Browsing by Subject "Elementary education"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Aligning Elementary School Garden Curricula to Education Standards
    (2015-04-24) Hansen, Erika
    Garden education programs have the academic documentation to prove that they are a creative, viable, and successful way to enhance learning. However, a key limitation to using gardens for learning is the lack of garden learning resources correlated to applicable science standards. The purpose of this project was to review and analyze the literature to determine the impacts of garden-based learning on students, obtain an understanding of the prevalence of school gardens in the state of North Carolina, and determine what tools elementary school teachers need to improve the access to and efficacy of school gardens for their classes. Based on this research and on input from my client, NC Cooperative Extension, I correlated four reputable garden-based curricula to the NC Science Essential Standards and produced a database that allows North Carolina educators to identify individual lessons within the curricula that are directly aligned with specific science standards.
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    Gifted Education in Orange County Schools
    (2012-12-07) Auerbach, Cate
    Underachievement is defined as a discrepancy between a student’s ability and performance. Underachievement in gifted children, namely those one to two years above grade level, is especially concerning. Gifted children of high potential require additional nurturing and motivation to fulfill this potential, a task for parents, teachers, and school administrators alike. In Orange County Schools, a public school district in Orange County, North Carolina, these stakeholders care about the achievement of students in the Academically and Intellectually Gifted (AIG) program. This study explores test score growth among Orange County Schools’ AIG students in the fifth through eighth grade in order to assess underachievement for this group. By examining the quantitative and qualitative factors contributing to gifted student learning, it finds that test score growth does not accurately reflect gifted student achievement, and instead suggests that other measurements be used to assess Orange County Schools’ gifted program.
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    North Carolina Teacher Perceptions of School Turnaround Efforts
    (2013-05-13) DeNeal, Jennifer
    This exploratory pilot study utilizes in-depth interviews to gain baseline information in anticipation of a larger, mixed methods study examining North Carolina teacher perceptions of school turnaround efforts. Results of the pilot study indicate that teachers do in fact feel conflicting signals, complain of insufficient planning time, intervention knowledge gaps and burdensome administrative work associated with school turnaround efforts. Despite certain negative feedback, the pilot study teachers indicated an interest in receiving help and bettering their practice as educators. Future research should work to expand this research by implementing large scale survey methodologies and incorporating analysis of school principal management and communication strategies.
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    Variation and Disparities in Exclusionary Discipline Rates in North Carolina Elementary Schools
    (2021-05-03) Huibregtse, Madelyne
    This project reinforces prior research demonstrating inequitable suspension rates in North Carolina public elementary schools. Using school-level data from publicly available sources, I found most elementary schools use suspensions as a mechanism to discipline inappropriate student behavior, but there is considerable variation in rates at the school and county level. I also found that Black students had higher rates of both in-school and out-of-school suspension rates compared to white students and rates for all students. However, some schools across the state prove that there are potential policies and procedures that schools can use to reduce their suspension rates and subsequently improve student outcomes. This project compared actual suspension rates to predicted rates based on school-level observable characteristics, and found that a majority of schools with both lower than expected in-school and out-of-school suspension rates are located in 3 counites: Guilford, Cumberland, and Mecklenburg. This group of schools had considerably lower average rates for all students and for Black students, though the gap between white and Black student rates persisted.