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Career And Family: A Qualitative Study Of Working Mothers, Barbara Crummer Lincoln Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the lives of working mothers. The dramatic increase of mothers in the workforce in the past 40 years has led to an increasingly common lifestyle: women filling the roles of mother and professional concurrently. This dissertation used the personal narrative qualitative methodology to examine the lives of working mothers. Ten female graduates of the University of San Diego's Law School (JD), Business School (MBA) and Educational Administration Programs were interviewed by the researcher. These women have been in the workplace for an extended period of time, are currently raising at least one …

A Comparative Study Of Leadership Characteristics Of Principals In Charter Schools And Traditional Schools, Roger M. Mestinsek Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the similarities and differences in preferred leadership qualities among a random sample of principals of traditional elementary schools in California, traditional elementary schools in Alberta, Canada, and selected charter schools in the United States. The intent of the research was to identify the preferred leadership practices of each study group to determine and report significant differences and similarities. Seventy-five principals were randomly selected, 25 from each of the three study groups, to complete the survey. Forty-two principals (56%) returned surveys. Of the surveys returned, 40 were usable for the study. The theoretical …

The Church As A Social Support For Women: Perspectives Of Female Members Of Selected Seventh-Day Adventist Churches, Norma Greenidge

Dissertations

Problem. The subject of social support and its role in health and well-being ofindividuals has become an important topic to many researchers. This study was designed to discover to what extent female members of Seventh-day Adventist churches perceive their church as providing them with social support.

Method. The instrument used was the Social Provision Scale which measures six aspects of social support--attachment, guidance, nurture, reliable alliance, social integration, and worth. Scores from the 99 White and 48 African American women were compared for each of the six aspects on the basis of ethnicity, age, and marital status using Analysis …

An Assessment Of Home And Classroom Literacy Environments And The Emergent Literacy Development Of Kindergarten Students In Two Southwestern Michigan School Districts, Magdalene Tobias

Dissertations

Problem. In some school districts, low literacy proficiency is a problem of tremendous proportion. Assessing whether a solid foundation is being laid is more important than focusing our efforts at remediation in the later years. This study aimed at investigating the illiteracy problem at the "root" level. The purpose of the study was to determine the characteristics of the home and classroom literacy environments and the development of print, writing, and story concepts of kindergartners in two selected school districts. It also explored whether there was a difference in the performance of students from morning, afternoon, alternate whole-day, and …

The Relationships Between Student Diligence, Student Support Systems, Other Related Variables And Student Academic Outcomes In High Schools In Grenada, Christon Arthur

Dissertations

Problem. The Ministry of Education on the Caribbean Island of Grenada has been seeking to find ways to improve students' academic performance. The Ministry's emphasis has been on finding ways to make students more responsible for their education and at the same time trying to examine the level of educator support and parental support students receive. This emphasis on the level of educator and parental support that students receive was due in part to the findings of Hinds et al. (1999) that students in the Eastern Caribbean rate the support from parents and educators as being very important to …

An Insider's Perspective: The Dropout Challenge For Canada's First Nations, Patricia Ann Makokis Edd

Dissertations

This modified case study honors the voices of 21 Cree participants, including nine students, six parents, four community leaders and two Elders. This study, written from an insider's perspective, identified more than 50 reasons why First Nations students dropped out of three provincial high schools located in northern Alberta, Canada. The results were collapsed into several categories that can best be generalized as resulting from the effects of colonization. Canada's First Nations have a long history of oppression, colonization, and the resultant soul wounds. The four participant groups collectively identified five common themes why students dropped out of provincial high …

The Current Structure Of Intellect Remediation Lab As An Intervention For Deficient Readers In Grades 3, 4, And 5, Donna Turner Campbell

Dissertations

Problem. Educational testing procedures focus on identification and classification of students rather than on remediation for their abilities. The Structure of Intellect (SOI) model proposes a multidimensional view of intelligence with a focus on remediation for underdeveloped or nonexistent abilities as they relate to school achievement.

Purpose. The purposes of this study were to determine if participation in the SOI remediation lab had a measurable effect on reading achievement with third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students, and to describe SOI learning profiles of students with below grade reading skills.

Methodology. The subjects for this quasi-experimental study were third-, fourth-, and …

The Role Of Faith In God In Administrative Decision-Making: A Descriptive Multiple Case Study Of Three African-American Christian Women Administrators Of American Higher Education, Nancy Ann Link

Dissertations

Problem. Faith in God is a phenomenon that is difficult to define. Yet, it can be seen as an attitude of complete trust in God. As Proctor (1995) stated, faith in God is believing that there is a purpose and a power (called God) available to each of us, giving us an "inexhaustible source of evergreen inspiration" (p. xvii). Therefore, this study focused on how faith in God impacted administrative decision-making practices of three African-American Christian women administrators of higher education.

Method. To achieve the purpose of this study, the literature was reviewed to identify existing theories. This descriptive …

Educational Brain Research As Compared With E.G. White's Counsels To Educators, Linda Bryant Caviness

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study was threefold: to review current, education-relevant brain research; to review the educational writings of Ellen G. White for major emerging themes/principles; and to compare these findings for similarities and differences.

Method and Results. Using an inductive process, the synthesis and comparison revealed 15 themes from brain research and 12 principles from White's writings from the middle 1800s and early 1900s.

Comparison of the two lists revealed alignment on eight themes/principles, nonalignment on three themes/principles, and partial-alignment on seven themes/principles.

Aligned themes/principles included: body and mind function as one; exercise and movement are vital …

An Assessment Of The Perceived Administrative Effectiveness Of Boarding School Principals In The North American Division Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Malcolm E. Hutchinson Jr.

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the views held by those whose duties include the management and day-to-day operations of the secondary boarding schools within the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This refers specifically to superintendents, principals, and staff members

Method. The survey method was used to gather the data. Respondents were asked to complete an 84-item questionnaire. The population sample was made up of 320 staff members, 32 principals, and 31 superintendents. The data were analyzed using mean scores, percentile rankings, and ANOVA at an alpha of p < .05.

Findings. The major findings in …

The Effects Of Prereferral Intervention Through The Connecticut Early Intervention Project On Special Education Prevalence Rates In Connecticut Schools, Marianne Eike Kirner

Dissertations

Problem. Prereferral intervention has been implemented in many schools across the country as one systemic solution to concerns about special education prevalence rates. This study analyzed change in special education prevalence rates in Connecticut schools participating in the Early Intervention Project (EIP) as compared to Connecticut schools not participating in the project. The project incorporates a building-based team using a problem-solving approach to provide prompt and sustained support to classroom teachers who request assistance in working with students who are at risk of referral for special education.

Method. The research design consisted of a comparison of special education prevalence change …

Religious Commitment As A Correlate Of Mental Health And Life Satisfaction Among Black American Families, Judith Bernard-Fisher

Dissertations

Problem. The salutary effect of religion is receiving greater acceptance among researchers, and its positive association with both physical and mental health has been increasingly examined in the scientific literature. Since religion has played a central role in the lives of Blacks, and since previous research has identified positive correlations between some religious attributes and individual well-being, it would seem that religious Black families would enjoy a greater degree of health.

A religious commitment model encompassing affiliation, participation, devotional intensity, and practices was used in the investigation of Black families' mental health and life satisfaction. As the first study of …

A Study Of The Out-Of-Class Experiences Of Saint Mary's College Students Studying In Maynooth, Ireland, Carolyn S. Langley

Dissertations

Problem Statement. The purpose of this study is to describe the out-of-class experiences of 21 students who studied in the Saint Mary's College Ireland Program in Maynooth, Ireland, during the 1998-1999 academic year. It examines (1) how the program orientation influenced students' desire to become involved in out-of-class activities, (2) how out-of-class experiences fostered students' learning of the Irish culture, and (3) how the experiences influenced students' attitudes toward cultures other than their own.

Methodology. This study employed descriptive qualitative research. Focus groups were conducted to gather data used in developing questions for long interviews, and these long interviews …

The Role Of The Academic Physical Therapy Department Chair As Perceived By Physical Therapy Teaching Faculty And Chairs, Wayne Louis Perry

Dissertations

Problem

The purpose o f this study was to determine the roles, responsibilities, and characteristics o f the physical therapy department chair as perceived by physical therapy unit administrators and teaching faculty in accredited, entry-level physical therapy programs.

Method

The research population consisted o f current administrators and teaching faculty who work at least half time in accredited physical therapist education programs. The data were analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis, and ANOVAs with post hoc tests where appropriate.

Results

The results o f this study indicate that physical therapy unit administrators tend to be older, more experienced, carry higher …

Survey Of Nigerian University Student Affairs Services: A Comparison Of Students' Perceived Service Importance And The Students' Level Of Satisfaction, Michael Adewale Adeniyi

Dissertations

Problem. Nigerian university student-affairs serviceshave been characterized by negative campus activism, violent demonstrations, and the destruction of lives and properties, the result of which led to the closing down of many Nigerian universities. Thus far, little empirical data exist regarding the student personnel servicesavailable to students at Nigerian universities, the importance of student-affairs services, or the level of student satisfaction with these services.

Methods. A quantitative survey methodology was used to assess 35 student-affairs services. A developed and validated survey instrument, the Student ServicesQuestionnaire (SSQ), was administered to collect data from currently registered undergraduate and graduate students of …

Students' Mental Models Of Electricity In Simple Dc Circuits, Andrew C. Isola Iii

Dissertations

This study presents the results of research into middle school students' knowledge about the nature and mechanisms of action of electricity in simple DC circuits. Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders (n=99) were asked a series of questions about the roles of bulbs, batteries, wires, and electricity in circuits. Almost half the number of students (n=42) were found to have used detailed, well-defined, and logically consistent mental models based on their responses. A total of 15 different detailed mental models were documented in these students that belonged to one of four different general model types: (1) round trip flow using both …

Japanese Students' Perceived Need For Communicative English And Their Perceived Proficiency Levels, Takanori Mita

Dissertations

Japanese students of English need to develop their proficiencies not only in oral aspects but in overall practical language aspects. English programs from junior high school to college levels need to be improved in consideration of current needs of students.

This study was conducted to assess college students’ perceived need for changes in the English curricula enhancing communicative competence and to seek their perceived levels of proficiency at graduation in the four skill areas (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in relationship with students’ majors, academic experience in English-speaking countries, and lengths of such experience.

The research was conducted in Tokyo …

Symbolic Politics: Government's War Against The Working Class, Warren Charles Gregory

Dissertations

Symbolism and substance are essential parts of any political system. In our system of government, we typically think of symbolism as serving substantive ends. Using a triangulation of _methods (Participant Observation, Archival Data, and Documentary Evidence), the paper examines two cases (Social Security and criminal justice) and concludes that the mix between substance and symbolism has changed dramatically in recent years with symbolism now assuming the central role.

The current debates over Social Security funding and criminal justice sanctions, for example, are less about the concerns of old-age security or making the public safer as much as they reflect a …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Temporal Requirement And Response Form On Retention, Equivalence, And Endurance, Amy Lorraine Mccarty

Dissertations

Many researchers and practitioners have reported dramatic learning gains that they attribute to the fluency procedure, often citing rate of response as a critical feature. Others have been unsuccessful at demonstrating these claims empirically. A variety of differences between methods and procedures that may account for the different outcomes are discussed in this paper. In particular is the difference in outcomes when topography-based as opposed to selection-based responses were targeted for training. Fluency practitioners, and the researchers who have obtained similar positive outcomes, have for the most part used topography-based forms of response during the drill and practice sessions, or …

Comparing Outcome Of Residential And Intensive Outpatient Treatment Services For Substance Dependence, Shawn E. Channell

Dissertations

The past 20 years have witnessed a significant increase in the number of published studies comparing inpatient with outpatient substance dependence treatment The majority of these studies have reported no benefit for those recipients receiving more intensive treatment However, the outpatient treatment investigated in these studies has typically been day treatment often involving 27 hours a week of participation, and not intensive outpatient treatment (IOP), which involves 12 or fewer hours of participation per week. Additionally, few published studies have compared alcohol and cocaine dependent populations. This study was designed to compare effectiveness of the residential and intensive outpatient levels …

Diagnostic Issues With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Conditional Probabilities And A Measure Of Symptom Ratings, Margo Adams Larsen

Dissertations

Current assessment taxonomy, including the DSM -IV and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) (World Health Organization, 1990) editions, have provided semistructured criteria sets to aid professionals in making a diagnosis of ADHD or ADD. The diagnostic taxonomy criteria, however, have resulted in a very heterogeneous population of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disordered (ADHD) individuals. Several studies have attempted to assess the behavioral syndromes— Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)/Conduct Disorder (CD)/ Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)—in terms of test or symptom sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, and negative predictive power (Landau, Milich, & Widiger, 1991; Milich, Widiger, & Landau, 1987; Waldman & …

Cognitive Components Of Social Anxiety: A Comparison Of Elderly And Young Adults, Jeffrey Alan Mcneil

Dissertations

The present study investigated the underlying cognitive elements of social anxiety in elderly and young adult samples. The young adult participants in this study were 99 undergraduate students from a Midwestern university, recruited through scheduled undergraduate classes from both the Communication and Education Departments. Fifty elderly participants from two independent living senior residence centers were recruited through organizational meetings and contacts coordinated through the housing director or the wellness director. One senior residential center was located in the Midwest, while the other was in the Southeast. The study employed well recognized self-report cognitive measures to assess social anxiety: the Fear …

The Relationship Between Multicultural Counseling Competencies And Attitudes Toward African Americans Among White Female Graduate Students, Dianne T. Robinson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between multicultural counseling competencies and attitudes toward African Americans among White female graduate students in counseling psychology. Participants were 67 White female students enrolled in either the master’s or doctoral level counseling psychology programs in a large Midwestern university. Subjects were administered four instruments. Participants’ self-perceived competencies in multicultural counseling were measured by the Multicultural Counseling Inventory (MCI, Sodowsky, Taffe, Gutkin, & Wise, 1994) and racial attitudes were measured by the Attitudes Toward Blacks Scale (ATB, Brigham, 1993). Demographic information as well as subjects’ level of participation in several activities …

Majority And Minority Supervisees' Perceptions Of Clinical Supervision, Vivian Barnette

Dissertations

Perceptions of clinical supervision of 175 majority and minority counseling psychology doctoral students selected from a national pool was the study’s focal point. Instruments used were the Revised Relational Inventory (RRI; Barrett- Lennard, 1962; Schacht, Howe, & Berman, 1988) and the Supervision Perception Form-Trainee (SPF-T) developed by Heppner and Roehlke (1984). Participants were instructed to based their ratings on their last supervision experience. Data were collected and scored on the five subscales o f the RRI (Congruence, Empathetic Understanding, Regard, Unconditionality, and Willingness to be Known) and the two subscales of the SPF-T (Willingness to Learn and Supervisory Impact).

A …

The Validity Of The Adhd Section Of The Diagnostic Interview Schedule For Children, Ann M. Mcgrath

Dissertations

The purpose o f this study was to learn more about the validity o f the ADHD portion of the NIMH-DISCIV. In order to accomplish this goal, 58 youth participants were divided into three groups: (1) subjects who met criteria for ADHD based upon both the youth and the caretaker versions of the DISC; (2) subjects who met criteria for ADHD based upon the caretaker DISC, but not according to the youth DISC; and (3) subjects who did not meet criteria for ADHD according to either the youth or the caretaker DISC. Subjects in these groups were compared across parent …

A Comparison Of International And U.S. Students In Apa-Accredited Programs: Acculturation, Counseling Self-Efficacy And Role Difficulties In Supervision, Johanna E. Nilsson

Dissertations

There has been a call in the multicultural supervision literature to enhance the understanding of minority students’ unique training needs and develop appropriate theories and models of training for these students (Leong & Wagner, 1994; McNeill, Horn, & Perez, 1995). Although a few researchers have empirically examined differences between U.S. majority and minority students in multicultural supervision (Cook & Helms, 1988; Vander Kolk, 1974), virtually no empirical studies have been published on international students’ training experiences.

The main purpose of the present study was to advance knowledge regarding the training needs of international students in APA-accredited programs in psychology. It …

Evaluating The Effects Of Postive Peer Reporting On Social Acceptance, Mary Short

Dissertations

The effects of a positive peer reporting procedure on social status and social interactions were assessed. Children who are socially rejected seem to be disliked by their peers due to their high frequency of negative behaviors and low frequency of positive behaviors. Therefore, to decrease the negative behaviors and increase the positive behaviors, rejected children were asked to make positive comments about their peers. Participants included 4 children, ages 10-15 years. A multiple baseline across subjects design was utilized. Collection of baseline data began immediately following the confirmation of consent and eligibility for the child to participate. Initial baseline data …

Perceptions Of The Division Of Labor Roles In Dual-Career Households Of Married African American Couples, Karolyn H. Thompson

Dissertations

Perceptions and experiences among married African American couples residing in the Southeastern United States were examined in terms of the performance of tasks and childcare giving in dual-career households. A qualitative approach was used in this study and was guided by conceptual frameworks of cultural variations that include behaviors, attitudes, values, and beliefs. In-depth interviews conducted in the couples’ homes were used for data collection. The research population included 15 married African American couples affiliated with a Greek fraternal organization located in the Southeast. The couples were selected using purposeful sampling.

Participant perceptions of the division of labor roles in …

Another Person's Skin: Imagining Race In The Works Of Crane, Dunbar, Cather And Stevens, Lisa M. Durose

Dissertations

This study is interested in the motivations behind certain authors' attempts to, in the words of Willa Cather, "enter into another person's skin"~in the desires compelling writers to cross, transgress, or perhaps transcend those barriers that have historically divided people in the world: barriers of color, class, and gender. In particular it seeks to examine the works of four early twentieth century writers who undertake what these days is considered risky: transracial and transethnic crossings. By relying on biographical, cultural, and historical sources, I explore the strategies American writers Stephen Crane (1871-1900), Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872- 1906), Willa Cather (1873-1947), …

Coping Strategy And Social Support Differences Among Copd Patients: Effects On Psychological Well Being, Functional Status, And Health Care Utilization, Terri Belville-Robertson

Dissertations

This descriptive study examined coping strategies and social support among thirty-three patients with moderate to severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to assess relationships to psychological and functional status, and health care utilization. More specifically, the qualitative and quantitative differences in coping strategies and social support were examined in relation to anxiety, depression, activity level, and use of emergency and inpatient medical services. Subjects participated in a one-session screening that included a brief clinical interview, battery of questionnaires and exercise tolerance test. Health care utilization data were obtained from subjects’ medical records. Subjects' primary support persons also provided collateral data …