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open access

Teacher Decision-Making: Cultural Mediation in Two High School English Language Arts Classrooms

Description: Although studies have addressed high school English language arts (ELA) instruction, little is known about the decision-making process of ELA teachers. How do teachers decide between the resources and instructional strategies at their disposal? This study focused on two monolingual teachers who were in different schools and grades. They were teaching mainstream students or English Language Learners. Both employed an approach to writing instruction that emphasized cultural mediation. Two questio… more
Date: August 2011
Creator: Araujo, Juan José
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Comparison of Principals’ Perceptions of Preparedness Based on Leadership Development Opportunities

Description: This research study identified the frequency in which six public school districts in Texas provided principals with effective development opportunities prior to the principalship excluding university or certification programs. A purposive sample of over 200 principals from six school districts in the Dallas/Fort Worth area were asked to participate in the study yielding a response rate of 41%. Respondents identified through a questionnaire their leadership development opportunities and percept… more
Date: August 2011
Creator: Holacka, Karin V.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Novice Generalist and Content teachers’ Perceptions of Contextual Factors Affecting Personal Teaching Efficacy

Description: New teachers begin the school year with optimism and enthusiasm, but their excitement quickly wanes as they encounter the realities of the everyday life of a teacher. When they do not experience the successes they predicted, many begin to doubt their capabilities, which results in a lowered sense of teaching efficacy. This descriptive study was designed to identify the contextual factors novice teachers perceive as influences on personal teaching efficacy and to examine the relationships betwee… more
Date: August 2011
Creator: Hooten, Dorleen Billman
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

High School Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Principals As Culturally Proficient Leaders

Description: This study examined Texas high school teachers’ perceptions of their principals as culturally proficient leaders, focusing specifically on how teacher-, school-, and principal-related factors impacted these perceptions. A sample of 104 teachers in culturally diverse secondary schools from a large urban district in Texas participated. An electronic survey was utilized to collect data. Results yielded an average total cultural proficiency score of 111 out of a possible 175, indicating that teache… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Owens Luper, Willene DeeAndra
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Missed Opportunities: Examining The LiteracyExperiences Of African American Students Displaced By Hurricane Katrina.

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine how five African American middle school students, who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina represent their literacy experiences before, during, and after their displacement. Specifically, the two research questions were: (a) What are the stories that these middle school students tell about their lives, before, during, and after their displacement, and (b) What do their stories reveal about their literacy experience before, during, and after their displace… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Pollard, Tamica McClarty
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Anti-bullying Policies And Practices In Texas Middle Schools

Description: For over a decade national attention to bullying in American schools has increased, fueled by publicity about suicides of severely bullied youth. Schools have the charge of maintaining the safety of all students in order to ensure a positive learning environment, but there is little information about what they are doing to prevent bullying. The purpose of this study was to provide information on principals’ perceptions of bullying and what anti-bullying policies, procedures, and programs exist… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Robbins, Rosemary
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Struggling Middle School Readers Learning To Make Intertextual Connections With Texts

Description: When people read, they often make connections to their lives, the world, and other texts. Often, these connections are not overt, but are a thinking process invisible to observers. The purpose of this study was to explore the intertextual connections struggling middle school students made as they read multiple topically-related texts to build knowledge, through observation of discussions, surveys, and interviews with students. The students received 30 lessons based on the constructivist model o… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Johnson, Sunni
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Critical Literacy Practices, Social Action Projects, and the Reader Who Struggles in School

Description: This study, conducted at an urban public school, explored the engagements of five, fourth grade, African American students who struggled with reading in school as they participated in critical literacy practices and social action projects with the assumption that critical analysis of written texts and concrete social actions were necessary for student empowerment. Using Discourse Analysis within a microethnographic framework, participants’ responses were analyzed. Early in the study, participan… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Bauer, Courtney Marie
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Examination Of Three Texas High Schools' Restructuring Strategies That Resulted In An Academically Acceptable Rating

Description: This study examined three high schools in a large urban school district in Texas that achieved an academically acceptable rating after being sanctioned to reconstitute by state agencies. Texas state accountability standards are a result of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2011 (NCLB). Texas state law requires schools to design a reconstitution plan after the second year of receiving an academically unacceptable school rating for failing to meet the required standards on state assessments, dropou… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Massey Fields, Chamara
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Podcasting in an Eighth-Grade American History Class

Description: The purpose of this study was to see how students used podcasts in an eighth-grade American history unit and the value they placed on them as an educational tool. The 6-week study was conducted in a suburban middle school in a district that is part of a large metropolitan area in Texas. Participants included 29 students and 2 eighth-grade teachers. The research questions were the following: (1) How do students use podcasts in an eighth-grade American history class? (2) How do students perceive … more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Davis, Patrick D.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Impact of Collegial-Teaming on High-School and University Instructors: A Descriptive Multi-Case Study

Description: This descriptive multi-case study systematically explored the team teaching relationship between a secondary teacher and a university faculty member. Multiple interviews, classroom observations, and analysis of available data provided insights into the interactions of these particular collegial-teams, drawn together for the purpose of providing rigorous STEM curriculum to high-ability students during a three-week residential program. Data revealed that successful collaboration can be described … more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Dearman, Christina T.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Meta-Analysis of the Impact of After-School Programs on Students Reading and Mathematics Performance

Description: The purpose of this study employing meta-analysis was to assess the impact that after-school programs have on reading and mathematics outcomes. The participants in the primary studies were students in Grades K through 8; years 200 through 2009. The study utilized the theory of change as its theoretical basis. This meta-analysis used the effect size as the standard measure. It began with an overall Cohen's d of .40 for the impact that after-school programs have on reading and mathematics outcome… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Crawford, Stanley T.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Ecological Understanding of Teacher Quality in Early Childhood Programs: Implications and Recommendations

Description: This research examined whether or not relationships exist between preschool teacher quality and parent involvement as indicated by the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler Model of Parent Involvement Survey. Additionally, the study also considered family income and child membership in special education as predictors of parent involvement. The survey instruments included the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale, Revised (ECERS-R) and the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler Parent Involvement Survey. A total … more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Macias-Brown, Armandina A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Federal Judiciary and Establishment Clause Jurisprudence: Application of the Lemon Test since Mitchell v. Helms

Description: The issue of religion and its place in society has been a topic of controversy and debate since long before the creation of our constitutional republic. The relationship between religion and government has witnessed some of its most intense conflicts when the governmental entity in question involves public education. As our country moved into the 20th century, legal challenges in the field of public education began to emerge calling into question the constitutionality of various policies and pr… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Sanders, Russell Scott
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Elementary Math Achievement in Texas: What is Working?

Description: Elementary math teachers (76) from selected Texas schools that included Grade 5 responded to an online self-report survey with respect to school-level factors that may be associated with student math achievement. Questions on the survey focused on school-level factors related to math, campus leadership, integration of technology in the math classroom, teacher expectations, utilization of student data in decision-making and professional development. The schools included in the study were rated a… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Moore, Linda H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Rural School Principals' Perceived Use of Data in Data-Driven Decision-Making and the Impact on Student Achievement

Description: This study examined the impact of principals' data-driven decision-making practices on student achievement using the theoretical frame of Dervin's sense-making theory. This study is a quantitative cross-sectional research design where principals' perceptions about data were quantitatively captured at a single point in time. The participants for this study were 253 rural school principals currently serving in schools across Texas, and included both males and females across all ethnic groups, inc… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Rogers, K. Kaye
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

School Consolidation Impact on State and Local Revenues and Expenditures in Texas

Description: This study examined financial aspects of the consolidation or annexation of 12 pairs of school districts in Texas during the period 1996-2006. Nine of the twelve districts consolidated by mutual agreement of the two school boards and three annexations were by order of the Commissioner of Education of Texas. Financial criteria studied were: a) per pupil expenditures, b) total state aid, c) transportation costs, d) administrative costs, e) school district "wealth" status, and f) facilities assets… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Stewart, Marvin
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Actions Taken by Texas School Districts to Prevent Fraud

Description: This research is a descriptive analysis answering the question, what measures are currently taken by the leadership―boards of trustees and superintendents of schools―of Texas school districts to prevent embezzlement? The research perspective utilized was quantitative with a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Data collection was accomplished through a survey with questions constructed from the most commonly recommended strategies discovered through the review of literature. The sur… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Taylor, Gordon Douglas
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Hispanic Women Leaders in K‒12 Public Education: Overcoming Barriers to Success

Description: Scholarly research has been written on the forces behind the barriers preventing Hispanic women from reaching the top of the public school ladder. These barriers are to be recognized and addressed. This study focuses not on the barriers which hinder forward and upward career movement, but instead examines how many Hispanic American women have not allowed these barriers to prevent them from achieving their goals of attaining the principalship. This study seeks to determine how Hispanic women pri… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Falk, Cora Torres
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Effects of the Texas Principal Excellence Program on Texas Principal Leadership Behavior and School Outcomes

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine the leadership and school outcome effects of the Texas Principal Improvement program; which authorized the School Leadership Pilot Program under Texas Education Code 11.203. The specific research questions were: What effects did participating in the Texas Principal Excellence Program in 2009-2010 have on participants and their schools? What changes in participants' self-reported and peer-observed leader behaviors occurred between the initial assessment a… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Fouche, Todd P.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Role of Social Integration in the Persistence of African American Men in College

Description: This qualitative study addressed the experiences of African American males attending a predominantly White university as undergirded by the social integration aspects of Tinto's model of academic and social integration. The methodology was case study. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were held with currently enrolled seniors to capture the lived experiences of their reasons for attending college as well as major influences that contributed to their persistence decisions. The results revealed … more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Garrett-Spencer, Jacqueline
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Texas High School Principals' Attitudes Toward the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in the General Education Classroom

Description: This study examined Texas high school principals' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. School leaders today face increasing demands with the revised state accountability system. For example, students with disabilities are required to take the Texas Assessment Knowledge and Skills Test (TAKS) and on grade level. Hence, one of the strategies of schools has been to mainstream or include special education students in the regular classroom.… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Farris, Troy K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Sheltered Instruction: A Case Study of Three High School English Teachers' Experiences with the SIOP Model

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine the current status of secondary teachers' implementation of the sheltered instruction operational protocol (SIOP) model and its effect on Hispanic English language learners' (ELL) English language proficiency and academic achievement. In addition, this study sought to determine whether teachers perceive the SIOP model as an effective tool for instruction of high school ELL students to increase English language content and English language proficiency. … more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Bertram, Rodney L.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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