Other Education Commons^™

School Shouldn’T End When The Bell Rings: An Exploratory Homeschooling Study, Mackenzie Dukelow

MA Research Paper

Homeschooling has experienced significant growth over the last several decades, yet little to no research has explored the relationship between homeschoolers and the public education system. Being the first to explore this relationship, the current study collected and examined data from 3 semi-structured interviews and 15 online homeschooling blogs in order to understand the growth of homeschooling in Ontario and the relationship between homeschooling and the public education system. The results of this study reveal the relationship between homeschoolers and the public education system varies significantly over time and locale, the challenges within each system and the difficulty of transitioning …

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 …

The Differences Between Principal And Teacher Perceptions Of Professional Learning Communities In California Schools, Michael Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Effective Professional Learning Communities are one tool schools utilize to ensure that student achievement improvement is prioritized. Professional Learning Communities help educators increase their professional knowledge and minimize conflict amongst colleagues. Additionally, teachers who regularly participate in a Professional Learning Community have students who reach higher achievement benchmarks than the students of their non-participating peers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a statistically significant difference existed between principal perceptions and teacher perceptions of Professional Learning Communities as measured by the Professional Learning Communities Assessment—Revised. A sample of 49 principals and 53 teachers from 49 schools in California …

The Relationship Between Grade Point Average And Understanding Of Homework's Purpose And Management In Economically Disadvantaged High School Students, Diane Bush

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a key measure of academic achievement, grade point average (GPA), could accurately be predicted from a linear combination of understanding homework’s purpose as measured by the Homework Purpose Scale (HPS) and by the student’s approach to homework management and homework behaviors as measured by the Homework Management Scale (HMS). This quantitative study is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey design comprised of two previously established valid and reliable scales: the Homework Purpose Scale and the Homework Management Scale. The study’s design is correlational using a sample (N = 300) of pre-existing high school …

The Effect Of Color Coding Exterior Letters Of Words On Reading Fluency And Decoding Ability In Intermediate Students Who Read Below Grade Level, Edward Kirby

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this true experimental, posttest-only control-group design was to determine if the color coding of exterior letters affects the fluency and decoding ability among fourth grade students who were below grade level in reading. If color coding exterior letters is an effective intervention, then struggling readers could utilize this intervention to improve their reading fluency and decoding abilities. Participants were selected from a random sample of 102 public school students who were below grade level in reading. The participants were from a district in the southeast United States. Each student was randomly assigned to either an experimental or …

An Examination Of The Impact Of Early Intervention On High School Dropout Rates, Kenton Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative, correlational study focuses on the examination of at-risk student indicators and the practice of early identification and intervention as it pertains to high school graduation. It utilized logistic regression to determine whether a set of predictor variables (Criterion Referenced Competency Test math, final math and English grades, and number of absences) can accurately predict the criterion variable of graduation from high school. The analysis also determined which variables best predict the criterion variable. The analysis utilized archived data on African American males who entered ninth grade in a large U.S. school district during the 2013-2014 school year. The …

The Effects Of An Online Math Intervention On The Math Anxiety Levels Of Community College Students, Rita Love

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Finding an inexpensive, timely, and effective intervention to reduce math anxiety in community college students is a worthwhile endeavor. Math anxiety left unattended can lead to the conscious and deliberate avoidance of math-heavy educational programs and careers. Previous investigations in math anxiety interventions have overlooked the potential for mastery learning-based online modules to reduce math anxiety. The purpose of this two-factor quasi-experimental posttest-only control group study is to investigate whether participation in Let’s Go Racing, a mastery learning-inspired intervention designed to prepare students for gateway math courses, affects math anxiety levels and whether the potential effect differs for male and …

Utilizing Natural Settings To Reinforce Social Skills Instruction In Students With Disabilities, Torrey Pitchford

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A large proportion of students with disabilities (SWD) have social skills deficits that make it difficult for them to succeed in school, work, and life. This quantitative, quasi-experimental, non-equivalent, pretest-posttest, control group study was designed to explore whether SWD can better transfer their learned social skills to natural settings, improving their chances at independence and success, with the use of reinforcement in natural settings. The researcher included 86 students with disabilities from a school district in a predominantly white, middle class, rural Utah town. The researcher and teachers used Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) in this study to provide instruction …

Digital Game-Based Learning And The Mathematics Achievement Of Gifted Students, Lynette Cooper

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group study was to determine the presence of a statistically significant difference in the mathematics achievement of gifted learners when utilizing digital game-based learning (DGBL) for supplemental mathematics instruction when compared to gifted learners not utilizing DGBL. This study compared the Student Growth Percentile (SGP) of 105 sixth-grade gifted participants from two public middle schools as measured by the Renaissance Learning STAR Math Test. The participants took a pretest, completed 540 minutes of supplemental mathematics instruction over a nine-week period, and took a posttest. Participants were randomly selected for the treatment group who …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Effective Student Support Systems By Availability Of Student Support Facilitators, Marsha Joyce-Tatum

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Student support systems are designed to improve struggling students’ performance and should be used by general and special education teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of student support system frameworks in a rural school district in a Mid-Atlantic state with a full-time or part-time student support facilitator. This study will provide educational leaders with information on teachers’ perceptions concerning student support systems, in order to support creation of improved staff development efforts that will influence effective teacher use of student support systems. Teachers’ perceptions of their training, special education eligibility, and framework weaknesses in student …

A Case Study Of The Stakeholders' Perception Of The Effectiveness Of A South Carolina District Mentorship Program, Donna Floyd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study is to understand the perceptions of participants in St. John’s County School District concerning the effectiveness of the mentorship program in the county. The Theory of Teacher Development (Fuller, 1969; Katz, 1972) guided the research. This theory states the induction programs should follow pre-service preparation, which will reduce the teacher attrition rate. A single case study was chosen so that the mentorship program could be studied using the perceptions of the participants in the program. The two research questions that guided the study is as follows: “What are the beginning teachers’ perceptions of the …

The Relationship Between Teacher-Assigned Course Grades And The Ohio Air End Of Course 8th Grade Science Test, Mark Potts

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

For over a century, teacher-assigned grades have been criticized and maligned as a subjective hodgepodge of academic and non-academic factors that varied from teacher to teacher and generally failed to communicate student academic achievement. Standardized tests focused more objectively on student achievement rather than leveling the playing field by eliminating the subjectivity it seems to have tilted it in favor of white middle-class students. The purpose of this correlational study was to better understand the relationship between standardized tests and teacher assigned grades. This study examined the Ohio End-of-Course exams for 8th grade Science and the teacher assigned final grades …

Flipping The Flipped: The Co-Creational Classroom, Vuk Uskoković

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The flip teaching model is being increasingly adopted by higher education institutions as an active learning alternative to traditional lecturing. However, the flip model shares a number of critical premises with the classical didactics. The further flips of the flip are thus advocated and the fear of returning the method to its initial state, prior to the flip, via such flips of the flipped dispelled. Proposed here is a seminal variation to the flip model based on the active involvement of students in searching, finding, selecting, and assembling knowledge from various literature sources into the learning material for the entire …

Cultivating A Professional Culture Of Peace And Inclusion: Conceptualizing Practical Applications Of Peace Leadership In Schools, Whitney Mcintyre Miller, Annmary S. Abdou

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Beyond the role of educating students across all academic domains, school leaders are tasked with the monumental responsibility of creating positive, engaged systems and cultures that embrace the growing cultural, economic, linguistic, and cognitive diversity in the United States landscape. With collective goals to create peaceful learning environments with capacity to serve diverse learners, many school leaders have embraced school-wide prevention and intervention efforts, such as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for social-emotional and behavioral development of students. Unfortunately, due to the inherent complexities and fragmentation of such efforts, many school leaders have continued to experience significant barriers to sustainable …

Teacher Talk: How Many White, Middle-Class, Female Educators Perpetuate White Privilege In School, Theresa Nomensen

Dissertations

This paper examines the ways middle-class, white, women, who comprise more than eighty percent of the teaching force in public schools perpetuate white supremacy in public schools, explicitly at looking at how and what middle-class, white teachers say to and about their students of color. I interrogate and analyze my own beliefs and experiences, using autoethnography, revealing my journey from learning about my white privilege to understanding how I perpetuate white privilege in schools. Using the theoretical framework of Critical Whiteness Studies, I will interrogate my own whiteness as I confront and wrestle with whiteness in myself and in five …

The Effect Of Digital Tablets' Applications On Reading Achievement Of First Graders In Two Private Schools, Sean Corcoran

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The focus of this research study was to determine the impact of integrating tablets into reading instruction in four first-grade classrooms in two private elementary schools in the southeastern United States. This is important because many schools are utilizing tablets in the instructional process and this seeks to determine if there is an academic value to their use in the classroom. The study was based on the cognitive theory of multimedia learning by Richard Mayer. The researcher sought to identify any possible differences in standardized test scores of students who used tablet applications during reading instruction versus students who did …

The Effects Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Intervention Supports On Students With Emotional Behavior Disorders In Elementary Schools, Marva Clarke Howard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of implementing School-Wide Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (SWPBIS) in elementary schools for students with Emotional Behavior Disorders (EBD) that engaged in poor adaptive behaviors. Therefore, the researcher seeked to determine if there existed a difference in the overall adaptive scores of elementary students with EBD who attended a SWPBIS school and a non-SWPBIS school. The purpose of this research study was to determine if the implementation of SWPBIS decreased the poor adaptive scores among students with EBD and if lower adaptive scores decreased the chance of disruptive and violent behaviors. …

A Correlational Study Of 5th Students' Handwriting Legibility And Scores On Writing Samples In A Northwest Georgia School, Julia Houston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study explored the relationship between legibility in handwriting scores and compositional scores of students in grade five in one Northwest Georgia school. The ability to recall and write the letters automatically may impact the composing skills of students engaged in the writing process. Handwriting, often considered a motor skill in young children, may have a greater impact on literacy learning than is often considered. The strong connection to literacy learning along with the importance as a skill in communications both contribute to the importance of this study. Data was collected from one elementary school in Northwest Georgia. The school …

Traversing Across Learning Environments And The Need For A Single Data Standard In Digital Learning Environments, Liam Mcnamara

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning

As Big Data becomes ever present in many industries, in education it presents a particularly interesting problem as many technologies begin to develop, data standards become variant. This raises the issue that ad-hoc data standards present discontinuity across platforms particularly in the analysis and interpretation of data collected in Personalised Learning Environments. This presents an ethical dilemma when this data becomes actionable and active in decision making regarding a learners’ progress and advancement. This article asserts that there exists a hypothetical dilemma in the predicament that ad-hoc data standards result in potentially misleading or erroneous interpretations that have longitudinal effects …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

An Action Research Investigation Into An Early Childhood Digital, Storytelling-Based Solution, Jessica Smith

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The development of literacy skills prior to the classroom has been established as essential for future school and life successes. However, the present achievement gap between lower-socioeconomic neighborhoods and their higher-income counterparts illustrate vast dissimilarities in early childhood provisions for quality reading materials and instructional aides. In an effort to bridge the educational breach, a collaborative, storytelling-based program entitled Kid Forward was introduced to five nationwide families as a means of assistance for early childhood literacy development. Through the use of demographic surveys, interviews completed before and after the program implementation, and exit surveys, the action research study examined early …

The Human Dynamics Needed In The Change Process For Transformational Implementation Of Educational Reform: Common Core State Standards, Daisy Morales

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the changes made in mindset, behaviors, culture, and systems as perceived by K-12 school district directors and principals in California in the implementation of the California Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

Methods: This study was descriptive and qualitative, conducted by interviewing 8 principals and 8 directors who have been in their positions for 3 or more years, had first-hand experience with the implementation of the California Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and were familiar with the shifts needed in CCSS. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed for …

Boundary Crossing: An Examination Of The Cooperative Efforts Between A School And Museum, Katie Goldman

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study examines a school-museum partnership between, a public school in Lower Manhattan, and a historical society located in New York City. Utilizing the theoretical framework of Activity Theory and the concept of Boundary Crossing, this research examines the school-museum partnership between P.S. 1994 and the historical society. The partnership between these two institutions has existed for the past six years, which situates it as an example of a long-term, successful collaboration between two organizations. In pursuit of understanding the establishment and implementation of this school-museum partnership, data was collected, examined and analyzed. This case study seeks to identify specific …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Secondary Teachers' Perceptions Of The Flipped Classroom Model, Jami Weidmann

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to describe secondary teachers’ experiences implementing a secondary flipped classroom model (FCM) in the United States. A FCM is a framework wherein students work at their own pace and use in-class time for active learning activities. The following questions were researched: (a) How do secondary FCM teachers describe their lived experiences from implementing the FCM? (b) What benefits, if any, do secondary teachers describe from implementing the FCM? (c) What challenges, if any, do secondary teachers describe from implementing the FCM? (d) What necessary resources do teachers perceive important for successful …

Student Transition Into Kindergarten: A Case Study Of The Reggio Emilia Approach, Joan Stephens

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to arrive at a better understanding of what teachers contribute to the unique issues of student transition from a Reggio Emilia approach preschool into kindergarten. Transition was defined as “. . . reciprocal organization activities and cooperation (vertical connection), one of the aims of which was to connect with families (horizontal connection)” (Ahtola et al., 2016, p. 169). The central question of the research is; what do Reggio Emilia approach schoolteachers contribute to transition? Vygotsky’s (1978) social constructivist theory involved the “actual relations between individuals” (p. 57), and social constructivist theory, along …

A Phenomenological Study Of Female Stem Majors Who Have Decided To Become Educators, Porcia Richardson-Spears

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate, identify, and describe the lived experiences that influence female STEM majors to become secondary educators rather than enter a STEM-related corporate profession. This study was guided by Mezirow’s transformative learning theory (TLT) and Lent, Brown and Hackett’s social cognitive career theory (SCCT) as they related to self-awareness, which guides and motivates the behaviors involved in choosing a career path. The research questions for this study were designed to investigate the experiences that prompted females to major in STEM majors and to enter the field of teaching rather than enter corporate …

Natural Learning Environments And The Social-Emotional Development Of Students With Sensory Processing Challenges, Denise Elizabeth West

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

This study examined the impact of a natural learning environment on the social-emotional development of students with Autism and/or Sensory Processing Disorder. For this research, social-emotional development consisted of social behavior, communication, and participation. The elements of a traditional classroom are characterized by confinement, harsh lighting/acoustics, and other habitual triggers for sensory discomfort. A natural learning environment can provide students with natural stimuli, fresh air, natural acoustics, natural lighting, etc. Additionally, the natural learning environment fosters a connection with nature, which research shows is important for the self-discovery, self-advocacy, and self-efficacy of all humans. Considering the artificial nature of the …

A Predictive Correlational Study Of The Relationship Between Grit And Self-Efficacy Beliefs Among Pre-Service Teachers, Rosetta Riddle

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this predictive correlational study was to examine the relationship between the personality trait of grit and self-efficacy levels. The predictor variable of grit to the criterion variable of self-efficacy for pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher preparation program at a Mid-Atlantic university was studied. Investigating connections between motivation and resilience that might result in self-efficacious behaviors was the focus of the study. The study was important because although some research studies existed regarding content specific self-efficacy of pre-service teachers, limited research had been conducted regarding self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers based on school level. This was a …

Integrating A Farm Study Into A Mixed Age Classroom, Rachel Kanegis

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper, Integrating A Farm Study Into A Mixed Age Classroom, explores the impact and benefits of integrating a farm study into a classroom. It reports on the course and the results of how students responded to the farm study over one full school year. In addition, it shows how the integrated farm study could be incorporated into the core academic topics such as reading, writing, math, social studies, and science. In fact, this paper proves how students become more motivated and engaged to learn in the core academic topics through their focus on the farm study. The class that …

“Are Staff Bias’ Affecting The Way Pediatric Patients Develop And Cope Within The Hospital Setting?”, Mary Lauren Upchurch

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Gender stereotypes are pervasive in our culture – ingrained by long-standing biases (both conscious and unconscious) (Higgins, 2018). The way boys and girls begin to understand and mitigate their world are often related to the gender stereotyping that society has constructed. However, stereotypical expectations not only reflect existing differences, but also impact the way boys and girls interpret themselves and are treated by others. This paper will focus on the way gender stereotyping of hospitalized pediatric patients may impact coping, treatment, and overall care. The author has chosen to examine language especially as it relates to gender specific analogies, incentives …