Class of 2011 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To determine the perceptions of a Vietnamese population provided medication counseling in Vietnamese and their understanding of the directions, the indication, side effects, and importance of adherence to their medications. They also rated the helpfulness of the counseling. METHODS: Vietnamese speaking pharmacists performed medication reviews with Vietnamese adults who self-identified their level of English proficiency. Participants rated the helpfulness of the reviews on understanding medication directions, indication, side effects, and importance of adherence. Demographic data also was collected. The questionnaires were administered after each “brown bag” session. RESULTS: Twenty-nine Vietnamese patients received counseling; all completed the questionnaire (no English proficiency = 8; some = 11; full proficiency = 10). Average number of years residence in the United States was 17.4 (SD = 9.6 years, range from 2 months to 35 years). Approximately half of the patients (44.8%) found having pharmacists who spoke Vietnamese to be the most helpful; 48.2% answered “both” language fluency and shared culture were most helpful. The service was rated “somewhat to very helpful” in understanding medication directions (93%), indication (86%), side effects (79%), and the importance of adherence (79%). CONCLUSION: Overall, subjects found medication review services helpful when provided in their native language, indicating the need for language-directed services to help non-English speaking patients understand their medications.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Psychology of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2002. / The aim of this study was to pursue an investigation if mainstream educators are adequately equipped to deal with learners with special educational needs in ordinary classrooms. From the literature study it became evident that inclusive education is not simply a reform of special education but it accommodates all learners within mainstream classrooms. Changing over to inclusive education will have to be done with great responsibility, otherwise inclusive education in South Africa will be doomed from the beginning. The actual implementation of inclusive education could be highlighted as being inter alia the following: > Legislation pertaining to inclusive education. »- The community as a whole. > No learners should be excluded from mainstream schools. ► In-service training and professional development. * Children should be grouped according to chronological ages. > Class size. ► Curriculum must be readapted. ► Assessment and evaluation should be changed. *■ Programmes and facilities must be constantly monitored and assessed. »- Financial issues need to be addressed. ► Facilities will have to be suitably adapted. Successful implementation of inclusive education will depend upon an effective and responsive educators to cater for the needs of all learners. The following needs of the educator influence his perceptions of inclusive education. * Emotional needs. *- The need for knowledge and skills. > The need for support. Inclusive education would require educators to: > Have a positive attitude. * Be flexible in their thinking. > Be critical, creative and innovative in their approach to teaching and learning. To measure the educators' perceptions of inclusive education it was necessary to design a set of values, attitudes, beliefs and responsibilities against which the perceptions of the educators could be measured. The values, attitudes, beliefs and responsibilities were grouped into the following key performance areas. > Successful implementation of inclusive education. ► Educators' perceptions of an inclusive classroom. The questionnaires were completed by the school principals, deputy principals, heads of department and educators. It was analyzed and the data processed. The study confirmed that the successful implementation of inclusive education will depend on the availability of the following: > A school and district based support team. *- In-service training and ongoing retraining. > Adequate funds. » Collaboration and consultation between special and mainstream educators. *■ Guidance and counselling facilities for parents. > Parental involvement. * Accessible transport. > Physical barriers to the built-in environment. > New teaching strategies. *■ Curriculum adaptation. In conclusion a summary was presented and based on the findings of this study. The following are some of the recommendations that were made: The implementation of inclusive education in South African classrooms need changes to be made to the curriculum, institution and methods of assessment. ► Successful implementation of inclusive education depends upon South Africa's utilization and development of its human resources. > Successful implementation of inclusive education relies largely on governance and funding.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2014 / Student teachers ‘perceptions of teaching practice at the University Of Zululand Extensive research has been done on the importance of supervision of student teachers during teaching practice. The present study is a descriptive survey which sought to examine student teachers‟ perceptions of teaching practice. The sample comprised of 184 third year B.Ed students who had undergone teaching practice in 2013. To this end a questionnaire was constructed and validated through factor analysis technique by the researcher. The results revealed that student teachers hold favourable perceptions of teaching practice. The Kendall Coefficient of Concordance Wa yielded significant agreement among ranks assigned by student teachers to different teaching practice models. However there is a need for the improvement of the system of teacher education in order to prepare quality teachers. Some of the differences are the following: importance of preparing lesson plan as well as the pedagogical approach to presenting the lesson to learners. Most of the student teachers find it difficult in choosing and using teaching techniques and strategies that are suitable for the learners they teach. It is a given that there is no one strategy which can be implemented when imparting knowledge to the learners. However student teachers have to be exposed to those different strategies in order to be able to apply them depending on the lesson and the learners they are teaching. It can also be concluded that the perception of student teachers of teaching practice components of the lesson presentation is positive, irrespective of age and gender. Therefore the study has revealed that gender and age should not be necessarily concentrated on when students go out for teaching practice as reviewed by the findings. Based on the findings recommendations were made, among others, that the Faculty of Education should take into consideration the concerns of student teachers and address them before student teachers are sent to schools for teaching practice. This study is important in that it provides valuable information for the improvement of teaching practice when the perceptions of student teachers are acknowledged.

In this study, the researcher explored the views and opinions held by teachers and administrators toward a teacher evaluation system. The purpose was to learn how educators’ opinions and views might impact how school leaders administer the evaluation system and how teachers receive it. Knowledge gained from this study may provide understanding for district and school-level leaders as they develop training and implementation strategies. Teachers and administrators were interviewed, and district-provided documents were reviewed, to gather data that was analyzed using qualitative research methods. Based on the data analysis, recommendations are made regarding implementation strategies that may improve the evaluation process.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF SARAH RUTH EPPLIN, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION, presented on September 3, 2015, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION (RTI) STAKEHOLDER PERCEPTIONS IN THE SCHOOLS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Grant Miller Response to Intervention (RtI) was proposed as an alternative to the discrepancy model for identifying students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) in the reauthorization of IDEA, 2004. RtI requires stakeholders to significantly change how all students are taught. Accepting the changes accompanying educational reforms has been challenging for educators and RtI is no exception. To measure the beliefs and perceptions of stakeholders in Southern Illinois, a survey with a likert-type rating scale was conducted to gauge stakeholder perceptions of academic abilities and performance of students with disabilities, perceptions about data-based decision making, perceptions of the functions of core and supplemental instruction, and perceptions of practices. Analysis was then performed to determine whether significant differences existed among stakeholder groups in relationship to the aforementioned factors. Statistical significance was found in the area of perceptions about data-based decision making. Additional correlational analysis failed to find a relationship between factors and level of education or number of years experience in education. Results of this study suggest that beliefs and perceptions of current stakeholders in RtI are impacted by historical factors, understanding of data taking practices/interpretation, and a lived experience of many educational changes.

Since the turn of the century, cell phones have increasingly become prevalent within modern society. The widespread use of these mobile devices has proliferated in academic settings in recent years. Ownership of cell phones among college students has soared during the same period. This dissertation joins a growing conversation in education research about the challenges that cell phone use in the classroom has caused. I explored what college students’ experiences are with text messaging during class and how they perceive policies for cell phone use for the classroom. This research study was guided by six research questions: (1) What are college students’ general experiences with text messaging? (2) What are college students’ observations of cell phone use by others? (3) What are college students’ practices of cell phone use in the classroom? (4) What are college students’ experiences with issues related to cell phone use in the classroom? (5) What are college students’ perceptions about cell phone policies for class? (6) Do college students’ perceptions of appropriate cell phone policies for class vary by select demographic variables (age, gender, ethnicity, class standing, and community college experience)? A quantitative cross-sectional research design was utilized to describe college students’ perceptions of cell phone use during class and to identify what the perceptions of appropriate cell phone policies for class are among certain demographics of students. A web-based survey consisting of 28 questions was sent 264 undergraduate and graduate Political Science students with 43 (16%) responding. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-squared statistical test was used to analyze the data. The findings from this research revealed that perceptions of appropriate cell phone policies for class differ among certain demographic variables. Additionally, students think that they should be allowed to use their cell phones during class but agree that policies to govern the use of cell phone during class are needed.

The call for reform to raise student achievement has required educators, school leaders, and researchers to look for new methods to improve the learning process. One method used increasingly is block scheduling. Block scheduling is the restructuring of the school day into classes much longer than the traditional 50-55 minute class period. The purpose of this study was to determine high school principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of block scheduling in Mississippi high schools in three areas: achievement, attendance, and discipline. Many theorists believe that a person’s perceptions form the basis of reality for that person. If a teacher believes that block scheduling is effective, then for them, it is effective. Because some theorists believe that there is little to be gained from general studies that compare the objective results of block scheduling with the objective results of traditional scheduling since these comparisons have shown mixed results, this study addressed the social validity of block scheduling which is the extent to which participants perceive the worthiness of block scheduling. The research design used in this study was a cross sectional survey design. A researcher-developed survey instrument was used to collect data from teachers and principals in Mississippi high schools that had implemented block scheduling in the last 5 years. A total of 22 schools were used for the study. A 5 point Likert-type scale was used to measure respondents’ perceptions of the effectiveness of block scheduling on the three areas. While both principals and teachers appeared to have positive perceptions of the impact block scheduling has on student achievement, discipline, and attendance, principals had a more positive perception than teachers in all three areas. Both groups appeared to believe that student discipline was the most positively affected area, while attendance was the least positively affected. Recommendations based upon the findings of this study included conducting: (a) studies that include a larger sample of principals, (b) studies that identify student perceptions of block scheduling, and (c) studies to determine how important staff development is when implementing block scheduling.

Industries have changed over the years and the necessary skills required for a person to obtain a position in industry have become more challenging. This study examined alumni perceptions regarding the Industrial Technology program at Mississippi State University and expanded on the literature that is currently available as there is limited information and literature regarding the perception of how alumni view the transferability of knowledge and skills gained in Industrial Technology programs to industry. Information on alumni perception‟s of their skills and knowledge gained would add pertinent facts to the limited research that is currently being published. There were 35 alumni participants, ranging in age from 23 to 41. The study used several questions to guide the study of alumni perceptions of the Industrial Technology program at Mississippi State University. What are the alumni perceptions of the transferability of the skills acquired from their Industrial Technology program to industry? What are alumni perceptions of the support services provided in the Industrial Technology program? Does a relationship exist between alumni perceptions of the Industrial Technology program and various demographic characteristics? Do differences exist between alumni who have gained employment in the field of Industrial Technology and those who did not gain employment in Industrial Technology related jobs? The research design was a survey that was a questionnaire adapted from Latif and Sutton‟s (2001) questionnaire as well as Zargari and Hayes‟ (2001) questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, simple frequency distribution and percentages were used to analyze data and to interpret the perceptions of the alumni. Overall, the alumni perceptions of the program were positive and their perceptions also showed that the program met their need to obtain and maintain employment. Over 80% of the alumni perceived that the support services met their needs through advisement, instruction and facilities. Based on the results of this research, alumni have been very useful in identifying the perceptions of the Industrial Technology program at Mississippi State University.

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