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Influences Of Leadership Theory And Change Processes During The Implementation Of A Social Skills-Violence Prevention Program, Lanetta Hammill

Theses and Dissertations

An implementation of a prosocial skills program was conducted in the Middle Township School District's K-2 Elementary #1 School, Cape May Court House, New Jersey. Three time periods of the implementation are discussed. The first time period, running from January 1994 to 1998, describes the historical events leading up to the participants desire to implement a social skills program. The second time period, running from January 1998 to December 1998 describes the period when the social skills program was discussed and piloted. During this pilot period, members became discouraged. They felt the program wasn’t giving them the results they wanted. …

A Study To Design, Investigate, Implement And Motivate Parents To Become More Involved In School Activities And In The Education Of Their Children, Bibiana A. Anyanwu-Acholonu

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to define and evaluate the strategies of motivating parents to get involved in the education of their children. The subjects were selected from Sharp School, community businesses, and organizations. The criteria for the selection of the subjects were based on the diverse population of the stakeholders and outside school community interest groups. Questionnaires were administered to parents and teachers. Responses were collected. Data was analyzed and interpreted. Semi-structural interviews were conducted and recorded. Observations were preformed. The result of the observations was recorded. All information obtained from the above were assessed and compared to …

The Affective Effects Of A Newly Created Advisory Program On Middle School Students, Jacqueline Seidman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a newly created advisory program on a population of middle school students at a Suburban middle school. Three different instruments were used to assess the subjective affective responses of thirty middle school students ages ranging from 11 to 13. These instruments were a student Quarterly Self-Report Scale, administered twice, an Advisory Assessment scale, and a formal interview.

The results reflected no difference between male and female students regarding their attitudes toward the advisory process. There was also no statistical difference between student evaluation of the advisory process over time. …

Perceptions And Experiences Of Middle School General Education Social Studies And Science Teachers With Respect To The Inclusion Of Low Reading Level Students In Their Classrooms, David Walls

Theses and Dissertations

P.L. 94-142, and subsequent laws, require that all students receive a free and appropriate public education provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE). When a child study team has determined that a child is eligible for special education services they decide which program will most benefit this child's academic progress. Numerous variables determine placement in the most appropriate and least restrictive environment, so that when a child is placed in the general education setting for content area classes it is in the best interest of that child.

This study provided documentation of the attitudes, perceptions, and concerns of general education …

The Effects Of Institutionalization On Romanian Children When Adopted Into Families In The United States, Dawn M. Roy

Theses and Dissertations

This study attempts to research the dynamic factors involved in the assessment of children placed in adoptive homes in the United States who were taken from large institutional orphanages in Romania. This paper will discuss various aspects of problems that were encountered by children who lack the stimulation, stability and love that are crucial during the early years of development. It also endeavors to provide interventions that will enable these children to progress along more developmentally appropriate guidelines.

This project utilized a single subject design. The analysis was descriptive in nature. It measured the improvement of mean utterance length. The …

What's On Page One? How Minorities Are Depicted In The National Print Press, Susan Guthrie Chang Saridakis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose was to identify how positively minority groups and non minority groups are depicted in the American print media. Fifty-two editions each of USA Today and The Wall Street Journal published during 2000 were rated for how positively and negatively minority and non-minority groups were portrayed. Two raters completed a questionnaire, identifying 1,144 newspaper stories and providing 1,626 ratings of minority and/or non-minority groups. Descriptive data and correlational results were calculated. No relationship between socioeconomic status of readership and positive presentation of group or minority/non-minority group membership and positive presentation of group were found. However, it was found that …

Public Relations Efforts To Promote New Graduate Programs, Joe Chambers

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to accumulate information relative to the various public relations practices, methods, and procedures utilized by Rowan University, a state institution of higher learning, and comparing and contrasting them with that of a private institution of higher learning. The differences and similarities between public and private institutions of higher learning were examined and a survey of Undergraduate Accounting students at Rowan was evaluated quantitatively.

Twenty-four questions were on the survey that covered the universe of undergraduate Accounting I and Accounting Il students at Rowan University during the fall semester 2000. Of these twenty-four questions, thirteen …

Using Self-Monitoring To Increase The Academic Responsibility Of Eighth Grade Mainstreamed Students, Solveig V. Jakobsen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a self-monitoring program on the academic performance of eighth grade mainstreamed learning disabled students ages 13-14. Ten subjects underwent an intervention involving private conferencing on academic responsibility and use of self-monitoring using assignment books. Data was collected on frequency of using assignment books and homework completion for pre-intervention and post-intervention. Data was analyzed for increases in use of assignment books, homework completion, and correlations between self-recorded assignments and assignment completion. The major finding of this investigation was that there was a significant increase in completing assignments on time when …

The Psychological Processing Checklist: Relationship To The Cognitive Assessment System, Shelly L. Lucas

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to test the validity of the Psychological Processing Checklist (PPC) against the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS). The participants of this study consisted of 30 first grade students, 11 girls and 19 boys whose ages ranged from 6 years 6 months to 7 years 11 months and their teachers from Monroe Township, New Jersey. Each child was evaluated with the Psychological Processing Checklist by their teacher and the Cognitive Assessment System by the researcher. The full scale raw scores, the full scale percentile ranks and the subscales of the two tests were then compared using …

The Relationship Of The Language-Based Characteristics Of A Selected Group Of Post-Secondary Esl Students To Pass Rates On The New Jersey Basic Skills Reading Test, Tina Previtera

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between selected language-based predictors of reading competence and the reading performance of a group of college-level ESL students receiving Basic Skills instruction. It appeared that a language barrier was preventing this group of students from passing their Basic Skills Reading requirement. It was hypothesized that this resulted in a lack of necessary skills for comprehending standard English. Based on theoretical perspectives obtained from a review of the literature, the language-based characteristics needed to obtain a passing score on the Basic Skills Reading are vocabulary, short-term verbal memory, and broad linguistic …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of An After-School Peer Tutoring/Homework Help Program, Karen S. Symanski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the students in the after-school peer tutoring/homework help club made greater academic gains when compared to students who did not participate in the after-school program as measured by their grade point average.

The subjects of this study were 30 fifth, sixth, and seventh grade students from a one school district in a rural southern New Jersey town. Fifteen students were enrolled in the after-school program. Fifteen students did not attend the after-school program. Grade point averages were calculated for both groups at the end of marking periods one and two. A …

The Effectiveness Of Increased Support By Special Education Teachers On The Academic Achievement Of Learning Disabled Students In Main Subject Area Inclusionary Classes At The Secondary Education Level When Compared To No In-Class Support, Kelly A. Fitzhenry

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of increased support by special education teachers on the academic achievement of learning disabled students in main subject area inclusionary classes at the secondary level when compared to no in class support. This information can help analyze the effectiveness of an inclusion program, validate successful inclusive educational policies that should be continued, and pinpoint the need for revision. Grade point average data of included learning disabled students in Core English II, Core B Math, and Introduction to Earth Science during the 94-95 academic year when no in class support was …

An Evaluation Of First Grade Children's Progress In Reading Using The Success For All Program, Alphefia L. Blount

Theses and Dissertations

This study measured the gains made by students in the Success for All program in the areas of word recognition and reading comprehension. Also, the study examined whether the variables of attendance, student behavior, homework completion and family support affected the results of those gains. The students participated in the Success for All reading program for sixteen weeks. Every eight weeks they were given an assessment to measure progress or regression in word recognition and reading comprehension. The students' reading groups were adjusted accordingly. At the end of the sixteen weeks they were administered the Jerry John's Basic Reading Inventory …

Implementing Best Practices When Modifying An Early Childhood Curriculum To Facilitate Inclusion Of Children With Disabilities, Cordalia D. Sullivan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify current best practices when modifying an early childhood curriculum to facilitate inclusion of children with disabilities. A questionnaire consisting of twenty items pertaining to the benefits and barriers to an inclusive preschool program was distributed to thirty-four educators who service preschoolers with disabilities directly or indirectly. Those surveyed strongly agreed that including young children with disabilities in typical preschool program is a viable model of service delivery. They stated that benefits outnumber the barriers in an inclusive program, that such programs can benefit children with and without disabilities, and staff training is …

A Case Study In Augmentative And Alternative Communication: Usage By An Eight Year Old Male With Developmental Apraxia Of Speech, Marie E. Maine

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of using a sophisticated electronic voice output augmentative communication device with an eight-year-old male who has been diagnosed with Developmental Apraxia of Speech. The design of this research was a case study. Data collection measured the subject's academic, language, and social status before and after implementation of the augmentative communication device. Measures included standardized and criterion-referenced tests, adaptive behavior rating scales, structured observations, anecdotal data, interviews, and review of school records. Findings indicated the subject was able to participate in several assessments during the post-treatment condition that could not be …

Effective Strategies For Managing Adhd Students In The Classroom, Merri Owen

Theses and Dissertations

With so many school-age children being identified ADHD or ADD, many teachers as well as administrators feel ill-prepared to handle these students in their classrooms. The purpose of this study was to determine procedures teachers use effectively to manage ADHD students' behavior in their classrooms. It was also used to determine if a differential relationship exists between the willingness of upper elementary teachers and lower elementary teachers to accommodate ADHD students in their classrooms.

Forty-five teachers completed a survey to determine how frequently specific strategies were used and their perception of the effectiveness of these strategies. The teachers identified how …

A Study Of The Amount Of Training That Pre-Service And In-Service Special Education Teachers Receive In The Teaching Of Reading, Virginia Egbert

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if special education teachers at the pre-service and in-service levels have received and are receiving enough training to proficiently teach reading to their students, This study attempted to reveal the level of knowledge and training that special education personnel possess in the area of teaching reading. Data was gathered through a questionnaire, and then the responses for all of the participants were analyzed and presented in graphs. The responses were classified as those from in-service teachers or pre-service teachers in order to compare the data between the two groups.

The findings for …

The Effect Of Music In Education On Self-Esteem And Academic Achievement In Students With Special Needs, Tony E. Surrency

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine and support the premise that participation in a school instrumental music program can affect a student's self-esteem and academic achievement. I will review existing literature, applicable studies, and articles to support my proposal. The sample size is composed of ten students with special needs, nine are classified learning disabled and one is classified learning disabled with autism. The measurement instrument will be a survey questionnaire. Participants will be teachers in my district. Study results indicate that most Regular Education and Special Education teachers measured agree that music education can and does affect …

Comprehensive Isotachophoresis-Capillary Electrophoresis Coupled To Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry, Christopher Ryan Bowerbank

Theses and Dissertations

Isotachophoresis (ITP) coupled to capillary zone electrophoresis (CE) in a comprehensive manner was used to separate mixture components in both insufficient and sufficient concentrations without heart-cutting or splitting. Examples of comprehensive ITP-CE involving multiple CE injections of preconcentrated ITP zones are demonstrated. In the comprehensive arrangement, all of the sample in the first dimension (ITP) is subjected to analysis in the second dimension (CE), without significant sample loss or decrease in sample detectability resulting from removal of a portion of the sample. This is especially important for analytes at low concentrations which may form a single mixed zone instead of …

The Potential For Support Of Gardner's Theory Of The Naturalist Intelligence In Selected Elementary School Library Media Centers, Traci L. Haines

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of teaching to the ability of the child is complex. Each child absorbs, analyzes and processes information differently. Howard Gardner developed a series of eight intelligences describing the variety of ways in which children learn. This study focused on the Naturalist Intelligence, an ability to recognize and discriminate different concepts in nature. A naturalist learner has strong observational skills and is good at sorting and classifying (Checkley, 1997). This evaluation compares randomly selected samples of the collections of two elementary school library media centers in order to determine whether the books in the 500s support Gardner's Theory of …

Predicting Drinking And Driving, Peter John Arsenault

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to discover the relationship between personality traits and how they can be used to predict an individual's tendency to drink and drive. Specifically, does an individual's locus of control and self-esteem influence their tendency to drink and drive. Past research has suggested that an individual with low self-esteem and an external locus of control has a greater tendency to drink and drive. 125 participants completed a questionnaire, which measured their self-esteem, locus of control and drinking and driving behavior. A cross tabulation correlation was used to find evidence of a relationship between the …

The Relationship Between Personality Type And Choice Of College Major, Melissa Pollock

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personality type and choice of college major. Twenty-six students in Psychology and thirty students in Engineering majors were used in this study to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in personality types with regard to major. The subjects were administered the Keirsey Temperament Sorter-II to determine their personality type and the Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that no relationship was found between personality type and major or type and sex. However, there was a significant relationship found between sex …

Library Services To Senior Citizens: An Experimental Study, Robin M. Megow

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to observe and evaluate the effects of the implementation of several enhancements to library service designed to benefit senior citizens in particular. This segment of the population does not seem to be utilizing the full resources of the library. Patrons' attitudes before and after these enhancements were noted and compared.

A total of sixteen senior citizens participated in a series of five classes. Classes were conducted at three branches of the Gloucester County Library System. The classes provided instruction in library skills such as online catalog searching, use of the EBSCOhost periodical database, and …

Characteristics Of Christian High School Libraries, Wayne Earl Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

For Christian high school libraries the study identified Christian aspects of their philosophy and goals, Internet use and selection policies, criteria for choosing librarians, and materials and services available. The sample was all the high school libraries with a librarian in a school with an enrollment of 300 or more students as of December, 1999. All the schools were members of the Association of Christian Schools International for the 1999-2000 school year. Four hundred thirty-three questionnaires were mailed to the high school librarians. One hundred sixty-eight usable questionnaires were returned. The study concluded that Christian high school librarians recognized Jesus …

Homeschoolers' Use Of The Atlantic County Library System, Jane-Agnes Stanwood

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the needs of homeschool educators. Public libraries can play an important role in homeschooled children's social and academic lives. The study focused on whether the needs of homeschool educators from the Atlantic County area of New Jersey were being met and what other public library services could be offered to them. The number of parents reported as homeschooling their children is growing. Larger and larger numbers of homeschoolers may be relying on the public library for some of or all of their curriculum needs. By conducting a survey of the needs of homeschool educators, public librarians may …

Integrated Thematic Instruction And The Elementary School Library Media Center, Janeen C. Yacovelli

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to: 1.) determine the readiness of the three elementary school library media centers in the Egg Harbor Township public school system for implementation of integrated thematic instruction; 2.) determine the role the school library media specialist will play once integrated thematic instruction was adopted; and 3.) present these findings for other elementary schools where the integrated thematic instruction approaches might be adopted.

The population was made up of the staff of three elementary schools in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. This produced samples of three principals, three school library media specialists and 140 teachers. …

An All-To-All Multicast Routing Protocol In A Wireless Ad-Hoc Network To Improve Channel Utilization, Zhong Hua Zhou

Theses and Dissertations

Wireless Ad-hoc network has become more and more popular. Several different multicasting schemes for this type of network have been developed. But most of them are targeting a situation where the total number of senders is much less than the total number of receivers. This thesis analyzes different wireless communication patterns in ad hoc network, the trend for wireless communication and presents a new multicast scheme. It targets an ad-hoc network where all mobile hosts act as both senders and receivers. The proposed scheme in this thesis will reduce overheads by combining data packets that are destined for the same …

Development Of A Freshman And Transfer Student Athlete Orientation Program At Rowan University, Michael D. Jefferson

Theses and Dissertations

Many college student athletes fail to attain degrees. Academically, students struggle to maintain the minimum academic requirements to remain enrolled in their college or university. The purpose of this thesis project was to determine the feasibility of developing a freshman and transfer student athlete orientation program at Rowan University. An action research design was used to collect qualitative data on student athletes regarding their attitudes and perceptions towards the development and possible implementation of an orientation program for freshman and transfer student athletes. Student athletes and university administrators supported the development of an orientation program for student athletes at Rowan …

Involvement Of The School Library Media Specialist In Critical Thinking Skills And Web Site Evaluation At The Middle School Level, Michele L. Burton

Theses and Dissertations

In the twenty-first century, the World Wide Web is being utilized more at home and in our school systems. The use of the WWW is transforming our learning institutions. Students must be information literate in order to critically evaluate the information they read on the WWW. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which School Library Media (SLM) specialists in Camden County, New Jersey were teaching middle school students the appropriate skills needed to become critical thinkers when using Web sites on the Internet, and what methods/search strategies these SLM specialists used in teaching. Questionnaires were …

Changes In Attitudes Towards Reading Using The Accelerated Reader Program, Diana A. Heil

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this experimental study was to determine if attitudes towards reading changed when the Accelerated Reader program was implemented. The study involved six classes of sixth and seventh graders in a six-week period and used a pretest/posttest design to measure changes in attitudes towards reading. A total of 128 students were given permission slips, however only 50 students returned them. These fifty participants completed a reading attitudes survey at the beginning and conclusion of the study. The participants also answered a worksheet with questions about the book that they chose to read. Finally, the students completed reading comprehension …