abstract: This mixed methods action research dissertation examines the effects of implementing growth mindset teaching practices in third grade math as a means to improve student math self-efficacy, math mindset and student achievement. Since the transition to the Pennsylvania Core Standards, students across the state including those in this district have been experiencing a decrease in math achievement in grades three through eight according to the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) the standardized achievement test all public school students take. Locally, traditional interventions such as worksheets, boxed programs, computer-based programs and extra practice have not yielded gains so this intervention focused on developing growth mindset teaching practices in math to answer four research questions. Framed in Dweck’s Implicit Theories of Personal Attributes (1995), Bandura’s description of self-efficacy (1997) and Hall and Hords’ work with teachers in bridging research into practice (2011), this study used Jo Boaler’s, Mathematical Mindset (2015) in a book study with the third-grade teachers. The dissertation study analyzed pre and post survey data from the third-grade class (n=57) on both mindset and self-efficacy. The study also analyzed pre and post survey data from the teachers (n=2) on mindset along with pre and post intervention interviews with the teachers. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis revealed the intervention had a positive effect on teacher mindsets and practices, a positive effect on student mindsets and a positive effect on student math self-efficacy. While the study did not reveal the intervention to have a positive impact on student achievement at this time, previous research included in the literature review cites improvement in student achievement through developing growth mindset thinking. This gives reason to predict that with more time, these students will experience improved achievement in math. Implications from this study include that we should train all math teachers in incorporating growth mindset practices, and that administrators should build the bridge between research and practice for teachers as they implement new teaching practices in effort to positively affect student performance. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2019

The major purpose of this study was to find out how to encourage Title I family engagement as the school funds were decreasing in the next school year. I wanted to determine how to continue, as well as increase, parental engagement at a Title I elementary school in a rural setting.;The Title I program focuses on assisting students who are economically disadvantaged in order to raise their academic skills in the areas of reading and math. The parents of the children eligible for Title I reading services at the time of the study were the participants. I used the Appreciative Inquiry method to gather information from parents. By using a set of appreciative interview questions, I learned the parents' perspective about the reading activities that the school offered to the Title I parents. Parents selected themes from several paired interview sessions. The data analysis of the story circles of parents, frequency analysis of themes, the per capita costs of each activity, and the design team of parents, gave me insight as to what activities attracted parents and why parents chose to participate at school sponsored Title I events at this school. Recommendations for continued family engagement include a challenge to seek ways to engage all families in a school -- family partnerships and to involve parents who could, but who choose not to attend school events.

Kindergarten, first and second grade teachers play an important role in the development of a student's understanding of mathematics. Consequently, in order to improve student achievement in mathematics, it is important to investigate the relationships that may exist among primary teachers' math profile, math teaching efficacy, and math pedagogy and content knowledge. Participants completed an online survey that included the Math Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (MTEBI) and Math Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) items. Participants provided math profile data through academic demographic questions.;Two-hundred seven respondents completed the survey. Analysis of the data included descriptive statistics, chi-square test of independence, and Spearman rho correlations. The descriptive statistics of this sample population indicated varied math professional learning experiences, reserved mathematic teaching efficacy and little expertise in the knowledge of third grade mathematics. Relationships between frequency of math professional learning and math teaching efficacy emerged as statistically significant and merit further investigation. Additional statistically significant relationships occurred between math content knowledge and math teaching efficacy. The strength of these relationships was moderate and warrant further investigation.

Research has established that motivation is an important factor of student achievement. Many researchers in the field of gifted education consider motivation to be a crucial component of giftedness, yet the literature base for motivation and math talent development within gifted populations is scarce. This descriptive study used a within-group design to measure the math motivation, math achievement, and goal orientation of high-ability 5 th grade math students to elucidate the relationships among motivation, achievement, goal orientation, and gender. Findings indicated that math achievement, math motivation, and goal orientation were similar for both genders; students had high math achievement yet low math motivation; and a high number of students had a performance goal orientation. Ideas for future math motivation research for the gifted are shared.;Keywords: gifted math students, math achievement, math motivation, goal orientation.

This study sought to examine relationship between teacher organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), collective teacher efficacy (CTE), and student achievement in urban elementary schools. A convenience sample of 1,327 teachers from 35 elementary schools from a single urban school district completed surveys designed to measure OCB and CTE. Student achievement data were based on performance on the Virginia Standards of Learning exams for grade 3 and 5 mathematics and reading.;Pearson correlation statistics revealed a significant positive relationship between OCB and CTE. Significant positive relationships were found between OCB and student achievement scores in grade 3 mathematics, grade 5 mathematics, and grade 5 reading. CTE demonstrated a significant positive relationship with student achievement scores in grade 3 reading, grade 5 reading, and grade 5 mathematics.;Regression analysis revealed that student socioeconomic status had a negative relationship with student achievement on all measures within each of the three models. Within the model that considered OCB, SES, and student achievement, OCB was found to be a significant predictor of student achievement on the grade 3 mathematics, grade 5 mathematics, and grade 5 reading SOL exams. Within the model that considered CTE, SES, and student achievement, CTE was found to be a significant predictor of student achievement on the grade 3 reading, grade 5 mathematics, and grade 5 reading SOL exams. When all variables were considered simultaneously, OCB was found to be a significant predictor of student achievement on the grade 3 mathematics SOL exam. CTE was not a significant predictor of student achievement on any achievement measure.

The purpose of this study was to examine selected personality characteristics of commitment, control, and challenge as correlates of effective school principals. Twenty-five Directors of Personnel were selected to identify 100 effective school principals. Two to eight principals rated as effective were selected for this research from each of the 25 school systems throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was hypothesized that there is a correlation between selected identified personality characteristics and principals rated as more effective by personnel directors. It was concluded that the selected personality characteristics of commitment, control, and challenge are not correlates of effective principals and that principals rated as more effective do not demonstrate a higher meaning level and purpose to their lives, do not believe that they can control their own destinies and that what happens to them is a result of their own behaviors and attitudes, and do not exhibit more of a judging attitude indicating a willingness to make prompt decisions and to come to conclusions quickly and effectively. Future implications for research and practice are discussed to assist in enabling principals to use proactive coping strategies when dealing with problems, empowering them to positively change the environment and ultimately establish success.

U.S. merchants and traders helped sustain Spanish imperial commercial networks in Venezuela and the Spanish Caribbean. Shipping foodstuffs, arms, re-exported European manufactures, and slaves to the Spanish colonies were profitable enterprises for neutral U.S. traders. Through private negotiations and even Spanish-government contracts, partnerships between Venezuelan and U.S. merchants provided the shipping tonnage and merchandise that Spanish officials and colonial elites needed most to maintain their rule and to fend off the challenges of economic and environmental crises, slave conspiracies, and revolutionary plots before 1810.

No description available.

The use of dogs in a reading program is not a new concept. However, this study addresses the gap in the literature by exploring the connection between reading to dogs, reading self-efficacy, and reading standardized test scores. Using an experimental control group design, this study will look at below-average readers in the fifth grade with half randomly assigned to read once a week to a certified therapy dog and volunteer and the other half randomly assigned to read to just an adult volunteer with no dog. This study will use a reading self-efficacy questionnaire (Carroll & Fox, 2017) and the existing reading standardized test used in the school district. The study should find that reading to dogs has a significant effect on reading self-efficacy and reading standardized test scores. Self-efficacy should mediate the effect of the presence of dogs in the reading group on test scores. This study will contribute to the existing literature on canine-assisted reading programs as well as academic self-efficacy. Though the results are based on local fifth grade students, the study can be replicated in other grades and school districts.

Thesis (M. P. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.