Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Examining Teachers' Referral And Placement Decisions Of Hispanic Children For Gifted And Talented Programs, Guillermo I. Mendoza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative survey design study examined whether children’s ethnicity makes a difference in teachers’ referral and placement decisions in gifted and talented (G/T) programs. A total of 524 teachers from all over the United States who have taught or currently teach pre-kindergarten through 5th grade participated. The participants were randomly given one of six vignettes adapted from a previous similar study (Elhoweris et al., 2005). Participants answered whether the child described should be referred and placed into gifted and talented programs. All six vignettes described gifted and talented characteristics; the only differences were the children's ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Data …

K-5 Elementary Alternative Program: A Case Study, William E. Scheuer Iv

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to examine how the K-5 elementary alternative program All Students Can Thrive (ASCT) used student-centered learning practices to influence the whole child. There is a lack of research on K-5 elementary alternative programs, such as ASCT, and specifically those that integrate student-centered learning practices to influence the whole child. Literature does not contain universally accepted interventions that are effective in the elementary alternative setting to help students return to the mainstream classroom setting better prepared to display appropriate behaviors when a student is removed from a mainstream classroom setting due to disruptive behaviors. …

Characteristics Of High Quality Teachers: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Kelli Barnett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore the characteristics of high quality teachers. This study used a phenomenological methodology, enabling the researcher to gather information from a purposeful selection of people directly identified as high quality teachers by their principals. This study employed processes of data collection commonly used in observational analysis and included the use of interviews found in qualitative design.

The researcher was able to extract meaning using the coding process and the constant comparative method. Information was sorted into themes that supported and aligned with the research questions leading to a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. This …

Pre-Kindergarten And Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of The Student Growth Portfolio Model In Tennessee, Amanda Pickens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this quantitative study was to discover perceptions of pre-K and kindergarten teachers within public schools in Tennessee regarding the appropriateness of the student growth portfolio model. This study explored teachers’ perceptions of the appropriateness of the math standards, English language arts standards, and the scoring guide included within the SGPM. A quantitative survey was used to understand pre-K and kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of the appropriateness of the 2017-2018 student growth portfolio model. There were 16 pre-K teachers and 51 kindergarten teachers who participated in the survey. Single sample t-tests were used to analyze responses. Research indicated that …