Browsing by Subject "Achievement gaps"

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    Does having a school counselor matter?: A dissertation investigating school counseling in Minnesota
    (2018-08) Cronin, Sarah
    Minnesota has one of the highest student-to-school counselor ratios in the nation. Not only are there racial and economic gaps in student achievement, but there are also racial and economic disparities in access to a licensed school counselor. This dissertation utilizes hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine if not only the student-to-school counselor ratio supports overall student success, but also which students benefit the most from having a school counselor. Six HLM analyses controlled for student, school, and district level factors to test if having a school counselor as well as the student-to-school counselor ratio were related to standardized test scores for students with a discipline history, who qualified for free or reduced price lunch, or who received state assistance in their lifetime. Regression analyses were completed to observe which school level factors predict whether or not a school has a school counselor as well as which predict small student-to-school counselor ratios. Overall, school counseling variables alone did not account for a significant amount of variance in standardized test scores when controlling for student, school, and district factors. Having a school counselor predicted lower standardized test scores for students who had a discipline record, were eligible for free or reduced price lunch, and/or who received state assistance compared to students with those same risk factors and no school counselor. Schools with greater enrollment and discipline rates and fewer students of color were more likely to have a school counselor. A discussion of the results describes implications for future research, school policy, and school counseling practice.
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    Talking about race: overcoming fear in the process of change
    (2013-05) Palmer, Emily Lilja
    This study is a doctoral dissertation that proposes new theory about teachers overcoming fear in the process of change, and finds significant changes happening in classrooms as a result of overcoming the fear of talking about race. The study context is professional development for teachers and administrators who are talking about race and learning about institutional racism as a strategy to address racial achievement gaps. The three primary findings of this study are: the extent to which the fear of being considered racist is a barrier for White teachers and administrators, preventing them from engaging in the work at a deep level; the manner in which some principals successfully mediated this fear and helped their teachers overcome it; and the meaningful changes in curriculum, instruction and practice that happened in classrooms as a result of this professional development work.