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School District Superintendents' Response To Ethical Dilemmas: A Grounded Theory, Fay Sprouse Dec 2009

School District Superintendents' Response To Ethical Dilemmas: A Grounded Theory, Fay Sprouse

All Dissertations

Ethical dilemmas, situations involving a conflict between values or principles, often arise when employees of school districts violate laws or professional codes of behavior. Ethical dilemmas also occur when there are inequities in educational programming, resulting in missed opportunities for students. This qualitative study, conducted with the grounded theory research methodology, analyzed school district superintendents' responses to ethical dilemmas experienced in the course of their professional career. Critical influences on the decision-making process and the ethical frameworks utilized by participants were examined. A 'Model of Superintendents' Responses to Ethical Dilemmas' was developed and participants' stories were used to elucidate the …


Preservice Teacher Attitudes And Intentions Toward An Inclusive Educational Environment: An Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Julie Jones Dec 2009

Preservice Teacher Attitudes And Intentions Toward An Inclusive Educational Environment: An Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Julie Jones

All Dissertations

The purpose of this research project was to identify preservice teacher beliefs, attitudes, and intentions toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in a predominately general education environment. A survey instrument was created based on Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of planned behavior and disseminated to three universities in South Carolina. This study improves upon existing studies of preservice teacher attitudes because it takes place at more than one institution and is grounded in a theory that explores the many- layered aspects of attitude.
Preservice teacher attitudes were moderately positive on all measures: behavioral beliefs, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. …


The Influence Of International Service-Learning On Cultural Competence In Baccalaureate Nursing Graduates And Their Subsequent Nursing Practice, Roxanne Amerson Dec 2009

The Influence Of International Service-Learning On Cultural Competence In Baccalaureate Nursing Graduates And Their Subsequent Nursing Practice, Roxanne Amerson

All Dissertations

A series of research studies was completed over 3 years to evaluate baccalaureate nursing students' transcultural self-efficacy following the completion of service-learning projects. A quantitative pilot study was completed in 2007 with a convenience sample of students (n=60) enrolled in a community health nursing course. Several clinical groups worked with local communities and one clinical group took part in a one-week program in Guatemala. The Transcultural Self-Efficacy Tool (TSET) was administered at the beginning and completion of the semester. A paired-samples t test demonstrated a significant increase for pre-test to post-test total and subscale scores.
A follow-up field study was …


A Perceptional Analysis Of The South Carolina Principal Induction Program As Perceived By Program Participants, Jerome Hudson Dec 2009

A Perceptional Analysis Of The South Carolina Principal Induction Program As Perceived By Program Participants, Jerome Hudson

All Dissertations

BOLD


Ninth Grade Academies In South Carolina: Early Adopters Versus Late Adopters, Daniel Mullis Dec 2009

Ninth Grade Academies In South Carolina: Early Adopters Versus Late Adopters, Daniel Mullis

All Dissertations

The addition of ninth graders to the high school level brought administrative challenges: increased failure rate, truancy, and disciplinary infractions; as a solution, the Ninth Grade Academy concept evolved. This study's purpose was to examine South Carolina schools' academies to determine if early adopters were more effective than late adopters. The study's research was based on Institutional Theory with its main focus as Institutional Isomorphism. This qualitative study used survey results to determine how much administrators used data from existing academies before beginning their own implementation process. The study used institutional theory to assess whether new academies were a form …


Examining Client Motivation And Counseling Outcome, Guy Ilagan Dec 2009

Examining Client Motivation And Counseling Outcome, Guy Ilagan

All Dissertations

University mental health clinics have experienced a marked increase in demand for services without an increase in resources to meet the rising demand. Consequently, university mental health centers need strategies to determine the best allocation of their limited resources. Transtheoretical Model, based on client motivation, may offer valuable insight into whether a university student is likely to benefit from campus mental health counseling.
The subjects included 331 university students at a liberal arts, public university in the Southeastern part of the United States. The subjects consisted of all students over age 18 who visited the research site campus mental health …


Roles, Responsibilities, Celebrations, And Post-Presidency Aspirations Of Female College Presidents, Almeda Jacks Dec 2009

Roles, Responsibilities, Celebrations, And Post-Presidency Aspirations Of Female College Presidents, Almeda Jacks

All Dissertations

Of the 3,300 university and college presidents in higher education in the United States, only 23% are held by females (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2007). The percentage of female students in most institutions in higher education is higher than those of male students.
The Central questions that guided this research study are as follows: What are the roles and responsibilities of presidents of higher educational institutions? How do presidents of higher education celebrate their professional and personal accomplishments? Additionally, what are the post-presidency aspirations of the eight women interviewed who all currently are in their first presidency position in …


An Analysis Of Working Conditions Of South Carolina Teachers And Expected Working Conditions Of Clemson University Student Teachers, Tammy Bobo Dec 2009

An Analysis Of Working Conditions Of South Carolina Teachers And Expected Working Conditions Of Clemson University Student Teachers, Tammy Bobo

All Dissertations

Results of the 2007-2008 South Carolina inservice teachers' survey were analyzed for levels of reported competence, autonomy, and relatedness in existing working conditions. These results were compared to the expected level of competence, autonomy, and relatedness indicated by preservice teachers in January of 2009 at Clemson University. Levels of existing competence, autonomy, and relatedness reported by inservice teachers in their working conditions were consistently higher than the levels expected by preservice teachers and these differences were found to be significantly different using an analysis of variance.
Themes revealed by principal component analysis showed similarities to the basic needs of competence, …


Interview With A Scholar: In Conversation With Risa Shaw, Debra Russell, Risa Shaw Nov 2009

Interview With A Scholar: In Conversation With Risa Shaw, Debra Russell, Risa Shaw

International Journal of Interpreter Education

This open forum article consists of an interview with Risa Shaw, a signed language interpreter educator, in which she reviews her doctoral research. Her study examined narratives and retellings, in both English and American Sign Language, of disclosures to family members of sexual assault. The findings reveal the importance of context in creating meaning and in shaping narrative structure in discourse. In addition, the work highlights the manner in which interpreters must prepare for the work in order to effectively interpret in the diverse settings where narratives are retold. This interdisciplinary study has implications for interpreters and interpreter educators, across …


Modifying Instruction In The Deaf Interpreting Model, Carla Mathers Nov 2009

Modifying Instruction In The Deaf Interpreting Model, Carla Mathers

International Journal of Interpreter Education

While there is much current discussion of the use of deaf interpreters, in practice, deaf interpreters in the United States are generally used for a small segment of the population and typically confined to legal settings. The use of a deaf interpreter paired with an interpreter who can hear, in an ancillary or supporting role, is a reasonable accommodation in a variety of settings, for a variety of deaf individuals, and with a variety of interpreters who can hear. Interpreter education programs need to develop or revise their curricula to incorporate the discrete tasks as performed by deaf interpreters. Research-based …


Accessibility To Theater For Deaf And Deaf-Blind People: Legal, Language And Artistic Considerations, Brian R. Kilpatrick Nov 2009

Accessibility To Theater For Deaf And Deaf-Blind People: Legal, Language And Artistic Considerations, Brian R. Kilpatrick

International Journal of Interpreter Education

Without accessibility, theater can be meaningless to the deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind consumers. As part of a larger study conducted by B. Kilpatrick (2007), the authors interviewed 38 participants who have been professionally involved in deaf children’s theater as to their opinions related to theater accessibility options. Their responses bring forward for discussion options ranging from English text-based accessibility, the closest to the English language, to shadow interpreting, which provides accessibility closest to the play being delivered in full in American Sign Language. Using historical research methods, semi-structured and structured interviews, open-ended questions, archival materials, and published documents …


Editorial: The Real Voyage Of Discovery, Jemina Napier Nov 2009

Editorial: The Real Voyage Of Discovery, Jemina Napier

International Journal of Interpreter Education

No abstract provided.


Dissertation Abstracts, Brenda Nicodemus, Maria Cristina Pires Pereira, Carolyn Ball Nov 2009

Dissertation Abstracts, Brenda Nicodemus, Maria Cristina Pires Pereira, Carolyn Ball

International Journal of Interpreter Education

No abstract provided.


Characteristics Of An Interpreted Situation With Multiple: Implications For Pedagogy, Masato Takimoto Nov 2009

Characteristics Of An Interpreted Situation With Multiple: Implications For Pedagogy, Masato Takimoto

International Journal of Interpreter Education

By examining a naturalistic interpreted situation with a number of participants, this paper identifies and considers the distinctiveness of such a context. With an increased number of participants, the interaction becomes highly complex, and an interpreter is required to undertake functions that may be considered additional to or different from an interpreter-mediated interaction with two primary interlocutors. Such additional tasks consist of the management of information, including reporting and summarizing, and monitoring the participants’ information needs. In order to analyze the complex nature of the interaction, the notion of footing is employed as a theoretical framework. These findings have important …


Sign Language Interpreting: A Human Rights Issue, Hilde Haualand Nov 2009

Sign Language Interpreting: A Human Rights Issue, Hilde Haualand

International Journal of Interpreter Education

Viewed as isolated cases, sign language interpreters facilitate communication between 1 or more people. Viewed broadly, sign language interpreting may be seen as a tool to secure the human rights of sign language using deaf people. To fulfill this goal, interpreters must be provided with proper training and work according to a code of ethics. A recent international survey of 93 countries, mostly in the developing world (H. Haualand & C. Allen, 2009), found that very few respondents had an established sign language interpreter service, formal education and training opportunities for interpreters, or an endorsed code of ethics to regulate …


The Experiential Learning Theory And Interpreter Education, Jessica Bentley Sassaman Nov 2009

The Experiential Learning Theory And Interpreter Education, Jessica Bentley Sassaman

International Journal of Interpreter Education

Learning to become an interpreter is a hands-on and interactive experience. Students entering an interpreting program have a wide variety of language skill levels and backgrounds. In the context of American Sign Language (ASL)/English interpreter education, some students arrive at an interpreting program with no knowledge of ASL, whereas others have more experience and some proficiency with the language. Even though some of the students may be familiar with ASL, the process of interpreting is often a new skill set. As students learn how to interpret through hands-on practice, they follow a 4-mode learning cycle that is based on their …


Full Issue Nov 2009

Full Issue

International Journal of Interpreter Education

No abstract provided.


Innovative Public Engagement Practices And Partnerships: Lifting Stakeholder Voices In Education Accountability Policy, Monica Wills, Curtis Brewer, Robert Knoeppel, James Witte, Roy Pargas, Jane Clark Lindle Nov 2009

Innovative Public Engagement Practices And Partnerships: Lifting Stakeholder Voices In Education Accountability Policy, Monica Wills, Curtis Brewer, Robert Knoeppel, James Witte, Roy Pargas, Jane Clark Lindle

Publications

In 2008, due to increasing stakeholder dissatisfaction with assessment results and school report cards, South Carolina revised its 1998 Educational Accountability Act and required public engagement with stakeholders including parents/guardians, educators, business and community leaders, and taxpayers. The legislation created partnerships between SC‟s Education Oversight Committee (EOC) and Clemson University. The project also brought together within the university the fields of Applied Sociology, Computer Science, and Educational Leadership. The project involved mixed methods using phone/web surveys with focus groups eliciting perceptions from key stakeholders and under-represented voices in the surveys.


Profiles Of Urban, Low Ses, African American Girls’ Attitudes Toward Science: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods Study, Gayle Buck, Kristin Cook, Cassie F. Quigley, Jennifer Eastwood, Yvonne Lucas Oct 2009

Profiles Of Urban, Low Ses, African American Girls’ Attitudes Toward Science: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods Study, Gayle Buck, Kristin Cook, Cassie F. Quigley, Jennifer Eastwood, Yvonne Lucas

Publications

The purpose of this study was to increase the science education community’s understanding of the experiences and needs of girls who cross the traditional categorical boundaries of gender, race and socioeconomic status in a manner that has left their needs and experience largely invisible. A first of several in a series, this study sought to explore how African American girls from low SES communities position themselves in science learning. We followed a mixed-methods sequential explanatory strategy, in which two data collection phases, qualitative following the quantitative, were employed to investigate 89 African-American girls’ personal orientations towards science learning. By using …


Exploring Different Instructional Designs Of A Screen-Captured Video Lesson: A Mixed Methods Study Of Transfer Of Learnng, Ryan Visser Aug 2009

Exploring Different Instructional Designs Of A Screen-Captured Video Lesson: A Mixed Methods Study Of Transfer Of Learnng, Ryan Visser

All Dissertations

Digital instruction, whether in the form of training delivered on CD/DVD-ROMs or online courses delivered via the Internet is being used in all levels of education. It can, after all, increase student achievement if designed properly (Moersch, 1999). Many established instructional technologies (e.g. Microsoft PowerPoint®) have been researched to determine effective and ineffective instructional designs. However, newer technologies such as screen-captured videos, have not.
Because the research of newer, multimedia instructional technology is 'in its infancy' (Mayer, 2001, p.194), a timely challenge for instructional technologists is to determine how to design and research these technologies. Theoretical frameworks on which to …


Exploring Teacher Perceptions Of Influential Facilitators Of Elementary Mathematics Professional Development: A Mixed Methods Investigation, Sandra Linder Aug 2009

Exploring Teacher Perceptions Of Influential Facilitators Of Elementary Mathematics Professional Development: A Mixed Methods Investigation, Sandra Linder

All Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role of the facilitator in elementary mathematics professional development. An exploratory sequential mixed methods design was utilized to answer the central research question: How do United States elementary school teachers perceive an influential facilitator of elementary mathematics professional development (EMPD)? Phase one of this study explored teacher perceptions through a phenomenological design, which informed the second phase of the study, the implementation of a survey instrument to elementary school mathematics teachers on a larger scale. This dissertation is divided into six chapters. Chapter One presents a rationale for examining the role of the facilitator in professional …


A Formative Experiment Investigating The Use Of Nonfiction Texts In Writing Workshop To Assist Fourth-Grade Readers And Writers, Kelly Tracy Aug 2009

A Formative Experiment Investigating The Use Of Nonfiction Texts In Writing Workshop To Assist Fourth-Grade Readers And Writers, Kelly Tracy

All Dissertations

Using the methodology of a formative experiment (Reinking & Bradley, 2008), this study investigated how writing workshop using expository and informational texts could be implemented in a fourth-grade classroom to improve students' reading and writing abilities and attitudes.
Eighteen students from a fourth-grade class at a rural school in a large district participated in the study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected prior to and after implementation of the intervention to establish a baseline of performance and to determine progress toward the pedagogical goal. Additionally, qualitative data were collected throughout the intervention. Quantitative data were analyzed using a paired-samples t-test …


Social Support And Persistence Among University Transfer Students Attending A Community College: A Grounded Theory Study, Stanley Burdette Aug 2009

Social Support And Persistence Among University Transfer Students Attending A Community College: A Grounded Theory Study, Stanley Burdette

All Dissertations

This study explored the role of social support in relation to the persistence of community college students enrolled in a university transfer program at a single institution. Student persistence rates in community colleges are low in comparison to other sectors of higher education. To explain community college student persistence, past researchers relied on theories of student retention that were developed from data collected in traditional four-year colleges and universities. Although the dominant theories of student retention emphasized social integration and involvement, the role of social support as related to persistence in community colleges was not adequately explored. The purpose of …


Perceptions Of County Extension 4-H Agents/Educators Regarding Essential Elements And Delivery Modes Of Positive Youth Development And Their Collective Impact On Character, Kellye Rembert Aug 2009

Perceptions Of County Extension 4-H Agents/Educators Regarding Essential Elements And Delivery Modes Of Positive Youth Development And Their Collective Impact On Character, Kellye Rembert

All Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the perceptions of county 4-H agents/educators regarding the level of emphasis placed on the eight elements (caring adult, safe environment, mastery, service, self-determination, inclusiveness, futuristic view, and engagement) in each of the four delivery modes (clubs, special interest, school enrichment, and camping). Participants were also asked to give their perceptions of the character in action of the youth participating in the county 4-H program. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was used to collect data regarding agent/educator perceptions. Participants responded to a web-based survey and provided 4-H youth demographic information from ES237 Federal …


Exploring Pre- And Post-Admission Characteristics Of Retained First-Year Students Enrolled In Non-Proximal Distance Learning Programs Within Public, 2-Year Colleges, Laurie Hillstock Aug 2009

Exploring Pre- And Post-Admission Characteristics Of Retained First-Year Students Enrolled In Non-Proximal Distance Learning Programs Within Public, 2-Year Colleges, Laurie Hillstock

All Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to explore pre- and post-admission characteristics of retained first-year students enrolled in non-proximal distance learning programs within a public, 2-year college environment. Pre-admission characteristics included student attributes, such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, GPA, and technology experience. Post-admission characteristics included lifestyle variables (i.e., employment status, family obligations, and finances) and student perceptions regarding institutional variables (i.e., academic integration, commitment and technology access). The sample for this study consisted of 197 first-year students enrolled in non-proximal distance learning programs from among five, public, 2-year colleges in Virginia during the 2008-09 academic year.
A quantitative data …


Student Perceptions Of Reading Motivation In A Voluntary Summer Reading Program: A Mixed Methods Dissertation, Julie Mcgaha Aug 2009

Student Perceptions Of Reading Motivation In A Voluntary Summer Reading Program: A Mixed Methods Dissertation, Julie Mcgaha

All Dissertations

How might a voluntary, high school summer reading program affect students' literacy motivation? A sequential exploratory mixed methods line of research attempted to answer this question. In study 1, after completing a summer reading program, 900 students from the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades provided written responses to the open-ended question, 'What was the best thing about the summer reading program?' The researchers analyzed their responses with a phenomenological technique adapted from Moustakas (1994), yielding 11 motivational themes. In study 2, those themes guided the creation of a survey instrument, which then was administered to a different sample of 1600 …


Ethical Perspectives And Leadership Practices In The Two-Year Colleges In South Carolina, Shirley Butler Aug 2009

Ethical Perspectives And Leadership Practices In The Two-Year Colleges In South Carolina, Shirley Butler

All Dissertations

This study examined the ethical perspectives and leadership practices of leaders in community colleges. The participants consisted of 68 presidents and chief institutional officers from the two-year colleges in South Carolina. All participants completed the Ethics Position Questionnaire and the Leadership Practices Inventory. Demographic data were also gathered on the participants. The survey responses were collected electronically, and analyzed to determine what relationships existed between the leaders' ethical ideologies and perspectives and their leadership practices. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's Product-moment Correlation tests, and ANOVA tests were computed to examine the data. The findings from the study indicated several associations between leadership …


Increasing Student Motivation To Become A Successful Industrial Engineer, Danielle Lanigan Aug 2009

Increasing Student Motivation To Become A Successful Industrial Engineer, Danielle Lanigan

All Theses

This paper explores the use of the VIE theory of Motivation in the field of Industrial Engineering Education. This work focuses on two different populations of students, college students who have chosen Industrial Engineering as a major and middle school students with a predisposition toward engineering. To start, we used a mixed methods sequential explanatory study to learn more about Clemson University department of Industrial Engineering students. Quantitatively, the study found that differences exist among different subsets of Industrial Engineering students. Female students have a higher motivation than male students do, and students with university sponsored project experience have a …


Item Disaggregation For: Student Behavior From Web Survey Public Education Engagement South Carolinians Speak Out, Jane Clark Lindle, James Witte, Robert Knoeppel Jul 2009

Item Disaggregation For: Student Behavior From Web Survey Public Education Engagement South Carolinians Speak Out, Jane Clark Lindle, James Witte, Robert Knoeppel

Publications

No abstract provided.


Item Disaggregation For: Student Behavior From Phone Interviews Public Education Engagement South Carolinians Speak Out, Jane Clark Lindle, James Witte, Robert Knoeppel Jul 2009

Item Disaggregation For: Student Behavior From Phone Interviews Public Education Engagement South Carolinians Speak Out, Jane Clark Lindle, James Witte, Robert Knoeppel

Publications

No abstract provided.