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A Descriptive Study: The Association Between Transformational Redesign School Improvement, Priority School Principals’ Perceptions, and Student Achievement
No full textThis descriptive study investigated the Transformational redesign method of school improvement as implemented in the 2014 cohort of Michigan Priority schools. In Michigan, schools are listed in a top-to-bottom ranking according to their proficiency achievement percentile; each year the schools falling below the fifth percentile are labeled Priority and mandated to redesign to raise achievement (Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, 2016c). The Priority schools must choose between four redesign methods; Closure, Restart, Turnaround, and Transformation (Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, 2016c; U.S. Department of Education, 2009; U.S. Department of Education, 2010b). In 2014, 52 Michigan Schools fell below the fifth percentile ranking, and 40 of the schools choose the Transformation method. To describe the Transformational redesign method from the 2014 cohort, archival achievement data, and a principal survey was used. The achievement data was the 2014 to 2016 top-to-bottom rankings from pre- and post-implementation of the Transformational redesign method, and also a principal survey grounded in research by Marzano (2003). For the investigation, two questions were employed. For the first question, a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was used because the achievement data was ranked, and for the second question a line graph was employed. A statistically significant association was established between the 2014 to 2016 rankings suggesting the Transformational redesign method increased achievement. Also, it was demonstrated that there is no association between the principal’s perceptions of their self-efficacy and the way the rankings of the schools changed
The Me You Do Not See: The Experiences of African American Administrators and Double Consciousness
No full textThis qualitative study focused on the experiences of 10 African American professionals, five males and five females, in educational administrative positions. The purpose of the study was to show how African American educational administrators perceived double consciousness and describe how they navigated or negotiated their race when working with Caucasian stakeholders in educational organizations. The administrators participated in two interviews, answering questions on race, socioeconomic status, differences between Black and White leadership and lifestyles, culture, and double consciousness. The theoretical framework of this study included elements of critical race theory and culturally sensitive research approaches to support a narrative inquiry. Each administrator participated in two in-depth interviews at locations chosen by the participants. Each interview session was recorded and transcribed. Four major findings of the study indicated that dualism was innate and internalized, as Black administrators, the participants faced five major challenges, and the participants created a sense of self personally, professionally, and as educational leaders. A synthesis of the findings revealed that the African American administrators functioned within one or more level of duality, which the researcher coined as layers of duality
How Connecticut Educators Encourage Secondary Students to Apply Creativity
No full textEducation that adequately prepares students for the 21st-century global innovation economy must encourage secondary students to practice applied creativity. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of secondary educators in Connecticut who encouraged students to practice applied creativity. One research question guided this multiple case study: How do Connecticut educators encourage secondary students to apply their creativity to the real world? The sample was a purposeful sample. All 10 participants taught in a regular school or a magnet school in Connecticut. Participants were teachers of English, history, mathematics, physical education, Reserve Officers Training Corps, and science. The data collection instruments were semistructured interviews, secondary semistructured interviews, and documents in the form of assignment sheets and assessment rubrics that participants used to encourage applied creativity. The inductive analysis model was used to analyze the data collected during the semistructured interviews, and the typological analysis model was used to analyze the documents. The key findings were that participants encouraged students to practice applied creativity by teaching them to engage in the creative process. Participants described seven stages of the creative process: inspiration, inquiry, connectivity, production, reflection, revision, and reinvention. By teaching them how to engage in each of these stages, teachers helped students develop creative thought into creative production and eventually into applied creativity
The Effects of a Health Career Ladder Program in a Rural Community: Case Study
No full textThis paper presents a case study analysing a rural health career ladder program’s (HCL) influence on students’ career aspirations toward health care fields. Rural students enrolled in a career ladder program were interviewed to assess the effectiveness of early experience on career choice. Although limited to one institution, the findings shed light on the ways that institutional characteristics, policies and practices may effectively influence rural youth career aspirations. The study provides useful information to counselors, parents, school administrators and education policy makers to put in place experiential strategies to guide students into making health career choices achievable. The data was analyzed using an in vivo coding method to study relationships among factors that affect student career decisions. Drawing on the findings, the recommendations of the paper are to keep current hands-on activities and to provide profession-based mentors for rural students to encourage careers in rural health care
A Study of Access to Support Services by Immigrant Populations in Midwestern Counties in the United States
No full textThe purpose of this quantitative-descriptive study was to examine the perceptions of immigrants in Midwest counties access to government healthcare services. This study was based on the Rawls Theory of Justice and Social Stratification Theory. Immigrant perceptions were assessed using the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). Research questions (RQ) for the study were as follows: RQ 1—What differences exist in immigrant perceptions of their access to government health services, with respect to immigrant status and gender of the immigrant? RQ 2—What differences exist in immigrant perceptions of their access to government health services, with respect to immigrant status and age of the immigrant? RQ 3—What differences exist in immigrant perceptions of their access to government health services, with respect to immigrant status of the immigrant? The survey was sent to 85 immigrants who quantified for the study through Qualtrics, an online survey software company. All participants were either new immigrant or US citizen immigrants, age 18 and older. To address the research questions, a two-way MANOVA and an independent sample t-test were conducted to analyze the effects on the perceptions of access to government services with respect to the gender, age and the immigration status. Although previous research indicated a lack of access immigrants have to social services, this study results showed that the participants’ responses about their perceptions of access to government services were not significantly different according to gender, age and immigration status (p \u3e .05)
Influences on the Sources of Teacher Self-Efficacy in a Lutheran School
No full textTeacher self-efficacy influences teacher effectiveness and, in turn, affects student academic achievement. Improving teacher effectiveness can improve student achievement. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) measures student growth across the United States, and Lutheran schools consistently record strong achievement scores on NAEP. Exploring the influences on the sources of teacher self-efficacy in a Lutheran school can help deepen our understanding of the influences on teacher effectiveness. Guided by Bandura\u27s social cognitive theory (1977), which asserts that an individual\u27s belief in his ability to affect and control a desired outcome is impacted by mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological and emotional experience, this case study explored influences on the sources of teachers\u27 self-efficacy in a nationally recognized Lutheran school. This extreme case study explored the phenomenon in an understudied population in order to gain a deeper understanding of the influences on teacher self-efficacy. The Teacher Self-Efficacy Survey (TSES) confirmed the self-efficacy of the participants. Interviews, field observations, and unobtrusive measures observations were the methods by which data was gathered and triangulated. Inductive analysis was used to interpret the data. The data revealed that professional development was of great importance in helping teachers to improve their effectiveness. Additionally, positive relationships among the different members of the school community and a sense of vocation, or the belief in a divine calling to teach, had deep meaning for the participants
A Descriptive Case Study of the Impact of Leadership Style on Teacher Retention in a Title I School Campus in Texas
No full textThis dissertation is intended to complement the conversation in the social sciences about the challenging role of campus principals and the influence they have on teacher retention and job satisfaction. School principals are held accountable for creating positive change within the campus, therefore they supervise the operational and instructional supervision of the faculty and staff.
This study explores the distinct role of principal leadership and its requirements. Leadership in a Title I school, involves demands that related to the school’s success. Leadership style has the power to arouse or impede teacher success. School leaders must know how to operate the campus effectively, while simultaneously acting as an instructional leader. Retaining successful teachers will help meet campus expectations and all state and federal accountability requirements. In order to do so, school leaders must exhibit leadership skills and adopt practices that support the attainment of goals set by education guidelines set by legislature. Studies have shown an association of a principal’s leadership style to collaboration, working relationships, student achievement, and teacher retention. This study investigates the perceptions of teachers working at Title I campuses and the factors that determine how they feel about their working relationships, job satisfaction, and retention
A Phenomenological Study of Third-Grade Through Fifth-Grade Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Confidence to Teach Struggling Readers
No full textThe purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the third-grade through fifth-grade teachers’ perception of their confidence to teach struggling readers. A total of 10 third-grade through fifth-grade teachers were selected to represent the population for this study. The conceptual framework for this study was based on Bandura (1977) theory. Bandura’s (1977, 1997) theory of self-efficacy was used to provide a framework to synthesize teachers’ perceptions of their experiences to develop the efficacy to instruct struggling readers. To investigate the perceptions of third-grade through fifth-grade teachers’ confidence to teach struggling readers, an interview protocol was used as the sole data-collection instrument. This study sought to gain a deeper understanding of their perceptions of their confidence to teach struggling readers and identify how their experiences have influenced their confidence and self-efficacy in teaching these struggling readers. The use of the phenomenological method ensured the lived experiences of the phenomenon were discussed in depth to uncover rich descriptions of the teachers’ perceptions of their confidence to teach struggling readers. The teachers’ descriptions were coded and organized into themes, using the four derivations of self-efficacy: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and arousal mastery experiences, as outlined by Bandura (1977). Three themes and six sub-themes emerged from this study (a) teaching the five components of reading, with subthemes: confidence-level and professional responsibility, (b) meeting the needs of struggling readers with subthemes: small groups and resources, and (c) professional developments with subthemes: common grade-level collaboration and learning from other educators. The emerging themes provided foundational ramifications on how to support third-grade through fifth-grade teachers’ confidence to teach struggling readers. The key findings from the study could be shared with K-5 teachers to help them reflect on their practice. In addition, the key findings from this study may contribute to educational research by raising awareness of third-grade through fifth-grade teachers’ perceptions of their confidence to teach struggling readers
Ready for Literacy Instruction: A Case Study of Initial Educators’ Perceptions of their Teacher Preparation Program
No full textHigh-quality teacher preparation programs are pivotal to the success of initial educators, which in turn leads to the success of students. Initial educators have recently perceived to feel inadequately prepared to deliver high quality literacy instruction upon completion of their teacher preparation program. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain an understanding of how eight initial educators perceive the literacy curriculum within their teacher preparation programs. One research question that guided this study: How do initial teachers perceive the literacy curriculum within a teacher preparation program? The sample was a purposeful sample consisting of eight initial educators that were responsible for teaching literacy at some point in their day. Participants taught a variety of grade levels from kindergarten to seventh in a Wisconsin elementary or middle school. The data collection instruments were face-to-face interviews and unobtrusive data in the form of course documents and degree plans. The inductive analysis model was used to analyze data collected from the interviews and the typological analysis model was used to analyze the data collected from the course description documents and degree plans. The key findings of this study were that participants had some positive experiences with their teacher preparation programs, but there were also some areas that were lacking, most notably writing, middle grade level, and accelerated learner instruction. The overall consensus was that not enough was done through the literacy curriculums in the teacher preparation programs where the participants earned their teaching license. The participants shared teacher preparation program recommendations that they perceive would benefit future teacher candidates and initial educators
Remedial Mathematics Students Entering Community College: A Phenomenological Study Designed to Discover Shared Learning Characteristics and Needs
No full textOver the course of several decades, a large body of research written with a focus on community colleges has accumulated based on the high need for remediation in mathematics, and has been associated with high attrition rates at that level. Reform efforts have been largely unsuccessful. This qualitative study was conducted so that the phenomenon of the requirement of remedial coursework in math could be examined. Each of the thirteen participants in the study took part in one open-ended interview in which they shared their experiences, including their backgrounds and beliefs about learning mathematics throughout their years of school prior to, and including their enrollment in remedial mathematics coursework at the community college level. A conceptual framework that blended adult learning theories, or andragogy, with current research about the effect of mindset on learning mathematics was utilized to interpret information gathered. Delimitations of the study were the exclusion of students who signed up for remedial math by choice without requirement and students in need of special education services. The data gathered from the participant narratives led to conclusions that common experiences existed among remedial math students including a negative mindset about mathematics, a distorted view of mathematics as a discipline, and negative perceptions about community college structures including advising, course structure, and course pathways. Conclusions gleaned from this study contributed to the body of research on this topic based on alignment with recommendations from researchers that the community college experience for remedial studies be changed to include explicit work on self-regulation and metacognitive strategies, as well as increased use of active learning strategies, and changes in policy regarding course placement and pathways