Education Commons^™

Inclusive Practices In Catholic Education: A Restorative Realignment, Carla Vellutini

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Catholic schools need to examine the barriers to, benefits of, and interventions needed when implementing inclusive practices into their institutions. Catholic schools are experiencing an increase in enrolled students identified with learning and behavioral needs; however, they frequently lack resources and expertise to provide the necessary support for these students and their families to succeed. Research studies identify teacher attitudes and perceptions regarding inclusive practices as vital factors to create successful culture change.

A single group pretest-posttest design, incorporated into this action research study, measured the attitudes and stress of teachers before and after a 14-week long intervention for eight …

The Characteristics Of Senior Leadership Teams In High Performing Western Australian Catholic Composite And Secondary Schools, Daniel Michael Groenewald

Theses

The purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions of principals, senior leadership team members, and middle leaders regarding the characteristics of senior leadership teams (SLTs) in high-performing Catholic Education Western Australian composite and secondary schools (CCSS). The study investigated the characteristics that enhanced and inhibited SLTs. It explored the resources and professional learning that could improve SLTs and the role of the principal in the SLT. This research is the first study of SLTs in CCSS.

The study's literature review identified six areas of literature that formed the conceptual framework of this thesis. These six areas were: the …

The Perceptions Of Year 5 And 6 Students, Their Teachers And The School Principal Of Their Australian Identity And The School's Role In Developing Students' Australian Identity., Renae Nahajski

Theses

The aim of this qualitative research was to investigate the perceptions of Year 5 and 6 students, their teachers and the school principal of their Australian identity and the school’s role in the development of Australian identity. The study explores participants’ perceptions of their own identity and investigates where and when students feel they are taught about Australian identity.

The research also investigates where and when the principal and teachers feel the school develops students’ Australian identity. The review of the literature highlighted three areas that formed the conceptual framework for the study. The three areas were national identity; curriculum; …

Evaluation Of The Dynamic Indicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills (Dibels 8th Edition) Measures For Use With The Energy Express Summer Literacy Program, Maria Boki

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The present study examines the suitability of the DIBELS 8^th edition assessment for use within the scope and context of the Energy Express summer literacy program. The 6-week summer program helps children in grades K-5 from rural and low-income West Virginia communities improve or maintain their reading levels over the summer months. Standard, grade-appropriate DIBELS 8^th subtests were administered to 1,065 participants at the beginning and end of Summer 2022. The resulting pre- and post-scores were cross-referenced with demographic data and attendance rates from 20 counties and 35 sites in West Virginia. They were then analyzed for correlations …

Understanding Being A Special Education Teacher In The Era Of Covid-19: Teacher Perceptions Two Years In, Amanda N. Walkup

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The COVID-19 pandemic not only caused a disruption to the education of children, but has contributed to the ever-growing teacher shortage in the United States. In an effort to better understand the effects of the pandemic on special education teachers, this study utilized a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology to explore the lived experiences of special education teachers in one southeastern state. Lived experiences of these teachers during the pandemic focused on “Frustrations Beyond Their Control,” “Unorganized Processes and Procedures,” and “Building Relationships.” Overall, participants were found to either languish in the ramifications of the pandemic on their schools and students, or …

The Expectations, Experiences And Satisfaction Of Students Within A Nutrition And Dietetics Program Regarding Faculty Academic Advising Using A Prescriptive Or Developmental Advising Lens, Nettie Puglisi Freshour

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research study examined student’s expectation, experiences and satisfaction with faculty academic advising using a prescriptive vs. developmental lens. The intent was to explore the student’s expectations of academic advising, determine if their experiences aligned with their expectation and if this led to satisfaction of their academic advising. This study utilized the Systems theory to determine how academic advising is performed by the program and if that experience for the student is how the systems (institution, college, department, and program) are promoting the form of advising. This study utilized a qualitative case study approach, guided by three research questions. Data …

Evaluating A Virtual Reality Simulation-Based Tool In Undergraduate Nursing Students For Impact On Accuracy, Clinical Judgment, Fear, And Self-Confidence When Donning, Doffing, And Disposing Of Personal Protective Equipment, Stacy Lynn Russell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: PPE training is essential to prevent transmission of infections or autoinoculation of infections among healthcare providers and patients. Student nurses play a vital role in infection control practices to protect themselves and patients from transmittable infections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an innovative teaching and learning strategy known as virtual reality simulation in teaching proper PPE use in comparison to more traditional learning.

Research Questions: This study aimed to answer three research questions: (1) What is the acceptability among faculty of using a head mounted VRS to train undergraduate nursing students in the proper …

Personality And Academic Performance In College, Jacob E. Alderson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Despite mounting evidence for the role of personality in predicting college level academic performance, there are aspects of this association that are still unexplained. With a sample of U.S. undergraduates at a large Appalachian university, this study sought to further establish what is already known about the association between personality and grade point average, credits earned, and retention rates by testing for both linear and quadratic effects. Results showed linear positive effects of conscientiousness, negative linear effects of openness and nonlinear effects of neuroticism for GPA. However, personality traits were not associated with either retention or credits earned. These findings …

Investigation Of An Implementation Of Mastery Grading Utilizing Revision And Oral Follow-Up Assessment In An Introduction-To-Proof Course, Nurul Wahyuni

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The traditional grading method that utilizes partial credit often falls short of effectively measuring students’ mastery of course material. To address this issue, this study explores the implementation of mastery grading, designed and enacted by the instructor in an introduction-to-proof course. The mastery grading conducted utilized a revision assessment together with an oral follow-up assessment as a mode of reassessing students’ mastery. The objectives of this study were to obtain a thorough narrative of the way the instructor ran the assessment and to evaluate students’ progress throughout the assessment process.

This dissertation is comprised of two distinct studies, both utilizing …

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 …

Job Stress And Spiritual Well-Being As Correlates Of Quality Of Life Among K-12 Administrators In Seventh-Day Adventist Schools In The North American Division, John Allen Chen

Dissertations

Problem and Purpose

Research shows that K-12 administrators experience a great deal of stress. This is also true of Adventist principals (Ledesma, 2011). Some suggest improved spirituality and quality of life can alleviate or manage stress. This study examines the interrelationship between job stress, spiritual well-being, and quality of life among principals in SDA elementary and secondary schools.

Conceptual Framework and Research Design

Three major constructs guided this study: job stress, spiritual well-being, and quality of life. I theorized that higher stress would negatively correlate with quality of life and spiritual well-being. The literature shows that not all principals experience …

Predictors Of Statistics Anxiety Among Graduate Students In Saudi Arabia, Rabab Abdulghani

Dissertations

Problem

The problem addressed in this study is the anxiety experienced by graduate students toward statistics courses, which often causes students to delay taking statistics courses until the end of their program. Students believe that statistics courses are not essential and are the greatest obstacles to obtaining their degree. Previous theoretical models have focused on predicting student performance in statistics. However, this study aims to identify specific factors that could decrease student statistics anxiety and enhance positive attitudes and self-efficacy toward statistics. The study developed a conceptual model to predict statistics anxiety among graduate students in educational and social science …

The Perceived Results Of Feedback And Evaluation Of Teaching Effectiveness On Adjunct Faculty Professional Development And Growth, Luda V. Vine

Dissertations

Problem

While full-time faculty at any institution of higher learning undergo an established system of evaluation of teaching effectiveness, adjunct faculty members' experience varies greatly from institution to institution. There is little in the relevant academic literature about an effective feedback mechanism for evaluating teaching effectiveness among adjunct faculty members. Limited qualitative research has been done to understand the effects of teaching evaluations on the professional development and growth of individual adjunct faculty members. Developing an understanding of effective evaluation of teaching that will result in improved adjunct faculty professional development and growth will impact not only the faculty members' …

Associating High School Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math (Stem) Course-Taking With Future Earnings For Non-Stem Employed High School Graduates, Beth Marchant

Dissertations

Problem

Due to the current resurgence of attention given to high school students' taking courses in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), research was needed to examine whether a relationship between the number of STEM courses a high school student, who graduates from high school and works in a non-STEM field, completes and the success of that student 10 years later. One measure of student success, future earnings, can be measured quantitatively and is included in the Education Longitudinal Survey of 2002 (ELS:2002) data set, an ideal source of information to evaluate this issue (Institute of Education Sciences, 2019b).

Method …

Chapter 3- Improving The General Education Experience Through Equitable And Inclusive Pedagogical Practices, Cree Phillips Taylor

Habits of Mind

General education courses sometimes have the reputation among students of being obstacles to overcome, wastes of time, and a squander of tuition. In my opinion, student dislike of general education courses is fueled by two factors: 1) students’ misunderstanding of the purpose of general education and 2) general education instructors designing courses with a gatekeeping mentality. Traditionally, general education courses have served as the gatekeepers of the university experience by—intentionally or unintentionally—funneling out students who “don’t belong” through poor course design. Racially minoritized students, women, and first-generation college students are disproportionately affected by the gatekeeping mentality of general education instructors.

Chapter 5- Structure For Success: Incorporating Habits Of Mind Into Online Courses, Missy Kofoed

Habits of Mind

Interest and participation in online courses in higher education has grown significantly over the past decade (Palvia et al., 2018). This growth was further amplified due to the increased online course options offered during the years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System indicates that about 73% of students were enrolled in a distance education course in the fall of 2020 as compared to about 36% in 2019. Even as pandemic restrictions eased, student enrollment in online courses remained high, with 59% of students enrolled in at least one distance education course in the fall …

Chapter 2- Preparing Students With Habits Of Mind For The First Day Of Class, Jennifer Grewe

Habits of Mind

Students often come to university with preconceived but in many cases inaccurate notions of what the university experience is like. They have been told that they need to go to college to get a good job; that their professors do not care about how they do; and that they are now on their own. This can be an overwhelming perspective to have when starting a new chapter in life. College students, including those who may not have experienced even minor academic failures to this point in their lives, are particularly impacted by this mentality. It should come as no surprise, …

Chapter 9- "I'M Just Not Good At History": Fostering A Growth Mindset With Habits Of Mind, Julia M. Gossard

Habits of Mind

One of the most common frustrations I hear from students in my large-enrollment history survey, HIST 1110: European History from 1500, is that they have “never been good at history.” Having taken numerous history courses during their K–12 education, many of which have focused on the rote memorization of dates, names, and facts about the past, students can arrive to HIST 1110 with an apathetic—or even a negative—disposition toward history as an academic discipline. They were not able to remember historical details in past learning environments, so would a college history course be any different?

Chapter 14- How Instructors Can Help Students Embrace A Growth Mindset: The Importance Of Applying Theory To Practice, Antje R. H. Graul, Ayse Sapci

Habits of Mind

In today’s educational system, it is more important than ever to set students up for success in their future careers and professional development. “I really liked how the classes were more than lectures,” wrote one student in a recent course evaluation. But how can classes be more than “just” lectures? And how can a growth mindset be implemented to prepare students for their future careers? While many courses lend themselves well to teaching applicable skills, instructors assigned to theory-based courses often feel challenged to convey the importance of understanding the theory—or the usefulness of theoretical frameworks—to their students.

Chapter 15- Leap And The Net Will Appear: Risk-Taking And Creative Flexibility In The Face Of The Unknown, Raymond Veon

Habits of Mind

Risk-taking is a leap into a space that has not been mapped. Who knows where or how you will land? Consider the following:

• A student completes a portrait drawing, then cuts it into strips and weaves it into another drawing. The result is an intricate yet beautiful image that addresses the complexity of identity that viewers can reassemble in multiple ways, beyond the control of the artist. The art student had never attempted such a work before.
• A wall of torn-out book pages that are pinned and collaged together. Most of the words on the pages are redacted by marker, …

Chapter 21- Developing Classroom Management Skills: Leveraging Habits Of Mind In Pre-Service Teacher Education, Rachel K. Turner

Habits of Mind

Classroom management plays a major role in teacher retention and attrition within elementary schools. Researchers suggest classroom-management issues are one of the leading causes for teachers leaving the education field (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003) and are one of the leading struggles reported by teachers past and present (Langdon & Vesper, 2000; Goodwin, 2012; Phi Delta Kappan, 2019). Not unexpectedly, classroom management tends to be a leading cause for concern for pre-service and new teachers as well (Bromfield, 2006; Evertson & Weinstein, 2006; Sowell, 2017; Uribe-Zarain et al., 2019). Classroom-management skills must be developed to keep teachers within the profession.

Chapter 22- Searching As Learning: A Scaffolded Approach To The Research Paper Assignment, Karin Dejonge-Kannan

Habits of Mind

Somewhere on a university campus, there is a hunched figure working at a computer. The person is surrounded by books, papers, beverage cans, and writing utensils. Their fingers tap on the keyboard, intermittently coming to a stop when the person’s gaze shifts from the screen into the distance. Their torso leans forward, their brow is tense. Frequent sighing can be heard.

Did you picture a student? An instructor? When it comes to the research paper assignment, this scene could feature either of them, frustrated and dispirited. While it may be worthwhile pondering how we got here (see, for example, Freedman …

Table Of Contents And Acknowledgements, Julia M. Gossard, Chris Babits

Habits of Mind

No abstract provided.

Factors Influencing Hard Running Distances In Ncaa Division I Female Soccer Players, Isaac A. Sam

Dissertations and Theses

As the total distances covered in soccer games have remained relatively constant, the hard running distances covered by players have shown varying changes due to the higher physical demands and dynamics of team running performances. Although factors affecting the total distances covered in a match are multifactorial, no study has specifically examined match performance indicators (MPI) that impact hard running distances (HRD). Consequently, the purpose of this study was to better understand how MPI (hard running efforts, turnovers, minutes played, duels won, duels lost, and pass completions) are associated with HRDs and to investigate how each variable contributes to HRDs …

From Homeschooling To Unschooling: A Comparison Of Academic Achievement, Myra Breen

Masters Theses

Within the homeschooling community, there are many options for educational methods that a family might choose. Unschooling, which is an approach to education that emphasizes self-directed learning and does not follow a set curriculum, is often viewed as inferior to a traditional pre-determined curriculum.

The purpose of this research was to determine whether students who come from families who use traditional curricula to educate their children have drastically different assessment scores from the students in families where they follow their own interests and learn from those activities.

This study uses a mixed-methods approach. There are qualitative results based on case …

Imsa 2023 Profile, Office Of College And Academic Counseling

IMSA Profile

Ranked the #1 College Prep Public High School in Illinois, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) develops creative, ethical leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As a teaching and learning laboratory created by the State of Illinois, IMSA enrolls academically talented Illinois students in its tuition-free residential Academy for grades 10-12. Students are challenged with a rigorous curriculum designed to develop them into problem solvers and critical thinkers.

Observed And Perceived Benefits Of Providing Physical Activity Opportunities In Elementary Schools: A Qualitative Study, Timothy J Walker, Derek W Craig, Christopher D Pfledderer, Michael C Robertson, Paula Cuccaro, Keisey Fumero, John B Bartholomew

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Schools play an important role in promoting physical activity for youth. However, school-based physical activity opportunities often compete with other academic priorities, limiting their implementation. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore elementary school teacher and staff perspectives on providing physical activity opportunities and how they impact students and learning.

METHODS: We partnered with a school district in Texas to conduct semi-structured individual interviews. We used a purposeful sampling approach to recruit elementary teachers and staff knowledgeable about the physical activity opportunities provided at their school. Interviews included questions about participant opinions of providing physical activity opportunities …

Building Community Between High School And College Librarians, Sarah M. Vital

Staff Works

No abstract provided.

Resilience In Early Second Career Stem Teachers Employed In Public Secondary Schools, Donald Selway

Theses and Dissertations

A troubling shortage of K-12 Science, Technology, Engineer and Mathematics (STEM) teachers exists in the United States. One solution to increase STEM teachers involves recruiting STEM professionals to transition from industry to K-12 teaching. Research indicates that fostering resilience is one way to help new STEM teachers’ retention and persistence in the field. This study explored individual and programmatic factors that increase early career and early second career K-12 STEM teachers’ resilience. Moreover, this research examined how strategic initiatives and programs assisted STEM professionals to build resilience as they transitioned into K-12 STEM educators.

This study utilized mixed-methods design to …

An Application Of Lewin In A Trans-Pandemic World: A Narrative Inquiry In A Case Study With A Suggested Model For The Future, Chandler Barksdale Ewell Caldwell

Theses and Dissertations

Change is constant in today’s post-pandemic world. This is truly evident in online business success with entrepreneurs that defy past limitations and rely on future vision. This study purposely attempts to identify and qualify the impact of stylized change focused leadership in response to workplace changes during the variant challenges of the corona virus pandemic. The relevancy of Lewin’s organizational change model in today’s new normal provides the foundation for this research. Data were gathered through interview with a purposive sample of 12 managers executives and team members from a public sector organization. Evolving through an iterative process of evaluation …