Demands for increased industrial and education efficiency in modern times have necessitated more careful selection and guidance of personnel in preparation for and entrance into industrial activities. As a means to this end, there are being developed numerous tests designed to measure abilities and to aid in prediction of potential successes in various fields. This problem is intensified in the preparation of workers in war industries.

The study is to determine what is being done in the schools of Utah to contribute to the realization of the Ten Point Plan, proposed by the Utah State Council for prevention of crime, through social education.

Social dancing has for many years occupied a position of prominence in the physical education curriculum at the Box Elder Junior Division. It has maintained this position because of the recognized necessity to help students of the junior high age overcome asocial barrier which is quite pronounced.

This study sought to establish the rhetorical pattern of a major folktale genre known as mu'urii, in Nafara, a dialect of Senari, one of the major indigenous languages spoken in Côte d'Ivoire. This study will provide a basis for addressing the root causes of impediments to French (L2) literacy in Côte d'Ivoire. This study used oral folktales as a means of elicitation and vehicle of investigation. Three questions guided the researcher in this project. Question One was concerned with setting the conditions for establishing the discourse pattern of folktales in Nafara, while Questions Two and Three addressed the educational implications of findings that emerged from Question One. The research was framed in terms of two main theoretical foundations: 1) Discourse Analysis as a theory of human communication, and 2) the ethnography of communication. Nafara was oral until the present undertaking came to life. Therefore, a methodological field test was carried out to check the feasibility of the study. During this phase, Nafara grammar and lexicon were described, as a prerequisite for any textual analysis. This methodological field proved very beneficial as it allowed for setting a sound ground for the full study, during which further scrutiny into the materials collected allowed the investigator to get a better synthesis of the linguistic system of the language under investigation, by carrying out a description and analysis of more substantive Nafara texts. Discourse analysis was the major method of text analysis. It was supplemented with other methods, including ethnopoetics (an application of the ethnography of communication) and story grammar. Thus, using a combination of the foregoing methods, line, stanza, scene analysis and the narrative backbone of key events was identified to flesh out the discourse pattern in the Nafara genre in question. Establishing the rhetorical pattern is tantamount to building a model that reflects the way the notional content of the tale is organized to convey cultural meaning. Thus, after giving a full description of the rhetorical pattern based on one version of each popular tales, sketches of the rhetorical patterns that emerged from other tales were contrasted and compared with the more elaborate ones. First, versions of the same popular tale were set against each other, then the researcher looked across all the six versions, showing areas of differences and commonalities. The foregoing showed that while versions of the popular tales greatly differed in terms of supporting materials, the core discourse pattern was found to be constant across all versions of the tales. The researcher's contention is that awareness of the Nafara rhetorical pattern can serve as a vehicle for French (L2) education in Côte d'Ivoire, as it can provide a basis for teaching French grammar and composition through comparison and contrast with Nafara (L1) patterns. Therefore, knowledge of Nafara (L1) rhetorical organization is essential if the issue of underachievement in French (L2) education is to be efficiently tackled. Findings of this study will also provide a springboard for promoting reading and writing in Nafara. Another much expected spillover effect of this study is that its results will also offer options to writers (both native and non-native) by making them aware of differential issues in composition, according to the language and audience in view. The present study aimed to provide additional information for enhancing language education and learning in general in Côte d'Ivoire. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: March 2, 2007. / Narratives, Tales, Discourse Organization, Oral Literature, Discourse Analysis, Genre / Includes bibliographical references. / Pamela S. Carroll, Professor Directing Dissertation; Joseph Hellweg, Outside Committee Member; Deborah Hasson, Committee Member; Jeffrey Milligan, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how secondary education students perform and persist in a heavily text-based online learning environment. The study explored the following research questions: 1. How does reading achievement level influence learners' performance and persistence in a heavily text-based secondary online learning environment? 2. How does student motivation influence learners' performance and persistence in a heavily text-based secondary online learning environment? 3. How does the design of online instructional materials and the learners' preferred mode of processing information influence learners' performance and persistence in a heavily text-based secondary online learning environment? 4. What are students' perceptions of instructional effectiveness and how do these perceptions influence learners' performance and persistence in a heavily text-based secondary online learning environment? 5. What are students' perceptions of school and parental support and how do these perceptions influence learners' performance and persistence in a heavily text-based secondary online learning environment? The study focused on students from low performing high schools who were enrolled in a state-required Florida Virtual School course, Life Management Course. The number of study participants was based on students enrolled in the course between August 2006 and July 2007, and a convenience sample of approximately 1,000 students were surveyed based on low-performing school enrollment data, course enrollment data and survey response rates for the Florida Virtual School. The intent of the researcher was to use a two-phase sequential explanatory mixed methods approach to better understand this phenomenon. The first phase involved, data including state-based reading assessment scores and responses to survey instruments were collected for each participant. The second phase involved learner support surveys administered to each study participant and an examination of the course in which they were enrolled. The general design of the study in this phase was a multiple-case design in which each individual participant was the unit of analysis. A cross-case analysis was conducted to identify possible patterns that emerged from the analysis of the individual participants or single case. However, due to the nature of the data collected, the qualitative aspects of data became the researcher's primary focus. The study involved two dependent variables: (1) student performance and (2) student persistence and the following independent variables: (1) student characteristics, (2) literacy skills, (3) motivation, (4) instructional design, (5) instructional effectiveness, and (6) learner support. The actual sample size for the study was 965 participants; however, there were only eight respondents. A preliminary review of the data collected revealed that there was not variance in either the performance or persistence outcomes; each of the respondents not only passed the Life Management course, but also persisted and received a course grade. Due to this lack of variance, the researcher was unable to perform statistical analysis which might establish a predictive relationship between the dependent and independent variables of the study. However, through the development of summary profiles for each of the eight respondents and descriptive data, the researcher was able to make some general observations about the individual cases and the aggregate data. Limitations and implications of the study, as well as recommendations for future research are provided. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: October 25, 2010. / Virtual Schools, Secondary Online Learning, Performance, Persistence / Includes bibliographical references. / Marcy P. Driscoll, Professor Directing Dissertation; Carolyn Piazza, University Representative; Vanessa Dennen, Committee Member; Robert Reiser, Committee Member.

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