UNT Theses and Dissertations - 14 Matching Results

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The Examination of Black and Latino/a/x Students' and Responsive STEM Teachers' Perceptions of Teacher Cultural Consciousness and Culturally Responsive Instructional Practices

Description: School cultures, curriculum, and instruction are too often created through a monocultural lens, which excludes Black and Latino/a/x students both socially and academically, and perpetuates the false notion that these students are inherently less capable of achieving academic success when compared to their White counterparts. This is visible across all content areas, but especially in secondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classes, which means that our Black and Latin… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Norris, Margaret Louise
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

English Learner Instructional Programs in Texas Charter Schools: Perspectives of Instructional Leaders in Their Selection of Bilingual/ESL Programs

Description: There are 184 active charter school districts in Texas, which use public tax dollars like traditional school districts, providing educational opportunities to over 350,000 Texas students. Charter schools accept state and federal funds and often operate with less oversight than their neighboring local public schools, yet they have the autonomy to accomplish the mission(s) set forth by the charter school operator. Although there have been numerous studies looking at the effectiveness of charter s… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Navarrete, Jesús Leopoldo
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Perceptions of Charter School Administrators and Teachers about Factors Accounting for Academic Effectiveness

Description: This qualitative case study examines academic performance effectiveness (or lack of effectiveness) of a charter school based on the perceptions of the administrator and teachers. This study explores what they perceived to be effective/ineffective, the reasons for this effectiveness/ineffectiveness, and the solutions to any identified challenges/problems at their charter school as they relate to students' academic performance. The participants in the study were from one charter school in a chart… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Hunter, Adrienne M
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Influences of External Literacy Assessment on Curricular Decisions: A Systems-Based Study of a Local School District

Description: National and state-based assessments have been a common practice for the past several decades. These assessments often come with high-stake consequences for students and schools, which tends towards the creation of a test-centric environment where educators prioritize test-based instruction to prepare students to be successful on those assessments. The over-arching purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how mandated high-stakes testing influences educators specifically within a compl… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Larson, Tiffany R
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Exploring Enactments of Agency in Children's Literature from School Libraries

Description: The purpose of this study was to analyze student-selected library books for how, if at all, agency is enacted by the characters. This study uses tenets from critical multicultural analysis (CMA) and elements of visual analysis (VA) to guide a critical content analysis of enactments of agency in the most circulated books from three school libraries during the 2019-2020 school year. This study builds on and extends the existing research on agency development in children and demonstrations of agen… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Loomis, Kathryn Barkley
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

To Seal or Not to Seal? Equity and Policy Discourses in the Texas Seal of Biliteracy

Description: Initiated in California in 2011, the Seal of Biliteracy is a distinguishing graduation recognition honoring the academic success of bilingual biliterate high school seniors. The purpose of this study was to illuminate and describe Texas language education policy discourse by critically examining policies including the Seal of Biliteracy and Texas' House Bill 5 Performance Acknowledgment. This study used the discourse of language policy frameworks, global human capital (GHC), and equity heritage… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: DeVaughn, Nichelle
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Influences on Teachers' Decision-Making when Working with Students who have Difficulty Learning to Read

Description: Research shows that having an excellent reading teacher in the classroom is key to preventing reading difficulties. However, teachers often feel unprepared to work with students experiencing reading difficulties. This can be problematic in a school that uses a multi-tiered system of support for students in which the classroom teacher is responsible for core instruction and early reading interventions. This qualitative study examined the influences on elementary teachers' instructional and ass… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Pettet, Traci H
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Impact of Instructional Technology on Student Motivation and Vocabulary Knowledge

Description: This study examined the influence of instructional technology on Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL) vocabulary acquisition and the intrinsic motivation language learners present while learning vocabulary in a second language. A quasi-experimental design helped determine the impact of the instructional technology intervention using Quia and Quizlet to learn vocabulary over direct instruction. A nonrandom convenience sample of (N = 47) participants was divided into the experimental group (n = 25… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Perez, Araceli
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

New Teacher PBL Planning and Implementation

Description: This study investigated novice science and mathematics teachers' beliefs about planning and implementation of project-based instruction. Data for this qualitative study included two focus groups and a questionnaire. Items in the questionnaire were designed using preliminary findings from the analysis of the two focus groups, and from predefined items from the National Survey of Project Based Learning and High School Reform. The questionnaire was administered to 138 novice secondary mathematics … more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Harris, Marlon Karel
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Motivating Adolescent Students to Read for Pleasure: Influences on Rural Teachers' Practice

Description: The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore the self-perception of three rural, intermediate, ELA teachers to motivate their students to read for pleasure. The methods utilized in this study included one-on-one interviews, and a focus group discussion, including all three participants and the researcher. The subjects shared teaching strategies from their childhoods that succeeded and failed in motivating them to read. The biographical perspective proposed by Kelchtermans and Vande… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: McDaniel, Lisa G
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Continuing the Work of Our Ancestors: Black Radical Leadership and Disruptive Pedagogies in Affirming the Well-being of Black Students

Description: Using Black feminist thought and BlackCrit/critical race theory frameworks, this qualitative study examined Black educators' practices in addressing the behavior of their students in an urban school district. It utilized counternarratives and storytelling to explore the cultural dynamics at play between Black educators and their Black students. The Black educators in this study operated under several behavior systems, including positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), socio-emot… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Foster, Marquita Delorse
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Saudi Mothers' Experiences Maintaining Their Young Children's Arabic Language and Islamic-Saudi Identity

Description: As more Saudi individuals temporarily settle in the United States to pursue higher education, it becomes increasingly important to understand the impact this experience has on their families. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to examine Saudi mothers' experiences and motivations after transitioning to life in the United States. The main research question was: What are Saudi mothers' experiences of supporting their children maintaining and developing Arabic language ski… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Albakr, Ashwaq Mohammed
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Participatory Research with Adolescent Emergent Bilinguals: Creating a Third Space to Support Students' Language and Literacy Learning

Description: Teachers face pressures to meet the needs of an ever-changing diverse population of learners while simultaneously attempting to assist students in meeting state standards. There is a body of research that supports emergent bilinguals' growth in reading and writing. However, those practices do not necessarily reflect classroom instruction nor the needs of the students. The purpose of this study was to examine adolescent emergent bilinguals' perceptions about their learning from research-based li… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Garcia, Kimberly
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Seeking Method in the Madness: Demystifying Students' Multimodal Digital Composing Processes

Description: The study of writing has moved through process and product movements. The rapid introduction of technology into classroom spaces has provided new platforms and opportunities for students to integrate multiple modes of communication into a single act of composing. While there is an acknowledgment that digital multimodal composition is a highly complex act and set of processes, much of the literature and investigation into this digital turn in composing has largely been product focused versus pro… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Stamm, Brett M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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