Education Commons^™

Catch The Bus: Investigating The Correlations Between Teacher Collaborative Action-Taking And Self-Efficacy, Tara B. Brandt

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the correlations between particular teacher collaborative actions and teachers’ sense of self-efficacy. Additionally, descriptive analyses provided a snapshot of current collaborative action-taking across US schools, and elucidated teachers’ present sense of self-efficacy. This study utilized existing data from the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (sponsored by the OECD), which was completed by 1,926 lower secondary teachers from just over 120 different American schools. Multivariate correlational analysis confirmed that frequency of US teachers’ participation in collaborative actions significantly correlated to higher levels of teacher self-efficacy. Actions with the highest correlations included: taking …

Using Social Network Analysis To Investigate The Relationship Between School-Based Team Communication Networks And Implementation Of Positive Behavior Support Systems, Shannon K. Barry

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school-based team communication networks and implementation of school-wide reform efforts and initiatives, namely Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The study employed social network analysis (SNA) to determine if a relationship was present between the structure and properties of the team communication network and the level of implementation of PBIS, the position and properties of the PBIS leadership team and the level of implementation of PBIS implementation, and the quality of internal process for collaboration of the PBIS leadership team and PBIS implementation. It was predicted that schools in …

Retrospective Study Of Victimization By Bullying Among Sexual Minority And Majority College Students: Exploring External Sources Of Support To Promote Resilience, Allison Enders-Hunt Buck

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare rates of victimization by general, cyber-, and homophobic bullying, trauma, and protective factors of perceived family support, peer support, school membership, and school safety between sexual minority (n = 55) and majority (n = 171) college students during their last year of high school. Additionally, using the Fergus and Zimmerman (2005) protective factor model of resilience, multiple regression analyses were conducted among LGBTQ and heterosexual participants to assess whether or not the protective factors moderated the relationship between victimization by general and cyberbullying and perceived level of trauma due …

The Effects Of Voluntary Versus Cold-Calling Participation On Class Discussion And Exam Performance In Multiple Sections Of An Educational Psychology Undergraduate Course, Brittany Ann Carstens

Doctoral Dissertations

Although class participation has been linked to improved student performance, little research has evaluated the effects of cold-calling versus voluntary participation. This study (N =156) determined the differential effects of voluntary and cold-calling participation practices on participation credit, uncapped magnitude of participation, participation rate, attendance, and adjusted exam scores. These dependent measures were compared between (a) voluntary and cold-calling conditions and (b) high and low participants under baseline (voluntary participation without credit and high-rate and low-rate participants). The use of voluntary and cold-calling procedures was alternated across units. Results were evaluated using mixed designs with repeated-measures across treatment units …

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction Of Radiologic Sciences Faculty: Implications For Recruitment And Retention, Lisa Marie Satterfield

Doctoral Dissertations

The need to recruit and retain radiologic sciences faculty is essential to meet the increasing demand for radiologic technologists. Nevertheless, a faculty shortage is precluding radiologic sciences programs from admitting qualified students and it is predicted to only get worse. Seventy-five percent of the educative body of radiologic sciences is older than 52 years and will approach retirement age in the immediate future. While there is an extensive amount of research conducted on the role of faculty, faculty challenges, faculty recruitment, and job satisfaction, little is known about the indicators of job satisfaction among radiologic sciences faculty that motivate them …

Undergraduate Women In The Stem Fields And The Use Of Academic Library Resources And Services, Rebecca O'Kelly Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

Women majoring in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields are few in number. This research will be conducted in an effort to understand the use of academic library resources and services by undergraduate women in the STEM fields. Data collection methods consisted of three focus groups and five interviews with undergraduate women in the STEM fields, and three focus groups and two interviews with academic librarians and library staff familiar with library resources and services in each of the STEM fields conducted at a Research I University in the USA. Grounded theory principles provided a basis for the …

Theories-In-Use And Espoused Theories: An Examination Of Team Decision-Making In The Initial Special Education Eligibility Meeting, Heather Anne Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether education professionals’ theories-in-use were congruent with their espoused theories (Argyris & Schön, 1974) regarding the inclusion of parents as team decision-making partners in the initial special education eligibility meeting of individualized education programming (IEP) teams. Particular attention was given to procedural practices education professionals used to include parents as decision-making partners and their descriptions of this practice.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates the inclusion of parents as members of IEP teams, including their right to participate in the special education eligibility decision. Research supports the inclusion of parents …

The State Of Inclusive Practices For English Learners In Georgia’S Elementary Schools: A Mixed Methods Study Of The Esol Push-In Model, Eileen Pabilona Galang

Doctoral Dissertations

One of the school restructuring efforts in English as a Second Language education has been inclusion, like the “push-in” model (Platt et al., 2003). In the push-in model, English Learners (ELs) remain in their core academic classes instead of being “pulled out” for language instruction by the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher. In addition, ELs receive content area instruction from their General Education (Gen Ed) classroom teacher for reading, language arts, mathematics, science, or social studies in the push-in setting (Alston et al., 2014).While push-in and collaborative teaching models are widely implemented, these collaborations between and among …

You Have To Find That Music That Both Parties Can Dance To: One School District's Experience With Collaborative Conferencing, Janel Marie Seeley

Doctoral Dissertations

In 2011, Tennessee passed the Professional Educators Collaborative Conferencing Act (PECCA), replacing the former mode of collective bargaining between professional educators and school board administrators with a process called collaborative conferencing (CC). The purpose of this study, the first research on the new process, was to investigate the experiences of participants who engaged in CC in one school district. The study also examined participants’ perceived relationship between training and its application to CC. The school district used the newly developed Interest-Based Collaborative Problem Solving and Reflective Practice (IBCPS/RP) model to guide its CC process. This approach is similar to interest …

A Discourse Analysis Of Beginning English Teachers' Identity Development, Joshua Peter Johnston

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation was a discourse analysis of how beginning English teachers’ talk contributes to the development of their teacher identities. The study drew on the epistemological and ontological assumptions of discursive psychology, and as such it used methods consistent with discursive psychology and conversation analysis. The data for the study were comprised of twenty-one audio-recorded meetings of eight student teachers in a year-long internship and their field supervisor, who was also the researcher. Orienting to the construct of identity as socially negotiated, unstable, and multiple, the study sought to identify specific discursive strategies that beginning English teacher’s employ to negotiate …

The Effects Of A Historical Perspective Taking Scenario Activity On Classroom Discussion, William Gary Cole

Doctoral Dissertations

This quasi-experimental, mixed-methods case study examined the effects of perspective taking on the discussion skills of one group of 9^th grade World History students. Specifically, this study investigated the impacts of a historical perspective taking scenario activity on student participation in discussions, quality of discussions, student learning from discussions, teacher perceptions of discussions, and student and teacher enjoyment of discussions. The methods used to assess these impacts were classroom observations, frequency counts, teacher interviews, a student focus group interview, and document analysis.

Results indicated that the use of a historical perspective taking scenario activity produced a dramatic increase in …

Positionality And Its Effects On Pedagogy: Examining The Identity Categories Of Race, Class, And Gender Of English As A Second Language (Esl) Preservice Teachers., Hollie Marie Nawrocki

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the identity categories of race, class, and gender in preservice teachers, and how the nexus of those identities impacts their teaching practices, especially when teaching English Language Learners (ELLs). The topic of teacher beliefs of preservice teachers has been well researched. However, there were gaps in the literature concerning the positionality of preservice teachers with specific regard to race, class, and gender. This study sought to address gaps in the existing literature by examining the participant perceptions of race, class, and gender of preservice English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and …

The Roles Of Facilitators In Implementation And Effectiveness Of In-School Suspension (Iss): A Qualitative Study, Gia Renee Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine In-School Suspension (ISS) facilitators’ role(s) in ISS implementation and effectiveness. An important effect linked to participation in ISS is the decreased likelihood of high school graduation for students assigned to the program. There is also a notable gap in the literature regarding the role and effectiveness of ISS in helping students get back on track. Similarly, little is known about ISS facilitators’ beliefs and perspectives about the program.

A basic qualitative design utilizing in-depth interviews was implemented. Participants included six high school ISS facilitators in one southeastern school district. A thematic analysis …

The Development And Validation Of The Self-Efficacy In Statistical Practices Scale, Niranji Anuradha Pathirage Dopa Pathirage

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to develop a scale intended to measure undergraduate students’ self-efficacy in statistical practices. In order to apply statistical concepts and methods that students learn in the classroom to real world situations, it is important for college students to have not only statistical knowledge and skills, but also self-efficacy in using those concepts and methods. Even though there is growing attention on the importance of assessing students’ statistics self-efficacy, currently available measures have numerous limitations. Therefore, the Self-Efficacy in Statistical Practices Scale (SESPS) was developed, and the internal consistency reliability and convergent validity of …

Deficit Discourse, Literate Lives: Success Narratives Of Black Youth, Ann Marie Bennett

Doctoral Dissertations

The current dialogue surrounding Black youth portrays these youth as “thugs” who come from “broken” families and “apathetic” communities. Even some educational discourses portray Black youth as “at-risk” students who lack the resources necessary to achieve in school. These dialogues traffic in deficit language without paying attention to the successes found in the Black community. The purpose of this study was to utilize an anti-deficit perspective to capture the stories of how urban Black children in a mid-sized Southeastern city are achieving positive literacy and academic outcomes in the upper elementary and middle grades. I sought to understand how Black …

Developing A Written Language Inventory For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students: A Systemic Functional Grammar Approach, Jennifer Renée Kilpatrick

Doctoral Dissertations

Deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) students are extremely diverse in language development due to vast differences in residual hearing, response to hearing technologies, and exposure to American Sign Language. Writing is a struggle for these students who have delayed and limited access to English. Studies have found that d/hh students continue to lag behind their hearing peers in syntactic development. Unfortunately, current methods of writing assessment do not provide teachers with sufficient information regarding the syntactic development of d/hh students. This dissertation responds to the need for an assessment that is able to provide this information that is necessary …

Coaching Conversations: Discourse Within Reading Recovery Teacher Leader Training, Kristi Dawn Swafford

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the discourse of literacy coaching conversations within the Reading Recovery Teacher Leader training year. Both Reading Recovery and literacy coaching have been well researched, however there were gaps in the literature concerning the role of the Reading Recovery Teacher Leader within Reading Recovery and the details of literacy coaching interactions, specifically the language of coaching sessions. This study sought to address these gaps in the literature by examining the discourse of Reading Recovery Teacher leaders and their coaches as they participated in literacy coaching sessions during their 2014.2015 training year. Eleven coaching …

Newly Licensed Registered Nurses' Experiences With Clinical Simulation, Carrie Ann Bailey

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand how new graduate nurses perceive the value of simulation in making the transition into professional practice. This study will use a descriptive qualitative approach with a sample of first year nurses. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model serves as this study’s conceptual framework. For the current study, the sample consisted of 10 newly graduated, female nurses with less than one year of experience working in the hospital setting were interviewed. Data analysis included interviews and transcription by the researcher. Finally, participants were asked about themes to increase rigor. Four themes emerged from this research: …

Lived Experiences Of Beginning Counselors In Harmful Supervision, Alessandra Joy Rhinehart

Doctoral Dissertations

When supervision moves beyond poor oversight to inciting personal and professional impairment, it becomes harmful. Although there is much in the literature regarding ineffective supervision in general, empirical data explicating harmful supervision is significantly less available. In fact, the negative effects of harmful supervision may be notably more severe than those reported of ineffective supervision (Unger, 1995). The purpose of this study was to provide rich description and meaning of beginning counselors’ experiences in harmful supervision. The research question addressed was, “What is the lived experience of beginning counselors in harmful supervision?” Transcendental, existential phenomenology (van Manen, 2014; Thomas & …

Principal Mental Models And Perceptions Of Distributed Leadership, Leigh Ann Marlar

Doctoral Dissertations

With growing pressure on school leaders to support collaboration and distribute leadership among teachers and staff, principals need guidance in examining their own mental models on these issues to challenge and improve their current ways of thinking. The purpose of this mixed methods, multi-site case study was to describe three middle school principals’ mental models of distributed leadership and to examine to what extent the three preconditions (leadership practice, relationships, and trust) from Angelle’s (2010) model of distributed leadership for middle schools existed in the three principals’ schools. Qualitative data included principal interviews, a written statement of leadership philosophy, a …

Administrators' Perceptions Of Stem Education And Their Influence On Classroom Practices In Louisiana Schools, Misty Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine administrators' understandings and perceptions of STEM education and their influence on classroom practices. Due to the well-documented need throughout decades of literature for quality STEM programming in the nation's schools, the knowledge gained in this study was valuable because of the potential impact administrators' perceptions and understandings can have on program implementation. This study focused on the implementation of Project Lead the Way (PLTW) STEM programs.

In this mixed-methods investigation, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through the use of surveys and interviews. The study participants were administrators of schools utilizing at …

Intrusion Detection System Of Industrial Control Networks Using Network Telemetry, Stanislav Ponomarev

Doctoral Dissertations

Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) are designed, implemented, and deployed in most major spheres of production, business, and entertainment. ICSs are commonly split into two subsystems - Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems - to achieve high safety, allow engineers to observe states of an ICS, and perform various configuration updates. Before wide adoption of the Internet, ICSs used "air-gap" security measures, where the ICS network was isolated from other networks, including the Internet, by a physical disconnect [1]. This level of security allowed ICS protocol designers to concentrate on the availability and safety of …

“Beyond The Four Walls Of My Building”: A Case Study Of #Edchat And The Power Of Connectedness, Virginia G. Britt

Doctoral Dissertations

Professional development is an important aspect of all teachers' careers as a way to continually grow and enrich his/her craft. It is particularly important for K-12 American teachers because of the continual push to increase student achievement. With the introduction of social media networks, teachers are able to connect and learn from others outside their school building to those across the world. While we know Twitter and other social media sites have grown in popularity with educators, we still do not know what is happening within this online space and how it supports teachers. The purpose of this case study …

Unintended Consequences Of Collegiate Living-Learning Community Programs At A Public University, David Buchanan Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

The current body of living-learning community (LLC) research primarily documents programmatic impact relative to intended outcomes such as social integration and improved academic performance. Conversely, few published studies address potential unintended consequences of LLCs. Just as intended outcomes often result from purposive action, unintended consequences may also occur when intentional programming produces unforeseen results. Evidence suggests LLCs—particularly those serving first-time freshmen—may contribute to unanticipated outcomes because of the complex social process occurring within peer groups of post-adolescent students (Jaffee, 2007). Despite evidence that LLCs may produce unforeseen outcomes, the impact of unintended consequences on LLCs remains relatively undocumented in the …

Effectiveness Of Proloquo2goTm In Enhancing Communication In Children With Autism During Aba Therapy, Taylor Eastin Krcek

Doctoral Dissertations

Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disorder presenting in early childhood that has a profound effect on an individual's ability to communicate. The iPad® with the Proloquo2Go^TM app is a multilingual Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) solution designed to assist people who have difficulty speaking or cannot speak at all. This study examines the effectiveness of the Proloquo2Go^TM app delivered via iPad® to enhance the tacting, manding, and verbal completion repertoires of children with autism. Participants included five children between the ages of three and four years old diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and with low to …

Undergraduate International Student Persistence At A Large, Public Us Institution, Elizabeth Washam Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

As we are living in a highly global society, colleges and universities in the US are seeking to attract international students to study at their institutions. In 2013, over 886,000 international students were enrolled at US colleges and universities, bringing academic, cultural, and economic benefits to US campuses and communities (Institute of International Education, 2014b). However, enrollment at an institution of higher education does not guarantee a student will persist to graduation. While studies of domestic student retention continue to flourish, studies of international student retention are considerably more limited. The purpose of this study was to gain a better …

Student Persistence In Career And Technical Education: A Multi-Sample, Mixed-Method Evaluation Of Student Services, Brittany Jo Daulton

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the student services offered at the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) institutions, getting perspectives from students, faculty, and administrators. It also served to investigate the link between student support services and persistence. Using the TCAT institutions as an exemplary model, the evaluation study provided a model to be used by similar institutions to help students persist through their career and technical education experience. The evaluation used a utilization focused approach to determine the effectiveness of student support services provided. Data were collected from student, staff, and administrators and triangulated to …

The Factors That Influenced The Decision To Enter Into A $1 Billion Fundraising Campaign By Two Public Higher Education Institutions, William Rhodes Logan

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that influenced the decision to enter into a $1 billion fundraising campaign by two public higher education institutions. The research was guided by two questions:

1. What factors influenced the decision to enter into a $1 billion or more fundraising campaign in each of the two public higher education institutions?
2. Were there factors shared by both institutions, and were differences apparent?

Data were collected from 14 in-depth interviews with presidents, vice presidents for development, fundraising volunteers, fundraising campaign consultants, and other members of the staff who were familiar with the factors …

Development Of The Setis Instrument To Measure Teachers' Self-Efficacy To Teach Science In An Integrated Stem Framework, Monica Clutch Mobley

Doctoral Dissertations

Integrated STEM teaching and learning has gained increased attention in recent years as schools try to prepare students for 21^st century careers. Goals of integrated STEM teaching are in alignment with goals of science education reform efforts as evident in recent document such as the Next Generation Science Standards (Achieve, Inc., 2013) and efforts are underway to encourage science instruction from within an integrated STEM framework. Teaching science content in an integrated STEM context is a complex act placing great cognitive and emotional demands on teachers, many of whom lack experience with this manner of teaching and may also …

The Relationship Between Demands And Resources And Teacher Burnout: A Fifteen-Year Meta-Analysis, Tammy Marie Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

This meta-analysis explored the phenomenon of teacher burnout— the biggest contributor to teacher attrition (Owens, 2013; Unterbrink, 2014; Yu, 2015). The focus of this study was to use meta-analytical procedures to explore the relationship between burnout dimensions (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of personal accomplishment) and specific demand and resource correlates. Demand correlates included work overload, role conflict, role ambiguity, and student misbehavior. Resource correlates included peer support, supervisory support, and decision-making. This meta-analytical research method encompassed fifteen years of published and unpublished studies from January 2000 through January 2015. A total of 116 studies met the following inclusion …