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Learning To Live: Values And Experience In The Life Of A Classroom, Mary Comstock

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the question, "How are the values of the people who comprise a classroom manifested there?" The results of this ethnographic study are reported in descriptive narrative and cover events which took place in a grade five classroom over a period of four and a half months.

The body of the narrative entails events in an experiential learning environment in which the teaching of content area curriculum was accompanied by numerous field trips and other hands-on activities. Moreover, lessons intended to raise the children's awareness of environment, community, ethics and values were also taught.

This study concludes that …

Breaking The Rules: Teaching And Learning Writing In The High School, Ann Bruthwell Vibert

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the development of student- and process-centered writing classrooms within the context of a traditionally structured, curriculum-centered high school. The focus of the study is on how teachers and students experience and address contradictions between assumptions implicit in writing process pedagogy and assumptions implicit in the structure and organization of the high school.

An eight-month ethnography of two high school English classrooms, the study is a descriptive narrative of the classroom and school events punctuated by the reflective comments of teachers and students in intensive and extensive interviews. The classrooms are "placed" within the school, the teachers within …

A Comparison Study Of Two Alternative Education Programs On Selected School-Related Attitudes, Rebecca Ann Albiston

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study examined two alternative education programs designed to encourage at-risk students to remain in school. The purpose was to identify the ability of each program to change the school-related attitudes and orientations that may contribute to the student's dropping out of school (school and teacher bonding, academic self-concept, perception of opportunity, self-esteem); In addition to the five dependent variables measured, the number of credits earned as well as the holding power of the program, were examined and compared between the two groups as indication of educational engagement. The study was conducted as a comparison between the two programs and …

The Effects Of An Eight-Hour Continuing Education Course On The Death Anxiety Levels Of Registered Nurses, Susanne Fife Wilkey

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the effects of a death and dying course on the death anxiety levels of registered nurses; The primary prevention mode of intervention of the Neuman Systems Model and Bandura's belief-oriented approach of the social learning theory provided the framework for this study. Templer's Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) was administered prior to the program (pre-test), immediately following the program (post-test I), and six weeks after the completion of the program (post-test II); Recommendations for further study include: replication with a larger sample group and random sampling, development of a tool which accurately …

Nevada Nurses Attitudes Toward Mandatory Continuing Education, Darlene G Woodruff

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

There is ongoing conceptual controversy between mandatory and voluntary continuing education (CE) for relicensure of nurses. This controversy was studied by Arneson in 1979 and 1981, but not reported until 1985. This present research is a replication of Arneson's studies. The study addresses nurses' attitudes concerning mandatory CE (MCE) and examines relationships between professional, personal, and demographic factors that affect these attitudes; The study population was nurses registered in the state of Nevada. A sample of 600 nurses was chosen using a stratified random selection method from a list of all Nevada nurses. The data were collected via mailed questionnaires. …

The Limits Of Linear Modes Of Inquiry Into Naturalistic World-Views: A Case Study Of Cherokee Culture, Karen L. Sorensen, Charles G. Wieder

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

We begin with the cultural-anthropological assumption that a people’s world-view is based in concepts of time and process, and is reflected in the ceremonies, customs, rituals, and other traditional patterns of social conduct within the society. In a case study of the Native American Cherokee, linear modes of inquiry, characteristic of Western science, are shown to be limited in their capacity to examine and appreciate these dimensions of culture in pre-literate societies. It is suggested that those aspects of our own culture which are grounded in aesthetic value may also be relatively inaccessible for the same reason. By examining meanings …

How Massive Are The Mass Media? Implications For Communications Education And Research, Melvin L. Defleur

Syracuse Scholar (1979-1991)

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Factors Contributing To Achieving And Sustaining School Effectiveness In Elementary Schools, Janet A. Hageman Chrispeels Edd

Dissertations

An effective school is one in which there are overall high levels of achievement sustained over time and in which students from the lower socioeconomic (SES) subgroups are performing at levels comparable to higher SES groups. Through a case study methodology, the author analyzed the degree of effectiveness in eight elementary schools and factors that contributed to attaining this level of effectiveness. Over a five year period, data were collected at each school through interviews, effective schools surveys, CAP test results, and other school records. The effectiveness of each school was determined by applying three criteria that evaluated the overall …

Claremont Teachers College Alumni Association : 10th Anniversary, 1980-1990, Alumni Association

Research outputs pre 2011

On the 9th June 1990, the Claremont Teachers College Alumni Association completed its first 10 years. From a fairly humble beginning the Association has continued to grow until it now has in excess of 250 members.

These first ten years have been most traumatic for the Claremont College. In 1982 the College lost its identity as a separate autonomous institution when it was amalgamated to become one of the campuses of the West Australian College of Advanced Education. In 1989 the campus closed its doors on its last teacher education graduates and ceased its role as a teacher education institution. …

Gender Equity : Retrospect And Prospect, With Recommendations For The School Of Education: Part 3, Lesley Patricia Newhouse

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Gender Equity : Retrospect And Prospect, With Recommendations For The School Of Education: Part 2: A Curriculum For Girls, Lesley P. Newhouse

Research outputs pre 2011

Curriculum awakeners:

Definitive statements· by Newsom, 1948; Cooper, 1968; Green 1976; Sutherland 1981; and Parker & Offer 1989, have had a profound influence on the orientation of Part 2 of my report on the "Curriculum for Girls" in Australia over the past twenty two years.

John Newsom, (1948) A quotation which made a deep impression on me was that of Newsom:

"and so the great work goes on, wrote John Newsom of British girls' grammar schools in 1948, " ... and we produce little parrots, who can tell you the Main Clauses in the Treaty of Utrecht or give you …

An Exploration Of The "Paradoxical" View Of Coupling Structure And School Effectiveness., Connie Stokes Logan

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to utilize the organizational perspective of coupling to extend our understanding of effective schools as complex social systems. Part One of the study focused on the continued development and refinement of the Organizational Coupling Structure Inventory-Teacher Form (OCSI-T) to measure coupling structure in schools (Logan & Ellett, 1989). Part Two of the study focused on the examination of key research questions that bear on understanding the coupling construct and school effectiveness. The findings from Part One of the study support the OCSI-T as a reasonably valid and reliable inventory for measuring five dimensions of …

Theoretical Orientations Of Chapter I Reading Teachers: Consistency Between Beliefs And Practices., Mary Margaret Mitchell

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the consistency between Chapter I teachers' theoretical orientations and instructional practices related to preactive planning and interactive decision-making. Twenty-three Chapter I teachers were administered screening instruments that included: (a) a biographical survey, and (b) instruments focusing on teachers' theoretical orientations about reading and instructional choices. Primary consideration for selection included education and professional experience, beliefs about reading, and instructional decision-making. Based on this information, four Chapter I teachers, each with a reader-based orientation, were purposively selected to participate in this study. For each participant, the researcher selected a pull-out class (6-10 students) …

Attributions Of Teachers And Students In Middle School Science Classrooms., Lennie Holomon Rhys

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the present study was to examine: (a) teachers' notions about their students, (b) students' notions about themselves and learning, and (c) important factors that characterize, and possibly influence, these notions. The investigation was based on attribution theory, which proposes a framework for ascribing causes of a person's behavior, given that person's belief system. In this study, five notions, or attributions, were specified: attachment, concern, satisfied, indifferent, and rejection, and were expressed in three forms: oral, written, and behavioral. Subjects included three sixth-grade science teachers, three eighth-grade science teachers, and one science class from each teacher's schedule. For …

The Effects Of The Discussion Of And The Drawing Of Political Cartoons As Prewriting Activities To Increase Fifth And Sixth-Graders' Ability To Write Persuasively., Douglas Mark Granier

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The effects of the discussion of and the drawing of political cartoons as prewriting activities to increase fifth and sixth graders' ability to write persuasively were investigated. The subjects were 53 males and 49 females from two fifth grade and two sixth grade classes in a university laboratory school. The study was a randomized, pretest-posttest control group design with two treatment groups (discussion of political cartoons and drawing of political cartoons) and two control groups (discussion of a topic and drawing about a topic). Stratified random placement based on pretest scores enabled formation of four groups of approximately equal ability. …

Variability Of Practice And The Contextual Interference Effect In Motor Skill Acquisition., Kellie Green Hall

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The relationship between variability of practice and contextual interference was investigated in this study. The hypothesis proposed here was that these two effects are compatible, in that each addresses different learning situations. That is, the contextual interference effect relates only to situations where skill variations are controlled by different generalized motor programs, while practice variability relates only to situations where skill variations are parameter modifications of the same generalized motor program (Magill & Hall, in press). To test this compatibility hypothesis, two experiments were reported that were based on Wulf and Schmidt (1988). Blocked and random practice schedules were added …

Theoretical And Pedagogical Applications Of Discourse Analysis To Professional Writing., Kim Sydow Campbell

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation attempts to show the utility of discourse analysis for professional writing. The articles collected here fall into three categories: Chapter One provides an overview of the need for a discourse analysis approach in writing research; Chapters Two and Three demonstrate applications of Speech Act Theory to problems in tone; and Chapters Four, Five and Six suggest the role that cohesion and coherence play in professional writing. Chapter One notes that, with the emphasis on process, discourse based research has largely fallen out of favor with writing specialists. Despite this lack of enthusiasm, this chapter demonstrates the importance of …

The Effect Of Self-Evaluation On Musical Achievement, Attentiveness, And Attitudes Of Elementary School Instrumental Students., George Sparks Ed

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of self-evaluation by beginning wind instrumental students of defined musical and behavioral objectives. Specific areas in which effects were studied included attitude, physical playing fundamentals, and musical/technical skill development. Attitudes examined included students' attitude toward (a) school, (b) band, (c) instrument, (d) practice, (e) band director, and (f) self. Behavioral/musical objectives examined included (a) tone; pitch; rhythm notes (technical accuracy); and playing position (posture, embouchure, hand position); and (b) "practiced at home.". Before initiation of the study, all students completed an attitude questionnaire and played excerpts from their class work. …

Critical Thinking In Education: What Can The Matter Be?, Gail K Lenning

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The paper presents expert commentary on this issue, where informal logic and philosophy are found to be the favored approaches to the teaching of critical thinking, followed by the interpretation and evaluation of the two major types of programs used to teach critical thinking skills; Lipman's Philosophy for Children program is explained as a specific class intended to teach children to reason by means of a dialogical, philosophical approach; Thoughtful teaching or the across-the-curriculum approach will be explained as to its basic parts, which are a selection of skills and a teaching method to introduce them. There is no universally …

British Romanticism And Composition Theory: The Traditions And Value Of Romantic Rhetoric, Sherrie L. Gradin

Doctoral Dissertations

My study examines, through the philosophies and writings of the British Romantic poets, particularly those of Wordsworth and Coleridge, their beliefs about education, their theories on composing, and their interaction with the political and social climate as they relate to current expressivist rhetorical theories and pedagogies. I explore the ways in which Romantic assumptions surface in subsequent philosophers, educators, and rhetoricians such as Matthew Arnold, John Stuart Mill, and John Dewey, and more recently, Ann Berthoff, Donald Murray, and Peter Elbow. I argue that like the Romantics, current expressivists are interested in cultivating an imaginative intellect in their writing students. …

An Investigation Of Variables Which Predict Social Skills Functioning In Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder., Kelly Lynn Raymond

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The focus of this paper was on defining variables associated with social skills of children diagnosed with Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, as currently defined in the DSM-III-R. Sixty-six boys aged six through 10 participated in the study. Diagnosis of ADHD was made by a licensed psychologist in a private practice setting. Each student was administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement. The primary teacher of each student completed the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY), the Social Skills Rating System-Teacher Form (SSRS-T), the Revised Conner's Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS-R), the IOWA Conner's …

The Development Of A Prototype Knowledge-Based Expert System To Assist Vocational Educators In The Development Of The Local Plan Application For Vocational Education Funds., Brady Keith Levrier

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The Carl D. Perkins Act of 1984 provides significant financial support for the enhancement and expansion of secondary and post-secondary vocational education programs in the United States. Individual states are required to develop a State Plan for the use of Carl D. Perkins vocational funds. The formulation of this State Plan requires the development of Local Plans on the part of local education agencies who wish to participate in this program. These Local Plans are then compiled to form the State Plan which then is presented to the Department of Education for review. The annual Local Plan development process is …

Impact Evaluation Of The Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service Clothing Education Program., Evva L. Zeagler Wilson

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The objectives of this study were to determine: the practices of the LCES clothing program audience and of the general public, if differences exist between factors of the clothing program audience and the general public when controlled for urban or rural status, and if respondent characteristics are significant predictors of clothing practice factors. The research procedure utilized a descriptive design. A questionnaire was mailed to 400 randomly-selected Louisiana homemakers for each of four strata of Extension audience (urban and rural) and general public (urban and rural). Descriptive statistics were used to define the samples. Factor analysis was computed on 41 …

Popular Participation And Farming Systems Research And Extension--Examining The Central Visayas Regional Project 1 In Bohol, Philippines., Jonathan Manning Hubchen

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The Central Visayas Regional Project 1 (CVRP) in the Philippines uses a Farming Systems Research and Extension (FSR&E) approach which addresses the interrelated components facing the rural household system. A major principle of FSR&E is local participation. This study was conducted to measure the level of popular participation in a CVRP "working area". The study measured local performance and importance of activities relating to the planning, execution, and evaluation of CVRP projects as perceived by beneficiaries. It determined which of the participation activities had a higher score for perceived importance than for perceived performance. Then it determined the relationship between …

Applying Edgewood V. Kirby To Analysis Of Fundamental Rights Under The Texas Constitution., Albert H. Kauffman, Carmen Maria Rumbaut

St. Mary's Law Journal

State constitutions are affirmative grants of power under which both stated and implied fundamental rights can be sought. A proposed test for fundamental rights under the Texas Constitution looks at three factors: the history of the topic within the Texas Constitution and case law; the actual language used in the controlling provision; and the importance of that value to the people of Texas. The declaration of a constitutional right as fundamental certainly has implications for future relationships between the people and the government.

The Edgewood v. Kirby case has the potential to change much in Texas. The case stands for …

The Effect Of Science Inservice Programs On The Self-Efficacy Belief Of Elementary School Teachers, P.A. Moore Edd

Dissertations

The Problem: Science education at the elementary level has not been successful. As a nation we are producing fewer and fewer scientists and science teachers, as evidenced by the narrowing of the pipeline of students entering science classes in high school and beyond. Since a student's interest in science begins at the elementary level, any improvement in science education in these grades will help ameliorate the trend toward science illiteracy. Such an improvement rests on three critical areas: the teacher, the curriculum, and the methodology. Since preservice programs do not include rigorous science requirements, it is necessary to supplement teacher …

The Effect Of Multicultural Counseling Training On Multicultural Sensitivity Of Graduate Students, Lucy Fukasawa Field

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the effect of five weeks (45 hours) of multicultural counseling training on the multicultural sensitivity of graduate level students. The treatment group (12 students) received five weeks of intensive training designed to increase their awareness of multicultural issues and personal biases and limitations. The control group (13 students) did not receive multicultural training, but did receive experiential training, related to leadership roles, in small groups. The Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (potential for cross-cultural effectiveness, Inventory of Cross-Cultural Sensitivity (level of cross-cultural sensitivity and experience) and 10 selected difficult critical incidents (ability to perceive cross-cultural interactions …

University Of Texas At Tyler Catalog, 1990-1992, University Of Texas At Tyler

Catalogs

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The Relationship Of Sequential Patterns To The Music Teaching Effectiveness Of Elementary Education Majors., Judy Kay Bowers

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of sequential patterns of instruction (a direct instruction teaching cycle) and the individual components of these patterns to overall teacher effectiveness of music lessons taught by elementary education majors. Sequential patterns included (1) teacher task presentation, (2) student response, and (3) teacher reinforcement. A second focus of the study was the comparison of two instructional methods for providing training in the use of sequential patterns of instruction. Students enrolled in three sections of a music methods course for elementary education majors served as subjects. All subjects completed five teaching tasks …

Comparison Of Regionally Developed Literature-Based Reading Programs To Commercially Produced Literature-Based Basal Reading Programs, Alicia Kay Sutton

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine a definition for a literature-based reading program and a definition for a literature-based basal reading program; (2) to identify eight basic components from literature-based reading programs which have been developed and are currently being used in the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada; the Province of Victoria, Australia; and in Wisconsin and California in the United States; and (3) to determine how closely the three commercially produced literature-based basal reading series securing the top sales in Indiana during the 1989-1995 reading textbook adoption period replicate these components specifically in grade one and …