Education Commons^™

Attitudes Of Migrant Receiving And Home District Teachers And The Academic Successes Of Migrant Children, Martha Alicia Cantu

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this research was to investigate the attitudes of teachers in receiving and home districts toward migrant students and measure the academic achievement of migrant students. The study also serves the purpose of accessing the preparation needs of teachers who work with migrant students.

The instrument used to gather the attitudinal data from 215 receiving and home district teachers was the Migrant Education Survey . The surveys were mailed or delivered to the receiving and home district migrant teachers. Initially, 125 migrant students were selected as participants for the study. However, only 77 were used in the final …

Texas School Finance Equalization And Student Performance, Christopher Duque

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The thesis examines which factors or school district inputs, i.e., financial, socio-economic, and administrative have a significant effect on student performance in Texas' school districts. The thesis is divided into five chapters, the introduction and the legal history of school finance reform, the history of Texas school finance policies and the current school finance policy, the literature review, the hypothesis and methodology, and the findings and conclusion of the thesis. The percentage of economically disadvantaged students was found to be significantly related to student performance in the thesis. And the thesis concludes that the state's school finance equalization policy has …

Teachers' Perception Of School Climate As A Function Of Personality Traits, Mary Carmen Pacheco

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between teachers' perception of school climate and their personality traits. The instruments used to gather the data are the Revised Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire ( OCDQ-RE ) and the NEO-Five Factor Inventory ( NEO-FFI ). Both instruments were administered to 290 Hispanic, Mexican-American, elementary teachers during team or faculty meetings. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses are used in the present study. The mean, standard error of mean, variance, skewness, standard error of skewness, kurtosis, and standard error of kurtosis are reported. Box-and-whisker plots and stem-and-leaf displays are also reported. Correlation …

An Exploratory Analysis Of Mexican-American Parental Involvement Perspectives On Home, School, And Community Collaboration, Lisa Kay Hall-Irby

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

When schools consider their relationship with families as a partnership wherein the home and school contribute to children's educational and social development, the results are increased levels of parental involvement. This exploratory analysis involves a study of Mexican-American parents and their perspectives on how they perceive themselves in the home, school, and community collaboration process. This study seeks to explore the traditional parental involvement model and uses existing theory that challenges the traditional model to create a new re-conceptualized model of parental involvement. Using qualitative case study methodology parental involvement data were gathered by using five focus groups and a …

Mexican American Persistence At A Hispanic-Serving Institution: Lessons And Anomalies In A 10-Year University Cohort, Alfredo Salinas

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Higher education continues to be the most viable avenue for improvement in the lives of racial minorities. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has called for an increase in the number of Hispanics in higher education institutions in the state of Texas. Although there is a substantial amount of literature in higher education, only a limited amount pertains to special populations. This is even more pronounced for literature that investigates persistence. This study will contribute to the analysis of such factors that can be targeted to improve the college persistence and completion rate of Hispanics. The institution where this study …

Children Of Mexican Immigrants: Negotiating School In A Two -Way Setting On The Texas -Mexico Border, Diana Maria Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This problem under investigation was the schooling process of children of Mexican immigrants in an American school. The participants for the study included the 56 faculty members and 17 children of Mexican immigrants in school implementing a Two-Way Immersion Program. An ethnographic-like qualitative method was used to investigate the problem. Data was gathered through field immersion, participant observations, and unstructured interviews. Findings revealed diverse characteristics of the children of Mexican immigrants. The school's ethos of reception included numerous attributes that served to accommodate the children and their parents. The practices in the Two-Way Program facilitated the adaptation of the children …

Retention Of Beginning Teachers: A Comparison Of Teachers Prepared Through An Alternative Certification Program And A Center For Professional Development Of Teachers Field-Based Program, Glendelia Muniz Zavala

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Teacher retention has been a matter of concern for the past several years. Teacher shortages occur in critical academic and geographic regions. In South Texas, teacher turnover has consistently remained higher than the national average. More importantly is a high attrition rate among beginning teachers. Recent studies reported that 19% of novice teachers leave teaching after the first year and approximately 50% leave the profession within the first five years of teaching. Numerous studies have investigated various factors that contribute to teacher attrition, however, few have been conducted to determine the impact of teacher preparation paths on the retention of …

Effects Of Self-Monitoring On Hyperactivity In A Student Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd), Lillian Lee Pedroza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This single subject multiple baseline study tested an intervention using a self-monitoring procedure. The Subject was a nine-year-old Hispanic male identified as having Other Health Impairments and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and was taking psychostimulant medication. Using an A-B-A-B design, the Investigator and two observers collected time interval data of on-task behavior, during baseline phases. During intervention phases the Subject was involved in a self-monitoring procedure addressing on-task behaviors. Additional data were collected on a scoring sheet, whereby the Subject, the Investigator and the two additional Scorers, scored the student on five on-task behaviors. The intervention was effective. Results …

Mexican American Women: Unique Superintendents In Texas, Maria Cristina Quilantan

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The number of Mexican American women educators is disproportionate to the number of Mexican American women in administrative positions, especially at the superintendency level. During the school year 2001–2002, there were 1,175 superintendents in the State of Texas; 939 male, 66 Mexican American males; 159 White females, and 10 Mexican American women. The stereotypical sex-role expectations are evident among Mexican American women; these expectations are governed by a value system that follows tradition and culture in which docility and passivity are inculcated at a very early age. The organizational structure of the public school system also marginalizes the involvement of …

Academic Achievement As A Function Of Attributions Of Success And Failure And Socio-Cultural Variables In Mexican-American Students, Mary Alice Reyes

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this research was to examine Mexican-American 8th grade students' attributions of success and failure in school-related contexts. The relationship between and among these attributions, socio-cultural variables and academic achievement was also explored and analyzed. Attribution theory formed the theoretical foundation for the study.

The study utilized three instruments as the primary sources of self-reported data: the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS ), Student Achievement Responsibility Survey ( SARS ) (Ryckman, 1985), and the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanic Youth ( SASH-Y ) (Barona & Miller, 1994). Other data including gender and migrant status were obtained from …

Relationships Between Teachers' Perceptions Of Principals' Leadership Behavior And Level Of Work Motivation, Raquenel Sanchez-Perkins

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers' perceptions of the principal's leadership behavior, either initiating structure or consideration and work motivation of elementary school teachers. The three subscales of motivation are: (1) Intrinsic, (2) Extrinsic, and (3) General Satisfaction. This study also examined the relationship between work motivation and job satisfaction of elementary school teachers based on the teachers' age, years of work experience, and the student enrollment of the school they work in. The two instruments used to gather the data from elementary school teachers were the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire and the Minnesota …