Education Commons^™

The Effects Of An Autobiographical Dialogue Journaling Activity On Student Teachers' Levels Of Cultural Sensitivity And Reflective Skills, Wanda G. Lastrapes

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a researcher-designed autobiographical dialogue journaling activity on student teachers' levels of cultural sensitivity and levels of reflection. Written feedback from the university supervisors and cooperating teachers was analyzed to identify differences and similarities in the structure and focus of their responses.

Data was collected from 30 student teachers assigned to urban elementary field placements following a six-week structured journaling activity. Student teachers were randomly assigned to one of three journaling conditions: autobiographical dialogue journaling with their cooperating teacher, autobiographical dialogue journaling with their university supervisor, or the traditional student …

A Comparison Of Cognitive Development Between Whites And African Americans Based On William Perry's Scheme Of Intellectual And Ethical Development, Joan Johnson

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study compared cognitive complexity between student groups based on cultural background and academic class utilizing William Perry's (1970) cognitive theory of intellectual and ethical development. In addition, the study examined the influence of gender and socioeconomic status (SES) on cognitive development. The goal was to ascertain whether Perry's theory, developed from his research on a relatively homogeneous college student population without consideration of the impact of a culturally diverse environment, would be valid for culturally diverse students.

The research design employed to investigate cognitive development used a cross-sectional sample of entering freshmen and graduating seniors attending a predominantly White, …

A Meta-Analysis Of The Effects Of Multicultural Education On The Racial Attitudes Of Pre-K Through Grade 12 Students: A Comparison Of Curricular Intervention And Reinforcement Dimensions In Suburban And Urban Educational Settings, Ogochukwu Nkeiruka N. Okoye-Johnson

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This meta-analysis examined the effects of multicultural education on the racial attitudes of students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Multicultural education, which evolved as a direct result of the push for ethnic studies in schools, was operationalized for this study as programs and curricula dealing with racial and cultural diversity.

The findings of thirty selected studies were synthesized in this meta-analysis to examine whether students exposed to multicultural education developed more positive racial attitudes than students who did not. This meta-analysis compared the effect sizes of two dimensions of multicultural education, curricular intervention and reinforcement, to see the relative effectiveness …

An Evaluation Of An Urban Community College Single Parent And Displaced Homemaker Program, Linda Myers Rice

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of an urban community college Single Parent and Displaced Homemaker program composed primarily of minority women, many of whom were receiving public assistance. The critical dimension of mattering (Schlossberg et al., 1989) formed the conceptual framework for the evaluation.

Program effectiveness, impacts, efficiency and participant needs were assessed. The primary methodology was survey research. A descriptive and a causal comparative study were conducted to determine if there were significant differences in the number of semesters completed and the number of credits taken by program participants when compared to students …

Factors That Affect African-American Enrollment In Urban Agricultural Degree Programs In The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Thomas Earl Tracy

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine reasons why few African Americans are in leadership positions in the urban agriculture industry. The lack of leaders will probably continue because there is a dearth of African Americans enrolled in agriculture programs at colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Six research questions guided the study in its endeavor to determine perceptions about the urban agriculture industry. Data were collected through surveys and interviews. A background questionnaire, developed by the researcher collected data on age, academic interests, urban background, exposure to agriculture occupations, and factors that affected selection of college …

Predicting Academic Success Of Entering Freshmen At An Urban University Through The Assessment Of Oral And Written Language Competency, Karen D. Cobbs

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

In Moores and Klas' (1989) definitive study on college student retention, postsecondary administrators ranked the maintenance of student enrollment second in importance on a list of twenty critical issues facing higher education. Of particular relevance to college administrators has been the retention and graduation of African-American college students (D. B. Hawkins, 1994; Western Reserve, 1991).

Researchers, in considering the overall problem of student attrition, particularly, among African-Americans, have explored such questions as these: Which students are dropping out (Sherman, Giles and Green, 1994; Robinson, 1992)? Why do they discontinue their studies (Austin, 1982; Bohr et al., 1995; Kraft, 1992; Tinto, …

A Comparison Of White Male College Students Attending An Urban Black University And An Urban White University: White Racial Identity And Perceived Comfort With Blacks, Cheryl Lorraine Evans

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the difference in White Racial Identity and degree of tolerance for Blacks between two samples of White male undergraduate students attending an urban Black university and those attending an urban White university. The theoretical framework for this study was based in Social Contact Theory as a contributor to racial tolerance and Racial Identity Development Theory as a factor in human growth toward increasing acceptance of diversity. This was a quasi-experimental post-hoc design using intact groups.

The study analyzed the responses of 182 White male undergraduates using three instruments. A Background Questionnaire, designed …

A Comparison Of Minority And Non-Minority Engineering Students On Selected Personality And Program Variables, Thomas Mercer Collier Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are common characteristics associated with 226 Hispanic, African American, and White engineering students who persist at predominantly White colleges and universities. A personality profile of minority and non-minority engineering students was developed. Information regarding factors influencing choice of major, university, study, work and extracurricular involvement, possible reasons for withdrawal from college, awareness and satisfaction with student support services and selected academic courses was also compiled. Components of Minority Engineering Programs (MEPs) which are most used or valued by minority engineering students were identified.

Analysis of Variance identified four of the …

The "Virginian-Pilot" Newspaper's Role In Moderating Norfolk, Virginia's 1958 School Desegregation Crisis, Alexander Stewart Leidholdt

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This dissertation explores the critical role played by the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper's editor, Lenoir Chambers, in moderating public opinion during Norfolk, Virginia's, 1958/1959 public-school closing.

In 1958 the nation's attention was focused on Norfolk. In an attempt to stymy judicially mandated integration, Virginia's Governor J. Lindsay Almond, Jr., supported by the powerful political organization of United States senator Harry Flood Byrd, Sr., ordered the city to close its public schools.

Norfolk was a major urban area. Over ten thousand students were displaced by the state action; and four months after the closing, three thousand students were still receiving no education. …

The Identification Of Gifted Children At The Kindergarten And First-Grade Level In An Urban And Rural Population, Flora Carter Roberts

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study examined the nomination procedures and assessment instruments employed in the gifted programs in ten urban and four rural southeastern Virginia school divisions. The procedures and instruments were examined in relation to the proportionate number of black and white children nominated for and determined eligible for the gifted program at kindergarten and grade one. The odds-ratio, a measure of association, was the primary data analysis technique employed.

In urban divisions in which K-1 membership was reported as white, black, other, white children were four times as likely to be a member of the gifted program at the end of …

Factors Influencing College Choice Of Minority Students And Their Implications For Recruitment, Linda Blount Mccluney

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study was designed to determine factors of college choice and to evaluate their implications for the development of recruiting guidelines for minority students. The intent was to survey two hundred freshmen of two urban universities to determine which factors were influential in their college choice process and to design recruiting guidelines. The use of these guidelines may provide the impetus to direct more blacks to predominantly white urban universities and more whites to predominantly black universities.

The criterion group approach allowed for the two groups (black students attending a predominantly white university versus black students attending a predominantly black …