Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Susan Noffke. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-231) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> Mexican/Mexican-Americans are native to this continent on both sides of the U.S./Mexico Border and while projections show a 300% population increase by 2050, the struggle for equity and educational access persist. This Chicana Critical Feminist <i>Testimonio</i> reveals a Mexican/Mexican-American Ethic of Care which creates schooling spaces in which Mexican/Mexican-American students find healing, dignity, and academic preparation necessary to build hopeful futures for themselves and their families.</p><p> This research reveals curriculum and pedagogy that embody a Mexican and Mexican-American Ethic of Care and the <i>Testimonios</i> of racialized struggle and survival that undergird it. Utilizing Testimonio as methodology, I conducted individual interviews, field observations, focus group interviews, and collected ongoing self-reflections and photographic data over the course of five months with four Mexican/Mexican-American female educators within a mid-sized U.S./Mexico border city.</p><p> The findings of this study reveal rootedness of a Mexican/Mexican-American Ethic of Care within intergenerational <i>Testimonios</i> and within the larger Mexican/Mexican-American struggle for equity and access. Findings likewise reveal that participants reconstruct notions of social justice revolution through a blurring and blending of mainstream notions of revolution. Within participants' knowledge of the professional, personal risk of fighting for social justice in visible ways reminiscent of. the 1960's Chicano Movement, participants fight for their Mexican/Mexican- American students beneath an ambiguous blurring&ndash;a <i>mestizaje</i>&ndash;which conceals and protects their long-term ability to do so. Their concealed <i>Revoluci&oacute;n </i> is then fought by way of their tongue/language, physical bodies, and spirits as <i>Revolucionistas</i>&ndash; re-imagined and reconstructed Revolutionaries&ndash;who carry education as an ethical imperative.</p><p> Findings of this research have implications for educators at all levels and of all backgrounds to conceal and thereby sustain their battle for all marginalized students. Findings have implications for challenging mainstream constructs of success, for recruitment and retention of Mexican/Mexican-American teachers, and for rooting curriculum and pedagogy within <i>Testimonios </i> of resilience which position Mexican/Mexican-American students not within oppression frameworks but within the complexity of their intellectual and resistance legacies. Findings likewise have implications for researchers with regard to methodological reflexivity within decolonizing research epistemologies. Findings likewise challenge notions of researcher reciprocity and participants' inclusion as co-researchers within a Chicana Critical Feminist research epistemology. </p>

General Education Teachers' Perceptions of Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in the Regular Classroom Sharon Ruth Stidham-Smith, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 Supervisor: James L. Schaller This exploratory descriptive study was conducted to examine the perceptions of general public school teachers regarding inclusion of students with disabilities in their classroom. Instruments used to measure the concepts studied include an Inclusion Inventory followed by additional open-ended questions. A sample of general education public school teachers, who have had a child with a disability in their classroom, was recruited from a Texas regional school district. The research questions asked about the teachers' educational teams, their grade level assignment, and the number of years taught; followed by open ended questions that included the participants' definition of inclusion, their experiences and challenges, training in inclusion, and the concept of the general education teacher having sole responsibility for all the students in the class. Inclusion teams were found to be an important aspect of this study. The participants reported the success (or lack of success) of their inclusive classroom often depended on their inclusion team. In particular, special education coordination with vii administration support in finding solutions for unacceptable classroom behavior, time management, and class size. Many respondents felt further preservice and inservice training on how this support can be accomplished that includes administration as well as general and special education teachers was one avenue that could help realize an inclusive classroom that was beneficial to all. What exactly would be emphasized in this inclusion training was not stated. The inclusive practices and strategies discussed in this study require further research in order to determine what could be called a 'best practice' in the inclusive classroom. / text

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

<p>The role of autonomy in the student experience in a large-enrollment undergraduate introductory physics course was studied from a Self-Determination Theory perspective with two studies. Study I, a correlational study, investigated whether certain aspects of the student experience correlated with how autonomy supportive (vs. controlling) students perceived their instructors to be. An autonomy supportive instructor acknowledges students' perspectives, feelings, and perceptions and provides students with information and opportunities for choice, while minimizing external pressures. It was found that the degree to which students perceived their instructors as autonomy supportive was positively correlated with student interest and enjoyment in learning physics (beta=0.31***) and negatively correlated with student anxiety about taking physics (beta=-0.23**). It was also positively correlated with how autonomous (vs. controlled) students' reasons for studying physics became over the duration of the course (i.e., studying physics more because they wanted to vs. had to; beta=0.24***). This change in autonomous reasons for studying physics was in turn positively correlated with student performance in the course (beta=0.17*). Additionally, the degree to which students perceived their instructors as autonomy supportive was directly correlated with performance for those students entering the course with relatively autonomous reasons for studying physics (beta=0.25**). In summary, students who perceived their instructors as more autonomy supportive tended to have a more favorable experience in the course. If greater autonomy support was in fact the cause of a more favorable student experience, as suggested by Self-determination Theory and experimental studies in other contexts, these results would have implications for instruction and instructor professional development in similar contexts. I discuss these implications. Study II, an experimental study, investigated the effect, on the student experience, of the number of opportunities for choice built into the course format. This was done by comparing two sets of classes. In one set of classes, students spent each class period working through a required series of activities. In the other set of classes, with additional choice, students were free to choose what to work on during nearly half of each class. It was found that the effect of additional choice on student interest and enjoyment in learning physics was significantly different for men vs. women, with a Cohen's d of 0.62 (0.16-1.08; 95% CI). Men became somewhat more interested with additional choice and women became less interested. This gender difference in interest and enjoyment as a result of additional choice could not be accounted for by differences in performance. It was also found that only in classes with additional choice did performance in the course correlate with the degree to which students reasons for studying physics became more autonomous during the quarter (beta=0.30*). I discuss the implications that these effects of additional choice have for instruction and course design in similar contexts.

<p> The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of iEARN online facilitators with regards to successful online facilitator&rsquo;s roles and their current practice roles. Additionally, the study also attempted to identify the 5 top motivating and inhibiting factors that influence iEARN facilitators&rsquo; roles and affect their performance. The study revealed that iEARN facilitators generally possess a relatively high perception of the successful online facilitator roles. The results of the quantitative questionnaire used to collect data from 35 subjects also demonstrate that iEARN facilitators&rsquo; perception of their current practice of the successful roles do not match with their perceptions of successful facilitator roles. Moreover, the results also showed that iEARN facilitators view intrinsic incentives as the top motivating factors that influence their performance. The study also revealed the 5 top inhibiting factors as per the subjects of the study. This dissertation has helped to bridge the gap between what iEARN facilitators view as successful roles and what they actually do in reality along with the most influential motivating and inhibiting factors.</p>

<p> A learning center in the southeastern part of the United States used the Singapore mathematics curriculum (SMC) to support student learning of a wide range of mathematics skills. However, a study had yet to be conducted to gain an understanding about the administration and implementation of the program. This case study was conceptually based on constructivist pedagogical theory, where learning is constructed between the teacher and students. The research questions explored how the learning center staff administered and implemented the SMC. Data for this study were collected through multiple in-depth interviews and observations of 2 educators at the learning center. These data were analyzed through typological and inductive analyses in order to discover the underlying meaning of the data. The typologies for this study were bar modeling, textbooks, workbooks, teacher edition, activities, and games. The findings that were derived from these analyses focused on 10 themes, which became the basis of a professional development training project. These themes focused on bar modeling, manipulatives, and stages of learning: concrete, pictorial, and abstract, place value, number bonds, visualization, mastery, and games. The project will support positive social change by increasing educators' insight into how to administer and implement the SMC in order to improve student mathematics achievement.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to develop a garden-enhanced nutrition curriculum for educators of students in the fourth and fifth grades. The goals of this curriculum were to provide literature related to farm-to-school initiatives, to increase educators&rsquo; and students&rsquo; knowledge about farm-to-school programs through an evidence-based nutrition education curriculum, and to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among the students. </p><p> The curriculum, Let&rsquo;s Grow!, was created addressing perceived barriers that prevent the implementation of school gardens that may further encourage fruit and vegetable intake in children. Though intended to specifically reach students in Los Angeles, the curriculum may be used outside this urban setting. </p><p> The curriculum consists of nutrition lessons and gardening activities relating to topics identified from literature reviews. An expert-review panel reviewed the curriculum, having critiqued the literature, and provided feedback. Evaluation forms for the curriculum were created to assess the overall value of the program.</p>

<p> This mixed methods study investigated teacher, parent, and school leader perceptions of the impact of parent communications and expectation on teacher practices, focusing specifically on four categories: grading, communication, instructional, and curriculum practices. Quantitative data were collected through online surveys from 25 teachers in second through fifth grades, as well as 96 parents of second through fifth-graders, in five private Jewish day schools located in the Southeastern United States. Qualitative data were collected from ten teachers, ten parents, and three school leaders who provided interviews, where they elaborated on the nature of parental communications and expectations at their own schools and their perceptions of their impact on teacher practices.</p><p> The findings indicated that parent communications take place with high frequency, and are initiated fairly evenly between parents and teachers. Parents and teachers differ on their perceptions of negativity of communications, with teachers reporting more negative communications than parents. A t-test was conducted on the survey items that corresponded with the four categories to compare parent and teacher responses. There were some statistically significant differences in the perceptions of parents and teachers of the impact of particular types of parent communications on teacher practices in private Jewish day schools. These included requests for reviews of a child's grade or a grade change, as well as requests for changes in the content of homework. However, the qualitative data overwhelmingly indicated that parents and teachers have similar perceptions of the impact of parents communications and expectations. They felt that parents occasionally request certain changes, but that these changes have minimal impact in the classroom, outside of isolated, individual events. The school leaders who participated in the study agreed that, for the most part, the day-to-day practices of teachers were not greatly impacted by parent communications.</p>

<p> Prompted by frequent media reports of school fraud and a lack of relevant K-12 literature, this research study was designed to investigate current fraud prevention practices in public school districts in New York State. Using a "fraud triangle" model, an analysis of existing legislation and professional practice guidelines reveals that an integral element is being overlooked in current fraud prevention efforts, namely employee attitudes (more formally rationalization). </p><p> In an effort to fill this gap, management and accounting literature is used to identify ten specific practices associated with a decreased likelihood of fraud rationalization in the business setting. Primary research is then used to ascertain the extent to which these business practices have been implemented in New York State public schools. HLM is used to examine the nature of the relationship between the presence of these practices within a school district and employee attitudes about rationalization, as a proxy measure of fraud risk. </p><p> Data concerning both district practices and employee attitudes about fraud were collected using an online survey of 938 employees from 56 randomly selected K-12 school districts in New York State. Findings reveal low or non-existent levels of district implementation for eight of the ten suggested fraud prevention strategies. However, where strategies have been implemented, employees are less likely to report rationalization about fraud. (As the number of strategies increases, rationalization tends to decrease.) The effect of individual strategies is examined. Several district and employee demographic factors are also found to have mitigating effects. </p><p> Based on the results of this research and analysis, specific recommendations are presented in an attempt to improve school district fraud prevention efforts. The analysis also suggests areas where follow-up research studies are warranted in light of this new base-line data.</p>