The LAIR at East Texas A&M
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Understanding the Needs of Culturally Diverse Public School Students Transferring to a Private Catholic High School: An Exploratory Case Study
No full textAs private Catholic schools grow increasingly culturally diverse, it is important to understand the experiences and perceptions of students, families, and educators to increase the chances of meeting students’ academic and social needs. Therefore, this exploratory qualitative case study aims to understand the experiences and perceptions of the administrators, teachers, and staff involved in a transfer bridge program that supports the academic and social success of public school transfer students from culturally diverse backgrounds at a suburban predominantly White co-ed Catholic Diocesan high school. Administrators and faculty associated with the transfer program were interviewed to gain their perspectives. Results indicated that faculty and administrators involved in the program view the bridge transfer program as providing a supportive and inclusive community for public school transfer students to build academic and social skills. However, consensus is lacking regarding the primary purpose and goals of the program and more student feedback is needed to provide a more comprehensive picture of the transfer program’s ability to meet students’ needs. The results of this case study add to thelimited but growing literature base on culturally responsive support for Catholic school students and will inform the school’s efforts to support their transfer students’ academic and social success. Keywords: Transfer student, High School, Predominantly White Institution, Catholic High Schoo
Dual-credit Students’ Perceptions of Utilizing Learning Accommodations
No full textHigher education and K–12 institutions have seen an increase in dual-credit participation for students with learning challenges. Given the rapid growth in the dual-credit programs and increasing numbers of students entering higher education institutions with learning challenges, more research was needed to support students in dual-credit programs across the state and country. Further, research was also needed for stakeholders within the K–12 and higher education institutions to provide awareness for future dual-credit students with learning challenges. After reviewing the literature, the researcher found a gap regarding dual-credit students’ perceptions of utilizing learning accommodations. The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions of high school dual-credit students who utilized learning accommodations, such as testing accommodation, note-taking, sign language interpreters, and assistive technology in their dual-credit courses. Additionally, the research improved understanding of the benefits and motivation for dual-credit students utilizing learning accommodations and provided awareness for future dual-credit students with learning challenges, as well as K–12 and higher education institutions
Decision-making in Manifestation Determinations: The Influence of Student Racial Stereotypes and Perceived Student Intentionality
No full textDespite educational professionals’ increased awareness about the disproportionality between Black and White students, closing the gap in suspensions and expulsions has not improved. Due to their daily encounters with students, committee members have important information and observations to discuss during the manifestation determination review (MDR) decision-making process. The purpose of this study was to investigate potential biases in MDR decision-making of MDR team members. Participants (N = 519) from four states completed an online survey in which they answered questions about their MDR knowledge using a scale developed for this study. Following, participants rated Black and White students on stereotypical racial traits. Participants were then randomly assigned to read a vignette about either a Black or White student and asked to make a manifestation determination decision and rate their decisional confidence. Afterwards, participants rated their perceptions of a student’s controllability and awareness of consequences, the latter of which was assessed using a scale developed for this study. Participants did not make a “no-link” decision for a Black student more than a White student. Also, participants identifying as racially diverse did not make a “yes-link” decision more than participants identifying as White. Participants’ endorsement of negative racial stereotypes was not associated with “No-Link” MDR decisions for either a Black or White student. Participants’ MDR substantive knowledge was not associated with MDR decision-making confidence. Finally, participants’ perceptions of student awareness of consequences and student controllability over their behaviors was not associated with MDR decision-making confidence. Further research is needed to investigate other potential influential variables in MDR decision- making, such as stigma associated with the label of an Emotional Disturbance or administrative pressure to agree with the local education agency. This investigation was the first quantitative study assessing potential biases associated with individual MDR decision-making
The Portrayal of African American Characters in Award Winning Picture Books from 2006-2016: A Content Analysis
No full textChildren’s picture books are introduced to children during their foundational years and is often a child’s first exposure to culture. It is imperative that those depictions are authentic portrayals of African American culture. This study is a replication of Ussery’s 2006 analysis of the characterization of African American characters in award winning picture books from 1996 to 2005. The purpose of this study was to add to the literature by examining children’s picture books from 2006 through 2016 and analyzing the changes since the conclusion of Ussery’s 2006 study.The predetermined criteria were (a) all characters or the protagonist must be African American, (b) each book had to be an African American children’s picture book, and (c) each book had to have been awarded the distinguished Caldecott Medal and/or Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award or be noted as honor books from 2006 to 2016. There were 116 titles of award winners for Caldecott Medal and Coretta Scott King from 2006 through 2016 collected. Following the prequalification process, 42 samples qualified. The researcher used the evaluation criteria tool which consisted of nine questions. It was determined from the study that African Americans were portrayed in written text and illustrations in most the children’s picture books awarded the Coretta Scott King Award and Honor books and the prominent Caldecott Medal and Honor books from 1996-2005 to 2006-2016. Social issues and problems were portrayed accurately at least 69% of the time with 31% of the books being categorized as not applicable due to no problems being present. In order to add to the research, the researcher also compared the findings of the replicated 2006 study to the present findings to analyze changes if any. There were some categories that remained the same. The researcher noted there were more books that fell in the not applicable category due to authors not having social issues, problems, or even White characters present in their works
Zero-Inflated Poisson Model of Claims Frequencies Using a Maximum Likelihood and a Bayesian Approach
No full textA zero-inflated Poisson model is applied to analyze claims data sets found in literature from various sources. Maximum likelihood estimation and Bayesian approaches are used to analyze the data and the results of each method are compared. A Metropolis-Hastings Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm is used to simulate the posterior distribution of the model parameters in the Bayesian approach. Original scripts are written in R to implement the methods. Results from the maximum likelihood and Bayesian implementations are compared
The Lived Experience of Novice Teachers Who Chose to Return to Their Middle School for Their Second Year During COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textBetween 40 and 50% of teachers will leave the profession within their first five years of teaching (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). Factors such as teacher preparation, high stakes testing, mentoring support, student outcomes, monetary incentives, and administration play roles in this problem. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed traditional practices overnight, placing additional unexpected demands on teachers (Kim & Ashbury, 2020). The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of factors involved in teacher retention, and by taking a narrative inquiry approach to this phenomenon, gain an in-depth understanding of the factors that led to novice teachers choosing to return for a second year. The findings demonstrated that novice teachers did not have a paradigm with which to compare teaching outside of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, veteran teachers experienced greater difficulties coping with the pandemic than novice teachers. Nonetheless, novice teachers did experience stress which was mitigated by mentoring, support, and other experiences that have proven essential to the success of novice teachers. Many teachers chose to return because of the relationships they established on campus, the support from their administration, and their love of the students they taught
The Relationship Leadership Style and Job Burnout Have on Turnover Intention Among Texas High School Principals During the COVID-19 Global Pandemic
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a public health crisis impacting every aspect of the world. Within education, this crisis caused leaders to navigate through unknown territory. Researchers were overwhelmed seeking to identify effective school leadership before the COVID-19 pandemic. The health crisis has unleashed a host of challenges for supporting leaders of all levels of public schools. Burnout could be a factor leading to high school principal turnover during the pandemic, but also leadership styles may affect high school principals’ intention to leave their posts. While the value of transformational campus leadership is known, and there are current surveys to gather job burnout and turnover intention, there is a gap between connecting the three constructs. The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive relationship leadership style and job burnout have on turnover intention among Texas high school principals during the COVID-19 global pandemic. This study design was a quantitative survey non-experimental correlational approach. Surveys were distributed to principals through the Texas Association of School Administrators, and all responses were anonymous. The data analysis involved logistic regression for the independent variables of burnout and leadership style predicting the dichotomous turnover intention dependent variable. The overall model was not significant based on an alpha of .05, χ2(4) = 3.54, p = .471, suggesting that the leadership styles More Transformational than Norm, More Transactional than Norm, More Passive-Avoidant than Norm, and Job Burnout did not have a significant effect on the odds of observing the Desire to Stay category of Turnover Intention
What Does It Mean to Take Online Classes as an International Student During COVID-19?
No full textUsing the Theory of Social Support and the Community of Inquiry as theoretical frameworks, this qualitative study explored international students’ experiences, challenges, and perceptions of online learning environments during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. By conducting three virtual focus group interviews with 18 international students, we identified four key themes that encapsulate participants’ challenges and experiences of online learning: social isolation in online learning spaces, difficulties with engaging in online class discussions and activities, limited opportunities for improving English proficiency in the online setting and limited academic support from faculty and advisors. Implications for research and practice to support international students are discussed
