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Is it Really Just Black and White? A Basic Interpretive Qualitative Study of Effective White Teachers of Black Students in a Small, Southern Community
Get PDFIn his now famous protest The Souls of Black Folk, W. E. B. Du Bois (1903) predicted the 21st century as one fraught with many of the same racial inequities and perils previously seen in American history. As with most social diseases, racism has not been eradicated but rather spread and is still infesting many of our social institutions, especially our educational system (Coates, 2015; Yosso, 2006).
The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study is to examine “best-practices” and identify strategies commonly employed by effective White teachers of Black students; the research examines the nexus of inequality in education, the achievement gap, and teachers’ influence in multicultural classrooms. Six, White secondary school teachers participated in this study by sharing their educational beliefs and experiences within a rural, southern town through one 90-120 minute face-to-face individual interview with iterative questioning. Data obtained from the interviews was analyzed using a three phase approach where three common themes were ascertained. Critical Race Theory and Community Cultural Wealth Theory were used as theoretical foundations for this study.
Results revealed effective White teachers of Black students must build relationships with Students of Color in order to earn their trust; this results in students doing better in the teacher’s class and building lasting relationships which effect the student’s capital (Aspirational, Familial, Social, Navigational and Resistant). Three major themes emerged from the data: Building Relationships: When They Know You Care, Black v. Poor: Socioeconomic Status and Race and Everybody is Family: Life in a Small Town.
Keywords: white teachers; black students; education; qualitative study; effective teachers; small community;Chapter I INTRODUCTION 1 -- Personal Interest 3 -- Statement of the Problem 4 -- Purpose of the Study 5 -- Significance of the Study 7 -- Conceptual Framework 8 -- Critical Race Theory 8 -- Community Cultural Wealth Theory 9 -- Research Design 13 -- Research Questions 13 -- Methods of Analysis 13 -- Definition of Terms 14 -- Summary 16 -- Chapter II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 17 -- A History of Inequality in Education 17 -- Achievement Gap 20 -- Teachers’ Influence in Multicultural Classrooms 22 -- Theoretical Frameworks 25 -- Summary 27 -- Chapter III METHODOLOGY 29 -- Research Design 30 -- Research Questions 30 -- Setting 31 -- Participants 34 -- Data Collection 36 -- Consent to Participate in Study 37 -- Interview Process 37 -- Pre-Interview Questionnaire & Document Review 39 -- Interviews 39 -- Participant Confidentiality and Data Security 41 -- Data Processing and Analysis 41 -- Interview Questions/Protocols 43 -- Approval to Conduct Study 44 -- Validity and Trustworthiness 45 -- Memos 45 -- Respondent Validation 46 -- Triangulation 46 -- Iterative Questioning 47 -- Peer Debriefing 47 -- Tactics to Ensure Honesty 47 -- Collecting Rich Data 48 -- Researcher-Interviewer 48 -- Summary 53 -- Chapter IV RESULTS 54 -- Data Analysis and Findings 54 -- Profiles of Participants 55 -- Themes from Research Question 1 65 -- Influenced by a Teacher 78 -- Everybody is Family 79 -- Honors v. “Regular” 80 -- Black v. Poor 81 -- Around Black People My Whole Life 82 -- There’s a Bigger Picture Here: Experiences that Shaped Me as a Teacher 82 -- Challenges 83 -- Themes from Research Question 2 84 -- Building Relationships: When They Know You Care 96 -- Earn Trust-Don’t Force It 97 -- Be Willing to Try 98 -- Always Be Coaching/Christian Beliefs 98 -- Hey, How Are You Doing 99 -- Just Teach 99 -- Summary 99 -- Chapter V DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 102 -- Overview 102 -- Discussion 105 -- Building Relationships: When Students Know You Care 109 -- Black v. Poor: Socioeconomic Status and Race 111 -- Everybody is Family: Life in a Small Town 114 -- Summary 116 -- Limitations 117 -- Conclusions 118 -- Recommendations 120 -- Recommendations for Future Research 123 -- REFERENCES 124 -- APPENDICES 130Hull, KarlaWarner, KateLaughlin, MarthaEd.D.Education in Leadershi
Career Pathway Barriers, Strategies, and Practices of Female Superintendents in Rural Georgia: A Narrative Inquiry
Get PDFI investigated six rural Georgia female school superintendents’ perceptions of trajectories into the superintendency and their roles and responsibilities as educational leaders. I examined how their life and career experiences shaped their professional roles as practicing female superintendents. This study contributes to the limited academic literature on female superintendents, focusing on the gender obstacles they overcame to find success in a male-dominated career. It also uses the voices of women in rural districts to tell their own stories. I used three conceptual lenses: feminist theory, the gatekeeping theory, and the structural empowerment theory to understand the women's main characteristics of rising to senior leadership positions in a rural school district. I developed four analytical themes from the data: 1) surviving in the male-dominated jungle of educational leadership, 2) being safer at home, 3) the paradox of female leadership, and 4) balancing work-life demands. The findings suggest that female educational leaders adapt and change their behaviors to survive a male-dominated landscape. Although female superintendents are severely underrepresented, they bring to leadership a complete range of the qualities modern leaders need, including self- awareness, resilience, creativity, humility, and authenticity. Male leaders might benefit from these unique characteristics. The research shows the strategies to address the social, political, and economic challenges females face in their day-to-day practices as superintendents. This study's findings are significant for those who mentor female educational leaders, design educational leadership programs and hire school superintendents.
Keywords: female superintendents; rural Georgia; feminist theory; educational leadership; superintendents; gatekeeping theory;Chapter I: INTRODUCTION 1 -- Statement of the Problem 3 -- Purpose 5 -- Research Questions 6 -- Significance 7 -- Conceptual Framework 7 -- Researcher's Interest 8 -- Existing Theory 9 -- Summary of Methodology 12 -- Limitations 13 -- Definition of Terms 14 -- Chapter Summary 15 -- Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW 17 -- Conceptual Framework 18 -- Experiential Knowledge 18 -- Existing Theory and Knowledge 20 -- Theories 20 -- Historical Context 23 -- Career Pathways 26 -- Barriers for Female Superintendents 29 -- Characteristics of Female Leaders 37 -- Theories as Connected to the Concepts and Literature 43 -- Summary 44 -- Chapter III: METHODOLOGY 46 -- Research Questions 47 -- Researcher Design and Rationale 47 -- Setting 49 -- Role of Researcher 49 -- Participant Selection 50 -- Data Collection 51 -- Data Analysis 55 -- Issues of Trustworthiness 57 -- Credibility 57 -- Rich Data 58 -- Triangulation 58 -- Member Checking 58 -- Transferability 58 -- Confirmability 59 -- Ethical Procedures 59 -- Chapter Summary 60 -- Chapter IV: NARRATIVES OF FEMALE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS 61 -- Profiles of Participants 63 -- Betty 63 -- Abigail 70 -- Inez 76 -- Rebekah 81 -- Dorothea 86 -- Juliet 93 -- Chapter Summary 99 -- Chapter V: DISCUSSION OF THEMES 100 -- Surviving in the Male-Dominated Leadership Jungle 106 -- Safer at Home 116 -- The Paradox of Female Leadership 123 -- Balancing Work-Life Demands 130 -- Summary 134 -- Chapter VI: CONCLUSION 135 -- Research Questions: Summary Discussion 137 -- Research Question 1… 137 -- Research Question 2 146 -- Implications 152 -- Aspiring Female Superintendents 153 -- Professional Organizations 154 -- School Districts 155 -- School Board Members 156 -- Limitations 156 -- Recommendations for Future Research 158 -- Final Conclusions 160 -- References 166 -- Appendix A: Participant Recruitment Letter 181Tsemunhu, Rudo E.Gunn, NicoleChaumba, JosphineLeech, DonaldEd.D.Educational Leadershi
Quantitative Study of Predictive Relationships Between English Language Proficiency, Academic Growth, and Academic Achievement Assessments in North Georgia
Get PDFThis study examined the predictive relationship between ELs' proficiency levels on the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for ELs 2.0, students' performance on English language arts Georgia Milestones Assessment System, and academic growth on the Measures of Academic Progress. It was comprised of third through fifth grade English Language Learners. The study compared the percentage of English language learner students at each proficiency level, gender, and grade level and their achievement of English language arts on the Georgia Milestones Assessment System and growth from the beginning of the year to the end of the year on Measure of Academic Progress. The study was evaluated by conducting Pearson correlation coefficients, one-way ANOVA, and mediation analysis.
Results for this research question indicated a significant positive relationship between academic achievement and academic growth. There was a significant positive relationship between academic achievement and all eight domains of English proficiency. The results indicated as grade level increased, English proficiency increased, and academic growth and achievement decreased. Results for this research question indicated a significant effect on all eight domains of English proficiency. The results indicated academic achievement is not obtained for almost 77% of ELs scoring in the 4.3 – 4.9 English proficiency level. There were significant results for all eight domains of English proficiency and academic achievement. The three domains of speaking, oral, and composite were mediated by academic growth.
Keywords: English Language Proficiency; Academic Growth; Academic Achievement Assessments; English Language Learners; ELLs; EL;ABSTRACT i -- TABLE OF CONTENTS ii -- LIST OF TABLES vi -- LIST OF FIGURES vii -- ACKNOWLEDGMENT viii -- DEDICATION ix -- Chapter I INTRODUCTION 1 -- Overview 1 -- Statement of the Problem 4 -- Purpose 5 -- Research Questions 7 -- Significance of the Study 8 -- Conceptual Framework 9 -- Summary of Methodology 13 -- Limitations 14 -- Summary 14 -- Definitions of Terms 15 -- Chapter II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 17 -- Overview 17 -- ELs 17 -- Accommodations 18 -- Exit Criteria 19 -- Post Exit Monitoring 20 -- ELs in the Classroom: Best Practices 21 -- Challenges in the Classroom 21 -- The Role of Leadership 24 -- State and Federal Mandates 25 -- Standards 26 -- Every Student Succeed Act 26 -- Georgia Standards of Excellence 27 -- World-Class Instructional Design Assessment Consortium 27 -- English Language Proficiency: Years to Proficiency 28 -- Gender 30 -- Reclassifying ELs 31 -- Language Proficiency Assessment 35 -- Academic Achievement Assessment 36 -- Adaptive Academic Assessment 36 -- Summary 37 -- Chapter III METHODOLOGY 39 -- Overview 39 -- Research Questions 40 -- Research Design 40 -- Sample 42 -- Description of the Population 43 -- Data Collection 44 -- Procedures 47 -- Threats to Validity 50 -- Summary 50 -- Chapter IV RESULTS 52 -- Data Analysis 53 -- Descriptive Statistics 54 -- Results by Questions 55 -- Research Question 1 55 -- Research Question 2 64 -- Research Question 3 69 -- Summary 79 -- Chapter V SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION 82 -- Overview 82 -- Overview of the Sample and Data Collection 86 -- Quantitative Findings 87 -- Implications of Findings 89 -- Limitations to the Study 94 -- Recommendations for Future Research 95 -- Summary 96 -- REFERENCES 98 -- Appendix A Institutional Review Board Protocol Exemption Report 109 -- Appendix B Letter of Cooperation 1 111 -- Appendix C Letter of Cooperation 2 113 -- Appendix D Data Collection 115Bochenko, MichaelSakhavat, MammadovHsiao, E-LingHill, D. LaverneEd.D.Education in Leadershi
Vector-Host Prevalence Comparison of Cytauxzoon felis in south Georgia and north Florida
No full textCytauxzoonosis is an infectious disease caused by the protozoan parasite Cytauxzoon felis that affects members of the family Felidae. Cytauxzoon belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa, order Piroplasmida, and family Theileriidae. Members of this family are tick-transmitted protozoans that exist in erythrocytic and leukocytic stages in their intended hosts. Historically, the disease was thought to be fatal to domestic cats, but recent cases of host survival have been documented. Studies on the genetic variation of the first and second internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) of the rRNA operon have identified five prominent genotypes (ITSA, ITSB, ITSC, ITSG, ITSI) associated with varying cytauxzoonosis severity in the bobcat and domestic cat. Little research has been done so far to uncover how these genotypes are expressed in the vectors of the pathogen, Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick) and Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick). A number of studies have shown A. americanum to be a more competent vector in the wild. In this study PCR and gel electrophoresis were used to test for the presence of C. felis in blood samples from Felis catus (domestic cat), and the vector A. americanum. After testing for the presence of the parasite in each blood sample, positive samples were DNA sequenced in an attempt to identify distinct C. felis genotypes. Previously genotyped Lynx rufus (bobcat) DNA samples were used as positive controls and for comparison purposes. A total of 109 domestic feral cat samples were collected for this study from June 2019 to February 2020, and a total of 260 lone star tick samples were collected from March 2020 to May 2020. Of the collected samples eight samples from domestic cats and 17 from lone star ticks were sent to Florida State University for DNA sequencing. DNA sequence results showed that our samples were infected with more than one pathogen, the three genera within the order Piroplasmida were identified (Babesia sp, Theileria sp, and Cytauxzoon sp).
Keywords: Cytauxzoon felisChambers, Eric W.Blackmore, Mark S.Lockhart, Jack M.M.S.Biolog
Portraits of a Rural Georgia High School STEM Program
Get PDFThis research examined school personnel’s strategies and practices responsible for increasing student science proficiency at a certified rural high school STEM program. In the United States, difficulties have developed in adequately preparing students for careers in STEM sectors, especially in secondary education. This trend has led to increased difficulties for high school graduates competing for high-paying jobs globally. Rural schools have been especially susceptible to inadequately preparing their students academically. I used qualitative research portraiture to generate a mental image of the STEM program at the selected high school. I interviewed three teachers and two administrators in a certified rural high school STEM program regarding their day-to-day interactions within the STEM program. Data collection occurred through observations, interviews, and document analysis. Data were analyzed using coding procedures to generate themes. The findings may provide the foundational structure that can be duplicated with personalized modifications by other schools to increase future STEM program development speed and accuracy. Increased students’ exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics concepts may help provide STEM education for more students increasing the number of students to become more proficient in this area and developing them into the innovative thinkers needed for success 21st-century workplace. Administrators, Boards of Education, and programs in our universities and colleges may also benefit from this study. Findings may help the United States Department of Education, state educational agencies, university systems, school districts, and counselors at all levels to promote schools’ participation in technology-enhanced pedagogy.
Keywords: high school, rural, secondary education, STEMRuttencutter, Gwen S.Nobles, KathyParker, Forrest IIIEd.D.Education in Curriculum and Instructio
Odum Library Circulation Statistics for Annual Report, July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022
No full text1 electronic document. Odum Statistics_Annual_FY2021-2022.xlsx .xlsx 29 kB 28,717 bytes.Odum Library Circulation Statistics for Annual Report, July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022
Revamping America’s Infrastructure: A Global Study of Private Sector Participation in Transport-Related Public-Private Partnerships
Get PDFThis study analyzed the structure of private sector participation in 696 public–private partnership (PPP) projects in 12 G-20 countries, through a comparison of fully funded (100%) private sector projects with those substantially funded (51%–99%) and partially funded (50% and below) by the private sector. The main goal of this study is to determine whether PPP is a viable option for revamping America’s infrastructure.
Multiple linear regression was then applied to these data because of the presence of continuous outcomes and multiple independent variables. This method of analysis allowed for the development of predictive models explaining contract length and project costs based on private-sector funding levels, the transport subsector, and other predictors. This study found that substantially funded cases (at 51–99%), or, at the very minimum, partnerships with a private-sector majority (at least 51%) are associated with shorter contract lengths. Partially funded (50% or less) cases are associated with increases in project costs when compared with fully funded (100%) cases.
In the interest of improving the U.S. infrastructure, the results suggest that greater private sector participation should be pursued to the extent possible because this is associated with the shortest contract lengths and lowest project costs. Overall, private sector participation that provides at least 51% of funding was found to be most beneficial, with PPP determined to be a viable option to improve America’s infrastructure.
Keywords: Public-Private Partnerships, Private Sector Participation, Transport Infrastructure, InfrastructureChapter I INTRODUCTION 1 -- What Are Public–Private Partnerships? 2 -- Public-Private Partnerships Defined 3 -- Nature of a PPP 4 -- Types of PPPs 5 -- Concessions (Contract Period) 6 -- Equity and Debt in PPP Concessions 7 -- Role of Participants 7 -- Background of the Problem 9 -- Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 11 -- Private Sector Participation in Transport Infrastructure 12 -- The Significance of the Study 13 -- Research Goals 15 -- Research Questions 16 -- Methodology 17 -- Clarification for the Study 18 -- Chapter II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 20 -- Public–Private Partnerships around the World 20 -- Public-Private Partnerships in Canada 21 -- Public-Private Partnerships in the United Kingdom 24 -- Public-Private Partnerships in Australia 28 -- Public-Private Partnerships in China 31 -- Public-Private Partnerships in South Korea 31 -- Public-Private Partnerships in Other Asian Countries 32 -- Public-Private Partnerships in Africa 33 -- Public-Private Partnerships in the United States 35 -- U.S. Public-Private Partnerships 36 -- U.S. States With Enabling PPP Legislation 40 -- Public-Private Partnerships and Cost Savings 41 -- Costs and Length of Contract 43 -- Private Sector Participation 44 -- Conclusion 45 -- Chapter III METHODOLOGY 47 -- Research Method 48 -- Research Design 49 -- Target Population 50 -- Data Collection Procedures 53 -- Operationalization of Data 55 -- Independent Variables 55 -- Dependent Variables 56 -- Control Variables 57 -- Economic Factors 57 -- Investment Climate Factors 59 -- Data Measurement Type 62 -- Levels of Measurement and Categories for Each Variable 63 -- Multiple Linear Regression 64 -- Research Hypotheses 65 -- Data Analysis Plan 67 -- Ethical Considerations 68 -- Chapter IV RESULTS 70 -- Descriptive Statistics 70 -- Regression Analyses 78 -- Hypothesis 1: Regression Analysis with Length of the Contract on Level of Funding 80 Hypothesis 2: Regression Analysis With Project Costs on Level of Funding 84 -- Hypothesis 3: Regression Analysis With Length of the Contract on Subsector 87 -- Hypothesis 4: Regression Analysis With Project Costs on Subsector 90 -- Summary 93 -- Chapter V CONCLUSION 94 -- Methods and Procedures 94 -- Discussion and Implications of the Results 95 -- Private-sector Funding Levels 97 -- Subsector Effect 97 -- Effects of Economic Factors 98 -- Effects of Investment Climate Factors 99 -- Effects of Region 99 -- Culmination 100 -- Revamping America’s Infrastructure 102 -- Extent of Private Sector Participation 103 -- Transport Subsector 104 -- Political Stability 105 -- North American Region 106 -- Recommendations for Future Research 106 -- Conclusion 107 -- REFERENCES 108McDonald, J. ScottMerwin, Gerald A.Tamas, BernardKellner, RobertD.P.A.Public Administratio