Education Commons^™

Faculty Perceptions And Integration Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In Programs Designed For Adult Learners, Jennifer Mattingly

Dissertations of Practice

Enrollment in colleges and universities has become increasingly diverse and with the looming demographic cliff, many institutions have turned more attention to the adult learner population. However, the diversity of the adult learner has often been overlooked, including in research about how culturally responsive pedagogy is incorporated into adult learning models. The purpose of this case study was to learn about how faculty in adult learning degree programs perceive and integrate culturally responsive pedagogy into their teaching practices. The case site was a department that offers degrees specifically designed for adult learners at a small, private liberal arts institution located …

Examining The Rockford Public Schools' Master Scheduling Process As An Open System To Achieve Sustainability, Renee E K Schott

Dissertations of Practice

Master scheduling is a high-stakes process that plays a critical role in a school’s ability to effectively deliver instruction to students. Proper care is required to ensure students have equitable access to courses and staff assignments are maximizing the functionality of the schedule. Despite its significance, however, there is little extant literature or research on the topic of master scheduling itself or its agents, Master Schedulers. The scope of this research strives to fill that gap by analyzing the master scheduling processes of a Midwest, urban, public school district through the lens of Systems Theory. Through this study, strengths and …

In Order For My Voice To Be Heard, I Had To Create My Own Space: A Critical Narrative Analysis Of Black College Student Success In Creative Majors, Rachel Horton

Dissertations of Practice

This critical narrative inquiry explored the strengths of Black undergraduate students who study the creative arts. The research centered on the unique wealth that Black students bring to their institutions, as highlighted through the Community Cultural Wealth model. The study found that participants: used aspirational capital to fuel them in attending college and pursuing the arts; used linguistic capital in general, and code switching in particular, to navigate various cultures and spaces, to facilitate hard conversations on topics such as racism, and to ensure that their voices were heard and respected; networked with other artists to create strong work through …

"It’S Hard To Be An Enemy Of Student Success”: A Qualitative Case Study Of A Cultural Shift Towards Student Success, Lisa R. Lawless

Dissertations of Practice

Literature on how colleges change is limited and theoretical in nature. The purpose of this qualitative case student was to explore how Retention University changed their culture and norms to increase student persistence and retention. Data was collected with semi-structured interviews with 16 participants at a large, public university in the southeast. Four primary themes emerged from data: (1) leaders play an important role in fostering organizational change; (2) leaders need to be strategic about how they foster change; (3) leaders need to consider how organizational contexts might hinder change; (4) and value the people and process. Implications for further …

Implementing The Least Restrictive Environment Through Co-Teaching: The Role Of Administrative Support, Maureen Hatfield

Dissertations of Practice

This dissertation investigates the perspectives of educators with the aim of enhancing support for the practice of co-teaching. Co-teaching, an inclusive instructional strategy involving collaboration between general and special educators, holds promise for diverse student populations. However, its effective implementation requires adequate support structures. This research employs a qualitative approach, employing interviews grounded in narrative inquiry and supplemented by a corresponding survey. The key findings illuminate critical areas where principals can enhance support for co-teaching practices within their schools. Through analysis, three primary categories emerged: resources, autonomy, and efficacy. General and special educators identified these areas as pivotal for successful …

Guerreras (Women Warriors): Latina Faculty Utilizing Their Cultural Capital To Advance Transformative Change, Dora E. Escobar

Dissertations of Practice

This qualitative study embedded the Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework within the critical counter-narrative methodology to examine the lived experiences of 11 Latina faculty from CA community colleges as they navigated their campuses in the quest to transform their institutions. Drawing from their cultural capital and the methodological approach, four distinct themes emerged from their counter-narratives: (1) through critical reflection, their awakening to the oppressive educational system that marginalizes communities of color afforded them the opportunity to use their transformative resistant capital and aspirational capital as the driver for transformative change; (2) in challenging the status-quo, they encountered barriers centered …

Driving On Empty: Exploring Principal Burnout And Intent To Turnover, Colleen Cook

Dissertations of Practice

This study used a quantitative design analyzing extant data from the NTPS distributed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This is a national survey distributed to principals to gather information about the principalship, individual factors, and organizational factors for the school they lead. Using extant data, analyses were conducted to examine the relationships among individual factors, situational factors, and overall levels of burnout.

Overall, 17.5% to 19% of the public school principals across the nation reported experiencing feelings of burnout. While there was a moderate level of burnout reported, principals were generally satisfied with their role, reporting an …

Can High School Gpa Predict College-Level Course Success At Community Colleges?, Joseph M. Bergman

Dissertations of Practice

ABSTRACT

CAN HIGH SCHOOL GPA PREDICT COLLEGE-LEVEL COURSE SUCCESS AT COMMUNITY COLLEGE?

Joseph M. Bergman, Ed.D.

Department of Counseling and Higher Education

Northern Illinois University, 2024

Xiaodan Hu, Director

In an effort to find a more convenient, lower-cost college readiness measure to increase access to college-level courses for more students without increasing student stress and sacrificing student success, Aurum Community College piloted the use of high school GPA as a college readiness measure while continuing to use the established standardized placement exam. Based on the placement measure used, this quantitative study examined student success in an introductory college-level composition course, …

Mentorship Matters: Shaping Tomorrow's Leaders Today, Thomas Davidson

Dissertations of Practice

This dissertation explores the advantages and disadvantages of both tightly and loosely defined principal mentorship programs from the perspective of secondary principals, focusing on how they assess the effectiveness of these programs during their inaugural year. The dissertation is divided into three distinct papers. Paper One reviews existing literature on mentoring, teacher mentorship, principal mentorship, and principal turnover. Paper Two presents an empirical study that investigates how first-year principals view the effectiveness of different mentorship program structures. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 first-year principals; 8 participated in the Illinois Principals Association mentorship program, while 4 had a mentor …

An Exploration Of Teacher-Student Writing Conferences In A Fourth-Grade Classroom, Tracy Beling

Dissertations of Practice

Through the theoretical lens of Vygotsky’s social development theory, this qualitative research study sought to provide insight into the suggestions a fourth-grade teacher provided during teacher-student writing conferences, the changes students made to their writing, and how students internalized the information learned during the conferences. Over the course of five assignments, three students participated in teacher-student writing conferences that were recorded for later review. The teacher received no training in writing conferences but used his own professional development to learn how to implement the writing conferences. Student writing samples were collected and analyzed both with-in and cross cases. Data collected …

Investigating The Perceptions Of The Professional Development Experience Of Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (Siop) In A Pk-8th Grade District, Joseph Trsar

Dissertations of Practice

INVESTIGATING THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE OF SHELTERED INSTRUCTION OBSERVATION PROTOCOL

(SIOP) IN A PK-8TH GRADE DISTRICT

This dissertation explores the perceptions of staff members who have received professional development in Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) and their motivation to implement the strategies learned during the training. There is an increasing number of non-native English speakers in the Illinois education system and a large emphasis on how to best serve this growing population. Providing educators with professional development in SIOP is one strategy many districts utilize to meet this growing population. This dissertation investigated the experiences of several …

Report To The Presidents Of Church Of Christ Affiliated Colleges And Universities, Trace S. Hebert

Annual Reports to the Presidents of Church of Christ Affiliated Colleges and Universities

No abstract provided.

Narrative Language Development In Deaf Children As Assessed Through American Sign Language: A Comparative Analysis Utilizing Retells And Original Stories, Cathy Milliren

Theses and Dissertations

Despite advances in hearing technology, legislative changes, and instructional strategies, Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH) students continue to demonstrate language delays on standard assessments. Although there are assessments that evaluate a child’s American Sign Language (ASL) proficiency, research thus far has assessed the language structure of D/HH students through their use of English not ASL. Through a convergent mixed methods study, the Narrative Scoring Scheme (NSS) was used to compare the scores of D/HH fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students with their hearing peers to compare their story structure with original stories and retells. Using t tests and multiple linear regression analyses, …

In Support Of A Read-Aloud Accommodation: A Meta Analysis Study, Sarah Elizabeth Ryan

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the read-aloud accommodation benefits for students with disabilities (SWD) and students without disabilities (SWOD). In this study, researchers recommend ways in which to remove encumbrances faced by SWD in reading comprehension. In general, research has shown that both SWD and SWOD have met some degree of success from the read-aloud accommodations. Further, this meta-analysis will attempt to reveal important factors that influence the effects of read-aloud accommodations. For example, how the accommodation effect size influences the subject area of reading versus that of math. This study will also show that the effect of read-aloud accommodations is significantly …

Defining Scribbles: How Do Early Childhood Teachers Perceive Scribbles As A Part Of Emergent Literacy?, Sandy Dellalonga

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to understand early childhood teachers’ perceptions surrounding the topic of childhood scribbles as they relate to emergent literacy. Sociocultural theory provided a foundation for this research because of its focus on relationships between children, other children, and teachers to foster learning experiences (Gee, 2011; Vygotsky, 1978, 1998). Additionally, social semiotic theory also guided this research because childhood scribbles represent children’s “signs” which can also influence communication and literacy skills (Kress, 1997). The participants were nine preschool, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade teachers (N=9) who volunteered to complete an open-ended survey, follow-up …

Phenomenological Exploration Of K-4 Specialized Literacy Professionals’ Experiences And Self-Efficacy Implementing Rti Within An Mtss Framework For At-Risk Students, Megan Vitale

Theses and Dissertations

This transcendental phenomenological study, grounded in Bandura’s self-efficacy theory (1997), investigates K-4 specialized literacy professionals’ (SLPs) experiences and perceptions of implementing Response to Intervention (RTI) within a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework. Data collected from interviews and self-reported journal entries of nine “academic instructional specialists” provide a comprehensive understanding of their roles, responsibilities, experiences, and the factors that shape their self-efficacy in elementary education. The findings highlight the critical role that specialized literacy professionals fulfill in meeting the diverse needs of students through evidence-based, systematic interventions. Their responsibilities extend beyond direct instruction to encompass continuous assessment, progress monitoring, and …

Teacher Retention And Quality In The Four-Day School Week, Andrew Camp

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The four-day school week is a school calendar that has become increasingly common following the COVID-19 pandemic. Proponents of the calendar often claim that offering teachers a regular 3-day weekend will help schools better retain existing teachers and recruit new teachers to their district without incurring additional costs due to higher salaries or other pecuniary benefits. However, there is scant empirical evidence assessing these claims. I use difference-in-differences and synthetic difference-in-differences models to assess the impact of four-day school week calendars on teacher retention and teacher quality in Arkansas. I find evidence that the calendar may help retain teachers who …

Codebook For Classroom Observation Training Package, Hilary Hollingsworth, Debbie Wong, Elizabeth Cassity

Education Analytics Service

This Codebook is part of a classroom observation training package developed by the Australian Council of Educational Research to enable those observing early primary classes to make consistent and reliable observations. It is based on a purpose-built classroom observation tool developed to collect data on changes to teaching practice and a training program for local researchers. The Codebook offers detailed descriptions of the items to be observed during a lesson, including examples of relevant actions or activities. Observers use the Codebook to make decisions when coding.

Kindergarten Teachers’ Perspectives About Literacy And The Relevance Of Assessments: Impact On Students’ Success And First Grade Transition, Claudia T. Watts

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to investigate kindergarten teachers’ beliefs about literacy and the relevance of assessments at the kindergarten level, the literacy skills kindergarteners should possess, how these skills are acquired, to what extent their beliefs about literacy influenced their instructional methodology, and their perspectives on the role of parental involvement. This study was guided by six research questions. The participants consisted of twenty kindergarten teachers from various elementary public schools within a large and diverse school district in Virginia. The participants are from two ethnic backgrounds and had ranges of experience teaching kindergarten. Over a …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Experience Of Machine Translation Use Among Chinese Undergraduates, Corey T. Larsen

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study explores the experiences of machine translation (MT) use among Chinese undergraduates in a Chinese-foreign, English medium instruction (EMI), joint degree program in southern China. Advancements in MT technology have raised questions about its application in academic settings, particularly in foreign and second language learning. Educators express concerns over potential misuse for cheating and its potential impact on language development, despite acknowledging it may also offer some benefits for language learners depending on the setting and the students’ level of L2 proficiency. Using translanguaging as a theoretical framework, this study aims to shed light on these concerns by …

Hagwon: Shadow Education In The Korean American Community, Minkyu Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Asian and Asian American students are achieving academic success at disproportionate rates, even when faced with low social capital (i.e., English is not the primary language spoken at home) and high rates of poverty (especially in urban settings like New York City). A contributing factor to their academic success is shadow education. Shadow education (SE) is defined as systemized learning that occurs outside of compulsory schooling, at private cost, with the objective of guiding students through and providing them with a competitive edge in school admissions—often with a focus on high-stakes standardized academic exams (Bray, 1999, 2013). In Korean, shadow …

Decodable Deliberations In Early Reading Instruction: A Mixed-Methods Study Of First-Grade Teachers’ Perceptions, Selection, And Use Of Decodable Texts, Patricia Gallery

Theses and Dissertations

The fundamental significance of literacy achievement cannot be overstated. However, the 2022 National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) divulges alarming findings, with a mere 33 percent of the nation’s fourth graders performing at or above proficiency in reading (NAEP, 2022). Exploring the nexus of research-informed pedagogy and practice is imperative to disrupt this deleterious trajectory. This mixed-method study will examine how first-grade teachers select and use texts for beginning reading instruction with a critical lens on teachers' perceptions of decodable text to fully understand the complex intersection of intentionality and attitude when choosing texts for early reading instruction. This study …

What Motivates Authors To Include Religious Identity In Children's Picture Books?, Kenneth J. Eiker

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores children's authors' experiences of and motivations for including religious and spiritual themes in their picture books. It investigates the intricate connection between authors' backgrounds, including their cultural, spiritual, or religious, and familial roots, and how these elements permeate their writing. The study examines these authors' lived experiences and personal narratives, uncovering how their unique identities shape the portrayal of complex spiritual or religious themes in children's literature. Across the interviews, several themes were identified, including family teachings, religious upbringing, and personal spirituality. Authors draw from a wealth of personal experiences, such as Matt de la Peña's Christian …

Read-Alouds For Social-Emotional Learning In Preschool: A Mixed-Methods Study, Sara C. Kanner

Theses and Dissertations

Covid-19 has caused a rise in mental health issues, and focusing on social-emotional learning can help students learn the skills they need to lead healthy, successful lives. Teaching social-emotional skills in pre-K and kindergarten can provide students with these important skills in their formative years. In this convergent mixed-methods design study, the researcher explored the self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes of teachers towards using classroom read-alouds to teach social-emotional learning, and how those teacher self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes relate to the amount of time they spend on classroom read-alouds for social-emotional learning. Guided by Social Learning and Self-Efficacy theories, the researcher …

Exploring Science And Mathematics Teachers’ Professional Identity Development During Arts Integration Processes, Lulu Sun

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, studies on STEAM education or arts integration focus on students’ experiences rather than teachers’ challenges. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to set an example for policymakers, educators, and researchers, to provide better support for art-integrated mathematics and biology teachers by understanding their professional identity growth and their informal art learning. In this qualitative study, I employ case study as my research methodology by conducting interviews, observation, and physical artifacts. My sample consists of a high school mathematics teacher and a biology teacher who bring art to the teaching. My research findings highlight the significance of artistic thinking …

Teacher Perceptions Of Their Preparedness To Teach Early Literacy Skills Using Developmentally Appropriate Practices In Universal Prekindergarten Programs, Tara A. Sokol

Theses and Dissertations

Early childhood education is a dynamic field, constantly evolving with the introduction of new curriculums, initiatives and programs. The classroom teacher is the constant, providing essential early literacy instruction amidst all of these changes. Universal Pre-Kindergarten is a vital program that provides access to quality early childhood education for New York City residents. According to the Office of Early Childhood Education, there were nearly 68,000 students enrolled in these free, full-day, high-quality programs in the 2018-2019 school year (2022). Universal Pre-Kindergarten is described as using Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) as the basis for its teachings. Educators are responsible for using …

Perceptions Of Suburban Middle School Content Teachers On The Importance Of Literacy In Their Classroom: An Action Research Study, Sarah Larson Fennelly

Theses and Dissertations

Students are starting middle school without the foundational reading skills necessary to access the texts in their content area classes, such as science and social studies. This is causing great frustration for the teachers who feel unsure of how to help these students because they did not learn about how students learn to read in their teacher preparation courses. So, would providing teachers with the information they need about how students learn to read, foundational reading skills, and strategies to support struggling readers, change secondary teachers’ perceptions about reading and how they can help their students? This action research interviewed …

The Potential Relationships Between Utilizing Quarterly Assessments For Assessing Adolescents’ English Skills As A Predictive Indicator Of Students English Lanugage Arts Regents Scores, Tyler John Aracena

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative research study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of quarterly assessments administered quarterly to students in a large school district in the northeastern United States and their impact on students’ subject-specific corresponding Regents Examination Scores. The study aims to determine if a correlational relationship exists between the independent variable, students’ scores on quarterly assessments, and the effect on the dependent variable, students’ scores on the English Language Arts Regents examination. The conceptual framework supports this research, whereas a model represents the theory that the independent variable impacts the dependent variable. This research is grounded in a critique of the …

Exploring The Influence Of Culturally Relevant Texts On Black Male College Students’ Literacy Practices: A Case Study, Beverly A. Fields

Theses and Dissertations

African American males often experience literacy challenges in the American school system. Texts related to their lives are rarely available in the curriculum, and some educators need the skillset or strategies to engage these learners with texts related to their lives. Many studies have documented that exposure to culturally relevant texts may enhance African American males’ literacy practices. This qualitative case study explored the following research question: How do culturally relevant texts influence college-age African American males’ literacy practices? Data were collected from the instructor and student interviews, field notes, and document analysis. Seven African American college-age students were recruited …

English Language Learners: A Quantitative Study Of Digital Home Access And Its Relationship To Reading Achievement In Grades Four And Eight, Schalea S. Sanders

Theses and Dissertations

Today’s world is highly digitized and requires digital access and literacy for educational, professional, and personal success. Students from traditionally disadvantaged backgrounds, such as English Language Learners and those from households experiencing low-income, often face additional challenges accessing digital devices and high-speed Internet at home. Researchers have yet to fully examine how digital access relates to reading achievement among students in the U.S. K-12 public school system. The current study used correlational secondary data analysis to examine relationships among home access to digital devices and high-speed Internet and student reading achievement outcomes. In addition, the association between digital home access …