High-stakes testing has increased since the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. Many teachers are using teacher-centered activities with memorization and testing coach books instead of creating student-centered higher-order thinking activities. Some school districts are eliminating subjects that are not tested on state assessments. The purpose of this study was to collect information regarding the teaching experiences of 9 elementary teachers from the same school within one public school district. Teacher interviews were utilized in this case study to explore the perceived effects of high-stakes tests on elementary curriculum and instruction. The theoretical foundation for this study was based on the theories of behaviorism and constructivism. The study research questions addressed teachers' perceptions of the effects of high-stakes testing on curriculum and instruction. Qualitative coding was used to identify patterns and themes in the data through the systematic analysis and constant comparison of data sets. Data from interview transcripts were analyzed to determine factors, events, conditions, personal perspectives, and concerns of the elementary teachers. Teachers felt that high-stakes testing has resulted in a rigid, unbalanced and narrow curriculum. Teachers described that high-stakes testing has resulted in clear expectations for teachers which have helped them to know exactly what they have to teach within their classrooms. Implications for positive social change include providing teachers with necessary professional development relating to the effects of high-stakes testing; this can lead to curricular and instructional change that provides more instruction in higher-order thinking.

Professional learning communities (PLC) have the potential to strengthen students' academic achievement. An academic pyramid of interventions, one aspect of PLCs, may be especially helpful in schools where subgroups of students are underperforming relative to other students on standardized testing. This quantitative, one-group, pretest-posttest study examined the impact of implementing an academic pyramid of interventions as part of a PLC on middle school student academic achievement. The 100 students from grade 7 and 8 who participated in the study were identified by teachers as being at-risk for success on the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). The reading and math test scores from the CRCT were extracted for data analysis. The researcher used a repeated-measures t test to compare the mean pretest and posttest scores. Bivariate correlations were conducted to determine the relationship between math and reading scores at grades 7 and 8. Results indicated that reading scores significantly increased across time (p < .001). Math scores also increased but the difference was not statistically significant. All correlations were significant (p<.05). Overall, the results indicated that implementing a PLC improved the standardized test scores of at risk students. These results have potential implications for social change in that all students will be better prepared for success throughout their academic career. These implications also suggest that when teachers work collaboratively within a PLC they will better meet the academic needs of all subgroups of students, especially those identified as at risk.

Social learning plays a critical role in cognitive apprenticeship, community of practice, and knowledge production theories. Gunawardena's interaction analysis model, which provides a means of evaluating discourse for social construction of knowledge, is comprised of five phases: (a) sharing and comparing, (b) disagreement, (c) negotiation and co-construction of new knowledge, (d) testing of knew knowledge, and (e) use or phrasing of new knowledge. There is a paucity of research that has empirically explored social construction of knowledge, especially in an extended semiformal asynchronous graduate learning experience. This study explored two research questions: whether social construction of knowledge took place, and if so, how such construction occurred. The study used data from two quarters of a five-quarter graduate level, asynchronous research laboratory allowing students in psychology programs to work on a faculty research project. This study was a qualitative secondary data analysis of 1,739 postings by 17 students and one instructor. The original transcripts were converted to a database for coding using the interaction analysis model. Numerous uses of phase II, disagreement, and above demonstrated that social construction of knowledge occurred and provided a method of understanding how such construction took place. Students socially constructed knowledge by expressing disagreement or dissonance and then worked together to synthesize new knowledge. As a critical component of situated learning, understanding social construction of knowledge provides impetus for pedagogical improvements for increased learning. This in turn can provide students with necessary knowledge and new ideas to apply toward positive social change in their communities.

Previous research has shown that because remediation and support replace required and career-defining courses, exceptional students fall behind, ill equipped to act in society as autonomous adults. No Child Left Behind requires reading proficiency, so students failing standardized tests must take remedial courses. Individualized education plans often require support courses. However, there remains an important gap in the literature regarding the usefulness of reading, standardized testing, and leadership research to solve this problem. A class combining reading and support for students with exceptionalities exists at 1 high school. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the combined program to determine whether a specific program intended to meet federal and state performance-based standards affected test scores. This study used a single-group pretest-posttest design to analyze the 2007 and 2008 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Reading scale scores of 25 of the 30 students with exceptionalities enrolled in the combined course to determine whether a significant difference existed between these test scores. The paired-sample t test identified a significant difference between pretest and posttest scores, supporting the hypothesis that combining remediation and support increases progress. This study would be an important contribution to the existing literature by providing a viable solution to this problem by offering more opportunities for exceptional students to enroll in courses available to their mainstream peers. It also would enhance social change initiatives by facilitating the graduation and entry into productive adulthood of students with exceptionalities, allowing them to define career interests and remediate deficiencies simultaneously.

Minority students lag Caucasian students in science performance and are underrepresented in the fields of science and technology. It is therefore pivotal for minorities, African American and Hispanic students, to show improved performance in science education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of cooperative learning strategy on physics achievement by high school minority students. Constructivism formed the theoretical framework for the study. Independent learning, the traditional strategy, and cooperative learning dyads, the novel intervention, were the independent variables, and the dependent variable was achievement in physics. A repeated measures design and a convenient sample group of students were used in this study. Difference of scores obtained from the performances of the group as independent and cooperative learners was subjected to a repeated measures t test. A significant relationship between cooperative learning dyads and physics achievement by high school minority students was found. By learning in small groups, students were able to help each other construct meaning and make sense of their learning. Further study was recommended to foster cooperative learning strategy in minority classes and among science teachers of high schools with a majority of minorities. Social change is embedded in the study as increased achievement in science by minority students could possibly lead to advancement in science and technology careers for minorities and possibly close the gap that exists in science performance between minority and Caucasian students. This change could lead to a better social status for minorities.

Students' performance on standardized tests continues to dominate the discourse in the educational arena as it reflects student growth and teacher performance. The low performance index scores of 5th grade students at 2 elementary charter schools in urban southwestern Ohio has been a major concern of the school district. Guided by social constructivism, the purpose of this research study was to identify curricular practices that influence student academic achievement. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 4 reading teachers and 2 administrators; curriculum maps, tests scores, and lesson plan documents were also reviewed. Interview, test score, and lesson plan documents were analyzed through an open-coding process and constant comparison of data to ensure trustworthiness. The findings revealed that 5 th grade reading teachers and principals used teacher-centered instructional practices that did not connect with students' backgrounds. Based on the findings, a capstone project was developed that provided a content-specific professional development training for reading teachers that would expose them to student-centered instructional practices related to students' backgrounds. The implications for positive social change include engaged classrooms with student-centered instructional practices that could increase student achievement in urban schools.

The implementation of professional learning communities is a professional development practice that uses collaborative interactions within a constructivist framework to increase teacher and student learning. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the question of how the dialogue of grade level meetings within professional learning communities impacts the professional development of teachers using the constructivist theory of learning as the conceptual framework. The researcher gathered data through hour-long interviews over a 4-week period with 6 learning community participants, one from each of the 6 grade levels at the elementary school research site. A thematic analysis of the dialogical interactions revealed the following: (a) Professional growth is contingent upon the presence of focused dialogue, (b) Dialogue creates a feeling of acceptance that results in professional growth, (c) Dialogue results in learning opportunities that are prescriptive to the needs of the participants, and (d) Dialogue increases the content knowledge of teachers while providing them opportunities for the acquisition of instructional strategies. These dialogues offered opportunities for teacher examination of school data and focused efforts to improve weaknesses for greater student academic achievement. The results also revealed the qualities necessary for productive interactions to occur within professional learning communities that lead to professional growth and student success. Implications for positive social change include fostering the growth of teachers by revealing how conversing with others facilitates the acquisition of effective teaching practices and providing research based strategies and guidelines that promote the facilitation of productive collaborative and dialogical interactions within learning teams that result in improvements for the entire school community.

African American students have been historically underrepresented in gifted programs throughout the United States. Research about retaining identified African American students in gifted programs is limited. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the perceptions of a purposeful sample of seven identified talented and potentially talented African American middle school students about participation in gifted programs. The purpose of the study was to understand the meaning of participants' expectations, attitudes, and experiences with regard to participating and remaining in a gifted program or participating and then dropping out. Data were collected through individual interviews. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed that participants expected talented and gifted programs to be challenging, boring, or fun. Attitudes about learning in gifted programs included a preference for hands-on activities, the study of other cultures, accelerated work, and a desire for a daily class rather than a pullout program. Male and female African Americans experienced participation in gifted programs differently. Males perceived that they are normal and like everybody else, but females perceived the need to resist conforming to negative African American stereotypes. Recommendations that could improve retention rates for African Americans in gifted programs include revising policies regarding gifted program delivery and providing teacher training with an emphasis on African American cultural sensitivity. The contribution of this study to the body of research literature has implications for positive social change because developing the talents and gifts of African Americans through gifted programs could result in higher college graduation rates and greater employment opportunities.

A recent trend in schools has been to reduce or eliminate recess. The assumption behind this elimination is that less recess time provides more opportunities for learning and hence, better learning outcomes. However, little research has examined the effects of this assumption, and little is known about the relationship between recess and learning. The purpose of this mixed method quasi-experimental study was to test the massed versus distributed practice theory and the cognitive immaturity theory, and to gain a better understanding of recess and its implications for learning. The quantitative question was designed to determine whether segmenting instructional time with a recess break had an influence on second grade students' oral reading fluency (ORF). Based on an independent-measures t test and a chi-square test of significance, no significant difference was found in ORF gain scores between the second graders who did and did not have a morning recess break, suggesting that segmenting instructional time did not have a significant impact on the student ORF. The qualitative question was designed to examine the connection between recess and learning. After data were coded and an interpretive analysis was conducted, a positive connection was found indicating that recess enhances learning. It was also noted that factors other than the timing of recess may influence children's learning. Results provide support for the inclusion of recess for every child for the development of their psychomotor, affective and cognitive needs. Results also indicate that the long-term effects of providing recess may outweigh the short-term effects of reducing or eliminating recess.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the influence culture has on the decisions Hispanic parents make to aid their children with autism. The research problems addressed are the influences culture may have on how professionals and external family members affect the choices parents make. Cultural and family systems theories formed the conceptual framework for the study. Researchers have found that cultural factors may lead to lower rates of diagnosis in Hispanic children with autism and parents' lack of knowledge of therapies and practices used to treat autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Five research questions guided this study. The focus of the first two questions was how culture may affect families seeking assistance; the focus of the third question pertained to how professionals play a part in therapies chosen; the fourth question focused in on the therapies families are choosing to aid their child with ASD. Finally, the focus of the last question was the involvement of external family members. Themes were highlighted, coded, and interpreted using interpretative analysis. The major themes found through triangulation included professional influences, concerns for children's futures as adults, parental involvement, and personalismo/familismo. The outcomes of the study demonstrate the influence professionals have on the families and the choices families make to aide their children with ASD. The findings can promote positive social change by aiding to inform professionals of the pinnacle role they play in the lives of Hispanic families with children with ASD. These finding will better aide professionals by helping them to understand the Hispanic culture as it may relate to having a child with ASD and thus assist families to understand and acquire needed services.