Search Results

open access

College Readiness and Dual Credit Participation of Alternative High School Students

Description: The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which alternative schools add value to the college readiness of their students, as well as to measure the capacity of alternative school students to successfully complete dual credit courses while enrolled at the alternative school. This mixed methods study utilized an exploratory approach with a descriptive research design to explore the extent to which alternative schools produce college-ready students. The Texas Success Initiative Asse… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Bradley, Jeffrey James
open access

School System Improvement through Building Leadership, Adult Learning, and Capacity: A Consideration of Instructional Rounds as a Systemic Improvement Practice

Description: The problem of the study was determining the supportive conditions related to instructional rounds (rounds) to understand better what conditions may allow for sustained systemic improvement over time. Three Texas school districts were studied to understand the perceptions of district leaders, principals, teacher leaders, and teachers with regard to the sustainability of instructional rounds as a systemic improvement practice, the supportive conditions necessary for sustainability, the salient … more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Warnock, Teresa Georgeanne
open access

Practices that Influence Instructional Coaches' Perceptions of Effectiveness

Description: As instructional coaches are being implemented across the country, their purpose is reviewed, as well as which types of instructional coaching tend to have the most impact on teachers' instructional growth. In this study, I explored instructional coaching and coaches' perceived effectiveness as they work with teachers. A look at the effect of non-evaluative feedback with an instructional coach, and how that helps sustain teachers' pedagogical practice, is taken into consideration as coaches' … more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Koehler, Laura Yvette
open access

Supportive Systems for Building Capacity of the Elementary Instructional Coach

Description: The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the systems in place to build the capacity of elementary instructional coaches in a fast-growth district. Through syntheses of research from educational scholars, the conceptual framework was developed with a focus on building capacity of instructional coaches in an ever-changing environment of fast-growth through the lens of professional learning communities, human and social capital, and support from district and campus administration.… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Fiori, Christy
open access

Understanding the Perceptions and Indications of the Goals and Unique Aspects of the Foundations for Success (FFS) Curriculum Model: A Case Study in a North Texas Private Preschool

Description: This quantitative and qualitative case study examined the educators' perceptions of both the goals and unique aspects of the foundations for success (FFS) curriculum model. Specifically, this study was designed to explain the experiences of 55 early childhood educators and administrators who all had similar exposure to the FFS curriculum model. This study sought to understand the educators' perceptions of the specific goals of using pertinent curriculum and instruction terminology and the paral… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Jackey, Lisa
open access

African American Student Placement in Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship (predicative capability) between selected variables, specifically, African American student enrollment, teacher ethnicity, and urban or rural district classification and the number of African American student placements in a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP). The study used a non-experimental ex post facto design. Archival data from the Texas Education Agency were used to identify Texas schools that sent African Ameri… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Foss, Ivy
open access

Trends in Special Education Due Process Hearings in Texas from 2010-2015: School, Parent, and Social Justice Issues that Inform a Principal's Decision-Making

Description: This study explores all due process hearings that occurred in Texas public school districts from 2010-2015. Special attention was paid to the reasons for the hearings within the legal reports addressed and their outcomes. The study was conducted using a quantitative approach involving a legal document content analysis of due process hearings to select the participants to be interviewed with a qualitative semi-structured interview protocol. Following this process, nine participants from one dist… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Poton, Marcy Rose
open access

Stories about Culture, Education, and Literacy of Immigrant Graduate Students and Their Familes

Description: Every year many immigrant families become members of United States communities. Among these are international graduate students whose lives and identities, as well as those of their families, are changed as they negotiate between cultures and experiences. In this study, three Saudi graduate students share their stories about culture, education and literacy. This research employs narrative inquiry to answer the following question: What stories do Saudi immigrant students tell regarding their ed… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Mirza, Hala
open access

Preservice Teachers' Beliefs about Writing and Their Plans to Teach Writing: The Apprenticeship of Observation

Description: Preservice teachers (PSTs) bring a plethora of knowledge and experiences to their educator preparation courses. The PSTs have also formed ideas about how to teach based on their observations during the thousands of hours they spent as students in the classroom from kindergarten through high school graduation. This phenomenon, coined by Lortie, is called the apprenticeship of observation. Past research has focused on the apprenticeship of observation in general while neglecting to specifically e… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Thompson, Emily Kyle
open access

A Legal Analysis of Litigation Against Oklahoma Educators and School Districts under the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act

Description: This dissertation analyzed public court decisions in cases against Oklahoma school districts and their employees involving sovereign immunity claims filed under Oklahoma's Governmental Tort Claims Act. The questions addressed were: (1) How have the Oklahoma courts interpreted the Governmental Tort Claims Act, (Okla. Stat. tit. 51 § 151 et seq.) in litigation against school districts and their employees? (2) What are the limits of immunity protection for Oklahoma school districts and their emplo… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Lacefield, Kevin Lee
open access

Instructional Leadership Responsibilities of Assistant Principals in Large Texas High Schools

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine the extent secondary assistant principals in large Texas high schools demonstrate behaviors consistent with what the literature describes as instructional leadership. Three hundred seventy principals and assistant principals of large Texas high schools participated in this study. The Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (Hallinger, 1987) was used to quantify instructional leadership in 10 different job functions. The study found that (a) ass… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Howard-Schwind, Michelle
open access

The Beliefs and Expectations of Effective Secondary Choral Teachers in Culturally Diverse Schools

Description: Through the years, educational theorists and researchers have been interested in a possible relationship between teachers' effectiveness and their beliefs and expectations. Three concepts underpinned this work: teacher effectiveness, cultural diversity, and teachers' beliefs and expectations. The premise of the study was that the beliefs and expectations of effective secondary choral teachers are related to the social-cultural contexts in which they teach. The study implemented critical discour… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Spradley, Mackie V.
open access

The Politics of Grading: a Comparative Study of High School English Teachers' Personal Beliefs, Self-reported Systems, and Actual Practices

Description: The purpose of this study was to attain and analyze data regarding high school English teachers' beliefs about grading practices and their self-reported grading practices, to identify and understand disparities that exist between teachers' beliefs and self-reported practices, to identify discrepancies between the same self-reported practices and evidence of the practices actually utilized, and to consider teachers' perceptions as to the causes for these discrepancies. Instrumentation for this s… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Thibodeaux, Lisa M.
open access

Home Literacy Practices in Diverse Families: Parental Involvement in Kindergarten Children's Literacy Development

Description: Although prior research has shown that parental involvement positively affects a child's literacy development, attention should also be directed to the factors that keep parents from being involved in their children's education. The study reported in this dissertation examined five factors: socioeconomic status, level of education, employment, culture, and language that may be influential in parental assistance of their children's literacy development in the home. The data sources for this inve… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Gonzalez, Lauren
open access

Secondary Teachers’ Concerns about Response to Intervention: Using the Concerns-Based Adoption Model

Description: This case study addressed the problem of implementing response to intervention (RTI) in general secondary education. To investigate this problem, one north Texas school's RTI implementation was examined using the theoretical framework of the concerns-based adoption model (CBAM) and defining RTI as the innovation. RTI-related practices were studied for 10 secondary teachers, two from each core subject (i.e., mathematics, English language arts, science, and social studies) and the fine arts who… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Isbell, Laura J.
open access

Prek-6 Teachers' Beliefs About Inclusive Practices in the United States and South Korea: Cross Cultural Perspectives

Description: The educational practice known as inclusion, which is based on values of equal opportunity and diversity, enables students with disabilities to attend the same general education classes as typically developing peers. Inclusion is a legal requirement in the United States and South Korea, but factors facilitating inclusion likely differ across countries. The purpose of the study was to examine PreK-6 school teachers' beliefs about inclusive practices in the United States and South Korea and to p… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Jeong, Hyunjeong
open access

Accreditation Facilitation Projects: Supporting High Quality Early Childhood Education and Care

Description: High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) are linked to positive developmental outcomes for children. Systems have been created to define, measure and promote high-quality ECEC. National accreditation status is deemed the gold standard of a high-quality program, yet many centers are unable to achieve this without assistance. With the help of Accreditation Facilitation Projects (AFPs), many low-income centers are able to achieve accreditation. Centers collaborating with an AFP r… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Reinke, Stephanie L.
open access

Parallels Between the Gaming Experience and Rosenblatt's Reader Response Theory

Description: The world of literacy has expanded alongside technology, and new literacies are being used as an alternative or an addition to traditional text. By including video gaming as literacy, the connection can be made between students' multimodal world outside of school with the world of literacy they encounter in school. This study took two approaches of a content study and a case study. A collective case study was used to examine the gaming experience of participants with three commercial video ga… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Sanders, April
open access

An Examination of How 4-8 Preservice Teachers Understand and Implement Multicultural Concepts

Description: Preparing teachers to teach in the diverse classroom has become one of the most important goals for universities and teacher training programs. The main purposes of this study included to examine what type of multicultural concepts were taught preservice teachers who sought certification in Grades 4-8 and how these preservice teachers understood and implemented multicultural concepts in their educational portfolios and coursework, field experiences, and student teaching. The population of the … more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Schellen, Julie K.
open access

First Amendment Constraints of Public School Administrators to Regulate Off-campus Students' Speech in the Technology Age

Description: In a world where students and teachers both rely on technology in the process of education, understanding the constraints of public school administrators to regulate off-campus student's speech is a vital issue. This dissertation focuses on ways to evaluate legal analysis of cases involved in off campus speech. The methodology of legal analysis is used to identify judicial reasoning concerning established legal principles pertaining to the constitutional right of public school students to freed… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Shahzad, Erum H.
open access

A Legal Analysis of Litigation Against Mississippi Educators and School Systems Under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act

Description: This dissertation analyzes court cases involving tort claims filed against Mississippi public schools and their employees under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. The question addressed was: How have the Mississippi courts interpreted the Mississippi Tort Claims Act in litigation against Mississippi school districts and their employees? The intent of this dissertation is to add to the understanding of the legal concept of sovereign immunity as it has been applied to public schools and their emplo… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Kriesel-Hall, Sara B.
open access

Accomplished Teachers' Instructional Decisions About Shakespeare

Description: Teachers' decisions are a powerful influence on student learning and it is important to fully document accomplished teachers' instructional decisions, as well as to investigate possible influences on those decisions. Shakespearean dramas are central to high school curricula across the U.S. and pose particular instructional challenges, therefore teachers' decisions about teaching these texts are of particular interest. There is limited empirical research, however, about these instructional decis… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Parris, Sheri Rene’
open access

The Disney Influence on Kindergarten Girls' Body Image

Description: Media is now a part of the early childhood world. In many countries, including industrialized and developing countries, children spend more time consuming various kinds of media. The impact of media on children's perception of their body images has been and continues to be a concern of parents and early childhood professionals. This research examined the influence of Disney movies on Thai kindergarten girls' body images and self-esteem. Thai kindergarten girls completed three measures of body s… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Asawarachan, Tanawan
open access

Well-Being and Academic Success in Gifted College Students: Early-College Entrants and Honors College Students

Description: As a society, we seek to have our young people, including the gifted, be healthy and happy, and go to good schools with good teachers. Framed by Sayler's theoretical model of giftedness and thriving, this study examined psychological constructs (i.e. general self-efficacy, theories of intelligence, hope, gratitude, religiosity, disposition, and resiliency) to determine their mediating effect on personal well-being and academic success in gifted college students. The 213 subjects for this study … more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Boazman, Janette Kay
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