Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of La Verne, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-128).

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The Classroom Assessment Practices and Skills (CAPS) questionnaire was administered to a sample of 691 primary and secondary school teachers in Botswana,Southern Africa to survey their thoughts about classroom assessment and identify classroom assessment practices teachers perceive to be skilled and those that they used most. The study examined the discrepancies between teachers’ perceived skill and use of classroom assessment practices. Exploratory factor analysis generated four factors from “Thoughts about Assessment” and six factors for skill and use of classroom assessment practices. Botswana teachers held positive beliefs about both mastery and performance orientations to student assessment. Teachers were unsure about the adequacy of their assessment training, but indicated that they needed further training in assessment. The results also showed that primary teachers, particularly those with only a certificate needed more skill training in assessment applications, statistical applications, and criterion referenced testing. The more experienced teachers were, the more they agreed with mastery and performance orientations, and the more they had perceived skill and use of desirable classroom assessment practices. Factors wererelated to teacher characteristics of educational level, subject taught, teaching level,years of teaching experience and assessment training. The results showed that including more courses in assessment during teacher training and sending teachers for in-service or workshops in assessment helped to improve their perceived beliefs, skills, and use of desirable classroom assessment practices. Understanding the beliefs teachers hold, particularly about students’ performance, can be used as a framework for identifying educational resources meant to help both schools and students to perform. If policy makers are aware of teachers’ beliefs regarding mastery, they can help teachers to formulate assessment practices that promote critical thinking skills and mastery. A mentoring program to match new and experienced teachers to share reciprocal knowledge and skills on classroom assessment practices can be developed in schools. Teacher educators may consider overhauling their programs to have courses that are more focused on assessment, or increase the number of assessment courses for preservice teachers. Teachers should be sent for in-service training in assessment on a regular basis to ensure that they maintain current classroom assessment skills. / Department of Educational Psychology

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1995.

Despite significant growth in research examining the effects of mindfulness interventions on teachers (Roeser, 2014), studies have mainly relied on self-reports of teacher mindfulness and have not examined observable behavioral manifestations of teacher mindfulness in the classroom. Due to possible biases in self-report measures (Dotterer & Lowe, 2011), as well as the need for a greater range of assessments of the effects of mindfulness trainings on teachers, the current study sought to create a new measure of teacher mindfulness in the classroom from three sources of information: teacher self-reports of their own behavior in the classroom, student perceptions of their teachers' behavior, and third-person observations of teacher behavior in the classroom. Another aim of this study was to demonstrate the concurrent validity of these new measures with teacher dispositional mindfulness and job stress. It was hypothesized that the newly created measures of teacher mindfulness in the classroom would be internally reliable, share modest inter-correlations across data sources, and would significantly correlate with hypothesized antecedents such as teachers' dispositional mindfulness and ratings of job stress. CFA, correlation, and regression analyses found good internal consistencies for each informant source of teacher calmness, clarity, and kindness; partial support for the convergent validity of each informant source; and partial concurrent validity only for teacher reports of mindfulness in the classroom with teachers' dispositional mindfulness and job stress. Evidence of method effects was suggested from these analyses. The future use, re-configuration, and implications of this suite of measures are discussed.

Eating disorders can lead to a negative impact on students' academic growth, nutrition and can cause death (Claude-Pierre, 1997; Manley, Rickson, & Standeven, 2000; Romeo, 1996). Early intervention by referring students to professional counseling might help counter these negative consequences. The teacher is in the position to assist students by providing health information, identifying those with problems, and intervening for a variety of dysfunctions that may include the eating disorders called anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (Myers-Clark & Christopher, 2000). However teachers are in a difficult position to know when to address student concerns and judge what action to take (Ransley,1999). Teachers' engagement seems crucial (Smolak, Harris, Levine, & Shisslak, 2001) since eating disorders are being identified in younger children.The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the relationships of the theoretical constructs, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control of the theory of planned behavior as predictors of behavioral intention (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) of middle school teachers to identify and refer suspected anorexia nervosa (AN) and/or bulimia nervosa (BN) students for professional help; and (b) the actual behavior of middle school teachers who reported having ever referred a student suspected of having AN and BN and those teachers who reported not having made such a referral. One hundred fourteen middle school teachers in Broward County, Florida volunteered to participate in the ex post facto research. Data were collected from a questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the constructs of subjective norm (perception of what others think about one's performance of behavior combined with motivation to comply) and perceived behavioral control (perception regarding the extent of the difficulty of performing the behavior) were predictive of teachers' intent (likelihood of engaging in a behavior) to refer. However, the analysis revealed that attitude (overall positive or negative feeling with respect to performing the behavior) was not predictive of teachers' intent. Discriminant function analysis revealed that both intent and perceived behavioral control were predictive of group membership, either having referred a student suspected of having an eating disorder for counseling or not having made such a referral. Attitude and subjective norm were not predictive of group membership.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the common planning time for a team of middle school teachers by comparing the standardized test scores of middle school students selected from two school districts located in North Texas. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) 2 * 4 design was utilized to measure the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) math and reading scale score for 7th grade students from the test administered in spring 2005. The data for this study were compared by the variables of school, gender, and ethnicity. The measuring tool utilized in this study determined the ratio of the amount of variance of the scores for individuals of between-groups as opposed to the amount of variance of within-groups, indicating if there were a statistically significant difference on the scores in any one particular variable compared to the variances of scores for the other variables in this study. The statistical results indicated that there were no statistical significant differences in the scores of students attending a middle school where the teachers received a common planning time. However, there was a noted difference in the percentage ratings on the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) report published by TEA for the African American students who attended the school with the common planning time. These students had higher scores on the TAKS reading test. The TAKS math scores did not indicate any notable differences.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka lärares uppfattningar om läs- och skrivsvårigheter hos elever på mellanstadiet och hur mellanstadielärare uppger att de arbetar med dessa elever. Det teoretiska ramverk som ligger till grund för studien är kognitiva processer och läsningens fem utvecklingsdimensioner. Sju kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer utförs för att samla in data. Resultatet visar att mellanstadieelevers svårigheter är läsförståelse, fonologisk medvetenhet, avkodning, stavning och grammatik. När lärare upptäcker läs- och skrivsvårigheter tar de direktkontakt med elever, anpassar materialet efter elevers behov, tar kontakt med speciallärare eller specialpedagog och kontaktar vårdnadshavare. Resultatet visar även att mellanstadielärare använder sig av grupp- och pararbeten, en-till-en undervisning, motivationsskapande undervisning, undervisning som är fokuserad på språk- och läsförståelse och digitala verktyg. Elever i läs- och skrivsvårigheter behöver varierad undervisning och olika arbetsmetoder för att utveckla deras läs- och skrivförmågor. Om eleverna tidigt och utifrån sina egna behov får hjälp, stöttning och anpassningar kan det hjälpa dem att komma ur dessa svårigheter.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a significant relationship existed between teacher attrition and student success in middle school reading by conducting a quantitative analysis. Additionally, the inclusion of school demographic characteristics were included in the model to consider previous findings referencing the challenges schools face in attracting and retaining teachers in low performing urban schools with high populations of economically disadvantaged and minority students. In this analysis, the relationship between teacher attrition and student achievement in middle school as measured by the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) for reading among middle school students in Grades 6, 7, and 8, as reported on the Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR), were examined. The regression models used to analyze the three research questions addressed in the study include an examination of teacher attrition on campus pass rates, and grade level pass rates for sixth, seventh, and eighth grades as measured by the STAAR Reading assessment. The data utilized in this study were collected from seven North Texas middle schools in a fast growth school district together with their comparable campuses as identified by the Texas Education Agency for the school years 2013-2014 through 2015-2016. The results of the analysis indicate teacher attrition accounts for a significant variance in STAAR Reading pass rates among middle school students. Additionally, the school demographic characteristics defined as percentage economically disadvantaged, percentage English language learners, mobility rates, and percentage white students account for 83.4% of the variance in the average campus pass rates for STAAR Reading when combined.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there is a relationship between transformational principal leadership style, a safe school climate, and school safety (specifically, the number of reported fights and reported bullying incidents) in Broward County, Florida’s middle schools. This study also investigated if a relationship exists between transformational leadership and a safe school climate, transformational leadership, and the number of bullying incidents and student fights, and a safe school climate and the number of bullying incidents and student fights. The study surveyed 12 middle schools located in a large, urban district in south Florida. Principal leadership style was determined from the MLQ-5X, school safety climate was determined from the school district’s Annual Customer Survey, and the reported number of fights and bullying incidents recorded in the school district’s Discipline Management System were collected via records request for each participating middle school and tallied. Pearson correlations were conducted to examine the bivariate association between the leadership dimensions, a safe school climate, and school violence. Separate multiple linear regression models were used to examine the following relationships: leadership style and the number of reported fights and reported bullying incidents; leadership style and a safe school climate; and a safe school climate and the number of reported fights and reported bullying incidents. The findings suggested that there were no statistically significant correlations between leadership style (transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire), and bullying or fighting, and no statistically significant correlation between principal leadership style and middle school climate. There was a statistically significant correlation found between school climate and the number of student fights. The significance of this finding is important because it illustrates the adverse impact fighting has on student safety, which, in turn, adversely affects the school climate. Therefore, it is up to the school leader to create a climate where everyone feels safe can focus on student achievement. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection