Education Commons^™

Transitioning Elementary-Aged Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders Into An Inclusive Educational Setting, Stevanie Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban school district in the southwestern United States, students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD) who were in third- through fifth-grade self-contained classes were not consistently transitioning successfully into inclusive classrooms; therefore, the students were remaining in a restrictive environment for an extended time. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the reasons for such inconsistencies. The concept of inclusion as outlined in the Salamanca Statement framed the study. Semi structured interviews were conducted with six special education teachers and six general education teachers, all of whom had experience educating students with EBD. Research questions …

Professional Staffing Small Business Strategies For Reducing Voluntary Employee, Gwendolyn L. Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some small business owners need help reducing voluntary employee turnover, often putting the business at risk for performance failure. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies professional staffing small business owners used to decrease voluntary employee turnover. The participants were five professional staffing small business leaders in the Washington, D.C., area with successful strategies to retain talented employees. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and analyzed using Yin’s five-step process. Three themes emerged: (a) employee recognition, (b) communication, and (c) advancement and training. A key recommendation for small business owners …

English Language Arts Teachers’ Motivations And Experiences Related To Incorporating Digital Texts In Grades 6-12, Leah M. Marsh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Selecting text mediums that best support their curriculum needs is a critical task for English Language Arts (ELA) teachers, who also need to choose materials aligned with state standards and district requirements. Because 21st-century learning standards require students to have more technology skills, teachers are increasingly offering digital texts in classrooms. The problem under investigation in this study was the gap in understanding of the curricular choices U.S. teachers make when incorporating digital texts in ELA classrooms for Grades 6-12 to increase literacy. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine ELA teachers’ motivation and experiences related to the …

Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Evidence-Based Practices For Twice-Exceptional Students, Khadijah Muhammad

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Twice-exceptional students (2E) are identified as having high aptitude and a disability, as classified by their state of residence. However, elementary school teachers are not consistently implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) for kindergarten through fifth-grade 2E students, creating a gap in practice. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand teachers’ perspectives regarding the challenges with and needed supports for consistently implementing EBPs for 2E students. Universal design for learning was the conceptual framework and the foundation for the study. A basic qualitative research design was used in this study to address research questions regarding elementary teachers’ perspectives on challenges …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Technology Integration And Pedagogy In Kindergarten–Grade 5, Megan Alessandra Bailey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a small, suburban elementary school in the western United States, teachers in kindergarten through fifth grade (Grades K-5) were not consistently implementing technology within instruction. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of Grades K-5 teachers at the elementary school regarding barriers and challenges of technology integration within classroom instruction. The study's conceptual framework consisted of Mishra and Koehler’s framework of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and Bandura’s conceptualization of self-efficacy. The research questions concerned the perceptions of teachers who teach within a 1:1 classroom where there is one device for every student, regarding …

Integrating The Pedagogy Of United States’ Fourth-Grade Math Teachers With International Approaches, Dennis Francis Tierney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Standardized testing results in fourth-grade math have shown that students in the United States continually score below students in many other nations, despite funding education at levels well above the global average. The problem addressed in this study was that fourth-grade math students in the United States were not performing as well on standardized tests as students of other nations and international cities. Guided by Vygotsky’s social learning theory, the purpose of this qualitative, exploratory case study was to investigate the perceptions of teachers from U.S. and international settings about different approaches to effective fourth-grade math instruction, inherent obstacles to …

Teachers’ And Education Leaders’ Perspectives On Using Technology To Develop Vocabulary Among Kindergarten English Learners, Nelsy J. Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractResearch has shown that technology-mediated interventions in education can increase students’ understanding of academic vocabulary. However, it is not known how teachers provide opportunities for kindergarten English learners (ELs) to learn vocabulary using technology, and school leaders support teachers in this endeavor. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand teachers' and school leaders’ perspectives on opportunities for kindergarten ELs to use technology to develop vocabulary in an urban school in the southwest United States. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Cummins’s theory of basic interpersonal communication skills and cognitive academic language proficiency. Using purposeful …

First-Year Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Mentor Program In A Southeastern School District, Taylor L. Castaldo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many educators are leaving their teaching positions, especially in the early years of their career. This has led many states and districts to mandate teacher mentor programs for new teachers with the hope of retaining these teachers. However, even with these mentor programs, new teachers are continuing to leave their positions, which affects the district, the school, its employees, and the students. A lack of knowledge about teachers’ experiences as mentees in mentoring programs limits a state’s ability to improve programs. This study was conducted to address this gap in knowledge. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore …

Perceived Multicultural Self-Efficacy As A Predictor Of Competency In Social Justice Advocacy Among U.S. School Counselors, Damon D. Chambers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School counselors who engage in advocacy work may experience barriers when attempting to challenge oppression; hence, they need specific skills to advocate efficiently and effectively. Despite the trend in conceptual articles surrounding school counselor advocacy, little is known about how school counselors’ multicultural self-efficacy predicts school counselors’ social justice advocacy practices. This study addressed this gap in the literature by exploring factors related to school counselor social justice advocacy; that is, multicultural self-efficacy. Multicultural self-efficacy and advocacy competence have had an integral role in fostering school counselors’ abilities to identify and support the needs of diverse student populations within the …

School Contextual Conditions That Influence Newly Hired Teachers To Remain Or Leave Their School District, Faith Cole

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A suburban school district in the midwestern United States experienced concerning teacher attrition rates of teachers with 5 or fewer years of experience. The gap in practice addressed in this study was that district administrators had little knowledge about how newly hired teachers experienced the contextual conditions that occur at their schools and how these experiences influenced the teachers to leave or remain employed in the district. The purpose of the basic qualitative study was to provide information to district administrators that they could use to develop and apply practices, programs, and policies to provide school contextual conditions that support …

How Elementary School Principals Manage Their Workload, Cynthia Ann Mccabe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Elementary school principals in a suburban, Mid-Atlantic public school system may face challenges when balancing their workload. This problem is significant as an elementary school principal’s workload could contribute to ineffective leadership. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how these principals balance their workload and obtain their perceptions of the administrative support required to meet the daily challenges of their job. The conceptual framework is Gronn’s distributed leadership model which is based on the purposeful sharing and disseminating of leadership responsibilities. The research questions explored how elementary school principals describe the challenges they have in balancing …

Perceptions Of Preservice And Mentor Teachers Of Gaining Pedagogical Content Knowledge In Phonics And Phonemic Awareness, Penelope Maureen Montfort

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that, although phonics and phonemic awareness predict reading success, a majority of early learners still lack these skills. Research also showed that a majority of preservice teachers (PSTs) in early childhood education teacher (ECTE) may not have gained adequate pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in phonics and phonemic awareness during their mentored practicums. This may have contributed to kindergarten students’ poor performance in phonics and phonemic awareness on the national literacy assessments between 2015 and 2018 in one education district in Guyana. These students are not prepared for reading success. Using a basic qualitative design, semistructured interviews were …

Effective Business Survival Strategies Among Women-Owned Small And Medium Enterprises After A Natural Disaster, Clorinda Valentina Sanders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women business owners (WBOs) who experience natural disasters face significant challenges, such as disruption of business operations, damage, or detriment to infrastructure, decreased revenue, and low customer confidence. WBOs are concerned with business continuity and the social and economic impact of natural disasters in their communities. Grounded in the resource-based view and marketing entrepreneurship theories, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies WBOs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) use to survive a natural disaster. The participants were four women SME owners in northeast Florida who implemented strategies to maintain business continuity during and after …

The Relationship Of Academic Integration To College Persistence For Female Military-Affiliated Students, Terezia A. Dean

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

While the field of female military-affiliated student-specific research is growing, understanding the compounding challenges of these dynamic students through their different identities is necessary to support them in their academic endeavors. This quantitative study examined the relationship between academic integration and college persistence for female military-affiliated students at a four-year research institution. This study intended to understand the relationship between pre-entry attributes of female military-affiliated students and the likelihood of stop out and dropout. Having data from a diverse population of ages, branches, and ethnicities paints a picture detailing the many pre-entry attributes than can decrease the likelihood of persistence. …

Strengthening The Academic Progress Of Students Within Multi-Tiered Systems Of Support, Leslie Dial

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Leadership in education is thinking, communicating, and modeling to maximize student growth and achievement. This quantitative research study explored how leadership can strengthen the academic progress of students within Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). When implementation of MTSS is guided by adaptive school leadership, educators will be prepared, communication will occur, interventions will be established, and data will be evaluated. Adaptive leaders who build efficacy will ensure fidelity and continuous improvement of student achievement.

Survey research was conducted to analyze the operational level of MTSS regarding the domains of Leadership, Building Capacity for Instruction, Communication and Collaboration, Data-Based Problem-Solving, Tiered …

Educator Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy And Preparedness To Work In High Poverty Schools, Kristen Carroll

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The school leader and teacher have the greatest impact on student success. The level of self-efficacy and level of preparedness is of the utmost importance for educators and students alike. This study investigated the perceptions of educators in the belief of whether they were adequately prepared to teach in a high poverty school. The participants, educators from four school districts, completed a survey based on their perceptions of their own level of self-efficacy and preparedness to work in high poverty schools. The results of this study are aimed at impacting educator preparedness to better understand how to best support …

Relationship Between School Climate And Student Achievement In Middle Schools, Brad Boykin

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Administrators are charged with making decisions and implementing strategies to improve a school’s climate and student achievement. Because school climate and student achievement are interrelated, it would benefit administrators to understand which areas of school climate have the greatest impact on student achievement. The State of Georgia measures school climate and achievement with its school accountability measure, College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI). This study employed a quantitative research design using archival data from CCRPI over two years to examine the relationship between school climate and student achievement. The researcher used Pearson’s r correlation and multiple regression analysis to …

For Black Girls, By Black Girls: Examining The Experiences Of Black Women In Historically White Learning Spaces And Reimagining Spaces With Our Needs In Mind, Florence Takeshia Brown

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the experiences of Black women in historically white learning spaces and our needs in reimaged learning spaces developed for us. The conceptual framework for this study was Black Feminist Thought, critical geography, and Afrofuturism. Using sister circle methodology, participants discussed the simultaneous racialized and gendered experiences that Black women navigate in learning spaces and how technology and Afrofuturism could be beneficial in creating spaces for Black women. Despite our achievements in academic spaces, Black women experience microaggressive environments that have traumatic impacts on our psychological health and our overall experiences in learning environments. Our successes are acts …

Using The Cipp Model Of Evaluation On A Health Disparities Curriculum Delivered To Medical Residents In 12 Residency Programs, Gauri K. Shevatekar

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Background: Although the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has provided educational directives on health disparities education during residency program for the medical residents, there is paucity of curricula focused on disparities education within the graduate medical education.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a Health Disparities Curriculum (HDC) that was delivered to twelve residency programs at a College of Medicine.

Methodology: The study employed a cross-sectional study design. Stufflebeam’s Context-Input-Process-Product (CIPP) model was utilized as theoretical framework to assess whether the curriculum achieved its stated goals and objectives, the teaching and learning processes, and the …

Gender Equity In Early Childhood Picture Books: A Cross-Cultural Study Of Frequently Read Picture Books In Early Childhood Classrooms In Australia And The United States, Helen Adam, Laurie Harper

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Children’s picture books contribute to children’s development of gender identity and can impact aspirations and expectations of roles in families and society. However, the world represented in children’s books reflects predominantly middle class, heterosexual, male heroes and characters. This paper reports on a cross-cultural study investigating gender representation in frequently read picture books across eight early learning centres in the United States and Australia. Forty-four educators working with 271 children participated. Data were collected from book audits and observations. Unique to this study is the presentation of a new data analysis instrument, Harper’s Framework of Gender Stereotypes Contained in Children’s …

Training Curriculum For Students With Disabilities (Ese), Carolynne P. Mather

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Against All Odds Ministry, Inc. (AAOM) is a non-profit organization created by CEO and Founder Carolynne Mather. Carolynne's passion for serving the at-risk population dates to her years as a Preschool Owner providing moral and spiritual counseling to the young mothers of the children her facility provided care. Carolynne desired to mentor these women in a monthly meeting and guide them to see if they could move beyond their circumstances against the odds that faced them. The desire was to use the group meetings to write a book on women's success from this mentoring group. The group produced two parents …

White Womanhood: Finding Oppositional Epistemologies And Community At The Intersection Of Whiteness And Womanhood, Hannah Joy Fischer

Doctoral Dissertations

White women continue to contribute to the reproduction and maintenance of White supremacy even when they attempt to pursue antiracism. To better understand their antiracist agency, this study analyzed White women’s experiences and comprehension of White womanhood. Using phenomenology and critical autoethnography, this qualitative study invited six self-proclaimed antiracist White women to participate in individual interviews, attend two focus groups, and reflect on five guided prompts on White womanhood and antiracist action. The study revealed antiracist White women’s feelings of responsibility and lack of perceived agency for antiracist action. Participants demonstrated attempts to disengage from whiteness while also expressing desires …

Identity Formation And Role Expansion For Nurse Practitioner Residency Preceptors: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis, Angel Chen Kuo

Doctoral Dissertations

Employer-based nurse practitioner residency programs have been implemented to address the significant shortage of primary care providers in the community clinic settings. However, there continues to be a shortage of clinicians who serve as preceptors to nurse practitioner residents and students. Preceptors, also referred to as clinician educators, are essential in the training of learners and their socialization into the profession. Just as there is a shortage of clinicians of diverse backgrounds to reflect the population served in the community, there is also a significant shortage of preceptors of color to train learners from diverse backgrounds. The purpose of this …

Focused On Pedagogy: Qr Grading Rubrics For Written Arguments, Ruby Daniels, Kathryn Appenzeller Knowles, Emily Naasz, Amanda Lindner

Marketing Faculty Publications (Archived)

Institutional assessments of quantitative literacy/reasoning (QL/QR) have been extensively tested and reported in the literature. While appropriate for measuring student learning at the programmatic or institutional level, such instruments were not designed for classroom grading. After modifying a widely accepted institutional rubric designed to assess QR in written arguments, the current mixed method study tested the reliability of two QR analytic grading rubrics for written arguments and explored students’ reactions to the grading tools. Undergraduate students enrolled in a business course (N = 59) participated. A total of 415 QR artifacts from 40 students were assessed; an additional 19 …

The Eruption Of Disruption: The Manifestation Of Disrupting Whiteness In Secondary Social Studies In Appalachia, Elizabeth Disalvo Osborne

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This phenomenological dissertation explores the lived experiences of secondary social studies educators situated in the Appalachian region. Hermeneutic phenomenology was used as a philosophical and methodological approach to gather insights into this phenomenon. Interviews were conducted with three educators to capture their experiences from their childhoods, to their teaching careers, and into their current personal lives. These experiences were analyzed using a Whole-Part-Whole process to understand how they came to disrupt whiteness, the ways they did so, and their understanding of the impact disrupting whiteness for creating learning environments, developing curriculum and making instructional decisions. The findings revealed how these …

Exploring The Conceptualizations And Utilizations Of Learning Theories In Sport Settings, Kevin R. Lou

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to identify how integrating learning theories into the design of a formal university course helps facilitate students’ resources, goals, and orientations (Schoenfeld, 2011) of learning theories for their future career work in coaching, sport psychology consulting, or other sport-related professions. Sixteen students signed up for a fifteen-week fall semester course at a Mid-Atlantic university in America and were asked to annotate, create, and reflect upon examples of future work in their desired fields for their three major written assignments in the course. Students reflected on their learning experience through pre-and-post semi-structured interviews and most …

Calvin Theological Seminary Academic Catalog 2023-2024, Calvin Theological Seminary

Seminary Academic Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Seeing Themselves: White Preservice Teachers As Raced Individuals And As Members Of Their Future School Communities, Laurie Koth

Theses and Dissertations

Students of color, of poverty, with disabilities continue to slide into the school to prison pipeline (STPP.) Very often, an antecedent step is harsh exclusionary discipline that removes them from the classroom. Teachers, who play a major role in the decision whether to keep students in or eject them from the classroom and the school, are among multiple forces driving students toward or away from the STPP. A salient feature of the issue is that nearly 80% of teachers are white and their most vulnerable students are not. Rooted in critical race and care theories, and buttressed by self determination …

Hostos Community College Academic Bulletin 2023-2024, Hostos Community College

College Bulletins

This is the official college catalog for 2023-2024. It contains course descriptions as well as information on degree programs, college resources and services, financial aid, admissions, and the academic calendar.

Out In Education: A Qualitative Study Examining The Intersectionality And The Lived Out Experiences Of Prek–12 Lgbtq+ Educators, Landon Wood

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The role of a teacher is typically stereotyped as adhering to the status quo and societal norms, but LGBTQ+ educators and their intersecting identities have the power to interrupt the norm and move toward inclusion and advocacy for all, thus allowing the concepts of critical theory and queer theory to intersect. I have titled this merger queertical theory to discuss how LGBTQ+ teachers and their intersecting identities/nuanced perceptions and lived experiences can enact change in the field of education. Little research or information exists regarding how LGBTQ+ educators manage, handle, or even perceive intersectionality in their profession.

This qualitative study …