Liberal Studies Commons^™

The Influence Of Perspective Taking And Empathy On Students Using The Cultural Approach To History, Victor M. Salazar

Theses and Dissertations

Challenges to teaching history have precipitated a number of teaching strategies whereby teachers have achieved mixed success. The Cultural Approach to History (CAH) has been shown to be an effective teaching strategy from its inception in the late 1960s. Advances in neuroscience revealing how the brain functions in the learning process have been proven to show that stimulating affect in students during instruction may result in a greater long-term learning outcomes than if students underwent traditional lecture-based instruction. Students using the CAH have the opportunity to take the perspective of others in addition to their engaging cognitive capabilities thus leading …

Male And Female Experiences In Science And Mathematics Undergraduate Programs, Amy M. Latta-Won

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the experiences of males and females in science and mathematics undergraduate programs. It emphasizes particularly the undergraduates’ experiences within the STEM fields related to gender and how they negotiate gender by using a phenomenological approach. Ten STEM undergraduates (five males and five females) participated in semi-structured interviews to also examine why they chose to major in a STEM field, understand gender as it impacts their experiences, and identify obstacles that impact their persistence in the completion of their degree. There are more women than men attending colleges and earning degrees. However, men still outnumber women who major …

An Analysis Of The Economic And Social Values Attributed To A Variety Of Occupations As Portrayed In Adolescent Literature, Ethelyn W. Riley

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed twenty-two novels of adolescent literature which portray occupations. The purpose of this study was to determine which category of jobs was treated most often and most favorably. The jobs were placed in one of the following categories: professional work, industrial work, housework, hustling work, and counter-cultural work. Each job was then given a prestige rating of 0 to 100. Fourteen of the twenty-two novels focused on professional work, four on industrial work, three on hustling work, one on counter-cultural work, and none on housework.

An Overview Of Registered Family Day Care In Muscogee County, Georgia, Rhoda Boggs

Theses and Dissertations

This research surveyed the characteristics and components of family day care in a southeastern urban area. The subjects consisted of all family day care providers who resided within the county being studied and who were registered with the state's Department of Human Resources. The questionnaire developed by the researcher consists of 20 questions which address the caregivers' personal traits, educational qualifications, and business organization. The responses were compiled, and descriptive statistics were computed in order to provide the composite characteristics and overall range of available family day care in the county. Results show that there are significant differences in the …

Differences In The. Reading And Mathematics Achievement Between Asian American And Non Asian American Children, Linda B. Price

Theses and Dissertations

Explanations for the achievement or overachievement of Asian Americans are often conflicting and subject to debate among researchers. Four major theories for this achievement are explored in the review of literature. One of these theories concerns the idea that Asian American's beliefs are the result of Confucianism and its influence on the lives of Asian Americans. Another theory examines the parent's positive attitude toward education and its influence on achievement. A third theory suggests that Asian American babies are more alert and sensitive at birth. The final theory examined proposes that the Asian American immigration to the United States is …

An Analysis Of Authors, Characters And Dependency Of Women Protagonists In The Short Stories Of Selected Literary Anthologies, Susan E. Hussey

Theses and Dissertations

This research study evaluated textbooks in terms of frequency of female authors, frequency of female protagonists, and frequency of dependency in female protagonists in selected modern American short stories. The study was limited to selections in Scott, Foresman and Company textbooks used in eleventh grade classrooms nationwide for the past twenty-five years. The samples came from four editions beginning with 1963 and ending with the current 1985 edition. The study revealed that there was no meaningful change in any of the researched categories. The findings of the study were reported in the form of synopses, tallies, charts and tables.

An Analysis Of Adolescent Literature In Terms Of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's Stages Of Dealing With Death, Margaret Ann Cole

Theses and Dissertations

This study is an analysis of twenty young adult novels which contain the theme of death. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent the characters experienced the five stages of the grieving process. Twenty novels were selected because they contained death as a central theme. The characters in these books were rated according to the extent to which each experienced through feelings or behavioral responses the stages in the process of dealing with death as outlined by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in her book On Death and Dying. It was determined whether the characters did experience each stage …

Assertiveness As A Characteristic Of Females In Male-Female Relationships In Selected Adolescent Novels From 1967-1976 And 1977-1986, Wanda Hagler

Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive study dealt with the subject of female assertiveness in male-female relationships as portrayed in adolescent novels. The hypotheses were that a more contemporary attitude toward women would be reflected in the past decade's literature for adolescents by featuring women who act more assertively in dating relationships, and that there would be a difference in the behavior of females in the novels published between 1967 - 1976 and those published between 1977 and 1986 with females of the former period assuming a more passive role in male-female relationships. Fifteen representative novels of each period were analyzed, and data were …

Newberry Award Books Of 1950-1959 And 1970-1979; Do They Reflect The Characteristics, Attitudes, And Problems Of Families Of These Periods?, Willie M. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Newbery Award books of 1950-59 and those of 1970-79 reflect the characteristics, attitudes, and problems of families of these periods.

Through a detailed analysis of each book, a compilation of data, and a comparison to actual, contemporary conditions, the researcher found that the books analyzed did reflect the society of those periods. The structure of society, and the characteristics, attitudes, and problems of the characters were accurately portrayed in the books of each period.

An Analysis Of The Changing Roles Of Female Characters In Newbery Award-Winning Fiction Since 1964, Connie C. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Twenty-four novels were selected from the list of Newbery Medal and Honor books because they dealt with contemporary themes and settings. These books have been .analyzed by categorizing each major or supporting adult female character into one of five categories of the "Occupational Prestige Rating Scale'' (Appendix A), based mainly on salary ranges. Major or supporting female characters were categorized by the "Leadership Potential Scale'' (Appendix B), based on leadership qualities described in each of the five groups. Both instruments were developed by the researcher. Two tables of frequency counts indicate the range of major and supporting female characters for …

A Descriptive Survey Of Archaeological Sites Discovered During A 1984 Draw Down Of Lake Harding, Tom J. Meltzer

Theses and Dissertations

During the Fall of 1984, Lake Harding was drawn down thirty-three feet. A number of previously uninvestigated archaeological sites were exposed during this low water period.

Members of the Lower Chattahoochee Archaeological Society carried out a researcher designed survey of the exposed lake bottom. This survey revealed 131 distinct archaeological sites.

Identification of hundreds of artifacts recovered from the exposed sites has allowed this researcher to document evidence as to the presence of six Indian periods, Paleo, Paleotransitional, Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian, and Historic, during the past 10,000 years at Lake Harding.

Each site yielding identifiable artifacts, assignable to a period …

Piagetian Concrete And Formal Cognitive Development And Ninth-Grade Achievement In Physical Science, Dale H. Joiner

Theses and Dissertations

The Purpose of this investigation was to determine if differences in achievement among ninth-grade physical science students are a function of the cognitive level of the physical science curriculum and students' stages of cognitive development.

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development proposes that all students progress through a series of development stages but not necessarily at the same rate. The final two stages of Piaget's developmental theory are termed concrete and formal respectively and were the focal point of this study.

A series of Piagetian tasks designed to reveal evidence of concrete and formal levels of development were administered to …

The Origins Of Shaw High School, Muscogee County, Georgia 1969-1978, Bob Scarbrough

Theses and Dissertations

Shaw High School is unique among the high schools Columbus. Shaw is the only high school in Columbus to utilize team teaching and open space education. The origins of Shaw High School are narrated within the context of a generation of national experimentation with open space education, and the contributions of key individuals to the school's development are described.

The Relationship Between Environmental Awareness And Academic Achievement In Elementary School Children, Earl T. Leindecker

Theses and Dissertations

One hundred and seventy two sixth grade public school students were surveyed to investigate the possibility of a relationship between the children's perception of the cleanliness of the academic environment and the students' level of academic achievement. Utilizing a Pearson product-moment coefficient, student responses on a researcher-prepared Likert-type scale were correlated with the Normal Curve Equivalency Score for the reading portion of the Stanford Achievement Test. Analysis of the statistical data revealed a negative .139 correlation. The positive directional hypotheses cannot be accepted. However, the null hypothesis must be retained because of the negative .139 correlation at the .05 level …

The Ever Present Past: Thoreau's Perception And Use Of History In Walden, Kathleen Tracy Alonzo Fineran

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to explore Thoreau's historical perspective and to examine how his perception of history is reflected in his major work Walden. Regarding the scope of the project, three dimensions of Thoreau's perception and use of history were treated: his belief in a historical continuity of experience; his belief in historical truth as myth; and his quest for the American past. Regarding the limitations of the project, Thoreau's thought and other works were only drawn upon as they served to provide a context for discussion and no effort was made to reconcile any ambiguities in Thoreau's …

The Image Of Southern Americans In Selected High School Anthologies, Betty Jenkins Aiken

Theses and Dissertations

This study was a descriptive investigation of the allocation of space to Southern writers and of the image of Southern Americans in selected high school anthologies. The materials analyzed were sixteen high school anthologies used in grades nine, ten, and eleven during the 1984-1985 school year by eight high schools operating in a system of approximately 25,000 students in the southern region of the United States. The instrument used to measure allocation of space was a simple mathematical procedure. To measure the directionality of content, frequency counts were used. The results revealed both positive and negative aspects of the textbooks …

What Georgia's Middle Graders Are Reading: An Analysis Of Selected Georgia Book Award Recipients, Mary M. Bass

Theses and Dissertations

This project is a thematic analysis of thirty books nominated for the Georgia Children's Book Award Program. Books selected for analysis include the annual winners and one other book, randomly selected, from each year since the program began in 1969. A brief history of the program and the rules for the inclusion of a title are included in the report. A one-page review-analysis of each title includes a readability level, publication date, year nominated, brief sketch of the protagonist, and a synopsis of the book. The review of the literature focuses on similar studies along thematic lines and notes the …

Selected Tales From Georgia Indian Tribes With Suggested Application In Junior High School English And Social Studies Curricula, M. Diane Boss

Theses and Dissertations

After finding several references which suggest that there was a need to include Native American Studies in schools, the author of this report decided to create, "Cherokee, Creek, and Yuchi tales with Suggested Activities"; a resource supplement that would be of help to teachers of junior high school English and/or social studies in Columbus.

The completed resource supplement on Georgia Indian folk-tales include tales from three tribes, Cherokee, Creek, and Yuchi, selected because of their importance and proximity to Columbus. Twenty-three tales were chosen based on criteria established by the author.

The resulting collection of stories and instructional suggestions includes …

An Analysis Of Twenty Books For Young Adults In Terms Of Family Characteristics, According To Selected Sociological Variables, Elaine Vann Wise

Theses and Dissertations

An analysis of the families in twenty books, five taken from each of the 1980-1983 lists of Books for Young Adults, was used to determine if the families in the books accurately portrayed the American family. Three instruments were applied to the fictional families to gather information on the family history, characteristics, and relationships.

The families in young adult literature were found to accurately reflect the American family in marital status, number of children per family, and the persons with whom children were living. An unrealistic number of the families, however, were characterized as middle class or affluent. Only two …

A Comparison Of The Effect Of The Language- Experience Approach And The Basal Approach On Reading Achievement, Larry L. Copeland

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine and compare through objective literary research the effectiveness of the basal method versus the language experience method on reading achievement. The review of the literature covered a wide variety of sources including several books, journals, dissertations, and reports by professional organizations.

Five questions were formulated to help guide the probe through the vast amount of literature and to narrow the scope and breadth of the research report. The questions asked about the significant differences of reading achievement by: (1) method of instruction, (2) socio-cultural background, (3) sex, (4) intelligence levels, and (5) …