Education Commons^™

The Rest Of The Story: A Reflection On Extracurriculars During Intern Teaching, Barnaby Pung

Honors Theses

I decided to title my thesis The Rest of the Story, because of the radio personality Paul Harvey. His radio show "The Rest of the Story" is a commentary that reflects on many current issues as well as past occurrences and public personalities. In one of his most famous segments he will tell a story about a person's life and not reveal who the individual is until the end This tidbit of little known information is what the rest of the story actually is. It is the inside scoop, that little extra that is often difficult to find. That is …

Relationships Between The Degree Of Restructuring In Western Washington Elementary Schools And The Results On Criterion Referenced 4th Grade Assessments For Reading, Mathematics, Writing, And Listening, Gary C. Newbill

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to explore relationships between the degree of school restructuring in Western Washington elementary schools and results on criterion referenced tests for reading, writing, mathematics, and listening, administered to 4th grade students in 1997. The sample of convenience included 47 elementary schools from 4 Puget Sound counties.

The current study extended a larger project on educational reform conducted by 7 researchers under the direction of Professor J. T. Fouts. This research explored relationships between the degree of school restructuring, a construct developed through factor analysis of classroom teacher responses on the School Practices and …

Thanatos-Eros, Being-Non Being: Psychoanalytic - Existential Connection, Ryan D. Miller

Student Work

This Thesis examines and shows the relationship between Sigmund Freud's Death Instinct and Life Instinct Theories and their relation to the Existential concepts of Being and Non- Being. These intertheoretical concepts were interpreted in order for practitioners of Psychotherapy to be better acquainted with both concepts; so they may be better used in the mental health professions. A discussion of the two concepts as seen in Existential Psychotherapy and Freudian Psychoanalytic thought was presented and expanded upon and the relationship between the two was explained.

Collaborative Learning: A Study Of Two Classes, Joseph L. Armstrong

Doctoral Dissertations

This study described and documented collaborative learning by students in two sections of a graduate education course. Ethnographic observations were made of the two groups and participants were interviewed about their experiences in their respective groups. Analysis of fieldnotes from the ethnographic observations and interview transcripts revealed three categories of themes that described the process of collaborative learning in the two groups: 1) group process, 2) learning process, and 3) group facilitation. Each category had multiple themes. The group process category contained the themes of cohesion, trust and respect, confusion and frustration and conflict; the learning process category contained the …

The Experience Of Rural, Southern Appalachian, First-Generation College Students At A University: A Narrative Study, Ruth A. Darling

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this narrative study was to obtain and analyze stories of rural, first-generation students from Southern Appalachia in order to understand their collegiate experiences in light of the home culture they brought with them. Based on my university experience working with similar students and a review of relevant literature, I determined there was a need for research studies that: a) seek to understand the meaning, for these students, of the accounts they give of their lives and experiences as college students, b) seek to understand how these students make sense of their lives in the context of their …

Intergenerational Programming: Yesterday's Memories, Today's Moments, And Tomorrow's Hopes, Kathleen Ann O'Rourke

Doctoral Dissertations

Even though the numbers and scope of intergenerational programs continue to grow, research about their impact is limited. The purpose of this study was to compare 12 behaviors of older adults in the presence of absence of children. Six adults with dementia, aged 57 to 86, were videotaped during 10 art activities, 5 with preschool children and 5 with peer adults. The design was a quasi-experimental applied behavioral analysis. Chi-square tests showed that the older adults' behaviors were significantly dependent on children's presence or absence. Repeated measures ANOVAs indicated that children's presence or absence had a significant effect on the …

An Assessment Of Technology Classroom Environments In Chinese Universities, Jiexiu Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of graduate classroom environments as perceived by the graduate students and faculty in technology courses, at Chinese universities. Relationships between the different dimensions of the social environment of the graduate technology classrooms were examined. The Adult Classroom Environment Scale (ACES) was used to measure the actual and ideal classroom environments on seven dimensions. The research was conducted during Fall 1998. Participants in this study included 317 graduate students and 8 teachers in 8 classes from 6 universities in Beijing, China. The results of data analysis showed that there were significant …

The Look Of The Learning Organization., Judith G. Baker

Education Masters

Gillespie Associates, a Rochester-based training and development consulting firm, is interested in developing an off-the-shelf package of instruction to address the current interest in transformation toward becoming a learning organization. Once the concept of the learning organization is explored, it is important to be able to transfer that into a product development opportunity for Gillespie Associates. Beyond the need to understand " the look of the learning organization in the 1990's," however, comes the need to understand how such a concept can be developed into a marketable product. In order to gain a better understanding about the steps companies take …

Staff Development Programs In Public Elementary Schools In Northeast Tennessee, Richard A. Mcinturf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to collect and report on the perceptions of elementary school teachers as to the quality of staff development programs being offered in schools and school systems throughout Northeast Tennessee. A second purpose was to study the relationship between certain school district characteristics and teacher perception scores related to the staff development programs. The National Staff Development Council's Self-Assessment and Planning Tool was used to collect data related to teacher perceptions. Mean scores were calculated and t-test analysis completed for each variable named in the study. Conclusions of the study are consistent with most findings …

The Impact Of An At-Risk Program In An Elementary School, Christine Ann Crawford

Theses

The purpose of this project is to examine the effect:, of an elementary At-Risk Program. Challengers. over a nine month period. The intent of this. program was lo increase student self-concept and academic achievement measured by grade point averages. Identification of students who participated in this study was done by a needs assessment survey completed by the teachers. The needs assessment survey includes identifying characteristics for students "at-risk." The control group consisted of students who were identified as "at-risk", but did not participate in the program. Data collection included scores on the Pier-Harris Self Concept Scale and teacher input on …

The Effects Of Supplemental Protein On Urea Nitrogen Excretion In Women 40-70 Years Old, Tammy D. Moran

Masters Theses

The problem of this study was to determine the effect of supplemental liquid protein in women 40-70 years of age over a 4-week period. Weeks 1 and 3 served as the control period. During this time, no particular diet regime was required, but protein drinks were prohibited. The treatment condition occurred during Weeks 2 and 4. During this time, subjects consumed two protein drinks each day for a period of 7 days. Twenty-four hour urine collections occurred at the end of each week. Urine was analyzed for the presence of urea nitrogen. The dependent variables were urinary urea nitrogen, self-perceived …

The Relationship Between Cosmopolitan-Local Orientation And Job Satisfaction Among Admissions Personnel At Christian Colleges In The United States And Canada, Jon P. Harr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the challenges facing college admissions professionals have increased, and turnover in the field has become an area of concern. A review of the literature indicated that surprisingly little research had been done in the area of job satisfaction for college admissions professionals and, in particular, Christian college admissions professionals. No direct application of professional (cosmopolitan-local) orientation to the admissions profession could be found in the literature. As a result, the primary purpose of this study was to examine both the level of job satisfaction and the cosmopolitan-local orientation of Christian college admissions professionals, and to determine if …

Perceptions Of Factors Associated With Academic Success Among African American Students On Four Predominantly White Campuses In Northeast Tennessee, Jean M. Harper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the perceptions of successful African American sophomore students and their adjustment to academic success at predominantly White colleges and universities. Twenty African American sophomore females and twenty African American sophomore males from two predominantly White community colleges and two predominantly White universities participated in the study. Each subject completed a demographic survey and participated in an interview. Results indicated that both the attitudes of African American students toward education and their perceptions of the attitudes of those in the educational system towards African American students played an integral role …

An Analysis Of Functional Budget And Expenditure Patterns And Revenue Sources Of Tennessee's Public Community Colleges From 1988--1989 Through 1997--1998, Charles J. Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how public two-year colleges in Tennessee internally budgeted and expended their unrestricted educational and general (E&G) funds from fiscal years 1988-89 through 1997-98. The primary focus was on the 14 Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) community colleges and the internal allocation of expenditures by function from 1988-89 through 1997-98. A limited functional expenditure comparison was made with data from the National Association of College and University Business Officers' (NACUBO) comparative financial analysis for fiscal years 1993-94 and 1994-95 as well as with the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) survey for the …

Issues In Special Education Assessments With Limited English Proficiency Students / Strategies To Improve Reading Fluency And Reading Comprehension, Lynn D. Raustadt

Culminating Projects in Special Education

Two starred papers:

"Issues in Special Education Assessments with Limited English Proficiency Students"

Over the next two decades, American society will become increasingly multiethnic and multilingual (Utley & Obiakor, 1997). Utley and Obiakor indicated the number of children living in poverty will substantially increase, as will the number of homes where children speak a primary language other than English. Students who are poor or of a minority race or language are at a greater risk of needing special education services (Renchler, 1993). There is a booming population growth of limited English proficient students (LEP) in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. In …

The Impact Of Early Screening On Preschool Children Attending Camden City Head Start, Beverly M. Clement

Theses and Dissertations

Extensive published research supports comprehensive preschool programs for children and their families, especially for "At Risk" populations often found within inner cities. Programs such as Head Start prepare children for school entrance, provide them with a caring and nurturing environment and empower families with the skills and resources necessary for successful living. The Camden County Council On Economic Opportunity (CCCOEO, Inc.), grantee for the Camden County, New Jersey Head Start Program, provides comprehensive services for "At Risk" preschool children, ages three to five.

Starting in September 1998 to March 1999, sixty-seven preschoolers attending various CCCOEO Head Start Centers were given …

The Relationship Between Vocabulary And Reading Comprehension In Junior High Aged Students With Learning Disabilities, Harvey Burkhour

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the reading ability, particularly in the area of reading comprehension and the level of reading vocabulary possessed by junior high aged students with learning disabilities. Reading is a complex process involving the simultaneous integrated application of the four cuing systems: (a) graphophonic, (b) syntactic, (c) semantic, and (d) schematic. While most people learn to utilize these systems rather easily, this is not true for everyone. Failure to effectively employ any one or more of these cuing systems can spell disaster for the reader both in school and in many …

Accelerated Reader: Does It Work?, Deborah J. Morse

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if increased independent reading practice, as verified by 50 or more Accelerated Reader points, would significantly improve standardized reading scores. The reading practice and assessment performance of 60 first, second, and third grade students was monitored for eight months. The students were pre-tested and post-tested using the Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (S.T.A.R.). Descriptive statistics were used to determine if a significant difference existed between the overall mean scores of the high reading practice group who earned 50 or more Accelerated Reader points, versus the low reading practice group who …

A Study Of Teachers' Perceptions About Staff Development Factors And Their Classroom Implementation Of Reform-Based Science Instruction, Deborah Thompson Silver

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to determine whether or not there were significant differences in implementation levels of reform-based science instructional strategies by teachers who participated in an established staff development program, Project LIFE and those who did not, and (2) to distinguish specific program factors that may have impacted the level of implementation of reform-based instructional classroom practices. The instrument used, the Survey of Reform-Based Science Teaching Strategies (SRBSTS ), was developed by the researcher and had reliability of .912 as measured by Cronbach Alpha.

An independent samples t-test analysis was used to compare the …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of Peer Tutoring On Mathematics Achievement Of Fifth Grade Students, Kareem J. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the implementation of a peer tutoring program in mathematics on the academic achievement level of fifth grade students. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant difference in the mathematics achievement level of fifth grade students who participated in a peer tutoring program than in the mathematics achievement level of fifth grade students who do not participate in a peer tutoring program in mathematics.

The study was a quasi-experimental design consisting of students in two fifth grade classrooms. Twenty-three students from each classroom participated in the study. One …

Computer Crime: Software Piracy Among College Students, Stephanie E. Stockdale

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

There is a limited amount of research covering the topic of computer software piracy. Few studies focus specifically on software piracy, while the vast majority looks at various forms of unauthorized access and computer hacking. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether students possess attitudes that are supportive of computer-software piracy. Here, attitude means the feeling one has about a certain topic. Operationally, attitude is defined as holding a favorable or unfavorable view of computer-software piracy. Eight research hypotheses are proposed. In order to explore the research question and test the hypotheses, a thirty-six-item questionnaire was administered to …

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

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

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

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

The Effects Of School Uniforms On Student Behavior And Perceptions In An Urban Middle School, Jacqueline M. Mccarty

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Public opinion polls have consistently highlighted the prevalence of violence in America's schools. Specifically, school personnel have witnessed increased assault and theft related to the wearing of expensive clothing. Concomitantly, administrators have noted decreased attendance rates triggered by clothing issues. Given the gravity of these problems, school officials nationwide have enacted uniform policies in hopes of improving school safety and student behavior. However, current research establishing the effectiveness of these policies is largely anecdotal. The few studies utilizing empirical measures mainly highlight short-term outcomes and often fail to address student perceptions regarding clothing-related problems.

By contrast, this study investigated the …

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

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

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

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

A Correlation Study Of Learning Preferences And Attitudes Towards Computers In Fourth Grade Students, Laura C. Garofalo

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if specific learning style preferences were related to fourth grade elementary students' attitudes towards computers in the classroom. Subjects were twenty-six students in a fourth grade class in an affluent suburban district. Subjects were given two self-report instruments to measure their learning style preferences and attitudes towards computers. The Learning Combination Inventory (LCI), developed by Dr. Christine Johnston of Rowan University, was used to determine learning style preferences. The Technology Attitude Assessment Survey (TAAS), developed for the University of the State of New York, measured attitudes towards computer usage in the classroom. …

The Effect Of Cooperative Learning On The Spelling Achievement Of Fourth Grade Students, Elisabeth Henjes

Theses and Dissertations

This research was designed to study the effect of cooperative learning instructional strategies as compared to traditional spelling instruction on fourth grade achievement in spelling. Comparisons were made between the spelling achievement of thirteen fourth grade students when they were taught by cooperative learning strategies and the spelling achievement of these same fourth grade students when they were taught by traditional spelling instructional methods. The cooperative learning instructional methods used were a combination of Classwide Peer Tutoring and Student Teams-Achievement Division (STAD). To control for certain variables a second treatment of traditional spelling instructional methods was implemented after the cooperative …

The Effect Of Instruction On Efl Argumentative Writing, Hala Abdel-Moneim Abdallah

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

School-Based Functional Assessment For Adolescents With Adhd: Procedural Issues In General Education Settings, Pamela M. Radford

Masters Theses

Functional assessment is a structured problem-solving process that has been found to be an effective method for guiding the selection of classroom intervention for students who present a variety of problem behaviors (O'Neill, et al., 1997), including Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). This study evaluated the utility of school-based functional assessments with 2 adolescent boys diagnosed with ADHD in general education settings utilizing resources typically available to school personnel to document information relevant to behavior function. Descriptive information (i.e., interviews, observations, record reviews) led to the development of potential intervention strategies that were implemented and evaluated by …

The Use Of Curriculum-Based Measurement To Evaluate The Effects Of A Remedial Education Program, Michael D. Hixson

Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of two Direct Instruction programs: Corrective Reading: Decoding and Connecting Math Concepts. The effectiveness of the interventions was evaluated using a single-subject experimental design with curriculumbased measurement (CBM) probes as the main means of assessment. Other methods of assessment included standardized achievement tests, school reports, and pre- and postcurriculum- based assessment probes. The CBM probes for all students were sensitive to the effects of the interventions, although there was a great deal of variability in the CBM reading probes and little correspondence across methods of assessment. The results indicate that the two Direct Instruction programs …

Improving Special Education Teachers' Use Of Data-Based Instruction, Steven D. Goodman

Dissertations

The data-based decision model involves frequent measures of student performance (i.e., 2 - 5 times per week), frequent analysis of performance data (weekly or bi-weekly), and the application of decision rules. In the first study, we surveyed 406 special education teachers state-wide. Results of the survey suggest that the databased decision model is not generally practiced by special educators in the field. Just over one quarter of the respondents report to assessing student performance frequently enough to qualify as using the model. Only 10% of respondents indicate that they generally graph student performance. Additionally, less than 23% of respondents who …