As a American born Cape Verdean educator, I took a special interest in the educational experience of Cape Verdean students, particularly on the elementary school level. During my classroom discussions, conversation with fellow bilingual teachers, parents and other students I discovered that most elementary students know very little about their culture or heritage. After extensive research, including a visit to the Cape Verde Islands I discovered that there was no curriculum on the Cape Verdean culture in the American School system. The purpose of my thesis was to present a rationale for such a curriculum, research all of the essential components of the Cape Verdean culture, and then to actually construct the curriculum. The curriculum is comprised of nine lessons. These lessons are composed of the following: A visual introduction to the Cape Verdean people and life; The Environment of the Cape Verde Islands; A Historical Timeline of Cape Verdean Island; Emigration to America; Crioulo: the Cape Verdean language; Music of the Cape Verdean People; Food in Cape Verdean Life; Cape Verdean Currency; and Folk Tales of the Cape Verdean People. Hopefully this curriculum will be used by elementary teachers to expand the consciousness of all students regarding the Cape Verdean people and their culture. The culture and heritage of the African-American is closely linked to that of the Cape Verdean. The physical characteristics, mannerisms, idiosyncrasies, medicine, diet, and superstitions of both ethnic groups are similar. Since African-Americans and Cape Verdeans are linked in culture and heritage, a curriculum focused on Cape Verdean culture should prove to be a valuable tool for both groups.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to measure the effects of an auditory training program. The primary goal was to investigate whether auditory skills can be taught. A secondary goal was to determine if these auditory processing skills, as defined in the training pro- gram, facilitated growth in overall reading achievement. PROCEDURE: Students from seventeen kindergarten and first grade classrooms in the Branford Public School System were chosen to participate in this study. Schools were randomly Assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in the Auditory Processing Training Program, an Instructional system using audio taped lessons and worksheets, five to fifteen minutes in length, three times weekly for a period of seven Rouths. Both the experimental and control groups were exposed to the traditional basal pro- gran of reading instruction (Ginn 360). In order to equalize treatment among the experimental classrooms, controls were implemented regarding the environment, the teacher's role and the student aides. Three test measures were administered to assess growth to the student's auditory processing, visual perception, and reading achievement skills: the Auditory Processing Test, the Motor Freu Visual Perception Tent, and the Metropolitan Achievement Test. Analyses of covariance were utilized to examine differences between the two groups. The Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was computed to analyze the relationship be- tween auditory and visual perception for the experimental and control group In addition, the treatment group was divided into three levels: high, middle, and low of initial reading achievement scores to determine which group was most affected by the program.

It had in the past been thought that United states history was an essential part of the elementary course of study…

This study presents a plan of approach to the problems that arise in the development of a reading readiness program. It outlines some of the factors that influence reading readiness: it includes a program of procedure for dealing with children who are deficient in some of the factors of reading readiness; it enumerates some of the classroom, and some of the administrative problems that arise in planning a program of this type; and it attempts to eradicate the age old fallacy that a six year old child is ready for the reading process merely because he has passed his sixth birthday.

The major purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teaching practice, student achievement, and the degree to which professional development in low-achieving elementary schools in one suburban Virginia district met the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) standards. Research methods included a self-assessment survey developed by NSDC, teacher interviews, and analyses of student achievement scores using the Virginia Standards of Learning assessments. According to survey results, participating teachers agreed that the NSDC standards were reflected in professional development activities. The standards of Equity and Quality Teaching were reported to be implemented to the greatest degree in professional development activities, while Resources was the standard implemented the least. On both the self-assessment surveys and the interviews, teachers in 100% of the schools reported changes in their teaching of English as a result of professional development. The percentage agreeing that their teaching of mathematics had changed as a result of professional development was much lower (83% according to survey results and 50% according to teacher interviews).;A significant correlation was not observed between the survey results and teacher interviews. Further, a correlation between the level of implementation of the NSDC standards and student achievement as measured by the Standards of Learning assessments was found to be not significant.

With the implementation of No Child Left Behind, schools have been challenged to maintain Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) for low achieving subpopulations. Current research supported by historical data suggests that African American parent involvement could possibly be the missing link to African American student achievement. This study explores the possible connection between African American parent perceptions of their school involvement and student achievement. It surveyed 738 fourth grade parents from five Title I and five Non-Title I schools to see if there was a significant difference between the parent involvement perceptions of African American Parents and Non-African American Parents, as well as investigated the possible relationship of these perceptions to student achievement. Although a correlation was not found between African American parent perceptions and student achievement, other comparative analyses done indicates that there are interesting similarities and differences between Title I and Non-Title I parent populations. These findings may contribute to existing research concerning school factors that can be enhanced in order to encourage parent involvement. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed.

For the first time in 15 years in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a major restructuring in the elementary and secondary education finance formula was enacted during the 1988 General Assembly and revenue for education was increased by {dollar}576 million for the upcoming biennium. The overriding purpose of these modifications was to reduce disparities between more and less affluent school systems. The problem of educational disparity is not unique to Virginia. Over the last 20 years, between 60 and 70 individual pieces of litigation have been filed, contesting the constitutionality of public school finance systems in 41 of the United States. In 1990 alone, state courts found three states' education funding formulae to be in violation of those states' constitutions, and the state of Kentucky called for the restructuring of the entire system of public education. The Coalition for Equity in Education Funding filed suit against the Commonwealth of Virginia in the circuit court for the city of Richmond on June 12, 1992. The suit, which was filed on behalf of 31 local school boards and students in those school divisions, asked the court for a judgment declaring that the current system of funding public elementary and secondary schools to be declared unconstitutional because it denies children from less affluent school divisions an educational opportunity that is equal to that of children who attend public school in wealthier divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia.;The purpose of this study is to analyze the Virginia school finance system in order to determine: (1) whether disparities in revenue for education have been reduced between pupils in high and low fiscal capacity school divisions as a result of the 1988 changes in the financing system in education, and (2) if the relationship between a locality's fiscal capacity and its educational expenditure has changed subsequent to the 1988 Virginia General Assembly's restructuring of the school financing system.;Five research questions were investigated using a correlational methodology. Upon analyzing the data, the following are some of the conclusions drawn: (1) When range was used, the disparity increased between 1988 and 1992; (2) A high positive correlation does exist between ability-to-pay as measured by the composite index and total per pupil expenditure; and (3) A high positive correlation does exist between per pupil expenditure from local funds and total per pupil expenditure. Recommendations are made for future research.

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of the use of microcomputers together with the Language Experience Approach in first-grade classrooms for the teaching of writing. Sample and procedure. The research program involved 111 children from four first-grade classrooms which were chosen on the basis of equivalent socio-economic levels and academic achievement. Three methods of teaching writing were studied: a computer program for word processing, the Language Experience Recorder (LER), concurrent with the Language Experience Approach; the Language Experience Approach (LEA) without computers; and the Basal approach generally used by teachers of the basal reader. Two classrooms were taught with LER, one with LEA and one with Basal. Ten compositions were collected from each child over a period of time from March, 1987 to June, 1987. The first two were evaluated as pretest stories, the last two were evaluated as post-test stories. Four evaluative measures were used to analyze the children's progress: the standardized measure Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS); two computer programs, LER and PC-Style; and a checklist designed by the research. An initial statistical measure, analysis of variance (ANOVA), was used to determine comparability of the groups. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine significance between scores obtained by the three groups, and independent t tests were used to determine gains within the groups. Ten hypotheses dealt with such components of writing as story length, specific vocabulary use, work length, meaning units, use of compound and complex sentences, unification, and percent of personal words, and with growth in reading and language ability. Results. While all groups gained in writing proficiency, the LEA group made the most gains, scoring high in number of words, meaning units, use of compound and complex sentences, unification, and on the language section of the CTBS. The Basal group scored high on specific vocabulary, average word length and reading on the CTBS. The LER group scored high in use of personal words. The rank order of each group for each measure was relatively stable for the duration of the project. Because length of time spent in writing in individual classrooms and consistency of editing assistance were not controlled, the results of scores between groups were not comparable. However, gains within groups provided significant data and revealed growth in all groups on a majority of the components tested. One-to-one editing sessions with the classroom teacher may have had the greatest influence on first-grade writers. The consistency of one editor with expertise in positive criticism appeared to result in longer, richer and more cohesive compositions. The computer was found to be a valid instrument for teaching writing in first grade, as well as for increasing interest in writing and enhancing children's self-esteem.

This study was developed to identify the specific instructional and professional differences among the most effective, moderately effective, and least effective Grade 4 and Grade 5 teachers of mathematics in one Florida school district. The purpose of this study was to determine the professional preparation, beliefs about student learning, professional practices, (e.g., professional development, planning, reflection, and collaboration with colleagues), and instructional differences among the effectiveness groups of Grade 4 and Grade 5 teachers of mathematics. Mathematics teachers have the responsibility to engage and encourage students to be mathematical thinkers and problem solvers that value mathematics and strive for the best standards (Hattie, 2009). This study applied a mixed-methods approach to gather data from teachers of Grade 4 and Grade 5 mathematics in one Florida school district by utilizing teacher effectiveness scores derived from value-added model and the Elementary Mathematics Teacher Survey© to gather information on teacher: (a) professional preparation, (b) beliefs about student learning, (c) professional practices, and (d) confidence in instructional strategies. The findings of this study expanded the work of previous researchers in improving the effectiveness of elementary mathematics teachers. While no statistically significant results were revealed in the sample population of this study, all the most effective participants had mathematics education in their professional preparation. In addition, all the most effective participants believed students could improve their mathematical learning and school district professional learning contributed to their effectiveness. Furthermore, at least weekly, all most effective participants: (a) modeled accurate academic language, (b) maintained classroom routines, (c) provided feedback, and (d) differentiated instruction. Qualitative findings were summarized from open-ended responses and the themes in the most effectiveness group included: (a) building relationships, (b) differentiating instruction, and (c) providing feedback. The findings of this study assisted school-level and district-level leaders in improving the effectiveness of elementary mathematics teachers.

This nontraditional dissertation is designed to research three separate, but connected, topics of inquiry. The first study is a systematic review of literature intended to better understand how the field has conceptualized and researched relations of power, specifically relations of authority, autonomy, and agency. In this study, I aim to answer two research questions: 1) How has authority, autonomy, and agency been conceptualized in the field of mathematics education over time and from what epistemological perspectives? 2) What results, findings, and themes characterize authority, autonomy, and agency within the field of mathematics education? The second and third studies use data collected from an eight-week observation of a first-grade mathematics classroom. The second study is an interactional ethnographic investigation of the eight-week observational period. In this study, I explore the following research question: What authorities do students socially construct over time in a first-grade mathematics classroom? I found that students constructed two kinds of authority: Mathematical and Ritual. Implications for future research are shared. The third study also uses the data collected from the eight-week observational period. It employs a microethnographic approach to analyze the data collected during the observational period. In this study, I make visible the social construction of opportunities for learning. I explore the following research question: How do students socially construct opportunities to learn over time in a first-grade mathematics classroom? Through tracing a singular utterance, "help," students made visible the ways in which they constructed different opportunities for learning. Implications for research are shared.