Students who are raised in poverty and are not adapted to technology use have less positive learning experiences with technology usage than other students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore students' perceptions of blended learning among gifted students who are enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program in a public high school district in the southeastern United States. Davis's version of the technology acceptance model was used as the conceptual framework. The research questions explored the perceptions of these gifted students when they are taught using blended learning in terms of their attitudes, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and behavioral intentions. For this exploratory case study, interviews were conducted with 10 gifted high school students. After manual and digital coding, the emergent themes were an overall positive perception of blended learning. The participants had a positive attitude toward educational technology and also an overwhelmingly positive outlook on behavioral intentions of using education technology. The participants also felt that the perceived usefulness and the perceived ease of use of blended learning platforms were attainable for them. This research may encourage positive social change by providing a needed resource for teachers, parents, and technology coordinators who work in low socioeconomic areas because there is very little research on gifted students in poverty and their use of blended learning. The results of this study indicate that students in poverty could use blended learning for gifted programs and advanced courses that might not be available at their local school in a low-income area.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Denver Seminary, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [49]-[60]).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Denver Seminary, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [49]-[60]).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Denver Seminary, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [49]-[60]).

No description available.

District and campus leaders face enormous challenges as they try to address the ever-widening achievement gap. With increased accountability, the achievement gap-- which exists between students of color and students of poverty and their White, middleclass counterparts--is becoming impossible to ignore. Nationally, demographics are shifting toward a society of color and school campuses are following suit. Students are not getting easier to educate. Yet while schools across the nation bemoan their student populations as 'hard to educate,' there are some notable districts consistently having success with these student populations. However, there is almost no research on these schools. Their successes are nearly unknown to the educational world. Therefore, this study sought to examine the practices utilized on these campuses and the role of district and campus leadership in guiding the teachers of these student populations. The theoretical framework was the deficit-thinking paradigm and the Effective Schools Correlates. The study investigated schools that (1) earned high ratings in their state accountability system (2) named Blue Ribbon Schools and (3) were Title I award winning schools because they had gone from low performing schools with few systems in place to high performing schools with many systems in place. The study focused on the Area Superintendent of Area 10 and two elementary principals. This study was a mix method qualitative and quantitative study that involved only one urban school district: Martin Luther King Independent School District, one of the fifteen largest districts in the southwest part of the United States. This was a case study, which is an intensive description and analysis of a phenomenon or social unit such as an individual, group, institution, or community. The case is a bounded, integrated system (Stake, 1995; Merriam, 1998). Data collection included interviews, observations, and a reflective journal. Findings revealed that there are six prongs these schools had in common to go from low performing to high performing schools as well as earn distinction and awards. Acquiring these six prongs is called Creating a Culture of Success for Students of Color and Students of Poverty. There are also six conditions that permeate low performing schools; these schools once had these conditions on their campuses, but overcame them to become high performing. These conditions are called the Labyrinth of Solitude for Students of Color and Students of Poverty. As school districts and schools attempt to create a culture of accountability where high expectations and a sense of urgency prevail--conditions necessary to close the achievement gap and move from the deficit-thinking paradigm and its deleterious impact on achievement toward the Normed-Opportunity Paradigm--universities and school districts can use this research data to help superintendents, central office personnel, campus principals, teachers, as well as prospective teachers and administrators to move schools and school districts forward and help close the achievement gap. / text

The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess teacher perception of how economically disadvantaged students at White Pine School were being served. The results of this study may help educators at White Pine School determine how to support and improve learning conditions for economically disadvantaged students. Data collection techniques included individual interviews, focus group interviews, and document review. The following conditions were discovered in relation to economically disadvantaged students: positive home-school relationships; desire to become a full-service school; limited parent-training opportunities with limited participation; limited professional development opportunities; limited poverty discussion in professional learning communities; underuse of college partnerships; need for a mentoring program; need for programming to combat absenteeism; demand for additional early intervention programs; positive student-teacher relationships; a variety of opportunities for students of poverty to build confidence; teachers high expectations from teachers; importance given to enrichment opportunities; teaching strategies focused on active learning; assignment of small, meaningful doses of homework; limited tutoring opportunities; and use of multiple data-collection methods. Recommendations for improving how students of poverty are served include continuing to expand efforts concerning positive home-school relationships, investigating the possibility of becoming a full-service school, designing a powerful parent-training program, offering additional professional development training for teachers, developing poverty-related topics for professional learning communities, finding ways to improve partnerships with local colleges and universities, designing a quality mentoring program, finding creative ways to address absenteeism, finding additional means of providing early intervention, continuing to develop positive student-teacher relationships, finding additional ways to build confidence, maintaining high expectations of students of poverty, creating additional meaningful enrichment opportunities, searching for the best teaching strategies to improve learning, continuing to assign meaningful homework with assistance as needed, creating a comprehensive tutoring program, and collecting meaningful and useful data to help teachers increase students' achievement.