Digital Commons Network^™

Parents As Partners In Progress: A Study Of Parent Involvement In An Urban Elementary School, Janine P. Riggins

Theses and Dissertations

The research project focused on parent involvement in the context of the urban school setting. The target population included one parent or guardian for each BSI student in grades 1-3 during the 1997-98 school year. Subjects completed a pre-survey during the first semester of the 1997-98 school year using a 6 item interest inventory. Responses to individual items were summarized using percentages. This data served as the basis for the development of the internship activities. A post-survey was administered during the second half of the 1997-98 school year using a similar inventory. Post-survey data was summarized and compared to patterns …

An Internship Experience In Educational Leadership At Pyne Poynt Family School, Camden, New Jersey, Carol W. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to improve parent involvement in the school as a result of an increase in school to home communication through the Parent Network.

In order to identify barriers to parent involvement in the school, both parents and teachers were surveyed. The parent survey, written in English and Spanish, was designed to ascertain their attitudes toward the school. The responses of sixty-six parents were analyzed. It was found that although a majority of the parents had a positive attitude toward the school, most felt that they did not have skills that could be helpful. Fifty-five teachers …

An Internship Experience In Educational Leadership At Oakcrest High School, Mays Landing, New Jersey, 1997-1998, Linda R. Brennan

Theses and Dissertations

Early identification of academically at-risk students combined with effective intervention has a significant impact on the academic performance of academically at-risk students. Students were identified as academically at-risk if they failed two classes in one report period or if they failed one class twice during their eighth grade year.

Faculty members volunteered to serve as mentors for these students. Through advising, referring to student resource personnel, reviewing work, or providing a quiet place to study, teachers were committed to providing additional time and assistance to their mentees' educational process.

The identified students were also given contact time and opportunities to …

An Internship In School Administration At The William Davies Middle School, Mays Landing, New Jersey, Robert Baker

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this internship was to provide the intern with an opportunity to acquire and utilize professional administrative skills necessary to become a successful school leader.

The internship at William Davies Middle school included the implementation of the PRO plan, a discipline strategy designed to reduce the amount of discipline referrals.

The PRO plan included three main elements: 1) the institution of a teacher-mentor program, 2) the utilization of the Project Success Program and 3) the development of a school discipline committee.

The results of the PRO plan included a forty-three percent reduction of discipline referrals. Additionally, there was …

A Study On Parental Involvement: Getting Parents Going, Lois W. Lantz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether kindergarten and first grade parents would be more inclined to be actively involved in their children's educational endeavors if provided with workshops and training sessions that would make them more knowledgeable and comfortable in the academic setting. Specifically, the study addressed the following areas: (1) would there be an increase of parental participation in the workshop and training sessions, (2) would more parents be inclined to become active educational partners, and (3) would student achievement increase.

To investigate these areas of the study, a sample of eighty (80) parents of kindergarten …

A Report On The Internship Experience In Educational Leadership At Eastern Camden County Regional School District, Audry Cser

Theses and Dissertations

The current system of record-keeping for the various student activity accounts was assessed and revised in order to establish a more accurate and efficient accounting policy of all monies. Internal audits will be implemented in order to demonstrate a more critical accounting for all student activity accounts. In addition to monthly and year ending reconciliation statements it will be necessary at the end of each fiscal year to provide district auditors with accurate financial documents exhibiting the receipt of student monies for various activity accounts.

Prior to developing a revised accounting system for student activity accounts, current practices, procedures and …

A Feasibility Study On Block Scheduling At Egg Harbor Township High School, Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, 1997-1998, Joetta M. Surace

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this internship in Educational Administration at the Egg Harbor Township High School in Egg Harbor Township was to provide the intern with experiences which enhance the skills that are vital to achieving success as a school leader. The purpose of this study in the area of change was to conduct a feasibility study on block scheduling by involving all constituent stakeholders in the process during the 1997-98 school year. The intern researched various block scheduling plans, attended workshops on block scheduling, organized a Block Scheduling Study Committee, visited various block-scheduled schools, and made information available to constituent …

An Internship Experience In Educational Leadership In The Pitman School District, Eileen P. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to study the observation instrument and job description of an instructional aide, evaluating each for its relevancy and updating where necessary. Instructional aides and administrators were inserviced to ensure everyone's understanding of job expectations and indicators for evaluation. Classroom instruction would be enhanced by achieving uniformity in evaluation and knowing the value of the job.

All twelve instructional aides completed a survey and were interviewed, answering questions about the responsibilities of his/her job. Through this process, the intern determined the need for a revised job description and evaluation instrument. Samples of job descriptions and …

An Internship Experience To Improve The School Climate At Upper Pittsgrove School Through The Teaching Of Courteous Behaviors And Service, Susan Perna

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to provide evidence to support the statement that all students will be able to follow a basic code of courteous behaviors and participate in service learning during school to improve the climate of the school and to produce a caring community. Surveys were administered to the staff and students at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the year to assess the current school climate conditions. A daily tabulation of behavior incidents was used as a statistical comparison to last year's to determine whether the program had any effect on reducing the number of behavior …

California Early Literacy Learning As An Effective Alternative To Reading Recovery For School-Wide Literacy Instruction, Jeanette Lynn Campbell

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Measuring Resiliency In Adolescence: The Press Scale Of Resiliency, Robert Gerald Lachausse

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Professional And Organizational Development Network In Higher Education: Mission Statement

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Conference Materials

No abstract provided.

23rd Annual Conference Program

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Conference Materials

Welcome, by Kay Herr Gillespie (President, POD Network), G. Roger Sell (Conference Coordinator), Joyce Weinsheimer (Program Chairperson)

1998-99 Core Committee

Executive Directors/Presidents

Acknowledgments

Conference Overview

Index of presenters

POD Network Mission Statement

Session Cancellations

Announcements

Call For Proposals

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Conference Materials

Contents: 1998 POD Call for Proposals

Collaborations, Connections, and Community

Session Format Options At-a-Glance

Proposal Cover Sheet

"Blind Review" Proposal Form

POD and Its Support for Faculty Development, Instructional Development, and Organizational Development

Registration Information

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Conference Materials

Mission Statement

Invitation, by Kay Herr Gillespie (President), G. Roger Sell (Conference Coordinator), Joyce Weinsheimer (Program Chairperson)

Preliminary Conference Schedule

Keynote Address: Margaret J. Wheatley, Bringing Life to Our Work

A Sample of Concurrent Sessions Planned for the 1998 POD Conference

Information on Advance Book Sessions at Conference

Plenary Sessions

Pre-Conference Workshops

Educational Expeditions

Snowbird Room Reservation Information

Cliff Lodge Snowbird Reservations

1998 POD Conference Registration Form

POD Network Institutional Membership List

Additional Important Information

1997-1998 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

1997-1998 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

Editorial Matter 1998

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Ordering Information

Permission to Copy

Instructions to Contributors for the 1999 Volume

Reviewers for the 1998 Volume

Mission Statement

Membership, Conference, and Programs Information

Contents

Foreword, by Matthew Kaplan

Introduction, by Matthew Kaplan

About POD

Planning Multicultural Audits In Higher Education, Mark A. Chesler

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Colleges and universities are struggling with issues of diversity and multiculturalism-in classrooms, social interactions, staff relations, admissions and hiring processes, and overall campus climate. As part of organizational change efforts, many institutions are calling on faculty development offices to help plan, staff, and implement cultural audits or assessments. This article suggests tested procedures for designing and carrying out such audits, with examples of specific data-gathering techniques (and in some cases evidence) from various institutions. Cultural audits will be most successful, accurate, and useful when these procedures are considered carefully and built into the audit design at the beginning.

The Role Of Educational Developers In Institutional Change: From The Basement Office To The Front Office, Nancy Van Note Chism

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Educational developers can play a crucial role in helping colleges and universities respond to change. Among the roles they can play are researcher, assessment resource, friendly critic, messenger, translator, and coach. To perform these roles, developers need certain characteristics and special knowledge bases as well as enabling conditions within their environment. The current state of higher education may be calling for a paradigm shift in educational development as well.

Section Iii: Fostering Organizational Change And Development

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

No abstract provided.

University Studies 1994-1997: A Progress Report, Portland State University. General Education Working Group

University Studies Assessment Research

Broadly reports on the state of implementing University Studies, reviewing consequences for the University, faculty, and students.

An Interdisciplinary Research Project For The Middle School Study Skills Curriculum, Colleen M. Kinney

All Graduate Projects

An integrated curriculum correlating endangered species with the disciplines of life science, math, language arts, geography, and study skills, for seventh grade students at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Yakima, Washington, was developed. A literature review supports the premise that integrated units enable students to make connections between the concepts taught in school and the real world. The literature review also indicated the need for schools to teach study skills to better prepare students for the future.

Creating Community Through Art: Two Research Project Reviews, Seymour Simmons Iii

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

Against a background of contemporary social problems and concerns, this article considers the role of the arts in creating community. It begins with a synopsis of Ellen Dissanayake’s anthropological perspective on the importance of the arts in human evolution, human development, and premodern societies. It then considers current approaches to community-building through the arts based on two recent research projects done by Harvard Project Zero and its affiliates. One project, the Lincoln Center Institute Arts-in-Education Survey Study, reviewed twenty-two arts-in-education programs including community art centers, cultural centers, arts-infusion schools, and state and local arts councils. The other, Project Co-Arts, involved …

A Study To Assess The United States Navy's Explosive Ordinance Disposal Mobile Unit Two Emergency Medical Technician Program, James P. Halstead

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Contributing goals are: 1. Determine if a difference in national curriculum standards has changed the scope of emergency medical training approved by certified EOD personnel; 2. Determine if a difference in national curriculum standards has changed the standard of emergency medical training approved by certified EOD personnel; 3. Identify the training strengths/weaknesses in the current EOD/EMT Program; 4. If any weaknesses are found, recommend for consideration a course of action for medical command personnel.

The Role And Impact Of Leaders' Mental Models In Effecting Planned Transformational Change, Stephen C. Rathmill

Educational Studies Dissertations

Presidents and CEOs play a critical role in leading their organizations through planned transformational change (PTC) and generally, do not do it very well. This may, in part, be a result of leaders not closely examining and challenging their thinking about PTC and their role in leading it. Leaders' mental models determine what and how they think about their organizations, employees, transformational change and what their leadership means and how their mental models determine their actions and behaviors in planning and implementing PTC. By examining and challenging their mental models, leaders may gain insights into alternative ways of leading and …

Does Technology Reform Education?, Connie Courbat

Graduate Research Papers

School reform initiatives have been part of public school change for some time. In the past two decades, this author has participated in implementing several educational changes within a public school classroom. Some of these changes have involved learning new teaching strategies, integrating technology into the curriculum, implementing new concepts such as whole language, and participating in workshops to learn about "new" educational topics.

Often these change efforts were embraced by educators as new and innovative ways to help students learn. However, many of these changes were tried and discarded because no ongoing effort was made to incorporate them systematically …

Impacts Of Shared Decision-Making., Dorothy Thomas Riley

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Leadership Attitudes And Job Satisfaction In Physical Therapy Clinical Education, Elizabeth Anne Weekley Thompson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

The need for examination of leadership and job satisfaction in physical therapy clinical education created the following research problem: is there a relationship between leadership attitudes, age, race, sex, entry level degree, highest educational degree, cumulative years of patient care and clinical teaching, cumulative years as an Academic or Center Coordinator, cumulative years of clinical practice, and job satisfaction for the Academic and Center Coordinators of Clinical Education? The Leadership Opinion Questionnaire, Index of Job Satisfaction, and demographic data sheets were mailed to the Academic Coordinators of Clinical Education at all accredited physical therapy academic programs in the United States, …

A Case Study Of One Iowa Public School Superintendent's Evaluation Process, Gail Vanous Moon

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to identify and describe one Iowa public school district's superintendent performance evaluation process. This study explored the perceptions of one superintendent and one school board of directors in regard to the purposes, criteria, sources of information, and general effectiveness of their superintendent performance evaluation process.

The study was conducted in an urban K-12 public school district in northeastern Iowa. Factors considered in the selection of the school district included: size, location, demographics, as well as the willingness of the participants ta have their voices heard through the researcher. Also, the district was …

The Effect Of Managers' Clarification Of Business Linkage Of Training On Trainees' Transfer Of Training, Elizabeth J. Benanzer

Dissertations

This study investigated the hypotheses that if managers were engaged in specific activities aimed at increasing their understanding of the linkage of employee training to business goals, then they would in turn create a more positive transfer environment, resulting in greater transfer of training received by their employees. Some managers of trainees participated in a workshop in which they used an “impact mapping” procedure to clearly explain the relationship between training of their employees and strategic goals of the business; another group of managers did not receive this impact mapping training. Then, all managers’ employees participated in a supervisory training …