This study will explore the experiences and perspectives of teacher effectiveness from those directly involved in arts intensive education at an arts magnet school in the Midwest to gain a deeper understanding of their experience. Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky's social construction theory will serve as the theoretical framework for…

Science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM) classes are required for families in the United States. Due to this requirement, there have been more STEM focused schools present in the educational landscape. Traditionally a high school offering, middle schools are now developing more focused STEM curricula, opening STEM campuses, and…

School choice is often utilized in school districts for access and opportunity. Researchers have found that school choice does not inherently provide access to students. The goal of this mixed methods study was to determine if implementing a new platform for families to use in applying to magnet programs in an urban district would mitigate…

Equitable access to high-quality schooling has been a prevailing concern among educational stakeholders for decades. Magnet schools were first developed in the 1960s to improve academic achievement and attract a more diverse student body by offering unique programs and instruction not provided at other sites within the same district. With…

Seventh graders from a STEM school performed poorly with rational number concepts in the yearly standardized test. This research investigated the impact of a three-day professional development intervention focused on improving math teachers' self-efficacy when teaching rational numbers. The study employed a concurrent mixed-method research design…

This ex-post facto quantitative study examined how a comprehensive STEM education program impacts high school students' ACT math and science scores as well as their attitudes toward STEM. Using data from one STEM-designated school, the researcher examined ACT math, science, and STEM results for students who took the ACT in the Spring of 2024,…

There is currently no designated policy, procedure or staff in place to facilitate the objective of increasing student yield. As a result, magnet applications and acceptance of invitations to attend Owl Middle School is approached without a strategy which makes planning difficult and negates the ability to determine effective methods. Filling…

School choice draws upon market principles for restructuring education as schools compete for student enrollment by appealing to parents. When parents hold the power to choose where--among several options--to enroll their child for learning, they will select the school that best meets their child's academic and social-emotional needs (Cooper,…

District and building administrators in the United States are struggling to integrate academic and career and technical education (CTE) as required by Every Student Succeeds Act and Perkins V legislation. One solution school district leaders have developed to address this legislation is the creation of CTE magnet high schools. However,…

This dissertation provides empirical evidence on estimating the treatment effects of school choice programs using quasi-experimental data. Chapter 1 implements the new econometric method proposed by Abdulkadiroglu et al. (2017a) in the context of the magnet school program in Wake County, North Carolina. Chapter 2 gives an in-depth analysis of the…

This dissertation investigates the impact of attending a STEM-designated elementary school on students' math, ELA (English Language Arts), and science achievement and growth scores. As technology continues to advance in education, educators are exploring innovative instructional methods. With a concerning decline in math proficiency nationwide,…

Gill, Brandi. Student Achievement Comparison between Traditional Schools and Schools of Choice: A Quantitative Study, (under the direction of Theodore Kaniuka, Ed.D) This study provides a detailed review of school choice literature nationally and within the state of North Carolina. The literature revealed limited studies focused on school choice…

Magnet schools have been a main tool or innovation in urban education settings in the United States, originating in the early 1970's and expanding into most large urban districts today (Blank, 1989). While some magnet schools do not rely on a specific criterion to determine entry, many do. This study focuses on such a setting where students must…

Not enough research has been conducted to determine what can support and encourage successful African-American students in mathematics. Many environmental and personal factors have been identified that may impact the success of African-American students in mathematics but studying and relating these factors at a qualitative level would benefit…

Public-school choice programs have multiplied over the past decades. Previous researchers have analyzed the significant roles that parents play when deciding what they think is best for their children's futures. Though research has shown the roles and factors over parents' educational choices for their student, there are limited studies on student…