The investigation of Maury Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia addressed the establishment of a non-traditional model school in a conservative city not directly supportive or progressive education ideology. A case study approach was taken to investigate the interrelated questions of explaining the success and longevity of Maury School and of determining to what extent Maury School was a faithful implementation of the tenets of progressive education.;The study contributes to an understanding of the development of an innovative school, to progressive education, and to the diffusion and integration of educational theory and reform. Historical methodology was used; data were drawn from both published and unpublished primary and secondary sources and oral histories.;The progressive education movement was characterized by essential features and practices by which a school could be considered to be progressive. A description of the program developments at Maury revealed that the features of progressive education were established in the practical and philosophical functions of the school from 1934 until the school was closed in the summer of 1970.;The best explanation for the existence of Maury School was found to be an interrelated set of factors. The effective leadership of Principal Etta Rose Bailey was a key factor in the origin, development, and maintenance of the school. The long tenure of her principalship was a sustaining force in rooting and maintaining innovation. The school had an identity which separated it from the school system. The hierarchical structure of the system allowed the principal and the staff the autonomy to develop an innovative program. The innovations were not labeled as progressive education by the Maury staff, which enabled the program to outlive the movement itself. A unique culture was developed and sustained by the programs and practices.;From the case study of Maury Elementary School, where educational innovation was a local phenomenon limited to one school, inferences may be drawn regarding the effects of the progressive education reform movement in Richmond, Virginia. Additional study is recommended to determine if innovation can sustain itself without the continuity of strong leadership provided by a key figure at the location of the innovation.

The major purpose of the study was to investigate whether intermediate grade students who do unsatisfactory written assignments can learn to be more successful in written work as a result of a program which teaches the skills of written expression. A secondary purpose of the study was to determine whether teachers with varied backgrounds could successfully use the pre recorded program with a minimum of in-service training.

The classroom environment has a powerful influence on learning, and children's perceptions of that environment influence their behavior. This study examines the perceptions of sixth grade students who are the most and least academically successful regarding how they perceive their classroom environment and those factors within it that enhance or inhibit learning. Data gathered in this research indicate that there are significant disparities in how the most and least successful students perceive their classroom learning environment. The most successful students perceived the classroom environment as more affiliative and task focused, perceived their teachers to be more trusting, caring, and supportive, and perceived that they had more choice in how they learned. In contrast, the least successful students perceived the class to be more teacher controlled and competitive. In spite of the differences in friendship and support perceived by study participants, both groups of students were able to provide clear examples of teaching approaches and classroom conditions that they perceived increased or inhibited their learning. This study also includes students' suggestions for changes that would increase their learning. The findings in this study are consistent with the research and literature reviewed from the fields of education, psychology, and business regarding conditions that are likely to enhance learning. The major implications of this study are that teachers need to: (a) be able to form caring, supportive relationships with all students, (b) create safe, non-threatening environments where learning is less competitive and students are encouraged to form supportive relationships with one another, (c) provide students with interesting, challenging work that engages them, while supporting and encouraging students' efforts, (d) develop a large repertoire of effective instructional approaches to meet the diverse learning needs of students, (e) keep current with the knowledge base, (f) ask, and listen to students to understand how they learn best, and (g) seek professional experiences that will help them reflect on how they can improve their practice. Finally, a number of recommendations are proposed for use by teachers, administrators, organizations that provide pre-service and in-service opportunities, educational policy makers, and other parties interested in assisting teachers and schools increase student learning.

This qualitative case study investigated elementary teachers' concepts of art, their anxieties associated with art practices, and a principal's decision making concerning art in the curriculum. Two in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 participants to determine their knowledge base, family and educational backgrounds, conceptions of art, and the relationship with the art teacher. Observations of classroom art activities were carried out over a period of six months and recorded in a field log. Visual images in the school building were analyzed for content. Data were analyzed through open and pattern coding. Through axial coding, clusters of data were organized by commonalities and patterns arranged around the axis category of teachers' conception of art. Through the metaphor of "The Medium of Water" representing teachers' understanding of art, six themes were developed explaining the results of this study: (1) Skimming the Surface of the Water---describes classroom teachers' inadequate backgrounds. A lack of exposure, education, and familiarity connected to art knowledge was linked to how art was superficially conceptualized and valued. (2) Wading in the Shallows---describes classroom teachers' shallow conceptions of art. (3) A Choice Not to Dive---describes manifestations of classroom teachers' conceptions of art and implementation of art. Images displayed within classrooms and corridors were found to be predominately commercially adult-generated and/or student-generated from the art curriculum. (4) Fear of the Water---describes anxieties associated with the teaching and making of art. Anxious participants did not consider themselves artistic and used less art in their classrooms. (5) Unable to Take the Plunge---describes a knowledgeable principal's indecision. While being knowledgeable and sympathetic to art, she was unable to make a case for an art-inclusive program, and (6) Drowning in Responsibilities---describes an overwhelmed art teacher. Her isolation contributed to an inability to collaborate with other teachers and responsibility to integrate fell mostly to her. Her teaching objectives and values did not match with classroom teachers'. All participants' concerns were coping with curricular pressures, high-stakes testing, and lack of time in the schedule. Because of these issues, art was not a priority in this school's curriculum.

The dissertation examines the effects of a six-week, skills-based, orthographic awareness / phonics / handwriting intervention on the spelling and writing fluency of third-grade students identified as low-performing writers. Discussion centers on the relationship between spelling, handwriting, and writing fluency. Data are presented to document gains in spelling fluency. Students did not show evidence of gains in handwriting or writing fluency. Hypotheses are presented to explain lack of growth on handwriting and writing fluency measures, and possible shortcomings of CBM-Writing as an outcome measure is discussed.

In this exploratory case study of two Florida charter schools, early literacy teachers' (prekindergarten through third grade; N=9) instructional literacy orientations were explored. The Literacy Orientation Survey (Lenski et al., 1998) was viewed through the lens of early literacy teachers' curricular preferences and practical use of curriculum. Descriptive results were analyzed, indicating that most teachers identified as preferring an eclectic rather than traditional or constructivist approach to instruction. However, one-third of teachers' literacy orientation beliefs and practices were not aligned, meaning what they believed about literacy and what they practiced as teachers (when choice was an option) were incongruent. Additionally, most teachers surveyed responded with higher than expected levels of agreement to each statement regarding preferences for three types of curricula (e.g. knowledge-based, skills-based, and combination), obscuring the true nature of their preferences. Further research with a larger sample size is suggested in order to obtain the correlation between teachers' literacy orientations and their curricular preferences.

Theoretical perspectives on creativity encompass ideas such as risk, inquiry, resistance to conformity, and attraction to complexity. In response to these philosophical tenets I have organized my dissertation into three distinct but related manuscripts that explore creativity through theoria (knowing), praxis (doing), and poiesis (making). These manuscripts present an integrated approach to creative pedagogy. 1. The first manuscript is a review of literature with the aim to: provide a brief overview of creativity theories; consider an imbricated definition of creativity; and evaluate current empirical research. Research in creativity should provide a spectrum of methods that reflect the complex nature of the phenomenon. 2. Illustrated through the combination of text and authentic photographs, the second manuscript explores how preservice elementary teachers conceptualize their professional identity. This manuscript includes preservice teachers' photographic submissions related to professional identity. Implications include considering how these perceptions affect teacher recruitment, retention, and professional regard within our society and school systems. 3. Understanding the interaction between ritual and creativity can elucidate essential qualities of creativity. The third paper will consider the lived experiences of ritual in the creative process of ten Pro-c individuals. As a result of interview analysis, a definition of ritual that is unique to the creative process is revealed. Ritual in the creative process is delineated into three hierarchical categories: (1) Ritual construct, an element of the ritual; (2) Ritual quality, a distinguishing characteristic of the ritual; (3) Ritual purpose, the value the ritual provides in the creative process.

Concerns about K-12 students' mental health and social, emotional, and ethical development have prompted some schools to implement programs designed to promote student well-being and healthy social and emotional functioning. Most of these programs are distinguished as social and emotional learning (SEL) programs and/or character education programs. Although there is growing empirical support for the potential of school-based mindfulness interventions to positively influence students' well-being, the number of school-based mindfulness studies is limited, and the majority of the investigations have focused on students' cognitive rather than affective capacities. Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM), a mindfulness- and compassion-based practice, is garnering recent attention as an effective intervention for positively affecting numerous factors related to well-being. For instance, research has demonstrated LKM's effectiveness in enhancing positive emotions, empathy, and social connectedness, and improving problem behaviors in adult populations. Although LKM is a component of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, and a number of mindfulness-based school programs are MBSR- adapted, to date LKM has not been studied with children or youth populations. With this in mind, the purpose of this active comparison trial investigation was to examine the effects of a loving-kindness meditation intervention on positive emotions, empathy, social connection, and problem behaviors in second- and third- grade students. Findings suggest LKM may be more appropriately used in school settings as a sequential part of a comprehensive mindfulness program and introduced after a solid mindfulness practice has been established.

The purpose of this quasi-experimental, mixed methods study was to examine how a Senior Seminar pilot conducted during elementary preservice teachers' Internship II semester could potentially increase their teacher self-efficacy and perceptions of preparedness to teach. The study was conducted at a large public university located in the southeast United States and included 29 participants. The collection of data included the 24 item Teacher Sense of Self-Efficacy Survey (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) used to measure pre- and post- teacher self-efficacy for classroom instruction, classroom management, and student engagement. To measure pre- and post- perceptions of preparedness, the 8 item Perceptions of Preparedness for the Teaching Profession survey was used. Additionally, qualitative data was collected by use of open response questions on the post survey and also on exit slips at the end of each session to gain insight into the participants' perceptions of the Senior Seminar pilot. The study findings indicate that the added support and instruction provided by the Senior Seminar may provide elementary preservice teachers with a means to increase perceptions of preparedness for the teaching profession and positively influence their Internship II experience. This study suggests practical ways in which teacher preparation programs can be enhanced to provide preservice teachers with an opportunity to be better prepared for the teaching profession.

The problem I address in this study is the lack of Black elementary students' knowledge and interest of the social studies content. Black students who lack a true identity of self, fail to develop into productive citizens. Although previous studies have examined Black students' experiences in secondary social studies classrooms, few have thoroughly examined Black students' experiences in the elementary classrooms. For this study, I analyze Black fifth grade students' perceptions of the social studies content. Identifying these perceptions is imperative so educators can adjust their pedagogical practices based on what they deem as important for educational growth, and the experiences of Black students. Allowing Black students to share their experiences and express their thoughts is conducive to their knowledge and awareness of the subject (Scott, 2017). To grasp an authentic analysis of student understanding educators must start in the primary grades. Previous research highlights that curriculum and instruction fails to align with what students, especially Black students need to be successful in the classroom. Identifying these areas in elementary school will create a smooth transition for students as they advance to the next level.