a key protective factor against developing the disease in adolescence and adulthood and that the neurological roots of resilience lie in the child's experiences in early childhood. In spite of this, few resources related to family SUD or current models of resilience are included in preservice teacher preparation for early childhood educators. This study examined whether key components of Masten's model of resilience are …

A Guide To Common Skin Disorders While Pregnant, Debra Henline Sullivan, Virginia Sullivan

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

During pregnancy, mothers strive to maintain good health and to promote the health of their babies. Having a chronic or acute skin condition during pregnancy could cause fear that treating these conditions could cause harm to their unborn child (American Academy of Dermatology [AAD], 2016). Women will need and seek guidance before and during their pregnancies as well as during lactation, when skin disorders affect them. The childbirth educator would benefit from a basic knowledge base to answer questions that may arise regarding various skin problems during the childbirth experience. This article will define and discuss treatment for some of …

Perceptions Of Women Receiving Services From Domestic Violence Advocacy And Counseling Programs, Lisa Y. Proby

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine domestic violence victims’ perceptions of advocacy and counseling programs that provide women with safe refuge, prevention education, mental health treatment, and other services. Many women in the United States are victims of intimate partner violence. Review of existing literature found that little is known about the extent to which the needs of these victims are met from available advocacy and counseling services. The health belief model was used to theorize victims’ perceptions of services and risk factors for re-abuse. A phenomenological design was used to answer research questions, and in-depth …

Examining The Relationship Between Math Achievement And Self-Efficacy In Developmental Math Students, Ellen Prescott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many students today lack preparedness for college-level math. Colleges and universities offer developmental math courses; however, students are failing these developmental courses and they often have low math self-efficacy. Educational technology and alternative classroom models are used to try to alleviate low success rates in developmental math courses. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between math self-efficacy and math achievement in students in developmental math courses that used the software platform Connect Math. Research questions focused on self-efficacy and math achievement differences between students in computer mediated and traditional lecture-based developmental math courses, as well as …

Increasing The Vocabulary Acquisition Rate For Third Grade English Language Learners, Jennifer Dawn Pendergrass

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Given the ongoing demographic transformations of U.S classrooms, knowledge of the strategies teachers use to address the vocabulary needs of English language learners (ELLs) is central for improving student outcomes. The problem in a Georgia school system was that ELLs were not building grade-level appropriate vocabulary at a pace comparable to that of their peers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify strategies that increase the rate of vocabulary acquisition for ELLs. In this study, 10 third grade teachers were asked about their understanding of the second language vocabulary acquisition process, which vocabulary strategies they were using to …