This mixed-methods study focused on equity in learning as reflected in the final grades of online and onsite students from the same mathematics course. Onsite students were defined as students who attended regular class sessions. The onsite class did not consist of the professor solely transmitting information. Onsite students were expected to work and discuss problems in the class. Online students only attended an orientation session and a final exam. Simonson‘s Equivalency Theory (2000) served as the theoretical framework for this study as it promotes an equivalent sum of learning experiences for all students even though their learning environments and learning events may be quite different. Equity of learning between students was defined as learning that is equivalent in value and was measured by final course grades. Final course grades for all online student participants and all onsite student participants were compared statistically to see if there was a significant difference in learning. Statistical tests were also conducted on a number of subsets drawn from all participants‘ final grades in order to search for any underlying differences that might exist and to help answer whether the student need for equity in learning was being met. This research also focused on whether online mathematics courses are meeting the needs of rural Appalachian students. The strengths of quantitative and qualitative research techniques were utilized to help answer whether the needs of rural Appalachian students are being met by online mathematics classes. Surveys, interviews, field notes, observations, tutoring records, communication records, WebCT reports, student transcripts, and student work provided rich sources of data for this study. Participants in this study were 24 student volunteers, 18 years old or older, from a mathematics course at Glenville State College during the Spring 2008 semester. The findings of this study revealed no significant differences in online and onsite student final grades, in rural online and rural onsite student final grades, or in rural and nonrural student final grades. Equity of learning occurred among the student groups in this study. Further, the needs of at least some rural Appalachian students are met by online mathematics courses.

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the relationship between sport management and sociology of sport, with a specific focus on connections between the fields. To accomplish this purpose, I completed three distinct “projects”: (a) a historical project aimed at exploring key influences on the development of the fields, (b) a social network project aimed at exploring the structure of the coauthorship network in the fields, and (c) an interpretive project aimed at considering the qualities that define research in sport management and sociology of sport. Ultimately, it seems that scholars have a significant amount of flexibility in terms of how they present their research to the field of sport management, to the field of sociology of sport, and/or to both fields. However, a relatively small number of scholars appear to consistently produce research in both fields and seek connections between the two fields. I suggest that there are a number of issues facing each field, such as a lack of diversity in sport management research and concerns with relevance and applicability in sociology of sport, as well as common interests between the fields, such as advancing the study of sport as a valuable area of academic inquiry, that might be addressed by considering and building upon the connections that exist between sport management and sociology of sport.

By means of a researcher-created survey instrument, this study sought to determine: 1) whether teacher education programs differ in the ways in which they deliver technology training for preservice teachers; 2) to what degree technology training for preservice teachers is offered partially online or completely online and/or as distance learning; and, 3) whether schools, colleges, or departments of education (SCDEs) make provisions for preparing preservice teachers to be online teachers in a virtual classroom or school. The findings, based on the responses of 41 participants, showed that most schools, colleges, and departments of education in the study rely primarily on a stand-alone technology course and integrating technology into other education courses. Although schools, colleges, and departments of education in this study offer some education courses online, few (less than 12%) of them characterized their technology courses for preservice teachers as “online.” In addition, only 14% of those participating in this study indicated their programs directly address the competencies needed for teachers to be online instructors in virtual setting.

Today, under the federal mandates of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), test scores are being used for ways and means in which they were never designed, normed or intended (Linn, 2003). As a result, the purposes and uses of high-stakes tests have become a source of concerned debate among stakeholders, who see the consequences of high-stakes testing as having significant effects within the larger educational reform known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) (Amrein & Berliner, 2002b). Allington (2002) has stated that NCLB has dramatically changed the testing story, making high-stakes tests one of the leading and central characters of the current reform. Previous research of high -stakes testing has tended to exclude the voice of those closest to the issues and concerns – the teacher. Utilizing quantitative survey methodology, two central research questions guided this research, asking: 1. What are the consequential effects of high-stakes testing on teachers’ pedagogy and practice? 2. What are the consequential effects of high-stakes testing in relation to teachers’ work and identity? This study examined the perceptions of teachers currently working within the high-stakes testing environment in Southeastern Tennessee. A review of the literature is presented, as well as results from a 63-item survey of teachers. Analyses of these data reveal that high-stakes testing does indeed affect teacher pedagogy, practice and identity in highly unfavorable ways. Results from this study represent 408 teachers responding to the survey instrument. Additionally, 125 teachers responded to an optional open-ended text question reporting that high-stakes tests both influence and impact instruction and most importantly contradicts teachers' views of sound educational practice. Results indicated that elementary teachers teaching in below average performing schools situated in rural areas are the most profoundly impacted by high-stakes testing.

As a female cross-cultural educator and scholar in the third space, I am deeply concerned about issues related to Asian Americans and especially Chinese women intellectuals. Problematic misinterpretations of Chinese women from Euro-western perspective center on Orentalism and newly arising problems during the post-Mao era in China such as problems with rising gender consciousness, invisibility issues of homosexuality, ethnic minorities, rethinking of class, and added social contexts in Chinese indigenous works. These problems demonstrate the need to pay attention to Chinese feminist scholarship and Chinese women’s academic contributions. A better way to theoretically understand Chinese women and their scholarship from a philosophical perspective is suggested through this work. The researcher's perspective as a philosopher and cultural studies scholar is pragmatist, post-modern, and socialist feminist. I develop Chinese feminist identity theory on the basis of an interdisciplinary reflective critical analysis of Euro-western and Chinese feminist literatures and Euro-western identity theories. The academic identity of Chinese female intellectuals is represented as an ensemble of multiple factors including their gender/cultural/social selves that interplay with each other. I develop my own gender perspective – “relational gender perspective” – as an alternate to the “separate gender perspective” in Euro-western feminist Julia Kristeva’s problematic argument. Relating theory to practice, I suggest educational implications about how to create more inclusive multicultural learning communities.

The purpose of this study was to see how folktale tricksters are portrayed in children’s literature and to see if the portrayals are culturally authentic. The study was limited to three specific tricksters from three different non-western cultures. In the cross case analysis, the following five themes emerged: 1) authors who do prior research about the cultures of origin produce more culturally authentic children’s books; 2) the occurrence of overlapping story devices; 3) a moral thread of misbehavior being punished and intelligence being rewarded; 4) the stories set in Africa often perpetuate African stereotypes; 5) and the spiritual and supernatural aspects of the tricksters were minimized. Educational implications of this study include: 1) educators should examine the moral lessons in folktales; 2) there are a variety instructional uses of folktales; 3) there are dangers in using inauthentic cultural material; 4) and educators should look at cultural material critically and research them for accuracy.

The number of students in the United States for whom English is not their first language is increasing. As reading is integral to most classes taught in school, limited English reading proficiency can hinder students from succeeding academically. It is important to identify effective methods for quickly improving these students’ English reading skills. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a taped-words intervention using Dolch words would improve the reading skills of young, non-native English-speakers. Specifically, the goal was to discover whether the intervention would help to increase the students’ word list reading fluency and accuracy. A secondary goal was to investigate the relationship between the intervention and passage reading fluency, reading comprehension, and phonemic awareness. The participants in the study were three general education first-grade students for whom English was not the first language. A multiple-baseline across word sets design was used to evaluate the intervention. The study consisted of a taped-words intervention. For the intervention, the students listened to a recording of one of three sets of 19 words read five times in different orders. While they listened, they followed along with printed word lists, reading each word with, or before, the recording. After each intervention session, the students were assessed on the set of words to which they had just listened. The same assessment procedures were used to collect baseline, intervention, and maintenance data. The same intervention and assessment procedures were followed across all three word sets. The researcher also assessed the students on passage reading fluency, reading comprehension, and phonemic awareness. The results suggested that the taped-words intervention improved the word-list reading fluency and accuracy of two of the students. The third student had stronger reading skills than the others from the beginning, and the intervention had less effect on her reading performance. An analysis of secondary data suggests a possible relationship between the intervention and phonemic awareness. More research is needed to investigate the relationship between the taped-words intervention and reading fluency and comprehension as well as to further explore the possible link between the intervention and phonemic awareness.

To determine the utility of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT; Carroll & Sapon, 1959, 2002) to predict foreign (FL) and native language (NL) learning for foreign language students, it was administered to 347 college students in introductory (100- level) foreign language courses along with measures of reading and reading-related skills (e.g., ND; Nelson-Denny Reading Test; Brown, Fishco, & Hanna, 1993). All correlation coefficients between MLAT and ND scores and FL exam grades are significant at the .001 level except for the MLAT Spelling Clues subtest, which is significant at the .05 level. These correlation coefficients range from .13 to .32. In the context of a stepwise multiple regression, MLAT Number Learning is the strongest and only statistically significant predictor of FL students’ exam grades (French, German, and Spanish students combined; p < .001). When considering French, German, and Spanish students’ subtests separately, none of the MLAT subtest scores significantly predict French course exam scores. MLAT Phonetic Script is the only significant predictor of German students’ exam grades (p < .05). The MLAT Number Learning subtest predicts significantly Spanish students’ exam grades (p < .01) and the MLAT Phonetic Script subtest adds an additional 3% of variance in the Spanish students’ exam scores (p < .05). Results of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) show the composite means of the three MLAT subtests do not differ between students who claim to have a learning disability and those who do not. The MLAT Spelling Clues subtest significantly predicts FL students’ ND Comprehension scores (p < .001), and the Phonetic Script subtest adds an additional 3% of variance in the Comprehension scores (p < .01). MLAT Spelling Clues is the only significant predictor of FL students’ ND Reading Rate scores (p < .001). In general, the MLAT is only modestly to moderately related to relevant FL and NL performance as defined in this study, and educators should be cautious about making judgments based on its scores.

Due to the paucity of formal research in the use of art therapy with adolescent populations, the purported effectiveness of art as an assessment instrument in screening for emotional disturbance, and the widespread application of art and other expressive modalities with children, the purpose of this single subject qualitative case study was to describe the experience of an adolescent, diagnosed with a mood disorder, either singly or in combination with other psychiatric disorders, and enrolled full-time in a residential treatment center, while participating in weekly person-centered art therapy sessions. The participant for this study was a 16-year old adolescent female, diagnosed with mild mental retardation and bi-polar disorder. Qualitative data, obtained from typed transcripts of 11 audio-recorded, weekly art therapy sessions, pre- and post-intervention interviews with treatment center staff, and pre- and post-intervention observational data, were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Following data analysis, I integrated and interpreted the findings through the theoretical framework of David Elkind‟s (1978, 1984, 1989, 1998, 1999, 2001) theory of adolescent cognitive development. My findings indicated that, to a degree, the participant‟s experience paralleled expectations based upon Elkind‟s proposed characteristics of adolescent development. The participant was described as receptive to the art therapy intervention, but resistant during times in which verbal communication was employed over the nonverbal, expressive channels of art therapy. Overall, findings from this study provided support for existing literature in the use of art therapy with adolescents. The discussion included implications for counseling and plans for future research in expressive therapy.

According to a survey by the State of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Division of Research and Planning, the number one country in terms of investment in Tennessee is Japan, which currently has 160 companies in Tennessee that employ 40,450 people (Tennessee Total Foreign Direct Investment and Employment by Country Current Through April 2008, p.1). Whereby there are a number of research studies examining the importance of Japanese language competence in American companies, there is a paucity of research that addresses Americans with Japanese language competency who work in Japanese companies located in the U.S. This study therefore addressed this deficiency and sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What are the current expectations of managers, in terms of the level of Japanese competency, of their non-Japanese employees at Japanese companies located in Tennessee? 2. In addition to Japanese language proficiency, what other elements and knowledge are desired by Japanese companies for their future employees? 3. What is the rationale underlying the expectations of managers regarding employees’ language and cultural expectations? A modified Delphi study approach (e.g., multiple rounds of data collection) was conducted to: a) assess instrument reliability and validity, and b) ascertain the importance of Japanese language competence in business careers, as viewed by a panel of American and Japanese experts at the second largest Japanese company in the state of Tennessee. An exploratory factor analysis (with principal components extraction and varimax rotation) was used to determine how well the individual questions on two rounds of a modified Delphi survey grouped into five factors of interest which were Business Skills, Communication Skills, Cultural Awareness, Language Skills and Language Opportunities. Results derived from the analysis of the opinions of the 43 American experts indicated that for them, Business and Culture Skills were the most important, followed by Basic Communication and Advanced Communication Skills. Deemed as non-important skills were Language skills and having the Opportunity to use Japanese at work. In contrast, the 18 Japanese experts indicated that for them, Business and Culture, in addition to Advanced Communication Skills, were considered to be the most important; Language, Basic Communication and Opportunity were the least important.