Date of Award
Spring 4-1-2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate of Education, Ed.D.
College
College of Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Audrey Rabas, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Michael Butcher, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Sherry Williams, Ed.D.
Abstract
There are many untold stories about the experiences and dedication of urban school teachers. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the phenomenon of teachers at high-poverty, urban schools encountering many challenges. The purpose of the study was to understand the lived experiences of urban school teachers. The constructivist learning theory and functionalist perspective guided the conceptual framework. The phenomenological design used a convenience sampling of 16 teachers who taught in high-poverty urban schools at least 10 years. The two research questions explored the commonalities of participants’ experiences in high-poverty, urban schools to reveal why teachers remain in these challenging schools by choice. Data were collected from one-on-one interviews. A phenomenological analysis and coding were utilized to analyze interview data. The findings indicated that most teachers at high-poverty, urban schools recognize the challenges associated with the specific unmet needs of their students and the teachers remain dedicated to helping their students improve academically. Recommendations for educational stakeholders are to (a) train preservice and current high-poverty, urban school educators to understand the complexities of poverty; and (b) implement the standards of the whole child approach.