Secondary Education Commons^™

Educational Achievement, Engagement, And Persistence In Choctaw Nation: A Study Of The Success Through Academic Recognition Program, Suzanne Delap

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has developed a unique initiative to support academic achievement within their tribal territory. The Success Through Academic Recognition (STAR) program is an example of an Indigenously-developed approach to supporting students from grades 2-12, with the hope of promoting achievement, persistence, and engagement. To study the STAR program, a mixed-methods approach was employed to first analyze quantitative demographic and performance data collected from a cohort of high school students from 2014 to 2018. Next, phenomenological interviews were conducted within the same cohort, to describe the lived experiences of STAR students within the Choctaw community. The database …

Promoting Preservice Stem Education Teachers' Metacognitive Awareness: Professional Development Designed To Improve Teacher Metacognitive Awareness, Andrew John Hughes, Eddie Partida

Educational Leadership & Technology Faculty Publications

This quantitative portion of a convergent complementarity, mixed-methods, exploratory study describes the design and implementation of a 5-week preservice teacher professional development (PD) experience and the associated Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) measures before and after the experience. The PD experience was designed to explicitly address participants’ domain-general and domain-specific knowledge and regulation of cognition through a highly integrated academic and clinical preparation regimen centered on a cognitive coaching model. The study participants comprised preservice STEM education teachers (N = 11) enrolled in a dual teaching certification and Master’s in Education program. The findings showed an increase in participants’ regulation …

Concrete Beam Design: Pouring The Foundation To Engineering In T&E Classrooms, Andrew J. Hughes, Chris Merrill

Educational Leadership & Technology Faculty Publications

Ask a middle or high school student if they could design a concrete beam that weighs only 20 pounds and is 36” long but must hold 600 pounds without failing. What is the student likely to say? What if the student was told that, with some optimized decision making based on relatively straightforward mathematics, their beam could hold 2400 pounds or more? The focus of this article is not on concrete beam design, it is rather an introduction to engineering principles in beam design using a lab activity. The concepts and skills learned in this article will lead students into …

The Gentle Man Who Taught Infinity, Sheshagiri K.M. Rao

Teacher India

Sheshagiri KM Rao describes the non-conventional teaching methods of his high school mathematics teacher Channa who helped students to discover the beauty in mathematics.

Untitled, Michayla George

Debate Essay Winners

2nd Place Winner - High School Division

Michayla George

Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School

Nurturing Excellence: A Case Study Of High School Learning Environments For The Gifted, Ryan A. Mcclintock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The nuanced and complex cognitive and social-emotional needs of high school gifted learners are not sufficiently met through accelerated coursework like Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate alone. Addressing their needs requires the design, implementation, and leadership of programming that maximizes their agency, curiosity, and confidence. Such programming should be fully modern in its conception and allow gifted high school students to construct and share products of their learning with respect to issues of global importance. The purpose of this study was to explore high school learning environments designed to maximize the agency, confidence, and curiosity of gifted and talented secondary …

Supporting Examination Reform In Nepal, Mee Young Han

Teacher India

ACER is helping to ensure that school assessment in Nepal focuses on testing higher-order thinking skills.

How 6-12th Grade Staff Support Students With Depression: A Pilot Study To Develop Measures Of Implicit Associations, Explicit Attitudes And Helping Behavior, Paul M. Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students with emotional disabilities are disproportionately suspended and expelled in K-12 schools. Attribution theory suggests individuals are less likely to provide assistance to others if they believe the individuals are responsible for their own difficulties. To test attribution theory, this study created new measures of explicit attitudes and implicit associations of licensed 6-12th grade staff regarding students with depression as well as a helping behavior measure of staff toward students with depression. The survey was distributed within a single school district in the western United States. A majority of the sample (N = 52) held a mental health license (60%), …

Toxic Masculinity, Carlos Tavira

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Toxic Masculinity negatively affects men, women, children and all of society. The main focus of toxic masculinity is how men have been made to behave in a way that is acceptable to society in connection with traditional male stereotypes, which include the restriction of emotions, dominance, misogyny and homophobia. It is important to understand what this behavior encompasses, so that it is not portrayed and not taught.

Same Sex Classes, Carlos Diaz

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Same sex classes has been a topic argued by researchers for generations. Developed in the 18th century, this trend began gaining popularity in private schools since the late 1990s.In the current generation same sex classes are mostly only in private schools. Research shows, while there are some benefits, implementing same sex education in public schools would be expensive, timely and a risk to the system.

Psychology In Gothic Literature, Alan Acosta Copas

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca feature abusive tactics such as belittlement, control, and gaslighting which ultimately takes a mental toll toward the main characters which is noted by using the environment to express their mental thoughts. Although many people are able to overcome the abuse and start off on a clean slate similarly to Wuthering Heights, abuse can also be traumatizing and can linger in a person’s thoughts for an eternity like in Rebecca. In the end, more research on the ways men cope with abuse in comparison to women, as some of the male characters …

Human Trafficking, Hady Santos Cotom

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Human trafficking is not just the traffic of people but also sex trafficking, organ harvesting, and modern-day slavery. Human trafficking has taken the lives of many adults and children over the years. It can happen to anyone no matter the place. It is important to be aware and attentive. Trafficking can be the kidnapping of people and sending them around the world for prostitution or unpaid labor work against their will and rights. Human trafficking can also be the trafficking of organs, also known as the black market.

The Failure Of The Foster Care System, Victor Machado Berrios

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

On paper, the foster care system is a very noble concept. It is a place where unlucky children can lead better lives than what they had before being taken in. Too bad that is not the case. Involvement in the foster care system often results in children with mental health issues, trauma from abusive foster placements, and no support system in place once they age out of the system. For the sake of these kids, it is important that the government increases its funding for foster care as soon as possible.

Untitled, Atticus Mosser

Debate Essay Winners

3rd Place Winner - Middle School Division

Atticus Mosser

West End Middle School

In Opposition Of The Electoral College, Sadia Bolduc

Debate Essay Winners

3rd Place Winner - High School Division

Saida Bolduc

Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet High School

A Humanizing Pedagogy And Curriculum: Lessons From Chicanx/Latinx Student Testimonios In A High School Ethnic Studies Classroom, Jorge Alberto López

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In this dissertation, I draw on the experiential knowledge of students in a high school ethnic studies classroom at Eastside High School in Los Angeles to distill concrete lessons for educators to bring humanizing teaching approaches the classroom, teacher-student relationships, and their students’ lives. Using a methodological approach grounded in testimonios , pláticas , and encuentros , and drawing on my seventeen years of ethnic studies-informed classroom teaching experience, I argue that the humanizing pedagogical project is an ongoing process—one that is at times contested and contradictory and one that is fundamentally grounded in reciprocity, relationality, and vulnerability. Building on …

Middle School Teachers Making Sense Of Education During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sarah A. Phillips

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Middle school teachers work to create an environment suitable for distance learning, promoting consistency with instruction for middle-level students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative research inquiry studied middle school teachers. Using a phenomenological study, the researcher studied how nine middle school teachers made sense of education amid interruption of normal instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The theory of transformative learning supported this investigation. Four themes emerged from this research: forced readjustment with teacher-student interaction and quality education, consistency using a virtual platform, middle school teachers’ methods, and middle school teachers’ instructional practices. The researcher recommends the following: challenges that …

How Young Adult Literature Better Informs Canonical Literature In The 9th Grade English Language Arts Classroom, Amber Bernozzi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this qualitative critical discourse analysis study was to determine if there was a benefit to using a young adult adaptation of a canonical piece to increase student comprehension in the 9th grade English-Language Arts classroom. The use of young adult literature in the secondary classroom is a prevalent topic that continues to circulate amongst educators and researchers. This research study addresses how canonical literature is far removed from the current set of twenty-first century students and its disconnect in the classroom. This study sought to discover student thoughts and perceptions on a specific set of text pairings …

New Innovation In The Flipped Chemistry Classroom

The Graduate Review

No abstract provided.

Effects Of An Anchored Career-Focused Curriculum On The Knowledge And Attitudes Of At-Risk High School Students, Megan E. Jones

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Students with disabilities (SWD) face an unfavorable employment future because many drop out of school at a disproportionate rate. The employment outlook for SWD who graduate from high school is also a concern because current studies show that only about half of them find jobs. In addition, most jobs they do find are entry level and low paying. One predictor of post-secondary success is career awareness. The purpose of this study was first to develop a curriculum especially designed for teaching career awareness of SWD and then to test its effects with a pretest-posttest randomized trial. Results indicated that the …

Belmont Presidential Debate Essay, Mary Li

Debate Essay Winners

2nd Place Winner- Middle School Division

Mary Li

Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet School

Supporting Student Mental Health During And After Covid-19, David Bryant Naff, Shenita Williams, Jenna Furman, Melissa Lee

MERC Publications

This report by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) in the VCU School of Education offers a rapid review of research about supporting student mental health as they return to school during COVID-19. It pulls from literature on natural disasters like hurricane Katrina, the psychological impacts of quarantine, and emergent research on the mental health impacts of the Coronavirus. The report is structured to answer three overarching questions: 1) Why is it important to address the mental health needs of students in schools? 2) How can we expect COVID-19 to impact the mental health of students? 3) What are some …

The Importance Of Interdisciplinary Education, Jennifer Liegeot

West Chester University Master’s Theses

This thesis work explores the concept of Interdisciplinary Education and how it can improve the educational experience for students while also creating citizens more capable of participating in a democratic society. In order to create more well-rounded citizens, schools should provide an interdisciplinary approach to education that centers the perspectives of the those who are traditionally excluded. Much of the education curriculum today is based on a system that favors the majority leaving out entire groups of students from minority populations. As a result, schooling overwhelmingly does not help oppressed students become critically conscious citizens who are equipped to participate …

Re-Forging Democracy In Schools Through The History Of American Social Movements, Jonathan Privado

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Democratic virtue and spirit are severely lacking in the traditional school setting. With so many threats to the planet, the nation, and democracy as a whole, direct action, and active civic engagement are more important than ever. The traditional social studies and history curriculums of schools, both sanitized and passive, often claim to prepare students for citizenry, but are actually ill preparing students for the challenge and the necessity of genuine civic engagement. In particular, one of the most egregious offenders within the domain of the social studies is the traditional American history curriculum. In most cases, as this study …

Correcting The Lack Of Representation And Support For Lgbtq Students In School, Colleen O'Neill

West Chester University Master’s Theses

While some progress has been made toward the inclusion of previously excluded historically marginalized communities from school curricula, there remains a notable absence of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual+ (LGBTQIA+) community. Specifically, the LGBTQIA+ community is considered controversial to address in schools because anything outside of the heterosexual, cisgender norm conflicts with some people’s religious and political beliefs. Though school administrators may insist that the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ content in schools is in violation of public schools’ duty to remain neutral, the purposeful omission of such is a political act in itself.

This program will emphasize the …

An Investigation Of Parental Involvement And Student Academic Achievement In Middle School, Laura Smokoska

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the relationship between parental involvement and student academic achievement in middle school. Additionally, this study investigated whether there were patterns among parental involvement and student academic achievement among different ethnicities. The study was conducted in a diverse school in the Chicago suburbs to determine parental involvement levels and student academic achievement levels among different ethnicities. The study had 41 student and parent participants who took a survey about parental involvement at home and parental communication with the school. In addition to the surveys, students’ final English grades, final science grades, and …

Personal Epistemological Beliefs And Teaching Practices: A Case Study Of Three High School History Teachers, Monica Boehle

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the personal epistemological beliefs of three veteran secondary-level history teachers concerning the teaching of history, how students learn history, how those beliefs are enacted, and the congruence of those beliefs with teaching practices. Using a qualitative approach, data were gathered through the Beliefs about History Questionnaire, observational data, and in-depth teacher interviews including a think-aloud and video-based interview. Personal epistemological beliefs and historical reasoning provided frameworks to examine the description of beliefs and congruence of those beliefs in instructional practices.

The findings show that the teachers’ personal epistemological beliefs were shaped by their own experiences as learners …

Experiences Of African American Teachers In Desegregated Pk–12 Schools: A Systematic Literature Review, Yonghee Suh, Brian J. Daugherity, Jihea Maddamsetti, Angela Branyon

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This literature review reports findings from 19 empirical studies on the experiences of African American teachers in PK–12 desegregated schools. The research questions were: What do we know about the experiences of African American teachers in desegregated PK–12 schools? What are the challenges African American teachers experience in desegregated PK–12 schools? In response to these questions, the article first discusses school desegregation after the Brown v. Board of Education decision and its impact on African American teachers as a historical backdrop. Findings from 19 studies were analyzed through grounded theory. Two core themes were identified from our findings: persistent structural …

There’S Nothing Worse Than Losing To A Girl: An Analysis Of Sex Segregation In American Youth Sports, Julia Konieczny

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Addressing The High School Sexual Assault Epidemic: Preventive And Responsive Solutions, Carolyn Haney

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.