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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
531

Through no fault of their own? A critical discourse analysis of the Dream Act and undocumented youth in evening television news

Lopez, Ruth Maria 06 October 2015 (has links)
<p> This study focuses on the rise of one of the most publicized policies related to U.S. immigration: The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would create a path to legal residency for young undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Following the 1982 <i> Plyler v. Doe</i> Supreme Court decision, undocumented children gained the right to a free public K-12 education in the United States (Olivas, 2012), but their immigration status and access to institutions of higher education were left largely unaddressed (L&oacute;pez, 2004; Yates, 2004). In response to the uncertainty faced by thousands of undocumented students upon high school graduation in this country each year, the DREAM Act was first introduced to Congress in 2001 (Olivas, 2004). In this multi-method study, I examined the DREAM Act versions presented to Congress during President Barack Obama&rsquo;s first term in office&mdash;a time when the DREAM Act was expected to pass for the first time since its inception in 2001. First, through a content analysis of DREAM Act policy documents, I explored how this policy was framed and how DREAMers were legally constructed (Johnson, 1996). Following this, I conducted a multimodal (Kress, 2011) critical discourse analysis (CDA; Luke, 1996; van Dijk, 2002, 2003) of national television news coverage of the DREAM Act of 2010, the version that came closest to passing, and highlighted the role news media played in communicating this policy issue. Considering Haas&rsquo;s (2004) argument that news media play a large part in how education policy issues come to be understood by the public, I explored how framing (Hand, Penuel, &amp; Guti&eacute;rrez, 2012) was used to portray the DREAM Act and DREAMers. My theoretical framework centers on understanding immigration in the United States as a racial issue (P&eacute;rez Huber, 2009) by using Omi and Winant&rsquo;s (1994) theories of racial formation as well as Bonilla-Silva&rsquo;s (2014) frames of color-blind racism.</p>
532

Does strategic human capital management impact teacher mobility and student achievement? Evidence from three years of implementation in one Texas school district

Barkowski, Elizabeth Ann, 1980- 06 July 2012 (has links)
Many public school districts around the nation have implemented performance pay programs to provide teachers the opportunity to earn additional pay based on measures of student achievement. These programs aim to improve student achievement and teacher effectiveness. Existing research on performance pay demonstrates no positive impact of such programs on student and teacher outcomes; however, little research assesses the impact of performance pay combined with addition supports and working condition improvements on student achievement and teacher effectiveness. This study empirically examined the impact of teacher performance pay combined with additional human capital improvements on student growth and teacher mobility in one Texas school district. The district implemented the program in only 15 of the district’s 144 schools. Nine schools implemented the full intervention, which included performance pay, teacher supports, and working condition improvements, while six schools partially implemented the program, offering teachers the opportunity to earn performance pay only. Results demonstrate that student growth was significantly, positively related to full program implementation in math and reading; yet, the magnitude of the results was small. Over time, teacher effectiveness increased on campuses that implemented the most comprehensive version of the program. Average teacher turnover rates increased on full program campuses the year before and the year after implementation; yet, the most effective teachers remained on campuses that provided performance pay and improved working conditions. Results suggest that financial incentives combined with additional human capital improvements, rather than financial incentives alone, could lead to small improvements in student achievement and teacher effectiveness in high need, urban public schools. These findings hold implications for policymakers and researchers, providing evidence on how to best design and implement school district human capital initiatives that show promise in improving student and teacher outcomes. / text
533

Technology and Legal Research| What Is Taught and What Is Used in the Practice of Law

Trammell, Rebecca Sewanee 15 September 2015 (has links)
<p> Law schools are criticized for graduating students who lack the skills necessary to practice law. Legal research is a foundational ability necessary to support lawyering competency. The American Bar Association (ABA) establishes standards for legal education that include a requirement that each law student receive substantial instruction in legal skills, including legal research. Despite the recognized importance of legal research in legal education, there is no consensus of what to teach as part of a legal research course or even how to teach such a course. </p><p> Legal educators struggle to address these issues. The practicing bar and judiciary have expressed concerns about law school graduates ability to conduct legal research. Studies have been conducted detailing the poor research ability of law students and their lack of skills. Although deficiencies in law student research skills have been identified, there is no agreement as to how to remediate these deficiencies. This dissertation suggests the legal research resources that should be taught in law schools by identifying the research resources used by practicing attorneys and comparing them to those resources currently included in legal research instruction at the 202 ABA-accredited law schools. </p><p> Multiple data sources were used in this study. Practitioner resource information was based on data provided by practicing attorneys responding to the 2013 ABA Legal Technology Survey. Resources taught in ABA-accredited law schools were identified through three sources: a 2014 law school legal research survey sent to the 202 ABA-accredited law schools, a review of law school syllabi from ABA-accredited law school legal research and legal research and writing courses, and the Association of Legal Writing Directors 2013 annual survey of legal research and writing faculty. The combined data from these three sources were compared to the resources used by practicing lawyers identified in the annual national 2013 ABA Legal Technology Survey. This comparison of what is taught with what is used in practice identifies a deficiency in law school instruction in the research resources used by practicing attorneys. These survey results detail distinct areas of inadequate instruction in legal research resources and provide legal educators with detailed information necessary to develop a curriculum that will result in graduating students with practice-ready competencies.</p>
534

An Investigation of the Relationship of Teachers' Attitudes Towards a Computer-Based Assessment System and Student Achievement

Griffin, Felica M. 07 November 2015 (has links)
<p> Since the introduction of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), districts across the country implemented computerized benchmark, or interim assessments, into their curriculum as a means to monitor and improve student achievement. Often, a change in curriculum entails a demand of educators&rsquo; time, whether through professional development or lesson planning, and therefore affects teachers&rsquo; attitudes. The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, relationship there was among middle school teachers&rsquo; attitudes, monthly computerized benchmark assessments, and student scores on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP). Educators of the communication arts and mathematics content areas from one middle school were administered a survey and questionnaire to address two questions: 1) What are teachers&rsquo; attitudes regarding the use of the Tungsten Learning System in the areas of reading and mathematics, and 2) How, if at all, do teachers change their behaviors in regards to the monthly reports of the Tungsten Learning System? Both assessment tools addressed categories of Training or Comfort Level, Use of Tungsten Feedback, Teachers&rsquo; Perceptions of Tungsten, Accountability, and Student Preparation and Motivation. To observe if there was a difference in student achievement, as measured by the MAP, test scores of students from two middle schools of the same district, since the implementation of the Tungsten Learning System, were analyzed using ANOVA. In conclusion, the study found there was a difference in student achievement in mathematics MAP scores. Also, based on the survey and questionnaire responses, teachers did not believe Tungsten Learning System was a good predictor of student achievement. However, overall they favored computerized benchmark assessments if not administered monthly, aligned with the curriculum, provided student feedback and effective re-teaching tools, and they felt they were adequately trained. Teachers did believe their attitudes had more of an effect on their students&rsquo; attitudes than on students&rsquo; achievement.</p>
535

Do dollars matter beyond demographics? District contributions to reading and mathematics growth for students with disabilities

Saven, Jessica Lynn 13 August 2015 (has links)
<p> Growth modeling in education has focused on student characteristics in multilevel growth accountability models and has rarely included financial variables. In this dissertation, relations of several demographic and financial characteristics of Oregon school districts to the reading and mathematics growth of students receiving special education services in Grades 3-8 were explored after accounting for student level demographic characteristics. Previous research indicated that three variables were potentially related to student growth: district level aggregated student demographics, district geography (e.g., location in a remote area), and district funding. Three sources of data were used to investigate these relationships: institutional data reported by the Oregon Department of Education, the Common Core of Data gathered by the National Center for Education Statistics, and Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test data collected as part of the National Center on Assessment and Accountability in Special Education. </p><p> Multi-level models of student growth across Grades 3-8 were constructed for reading and mathematics, with time (level-1) nested within students (level-2) and districts (level-3). Results demonstrated that although student-level demographic factors account for the majority of meaningful differences in student growth, both district demographic characteristics and financial investment in students were related to growth for students who received special education services.</p>
536

Beyond Recidivism| Learning with Formerly Incarcerated Men About Youth Incarceration

Bastian, Scott P. 30 October 2015 (has links)
<p> Too often, the truth behind a phenomenon is not sought through the perspectives of the people who lived that phenomenon&mdash;&ldquo;the masters of inquiry&rdquo; into their own realities, as Paulo Freire (1982, p. 29) has explained. Voice is the most powerful, reliable medium for collecting data based on lived experiences, if we are to gain genuine insight into the phenomenon (Freire, 1982). Focusing on the lived experiences of four formerly incarcerated young men of color, this study gave each participant the space to not only recall specific events and times, but to critically reflect on their lives&mdash;becoming more critically aware of their individual journeys and constructing new knowledge of the injustices that relate to the school-to-prison pipeline, including recommendations for change. This study sought to answer the following research questions through the voices of the participants: (a) Based on their collective and individual journeys through the juvenile justice system, how do formerly incarcerated youth describe their experiences? (b) What recommendations do formerly incarcerated young men have for reducing youth incarceration and recidivism rates? The participants provided rich narratives that answered each research question with the expert knowledge that can only be derived from firsthand experience. Through careful analysis of the data, several major themes emerged, tying together the experiences of each participant with the findings from the literature. Each participant spoke passionately on not only the need for change, but also specific recommendations for change. It is the power of their poignant insights that ground conclusions offered in this study.</p>
537

Facilities, Policy, and Funding of Rural Schools| A Case Study of School Board Decision Making

Valvo, Russell J. 30 October 2015 (has links)
<p> School facilities issues in rural America and the resources to remedy them are made more complex by rural population trends, building deterioration and inadequacies, financial constraints, and education policy. The challenge for rural districts is to generate the revenues required to build or renovate school facilities. The resulting long-term underfunding of school facilities has left a pattern of crumbling school buildings across rural communities. Rural school districts, particularly those with older structures, need to improve energy efficiency of buildings and upgrade building infrastructure to support new technology </p><p> This case study was conducted to ascertain and gain an understanding of the decision-making process of a rural school board as it related to policy and funding for construction, renovation, and maintenance of school facilities. A review of the literature, to understand why rural schools are often in deteriorating condition, revealed a limited scope of research addressing rural education. Kingdon&rsquo;s (1984) Agenda-Setting Theory provided the conceptual framework for the analysis of the board of education&rsquo;s complex decisions made, both collectively and individually. Applied was Kingdon&rsquo;s The Three Streams Model to understand what factors influenced board members when making financial and policy decisions for school facilities. </p><p> This single case study utilized field research methods to collect interview data and documents for archival analysis. Interviews were conducted with the school board members who made the decisions for the capital building project investigated in this study. </p><p> A key finding in this study was how changes in district leadership and the shifting mood of the school board precipitated the initiation of a policy and reinforced the chances for survival. This finding was particularly true in respect of financial feasibility, which did, in fact, result in enabling the policy to become a building project. This case study serves as a foundation for continued analysis. To connect the larger themes of rural school facility issues with decision making, policy development, and the effects of changing social-economic dynamics shaping the rural school agenda locally, statewide, and nationally.</p>
538

The measurement of tertiary education quality in Indonesia through the education production function model and policy recommendations for quality improvement

Gao, Shang 21 October 2015 (has links)
<p> This study is designed to answer one main research question: How could tertiary education quality be redefined and measured through the education production function model in developing countries. The study will use Indonesia as the target country to carry out research activities. Quality of tertiary education has been one of the most frequently discussed topics in relevant fields in academia and human development. As enrollment continuously increases and education systems expand in many developing countries, quality becomes their biggest concern. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide stakeholders a different and more practical approach to reevaluate tertiary education quality through quantifiable variables and to measure quality through educational input, equity and equality, labor market relevance, and system assurance factors. </p><p> Human capital theory serves as the guiding theoretical framework for this dissertation. The education production function model is the foundation for quality redefinition. Within the four quantifiable variables, benefit incidence analysis is used to measure equity and equality, economic rate of return is used to measure labor market relevance of the tertiary education system, and returns to investment is used to evaluate how education outputs yield from inputs. The study is designed to have an umbrella structure, with tertiary education quality being at the top of the skeleton and educational input, equity and equality, labor market relevance, and system assurance being the four supporting pillars.</p><p> With the redefinition of tertiary education quality, four main research questions will be answered respectively. Educational input in Indonesia has been improving in the past decade; however, it is still behind compared to peer ASEAN countries and countries with similar economic profiles. Indonesia's tertiary education access inequality is mainly caused by socioeconomic differences. The labor market absorbs a majority of tertiary graduates and yields much higher returns at the tertiary level, and it has been responding very positively toward the continuously expanding graduating class. The quality assurance system suffers from shortstaffing, low financial support, low capacity, and weak government support. At its current accrediting pace, Indonesia's tertiary education institutions will not be able to improve as fast as they are willing to.</p>
539

The Efficiency of K-12 Public Education Production, Gender Inequalities in College Advising, and Labor Market Implications

Thompson, Shane January 2013 (has links)
My dissertation consists of three chapters that focus on the economics of education. In particular I look at public school financing, gender discrimination in advising, and the effectiveness of out-of-school-time programs for disadvantaged schools. The first chapter analyzes the effect of an extremely large funding shock on Wyoming public schools in the 2006-07 school year. The effect of the shock is estimated on high school graduation rates and NAEP math and reading scores via synthetic control methods. The funding shock in Wyoming, which was the largest increase in education expenditure for any state in the nation from 1998-2008, is shown to have been largely unsuccessful in raising graduation rates and test scores. The second chapter uses a field experiment to analyze college advising differentials by student and advisor gender. Advisors assess the expected performance of students in both mathematics and English and recommend one of the two subjects to the student. Surveys are randomly assigned, and the experiment is designed such that student gender is the treatment. Advisors are found to discount the ability of female students relative to males in both mathematics and English. Additionally, male advisors recommend mathematics with much greater likelihood than do female advisors. The final chapter analyzes the effect of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program on disadvantaged schools. Using a regression discontinuity design, it is found that 21CCLC has a more positive effect on middle schoolers than on elementary school students, but that results vary widely depending on the cohort and grade level. The program seems to have potential for significant improvement in school outcomes, but also has potential to have negative effects. There is some evidence from 2007-2011 that the program is improving over time.
540

Forecasting nursing student success and failure on the NCLEX-RN using predictor tests

Santiago, Lawrence A. 04 March 2014 (has links)
<p> A severe and worsening nursing shortage exists in the United States. Increasing numbers of new graduate nurses are necessary to meet this demand. To address the concerns of increased nursing demand, leaders of nursing schools must ensure larger numbers of nursing students graduate. Prior to practicing as registered nurses in the United States, graduates of nursing schools must pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Various companies, such as the Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) and Kaplan have created NCLEX-RN predictor tests that report candidates&rsquo; chances of passing the NCLEX-RN. ATI created a test called the RN Comprehensive Predictor and Kaplan created an NCLEX-RN predictor examination called the Kaplan Readiness Test. Students with less than optimal scores on the predictor can remediate to improve their knowledge of nursing, critical thinking, and test-taking skills. The intent for the ATI RN Comprehensive Predictor and the Kaplan Readiness Test is to predict the probability of success on the NCLEX-RN. The focus of the quantitative study was the ability of the aforementioned examinations to predict both success and failure on the NCLEX-RN. The overall TEAS score did not have a significant relationship with NCLEX-RN results. However, the ATI TEAS Math score was significantly higher (<i>p</i> = .005) for students who passed the NCLEX-RN. Data analysis showed no significant relationship between the Kaplan NCLEX-RN Readiness Test and NCLEX-RN results (<i>p</i> > .05). A significant relationship between the ATI RN Comprehensive Predictor and the NCLEX-RN scores existed in both the total sample (<i>p</i> = .001) and the BSN subsample (<i> p</i> = .001). In the MSN student subsample, all 37 students passed the NCLEX on the first attempt.</p>

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