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open access

Key Factors in Developing a Successful Bond Referendum in Texas School Districts

Description: In May of 2002, Wichita Falls ISD, a district in Texas with a stagnate enrollment of 14,000 students for multiple years, asked for the community to support a $120 million bond to help cover the cost of four new elementary campuses and to maintain and upgrade aging facilities. The bond failed. Additionally, a 2004 bond failed again. Finally, in 2006, the district is finally able to pass a $60 million bond and only includes two new elementary campuses and no funding to address the aging facilitie… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Griffiths, Peter Edward
open access

Creating Equitable Educational Experiences for African American Males through Advanced Academics

Description: Across the United States, African American males face barriers to securing a quality education. Barriers such as educational gatekeeping, and low identification, have caused African American males' enrollment in advanced placement courses to be at a rate lower than all other ethnicity and gender populations. A qualitative approach to research was used to explore how and in what ways district and school leaders created or hindered equitable advanced academic program opportunities for African A… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Johnson, Nakendrick S.
open access

Student Experiences, Struggles, and Supports in an Alternative School Setting

Description: Experiences of shame, such as feelings of failure, scorn, ridicule, and embarrassment, all impact a student's successful mastery of academic skills. To identify and understand the shame experiences that impact a student's success, as told from the student's perspective, and determine which factors contribute most to student success, the lenses of the shame resiliency theory and self-determination theory were utilized. This phenomenological qualitative research study explored the struggles ass… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Hopkins, Lindsey Y

The Power of Choice: An Examination of a Hybrid Recess/Tutorial Program at a Suburban High School in the Southwestern United States

Description: A suburban district in the southwestern region of the United States created a choice-based program in which students have the opportunity to address their social, emotional, and academic needs through a mid-day period where they have the ability to attend tutorials or engage in a variety of club and social activities. Each day, students choose the activity that best serves their needs, be those academic, social, or emotional. In order to determine students' attitudes, opinions, and uses of the … more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Woodard, Chrystal Starnes
open access

Perceptions of Restorative Practices by Male Students of Color in Middle School

Description: Zero-tolerance discipline policies have been in use in U.S. schools for almost 25 years. Since their enactment in the 1990s, researchers have found that zero tolerance disciplinary policies and practices can cause students to enter the school-to-prison pipeline. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the perceptions of middle-school male students of color regarding the discipline process on a campus that supplemented zero-tolerance discipline with restorative practices (… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Millican, Deborah

Equity for English Learners: Latin@ Leadership in High-Need Middle Schools

Description: The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to explore the practices and behaviors of successful Latin@ principals in high-need Texas middle schools focusing on the following three areas: learning, leadership, and context. Varying qualities of leadership essential for leading high-need middle schools coupled with contextual factors such as policy and community were examined. More importantly, this research sought how successful Latin@ leaders promoted a culture of learning in high-… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Robles, Stephanie Zamora

Equitable Early Childhood Education for Young Bilingual Learners in North Texas: Examining Kindergarten Entry Assessments for Bilingual Children

Description: A considerable amount of research has been done surrounding education in classrooms from kindergarten to Grade 12, but little research has been done surrounding early childhood education (ECE) beginning with birth to age 4. As a result, research is needed that examines interventions aimed to improve the quality of early childhood education for young bilingual learners at the earliest stages of schooling. The present study examines current efforts to serve the specific population of young biling… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: McEntire, Celina Angelica
open access

The Rise of Postmethod Epistemology in the L2 English Teaching Field

Description: Citation analysis, which provides insights into the influence of particular scholarly work in a field of study, can also show epistemological "turns" through patterns of citations over time. This study explored the impact of postmethod epistemology on the shared knowledge of the English-as-a-second-language (L2) education community over a 26-year period. The approach consisted of tabulating and analyzing citations in 125 articles from two major journals, Teaching English to Speakers of Other La… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Alsuwat, Sami Eid
open access

A Comparison Study of Student Academic Performance by Male African American Students in a Traditional Public School and Male African American Students in a Single Gender Academy

Description: A quantitative, causal-comparative study between single gender and traditional mixed gender schools was conducted to examine how single gender schooling affected the academic achievement of African American males in a high-poverty urban community. This study examined the differences in TSI and EOC scores between African American males who attended a single gender male high school and a traditionally mixed gender high school serving students in the same community in Fort Worth, Texas. A two samp… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Walker, Carlos L
open access

Teacher Certification Program Types and Their Impact on Teacher Self-Efficacy

Description: The overarching purpose of the study was specifically designed to examine how teacher preparation programs contributed to novice teachers' sense of self-efficacy. The significance of this study related to how well teachers were prepared, based upon their preparation program. This qualitative methods study incorporated a research design consisting of phenomenological research. Eleven thematic findings derived based upon the participants' input after several series of data analysis and reductio… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Muhammad, Gerald

Teacher and Student Perceptions of Pop Culture in the English Classroom

Description: This qualitative case study explores teachers and students perceptions of pop culture and its use in secondary English classrooms. I used thematic analysis to identify key themes addressed by teachers and students concerning pop culture. Teachers and students were surveyed and from there purposive sampling was used to select five teachers and eight students. Participants took part in individual and focus group interviews regarding their perceptions of pop culture use in the classroom as well as… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Visco, William

Exemplary Teaching and Disciplinary Literacy in History and Social Studies

Description: Disciplinary literacy is an approach to literacy in the content areas that helps students develop thinking and literacy skills that mimic experts in the field. The goal of this study was to explore the instructional practices of history teachers who have been nominated as exemplary and the role of disciplinary literacy in their instructional practices. Exemplary teachers were defined as those with strong content knowledge, experience teaching, and recognition for their teaching. This study used… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Walker, April M
open access

Impact of Increased High School Mathematics Requirements on College Entrance Exam-Taking and Scores

Description: Research shows that students who take advanced mathematics courses perform better on measures of college readiness than students who take less rigorous courses. However, no clear effect has been shown on requiring all students to take more advanced courses. This study examined whether increases in the number and level of mathematics courses required for high school graduation have resulted in increased levels of college aspirations and preparedness. Specifically, twenty years of data from a rur… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Richardson, Connie J.
open access

Supportive Conditions for the Successful Development of Ninth-Grade Centers

Description: The transition from middle school to high school can be challenging for some students. Many school districts are implementing practices to ease the transition to high school. The current study examined one school district's practices and procedures for the development and implementation of a ninth-grade center. In this study, I examined the perceptions of 12 participants (teachers, counselors, and campus and district administrators) in a suburban Texas school district with a ninth-grade cent… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Hunt, Bradley Allen
open access

Perceptions of Principals Learning to Lead Professional Learning Communities in a Fast-Growth District

Description: The role of the principal has become increasingly complex and challenging. Recent emphasis has been placed on the role of principals as leaders who can build a culture of learning in schools to close the student achievement gap. Outside factors such as fast-growth in Texas have caused schools to change and grow quickly, which increases the learning demands placed on principals as they seek to develop the knowledge and skills needed for effective leadership. Developing and sustaining a professio… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Rapp, Kellie C
open access

Leadership Practices for Effective Equitable Learning Environments: A Case Study of Opportunity Gaps in a Rural District

Description: In rural, low socioeconomic public schools, the diversity of the student population challenges teachers beyond their means to meet the wide-ranging needs of students, and therefore creating opportunity gaps. The purpose of this study was to explore one district's leadership support of teachers to create an equitable learning environment for all students. The present study built on existing literature by discovering leadership practices and perceived necessary supports for closing achievement ga… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Palazzetti, Lisa A
open access

High School Teachers and Support Staff's Attitudes toward Students with Disabilities in the Inclusive General Education Classroom

Description: Research has shown teachers' attitudes toward students with disabilities directly affect the students' performance in the general education classroom; however, more research is needed to determine what variables influence high school teacher and support staff attitudes. The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of high school general education teachers, special education teachers, and support staff toward students with disabilities in the general education classroom. The study ex… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Yoakum, Carrie Mae
open access

Learning Management System Facilitated Blended Learning in Secondary Schools

Description: The relatively new utilization of learning management system (LMS) facilitated blended learning in secondary public schools has grown in popularity, but there is a void in research at this level. Teachers learned how to use the LMS features and honed their blended learning design skills through their own experiences, and in observation of their students' experiences. In this study, the knowledge teachers built and the decisions they made while designing blended learning were explored. In thi… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Clewell, Kelly Sue
open access

Highly Motivated, High-Achieving, Economically Disadvantaged Middle School Students: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

Description: To conduct this qualitative dissertation study, a phenomenological approach was utilized. The purpose of the study was to examine the perspectives of highly motivated, economically disadvantaged, middle school students to discover the factors that they identified as integral to their overall development and their intrinsic motivation, over time, to learn. A key component of this study was to give voice to the students who participated in this study and utilize their perspectives as a primary da… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Minyard, Michael
open access

An Exploration of the Changing Role of Principal Supervisors

Description: Existing literature provides newly identified responsibilities of the principal supervisor but lacks in information about how districts should strategically spearhead the process of initiating, implementing, and managing the changes to the role of the supervisor. In this study, I examined the behaviors and actions of one school district's executive-level leaders as they shifted the position of the principal supervisor. Findings could contribute to a new area of research in how district leader… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Bennett, Mia H
open access

Improving Instruction through Teacher Evaluation: Principal and Teacher Perceptions of Leadership Practices and Policy Tools within the Evaluation Process

Description: In recent decades, changes to federal and state accountability policy and related teacher evaluation systems occurred in the United States with minimal input from two of the largest groups of stakeholders impacted: principals and teachers. For this case study, I explored principals' and teachers' perceptions of their experiences with the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS), specifically the role of leadership practices and use of the evaluation rubric as a policy tool within an… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Clark, Christopher
open access

The Impact of Early Childhood Education on Academic Achievement

Description: Two groups of students were compared to determine the impact of early intervention at the Early Childhood School on academic outcomes in later elementary school years for both math and reading. Students who were determined to be disadvantaged in some way, either by income, limited English proficiency, or having been identified as needing specialized instruction and who attended an early intervention program, prior to kindergarten, were compared to a similar group who did not attend the interve… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Davis, Jodi
open access

District Systematic Supports of an Instructional Coaching Program

Description: The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the systems, structures, and behaviors district leaders employ and enact to assist elementary school principals' relationship with their school instructional coach. Through the synthesis of current research, the conceptual framework was developed with a focus on district leadership behaviors and instructional coaching programs. The conceptual framework consisted of professional capital theory, instructional coaching model, and principal le… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Webb, Mary Katherine
open access

A Case Study of Leadership Supports of Job-Embedded Professional Development

Description: Professional development is a critical part of school improvement and enhancing teacher quality; yet there is limited literature about how principals design and lead effective professional development systems. The research activities in this qualitative single case study explored the leadership practices at one successful school implementing job-embedded professional development. A conceptual framework relating Hallinger's leadership for learning construct to professional development helped f… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Jones, Amber
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