Education Commons^™

So-Journeying: Creating Sacred Space In Education, Tayari Kwa Salaam

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research questions current taken-for-granted meanings given to school, education, teaching and curriculum from an African/African American perspective. This inquiry is based on my experiences as an African American woman curriculum theorist committed to the education of African American youth. Drawing on the lifework of Sojourner Truth, a nineteenth century African American woman abolitionist and human rights activist, this work seeks to explore aspects of both African/African American-centered education and curriculum theory as a means of informing understandings of school, education, teaching and curriculum. My research question is: How does Sojourner Truth inform curriculum theory? This inquiry is a self-exploration …

A Study Of Dropout Characteristics And School-Level Effects On Dropout Prevention, Mindy L. Crain-Dorough

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This sequential, three-phase study used quantitative analyses to examine the characteristics of student dropouts and the characteristics of schools successful and unsuccessful in mediating dropouts. Narrative profiles were created to describe types of students and types of dropouts. Phase I consisted of three parts, each using the student as the unit of analysis. Part One examined the profile of all Louisiana dropouts. Part Two involved the creation of clusters of dropouts and non-dropouts combined. Part Three focused on the creation of dropout clusters. In Phase II, the percents of potential dropouts were calculated for 301 schools using the dropout characteristics …

The Perceptions Of Effects Of A Study Skills Course, "Dynamics Of Effective Study," On The Academic Achievement Of African American Students At A Dedicated Academic Magnet High School, Josephine Ann Allen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of students, teachers, and administrators on the effectiveness of a study skills course, "Dynamics of Effective Study," on the academic achievement of African American students at a dedicated academic magnet high school. Qualitative research methods were utilized in this study. Fifteen African American students who completed the study skills course, fifteen African American students who did not take or complete the study skills course, five former study skills teachers, and three administrators from the dedicated academic magnet high school volunteered to participate in the study. Open-ended interviews were conducted with …

The Impact Of Louisiana's School And District Accountability System On Students' Performance On The State Mandated Criterion Referenced Test, Linda B. Tolbert

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study is aimed at determining the impact of Louisiana’s School and District Accountability System on students’ performance on the state mandated criterion-referenced test (LEAP 21). The study was designed to determine the extent to which teachers in Title I schools in a large urban district in southwest Louisiana have turned to instructionally unsound practices in response to a high-stakes accountability system. The specific objectives addressed in this study were to: 1) Explore if test scores have changed beyond what would be expected given the cohort design of the accountability model. 2) Explore if test scores have changed and determine …

Self-Efficacy, Motivation, And Outcome Expectation Correlates Of College Students' Intention Certainty, Carol Couvillion Landry

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored relationships between Self-Efficacy, Motivation, and Outcome Expectations and Intention Certainty. Intention Certainty is a new variable created for this study and comprised of existing conceptions of intention and decision certainty. The purpose of this study was fourfold. This study attempted to expand our understanding of the college retention dropout issue by exploring relationships between psychologically rich variables. Second, this study provided information considered useful for framing future research on retention from a different perspective that focuses on characteristics of individuals who stay, rather than those who leave higher education with the consideration of psychological constructs. Further, this …

Georgia Southern University's Mentoring Administrators Program: A Program Evaluation, Gina Gibbs Williams

Legacy ETDs

High stakes accountability in education has changed nearly everything in school leadership. In the past, principals were expected to simply hold school each day with classes running smoothly and in an orderly fashion. Rising expectations have prompted state legislatures across the United States to implement high stakes accountability systems that hold schools responsible for student achievement. The responsibility for raising student achievement rests student achievement. The responsibility for raising student achievement rests one way to cultivate and make ready new administrators for the challenges that they will face as they begin their careers.

The purpose of this study was to …

A Study Of Elementary Teachers' Abilities, Attitudes, And Beliefs About Problem Solving, Nancy Mullins Brown

Legacy ETDs

Problem solving has been alternately viewed as the justification for the study of mathematics or as the impetus and means for studying mathematics. This study examines characteristics—attitudes toward problem solving, beliefs about problem solving, and abilities to solve problems—of elementary teachers of grades three, four, and five that relate to problem solving.

Participants completed a two-part survey to quantify their attitudes and beliefs and a problem-solving activity which quantified their problem-solving abilities. Four participants were subsequently interviewed. Analyses showed that these teachers had generally positive attitudes toward problem solving, generally positive beliefs about problem solving, and generally poor problem-solving abilities. …

The Relationship Between Computer Skills And The Levels Of Technostress Among Faculty And Academic Librarians From Selected Institutions Within The University System Of Georgia, Sonya Senithia Gaither Shepherd

Legacy ETDs

The struggle to adjust to rapid technological change has increased for the majority of the population, especially those in higher education. Change is an inevitable part of society and each individual handles change differently. Furthermore, technology's effect on society, and in particular on higher education, has been positive and negative. There has been resistance to the increased development and use of technology and this resistance may be dependent upon certain factors such as age, sex, and computer experience.

The intent of this study was to determine if computer skills relate to the levels of technostress among faculty in the Colleges …