Education Commons^™

Characteristics Of Marginally Achieving Secondary Students And The Nature Of Their School Experience, Aeylin Summers

Dissertations and Theses

In American high schools, students are sorted into three "tracks" to cluster resources for students of similar abilities and interests. Much is known about the high track student, and especially in the past decade, the low track or "at-risk" student. However, the middle track--or marginally achieving student--has been largely overlooked in the literature. Acknowledged as "lost in the middle" (Judson, 1992), as well as deserving of higher quality of service in their school systems (Powell, Farrar, & Cohen, 1985), marginal achievers-defined here as having a GPA of 1.5-2.5, still maintain a profile of invisibility. Current reform efforts to increase student …

A Study Of Community College Instructional Stakeholder Attitudes Toward Student Outcome Goals, Linda Ann Gerber

Dissertations and Theses

This study sought to determine the importance community college instructional stakeholders--teachers, administrators, and support staff--ascribe to 23 student outcome goals and to examine the relationships between biographical variables and stakeholders' perceptions.

The study addressed the following research questions: (a) Which of the 23 student outcomes do instructional stakeholders as a whole perceive to be most important?; (b) Can these outcomes be factored into a set underlying constructs?; (c) Does the perceived importance of student outcomes vary in relationship to the type of student the stakeholder serves?; (d) Which outcomes do stakeholders serving different types of students value most highly?; (e) …

A Descriptive Study Of The Implementation Of An Integrated Whole Language Approach At The Fifth Grade Level, Ardyth Shapiro

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to describe the implementation of a major curriculum change at the fifth grade level in two different school district settings; an urban district and a suburban district. The major curriculum change was a shift from traditional reading and language arts instructional approaches to an Integrated Whole Language instructional approach. The implementation of this change was examined on the basis of self-reports by administrators, teachers, and students and was analyzed in the context of organizational factors in schools that have typically influenced change. These included school district demographics, the decision making process, administrative support, inservice …

A Diagnostic Analysis Of Elementary Principal' Practices Which Serve Youth At-Risk Of School Failure, Rikki Kenneth Patrick

Dissertations and Theses

This study provides a description of the practices elementary school principals employ to reduce the likelihood that at-risk youth will actually experience school failure. The problem investigated in this study is reflected in this broad question: What is the relationship of principals' practices to the provision of service for at-risk youth?

Differences in the importance and frequency of use of practices by principals were compared. Variables such as school size, percentage of students who are eligible for free lunch, percentage of students who are at-risk, student mobility, and principal's rating of how successfully their school is serving at-risk youth were …

International Education In The Public Community Colleges Of Oregon And Washington, Stephan Ernest Cragg

Dissertations and Theses

There were at least five purposes in pursuing research on international education in the public community colleges of Oregon and Washington states. The first purpose was to fully demonstrate a new and original taxonomy of ten elements, or dimensions, found in defining and describing international education. A second purpose was to add to the body of knowledge and research on international education practices at the nation's community colleges through an extensive literature search and original research. A third purpose of the study was to identify and describe the current status of international educational programs and activities of the forty-three public …

Creative Drama As An Instructional Strategy In Adult Christian Education, Darlene Richards Graves

Dissertations and Theses

This study reviews the tenents of adult learning. Christian education and creative drama and presents the observation that there are parallel objectives in each of these three major areas. Noting that creative drama is rarely used in adult Christian education, which is primarily cognitive-based and lecture-discussion oriented, the study proposes the application of creative drama strategies to provide an alternative experiential learning process and therefore create a drama strategies to provide an alternative experiential learning process and therefore create a balance of focus between cognitive, affective, reflective and active learning styles in adult Christian education. It also suggests that through …

The Effectiveness Of An Educational Service District's Programs And Services As Perceived By Various Educator Groups, Thomas Joseph Rockefeller

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the effectiveness of an educational service district's programs and services as perceived by various educator groups. The population of the study included certificated public school employees and school board members.

A sixty-two item survey instrument was used to obtain information from the study population. Of the 1507 survey instruments distributed, 769 instruments were returned for a response rate of 51%.

Four main research questions were posed: (a) Is Educational Service District 112 perceived as an effective educational component of the Southwest Washington public education system? (b) Are the programs and services provided by Educational Service District 112 …

Oregon Women In Educational Administration: Profiles And An Analysis Of Upward Career Mobility Factors, Leland D. Chapman

Dissertations and Theses

The first purpose of this study was to determine from the positive and negative factors identified by Jones and Montenegro (1982), which factors Oregon female administrators perceived had influenced upward mobility in their careers. Study of this topic reveals added information and direction to administrators of university administrative programs, school board members and school personnel administrators involved in hiring and providing training or staff development. As a result, the commonalities and differences among female school administrators in Oregon are identified. Identifying the factors that relate to upward mobility of tenured and nontenured female administrators provides insight and hopefully will promote …

A Performance Appraisal Model For Postsecondary Education, Peggy Connolly

Dissertations and Theses

Purpose. Although performance appraisal is an important factor in the successful operation of organizations, it is often a difficult and threatening task. Traditional approaches to evaluation have proved to be neither effective nor in legal compliance. This problem affects postsecondary institutions, where customary subjective appraisal contributes to undesirable employment discrimination.

This study provides postsecondary administrators with an effective and legally defensible model of performance appraisal. Research addressed these questions: (1) What does statutory law mandate in appraisal? (2) What issues, patterns, and decisions concerning appraisal have been identified through the judicial process, and what degree of consistency has been shown …

A Study Of The Career Education Program At Mountain View Intermediate School, Beaverton School District #48, Beaverton, Oregon, William Calvin Greene

Dissertations and Theses

The following report deals with the career education program at Mountain View, one of six intermediate schools in the Beaverton school District #48.

During the summer of 1974, four Mountain View faculty members developed what they titled the Mountain View Intermediate School Career Educational Resource Guide (CERG).

The faculty members developed this guide keeping in mind the requirements of the Master Plan but also adding specific references relating to what direction they felt the career education program at Mountain View should take.

The CERG was designed in such a way that career related activities for each grade level were broken …

A Program Of School Social Work, Phyllis Marie Jaszkowiak

Dissertations and Theses

School social work is in a state of flux. Traditional casework services in the schools, as the only function of the school social worker, is becoming less viable.

The study of Assumption school and area points out some problem areas, as well as strengths. In view of these problems and strengths, a broadened school social work program is discussed. The program centers around prevention, treatment, and research. A basic principle upon which all is based is a team approach of social work, school, and community. The discussion leads to the community school concept, which is currently seen as one of …

A Study Of Open Space Schools, Carol Ormiston

Dissertations and Theses

By the spring of 1972 Beaverton School District had five open space schools in operation and three others under construction. These schools are built without separate, individual classrooms. Space is more flexible and can be used in a number of ways. Open space buildings provide the setting for a new kind of teaching and learning process.

Within the Beaverton School District, the Department of Administrative Services was requested to provide information regarding the operation of the open space teaching and learning process. As a result a plan was developed for a descriptive study of some aspects of open space as …

The Portland State University Educational Center: A Study Of A New Approach To Off-Campus Education, Harvey L. Rice

Dissertations and Theses

The P.S.U. Educational Center is an attempt to facilitate the access of Portland's inner city residents to higher education. It is an attempt to overcome the bitterness, defeatism and mistrust that many of these people feel toward education. In its four year history the Center has grown rapidly. The number of people served by the Center per term has risen from 15 in 1969 to 1,300 in 1972. Course offerings have increased from 5 to nearly 30. The Center offers both college credit and other types of courses at nominal fees. An evaluation of the Center--based in part on a …