This study examined the relationship of two important learning behaviors, persistence and initiative, and three- to five-year-old low-income preschool children?s school readiness outcomes. The sample consisted of 196 children from two urban Head Start Centers in a large Head Start Program in the Southeast. Initiative was measured by the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment and persistence by the Preschool Learning Behavior Scale. Academic outcomes were collected through the Language and Literacy subscale and the Early Math subscale of the Galileo System for Electronic Management of Learning. Results indicated that learning behaviors may be differentially important across age and academic domain. Persistence, and not initiative, significantly predicted younger and older preschoolers? yearly gains in early math outcomes. In contrast, while persistence was a significant predictor of language and literacy yearly gains for younger preschoolers, initiative was the significant predictor for older preschoolers. These differential results add to the understanding of learning behaviors and their effect on academic outcomes in early childhood. Such findings can help teachers, parents, and those developing early childhood interventions in promoting the learning behaviors that are the most appropriate for a certain age and academic area.

Inquiry skills in young low-income children may be an important point of intervention for promoting school readiness and later academic achievement. The current study aimed to investigate and measure the inquiry skills of low-income preschoolers. In a newly-designed, game-based assessment (the Inquiry Game), children were instructed to ask questions to determine a target picture among an array of pictures varying by color and object type. Asking constraint-seeking questions that use color and object type to eliminate multiple pictures is a more efficient strategy (and thus evidence of greater inquiry skills), in comparison to asking about a specific picture. One hundred and sixty Head Start preschoolers’ inquiry skills were assessed using the Inquiry Game at three time points. Data on children’s problem solving, math, language, and literacy skills were also collected to examine concurrent and predictive validity of the measure. Results revealed that asking about one picture at a time was the most popular strategy at all time points; however, children asked more efficient questions in the winter and spring when compared to performance in the fall. Analyses revealed a relationship between inquiry skills and vocabulary, verbal reasoning, and matrix reasoning ability. Results, as well as future directions, are presented and discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 196-211).

This study focuses on how and why people become ready to interact with certain information systems (IS) based on their previous experiences with the same and/or similar systems. User-system interaction can be regarded as a mediated and collaborative human activity between a user and a system with the motive of transforming raw information into useful outcome. Using Activity Theory as a paradigm, this study conceptualizes a user-system interaction model that specifies the mediating relationships involved. Based on the user-system interaction model, this study proposes a psychological construct, Information System Interaction Readiness (ISIR), that indicates how an individual is prepared and willing to interact with a system within a user context. This construct advances a developmental view of how previous IS experiences may affect user future behavior. Compared with other constructs as predictors of user behavior, such as computer self-efficacy and intention to use, ISIR takes how IS user behavior is mediated into account. To operationalize and measure the ISIR construct, this study develops a measurement instrument for ISIR using the technique of facet analysis and the semantic differential scale type. To explore how user experiences with a system lead to the formation of ISIR, this study identifies the psychological antecedents of ISIR. This enables the discussion of how general IS capabilities, including interactivity, personalization and context-awareness, may affect ISIR through these antecedents. Because ISIR is a user-, system- and context-specific construct, this study also identifies and discusses the personal and situational factors that may affect ISIR. Putting all these relationships together results in a research framework of ISIR. To validate the ISIR measurement instrument and test the ISIR research framework, several laboratory studies were conducted. The results indicated that the ISIR instrument was valid and the ISIR framework was sound. Finally, the contributions and limitations of this study are discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2000. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 153-167). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (M.Ed.), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2000. / Bibliography: leaves 97-104.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Social Work." Includes bibliographical referencs (p. 191-200).

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): Shu S. Liao, John E. Mutty. Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-42). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): Thomas W. Crouch, Keith F. Snider. Includes bibliographical references (p. 95). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Operations Research)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Lyn R. Whitaker, Arnold H. Buss. Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-78). Also available online.