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open access

Campus Leader and Teacher Perceptions of Campus Administrator Actions in Support of Core-Content Professional Learning Communities

Description: The implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) has led to systemwide reform within school districts and campuses regarding how campus leaders support the teachers' collaborative work and continued professional learning. Current research emphasizes the importance of campus administrators cultivating an environment where PLCs can flourish and ensuring that PLC teams have the resources to work effectively. However, campus administrators simply putting these supports in place does n… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Sommers, Kristen
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

The Impact of a Long Term, 5E Inquiry-Based Professional Development on Content and Pedagogical Knowledge in Eighth-Grade Science Teachers

Description: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the impact of a long-term, 5E inquiry-based professional development on content and pedagogical knowledge in eighth-grade science teachers in Texas. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected via university designed reflective prompts, science content pretests and post-tests, and a classroom observation instrument. Results showed the professional development had a statistically significant impact on teachers' content knowledge in ea… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Waid, Julie
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
open access

Differences between Schools with High and Non-High Performance of English Learners Relative to Principal Leadership Practices and Social Justice Principles

Description: English learners (ELs) are the fastest growing student group in U.S. public schools. The purpose of this mixed method study was to gain an understanding of the relationship between principal actions and the academic achievement of ELs to determine which practices had the greatest impact on student achievement using archival achievement data. A mixed methods research study was conducted in an urban school district in North Texas to explore differences between principals of schools with high and … more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Padró, Eneida A
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Principal Professional Development for Building Leadership Capacity

Description: The findings of this study serve as an exploratory case-study examining the conditions of professional learning for in-service principals in one north Texas suburban district with changing student demographics. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of a variety of data collected sought to reveal how professional development of principals increased a principal's contingent leadership skills to positively affect student achievement through school improvement efforts. Perceptions were examined fro… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Tran, Tramy Nguyen
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Speech Rights of Public Employees in the World of Social Media

Description: Legal rights for public employees are not clear in the area of social media speech. Following the Garcetti v Ceballos (2006) U.S. Supreme Court case, the pursuant to duty test was established. The social media speech of public employees, including educators, could be considered pursuant to their duties as an employee. This means that public employees are vulnerable to disciplinary action from their employer for social media speech. Furthermore, public employees are vulnerable even when they bel… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Hairgrove, Benjamin Council
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

A Legal Analysis of Litigation Against Alabama Local School Boards and Teachers under the Alabama Sovereign Immunity Law

Description: As American schools moved into the twentieth century and beyond, they encountered an increasingly litigious society. While many school districts and their employees have enjoyed protections from tort liability via some form of state tort claims act or exemption, this immunity varies from one state to another. The variations in these laws have made it difficult for educators and school districts to understand how state legislation impacts their daily activities inside and outside the classroom. … more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Warfield, Alphonso B
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
open access

Teacher Perceptions of Supports that Promote Computer Self-Efficacy and Transformational Digital Pedagogy in One-to-One Learning Environments

Description: Although one-to-one technology programs are rapidly expanding in secondary schools, the literature about how to effectively leverage these programs to improve teaching and learning is relatively small. Little guidance is available for school leaders attempting to improve teachers' willingness and ability to incorporate technology effectively into their instruction. The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to discovery what supports school leaders provide to promote high levels of comput… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Kent, Paula J
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Impact of Exclusionary Discipline on Students' Academic Performance in Title I Elementary Schools

Description: Exclusionary discipline is a consequence of behavior for students who break the student code of conduct. Extensive research about the effects that exclusionary discipline can have on secondary students, as evidenced by reduced graduation rates, has been conducted; but, research studies investigating the potential impact that exclusionary discipline can have on the academic outcomes of students at the elementary level have yet to be conducted. The use of exclusionary discipline is overrepresente… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: McDaniel, Lindsey G.
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
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

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

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
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

Secondary Administrators' Experiences Hiring Alternative Certified Teachers in Texas

Description: As administrators start to hire more alternative certified teachers in Texas who pursue a career in K–12 education, it becomes important to understand the impact this experience has on teacher quality. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore administrators' beliefs and experiences when hiring alternative certified teachers. The primary research question was: What are alternative certified teachers' strengths? The additional questions of the study were: What are a… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Bonner, Erikk
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

It's Not Me, It's You: An Exploration of Why Teachers Leave

Description: What causes a teacher to leave and move to another district or campus? Many times, teachers leave because they are unsatisfied, overwhelmed, or unprepared for the demands of the job. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the contextual factors that may explain why teachers decide to transfer to another campus or leave their current district to pursue a position at another district. The following factors, as told from the teachers' perspective, were examined: (a) campus… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Neighbors, Rose Inez
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Lived Experiences of Women Superintendents that Impact Promotion into the Superintendency in Texas Public School Districts

Description: Women continue to be underrepresented in superintendent roles in public schools. The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of women superintendents regarding the professional and personal factors that impacted their ability to be promoted to the position of superintendent in Texas public school districts. I applied role congruity theory (RCT) to participants' shared stories to ascertain how their promotion to the superintendency was affected by… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Cunningham, Shannon
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Reform on Educational Policy: The Alignment of Career and Technical Education Programs of Study to Local Labor Markets

Description: Do federal policies influence program offerings for career and technical education(CTE)? Often the implication of compliance and the expectation of connecting compliance to funding is considered a tactic to leverage expectations on a large scale. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if the CTE programs located in a singular region of Texas were compliant with federal expectations by way of evaluating the alignment of programs offered and local labor markets prior to the imple… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Braswell, CyLynn
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

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

Leveraging Instructional Leadership to Build Teacher Efficacy in Title I Elementary Schools

Description: By building self-efficacy in individual teachers and collective efficacy in grade level teams, principals can improve the instructional practices that take place on campuses. Instruction impacts student achievement. Principals indirectly impact student achievement through instruction that happens in the classroom. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the relationship between the behavior of instructional leaders and teachers' self-efficacy and collective efficacy. Data collec… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Hall, Tracy
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
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