Education Policy Commons^™

Economics Of Higher Education Productivity, Uchenna K. Oparah

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

How does spending affect academic outcomes in higher education institutions? Postsecondary schools incur costs to provide services to its student body. In this study, I introduce multiple outcome variables, a two-stage production function, and current-year expenditures on core services to evaluate how school spending affects academic outcomes.

The empirical analysis includes 28 group sample parameter estimates from four outcome variables, the pooled sample, and group samples for each of six sectors. The fixed effects/instrumental variable (FE-IV) instructional expenditure parameter estimates were positive for 20 of the 28 group samples. The sign and size of the estimated academic output effects varied …

A Look At Empathy, University Belonging, And Intersectionality: How To Support A Diverse Student Body Amid The Covid-19 Crisis, Shantalea Johns, Stephanie Hawkes

Social Work Faculty Publications

The present short essay discusses the impact COVID-19 has had on college students. As universities work to build supportive learning environments during these unprecedented times, it is important for practitioners to consider how mental health and student identity impact student success. The framework proposes that empathy, university belonging, and an intersectional approach to academic support can contribute to a student's mental health, identity, and emotional well-being as they transition back to academic life.

Program Evaluation Of Affordable Housing Projects For Educators: Pathways To Success, Giulia C. Seminatore

Master's Projects

Research was conducted to answer the question, what are the successful pathways to the creation of school district-driven affordable housing projects to enhance recruitment and retention of teachers and other school district staff? This research is based on a program evaluation of four current housing developments for educators and school district staff, and describes successful models for implementation that can be followed by other interested school districts or organizations. For the purpose of this research, successful is defined as projects that were able to secure land, funding and public support during the planning phase, and house district workforce upon implementation. …

Student Agency And Collective Bootstrapping In Integrated Career And Technical Education: A Photovoice Project, Panagiota Athinelis

Educational Studies Dissertations

Secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides students with a full education in academic areas as well as a career area of interest, allowing students to apply their school-based learning in the real world through work-based learning. At the same time, urban CTE adolescents have historically been marginalized and placed in a deficit model. The purpose of this qualitative study was to uncover the ways in which student agency is co-created in an urban, transdisciplinary CTE high school program, as well as to identify the institutional systems and structures that support or hinder the development of student agency.

Eight students …

Refugees, Identity, And The Fight For Education: A Study Of The Cultural And Political Context Of Education Policy For Syrian Refugees In Neighboring Host Countries, Kristen Cain

Senior Theses

The Syrian Refugee Crisis has significantly impacted Syria’s surrounding countries, in particular Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, who have welcomed the largest number of Syrian refugees. International organizations have recognized the importance in providing education opportunities for the millions of refugees who have left Syria. Each host country has enacted its own education policy to accommodate for the refugees, but a significant number of refugee children remain out of school. This paper argues that it is possible to make improvements to the education policies, and that these policies have been affected by the historical, cultural, and political contexts in the host …

School Violence Threat Assessment: Professional Development Training For K-12 Educators, Christopher J. Potter

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

While threats of violence are relatively common in U.S. K-12 schools, the likelihood of a threat being carried out is very low. School leaders must take all threats of school violence seriously but must also have evidence-informed means to discern less-serious, transient threats from more serious, substantive ones. School violence threat assessment training is a vital professional development tool, to ensure safer schools while avoiding unnecessary labeling of students or overly harsh consequences through disciplinary over-reaction. This manual supplements an abbreviated professional development training presentation on school violence threat assessment based on research and models developed by Dr. Dewey Cornell, …

A Leadership Change. A Culture Shift...And A Police Riot: The Story Of How The Highest College Going High School In San Francisco Became The Lowest Graduating School In The District, Emmanuel Padilla

Master's Theses

Thurgood Marshall Academic High School, located in San Francisco’s Bayview, Hunters Point, scored the third lowest in the most recent Academic Performance Index (API) Report. Based on the median household income, the Bayview is a low-income community and according to San Francisco data, is a high crime neighborhood. The odds are against Marshall to provide exceptional service to their students, but it once did. In 2001, Marshall had the highest college-going rate in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Today, only 20% of its student body would be considered college ready. This study will look into what happened to …

Let Them Eat Lunch: The Impact Of Universal Free Meals On Student Performance, Amy Ellen Schwartz, Michah W. Rothbart

Population Health Research Brief Series

Children need healthy and balanced meals to perform well in school. Universal Free Meal programs improve English and Math test scores and may even reduce obesity among middle school students. District and school leaders nationwide should consider adopting this program.

Unplanned Pregnancy In The Mississippi Delta: Causes And Implications, Julia Grant

Honors Theses

This study seeks to understand the causes and implications of the abundance of adolescent pregnancy in the region known as the Mississippi Delta, where teenage childbearing is among the highest in the nation. To do so, this study reports and analyzes twelve interviews with young, African American, single mothers conducted by the author in the summer of 2019. This study relies on a narrative approach to research and analysis and employs the theoretical framework of Afrocentrism. As a result of the interviews, the author concludes that a blatant lack of sex education in the region is a powerful influence on …

Educator Voice And Influence In Mississippi Education Policy, Sarah Jamie Sproles

Honors Theses

This thesis attempts to discover if there are barriers educators and government actors feel are in place that prevent educator advocacy and influence in the state of Mississippi, and consequently what importance their voices hold in the policymaking and implementation processes. The research questions that are addressed in this thesis include: a) Is there an absence of educators affecting policies and if so, why? b) What are the perceptions of educators’ advocacy and engagement in laws passed regarding education? c) What, if any, barriers prevent educators’ voices from influencing laws? Qualitative data from educators and those in the government sector …

Board Of Trustees Minutes, May 8 2020, Indiana State University Board Of Trustees

Board of Trustees

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Guaranteed Sexual Education In Argentina And Its Influence In The #Abortolegalya Movement, Shannon Mcgovern

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper focuses on the role the 2006 Sexual education law in Argentina has on the current #AbortoLegalYa #QueSeaLey movements. With the implementation of guaranteed, free sexual education for every student in Argentina, more individuals began wanting to have a say over their bodies. As more people learned about their reproductive rights, they also learned that they had the right to speak up and demand what they consider necessary. This paper focused on the Campaña national por aborto seguro, legal, y gratuito and their role on influencing both the current movement, and the 2006 passing of the sexual education law. …

Quality Child Care In Missouri: The Intersections Of Policy And Teachers' Perceptions Of Quality Child Care, Catherine Slade

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

A child’s health and well-being is supported by the environment in which they learn and develop. For an average of 36,000 children in Missouri, their environment includes an out-of-home child care program. Child care regulations are designed to protect the health and safety of children in child care. Using a constant comparative method, this study examined the extent to which the child care licensing regulations in Missouri align with the 13 Indicators of Quality Child Care published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). This study also examined how effective teachers working in child care programs felt …

The Effectiveness Of Implementing A Collaborative Mental Health Approach On Quality Of Life For Individuals Of Low Socioeconomic Status, Tyler Z. Tooley

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The ultimate purpose of this study is to provide insight and education to mental health clinicians, politicians and the general public of the numerous effects poverty has on mental health, in addition to the most beneficial ways to combat those insidious effects. The specific barriers met by individuals of low socioeconomic status severely affect psychological and physical health, as well as social and environmental relationships, which therefore diminish overall quality of life. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of implementing a collaborative mental health approach for low income individuals on length of engagement in services and …

Addressing Urban Income Inequality Through Education: A Case Study In Atlanta, Garrett Bronn

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

For decades, the income inequality gap between the rich and poor has continued to expand dramatically, with criticism of existing education systems often at the heart of the issue. Large urban cities are commonly at the forefront of the issue, given the plethora of teacher strikes in recent years. Events such as the 11-day Chicago teacher’s strike in October of 2019 that idled academics and college prep for 350,000 students, have highlighted many current education issues (Hauck, 2019). With underfunded and poorly equipped middle and high schools, students in poor and minority neighborhoods in cities are less prepared academically, ill …

Educating Children And Youth Experiencing Homelessness By Funding Local Implementation: Compliance For Positive Student Outcomes Under The Mckinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Darius Jamal Brown

Master's Projects

This project focused on two LEAs that received EHCY funding in California, and aimed to answer the following research question: How does receiving EHCY funding affect the services directed at fulfilling the goal of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of ensuring free public education for children and youth experiencing homelessness in two California counties?

Pupil Transportation Alternatives: An Analysis Of Alternative Pupil Transportation Models, Jarrett Garife

Master's Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine whether alternative pupil-transportation models are more cost efficient and safer for students than traditional school bus transportation in California. The study also focused on the fiscal and safety challenges that school districts face when transporting students. For the purpose of this analysis, “safer” will be defined in relation to the estimated injury or fatality costs resulting from a vehicle/school bus accident during pupil transportation.

The study analyzed the transportation departments of five California school districts (San Francisco Unified School District, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, Salinas City Elementary School District, Chualar Union …

From Start To Finish: Predicting Enrollment And Attainment In Arkansas Postsecondary Education, Katherine Kopotic

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Postsecondary education has become a popular option for students, as evidenced by increases in enrollment over the last two decades. However, while enrollment has increased, completion has not. It is therefore important to investigate the factors that could lead to students’ enrollment, persistence, and completion of college. This dissertation examines two broad topics over three chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 focus examine the impact of a policy change that resulted in backloading the award disbursement of a state-wide merit-based scholarship program in Arkansas on college enrollment and success. Chapter 3 examines factors that influence the predictive nature of high school …

Teacher Turnover And Teacher Retirement, Dillon Fuchsman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teachers have an important impact on students in the short- and long-term, but only teachers’ experience consistently predicts high teacher quality. This dissertation, divided into three chapters, investigates two topics that are related to teachers’ experience levels: turnover and retirement.

The first chapter studies the relationship between voluntary beginning teacher turnover and teachers’ levels of conscientiousness. It uses the data from the Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study and the effort that teachers put on a survey taken during their first year in the profession as a proxy for teachers’ levels of conscientiousness. The results of this chapter indicate that teachers putting …

Preserving Nevada's Higher Education Governance Entity: A Case Study, Deanna Cooper

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the preservation of Nevada’s higher education governance entity through the theoretical framework of punctuated equilibrium theory, which may provide useful information to Nevada’s state policymakers as they seek to address the state’s educated workforce needs via postsecondary governance reform. This study sought to explore the Nevada legislative policymaking process, why policy actors responded as they did and the context in which they responded by examining the life cycle of three unique higher education governance reform bills. Interviews with 12 policy actors and review of over 150 public documents revealed three …