Digital Commons Network^™

Individual Differences In First And Fourth Year College Women’S Short Term Mating Strategy Preferences And Perceptions, T. Joel Wade, Maggie Cohen

Faculty Journal Articles

Using survey methodology, a cross sectional study was undertaken to ascertain whether first and fourth year college women have different perceptions and behavior associated with short term mating preferences. It was hypothesized that after incurring significant negative or costly experiences associated with hooking up, fourth year women would prefer men who had qualities associated with a desired long term partner as opposed to characteristics associated with short term mating partners. The results were partially consistent with the hypothesis. Reported preferences in a desired partner and perspective on hooking up differ between first and fourth year groups. No difference was found …

Sex Differences In Hookup Behavior: A Replication And Examination Of Parent-Child Relationship Quality, T. Joel Wade

Faculty Journal Articles

In the current research, we assessed the impact of parent-child relationships on attitudes toward, and engagement in, hookup behaviors using a sample of 407 college students. Based on prior research, it was hypothesized that heterosexual participants, especially women, who do not perceive themselves as having a strong, close, positive relationship with their opposite-sex parent would be more likely to engage in or attempt to engage in casual sexual behavior (hookups). Also, men were expected to be more satisfied with, and more in agreement with, hookup behavior than women. The results were partially consistent with the hypotheses. Men were more satisfied …

Boston_Sound_Center, Michael Frase

Architecture Theses and Projects

This thesis questions the connection between what we hear and what we see with regards to spatial conception. The purpose is to discover the importance of sound in spatial representation and to understand the implications of sound based design.

Microinsurance: A Case Study Of The Indian Rainfall Index Insurance Market, Xavier Giné, Lev Menand, Robert W. Townsend, James Vickery

Faculty Scholarship

Efforts have been made in India and other countries in recent years to develop formal insurance markets to improve diversification of weather-related income shocks. This article aims to survey the features of one of these markets, the Indian rainfall index insurance market. “Index insurance” refers to a contract whose payouts are linked to a publicly observable index; in this case, the index is cumulative rainfall recorded on a local rain gauge during different phases of the monsoon season. This form of insurance is now available at a retail level in many parts of India, although these markets are still in …

Kant And A Problem Of Motivation, David Jensen

Faculty Publications

In The Moral Problem, Michael Smith argues that there is an on-going tension in discussions among moral philosophers between the putative objectivity of morality, the practicality of moral judgments, and Hume’s view of motivation.¹ From an agent’s point of view, putatively objective claims imply cognitivism, the view that moral judgments express beliefs about the way the world is morally.² But if moral judgments are practical and on Hume’s view of motivation dependent on the desires of an agent, then from a moral standpoint, we risk making claims that the agent cannot be motivated to act upon.³ In …

Can Professional Development Improve Teachers’ Perceptions About Inclusive Teaching In An Inner City School, Solomon Homidas

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation examined the question of whether professional development can improve teachers’ perceptions of inclusive teaching in an inner city school. The study drew upon survey methods to collect measurements of teachers' perceptions about inclusive teaching before and after professional development sessions. The hypothesis was that exposure to professional development would give teachers an improved impression of inclusive teaching, which in turn could make them more committed to the inclusive teaching paradigm. If the hypothesis was correct, the study would show that professional development should be considered an important component of developing teachers who work in inclusive settings, especially …

The Effect Of Principal Leadership On New Teacher Retention Rates, James A. Avila

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide increased knowledge of the effect of principal leadership on new teacher retention. When compared to other mobility rates, the new teacher attrition rate is higher; new teachers leave the school systems at faster rates than they can be replaced (Darling-Hammond & Sykes, 2003; Ingersoll & Smith, 2003; “NEA Study,” 2005; “Support new teachers and keep them teaching,” 2005; Watkins, 2005). The failure to retain new teachers often results in fewer quality teachers and poorer levels of instruction (Brown & Wynn, 2009). This study speculates that principal leadership, specifically instructional leadership, directly affects new …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Student Life Skills Courses In The Social And Academic Integration Of Community College Students, Lourdes M. Perez

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to determine if Student Life Skills (SLS) courses impact the social and academic integration of community college students. Additionally, due to the unique demographics of the student population of the research setting, this study also examined if factors such as native language, income and employment workload impact the social and/or academic integration of students enrolled in a community college.

The writer developed an instrument using the Institution Integration Scale (IIS) consisting of 30 items constructed to assess the dimensions of academic and social integration. The instrument requires respondents to indicate their involvement with faculty, staff, …

Reading Acquisition And Learning Gains In Special-Education Students Using The Adventure Island Intervention Reading Program, Wilhelmina Tanner-Early

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed (a) to address the target school’s failure to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for the 2007–2008 academic year due to its declining performance on the New York State English Language Arts Assessment (NYSELA) and (b) to investigate the impact of the Adventure Island Intervention Reading Program (AIIRP) on the reading performance of students with disabilities in Grades 3–8. Results on the NYSELA showed that special-education students had failed to meet standards for 3 consecutive years.

Participants were 70 students with disabilities, 6 special-education teachers, and 6 content-specialist teachers. Quantitative and qualitative measures consisted of (a) …

The Impact Of Involvement Of African American Parents On Students’ Achievement In A Middle School, Raquel Lopez

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide better understanding of issues related to parental involvement to school officials and scholars. The parental involvement at the school was very low and academic achievement was also low. The school leaders were requested to increase parental involvement and the School Improvement Plan specified that such increase would occur. The parents of the students were interviewed and surveyed in order to access current information as to why the participation was low. In addition, parents of high-achieving students and parents of low-achieving students were interviewed and surveyed separately in order to establish the possibility of …

An Analysis Of Kindergarten Through Grade 5 Teacher Efficacy And Character Education, Timothy J. Tierney

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This quantitative study examined teacher efficacy in implementing character education in the classroom. The construct of efficacy is paramount to successful performance. The research demonstrated that the construct of efficacy as it related to teaching character education could be the major contributing factor in the success of the district character education.

This study was conducted in an urban southern school district with a diverse population. The study examined both general teacher efficacy and personal teacher efficacy as measured by the Character Education Efficacy Belief Instrument (CEEBI). The CEEBI was distributed to 30 elementary schools and approximately 1,400 district teachers of …

Impact Of A Conflict Resolution/Peer Mediation Program On Middle School Students, Robert W. Carrillo

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide current information and research regarding a yearlong conflict resolution peer mediation program offered as a separate course in a middle school. Discipline and safety are major concerns due to the recent incidents of violence, aggression, bullying and even suicides infiltrating our schools. The need for peaceful methods of resolving conflict has become a necessity in order to keep our children safe. This study looked at the coercive nature that schools use to maintain discipline and how students can empower themselves by learning how to resolve conflicts peacefully and without the need of adult …

A Program To Improve The Reading Skills Of Eighth-Grade Students, Timothy Thurman

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The applied dissertation examined the effectiveness of Reader’s Workshop (Orehovec & Alley, 2003) on students’ reading skills on the SAT-10 state assessment and the Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR, Renaissance Learning, 2002).

The site of the applied dissertation was a school located in rural Alabama. Based on STAR tests administered in August 2008, 19 out of 48 (40%) of the 8th-grade students taking the STAR at the school that was the site of the applied dissertation scored below grade level in reading. The 8th-grade class for the 2009-2010 school year followed the same trend and produced scores …

Effects Of Participative Leadership On Teacher Job Satisfaction, Rachaniphorn Ngotngamwong

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

With the astronomical rates of teacher turnover caused mainly by teacher dissatisfaction, school administrators are currently faced with the big challenge of retaining teachers. This problem is faced worldwide, and one of the main factors of teacher dissatisfaction is the lack of their participation in school decisions. The purpose of this study was to examine if a relationship existed between participative decision-making processes and teacher job satisfaction. A quantitative cross-sectional survey research design was used to examine two research questions: 1. To what degree is the practice of participative leadership perceived by schoolteachers in private schools in Bangkok, Thailand? 2. …

Effects Of A Middle Grade Family-School Partnership Program At A Southeastern Charter School, Fayette Nick

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of a middle grade family-school partnership program at a southeastern charter school that served students in kindergarten through Grade 12. In 2009, the state charter school advisory board surveyed parents of students in kindergarten through Grade 8 and found that parental involvement decreased drastically after Grade 5. The state board advised the school to develop a plan of action to increase parental involvement in Grades 6 through 8. It was decided to implement a family-school partnership program in the middle grades. The program was guided by Lueder’s (2011) self-renewing partnership …

Critical Resiliency: A Case Study Of Latino Students’ Experiences In Advanced-Level High School Courses, Eric J. Chagala

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The achievement gap has been at the center of much educational discourse for the past 20 years, and it has become even more prevalent since the introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. References in the literature regarding the achievement gap often center on raising ethnic minority and low-socioeconomic students to the same average academic performance as White, middle-class students (Gandara, 2005). This case study went beyond that and examined the achievement gap in terms of the experiences of 1stgeneration, college-bound, and low-income Latino students in advanced-level high school courses, such as advanced placement (AP) and international …

Teaching Presence And Communication Timeliness In Asynchronous Online Courses, Erik Skramstad

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions of teaching presence and communication timeliness in asynchronous online courses using a survey research methodology. The community of inquiry model developed by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) provided the framework of the study while asking the following research questions:

1. What are student perceptions of teaching presence in asynchronous online courses?

2. What is the communication timeliness of instructors for direct feedback on students’ assignments?

3. What is the relationship between instructor communication timeliness for direct feedback on students’ assignments and student perceptions of teaching presence?

Participants were 59 anonymous …

Assessing The Effect Of Mentoring On First-Semester Associate-Degree Nursing Students, Arlene Walker-Adams

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This research study assessed the perceptions of first-semester nursing students about mentoring. The first purpose of the study was to describe the perceptions of first-semester nursing students in an associate-degree nursing program about mentoring. The second purpose was to ascertain the students‟ perceived values of mentorship as a strategy to support their learning and promote retention.

The sample population consisted of 10 first-semester nursing students who participated as mentees. The researcher utilized a qualitative methodology to assess the perceptions of first-semester nursing students. The researcher used three instruments to collect the data: focus groups, individual interviews, and a demographic questionnaire. …

Program Evaluation Of A Dropout-Prevention Academy, Kendra W. Harvin Green

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation study evaluated a dropout-prevention program in a South Carolina school district. The dropout problem was identified by school and district administrators and discussed at county board meetings among community members, faculty, and parents of children attending school in the district. A dropout-prevention program was implemented 3 years prior but, had never been evaluated.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Dropout-Prevention Academy program. The study determined how the program design matched effective dropout-prevention programs described in the literature; stakeholders’ (e.g., teachers, administrators, and parents) perceptions of the program; and any changes that occurred in student …

Effects Of Remedial Reading On The Oral Fluency Skill Of Students With Disabilities Enrolled In An Inclusive Setting, Willie B. Green

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Research showed students with poor reading skills face difficulties in general education classes. Schools are face with the challenge of meeting the needs of all students. Therefore, researchers recommended using a research-based reading intervention program to improve students’ reading achievement.

The Reading to Read intervention program was used to supplement reading benchmarks for each student. Instructions were provided and monitored by assistant teachers trained in the Reading to Read procedure. To measure the effects of the program, pretest-posttest scores were compared for 20 students in the treatment group who participate in the interventions and 20 students in the control group …

Applying Peer Modeling In Inclusion Classrooms: A Study On Educators’ Perception, Rossana I. Chiarella

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This study evaluated the effects of educators’ perception on the application of peer modeling strategies in the classrooms. Without teachers’ positive attitude towards peer modeling, it was difficult to apply these strategies effectively. Teachers’ attitudes were determined by their existing perceptions, whereas different perceptions resulted in different dispositions to act and different outcomes. The purpose was to determine how teachers in a school located in south Florida applied peer modeling, and how their perceptions over it played an important role. The researcher attempted to evaluate the importance of peer-model strategies and to demonstrate the true benefit of their proper application …

Does The Current Inclusion Program Provide Skills Needed By Students With Disabilities To Meet Standards On The Georgia High School Graduation Test?, Kathy Lynes-Jordan

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation proposal was designed to evaluate whether the current inclusion program contributed to the development of skills needed by 11th-grade students with disabilities (SWD) in meeting the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) by the time they graduated. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the present inclusion model had any impact on SWD achievement in English Language Arts (ELA). This study had 2 foci: (a) to explore affects of inclusion on special education students at the 1st administration of the GHSGT and (b) to explore the effects of inclusion on SWD passing the GHSGT by …

Process Evaluation Of The Bully Proofing Your School Program, Donna D. Wilkes

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to evaluate the Bully Proofing Your School curriculum and safe-school initiatives, at the researcher’s school site. School bullying is an international problem that can have negative social, emotional, and academic consequences in the life of a child. The writer developed a logic model, as an analytical framework, for evaluating the bullying prevention curriculum. The objective of the study was to develop a process evaluation, utilizing the model to review staff training, student behavior initiatives, survey results, and security measures.

An analysis of the data included survey results from 2003 in comparison to student survey results …

The Impact Of Social Work Services On Students With Disabilities, Bridgette D. Webster Wade

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This study assessed the impact of social work services on middle school students with disabilities at a selected district in Louisiana. Students with disabilities who received multiple office discipline referrals and suspensions were referred for social work services assessment. Many had a mental health diagnosis. The majority of infractions were disrespect to authority, willful disobedience, class or school disruption, fighting, dangerous substance, and profanity. The goal of the study was to determine whether social workers adhered to the district’s benchmarks of quality guidelines during the assessment and intervention processes and to ascertain whether there was a decrease in office discipline …

Effects Of An Extended-School-Year Summer Program On The Language-Arts Achievement Of At-Risk Students, Jeffery S. Zito

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of the study was to improve the reading and writing skills of underperforming students in Grades 3 through 5 at an elementary school located in the northeastern United States. Proficient literacy skills are essential for future academic success (National Early Literacy Panel, 2009). Because acquiring literacy skills is a prerequisite to the attainment of all other academic skills, learning to read is considered a necessary foundational ability by researchers (Krezmien & Mulcahy, 2008; Lo, Wang, & Haskell, 2009; Murphy, 2004). The problem addressed in this study was that, in the 2004-2005 to 2006-2007 school years, a mean of …

Analysis Of The Retention Level Of A Foreign Language Among High School Students After Graduation, Obed Barrientos

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to measure student retention levels of the Spanish that they learned during high school. The researcher compared the scores of participants who took Spanish in college to the scores of participants who did not attend college. In addition, the purpose of the study was to (a) see if motivation had an impact on retention, (b) see if high school grade point average correlated with retention, and (c) investigate specific topics of the curriculum that former students remembered the most. The researcher tested former students who graduated from high school between 2002 and 2011.

Students completed …

Developing A Recognition Program To Boost Teaching Faculty Morale At A University In Belize, Bernard Kelvin Watler

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This study investigated the level of morale and the nature of the current recognition program/policies at the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences (FMSS) at a major university in Belize. The main objective of the study was to answer the following research questions:

1. What is the overall level of lecturer morale at the FMSS as well as the components of morale?

2. How adequate is the current level of recognition received by lecturers for their contributions to the FMSS?

3. What is the relationship between lecturers‘ recognition and morale?

4. To what extent do lecturers believe that a comprehensive …

Preparation, Development, And Transition Of Learning-Disabled Students For Workforce Success, Donna Elizabeth Williams

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This study examined the preferences of career choice and personality topology of students with learning disabilities (SWD) in a public school setting located in the southeastern region of the United States. One purpose of the study was to increase participants’ awareness of the kind of work they are most compatible to do. Another purpose was to define the means by which participants develop, prepare for, identify, and obtain employment. The study consisted of a sample population of 50 SWD and another 50 students without learning disabilities (SWOD). The participants were given 2 self-assessments that provided awareness of personality and vocational …

Developmental Higher Education: Exploring Time Lapse As A Precursor To Mathematics Developmental Education Placement, Debra Satterfield Holley

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Developmental Higher Education: Exploring Time Lapse as a Precursor to Mathematics Developmental Education Placement: This dissertation attempts to elucidate two of the many factors that could be contributing to the high rate of students who take developmental or remedial mathematics classes. Because many possible causal factors exist, the current focus was on examining the time lapse between the student’s most recent mathematics course and taking a placement test on course placement. Mathematics instructors at a community college in Eastern North Carolina indicated that this factor appears to be significant among the students at the college based on their informal observations. …

Exploratory Study Of Preferred Learning Styles Of Maine Family Forest Owners, Kevin D. Doran

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this exploratory study was to provide natural resource educators with an understanding of Maine family forest owners’ preferred learning styles. The problem was that despite a legislative mandate to provide information and education to Maine family forest owners, students, and adults in a manner that leads to informed decisions regarding their forests, limited research existed about instructional best practices to accomplish this mandate. A major tenet of andragogy, the art and science of teaching adults, is that content geared to the specific learning needs of an individual results in more effective education. By determining preferred learning styles …