Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

The Effects Of A Cooperative Learning Environment On Attitudes, Social Skills, And Processing Of Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Mary J. Cairy

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a deliberate, planned cooperative learning environment on the attitudes, social skills, and processing of baccalaureate nursing students. A convenience sample of 43 students (Registered Nurses) randomly assigned to one of eight cooperative learning groups were the subjects for this study. Cooperative learning was used as a teaching methodology for the entire class of 15 weeks duration. The study sought to answer the following questions: (a) What effect does a deliberate, planned cooperative learning environment have on the attitudes of BSN (Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing) students toward group work? …

Implementation Of A Middle School Team Model: A Case Study, Deborah S. Lehmann

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect that a paradigm shift from a junior high departmental model to a middle school team model had in one rural mid-western school district. The relationship between professional development in collaborative teaming and teaching, and the effective use of these skills, was studied. The researcher took the role of participant observer in order to obtain an inside view of the school for this case study. Participants were observed during team meetings and completed a questionnaire that addressed the identified variables related to interdisciplinary teaming, collaborative teaching, professional development, and administrative support. …

The Status Of Middle Level Schools In Berrien County, Michigan Following Michigan Public Act 25, Judith A. Burns

Dissertations

Michigan Public Act 25 of 1990 mandated public school reform. One of 4 components of Public Act 25 is the development of a 3 to 5 year School Improvement Plan (SIP). The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine middle level school improvement in Berrien County, Michigan, for evidence that developmentally appropriate middle level education is promoted.

This 2-part investigation involved analyzing SIPs submitted for 1992-93 school year using a content analysis format and interviews with each building principal or designee. The content analysis format was developed by Sweeney and Cooper in 1992 to analyze SIPs of Wayne County, …

An Assessment Of The Characteristics Of Catholic School Boards In The State Of Michigan, Frank C. Wippel

Dissertations

This study describes the nature and development of Catholic school boards, reports the characteristics of Michigan Catholic school boards, and investigates relationships between involvement in key board functions (establishing mission, long-range planning, budget monitoring, policy development, and marketing) and selection processes, governance postures, and training. The findings indicate a relationship between key board function involvement, election process, consultative governance posture, and training. Survey methodology and design was used to obtain the data for the study. Board presidents and school administrators from all 358 Catholic schools in the state were invited to participate. A 9 6 % response rate was obtained. …

Attitudes Of Black Secondary School Teachers Toward School Guidance In The Potchefstroom Area, South Africa, Elias H. Masibi

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Level Of Management Support Behaviors And The Effect On Participation Rates In Corporate Fitness Programs, Diane Braatz

Dissertations

Survey methods were used to evaluate the relationship between the nature and degree of management support provided to corporate fitness programs and employees' participation rates in those programs. A questionnaire requesting information about demographics, participation rates, and supportive management practices in the areas of coaching, modeling, and reinforcing, was sent to representatives of 400 companies. Completed questionnaires representing 157 organizations were returned. Across all respondents, the mean reported level of employee participation in fitness programs was 20.7%; the range was 2 to 67%. The level of employee participation was positively related to the total level of management support (i.e., combined …

Teachers' Perception Of Instructional Leadership And Student Achievement, David Anspaugh

Dissertations

The focus of this study was to investigate the teachers' perceptions of the principal's leadership behaviors and how the achievement level of the students was affected. Three middle schools representing the Prairie View Public Schools were used in the study. These middle schools were Sparta Middle School, High Plain Middle School, and Middleville Middle School.

A staff survey was given to the 33 teachers in each of the buildings. The survey dealt with 18 leadership behaviors of the principal. The teachers were asked to rate the behaviors as to their importance to them and if the behaviors existed. The survey …

Classroom Personalities Of Effective Teachers Within A Technical College Setting, Fred Manley

Dissertations

This study used student ratings to examine relationships between instructor personality and teaching effectiveness for technical college faculty. Research was specifically conducted to address three questions: (1) what personality traits are associated with effective teaching, (2) do the personality profiles of effective teachers differ by academic area, and (3) are there personality dimensions that distinguish above average from below-average instructors.

Students enrolled in classes taught by instructors randomly selected from the accounting, computer information systems, marketing, and office occupations departments at five Wisconsin technical colleges rated their instructors on 29 personality traits and 18 teaching behaviors. Pearson product-moment correlations were …

Participative Management And Productivity: Partners Or Adversaries?, Michael Heenan Swearingen

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what style of management was used by different office furniture manufacturers and whether or not a participative style of management affected organizational productivity. Organizational productivity was defined by factoring together the yearly sales and the financial stability for the organization, as defined by Dun & Bradstreet.

The five hypotheses studied were:

1. The higher the educational level of the organization's management is, the more likely they are to use a participative style of management.

2. The older an organization is, the less likely they are to use a participative style of management. …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of The Michigan Certified Boardmember Award (Cba) Program, Henry Bothwell Iii

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine, among Michigan certified school board members, the perceived effectiveness of the Certified Boardmember Award (CBA) program.

Four specific research questions were investigated:

1. What topics do CBA certified school board members believe to be the most important within the CBA program?

2. How do CBA certified school board members rate the quality of the CBA courses?

3. How often do CBA certified school board members use the knowledge gained from CBA courses in making decisions as members of the board of education? 4. How valuable do CBA certified school board members believe …

A Study Of The Correlation Between Per Pupil Funding And Student Achievement In The State Of Michigan, Douglas Harold Snyder

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate if a relationship existed between per pupil funding levels and achievement levels of students in the state of Michigan. The study sought to apply objective, systematic research techniques to a question which receives much emotional, unscientific discussion. To that end, the study asked the question whether a connection existed between student achievement as measured by Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests and the amount of per pupil funding in the student’s school district.

In an attempt to address these concerns this study examined two sets of variables. One set represented educational effectiveness …

The Crisis Of Perception In Education: The Scientific And Historic Evolution Of Systemic Educational Reform, Cynthia C. Phillips

Masters Theses

This study presents a literature synthesis that pertains to the evolution of systemic reform. A hermeneutic and heuristic template illuminates the historical tapestry of educational reform. Examination of the antecedents of four waves of educational reform, indicates that an impending paradigmatic shift parallels and perhaps prompts the evolution of systemic reform. The learning organization metaphor builds the synthesis for the following supposition: the history and philosophy of science drive the construction and deconstruction of mental models held by society. The crisis of perception alludes to the possibility that current mental models, established under the Newtonian paradigm, serve to motivate dysfunctional …

An Analysis Of Local Response To State Initiated School Reform Legislation: Michigan Public Act 25, A. Bruce Watson

Dissertations

Educational reform has been a topic of interest to educators, politicians and tax payers for over a century. Michigan’s educational reform legislation, Public Act 25. enacted in 1990, is a shared-responsibility model where the state and local school district share responsibility for implementing four major educational reform components. These components are, core curriculum, annual educational report, school improvement planning and accreditation.

The study was designed to answer the following two research questions. Initially, do elementary principals in Michigan public elementary schools perceive educational reform indicators and conditions to be in enough strength to allow educational reform to continue under Public …

Learning Expectations And Learning From Problem Situations In Occupational Education, Michael Alexander Krischer

Dissertations

Employers have shown a growing interest in problem solving skill in addition to specific occupational skills (Carnevale, Gainer, and Meltzer, 1990). Learning expectations are defined as attitudes involving the self-conception of one's ability to respond to difficult situations, and learning from problem situations is defined as the ability to organize specialized knowledge so that it can be applied to a new situation. The purpose of the study was to examine relationships among these two variables and performance in a situation requiring the application of occupational knowledge under a novel set of conditions. The study was carried out at the Industrial …

A Comparison Of Teacher Attitudes Based Upon Their Involvement In Various Levels Of Staff Development, James Lehto

Dissertations

This study sought to measure the relationship between teacher attitude and involvement in staff development. It was conducted as a follow-up to a recent implementation and audit of educational standards in the state of Wisconsin and focused upon the results of Standard B for Staff Development. The study compared the attitudes of teachers based upon their involvement in various levels of staff development, which were determined through the audit process.

Previous literature described in the report focused upon the background of state educational standards as well as previous studies which attempted to assess employee attitudes and staff development. In both …

An Exploration Of Students’ And Business Persons’ Ratings Of The Importance Of Writing Skills For Business Success, Miriam P. Coleman

Dissertations

The central question explored in this research was whether the perceptions of undergraduate students and business employers about the importance of writing skills for success in business differ from one another. Related questions were posed about the relationship of certain individual characteristics such as sex, student classification, and student institutional affiliation and their interactions to these perceptions.

Subjects were selected from both public and private institutions of higher education and 11 medium-sized businesses in western Michigan. Data collection was accomplished using two 30-item Likert-type Importance of Business Writing (IBW) questionnaires developed for obtaining information on the perceptions of subjects relative …

Interim Outcomes And Change Processes: A Case Study Of School Restructuring, Meg V. Blinkiewicz

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was two-fold: (1) to describe interim outcomes that occurred within a restructuring school district and the change processes related to each outcome; and (2) to confirm or expand what is known about educational restructuring. Individual interviews were conducted with fifty-five (55) persons including central office administrators, principals, teachers, support staff, parents, and School Board members. Approximately 120 hours were spent in the field observing meetings, classroom activities, and other events. Existing documentation (meeting minutes, policies, and procedures) also was reviewed.

This study produced detailed descriptions o f six categories of interim outcomes that …

A Causal-Comparative Study Of The Relationship Of Mathematics, Science, Athletics And The Career Expectations Of Adolescent Women, Elwood Martin Bowers

Dissertations

The premise of this study is that high school women who complete course work in advanced mathematics and advanced science and participate in organized athletic programs will develop skills, knowledge, and attitudes that facilitate and encourage expanded options in their occupational expectations. It was hypothesized that such women would have occupational expectations that reflect a greater degree of gender integration or nontraditionality than women who do not participate in such activities. Other environmental or attribute variables such as parents' occupation, birth order, and constructs of self concept, were examined for intervening or modifying effects on the major premise.

Participants in …

Preservice Elementary Education Students’ Beliefs Regarding The Teaching And Learning Of Mathematics, Elsa L. Geskus

Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the entering and exiting beliefs of preservice elementary education students in three domains. The domains are: (1) the nature of teaching mathematics, (2) the nature of learning mathematics, and (3) the nature of the underlying source of their success or failure in mathematics. The data collection for this study was comprised of two questionnaires. The first questionnaire with 72 items used a five point Iikert scale. The second questionnaire took 10 of the Iikert items and formatted them as an open-ended response questionnaire. Students were to respond favorably or negatively to the statements and provide support for …

A Descriptive Study Of Programmatic And Curricular Components Of Regular And Developmental Kindergartens, Stephen A. Anderson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess and describe programmatic and curricular differences between developmental and regular kindergartens. The research questions were to find how regular and developmental teachers describe their program and to determine from these descriptions any differences or similarities. A descriptive research design was used. A survey was developed from a search of literature, review by a panel of experts, and a pilot study.

The population for the study was all kindergarten teachers and the sample was all kindergarten teachers in a metropolitan Detroit county. Surveys were returned by 82% of the sample which met a …

A Study Of Tuition In Public Comprehensive Universities And Colleges: A Model For Analyzing Factors That Affect Tuition, Michael J. Roy

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to ascertain how enrollment and financial factors affect tuition at public comprehensive universities and colleges, and to determine the relative influences that these factors are likely to have on future tuition levels.

The study methodology included the analysis of 4 years of tuition, enrollment, and financial data for fiscal years 1987 through 1990 of public comprehensive universities and colleges located within the contiguous 48 states of the United States. In each of the 4 years being studied, approximately 300 institutions completed the IPEDS surveys to allow them to be included in the study.

The …

Identification Of Effective Classroom Management Practices Among Teachers In Elementary Special Education Computer-Use Classrooms, Stephanie L. Kenney

Dissertations

Increased use of computers in elementary special education classrooms has created the need for a model for the management of such computer-use environments. Using the case study format, this study (a) identified and described, through multiple observations of eight elementary special education teachers over a 3-month period, the classroom management strategies computer-using teachers utilized to foster student on-task behavior; (b) provided rich descriptions of the contexts in which these classroom management practices occurred; (c) provided insight into the teachers’ philosophies regarding computer use and management; and (d) examined relationships among teachers' computer experience and training and their classroom management practices …

Sensitivity Of The Comp Objective Test To Structural Differences Among General Education Programs In Liberal Arts Colleges And Comprehensive Universities, Christine Ann Brooks

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the College Outcome Measures Program (COMP) by determining if COMP is sensitive to differences among general education programs.

Two variables provided the operationalization of general education: (1) degree of institutional control over general education course selection, and (2) percent of total coursework devoted to general education. To control for additional factors known to impact upon students' learning during college, four concomitant variables were used in the analysis. These variables were selected following a review of the literature on the effects of college. The level of analysis was the institution; …

Faculty Development Programs And Evaluation In American Colleges And Universities, Antonio Nicolas Rubino

Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to determine (a) the importance and frequency of offering of personal, instructional, curriculum, research, academic advising, and organizational development programs in universities and colleges in the United States; and (b) the types and times of evaluation of faculty development practices. Types of evaluation studied included measuring participant satisfaction, participant learning, on the- job behavior, and organizational effects. Times of evaluation included during the implementation of the practice, evaluation immediately after the implementation, and evaluation a month or more after the implementation.

A sample of 195 faculty developers from research, doctorate-granting, and comprehensive universities, and …

The Role Of Administrators And Teachers In The Selection And Implementation Of Computer Technology In The "Classroom Of Tomorrow" Program, Ahmad Al-Obiedat

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of administrators and teachers in the selection and implementation of computer technology in Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS). Recently, KPS participated in Michigan's "Classroom of Tomorrow" program. They received 170 computers of various types (i.e., Apple, IBM, etc.). Elementary teachers received 126, middle school teachers received 16, high school teachers received 26, and 2 computers were awarded to personnel at the community education center. To date, there are no reports or research studies on the success or lack of success of the processes used to select and implement the computers in …

The Concept Of The Theory Of Multiple Intelligences And An Interdisciplinary, Arts Inclusive Curriculum: A Model For Teaching Whose Time Has Come, Loraine W. Cowe

Masters Theses

The biting critique of A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) caused the nation to initiate school reform on federal and state levels. The initiatives have defined education's deficiencies in meeting the needs of students in a rapidly changing, technological society. Students and the society in which they live are the premise and focus for the new outcome-based curriculum. Educators and researchers are developing new concepts of teaching that radically change the traditionally accepted curriculum, instructional delivery, and assessment. Many of these changes are based on new knowledge of the mind's capacity to function in several …

Using Technology For Dispensing Information, Ray Hoag

Dissertations

Technology that enhances communication through the use of digitized media abounds. Yet, there is a perception that education does not use technology's full potential to communicate with its audience. This dissertation demonstrates that a technological solution can communicate relevant educational information. Extensive documentation provides a high level departure point for subsequent technology enhanced communication projects.

The planning team for the Applied Technology Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, wanted an application to express the center's name-implied mission. This opportunity was fulfilled by the development of a point-of-information kiosk application, the dissertation's focal point. Methodology included using project management software to identify …

A Study Of The Thematic Integrated Curriculum (Tic) Of The Focus 2000 Program, Sherry Collins

Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to describe how a thematic integrated curriculum (TIC) enhances the quality of education by examining three outcomes of a TIC. These outcomes are: (1) the instruction of critical thinking skills, (2) the motivation of students to be self-directed and assume responsibility for their own learning, and (3) the empowerment of teachers to become educational leaders. The underlying assumption of the study was that the more the three outcomes are used in the learning process, the better will be the quality of education.

For this study, the process of "enhancing the quality of education" …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of Barriers To Implementing Shared Decision-Making In Wisconsin Schools, Donald John Viegut

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was (a) to investigate if differences exist in stakeholder perceptions of barriers to implementing shared decision-making (SDM), and (b) to investigate if differences exist in stakeholder perceptions across the following constructs of shared decision- making: empowerment, leadership, motivation, organizational culture, accountability, and learning organizations. Randomly selected members from the stakeholder categories of: parents, board of education members, superintendents, principals, and teachers, were the sample (N = 100). Stakeholder perception was compared on a composite score of the survey instrument. Perceptions were also compared across the six constructs of SDM for each of the stakeholder categories. …

Identifying A 9-12 Curriculum For High Schools In The Upper Peninsula Of Michigan, Patrick Manning

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify high school graduation standards for high schools in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The standards should meet the state of Michigan recommendations or standards for high school graduation. In addition, recommendations of local, state , and national studies and commission reports were included. A comparison was made between a ll Upper Peninsula high schools' graduation requirements for both non-college-bound and college-bound students and the Michigan State Board of Education recommended graduation requirements and those of the Michigan College Presidents Council.

Inquiry was made into course cred it requirements for graduation, recommended curriculum …