Education Commons^™

Of "Illustrators," "Narrators," "Editors," And "Readers": Describing Relations Between Significantly Disabled Students And Their Peers, Srikala Naraian

Dissertations

This paper interweaves several theoretical strands—disability studies, narrative theories, and sociocultural perspectives on learning—both as a means to understand current practice in the education of students with significant disabilities as well as to envisage other forms of participation for them. The aims of the study are derived from the argument made by Ferguson (2003) that the narratives of others in the lives of severely disabled individuals are critical to the formation of their identities. Appropriating this idea to the classroom, this study explores the notion that the narratives of classroom peers are vital to the participation of the severely disabled …

Transition Activities And Their Effects On Middle School Students, Vicki Sue Vanlaere

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness that transitional activities have on student achievement and attendance when students moved from elementary school to middle school. The data were gathered from two school districts that are demographically similar. Data included average daily attendance rates, Terra Nova Achievement Scores from social studies in grades five, six, and seven, as well as math in grades five, six, and seven. There were 187 students in the Treatment Group and 147 in the Control Group for a total of 334 students. Comparison of means for demographic equivalency of the groups (t-test) and …

A Laptop-Learning Initiative: Relationships With Student Achievement, Technology Proficiency, And Attitude Towards Technology, Kevin Scott Nicholas

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between a laptop learning initiative, student achievement, technology proficiency, and attitude towards technology. The initiative, Project One-on-One, was designed to provide teachers with the ability to teach technology integrated lessons in classrooms with a student-to computer ratio of 1:1. This was accomplished by utilizing two mobile laptop labs that were financed through a national grant competition. The variables that were examined in the study were three years of eighth-grade student achievement scores from the criterion-referenced Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) test and the Louisiana Center for Educational Technology’s Technology Proficiency …

Crossing The Bridge From Eighth To Tenth Grade: Can Ninth Grade Schools Make It Better?, Eddie James Peasant Ii

Dissertations

Ninth grade is a complicated time period in the school years of young adolescents, They face many social, emotional, physical, and academic issues during the transition from eighth grade to the freshman year. In some cases, these problems in ninth grade lead to increased dropout rate. This matter is addressed in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). School districts across the country are establishing programs to deal with this dilemma of students transitioning from the middle grades to high school. One such program is the ninth grade school or academy. The general purpose of this study was to investigate …

Factors Which Impact The Conduct Of Fifth Grade African-American Males, Derricka Bashetta Thomas

Dissertations

This study examines the factors that impact the conduct of fifth grade African- American male students who participated in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (ECLS-K). The participants in this study are located throughout the United States of America. These students attend private and public schools. The data for this study were provided by the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES), a division of the U.S. Department of Education. The researcher utilized ECLS-K’s Public Use Data File and Electronic Codebook to create an SPSS syntax file in order to measure the factors that impact the conduct of fifth grade African- American …

An Examination Of Perception Toward Merit Pay In A Southern School District, Carol Lynn White Payne

Dissertations

The use of merit pay systems has been a part of educational history for one hundred years. States across the country have utilized different forms o f merit pay systems to increase student achievement. Career ladder merit pay systems may base teacher salary on the attainment of additional degrees, additional responsibilities and an increase in student achievement. School-based performance awards may reward all staff members of a school based on achievement of goals set by the school board. Individual teacher financial awards may be based on administrative evaluations, student achievement, attainment of additional degrees, and participation in professional development sessions. …

Retaining Information Technology Employees In Higher Education, Mary Holmes

Dissertations

The retention of qualified Information Technology (IT) employees is at an all time low within higher education institutions. IT personnel are essential for higher education institutions to effectively integrate technology into their educational programs. These IT employees contribute to their institution's teaching/learning mission, while simultaneously supporting complex and highly visible administrative operations. Yet, all previous research regarding IT employee retention issues had only been conducted within corporate settings.

To examine factors related to IT employees' retention within public higher education, an internet-based study was sent to IT employees in all four-year public universities throughout Michigan. The survey included questions within …

Analyzing The Effects Of Inquiry-Based Instruction On The Learning Of Atmospheric Science Among Pre-Service Teacher Education Students, Robert James Ruhf

Dissertations

This study tested whether or not pre-service teacher education students enrolled in inquiry-based earth science courses gained more thorough knowledge, comprehension, and application proficiencies with regard to atmospheric science concepts included in the Michigan Curriculum Framework for Science Education---the content standards of the Michigan State Board of Education for K-12---than did pre-service teacher education students enrolled in a traditionally-based earth science lecture/laboratory course. Content proficiencies were tested at the beginning of the semester (the pretest) and again at theend of the semester (the posttest). A sample of students participated in post-test interview sessions designed to examine in depth their knowledge, …

Success In The First Year: Impact Of Alternative Advising On Students At A Liberal Arts College, James E. Swanson

Dissertations

Small faith-based liberal arts institutions are increasingly focused on recruitment and retention because it is critical to their existence. Because these institutions are completely enrollment driven, the numbers of students who persist through to their second year of college is a necessary administrative focus. Scholars have found that interactions between students and members of the institution, especially faculty, are critical to student persistence during the first year of College. Research has also demonstrated that academic advising plays an important role in first-year student persistence. A question remains, however, whether students are retained because of time spent with faculty or because …

Job Tasks Performed By Career Preparation System Administrators: Implications For Leadership Development, Julia K. Vandermolen

Dissertations

This study represents the results of a quantitative survey measuring the importance and frequency of job tasks performed by Michigan's Career Preparation System (CPS) administrators. The census consisted of 120 (n = 120) CPS administrators. Eighty-six (n = 86) or 72% of CPS administrators participated in the study. A mailed survey was used to collect data to determine the importance and frequency of 51 job tasks performed by career and technical education (CTE)administrators identified by a previous DACUM study for a leadership development program. Quantitative methods were used to seek an improved understanding of the job tasks performed …

Best Practices Within Mediation Programs, Warren L. Hills

Dissertations

Mediation Centers have been introduced to college and university campuses in recent years as a cost effective method to deal with a variety of conflict issues. These centers offer a variety of services to students, faculty, and staff including mediation, facilitation, and training. Campus mediation centers that report various levels of success and growth serve as an example for operations to their peer institutions. Yet for a lack of previous research, little information is known about the actual operations of campus mediation centers and the systems and processes they follow.

An internet-based survey was sent to campus mediation centers staff …

Problem-Based Learning: An Attitudinal Study Of Police Academy Students, Gregory P. Vander Kooi

Dissertations

Policing strategies have gravitated toward a consensus paradigm model, commonly referred to as "community policing." This is a significant paradigm shift, yet most police academies continue to use traditional lecture-based pedagogical methods to train police officers. One possible alternative to passive lecture-based teaching is a more active problem-based learning. Problem-based methodologies consist of presenting ill-structured problems whereby an instructor facilitates and directs the students in active inquiry toward possible solutions for a specific problem.

A Case Study Of The Efficacy Of A University Cohort Group In A Small Urban School District, Ann Rea Kopy

Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to explore the processes followed in an educational partnership and to describe the changes in the participants' beliefs, practices, and sense of efficacy as a result of their participation. This study described and analyzed an educational partnership between a large university and the staff of a small, urban school district. The goals of the partnership were to provide the participants the knowledge to enhance student achievement as well as to develop educational leaders throughout the district. The participants consisted of educators of the district that enrolled in the educational partnership that existed for …

A Comparison Of Achievement Levels In Mathematics And Science, And Current Attitudes, Of Secondary Students In A Six-Period Daily Schedule, With Those Of Students In A Rotate-Eight Block Schedule, Brad J. Heger

Dissertations

In part one of this study, secondary students¿ mathematics and science achievement levels in a Six-Period Daily (SPD) schedule were compared with those in a Rotate-Eight Block (REB) schedule (eight macroperiods in a two day rotation). In part two, alumni were surveyed to compare current opinions of the schedules¿ effectiveness overall and on two subscales. Archival test data and demographic information were obtained on two graduated classes in a selected suburban Midwestern high school, enrollment grades 9 to 12 of approximately 1000 students. Stratified random samples of 50 students from each class were selected based upon treatment, academic ability, ethnicity, …

Learning Leadership: An Investigation Of Principals' Attitudes Toward Teachers In Creating The Conditions Conducive For Learning In School-Based Staff Development, Arnold N. Stricker, Jr.

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine the attitudes of principals toward teachers as learners by answering the following question: Do principals understand adult learning and do they have the competencies to create the conditions for learning in school-based staff development? Three research questions and a hypothesis undergirded this overall question and supported the investigation of this question. Participants in the study included principals and teachers in grades PK-12. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, Instructional Perspectives Inventory (IPI), and Respect for Partner Scale (RPS) both revised for principals and teachers. Results were analyzed to determine the extent of relationships …

Finding Voice: An Exploration Of A Community¿Based Adult Learning Process, Stephen C. Jeanetta

Dissertations

The Circles of Hope is a dialogue and support group process that uses personal support, education for action, and organizing for change as a method for their own personal development and change and to become agents of change in their own communities. Case studies summaries based on individual interviews and participation in a focus group were developed for seven women who have been regular participants in the Circles of Hope. Using cross-case analysis as the key analytic framework (Miles & Huberman, 1984), change was examined across three themes, the process experience, personal growth and change, and engagement in community. This …

An Overview Of Gerald R. Prescott’S 1935 “The Prescott Technic System” With Recommendations For A Contemporary Edition, Carson Lee Vermillion

Dissertations

Gerald R. Prescott (1902-2005) served as the Director of Bands at Mason City (Iowa) High School from 1927-31. During his tenure, Prescott established himself as an outstanding band director and music educator. While serving as the Director of Bands at the University of Minnesota, Prescott published The Prescott Technic System; a band curriculum employing excerpts from conservatory methods to develop individual technique. The system encompassed fourteen years of study, from beginning band through graduate school.

Due to the performance expectations placed on today’s instrumental music programs, little time remains for a sequenced individual course of study that adequately develops a …

An Evaluation Of Intraverbal Training And Listener Training For Teaching Categorization Skills, Anna Ingeborg Petursdottir

Dissertations

Behavioral language interventions, such as those employed in early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) programs, target both expressive and receptive language skills. Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior provides a framework for analyzing expressive and receptive language in terms of stimulus control and reinforcement history. From this perspective, different expressive language programs target different verbal operants, such as tacts, intraverbals, and echoics , whereas most receptive language programs target a type of listener behavior that may be referred to as manded stimulus selection (Michael, 1995). Although EIBI curricula (e.g., Maurice, Green, & Luce, 1996; Leaf & McEachin, 1999) have frequently …

Factors Contributing To Career Success: Perceptions From African American Male School Administrators, Oliver Wilson

Dissertations

In this qualitative study, interviews were conducted with seven Black male school administrators in the Michigan school district who held the position of assistant principal or principal. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of Black male school administrators in Michigan school districts. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Using a phenomenological approach the participant responses were codified, grouped, and analyzed for emergent themes. Five themes emerged as a result of the data analysis: (1) Colleague support is a key mechanism in the success of Black male school administrators. (2) Parental involvement is important in the success …

Leadership Styles Inventory Of Michigan Career And Technical Education Area Center Principals, Alan D. Papendick

Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine the leadership styles of the career and technical education (CTE) area center principals in Michigan and how effective they are perceived by their subordinates. The concept of leadership traits or styles has been studied extensively within the K--12 general education setting, but lacks sufficient empirical evidence within the CTE community. The population for this study included all the CTE area center principals in Michigan and their determined subordinates: lead administrative assistant, counselor, paraprofessional, and four faculty members. This study analyzed data collected from 19 CTEarea center principals and 70 subordinates. The instrument used for …

The Power Of "Estudentprotest:" A Study Of Electronically-Enhanced Student Activism, James Patrick Biddix

Dissertations

Both student activism and Internet use by students are among the fastest growing variables in national reports of student engagement (Astin, 2004; Levine & Cureton, 1998b). This study introduces the term estudentprotest to describe how contemporary student activists use information and communication technologies (ICTs) for protest. A sequential mixed methods design (Creswell, 2003) was utilized. This approach involved obtaining statistical information from a sample for descriptive and outcome analyses, using the results to suggest nodes for an investigation of social networks, and finally interviewing individuals to explore those results in more depth. This study found that today¿s student protests begin …

Faculty Development In The University Setting: Perspectives And Practices, Verna Josephine Dickson

Dissertations

Using a two-stage, mixed-method strategy of inquiry that follows symbolic interactionism, this study explores professional development/faculty development (PD/FD) practices and perspectives in the university setting. Four Midwestern universities, two public and two private, provided the setting for the research. The primary purpose of this study was to answer the question: What is the experience university professors have with professional development/faculty development (PD/FD). The literature presents many studies for K-12 and community college faculties; however, there is a need to study the topic within the university subculture. On-campus PD/FD programs offer faculty opportunities to improve and expand their teaching methodologies yet …

Impact Of Enrollment Management, Marketing And Strategic Planning On Adult Higher Education Enrollment Patterns, Kinfu Adisu

Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the impact of enrollment management, marketing and strategic planning practices (or lack thereof) on enrollment trends in two graduate programs across five Grand Rapids, Michigan-based institutions of higher education. Deans, department heads or program directors associated with the Master's of Business and Master's of Education degrees in each institution were interviewed, as were regional administrators and marketing personnel for a total of 15 participants. In addition, the challenges faced by these graduate programs and how such challenges impacted enrollment patterns were analyzed.

Findings indicate that to a large degree the concepts of enrollment management, marketing and …

Non-Traditional Paths To Presidencies Of Higher Education Institutions In Michigan, Daryl Joseph Delabbio

Dissertations

The number of college and university presidents coming from a career path outside of higher education has seen a steady increase, from just under 10% in1986, to over 15% in 2001 (Corrigan, 2002), yet little is still known about this growing population. This qualitative study examined four current or former presidents of institutions of higher learning in Michigan who were elected to their positions without having experienced the traditional academic career pathcommonly associated with college and university leaders. Four presidents, along with their current or former chief academic officers and two current or former members of the governing boards that …

Teacher Leadership In Community Colleges: Transforming Teaching And Organizational Governance, Pamela Miller

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe and interpret the experiences of community college teachers in order to understand their perception of theirleadership role and the impact of teacher leadership on institutional governance and student success. This research addressed gaps in the teacher leadershipliterature by contributing a quantitative analysis of the leadership perceptions of community college faculty. The results of the study should be of interest tocommunity college faculty and administrators, teacher educators and teacher preparation institutions, and policy makers as they work to implement change efforts related to curriculum and instruction, professional development, institutional leadership, and governance.

Chapter …

The Persistence Of At Risk College Students Into Their 8Th Semester At A Private Christian College, Rick Zomer

Dissertations

It is estimated that the number of students who will begin a course of study but fail to complete a post secondary degree is between 28.5% (Tinto, 1993) and 50% (Brawer, 1990). This qualitative study reviewed sixteen students enrolled at a private Christian college who were deemed to be at risk based on specific pre-enrollment data but had successfully persisted into their senior year of college. Tinto's Theory of Departure and the role of mentoring were used as lenses to determine: (1) the role of individual intentions and commitments in their persistence; (2) the impact of social and educational congruence …

Critical Praxis: Using My Own Whiteness And Experiences To Challenge Issues Of Racism And White Privilege, Linda Selway

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Autoethnography is a genre of research that alternately focuses its attention outwardly on the social and cultural, and inwardly on the personal life experiences of the researcher in an attempt to raise one’s consciousness and prompt action about the issue under study. This autoethnography explores the transformation I have undergone as I have grappled with the issues of race and academic achievement, and sought to find my place and voice in the struggle for social justice. Along the way, I have had to take a hard, sometimes painful look at myself, peeling away layers of defense to get at …

The Relationship Between Resource Allocation Patterns In Missouri K-12 Public School Districts And Student Performance, Aaron Ross Butler

Dissertations

The link between school funding and student achievement has been a topic of debate for many years. School leaders and policy makers have sought ways to increase student achievement while using educational funding in an efficient manner. Previous initiatives to examine the relationship between funding and achievement have included education production functions, standards-based reforms, reallocation of resources, and minimum funding levels. This study was designed to examine the relationship between resource allocation patterns and student achievement in 447 Missouri K-12 public schools. The relationship between school districts¿ resources and their achievement on the 10th grade mathematics and 11th grade communication …

How Teacher Attitudes And Administrator Behaviors Affect Levels Of Technology Integration In The Classroom, Sheri Leigh Bradshaw

Dissertations

Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate how well teachers’ attitudes predict levels of technology integration into the classroom. This study also investigated whether perceived support from the administrator as the instructional leader was related to teachers’ levels of technology integration into the classroom. The population for this study included identified school districts in rural North Georgia. Utilizing the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for the 2002-2003 school year, the researcher identified 5 peer districts: Franklin County, Gilmer County, Stephens County, Union County, and White County. All middle and high school teachers within a district were invited to …

Superintendents ’ Perceptions Of Clinical Supervision Practices In A District-Wide Implementation Program, Myrna Rae Ladner Bourgeois

Dissertations

In 1990 a new idea swept through the educational industry. Forty-nine school districts in Pennsylvania instituted a new form of organizational management called clinical supervision. In effect, this was a change in the relationship between administration and teachers concerning instructional behaviors. Formerly, when teachers were supervised and evaluated by administrators, they felt intimidated. They also felt their privacy was being invaded. Clinical supervision is an attempt to organize the methodology of teacher supervision while improving instruction. The purpose of this study was to provide data to the participating school districts for use in developing supervision, evaluation, and involvement training modification …