Education Commons^™

Teacher Leadership In State Education Policy, Megan Marie Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a national call for teacher leadership, which has occurred after many education reforms have struggled due to a perceived lack of teacher involvement. The purpose of this study was to examine whether teachers felt that their involvement in education policy had impact and whether there is ample teacher expertise in education policy. The overarching research question was to appraise educator perceptions of teacher impact on state education policy. The study revealed a perceived lack of teacher impact and education expertise. The conceptual framework was based on theories of adult learning and the development of expertise and supported the …

Addressing School Failure And Recidivism Among 10-13-Year-Old Incarcerated Juveniles: A Case Study, Beverly Savoy Nolan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Early involvement in delinquent behavior coupled with large academic deficiencies increase the chances of long-term offending over a lifetime. A 2012 Texas report on recidivism rates and types of judicial-related programs offered showed that 1-year reoffense rates for youth in secure placement rose slightly from 41.9% in 2007 to 43.3% in 2010. The primary purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how a Texas-based juvenile probation department coordinated services to address the needs of incarcerated juveniles who are at risk of school failure and recidivism. Maslow's hierarchy of needs framework and Moffitt's developmental classification framework served as the …

Hearing Parents Of Children With Hearing Loss: Perceptions Of The Iep Process, Robin Fern Stegman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This phenomenological study investigated the nature and extent of the support parents received during IEP development. The study was informed by Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Participants, located in a Northeastern state, were 10 hearing parents of children who had been diagnosed with hearing loss at birth and were between ages 5 and 12. Data were in-depth interviews that were analyzed, coded, and organized into themes using an inductive approach to analysis informed by Hatch. Results indicated that parents believed they needed more guidance on what to expect during the first IEP meeting, that advocating for appropriate accommodations for their child …

Using Cultural Cognition For Learning English: A Mexican Immigrant Family's Perspective, Cherri Louise Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem focused on the 11 million Mexican immigrant families in the United States who speak little or no English. Their stated needs for English literacy, socioeconomic and academic success, and the increasing calls for xenophobic legislation throughout the nation indicated a need to investigate alternative pedagogies to compel positive social change through language fluency. In this case study, Mexican immigrant second-language learners and their descendants were asked how they wanted to learn English and if using native culture as a learning tool would help in achieving their literacy goals. Prior researchers had not asked those questions. Three adults …

Effect Of Culturally Based Arts Activities On Self-Efficacy, Self-Expression, And Achievement Motivation In Adolescent Inner-City Youth, Narjerah Lewis Delk

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined the relationship between participation in a culturally-based arts program and the self-efficacy, self-expression, and achievement motivation in at-risk youth attending Atlanta public schools. The theoretical base used to examine this relationship was grounded in the social cognitive. Interviews conducted with students and parents provided demographic information as well as data on the participation in a culturally-based arts program and the resulting effect on self-efficacy, self-expression, and achievement motivation. Participants included a sample of 108 students between 10 and 14 years of age (M = 11.6, SD = .90). The results of the ANOVA data analysis revealed significant …

Criminal Justice College Instructors' Experiences, Perceptions, And Teaching Strategies Related To Undergraduate Plagiarism, Mark William Bond

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The criminal justice program in a community college located in the southwestern United States had experienced an increase in student plagiarism. However, the current teaching practices of criminal justice instructors to prevent and manage the increased student plagiarism have not been effective. The purpose of this study was to explore criminal justice college instructors' experiences, perceptions, and teaching strategies related to undergraduate student plagiarism using Goleman's emotional intelligence theory and Daloz's mentoring theory. Employing a qualitative instrumental case study design, data were collected through semistructured interviews with 10 criminal justice college instructors. Member checking and reflective journaling ensured accuracy and …

A Purposeful Approach To Student Conduct With Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Learners, Heidi Lynn Jordan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students spend more time in conflict resolution than their general education colleagues do. Although emerging research suggests that both students and teachers benefit from an approach to student conduct that is more purposeful than traditional behavior modification models, further research was necessary to clarify how such an effective purposeful program would work. The purpose of this inquiry was to explore how teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students perceived and used a purposeful approach to student conduct. Deutsch's conflict resolution theory served as the conceptual framework. A single case study design was …

Fresh Fruits And Vegetables In A Rural Elementary School: A Mixed-Methods Program Evaluation, Patricia Marie Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program is a federally funded program intended to increase public school students' fruit and vegetable consumption. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to evaluate the implementation of this program at a rural southwestern Title 1 elementary school to determine teacher perceptions of the program and whether the program met federal goals. Social ecological model and social cognitive theory grounded the investigation. The mixed method design included semi-structured interviews with 11 teachers accompanied by an anonymous web-based open response questionnaire and document reviews. Descriptive statistics were reported for Likert scale survey items and invoice documents …

The Use Of Online Supplemental Materials In College Courses To Improve Retention, Amy Lynn Hennings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

First-generation college students continue to have lower retention and success rates in colleges and universities, reducing their likelihood of staying above the poverty line. The study tested Bandura and Vygotsky's social cognitive theories of self-efficacy, self-regulation, and student ability to self-pace in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to explore if offering supplemental online materials to traditional class delivery, which can be self-regulated and self-paced, impacted students' success rates in the class and semester-to-semester retention. Using a quasi-experimental method, first-semester college students, in a small private liberal arts college (N = 678); were compared on use of supplemental …

Relationship Between Internships And Employment Competencies Of Degreed Professionals Who Completed A College Internship, Shawn Barnwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An estimated 1.5 million underemployed or unemployed college graduates have one or more college degrees, and many have high loan debt. Policy makers, students, and institutions of higher education are all concerned with the question of how prepared students are to enter the workforce upon graduation, yet little is known about whether internships are a strategy to improve career preparedness and gainful employment after graduation. Guided by Dewey and Kolb's experiential learning theory, the purpose of this nonexperimental study was to evaluate the impact of internships on career preparation from the perspective of graduates, specifically to evaluate whether graduates perceive …

A Qualitative Study Of How Students Experienced Exclusionary Discipline Practices, Vera Veronica Holley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As a result of zero tolerance policies, a significant percentage of students who experience exclusions from schools also experience negative outcomes such as high dropout rates, academic failures, and encounters with juvenile justice agencies. While several researchers have found a relationship between unintended consequences of exclusions and juvenile delinquency, few have examined this phenomenon from the perspectives of juveniles who experienced exclusions. Guided by the framework of operant conditioning, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how students experienced exclusions from school. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants who experienced both exclusions from schools and involvement with …

Education Program For Nurses Working In An Immigration Detention Facility, Dr. Tiney Elizabeth Ray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nursing response to medical emergencies has been an ongoing issue in immigration detention centers. Lack of teamwork and poor communication with medical and security staff have resulted in detainees sustaining injuries during medical emergencies. This project was developed to persuade Immigration and Customs Enforcement Health Service Corps (IHSC) leaders to consider piloting the TeamSTEPPS emergency response curriculum for nurses working in the immigration detention center. Tuckman and Jensen's model of group development will provide guidance to IHSC leaders in understanding the transformational stages of forming a successful team. TeamSTEPPS will address gaps in emergency health care competency by improving collaboration, …

An Interpretive Phenomenological Investigation Of The Meaning Of Job Satisfaction Among Veteran Special Educators, Raeann Barnes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The attrition rate among special education teachers is ranked among the highest in the education profession. Retaining teachers early in their careers continues to be a concern due to increased job responsibilities, larger caseloads, challenging student behaviors, minimal support from colleagues, increased paperwork, and diminishing resources. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the meaning of satisfaction special education teachers made of their careers. The transactional model developed by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) can help to explain how the occurrence of stressful events can impact an individual. A purposive sample of 9 tenured, certified special education teachers currently …

Validation Of Parsons' Structural Functionalism Theory Within A Multicultural Human, Sandra Simone Minott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Shared values and norms are at the core for unifying different cultures socializing or working to fulfill the goals and mission of organizations. Researchers have not examined how employees representing different cultures socialize via shared norms and values in human service companies. The purpose of this ethnography study was to explore the process of 8 culturally different employees working together at a human service organization. Using purposeful sampling, multicultural employees were selected from 4 departments within the human service company. Face-to-face interviews, field notes, questionnaire, and participant observation were the tools for collecting the data. Descriptive coding, value coding, and …

Exploring Small Business Strategies To Comply With The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, John Palmer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. aerospace companies are estimated to lose more than $25 billion in international contracts per year due to bribery. These losses create Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance strategy challenges for U.S. aerospace companies' management. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that U.S. aerospace small business leaders use to comply with the FCPA. The conceptual framework for this study was the regulatory compliance conceptual model, which suggests that small business leaders must gain deeper insight into how corporate compliance policies address the FCPA requirements. The target population for this study was leaders of a small …

The Relationship Between Stress, Coping Strategies, And Social Support Among Single Mothers, Nikitra Yvette Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have neglected to focus on understanding the relationships between stress, coping, and social support among single mothers versus mothers who are not single. Knowledge regarding how single mothers' lives are affected by stress, social support, and coping is important, and such information can help readers better understand how effectively single mothers raise children compared with mothers who are not single. A convenience sample of 173 mothers completed this study. Participants in this study consisted of mothers who were (a) raising at least one child ages 18 and under who lives in the home and (b) who were between the …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Inclusion In Elementary Classroom Settings, Delicia Peacock Peacock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inclusion classrooms were introduced in the United States in 1990 when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act required that special education students be instructed in a general education setting. Ensuing changes in instructional formats have caused role confusion for special and general education teachers, resulted in mixed attitudes toward teacher responsibilities, and lowered teachers' sense of efficacy about being able to teach their students. Guided by Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory, this bounded case study design in a rural elementary school in a southeastern state was used to understand the perceptions of general and special educators regarding their work in …

A Case Study For Georgia Southwestern State University: The Discrepancies' Of Financial Aid Services That Impact Student Enrollment, Angela V. Bryant

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At many traditional universities, the federal timelines for determining financial aid eligibility is based on releasing of the Free Application of Federal Student Aid each January, and the subsequent financial aid processing cycle July 1- June 30th. These federally established dates can conflict with traditional August class starts and creates a backlog and delayed processing of information that, in turn, hinders students from receiving timely information in order to make informed decisions based on financial aid awards. The purpose of this case study of a traditional university in Georgia was to apply net price theory and rational choice theory to …

An Exploration Of Exposure To Music In High School Males In Appalachian Ohio, Cassandra Mcdonald

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Even with increasing availability of alternative educational systems, individual learning plans, and vocational schools, the high school dropout rate among males is still rising. High school dropouts have a negative effect on a community because their chances of being employed and contributing to the community are reduced. The theoretical frameworks of multiple intelligences, self-efficacy, and developmental constructivism were used to conduct a hermeneutical phenomenological study of the lived experiences of a specific population of male youth in rural Ohio who decided to return to school and complete the requirements for a high school diploma or GED after being exposed to …

Effect Of Class Size On Student Achievement In Secondary School, Christopher Eric Uhrain

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The school board of a school district in South Carolina has proposed to increase class size in all schools due to mandatory budgetary reductions. However, at the secondary school level, the literature on the effect of larger class size on student achievement is conflicting. The theoretical framework by Lazear suggested that the minimization of negative externalities (i.e., problematic behavioral and academic characteristics of students) achieved through the mechanism of smaller class size impacts student learning. Reducing the number of students in a classroom alters the entire classroom environment, creating a more positive learning environment in which students are able to …

Individual Characteristics As Predictive Variables Of The Level And Impact Of Contrapower Harassment Of Faculty Teaching In Schools Of Pharmacy, Joel M. Epps

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A review of literature documents that higher education faculty are likely to be the target of student harassment. A scenario in which a person of lesser power in an organization harasses a person of greater power is known as contrapower harassment. Students' acts of harassment range from mild incivilities to aggressive and threatening behaviors. The purpose of this quantitative web-based survey study is to document (a) the prevalence of contrapower harassment in a sample of U.S. pharmacy school faculty (n = 110), a previously unstudied population, (b) gender differences in faculty experiences of contrapower harassment, (c) faculty characteristics which may …

The Effect Of State Financial Aid Policies On College Completion, Sheri E. Ragland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2008, state legislatures provided $6 billion in financial aid to 2 million low-income young adults. When low-income young adults receive state financial aid and do not complete college, states lose their investment because fewer people with degrees will contribute to the state's economy. Declining states' budgets have led to (a) the rising cost of higher education, (b) state merit-based aid that has targeted nonminority students from affluent backgrounds, and (c) state need-based aid that has targeted students further along in their college career. State need- and merit-based aid may contribute to the lack of college completion among low-income freshman …

Exploring Barriers To Implementing A School-Wide Positive Behavioral Intervention And Support Program., Ronald L. Gay

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined factors related to the implementation of a School Wide Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support (SWPBIS) program at a large middle school in the United States. Parent Teacher Student Association volunteers at the school reported that teacher fidelity to implementation of SWPBIS activities was inconsistent, threatening the SWPBIS program's effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers that hindered teachers' fidelity in implementing SWPBIS. Teacher resistance to change, change leadership framework, and the model for effective professional development were used in this case study to explore the perceptions of 16 participants. The research questions focused on …

The Relationship Between Physical Fitness And School Performance In Middle School Girls, Jamie Anne Donnelly

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past research has indicated a significant relationship between physical fitness and standardized test scores; however, the relationship between physical fitness and other aspects of school performance has yet to be empirically examined in a population specifically composed of middle school girls. This study examined several factors that contribute to school success, such as classroom behavior, attendance, and grades, in relation to physical fitness among a group of adolescent girls. It was specifically designed to examine the statistical relationship between physical fitness, as measured by the Fitnessgram, and quantitative data on school performance including grades, standardized test scores, school behavior, and …

Addressing Internalizing Problems In Middle School Youth With Check In/Check Out, Malgorzata Borawska-Popielarz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More than 20,000 primary- and secondary-level schools, which represent 20% of all schools in the United States, are implementing school-wide positive behavior supports (SWPBS) to enhance socially desirable behavior and promote a decline of problematic behavior among students. The overall efficacy of the 3-tier SWPBS framework is well documented. However, a paucity of empirical research addresses the use of check in/check out (CICO), a Tier 2 intervention, for youth who present as quiet and withdrawn, and who are at risk of academic and social disengagement. Accordingly, this quasi-experimental, nonequivalent groups study assessed the overall effectiveness of CICO and considered the …

School Safety: Students And Weapon Carrying Behavior, Shadrich Levale Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research shows that risk factors may be useful clues for predicting students' potential for engaging in weapon-carrying behavior. Law makers on every level-federal, state, and local- deem the presence of weapons on school grounds to be a serious problem and a violation of school policy. A large, urban school system has put forth sustained and costly efforts to prevent students from carrying weapons to school; yet students continue to carry weapons to school in this district. The purpose of this study was to use archival data collected as part of the school system's everyday practice to identify risk factors for …

Master's Students' Self-Assessment Of Competency In Grief Education And Training In Cacrep-Accredited Counseling Programs, Jane Earline Wood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counseling can promote positive outcomes for grieving clients by addressing personal loss and helping the client process their grief. However, a lack of understanding on the part of counselors of how people grieve may result in negative client outcomes such as psychological stress, poor health, or an increased risk of depression. Education and training in grief counseling can improve counselors' problem recognition and skills in treatment planning. The purpose of this study was to examine whether Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) master's degree counseling students view themselves as having been adequately trained in grief theories …

Evaluative Feedback: How K-12 Teachers Respond, Deetta Lorick Andersen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This sequential mixed methods study addressed the need for research that both described and explained how teachers of varying experience respond to administrative evaluative feedback. Formative evaluation theory of Scriven and professional growth models of Steffy and Fessler served as theoretical models for data analysis. An online survey asking teachers how they changed their practices and what accounted for their response was received from 270 teachers in 1 Midwestern state. Of these, 9 teachers of varying experience were interviewed. The quantitative data showed that most teachers do not change practices on the 8 state teaching standards in response to feedback. …

Evaluation Of A Middle School Positive Behavior Intervention Support Program, Tracie Michelle Grogan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Evaluation of a Middle School Positive Behavior Intervention Support Program

by Tracie Grogan

EdS, Mercer University

MA, Fort Valley State University BS, University of Georgia

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education

Curriculum Instruction and Assessment

Walden University July 2016

School leaders at a middle school in a rural school district in Georgia were looking for ways to reduce poor student behavior, which has a negative impact on school climate. Judicious Discipline, a program based on Kohlberg's 6 stages of moral development, Bandura's social learning theory, and the 3 constitutional rights …

How Tenure In Higher Education Relates To Faculty Productivity And Retention, Cindy Kay Manjounes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some public university systems are considering abolishing tenure as a cost-saving mechanism, but little is known about how this change may impact organizational outcomes related to faculty retention and research productivity. Using Almendarez' human capital theory, the purpose of this concurrent mixed methods study was to explore how tenure relates to faculty retention and productivity at a convenience sample of public universities in mid-western states. Qualitative questions focused on faculty perceptions of factors that affected retention and productivity. Quantitative data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and publicly available information from institutions was used to explore questions about relationships …