Student Counseling and Personnel Services Commons^™

Advanced Placement Courses And College Student Success: Evidence From Bps: 96/01, Jinhai Zhang

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is, based on the application of Tinto's student persistence theory, to explore whether AP course taking, as one pre-collegiate student background characteristic, impacts college students' persistence, academic achievements, and college completion. This study used the national Beginning Postsecondary Study 96/01 longitudinal data set collected by the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES), which includes 12,100 first-time postsecondary beginners over a period of 6 academic years from 1995/96 to 2000/01.

In this study, students were categorized into three groups by their SAT scores. Logistical regression analysis indicated that overall students who took any AP course in …

Key Challenges Facing Student Athletes And Connections To Their Choice Of Major, Kimberlee J. Henrion

Dissertations

This study examines the reasons student athletes choose their major and the challenges they face creating a successful student identity, and ultimately graduating with degrees of value to them. A survey was created utilizing themes from previous studies, and distributed at one Midwestern Division I university. Questions regarding time management, academic conflicts, health issues, service usage, selection of major, career aspirations, and perceptions of identity, following Arthur Chickering's theory of College Student Development were asked.

Results show the majority of the 171 student athlete respondents indicated few conflicts with time management (e.g., they generally have time to complete class work), …

Supervision Experiences And Needs Of New-Entrant Professional School Counselors: A Qualitative Study, Shawn Allan Allan Bultsma

Dissertations

Although the field of professional school counseling has recognized the positive impact that supervision offers, discussion of its use with new-entrant school counseling professionals has been limited. This study responds to the limited discussion of supervision with new-entrant professional school counselors by describing the supervision experiences and perceived needs of 15 new-entrant professional school counselors.

Participants of this study described advantages and disadvantages of receiving supervision. When discussing supervision activities as new-entrant professionals, participants frequently confused the process of supervision with mentoring and evaluation. Supervision quality was described as deficient, and the structure of supervision varied among participants. Participants described …

Retaining Exploring Students: A Comparison Study Of Decided And Undecided College Students, Betty D. Dennis

Dissertations

U.S. four-year institutions graduate fewer than 50% of its first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students within six years Today, improving college student retention and graduation rates is a primary focus of higher education nationwide. Scholars have found that students who enter college undecided and are still exploring majors need a great deal of support to be retained. Research has also demonstrated that between 20% and 50% of entering freshmen have not selected a major course of study and that colleges and universities are concerned these students are at a higher risk of leaving the institution. What is unclear is whether selecting a …

Community College Retention: The Role Of Late Registration Policies, Kay L. Keck

Dissertations

The study provided for a clearer understanding of the impact of late registration on community college retention and student persistence. Of particular interest were the results of the examination of the course-specific side of late registration. The most significant findings of this study were: (1) Students who registered and began a course on time had a greater likelihood to successfully complete the course. The consequences students associated with late registration included missing critical first class day information and feeling rushed and unprepared to begin the class; (2) A majority of late registrants were successful in the late registered course, and …

A Study Of Career Preparation Activities Used In Michigan’S Public High Schools, Brian L. Pyles

Dissertations

This study assessed the status of Michigan's Career Pathway high schools 2 years after state Career Preparation funding was terminated early, in order to determine the institutionalization of Career Pathway activities. In particular, this study examined the use of Career Pathway curriculum guides, Educational Development Plans (EDPs), student Career Pathway designations, student career assessments, work-based learning activities, alternative scheduling, college credits earned in high school, instructional strategies, teacher professional development, and Career Pathway high school planning committees. This study also ascertained the perceived helpfulness of having students declare a Career Pathway and using EDPs as a guide in the selection …

The Association Between School Choice And School Climate: Comparing School Climate In Private Relgious, Charter, And Public Schools, Mark Krommendyk

Dissertations

The association between school climate and school choice was examined by conducting discriminant function analyses on data gathered from the 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey. This study asked the question, "Does school climate in private religious, charter, and public schools differ?" Teacher and principal responses to survey questions were grouped to measure six characteristics of school climate. The school climate characteristics measured were: (1) supportive principal leadership, (2) teacher collegiality, (3) teacher-principal relationships, (4) teacher satisfaction, (5) student behavior, and (6) teacher empowerment. The study found that the school climate in private religious schools could be statistically distinguished from the …

Success In The First Year: Impact Of Alternative Advising On Students At A Liberal Arts College, James E. Swanson

Dissertations

Small faith-based liberal arts institutions are increasingly focused on recruitment and retention because it is critical to their existence. Because these institutions are completely enrollment driven, the numbers of students who persist through to their second year of college is a necessary administrative focus. Scholars have found that interactions between students and members of the institution, especially faculty, are critical to student persistence during the first year of College. Research has also demonstrated that academic advising plays an important role in first-year student persistence. A question remains, however, whether students are retained because of time spent with faculty or because …

School Counselors' Perceptions About Female Participation In Non-Traditional Secondary Career And Technical Education (Cte) Programs, Rashida Khatoon Malik

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine high school counselors' perceptions of female participation in nontraditional secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The data for this study was collected from high school counselors in Michigan by sending them a survey containing 25 items. The first section of the survey covered the demographics of the participants. The second section consisted of eight belief statements about counseling femalestudents into nontraditional CTE programs. The third section of the survey had 12 belief statements about female participation in CTE nontraditional programs. The survey responses were based on five-point Likert scales. The belief …

The Study Of Nontraditional Student Satisfaction With Academic Support Services Offered At Western Michigan University, Natalie Morton

Dissertations

This study examines the impact from the adaptation of lean manufacturing strategies on key external financial performance measures as reported by a number of management accounting methods. The research is not concerned with creating a justification for lean manufacturing strategies but rather it evaluates the inadequacies of standard financial reporting methods to accurately reflect operational improvements possible in the key performance measures through the early stages of a lean program.

ProModel simulation software is used in conjunction with Microsoft Excel and Visual Basic to create a simulated repetitive manufacturing environment and production planning and control system. The study examines the …

Counselors’ Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Career Education Programs In Assisting High School Students When Making Career Decisions, Sandra L. Roberts Standish

Dissertations

In 1997, the Michigan Department of Career Development unveiled the Michigan Career Preparation System, which provided guidelines and funds for school districts to offer career education opportunities for students. Since high school counselors are oftentimes viewed as the primary provider of careerinformation to students, this study examined their perceptions of Michigan's Career Preparation System and the impact this initiative has had on studentsand educators. To gather this information, a 13-question survey was designed and distributed to a randomly selected group of high school counselors. Theresearch also provided a framework for understanding all of the components of both the Michigan Comprehensive …

Aiding At-Risk Students, Jeremy Baldwin

Honors Theses

Kalamazoo's Loy Norrix High School was the location of a study in conjunction with the institution's school-wide achievement process to aid at-risk students. Characterized by poor attendance, behavioral problems and/or failing two or more subjects, at-risk students are monitored more closely through school-wide efforts. According to the Michigan Department of Education, the effort to hep struggling students implicates the use of supplemental services before or after school to help students in the core subjects: math, science, social studies, and English. Norrix has successfully begun its own efforts to improve the overall academic success of the student body by employing the …

An Investigation On The Impact Of The Structure Of Summative Student Evaluation On Self-Regulated Learning, John Charles Ritzler

Dissertations

Many hypotheses have been offered regarding the impact on learning caused by the most traditional practice of summative student evaluation, namely that of assigning marks to students. Sufficient evidence exists to suggest this practice often has detrimental effects. This study was designed to investigate the following three questions: (1) How does the method of summative student evaluation impact self-regulated learning in low-achieving high school mathematics students? (2) How does the cognitive level of the task mediate the relationship between method of summative student evaluation and self-regulated learning? (3) How does the length of time students are exposed to a method …

The Use Of Quality Indices For Successful Programs For Students With Emotional/Behavior Disorders In The State Of Michigan, Alice Brouwer Hoekstra

Dissertations

Recent research studies have determined that students with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD) are the most difficult to integrate into the general education environment. Students with EBD are most likely to be educated in separate settings and least likely to be found in traditional education environments. However, the mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act reauthorized in 1997 (IDEA '97) and the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) regulation indicates all educators, including administrators, have the responsibility to challenge teachers and schools to be more inclusive regarding students with EBD and to provide services that better support students in this setting. …

Career Planning Needs Of Students, Carol Nowakowski

Dissertations

This study examines the perceived needs of college students in relationship to sex, employment, and academic rank. Specifically, factors that suggest the changing student population in higher education and the impact such changes have on providing career counseling services to meet student needs are presented. In addition, the differences between sex, employment status, and academic rank in relationship to perceived career planning needs is presented based on a review of literature. Results of a survey to students attending Davenport University (formerly known as Davenport College) during the winter 1995 semester are summarized in terms of perceived career planning needs based …

A Study Of The Effect Of Group Family Play On Family Relations For Families With Children Considered At-Risk For Educational Failure, Carmen Colleen Baldus

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Software Use On The Preparation Of The Individualized Education Programs (Iep’S), Nancy Ann Beukema

Dissertations

Special educators are required to process paperwork mandated by federal regulations for students with special needs. The Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1997 (IDEA ’97, Public Law 105-17) requires the evaluation of students with special needs occur as frequently as their non-disabled peers. An annual review is also mandated for each student’s individualized educational program (IEP), in order to reevaluate the future goals and objectives of the IEPs. A student identified as needing special education services is one who needs specially designed instruction and this instruction must meet the specific individual needs of that student. IDEA ‘97 mandates the need …

The Effect Of Remedial Education Programs On Academic Achievement And Persistence At The Two-Year Community College, Lyn Ann Batzer

Dissertations

Community colleges are open door institutions that serve students who may lack the basic skills necessary to succeed in college. The number of academically underprepared students attending community colleges has been increasing over the years. Thus, there is a corresponding need for effective remedial programs to prepare the academically underprepared students for college-level work.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of remedial education. More specifically, the study was designed to measure the performance of academically underprepared students who complete required remediation compared to academically underprepared students who do not complete remediation.

The study tested two hypotheses: …

The Effects Of Public-Posted Feedback On The Use Of A Photocopy Machine By Faculty In An Academic Department, Shijing Hu

Masters Theses

This study assessed the effects of a public-posting intervention on photocopy machine use by faculty members in an academic department. Public posting included posting of a chart that displayed number of copies made each week by individual faculty members along with the average cumulative rate of copying for previous weeks for each person. The intervention was applied in an A-B-A reversal design where data were collected prior to the intervention under usual conditions (A), during public posting (B), and after the public posting intervention was removed and usual conditions were restored (A). The results indicated that: (1) number of copies …

An Evaluation Of A Student Orientation Pilot Project And Counseling Services As Retention Activities At Grand Valley State University, Mary T. Gustas

Masters Theses

The field experience was completed in the Counseling Center in affiliation with the Dean of Students Office, and the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs, spring of 1986 through spring of 1987. An objective of the experience was to determine if an increased orientation program and counseling service impacted the retention of freshmen students at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI.

Data were gathered and compiled which supported an extended orientation program at other institutions. Recommendations for implementation were prepared and presented to the Retention Committee at Grand Valley State University.

Additional data collection was done for the …

The Effects Of A Cognitive Stress Management Program On Perceptions Of Stress Levels, Sara Sue Schaeffer

Dissertations

The impact of a cognitively oriented stress management program on participants' perceptions of their stress levels was assessed utilizing a prepost test format with randomly selected experimental and control groups. Between the pre and post tests the experimental group experienced the stress management workshop which focused on four major components: becoming aware of stress and its effects, assessing personal responses to stress, learning effective coping strategies, and designing a personal stress management program. Two measurement instruments were utilized. The Stress Program Assessment Instrument (SPAI) measured participant's cognitive knowledge of stress and coping strategies. The Life Experiences Survey (LES) measured participants' …

Interaction Functions Of A Computer - Assisted Career Information And Guidance System: Macomb Community College, Joyce Kirkwood

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of whether interaction with a computer-assisted career information and guidance system is a function of the person's age, sex, or educational background. It further attempted to determine if there were differences in the career information needs of Macomb Community College students and those of the general Michigan Occupational Interest Survey (MOIS) user population of the Michigan Occupational Interest Coordinating Committee's study of 1980. Interviews were conducted for the purpose of finding some explanation of these differences. After tracing the development of career information expansion and reviewing current practices in the …

An Application Of Taoist Thought In Short Term Psychotherapy, David Leslie Knoblauch

Dissertations

Taoism originated in China during the -5th and -4th centuries with the Tao Te Ching, which is attributed to Lao Tzu. This ancient philosophy delineated a way of acting in harmony with the course and trend of the natural world. In the United States, Taoist thought has been increasing in popularity since the 1930's. C. G. Jung, Alan Watts, and Abraham Maslow were prominent in bringing Taoism to a functional understanding in America's psychological community. They promoted the view that man is not an isolated ego which must control experience, but rather that man is a part of the order …

The Effects Of A Residential Basic Counseling Skills Training Program, Richard W. Fox

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to study the effects of a residential basic counseling skills training program on the interpersonal behavior of the participants.

The research design for this study was a pre- and post-test experimental and control group method. Program participants were 81 juvenile court workers with experience ranging from less than one to more than 20 years. The control group was 41 juvenile detention home workers in six locations throughout the State of Michigan who did not participate in the training.

The FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior) pre-test was administered to the experimental and control groups at …

The Relationship Of Competency As Part Of The Self-Concept To Occupational Role: A Comparison Study Of Females In Three Occupational Roles, Merry Carson Pattison

Dissertations

It was the purpose of this study to examine the relationship between women's perception of self as being competent to occupational role.

Based on a review of the literature and research it was hypothesized that a relationship between occupational role and competency self-perceptions did exist. Also, it was hypothesized that there is a relationship between occupational role and the difference between perception of self and view of ideal self in competency. Finally, it was hypothesized that there is a relationship between occupational role and the discrepancy between perception of self and perception of typical women in competency skills.

The sample …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Skills And Satisfaction Of Teenagers Taught Decision-Making Models, John T. Chapman

Dissertations

This study was designed to measure the effectiveness of two generic types of decision-making models currently used to teach high school students decision-making.

Models that were used in this study were a deductive and an inductive model. Deductive decision-making is the philosophical process, that is a generalization of personal values to specific choice items. Induction is the scientific process; students consider a series of specific items and generalize a decision from the examinations.

Effectiveness in this study was defined as the process skills and student satisfaction with the methods. Individual student differences that were considered in the study were grades, …

The Relationship Between Interpersonal Perception And Locus Of Control, Richard G. Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to clarify the relationship between interpersonal perception and locus of control. Interpersonal perception refers to the process of understanding internal states of other human beings. Locus of control refers to the belief in the nature of causality of reinforcement. Viewed theoretically as a continuum, individuals at one end, labeled internals, believe that the reinforcement they receive in life is the direct result of their own behavior. Conversely, individuals at the opposite end of the continuum, labeled externals, believe that the reinforcement they receive in life is the result of fate, luck, or powerful others. …

A Treatment Package To Improve Academic Performance, Lynn Daniel Larrow

Masters Theses

Six high school students volunteered to participate in a research project to improve their academic grades. Of these six subjects, it was found that subjects with low grade point averages (GPA) were the main beneficiaries of a behavior treatment package consisting of contingency contracting, graphing, and a self-management lecture. In addition, this study demonstrated that a contingency contract, employing a weekly consequence, and graphing can control an academic behavior, note taking. Finally, it was shown that a cost effective treatment package could produce GPA increases comparable to more expensive and time consuming treatments. It is hoped that the findings of …

Availability And Utilization Of Student/Personnel Services For Academic And Personal Development At Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Verlyn R. Knowles

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Differential Implementation Of A Performance Objective Directed At The Reduction Of Suspensions At Five Desegregated Junior High Schools, Walden A. Baskerville Jr.

Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the efforts of a desegregated urban public school district to reduce the incidence of student suspension over a three-year period. More specifically, it examined the efforts and results five middle school staffs achieved in reducing the incidence of student suspension from school as a method of dealing with disruptive behavior.

Category I suspensions, i.e., suspensions resulting from disruptive behavior not requiring legal action, constituted the data base for the study. These data were obtained from central office files maintained by schools for the three-year period 1972-75 following a directive issued by the superintendent of …