Education Commons^™

After Turning Points: Evidence Of The Adoption Of Middle School Reforms In The United States 1987-2000., Nancy Barnes Mansberger

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the adoption by U.S. middle schools of key practices recommended by the 1989 Turning Points report. Three questions were examined: (1) To what extent have the organizational practices identified by research to impact the development of "small learning communities" been adopted by U.S. middle schools? (2) To what extent do the instructional practices of U.S. middle school teachers reflect developmentally responsive or traditional/bureaucratic methods?, and (3) Do the instructional practices of U.S. middle school teachers differ between those who teach in schools with developmentally responsive organizational practices and those who teach in …

Have Charter Schools Materialized Their Promise A Contrast Between Rhetoric And Reality, Mary Kay Kempker-Vandriel

Dissertations

Charter schools are a growing force in American education. Parents are demanding a choice in their child's public education. Are charter schools better than traditional public schools? Have charter schools kept their promise?

In the study regular public schools and charter schools were compared along five dimensions: (a) opportunity for learning and access to quality education, (b) innovative teaching methods and participative management, (c) teacher job satisfaction, (d) parent involvement, and (e) school accountability. Existing data from the 1999/2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) were analyzed with primarily chi-square tests and one t-test. These analyses provided results in relation to …

A Test Of Factor Analysis As A Validation Procedure For Physician Certification Examinations, Jeffrey D. Greene

Dissertations

Two physician certification examinations from different medical specialties were investigated. The purpose of the study was twofold: 1) to determine the similarities between the factor structure of the examinations and their respective tables of specifications; and 2) to demonstrate the relative efficacy of factor analysis in differentiating the structure between two related but dissimilar domains of information. Specialty A is a homogeneous discipline focused on a relatively narrow concentration of organs, body systems and anatomy. This examination contained 309 items. There were 845 cases available for analysis. Specialty B is a heterogeneous area of specialty concerned with numerous areas of …

The Relationship Between Financial Aid And Freshman Persistance At A Midwestern Liberal Arts College, Jack Phillip Powell

Dissertations

College student persistence has been one o f the most important topics discussed in higher education over the last 25 years. The consequences of student attrition from our colleges and universities are immense for the individual student and institutions alike. One of the purposes of student financial aid is to promote student persistence. The need for empirical research to assess whether financial aid is accomplishing this vital purpose is critical Research is particularly important given the significant shifts in policy brought on by the 1992 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. This study addressed two research questions. The first deals …

How Does It Mean? Literary Theory As Metacognitive Reading Strategy In The High School English Classroom, Lisa J. Schade

Dissertations

In the last two decades, serious scholarly attention has been paid both to theories of teaching reading and to theories of literary interpretation. These potentially related fields have been treated as separate, focused either on teaching reading in the elementary grades or on teaching interpretation to advanced college literature students. Until very recently the relevance of either reading theory or literary theory to middle school or high school pedagogy has remained unexamined. My research, as a reflective practitioner, addresses this important gap. I focus on the teaching of literary theory in the high school English classroom as a strategy to …

A Study Of The Effects Of Goal Conflict On Job Satisfaction In Auxiliary Enterprise Units Within Higher Education, Stephen M. Keizer

Dissertations

The role of goal conflict on job satisfaction within auxiliary enterprise units at Western Michigan University was the focus of this study. The continuing decline in state appropriations has caused state-funded colleges and universities to change their operational model in order to become more fiscally responsible. This change in operational focus has led to a shift in the balance between the goal of educating students and the goal of generating revenue. This shift creates goal conflict among many of the employees whose role it is to bolster the sagging operational budget. Conflict within job goals impacts on job satisfaction and …

Career Planning Needs Of Students, Carol Nowakowski

Dissertations

This study examines the perceived needs of college students in relationship to sex, employment, and academic rank. Specifically, factors that suggest the changing student population in higher education and the impact such changes have on providing career counseling services to meet student needs are presented. In addition, the differences between sex, employment status, and academic rank in relationship to perceived career planning needs is presented based on a review of literature. Results of a survey to students attending Davenport University (formerly known as Davenport College) during the winter 1995 semester are summarized in terms of perceived career planning needs based …

Social Responsiblity And Types Of Service Learning: A Comparison Of Curricular Service Learning, Co-Curricular Service Learning, And Traditional Community Service, Jay Richardson Cooper

Dissertations

This study investigated social responsibility among college students involved in three different types of service learning. Social responsibility, the dependent variable, was analyzed using scores on the Social Responsibility Inventory. Three institutions, representative of Masters I Colleges and Universities, were involved in the study and 198 students completed the questionnaire. A one-way analysis of variance was run, which demonstrated that there was a significant difference among the mean scores on the Social Responsibility Inventory in the three types of service learning. Type of service learning, the independent variable, included traditional community service, co-curricular service learning, and curricular service learning. Traditional …

The Relationship Between Demographic And Attitudinal Characteristics Of Primary-School Teachers And Implementation Of The Continuous Assessment Program In Swaziland, Hibajene Monga Shandomo

Dissertations

Problem. The purposes of this study were to determine the extent to which primary school teachers were implementing the Continuous Assessment Program (CAP) and to examine personal and institutional factors that may be related to the implementation of the program.

Method. A questionnaire designed to measure degree of implementation and attitude toward the Continuous Assessment Program was administered to a stratified random sample of 600 Grade 1 to Grade 7 teachers from 54 schools. Personnel from the National Curriculum Center (NCC) delivered and collected the questionnaires from each school. Completed questionnaires were then forwarded to the researcher. Data were coded …

The Psychosocial Determinants Of Middle- And High-School Violence: An Investigation Of The Perceptions Of Parents Of Children Suspended For Committing Violent Acts At School, Beverly Cameron

Dissertations

Problem. This study investigated parents' perceptions of the psychosocial determinants of middle- and high-school violence.

Method. Phase Four of the Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation (PRECEDE) model, developed by Lawrence Green, was utilized to examine the perceptions of parents regarding the psychosocial determinants of middle- and high-school violence. Respondents were 191 parents whose children were suspended for school violence. One-way ANOVAs were used to analyze the influence ofgender, age, education, family structure, and income on school violence.

Results. Parents believed their children would solve problems using nonviolent means but they responded in a violent manner …

A Case Analysis Of Three Middle-School Boys Who Have Down Syndrome And Have Been In Regular Education Classes Since Preschool, Eileen Frances Luddy

Dissertations

This study investigated the experiences of three middle-school boys who have Down syndrome and have always attended regular education classes.

Despite the existence of policies and initiatives in support of inclusive education, research on the implementation of inclusive practices in middle schools is sparse.

This study is organized in nine chapters. A review of literature revealed that significant research conducted during the past decade supports the practice of including students with disabilities in regular education and the benefits of inclusion outweigh the benefits of separate instruction.

A case study approach investigated the phenomenon covering contextual conditions surrounding the experiences of …