Cyberbullying is harassment through the Internet or other technologies. Forty-two percent of youth nationally have experienced cyberbullying and 53% admitted to being the cyberbully. A lack of understanding by adults of cyberbullying logistics and impact causes cyberbullying to remain a serious issue that has not yet been appropriately addressed within schools. A sequential, mixed methods study was implemented to investigate the prevalence of cyberbullying in one middle school and to determine the nature and impact of the experience in order to inform site-based interventions. Bandura's social learning theory, Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework, and Agnew's strain theory provided this investigation's theoretical foundation. Two separate web-based data collection tools were administered sequentially. Descriptive survey data showed that 37.8% of students had experienced cyberbullying, 56% observed cyberbullying, and that eighth grade students experienced a higher incident rate of cyberbullying (42.1%). Inductive coding of qualitative data from the questionnaire conducted with eighth graders contributed to the identification of emergent themes related to the psychological and educational impact. Specifically, these themes included symptoms of anger, depression, thoughts of violence, and interference with learning. Overall key findings from this study showed that cyberbullying is prevalent at this site and cyberbullying experiences have had a debilitating impact on psychological functioning, environmental comfort, and educational engagement. This study informs social change by providing information to tailor school-based solutions that can effectively decrease incidence of cyberbullying among students within this educational community.

Researchers have expressed concern that current educational reform and its focus on psychometrics does not address the skills students will need to prosper in the 21st century. Several researchers have attempted to identify and measure those skills. The purpose of this quasi-experimental mixed-methods study was: (a) to test for a strong link between the emotional components of learning and academic achievement, and (b) to determine if direct teaching of the learning domains as identified by the Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI) strengthens learning confidence. Using a convenience sample of 103 eighth-grade students at a Midwest suburban middle school, this study sought to determine if a correlation existed between growth in students' learning profiles and their growth in academic achievement in reading and mathematics, as measured by the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test. Pre- and posttests on the ELLI and the MAP tests, student self-assessments, and student, parent, and teacher surveys comprised the data. Data analysis consisted of independent t-tests to determine variation in growth between the treatment and control groups for the ELLI and MAP tests, and a one-way ANOVA to determine differences in growth in learning domains and in academic performance between the two groups. The t-tests indicated a significant difference between groups on the ELLI but not the MAP tests. A statistically significant correlation was found between growth in resilience and mathematics and between direct instruction and learning confidence. Qualitative data, coded for learning domains and emerging themes, indicated perceived growth in learning confidence. Educators, students, and policy makers may benefit from incorporating the ELLI into educational reform efforts that seek to develop students into lifelong learners who are prepared for the 21st century.

The transition to middle school is often associated with negative effects on academic achievement, motivation, self-esteem, and psychological well-being. Educators at a Grade 6 through 8 middle school in the northeastern United States observed students struggle with the adjustment to middle school. Research suggests that developmentally responsive schools can significantly reduce the potential negative impact of middle school adjustment. Drawing upon developmental theories from the works of individuals such as Piaget, Erikson, and Maslow, the purpose of this single-case study was to capture the opinions, thoughts, and perceptions of the students transitioning into middle school to better understand how they perceived their developmental needs were supported and where additional support was necessary in order to facilitate a smoother transition to middle school. Three focus group interviews, one for each sixth grade team, were conducted. Additional data were obtained by reviewing anonymous student writing samples completed for the school's transition team. Both data sets were analyzed by applying a typological analysis process. Data analysis indicated students believed the transition programs effectively oriented them to procedural aspects of middle school; however, students expressed the need for additional academic and social-emotional support as their first year of middle school progressed. Findings guided the development of a facilitator's guide for student support groups wherein additional academic and social-emotional assistance can be provided to students in transition. Implications for social change include a proactive program that promotes student achievement and positive social-emotional development.

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act created new accountability for educational institutions where schools must demonstrate adequate yearly progress (AYP) by regularly increasing student achievement. Many school districts across the nation failed AYP, searched for effective teaching strategies, and used new instructional models to help, yet they continued to fail. Thousands of educational institutions turned to the learning-focused schools (LFS) model of instruction, but increases in student achievement were sporadic. The rationale for this project stemmed from inconsistent student achievement results at a local middle school while using LFS from the inception of NCLB. This project study reviewed the teaching strategy of activating students' prior knowledge at a low-socioeconomic status (SES) middle school. Theoretical foundations guiding this study included learning theory, constructivist learning, the effects of low-SES environments, instructional strategies, and the role of prior knowledge in learning. Using archival data, this ex post facto study found a statistically significant difference using an ANCOVA, F(1, 863) = 35.398, p < .000, for the research question investigating the effect on student achievement when teachers specifically activate students' prior knowledge before using the LFS model of instruction. The project is an instructional lesson plan design that activates students' prior knowledge; recommendations include implementing the project countywide. Positive social change implications include providing policy makers data on the effectiveness of activating students' prior knowledge, the long-term effectiveness of LFS, and recommendations for increasing student achievement consistently.

A primary purpose of public education is to ensure that all citizens have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to participate in a democracy. Service learning is a democratic, constructivist, instructional strategy that connects academic learning with community needs. This phenomenological study described: (a) how youth, their educators, and community partners who experience service learning perceive its effects on themselves, their schools, and their community lives and (b) how professional-development opportunities need to be structured in order to encourage high quality civics education instruction. The problem this study addressed was how to solve youth civic and political disengagement. This study relied heavily upon in-depth interviews of nine middle school students, six middle school educators, and one community partner from a rural community in the northeastern United States. In addition, participant journals and grant documents were reviewed. Rubin and Rubin's guidelines and Tesh's eight step coding process were used to analyze each transcript, journal, and document. Results showed that service learning promoted the application of academic content, motivated students, appealed to various learning styles, built relationships, encouraged collaboration, and provided leadership opportunities. By better understanding the benefits and challenges of service learning projects as described by participants, this study could facilitate positive social change and improvements to current civic education instruction, including higher quality service-learning projects. By working collaboratively, youth, educators, and community partners can address the problem of youth disengagement from civic and political life, thus ensuring the continuation of a healthy democracy.

Numerous researchers have investigated distance education in postsecondary settings, but there is a paucity of research regarding the design and delivery of online professional development for K-12 educators. The goal of this mixed methods sequential exploratory study was to examine attitudes of middle grades educators toward an online professional development course held for teachers employed by one suburban school district in the southeast region of the United States. The theoretical framework is Knowles's theory of adult education (andragogy). The research questions addressed perceptions of connectedness and learning in an online professional development course. A structured interview protocol was used to collect qualitative data from 5 participants; data were coded and analyzed into 6 typologies. The Classroom Community Scale (CCS) that assessed perceptions of (a) connectedness and (b) learning effectiveness among 23 participants provided quantitative data to complement the interview findings. Mean ranks were used to prioritize 10 items within each of the 2 CCS subscales. Overall, participants felt like they could rely on others in the course yet were uncertain that others could depend on them. The study also identified a preference for immediate feedback and activities that required collaboration. These findings can be used to inform the design of online professional development courses for K-12 educators. This study contributes to positive social change by showing that online opportunities may allow teachers to collaborate with colleagues without the restrictions of time and travel by creating a community of learners through Web 2.0 tools.

Student performance on high-stakes tests continues to be an important issue for school administrators. This quasi-experimental, quantitative study investigated the relationship between the amount of time 8th grade students spent in advanced placement English classes using an extended block schedule and their achievement on language arts sections of the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) high-stakes tests. The study was based on Carroll's theory relating instructional time and student learning. The guiding research questions investigated if extended time blocks in advanced placement English would improve student achievement scores on the language arts sections of NJASK tests. The study compared NJASK mean scores between two groups of English middle school students. One group received 90 minutes of English instruction time using an extended block schedule and the other group remained in a traditional 45-minute English period. A nonequivalent, pretest--posttest design was used to investigate the research questions. NJASK scores were collected from a public middle school from 2007-2008 through 2009-2010. Frequency distributions, descriptive statistics and ANOVA tests were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the extended block and traditional groups' NJASK results from 7th to 8th grade. Further studies should explore the effects of extended blocks on high-stakes test achievement for 8th grade students in English classes that are not considered advanced placement levels. The findings of this study have positive social change implications on the way school administrators can use traditional or block schedule types to maximize student achievement on future high-stakes tests.

This qualitative study addressed the perceptions toward the study of mathematics by middle school students who had formerly been in a remedial mathematics program. The purpose of the study was to explore the past experiences of nine students in order to determine what is needed for them to feel successful in mathematics. The conceptual framework of the study was grounded in philosophies of motivation, including achievement goal theory, self-worth theory, self-efficacy theory, expectancy-value theory, and attribution theory. The study used a phenomenological research design to answer the key research question, which focused upon the experiences of students and the meaning that was given to these experiences. Data were collected and analyzed from individual interviews with 9 students and a focus group session. The findings of the study revealed that participants' past experiences influenced their current attitudes about the study of mathematics. Perceptions of mathematical ability, history of success or failure with grades, and the influence of the teacher and peers in the learning environment most influenced students' attitudes about mathematics. Moreover, current feelings impact the degree to which a student puts forth effort in the study of mathematics, and the relationship with the mathematics teacher had the greatest impact on student attitudes. To improve the perceptions that students have about the study of mathematics, expanded professional development opportunities may bring increased awareness of students' perceptions of the study of mathematics, and develop remedial mathematics programs that remove the negative stigma associated with them. The research study could lead to social change as its purpose is to improve student achievement in mathematics through changes in the remedial mathematics program.

Low standardized mathematics scores resulted in a suburban middle school not reaching adequate yearly progress (AYP) for the 2 previous years. There were many possible factors contributing to this problem, among them the design of instruction. The purpose of this study was to identify learning styles of students and implement differentiated instructional strategies that address the learners' needs. The study was based on the Silver and Hanson's theory of learning style instruction and Gardner's multiple intelligences as a model for differentiating instruction. This sequential mixed methods quasi-experimental causal comparative design study investigated the effect of classroom intervention based on learning style differentiation on the improvement of mathematics achievement and the teachers' perception of learning style instructional strategies. An ANCOVA analysis of 8 th grade archival math achievement scores from a nonrandomized control and experimental-group pretest-posttest sample measured the effect of using a learning style strategy intervention on the experimental group. No statistical significance was noted for the student scores by instructional type. An anonymous teacher open-ended survey and classroom observations were used to determine teachers' perception of implementing differentiated instruction. NVivo was used to manage the qualitative data, and analysis revealed emerging themes of teachers reporting a better understanding of the importance of differentiation, and designing lessons to include learning styles' instruction. This study impacted social change by developing a working knowledge for teachers of learning style differentiation of instruction intervention so that student mathematical achievement may be positively impacted by a change in the design of their instruction.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work