Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Education goals'

Changes in recent federal, state, and local legislation have added increased scrutiny of and pressure on the evaluation systems of educators across the nation. This scrutiny and pressure have prompted significant changes to both the systems and processes for determining and reporting the effectiveness of teachers and principals. One of the most substantial changes is the use of student growth goals in determining evaluation outcomes for educators. This qualitative study examined the practice and impact of student growth goals created by principals. How do principals describe the impact of evaluative student growth goals on their leadership practice? In what ways are teacher-created student growth goals reflected in the student growth goals that principals set?

To examine these questions, the researcher interviewed ten principals and analyzed the data using an open coding and thematic organization of the results. Several themes that emerged from the participant interviews included: (a) principals view improved evaluation as a crucial leadership practice; (b) principal level (i.e. elementary or secondary), rather than experience, is a critical factor in goal-setting effectiveness; and (c) principals must have expertise in collaborative leadership to effectively develop meaningful student growth goals.

The implications of these themes suggested that policymakers and practitioners increase professional development designed to improve the level of learning-focused conversations of teachers and principals, target increased professional development to secondary principals, develop student growth measures that are useful at the secondary level, and find ways to create time in the system for teachers, principals, and their evaluators to engage in these evaluation conversations.

The cost of homelessness is high, not only in terms of the array of traumatic experiences of those who are homeless, but in monetary terms for society as a whole. It costs between $20,000 and $40,000 annually for one homeless individual to cycle through public service systems such as emergency rooms, jail, mental health care facilities, and shelters. This annual cost can add up quickly with long periods of homelessness. For half of homeless youth (age 14–24), homelessness will not end during adolescence. Lack of steady employment is one of the largest barriers for youth experiencing homelessness to become permanently self-sufficient. Examining the factors that contribute to the employability of these youth is critical to developing interventions. For many, education is the key to becoming self-sufficient and exiting homelessness. The unemployment rate is significantly lower for Americans who obtain a high school diploma. The unemployment rate declines further with increases in college education. The findings of this paper are a needs assessment of sorts, pointing to considerable gaps in educational services currently available to youth experiencing homeless, and invalidating the idea that homeless youth do not wish to attain high school, technical school, and college degrees. On the contrary, these youth have high educational aspirations, and while capable of succeeding in education, may require support beyond that of their housed peers because of the additional barriers they face. This desire to pursue education is an important consideration, and should inform the way we approach youth experiencing homelessness with educational services.

The instructor-student relationship is an important predictor of students' attitudes, motivation, and learning. Students benefit when they believe their instructor cares about them and instructors demonstrate caring for their students by supporting their needs. Instructors can support students' emotionally or academically. However, little is known about instructor characteristics that influence instructors' responsiveness to students.

Compassionate and self-image goals are powerful predictors of relationship dynamics because of their association with responsiveness (Canevello & Crocker, 2010). Compassionate goals, or goals focused on supporting others out of genuine concern for others' well-being (Crocker & Canevello, 2008), initiate positive relationship cycles. I proposed two types of compassionate goals, focused either on supporting students' learning or supporting students' emotions. I hypothesized that instructors' compassionate goals to support students' learning would be most beneficial to students. Self-image goals, or goals focused on creating and maintaining a desired impression in others' eyes (Crocker & Canevello, 2008), undermine healthy relationships. I proposed two types of self-image goals, focused on appearing either likable or competent and hypothesized that both forms of self-image goals would undermine the instructor-student relationship.

The present work was the first investigation of the association between college instructors' compassionate and self-image goals and students' experiences in the class. In Study 1, I created a scale to measure instructors' compassionate and self-image goals for teaching. In Study 2, college instructors' compassionate and self-image goals for teaching were used to predict end-of-semester student evaluations. In Study 3, students' interpretations of their instructors' goals were measured and used to predict student evaluations.

Results indicated that that students respond most positively to instructors' goals to compassionate goals to support their learning. Instructors' compassionate goals to support students' emotions are largely unrelated to students' experiences in the class. Surprisingly, instructors' self-image goals are unrelated to student evaluations.

Overall, this research advances research in several domains. It advances understanding of effective teaching by indicating that instructors' compassionate and self-image are important components of the college classroom. This research also advances theory on interpersonal goals, as this is the first time that a non-relationship compassionate goal has been identified.

Many universities have expanded from teaching only to include research goals, requiring shifts in organization behavior. An exploratory case study method was used to examine these dynamics among positive deviant researchers at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), the single case examined, from a social construction perspective. As a participant observer in the organization, the researcher engaged in marginality and its associated risks in studying UTech’s transition from low to higher research outputs to answer the research questions—significant norms influencing positive deviancy patterns of the researchers and, their perceptions and experiences during transition. A qualitative case report and mini-organization ethnography of UTech was produced to enhance contextual understanding of positive deviance among university researchers, an area not previously described in the literature. Several important organizational findings emerged from the analysis of interviews of 6 participants who received the President’s Research Initiative Award (PRIA), artifacts of the organization, and participant observation. The results detail early development of a descriptive typology of positive deviance during organization change, including motivation, feelings of being marginalized and coping strategies. Three patterns—(1) teaching versus research (2) disorder, and (3) personal resilience—and 9 interrelated themes enhance understanding of role adaptations and the meanings and beliefs that these faculty associate with their research environment. The results also indicate organizational factors and personal dimensions in a research subculture that is emerging amidst strong pivotal teaching norms and culture; social costs involved in such a transition, and; some challenges and opportunities for building a research culture and a high performance research environment at UTech. A construct of organizational and individual adaptation to stress was hypothesized, subject to future research. The main conclusions included that research is a peripheral norm; doing teaching and research involved tensions, challenges, incongruence, disequilibria as new identities and the implied research subculture are emerging at UTech; there are anti-research risks to the transition, and; organizational tradeoffs might be required. The findings, although not a template, are of potential usefulness in any organizational setting where organization growth and change are contemplated. Recommendations are made for UTech and future research.

This study explored the experiences of 10 adults who had experienced academic challenges during their studies, yet were able to return to academic studies and complete one or more graduate degrees. The participants were separated into two groups. Group A participants experienced academic failure and were asked to withdraw from their academic programs. Group B participants experienced significant academic challenges, but not to the point of being asked to withdraw from their academic programs. Members of both groups returned to studies, and completed at least one degree. The qualitative study applied narrative inquiry to gather the in-depth stories of the participants. The findings indicated that to succeed, all participants underwent either an internalization or transformation process that compelled them to commit to and succeed academically. The key difference between the two groups is that Group A members experienced unique, transformative experiences when asked to withdraw from their respective academic programs. All participants adopted study strategies to help them succeed. These strategies included the adoption of mastery and/or performance-based approaches to improve their academic performance.

Within the confines of this study, the researcher investigated Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Engineering curriculum goals within Missouri high schools. The study measured Missouri PLTW teachers’ perceptions of various elements of the curriculum as well as state and national PLTW End of Course student assessment data to determine if a relationship existed between teachers’ perceptions of curriculum implementation and student performance, as measured through Missouri End of Course exams in various secondary engineering classes. In addition, the researcher conducted voluntary interviews with teachers, state administrators, and national representatives of PLTW to inquire about experiences with the PLTW Engineering curriculum.

Qualitatively, Missouri PLTW Engineering teachers expressed varied levels of satisfaction through a survey generated by the researcher, based upon national curriculum goals established by PLTW. Within the study, teachers’ perceptions reported students’ abilities to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems were greater than students’ abilities to design and conduct experiments, as well as to demonstrate knowledge of and responsibility for engineering issues, including ethical and professional responsibilities. The researcher attributed this perception to students’ lack of professional experience and to PLTW curriculum not providing enough opportunities for students to gain real-world relevant experience using the content and strategies learned during instructional class time.

The intention of this study was to provide a framework to review and evaluate curriculum goals established by PLTW, Inc. Originally, the researcher looked at national goals for the program to determine the outcomes of PLTW’s educational programming. However, much of the data was post-secondary related and the researcher wanted to maintain the quantitative nature of the study. Nonetheless, research could expand upon the framework to study any state in the nation through either a mixed-methods approach or the use of a quantitative study approach. The researcher recommends further research be conducted either by PLTW, Inc., through state PLTW affiliates or by other individuals to determine future outcomes of educational curriculum offered by PLTW. This could include engineering, biomedical science, computer science, middle school curriculum offered through Gateway to Technology (GTT), or through elementary curriculum offered through Launch.