<p> Historically, school counselors have been the primary facilitators in supporting the career and college transition process for students, but many school counselors do not have the knowledge, resources, or materials to support students in this transition (Belasco, 2013). One way to help support career and college readiness is to develop comprehensive career and college readiness plans that involve more stakeholders than just the counselor and engage the community in supporting students to define and prepare for their paths for after high school (Alleman &amp; Holly, 2013). This convergent parallel mixed methods study investigated what educators,students, and community partners in rural Oregon think is important to include in a career and college readiness plan that supports all students. I used Bronfenbrenner&rsquo;s (1994) Ecological Model of Human Development to inform my data collection activities, casting a wide net to identify the stakeholder groups that have a potential impact on supporting students in their pursuit of a career or college education beyond high school. The qualitative data came from interviews with five Douglas County high school career and college readiness teams (<i>n</i> = 8 participants), three student focus groups (<i>n</i> = 24), and two partner meetings (<i>n</i> = 15). The quantitative data was gathered through a career and college readiness survey administered to the staff and faculty at 14 Douglas County high schools (<i>n</i> = 74 respondents). I used Farrell &amp; Coburn&rsquo;s (2016) Absorptive Capacity Theory as the lens through which to analyze the data, coding for the theory&rsquo;s constructs around how prior knowledge, communication pathways, strategic knowledge leadership, and resources for partnering can be shared and leveraged between high schools and external partners. Findings from this study provide lessons learned about what should be included in a rural high schools&rsquo; career and college readiness plan that will help rural communities better support students in their transitions beyond high school.</p><p>

<p> A great amount of research has shown the importance of the teacher-student relationship, especially as it relates to students&rsquo; academic, and social and emotional outcomes. Pianta (1999) explains that the relationship between children, teachers, and non-parental adults have a significant role in the students&rsquo; development of competencies, their social and emotional wellbeing, and their willingness to participate in school regularly. Ellerbrock, Abbas, DiCicco, Denmon, Sabella, and Hart (2015) also agree that through meaningful relationships grounded in genuine care, educators nurture a responsive classroom environment that can help set the foundation for student success. This study examines the relationship between Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) students in grades 11 and 12 and their AVID teachers. Participants of the study were from five local high schools in one school district. Data was collected from students surveyed on their relationship with their AVID teachers of whom they have had over their AVID career. Measurements such as using a Likert scale survey and focus group interviews were used to determine the influence the participants&rsquo; AVID teacher(s) had on the participants&rsquo; academics, social and emotional growth, and a willingness to attend school regularly. Results of the measuring tools reveal a strong correlation between the relationship of the AVID teacher and the impact it has on the participant, especially the positive influence in academics and social and emotional outcomes.</p><p>

<p> The achievement gap in American schools between middle class students and students from poverty is well documented. This paper outlines the findings of a study designed to explore the experience and conscientization of struggling students from poverty. The argument will be made that poverty can be viewed as a culture and that this view may shed significant light on the dynamics of the achievement gap. Further, using the construct of poverty as a culture provides real life applications that have the potential to impact the achievement gap. The study explored the lived experiences in a public school setting of intermediate students from poverty, hoping to capture their voice and insights. The research utilized a Critical Pedagogical Approach to attempt to understand why American schools struggle with these populations and what could be done to address the achievement gap.</p><p>

<p> Our school systems are in place to create positive citizens who can contribute to the greater good and to also create a foundation for a life of learning. Schools were originally formed to help our country become stronger in its infancy by generating a population that had common knowledge, baseline skills, especially in literacy, and the ability to be citizens who could move the country forward and keep leaders honest. The same holds true today. However, research is showing that one out of five high-school students is dropping out of school and not graduating within the traditional four-years of high-school. Why students drop out of high-school, and how that may be prevented, is a topic much discussed and researched. The future of non-graduates is grim and the negative impact to society is costly. </p><p> What are common characteristics of students who drop out from high-school? How might educators better the odds for at-risk students? What can we point to that leads other students to find success? The ninth-grade year is a vital one for the success of students in high-school. The skills students build in the ninth-grade will, in large part, determine how they succeed in the latter parts of high-school and beyond. Research shows that the brain continues to grow well beyond the high-school years and there is no limit to the learning of new skills and knowledge. Non-cognitive characteristics also play a key role in the level of success one achieves. While intelligence can serve as a predictor of success at some level, it is not as strong of a determiner as some non-cognitive characteristics that have been identified. </p><p> In this study, the characteristic of grit was looked at to determine if there was a correlation between grit and academic success in ninth-grade students. A quantitative approach was applied to gathering data from ninth-grade students from a rural school district in Washington State. The theoretical frameworks used as a lens throughout this process were Bandura&rsquo;s Social Cognitive Theory and Dweck&rsquo;s Mindset Theory. The foundational belief of Social Cognitive Theory is that people learn from other people. According to this theory, our beliefs and actions are determined by what we experience with, and witness in, other people. Our choices are shaped by our understanding of how our behaviors lead to a better life through what we have seen in those around us. Dweck&rsquo;s Mindset Theory works to explain what propels people to be successful. The Mindset Theory also focuses on determination, goal setting, and a desire to better oneself while challenging the high-praise society that students live in today. Dweck differentiates between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset in a person. This theory states that in the fixed mindset, things are set and very little can change in a person. In this way of thinking, things are what they are with little hope of change. The opposite way of thinking is having a growth mindset. A growth mindset is the belief that we are constantly growing and bettering ourselves throughout our lives. It is the belief that we can and should learn more and continue to build our skills. Dweck states that our brain is a muscle that can be developed and improved upon over time. These frameworks were chosen because grit is a characteristic that is deeply influenced by our experiences with other people and also influenced by the mindset in which people choose to live. With a growth mindset, we can improve the characteristic of grit over time. While grit may be partially inherent, it is a characteristic that can be taught, learned, and improved upon. Duckworth believes that grit is important in understanding and supporting student success. This study specifically looks at grit and whether the presence of grit may lead to greater academic success in ninth-grade students.</p><p>

<p> Racial microaggressions are present in daily classroom interactions between White teachers and students of color. White teachers, however, may be oblivious to the types of racial microaggressions they exhibit and how they perform them in their classrooms. Using autoethnographic research methods, this study seeks to expose implicit racial bias into explicit moments of teacher decision-making, transform dysconscious racism into conscious and concrete thoughts, and interpret previously unseen racist acts into seen and recognizable activities. The study asks the following research questions: (a) When and how do I permit my racial microaggressions to emerge and transgress in my classroom? And (b) In what ways, if at all, can a White teacher use autoethnography to detect and examine her racial microaggressions toward her students of color? Later, the study explores the ways in which critical self-reflexivity might promote an evolving anti-racist teaching identity. </p><p> The researcher, a classroom teacher, gathered data using daily reflective self-observations, daily reflexive field note journals, and periodic videotaping of her practice. She commenced the study with an introductory culturegram positioning her racial and cultural self-identity and concluded it with a final self-interview to complete the data-gathering. The researcher categorized each microaggressive event by form, medium, and theme using Sue&rsquo;s (2010b) &ldquo;Taxonomy of Microaggressions.&rdquo; Findings reveal (a) uninterrogated Whiteness dominates all aspects of the researcher&rsquo;s classroom, extending from her teaching to her White students&rsquo; behaviors and (b) transitional time, non-academic teacher talk, and other unstructured time remain especially hazardous for students of color in terms of receiving teacher-perpetuated racial microaggressions.</p><p>

<p> Post-secondary student retention and persistence is on the minds of professionals at various higher learning institutions due to the disparities in educational attainment. These disparities may lead to inhibited social mobility, and lack of cultural and social capital. This study examined what factors Southern Connecticut State University sophomore students perceived as aiding or impeding their degree path. It questioned how underrepresented students shaped their perception on their educational attainment and how this compares to the existing research and literature on the success practices of underrepresented students in higher education. The study was conducted using open-ended semi-structured interview questions administered to second year sophomore students at Southern Connecticut State University. Specifically, they were underrepresented students defined as being low-income, racial minority, and first-generation students. This study aimed to explore the narrative of underrepresented students by exploring why college access doesn&rsquo;t necessarily result in college completion. </p><p>

<p> The accelerated growth of 1:1 educational computing initiatives has challenged digital equity with a three-tiered, socioeconomic digital divide: (a) access, (b) higher order uses, and (c) user empowerment and personalization. As the access gap has been closing, the exponential increase of 1:1 devices threatens to widen the second and third digital divides. Using critical theory, specifically, critical theory of technology and critical pedagogy, and a qualitative case study design, this research explored the experiences of a middle school categorized under California criteria as &ldquo;socioeconomically disadvantaged&rdquo;. This study contributes to critical theory on technology within an educational setting, as well as provides voice to the experiences of teachers and students with economic disadvantages experiencing the phenomena of 1:1 computing.</p><p> Using observational, interview, and school document data, this study asked the question: To what extent do 1:1 technology integration uses and associated pedagogical practices foster <i>Margins of Maneuver</i> in an eighth grade comprised of a student population that is predominantly economically disadvantaged? Probing two key markers of Margins of Maneuver, student agency and participation, the study found: (a) a technology-enhanced learning culture; (b) a teacher shift to facilitator roles; (c) instances of engaged, experiential, and inquiry learning and higher order technology uses; (d) in-progress efforts to strengthen student voice and self-identity. Accompanying the progress in narrowing economically based digital divides, the data also demonstrated some tension with the <i>knowledge economy. </i> Nevertheless, sufficient margins existed, associated with one-to-one uses and practices, to result in micro-resistances characterized by assertion of student agency and democratization potential.</p><p>

<p>The disproportionate nature of special education, notably with African American students, is longstanding and most pronounced in judgmental eligibility categories such as intellectual disability and emotional disturbance. Numerous studies on disproportionality conclude there is not a single causative factor, but point to the multifactorial nature of the issue and the complex interplay among different factors. Research related to the role social factors exhibited in an institution have on special education referral and eligibility determination is more limited. This is important since practices employed during the eligibility process take place within the institution?s social environment and are underpinned by the beliefs and values of those that administer the process. By employing a mixed methods study design, the author examined the following questions: 1) are minority students, particularly African American elementary school students, more likely to be disproportionately represented in special education eligibilities across school districts in the county, and if so which ones; 2) within the referral and eligibility process employed, what criteria are used to determine the eligibility emotional disturbance; and 3) do the commonly held perceptions and practices present within the school district?s culture influence the process and decision-making for eligibility? Quantitative data were obtained from appropriate Illinois State Board of Educations (ISBE) websites and through a Freedom of Information Act request to the State Board of Education for specific data and statistics related to the special education population for 116 elementary school districts in a suburban midwestern county. Data showed 11 school districts demonstrated disproportionality, a risk ratio >3.0, for years 2011-2013. Of these, eight involved the African American student, with six school districts disproportionality centered on emotional disturbance thereby qualifying as potential candidates for Phase 2. Important to note, unlike previous research on disproportionality that examined school districts with predominantly Caucasian or even more diverse student populations, this study?s school district was primarily Hispanic, 94%, with African Americans making up 2% of students. This provided a unique opportunity to study two minority populations. The second phase of the study employed a qualitative approach of in-depth, semi-structured face-to-face interviews of key professionals involved in special education eligibility determination from the selected school district. Findings revealed two broad points related to the social environment of the school district that appeared to impact the referral and eligibility process. First is the strength of administrative leadership vis-a-vis process implementation and second is the sociocultural environment of the district. In this case, leadership was passive when it came to ensuring fidelity to tiered intervention plans, a critical component of the referral process. Basically leadership allowed fidelity and accountability to the intervention process by teachers to be lackluster at best or worst case absent. Consequently, teachers more resistant to engaging in the intervention process tended have higher student referrals. The sociocultural environment of the school district studied is comprised basically of two divergent economic classes, the middle class predominately Caucasian educators/administrators and the student population who are of low to very low economic status and predominately of two racial/ethnic minorities. Comments consistently emerged from interviewees regarding differences seen between the Hispanic and African American students culturally, their perceived value structures, and observable behaviors. A key insight from this research was being a racial/ethnic minority does not per se lead to disproportionate representation in the emotional disturbance eligibility, the dominant culture of the social composition of the student population influences the perceptions and understanding of the educators and professionals who, for the most part, are Caucasian, middle class and more often than not female. Basically, there is an acclimatization of the educators to the culture, behaviors and values of the dominant group against which other racial/ethnic behaviors and values are positioned and judged. The culture, values and behaviors of, in this case, Hispanics students were perceived to be different than that of the African American student and less tolerated. The intent of this researcher was to provide data that advanced the knowledge of how the social environment of a district interplays with its? professionals? belief to shape decision-making and how, in turn, this impacted the issue of overrepresentation of African American students in special education, specifically emotionally disturbed. This study has shown primary contributors to referral and eligibility was poor school leadership over intervention implementation and differences between the social norms and cultural perspectives of the school environment stakeholders and those of African American students. It is critical from both scholarly and applied practice perspectives that an ongoing effort to implement culturally responsive pedagogy within the school environment. Similarly, research focusing on interventions designed to shape teachers? perceptions of student behavior is essential to ensure not only equitable educational opportunities, but also eradicate disproportionality.

<p>The primary goal of this study was to investigate, document, and understand the reasons that educators who use graphic novels in their classrooms choose to use them, rather than traditional text. Secondary goals were to identify the classes they teach, and to identify commonalities and shared best practices. Interviews were scheduled, to provide the with data about learning objectives, students? reactions, the books they use, types of assignments, the criteria that they use to define the critical elements for success in their classes, as well as the instructors? own relationships with graphic novels. The phenomenological methodology was determined to be the most appropriate method to understand the teacher?s experiences, and allowed the interview subjects to share and expound on their experiences, thoughts, feelings, images, and memories that described a baseline for the practice of using graphic novels in formal learning environment. The findings of the study were interesting, but not completely conclusive. The primary reason for using comics and graphic novels is teach and promote visual literacy, an important, and a critical skill in contemporary society. Another commonality is high level of student engagement and in the material. Although there are similarities among the other findings, including the encouragement of a love of reading, they actually illustrate the lack of standards and best practices and are based upon the preferences and practices of each individual teacher. The lack of standards also is seen in the teachers approach to using the genre to teach social justice, which ranges from a direct approach to addressing the issue through appropriate titles and assignments, to a more subtle and nuanced one, where individual panels are used rather than a complete book.

This study was based on Halpin and Croft's Organizational Climate studies. It was designed to evaluate the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire, and to investigate possible relationships between the Organizational Climate of a school and the socioeconomic status of its patrons. It attempted to do this by administering the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire to 219 teachers in twenty elementary schools selected on the basis of the socioeconomic status of their patrons. Results would seem to indicate that the subtests of the OCDQ are valid, but that the theoretical basis of the open-closed climate categorization is faulty. The theory behind the questionnaire, and the concept of Organizational Climate are obviously of great value to education. It seems likely that with the proper adaptation the questionnaire could be used to identify and describe three major climate factors. Two patterns of subtest profiles were observed in the twenty schools measured. Both indicate a high degree of attempted control by the principal, and a high degree of independence in the teachers. Both seem to be combinations of different Halpin and Croft climates. Halpin and Croft's climates did not describe the schools measured accurately enough. Because of the breakdown of Halpin and Croft's climates, it was not possible to come to any conclusion about the socioeconomic factor. There seemed to be some relationship between the two observed subtest profiles and the socioeconomic factor, but it proved very difficult to analyze and account for. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate