Education Policy Commons^™

Teachers’ Unions, Collective Bargaining, And The Response To Covid-19, Annie A. Hemphill, Bradley D. Marianno

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education Faculty Research

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, school districts worked quickly to roll out distance learning plans in the spring. Sometimes these plans impinged upon or were directly in conflict with provisions found in collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated between teachers' unions and district administration. In this brief, we unpack how urban school systems changed CBAs to make way for learning under COVID-19 conditions. We review COVID-19–related contract changes in 101 urban school districts around the country. We find that twenty-five urban school districts returned to the bargaining table with teachers’ unions to negotiate short-term fixes to CBAs that allowed for …

Investigating Outcomes For English Language Learners In Arkansas Better Chance (Abc) Pre-K, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Emily Jordan, Charlene A. Reid

Policy Briefs

Students with limited English proficiency face a number of educational challenges, and there are dramatic achievement gaps between these students and their English proficient peers. This brief describes the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade outcomes of English Language Learner (ELL) students who attend Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) pre-Kindergarten, a state-funded program that is free to income-eligible families. Results indicate that ABC has the potential to improve academic outcomes for ELL students in Arkansas.

Elevating Nebraska’S Early Childhood Workforce: Report And Recommendations Of The Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission. April 2021 One-Year Update, Buffet Early Childhood Institute

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

On Jan. 30, 2020, the Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission released its report and recommendations, Elevating Nebraska’s Early Childhood Workforce. With a strong commitment to collaborative action, commission members vowed that the report would not just sit on the shelf—and they have been true to their word. Even the COVID-19 pandemic could not prevent commission members and the organizations they represent from engaging with partners in diverse communities across the state to pursue the report’s vision, goals, and recommendations.

In fact, the pandemic’s dramatic impact on the early childhood workforce and the children and families they serve has only served …

School Psychologists As Leaders In Professional Practice: An Examination Of Leadership Roles And Perceived Support, Jodi Lachance

Education (PhD) Dissertations

The professional role of a school psychologist leader is a topic of interest for those in the field. Since 1940, state or national associations have outlined recommendations and guidelines for school psychology leadership roles. School psychology leadership aligns with the NASP training and practice model and is critical in promoting best practice. However, we know very little about school psychology leadership in professional practice, and the school psychology leadership literature is relatively void of research. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of school psychology leadership in professional practice, identify fundamental components (NASP competencies) perceived to …

Examining Teachers’ School Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions And Support Practices To Improve The Behaviors Of Students With Disabilities, Lolita Michele Owens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe problem at a high school in the southeastern United States is that students with disabilities struggle to demonstrate appropriate behaviors despite the implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (SWPBIS). Current research findings have suggested that although SWPBIS includes strategies for students with disabilities, the behaviors of students with learning disabilities have not improved during SWPBIS implementation. There was a need to explore teachers’ implementation of SWPBIS for students with learning disabilities. In this basic qualitative study, how teachers at the research site high school were implementing SWPBIS for students with learning disabilities toward improving maladaptive behaviors was …

College Readiness Of Freshman Students From Inner-City Schools, Shanitra Jones Barnes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A problem that exists in higher education is that many students are not college and career ready. Many students enter college without being academically prepared to succeed. The purpose of this study was to explore the academic college readiness barriers and supports of freshmen college students from a Midwestern inner-city college. The conceptual framework of this study was Bourdieu’s social capital theory. The research questions address what college freshmen who graduated from inner-city public high schools perceive to be the barriers and necessary supports to reaching their academic goals. The basic interpretive research design was used to investigate the problem …

Analysis Of Sexual Assault Policy Implementation Through The Narratives Of University Support Professionals, Rachel Cromheecke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual assaults occurring on university campuses are a national health crisis with statistics revealing 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men endure an unwanted sexual experience during their college career. The United States government has modified Title IX to update processes and resources educational institutions must provide to their students affected by sexual assaults. Educational institutions have increased educational resources to inform students about sexual assault prevention, how to recognize a sexual assault, where to go on campus for assistance, and where to report a complaint. However, studies have shown that over 90% of sexual assaults never get …

Balancing The Pedagogical And Practical Concerns In Remote Higher Education: A Cyberethnography, Jose Eos R. Trinidad, Samantha Joan Ackary, Lyka Janelle P. Pacleb, Sophia Sue Tabanao, Jan Llenzl Dagohoy

Interdisciplinary Studies Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about physical school closures and quick transitions online, with universities making decisions for this new mode of instruction. Such decisions, however, were open to discussion and debates, particularly as students and instructors held varying concerns, experiences, and expectations for remote learning. We investigate what these debates are using a cyberethnography of a Facebook group for students and faculty, and an anonymous Freedom Wall page for students in the same university. The concerns centered on workload that balanced academic rigor and practical exigencies; learning modalities that balanced accountability and flexibility; and assessments that balanced academic integrity and …

Special Considerations In Gifted Identification: Increasing Access And Equitable Practices For Underrepresented Populations In An Urban School District, Veda Stewart

Online Theses and Dissertations

Low-socio economic and/or minority students are substantially unidentified for gifted education programs. The disparities in gifted education for underrepresented students persist despite the growth in schools across the country of low income and minority students. Despite efforts to tackle equity issues in gifted education the large gaps of disproportionality persist. Explanations for this occurrence of underrepresentation is linked to the general processes for identifying gifted students, which are based largely on norm referenced standardized tests, with a single score criterion and a referral process that relies heavily on teacher and parent nominations. These identification processes tend to overlook the cultural …

The Examination Of Attendance Support Teams In Urban Middle Schools, John Christopher Young

Online Theses and Dissertations

The research study was conducted to analyze effect of an attendance support team in urban middle schools. The study utilized a six-month time window using students in three middle schools that accumulated five unexcused absences. The attendance support team was comprised of a school social worker, a family resource student support coordinator, a district-level director of pupil personnel, and a court-designated worker from family court. The function of this team was to share attendance policies, requirements, and mitigate barriers through system support to increase regular attendance for students. The research was analyzed to measure the effect on gender, grade level, …

The (Un)Sustainability Of Higher Education Institutions In Jordan, Sumaya Bint El Hassan, Kyle E. Cordova, Ghaith Rabadi, Wejdan Abu Elhaija

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Higher education in Jordan has been tied closely to the state-building process in the century since the modern Hashemite state's foundation in 1921, with its explicit purpose being to educate and train high volumes of students who are competent and capable to serve as contributors to the state's development. Though this purpose has largely been successful to date, it is becoming increasingly clear that more is needed than simply issuing degrees. In an increasingly globalized world, it is necessary to educate those who can contribute to future research arenas and labor markets over which a single state has limited control. …

Due Process In Academic & Student Misconduct At Community Colleges: An Analysis Of Policies, Practices, And Standards Through The Lens Of Principal-Agent Theory, Erin Logan

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

With limited research exploring the relationship between due process and misconduct processes at community colleges, this research allowed the voices of the practitioners administering misconduct policies to be heard and assist in creating consistent, meaningful practices for their community college campuses. This study explored community college student conduct administrators’ perceptions on the fairness, equity, and due process standards in the academic misconduct policies compared to their campuses’ policies for student misconduct.

This mixed-methods approach surveyed student conduct officers and allowed them to provide narrative responses to justify their beliefs. The data was coded using concepts specific to Principal-Agent Theory and …

Pioneers Or Profiteers? Examining Pennsylvania's Cyber Charter Landscape Through The Lens Of Principal-Agent Theory, Greg Mayle

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Pennsylvania’s current cyber charter school landscape is often discussed as an area in which reform is needed, but political bickering and biased arguments have rendered meaningful change nonexistent. This research project seeks to resolve this logjam by examining the issue from a different perspective than that which has been utilized in many previous studies. By viewing the existing landscape through the lens of principal-agent theory, one can begin to understand the legislative intent behind the creation of cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania. Once this intent is known, assessment of actual outcomes becomes possible. This study collected data relating to academic …

Futures Under Threat: Education Policy And Barriers To Access For Syrian Refugees In Jordan And Lebanon, Ann Monk

Global Islamic Studies Honors Papers

This study provides a nuanced analysis of some of the most pressing barriers to education for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, including: curriculum usage, language barriers, certification, accreditation, insufficient infrastructure, a lack of qualified teachers, child labor and early marriage. In addition, the study proposes a multitude of policy responses to reduce the barriers to access for Syrian refugee students. Several of the most important policy proposals include: standardizing curricula, certification and accreditation, developing remedial programs, enhancing teacher training, hiring Syrian teachers, reducing employment restrictions for Syrians, establishing family outreach initiatives and investing in transportation for students. Furthermore, case …

Understanding Volunteer Motivations To Serve, Dominique P. Wood

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

An organization’s volunteer development program can serve as a useful tool in the P-20 framework to address transitional gaps preventing smooth and consistent movement of individuals from traditional education to career attainment. Utilizing Maslow’s Theory of Motivation and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, this qualitative study revealed volunteer motivation effectively resolved needs that work toward Self-Actualization. Satisfied needs, addressed by the volunteer experience, places the organization as a relevant partner in the P-20 framework to resolve career attainment goals. The volunteer makes the gift of time, skills, experience, and knowledge based on personal preferences to the organization’s work. Partnerships are achieved …

College Application Fee Effects On Applicant Volume, Diversity, And Academic Quality, Benjamin J. Smith

Honors Theses

I use U.S. News data spanning 2002-2019 on 200 U.S. liberal arts colleges to examine the effect of the application fee on four outcome variables: applications, nonwhite undergraduates, mean undergraduate SAT scores, and number of first- years from the top ten percent of their high school class. I find strong evidence that schools enroll more nonwhite students and have lower mean SAT scores in years when they do not charge an application fee, although there is no effect of the fee on first-years from the top ten percent of their high school class. Notably, I find that removing the application …

Collaborative Competition In Homeless Services: Three Essays On Federal-Local Partnerships, Andrew Alfred Sullivan

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

The United States’ federal government funds homeless services provided at the local level through the McKinney-Vento Act, encouraging collaboration among providers. This dissertation studies three aspects of homelessness: merging of local planning bodies, identification of homeless students, and the relationship between experiencing homelessness in high school and long-term educational outcomes.

The first chapter studies the effect of merging Continuums of Care (CoCs), local planning bodies for homeless services. While merging brings organizations into the same network and could make use of economies of scale, it brings service provision to a less-local level, taking away responsiveness to the community and inter-jurisdictional …

Remote Math Or Remotely Math? : A Qualitative Study Of The Challenges Of A Covid-19 Induced Transition To Ict-Based Teaching For High School Mathematics Teachers, David Hurst

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In the blink of an eye schools across the country closed their doors in March 2020 and teachers were forced to transition from face-to-face instruction within a brick-and-mortar setting to ICT-based remote teaching. Many high school mathematics teachers were accustomed to their students having devices as their schools had established 1:1 computing programs. Even so, not all teachers had fully embraced ICT enhanced instruction in their classrooms. Research has shown that the degree of ICT utilization in a classroom has a strong positive correlation with the comfort level of the teacher. The COVID-19 closures required teachers to incorporate ICT in …

"Folks Like Us" : Exploring State Education Policy In New York's Rural School Districts, Nicole Lennon

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Diversity has been a major topic in education in recent years. However, often missing from the conversation is consideration of geographic diversity across urban, suburban, and rural school districts. Research shows that geographic place influences educational capacity, opportunities, and trajectories, as well as social life, cultural values, and individual identity. The policy process is influenced by dominant ideologies that tend to problematize rural places and favor the interests of metropolitan places. This metro-centric ideology may continue to influence educational policymaking in the United States today, as scholars have found policymakers often reuse similar urban-favored tools and solutions in the design …

Supporting Highly Mobile Literacy Learners : Examining How An Elementary School Provided Support To Mobile Students In An Urban School District, Rebecca L. Benjamin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation explores the academic and social-emotional supports and constraints that impact the literacy learning of highly mobile students in an urban elementary school, utilizing interview, questionnaire, and achievement data from transient students and educational professionals who work with them. It examines a school year of highly mobile student experiences in literacy-learning across a wide range of factors and environments, considering student and educator observations, reflections, and participation, through different schools and across various settings in their current/newest school (in classrooms, at lunch, recess, rehearsals, and specials, working with social or academic service providers, etc.). This study’s theoretical framework was …