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open access

Latent Transition Analysis of Pre-service Teachers' Efficacy in Mathematics and Science

Description: This study modeled changes in pre-service teacher efficacy in mathematics and science over the course of the final year of teacher preparation using latent transition analysis (LTA), a longitudinal form of analysis that builds on two modeling traditions (latent class analysis (LCA) and auto-regressive modeling). Data were collected using the STEBI-B, MTEBI-r, and the ABNTMS instruments. The findings suggest that LTA is a viable technique for use in teacher efficacy research. Teacher efficacy is… more
Date: December 2009
Creator: Ward, Elizabeth Kennedy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The perception of English language arts teachers about instructional changes following the implementation of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test.

Description: Accountability in education has been expanding for the past twenty years. As standards for curricular areas continued to develop, educational shareholders desired a way to measure student achievement contextualized by the established standards. Since 1964, policies expanded federal involvement with education, and with the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, high-stakes testing became a significant part of public education. In Texas, testing transitioned in 2003 to the Texas Assessment of Knowledg… more
Date: December 2009
Creator: Horn, Brian K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Parent Participation Discourse of a Community School: Diverse Ideas and Perceptions about Educational Partnership at an Inner City Community School

Description: Despite the widespread recommendation that schools "collaborate" with parents, little is found in the literature to elaborate on what this term or the common synonym "partnership" means, and further, how schools can invite diverse parental contributions to the table of educational discourse. The current study looks to contribute to the literature by analyzing the parent participation discourse in one community elementary school, utilizing critical discourse analysis and ethnographic observation… more
Date: August 2009
Creator: Coe, Alice Elizabeth
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Teacher change: The effect of a professional development intervention on middle school mainstream teachers of English language learners.

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a professional development intervention conducted with mainstream middle school teachers of English language learners (ELLs) in a North Texas school district. Teacher change was examined in the context of this intervention. Three groups of teachers participated in this study. Group 1 (n= 4) consisted of teachers returning to the intervention for a second year. Group 2 (n= 12) consisted of teachers new to the intervention. Group 3 (n = 1… more
Date: December 2009
Creator: Anderson, Elsa Maria
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Making Sense of Teaching: A Holistic Approach to Teacher Reflection about Practice

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experience of reflection and document how a holistic approach to teacher reflection contributes to teachers' understanding of, and improvement in their pedagogical practice. The investigation asked how classroom observations, when followed by a reflective dialogue, impact pedagogical practice. The particular focus included how teachers make sense of observational data during a post-observation, reflective dialogue; how teachers reflect on class… more
Date: August 2009
Creator: Norris, Karen S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The influence of the Inquiry Institute on elementary teachers' perceptions of inquiry learning in the science classroom.

Description: Despite the positive outcomes for inquiry-based science education and recommendations from national and state standards, many teachers continue to rely upon more traditional methods of instruction This causal-comparative study was designed to determine the effects of the Inquiry Institute, a professional development program that is intended to strengthen science teachers' pedagogical knowledge and provide practice with inquiry methods based from a constructivist approach. This study will provid… more
Date: May 2009
Creator: Williams-Rossi, Dara
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Constructing Transformative Experiences Through Problem Posing in a High School English Research Project.

Description: This dissertation chronicles my search to engage high school English students in inquiry as part of a formal research process. The perspective of critical literacy theory is used to describe the four phases of the problem posing process in shaping student research and action. Grounded in Freire's approach and consistent with Dewey and others who advocate inquiry, action and relevance, Wink's process is built into the instructional plan described in this study. Because of the real-life context o… more
Date: May 2009
Creator: Revelle, Carol L.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Voices of worth- listening to teachers: A phenomenological study of professional development and instructional change.

Description: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe and explain teachers' perceptions about effective professional development as well as to identify the environmental factors that affect the teacher participants' ability to engage in and implement various behaviors and beliefs transferred from the professional development experience. Four teachers were studied in depth for one school year, and data collected included in-depth interviews and classroom observations. Findings indicate thre… more
Date: May 2009
Creator: Roberts, Jennifer A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

A Phenomenological Inquiry of Media Literacy of Middle School Students Enrolled in a North Texas Middle School.

Description: This dissertation investigated the media literacy experiences of middle school students enrolled in a Texas school. The literature review suggested that middle school students may be overlooked as a distinct population in media literacy research. The primary guiding questions for this inquiry were (1) How is media literacy exhibited by middle school students within a formal school context? (2) How does an elective film and media class impact middle school students' media literacy? And (3) How d… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Payne, Sara M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The role of federal district courts on desegregation: A logistic regression analysis of the factors that influence prodesegregation outcomes.

Description: In this study I analyzed the 1089 desegregation outcomes in federal district courts that occurred between 1994 and 2004 in order to identify a) the legal and non-legal factors in the litigation process that predict pro-desegregation outcomes and b) the judicial patterns that impact the future of desegregation policy. Twenty-one legal and non-legal variables were analyzed via logistic regression analysis to identify factors that predict pro-desegregation outcomes. Only three predictor variable… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Lane, Ginny G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

A value-added approach to determine the relationships of mentoring to novice teacher classroom effectiveness.

Description: The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between scores of the new teachers' classroom effectiveness with numerical indexes of mentor support, mentor infrastructure, and workplace ecology. In addition, this study sought to determine the effect of various demographics (i.e., gender, age, race, degree, teaching level, and certification route) on the Classroom Effectiveness Index (CEI) scores of first-year teachers, and to determine the differences, if any, between the Classroom … more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Harris, Shelley B.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Characteristics of Preservice Teachers Learning Parent Involvement Practices.

Description: Numerous models of IS success and technology acceptance their extensions have been proposed and applied in empirical. This study continues this tradition and extends the body of knowledge on the topic of IS success by developing a more comprehensive model for measuring IS success and technology acceptance within a government organization. The proposed model builds upon three established IS success and technology acceptance frameworks namely the DeLone and McLean (2003), Venkatesh et al.'s (2003… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Trotti, Judy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Success Factors among Early College Entrants

Description: This study explored how various intrapersonal, familial, and life-goal characteristics related to the academic and personal success of first semester early college entrants attending the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) at the University of North Texas. The study sought to identify which intrapersonal factors and external factors affected grades, behavioral markers, and life satisfaction during the students' first semester at TAMS. Baseline data from TAMS entrance material such a… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Hoggan, Barbara
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Effects of Individualized Test Coaching on Teacher Certification Test Scores.

Description: While student populations are growing, the gatekeeping devices of teacher certification examinations prevent many who want and are trained to teach from entering the profession. If failing these exams predicted failure to teach well, blocking students who do not pass certification exams from entering the profession might be a well-reasoned policy. However, many studies indicate that there is little correlation between certification test scores and quality of teaching. The present study investi… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Hall, Kathryn Cowart
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The relationship of teacher efficacy to teacher concerns and job-embedded professional development.

Description: As educators search for ways of improving student achievement, it is imperative that focus be placed on teacher learning and development. Currently, the trend in public schools throughout the country is to look directly at students and the deficits they bring to the learning environment when responding to those who find fault with the educational system. The current study directed attention to teachers' beliefs about their ability to affect change in student learning. The study centered on seve… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Doughney, John F.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Teenager's doing history out-of-school: An intrinsic case study of situated learning in history.

Description: This intrinsic case study documents a community-based history expedition implemented as a project-based, voluntary, out-of-school history activity. The expedition's development was informed by the National Education Association's concept of the intensive study of history, its structure by the history seminary, and its spirit by Webb's account of seminar as history expedition. Specific study objectives included documentation of the planning, implementation, operation, and outcomes of the expedit… more
Date: May 2008
Creator: Johnston, Glenn T.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation

Elementary Teacher Attrition and Factors of Organizational Climate

Description: As the United States faces a critical teacher shortage, it is important to examine all factors that may contribute to the revolving door of teacher attrition. This study explored the climate of elementary schools to determine if there was a correlation between teacher attrition and school organizational climate. Three basic research questions were addressed: 1) Is there a relationship between school organizational climate and teacher attrition? 2) Is a change in campus leadership related to sch… more
Access: Restricted to the UNT Community Members at a UNT Libraries Location.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Cotten, Virginia E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

A multi-state political process analysis of the anti-testing movement.

Description: I applied McAdam's political process model for social movement analysis to examine the level of collective resistance to high stakes testing in California, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, and Texas from 1985 to 2005. Data on protest occurrences in those states were gathered from online news reports, anti-testing organization websites, and electronic interviews from individuals associated with the anti-testing movement. Variables used in the analysis included each state's key educationa… more
Date: December 2006
Creator: DeMerle, Carol
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Theatre teachers' attitudes toward the University Interscholastic League One-Act Play contest.

Description: The focus of aesthetic education is reflected in an arts curriculum designed for students to learn skills that make it possible for them to experience the world in a satisfying and meaningful manner. Incorporating aesthetics into school curriculum can be approached through the use of coordinated programs. In the state of Texas, over 1100 schools participate annually in the One-Act Play contest (OAP). The contest is governed by the University Interscholastic League (UIL), which has designed and … more
Date: December 2006
Creator: Gotuaco, Jennifer E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Effects of Using Children's Literature with Adolescents in the English As a Foreign Language Classroom.

Description: This study provides quantitative and qualitative data about the effects of using children's literature with adolescents in a language classroom and the role of children's literature in students' second/foreign language development, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The study presents qualitative data about the role of children's literature in developing more positive attitudes toward reading in the second/foreign language and toward reading in general. With literatur… more
Date: December 2006
Creator: Belsky, Stella
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Factors related to technology implementation of K-12 principals and teachers.

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between principals' leadership styles and principals'/teachers' implementation of technology. The Leadership Effectiveness and Adaptability Description (LEAD) Self was used to identify the primary and secondary leadership styles of principals. The Level of Technology Implementation (LoTi) Questionnaire was used to identify the level of technology implementation (LoTi), personal computer use (PCU) and current instructional practice (C… more
Date: August 2006
Creator: Moses, Rhonda René
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

An exploration of the relationships among teacher efficacy, collective teacher efficacy, and teacher demographic characteristics in conservative Christian schools.

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine whether teachers' perceptions of self-efficacy and collective teacher efficacy are interrelated and how these two constructs may be impacted by teacher demographic characteristics, such as educational level, grade level taught, and number of years of teaching experience. This study focused entirely on the interrelationships of teacher efficacy and collective teacher efficacy in three suburban, conservative Christian schools in north Texas. Specifically… more
Date: August 2006
Creator: Egger, Karen J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation

Photographic metaphors: A multiple case study of second language teachers' experiences using the acquisition model.

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine and document second language teachers' perceptions of their implementation of a meaning-making approach, known as the Acquisition Model, to second language instruction. Of particular focus were the concerns and strategies the second language teachers experienced when changing their pedagogical practice from mechanical to meaning making. The main research question, which guided this study, was: "What is the 'lived experience' of L2 teachers as they imp… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: May 2006
Creator: DeLaCruz-Raub, Jeanne Marie
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

A Comparison of the Self-Efficacy Scores of Preservice Teachers Based on Initial College Experience

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine if any statistically significant difference exists between the self-efficacy scores of student teachers who began their college experience at the community college level and student teachers who began their education at the university level. The study was used to determine whether or not the type of initial college experience impacted the first two years of college study, in relation to the development of a sense of self-efficacy at the end of the prog… more
Date: May 2006
Creator: Ritchie, Kelly Renea
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
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