Education Commons^™

An Examination Of The Psychometric Properties Of The Spiritual Well-Being Scale In A Sample Of African American Women, Mary Catherine Dugan

Dissertations

This dissertation is an investigation of the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) (Paloutzian & Ellison) using a sample of African American women recruited from the community. The purpose was to determine the appropriateness of using the SWBS with a sample not included in the earlier norming studies (Ledbetter et al., 1991). The sample consisted of 168 African American women who were parents or guardians of youth attending middle school in a Midwestern urban area. The women completed a survey including demographic information, parent scales, and the SWBS. Construct validity of the SWBS was examined by conducting a …

Student Experiences During The 1954-1955 Merger Of Harris And Stowe Teachers Colleges, Kenneth Allen Wetstein

Dissertations

This project is a historiography of the merger of Harris and Stowe Teachers Colleges following the Brown v. Board of Education U.S. 483 (USSC 1954) Supreme Court decision. In September 1954, these two racially segregated teachers colleges, both operated by the St. Louis Board of Education, were merged on the Harris Teachers College campus. This merger represented the first instance of desegregated public education in the city of St. Louis. Fourteen alumni who attended the two colleges during this period participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews, recalling their experiences during the merger. This study also involved the collection of data archived …

The Effect Of Socioeconomic Status On Year-To-Year Persistence Of First-Generation And Continuing Generation Students At Two-Year And Four-Year Institutions: Developing A Conceptual Model, Jim S. Settle

Dissertations

Estimating the persistence of first-time students from the first year to the second year of college is a growing social and financial concern for postsecondary education. Studying how socioeconomic status affects year-to-year persistence may help to identify and assist those students who had socioeconomic profiles most likely to indicate challenges to year-to-year persistence.

This study used data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:96/98). BPS is a nationally representative survey designed to provide additional information about the patterns of educational attainment and persistence for a subset of the more than 51,000 students included in the NPSAS:96 survey. This study …

Higher Education Attorneys’ Perceptions Regarding Academic Freedom And Challenges To Academic Freedom, Manuel R. Rupe

Dissertations

Higher education attorneys have emerged in recent years as integral participants in the decision and policymaking processes within American higher educationinstitutions. The perceptions of higher education attorneys regarding academic freedom, including professorial, institutional, and student academic freedom, may significantly impact how higher education institutions respond to modern challenges to such freedom. Key challenges to academic freedom as identified in the literature were categorized into four groups for this study (a) judicial or governmental challenges, (b) internal or collegial challenges, (c) institutionalchallenges, and (d) outside or extra-institutional challenges.

An Internet-based survey was sent to higher education attorneys who subscribed to the …

Salary Negotiation Strategies Of Female Administrators In Higher Education, Suzette Compton

Dissertations

The salary equity gap continues to exist, with men earning more on average for every dollar a woman makes. Research suggests that women's underdevelopednegotiation skills play a role in the continuation of the salary equity gap. Understanding the negotiation strategies and gendered communications traits women utilize may assist in enhancing their skills and in moving toward gender salary equity.

This study addresses the negotiation strategies and gendered communication traits of female administrators in higher education. Twenty-two women inadministrative positions in institutions of higher education in West Michigan were interviewed to determine the strategies they utilized when negotiating forsalary and other …

A Study Of How Precursor Key Concepts For Organic Chemistry Success Are Understood By General Chemistry Students, Patrick Gerard Meyer

Dissertations

This study examines college student understanding of key concepts that will support future organic chemistry success as determined by university instructors. During four one-hour individual interviews the sixteen subjects attempted to solve general chemistry problems. A think-aloud protocol was used along with a whiteboard where the students could draw and illustrate their ideas. The protocols for the interviews were adapted from the Covalent Structure and Bonding two-tiered multiple choice diagnostic instrument (Peterson, Treagust, & Garnett, 1989) and augmented by the Geometry and Polarity of Moleculessingle-tiered multiple choice instrument (Furió & Calatayud, 1996). The interviews were videotaped, transcribed, and coded …

Professional Role Complexities And Job Satisfaction Of Collegiate Certified Athletic Trainers, Kirk Brumels

Dissertations

This study examined whether professional role complexities existed for certified athletic trainers (ATCs) employed at the collegiate level, and if so, what impact these role complexities had upon job satisfaction and intent to leave a current position or the profession. The amount and sources of role complexities were examined for collegiate ATCs who were employed in clinical, faculty, or joint appointment positions.

Potential for professional role complexities exist in any situation where multiple role obligations are present in the workplace. Professional role complexities for health care employees often manifest into tension, dissatisfaction, lack of energy or ambition, and decreased attention …

Teacher Quality And Teacher Preparedness In Public Secondary Schools: Evidence From Sass 1999-2000, Xuejin Lu

Dissertations

Resource equalization represents the historical and theoretical basis for American school finance and its ideals continue to dominate discussion and practice. During the last decade and a half, the national aspiration for equitable distribution of school finance resources has started a transformation into a derivative notion of adequacy. This equity policy derivative embraces the idea of sufficiency, which in turn implies a standard. The concept of educational adequacy has grown to mean the achievement of high absolute standards. Equity (equalization) theorists measure resource level on a relative basis; each student relative to all others. Adequacy adherents measure student achievement against …

Automotive Service Technology Intersectional Skills Proficiency Assessment, David L. Macquarrie

Dissertations

This dissertation focused on the creation and validation of a criterion referenced credentialing assessment of automotive service technicians' intersectional skills (ASTIS) proficiency. These intersectional skills are prerequisite and common to multiple job level tasks that an automotive service technician (AST) performs on the job. An assessment of the ASTIS was created to aid automotive technician employers in the evaluation of hiring prospective technician employees and is not duplicated by current certifications (e.g. ASE) as they do not uniquely assess these skills.

This dissertation focused on the ASTIS skills and the information an employer can obtain pertaining to a prospective employee's …

Performance Evaluation Models For Strategic Decision-Making: Towards A Hybrid Model, Geraldina Villalobos Quezada

Dissertations

Performance management systems serve strategic, administrative, and developmental purposes; therefore, their role in an organization cannot be overestimated. As a function of this strategic role, different evaluation models have been developed and implemented by organizations: BSC, CIPP, TQM, Six Sigma, and AOP.

Following a review of current evaluation theory and practice models that focus on improving strategic decision-making in organizations, four research questions were developed that sought to identify the interrelationships, evaluation components, evaluation indicators, data collected to support the evaluation,evaluation implementation protocols, quantitative and qualitative analyses, outcomes, and critical factors of the BSC and CIPP models.

A multiple case …

How High School Science-Related Experiences Influenced Career Persistence, Andrew Dwight Shaw

Dissertations

The events of 9/11 brought into focus two ongoing trends that were present before this tragedy and have continued since: 1) The United States needs more scientists if it is to ensure its freedoms and maintain its economy. 2) The number of scientists in the ¿pipeline¿ is declining because of the diminished presence of foreign scientists (they are wanted in their own countries), the under-representation of minorities and women, and the reduced numbers of students able and willing to take on the scholastic rigors necessary for a science or engineering degree. Though much has been written about improving science education, …

Navigating Cultures And Epistemologies In Science And Technology Education, Kathleen Theresa Kurzk

Dissertations

This investigation focuses on the nexus of science and culture in the lives of marginalized youth in the United States and South Africa. The epistemologies and contextual realities of cross-cultural learner cohorts and their understandings of scientific phenomena are examined. The researcher was a participant observer within the context of the Science, Technology & Culture: Empowering Learners (STC) program, an after-school and school-based collaboration focused upon integrating science, technology and culture. Electronic communication provided a vehicle for dialogue between youth in St. Louis, Missouri, USA and a South African Township. Study findings include documentation of the marginalizing effects of poverty …

An Analysis Of Rhythm Systems In The United States: Their Development And Frequency Of Use By Teachers, Students, And Authors; And Relation To Perceived Learning Preferences, Paul Charles Varley

Dissertations

One of the issues facing music educators is the way in which they teach students to read rhythms accurately. Using the current educational philosophy of differentiation, or teaching a student by appealing to their preferred learning style, as a backdrop, the researcher proposed that music educators tend to teach rhythms using a limited number of systems, thereby failing to utilize many of the available systems.

The researcher examined the published rhythm systems dating back to the early nineteenth century, surveyed band students in grades 7-12 concerning their preferences in learning rhythms and their learning styles, surveyed music teachers concerning their …

Alice Parker: American Choral Composer, Arranger, And Educator, Gail H. Fleming

Dissertations

This investigation is an in-depth examination of Alice Parker's philosophy of music in relation to choral teaching, arranging, and composing. The researcher proposes that within the context of multi-cultural American music, Alice Parker's unique approach to music making and how it is manifested within her choral compositions, arrangements, and teaching techniques is a significant and valuable area of study for music educators and students. Further, it is beneficial to administrators and the general public, as well.

Within the literature review, Alice Parker's unique and effective approach to music making is related to the need for a philosophy of music, educational …

Relationship Between Course-Taking Behavior, Gender, And Mathematics Achievement On The Missouri Assessment Program (Map), Geraldine Dressel Baumgart

Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between student course taking, specifically the year of Algebra completion (grade 8, 9, 10, or not completed), and performance on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) mathematics test in grades 8 and 10. Data collected were student scores on the MAP tests, TerraNova tests in Communication Arts and Mathematics, student math grades, and demographic factors of gender and race. The sample of 512 students was taken from one school district in east central Missouri.

The MAP mathematics tests contain 3 item types. Item type was statistically significant with both males and females scoring highest on Multiple …

The Effects Of The Michigan Transition Outcomes Project, Jane E. Finn

Dissertations

This study investigated whether the Transition Outcomes Project used in Michigan resulted in improved compliance with the transition components required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA 1997) and interviewed staff who have implemented this model to identify their perceptions ofhow it affected the transition planning process for students with disabilities. The study used qualitative and quantitative measures. The quantitative measures studied the effectiveness of the model, while the qualitative measures investigated the perceptions of the school personnel who implemented the model in their district.

Findings showed that the Michigan Transition Outcomes Project is an effective model …

High School Seniors’ Perceptions Of Career And Technical Education And Factors Influencing Their Decision To Attend An Area Career Technical Center, David P. Gaunt

Dissertations

This study explored the profile of CTE students with regard to their academic standing and their socioeconomic background, examined high school seniors'perceptions of career and technical education, and identified the people and other factors that influence students in their decision-making about CTE enrollment. A 29-question survey was administered to 451 seniors from seven public high schools served by the Wexford-Missaukee Area Career Technical Center, operated by an intermediate school district in northern lower Michigan.

Significant findings indicate that the typical profile of CTE students with respect to socioeconomic status and academic standing would identify a CTE student as performing somewhat …

The Persistence Of Adult Undergraduates On A Traditionally Oriented University Campus, Wendy Samuels

Dissertations

This phenomenological study describes the social and academic experiences of successful non-traditional students on the main campus of a traditionally oriented residential university and how these experiences promote or impede their persistence to graduation. The study determined what role family support, faculty support, institutional policy and services, and the classroom environment have in persistence of adult undergraduates. The methodology employed open ended individual interviews based on an interview outline. Participants in the study were all students within two traditional semesters of graduation, andthe sampling procedures were purposeful, yielding a fairly diverse pool of 15 participants. Trustworthiness of the data was …

The Practice Of Continuous Improvement In Higher Education, Deborah M. Thalner

Dissertations

Studies on the use of Total Quality Management (TQM) within higher education have primarily focused on the implementation of TQM as an institutional initiative. While TQM has been successful in business and industry and has seen some limited success in higher education, the most recent studies on its usein higher education indicate that it has not been successful institution-wide, and in many cases has been abandoned after two to three years. The problem, therefore, is one of a perceived need for continuous improvement in coupled with mixed results from previous attempts at implementation. This research study focused on higher education's …

Cognitive Orthotics For Students With Cognitive Disabilities, James V. Yanna

Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of a hand-held computer to guide an individual with a moderate cognitive impairment as he or she completed a complex daily living task. Performance was compared with that occasioned by a human supervisor. A third condition, assistance first from a human supervisor, and then by the computerized orthotic, was also evaluated. The task selected was a baking task.

Subjects were nine students, ranging in age from 17 to 24 years. All subjects were classified as cognitively impaired according to the Michigan Special Education Rules and Regulations. Assessment information showed most to be performing at a …

Examining The Keyword Mnemonic Strategy As An Effective Academic Intervention For High School Students Labeled Emotional Or Behavioral Disordered, Karen A. Kleinheksel

Dissertations

This investigation explored whether keyword mnemonic strategies were effective for high school aged students labeled emotional or behavioral disordered(E/BD) in recalling the definitions of scientific vocabulary terms. Ten students labeled E/BD from a suburban public high school in a Midwestern state participated in this investigation. A demographic description of the subjects indicated the following information: (a) all students' ethnicities were Caucasian, (b) sixty percent of the subjects were male, (c) the average subject's age was 17 years 1 month, and (d) all students were in the tenth through twelfth grades.

In a multiple baseline across subjects design using a single …

Understanding Photosynthesis And Plant Cellular Respiration As “Nested Systems”: The Characterization Of Pre-Service Teachers’ Conceptions, Mary H. Brown

Dissertations

This dissertation project focused on pre-service elementary teachers' conceptions of the plant processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration as being connected, occurring at multiple ecological levels, and working within "nested systems." Participants enrolled in a biology course designed for elementary education majors provided their views of the processes through a series of tasks with a peer, a semi-structured interview, and clarified both photosynthesisand plant cellular respiration directly following classroom instruction on the two topics. The instructor of the course was interviewed after a preliminary analysis of the participants' responses. Data were analyzed using the qualitative analysis computer program The Ethnograph …

Meaningful Learning: Reconciling The Tensions Between Constructivist And Environmentally Sustainable Pedagogy, Nancy Van Kannel-Ray

Dissertations

Critics of constructivism argue, in many ways correctly, that this approach to education is culturally and environmentally damaging because constructivism may not develop an understanding of the interdependence between the human community and the world in which people live. Advocates for environmentally sustainable pedagogy argue the importance of understanding patterns of thinking that allow communities to live sustainably. The purpose of this study is to resolve the tensions between the two pedagogical frameworks: constructivism and environmental sustainability.

The tensions are resolved in two ways. First, there are forms of constructivism that align in viable ways with the criteria critics argue …

School Counselors' Perceptions About Female Participation In Non-Traditional Secondary Career And Technical Education (Cte) Programs, Rashida Khatoon Malik

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine high school counselors' perceptions of female participation in nontraditional secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The data for this study was collected from high school counselors in Michigan by sending them a survey containing 25 items. The first section of the survey covered the demographics of the participants. The second section consisted of eight belief statements about counseling femalestudents into nontraditional CTE programs. The third section of the survey had 12 belief statements about female participation in CTE nontraditional programs. The survey responses were based on five-point Likert scales. The belief …

Impact Of Standards On Physical Education Teacher Education: Curriculum, Collaboration, And Learning Outcomes, Xiangren Yi

Dissertations

Standards are sweeping across the physical education teacher education field. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether national standards had influenced a change of curriculum, and whether curriculum changes were related to standards, individual or institutional variables. The analysis will also identify whether there are any individual and institutional characteristics that are significant predictors for determining curriculum. This study's targeted participants are a random sample of 110 program directors working in institutions that have a Physical Education Teacher Education program.

Differences were found to exist in directors' perceptions regarding curriculum. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA analysis demonstrated the impact …

Hope—Heartbeat Of Adult Education: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Phillip L. Moulden

Dissertations

This phenomenological study of the phenomenon—hope identified two essential meaning structures (“change” and “human agency”) in the experiences communicated by the Adult Educators interviewed. It was also discovered that hope is an energy that interacts with Affective, Relative (Re-lay-tive), and Cognitive energies in the lives of the research participants. Understanding how “change” and “human agency” can be aligned with these A.R.C. energies holds implications for further research and the practice of Adult Education.

Spiritual Well-Being And Quality Of Life As Correlates Of Job Stress Among Academic Chairpersons In Selected Seventh-Day Adventist Tertiary Institutions, Russell Mark Aldridge

Dissertations

Problem . Stress, like pain, begins at birth and remains common to the human condition throughout life, and it is a factor in the experience of every human being who ever lived. It is not merely universal but it is also endemic and omnipresent. Chairpersons, due to the bi-directional demands of administration and students are in a stressful environment. This study was undertaken to identify whether quality of life and spiritual well-being play an important role in occupational stress levels in chairpersons of Seventh-day Adventist Tertiary Institutions.

Method. Three questionnaires were used to get responses from 137 chairpersons in …

Aims Of Education In The Writings Of Ellen White, Erling Bernhard Snorrason

Dissertations

Problem. Ellen White’s educational philosophy and its application to the aims of education have not been systematically or thoroughly addressed within the parameters and demands of a graduate thesis. The present dissertation explores the aims of education, especially the ultimate aims of education, in the writings of Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and could be of value in assessing the present Seventh-day Adventist educational enterprise.

Method. This dissertation is a description and an analysis of Ellen White’s concept of education as revealed by her understanding of the aims of education. It is a …

Job Satisfaction And Its Relationship To Organizational And Religious Commitment Among Workers At Northern Caribbean University, Donna Brown

Dissertations

Problem. Recruiting teachers and motivating them to stay in their jobs present a challenge to educational institutions in Jamaica. Given the importance of workers' satisfaction to the health of an organization and the link between job satisfactionand turnover rate, then an examination of job satisfaction at Northern Caribbean University (NCU) is a priority. Based on this background, the primary focus of this study was to investigate job satisfaction and its relationship to organizational and religious commitment among workers at NCU.

Method. This study utilized a quantitative, descriptive research design. A survey questionnaire was sent to all full-time administrators …

Factors Influencing Enrollment Trends In Seventh-Day Adventist Boarding Schools On North America, Jeanette Wright Bryson

Dissertations

Problem. Enrollment is declining in the majority of Seventh-day Adventist boardingacademies in North America, while it is increasing in a few. This study seeks to identify the more important factors related to increasing and declining enrollment trends.

Method. A basic causal-comparative study was conducted involving two groups of Seventh-day Adventist boarding academies, one with an increasing and one with a declining enrollment trend. A survey questionnaire was designed for educators, students, and parents/guardians affiliated with these academies to assess satisfaction and relevant perceptions and to rank the perceived importance of factors influencing enrollment trends, including Academics, Climate, Cost, Facilities, Leadership, …