Category Archives: Uncategorized

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.

Hannah Emery Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Hannah Emery

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

May 4, 2017 at 1:00 pm in 103 Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Elin Ovrebo, PhD

The Influence of Gender Role Conflict on Perpetration and Victimization of Intimate Partner Violence in Same Sex Male Relationships

ABSTRACT: Gender role conflict has long been thought to predict perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in heterosexual relationships, but the relationship between gender role conflict and IPV among same sex male relationships has yet to be adequately explored. The current study investigated how gender role conflict predicted both perpetration and victimization of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) among 135 gay men who had experienced some form of partner abuse. Gender role conflict, specifically the Success, Power, and Competition subscale, significantly predicted IPV perpetration. None of the subscales significantly predicted IPV victimization but a positive, significant relationship was found between Restricted Affectionate Behavior Between Men and IPV victimization. Higher scores on the Success, Power, and Competition subscale were also found to predict IPV perpetration above and beyond being the recipient of abuse. Implications of the relationship between these two variables, limitations of the current study, and ideas for future research are also discussed.

Suzette Payne Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Suzette Payne

for the degree of Doctor of Education

March 31, 2017 at 10:00 am in 123R Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Reginald Leon Green, EdD

AN EXAMINATION OF THE SUPERVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION INSTRUCTION IN URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS

ABSTRACT: The purpose of the study is to examine the supervision of special education instruction in urban public elementary schools by interviewing three principals regarding roles in the supervisory process. The researcher attempted to identify themes for principals in identifying effective strategies. This study was qualitative in nature and utilized a case study method. It investigated the supervision of special education instruction, needs addressed by supervision, circumstances causing supervision to be conducted the way it is, and implementation barriers. The research topic and five questions yielded five major themes that represented the competencies principals need to effectively supervise special education programs.

Kemmashela Conner Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Kemmashela Conner

for the degree of Doctor of Education

March 28, 2017 at 1:30 pm in 123 Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Reginald Leon Green, EdD

Investigating the Relationship of the Teacher Effectiveness Measure (TEM) and Academic Growth of 4th and 5th Grade Students in a West Tennessee Urban School District

ABSTRACT: Despite billions of dollars spent and the implementation of various instructional programs, American students lag behind many of their foreign allies. Given that teachers are responsible for providing instruction to students, teacher effectiveness has become a major focus of educational reform. This quantitative study examined if the TEM effectively gauged teacher effectiveness. A secondary analysis revealed that components of the TEM have a significant influence on effectively gauging teacher effectiveness. The findings of this research have the potential to inform school leaders regarding evaluation models that offer an accurate and comprehensive picture of teachers’ influence on student academic success.

Tequilla Banks Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Tequilla Banks

for the degree of Doctor of Education

March 31, 2017 at 10:00 am in Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Reginald Leon Green, EdD

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS AND MEASURES OF TEACHER PERFORMANCE IN URBAN SCHOOLS

ABSTRACT: With an increased focus on teacher effectiveness as lever for increasing student outcomes. it is important to examine teacher evaluation models for efficacy and bias. This study examined two questions: whether the model examined accurately assesses performance and whether school and teacher characteristics are predictive of teacher ratings. The data revealed relationships existed between components of the model. The study found relationships between model components and teacher and school characteristics. School culture and poverty correlated to teacher ratings, and certain demographics including race and school poverty concentration were predictive of ratings.

Ingrid Thomas Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Ingrid Thomas

for the degree of Doctor of Education

March 27, 2017 at 1:30 pm in 123R Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Reginald Leon Green, EdD

Teachers’ Role in Assisting Principals Improve Student Learning through Formative Assessment

ABSTRACT: Formative assessment is an approach that effectively assists in increasing the learning of students. Teachers’ use of formative assessment assists principals by generating classroom and team-based data for student achievement that leads to school improvement. This quantitative study had a two-fold purpose. First, the study examined the extent to which teachers perceived that they employed Leahy, Lyon, Thompson, and William (2005) five strategies of formative assessment in their classrooms. Second, the study examined teachers’ acknowledgement of a school-wide culture that values formative assessment and influence their use of this practice in the classroom and as members of a team.

Kevin Smith Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Kevin Smith

for the degree of Doctor of Education

March 31, 2017 at 12:30 pm in IDT Studio, Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Clif Mims, PhD

Adaptive Learning in K-8 Mathematics Education: Perceptions of Preservice Teachers

ABSTRACT: Integrating technology into the K-8 mathematics classroom is important. One of the technologies frequently used is adaptive learning programs. Adaptive learning programs provide instruction to students at the appropriate level of difficulty by presenting content, providing hints and feedback, and allowing students to master skills before progressing. Understanding what these programs can and cannot do is important for teachers. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of preservice teachers and seek to interpret how their experiences influence their perceptions and plans to integrate adaptive learning programs in their future K-8 mathematics classroom. 

Danielle Miro Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Danielle Miro

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

March 24, 2017 at 2:30 pm in 107 Ball Hall

 

Major Advisor: Suzanne Lease, PhD

Social ecological predictors of physical activity

ABSTRACT:

Physical inactivity is a leading cause of death in America and smokers are more at risk to be physically inactive. This study examined interrelationships among social ecological variables via classification and regression trees (CART) analyses to form subgroups of individuals based on their level of physical activity. Logistic regressions were compared to CART. Important predictors included neighborhood accessibility, occupational physical activity, sleep, age, neighborhood safety, and previous LTPA. CART had higher classification rates than logistic regressions at six- and 12-months. Different tree structures were found between African Americans and Caucasians. These findings may aid the development of empirically-driven interventions.