Education Commons^™

The Shining School Upon The Hill: Teacher Subjectivity In A "Successful" Charter School, Gareth David Connor Mitchell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation adds to the growing body of literature on charter school reform. Through the use of double insight, this paper details the tensions between school structures and teacher experience at a “successful” urban charter school. How do teachers construct their subjectivities in relation to a charter school’s mission and guiding philosophy? What are the inter-actions between these teacher biographies and the school’s prominent structures? This paper problematizes common discourse on charters, often reduced to identifying schools as either “good” or “bad,” to contribute to a more nuanced discussion between charter advocates and opponents.

This research utilizes a theoretical framework …

Meeting Yourself Without Rose Colored Glasses: An Urban Charter, Apryll L. Mendez Gaskew, Shenelle M. Dubose

Dissertations

Abstract

The impact of a culturally relevant professional development series on classroom teacher’s cultural lens was determined. Fifty teachers from two different school districts participated in 16 hours of professional development in an attempt to impact their understanding of how culture and instruction are connected.

During the professional development, participants took part in activities, dialogues and reflections designed to impact their cultural competency. The content of the four professional development sessions included (a) videos on culturally relevant teaching; (b) discussion of cultural identity of participants and how it surfaces in the classroom; (c) discussion of the culture, values, and beliefs …

From Following To Leading: Experiencing The Phenomena Of Becoming A Teacher Leader, Alan L. Carter

Dissertations

Teacher leadership is not a new idea. It has become popular in waves over the last century, and has been used primarily to make change in schools on a grassroots level. Though teacher leaders rarely gain degrees in this field of work or accept formal positions as teacher leaders, they acquire knowledge, skills, insights, and strategies that help change, shape, and mold their current school environments. Additionally, teacher leader positions, while normally informal, offer greater potential for influence than a normal classroom teacher may have or can offer to their colleagues.

The purpose of this study was to examine charter …

In God We Trust: A Multiple Case Study Of The Implementation Of Religious And Biblical Literacy Courses In Public Charter Schools, Susan M. Goers

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This study was conducted with administrators of four charter schools located in the west, the south, and southeast portions of the United States that had courses in religious and biblical literacy in each school’s curricula. A multiple case study methodology was employed to describe the experiences of public charter schools implementing religious and biblical literacy courses to discover commonalities to successful implementation. The data was gathered using semi-structured interviews conducted during the summer and fall of 2016. Areas of interest were specific to course descriptions, the fit within the specific charter school vision and mission, teacher training, and resources. The …