Urban Teachers Program: Culturally Responsive Middle School Teachers Describe Their Competencies, Kristina Sterling

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to document ways that Urban Teachers’ candidates enact culturally responsive teaching practices in an effort to combat the opportunity gaps in education and increase students’ achievement rate. This study focused on documenting responses to the questions: How do Urban Teachers enact culturally responsive teaching practices in their classrooms? How do teachers in the Urban Teachers program describe overcoming perceived barriers to implementing culturally responsive teaching in an urban school district? The problem of the study was a lack of evaluation of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices of those Urban Teachers once they entered the …

The Benefits And Barriers To Arts Integration: Arts Accessibility In Public Montessori, Heather Teems

All Theses And Dissertations

This mixed-method exploratory case study investigates the research question: To what extent do pre-K through eighth-grade public Montessori school teachers perceive that their professional knowledge and abilities, experiences, and resources impact their capacity to integrate arts into their general classroom curriculum? Public Montessori teachers from five public-choice Montessori schools in a school district of the suburban and urban areas of southeastern South Carolina were invited to participate. The teachers in these public Montessori schools have varied levels of education and professional development experience with the arts in education. Some participants were general education teachers prior to becoming Montessori teachers due …

Examining The Lived-Experiences Of International L2 Phd Students: A Narrative Study, Sydney B. Basford

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The primary purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to explore the lived experiences of international PhD students who used academic English literacy during their research for their theses/dissertations. The second purpose of this study was to identify ways international PhD students mitigated academic language challenges for their theses/dissertations. This qualitative narrative study was founded on the theoretical framework of constructivism and sociocultural theory created by Vygotsky. The research participants were three L2 international PhD students who lived in America while conducting research for their dissertations or theses. Video recorded semi-structured interviews were conducted with all participants to gather rich, …

Social Media: The Impact On Spiritual Formation Among Generation Z Freshman College Students, Sam Ninan

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of social media on the spiritual formation of Generation Z freshmen college students. Social media app usage has become prevalent within society, and Gen Z members are the first to grow up their entire lives with Internet access. Christian universities must understand the impact of social media apps on incoming freshman students, as they develop spiritual formation strategies aimed at the college population. In addition, the students’ own perceptions of how they are being impacted is important to identify, in order for them to make the necessary changes towards spiritual …

Teacher Perceptions Of Teaching Science Using The 5e Instructional Model, Erica Sheilasha Gaines

Theses and Dissertations

Changes made to science education on the national level caused many changes for state education systems. In the state of Georgia, science education instructional leaders also saw the need for a change in the way science needed to be taught to students. Due to the need to improve science teaching and learning and to increase interest in the STEM fields, Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science were released in 2016. Science teachers were required to shift their instructional practices to teach science as a practice by engaging students in specific tasks aligned to science and engineering practices. This study focused …

An Evaluation Of Student Perceptions Of Classroom Environment Factors In Faccs Schools, Pamela J. Piorkowski

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of the study was to evaluate Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (FACCS) high school student perceptions of the relationship between ideal and real classroom environments. The quantitative, non-experimental research design with a survey was used to understand students' overall perceptions of attending five Christian schools and how they perceived the classroom environments. Student perceptions of their classroom environment are a topic of essential importance to the Christian school. The data provided vital insight using nine dimensions measured using a standardized tool, the Classroom Environment Scale (CES), developed by Edison Trickett and Rudolf Moos. Dimensions in the …

The Perceptions Of High School Graduates Regarding The Effectiveness Of Their 504 Accommodations, Jackie A. Wyche

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of high school seniors diagnosed with mental or physical impairments regarding the effectiveness of their 504 academic accommodations. The approach of this qualitative study was transcendental phenomenology. Phenomenology is defined as the qualitative approach to research that encompasses the exploration of lived experiences of the participants. The participants for this research study were high school graduates who had 504 accommodations during high school. Participants for this study contr ibuted by answering open ended questions from an interview guide. In the course of the in depth data analysis, the interviews …

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of The 22-Item Empathy Assessment Index, Kelly L. Hoskins

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The Empathy Assessment Index (EAI), an instrument based on the social cognitive neuroscience conceptualization of empathy, is a measure of interpersonal empathy with five components: affective response, self-other awareness, perspective taking, affective mentalizing, and emotion regulation. However, the most recently added component, affective mentalizing, has demonstrated high correlations with perspective taking. The high correlations may indicate a lack of discriminant validity within the index. This non-experimental, quantitative, and cross-sectional study aimed to determine whether the factor structure of the 22-Item EAI is a correlated five-component model. A snowball sample of 929 community members completed the 22-Item EAI as an online …

Teacher Self-Efficacy And Teacher Work Engagement For Expatriate Teachers At International K12 Schools In China, Jennifer L. Johnson

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this non-experimental, descriptive quantitative survey study was to evaluate if teacher self-efficacy predicts teacher work engagement for expatriate teachers in international schools in China. The purposive sample was composed of 103 expatriate, international school teachers who have worked in China during the past 10 years at an international K12 school and are personally known to the researcher or the researcher’s contacts. The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) and the Engaged Teachers Scale (ETS) measured teacher self-efficacy and teacher work engagement. Results from simple linear regression indicated a statistically significant predictive relationship between teacher self-efficacy and teacher …

The Influence Of Concept-Based Instruction On Student Academic Engagement, Amanda Romey

All Theses And Dissertations

Student engagement, including behavior, academic, cognitive, and social/emotional engagement is a complex multidimensional element of students’ overall well-being and success in school. As dropout rates continue to increase along with students feeling disenfranchised from the current educational system, there is a deep need to improve students’ experience in school by having them engaged in their learning. The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify the influence, if any, of concept-based curriculum and instruction on student academic engagement. This study examined the multiple elements of student academic engagement by addressing the concept-based learning construct, and student ownership of their learning …

A Case Study Of Pedagogical Practices That Boost Chinese Students’ Oral English Self-Confidence, Michael D. Knapp

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Practice is necessary for developing oral English proficiency, but many Chinese learners of English lack the self-confidence to practice oral English; furthermore, students’ self-confidence deficiency is perpetuated by insufficient oral English proficiency. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover pedagogical practices that break the cycle of the reciprocal effect of deficiencies in oral English and in self-confidence in Chinese adult PhD non-English major students. Six participants who raised their oral English proficiency and self-confidence during their PhD studies described their English learning journeys by responding to interview questions. Analyzation of data from interview responses developed into two …

The Pastoral Leadership Crisis In Baptist Churches In Togo, Kossi M. Eklou

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The issues of leadership in Calvary Baptist Church in Lomé are unique. From the time the Baptist denomination entered the country of Togo in 1964, the election of pastors in the Baptist churches has been arbitrary. This system has engendered severe pastoral leadership flaws and the present crisis in Baptist churches in Togo. Calvary Baptist Church is no exception. The main problem is the lack of biblical training for men who lead the churches as pastors. In this project, I research and investigate what a lack of biblical training does to a pastor and the church. Though there are many …

Charter School Closing Inequities: Do Automatic Closure Laws Target Black Charter Entrepreneurs And Black Students?, Ian Kingbury, Martha Bradley-Dorsey, Robert Maranto

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Charter schools can have their charters rescinded if they fail to meet performance metrics, which are often specified in the charter. In some states, however, charters must meet inflexible, standardized performance standards to survive. Through the lens of public choice theory, we hypothesize that charters that were established by African Americans and those which serve more African American students are more likely to close, and that state-imposed standardized closure rules exacerbate these inequities. Analyses using charter petitions (n=925) and National Center for Education Statistics data since 2010 (n=5,548), tend to confirm hypotheses: The percentage of African American students and having …

Understanding Performance In Test Taking: The Role Of Question Difficulty Order, Lina Anaya, Nagore Iriberri, Pedro Rey-Biel, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Standardized assessments are widely used to determine access to educational resources with important consequences for later economic outcomes in life. However, many design features of the tests themselves may lead to psychological reactions influencing performance. In particular, the level of difficulty of the earlier questions in a test may affect performance in later questions. How should we order test questions according to their level of difficulty such that test performance offers an accurate assessment of the test taker's aptitudes and knowledge? We conduct a field experiment with about 19,000 participants in collaboration with an online teaching platform where we randomly …

Determinants Of Ethnic Differences In School Modality Choices During The Covid-19 Crisis, Andrew Camp, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

A growing body of research and popular reporting shows racial differences in school modality choices during the COVID-19 crisis, with white students more likely to attend school in person. This in-person learning gap raises serious equity concerns. We use unique panel survey data to explore possible explanations. We find that a combination of factors may explain these differences. School districts’ offerings, political partisanship, and local COVID-19 outbreaks are all meaningfully associated with and plausibly explain the in-person learning racial gap. As schools start offering more in-person learning, significant efforts may be necessary to ensure that families and students attend those …

Coaching Education Programs In Division I Athletics: Department-Wide Head Coach Development, Jaime D. Gordon

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Jaime D. Gordon on March 30, 2021.

Breaking Barriers And Bread To Build Bridges: How Do Latina/O Families And Schools Develop Meaningful Home-School Relationships?, Cathy A. Shappell

Education Doctorate Dissertations

There is a plethora of research that shows parental engagement is a key contributor to student success. The Latina/o population is the fastest-growing demographic group in our country. Statistical evidence supports that by the year 2050, one out of every three students in our public schools will identify as Latina/o (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). Latina/o parents overwhelmingly identify education for their children as a top priority and hope to engage with schools to help improve the educational system and advocate for the needs of their children. However, there are significant barriers that still exist including language, logistical issues, …

Communication In A Virtual World - Best Staff Practices For Generating The Greatest Student Engagement In Virtual Learning, Chris Loiselle, Kristi Teall

Andrews University Teaching and Learning Conference

Research and experience show that for students to learn, they must be engaged, and the need to be engaged in learning has been underscored this past year as many schools have shifted to virtual or remote learning. Join leaders from Berrien Springs Public Schools for an interactive discussion that shares research, tools, and best practices that are proven to be effective in engaging students, helping them to thrive in virtual learning environments.

The Writing For Healing And Transformation Project, Heather Elizabeth Osborn

Education Doctorate Dissertations

As a qualitative action research study, the purpose of The Writing for Healing and Transformation Project was to facilitate more inclusive writing strategies and to promote individual and collective healing on issues of social suffering and oppression (Kleinman, Das, & Lock, 1997; Pennebaker & Smyth, 2016) for diverse students at a community college located in the northeastern United States. The 18 participants in the study included students in my English II literature and composition course. The theoretical framework encompassed Pennebaker’s (2016) “writing for healing” paradigm, advocating the use of expressivist writing and “social suffering theory,” examining how power structures affect …

Experience Between Mentors And Coaches: A Phenomenological Case Study To Examine Effective Coaching Conditions, Brittany Adkins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

The study uses a phenomenological case method to explore the lived experience of the mentor-coach coaching phenomenon and examines the case of the Literacy Center (university partnership) in providing professional development to build instructional capacity in elementary reading coaches through a coaching model in order to improve reading achievement in students (kindergarten through third grade). The study is guided through the theoretical frameworks of Social Learning Theory (Vygotsky, 1978) and the Capacity-Building Model for Teacher Development (Cooter, 2004). It is focused on two research questions: 1) How does the mentor and coach experience change over time? and 2) What facilitates …

Did Spending Cuts During The Great Recession Really Cause Student Outcomes To Decline?, Jessica Goldstein, Josh B. Mcgee

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Jackson, Wigger, and Xiong (2020a, JWX) provide evidence that education spending reductions following the Great Recession had widespread negative impacts on student achievement and attainment. This paper describes our process of duplicating JWX and highlights a variety of tests we employ to investigate the nature and robustness of the relationship between school spending reductions and student outcomes. Though per-pupil expenditures undoubtedly shifted downward due to the Great Recession, contrary to JWX, our findings indicate there is not a clear and compelling story about the impact of those reductions on student achievement. Moreover, we find that the relationship between K-12 spending …

An Analysis Of The Higher Order Thinking Requirements Of Parcc Practice Assessments In Grades 10, Heather Dorrian

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This mixed methods study aimed to categorize and analyze the frequencies and percentages of complex thinking in the PARCC practices assessments in English Language Arts grade 10 and Geometry. The Hess’ Cognitive Rigor Matrix was used for the first part of the study to code each of the PARCC assessment questions in Language Arts grade 10 and Geometry based on pre-existing codes. Deductive category application was utilized to connect the language from Hess’ Cognitive Rigor Matrix to the language of the questions in the tests. To ensure reliability we utilized the double-rater read behind method as in other similar studies. …

Using Data To Advocate For Preventative Interventions - From Practice To Policy, Mike H. Reynolds, Jerome V. Williams, Brent Shondelmeyer

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Explore the theoretical framework of what could be possible with purposeful and actionable data sharing between Non Profits, Philanthropy, and School Districts can change the scenario in the board room and in the classroom. Enhance resource allocation, real time decision making, return on investment for outside partners and interventions, and summative and formative evaluations of effectiveness.

A Bottom-Up Approach To Improve Women’S Access To Technical And Vocational Education And Training In India: Examining A Non-Formal Education Upskilling Programme, Matthew A. Witenstein, Radhika Iyengar

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The Indian Government’s 12th Five Year Plan features ambitious goals regarding the upskilling of women in India. While the Plan acknowledges Indian women’s continued inequality, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programmes (a main avenue for upskilling) pose considerable challenges. There is significant work to be done if India aspires to meet the 12th Plan’s goals. Moreover, to achieve them in a socially just manner, greater efforts are required to include and amplify women’s voices throughout the process. In pursuit of this aim, the authors of this research note share insights from the first stages of their study of …

Grit As A Predictor Of Retention For First-Year Latino Students At A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Jodi Bailey

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

ABSTRACT

In 2016, Hispanic students comprised 19 percent of all college students in the US, an increase of 11 percent over the last twenty years, representing the fastest-growing demographic in higher education. Latino students are half as likely as white students to gain a bachelor’s degree, a gap that has been continuously widening since the 2000s. There has become an increased need for schools to create student success pathways for Latino students on college campuses.

This study’s purpose was to contribute to the existing literature on Latino college students' first-year retention by researching the relationship between grit and first-year retention …

Blueprint For Excellence And Equity In The Education Of Black Children And Youth, Phillip Smith, Bernard Gassaway, Karen Dunkley, Dia Bryant, Hope Lesane, Monique Darrisaw-Akil, Trina Lynn Yearwood

GSE Faculty Publications

The convergence of the health, racial, and economic crises resulting from COVID-19 has exposed long-standing inequities among New York State’s Black communities. The recent, brutal and senseless killings of Black men and women (e.g., George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, among an exceedingly long list of names) have ignited growing national public protests and increasing agreement about the existence of deep-seated racial injustice within systems and institutions and how it has been compounded over time. Taken together, the COVID-19 pandemic and the pandemic of senseless killings of Black people are providing a magnified reflection of the nation’s historic …

Attitudes Related To Trauma-Informed Care In The Educational Setting: An Exploratory Case Study, Natalie Lynne Smith

All Theses And Dissertations

This qualitative, exploratory case study was used to explore the perceptions of public high school faculty and staff towards trauma-informed practices in the school environment. Faculty and staff attitudes toward adverse childhood experiences and their attitudes toward implementation of trauma-informed care (TIC) in the educational setting are not well known. This study applies constructivism as a theoretical framework because the research depends on the participants’ views of the topics under study. Ten faculty and staff from a suburban high school in the northeastern part of the United States participated in this exploratory case study, completed the Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed …

1:1 Chromebooks In High School Classrooms: Teacher Perceptions Of Integration Efforts, Jason Saltmarsh

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study was to fully explore high school teachers’ perceptions of their experiences teaching in a 1:1 Chromebook environment. Data included high school teachers’ personal narratives detailing their experiences and observations about the use of 1:1 Chromebooks to support teaching and learning. Study data also included in-depth interviews with eight high school teachers. The four constructs of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology provided a theoretical framework for this study. Educational leaders face significant challenges in understanding the considerable impact of teachers’ perceptions of their decision to integrate and effectively use …

Value Perceptions Of Basic Clinical Laboratory Assistant Training With Certification, George Noll

All Theses And Dissertations

This study examined the perception of the value of medical laboratory science (MLS) program training and validation of that training with respect to entry-level clinical laboratory professionals. The demand for clinical laboratory professionals is increasing due to the number of retirees expected to peak by 2024 and is expected to yield a two to one job vacancy gap, mainly in entry-level positions. The study examined the perceived value of such traditional educational clinical laboratory programs from the viewpoints of the MLS educators and employers to effect change efforts to better match these programs with what is required within the career …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Restorative Practices In K–8 Classrooms, Jamie Elizabeth Coady

All Theses And Dissertations

In this qualitative phenomenological study, the researcher sought to examine teachers’ perceptions of restorative practices in Kindergarten–Grade 8 (K–8) classrooms. The authors in the current literature concerning restorative practices have referenced the connection to social–emotional learning and school climate, yet there is limited understanding of how teachers perceive these practices and use them in their classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of restorative practices including when, where, and how teachers use these practices and support social–emotional learning efforts. Ten public school teachers in K–8 classrooms in Connecticut shared their lived experiences through semistructured interviews. Data …