Educational Psychology Commons^™

The School's Role As A Support System For Children Of Parental Divorce., Constance Myers Cottongim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the year 2000, over one million children were involved in a new divorce. These statistics indicated that this subgroup of children would continue to be a large part of the school population. The school, because of time spent there, becomes a likely place for the recognition and identification of problems that may arise from parental divorce, thus providing an appropriate setting for interventions to be conducted.

The purpose of this study was to determine how parents, classroom teachers, and school counselors viewed the role of the school as a support system for children of divorce. The study also explored …

Homophobia And Academic Freedom, David Moshman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Addressing homophobia and heterosexism as a teacher raises issues of respect for the intellectual freedom of your students. The central thesis of this article is that these issues are best addressed on the basis of general principles of academic freedom-that is, intellectual freedom in educational and research contexts. Three cases are analyzed on the basis of principles developed by the Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska (AFCON). These principles permit advocacy, rather than requiring neutrality, but do not permit indoctrination. That is, instructors may express and justify their own ideas relevant to the curriculum and try to convince students to adopt …

The Development And Validation Of The Ethical Climate Index For Middle And High Schools, Laura E. Schulte, Franklin Titus Thompson, Jeanie Talbott, Ann Luther, Michelle Garcia, Shirley Blanchard, Laraine Conway, Melanie Mueller

Counseling Faculty Publications

One school characteristic that needs to be considered as important in keeping schools safe is school climate. The purposes of this study were to develop and validate an instrument that measures the ethical climate of middle and high schools. To create the School Ethical Climate Index (SECI), we adapted the Ethical Climate Index for graduate and professional school programs to apply to middle and high schools. The SECI measures a school’s sense of community by assessing student and teacher interactions and relationships through the application of five ethical principles: respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, and fidelity. To provide evidence …

Parent Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Therapeutic Horseback Riding For Children With Varying Disabilities, Anita L. Scialli

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Disabilities affect 54 million people and 4.4 million children in the U.S. and are of importance to special education faculty (Center for Disease Control 2000). A survey design examines the effectiveness of human-animal interaction, specifically horseback riding, in children with varying disabilities.

Therapeutic horseback riding as an animal assisted therapy, aims to promote mind and body integration through movement (psychomotricity) and the human-animal bond (Delta Society, 2001a; Spink, 1993, All, Loving & Crane, 1999). Effectiveness is measured by parent assessment of improvement in 67 child behaviors resulting from child participation in horseback riding, using a new Horseback Riding Survey. Behaviors …

Assessing The Social Context In Initial Conjoint Behavioral Consultation Interviews: An Exploratory Analysis Investigating Processes And Outcomes, Susan M. Sheridan, Sean P. Meegan, John W. Eagle

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

In this exploratory study, the communicative process in conjoint behavioral consultation was investigated with a coding system designed to measure two dimensions of communication (i.e., influence and involvement). The nature of discrete speech acts that typify consultants’ and consultees’ behaviors in CBC (i.e., collaborative, controlling, obliging, withdrawing) and the communicative function of speech exchanges within CBC (i.e., affiliation, distancing, mixed) were investigated. An initial exploration of the relationship between speech exchanges and direct and indirect outcomes in CBC was conducted. Results indicated that CBC meetings were characterized by a high degree of affiliation among participants; however, few significant relationships were …

Aftermath Of 9-11: Stress Levels During January 2002 From Manhattan To California, Terryl Chapman

Theses and Dissertations

In September of 2001, the world entered a period of recovery from the terrorist attacks on our nation which will engender decades of struggle to study, analyze and express the effects of that day by almost every conceivable field of human endeavor. The purpose of this study was to describe levels of stress throughout the nation during the first two weeks of January 2002. It was hypothesized that those people who were in closest geographic proximity to the disasters would have the highest levels of stress. The present study consisted of 96 respondents. 22 of those were within a 20-mile …

Multiculturalism And The Media: Using Racially Motivated Films To Increase Attitudes About Race, Nacovin J. Norman

Theses and Dissertations

The attempt to answer the question, "Do racially motivated movies (media) affect young adolescents' attitude on multiculturalism?" was capable of yielding significant results. The study required sampling a population of seventh and eighth graders. The participants demonstrated variability in regards to ethnicity, age, social class, and level of cognitive functioning. Using the paired sample t, ANOVA and various non-parametrical tests, the answer to the question seems to correspond with the research. Therefore, using media can have a significant and an immediate effect, on not only multiculturalism, but human behavior as well.

Dual Diagnosed Clients And Rate Of Relapse, Michele Fredericks

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to gather information on dual diagnosed clients' level of social support in the environment and to assess the degree to which this has an impact on the rate of relapse or rehospitalization. The sample for the study consisted of 46 clients with an Axis I diagnosis of schizophrenia or a chronic mood disorder according to the DSM IV criteria along with poly substance abuse. The age of the clients ranged from 19- 59 with a mean of 38.8. All clients used in the study were enrolled in a nonprofit intensive case management program (ICMS) …

An Exploration Of Emotional Intelligence Scores Among Students In Educational Administration Endorsement Programs., Holly Solomon Click

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the emotional intelligence scores of students in educational administration endorsement programs. The relationship between the length of time in an educational endorsement program and emotional intelligence scores was examined. Relationships with other factors were also examined. The respondents were students in educational administration endorsement at three east Tennessee universities. A total of 85 students participated in the study. Basic frequency based analyses were calculated to identify any relationships between variables.

A literature review gave an explanation of emotional intelligence and examined the historical development of emotional intelligence. The existing literature concerning the …

Teacher Attitudes Toward Inclusion, Megan E. Ireland

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the type of attitude towards inclusion that exists among regular classroom teachers, special education teachers, and specialist teachers in a middle school setting. Seventy-one subjects – forty-nine regular classroom teachers, ten special education teachers, and twelve specialist teachers – from a suburban New Jersey community were studied. Participants were given the Survey of Attitudes Toward the Inclusion of Students with Special Needs, a twenty item Likert-type scale. Data was analyzed using a one-way ANOVA and the Games-Howell post hoc test. Findings suggest that regular and specialist teachers believed that inclusion results in …

Gender Role Differences In Relation To Family Of Origin, Laura M. Moran

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family of origin and an individual's gender role characteristics. Eighty undergraduate students enrolled in undergraduate psychology courses at Rowan University participated in the study. Participants were asked to fill out the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and a demographic questionnaire in order to determine if differences in gender roles exist between students growing up in single parent families, those growing up in intact two-parent families, and those growing up in blended families. Data was analyzed by use of a two-way between ANOVA to determine if a significant difference exists …

The Effects Of Viewing Television Violence On School Children, Jennifer M. Morgan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of viewing television violence on children. It was hypothesized that children who watch more than 3 to 4 hours of television daily, and who are exposed to inherently violent television programming in which physical and/or verbal confrontations and actions are commonplace, will be more likely than other peers to have received disciplinary referrals.

The study took place within an urban middle school serving children grades 6 through 8. A sample of 52 students was randomly selected, consisting of some students who had and some who had not received disciplinary referrals. …

The Effects Of Sleep Patterns On Academic Performance Among School-Age Children, Evelyn M. Rosa

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects that sleep patterns have on a student's academic performance. The study intended to determine if sleep disruptions affect a student's capacity to learn at school by comparing a group of students with disrupted sleep patterns to a comparison group. The sample size was n-46, with 28 female students and 18 male students. The participants involved were from an inner city middle school and were of Caucasian, African American, Asian, and Hispanic descent. The students' sleep patterns were monitored over a course of several months through self-report method. The students were …

The Effect Of Different Modes Of Communication For The Deaf Student On Verbal Achievement, Maureen A. Dugan

Theses and Dissertations

This investigation compared hearing-impaired populations that have been educated with and primarily communicated with either the use of Sign Language, Cued Speech, or the Oral Method. The purpose of the study is to give an overall picture of how each method impacts the hearing-impaired learner.

The sample of this study was hearing impaired males and females over the age of 18 who have taken either the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT). All had a significant hearing loss labeled as profound and none were considered mild losses.

A sixteen-question survey was given to the participants consisting …

Test Anxiety And Age: As We Grow Older Do We Become More Test Anxious?, Sharon Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this investigation were to (a) establish the test anxiety level of students in the second grade, fourth grade, and sixth grade (n=92); and (b) determine the difference in the levels of test anxiety between the three grade levels. Students demonstrated surprising results on the test anxiety measure (TASC). The average score for the second grade was the highest and the average score for the sixth grade was the lowest. A multiple comparisons analysis revealed a significant difference in test anxiety levels between the second and sixth grade. However, the difference was not an increase in test anxiety, …

A Study Of Self-Esteem In Middle Children, Louise Henshaw

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether middle children who are the only male or only female child in the family have higher self-esteem than those middle children who are the same gender as one or more of their siblings. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was administered to a total of fifty middle children, who ranged in age from ten through fourteen years old. These children were students in grades five through eight at a small, urban middle school in southern New Jersey. There were thirty-six students who had one or more siblings of the same gender as the …

Patterns Of Extracurricular Participation In High School, Adrienne Mcdermott

Theses and Dissertations

Participation in extracurricular activities is associated with higher educational aspirations and expectations, higher levels of academic achievement, higher levels of self-esteem and a lower likelihood of dropping out of high school. There is extensive research documenting the value of extracurricular activities.

The primary purpose of this study was to write a descriptive analysis of the patterns of participation in high school extracurricular activities among the various ethnic groups. The secondary purpose of this study was to examine patterns among each ethnic group and each extracurricular activity. The patterns of participation were examined in 10 High Schools. Participants of each activity …

The Relationship Of Biological Parent Or Relative Involvement And Academic Success Among Special Education Students, James Murtaugh

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between biological parent and relative involvement in special education students' lives and academic success. Also investigated was the relationship between biological parent and relative involvement in special education students' lives and the amount of time spent out of the classroom for behavioral reasons. Other variables include age at separation, type of placement, classification, number of siblings, or if the child's home school district was urban or non-urban. Each city of the urban districts examined was also analyzed. Statistical tests were performed to establish correlation between these variables and GPA scores. …

Parental Involvement And Its Effects On Student Academic Achievement, Kevin G. Pinkett

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of parental involvement on student academic achievement. Parental involvement using forty-nine fifth graders and twenty-five sixth graders from an inner city public school in Wilmington, Delaware was measured by monitoring agenda book signatures and parent-teacher conference attendance. Reading test scores of students with high parental involvement were compared to students with low parental involvement using a comparison of test score means and Pearson correlations. Results indicated that there was no significant difference between the reading test scores of students who had high parental involvement and the students who had low …

The Relationship Between Foreign Language Ability And Achievement In Other School Subjects, Samantha J. Chabotar

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the ability to learn a foreign language and abilities in other school subjects at the high school level. The sample included 134 tenth grade students recruited through their English classes. Foreign language ability was measured by an Artificial Language test. Students completed a one-page questionnaire about their experience and exposure to foreign languages. Then they were given a set of new vocabulary and grammar rules. They were asked to translate phrases and complete fill-in-the-blank questions, utilizing the new grammar rules. These test scores were then correlated with various sub-sections …

The Effects Of Breakfast On The School-Aged Child, Alicea J. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between eating a nutritious breakfast and academic performance. The sample consisted of 20 Second Grade Students, 12 males and 8 females, attending an elementary school in an urban school district. The subjects ranged in age from 7 to 9. Five males and two females were of Hispanic descent. Seven males and six females were of African American descent. The participants were given the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement to determine if the children were on grade level. A daily log was kept of what each child ate for breakfast and …

The Effects Of Naltrexone On Severe Self-Injurious Behavior In Inpatient Adults With Developmental Disabilities, Kimberly L. Simmerman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the probability that Naltrexone can reduce self-injurious behavior, specifically the frequency, as measured by total number of incidents, and severity, measured by total number of self-inflicted injuries. Naltrexone is a pure opiate antagonist, which internally alters the reinforcement contingencies that maintain self-injurious behavior. One of the factors that contribute to the maintenance of self-injurious behavior is the endorphins that are naturally released when the body experiences pain. These endorphins can cause a pleasant, euphoric feeling, which internally reinforces self-inflicted painful experiences.

Available records were reviewed for 7 male inpatient adults with developmental …

The Impact Of A Congenitally Blind Child Upon Family Functioning And Interaction, Pamela S. Berryman

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was an impact of congenital blindness upon family functioning and interaction. This research investigated the level of blindness upon family adaptability, cohesion, satisfaction, and social family climate from a family systems perspective. The study analyzed data from a sample of 56 participants who were parents/care-givers of children age 0-12 years with either no vision, partial vision, or full vision. Chi-squares were computed to determine if any of the demographic variables differed among the three groups. Respondents’ gender, relationship to child, age, child’s level of blindness, number of siblings, and household …

Going The Distance With Distance Learning: An Analysis Of Motivational Factors That Influence E-Learning Course Completion Rates, Kevin A. Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

This research asked the following question: is there a correlation between types of organizational culture and factors influencing knowledge transfer? It hypothesized that organizations scoring high on the cultural factors of openness to change/innovation, and task-oriented organizational growth would be fertile to knowledge transfer. Second, it hypothesized that organizations scoring high on the factors of bureaucratic and competition/confrontation would be infertile to knowledge transfer. The research looked at Air Force squadrons, surveying a representative sample of the 1,495 active-duty squadrons included in the study with a 62-item, 5-point Likert-type instrument. Overall, 51 squadrons were surveyed, and 22 produced usable results. …

The Effects Of Item Parceling On Goodness-Of-Fit And Parameter Estimate Bias In Structural Equation Modeling, Deborah L. Bandalos

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Two simulation studies were conducted to investigate the effects of the practice of item parceling. In Study 1, unidimensional sets of normally and nonnormally distributed item-level data were categorized into 2-, 3-, and 4-item parcels. Analyses revealed that the use of item parcels resulted in better fitting solutions, as measured by the root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA), comparative fit index (CFI), and chi-square test, when items had a unidimensional structure. Parceled solutions also resulted in less bias in estimates of structural parameters under these conditions than did solutions based on the individual items. In Study 2 the issue …

Alcohol Expectancies Among High School Students In China, Duane F. Shell, Ian Newman, Ming Qu

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

There is little systematic information on the patterns of Chinese adolescents' alcohol expectancies and the influence of expectancies on drinking behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine Chinese high school students' alcohol expectancies and gender and drinking status (non-drinker, occasional drinker, regular drinker) differences in expectancies. We administered the Chinese Adolescent Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (CAEQ) to 1244 high school students (M = 627; F = 617) in Inner Mongolia, China. We Identified eight expectancy factors three negative (general negative consequences, harm to person/reputation, and negative uses of alcohol) and five positive (general positive perceptions, tension reduction/relaxation, drinking as …

School Climate: A Synthesis Of The Life Of The School, Peggy N. Jackson

All Graduate Projects

Research indicates that school climate is best understood through a combination of variables. The first set of variables includes physical climate, culture and organization, culture, group-relationships and psychological (individual) attitudes. The second set has many subsets of variables that also contribute to the climate of each individual school. These variables are interwoven and overlap to create the climate of a school. The primary purpose of this project was to compile a review of literature on school climate. This project will discuss the impact of school climate on the day-to-day operation of school.

Alcohol And Young People: Promoting Benefits And Reducing Risks, Ian Newman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

For young people, alcohol used in ways prescribed by tradition and indigenous practices are suggested to be of lower risk than those encouraged by modem marketing and western images. Data from the USA and China are presented and discussed to support this hypothesis. Limited data suggest Chinese adolescents may be adopting higher-risk Western-style drinking practices and moving away from traditional drinking styles. It is suggested that policies which promote traditional and indigenous alcohol use should be encouraged and high-risk Western-style drinking practices discouraged.

Naptime And Separation Anxiety : The Use Of A Teacher-Made Book To Help Children Cope In An Infant-Toddler Classroom, Diana Musa

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper presents several theoretical explanations of the emotional reality of young children. Its focus is the influential first relationship between the young child and his caregiver and how his emotional development is shaped within the confines of this relationship. It then examines what meanings the first relationship holds for the child's emotional reality during the toddler stage, defined as roughly 18 months to 3 years of age.

The paper turns then to a discussion of the particular emotional reality of a toddler in the childcare setting. What follows is an argument about the importance of acknowledging and labeling young …

Cultural Aspects Of Drinking Patterns And Alcohol Controls In China, Ian Newman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Alcohol, 'jiu' in Mandarin, is intimately intertwined in almost every aspect of Chinese culture and has been since earliest times. China's cultural traditions, which have until now minimized the risks associated with alcohol use, will be challenged as China opens to the West There will be a tendency for outsiders to encourage the adoption of Western-style policies to address problems from alcohol abuse. Doing so without careful consideration of the cultural role of alcohol could be counterproductive.