Education Commons^™

Measuring The Achievement Gap: A New Lens For Economic Disadvantage, Suzanne C. Bryant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference between a student’s reading/language arts TCAP scale score and his or her lunch status for students in grades three, four, & five within two school systems in Tennessee. The population consisted of 2,442 students who were in grades three, four, and five during the 2014-2015 school year in a city school system in east Tennessee and a county school system in middle Tennessee. The Kruskal-Wallis H, a non-parametric test, was used to identify statistically significant differences in the medians of the reading/language arts TCAP scores across the …

Teachers' Awareness Of Cultural Diversity And Academic Achievement In Ninth Grade Academies And Senior High Schools, Jamellah Whipps-Johnson

Dissertations

High school graduation rates are higher than they have ever been in 40 years, but disparities continue to exist for students of color and students from poverty when compared to their counterparts. High school reform efforts like creating small learning communities are promising, but small schools alone do not improve student outcomes. Personalization and responsive learning environments are essential to improving academic achievement in high schools, and particularly for ninth graders.

A monocultural teaching force paired with a racially and culturally diverse student population necessitates an examination of teachers’ awareness of cultural diversity particularly in the high school setting where …

Cultural Sensitivity: Early Career Teacher Beliefs, Espoused Theories, Theories In Use, Michelle Steinberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine early career teacher practice and beliefs about students of color in their classrooms and the relationship between those beliefs and their classroom practices. In this study, seven teachers in the initial five years of their teaching career were interviewed and observed inside of their classrooms using the Quality Responsive Classroom Observation Protocol. The interview questions were developed to look at the beliefs, teacher preparation, and culturally responsive pedagogy of early career teachers. Data was then analyzed using the five tenets of the Critical Race Theory: (1) Centrality of Race and Racism; (2) …

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

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 …

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 …

An Equity Council And The Struggle To Transform A School District, Grace Tara Rodriguez

Online Theses and Dissertations

Significant efforts at the national, state and local levels have focused on closing achievement gaps between student populations in public schools. Some research suggests that parents and community members can help hold schools accountable for meeting academic and other goals. The Equity Council serves in an advisory role to the Wilson County school board in a district in the southeastern part of the United States. The council monitors equity in the district on several measures, including the hiring of minority educators, student achievement and suspension rates. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand and describe the functioning …

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 …

The Lived Experiences Of African American Students In A Suburban High School: A Qualitative Case Study., Steven Marlon Tarver

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the lived experiences of a dozen African American Students in a suburban predominately Caucasian high school located near a major southeastern city. After World War II, in part resulting from the Brown v. Board decision desegregating public schools, many Caucasians migrated from city confines to suburban communities surrounding cities. This migration left decaying cities, including school systems, populated primarily by less well to do minorities. With changing economic conditions, about two decades later, African Americans began to migrate to the same suburbs for a better quality of life including better …