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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Facilitating Comprehension And Motivation By Engaging Adolescents As Ipad Readers, Virginia M. Bauman Edd
Facilitating Comprehension And Motivation By Engaging Adolescents As Ipad Readers, Virginia M. Bauman Edd
Dissertations
Technologies continue to transform the many ways that we read, write, and communicate, redefining what it means to be literate in the 21st century. For example, the explosive growth in tablet computers over the last few years has seemingly everyone embracing the new digital literacies without any real knowledge of the skills, strategies, and dispositions required to comprehend digital text. Given the newness of this technology, it's hardly surprising that little empirical research has been conducted to examine the extent to which e-books can actually improve comprehension as well as the motivation to read among students. To help solve this …
Accounting For The Attrition Of African American Males In An Academic Support Setting, Ronald R. Lancia Phd
Accounting For The Attrition Of African American Males In An Academic Support Setting, Ronald R. Lancia Phd
Dissertations
This dissertation addresses a continuing crisis in our nation's education system. Historically African American students have underperformed academically. This achievement gap is particularly pronounced for African American males. AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), an academic support program for underachieving students, most recently created the African American Male Initiative (AAMI). The AAMI was designed specifically to respond to the needs of black males. Despite its efforts, the AAMI has had a difficult time attracting and retaining black male participants. The purpose of this study was to better understand why African American high school males are not choosing to participate in the …
The Lost-Boys Phenomenon: Case Studies Of San Diego High School Males, Richard Stakelum Edd
The Lost-Boys Phenomenon: Case Studies Of San Diego High School Males, Richard Stakelum Edd
Dissertations
By most measures of success—e.g., academic Grade Point Average (GPA), graduation rates, participation in extracurricular and civic activities, and college enrollment—adolescent males are less successful than females. Young males are falling behind in reading and writing and are more likely to be involved in truancy, violence, crime, suicide, and substance abuse. While the nation mobilized to address historical gender discrimination issues for females since the 1970s, there has not been a similar effort mounted to assist adolescent males. The trends alluded to in the previous paragraph have begun to be recognized by popular-press authors. Some have begun to refer to …
An Investigation Of The Test-Taking Skills And Associated Thinking Processes Of Ninth Grade English Language Arts Students, Mary B. O'Shea Edd
An Investigation Of The Test-Taking Skills And Associated Thinking Processes Of Ninth Grade English Language Arts Students, Mary B. O'Shea Edd
Dissertations
Although much is known about how students perform on standardized tests, little research exists concerning how students think and process while taking such tests. This mixed methods action research study was designed to investigate if a constructivist approach to test preparation could yield improved results for 37 English language arts freshmen preparing for the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). The researcher explored student performances on Princeton Review practice CAHSEE tests (versions A, B, and C) over a 3-month period and she performed several statistical tests including repeated measures ANOVA by individual classes (advanced, basic, below basic) to determine differences …
A Formative Experiment Investigating The Use Of Reflective Video Journals To Increase High School Students' Metacognition, Brian Jeffrey Dixon Edd
A Formative Experiment Investigating The Use Of Reflective Video Journals To Increase High School Students' Metacognition, Brian Jeffrey Dixon Edd
Dissertations
This study sought to determine the factors that enhance the effectiveness of reflective video journals to increase the metacognition of adolescent students. To achieve this pedagogical goal, this study followed the six-phase methodology of a formative experiment. Twelve high school students participated in a six- session after-school reflective video journaling program. Diverse data collection methods were used to determine the factors in the educational environment that enhance or inhibit students' metacognition, how the intervention and its implementation were necessarily modified to more effectively achieve the pedagogical goal, the potential impact of feedback and peer response, and any unanticipated positive or …
Roots Of Ancient Wisdom For Contemporary Education, Patricia Ottow Keen Edd
Roots Of Ancient Wisdom For Contemporary Education, Patricia Ottow Keen Edd
Dissertations
Scholars have long contended that the main purpose of education is to guide youth towards more authentic, fruitful ways of being in the world; this ancient wisdom continues to challenge educators to serve as effective role models (e.g., Aristotle, 1963; 1985; Maslow, 1993; Palmer, 1998). Yet, until now, teachers' levels of self-actualization have not been investigated with valid and reliable instruments. This quantitative study used two psychometrically sound, closed-ended surveys to investigate the extent to which teachers consider themselves self-actualized and mindful; it measured the direction and strength of the correlation between their self-actualization and mindfulness scores; and, investigated the …
Academic Writing And The Pedagogical Practices Of Effective Teachers, Thomas Devere Wolsey Edd
Academic Writing And The Pedagogical Practices Of Effective Teachers, Thomas Devere Wolsey Edd
Dissertations
Composition, particularly when academic register is required, is a complex task. Because cognitive flexibility theory explains how humans can spontaneously restructure knowledge and adapt to situational demands, it is ideally suited to the ill-structured domain of transactional writing. Global aspects related to paragraph and whole-text structure and local operations related to word and sentence-level features define academic writing. A mixed-methods design used quantitative methods for investigation of five corpora of 10th grade students' work. Qualitative methods were used to explore the means teachers used in promoting academic writing and the interactions they intended to promote via teaching cues, including prompts. …
A Mixed Methods Study On Cbam And The Adoption Of Thin Client Computers By Adolescents, Cynthia Sistek-Chandler Edd
A Mixed Methods Study On Cbam And The Adoption Of Thin Client Computers By Adolescents, Cynthia Sistek-Chandler Edd
Dissertations
Although stages of change and adoption of innovation dynamics have been examined for adult populations, comparable research for adolescents is limited. Applying a change instrument grounded in Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to an adolescent population, this study investigates perceptions of 45 middle school students who used thin client portable computers in a one-to-one program at home and at school for 3 years. A mixed methodology design identified which of the 7 stages of concern students passed through and why some students adopted the innovation more readily than others. The Change Facilitator Stages of Concern Questionnaire, a modified version of CBAM, …
Personalization For English Learners At A Small Conversion High School, Mary Jewell Edd
Personalization For English Learners At A Small Conversion High School, Mary Jewell Edd
Dissertations
One of the most notable ways in which large, comprehensive high schools are working to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs), and other students who may be struggling with academics, is by subdividing into smaller schools. One of the most appealing features of small schools is their emphasis on personalized instruction for students. While it takes many forms, personalizing education means knowing all students well and designing curriculum that meets their individual needs. Personalized learning environments hold enormous potential for improving the educational experiences, and even very lives, of English learners. The purpose of …
High School Principals' Values And Their Symbolic And Cultural Leadership Approaches To Character Education In China, T.C. Kao Edd
High School Principals' Values And Their Symbolic And Cultural Leadership Approaches To Character Education In China, T.C. Kao Edd
Dissertations
Relatively little is known about the symbolic and cultural leadership practices and approaches used to imbed character education in high schools in China. In addition, there is a lack of published studies and reports investigating the revival between character and moral education in the Chinese school system. Without additional information, it is impossible to understand and develop effective leadership approaches that will shape and mold school cultures to effectively support both character and moral education. The literature reviewed in this study revealed little information about if, and in what form, there is a return to moral education focusing on traditional …
Nobody's Ever Asked Me That Before: Middle School Students Talk About Motivation To Achieve In School Contexts, Erika Daniels Edd
Nobody's Ever Asked Me That Before: Middle School Students Talk About Motivation To Achieve In School Contexts, Erika Daniels Edd
Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not a connection exists between students' school contexts and their academic and social choices by listening to the voices of first year middle school students. The intent of this study was to provide teachers with a way to reconceptualize adolescents as learners. Research suggests that there are two distinct approaches to the study of motivation. Some researchers believe that motivation can be externally enacted through exams, assessments, and other accountability measures. Other researchers believe that motivation is internally generated through the relationships students build, through their beliefs about learning, and …
An Examination Of Teachers’ Beliefs About Critical Reading And Academic Writing, Cindi Davis Harris Edd
An Examination Of Teachers’ Beliefs About Critical Reading And Academic Writing, Cindi Davis Harris Edd
Dissertations
The ability to compose a well-written research paper is evidence o f a student's ability to read critically and write academically. However, evidence suggests that many college-bound high school graduates have not learned these skills. While the research literature overwhelmingly supports the notion that teachers are an important factor in students’ academic success, and that in order to be academically successful, students need to have critical reading and writing skills, there has been little research about how teachers' beliefs and knowledge about critical reading and academic writing influence instruction with regard to these skills. This naturalistic case study employed in-depth …
Collaborative Leadership In Middle Schools And Teacher Job Satisfaction: A Search For Relationships, A. Greg Bowden Edd
Collaborative Leadership In Middle Schools And Teacher Job Satisfaction: A Search For Relationships, A. Greg Bowden Edd
Dissertations
This correlational study examined the relationship between the leadership practiced by middle school principals and the job satisfaction reported by their teachers. Data were collected from 10 middle school principals who completed a demographic survey and the Principal Leadership Survey-Self (PLS-S). Data were also collected from 183 teachers who completed a demographic survey, the Principal Leadership Survey-Other (PLS-O), the School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES), and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). Sub scale scores from the PLS-O and the SPES were used to measure collaborative leadership. Telephone interviews were conducted with nine of the teachers who reported the highest degree of …
The Relative Importance Of Academic Achievement In Determining The Self-Esteem Of Students In Rural British Columbia: An Empirical Examination Of Students In Grades 6, 8, 10 And 12, Scott E. Bergstrome Edd
The Relative Importance Of Academic Achievement In Determining The Self-Esteem Of Students In Rural British Columbia: An Empirical Examination Of Students In Grades 6, 8, 10 And 12, Scott E. Bergstrome Edd
Dissertations
As school systems across North America struggle to redefine themselves, educators everywhere are seeking a balance between academic achievement and the human and social needs of their students. The purpose of this correlational study was to quantitatively assess the construct of the school experience, as determined by academic achievement, as measured by GPA, and the level of involvement in school activities, from the perspective of four measures of student self-esteem. Data were collected from 263 students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 in a small district in southwestern Canada. The first part of this study explored the relationship between …
The Effects Of Teachers' Flow Experiences On The Cognitive Engagement Of Students, Nian Q. Zhu Edd
The Effects Of Teachers' Flow Experiences On The Cognitive Engagement Of Students, Nian Q. Zhu Edd
Dissertations
The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between teachers' flow experiences and student cognitive engagement during class time. Study participants consisted of students and their teachers in grades 6 through 10 from a number of elementary and secondary schools in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. Data were collected through the use of the Experience-Sampling Method, originally developed by Csikszentmihalyi to investigate flow experiences, that allowed teachers and students to fill out sampling forms in response to randomly generated electronic signals transmitted to pagers or wrist watches that the teachers wore. Data were collected …
Aligning Practice With Vision: Leadership For Developing Character And Employability Attributes, Douglas Archibald Hoey Edd
Aligning Practice With Vision: Leadership For Developing Character And Employability Attributes, Douglas Archibald Hoey Edd
Dissertations
Leadership to achieve the development of character and employability attributes depends highly on one significant principle—aligning practice with vision. The purpose of this study was to investigate the leadership necessary to design and implement an intervention process to develop character and employability attributes in secondary school students. The work habit mark was the means of assessing the degree of success to which a student demonstrated the attributes. The research questions under investigation were: (1) Is there a change in the demonstration of work habits marks after the intervention, and (2) Do any changes in the demonstration of work habits marks …
An Insider's Perspective: The Dropout Challenge For Canada's First Nations, Patricia Ann Makokis Edd
An Insider's Perspective: The Dropout Challenge For Canada's First Nations, Patricia Ann Makokis Edd
Dissertations
This modified case study honors the voices of 21 Cree participants, including nine students, six parents, four community leaders and two Elders. This study, written from an insider's perspective, identified more than 50 reasons why First Nations students dropped out of three provincial high schools located in northern Alberta, Canada. The results were collapsed into several categories that can best be generalized as resulting from the effects of colonization. Canada's First Nations have a long history of oppression, colonization, and the resultant soul wounds. The four participant groups collectively identified five common themes why students dropped out of provincial high …
Giving Up And Giving In: Young Adolescents' Dilemmas When Caring For A Grandparent With Alzheimer's Disease, Diane Lee Beach Edd
Giving Up And Giving In: Young Adolescents' Dilemmas When Caring For A Grandparent With Alzheimer's Disease, Diane Lee Beach Edd
Dissertations
Caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease have been studied extensively; the vast majority of caregiver research has focused on spouses and adult children, negating the impact caregiving has on younger family members. Importantly, 75% of caregivers are female; 31% of these women have children at home under the age of 12 and 23% live with a child aged 12–17. As such, adolescents will be increasingly involved in the care of Alzheimer's victims. This study sought to examine the experiences of these individuals. Specifically, what is it like for an adolescent to provide care for a grandparent afflicted with Alzheimer's disease? …
An Evaluation Case Study Of The Effects Of A Learning Style Awareness Program For Ninth Graders At An Independent School, Dorene Casey Mclaughlin Edd
An Evaluation Case Study Of The Effects Of A Learning Style Awareness Program For Ninth Graders At An Independent School, Dorene Casey Mclaughlin Edd
Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of a year-long learning style awareness program and its effects on locus of control and academic achievement in a ninth grade population. This study was also designed to collect subjective data from students on their perceptions of responsibility for their own achievement, ability to identify their individual learning style, a willingness to ask for help, and in addition, over parental conflict. This study was conducted, using a sample of 76 ninth graders, at an independent college preparatory school in a large Southern California city. All subjects were administered the National …
The Secondary School Assistant Principal, Victoria W. Halsey Edd
The Secondary School Assistant Principal, Victoria W. Halsey Edd
Dissertations
School leadership research typically centers around the high profile roles of the site level principal and the district superintendent. The resulting scarcity of information in regard to the role of the assistant principal is contributing to ineffective training, fewer initial guidelines and an overall lack of clear conceptualization of the position. The purpose of this study was to construct a realistic portrayal of the assistant principal's daily professional life in the educational arena. This qualitative, ethnographic study stressed depth, richness and accuracy to depict the singular and collective voices of the participants. Eight practicing Junior and Senior High School assistant …
Profile Of A Transformational Leader: A Sacred Mission, Karen Louise Skalbeck Edd
Profile Of A Transformational Leader: A Sacred Mission, Karen Louise Skalbeck Edd
Dissertations
There is widespread concern about the standards of our schools today. The colossal wave of educational reform, political rhetoric and hysteria created an avalanche of legislative debates and a proliferation of literary documents questioning the role of principals. The effective schools research highlighted the important role principals have as instructional leaders. The purpose of this study was to examine how transformational leadership, leadership as a process, and the critical aspects of leadership worked to revive and transform an inner city high school. Specific focus centered on the administrator of the school examining the leadership process within the context of where …
Human Sexuality Programs In Catholic Secondary Schools In The 80'S, Maria Teresa Klein Edd
Human Sexuality Programs In Catholic Secondary Schools In The 80'S, Maria Teresa Klein Edd
Dissertations
Human sexuality programs, or sex education programs, have been a controversial issue for many years. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of human sexuality programs within Catholic secondary schools. This study investigated the effect of comprehensive or non-comprehensive sexuality programs upon students' Positive Sexual Attitudes, awareness of Catholic Church Teachings, integration of Catholic Church Values, integration of current Social Values, and Biological Knowledge. Comprehensive human sexuality programs were defined as those containing three or more full semesters of classes related to sex and sexuality. Non-comprehensive human sexuality programs were defined as those containing less than two …
A Study Of The Impact Of A Quality Circle On A Public Secondary School In Southern California, Ronald E. Williams Edd
A Study Of The Impact Of A Quality Circle On A Public Secondary School In Southern California, Ronald E. Williams Edd
Dissertations
The goal of this research was to establish a quality circle at a Southern California public high school and to determine what effect the quality circle process would have on problem resolution and communication at that specific institution. The circle was composed of eight faculty members who volunteered plus an administrator who served as the facilitator. The circle met weekly for one school year. The objectives of this study were twofold. The first was to utilize the quality circle as a process to identify, analyze, and solve specific school concerns selected by quality circle members. The second objective was to …
On Being A Truant: A Phenomenological Study Of Students In A Comprehensive High School, Diane Berger Mcclure Edd
On Being A Truant: A Phenomenological Study Of Students In A Comprehensive High School, Diane Berger Mcclure Edd
Dissertations
This dissertation was a phenomenological study of eight students in a comprehensive high school who exhibited symptoms of truancy. Student interviews, student journals, and field notes were examined and the content analyzed. Students who began to display a truancy pattern and who have displayed symptoms of truancy in a previous school year were selected from a stratified random sample. Students were chosen to represent the ethnic and gender percentages of their school. During the first months of truancy, behavior modification steps were applied to the students which incorporated successful elements of major exemplary truancy programs. These students having not responded …
The Long Term Consequences Of Specific Language Disabilities: The Secondary School Years, Nancy Le Sanders Royal Edd
The Long Term Consequences Of Specific Language Disabilities: The Secondary School Years, Nancy Le Sanders Royal Edd
Dissertations
This research was directed toward the consequences of specific language disabilities on students during their secondary school years. The subjects were secondary students who had been identified as having the characteristics of specific language disabilities (SLD or developmental dyslexia) and who received remedial instruction while in elementary school. Remedial treatment utilized the Slingerland Adaptation of the Orton-Gillingham MultiSensory Approach to Language Arts with instruction given within regular education classrooms. These students were compared with a randomly selected cohort comparison group who were not known to have language learning problems. Major findings included: A higher percentage of the SLD group (81.4%) …
An Investigation Of Strong Religious Cultures In Selected Catholic Secondary Schools, John Philip Pejza Edd, Osa
An Investigation Of Strong Religious Cultures In Selected Catholic Secondary Schools, John Philip Pejza Edd, Osa
Dissertations
The culture of a school includes the values, symbols, beliefs, and shared meanings of members of the school community. Catholic high schools have features which are distinctly Catholic, such as programs, personnel, and religious activities. As a result, religious cultures quite distinct from those of public schools exist in Catholic schools. This study investigated strong religious cultures in six selected west coast Catholic secondary schools selected through a reputational analysis survey. Schools were selected to include representation from six major groupings using the criteria of (a) type, of school (diocesan and private), (b) student body (coeducational and single sex), and …
Influences Affecting Career/Life Planning Aspirations As Perceived By Intellectually-Gifted, Ethnically-Diverse Adolescent Girls: A Case Study, Marian H. Warren Edd
Influences Affecting Career/Life Planning Aspirations As Perceived By Intellectually-Gifted, Ethnically-Diverse Adolescent Girls: A Case Study, Marian H. Warren Edd
Dissertations
With the exception of a few Asian-American women, there continues to be fewer women from ethnically-diverse cultures in high status careers. Yet little is known about the specific variables which affect the life planning and future aspirations of young, gifted black, Hispanic and Pan/Asian women. Studies conducted and reported have focused primarily on white, middle-class adolescents or college students. The importance of this study is the addition to the sparse amount of existing literature related to the influences affecting the future life planning of the intellectually-gifted, ethnically-diverse, adolescent female. The purpose of this case study was to examine and assess …
Adolescents With Learning And Behavioral Handicaps As Behavior Modifiers, Suzanne Fitch Edd
Adolescents With Learning And Behavioral Handicaps As Behavior Modifiers, Suzanne Fitch Edd
Dissertations
Groups have been taught to use behavior modification procedures to train individuals with mental handicaps, including individuals who themselves have mental handicaps. This study extended the previous work in this area in three ways: (a) a new group, namely adolescents with learning and behavioral handicaps, was taught to use behavior modification skills; (b) these adolescents were trained to perform a more extensive role as behavior modifiers than has previously been demonstrated for mentally handicapped individuals; and (c) generalization of the behavior modification skills was examined across tasks and individuals. Assessment was made of the effectiveness of the adolescents' training as …
A Comparative Study Of The Attitude And Knowledge Of Suicide Between High School Students And High School Teachers, Karen Lee Clark Edd
A Comparative Study Of The Attitude And Knowledge Of Suicide Between High School Students And High School Teachers, Karen Lee Clark Edd
Dissertations
The researcher in this study sought to examine the comparison of the attitude and knowledge of suicide of high school students with the attitude and knowledge of suicide of high school teachers. The investigation will yield results which will be utilized for the purpose of developing a greater understanding of the attitude of both populations. The results will be analyzed with the prospects of utilizing this information for the preparation and formulation of effective suicide prevention and intervention programs at high school campuses. This study, which extended from November, 1985 through March, 1986, was conducted in four high schools in …