Education Commons^™

Lucy Diggs Slowe, Howard University Dean Of Women, 1922-1937: Educator, Administrator, Activist, Lisa R. Rasheed

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT LUCY DIGGS SLOWE, HOWARD UNIVERSITY DEAN OF WOMEN, 1922-1937: EDUCATOR, ADMINISTRATOR, ACTIVIST by Lisa R. Rasheed Within the last twenty years, some educational researchers initiated an emphasis to study the accomplishments and contributions of African-American women in higher education. Although they were marginally recognized, some African-American women forged into uncharted territories by providing examples of administrative leadership in post-secondary settings. Their triumphs and failures have gone unnoticed, leaving a vacant space in the chronicles of history in higher education. Little is know about one African-American woman, as an administrator at a co-educational institution in terms of her vision about …

Facilitating The Generalization Of Social Skills With Bibliotherapy And Positive Peer Reporting, Angelina C. Krieger

Theses and Dissertations

Social competence is needed for interaction among peers, teachers, and families in order for children to be successful in school. Children enter school with various levels of social competence. Social skills training is an effective method for building social skills; however, many programs fail to generalize these skills across settings and time. This study investigated the effects of a social skills training intervention for first and second grade students with emotional and behavioral problems. The intervention blended direct instruction, role-plays, and children's literature, with peers supporting both the acquisition and generalization of the social skills through positive peer reporting (PPR) …

College Students And Stress Management: Utilizing Biofeedback And Relaxation Skills Training, Shannon Jones Anstead

Theses and Dissertations

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of biofeedback and relaxation skills training to help alleviate college students' stress symptoms. Data was collected from 659 full-time college students who attended a total of 1,170 biofeedback sessions over the course of two years. Results of the study indicated that the top three stress-related symptoms students experienced were (a) feeling overwhelmed, (b) feeling anxious, and (c) difficulty concentrating. Furthermore, the top three stressors rated by students were (a) too much to do, (b) homework, and (c) classes and school. In addition, the top three coping strategies utilized by students to manage …

Secondary School Students' Attitudes Towards Physical Education In Trinidad, Gina Ragbir

Student Dissertations & Theses

It is important to understand secondary school students’ attitudes toward physical education since they will be future members of the workforce who will need to use their knowledge to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Students’ perceptions and feelings contribute to their attitudes toward specific content areas and toward their school experience in general. The purpose of the proposed study was to examine attitudes that secondary school students have toward physical education in Trinidad. The study also sought to ascertain whether there was a link between gender or race and, activities seen as most liked in the physical education curriculum and students’ …

Source-Message-Receiver In Integrated Marketing Communication: A Study Of U.S. Institutional Advancement, Sharee Leblanc Broussard

Dissertations

Because integrated marketing communication (IMC) research has traditionally been problematic, this study used an existing scale to determine that higher educational institutional advancement (alumni, marketing-communications, development) is an appropriate venue to study the process model. Responses from practitioners representing every department within advancement, every regional accrediting body and each of the baccalaureate to doctoral Carnegie Classification levels indicated the IMC process model is both understood and its tenets practiced by practitioners at all sizes and levels of institution. The study was of interest to the practitioners as more than half of the respondents requested a copy of the results. Additionally, …

Exploring Some Inattended Affective Factors In Performing Nonroutine Mathematical Tasks, John Douglas Butler

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Describes students' attempts to solve nonroutine math problems and explores possible correlates of their performance, focusing on inattended (i.e., intentionally avoided) dimensions underrepresented in the literature, including attitudes, interests, values, aesthetics, metacognition, and representation. Analyzes objective and subjective data gathered from a sample of 9th-grade students at a high school in Rhode Island. Finds strong evidence of students' math-aesthetics in problem solving.

The Impact Of Knowledge, Attitudes, And Peer Influence On Adolescent Energy Drink Consumption, Alyson C. Ward

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Adolescents are labeled as sensitive to caffeine, though despite this predisposition, consumption is high among this population. Energy drinks are a current trend in soft-drink-like beverages and are marketed to 11-35 year olds. However, unlike soft drinks, energy drinks are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and therefore do not have to limit their caffeine content.

This cross-sectional, correlational study sought to identify the role that knowledge, attitudes, and peers play in adolescent energy drink consumption. Adolescents (n = 199), ages 18 to 21, at a university in the west were surveyed. Descriptive statistics revealed that 25% …

Persistence And Success: A Study Of Cognitive, Social, And Institutional Factors Related To Retention Of Kalamazoo Promise Recipients At Western Michigan University, Michelle Ann Bakerson

Dissertations

The Kalamazoo Promise, a universal scholarship program announced in November 2005 provides four years of tuition and fees at any of Michigan's two- or fouryear public colleges or universities for students who have attended Kalamazoo Public Schools. This investment in the community is being replicated elsewhere across the nation, including Denver and Pittsburgh. The scholarship program lowers the cost of postsecondary education, thereby increasing incentives for high school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion. Of the 307 Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship recipients who have attended Western Michigan University since its inception, 16% have been academically dismissed.

The main objectives of this …

Understanding The Impact Of The Kalamazoo Promise From The Perspectives Of Parents And Community Group Members, Charles Pearson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to uncover the emerging views of parents and community group stakeholders in regards to The Kalamazoo Promise, and what they believed were the important issues that must be understood by implementers of The Promise in order to provide more effective implementation.

The Kalamazoo Promise is a full-tuition scholarship provided to all eligible graduates of the school district. The qualification criteria are simple, and all graduates attending at least the four years of high school are eligible.

A case study was conducted in one representative school in this midsized, urban district. A multiple-phase approach was …

A Comparison Of Methods For Teaching Auditory-Visual Conditional Discriminations To Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Laura Lee Grow

Dissertations

Early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is an approach to treating the behavioral deficits and excesses observed in children with autism spectrum disorders. The magnitude of improvement in the overall functioning of children receiving EIBI has stimulated additional research and widespread clinical dissemination through the publication of EIBI curricular manuals. Many EIBI manuals recommend teaching conditional discriminations using the simple/conditional method. Initially, component simple discriminations are taught in isolation and in the presence of a distracter stimulus. Finally, conditional discriminations, which include stimuli previously taught as simple discriminations, are presented to the learner. Although the simple/conditional method is often recommended …

Mothers' Perceptions Of Website Information In Solving Behavioral Problems In Children With Disabilities, Heather Collins

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the needs of mothers in regard to designing an educational website for parents/caregivers of children with disabilities. This research was designed to provide information to inform outreach efforts of Brigham Young University's Family HOPE (Happiness, Optimism, Promise, and Excellence) Project. This project assists families struggling with child behavior problems. Results from this study provided an initial understanding of the potential for a website to offer support to families not directly served through the Family HOPE project. Participants included 26 adult females, 25 mothers and one female caregiver. Each participant was the primary caregiver of a child with …

Perceptions Of School Civility: A Survey Of School Of Education Alumni, Keely Marie Swanson

Theses and Dissertations

Very little empirical data exists on the topic of civility in schools, although much theory and philosophy are proffered in the literature. Literature on moral education and character education also informs the study of civility. Many of the philosophical theories mention education as a way of increasing civility in society. Some schools have attempted to implement various civility interventions and research supports the use of similar interventions to teach social skills; however, none have systematically collected data for these interventions to evaluate their effectiveness for teaching civility. The present research systematically gathered data on perceptions of civility and incivility in …

Portrayal Of Characters With Disabilities In Newbery Books, Melissa Leininger

Theses and Dissertations

Newbery books represent quality literature that is likely to be used for bibliotherapy, yet these books have not been systematically evaluated for their portrayal of characters with disabilities. Thirty Newbery Award and Honor books from 1975–2008 were identified that contained 40 characters with disabilities. These books were evaluated using a rating scale that combines literary standards and standards relating to individuals with disabilities. The types of disabilities and personal characteristics such as gender, age, and race were documented and the personal portrayal of characters with disabilities and exemplary practices in these books were evaluated. This information was compared to the …

A Historical Analysis Of The Leadership And Strategic Plan Of Chancellor Stephen R. Portch In The University System Of Georgia, Jennifer El Fairchild-Pierce

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

This dissertation provides historical insight into the design and implementation of one strategic plan of a public higher education system in an effort to inform future similar strategic planning processes. On July 1, 1994, the Board of Regents appointed Stephen R. Portch the ninth Chancellor of the University System of Georgia. The timing was advantageous because then Governor Zell Miller was determined to leave his legacy as Georgia’s “education governor,” and in those prosperous economic times, the Governor was eager to pour money into the university system. The regents selected Portch because they recognized his potential to lead the system …

The Effects Of A Short-Term Cultural Immersion Experience To Mexico On School Leaders, Paula Jo Dinnan

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The U.S. Census bureau projects that by 2023, minorities will comprise more than half of all children. The population of school-aged Hispanic children is already the largest ethnic group, and the sheer number and rate of increase of these linguistically and culturally different students creates unfamiliar cultural challenges for school leaders. School districts are confronted with diversity-related issues and school leaders, who are predominantly white and middle class, are often ill-prepared to meet the challenges. Effective professional development aimed at preparing school leaders to better understand the social and academic needs of culturally diverse students is a topic receiving much …

A Monte Carlo Study Investigating The Influence Of Item Discrimination, Category Intersection Parameters, And Differential Item Functioning In Polytomous Items, Carol Jenetha Thurman

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The increased use of polytomous item formats has led assessment developers to pay greater attention to the detection of differential item functioning (DIF) in these items. DIF occurs when an item performs differently for two contrasting groups of respondents (e.g., males versus females) after controlling for differences in the abilities of the groups. Determining whether the difference in performance on an item between two demographic groups is due to between group differences in ability or some form of unfairness in the item is a more complex task for a polytomous item, because of its many score categories, than for a …

Overcoming Barriers: Women In The Superintendency, Claire Michael Miller

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT OVERCOMING BARRIERS: WOMEN IN THE SUPERINTENDENCY by Claire M. Miller Women currently represent the largest number of teachers in the United States but remain underrepresented in the superintendent position. This suggests that the superintendency has been influenced by patriarchy. If women are to break through the barriers that prevent them from attaining a superintendency, we will need to understand the social construction of the position and women superintendents’ experiences with barriers. What do women in the superintendency think about what it means to be one of a few women in a male-dominated occupation? How does gender consciousness play a …

Organizing Women: Women's Clubs And Education In Georgia, 1890-1920, Mary E. Mcpherson

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The rise of women’s volunteer organizations can be linked to the social changes that the United States was undergoing during the Progressive Era. The movement from an agrarian society to an industrial one, massive migration of Americans from rural areas to the cities, and increased immigration all contributed to social challenges in the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Recently historians have begun to explore how women’s contributions helped to combat these challenges and this study shows how women’s clubs in Georgia were able to exercise their philanthropic power through their involvement in education. By 1860, the …

Incarcerated Male Adolescent Suicide In Utah: A Case Study, Kristy Straubhaar

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent suicide has been described as a major public health problem calling for the aid of researchers willing to better identify factors related to suicide risk. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds. Despite the fact incarcerated adolescents act in self-destructive ways, minimal research has focused on suicide behavior among incarcerated adolescents. Existing data indicates that suicide among adolescent males is especially prevalent in the juvenile justice system. Several variables have been identified as risk factors for suicidal behavior, including interpersonal relationship dysfunction, substance abuse, and psychological variables such as depression and dichotomous thinking. …

Multiple Selves, Fragmented (Un)Learnings: The Pedagogical Significance Of Drag Kings' Narratives, Leslee Grey

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

This dissertation features the stories of drag king performers. Through life story interviews coupled with participant observations, and informed by gender performance, poststructuralist, and psychoanalytic theories, this project examines the ways in which drag performers construct, take up and perform multiple subjectivities and how they benefit from multiple knowledges in their learnings and unlearnings. Through an examination of the creation and circulation of these drag king pedagogies, I suggest ways in which drag performers create and sustain gendered knowledge, while navigating difference and working with multiple discourses of identity, oppression, and power in a socially and economically diverse city. Participants’ …

Evaluating The Performance Of Propensity Scores To Address Selection Bias In A Multilevel Context: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study And Application Using A National Dataset, Jeremy Andrew Lingle

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

When researchers are unable to randomly assign students to treatment conditions, selection bias is introduced into the estimates of treatment effects. Random assignment to treatment conditions, which has historically been the scientific benchmark for causal inference, is often impossible or unethical to implement in educational systems. For example, researchers cannot deny services to those who stand to gain from participation in an academic program. Additionally, students select into a particular treatment group through processes that are impossible to control, such as those that result in a child dropping-out of high school or attending a resource-starved school. Propensity score methods provide …

The Visibility Of Deweyan Inquiry In An International Baccalaureate Elementary School, Sabrina Kaye May

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Research in the field of school curriculum and national organizations such as the National Council for the Social Studies and the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics support the use of inquiry-based curriculum in schools. However, due to the policy constraints of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), inquiry-based curriculum is not common in schools. Within these policy constraints, school principals often turn to reform models to increase student achievement on high-stakes assessments. One particular reform model, the International Baccalaureate Program (IB), requires an inquiry-based curriculum as well as teacher inquiry. Using qualitative inquiry and a normative framework based on Dewey’s …

Restorative Discipline As An Alternate To Retributive Discipline Within The Juvenile Court System: An Analysis Of The Metro County Juvenile Court Community Restorative Board, Ajamu Abiola Banjoko

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT RESTORATIVE DISCIPLINE AS AN ALTERNATE TO RETRIBUTIVE DISCIPLINE WITHIN THE JUVENILE COURT SYSTEM: AN ANALYSIS OF THE METRO COUNTY JUVENILE COURT COMMUNITY RESTORATIVE BOARD by Ajamu A. Banjoko Giroux (2003) indicated that the prison industry has become a major economic industry with many states spending more money on prison reforms than on educational reforms. Juvenile delinquent behavior should be punished but fair treatment and equal rights for all human beings under the rule of law is paramount to punishment. Casella (2001) indicated that the prison population has sky-rocketed, and by 1995 forty-eight states passed laws to facilitate the prosecution …

Failing At College Football Reform: The Jan Kemp Trial At The University Of Georgia, Michael John Fulford

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Throughout the history of college football, there have been efforts to reform the system and stop improprieties, yet conflict between gaining academic and athletic prowess at colleges remained a central theme. In the 1980s, the Jan Kemp trial involving the University of Georgia demonstrated this clash between revenue-generating athletics and academic integrity. This historical study is an in-depth analysis of archives, legal documents, interviews, and other textual evidence that demonstrated how the factors surrounding the Jan Kemp case evolved and how key administrators and faculty members reacted to pressure related to academic and athletic conflicts. An analysis of past reform …

The Nature Of Feedback Provided To Elementary Students In Classrooms Where Grading And Reporting Are Standards-Based, Dawn Hopkins Souter

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

THE NATURE OF FEEDBACK PROVIDED TO ELEMENTARY STUDENTS BY TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS WHERE GRADING AND REPORTING ARE STANDARDS-BASED Feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement. Hattie (2002) found that the giving of quality feedback to students is one of the top five strategies teachers can use to improve student achievement. Research has confirmed that the right kind of feedback is essential for effective teaching and learning (McMillan, 2007). The University of Queensland (Australia) notes that feedback is the entity that brings assessment into the learning process (1998). The evidence also shows, however, that how feedback …

Evaluating The Teacher-Intern-Professor Model In A Professional Development School Partnership Setting Using A Bayesian Approach To Mix Methods, August Elena Ogletree

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Two needs of Georgia State University Professional Development School Partnerships are to show increases in both student academic achievement and teacher efficacy. The Teacher-Intern-Professor (TIP) Model was designed to address these needs. The TIP model focuses on using the university and school partnership to support Georgia State University student intern preparedness and student academic achievement for those participating in the program. TIP Model outcomes were analyzed using a quasi-experimental design for achievement data and a Bayesian approach to mix methods for efficacy data. Quantitative data, in the form of test scores, were analyzed to compare mean student academic achievement at …

The Quest To Retain Teachers: One School System's Story Of Teacher Movement, Karen Smits

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT THE QUEST TO RETAIN TEACHERS: ONE URBAN-SUBURBAN SCHOOL SYSTEM’S STORY OF TEACHER MOVEMENT by Karen Smits Recent data on teacher attrition indicate that approximately 15 percent of teachers either leave the profession or move from one school to another each year. The attrition rate is highest for teachers new to the profession with 30-50 percent leaving within five years. High rates of attrition are a contributing cause of various educational problems including reduced student achievement, teacher shortages, declining teacher morale, and organizational discontinuity. The purpose of this study was to examine the reasons why teachers choose to leave the …

Race Scholars On The Politics Of Race, Research, And Risk: A Narrative Inquiry, Sibby Anderson-Thompkins

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the experiences of race scholars whose agenda include investigating and writing about racial issues which run counter to the entrenched ideas, values and philosophies of the dominant academic culture. It questioned the possible risks associated with race work, and it examined the available support and validation for race scholars within the academy. Perceived prejudices and micro-aggressions are examined, as well as coping strategies for navigating the political academic landscape. Designed as a narrative inquiry, the study utilized in-depth interviews and the analysis of written documents of four prominent race scholars, while critical race theory (CRT) served …

Perceptions Of Educators' Use Of English As A Second Language Strategies And Research-Based Practices With English Language Learners In Northeast Tennessee., Marisol Hernandez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate the level of use of English as a second or subsequent language strategies and research-based practices in the instruction of ELL students in Northeast Tennessee. The researcher sought to ascertain the perceptions of educators in Northeast Tennessee about teaching practices and beliefs in regard to the instruction of ELL students and to determine to what level these educators include ESL strategies and ESL research-based practices when teaching ELL students.

Participants in the study consisted of regular classroom teachers, English as a second language teachers, and principals from districts identified as ELL low …

Polishing Cornerstones: Tift College, Georgia Baptists' Separate College For Women, Darin Scott Harris

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

This dissertation examines Tift College, formerly in Forsyth, Georgia, and the problems Tift faced as Georgia Baptist's women's college. Many of these difficulties were a result of the beliefs of Georgia Baptists on educating women and the fact that Georgia Baptists placed a greater value on education for males. This work also examines the role of feminism in a southern women's college. To complete this task, the dissertation examines the beliefs and attitudes of Georgia Baptists about education in general, and educating women in specific and how funding played a part in their education. The dissertation addresses Tift's struggle to …