Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Patricia Grimes Smith
Committee Member
Carolyn S. Buckenmaier
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
academic achievement, administrative promotion, Alabama, attendance, class wide peer tutoring, counselor, direct instruction, graphic organizers, homework completion, literacy skills, note taking, parent involvement, parent participation, program satisfaction, promotion rates, qualitative data, quantitative data, retention, rural public schools, self-esteem, seventh-grade students, staff development, student attendance, student learning, surveys, teacher modeling, teachers, tutoring interventions, workplace development
Abstract
In this applied dissertation, the researcher addressed the problem of high retention and administrative promotion rates of 7th-grade students in a rural public school in northern Alabama. A variety of strategies were used to improve student learning, student self-esteem, homework completion, and parent involvement.
Participants selected for this applied dissertation consisted of 4 teachers, 1 counselor, and 15 seventh-grade students who did not meet the criteria for promotion to the 8th grade at the close of the 2001-2002 school year. Students were trained through direct instruction and teacher modeling to incorporate class wide peer tutoring 2 or 3 times per week and to utilize graphic organizers for note taking in each academic subject. Intervention teachers participated in staff development to improve their knowledge and skill in the use of class wide peer tutoring and note-taking skills using graphic organizers.
Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to monitor implementation and determine effects of the program. Parent and student survey and interview responses were analyzed to determine level of parent involvement, student self-esteem, and program satisfaction.
Ninety-three percent of the target group were promoted to the 9th grade compared to 69% promotion rates from the previous 4 years. Forty-seven percent of the target students increased their literacy skills by at least 10% during this study year. Student attendance, student self-esteem, and parent involvement did not indicate any significant improvement. Additionally, 73% of the students successfully completed at least 80% of their homework assignments for the 2002-2003 school year.