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- Creator:
- Barajas, Daniel E.
- Description:
- Continuation high schools serve students for multiple reasons. Among them are low credit attainment, excessive absences, probation status, and discipline problems. Students in these programs often have many educational gaps. In the state of California, continuation high schools have been an educational option for this vulnerable student population since 1919. This segment of the school system seeks to offer students with diverse educational challenges and obstacles a second opportunity to complete their education. Presently, there is little research connected to the success of continuation high school graduates’ level of persistence in any type of higher education. This study examined the influence teacher-student relationships had on a particular group of continuation high school students who, in spite of challenges associated with continuation-education deficit mindset, were able to attain academic success in higher education. The study sought to explore how the practices of comprehensive high school sites intersected with those of a specific continuation high school. Social Capital and Critical Race Theory provided the conceptual lens to analyze teacher–student relationships. The researcher captured students’ and teachers’ perceptions in order to analyze how their interactions and relationships could be strengthened to ensure student academic success and provide continuation high school students with options upon high school graduation.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Boylen, Sarah C.
- Description:
- Purpose of the Study: This research study hopes to address the negotiation of important aspects in teaching such as how to foster inquiry and literacy while adhering to standards, specifically the Next Generation Science Standards, and if those standards allow for student epistemic agency in secondary science classrooms. The future of science education lies in teachers instilling in their students the skills that will help them gain scientific literacy and student agency in the classroom, and beyond. For the purposes of this study, a framework was developed around scientific inquiry and literacy, while negotiating varying pedagogical approaches, along a theorized spectrum of increasing student agency. The framework is a tool to help educators visualize a variety of pedagogies as they relate to important characteristics of stages of inquiry that could offer increasing epistemic agency for their students. This research study intends to shed light on the perspectives and opinions of a selected group of high school life science teachers and some of their students in regards to these approaches to teaching a controversial, or Socioscientific Issue (SSI), in the science classroom. The student outcome goals that were considered were critical thinking, personal decision making, ethical questioning, outreach and “social justice” as activism. The three classrooms include one Sheltered Learning biology class and one Advanced Placement biology, both at the same high school, and one Integrated 3-4 biology class in a neighboring County. Within and across the three different classrooms, how do participating teachers, and their students’ perceive, or view, (a) varying approaches toward using a controversial, or Socioscientific Issue (SSI), such as GMOs, in secondary science classroom, and (b) activities designed for the science classroom that have the end goals of outreach, social justice or activism, on or off campus? Finally, how does student preference compare to the proposed theoretical framework set forth in this study? Procedure: This mixed-method study is a one-phase embedded design approach; where quantitative data is the secondary data that was collected while qualitative data was being audio recorded during teacher and student interviews. Four activity “scenarios” were designed, along with interview questionnaires, and used as tools and guides during teacher and student interviews. Three high school life science teachers and 13 of their students were interviewed to investigate their perspectives on using the four different activity scenarios which would explore the topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as food. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. Findings: Overall, two classes preferred Activity 1; critical thinking in the lab, whereas one classroom preferred Activities 3; outreach and 4; activism, although students had a variety of responses as to why. All three teachers and many students agreed that outreach and activism are important. However, teachers believed that activities that stayed in the classroom were more feasible that activities that left the classroom. Teachers were fairly accurate when predicting their students preferred activity scenario. All the participants said that GMOs as food would be a good topic for learning science in the classroom. Teachers and students felt that activities that are controversial, or that might cause conflict in the classroom, are acceptable for learning at school. Those who were asked felt that conflict can be managed and usually does not leave the classroom. When the varying perspectives within classrooms were reflected on the spectrum, new ideas about what student epistemic agency and scientific literacy are emerged. Conclusions: Student epistemic agency can be defined in many ways, including what the students want to do most. However, agency through varying teaching approaches and a variety of student outcome goals can bring different forms of agency to students while doing inquiry in the science classroom. Finally, students may come into the classroom with prior experiences that give them a different “position” when negotiating a controversial, or socioscientific, type issue. Implications for teaching practice involve balancing factors that are within our control, such as activity planning and pedagogical approach, with factors that are out of teachers control, such as the starting point of a student’s position when they enter the classroom for learning. This starting point position can have large impacts on a student’s perceptions, and willingness, to “like” activities Finally, teachers play a large role in how learning can happen in the classroom, as well the school and society that they lie within.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sonoma
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Taylor, Mary
- Description:
- This study focused on both the voice and experience of successful Black students in higher education as well as the factors, both internal and institutional that they perceive as contributors to their success. This research is important because while a breadth of research exists that examines Black students and their relationship to higher education, much of it is framed in a deficit-based line of inquiry. As a response, and inspired by critical race theory (CRT) and Harper’s (2012) anti-deficit achievement framework (ADAF), this study focused on successful Black college students’ stories and what might be learned from them. The literature shows that Black students bring a variety of strengths and abilities to their higher education experience that merit further attention by both researchers and educators especially since these students achieve in spite of the challenges so widely documented in the deficit-based literature. Using a narrative research approach, this study identified eight high-achieving students and explored their experiences, their success, and the factors they perceived as contributors to their achievement. Additionally, this study sought to highlight the students’ experiences as a counternarrative to the existing discourse, add to the existing body of asset-based research and inquiry, enlist study participants as partners in the research process, facilitate their storytelling and amplify their voices. Data collected from eight semi-structured interviews and photojournal entries was restoried and coded for themes that yielded rich and meaningful insight into the strengths successful Black students bring to research and practice. The findings of this study reinforced those of the other asset-based researchers highlighted within this study and strengthen the need for more studies of this type. Study findings also included stories that were the result of the collaboration between researcher and participant as well as the themes that provided insight into their perceptions of the factors contributing to their success. Lastly, participants showed themselves to be willing and capable partners in the research process and offered a wealth of information that informed assertions relevant to research and practice. Among these were the importance of early influences, the students’ strengths, the importance of their peers, and the ways that their lived experiences can inform a higher standard of research inquiry and care in the higher education setting.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Hellams, Ruth E.
- Description:
- “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr Dissatisfaction with the current state of the nation’s public schools continues to reveal itself through repeated efforts to transform the traditional, long-standing core elements known as the “grammar of schooling” (Tyack & Tobin, 1994). Generational rhetoric on the failed state of traditional public education and a drive for equitable outcomes for all students serve as guideposts for many school reform efforts. It is the need to reveal the systems and structures supporting changes to the traditional architecture of schools that has inspired me to conduct this research. This dissertation explores how a nontraditional high school, nested within a traditional district, supports and sustains its nontraditional model. Through a case study approach this research utilized interviews with administrative and teaching staff and an analysis of key documents, policies, and practices. Central to this study was an examination of the school’s core values and the practices of competency-based education (CBE) that served to shape and influence the school’s direction and nontraditional model. Emergent themes from this research were analyzed through the lens of Fullan and Quinn’s (2016) Coherence Framework and their four identified drivers for systems improvement. Findings illustrate that school structures which intentionally foster relationships and build opportunities for teacher collaboration contribute to the long-term sustainability of school reform and help influence and shape a school’s direction. Furthermore, clarity of expectations for teaching and learning, when outlined in a school’s mission and vision statement, can serve as guideposts for long-term sustainability. Guidance and support with respect the CBE model was especially important. Lastly, these findings underscore the importance of site leadership in maintaining balance between the needs of the school and the district as essential to sustaining the school’s nontraditional approach. By identifying factors and conditions serving to sustain the school’s nontraditional approach, the findings of this study can assist others who seek to change the traditional architecture of schooling currently dominates most schools.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Cabuto Lopez, Nadia
- Description:
- All students need their teachers to implement culturally sustaining curricula specifically targeted to their needs. Unfortunately, this need is not always met, especially with minority students. This project seeks to address the needs of Spanish heritage language learners at the high school level; it consists of a unit of study developed specifically to help meet the needs of these heritage language learners by helping them learn about their own heritage culture while strengthening their academic language skills in Spanish. Students first explore important historical figures that helped shape the Hispanic world, and practice and improve their oracy skills by creating and delivering a presentation. Then, the unit strengthens students’ written language by guiding them to create persuasive paragraphs and then an essay. The topics that pertain to persuasive writing include La Quinceañera and the Dream Act. The unit concludes with an extension activity that asks students to write a letter to Congress in favor of the Dream Act, DACA or another social cause of their choice, as instilling sociopolitical consciousness in students is another goal of this project. Students utilize what they learned about persuasion to write their letters. The unit employs the SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) and the TLC (Teaching and Learning Cycle) methods to make the content accessible and create scaffolds along the way. Research needs to be conducted to determine the curriculum’s effectiveness on improving student self-image, self-confidence in the language skills, and to measure the impact of sociopolitical consciousness in students.
- Resource Type:
- Graduate project
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Carvajal, Claudia
- Description:
- Success for students begins for students in kindergarten, where they must acquire strong literacy skills. These literacy skills are inclusive of the foundational skills students require for reading and writing. Research supports reading failure is higher for English Language Learners, low-income families, and ethnic minority groups (NELP, 2009). Additionally, Latinx parents have reported facing many barriers when learning the skills and strategies to help their children (Durand, 2011; Quiocho & Daoud, 2006; Thurmond, 2020). Moreover, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic these concerns have been exacerbated, and low- income parents report they are concerned their children are falling even further behind (Menansce Horowitz, 2020). The inequities of the digital divide are now more apparent than ever, after it was reported that hundreds of thousands of students still lacked the basic digital tools and skills (Thurmond, 2020). In order to address these issues this project was created with the purpose of educating Latinx parents with literacy and digital skills they can utilize to help support their children using Google Classroom. These workshops bring to the forefront as well as integrate Latinx parents’ funds of knowledge, in order to support their children’s learning. These Latinx parent workshops consist of ten workshops to utilize parents’ Funds of Knowledge and integrate the skill sets parents possess in order to support learning digital literacy skills and strategies. Furthermore, Latinx parents will learn about digital tools and devices available to them through Google Classroom in order to continue supporting their children at home.
- Resource Type:
- Graduate project
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Medina, Chloe
- Description:
- By way of qualitative data, the researcher looked at the experiences of a community of educators during a series of professional development offerings. The purpose of the sessions was to unpack the ways in which the intersectional identities of individual educators impact how they show up in their work and interact with students, families, and colleagues. Based on the premise that educator bias is a significant contributor to the widely documented opportunity and achievement gaps in education, the researcher sought to determine what might happen when educators explicitly take on those issues in the spirit of critical self-reflection. The specific question being considered was: In what ways might explicit professional development about identity, bias, and critical self-reflection impact the beliefs and behaviors of a community of educators? The scope of the research was confined to a select group of educators who work for one school system and attended the same professional development series. The intention was to determine how a diverse group of educators experience a specific professional development and make meaning of those experiences. As a result, the researcher was able to determine several themes that emerged from those experiences and make recommendations for how to move forward with effective learning opportunities for educators to promote equitable opportunities and outcomes for all students. Adult Learning Theory, Critical Race Theory, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and Cultural Proficiency are applied to the date to interpret the experiences and determine a path forward.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Senn, Michelle
- Description:
- Educators know that supporting all learners' motivation and engagement is both a fulfilling and challenging process as students come with unique personalities, interests, experiences, strengths, and needs. This is particularly true at the middle level where students are developing rapidly and are charged with more significant responsibilities at school and home. Middle school teachers working to increase student motivation and foster meaningful literacy learning in their classrooms and schools can benefit from evidence-based guidance on optimally using the finite instructional time they have with students. The purpose of this project is to provide a curriculum and instruction planning guide to help middle level teachers plan and deliver motivating, evidence-based literacy curriculum and instruction, informed by self-determination theory (Deci et al., 1991). The guide was written with teachers’ own motivational needs in mind and aims to be a practical resource they can use, individually and collaboratively, to meet their teaching goals. It includes planning templates, recommendations, rationales, and links to resources.
- Resource Type:
- Graduate project
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Carlson, Brenda
- Description:
- As sixth graders begin to navigate the academic and social challenges of middle school, it is important for teachers to offer guidance and resources for parents and caregivers to continue to support their child’s literacy development. A partnership between families and schools has never been more important than during the current health crisis we are now experiencing. In addition, today’s technology provides teachers the opportunity to inform and support parents/caregivers in new and different ways. The purpose of this project was to create a website/blog for sixth graders' parents and caregivers as a resource to support their children in their continued literacy development. The website/blog includes family-friendly tips, links, videos, and articles. The blog features pages on the following topics: Books, Reading, Writing and Parenting/Caregiving. Linked to each of the pages are example posts that provide information or strategies for them to engage their sixth-graders in literacy activities at home. As new posts are added to the blog each month, it will be a form of ongoing support and communication for parents and caregivers to utilize throughout the year.
- Resource Type:
- Graduate project
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Mello, Monica
- Description:
- The purpose of this project is to create a Spanish Mathematic curriculum to use in a fifth grade Dual Language One-Way Immersion program. As Common Core State Standards (CCSS) exceed the cognitive demands of listening, speaking, reading and writing in all content areas, dual language education programs demand curriculum that aligns both content and language standards beyond Spanish Language Arts. Language learners are challenged to meet CCSS expectations in a second language and teachers struggle to find the necessary resources to do so. The designed curriculum aligns Mathematical CCSS and mathematical practices with Spanish Language Development standards and language practices. The designed unit explicitly teaches Spanish academic conversational skills through four student centered real world activities. This unit is intended to be used at the beginning of the school year as supplemental instruction in an effort to address students' struggle to sustain an academic conversation in the program's targeted language, Spanish. The curriculum provides Spanish language teachers with a Spanish mathematical curriculum that allows students the opportunity to apply learned mathematical concepts to real world situations while developing their Spanish oral and written proficiencies.
- Resource Type:
- Graduate project
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- McCurdy, Alexandria
- Description:
- Paraeducators are an essential component of special education programs as they serve to support students during classroom instruction, reteach and review concepts with students, provide accommodations, support behavior improvement, and assist in classroom management. Due to time and budgetary constraints, paraeducators rarely come to a school site fully trained and prepared to perform these important duties. The responsibility of training paraeducators frequently falls on the special education teacher/case manager, even though teacher preparation programs rarely address the process and procedures required to train paraeducators. Major themes that developed during the literature review process include: the changing role of paraeducators, challenges for teacher/paraeducator teams, and the role of collaboration in teacher/paraeducator teams. The purpose of this project is the development of a handbook designed to be used by paraeducators and their supervising teachers during weekly meetings as a tool to facilitate communication, define expectations, and allow for ongoing professional development. This handbook is divided into four sections: orientation, professional duties and responsibilities, communication and professional development.
- Resource Type:
- Graduate project
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Reyes-Rizo, Maria
- Description:
- This qualitative case study grounded in Stevens (1993) Opportunity to Learn theoretical framework and a Cultural Proficiency lens provided the structure to analyze teacher values and behaviors as well as institutional factors affecting English Language Learner (ELL) access to enrichment Opportunities to Learn (OTLs). Teachers were purposefully selected from two schools within the same district in a suburb of southern California to participate in semi-structured interviews. Identified patterns in data indicated an opportunity gap for low-performing English Language Learners in District X. School practices for enrollment in intervention and enrichment programs were based on assessment data and teacher perceptions of academic achievement. English Language Learner academic achievement continues to fall below expectations due to deficit views. Teacher perceptions of academic achievement informed the instructional programs, practices, and strategies used to support English Language Learner instruction. These views result in low expectations and segregation practices produce limited access to engaging and rigorous Opportunities to Learn. School site teachers and leaders need professional development focused on cultural proficiency and culturally responsive teaching to change current attitudes and perceptions of English Language Learner students and families. In addition, the integration of school-wide enrichment strategies has the potential to foster academic achievement for not only English Language Learners, but all students.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- White, Melissa
- Description:
- For more than a decade, English Language Learners have performed below grade level in all areas tested for federal and state accountability, and drastically lower than their English-speaking peers. Closing the achievement gap has become a major priority in educational policy, however many English Language Learners across the state are still experiencing significant academic difficulties. When academic concerns are present, educators use Student Study Teams to assist in identifying the deficits and addressing them through strategic, targeted intervention. Although Student Study Teams are utilized and widely recognized as effective, English Language Learners continue to experience academic difficulties. Explored through a qualitative case study, the researcher examines Student Study Team documents, student report cards, and teacher interviews in an effort to answer the question: In what ways is the Student Study Team process effective at addressing low-performance English Language Learners? To provide context, a comprehensive lens is applied to the field of existing literature to determine the characteristics of effective Student Study Teams and Response to Intervention strategies, and how both relate to English Language Learners. Teacher interviews, report cards, and Student Study Team documents were coded using holistic, in vivo, and pattern coding methods. The data was equally-weighted, and triangulated in an effort to validate the findings. The study exposes a large amount of confusion regarding Student Study Teams and how they relate to English Language Learners. Consequently, many English Language Learners are overlooked for Student Study Teams and early intervention. The research reveals when academic difficulties are addressed early, through the use of explicit phonemic awareness and decoding, the success of English Language Learners is greatly improved. This study can further research on how the Student Study Team process can effectively address low-performance of English Language Learners.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Saucier, Angela
- Description:
- The astounding percentages of Alaska Native American Yup’ik students performing at below, or far below proficient levels, continues to be a concern of schools and districts throughout the Southwest region of Alaska. The researcher chose to conduct a qualitative narrative study to better understand how the implementation of the Western educational system has impacted the Yup’ik people and their communities. The researcher used one-on-one interviews to gain insight as to why such low student outcomes continue to plague the region. Using the lens of cultural proficiency, the researcher sought to answer the research question: In what ways can school leaders in districts in the Yukon Delta region of Alaska align policies and practices with the cultural norms of the Yup’ik communities to improve student outcomes? This narrative study allowed the researcher to code the insight of each participants’ interviews and was able to identity three overarching themes; teachers, culture, and students. The participants were all teachers employed at the same school location, yet offered differing perspectives. The interviews became the focal point of the research, therefore allowing the researcher to tell the personal life experiences of the interviewees in the context of the overarching system of Western education. The findings revealed how deeply traumatic the introduction to the education system was for the Yup’ik students and their communities. Findings also revealed how resilient and hopeful the Yup’ik people are today as they continue to maintain and grow their language, culture, and heritage. The researcher recommends further studies into what barriers, policies, and practices can be more aligned with the cultural norms of the Yup’ik people and their communities to improve student outcomes. Key words: Yup’ik people, Western education system, cultural barriers, lens of cultural proficiency
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Vongsa, Viengsai Patti
- Description:
- This study is an analysis on ways Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs and services support student achievement. The purpose of this study is to create a synthesis of nine SEL curricula studied from three existing SEL programs to provide positive characteristics of an SEL program that schools could implement. The significance of this study is to have it serve as a blueprint to help create best practices and implementation of SEL programs for schools and educators. The three SEL programs used in the study were 1) Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS), 2) You Can Do It! (YCDI), and 3) Strong Kids. This study was conducted utilizing a qualitative systematic review methodology to thoroughly examine nine SEL curricula to give school leaders and educators quick access to the abundance of literature review, lessen the excessive dependence on single studies, and show contrasting findings from different research studies. Extensive research on SEL programs found seven characteristics of effective SEL program practices. Findings on impact of SEL on student achievement were categorized into three grade-specific groups. These findings revealed students in the treatment groups were more socially and emotionally competent, had better academic performance, and gained more positive relationships with their peers and adults compared to students in the control groups. The results of findings from the nine SEL curricula studied will hopefully help schools and educators in starting to think about implementing an SEL program at their school site.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Chastain, Dominique
- Description:
- This research project is based upon the equity gap experienced by Hispanic students in high school. It studied a high school serving adults with a high Hispanic population. While seeking to answer the question. “To what extent does a teacher’s knowledge, understanding and belief of cultural proficiency impact an adult Hispanic student's educational experience?”, teachers were surveyed using a series of questions investigating cultural proficiency. Literature about cultural proficiency, Hispanic Students, equity gaps, cultural barriers, and adult education were reviewed to gain a deep perspective of the role cultural proficiency has in adult education and Hispanic students. The study, a convergent parallel mixed method study, utilized Qualtrics to distribute the online-survey of close ended and open ended to E. High Schools teachers spread across California. Quantitative data was analyzed based upon teacher responses in five categories. Qualitative data was analyzed into two themes; Culturally Proficient Awareness and Deficit Thinking. Questions were derived from literature of cultural proficiency research and reviewed by another teacher. Data was analyzed using the lens of cultural proficiency. The results describe a disconnect between the philosophy teacher claim and their deficit thinking focusing on barriers. Although it should be noted, the questions themselves might have skewed some responses towards barriers experienced by Hispanic adults in education. The data analysis in combination with existing knowledge based on observations and conversations with administration and teachers indicates that asset based thinking and cultural proficient strategies need to be the focus of the school’s professional development trainings or professional learning community. This study provides analysis of teacher practices to be used by leaders studying how to reduce the effects of equity gaps exacerbated by teacher bias.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Arellano, Vanessa
- Description:
- The over-representation of English Language Learners (ELLs) in special education continues to be an issue of inequity. Research demonstrates that when teachers use high leverage practices and are given examples of how to implement them to assist ELLs, the number of ELLs referred to special education may be reduced. This project was developed in the hope of assisting general education teachers in supporting ELLs with language development and as a byproduct to serve to reduce the misinterpretations of language as a disability. The resulting project was the creation of a table consisting of detailed high leverage practices to support ELLs with language development. General education teachers implementing these practices in their classrooms will be supporting ELLs on the brink of special education.
- Resource Type:
- Graduate project
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Sanchez, Roseanna
- Description:
- Exclusionary disciplinary practices used throughout the United States contribute to equity gaps, overwhelmingly affecting the achievement and trajectories of students of color, since they are disproportionately disciplined in schools. Academic achievement, particularly in mathematics, is adversely affected by punitive measures that remove students from their classroom or school, making it a social justice issue by limiting opportunities for marginalized groups of students. Restorative Practices are an alternative to punitive punishment and have shown promise in creating more equitable outcomes for all students. This study focuses on the perspectives math teachers have around discipline and their knowledge and beliefs about Restorative Practices after receiving professional development in the 2019-2020 school year. This study intends to determine in what ways have middle school math teachers’ perspectives on discipline shifted after learning about Restorative Practices and implementing them on some level, and what are the knowledge and beliefs of middle school math teachers regarding Restorative Practices after receiving schoolwide professional development in Restorative Practices. A qualitative case study method was used utilizing an online survey with open ended questions to collect data for each part of the research questions and analyzed through the lens of the Cultural Proficiency framework. The findings indicate that the discipline practices of middle school math teachers became more restorative in nature after engaging in professional development. Additionally, all participants gained knowledge and found restorative strategies to be both valuable and promising. The research also demonstrates that teachers believe the implementation process at their site needs to improve in order for Restorative Practices to be effective throughout the whole school. The researcher recommends the site form a committee dedicated to lead the work, create a five year implementation plan with a consult, and build teacher capacity with continued ongoing support and professional development. With long term support and implementation, Restorative Practices can change the narrative for all groups of students by achieving equitable outcomes.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Lindquist, Christopher
- Description:
- For the past three decades, the African American suspension rates have far outpaced Caucasian suspension rates. This is a trend which has been observed throughout various community and school settings in the United States. These facts are what leads this study and the research question: To what extent does teacher beliefs about control, relationships, and cultural norms affect the suspension rates of African American students? The researcher had long thought about the effects of teacher’s beliefs of control and building relationships in a classroom on these suspension rates. Building upon previous research, this case study further examines teacher beliefs by asking and analyzing teacher’s own responses about control, relationships, and cultural knowledge in their classrooms. To do this, the researcher focused on asking opened ended questions in a qualitative survey to a group of teachers in a Southern California suburban middle school. In addition, analysis of written referral forms from this school and pool of teachers were analyzed to gauge the wording and language used by the teachers to see if practice matched teacher’s statements. The results of the survey and analysis found while teacher’s claim they care about building relationships with their students in their classrooms, the practice shows the opposite since referral reports showed repeated instances of conflicts over control in the classrooms between the teacher and students. A potential cause of this conflict can be the lack of cultural competency and capacities of teachers from different backgrounds than their students. To correct this, this study recommends for educational leaders to look for mentorship and coaching programs aimed at improving teacher’s cultural capacities of all students in their classrooms.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education
- Creator:
- Stanford, Sara
- Description:
- Students who are of Low-Socioeconomic status continue to achieve at a lower rate than their classmates. There are many factors that contribute to this achievement gap. Contributing factors can be found in the students’ home, school or neighborhood. For example, the student’s home may not have many educational resources, or a school may have less funding. While much research has been done focusing on the achievement gap, little has been done to improve it. The researcher focused on one elementary school in southern California to conduct research to find in what ways school systems and families can work together to facilitate positive achievement for Low-SES students. A qualitative research study was used to survey teachers and interview families of Low-SES students. Data was coded and analyzed to determine ways in which the positive achievement can be facilitated. The researcher found three consistent ideas throughout the research: teacher efficacy, afterschool programs, and social-emotional lessons. Creating positive change for this subgroup of students is crucial to changing the trajectory of their lives, and ending the poverty cycle. This research is merely one example of the changes that can be made within a specific school system, however can be replicated to fit the needs of other individual schools.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- San Marcos
- Department:
- Education