Doctor of Education, Miami University, 2007, Educational Leadership

In an effort to address a broad educational issue - the student achievement gap between European Americans and African Americans in public suburban schools – this qualitative case study examined the phenomenology of the social world, as conferred in interpretative discourse, that employs a Verstehen framework attempting to understand the culture in higher socio-economic suburban schools as well as how educators and other school personnel construct the meaning of the achievement gap in their social world. Using phenomenology, the crux of the discussion focuses on how teachers, administrators, and other school personnel understand the problem within their school setting(s). This interpretative study centered on ways that educators understand student achievement gaps in suburban school settings. Data analysis was initiated with data generated by the Ohio Department of Education's state-mandated tests and report cards and continued with the collection of open-ended surveys and interviews. In data analysis, theme response categories were formed. For each, further analysis was conducted by sub-groups (e.g. race, gender, professional position, etc.) in accordance with the most frequently mentioned themes. The outcome of the analysis was a discussion of the research questions. The methods employed were used to gain greater insight into how the Egan Local School District (a pseudonym) employees understand the achievement gap in relation to their “life-world” experiences. This study found that the respondents were very uncomfortable when they addressed the achievement gap. They believed that it had multiple causes, including broad social forces, social class, and a lack of cultural competence. African Americans were more likely to attribute the achievement gap to school or district factors than were European American respondents. The most striking differences, however, were between administrators, teachers, and support staff. Further research is needed to examine student trac (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Frances Fowler (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership , Franklin University, 0, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

The Black-White achievement gap has been an acknowledged problem in American public education since the 1960s with the release of the Coleman Report (1966). Academic optimism has been linked to student achievement since its development in 2006. This study seeks to confirm the link between academic optimism and student achievement, and to see if there is a connection between academic optimism and the Black-White achievement gap in an urban public-school setting.164 high school teachers from an urban school district in Ohio were surveyed to assess the level of academic optimism in their schools. This variable was then compared to the difference in math and ELA test scores between Black and White students at each school. The results of this study confirmed a significant positive correlation between academic optimism and student achievement, as well as between each of the three components of academic optimism (academic emphasis, collective efficacy, and faculty trust) and student achievement. However, there was no significant correlation found between academic optimism and the Black-White achievement gap, nor between the factors of academic optimism and the Black-White achievement gap.

Committee: Matthew Barclay (Committee Chair); Anne Ross (Committee Member); Julie Hao (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education History; Education Policy; Educational Theory

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Leadership Studies

This study explored the influence of randomized belonging interventions on academic outcomes among first-generation college students at a mid-sized, Midwest, four-year public institution. Astin's Input-Environment-Outcome (I-E-O) model served as the conceptual framework for investigating the impact of an environmental sense of belonging intervention on outcomes such as first-year grade point average and continuous enrollment. A convenience sampling technique was utilized to recruit a total of 10,281 students from across three cohorts (2015, 2016, and 2017) of incoming first-time undergraduate students. Participants were invited to complete an online, text-based intervention, the College Transition Collaborative Social Belonging Intervention (CTCSBI) during the summer prior to the beginning of their first semester. Among the sample population, 7,278 students were randomized to one of three treatment conditions. A balanced design was used to give equal representation in each condition. A non-treatment control group (N = 3,003) was included as part of a quasi-experimental component of the study. Factorial analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze and examine six research questions, to test the independent variables (Generation Status and Treatment Condition) with respect to the dependent variables (First-Year Grade Point Average and Continuous Enrollment), and to examine interaction effects while controlling for variables known to influence academic outcomes (High School Grade Point Average, Standardized College Entrance Exam Score, and Ethnicity). The results of the study suggested that completing a pre-matriculation intervention significantly influenced first-year grade point average and continuous enrollment of first-generation college students. This study and the related findings are especially important given the opportunity for such interventions to address and reduce achievement gaps of underserved students, align university initiatives wi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kristina LaVenia Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Margaret McCubbin MFA (Other); Julia Matuga Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mary Murphy Ph.D. (Committee Member); Patrick Pauken Ph.D., J.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Higher Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2018, College of Education and Human Services

The purpose of this study was to explore whether and how tracking structures in mathematics courses at the middle school level relate to differences in achievement between white and black students. This study used propensity score matching to compare the achievement outcomes of students enrolled in advanced mathematics classes, with students of comparable ability and background enrolled in grade-level math classes. The study sample was comprised of 1,510 students. Results from the study show that enrollment in an advanced-math course was associated with statistically significant improvement in math achievement for average-ability students. In addition, study results show that increases in student achievement associated with average-ability black student enrollment in advanced-level math courses surpass the increases in math achievement outcomes associated with average-ability white student enrollment in advanced-level math courses. These findings have important equity implications because average-ability black students opt to enroll, or are disproportionately placed, in grade-level math as compared to average-ability white students. The findings suggest that increased enrollment of average-ability black and white students in advanced-level math would lead to a reduction in the racial math achievement gap and to improved math achievement outcomes for both black and white students.

Committee: Frederick Hampton Dr. (Committee Chair); Adam Voight Dr. (Committee Member); Mark Freeman Dr. (Committee Member); Jeffrey Snyder Dr. (Committee Member); Glenda Toneff-Cotner Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Mathematics Education; Middle School Education; Secondary Education

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2006, Secondary Education

This mixed methods study was conducted to investigate whether a relationship exists between the implementation of the Bridges program (Bridges Bilingual Parent Resource) during the academic school year and achievement gains in a largely Latino student population. Parental involvement and student motivation were also important components in this study. Developed as a bilingual parent resource, the Bridges program provides grade level exercises and activities for the purpose of assisting parents in engaging their children over the summer months to decrease summer learning loss. Instructions and additional resources (i.e., glossary, etc.) are written in both Spanish and English to serve both populations. Each book presents materials that should serve as a review of the skills acquired over the previous academic year and expose students to new skills to which students will be introduced in the upcoming academic year. The purpose of this study was to determine if Bridges would serve as an effective tool for parents to assist their children during the academic year and to determine if it increases student achievement. Parents and their children attending a charter school in New Mexico were asked to participate in the study that provided the families with the Bridges materials at no cost. Data were collected from 73 students that participated in the Bridges program, and 261 students who did not. The New Mexico Standards-based Assessment Tests and DIBELS fall and spring scores (for reading in Grades 1-2) were used to evaluate student achievement as pretest and posttest measures for all of the subjects in the study. A pre-program questionnaire and a post-program questionnaire were created to obtain information regarding parental involvement, student motivation, environmental factors, and attitudes toward education. Parents of the students in the Bridges group completed the questionnaires before they began the program and after they submitted the Bridges materials back to the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Denise Stuart (Advisor); Isadore Newman (Other); Carole Newman (Other); Lynn Smolen (Other); Sajit Zachariah (Other) Subjects: