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Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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Articles 91 - 120 of 135

Full-Text Articles in Secondary Education and Teaching

Latino English Language Learners In Middle School And The Effect Of General Education Teachers' Use Of The Lesson Study Collaborative Model, Chauncey Dante Reese Jan 2011

Latino English Language Learners In Middle School And The Effect Of General Education Teachers' Use Of The Lesson Study Collaborative Model, Chauncey Dante Reese

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

General education content teachers in an urban middle school are responsible for the academic performance of Latino English language learners (ELLs) but lack specialized training in language acquisition. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate content teachers' use of the lesson study collaborative model in teaching Latino ELLs. The theoretical framework of cooperative learning and the lesson study planning model guided this study. The research questions addressed the specific English as a second language (ESL) conversations and planning that occurred in interdisciplinary team meetings and lesson study implementation in teaching practice and student performance. Typological analysis of …

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Content Area Literacy: Relationship Between Lesson Design And Professional Development, Jodi Owens-Kristenson Jan 2011

Content Area Literacy: Relationship Between Lesson Design And Professional Development, Jodi Owens-Kristenson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite Minnesota's investment in professional development in content area literacy, secondary students are not showing expected literacy gains. A lack of literacy proficiency limits future options for students. The purpose of this study was to examine content-area literacy strategy inclusion and its relationship to professional development in the context of complexity theory, efficacy theory, transformational learning theory, structured teaching, and constructivism. A cross-section correlation survey research study was conducted to investigate the relationship of time spent in systematic professional development, type of professional development, rate of strategy inclusion, and confidence in literacy strategy inclusion in lesson design. Convenience sampling was …

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Factors That Influence Special Education Teachers' Career Decisions In A Rural School District In Southern Indiana, Theresa Lemons Jan 2011

Factors That Influence Special Education Teachers' Career Decisions In A Rural School District In Southern Indiana, Theresa Lemons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attrition of special education teachers is a national problem resulting in lost monetary resources, school climate discontinuity, and lower student achievement. Within a small, rural district in southern Indiana, special education teacher attrition has risen since 2008 and continues to rise. District administrators want to retain teachers to ensure a continuity of instructional services for students with special needs. To explore this problem, an intrinsic qualitative case study was employed, guided by a research question that investigated the factors that special education teachers and administrators perceived as influencing special educators' career decisions. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and Billingsley's schematic representation of …

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School Administrators' Perceptions Of The Contributions Of No Child Left Behind To The Achievement Gap, Paula Payne Jan 2010

School Administrators' Perceptions Of The Contributions Of No Child Left Behind To The Achievement Gap, Paula Payne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Under the federal No Child Left Behind law (NCLB), schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) receive assistance and eventually are subject to corrective action if they do not improve. This qualitative case study used interviews with 10 elementary and middle school administrators from 8 public schools to assess the influence of NCLB on schools with a high percentage of students of color and students in poverty. This study was viewed through the lens of Toffler's conceptual framework of how change occurs, and on the current school reform climate surrounding NCLB and how its accountability system of assessments …

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Narrowing The Academic Achievement Gap Among High School Latino Students Through Parental Involvement, Douglas L. Parry Jan 2010

Narrowing The Academic Achievement Gap Among High School Latino Students Through Parental Involvement, Douglas L. Parry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The low academic achievement among Latino students in many inner city high schools leads to higher failure, dropout, and absenteeism rates, as well as lower standardized test scores and graduation rates. The purpose of this study was to explore whether Latino parental attitudes toward and perceptions, level of, and form of involvement may be linked to this low student achievement. The theoretical framework for this study was Epstein's parental involvement model. The research questions investigated the relationship between Latino parental attitudes toward and perceptions, level of, and form of involvement and student academic achievement. Fifty-eight parents participated in a parent …

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Attitudes Towards Inclusion Of General Education Teachers Who Have And Have Not Taught In An Inclusive Classroom, Nicole P. Maccarthy Jan 2010

Attitudes Towards Inclusion Of General Education Teachers Who Have And Have Not Taught In An Inclusive Classroom, Nicole P. Maccarthy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Through the lens of Bandura's social-cognitive theory, which proposes that one's sense of self-efficacy can foster positive beliefs, the purpose of this descriptive, quantitative study was to determine whether the attitudes held by general education teachers have an influence on their perceptions of inclusion. General education teachers' beliefs in their abilities regarding teaching in inclusive classrooms may have an influence on the success of inclusion. This study examined the difference in attitudes toward inclusion between elementary school general education teachers whose previous teaching experience was with solely general education students but who now teach in an inclusive classroom, and those …

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Staff Development And Leadership Roles Related To Response To Intervention Levels Of Implementation In Rural Schools, Karin A. Strohmyer Jan 2010

Staff Development And Leadership Roles Related To Response To Intervention Levels Of Implementation In Rural Schools, Karin A. Strohmyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The concepts of professional learning communities and organizational disciplines support staff development and leadership that lead to sustainable systems. Little research has examined the ability of rural schools to achieve sustainable systems. This quantitative design study considered the relationships between predictor variables of administrative roles and staff development and the criterion variable of Response to Intervention (RtI) implementation level. Administrator roles included planning and scheduling training, participating in training, planning implementation, building knowledge and commitment, selecting RtI teams, participating on teams, promoting parental involvement, evaluating RtI, and implementing follow-up and targeted training. Staff development practices addressed commitment and support, team …

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The Experiences Of Alternately Certified Teachers With Teacher Mentoring, Teacher Effectiveness, And Student Achievement, Charyl L. Pace Jan 2010

The Experiences Of Alternately Certified Teachers With Teacher Mentoring, Teacher Effectiveness, And Student Achievement, Charyl L. Pace

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alternately certified teachers (ACTs) are teachers who receive teacher training in an accelerated program provided by alternate certification programs (ACPs). Induction/mentoring programs are provided to ACTs as a source of additional training. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine ACTs' perceptions of their effectiveness as teachers in relation to their students' achievement and the support provided to them as new teachers by their induction/mentoring training. The research question explored if there was a relationship between the amount of support provided to the ACTs from their induction/mentoring programs and the ACTs' perception of their effectiveness in relation to …

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The Dissemination Of Teacher Learning: A Study Of The Similarities And Differences Between Public School Levels And Locations, Jacqueline M. Krohn Jan 2010

The Dissemination Of Teacher Learning: A Study Of The Similarities And Differences Between Public School Levels And Locations, Jacqueline M. Krohn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher learning, whether in-service, continued education, or experience based, is a key component of school reform. Specific research on the use of teacher learning to improve student achievement and instructional practices in and across schools is limited. The research questions addressed in this study were: (a) the degree to which teacher learning is disseminated throughout a school organization to improve student learning and instructional practices, and (b) differences and similarities in the dissemination of teacher learning between schools. Watkins and Marsick's learning organization theory, Senge's system theory, and Dewey's constructivist learning theory were used as the theoretical framework. A variation …

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Exploring A Supplemental Educational Service Math Program: The Math Achievement Of Economically Disadvantaged Students And Teacher Professional Development, Vilma Caban-Vazquez Jan 2010

Exploring A Supplemental Educational Service Math Program: The Math Achievement Of Economically Disadvantaged Students And Teacher Professional Development, Vilma Caban-Vazquez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The No Child Left Behind education act mandates that school districts develop supplemental educational service programs for students not demonstrating mathematical proficiency on state standardized math assessments. Yet there is limited understanding of issues related to supplemental educational service math programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate a local after school math program to offer insight on the low math achievement for economically disadvantaged students involved in the program. Constructivist theories of math reform and education for economically disadvantaged students and English language learners guided this study of 10 teachers and 15 of their students in a …

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Improving Academic Achievement Of Students With Problematic Attendance By Implementing A Multisystemic School-Based Model, James Edward Kay Jan 2010

Improving Academic Achievement Of Students With Problematic Attendance By Implementing A Multisystemic School-Based Model, James Edward Kay

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study addressed the problem of poor attendance adversely affecting grades and learning. Current school policies do not address problematic attendance for all school-aged children, perpetuating trends of academic failure. The research objective was to determine if unexcused absences had a greater negative impact on a high-stakes test compared to excused absences and then develop a manual of best attendance policies to better serve all school-aged children. This study sampled 10,403 students in a southern United States county. Bivariate regression and ANOVA analyses examined the scores students earned on their first attempt at the Social Studies Georgia High School Graduation …

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Leadership To Sustain Professional Learning Communities, Kelly P. Gillespie Jan 2010

Leadership To Sustain Professional Learning Communities, Kelly P. Gillespie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have shown promise as a means to meet the challenge of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. A problem that has surfaced is the inabilty of schools to sustain PLCs. This project study examined leadership characteristics of elementary school principals in selected school districts to determine how these characteristics shape organizational culture and provide support for sustaining professional learning communities. At the center of this initiative have been the school principals and their leadership skills. The theoretical underpinnings of this study were based on the work of DuFour and DuFour, which places leadership of …

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A Phenomenological Study Of Leader Experiences And Reactions To Transformational Change In A Multicampus System, John E. Cech Jan 2010

A Phenomenological Study Of Leader Experiences And Reactions To Transformational Change In A Multicampus System, John E. Cech

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research on organizational change theory confirms the importance of leaders' ability to establish a sense of urgency, create institutional support for change, develop a vision, communicate the vision, empower others toward action, generate results, and ultimately create change in the organizational culture. Organizational change in nested systems, in which CEOs of individual units report upward through a state, regional, or corporate hierarchy, has not been extensively studied. To address this gap in the literature, this phenomenological study explored perceptions of college leaders who in 2002-2003 participated in the transformation of seven 2-year technical colleges into a community college system. The …

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Empowering Adolescents: A Multiple Case Study Of U.S. Montessori High Schools, Wendy J. Larue Jan 2010

Empowering Adolescents: A Multiple Case Study Of U.S. Montessori High Schools, Wendy J. Larue

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The standards-based, teach-and-test methods that have come to proliferate secondary education since the inception of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) fail to adequately prepare students for higher education and employment. This system lacks opportunities for developing 21st century skills such as higher-level thinking, problem solving, and group dynamics, as well as opportunities for fostering spiritual growth and personal development. This problem impacts graduates of U.S. high schools because they are unprepared for higher education and the 21st century workplace. Using qualitative multiple case study methodology, this study examined five U.S. Montessori high schools through the lens of cultural-historical …

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Impact Of A Ninth-Grade Transition Program On Cumulative Gpas And Credits, Ninth-Grade Dropout Rates, And Student Satisfaction, B. R. Buhrman Jan 2010

Impact Of A Ninth-Grade Transition Program On Cumulative Gpas And Credits, Ninth-Grade Dropout Rates, And Student Satisfaction, B. R. Buhrman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Concerned educators have been implementing ninth-grade transition programs to help freshmen adjust to the demands in high school and to reduce ninth-grade failure rates. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to investigate the impact of a ninth-grade transition program. The research questions addressed impact on cumulative GPAs and credits, ninth-grade dropout rates, and student satisfaction with ninth grade as measured by a survey of 120 ninth-grade transition program participants and 102 nonparticipants. Theoretical foundations were provided by the construction of new knowledge based on different background knowledge, different social conditions, and different life experiences. Another theoretical foundation was …

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High School Teachers' Perspectives On Effective Approaches For Teaching Biology To Students With Special Needs, Agnieszka Kos Jan 2010

High School Teachers' Perspectives On Effective Approaches For Teaching Biology To Students With Special Needs, Agnieszka Kos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The demands of national educational reforms require high school biology teachers to provide high quality instruction to students with and without special needs. The reforms, however, do not provide teachers with adequate teaching strategies to meet the needs of all students in the same context. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand high school biology teachers' perspectives, practices, and challenges in relation to teaching students with special needs. This approach was used to develop a substantive model for high school biology teachers who are challenged with teaching students with and without special needs. Data were collected via …

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An Exploration Of Factors Influencing Effective Teachers' Decisions To Remain In Urban School Settings, Alison L. Grizzle Jan 2010

An Exploration Of Factors Influencing Effective Teachers' Decisions To Remain In Urban School Settings, Alison L. Grizzle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Existing problems identified in the literature on teacher retention and resilience include (a) a gap in understanding factors influencing urban teacher retention; (b) lack of clarity on multiple factors swaying teachers' decisions to remain despite challenges; (c) overlapping definitions of teacher retention, attrition, and resilience; and (d) absence of a theoretical framework for a potential relationship between retention and resilience. This embedded-case study sought to identify factors influencing effective teachers' decisions to remain in an urban setting and to examine the role of teachers' resilience, retention, and effectiveness with respect to this decision. Fourteen core-area secondary teachers, identified through criterion …

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The Effects Of A High Quality Teaching Professional Development Program On Fourth Grade Student Achievement, Ethel J. Hasty Jan 2010

The Effects Of A High Quality Teaching Professional Development Program On Fourth Grade Student Achievement, Ethel J. Hasty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In many states, local school systems are under pressure to implement educational programs to help students pass the statewide Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (ASK) in science, mathematics, and language arts literacy. The school district in which this study was conducted implemented a high quality teaching professional development (HQTPD) program for grade four teachers in 2008. The research problem was that, at the data site, fourth grade students were not making academic progress, and elementary schools were failing to make adequate yearly progress (AYP). The HQTPD program intervention was grounded in social learning theory. The main research question that guided …

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Making Sense Of Exit Exam Policies: A Phenomenological Study Of English Language Development Teachers, Scott N. Forrest Jan 2010

Making Sense Of Exit Exam Policies: A Phenomenological Study Of English Language Development Teachers, Scott N. Forrest

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of understanding regarding how sensemaking could be incorporated into a professional development program to improve teacher quality and student achievement. The lived experiences of high school English language development teachers as they interpret English language development and one state's high school exit exam instructional policies were explored in this phenomenological study. The conceptual framework that supported this study is based on the theory of sensemaking, the processes by which educators interpret and implement policies. The participants were English language development teachers of English learners who have not yet passed the exit exam. Data were collected through …

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The Relationship Between Cooperative Learning And Physics Achievement In Minority Students, Victor Chester Jan 2009

The Relationship Between Cooperative Learning And Physics Achievement In Minority Students, Victor Chester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Minority students lag Caucasian students in science performance and are underrepresented in the fields of science and technology. It is therefore pivotal for minorities, African American and Hispanic students, to show improved performance in science education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of cooperative learning strategy on physics achievement by high school minority students. Constructivism formed the theoretical framework for the study. Independent learning, the traditional strategy, and cooperative learning dyads, the novel intervention, were the independent variables, and the dependent variable was achievement in physics. A repeated measures design and a convenient sample group of …

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The Effect Of Faculty Performance Measurement Systems On Student Retention, Timothy Woods Jan 2009

The Effect Of Faculty Performance Measurement Systems On Student Retention, Timothy Woods

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Institutions of higher learning have been tracking student course-drop rates as a measure of student success along with faculty performance data. However, there is a lack of understanding as to how faculty performance data influences drop rates. The purpose of this study was to determine whether faculty knowledge of performance data creates a difference in drop rates. This study combined theories of performance measurement, decision support, self-determination theory (SDT), and personal decision making (PDM) as a conceptual foundation that linked faculty knowledge to student success. The specific research question addressed if data can be used to assist faculty efforts in …

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Perceived Effects Of Teachers' Unions On Administrators' And Teachers' Roles And Morale, Eileen E. Berg Jan 2009

Perceived Effects Of Teachers' Unions On Administrators' And Teachers' Roles And Morale, Eileen E. Berg

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bill 160 in Ontario removed administrators from teachers' federations creating an unhealthy gap between groups and a lowering of morale for both. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between perceived effects of teachers' union actions on administrators' and teachers' roles and morale. Learning and organizational theories provided a theoretical framework for this quantitative study. Voluntary participants included teachers and administrators from Canadian Education Association and administrators from Ontario Principals' Council. Questionnaires addressed three hypotheses, which dealt with level of morale between participants, correlation between the morale score and the learning environment score, and …

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High-Stakes Testing And Teacher Burnout In Public High School Teachers, Gail Tucker Jan 2009

High-Stakes Testing And Teacher Burnout In Public High School Teachers, Gail Tucker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Demands associated with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 contribute to the risk of teacher burnout; however, the relationship between teacher burnout and specific teaching assignments is unclear. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate if burnout is greater for high-stakes subject area public high school teachers than for low-stakes subject area public high school teachers and to ascertain teachers' perceptions about difficulties associated with teaching a high-stakes subject area. The job demands-resources model and the multidimensional model of burnout provided the theoretical framework. The concurrent mixed methods design included quantitative tests of differences in burnout …

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Understanding Middle School Students' Perspectives Regarding Physical Activity And Fitness, Susan Yesalonia Jan 2009

Understanding Middle School Students' Perspectives Regarding Physical Activity And Fitness, Susan Yesalonia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research confirms inactivity increases in adolescence and that unfit youth are at risk of acquiring cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, or other significant physical disorders later in life. Thus, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experience of chronically inactive children who were exposed to an exercise intervention program. The specific focus of the research was to better understand the essential educational needs of the participants and the effective elements of the program, Moving for Fun (MFF), a 7-week after-school fitness intervention program designed to modify chronic inactivity. Open-ended interviews and 3 observations were conducted with 8 middle …

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A Mixed Methods Study Of Secondary Distance-Learning Students: Exploring Learning Styles, Jennifer M. Roberts Jan 2009

A Mixed Methods Study Of Secondary Distance-Learning Students: Exploring Learning Styles, Jennifer M. Roberts

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public education in the United States has experienced an increase in distance-learning (DL) opportunities. Because research has focused on student achievement in post-secondary DL programs, little is known about secondary students' experiences. The purpose of the current study was to explore DL applicability within secondary education. Specific research questions addressed by the concurrent mixed methods nested study included examining students' opinions and experiences in a secondary DL course and determining whether individual learning styles were addressed. Structured interviews, group discussions, and a survey were used to gather data over 2 months from 14 students in grades 9 through 12 participating …

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Cognitive Preference And Ethnic Identity Among Anglo And Native American High School Students, Chad Martin Novak Jan 2009

Cognitive Preference And Ethnic Identity Among Anglo And Native American High School Students, Chad Martin Novak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Office of Educational Research and Improvement: A Project of the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research, graduation rates for Native Americans from both secondary and post secondary institutions are dismally low at 58% and 7%, respectively. Some research addresses cognitive preference and other ethnic identity, but research animating the cognitive preference---ethnic identity interplay for high school students is absent. These limitations in access to educational opportunities lead to abbreviated quality life experiences and a restriction in individual efficacy and collective agency. The following project assessed ethnic identity using Phinney's Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure and cognitive preference using …

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An Examination Of Cooperative Learning Models And Achievement In Middle And Secondary Level Social Studies, Jeffrey R. Niemi Jan 2009

An Examination Of Cooperative Learning Models And Achievement In Middle And Secondary Level Social Studies, Jeffrey R. Niemi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of understanding of different cooperative learning methods and their effects on student achievement in middle and secondary level social studies education. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare two different cooperative learning models in terms of their effects on student achievement in middle level social studies classes. The research question addressed in this study involved understanding the nature of the relationships between different cooperative learning models, gender, ability level and achievement in social studies students. The two cooperative learning models compared were the structured dyad model, which was effective in studies on reading achievement, …

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Factors Affecting Retention Of Veteran Classroom Teachers: A Q -Method Study, Theresa Hollingsworth Hafen Corry Jan 2009

Factors Affecting Retention Of Veteran Classroom Teachers: A Q -Method Study, Theresa Hollingsworth Hafen Corry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher attrition compromises efforts to provide a quality teacher in every classroom, and attrition brings high financial and organizational costs to school districts. Yet, there are few studies on retention of veteran teachers. Within a framework of economic, organization, and attrition theories, the purpose of this study was to provide a clearer focus on factors that contribute to the retention of veteran teachers using Q-methodology. The independent variables were 49 participants from a large school district in the southwest United States. The dependent variable was the Q-sample of multiple factors. Using previous literature, a concourse was developed. The P-sample of …

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Effectiveness Of Inclusion In An Indiana Middle School, Clinton Todd Bowers Jan 2009

Effectiveness Of Inclusion In An Indiana Middle School, Clinton Todd Bowers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Repeated poor performance by students with special needs on the Indiana Statewide Test of Educational Progress (ISTEP) in an Indiana middle school supported the need for instructional changes. Following the implementation of a full inclusion program, a problem arose in that the program had not been evaluated and effectiveness was in question. This study, grounded in the constructivist and social reproduction theoretical frameworks, is important in explaining the effectiveness of a fully inclusive school. Whether placing middle school aged children with special needs in inclusive classrooms in the middle school setting is an effective practice is the research question guiding …

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Teaching Them All: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study Of African American Students' Perceptions Of Their Middle School's Culture, Henry Hankerson Jan 2009

Teaching Them All: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study Of African American Students' Perceptions Of Their Middle School's Culture, Henry Hankerson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research indicates school culture impacts student achievement. At Teach Them All Middle School (TTA), an achievement gap exists between African American and White students. The purpose of the current study was to examine the perceptions of African American students concerning the school culture at TTA. The research questions explored the perceptions of these students regarding the role of school leaders in shaping a school culture that is academically supportive, as well as their perceptions of the actual academic support, academic rigor, and encouragement they received from administrators and faculty. A sequential exploratory mixed methods strategy was used to quantify and …

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