The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of formal pre-student teaching experiences on the anxiety level and performance of groups of beginning student teachers in the elementary school.Student teaching has been recognized as a crucial period in the life of a prospective teacher. It is considered a time when theory should be constantly tested by practice and practice should be constantly viewed in the light of theory.Critics of teacher education programs find little evidence of a balance between theoretical and practical experiences in the preparation of teachers.Increasing numbers of colleges and universities are providing prospective student teachers with integrated formal programs specifically designed to offer supervised classroom teaching experiences prior to student teaching. These formal pre-student teaching experiences set the stage for deeper understanding of the teaching role and integration of theory with practice.A total of 257 subjects participated in the study. One-hundred fifty-nine subjects had formal pre-student teaching experiences, and 98 subjects did not have formal pre-student teaching experiences. The subjects were selected from three state-supported universities in Indiana.Two instruments were utilized to measure the constructs of anxiety and performance. The Teaching Anxiety Scale was administered to each student teacher prior to the classroom teaching experience. The Performance Opinionaire was completed by each student teacher's classroom supervisor approximately six weeks through the student teaching period.The data collected were subjected to t-tests in order to determine if there were statistically significant differences between mean scores for both groups on both instruments. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were computed to determine significant correlation between level of anxiety and performance of the two groups.There was evidence that the groups did not differ significantly with regard to anxiety level or performance. Anxiety level did not correlate with performance as measured by the Teaching Anxiety Scale or the Performance Opinionaire.According to this study, the effects of formal pre-student teaching experiences were not apparent in the constructs of anxiety and performance, as measured by the Teaching Anxiety Scale and the Performance Opinionaire. Based on the findings of the study, it appears that other factors not measured in the study are in operation. Recommendations for further research were made.

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This is a descriptive study undertaken to identify competencies and supporting knowledge and skills in informatics perceived to be necessary by nurses for nurses engaged in clinical practice. This study applied a non-experimental, descriptive research design to a quantitative survey performed through web-based technology. Based upon the foundational work of Staggers, Gassert, and Curran (2001, 2002), the goal was to substantiate with clinical nurses and their direct nurse supervisors the clinical competencies that Staggers' identified for Beginning and Experienced clinical nurses through a Delphi methodology of nursing experts. All study facility Registered Nurses received an e-mail inviting their participation. Respondents logged on to a website and completed sections applicable to their situation; that is Beginning Nurse, Experienced Nurse, or Nurse Supervisor. Reminder emails were sent at two and four weeks after the initial invitation. Respondents who accessed and completed the survey received a $5.00 food coupon redeemable at the hospital facilities. All of the knowledge, attitudes and skills identified were supported as valuable, that is, a mean score greater than neutral. Value ranged from just above neutral to strongly agree. Factor analysis generally supported categorization; however, many items did not load into the anticipated categories. Categorization is one area which deserves further study.

There are about 4000 new hip fracture patients in Taiwan each year, and osteoporosis is the number one cause for these fractures. But, there has been no research article related to osteoporosis preventive behavior among Hakim living in countryside in Taiwan. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to assess osteoporosis preventive behavior; to measure the relationship among factors influencing OPB; to measure a model of factors influencing OPB; and to predict the direct and indirect effects of personal and social factors on OPB among Hakka living in Taichung County in Taiwan. The development of a theoretical model of factors influencing osteoporosis preventive behavior was based on the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986, 1997, 2004) and the conceptual framework for addressing the social context of health behavior (Sorensen et al., 2003). According to the reviewed literature, the factors influencing osteoporosis preventive behavior include personal factors (age, educational level, self­ efficacy for calcium intake, self-efficacy for exercise, and knowledge of osteoporosis); and social factors (social support and social capital). The outcome variables are calcium intake and exercise. This was a non-experimental, cross-sectional design. Convenience and snowball sampling were used in this study. In all, 243 participants were recruited. Path analysis was used to assess and modify the theoretical model and to test all the paths between exogenous variables and endogenous variables. The goodness-of-fit indicators ofthe final model showed that X2 was 26.99 with 21 degrees of freedom; the P-value for this model was .17; goodness-of-fit index (GFI) was .98; adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) was .95; normed fit index (NFI) was .96; non-normed fit index (NNFI) was .98; and comparative fit index (CFI) was .99. The results suggested that the final model fit the data well. The final model demonstrated that the personal factors and environmental factors directly and indirectly influenced osteoporosis preventive behavior. It may provide guidance for the design of future nursing interventions, research and education related to osteoporosis prevention.

Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease (National Center for Health Statistics, 2004). In Hawaii, 28,600 children (9.7%) currently have asthma (State of Hawaii Department of Health, 2004). This study was designed to expand asthma awareness among freshmen students at a private high school in Hawaii through informative training sessions integrated into the mandatory Physical Education (PE) class and supportive coaching for students with asthma. Of 430 freshmen at the high school study site, 83 had asthma. A pre/posttest quasi-experimental design was utilized to assess enhanced knowledge after the intervention. Nearly 400 part-Hawaiian male and female students, aged 13-15, participated in the asthma training intervention. The study enrolled 270 students. Fifty-six students with asthma participated in the asthma coaching session. Participants with asthma were classified by national guidelines as mild intermittent to moderately severe. All participants completed the Asthma General Knowledge Questionnaire before and after a training session presented in PowerPoint format. Scores were analyzed by paired t-tests. Only students with asthma participated in small group coaching sessions utilizing a PowerPoint presentation specifically tailored for adolescents. These participants completed the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire before the session, then again three months after the session. Scores were analyzed using paired t­ test and descriptive statistics. Asthma training significantly increased general asthma knowledge scores (p :S 0.001). Although asthma coaching improved the frequency of controller medication for 50% of the students (n=lO), the increase was not statistically significant. Self­ management improvements and quality of life scores differences were also not statistically significant. These results may be due to the small sample size and short study duration. For an adolescent population where the rate of asthma is nearly 20%, providing asthma training to the entire group was demonstrated to be an effective means of increasing asthma awareness. Asthma education offered in a peer group setting demonstrates an innovative intervention modality that is culturally and developmentally sensitive to the adolescent population. Further study is needed over a longer time period to explore avenues to improved self-management skills and enhanced quality of life for adolescents with asthma.

Bibliography: leaves 251-260. / xi, 260 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This thesis explores the prison experiences of female and male prisoners. The study aims to record and analyse the ways in which prisoners represent their experiences behind the wall (abstract) / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Social Inquiry, 1999

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2003.

The study aimed to investigate the educationally-related challenges faced by teenage mothers in coming back to school in two senior schools in the Kavango Education Region. This small-scale study focused on the challenges that influence or affect the academic progress and development of these learners. The study looked at how teenage pregnancy is perceived as a social problem in many countries as well as in Namibia and examined its impact on the educational aspirations of the young mothers. Namibia has a policy in place to cater for the continued education of learners returning to school after the birth of their babies. This policy was analysed and its implementation in the selected schools formed part of the study, The findings revealed that the educational challenges faced by these young women range from social exclusion to the need to manage the dual responsibilities of motherhood and study. The way in which the learners who participated in this study are viewed by their peers and their teachers was found to be influenced by the cultural connotations ascribed to women as soon as they become mothers, a factor that adds to the challenges these learners face when returning to schools. Cultural connotations which perceived a mother as an adult in the society was attached to the change of the behaviours and attitudes of school young mothers. The findings also showed that while these learners tended to be withdrawn in class and were generally unable to participate in extra-mural activities, they none the less were able to compete with their peers in terms of their academic performance. The study revealed that there is no shared understanding of the policy among the participants and that it is not effectively implemented in the schools, nor is it uniformly applied.

One of the goals for Namibia’s Vision 2030, through ETSIP (2005‐2015), is to establish a preprimary year in primary schools for all children aged 5‐6 to be developed first in schools serving the poorest population and OVCs. ECD is widely recognised as having a significant impact on the subsequent learning of children. The high failure and dropout rate in grade 1 made this process an important one. In 2008 the integration of ECD became a reality in five schools in the Khomas region of Namibia. At present there are 29 pilot schools in the Khomas region 29 schools, and 504 in the whole of Namibia. According to the MoE all primary schools should have a preprimary class as ECD has been recognized as a key contributor to positive outcomes in schools. This study sought to investigate various stakeholders’ experiences and views of the integration of pre‐primary into mainstream pre‐primary schooling. The goal was to investigate the management and leadership implications of this integration. The study is an interpretive case study of three pilot primary schools. The research design made provision for data collection through semi‐structured interviews, focus groups and document analysis. The main finding was that, despite numerous challenges, principals are positive about the integration of pre‐primary. There is a sense of appreciation of the importance of pre‐primary. Principals adopt participative and collegial management approaches in leading their schools towards becoming learning organisations. The study also uncovered several significant challenges, such as the need for more training and the provision of infrastructure to make the process more effective.

The purpose of the study was to identify and describe the approach and strategies used to downsize a mental health organization. This ethnographic study was conducted at a psychiatric hospital that is beginning the 4th year of a 10 year downsizing plan. Data were gathered through interviews, informal observations, and field documents. This research design facilitated an understanding of the phenomenon in the context of the practices and beliefs of the executive management team. Semistructured interviews were conducted with six executive and four middle managers who were involved in the downsizing decision making process. Freeman and Cameron's (1993) definition of downsizing was broadened to encompass not-for-profit reasons for downsizing. Cameron's (1994) downsizing model was supported and an additional best practice called alignment of purpose was proposed in which the leadership of an organization attempts to align the stakeholders with similar goals and objectives for downsizing. The emotional process of downsizing emerged as a key area to address concurrently with job security and other more pragmatic consequences of downsizing. Empathy was suggested as one method of dealing with the emotional process of downsizing. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate