The research reported in this thesis examined the changes that students undertaking the Project 2000 (UKCC, 1986) course in nursing experience. It was carried out in one school of nursing in the Midlands over a period of 3 years and the various stages of empirical enquiry involved a total of 218 questionnaires, 10 interviews and 30 stress studies. A phenomenological methodology was adopted which incorporated a 3 stage mixed method approach. During the initial 2 stages complementary data were collected from two cohorts of students (cohort 1 n=40, cohort 2 n=19) to explore their experiences of the course and identify significant issues. To identify possible changes in their methods of studying the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (Tait & Entwistle, 1996) was used. Insight into other changes that occurred during the course was afforded by supplementing these data with demographic data and qualitative data obtained from interviews. Two main themes arose; Changes in Approaches to Studying and Psychological Distress. In the final stage of this research each theme was considered using quantitative methods. Two instruments were developed and data was obtained from 2 samples of students (n=76, n=30). These were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests and the results compared with those from earlier stages of this research and the literature. Linking the findings of this research to other enquiries also suggests that these students are typical of all Project 2000 students at this time (Yin, 1994; Bassey, 1998). Therefore, this research contends that Project 2000 students are likely; in terms of approaches to studying: (a) to change their approach to studying from a Surface Approach in favour of a Deep Approach as they see the relevance of the theory to the practice of nursing; (b) to exhibit the pattern which is common in higher education that older students tend towards a Deep Approach to studying; in terms of confidence and ability in studying: (c) by the end of the first year of the course to show no difference in confidence or ability in studying which can be attributed to their academic qualifications on entry to the course; in terms of psychological distress: (d) to experience various intensities of distress during the course associated with: • the theory component of the course (due to perceptions of irrelevance of the “health” model taught, particularly during the CFP); • loss of control (concerning the administration of the course and also the adverse group pressure exerted by the Adult Branch students in the CFP); • clinical practice (due to perceptions of not being prepared for the “curative-illness” model during the CFP, a lack of clinical skills, and sometimes due to hostility from placement staff); • assignments (due to lack of co-ordination between the different modules and clinical experiences, and related problems of time-management); • financial pressures (often resulting in additional employment to supplement bursaries); and; in terms of personal development and personal relationships: (e) to become more self-aware, assertive and non-judgemental in professional settings; (f) to have a high chance of personal difficulties with spouses or partners, particularly those students between the ages of 25-34 years.

<p> Each year the importance of a high school education increases; however, there are still populations for which getting a diploma is difficult. One of these populations is the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community. For many of these students a high school diploma is still out of reach. Quantitative research to this point shows that these students suffer from bullying/harassment, increased depression, substance abuse issues, and what they refer to as an overall lack of school belonging. The purpose of this study was to add a qualitative voice to the quantitative data. This study was designed to explore and understand LGBT high school graduates&rsquo; experiences throughout grades 9-12 and factors that led to persistence to graduation. This information was put together to create a plan for schools to create environments that were welcoming and supportive of LGBT students. To accomplish these goals, 12 participants from different types of communities across the United States were interviewed about their experiences in high school. They were asked to share their experiences with bullying, depression, substance abuse, and their experiences in high school as well as what they believed help them overcome and make it to graduation and what they wish their schools would have done for them. Of the participants who were interviewed, 75% reported facing bullying or harassment in school, 33% discussed using drugs or alcohol, and 17% talked about depression and attempting suicide. In the end there were three main protective factors found among the participants. Participants had either a person who pushed them towards graduation, something at school that made them feel they belonged, or a sheer desire to leave and get someplace better.</p>

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance patterns of Anglo, Hispanic, and American Indian children on the WISC-R. The WISC-R is the most commonly used measure of ability for students who are referred for psychoeducational evaluation to determine special education placement. For this study, the WISC-R was administered to 48 American Indian children from various tribes, 64 Hispanic children, and 64 Anglo children who attended an urban school in a large Southwestern city. The subjects of the study, who were in 1st through 8th grades, were referred for evaluation based on their academic difficulties or were being reevaluated to determine the necessity for continued placement in learning disability programs. An examination of mean differences between the Verbal and Performance scores of the three groups revealed that differences between the Verbal and Performance scores were smallest for Anglo subjects. The Hispanic and American Indian groups each had a difference of one standard deviation between their Verbal and Performance scores. An exploratory factor analysis resulted in differing factor structures for each group. The Anglo children demonstrated the three factor structure defined by Kaufman (1975). The principal axis factoring extracted four factors for the Hispanic group. Three factors were extracted for the American Indian subjects; however, Factor 1 and Factor 2 differed from those of the Anglo subjects. Factor 3 was similar to that of the Anglo subjects. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the equivalency of a hypothesized factor structure and Kaufman's (1975) three-factor structure among the three groups. The hypothesized model was found to fit across the three groups. The best fit for this model was between the Anglo and American Indian subjects. The poorest fit was between the American Indian and Hispanic students. No fit between the Anglo and Hispanic students was found for Kaufman's three-factor model. Implications of these results and recommendations for future research examining the assessment of children from minority cultures are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the underlying processes of intellectual performance for Native American children and youth with Anglo-American children and youth. A major purpose of most intelligence tests is to ascertain the differences in performance of individuals. The significant gap in performance between middle-class white subjects and minority subjects is well documented. Controversies over the accurate measure of intelligence for cultural groups have resulted in litigation and legislation designed to assure nondiscriminatory assessment. This study is a comparative analysis of test performance for Anglo and Native American subjects from the standardization normative sample of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery Revised (WJ-R). The WJ-R is frequently used in the assessment and identification of Native American students in need of special education services. The Woodcock-Johnson Revised Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJ-R COG), Part I of this Battery, is designed to measure seven separate cognitive factor clusters and a broad measure of ability with the three Broad Cognitive-Ability Scales. This instrument has received limited investigation in regard to the validity for Native American students. This study analyzed the data of the WJ-R standardization normative sample population for the Anglo and Native American preschool and school-age participants performance on the WJ-R COG. The results of this study indicate factor clusters for these two groups were significantly different for the Gc cluster and oral language cluster. The factor structure for the two groups was similar to the total sample population results reported in the WJ-R Technical Manual.

The effects of task structure and task outcome on the self-evaluations children make were examined in the study. One hundred forty seven students in second, fourth, sixth, and eighth grades were surveyed following successful and unsuccessful outcomes in a classroom achievement setting. Students were randomly divided into two task structure groups: individual, competitive task structure, and cooperative learning groups. The students worked under these differing task structures on a reading comprehension activity. Half the students in each group and each grade were told they had done well on the comprehension exercise and half were told they had done poorly, then all were surveyed. Students who were told they had succeeded made higher self-evaluations than did students who were told they had failed. At all grade levels, and in both task structure groups, students were much happier with themselves and their work if they were told they had done well, than if they believed that had done poorly. Students who believed they had succeeded made more attributions to the internal attributions of ability and effort than did those who thought they had failed at the task. Younger students attributed outcome more to effort than did older students and students working under the cooperative learning task structure attributed outcome more to ability and task difficulty than did students working in competitive groups. These results found in a naturalistic classroom environment contribute to previous findings from attribution research in laboratory settings.

The purpose of this research effort was to determine the predictability of reading achievement based upon the relationship existing between students' self-concept and mental ability. The impact of student grade level on the predictability of reading achievement was also analyzed. The research was done in a multi-dimensional manner by considering the relationship between self-concept and achievement; the relationship between self-concept and mental ability; the relationship between achievement and mental ability; and the relationship between self-concept, academic achievement, and mental ability. The interpretation of research data as it pertains to the predictability of reading achievement based upon the relationship between students' self-concept, mental ability, and grade level resulted in the following conclusions: (1) There was no significant relationship between students' reading achievement and their self-concept. (2) There was no significant relationship between students' self-concept and their mental ability. (3) There was a significant, strong, positive correlation between reading achievement and students' mental ability. (4) The significant predictors of reading achievement were mental ability and grade level. (5) For both boys and girls, the best predictor of reading achievement was mental ability.

The study investigated the educational attitudes, abstract and concrete, and the perceptions of the quality of academic life of students from Taiwan studying in the United States. The Educational Belief Questionnaire (EBQ) and Perceived Quality of Academic Life (PQAL) were administered to 161 Taiwan students attending an American university. Three null hypotheses were tested in light of the obtained data. Results indicated no significant differences in their perceptions of the academic quality of life irrespective of their background or personal characteristics. With regard to the major area of the study, the students did, however, differ in their attitudes toward education. In general, all students seemed to have positive attitudes toward education. The educational level of subjects emerged as the significant predictor of academic achievement (GPA) of Taiwanese students. The implications of these findings for foreign students attending American universities were discussed.

No description available.

No description available.