The purpose of this study was to investigate the teaching of photography in the elementary school as a means of enhancing the development of visual awareness in children. Studies have shown that children's visual perception development can be advanced through training programs that encourage observation and responsive selection of visual stimuli. Because perceptual development is one of the goals of art education, the development of art curricula that can best account for children's perceptual growth is warranted. The photography curriculum developed in this study attempts to enhance the perceptual development of children.In Chapter I, the problem area was discussed and procedures for conducting the study were established. The problem was two-fold and questioned first whether or not a taxonomy of visual perception skills could be developed and used for the identification of educational goals and objectives, and second what black and white photographic projects should be included in a visual perceptual curriculum. Strategies were presented to insure a detailed and systematic examination of the perception and photography areas.Chapter II included an examination of the background literature pertinent to the development of the problem. The two areas covered were: 1) children's visual perceptual development, and 2) the teaching of photography. An analysis of selected perceptual theories and conditions important to the development of a taxonomy was presented in Chapter III. Due to the excessive number of perceptual theories found in the literature, only the theories of Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, Eleanor Gibson, James Gibson, June McFee, Viktor Lowenfeld, along with some of the theories concerning Gestalt psychology, perceptual orientation, perceptual sets, and motivation were included. None of these theories attempted to provide all the answers to perception, but each was used as an empirical base from which a taxonomy of visual perception skills was developed.In Chapter IV a taxonomy was presented for classifying the various visual perception concepts and skills into an organized structure. Taxonomic systems have been used in diverse educational situations for identifying goals and objectives. From an analysis of the visual perception literature, the major components of perception discussed by the various authors were isolated and organized into a workable list. Each component was defined and analyzed to determine similarities and differences. From the analysis the following major categories were chosen to comprise the taxonomy:1.00 Perception of Form2.00 Perception of Space3.00 Perception of Movement and Events4.00 Perception of Illusions5.00 Perception of RepresentationsFinally, in Chapter V the material presented in the previous chapters was synthesized into a photography curriculum for the elementary school. The taxonomy developed in Chapter IV was the system used for identifying the major goals and objectives required for enhancing the perceptual development of children. If the goal of art education is the development of children's visual awareness, then a properly structured photography program may provide the necessary educational experiences for this development.Based on the study and a review of the literature, the author concluded that photography can be singled out as a potentially viable method for stimulating visual awareness in children. However, photography remains one of the least understood and investigated communication mediums. Children today live in a highly visual society that constantly bombards them with instant communication media. Therefore, further investigations need to take place to reveal the educational potentialities which photography has for the elementary school curriculum.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

<p> The percentage of male teachers is at its lowest number in 40 years. The problem is that fewer males are choosing elementary teaching as a career choice. As a result, many elementary students rarely see a male teacher during their formative education years. This issue is a concern for superintendents, college of education deans, recruiters, school administrators, and parents whose children are not being exposed to a diverse teacher workforce that includes male elementary teachers. The purpose of this study was to better define and understand the unique experiences of male elementary teachers in today's classroom. The conceptual framework for the study incorporated Levinson's adult male development theory, Palmer's teaching landscape, and Mezirow's transformative learning theory. This qualitative study investigated the experience of 6 male elementary teachers in 3 different school districts in a southeastern state. This study followed Moustakas's phenomenological method utilizing criterion sampling. Data were collected, analyzed, and coded for preliminary categories and themes. Four themes emerged: (1) male role modeling, (2) readying students, (3) establishing mentoring relationships, and (4) mattering. The findings show that male elementary teachers are a crucial voice for some students, and they fulfill a needed role in the elementary school. This study addresses positive social change by providing a voice for the male elementary teacher, a diminishing but important teaching population, while also illustrating how the male elementary teacher's presence in the classroom can serve as a positive role model, mentor, and diverse elementary learning experience for the children. </p>

<p> The purpose of this dissertation was to document, analyze, understand, and describe how the environmental virtue ethics of undergraduate students were impacted after participating in a service-learning project designed to establish a new university garden. This service-learning project occurred during the fall semester of 2011, on the campus of Lighthouse University, a mid-size Catholic college campus that is located in an urban area of Southern California. The service-learning component was embedded within one environmental ethics course. Over the course of one sixteen-week academic semester, thirty undergraduates, between the ages of 18-23, each volunteered ten hours in this new on-campus garden. In addition to the student volunteer work, one of the complimentary course components required students to attend a speaking engagement hosted by Dr. Vandana Shiva, a world-renowned environmentalist. The action researcher, served as the catalyst, recorder, and facilitator of this service-learning project. In these roles, the action researcher mobilized members of the university, volunteers from the broader community, and local master gardeners to work side by side with the undergraduate students in the garden. After a qualitative analysis was conducted through the procedures of action research, local recommendations were generated in order to assist future garden-based curricular and co-curricular activities.</p>

<p> The current case study was conducted to examine the perceptions of English learners (ELs) who have not been reclassified after attending a public school for at least 6 years, as well as the perceptions of their teachers. The research questions this study investigated were: (1) What do nonreclassified ELs in the sixth grade perceive as the challenges faced during the process of acquiring academic English? and (2) What do teachers of ELs perceive are the factors that impede ELs' development of academic English proficiency, preventing them from being reclassified by the end of six years in a public school? The conceptual framework consisted of five concepts: (a) historical, political and social influences on ELs, (b) programs for ELs, (c) a description of ELs, (d) the problems of reclassification and the characteristics of long-term English learners (LTELs), and (e) teacher expectations. The theoretical foundation informing this study was critical care to counter deficit-based thinking. The goal of the study was not to critique individual teachers but to examine what was happening in the profession of teaching that was impacting some students' ability to become proficient in English. This study included focus groups and one-on-one interviews, as well as an examination of report card comments. The study utilized purposeful sampling. Five teachers and six students were interviewed. There were five themes derived from both teachers' and students' perceptions in reference to the research questions: (a) the EL profile, (b) teacher perceptions of parents (c) connecting to the learning and to motivation, (d) engagement in learning and teaching, and (e) instruction. Overall, the findings support that teachers' perceptions are grounded in deficit thinking, and the student responses indicated they had internalized these beliefs themselves. However, this study explained teacher and student perceptions using a strengths-based approach to demonstrate how to support ELs. Educators may find it useful to interview their own students as a form of self-review process in order to become more aware of their teaching methods and how students internalize the instruction.</p>

<p> The purpose of this case study was to explore the effects of a literature-based social-emotional learning curriculum on kindergarten students' social-emotional behaviors, awareness, and early reading skills in a large elementary school. The study examined beliefs/perceptions of kindergarten teachers in regards to what reading skills students possess, the progress students make during a semester, how social-emotional skills affect the classroom environment and whether a literature-based social-emotional learning curriculum has a general impact. Two experimental and two control teachers participated in the study. There were fifty-three (N = 53) students who participated in the study. Forty (N = 40) students were assessed due to time constraints; twenty (N = 20) in the experimental group, twenty (N = 20) in the control group. Students were assessed using the <i>Assessment of Children's Emotion Skills</i> test, (Schultz, Izard, &amp; Bear, 2004) to measure social awareness and emotional accuracy skills and the <i>Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills</i> (DIBELS) Next Assessment (Dynamic Measurement Group, 2011) to measure first sound and letter naming fluency both before and after implementation of Strong Start, the literature-based social skills curriculum. Qualitative data collected included teacher interviews, teacher reflective journals, fidelity check observations, communication logs, and researcher field notes. </p><p> Results showed that while there was a change in scores on the ACES and <i> DIBELS Next</i> assessments from pretest to posttest for all groups and from experimental to control group, scores were not comparatively statistically different. The change in scores could not be attributed to the social-emotional learning curriculum. Gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, nor group had any effect on the scores for the ACES. However, white children did better than "other" students on the letter naming fluency <i>DIBELS Next</i> subtest. Experimental group students did not lose ground in reading, improved their problem-solving skills and enriched their social-emotional vocabulary. The data revealed classroom schedules filled with primarily teacher driven activities, core academics, and structure. Teachers changed their own behaviors by focusing on students' social-emotional skills and behaviors, teaching social-emotional skills formally and explicitly, and by modeling social-emotional skills.</p>

<p> Educating children is a costly endeavor; however, when children with special needs enter kindergarten unprepared emotionally, socially, or academically, the increased costs and support systems have to be absorbed by the schools and communities. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference between the academic achievement of students participating in Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) compared to students without ECSE services with DIAL-3 scores ranked in the 20^th percentile or below. Achievement scores for second and third graders in one urban school district were utilized to compare the scores of ECSE and non-ECSE students. The sample included the TerraNova and Performance Series assessment scaled scores of 30 ECSE students and 30 non-ECSE students for a total of 60 students from academic years 2008 to 2012 from the participating school district. A stratified sampling was utilized within the two groups of students' assessment scores. Standard calculations included means, standard deviations, and a <i> t</i>-test. When comparing the second grade achievement scores, ECSE students had statistically significant gains on the overall scaled scores than the non-ECSE students. When comparing the third grade Performance Series reading, language arts, and math scaled scores of the ECSE students to the non-ECSE students, the ECSE students had statistically higher achievement scaled scores compared to the non-ECSE students. When comparing the third grade Performance Series reading and language arts standard item pool scores of the ECSE students to the non-ECSE students, the ECSE students had statistically higher achievement standard item pool compared to the non-ECSE students. The Performance Series standard item pool scores were not statistically significant between the two groups.</p>

<p>A Response-to-Intervention (RTI) model of educational service delivery is a multi-tiered, preventative approach designed to meet the educational and behavioral needs of all learners. While the New York State (NYS) Department of Education has mandated the use of this model in grades K&ndash;4, the extent to which RTI competencies are taught within teacher training programs is unclear. Therefore, examination of pre-service teachers' perceptions of RTI knowledge and skills, as well as their perceptions about the amount of focus on RTI skills within training programs was conducted. Participants were recruited from NYS-approved undergraduate teacher training programs leading to certification birth to grade six. Results indicated that pre-service teachers hold a positive view of the RTI model. More specifically, respondents reported high levels of self-confidence in consultation and collaboration skills, combined with moderate levels of self-confidence in teaching and intervention skills. Assessment and data-based decision making skills, including interpretation of universal screening and progress monitoring data, identification of reading skill deficits, and selection of interventions were rated the lowest. Respondents rated higher levels of self-confidence related to the use of general teaching principles compared to knowledge of reading development or the selection and implementation of interventions for at-risk learners. Additionally, participants from TEAC-accredited programs reported significantly higher perceptions about the RTI model than those from NCATE-accredited programs. Lastly, participants seeking a dual certification (i.e., general and special education) reported receiving significantly greater focus on RTI concepts within the training program than respondents enrolled in programs leading to only general or special education certification. Implications for research and practice are provided. </p>

<p> The perception of higher self-efficacy in young children has been determined to be a better predictor of intellectual and academic performance than simply the acquisition of skills alone. This empirical qualitative single-case study was conducted in order to explore the influence of self-efficacy instruction on perceptions toward and achievement in mathematics among a class of fourth grade students in rural Oregon. Pre- and post-intervention assessments of students' self-efficacy were employed using the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment-Youth Version (SEI-YV). The SEI-YV was used to ascertain the status and possible growth in the three self-efficacy competencies of exercising optimism, enhancing emotional literacy, and engaging intrinsic motivation (Six Seconds, 2011). Student and parent pre-and post-intervention surveys, daily student journals, and field notes were used to triangulate and support outcomes. The Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) was used to measure possible growth in mathematics skills. This case study was conducted for three months and involved students in lessons specifically designed for fourth graders. Student self-efficacy scores rose by an average of five points. Students' active participation in this intervention contributed to their academic success as evidenced by the OAKS and sample OAKS. The number of students passing the pre-intervention OAKS equaled five. The number of students passing the post-intervention sample OAKS was 13, more than double that of the pre-intervention number of students. This study may offer a basis from which to launch other researchers into investigating the use of self-efficacy at varying intervals for mathematics instruction with elementary level students. Adjustments to various conditions used in this research as well as the incorporation of additional variables not used here could provide valuable data and insights into the specifics of self-efficacy and, perhaps, the entire range of social emotional learning. It may be that the development of self-efficacy competencies in the earlier years of formalized schooling leads to greater academic success in mathematics than if done in later years. The social and academic changes possible through this type of mathematics coursework at the fourth-grade level has far-reaching and intriguing ramifications.</p>

<p> Research shows that biases exist in regard to teacher nominations for gifted programs in the areas of student gender, ethnicity, and SES. On the other hand, there is a lack of research regarding behavioral characteristics of the student and the impact of those characteristics on teacher nominations to a gifted program. Additionally, there is a paucity of research that has examined the collective impact of behavioral characteristics of the student in conjunction with other student attributes such as gender, ethnicity, SES, and teacher nominations to gifted programs. For purposes of this study, the behavioral characteristics discussed were positive and negative gifted characteristics found in the literature. This was a quantitative research study using survey research where participants were asked to read and respond to a case vignette. Participants were 633 elementary education teachers from two mid-size school districts in the Southeastern United States. Each participant was randomly assigned one of 16 case vignettes. Eight of the vignettes depicted a student displaying positive gifted characteristics, while the other eight depicted a student displaying negative gifted characteristics. The other student characteristics of gender, ethnicity, and SES were interchangeable among the 16 vignettes. The results of this study show that the student's behavior does play a significant role in the teacher's nomination decision for the gifted program. Results indicated students displaying positive gifted characteristics were three times more likely to be nominated to a gifted program than a student exhibiting negative gifted characteristics. When stratified by various student characteristics (i.e. gender, ethnicity, and SES), teacher nominations were significantly associated with student behavior, with students exhibiting positive gifted characteristics more likely to be nominated than those displaying negative gifted characteristics.</p>