Education Commons^™

Psychosocial Developmental Levels Of Freshman Urban University Students With Learning Disabilities, Nancy Ann Wolthuis Olthoff

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This research study addressed the question, "Is there a difference in psychosocial developmental levels, as defined by Arthur Chickering, between male and female traditional-aged urban university freshmen with and without learning disabilities?" Twenty students with learning disabilities, as diagnosed by independent practitioners who exhibited spelling disabilities on a writing sample placement test, were compared to two comparable groups of twenty students. One comparison group did not exhibit spelling disability. The second group while demonstrating spelling problems, did not have documentation of learning disabilities. The Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Inventory, a measure of Arthur Chickering's theory of psychosocial development, was …

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 Effects Of Wellness Activity Choices On Urban Employees' Psychological Mood States And Job Satisfaction, Ruth Porter Holland

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This ex-post-facto study was designed to examine the effects of varied levels of physical activity participation choices on employees' mood states and job satisfaction. A six (group) x two (sex) x three (times) ANCOVA method analyzed the relationship of three independent variables (group, sex and repeated exercise sessions) to ten dependent psychological measures (seven mood states and three job satisfaction components). Comparisons by group, sex, and time were made to determine whether four treatment groups of male and female employees who made choices to participate in varied levels of physical activity over an eight week period differed significantly from two …

An Assessment Of The Utilization Of Permanent And Temporary Classrooms As It Relates To Cost And Efficiency In Selected School Divisions, E. Carlton Bowyer

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

In the mid-1900s there were over eighty thousand public school buildings in the United States housing approximately thirty-nine million pupils. Many were constructed thirty or forty years earlier and have approached the end of their useful life without requiring major retrofitting or replacement. Rising construction costs prompt school systems to investigate alternative means of housing rapidly growing student populations. This study traced the historical background of the school facility and the development of school construction relative to the function of education.

The focus of this study was to ascertain the current use of temporary and permanent housing in the fifty …

Effects Of An Urban Alternative High School Dropout Prevention And Rehabilitation Program On The Attendance, Attitude And Academic Achievement Of At-Risk Students, Margaret Shearin Bell

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a dropout prevention program on at-risk high school students who returned to their home schools. The study was conducted in Newport News, Virginia at four high schools and an alternative school site, housing the dropout program. The subjects were divided into two independent treatment groups: Group One (N = 30) who participated in the program in the fall semester of 1988 and returned to their home schools in the spring semester of 1989, and Group Two (N = 21) who participated in the program in the spring semester of …

Marketing Higher Education To Mexican-Americans: Identification Of Successful Marketing Strategies And Tactics, Cynthia Gale Coiner

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

In this study, a comprehensive set of successful marketing strategies and tactics for the recruitment of Mexican-Americans into four-year colleges and universities was identified. A taxonomy of findings ranging from very successful to not successful was developed. The methodology included focus groups conducted in Los Angeles, California and San Antonio, Texas to aid in the creation of survey instrument items. The resulting survey was mailed to admissions directors of four-year colleges and universities located in the six southwestern states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas.

The responses were analyzed by computing frequencies and crosstabulations. Subsequently, factor analysis …

A Comparison Of The Academic Achievement Of Urban Second-Grade Pupils With Different Forms Of Public Preschool Experience, Elva Williams Hunt

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Assessment of the potential value of the preschool experience has prompted urban educators to consider the advantages of preschool service delivery by the public schools. Urban policy makers ponder whether or not advocacy for preschool education should include advocacy of the provider. This study addressed the provision of preschool service for students from urban low-income families.

The grade placement of students born in three consecutive years was observed to determine their progress during the first three years of public schooling. Students were categorized with regard to their participation in preschool: some had attended a public school system preschool, First Step; …

The Impostor Phenomenon In The Classroom: Personality And Cognitive Correlates, Barbara H. Cromwell

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study was designed as an ex post facto investigation of the Impostor Phenomenon (IP) in high-achieving students on the secondary educational level. The purpose of the study was to ascertain if impostors could be differentiated from non-impostors on the basis of gender, grade level, grade point average (GPA), personality characteristics and irrational beliefs. A cutoff score of 40 on the Harvey IP Scale was selected a priori to divide subjects into impostor and non-impostor groups.

Subjects for this investigation consisted of 104 honors English students in grades nine through twelve from a large suburban high school in Southeastern Virginia. …

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 …

Computer Technology For Executive Decision-Making In Urban Public Education Divisions In Virginia, Richard Kenneth Byrd

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the study determines if Virginia urban public school executive leadership used automated informational systems to support policy, goal setting, and decision making typical of its job requirements. Secondly, the study describes the planning techniques specific to automated system development used by the school division where such automated executive support occurs.

The personal interview method was selected because it helps to insure 100 percent of the desired sample to participate. The interview technique insures responses to direct questions, to narrative responses sought, and to follow-up discussions necessary to insure clarification.

The instrument follows …

Factors Affecting Policy In Educational Media Services, Diane S. Barker

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Teachers use a variety of resources to motivate students and to enrich and expand learning experiences in the classroom. Media, including films, videotapes, and other audiovisual materials, are some of those resources.

Over the years, as teacher access to media increased, researchers began to investigate factors which encouraged or discouraged its use. Factors which had an impact on teacher use or lack of use of media were and are important indicators to administrators responsible for allocating resources and for establishing policy concerning how media are organized and distributed.

The purpose of the study was to investigate current factors involved in …

The Influence Of Brain Hemisphericity On The Composing Process Of Twelfth Graders, Reinholdine Breien-Pierson

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Despite the popularization of the concept of brain hemispheric dominance, little serious research has been done in the area of the role of brain hemisphericity in learning and thought. The purpose of this case study was to explore the role of hemisphericity in the area of student composition to test the theory that the composing process and writing of student papers differs relative to the students' hemispheric dominance. A second area of investigation was to test the theory that teachers value papers written by students who share their hemispheric dominance.

The subjects, eight twelfth graders and four (English) teacher evaluators, …

A Comparative Study Of The Effects Of Two Urban Kindergarten Beginning Reading Programs On Student Oral Reading Performance And Attitudes Toward Reading, Ann-Carol Banton Holley

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the whole language and the Writing to Read beginning reading programs on oral reading performance and attitudes toward learning to read in school. The research population totaled 128 kindergarten students from two elementary schools within the same urban school system. This population consisted of a complete population sample of sixty-one students at the whole language school and sixty-seven Writing to Read students chosen by random selection to represent all classes and teachers at the other school.

Oral reading performance and attitude toward reading of the two groups were compared …

Self-Concepts Of Christian And Public High School Seniors, Dorothy Potts Lee

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This ex post facto study compared the self-concepts of seniors from three Christian high schools in southeastern Virginia with three public high schools located in the same cities. One intact classroom from each school was employed, making a total of 147 subjects.

A one-way multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted to maximize the power of discrimination of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS) by predicting the best linear combination of dependent variables after statistically adjusting for covariates. Performance on five of the subscales was judged not to be related to potential differences between the two types of schools and those …

Parent Participation In The Educational Process And Student Achievement, Linda Worrell Deans

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of parental involvement between parent and child as well as between parent and school. After the level of parent participation was established, the data set was used to determine whether a relationship exists between the level of parental involvement and student achievement at selected secondary urban schools. The selected secondary schools include two different school divisions.

The study employed five approaches: (1) a descriptive analysis of the variables of parental interaction with the child as it relates to a personal, affective level; a monitoring level; and a social level; as …

Statewide Higher Education Governing Board Decision Making In Capital Project Planning, Richard Charles Runner

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Funds spent for capital construction in the United States reached $4.3 billion in 1985. As the amount of funds for higher education capital construction has increased, so has the concern for adequate controls on capital spending. The scope and size of the existing physical plants and the number of construction or remodeling projects currently underway call for careful scrutiny of the manner in which public governing boards carry out their responsibilities on the public's behalf.

The primary focus of this study was the involvement of statewide higher education governing boards in the review and approval of capital projects. The stated …

Community Development Through Industry And Education Partnerships: An Integrated Evaluability Assessment Of A Cooperative Training Alliance Between Industry And An Urban Community College, Richard E. Witte

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Conceptualizing community college/industry training linkages as unified programs with established evaluable outcomes will allow practical assessment of their value as a community development tool.

The purpose of this study was to conduct an evaluability assessment of the training linkage between Tidewater Community College and Norfolk Naval Shipyard. This alliance was formed to provide professional academic instruction as an element of the shipyard apprentice program. The study established the documented program expectations and the program expectations of state and local community development policy makers, community college leaders and shipyard management. The study evaluated all identified expectations for compatibility across partnership interests, …

Supervisors' Perceptions Of Staff Development Needs Of Urban Vocational Teachers, Patricia Tynes Tompkins

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine vocational supervisors' perceptions of staff development needs of urban vocational teachers. The population for this study consisted of the vocational education supervisors in the urban areas of Virginia with a population of 50,000 or more. The Delphi technique was employed to gather the data from the supervisors.

The first research goal of this study was to determine the most pressing staff development need of urban vocational teachers as perceived by their supervisors. The results showed that the supervisors perceived the most pressing staff development need to be "Projection of a positive image …

An Inquiry Into The Influence Of Expressive Writing Practice On The Transactional Writing Abilities Of Selected Fourth Grade Students, Maureen Elliott Hook

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The study is an inquiry into the influence of expressive writing practice on the transactional writing abilities of selected fourth grade students. It is based on the ideas of James Britton, an English theoretician concerned with writing. The study was formulated to investigate how the process of writing occurs. Writing research is at an early stage, and this study will expand the knowledge of the field.

The study consisted of a treatment group receiving intensive practice with expressive writing over the course of one semester while the control group did not. A posttest was administered which involved the students having …

The Effects Of Classification Systems On Management And Access In Selected Elementary School Libraries, Ellen L. Miller

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Without an adequate access and delivery system for "easy" books, young children are locked out of the vast literary resources of elementary school libraries. The research described in this dissertation was conducted for the purpose of investigating the extent to which a variation in classification systems corresponded to variations in management and access. Elm's Classification System and H. W. Wilson's "E" classification for "easy" books were the two systems involved in the study.

In the spring of 1985, a questionnaire was mailed to 38 librarians in the public school systems in four cities in the Tidewater Area of Virginia--Chesapeake, Norfolk, …

An Administrative Microcomputer Literacy Training Model For Elementary School Administrators Of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Karen Ann Bosch

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study is to design a process product administrative microcomputer literacy training model for 43 principals and 44 assistant principals in the Virginia Beach elementary schools. In order to accomplish this purpose, a systematic process for assessing administrative microcomputer literacy training was developed. The training assessment process included the identification of the following: (1) administrative microcomputer literacy training needs, (2) school administrators' attitudes toward microcomputer use, (3) barriers and facilitators influencing administrative use of microcomputers, (4) organizational factors needed to facilitate and support administrative use of microcomputers in schools, and (5) school administrators' training preferences and learning …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of Developmental Reading And Writing Courses At Old Dominion University, Jimi Thomas-Muskovac

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study sought to (1) identify the number and demographic characteristics of students served by the remedial programs, (2) determine academic achievement and persistence of these students, (3) assess the performance of developmental reading and writing students in regular college English and regular college history classes, (4) identify components and characteristics used in the developmental programs which are associated with the success rate of developmental students and (5) assess the effectiveness of developmental education programs based on the evaluation of the number of students completing degree programs. The academic years under consideration are 1980 through 1985.

The study employed two …

The Impact Of An Intrusive Orientation Model On The Retention And Grade Point Average Of Second Semester Freshmen On Academic Probation At An Urban University, Walter Rupert Earl

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

More than one-third of all entering freshmen will not be continuous students into a sophomore year. Academic and orientation interventions usually are based on the assumption that students will self-identify their needs and seek help. The intrusive model is an alternative intervention strategy based on the theory that students will respond to direct contact in which problems in their academic life are identified and assistance offered. To evaluate the effectiveness of the model, seventy-four freshmen who were placed on probation at the end of their first semester participated in an intrusive project involving counseling and evaluation of the causes of …

The Effect Of Mobility On The Academic Performance Of Grade Six Students In An Urban School, Arnold Hugo Lindblad Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of mobility on the standardized achievement test scores of grade six students in an urban school. The study sought to (1) identify the degree of mobility experienced by grade six students in the Chesapeake Public Schools; (2) identify the degree of mobility within the Chesapeake Public Schools; (3) determine the socio-economic, gender, and ethnic characteristics of the extra-city mobile, intra-city mobile, and non-mobile grade six students; (4) determine if there were differences in the standardized achievement test scores of extra-city mobile, intra-city mobile, and non-mobile grade six students; and (5) …

An Evaluation Of Education Programs For Pregnant Teens In Three Selected Urban Virginia Communities, Susan K. Eilberg

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

As adolescent pregnancy becomes more prevalent and funds for social programs diminish, the need to define the parameters of successful educational programs for pregnant teens becomes clear. This dissertation evaluated four programs to determine the effect of centralization of instruction and the length of time a student spent in her program on self-concept, vocational awareness, academic achievement, attendance and return to regularly assigned school.

The researcher administered the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale and the Holland Self-Directed Search to 125 female students. Data were also gathered from school records on the remaining variables. Qualitative data were gathered to supplement quantitative data. Interviews …

The Effects Of Training In Safe Manual Handling On The Patient Lifting Techniques Of Nursing Personnel, Bruce Paul Klein

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of training on the patient handling methods of nursing personnel. The study sought (1) to determine the effect of three class variables (Group, Session and Task) on behavioral performance, (2) to assess the influence of twelve organismic variables on behavioral performance, and (3) to determine the relationship between written exam scores and trainee behavioral performance.

Test and control groups were comprised of twelve and twenty-eight subjects, respectively. Behavioral performance in four specified tasks was determined via direct observation of individual subjects by trained observers using specific, dichotomously-measured behavioral criteria. Performance …

A Comparison Of Parenting Profiles Of Adolescent Mothers, Willar F. White-Parson

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Statement of Problem. How do parenting profiles of adolescent mothers who attended an alternative school for pregnant students compare with adolescent mothers who did not attend this school?

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to compare the parenting perceptions of adolescent mothers who attended an alternative school for pregnant students and adolescent mothers who did not attend this school.

Procedure and Methods. The sample for this quasi-experimental study consisted of twenty volunteers who were enrolled in an alternative school and twenty volunteers who were admitted to a general hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. The school samples was the experimental group …

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 …

The Educated Worker: A Case Study Of Educational Needs And Program Of Developmental Reading, Margaret Barnes Carter

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

In today's developed societies, there is a need for workers to possess educational skills commensurate with the positions which they hold. It appears that a significant group of workers do not have sufficient educational skills.

Today's business, industrial and governmental organizations need to become aware of the educational requirements for the various positions within their organization and to be aware of the educational level which their employees actually have attained. A problem arises if there is a gap between need and actual performance. Human resource development, HRD, is one method of remediating any discrepancies found between employee educational needs and …

Research To Develop A Consensus Self-Evaluation Model Of National Norms Of Excellence For Alternating Cooperative Education Programs At Four-Year Colleges And Universities, Constance F. Brothers

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The research described in this dissertation was conducted in response to an expressed need for the development of national norms of excellence for cooperative education programs in the United States in 1980. In academic year 1981-1982 a Delphi technique was used with 12 cooperative education experts, who identified 155 cooperative education program norms of excellence specifically for four-year alternating cooperative education programs.

In academic year 1982-1983, the 155 norms identified were transposed into a 90-item self-evaluation questionnaire which was field tested and sampled at 14 colleges and universities with alternating cooperative education programs in the United States. Of 900 college …