School Psychology Commons^™

Assessing Pediatricians' Diagnostic Practices: An Analogue Study Of Responses To Adhd-Like Presentations In Preschoolers, Helle Augustesen

Dissertations

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been considered one of the most chronic behavior disorders observed in the preadolescent population and is one of the most frequently diagnosed childhood disorders in North America. Currently, however, there is little consistency in terms of identifying specific criteria which need to be present in a child's behavior to make a diagnosis of ADHD. This difficulty is even more pronounced in very young children of preschool age. This study utilized a three year old male child shown to 80 subjects on a videotape engaging in either a high or a low level of activity. …

The Effects Of Intensive, Structured Study On Gre Verbal And Quantitative Scores, Jan Marie Miller

Dissertations

This research served as a follow-up to previous research (Goodyear-Orwat and Malott, 1994) in which students engaged in self-study utilizing various study materials. Three courses (spring, summer, and fall) were offered to further examine the effects of intensive, structured study on Graduate Record Examination verbal and quantitative scores.

Twenty undergraduates enrolled in Graduate Record Examination preparatory courses studied from 66 to 105 hours. An attendance and participation contingency was established to encourage adequate study time. The courses were structured to allow students to assess and manage their own performance, utilizing standard, self-instructional texts and computerized drill programs. Students worked at …

Graduate Bulletin, 1995-1996 (1995), Moorhead State University

Graduate Bulletins (Catalogs)

No abstract provided.

Occupational Stress Among School Teachers : A Review Of Research Findings Relevant To Policy Formation, Oi Ling Siu

Centre for Public Policy Studies : CPPS Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Differences In Academic Achievement Motivation Among Retained, Special Education, And Regular Education Students, Shannon Lea Mast

Masters Theses

Academic achievement motivation affects a student's academic performance and emotional functioning. The Teacher Rating of Academic Achievement Motivation (TRAAM) is used to assess students third through sixth grade on their academic motivation and skill deficits, which will aide in the decision of whether a child solely has a motivation problem or a combination of factors that result in a handicapping condition. The current study compared TRAAM factors 1-4 and Total Score for students in regular education (n=26), special education (learning disabled, n=26), and those who had been retained (n=26). Univariate analysis of variance results indicated that the regular education group …

Achievement Assessment Techniques: Their Frequency Of Use, Perceived Importance, And Relation To Job Satisfaction, Robin L. Chesnut

Masters Theses

A random sample of Nationally Certified School psychologists was surveyed to determine the current academic achievement assessment practices of school psychologists. Frequency of administration and importance of standardized achievement tests, interviews, observations and work sample collection was determined. Further, knowledge of, experience with, and future plans to develop skills in alternative achievement assessment areas was examined. Job satisfaction was investigated and its relationship to involvement with alternative assessment measures. Results indicate that assessment activities still consume about half (45%) of school psychologists' time followed by consultation (22%), and treatment (18%). Informal assessment techniques such as child, teacher, and parent interviews; …

A Brief Discussion Of The History, Role, And Function Of The School Psychologist In The Former Soviet Union And Russia, Todd W. Knutson

Masters Theses

School psychology in the former Soviet Union and Russia had its beginnings as the field of Pedology which thrived in the early 1900s in Europe and in the former Soviet Union. School psychological services, in Western psychometric sense, have been virtually dormant since Pedology's downfall following ideological conflicts with Communist leaders in 1936 when standardized testing was banned in the U.S.S.R. This paper sketches a brief history of school psychology in the former Soviet Union and Russia, outlines the educational system, reviews the Soviet research on mental retardation, and calls for the sharing of general information related to international school …

Future Directions In Education And Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities: A Delphi Investigation, Joanne W. Putman, Amy N. Spiegel, Robert H. Bruininks

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This article reports on a survey of 37 educators regarding future directions in the education of students with disabilities. The survey used the Delphi technique. For the decade of the 1990s and after the year 2000, respondents’ predictions included the following: The movement toward increasing inclusion will occur; the belief will prevail that people with disabilities have a right to participate in inclusive environments; students with mild disabilities will be educated in general classrooms; teachers will increase their use of instructional approaches such as cooperative learning and instructional technology; and researchers will focus on matching instructional needs with learner characteristics.

The Identification Of Individuals With Disabilities In National Databases: Creating A Failure To Communicate, Kevin S. Mcgrew, Bob Algozzine, James E. Ysseldyke, Martha L. Thurlow, Amy N. Spiegel

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to analyze similarities and differences in how students with disabilities are identified in national databases. National data collection programs in the United States Departments of Education, Commerce, Labor, Justice, and Health and Human Services, as well as databases from the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Education, and the College Board, were examined. Nineteen national data collection programs were selected as being potentially useful in the extraction of policy-relevant information on the educational status and performance of students with disabilities. Among these 19 programs there was significant variability in the disability categories used. …

The Relationship Among Selected Personality, Identity Status, And Academic Achievement Factors Among Black Adolescents, Juliet P. Sayles

Dissertations

Problem. The academic performance of Blacks has been documented as being much below that of other racial and ethnic groups (Castenell, 1984; Jordan, 1981; Lee, 1985; Mboya, 1986; Mickelson, 1990; Herrnstein & Murray, 1994; White, 1984). This study attempted to determine the relationships among personality, the development of identity status, and academic achievement among Black adolescents. -- Method. A total of 136 Black adolescent students (64 males and 72 females) was used in this study. They were in the age range of 13 to 18 years and were members of classes from integrated middle, junior high, and high schools. The …

Toward An Objective Measure Of Moral Development For Children, Ruth S. Smith

Dissertations

Problem. Research on moral development in school-age children has been hampered by the lack of measurement tools based on a comprehensive model that includes moral cognition, moral emotions, and moral behavior. This study presents the first step toward the development of an objective measure of moral development for children in grades 3-6.

Method. One-hundred-twenty-one items covering different theorized determinates of moral development were administered to 187 children enrolled in grades 3-6. Either cluster or factor analysis was applied to determine the scales. Reliability was appraised by item analysis and validity was assessed by: (1) parent, teacher, and self ratings of …

Impact Of "Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder" On Educational Placement And Service Delivery, Marsha L. Groves

Masters Theses

Children with "Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder" face many changes within the school environment. Teachers strive to help these students meet those changes by providing for special learning and behavior needs. This study obtained teacher responses to examine demographic data, disability categories, placement, and educational treatment of children clinically diagnosed and/or suspected of having "Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorders". Of the 76 teacher surveys returned, 107 students were reported to have or were suspected of having "Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder". Forty-five were identified as learning disabled, seven were considered behavior disordered, seven were receiving speech services, seven others were health impaired, three …

Effects Of Labeling Bias On Prognostic Outlook For Children With Behavior Problems, Julie D. Fox

Masters Theses

Labeling bias refers to biases that might occur toward a person who has a particular label. This study investigated the effects of labeling bias on prognostic outlook for children as a function of diagnostic labels. School psychologists, regular and special education teachers, and introductory psychology students read a vignette that described a child with behavior problems. The vignette was held constant for all participants, but one of four labels (conduct disordered, socially maladjusted, serious emotionally disturbed, no exceptionality) was varied at the end of the vignette. Respondents then estimated the child's likelihood of future success in interpersonal relationships, the likelihood …

Treatment Acceptability By Label And Role, Larry D. Fairbanks

Masters Theses

This study examined differences in ratings of treatment acceptability among groups of individuals who are often involved in the recommendation, selection, implementation, and evaluation of behavioral interventions in the educational setting; teachers, school psychologists, and school social workers. An analogue-type study was conducted, utilizing a written case description of a 3rd grader exhibiting a problem behavior, a written case description of an intervention applied to that problem behavior, and a 15-item instrument utilized in rating treatment acceptability (IRP-15) . Also varied in the study was a label (LD, BD, ADD) placed on the student in the vignette, and intervention type …

An Evaluation Of Special Education And Remedial Services Within South Wisconsin District - Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Elementary Schools, Jennifer S. Pflueger

Masters Theses

The availability of special education and remedial services within the South Wisconsin District-Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod elementary schools was investigated. A teacher and the principal from fifty-three schools were surveyed. The schools represented urban, suburban, and rural areas. Thirty-eight principals and thirty-seven teachers responded to the questionnaire. The principal questionnaire consisted of fifteen fill-in-the-blank questions and addressed information regarding remedial and exceptional education programs. The teacher questionnaire was a thirteen item rating format addressing the teacher's perceptions of his/her skills in remediation and exceptional education. The results indicated that a higher percentage of students received remedial services than exceptional education services. …

A Preliminary Study In The Design Of A Stress Inventory For Gifted Students: A Factor Analysis Of Potential Items, David Kinkade

Masters Theses

Items were designed for potential utilization in a stress inventory for gifted students. Two types of items were written; the first assessing stressful life events and situations, the second assessing coping ability. Both sets of items were administered to gifted students (N = 162) currently enrolled in the seventh and eighth grades. A principle components factor analysis with a varimax rotation was performed on both sets of items separately. The first set produced a four factor solution. The factors which emerged were identified as self-concept of giftedness, positive gifted programming, negative aspects of the gifted label, and performance pressure. The …

The Relationship Between Internship Training And Perceived Preparedness To Practice In School Psychology, Mary Patricia Krones

Masters Theses

The relationship between school psychologist internship training and perceived preparedness to practice was investigated. Ninety-two school psychologists who completed their internship in Illinois completed a survey asking them to rate their internship experience and indicate how well these experiences prepared them to be a school psychologist. Overall, participants reported they were moderately to well prepared to be school psychologists, although variability was noted among individual items. Intellectual assessment, report writing, academic achievement assessment and psychoeducational diagnosis received the highest mean ratings for exposure and adequacy. Psychologists felt most prepared for working with the kindergarten through high school age population, those …

Empowerment Versus Dependency Of Parents With Children In Special Education, Wendy J. Fisher

Masters Theses

This study attempted to determine whether parents of children receiving special education services are being empowered by the present special education system or growing dependent on it. A survey was constructed based upon the three criteria deemed necessary by social policy analyst Charles Murray to yield empowerment. The survey was administered by phone to 50 parents of children receiving special education services. Results indicated that primary source of income and expression of participation do not have an impact on degree of empowerment as measured by the Empowerment/Dependency Survey. Severity of handicap did not predict whether or not parents desired additional …

Gender Differences In Cognitive Ability Of Children With Hearing Impairment On The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children-3rd Edition, Damian D. Jones

Masters Theses

This research thesis investigates possible gender differences of deaf children on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd ed.). The Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD) in Jacksonville, Illinois collated the standard scores of the five standard WISC-III Performance scale subtests and the Performance IQ of 25 students attending ISD. To examine gender differences on the Performance scale subtests and the Performance IQ's, a series of oneway-analyses of variance was calculated. No significant differences were noted on any comparison. A hypothesis that gender differences would occur was not confirmed. The results are discussed with respect to the intellectual assessment of …

Prediction Of Wisc-Iii Scores From The Iowa Tests Of Basic Skills And The Cognitive Abilities Test In Order To Predict Premorbid Cognitive Functioning In Children With Traumatic Brain Injury, Kent A. Riley

Masters Theses

The present study examined the relationship of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Form J (ITBS-J) and the Cognitive Abilities Test, Form 4 (CogAT-4) with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III) in order to establish a better method for predicting premorbid intellectual functioning in children with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) aged 6 through 11 years. The subjects included 73 children in grades one through six from four elementary schools within a rural city in southeastern Illinois. The results of the study supported all six hypotheses: The CogAT-4 and ITBS-J significantly predicted the variability observed in WISC-III scores; …

Factors Associated With Underachievement In Eighth-Grade Children, Barbara A. Moore

Masters Theses

This study investigated characteristics of underachieving adolescents. The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS; Hieronymous, et al., 1990) and grade point averages provided the basis for selection of 83 eighth grade students into achiever and underachiever groups. Results indicated that underachievement was significantly related to males, number of absences, and number of discipline referrals, but not to race and notice of special education records. Overall self-esteem, as measured by the Self-Esteem Index (SEI; Brown & Alexander, 1991), and the subscale measure of perceptions of weak academic competence were positively related to level of underachievement/overachievement. Composite measure of behavioral/emotional problems, as …