Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:52:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SIMONE REGINA PERES DE ABREU.pdf: 1791069 bytes, checksum: 183544bfa90fc967e4e3977ccaf00cdf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-06-29 / This thesis seeks to understand the process of transition from rural to urban school school, the Educational Institution City St. Therese, the Municipal Education of Goiania, Goias, from 1992 until 2000. The study sought to distinguish the concepts of urban and rural education; reflect on the progress of education in the city of Goiania in these areas and conceptualize the terms oral history, memory, experience, testimony and narration, the conception of Walter Benjamin and Maurice Halbwachs . Armed with this conceptual foundation, the study culminated in the narratives of teachers, a mother and grandmother of students of the institution, and the testimony of a researcher who worked on the Municipal Rural Education Coordinating this period witnessed the event. / Esta dissertação busca compreender o processo de transição de escola rural para escola urbana, da Instituição de Ensino Municipal Santa Terezinha, da Rede Municipal de Educação de Goiânia, em Goiás, no período de 1992 até 2000. O trabalho procurou distinguir os conceitos de ensino rural e urbano; refletir sobre o andamento da educação no município de Goiânia nesses âmbitos e conceituar os termos história oral, memória, experiência, testemunho e narração, à luz da concepção de Walter Benjamin e de Maurice Halbwachs. Munido desse embasamento conceitual, o estudo culminou na análise das narrativas das docentes, de uma mãe e avó de alunos da instituição, e do testemunho desta pesquisadora que atuou na Coordenação do Ensino Rural Municipal neste período, testemunhas do evento.

Underserved students attending under-resourced schools experience limited opportunities to engage in advanced science. An exploration into the influence a supplemental science program has on underserved students’ acquisition of science knowledge and skills to increase their pursuit of science was conducted to help explain science identity formation in students. The proliferation of supplemental science programs have emerged as a result of limited exposure and resources in science for underserved students, thus prompting further investigation into the influence supplemental science programs have on underserved students interest and motivation in science, attainment of science knowledge and skills, and confidence in science to promote science identities in students. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, this study examined science identity formation in high school students participating in a university supplemental environmental health science program. The study explored high school students’ perceptions of their lived experiences in science supplemental activities, research, and field experiences and the influences these experiences have in relation to their science identity development. The university supplemental science program was an eight-week summer program in which students interacted with a diverse group of peers from various high schools, through engaging in environmental health science rotations, field experiences, and research with faculty advisors and graduate student mentors. Data collection included existing program evaluation data including, weekly journals and exit interviews, as well as follow-up interviews conducted several months after the program concluded. The study findings from a three step coding process of the follow-up interview transcripts provided six emerging themes as follows: (1) promoting interest and motivation to pursue new areas of science, (2) mechanisms in the acquisition of science knowledge and skills in scientific practice, (3) confidence in science knowledge and abilities, (4) understanding and applying science in the world, (5) emerging relationships with peers and mentors in science, and (6) aspirations to be a science person in the scientific community. This research study informs other supplemental science programs, has implications for improved science curricula and instruction in K12 schools, as well as explains how exposure to science experiences can help students gain identities in science.

The purpose of this study is to examine the work-life balance experiences of Black females school leaders. Due to the inherent intersectionality of race and gender that is experienced by Black females, a study of their unique experiences with work-life balance is valuable to the field of educational leadership. The responsibilities associated with school leadership positions are extensive and those school leaders who also have spouses and children must figure out a way to fulfill responsibilities associated with each role. Work-life balance is important to understand for school leaders whose career responsibilities may interact with those associated with their personal lives. The theoretical framework, Black Feminist Thought, guided the data collection and analysis processes, and provided the basis for the resulting narrative findings. This study gave voice to an otherwise silenced, marginalized group, Black female school leaders. All data was synthesized into narratives and from these narratives came six themes: (1) Familial Sacrifice; (2) Servant Leadership; (3) Informal and Formal Work-life Balance Policies; (4) Notion of Self-Care; (5) Upbringing and Black Females’ Prideful Identity; and (6) Black Females having to prove themselves. While this study does not show evidence of school leaders having achieves work-life balance, the findings will inform the practices of perspective Black female school leaders and add the voices of Black female school leaders to the literature on Black female school leader’s experiences with work-life balance.

Mentoring has been used for centuries as a way for a person to pass on knowledge, skills, or support to a less experienced person. Mentoring in the workplace, however, was not studied until the early 1980s, and then more than a decade later, mentoring was studied in the context of the K-12 teacher workforce. Mentoring has improved teacher effectiveness (Yuan, 2015; Koedel, 2009; Campbell and Malkus, 2011); increased teachers’ self-efficacy (Ingersoll & May, 2011; Saffold, 2005; Louis, 2016); and contributed to teacher retention (Ingersoll & Kralik, 2004; Cohen & Fuller, 2006). Most mentoring studies and theories, however, have been developed with a teacher population that is largely White. While about 50% of students in K-12 public schools in the U.S. are non-White, only 18% of teachers are non-White. Because teachers of color have a profound and positive impact on students, they are worth studying. The purpose of this study is to understand the mentoring experiences of teachers of color in K-12 public charter schools in New Orleans, and to explore how teachers of color benefited from mentoring in the areas of career development and psychosocial support. The researcher utilized a qualitative, phenomenological approach by interviewing ten participants and analyzing the essence of their experiences. Five themes resulted from this research: race plays a significant role in the mentoring of teachers of color; the charter school system in New Orleans has had an impact on the racial make-up of teachers; informal and formal mentoring form a winning combination; mentors provided teachers of color with validation and cultural navigation tools; and mentoring improved teaching practices and retention. This study can have an impact on mentoring theory as it relates to race and identity. This study also has practical implications for K-12 leaders in the way that teachers of color are supported.

The dramatic demographic shift occurring in this country makes it essential that our nation examines its policies, practices, and values as they relate to culturally diverse learners. That this student population remains underserved needs immediate attention. One arena that can become a part of the solution to the underachievement of diverse learners is teacher education and preparation programming. The purpose of this research study was to give attention to this issue and to understand what an urban teacher education program (UTEP) with an educational equity and social justice mission does to prepare its secondary teacher candidates (STCs) to work successfully with diverse learners. An additional purpose was to determine what role culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) played in STC's perceptions of their readiness to work with our nation's ever-growing culturally diverse school-age learners. Using a multi-phase mixed methods case study research design, data was collected from secondary teacher educators using interviews and artifacts as well as from secondary teacher candidates' pre-and-post Likert scale and open-ended responses to the Learning to Teach for Social Justice/Beliefs scale survey. This survey was adapted from the work of Ludlow, Enterline, and Cochran-Smith (2008). I coded and analyzed the data to shed light on the following research questions: 1. What does an urban teacher education program do to operationalize it educational equity and social justice missions? 2. How do secondary teacher candidates' perceptions of their readiness to work with culturally diverse learners change from the beginning of their teacher education program to the end? 3. To what extent if any, is culturally responsive pedagogy associated with secondary candidates' perceptions of readiness? The findings indicate that several factors influence teacher candidates' perceptions; reflection, critical consciousness of the educational landscape and a willingness to embrace diversity as it presents itself in the classroom were common among participants.

Abstract The purpose of this exploratory, qualitative single case study was to explore the Full Service Community Schools model in one, urban elementary school. More specifically, the study sought to understand the impact this model had on students and teachers at one particular research site. This study was also intended to examine the impact the Full Service Community School model had on the role of school administrators. The research questions that guided this study were: (1) How does the Full Service Community School model impact students? (2) How does the Full Service Community School model impact teachers? (3) What impact does the Full Service Community School model have on the role of school administrators? The study found students who were struggling academically were assigned a volunteer that served as a tutor and provided individualized instruction to the students. These students were found to complete their classwork and homework when working with tutors while practicing academic skills they had not mastered. Findings also suggested students formed relationships with their tutors which prompted personal dialogues to occur. Students would talk to their tutors about problems they were facing at home and school. In addition, this study also found aggressive and defiant students were provided a volunteer who served as a mentor. These students would work on social, emotional and behavioral skills. Mentors would motivate the students to behave appropriately in school and reward them when this was accomplished. Lastly, the after school component of the Full Service Community Schools model was found to impact students because it gave students a safe and structured environment to attend when the regular school day had ended. The findings of the study found the Full Service Community Schools model impacted teachers in several ways. Volunteers serving as mentors and tutors worked with the most challenging students. This gave teachers more instructional time to work with other students. When volunteers listened to students’ problems, teachers were freed up to continue teaching. Also, teachers were able to relinquish responsibilities to the volunteers who worked with students. The volunteers gave teachers an extra set of hands in the classroom. Lastly, this study found the Full Service Community School model impacted the role of administrators the least. The model put extra responsibilities on principals due to having extra individuals in the building during and after the school day. Administrators also had to coordinate the schedules of these individuals. On a positive note, volunteers working with disruptive students did assist administrators because these students were less likely to visit the office.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how teachers perceive the instructional support provided by district and school level administrators in implementation of the Common Core State Standards. The independent variables were staff development, small group development, direct individual assistance, technology, teacher age, and teacher years of experience. The dependent variable was teacher perception of the efficacy of the instructional support received. The phenomenological approach was specifically chosen for this study to give a voice to teachers who, for the majority, are often left unheard in the policy making process. By focusing on the similarities of the participants’ experiences, the stories collected in this study will help school and district level leadership in identifying how they can best support teachers in implementing the Common Core standards. The study took place in a metropolitan school district bolstering nearly 99,000 students. Schools were selected to participate using maximum variation sampling. This type of sampling ensures that findings reflect differences in perspective, which is ideal in qualitative study (Creswell, 2007). Schools were selected according to the following descriptors: Title I status, ethnicity of student population, English proficiency of student population, disabilities of student population, grade level of student population, and College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI) Score of the school. The participants represented elementary, middle, and high school settings. The data collected during this study were analyzed using the phenomenology research procedures of Moustakas (1994). The research resulted in a collection of significant statements that were clustered to define themes. The 11 themes were extracted from 28 teacher surveys, 5 teacher interviews, and 3 school-level administrator interviews. The findings of the study revealed that school level instructional support was perceived more favorable than district level instructional support in all areas: staff development, group development, and direct individual assistance. Small group development at both the district and school level was engaging, allowing teachers to discuss, plan, and create during the time spent together. Approximately half of the participants in the study indicated that they never received direct individual assistance from administrators neither at the district nor school level. Participants expressed positive perception regarding the technological training they received and the impact it had not only on their instruction, but their administrative skill as well.

This study examines middle school students’ perceptions of the relationship between key influencers on student attendance, student behavior, student engagement, and academic achievement. Three hundred (300) survey participants were used in this mixed methods design, which consisted of an analysis of the independent variables affecting overall student motivation operationalized as Student Attendance, Student Behavior, Student Engagement, and Academic Achievement of eighth grade students. The survey participants were composed of two urban middle schools in a large public school system and a private middle school in the same county. African-American male students were isolated to analyze correlation relationships among variables. Findings of the study indicated that among other outcomes, African-American male students have definite perspectives about teacher quality and the impact of parental involvement.

No description available.

The problem is that little is known about the life experiences and womanist characteristics of African-American female school leaders and how these experiences and characteristics have collectively influenced their leadership skills and practices within American schools. The phenomenological study sought to understand and describe the lived experiences of African-American female educational leaders who embody womanist characteristics and to identify how the following five factors have influenced their practices in educational leadership: (a) activism, (b) the knowledge and acceptance of multiple identities, (c) the usage of motherwit and othermothering (d) the care-ethic, and (e) the breaking of barriers. A purposive sample of African-American women who are educational leaders in urban school districts with predominately racial and ethnic minority student populations in the southwestern and southern parts of the country were used in this study. Data was analyzed to answer the following three research questions: (a) What do the characteristics of womanism mean to African-American female educational leaders?, (b) What perceived role do womanist characteristics have in the professional practices and leadership-styles of African-American female educational leaders?, and (c) What elements of womanism influence the African-American female educational leader’s efforts in helping to close the achievement gap experienced by many students of color? The study was conducted using an explanatory, qualitative style based on a phenomenological methodology. Participants completed telephone and face-to-face interviews. The four female participants (a) have held educational leadership positions, (b) are between the ages of 30 and 80, and (c) are African-American. This research can be a source of information and motivation to all women who aspire to become educational leaders, specifically African-American women who serve or desire to serve minority students in urban schools. The analysis revealed the nine themes: A mentor is a must, teacher leadership, activism, overcoming stereotypes, a strong sense of self, a vocation, breaking barriers, care, and high expectations.