The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to determine whether the Behavioral Objective Sequence (BOS) (Braaten, 1998), when used as a rating scale, was a valid instrument for measuring the behaviors of students with EBD and (b) to determine whether there was a relationship between teachers' perceptions of behaviors of students with EBD and these students' perceptions of their own behaviors. Perceptions were measured using the BOS and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) (Achenbach, 1991), a well-established instrument with reliability and validity. Demographic variables were examined as predictors of student versus teacher score discrepancies. Those shown to be predictive are student socioeconomic status, IQ score, length of time receiving special education services, grade and placement. The concurrent validity of the BOS is indicated by the comparison of scores on the BOS with scores on the CBCL. Participants were 62 youth with EBD and their 19 teachers from the Midwest. / Department of Special Education

There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of Educational Leadership

This project introduces a new measure, Beliefs and Evaluations About Counseling Scale (BEACS), based on social psychological theories of attitudes, including the Multiattribute Model of Attitudes (MMA) and the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). Applying a MMA formula, two scales (beliefs and evaluations) linked with the BEACS were constructed. The BEACS was also designed to incorporate subjective and normative beliefs and attitudes based on the concept of social norms (SN) from the TRA. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 employed a qualitative approach to generate scale items. Forty-three college students participated. A thematic analysis led to the identification of 61 items for each of the belief and evaluation scales. Study 2 explored latent variables tied to the BEACS by administering the initial item pool to 497 college students. Results of factor analyses yielded five and six factor solutions that seemed valid. In Study 3, the five- and six-factor models were tested through a confirmatory factor analysis using an independent sample of 183 college students. It was determined that the BEACS was best represented by 28 pairs of items (beliefs & evaluations) and five factors: Expectancy for Positive Outcome, Tolerance for Negative Outcome, Tolerance for Negative Quality, Expectancy for Positive Norm, and Tolerance for Negative Norm. This factor solution was consistent with the factors tied to the Thoughts About Psychotherapy Survey. Furthermore, the BEACS Expectancy for Positive Outcome and the Expectancy for Positive Norm factors were consistent with two TRA components: general attitudes and social norms. In Study 3, support was also found for the known-group validity of the BEACS. Results revealed that women, counseling users, and people who have thought of seeking counseling scored higher on two subscales of the BEACS. Convergent and predictive validity of the BEACS was evaluated using the Beliefs About Psychological Services (BAPS). Results indicated moderate correlations between responses to the five BEACS subscales and the three BAPS subscales (Intent, Stigma Tolerance, & Expertness). Subsequent regression analyses revealed that four of the five BEACS subscales were significant predictors of the BAPS Intent factor. The BEACS was additionally found to possess high internal consistency reliability. Strengths, limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study examined implicit and explicit attitudes of teachers toward the Emotional Disturbance (ED) label, the strength of association between implicit and explicit ratings, and the variance in attitudes between different types of teachers or among teachers in different settings. Ninety-eight teachers (52 regular education and 46 special education teachers), from a mix of urban and rural school districts in central Indiana, completed three computer-based attitudinal measures: an implicit association test (IAT), a Social Distance Scale (SDS), and the Scale of Attitudes toward Disabled Persons (SADP). Results indicated that teachers possess a significant preference for the category of Learning Disability (LD) compared to ED, and the correspondence between implicit and explicit attitudes toward those two labels was strong. This data supports the notion that the ED label is perceived far too negatively by educators to serve as an effective category of services for children with serious mental health issues. / Department of Educational Psychology

No description available.

In a previous study by our research group, parents and teachers of gifted children disagreed about the importance of group work in the inquiry-based classroom, with parents rating group work as less important than did teachers (Syer & Shore, 2001). The purpose of the present study was to attempt to understand this difference of opinion. Parents (n = 15), teachers (n = 11), and a group who were both parents and teachers (n = 5) of gifted children responded to a researcher-designed telephone interview. Teachers perceived parents as competitive and grade-oriented. Parents themselves, however, reported that their opinions of group work were based on their children's negative experiences. Teachers reported that their opinions were affected by their pedagogical knowledge regarding group work. Although parents' and teachers' opinions differed, they were aware of each other's point of view.

Typescript. / Bibliography: leaves 364-375. / Microfiche. / xvii, 375 leaves ill

The purpose of this thesis is to examine whether or not there has been a change in the way DN Debatt has been depicting muslims. This study process the time between 11 September 2000 and 11 September 2002. To reach my result I am using a content analysis, this because I found it the most useful to my material. The result I got with this thesis was that it wasn’t that big of a difference in the picture that the writers wanted to show. The biggest difference was the linguistic, the words used in the articles changed from quite positive to become rather negative. For example before 11 September 2001 the word terrorism was not to be seen in a article about Muslims, but after the same date every article used in this study has the word terrorist in some way. In my thesis I used a hypothesis, the hypothesis was that the reporting about Muslims was going to be radically changed and become hostile towards Muslims. This was not the case and my hypothesis was in one way contradicted.

Chronic illnesses and disabilities are the number one health problems in North America, and are the health challenges of this era. Many studies have investigated the illness experience for people with chronic conditions, but little is known about how people with chronic conditions experience feeling healthy. Recent studies indicate that people with chronic illnesses/disabilities perceive themselves to be predominantly healthy. What follows from these studies is the need to know more about how health is experienced by this client group. The purpose of this study was to investigate this phenomena of health within illness. Specifically, the research question was: What is the meaning of feeling healthy for people with chronic illnesses/disabilities. An interpretive phenomenological investigation was undertaken with eight participants living with a variety of different chronic conditions. The results of this study provide two important findings. First, the participants described their healing journey which brought them to the experience of feeling healthy, and seven essential themes emerged to describe this healing experience. These themes included; (a) In the Beginning, (b) Hitting the Wall, (c) Turning Around, (d) Letting Go, (e) Opening Up, (f) Letting In, and (g) The Gift. Second, the participants described their experience of feeling healthy and six themes emerged to describe this experience. These themes included; (a) Honouring the Self, (b) Seeking and Connecting with Others, (c) Creating Opportunities, (d) Celebrating Life, (e) Transcending the Self, and (f) Acquiring a State of Grace. The rigor of this study was considered to by attending to the auditability, credibility, applicability and confirmability of this research method and results. The results of this research were then compared to theories of growth and change as a result of crisis, theories of developing consciousness, self identity, social support, hardiness and resilience. Also, these results were compared with other definitions of health. Recommendations were made for further research and theory development regarding the conceptualization of health within illness. Finally, the implications of incorporating a health within illness perspective for clients, nurses, and the health care system were discussed. The reconceptualization to include the experience of health within illness would contribute to an expanded focus for client care, and to the promotion of health. / Graduate

This study was an investigation of attitudes toward perceived values of physical activity among students and faculty within the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation at North Texas State University. The specific purposes of this study were to determine if a significant difference in attitudes toward each of six values of physical activity exist (1) among men at four educational levels, (2) among women at four educational levels, (3) among undergraduate men who chose to major or minor in either health, physical education or recreation. (4) among undergraduate women who chose to major or minor in either health, physical education, or recreation, (5) between part-time and full-time faculty men, (6) between part-time and full-time faculty women, (7) among graduate men who work in either elementary, secondary, college, or recreation programs, and (8) among graduate women who work in either elementary, secondary, college, or recreation programs. Finally, the study was to determine if significant differences in attitudes toward perceived values of physical activity among subjects within each of twenty-six selected groups within the professional preparation program.