Education Commons^™

4-H Leaders: Factors That Affect Their Persistence In The 4-H Youth Development Program, Regina Schinker

Dissertations

For over one hundred years, the 4-H youth development program has educated millions of children across the country in a variety of programs; from livestock husbandry to leadership skills. Like all programs that have endured, 4-H has had to adjust its focus as society has changed. One area in the 4-H program that has not changed is the heavy reliance on adult volunteer leaders to deliver the educational programs to 4-H youth. Because of the reliance on volunteer 4-H leaders, 4-H professionals and extension office staff are concerned about issues of retention.

The case study examines two related issues: First, …

Paths To Upper Level Positions In Public Relations, Patrick J. Bishop

Dissertations

Preparation for a career in the field of public relations (PR) is based on a set of unique core competencies typically found in liberal arts. Though PR professionals rarely gain business degrees, they acquire knowledge, skills, perspectives, and strategies wellsuited to executive-level positions in business. Additionally, managerial positions in PR offer greater potential for influence than task-oriented roles with limited strategic opportunity.

This study examines the advancement of PR practitioners into upper-level management positions in business. The purpose of this research is to identify factors and behaviors that contribute to, or hinder, PR professional’s attainment of top-management positions. This study …

Direct Care Workers Perceptions And Practices Related To Quality Of Life In Long Term Care, Karen M. Kinyon

Dissertations

The focus of this case study was to discover how DCWs define success in their practice and what institutional and individual factors contribute to their successful practices. It describes how DCWs perceive quality of life for NH residents and how their practices reflect quality of life indicators. The conceptual model for which this research is based on was developed around the concepts that individual and institutional factors contribute to the successful practices of direct care workers; and, how these DCWs perceive quality of life influences how they practice to promote quality of life for nursing home residents. Using a case …

The Influence Of Conflict Resolution Programs On Student Conduct Violations In Middle Schools With A School Uniform Policy, Edward C. Breitenbach

Dissertations

School safety is a very important issue for school staff, parents, and students. When school safety is lacking, students suffer in emotional, academic, and social areas. One recent intervention middle schools are examining is the student uniform policy.

In some cases, school uniforms have been shown to have a profound effect on school safety, attendance levels, and student achievement. Other studies, however, have found conflicting results in terms of the real effects of a school uniform policy. Many of the research studies that attempt to investigate school uniform policies suggest that there are other variables involved besides the school uniform …

Composing Ourselves: Utilizing Literacy Narratives To Promote Knowledge And Reflection In Preservice Secondary English Teachers, Cheryl Henderson Almeda

Dissertations

My research entails examining and interrogating the literacy narratives written by six preservice secondary English teachers before their first semester of teaching. After writing their literacy narratives, these teachers worked together in two focus groups to consider, celebrate, and interrogate their memories they recorded in their narratives. They shared conversations which focused on their reflections, their teaching strategies, and the ideas they embraced as newly forming teachers.

This study considers claims made by Dewey (1933), Lortie (1975), Schulman (1986), and others, who emphasize the importance of learning through observation and the intuitive nature of reflective learning and teaching. It emphasizes …

Orientation And Mobility, Reading, And Math: Analysis Of Data For Children With Visual Impairments From The Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study, Dawn L. Anderson

Dissertations

This dissertation research comprised three studies focused on vision-specific skills, and their association with functional and academic outcomes for school-age students with visual impairment. The studies involved analysis of secondary data for 850 students with visual impairment who participated in the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS). Data in the SEELS were gathered using direct assessment and parent and teacher responses for a nationally representative sample of elementary and middle school students.

The first study used Chi Square analysis to determine if participation in Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training, or if the time when O&M instruction was received, was associated …

The Knowing-Doing Gap: The Influence Of Teacher Feedback In Changing Principal Behavior - A Mixed Methods Study, Kimberly St. Martin

Dissertations

This mixed methods study attempted to determine how a system of regular feedback from teachers on principal's work influenced the way in which two principals incorporated the 21 Leadership Responsibilities into their daily practice. Since Principals are the front line of school reform, even when a school commits to an improvement effort that is well grounded in research such as Response to Intervention (Rtl), the principal plays a key role in leading the change of adapting the school processes, culture, roles and responsibilities, norms, and systems to support implementation. To play this role effectively, the principal often finds it necessary …

The Impact Of Mentoring Pre-Service Teachers On The Mentor Teacher, Patti Andrea

Dissertations

Since the early 1980s, policy makers and educational leaders have pinned high hopes on mentoring as a vehicle for reforming teaching and teacher education (Feiman- Nemser, 1996). A review of literature written throughout the evolution of mentoring illustrated that researchers focused most of their attention on a relatively narrow aspect of mentoring relationships and relatively little attention has been paid to mentor benefits (Ragins & Kram, 2007). This study examined the patterns, similarities, and differences of the mentor teacher’s perspectives of potential mentor benefits of mentoring university pre-service teachers.

A phenomenological study was conducted to explore whether mentors attained leadership …

The Allocation Of Time And Goods: Three Essays On American Household Shopping Behavior, Jing Cai

Dissertations

Consumers’ shopping behavior connects market goods expenditure with the out of- market time allocation in their daily time use. This study is composed of three essays. In the first essay, data are collected from the American Time Use Survey and it is found that an individual’s time devoted to shopping is positively determined by opportunity cost of time. Grocery shopping and other shopping, as two distinct types of shopping, react differently to a series of individual and household characteristics as well as by seasons. The corresponding marginal effects also differentiate between shopping time, leisure time, and home production time. In …

A Study Of The Impact Of A K-12 School District–University Doctoral Cohort On District Leadership Capacity, Sharon Davis

Dissertations

The phenomenological study examined how a K-12 school district–university partnership impacted a school district’s leadership from the perspectives of cohort members and non-cohort members. The doctoral cohort consisted of 22 candidates. The intent of the program was to merge theory with best practice and to focus on increasing the district’s leadership capacity. The study involved a purposeful sample of 10 participants that included 5 teachers who participated in the doctoral educational cohort and 5 teachers who were not members of the cohort. Data were collected through interviews.

This doctoral cohort was modeled on learning theory that addressed the needs of …

An Examination Of The Leadership Practices Of Effective Rural Superintendents: A Multiple Case Study, Mark Forner

Dissertations

This research examined the leadership practices of rural superintendents who have led their districts to significant improvement in student academic achievement. The overall research goal was to examine how Waters' and Marzano's six correlates of effective superintendent leadership practice have been applied by school leaders who have successfully pursued academic reform in their rural school districts. A multiple case study approach was used to examine the work practices of seven superintendents leading rural school districts in Michigan where student academic performance was on the rise.

A criterion-based selection methodology was used to identify the superintendent subjects and their districts. A …

The Phenomenology Of The Bachelor Of Science In Hvac Engineering Technology From Ferris State University, Michael Feutz

Dissertations

Career and Technical Education (CTE) has evolved from industry-specific training to a more broad-based education that incorporates core academic learning objectives and prepares the student for work (Rothwell & Gerity, 2008; Uloa, 2006; Reese, 2002; Rojewski, 2002; Stone, 2002; Schmidli, 2001). Little is known about how well individual programs align with the industry for which graduates are prepared, (Zinser, 2003) or what CTE has meant to its graduates.

This research focused on graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Engineering Technology (HVAC-ET) at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. A phenomenological design was used …

Determining Characteristics That Increase Success On The National Asthma Educator Certification Exam, Karen Kain

Dissertations

The National Asthma Educator Certification Board, Inc. (NAECB) is a voluntary health certifying board created in 2001 to evaluate the professional competence of asthma educators. The primary purpose of the NAECB is to prepare and conduct examinations to test the qualifications of candidates for certification as asthma educators. Certification is voluntary and is not required by law for employment in the field, although some agencies may use AE-C® certification as a basis for employment, job promotions, salary increases, or other considerations. The mission of the NAECB is to promote optimal asthma management and quality of life among individuals with asthma …

The Perceived Impacts Of The 14-Year (1989-2003) Civil War On Higher Education In Liberia: An Analysis Of The Case For The University Of Liberia And Cuttington University, Manjerngie Cecelia Ndebe

Dissertations

Civil wars affect the social systems of a nation, including higher education. The purpose of this study was to do an in-depth concurrent mixed method analysis of the perceived impacts of the 14-year (1989–2003) civil war on higher education institutions in Liberia during the civil war years and from the end of the civil war in 2003 to the point of data collection in 2007. The literature is replete with expert opinions on the impacts of the Liberian civil war, but only limited evidence for quantitative and qualitative studies on war impacts in general exists.

No study on the context …

Assessing Problem Solving Strategy Differences Within Online And Face-To-Face Courses And Their Relationship To Pre-Service Teachers' Competence And Confidence For Integrating Technology Into Teaching, Sharon L. Peterson

Dissertations

This quantitative research study identifies the problem solving strategies preservice teachers use in learning specific technology skills within an educational technology methods class which is offered both online and face to face. It also examines how such strategies differ by the format of this course, and to what extent these strategies and/or course format correlate with the students' expressed level of confidence and competence to integrate technology into their future classroom settings. The study utilizes data extracted from surveys of over 1,500 students who had taken the educational technology methods course via online or face-to-face format during one of nineteen …

Perceived Levels Of Nurse Educators' Attainment Of Nln Core Competencies, Julie Kinney Higbie

Dissertations

Nurse educators need to be well-prepared with essential competencies, to prepare nurses for their future in health care. Nurses who are recruited to teach, must meet at least minimal competencies and be provided appropriate resources to assume their roles in academia. The recently published National League for Nursing (NLN) Core Competencies for Nurse Educators (2005) identify the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for both novice and experienced faculty.

This research study explored faculty's perceived attainment of these competencies utilizing Benner's Novice to Expert theory as a framework. It examined several areas of interest related to nurse educator competency, years of …

Assessing Student Learning Outcomes In Aqip Accredited Community And Technical Colleges, Constance M. Schwass

Dissertations

Accreditation in higher education institutions continues to be regarded as the seal (f) obstacles encountered that may impede the assessment of student learning outcomes processes. Responses from 75 individuals (a 52.4% response rate) responsible for their college's assessment of student learning revealed that assessment plans at these AQIP accredited institutions do exist, and are written, implemented, and embedded as part of their institutional culture and operational strategy. Significant differences between General and Occupational Education programs were found in the use of comparative data, communication with external stakeholders, faculty involvement in the assessment practices, perceived levels of improvement in the teaching/learning …

Superintendents' Use Of Research-Based Responsibilities/Practices In High-Performing School Districts, Wayne Russell Stitt

Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to identify "how" effective superintendents use the research-based leadership responsibilities/practices outlined in Marzano and Waters' (2006) meta-analysis that significantly and positively impact student achievement. A second purpose of this research was to find challenges that superintendents face in their attempts to be successful within their school districts.

The study employed a qualitative multi-site case study using elite purposeful sampling. Five superintendents in southwest Michigan were targeted and agreed to participate in this study. They were the only superintendents in this region who met the criteria, which included school districts who have a total …

Grade Point Average As A Predictor Of Timely Graduation From Associate Degree Registered Nursing Programs, Delores J. Jackson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if admission selection strategies that utilize cumulative and/or pre-requisite GPA are predictive of timely graduation for associate degree nursing (RN-AD) students. Data were obtained from de-identified records of 437 associate degree nursing students enrolled in three Midwest community colleges from 2003-2006. Of the total sample, only 44% of the students graduated on time (i.e., in four semesters or two years). Although a statistically significant difference was found for timely graduation rates between colleges (ranging from 29% in College B to 54% in College A), no relationship was found for cumulative GPA, pre-requisite …

Opt Out: Women With Children Leaving Mid-Level Student Affairs Positions, Dana Hebreard

Dissertations

This phenomenological study is about the decision-making process of women with young children at the mid-level student affairs position who decide to opt out of their career for a minimum of one year, and for some, return to higher education. The study is based on interviews with 17 mid-level college administrators and mothers of young children, infant to pre-teen, who chose to opt out of their careers rather than continuing to balance family and career. Though the individuals interviewed were each unique in their socioeconomic status, education, and career path, their issues and concerns were similar. They openly revealed the …

Job Satisfaction Of University Chief Student Conduct Administrators And Their Intent To Stay Or Leave The Position, Suzie Nagel-Bennett

Dissertations

Chief student conduct administrators within higher education are responsible for administering and enforcing standards of student conduct, and navigating the vast legal, political and developmental components to fortify the ethical climate and academic integrity of institutions. Although some previous research regarding these individuals and their role does exist, no research to date could be found regarding their job satisfaction at four year public institutions in the United States. This study serves as the first research to examine overall job satisfaction, the level of satisfaction on stated intrinsic and extrinsic variables within the framework of Herzberg's (1966) dual-factor theory, and the …

The Effects Of An Inquiry-Based Earth Science Course On The Spatial Thinking Of Pre-Service Elementary Teacher Education Students, Kevin Douglas Weakley

Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of two geography courses at improving student spatial thinking skills. Spatial thinking is an important cognitive skill in the sciences and everyday life. A taxonomy of spatial thinking was constructed by Gersmehl (2008) in geography education which included core modes assessed in this study: comparison, region, transition, analogy, pattern, and association. Two additional modes related to space over time, change and movement, were also assessed. The central research question in this study is: What are the effects of a pre-service teacher education earth science content course (Geography 1900) that is conceptually designed and inquirybased on …

Assessing Michigan School Counselors' Preparedness To Meet The Needs Of Attractional/Sexual Minority Students, J. Frederick Bland

Dissertations

This study assessed the attitudes, skills, knowledge, graduate counseling training, and willingness to engage in professional development of Michigan school counselors regarding issues and concerns of students who identify as lesbian, gay, biattractional, transgender, and students who are questioning their attractional orientation (LGBTQ).

A total of 120 Michigan school counselors completed useable surveys either online or a paper-and-pencil version at a Michigan school counseling conference. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the demographic variables age, gender, ethnicity, attractional/sexual orientation, and professional characteristics such as years of school counseling experience, school level, and school location (urban, suburban, rural). One-way ANOVAs were used …

Principal Leadership And School Effectiveness: Perspectives From Principals And Teachers, Robert Herrera

Dissertations

Principal leadership and its effect on student achievement have been well documented over the past two decades. However, the link between the principals' level of engagement in leadership practices and whether their schools met the accountability measure remains unexplored. The purpose of this study was to examine four research questions regarding (a) the extent of principals' engagement in seven leadership practices that are identified as enhancing student achievement in the literature, and (b) whether the level of engagement is associated with schools' success in meeting the accountability measure.

The study used data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics …

Curriculum Coherence: A Comparative Analysis Of Elementary Science Content Standards In People's Republic Of China And The Usa, Fang Huang

Dissertations

This study examines elementary science content standards curriculum coherence between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America. Three aspects of curriculum coherence are examined in this study: topic inclusion, topic duration, and curriculum structure. Specifically this study centers on the following research questions: 1) What science knowledge is intended for elementary students in each country? 2) How long each topic stays in the curriculum? 3) How these topics sequence and connect with each other? 4) And finally, what is the implication for elementary science curriculum development?

Four intended science curriculum frameworks were selected respectively for each …