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open access

The Relationship of a Spiritual Calling to Motivation, Locus of Control, Burnout and Longevity in Teaching

Description: In this study, six research questions were addressed: (1) Does a teacher who has a spiritual calling have a different motivation (self, interaction, task) to his/her work than a teacher who does not have a spiritual calling? (2) Does a teacher who feels a spiritual calling have a different locus of control (internal, external) than a teacher who does not have a spiritual calling? (3) Does a teacher who has a spiritual calling have a different degree of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonali… more
Date: December 1994
Creator: Zimmer, Katrina R. Nottingham (Katrina Rene Nottingham)
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Examining First-Graders' Construction of Knowledge of Graphophonemic and Orthographic Relationships: Reading and Writing Student-Selected Continuous Text

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine first-graders' construction of knowledge of graphophonemic and orthographic relationships. Three levels of treatment were assigned randomly to three groups of first-graders in their first semester of first grade. Treatment varied in student engagement with reading and writing texts based on student interests and in the amount of interaction students had with one another and the researcher as they read, wrote, and examined words, word patterns, and grapho… more
Date: May 1996
Creator: Frerichs, Linda C.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Texas Public School Mission Statements : a Factor in the Involvement of Parents, Family, and/or Home in Educational Reform

Description: Despite site-based decison making (SBDM) educational mandates, research determined the virtual exclusion of parents, family, and/or home as co-authoritative voice in Texas public school district mission statements. Qualitative analysis determined six parent roles within 155 inclusive mission statements through rhetorical deconstruction, a text-based grammatical evaluation procedure; quantitative analysis determined no significance between inclusive and exclusive districts in factors of size, so… more
Date: May 1996
Creator: Gillespie, Patricia T. (Patricia Todd)
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Central Office Administrators' Perceptions of the Professional Learning Community Process

Description: This study provides a qualitative interpretation of the work done by central office administrators in a school district in Texas as they supported and built capacity for the professional learning community (PLC) process over a five year time period. Literature by PLC scholars, especially R. DuFour, R.B. DuFour, Eaker, Hord, Hipp, Huffman, and Olivier, informed development of the study. In a school district of 19,000 students and 2,000 staff members, ten central office administrators were interv… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Pruitt, Mary E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Accountability in Schools: a Study of High School Accountability Ratings and College Success

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between high school campus accountability ratings, college readiness indicators, and the percent of students who achieved first year college success. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the relationship between the variables. Data was analyzed for two-year and four-year postsecondary educational institutions which were divided by eight school district types. Regression analysis of the relationship between … more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Orsborn, Shannon
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effects of the Texas Reading First Response to Intervention Program on Student Achievement and Campus Special Education Rates

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine special education populations, special education reading achievement, and regular education reading achievement in relation to the implementation of the Reading First three-tiered model as a response to Intervention platform. The population for this study focused on rural schools with Grades K-3 in attendance. Schools participated in the reading first grant period of the 2003-2009 school years. Forty-seven Texas Reading First schools were compared to 47 … more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Batts, Troy D.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Exploration of Teachers' Adoption of the Bring Your Own Technology Program

Description: The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' concerns, use, and actual practices in their adoption of the bring your own technology (BYOT) initiative. Twelve secondary teachers in a private school setting participated in this study. The participants represented all content areas including reading, math, science, and electives. The private school was in its third year of implementing BYOT. This case study incorporated multiple methods to collect data to gain a better understanding of t… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Cardoza, Yanet
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Hispanic Representation in the Superintendency: Perceived Competencies and Organizational Outcomes That Benefit School Districts

Description: This study assessed 40 factors often cited in literature to determine the extent that Hispanic superintendents perceive them as influential when accessing the superintendency. Eight Hispanic superintendents in Texas participated in this qualitative study, which was based on interviews as well as written responses to a survey. This study found that the factors considered most influential to these superintendents were their ability to communicate, self-perception/self-efficacy, and level of over… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Medina, Fernando
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Factors Related to Teacher Retention: the Lived Experiences of Four Teachers in an Urban, Hard-to-staff High School

Description: Retaining quality teachers is critical to the success of America's schools. How to retain quality teachers, especially in high needs schools, is a question of fervent debate among educational researchers, policy makers, administrators, parents, and students. This study examines the issue of teacher retention from an emic perspective, focused on understanding the perspective of those closest to the retention decision, teachers in hard-to-staff schools. This study examines the lived experiences … more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Julian, Chris
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Case Study of 1:1 Technology Policies in Four Texas High Schools and Their Relationship to Practice

Description: With increasing emphasis on technology in schools, the importance of technology policies is great. This study investigated policies for four 1:1 secondary schools in Texas (schools with a ratio of one computing device per student), particularly with respect to the relationship of those policies to practice. The purpose of the study was to determine the current status of the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) essential conditions as reflected in policy and the relationship of those … more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Bauter, Cynthia
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Examination of Mathematics Teachers’ Use of Student Data in Relationship to Student Academic Performance

Description: Among educational researchers, important questions are being asked about how to improve mathematics instruction for elementary students. This study, conducted in a north Texas public school with 294 third- through fifth-grade students, ten teachers and three coaches, examined the relationship between students’ achievement in mathematics and the mathematics teaching and coaching instruction they received. Student achievement was measured by the Computer Adaptive Instrument (CAT), which is admini… more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Hartmann, Lillian Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Preschool Teachers’ Knowledge of Children’s Mathematical Development and Beliefs About Teaching Mathematics

Description: Early childhood education emphasizes the need of providing high quality early childhood mathematics programs for preschool children. However, there is little research that examines the importance of preschool children’s mathematical knowledge development and teachers’ beliefs about how to teach mathematics to young children. The purposes of this study were to investigate pre-service and in-service preschool teachers’ knowledge of children’s mathematical development and their beliefs about teach… more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Kim, In Hong
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Validation of a Short-cycle Formative Assessment Observation Protocol for Science and Mathematics Instruction

Description: Over the years, teachers, administrators, and policy makers have been concerned with optimizing learning for all students. The No Child Left Behind Act put an emphasis on summative assessments, which measure what students have learned. In contrast, formative assessment has been shown in many studies to improve student achievement and motivation because it is applied while students are learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate, for middle and high school mathematics and science ins… more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Heitz, Layne
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Funds of Knowledge in a Hispanic Household: a Case Study of Family Experiences, Values, and Connections to Education

Description: Traditionally, the field of education has often adopted a negative perspective in their views of minority families’ contributions to the educational progress of their children. However, research embodying the theoretical framework of ‘funds of knowledge’ attempts to counter that model through its assertion that all families possess extensive bodies of knowledge that have developed through social, historical, and cultural contexts. Teachers carry out studies of familial funds of knowledge in o… more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Feild, Kelly A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A New Era of Educational Assessment: the Use of Stratified Random Sampling in High Stakes Testing

Description: Although sampling techniques have been used effectively in education research and practice it is not clear how stratified random sampling techniques apply to high-stakes testing in the current educational environment. The present study focused on representative sampling as a possible means for reducing the quantity of state-administered tests in Texas public education. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to determine if stratified random sampling is a viable option for reducing the numb… more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Brown, Stephanie N.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Comparison of Three Teacher Evaluation Methods and the Impact on College Readiness

Description: Much attention in recent years has gone to the evaluation of teacher effectiveness, and some scholars have developed conceptual models to evaluate the effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to compare three teacher evaluation models – the Texas Professional Development Appraisal System (PDAS), the teacher index model (TI), and the value-added model (VAM) – to determine teacher effectiveness using student demographic and longitudinal academic data. Predictive data from students included ec… more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Smalskas, Tamy L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Experiences and Perceptions of Students in Music and Mathematics

Description: Since the time of Pythagoras, philosophers, educators, and researchers have theorized that connections exist between music and mathematics. While there is little doubt that engaging in musical or mathematical activities stimulates brain activity at high levels and that increased student involvement fosters a greater learning environment, several questions remain to determine if musical stimulation actually improves mathematic performance. This study took a qualitative approach that allowed 24 h… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Cranmore, Jeff L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Parental Perceptions of Marketing to Young Children: a Feminist Poststructural Perspective

Description: This study examined parental perceptions of marketing to young children using a feminist post-structural theoretical framework to specifically examine the following questions, 1) To what extent are parents aware of the marketing tactics being directed toward young children? 2) How do power/knowledge relations and practices produce parent’s multiple subjectivities as they parent their children in regards to commercial culture? 3) How can early childhood educators adapt pedagogy and practice in … more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Wolff, Kenya E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Impact of Teacher Quality on Reading Achievement of Fourth Grade Students: an Analysis of the 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (Naep)

Description: This study investigated the effects of teacher background variables on fourth grade reading achievement data collected from the 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) using a causal-comparative research design. Teacher quality variables related to teacher credentials, instructional methods, training, and support were selected from the NAEP background questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used to examine teacher background inf… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Curry, Daphney Leann
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Texas Principals’ Data Use: Its Relationship to Leadership Style and Student Achievement

Description: This study applies an empirical research method determine whether Texas public school principals’ leadership styles, coupled with their use of real time data in a data warehouse, influenced their leadership ability as measured by student achievement. In today’s world of data rich environments that require campuses and districts to make data-driven decisions, principals find themselves having to organize and categorize data to help their school boards, campuses, and citizenry make informed deci… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Bostic, Robert E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Preschool Teachers’ Constructions of Early Reading

Description: Much of the current discourse surrounding the practice of early reading has emerged from policies that dictate the definition and means by which reading is taught and by which reading success is measured. Although this discourse directly influences the work of preschool teachers, little is known about what preschool teachers think about early reading and how they develop these understandings or constructions. Research concerning preschool teachers’ constructions is useful because of the potenti… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Walker, Karen Elledge
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Investigation Into the Relationships Between the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge of University Teacher Education Faculty and Their Age, Rank, and Gender

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine what relationships exist between the age, rank, and gender of university faculty in teacher education and their technological pedagogical content knowledge. The survey instrument used was the Survey of Teacher Educators’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) which is an adaptation of the Survey of Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge of Teaching and Technology developed by Schmidt. A total of 347 public Texas university teacher education facult… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Hamilton, Christina
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Vygotskian Analysis of Preservice Teachers’ Conceptions of Dissolving and Density

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine the content knowledge of 64 elementary preservice teachers for the concepts of dissolving and density. Vygotsky’s (1987) theory of concept development was used as a framework to categorize concepts and misconceptions resulting from evidences of preservice teacher knowledge including pre/post concept maps, writing artifacts, pre/post face-to-face interviews, examination results, and drawings. Statistical significances were found for pre- and post-concep… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Shaker elJishi, Ziad
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Use of Visual-performance Feedback and Its Effect on Behavior-specific Positive Praise in a Self-contained Behavior Classroom

Description: The present study aimed to understand the relationship between the use of visual-performance feedback and its effects on behavior-specific positive praise in classrooms for students who exhibit behavioral challenges. The current study included 15 children being served by four teachers in elementary self-contained behavior classrooms. Data collection and instrumentation included (a) a pre-service training for all four teachers, (b) two weeks of baseline data on behavior-specific positive praise,… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Gibbins, Matthew
Partner: UNT Libraries
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