Education Commons^™

An Evaluation Of Alternative Methods For Online Survey Recruitment: The Equivalency Of Data Collected Through Amazon Mechanical Turk And Second Life To Traditional Undergraduate Student Samples, Elizabeth M. Briones

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A major proportion of psychological research uses subjects from undergraduate populations. Increasingly, researchers are exploiting the Internet to reach beyond the traditional undergraduate sample. The current study sought to compare data obtained from a conventional undergraduate student sample to data collected via two online survey recruitment platforms: Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) crowdsourcing site and the virtual environment of Second Life (SL). Data obtained via these online recruitment platforms was statistically equivalent to the data obtained from the college sample, based on standardized measures of psychological stress and sleep quality. Additionally, correlations between the sleep and stress measures were not statistically …

Increasing Social Interaction Skills In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Through Parent Implementation Of The Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-Based (Dir) Program, Yvette Cantu

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purposed study examined the changes in positive and negative social interactions based on parent implementation and non-implementation in the Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based (DIR) program designed for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Nine participants were randomly selected and assigned to a DIR treatment group and a control group. The study was conducted over an eight week period. Overall, the statistical analysis of the implementation of the DIR program at home did not yield a significant change in positive social interaction skills. However, the parent's perspective of their children's social skills, as demonstrated through the parent questionnaire and through …

Parent Implementation Of The Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-Based (Dir) Program: Changes In The Repetitive Behaviors Of Children With Autism, Jessica S. Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The study examined the changes in behavioral repetitive/stereotypies based on parent implementation and non-implementation in the Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based (DIR) program designed for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). An experimental, 2x2 repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to measure the changes in behavioral repetitive/stereotypies such as: rocking or other whole body movements, hand-flapping, ritualism, finger/light stimulation, aggressive behavior to self, and aggressive behavior to others, based on parent implementation or non-implementation of the DIR program. Nine participants were randomly selected and assigned to a DIR treatment group and a control group. The study was conducted over …

Factors Of Placement Decisions Of Students With Learning Disabilities, April C. Yetsko

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study looked at the factors that are involved in determining the placement decision of a child with a learning disability. Reading level, previous placement, initial placement, intelligence quotient, English proficiency and behavior were the factors examined in the study. Data was collected by examining the school files of children labeled as learning disabled in two school districts in south Texas. The different placement factors were studied to see which ones were most predictive of the number of hours a week that a student spent in a special education classroom. The research design utilized was a descriptive analysis, a correlation …

Teachers' Attitudes And Preceptions Towards Inclusion Of Gifted Students, Bertha Belen Perez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study was to determine if middle school teachers' attitudes and perceptions towards gifted students in inclusionary classrooms are affected by experiential variables. Specifically, are receptivity towards gifted, training and knowledge in giftedness, and preferences towards teaching gifted students affected by teachers' attitudes? Are preferences and perceptions towards inclusive programs in the middle schools affected by teachers' attitudes?

The population is comprised of 135 general education teachers from three middle schools in the La Joya Independent School District, La Joya, Texas. The Teacher Report Questionnaire was designed using twenty-three questions. The questions were developed for general education teachers in the …

Bilingual Special Education: A Comparison Of The Perceptions Between Bilingual And Special Education Directors, Sarita Garcia

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study was conducted through a survey instrument. The quantitative aspect examined the question: Is there a significant difference in the mean scores between the directors' perceptions with respect to the need for: (a) bilingual special education (BSE) programs in the public schools; (b) training programs for teachers who serve students with limited-English proficiency and disabilities; (c) formal BSE certification; and (d) universities to offer BSE training? Positive and negative BSE attributes including suggestions comprised the qualitative dimension. The sample consisted of 40 bilingual education directors and 27 special education directors from the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas …