School Psychology Commons^™

Gender Differences Of African American Adolescents When Exposed To Race Related Stress, Sharmon Saunders James

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

For African Americans, issues of discrimination, oppression, and belonging to a minority group may significantly impact their identity formation, and their cognitive and subjective beliefs regarding racial issues. Racism-related stress as it affects African American adolescents has become an area of concern for African American researchers. Racism related stress can be characterized as the negative psychological or physiological response to a perceived instance of a racism related attitude or behavior. African American adolescents, because of their race, continue to be subjected to various social stressors that lead to negative stress that depletes them of their abilities to cope in response. …

A Qualitative Analysis Of School-Based Mental Health Professionals’ Views On The Use Of Self-Disclosure And Humor, Robert Felloney

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

There is some controversy in the therapeutic community over the use of therapist self-disclosure and humor. On one hand, there are those who contend that use of these therapeutic techniques can have both relational and outcome benefits. On the other hand, there are those who indicate employment of these counseling methods can interfere with the counseling process by being a distraction, as they take the focus away from the client. Relatively little research has been done on the effectiveness of utilizing these techniques, especially the use of therapeutic humor.  Review of the research shows there are relational and consequent outcome …

Investigation Of Working Memory Across Behavioral And Executive Function Variables In Adolescents With Emotional Disturbance, Eleazar Cruz Eusebio

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Newer insights into working memory may have important implications for understanding varying cognitive abilities in adolescents and their corresponding degrees of success and efforts to accomplish real-world goals. It is important to investigate the construct of working memory in relation to academic, behavioral, and emotional success at school for students classified with an Emotionally Disturbance (ED). In the educational system, students are classified as ED, based upon IDEA regulations present within a multiplicity of these cognitive, behavioral, socio-emotional, and academic difficulties. The associated cognitive deficits often involve poor working memory skills thought to be related to frontal lobe processes. Considering …

Age At Kindergarten Entrance And Its Relationship To Early Academic Achievement, Joanne E. Perry

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study investigated whether age at kindergarten entrance has any effect on future language arts and literacy, using a sample of 340 students entering kindergarten in one largely white, middle-class, New Jersey, suburban school district. Students were grouped by age into two age categories: young (56-59 months) & on-time (60-72 months). Achievement was studied through archived measures of academic performance using correlations and chi square analyses to determine differences in literacy and language arts functioning related to age at school entrance. Results indicated young students were weaker in literacy and language arts achievement in first and second grade, but this …

Integrity Of Neuropsychological Processes In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder And Comorbid Conditions, Julie N. Henzel

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study investigated the neuropsychological and behavioral profiles seen in children diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type (IA), inattentive type plus an internalizing disorder (IA + INT), combined type (CT), and combined type plus an externalizing disorder (CT + EXT). Subjects were 63 unmedicated children aged 6 to 16 who had been assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition (WISC–IV), Conners’ Continuous Performance Test-Second Edition (CPT–II), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Group differences were found for the WISC–IV Digits Backward subtest (IA + INT IA and IA + INT), and externalizing behavior scales on the CBCL and TRF …

The Relationship Between Prenatal Alcohol Exposure And Special Education Eligibility For Children In New Jersey: Early Intervention Is Key, Jacquē L. Jones

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Depending upon the amount of alcohol consumed by the mother during pregnancy and when the consumption occurred during fetal development, a child may develop fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), alcohol-related birth defects, or alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder, all of which are under the umbrella category of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Children in whom a presumptive diagnosis has been made, such as FAS, are automatically eligible to receive early intervention services, regardless of whether the child demonstrates developmental delays. The purpose of the current study is to provide support for the notion that the Early Intervention System should broaden its FAS automatic …

A Conceptual Guide To Museum Visitors’ Understanding Of Evolution, E. Margaret Evans, Amy Spiegel, Wendy Gram, Brandy N. Frazier, Sarah Cover, Medha Tare, Judy Diamond

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to profile natural history museum visitors’ reasoning about the evolution of seven organisms featured in Explore Evolution, an NSF funded exhibition. Seven current research studies on evolution were exhibited; each targeted different organisms: HIV, diatoms, ant/fungus, Hawaiian flies, Galapagos finches, humans/chimps, and fossilized whales. The exhibits illustrated a common set of evolutionary principles, variation, inheritance, selection, time, and adaptation, in diverse organisms.

Method: As part of the front-end evaluation, 32 museum visitors were interviewed and asked to explain evolutionary change in the seven organisms, though the term evolution was not mentioned. …

Preschool Teachers' Perceptions Of Obesity At Ages 3-5 Years, Jessica D. Mackinney

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was not only to investigate the knowledge of preschool teachers on the topic of obesity, but also to determine whether or not they find obesity to be a significant problem facing 3-5 year old children. Results indicate that preschool teachers agree that obesity is a concern; however, they are unclear on the causality of obesity. Preschool teachers feel the long-term consequences of being obese at ages 3-5 years affect future academic, social, and physical growth, but they do not feel intervention should take place at the preschool level. This study contributed to a better understanding …

Efficacy Of A Self-Monitoring Technique To Improve Academic Skill Production, Carrie L. Winfield

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study examined archival data from an assisted self-graphing intervention for improving early literacy skills in first grade students from one elementary school. The purpose of the investigation is to examine the use of a self-graphing supplemental intervention that occurred outside of the class-wide first grade reading instruction. The participants included first grade students from three classroom settings in one predominately middle class, suburban school district in southeastern Pennsylvania. The participants formed three groups: (1) 8 students in a DIBELS Progress Monitoring and Self-Graphing Intervention group (PM + SG group); (2) 9 students in a DIBELS Progress Monitoring-only group (PM …

Whytry? A Program Evaluation, Tammie Knick

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In Minnesota, one out of every five students fail to graduate from high school (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009). Long before students decide to drop out of school, a host of risk factors or early predictors undoubtedly emerged in childhood. The purpose of this research pilot project was to determine the efficacy of the WhyTry? program in helping to reduce some of those risk factors such as: Truancy, Behavior problems in school, Low academic achievement, and School disengagement. The WhyTry? Program uses a strengths-based approach to help youth overcome their challenges and improve their outcomes at school. WhyTry? is based …

The Relationship Between A Teacher Check List And Standardised Tests For Visual Perception Skills: A South African Remedial Primary School Perspective, Janet Richmond, K Holland

Research outputs pre 2011

Occupational therapy in remedial education settings has been questioned by the South African Government as they see occupational therapy as a costly service and thus has challenged occupational therapy clinicians’ approach to assessment. This study was undertaken to establish whether the results of standardised tests of visual perception skills, relate to teachers’ observations in respect of primary remedial school age children (six to eleven years) attending a short term remedial school because of low scholastic achievement despite having average or above intellectual ability. The Test of Visual Perceptual Skills – Revised, the Developmental Test of Visual Perception-2, the Jordan Left-Right …

A Case Study: Use Of Applied Behavior Analysis With An Austistic Adolescent, Evan Jaffe

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Socialization between individuals is an important characteristic in human development. In individuals with autism, there is a profound deficit with social skills and with social reciprocity. Interventions and techniques are utilized to help enhance these skills. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects that Applied Behavior Analysis using discrete trials can have on the ability to elicit a spontaneous greeting in various settings by an adolescent male diagnosed with autism. This study analyzed data collected during a ten week intervention program. Behavior ratings reflected some uneven progress over the ten weeks, but significant improvements in the targeted …

Assessment Of Teachers’ Core Beliefs Related To Key Features Of Response To Intervention, Jacqlyn Tumolo Zarabba

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act require that schools are accountable for the outcomes of all students. Response to Intervention (RtI) provides a framework to assist in the actualization of this goal. This educational reform effort requires dramatically different functioning on the part of all school personnel, particularly teachers. In order for this model to be successful, researchers must acknowledge the primacy of teacher level factors, such as beliefs and attitudes related to core components of RtI. The purpose of this study was to examine the core beliefs of elementary-level teachers relative to foundational components of RtI, …

Performance-Based Assessment Of School Psychology Interns : Analysis Of Problem-Solving Skills As Demonstrated In Comprehensive Case Examinations, Kimberly Suzanne Hansen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

School psychologists are integral partners in the facilitation of the problem solving process, especially when the process is embedded within a tiered service delivery system incorporating response to intervention philosophies. Therefore, it is important that new school psychologists entering the field be competent in the skill areas needed to produce positive student outcomes. It is important for school psychology training programs to assess these competencies to improve individual student competencies as well as to improve the training provided by the program in the future. Comprehensive case studies are performance-based assessments that can be utilized to evaluate individuals, as well as …