Urban Education Commons^™

A Case Study Of A Low-Income African American Career Academy’S Approach To Student Services, Victor Hernandez-Gantes, Edward C. Fletcher Jr.

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

The provision of support services has been found critical for meeting the needs of students and their families, but related research in predominantly low-income, African American/Black communities, is limited. Thus, through a case study we explored how a school, located in a low-income area with a predominantly African American/Black population, adopted and enacted support services. The setting was an urban high school with an enrollment of 700 students who are predominantly African American (98%) and 100% low-income. We conducted interviews with district, school, and community stakeholders; and we followed a thematic approach for the analysis. A major finding was that …

Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Project-Based Learning (Pbl) Education: A New Mexico Case Study For Equity And Inclusion, Kimberly A. Scheerer

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This research addresses how student participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) education activities encourages underrepresented minority student achievement in STEM career field trajectories. Seven New Mexico high school counselors and 12 STEM organization personnel were interviewed during this study. Their responses represent the nuanced professional voices where New Mexico public education intersects with STEM student interest and cultural influence.

For students, STEM PBL can foster deep integration across educational disciplines and enhance STEM career trajectory interest and readiness. STEM education converged with PBL methodologies has the ability to leverage community support while broadening student networks. …

Charter School Leaders And Their Students’ Resilience, Katy Bridget Angelone

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this multiple composite case study was to develop descriptive accounts of the thoughts, beliefs, actions, and assessments of charter school leaders regarding their efforts towards students’ resilience-building. Survey results from 46 participants identified eight Massachusetts charter school leaders who prioritized resilience-building within their schools. Semi-structured interviews with eight participants inquired about their reasons and methods for resilience-building in their schools and the factors and conditions that inhibit and foster their efforts. The qualitative data analysis yielded five findings. Participants operated from two orientations: resilience empowers learners and cultivates self-directed learning; and resilience is needed to manage traumatic …

Let ‘Em Talk: An Exploration Of And Challenge To The White Supremacy And Colonization Of Black And Brown Girls In United States Public Schools, Keara Small

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The United States Department of Education’s mission statement is described as evolving to “Promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” A key piece of this statement is educational excellence and equality. The pathway to educational excellence and preparation is founded on public school students growing aware of their culture, identity, and history. My objective in this research is to discuss educators’ perceptions and misconceptions about Black and Brown children — especially Brown and Black girls—who attend public schools across the United States. Present-day research regarding school discipline policies and the “policing” …

Is The Early Promise Of Money Enough? Examining High School Students’ College Knowledge And Choice In A Promise Scholarship Program, Tangela Reavis

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This study is part of a randomized control trial examining the results of a promise scholarship program, the Degree Project (TDP). Half of the ninth graders in one Midwestern urban school district were notified about a $12,000 promise scholarship offer if they met certain GPA and attendance requirements (2.5 GPA and 90% attendance). This analysis draws on interview data to understand students’ financial knowledge over four years (grades 9-12). The study examined how treatment students (those who were offered the scholarship) and control students (those who were not offered the scholarship) explained and understood the methods they intended to use …

The Impact Of Using Avid And Avid Schoolwide On Achievement, Equity, Access, And Opportunities For High School Students: A Program Evaluation Project, Patra Cooks, Patra W. Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of my research was to determine if the use of AVID strategies had any impact on academic achievement and college and career readiness. Additionally, I evaluated whether AVID school-wide can support all students. The context of this study included AVID Teachers and AVID Coordinators across the United States. The outcomes indicated that 80% of AVID students enrolled in the AVID Elective successfully completed rigorous course work. Furthermore, the study outcomes disclosed which strategies supported students the most with academic success. The AVID coordinators often used writing strategies, while the AVID teachers used collaborative strategies to support student learning.

Perceptions Of Classroom Management Coaching At District A Independent School District, Ashley L. Brittain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed teacher retention and research-to-practice gaps in the literature related to classroom management coaching and what types of teacher support are the best and why. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of teachers, campus administrators, and campus intervention coaches regarding District A Independent School District’s campus intervention coach model. This study attempted to understand better the perceptions of how the campus intervention coach model influences teachers’ decisions to remain in the profession; how teachers, campus administrators, and campus intervention coaches perceive the campus intervention coach model’s effectiveness in reducing the percentage of …

The Role Of Aesthetics In Classroom Design: Implications For Engagement And Equity, Giuliana Barraza

Master's Theses

The desire for achieving greater equity in education has been a prevalent topic of research, with many studies indicating that the current education system in this country is designed in a way that exacerbates initial inequities and has a negative impact on student motivation and engagement (EOCD, 2012). While existing scholarship mostly discusses equity and engagement through the lens of curriculum and instruction, the power of physical classroom environments and aesthetic elements present in those environments is less explored. With student populations becoming more diverse, there is a greater need for new tools for teachers to utilize in pursuit of …

A Case Study In The Use Of Mentorships In Academic Instructional Coach Development., Matt Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Academic instructional coaches have long been used to support teacher development and student learning. As a recent position in the education field, there is little information regarding the development of staff in this role. This study sought to better understand how academic instructional coaches are mentored and developed within challenging school contexts. The theoretical framework for this research is guided by the social constructivism epistemology. In alignment with this framework, a collective case study was utilized to better understand the relationship between the principal and the academic instructional coach. Exploring this relationship emphasized how principals support academic instructional coach growth. …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Exploring Parental Involvement At Alternative Schools In Eastern North Carolina, Irv Glenn Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover the perceptions of caregivers and teachers regarding parental involvement at alternative schools in Eastern North Carolina. The lack of parental involvement at some schools is a systemic issue that involves continued efforts by school staff to include caregivers in promoting student success. The difficulties of engaging parents of alternative students result in little interaction between caregivers and educators. It is essential to understand how caregivers and educators perceive parental involvement and assess the quality of parental participation in an alternative educational setting. A qualitative research method was chosen to comprehensively examine …

The Corridor Of Shame: An Immersed Analysis Of South Carolina Schools, Darren R. Burton

Senior Theses

This research project discusses school funding instruments of rural and urban schools in South Carolina and uncovers its effect on student academic achievement. Educational achievement is assessed based on report card datasets between 2018 and 2019, containing South Carolina Assessment of State Standards (SCPASS) score data and South Carolina College and Career Ready Assessment (SCREADY) score data. This research project uses a comparative analysis to evaluate each group’s performance in the subjects of English Language Arts and science. The statistical analysis tools that this research project uses include analysis of variance (ANOVA), linear regression analysis, and Microsoft Power BI. The …

A Leadership Change. A Culture Shift...And A Police Riot: The Story Of How The Highest College Going High School In San Francisco Became The Lowest Graduating School In The District, Emmanuel Padilla

Master's Theses

Thurgood Marshall Academic High School, located in San Francisco’s Bayview, Hunters Point, scored the third lowest in the most recent Academic Performance Index (API) Report. Based on the median household income, the Bayview is a low-income community and according to San Francisco data, is a high crime neighborhood. The odds are against Marshall to provide exceptional service to their students, but it once did. In 2001, Marshall had the highest college-going rate in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Today, only 20% of its student body would be considered college ready. This study will look into what happened to …

Text Messaging Between School Counselors And Students: An Exploratory Study, Nicholas R. Gilly

Graduate Theses & Dissertations

This exploratory case study examines the impact of text messaging on mentoring relationships when used as an outreach between school counselors and high school students, where established relationships are lacking. An SMS gateway was used to mediate communication between school counselors (N=2) and students (N=5) over a three-month timeframe. The SMS gateway converted email, sent from counselors, to text messages, which were received on mobile devices of students and allowed students to respond back to counselors. Findings indicate that the use of text messaging may ease scheduling of face-to-face meetings between counselors and students, but evidence does not support any …

Public-School Systems Are Criminalizing Our Young People: Giving Voice To The Marganilized, Carrie Stoltzfus

Graduate Theses & Dissertations

A phenomenological qualitative study using Critical Race Theory and counter-storytelling was completed to investigate what K-12 public schools should be doing to keep young people out of the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP). This study took place in a large city in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Interviews were completed with former students of the researcher who were previously incarcerated, educational professionals, and justice system professionals. Additionally, observations of the court systems and document reviews were completed in order to triangulate findings. Themes emerged around factors that lead to incarceration and the preferred practices to support young people to avoid …

High School Counselors As Social Capital In A Career Academy High School Model For Low-Income Students: A Case Study, Onyejindu Oleka

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

This qualitative study explored the idea that high school counselors, acting as a form of social capital, could influence the postsecondary opportunities of low socioeconomic students. This study used case study design to analyze freshman academy counselors and their influence in the career pathway selection process to answer two research questions: 1) Using the knowledge available regarding college and career opportunities, how do freshman academy counselors influence low socioeconomic students’ career pathway selections? and 2) How do freshman academy counselors’ perceptions of college and career opportunities for low socioeconomic students influence low socioeconomic students’ career pathway selections? This study uses …

Democracy For Homework: A Review Of Civic Engagement In Urban Public Schools, Amanda B. Rosenblum

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Civic engagement education prepares students to actively engage in social and political processes and influence community change. Many educators believe that civic engagement ought to be a central mission of schools because: 1. Adolescent civic engagement predicts adult civic engagement; 2. Schools may be able to reduce the inequity in political participation between individuals of different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and 3: Civic engagement orientation and competencies can be developed through any and all content courses and extracurricular opportunities. This literature review on civic engagement education in urban public middle and high schools over the past 15 years explores: 1. …

Supporting Student Mental Health During And After Covid-19, David Bryant Naff, Shenita Williams, Jenna Furman, Melissa Lee

MERC Publications

This report by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) in the VCU School of Education offers a rapid review of research about supporting student mental health as they return to school during COVID-19. It pulls from literature on natural disasters like hurricane Katrina, the psychological impacts of quarantine, and emergent research on the mental health impacts of the Coronavirus. The report is structured to answer three overarching questions: 1) Why is it important to address the mental health needs of students in schools? 2) How can we expect COVID-19 to impact the mental health of students? 3) What are some …

The Story Of Growth: A Case Study Of New Jersey Underperforming Underprivileged High School, Michelle L. Shelton

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Socioeconomics has been a factor that exposes the disparities in student achievement across communities within the state of New Jersey, and as a result of the disparities, in 1985, the Education Law Center filed the first ruling of Abbot v. Burke; this case ruled that significant funding be provided in an effort to ensure that underprivileged students within these underperforming districts receive public education in accordance with the state constitution. However, despite the funding efforts, since 1985, (87%) of the 31 school districts identified as Abbott not only remain underprivileged, but they also remain underperforming. Therefore, to remedy the underperformance …

Promoting Inclusion In A "Struggling School": Supporting Co-Teachers Through Critical Appreciative-Inquiry Based Professional Development, Louis Olander

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the extent to which the beliefs and practices of teachers who work in a “struggling” school can be shifted towards inclusiveness through an action research based professional development program. The school was struggling in that it was charged with the education of children who are marginalized by a range of social forces while simultaneously accountable to institutional priorities. Broadly speaking, these institutional priorities preferred behaviorist punishment and technocratic approaches to meeting student needs, devaluing and decontextualizing students’ proficiencies as test scores and special education labels, in turn impeding inclusive change. Over the course of four months, an …

Class Matters: School Affluence And Other Predictors Of Attainment For Wealthy And Poor Students, Alison Brockhouse

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Public schools in the United States are becoming increasingly segregated by socioeconomic status. Though the educational consequences of socioeconomic segregation are well researched, segregation is often ignored or exacerbated by education reform. To learn more about the wider implications of socioeconomic segregation, this study utilizes theoretical frameworks derived from Max Weber’s theory of social stratification to analyze over 10,000 students’ experiences from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Education Longitudinal Study (ELS) 2002, 2004, and 2012 waves of data collection. More specifically, this research explores the impact of attending an affluent high school on long-term educational attainment. It finds …

Women In History: Virginia Roth – Innovative Educator, Barbara Shousha

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

“There has to be a better way.” In 1964, Virginia Roth, then known as Sr. Pacis principal at Ryan High School in Omaha, Nebraska, set out to devise a new system of education. Her goal, as expressed in her essay, “A Model for an Alternate High School” was to, “realize those objectives we defined as essential for education.” The “we” referred to the School Sisters of St. Francis, the religious order to which she belonged at that time. Roth described the period from 1964 to 1966 as a “two year experimentation program of brainstorming, trying new methods, committee work for …

The Influence Of An Abstinence-Only Intervention On The Risk Behaviors Of Urban Middle School Students, Alison J. Wakefield

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

In this dissertation, findings on the factors that influence risk-avoidance behaviors among Hispanic and African American middle-school students are presented. The findings were based on a randomized study in which middle-school students were randomly assigned to receive either an abstinence-only curriculum or a comprehensive health curriculum.

Initial findings suggest that middle-school students and their attitudes toward sexual activity were closely associated with their relationships with both their parents and peers. The pivotal indicator for student engagement research indicated that the higher the level of engagement between teen and parent, the more likely the teen is to follow the interventions. Should …

Building Impactful Instructional Leadership Teams That Bolster Student Growth And Achievement, Jason Stamper, Shatavia Elder

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Are you a K-12 educational leader and have been searching for that high leverage initiative that will thrust your student growth and achievement to the next level? After attending this session, you will leave with a clear blueprint for establishing and maintaining a strong Instructional Leadership Team focused on the right work and equipped for unprecedented student growth and achievement.

Advanced Placement (Ap) Computer Science Principles: Searching For Equity In A Two-Tiered Solution To Underrepresentation, Keith Howard, Douglas D. Havard

Journal of Computer Science Integration

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between students’ participation in the two high school AP computer science exam options and their selected fields of study once they enter post-secondary education. Two studies using national public-use datasets of participation and performance were conducted. Study 1 compared score distributions for the traditional Computer Science A exam to those of the newer Computer Science Principles exam during its first two years of implementation. In Study 1, Chi-square analyses revealed large differences in performance between the two exams, with the Computer Science Principles scores clustering more around marginal pass rates. …

Advanced Placement (Ap) Computer Science Principles: Searching For Equity In A Two-Tiered Solution To Underrepresentation, Keith Howard, Douglas D. Havard

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between students’ participation in the two high school AP computer science exam options and their selected fields of study once they enter post-secondary education. Two studies using national public-use datasets of participation and performance were conducted. Study 1 compared score distributions for the traditional Computer Science A exam to those of the newer Computer Science Principles exam during its first two years of implementation. In Study 1, Chi-square analyses revealed large differences in performance between the two exams, with the Computer Science Principles scores clustering more around marginal pass rates. …

Student Voices: African American High School Seniors' Perception Of Culturally Responsive Teaching., Whitney M. Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined African-American high school seniors’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching in one public high school within a large urban public-school district in the southeastern region of the United States. It begins with a brief historical overview on the plight of African-Americans in the US public education system and how public school educators have failed to leverage Afrocultural learning orientations as an asset to educate and increase the academic achievement of African-American students in classrooms. The Philosophical Aspects of Cultural Difference Framework (Nichols, 1986, 1995) will guide this dissertation study. The latter part of the dissertation reveals that a …

Patterns Of Failure In Texas Urban Improvement Required Schools: An Equity Audit Expansion, John A. Branch, Melissa M. Leigh

School Leadership Review

The achievement gap is a concept that has long been explored in education; students of color, low socioeconomic status, those who speak languages other than English, and students labeled as special education perform lower on student achievement tests and often receive less in terms of funding and resources (Harris & Hopson, 2008). Brown (2010) stated, "As a result, these students, without realizing it, often fall into a predetermined mold designed for school failure and social inequity" (p. 2).

School Climate: A Comparison Of Teachers, Students, And Parents, James A. Jacobs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the benefits of positive school climate and to measure the perceptions of school climate for intermediate grades in a Northeast Tennessee School district. An online school climate survey was used to collect responses from participants in intermediate grades and focused on the 3 major components of school climate: school engagement, school environment, and school safety. Data were collected for 2 consecutive years in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. Response totals included 1,955 student responses, 116 teacher responses, and 210 parent responses that were analyzed and used for this study. Of the student totals, some students that …

Hope For Transformation: The Metaphorical Broken Window That Distinguishes High-Poverty, Low-Performing Schools From High-Poverty, High-Performing Schools., Tania P. Coleman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the phenomenon of the difference between high-poverty, low-performing schools and high-poverty, high-performing (H-P/L-P & H-P/H-P schools through the metaphorical lens of Kelling and Wilson's 1982 Criminal Justice Broken Windows Theory. The Broken Windows Theory describes the norm-setting and beckoning effect of urban disorder and vandalism on additional crime. Previous research found that H-P/H-P schools had a collaborative school culture. This research used elements of school culture as metaphorical broken windows. The study employed a cross-sectional phenomenology mixed methods design to examine school performance scores, school routines and school culture. Results indicate that when students experienced unstable enrollment, …

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …