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92
intently drew collages recreating their life stories, the teacher, a student teacher, and
a language aide walked around the classroom stopping to ask students questions
regarding their work. At one point, the teacher leaned over to a student and said, “I
broke my leg once, too, let me show you a picture”. She brought the student a
picture of herself with her leg in a cast. Another student drew a picture of a facial
scar, the teacher pointed to a scar on her chin to represent that she had experienced a
similar situation. Another student drew a picture of the Mexican flag expressing
how difficult it had been to leave his family to come to America. The teacher
acknowledged his feelings as he continued to draw, his eyes fell intently on the
teacher as though he trusted in what she said. The teacher commented on the
trusting relationship of her and her students. She stated,
You have to trust your teacher, and I always say, you guys trust me? They
say, like why are we doing this? I say, you gotta trust me, alright we trust
you. Like we understand that you are going to get us here the way you’re
doing it. So I think that’s really important (P5).
During this class period and during return visits, the researcher noted not only the
deep level of concern that the teacher held for her students and their personal lives
beyond the classroom but also the trusting relationship between the two of them.
Teachers showed their concern for students in other ways too. Written in my
observation log was the following comment: “It’s not uncommon to see teachers
smile, physically touch, and verbally encourage students”. When teachers asked
students to complete a task it was always followed up with “please” and “thank you”.
Object Description
| Title | Outperforming expectations: a case study of an urban high school |
| Author | Anderson, Sharon Adkins |
| Author email | shar.anderson@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education (Leadership) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-03-19 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-04-01 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Gothold, Stuart |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Stowe, Kathy Hocevar, Dennis |
| Abstract | In an age of accountability, closing the achievement gap among urban and non-urban schools has become a priority for educators. In a globalizing economy, the need for a skilled workforce has never been greater either. Preparing the nation s youth for tomorrow s challenges can be accomplished only by understanding what effective schools are doing and replicating those practices in other schools.; This study focused on one urban high school that exceeded academic expectations. The purpose for this study was to answer the following research questions: 1) What perceived factors contribute to academic achievement in a high performing urban high school, and 2) Is there a link between student engagement and student achievement in a high performing urban high school? Using a mixed methods approach of surveys, interviews, observations, and document review, the researcher sought to uncover the factors for the school s success. Several themes emerged during the data collection phase, which validated the existing literature on successful schools. The school acted as a family and the school culture was one of caring and respect. The staff acknowledged the effectiveness of research-based strategies and dedicated themselves to the use of such strategies. The school developed a college going environment and supported students in achieving future goals. The most recent principal gained the help of parents in new ways to accomplish positive academic outcomes. Student engagement as a factor for the school s high performance, however, was inconclusive. Therefore, more studies are needed to uncover how higher levels of student engagement can improve student success in urban schools. |
| Keyword | urban; high school; high performing; effective schools |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1069 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Anderson, Sharon Adkins |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | http://www.usc.edu/isd/libraries/services/ask_a_librarian/email/ |
| Filename | etd-Anderson-20080401 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume14/etd-Anderson-20080401.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 99 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Full text | 92 intently drew collages recreating their life stories, the teacher, a student teacher, and a language aide walked around the classroom stopping to ask students questions regarding their work. At one point, the teacher leaned over to a student and said, “I broke my leg once, too, let me show you a picture”. She brought the student a picture of herself with her leg in a cast. Another student drew a picture of a facial scar, the teacher pointed to a scar on her chin to represent that she had experienced a similar situation. Another student drew a picture of the Mexican flag expressing how difficult it had been to leave his family to come to America. The teacher acknowledged his feelings as he continued to draw, his eyes fell intently on the teacher as though he trusted in what she said. The teacher commented on the trusting relationship of her and her students. She stated, You have to trust your teacher, and I always say, you guys trust me? They say, like why are we doing this? I say, you gotta trust me, alright we trust you. Like we understand that you are going to get us here the way you’re doing it. So I think that’s really important (P5). During this class period and during return visits, the researcher noted not only the deep level of concern that the teacher held for her students and their personal lives beyond the classroom but also the trusting relationship between the two of them. Teachers showed their concern for students in other ways too. Written in my observation log was the following comment: “It’s not uncommon to see teachers smile, physically touch, and verbally encourage students”. When teachers asked students to complete a task it was always followed up with “please” and “thank you”. |
