Education Commons^™

A Renewed Approach To Undergraduate Worship Leader Education, Allen Hendricks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The church music degree program at Charleston Southern University, based on a European traditional/classical sacred music degree model, has been attracting fewer and fewer students. The last two students pursuing this degree were graduated in May, 2011. Prior to their graduation, the administration encouraged the music department to investigate current career markets and the worship leadership training strategies of other institutions. The purpose of this project is to design a suitable worship leadership degree and thus assist the university in its mission to equip churches with properly trained ministry leaders. Survey instruments will be used to discover the expectations of …

Facebook As An Instructional Tool In The Secondary Classroom: A Case Study, Stephanie Hunter-Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to describe how social media networks impact secondary students when utilized as an instructional tool . The problem this study seeks to address is exploring the roles that social media play in the lives of high school students and the experiences they encounter by utilizing these networks academically and socially. A case study approach was utilized to evaluate the impact of technology integration via social media networks in a secondary English classroom. The focus of the study was to determine the academic and social impact the social media network, more specifically Facebook, has on …

The Relationship Between The Level Of Special Education Instructional Support Segments And The Academic Achievement Of Students With Emotional Behavior Disorders, Marykay Berry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Researchers have extensively studied the effects of placement on academic and behavioral interventions for students with disabilities and have found varying results. A correlational research design was used to determine if there was a relationship between the level of special education support (amount of time spent with special education support) for students with emotional behavior disorders (EBD) and student achievement in reading and math as measured by performance on the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). The study included 81 students with EBD in a small rural school district in Georgia in grades six through eight over the 2007-2008, 2008-2009, …

Standards-Based Assessment And High Stakes Testing: Accuracy Of Standards-Based Grading, Amity Hardegree

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study examines whether standards-based grade reporting accurately informs student academic achievement on standardized criterion-referenced tests for all students. The participants for this study were all fifth graders enrolled in eight elementary schools in a rural system in north Georgia from 2009-2010. Approximately 550 students' standards-based report cards (SBRC) and Criterion Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) provide the data to determine whether grades on standards-based report cards provide accurate information for all students, regardless of gender, ELL status, or socioeconomic status by comparing mean scores on Georgia's CRCT in the areas of math and reading, based on SBRC indicators. The …

A Journey Through Assessment: From Memory Recollection To Knowledge Demonstration, Jennifer Byrne

Conference papers

The Technological University Dublin is one of the largest multi-level higher education providers in Ireland. The Institute’s traditional mission has always been focused on teaching and learning in the field of advanced technical vocational education and training (TVET), and one of its agendas is to foster and encourage changes in teaching practice and methodology in order to enhance the student learning experience.

This paper is a result of the ever changing process which shows the evolution of the assessment process to its current format. It was driven by the fact that we as lecturers realised that the assessment results did …

Houston, We Have A…Solution?, Reed Greenwood, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The Arkansas Department of Education recently released the list of the lowest performing schools in Arkansas—labeled as focus and priority schools. Now that these schools have been singled out, they will be subjected to heavy intervention. Educators and policymakers all over Arkansas have their eyes on these schools and are asking - what's next? How do we turn around lower performing schools? What works? In this policy brief, we outline one particular program—the Apollo 20 program—that is working to turnaround achievement in lower performing schools. Early results show gains comparable with prominent charter schools in the nation, but some criticize …

Blaine It On Politics: The (Non-) Effect Of Anti-Aid Amendments On Private School Choice Programs In The U.S. States, Patrick J. Wolf, Richard D. Komer, Michael Q. Mcshane

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

James G. Blaine was a prominent American politician of the late 19th Century. Although Blaine was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for President in 1884, U.S. Secretary of State, Speaker of the House, and a Senator from Maine, his primary legacy was the enshrinement of "anti-aid" amendments in the constitutions of 39 U.S. states. These so-called "Blaine Amendments" were designed to prohibit government funds from supporting "sectarian" religious organizations such as schools and charities. In Blaine's day, "sectarian" was widely understood to be a euphemism for "Catholic". Nondenominationally Protestant organizations such as the public schools of the day were considered to …

Common Core State Standards In Arkansas, Caleb P. Rose, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In July 2010, the Arkansas Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards and the PARCC Assessment program. The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) then created a strategic plan and a timeline for the implementation of the standards. The new standards were implemented in Arkansas K-2 classrooms this past school year, 2011-12. During this current school year, 2012-13, the standards are being implemented in grades 3-8.

Arkansas’ Esea Waiver Approval Update, Caleb P. Rose, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

On June 29th, 2012, the US Department of Education announced that it had approved Arkansas’s ESEA waiver request. On July 4th, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) announced it had identified 48 Priority and 110 Focus schools. Priority and Focus schools are the new names for the two lowest-rated school performance categories; schools and districts in these categories are subject to ADE intervention. This policy brief explains the major differences between the accountability system under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the new revised system.

2011-2012 Arkansas Test Results, Reed Greenwood, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

On Monday, July 30, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) released the 2011-2012 test score results. The following brief will highlight the results of these tests, compare achievement scores over time, and provide a glimpse of regional achievement results for the following exams:  Benchmark Exam (Grades 3-8)  End-of-Course Exam (Algebra I, Geometry, Biology, and Grade 11 Literacy).  Iowa Test of Basic Skills (Grades 1-9)

When Rights, Incentives, And Institutions All Clash: The Case Of School Vouchers And Special Education In Milwaukee, Patrick J. Wolf, John F. Witte, David J. Fleming

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Two highly controversial issues in the field of K-12 education in the U.S. are special education and parental school choice. Those two policy concerns converge surrounding the question of what proportion of students in school voucher programs compared to public schools have education-related disabilities, and whether or not the two school sectors are properly classifying and serving students with special education needs. We might expect private voucher-receiving schools to serve fewer students with disabilities than local public school systems due to the legal framework and institutional incentives surrounding special education and private schools. Most federal disability laws do not apply …

Adult Learner Considerations In Admissions And Enrollment, Tammy R. Johnson, Sonja G. Cantrell

Admissions Faculty Research

As national focus on retention and student success increases, many states and institutions are looking for ways to increase the number of students who ultimately earn degrees. Many are realizing that the non-traditional adult student population is a historically untapped demographic that can provide almost instant, positive changes in graduation rates. This group is often considered low-hanging fruit and can be targeted to quickly complete unfinished degrees. This is especially true for institutions that have a large number of non-completers with high numbers of earned hours. Many non-returners have 90 or more earned hours and simply need some encouragement and …

A Pilot Study: The Use Of A Survey To Assess The Food Knowledge Of Nutrition Students At Various Levels Of Nutrition Education, Chante Chambers

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A working definition of a concept known as ‘food literacy’ encompasses using basic food preparation knowledge that has been learned, understood, and practiced to make better food decisions. To advance these skills for client service, a post-secondary nutrition program would need to include objectives that allow application of knowledge. For this reason, the purpose of this study was to determine the difference in knowledge and application among students in 100, 200 and 400 level college nutrition course(s). A survey was developed to measure the food knowledge of these college students as they prepare for careers as health care professionals. The …

Induced Entry Into The Social Security Disability Program: Using Past Sga Changes As A Natural Experiment, Nicole Maestas, Kathleen J. Mullen, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The number of American adults receiving benefits from the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program has increased dramatically over the past several decades. A proposed solution to rising program costs is to change program rules to encourage fully or partially recovered SSDI beneficiaries to return to work. One such option is a benefit offset policy, which would reduce SSDI benefits by $1 for every $2 of earned income. While a benefit offset could generate savings from increased labor supply and program exit among current beneficiaries, it could also generate unintended costs if the more generous work rules induce significant numbers …

The Effects Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Support On Student Discipline Referrals And Attendance, Gregory E. Ross

Dissertations

As school districts work to utilize instructional time, student behavior is often a huge hindrance to maximizing instruction. In 2001 while at the University of Oregon, Horner and Sugai created Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS), now utilized in over 7,000 schools throughout the country (Sugai & Horner, 2002). This program is provided to schools throughout Kentucky through a federal grant extended to the Kentucky Center for Instructional Discipline (KYCID).

This study analyzed PBIS in an elementary school in southwest Kentucky, McNabb Elementary, to measure the effect of PBIS on student discipline referrals and attendance. Referrals were evaluated from 2006-2012, …

Forecasting The Storm: Student Perspectives Throughout A Teaching Personal And Social Responsibility (Tpsr)-Based Positive Youth Development Program, P. Stefan Ward, Melissa Parker, Heidi Henschel Pellett, Mark Perez

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

Despite increased support for youth development, youth have few opportunities to voice the aspects of these programs that hold meaning for them. This study explored youth perceptions throughout a youth development physical activity program based on an adapted model of Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) designed to enhance Self-Determination Theory (SDT) tenets of: autonomy, relatedness, and competency (Deci & Ryan, 2008). An ethnographic case study, drawing on multiple data sources, was used to study student perceptions over a nine month program. Participants included 19 students (10 boys; 9 girls) attending an alternative middle-school. Data analysis utilized open and axial …

The Gaise College Report: The American Statistical Association Meets Sound Pedagogy In Central Virginia, Beverly Wood

Publications

Research in undergraduate statistics education often centers on the introductory course required for a large percentage of college students. While acknowledging the diverse setting, audience, and purpose of introductory courses, existing research assumes that courses offered by different disciplines share the same goals and teaching practices. The purpose of this study is to examine the objectives for student outcomes and pedagogical delivery of introductory statistics courses in various academic departments to provide explicit evidence for this assumption. The American Statistical Association’s Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) are meant to apply to all introductory courses. The College …

Success Factors Identified By Academically Successful African-American Students Of Poverty, Meredith Cooler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore why some low-income minority students were academically successful in school using a three-tiered approach to research including individual student interviews, classroom observations, and photographs and follow up interviews on photographs to identify factors contributing to academic success. Twenty-five students in grades 3-8 meeting the criteria of African-American, low SES, and high achieving were selected and interviewed to identify factors contributing to their academic success as measured by Northwest Evaluation Association's Measures of Academic Progress testing. The study participant responses were compared and discussed through the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT), …

Functional Story-Based Instruction About Hand Washing To Teach Emergent Literacy Skills And Hand Washing Skills To Three Elementary Students With Significant Intellectual Disabilities, Glenda Hyer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study used a multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effects of Functional Story-Based Instruction about hand washing on the independent and correct emergent literacy responses and independent and correct hand washing responses of three elementary students with significant intellectual disabilities in small inclusive reading groups. Data were collected during baseline, intervention, and generalization phases, and then analyzed using visual analyses. The result of the study indicated a functional relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Social validity indicated Functional Story-Based Instruction about hand washing was an effective approach for teaching both emergent literacy skills and hand washing …

Ineffective Psychometric Testing: Gre Test Administration, Brittney Dawhn Perry

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The effectiveness of the GRE was measured through a mixed-methods study. Quantitative data was studied to determine a relationship between GRE scores and the completion of higher education. Students and employers were surveyed to clarify a link between the content the GRE measures and the skills that are needed in graduate school and the workforce. In addition, students were asked if test administration, time-constrained questions, and question bias had any effect of their GRE score. Together, these findings were inconclusive and do not suggest that the GRE is effective or ineffective in its measurement of potential graduate students in relation …

Comparison Of Pass Assessment Scores In Single-Gender And Heterogeneous Middle Schools In South Carolina, Patricia Canada

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In response to the mandates of No Child Left Behind, (NCLB), educators across the country struggle to close the gaps between males and females. Some of the physiological differences existing between the male and female brain suggest support for single-gender instruction, which is on the rise within this country as well as other parts of the world. Using the theoretical framework based on brain research, the purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the effect of single-gender instruction on assessment results in Palmetto Assessments of State Standards (PASS) math and reading scores of public middle single-gender schools to mixed-gender …

Relationship Of A Nutrition Intervention Class For Middle School Students On Nutrition Knowledge And Attitudes, Kathy Hood

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A pre-test post-test nonequivalent group design was utilized to investigate the role nutrition education has on a student's choice to eat healthy foods. The Nutrition Essentials: Teaching Tools for Healthy Choices nutrition module was used to teach clinically based nutrition. The research used rural Georgia seventh and eighth grade students' to evaluate the effects of nutrition education on the students' nutrition knowledge and attitudes using the SPAN student questionnaire. MANOVA was used to determine if changes occurred between the control and experimental groups. Results of the study showed that the short term study did not improve student nutrition knowledge or …

Gifted Hispanic Identity: Exploring Relationships Among Resilience, Goals And Academic Orientation, Matthew Forrester

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological analysis was to explore the identity development of gifted Hispanic male students in the middle school setting. The study used a survey, multiple interviews and observations, along with focus group data to acquire data in four principle areas: academic orientation, ethnic identity, resilience and goals. Results indicate the importance of resilience as an interactive element in the process of identity development, as well as the importance of ethnic identity exploration and long-term goal setting in formulating a high achieving academic orientation. Other emergent themes such as language use and discrimination are also discussed in light …

University Of Michigan Bar Passage 2004-2006: A Failure To Replicate Professor Sander's Results, With Implications For Affirmative Action, Richard O. Lempert

Law & Economics Working Papers

In a recent issue of the Denver Law Review, Professor Richard Sander presents data on race-based affirmative action that purportedly support his theory that any benefits African Americans enjoy from affirmative action are more than offset by detrimental effects of academic mismatch. Specifically, he references a yet unpublished study in which he claims to have found that for the years 2004-2006 the bar passage rate of African-American graduates of the University of Michigan Law School is 62 percent for first time takers rising to only 76 percent after multiple takes. This paper shows that these results are quite implausible given …

Walking Box Ranch Custodianship Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending July 10, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV provides stewardship of Walking Box Ranch (WBR) by providing a caretaker who oversees the property, facilitating use of the property by researchers and educators, developing a use and research policy for the property, and coordinating these activities with BLM and in accordance with TNC restrictions.
• UNLV currently addresses security issues for the property through the presence of the caretaker and two Metro Officers who reside on the property in two recreational vehicles.
• UNLV continues to work with BLM and Condit, supplying content for interpretation at the future Walking Box Ranch museum.
• BLM visited the ranch on July 5 to …

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending July 10, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• BLM informed UNLV that after investigating a concession contract as the appropriate BLM document for the future operating partner, they have concluded that an operating agreement is the preferred document and they are proceeding to complete such an agreement as soon as possible.
• Following a visit to the ranch with BLM, UNLV has completed temporary repairs to ranch house windows, which should mitigate deterioration of the ranch house from water
• UNLV participated in a one-half day meeting with BLM to review Condit’s Extended Content Package #1. As a result of the lack of progress by Condit, UNLV was requested to …

Improving Core Mathematical Skills In Motor Apprentice Education In Ireland, Peter Kenny

Conference Papers

In order to enter into an apprenticeship in Ireland a qualification in mathematics is not essential. Throughout their apprenticeship many motor trade apprentices find that many past mathematical weakness resurface. In addition to this the level and standard of mathematics increases as apprentices progress through their training.

A maths diagnostic test has been developed and sat by a selection of Motor Mechanic apprentices attending off the job training at the Technological University Dublin during the 2011 to 2012 academic year.

The results of this test indicate that many students experience difficulty with mathematically related subjects. The test was then repeated …

Grand Tactical Assessment Of Effectiveness, Andrew Vorder Bruegge

College of Visual and Performing Arts Faculty Publications

Implementation of a systematic process for reviewing all programmatic assessment instruments in an academic department.

The Impact Of Dual Enrollment On The Institution, Katherine N. Kinnick

Faculty and Research Publications

How do dual enrollment programs benefit colleges and universities? Using quantitative and qualitative measures, the director of Kennesaw State University's Dual Enrollment Honors Program demonstrates the program's value to the university and highlights program concerns and challenges.

Managing Eresearch Data Within A Collaborative Research Network, Darren Gibson, Julia Gross

Research outputs 2011

Edith Cowan University (ECU) is one of twelve Australian universities striving to create world-class research capacity and capability through investment in the Collaborative Research Network (CRN) project. The CRN project at ECU aims to accelerate the growth of research activity in four key areas: Health, Education, ICT, and Environment. These areas align to both the Australian Government’s National Research Priorities and ECU’s strategic research plan. Managing eResearch data is essential, especially within a CRN to ensure the maximum benefit is achieved from the investigations. Currently, there is no set model to follow. Normally an institution will establish its own policy …