Literature indicates that science content knowledge has long presented difficulties for preservice elementary teachers. Analyses of 473 scores from participants' attempts on an elementary certification exam, the TExES EC-6 Core Subjects, Science (804), were analyzed for this study to determine the impact of a physical science intervention that included demonstration lessons, microteaching, and reflection as part of a science methods course on science content knowledge. Analyses of scores for participants making repeat attempts to pass indicated that scores were higher for attempts made after participation in the physical science intervention than attempts made before participation. Of 104 participants who made initial unsuccessful attempts and repeat attempts, the 89 attempts made after participation in the physical science intervention had a mean scaled score of 238.24 (SD = 14.93) while the mean score for the 15 attempts made before participation in the intervention was 219.73 (SD = 20.04). The difference between the mean scaled score for these two groups was statistically significant, t = -4.21, df = 102, p<.001. Score reports from Hispanic/Latino and from White/Non-Hispanic participants who passed on the first attempt (n = 85, MS = 259.82, SD = 12.04 and n = 226, MS = 264.12, SD = 11.92, …

A suburban district in the southwestern region of the United States created a choice-based program in which students have the opportunity to address their social, emotional, and academic needs through a mid-day period where they have the ability to attend tutorials or engage in a variety of club and social activities. Each day, students choose the activity that best serves their needs, be those academic, social, or emotional. In order to determine students' attitudes, opinions, and uses of the program in an effort to improve its effectiveness for student success, this qualitative study was planned to respond to the research questions: (1) how do students spend the emPower period? and (2) what are students' thoughts, attitudes, and opinions with regards to emPower? The research began by examining student responses to a previous principal survey asking their opinions on the program. Following the analysis of the survey, focus group sessions of five students from each high school grade were held to discuss student perceptions, choices, and uses of the program. The discussions were audiotaped and transcribed. Thematic data analysis resulted in themes of stress, social life, environment, regulations, choice and tutorials. Findings included a continuum of maturity evident with students' choices …

Guided by the importance of children's voices and perspectives, this study aims at finding the immigrant children's perspectives of books that share stories of early school experiences of immigrant children. Before working with children, there was a careful selection process and analyzing of the three picture books chosen for the study using critical content analysis and childism lenses. The participants are three Arab immigrant children at the age of 6 who are bilingual and attended school in the U.S for one year, at least. With acknowledgement to reader-response theory, the data collection process started with an introductory home visit, followed by three individual interactive read-aloud sessions using interviews, audio records, and observations. The data collection involved field notes of non-verbal responses of the participants and these notes supported analysis of the eight transcripts. Thematic analysis is used in analyzing the data of each story, followed by identifying finding themes across all three stories. The seven themes found across all three stories are discussed in the final chapter and include: Children can have empathy for characters, understand social injustices in the stories, be agents to change injustice in the stories, and are curious about different cultures. The children's personal stories shared …

The purpose of this qualitative inquiry is to explore critical visual literacy in a first grade classroom at a private school. This case study design focuses on students learning how to take a critical stance by focusing on the visual images, children's picture books, and visual arts masterpieces. The research question guiding this study is: How does a visual literacy approach using inferential and critical questioning support first graders' development of critical literacy? Four social issue topics were discussed which were exploring difference, bullying, poverty and global issues. The students engaged in conversations on each topic that were prompted by a specific set of questions to invite a critical stance. This study encouraged multimodality as it opened up a space to make thought visible in ways that go beyond printed words. The students were able to demonstrate their thinking and understanding by sharing their voice on the various topics through writing, art, music or acting. The inclusion of art was a valuable tool for building a deep understanding of self and others. Findings from this study support the development of social empathy in students and can be linked to morality theory and moral education. The study points to the significance …

A considerable amount of research has been done surrounding education in classrooms from kindergarten to Grade 12, but little research has been done surrounding early childhood education (ECE) beginning with birth to age 4. As a result, research is needed that examines interventions aimed to improve the quality of early childhood education for young bilingual learners at the earliest stages of schooling. The present study examines current efforts to serve the specific population of young bilingual children entering classrooms in an urban school district in North Texas. The focus of this study includes the access and examination of quality ECE programs (defined by the extent to which bilingual children have access to bilingual education programming). The present study also observes the visibility of young bilingual children who receive services that are responsive to their characteristics, experiences, and specific needs. Lastly, this study used a multiple regression analysis to examine the Kindergarten Early Assessment test that has been put in place to measure the school readiness performance of bilingual children in this urban district. Specifically, the analysis included program type, language of assessment, socio-economic status and gender variables.

In seeking to maximize student learning, educators must implement grading practices that assess well-defined course standards and clearly articulate student proficiency. Standards-based grading (SBG) practices enhance student learning by linking well-defined course standards and effective feedback. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) testing sought to determine if the use of standards-based grading in Algebra I resulted in higher achievement on standardized tests, specifically the Algebra I the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) End of Course (EOC) assessment. Specifically, addressing the following research questions: Are there differences on Algebra I scores on the STAAR EOC scores between students in a traditional grading system, hybrid grading system, and a standards-based grading system? Are the effects of grading system methods moderated by participant characteristics, i.e., gender, race/ethnicity (Black, Hispanic, White, and Asian), English language learner, special education services, or economically disadvantaged? One high school campus in a large school district in North Texas was involved in the current study. The study examines three years of data as the campus transitioned from a traditional grading system to one that employs the tenants of an SBG system while continuing to formally report percentage grades for assessments. In this study, the researcher found evidence to …

The purpose of this study was to describe in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers' (a) philosophies of education before and after an issues-based art education (IBAE) workshop, (b) perceptions of the IBAE workshop and its products, (c) perception of the importance of IBAE approach, reasons, topics, and challenges after the workshop, and (d) perception of IBAE within the Saudi Arabian context. A mixed-methods approach was followed. The qualitative portion of the study utilized a post-workshop questionnaire and reflective essay completed by 37 participants, and personal teaching journal protocol and focus group discussion from 18 participants who attended the workshop and implemented the IBAE lesson in their classrooms. Analysis of the data confirmed that art teachers' perspectives towards IBAE positively increased after attending the IBAE workshop. Specifically, in the quantitative findings, participants indicated a positive attitude toward the teaching philosophy of social reconstruction after the IBAE workshop. These results demonstrate that the tenets of social reconstruction align with the IBAE approach. In addition, the quantitative data suggests that teacher participants' overall perception of the importance of addressing social issues in the art curriculum was positive, with 91.9% of respondents agreeing. Overall the qualitative findings, indicated a positive attitude toward the IBAE …

Citation analysis, which provides insights into the influence of particular scholarly work in a field of study, can also show epistemological "turns" through patterns of citations over time. This study explored the impact of postmethod epistemology on the shared knowledge of the English-as-a-second-language (L2) education community over a 26-year period. The approach consisted of tabulating and analyzing citations in 125 articles from two major journals, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Quarterly (TESOL Qrtrly) and English Language Teaching Journal (ELT). The time period covered was 1994, when the term postmethod was introduced in TESOL Qrtrly, through 2019. Attention went to the following questions for each journal and for both journals together: (i) who is the most influential of the three major postmethod authors, B. Kumaravadivelu, Richard Allwright, or Hans Stern? (ii) what was the most cited postmethod publication? and (iii) have there been patterns over time for citations of postmethod authors and publications and for the use of the term postmethod? Of the three postmethod authors, Kumaravadivelu was the most cited in the two journals combined. For TESOL Qrtrly, Kumaravadivelu was the most cited, and Stern was second. For ELT, Kumaravadivelu and Allwright had an equal number of citations, …

This qualitative case study explores teachers and students perceptions of pop culture and its use in secondary English classrooms. I used thematic analysis to identify key themes addressed by teachers and students concerning pop culture. Teachers and students were surveyed and from there purposive sampling was used to select five teachers and eight students. Participants took part in individual and focus group interviews regarding their perceptions of pop culture use in the classroom as well as classroom observations. In my analysis of data I identified themes that both students and teachers shared such as the use of pop culture to build positive teacher-student relationships or make lessons relevant to students' lives. Additionally, the research shows differences such as teachers' trepidation of using pop culture effectively or not knowing where to find relevant references. Practitioner implications include: the importance of implementing pop culture to help build positive student-teacher relationships, professional development to help teachers implement pop culture in their classes, and more student voice in the pop culture selection process. Implications for future research include investigating the perceptions of pop culture use in other countries' school systems or socioeconomic school districts within the United States. Additionally, a longitudinal study into the …

Disciplinary literacy is an approach to literacy in the content areas that helps students develop thinking and literacy skills that mimic experts in the field. The goal of this study was to explore the instructional practices of history teachers who have been nominated as exemplary and the role of disciplinary literacy in their instructional practices. Exemplary teachers were defined as those with strong content knowledge, experience teaching, and recognition for their teaching. This study used a qualitative multiple-case study research design. Data collection included interviews and classroom observations with nine participants across four school districts. Thematic data analysis was used as the method of analyzing data. In the cross-case synthesis portion of analysis, one of the strongest beliefs expressed by the participants was that teachers need to work to make history relevant for students. The observed teaching practices of exemplary teachers showed that exemplary teachers create strong classroom communities that focus on inquiry, discussion, and student-led learning opportunities. The findings from this study suggest that teachers need to have strong content knowledge (an in-depth knowledge of historical events) and discipline knowledge (understanding of how historians read, write, think, and discuss in their field) in order to build the pedagogical content …

Research shows that students who take advanced mathematics courses perform better on measures of college readiness than students who take less rigorous courses. However, no clear effect has been shown on requiring all students to take more advanced courses. This study examined whether increases in the number and level of mathematics courses required for high school graduation have resulted in increased levels of college aspirations and preparedness. Specifically, twenty years of data from a rural school district in Texas were analyzed to determine whether the impact on college entrance exam-taking and performance differed by the mathematics requirements in effect for each class. Logistic and linear regression modeling revealed no statistically significant effect of higher requirements. And while overall results by gender and race mirrored previous research, with males tending to have higher scores than females and White students tending to score higher than African-American and Latinx students, the increased requirements were not associated with any mitigation in these inequities.

The rapid expansion of computers and digital technology requires citizens to be digitally literate. Teachers must prepare students for a digital world despite the lack of consensus on a definition or its components. This multiple case study explored the digital literacy instruction and interactive decision making of teachers with varied levels of expertise. Each participant completed a survey and the General Decision Making Style Questionnaire prior to a series of interviews and classroom observations. Findings from a qualitative analysis of the data suggest variations in the use of digital literacy components during instruction and that skills are related to one another. Findings also indicate similarities and differences in interactive decision making and teaching expertise behaviors related to instruction. Based on these findings, recommendations to better promote digital literacy are directed toward teachers, administrators, teacher preparation institutions, and future researchers. Current events emphasize the need for increased efforts in turning the key of digital literacy for students.

This educational biography is a study of Alexander Campbell's (1788-1866) educational activities and educational thinking. These activities included the following: his creation of Buffalo Seminary; advocacy for common schools at the Virginia State Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830; participation in the Western Literary Institute and College of Professional Teachers of Cincinnati, Ohio (an organization for educators); speeches on education and common schools; founding Bethany College in present-day Bethany, West Virginia; and his discussion of educational issues in his journal, the Millennial Harbinger. The study explores how Campbell's unique early-life affected his future educational life. His early-life included intensive study under his highly educated father, home-training in Christian piety, and studying for a time at the University of Glasgow. The study focuses especially upon Campbell's involvement in the College of Teachers, his founding of Bethany College, and his major educational ideas. Some of Campbell's major educational emphases include: the need for public education; human knowledge as a national resource; moral education; lifelong learning; female education; student interest; a broad and holistic conception of education; a focus on early childhood education; utilitarian education; and the power of education. This study concludes that the overarching theme of education as power pervades Campbell's educational thinking.

Living and working abroad is one of the best ways to grow and learn about who you are and who you can become. The purpose of the project is to develop and articulate a radical reflexive praxis within the paradigm of the lived experiences of a Black female expatriate Christian mathematics educator. Grounded in the epistemological tradition of Black feminist thought, this study defines the intersectionality of my identity as a Black woman mathematics educator and explores ways it informs my interaction with students, parents and colleagues and inspires the quality of my instruction delivered in and out of the classroom setting. Through the qualitative practice of autoethnography, the use of personal narratives and field notes tell the story because storytelling adds context and allows the reader to both comprehend and participate in the experience. These narratives of re-reflection are used to explain how each of these identities were parlayed from a place of knowing and being known. Teaching is largely a white female Christian dominated profession and the tendency of the profession to propagate the traditional white male leader prototype confirms the need for more research for and by Black women educators. The rate of Black women yielding a …