Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

From Insights To Action: Implications And A Professional Development Framework For Early College High School Teachers, Angelica Sanchez, Kenyetta Martin, Kelly Brown

School Leadership Review

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of Early College High School (ECHS) adjunct instructors teaching dual enrollment college courses in a southern region school district. Through interviews with ten ECHS adjunct instructors, the study examined the factors contributing to their success, their professional development needs, and the challenges they faced in teaching dual enrollment courses. Findings of the study were that ECHS adjunct instructors succeed when they provide strong student support, maintain open communication, demonstrate flexibility, and actively engage students. The study highlighted the need for comprehensive training in learning management systems, curriculum design, and …

Relational Spiritual Knowing As An Educator Of Color: Navigating Predominantly White Educational Settings, Alicia L. Moore

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

Abstract: This article explores the critical role of Relational Spiritual Knowing (RSK) as both a source of strength and a form of activism for African American educators navigating Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Through personal reflections and scholarly correlations, it examines how RSK empowers educators to assert their voices and identities in environments that have historically marginalized them. The integration of RSK into educational practices is presented as essential for creating more inclusive, equitable, and spiritually enriched academic spaces. The article also highlights the systemic challenges faced by African American educators, such as power dynamics, microaggressions, and tokenism, and how RSK …

21st Century Community Learning Centers: Program Evaluation Evidence From Texas, Rosilyn Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Texas afterschool programs strive to enhance academic performance and meet students' needs, yet gaps in program quality persist. This study evaluated 21st Century Community Learning Centers’ performance in reading, math, GPA, attendance, in-school suspension, and engagement, both within these categories and against program goals and demographics. Theoretical frameworks used in this study include the logic model, social justice theory, and cultural relevance theory. This quantitative study utilized a nonexperimental and secondary data research design which utilized five statistical tests: the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, One-Way repeated ANOVA, Spearman Correlation, the Independent Samples t-Test, and the Mann-Whitney U Test. Results showed that …

Educator Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy And Preparedness To Work In High Poverty Schools, Kristen Carroll, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer, Marlynn Griffin, Taylor Norman, Summer Pannell, Mary Josephine Carney

School Leadership Review

This study examined the perceptions of educators to determine if they felt that they were adequately prepared to teach in a high poverty school setting. The participants, educators from four school districts, completed a survey based on their perceptions of their own level of self-efficacy and preparedness to work in high poverty schools. The analyses indicated that, overall, educators felt well-prepared with limited supporting evidence to work in high poverty schools in the areas of student learning and engagement, which included curriculum and pedagogy, differentiation, and assessment. Findings further indicated a need for professional learning so educators can best support …

Exploring The Use Of Witness Testimony In Special Education Due Process Hearings, Mary E. Sheppard, Samantha Riggleman, William Blackwell

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA) protects the rights of parents and/or guardians of children with disabilities to utilize the due process system to settle disagreements with school districts regarding their children’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). In the event that these disputes move before a due process hearing officer, it is common for each side to enlist experts to provide testimony to support one of the parties involved. In the current study, we examined the use of expert witness testimony in due process hearings in five large states throughout the United States. Findings indicated several concerning trends, such …

Disrupting The School To Prison Pipeline: Using Culturally Responsive Classroom Practices To Support Black Students, Latory Jacobs, Kelly Brown, Kathryn Washington, Johnny Oconnor, Meredith Lundin

School Leadership Review

The school to prison pipeline is a social phenomenon in which students become formally involved with the criminal justice system due to behavior issues being addressed with law enforcement consequences rather than school-imposed consequences (Owens, 2015). Culturally responsive practices can also support educators' understanding of the unique abilities and untapped assets in students of color while encouraging a more appropriate response to their behavior (Quigley, 2014). This qualitative study was conducted to determine if culturally responsive practices can disrupt the school to prison pipeline for Black students. The study included campuses across five school districts in southeast Texas. The purpose …

Seeking A Healthy Balance As An Educator During Covid: A Look At Dr. Edith Trevino’S Social Emotional Toolkits For Teachers, Sara Abi Villanueva

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This is a review of two social-emotional toolkits and guidebooks by Dr. Edith Trevino, affectionately known as Dr. ET. She is a self-published author who provides an easy-to-follow guidebook for those in the education field who might be struggling with the demands and pressures experienced during COVID-19. An interview with the author allows for a deeper understanding of her purpose for providing teachers with interactive toolkits and workbooks.

K-12 Economically Disadvantaged Students, Poverty, And Education: Ecological Narratives Of Successful Raised-In-Poverty, Texas Educators, Rebecca N. Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study aimed to understand how successful Texas educators who grew up in poverty understood and improved the educational experience of economically disadvantaged students. This study utilized a structural ecological theory and three theories of social relationships (Social Identity, Standpoint, and Cultural Capital). This phenomenological and qualitative study used a cross-sectional, descriptive, online case study design rooted in narrative nonfiction. Virtual interviews with six successful Texas educators that grew up in poverty were conducted. A narrative method of analysis was utilized to generate codes then organize them into themes, and to construct and compare the narrative findings. The results …

The Work Is Within: My Buddhist Faith As I Reckon With Police Shootings & Racial Unrest, Vicki Mokuria

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

Based on the author’s life story in which her husband was shot and killed by police officers in front of her and their two young children, she provides a first-person narrative of her experience, linking the ways her Buddhist faith and practice have sustained her over the years. She recounts snippets of her privileged childhood growing up Jewish in the South before meeting and marrying her Ethiopian husband and beginning a family with him, along with beginning their Buddhist practice. Specific aspects of Buddhist philosophy are incorporated in this piece to provide insights into a Buddhist lens on our current …

Close Encounters: Mass Incarceration Tactics, Kevin L. Jones

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

As a Black man living in America, my Christian faith walk began at an early age. Growing up in a suburban environment, I had several encounters with law enforcement that shaped my belief system. These encounters were and still are a stark reminder that Black boys and men are under attack. Policing negatively impacts Black boys and men when compared to other races of people. I realized that I was in their cross hairs and I was almost consumed by the criminal justice system on many occasions. Through the lens of Critical Race Theory, this work focused on the centrality …

Teaching Inquiry-Based Science Through The Critical Lens Of Social Justice, Tonya D. Jeffery, Isaac Aldrich, Jordan Anderson, Bailey Bettencourt, Lucy Castillo, Lily Carriger, Tosha Hawkins

Diversity Conference

In this session, the first presenter who is a teacher educator from a historically marginalized group, share their own experiences about what led them to teach their science methods course through the critical lens of social justice and through the theoretical frameworks of culturally responsive education. In addition, the presenter will discuss the tools and strategies utilized for teaching this course and for creating a safe space for preservice teachers’ dialogue and critical reflections about their own lives and experiences, identity, racism, biases, and the systemic and structural oppression among various groups in K-12 education.

Six (6) preservice teachers participated …

An Ethical Framework For Interprofessional Social Work Education And Practice With Clients And Professionals, Misty G. Smith, Felicia Law Murray

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Social work students must interface with other professionals amid diverse disciplines and settings. While aspects of their work requires independent practice, students also encounter practice environments that require cross-system approaches that can create ethical conflicts and dilemmas. Interprofessional collaboration and ethical decision making are specific behavioral outcomes students must demonstrate to achieve competency upon social work degree completion. In social work education, scholarship that highlights the benefits of exposing students to interprofessional education (IPE) is an emerging area. Gastmans’ Dignity Enhancing Care Model and the Generalist Social Work Practice Framework have been adapted to create an integrated framework, the Generalist …

Examining The Preparedness Of Educational Diagnosticians In Texas, Mertie Gomez, William H. Blackwell, Corinna Villar Cole, Chase Young

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

This study examined the extent to which educational diagnosticians in Texas perceived their certification program prepared them with the professional knowledge recommended by the Council for Exceptional Children’s Advanced Preparation Standards Specialty Set: Special Education Diagnostician Specialist (CEC, 2015). A total of 113 currently practicing educational diagnosticians in Texas responded to a 28-item survey based on the CEC standards for educational diagnosticians. Participants reported being less prepared to meet standards related to collaboration, vocational and assessment measures, behavior assessment measures, and language assessment measures. Diagnosticians working in urban school districts reported lower levels of preparation as compared to those working …

Emerging Teacher-Leaders For English Learners: A Professional Development Model In Rural Florida, Raisa Ankeny, Nidza Marichal, Maria Coady

School Leadership Review

This paper describes an ongoing Professional Development (PD) program that aimed to prepare teacher-leaders for rural English learner (EL) students. We delineate the theoretical underpinnings of the PD design and describe the two-year graduate coursework program with onsite coaching in rural schools in detail. We define rurality and the context of ELs in the rural partner school district and describe the PD coursework, which was adapted to meet the local rural educational needs of the participants. At its outset, participants reflected on the overall PD through online discussions, surveys, and focus group interviews. Data revealed that the participants found the …

Professional Development Principles For Teachers Of English Language Learners, Beverly J. Irby, Cindy Guerrero, Rafael Lara-Alecio, Fuhui Tong, Linda Rodriguez

School Leadership Review

Since effective professional development is logically embedded in the reality of schools and teachers‘ work, it stands to reason that the principal would consider that reality for teachers of English language learners (ELL). Certainly, in general, professional development would incorporate principles of adult learning as reported by Knowles (1980): (1) adult learners need to be self-directed; (2) they display readiness to learn when they have a perceived need; and (3) they desire immediate application of new skills and knowledge. Based on adult learning theory, then, principals would provide teachers of ELLs professional development that addresses a need for self-direction, that …

Factors Impacting Teacher Turnover In Texas Public School Districts With Fewer Than 500 Students: A Mixed Methods Study, Paige N. Benoy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rural Texas districts experience higher rates in teacher turnover compared to other districts. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study was designed to explore the relationships among district size and the factors that contributed to teacher turnover. Data was collected from Texas public school districts with fewer than 500 students. A simple correlation determined that no relationship existed between district size and teacher turnover rate during the 2016-2017 school year in the 313 districts that had fewer than 500 students. Participating districts came from two different regions. Four superintendents were interviewed about the factors surrounding turnover regarding the teacher turnover in …

The Challenges Of Newly Adopted Mathematics Curriculum In Title I Schools: A Mixed Methods Study, Carmen Cruz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the early impacts of the newly adopted mathematics TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge Skills) introduced in 2014 by TEA (Texas Education Agency) that detail the curriculum standards for all students across schools in Texas schools, for grades K-12. The study examined the challenges that teachers and administrators have had to overcome to meet federal legislation educational compliance. Additionally the study examined how schools and districts were professionally developing their teachers on new curricular standards. Five Title 1 schools in four school districts were used in the study. Schools were selected from …

Perceptions Of Effective Pedagogical Practices And Classroom Management Strategies: A Cross-Case Analysis Of Four Middle School Teachers, Igor Gusyakov

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to identify and describe the pedagogical practices and classroom management strategies of consistently effective and successful teachers as evidenced by teacher perceptions and observations.

Four middle school teachers from two middle schools within the same school district were selected to participate in the study. The teachers were selected based on their effectiveness identified by their supervisor. The teachers were interviewed about their own perceptions as to what effective pedagogical practices are, based on their teaching experience. The teachers were also observed in their classrooms.

The key findings of the study indicated the importance of stablishing classroom procedures, …

Twenty Characteristics Of An Effective Conflict Management Response Team, Phoebe A. Okungu Ph.D., Frank E. Mullins, Deann Lechtenberger, Janice Murdock

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Abstract Every day elementary, secondary, and college classrooms report at least one incidence of violence. These may be in the form of verbal abuse, bullying, extortions, and fights. These conflict occurrences can be attributed to the lack of conflict resolution skills among school personnel. This article will discuss twenty (20) steps that can be used to resolve conflicts. These steps will offer two or more parties a direction to find a peaceful solution to a disagreement. It goes without saying that the best solution to a conflict is the solution that is best for all individuals involved. Since that is …

Parental Perceptions Of Independence And Efficacy Of Their Children With Visual Impairments, Michael P. Munro, Maricela M. Garza M.Ed., Janiel R. Hayes M.Ed., Elizabeth A. Watt M.Ed.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Raising any child to become successful and self-sufficient presents challenges to all parents; however, the complexity of the decision-making in parenting may become more intricate for parents of children with visual impairments. It can be a challenge determining the balance between intense overprotection for reasons of safety versus the encouragement and attention to the participation in unique or challenging learning experiences. Parents of children with visual impairments may also struggle to find the fine line between viewing the child through he lens of the impairment (as other or less than) versus treating the child in the same manner other …

Disaster And Preservation Planning Workshops, Kyle Ainsworth

Librarian and Staff Presentations

PowerPoint Abstract

This presentation elaborates on a 4-day regional disaster and preservation planning workshop held at the R. W. Steen Library May 14-17, 2012. It was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and brought 23 people from 11 different organizations together to learn about disaster and preservation planning from a Northeast Document and Conservation Center consultant. The PowerPoint explains the program director's thinking at all stages of the grant process—conceptualization, implementation and assessment.

Presented at the Society of American Archivist's Annual Meeting "Beyond Borders: San Diego," August 11, 2012. Session 605 - Inside and Out: NEH Preservation Assistance …

Final Performance Report, Neh Grant No. Pg-51734-12, Disaster And Preservation Planning Workshops, May 14-17, 2012, Kyle Ainsworth

Librarian and Staff Publications

Report on the strengths and weaknesses and successes and failures of the 4-day Disaster and Preservation Planning Workshops held at the R.W. Steen Library May 14-17, 2012.

Becoming A Reading Specialist: Surveying The Possibilities, Judy A. Abbott, Cari R. Williams, Allison Swan-Dagen, Steven D. Rinehart

Faculty Publications

The terrain of graduate programs is changing, especially in light of preparing highly qualified teachers (NCLB, 2001) and standards-based accreditation (IRA, 2004a, NCATE, 2008). This changing terrain is noticed as many institutions of higher learning undergo program reviews through self-studies required by the institution, by state departments of education, by specialized professional associations, or by national accreditation entities. This project sought to explore the nature of reading specialists master’s programs by examining their websites in light of the shift towards standards-based accreditation of programs and the influence of federal legislation. Specific objectives for this descriptive study included: (a) reviewing master’s …