Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-178). Also available on the World Wide Web.

This thesis is based upon a longitudinal study of L1 attrition in two bilingual teenage siblings, J and her older brother S, with Korean as their L1 and English as their L2. The two teenagers' initial exposure to English occurred at the age of 9. When the two siblings began to have sustained exposure to and immersion in an English L2 environment, they were at the postpubertal age. They had been attending high school in a Mid-Western city in the U.S for about two years when the study was conducted. The longitudinal study addressed three main questions. The first question concerned the siblings' language (L1 and L2) development, language dominance and cross-lingusitic influence from a bidrectional perspective. The second question examined the evidence for L1 attrition in relation to lexis, morphology and syntax, and their relative levels of vulnerability. The third question examined the role of extra-linguistic factors in the process of L1 attrition. In order to address the above questions, the two siblings were observed in their home over a period of 8 months. The data for the longitudinal study included the siblings' (i) spontaneous speech interactions in the home (ii) oral narratives in the L1 and L2 and (iii) their responses to a language background questionnaire. The results showed that the two siblings' English L2 developed and improved over time, but that they continued to maintain their L1 (Korean) as their dominant language. The evidence from both siblings' L1 and L2 use supported bidirectional cross-linguistic influence (i.e. from the L1 onto the L2 and from the L2 onto the L1). L1 attrition occurred only minimally in relation to morphology (e.g. honorification, case particles, classifiers, and plural marking) and lexical choice, while the siblings' L1 syntax remained relatively stable over time. Overall, the siblings were largely successful in maintaining their L1. In part, this was because their L1 was already firmly established or entrenched, as their immersion in an L2 environment occurred only when they were older (around puberty). Furthermore, their frequent use of their L1 for social networking, along with their positive attitudes toward their heritage language, also played a crucial role in maintaining and stabilizing their L1. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of the findings of the present study, as well as recommendations for the future research are discussed.

abstract: Teacher attrition and the migration between schools and districts can have a negative impact on quality of education and teacher performance. Novice teachers leave the profession because they are overwhelmed by the workload and responsibilities of the job. In a previous action research cycle, I found that novice teachers' perceptions of isolation and lack of opportunities to share experiences had a negative effect on teacher perceptions of efficacy. This action research project examines the effect of leveraging social media and professional learning communities to provide opportunities for a group of novice teachers to share experiences and seek advice. By addressing the challenges that novice teachers face and providing solutions for common problems, it is the hope of this researcher that highly effective teachers will remain in the classroom. The results of the study indicate that the combined use of Twitter and YouTube in collaboration with professional learning communities will improve teacher perceptions of efficacy. Teachers who participated in the social media based professional learning communities are also more likely to remain in the classroom. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2013

Young children who display disruptive behaviors are at risk for negative outcomes in later development such as school dropout, early pregnancy, and unemployment (Bradshaw, Schaeffer, Petras, & Ialongo, 2010). For this reason, it is imperative parents of children with disruptive behaviors seek early intervention to reduce problem behaviors and prevent negative effects (Breitenstein, Hill, & Gross, 2009). Parent behavioral training interventions are effective for reducing problem behaviors in young children. Attrition from parent training interventions, however, is a common problem that reduces positive outcomes for children with challenging behaviors (Kazdin, Holland, & Crowley, 1997; Prinz & Miller, 1994). Barriers to treatment, such as negative perceptions toward treatment, can influence parents’ attendance (Kazdin et al., 1997) and behavioral outcomes for children (Brestan, Jacobs, Rayfield, & Eyberg, 1999). This study (N = 139) examined relationships of parents’ attendance and perceptions of a behavioral parent training intervention, the empirically supported Helping Our Toddlers Developing Our Children’s Skills, or HOT DOCS (Armstrong, Lilly, & Curtiss, 2006). Regression analyses were conducted to test relationships between parent perceptions of treatment effectiveness, attendance, and child behavior ratings, and whether attendance mediated the relationship between parent perceptions of treatment and ratings of child behavior. No significant relationships were found between these variables, and no mediating relationship of attendance between parent perceptions and child behavior ratings was found. Results for this study may indicate factors other than parent perceptions are important to predict attendance or change in behavior ratings. Ethical considerations and limitations of this study are also discussed.

The purposes of the study were: (1) to determine the effects of four testing strategies upon performance in college algebra, attitude towards mathematics, and attrition rate; (2) to determine the effects of two types of frequent testing upon performance, attitude, and attrition rate, (3) to determine the effects of different frequencies of in-class testing upon performance, attitude, and attrition rate; and (4) to draw conclusions which might help in selecting testing methods for college algebra classes.

This study sought to determine whether there is a significant difference in the level of burn-out between general elementary music educators employed by Miami-Dade County Public Schools and general elementary music educators from the rest of Florida. Burn-out can be defined as a state where a professional feels completely fatigued, dehumanized, reduced in regard to achievement, chronic despair, and withdrawn (Dworkin, 1987). Previous studies of this syndrome have used a Maslach Burn-out Inventory (M.B.I) to assess burn-out indicators. This study examined morale in the current educational atmosphere, using a modified M.B.I. to identify differences between two sample sets: one from Miami-Dade County Public Schools and another from other Florida counties. Applying the Mann-Whitney U test to the results revealed significant differences between the two populations on four items. In conclusion, areas of high stress for teachers were related to the FCAT, administrative support, and job security.

This exploratory case study investigated the role secondary school guidance counsellors believed they played in the course selection process, especially regarding the continuation of French as a second language (FSL). As new initiatives have been recently introduced to increase retention in all FSL programs throughout Ontario (OME, 2013a), this study also sought to identify the factors guidance counsellors believed contributed to students continuing (or not continuing) the study of FSL past the mandatory Grade 9 credit. The following research questions guided this study: (1) How do guidance counsellors describe the process of course selection, with regards to FSL in particular?; (2) How do guidance counsellors view their role in the course selection process?; and (3) What do guidance counsellors identify as factors that contribute to students continuing (or not continuing) the study of FSL past Grade 9? Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 guidance counsellors from 12 schools across one school board in Ontario. Analysis of the insights shared by guidance counsellors highlight the complexities of the course selection process, as well as the strategies and tools they each used to prepare students to make the most informed decisions regarding their course selection. When counselling students about continuing optional FSL courses after Grade 9, participants expressed that they would encourage the pursuit of FSL courses, if the topic was student initiated. Emerging evidence showed that core French and French immersion students were counselled differently, with the latter receiving more attention if they expressed a desire to leave the program. Finally, guidance counsellors identified a wide variety of reasons they believed affected retention and attrition rates at their schools, with the most common being for future employment purposes and not seeing the value in learning French.

Informed by a sociological approach, this thesis provides an account of the theoretical and empirical context of pharmacy students' undergraduate careers, beginning with the decision to enter higher education and ending with the final undergraduate year of a pharmacy student's education. The main aim of the published work and of the academic field that it contributes to is to advance understanding of why young people choose to study pharmacy (and thus choose pharmacy as a career), and career aspirations and influences over the course of their pharmacy school career. By establishing what influences and shapes pharmacy students' choices this thesis also provides an account of the degree to which career preferences are limited initially by awareness of opportunities, by socialisation and habitus, and how these are related to undergraduate career success.The thesis reports findings from studies using a range of methods including focus groups, surveys, and secondary analysis of pharmacy student data from a number of sources. Subjects investigated by the work are British undergraduate MPharm students and graduates. Numbers applying to study pharmacy, numbers accepted, and numbers entering the MPharm are compared and the relative risk of attrition from the MPharm, are also examined. Findings reported here are relevant to undergraduate pharmacy education policy-makers, heads of pharmacy schools, pharmacist employers, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and to those responsible for pharmacy workforce planning.While the primary aim of the thesis is to improve understanding of (undergraduate) pharmacy careers through the application of a number of sociological theories and perspectives, the thesis also considers the ways that findings can usefully inform pharmacy education and policy agendas.

South Africa has the largest number of people living with HIV and the largest HIV treatment program in the world, supplying antiretroviral therapy (ART) to 66% of the 7.6 million people living with HIV in the country in 2019. To reach the remaining 34%, the already overburdened health system needs to find ways of attracting and retaining groups at higher risk of attrition and optimizing convenience for providers and patients. We identified three examples of “differentiated service delivery”, an approach that adapts HIV services to patient and health system needs: (1) male clinics, attended and staffed exclusively by men, (2) youth clinics, exclusively for youth aged 12–25, offering flexible hours and youth-targeted services and (3) a pharmacy-led fast-track ART refill program where stable ART patients can pick up medication without seeing a clinician. We explore attrition (defined as death or loss to follow-up at end of follow-up time) in these services using data from a large, established HIV cohort in Khayelitsha, a high HIV-prevalence, low-income area in South Africa. The first study examines whether males attending two male clinics (Male Clinic 1 and Male Clinic 2) show lower attrition compared to those attending general primary healthcare clinics. Using exposure propensity scores, we matched male clinic patients 1:1 to males at other clinics and used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate the association between attrition and attending a male clinic. In the unmatched cohort, patients from male clinics (n=784) were younger than males from general clinics (n=2726), median age: 31.2 vs 35.5 years. Those initiating at male clinics had higher median CD4 counts at ART initiation (Male Clinic 1: 329 [210–431], Male Clinic 2: 364 [IQR: 260–536] vs. general clinics 258 [IQR: 145–398] cells/mm3). The matched analysis included 1563 person-years among 1568 patients. Patients initiating ART at male clinics had lower attrition (HR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.69–1.00). When matching and modelling was conducted for Male Clinic 1 and 2 separately, only the more established Male Clinic 1 showed a protective effect (HR 0.83; 95% CI: 0.65–1.07). The second study investigates whether attrition from care among youth (aged 12–25) on ART is lower among youth attending two youth clinics (Youth Clinic A and Youth Clinic B) compared to those attending general primary healthcare clinics. We also conducted a sub-analysis of patients attending adherence clubs (a model of ART delivery led by a lay facilitator, including a peer support group). We hypothesized that the effect of peer support in adherence clubs might be enhanced by the age-specific clubs at the youth clinics. It may also be further enhanced by additional elements of the adherence club model offered only in Youth Clinic A, including integration of family planning. Youth at the youth clinics were more likely than those at general clinics to have initiated ART before August 2011, particularly those at Youth Clinic B (23% compared to 11% at general clinics). The distribution of age, sex, and CD4 count at ART initiation was similar across youth and general clinics. We observed a protective effect of youth clinics against attrition: HR 0.81 (95% CI: 0.70–0.93) for Youth Clinic A and 0.85 (0.74–0.98) for Youth Clinic B, compared to youth at general clinics. Youth Clinic A club patients had lower attrition after joining an adherence club compared to general clinic patients in adherence clubs (crude HR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.32–0.96; adjusted HR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.28–0.85), while Youth Clinic B showed a smaller difference (crude HR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.48–1.45; adjusted HR: 1.07, 95% CI: 0.60–1.90). The third study assesses attrition among patients in a pharmacy-led fast-track ART refill program compared to matched stable, otherwise healthy, patients who were eligible for the fast-track program at the same point in time and at the same facility but did not join. Matched pairs were followed from the date of the fast-track patient’s first fast-track ART pick-up, and attrition was compared using Cox proportional hazards regression. Fast-track patients and matched controls had similar characteristics at ART initiation and at fast-track enrolment. Fast-track patients were less likely to have previously experienced tuberculosis (23% vs 28%), diabetes (1% vs 7%) and hypertension (12% vs 27%), compared to those not in fast-track. Fast-track enrolment was highly protective against attrition (HR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.31–0.51). We hypothesized that some of the association could be explained by confounding, arising from clinicians differentially referring patients to fast-track, possibly based on social, health, or mental health characteristics not reflected in the data. In a bias analysis using a plausible range of effects of such unmeasured confounding, the hazard ratio accounting for random and systematic error was 0.60 (95% interval: 0.42–0.89). All three studies show some protective effects of these differentiated models of service delivery against attrition. While stand-alone youth and male clinics are not feasible in all settings, and fast-track models may not be suited to all patients, these results suggest that multiple approaches tailored to specific populations’ needs can contribute to improving retention.

There was a gap in the current literature examining degree attainment, in that there was no research found on personality type and the highest degree level someone attains. The goal of this study was to understand if there was a correlation to an individual's personality classification as determined by their Myers Briggs Personality Inventory (MBTI) and the highest education level they achieve for the 225 people in the entire sample and 95 in the subsample (participants raised in poverty). The MBTI's theoretical foundation is based upon Dr. Carl Jung's personality typology and was later expounded upon by the tool's creators. Eight Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted to address each of the null hypotheses for each question. The 8 research questions asked if there were higher levels of degree attainment for those with a particular preference within the trait dichotomies as measured by the MBTI. The research questions asked if individuals classified as introverts (I), intuitive (N), judging (J) and thinking (T) within both groups would have higher levels of degree attainment than those classified as: extroverted (E), sensing (S), perceiving (P) and feeling (F). There was a statistically significant relationship between being extraverted (E) versus introverted (I) and the highest educational level achieved in the subsample. This result was opposite of the predicted relationship for this hypothesis. That is, individuals classified as extroverts (E) had higher degree attainment levels than those classified as introverts (I). None of the analysis for the other hypotheses were statistically significant. The social change implications may include strategies to develop marketing and recruitment programs that appeal to extraverts, to increase the likelihood that they will choose to attend their institutions.