Browsing by Subject "Elementary education"

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Children's mathematical understandings of tessellations : a cognitive and aesthetic synthesis
(2011-12) Eberle, Robert Scott; Carmona Domínguez, Guadalupe de la Paz; Berland, Leema; Empson, Susan; Sinclair, Nathalie; Starbird, Michael; Stroup, Walter
Tessellations have a rich mathematical structure and are especially appropriate as a context for teaching geometry in the middle grades. Few studies have researched how children conceptualize and learn tessellations in spite of their international use in educational contexts. This exploratory study looks at how fourth grade students conceptualize tessellations before instruction. The analysis is done from a Piagetian, cognitive viewpoint and from an aesthetic viewpoint. It is argued that the aesthetic viewpoint is crucial and foundational to children's mathematical understanding, just as it is for mathematicians. A series of clinical interviews was conducted with six fourth grade children. The results identified common themes of children's understanding, strategies, reasoning, and aesthetic criteria for tessellations. Children's ontology varied between object and process conceptions of tessellations. Children struggled especially with the infinite space of mathematical tessellations. Children's aesthetics, including symmetry, influenced their choices in creating tessellations and are shown to have played a cognitive role in children's mathematical exploration of tessellation structures. Mathematics influences students' aesthetic appreciation of tessellations and, more importantly, aesthetics drives the study of the mathematical structure of tessellations. Children's aesthetic criteria were the same as mathematicians', but with much different emphases. Other results are discussed, including the mathematical content elicited by the tasks, the influence of the tools used to create tessellations, the children's epistemology of their tessellations, and the role symmetry played in giving children confidence. Recommendations for future research and possible implications for curriculum and instruction are noted.
Contradictions and possibilities : examining the complexities of conferring across three elementary literacy classrooms
(2017-05) Taylor, Laura Ann; Mosley Wetzel, Melissa; Bomer, Randy; Hoffman, James V; Keating, Elizabeth; Maloch, Beth; Martínez, Ramón A
This study explores the enactment of literacy conferences in reading and writing workshop across three classrooms at the same elementary campus, considering how these interactions between teacher and student served as spaces for humanizing literacy practice. To extend existing research on the discursive patterns and roles within literacy conferences, I examined reading and writing conferences from a critical perspective, drawing on theories of humanizing pedagogy and third space to study the circulation of power in these events. The study was guided by two research questions: (1) How do teachers and students co-construct critical humanizing pedagogy within reading and writing conferences?; and (2) How do teachers and students negotiate contradictions that arise in this work? The study is framed as a multiple case study of literacy conferences in three elementary classrooms within one urban elementary school. Using an ethnographic approach to data collection, I observed literacy instruction in first-, second-, and fourth-grade classrooms for five months. Data sources included: video- and audio-recording and field notes of reading and writing conferences; audio-recording and field notes of other components of literacy instruction; multiple teacher interviews; and artifacts of literacy instruction. Two focal teacher-student dyads were selected in each classroom, and eight conferences between each of these dyads were chosen for further analysis (resulting in a total of forty-eight focal conferences). I used a microethnographic approach to discourse analysis to analyze each focal conference, examining how literacy knowledges, practices, and identities were constructed in these interactions through the verbal and nonverbal actions of teacher and student. In the findings, I first detail how humanizing pedagogical discourses expressed by teachers in interviews were enacted in literacy conferences, including how these discourses at times contradicted and conflicted other discourses circulating in the classroom. Then, I consider how teachers strategically used these contradictions to construct moments of third space with students during conferences that produced new understandings of literacy. This analysis suggests that the enactment of humanizing pedagogy within literacy conferences is a necessarily complex social practice, but also one that allows for emancipatory knowledge and identity construction.
Elementary school administrators' perceptions of parental involvement : from espoused theory to theory-in-use within school improvement efforts
(2011-05) Garcia, Maritza Fuentes; Young, Michelle D.; Olivarez, Ruben; valenzuela, Angela; Barrera, John; Guthrie, Hal
This qualitative study explored the perceptions and practices of elementary school administrators regarding parental involvement in three urban elementary schools. Particular attention was given to understanding the connection between the beliefs that school leaders shared about parental involvement and its role in school improvement (i.e., their espoused theories) and to how they supported parental involvement in their school community (i.e., their theories in use). Using Argyris and Schön’s (1978) theories of action framework, face-to face interview data and school and district documents were collected and analyzed to explore how well administrators’ practices relative to parental involvement (theory-in-use) aligned with their beliefs and perceptions (espoused theory). As such, data analysis focused on understanding both what administrators believe and what they do to use parental involvement to support school improvement efforts.
Engaging elementary students in active learning through engineering : methods, observations and outcomes
(2014-08) Pearce, Logan Anthony; Petrosino, Anthony J. (Anthony Joseph), 1961-; Barufaldi, James
Engineering as a pedagogical tool for teaching content and driving student intellectual development is often confined to secondary school grades – middle and high school students. The goal of this work is to explore the feasibility of incorporating engineering, in the form of engineering design challenges, into elementary grade levels. The hypothesis is that engineering design challenges can be made to be age appropriate for elementary students, specifically 1st grade students, without sacrificing elements which make them effective pedagogical tools. This hypothesis was tested through the designing of an engineering design challenge for 1st grade students, which was then taught to a group of elementary students, whose responses were analyzed for desired outcomes indicating effectiveness. The design challenge was demonstrated to be engaging, effective, and feasible for the group of elementary students participating in the research. Students were observed to display engineering habits of mind, an understanding of cause and effect, systems thinking, and a basic understanding of science content through participation in the design challenge. Aspects of the design challenge which were not effective or age appropriate are discussed in this work, and recommendations for further modification of the design challenge to better accommodate elementary students is given.
Examining the influence of principal leadership in urban, high-performing, high-poverty elementary schools
(2011-05) Miranda, Angie; Olivárez, Rubén; Ovando, Martha N.; Pazey, Barbara; Gentry, Hilda; Claybon, Karen
This study considered the important role that principal leadership plays in the implementation of changes that are designed to close achievement gaps among student groups. A qualitative research approach and protocol was followed, and a multiple case study methodological approach was utilized. The data gathered consisted of interviews of three principals, three instructional coordinators, and three teacher leaders. A review of documents, artifacts, observations, field notes, and member check data were used to triangulate data. The data analysis applied the McRel Balanced Leadership conceptual framework and used three research questions to organize and guide the discussion and findings. These research questions are: (1) How did the principal implement research-based leadership responsibilities that led to the pursuit of high academic achievement for all students? (2) How did the principals implement a school-wide improvement framework that has resulted in sustained academic achievement growth for all students? (3) How did the principal implement the identified strategies that ensured high academic achievement among all student populations? Over the course of five months, data were gathered through individual interviews, observations, analysis of documents, and other artifacts. Several themes emerged as a result of data analysis. These included: (a) communicated ideals and beliefs, (b) challenged status quo, (c) culture of collaboration, (d) focus on learning, (e) data driven, (f) research based learning, (g) and curriculum alignment. The findings in the study suggest that the principals were instrumental in creating the conditions that helped the teachers build upon their collective capacity to support student success.
Examining whiteness in elementary art education
(2022-06-14) Link, Bethany L.; Brown, Keffrelyn D.; Kraehe, Amelia; De Lissovoy, Noah; Payne, Katharina
Elementary art curriculum requires educators to teach about cultures they are not a part of and places they have never been, yet there is little research examining how art teachers enact this multicultural curriculum. This critical ethnographic case study asks how two white elementary art educators enact curriculum addressing cultures other than their own and how race and whiteness operate in their curriculum work. Data from this qualitative research was collected through observations, interviews, questionnaires, and artifacts. The research design involves three phases where the researcher moved from observing teachers’ multicultural curriculum work, to guiding critical reflection, and finally to collaborating on writing critical multicultural curriculum that teachers then enacted. Findings from this research suggest that teachers’ sociocultural knowledge shapes and animates their teaching philosophies often in dysconscious ways. Guiding teachers to critically reflect on how their biography, biases, and positionality influence their teaching was often uncomfortable, but necessary for deepening their multicultural curriculum work. Findings also suggest that the habitus of art education reinforced the notion of the arts as white property. This ideology was embedded in both the formal and informal curriculum and maintained by the teachers’ pre-service programs, their colleagues, and district leaders. This study also found that enacting critical multiculturalism requires intentional and flexible scaffolding to guide students to engage in sociocultural dialogue while remaining open to teachable moments. This involves organizing lessons that intentionally disrupt whiteness to forge meaningful relationships across difference. This research also found that white defenses were diffused by building relationships with the teachers, working in solidarity, and providing critical and ongoing support. These findings indicate the need for art teacher education and mentorship that prepares new teachers to engage in sociocultural dialogue and critically reflect on how their positionality and biography impact their curriculum work. This research also suggests that traditional notions of multiculturalism are harmful and proposes pathways to rethink how art teachers design and enact multicultural curriculum. The researcher suggests a framework for art teachers’ multicultural curriculum work which moves beyond including diverse artists towards decentering whiteness as the normative frame of reference.
Figured worlds and dual language experts in two-way immersion classes : an ethnographic case study
(2011-05) Slade, William Staughan; Palmer, Deborah K., 1969-; Callahan, Rebecca
Two-Way Immersion (TWI) programs offer settings and goals that foster multilingual and multicultural communities; however, communities are complex and fluid, and have aspects that may or may not promote equitable education and learning. This research analyzes the actions and interactions of a group of first grade students to address how community develops during the first semester of implementation of a TWI program. Theoretical notions of figured worlds and communities of practice frame the analysis of ethnographic data to provide insight into the complex social and pedagogical dynamics of this setting 1) through conversations with teachers, 2) through observations of teacher-student interactions during teacher-centered activities, and 3) through observations of students interacting with less teacher presence. Findings describe the teachers’ discourses about their students, which centered on issues of equity and dismantling language status hierarchies. The findings also describe practices that the teachers themselves frame as promoting unified, equitable communities; however, analysis was mixed in finding that certain practices appeared to promote unity within the classroom and others appeared to reinforce divisions among students. Key findings also confirm the results of other researchers regarding the positioning of initially bilingual students in TWI as “dual language experts.” This study notes some ramifications of teaching practices and aspects of the specific 50-50 TWI model for the entire community of learners, which, while elevating balanced bilinguals may marginalize English learners and Spanish learners.
First-year teachers’ perceptions of writing and writing instruction in their primary classroom : three case studies
(2011-05) McDonnold, Kathleen Whitby; Roser, Nancy; Bomer, Randy; Hoffman, James V.; Maloch, Anna E.; Schallert, Diane L.
This interpretive case study is an investigation of three first-year teachers’ perceptions of student writing and writing instruction in second grade classrooms. The portrayals describe each teacher’s early experiences with literacy and their professional path that led them to the classroom. The case studies also present the knowledge and the resources these three teachers report drawing on during their first year as a professional. A description of the each classroom and an account of writing instruction further contextualizes the interpretation of the perceptions about student writing and writing instruction each teacher. Classroom observation and interview data were collected during the spring semester of these three teachers first year as a professional in the classroom. Data analysis was ongoing and inductive (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Recurring themes and patterns across the cases were used to build representations that most exemplified each teacher’s perceptions. The findings in this study suggest that novice teachers draw from multiple sources of knowledge as they teach writing for the first time. The findings also suggest that the strongest influences on beginning teachers’ writing instruction are their own experiences as a writer, their assigned mentor, and their grade-level team members. From the classroom observations and debriefing interviews, the findings further suggest that beginning teachers assume writing ideas come from teachers and that there is a particular writing process that is to be followed systematically. The findings also suggest that beginning teachers believe public displays of student work should be perfect and therefore place great importance on the conventions and mechanics of writing. The implications for this study and suggestions for future research relate to the potential for first year teachers to draw from multiple sources in their teacher education programs, the potential for school-based mentoring programs where mentor teachers receive training to support their work with new teachers especially as it impacts their practice and develops their expertise as they teach writing, and the potential for first year teachers to take the initiative for their own professional development as they continue to improve their practice teaching writing.
Hidden in history : examining Asian American elementary teachers’ enactment of Asian American history
(2017-05) Rodríguez, Noreen Naseem; Salinas, Cinthia; Franquiz, María E; Philip, Thomas; Payne, Katherina; Cooc, North; Brown, Anthony L
Compared to other groups of color, Asian Americans are arguably the most invisible ethnoracial group in the traditional narrative of U.S. history that pervades K-12 schooling. In contemporary scholarship about teachers of color, Asian Americans are also largely ignored. This qualitative case study examined how three Asian American elementary teachers enacted Asian American historical narratives in their classrooms through an Asian Critical Race Theory (AsianCrit) framework, with particular attention to their understanding of the dominant narrative of history, their use of Asian American children's literature, and their conceptualizations of citizenship. The teachers' racialized and hybrid experiences as 1.5 and second generation immigrants deeply informed their approaches to teaching Asian American history through multiple interpretations of resistance to the dominant narrative. This study revealed the complexity of teaching more critically conscious histories of groups that have long been excluded from social studies textbooks while demonstrating the transformative possibilities of such work with diverse young students.
How do teacher practices influence student academic performance in required after-school tutoring?
(2010-12) Naseem, Noreen; Fránquiz, María E.; Palmer, Deborah
Since the inception of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, schools with high populations of at-risk students who are not meeting academic standards must provide supplementary educational services (SES) to their struggling learners. This study examines the tutoring program of an urban Texas elementary school that rapidly improved its state accountability over the course of a few years. Through interviews with teachers and an analysis of their lesson plans and standardized assessment data, several themes emerged that were identified as factors leading to the school’s academic success.
Integrating management with instruction : how district aligned curricula has altered teacher thinking
(2011-05) Bay-Borelli, Debra E.; Brown, Christopher P., Ph. D.; Svinicki, Marilla; Roser, Nancy; Lucksinger, Linda; Ritchie, Scott
In light of the continual debate among researchers regarding new teachers’ concerns about classroom management and the need to insure that instruction results in positive student learning the focus of this qualitative case study has been to examine how five second and third year teachers planned for and thought about the management of student engagement during instruction. The main purpose of this study was to examine the professional thinking of five second and third year teachers while planning for a lesson in comparison to their actions during the lesson and later how they reflected on that plan. In addition, the teachers’ beliefs about how they learned to integrate management with instruction during planning were examined. The results of this study indicate these five teachers did intentionally think about and plan for the integration of management with instruction during their lessons. District aligned curricula were used in each of these teachers’ districts which caused them to alter the traditional planning model so they could plan for the integration of management with instruction in their lessons. In addition these teachers believed they learned to address management with instruction as a result of their first year(s) of teaching.
Managing the three-ring circus : a study of student teachers’ understanding and learning of classroom management decision making
(2011-05) Cassady, Allison Hanna; Field, Sherry L.
Learning to manage a classroom of twenty-two elementary students is often likened to conducting a three-ring circus, particularly in the eyes of student teachers. As they enter the field, student teachers are given their first opportunities to observe and experience the delicate art of managing a classroom. They are faced with the challenges of handling the various aspects of teaching. Concurrently, they are enrolled in various methods courses as assigned by their university teacher preparation program, instructing them in various theories and best practices of their craft. In addition to enduring these challenges, student teachers must learn to think and make decisions as teachers. They are instructed to teach using explicit steps and procedures, yet the decision-making processes necessary for becoming a successful educator and manager are not addressed. Through qualitative case study, five student teachers share their observations and experiences as they met the challenges of learning to manage a classroom, focusing upon the need for sound decision making skills. Data for this investigation was taken from observations, interviews, reflections, and archived documents. Cross-case analyses revealed that participants felt anxious and unprepared when managing a classroom and lacked the decision-making skills necessary for successful management. The themes and findings derived from the data suggest that a great deal of management learning and decision-making skills come from time in the elementary classroom in conjunction with explicit teaching and conversations concerning these skills. Likewise, the relationship between the cooperating teacher and the student teacher, the authority the student teacher possesses in the classroom, as well as the teaching philosophies held by both greatly affect the successful acquisition of management decision-making skills. This study holds implications for the preparation student teachers receive, with regard to classroom management decision making, in their field-placement classrooms and university teacher preparation programs.
Managing uncertainty in collaborative robotics engineering projects : the influence of task structure and peer interaction
(2010-05) Jordan, Michelle E.; Schallert, Diane L.; McDaniel, Reuben R.; Maloch, Anna E.; Emmer, Edmund T.; Borich, Gary D.
Uncertainty is ubiquitous in life, and learning is an activity particularly likely to be fraught with uncertainty. Previous research suggests that students and teachers struggle in their attempts to manage the psychological experience of uncertainty and that students often fail to experience uncertainty when uncertainty may be warranted. Yet, few educational researchers have explicitly and systematically observed what students do, their behaviors and strategies, as they attempt to manage the uncertainty they experience during academic tasks. In this study I investigated how students in one fifth grade class managed uncertainty they experienced while engaged in collaborative robotics engineering projects, focusing particularly on how uncertainty management was influenced by task structure and students’ interactions with their peer collaborators. The study was initiated at the beginning of instruction related to robotics engineering and preceded through the completion of several long-term collaborative robotics projects, one of which was a design project. I relied primarily on naturalistic observation of group sessions, semi-structured interviews, and collection of artifacts. My data analysis was inductive and interpretive, using qualitative discourse analysis techniques and methods of grounded theory. Three theoretical frameworks influenced the conception and design of this study: community of practice, distributed cognition, and complex adaptive systems theory. Uncertainty was a pervasive experience for the students collaborating in this instructional context. Students experienced uncertainty related to the project activity and uncertainty related to the social system as they collaborated to fulfill the requirements of their robotics engineering projects. They managed their uncertainty through a diverse set of tactics for reducing, ignoring, maintaining, and increasing uncertainty. Students experienced uncertainty from more different sources and used more and different types of uncertainty management strategies in the less structured task setting than in the more structured task setting. Peer interaction was influential because students relied on supportive social response to enact most of their uncertainty management strategies. When students could not garner socially supportive response from their peers, their options for managing uncertainty were greatly reduced.
The mediating effects of rapid automatized naming on children's inattention symptoms and word-reading ability
(2011-05) Smith, Stephen William, 1981-; Keith, Timothy, 1952-; Carlson, Cindy; Nussbaum, Nancy; Sander, Janay; Tucker, David
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Reading Disability (RD) are among the most common childhood disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) and co-occur significantly more frequently than expected by chance (Dykman & Ackerman, 1991; Semrud-Clikeman et al., 1992). Similar processing deficits are seen in children with ADHD and children with RD, one of which is rapid automatized naming (RAN) (Denckla & Cutting, 1999). These continuous performance tasks require quick naming of visually represented stimuli. Uncertainty about what RAN actually measures, however, makes drawing conclusions about relations to ADHD and RD difficult (Tannock, 1998). By better understanding the cognitive processes involved in RAN, and how those processes relate to ADHD and RD symptoms, the relations among RAN, ADHD, and RD might be better understood. The current study sought to identify variables that would help explain ADHD and RD children’s difficulty with RAN. Five fundamental, neurocognitive skills were hypothesized to be related to RAN performance, ADHD, and reading disability. The effect of children’s phonological awareness, processing speed, working memory, fine-motor speed, and reaction time on their RAN performances was measured. The extent to which these same variables were related to inattention symptoms severity and word-reading ability was also assessed. Finally, the extent to which RAN mediated the effects of neurocognitive skills on inattention symptoms and word-reading ability was measured. By simultaneously measuring the hypothesized relations among variables, the processing deficits responsible for ADHD and RD children’s problems on RAN may be revealed. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze assessment data (i.e., neurocognitive, RAN, and word-reading performance scores; parent-report of inattention symptoms) of 183 children who received neuropsychological evaluations. Results indicated the following significant direct effects: phonological awareness and working memory on word-reading ability, processing speed and working memory on RAN, and RAN on word-reading ability. A possible significant mediation effect of processing speed on word-reading ability through RAN was also shown. Significant effects of study variables on inattention symptoms were not shown, which limited conclusions about RAN’s relation to ADHD. Results are of practical importance in RD assessment because the relation between RAN and word-reading ability was shown to involve processes beyond phonology.
A mixed-methods study of mid-career science teachers : the growth of professional empowerment
(2011-05) Moreland, Amy Laphelia; Barufaldi, James P.; Carmona-Dominguez, Guadalupe; Hobbs, Mary; Marshall, Jill; Richardson, Richard H.
The purpose of this concurrent, mixed methods study was to examine the professional empowerment qualities of mid-career (years 4-8), science teachers. I used the construct of professional empowerment as the theoretical frame to explore K-12 mid-career science teachers’ career trajectories and consider how they can be supported professionally and ideally retained over time. In investigating the qualities of these teachers, I also constructed a new teaching trajectory model and tested the differences between mid-career and veteran science teachers. I analyzed seventy-eight surveys of mid-career science teachers across Texas, including six in-depth, interview-based case studies. The qualitative piece used behavior-over-time graphing combined with the interviews and the quantitative component used survey data from the Teacher Empowerment Survey (TES). Results indicated that science content knowledge gain through professional development opportunities was an especially important factor in supporting mid-career teachers’ sense of empowerment. This increased content knowledge connected positively with the dimensions of decision-making, status, and impact. In a between-group analysis using a larger subset of TES data, I analyzed 254 surveys by conducting a nonparametric statistical test. A statistically significant difference was found between the two groups, in that mid-career science teachers had a lower sense of “status” than their more experienced counterparts (p < .05). I could infer that, for this sample, as teaching experience increases, so does at least one dimension of empowerment. The study was situated within a broader scope of exploring how educational leaders and professional development providers can understand and support science teachers of varying experience levels. A well-designed and possibly differentiated professional development program could successfully connect with these kind of empowered and receptive mid-career science teachers, and thus increase the probability of implementing quality science education programs, content, and pedagogy into schools. The results of this study also have the potential to provide self-reflective career empowerment information to science teachers in their mid-career years.
Racial attitude change among children : effects of lessons about race and racism
(2004-08-16) Hughes, Julie Milligan; Bigler, Rebecca S.
Children continue to show evidence of racial prejudice, but extant interventions have been shown to be of limited effectiveness in reducing children’s racially biased attitudes. I studied the effects of two core features of racial attitude intervention design: a) the explicit use of race to organize curriculum material, and b) education about racism. Elementary-aged children were assigned to lessons that presented the biographies of famous African Americans and European Americans, with: a) no reference to race (race-blind lessons), b) explicit reference to race (race-based lessons) or c) explicit reference to race and information about anti-African American discrimination (racism lessons). Results indicated that children who received racism lessons showed significantly less biased racial attitudes toward African Americans. Educational and theoretical implications of these results are discussed
Teacher characteristics and race/ethnic and economic disparities in academic achievement at the start of elementary school
(2009-08) Hamilton, Madlene Patience; Crosnoe, Robert; Reyes, Pedro,1954-
As an exploration of some of the major provisions of NCLB, this dissertation applies the resource substitution perspective (Mirowsky & Ross, 2003) to the early years of elementary school and examines various forms of teacher human capital (e.g., educational background, certification, experience) to capture the pool of potential compensatory resources for segments of the child population deemed at-risk for academic problems because of their race/ethnicity and/or economic status. The research literature concerning teacher effects on academic performance and disparities in the elementary grades (vs. later levels of schooling) is limited, and the prevailing research on teacher effects in general either focuses on factors that are less relevant to early childhood education or provide mixed results. Applying multilevel modeling and other statistical techniques to data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, I found that poor and non-poor Black children are consistently the most at-risk groups in math between kindergarten and third grade and in reading by the end of third grade. Poor Black and poor Hispanic children appear to benefit more from teachers who have regular and/or elementary certification than their non-poor White peers. In general, Hispanic children tend to be more responsive to resources in the early grades than other at risk groups.
The complex nature of equitable STEM instruction : emotion, cognition, and constraints
(2019-08-19) Welch-Ptak, Jasmine Joy; Callahan, Rebecca M.; Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Keating, Xiaofen; Sampson, Victor; Treisman, Uri
Equitable STEM instruction aims to alleviate the perpetual achievement gap by ensuring students have access to multiple opportunities to engage in rich inquiry-based activities and content-specific discourse practices. The three studies in this dissertation explore the complexity inherent to the implementation of such equitable practices in the current high-stakes accountability context. With the first analytic chapter, I seek to draw attention to the negative emotions that emerge during open-ended activity, and the need to identify specific pedagogical practices that can normalize difficulty and persistence as a necessary part of learning. I suggest interested practitioners integrate the straightforward approach I highlight in this chapter into any instructional innovation. However, in my second analytic chapter I present a multi-site case study of the challenges teachers at two distinct school sites report to impede their implementation of curricular innovations. Although the two sites look very different in terms of student and teacher demographics, teachers at both sites report similar challenges to implementation. The third and final, analytic chapter is a quantitative survey analysis I conducted that examines one of the key challenges reported: teacher efficacy. Specifically, my study explores differences in preservice teachers’ teaching efficacy for culturally and linguistically diverse students in STEM contexts based on their pedagogical preparation and personal linguistic background. Findings from the three studies have potential implications for education policy, practice, teacher preparation, and research
“There’s nothing wrong with doing something good” : a phenomenological study of early elementary black males’ understanding of heroes, role models and citizenship
(2017-05) Johnson, Marcus Wayne; Brown, Keffrelyn D.; Brown, Anthony L. (Associate professor); Salinas, Cynthia; Urrieta, Luis; Green, Terrance
The educational and social condition of many students, in particular that of African American males, continues to be a concern and draws the attention of scholars, teachers, administrators, and parents attempting to understand current challenges and opportunities. Various approaches strive to improve present-day circumstances. In efforts to seemly redress problematic conditions, the concept of role modeling is acknowledged as one of the foremost solutions to addressing the needs of young Black males. As an introduction to role models, the participants’ perceptions of heroes were taken into account. Additionally, as a way to extend the discourse on role models, the notion of citizenship was examined. Interestingly, although young Black males remain a focus of role model and mentoring approaches, their voices and perspectives are rarely included, as they are talked to and talked about, but rarely asked to contribute to this dialogue. Combining a critical childhood studies approach and a phenomenological lens to explore the lived experiences of young Black boys towards prioritizing their understanding of heroes, role models and citizenship, this study sought to gain insight from those most impacted by educational and social policy – young children. The implications of this research study emerge for the areas of early elementary education, social studies, citizenship, and meaning-making in the new digital age.