Monthly Archives: June 2017

Brittany Lee Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Brittany Lee

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

June 30, 2017 at 1:00 pm in 103 Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Douglas Strohmer, PhD

Exploring the Relationship Between Stereotype Threat, Racial Centrality, Grit, and Academic Achievement and Retention in African American Male First Generation College Students

ABSTRACT: The educational gap for African American males has been widely researched prior to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Many of these male college students have suffered at the hands of stereotype threat: a self-evaluative risk, influenced by widely held prejudices of the dominant or majority cultural group that have deleterious effects. Although stereotype threat has been widely researched, few studies have examined positive factors that have the potential to buffer the relationship that exists between stereotype threat and achievement. This study explored the relationship between dimensions of stereotype threat, racial centrality, grit, and both academic achievement and retention in 127 African American male first generation college students. Specifically, racial centrality and grit were hypothesized to separately buffer the relationship between stereotype threat and both academic achievement and retention. Analysis revealed racial centrality significantly moderated the relationship between one dimension of stereotype threat (internalization) and retention: At higher levels of racial centrality, the inverse relationship between internalization and retention was weakened and indeed reversed such that higher racial centrality was associated with greater retention. Contrary to hypotheses, grit did not buffer the relationship between the two dimensions of stereotype threat within the study (internalization and academic effort) and academic achievement or retention. However, in hierarchical multiple regression, the block containing racial centrality and grit accounted for 8.5% of the variance in academic achievement; only grit was significant, with more grit predicting higher GPA. The full multiple regression analysis accounted for 35.5% of the variance in academic achievement.

Shane Pruitt Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Shane Pruitt

for the degree of Doctor of Education

June 30, 2017 at 10:00 am in Browning Hall

Major Advisor: Jeff Wilson, PhD

This Importance of Ritual According to Alumni at a Southern Liberal Arts University

ABSTRACT: This study sought to understand how alumni members from a small, private university in the southern region of the United States experienced campus rituals during their college career as well as currently engage with the institution via rituals post-graduation. The following central research question guided the inquiry in an effort to describe the essence of alumni participation at Southern Liberal Arts University (SLAU): in what ways do alumni perceive the importance of campus rituals in both the student and alumni experience? This study utilized a social constructivist lens adopting a phenomenological approach to qualitative analysis including the use of interviews, artifact analysis, and non-participant observations to address the research questions. Themes emerged from this inquiry include three ways in which rituals explain the SLAU community: a) characterization through rituals, b) attachments due to rituals, and c) values shown through rituals. This research lends verification to the idea that rituals are a viable way to more strongly encourage alumni activity.

Taurus Hines Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Taurus Hines

for the degree of Doctor of Education

July 10, 2017 at 11:00 am in 123 Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Reginald Green, EdD

ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP: AN EXAMINATION OF LEADERSHIP APPROACHES USED BY PRINCIPALS WITH A BACKGROUND IN THE ARTS TO PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to gather an understanding of the leadership approaches used by principals who have a background in the arts. Eight principals who shared a similar interest in music, described their experiences. Using phenomenological methodology to collect and analyze data, each participant partook in a semi-structured interview to create a visual painting of the life an artistic leader. Six themes emerged from the data analysis. The findings from this study clarified that artistic leadership exists. Principals with a background in the arts identified themselves as artists, and shared the following leadership styles: transformational, servant, instructional, and situational. The principals believed that the arts made an impact on their leadership styles and personal lives. Principals with a background in the arts also believed that including artistic programs in the curriculum, field experiences, community service projects, and professional development would enhance the learning environment and experiences of the students and teachers. They designed programs and practices that expanded the aesthetic preparation of his/her students, teachers, and community. They also emphasized the importance of including everyone in making decisions related to the instructional practices.

Aaron Jordan Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Aaron Jordan

for the degree of Doctor of Education

July 7, 2017 at 11:00 am in 301 Browning Hall

Major Advisor: Jeff Wilson, PhD

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE EXPERIENCES OF SECONDARY EDUCATION COUNSELORS

ABSTRACT: The counseling profession within the context of secondary education stands at a crossroads in terms of understand how the field is able to effectively prepare students for college and career readiness (Bain 2012). Research questions were developed for this study with the micro and macro perspectives of the school counselor and operational space of their job in mind. Respondents in this study were asked a series of in-depth, phenomenologically founded, interview questions focused on how they develop college readiness programming, their intrinsic understanding of how effective they feel they are in preparing students for college and ultimately how they find meaning within their own position. Additionally, there were multiple opportunities within to observe programming at each school site to conduct non-participant observations and take extensive field notes. From their responses and the acquired field notes – four major themes developed which describe the lived and shared experiences of the rural secondary education counselor. Keywords: college preparedness, time management, phenomenology, secondary education counseling, non-participant observation, in-depth interviews, secondary education counseling

Nicco Bray Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Nicco Bray

for the degree of Doctor of Education

June 27, 2017 at 9:00 am in 320 Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Trey Martindale, EdD

Faculty Perceptions of Implementing Adaptive Learning: A Case Study

ABSTRACT: Faculty perceptions of adaptive learning can potentially influence their use of that technology in their courses, with implications for student outcomes. Creation of better professional development to support faculty implementation of adaptive learning requires understanding the relationship between faculty perceptions, behavior, and course outcomes. This case study investigated the concerns faculty have about implementing adaptive learning into their courses, how those concerns impacted a professor’s levels of use of adaptive learning, and ultimately student course outcomes. The research design used to address the research questions was a mixed methods case study. The study examined quantitative data collected using SEDL’s Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) and qualitative data using SEDL’s Levels of Use (LoU) interview protocol. Additionally, quantitative data on student’s levels of activity from the Realizeit adaptive learning platform was used to analyze the relationship between the professor’s LoU and course outcomes. The findings resulting from this study indicate that the lower the concerns, the greater the use, and the greater the use, the more student outcomes improve. While the analyses of the data were found to be statistically significant, only a small amount of the variance was explained. Other, potentially stronger factors appear to impact the relationship between student use and course outcomes.

Laquetta Jones-Taylor Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Laquetta Jones-Taylor

for the degree of Doctor of Education

May 8, 2017 at 10:00 am in 123 Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Charisse Gulosino, EdD

Competing Values Framework and its impact on teacher satisfaction: Evidence from Tennessee schools

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the level at which educators’ express satisfaction with their schools as “a good place to work and learn” and the manner in which their schools resolve the tensions and tradeoffs illuminated by the Competing Values Framework (CVF). To answer the study’s five research questions, a secondary analysis that applies hierarchical multiple regression to an existing dataset is undertaken. The dataset in question combines information from the 2013 administration of the Teaching, Empowering Leading, and Learning (TELL) survey in 1425 Tennessee schools with concurrent school demographic and student achievement data archived on the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) website. As the CVF would predict, the “balance” profile is very strongly linked to the level of respondent satisfaction at the school but without that outcome’s ambiguous association with the percent of students on free and reduced lunch. Controlling for seven other confounding variables in a hierarchical multiple regression, CVF “balance” is the one most strongly associated with the outcome and by itself explains roughly 12 percent of the variability in the outcome. Although the level of respondent satisfaction is also associated with CVF profiles that privilege the flexible over the stable, the internal over the external, and the confluence of the two in the “human relations” quadrant, the connection between an emphasis on these CVF orientations and student achievement—particularly student achievement at “high poverty” schools—is less than straightforward. Further study of these relationships is recommended.

Portia Hardman Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Portia Hardman

for the degree of Doctor of Education

May 9, 2017 at 1:00 pm in Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Charisse Gulosino, EdD

The Impact of Organizational Profiles Within the Competing Values Framework (CVF) on Teachers’ Intention to Stay in Their Schools

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the rates at which teachers intend to “stay” at their schools and the manner in which their schools resolve the tensions and tradeoffs illuminated by the Competing Values Framework (CVF). To answer the study’s five research questions, a secondary analysis that applies hierarchical multiple regression to an existing dataset is undertaken. The dataset in question combines information from the 2013 administration of the Teaching, Empowering Leading, and Learning (TELL) survey in 1425 Tennessee schools with concurrent school demographic and student achievement data archived on the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) website. As the CVF would predict, the “balance” profile is very strongly linked to the percentage of school “stayers”, but without that outcome’s ambiguous association with the percent of students on free and reduced lunch. Controlling for seven other confounding variables in a hierarchical multiple regression, CVF “balance” is the one most strongly associated with the outcome and by itself explains roughly 10 percent of the variability in the outcome. The percent of school “stayers” is also associated with CVF profiles that privilege the flexible over the stable, the internal over the external, and their confluence in the “human relations” quadrant. However, the connection between an emphasis on these CVF orientations and student achievement—particularly student achievement at “high poverty” schools—is complex and further study of these relationships is recommended.

Phillip Nelson Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Phillip Nelson

for the degree of Doctor of Education

May 5, 2017 at 11:00 am in 123J Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Charisse Gulosino, EdD

The Effect of the Four Quadrants of the Competing Values Framework on High School Student Achievement

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between student achievement assessed longitudinally in terms of ACT composite scores and state-mandated tests of proficiency and the perceived manner in which high schools resolve the tensions and tradeoffs illuminated by the Competing Values Framework (CVF). To answer the study’s five research questions, a secondary analysis that applied hierarchical multiple regression to an existing dataset was undertaken. The dataset in question combined information from the 2013 administration of the Teaching, Empowering Leading, and Learning (TELL) survey in 287 Tennessee high schools with concurrent school demographic and student achievement data archived on the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) website. In the ten multiple regression analyses conducted, student demographic characteristics proved to be the most important factors in explaining variation in student achievement, whether measured as three-year averages of ACT composite scores or three-year averages of student EOC assessments in Algebra and English. Although faculty demographic characteristics appeared to be directly linked to ACT composite scores, no such direct links were observed with respect to student proficiency scores. Over and above these background variables, the Competing Values Framework (CVF) profiles concerning ‘balance,” an “external” orientation, and a disposition towards “rational goals” were all associated with higher ACT composite scores, but only the CVF “balance” profile was significantly linked to student proficiency scores.

Farrah Cope Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Farrah Cope

for the degree of Doctor of Education

May 2, 2017 at 10:00 am in 405 Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Duane Giannangelo, PhD

TEACHER EMPOWERMENT: THE INFLUENCES OF TEACHER EMPOWERMENT IN DECISION MAKING AND ITS RELATION TO TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL INTENTIONS, TEACHER SATISFACTION, AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this research was to determine if empowering teachers as decision makers truly influences teacher retention, teacher satisfaction, and student achievement. A secondary analysis of an existing set of survey data was performed. This study focused on a set of subtopics included in the original study and examined those three subtopics in relation to each other. This study applied more complex analytical techniques to answer questions that were given insufficient attention in previous studies. The secondary data were received directly from the New Teacher Center and are based on the TELL’s Teacher Leadership construct. The data were then merged with two other data sources published on the TDOE website. A higher percentage of “stayers” were found at elementary schools with lower percentages of minority students and students with disabilities. Teachers’ “leaving” is influenced by their being empowered to make decisions about administrative and especially pedagogical issues and is more characteristic in secondary rather than elementary schools. Regarding the relationship between teachers’ perceived empowerment with respect to making decisions about pedagogical and administrative issues at their school and their general satisfaction with their working conditions, both administrative and pedagogical empowerment make robust contributions to the level of satisfaction experienced at schools. In regard to the relationship between teachers’ perceived empowerment with respect to making decisions about pedagogical and administrative issues at their school and student proficiency, only administrative teacher empowerment was linked to higher levels of student proficiency in reading and mathematics at the lower and upper grades.

Ben Smith Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Ben Smith

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

May 1, 2017 at 10:00 am in 103 Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Owen Richard Lightsey, PhD

RESILIENCY, GENERALIZED SELF-EFFICACY AND MINDFULNESS AS MODERATORS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS AND BOTH LIFE SATISFACTION AND DEPRESSION AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RESILIENCE PROCESS

ABSTRACT: The overall purpose of this dissertation was to add to the knowledge base regarding resilience processes. It was hypothesized that (1a) GSE, mindfulness and resiliency would all uniquely predict lower depression and higher life-satisfaction; (1b) resiliency would be a stronger predictor of these outcomes than both mindfulness and GSE; and (2) resiliency would uniquely buffer the relationship between stress and both depression and life satisfaction such that, after controlling for both the mindfulness x stress interaction and the GSE x stress interaction, at higher levels of resiliency, stress would have a weaker relationship to depression and life satisfaction. It was hypothesized that (3) there would be a bidirectional relationship between resiliency and both GSE and mindfulness. All hypotheses were investigated utilizing hierarchical multiple regression. With regard to depression, Hypotheses 1a, 1b and 2 were not supported. Regarding life-satisfaction, the results differed by gender. GSE directly predicted higher life satisfaction among women. Hypothesis 2 was not supported among women. Among men, higher levels of GSE exacerbated the inverse relationship between perceived general stress and future life satisfaction, and resiliency exacerbated the inverse relationship between general stress and life satisfaction. Hypothesis 3 was not supported. However, also among men, mindfulness buffered the relationship between stress and life satisfaction. For higher levels of mindfulness, increasing life event stress was less strongly related to lower life satisfaction. A possible contributor to the unexpected nature of these findings could be the small and possibly unrepresentative sample, which should be considerations for future studies.