<p> This qualitative research study explored the influence of collaborative analysis of student work (CASW) as professional development on teacher practice, specifically during lessons and on written teacher feedback on student work. Additionally, teachers&rsquo; perceptions about the influence of CASW sessions and three 2-week instructional cycles on student writing, including the professional development sessions, lessons, and teacher written feedback, were investigated. Qualitative data were collected including teacher interviews, CASW observations, classroom observations, and document analysis. Findings indicated that teachers felt that CASW influenced their increased awareness of teaching and student learning, and implications for future teaching for the whole group as well as ideas for next steps for individual students emerged. Teachers supported CASW being job-embedded and practical to daily work; they voiced concerns over the time and scheduling facilitating the professional development required. Teachers responded that they felt that CASW helped them question their assessment of student writing, consistency within and across grade levels and subjects, and the appropriate level of difficulty of their curriculum. Teachers expressed their desire to be able to meet with students more regularly to go over their teacher written feedback and felt that CASW may possibly influence student work over time. Two teachers felt that the CASW professional development could have influenced their written feedback; four teachers felt that it did not. Implications for professional development, public policy, and further research are given.</p>

<p> This qualitative research study explored perceptions of academic resilience among teachers and twelfth grade adolescent girls. Specifically, how students and teachers believe teachers promote academic resilience in students, the characteristics of academically resilient students according to students and teachers, and the characteristics of academically non-resilient students according to teachers. The relationship between the general comments made during student focus group sessions and the students&rsquo; responses on the Locus of Control (LOC) survey were analyzed. </p><p> Qualitative data were collected including teacher interviews, student focus groups, Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scales for teachers and students as well as the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Survey for students. </p><p> Findings indicated that teachers and students both reported teachers who were flexible and provided extra help sessions for students promoted academic resilience. It also was reported by teachers and students that developing personal relationships with students helped to promote academic resilience. Teachers and students reported similar characteristics of academically resilient students. Characteristic behaviors of academic resilient students were identified as having ambition or being motivated to be successful. Having a positive attitude and having the ability to be reflective also were identified as characteristic of academic resilience. Finally, teachers and students agreed that having a strong internal locus of control is characteristic of academic resilience. </p>

<p> This mixed-model study utilized the qualitative and quantitative data from high school teachers of one middle Tennessee school district and high school teachers of the Tennessee High School Speech and Drama League to determine if differences existed amongst the learning preferences of high school teachers in adult learning environments. All participants completed the Canfield Learning Styles Inventory to provide quantitative data. Members of an executive board completed a focus group questionnaire to provide qualitative data for the study. The study led to a recommendation that developers of professional development and school officials consider learning preferences because significant differences existed amongst the participants. Accounting for these differences could lead to more effective implementation of professional development content. </p>

<p> This study examined the influences the Early Childhood Education Pathway (ECEP) had on secondary students' career choice and postsecondary decisions. ECEP's with onsite laboratory settings or off campus practicum were utilized in the study. The hands-on experiences in a secondary setting provided students with authentic work experiences. Students' knowledge of the Early Childhood Education and Care profession was measured using the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) Early Childhood Education and Care Basic assessment. A dependent t test calculated the difference between the pretest and posttests. Eighty-six students participated in this assessment. There were 100 participants who completed the GA College 411 Interest Profiler. A Wilcoxon Signed Rank test calculated the differences in ranks of how students' career interest profile ranks changed from the eighth grade to the students' experience in the ECEP. Lastly, interviews were conducted to determine if perceptions of the education profession changed and if the student planned to continue a career in education or working with children. The results indicate that the ECEP does significantly influence students' knowledge about the profession. The findings of this study suggest that the ECEP does help students to make career decisions and postsecondary choices. Keywords: secondary education pathway, onsite laboratory school, early childhood education pathway, secondary education training, child development, career preparation</p>

<p> The purpose of this exploratory correlational research study was to examine the degree to which school leaders&rsquo; engagement in distributed leadership practices builds the capacity to empower expert teachers so that they can provide their colleagues with instructional and pedagogical support and thus advance teacher practice. &nbsp;More specifically, the aim was to examine relationships between teachers&rsquo; perceptions of school leaders&rsquo; use of distributed leadership, which may then influence the mediating variable of collective teacher efficacy and, finally, the dependent variable, which is the level of implementation of professional learning communities in New York City public elementary schools. Online surveys were distributed to teachers in districts that serve minority students at schools with high poverty identification. </p><p> </p><p> The responses were exported from the survey to SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) for data analysis. The results showed that scores on distributed leadership practices range from 1.33 to 6.00, with an average score of 4.48 (<i>SD</i> = 1.01) (1=Strongly Disagree and 6= Strongly Agree). Collective teacher efficacy correlated significantly and positively with distributed leadership practices (<i>r</i> = .45, <i>p</i> &lt; .001); the professional learning community correlated significantly and positively with distributed leadership practices (<i>r</i> = .62, <i> p</i> &lt; .001); and collective teacher efficacy correlated significantly and positively with professional learning community (<i>r</i> = .24, <i>p</i> = .001). A mediation analysis was conducted using multiple linear regression. The results showed that, although the first two conditions for full mediation were met, the third condition for full mediation was not. Additionally, a partial mediation analysis revealed that no significant partial mediation effect existed. The implication is that collective teacher efficacy did not have a significant mediating effect on the relationship between distributed leadership practices and the professional learning community. </p><p> Distributed leadership provides an organizational structure for reciprocal accountability and professional learning communities that affords teachers a forum for collegial discourse and capacity building. The variability within teachers&rsquo; perceptions of group members&rsquo; ability to provide quality instruction is not a predictor of collective action. Therefore, the relationship between distributed leadership and professional learning communities is not mediated by collective teacher efficacy. The level of implementation of professional learning communities is not contingent on collective teacher efficacy. Distributed leadership practices provide an essential framework for &ldquo;stretching&rdquo; leadership across many individuals in order to build capacity. </p><p> Keywords: distributed leadership, collective teacher efficacy, professional learning communities, reciprocal accountability, capacity building</p>

<p> Student achievement has acted as the metric for school accountability and transparency. Administrators are becoming more innovative as they examine methods that will increase student achievement. However, research has shown little achievement gains in student achievement with regard to technology applications in schools. The theoretical framework of the digital divide guided this study. The original divide separated those who had technology and those who did not. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in achievement scores between students who participated in a one-to-one technology program and students who participated in a traditional high school. The data generated for this study was from the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP). This study examined 428 scores in mathematics and 429 scores each in reading and writing. To determine whether the one-to-one students outperformed the traditional students in mathematics, reading, and writing, the researcher conducted a t test. The t test indicated that no statistically significant difference existed between the achievement scores of the one-to-one students and those of the traditional student.</p>

<p> Evidence indicates that first-grade students who struggle with reading and do not receive help are likely to become poor readers for their entire school careers and will have continued reading problems into adulthood. If a person cannot read well, the outlook is dismal for their employment, self-sufficiency, community participation, social inclusion, and overall well-being. Researchers have found that the solution for struggling readers is not to simply wait and hope they will catch up with their peers. Instead, it is essential to identify students who are at risk for reading failure and disabilities as early as possible and quickly provide evidence-based interventions. This regression discontinuity study examined the effects of Sound Partners, an evidence-based early reading intervention that was implemented by teacher candidates, on the correct letter sounds of 46 first-grade students identified as being at risk for reading failure. Findings indicated that the intervention was effective in raising participants&rsquo; reading scores. Additionally, stakeholder feedback from the participating university, schools, and teacher candidates helped to foster and develop a school-university relationship that yielded mutually beneficial results. Further research should be conducted that includes a larger sample of students using different measures and other evidence-based reading interventions, as well as following the students longitudinally. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> DIBELS, CLS, evidence-based practice, regression discontinuity, response-to-intervention, Sound Partners, teacher candidates </p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore student engagement in higher education by evaluating training provided by experienced faculty members for those faculty desiring to implement a flipped classroom. A case study was utilized; data were collected in the form of online observation, in-class observation, student focus group interviews, faculty individual interviews, and artifacts. The researcher used the utilization-focused evaluation (Patton, 2008) as an implementation evaluation framework for the study. Data were analyzed using deductive analysis that depended on five implementation evaluation elements as general components (effort, monitoring, process, component, and treatment specification). The participants in this study included three trained faculty members from three different disciplines (anthropology, sociology, and business) and 14 students from these three faculty participants&rsquo; classes. The findings indicated faculty experiences of successful implementation of a flipped classroom were related to whether these faculty members fully provided the main flipped classroom elements for the lesson or only tested a partial implementation. Faculty and student perceptions of student engagement were positive and supportive of the idea that the flipped classroom enhanced student engagement. Students who experienced all the elements of the flipped classroom in the lesson extended their engagement from just inclass activities to embedded online activities. The findings also provided valuable recommendations from faculty and student participants related to improving student engagement in the flipped classroom. The study presented limitations of the study and recommendations for future research. Generally, this qualitative study with all the resources used to collect the data reflected successful practices and components of flipped classroom examples that could benefit educators in terms of enhanced student engagement.</p>

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Curriculum and Instruction / Gail Shroyer / Research regarding dispositions dates back seven decades; but because of challenges in measuring, identifying and monitoring dispositions, teacher education programs have only recently developed procedures to document and assess candidates’ dispositions (Albee, & Piveral, 2003). The question remains, are teacher educators prepared for this challenge? Dispositions can be difficult to identify and measure and teacher educators are not necessarily trained in the development of assessments. By using data gathered at an NCATE accredited teacher education institution, the researcher hoped to examine one institution’s approach to assessing dispositions as part of an overall system to assess successful teaching. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between the results of disposition assessments completed by university supervisors at the end of Block 2 and the results of final student teacher assessments completed by university supervisors at the end of Block 3. Scores from the Block 2 Coordinator’s Evaluation of Intern form and the final University Supervisor Assessment of Student Teacher/Intern form were collected and correlated using the Spearman’s Rho. The resulting scores were analyzed to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship. It was concluded that there was no significant relationship between the Block 2 Coordinator’s Evaluation of Intern form score and the final University Supervisor Assessment of Student Teacher/Intern form score. This study underscores the difficulty of assessing dispositions, and shows that teacher education programs need to establish reliability and validity on forms used to assess candidates’ dispositions.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Kristy Archuleta / This study explored the factors that affect the capacity of teachers to teach personal finances in the public and private school systems in Puerto Rico. Three hundred sixteen teachers from grades six to 12 completed the on-line survey that included an assessment of demographic variables, socioeconomic variables, teaching variables and personal finance administration variables. To guide this study, the Personal Finance Education Efficacy Model was created using Social Cognitive Theory. Within this model, three research questions were addressed including what are the determinants of: (a) objective financial knowledge, (b) subjective financial knowledge, and (c) high personal finance teaching efficacy. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to test the determinants of both objective and subjective financial knowledge. Results indicated that both models were significant (ρ < .001), in which the model accounted for 10% of the variance of objective financial knowledge and 44% of the variance of subjective financial knowledge. A hierarchical binary logistic regression analysis was used to test the determinants of high level of personal finance teaching efficacy beliefs. Results showed the model was accurate approximately 83% of the time. Additionally, results from Principal Component Analyses indicated the Spanish translated versions of the Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES), the Financial Self-Efficacy Scale (FSES), and the Personal Finance Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (PFTEBI) demonstrated similar levels of reliability as previously published in the literature. These findings infer that scales may be used in other cultures and be translated into other languages like Spanish. The PFTEBI was created for this study based on the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI) to measure the level of teaching efficacy beliefs of the respondents. PFTEBI was found to be composed of three sub-scales and showed good reliability.