Education Commons^™

High School Students’ Views Of Social Studies, Mckenzie Weaver

Honors Projects

This paper reviews a short case study on High School Students’ opinions of social studies education. This was conducted in response to a 1984 study, “Why Kids Don’t Like Social Studies” by Schug, Todd, and Beery. This study took place at a suburban high school within senior level social studies classes. The students were given an anonymous survey in accordance with IRB standards which asked them there opinions about the social studies classes they had taken. It also asked them about their favorite subject and why it is their favorite subject. This is important because as a future educator, the …

Exploration Of Post-Secondary Preparation In Urban, Suburban, And Rural High Schools In The State Of Missouri, Rashida J. Mckinley

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze how high schools in the state of Missouri’s rural, suburban, and urban areas were preparing students for post-secondary education and career readiness. The researcher analyzed the state of Missouri secondary data gathered from the 2013 through 2017 school years, in urban, suburban, and rural high schools. The researcher also surveyed school guidance counselors and administrators. The data represented consisted of ACT Composite Scores, Annual Performance Reports, Post-Secondary Placements, Career and Technical Education Placements, Dropout Rates, and Graduation Rates. This examination utilized a mixed method study to gain an understanding of each school’s …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between High School Seniors And High School Seniors Participating In A Multi-Year, Looping, School-Based Mentoring Program, Devon Alaine Lassetter

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have indicated that secondary school students were more likely to be truant than primary school students which lead to students dropping out of school and becoming less productive citizens as adults. Researchers have also shown that participation in a school-based mentoring program can positively influence the students and help them make better life decisions. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent a multi-year, looping, school-based mentoring program has on the attendance data, behavioral data, achievement data, and graduation rate of high school seniors at a rural high school in west Georgia. The researcher conducted a …

A Comparison Of High School Students Who Participate In Athletics Verses Non-Athletes On Seven Dimensions Of Work Ethic, Roy Jonathan Shipley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study compared the differences in work ethic dimension scores between high school student-athletes and students who do not participate in athletics. The underlying problem was that there is not enough research in this area and that current available studies provide conflicting information. The purpose of the study was to examine the differences in seven work ethic dimension scores from the Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP) between student-athletes and non-athletes. The study used a quantitative, causal-comparative design to examine the differences in the two pre-existing groups. The convenience sample of participants (N = 144) were selected from an available population …

Gearing Up For College, Beatriz Amy Huerta

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Sadly, in the Greenfield community, there are exceedingly high rates of individuals who lack post-secondary education. The Census (2010), states that only 4.8% of persons age 25 years and older in Greenfield, CA obtain a bachelor’s degree. At Greenfield High School over the past five years, an average of 16 students enrolled at a CSU campus (The California State University, 2018). In efforts to promote higher education, Gear Up (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) empowers students and families of the Monterey County by fostering equitable access to postsecondary education and career readiness through relevant rigorous academic and …

Breaking Through The Echo Chamber: Teaching Students To Use Technology For College Research And Global Citizenry, Kaitlin Drake

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Preparing high school students for college level courses is vital to their success in higher education. Information literacy and digital literacy are necessary skills for college students in order to conduct their research for their classes. My own research was a compilation of scholarly articles and books focused on digital literacy, information literacy, and the issues surrounding these terms to understand what today’s students need in the classroom to succeed as young researchers. Search engines like Google operate under a facade of being an unbiased source. In reality, they are a for profit company whose search results go through an …

Let’S Talk About It: Special Education Communication Barriers With General Education Teachers, Claire Going, Edith Diaz, Clarissa Carrillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone Project is the communication barriers between Special Education and General Education educators. The importance of this issue is the lack of time given in order for all subject departments to have efficient time to collaborate during the school year. The negative effects on teachers are then reflected on students academic achievements. Unfortunately, this has issue has been around for decades yet no effective methods have been put in place. Methods that have been considered are more teacher training, peer-mediated instruction, and time allotment between Special Education and General Education teachers. Data was collected from interviews …

High School Physical Education And Its Effects On Fitness Center Participation After Graduation: A Case Study, David C. Barney, Nathan Kahaialii

Faculty Publications

For those that send off their child into the world, it is hoped they will recall what was taught to them. This applies to high school (HS) physical education (PE) teachers and their students that graduate from HS. The purpose of this case study was to assess current HS PE teachers, fitness club personnel, those that frequent fitness clubs and current HS students regarding HS PE preparing HS students for real world application regarding fitness. Participants from these four groups were interviewed to help better understand the preparation of graduated HS students participating in health clubs. From this case study …

Differences In The Dual Credit Experience Between High School And Institutions Of Higher Education, Micheala A. Steinmetz-Benton

Dissertations

Dual credit courses are college-level courses offered to high school students which are accepted for both high school and college credit (Hughes, 2016). Dual credit positively impacts students by reducing the time to complete a degree, enhancing the high school curriculum, increasing college accessibility, and lessening educational financial burdens (Hughes, 2016). The intention of this study was to survey adjunct instructors who have taught in both high school and college environments to determine their opinions of differences that exist between secondary and postsecondary dual credit experiences. College administrators were also interviewed to obtain insight into any variability of dual credit …

Finding Their Place: An Ethnographic Study Of The Culture Of Students Attending A Rural, Self-Paced, Alternative Evening High School, Teena Atkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to provide a cultural portrait as well as identify methods of success of nontraditional students attending a self-paced, alternative evening high school in the southeast region of the United States in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. An ethnographic research design was utilized employing data triangulation through observations, interviews, focus group, and journals as methods of data collection. Participants included nontraditional students who were currently attending or recently graduated from an alternative evening high school in the southeast region of the United States. This study sought to better understand what factors contributed to …

A Mixed Methods Study Of High School Teachers' And Administrators' Perceptions Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports, Joseph E. Dean

Theses and Dissertations

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports is a framework used by educators to improve school climates by developing student academic and social skills through the alignment of behavioral expectations, positive acknowledgement for appropriate behaviors, the encouragement of positive staff and student relationships, and data-based decision making. Even though PBIS is comprised of three tiers of increased support, the majority of schools in the United States have only implemented the first tier, or School-Wide PBIS. Furthermore, due to barriers that are unique to high school settings, most of the schools that have implemented SWPBIS have been elementary and middle schools. The purpose …

Truss Bridge Construction Project, High School Geometry, Dayton King

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

In this unit, students will apply their knowledge of transversal/parallel relationships to the construction of a truss bridge. This bridge will be constructed out of popsicle sticks and hot glue and will need to support as much weight as possible. Students will also need to sketch cross sections of the bridge; identifying special angles created by a transversal intersecting a pair of parallel lines and similar triangles.

Arkansas Career And Technical Education Facilitators And Career Transitions: The Perceptions Of Students, Edwin James Hansen

Theses and Dissertations from 2018

The purpose of this study was to gauge the effectiveness of the Arkansas Department of Career and Technical Education (ACTE) College and Career Coaches, also referred to as, College and Career Facilitators. The focus of these Facilitators is to specifically target middle and high school students who are most in need of college and career planning services (Arkansas Department of Career Education, 2016a). This study focused on investigating the impact CTE Facilitators were having on increasing CTE program Completer numbers and helping the students to develop a path to pursue upon graduation by analyzing the perceptions of students. The student …

Motivation: Why Are Students Taking Dual-Credit Courses, Chyenne Haden

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

With a growing number of high school students taking advantage of dual-credit courses, the need to understand what motivating factors are at play is more important than ever. This study was conducted within an 11^th grade dual-credit history class for the purpose of discovering what motivated those students to enroll in a college level course while still in high school. Participants in the study were given the opportunity to reflect on their decision to enroll in dual-credit through a focus group and individual interviews as well as a survey. The data collected through these methods was analyzed using the …

Character Education In High School Athletics: Activities Director’S Role, Andrew P. Weiers

Leadership Education Capstones

No abstract provided.

Research Based Co-Teaching Practices And Their Realization In The New Jersey High School Classroom, Thomas K. Donovan

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study reviews co-teaching practices suggested to high school educators by their professional literature. Through a systematic analysis of published studies on the topic, a comprehensive list of suggested co-teaching practices from the past ten years was created. The study then explored the realization of these practices in the high school co-teaching classroom through surveys of 61 high school co-teachers in New Jersey. Both phases of this study assisted with the identification of opportunities for improving co-teaching practices, professional development on co-teaching, and instructional pedagogy.

The Effect Of Peer Practice On Communication Apprehension In High School Students: A Quantitative, Quasi-Experimental, Static-Group Study, Ashley Bowman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Curricula nationwide is trending toward mandating mastery and assessment of communication skills; however, little research exists to provide insight on how to support students suffering from communication apprehension. This quantitative, quasi-experimental, static-group comparison study examines the impact of peer practice on communication apprehension, public speaking anxiety, group discussion, meeting, and interpersonal communication among high school students. This study utilized a convenience sampling with a control and a treatment group; the sample consisted of 275 participants enrolled in grades nine through 12 at a large, public high school in South Carolina. McCroskey’s Personal Report of Communication Apprehension 24 (PRCA-24) (1982b) was …

Priorities: A Film Investigation Into The Quality Of Hiv Education In Ri Public High Schools, Ellis Iacono

Senior Honors Projects

HIV infection in Rhode Island is trending in a positive, downward direction as the state continues to emphasize testing and prevention. The Miriam Hospital’s HIV/AIDS Immunology Center is a well-established caregiving facility, providing medical and social support to more than 1,500 Rhode Islanders annually. Despite this progress, there are educational gaps between school districts and an apparent lack of emphasis on HIV education in some RI public high schools. I created a documentary film to better understand the state’s health education standards and how they are presented in curricula. In doing so, I conducted a series of short, on-camera interviews …

Expanding The Walls Of The Classroom: Difficulties And Successes In Expedition Based, Experiential Education, Jaime Evans

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

When planned and executed with purpose and precision, expedition based, experiential education can deepen student learning, increase engagement, and help close the achievement gap. Yet, this approach to education remains the exception, rather than the norm in a standard public high school setting. The purpose of this research project is to better understand the experiences that teachers and administrators have when planning and executing expeditions, and to explore the obstacles that prevent and/or inhibit teachers from teaching outside the classroom.

This is a qualitative research project that was conducted at three schools in the Northern California Bay Area. Teachers, administrators, …

Addressing The Lack Of Awareness Regarding The Various Resources To Finance A College Education, Corin Rau

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

While there are many different resources to assist students with paying for college, some may not understand the different types that are available for them to utilize, be unaware of the requirements that are necessary to be eligible for certain types of funding, or may accept loans that they do not actually know much about. This possible lack of knowledge may lead to financial stress during and after college. The goal of this project was to have the participants meet three learning outcomes: 1) indicate the types of funding they will use to pay for college in the future,, 2) …

An Exploratory Study Of The Role Of Soft Skills In The Training And Employability Of High School Graduates, Felita Sharmett Williams

Dissertations

Research has shown that both educators and prospective employers agreed that students needed more than just ‘hard skills.’ Instead of focusing only on students meeting the academic requirements needed to graduate with a diploma, students also needed to work toward mastering social and emotional skills such as ‘soft skills.’ This study consists of five parts; (i) seeking information from employers associated with the target school; (ii) seeking information from parents of students in the target school; (iii) the researcher crafted intervention for students based on the literature on soft skills, (iv) the researcher completed intervention in two area churches, and …

Financial Literacy In South Carolina, Connor Pestovich, Matthew Travis

Senior Theses

Being wise with finances is a skill that many people tend to overlook as important. There are days when an individual can avoid using certain subjects learned in high school, but very rarely, if ever, is there a day when topics of finance are not used. This could be anything from purchasing food, driving to work, working on a computer, or receiving a paycheck. While most would agree that the ability to handle money wisely is very important, these concepts do not have a high priority of being taught in high schools in South Carolina. More than that, many parents …

Vietnamese Teachers’ Perspectives Regarding Task-Based Approach To Vocabulary Instruction In Secondary School English As A Foreign Language Classrooms, Dung Thi Thuy Nguyen

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is considered innovative in foreign language teaching. However, the body of research on TBLT employment in vocabulary instruction is still modest. This study explored teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding vocabulary instruction using TBLT. This study examined such application among Vietnamese high-school EFL teachers (N = 60) using a mixed methods research design. Data were collected using online questionnaires.

Data analysis showed that 53.6% of the participating teachers associated vocabulary instruction with TBLT. However, regardless of their years as instructors, they still found it challenging to implement TBLT vocabulary instruction due to numerous factors. In fact, 66.2% …

A Collective Case Study Of Economically Disadvantaged High Achieving Minority Schools, Stefanie Barnes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to discover the characteristics that defined a high achieving minority population within a high, middle, and elementary school setting. The theoretical ideas included those of Dewey, Piaget and Payne. The central research question was: What are the unique characteristics of a high, middle, and elementary school with a high achieving minority student population? The characteristics were identified and examined through contemporary practices, observations, focus group discussions, interviews, surveys, and data analyzed. The participants in this research were the teachers, administrators, and students at various high, middle, and elementary school sites. The data …

Picture Books In High School: How Picture Books Impact Student Understanding Of Revolutionary Literature Curriculum, Larae Drinkhouse

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to document student engagement and understanding of American literature when picture books supplement 11th grade curriculum. The specific aim is to see what happens when 11th graders use picture books to make sense of Revolutionary era literature and persuasive rhetoric found in texts such as Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Speech to the Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry, and The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson. Student questionnaires, interviews, artifacts, and observations were analyzed. The focus group of students demonstrated changes in the overall value of picture book usage in the 11th grade classroom. …

How Does The Classroom Teacher Promote Academic Success In The Spanish Native Speaker Class: A Study Of Classroom Teachers' Perceptions Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In The Spanish Native Speaker Course At The High School Level, Michael Angelo Ayala

Dissertations

The achievement gap between Latino and White students is a significant problem, prompting the need to address the cultural conflicts that hinder relationships and compromise learning opportunities for Latino students in the United States. This exploratory qualitative study focused on Spanish Native Speaker (SNS) teachers' perceptions and use of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) at the high school level. Framed with theory related to CRP, data were collected through interviews and classroom observations with four SNS teachers who teach a SNS class at various high schools in the suburbs of Cook County. A thematic analysis and an analysis using Herrera's (2010) …

Critical Conversations With Suburban Administrative Leaders On Special Education Disproportionality: Case Studies Of Suburban School Districts, Jennifer Colleen Sterpin

Dissertations

This dissertation study explored high school administrators' beliefs about why racial disproportionality exists, sought to understand the local practices that contribute to disproportionality, and identified interventions and supports that impact disproportionality in the special education referral, eligibility, and placement process. Research shows that students who are disproportionately represented in special education are negatively affected by factors such as stigmatization, substandard instruction, zero tolerance policies, and isolation from the general education setting (Sullivan, Kozleski, & Smith, 2008). Administrators were invited to participate in this study because they have a significant impact on student achievement and system-wide changes in schools.

This research …

Teacher's Implementation Of Engaging Activities In Online High School Courses, Daniele Ann Massey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student engagement is critical to student success, graduation rates, and retention in both face-to-face and online learning environments. In an online environment, the teacher is responsible for implementing engaging instructional activities. The problem examined in this qualitative case study was the inconsistent teacher implementation of engaging instructional strategies in online courses at a school serving U.S. military-connected students. The purpose of the study was to investigate the motivation of teachers to support student engagement opportunities. Self-determination theory (SDT), which has autonomy, competence, and relatedness as main constructs, was used as the conceptual framework and the basis for the research questions. …

High School Teachers' Motivation And Strategies For Effectively Implementing Cooperative Learning, Kathleen Assini

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite being expected by administrators to use cooperative learning regularly and effectively in their instructional practices, less than one third of high school teachers in the targeted U.S. public school district implemented the practices above a proficient level, according to district data. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the motivation, strategies, and practices of a representative group of teachers at the high school who were rated highly effective on their 2016-2017 annual summative evaluation in cooperative learning. The research questions concerned the motivation of these teachers to include cooperative learning practices in their classrooms. Two additional …

The Impact Of Technology Innovations In High School Biology Courses On Science Learning For Hmong Students, Thai Xiong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hmong high school students struggle in science courses and have difficulty using technology, leaving them behind other ethnic groups in science performance. There is lack of research regarding Hmong students' struggle in technology-focused science courses, especially regarding the experiences of Hmong students with using science technology and teachers' experiences with these students. This single case study was designed to explore how technology innovations in high school biology courses impact science learning for Hmong students based on Gu, Zhu, and Guo's technology acceptance model. Both Hmong student and science teacher interviews as well as reflective journal data were collected to better …