Secondary Education Commons^™

From Assertion To Conversion: Classroom Management For 21st Century Teachers, Benjamin Halbkat

Empowering Research for Educators

The following position paper provides a new teacher's perspective on modern classroom management. Where is there room for improvement? What might the future hold?

High School Biology Preparation: Do Students Feel They Have Been Adequately Prepared For Introductory College Biology?, Mara Neitzel

Empowering Research for Educators

The purpose of this study was to determine how well students are being prepared in high school for introductory college biology courses. Specifically, the objectives of the study are as follows: To gain a better understanding about how well students feel they have been prepared for college science classes based on their high school education, to gain insight on how college preparation in high school impacts students’ self-confidence, and to determine if the accessibility of advanced education courses is influenced by the size of a high school. A mixed methods survey was distributed to freshman in the fall semester of …

In Support Of The Tinker V. Des Moines Decision, Matthew Olson

Empowering Research for Educators

The following position outlines a case for the Tinker v. Des Moines decision, including a historical and modern perspective. With freedom of speech and protest being a regular part of the discussion about U.S. society and schools, now is a good time to look back.

Parental Involvement And Access: A Phenomenological Study Of Urban High School Communities, Jared Thompson

Education Dissertations and Projects

In an urban school district, four high schools were studied in an effort to assess how Epstein’s (2001) six types of involvement were currently being experienced by parents. In a phenomenological study, this research gathered data on how parents of secondary students are currently experiencing their involvement with the high school. The research gathered quantitative and qualitative data from 443 parents through the use of a survey and focus group sessions over the course of 4 weeks. Parents expressed their current experiences with how they engage with the school concerning parenting practices, communication, learning at home, volunteering, decision-making, and collaborating …

The Effect Of A 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant On Academic Progression, Attendance, And Disciplinary Incidents Of At-Risk Students At A High School In Rural South Carolina, Adam Lanford

Education Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative research study was designed to examine the impact of a 21st Century Community Learning Center afterschool program on students identified as at risk. The research study focused on three research areas. First, the study examined the number of Carnegie credits earned during the 2017-2018 school year. Second, the research studied the number of school days absent during the 2017-2018 school year. Finally, the study reviewed the number of disciplinary incidents that required administrative intervention during the same school year. The study utilized a chi-square test of homogeneity to determine if there was a statistically significant difference between at-risk …

Boredom Proneness And Character Strengths Related To Academic Achievement In Adolescence, Bonnie Iannaccone

Ed.D. Dissertations

Abstract

Susceptibility to boredom can interfere with students’ ability to achieve their academic potential, with enduring negative consequences. In the present study, the researcher investigated differences in boredom proneness and character strengths in adolescent high school students and the ability of boredom proneness scores and character strengths to predict academic achievement. Results indicated that 9 of 10 students were moderately or highly prone to boredom. Students’ whose top character strength was humility were more highly prone to boredom than students’ whose top-ranked character strengths were bravery, prudence, or curiosity. From boredom proneness and character strengths data the researcher concluded that …

The Effects Of Social Media In The Overall Job Satisfaction Of School Administrators, Tiffany R. Maher

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Literature suggests school administrator shortages worldwide. A number of factors are blamed for this trend, one of which is overall job dissatisfaction. This case study examines the effects of social media on the overall job satisfaction of five school administrators in small town America. Through semi-structured interviews, this research indicates that school administrators in the study avoid reading the comments section of online news media forums. Research participants share their strategies of working proactively with the press, and they reveal how social media has changed their job. Social media has altered the landscape of what it means to be a …

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

Education Faculty Articles and Research

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

Building Young People’S Capacity For Critical And Transcendent Engagement: Examining The Institution, The Community, And The Individual As Protagonists Of A School Setting, Livia Dittmer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As a powerful socializing force in Western society, schools have significant influence on young people’s development into adulthood. As powerful agents of societal maintenance and change, adolescents have significant influence on communities and institutions such as schools. In this embedded case study, I use structuration theory, German Critical Psychology, and systems thinking to examine the dynamic relationship between institutional structures and student agency in a school setting. I specifically examine the influence of this relationship on young people’s capacity for critical and transcendent engagement, constructs described further in this work. In the setting of Nancy Campbell Academy (NCA), an international …

Pastoral Care, Mission, Tradition And Community: Alumnae Perceptions Of A Catholic Female Single-Sex High School, Samuel Torres

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the experiences of Saint Mary’s High School alumnae from the freshman class of 1949 through the graduating class of 2010 in order to identify what has sustained the school over the decades. Years after graduation, alumnae held memories of their school experiences that resulted in personal and long-lasting qualities that continue to have significant impacts on individuals and the institution. Data was gathered through written journals and interviews. The Appreciative Inquiry (AI) model was used to analyze the context of alumnae experiences. Using the AI model, multiple categories arose as positive notables mentioned by the participants. …

Matriculation Through Dual Credit, Lorry Beth Wilson

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Earning college credit in high school has become a rising trend, while correlation of matriculation to credit hour accumulation, underrepresented minority population, and high school data is limited. State policies are redefining outdated rules and processes in order to provide access, affordability, and awareness to students throughout the United States. West Kentucky Community and Technical College, in partnership with area high schools, enroll students in dual credit courses, which assists with increasing college credential completion and the reduction of total college costs. Students must have guidance and planning before, during, and after earning dual credit. This helps the student to …

Building Visible Allies For Safe And Supportive Environments: Systemic Implementation Of The Out For Safe Schools Campaign, James Marshall, Rachel Miller

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

Contemporary data illustrate a greater risk in school environments for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, or queer (LGBTQ). Verbal or physical harassment, and feeling generally unsafe in school, can lead to higher absence rates and lower levels of academic performance for these youth, when compared to their heterosexual peers. School districts across the country are responding to this challenge. This article profiles an implementation of the OUT for Safe Schools Campaign which is designed to provide visible adult allies for LGBTQ students throughout a school district. It highlights the systemic nature of both the OUT for Sale …

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

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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

What Students Tell Us About School If We Ask, Nancy K. Votteler, Mary E. Robbins, Debra Price

School Leadership Review

This article examines what school climate factors students perceive as helping them be successful in school, and what school administrators can do to aid the process. Specifically, the questions that drove this inquiry were

• How does sociocultural theory impact student voice and student engagement in the classroom?
• How does caring pedagogy impact student voice and student engagement in the classroom?
• What school climate factors do students perceive as helping them to be successful in school?

The Predictability Between Demographic And Institutional Variables Of Texas High School Principals And Their Attitudes Towards Parental Involvement, Michael D. Milstead, Nicole Walters, Lillian Poats

School Leadership Review

Over the past decades, the public school enterprise has been saturated with a myriad of social, political and academic ills. Problems such as reductions in state and federal funding, double digit percent student drop-outs, misidentification of students with learning disabilities, insufficient development of language skills in limited or non-English speaking students, shortage of highly qualified classroom teachers, unsafe schools, and students lacking college readiness are a few barriers to a student’s success in school. Perhaps the most disturbing of these issues, however, is the high percentage of students from low income households who are not meeting academic standards on statewide …

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

School Leadership Review

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

Drop In Or Drop Out: A Case Study On The Effects Of Academic Track Placement, And Levels Of Student Skill And Will, On Successful Ninth-Grade Completion, Channell M. Wilson-Segura

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The ninth grade is a transition year from middle school to high school where many students struggle to successfully navigate a new environment, new teachers and peers, new academic and behavioral expectations, and the concept of graduation requirements. This qualitative study examined the effects of academic track placement, and student levels of skill and will, on successful ninth-grade completion in one New Mexico Title I high school. It also provided insight into their perceptions of the success factors and challenges that they felt impacted their ability to successfully promote to the tenth-grade, and thus, remain on-track for graduation.

This study …

The Relationship Between School Climate And Teacher Self-Efficacy In A Rural Virginia School System, Paige Lacks, Scott B. Watson

School Leadership Review

School climate is one of the most significant factors in solidifying an effective learning environment. In today’s complex educational system, leaders face daily challenges in the world of high stakes testing and state accreditation that force them to ensure that they have implemented reforms that will provide sustained improvement in student achievement. As a result, school leaders and teachers must possess the ability to change and adapt to their conditions for continuous organizational improvement despite possible resistance from stakeholders. Moreover, with diverse teacher experience levels, leaders consistently assess and evaluate the instructional practices in their building to empower teachers to …

Looking Beyond Primary: A Study Of Barriers To Secondary Education In Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Uganda, Chloe Schalit

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The increase in protracted refugee situations around the world complicates the provision of public services such as education. Accessing secondary school is key to individual and community empowerment for vulnerable refugees through providing higher education and employment opportunities. However, secondary school attainment is often severely lacking in refugee settlements. In Uganda, 58.2% of refugees are enrolled in primary school, while only 11.3% attend secondary school. This study sought to understand the experiences of Ugandan refugees related to barriers to secondary education and its relation to social and economic empowerment, as well as solutions that refugee communities, Implementing Partners (IPs), and …

Assessing The Use Of Information And Communication Technology In Teaching And Learning In Secondary Schools, De-Graft Johnson Dei

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become a force that has changed many aspects of the way we live and every aspect of human endeavor such as education, medicine, business, law and engineering. Education is a socially oriented activity and quality education has traditionally been associated with teachers having high degrees of personal and face-to-face contact with students. But with the world moving rapidly into digital media and information, the role of ICT in education is becoming more and more important. However, indicators on technology uptake and use in education in the secondary schools in Ghana are missing and most …

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 …

“It Is Hard Right Now”: High School Educators Working With Undocumented Students, Carolina Valdivia, Marisol Clark-Ibáñez

Latino Public Policy

This project began with an interest in learning about the experiences of educators working with undocumented high school students in San Diego County. The backdrop for this study is the current anti-immigrant climate, specifically targeting Latinx undocumented immigrants. Educators in the San Diego County are working in a context where immigration authorities are deporting their students’ family members. Our aim is to begin painting a picture of who these educators are and some of the practices they employ to support their undocumented students. We hope our findings will begin to support educators and in turn their students.

Teacher Retention: Advice From Missouri's Top Districts, Joshua Flores

Educational Specialist Scholarly Papers

Teacher attrition, particularly within the first five years of teaching, is a persistent problem that negatively impacts schools, school districts, and communities across the globe. Missouri, in particular, is one state that reports higher rates of teacher attrition than the national average. This beginning exploratory analysis of a few of Missouri’s top teacher retaining districts looks to offer suggestions, recommendations, and strategies aside from raising salaries or increasing benefits packages that schools, their leaders, and districts can implement to bolster teacher retention.

Exploring Procrastination And Self-Regulated Learning Through Motivational Beliefs, Betsy Ng

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study investigated the relations among procrastination, motivational beliefs, and self-regulated learning with a sample of 8th and 9th grade Singaporean students (N = 442). It examined the role of procrastination on self-regulated learning through motivational beliefs in science using structural equation modelling. The results showed positive relations of procrastination with task value, self-efficacy and test anxiety, as well as use of learning strategies. In addition, t- test analyses revealed significant gender and grade level differences in motivational beliefs. Procrastination accounted for enough variation in motivational beliefs to emerge as a significant predictor, suggesting that procrastination could influence …

The Use Of Student Feedback In Teacher Development, Lawrence Jarocki

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of master teachers, administrators, and teacher trainers about the content of Student Evaluations of Teachers (SET) in California high schools. This study also sought to reach a consensus among experts concerning how SETs can be used both in teacher evaluations and in professional development practices and content at the secondary level.

Methodology: A classical Delphi method was utilized to collect perceptual data from a panel of California master teachers, administrators, and teacher trainers that met specific criteria regarding their education, involvement in their professional communities, and their role training …

Bullies And Allies Near The Playground: Mothers' Experiences Of Aggression In Their Children's Schools, Mara Vicente Robinson

Dissertations

Despite an increasing understanding of the importance of both parent-involvement and aggression among women, there appears to be little understanding of how these two areas influence each other; specifically, the lack of literature examining the extent to which female guardians experienced aggression from other female guardians and the effect it had on their involvement in their children’s schools. In an effort to investigate the extent to which aggression was prevalent among female guardians, the factors that influenced the aggression, and the effects of that aggression on women’s involvement in their children’s education, a convergent parallel mixed methods design was used …

A Quantitative Study Of The Relationship Between Athletic Spending And Institutional Enrollment Measures In Fcs Athletic Institutions, Rob Mcdermand, Robert D. Mcdermand

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As university budgets face fiscal challenges, it is important that university leaders make smart fiduciary choices. University leaders are quick to argue that athletics act as a front porch for universities, are a fundamental part of collegiate life, and that increased athletic funding will lead to enrollment increases and higher quality applicant pools. Critics of athletic spending, on the other hand, argue that money spent on college sports could be spent in other areas of the university.

Using a regression analysis similar to previous research, the purpose of this panel data regression analysis was to examine the relationship between intercollegiate …

K-12 Teachers' Beliefs On The Impact Of Corporal Punishment On Students' Academic Performance, Robert Sanders

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to take a closer look into the perceptions of K-12 teachers on the impact of corporal punishment on students’ academic performance. The qualative data from this study was gained through a survey administered to K-12 teachers from schools in the state of Mississippi that allow corporal punishment and schools that do not allow corporal punishment. The survey was administered to the volunteers after their staff meetings or Professional Learning Communities. The researcher read a brief statement to the participants and collected the surveys after they completed them. Mississippi is one of the states that …

Exploring Scholar--Practitioner Leadership: Superintendents' Application Of Theory To Practice In Texas Public School Districts, Michael D. Jones 6674845

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study was designed to investigate the methods of practice employed by Texas school superintendents who have completed a doctoral program centered on scholar–practitioner leadership. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how serving superintendents apply their prior learning and knowledge to the articulation and translation of their district’s mission/vision. The study described how six serving superintendents translate theory to practice by inquiring how each participant articulates the district’s mission/vision. Through the analysis of face-to-face interviews, phone conversations, emails, and informal observations recorded in a researcher’s journal, four common elements of scholar–practitioner leadership practice were …

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

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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