Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Early Screening On Preschool Children Attending Camden City Head Start, Beverly M. Clement

Theses and Dissertations

Extensive published research supports comprehensive preschool programs for children and their families, especially for "At Risk" populations often found within inner cities. Programs such as Head Start prepare children for school entrance, provide them with a caring and nurturing environment and empower families with the skills and resources necessary for successful living. The Camden County Council On Economic Opportunity (CCCOEO, Inc.), grantee for the Camden County, New Jersey Head Start Program, provides comprehensive services for "At Risk" preschool children, ages three to five.

Starting in September 1998 to March 1999, sixty-seven preschoolers attending various CCCOEO Head Start Centers were given …

Transition Services For Students With Severe Disabilities, Valerie A. Gardner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine transition services that schools provide students with severe disabilities and their parents prior and beyond the students' high school graduation. The researcher hypothesized that local educational agencies provide an adequate curriculum and instruction for transition from school to adult life, but once the students graduate, the funds and services diminish, therefore providing inadequate service to support transition planning. The research involved informal interviews and surveys with public and private schools and the parents of students with severe disabilities. A total of nine public and private schools, and four parents who had a …

Retesting Parent Training: Does Parental Training Increase Parents' Self-Concept, Ronald G. Stockwell

Theses and Dissertations

Similar to studies by Gordon and others, the purpose of this study was to retest and reinvestigate whether parent training increased the self-esteem of participants. Two groups (sample (n = 15) and control (n = 10)) were pre- and posttested (at 10 and 9 weeks respectively), using the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale: 2. Both groups showed high educational achievement and were Caucasian/White; the sample was 13 women, 2 men, while the control was 9 men and 1 woman; and, most reported above average incomes. The scores were analyzed using a repeated measures t test and non-parametric analysis, which did not find …

Content Validity And Inter-Rater Reliability Of A Hopi Child Abuse Risk Assessment Instrument., Ron Andrew Reid

Theses and Dissertations

Child abuse within the Hopi tribe is a major social problem that affects the mental health and well being of this Native American Indian community. Since 1985, many states have used risk assessment instruments to estimate the potential risk of child abuse. The present study evaluated a risk assessment instrument developed through combining items gathered from these different instruments for use with the Hopi.In this study, three raters used an instrument developed by the primary investigator (Reid, 1995) for review of records at the Hopi tribe's social service program. The files selected for review contained court substantiated evidence of reported …

The Effects Of Parental Values On The Prosocial Behaviors Of Preschoolers In A Private Vs. District-Funded Preschool, Janet Baratta

Theses and Dissertations

Earlier studies have shown that parental modeling and communication of values are significant factors in promoting prosocial behavior in young children. The current study was conducted to determine whether a relationship existed between preschoolers' prosocial behaviors and the importance their parents attributed to such behaviors. The prosocial behaviors of twenty preschoolers from a private preschool were compared to the behaviors of twenty preschoolers from a public, district-funded preschool. The preschool teachers from both schools rated the prosocial behaviors of the children based on how often they observed each child engaging in various behaviors. The parents rated how valuable they believed …

An Internship Experience In Educational Administration At Haddon Heights Junior-Senior High School, 1997-1998, Ruthmarie Schopfer Weinberg

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this internship was to provide the candidate with an opportunity to acquire competencies and skills which are essential to an effective administrator of a secondary school.

The internship focused on the project: Alternate Methods for At-Risk Students Who Disrupt the Educational Environment. The areas addressed in this study were: (1) The purpose and setting of the study, (2) Review of the literature, (3) The design of the study, (4) Presentation of the research findings, (5) Conclusions, implications, and further study, and (6) The need for alternative methods re: Scared Straight – Haddon Heights Style, In-School Suspension, Out-of-School …

A Study Of The Viability Of African American Adoption Recruitment Videotapes As A Promotional Tool For The One Church, One Child Of Pennsylvania, Incorporated Recruitment Campaign, Renee B. Gettys

Theses and Dissertations

Recognizing the enormous number of African American children in foster care in Pennsylvania, members of the Pennsylvania African American clergy, led by Reverend William B. Moore and the Honorable John F. White, Jr., Secretary of Public Welfare met with Governor Robert Casey in 1987.

This successful meeting resulted in the development of the One Church, One Child of Pennsylvania, Incorporated in 1987. The program is a branch of the national One Church, One Child organization, founded by Father George Clements in Chicago, 1970.

One Church, One Child of PA, Inc. is a non profit corporation in partnership with the Department …

Family Preservation Services: Aftercare Services That Help Families Maintain Success, Mary S. Perez

Theses and Dissertations

This research reports placement outcomes at 6 months post intervention for a sample of sixty families enrolled in a family preservation program. Families with at least one child who is "at imminent risk" of being placed in the community participated in the family preservation program. During the intervention, families were introduced to several skills(communication and discipline skills) that would enable them to diffuse any crises that may arise due to parent/child conflict. After the families successfully completed the intervention, forty were referred to either another in-home based counseling program or outpatient therapy. Twenty families received no aftercare services. Follow-ups were …

Parent Involvement In Head Start: Parent And Professional Perspectives On Parents Roles, Soo-Yin Lim

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Comorbidity Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder And Educational Classification Among In-Patient Populations Of Children And Adolescents, Holly Berezow-Ricker

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an ex post facto study of an in-patient population of 39 adolescents between the ages of twelve and eighteen at a New Jersey State Psychiatric Hospital for Adolescents and 74 pre-adolescents and adolescents between the ages of seven and fifteen at a Private Residential School in New Jersey. Of this population of N=113, n=48 were determined to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with an incidence rate of 42.5%. Significant co-morbidity of ADHD and Depression, Conduct Disorder/Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Psychotic Disorders, and Learning Disabilities were found. The incidence of co-morbidity of ADHD and Educational Classification was found …

Attachment, Social Support, And Violence In Adolescent Delinquents, James R. Craft

Theses and Dissertations

Attachment relationships between children and their primary caretakers have been hypothesized to contribute to internal working models of subsequent relationships with others. Poor attachment might lead to internal working models which devalue later relationships, making the perpetration of violence against others more likely. One focus of this study was to propose a model which combined parental bonding, adolescent attachment, and perceived family support to predict the severity of violence used against others by adolescent delinquents. A second focus was to test the proposed model in predicting the total number of violent offenses committed by adolescent delinquents. One hundred and forty-five …

Retention Of Foster Parents Providing Care To Adolescents In North Dakota, Jodi L. Tescher

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder In Preschool Children, Susan M. Offutt

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Perceptions About Strategies And Processes Necessary In Minnesota To Integrate Systems To Increase Services To Children And Families, Harold King Larson

Theses and Dissertations

This Minnesota study was intended to obtain, describe, and analyze legislator, state commissioner, and local service providing agency director perceptions of the change strategies and processes which might permit integrated delivery systems and services to increase and improve services to children and families. The specific research questions asked were (1) How do the policymakers and stakeholders perceive the issues which led to the 1990 legislative initiative in Minnesota? (2) Are there consensual perceptions among the policymakers regarding these issues? (3) What are the policymaker and stakeholder perceptions regarding the efficacy of certain (a) change strategies and (b) change processes? Are …