<p> <b>Purpose:</b> The purpose of this mixed-methods phenomenological study was to describe elementary school general education teachers&rsquo; perceptions of how their efficacy, as teachers, was affected by their experiences in implementing the PBIS framework. This study also sought to determine a better understanding of the skills necessary to impact all students while increasing teachers&rsquo; efficacy and their ability to carry out their obligations in facilitating student academic success and student discipline. </p><p> <b>Methodology:</b> Consistent with a mixed-methods approach, the instruments used in this study collected descriptive data and perceptual data from a group of elementary general education teachers from Riverside County, California. Through an electronic format, two different surveys were administered to participating elementary school teachers. In addition, principals of participating PBIS elementary schools referred teachers from their sites to participate in semistructured interviews. </p><p> <b>Findings:</b> Findings showed that the implementation of PBIS had positive effects on teachers&rsquo; efficacy, thus affecting their classroom experiences and student conduct. To understand teachers&rsquo; perceptions of how the implementation of PBIS was affecting their efficacy, the researcher first had to understand the teachers&rsquo; perceptions of how PBIS was being implemented at their sites. Findings demonstrated that teachers did not have a clear understanding of PBIS. However, teachers did understand and used the strategies learned through the implementation of PBIS. They included the opportunity to model, practice, and apply appropriate behavior and the strategies.</p><p> <b>Conclusions:</b> Teachers perceived that they were able to influence the three domains of teacher efficacy&mdash;student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management&mdash;and the skills within each; learn the strategies and supports to redirect student behavior; and influence classroom management. Findings from this study also revealed that teachers could redirect student behaviors by providing students with clear expectations, praise, positive student recognition, and rewards.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between levels of burnout, exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy experienced by student affairs professionals at public institutions compared to private higher education institutions in Missouri. The specific problem is that it is unknown if there is a relationship between institutional type and burnout among student affairs professionals. The participants were Missouri College Personnel Association (MoCPA) members who work at public and private higher education institutions in Missouri. There is no statistically significant relationship between institutional type and burnout, exhaustion, cynicism, or professional efficacy. Student affairs professionals at public and private institutions reported similar scores on all parts of the MBI. Results from the exhaustion and cynicism subscales were high for student affairs professionals at both institutional types. Scores from the professional efficacy subscale were high for student affairs professionals at public and private institutions. Although there is not a statistically significant relationship between burnout and institutional type, student affairs professionals at public institutions reported higher mean scores on all three MBI subscales than their counterparts at public institutions. Leaders at public and private higher education institutions may not need to address professional efficacy but should consider steps to address the high scores on the exhaustion and cynicism subscales.</p>

<p> In nearly every profession, there is a general understanding that decisions should be informed and driven by data. Even in situations where individuals may not have a clear understanding of what data are needed, people have an innate understanding that more information will normally result in a more desirable outcome. Nowhere should the promise of data-based, high-quality decisions be realized more than in public schools that have answered the call to provide school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS). </p><p> The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of data in the implementation of SWPBIS in a large elementary school in a Northern California school district. This study assessed school personnel&rsquo;s ability to access and use student data contained in the district&rsquo;s data system. The study also assessed the impact of providing training to school personnel focused on accessing and using student behavior, attendance, and achievement data available in the district&rsquo;s data system. A mixed methods, embedded design of a primarily quantitative quasi-experimental, one-group pretest-posttest design supplemented by qualitative data comprised the methodology for this study. </p><p> The results presented in this study contribute to research literature on the use of data in schools to improve student outcomes by providing strong support for increased data training of school personnel. There was variability between participants&rsquo; ratings of data accessibility and usefulness. Additionally, there were significant increases in participants&rsquo; ratings regarding the accessibility and usability of data points related to student behavior, attendance, and achievement as a result of data-focused professional development.</p>

<p> The cost of homelessness is high, not only in terms of the array of traumatic experiences of those who are homeless, but in monetary terms for society as a whole. It costs between $20,000 and $40,000 annually for one homeless individual to cycle through public service systems such as emergency rooms, jail, mental health care facilities, and shelters. This annual cost can add up quickly with long periods of homelessness. For half of homeless youth (age 14&ndash;24), homelessness will not end during adolescence. Lack of steady employment is one of the largest barriers for youth experiencing homelessness to become permanently self-sufficient. Examining the factors that contribute to the employability of these youth is critical to developing interventions. For many, education is the key to becoming self-sufficient and exiting homelessness. The unemployment rate is significantly lower for Americans who obtain a high school diploma. The unemployment rate declines further with increases in college education. The findings of this paper are a needs assessment of sorts, pointing to considerable gaps in educational services currently available to youth experiencing homeless, and invalidating the idea that homeless youth do not wish to attain high school, technical school, and college degrees. On the contrary, these youth have high educational aspirations, and while capable of succeeding in education, may require support beyond that of their housed peers because of the additional barriers they face. This desire to pursue education is an important consideration, and should inform the way we approach youth experiencing homelessness with educational services.</p>

<p> The school-to-prison pipeline is a phenomenon that is occurring in public schools across the country. This study investigates if the presence of a School Resource Officers (SRO) has an effect on the rate of expulsions experienced in schools. My data is from a secondary data set from the 2009-2010 School Survey on Crime and Safety. I use the presence of an SRO or security personnel, percentage of white student enrollment, school urbanicity, and percentage of students that score below the 15th percentile on standardized tests as independent variables. My dependent variable is expulsion rates for disobedient behavior. I create one model using OLS regression to run the dependent variable against all of the independent variables. The results yielded that the presence of security personnel or an SRO has increased the rate of expulsions due to disciplinary infractions. I also found that race decreased the expulsion rate; this means that as the percentage of white students goes up, the expulsion rate goes down. These findings suggests that the disproportionate amount of African Americans in this country&rsquo;s prison system could be starting in our school systems.</p>

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

<p> Journalism of Color is a resilient, transformative, community-based journalism methodology and form of resistance writing that is framed by the values, narratives, and historical contexts of historically-marginalized communities. Journalism of Color is an emergent definition that came to be through a four-month research project, three years of literature analysis, and ten years of work as a trained community organizer and community-trained journalist. Journalism of Color is meant to be a tool that historically-marginalized communities can use in an effort to develop community power. Journalism of Color is theoretically founded in critical race theory, rhizomatic writing, communitarianism, anti-oppressive research, resistance writing, transformative organizing, and cooperation. </p><p>

<p> Community dynamics are best understood in context through community voice and perspective. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the relationship between poverty and neighborhood identity for a community contending with issues of poverty and immigration. I employed a case study design grounded in the opinions of community members, supplemented by additional data to understand the effect of neighborhood identity on community decision making, prioritization, and educational attainment. Data sources included interviews, field notes, and document reviews and the data analysis revealed a community besieged by issues related to poverty and immigration, and the overwhelming command that these conditions have upon the community-at-large. Issues of survival, fragility of legal presence, complacence, and relationship dynamics all emerged as consequential to the lives of members of the community. Furthermore, the characteristics present within this community are aggravated by the underlying structural and institutional roadblocks that maintain systems of poverty and marginalization. The interviews and document analysis revealed the systemic inhibitors for a community fighting to sustain its survival and unable to generate upward mobility.</p><p>

<p> This quantitative study examined the experiences of first-generation college students and the influence of cultural wealth capital on their college outcomes. The study analyzed secondary data from The Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), a nationally representative data set capturing the high school, college and early post-secondary education experiences and outcomes of high school sophomore students in 2002 over a 10-year span, including college and early career outcomes. The scope of the data was narrowed to only examine students that indicated they were first-generation college students. </p><p> Using Tara Yosso&rsquo;s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth model as the conceptual framework, and, using factor analysis, the study operationalized two forms of capital from the model: aspirational capital and navigational capital. Both linear and logit regression analysis were used in examining this relationship between the capital constructs and college pipeline outcomes (enrollment, persistence and graduation) for first-generation college students. </p><p> The study found that for every one standard deviation increase of aspirational capital, first-generation college students were found to be 28.5% more likely to enroll in college. Additionally, for every one standard deviation of aspirational capital, first-generation students were 25.6% more likely to persist through to their fourth semester college, a time when first-generation college students are found to be most likely to drop out of college. The dissertation includes a robust discussion of outcomes and related recommendations for theory, practice and policy.</p><p>

<p> As restorative justice gained popularity in schools as a potential strategy for helping to reverse the deleterious effects of zero-tolerance policies, numerous misunderstandings and misapplications have emerged. This study focused on the experiences of school-based restorative justice practitioners and sought to foreground their voices and perspectives to highlight what is necessary for restorative justice work in schools to be effective. Critical narratives were used to elucidate participants&rsquo; perspectives and to allow their voices to serve as the focal point for the study. Findings were as follows: (a) the depth and ongoing nature of preparation practitioners undertake to sustain restorative justice work must be emphasized; (b) rather than a program or set of steps, restorative justice must be experienced as a set of principles or a philosophy grounded in genuine care and concern for individual people; (c) a cultural, political, and social shift is required for restorative justice to be implemented with integrity; and (d) restorative justice is a project of humanization and re-establishing democratic ideals. As such, educators in the field are encouraged to embrace the depth and complexity of the philosophical underpinnings of restorative justice and to acknowledge the personal, internal work that must be undertaken to serve a transformative function in school communities.</p><p>