Date of Award

January 2013

Degree Type

Open Access Dissertation

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

First Advisor

Sherwood Thompson

Department Affiliation

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the self-efficacy of teachers who work in the juvenile detention and youth development centers in Kentucky and how their level of self-efficacy influences their students' efforts to complete high school. This study is important because it provides information that contributes to the improvement of education for students incarcerated in juvenile detention and youth development centers in Kentucky. A quality education for these students ensures they will have the same opportunity for success that was afforded them in their regular school.

Youth committed to the juvenile detention and youth development centers are considered at-risk of not graduating high school. Research has shown that incarcerated students do not receive the same quality of education as their peers who attend traditional high schools. A descriptive research method was employed in this study. The population for this research was high school teachers (N=70) who are employed at regional juvenile detention and youth development centers in the state of Kentucky. These participants were asked to complete the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001). This instrument contains closed-ended items related to their expectations and beliefs about teacher efficacy. An analysis of their responses will help to determine their perceptions of teacher efficacy and its effect on the students' efforts to work toward high school graduation while incarcerated at the juvenile detention or youth development centers.

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