Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

History Or Heritage? An Analysis Of Ghana’S Primary School History Curriculum, Charles Adabo Oppong

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Abstract

At a time that history has gained its place in Ghana’s basic school curriculum, considerable differences of opinion arise, not about the subject’s significance in the school curriculum but concerning the legitimacy of the subject title - that is, whether or not the subject should be referenced ‘History of Ghana’ or ‘Heritage of Ghana’. The different opinions reflect Lowenthal’s (1998) observation that history and heritage are separate disciplines. However, the two subjects are often used interchangeably (Mermion, 2012) and “are habitually confused with each other” (Lowenthal 1998, p. x). While expert academics may be at ease with the distinctions …

Exploring Students’ Experiences In Occupational Therapy Education: A Phenomenological Study Of Professional Identity Development, Peter O. Ndaa, Katherine Wimpenny, Rebecca Khanna, Simon Goodman, Ajediran I. Bello

The Qualitative Report

The existing literature on professional identity enactment and development, subscribes to students’ socializing in a learning environment, where they regularly encounter practicing professionals throughout their education period. However, in most countries with less resourced occupational therapists like Ghana, education in occupational therapy is fraught with inadequate number of same professionals to mentor undergraduate occupational therapy students. The students are thus faced with serious dilemma regarding their professional identity which tends to elicit a bleak perception of their chosen career. The present study was therefore envisaged to interpret and analyse the students’ lived experiences, with the view to capture the process …

Sexuality As A Competency: Advancing Training To Serve The Public, Debra Mollen, Dena M. Abbott

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Sexual health and sexual well-being are vital components of overall physical and mental well-being yet remain largely understudied, approached mainly from disease prevention and intervention perspectives, and generally excluded from most health service psychology training programs. People of color; women; lesbian, gay, and bisexual people; trans and gender diverse; disabled; and poor people are disproportionately adversely impacted by a lack of access to suitable sexual health services and reproductive healthcare. Sex education is inadequate in the United States across the lifespan, including in health service psychology training programs. Therapy clients often have sexual concerns they want to discuss, yet because …

A Systematic Review Of The Provision Of Sexuality Education To Student Teachers In Initial Teacher Education, Aisling Costello, Catherine Maunsell, Claire Cullen, Ashling Bourke

Articles

Teachers, and their professional learning and development, have been identified as playing an integral role in enabling children and young people’s right to comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). The provision of sexuality education (SE) during initial teacher education (ITE) is upheld internationally, as playing a crucial role in relation to the implementation and quality of school-based SE. This systematic review reports on empirical studies published in English from 1990 to 2019. In accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, five databases were searched: ERIC, Education Research Complete, PsycINFO, Web of Science and MEDLINE. From a possible 1,153 titles and abstracts identified, 15 papers …

Early Childhood Stakeholders’ Perspectives On Parent Empowerment To Successfully Transition Children To Formal School, Tawanda Randolph

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have suggested that empowered parents may be more helpful successfully transitioning children to formal school. The problem investigated in this basic qualitative study was that educators located in a Southern region of the United States were not empowering parents with the knowledge, skills, and sense of self to become engaged in their children’s educational transitioning needs. This study also addressed a gap in practice consisting of school stakeholders’ perspectives on parent empowerment to build their capacities to successfully transition children to formal school. Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory and Kim and Bryan's parent empowerment theory framed this study. The research …

Seeking Clarity In Murky Waters: Nuances Of Equity And Social Justice From A Teacher Perspective, Elaine J. Chan

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In this study, I examined interactions between an English teacher and her students to illustrate ways in which issues of equity and social justice may play out in nuanced ways in the implementation of school curriculum in a diverse, Midwestern high school. These stories of classroom teacher and student experiences reveal complexities of how equity and social justice might unfold for students, and be understood by a teacher as she works with her students, to build a body of “teacher knowledge” (Clandinin and Connelly, 1996) that grows as the teacher gains experience. Examining complexities of “teacher knowledge” as a classroom …

A Study Of Victorian Teachers’ Beliefs About Student Behaviour And Their Perception Of Preparation And Confidence To Engage In Evidence-Based Behaviour Support, Russell A. Fox, Umesh Sharma, Erin S. Leif

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Positive and proactive approaches to behaviour support have been recognised as one component required to create effective and inclusive school environments (Finkelstein et al., 2019). States and territories within Australia have increasingly adopted school-wide positive behavioural interventions and supports (SWPBIS) as a means to creating effective social and behavioural change (Poed & Whitefield, 2020). However, ensuring staff implement SWPBIS as it is intended has been a challenge, both in Australia and internationally (McIntosh et al., 2016; NSW Ombudsman, 2017). The current study identifies and seeks to address two gaps in the existing literature exploring noted barriers to …

Stop Fearing Blindness! Visually Impaired People Reflect On The Ethics Of Sighted Prospective Teachers Simulating Visual Impairment, Anthony J. Maher, Justin A. Haegele, Andrew C. Sparkes

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Disability simulations have developed as a popular professional development tool to help increase knowledge and awareness of disability and facilitate pedagogical learning among prospective and pre-service teachers. The aim of this research is to explore the ethics of sighted people simulating visual impairment from the perspective of visually impaired people. Participants were nine visually impaired adults who read vignettes narrating simulation experiences of prospective physical education teachers in a university setting before being interviewed about their perceptions of what they had read. Interviews were conducted via telephone, and were recorded, transcribed, and subjected to thematic analysis. The themes constructed and …

Moving From Harm Mitigation To Affirmative Discrimination Mitigation: The Untapped Potential Of Artificial Intelligence To Fight School Segregation And Other Forms Of Racial Discrimination, Andrew Gall

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Toward A Student-Ready Cybersecurity Program: Findings From A Survey Of Stem-Students, Lora Pitman, Brian K. Payne, Tancy Vandecar-Burdin, Lenora Thorbjornsen

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

As the number of available cybersecurity jobs continues to grow, colleges strive to offer to their cybersecurity students an environment which will make them sufficiently prepared to enter the workforce after graduation. This paper explores the academic and professional needs of STEM-students in various higher education institutions across Virginia and how cybersecurity programs can cater to these needs. It also seeks to propose an evidence-based approach for improving the existing cybersecurity programs so that they can become more inclusive and student-ready. A survey of 251 college students in four higher-education institutions in Virginia showed that while there are common patterns …

Family Child Care Providers’ Experiences Of California’S Quality Rating Improvement System, Ansina Shante' Green

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. policy makers continue to struggle with identifying inclusive strategies that effectively support the needs of individual family child care (FCC) providers, who tend to have low quality rating improvement systems (QRIS) scores. To ensure program quality, there is a need to identify supportive strategies and evidence-based practices that build on FCC programs' strengths and learning contexts. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of FCC providers about the factors that contribute to the number of low-quality, low-tier rated FCC programs that are part of California’s QRIS initiative. The conceptual framework was based on Blasberg’s …

"I Am Not Alone": Supporting Teachers Of Color Through Affinity Groups, Marissa J. White

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

While research has indicated that teachers of color need to be better supported by building and district administrators to retain higher numbers, the literature lacks the best practices for targeted support specifically for teachers of color. This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice utilizes a qualitative participatory social justice design to examine the efficacy of affinity groups as a viable practice to support and retain teachers of color. Through a Critical Race Theory (CRT) framework, this study also explores the reflections of teachers of color at a Pre-k – Grade 5 school in a large urban district in a Northeastern state. …

Considering The Needs, Challenges, And Assets Of School Systems In Rural Meatpacking Communities During Covid-19: The Roles Of Schools As Vehicles Of Community, Edmund T. Hamann, Amanda R. Morales, Ricardo Martinez

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

For more than 40 years, the relocation of meatpacking from urban to rural communities and the related change of who works in these high-risk, modestly compensated positions has brought Spanish-speaking and African and Asian refugee populations to communities like the seven focal Nebraska communities we consider here. These seven, five rural and two part of multi-county metropolitan areas, all have majority Latinx school enrollments and they all have been particularly hard hit by both the first and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were each also foci of a special new course we co-taught in December 2020 called: “Pandemics, …

Addressing High School Student Stress: Exploring Student And Teacher Perceptions Of A Modified Dbt Steps-A Curriculum, Greg C. Hatzis

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

The problem of practice investigated is high school student stress and the many detrimental effects. The setting is a public high school in Southwestern Connecticut in a community that places a high value on academic achievement and college acceptance. A root cause analysis identifies two actionable drivers of change in teacher practices and the lack of student self-management skills. A review of scholarly knowledge and local practices leads to an investigation of strategies to mitigate the problem. This review identifies Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents (DBT STEPS-A) as a high leverage strategy to address …

The Underlying Issue: Acknowledging The Impact The Race-Based Bias Of Some White Teachers Poses For Black Adolescents, Cerenity Leavell-Barker

DSW Capstone Projects

Current literature fails to assess the race-based bias of some white teachers and its impact on the school-to-prison pipeline. The actions of some white teachers due to unconscious or conscious race-based bias can increase race-based stress experienced by Blacks students and lead to racial trauma. Racial trauma is a traumatic experience that can alter this stage of development and have significant impact on the academic achievement of Black adolescents and influence behaviors perceived as negative. The purpose of this capstone is to enhance awareness and knowledge on the traumatic impact the race-based bias of some white teachers poses for Black …

Career Development And Employability Skill Integration Within The Equine Science And Management Undergraduate Program At The University Of Kentucky, Savannah Faye Robin

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

College graduates need to be equipped with career and employability skills that are necessary to be meaningfully and gainfully employed in their future. These skills consist of self-management, career-management, essential-employability, and discipline-specific skills. More responsibility is being placed on college and university academic programs to ensure that students are graduating with these skills when they enter the workforce. However, students are growing less likely to participate in out of course career development activities and resources. Integrating these skills into program curriculum can be an effective way to ensure that all students have the ability to develop these necessary skills.

While …

Investigating Discussion Forum Impact On Students’ Social Justice Beliefs In Online Undergraduate Mathematics Courses: A Mixed Methods Study, Ashlee Lynn Akin Matney

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

While teaching math for social justice and equity has become a heavily researched topic in recent decades with Jo Boaler (2008, 2015, 2016), Rochelle Gutiérrez (2009, 2013), and Eric (Rico) Gutstein (2003, 2006, 2007, 2013) emerging as recent leaders in the charge, the focus has consistently remained on traditional classroom teaching (e.g. Boaler, 2008; Gutiérrez, 2009; Gutstein, 2003). This convergent design mixed methods study investigated the impact of teaching math for social justice in the online learning environment, specifically, the impact of discussion forums on students’ social justice beliefs in fully online undergraduate math courses.

Quantitatively, 56 students completed pre- …

Using An Interdisciplinary Case Study To Incorporate Quantitative Reasoning In Social Work, Nursing, And Mathematics, Elizabeth Post, Mischelle Stone, Lauren Cavner Williams, Mary Beaudry

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Through the national consortium, SUMMIT-P, Ferris State University faculty collaborated to develop and scaffold mathematics and quantitative reasoning across disciplines to reduce math anxiety. Participants in this collaborative group included faculty from social work, nursing, and mathematics who developed a case study on a Hurricane Katrina scenario that necessitated calculating the need for emergency shelter, water, food, and medicine, and as a response to the potential for a Malaria outbreak. This particular case study allowed faculty to use the lens of social justice to teach mathematical concepts and provided an avenue for nursing and social work students to engage in …

“Never Anything About The Asian Experience”: An Asiancrit Analysis Of Asian American Teachers In The Midwest, Jung Kim

Education Department Faculty Articles

Although Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial minority group in the United States, projected to be 10% of the population by 2050, they only comprise 2% of the teaching force. There is relatively little research about the experiences, recruitment efforts, or retention of Asian American teachers. This qualitative study seeks to add to the extant literature by seeking to better under the experiences of Asian American pK-12 teachers in the Midwest, primarily in northern Illinois. This study draws upon both a sociopolitical understanding of being Asian American and three specific tenets of AsianCrit: (re)constructive history; story, theory, and praxis; and …

Linguistic Awareness And Dyslexia Beliefs Among Teachers Of Students Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired., Nosheen Gul, Lindsay N. Harris, Alicia Larouech, Gracie Strohm

CISLL Publications

US students who are blind or have visual impairments do not read at the level of a third-grader with typical sight until, on average, halfway through the seventh grade. As a first step toward narrowing that gap, we investigated levels of linguistic awareness among teachers of students who are blind or visually impaired (TSBVIs) because research with general education teachers has demonstrated a link between teacher linguistic awareness and student literacy outcomes. We also examined the accuracy of dyslexia beliefs among TSBVIs and whether TSBVI linguistic aware- ness and dyslexia beliefs are associated with training and experience variables. A survey …

The African American And The California Basic Skills Requirement For Teaching, Willie C. Thomas Ii

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examines why the passing rates of African Americans on the CBEST are the lowest in California at 60%. Madkins (2011) identified licensure testing as a significant reason why African Americans cannot enter the teaching progression. According to Darling-Hammond et al. (2016), California has an ongoing credentialed teacher shortage. An even more significant need is for teachers of color. According to the California Department of Education (2021), 60% of the state’s educator workforce is White, while the state student body, multicultural and multilingual, is only slightly more than 22% White. While licensure testing for teachers is required in all …

General Education Elementary Teacher Competencies And Training In Teaching Children With Autism In The U.S. Virgin Islands, Merle Merinda Elizabeth Durand

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing. The overall problem in this study focused on showing how a lack of teacher training in ASD-specific courses could result in a lack of competencies in meeting the educational needs of children with autism in an inclusive setting. The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative cross-sectional study was to determine if a difference exists in four teaching competencies among general education elementary teachers teaching children with autism in the general education classroom in the U.S. Virgin Islands based training. The theoretical framework was grounded in Medley’s teaching competence theory …

Experiences Of Teachers Using Student-Centered Approaches In China, Raven Roytblat

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Schoolteachers in China are required by the government to transition from teacher-centered to student-centered instruction. Researchers have shown the challenges of and successes in implementing the instructional changes; however, a gap exists surrounding the challenges and successes of reforms from the perspective of teachers. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to better understand the experiences of Chinese schoolteachers as the system of education in China transitions from teacher-centered to student-centered classroom instruction. The conceptual framework for this study included Schön’s concept of the reflective practitioner and Liu and Hallinger and Knapp et al.’s work on the role of …

Transforming Social Work Practice And Research: Examining Lived Experiences Of Black Male Veteran Students And Mental Health, Tay Robinson

DSW Capstone Projects

Mental health disparities amongst the African American/Black community are well documented in literature. Throughout history the African American/ Black community have dealt with unethical operating procedures and research studies. This capstone project looks at historical facts, the lack of Black male veteran specific research as it relates to mental health, lived experiences of Black male veteran students with mental health/treatment, and developing culturally appropriate approaches to increasing research and effective practices to better serve this community.

The second chapter and first product of this capstone project is a systematic literature review. This literature review focused on finding literature on African …

Creating Community Of Young Readers During Covid-19 Lockdown: A Comprehensive Study Of A Digital Reading Platform: Storyweaver, Shaveta Azad, Rupak Chakravarty Prof.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Reading stories to children when they are young is the most effective way to keep them creatively engaged. Children in multilingual countries require free access to story repositories for leisure reading. In India, a country with hundreds of mother tongues, books are largely published in English and Hindi, owing to market economics. Various studies have shown that learning and reading become more important in one's mother tongue and that when a child reads in two or more languages during early years, gains a deeper understanding of language and its effective use.

In this paper, the researchers have tried to discover; …

Links Between Screen Tim, Montessori Preschool Exposure, And Working Memory, Paula Lyn Larsen Mamani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A high-quality, foundational education offers lifelong benefits for young children. The problem is that working memory in pre-school-aged children is declining and could be impaired by the extraneous cognitive load imposed during engagement with screen media apps and/or preschool programs. Although the pedagogical practices associated with Montessori preschool programs have been found supportive of cognitive load germane to learning and improved working memory, they have not been fully considered in relation to preschoolers' screen media use. The cognitive load created by screen media apps could affect their usefulness as learning tools. The purpose of this quantitative study was to discover …

Links Between Screen Time, Montessori Preschool Exposure, And Working Memory, Paula Lyn Larsen Mamani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A high-quality, foundational education offers lifelong benefits for young children. The problem is that working memory in pre-school-aged children is declining and could be impaired by the extraneous cognitive load imposed during engagement with screen media apps and/or preschool programs. Although the pedagogical practices associated with Montessori preschool programs have been found supportive of cognitive load germane to learning and improved working memory, they have not been fully considered in relation to preschoolers' screen media use. The cognitive load created by screen media apps could affect their usefulness as learning tools. The purpose of this quantitative study was to discover …

Links Between Screen Tim, Montessori Preschool Exposure, And Working Memory, Paula Lyn Larsen Mamani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A high-quality, foundational education offers lifelong benefits for young children. The problem is that working memory in pre-school-aged children is declining and could be impaired by the extraneous cognitive load imposed during engagement with screen media apps and/or preschool programs. Although the pedagogical practices associated with Montessori preschool programs have been found supportive of cognitive load germane to learning and improved working memory, they have not been fully considered in relation to preschoolers' screen media use. The cognitive load created by screen media apps could affect their usefulness as learning tools. The purpose of this quantitative study was to discover …

Early Hearing Screening Policy And Deaf Children’S Language Acquisition, Marla Hatrak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The federal Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act (EHDI) guarantees medical and communication interventions for deaf children and audiological, medical, and language intervention data collection. However, the policy and its implementation have not been analyzed in regard to policy goal attainment of deaf children’s language acquisition. A qualitative case study was conducted to analyze seven federal- and state-level early hearing screening policy websites and implementation and intermediary documents to assess the federal and state policy formation and implementation of EHDI. In addition to the document assessment, data were collected from interviews to obtain the perspectives of two early childhood educational …

Leadership Experiences With Organizational Infrastructure In Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Programs, Latia Greer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of buy-in is a critical factor when initiating organizational change. Although changes are necessary for growth and sustainability, leadership can be met with resistance. Early childhood mental health consultation is a solution-focused intervention to support early childcare providers and educators to improve child outcomes. The implementation of the program requires a well-defined operational model to have greater effectiveness and efficiency. The present case study explored the leadership experience of buy-in to change during the implementation of an early childhood mental health consultation school-based program in a nonprofit organization in the Midwest region of the United States. The Baldrige Excellence …