Education Policy Commons^™

The Educational Benefits Of Cultural Institutions, Brian Kisida

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A significant portion of the education children receive occurs outside of the traditional classroom and produces outcomes not typically captured by standardized achievement tests. This dissertation is part of an effort to expand the educational venues and outcomes educational researchers rigorously examine. In particular, I present the key results from experimental studies of the effects of school tours to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR., and to the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, AR.

Chapter 1 focuses on arts exposure and critical thinking outcomes. A problem for the arts’ role in education has been a …

A Random Assignment Evaluation Of A College And Career Coaching Program, Sarah Burks Moore

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Razor C.O.A.C.H. (Creating Opportunities for Arkansan’s Career Hopes) is a college and career coaching program for at-risk students in 15 Northwest Arkansas high schools. To perform a random assignment evaluation, at-risk students were targeted to apply to the program, and applicant students were randomly assigned to the program. Academic coaches from the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions utilized a needs-based intervention focusing on pro-academic behaviors, college or technical school preparation, and post-secondary and career exploration. The evaluation included two cohorts of students. Cohort One treatment students received the full intervention throughout the 2012-13 school year, and …

The Effectiveness Of Cash Transfers As A Policy Instrument In K-16 Education, Jonathan Norman Mills

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cash transfers, defined as direct transfers of purchasing power from an institution or individual to another individual, are an increasingly popular policy instrument both abroad and in the United States. This dissertation investigates how two educational interventions utilizing cash transfers affect participating students. The first, the Louisiana Scholarship Program, is a statewide program offering publicly financed scholarships for low income students attending poorly performing public schools to attend K-12 private schools. The second program, the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship, is a state financed broad-based merit-aid scholarship for students in college within the state of Arkansas. In general, the results presented …

Buckets Of Water Into The Ocean: Non-Public Revenue In Public Charter And Traditional Public Schools, Meagan Batdorf, Albert Cheng, Larry D. Maloney, Jay F. May, Patrick J. Wolf

School Choice Demonstration Project

The funding of K-12 education remains a contentious public policy issue. Questions of funding adequacy and equity across school sectors, school districts and individual schools are prominent in discussions of how to improve educational outcomes, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds (Downes & Stiefel 2008; Ladd 2008). Although scholars are divided regarding the extent to which money affects student outcomes in K-12 education (Jackson, Johnson, & Persico 2015; Hanushek, 1997; Burtless 1996), there is basic agreement that more education revenue is better so long as the increased resources are directed towards productive educational activities and programs (Murnane & Levy 1996). …

Talking Back, With Reawakened Voices: Analyzing The Potential For Indigenous California Languages Coursework At California Polytechnic State University, Logan Cooper

Ethnic Studies

The legacy of colonialism in the United States, including genocidal practices and cultural assimilation, has left Indigenous languages endangered. Native peoples, scholars, and activists have been working to revive and heal the languages of America’s first peoples, and the cultures those languages speak to, yet more work remains in the field of language revitalization. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo currently does not offer any course specifically teaching or discussing Indigenous languages, even those of the Chumash people who know the San Luis Obispo area as their ancestral homelands.

By synthesizing revitalization and Indigenous activist literature with the narratives …

Australian Students In A Digital World, Sue Thomson

Policy Insights

This century has seen continued exponential growth in the use of digital technologies. In Australia, the proportion of students having access to a computer at home rose from about 91 per cent in 2000 to over 99 per cent in 2013, and access to the internet grew from 67 per cent in 2000 to 98 per cent in 2013. According to the 2013 report on the International Association for the Evaluation of Education Achievement’s (IEA) International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), Australia had the highest percentage of students who used computers at school at least once a week (81%), …

Learning From Educators Of Color: Licensed But Not Teaching In Oregon’S Public Schools, Ann Curry-Stevens, Analucia Lopezrevoredo

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

While the Minority Teachers Act has long been in existance (since 1991), it has not been enforced. It aims to ensure that the population of teachers represents the diversity of students in Oregon’s public classrooms, but remains far below those target levels. Today in Oregon, 35.5% of students are of color, while only 8.3% of Oregon’s teachers are of color.

Over the last two years, the Oregon Educator Equity Advisory Group (OEEAG) has been generating data to understand this issue and to make recommendations to the legislature to improve the diversity of educators in Oregon’s schools. Part of this investigation …

Training Together: State Policy And Collective Participation In Early Educator Professional Development, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter, Frank Smith, Sherri Killins

New England Journal of Public Policy

This study used one state’s early care and education work-force registry and professional development attendance data to examine early educator patterns of professional development participation and the extent of collective participation. The article presents the concept of collective participation in professional development, discusses its potential benefits, and highlights the utility of statewide digital tracking of early educators’ patterns of professional development for informing policy. Results show that collective participation is uncommon in early education and care but can be increased through professional development policy decisions. The article concludes with implications for research and policy.

Alignment Of Mission Statements With Hiring And Evaluation Processes Of Faculty At Higher Education Institutions Approved By The Academic Quality Improvement Program (Aqip), Nancy M. Foster

Dissertations

In 1999 when the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association created the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) path for accreditation, they instituted a new format for the documentation of evidence of meeting accreditation criterion called a Systems Portfolio. This study involved the analysis of the Systems Portfolios from 36 institutions to check for alignment of their mission statements, and stated faculty hiring and evaluation processes. Each Systems Portfolio was analyzed for themes found in previous research on mission statements and documentation of the processes for hiring and evaluation of faculty. Additionally, institutions from three Carnegie Classifications were compared …

The Ecology Of School Readiness, Miriam Beth Tager

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This qualitative study applies a critical and constructivist grounded theory approach (Charmez, 2014) to a narrative inquiry of how White middle-class early childhood educators perceive or make assumptions when identifying school readiness in low-income Black children. The data collection included an online districtwide survey of kindergarten and first-grade teachers (n=24), interviews of five teacher participants, observations of five identified non-school ready low-income Black children and two focus groups (participating and interpretative). The findings revealed an ecology of school readiness, in which teachers felt that the increase in standards impacted their quick identifications of non-school ready children. These participants claim …

An Exploratory Study Of The Role Of Cooperating Teachers In Preparing Teacher Candidates For Academic Success With Students Of Color In High-Need Schools, Audra Michelle Watson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation investigates the teaching practices, attitudes, beliefs, and expectations, cooperating teachers hold and model for teacher candidates preparing to work in high-need schools with significant populations of students of color. Using a culturally relevant and critical race theory lens, I argue that the clinical placements in which many teacher candidates are placed provide limited opportunities for them to see and engage in the full spectrum of culturally relevant pedagogical practices.

The data for this study were captured from participants in a nationally-administered, state-based teacher preparation program through surveys, interviews, and observations over a period of four months. Using a …

The Ones Left Behind: Making The Connection Between Poverty And The Achievement Gap, Audrey Davis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The achievement gap has been a major issue plaguing the education system in the United States for decades. There has been much research conducted with the goal of identifying the reasons for the achievement gap. One of the main reasons for the achievement gap is poverty. In fact, I argue that there is a direct correlation between academic achievement and poverty, in other words school and society are inextricably connected. The focus of this paper will be the elementary school level as there is an abundance of information on elementary schools in New York City. To further demonstrate the fact …

The Relationship Between Social-Emotional Development, Academic Achievement And Parenting Practices In Young Children Who Attend Head Start, Emily A. A. Dow

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

During the preschool years, children develop social-emotional skills -- such as cooperation and self-regulation -- which predict later academic achievement. Research shows that parents play an important role in the development of these skills. However, it remains unclear how specific parenting practices may facilitate the relationship between social-emotional development and academic success. Often, children who grow up in low-income families are at risk for a variety of cognitive and emotional problems. Head Start is a federal program offered to low-income families that provides services, including early childhood education programs, to help offset these risks. Using Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory, the purpose …

College Graduation Rates Of Hispanic Students: A Review Of The Literature, Jessica Hall

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This literature review examines what factors cause Hispanic college students to drop out before completing their bachelor's degrees. Factors include the type of college attended, financial aid, attending college part-time, enrolling in college later in life, stopping-out, taking a gap year, parents' educational levels, whether students are native- or foreign-born, high school academics, SAT and standardized test scores, college academics, the peer group, multiple disadvantages can compound for Hispanic students, sense of belonging on campus, stereotype threat, and a mentoring program. Recommendations are made for how non-college-educated Hispanic parents can be better informed about the college application process, what student …

Can We Do Better When Students Are A Threat To Self? A Review Of Legal And Policy Implications For Current Practices On College Campuses, Jennifer Ann Hemingway

Theses and Dissertations

Many colleges/universities believe that a student who is a threat to self increases campus risk and liability (Appelbaum, 2006; Massie, 2008; Pavela, 2006 & 2010). This study uses integrated policy analysis to (1) define the policy problem regarding college students who are a threat to self; (2) analyze the current legal opinion of the courts regarding institutional liability when college students are a threat to self; (3) examine the 2010 change to the direct threat provision in Title II legislation; (4) determine the implications for institutional policies and practices. The analysis illustrates, according to the courts and changes in Title …

Testing The Global Ratings Of Environments [Groe] In South Africa, Melissa Aives

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The author retested an observational tool called the Global Ratings of Environments. The tool was used in nearly six early childhood development (ECD) centers across two provinces. A detailed report of observations and findings are included in this paper. Also included are recommendations and revisions of the GROE for future use.

Quality Of Early Childhood Development Services Across Contexts : Experience With The Sithuthukile Trust, South Africa, Rachel Warren

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the quality of early childhood development (ECD) programs is determined within two different contexts: western and South African.

Mothers Who Choose Traditional Public Education In Times Of Economic Stress, Criticism, And District Reform, Brian W. Davis

Dissertations

As districts attempt to achieve higher accountability for student results while making complex decisions to balance budgets, it has become increasingly more common to restructure or reorganize educational delivery systems in ways that affect children and their families. Understanding how families and, in particular, mothers translate their experiences with structural and other changes enacted by the schools serving their children can assist in defining a new strategic direction of renewal, growth, and revitalization.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of 18 mothers, and their children, who were participants in multiple school reform initiatives in an …

A National Study Of Alternatively And Traditionally Certified Teachers, John F. Hoye

Dissertations

The alternative teacher certification policy has been firmly in place for more than a decade, but there have been conflicting reports on its effects. I conducted the study to investigate whether the policy has materialized its promise. I compared the characteristics of alternatively certified (AC) and traditionally certified (TC) teachers by analyzing data from a nationally representative sample of public school teachers (N = 27,810). The sample was constructed from the Schools and Staffing Survey 2007-08, a national survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. I investigated what teacher characteristics (such as age, gender, ethnicity, total years of …

Using Dynamic Lndicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills (Dibels) Oral Reading Fluency Data To Predict Michigan Educational Assessment Program Outcomes, Lisa Lockman

Dissertations

Schools are under legislative pressure to ensure students make adequate progress each year, and therefore, must identify students in need of intervention at early grade levels. Educators use diagnostic tools to measure student progress, attempting to determine which children may be most at risk for future reading failure. The Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) is widely used for early identification of students who have risk factors. This study incorporated a quantitative, correlational, ex post facto design to examine the relationship between students’ third grade scores on the spring DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) assessment and their fifth grade …