Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Culturally And Socially Responsive Teacher Professional Learning At The American Museum Of Natural History, Jessica Correa

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project consists of a series of professional learning sessions to support teachers in their implementation of Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education (CR-SE) using the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) as a resource and case study. Through the lens of Historically Responsive Literacy, the series also seeks to reestablish social science as a critical element of natural history for teachers. This series can help teachers see the museum as not only a place to explore life and physical science, but also a place to explore identity, social/emotional development, cultural studies and American History. The project includes resources and directions for …

“A Real Man . . .”: Deconstructing Machismo Heteronormative Standards With K–12 Latino Male Educators Through Dialogic Spaces, Mario Echeverria

Dissertations

In a K–12 educational landscape where 75% of educators are white women, recruitment of Latino male educators is crucial for diversification, yet these educators represent just 2% of the teaching workforce in the United States (NCES, 2020). These educators grapple with a layered sense of identity as they navigate expectations of hegemonic masculinity and machismo norms that dictate their roles as disciplinarians and saviors, especially for young boys of color (Brockenbrough, 2018; Lara & Fránquiz, 2015; Martino & Kehler, 2006; Mills et al., 2004; Singh, 2021). Unfortunately, Latino male educators leave the profession at twice the rate of their Latina …

Resistencia Indocumentada: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Higher Education Undocumented Students In The San Diego-Tijuana Border Region, Adan Escobedo Sanchez

Dissertations

Undocumented students face myriad obstacles while attending higher education institutions that would deter them from completing their academic journeys. Furthermore, they are placed with a dual narrative that labels them as either dangerous or exceptional. This study explored the lived experiences of undocumented students in college in the San Diego-Tijuana border region to consider what factors have led to resilience and resistance in their academic journey. By understanding these factors, the research aimed to tackle the dual narrative that burdens undocumented students from the illegality as a master status they possess.

This study used narrative inquiry and a literature review …

The Voice Of Community: Nurturing Personal And Professional Communities On Voxer Among Ap Literature Teachers During The Pandemic, Tia D. Miller

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted education around the world. During that time, teachers often turned to online communities to compensate for an inability to connect with in-person professional communities. This study aims to highlight a single, successful online community of AP Literature teachers who use the app Voxer to communicate. The purpose of this project was to provide insight into how this group creates personal and professional community, and how they specifically did so during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data for this ethnography was collected from the group’s posts on the Voxer app from March 11, 2020 to …

Challenges And Successes Teachers Experience Educating Incarcerated Youth: A Mixed-Methods Approach, Morgan Crozier

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study explores the educators’ perspectives on their experiences providing academic services and supports to incarcerated youth placed in short-term juvenile detention centers and how they perceive success and challenges in this environment. The study used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research design while incorporating tools such as a questionnaire, interviews, and reflective journal activities to get a deeper understanding of the experiences educators encounter in this role. The questionnaire consisted of 38 questions designed to address the demographics of the teachers participating in the study, their teaching experience with incarcerated youth, professional development received, and the challenges and successes they …

Fishing Without A Pole: Experiences And Insights Of Adults Working To Prevent Youth Suicide In A Low-Income, High-Rate State, Victoria L. Waugh-Reed

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This study explores the underrepresented perspective of suicide preventionists in the state of New Mexico, their experiences and insights surrounding the prevention of youth suicide. I present these in narrative form; the primary method of investigation was purposeful, individual interviews with an initial and follow-up interviews. Preventionists in New Mexico face the enormous task of reducing historically high youth suicide rates when compared with the rest of the nation; additionally, New Mexico is a rural state that exhibits a complex mix of risk and resiliency factors. I invited participants to discuss their experiences, share barriers to their work, offer success …

Wounded Warriors And Their Transition To The Community College Classroom, Virgil Nathaniel Adkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many postsecondary institutions face challenges when veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI) enroll in college and become student-veterans. Staff and faculty may need to better understand how to accommodate these student-veterans as they transition from military to student life. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of 3 groups at a Texas community college regarding classroom accommodations for student-veterans with PTSD or TBI: (a) student-veterans with PTSD or TBI, (b) the faculty, and (c) the disability counselors. Schlossberg's theory assessing an individual's assets and abilities in transition was the conceptual framework for …

Double Chins And Double Standards: A Meta-Analysis Of Weight-Based Bullying Amongst Female Adolescents, Juliah Distefano

Major Papers

Scholars are beginning to explore and understand the experiences of adolescent females in regards to weight-based bullying in their elementary school setting (Puhl, R. M., Luedicke, J., & Heuer, C. (2011). Weight‐based victimization toward overweight adolescents: observations and reactions of peers. Journal of School Health, 81(11), 696-703). The educational and social implications that weight-based bullying has amongst female adolescents can include: poor academic achievement coupled with a low degree of comfort when participating vocally in the classroom, the inability to initiate and maintain friendships, and an unwillingness to participate in extracurricular sports and activities. This should be cause …

The Arts In The United States: Can The Arts Become A Public Good?, Alexander Van Der Veen

Senior Projects Fall 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

A Program Evaluation Of A Worksite Wellness Initiative For Weight Loss, Nicholas Martinez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation of ACME’s worksite weight loss initiative and collect evidence relative to the efficacy of the program. An anonymous online survey was administered to participants of the weight loss initiative. The survey was designed to gather information relative to the research questions, which explored the initiative’s barriers to participation, alignment of initiative with the goals of participants, utilization of initiative resources, overall strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement for the weight loss initiative, as well as the respondents’ general profile for the six dimensions of wellness. Reporting of data included …

Integrating Idea Mapping Into Professional Development And Practice: A Guidebook For Educators, Sarah Rose Parsons

Master's Projects and Capstones

The daily metrics of the teaching profession can prove emotionally and physically taxing, especially when compared to the current rapidly growing veil of technological advancement and a lack of support from one’s community and administration in their field. The means of support for professional development, which are often presented in schools for educators, focus mostly on students and content delivery. These programs rarely pay attention to the personal growth of the individual educator. Educators can in turn help themselves if they are provided with the tools and time to do so. Thus, this project seeks to serve that purpose, founded …

The Missouri Student Transfer Program, Howard E. Fields Iii

Dissertations

In 1993, the state of Missouri passed the Outstanding Schools Act. This law was created as a means to ensure that “all children will have quality educational opportunities, regardless of where in Missouri they live.” Section 167.131 of this law states that an unaccredited district must pay the tuition and transportation cost for students who attend an accredited school in the same or adjoining district. This portion of the law became known as the Student Transfer Program.

The Riverview Gardens School District (RGSD) was one of three unaccredited school districts in the state of Missouri in 2013. With close to …

History Teachers' Perspectives Of Time Constraints, Engagement, And Relevance In The Curriculum, Christy Mimie Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the last 20 years, many state school administrators have reduced social studies instructional time in favor of time dedicated to reading or math skills due to the pressure of standardized testing. The purpose of this qualitative case study, which was based on constructivist theories about learning and schema theory, was to analyze teachers' perspectives on teaching history lessons, in terms of engagement and relevance, while working within new time constraints. Purposeful sampling was used to select 6 teachers for interviews; all had experience teaching social studies courses at the upper elementary and middle levels in a public school district …

If Only They Tried; The Complicated Crusade For Salvation In The Post-Katrina Education Reform Movement, Brooke Wanamaker

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Education reform is shifting the landscape of New Orleans public schools, where alternative certification programs are thriving and changing the demographics of core teachers. This study follows a Teach for America (TFA) Corps Member from 2007 (just after the historic flooding from Hurricane Katrina) who brought a promise of innovation through idealism and green wisdom. The teacher’s preparation and motivations are shown to be problematic. Examining the assumptions and privileges that underlie the import of inexperienced talent to urban education systems, this study considers the ways that community voices have been lost or undervalued in New Orleans schools. The thesis …

Did Magnet Schools Improve Student Educational Outcomes As A Tool Of Desegregation?, Maureen Elizabeth Pylman

Theses and Dissertations

Magnet schools were implemented in American school districts beginning in the 1970s as part of desegregation plans often required by court order. Magnet schools had three primary goals: provide innovative educational programming, attract students from across school districts, and assist with desegregation. Research evaluating the implementation of magnet schools found that they did effectively desegregate schools (Arcia 2006; Steel and Levine 1994). However, the educational outcomes of magnet schools have not been evaluated, particularly using longitudinal student data, to evaluate magnet school effectiveness. Popular press, the use of effective pedagogy, selection procedures, and exclusivity lead to expectations that magnet schools …

The Creative Entrepreneur Leading Innovation, Karina Loera Barcenas

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The Creative Entrepreneur Leading Innovation is a course designed for undergraduate students. Students will learn the entrepreneurial mindset through the creative process triggering innovation and leading transformation to face and adapt in the current constant and fastest changing era. This course also has a skill development component through which students will be able to experience personal transformation towards positive change.

Reading Queerly In The High School Classroom: Exploring A Gay And Lesbian Literature Course, Kirsten Helmer

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore how teaching an English literature curriculum centered on the stories, experiences, cultures, histories, and politics of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) people constitutes a meaningful site for teaching and learning in a high school classroom. The dissertation offers insights on how the teaching of LGBTQI-themed texts in English language arts classes can be reframed by bridging the goals, practices and conceptual tools of queer theory to critical literacies teaching. The project follows principles of critical qualitative research and employs an ethnographic case study approach with the purpose of transforming educational …

Cyberbullying Prevention: Intervention Effects On Student Involvement, Sarah Nash Bumpas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Repeated studies show that cyberbullying is pervasive amongst adolescents. Cyberbullying can lead to self-harm, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Educators are called to intervene in educating students about cyberbullying through research and federal legislation. However, there is little research examining whether this education is taking place or having an effect.

This study investigates the relationship between the incidences of cyberbullying victimization and offending over time and the direct cyberbullying instruction and activities facilitated by classroom teachers. The study took place amongst sixth graders in Jefferson County Public Schools, a large urban school district located in northern Kentucky. Students in one school …

Teaching Health Literacy In Conjunction With Esl, Dora Lee

Master's Projects and Capstones

In the United States, many English as a Second Language (ESL) speakers who have limited English proficiency also have low levels of health literacy. The purpose of this project is to create a curriculum that ESL teachers can implement to improve the English language proficiency and the health literacy skills of adult ESL speakers with limited English proficiency residing in the United States. The curriculum is designed for teachers who work with ESL speakers who may be having trouble obtaining, processing, communicating, or managing health information due to language barriers.

Defining Characteristics Of An Integrated Stem Curriculum In K-12 Education, Vinson Robert Carter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to obtain consensus concerning the defining characteristics of integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum. This study utilized a three round modified Delphi study to solicit recommendations from experts of STEM education in order to: 1) create a set of categorical and defining curricular components needed to develop and implement appropriate integrated STEM curriculum; 2) identify the characteristics that set integrated STEM education curriculum apart from single-discipline curricula; 3) discuss the components necessary to gauge whether an initiative, project, or curriculum should be referred to as integrated STEM education; and 4) examine whether …

Landscapes To Learnscapes: Exploring Schoolyard-Based Education, Emily I. Palena, Caroline T. Spurgin

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis explores schoolyard-based education as a viable and necessary method for rectifying the shortcomings within the American public school system and the Nature-deficit Disorder epidemic. We argue that schoolyard-based education should be fully integrated into the school system, not in the sole form of popularized school gardens, but as a standard teaching method. We show this using extensive research and a case study of three elementary schools in Claremont, California.

Acculturation And Identity Development Of Deaf Ethnic Minorities, Glennise Candice Schlinger

Masters Theses

This study examined whether experiences in the family and the education systems could influence Deaf ethnic identity development. Data were collected via administration of the Deaf Acculturation Scale (DAS). Participants’ responses were assessed as outlined by the developers of the DAS (Maxwell-McCaw & Zea, 2011). Results suggested that parents’ attitude towards their child’s deafness may affect the deaf individual’s identity development. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with four deaf ethnic minority participants: One Venezuelan American and three African American. Two hearing parents (both mothers) also participated in the interview: one Venezuelan American and one African American. Thematic analysis was used …

What Is The Participant Learning Experience Like Using Youtube To Study A Foreign Language?, Yuan-Hsiang Lo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research is to explore and understand participants' experience using YouTube to learn a foreign language. YouTube and learning has become more and more popular in the recent years. The finding of this research will be adding more understanding to the emerging body of knowledge of YouTube phenomenon. In this research, there are three interviews and two questionnaires. The interviews are conducted to find in-depth responses from participants; the questionnaires are used to inquire demographic and basic information about the participants. There are twelve themes found in this research. These themes reflect on the perceived experience using YouTube to learn …

The Discernment Process Of The Sisters Of Saint Dominic Regarding The Continued Sponsorship Of Its Secondary Schools, Sr. Patricia Tavis

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

Science Versus Religion: Protestant Dominance And Cultural Discrimination In Public Schools, Melissa Marie Brock

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research offers a critical analysis of the current controversy concerning religion. The study explores the establishment of the public school system under Protestant dominance and use of this dominance to assert authority over minority groups. Legislation and court action have created a position of opposing policy; placing science as the opposite of religion, and Atheists and Christian activists are using curriculum as an ideological battle field. Currently, since 9/11, religious discrimination and hate crimes are on the rise. In order to investigate this controversy, this study explores literature, published surveys, and government documents. The American public school systems are …

A Study Of Seton Hall University And The Attributes Of Organizational Adaptation Employed In Fashioning Its Catholic Identity And Mission In The Post-Vatican Ii Era (1966-2006), Nicholas F. Mazza

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This thesis is the first fully developed and published study of Seton Hall University. It specifically examines the organizational structures of Seton Hall University over a forty year period in light of the tumultuous changes in the Catholic Church and Catholic academia post-Vatican 11. Of particular importance is change that influenced the Catholic identity and mission of the university. The author examines the central problems arising from the changes influenced by the actions of the Vatican Council as well as the concerns expressed by Catholic academic, namely, academic freedom and the issues of higher education governance. These two factors spearheaded …

A Comparative Study Of Career Academy Involvement And Non-Career Academy Involvement And Their Relationship To Student Achievement And Student Attendance In A Specific Urban High School In New Jersey, Nicole Ferrigno Hazel

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

The Relationship Between Parental Involvement And Religion Academic Achievement Of Students In The Catholic Elementary Schools In The Diocese Of Fall River, George A. Milot

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

The Impact Of A Formal Public School Instrumental Music Instruction Program On An Eighth Grade Middle School Student's Reading And Mathematics Achievement, Gerard D. Babo

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

The Attitudes Of Public Elementary School Principals Toward Inclusive Education And Educational Strategies Related To Its Practice, Frank J. Inzano

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.