Elementary Education Commons^™

A Qualitative Study Of Principals’ Perception As Implementers Of The Teacher Evaluation Model, Achievenj, And Federal Education Policies In An Urban Public School District In New Jersey, Petra Liz-Morell

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The study explores the implementation of teacher evaluation models and federal education policies, particularly AchieveNJ, in an urban public school district in New Jersey. It focuses on principals' experiences and perceptions, uncovering their challenges and thoughts on the policy's effectiveness in enhancing teacher performance and student learning outcomes. The research delves into the complexities and uncertainties principals face, examining how these align with their leadership practices and impact policy execution. It also investigates the contextual factors influencing AchieveNJ's execution and effectiveness, providing insights for future policy formulation and practical implementation.

A key aspect of the study is its use of …

The Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Students In The School Setting: The Adaptations Needed For Tiered Supports, Eleni M. Gajewski

Dissertations

This study aims to evaluate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on students in the school setting and identify necessary adaptations needed, particularly through a tiered system of support. The research aims for two primary objectives by employing a constructivist framework utilizing mixed methods for data collection. Firstly, it aims to provide districts with a foundation for understanding the social-emotional and academic consequences of the pandemic on students. Secondly, its purpose is to empower districts to leverage this comprehensive evaluation as a proactive approach to cater to the diverse needs of all students. This includes responding to the challenges posed …

Impact Of School Leaders’ Actions On Teachers And Their Practices, Dinara Metova

Dissertations

School leaders play a vital role in teachers' performance; while some leaders create an environment conducive to learning, collaboration, and achievement, others inadvertently contribute to teacher attrition and educational disparities. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of school leaders' actions on teachers and their practices. The context of this inquiry includes two stakeholder groups: 582 school leaders and 1,054 teachers from all 50 states who are members of Facebook Educator Groups. I implemented a mixed methods design by researching scholarly articles and using qualitative and quantitative survey data to find the most effective school leader practices …

Book Review It Takes An Ecosystem: Understanding The People, Places, And Possibilities Of Learning And Development Across Settings, Denise Montgomery

Journal of Youth Development

It Takes an Ecosystem: Understanding the People, Places, and Possibilities of Learning and Development Across Settings, edited by Thomas Akiva and Kimberly H. Robinson, is a call to take a holistic and dynamic ecosystem approach to thinking about, designing, developing, and investing in the allied youth fields to more equitably and effectively support young people’s learning and development. Published in 2022, the volume outlines a vision for out-of-school time programs and systems, schools, community-based organizations, and the public sector to move beyond focusing separately on individual systems to a learning and development ecosystem approach that more accurately and inclusively reflects …

Supporting Emerging Bilingual Students In The Math Classroom, Karise Mace, Enock Yeboah

Education Faculty Research

Presentation at the meeting of the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Penn State University, October 13, 2023

Elementary Teachers’ Perception Of Digital Resources Based On Student Achievement, Tanya R. Small

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Many factors impact teachers’ decisions about when and how to implement technology during instruction. However, a gap exists in understanding teachers’ motivations for technology integration and face-to-face instruction. Therefore, this qualitative case study explored how teachers’ perceptions of student achievement, motivation, classroom behaviors, and digital challenges influenced their decisions about using technology or direct instruction in the classroom setting. A group of 20 teachers from two southern Florida public elementary schools completed anonymous Likert-scale surveys; six teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. The findings determined via descriptive statistics and thematic analysis revealed that teachers’ inclusion of technology and traditional resources is …

The Value Of Stem As An Educational Tool For Enhancing Cognitive Development, Leaders 20/20, Alessandra Olmedo Robles

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The focus of STEM education is to provide a holistic approach through hands-on, problem-based learning where students are able to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to real world problems.

The Impact Of Repeated Reading Intervention On Oral Reading Fluency For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd) In Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Al Naji

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence rate of learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen concurrently with their inclusion into public schools in Saudi Arabia. Being in schools, they face academic challenges, particularly in reading. This increased rate evokes the importance of implementing valuable strategies to keep up the academic skills of those students. These students require Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs), which have been demonstrated crucial for their reading development. Nevertheless, limited research has been done on examining the efficacy of EBPs used to enhance the reading skills of learners with ASD, especially their Oral Reading Fluency (ORF). This study used an effective approach …

The Relevance And Benefits Of Moral Intelligence To Servant Leadership, Kong Wah Cora Chan

Servant Leadership: Theory & Practice

Moral intelligence has a better chance of fixing morality-related issues instead of bandaging them and addressing the servant leadership best test stated by Greenleaf (1977/2002). Prudence—mature moral intelligence—is one’s skillful act in making the best, most caring alternative among all possible choices based on moral wisdom (Bradshaw, 2010). Morally intelligent people are conscious of aligning their values, goals, and actions with the universal principles of integrity, responsibility, compassion, and forgiveness (Lennick and Kiel, 2011). Such an alignment leads to purposeful living and organizational success. Borba (2001) advocated for building moral habits of empathy, conscience, self-control, respect, kindness, tolerance, and fairness. …

Teachers’ And Principals’ Perceptions Of The Influence Of Principal Behaviors On Middle School Culture, Heather Daniel

Ed.D. Dissertations

Before this study, the research was limited regarding teachers’ perceptions of their principals and the influence on school culture. Even less research was dedicated to self-perceptions of principals’ behaviors within a middle school setting. Due to the lack of research, further investigation was necessary to understand specific behaviors performed by middle school principals and their influence on school culture. In this study, and teachers from one Tennessee county responded to questionnaires to investigate the relationship between perceptions of teachers and principals on principal behaviors and the influence on school culture. Through this study, principals and teachers listed multiple principal behaviors …

Shifting Educational Paradigms To Match Learners: Sustaining Cultures, Languages, And Paradigms Through Educational Sovereignty, Lona R. Running Wolf

The Montana English Journal

The U.S. system of education was developed by visionary forefathers that knew American democracy would be stable only through educated citizens. The system was developed to produce citizens that would carry on the new world's vision and values. The educational system was built within that paradigm. Simultaneously, Indigenous tribes in America were being stripped of their traditional educational systems whose purpose was also to develop productive citizens of their communities and carry on their values. Traditional educational systems among tribes developed children with positive self-identity carrying the pride of their culture, language, and paradigm. That is not the case for …

Restoration: Emerging With Courage, Michelle C. Hughes Dr.

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This essay, first presented at the conference (name has been changed) as a talk at anonymous university, examines one pre-service faculty’s scholarly journey. Written during the Covid-19 pandemic, the author highlights research about professional teaching dispositions specifically exploring the disposition of courage. The essay reveals how the author’s research and scholarship became life-giving during a challenging season. The author encourages colleagues to cultivate space to reflect, summon courage and consider where they can seek and find restoration in their work and scholarship. The author concludes that seeking restoration is a life-giving practice that reminds educators of our faith and calling––and …

How Doctoral Students In A Formal Leadership Program Conceptualize Followership: A Mixed-Methods Study, Katy J. Johnson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this exploratory mixed-methods study was to determine how doctoral students in a formal leadership program conceptualize followership. The methods used to conduct this analysis included distributing a Qualtrics (released in August 2022) survey and conducting one-on-one interviews with a sample of degree-seeking doctoral students within a formal leadership program. The researcher collected quantitative and qualitative data addressing students’ followership style, leadership attitudes and beliefs, and perceptions of followership. These data were analyzed concurrently using a triangulation design. A total of 67 students completed the survey, and seven students were interviewed. The findings revealed that the participants employ …

General Education Teacher Challenges With Teaching English Learners In The Mainstream Classroom: A Qualitative Study Of 3rd-5th Grade Elementary General Education And Esol Teachers’ Perceptions, Joanne Gauthier

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

This qualitative study focused on the challenges that 3rd through 5th grade general education teachers faced while supporting and teaching English Learner (EL) students in the classroom from the perspectives of general education and ESOL teachers, based on their experiences in the classroom. This study took place at an urban Title 1 elementary school in the southeastern United States. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the teacher challenges surrounding EL instruction and its impact on student achievement. The theoretical frameworks that informed this study were culturally responsive teaching and critical teacher leadership. Several data gathering …

The Principal’S Role As Mentor In New Teacher Attrition Rates: The Importance Of Teaching Teachers, William Dockery

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. Research tells us that it takes years of deliberate practice and ongoing coaching to become an “expert” in any field and that it can take from 3 to 7 years for a new teacher to grow into an effective educator. Yet, in America today, more than 50% of teachers quit in their first 5 years of service. In low performing economically disadvantaged schools, teachers leaving the profession in their first 3 years increases to 60%. The impact of highly effective teachers on students’ success can be seen through the increase in percentile on Math scores, moving the needle …

Special Education Teacher Attrition: K-12 Administrator Perspectives, Tia Alove Stevens-Hicks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Teacher attrition is a significant contributor to the teacher shortages, with preretirement attrition accounting for two thirds of all attrition. Special education teachers leave teaching at significantly higher rates than their general education peers. In addition, there is a greater demand for special education teachers due to the increase in public school students requiring special education services. As a result, many K–12 administrators and other educational leaders often fill vacant positions with unqualified or new teachers with less experience than their predecessors. Special education teachers have reported that teachers who remained in their positions reported high levels of administrative …

The Currency Of Teacher Trust In Working Conditions For Teacher Retention, Jeanette White

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Virginia Public schools continue to face teacher shortages, and policymakers and school leaders are desperately seeking ways to influence teachers' decisions to stay at school. This multi-site case study of seven elementary schools offers a conceptual framework to examine how teachers' trusting relationships with students and parents relate to working conditions and retention. Teacher interview excerpts, an overall measure of teacher working conditions using the Virginia Climate and Working Conditions Survey (Virginia Department of Education, 2021), and school-level descriptive statistics were analyzed to examine the relationship between teachers' perceptions of trust and other working conditions within their schools. In this …

The Reality Of Teaching English Virtually: Esl Teachers' Perspectives And Experiences During The Covid-19 National Pandemic, Natalia Guerrero

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the dilemma ESL teachers experienced as the educational system shifted from the usual modus operandi of in-person lessons to the uncharted virtual learning environment (VLE). ESL teachers, in one of the largest urban districts in Louisiana, accumulated additional roles and responsibilities that were unique to the teachers of the English learner (EL) population enrolled at their schools.

Data collected to answer the research questions were the product of single and focus group’s interviews with five ESL elementary and middle school teachers in Freedom District. State and district emergency response to COVID-19 guidelines, along with instructional artifacts, were …

Student Behavior Ratings And Response To Tier 1 Reading Intervention: Which Students Do Not Benefit?, Wilhelmina Van Dijk, Christopher Schatschneider, Stephanie Al Otaiba, Sara A. Hart

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

Core reading instruction and interventions have differential effects based on student characteristics such as cognitive ability and pre-intervention skill level. Evidence for differential effect based on affective characteristics is scant and ambiguous; however, students with problem behavior are more often non-responsive to core reading instruction and intensive reading interventions. In this study, we estimated the range of students' behavior ratings in which a core reading instruction intervention was effective using a data set including 3,024 students in K-3. Data came from seven independent studies evaluating the individualized Student Instruction (ISI) Tier 1 reading intervention and were pooled using integrative data …

Subjective Well-Being Of Teachers In K-12 Christian Schools, Julianne Rettig

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This non-experimental, quantitative study aimed to examine the factors that influence the self-perceived well-being of teachers in K-12 Christian schools. The sample for this study was convenient, non-probable, and purposive and comprised of 81 teachers from one Christian school system in Florida. The measurement tool used in this study is based on Seligman’s (2011) work on well-being. The Workplace PERMAH Profiler is a valid and reliable (α = .94) instrument that measures flourishing in terms of six domains: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment, and health. The internal reliability of study participant responses to survey items associated with the construct …

A Middle-Class Mother's Journey On Navigating The Educational System: The Impact Of Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, And Class In Schools, Amy A. Hunter

Dissertations

This is a qualitative autoethnographic study of a Black mother in the Midwest region as she navigates the educational system for her children. This is a research document that informs the reader of the impact of racism and the intersectional identity of race, gender, and motherhood. The importance of intersectionality is highlighted in this research, and so it is that the mother is middle-class to articulate that poverty, access to resources, or the educational attainment of the mother are not necessarily mitigating factors for the treatment she receives within the educational setting. Moreover, is serves as a guide for other …

The Impact Of Supplemental Phonemic Awareness Lessons On Phonological Awareness And Spelling Development Among Kindergarten And First Graders, Crystal Olinger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Reading is a developmental process that builds on complex cognitive processes and starts long before children enter school. This present study investigated the impact of supplemental phonemic awareness lessons on phonological awareness and spelling development among kindergarten and first graders. The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP-2) measured phonological awareness. The Kindergarten Inventory of Developmental Spelling (KIDS) measured spelling development in kindergarten students. The Developmental Spelling Analysis (DSA) measured spelling development in first grade. Participants in the treatment group received 16 weeks of weekly word study instruction and 10-15 minute daily phonemic awareness instruction. A mixed design full factorial ANOVA …

A Creative Approach To Promoting And Discussing Social Emotional Learning, Lori B. Doyle, Jill L. Swisher

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Social emotional learning (SEL) is an important topic in education and a desired area of professional development for teachers. This conceptual essay offers a creative approach in promoting and discussing SEL through the use of haiku poetry. The tenets from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework were synthesized into key concepts and presented as haiku poems as a pedagogical exercise to increase awareness on SEL.

Challenge-Based Learning & Steam Curriculum, Diana Lockwood

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

STEAM education is being integrated into elementary schools as a way to engage more students in creativity, hands-on learning, and problem-based learning also referred to as Challenge-Based-Learning (CBL). This article focuses on elementary educators’ curriculum design for STEAM and presenting students with open-ended questions phrased as a challenge as a way to raise student interest and achievement (DeJarnette, 2018; Hunter-Doniger, 2018). When students received challenges to solve, they felt more open to sharing their ideas since there was more than one potential right answer (DeJarnette, 2018; Drake, 2012). When implementing CBL, teachers act as facilitators using a constructivist approach as …

知源育利用のガイド, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

知源育を応用するための様々な角度からのヒントを学ぶことができるガイドです。実勢んをしながら、時々このガイドを参照することで、より高いレベルでの実践が可能になるでしょう。

Introduction To A Universal Performance Improvement Method (Chigen-Iku), Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

This brief article introduces a universal performance improvement method called Chigen-iku, which has been developed carefully and extensively over more than 25 years through more than 100 individual and group projects based on the principles that were selected through my doctorial study in the field of Instructional Psychology and Technology.

Elementary Principal Leadership And Special Education: A Case Study In The United States, Vivian M. Garrison

Dissertations and Theses

School districts have called upon principals to build capacity for inclusive learning environments and prioritize the needs of an increasingly diverse group of students. A principal's work to effectively include students so they are part of the school community and have opportunities to achieve academically has been challenging. As the instructional leader of the school, principals have played an essential role by collaborating with teachers and specialists, removing obstacles to learning, and ensuring that teachers meet the needs of all learners in their classrooms. They have also been held accountable for knowing the laws, policies, and best practices to support …

Elementary Classroom Ethics: The Emergence Of Ethical Literacy Within The Morning Meeting, Leo A. Zumpetta

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Rituals have proven effective in the elementary classroom. One ritualistic practice, the morning meeting, is rooted in social and emotional learning (SEL), an approach that integrates traditional academic pursuits with an understanding of emotional regulation, self-actualization and interpersonal relationships. Ethical literacy, a facility with ethical concepts empowering individuals to act as autonomous ethical beings, may be cultivated through SEL. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the morning meeting for evidence of foundational experiences leading to ethical literacy in student participants, along with an analysis of the effectiveness of these experiences. Data were collected through nonparticipant observation …

Tracking The Legacy Of "Inner-City" Catholic Schools: An Analysis Of U.S. Elementary Catholic School Organizational And Demographic Data, Andrew F. Miller, Annie Smith, Kierstin M. Giunco, Audrey A. Friedman, Myra Rosen-Reynoso, Charles T. Cownie Iii

Journal of Catholic Education Pre-Prints

Over the past twenty years, Catholic elementary schools that self-identify as “inner-city” have closed at a higher rate than Catholic schools in other locations. These schools have also long been associated with a legacy of effectively serving low-income students, students of color, and recent immigrant students, suggesting that the persistent closure of these schools may have a negative impact on these communities. In this paper, we set out to assess the extent to which there have been demographic or organizational changes over the past twenty years in these “inner-city” schools. We found that while these schools do still serve higher …

Building A Mathematics Intervention Program: One District’S Journey, Karise Mace, Karen Austin, Jodi Kirstein

Education Faculty Research

No abstract provided.