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Factors Influencing Parent Decisions: Student Transfers from Public to Cyber Charter Schools in Pennsylvania
No full textThe purpose of this qualitative study was to identify decision-making factors from parents of Southeast Rural School District (SRSD) who chose to transfer their children to one of 14 cyber charter schools within Pennsylvania amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This research study utilized a phenomenological design, consisting of qualitative electronic surveys and one-on-one follow-up interviews with participants. Twelve participants completed the initial survey, with nine participants engaging in follow-up interviews through Zoom video conferencing. Thematic analysis of collected data identified four primary themes: decision-making factors, information gathering, impact of COVID-19 pandemic, and future schooling intentions. Themes were analyzed through the theoretical lens of an adaptive decision-making framework. Findings in this study indicated that the precipitating factors surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic directly impacted parent decisions to transfer their children from SRSD schools to cyber charter schools. Parent-to-parent communication was identified as having a significant impact in the decision-making process. Cyber charter school experiences contributed to new participant expectations in the areas of flexibility, curricular offerings, and support from their schools. Recommendations for practice included expanded elementary course offerings, flexibility in learning environments, and redesign of the SRSD virtual school offering. SRSD stakeholders will have the opportunity to analyze current operations through the lens of data collected within this research study to inform future district decisions and improve student opportunities
Instructional Coaching Across Settings in Preschool Special Education: Teacher Accounts of How They Become Coaches
No full textA Descriptive Case Study of Paraprofessional Perceptions of Preparedness to Support Students with Disabilities and Collaborate with Supervising Teachers
No full textThis research study explored the perceptions of paraprofessionals regarding their ability to work successfully with students with disabilities, as well as explored paraprofessionals’ feelings about collaborative working relationships with supervising teachers. Extant research showed that in a variety of special education programs, paraprofessionals were expected to assist classroom teachers in the application of various educational and related services (Walker, 2017). Paraprofessionals are active team members that provide assistance with instruction, classroom management, and other direct services to students under the supervision of a teacher (NEA, 2020). A common practice is to charge paraprofessionals with the task of being a primary support of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms (Brock & Carter, 2015). Providing students with disabilities access to the general education curriculum is important because it allows students to develop academic or functional skills (Spooner, Dymond, Smith, & Kennedy, 2006). Research has also shown that paraprofessionals serve as critical team members in the classroom and often form intimate relationships that benefit students (Blalock, 1991; Burgess and Mayes, 2009). Developing effective professional relationships among school staff was noted as essential to providing students with high-quality educational experiences (Special Education in the Schools, 1997). Data collection methods included six paraprofessional interviews, five teacher questionnaires, and a document analysis. The results of this study indicated five specific areas central to building and maintaining relationships between paraprofessionals and supervising teachers and paraprofessionals feeling prepared when presented the task of working directly with students with disabilities. Together, these five areas composed the core category (i.e., central phenomenon) of the emerging substantive theory. These five areas identified were: (1) paraprofessionals need to feel valued, (2) changes to paraprofessional responsibilities, (3) paraprofessionals presented with student behaviors, (4) paraprofessionals acceptance to serve as a supportive role, and (5) paraprofessionals knew someone with a disability. Several of these areas are needs and all have properties (i.e., subcategories that further articulate and explain the category). Insight from this study led to recommendations for cohesion between the teacher and the paraprofessional, training developed around effective professional relationships among school staff, and providing teachers and paraprofessionals common time to meet
Teacher Sensemaking on the Use of Check-in Check-out with Disconnected Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
No full textTeachers are expected to support all students that enter their classrooms including students with Emotional and Behavior Disorders, also known as EBD. The maladaptive behavior exhibited by students with EBD often prevents them from engaging successfully in learning and forging relationships, leading to them being disconnected from school (Sheaffer et al., 2021). School connectedness is an important protective factor for students (Center for Disease Control, 2009). PBIS, Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports, is a framework for teaching, modeling, and rewarding expected behaviors including social and emotional skills (Center on PBIS, 2022). CICO, or check-in check-out, is a Tier 2 intervention within the PBIS framework and is used to support students that struggle with Tier 1 interventions alone (Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network, 2022). This study investigated how teachers made sense through CICO implementation with disconnected students with or at-risk of EBD in a regular education elementary school. This was accomplished by collecting qualitative data from one such case of teacher sensemaking where data was provided by an all-staff open ended survey, interview responses from focal group participants, and journaling by the researcher. The study concluded that teachers in a regular education elementary inner-city public school implementing PBIS make sense of implementation of CICO with students identified as disconnected and with or at-risk of EBD through one of two models of sensemaking - use of a map or use of a compass. The study also concluded that participants focused on the EBD component if they demonstrated the map model and focused on the connectedness component if they demonstrated the compass model
Pennsylvania K-12 Public School Teachers’ Perceptions of Learning Management Systems During the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textThe purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore Pennsylvania K-12 public school teachers’ perceptions of LMS since the onset of COVID-19. The study evaluated teachers’ perception of LMS. In March 2020, schools across the United States shifted to online learning due to the pandemic. This pivot in the delivery of instruction forced many educators to acquire new instructional strategies and technologies. Consequentially, teachers were using Learning Management Systems (LMS) more due to the onset of the pandemic. With the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and an extension of TAM as the conceptual framework, this study explored K-12 public school teachers’ perceptions of LMS.
The participants of this study were K-12 public school teachers from Pennsylvania who have taught since 2019. The study took place during the 2022-2023 school year. The quantitative data was collected through a 7-point Likert Scale survey (Fathema 2013) and adapted for this study. The survey was administered to 242 participants. The qualitative data was collected through open-ended questions in the survey and through semi-structured interviews with 8 willing participants.
Results indicated participants had positive perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) regarding the LMS they use. Teachers reported perceived strengths and weaknesses of LMS. The data showed differences between participant groups as well as no significant differences between groups. This study found statistically significant positive strong relationships between PEOU, PU, and System Quality (SQ). This study will benefit school leaders and technology companies in planning and implementing LMS to their teachers
The Impact of School District Provided Professional Development on Teacher Buy-In for Social and Emotional Learning
No full textThis research study explores the impact that school district provided professional development has on teacher buy-in for social and emotional learning (SEL). At the time of this study, the literature on social and emotional learning focuses on the impact it has on students and on the impact, it has on academic programming. Literature examining the impact of professional development on buy-in for social and emotional learning is very limited at this time. The findings of this research may assist district-level and school-level administrators determine the best way to introduce and implement professional development process for teachers. Moreover, by fine tuning the professional development process, students and teachers will directly benefit due to the successful implementation of a social and emotional learning curriculum.
Based on the overall research on social and emotional learning, students are more successful in school when they can manage their own emotions, understand and take the perspective of those around them and make choices that are socially sound (Weissberg et al., 2015). These are the main social and emotional skills that are covered by SEL programs and the need to focus on these areas may be more important than even due to the impact of technology on students’ learning and interpersonal skills (Osher et al., 2016). In addition, an issue brief by the Pennsylvania State University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, indicated that individuals with strong social and emotional skills not only have improved academics in schools, but also have better outcomes when it comes to employment and “lower chances of substance abuse, antisocial behavior and relationship problems” (Jones et al., 2017, p. 3).
With literature showing that social and emotional learning has a positive impact on students in multiple ways, it’s important that school districts begin to implement initiatives that provide social and emotional skills for students. During implementation, it is important to understand how teachers’ beliefs and attitudes will influence the adoption, sustainability and impact of any social and emotional programing that is implemented in a school system (Van Huynh et al., 2018). While professional development has shown to be beneficial to help implantation, it has not been identified if it also helps to change teacher beliefs and attitudes. Doing so would help to garner teacher buy-in for social and emotional learning, thus making these initiatives last long into the future
Experiences of Collaboration and Perceptions of Roles: A Phenomenological Study of School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists
No full textAccording to Black et al. (2015), nearly 7.7 percent of children ages 3-17 in the United States have experienced a voice, speech, language, or swallowing disorder. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are health professionals and therapists that treat, diagnose, and deliver therapeutic support to children impacted by these conditions. SLPs are related service providers that can work in school settings to support students with speech and language needs, and to provide services for students that fall within IDEA (2004). School-based SLPs have the knowledge and skills to support all students in improving literacy skills through cross-disciplinary collaboration (Heisler & Thousand, 2021; Watson & Bellon-Harn, 2014). There are collaborative models, guides, and strategies to help school-based SLPs work with other professionals to support students in an inclusive environment and protect student needs (Archibald, 2017; Watson & Bellon-Harn, 2014; Wilson et al., 2016; Zimmerman et al., 2022).
This study explored the experiences of collaboration from the perspective of school-based SLPs working in different schools located in Southeastern, PA. This study was conducted through a phenomenological qualitative research design. The participants in this study were purposefully selected and the data was retrieved through one-to-one interviews. The study relied on the situated learning theory as the theoretical framework which emphasizes the natural opportunities to learn provided in authentic environments through a community of practice. This study found that school-based SLPs participate in collaboration with other school professionals with student goals in mind. Additional findings suggest school-based SLPs collaborate through co-teaching practices with special education teachers and occupational therapists. Findings also indicate that school-based SLP’s perceive their administration, lack of time, and teacher’s mindsets as barriers impacting their ability to engage in collaborative practices. Lastly, this study found that school-based SLP’s understanding of their school’s framework and how decisions are made in their school environments impacts their collaborative experiences
A Phenomenological Study of Pennsylvania Public High School Principals' Leadership of Grading Practices Reform
No full textThe purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore Pennsylvania public high school principals’ leadership of grading practices reform and how that leadership was influenced by enabling and constraining factors within schools’ cultures and communities. The analysis of the accounts of the lived experiences of 10 principals produced seven experiential themes that provided insight into what drove the participants to pursue grading reform within their schools and how participants made sense of the factors that enabled and constrained their leadership. This study found that principals were driven to pursue grading reforms by concerns about a lack of humanity in the grading process and concerns about the validity and reliability of grades. However, principals were constrained by students’ and parents’ comfort and familiarity with the current system, concerns about the impact of changes to grading on the college admissions process, and the existence of a “this too shall pass” culture among teachers. Principals in this study approached grading reform by creating cultures of trust and transparency within their schools and supporting the work of teacher pilot groups to change grading practices
The Influence of Trauma Informed Professional Development: Southeastern PA Public School Teacher Beliefs and Behaviors
No full textTrauma informed research related to school initiatives focuses on the framework and implementation of initiatives instead of intensive evaluations and measures of effectiveness (Christian-Brandt et al., 2020). To address the gap in research, this study focused on the central question, “what is the experience of participants that have undergone professional development through the Neurologic Initiative?”. Using a transcendental qualitative phenomenological approach, this study analyzed the lived experience of 12 secondary teachers in Pennsylvania public schools that completed trauma informed professional development through Lakeside’s Neurologic Initiative. By surveying, collecting artifacts, and interviewing teachers that have completed the professional development, this study found that trauma informed professional development had a significant influence on teacher beliefs and behavior. The professional development provided knowledge and skills that challenged the beliefs of educators and led participants to develop more empathy with respect to student behavior and how stress can impact people. The awareness and empathy for trauma, stress, and the impact on people created the conditions where participant behavior was influenced as they applied the knowledge and skills personally and professionally. As educational leaders analyze ways to support the social emotional needs of learners, they should analyze how they filter those concepts through the educators that serve the students. Social emotional initiatives should not focus on how the teacher can help those around them first. Social emotional initiatives should focus first on the educator and how they can apply and benefit from the same self-care, self-regulation, and mental health attributes that learners need
An Examination of the Relationship Among Teacher Growth Mindset, Student Growth Scores, and Teacher Demographics
No full textDweck and her colleagues (Diener & Dweck, 1978, 1980; Dweck, 1975, 2006; Dweck & Blackwell, 2021; Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Dweck & Reppucci, 1973), have conducted decades of research on growth mindset, specifically related to results indicating a significant positive relationship between student growth mindset and achievement. What remains unknown is the relationship between teacher mindset and student growth, and to what extent a relationship exists between teacher growth mindset and student growth, as measured by the Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System (PVAAS) one-year growth index. This study used a quantitative correlational study to explore this gap in the research. A survey approach was used to study 40 Eastern Pennsylvania teachers through a self-reported survey during the winter of 2022. Specifically, the Teacher Mindset Scale (TMS) was utilized to measure teacher mindset and the Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System (PVAAS) data for student growth. Data was analyzed using Pearson’s Correlation, Bivariate Linear Regression, Independent-samples t-tests, and One-Way ANOVA. The tested hypotheses did not find a significant relationship between teachers’ growth mindset and their PVAAS one-year growth index score. Because no significant correlation was found, a regression model did not exist. Lastly, there were no significant differences in teachers’ growth mindset scores and their PVAAS one-year growth index by the level of education, gender, grade level, and subject taught. However, there was a significant difference in teachers’ PVAAS scores and their years of teaching experience as teachers with 11–15 years of experience had higher PVAAS student growth scores than teachers with 6–10 years of experience. The findings from this study indicate avenues of future study connected to teacher growth mindset and value-added growth measures to identify student success. Furthermore, additional examination is needed to determine the relationship between years of experience and student growth scores