Education Commons^™

A Study Of School-Choice Students In The Southgate Community School District, Christopher J. Timmis

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the experiences of school-choice students at Southgate Anderson High School (SAHS). Qualitative methods were utilized to complete this interpretive study. The conceptual framework combined socialization theory with organizational theory. The researcher worked as a participant observer who conducted interviews, recorded observation data, and studied archival documents. Conceptually-driven sequential sampling was used to identify participants for initial interviews. Data collected through the initial round were analyzed and led to the use of purposive sampling for the remaining interviews. Interview transcripts, archival data, and observation logs were analyzed until a point of …

Using Geographic Information Systems To Identify Student Retention Patterns, Cheryl Hanewicz

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Student retention continues to be a salient issue for administrators and scholars in higher education. For more than 50 years researchers in numerous disciplines, including sociology, psychology, and economic theory, have tried to discover the reasons why students decide to remain in school until graduation. However, retention rates have remained stagnant at about 50%. Serious consequences result when large numbers of students do not graduate (e.g., fiscal appropriations may be reduced). Additionally, an institution’s reputation is created, in part, on its graduation rate and the racial diversity of the student body.

Researchers have recommended finding innovative, interdisciplinary methods to address …

Evaluation Of Interior Designers' And Interior Design Students' Perceptions Of Cad (Computer Aided Design), Vaishali A. Patil

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This research project used quantitative research method to evaluate interior designers' and interior design students' perceptions about CAD (computer aided design) in interior design. Survey method was used to collect data about demographics, perceptions regarding CAD use, difficulties with its use, and expectations of CAD in near future. Descriptive analysis was used to summarize data from self-administered questionnaires for students and interior designers.

The outcome ofthe study provided an explanation for co-relation of the use of CAD among interior designers and students of interior design. It also provided understanding of practitioners' and students' expectations regarding the use of CAD in …

Entry Of New Members Into One Student Affairs Professional Association Serving Student Affairs Professionals, Christopher Lewis

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of seven new members of one professional association serving student affairs professionals. The study was a qualitative case study and examined the experiences of seven association members. The researcher collected data through face-to-face interviews, document analysis, and participant observation. The study began with face-to-face interviews of all seven participants. Following the interviews, participants were asked to complete a Critical Incident Form. The researcher spent time in the studied association, acting as a participant observer. Finally, the researcher analyzed a number of documents from the association. The data identified six …

Exploration Into The Head Start Fade Phenomenon, Deborah Tenjeras Clarke

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The Head Start fade effect, documented since the 1970s, finds that students who make gains in I.Q. and social skills in the Head Start program later see those positive effects diminish in the early years of schooling and disappear altogether by the end of third grade. The hypothesis proposed in this study was as follows: Group I Head Start students who experience full-day kindergarten every day in small classes, and continue in small classes through grades one, two, and possibly three, will not demonstrate the Head Start fade effect, or will have less fade, than Group II Head Start students …

Personalization Efforts And The Relationship To School Climate In Select Michigan High Schools, Karl A. Pilar

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The American high school is on the verge of a reform movement like that seen in American middle schools throughout the early and mid-1990s. In 1996 the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) released its recommendations for reform in the study Breaking Ranks: Changing an American Institution. Among these are recommendations that call for high schools to become smaller, less bureaucratic, and more responsive to student needs, where students feel a sense of belonging. Hoy and Miskel (2001) defined school climate as a “relatively enduring quality of the school’s environment that is experienced by participants, affects their behavior, is …

Differentiated Instruction: The Effect On Student Achievement In An Elementary School, Patricia A. Koeze

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if differentiated instruction had an effect on student achievement. The researcher sought to answer two research questions “Does differentiated instruction have an impact on student achievement?” and “Are there components of differentiated instruction that have a greater impact on student achievement than others?”

The study followed a mixed method design and consisted of two parts. First, a quantitative analysis of test scores from the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) and teacher and student survey results were analyzed as a means to outline broad relationships from the data. Results from the quantitative findings …

Third Grade Standardized Tests As Indicators And Estimates Of Future Performance On The Act, Greg Wieman

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between 3^rd grade standardized test scores and ACT Composite scores in high school. A second purpose of the study was to determine the consistency of rank within a cohort from 3^rd grade to high school as measured by standardized tests. Data consisted of standardized test scores from three Michigan public school districts analyzed as distinct cohorts. Correlations were determined using various factors from three different commonly used 3^rd grade standardized tests and ACT Composite scores. Multiple regressions of 3rd grade test factors were generated to yield the …

A National Study Of Job Satisfaction Factors Among Faculty In Physician Assistant Education, Wallace D. Boeve

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the job satisfaction factors for physician assistant (PA) faculty. Job satisfaction factors were divided into two categories: intrinsic factors about the respondents (work itself and opportunities for advancement) and extrinsic factors about the institutional faculty support (salary, supervisory support, and coworker relations). The theoretical approach used in this study to examine job satisfaction among PA faculty was Herzberg’s (1966) two-factor theory of motivation. Additionally to enhance Herzberg’s theory regarding intrinsic and extrinsic factors, Smith, Kendall, and Hulin’s (1969) facet-specific job satisfaction theory (i.e., Job Description Index (JDI)) was utilized. A Web-based survey …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Creative Potential And Personality Types Among American And Taiwanese College Students Of Teacher Education, Yiling Cheng

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research has studied the effects of personality on creativity. The present study examined the relationship between personality types and creativity. Creativity was measured by using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT)-Figural, whereas personality type was measured by using Keirsey Temperament Sorter II (KTS II). 57 Americans and 72 Taiwanese college students who specialize in teacher education participated in this study. Consistent with previous research, significant correlation coefficients between the Creativity Index of the TTCT and both the Intuitive (p < .0001) and Perceiving (p = .029) personality types of the KTS II were found. In addition, significant cultural differences in creativity …

An Investigation Of The Cognitive Processes That Contribute To Faculty Development Among Selected Nursing Educators In Michigan, Kate Walters

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the issue of faculty development in nursing education. A qualitative, case-study research method was used to explore cognitive processes nursing faculty engage in for developing their student teaching/learning skills. Groups as well as individuals participated in this study, and data collection involved multiple methods, including group discussions, review of faculty education records at nursing schools, interviews with directors of nursing programs, multiple individual interviews with selected participants over a period of several months, focused journal writing, and electronic discussions.

Study participants consisted of 24 faculty and six administrators from six …