Education Commons^™

End User Resource Valuation In Community College Libraries: A Q Methodology Study, Theodore John Lucy

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the valuation process of community college library end-users as they decide which information resources to use when conducting research. This study was designed as an exploratory study using Q methodology and focused on five specific information resources that community college library end-users routinely use in their research process: the Internet, the reference librarian, books, newspapers, and subscription databases. Little is known about the valuation hierarchy that end-users overlay on these resources when deciding which ones to use to address a specific research need.

Sixty-four community college library end-users from four main campuses …

Violence Attribution Errors Among Low-Risk And High-Risk Offenders, Vicki Waytowich

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Juvenile offenders have numerous factors that contribute to their delinquency, including family dysfunction, drug and alcohol abuse, negative peer influences, and social cognitive development. One area of social cognitive development linked to deviant behavior is attributional biases. Based on the prior research of Daley and Onwuegbuzie (2004), the purpose of the present concurrent mixed methods study was to explore the differences in the frequency of violence attribution errors among juvenile delinquents; the extent that peer-victimization, self-esteem, and demographic variables predict violence attribution errors among juveniles; and the differences in the types of violence attribution errors between incarcerated (high-risk) and probation …

The Teach For Florida Project: A Case Study Of Alternative Route Certification Policy, Robert Todd Parrish

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the policy implementation of the Teach for Florida Project, which was conducted as a grant program in 2003. The project was designed to help alleviate a critical shortage of teachers brought about in part by the passage in the fall of 2002 of Florida Constitutional Amendment 9, a referendum setting specific limits on the number of students who could be taught by one teacher. The project was created and run on a tight timeline, allowing only 6 months from initiation of the request for proposals to placement of new alternatively prepared teachers in their classrooms. Despite the …

Assessing The Impact Of Family Coaching On Parental Attitudes And Behaviors, James Young

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of participation in a family coaching program on perceptions of parental self-efficacy, families' use of encouragement, and reinforcement behaviors. A second purpose of the study was to ascertain the lasting effect on families participating in a family involvement intervention that included coaching. Families with prekindergarten and/or kindergarten children attending school in a low-income neighborhood and neighboring child care centers were recruited for the study.

The Family Coaching Institute, the family involvement intervention for this study, consisted of three 5-week, 2-hour biweekly sessions. Attendance ranged from 3 to 15 sessions. Child …

Frameworks For Patient Safety In The Nursing Curriculum, Theresa Maria Chenot

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Patient safety (i.e., the degree to which patients are free from accidental injury) has received a great deal of media coverage during the past few years. Professional and regulatory agencies have indicated that patient safety education should be provided to healthcare workers to improve health outcomes. The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to gain a better understanding of the current status of patient safety awareness among pre-licensure nursing students. To this end, six research questions guided the study:

1. Will interpretable item constructs be identified when responses to the Healthcare Professional Patient Safety Assessment Curriculum Survey (HPPSACS) are …

Learning The Abc's: Family Involvement In Kindergarten Literacy, Rebecca Lynn England

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated home literacy environments established through reading with children, engaging in literacy activities, and having literacy materials provided, along with families' participation in literacy-related school events. One hundred one kindergarten children and their families from five classrooms in two inner-city urban elementary schools were invited to participate in the "Learning the ABCs" project. A total of 68 families gave consent. Participation in the project included receiving 15 weeks of Home Literacy Bags. The 68 participating children were randomly assigned into two intervention groups using cluster sampling of the five classes. Group One received weekly bags with four …

The Impact Of School Reform Design, English Speakers Of Other Languages (Esol) Instruction And Socioeconomic Status On Esol Students' Reading Achievement, Cristina P. Valentino

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how school reform design, English speakers of other languages (ESOL) instruction, and socioeconomic status (SES) impact the academic achievement of ESOL students in Grade 2. Gains in lexile scores on the Scholastic Reading Inventory were used to measure one aspect of academic achievement, namely, general reading ability.

The primary research question was: To what extent can gains in lexile scores on the Scholastic Reading Inventory be explained by the independent variable set of school reform design (America's Choice/Direct Instruction), ESOL instruction (ESOL instruction/no ESOL instruction), and SES (free and reduced lunch/no free …

Perceptions Of A Chilly Climate: Differences In Traditional And Non-Traditional Majors For Women, Ladonna K. Morris

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine how perceptions of a chilly climate differ between students in traditionally female-dominated majors versus traditionally male-dominated majors, and how these perceptions relate to students' intentions to persist or pursue higher education in their chosen field. Participants were 403 students attending a community college in the southern United States, including students majoring in information technology (IT), engineering, education, and nursing. Participants completed the 28-item Perceived Chilly Climate Scale (PCCS) and other informational items.

The primary research question asked: To what extent can scores on the five subscales of the PCCS be explained …

On Becoming Women: Adolescent Female Muslim Refugees Negotiating Their Identities In The United States, Kathleen Bell Mckenzie

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United States is becoming more diverse; numerous immigrants and refugees enter every year. Among the newer groups are those practicing the Muslim religion.

This qualitative research focused on the identity formation process of six adolescent female Muslim refugees from Afghanistan. Based on Erikson's paradigm of psycho-social development and Marcia's modifications to that theory, I used semi-structured interviews to understand how the participants negotiated their identities in the context of their families, the public school, and the community.

This cohort appeared to exist within a circumscribed Afghan community, retaining significant parts of their culture, traditions, and roles. The exception to …

Relationship Between Extent Of Extracurricular Participation, Employment, And Substance Use Among Middle And High School Students, Lynn Hunt Long

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between student use of substances and extent of participation in school and/or community sponsored sport or nonsport activity. The study also examined student substance use and extent of participation in sport or nonsport activity together with extent of employment.

Data were provided by 24,699 public school youths who attended grades 6 through 12 and completed the 2001-2002 Duval Secondary Substance Use and Violence Survey: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors. Frequency tables, crosstabulation, chi-square tests, and loglinear analysis were used to analyze the data.

The study found: (a) a higher percentage of respondents who participated in 11 …

Access To Higher Education In Florida And South Africa: A Comparative Policy Analysis, Marty Z. Khan

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines issues of access to higher education in Florida and South Africa. On November 9, 1999, the Governor of the State of Florida issued Executive Order 99-281 to establish the One Florida Initiative (OFI), which barred the use of race as a factor in university admissions. In South Africa, the government in February 2001 issued its National Plan for Higher Education (SANPHE). This plan outlined a framework to redress past inequities in the higher education system perpetuated by the former government's apartheid ideology. Senior university leaders in Florida and South Africa were required to implement their respective policy. …

Constructing A Public Community College Presidency: A Retrospective Study, Annabel Brooks

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This retrospective, qualitative case study examined the complexities of leadership in a community college setting under a single, long-term president. Six critical events were identified by 16 key informants as a basis for reflection on their views of the 23-year presidency of Dr. William Seeker at Florida Keys Community College.

The researcher found a highly participatory leadership model and a college that functions in a less hierarchical manner than is traditionally encountered in community colleges. The study further revealed that the president of Florida Keys Community College expanded the role of president by giving priority to the construction of a …

Causes Of Student Underachievement In Northside New Era Secondary School In Ghana, Edward Larbi

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the causes of student underachievement in a selected high school in Ghana. The anonymous name chosen for the school was Northside New Era Secondary School. The participants in the study were administrators, teachers, and students. They were selected from the same school where the researcher conducted the study. The school was located in the Northern Region of Ghana. It had proven records of underachievement compared to other schools in the country according to the Ministry of Education's recent statistical report on education. The criterion for measurement was based on the results of the final examination conducted …

Transformational Leadership And Moral Discourse In The Workplace And Civil Society, John W. Frank

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was grounded in the theory and practice of transformational leadership, where leaders function as moral agents of change as they facilitate values talk (moral discourse) among their constituents. The study took its cue from Rost's call for a new paradigm for leadership ethics that calls for methods of group moral decision making to assess organizational and social ends. The inquiry sought to better understand how leaders engage others in moral conversation and how such processes influence organizational culture and democratic civil society.

The methodology was qualitative and phenomenological as it was centered on leaders' perceptions of their experiences …

Dimensions Of Servant-Leadership In American Not-For-Profit Hospitals, William C. Mason

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The leadership of American not-for-profit hospitals is one context in which servant-leadership finds appropriate expression. However, little research exists that explores the sources of servant-leadership within the leader, what processes leaders use to engage in servantleadership, or what impact servant-leadership has on organizations and communities. This research presents a new perspective offering insight into those questions.

The Dimensions of Servant-Leadership in American Not-for-Profit Hospitals is a qualitative study of the lives and works of four chief executive officers of successful not-for-profit health systems identified as exemplars of servant-leadership. The researcher further examined perceptions of servant-leadership among colleagues of each of …

Preferred Leadership Of Ncaa Division I And Ii Intercollegiate Student-Athletes, Joel W. Beam

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences of student-athletes' preferred leadership behavior for their coaches based on gender, competition level, task dependence, and task variability. Four hundred and eight male and female student-athletes from four NCAA Division I and six Division II universities expressed their preferences using the Revised Leadership Scale for Sport (RLSS) (Zhang, Jensen, & Mann, 1997). The preference version of the RLSS included six behavior dimensions, autocratic, democratic, positive feedback, situational consideration, social support, and training and instruction behaviors.

A split-plot ANOVA was performed on the individual preference scores grouped by gender, competition level, …

Applying E-Commerce Techniques To Public School Software, Michael Lapke

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Applying e-commerce technology to public school software is a process that involves an extensive and thorough analysis. There are typically three groups of users who would use such a system: teachers, administrators and parents. Teachers need a system that nearly duplicates the software that they are currently using to enter, store, and calculate their grades, while school administrators and parents need to student and teacher's information. This is where the use of e-commerce technology comes in very nicely.

The analysis performed for this project involved extensive interviews with the expert user set and a walk-through of the current system. The …

An Ecological Perspective Of Community Health Partnerships: A Case Study Of Collaboration, Empowerment And Effectiveness In Two Hiv/Aids Planning Consortia In Florida, Judith Ann Bassett

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe from an ecological perspective the characteristics contributing to collaboration, empowerment and effectiveness of federally mandated Ryan White Title I and Title II planning councils and consortia within the State of Florida.

A case study approach within two (2) community health planning partnerships, specifically those related to. HIV/AIDS consortia, was used to gather data over one and a half years. The methodology included a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, utilizing documents, administering several survey instruments, observing meetings, and conducting individual interviews. The interviews and surveys provided the primary sources of …

Decision-Making In Ryan White Care Act Planning Bodies: An Analysis Of The Decision-Making Process Of The Joint Committee Of The Jacksonville Hiv/Aids Planning Council And Consortium, Andrea Clarkson Davis

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine which factors and the degree to which these factors influenced the Joint Committee when deciding how much money should be allocated to the different services funded by the Ryan White CARE Act. This study focused on the possible explicit and implicit factors influencing the decision-making process and interactions of the members of the HIV/AIDS Joint Prioritization & Allocation Committee in the decisions that were being made on behalf of the people who are infected and affected by this disease.

The methodology included a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, utilizing surveys, coding …

Faculty Perceptions Of Shared Decision Making And The Principal's Leadership Behaviors In Duval County Secondary Schools, Donald Wayne Leech

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Members of the school community should work collaboratively in the educating of students. Teachers and principals must understand that their traditional roles have changed and improved organizational teamwork will be fostered by all members of the learning community assuming decision making roles. Toward this end, the purpose of this correlational study was to explore the relationship between teachers' perceptions of the leadership behaviors of Duval County secondary school principals and their perceptions of the level of shared decision making practiced in their schools. This study provides insight into principal behaviors which nurture participation.

Leadership behavior was operationalized by the responses …

Student, Parent And Teacher Perceptions Of Emergent Literacy, Bronwyn Mclemore

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study was conducted to illuminate the different perceptions of students, parents, and teachers in one urban classroom pertaining to learning to read and write. The study explored the similarities, differences, and relationships among these perceptions.

One kindergarten classroom was selected in an urban school that was currently implementing literacy initiatives. Eighteen students, six parents and three teachers were interviewed to provide insight into their views of emergent literacy.

Five themes were identified as reoccurring topics and are discussed in the findings: activities that count as reading and writing, motivation for learning to read, how children acquire literacy skills, …

Nurse Practitioner Professional Autonomy: Relationship Between Structural Autonomy And Attitudinal Autonomy, Dolores C. Jones

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the possible components of structural autonomy that influence Nurse Practitioners' (NPs) perceptions of independence in practice. The components identified were NP state regulatory practices, educational background, and managed care environment. The study explored the relationship between NP structural autonomy as it relates to the above components and attitudinal autonomy as it relates to perceptions of independence in practice. A conceptual framework derived from a review of the literature demonstrated the possible relationships.

The investigator employed a mail survey to collect data from certified NPs in six eastern and mid-eastern states. …

Courting Serendipity: Constructivist Theory And Classroom Practice, Marilyn Duckworth Jensen

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a cross-case study and analysis of four teachers in a school involved in two reform initiatives which promote constructivist approaches to teaching and learning. The study describes the teachers' understandings of the learning theory and their interpretations of it in their classroom practice. The study found that three of the four teachers were practicing in ways consistent with constructivism while one was not because her need for control took precedence. The study found that although teachers are very aware of their students as individuals with different ways of learning and constructing an understanding, they are not much …

A Comparative Study Of The Motivations And Academic Self-Concept Of Midlife Male Graduate Students With Those Of Midlife Female, Early Adulthood Male, And Early Adulthood Female Graduate Students, Scott Brewer Clift

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to compare midlife male graduate students with midlife female, early adulthood male, and early adulthood female graduate students in terms of their motivations for returning to higher education and their academic self-concept as returning students. Data were gathered, using Boshiers's Education Participation Scale (1995) and Drummond's Academic Self-Concept Scale (1984), from graduate students at a comprehensive, urban, southeastern, public university of approximately 10,000 students. The 426 graduate student participants were enrolled in three colleges (Business, Education, and Health) at the university.

Multivariate analysis of variance (MAN"OVA), univariate analysis of variance, and multiple comparison tests results indicate …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between First Grade Teachers' Theoretical Orientations Toward Reading Instruction And Their Classroom Instructional Practices, John Anthony Luciano

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between first grade teachers' theoretical orientations toward reading and their classroom instructional practices. The study, which was conducted in Duval County Florida, used the Theoretical Orientation to Reading Profile (DeFord, 1985) and the Luciano Reading Instruction Practices Survey to gather self-reported data from the 102 study participants.

The sample teachers reported the frequency with which they used 25 specific instructional practices to assist students in learning to read. Ten percent of the sample teachers were observed by the researcher for thirty minutes and their instructional practices were documented on a checklist which corresponded to the …

Design And Evaluation Of An Environmental Science Curriculum For Secondary Students, Carolyn Knox Cooper

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental education is becoming an increasingly important component of secondary science education as our society attempts to minimize the exploitations and damaging actions of humankind on the earth. Environmental education has evolved primarily from environmental consciousness in the 1960s to an environmentally active focus in the 1990s. This project examined the effectiveness of an environmental education curriculum that focuses on improving environmental behaviors and attitudes as well as knowledge.

The review of the literature for this project indicates that responsible environmental behaviors are linked to four types of environmental education categories. These categories are hierarchical and include: 1) ecological concepts, …

Relations Between Social-Environmental Characteristics Of Families And Career Decision/Indecision Of Secondary Tech Prep Students, Garlon Mobley Webb

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The study examined the relations of social-environmental characteristics of families and demographic variables on career decision/indecision of 425 secondary Tech Prep students in North Florida. Career decision/indecision was the dependent variable, measured by the Career Decision Scale (Osipow, Carney, Winer, Yanico, & Koschier, 1987). Predictor independent variables included social-environmental characteristics of families as measured by the Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moos, 1981). Other predictor independent variables included academic achievement (reading comprehension and mathematics)' gender, economic disadvantage and race.

No significant mean differences were found by gender and by grade of Tech Prep students on the Certainty Scale or the …

Guidelines For Oral Story Reading, David T. Sherman

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Guidelines for primary grade (k-3) teachers to use in oral story reading were developed as a means of increasing students' reading achievement. These guidelines were incorporated into primary grade lesson plans. Each lesson plan included a research principle which served as the lesson objective, identified a book for oral reading, and described pre, post, and during activities.

The lesson plans were pilot-tested by primary grade teachers at an elementary school site. Data were collected and analyzed to determine teacher perceptions of the effectiveness of the guidelines. This analysis indicated that the teachers perceived the guidelines to be effective. Based on …

Use Of The Nurse Entrance Test And Other Factors As Predictors Of Academic Success Of Nursing Students, Linda Rhea Hunter

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Attrition from schools of nursing continues to affect almost one third of students enrolled. Attrition is costly financially and personally to the student, to the educational institution, the health care consumer and the profession.

The purpose of this study was to identify variables measurable at time of admission which might alone or together be predictive of successful persistence until graduation from a nursing program. The variables included cognitive and noncognitive characteristics measured by the Nurse Entrance Test (NET) as well as demographic and other academic achievement measurements.

A convenience sample of associate degree nursing students admitted into two successive classes …

A Comparative Study Of The Effects Of A Token Economy Program On The Achievement, Behavior, And Attitude Of Middle School Students, Jane Nixon White

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the use of a school-wide token economy program on middle school students' achievement, behavior, and attitudes toward school. This involved the comparison of two similar suburban middle schools, one of which used a school-wide token economy program.

A nonequivalent control-group design was used to examine: (1) the effects on achievement as measured by grades and honor roll status; (2) the effects on behavior as measured by numbers of students attaining perfect attendance, numbers of punches earned, and numbers of detentions and suspensions; and (3) the effects on attitude as …