Education Commons^™

Reconceptualizing Cultural Competence: White Placeling De-/Reterritorialization Within Teacher Education, Melissa Winchell

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This ethnography reconceptualizes the paradigm of cultural competence used within the literature on teacher education to describe the multicultural learning of White teacher candidates. Within the cultural competence framework, White learning is problematic, dichotomously defined, and fixed. The binary of competence/incompetence established by this paradigm has recently been questioned within the literature as deficit-based and in conflict with postmodern, critical theories of learning and teaching espoused by multicultural education espouses. This study of the researcher's multicultural education class at a private, religious, four-year undergraduate college on the East Coast of the United States used co-constructed pedagogical practices--including a co-constructed community …

The Association Between Elementary Teacher Licensure Test Scores And Student Growth In Mathematics: An Analysis Of Massachusetts Mtel And Mcas Tests, Life Legeros

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This quasi-experimental value-added study provided evidence for the predictive validity of the Massachusetts MTEL General Curriculum Mathematics Subtest by finding an association between the licensure test results of 130 teachers and the growth of their 2640 grade 4 and 5 students. The study took advantage of a natural experiment that arose due to a policy change made by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MADESE) in response to the initial administration of a new highly rigorous math-specific licensure subtest for elementary and special education teachers in March, 2008. The emergency amendment allowed test takers to conditionally pass the …

Hip-Hop, Medellín And Social Change, Veronica Henao Posada

Master's Theses

This study explores the ways in which the Hip-hop movement is producing social change in Medellín, Colombia. Looking specifically at a Hip-hop school called Cuatro Elementos Skuela, which exists autonomously and with very little state support in the Medellín neighborhood of Aranjuez, I argue that young people are contributing to the reconstruction of the city’s social, cultural and economic fabric. I start by explaining the historical context of Medellín, describing the different sets of conflicts that unleashed high levels of violence and caused the fragmentation of the social, cultural and economic fabric. Moreover, I review the role of the …

Effects Of A Cross-Age Peer Tutoring Program On Reading Performance Of Hispanic Title I Second And Third Grade Students, Ana Isabel Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

Hispanic students are falling behind their peers in reading fluency and are struggling to close the gap. This study examined the reading fluency influence on 73 Hispanic second and third grade students while receiving reading fluency support from middle school Hispanic tutors. These students were compared to Hispanic second and third grade students not receiving tutoring reading support. All students were assessed before the tutors gave reading support, mid-year and after the reading support finished using a school district fluency measurement. Findings found that students made rapid growth in reading fluency from the beginning of the tutoring support to mid-year. …

Motivation And The Sat: What Factors Help Determine College Success Past Standardized Testing, Alexandra Vartanian

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects motivation plays in determining the success of a student in post secondary education. The relationship between high school GPA (HSGPA), SAT Scores, college GPA (CGPA), and motivation factors were examined. Motivation was measured on the Motivational Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) developed by Paul Pintrich and Elizabeth de Groot. Ninety-two participants responded to the survey. Results corroborated findings from previous research. SAT scores correlate with CGPA; relationships were also observed across several other factors, including HSGPA and CGPA, SAT and Motivation, and HSGPA and SAT scores.

The Creation And Implementation Of Interprofessional Simulation Leadership Scenarios, Angeline C. Delucas

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Healthcare is in a historical state of change creating an era that requires superior leadership skills. Leaders face burgeoning challenges in a competitive environment ensconced in reform. Today’s dynamic healthcare environment demands that nurse and interprofessional leaders be astute in a variety of areas including: fiscal responsibility and accountability, organizational politics, interpersonal skills, human resources, communication, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence. Some areas such as fiscal management are considered hard skills, or skills which can be taught, while others such as conflict resolution are referred to as soft skills, or skills that are learned through experience. Though soft …

The Effects Of Professional Development On High School Teachers' Implementation Of The Problem-Solving Process, Brandon Y. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of schools use punitive and reactive strategies to deal with maladaptive behaviors. This descriptive study was a replication of Wilmott (2012) and occurred in a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) high school. Professional development was provided to 22 teachers from a high school located in the western United States. This included 61% males and 39% females. Measures included the frequency of praise notes and ODRs, the quality of praise notes based on a praise note rubric, and a social validity questionnaire. The ODR and praise note frequencies were compared using the Spearman correlational coefficient that resulted in a …

The Evolution Of Statesmanship In The United States: How The Democratization Of Civic Education And Presidential Selection Transformed The American Executive, Andrew Depasquale

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Business and Public Affairs at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Government by Andrew DePasquale on December 6, 2013.

Disparity Of Principal Accountability, Mary Kathryn Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

This study begins with a review of court cases that have helped shape public education in America. Following the review is an analysis of federal reform in education from 1965 to the present, paired with educational leadership literature to highlight a disparity in what federal mandates and state policies have in place for accountability measures. The study ends with a state analysis of Illinois and Iowa to find the strengths and weaknesses of state policy in the area of principal accountability.

As policymakers have worked to increase accountability in K-12 education, efforts have focused on a variety of measures to …

Assessing Competing Demands And Charting A Course: A Phenomenological Study Of Advanced Placement U.S. History Teachers' Decision Making And Course Planning, Kerry Dean Poole

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida has experienced some of the greatest growth of Advanced Placement (AP) programs in recent years and student scores on the AP exams have evolved into a highly significant metric in evaluating student proficiency and teacher and school effectiveness. Despite this growth, it is not well known how AP teachers make decisions about the content they teach, what learning activities they select, how much the AP exam influences their decision making, how they modify learning opportunities for diverse learners, and how they prepare their students for the College Board AP exam. This interpretive, phenomenological study examines the lived experiences of …

African American Oral Histories Of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Public Schools During The Early Days Of Desegregation, 1955 – 1967, Lorena B. Whipple

Doctoral Dissertations

Many traditional historical texts of the United States are missing the voiced presence of African Americans. Existing historical texts concerning desegregation in the South, and particularly in Tennessee, are missing African Americans’ experienced perspectives during racial desegregation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The intention of this dissertation is to use oral history as a methodology to document the memories of seven African Americans who participated in the racial desegregation of Oak Ridge, Tennessee public schools. Critical race theory is the interpretive lens used to analyze the interviews. The oral historical accounts contained in this study suggest African Americans have a unique …

A Comparison Of Behavioral And Academically-Focused Goals Within The Mystery Motivator: Effects On Disruptive Behavior And Academic Performance, Christina Michelle Hardy

Dissertations

Class-wide group contingencies are effective for decreasing inappropriate behavior and increasing academic performance. An interdependent group contingency, a subtype of group contingencies, sets a specific goal for performance across the class, and a reward is delivered only if the group meets the specified criterion. One interdependent group contingency, the Mystery Motivator, has been designed to target behavioral or academically-based goals; however these goals have guided the type of data collected. There are no published studies, to date, that compare behavioral and academic goals and the effects of each type of goal on both decreasing disruptive behavior as well as improving …

An Assessment Of Public Outreach With Children And Educators Conducted By The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, Erica A. D’Elia

Masters Theses

Archaeological public outreach to children can be enhanced through collaboration with school educators. While archaeologists have begun to collaborate with local and descendant communities, they have been slow to engage in work with educators in the same manner. The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project provides the context for me to explore some of the current issues in public archaeology and the politics of education. My study was conducted to better understand the needs of both children and teachers. In my work with the archaeological summer camp for middle school students I seek to conceptualize how the camp enhances their educational …

Examining Generational Differences In The Workplace: Work Centrality, Narcissism, And Their Relation To Employee Work Engagement, Judith L. Fenzel

Theses and Dissertations

In the workplace of today, an unprecedented four generations of workers work side by side. While this blend of generations adds valuable diversity to the workforce, it also adds complexity.

Despite popular interest in the subject of generations in the workplace, systematic research of the specific generational differences of work centrality, narcissism, and their relation to employee engagement is limited. It is vital to examine the possibility of significant generational differences in order for HRD practitioners and scholars to understand the focus and direction of strategies intended to improve individual and organizational performance. Using a quantitative research methodology, an online …

Mexican-American Anglophile, Lorena A. Saldana

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

I Ain't Do Nothing: The Social And Academic Experiences Of Black Males In A Dismantled School, Don Sawyer

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the experiences of Black eighth grade males attending an urban middle school dismantled in the midst of mandated educational reform in a Central New York school district. Some of the students were the victims of repeated school closures and were left behind because of a lack of space in other schools as a result of efforts to disperse students across the district. These students are part of a group that attends classes in a small section of their former building that has been converted into a high school. To gain insight into the …

Risky Business? An Analysis Of Teacher Characteristics And Compensation Preferences, Daniel Henry Bowen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teacher quality has a significant impact on both student learning gains and later life outcomes. With this is mind, policymakers implement reforms to attract and retain more effective educators. A major obstacle for designing these policies is that the ingredients for training, as well as initially identifying, effective teachers remain largely a mystery. However, there are strong theoretical arguments for certain education policy reforms producing improvements in the quality of the teacher workforce. One increasingly popular example is performance-based pay. Performance pay has the potential to better align teachers' incentives to produce increases in student achievement. Paying teachers based on …

The Impact Of Counselor Level Of Spiritual Well-Being On The Morale, Global Symptoms, And Global Impairment Of Adolescents Receiving Treatment For Substance Use And/Or Other Mental Health Disorders: A Pilot Study, Michael William Holland

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years there has been a movement towards a holistic perspective of human nature in the counseling leading to increased interest in the nature and role of spirituality in counseling and the counseling process. In the present study multiple regression analysis is used to determine whether Counselor Level of Spiritual Well-Being, or aspects thereof, namely, Counselor Level of Existential Well-Being and/or Counselor Level of Religious Well-Being, as measured by the Spiritual Well-Being Scale significantly impacts client outcomes, namely, Morale, Global Symptoms, and Global Impairment as measured by the Health Dynamics Inventory for adolescents receiving treatment for substance use and/or …

The Relationships Between `Push' And `Pull' Factors Of Millennial Generation Tourists To Heritage Tourism Destinations: Antebellum And Civil War Sites In The State Of Arkansas, Kayla Diane Kesterson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated `push' and `pull' motivational factors which influence Millennial Generation tourists' decisions to visit heritage tourism destinations and their knowledge of Civil War and Antebellum heritage sites within the state of Arkansas. A descriptive, six-section survey was distributed to Millennial students from varying degree fields at three universities within Arkansas. Four hundred twenty-four participants completed the questionnaire with measures of demographic information, visitation and frequency to heritage tourism sites, push factors, pull factors, heritage tourism sites in Arkansas, and historic preservation participation.

The results of this study showed that although Millennial students do not visit heritage sites frequently, …

Mixing The Emic And Etic Perspectives: A Study Exploring Development Of Fixed-Answer Questions To Measure In-Service Teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, M. Brooke Robertshaw

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this dissertation study was to develop fixed-answer questions to measure teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge when teaching with online learning resources. Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) is a framework to describe the kind of knowledge that teachers use when they are teaching with technology. Online learning resources include text, video, images, and interactive websites that teachers can use to help teach subject matter to their students. Fixed-answer questions are the kinds of questions found on standardized tests like the SAT, and tests that K-12 students take as a part of state and national testing. Many measures have …

"There Were High Hopes And High Projections:" Examining The Social Construction Of Target Populations In The Policy Design Of The Arkansas Lottery Legislation, Kristopher D. Copeland

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lottery policies have been created by many states to generate additional funds to support public initiatives, such as higher education scholarships. In 2009, Arkansas adopted a lottery to generate higher education scholarships. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the Arkansas state lottery policy design process to better understand how the Social construction of higher education students and other citizens became embedded within the policy. The Social construction of target populations theory (Ingram & Schneider, 1993), guided three research questions regarding how policy actors in Arkansas Socially constructed citizens while designing lottery legislation, how these Social constructions …

Congruent And Incongruent Effects Of Ethnic Music On Ethnic Menu Item Selection, Ryan David Muniz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated what impact ethnic music had on ethnic menu item selection. College students were randomly divided into three groups and listened to one randomly assigned sound treatment in sensory booths. Three hundred and five participants completed the questionnaire with measures of expected price value and willingness to pay value. One of the groups listened to an Italian folk music, the second group listened to a Thai folk music, and the third group listened to a restaurant background noise in order to examine if the music will impact each participant menu items selection and perceived price values. The result …

Perceptions Of Equality And National Identity Amongst Young British South Asian Muslims In Bradford, England, Simon J. Reid

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the wake of urban riots and terror attacks in the United Kingdom, British public debate and policy have focused on the nation's immigrant communities. These debates have commonly called into question whether immigrant communities in Britain are sufficiently integrated into "mainstream" society and included in the nation. These questions have been particularly focused on the country's immigrant Muslim communities because they have, over the years, been accused of segregating themselves from, and within, British society. This study explored the local and national identities of young British South Asian Muslims in Bradford, which is one of the largest Muslim communities …

Pedagogical Development Of Zen Buddhism And Taoism For Taos Ed. Ventures, Kelsey Tyler

Social Sciences

Taos Ed. Ventures is an outdoor guiding company that will be offering backpacking trips in Taos, New Mexico to high school and college students, with ages ranging from 16 – 29, starting the summer of 2015. Along with backpacking skills, the philosophies of Zen Buddhism and Taoism will be taught while on the trail. To teach these philosophies, a pedagogy was created, combining aspects of Sentipensante and Contemplative pedagogies that seeks to teach the daily applications of Zen Buddhism and Taoism through experiential and innovative learning methods, such as journaling, meditation, and mindfulness practices. The benefits of these alternative learning …

Effects Of Pecs Phase Iii Application Training On Independent Mands In Young Children With Autism, Jessica June Love

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of PECS phase III application training on independent mands in young children with autism. Participants were five children with autism ranging from ages 2 to 4 years old. A multiple baseline across participants was used to evaluate acquisition of independent correct mands across baseline and treatment conditions during training with the PECS Phase III iPadTMapplication.

Data for Participant Four did not demonstrate experimental control directly, as he showed high levels of mands during baseline. The functional relationship for Participant One was questionable as she too likely learned to mand by …

The Evolving Executive: Provisional Decrees And Their Impact On Brazil's Executive-Legislative Relationship, Lance L. Arberry

Honors College Theses

Comparatively, the lawmaking process in presidential systems is often comprised of negotiations between a legislative body, tasked with authoring and legislating laws, and an executive, who must authorize and administer the enactment of the law. While executives are often empowered with certain constitutional powers to help influence the lawmaking process, these powers are typically constrained and supervisory in nature. Presidents are rarely given broad-and-discretionary legislative powers, since lawmaking is ultimately the responsibility of the legislative body; however, this does not hold true for the case of Brazil. Following the adoption of Brazil’s 1988 Constitution, Presidents were empowered with the power …

Education, Print Culture, Social Literacy, And Religiosity: A Multi-Grounded Theory Of Textual Mediation Found In Early And Contemporary Mormonism, Ezra G. Gwilliam

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study is a multi-grounded theory (Goldkuhl & Cronholm, 2010) approach to identify potential relationships between print culture, uses of social literacy, and education found in historical Mormonism (1830-1844) and the contemporary church, which has a reported parity between education and religiosity (Cooperman, 2012). Through the theoretical model of multi-grounded theory, scholars of Mormon history were identified and interviewed to help establish what relationship may have existed and if there is relevance between the past and present church in the context of print, literacy, religiosity and education. Two literacy theories, Venezky’s (1996) theory of literacy expansion and Barton and Hamilton’s …

Dehumanization: As It Is Present Within Bullying Behaviors In An Anti-Bullying Program, Katelyn Amos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bullying is an aggressive act performed repeatedly on another enacting a power differential. This thesis utilized data collected from The Anti-Bullying Prevention Pilot Program (ABPPP), which studied bullying within eleven schools in a large metropolitan area in southwestern United States. The program was aimed to increase positive school climate through the use of Operation Respect and Welcoming Schools programs.

Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) and mixed methods approaches were used in order to analyze interviews and questionnaires. Grounded Theory analysis procedures were used to code the information, and thick descriptions were utilized to illustrate the occurrence of dehumanization among across four …

Examining The Relationships Between Internalizing And Externalizing Problems And Academic Achievement, Lara Elizabeth Conrad

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The relationship between internalizing and externalizing problems and academic achievement for children and adolescents has been inconclusive. Particularly the relationship between the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) reports of internalizing and externalizing problems and academic performance on the Woodcock-Johnson, Tests of Achievement, Third Edition (WJ-III:ACH). The current study examined the self and parent reports of internalizing and externalizing problems as measured by the BASC-2 and the relationship with academic skills as measured by the WJ-III:ACH. The referral source (private practice or school setting) was evaluated for severity of presenting internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Secondary data analysis was …

Hospital To School Transitions For Children: A Multiple Case Study Of Family Experiences, Rhiannon Yvonne Rager

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children with emotional and behavioral disorders often present with significant impairments in social, emotional, and academic functioning. For those with the most severe impairments, hospitalization is an essential intervention. Prior to releasing children from the hospital, a discharge plan is typically created in order to facilitate successful transition from the hospital setting. Ideally, these plans set the stage for post-hospitalization supports by outlining a course of action for caregivers and coordinating services, with the ultimate goal of helping children maintain gains and reducing recidivism. Research suggests that current practices do not incorporate educational needs and supports into discharge plans. Although …