Educational Leadership Commons^™

A Study Of The Effects Of Thinking Maps On The Achievement Of Students In Middle Grades Science, Lynn B. Hughes Akin

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the usage of Thinking Maps® influenced the achievement scores of middle grades students in science on the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) over a period of two years. Science test scores for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years were analyzed by grade level and usage in SPSS and SAS, and after transformations were completed, non-parametric ANOVAs were conducted based on non-normal distributions. Science teachers were surveyed regarding their perceptions and usage of Thinking Maps®. The scores and surveys were then analyzed for simultaneous effects.

The results of the study for the …

Instructional Technology: An Alternative Solution To Promoting Achievement In Remote Rural High Schools, Eva Mitchner Jenkins

Theses and Dissertations

The inauguration of federal government policies assuring that all students attending public schools in the United States have equal access to a highly qualified education, sparked national attention on improving the performance of rural schools and districts. Consequently, one in ten students is educated in remote school districts, and a large number of remote rural districts serve students that are minorities and poor. In many instances, the talents and abilities of the students served in rural schools and districts are less likely developed or noticed when compared to urban and suburban school districts. For administrators of remote rural high schools, …

The Plight Of The Gifted Student: A Call To Action, Krista M. Shilvock

Empowering Research for Educators

With so many needs in today’s public education classroom, we cannot forget the needs of those who excel in the classroom, too. Gifted students face severe neglect in class due to the appearance of their competence and maturity. However, we quickly face losing the contributions of a major group of students as this neglect causes them to lose interest in their own education. As teachers, we must challenge ourselves to help gifted students reach their potential just as we attempt to do for all subgroups of students. A poll of 22 gifted students confirms these frustrations and needs of students. …

Immigrant Parental Involvement In Student Academics, Charles Tebben

Empowering Research for Educators

Abstract

This study is meant to focus discussions about the importance of the involvement of immigrant parents in respect to student academics. In this study I intend to make evident a relationship between parental involvement and student academics, after which I will draw in a conclusion of the resources utilized by my community at the elementary and middle schools. I’m conducting my research study starting at elementary school and running through middle school. I’m eliminating the high school period because of their unique parental involvement complexities which share little constraints and outcomes with the lower levels. To build my study, …

Growth Mindset In The Classroom, Luther L. Kiger

Empowering Research for Educators

This article discusses how Mindset can effect a students educational and social life.

The Language Of Learning In Family And Consumer Sciences: English Language Learners In Career Technical Education, Kali S. Lenhoff

Empowering Research for Educators

Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) content and English as a Second Language (ESL) strategies can be organically incorporated to create a successful education for an English Language Learner (ELL). The first objective of this research project is to discover how prepared Family and Consumer Sciences teachers feel to work with English Language Learners in the classroom. The second objective is to identify practical and effective methods and strategies that are useful for Family and Consumer Sciences teachers instructing English Language Learners. The rationale for this project is that by identifying the challenges faced by English Language Learners in education, teachers …

Emphasis On Test Scores In Education, Lindsay Olson

Empowering Research for Educators

This article discusses how too much emphasis on standardized testing can affect student learning as well as teaching in the classroom. It includes a personal interview with a high school teacher as well as an article from the Washington Post regarding a study that was completed involving testing students.

Understanding The Public Education Gender Gap Amid Secondary And Central Office Administrators, Danielle L. Taylor

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Despite advances in political movements and societal awareness, there is still an obvious gender discrepancy among U.S. public education secondary school and superintendent positions plaguing our nation. Data indicates that most middle and high school classroom teaching positions are filled by women and yet more campuses and districts are led by men. The literature review uncovered two main categories that lead to this gap: external and internal factors. Societal bias, stereotypes, and hiring practices are among the external causations of this margin. Likewise, work life balance and self-desire to combat old organizational structure impact women internally from assuming advanced leadership …

Enhancing Global Education In China - A Global Citizen Language Program, Wen Amy Luo

Capstone Collection

The acceleration of globalization calls for education with an aim of creating global citizens who are able to learn, live and function in an increasingly interconnected world. Educators should remember that they are creating future leaders who need to understand how to perform and interact in a global arena. For global citizens to effectively function in such an environment, they are required to have competencies such as: intercultural understanding, curiosity for discovery, cultural self-awareness, sociolinguistic awareness, and ability to listen, observe, interpret and analyze etc.

Chinese students who live in second and third-tier cities receive significantly less global education due …

Examining Attrition Through The Hierarchal System Of Education For Zero - Fifth Year Teachers: A Mixed Methods Study, Joshua D. Nation

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher attrition was the focal issue of this mixed-methods study. Teachers, for a wide variety of reasons, have left the profession of education due to issues surrounding school leadership, compensation, and student behavior, just to name a few. This study intended to expand the understanding of zero through fifth year teachers, and if this population of teachers is satisfied, and staying in the field, or if they are dissatisfied. By using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, the factors within in the hierarchal educational system were explored to identify which part of the educational system is connected to teacher attrition: the microsystem, …

Improving College-Going Trends For First Generation Latino Students: The Importance Of Habitus, School Culture And Culturally Responsive Counseling, Patricia A. Marchesi

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Throughout history, the United States has symbolized a place of opportunity, viewed as a place where achieving a better life is possible. This viewpoint still holds true for Latino immigrants, who currently account for more than half of the country’s population growth since 2000. Latino families and students specifically see higher education as a means by which to attain the proverbial “better life.” However, prior research dedicated to Latino students in the college-going process cites obstacles to enrollment in American colleges and universities. Inadequate academic preparation, language barriers, limited social capital, and restricted access to financial aid are among the …

Up From Poverty: A Narrative Non-Fiction Study Of Three Female Superintendents From Poverty, Stephanie L. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This narrative non-fiction study was designed to investigate the lived experiences of three female superintendents in the state of Texas who have lived in poverty during their youth and early life. The participating female superintendents were contacted by this researcher through email. The information used in this study was collected from participating superintendents through interviews and analyzed to find the common themes that exist between the lived experiences of each female superintendent from poverty as she progressed through the stages of development in life. The information was also analyzed to ascertain how she was able to elevate out of poverty …

Factors In Public School Settings That Result In Teacher Agency, Jessica Hadid

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

A quality system for educating a nation’s youth depends upon a teaching force that continually learns, and applies its learning outcomes to active problem solving and development. Many current school and district models minimize teacher ability to engage in meaningful change, ultimately undermining the teachers’ sense of personal and professional agency. Literature suggests that internal forms of motivation are likely to result in the development of agency via self-determination of actions and behaviors. This mixed methods study examined five public schools in a small K-12 district through the lens of self-determination theory. An initial set of quantitative data were collected …

The Impact Of Teacher-Student Relationships And Classroom Engagement On Student Growth Percentiles Of 7th And 8th Grade Students In One Rural School In Southwest Georgia, Dave Dennie

Theses and Dissertations

A number of states throughout the United States, including Georgia, are implementing a relatively new metric, student growth percentiles, as part of teacher and leader evaluations. Student growth plays a tremendous role in evaluations, accounting for up to 50% of a teacher or leader evaluations, yet there is little to no peer reviewed research on classroom factors that influence student growth percentiles. This quantitative study examined the extent that teacher-student relationships influenced basic psychological needs, engagement, and student growth using the Self-systems Process Model as a framework using structural equation modeling. Based on prior research, it was hypothesized that context …

Of Lizards And Language, Bernadette Gongora

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Developing Effective Classroom Environments In A High School Looping Program: A Narrative Research Study, Caleb C. Tipton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study captures the narrative of the lived experiences of four teachers as they developed effective classroom environments in a high school looping program in an Eastern Tennessee school district. The study examined the stories and reflections of the participants in order to discover teacher perception, behaviors, and attitudes that help to establish teacher-student relational involvement which produces positive academic, behavioral, and socio-emotional student outcomes. The stories collected during the narrative study provide real-life, contextual data with which other practitioners might reflect upon their own teaching experiences and practices. The study also adds to the discussion on the potential impact …

To What Extent Does A Relationship Exist Between Nonsupport And Support Students When They Are Grouped Homogeneously And Heterogeneously In The Student's Mathematics Course At Lee County High School, Karen Lynn Hancock

Theses and Dissertations

Societal concerns and revolving federal initiatives linked State assessment scores to accountability measures which determined school success. In Southwest Georgia, one rural high school manipulated student schedules and provided an additional support course for individuals demonstrating documented mathematical deficiencies. The researcher examined the impact of three different grouping practices on the student’s 2014-15 Georgia Milestone Analytic Geometry End-of-Course assessment. This State assessment served as the dependent variable and the student grouping practice served as the independent variable for this quasi-experimental design study. Student schedules were examined and the three groups investigated during this study included 1) a group of students …

The Missouri Student Transfer Program, Howard E. Fields Iii

Dissertations

In 1993, the state of Missouri passed the Outstanding Schools Act. This law was created as a means to ensure that “all children will have quality educational opportunities, regardless of where in Missouri they live.” Section 167.131 of this law states that an unaccredited district must pay the tuition and transportation cost for students who attend an accredited school in the same or adjoining district. This portion of the law became known as the Student Transfer Program.

The Riverview Gardens School District (RGSD) was one of three unaccredited school districts in the state of Missouri in 2013. With close to …

The Impact Of Project-Based Learning On Collegiate Preparedness, Tanya T. Macmartin

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and describe collegiate PBL high school student graduates’ perceptions of their preparedness for their first year of college and the impact of how the BIE’s eight essential components of PBL (Larmer & Mergendoller, 2015b) contributed to their first year of college preparedness. A secondary purpose was to explore and describe the alignment of the students’ perceptions of the impact of how the BIE’s eight project-based components (Larmer & Mergendoller, 2015b) contributed to their first year of college preparedness as defined by Conley’s (2012) college readiness indicators.

Methodology: …

Students At Kansas Newspaper Prove Democracy Isn't Dead Yet, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

In May of 1897, Mark Twain was in London finishing up an around-the-world speaking tour he had started two years earlier. He got there right after his cousin, James Ross Clemens, who had fallen ill while visiting London a couple of weeks earlier. In a letter he wrote on May 31, Twain addressed rumors saying that he had fallen deathly ill and had even died. "I can understand perfectly how the report of my illness got about," he said, adding: "I have even heard on good authority that I was dead." It was his cousin's illness that was ascribed …

Reducing Recitivism: How To Combat Repeat Suspensions And Improve Student Achievement, Derrick King

FL MED Educational Leadership Capstones

This project is intended to take examine how Mount Olive High School can implement an alternative school program to reduce the number of students who are habitually absent from school, reduce the number of students receiving out of school suspension, and improve this demographic of student’s overall student achievement. This project explains what alternative school is, its pro’s and con’s, and how it has been proven effective in other schools. This project examines the steps which were taken at Mount Olive to implement this program into its school. The project provides data on the effect the alternative school had on …

Lunch Tutoring In One High School’S Regular Daily Schedule: A Policy Advocacy Document., Agnes Ghansah, Agnes Ghansah Ed.D.

Dissertations

This project discusses capacity-building steps for reconfiguring a school culture as a learning community that values the potential of student and teacher school day time for effective, beyond the classroom, academic support. Stakeholders efficiently leverage all available time for highly engaged, innovative learning in a variety of interconnected contexts as a means for improving student-learning gains. The proposed policy centers on an initial pilot implementation of lunchtime tutoring, yet furthermore, the policy overall provides a way of looking at the school day as a valued time resource that has the potential to support student achievement success within an interconnected, flexible, …

Single Gender Programming In A High School Setting: A Program Evaluation Project., Agnes Ghansah, Agnes Ghansah Ed.D.

Dissertations

This project discusses the effectiveness of single-gender classes in a secondary school setting. Stakeholders efficiently leverage all available time for highly engaged, innovative learning in a variety of interconnected contexts as a means for improving student-learning gains. This research project investigates deeper into how student academic achievement can be enhanced and by so doing, reduce disciplinary problems or see if there is a correlation.

The project analyzes student test scores data of those in single gender classes and those in mixed classes and compares the result. Attendance and disciplinary issues are investigated among students of single-gender classes and their counterparts …

Examining Student Engagement In The Academic Environment, Michael Scott Milliken

All Theses And Dissertations

This mixed-methods study examined the traits and engagement of five students. The students were high school boys at an independent (non-public) school. The participants’ Big Five personality traits and trait emotional intelligence were examined in depth. In addition, observation and interviews were employed to gain a deep understanding of the students’ behavioral and affective academic engagement. Many themes and subtopics were explored. The themes (and subtopics) were traits (conscientiousness, impulse control, extraversion, stress management, happiness, optimism, and self-esteem), engagement (participation, attention, effort, and perseverance), course content (general academics, English, math, history, and science), and academic tasks (in-class: passive vs. active, …

The Forgotten Population: Honors Math Students At A Vocational High School, Jarrod Richards

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods individual case study was to investigate why honors math students at a regional vocational high school felt that their mathematical ability decreased over their enrollment at the site under study from the levels they experienced in middle school. This study specifically focused on long term retention of material and motivational forces that can influence the perceptions of honors students’ ability in mathematics. The participants for this study were 23 students who had been in honors math for all four years at this school. A records review was conducted for the 23 participants, which yielded …

Implementing A Cohort Model For Algebra 1, Geometry, And Algebra 2 At One High School: A Change Leadership Project., Agnes Ghansah, Agnes Ghansah Ed.D.

Dissertations

This project addresses a high school that has low test scores in the mathematics department. The scores, especially of the core math courses are at or below that of the district level. I investigated into potential causes of the problems and how this could be rectified by proposing a change.

I collected some students’ tests scores data of the math courses, and then conducted surveys and interviews of the teachers of these courses to gain a better insight into the problem. The results prove my previous notion that the scores were not good and that both teachers and administration would …

2017 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

Some Things You Can Do To Support Public Education Now, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

Yesterday a group of students here at Gettysburg College, where I teach, organized a Solidarity Rally. It consisted largely of teach-ins designed to start conversations, and hopefully it will the first of many events that bring people together to think more carefully about how we should respond to things going on outside of our college and town. [excerpt]

Turning Teachers Into Action Researchers In Their Classrooms, Dusty Columbia Embury, Laura S. Clarke

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Action research is often called the teacher’s research and often feels like a common sense approach to solving problems, but not all pre-service teachers begin careers knowing how to use this methodology to improve their own practice. This article offers a rationale for teaching pre-service teachers the skills and action research methodology as a tool for professional improvement based on the experiences of the authors engaging in a reflective process for teaching. While not generalizable, it is hoped that lessons learned may be applied by other faculty in teacher education programs.

Betsy Devos Fails The Test, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

Mitt Romney said: "Betsy DeVos is a smart choice for education secretary." The Wall Street Journal said DeVos "knows how to fight and how to make the moral case for reform." Andrew Rotherham called her "a pretty mainstream pick." Rick Hess, purveyor of "straight talk" on education issues, informs us that DeVos is a "solid pick" who is "smart, thoughtful, and committed to doing what she thinks is best." It's too bad none of that was on display yesterday when DeVos in the hearing yesterday to determine if she should become the next U.S. Secretary of Education. …