Education Commons^™

Parents As Partners In Progress: A Study Of Parent Involvement In An Urban Elementary School, Janine P. Riggins

Theses and Dissertations

The research project focused on parent involvement in the context of the urban school setting. The target population included one parent or guardian for each BSI student in grades 1-3 during the 1997-98 school year. Subjects completed a pre-survey during the first semester of the 1997-98 school year using a 6 item interest inventory. Responses to individual items were summarized using percentages. This data served as the basis for the development of the internship activities. A post-survey was administered during the second half of the 1997-98 school year using a similar inventory. Post-survey data was summarized and compared to patterns …

A Study Of The Feasibility Of Block Scheduling At Buena Regional High School, Bruce R. Arcurio

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study has been to determine the feasibility of implementing some form of block scheduling at Buena Regional High School. Due to the small scope of the project, the entire population of professionals who would be responsible for the implementation of a block schedule was used. The data collection instruments utilized were a questionnaire and various forms of interviews. Data analysis consisted of calculating percentages for quantitative questions on the questionnaire and an analysis of trends for the qualitative questions and interviews. The research indicates that it is unlikely that a block schedule can be created that …

The Practice Of Inclusion At The Upper Deerfield Township School District, Russell Clark Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of inclusion upon classified and special needs students in regards to social and academic accomplishment. Eight eighth grade special education pupils were placed in a regular education science classroom along with fifteen non-classified. All pupils in the inclusive group received instruction for forty-five minutes each day. Lessons, tailored to each pupil's needs, were cooperatively planned and implemented by both a regular and special education teacher.

Before and after the study, the special education pupils and their parents completed surveys which recorded their feelings regarding the concept of inclusion. Students also …

An Internship Study Of Character Education In A Middle School Setting, Laureen J. Cohen

Theses and Dissertations

This internship experience focused on the study of the effectiveness of a formal approach to character education in a small New Jersey middle school. This effort projected student outcomes to include observable student demonstration of positive character traits. The character traits emphasized consist of respect, reliability, responsibility, and resourcefulness. Hence, the name of the project is the "Four R's."

The entire student body of 254 in grades five through eight participated in this study. The integration of one of the four R's into the current curriculum of each quarter served as the means by which the character traits were presented …

An Internship Experience In Educational Leadership At Pyne Poynt Family School, Camden, New Jersey, Carol W. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to improve parent involvement in the school as a result of an increase in school to home communication through the Parent Network.

In order to identify barriers to parent involvement in the school, both parents and teachers were surveyed. The parent survey, written in English and Spanish, was designed to ascertain their attitudes toward the school. The responses of sixty-six parents were analyzed. It was found that although a majority of the parents had a positive attitude toward the school, most felt that they did not have skills that could be helpful. Fifty-five teachers …

An Internship Experience In Educational Administration At Haddon Heights Junior-Senior High School, 1997-1998, Ruthmarie Schopfer Weinberg

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this internship was to provide the candidate with an opportunity to acquire competencies and skills which are essential to an effective administrator of a secondary school.

The internship focused on the project: Alternate Methods for At-Risk Students Who Disrupt the Educational Environment. The areas addressed in this study were: (1) The purpose and setting of the study, (2) Review of the literature, (3) The design of the study, (4) Presentation of the research findings, (5) Conclusions, implications, and further study, and (6) The need for alternative methods re: Scared Straight – Haddon Heights Style, In-School Suspension, Out-of-School …

An Internship Experience In Educational Leadership At Gloucester Township School District, Stephen V. Mecke

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the major cause of the Gloucester Township School District's attendance and classification errors when reporting the annual Application for State School Aid. After identifying the problem, the intern developed and implemented a plan of action to resolve the problem.

The methodology of data collection included a questionnaire survey, interviews, an internal attendance audit in narrative form, and a review of the archival attendance reports. The research revealed that the Gloucester Township School District was experiencing difficulty exchanging computer data between its 11 schools, curriculum building, and the central administrative office. The district …

A Mentor Program Study At The Pennsauken Campus Of Camden County Technical Schools, Fredrica Macdonough

Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring many at-risk students who benefit from contact with teachers and other faculty members, the ten-year-old program at the Pennsauken Campus of Camden County Technical school needed change and improvement.

The study identified students who had ability but did not succeed in school because of discipline, attendance, or academic reasons.

Previously only freshmen were initially included in the program, but this study included upper class students in need of mentoring and encouraged additional mentors to participate.

Mentors and students were paired and met either daily or twice monthly. Each month the intern collected brief reports of the meetings and met …

A Study On Parental Involvement: Getting Parents Going, Lois W. Lantz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether kindergarten and first grade parents would be more inclined to be actively involved in their children's educational endeavors if provided with workshops and training sessions that would make them more knowledgeable and comfortable in the academic setting. Specifically, the study addressed the following areas: (1) would there be an increase of parental participation in the workshop and training sessions, (2) would more parents be inclined to become active educational partners, and (3) would student achievement increase.

To investigate these areas of the study, a sample of eighty (80) parents of kindergarten …

An Internship In School Administration At The William Davies Middle School, Mays Landing, New Jersey, Robert Baker

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this internship was to provide the intern with an opportunity to acquire and utilize professional administrative skills necessary to become a successful school leader.

The internship at William Davies Middle school included the implementation of the PRO plan, a discipline strategy designed to reduce the amount of discipline referrals.

The PRO plan included three main elements: 1) the institution of a teacher-mentor program, 2) the utilization of the Project Success Program and 3) the development of a school discipline committee.

The results of the PRO plan included a forty-three percent reduction of discipline referrals. Additionally, there was …

An Internship Experience In Educational Leadership At Vineland Public Schools, Joseph A. Camardo

Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this study was to show how the Vineland School District could increase its efficiency to meet staff requests to solve computer problems through the use of a help desk system. The intern distributed surveys to district employees before the help desk was implemented. After the help desk system is in place, post questionnaires will be distributed defining satisfaction levels in service and support and determining the effectiveness of a help desk.

There were two major research instruments used in the study for the Vineland School District, surveys and personal interviews. The purpose behind both of these instruments …

A Report On The Internship Experience In Educational Leadership At Eastern Camden County Regional School District, Audry Cser

Theses and Dissertations

The current system of record-keeping for the various student activity accounts was assessed and revised in order to establish a more accurate and efficient accounting policy of all monies. Internal audits will be implemented in order to demonstrate a more critical accounting for all student activity accounts. In addition to monthly and year ending reconciliation statements it will be necessary at the end of each fiscal year to provide district auditors with accurate financial documents exhibiting the receipt of student monies for various activity accounts.

Prior to developing a revised accounting system for student activity accounts, current practices, procedures and …

The Organizational Climate Of Eastern Regional High School, Kirk Martin Rickansrud

Theses and Dissertations

This study was done on the premise that a school's organizational climate affects employee morale, behavior, and motivation. This study was conducted in order to communicate to all administrators and faculty the status of Eastern Regional High School's organizational climate. The essence of this type of study was to create new avenues of open communication, coupled with the push for a more reflective practice, between the faculty and administration. The results have allowed individuals to make suggestions to improve the educational quality and effectiveness of the entire school.

The design of the study was to conduct a survey of employee …

A Report On The Internship Experience In Educational Leadership And Parent Conferences At Delsea Middle School, Jill M. Bryfogle

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to make parent conferences more meaningful for those involved. To do this, the intern intended to increase parental attendance at conferences in her school. She tried to achieve the goal of increasing attendance by giving out a survey to parents and teachers who were present at conferences. The questionnaire asked people how to improve conferences. Responses were tallied and then discussed with a committee of parents, teachers and administrators who decided which ideas to put into action. Changes were made to conferences. Attendance data was taken before and after the changes. Then the two …

An Internship Experience In Educational Leadership At Millville Memorial High School, Stephen R. Saul

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to determine if the at-risk youth employment internship program can improve student performance in the areas of attendance, academic achievement, and discipline offenses. The at-risk youth employment internship program is a two year pilot program supported by the state of New Jersey. The Millville school district was selected as the representative for Cumberland county. The at-risk youth employment internship program places an at-risk student in a job shadowing experience for an eight week period. The student is required to attend three days per week for two hours per day. The student is given a …

A Systemic Plan To Improve The Writing Skills Of Students In A Secondary Computer Writing Laboratory, Cherie L. Hill

Theses and Dissertations

This report describes the process used, for an urban high school with a student population of approximately 1,250 students, to investigate the existing writing programs offered to students. The preliminary research indicated a 10% decline in the number of students who pass the writing component of the New Jersey High School Proficiency Test.

Proposed preliminary investigation strategies include (a) interviews with writing teachers, regular English teachers, and teachers in other academic disciplines; (b) a review of documents such as district writing test results, courses of study, individual student writing reports, and grade point averages and English course grades; (c) observations …

An Intern's Experience In Educational Leadership At Salem County Special Services School District, Kathleen A. Mccarthy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was in fact a growing number of minority students in special education, if minority staff in special education were being hired in proportion to the number of minority students coming to this particular school district, and finally, whether or not the district was addressing cultural diversity among the staff and student populations due to the increase in minority students.

Initially, a questionnaire was developed for the students. One site in the district was targeted because it had thirty-five emotionally disturbed students. Nineteen emotionally disturbed high school minority students were interviewed. …

Introduction To The Fundamentals Of Chemistry, Rose C. Knowles

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis designs a curriculum to fulfill the charter of the Community college in providing an opportunity for an individual student whether traditional or non-traditional to prepare to become more proficient in chemical understanding and be able to apply the concepts and knowledge taught to a career or advanced study. The curriculum should benefit those individuals who either lack or have a poor background in chemistry and strengthen their reasoning ability. This paper presents a comprehensive comparison of textbooks currently being published for introductory chemistry. Texts reviewed were readily found on library shelves and supplied through major distributors; chemical journals …

A Mentorship Study Program At Monongahela Middle School, Carolyn Morehead

Theses and Dissertations

A mentorship program for ten students was established at Monongahela Middle School. The purpose of this program was for ten at risk students to pass all their subjects through the motivation of a mentorship program. The sample population consisted of those students that failed three or more subjects in the seventh grade. As a result they were either socially promoted, sent to summer school, or retained. The mentors consisted of seven classroom teachers, two guidance counselors, and one librarian. Mentors were encouraged to meet with their students twice a week for approximately ten minutes and make some form of contact …

An Internship Experience In Educational Leadership In The Pitman School District, Eileen P. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to study the observation instrument and job description of an instructional aide, evaluating each for its relevancy and updating where necessary. Instructional aides and administrators were inserviced to ensure everyone's understanding of job expectations and indicators for evaluation. Classroom instruction would be enhanced by achieving uniformity in evaluation and knowing the value of the job.

All twelve instructional aides completed a survey and were interviewed, answering questions about the responsibilities of his/her job. Through this process, the intern determined the need for a revised job description and evaluation instrument. Samples of job descriptions and …

An Internship Experience To Improve The School Climate At Upper Pittsgrove School Through The Teaching Of Courteous Behaviors And Service, Susan Perna

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to provide evidence to support the statement that all students will be able to follow a basic code of courteous behaviors and participate in service learning during school to improve the climate of the school and to produce a caring community. Surveys were administered to the staff and students at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the year to assess the current school climate conditions. A daily tabulation of behavior incidents was used as a statistical comparison to last year's to determine whether the program had any effect on reducing the number of behavior …

Internship In Supervision And Curriculum Development In The Millville Public Schools, Millville, New Jersey, 1996-1997, Debra G. Wenrick

Theses and Dissertations

The internship in Supervision and Curriculum Development provided the intern the opportunity to develop and strengthen leadership skills required for educational administrators for the 21st century.

The internship focused on the following projects: 1) the development of a balanced curriculum for the district's bilingual summer enrichment program, 2) the facilitation of a collegial sharing of ideas learned at out-of-district workshops, 3) the piloting of a teacher-centered revision of the district's evaluation system, 4) a teacher-led workshop to encourage the use of CD-ROM technology as an instructional tool and 5) the implementation of cross-age tutoring.

The following recommendations were made: 1) …