Education Commons^™

The Impact Of Dismissal Of Non-Tenured Teachers On Principals In Tennessee., David W. Messer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the issues that principals face in making the decision or recommendation to bring about the involuntary separation of non-tenured teachers. I was concerned with identifying the emotions, feelings, conflicts, and misgivings that principals experience during this process. Related concerns were identified. They included the issues of principals using professionally ethical ways to encourage or coach teachers to resign prior to dismissal, dealing with "lame duck" teachers between notification and the end of the school year, and writing positive letters of recommendation for teachers they have decided not to renew. These questions were …

The Factors Associated With The Use Of Computers In The K-4 Classrooms Of The Maryville City School System., Jesse A. Robinette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of computers for instruction in the K-4 elementary schools of the Maryville City School System. A survey was distributed to every regular education classroom teacher in each of the four elementary schools of the system. Respondents were asked to provide: (a) demographic data in regard to age, gender, years of teaching experience, grade level taught, level of education, home computer ownership, and technology committee membership; (b) an implementation score based on teacher response to grade-level student performance indicators provided by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE); and (c) …

The Accidental Experts: A Demonstration Of The Existence, Utility, And Emergence Of Implicitly Learned Tacit Knowledge In Assistive-Augmentative Technology Users., Douglas Eugene Masini

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I investigated the presence, utility, and emergence of tacit knowledge in 9 study participants who used assistive-augmentative technology. I conducted phenomenologic interviews, audio-taping, and transcribed the interview with the written consent of the participants. Sixteen highly trained experts critiqued the final product of the interviews and answered a 25-question survey instrument. Non-parametric statistical processes were chosen to conduct inferential hypotheses testing. Wilcoxon - Mann Whitney U tests and Kruskal - Wallis One-Way ANOVA (alpha level of 0.05) were used for questions 1-10, and a 2 x R (R = 3 or 4) contingency table and Fisher's Exact Chi-Square were used …

Socioeconomic, Demographic, Attitudinal And Involvement Factors Associated With Math Achievement In Elementary School., Jennifer N. White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which socioeconomic factors, demographic factors, parent and student attitudes, and parent involvement were associated with math achievement. Students in Grade 5 were selected as the population for this study. Random sampling procedures were used to select the sample. Students in the sample completed a modified version of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales. Normal Curve Equivalent Scores (NCEs) from the math scales on the TerraNova Standardized Achievement Test were obtained for all students from the individual school records. Parents of the students also participated by answering questions pertaining to …

Examining At-Risk Students Based On Their Attitudes Toward Educational Factors: Is There A Gender Difference In Identification Of At-Risk Students?, Cynthia Mae Tilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among four specific typologies of environmental factors and at-risk teenagers. The four typologies explored were influences by parents and peers, teachers, educational setting, and factors relating to school behavior.

Six research questions guided the study and six null hypotheses were formulated and tested at the .05 level of significance. The degree of relationship between the independent variables and the environmental factors was analyzed by using the Independent samples t-test and One Way ANOVA. The study sample consisted of 195 middle school students in three counties in Northwestern North Carolina and …

How Is A Child's Perception Of Self Affected By Retention?, Brenda S. Tweed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to inform educators of the impact of grade retention on a child's perception of self, and to provide recommendations and practical applications for educators in the future.

Although the long-term effects of grade retention are still unclear, the number of students being retained annually is steadily on the rise. Conflicting beliefs about the advantages and disadvantages of the retention experience make it difficult to clearly predict which students will benefit from being retained.

A large body of research reports the impact of grade retention on scholastic achievement. As retention has usually been considered to …

Parental Involvement Typologies As Related To Student Achievement., Stacia Maria Derrick-Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine specific parenting practices in four East Tennessee counties to determine their relationships, if any, to student achievement among various demographic groups. The investigation included status variables, such as parents' educational level, annual income level, and family structure. Students' Normal Curve Equivalent scores on the Terra Nova Standardized Test were used to measure student achievement. The Epstein (1987) typologies were used to classify parent involvement modalities.

The analysis consisted of four research questions and were tested at the .05 level of significance. Pearson's product-moment, Spearman's rho, and Kendall's Tau B correlation coefficients were …

Public School Teachers’ And Principals’ Knowledge Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Judy Blevins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge level (general, etiology, assessment, treatment) of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/ADD) of principles, regular education teachers, and special education teachers in the First Educational District in Northeast Tennessee. The study further the amount of instruction on ADHD/ADD that educators received as part of their teacher training and after they began teaching, the number of books and articles they read on ADHD/ADD, the number of students with ADHD/ADD they worked with, and the number of students they worked with who were on medication. The study also revealed teacher beliefs about ADHD/ADD …

The Development Of The Parent Effectiveness Test (Pet), Sharon S. Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Not Available.

The Relationship Of Right Brain/Left Brain Hemispheric Dimensions Of Cognitive Style Between Teachers And Principals In Northeast Tennessee, Thomas S. Little

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Problem of this study was to determine if the cognitive style of elementary school principals affects the principal's evaluation of a teacher when there is a match or mismatch between the principal's and teacher's cognitive style. Using the Productivity Environmental Preference Survey, the dimensions of right brain/left brain hemispheric dimensions of cognitive style were measured for the sample population. The sample population included 40 elementary school principals and 120 elementary school teachers. The 120 teachers were made up of teachers selected by each of the 40 principals as the most effective teachers in the school. The statistical analysis of …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Power Style, And Locus-Of-Control For Selected Academic Deans, Carla E. Warner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The concept of locus of control, as an aspect of the human personality, has remained of interest to researchers since its identification by Julian Rotter in the 1960s. Beginning with the work of French and Raven in the 1950s, the concept of power and its interrelationship with leadership ability has also continued to be of interest to social scientists and educators. This study was completed in response to the lack of previous research on the relationship of locus of control to power style usage and preference. Four hundred and eighty academic deans from one hundred and nine Comprehensive II institutions …

A Comparison Of Left And Right Brain Hemisphere Processing And Brain Related Sex Differences In Kindergarten Children, Margaret K. Hickerson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to (1) compare the performance on left and right hemisphere processing tasks of male and female kindergarten students from three instructional approaches, and (2) to determine the effectiveness of an educational application: the use of "hands-on" inquiry-oriented science activities designed to engage the right hemisphere in improving left and right hemisphere processing. Subjects included 79 students enrolled in intact kindergarten classes representative of three instructional approaches: (1) the Traditional-Conventional Instructional Approach, (2) the Montessori Approach, and (3) the Open Activity-Centered Instructional Approach. The students were randomly assigned for treatment to experimental and control groups. …

Personality Characteristics Of Dramatics Majors At Selected Institutions Of Higher Education In Tennessee, Marguerite G. Parris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of the study was to determine significant differences and likenesses in personality characteristics of dramatics majors. A secondary purpose was to ascertain whether personality studies of this type might be effectively used by supervisors, departmental heads, and/or instructors in guiding students interested in dramatics in their choices of majors, colleges, and ultimately careers. Eighty-seven female dramatics majors and seventy-two male dramatics majors enrolled in nine colleges and universities in Tennessee volunteered to participate by taking the Omnibus Personality Inventory, the measuring instrument used for data gathering. The one-way analysis of variance was used to ascertain any significant …

An Investigation Of Student Teaching Anxiety About Discipline Using The Psychological Stress Evaluator (Pse), Paul P. Dearman Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.