Secondary Education Commons^™

Diseño De Un Juego De Rol Enfocado En México Prehispánico, Jaime Eduardo García-Maya Biol., Karina Flores Ocampo M En E.

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

Resumen

Los juegos de rol (JdR) nos invitan a asumir personajes y desenvolvernos en situaciones simuladas, se fundamenta en diversas perspectivas teóricas que resaltan su impacto en el desarrollo integral y en la adquisición de conocimientos. (Sierra Garzón 2024), (Peñafiel, A et al., 2023), (Garaigordobil et al., 2022) y (Marente, 2019)

Autores como Vygotsky (citado en Garaigordobil et al., 2022) subrayan la importancia de las interacciones sociales para el aprendizaje y la regulación emocional, se ha observado que el juego de rol contribuye al desarrollo de habilidades como la empatía, la cooperación, la comunicación y la resolución de conflictos, elementos …

Building Bridges: Evaluating Teacher Preparation And Program Activation Of Ethnic Studies In California’S K-12 High Schools Through An Autoethnography, Jose Aguilera-Lopez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examines the lived experiences of secondary Social Science educators teaching Ethnic Studies in the early stages of program activation, with particular attention to the challenges that are often invisible to policymakers, institutions of higher education, and K-12 school districts. Using an autoethnographic approach, the research examines key elements of Ethnic Studies Program Activation, including infrastructure support, capacity building, professional development led by experienced Ethnic Studies practitioners, and teaching with fidelity. The findings aim to provide actionable guidance for educators and district leaders to support new Ethnic Studies teachers at the secondary level and to inform leadership teams at …

A Phenomenological Study Of Educators' Perceptions Of The Impact Of The Building Assets, Reducing Risks Program On Foster Youth, Kelly S. Daly

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored educators’’ perceptions of how the Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) program supports foster youth during the transition into ninth grade.  Ninth grade is an important year for later school success, but foster youth often experience school changes, disrupted relationships, and other challenges that can make this transition more difficult. Although BARR has shown positive results for ninth-grade students generally, limited research as examined its role in supporting foster youth.

This study focused on educators with experience working with both BARR and foster youth.  Data were collected through interviews and analyzed for shared meaning and themes.  The …

The Parental Experience: First-Generation Students In The Transition From High School To College, Angelica Agudo

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of parents and guardians of first-generation Latinx students as they navigated the transition from high school to college in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. Despite increasing attention to first-generation student success, limited research has centered parental perspectives, particularly within regionally underresourced Latinx communities. This study addressed this gap by exploring how parents access and interpret institutional resources, the roles they assume in shaping college choice and family dynamics, and how educational institutions can better support families during this critical transition.

This study was guided by Schlossberg’s Transition Theory and Bronfenbrenner’s …

A Guided Curriculum Approach To Supporting Critical Thinking And Mathematical Readiness In Ib Physics, Samantha Killeen

Masters Projects

The purpose of this project is to address the problem that many students lack the critical thinking and mathematical reasoning skills required to be successful in rigorous STEM courses like IB Physics. While students may perform well in mathematics courses, they often struggle to transfer those skills into physics contexts that require conceptual understanding and problem-solving. These challenges have been intensified by academic tracking in mathematics pathways, post-pandemic learning loss, and increased dependence on technology, which have reduced the opportunities for productive struggle in the classroom. As a result, students frequently enter IB Physics unprepared for the pace and rigor …

Perceptions Of Effective Co-Teaching Partnerships In High School Inclusive Classrooms, Korri-Lee S. Wood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the characteristics and contextual factors that general education and special education teachers perceive as essential for effective co-teaching partnerships in high school inclusive classrooms. The study, which involved in-depth interviews with general and special education teachers in co-teaching partnerships, was conducted within a constructivist paradigm to shed light on interpersonal, communicative, and systemic variables that contribute to a positive, productive co-teaching experience. Purposeful sampling was employed to select general and special education teachers who were part of co-teaching partnerships. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data from semi-structured interviews, and an …

The Influence Of Intervention Strategies On Students With Disabilities Who Exhibit Challenging Behaviors In Rural Public Schools: Teacher Perceptions, Ben B. Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study addressed rural teachers' perceptions of the influence of intervention strategies on students with disabilities who exhibit challenging behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of the effect of intervention strategies on academic achievement, student behavior outcomes, and teacher self-efficacy through the lens of Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory. This theory is a complex, dynamic interaction among people, their behaviors, and their environments. Data collection included 14 individual interviews, conducted on Zoom with educators from one school district in Southern Virginia, including seven general education teachers and seven special education teachers. Data analysis strategies …

The Missing Link: Strengthening College And Career Readiness For African American Males, Deniesha Nicole Culverson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine how supports in Linked Learning Pathways influence college and career readiness among African American males. This study explores how African American males describe their experiences in Linked Learning Pathways and how participation influenced their college and career readiness. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with five African American male graduates who participated in Linked Learning Pathways. Findings indicate that participants generally perceived their pathway experiences as positive, highlighting the importance of supportive relationships, exposure to college and career opportunities, development of transferable skills, and access …

Black Faces In White Spaces: Understanding School Belonging Among Black Adolescents At Nais Independent Schools, Letetsia Angelica Fox

Dissertations

Even though the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) has been committed to diversity for the last 30 years, they often focus their diversity efforts on all students of color instead of specific groups such as Black students (Brosnan, 2001). By not focusing on the specific experiences of Black students at independent schools, independent schools cannot truly foster a strong sense of school belonging for Black students because they do not understand the distinct barriers and factors that contribute to the development of school belonging for Black students who attend their schools (Hall & Stevenson, 2007).

This qualitative study sought …

Perceptions Of The Teacher Excellence And Accountability For Mathematics And Science Act On Rural Secondary Math Teachers' Practices, Motivation For Professional Development, Collaboration, And Job Satisfaction, Katina Stallworth

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

The persistent shortage of qualified secondary mathematics and science teachers in rural schools has prompted states to adopt incentive-based policies aimed at improving teacher recruitment and retention. In Alabama, the Teacher Excellence and Accountability for Mathematics and Science (TEAMS) Act was enacted in 2021 to address these shortages through substantial salary supplements tied to professional development requirements and the relinquishment of tenure protections. While early reports indicate that the TEAMS program has increased the number of credentialed STEM teachers in classrooms, less is known about how participation in the program influences teachers' instructional practices, motivation for professional development, collaboration, and …

Career Aspirations Of Generation Alpha In A Changing World: Perspectives Of Students, Parents, And Educators In Religiously Affiliated Private Schools, Cynthia Susan Grace

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This qualitative case study served as a needs assessment to examine how students, parents, and educators perceived and influenced career development within a contemporary high school context, with particular attention to Generation Alpha as its oldest members entered secondary education. To contextualize the study, research on prior generations and evolving career trajectories was reviewed to better understand the shifting landscape shaping this cohort's development. The study was grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent et al., 1994) and informed by a values-based perspective of purpose, examining the interaction between individual beliefs, contextual influences, and emerging career pathways. Data were …

Moving Beyond Willpower: A New Direction For Media Literacy Instruction, Mandi Goodsett

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

Academic librarians and others often engage with media literacy instruction by promoting fact-checking strategies, such as lateral reading or Mike Caulfield’s SIFT. Evidence shows that these strategies are valuable and can be effective, but they all ultimately rely on individual students to use willpower to overcome cognitive habits, biases, strong parasocial relationships with content creators, the power of algorithms, and other challenges to fact-checking content in the moment. This paper offers an alternative approach that instead encourages librarians to support students in intentionally redesigning their information environments to improve the quality of information that they encounter in the first place.

Examining Mathematics Teachers' Competencies For Facilitating Collaborative Learning In High School Settings, Tessy J. Pereira

Dissertations

Collaborative Learning (CL) – an instructional approach in which students work interdependently in groups to achieve shared academic goals through mutual engagement – has gained remarkable attention in high school mathematics classrooms; yet research examining the pedagogical competencies teachers need to effectively plan, implement, and reflect on CL remains limited. Pedagogical competencies, as defined by Kaendler et al. (2015), refer to the observable teaching behaviors that support student collaboration throughout an instructional cycle. This case study examined how seven high school mathematics teachers demonstrated five competencies – planning, monitoring, supporting, consolidating, and reflecting – using the Implementing Collaborative Learning in …

Perceptions Of Academic And College Preparation Skills Gained Through Concurrent College Credit Courses: A Case Study Of Students From Rural, High-Poverty Communities, Jessica Erin Culver

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Concurrent college credit courses are growing at a rapid pace nationwide, with large numbers of high school students now earning college credit before the end of their twelfth-grade year. In Arkansas, this trend of increased concurrent college course enrollment is evident, with over 23,000 students enrolled in concurrent courses during the 2024 school year (Arkansas Division of Higher Education, 2024). Arkansas continued to emphasize the need for concurrent courses with the 2025 ACCESS Act, encouraging students to take concurrent courses as a path to future college and career success (Arkansas Division of Higher Education, 2025a). As concurrent courses continue …

Low-Vision Students’ Experiences With And Suggestions To Improve Desktop Virtual Reality: A Qualitative Study, Tanveer Mansur Syed

Theses and Dissertations

Visually impaired students have faced challenges in the field of education, particularly in science education. Not surprisingly, the unemployment rate for working-age visually impaired people has been above 70%. This persists despite federal laws to support the education and employment of visually impaired people,

Virtual Reality (VR) technology has evolved for several decades. Its use has proliferated in areas that include education. Today, VR science lab simulations are presented as a cost-effective alternative to traditional science labs. Research shows these to be viable substitutes to traditional science labs without a significant drop in learning outcomes. However, this researcher was unable …

A Phenomenological Study Of Teachers Who Use Oral Reading To Foster Student Reading Fluency And Engagement, Donyetta Grimes

Dissertations

The National Reading Panel (2000) recommends oral reading instruction as a means to improve overall reading fluency and reading comprehension. Oral reading fluency is a necessary foundational skill, and students who have not mastered it by the end of third grade, when students transition from learning to read to reading to learn, become struggling adolescent readers (Ming, 2018). Furthermore, there is a lack of research on reading fluency past the primary grades (Makebo et al., 2022). Additionally, research gaps exist when considering teachers’ actual practices during reading instruction (O’Sullivan et al., 2009). This gap is particularly concerning considering that teachers …

Restorying The Reader: Adolescent Narratives Of Identity, Context, And Motivation, Jennifer R. Gardner

Dissertations

This present study examined how adolescents narrate their reading experiences and what those narratives reveal about reading identity, motivation, and engagement. This study responds to a persistent problem in literacy education: adolescent reading is often framed through disengagement or reduced to isolated constructs, while students’ lived reading experiences across school, home, digital, linguistic, and social contexts remain underexamined. Guided by Self-Determination Theory, Intersectionality, and Reader Response Theory, this study centers on adolescent voices and treats these participants’ stories as the primary avenue of understanding how they experience and interpret their reading lives and selves. Data were collected through narrative interviews, …

Chilling Or Galvanizing: Perceptions Of Controversial Issues In The Social Studies Classroom, Patrick Leahy

Dissertations

This study explores social studies teachers' perceptions of the use of controversial issues in their content and classrooms. Through a case study approach, it explores the decision-making process of social studies teachers in Georgia, contextualized by the current political environment, including the enactment of divisive concepts laws such as Georgia’s HB 1084, the Protect Students First Act, and increasing scrutiny over what is taught in public schools. Findings reveal that while the literature and advocates critical of divisive concepts laws tend to argue that these laws have a chilling effect on the discussion of controversial issues, the reality is more …

Integrating Steam Through Honeybee Education In Southern Appalachia, Gary Padgett, Haley Holt

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Honeybees are vital to pollination and food production, yet their populations are declining in the United States.  This underscores the need for ecological literacy, making honeybees an ideal focus for STEM/STEAM lessons. Middle grades students are familiar with honeybees and instantly engage with them, providing a framework for promoting inquiry, creativity, and real-world problem solving. This article presents a lesson taught in Southern Appalachia, a region facing educational disparities with limited access to advanced STEM/STEAM opportunities. The honeybee focused STEAM lesson presented in this article addresses this gap by providing middle grades students with an interactive, interdisciplinary opportunity that links …

Learning With Ai: A Structured Approach To Student-Ai Collaboration, April Ursula Fox

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into higher education has created an urgent need for instructional models that move beyond tool use toward intentional, pedagogically grounded practice. This study presents a structured assignment design that positions AI as a scaffolded collaborator within undergraduate educational psychology courses. Across a multi-part, semester-long sequence, students engage in concept explanation, self-directed inquiry, AI-supported knowledge construction, and reflective documentation of their learning process. Findings from recurring student artifacts indicate progressive gains in conceptual understanding, integration of research sources, and transfer of knowledge to personally meaningful contexts. Students demonstrate increased capacity for self-regulated learning …

Understanding And Evaluating The Impact Of Pathway Programs, Benjamin Boer

Reports, Analyses, and other Publications

A brief by Educatoin Systems Center (EdSystems) on the outcomes and lessons learned from the data collection processes and analysis for the Accelerated Model Pathways for Information Technology (AMP-IT) initiative, including an overview of the scaling of IT college and career pathways in the participating school districts, an understanding of the “milestones” that students meet prior to graduation, and how these milestones can be used to evaluate the program and assess longer-term outcomes. Additionally, the summary explores the challenges faced in collecting data and how EdSystems is adapting its data collection and analysis approach to improve understanding and evaluation of …

Engines For Activism: Gsa Advisors Sparking Student Activism For Lgbtq+ Equity, Elizabeth J. Meyer, Rebecca Grace Kaplan, Erin Kurtz

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This article reports on a study on educators supporting student activism for LGBTQ+ equity in schools. The research questions we address are: What impacts do activist-educators have on the activities of the students in their GSA (Genders & Sexualities Alliance)? In what ways do activist-educators support student activism for LGBTQ+ equity? Based on in-depth interviews with seven educators in Colorado, we use grounded theory to present a conceptual model called “Engines for Activism” (EFA). We share data that explain how student and educator interactions within the space of a student club led by an educator-activist can drive advocacy and activism …

The Impact Of The Accelerated Model Pathways For Information Technology (Amp-It) Initiative, Meagan Mitchell Phd

Reports, Analyses, and other Publications

This report from Education Systems Center details the impact and strategic outcomes of the Accelerated Model Pathways for Information Technology (AMP-IT) initiative. Launched to strengthen Illinois' IT talent pipeline, the initiative focuses on expanding dual credit coursework, work-based learning, and strategic partnerships between school districts, higher education, and industry.

Don’T Tell Me How To Fact-Check; Show Me, And Let Me Try! A Media Literacy Intervention With Sixth-Graders, Thomas Nygren, Carl-Anton Werner Axelsson

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study examines how different educational approaches related to "Fria Ordets Dag" (Free Speech Day), a media literacy program by the Swedish public service, affect the ability of 859 sixth-graders to evaluate news and misinformation. Findings indicate that verbal instructions from a professional fact-checker and animations to model online fact-checking were less effective than demonstrative, authentic video tutorials. Feedback and practice were also important. The intervention yielded mixed outcomes on students’ attitudes towards credible news sources, pointing to the necessity for educational designs that bolster fact-checking and source trust. The research emphasizes how large-scale school interventions to promote students’ navigation …

Implementing Retrieval And Distributed Practice In A Rotating Block Schedule: Boosting Students’ Memory And Metacognition, Terra A. Caputo, Kaitlyn C. Hoffmann, Cindy Reagan, Guy D. Savastano, Brandon J. Foster, Kathryn Hallal, Kristin Miller-Gecsi, Thomas A. Yarcusko

Journal of Catholic Education

An all-boys secondary Jesuit Catholic school in the Midwest, recently transitioned to a rotating block schedule with the goal of supporting deeper learning for all students. Though the transition to longer class meetings helped achieve this goal, less frequent class meetings presented a new challenge in that it tended to exacerbate the natural “forgetting curve.” Retrieval practice, one of the most widely cited high-impact learning strategies to boost student memory, is most beneficial when used alongside spaced practice. A team of teachers implemented and tested the impacts of retrieval and distributed practice on memory in a rotating block schedule. Our …

Preliminary Evaluation Of A Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Based Skills Training Class For High School Students, Jared T. Izumi, Bethany Walczak, Jamie K. Elizalde, Matthew Hayes

Education Faculty Articles and Research

School mental health issues have become an increasingly important issue for our youth. Schools are a vital resource for providing prevention-based services to students. This study evaluated a pilot implementation of a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) based skills intervention in a single high school in the Midwest. The sample included a convenience sample of 39 students from three different teachers across three trimesters. Social-emotional learning (SEL) skills, DBT skill use, dysfunctional coping, fidelity, and intervention attendance information were collected. We used a hybrid fixed effects/multi-level model to evaluate the effects of the intervention (McNeish, 2023). Students increased their use …

Students' Preferred Teaching Methods, Hannah Lancaster

Honors Theses

This paper focuses on students’ preferences for teaching and instructional methods in the social studies classroom. From previous literature, it became apparent that students have a variety of unique needs within each classroom, and individual students require different methods to best support effective learning. This study was conducted within an urban high school in Southwest Michigan. Students completed a cross-sectional survey that encouraged them to express their desired teaching and instructional methods within the classroom. Data revealed a shift from standard teacher-focused learning to more student-focused learning to better accommodate students’ learning styles. With survey data focusing on a limited …

Investigating Racial Bias And Attribution Error In Grading Student Performance, Tony Reibel, Rachel Roegman

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

Standards-based grading (SBG) is a relatively recent alternative model of grading designed to increase the reliability of grading while reducing the influence of teacher biases that can distort student evaluations. This study investigated whether SBG mitigates race‑related bias and attribution errors through a mixed‑methods 3×2 factorial vignette experiment with in‑service teachers. A total of 219 teachers scored the same student essay using a common SBG rubric and provided a 1-4 proficiency score, a binary evaluation concerning success criteria and written feedback. “Learning profiles”– a description of the student’s current and past abilities – varied by tone (positive, negative, none: name-only) …

Critical Explorations: Using Feminist And Artful Inquiry In An Adolescent Literature Class, Emily L. Freeman

Feminist Pedagogy

Using feminist and artful inquiry in teacher education courses creates spaces of resistance to normative modes of sharing knowledge. The Critical Explorations project is the final assignment for a required young adult and adolescent literature course and requires that students engage in creative modes of expression when sharing their research. The teaching activity opens up new possibilities for engagement with texts and research questions that works to disrupt traditional English Language Arts assessments.

Apprenticing Towards Deeper Learning In The Ela Classroom: Using Young Adult Literature To Support Students’ Mastery, Identity, And Creativity, Julianna Kershen, Kacy M. Price, Nynke Wimp, Evie Jackson, Kaitlin Rogers

Virginia English Journal

This practitioner focused article highlights the perspectives of pre-service teachers and undergraduate researchers investigating the kinds of learning interactions and instructional decisions that result in deeper learning outcomes for high school students. Deeper learning outcomes are often described as 21^st century skills, including mastery learning, support of holistic and scholarly student identities, and the ability to engage collaboratively with critical and creative problem-solving skills. The authors suggest a series of young adult literature texts that can serve as springboards into project-based learning opportunities that provide authentic and real world-connected activities, iterative cycles of learning, peer-peer collaboration, and in-depth disciplinary …