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Full-Text Articles in Education

Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Closing The Math Achievement Gaps Between Black And White Students In Grades 3–5, Carla Shantell Waller Feb 2024

Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Closing The Math Achievement Gaps Between Black And White Students In Grades 3–5, Carla Shantell Waller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem underpinning this study was a pronounced achievement gap between Black and White students, evident in standardized test score pass rates of third through fifth graders, in a school district in the U.S. state of Virginia. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the extent to which culturally responsive instructional practices influence elementary teachers' perceptions, approaches, successes, and challenges in closing the differences in standardized math scores between Black and White students in Grades 3 through 5. Gay’s work on culturally responsive teaching, which encompasses theory, research, and evidence-based instructional approaches teachers can implement to address …


Preschool Teachers’ And Parents’ Perspectives Regarding Factors That Affect Kindergarten Readiness, Ebony Catrice Williams Jan 2023

Preschool Teachers’ And Parents’ Perspectives Regarding Factors That Affect Kindergarten Readiness, Ebony Catrice Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

When children enter kindergarten, they are expected to demonstrate an interrelated set of skills and competencies including pre-academic skills, cognitive abilities, socioemotional well-being, and physical health. The problem that was the focus of this study was that many students who complete prekindergarten are not ready for kindergarten. Guided by Garcia’s kindergarten readiness framework, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to increase understanding of the perspectives of parents and prekindergarten teachers regarding their role in developing kindergarten readiness, and the factors they believe support or hinder their efforts. Eight prekindergarten teachers and 8 parents of prekindergarten students from one …


Preschool Teachers’ And Parents’ Perspectives Regarding Factors That Affect Kindergarten Readiness, Ebony Catrice Williams Jan 2023

Preschool Teachers’ And Parents’ Perspectives Regarding Factors That Affect Kindergarten Readiness, Ebony Catrice Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

When children enter kindergarten, they are expected to demonstrate an interrelated set of skills and competencies including pre-academic skills, cognitive abilities, socioemotional well-being, and physical health. The problem that was the focus of this study was that many students who complete prekindergarten are not ready for kindergarten. Guided by Garcia’s kindergarten readiness framework, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to increase understanding of the perspectives of parents and prekindergarten teachers regarding their role in developing kindergarten readiness, and the factors they believe support or hinder their efforts. Eight prekindergarten teachers and 8 parents of prekindergarten students from one …


Preschool Teachers’ And Parents’ Perspectives Regarding Factors That Affect Kindergarten Readiness, Ebony Catrice Williams Jan 2023

Preschool Teachers’ And Parents’ Perspectives Regarding Factors That Affect Kindergarten Readiness, Ebony Catrice Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

When children enter kindergarten, they are expected to demonstrate an interrelated set of skills and competencies including pre-academic skills, cognitive abilities, socioemotional well-being, and physical health. The problem that was the focus of this study was that many students who complete prekindergarten are not ready for kindergarten. Guided by Garcia’s kindergarten readiness framework, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to increase understanding of the perspectives of parents and prekindergarten teachers regarding their role in developing kindergarten readiness, and the factors they believe support or hinder their efforts. Eight prekindergarten teachers and 8 parents of prekindergarten students from one …


Elementary School Principals’ Instructional Leadership Practices Supporting Academically Marginalized Students, Stacy Lynette Parker Jan 2020

Elementary School Principals’ Instructional Leadership Practices Supporting Academically Marginalized Students, Stacy Lynette Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem addressed in this qualitative case study is the need to understand elementary school principals' instructional leadership practices supporting academically marginalized students. Instructional leadership practices to "close the achievement gap" are imperative to document, so that best practices can be highlighted and disseminated among educational institutions that face similar challenges. The conceptual framework of the principal instructional management theory is used to explore instructional leadership through 3 dimensions: managing the instructional program, defining the school mission, and fostering academic achievement. Semistructured interviews and thematic analysis were conducted to collect and analyze data from 11 elementary principals in response …


Impact Of Increased Learning Time On Economically Disadvantaged Students At An Urban Elementary School, Scott M. Larkin Jan 2018

Impact Of Increased Learning Time On Economically Disadvantaged Students At An Urban Elementary School, Scott M. Larkin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At an urban school district, administrators were concerned about the English language arts (ELA) achievement gap between economically disadvantaged (ED) students and non-economically disadvantaged (NED). To address this gap in performance, district administrators instituted an extended day program (EDP) for ED students that included additional learning time and individualized strategies in ELA. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent of the impact that the EDP had on ED students in ELA achievement. The quasi-experimental quantitative design was guided by Carroll's model of school learning and explored the difference in ELA Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College …


Ability Grouping And Student Achievement In Four Rural Elementary Schools In The Southern United States, Rhonda Denise Kelley Jan 2018

Ability Grouping And Student Achievement In Four Rural Elementary Schools In The Southern United States, Rhonda Denise Kelley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School personnel are concerned that reading gaps of grade 3 and grade 4 students have persisted in 4 rural elementary schools in the southern United States despite the use of ability grouping to improve student reading proficiency scores. Between the 2014-2016 school years, less than 50% of students in grades 3 and grade 4 scored at the proficient level in reading at the 4 target rural schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the teachers' and administrators' perceptions regarding the influence of grouping on the reading performance of students in grades 3 and 4. Using Vygotsky's …


Improving Literacy For Diverse Low Socio-Economic Status Middle School Students, Vivian Fowler Means Jan 2017

Improving Literacy For Diverse Low Socio-Economic Status Middle School Students, Vivian Fowler Means

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban district, Surfside School personnel were concerned that student literacy proficiency levels were low during 2011-2014 and teachers had not been able to close the achievement gap despite a focus on literacy practices and literacy professional development (PD) provided by the district. The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions of teachers and administrators in relation to the best instructional practices for increasing self-efficacy when teaching literacy skills and related literacy PD for teachers. Knowles' andragogy theory and Vygotsky's social learning theory formed the theoretical foundation of this study, which hold that PD should provide …


Teachers' Perceptions Of Differentiated Instruction In Elementary Reading, Olwen Suzette Stewart Jan 2016

Teachers' Perceptions Of Differentiated Instruction In Elementary Reading, Olwen Suzette Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many teachers in a low socioeconomic school district in Florida struggle with differentiating instruction for the large at-risk population; however, one school has been identified as a high functioning school. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate how classroom teachers at the high functioning school are differentiating instruction and how their reading coaches are supporting the teachers in designing instructional interventions. Guided by the concepts of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and Tomlinson's differentiated instruction, this study examined the connection between these 2 concepts and explored approaches to the creation of an instructional model to support at-risk …


Exploring An African American Principal's Cultural Leadership Effects On Closing The Achievement Gap, Doristine Cornelius Jan 2016

Exploring An African American Principal's Cultural Leadership Effects On Closing The Achievement Gap, Doristine Cornelius

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Closing the achievement gap is a key concern for educational leaders. Research has indicated that principals’ actions directly and indirectly influence student learning. The purpose of this case study was to explore cultural leadership in an urban Mississippi high school from an African American’s racialized perspective. The cultural competency/proficiency theory provided the conceptual framework for this study. Successful leadership practices of this African American principal were examined through the principal and through the perceptions of teachers and the assistant administrator. A researcher-developed questionnaire was content validated and given to a purposeful sample of 17 individuals: the principal, assistant principal, and …


Junior High School Teachers' Perceptions Of Math Instruction For African American Students, Sandra Denise Richardson Jan 2016

Junior High School Teachers' Perceptions Of Math Instruction For African American Students, Sandra Denise Richardson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A mathematics achievement gap exists between 8th grade African American students and other ethnic groups. Guided by the conceptual framework of constructivism, the purpose of this case study was to examine 8, Grade 8 math teachers' perceptions of factors contributing to mathematical performance gap in their African American students and what instructional strategies can be used to help reduce the achievement gap in southwest Georgia. Data were obtained through interviews and classroom observations and were coded and analyzed using typological analysis, followed by inductive analysis. The results of the data revealed teachers perceived recruiting and retaining African American teachers and …


Characteristics Of Effective Reading Language Arts Teachers In Closing The Achievement Gap, Latasha Price Bassette Jan 2016

Characteristics Of Effective Reading Language Arts Teachers In Closing The Achievement Gap, Latasha Price Bassette

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined an urban school district in the southern United States that continued to experience student achievement gaps despite the implementation of initiatives as the African American Success Initiative. The school leadership needed a deeper understanding regarding what strategies were successful with closing the achievement gap. Using Gay's theory of cultural responsive pedagogy, the purpose of this study was to identify inward attributes, outward strategies, and professional development perceptions of teachers with no achievement gap among ethnically diverse students. Employing an instrumental case study design, 8 middle school reading teachers who closed the reading achievement gap were interviewed; these …


African American Male Community College Completion And Mode Of Instruction, Lisa M. Harper Jan 2015

African American Male Community College Completion And Mode Of Instruction, Lisa M. Harper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite innovative policy and pedagogical transformations, postsecondary achievement gaps continue to exist between African American males and other students. Low college credential completion rates by African American males have prevented an East Texas community college from meaningful participation in the President's 2020 postsecondary education attainment goal of increasing U.S. college graduates by 5 million. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate a hypothesized connection between the independent variable, mode of instruction, and the dependent variables, mathematics course completion and college completion by African American males. Guided by Ogbu's cultural-ecological theory of minority school performance, a chi-square test of …


Instructional Practices Of English As Second Language Teachers, Karen Ann Wallis Jan 2015

Instructional Practices Of English As Second Language Teachers, Karen Ann Wallis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The past decade has seen a significant increase in the emergence of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States. Nationally, a disparity in achievement exists between ELLs and non-ELLs. Relatedly, this problem was evident in a northeastern school district, where ELLs had not made Adequate Yearly Progress 2 years in a row. The purpose of this study was to examine how much time English as Second Language (ESL) teachers spend on a variety of best instructional practices. Constructivism, Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, and Tomilinson's differentiated instruction were the frameworks used to guide this research. A within-group design was …


Ability Grouping Interventions And Math Performance Among Inner-City School, Vladimir Sreckovic Jan 2015

Ability Grouping Interventions And Math Performance Among Inner-City School, Vladimir Sreckovic

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the city selected for this study, only 29% of inner-city students scored proficiently on standardized tests, whereas 71% of their peers at nearby suburban and affluent schools achieved the proficiency level. To address the gap, the local district implemented ability grouping in one charter school. The purpose of this ex post facto quasi-experimental study was to examine the effect of ability grouping among inner-city students in mathematics as an instructional intervention for improving student achievement. Ability grouping theory as an instructional strategy was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The criterion measure of mathematics improvement was provided …