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Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Using Career Education To Enhance School Success And Reduce The Dropout Rate, Cindy Lue Martin May 2008

Using Career Education To Enhance School Success And Reduce The Dropout Rate, Cindy Lue Martin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The new career education program was developed to help over-aged and under achieving 9th graders who are one or more years behind in earning their high school diplomas. This program was designed to reduce the dropout rate and provide every student with a South Carolina State Diploma and a marketable skill upon entering the workforce. This study determined if the program reduced the dropout rate and if students participating in the career education program would show an improvement in factors established as dropout indicators. The students who met the programs qualifications began in the fall of 2006 and were studied …


A Theatrical Take On Educational Self-Esteem, David Seagraves Apr 2008

A Theatrical Take On Educational Self-Esteem, David Seagraves

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the constructs of self-esteem and theatre arts. The experimental research utilized a Solomon four-group design, which included four groups of public high school freshmen. The study investigated whether or not self-esteem would increase after studying theatre arts, and if a cause and effect relationship existed between theatre arts and self-esteem. The study’s independent variable was a theatre arts treatment of ten lessons centered around a novel. The dependent variables were the scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1965), a self-reporting and numerically measurable self-esteem survey. The scale was administered in a pretest and posttest format. The self-esteem …


The Relationship Of Principal Leadership And Teacher Morale, Keith A. Rowland Mar 2008

The Relationship Of Principal Leadership And Teacher Morale, Keith A. Rowland

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This Study examined the relationship of the leadership practices of middle school principals and the morale of the teachers in these schools. Seven middle schools in a Metropolitan Atlanta school system participated in the study. The Leadership Practices Inventory was used to collect information on the principal practices and the Purdue Teacher Opinionaire was used to collect information on teacher morale. Results indicated that principal leadership and teacher morale were significantly correlated and that the leadership practice of Enable Others to Act had the strongest positive correlation to teacher morale. These results imply that a principal’s daily behavior plays a …


Reading Improvement In The Era Of No Child Left Behind, Meredith Furrow Mar 2008

Reading Improvement In The Era Of No Child Left Behind, Meredith Furrow

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This mixed-methodology study described the reading curriculum and instructional changes that occurred in a small, rural, intermediate school in Virginia as a result of the No Child Left Behind legislation and Virginia’s Standards of Learning requirements. A special focus was placed on the progression of reading scores of the 2003-2004 fifth grade students to their eighth grade school year of 2006-2007. Since the Standards of Learning reading scores given in the spring of 2004 initiated the school improvement process for this school, the focus of this research was based on documenting these scores along with the school improvement process that …


Character Traits In Newbery Award Literature 1997-2007, Julie Beth Bryant Feb 2008

Character Traits In Newbery Award Literature 1997-2007, Julie Beth Bryant

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine the character example elements in the Newbery Award winning books from 1997-2007. Content analysis was used to identify the pertinent character traits identified by the researcher using the acronym C.H.A.R.A.C.T.E.R. These example elements include: (a) caring/compassionate, (b) helpfulness, (c) acceptance, (d) respect, (e) ambition, (f) citizenship, (g) trustworthiness, (h) encouragement, and (i) responsibility. Using a coding system developed for this study, four readers read and discussed the books to attempt consensus as to the character traits identified. The researcher sought answers to the following questions: (a) Do the Newbery Award winning books …


An Analysis Of Rx For Discovery Reading For Elementary Students Below Average In Reading, Susan Kay Stanley Oct 2007

An Analysis Of Rx For Discovery Reading For Elementary Students Below Average In Reading, Susan Kay Stanley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Rx for Discovery Reading® is an intervention developed by the National Institute for Learning Development to impact the reading abilities of students below grade level in reading. The program was designed to address every area of reading acquisition, but, for this study, the areas of phonological processing, decoding, and fluency were investigated using pre- and post-test scores from the KTEA-II, GORT, and DIBELS. The problem studied was whether Rx for Discovery Reading® would raise the mean standard scores in the three areas at the conclusion of the field test. Using a small-group format, twenty-nine students who were not on grade …


Christian School Administration: Exercising Biblical Competence: A Consecrated Heart And An Educated Mind, Julia Curruth Mcmillan Jun 2007

Christian School Administration: Exercising Biblical Competence: A Consecrated Heart And An Educated Mind, Julia Curruth Mcmillan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is minimal research conducted to assist Professional Educators with effective ministering and administration in Christian Schools. While secular academic training and experience provide the Administrator with great preparation, there are specific dynamics unique to the Christian school environment that warrant deliberate attention if the Administrator is to be effective. Observed from the perspective of a parent, having served faithfully as both teacher and the current Principal of the Bible-Based Fellowship Christian Academy; in its young life, this nine-year old school had experienced eight different administrators, most recently in January 2005. Inconsistency in leadership had stunted the growth of the …


Developing Oral Reading Fluency: Effects Of Daily Use Of Word Walls And Daily Independent Silent Reading On Oral Reading Fluency Development Of Second Grade Students, Douglas F. Osborn Mar 2007

Developing Oral Reading Fluency: Effects Of Daily Use Of Word Walls And Daily Independent Silent Reading On Oral Reading Fluency Development Of Second Grade Students, Douglas F. Osborn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The researcher measured the effectiveness of two popular supplemental reading instruction strategies, word walls and independent silent reading, in 6 second-grade classes over 12 weeks. The study involved the comparison of eight oral reading fluency growth measures (Rate, Accuracy, Fluency, Comprehension, Oral Reading Quotient--overall oral reading ability, Sight Word Efficiency, Phonemic Decoding Efficiency, and Total Word Reading Efficiency). The researcher used the individually administered Gray Oral Reading Tests (fourth edition) and the Test of Word Reading Efficiency in a pretest-intervention-posttest experimental design to obtain these measures. Although pretest and posttest comparisons of the standard scores and percentile ranks revealed no …


High School Athletic Eligibility Policies: A Mixed-Methods Study Of The Perspectives Of Public School Athletic Directors, Harlie G. Miller Mar 2007

High School Athletic Eligibility Policies: A Mixed-Methods Study Of The Perspectives Of Public School Athletic Directors, Harlie G. Miller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

High school students in North Carolina public schools must meet academic eligibility requirements in order to compete on school sponsored teams. While all districts must follow the state association guidelines, local education agencies may elect to create policies that are more rigorous. This mixed-methods study investigated the impact of the academic eligibility policies on high school campuses. The research relied heavily upon interviews with high school athletic directors, but also analyzed measures of student academic success. Interviewees were male and female, white and African-American. They had varied years of experience, and were from schools that were different geographically and demographically, …


The Effects Of Life Skills Instruction On The Personal-Social Skills Scores Of Rural High School Students With Mental Retardation, Mary K. Quigley Mar 2007

The Effects Of Life Skills Instruction On The Personal-Social Skills Scores Of Rural High School Students With Mental Retardation, Mary K. Quigley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Effects of Life Skills Instruction on the Personal-Social Skills Scores of Rural High School Students with Mental Retardation. (Under the direction of Dr. Margaret Ackerman) School of Education, March, 2007. The current legislation No Child Left Behind mandates that students with mental retardation have access to core curriculum courses. A comprehensive life skills program, Life Centered Career Education (LCCE), was integrated into the curriculum of high school students with mental retardation. The LCCE program was utilized to educate students on Personal-Social, Daily Life skills, and Occupational lessons with an academic emphasis. The study measured improvements made in the personal-social …


Brain-Based Learning Theory: An Online Course Design Model, Abreena Walker Tompkins Mar 2007

Brain-Based Learning Theory: An Online Course Design Model, Abreena Walker Tompkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The development of a theoretical brain-based online course design model with potential transferability across course management systems in higher education is the problem for this study. Qualitative inquiry was the emergent design and consisted of an extensive current, relevant literature review of educational literature in brain-based learning theory, online course design, and course management systems for the purpose of developing a theoretical brain-based online course design model for higher education. The model developed includes synthesized indicators from the analytical charting. The proposed model is presented in acronym form, which in and of itself aligns with brain-based learning theory. The acronym …


Sixth Grade Fitness Levels And The Fitnessgram Assessment Program, Reginald S. Kimball Feb 2007

Sixth Grade Fitness Levels And The Fitnessgram Assessment Program, Reginald S. Kimball

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine sixth grade students’ level of fitness on the FitnessGram physical fitness testing program at the beginning of the 2006 – 2007 school year. This study examined if students entering the sixth grade were in the Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) or needs improvement zone of the FitnessGram. The primary participant population for the study was 155 sixth grade students from four different Metro-Atlanta middle schools. Although there were 155 students, gender was not reported for two of the students. Data was collected during the 2006 – 2007 school year during the first 3 …


The Relationship Between Oral Reading Fluency And Comprehension, Jessica A. Talada Feb 2007

The Relationship Between Oral Reading Fluency And Comprehension, Jessica A. Talada

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Oral reading fluency and reading comprehension are identified as components in effectively gaining meaning from text. A reciprocal relationship exists between the two that allows one to comprehend more thoroughly as one reads more fluently. Additionally, as one reads more fluently, one’s ability to comprehend also improves. This is due to the fact that one’s brain is more capable in processing text meaning when one is able to read fluently. Therefore, when one automatically identifies words one is able to comprehend text more completely. The oral reading fluency and comprehension relationship was tested for a second and third grade population …


A Descriptive Study Of The Marketing Mix Strategies Utilized By North American Christian Schools, David D. Horner May 2006

A Descriptive Study Of The Marketing Mix Strategies Utilized By North American Christian Schools, David D. Horner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Educators often misunderstand marketing. Frequently it is viewed as simply advertising or selling. Marketing is far more encompassing. A closer look at the components of marketing reveals an involvement in virtually all aspects of private school operations. Other than miracles or providential guidance, a solid business plan, based on the “marketing mix,” might contribute most to the overall growth and customer satisfaction within a Christian school. This dissertation is a qualitative study designed to research the marketing mix strategies of private, Christian schools throughout America and Canada. This research effort was designed to collect both descriptive and historical data. A …


Moral Self-Concept Of Public And Christian School Teachers In An Atlanta Metropolitan Area County, Timothy Reid Brown Apr 2006

Moral Self-Concept Of Public And Christian School Teachers In An Atlanta Metropolitan Area County, Timothy Reid Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Historically, the importance of moral and ethical behavior has helped govern the educational process in the United States. The research shows that students notice and are affected by the moral character of a teacher as it is conveyed by a teacher’s behavior and lifestyle, both in and out of the classroom. This quantitative causal-comparative study, conducted in October and November of 2004, examined the moral self-concept of teachers as measured by the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale: Second Education (TSCS:2). The population consisted of 210 teachers from a metropolitan Atlanta county employed by public and Christian elementary and secondary schools. The investigation …