Education Commons^™

A Study To Determine What Effects The Upcoming Elimination Of The Wood Technology Course Is Having On Instructors And Their Programs, Pennie L. Brown

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The following goals were studied to determine the effects of the planned course elimination: 1. Is the plan to drop Wood Technology lowering instructor morale? 2. Are class sizes and numbers affecting the decisions to cease offering the course? 3. What is the perception of the course in the school and community? 4. Do the instructors feel the course should be saved and maintained as is or modified? 5. What will happen to the instructors' positions when the course is eliminated?

A Study To Determine The Effects Of Changes In Routine On Aerobic Participants, Andrea G. Oberg

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The problem of this study was to determine the effects of changes in routine on aerobic participants. It led to the development of the following hypothesis: When knowing the routine, aerobic participants will receive a more effective workout than when the routine is unknown.

A Study To Determine Criteria Essential To Technology Education At The Secondary Education Level, Jason Edward Perry

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

To accomplish the purpose of this study, the following goals were used: 1. Determine the list of curriculum criteria essential to technology education programs at the secondary level; 2. Validate the list of curriculum criteria essential to technology education programs at the secondary level.

The Relationships Between Metacognitive Strategies And Learning Outcomes In An Adult Basic Skills Program, Bert Huggins

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study tested metacognitive strategies accounted for variance in learning acquisition and retention in an adult basic skills population. The study employed the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) to measure metacognitive strategy use, a standardized, individually-accessed basic skills curriculum, and a valid basic skills performance measurement.

The study population was young adult soldiers stationed in South Carolina, California and Hawaii. Sites selection assured uniformity in testing procedures, curriculum and delivery. Multiple sites assured a variety of soldier career fields for purposes of generalization.

Performance measurements were taken at the beginning of instruction, at the end of instruction and a …

Elementary Guidance Services In Urban And Rural Schools In Tidewater, Virginia, Berkley Edgerton Ashby

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative importance of the ten most significant components of an elementary guidance program. A second purpose was to identify differences in guidance services provided in selected urban and rural schools and also the perceived effectiveness and adequacy of the services as viewed by counselors and teachers. The study was conducted with elementary guidance counselors and elementary teachers in 48 urban and 48 rural schools in Tidewater, Virginia.

The National Study of School Evaluation instrument for secondary schools was modified for use in this study. A pilot study of the revised instrument …

Role Of Imitation In Language Assessment Tests, Abha Gupta

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

A study investigated whether imitation plays a significant role in the acquisition of grammar. Three 6- to 8-year-old hearing-impaired children were administered the Grammatical Analysis of Elicited Language--Simple Sentence Level Test (GAEL), which is designed to evaluate hearing-impaired children's use of grammatical aspects of spoken and/or signed English. Subjects' verbal responses to the "imitated" component (in which subjects were asked to say just what the tester said) of the GAEL were transcribed and analyzed. Results indicated that imitated speech is neither longer nor grammatically more advanced than non-imitated, spontaneous speech. Findings suggest that the children produced "unique" language structures to …

Kidwatching Going Beyond The Language Of The Test, Abha Gupta

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

A study examined the linguistic forms in the discourse of speakers during a language test to indicate why they use certain specific forms over others. Ten children were given the Grammatical Analysis of Elicited Language--Simple Sentence Level Test (GAEL), a language proficiency test for hearing-impaired children in the age group of 4 to 8 years. Three students were videotaped during administration of the test, and the other students' final responses (omitting the intermediate discourse) were recorded. Some of the test items on which the maximum number of children deviated from the target response were analyzed for common traits and classified …

Student Scheduling, Nathan T. Hardee, William A. Owings, Wayne Wright

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

[First Paragraph] Developing the master schedule and subsequent student schedules is one of the most important administrative tasks of the principal. Ensuring that appropriate courses are offered and that teachers are teaching courses they want to teach can go a long way toward creating a positive climate and an atmosphere where learning occurs. There are three ways in which student schedules can be developed: Computer, arena, and manual. Each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses. Principals must decide which approach is best for the school based on philosophy and available resources.

Components Of Effective Leadership, William A. Owings, R. D. Barrack (Ed.), M. W. Bedwell (Ed.), J. S. Byrne (Ed.), S. H. Campbell (Ed.), T. Page Johnson (Ed.), R. E. Jones (Ed.), G. L. Koonce (Ed.), W. A. Owings (Ed.), H. R. Stiff (Ed.)

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] The effective schools literature demonstrates that the principal's leadership is key to the revitalization of schools. The purpose of this article is to feature those components of leadership on which principals need to place attention and to provide suggested activities to enhance these components.

Lesson Plan Designs, William A. Owings, Michael W. Bedwell, Charles Berry

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] The principal must observe teachers to improve and evaluate effectiveness. Since instructional planning is one of the keys to good instruction, one component of improving teacher effectiveness is the lesson plan. This article provides two formats for lesson planning: a narrative approach and a skeleton approach. Although the ideas in this article may be used whenever written plans are required, not all written plans require elaborate detail.

Virginia's Plan For Dual Enrollment, William A. Owings, John B. Titus, R. D. Barrack (Ed.), M. W. Bedwell (Ed.), J. S. Byrne (Ed.), S. H. Campbell (Ed.), T. Page Johnson (Ed.), R. E. Jones (Ed.), G. L. Koonce (Ed.), W. A. Owings (Ed.), H. R. Stiff (Ed.)

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] There is a plan where Virginia pays Average Daily Membership (ADM) monies to a school system for a student attending a community college - and the community college collects the Full Time Equivalency (FTE) from the State. Principals must be aware of this dual enrollment plan for secondary students with community colleges approved in September of 1988. This plan provides options for students which were not available before. Dual enrollment allows high school students to accumulate credits for graduation while simultaneously earning college credit. The courses to be offered are to be mutually agreed upon by the school …

A Study On Teacher Change To Developmentally Appropriate Practice In The Primary Grades Of An Urban Elementary School, Kerry Sullivan Lambert

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this research was to study the process of change from traditional teaching practices to developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), following training. The population for this study consists of kindergarten and first grade teachers, in urban elementary school comprised of student at-risk for school failure. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies were utilized. The quantitative measures provide evidence of the degree of change made by teachers and render a context for the qualitative findings. The variables of DAP were measured pre- and post-training to determine change in teaching practices that occurred after training. Two observation instruments were utilized to measure …

Faculty Standardization Of Dental Hygiene Instrumentation Skill Evaluation: A Calibration Exercise, Diane-Marie Smela

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

Faculty must be standardized so that student skills are assessed in an unbiased, equal fashion. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of calibration on dental hygiene faculty standardization. Examples of correct and incorrect instrumentation skill performance were demonstrated and discussed during the calibration exercise. Groups simultaneously viewed instrumentation skills while assessing correct or incorrect performance. Group standardization was determined through analysis of answer key agreement, intra-rater reliability, and inter-rater reliability. Data were statistically analyzed through the use of a z-test for both answer key agreement and inter-rater reliability, and chi-square (x²) for inter-rater reliability …

An Examination Of The Effects Of An Intergenerational Reading Workshop On The Listening Comprehension Of At-Risk Pre-Kindergarten Students, Marycarolyn G. France

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

A surge of interest in working with parents to help their children build prerequisite language skills that would prevent reading failure has developed in recent years. The challenge of preventing reading failure in students is exacerbated when parents themselves have limited skills in reading. In recognition of this fact, schools and other institutions have begun to provide intergenerational programs to teach parents and children together. The workshop which is the subject of this study is one such program.

Thirteen parents and their pre-kindergarten children, who had been identified by the school as at-risk students, were exposed to an intergenerational reading …

Sleep Patterns And The Behavior Of Children In The Second-, Third-, And Fourth-Grades In Urban Public Schools, Yolanda Cardelli Hampel

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This investigation examined the relationship between nocturnal sleep patterns and behaviors in the classroom of seventy-four girls and fifty-nine boys from second-, third-, and fourth-grades attending five urban public schools in Norfolk, Virginia.

The dependent variables were the classroom behavior that was subdivided into five personality areas for objective assessment of the student's adjustment areas labeled self, social, school, home, and physical. The objective assessment was observed and documented on a seventy-eight item questionnaire by their primary classroom teachers who were familiar with the subjects behavior. The parents observed and recorded data on a sleep log listing independent variables such …

Defining The Role Of School Personnel Directors In Urban School Divisions Of The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Arnold Coy Nye Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to identify disparities between perceptions of the public school personnel director's role by both personnel directors and superintendents. The study was limited to personnel directors and superintendents employed by urban school divisions in Virginia. The study sought to identify (1) disparities between perceptions by personnel directors of their ideal role versus their actual role, (2) disparities between perceptions of personnel directors and superintendents of the personnel director's actual role, and (3) disparities between perceptions by public school division superintendents of the personnel directors ideal role versus the actual role.

A role analysis questionnaire was …

Effects Of Mentoring On The Personal Career Development, Attendance, And Retention Of Teen Mothers In A Job Training Program, M. Elaine Chase

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a mentoring program on the personal career development, attendance, and retention of students of the 1991 Teen-Age Parent Program of Skillbuilding (TAPPS). The study was conducted in Chesapeake, Virginia, within the Chesapeake Public Schools Adult Continuing Education Department. The students were matched and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group (N = 15) received a program of mentoring over and above the regular support services of TAPPS. The control group (N = 15) received only the regular support services. Students in both groups were pretested on …

An Analysis Of Urban Higher Education Ceo's Perceptions Of Critical Leadership Behaviors, Linda Ferguson Banis

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The research question for this study asked if CEO's (Chief Executive Officers) of urban higher education institutions hold the same values and beliefs as those attributed to business and industry CEO's through the business literature. Through survey methodology, the analysis of urban higher education CEO's perceptions of critical leadership behaviors revealed very similar belief patterns. The primary discrepancies between the research group and their industry counterparts lie in the degree to which critical behaviors are espoused and in the acceptance of transformational leadership as a proactive model for effective organizational change. The responses to the open-ended portion of the questionnaire …

Relationships Among Type Of Classrooms, Gender, And Measures Of Student Classroom Perceptions And Preferences, Phyllis M. Roberson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The relationship between gender, classroom type, seating preference and locus of control with respect to how they predict attitudes about classrooms and seating preferences was investigated in 38 males and 44 females. A number of significant relationships were found between the perceived environments and various attitudes of students about the environments. The Classroom Environment Scale and Seating Preference Questionnaire were used to assess student attitudes about classroom environments and seating preferences. Students perceived small classrooms as enhancing friendships, affiliation and competition as compared to large and lecture classrooms. Large and lecture classrooms were perceived by students as more task oriented …

A Study Of The Planning Process Utilized By Urban School Divisions In Constructing Public Schools In The State Of Virginia, 1984-1989, Patricia Liverman Powers

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This research tested utilization of the "team approach" to planning for new school construction. The "team approach" is characterized by seven essential variables. To successfully plan a new school building, educators must: (1) involve more than one individual in collecting data; (2) provide quantitative data to the architect; (3) provide qualitative data to the architect; (4) provide data to the architect in advance of design; (5) provide data to the architect in written form; (6) provide original data, not prototype data; and (7) provide data which is used by the architect. Collective use of all seven variables constitute the "team …

Characteristics Of Families And Home Environments That Facilitate The Successful Adaptation Of Children Into A Formal School Environment, Janice Elich Monroe

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine what characteristics of families are most likely to enhance the development of social capital in young urban school children and to determine which of these characteristics or combination of characteristics contribute to a child's ability to adapt positively to a formal school environment. This purpose was accomplished through the design and implementation of an ex post facto study utilizing qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The sample for this study included 33 second grade students from four target schools in the Norfolk Public School System who were identified as disadvantaged and as either …

School Desegregation And Urban Renewal In Norfolk, 1950-1959, Forrest R. (Hap) White

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Although a number of scholars have examined the impact that the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision had upon local school policies, there is a paucity of research on what repercussions that decision may have had upon a broad range of other related municipal issues. This historical case study explores the effect that opposition to court ordered school integration had upon the placement of school buildings and urban renewal projects in one Southern city, Norfolk, Virginia, where there was strong reason to believe that the municipal powers of school plant planning, redevelopment, and city planning were deliberately …

Formal And Informal Educational Activities Of Transformational Nurse Leaders In Urban Hospitals, Sue Waltrip Young

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Absence of educational programs designed to develop a specific leadership style has prompted educators in nursing administration to consider designing such programs. As the cost of hospital care escalates and the recruitment and retention of individuals into hospital nursing remains problematic, it is essential that methods be developed to address these issues. This study described the educational processes experienced by transformational nurse leaders employed in urban hospitals. By discovering the relative importance and amount of these activities for nurses identified as transformational leaders, data are provided for the design and testing of educational programs created to enhance a transformational leadership …

The Role Of College And University Legal Counsel With Regard To Operational Or Policy Making Responsibilities For Student Issues On Campus, Dennis E. Gregory

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

During the past two decades, legal counsel has become an integral part of most institutions. This article examines the impact counsel has had on student affairs practice.

A Study To Determine The Effectiveness Of Present Methods Of Extinguishing Disruptive Classroom Behavior At An Alternative High School, Jon J. Cookson

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The goals of this research were threefold: 1. What were the two most prevalent disruptive classroom behaviors; 2. What current methods were used to discourage the two most prevalent disruptive classroom behaviors; 3. What current methods to prevent disruptive classroom behavior from occurring were most effective.

The Implementation Of "Lab 2000" And "Synergistic Systems" In Middle School Laboratories In Virginia, Patricia M. Ways

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

To solve this problem, the following goals were developed: 1. Determine the effectiveness of the "high tech" laboratories with regard to implementing the middle school curriculum; 2. Make recommendations for facility and curriculum changes based upon the observations of the practicing middle school teachers.

Transforming The Curriculum, The Mission Statement, The Strategic Goals: A Success Story, Nancy Topping Bazin

Women's & Gender Studies Faculty Publications

Old Dominion University, a state university in Norfolk, Virginia, enrolling approximately 16,000 students, has successfully established the goal of achieving diversity in what is taught, who does the teaching, and who is being taught. Since 1986, faculty have had to include the perspectives, contributions, and concerns of women, minorities, and/or non-Western cultures¹ in courses that fulfill general education requirements. The university's mission statement and its strategic goals emphasize curriculum transformation and the attraction of more women and male minorities into the faculty and student body. In its 1989 report, the Virginia Commission on the University of the 21st Century …

An Unsolicited Sociotechnical Intervention In A Public System: A Participatory Action Research Approach, Ely Alfred Dorsey Jr.

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This research concerns itself with Participatory Action Research in a hostile setting. The thrust is a sociotechnical one, with the intent being to enhance the capacity of the Wallop Public School System, Wallop, USA, to address its problem of racial disparate treatment of Black children. The potential for Organizational Learning among the school system's senior staff is studied. Some new theory about such hostile interventions is proposed. Also discussed are questions about reliability and construct validity within the context of the multiple role playing that an interventionist has in this setting. The role of the press is reflected in the …

Psychosocial Developmental Levels Of Freshman Urban University Students With Learning Disabilities, Nancy Ann Wolthuis Olthoff

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This research study addressed the question, "Is there a difference in psychosocial developmental levels, as defined by Arthur Chickering, between male and female traditional-aged urban university freshmen with and without learning disabilities?" Twenty students with learning disabilities, as diagnosed by independent practitioners who exhibited spelling disabilities on a writing sample placement test, were compared to two comparable groups of twenty students. One comparison group did not exhibit spelling disability. The second group while demonstrating spelling problems, did not have documentation of learning disabilities. The Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Inventory, a measure of Arthur Chickering's theory of psychosocial development, was …

The Effects Of Wellness Activity Choices On Urban Employees' Psychological Mood States And Job Satisfaction, Ruth Porter Holland

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This ex-post-facto study was designed to examine the effects of varied levels of physical activity participation choices on employees' mood states and job satisfaction. A six (group) x two (sex) x three (times) ANCOVA method analyzed the relationship of three independent variables (group, sex and repeated exercise sessions) to ten dependent psychological measures (seven mood states and three job satisfaction components). Comparisons by group, sex, and time were made to determine whether four treatment groups of male and female employees who made choices to participate in varied levels of physical activity over an eight week period differed significantly from two …