<p> This year-long research investigated fathers' involvement in 1 public elementary school in southern California that served an ethnic diverse and lower socioeconomic population. This case applied Epstein's 6 typologies to analyze the perceptions of 112 fathers and 132 mothers utilizing a 35-item validated questionnaire, followed by long interviews of fathers, school administrators, and teachers in addition to researcher's field notes. </p><p> Compared to prior studies, findings revealed that fathers and mothers reported that fathers' involvement in parenting and home learning was high. Responding to "all the time" and "sometimes," 91% of the fathers indicated they attended extracurricular activities; 87% participated in PTA activities; 86% attended parent-teacher conferences; 82% monitored or assisted with homework; 82% offered study space; 81% regularly purchased supplies; 75% provided computer and technology equipment; and 80% celebrated academic achievement. Utilizing 2 chi-square analyses to survey data, these findings applied to fathers who were employed (71%) or unemployed (29%) as well as to higher-educated fathers (community college degree and above) and fathers with a high school diploma or less (<i>p</i> > .05). </p><p> Applying a chi-square analysis to survey data, fathers' and mothers' perceptions were similar (<i>p</i> > .05) except volunteering, fathers indicating higher involvement. However, 88 to 100% fathers responded to "not at all" or "a few times" on the items in this typology, a low level of involvement. All groups of respondents reported fathers' low involvement in school decision-making and community collaboration activities. </p><p> Regarding communication, fathers indicated that they desired direct communication from the school such as e-mail blasts, text messages, and focused notices related to their child. Since fathers indicated that 32.0% were divorced or separated and almost half of the participating mothers were single, targeted communication to fathers as well mothers is necessary to encourage father involvement. School personnel reported communication is primarily sent to one set of parents as accurate 2-parent information is difficult. </p><p> The study provides recommendations to stimulate father engagement, such as staff should connect with fathers during child pick-up and after-school activities. Also, staff should create a father-friendly school environment and offer focused, task-oriented opportunities to involve fathers as well as social activities that attract mothers. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> father involvement, parent-school communication, family involvement, parenting.</p>

<p> Precision teaching (PT) is a measurement system used in multiple settings for all types of behavior, from driving to mathematics. The ultimate goal of PT is to develop fluent, free operant behaviors through analyzing response frequencies on a standard celeration chart. Research has found PT to be effective at improving both the speed and accuracy of academic skills. There is little research, however, in the effects of learning channels, a component of PT, as they relate to the acquisition of academic skills. The present study examined the relationship between single and multiple learning channels on the acquisition of mathematics skills by five 1^st graders in a public school setting. Implications related to universal designs for learning (UDL) utilized in educational environments are also discussed. </p>

<p> Self-efficacy affects the way a person decides to live his or her life. Efficacy can dictate whether a person takes a risk, can influence personal and professional goals, and can determine what a person does when failure arises. Strong self-efficacy includes perseverance, motivation, and courage to try an unfamiliar path. In education, efficacy is imbedded in a school environment. The areas of efficacy that co-exist in an educational setting are teacher efficacy, collective efficacy, and student efficacy. The focus of this study is the influence instructional coaching has on teacher efficacy and how that efficacy affects student achievement. Research indicates that there is a relationship between teacher efficacy and student achievement. The question is whether teacher efficacy is influenced by support from an instructional coach in a school setting. In this mixed methods study there were many indications to support the need for instructional coaching in an efficacious school system. Themes found in the interviews and teacher reflections indicated a strong need for effective school leadership, strong professional learning communities, supportive grade level teams, and instructional support found within an instructional coach. Use of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale along with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed the positive effects instructional coaching had on the instructional efficacy of the participants involved in this study. Finally, a paired samples <i>t</i>-test showed evidence of student achievement being affected by the support teachers received from the instructional coach. These topics remain relevant to the challenges facing teachers today who need ongoing instructional support to help them with implementation of state and federal mandates and educational standards.</p>

<p> Students with language-based learning disabilities (LD) increasingly are placed in inclusive classrooms to ensure they receive access to their grade level curriculum. However, inclusion alone is insufficient for addressing the specific learning challenges of students with language-based LD in general education settings (McLeskey &amp; Waldron, 2011). A need exists for additional strategies to increase on-task behavior and provide greater learning opportunities for students with LD in inclusive classrooms. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to examine the use of a drama intervention, tableau, to increase the on-task behavior of students in inclusive fourth-grade language arts classrooms at two urban elementary charter schools in the Mid Atlantic region. All of the students in the fourth-grade language arts classrooms participated in the tableau intervention, which consisted of students making still images with their bodies to represent a scene or explore a particular moment in a story. Observational data were collected on three students identified with language-based LD. Changes in students' on-task behavior within and across baseline, withdrawal, and tableau phases were examined in an ABAB withdrawal design. Visual analysis was employed to determine if there was a functional relation between tableau and an increase in students' on-task behavior during small group language arts lessons. Descriptive data were collected via audio digital recordings of story recalls to assess the three students' understanding of character traits and sequence of events. </p><p> Results indicated that participants' on-task behavior increased following the introduction of tableau and decreased following the withdrawal of tableau and return to conventional instructional strategies during small group language arts lessons. For all three participants, a functional relation was established between tableau and an increase in on-task behavior through a change in level and stability across phases. All three participants scored higher on the oral story recall assessment of character traits and sequence of events during the tableau intervention phases as compared to the baseline and withdrawal phases. These findings suggested the potential value of using drama interventions to increase the on-task behavior and provide greater learning opportunities for students with LD in inclusive language arts classrooms.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine whether Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) for writing could be used as a Tier 2 intervention to improve the writing of fifth grade students identified as performing below the 50^th percentile on AIMSweb curriculum-based measures of correct writing sequences (WE-CBM CWS). Results of RMANOVA indicated that students in the SRSD Group made significant improvements in their WE-CBM mean score compared to the Control Group from pre- to post-test. Additional analyses using a modified WE-CBM that added one minute for students to organize their writing thoughts (EWE-CBM) did not show significant improvements to mean CWS scores. Qualitative analyses indicated that the intervention teacher and SRSD students found the intervention method to be easy to follow, helped improve their writing, and that they will use it again in the future. Evidence from this study suggests that SRSD can be effectively used as a Tier 2 writing intervention within a multi-tiered system of supports model. The limitations and implications for practice are discussed.</p>

<p> This instrumental, collective, targeted case study explores decisions elementary preservice teachers make with respect to culturally responsive teaching through the lens of dialogic teaching. Most candidates currently enrolled in elementary teacher education programs in the United States are young, white, and female. Meanwhile, the population of students in U.S. schools grows increasingly diverse, leading to a widening cultural gap between teachers and many of their students. Many preservice teachers opt not to use culturally responsive instructional strategies, particularly those related to communication, also known as dialogic teaching practices, despite research indicating such practices foster improved academic achievement for all students-but especially for students of color who are typically underserved in U.S. schools. Who the preservice teachers are when they enter teacher education programs, their experiences inside and outside of school, plus factors as broad as the context of schooling in the United States to as narrow as the impact of one particular student in a classroom, influence the choices a preservice teacher makes when faced with a lesson to teach, a room full of young children, and a ticking clock. Explicating decisions made by preservice teachers through direct classroom observations, followed by one-on-one interviews, provides a glimpse into factors promoting or inhibiting participants' use of dialogic teaching strategies. This study is part of the larger effort to support student discourse and teacher preparation through the use of one component of culturally responsive instruction as viewed through the lens of dialogic teaching, thus addressing the need to better serve all children in our nation's schools. </p>

<p> Public Montessori schools have grown in number significantly in the United States. This case study chronicles the journey of teachers as they navigate the tension of balancing the Montessori approach with an accountability Standards model. Although Montessori may be in demand among parents in the nation, exhibited by the increase in public Montessori schools, this approach remains in the niche, or boutique, versus the big box of standards education. In this case study, teachers from a large standards-based school in transition to becoming a public Montessori school answered self-reflective survey questions and were observed in their classrooms to verify their responses. Using this approach, the teachers' practice and reflections were compared and contrasted against the teachers' proclaimed continuum for balancing the dual curriculums of Montessori and Standards-based instruction. Twelve teachers were then interviewed and observed to examine their ability to change. The descriptive feedback from these teachers gave insight into the challenges and successes of implementing complex instructional change. Among significant findings was that some teachers in a short time were able to successfully balance the two curriculum mandates. This study's results revealed that given a complex criteria of support, motivated and experienced teachers could implement this change. This study opens the possibility that under certain circumstances, Montessori boutique education could be replicated in a public Big Box way.</p>

Increased understanding of dietary habits of Aboriginal children can contribute to improved nutrition education programs. To determine correlates of high soft drink intake, high fruit intake and high vegetable intake, Aboriginal children in grades 4-6 from two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) communities completed classroom-administered questionnaires and participated in anthropometric measures and a run/walk fitness test. Independent correlates of high soft drink consumption identified by multivariate logistic regression included higher levels of television-watching, odds ratio [OR] 3.1, (95% confidence interval 1.5-6.4), and higher levels of physical activity, OR 3.0 (1.3-7.1) among girls, and increased video game-playing, OR 6.7 (1.8-25.5), and failing to meet the minimal fitness standard on the run/walk test, OR 2.2 (1.2-4.2), among boys. Independent correlates of high fruit consumption included each year of increasing age among boys OR 0.7 (0.5-1.0), and higher levels of physical activity among girls OR 4.0 (2.0-7.9) and boys OR 3.5 (1.5-7.7). Independent correlates of high vegetable intake included age among boys OR 0.7 (0.5-1.0), increased video game-playing among girls OR 4.5 (1.4-14.9), and higher levels of physical activity among girls OR 3.5 (1.5-7.7) and boys OR 2.8 (1.2-6.5). These findings suggest targets for interventions aimed at improving eating habits of Aboriginal children.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 247-265). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1994. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-04, Section: B, page: 2324. Chair: Frances Campbell LaVoie.