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Determinants Of Academic Achievement And Intention To Complete The Program Among Pga Golf Management Students, Brian James Soule

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Students enrolled in PGA Golf Management programs at five public universities were surveyed to determine what contributed to their academic achievement, i.e., grades, and their intention to successfully complete their academic program. The Eccles expectancy-value model of activity behaviors was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The results of regression analyses indicated that the students' perceptions that their parents and peers believed that they could successfully complete their degree requirements, as well as their own self-efficacy beliefs, predicted their academic achievement, but not their intention to complete the program. The results of regression analyses indicated also that the …

Teacher Candidates' Attitudes Toward Immigration And Teaching Learners Of English As A Second Language, Midena M. Sas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While in theory, democratic ideals promise the equal participation of all its citizens in the decisions that affect them, in practice some populations, i.e., those who do not possess membership to the dominant cultural group, often miss out on the privileges a democratic society is supposed to ensure. Critical theorists pointed out that "democracies like ours exhort equal opportunity but often ignore ways in which our schools operate unconsciously and unknowingly to guarantee that there will be no real equality" (McLaren, 2007, p. 176). In the education arena, inequitable treatment has received significant attention, perhaps due to the glaring repercussions …

Postconventional Morality, Maria Rosario De Guzman

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

postconventional morality
n. In Kohlberg's theory of moral development, this is the third and highest level of reasoning, characterized by a reliance on autonomous moral principles. Two stages compose this level of moral reasoning. In stage 5, social contract orientation, individuals base their moral judgments on the degree to which actions promote commonly agreed upon laws and rules. Unlike in earlier stages, rules are not obeyed simply to avoid punishment (stage 1) or to obey authority for authority's sake blindly (stage 4), but because they represent social contracts agreed upon by the larger society and are based on principles …

Preconventional Morality, Maria Rosario T. De Guzman

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

preconventional morality
n. In Kohlberg's theory of moral development, this is the first and lowest level of reasoning, characterized by egocentric concerns and a focus on concrete consequences of actions. Two stages compose this level of moral reasoning. In stage 1, obedience/ punishment orientation, children base their moral judgments on avoidance of physical punishment and unquestioning obedience to authority figures, particularly because of their ability to mete out physical punishment. In stage 2, individualism and exchange, also called instrumental relativism, children begin to understand that people hold multiple perspectives but judge morality of actions in terms of the practical …

Conventional Morality, Maria Rosario De Guzman

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

conventional morality
n. In Kohlberg's theory of moral development, this is the second level of moral reasoning, characterized by an awareness and focus on societal laws, norms, and rules. Two stages comprise this level of moral reasoning. In stage 3, good-boy-good-girl orientation, individuals judge behaviors on the basis of how closely actions conform to accepted norms of behavior, and what is considered appropriate or is approved of by others. In stage 4, authority orientation, individuals judge actions on the basis of their adherence to authority and rules, and insofar as they main- tain the social order or fulfill obligations. …

A Survey Of Community College Faculty, Their Teaching Methodologies, And Congruence With Student Learning Needs, Susan J. Campbell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

National movements for greater quality in education have increased concerns about student learning and the effectiveness of teaching for the community college. Faculty are responsible for student learning, yet criticized for using ineffective teaching methods despite limited data on community college teaching practices. The purpose of this study was to gain a descriptive understanding of current teaching practices in three community colleges. This single-phase study used a concurrent mixed-method exploratory research design. A purposeful sample of 185 community college faculty across three colleges in the southwestern United States were surveyed about what methods they use, how they perceive their teaching …

A Mixed Methods Study Of Secondary Distance-Learning Students: Exploring Learning Styles, Jennifer M. Roberts

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public education in the United States has experienced an increase in distance-learning (DL) opportunities. Because research has focused on student achievement in post-secondary DL programs, little is known about secondary students' experiences. The purpose of the current study was to explore DL applicability within secondary education. Specific research questions addressed by the concurrent mixed methods nested study included examining students' opinions and experiences in a secondary DL course and determining whether individual learning styles were addressed. Structured interviews, group discussions, and a survey were used to gather data over 2 months from 14 students in grades 9 through 12 participating …

Mandated Differentiated Instruction Effectiveness Examined, Kathlyn Joan Graham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educational institutions are implementing curriculum mandates without data to support the benefits of the mandates to students. The purpose of this concurrent, mixed-method study, which utilizes quasi-experimental and case study approaches, was to address the effectiveness of mandated differentiated instruction in a suburban high school. This study investigated the significant differences in achievement before and after the implementation of differentiation as well as differences in achievement between a school that mandated the use of differentiation and one that did not. The study also investigated strategies used to implement differentiation and student and teacher attitudes toward it. For ninth grade literature …

An Examination Of Cooperative Learning Models And Achievement In Middle And Secondary Level Social Studies, Jeffrey R. Niemi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of understanding of different cooperative learning methods and their effects on student achievement in middle and secondary level social studies education. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare two different cooperative learning models in terms of their effects on student achievement in middle level social studies classes. The research question addressed in this study involved understanding the nature of the relationships between different cooperative learning models, gender, ability level and achievement in social studies students. The two cooperative learning models compared were the structured dyad model, which was effective in studies on reading achievement, …

The Effects Of Art Education On Self -Efficacy In Middle School Students, Ellen P. Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have theorized that student achievement and its contingent effects on self-efficacy are important factors in art education. There is, however, a paucity of research addressing this relationship, which in turn affects students' and educators' levels of success. Accordingly, this study was an investigation of the relationship between art education and self-efficacy in middle school students and tested the constructivist theory, as embodied in Bandera's theories on the foundations of self-efficacy beliefs. This pretest-posttest control-group true experimental design tested the relationship between the independent variable, art education and the dependent variable, self-efficacy in middle school students. The instrument, Patterns of …

The Effect Of Faculty Performance Measurement Systems On Student Retention, Timothy Woods

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Institutions of higher learning have been tracking student course-drop rates as a measure of student success along with faculty performance data. However, there is a lack of understanding as to how faculty performance data influences drop rates. The purpose of this study was to determine whether faculty knowledge of performance data creates a difference in drop rates. This study combined theories of performance measurement, decision support, self-determination theory (SDT), and personal decision making (PDM) as a conceptual foundation that linked faculty knowledge to student success. The specific research question addressed if data can be used to assist faculty efforts in …

High-Stakes Testing And Teacher Burnout In Public High School Teachers, Gail Tucker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Demands associated with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 contribute to the risk of teacher burnout; however, the relationship between teacher burnout and specific teaching assignments is unclear. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate if burnout is greater for high-stakes subject area public high school teachers than for low-stakes subject area public high school teachers and to ascertain teachers' perceptions about difficulties associated with teaching a high-stakes subject area. The job demands-resources model and the multidimensional model of burnout provided the theoretical framework. The concurrent mixed methods design included quantitative tests of differences in burnout …

Social Interest And Self -Efficacy Levels Among High School Volunteer Mentors And Their Non -Mentor Peers: A Comparison Study, Courtney Brewer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined social interest, social self-efficacy, and general self-efficacy levels of high school volunteer mentors and their nonmentor peers. School-based peer mentoring has become a popular method for providing support services to students. While several studies examining mentee outcomes appeared in the past decade, less research has examined characteristics of the high school mentors involved. The choice of variables was grounded in Bandura's Social Learning Theory and Adler's Individual Psychology. Thirty-seven mentors and 32 nonmentors from a suburban New York high school completed the Social Interest Scale and the Self-efficacy Scale. Mentor volunteers scored significantly higher in social self-efficacy …

Exploring The Factors That Influence Attitudes And Achievement When Students Take Computerized Tests, Jessie E. Kilgore Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Currently, a problem exists in K-12 education related to the use of technology for the assessment of student learning. Specifically, due to the lack of access to and infrequent use of computers for middle school students, the rise in the use of high stakes computer-based tests may negatively impact student test scores in poor, urban schools. The conceptual framework of this study was informed by Albert Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, the work of The National Center for Fair and Open Testing regarding ending the misuses and flaws of standardized testing, and James Popham's research on quality assessment. The central research …

Personality Traits, Self -Efficacy Of Job Performance, And Susceptibility To Stress As Predictors Of Academic Performance Of Nurse Education Programs, Nancy Wilson-Soga

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States is experiencing a shortage of registered nurses, and institutions of higher education are unable to graduate enough prepared nurses to reduce this employment shortage. A significant relationship between personality traits and academic performance has been found; however, how personality traits combine with students' self-efficacy of job performance and stress susceptibility to impact nursing students' academic performance has yet to be demonstrated. This study, grounded in the five-factor model (FFM) of personality traits, self-efficacy, and stress theories, sought to determine whether self-assessments of the NEO-Five Factor Inventory, the Nursing Practice Self-Efficacy survey, and the Susceptibility Under Stress Survey …

Social Construction Of Knowledge In A Semiformal, Long -Term Learning Environment: A Qualitative Study, Alycia Harris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social learning plays a critical role in cognitive apprenticeship, community of practice, and knowledge production theories. Gunawardena's interaction analysis model, which provides a means of evaluating discourse for social construction of knowledge, is comprised of five phases: (a) sharing and comparing, (b) disagreement, (c) negotiation and co-construction of new knowledge, (d) testing of knew knowledge, and (e) use or phrasing of new knowledge. There is a paucity of research that has empirically explored social construction of knowledge, especially in an extended semiformal asynchronous graduate learning experience. This study explored two research questions: whether social construction of knowledge took place, and …

The Impact Of A First -Year Learning Community On Student Persistence: Perceptions Of Community College Students, David Gerkin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This descriptive case study explored the perceptions of former community college first year learning community participants on aspects of their learning community experience that affected their persistence in college using Astin's student involvement theory and Tinto's student persistence model as a conceptual framework. Learning communities have been shown to increase student persistence, but little is known about how they do so. A better understanding of how learning communities contribute to increased student persistence would improve learning community practice and gain administrative support for learning communities. This study used a mixed methods research design utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative …

Cognitive Preference And Ethnic Identity Among Anglo And Native American High School Students, Chad Martin Novak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Office of Educational Research and Improvement: A Project of the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research, graduation rates for Native Americans from both secondary and post secondary institutions are dismally low at 58% and 7%, respectively. Some research addresses cognitive preference and other ethnic identity, but research animating the cognitive preference---ethnic identity interplay for high school students is absent. These limitations in access to educational opportunities lead to abbreviated quality life experiences and a restriction in individual efficacy and collective agency. The following project assessed ethnic identity using Phinney's Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure and cognitive preference using …

Andragogy: Does One Size Fit All? A Study To Determine The Applicability Of Andragogical Principles To Adult Learners Of All Ages, Wendy Conaway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to Knowles's theory of andragogy, the principles of adult learning are the need to know, self-directedness, the role of experience, intrinsic motivation, and readiness to learn. Whereas references in the andragogical literature have assumed that the principles uniformly apply to adults of all ages, differences between adult age groups may influence the effectiveness of the principles on adult learning. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate which adult age group was most accepting of the principles so that more effective teaching may occur. Three adult age groups, emerging adults (18-25), young adults (26-39), and mature adults (40-59) …

Cultural Competence: Developing And Assessing Multicultural Proficiency For Teachers And School Personnel In Hawaii, Caryl H. Hitchcock, Mary Anne Prater, Chuan Chang

Faculty Publications

Teachers were recruited from the mainland of the United States to work in rural areas in the State of Hawaii to meet the high demand for personnel. But often there is a mismatch between the culture of the island residents and that of the new teachers. To alleviate this mismatch, a workshop was developed to promote multicultural proficiency of school personnel focusing on Asian/Pacific cultures. One hundred teachers, administrators and staff (including custodians and cafeteria workers) from four rural elementary schools participated in a three hour workshop. The workshop consisted of three activities: (a) self-awareness, (b) awareness of Asian/Pacific Island …

The Principal's Role In Teacher Retention, Sametra Danyal Chisolm

Dissertations

As efforts are made to identify factors contributing to teachers leaving or staying in the teaching profession, teacher retention continues to pose a challenge for school administrators. Factors such as principal behaviors, principal leadership, school climate/teacher morale, professional development opportunities, and teacher mentoring programs seem to positively impact teachers' decisions to remain in the profession.

The purpose of this study was to gather data to determine whether principal behaviors, principal leadership, school climate/teacher morale, professional development opportunities, and teacher mentoring programs affect teacher retention. A questionnaire, adapted from the Mecklenburg Citizens for Public Education (formally Charlotte Advocates for Education) research …

The Perceptions Of Superintendents Regarding The Need For Graduate Business Classes In Educational Leadership, Howard Leland Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the comprehensiveness of educational leadership programs regarding the extent of appropriate business knowledge attained by public school administrators. Portions of the study included a discussion of current licensing practices, academic governance, basic business requirements for leadership and management, and basic financial literacy. A further purpose was to measure the perception of how the inclusion of specific business-oriented graduate education in the certification process might increase the initial success of administrators.

The literature review supported the concept that superintendents understand change management and fiscal responsibility. Survey respondents supported these concepts by indicating the …

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Michelle Mouton, Mamie Peers, Shane Bevell

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Students’ Attitudes, Motivation And Anxiety Towards English Language Learning, Meenaz Shams Hashwani

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Motivational factors and experiences have the potential to influence students’ attitudes and anxiety levels towards English language learning. Recognizing the importance and multi-dimensional complexities of motivational attitudes and anxiety, this mini-research study attempts to investigate gender wise students’ attitudes, motivation and anxiety towards the learning of English as a second language in the multilingual context of Karachi, Pakistan. The study adapts a survey questionnaire from Gardner’s ‘Attitude Motivation Test Battery,’ to explore attitudes (English language and learning), motivations (intrinsic and extrinsic) and classroom anxiety of grade 8th students in a private secondary school. The survey findings of 77 students (40 …

Assessing Podcasting As A Learning Methodology For Digital Natives And Digital Immigrants In The Corporate Learning Environment, Niccole Byrd Chandler

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher examined employee perceptions of pod casting through the use of the Technology Acceptance Model and how those perceptions influenced corporate decision making for the selection of podcasting technologies. The stratified random sample was divided into two groups: digital natives (N = 127) and digital immigrants (N = 128). Both groups consisted of employees that work within learning environments at one of three service-oriented organizations within the United States. The groups answered the survey-based test to determine their perceptions of ease of use and usefulness toward podcasting in a corporate training environment. Results revealed a statistically significant difference between …

Ncaa Division I Head Softball Coaches' Confidence, Openness And Stigma Tolerance Toward Sport Psychology Consultants, Laurie Ann Neelis

Dissertations

This study used a mixed-method to look at NCAA division I head softball coaches confidence, openness, and stigma tolerance about sport psychology principles and consultants, as well as what sport psychology principles, time of year used, and what a Sport Psychology Consultant (SPC) can do to help division I head softball coaches have more success with their teams. These variables were measured through the use of the Sport Psychology Attitudes - Revised Coaches instrument developed by Zakrajsek and Zizzi (2007). For the qualitative component, the researcher developed five inquiries that allowed for a more in-depth response from the coaches concerning …

The State Of Balance Between Procedural Knowledge And Conceptual Understanding In Mathematics Teacher Education, Damon L. Bahr, Michael J. Bossé

Faculty Publications

The NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics calls for a balance between conceptual understanding and procedural knowledge. This study reports the results of a survey distributed to AMTE members in order to discover the opinions and practices of mathematics teacher educators regarding this balance. The authors conclude that there is wide disparity of views regarding the meaning of the terms "conceptual" and "procedural" as well as the meaning "balance" between the two, in terms of what constitutes mathematics, the learning and teaching of mathematics, and the assessment of mathematical proficiency.

A Pilot Study Of The Feasibility And Efficacy Of The Strategies To Enhance Positive Parenting (Stepp) Program For Single Mothers Of Children With Adhd, Anil Chacko, Brian T. Wymbs, Lizette M. Flammer-Rivera, William E. Pelham, Kathryn S. Walker, Fran W. Arnold, Hema Visweswaraiah, Michelle Swanger-Gagne, Erin L. Girio, Lauma L. Pirvics, Laura Herbst

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Objective: The Strategies to Enhance Positive Parenting (STEPP) program was developed to address putative factors related to poor engagement in and outcomes following traditional behavioral parent training (BPT) for single mothers of children diagnosed with ADHD.
Method: Twelve single mothers of children with ADHD were enrolled in an initial investigation of the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the 9-week STEPP program.
Results: Results indicated that the STEPP program was effective in reducing problematic child behavior and improving parental stress and psychopathology at posttreatment. The STEPP program resulted in high rates of treatment attendance and completion and consumer satisfaction with the …

Perceptions Of Home Notes: Parental Involvement In Teaching Social Skills, Ryan H. Shatzer, Sue A. Womack, Paul Caldarella, Michael Adams

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the use of a Home Note program as a way to involve parents in teaching and reinforcing social skills as a universal level positive behavior support intervention, and to examine stakeholder perceptions of a Home Note program.

Civility In Schools: An Emerging Paradigm For Behavioral Problems And School Violence, Keely Wilkins, Paul Caldarella, K. Richard Young

Faculty Publications

What is Civility? Modern: courtesy, politeness, consideration, decorum (Hinckley, 2000; Peck, 2002, Ferriss, 2002). Historical: ability to work as a citizen, a sense of membership in a community with its attendant rights and responsibilities (Shulman & Carey, 1984; Boyd, 2006).