Education Commons^™

Are Leader Behavior And Emotional Intelligence Related To Teacher Efficacy?, Edward E. Leonard, Wanda Maulding Green

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

There is general agreement and the research supports the contention that school leadership is related to student learning/achievement (Hallinger & Heck, 1996; Ross & Gray, 2006; Francera & Bliss, 2011; Shatzer, Caldarella, Hallam, & Brown, 2014). However, the nature and strength of that relationship is still uncertain. Identifying the effects, whether direct or indirect, leaders have on student learning/achievement is imperative to the further development of school leadership theory. Direct leader effects on student achievement/learning may be identified at some point. However, given that a leader impacts many factors related to student achievement/learning indirectly, the identification of indirect leader effects …

Examining Teachers’ Sense Of Efficacy And Their Decisions In Regard To Referral And Placement, Ayse Dilsad Yakut

Doctoral Dissertations

One factor that can influence identification of students with disabilities is teachers’ decisions to refer a student for special education services. Both teacher and student characteristics can influence teachers’ decision making. As evidenced in research and theory, teacher characteristics of efficacy influences teachers’ classroom practices, student outcome, and teachers’ perceptions about working with students with disabilities, which might also influence teachers’ decisions to refer students for special education evaluation. As a primary purpose, I examined whether elementary education teachers’ sense of efficacy predicts their decisions to refer a student for special education evaluation and their decisions to place a student …

The Impact Of Professional Development Grounded In Social Learning On Community College Faculty Efficacy, Shanika Shantell Strickland-Davis

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Community college faculty have experienced a shift in focus from access to access and student success. Given this shift in responsibility for student learning, community college faculty should be sufficiently prepared to teach a diverse student body and subsequently uphold beliefs regarding their ability to bring about desired outcomes of student engagement and learning. Given preparedness is a measure of self-efficacy, professional development for community college faculty is a critical investment in the support and development of teacher efficacy and faculty skill.

Social learning theory specifically speaks to a means of increasing self-efficacy. As a professional development practice, social learning …

A Plan To Improve Implementation For Professional Learning For Teachers That Is Sustainable And Effective, Kenyatta Starks

Dissertations

Every school seeks to heighten student achievement. Committed and skilled teachers are instrumental in reaching this goal. Focused professional learning opportunities help support the ongoing growth of all staff. Unfortunately, a number of factors, including finances, teacher turnover, and an absence of trust, work against efforts to implement sound professional learning strategies with fidelity at Lady Academy.

This change plan sought to develop a sustainable plan to address that issue. Surveys with fourth-grade teachers revealed several key steps that must be taken. First, professional learning should be individualized for teachers but developed collaboratively. In addition, Lady Academy should work to …

Teacher Candidate Psychological Insight And Capacity For Change: Developing A Professional Identity, Richard Bradley Coats

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Research in the field of teacher education has recently found that the formation of teacher candidate’s sense of professional identity is an integral part of their development as a future educator, yet few programs explicitly address it (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009). The purpose of this study was to examine teacher candidates’ ability to reflect on self and others, and the influence of psychological insight on the development of a professional identity. The study took place in the Pacific Northwest at an accredited university in the Northern Rocky Mountain region. The six participants selected for this study were undergraduate Elementary Education …

Practitioner Research In Schools: Revealing The Efficacy Agency Cycle, Edward Resnick

Educational Studies Dissertations

Years of high stakes testing and managerial directives to improve student test scores created a trend of teachers’ declining sense of efficacy and agency. Researchers have yet to examine the perceptions of teachers following requirements to improve student engagement and school climate in an effort to improve academic performance following the authorization of local and national educational accountability reforms. The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers perceive their efficacy and agency in response to the addition of nonacademic measures and the requirement of documented input from teachers and other stakeholders into educational policy planning procedures. Veteran K-12 …

A Study Of Staff Development And Teacher Efficacy In Implementing Standards-Based Grading At The Elementary Schools In A Rural School District In North Carolina, Brayton Alan Leonhardt

Education Dissertations and Projects

Standards-based grading is still in its infancy within North Carolina. At this time, only 12 of the 115 school districts have incorporated the standards-based form of grading into their system. As school districts across North Carolina look to implement different forms of grading to assess student learning, it will be important to look at the effectiveness of the professional development that accompanies the shift. The research questions that guided this work center around the support needed by teachers during the transition period and the impact of the professional development on their understanding of how to successfully implement standards-based grading. The …

A Study Of Rigor, Teacher Self-Efficacy, And Student Achievement In Three High Schools In A Rural School District In Eastern North Carolina, Katrina Hannon Cobb

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study investigated the importance of rigor and teacher efficacy in relation to student achievement. There are several definitions of the word rigor. Blackburn (2008) defined rigor as “An environment in which each student is expected to learn at high levels, each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels, and each student demonstrates learning at high levels” (p. 16). ACT/SAT data, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE), and the High School Reform and Work all conclude that students who are college and career ready have graduated …

The Impact Of Induction On First Year Lateral Entry Teacher Efficacy, Matthew Tipton

Education Dissertations and Projects

Many states throughout our country are faced with hiring teachers who are not certified and do not have any prior teaching experience. There are various factors contributing to states hiring alternatively licensed teachers: low teacher pay, demands of teaching, and a decline in individuals entering traditional teacher training programs at colleges and universities. From this, induction programs have become more comprehensive over the last decade to improve self-efficacy of new teachers in areas of classroom practices. Teachers who display confidence in classroom practices have a stronger impact on student achievement and eventually become leaders within their school. Improving teacher efficacy …

Improving Teacher Job Satisfaction: The Roles Of Social Capital, Teacher Efficacy, And Support, Suzanne K. Edinger, Matthew J. Edinger

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

In this study, we examine how social capital, teacher efficacy, and organizational support increase teacher job satisfaction. Research suggests that teachers worldwide are exceedingly dissatisfied with their jobs and have significantly higher levels of turnover than their counterparts in other professions. We investigate this phenomenon using a sample of 122 elementary school teachers. We found that teachers’ centrality position, or each teacher’s relationship with every other teacher, in their school’s trust network and the density of a teacher’s academic advice ego-network predicted the development of teacher job satisfaction. Additionally, we found that teacher efficacy mediated the relationship between teacher’s trust …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Principal Self-Efficacy And Collective Staff Efficacy In A Rural North Carolina School System, Douglas Ray Massengill Jr

Education Dissertations and Projects

"The purpose of this research was to determine if a statistically significant relationship exists between principal self-efficacy and the collective staff efficacy in the public schools of a rural North Carolina school district. This study focused on overall efficacy beliefs of principals and teachers as well as efficacy beliefs related to the constructs of instructional leadership, instructional practices, school management, and classroom management. This study, conducted during the 2017-2018 academic year, included a population of 22 principals and 1,017 certified staff members in a rural North Carolina school district. The Principal Sense of Efficacy Scale by Tschannen-Moran and Gareis (2004) …

Public Elementary School Teachers' Experiences With Implementing Outdoor Classrooms, Lori Schultz Goff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children experience limited time outdoors and have few opportunities for outdoor learning in schools, putting them at risk for being unprepared to engage in solving environmental and societal problems. Researchers have examined outdoor learning at the preschool and high school levels; elementary school experiences have been explored less frequently. Guided by a conceptual framework informed by social emotional learning (SEL), ecological literacy, and teacher self-efficacy, this study investigated public school elementary teachers' experiences with outdoor classrooms including barriers and supports to creating and using outdoor classrooms. A qualitative design using in-depth interviews with interpretive phenomenological analysis techniques was conducted with …