This study examines the "TBWY" reform program, its design and efficacy. The program was carried out in an Israeli high school with the aim of improving equality of opportunity, narrowing educational achievement gaps (Friedlander & Leon-Elmakias, 2006), improving the climate for study and increasing the number of those eligible for the matriculation (Bagrut) examinations which, since 2006, had been decreasing. The reform program covered two types of class groups: "homogeneous learning groups” and “guided groups”. The homogeneous learning groups were based on the students' proven learning skills, thereby reducing the differences in the students' achievements. In this way, it was possible to focus on teaching methods suitable for the learning group in a uniform and focused way. The second group is a "guided group" made up of between 15 and 17 students. The "guided group" placed students with different peers to their ‘”learning group” according to matters of common interest among the students, their hobbies, common areas of study, youth movements, extramural activities, groups and students' requests to be together. Each group has a teacher/guide who has undergone extensive training as a group coordinator. The "guided group" involves a twice-weekly round-table meeting. In addition to these meetings, the group coordinator met with each student to build an annual program of work and a process for monitoring the student's achievements in all of the areas mentioned. This study included quantitative and qualitative constructivist methods focused on comparative research with students and teachers during two periods – before the reform program in 2006 and after it, in October 2009. Several criteria were examined: teachers’ perceptions of instruction strategies in homogeneous learning groups and resulting changes – gaps (Nahum, 2009) in educational achievements among the students, changes in the percentages of eligibility for matriculation certificates, school climate, a change in the students' feelings and the extent of teachers' feelings of responsibility for the failure and success of the students. Findings indicated a relationship between teachers' acceptance of responsibility for the students' success or failure and positive changes in teachers’ perceptions of student’s abilities, the feelings of students, a reduction in achievement gaps, and improved climate of the school. Furthermore, there was an increase in the number of students eligible for matriculation with an increase, in their grades from before the implementation of the program, until the present academic year, 2015. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the factors that enable greater scholastic achievement, together with an improved climate in an educational institution within the Israeli context. The research contributes to the understanding of the relationship between philosophical and psychological theories and their application in practice within the education system. The results of the research illustrate that a correct implementation of theories can create a change by reducing gaps in students' attainment by improving the school climate, by increasing the extent of the teachers' responsibility vis-à-vis students' success and increasing the number of students who are eligible for a matriculation certificate.

abstract: The purpose of this survey study was to collect data from pre-K-12 educators in the U.S. regarding their perceptions of the purpose, conceptions, use, impact, and results of educational research. The survey tool was based on existing questionnaires and case studies in the literature, as well as newly developed items. 3,908 educators in a database developed over 10+ years at the world's largest education company were sent a recruiting email; 400 elementary and secondary teachers in the final sample completed the online survey containing 48 questions over a three-week deployment period in the spring of 2013. Results indicated that overall teachers believe educational research is important, that the most important purpose of research is to increase effectiveness of classroom practice, yet research is not frequently sought out during the course of practice. Teachers perceive results in research journals as the most trustworthy yet also perceive research journals the most difficult to access (relying second-most often for research via in-service trainings). These findings have implications for teachers, administrators, policy-makers, and researchers. Educational researchers should seek to address both the theoretical and the applied aspects of learning. Professional development must make explicit links between research findings and classroom strategies and tactics, and research must be made more readily available to those who are not currently seeking additional credentialing, and therefore do not individually have access to scholarly literature. Further research is needed to expand the survey sample and refine the survey instrument. Similar research with administrators in pre-K-20 settings as well as in-depth interviews would serve to investigate the "why" of many findings. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Technology 2013

Black youth are diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at a higher rate than their White peers. The process of diagnosing young students with ADHD relies heavily on teacher recommendations that are frequently based on perceptions of behavior, to which the assessment of may be influenced by racial bias. A child’s ethnicity has been shown to have an impact on teacher descriptions of ADHD-related behavior (Epstein, Willoughby, Valencia, Tonev, Abikoff, Arnold, Hinshaw, 2005) such that in this study African American students were perceived by their teachers as more likely to have ADHD than their Caucasian peers. Research has also shown that the typical fifth-grade classroom is a low verve setting that is restrictive to communal learning (Johnson, 1982), while high verve settings have been shown to improve the academic functioning for many Black students (Bailey & Boykin, 2001; Carter, Hawkins, & Natesan, 2008; Young, 2017). By measuring the difference in teachers’ likelihood to recommend a described student for ADHD in both a traditional and high-verve classrooms, this study aims to investigate the role of verve in how teachers perceive Black students in relation to ADHD characteristics. The primary aim is to examine how increased task variability and a high verve classroom can shift teacher ratings of Black students’ abilities and lessen the degree of racialized difference of behavior-dependent diagnoses of ADHD. It is predicted that in the high verve setting these recommendations for Black students will drop significantly so that they will be equal to that of White students, reflecting the accurate prevalence of this learning disability.

A report from a 2015 descriptive study of the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) showed that 85% of the participants who were trained in strategies to address students’ reading difficulties in high school were not implementing them. Teachers’ implementation of ARI was the focus of this study. Pragmatism was the epistemological framework of the study, and Roger’s diffusion of innovation theory was the conceptual framework used to support the study. The purpose and corresponding research questions examined the extent of ARI implementation, reasons for not implementing those strategies, and ideas for future professional development in ARI. Six content-area teachers who taught Grade 9 participated in the study. A basic qualitative study was used to address research questions through individual interviews. Inductive and deductive coding was used to analyze data and identify themes. The results indicated that content area teachers who teach science and social studies implemented ARI strategies in their content to teach literacy. Math teachers did not implement ARI, citing time and a mismatch of ARI strategies with math content and ARI strategies. Strategies suggested to implement ARI were time with the literacy coach, embedded professional development, and collaboration among teachers. The results were used to create a 3-day teacher training project, which included these strategies. Results and project implementation can help administrators and teachers understand how to better implement school-wide reading initiatives in secondary schools, creating positive social change.

The aims of this study were to explore parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of what music therapy entails and what value it has for children with autism. In so doing, limitations in providing information about music therapy were identified. The context for this study involved Unica School for Autism in Menlo Park, Pretoria. Unica is a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) that provides specialised education for learners with autism between the ages of 3 and 18 years. Music therapy has been offered at Unica by both qualified music therapists and supervised music therapy students since 1995. This study was conducted within the qualitative research paradigm and, as such, sought to understand perceptions of, rather than ‘prove’, the value music therapy has for children with autism. Data collection took the form of 6 semi-structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed and data were coded, categorised and organised into themes. These themes then formed the basis for addressing the research questions. The findings of this study show, firstly, that direct contact with the music therapist, music therapy public presentations, and witnessing musical end products such as performances are the primary influences on parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of music therapy. Parents and teachers have some understanding of the objectives of music therapy. The findings show, secondly, that the parents and teachers have limited understanding of how music therapy works. This includes a lack of knowledge about clinical musical intention, intervention and the music therapy process. Finally, the findings show that parents and teachers at Unica hold music therapy in exceptionally high esteem. They are able to identify its value for children with autism in a number of areas, particularly in terms of social development and development of self, which relate directly and peripherally to the diagnosis of autism. The participants also recognise the lack of awareness about music therapy outside of the Unica environment, and express a wish for all children with autism to receive music therapy. Copyright / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Music / unrestricted

The still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into the works of conventional classroom teaching. Efforts taken to limit the spread of the virus have consequently led to school closures, moving lessons from a physical environment to an online equivalent. The present study investigates how and to what extent three English teachers in the Swedish upper secondary school perceive the effect of emergency remote teaching (ERT) has had on their pupils, with the aim to gain insight as to which motivational factors may have been impacted as a result of teaching moving online. Further, the study also aims to explore how the teachers’ approaches to motivating students had changed with the introduction of a sudden online learning environment, as well as how the teachers’ own motivation was impacted by teaching ERT. The topic was explored through qualitative interviews with participants using the three central aspects of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as the main analytical tool. The results demonstrated that teachers perceived that their learners’ motivation had been impacted during ERT due to lack of autonomy that had possibly been reinforced over time due to development and use of digital tools. In addition, competence may have been affected due to teachers implementing a high degree of structure in their lessons, and relatedness had been negatively impacted due to a lack of social interaction between students. Moreover, the approach for motivating students had changed for two of the three teachers, and that teachers’ own motivation has also been impacted in different ways by teaching remotely. In summary, this study concludes that schools and governing bodies alike need to review and implement new strategies for digital education in the future and must utilise previous experiences to evaluate and subsequently determine how to work with approaches that more productively considers student motivation and wellbeing. As such, this study could be useful to schools, teachers and educators when developing digital strategies in the future.

A phenomenological research study was conducted to examine teacher perceptions of elementary principals’ behaviors affecting school culture and climate. The researcher gathered data from participant interviews. Participants were selected using purposeful sampling of teachers identified by their principals as meeting study criteria. The schools in which teachers were selected were also chosen using purposeful sampling based on superintendents’ perceptions of positive principal influence on school culture and climate. Data analysis provided insight to the researcher into the phenomenon being explored in this study. Teachers were asked to participate in an individual interview with the researcher and provide answers to open ended questions regarding their perceptions of their principals’ influence on culture and climate in the school. The findings of the study were aligned with the literature regarding principal influence on school culture and climate. There was a clear relationship between principal behaviors and positive school culture and climate based on teacher perceptions. Three themes emerged as common in the data including relationships, communication, and shared leadership.

The English language surrounds young children from an early age, and as they growolder, it will continue to be an important part of their lives, both inside and outside ofschool. The ability to read English is therefore essential to participate in a democraticsociety. Previous research suggests that reading stories from an early age can supportyoung learners in acquiring new language. Therefore, this study aims to investigate howteachers select and use children’s literature in their EFL teaching for years 1-3. SixSwedish primary school EFL teachers have participated in this qualitative study. Theempirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The results show thatteachers express a positive attitude towards using children’s literature in their teachingand suggest several important factors when choosing and using it. However, the resultsalso indicate that teachers face challenges when implementing the materials, due tofactors such as time constraints. Despite the time constraints, several teachers usechildren’s literature because of the benefits, such as offering authentic language thatpupils can use in their daily life, both inside and outside of school.

This study was designed to address teachers' difficulties implementing Response-to-Intervention (RtI) program strategies at a low-performing school in south Texas in response to students failing to meet statewide assessment standards in reading. This exploratory case study investigated the perceptions of Grades 3 and 4 teachers to assist in understanding a pathway to increase higher fidelity of RtI implementation and improve student academic performance. Knowles's theory of andragogy and Lewin's change theory provided the framework for the study. The study included interview data from 6 purposefully selected Grades 3 and 4 teachers supplemented by document reviews of professional development (PD) presentations and RtI implementation policies. All data were analyzed using comparative and inductive analysis and coded into 7 emergent themes. The findings included the need for administrative supervision, a lack of RtI fidelity of implementation, and a need for PD focusing on interventions and organizational tools. The project, which was developed based on the findings and literature review, includes opportunities for learning and participating in campus RtI planning to gain support for the program, attending district-approved PD sessions to assist teachers' techniques to improve student performance in reading, and training in specific RtI progress monitor reporting to document use of the various interventions for individuals in the classroom. By ensuring that students receive RtI instruction that is designed to meet their individual academic needs, the project may help the school district decrease referrals to special education and improve students' reading abilities.

The problem this study addresses is the extent to which social-emotional learning programming is effectively implemented. Since social-emotional learning programming has emerged as a significant aspect of U.S. education, man states have included social-emotional standards and programming as an essential part of the curriculum. Researchers have found that effective reform includes not only emphasis on academic and standardized test scores, but also on social-emotional influences. As a school reform initiative, a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program is being implemented at a Midwestern high school. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive interview study was to explore the perceived effectiveness of the implementation. The conceptual framework was drawn from Fullan's 6 assertions that serve as a guide to monitor school success when implementing education reforms. The study's guiding questions concerned teachers' perceived supports and challenges in the process of implementation, as well as any perceived role changes they experienced during the process. Eight high school teachers who had taught the SEL classes were interviewed. Data were transcribed, coded for themes using Hatch's typology, and thematically analyzed. The key findings included that participants were supported by the counselors and their peers. However, they encountered implementation challenges including the class schedule, lack of student buy-in, and the need for ongoing supports to facilitate social emotional learning. This study contributes to social change by informing school leaders of best practices necessary to ensure the implementation and sustainability of SEL practices. Social-emotional learning initiatives that implemented with fidelity can improve both the academic and personal success of students.