Thesis (Ed. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2005. / "Publication number AAT 3228655 "

Thesis (D.Mus.)-University of Pretoria, 2005. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 8, 2007). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Liberty University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

<p> American students&rsquo; continued struggle with math proficiency has led to a body of research defining effective instructional principles for math. Those principles have been incorporated into interventions for students struggling with mathematical word problems. One such intervention utilizes a &ldquo;cognitive-metacognitive&rdquo; approach to solving any type of word problem. The &ldquo;cognitive-metacognitive&rdquo; approach teaches students to use a set of directive steps to work through a problem and to use a set of self-reflective steps to help the student understand, implement, and monitor each directive step. <i>Solve It!</i>, a commercially available cognitive-metacognitive intervention for word problem-solving, and variations of <i>Solve It!</i> have been found effective for students with various disabilities. Many of the populations that are subject to the existing body of research relating to <i>Solve It!</i> and variations of <i> Solve It!</i> display executive functioning deficits that are targeted by self-reflective steps included in the intervention. Students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are one population that often display executive function deficits; however, no published research has examined the effectiveness of <i>Solve It!</i> or variations of <i>Solve It!</i> with this population. The present study builds on the existing research examining the effectiveness of <i>Solve It!</i> and variations of <i>Solve It!</i> by examining the effectiveness of a variation of <i>Solve It!</i> with three 4^th-grade students diagnosed with ADHD.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of the study was to explore how the use of technology can support parent/caregiver-teacher communications, thus allowing for parent/caregiver-teacher involvement through contemporary approaches. The study looked at how parent/caregivers and teachers define parent/caregiver involvement, what they see as barriers to parent/caregiver involvement, and how they believe technology can support the involvement experience.</p><p> The review of literature examines varying factors that influence parent/caregivers&rsquo; level of involvement in their children&rsquo;s schooling, as well as three major influences that have the greatest impact on student achievement: family, school, and community. It also identifies barriers to parent/caregiver involvement. Although challenges exist at the family, school, and community levels, the review of literature shows that the child receives maximum benefit when all parties collaborate.</p><p> Interviews and surveys reveal how parent/caregivers and teachers of third-graders feel about parent/caregiver involvement and how technology affects communications between parent/caregivers and teachers. Findings indicate that parent/caregivers and teachers believe the use of technology supports parent/caregiver-teacher communications, therefore fostering parent/caregiver involvement. They believe it eases communication processes and allows parent/caregivers to be involved despite busy schedules. Parent/caregivers and teachers communicated that they still desire personal conversations with one another to address topics of concern, but, overall, they feel technology cultivates and supports parent/caregiver involvement.</p><p>

Over the past three decades curriculum scholars have failed to address environmental education through joint local, national, and/or global research initiatives, leaving UNESCO as an underpinning force in legitimizing and institutionalizing environmental education globally. This critical discourse analysis examines the connection between UNESCO's historical discourse on environmental education and the Ontario elementary science and technology curriculum. As a study grounded in curriculum theory, it leads to a nuanced understanding of the extent to which the local discourse reinscribes and/or subverts the global discourse on environmental education. The study also engages a postcolonial deconstruction of the discourse, exploring how the global and local discursive trends work to colonize or decolonize our relationship with the environment. This study reveals that what is important is not whether or not UNESCO's dominant discourse on environmental education is reinscribed and/or subverted in the local curriculum. But, rather how both contribute to the complicated discussion on environmental education.

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Latino parental involvement on children&rsquo;s mathematical skills development and to increase family participation in and out of school with Take-Home Math Literacy Bags. The participants in the study were 13 preschoolers 3 to 5 years of age from a private urban bilingual child care program in northern New Jersey. The researcher conducted a 4-week bilingual (Spanish/English) family math program for Latino English Language Learner families. Data were collected through the use of pre/post student assessment interviews, family pre/post surveys, family experience surveys, researcher journal and anecdotes, and teacher interview and notes. Data analysis revealed improvement in the participants&rsquo; counting, shape recognition skills, and increased visits to the math center. Findings also indicated that Latino families enjoyed using the Take-Home Math Literacy Bags and that they helped them support their children&rsquo;s math skills at home. </p><p>

<p> Since the implementation of the New York State Common Core Standards, two primary problems have arisen for elementary instrumental music teachers. First, instrumental music teachers' time to work with students is diminishing. The demands of the rigorous curriculums developed to teach the Common Core Standards create a climate where English Language Arts and Math have precedence over all other subject areas. Music is a core subject in New York State but how it appears in the school day can vary from school district to school district. Second, students are assigned so much more homework causing parents to have reservations about engaging them in other activities but many still involve their children in music. These parents have a set of acquired dispositions of thought, behavior, and taste regarding music or a musical habitus (Bourdieu &amp; Wacquant, 1992; Rimmer, 2006).</p><p> This study identifies and explores the musical habitus of parents of students at a K-5 elementary school within a large economically diverse suburban school district in upstate New York. General music classes are part of each elementary school's master schedule and families have the option to participate in an elementary band or orchestra program. Specifically, the author seeks to understand the <i>musical habitus</i> of parents whose children are participating in the elementary orchestra.</p><p> The analytical and theoretical framework used by the author for this research is grounded in Bourdieu's (1986, 1992) theory of capital, with a focus on his notion of habitus and Epstein's (2010) theory of overlapping spheres of influence. Bourdieu's concept of habitus has been extended into the arts in general and to music in particular to examine the way in which people's individual histories, class origins, family backgrounds and educational opportunities interact to compose their ongoing relationship with the arts. Rimmer (2006) describes a <i>musical habitus</i> as an active, adaptive and generative action in sustaining musical meanings, and the structures in which they are embedded. Epstein's work focuses on one part of Bourdieu's concept of field by uniting home and school for the families involved. Understanding the level at which these three areas must interact will be a focus in the analysis of data. Together, they served as a lens to understand the musical habitus of the parents and why music is valued. This study challenges orchestra directors and administrators to understand why parents encourage and perpetuate their child's participation in instrumental music when balancing the daily schedules of their students.</p><p>