Education Commons^™

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 …

Perceived Impact Of Character Education Program At A Midwest Rural Middle School: A Case Study, Sandra Jean Goss

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today there exist a concern for the safety and success of students in the public education system. Families, educators, and community members are concerned with the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of students in an environment where incidents of violence are growing. Events like the school shootings at Jonesboro, Arkansas, and at Columbine High School left our nation concerned with the problems within the school system. Many believe that character education can be an effective solution. The purposes of this study are to describe key elements of one school's character education program, and to determine the impact that this program …

Contributing Factors That Affect The Achievement Of African-American Females Taught By Caucasian Teachers On The Arkansas Literacy Exam: A Case Study, Felicia Renee Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative intrinsic case study was designed to assist Caucasian educators with the researched academic skills and behaviors to engage African-American females in the learning environment. The study provided strategies and recommendations to promote self-worth, self-motivation, self-efficacy, and morale in African-American females when they did not perform as well as or higher than their Caucasian peers in a high school English classroom on the state literacy examination instructed by a Caucasian teacher. The research site was a low socioeconomic urban high school with a majority of minorities with several native based home languages. The study took an in-depth approach to …

Workforce Preparedness Of Information Systems Students: Perceptions Of Students, Alumni, And Employers, Susan Bristow

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Employers of newly hired higher education graduates report their new workforce is not prepared. Further research was required to discover insights to the workforce readiness gap. This concurrent mixed methods study explored what competencies influenced employer's perceptions of the work-readiness of Information Systems (ISYS) undergraduate students and discovered ISYS graduates' and current ISYS students' perceptions of their work-readiness. Participants consisted of a convenience sample including 69 ISYS program upperclassmen, 20 ISYS program alumni, and 8 employers of the ISYS program graduates. ISYS program alumni completed an online Qualtrics survey to measure the participants' perception of their workforce preparedness. ISYS program …

Dropping Out In Southeast Kansas: Why Students Leave School Early, Garon Kent Wire

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study takes a deeper look into the lived experiences of students in southeast Kansas who have dropped out of high school. As a result, school and community leaders are better informed to create effective strategy, policy, and practice in dropout prevention.

Framed as a phenomenology, data was collected by conducting in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 12 participants and a focus-group interview with four participants. The researcher administered a survey/questionnaire to an additional 15 participants. Utilizing the Streamlined Codes-To-Theory Model (Saldana, 2009); organizational, structural, and elaborative coding techniques were implemented to reduce the data into categories, which led to the …

Understanding Faculty And Non-Traditional Student Perceptions Of Self-Directed Learning In A Practical Nursing Program, Carmen Marie Rogers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to identify and investigate nursing faculty and student perspectives of self-directed learning in a practical nursing program. It also explored the degree to which student's perceptions of self-directed learning exhibited factors consistent with that of critical thinking. This study is important because self-directed learning and its critical thinking elements are essential in providing safe, competent, effective, and efficient nursing care within practice and education. Using an explanatory case study design the practice of self-directed learning within a practical nursing program was examined through the use of: classroom observations, interviews with nursing faculty, nursing students, and document …

The Relationship Between Teachers' Perceptions Of The Feedback They Receive And Their Teaching Efficacy In High-Performing Schools, Joshua D. St. John

Open Access Dissertations

As reform efforts are prescribed in every state through mandates and regulations in an effort to better prepare students to compete in a global economy, and as states like Indiana implement new evaluation plans for teachers based on a rigorous rubric and objective measures of student achievement, close attention to the ripple effects must be involved. While efforts such as professional learning communities and instructional coaches are aimed at building teacher capacity, maximum results can only be achieved when school leaders balance how they leverage their evaluative power while promoting these formative experiences. Absent in the drive for heightened accountability, …

"An Easy Switch": A Descriptive Case Study Exploring The Shift Toward Informational Text Accompanying The Implementation Of Common Core State Standards In Five Primary Classrooms, Heather Denise Kindall

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to discover how the newly implemented Common Core State Standards (CCSS) may have changed teachers' practices and philosophies regarding literacy instruction and to determine which teaching strategies were being presented in regard to informational text in the studied Kindergarten through second grade classrooms.

The research was conducted in five classrooms within one elementary school in the mid-Southern United States. The study design involved semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and teacher-reported lesson plans over a fourteen week data collection period. The aim of this research was to portray a vivid description of the implementation …

Computer Access, Teacher Skills And Motivation To Take Online Professional Development In The Riyadh School District, Haya Mohammad Albrkhil

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eight hundred Saudi Arabia educators from the Riyadh District participated in this study to determine teachers' access to computers, computer skill level and motivation to enroll in online courses pertaining to professional development. Participants, who were chosen according to a stratified sampling technique, completed a survey which provided the data for the study.

The correlation between the motivation to take online courses and the computer skill perception of participants was weak but statistically significant indicating that as the rate of computer skills perception increases, the rate of motivation to take online classes increases as well. Other factors pertaining to increased …

Teachers' Perceptions Toward Implementing English As A Foreign Language At Kindergarten: What Can We Learn From The Case Of Kuwaiti Kindergarten Teachers?, Kawthar M. Habeeb

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The teaching of English as a foreign language has a promising outlook in the nation of Kuwait. Recent policy reflects language development theories that see early childhood as an especially good period for the learning of a foreign language. Thus, English is now taught at 30 public kindergartens in Kuwait. However, the program apparently was implemented quickly, with little consideration for how teachers and other stakeholders would respond to it. This paper explores that program in the context of the perceptions and views of teachers affected by it.

A review of the existing curriculum points towards deficiencies, and investigation of …

Defining Characteristics Of An Integrated Stem Curriculum In K-12 Education, Vinson Robert Carter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to obtain consensus concerning the defining characteristics of integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum. This study utilized a three round modified Delphi study to solicit recommendations from experts of STEM education in order to: 1) create a set of categorical and defining curricular components needed to develop and implement appropriate integrated STEM curriculum; 2) identify the characteristics that set integrated STEM education curriculum apart from single-discipline curricula; 3) discuss the components necessary to gauge whether an initiative, project, or curriculum should be referred to as integrated STEM education; and 4) examine whether …

The Academic Impacts Of Attending A Kipp Charter School In Arkansas, Caleb P. Rose

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

KIPP Delta College Preparatory School (KIPP: DCPS), an open-enrollment charter school, opened in 2002 in Helena, Arkansas. Since its opening, KIPP: DCPS students have consistently outperformed their peers in the Helena/West Helena School district, and moreover, recent test scores suggest that white students and minority students are achieving at the same rate, essentially eliminating the achievement gap that persists between whites and minorities elsewhere in the state. In fact, KIPP's achievement record was so influential that when Arkansas lawmakers instituted a cap on the number of open-enrollment charter schools in the state, they made an exception for KIPP, essentially allowing …

Evaluating Trio Programs: A Case Study Of Upward Bound Directors And Staff, Yolanda R. Carr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For over four decades, Upward Bound programs have influenced students' aspirations and goals toward attending college, college enrollment, and overall educational achievement, providing a standard for successful college preparation for historically marginalized students. Although Upward Bound has helped many Americans prepare for and earn their college degrees, it has been subjected to budget challenges due to the evaluation of federal college preparation programs. Upward Bound in particular, has been contested and controversial for many years, especially as it relates to methodology and conflicting program outcomes from research studies conducted. The intent of the qualitative case study for this research was …

An Evaluation Of Teaching Methods Based On Cognitive Achievement, Ryan Patrick Siebenmorgen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were any significant differences (p < .05) in cognitive achievement between different instructional techniques on students enrolled in high school agricultural science classes in Northwest Arkansas. Lesson content covered the

production, uses, and performance of biodiesel fuels in compression engines. Treatments were different instructional techniques including lecture, demonstration, and a combination of lecture and demonstration. Cognitive achievement was measured on low level cognition and high level cognition. In addition, this study sought to find any correlation between student perceptions of lecture versus demonstration and tinkering self-efficacy on student achievement.

A true experimental pretest-posttest design (#2) was used to conduct this research (Campbell & Stanley, 1996). The population consisted of all students enrolled in high school …

Cataloging Lesson Plans Developed By Pre-Service Science Teachers During A Summer Research Experience, Robert Tollman Mclaren

Physics

This study is modeled after the senior project “Teachers Who Conduct Research and their Ability to Apply their Experience to Lesson Plans” by Cal Poly student Megan Ziegler and includes an independent analysis of the 2011 and 2012 lesson plans that participants in the STEM Teacher and Researcher (STAR) Program developed as part of their summer research experience. At the end of the STAR summer research program, STAR Fellows are required to submit lesson plans. During Spring Quarter of 2012, I had the opportunity to catalog lesson developed during Summer 2011. Later in Fall Quarter of 2012, Cal Poly undergraduates …

Engaging Literacy Activities A Case Study, Tiffanie Dawn Meridth

All Graduate Projects

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in Washington State has adopted Common Core Standards. The reading curriculum given to teachers most often reflects the appropriate grade level materials, but does not necessarily meet common core standards, engage students in learning, or prepare students to pass the end of year exams. In this study, engaging classroom literacy activities will be developed and aligned with learning targets associated with common core standards for sixth grade students. A variety of materials will be used for activities to include: novel sets, picture books, social studies curriculum, and additional teacher resources. It …

Do Teacher Characteristics Affect Student Achievement? Evidence From A Rural State, James V. Shuls

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using a unique dataset, this dissertation analyzes the relationship between observable teacher characteristics and teacher effectiveness. Effectiveness is measured as a teacher's ability to improve student achievement on a standardized test. This analysis focuses on teachers of math and science at the elementary and middle school levels, as well as teachers of algebra, geometry, and 11th grade English language arts. The sample is drawn from Arkansas, a state that has a much more rural population than other states and cities where this type of analysis has been conducted in the past. For the analysis I am unable to link teachers …

The Effects Of Summer Reading Programs On The Academic Achievement Of Elementary Students, Renee Deshommes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children with weakened academic skills face the possibility of having less access to higher education, or advanced career opportunities later in life. Such disadvantages, if not addressed, may result in a series of diminished opportunities that may affect a child's overall quality of life. Several educational experts suggest that the negative effects of the academic achievement gap are cumulative, and many educational experts also believe that the achievement gap between high and low socioeconomic students continues to be a persistent problem for which few solutions have materialized. The potential for summer reading programs to be implemented as a mechanism to …

Subtle Messages: An Examination Of Diversity In The Illustrations Of Secondary Level One French Textbooks, Stephen Richard Adamson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Textbooks in all content areas have been criticized for the hidden curriculum that subtly teaches messages, which elevate some cultural groups while diminishing the efforts and contributions of other cultural groups. Research into the hidden curriculum and inclusion of diversity in French textbooks has been limited. The present study focused on the inclusion of diversity in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, disability, and body size present in the illustrations of the three newest French One textbooks. Results indicate that diversity has increased but the diversity within the illustrations does not always mirror the actual demographics of the United States …

The Leadership Role In Transitioning An Urban Secondary School From A Traditional Service Delivery Model To A Co-Teaching Service Delivery Model For Students With Disabilities: A Phenomenological Case Study, Ginni Elizabeth Mcdonald

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research studies the leadership role in transitioning from a traditional service delivery model to a co-teaching service delivery model for students with disabilities. While there is an abundant amount of information on the service delivery model of co-teaching, sustaining co-teaching programs, and effective co-teaching programs for students with disabilities, the actual studies for the leadership role in transitioning to co-teaching are fewer. This phenomenological case study explores the leadership role in effectively transitioning an urban high school from a traditional service delivery of special education services to a larger continuum of services, specifically co-teaching for students with disabilities. Participants …

Principal And Teacher Beliefs About Leadership Implications For Student Performance, Jerri Cherita Jackson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to examine whether the leadership style of principals affects teacher and student performance. The study includes an elementary, middle, and high school principal along with two teachers from each school who worked at schools that were in good standing from 2007-2011. Each school made adequate yearly progress (AYP) each year according to the No Child Left Behind Status History Report. This study examined one over arching research question: What do principals and teachers say about school and schooling? Data for this study was gathered through principal interviews, teacher interviews, and the results of an …

Math, Science, And Social Studies Teachers' Attitudes Toward Diversity And Accommodation Of Diversity With Reference To Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Seventh, Eighth, And Ninth Grade Students In A Mid-South State, Nadia Khrais

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was exploring seventh, eighth, and ninth grade teachers' attitudes and beliefs in response to classroom diversity and how that is reflected on their instruction, learning styles, communication patterns, instrumental materials, and assessment patterns in math, science, and Social studies subject areas. In this mixed-method research, the designed survey consisted of 59 questions based on Likert scale and obtained information of ten demographic factors. The survey was delivered in two formats (online link and hard copy) to the participating schools in three urban school districts in a Mid-South State. The survey data were analyzed by using …

The Effects Of Race And Gender On The Satisfaction Levels Of Entering And Advanced Level Doctoral Students, Tiffany Nicole Labon

Dissertations

Doctoral education is an aspect of higher education that can be both rewarding and challenging for anyone who attempts the journey. Thelin (2004) stated many graduate students obtain the necessary skills that their individual fields of study require in their master’s and doctoral programs of study. Levine (2005), however, has found that the levels of satisfaction between what students expect and what they receive are at odds at many colleges and universities around the country. Thus, the need to assess graduate programs and services regarding satisfaction is warranted.

The purpose of this study was to compare the relationship of overall …

Teacher Attitudes Of Inclusion And Academic Performance Of Students With Disabilities, Jonathan Earl Sutton

Dissertations

Since the integration of the inclusion model, supported by the IDEA (1997), within public schools, teacher resistance and frustration has risen (Hardy, 1999). The climate of general education teachers’ classrooms furthermore, has not been the same (Liu & Meyer, 2005). Key elements ensuring success of inclusion and the implementation of inclusive education are the views, perspectives, and attitudes of the personnel who have the responsibility for implementing it; the teachers (Shade & Stewart, 2001). Avramidis and Norwich (2002) argued that successful implementation of any inclusive policy or programming is extremely dependent upon the educators being receptive and positive. Hines (2011) …

Cooking Up A Course: Food Education At Pomona College, Christina A. Cyr

Pomona Senior Theses

Cooking skills are important but declining, with significant health, social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental implications. Food and cooking education can begin to address some of the negative effects of the cooking skills decline. This thesis makes the case for cooking classes in the education system, especially in higher education. The paper begins with a history of cooking education and skills, outlines the implications of the decline in skills, and discusses the potential for cooking education in higher education. The second part consists of a course syllabus, designed for Pomona College. The third section includes a discussion of the implementation …

Student Motivation For Pursuing A Minor In Environmental Sustainability, Luanne Woods Lewis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental sustainability dominates the global conversation seeking to increase awareness and change the culture of thinking concerning the relationship between humans and the Earth. Because many universities offer programs relative to environmental sustainability, a need exists to understand why students pursue these programs. This study examined student motivation for pursuing an environmental sustainability minor in one institution of higher education. Career, learning, monetary, and Social responsibility were the motivational factors considered in this study. The results of this study indicated significant differences among the motivational factors for pursuing a minor in sustainability among those students surveyed. Significant differences existed for …

Alternative Education Completers: A Phenomenological Study, Becky Lynne Murray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Billy is a bright, wide-eyed, little boy with bounding enthusiasm and wonder as he enters the doors of school on his first day of kindergarten. When the school doors open in Billy's sixth grade year the wide eyes and bounding enthusiasm have diminished only to leave behind dread and dismay at the thought of confronting yet another abysmal nine months of failure. How can we, as educators, better serve the needs of at-risk students like Billy? Shouldn't we ask them? What elements of the alternative education experience were significant to successful completion of the alternative education program? The phenomenological paradigm …

University Public Relations: A Survey Of University Communicators' Efforts To Influence U.S. News & World Report Peer Survey Respondents, Heidi Stambuck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined what differences exist between the work of public relations professionals (also called communicators) who are members of CASE, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, at colleges and universities ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report and CASE-member communicators at colleges and universities that are ranked between 21 and 200 in their behavior in four areas: (1) communication goals they consider top priorities, (2) types of communication tasks they perform, (3) types of media in which they purchase advertising, and (4) their rating of audience importance. A survey completed by CASE-member …

The Perceived Influence Of Divergent Parent And Teacher Perceptions Of Student Abilities On Students And The Establishment Of Effective Family-School Partnerships, Kara Ann Lasater

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the essence of parent, teacher, and student experiences when parent and teacher perceptions of student abilities diverge; of particular importance was the perceived influence of these divergent accounts on students and the establishment of effective family-school partnerships. This purpose was achieved through a qualitative investigation of parent, teacher, and student experiences when parent and teacher perceptions of student abilities diverge. Analysis of data collected from 10 in-depth interviews with students, parents, and teachers revealed five themes and one subtheme related to discrepant parent and teacher perceptions of student abilities. These themes …

Learning Experiences And Perspective Transformation In Evangelical Faith-Based Adult Nonformal Education Programs, Philip Gerke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The study adapted an existing instrument to examine perspective transformation and its associated factors in participants of evangelical faith-based adult nonformal education in the Midwestern United States. Stratified random one-stage cluster sampling of 11 churches produced a nonprobability sample (N = 597) that was significantly (p < .05) different from the population of the geographical location of the study. An 86% majority self-reported a level of agreement or stronger of perceived transformation of perspectives, but differences predicted by gender were insignificant. The difference in perceived perspective transformations between respondents aged 40-59 that had the highest levels and respondents aged 60 and above that had the lowest levels was significant. The factors of influential individuals, personal reflection, and thought-provoking learning assignments significantly predicted all four factors of perspective transformation; the Writing Assignment factor was a significant negative predictor of only the Perception of Change factor, and a significant positive predictor of only the Future Benefits factor. The study recommended that additional research on faith-based frames of reference and age category differences. The study also recommended that faith-based practitioners consider emphasizing transformative learning experiences and personal reflection in their programs for adults.