Dr. Donald P. Marra

DISSERTATION TITLE

MIDDLE LEVEL EDUCATORS’ PERCEPTIONS OF HOW ONLINE LEARNING AFFECTED THE COGNITIVE, EMOTIONAL, AND BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT OF YOUNG ADOLESCENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY

This nonexperimental quantitative study surveyed middle level educators’ perceptions of student engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The In-Person versus Online Learning (IPVOL) survey was administered broadly across the Lower Hudson Valley of New York yielding 152 responses. This study’s findings support the literature and offer evidence that young adolescents who were educated inperson during the pandemic appeared more engaged than those who were educated 100% online. This study’s findings strengthen Deci and Ryan’s (1985) theoretical contention that competence, relatedness, and autonomy are essential psychological needs that must be met to promote motivation and engagement. However, additional research is needed to measure young adolescent engagement in an online learning environment. Additionally, the results of this study highlight the extraordinary challenge middle level educators faced to observe and measure student engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Donald Marra began his career in education in 2004 as a teaching assistant at the Summit School in Nyack, New York before joining the Pleasantville Union Free School District in 2007. Prior to becoming a Middle School Principal in July of 2017, Dr. Marra began as an intern within the guidance department for a short time until he was officially appointed to the role of school counselor in 2007. In 2013, after assuming the role of Interim Assistant Principal, he was officially appointed to the permanent position of Assistant Principal and held that role for three years. Dr. Marra believes that the greatest rewards during his time spent serving as a school counselor and administrator in Pleasantville have been the relationships and partnerships that he has formed with his students, their families, the community, and his colleagues.

Dr. Kendall Herleen Murray Higher Education Pathway

In many settings, the needs of Black girls are not being met. Black girls are poorly supported in how to combat and overcome both racism and sexism in school settings (Edwards et al., 2016). Black girls are the recipients of frequent conduct and dress code citations (Blake et al., 2011; Smith-Evans et al., 2014). They need strong advocacy to conquer supposed inferiority and achieve educational success (King et al., 2014; Russell, 2013) and overcome detrimental effects due to poor support. The purpose of this critical qualitative study was to describe the experiences that Black female alumnae had from participating in a high school GRSBMP and the potential impact the program had on their academic achievement, social engagement, and leadership development. This study used Black Feminist Thought (BFT) as its theoretical lens. The findings from this study revealed how race and gender impacted the experiences of the participants while in their school setting. These adolescent Black girls described how mentoring, representation of black female professionals, and selfesteem positively contributed to their lives and on their academic achievement, social engagement, and leadership development.

Kendall H. Murray McFarlane has served as an empowering educator for over two decades. She has worked in the public and private sectors as a School Counselor, and Admissions and Transfer Student Coordinator. Additionally, she is the Founder and Director of a mentoring program for girls of color. She earned a B.A. in Business Organizational Leadership from Mercy College, an M.S. in Counseling from Mercy College, and an M.A. in Ministry from Drew University. Her research interests include contemporary Black American female experience, black feminist thought theory, and the academic achievement, social engagement, and leadership development of black women.