Recently published theories suggest that scotopic sensitivity causes reading difficulty and may be remediated by use of colored overlays. This study examined two parallel and nonexclusive explanations for dyslexia treatment success using colored lenses. A sample of 132 subjects (66 dyslexic readers and 66 normal readers), 18-66 years of age, completed reading measures and computerized testing for scotopic sensitivity under two visual treatment conditions. This study first evaluated the relationship between scotopic sensitivity, colored lenses and reading ability. Twenty-eight subjects (21%) obtained scores in the scotopically sensitive range. However, the majority of these scotopically sensitive subjects were normal readers. Additionally, results indicated that scotopic sensitivity scores were not related to initial reading ability, response to colored lenses, or reading ability after treatment. The second explanation for treatment success examined the impact of the therapeutic common factor known as "expectation of improvement". Subjects were randomly assigned to either a hope group or a counterdemand group prior to the randomly assigned to either a hope group or a counterdemand group prior to the testing and treatment conditions. Results confirmed that expectation of improvement was a powerful therapeutic tool for all participants whether dyslexic or normal readers. However, the interaction of treatment group and presence of dyslexia indicated that dyslexics are more sensitive to expectation. While normal readers in the hope group improved an average of 2.5 months, dyslexics improved an average of 1.2 academic years in reading ability. All but 2 dyslexics in the hope group improved--a range of 2 months to 3 full academic years. After intervention, 40% of dyslexic subjects in the hope group no longer met criteria for dyslexia and anecdotal information is available on one subject who maintained gains at a 4 week mark. The power of the expectation factor is a unifying explanation for the pattern of recovery (improvement or cure) that has been historically reported for a variety of treatments including eye patches, drugs, behavioral therapy, and educational strategies reported in formal research, while few dyslexics improve in the general, "nonresearch" population regardless of the treatment.

Female-nontraditional undergraduate students do not fit well within traditional student persistence models. This limits our ability to address persistence issues and likely contributes to the fact that non-traditional students are more than twice its likely to leave school in their first year. This research created a persistence model designed to more accurately reflect predictor variables associated with this population. It also measured the contribution to explained variance in a persistence model incorporating a new consistent-identity variable. This variable was built upon Gilligan's (1982) theory of moral development for women. Student retention theory, moral development theory and existing conceptual persistence models served as the foundation for this research. The results of this research indicate the strong impact of factors external to the institution on persistence for this sample of female-nontraditional undergraduates. A student's level of outside encouragement, head of household designation, and consistency of identity played important roles in persistence within this sample population. For this sample, a student's consistency of identity was strongly related to persistence. Women who presented a set way of interacting in interpersonal relationships were more likely to graduate than women who had no clear pattern in their interpersonal relationship interactions. An implication of the results is that institutions may need to examine possible methods of accommodating or counteracting factors external to the institution to increase student persistence among this population.

Adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) is a unique social and educational site, a borderland where marginalized youth and adults can be found. This project sought the voices and stories of women literacy learners with disabilities. The project had a dual purpose of creating practical products and conducting research. The project sought to create knowledge for program improvement and produce two products, a list of recommendations to the field and a brochure of advice to new women literacy learners (both included). The research explored the social categories of gender, literacy, and disability to contextualize existing theories with the lived experiences of low-income women with disabilities. The project was grounded in critical and feminist standpoint epistemologies that were actualized through a dialogic, participatory action research design. The data collection and management technique of the Unfolding Matrix (Padilla, 1993) was adapted to an Unfolding Venn diagram with three interlocking circles labeled Women, Literacy, and Disability. Fifteen women participated in the year-long series of monthly focus dialogues. The participants ranged in age from 20 to over 60 years old, represented a range of disability and impairment experiences, various lengths of involvement in the adult education program, and a range of ethnicities and geographic areas of childhood. The structure of the dissertation follows the design of dialogic research conducted with the technique of the adapted Unfolding Matrix. Three levels of data were analyzed: contributions to the diagram, four key discussions, and focus dialogue transcripts. Specific findings are presented as chapters in Part II: Finding Ourselves in Contradictions, Part III: Hinged Themes and Dreams, and Part IV: The Way Forward. Findings indicate the critical need for adult education and literacy programs to recognize women's unique learning needs and to engage women in dialogue so that those needs can be discovered and articulated. Access to literacy and the power of literacy includes instruction and support sensitive to individual needs. Disability issues need to be openly addressed with an attitude of critique and advocacy that can empower learners and the field to move forward on eligibility and service structures.

This study investigated the relationship among three high school mathematics teachers definitions and beliefs about mathematical problem solving, their problem solving practices and how they teach mathematical problem solving. Each teacher was interviewed three times and observed once during a problem solving lesson. Data comprised of transcriptions of audio tapes, field notes, and completed problem solving checklists were used to prepare the case studies. While the definitions, practices and teaching of the teachers varied, the findings were consistent within each case. The results suggest that how teachers are taught and what they learn as students are related to how they teach mathematical problem solving.

The purpose of this study was to develop a list of agricultural occupations from the government agencies that employ people on the Navajo Reservation. In addition, a list of agricultural competencies was developed to aid Reservation agricultural education programs to train students for the agricultural jobs that are available through government agencies. The results showed 71 different occupations in agriculture available in government agencies on the Navajo Reservation. The major competencies that are needed for employment are in the area of Basic Agriculture.

<p> The purpose of this study was to analyze attitudes and perspectives of university students towards D/deafness before and after studying American Sign Language, ASL, and to determine if any relationship between them exists. A double pre-test quasiexperiment design was used with participants who were students enrolled in a basic ASL course at a metropolitan university.Participants were in either a &ldquo;control&rdquo; or &ldquo;treatment&rdquo; group. There were 3 instruments used for this study: an attitude scale, a perspective scale, and a control group questionnaire. The control group survey purpose was to decrease chances of pre-sensitization. The attitude survey served to score student opinions about capabilities of Deaf Adults. Scores ranged from negative to positive. The perspective survey was used to reflect student views of D/deafness ranging from medical to cultural. There were 228 ASL I students requested to participate. Of the 228, there were 110 respondents. The control group had <i>n</i>=52 and the treatment group had <i>n</i>=58. Of the 110 pre-survey participants, 71 responded to the post-survey. A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was run to determine any relationship between attitudes and perspectives of students before and after they studied ASL. Aninverse relationship between attitudes and perspectives was found. Before the students studied ASL, the treatment group attitude and perspective <i> r</i>=-.508 (<i>n</i>=58, <i>p</i>&lt;.01). After participants studied one course of ASL the relationship was <i>r</i>=-.537 (<i>n</i>=71, <i>p</i>=&lt;.01). As attitude score values increased to a negativeopinion about capabilities of Deaf adults,perspective scores decreased towards a medical view. While scores that leaned lower on the attitude scale were deemed more positive, they corresponded with higher score values on the perspective scale indicating a cultural view of D/deafness. There were 6 of the 71 post-survey respondents who had matching coded pre and post-survey response forms. A dependent <i>t</i> test was run to analyze if attitude or perspective scores changed for university students after studying ASL. It was determined one course of ASL does not significantly change attitudes or perspectives about and/or D/deafness (<i> p</i>=>.05). A PPMCC was conducted to determine if a relationship between attitudes and perspectives of the six matched participants existed. Although not significant at the &alpha;&lt;.05 level, the matched participants had an inverse relationship between attitudes and perspectives before studying ASL (<i>n</i>=6, <i>r</i>=-.660, <i>p</i>>.05). After studying ASL the matched participants had a significant inverse correlation between attitudes and perspectives towards D/deaf people (<i>n</i>=6, <i> r</i> =-.922, <i>p</i>&lt;.01). In conclusion there is a relationship between attitudes of university students about capabilities of D/deaf adults and their medical or cultural perspective of D/deafness.</p>

<p> This case study is about learning as it relates to addiction recovery within the Men's Ministry (a pseudonym) program at an urban, faith-based mission, hereafter referred to as WCM (an acronym). The program is free and long-term residential. Its purpose is to be a "life transformation ministry for troubled men whose lives are out of control as a result of drugs, alcohol or some other destructive behavior pattern." </p><p> The study examines the described experiences of 13 WCM residents from the perspectives of two researchers: Cranton and DiClemente. Cranton's work explains change through adult learning, which can be transformative. DiClemente's work describes steps of change of becoming addicted and of recovering from addiction. </p><p> At my request, the chaplain at WCM selected Men's Ministry residents willing to share their life experiences as part of this study. During three 90-minute interviews based on Seidman's interview model, 13 residents shared their experiences before WCM in the first interview, their experiences at WCM in the second interview, and reflections on the first two interviews in the third interview. </p><p> The research questions that guided the study were (a)-How did the subjects in this faith-based addiction recovery program describe their own learning? and (b)-What were the subjects' perceptions of changes they experienced while in this faith-based addiction recovery program? </p><p> Participants' descriptions resulted in four conclusions: Multiple formal activities affected each participant; informal learning occurred throughout the WCM facility; participants' descriptions of changes at WCM resulted in recognition of changes throughout their prior lives; there was no single description by participants of a change, or a motive for change, at WCM. </p><p> Implications for future research include conducting longitudinal studies of this program's graduates, conducting studies with different participants to compare to this study, analyzing subsets of the data obtained, determining the indicated key programmatic elements, conducting studies about nonfaith-based residential substance addiction recovery programs to compare to this study. </p><p> Implications for practice include seeking adult educator's advice about including adult learning principles in substance addiction recovery, using adult educators as instructors in substance addiction recovery, and co-ordinating all practice activities with research findings.</p>

<p>Since the 1990s the rate of divorce has consistently stayed at a high level within the United States. Almost 50% of all marriages will end in divorce (Coontz, 2006; Strow &amp; Strow, 2006). This continued high rate of divorce has led to an increase in caseloads within the family court system. As a result, more of the court&rsquo;s time and resources are being used. Courts are unable to handle the influx of cases, meaning families typically have to wait long periods of time before decisions are made about custody or visitation agreements. Therefore, families find themselves stuck in transition of divorce or separation. As a result, families find it difficult to cope with and adjust to the divorce or separation (Deutsch, 2008). </p><p> In order to alleviate some of the pressure from the court system, divorce parenting education programs have been created to inform parents about different circumstances experienced during a divorce or separation (Coates, Deutsch, Starnes, Sullivan, &amp; Sydlik, 2004). Many of these programs aim to ease the transition for both children and adults, as well as decrease the amount of relitigation occurring within the court system. Parenting education programs are quickly becoming mandated by certain states and counties in order for final judgment to pass on a divorce or separation (Deutsch, 2008; Geasler &amp; Blaisure, 1998). </p><p> Because courts are now mandating parenting education programs and using resources to provide such programs, it is important to ensure effectiveness of parenting education programs. Fortunately, recent program developers have started to research the effectiveness of specific programs. Additionally, new literature assesses different aspects of parenting programs to determine what pieces are necessary for an effective divorce parenting education program. Important aspects of parenting education programs to consider include content, method of delivery, and theoretical foundation. Specific content presented in parenting education programs have been found to be more effective on parenting and rate of relitigation. Additionally, certain methods for presenting the content have been found to be more effective in changing parental behaviors following divorce (Geasler &amp; Blaisure, 1998; Kamniski, Valle, Filene, &amp; Boyle, 2008). With the growing body of literature, courts, hopefully, will be able to determine what divorce parenting education programs are most effective to ensure resources are being spent wisely. </p><p> The current study will explore whether a newly revised parenting education program (Children First Parenting Education Program, January 2011 edition) effectively improves parental attitudes, knowledge, and likelihood. Further, the current study will explore whether the Children First Parenting Education Program January 2011 edition has a larger effect on attitudes, knowledge, and likelihood compared to the Children First Parenting Education Program, May 2006 edition. Additionally, the current study will explore whether the newly revised Children First Parenting Education Program, January 2011 edition has a larger effect on the rates of relitigation among parents who attended the program compared to participants who attended the Children First Parenting Education Program, May 2006 edition. </p>

<p> Over the last decade, for-profit higher education has been the fastest growing segment within higher education. Despite the growth, little research exists about for-profit higher education institutions. The purpose of this exploratory, descriptive, quantitative study was to examine the attitudes and knowledge of higher education faculty toward for-profit higher education institutions. </p><p> A conceptual framework was used to understand various topics about for-profit higher education institutions. An instrument was developed to measure attitudes and knowledge and distributed through a web survey to 214 higher education faculty from public and private not-for-profit higher education institutions. Survey respondents totaled 111 and 107 useable surveys resulted in a 50% response rate. Descriptive analysis was used to understand attitudes and knowledge. </p><p> Results suggested that overall attitudes and knowledge varied based on individual topic. No differences in attitudes were found relative to gender, age, institution type, faculty rank, and years as higher education faculty. The study revealed the need for higher education institutions to share more data and for higher education faculty to engage in more research and policy discussions about the fastest growing segment within higher education, for-profit higher education institutions.</p>

<p>The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of utilizing high-fidelity simulation on the team performance, perceived level of learning, and satisfaction of resident physicians in a simulated cardiac resuscitation scenario. This study was significant because it filled a gap in the literature about how methods of education impact healthcare practitioners. While a body of research exists in education on adult learning principles, there are few studies on how applying adult learning principles to professional development is an effective method of instruction in healthcare. </p><p> A convenience sample of resident physicians from two hospitals that are part of a large health system was utilized for this study. Resident physicians participated in a simulated mock cardiac resuscitation scenario monthly. The Simulated Cardiac Resuscitation Team Performance Evaluation instrument was utilized to assess the team performance of the residents in the scenarios. A program evaluation form was administered to measure perceived level of learning and satisfaction with the simulation experience. </p><p> One-way multivariate analyses of variance were conducted to evaluate the relationships between year of residency and gender and the team performance score on the Simulated Cardiac Resuscitation Team Performance Evaluation. Significant differences were not found among the years of residency on the dependent measures. Significant differences were not found between the genders on the dependent measures. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate the relationship between year of residency and the level of satisfaction and perceived level of learning of the resident physicians. Significant differences were not found among the three years of residency on the dependent measures. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate the relationship between gender and the level of satisfaction and perceived level of learning of the resident physicians. Significant differences were not found between genders on the dependent measures. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate the relationship between prior use of simulation and the level of satisfaction and perceived level of learning of the resident physicians. Significant differences were not found between prior use of simulation on the dependent measures. </p>