Education Commons^™

Effective Teacher Education: From Student-Teacher Candidates To Novice Teachers Prepared For Urban Education, Chavon Latrece Jackson

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent a teacher education program prepares teacher candidates to be effective urban educators who are reflective, innovative, and committed to diversity based on the perceptions and insight from students. As the nation grapples with an extreme range of outputs from our public schools, an investigation into such an integral component of developing effective educators is essential, if not mandatory (Spring, 2009). Given the goals and standards for educators today, teacher education programs have to consider their role in this process and determine what is required of them to support teachers …

Secondary Physical Educators' Content Negotiations, Matthew Daniel Ferry

Wayne State University Dissertations

In light of growing concern over the relation between physical inactivity and a variety of biomedical and psychosocial conditions and the disjuncture between larger physical activity culture and secondary school physical education curriculum, the purpose of this study was to examine how middle school physical education teachers negotiated content and curricular decisions. A variety of theories guided this study, including Bourdieu's theories of habitus and field (1977), teacher socialization theory (Lawson, 1983; 1988), teacher ideology (Apple, 2004), teacher emotion (Hargreaves, 1998; McCaughtry, 2004), curriculum as a political text (Pinar, Reynolds, Slattery, & Taubman, 2004), and range of critical and post-structural …

The Effects Of Participation In A Human Sexuality Workshop On The Attitudes Of Counselors In Training Toward Homosexuality, Lawrence Craig Perry

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an educational workshop on the implicit and explicit attitudes of graduate counseling students toward homosexuality. Counseling students' attitudes toward sexuality and homosexuality were measured before and after participating in an educational workshop on human sexuality. The setting for the study was a human sexuality workshop being taught within a counselor education graduate program. The weekend workshop was an elective class for graduate students who were enrolled at a large urban university. A total of 23 individuals volunteered to participate in the study.

The participants were asked to complete three …

The Implementation Of Restorative Practices In An Urban Middle School, Katie Rasmussen

Wayne State University Dissertations

Traditionally, schools have turned to zero tolerance policies when dealing with student discipline and punishment. However, it is argued that zero tolerance policies are not only ineffective, but also harmful to students because the policies hinder schools' ability to be democratic spaces. Nonetheless, schools are turning to alternatives to these policies, such as restorative practices, which are thought to resolve conflicts in schools and teach students how to be responsible, democratic citizens. Although advocates of restorative practices claim they teach students democratic values by encouraging student voice and empowerment in schools, it is unclear whether schools implementing the practices consider …

Reliability Generalization: Lapsus Linguae, Julie Marilyn Smith

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study examines the proposed Reliability Generalization (RG) method for studying reliability. RG employs the application of meta-analytic techniques similar to those used in validity generalization studies to examine reliability coefficients. This study explains why RG does not provide a proper research method for the study of reliability, including describing how reliability is not a singular metric but a family of coefficients that are not interchangeable, along with other issues, such as sample and test administration. This research used Monte Carlo simulations designed to illustrate how the same instrument, administered repeatedly, can result in different reliability coefficients and to show …

The Effects Of Story Performance On Fourth And Fifth Grade Students' Comprehension And Oral Reading Fluency Of Narrative And Expository Texts, Shawn Kevin Wightman

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study was undertaken as an attempt to assess the effects of storytelling and reading aloud on fourth and fifth grade children's comprehension and oral reading fluency of both narrative and expository texts. The independent variable involved two strategies for introducing stories to children (storytelling and story reading) and a comparison strategy (silent reading). Each treatment (or strategy) was used, in part, to differentiate literacy instruction over a period of seven weeks.

Treatment 1 consisted of twenty-eight teacher-storytelling performances (fourteen narrative and fourteen expository). Likewise, Treatment 2 consisted of twenty-eight teacher-story reading aloud performances of narrative and expository texts (the …

Boys' Masculinities In Three Adventure Physical Education Classes, Amy Tischler

Wayne State University Dissertations

The diminished state of youth health in the United States has been a rising concern over the past few decades (Fahlman, Dake, McCaughtry, & Martin, 2008; Krebs, Baker, & Greer, 2003). Headlines across the nation declare that children in the United States are getting heavier and most point to a lack of physical activity as the cause (Wechsler et al., 2004). Understanding adventure physical education might help to create physical education programs that captivate students so much so that they look forward to participating rather than enacting task avoidance strategies. In fact, physical education might empower students to be physically …

Cultural Enrichment: Connecting African American Elementary Children To Academic Achievement, Deborah L. Winston

Wayne State University Dissertations

A large, growing number of mis-educated American citizens are being produced by America's public schools. Many of these students are being funneled into the penal system shortly after dropping out of high school. This phenomenon is especially prevalent among African American male students, many of whom have withdrawn academically years prior to permanently dropping out of school. Additionally, to further underscore the importance of successfully educating African American students are the debilitating effects brought about after incarceration. About 4 million people in the United States, including 1.4 million Black men (13 percent of the adult male Black population) have currently …

Gender And Race, Online Communities, And Composition Classrooms, Jill Anne Morris

Wayne State University Dissertations

As the culmination of a two-year long Internet ethnographic study of three separate sites, I use examples of women and minorities fighting against discrimination online to explore the power structures inherent to networks and how these might affect classroom practice. I will show how our ordinary assumptions in rhetoric and composition as well as computers and writing about the necessity of safe spaces in fostering communication about gender and race and safety for people of color and women online might actually be harming the rhetorical effectiveness of these writings. To focus this discussion, I will develop three case studies and …

Approximate Vs. Monte Carlo Critical Values For The Winsorized T-Test, Michael Lance

Wayne State University Dissertations

Historically, it has been accepted practice for critical values for the Winsorized t test for independent samples to be based on adjusted degrees of freedom depending on the number of total non-Winsorized (approximate) values. Recently, a new such table of Winsorized critical values has been developed via approximate randomization by Monte Carlo simulation.

Based on eight common data distributions estimated from Psychology and Education along with the normal and five Mathematical distributions, these two tables of values were compared with respect to robustness to types I and II errors through Monte Carlo simulations for one and 10% Winsorized values per …

The Effect Of An Educational Intervention On The Level Of Codependency Among Graduate Counseling Students, Dianna Lynn Belyea

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of codependency and emotional intelligence before and after participating in an educational intervention for codependency at a workshop on substance abuse. The setting for the study was a substance abuse workshop that was an elective for graduate students who were enrolled in counseling programs at a large urban university. A total of 23 individuals volunteered to participate in the study. The levels of emotional intelligence were investigated to determine if the characteristics sometimes associated with codependency could be better explained by emotional intelligence (EI). The participants completed three surveys, The …

The Relationship Between Study Abroad And Motivation, Attitude And Anxiety In University Students Learning A Foreign Language, Stefania Gabriella Morreale

Wayne State University Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation was to discover the program effects of long- and short-term study abroad for university students at a midwestern, public university. Affective outcomes, such as motivation, attitude and anxiety, were examined using Gardner's Attitudes and Motivational Test Battery (AMTB) survey and a student demographic questionnaire. Quantitative data from the student demographic survey reported that the typical foreign language student surveyed is female, between the ages of 18-22, a junior, a liberal arts major with non-native fluency in the target language. The typical study abroad program attended by this sample is: short-term (less than eight weeks), most …

The Social Interactions Of Students With Disabilties In A 5th Grade Level Inclusive Classroom And The Effect On Academic Achievement, Estella Marshall-Reed

Wayne State University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Argument Construction, Argument Evaluation, And Decision-Making: A Content Analysis Of Argumentation And Debate Textbooks, Neil Stuart Butt

Wayne State University Dissertations

Critical thinking abilities, especially the advanced critical thinking abilities required for decision-making, are important to both individuals and democratic policy making processes. Previous studies have indicated that argumentation and debate instruction can improve critical thinking abilities, but there are reasons to believe that current approaches are not as effective at developing decision-making ability as they could be, in part because they focus too heavily on argument construction, rather than argument evaluation and decision-making. In order to test which approaches to teaching argumentation and debate best encourage decision-making abilities, researchers need to know which elements are included in current argumentation and …

College Students' Perceptions Of An Uncomfortable Sexual Experience, Sandra Lee Parent

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate college students' perception of an uncomfortable sexual experience and identify factors that may reinforce revictimization of rape victims. An additional purpose was to compare perceptions of rape victims to perceptions of those who have never been raped, but because the sample size of rape victims was too small, and the data could not be analyzed and data from rape victims were eliminated from further analyses. In the final sample, data were collected from 296 college students attending a large commuter campus university. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of four scenarios …

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of A Diversity Educational Program, Sonya Annette Berkley

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

AN EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A DIVERSITY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

by

SONYA A. BERKLEY

May 2010

Advisor: Mary Cay Sengstock

Major: Sociology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Administrators and educators have been given the responsibility of working towards improving racial and social interactions in their school settings. It is important to note that most of the literature on diversity programming suggests that the perception held by a school's administration of what constitutes an all encompassing racially and culturally diverse program plays an important role in its implementation and success.

With the continual growth of minority populations in the United States, …

The Relationship Between Formal Education In Arabic And Students'attitudes Towards Langauges And English And Mathematic Proficiency, Alfadley A. Anam

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the following the relationships between: 1) formal education (adequate and limited) in the Arabic language and English language proficiency and academic achievement in mathematics of Arabic-speaking students and 2) their attitudes towards L1 (Arabic) and L2 (English) and English language proficiency and academic achievement in mathematics. Eighty-six Arabic speaking third graders through eighth graders in the Midwestern state were selected on non-random sampling to participate in this study. Four main measures were used to collected data: (1) Parent Demographic Survey, (2) students' attitudes survey, (3) Math component of the Michigan Educational Assessment …

Values And Problem Behaviors In Hong Kong Adolescents, Phebe Karen Lam

Wayne State University Dissertations

The present study examined sensation seeking, psychological problem behaviors, values orientation, and problem behaviors of smoking, alcohol use, and delinquency among Hong Kong adolescents studying in high school of two different ability levels. Adolescents (N = 1385) from a band one and band three level high school in Hong Kong were assessed using the Sensation Seeking Scale Form-V (SSS-V), Youth Self Report (YSR), Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ), and the Adolescent Health and Development Questionnaire (AHDQ), along with several demographic variables (e.g., age, gender, grade level, employment).

Regression analyses were employed to determine the contribution of the significantly correlated variables in …

A Needs Assessment Of The Knowledge, Skills And Use Of Finance Competencies By Human Performance Technology Practitioners, Ann Tai Chow

Wayne State University Dissertations

A comprehensive needs assessment method was used in this empirical and evidence base research. The design, development and implementation of this study focused on answering two overarching questions: (1) What finance knowledge do HPT practitioners possess? and (2) How do HPT practitioners use their finance knowledge and skills in their work? An online survey was administered to obtain answers directly from practicing HPT professionals. Sixty seven HPT practitioners participated in the online survey. Every question in the survey, except the demographic and the three open ended questions, sought two levels of answers: Current State (What) and Future Importance (How) of …

The Influence Of Transfer System Factors And Training Elapsed Time On Transfer In A Healthcare Organization, Beverly Jo Mihalko

Wayne State University Dissertations

Organizations and other sponsors of training face increasing pressure to demonstrate the value or impact of their training programs on individual and organizational performance. A critical element in the validation of training effectiveness is the permanent transfer of learned knowledge, skills, and behaviors to the workplace. The generalization of learned material to the job and maintenance of trained skills, are greatly influenced by training design, trainee characteristics, and work environmental factors. Using a multidimensional approach to identify all factors that promote or inhibit transfer could provide performance technologists and instructional designers with the insight necessary to design and develop strategic …

Cyberbullying: The Role Of Family And School, Jennifer Taiariol

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine family and school variables in relation to different types of perpetration, victimization and witnessing experiences (physical, social, verbal and cyber). Students (n=253) in grades 7 to 8 from two middle schools located in a suburb in southeastern Michigan participated in the study. Data were collected during the 2008-2009 school year.

Statistically significant differences were found for perpetration and victimization by gender and perpetration and witnessing by grade. No gender and grade interaction results were significant. All types of bullying experiences were positively correlated with cyberbullying and cyber victimization. Bullying experiences were significant …

Teaching With Spirit: Freire, Dialogue, And Spirituality In The Composition Classroom, Justin Vidovic

Wayne State University Dissertations

This ethnographic study examines the role of spirituality in the composition teaching process and in Paolo Freire's dialogic education specifically. Work to acquire some aspects of spiritual "Discourse," as the term is defined by James Gee, is needed in order to make this spiritual foundation visible and practicable. Through a series of ethnographic narratives of a classroom, this study demonstrates the necessity of spiritual work on the part of the teacher to develop the mind frame and skill set necessary for dialogic pedagogy. A series of workshop activities based on Freire's spiritual prerequisites for dialogic education are proposed.

The Determinants Of Student Achievement And High School Completion In Michigan, Cleo Michele Moody

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

By

Cleo M. Moody

December 2010

Advisor: Dr. Michael Addonizio

Major: Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Degree: Doctor of Education

Policy and practice regarding in-grade level retention and their effects on high school graduation rates and successful student academic outcomes have currently assumed great importance in the education reform debate. Further, the effectiveness of our public schools and the achievement of our students have implications that can affect individuals and the communities in which they live. Now, more than ever, individual economic success and economic growth depend crucially on academic achievement and human capital. The purpose of this research …

An Assessment Of Factors Influencing Student Enrollment Within The Southern Union Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventist Secondary Schools, Olivia Dianne Beverly

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

AN ASSESSMENT OF FACTORS INFLUENCING STUDENT ENROLLMENT WITHIN THE SOUTHERN UNION CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST SECONDARY SCHOOLS

by

OLIVIA D. BEVERLY

December, 2010

Advisor: Dr. Sharon Elliott

Major: Curriculum and Instruction

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Secondary schools operating within the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventist are experiencing severe enrollment fluctuations and some instances declines. These trends and patterns have set off alarms within the Southern Union Adventist educational establishment and in some quarters have even raised the specter of whether some schools have long-term sustainability or survivability.

As a consequence of this enrollment dilemma, this research was designed …

Looking At A More Comprehensive Picture Of Reading As Enacted By Second-Grade Readers, Glorianne Lopata-Prosperi

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study examined the reading of fiction and nonfiction text by second grade readers. A comparison of their reading processes, comprehension, and perceptions are highlighted. The study was conducted given the changing demands of reading in the 21st century and the current literacy experiences typically presented in elementary schools.

The study investigated three questions: For second-grade readers, some with more exposure to nonfiction text and some with less: 1) What are the differences, if any, in their reading processes? 2) What differences, if any, occur in their comprehension? and 3) What differences, if any, are there in participant's perceptions of …

The Relationship Between Core-Plus Mathematics Project And Student Achievement, Karen Renee Treadway-Harvel

Wayne State University Dissertations

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) study revealed that test scores from high school students were below average in mathematics and science. Studies show that part of it stem from the traditional methods of teaching rather than the standards-based teaching. According to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, students should receive a rigorous and relevant curriculum. The High School Content Expectations (HSCE) is a set of objectives that meet this criteria but the current curriculum still uses traditionally-based curriculum. More than 80% of textbooks located in schools today are traditionally-based. Moreover, teachers who are teaching have been …

The Social Perceptions And Attitudes Held By African American Males Who Participated In A Self-Contained Special Education Middle School Program For Three Years And Dropped Out Of High School After The Ninth Grade, Sherrell Linnette Hobbs

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

THE SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES HELD BY AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES WHO PARTICIPATED IN A SELF-CONTAINED SPECIAL EDUCATION MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM FOR THREE YEARS AND DROPPED OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL AFTER THE NINTH GRADE

by

SHERRELL HOBBS

December 2010

Advisor: Dr. Marshall Zumberg

Major: Special Education

Degree: Doctor of philosophy

There are two parts to socialization, informal and formal. In the United States, informal lessons of socialization come from a child's primary caretaker(s). Imagine a child growing up in this informal setting only to see the world from one perspective through that unique experience. Later the child goes into a …

Spirituality And Spiritual Self-Care: Expanding Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory, Mary Louise White

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to extend the theory of self-care deficit nursing by including specific constructs of religion, spirituality, and spiritual self-care practices within the structure suggested by Orem's self-care deficit nursing theory. Based on an extensive literature review, practice experience, and a discovery theory-building approach, a new mid-range theory called White's theory of spirituality and spiritual self-care (WTSSSC) was developed. To begin to test this mid-range theory, empirical indices of many of the main concepts were identified from prior studies and one new instrument (the Spiritual Self-Care Practice Scale) was developed. Hypothesized relationships among the main concepts …

The Effects Of Education On The Attitudes Of Counselors In Training Toward Alcoholism, Pamela Sue Van Kampen

Wayne State University Dissertations

Societal attitudes toward alcoholics tend to be negative, and shame and behavior based. Research shows these same attitudes are prevalent among medical and mental health care professionals. Alcohol related problems are frequently misdiagnosed, and sometimes the expectation for recovery is limited or negligible.

This study posited that the attitudes of counselors in training would become more positive as a result of a substance abuse education course as evidenced by a comparison of the pre- and post- scores on The Marcus Alcoholism Questionnaire (MAQ) (Marcus, 1962). Moreover, they would demonstrate significant changes in their perceptions of personal confidence and competencies in …

An Analysis Of Teacher Distribution Across Districts And Schools In The Detroit Metropolitan Area, Christina Susanne Krispien

Wayne State University Dissertations

The demand that today's schools shall produce better educational outcomes of their pupils is stronger than ever before, especially in front of the background of our globalized, competitive world. Past and current research has supported the hypothesis that the teacher is the most important ingredient in the educational process. As the Detroit metropolitan area, consisting of the three counties of Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne, provides a diversified picture of academic achievement and community background and a number of charter schools (public school academies), research regarding the distribution of teachers with certain desirable attributes across a student population distinguished by achievement, …