Education Commons^™

Historical Comparison Of Florida And National Title Ix Compliance Trends In High School Sports From 1985-2005, Coury Matthew Knowles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the Title IX compliance trends of high school sports in Florida over the past two decades (1985-2005) against national trends. The literature review discusses: the historical events leading to Title IX, the administrative implementation of Title IX, the legal perspective of Title IX, and the impact of Title IX on gender equity in sports. The study was conducted between January and June, 2007. The data focused on: male and female participants in high school sports in Florida, the numbers of male and female participants in high school sports across the nation, and …

Senior's Health Information Website: Technology Acceptance Related To Information Retention, Jane Madsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The formative study investigated health information for seniors on the Internet with consideration of usability of the selected system, user's perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, system use, and performance, i.e. information retention. A theoretical model was developed by the researcher, i.e. JAM's Senior Health Information Technology Acceptance Model, as an enhanced version of the traditional Davis Technology Acceptance Model. The new model provided the critical relationship between the senior health information system and other technology acceptance components. Computer self-efficacy was added to the hypothetical model to better explain the seniors' technology usage and performance. The hypotheses and the research …

A Study Of Gender Equality At Private And Public Two-Year And Four-Year Florida Institutions, Stacey Lazenby Malaret

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to examine the perception of gender equality from the viewpoint of women administrators at Florida public and private two- and four-year institutions. Potential respondents were chosen from American College Personnel Association and/or National Association of Student Personnel Administrators databases. The data used for this study were obtained from 32 female administrators (50% response rate) who completed a self-administered online questionnaire, distributed to potential respondents in August and September, 2007. Collected data were entered into an SPSS database. Through data analysis, confidence intervals were reported for each survey item. Comparable means were studied for each of the six …

Perceptions Of The Emotional/Behavioral Disability Label On Educators' Referral And Placement Decisions To Gifted And Talent, Charissa Marrah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Socio-culturally diverse students with disabilities are underrepresented in gifted and talented programs. This study investigated the differences in educators' referral and placement decisions based on a students' disability label, socio-economic status (SES), and ethnicity. Two hundred and eighty five educators' (classroom teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers) across a Florida school district participated in the study. Educators' were randomly assigned to treatment and control case vignettes that described a student with emotional/behavioral disabled (EBD) and gifted characteristics. Treatment case vignettes explicitly stated the students' disability label, socio-economic status, and ethnicity. Control case vignettes described of the student …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of Selected Factors On School Grades In Public High Schools In The State Of Florida, Joseph Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of selected factors on school grades in public high schools in the state of Florida. A sample of 316 public high schools was created using data obtained from the Florida Education and the Florida High School Athletic Association. The selected factors that were chosen to be measured in the study were: minority percentage as measured by the proportion of minority students in relation to the total student body at a given school, socio economic status percentage (SES) as measured by the proportion of students participating in the …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Graduate Counseling Students' Perceptions Of Spirituality And Counselor Self-Ef, Sandra Pollock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Counseling and psychology have experienced a conflicted relationship with the issue of spirituality over the last century. Spirituality is a construct that has been receiving more attention in counseling over the last fifteen to twenty years. More counselors and educators are affirming its place and value in the counseling relationship. Yet, there is a disparity between this and what counselors-in-training are being taught regarding spirituality, its value to clients and counselors, and its role in the counseling relationship. Very little research has been done examining spirituality and its relationship to counseling students level of confidence and competence in their work--their …

The Use Of Science Reform Instructional Methods And Their Effect On 3rd Grade Students' Participation And Attitude Towards S, Heather Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to determine whether the use of science reform instructional methods had an effect on student participation in and attitudes towards science education. The participants in this 12 week study were third grade students. Data were collected using a pre and post attitudinal survey, student journals, a participation log, and a researcher reflection journal. Several conclusions were made. The use of science reform instructional methods did affect student participation and attitudes towards science. Student journals indicated that students enjoyed the use of technology, hands-on science equipment, working in pairs or small groups and the …

The Impact Of Computer Based Simulation Training On Leadership Development, Stanley Sidor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between measures of emotional intelligence after participation in a simulation based leadership development program as applied to a student cohort at a community college. Additionally, this study was conducted to investigate significant differences in emotional intelligence subscales when compared to the categorical variables of age, race, gender, position type, number of years employed, and time. All 300 students in the introductory management classes in the Bachelors of Applied Science business principles classes in the Business program were invited to participate. A total of 201 questionnaires representing 103 individuals were returned, …

Limited English Proficient Students And Their Teachers Attitudes Of The Learning Environment In Mathematics Classes, Michelle C. Snider

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study described the attitudes of students who are limited English proficient (LEP) and their teachers toward the learning environment within their mathematics classes. Data collected via a student survey, student and teacher interviews, and classroom observations were analyzed in this mixed-method study to investigate these attitudes. Accuracy of the findings was confirmed via triangulation. A population of 79 students was chosen through purposive sampling methods that included LEP and non-LEP students in algebra and geometry classes. Students were administered a 30-item questionnaire using the What is Happening in This Class? survey. Scores provided from the survey's six scales were …

The Effects Of A Structured Lifestyle Intervention Program In Conjunction With Dietary Supplementation On Weight Loss And Risk F, Linda Zukley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a structured weight loss program that included hypocaloric diet, exercise and dietary supplementation, on weight loss, metabolic syndrome risk factors and antioxidant levels in healthy overweight and obese females. Thirty-seven healthy overweight and obese women (BMI 29.5 ± 2.3 kg/m2, 41.1 ± 7.1 yrs) participated in this study. The subjects were randomized into one of two groups: an exercise, hypocaloric diet and antioxidant supplement (LifePak®; LSANT group, n=20) or an exercise, hypocaloric diet and appetite suppression supplement (HTP Complex® and TēGreen®; LSAS group, n=17). A significant weight loss occurred …

Real-World Context, Interest, Understanding, And Retention, Annikka Chrestensen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This study investigated the use of real-world contexts during instruction in a high school physics class - through building file folder bridges- and the resulting effect upon student interest in the subject matter, level of understanding, and degree of retention. In particular, the study focused upon whether increases in student interest were attained through the use of real-world contexts, and if the elevated interest level led to a higher degree of subject matter understanding than would be achieved using more traditional teaching methods. The study also determined whether using real-world contexts ultimately resulted in achievement of greater levels of knowledge …

Self-Determined Employment Preference For Youth In Transition From School To Work In Rural Areas, Robert L. Morgan, R. B. Morgan

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

Self-determination, or the ability to identify and achieve goals based on a foundation of knowing and valuing oneself, is both a legal right and a responsibility of an individual. Self-determined employment is consistent with contemporary practice, outcome-based research, and the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. In this article, we describe three challenges facing youth with disabilities in rural areas related to determining their own employment, including (a) extensive or chronic poverty in some rural areas as a factor limiting selection of preferred employment, (b) intensive competition for limited jobs available, and (c) the potential for …

Middle School Students With Learning Disabilities And English Sols: Part Ii Best Practices, Paul J. Gerber

MERC Publications

This paper reports the findings of Phase II of a MERC study on middle school students with learning disabilities (LD) completed during academic year 2005 – 2006. Phase I investigated the success and failure of students with LD on the English SOLs by analyzing three consecutive years of individual education plans (IEPs). (Please see the MERC report titled “Accountability Testing and Students with Learning Disabilities: Factors of Passing and Failing the Virginia SOL Tests” (2004) for finding of the study.)

The goal of Phase II was to obtain best practices used for preparing students with LD on English SOLs in …

Alignment Of District Assessments With The Virginia Standards Of Learning (Sol), Joan A. Rhodes

MERC Publications

Parents, teachers, and school administrators all have one common goal — student success. Teachers have been trusted to impart knowledge to students, while hopefully fostering a love of learning, then assessing how much the students know. Assessment in the classroom, whether informal, formative, or summative, has been the major source of identifying students strengths and weaknesses. Today, there is increased pressure on teachers to ensure they are accountable for what they do in the classroom. Within the educational system, students’ success has been measured inconsistently from state-to-state, district-to-district, and even classroom-to-classroom. In this age of accountability, national and state standards …

The Promises And Prospects Of Geography In Higher Education, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The idea for this JGHE symposium came to me as I reflected on the spatial turn in the humanities and social sciences, and felt encouraged by the growing influence of geography in the intellectual spaces of other disciplines. Amidst positive thoughts, I wondered if the institutional position of the discipline had strengthened with its recently enhanced intellectual position, and what the geography of geography's institutional presence and strength was. For sure, anecdotal stories circulate regarding the opening or closure of a geography department, a renaming, a split and so forth…. A symposium of papers from different parts of the world …

Talking Tools To Assist Students Who Are Blind In Laboratory Courses, Cary A. Supalo, Thomas E. Mallouk, Christeallia Amorosi, Lillian A. Rankel, H. David Wohlers, Alan Roth, Andrew Greenberg

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

A number of tools and techniques have been developed to assist students with blindness and visual impairment who are studying in secondary and post-secondary science laboratories. Commercial electronic probes and their associated software packages allow real-time viewing and collection of data using a personal computer; however, until now, these data have been inaccessible to students with blindness or visual impairment because of the incompatibility of the data acquisition software with screen-reading software. Recent programming modifications now allow a new level of compatibility, which promotes a greater degree of independence and accessibility to laboratory science for people with visual impairments.

Undergraduate Adult Children Of Alcoholics And Choosing A College Major, Sara L. Schaller

Masters Theses

This study examined the career decision-making experiences of undergraduate students who were classified as "undecided" in their majors and who qualified as adult children of alcoholics using the Children of Alcoholic Screening Test (Pilat & Jones, 1984). Through basic interpretative qualitative research, this study examined the decision-making experiences of adult children of alcoholics as they choose a major.

Results of this study were limited based on participation; however, three undergraduate females did share their experiences regarding family alcoholism and choosing a major. Only one participant discussed the impact of her family alcoholism on her decision of choosing a college major. …

Service Learning In Medical Education: Project Description And Evaluation, Nicole J. Borges, Paul J. Hartung

Service Learning, General

Although medical education has long recognized the importance of community service, most medical schools have not formally nor fully incorporated service learning into their curricula. To address this problem, we describe the initial design, development, implementation, and evaluation of a service-learning project within a first-year medical school course. Medical students (eight women, eight men) screened clients of a community agency for high blood pressure and educated them about the effects of hypertension on health. Results of the project indicated significant increases in students' attitudes, knowledge, and skills related to community health, resources, and service. Infusing medical education with service-learning activities …

2007-2008 Graduate Catalog, Morehead State University

Morehead State Catalog Archive

2007-2008 graduate catalog for Morehead State University.

The Educational And Psychological Experiences Of Children Orphaned By Aids In Western Kenya, Grace Jepkemboi

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of teachers and caregivers concerning the psychological and educational experiences of children orphaned by AIDS in Western Kenya. On the basis of qualitative inquiry, the design of the study focused on phenomenology inquiry. Audio-taped interviews were used as the primary source to gather data for this study. The questions that guided the study were "What are the psychological characteristics of children orphaned by AIDS in Kenya?" "What are the educational experiences of children orphaned by AIDS?" and "What strategies do the teachers and caregivers at the orphanages use to help …

Teaching Reading Using Informational Texts In Third Grade Classrooms: A Case Study In An Urban School District, Dimple J. Martin

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of these multiple descriptive case studies was to describe and analyze the perspectives of three third grade classroom teachers and two third grade reading coaches regarding the use of informational texts and their influence on reading instruction. The research design involved interviews, and observations using a sample composed of three third grade classroom teachers and two third grade reading coaches in five urban, public elementary schools in the Southeastern United States. The aim of this research was to portray a vivid description of the reading episodes in third grade classrooms. The key findings from the study were that …

Mirror, Mirror: A Phenomenological Study Of The Role Of Reflection In Teaching In Elementary School, Amy Ferguson Morgan

All ETDs from UAB

In this era of increasing accountability in education, teachers are being asked to move away from the role of intuitive guide to being a more deliberate reflective practitioner. The need exists to understand the experience of reflection and its meaning from the perspective of practicing teachers. Existing studies describe an effective teacher as one who reflects upon her/his teaching. However, they do not illuminate the perspective of teachers to assist other teachers in knowing how to reflect effectively. Guided by works of Dewey (1909/1933) and Schon (1983, 1987), this phenomenological study explored the reflective experiences of practicing teachers in order …

An Investigation Of The Impact On Student Achievement Of The Mobile Math Initiative In Three High Poverty Schools In A Single School District, Jeanne D. Payne

All ETDs from UAB

Teachers must increase effectiveness of teaching to prepare quantitatively literate students. The study’s purpose was to determine the effectiveness of the Mobile Math Initiative (MMI) in three high poverty schools. Changes in achievement of 89 students over 3 years were examined using the Stanford 10 (SAT 10) Procedures and Problem Solving subtests and the Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test (ARMT) Math subtest. Independent variables were (a) ethnic background, (b) gender, (c) socioeconomic status, (d) level of English proficiency, (e) level of special education needed, and (f) school student attended. Data were analyzed with the SPSS (Version 15.0) software using factorial …

Development And Initial Validation Of A Self-Efficacy Scale For Use With Registered Dietitians Working With Overweight Youth, Christopher M. Reinold

All ETDs from UAB

This study developed and validated the Youth-Directed Obesity Counseling Self-efficacy (Y-DOCS) Scale to evaluate the self-efficacy of registered dietitians (RDs) working with childhood overweight. The specific purpose of this study was to create an evaluation instrument that can measure the effectiveness of continuing education (CE) that provides behavioral counseling training. Two research questions guided this investigation into measuring the self-efficacy of RD’s: (a) Is the Y-DOCS scale for dietitians a reliable instrument for assessing self-efficacy among dietitians who receive training? (b) Is the Y-DOCS scale for dietitians a valid instrument for assessing self-efficacy among dietitians who receive training? The population …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Impact Of National Board For Professional Teaching Standards On Early Childhood Teachers, Lesley E. Sheek

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this study was to explore the professional experience of Nationally Board certified teachers as they planned for and taught students after attaining National Board certification. A qualitative, phenomenological methodology (Bogdan & Biklin, 1998; Meloy, 1994; Moustakas, 1994) was used in this study. For this study 10 early childhood generalist and middle childhood generalist Alabama Nationally Board certified teachers were interviewed. Using a three-interview process (Seidman, 1998), narrative information was gathered. Transcripts from each interview were analyzed and coded according to the emerging themes. Six major themes emerged from the interviews with the participants: teaching experiences, National Board …

A Perception Of Parents, Teachers, And Community Leaders Regarding A School District's Strategic Plan As Related To The Use Of Assessment Data, Zanetta Andrea Simmons

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this study was to find out if school personnel and community stakeholders were using assessment data from the strategic plan to help meet the No Child Left Behind mandates for achieving Adequate Yearly Progress. This study examined the perceptions of ten public school stakeholders. Information for this study was gathered by interviewing and analyzing qualitative data of ten purposely-selected subjects from the faculty, central office personnel, community leaders, and parents who were involved in the strategic planning process and helped with the development of various plans that had an influence on student learning outcomes. The constant comparative …

The Scales Are Still Unbalanced:A Phenomenological Study Of Parental Involvement Of Lower Socioeconomic Students Attending School In An Affluent Southeastern Educational Community, Debra Walker Smith

All ETDs from UAB

With the pressures of No Child Left Behind, and many schools being identified as failing, parents are willing to make major sacrifices in order to provide what they believe is a quality education. The research addressed what it meant for twelve low socioeconomic parents to be involved in their children’s education in an affluent educational environment. The researcher defined low socioeconomics as students participating in the National School Lunch Program, as this was one of the identifiers used to determine this subgroup for the State Department of Education’s Adequate Yearly Progress. A phenomenological study was conducted to answer the following …

Strategic Reading Instruction In The Upper Elementary Grades: Leading And Supporting A Community Of Learners: A Mixed Methods Study, Rosalyn Dubose Spivey

All ETDs from UAB

Statistics from the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) and the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) report a decline in reading achievement for middle school students. This disse1iation examined student test scores on measures of achievement such as the Standardized Achievement Test (SAT) and the Alabama Reading and Math Test (ARMT) for 3 consecutive years in the upper elementary school, just before this critical middle school milestone. The study also examined the percentage of students who scored below their ability levels as measured by the Otis Lennon School Ability Tests (OLSAT). The participants were 53 students who attended a …

An Examination Of African American College Students' Knowledge And Attitudes Regarding Sickle Cell Disease And Sickle Cell Disease Carrier Testing: A Mixed Methods Study, Kai Anika Stewart

All ETDs from UAB

Approximately, 80,000 Americans are affected by sickle cell disease (SCD) and it is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States. SCD is most prevalent among individuals of African, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Asian Indian ancestry; however, statistics suggest that in the United States, African Americans are disproportionately affected by SCD (Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA), 2007). Nearly, 1 in 400 African Americans is born with SCD; in addition, 1 in 12 African Americans is born with sickle cell trait (SCT) (National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), 2007). Two carriers of the trait have a 25% …

A Study Of Perceived Stress, Anxiety, Somatic Symptoms, And Spirituality In Practitioners Of The Martial Art Aikido, Howell E. Tapley

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between physical, mental and spiritual health. An additional purpose was to determine if the practice of aikido was associated with measurable levels of somatic symptoms, perceived stress, anxiety and spirituality. Measurement instruments included Cohen’s 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Spielberger’s 20-item Trait Anxiety Inventory (TAI), the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), and the 16-item Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES). A cross-sectional research design was utilized in this study to test the following hypotheses: 1) After controlling for demographic variables, daily spiritual experience will explain variability in perceived stress, anxiety and somatic symptoms, …