Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2759
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Item The Relationship Between Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge and The Mathematics Achievement of Students in Grades Four and Five(2014) Palmer, Jana Eileen; Koziol, Steven; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between teacher mathematical knowledge (content and pedagogy) and the mathematics achievement of students in grades four and five. This study used a quantitative approach using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). Through a quantitative study based upon a teacher assessment of mathematics content and pedagogy and a student assessment entitled the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), the researcher measured the teachers' mathematical content knowledge, mathematical pedagogy knowledge, and analyzed the data to determine if there was a relationship between teacher knowledge and student achievement. The assessments were based on the Maryland state curricular standards. All teachers involved in the study were considered generalists at the elementary level. Student achievement was measured through MAP. Through the use of the teacher knowledge assessment, the study provided valuable data that could be used to inform colleges providing training to pre-service teachers, principals, supervisors, and those providing professional development to elementary teachers. Additionally, the study could be used to inform teacher education and education policy efforts intended to strengthen and support teacher quality while improving the achievement of students in mathematics.Item The organizational effect of collective teacher efficacy: A study of student test scores and high schools with large concentrations of minority students(2012) Deogracias, Jeehye Shim; Croninger, Robert; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examined collective teacher efficacy along with student mathematics and reading test scores on a nationally representative sample of high school students and their schools. Collective teacher efficacy is defined as a group of teachers' shared belief in their ability to promote learning and positive student outcomes. For this study, this construct is conceptualized as an aspect of the informal organization of schools, whereas other factors, such as curriculum tracking, are considered to be an aspect of the formal organization of schools. Prior research into collective teacher efficacy as an organizational construct found evidence of a positive relationship with student achievement scores, though peer-reviewed studies have not been done on a national sample of students. In addition, there has been no research on the possible moderating effects of collective teacher efficacy. I used a national dataset, the National Longitudinal Survey of 1988, and hierarchical linear modeling as the quantitative method. Contrary to prior research, I found no evidence that collective teacher efficacy had any effect on high school mathematics or reading test scores. It was not associated with either outcome, nor did it moderate the effect of the school's minority enrollment. Moreover, the largest predictor of high school test scores was prior achievement, which suggests that future research should examine school effects for young children. While this study confirmed the existence of an achievement gap between minority and majority students within schools, this gap did not vary between schools and thus, could not be modeled as a function of school characteristics. One school measure, academic press, had an impact only after controlling for average prior achievement. Additional efforts should be made to develop better measures of school organization, particularly the informal aspects of schooling, such as a school's academic press.Item Motivation and Long-Term Language Achievement: Understanding Motivation to Persist in Foreign Language Learning(2009) Smith, Laura J.; Martin, Cynthia; Lavine, Roberta; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Achieving native-like proficiency in a foreign language is a long-term process; therefore, designing and implementing a plan for long-term language achievement may help more learners achieve their long-term language goals of fluency as well as related career goals. This study presents recommendations that may be incorporated into the college curriculum to help both learners and teachers facilitate the development of motivation to persist in language learning and use at native-like proficiency. The results of this dissertation study provide greater insight into language learning motivation, changes in motivation, and motivational regulation. Data were collected using a questionnaire and an unstructured interview protocol to report the language learning motivation patterns of seven native-English speaking, traditional age undergraduate foreign language learners. Data were collected, coded, and analyzed following an emergent constant comparison method using process modeling procedures to analyze and report quantifiable categories of data, sequences of variables, patterns, and processes as they emerged. Results indicate that changes in the primary source of motivation and motivational orientations occur over time and that internally regulated motivation associated with long-term goals is associated with persistence. A greater understanding of language learning motivation may help teachers and learners develop strategies to regulate motivation in order to facilitate the development of motivation to persist in language learning beyond basic university requirements. This may also operationalize motivation for professional language use at native-like proficiency.Item Relationship of Principal's Leadership Behaviors to Academic Achievement and School Improvement Efforts(2006-07-31) King, Betty Williams; Dudley, James; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: RELATIONSHIP OF PRINCIPAL'S LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS Betty Williams King, Doctor of Philosophy, 2006 Dissertation directed by: Professor Emeritus James Dudley Department of Education Policy and Leadership The purpose of this study was to compare the extent to which leadership behavior of principals differs in schools at risk for reconstitution and in schools judged as meeting state standards; and to determine the extent to which principals in these schools employ frame utilization strategies for school improvement as designed by Bolman and Deal (1992a). The sample population for the study was randomly selected by the school district's Division of Research Evaluation Assessment and Accountability (DREAA). Ten schools were selected to participate in the study: five schools labeled "at risk" and five schools "making adequate progress." Data collection was performed in 2006. The Leadership Orientation Survey designed by Bolman and Deal (1990) was distributed to principals, immediate supervisors of the principals, teachers, parents, and community representatives who serve on the School Improvement Team (SIT) in each school. The survey measured the extent to which leaders use four frames of leadership: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic. Cronbach alpha, a measure of inter-item reliability, was computed for each of the four frames. All were .75 or higher, indicating that the survey was reliable. Inter-scale correlations were computed for schools making adequate progress and for schools at risk. The correlations for teachers, parents, and community representatives for both school groups were strong and statistically significant, most in the .75 to .95 range. For principals and supervisors, the results of the correlational analysis were mixed. Some correlations were strong and statistically significant, .80 to .95, and others were weak and in some cases negative. This may be due primarily to the small number of principals in the study, four in each group of schools. The same limitation was true for supervisors, where there were five in each group of schools. A correlation is a measure of a linear relationship between two variables. It can range from -1.00 to +1.00. The results of the statistical analysis of the three research questions using independent t-tests indicated that for principals, supervisors, teachers, parents, and community representatives, there were almost no statistically significant differences in the use of the four frames for the schools making adequate progress or for the schools at risk. All of the means indicated that the principals were judged to often use the different frames. The only exception was the human resource frame, where there was a statistically significant difference favoring principals in the schools making adequate progress. The demographics information indicated that the most qualified professionals were found in the schools making adequate progress.