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Improving The Behavior Of Primary School Students With Involvement From Students, Staff, And Families, Judith Spieth Justice

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide better behavior from primary-aged (grades kindergarten through grade 3) school students. Primary aged students were exhibiting disruptive behavior, and this research delved into the evidence, causes, and solutions for disruptive behavior. Disruptive behavior interrupted the learning environment and threatened the physical and emotional safety of the school. Students who behaved inappropriately often perceived themselves as "troublemakers" and established a pattern early in school years. Because it is easier to eliminate problem behaviors before they become a pattern, the writer sought to break the cycle of disruptive behavior in primary ages.

The writer developed …

Developing A Support-Based Program To Decrease The Complaints Of Racial Profiling In The Miami-Dade Police Department, Richard E. Holton

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to focus on the problem that African American citizens are complaining about being stopped and detained unnecessarily by police officers and treated unfairly for no apparent reason in Miami-Dade County. National police organizations, special interest groups, and local citizens have defined this action as Racial Profiling or Driving While Black (DWB). The Miami-Dade County Commission adopted a resolution prohibiting racial profiling; however this problem continues to exist. Minorities have argued in town hall meetings and filed complaints, indicating that the criminal justice system has been insensitive to what appears to be a system that supports …

Development Of A Comprehensive Mathematics Anxiety Intervention Program For Missouri Southern State College With A Plan For Implementation And Evaluation, Laura Schooler Adkins

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to develop a comprehensive mathematics anxiety intervention program for the preservice elementary education teachers at Missouri Southern State College (MSSC). The problem addressed was the need at MSSC for a mathematics anxiety intervention program to help hundreds of students experience increased academic and career success as a direct outcome of the intervention program.

The purpose of the project was to develop a comprehensive intervention program to prevent, reduce, or eliminate mathematics anxiety among the preservice elementary education teachers at MSSC. Three research questions provided the focus for the study: (1) How can mathematics anxiety be …

Improving The Reading And Writing Skills Of Retained Eighth Grade Students, Beverley Mckenzie

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to assist eighth grade students who were retained in improving their Reading and Writing skills. These students failed school courses and did not meet the required standards for promotion to high school. The students were previously in large classes with other low-achieving students, were not given individualized attention, were not exposed to the use of technologies, were not given adequate support services, and were not taught by experienced teachers.

The writer designed an after-school program to assist the students with Reading and Writing skills. An experienced Language Arts teacher was asked to work with the …

Meeting The Psychological Needs Of School-Aged Native Students In An Extreme Geographic Region, Deborah Diette Wilson

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to meet the psychological needs of a unique Native population through a continuum of services and the utilization of technological platforms. The host community has experienced significant historical events including the exclusion in full participation education and the provision of educational curricula by individuals lacking the cultural competency base to provide appropriate educational experiences sensitive to Native learning styles. Psychological services were dictated by Federal and State mandates and consisted solely of educational and ability testing for the purpose of special education eligibility determination. As a result, school-aged Native students experienced significant social and emotional …

Development Of A Service-Learning Program For Scottsdale Community College, Carolyn O’Connor

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to develop a service-learning program for Scottsdale Community College (SCC) which is one of only two Maricopa Colleges that do not have a service-learning program.

Five research questions were addressed in this dissertation. Development and evaluation problem-solving methodologies were employed throughout this study. Both quantitative and qualitative research designs were used to guide the data collection, using a service learning questionnaire, faculty and agency surveys, interviews, and two case studies.

The research revealed that several factors must be in place prior to implementation in order to insure the success of the program. 1) Service-learning must …

An Intervention To Remediate Motivational Shortcomings Caused By Childhood Maltreatment, Glade Eggett

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

By using a program called the WhyTry Program (C. Moore, 2001), the researcher was able to change some motivation-related behaviors caused, in part, by parent maltreatment. The study took place in a school in the east Los Angeles area. Motivation was a key factor studied.

The applied dissertation utilized the theory of multiple intelligences (H. Gardener, 1987) in a counseling setting. The writer used the WhyTry Program to create a meaning modality of communication using the visual analogies, music, and interpersonal activities. Students increased positive behaviors. The study was conducted on students who were identified as being physically, sexually, or …

The Effect Of Humor On Test Anxiety And Performance In Distance Learning Students, John Briggs

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of the study was to find if humor in testing alleviates test anxiety in distance learning students. The study determined if students given a test with humor had better performance than students given a “normal” test. The study included two groups of students: an experimental group that had humor inserted into the tests and a control group that had a normal test. The humor was “content irrelevant humor”, humor not related to the subject tested. Classes that teach at a distance were used in this study. The study measured the anxiety levels of students preceding the test, the …

Middle School Students Are Engaging In School Violence, Andrean Oliver

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem addressed in this dissertation was middle school students’ engagement in school violence. The goal was to decrease middle school students’ engagement in school violence. For the purpose of this study, school violence was operationally defined as bullying, disruptive behavior problems in the classroom, harassment, and teasing. Evidence of the problem within the school environment included results from the school’s discipline referral listing, teacher rating scales, and student’s self-report of personality. The pr-test and posttest results for this study were concluded with the use of the Behavior Assessment System for Children teacher rating scale and student self-report of personality. …

The Impact Of Reading Recovery Teachers On Reading Achievement Of Small Groups, Bridget G. Marcin-Parsons

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The intervention described in this applied dissertation was designed as an alternative to retention for students in a small rural community who were reading below grade level. The focus of the study was to assess whether instruction given by Reading Recovery teachers to small groups of struggling second and third graders, delivered in long segments over a short period of time, was more effective than that delivered for shorter segments over a longer period of time. Two Reading Recovery teachers team-taught groups of 6-7 students to provide intensive reading instruction virtually all day for 7 weeks. Treatment groups were compared …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of The Waterford Early Reading Program In A Rural School District, Dennis L. Bruno

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation study determines the effectiveness of the Waterford Early Reading Program and reviews the data collected using a control and experimental group. The data were collected from a pre- and posttest using the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test. Other tests given included the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test, 2000 and the Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test.

The study concluded that a measurable difference was indicated in the fall. Although the control group made a larger gain between the fall and spring, the experimental group’s average percentile rank in the fall was the same as the control group’s rank in the …

The Design And Implementation Of A Program To Improve Third-Grade Students’ Mathematics Scores, Mary C. Stuart-Fernandez

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

At Mater Academy Charter School, 35% of the 3rd-grade students scored below grade level on the mathematics portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in the 2001-2002 school year. The FCAT is given to all public school students in the state of Florida to assess achievement levels based on the standards set by the state. This applied dissertation focused on finding strategies that would increase mathematics achievement for these students.

Based on test score data, a program was designed to improve achievement in mathematics. According to M. Cain-Caston (1996) and R. Althouse (1994), the use of manipulatives helps students …

Increasing Parental Involvement Through The Use Of Homeroom Parent Support Groups, Shirley Ann Ewing

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation investigated the extent of parental involvement at the Daniel Boone Elementary School. Parents were visible on campus during the school day and at special performances featuring children, but according to the teachers, they were not actively involved in a manner that affects their children’s academic performance or success in school. Increasing parental involvement was not a priority at Boone School, as indicated in the 1999-2000 School Improvement Plan.

Therefore, a Homeroom Parent Support Group (HPSG) program was implemented to increase parental involvement in an elementary school setting. Parents and their third grade students were members of the …

Discovering, Supporting, And Advancing Gifted Education Students, Victoria Barkwell

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to increase the numbers of gifted students being identified and served in an elementary school setting. The numbers of students being served in the school’s Gifted Student Program (GSP) had declined steadily from 58 students in 1995 to 21 students in 2001. Factors that contributed to declining enrollment were: (a) a majority (68%) of faculty members had never referred students to the program; (b) referrals were not representative of the demographic profile of the school; (c) the majority of teachers (94%) had not participated in any in-service training to help them recognize gifted characteristics; and …

Attachment Theory And The Secondary Student: Notes To Teachers, George H. Biggs

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide knowledge of attachment theory to secondary teachers in middle schools and high schools. Teachers were working with students who were displaying behaviors caused by student disruptive attachment to a primary caregiver. However, the teachers, not aware of attachment theory, misinterpreted the reason for the disruptive class behavior and associated the behavior with the behaviors of students diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

The writer developed a series of monthly workshops that middle school teachers attended. The workshops focused on the following topics: attachment theory, children’s multiple foster placements, and the effects of multiple …

Alcohol And Other Drug Abuse Counselors’ Attitudes And Resources For Integrating Research And Practice, Todd Campbell, Lynn A. Catlin, Timothy P. Melchert

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

The state of Wisconsin recently launched a Research-to-Practice Initiative. One aspect of the Wisconsin initiative was to survey Wisconsin-Certified Alcohol and other Drug Abuse Counselors (CADCs) to assess their attitudes, reported practices, and resources in regard to the integration of research and practice. The sample for the present study included 366 CADCs. Of the 366 respondents, 62 percent (n = 226) were female and 38 percent (n = 140) were male. The respondents were primarily Caucasian (90 percent) with the remaining respondents identifying as African American (4 percent), Native American (2 percent), Hispanic (1 percent), and Asian American …

Scratching Protest: A Study Of Graffiti As Communication In Universities In Thailand, Sirach Lapyai

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examines the production of campus graffiti as an alternative communication channel and opportunity for Thai students in three universities in three different parts in Thailand. The writing of graffiti is deemed an illegal activity in Thailand, which makes its prevalence on the Thai university campus an intriguing issue. To understand why Thai university students so readily indulge in an illegal activity this thesis investigates student graffiti through an analysis of graffiti as anonymous resistance from students to authoritarian power exercised on campus and as an escape from sociocultural taboos and cultural oppressions that Thai society places on youth …

Strategies For Effective Virtual Education Delivery In Thailand, Nalinee Thongprasert

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

An increasing number of Thai universities arc using information and communication technologies to support virtual education delivery (VED). The main purpose of this study was to examine the strategies used by Thai universities to adopt the concept of ''virtual education delivery" as an education tool. The study attempted to determine the critical factors that influence success in implementing Thai VEDs, and identified the ways to facilitate such adoption. These factors were synthesised with Thai environmental and cultural factors to develop a strategic framework which can be used to assist universities in Thailand to achieve more effective implementation of VEDs. The …

The Intergenerational Transmission Of Violence? : The Self-Report Of Physical Abuse In Childhood Among Violent And Non-Violent Offenders, John Dockerill

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examined the parental disciplinary history of male offenders to explore the relationship between report of childhood physical abuse and subsequent violent offending, based on the concept of intergenerational transmission of violence. The study also examined the relationship between reports of childhood physical abuse and juvenile delinquency together with an examination of the links between physical abuse and anger. Finally, this study explored the relationship between witnessing aggression to other family members and the motivation for subsequent violent offending (hostile motivated versus instrumentally motivated). Social learning theory provided the theoretical basis for this research. The underlying premise is that …

An Ethnographic Investigation Of The Relevance Of Shop Floor Culture To Effective Safety Communication In An Australian Minerals Refinery, David R. Leith

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many organisations which aim to achieve excellent workplace safety choose 'culture change' as the means to achieve this. They make use of employee communication media to help re-form the values, beliefs, norms and behaviours which are generally thought to comprise culture. However, culture is a complex and profound phenomenon. Successful communication between two culturally separate groups requires each to achieve an understanding of the other, no less so in workplaces than in societies composed of different cultures.Yet even employers who believe in communicating fully with their workforces find it difficult to convey viewpoints other than their own. Their communication tends …

Good Life In The Balance: A Cross-National Study Of Dutch And Australian Disability Perspectives On Euthanasia And Physician-Assisted Suicide, Erik A. Leipoldt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This is a cross-national qualitative study with the purpose of obtaining perspectives held by people with quadriplegia and leading figures in disability movements in the Netherlands and Australia on the issues of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (EPAS). A disability voice is not prominent in public debate on EPAS in Australia or the Netherlands, even though people with disabilities are often thought to be vulnerable in relation to EPAS policies. Disability perspectives are potentially valuable in illuminating issues in relation to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, because issues of dependence, independence, and individual autonomy play important roles in relation to both EPAS …

A Comparison Between Conventional And Holistic Exercise Interventions On Physiological Function In The Elderly, Gavin R. Mccormack

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Aging is characterised by a decline in physiological function. The rate of this decline can depend on certain lifestyle factors, genetics, and the environment. Although life expectancy is slowly increasing, there is a need to reduce the time spent in debilitated, and non-independent states by elderly individuals. Preventive measures need to be implemented to reduce dependency and improve the quality of life for elderly individuals. One such preventive and remedial measure is the use of exercise and physical activity. Because limited exercise prescription exists for the elderly population, there is a need to determine the effectiveness of exercise interventions that …

Covert Violence In Nursing, Susette Bakker

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

There is no official avenue in nursing for the reporting of incidences of covert violence to staff and so they remain unrecorded and often stressful. This study sought to collect data from currently employed nurses concerning covert violence in their workplace, and to collate the information to obtain a valid assessment of this hidden problem. A qualitative methodology was used to report on the experiences of nurses in relation to covert violence directed at them by their peers, other health professionals, patients and patients' families. The participants were all registered nurses employed by a suburban health service. Each was given …

Development, Implementation And Evaluation Of An Interactive Multimedia Instructional Model : A Teaching And Learning Programming Approach, Kacha Chansilp

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study sought to explore the outcomes from the use of a dynamic interactive visualisation tool among novice programmers in an introductory computer programming course. The proposed model, Dynamic Interactive Visualisation Tool in Teaching C (DIVTIC), was designed to use multimedia and visual imagery to provide learners with a step-by-step representation of program execution in the C language as a means of enhancing their understanding of programming structures and concepts. DIVTIC was designed to support constructivist learning principles and combined collaborative and visualisation learning strategies with use of the Internet and the World Wide Web to support the learning of …

Measuring Academic Motivation To Achieve For High School Students Using A Rasch Measurement Model, Joseph Njeru Njiru

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many models have been offered on students' motivation to achieve academically. However, most studies on motivation of students to achieve academically are called into question because they do not use an interval level scale, based on a good theoretical model, where attitude items are connected to behaviour items, even though motivation is defined as linked to behaviour. On the other hand, many researchers do not use qualitative methodologies as a preferred method to validate and triangulate data obtained from the questionnaire so as to add scope and breadth to the study. Most researchers have only used either qualitative or quantitative …

Reading Comprehension, And Attitude And Behaviour, Of Students Taught Esl By Cooperative Learning In Prathom (Grade)6 Classrooms In Thailand, Sutaporn Chayarathee

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A system-wide educational change has been implemented in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Thailand. One major aspect of the change was the requirement for all students from grade I onwards to study English as a second language (ESL). The change requires new methods of teaching and learning, such as cooperative learning, to be introduced in Thai ESL classrooms. This study aims to determine if cooperative learning improves English reading comprehension, and attitude and behaviour to learning ESL, compared to a Thai communicative methodology. The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 involved creating a linear scale of English …

Delayed Discharges From An Adult Intensive Care Unit (Icu), Teresa Williams

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Introduction - Maximising efficient and effective use of resources without compromising quality of care is essential in the current healthcare climate. Intensive care unit services are one of the most resource intensive and therefore expensive services within a hospital. Because intensive care unit services comprise a significant portion of hospital costs and resources, appropriate utilisation of intensive care units is imperative. The occurrence of delayed discharges and the reason for the delays is important as they impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of intensive care unit services. Patients who no longer need intensive care unit care block beds for impending …

The Service Delivery Process : An Examination Of How Consumers Evaluate Technology-Assisted Service Encounters In The Retail Banking Industry, Catherine W. Munene

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examined consumers' perceptions post-adoption of technology and how these perceptions affect their levels of dis/satisfaction and their continued use of technology·assisted service encounters. To this end, this study investigated the criteria that consumers in Western Australia's retail banking industry are likely to use when evaluating banking transactions involving EFTPOS, ATM, telephone, and Online banking modes. II examined whether these criteria changed with the mode of electronic banking in use and whether the significance of the criteria changed with

consumers' demographic characteristics. In addition, this study explored whether consumers who use these modes of electronic banking experience the paradoxes …

Reviving The Roman Republic; Remembering The Good Old Cause, Rob Atkinson

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Painting By Numbers: "And, Um, Let's Have A Black Lawyer Sit At Our Table", J. Cunyon Gordon

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.