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The primary goal of this mixed method study is to investigate and analyze how the nature and structure of the widely accepted middle school and teaming models impact individual teacher efficacy as well as collective efficacy. I examined the implications of these models on the levels of efficacy for both teamed and non-teamed teachers. Both social cognitive theory and belonging theory informed the research study. The mixed method study was conducted at seven suburban middle schools in four districts outside of a major city in the northeastern section of the country. Each middle school utilizes the teaming model as the focal point of their philosophy. Research data were gathered from volunteer teachers through the administration of an online 37-item survey and voluntary individual follow-up interviews. In addition, principal interviews served to give background and cultural information at the building level. Themes from survey data informed the interview protocol. A review of historical documents provided additional information. The data were analyzed and themes were extracted in order to provide recommendations for these particular middle schools. Based on the collected data, teachers working at the middle school level can experience varying levels of both individual teacher and collective efficacy based on teaching position and experience. Implications for further research in the area of teacher and collective efficacy at the middle school level are noted. / Educational Administration

This study was designed to determine the levels of computer anxiety, computer self-efficacy, and computer applications usage among members of the Faculty of Accountancy at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. The importance of the role of technology and information systems in economic development has grown significantly throughout the globe, thus affecting how nations educate students in order to produce a more technologically literate workforce. With the implementation of the smart schools concept in Malaysia, whereby these facilities are equipped with multimedia technology and world-wide networking, educators in higher learning institutions have to prepare themselves for high school graduates who will be technologically literate. While there have been much research in this area conducted in the United States at many different levels, it has never been conducted in Malaysia, specifically with the accounting faculty at UiTM. Therefore, a total of 368 full-time accounting faculty members who were teaching in the 2006/2007 academic year were surveyed, using questionnaires. The questionnaires were focused on obtaining information with regard to participants and computer: (a) anxiety, (b) self-efficacy, (c) and software usage, as well as (d) general information. At the end of the data collection period, 262 responses were received from the population. A test of the nul1 hypothesis revealed no evidence to imply that the respondent group's gender and UiTM location distributions were significantly different from the population distributions based on the same attributes. Together with a high response rate (71%), these findings add credibility to the belief that the sample was representative of the population. This study showed that a majority of the faculty had low levels of computer anxiety and high levels of computer self-efficacy. Statistical analysis showed no significant mean differences between gender and age categories nor was there an interaction between the two said variables related to computer anxiety. However, pertaining to computer self-efficacy, the study found a statistically significant mean difference between age categories. Furthermore, the results from stepwise multiple regressions also indicated that the most efficient model for predicting the level of computer anxiety was composed of a single variable, computer self-efficacy. / Ph. D.

Introduktion: Fall är den vanligaste inläggningsorsaken på sjukhus i Sverige. Faktorer som kan påverka att en människa faller är bl.a gångförmågan, balansförmågan samt fallrädslan.Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka promenaders effekt på gång- och balansförmågan samt på fallrädsla hos personer över 65 år med hemtjänst.  Metod: Tjugo deltagare block-randomiserades till två grupper, tio deltagare per grupp. Medelåldern var 77 ± 8 år. Interventionsgruppen promenerade tre gånger i veckan, en gång med hemtjänst och två gånger med fysioterapeut. Kontrollgruppen promenerade en gång i veckan tillsammans med hemtjänsten. Interventionsperioden varade sex veckor. Mätningar av testen 6 minuters gångtest (6MWT), One Leg Stance (OLS) och Falls Efficacy Scale- International (svenska) (FES-I(s)) utfördes före och efter interventionsperioden. För att analysera skillnad mellan grupperna i interventionseffekt användes ANCOVA med uppföljningsvärdet som beroendevariabel. Det utfördes två analyser per variabel, i den ena var enbart baslinjevärdet kovariat och i den andra även kön och ålder.  Resultat: Interventionsgruppen förbättrade gångförmågan med i genomsnitt 35 meter medan kontrollgruppen försämrade sin gångförmåga med 3 meter (p=0,029 resp. p=0,019). Balansen förbättrades med i genomsnitt 2 sekunder i interventionsgruppen och 1 sekund i kontrollgruppen (p=0,528 resp. p=0,510). Fallrädslan minskade med i genomsnitt 6 poäng i interventionsgruppen och 2 poäng i kontrollgruppen (p=0,064 resp. p=0,054).  Slutsats: Att öka antalet promenader under sex veckor har effekt på gångförmågan, men inte på balans eller fallrädsla, bland äldre personer med hemtjänst. Resultaten indikerar på vikten av att inkludera fler promenadinsatser för äldre personer med hemtjänst som en åtgärd i kommuners fallpreventiva arbete. / Introduction: Accidental falls are the most common reason for hospital admissions in Sweden. Factors influencing fall risk include gait ability, balance and fear of falling. Aims: This study aims to examine the effect of walking on gait ability, balance and fear of falling, in home care recipients over 65 years .  Methods: Twenty participants, age 77 ± 8 years, were block-randomized into two groups. The intervention group walked three times a week and the control group once a week. The intervention lasted six weeks. Before and after the intervention the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), One Leg Stance (OLS), and Falls Efficacy Scale-International (Swedish) (FES- I(s)) were conducted. Intervention effect between groups was analyzed using ANCOVA with the follow-up value as the dependent variable. Two analyzes were conducted for each variable: one included the baseline as covariate, the other included gender and age as additional covariates.  Results: The intervention group improved their walking ability with an average of 35 meters, the control group decreased by 3 meters (p=0,029, p=0,019). Balance improved with an average of 2 seconds in the intervention group, 1 second in the control group (p=0,528, p=0,510). Fear of falling decreased with an average of 6 points in the intervention group, 2 points in the control group (p=0,064, p=0,054).  Conclusion: Increasing walks during six weeks improves gait ability but not balance or fear of falling in elderly home care recipients. The results emphasize the need for more walking interventions in fall prevention strategies for the elderly in municipal home care.

This thesis is formed of two papers. The first paper is concerned with the construction and design of the Spelling Self-Efficacy Measure (SSEM), based upon the constructs that children have about learning to spell and findings from a literature search. The second paper further develops the SSEM, carrying out a large test administration and validation, and then exploring relationships between perceived efficacy beliefs and spelling ability. The rationale to create a measure of spelling self-efficacy originally stemmed from conversations with teachers during my placement experiences as a trainee educational psychologist. It was often the case that children in schools were not making progress in literacy, despite ongoing and high quality intervention and support. I carried out a literature review and found that the majority of spelling support packages were focused on building children’s mastery of skills rather than any focus on the emotional aspects of learning. I had many conversations with teachers about ways in which they could support children’s beliefs in their capabilities to learn, and had positive reviews with lots of school staff about how this had helped them make interventions more personalised to the child. The two papers in this thesis outline the steps taken to develop and construct the Spelling Self-Efficacy Measure. There were originally five domains underpinning the Spelling Self-Efficacy Measure: Belief in Own Ability to Learn to Spell; Belief in Learner Characteristics; Belief in the Need for Help from Others; Belief in Phonological Awareness; and Belief in Technical Understanding of Spelling. These five areas were condensed through analysis in both Paper 1 and Paper 2 to propose a revised Spelling Self-Efficacy Measure underpinned by three domains: Phonological Awareness, Learner Independence and Optimism in Abilities; Learner Confidence and Resilience. The Spelling Self-Efficacy Measure has been found to be a reliable and valid scale to explore children’s perceived efficacy beliefs about learning to spell. Consistent with existing research, significant correlations have been found between a child’s spelling ability and their level of spelling self-efficacy, as measured by the SSEM.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Jeffrey Zacharakis / In this study, the researcher explores the effectiveness of Leader Development in the United States Army by examining the relationship between attendance at the Army’s Civilian Education System Basic Course (Basic Course) and enhanced leadership in its graduates. The study was conducted using a paired sample, drawn from five classes in the spring of 2015. The researcher employed the Multi-Rater Leadership Questionnaire version 5X-Short (MLQ5X) developed by Avolio and Bass (2004) in a quasi- experimental, repeated measure, within-subjects research design to answer the primary research question: Do graduates of the Basic Course demonstrate enhanced transformational leadership as a result of attendance at the course? The researcher found that Basic Course graduates demonstrated a statistically significant positive change in mean posttest scores when compared to mean pretest scores on the transformational leadership factors of the MLQ5X. The effect size was large. The study also explored differences within the sample for five groups of Basic Course students: Veterans-Non- veterans; GS Supervisory experience – No GS Supervisory experience; New Leaders – Experienced Leaders; Male – Female; and Ethnic Minority – Caucasian. While some differences between these groups were noted as possible topics for future research, none of those differences were found to be statistically significant in this study.

published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences