In this dissertation I explore the fugitive technology practices of Black high-schoolers in a tech-rich after-school makerspace. To do so, I invoke ontologies from two cyborgs to make sense of these Black teens' practices. First, James and Costa Vargas (2012) offer the Black Cyborg-- the rebel intellectual rejecting victimization through…

Following a massive wave of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, educators found the need to be hyper-critical of how they spend their instructional time with students. Almost all students are expected to return nearly a full grade-level behind and would likely have to learn to navigate a completely new school environment. As a result,…

Since the implementation of the federal government initiative called No Child Left Behind schools have become faced with the problem of meeting the demands of the state assessments. To overcome some of the problems that the schools are facing in mathematics, this Action Research Program utilized a schedule of both teacher and student directed…

The need for scientifically literate citizens is an urgent priority, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. Despite the importance of scientific literacy, elementary schools across the nation have not made science instruction a priority in their school day. On average, elementary students spend 40% less instructional time in science…

The purpose of this study was to understand how a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professional development workshop improved teachers' self-efficacy and motivation to implement STEM in their afterschool programs as well as develop a tool that measures STEM motivation and self-efficacy. Educators' self-efficacy and motivation were…

This qualitative case study focused on an afterschool program having trained teachers to adequately address the needs of students with autism. The implementations of afterschool programs for students with autism are to have qualified teachers that are prepared to help students. Therefore, the specific problem addressed, was the lack of…

The world, and especially our own country, is in dire need of a larger and more diverse population of computer scientists. While many organizations have approached this problem of too few computer scientists in various ways, a promising, and I believe necessary, path is to expose elementary students to authentic practices of the discipline.…

This intervention mixed methods study used a quasi-experimental design to investigate the effects of an after-school book club on third-grade boys' reading achievement, attitudes, and preferences. During the 2015-2016 school year, seven third-grade boys from a South Texas elementary school attended an after-school book club in their school library…

This is a qualitative, mixed-methods study that focuses on the dispositions that preservice teachers bring into teacher education programs in regard to homelessness. Teacher education programs play an important role in providing preservice teachers experiences teaching that prepare them for working with diverse populations of students. Students…

This study examined the effects of an extended learning program on mathematics achievement and self-determination skills for students with visual impairments in grades four through eight attending a specialized school in a southern state. The research population consisted of the total enrollment of students in grades four through eight attending…

The purpose of this study was to determine what impact a No Child Left Behind (NCLB)-related afterschool tutoring program had on reading achievement of elementary students in a Mississippi rural school setting. The research questions that guided this study were (1) Is there a significant difference between the 2008 and 2009 Mississippi Curriculum…

A mixed-methods study was conducted to determine if extra reading practice incorporated into fifth-and sixth-grade social studies and science content classes would have a positive impact on reading assessments for readers at risk. At-risk readers' independent reading levels were assessed using Dynamic Indicator of Basic Early Literacy Skills or…

Out-of-school time (OST) is a growing field that includes afterschool, evening, weekend, summer, school-age care, childcare, positive youth development, and workforce development programs (NIOST, 2000). Research demonstrates that OST professional development is critical to program quality and student impact (Weiss, 2005/2006). In an effort to…

Due to the challenges of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, many schools and school districts are implementing after-school tutoring programs to provide students additional instruction to score proficient or better in reading and mathematics. This doctoral study analyzed the effects of the ABC Middle School Educational Assistance Program…

This study investigated the use of online after-hours eMentoring as a nontraditional student support and retention strategy. The term eMentoring describes online support delivered to students electronically and through Learning Management Systems. An online university providing eMentors for student support was compared with a traditionally modeled…