Education Commons^™

The Relationship Between Secondary Schools' Plc Characteristics And Literacy Achievement, Jennifer C. Topper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative, non-experimental, correlational study examined the relationship between secondary school staff perceptions of their school’s effectiveness and the change in student literacy over a one year period. The staff perception data was elicited through an anonymous, electronically administered survey, the SEDL’s School Professional Staff as Learning Community Questionnaire (SPSLCQ) (Hord, 1996). Perceptions were gathered and measured based on the responses to descriptors in the five PLC domains of shared and supportive leadership; shared vision and values; collective learning and application of learning; supportive conditions; and shared personal practice. The populations whose perceptions were measured were the staffs of middle …

The Muzzled Hope: Utilizing Black Protest Thought To Examine African American Males' Identity Development And Academic Success In The Rural U.S. South, Latoya D. Jenkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problems faced by African American males in the United States is often the result of misconstrued images and stereotypes that present this segment of the population in a distasteful manner. If one chimes in to various circuits of popular culture, glances over the latest headlines of newspapers, and/or listens to the confluent lyrics of hip hop that, eloquently, bridges life struggles with melodic hooks to expose the oppression faced by people of color, one thing becomes apparent: Social progression is dependent upon society’s ability to magnify, listen to, and incorporate the voices of marginalized groups.

With the majority of …

“At-Risk” Rural Middle-School Students’ Perceptions Of Problem-Based Learning In Mathematics, Deborah A. Bowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Middle-grade students who fail math have at least a three-in-four chance of dropping out of high school (Neild & Balfanz, 2006). Furthermore, these students, especially female students, at risk of failure in mathematics and consequent dropout, may not be well served by traditional teaching methods because of their inequitable instructional practices (Lerner & Sadker, 1999). This case study of eight seventh-grade students from a rural school in Georgia sought to gain insight into whether PBL (problem-based learning) was perceived to be an effective teaching method for “at-risk” middle-school mathematics students and female students in particular. The goals of the study …

Deans Of Students’ Responsibilities In Campus Crisis Management, Patrice B. Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study was to discover the responsibilities of the dean of students in managing campus crisis. The literature clearly identifies the dean of students as a member of the crisis management team (Benjamin, 2014; Zdziarski, 2001, 2006, 2016). However, a gap in the literature exists concerning the specific responsibilities of the dean of students in responding to campus crisis.

The five phases of crisis management as defined by PPD-8 are Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery (US Department of Homeland Security, 2011). In signing PPD-8, President Obama mandated all state and federal organizations develop comprehensive …

A Study Of Black Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Academic Achievement Of Black Male Students In Elementary Schools In Rural Georgia, Marshall F. Aker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Presently, numerous research studies, articles and reports have shown troubling outcomes regarding the education of Black male students in the United States (Darensbourg, Perez, & Blake, 2010; Lewis, Simon, Uzzell, Horwitz, & Casserly, 2010; Prager, 2011). The performance of Black males on national achievement assessments is lower in comparison to the performance of most other subgroups. The high school graduation rate for Black males in the United States is below most other ethnic subgroups (Schotts Foundation, 2015). Although various strategies are often implemented at the national, state, and local level in attempts to address achievement disparities, these efforts have not …

Developing The Whole Teacher: A Phenomenological Case Study Of Student Teachers' Emotional Experiences In One Teacher Education Program, Kathleen M. Crawford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student teaching serves as the culminating field experience in the majority of teacher education programs, and studies have revealed the need to investigate the connection between pre-service teachers and the emotions they experience, express, and manage. Therefore, the overarching purpose of this phenomenological case study was to examine how one Early Childhood (PreK-5^th) Education Program addressed and prepared teachers for the emotional dimensions of teaching, as well as to examine the emotional experiences of the student teachers. The results of this study revealed the need for teacher education programs to amend the ways in which they prepare pre-service …

Dystopian Identities: Exhuming The World Of Zombies Through The Camera's Eye: A Documentary, Julie Kimble

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research seeks to understand how engagement in zombie media culture helps its participants to navigate their everyday fears, develop identity, and form meaningful communities through this interaction. Curriculum studies enables us to see that knowledge is fluid and we often learn more from our interaction with our world outside of the expected sites of education—like schools. Media and pop culture provide a place for this knowledge to begin. Participants in zombie culture invest themselves and connect in ways that transcend entertainment and seem to become sites of transformation. Standardization and testing have become the driving force in education, creating …

Teacher Empowerment Through Instructional Coaching: A Qualitative Study On The Theory And Application Of Partnership Principles, Aviva Goelman Rice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to understand how instructional coaching in schools affects teachers and, specifically, whether increased teacher empowerment was associated with instructional coaching based on the framework of the Partnership Principles (Knight, 2007). A goal of the research was to find out whether, and to what extent, teachers identified themselves as empowered. Using Critical Theory (Freire, 2012) as the theoretical framework for this analysis, the study also sought to develop an understanding of how teacher empowerment may develop as a result of working with instructional coaches who utilize the Partnership Principles. Six teachers in a rural district …

Exploring The Connection Between Christian Colleges' Mission And Finance, Farrah Rachele Senn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two main issues currently threatening Christian colleges include mission conflict and financial viability, and research suggests that there is a relationship between these two. However, current literature about the relationship between mission and finance is mostly qualitative in nature, either being case studies or observations of practice. This research set out to establish the nature of the relationship between mission fidelity and financial health using quantitative methodology. A survey instrument was used to quantify mission fidelity for 81 colleges in the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), a national organization of Christian colleges, using Benne’s (2001) Typology of Christian …