Digital Commons Network^™

The Development Of An Instrument To Assess Strategical Information Processing Style., Beverly Allain Farrell

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Underpinned on the theories of individual differences and the information processing paradigm, the author hypothesized that there were five different strategical information processing styles (SIPS) that individuals prefer to use when processing information. The five constructs are visuo-spatial, analytical, social, categorical, and verbal. Based on this hypothesis, the researcher developed a self-assessment instrument containing specific measurable descriptors for each of the five hypothesized constructs. However, in this study the empirical evidence verified only four strategical information processing styles: visuo-spatial, analytical, social, and categorical. Although the verbal style is theoretically appealing, it did not prove to be a valid construct in …

Faculty Perceptions Of Communication Effectiveness In The Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service., Sally Maureen Soileau

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the study was to determine communication patterns and effectiveness as perceived by specialists and agents of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, and relate communication effectiveness with selected demographic characteristics. A qualitative component of the study focused on personal communication experiences of the faculty. A total of 210 agents and 106 specialists participated in the study. The survey instrument was validated by an expert panel and administered via a web site with an initial electronic mail contact and personal and electronic mail follow-ups. From a choice of 11 different methods of communication, specialists and agents used email and …

The Perceived Influence Of Selected Factors On The Decision Of Louisiana 4-H Teens And Non-4-H Teens To Volunteer., Kenneth Spoto

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the contributions Louisiana 4-H teens and Non 4-H teens make to volunteer organizations and the principal factors influencing the decision of Louisiana teens to volunteer. A random sample of 2,281 teens, ages 14--19 years (9th--12th graders), enrolled in Louisiana public secondary schools of education were the participants of this study. The data collection instrument was pre-tested for reliability and yielded a .95 Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency coefficient for 32 scale items. A total of 3,853 surveys were mailed or hand delivered in October and 2,281 usable responses returned for a response …

Professional Culture And Efficacy Correlates Of Organizational Effectiveness In Cooperative Extension Services., Rebecca Elaine White

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Several important lines of inquiry have been developed during the past fifty years to study the complex nature of educational organizations. In particular, theorists, researchers, and educational policy makers have become increasingly concerned about the effectiveness of educational institutions. Recently, significant research and policy maker attention has been focused on issues of effectiveness of higher education. The Cooperative Extension Services as ancillary outreach units of state land grant universities are no exception and the extant literature has been focused primarily on outcomes as organizational effectiveness measures. This study addresses the need to develop more comprehensive conceptual frameworks for studying perceived …

Holding Up And Holding On: Socialization Experiences Of Beginning Teachers In Differentially Effective Schools., Pamela Sanders Angelle

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The current study examined the socialization experiences of beginning teachers within the context of differentially effective middle schools. A mixed method design, using quantitative and qualitative approaches, was employed. The sample consisted of ten middle schools in Louisiana, five matched pairs, using an intensity strategy. The study was conducted in six phases of data collection. Phase One designed and carried out a pilot study. Interview data from school principals and mentors was collected in Phase Two, while Phase Three involved the collection of survey data from beginning teachers to measure perceptions of assistance, monitoring, team-building, and intention to remain in …

Navigating Knowing/Complicating Truth: African American Learners Experiencing Oral History As Real Education., Lavada Taylor Brandon

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Dominant explanations for why urban African American learners dropout is that these students are "at-risk" (Swanson, 1991; Sartain,1989; Levine, 1988; Macchiarola, 1988). Such explanations blame the victim while exonerating the role schooling plays in shaping students' "at-risk" conditions (Woodson, 1933/1998; Tatum, 1997; Freire, 1970/1997; Shujaa, 1994; Gordon, 1993). This research contests these explanations for why African American learners dropout by centering 10 African American students' voices to highlight the role curriculum plays at casting them at-risk. Consequently, this work shifts reproach from individual students' home environments to the larger structural dimensions of curricula (what we know) and instruction (how we …

Factors Associated With Research Anxiety Of Human Resource Education Faculty In Higher Education., Chadwick Charles Higgins

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The dissertation examined factors associated with research anxiety of university faculty members. Faculty at research universities have, in the past and at the present, had to deal with pressures associated with roles as researchers, teachers, and service initiators (Miller, 1994). The "publish or perish" atmosphere that accompanies most research university faculty positions often generates questions regarding confidence in one's ability to not only conduct meaningful research, but also to develop a solid and statistically sound research study. The purpose of the study was to determine if certain factors explain possible causes of research anxiety in higher education. These factors included …

Ways Of Incorporating Photographic Images In Learning And Assessing High School Biology: A Study Of Visual Perception And Visual Cognition., Brenda Chaumont Nixon

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study evaluated the cognitive benefits and costs of incorporating biology-textbook and student-generated photographic images into the learning and assessment processes within a 10th grade biology classroom. The study implemented Wandersee's (2000) 20-Q Model of Image-Based Biology Test-Item Design (20-Q Model) to explore the use of photographic images to assess students' understanding of complex biological processes. A thorough review of the students' textbook using ScaleMaster R with PC Interface was also conducted. The photographs, diagrams, and other representations found in the textbook were measured to determine the percentage of each graphic depicted in the book and comparisons were made to …

Peer Education And Its Effects On The Beliefs Of Rape Myths, Allison Marmer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Research has found that there is a relationship between men's acceptance of rape myths and violence against women (Malamuth, 1989). These stereotypical ideas about rape, rape victims, and rapists, perpetuate rape. Peer education may play a beneficial part in teaching students about rape, and is the primary focus of this study. The hypothesis of this study was that the rape myth prevention intervention would reduce the beliefs in myths about rape. The intervention, or informative lecture that was given to the experimental group was a derivative of material geared towards high school students. In summary, this research study succeeded to …

On Oysters And Other Life Lessons: Art Teacher’S Perceptions Of Social Class And Schooling, Kimberly Cosier

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

I had to be taught that the world was not my oyster. As a child I was quite sure that I was destined for a wondrous life of adventure and distinction. I was the first born in my family, the first child, the first grandchild, the first niece; everyone was crazy about me. My mother swears that on the day I was born my father floated across the room, so filled with joy and pride that his feet literally glided above the floor as he held me in his arms for the first time. I realize now that this is …

Multicultural Art Education: Deconstructing Images Of Social Reproduction, Donna Alden

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

Exclusionary practices along with inaccurate and incomplete information have historically been used in the classroom by the dominant White culture as a means to disempower minority youth and widen the chasm between opposite ends of the power structure. Although reproducing the existing power structure may not be a conscious motive of art teachers in the 21st century, many of their actions replicate conditions necessary for domination by the Euro-White culture. Admirably, art educators have a history of being on the cutting edge of innovative ideas and inclusionary practices. The movement to include art from many cultures in art curriculums is …

A Comparison Of Pre-Post Student Outcomes And Perceptions After An Intervention Of A Secondary Alternative Education Program For Disruptive Students, Lloyd Sain, Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the effect of an alternative education program on the grade point averages, attendance, and suspensions of secondary school students. In order to meet this purpose, the study tested two research questions that focused on the grade point average, attendance, and suspensions of disruptive secondary school students prior to their intervention of an alternative education program and after their return to home school for two consecutive nine weeks. Length of enrollment and its impact on grade point averages, attendance, and suspensions were also examined. The study also investigated to what extent the characteristics …

Whose Education Counts? The Impact Of Grown Children's Education On The Physical Functioning Of Their Parents In Taiwan, Zachary Zimmer, Albert I. Hermalin, Hui-Sheng Lin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Research has identified education as an important predictor of physical functioning in old age. Older adults in Taiwan tend to experience close ties to family members and high rates of adult child coresidence, much more so than is typical in Western cultures. These circumstances might imply additional health-related benefits stemming from the education of grown children. This association could arise in a number of ways, for instance through the sharing of health-related information between child and parent, the quality of caregiving efforts, monetary assistance for medical and other services, or through other psychosocial avenues. In this study, a nationally representative …

Graduate School Of Computer And Information Sciences--Master Of Science Degree Programs 2001-2003, Nova Southeastern University

College of Engineering and Computing Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Learning And Understanding In Abstract Algebra, Bradford Reed Findell

Doctoral Dissertations

Students' learning and understanding in an undergraduate abstract algebra class were described using Tall and Vinner's notion of a concept image, which is the entire cognitive structure associated with a concept, including examples, nonexamples, definitions, representations, and results. Prominent features and components of students' concept images were identified for concepts of elementary group theory, including group, subgroup, isomorphism, coset, and quotient group.

Analysis of interviews and written work from five students provided insight into their concept images, revealing ways they understood the concepts. Because many issues were related to students' uses of language and notation, the analysis was essentially semiotic, …

African Americans And Education: A Study Of Arna Bontemps, Joseph Downing Thompson

The Courier

Using the life and work of Arna Bontemps as a case in point, Thompson examines the relationship between the formation of racial identity and the culture of educational institutions themselves, not merely the intellectual, cultural, and political traditions imparted by them.

Confronting Same-Sex, Student-To-Student Sexual Harassment: Recommendations For Educators And Policy Makers, Thomas A. Mayes

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Student-on-student sexual harassment has been the subject of significant scholarly commentary and numerous court battles. In light of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, which held that in certain cases students have a cause of action under Title IX against schools for peer sexual harassment, many schools have been advised to consider responses to and ways to prevent student-on-student sexual harassment. When considering corrective and preventative approaches to peer sexual harassment in the schools, educators and policy makers should strongly consider addressing same-sex harassment. Prior to its decision in Davis, a unanimous …

Unequal Educational Opportunities For Gifted Students: Robbing Peter To Pay Paul?, Charles J. Russo

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Brown ushered in an era that has led to admirable, yet arguably incomplete, gains in equal educational opportunities for all children, most notably minorities, females, and students with disabilities. However, despite the progress that has been made in the struggle for educational equality, many exceptional students are not being fully served. Aside from commission reports and rhetoric, little has been done at either the federal or state level to offer appropriate programming for gifted and talented children's educational needs. It is questionable whether educational leaders and policy makers have taken sufficient steps to meet the educational needs of gifted children. …

Diversity Efforts In Independent Schools , Michael Brosnan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In recent years, independent schools have begun committing themselves to diversity. Schools are recruiting more students and teachers of color and have transformed their curriculum to better address race, gender, class religion, and sexual orientation. Schools must start marketing themselves to a broad spectrum of families, teachers, and administrators, and have done so in order to prepare students for the adult world to come. Schools need to hire and retain teachers of color. To achieve this, some overlapping efforts by schools include: creating the need to hire teachers of color with the school's mission, clarifying the school's climate and culture, …

Implementation Of Middle -Level Programmatic Characteristics And Their Impact On Eighth-Grade Istep+ Scores, Mark Alan Baker

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study's purposes were to (1) analyze the difference among the level of implementation of middle level programmatic characteristics (Advisor/Advisee guidance program, cocurricular activities, exploratory classes, flexible scheduling, interdisciplinary teams, and integrated curriculum) and middle level grade configuration (K–8, 6–8, 7–8, 7–12); (2) analyze the relationship between the level of implementation of middle level programmatic characteristics and 8 th Grade ISTEP+ scores; (3) analyze the difference in 8 th Grade ISTEP+ scores among middle level grade configurations; (4) analyze the linear composite of middle level programmatic characteristics which explains the amount of the variance in 8 th Grade ISTEP+ scores; …

Standardized Group Achievement Tests And The Accommodation Of Additional Time, Kevin Lance Buehler

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Statewide assessment test data are increasingly being used to make important decisions for students and teachers. Since the re-authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (PL 105-17) in 1997, states are mandated to include students with disabilities in state and district assessment programs, using appropriate accommodations. Research on the value of specific accommodations, and on the effects of accommodations on test data, though, is scarce. Studies conducted on the accommodation of additional time have not consistently found that students with disabilities obtain greater benefit from this accommodation than students without disabilities. In addition, school personnel have few objective methods to …

Taking It Personally: The Role Of Memoirs In Teacher Education, Sharon A. Hollander

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

The current popularity of memoirs and book groups is a cue to education faculty. When complemented by discussion groups and writing assignments, memoirs can be used to facilitate the process of inclusion in the schools by teaching both general and special educators about children with disabilities and their families. These works can also promote quality reading and writing, inspire original and insightful responses from students, and foster a sense of community in class. Some advantages and previous applications of this method are described and recommendations for implementation are made.

Supporting Students With Learning Difficulties In A School Of The Air, Judith Rivalland, Mary Rohl, Pru Smith, Centre For Inclusive Schooling Learning Difficulties Team, Department Of Education

Research outputs pre 2011

This project was funded by Edith Cowan University and the Centre for Inclusive Schooling (Department of Education, formerly Education Department of Western Australia) as an Institute for the Service Professions Collaborative Grant. It was carried out in order to examine the following questions:

• What are the ways in which identification, assessment and teaching processes make provision for students with learning difficulties who are enrolled in a School of the Air?

• In what ways do Support Officers Learning Difficulties support these children, their home tutors and their teachers?

Does The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Exclude Gifted And Talented Children With Emotional Disabilities - An Analysis Of J.D. V. Pawlet., Laura Ketterman

St. Mary's Law Journal

Disabled children benefit from federal legislation which guarantees a free, appropriate education. While no federal mandate requires providing special education for gifted and talented children, the government encourages schools to offer gifted and talented programs. Gifted and talented children with emotional disabilities, however, often fall between these two groups and do not qualify for special education under any legislation. Unfortunately, in many gifted and talented children with disabilities the gift hides the disability—or the disability hides the gift. To compound the problem, legislation and recent court decisions fail to recognize that gifted and talented children have unique needs which should …

The Inner Game Of Teaching: What Is It And How Can It Make Us Better Teachers, Michael Schulist

Education | Print Theses

The inner lives of teachers was researched and studied. Three key questions were the focus: 1) What is a mental peak performance state in teaching? 2) What is the value of achieving this state? 3) How can teachers attain peak performance states? Peak performance states are described as “a higher mental state” where teachers are motivated intrinsically; in this state, they are described as being “undivided”, their ‘truest selves”. Research shows that teachers are more effective when they achieve peak performance states in the classroom. Self- awareness and development of positive thought patterns are necessary skills for achieving optimum mental …

Excellence In Nursing Education [Complete Issue : First Quarter 2001, Vol. 2, 1], Theresa M. Valiga, Cynda Hylton Rushton, Kathleen Hartman Sabatier, Sigma Theta Tau International

Sigma Past Publishing - Excellence Newsletters

Publishing History:Â Nursing Excellence published yearly in 1998 and 1999. The publication became Excellence in the first quarter 2000. It transitioned to Excellence in Nursing Education, Excellence in Nursing Administration, and Excellence in Clinical Practice in the second quarter 2000 with volume 1, number 2. Excellence in Nursing Education transitioned to Excellence in Nursing Education & Research in the first quarter 2002.

Publishing Frequency: Yearly 1998, 1999; Quarterly 2000 – 2004.

Format: Print 1999 – third quarter 2002; Online fourth quarter 2002 – first quarter 2004. Ceased publishing in 2004.

Select features in this issue:

Excellence in …

A Study Of The Superintendency Supply Issue For Public Education In Arkansas, Virginia L. Abernathy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the replacement pool for the projected upcoming superintendent vacancies in Arkansas' public schools. The study sought to determine the number of public school administrators holding a superintendency license and who want to become superintendent in the state of Arkansas during the next five years. In addition, the study addressed factors that encouraged or discouraged applicants in seeking a superintendency position. The sample consisted of the 421 principals and central office administrators who currently held a superintendency license. Only 174 individuals indicated an interest in seeking a superintendency position during the next five …

Determinants Of Educational Attainment Among Adolescents In Egypt: Does School Quality Make A Difference?, Cynthia B. Lloyd, Sahar El Tawila, Wesley H. Clark, Barbara Mensch

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The paper explores empirically the relationship between school quality in Egyptian preparatory (middle) schools and the likelihood of school dropout either during preparatory school or before the completion of secondary school. Despite strong empirical evidence for the many positive social and economic returns associated with more years of schooling, there has been little research exploring how the quality of particular schools might influence grade levels attained. The authors address this research gap using detailed data on Egyptian preparatory schools (grades 6-8, the last three years of the eight years of basic schooling) that are linked with a national survey of …

State Of Tennessee Annual Statistical Report Of The Department Of Education For The Scholastic Year Ending June 30, 1999, Tennessee. Department Of Education.

Annual Statistical Report

No abstract provided.

Disordered Eating And Its Psychosocial Correlates Among Hispanic Adolescent Females, Annette Santiago

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the incidence of disordered eating and its relationship with acculturation, depression, and body dissatisfaction among Hispanic adolescent females. One hundred and five students enrolled at two midwestern high schools completed a Student Demographic Questionnaire, the Bidimensional Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (Marin & Gamba, 1996), the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996), the Body Dissatisfaction Subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (Garner, Olmstead, & Polivy, 1983), and the Eating Attitudes Test (Garner, Olmstead, Bohr, & Garfinkel, 1982). Two null hypotheses were examined. The first investigated the relationship among acculturation, depression, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating utilizing …