It is essential for teacher candidates to be knowledgeable in behavior management, but the most effective method of training teacher candidates’ in this area is unknown. In this study a behavior management course, a common method for training teacher candidates in behavior management, is evaluated. An Interactive Teaching Assessment was developed to measure participants’ knowledge of behavior management in a behavior management course and compared to participants’ knowledge in this area in a control condition. The methods, results, implications, and steps for future research in this area are discussed.
Why not OU? Matriculation decisions of first-time direct-from-high-school students admitted to the University of Oklahoma (Education Papers posted on March 27th, 2013 )
This research project examined why undergraduate students who have applied and been admitted to the University of Oklahoma OU), chose not to attend OU. It contributes to the growing body of literature in higher education that examines the college selection process, enrollment management policies and procedures, undergraduate recruiting practices, and undergraduate admission policies. Literature in these areas can be divided into two categories: research studies from the student perspective college choice) and research studies from the academic institutions perspective enrollment management). In addition, the primary theme of this dissertation—enrollment choice— involves issues related to decision-making by both the student and the institution. Decision-making is a fundamental component of the leadership equation. Thus, this dissertation indirectly examines how future leaders—students—make major decisions that may affect their future； how current leaders—academic administrators—make decisions that may affect the institutions future； and how the interaction of both students and administrators influences the choices of each. Based on data collected and analyzed from all first-time direct-from high school students admitted to OU for the Fall 2005 semester, and the data collected and analyzed from a sub-sample of these students, seven categories of potential enrollment choice action areas were identified and discussed. These included: People—the demographic differences between students who chose to attend OU and those who did not； Choice—the selection policies and procedures the University uses in order to admit the desired student population； Market—the geographic regions that contain students most interested in attending OU； Competitors—the other schools these students consider in addition to OU； Money—the financial concerns of the desired student population； Communication—the ways in which the University interacts with the desired student population； and Perception—the intended and unintended image the institution projects about itself.
Critical elements and barriers to learning online: As identified in transition graduate coursework (Education Papers posted on March 27th, 2013 )
There is a critical need to identify effective delivery methods to increase the availability and impact of transition teacher preparation programs on knowledge and practices. The purpose of this research was to determine if the transition online courses are a viable means to increase the accessibility of critically needed transition education to teachers nationwide. Another purpose was to identify students perceptions regarding the benefits and barriers to online learning. This study examined the perceptions of 39 graduate students enrolled in 2 transition online courses offered in Spring 06. A mixed methods approach utilized an online survey, and focus group interviews to identify practitioners perspectives of the effectiveness of the online transition coursework. Students identified benefits that included flexibility, opportunity to interact with students and experts from various geographic regions, and for some students, an improved quality of learning. The most frequently identified barrier was that the coursework was time consuming. Other disadvantages included missing the face-to-face interaction, less access to professor, and technology issues. Overall, the students responses were varied； some students reported a better learning experience compared to face-to-face courses, some said it was the same, and some indicated they would have preferred the face-to-face format. Online education offers cause for optimism for improving transition practices. Students commented that the transition knowledge and skills they gained from the course was practical information that they were able to apply to current situations and programs. Students offered examples of the impact the courses had already had on their practices including improved IEP planning and implementation, knowledge and use of transition assessments, and working with families. Students perception of their online experience is vital information for online instructors. Online instructors can use this feedback to enhance teacher/student interaction, and to modify course design and organization to improve students learning experience.
An investigation of parents’ and children’s beliefs of early literacy acquisition from a cross-cultural perspective (Education Papers posted on March 27th, 2013 )
It has been reported that the cultural-historical experiences of ethnic group members can play a role in the literacy beliefs of those members. Socioeconomic conditions can also influence the belief system of the groups constituents. This study investigated parents and childrens beliefs pertaining to early literacy acquisition as related to the ethnicity and socioeconomic status SES) of the participants. The objectives were to determine a) the differential patterns regarding emergent literacy and traditional skills approaches as they interact with ethnicity and SES and b) the correspondence between parents and childrens beliefs about literacy acquisition. The study was conducted with 152 parents 38 low-income Hispanic, 38 middle-income Hispanic, 38 low-income African-American, and 38 middle-income African-American) and 36 of their 3-, 4-, or 5-year-old children 18 male and 18 female). The parents were asked to check those items with which they agreed on a survey that consisted of an equal number of items from the traditional skills-based and emergent literacy orientations. These responses were used to determine the differences and interaction by ethnicity and SES. The children responded to open-ended questions related to the instruction of reading and writing skills. The parents responses and childrens answers were compared to ascertain the matching parent-child dyads by ethnicity and SES. An item analysis was conducted to strengthen the internal reliability consistency coefficient of the traditional skills-based and emergent literacy scales as measured by the Cronbach Alpha. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance MANOVA) revealed a significant difference in traditional skill-based beliefs for the low-income African-American and Hispanic parents. There were no significant findings for the parents traditional skill based or emergent literacy beliefs based on ethnicity, for the interaction between ethnicity and SES, or for the relationship between parents and childrens literacy beliefs by ethnicity and SES. It can be concluded that low-income African-American and Hispanic parents believe in the traditional skills approach, indicating that these parents find it necessary for children to have sufficient school readiness skills prior to learning to read or write. In addition, the parent and child dyads had a strong tendency toward emergent literacy beliefs.
Does leadership matter? The relationship between leadership characteristics and student achievement in private career colleges (Education Papers posted on March 27th, 2013 )
This dissertation examines leadership in the private career college sector and examines its relationship to student achievement outcomes in terms of student program completion and employment attainment. The research questions for this study are (1) “What leadership characteristics are exercised by college leaders in private career colleges?” (2) “What leadership characteristics are believed to be important by college leaders in private career colleges?” and (3) “Is there a relationship between the leadership characteristics of leaders within private career colleges and the rates at which students attending those institutions complete their programs of study and attain employment in the field for which they received training?” The study used data collected from surveys distributed to institutional leaders in private career colleges and their institutions’ rates of student program completion and employment attainment. The surveys asked respondents to rate the frequency with which certain leadership characteristics are exhibited and asked respondents to rank those characteristics in order of importance. The survey results were correlated to institutional student achievement outcomes data which demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between leadership and student achievement. College leaders who indicated higher rates of frequency for exhibiting leadership characteristics and were more able to discern the characteristics collectively identified as the most important tended to represent institutions with higher rates of student program completion. In addition, it was found that higher rates of student program completion tend to yield higher rates of graduate job attainment and therefore, it appears that leadership characteristics affect graduate employment indirectly through those actions that affect student program completion.
Reconstructing the status quo: Bilingual and bicultural practices in a dual-language school (Education Papers posted on March 27th, 2013 )
This dissertation investigates how bilingualism and biculturalism are understood and practiced in the fifth grade at a dual-language elementary school. Dual-language programs offer children from a variety of linguistic backgrounds the promise of becoming bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural. I was particularly interested in unpacking the concept of biculturalism in this context because there is little research that focuses on the cultural goals of dual-language programs. I found that the program was underpinned by a liberal orientation towards biculturalism which highlighted sameness and downplayed, or even undervalued, difference. I investigated students attitudes towards bilingualism and biculturalism by examining participants uses of discursive tactics of intersubjectivity Bucholtz & Hall, 2005). I used this framework to understand how children used their two languages to ally themselves with and distance themselves from particular people, groups, and linguistic varieties. Children and adults develop discourses, relationships, meaning, and knowledge through their active engagement in communities of practice Wenger, 1998). In this study, I studied the way that fifth graders constructed and participated in bilingual and bicultural communities of practice by analyzing students access to participation, their use of discourse, and the creation of third spaces. I found that English and English speakers enjoyed privileged status in the fifth grade communities of practice despite the predominant ideology of equality that circulated throughout the school. I suggest that a greater effort is needed to incorporate curricula and spaces in which Spanish speakers and Hispanocentric cultural forms can be central to the creation of discourses, interactional norms, meanings, and knowledge production. As such, I conclude that while the school was bilingual, the development of more spaces which engender the development of bicultural practices would be beneficial. Additionally, I suggest that the separation of languages necessitated by the dual-language model worked to support theories about bilingualism which were not reflective of the teachers professional knowledge and beliefs. While the program model was fundamentally based on the idea of the separation of languages, teachers believed that bilinguals languages were interdependent. The explicit cross-linguistic examination of the two languages would enrich the students bilingual and bicultural development.
Evaluation of mathematics methods online: Planning knowledge, classroom applications, and pupil outcomes (Education Papers posted on March 27th, 2013 )
This study examined the effects of an online mathematics methods class on preservice teachers knowledge of instructional planning, classroom instructional planning performance, and classroom pupil outcomes in mathematics. In this study, the effects of an online mathematics methods course on preservice teachers mathematics planning skills were examined using a modification of a time series design. Preservice teachers were presented a case study planning measure) prior to instruction and following each of three instructional modules. Following instruction, preservice teachers were placed in a practicum setting and asked to turn in products classroom application measure) from each phase of their planning routines. Responses were evaluated in terms of the dependent variable. An additional analysis was preformed on preservice teachers practicum pupil mathematics performance. Preservice teachers designed a curriculum-based assessment for pupils in their practicum placements curriculum-based pupil outcome measure). These were administered at the beginning of the practicum placement as a pretest, and again at the end of the practicum placement to assess overall pupil growth. The planning and classroom application measures required preservice teachers to complete an eight-step instructional planning routine. Steps of this routine are a) analyze the curriculum domain, b) develop survey curriculum based assessments CBAs), c) administer survey CBAs, d) analyze test results, e) define the instructional program, f) develop focused CBAs for each targeted skill, g) develop a monitoring system, and h) implement effective instruction. Planning measure results indicate that following online instruction participant performance on instructional planning significantly improves. Classroom application measure results indicate that preservice teacher utilize this information in a practicum setting after completion of the online instruction at a rate consistent with postinstruction performance. Preservice teachers practicum pupil performance on the curriculum-based assessments was divided into four categories: skills identified as already known on the initial CBA； skills for which the pupils received no instruction； skills that pupils were currently working on based on progress data participants were collecting； and skills that, according to participants progress data, were mastered during the practicum placement. Results on the curriculum-based pupil outcome measure indicate that pupil mathematics performance increased on items for which they received instruction, and remained stable on items for which they did not receive instruction. A qualitative postassessment of preservice teachers views of the online mathematics methods course suggested that participants liked the flexibility the online course offered and the instructor availability. They disliked the amount of time spent on assignments and course assessments.
Dubois’s double consciousness: Unifying the singular experiences of Black doctoral students in predominantly White institutions (Education Papers posted on March 27th, 2013 )
The purpose of this study of Black doctoral students in predominantly White institutions PWI) was to give voice to the students experience of their graduate programs and to consider their struggle to make meaning of their “double-consciousness” while matriculating. In the past, researchers have spent considerable time developing racial identity scales and measurements. Researchers have not, however, given equal attention to DuBoiss idea of “double-consciousness” within Black graduate student populations. Consequently, scholars know little of Black students experience of their graduate program and the meaning they make of changes in their “double-consciousness” because of this matriculation. More important, there is a sparsity of research describing how Blacks reconcile the differences between who they are before entering their doctoral program and who they are to become after it. Qualitative methods, i.e., autophotography, autoethnography, and in-depth interviews, are used to let the participants tell the stories of their struggles to reconcile the differences between who they are in the academy and who they are outside the academy. Each participant, four Black female doctoral students enrolled in a PWI, contributed to the study through each of these methods. Each of their contributions was then coded and analyzed； resulting in a single rich case study, four in all. A cross case analysis of all data sets followed the four case studies. Researchers have had access to quantitative and qualitative data describing the Black student experience in higher education since the early 70s. Yet, Blacks and other minorities are still blind-sided by the realities of higher education—the doctoral experience. Many Black doctoral students are left with irreparable psychic damage resulting in high attrition and “all but dissertation status” ABD) status. This study began to develop a coherent framework describing not “what” but “HOW” Blacks experience their doctoral program. Themes such as: participant background, experiences of the PWI, double consciousness, and representations of self emerged from the participants stories. These themes are considered in this study and their implications for other students, faculty, and universities are provided.
Knowledge Management Maturity Model: Theoretical development and preliminary empirical testing (Education Papers posted on March 27th, 2013 )
While the field of knowledge management has received widespread attention from practitioners and scholars, it suffers from a lack of reliable and scientifically grounded metrics to measure the processes and outcomes of such efforts. Today, managers have to rely on anecdotal descriptions to justify knowledge management efforts. Lacking a meaningful framework for describing the trajectory of knowledge management, it is viewed as a fad by many. In this research, we propose a Knowledge Management Maturity Model [KM-MM]. This model is grounded in the science of semiotics, and is comprised of four components related to knowledge management； sources management, analytics management, meaning management, and action management. Collectively, these four components constitute the set of activities an organization must execute in order to manage knowledge. For each of the phases, five levels of maturity are identified: ad hoc, reactive, appreciative, organized, and optimized. The KM-MM will enable organizations to evaluate, assess, and benchmark their knowledge management efforts. The metrics that emerge from the model can be used to improve an organization’s knowledge management agenda. The focus of this dissertation will be to validate the components of knowledge management—sources management, analytics management, interpretation management, and action management and to uncover critical practices conducted by organizations when managing each component of knowledge management.
The teacher’s body: Discourse, power, and discipline in the history of the feminization of teaching (Education Papers posted on March 27th, 2013 )
Historical studies of the feminization of teaching have provided important additions to feminist understandings of teaching and education in general. However, most historical accounts of the feminization of teaching have absorbed the body. Teachers are presented as body-less entities. El cuerpo is ignored, passed over, and perhaps denied to the point of invisibility. The absence of the body in educational research is problematic. The purpose of this dissertation is to reveal the images of the body of the teacher in the history of the feminization of teaching HFT) texts and to illuminate the discursive impacts on the body of the teacher in HFT texts. Multiple epistemologies of the body provide a theoretical framework and analytical tool to highlight the often-ignored and marginalized body of the teacher. I draw on multiple research methods of deconstruction, genealogical analysis, and carnal metodologias to allow for images of the body to emerge and for discursive impacts on the body to surface. Four images of the body are discussed as possibilities: teacher as container, spatial organization of the teachers body, teachers body as performative, and resisting bodies. The implications of the study suggest a rethinking of the teachers body as a vessel of multiple possibilities and counter discourses, beginning in a revolutionary teacher education. Western and androcentric conceptions of educational spaces must be redefined in order to allow for new possibilities for teaching and learning. Unleashing the “unruly” passionate body of the teacher is a subversive act of contingency and critical transformative pedagogics. The study concludes with recommendations for further research intended to broaden the research scope of current educational inquiry. Suggestions for deeper examinations include a genealogical analysis of teaching and the teacher in order to problematize current educational discourses i.e., accountability, best practices, child centered, cooperative learning). Hybrid methodologies and examinations that center the body in current contexts could generate more discussion about the im)possibility to carry out liberatory/radical projects in the classroom. Examinations of how research impacts and is impacted by the body could illuminate the inter- intrarelationship that research has with the body.