Education Commons^™

Critically Teaching Social Studies Using An Ethnic Studies Framework: Native American Representation In The Elementary School Curriculum, Erich Schottstaedt

Education | Master's Theses

The research problem this qualitative study addresses is how Native American history, and European settler colonialism, can be critically taught in a developmentally appropriate manner, avoiding eurocentrism and whitewashing. Most research on Ethnic Studies and teacher preparation is focused on the high school level. Traditional elementary education tends to both romanticize and decontextualize Native American history, focusing on Native Americans as people who only lived in the distant past. Colonialism is often sanitized in Social Studies curriculum, with the perspectives of European settlers as the dominant frame of reference, where Native Americans are seen as secondary actors (Styres, 2019; Valdez, …

Block Versus Traditional Scheduling In High School: Teacher And Student Attitudes, Martin James Spence

Dissertations

The focus of this study was to identify the preferred schedule type (block or traditional) for students and teachers in high schools. Additionally, the purpose of the study was to explore why high schools should assess how time is used during the school day. Survey responses about time management practices of students and teachers at one high school were reported, and implications for how to construct a schedule based on the survey responses were explored. Students and teachers with experience in block and traditional scheduling formats were surveyed for the study. Participants received an online survey and were asked to …

Teacher Attitudes Toward Technology Integration In A One-To-One Mobile Device Middle-School Classroom, Gary L. Mosley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As the classroom climate transforms into a more technology-enhanced environment with increased device availability, there is a growing need to understand how attitudes among teachers may be influenced by the use of these devices in the classroom. Because of current technology trends, device integration is essential to meet education goals (Keengwe, Schnellert, & Mills, 2012). Research suggests that the use of mobile devices in the classroom along with the expectations for teachers to integrate these devices into their curriculum can have significant effects on attitudes and behaviors among teachers and therefore, should be studied (Sahin et al., 2017; Moore, 2016; …

Teachers’ Self-Perceived Attitudes And Self-Efficacy Of Instructing English Learners In Middle Tennessee, Angela Hughes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As the population of English learners (ELs) continues to grow, so does the achievement gap between ELs and non-EL peers. Educators must analyze what could be contributing factors to Els’ low performance, such as misconceptions about ELs, teachers’ attitudes toward teaching ELs, and how teachers perceive themselves as able to instruct ELs effectively. Further research was needed to examine ELs in the general education classroom and teachers’ attitudes to determine when and why teachers feel less or more self-efficacy teaching ELs. The purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze 74 general education teachers’ sense of self-efficacy for teaching English …

Encouraging Languages Other Than English In First-Year Writing Courses: Experiences From Linguistically Diverse Writers, Alyssa G. Cavazos

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

First-Year Writing (fyw) courses are ideal writing spaces where students' diverse identities and language resources can flourish for specific rhetorical purposes. While research has focused on multilingual students' language and writing practices, little attention has focused on self-identified multilingual students' perceptions of language difference in fyw. Because fyw courses are an integral space in students' writing experiences and an ideal place to counter English-only ideologies, this article focuses on self-identified multilingual students' perceptions of how they negotiate language practices in academic contexts in higher education and how they perceive the role of languages other than English in fyw. Self-identified multilingual …

Modeling As Teaching: Preparing Preservice Teachers To Implement Universal Design For Learning, Eric Jordan Moore

Jordan Moore

Increasing diversity and growing achievement gaps among diverse groups in U.S. public schools has resulted in increased pressure on teacher education programs to prepare teachers effectively to meet the needs of contemporary students. Research is needed to establish best practices of teacher education that carry forward into future practice. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has been proposed as a framework to help address the need for more flexible learning environments, but limited research has been conducted to determine best practices for supporting preservice teachers in learning this complex framework. In this dissertation study, I examine the notion that education research …

Catching The Sotl Bug: An Interview With Librarian Lauren Hays, Lauren Hays, Kelly R. Hangauer

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Innovative Pedagogy

This interview with academic librarian, Lauren Hays, offers insight into the relationship between librarians and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). In this interview, Ms. Hays discusses her doctoral work regarding academic instruction librarians’ involvement with SoTL and how it affects their teacher identities and instructional strategies. While sharing her own research on the topic, Ms. Hays also offers background information regarding SoTL, including such influential educators as Pat Hutchings and Ernest Boyer. Ms. Hays proposes SoTL as an ideal way for librarians to learn about teaching in higher education, and recommends SoTL as an avenue for librarians to …

Modeling As Teaching: Preparing Preservice Teachers To Implement Universal Design For Learning, Eric Jordan Moore

Doctoral Dissertations

Increasing diversity and growing achievement gaps among diverse groups in U.S. public schools has resulted in increased pressure on teacher education programs to prepare teachers effectively to meet the needs of contemporary students. Research is needed to establish best practices of teacher education that carry forward into future practice. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has been proposed as a framework to help address the need for more flexible learning environments, but limited research has been conducted to determine best practices for supporting preservice teachers in learning this complex framework. In this dissertation study, I examine the notion that education research …

Educational Complexity And Professional Development: Teachers' Need For Metacognitive Awareness, Andrew Hughes

Educational Leadership & Technology Faculty Publications

The study was designed to investigate technology and engineering teachers’ metacognitive awareness during specific established teacher practices. The study had a sample size of 18. There were six participants in three groups. Group 1 consisted of teachers that actively participated in Transforming Teaching through Implementing Inquiry (T2I2) professional development program. Group 2 consisted of teachers that were selected for but did not actively participate in T2I2 professional development system. Group 3 consisted of teachers that completed the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards professional development program. To measure the metacognitive awareness of each group, a semi-structured open-ended interview was used. …

Predictors Of Attitudes Of Private School Teachers Toward Inclusion Of Students With Special Needs In New Mexico, Debbra O'Hara

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion of students with special needs affect communication with students, curricular decisions, selection and implementation of teaching strategies, and professional development needs. Most research in the United States has focused on the attitudes of public school teachers who must follow federal special education law and regulations, though international research on inclusion has included studies of both public and private school teachers’ attitudes. Private school teachers experience differing conditions (legal, economic, organizational, philosophical, etc.) and may hold differing attitudes toward inclusion from those of their public school peers. Determining these attitudes will help private school personnel to address …

The Impact Of White Teachers On The Academic Achievement Of Black Students: An Exploratory Qualitative Analysis, Bruce Douglas, Chance Lewis, Adrian Douglas, Malcom Scott, Dorothy Garrison-Wade

Dorothy Garrison-Wade

In today's school systems, students of color, particularly in urban settings, represent the majority student populations (Lewis, Hancock, James, & Larke, in press). Interestingly, the educators--teachers and administrators--that comprise these settings are predominately White, and, in turn, the students of color commonly face pressures that students who do not share the racial and cultural background of the educators do not (Landsman & Lewis, 2006). This study on black student perceptions of their White teachers is grounded in Milner's (2006) theoretical assumptions, which focus on problems that White teachers commonly experience when teaching students of color, particularly African American students in …

Latino Language Minority Students In Indiana: Trends, Conditions, And Challenges. Special Report, Bradley Levinson, Katie Bucher, Lauren Harvey, Rebecca Martinez, Becky Perez, Russell Skiba, Bryn Harris, Peter Cowen, Choong-Guen Chung

Bryn Harris

This Special Report surveys existing conditions for Latino [superscript 1] language minority students in Indiana's schools and identifies the most significant problems and challenges for improving their learning. The report opens with an overview of recent demographic shifts in Indiana's K-12 student population, and makes an important distinction between Indiana's long-standing and newcomer Latino populations; the latter account for the dramatic increase in the language minority population. The report then considers the culturally competent psychological assessment of ELL students. School psychologists, especially, bear the responsibility of balancing formal with informal assessments that take into account the unique cultural characteristics of …

Identifying Gifted And Talented English Language Learners: A Case Study, Bryn Harris, Jonathan Plucker, Kelly Rapp, Rebecca Martinez

Bryn Harris

With the sharp rise in students who are English language learners (ELL), research on identifying and serving the needs of gifted and talented (GT) ELL students offers fertile ground for best practice guidelines. The current study describes GT/ELL identification practices based on an in-depth case study of one diverse school district in the Midwest. School personnel, parents, and students participated in separate semistructured group interviews about their experiences regarding GT/ELL identification. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed for thematic content. Additionally, district and state policy documents about GT and ELL identification practices were reviewed. Results highlight the theoretical and practical …

Family Portraits: Past And Present Representations Of Parents In Special Education Text Books, Dianne L. Ferguson, Philip M. Ferguson, Joanne Kim, Corrine Li

Philip M. Ferguson

This paper analyses the descriptions of families of children with disabilities as contained in introductory special education texts over the last 50 years. These text books are typically used in pre-service teacher education courses as surveys of the education of ‘exceptional children’. The textbooks reflect the mainstream professional assumptions of the era about topics such as disability, special education, inclusion, and family/school linkages. However, they also shape the assumptions of the next generation of educators about these same topics. The paper summarises the results of a qualitative document analysis of a sample of these textbooks from two different eras. The …

Engineering A Dynamic Science Learning Environment For K-12 Teachers, Patricia Hardré, Mark Nanny, Hazem Refai, Chen Ling, Janis Slater

Dr. Chen Ling

The present study follows a cohort of 17 K-12 teachers through a six-week resident learning experience in science and engineering, and on into the planning and implementation of applications for their classrooms. This Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program was examined using the strategic approach of design-based research, with its fluid, adaptive management of the complexity of authentic learning "in situ" and its attentive documentation of expected and unexpected events, in process and products, to capture the richness of teachers' and mentors' experiences. Research on effective teacher professional development, adult learning, situated cognition, and learning transfer were utilized to inform …

Internationalization In Canadian Higher Education: A Case Study Of The Gaps Between Official Discourses And On-The-Ground Realities, Marianne A. Larsen

Education Publications

Abstract

This case study about one university’s internationalization initiative, known as North Goes South, provides a nuanced and finely grained understanding of what internationalization looks like in practice. The study was guided by a desire to probe the perceived impact of a Canadian–East African internationalization initiative on students, faculty, and Tanzanian community members. The article begins with a brief review of the literature on internationalization and higher education in Canada. The rationale for using a case-study methodology is presented, along with the background and context of the case. Following an outline of the research methods, the study results are reviewed …

Program Evaluation Of Behavior Management Training For Preschool Teachers: Teacher Outcomes, Danielle Marie Young

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Teachers are required to manage difficult behaviors within their classrooms with limited support and resources. Additionally, there is not a lot of research that has been completed looking at teacher attitudes or how children’s behavior impacts them personally. The current study looks at teacher outcomes based upon an evidence-based teacher training program. The teacher training was implemented at the Western Kentucky Head Start. Teachers’ job stress and self-efficacy were measured before the training, after the training, in the fall, and in the spring. In addition, standardized observations were completed, looking at classroom climate and management, in the fall and spring …

Attitudinal Factors Of Teachers Regarding Arts Integration, Sara Elston Williams

Dissertations

The integration of the arts provides an enriched learning and teaching environment where teachers become facilitators of meaningful and engaging activities and lessons that increase student achievement. This study examined the attitudinal factors possessed by educators in schools who participate in the Whole Schools Initiative and those who do not. This study also reported the perceptions of arts integration by classroom teachers who participate in the Whole Schools Initiative and those who do not participate in the Whole Schools Initiative. The Teaching With the Arts Survey (TWAS) was used to determine if statistically significant differences exist on teacher attitudes, self-efficacy, …

Complementary And Alternative Medicine: Attitudes And Use Among Health Educators In The United States, Ping Johnson, Jennifer Priestley, Kandice Porter, Jane Petrillo

Jennifer L. Priestley

Background: Interest in and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States is increasing. However, CAM remains an area of nascency for researchers and western practitioners. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine U.S. health educators' attitudes toward CAM and their use of common CAM therapies. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among members of a professional health educator listserv. Results: Health educators generally have positive attitudes toward CAM and about 90% have used at least one CAM therapy in the last 12 months. Differences in CAM attitudes and use were significant, with females …

Family Portraits: Past And Present Representations Of Parents In Special Education Text Books, Dianne L. Ferguson, Philip M. Ferguson, Joanne Kim, Corrine Li

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This paper analyses the descriptions of families of children with disabilities as contained in introductory special education texts over the last 50 years. These text books are typically used in pre-service teacher education courses as surveys of the education of ‘exceptional children’. The textbooks reflect the mainstream professional assumptions of the era about topics such as disability, special education, inclusion, and family/school linkages. However, they also shape the assumptions of the next generation of educators about these same topics. The paper summarises the results of a qualitative document analysis of a sample of these textbooks from two different eras. The …

Employment Of An Informal Educational Mathematical Facility To Lower Math Anxiety And Improve Teacher And Student Attitudes Towards Understanding Mathematics, Vicki Adams

Dissertations

Students do not pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) because of a lack of ability, but rather a lack of positive experiences with mathematics. Research has concluded that attitudes in math directly influence success in mathematics. As many as 75% of high school graduates in the United States suffer from mild to severe forms of math anxiety. The improvement of student achievement in mathematics in the United States lags behind that of many other nations in the world. Efforts to improve student achievement in mathematics have focused on developing effective teachers and teaching practices, creating state and …

Cycle Three English Language Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Ict Use In Teaching English Language In The Uae., Ali Hussein Haidar Mohammed

Theses

This study tried to examine the perceptions of Cycle Three language teachers’ (ELTs) of their Informative and Communicative Technology (ICT) use. It places a specific focus on awareness of the use of technology in Abu Dhabi Education Council schools in the UAE. The study was conducted on randomly selected 73 Cycle Three English language teachers; male and female, native and nonnative of different years of experience in teaching English language. A questionnaire and observations were adapted from the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS) and Performance Indicators. Results were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SSPS), and …

Teachers' Beliefs Towards Grade Retention In A Rural Elementary School, Sarah Elizabeth Terry

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study examined the beliefs of kindergarten through fourth grade teachers regarding effects of retention on academic, emotional, and social areas, as well as alternative interventions to retention. The teachers were asked to take a web-based pre-survey on grade retention. After completing the initial survey they were then asked to watch a web-based PowerPoint presentation on research-based evidence regarding retention before taking a web-based postsurvey. The results of this study revealed that teacher‟s beliefs towards grade retention were not significantly changed when presented with a research-based PowerPoint presentation regarding the negative effects of retention practices, as measured by the pre …

Attitudes And Perceptions Of High School Mathematics Teachers Regarding Students' Cognitive-Metacognitive Skills, Peter A. Babich

Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to identify the attitudes and perceptions held by select teachers in a Midwest high school regarding teaching strategies related to students solving mathematics problems from a cognitive-metacognitive approach. The case study utilized a questionnaire regarding instructional practices and teacher beliefs and opinions as well as semi-structured interviews. Teachers commented on definitions and beliefs regarding thinking about thinking, thinking mathematically, and conceptual and procedural understanding. Furthermore, teachers discussed teaching strategies utilized to teach thinking about thinking in mathematics, effects of school-wide metacognitive training efforts, and usage of student reflection activities. The specificity and sophistication of …

What Works In Race-Conscious Teacher Education? Reflections From Educators In The Field, Kerri Ullucci

Education Faculty Publications

This paper presents a study about how schools of education impact their students' ability to be successful in urban schools. What experiences--if any--in teacher education programs shape the development of race-conscious White teachers? To address her goal, the author conducted a qualitative study of six teachers currently employed in urban schools. All were considered excellent White teachers of children of color. Through a series of interviews, the author explored the ways race, culture, and diversity were addressed in their teacher education programs and whether the experiences were meaningful. Participants interacted with schools and communities in several different ways during their …

Dance Your Way Into Culture: A Teacher’S Experience Using Dance In The Foreign Language Classroom, Jannely Almonte Ortiz

MA TESOL Collection

Although dance is an expression of culture, it has seldom been used in the foreign language classroom as a teaching tool. Using Patrick Moran’s Cultural Knowings Framework as an organizational foundation throughout the paper, the author shares why this topic became of great interest to her. She also addresses research and perceptions on movement and dance in an educational environment, and attempts to describe benefits and ways of including movement and dance in any foreign language classroom. Though this paper focuses on the author’s experience using merengue music and dance in the teaching of Spanish, it is intended for any …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Strategy Based Reading Instruction For Reading Comprehension, Katherine D. Gibson

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Strategy based reading instruction helps teachers differentiate the teaching of reading. It also supports many types of readers by explicitly teaching and modeling reading comprehension strategies. The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of strategy based reading instruction for improving student reading comprehension. Additionally, it examines teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of this approach. The review of the literature supports the idea that strategy based reading instruction is an effective way to improve reading comprehension. Teachers in kindergarten through eighth grade were surveyed on their perceptions of strategy based reading instruction's effectiveness for improving reading comprehension. Results …

Exploring Classroom Management With Young Learners, Amin Ismail Abdullah

MA TESOL Collection

This paper explores the definition of classroom management and establishes the author’s definition of classroom management and the underlying principles behind it. Thereafter, it examines some aspects of the author’s system of classroom management, specifically, the classroom as a Safe Space, behavior management, the teacher as a facilitator and the classroom environment. Finally, the paper concludes with an appeal to educators to reflect on their own classroom management practices and offers resources for those wishing to further explore the subject.

The Impact Of School Climate On School Outcomes, J. Eric Tubbs, Mary Garner

Faculty and Research Publications

The purpose of this article is to provide insight into an elementary school whose climate issues appear to plague and impact it's performance as measured by it's Annually Yearly Progress (AYP). The Northwest Georgia elementary school is located in a rural school system approximately 50 miles northwest of Atlanta, Georgia. A review of the literature suggests school climate can affect many areas and people within schools. It further suggests that positive interpersonal relationships and optimal learning opportunities in all demographic environments can increase school achievement levels and reduce maladaptive behaviors (McEvoy & Welker, 2000). Providing a positive and supportive work …

Does Standards-Based Teacher Evaluation Improve Schools? An Investigation Of Teacher Perceptions Of Appraisal Systems, Joseph A. Batchelor

Master of Education Research Theses

Three years after implementing a standards-based teacher evaluation system in a private K-12 school, research was conducted to determine what attitudes and perceptions teachers had on the effectiveness of the system. The survey includes questions about the teacher evaluation process and the goals of the test school in implementing the process. The goals for adopting the standards-based teacher evaluation system were (1) increased student learning, (2) improving instruction, (3) developing a mentoring program, (4) focusing professional development, and (5) facilitating collegiality. The sample for the survey included 87 teachers (group AB) from schools in the Southeast, of which 21 (group …