Organized Anarchies In The Marketplace: Competition And Change In A Rural School District, Laura Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

The idea that competition improves schools is the current mantra of public education policy in the United States. Over the past three decades, parallel policy reforms across the country have increased school choice options for families, and held schools accountable to centralized standards based on the assumption that schools in high-competition/high-accountability environments would seek to improve their performance in order to survive and thrive. Despite these changes, widespread gains in student achievement have not been realized. The logic behind these reforms assumes schools and parents make rational decisions; however, the public education system is typified by unclear goals, incomplete and …

Why Education Matters: Political Participation And Interpretive Experiences At High School, Samuel V. Stoddard

Doctoral Dissertations

Political scientists have long recognized educational attainment as a strong predictor of voter turnout, but the mechanisms through which educational experiences lead voters to the polls remain under-explored. This research begins the process of opening the proverbial black box of education to understand the specific types of scholastic experiences that encourage voting. Grounded in previous findings by scholars of policy feedback and political socialization, I use a mix of qualitative and quantitative data analyses to reveal that nonacademic high school experiences can have powerful and lasting interpretive effects. Results show that participants in performance and service-based extracurricular activities are commonly …

Developing Musicianship And 21st Century Learning Skills Using The Lisk “Creative Director” Series, Thomas Reynolds

Doctoral Dissertations

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Applying Stakeholder Analysis To Lay The Groundwork For Conflict-Sensitive Education In The Somali Education Sector, Nina Aristea Papadopoulos

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Parenting, Identity And Culture In An Era Of Migration And Globalization: How Bangladeshi Parents Navigate And Negotiate Child-Rearing Practices In The Usa, Mohammad Mahboob Morshed

Doctoral Dissertations

Globalization puts into challenge the singular notion of identity and culture. Immigrant parents must navigate multiple cultural systems and constantly redefine their identities in order to cope with a new way of being. This dissertation is aimed at learning about this cultural encounter faced by Bangladeshi immigrant parents living in Western Massachusetts region of the USA. More specifically, I studied immigrant Bangladeshi parents’ identity negotiations, their navigation of transnational spaces, and cultural negotiation in relation to their children’s schooling. My research is informed by cultural theories of immigration and globalization. Guattari’s concept of ‘existential territory’ (Guattari, 1995, 2000), Appadurai’s ideas …

The Experience Of Chinese Students Enrolled In Graduate Music Education Degree Programs In The United States, Kailimi Li

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of Chinese graduate students enrolled in music education master’s and doctoral degree programs in the United States. Specifically, it explored participants’ perceptions of (a) their educational experiences (past and present), (b) the challenges they faced, (c) their strategies for success, (d) the benefits they experienced as international graduate students in the United State, (e) the effect of this experience on their thinking, self-perception, and behavior, and (f) how they planned to move forward or move on following this experience. Participants were six native Chinese graduate students enrolled at the time …

Female Students’ Academic Engagement And Achievement In Science And Engineering: Exploring The Influence Of Gender Grouping In Small Group Work In Design-Based Learning Contexts In High School Biology, Miancheng Guo

Doctoral Dissertations

In the past 30 years, although much effort has been made to narrow the gender gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), females are still largely underrepresented in some important STEM fields, such as physics and engineering (NSF, 2007). To deal with this situation, people from different sectors have long reached a common understanding: Educators must improve school girls’ interest, participation and engagement in STEM subjects (e.g., Office of Science and Technology Policy, 2013). In the K-12 classroom, small group work has been shown to promote an equitable environment for girls’ learning in science and have a positive impact …

Home Learning In The New Mobile Age: Parent-Child Interactions During Joint Play With Educational Apps, Shayl Griffith

Doctoral Dissertations

The rapidly increasing popularity of touch screen mobile devices, and accompanying educational applications (“apps”) targeted towards preschool children, calls for a new look at parent-child interactions around educational media. Research has shown that parental involvement in children’s educational media exposure can improve engagement and learning outcomes. However, to date little information is available on how parents navigate their children’s use of educational mobile technology, or how similar or different these interactions are to more commonly studied parent-child interactions, such as around shared reading. This study described, using observational data, parent-child interactions around educational apps and mobile devices in a sample …

Conceptualization And Measurement Of Adolescent Prosocial Behavior: A Two-Study Mixed Methods Investigation, Shereen El Mallah

Doctoral Dissertations

Prosocial behavior is a multifaceted construct that may be expressed and received in a myriad of ways, thereby posing several challenges in measurement. Undoubtedly, significant advancements in the measurement of prosocial behavior have been made since the construct first found its way onto the research stage; however, a few fundamental problems persist with regard to: 1) the absence of a universally employed definition, 2) substantial variation in operationalization and measurement of the construct, and 3) inconsistent reports regarding the nature of prosocial development during the transition between adolescence and young adulthood. These issues are further compounded under conditions of adversity …

Using Strategic Discourse For Building Understanding In Elementary Mathematics: What Do Teachers And Students Think?, Mary Coakley

Doctoral Dissertations

The mathematics reform movement has not had a significant or lasting impact on the practice of teachers and learning of students throughout the country (Boylan, 2010, Kazemi & Stipek, 2001). Students are not developing the types of skills critical thinking skills needed to solve problems in mathematics. Research suggests a need for structural changes that include providing opportunities for students to develop more autonomy and authority in the mathematics classroom (Cuban, 2013). To meet these challenges, teachers and students must make significant changes to implement instruction that fulfills this demand. This expectation has left teachers struggling to determine essential changes …

Examining The Effects Of Changes In Automated Rater Bias And Variability On Test Equating Solutions, Michelle Boyer

Doctoral Dissertations

Many studies have examined the quality of automated raters, but none have focused on the potential effects of systematic rater error on the psychometric properties of test scores. This simulation study examines the comparability of test scores under multiple rater bias and variability conditions, and addresses questions of their effects on test equating solutions. Effects are characterized by a comparison of equated and observed raw scores and estimates of examinee ability across the bias and variability scenarios. Findings suggest that the presence of, and changes in, rater bias and variability affect the equivalence of total raw scores, particularly at higher …

Teacher Education And Professional Development On Classroom Assessment In Bangladesh: Exploring Policy And Practice Through A Vertical Case Study, Sumera Ahsan

Doctoral Dissertations

Formative Classroom Assessment (FCA) can be the single most powerful activity to promote students’ learning (Hattie, 2009). In Bangladesh FCA is not in practice (Ahsan, 2009). Policies and teacher preparation on FCA are the two factors that influence the practice of formative assessment in classrooms (Stiggins, 1999; Plake, 1993). In my research I aimed to learn how different actors, discourses, and materials come together to produce policies on FCA in policy network and translate the policies in a Teachers’ Training College (TTC), and in classrooms in an urban school. I used ‘critical socio-cultural approach to policy as practice’ (Levinson, Sutton …

Stem Pipeline For Students With Disabilities: From High School To Intentions To Major In Stem, Joshua Bittinger

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) major declaration intentions of students with disabilities as they graduated high school and entered college. I used data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) because data collection began in high school and followed students into college, facilitating research focusing on access. Before investigating major declaration intentions, I critiqued the definition and measurement of disability in the HSLS:09, drawing from survey research methods literature. The two subsequent analyses focused on psychological and structural components, respectively. My focus on psychological components drew from Eccles and colleagues’ (1983) expectancy-value framework. …

Examining Teachers’ Sense Of Efficacy And Their Decisions In Regard To Referral And Placement, Ayse Dilsad Yakut

Doctoral Dissertations

One factor that can influence identification of students with disabilities is teachers’ decisions to refer a student for special education services. Both teacher and student characteristics can influence teachers’ decision making. As evidenced in research and theory, teacher characteristics of efficacy influences teachers’ classroom practices, student outcome, and teachers’ perceptions about working with students with disabilities, which might also influence teachers’ decisions to refer students for special education evaluation. As a primary purpose, I examined whether elementary education teachers’ sense of efficacy predicts their decisions to refer a student for special education evaluation and their decisions to place a student …

Adopting Active Learning Classroom (Alc) Technology And Overcoming Barriers: A Faculty Development Intervention Model For Technology-Enhanced Learning Spaces, Bradford D. Wheeler

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this study was to understand how instructors use technology, and what challenges they face, but also to increase the participants’ understanding of Active Learning Classroom (ALCs) technologies as it applies to their teaching by applying action research methodologies. This study also seeks to lay a foundation for additional research on ALCs, education technology, and the needs of instructors in terms of faculty development in technology. This study investigates a group of 13 faculty members in multiple disciplines teaching in ALCs. Thus far, research on the impact of technology-enriched learning environments like Active Learning Classrooms has typically centered …

Understanding Progress Toward Degree Completion For Student Veterans In The Post 9-11 Era: A Focused Life History Narrative, David T. Vacchi

Doctoral Dissertations

Veterans have long-succeeded in higher education, but because available data on contemporary student veteran success has been difficult to uncover, some question the success of this reemerging student population. While data is emerging that suggest student veterans are succeeding in higher education, this study sought to reveal factors that contributed to the success of graduating student veterans in the hopes that these factors can be nurtured in current and future generations of student veterans to help ensure their success as students. Using a new method, the focused life-history narrative, and a conceptual model grounded in nontraditional student theory and Astin’s …

Exploring Experiences, Perspectives, And Identity (Re) Formation Processes Of African High School Students In U.S. Public Schools, Brenda M. Muzeta

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the experiences of African high school students in U.S. public schools. Specifically, the study explores how African students negotiate their identities in a new education environment. Drawing on Asante’s (1980) Afrocentric theoretical framework, Erikson’s (1968) theory of identity and Tajfel and Turner’s (1979) social identity theories, this interview-based qualitative study seeks to describe and interpret how African high school students make sense of their new schooling experiences. One of my major goals of the study is to honor, recognize and bring to life the voices of African high school students. Their experiences are often minimized, their voices …

Plazing Inside The Fratriarchal Frame: American College Fraternity Men’S Gender Identity And Hazing, Emily Perlow

Doctoral Dissertations

Hazing is both common and accepted within college fraternity culture. It also annually results in dangerous or destructive behaviors that have long-term consequences for students and organizations. One of the reasons college administrators have been virtually ineffective at addressing hazing is that students do not identify their experiences as hazing. I hypothesize that students are performing accepted gender identities as a mechanism to achieve group acceptance. This performance of gender manifests as plazing, a term I have coined to describe a form of adult play behavior that meets the definition of hazing. Within the play frame, individuals negotiate gendered …

Learning Prosociality Through Experience: Modeling The Outcomes Of Postsecondary Study Abroad And Service Learning, Christina Monte

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT LEARNING PROSOCIALITY THROUGH EXPERIENCE: MODELING THE OUTCOMES OF POSTSECONDARY STUDY ABROAD AND SERVICE LEARNING MAY 2018 CHRISTINA R. MONTE, B.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST M.S., DREXEL UNIVERSITY Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Dr. Ezekiel Kimball In recent years, study abroad and service learning programs have experienced rapid growth on college campuses. Study abroad requires students to travel to another country and experience a different culture while service learning exposes students to differences that exist in their own communities. Study abroad has the ability to internationalize the student experience. Service learning can help students recognize the needs of …

Technology Integration And Use In Elementary Mathematics Methods Courses For Pre-Service Teachers, Elzbieta Manos

Doctoral Dissertations

According to the National Educational Technology Plan 2010, technology should be incorporated into teaching methods courses and field experiences and not just in stand-alone technology courses. The teacher preparation programs would provide technology-based learning experiences to prepare pre-service teachers to effectively use technology to improve learning, assessment, and instructional practices. However, the problem is that graduate pre-service teacher preparation programs do not adequately prepare pre-service teachers to incorporate technology into their teaching. Furthermore, the teacher preparation programs lacked opportunities for the pre-service teachers to experience technology as learners beyond the stand-alone course in technology. Research shows the need for pre-service …

Mother Ethnography: A Performance Of Possibility, Sonji Johnson-Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations

Blackness and Black womanhood as a mark of one’s inferiority are ideas largely unopposed in American culture and therefore present an immediate challenge to any theory or epistemology that claims the contrary. For this study, I will present and justify Black mother-ethnography as a framework for speaking back to the notion of the inherent inferiority of Black femaleness in the American (and global) academic understanding. As a mother and a researcher, I will examine the intrinsic tensions of investigating the schooling experiences of my teenage son, as well as the experiences of two other Black boys with IEPs, as mother …

The Knowledge They Possess: Elementary Teachers' Expertise And Where It Becomes Usable Knowledge In The Ma Education System, Helen-Ann Ireland

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT The Knowledge They Possess: Elementary Teachers’ Expertise and Where It Becomes Usable Knowledge in the Massachusetts Education System February 15, 2018 By Helen-Ann Ireland BA University of New Hampshire MEd Antioch University EdD University of Massachusetts Amherst (pending) Dr. Sharon Rallis, Dissertation Chair Elementary teachers are facing a dilemma. They are expected to uphold the Massachusetts (MA) state mandate and deliver Common Core State Standards (CCSS), use the programs their school has adopted aligned with CCSS and meet the various cognitive and behavioral needs of their students. Sometimes the teachers experience competing commitments between meeting standards, using programs, pacing, …

The Role Of Prior Knowledge, Situational Interest, And Case Study Pedagogy In The Undergraduate Biology Classroom., Ally Hunter

Doctoral Dissertations

In the undergraduate science classroom, case study pedagogy is method that uses stories with dilemmas and/or questions to convey scientific content. Case study pedagogy shows promise as an active learning pedagogy to meet the demands of 21st century biology education initiatives; however, there is a dearth of information on how students learn with case studies in the undergraduate biology classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate variables that impact learning with case studies (prior content and contextual knowledge, situational interest, and pedagogical strategies) and the relationships between those variables to further understand how students learn with case studies …

Increasing Stem Participation And Student Success Of Developmental Mathematics Students At An Urban Community College, Vanessa A. Hill

Doctoral Dissertations

This mixed method, quantitative and qualitative, study explores the effects of a curriculum with an emphasis on scientific, technological, and engineering focused problems and careers on student success and interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The setting is an urban community college where in the spring of 2016, 71% of the students tested into developmental mathematics (STCC, 2017). The course of study was Algebra one, a developmental, non-college credit bearing, mathematics course. Students had the option of two paths for the subsequent course, a terminal college level mathematics class, or a STEM pathway developmental algebra two course. Pass …

High School Students' Perceptions Of School Climate In Relation To Discipline History And Discipline Approach, Kayla R. Gordon

Doctoral Dissertations

High school is a unique period of time within students' educational careers where there are an increasing number of variables that can facilitate or impede their academic, social-emotional, and behavioral success. Previous research has demonstrated strong effects of school climate, or the quality of school life and experiences within the school building, on factors including students' academic performance, motivation to learn, and attendance. In addition, school climate has been negatively correlated with drop out rates as well as other short and long term negative outcomes for students. The purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions of school climate …

Beyond Access: Sense Of Belonging Of Black/African American Women Writing To Complete The Ph.D, Sabrina Durand

Doctoral Dissertations

Success in the doctoral context has traditionally been measured by persistence. However, solely equating doctoral persistence with success overlooks salient academic experiences that may address how to assist different students in successfully negotiating and navigating the emotionally complex and complicated terrain of graduate school (Gardner, 2009). Sense of Belonging provides an expanded lens through which to view student success in the doctoral context. This qualitative study explores Black/African American women doctoral student’s perceptions of their Sense of Belonging and how it impacts their academic experience during the dissertation phase. A narrative approach using semi structured interviews was used. Data collection …

Educational Leaders’ Perspectives On Their Preparation, Practice, And Professional Development In Mtss, Jodi Drury

Doctoral Dissertations

The role of school leaders today directly impacts students and staff. Research into educational leaders’ perspectives and experiences with Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) provides a lens to help examine the culture of training and constructs of knowledge, of school leaders. The five research questions that drove this research study were: (1) What are school leaders in rural counties in Western Massachusetts current knowledge of MTSS implementation? (2) What experience do these school leaders have with implementing MTSS? (3) What training on MTSS did these school leaders receive? (4) Do these school leaders feel prepared to implement MTSS? (5) What …

Investigation Repeater Effects On Small-Sample Equating: Include Or Exclude?, Hongyu Diao

Doctoral Dissertations

In licensure testing programs, some examinees might attempt the test multiple times till they are satisfied with their final score, those who take the same test repeatedly are referred to as repeaters. Previous studies suggested that repeaters should be removed from the total sample before implementing equating procedures for two reasons: 1) repeater group is distinguishable from the non-repeater group and the total group, 2) repeaters may memorize anchor items and cause an item drift in common items in the non-equivalent anchor test (NEAT) design. However, removing repeaters might not be the best solution if the testing program only has …

The History Of Massachusetts Transfer And Articulation Policies In Contexts Of Evolving Higher Education System Structure, Coordination, And Policy Actors, Daniel De La Torre, Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Community colleges carry out dual missions providing occupational and collegiate preparation in local communities across the United States. These institutions prepare students for advanced study via transfer policies that lead to enrollment in baccalaureate institutions. State higher education systems use transfer and articulation policies to strengthen academic pathways between two-year and four-year institutions. These policies rely on established governance to facilitate student transfer between sectors. The transfer and articulation literature stresses the importance of statewide policy guidelines, yet little has been written about the process of transfer policy development involving state higher education governance and policy groups and actors. The …

Characteristics For Teaching Gifted Students: The Saudi Teachers' Perspective, Majed S. Al Dalham

Doctoral Dissertations

Teachers of gifted students (GT) are the key to a fruitful learning environment for gifted students who have unique abilities and are different from their peers. There is a growing demand to identify effective GT teachers in Saudi Arabia who have specific characteristics that will help them successfully tailor their teaching to the needs of gifted students. Consequently, exploring the characteristics of Saudi GT teachers is an essential component of ensuring the quality of the teaching of gifted students in their settings. The characteristics of GT teachers have been adequately addressed in several countries, but there is a paucity of …