School Psychology Commons^™

A Phenomenology Of Nonparticipation In Extracurricular Activities By Hispanic Middle School Students, Janelle Garner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to examine the reasons why Hispanic middle grade students choose not to participate in school-based extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities have been recognized to have a positive influence on the educational success of students. Despite the positive effects, Hispanic students have been shown to participate in extracurricular activities at school less than other groups of students. The lack of participation by students in extracurricular activities is related to student disengagement and ultimately dropping out of school. This study uses three methods of data collection: analysis of documents and artifacts, a scaled survey, and a …

Faculty Perceptions Of Campus Diversity, Meghan K. Purdy

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The primary purpose of this study was to assess faculty perceptions of campus diversity at Western Kentucky University. A Diversity Survey was developed and administered to faculty at Western Kentucky University. Responses from the 378 fulltime faculty members who completed the survey were used in this study. Composites including campus diversity climate, satisfaction with diversity effects, race, gender, and religion were formed from the survey items for use in the analyses. Results indicated that minority and women faculty perceive campus diversity less favorably than do majority and men faculty.

The Impact Of Incentives On Neuropsychological Test Performance: An Analog Study, Laura Marie Spenceley

Psychology - Dissertations

Concussion, also known as mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), represents a common injury in children, young adults, and athletes in particular. High rates of malingering have been demonstrated in individuals with MTBI when faced with monetary incentives, but research is yet to explore the impact of other incentives on test performance. The present study sought to examine the rate of effort test failure, symptom report, and neuropsychological test performance in college students assigned to one of three conditions: Fake Good, Fake Bad, and No Incentive conditions. All groups were asked to simulate concussion and provided a description of the injury …

Problem Solving Interventions: Impact On Young Children With Developmental Disabilities, Lindsay Ann Diamond

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Problem-solving skills are imperative to a child's growth and success across multiple environments, including general and special education. Problem solving is comprised of: (a) attention to the critical aspects of a problem, (b) generation of solution(s) to solve the problem, (c) application of a solution(s) to the identified problem, and (d) evaluation of the consequences of the solution. Children with developmental disabilities may experience difficulty with the problem-solving process.

The purpose of this study was to determine an effective method to teach young children with developmental disabilities to problem solve. Specifically, this study compared two types of problem-solving instruction. The …

Evaluating The Efficacy Of An Adaptation Of Pals For Math In A Seventh Grade Classroom, Alexis Marie Berry Kiburis Psyd

All Student Scholarship

In an attempt to validate and expand the potential application of PALS for math in a wider variety of settings, this research study examined the effects of implementing a modified version of PALS for math with seventh grade students in regular education mathematics classes. Utilizing a pre-post group design with a nested within-subject ABC single case design, the results of this study suggested that an adaptation of PALS for math for seventh grade students resulted in significant improvement in posttest mathematics computation performance within the experimental group when their pretest mathematics computation scores were considered as covariates. When comparing the …

School Change: Adolescents Transitioning From Conventional Schooling To Home-Based Online Education, Harvey Klamm

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This hermeneutic phenomenological research explored the lived experiences of six recently graduated adolescents to extrapolate the valued essence of their transitional encounters in changing from conventional school to home-based online schooling. The homeschool research shifted the emphasis from the outcome-based academic achievement studies prevalent during the past 20 years to a focus on internal and external factors impacting student learning within this technological instructional process. Findings produced from analysis and interpretation of reflective adolescent lived experiences revealed rich truth regarding the internal emotions, environmental adaptations, academic ramifications, and social adaptations encountered when changing from conventional schooling to home-based online school. …

Adult Perceptions Of The Experience Of Being Identified "Talented And Gifted" As Children: A Phenomenological Study, Bradford Summers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This is a phenomenological study of adult perceptions of the experience of being identified "talented and gifted" as children. Data were gathered by transcribing the video recordings of adults who were students of the Talented and Gifted (TAG) education program in Fairfield, Ohio during 1978-1983. The phenomenological method was used to discover perceptions of a unique population of adults who shared life experiences during elementary and middle school. Analysis of the data resulted in the identification of four main themes: Growth, Interpersonal, Future, and Thankfulness. Three facilitating and three challenging subthemes were identified under each main theme. These were: Internal …

Varying Task Demonstrability To Examine The Roles Of Social And Cognitive Factors In Group Transfer Learning, Adam J. Freedman

Psychology Honors Projects

I investigated the importance of cognitive exposure and social interaction for group-to-individual transfer for low-and high-demonstrability tasks. I tested the hypothesis that transfer occurs for high-demonstrability tasks with or without social interaction, but transfer for low-demonstrability tasks only occurs if subjects engage in social interaction. During the transfer phase, subjects either worked in a small group, which permitted social interaction, or viewed a video of a yolked group, which only permitted the transfer of cognitive processes. Analysis of subjects’ pre-post performance difference indicated that transfer is constant regardless of the level of demonstrability. However, overall transfer for the high demonstrability …

School Psychologists' Self-Perceptions Of Multicultural Competence: The Relevance Of Experience And Training, Jacquelyn B. Wright, Kevin J. Filter, Julene Douty Nolan, Sarah K. Sifers

Psychology Department Publications

A national survey of 216 school psychologists' perceptions of multicultural competence indicated that multicultural competence significantly increases as a function of hours of training and frequency of experience working with individuals from cultures different from their own. Results are discussed in the context of measurement limitations for multicultural competence and implications for trainers of school psychologists.

Examining The Effects Of Fear Of Failure, Self-Efficacy And Gender Role Conflict In Male And Female Engineering Students, Krista L. Nelson

Doctoral Dissertations

The field of engineering continues to have significantly fewer women engineers than men. Engineering has long been considered to be a male dominated career, with fewer women receiving bachelor's degrees in engineering and gaining employment in the engineering field. The present study was an attempt to determine influencing factors that discourage women from pursuing engineering as an educational and career choice. The current study examined gender role conflict, self-efficacy, and fear of failure as potential factors influencing women's preferences to pursue an engineering degree. Both male and female genders were participants in the research to determine gender differences for these …

Teachers Engaging Parents As Tutors To Improve Oral Reading Fluency, Sara Kupzyk

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation examined the application of evidence-based tutoring for oral reading fluency (ORF) to a natural setting, using teachers as parent trainers. Measures used to determine the impact of parent tutoring included treatment integrity, student reading outcomes, attitudes towards involvement and reading, and social validity. Six teachers (second through fourth grade) were trained in a 3-hour workshop to develop individualized tutoring programs with parents. Following training, the teachers trained seven parents and students to use individualized tutoring programs. Training followed a behavior skills training model and incorporated video modeling and printed instructions to increase efficiency. A multiple-baseline design was used …

Exploring Hispanic Teenage Pregnancy And School Resiliency: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology Study, Olga Estrada

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teenage mothers face multiple risk factors that may prevent them from graduating from high school. This study examined the phenomenon of Hispanic teen pregnancy and teen mothers' experiences with emphasis on academic, social , and personal factors to stay in school. The study explored the resiliency of twelve Hispanic teen mothers through a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Their stories provide an insight into the challenges the young pregnant/mothers encountered during pregnancy and motherhood at home and in school. Their lived experiences also provide a framework for exploring the school, personal, and economic factors that most influenced their ability to remain in …

A Comparative Study Of The Teaching Methods Of Christian And Secular Preschools, Lloyd Mcdaniel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation is a comparative study of the teaching methods of Christian preschools and secular preschool. I used two Christian and two secular preschools for the study. The study included interviews of the teachers and preschool directors and observations of actions in the classroom. Many children enter kindergarten not fully prepared for a classroom environment. Some of these children have never been outside the home without a parent and to be placed in a strange setting with strange people and answering to adults that are not parents, can be quite stressful. They are expected to become adjusted and start learning …

Examining Factors That Predict School Psychologists' Perceptions Of The Response To Intervention Process, Terry Bullock

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

With increasing emphasis on accountability measures and widespread focus on implementation of Response to Intervention (RtI) procedures in schools, it is critical to examine the impact these changes have on the role of practitioners involved in the process. This correlational study examined the factors of school psychologists' involvement in RtI, degree level, and years of experience to determine which of these best predict school psychologists' perceptions of the RtI process. Using information from the literature regarding RtI, the researcher's experience working as a school psychologist and with RtI, and review of a previous survey that examined RtI, an instrument was …

Enhancing Off-Season Motivation In Collegiate Athletes, Daniel Ryan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the optimal off-season motivational strategies to be utilized by collegiate coaches to maximize the motivation, sport performance, and sport satisfaction of collegiate athletes.

Objectives: By identifying the determinants of athlete motivation, this paper will serve as a resource for coaches as they seek to raise the overall motivation and commitment of their athletes during the off-season.

Justification: Developing the ideal off-season motivational strategy for collegiate athletes is important on a number of levels. Due to the heightened level of competition in college sports, coaches must ensure that the structuring of their …

The Impact Of Service-Learning On College Students' Civic Development And Sense Of Self-Efficacy, Rachel Gershenson-Gates

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of The Voluntarily Childless: The Negative Stigma Of An Unconventional Ideal, Alyssa N. Hook

Psychology and Child Development

This study examined the potential implications of religious affiliation on perceptions of voluntarily childless couples. Undergraduate students were given a vignette about an adult couple that either had children or that was childless, and were subsequently asked to complete questionnaires that rated the couple on a variety of personality dimensions. It was predicted that individuals who identify with pronatalist religious sects have more negative perceptions of those who are childless. There was a significant contrast in the views that Christian individuals held toward couples that were voluntarily childless versus those that had two children, suggesting that this religious affiliation is …

Fostering Children’S Literacy And Language Development Through Play: A Look At The Role Of Early Childhood Educators In Preschool And Kindergarten Classrooms, Kelly D. Russell

Psychology and Child Development

No abstract provided.

Legislative Mandates Concerning Truancy Effects On Attendance Rates, Felicia Corley

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The correlation between truancy and dropping out of school is high, prompting school districts and the state legislature to attempt to intervene (Sparks, 2010). The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the West Virginia Code 18-8-4 that requires mandatory legal compulsory attendance (CA2) meetings to be held at the county level when a student obtains five days of unexcused absences. In the summer of 2010, the WV state legislature changed the CA2 meeting requirements from 10 days of unexcused absences to five. Barbour County Schools began to intervene in truancy using a multidisciplinary approach in 2007. …

Attendance Rates Of Special Populations In One Rural County, Julie Bright

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this current study is to determine if a difference exists in the attendance rates for special education students and low socioeconomic status students when compared to their peers who do not have these designations. The attendance data from one rural county school district for the years of 2007-2011 were examined to determine if a difference in the attendance rates did exist. Results from this research revealed that students receiving special education services were absent significantly more than their general education peers. However, students of low socioeconomic status were not absent any more than their peers who were …