Education Commons^™

Impact Of Family Engagement On Child Outcomes In Preschool, Kathryn S. Ingham

Graduate Research Papers

This review considered the impact of family engagement on child outcomes in preschool and what variables impact the success of family engagement in preschool. Many child outcomes are affected by family engagement. This particular work focuses on child outcomes related to literacy and approaches to learning. The variables of the family engagement examined include demographics, culture, family unit, and socioeconomic status. Many forms and degrees of family engagement are described with the degree of success for family engagement determined by the actual participants. Findings of the review point towards family engagement promoting positive outcomes for children enrolled in preschool despite …

The Impact Of Specific Interventions On Child Engagement In A Preschool Classroom, Sarah Elizabeth Farber

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of my action research was to integrate environmental changes and instructional strategies into my preschool classroom. These strategies were presented at monthly professional development trainings, which focused on increasing the engagement of all students in the classroom. This study included a sample of three students, two general education students and one with an individualized education program (IEP). These students were video recorded once a month at group time and observed using a data collection tool presented at the professional development meetings.

The results showed that the environmental changes and instructional strategics implemented were effective in increasing the engagement …

The Effects Of On-Line Math Games And E-Books Use On Elementary Student Achievement, Mel Carnahan

Graduate Research Papers

Game-based learning and the use of e-books is becoming increasingly more supported in classrooms as methods of increasing both student engagement and student achievement in all curricular areas. The purpose of this literature review is to examine current research on the effects of online math games and e-books on elementary student engagement and academic achievement. Over thirty peer-reviewed journal articles published in the last ten years are critically reviewed and analyzed. The findings show that online game-based learning and e-books can be effective tools within the confines of the elementary classroom, as long as careful consideration is given to student …

Technology Integration Into The Elementary School Curriculum, Yulia Vladimirovna Koreshkova Poblete

Graduate Research Papers

A new generation of students born after 1985 – the Net Generation or Digital Natives – is now entering public schools. Historical overview shows the picture of growing computer use by children in homes and in schools for the past 10 years. ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) literacy skills and tools help students to acquire the skills needed to use the technologies within the classroom. National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) and NETS performance indicators provide guidelines for teachers of what students should know and be able to do with technologies by the end of every grade level.

This paper describes …

Baby Boomer Parents : Challenges With Their Increasing Involvement, Deborah E. Kosina

Graduate Research Papers

As the children of boomers move through education system, there is an increasing parental involvement in the college student's experience. This is the result of a combination of factors, including the increasingly higher cost of attendance, boomer parents' own experiences in higher education, societal trends to extend adolescence, and student issues today that can sometimes be life-threatening.

While this parental involvement can blur the lines of just who the institution is educating and responsible to – student or parent – administrators would be wise to acknowledge this participation and develop well-defined and consistent policy regarding it. As Murray (1999) pointed …

Effective Bilingual Practices For Early Childhood Reading And Language Arts :/ A Professional Development Seminar And Model Thematic Unit For English-Spanish Bilingual Educators, Priscila Palomino De Piper

Graduate Research Papers

This project provides a workshop framework for the implementation of effective bilingual practices in early childhood reading and language arts. It is designed as a series of workshops for English-Spanish bilingual educators, with the purpose of providing ideas and strategies to support the development of reading and language arts programs in both languages. It is important to point out that the success of a language program relies not only on excellent research, but also on the support of parents, teachers, administrators and the whole community. It is important to believe that no language is superior to any other, that the …

Preschoolers And Technology : Effects Of Computer Use On The Preschool Child, Amy M. Clymer

Graduate Research Papers

Computer technology was investigated to examine technology's role in the education of preschool children. A comprehensive review of published literature was performed to determine the effects technology has on the social, cognitive, and emotional development of preschoolers and the guidelines for using computer technology with young children. Computer technology, implemented into preexisting educational activities and curricula, can assist in developing social and cognitive skills in preschool-age children. Computers assist in a child's ability to scaffold information. Appropriate computer software encourages preschoolers to think and act independently. Software that focuses on drill-and-practice skills can be detrimental to the mental growth of …

Is It Wise? : The Ursuline Studies Program Revisited, Connie S. Swift

Graduate Research Papers

Katherine Keough, chairwoman of the education department at Xavier University in Cincinnati is quoted in USA Today as saying, "It almost smacks of a Chinese mind, a black mind, a white mind, a female mind .... It suggests that brains are gender-specific or that knowledge is gender-specific" (Manning, 1992, p. 6A). Keough is referring to Ursuline College's use of Women's Ways of Knowing as the basis for its college core curriculum, fearing this may cause further division between men and women (Manning, 1992, p. 6A). Anne Marie Diedrich, O.S.U., Ph.D., president of Ursuline College, disagrees: We're not saying that ours …

Academic Advising : Description And Analysis Of Types And Delivery Systems, Janet A. Wood

Graduate Research Papers

Research indicates that academic advising can provide valuable interaction among students, faculty, and student affairs professionals. Academic advisors are among the first people seen by students on college campuses. The relationship between an academic advisor and a student can provide a first step in what the American College Personnel Association (ACP A) and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) ( 1998) recommend: "Good practice in student affairs forges educational partnerships that advance student learning" (p. 3).

Developing A Web-Based Assessment Instrument, Robin L. Galloway

Graduate Research Papers

Public demand for affordable and quality higher education continues to pressure institutions to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning experiences. Traditional paper surveys have been utilized to gather data in the past. The World Wide Web can provide many of the same benefits in delivering a survey instrument while offering more convenience, lower costs, and a more flexible data set.

This report of the graduate project documents the process employed when developing a web-based assessment instrument. It outlines a method and procedure for connecting a web site with a FileMaker Pro database. In addition, it provides documentation for the implementation …

The Ethics Of Intimate Student-Faculty Relationships, Brian Craig Steinberg

Graduate Research Papers

What are the ethics behind intimate student-faculty relationships in higher education? Should such relationships be allowed? Can they be legally controlled? Should there be a penalty for faculty and students who engage in these relationships? Consenting romantic and/or sexual relationships between faculty and student, or between student services professional and student, although usually not expressly forbidden, are generally deemed unwise (Cahn, 1986). According to Svinicki (1994), codes of ethics for most professional associations forbid "professional-client" sexual relationships. In an educational institution, the professor-student and student affairs professional-student relationships are thus such "professional-client" relationships. The respect and trust accorded a professor …

Experiential Learning Applied To A Residential Life Training Program, Bobbie J. Coons-Boettcher

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is to describe and justify a course project for a resident assistant course. Specifically, the project addresses the important role Resident Assistants play in developing community. To develop a project that was both practical and intellectually stimulating to students, as well as beneficial to the department, Kolb's (1981, 1984) experiential learning model was used as a conceptual framework.

Kolb's theory proposes that students learn at their optimal level when they can experience learning in many different ways. Based on this theory, the project is designed to engage each student in active learning while developing the …

Policy Recommendations For A Multicultural Curriculum For All Elementary Schools In The Republic Of South Africa, Motladi Angeline Setlhako

Graduate Research Papers

This literature review explored the system of education in South Africa. The exploration provided the background information about the unequal and segregated system of education which led to student uprisings in 1976. The curriculum became an area of contestation, and was thus attacked by leading educators, parents, teachers, and students. The people of South Africa called for a single, national, unitary system of education for all South African students. A multicultural education was proposed to unify a deeply divided nation and to support the new nation being born.

Multicultural literature was reviewed. The barriers to implementing a multicultural curriculum include …

Integrating The Research Process In The Early Primary Curriculum, Laurie Jean Hazel

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this project was to design a developmentally appropriate curriculum that provides primary teachers with the rationale, planning, procedures, and guidance needed to incorporate research projects into their primary grade curriculum. This program is not limited to talented and gifted students; it is recommended for all students.

The literature review consists of profiling the work of teachers and authors in the field of education who incorporate research techniques into their teaching practice. The literature builds a foundation for the importance and benefits of research skills and projects for students of all ages and ability levels.

When primary students …

Analyzing Student Feedback : A Case Study Of The New Evening Degree Program At Uni, Gary L. Bergen

Graduate Research Papers

This paper is a case study of student feedback in relation to the new Evening Degree Program at the University of Northern Iowa. This program was instituted in the Fall 1995 semester. The Evening Degree Program is structured to allow one to earn a degree solely by attending classes in the evening. There are currently 19 undergraduate majors from which to choose, 10 minors, 24 graduate majors, and a certificate program.

The comments fell into specific areas such as admissions, academic advising, counseling, support services, programming, or some other area of need. The comments are grouped and then discussed. The …

Enhancing Student Leadership Of Volunteer Organizations: A Guide For New Leaders, Valerie Shapiro Eagen

Graduate Research Papers

The importance of student participation in cocurricular activities during the college years has been drawing increasing support and empirical evidence has been presented that supports the critical, positive relationship between involvement and overall student development (Astin, 1993; Baxter Magolda, 1992; Cooper, Healy, & Simpson, 1994). Theorists within the field of college student development incorporate this assertion into the models they put forth for utilization by student affairs practitioners. Chickering and Reisser (1993) maintain that an individual student's growth occurs upon mastering developmental tasks, and that it is the role of student affairs practitioners to create an environment which presents opportunities …

Academic Bankruptcy Policies In Higher Education, Gail Marie Jones

Graduate Research Papers

A college degree is a virtual necessity in today's world. More and more employers are looking for individuals who have completed at least two years of postsecondary education at a community college or elsewhere, or who hold a bachelor's degree. What happens to those individuals who attended college in the past but had a poor academic record? A poor choice of major selection, previous academic probation or suspension, or the need for time to mature socially and/or intellectually are but a few of the reasons why some students will need extra semesters to achieve an acceptable grade point average in …

Orientation: Meeting The Needs Of Students, Robin Jean Bennett

Graduate Research Papers

Orientation is defined as an adjustment or adaptation to a new environment, situation, custom, or set of ideas. It is also defined as introductory instruction concerning a new situation. These definitions aptly apply to college orientation purposes and goals; however, the process of orientation has gone far beyond this in its scope and usage in the modern college setting. The first orientation course on record was at Boston University in 1888 while the first known course offered for credit was established at Reed College in 1911. Orientation programs have grown steadily in depth and scope since that time. The creators …

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Mbti): Applications In Student Services, Susan Converse Mixdorf

Graduate Research Papers

Every year, somewhere between 1.5 million and 2 million people in the United States sit to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), supporting the notion that the MBTI is the hottest personality inventory 1 on the market (Zemke, 1992). Developed through clinical experience and research, the MBTI makes it possible to test individuals and groups to show personality type and preferences. Basically, the MBTI has two uses; first, it is an instrument that helps individuals to understand the developmental path all individuals take; second, the MBTI can be used to study and explain relationships among group members. Using the MBTI …

Acquaintance Rape, Thomas A. Paulsen

Graduate Research Papers

Most people associate rape with strangers. More women fear being raped by a stranger than by an acquaintance and authorities are more likely to respond to reports of stranger rape than acquaintance rape (Abbey, 1991). Sexual aggression in dating situations, commonly called date rape or acquaintance rape, is more common and more serious than is often realized. Acquaintance rape occurs when the assailant and the victim know one another and is four times more likely to occur than stranger rape (Warshaw, 1988).

Student Affairs: In Search Of Ethics, Christine E. Hobbs

Graduate Research Papers

Recently, ethics has been a topic that higher education administrators have been examining with intense interest. Ethics and moral responsibility are the themes for educational journal articles, book chapters, and conferences. This interest has led many institutions of higher education in search of ethical standards and guidelines for their professional staffs. There are several reasons that ethics has come to the forefront.

Educating Baby: Preparing Children For Future School Success, Jill R. Bergman

Graduate Research Papers

Parents generally are their children's first teachers. Children learn more in their first five years than at any other five year time period in their life. Ninety percent of all requisite intellectual skills are learned by children before they enter school (Disibio, 1984). "Some researchers suggest that maternal socialization, and teaching patterns in particular, are strong predictors of later intellectual and cognitive performances" (Moreno, 1991, p. 395). Therefore, parents play extremely important parts in the education of their children.

A Comparison Of Cognitive Abilities Test Scores Of Second Graders From Four Different Preschool Backgrounds, Judy A. Conner

Graduate Research Papers

This study focused around a research question involving middle and upper socioeconomic status children: Do public school second graders who previously attended Montessori preschools demonstrate higher cognitive abilities (as measured by the Cognitive Abilities Test) than second graders who attended traditional preschools or did not attend preschool? Although there was a wide variability of scores within each group, t-tests analyses revealed significant differences favoring preschool attenders when compared to those who did not attend preschool, and for Montessori preschoolers when compared to the other groups.

The Role Of Public Schools In The Education Of 4-Year-Olds, Cheryl Lynnette Cavanaugh Grosvenor

Graduate Research Papers

A major educational issue in recent years is the role of public schools in the education of 4-year-olds (Day, 1988). This issue impacts all areas of society. It is a complex and emotional issue for teachers of young children, for parents, administrators, and officials in local, state, and federal governments.