Education Commons^™

Perceived Influence Of An Acting Class On Students’ Verbal Communication Skills, Venustiano Borromeo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research demonstrates a widening gap between verbal communication skills expectations of employers and the perceived abilities of higher education graduates. Recent studies have also suggested that the art of acting is an effective pedagogical tool for developing oral communication skills; however, investigations of a beginning acting class in a higher educational setting are limited. The research question examined undergraduate students’ perceptions of the influence of a beginning acting class on the development of their verbal communication skills for future employment. This generic qualitative inquiry investigated and analyzed 8 undergraduate students’ perceptions of how an acting class helped improve their verbal …

Differentiating Instruction To Prepare African American Males For High School Accelerated Courses, Monique Carson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Differentiating instruction is important in helping students with diverse backgrounds and learning styles understand curricula; however, this can be challenging for educators. The educators at the study site reported that teachers’ instructional practices could be affecting African American males’ preparedness for accelerated courses. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how rigorous, differentiated instructional practices were being used in the classroom to prepare African American male students for accelerated courses at an urban, Title I school in the Southwest United States. The study was guided by Tomlinson’s differentiated instruction framework. Research questions addressed the types of instructional …

After-School Enrichment Programs And Secondary Education Achievement Among African American Males, Willis Roger Carter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this single case study, at one high school in the Midwest region of United States, was to examine after-school enrichment programs and their connections to improving academic achievement for African American (AA) male students. The central question of what factors in structured after-school enrichment programs (ASEPs) contribute to academic achievement for AA males was studied using social learning theory and punctuated equilibrium as the theoretical guide. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews and surveys administered to 10 administrators, 10 parents, and 10 teachers who met the criteria for inclusion in the study. Data collection also included classroom …

Relationship Between Parental Involvement And 4th-5th Grade Students’ Academic Motivation, Charla Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The achievement gap between African American and White students has been well documented. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether parental involvement in academics predicted academic motivation of fourth- and fifth-grade African American students in the Southwest United States. Social development theory provided the framework for the study. Survey data were collected from 43 students and 43 parents using the Parental Involvement Scale and the Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory. A t test, linear regression, and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. Findings indicated no significant difference between how parents and students perceived parental involvement …

Comparison Of Gpa And Act Reading And Math Scores For African American Males In Afrocentric Versus Mainstream High Schools, Marissa Irene Prince

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, the academic achievement of African American males is not at the same level as their peers from other ethnic backgrounds. There are negative social and financial implications for African American males who do not experience positive educational outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative study, based on critical race theory, was to compare the effectiveness of traditional high school education and Afrocentric high school education on the educational outcomes of African American males. Three measures of educational outcomes were examined: GPA at graduation, ACT reading score, and ACT math scores. The participants were 143 African American males, …

Child Welfare Workers' Perceptions Of The Effective Black Parenting Program, Kharmynn M. Bullock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The child welfare system (CWS) serves around half a million families each year in America. Of those, in Texas, hundreds of thousands of African American families represent the greatest percentages of families in the CWS when compared with their respective numbers in the general population. In 2013, African American children made up about 13.9% of the overall population of children in the United States; however, these children represented close to 26% (or 101,938) African American children in the system with CWS. Child Protective Services (CPS) has various programs and services, including parent education referrals to social services agencies that carry …

Afriican American Students' Experiences Of Stress From Discrimination In Online Doctoral Education, Senovia Wyche

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

There is a lack of current research about the experiences of stress related to discrimination encountered by African American students in online doctoral programs. Such discrimination can negatively impact the academics, educational experiences, and overall health of this student population. In this generic qualitative study, how African American students in online doctoral programs interpreted, perceived, and responded to their experiences of stress regarding discrimination was explored. Using the conceptual framework of Lazarus and Folkman’s cognitive appraisal theory, the research questions addressed stress related to discrimination encountered in online educational institutions, discriminatory factors perceived as inhibitors towards earning a doctoral …

Museum Educators' Processes For Creating Inclusive Curricula On American Slavery, Dawn Chitty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

To close a gap in the literature, this study sought to develop a deeper understanding of the processes museum educators use to create inclusive curricula on American slavery. The research design was a qualitative, descriptive, multicase study using data collected from a purposefully selected sample of museum educators, along the Eastern Seaboard region of the United States, who had previously created inclusive curricula on slavery. Null's radical curriculum theory formed the conceptual framework for this study. Individual interviews of 11 museum educators were recorded, transcribed, and coded in two cycles, using in vivo and pattern coding methods. Additionally, examples of …

African American High School Graduates’ Perceptions Of Their African American Principal’S Leadership, Patricia Mitchell Marzett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a need to increase high school graduation rates for African American students, decrease dropout rates, and narrow or close the achievement gap between African American students and White students. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to determine the perceptions of African American students who graduated from high school regarding the leadership of their African American principal. Delgado and Stefancic’s critical race theory and Bass’s transformational leadership constitute the conceptual framework for this study. Nine participants who graduated from high schools led by an African American principal were interviewed, and transcripts were analyzed using in vivo coding. …

Perceptions Of K-12 School Principals Regarding Instructional Leadership To Support Music Teachers, Erick Cuthbert Willie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

K-12 school principals, as instructional leaders, are critical to supporting music teachers. The problem addressed in this project study was that principals have been inconsistently applying instructional leadership to support music teachers to remain in the teaching profession. The purpose of this basic qualitative research design study was to understand how principals applied instructional leadership practices to support music teachers in order to retain them. The conceptual framework was the instructional leadership model of Hallinger and Murphy, which defines three main dimensions of instructional leadership: (a) the school mission, (b) the instructional program, and (c) the school climate. The research …

Precursors To Human Trafficking, Aleta J. Eldridge

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe problem addressed in this phenomenological study was the lack of documentation of the supported lived experiences of the precursors that children exhibit prior to being groomed by a sex trafficker into human sex trafficking. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of adults, whom as a child, were groomed into sex trafficking due to being bullied, experienced familial abuse and had used illegal drugs, concurrent. Using Ostrom's institutional analysis theory (IAT) and Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory (SDT), this study examined the three precursors of human trafficking that occurred, concurrently, prior and during the …