Education Commons^™

The Monroe County Intermediate School District: A Case Study, Donald A. Spencer

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Throughout the history of public education in Michigan, there has been an intermediate unit of educational government. This unit of educational government exists between the State Department of Education and the local school districts. Currently, there are fifty-seven intermediate school districts in Michigan providing educational services and governance functions.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the Monroe County Intermediate School District in order to inform educational leadership.

Research Design: This study was an interpretive, historical case study. The study explored the manner in which culture was perpetuated via the system of education in Monroe, Michigan, throughout …

The Academic And Behavioral Benefits Of Auditory Integration Training In High School-Aged Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Jenny Lauterbach

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study is a double-blind experiment that assessed the effectiveness of auditory integration training (AIT) on the academic performance and behavior of 10 high school students between the ages of 15 and 17 years, all diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The subjects were administered a standardized test of auditory processing skills (TAPS) (Gardner, 1996), after which they participated in 15-20 minute sessions of auditory integration training (AIT) once a day for a period of four weeks. Some participants were exposed to filtered music, whereas others were exposed to non-filtered music. At the end of the 4 weeks, …

Voices Of Poverty: Perspectives Of One School's Student, Teachers. And Parents, Kristen Weatherwax

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the challenges of poverty through the stories of students and their families in one Michigan elementary school. The goal was to explore the needs, challenges, and obstacles confronting children in poverty in a small Michigan town by focusing on the perspectives and experiences of low-income students and their parents/guardians. Two families and one teacher were interviewed in depth, using open-ended, semi-structured interview techniques. Two case studies were constructed from the content of the interviews, and key thematic findings that emerged revealed ongoing stress, fear, sadness, and frustration with which the children lived, as well as strong …

An Examination Of The Relationship Of Six Risk Factors Associated With Dropping Out Of High School For Students With Disabilities In South Central Michigan, Dawn Gallup

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative, retrospective (ex post facto), research in south central Michigan was to determine the relationship of six risk factors associated with dropping out of high school to students with disabilities (SWDs). The six risk factors were (a) grade retention (never held back or held back one or more times), (b) age compared to peers (same age as peers or one year or older than peers), (c) limited English proficiency (English speaking or English as a second language), (d) category of disability (learning disabled/emotionally impaired or cognitively impaired/other), (e) mobility (the number of school districts or …

Perceived Value Of Faculty-Developed Course Websites: A Student-Faculty Comparison, Donald W. Southwell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study is a case-study examination of faculty-developed course websites and their usage within a single mid-western community college environment. Its purpose is to develop an understanding of the perceived value of selected course websites from both student and faculty perspectives based on website design and use. The study analyzes course websites from instructional and technological theoretical perspectives, drawing from literature in the fields of education and technology studies.

To understand course websites within the context of their usage, three selected course websites were paired with the instructor and a subset of students to form a case study unit. The …

Special Education Reading Instructional Strategies In One Midwestern Intermediate School District, Marliese Temme

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Reading is one of the most important skills needed throughout life. Recent national studies combined with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Law and the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act have heightened the educational community’s awareness of the broken link between research-based instructional strategies and actual implementation. This study sought to determine to what extent research-based instructional strategies were integrated into the teaching of students with reading difficulties, and to what extent sustainability factors were evidenced in service delivery models. From the original 46 survey participants, a subset of thirteen special education teachers participated in …

Why Do Students With Hearing Impairment Resist Wearing Fm Amplification?, Jennifer Lynn Franks

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The benefits of Frequency Modulation (FM) amplification usage among school-aged children is widely researched and established. The benefits provided from FM systems for students with a hearing impairment (HI) would suggest that consistent usage among these students would be high. However, interactions with various-aged HI students and their teachers have shown the opposite: there appears to be a lack of consistent usage. Previous research has looked at what influences people with a hearing loss not to wear their hearing aids. Research investigating reasons why FM systems are not used is limited. There are well-known benefits of FM usage among those …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Student Prosocial Behavior In Selected Elementary Classroom, Janet L. Fisher

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of A Developmental Kindergarten And Pre-First Program And Their Effects On Academic And Behavior Outcomes, Amanda R. Reenders

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Catholic Schools In The Diocese Of Grand Rapids, Michigan: A Case Study, Bernard T. Stanko

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This longitudinal case study examined the origins, growth, and development of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The purpose of this study was to understand how the Catholic schools evolved over time.

Four eras between 1833 and 2005 were investigated and described. Each era corresponds with changes to the physical size of the Diocese of Grand Rapids. These periods also correspond to sociological events that were also occurring. Data on Catholic schools were collected for each era. A conceptual framework was applied that considered the institutional environment in which the schools were founded and the task environment …

Beliefs About Parenting And How It Affects A Child's Education, Korin Crandall Quinn

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The researcher studied the cultural trends of a group of at-risk mothers who reside within Kent County, the majority of whom live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The null hypothesis states: Environmental and cultural beliefs do not affect generational parenting beliefs or risk factors within the Kent County and Grand Rapids area. Cultural factors and four areas of the mothers’ lives were studied: (a) number of parents within the household, (b) parental levels of education, (c) socioeconomic status, and (d) occurrence ratio of low birth weight.

Mothers (n=37) responded to questionnaires; 24 were interviewed in person; 13 completed questionnaire forms on …

Socialization Of Undergraduate Engineering Students Into Work-Experienced Organizations And Occupational Roles Through A Cooperative Education Program, Chris Plouff

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated cooperative education as an organizational phenomenon using a qualitative approach. The objectives of this study were to 1) describe the experiences of students entering an organization through a cooperative education program; 2) describe the organizational processes used to introduce students into an organization and occupational roles through a work experience; 3) understand any common patterns or themes associated with these experiences; 4) develop a model or framework that describes the processes used in these settings; and 5) determine activities and processes that will better facilitate the student’s movement from the education to the work environment through a …

Student Achievement As A Function Of Class Size And Pupil-Teacher Ratio, Robert T. Becker

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Background: The degree to which class size is able to produce positive, enduring effects on student achievement has been and continues to be vigorously debated. Comparative studies have clouded the issue with imprecise use of the terms class size (CS) and pupil-teacher ratio (PTR), making it difficult to draw clear conclusions regarding the effects of class size on student achievement.

Purpose: To assess differences, if any, in achievement between students attending classes where the class-size is approximately n = 17 and students attending classes where the class-size is approximately n = 25 and the pupil-teacher ratio is approximately …

Implementation Of Labcreator And The Integration Of Cyberlab, Kang Zhao

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

With the development of the World Wide Web, online courses are becoming more and more popular in modern science education. CyberLab aims to solve an important issue in distance science education -- laboratory experiments in online courses. It is a toolkit that handles creation, exportation, and execution of virtual experiments (within web browsers). It consists of LabCreator and LabExecutor. With LabCreator, instructors can create virtual experiments and export them into intermediate files. Students can download those files from online course websites and execute them in LabExecutor on their own computers.

The paper reports on the completion of two important tasks …

Cultural Resilience--A Currency Of Social Capital: Counteracting Student Marginalization In Two Urban--Suburban High Schools, Marci A. Erby

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative research study began as an exploration of the central qualities of the lived experience of students in two urban-suburban high schools where, as an outcome of rapid demographic change, White students now represent the nontraditional racial minority and Black students represent the racial majority. Semistructured interviews, the primary method of data collection, were conducted with students who had graduated from the high schools under study and with adults who had significant ties to the district. Student informants, in particular, shared high school experiences of marginalization that included silence, rendered invisibility, stereotyping, and bias owing in large part to …

The Effects Of The Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing Program On Reading Fluency And Comprehension Of At-Risk First-Graders, Andrea R. Van Der Laan

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this research study was to determine the impact of the Lindamood-Bell Phoneme Sequencing Program on phonemic awareness, reading fluency, and comprehension of at-risk first graders in one southwestern Michigan school district.

In the first phase of this research, baseline data in phonemic awareness and fluency scores were collected from two different first-grade classrooms to determine which students would be chosen for the study. The final study included 32 students, 16 from the experimental school and 16 from the control school. Both schools had similar demographic populations. In the second phase of the study, data were collected …

A Case Study Of The Use Of Risk Management In Ncaa Compliance At A Division I Institution, Melody Reifel Werner

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Institutions face significant risks related to athletics compliance. While risk assessment has been a standard part of compliance programs outside higher education, it has not been among the tools of NCAA athletics compliance.

Purpose: To (a) identify the methods and steps of using risk assessment in intercollegiate athletics compliance and (b) evaluate the effects of risk assessment on the athletics compliance operation communication and decision making about compliance, interactions with the NCAA, and compliance outcomes.

Research Design: The researched employed a nonexperimental descriptive case study design. Setting: The research site was a Division I institution. The institution was purposively …

The Influence Of Participation In Student Nurse Extern Programs On Nclex-Rn Pass Rates For First-Time Candidates, Joy Turner Washburn

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Background: NCLEX-RN pass rate data for first-time candidates is used as a method to assess the quality of nursing education programs by nursing education accreditation bodies. In several states, the board of nursing uses NCLEX-RN pass rate data to measure the educational effectiveness of nursing programs operating within its’ jurisdiction. Educators and administrators in nursing programs are concerned about NCLEX-RN pass rates for firsttime candidates who are graduates of their nursing programs. Journals for nurse educators and administrators include articles regarding variables affecting success and/or failure on the NCLEX-RN. Most of the identified variables are academic in nature (GPA, ACT/SAT …

Athletics Donors' Preferences For An Athletics Director's Leadership Characteristics And Behaviors, Brian D. Wickstrom

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

NCAA Division-IA intercollegiate athletics has become a big business with equally big expenses. Today’s intercollegiate athletics departments are feeling the state budget cuts, the strain to maximize donor support in order to balance the budget, and the challenge of chasing the ongoing goal of providing the best student athlete experience possible to young men and women across the country. It is absolutely critical today for intercollegiate athletics departments to run successful fundraising campaigns. Leadership has been shown to be one of the most significant factors in the successful development efforts of an intercollegiate athletics department. Research has shown that when …