Education Commons^™

Reasons For Collaboration Among European And African American Greek Councils, James David Louk

Legacy ETDs

The study examines the barriers that inhibit collaboration between traditionally European-American fraternities and sororities and historically African-American fraternities and sororities. In the study, 176 members of the fraternity/sorority community responded to the survey. The survey was developed by the researcher to address issues of collaboration between similar governing council's member organizations, reasons for collaboration with organizations in the different governing council, as well as to explore reasons collaboration had not occurred. Membership in a governing council was used as the defining variable to different responses. The results indicated that lack of knowledge ofthe cross racial council's member organizations and members …

Struggling High School Readers' Responses To A Literature-Rich Curriculum, Fran Harrison Stephens

Legacy ETDs

The purpose of this study was to determine how struggling readers in 11th grade Applied Communications classes responded to literary texts that are typically taught to college-prep students. Differentiation of literature for college-prep and techprep students began in the early twentieth century; since then, noncollege-bound students have traditionally studied literary texts that have been rewritten on a lower reading level to accommodate struggling readers in these classes. In this research project, I taught 11th grade Applied Communications students the same literature that college-prep students read; using a qualitative research design, I analyzed the impact of this literature on these students. …

Georgia High School Principals' Perceptions Of Inclusion, James Timothy Yarborough

Legacy ETDs

While considerable research has been conducted concerning the perceptions of teachers regarding the practice of inclusion, there is little corresponding research about the perceptions of principals towards inclusion. Also, much ofthe existing research is contradictory. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to provide educational policymakers with data regarding inclusion. Since principals are responsible for designing and instituting inclusion programs at the school level, their current and prevailing perceptions regarding inclusion were the missing pieces of the information puzzle.

In an attempt to fill this void, the researcher created a survey with quantitative and qualitative components. The survey was distributed …

Listening To Recent High School Dropouts And The Need To Reconceptualize School Violence Prevention, Beatrice A. Geddie

Legacy ETDs

As the high school dropout rates in Georgia exceed the national average, public concern mounts. The complex interactions of internal and external factors that contribute to students' decisions to leave school before graduation require reconceptualizing the educational process on multiple levels. This dissertation addresses current public school policies designed to prevent violent acts and punish offenders, policies that reveal limited understanding of underlying causes, deterministic assumptions and an overwhelming desire for quick fixes. Interviewees deemed many of these policies not only ineffectual, but also as contributing to a negative school climate that encouraged them to drop out. Furthermore, some participants …

Educational Administrators' Perceptions Of The Use Of School Performance Profiles To Improve Student Performances, Eleanor Jean Janufka

Legacy ETDs

The purpose of this study was to examine educational administrators' perceptions of the use of school performance profiles to improve student performances. Using a survey instrument developed and validated at the University of Texas at El Paso, the perceptions of Chatham County administrators were examined and analyzed. Through the analysis of the open-ended questions and the Likert scale survey, the administrators' responses clearly showed that they accept the use of the school performance profiles to improve student performances, but they have doubts about the fairness of the documents as accountability measures. In addition, a significant difference was identified between the …

The Perception Of Ceos And Cios In Regard To Planning And Information Systems Success In Higher Education In The Southeastern United States, Howard Chambless Woodard

Legacy ETDs

As information systems become an ever-increasing part of the educational infrastructure, their successful implementation and operation become paramount and strategic. It appears that information systems have not been utilized in a paramount or strategic fashion by education, especially in organizations of higher education.

The intent of this research was to identify the perceptions of the presidents/chief executive officers (CEOs) and the senior information systems executive'chief information officers (CIOs) in not-for-profit institutions of higher education, accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and whose highest conferred degree is a master's degree or higher. The study reviewed certain institutional and …

Superintendents' Perceptions Regarding The Impact Of Class Size Reduction On School Facility Planning In Georgia, Andrea Jones Williams

Legacy ETDs

During the 2000 legislative session, Georgia lawmakers felt there was a need to improve education in Georgia. The A-Plus Education Reform Act of 2000 was passed in response to their concerns. One section of this act mandated that public schools reduce class sizes. This mandated reduction in class size has had different impacts on Georgia school systems. Successful implementation has been a daunting task for some school systems. School systems have reported different experiences and challenges during the initial phases of implementation. Problem areas have ranged from a lack of classroom space to teacher availability. These problems hav e been …

The Level Of Involvement Of Georgia's Principals In Providing Inclusive Special Education Services, Marie Penkunas Klofenstine

Legacy ETDs

Increased responsibility of principals for all programs, including special education, comes at a time when administrative training provides minimal information on special education programs (Malloy 1996). Even though the trend in Georgia toward more inclusive practices has resulted in a call for major changes in teacher education programs, there have been little changes requiring principals to be competent, knowledgeable, or to take coursework related to special education administration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of involvement of Georgia's school principals in special education service delivery in their schools. The dependent variables were three specific categories related …

The Motivational Stories Of How Women Become Scientists: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry, Sandra White Watson

Legacy ETDs

The under-representation of women in science careers is well documented (Astin, Green, Kom, & Riggs, 1991; Felder, Felder, Mauny, Hamrin, & Dietz, 1995; Green, 1989; National Science Foundation, 1996, 1998; Seymour & Hewitt, 1997; Strenta, Elliot, Adair, Scott, & Matier, 1994; Tobias, 1990, 1992). While important information has been published concerning various factors that influenced women to pursue science careers (American Association of University Women, 1992; Debacker & Nelson, 2000; Samuels, 1999), very few research projects have allowed women scientists to share their personal experiences ofwhat motivated them to become scientists in their own voices.

The purpose of this inquiry …

Messages For Girls: Looking At The Representation Of Women's Short Fiction In American Literature High School Anthologies, Aurelia Ramage Tippett

Legacy ETDs

The purpose of this qualitative study was to answer the question "What messages about the image of womanhood are available to adolescent females in female-authored short fiction that appears in a variety of American literature textbooks used since 1965, a few years preceding racial integration and widespread coverage of the women's movement in rural Georgia, through 2000?"

Five American literature anthologies that were used in the Laurens County Georgia School System for instruction in the required American literature course since 1965 were collected. Short fiction written by women was identified and then the researcher identified those women writers whose short …

Student Perceptions And Use Of Electronic Financial Aid Service Delivery, Kerri L. Chapman

Legacy ETDs

Few argue the premise that financial aid is one of the most vital services offered to college students. Over fifty percent of today's college tuition is actually paid by some form of student aid, whether it is from federal, state, private, or institutional resources. The public perception of the role of financial aid has changed drastically since its inception, the acceleration of which over the past decade has been staggering. The face of higher education itself has undergone a metamorphosis of sorts, with technological advancements at the forefront of the change. Technology has revolutionized the way we do business in …

School Choice: Perceptions Of Magnet Schools And Charter School Principals And Parents In Georgia, Mark Lee Boyd

Legacy ETDs

The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of parents and administrators in selected magnet schools and charter schools in Georgia. The intent was to give administrators of schools in Georgia an understanding of which parents in Georgia are most apt to make a school choice. Additionally, the study was aimed at providing administrators with an understanding of the factors parents considered when selecting a school for their children and what sources of information the parents utilized to find information necessary to make a choice.

To collect data, a survey was distributed to parents and administrators in six magnet …