Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler School of Education

Advisor

Hardwick Johnson

Committee Member

John Billings

Keywords

Reading instruction, Entrepreneurship, Academic Achievement, At Risk Students, Educational Strategies, Reading Skills, Urban Youth

Abstract

Effects of an Entrepreneurship Program as an Instructional Intervention to Improve Reading Skills of Ninth-Grade Students in an Urban High School. Lorraine R. Clemons, 2014: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischer School of Education. ERIC Descriptors: Academic Achievement, At Risk Students, Educational Strategies, Reading Skills, Urban Youth

This ex post facto study, through which quantitative data were collected and analyzed, was implemented within an urban charter high school in the northeastern area of the United States. The problem addressed through the study was that the effectiveness of the Entrepreneurship program on the reading performance of 9th-grade students at the host school had not been determined. The purpose of the study was to acquire and analyze pre- and posttest scores derived from deidentified Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®), as well as semester English language arts grades, to determine the effects of the Entrepreneurship program on the reading-comprehension and literacy skills of 9th-grade students.

Analysis of the data involved a comparison of mean performance changes of participants and nonparticipants of the Entrepreneurship program during the school years of 2011-2012 through 2013-2014. Effect sizes of the data sets were also calculated to explain the practical significance of findings between program participants and nonparticipants for each year. Results were used to answer the central research question of the study: What are the effects of the Entrepreneurship program on the reading performance of 9th-grade students? Analyses of the data reflected that no significant practical effects on reading-comprehension or literacy skills were acquired through participation in the program.

Two recommendations were offered for educational practice. First, it was recommended that school leaders adopt the schoolwide interventions identified by Bintz (1997) for improving the reading skills of secondary students. The 2nd recommendation was that the Entrepreneur program at the host charter high school again be limited to the original objectives, as the review of the literature endorsed related objectives. Two recommendations were also offered for future research. First, the researcher recommended that research be conducted to identify additional viable methods, other than those proposed by Bintz, for schoolwide interventions that may improve the reading-comprehension and literacy skills of students. Second, it is recommended that, 3 years after reverting to the original objectives of the Entrepreneur program at the host charter high school, another study be conducted to identify the degree to which program objectives are achieved.

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