Educational Psychology Commons^™

The Effects Of Participation In Athletics On Academic Performance Among High School Sophomores And Juniors, Lee Sitkowski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Athletics and academic performance has been studied at length over the years in the literature. Despite the mostly university level research conducted, no consensus has been reached regarding the impact of athletic participation on academic performance at the high school level. As a result, the relationship between the in season and out of season school academic performance of high school sophomores and juniors in one high school was investigated in this study. It was determined that there was a significant relationship that existed between academic performance, measured by GPA, and athletic participation. Through an analysis of 249 high school sophomore …

The Impact Of Web-Based Tutorials In One Corporation's Transition To A Blended Learning Environment, Michelle Anne Boyd

Theses and Dissertations

ELM Resources, a not-for-profit, mutual-benefit corporation, provides web-based transmission and data translation services for student loan data between loan providers and schools/universities. This corporation has a relatively new training staff of five to seven employees and over 1,800 client organizations. Because of the heavy demands placed on the training staff, ELM training administrators sought alternatives to their current training program of onsite training and web conferencing. Blended learning was identified as one possible solution. In this project, blended learning is defined as using a combination of face-to-face training and technology-delivered training. By adding web-based, on-demand tutorials, along with other training …

Wired Safety's International Stop Cyberbullying Conference

Cornerstone 1 Reports : Expansion and Enhancements of the Thinkfinity Platform

The conference for which this proceedings came from addresses the problems of cyberbullying, "a silent epidemic stalking our children on social networks, instant messaging, interactive games and cell phones"

The Architecture Of Instructional Theory, Andrew S. Gibbons, Clint P. Rogers

Faculty Publications

This chapter joins a discussion of instructional theory that has been ongoing for nearly a century. It departs in some ways from prior discussions: (1) it considers instructional theory as a species of technological theory rather than as a type of scientific theory, a view expressed more fully elsewhere (Gibbons, 2003a), (2) it adopts the viewpoint articulated in earlier chapters of this book that there are multiple distinct bodies of technological theory that pertain to the work of instructional designers, (3) it attempts to articulate a particular view of the nature of two of those bodies of theory by describing …

Academic Procrastination Among Graduate Vs. Undergraduate Students And Differences In The Experience Of Affective And Cognitive Factors, Richard Crowder

Theses and Dissertations

While not completely understood, the issue of procrastination is well known to the education field, and has been shown to be a significant problem affecting the academic achievement of college students. Research has examined the effects of procrastination across a variety of populations. However, research in the area of procrastination in relation to outcomes in graduate students compared to undergraduate students is lacking. Similarly, there is conflicting evidence as to whether academic procrastination results in lower grade point averages in college students, or whether differences exist in relation to gender and procrastination. Further, research is limited in the area of …

Alcoholedu: Does It Work?, Jennifer Sousa

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and consumption patterns of incoming freshmen college students of Salve Regina University befor and after going through AlcoholEDU, a comprehensive online alcohol awareness program. A pre-test, post-test design was used to assess the overall impact of AlcoholEDU as well as the additional interventions that the experimental group participated in. These interventions consisted of a series of newspaper articles, a Discovery Channel film and a YouTube presentation. The Alcohol Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test (YAAPST) and the College Alcohol Problems Scale - Revised (CAPS-r) …

Knowledge Of Undergraduate Psychology-Major Students Of The Apa Code Of Ethics, Aziz Atweh

Theses and Dissertations

The initial driving force of this study was to examine the knowledge and familiarity of undergraduate psychology-major students at Rowan University with the American Psychological Association's code of ethics or ethics code. An adapted version of a 1982 questionnaire containing vignettes of clinical and research situations that required 'ethical' decision-making processes was used. The original questionnaire and design of the study were conceived by Tymchuck et al. For purposes of the current study, however, the original vignettes were slightly adapted in order to fit neatly into the APA's 2002 code of ethics. Although the only statistically significant results showed that …

Perceptions Of General Education Teachers In Inclusive Settings, Katherine A. Conner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the collaborative relationships between general education teachers and their colleagues in school psychology and special education when in inclusive environments and to determine the effects of their perceptions on student-teacher relationships. Specifically, the researcher hypothesized that teachers with more knowledge and positive perceptions of their colleagues would have more positive relationships with the ASD included children in their classrooms. Consequently, those who have had children with ASD in their classes in the past were expected to be more knowledgeable about the field of school psychology and the special education department. Thirdly, training …

Relationships Between Reading Habits And The Development Of Study Skills, Shawn Gilroy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not reading habits have an effect on the development of study habits in an undergraduate population (n=100). Students reported several aspects of both reading and study skills being elevated along with higher rates of reading habits. Correlational analysis of Text Preview, Perceived Difficulty, Understanding, Concentration, Listening & Taking Notes and Motivation with reported Reading Habits revealed significant correlations. Student implications for reading intervention and application are discussed.

The Effects Of The Friend Networking Site Myspace On Adolescents' Global Self Esteem, Amanda L. Pietrangelo

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the popular friend-networking site, MySpace on young adolescents' global self-esteem. The hypothesis of the present study states that adolescents who spend more time on the friend-networking site, MySpace, will experience lower overall self-esteem than their peers who spend either less time on the site, or no time on the site. Further, predictions were made on the basis of gender, suggesting that adolescent girls with adequate access will be more likely to experience these affects than will their male counterparts. Participants in this study were 95 (31 males, 64 females) …

Stressful Life Events, Depression, And The Effects Of Perceived Social Support, Kristen Schiers

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to explore the relationship between stressful life events, depression and the effects of perceived social support. The researcher expected to find a positive correlation with higher stressful life events ratings predicting greater depressive mood. Also, the researcher hypothesized that people who have more hours of contact with social support systems would experience less depressive mood. Finally, it was expected that a significant interaction effect would be found such that the more contact with social support systems would weaken the effect of stress on depressive mood. The sample consisted of forty-five undergraduate students from …

Response To Intervention: Concerns Of Teacher Fidelity, Amanda B. Sinko

Theses and Dissertations

The present study set out to fill a gap in the current body of research addressing the concern of teacher fidelity within the Response to Intervention model. It examined the effect of the formal recording of interventions by teachers for students in RTI Tier I of reading in an attempt to control for teacher fidelity. The sample was drawn from the kindergarten and first grade of eight elementary schools in a large suburban public school district in southern New Jersey. The students' reading achievement was assessed through the use of pre and post scores of Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early …

Prejudice And Attitudes Towards Non-Religious Individuals With The Influences Of Religious Orientation, Arielle M. Pinzon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the connections between prejudice, and religiosity. Data was obtained by administering measures to 45 college students. The first measure was a set of vignettes (A and B) that involved a person who was described as "fairly religious", or "atheist", and a rating scale. The other measure was the Religious Orientation Scale Revised version (Gorsuch & McPherson, 1989). This was used to measure religiosity in terms of intrinsic of extrinsic. T-tests were run to determine the statistical differences between each group, as well as on specific adjectives. Correlation tests were run to determine …

The Influence Of Perceived Task Difficulty On Task Performance, Dominick Scasserra

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence that the perceived difficulty of a task has on task performance. Twenty-one undergraduate college students were asked to complete three anagram worksheets. Each worksheet had a different description of difficulty (easy, medium, hard), although all worksheets were of the same difficulty. Participants self-reported amounts of anxiety, effort, perceived competence, and task difficulty after each worksheet. A repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant linear effect for perceived difficulty on task performance (F(1) = 10.42, p<0.05) , and paired-samples t-tests showed that participants had significantly more successful responses on the easy (M = 4.67, SD = 1.11) and medium (M = 4.48, SD = 1.37) worksheets than on the hard worksheet (M = 3.43, SD = 1.99), and self reported ratings of perceived competence were higher for the easy difficulty (M = 4.67, SD = 1.65) than hard (M = 3.57, SD = 2.16) difficulty. These findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Undergraduate Education Majors' Perceptions Of Bullying, Drew Anders

Theses and Dissertations

This study intended to focus on the realities of bullying through the eyes of undergraduate education majors. Perceptions on their understanding, and responses to hypothetical situations were examined to get a thorough comprehension about their beliefs on the topic of bullying. The sample of 144 participants, 105 female and 39 male, were all juniors or seniors in their educational programs at a medium-sized university in the northeast. Two questionnaires, the Boulton & Jones Questionnaire and the Bully Attitudes Questionnaire, were used as tools to assess the student's ideas about the subject. Tests of significance helped support the hypothesis by showing …

Religiosity And Well-Being: Meaning In Life As Coping Strategy In Korean-American Judeo-Christian Adolescents, Stephen M. Kang

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this exploratory investigation were to (a) assess the cognitive understanding of meaning in life as coping strategy utilized by Korean-American Judeo-Christian adolescents between the ages of 11 to 18 (n = 74) and (b) to determine the significance of meaning in life in relations to subjective well-being. Initial hypothesis about "born again" Christian faith failed to support any significant correlation when compared with religiosity, meaning, and well-being indices. However, intrinsic religious orientation showed significant associations with meaning in life, purpose in life, prayer, daily Bible reading, and subjective well-being in satisfaction with life. Multiple regression analyses …

The Effects Of Positive Behavior Intervention Support On Office Discipline Referrals, Third And Fourth Grade Reading And Math Scores, And Perceptions Of Teachers Regarding Discipline And Safety In Alabama Elementary Schools, Denise Yvonne Pavlovich

Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies and school-wide discipline problems after a school had been trained in Positive Behavior Intervention Support, the difference in educators' perceptions about the relationship between positive school climate, SAT scores, and academic achievement. The researcher surveyed 35 schools in Alabama and collected office discipline referral data, SAT scores, and teacher/administrator perception data. Some of the data were gathered via the Internet for the years prior to implementation, during implementation, and the year following implementation. A survey was sent to each of the schools to collect perception data. Results indicated a significant …

Identification Of Key Counseling Skills For Highly Effective School Administrators, Tonya Christman Balch

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative research study looked at the predictability oflndiana's Public Law 221 Status for the 2005 and 2006 academic years. The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, to determine if elementary administrators' key counseling skills and select demographics can predict Public Law 221 (PL 221) status in their respective schools; secondly, to develop a valid and reliable survey supported by strong psychometric properties that identifies key counseling. iii Quantitative analyses factored key counseling skills and tested the predictive nature of those skills as well as select demographic items (school locale, administrator gender and ethnicity, building-level administrator pre-service training institution, …

Comparing Parent Ratings Of Referred Preschoolers On The Child Behavior Checklist And Behavior Assessment System For Children - Second Edition, Jennifer L. Bour

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

It is essential for school psychologists assessing children to use instruments that are reliable and valid. The focus of the current study is to determine whether or not the parent preschool versions of two popular behavior rating instruments, the Behavior Assessment System for Children – Second Edition (BASC-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000), are consistent measures of similarly-named behavioral constructs in preschool-aged children. Parents of 95 preschoolers referred to a nonprofit child evaluation clinic because of behavioral or developmental concerns completed both the BASC-2 and CBCL during an initial evaluation session.

The …

Predicting Student Performance In Web-Based Distance Education Courses Based On Survey Instruments Measuring Individual Traits And Technical Skills, Michael Clyde Hall

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two common web-based surveys, "Is Online Learning Right for Me?' and "\Vb.at Technical Skills Do l Need~", were combined into a single survey instrument and given to 228 on-campus and 83 distance education students. The students were enrolled in four different classes (business, computer infonnation services, criminal justice, and early childhood development) on three different regional campuses of a mid-western community college. :Multiple regression equations were developed with the survey scores and the type of class to determine the extent to which the survey scores predicted final semester grade percentages. Although distance education students scored significantly higher on the survey …

Zhong Guo Chu Zhong Sheng Yin Jiu Xing Wei Yu Qi Ta Jian Kang Wei Xian Xing Wei De Guan Xi [Alcohol Use And Associated Risk Factors Among Chinese Middle School Students], Teresa M. Merrick, Ying Zhang, Ben-Chun Tian, Ling Qian, Ian M. Newman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective-- To explore the relationship between reported alcohol-use in Chinese youth to other reported health risk behaviors, and to provide bases for their health education.

Methods -- The data of 2003 Global School-Based Student Health Survey in China and related material of survey came from WHO website. SPSS 13.0 was applied for cross-tabulated data analysis and Chi-square test was used to analyze the relationships between alcohol-use and other risk behaviors.

Results -- Students who reported alcohol use within the last 30 days were also at significant risk from direct health behaviors, other health behaviors, environmental factors and psychological factors, especially …

Literacy Center Initiative, Sandra G. Flank

Cornerstone 2 Reports : Community Outreach and Empowerment Through Service Learning and Volunteerism

Literacy Center Initiative

Sister Delaney (Associate Professor and Director of The Center for Literacy Enrichment at Pace)

Mohana Mukherjee (Graduate Assistant)

School of Education

Initial Plan: Select a student to be the pilot pupil, analyze his needs, engage him in interesting topics on the website, record his progress on a weekly basis, and interact with his guardians to record his performance at home.

Future Plans: Broadening the target audience at the Literacy Center, a number of courses in teaching of reading at both the graduate and undergraduate level, as well as exploring a course in Literacy and Technology for the …

Indiana School Superintendents And The Relationship Between Gender And Levels Of Social Intelligence, Mary Sugg Lovejoy

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to determine the level of social intelligence of public school superintendents in Indiana and to ascertain if there were gender differences associated with a superintendent's level of social intelligence. This research study was designed to determine how Indiana public school superintendents perceived themselves with regard to their level of social intelligence. One other factor was analyzed: Was there a significant relationship between the level of social intelligence and when the superintendents received their Education Specialist Degree. The participants of the study were 257 Indiana public school superintendents taken from the 2006-2007 database at the Indiana Department …

Investigating, Educating, And Intervening: The Target Bullying Project At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Susan M. Swearer Napolitano

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Over the last decade, the Target Bully research team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has collaborated with many schools and school districts to identify where bullying occurs and how to reduce its prevalence. As our experience has grown, we have developed methods and instruments to identify critical concerns of staff members and students. Therefore, we typi-cally begin this consultation by interviewing school administrators and if needed, distributing the Bully Survey (Swearer, 2001) to all students and when possible, teachers and/or parents. This procedure allows us to get a picture of the scope of bullying from the perspectives of students who …

Acceptability Of Behavioral Bully Interventions: Mexican Descent And White American Elementary School Students' Ratings Of Assertiveness And Seeking Adult Help Skills, Devin J. Healey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of school-based interventions for children to use to deal with being bullied. However, the research has not looked at the effectiveness of these interventions for Latino students. These students come to school with different cultural experiences and values. In theory, treatment that is evaluated as acceptable and potentially effective is more likely to be used. This study investigates and compares the treatment acceptability ratings of White American (n = 87) and Mexican descent (n = 28) students for two intervention skills that are often taught in bully intervention programs: assertiveness and seeking help …

School Environments And Behaviors Of Students On The Autism Spectrum, Aimee Pont

Honors Scholar Theses

This study explores the relationship between the different environments within a school and the stereotyped behaviors of students with autism. The study seeks to identify whether the behaviors of these students are similar or different in the different environments, testing the idea of environment as a stimulus for these behaviors. The study is a naturalistic observational study, and a change in prevalence of these stereotyped behaviors during the duration of the study is not a focus of this study.

Motivation And Learning In Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers, Kelly Almeida

Honors Scholar Theses

Based on a review of literature of conceptual and procedural knowledge in relation to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the purpose of this study was to test the relationship between conceptual and procedural knowledge and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Thirty-eight education students with a mathematics focus (elementary or secondary) in their junior, senior, or fifth year completed a survey with a Likert scale measuring their preference to learning (conceptual or procedural) and their motivation type (intrinsic or extrinsic). Findings showed that secondary mathematics focused students were more likely to prefer learning mathematics conceptually than elementary mathematics focused students. However, secondary and …

Understanding Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Benefits Of Thematic Center-Based Instruction, Santia Mazzaferro

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Developmentally appropriate practice acknowledges and respects the unique learning styles, approaches, and individual needs of students, and is the key to establishing an effective and sucessful learning environment. Early childhood classrooms that utilize this approach, in combination with hands-on exploration and thematic, center-based instruction, maximize the support of students' overall physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development. It is this type of environment, the least restrictive environment, where young children blossom like flowers.

Investigating The Domain Of Geometric Inductive Reasoning Problems: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis, Kairong Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Matrix inductive reasoning has been a popular research topic due to its claimed relationship with the general factor of intelligence. In this research, four subabilities were identified: working memory, rule induction, rule application, and figure detection. This quantitative study examined the relationship between these four subabilites and students' general ability to solve Matrix Reasoning problems. Using tests developed for this research to measure the identified subabilities, the data were collected from 334 Chinese students aged from 12 to 15. Structural equation modeling method was used to analyze the collected data and to evaluate the hypothesized models. Results from the analysis …

Predicting Physical Activity In Arab American School Children, Jeffrey J. Martin, Nate Mccaughtry, Bo Shen

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Theoretically grounded research on the determinants of Arab American children's physical activity is virtually nonexistent. Thus, the purpose of our investigation was to evaluate the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and social cognitive theory (SCT) to predict Arab American children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Children (N = 348, ages 10–14) completed questionnaires assessing the TPB and SCT constructs as well as MVPA. Using multiple regression analyses we were able to account for 9% of the variance in MVPA. Based on standardized beta-weights, variance accounted for, and the significance of F change, we concluded that SCT variables …