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Full-Text Articles in Education

An Examination Of Teachers' Reading Instructional Challenges In An Alternative School Setting, Leslie Bowen Retchko Jan 2015

An Examination Of Teachers' Reading Instructional Challenges In An Alternative School Setting, Leslie Bowen Retchko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a suburban alternative school, educators of at-risk students reading below grade level often struggled to provide effective reading instruction. As a result, these students were likely to continue to experience academic difficulties, which could limit their career options and their opportunities to contribute to the betterment of society. This study addressed the gap between reading strategies teachers actually used in the classroom and the reading strategies they learned during professional development. The research questions focused on the instructional challenges teachers experienced while working with struggling readers in an alternative school setting. Mastery learning theory and the adult adragogical theory …


Community College Developmental Education Services: Perspectives Of Spanish-Speaking Latino Early Childhood Educators, John Edward Eberly Jan 2015

Community College Developmental Education Services: Perspectives Of Spanish-Speaking Latino Early Childhood Educators, John Edward Eberly

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this single case study was to understand the perceptions of Latino Spanish-speaking English learners on the efficacy of developmental education services at a western United States community college. The conceptual frameworks used in the investigation included critical theory related to human emancipation, social learning theory aligned to second language acquisition, and contemporary adult learning theories. The goal of the investigation was to understand how students used and perceived the developmental education services to transition from Spanish language instruction to English coursework. Research questions focused on how the developmental education services contributed to the successful completion of the …


Serious Fun: The Perceived Influences Of Improvisational Acting On Community College Students, Ruth H. Yamamoto Jan 2015

Serious Fun: The Perceived Influences Of Improvisational Acting On Community College Students, Ruth H. Yamamoto

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research in extracurricular activities and arts education demonstrate how experiences in those areas contribute to the well-being and ongoing development of students in higher education. Although practiced and performed across the United States, theatrical improvisation, as an art form or extracurricular activity, lacks investigation within the context of higher education. Without an understanding from the student perspective, higher educational stakeholders miss an opportunity to incorporate experiences that address the institutions' mission and learning goals or worse, inadvertently produce student disenfranchisement. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the experience of improvisational acting training, practice, and performance …


Causes Of Low Voter Turnout Of The Hispanic Population In Southwest Texas, Shawn Steven Morrow Jan 2015

Causes Of Low Voter Turnout Of The Hispanic Population In Southwest Texas, Shawn Steven Morrow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Hispanic population in central Texas tends to have low levels of civic engagement as compared to other groups in the same area, which leads to disproportionate political marginalization. Prior research has focused on characteristics of voters and nonvoters, but has failed to explore the lack of political mobilization among Hispanic voters. The purpose of this study was twofold; first to better understand the nature of Hispanic voters' political marginalization, and second, explore why participation levels are so low among this group. This general qualitative study applied critical race theory to explore the barriers perceived by Hispanic voters related to …


Racism Vs. Social Capital: A Case Study Of Two Majority Black Communities, Bruce W. Strouble Jan 2015

Racism Vs. Social Capital: A Case Study Of Two Majority Black Communities, Bruce W. Strouble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities …