The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which tri-weekly evidence-based vocabulary lessons implemented throughout the regular school day would increase kindergarten students’ expressive and receptive vocabulary development, thus decreasing the vocabulary gap exhibited between low-income children and their more advantaged peers upon entering kindergarten. The participants in this study were kindergarten students at an elementary school in the Midwest. The students in the control group received their normal vocabulary instruction from the district’s adopted reading series. The experimental group students received instruction from the evidence-based direct instruction vocabulary lessons found in Judy Montgomery’s The Bridge of Vocabulary. Data was collected before and after the intervention took place using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition and the Expressive Vocabulary Test, Second Edition, and was analyzed using an ANOVA to compare growth. Analysis showed that students who received the vocabulary intervention made significantly greater growth in both expressive and receptive vocabulary development than students who received vocabulary instruction from the adopted reading series. More specifically, the students from poverty who received the intervention made significantly greater vocabulary development than the students from poverty who did not receive the intervention. / Department of Elementary Education

A quantitave study was done on children who were diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders in primary schools. The main aim was to measure IQ and to find out if there are indicators of organicity. The hypotheses of the study were as follows: (i) Children diagnosed with ADHD will obtain lower scores on IQ tests than children not diagnosed with ADHD; (ii) Children diagnosed with ADHD have some form of neurological deficit or organicity The study consisted of a sample 25 children who were diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders and the children who were never diagnosed with the disorder. The sample and the control group range from the age of six ( 6) to 13 years. Data was collected using Bendor Visual Motor Gestalt Test and Senior South African Individual Scale Revised. Descriptive Statistics, Chi-square Test and Mann-Whitney Test were used to determine the difference between the sample and the control group. The results indicated that there is significant difference between children with ADHD and the control group on both verbal and non-verbal IQ tests. This means that children who were diagnosed with ADHD scored lower on measures "of IQ. The differences may have been due to IQ. or the ADHD group was distracted enough to perform significantly worse on reading, spelling, mathematics, comprehension and written tasks. The results on the Chi-square indicated that there is a relationship between the presence and ADHD and organicity. The findings in this study will aid teachers and parents (especially in African communities), to find out more about the children who they think are just problematic children. ii A quantitative study was done on children who were diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders in primary schools. The main aim was to measure IQ and to find out if there are indicators of organicity. The hypotheses of the study were as follows: (i) Children diagnosed with ADHD will obtain lower scores on IQ tests than children not diagnosed with ADHD; (ii) Children diagnosed with ADHD have some form of neurological deficit or organicity The study consisted of a sample 25 children who were diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders and the children who were never diagnosed with the disorder. The sample and the control group range from the age of six ( 6) to 13 years. Data was collected using Bendor Visual Motor Gestalt Test and Senior South African Individual Scale Revised. Descriptive Statistics, Chi-square Test and Mann-Whitney Test were used to determine the difference between the sample and the control group. The results indicated that there is significant difference between children with ADHD and the control group on both verbal and non-verbal IQ tests. This means that children who were diagnosed with ADHD scored lower on measures "of IQ. The differences may have been due to IQ. or the ADHD group was distracted enough to perform significantly worse on reading, spelling, mathematics, comprehension and written tasks. The results on the Chi-square indicated that there is a relationship between the presence and ADHD and organicity. The findings in this study will aid teachers and parents (especially in African communities), to find out more about the children who they think are just problematic children. / M.Soc.Sc. (Clinical Psychology) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

Policy research in education is a relatively new discipline which deals with the analysis of public policies governing education. The professional literature provides both a conceptual and methodological basis for defining what constitutes a public policy and the means to carry out different types of analysis. Using such a framework, this study analyzes the policy of the Government of Quebec with respect to the education of exceptional children. More specifically, the study focuses on the policy goals and legislative action of the Government. / Three separate research questions are each addressed by a systematic analytical framework using a form of qualitative content analysis. The methodology consists first of summarizing all policy data in a computerized database and then scrutinizing these summary statements to search for and analyze emergent themes and the content of policy objectives and standing decisions. The relation between these elements is then determined on the basis of specified decision rules. This analysis has also been subjected to an inquiry audit to test for the dependability and trustworthiness of the results. / The analysis reveals three emergent policy themes, over eighty specific objectives and almost 100 standing decisions, which are found in statutes, regulations, ententes and administrative documents. Various incongruencies between the goals and the legislative action are identified and discussed; implications for further research are presented, with reference to the literature.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an integrated adapted physical education setting on the motor performance of preschool children with developmental delays. Subjects in this study participated in segregated and integrated adapted physical education classes. During the integrated conditions, same-age peers without delays participated in activities as "proximity peers" (Jenkins, Speltz & Odom , 1985). Child-directed activities were presented in each class and subjects were observed practicing locomotor and object control skills. The quality of each performance was analyzed to determine the number of critical elements present in the performance and the level of teacher or peer prompt required to initiate and complete each performance. A single subject reversal design (A-B-A-B) was used in this investigation. Four children with developmental delays were filmed within an eight-week school schedule while practicing two fundamental gross motor skills during segregated and integrated conditions. The level and trend of the data was calculated to describe the quality of each child's motor performance within each condition, between conditions, and across segregated and integrated conditions. The results of this study provide evidence that children with developmental delays are able to maintain their level of gross motor skill and independence within an integrated adapted physical education setting. Although day-to- day variability was calculated for each subject, overall skill level remained stable and their level of independence was not compromised in the integrated setting. Recommendations for future research are made based upon the results of this investigation. / Graduation date: 1993

Thesis (M. Phil.)--Dept. of Architecture, Design Science and Planning, Faculty of Architecture, University of Sydney, 2003. / Bibliography: leaves 164-171.

Thesis (Ph.D.) in Psychology--University of Maine, 2008. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-164).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Sydney, 2003. / Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 28, 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy to the Dept. of Architecture, Design Science and Planning, Faculty of Architecture. Degree awarded 2003; thesis submitted 2002. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1991. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Francis A.J. Ianni. Dissertation Committee: Edith V. Francis. Includes bibliographical references: (leaves 148-155).

Thesis (M.(Augmentative and Alternative Communication))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brandeis University, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 29, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.