This study focused on the identification of patterns of personal relationships that were documented in a series of thirteen investigations involving a Theory of Democratic Processes in Classrooms. Descriptive summaries and analyses of the various investigations were sought with the intent of identifying additional concepts and insights which might contribute to the theory. The investigator sought answers to the following questions: (1) What investigations were undertaken? (2) How were the investigations conducted? (3) What were the major findings of the investigations? (4) What patterns of personal relationships were reported? (5) What implications for the theory have occurred as a consequence of the investigations? A review of related literature dealt with descriptions of personal relationships in classrooms which tended to foster democracy in education. Literary references for such descriptions included the thirteen investigations identified and used in this study. Literary considerations regarding the Theory of Democratic Processes in Classrooms were evolved regarding each of the categories employed as an analytical framework. One chapter of this study was devoted to detailing information regarding the date, author, title, problem statement, assumptions, methods, and findings of each of the thirteen investigations. The data chapters presented the findings of the coded results of the various investigations. In the final chapter, patterns of personal relationships concerning concepts and insights derived from the investigations were reported. Among the concepts and insights concerned with these patterns, the following seemed most heuristic: (1) Democratic processes tend to be experienced in an environment where there is daily interaction; where individuals seem to be in charge of their own choices; and where persons seem to accompany each other in a supportive manner, and (2) When democratic processes are experienced, persons tend to develop their maximum potential; learning appears to involve intrapersonal explorations of interests; and an atmosphere of freedom and trust tends to allow for mutual respect and concern.

Surveillance data from 105 countries indicates that 80% of 13-15 year-olds do not meet the public health guideline of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. This is problematic as a lack of physical activity in young people is associated with physical, mental, and social health problems. Schools are a place where children and adolescents spend a large amount of their time and where they have several opportunities to engage in physical activity. The built and social environment of the school can influence the physical activity levels of students. The school built environment consists of the facilities that can encourage physical activity such as gymnasia, fields, and fitness rooms. This thesis looked at two aspects of the social environment: 1) school policies, programs, and practices (PPP) for physical activity, and 2) school social capital. School PPP includes things like having intramural sports. School social capital is based on the relationships formed at school. The purpose of this thesis was to determine whether selected features of the school social environment (social capital, school PPP for physical activity) changes the relationship between the school built environment and physical activity among 11-15 year-old Canadians. Information on the school social environment, school built environment and school time physical activity was gathered using a national representative survey called the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey (HBSC). The HBSC consists of a survey completed by grade 6-10 students in their classroom and a second 10 minute long survey completed by the principal of the participating schools. Results of this thesis indicate that the school built environment and school social capital were positively associated with school time MVPA, while school PPP had a slight negative association. School PPP altered the relationship between the built environment and physical activity. Specifically, the strongest positive association was between the built environment and MVPA levels in schools with few school PPP. However, school social capital did not alter the relationship between the built environment and MVPA. The results of this thesis can be useful in creating new school physical activity interventions. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-10-04 16:14:53.564

The purpose of this study is to explore South African educators’ subjective experiences of school violence within their schools. Educators’ experiences as victims and perpetrators of school violence were examined to gain an understanding of the definitions, contributing factors, impacts and incidents of school violence. An interpretive qualitative research method was used and interviews were conducted with 12 educators selected from two government schools in the low-income community of Alexandra. Participants’ data was then analysed using a thematic content analysis. The findings suggest that current definitions of school violence are too narrow and require expansion so as to include all acts of school violence, victim-perpetrator relationships beyond the confines of the school. Violence in schools was found to increase educators’ dysfunctional coping mechanisms, absenteeism, attrition, burnout and to compromise teaching efficacy and the performance of school. Using Brofenbrenner’s Ecological Approach the principal conclusion of this study was that school violence is a result of the interplay between individual, familial, school, communal and societal factors.

The purpose of the study was to compare the school climate in three secondary schools whose personnel had gone through a formalized group planning process with the school climate in three secondary schools whose personnel had not participated in a formalized group planning process. The certificated staffs of the three secondary schools which had completed the formalized group planning process were identified as the intervention group. The certificated staffs of the three secondary schools which had not participated in the formalized group planning process were identified as the control group. The intervention group and control group were chosen on the basis of similar student populations.The certificated staffs of the six schools responded to the abridged Discipline Context Inventory. Data from the instrument provided an overall school climate score as well as scores for eight subfactors within school climate.Nine null hypotheses were formulated. The null hypothesis regarding overall school climate was tested using the Hotelling T2 statistic. Eight null hypotheses relating to each of the subfactors of the instrument were tested using a t-test statistic. All tests used the .05 level of significance. The null hypothesis for the overall school climate was rejected. There was a significant difference in overall school climate between the two groups. The control group had the higher overall school climate score. No significant difference existed between the two groups on five subfactors: problem-solving and decision-making; distribution of authority and status; student belongingness; curriculum and instructional practices; dealing with personal problems. The hypotheses for three subfactors were rejected. The control group scored significantly higher in the subfactor developing and implementing rules. The intervention group scored significantly higher in the subfactors relationships with parents and other community members and physical environment.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 128 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-112).

Previous research suggests that young children expect individuals who are members of the same social group (e.g., race, gender) to have warmer and closer relationships than individuals who are members of different social groups. Such an expectation may act as a barrier to academic achievement for children assigned to cross-race teachers, particularly during kindergarten. To investigate the effect of student-teacher relationships on academic achievement, kindergarten students (N = 70; 27 European American, 14 African American, 25 Latino, 4 Asian American) were assigned to a teacher who was depicted as having either warm cross-race (experimental condition) or warm same-race (control condition) relationships. The consequential effects on students’ perceptions of the their student-teacher relationship quality and school performance was examined. Results indicated that students who viewed a presentation emphasizing their teacher’s positive same-race relations, and who were paired with a same-race (but not cross-race) teacher, perceived closer, more supportive relationships with their teachers than their peers. Similarly, African American and Latino students who viewed a presentation emphasizing positive same-race relations perceived closer relations with their teachers than their European American and Asian American peers. Overall, students who viewed a presentation emphasizing positive cross-race relations showed better work habits in the classroom. Unexpectedly, the experimental manipulation was ineffective at countering children’s explicit beliefs about others’ racial biases. Potential implicit mechanisms of change in perceptions of the student-teacher relationship are discussed. / text

This study focuses on students’ perceptions of the characteristics of quality teachers. A total of 448 students enrolled in high performing schools in 10 mostly urban school districts participated in focus group interviews during which groups of students in elementary, middle school, and high school were presented with the question, “What are the characteristics of quality teachers?” Student responses were recorded and analyzed using the three steps of Grounded Theory. Six characteristics of quality teachers emerged from the data. Student responses for each subgroup (elementary, middle school, and high school) were analyzed to determine the prevalence of each emergent characteristic among and between subgroups; each characteristic was then compared between subgroups to isolate intersecting and salient characteristics. Emergent characteristics were cross referenced to existing research on quality teacher traits to identify congruent as well as emergent descriptions of quality teachers. The goal of this study was to illuminate students’ voices by bringing their perspectives into the discourse of what constitutes quality teaching. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: A, page: 2254. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 341-349).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Toronto, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: A, page: 2422. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 203-212).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-93).