Education Commons^™

Student Choice-Of-Text In An Upper Secondary Independent Reading Program: A Quasi-Experimental Study, Brian M. Deloach

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the effects of student choice-of-text and reading comprehension outcomes in a 12-week independent reading program in an upper-secondary school. Students aged 17-18 (N = 52) were divided into two groups with one receiving an assigned text of age-appropriate Lexile estimate and genre; the other group was given free choice-of-text from an appropriate Lexile level from a classroom library. This quasi-experimental study followed a pretest-posttest, one-way ANCOVA model with both groups receiving the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test series before and after the intervention. Both groups made modest gains; however, the ANCOVA results revealed no statistically significant difference between the …

Reducing Youths Unemployment In Nigeria: The Development Of A Technical And Vocational Education And Training Survey Instrument, Omotola Olabisi Akinsola

Doctoral Dissertations

Youth unemployment has been on the rise for many years in Nigeria. Despite the high number of youths enrolled in formal education in Nigeria and the number of graduates each year, job opportunities to absorb these graduates are few. TVET has been proposed as an educational intervention in reducing youth unemployment.

A systematic review revealed that the interventions aimed at reducing youth unemployment were pooled into four categories: the use of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in schools, the introduction of entrepreneurship education in schools, the engagement of public-private partnership (PPP), and career guidance counseling for students.

In …

The Impact Of A Value-Added Model On Educational Leadership Practices In Northwest Louisiana, Candice D. Webert

Doctoral Dissertations

This study addressed the impact of VAM, concerns with VAM data, uses and interventions educational leaders provided teachers, and components perceived as necessary for VAM effectiveness as an evaluation tool. The demographics used for this study were position, school size, and experience. Due to the documented need for educational accountability from the 1960s to present, the knowledge gained in this study was valuable. While the initiative was implemented as a response to increased accountability, the perceptions and understanding of such new initiatives can impact their effectiveness; in turn, impacting educational leadership. This study focused on the effectiveness of VAM.

In …

Academic Work Ethic: Predicating Student Assignment Choice And Evaluating The Academic Work Ethic-Student Measure, John Thomas Parkhurst

Doctoral Dissertations

There were several objectives associated with the following three-study dissertation. The initial study was designed to replicate and extend previous research on the partial assignment completion effect (PAC), effort, and students’ assignment choice behavior. Our focus was to determine if individual differences, specifically work ethic, may explain why some students chose to continue to work on a partially-completed assignment as opposed to completing a different, lower-effort assignment. Our experimental and correlational results extended research on PAC and effort by suggesting that individual differences in work ethic may influence students to choose to finish what they started, even when it requires …

A Validation Of The Monitoring Academic Progress Mathematics: An Experimental Multidimensional Group Administered Curriculum-Based Measure Of Mathematics Fluency And Problem Solving, Michael Brandon Hopkins

Doctoral Dissertations

The study investigated the psychometric properties of a newly developed math curriculum-based measure, the Monitoring Academic Progress: Mathematics (MAP:M), through examination of its internal consistency, alternate-form, slope, and test-retest reliability and validity. Participants included 1688 first through third-grade students from a school district in Northeast Tennessee. Application of Generalizability Theory produced reliability coefficients, score variances, and standard-error-of-measures (SEM) for both absolute and relative decisions based on a particular number of probes. MAP:M reliability coefficients for relative decisions ranged from .67 to .97 across eleven probes. The highest percentage of score variance at all three grades was attributed to the Person …

Predictor Variables Of Performance On The Louisiana Educational Assessment Program For The 21st Century, June Adeline Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations

Using the Student Characteristics: Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) composite national percentile scores, repeating fourth grade, spring third grade Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) scores, socioeconomic status, race, gender, and preschool attendance and the School Characteristics: teacher degree level, teacher experience, teacher professional development, and school Title I status, this study employed a stepwise multiple regression analysis to determine the best predictors of fourth grade scores on the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program for the 21st Century (LEAP 21). Students must pass the English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics portions of this test to be promoted to fifth grade. Having previously …