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This study examines the pre-writing strategies and behaviors of three fifth grade students diagnosed as having learning disabilities as they participate in a process writing program which embeds elements of strategy intervention in a holistic environment. Five questions are posed, four of which relate to planning strategies, their effects on rough drafts, and whether or not either change over the course of one school year. The fifth question addresses change measured by standardized assessment. The Test of Written Language (Hammill & Larsen, 1983), a controlled writing sample, a concept interview, a brainstorm interview, the Manual Observation Form (Goodman, 1984) and actual writing samples are used to record and analyze data. Results show growth in strategy use, and in areas related to generation and organization of material. Results also show growth in students' positive attitudes toward writing. Findings support use of such a process writing approach with students who have difficulty achieving proficiency in written language. Specific implications for educators are discussed.

This study addressed four questions about bilingual first graders' Spanish and English retellings. First, how do their retellings change over the period of one school year? Second, how do their own Spanish and English retellings of the same story compare and contrast? Third, do English retellings influence Spanish retellings? Fourth, do Spanish retellings influence English retellings? The retellings were scored using a holistic measure. Nine bilingual first grade students were placed in two experimental groups based on teacher observation. The groups were comprised of a heterogenous mix of students and were similar to each other. The first graders' Spanish and English retellings improved over the school year. Their Spanish retellings consistently scored higher than their English retellings. The findings did not indicate an influence of Spanish retellings on English retellings. There was no influence of English retellings on Spanish retellings, except in one domain of the measure used.

This thesis is focused on residential and school energy conservation education programs in Tucson, Arizona. The major aim of the study is to determine the issues that should be considered when initiating a new energy conservation education program and/or evaluating an existing program. The methods, used in this study consist of: (1) Literature review, (2) Survey in form of questionnaire and personal interviews, and (3) Analysis of the existing energy conservation programs. The present study addresses the following objectives: (1) Analyze and evaluate selected school energy education programs, (2) Analyze and discuss the residential energy education programs, (3) Identify the effective methods used in energy conservation programs to educate the public about energy conservation techniques and, (4) Synthesize the lessons learned from evaluating energy conservation programs.

<p> Much attention has been paid to the current state of graduate business education, specifically the MBA degree, and the seeming disconnect between industry needs and what business schools are preparing MBA graduates for. A comprehensive study on the state of MBA education was completed in 2010 by Datar, Garvin, and Cullen (2010), the goal of which was to document the forces reshaping business education and the institutional responses to them, as well as provide suggestions on a path forward for MBA education. This research picked up where Datar et al. (2010) left off: the purpose of this study was to identify criteria for a new model MBA. The Datar et al. (2010) study defined the unmet needs, but what remained undefined were the (a) skills; (b) capabilities; and (c) techniques that are central to the practice of 21st century management, and the (d) values; (e) attitudes; and (f) beliefs that should be part of a 21st century leader's world-view and professional identity. This study used a qualitative approach to add meaning to the variables defined above; specifically interviews with 14 participants were used to gather perceptions of 21st century leadership and management from MBA stakeholders as part of an in-depth and detailed inquiry. This study also reviewed five Southern California business schools in order to identify best-practices curricula. Based on the data gathered in this study a new model MBA was posited. A discussion of the findings and the implications for MBA education was included in <i> Chapter 5.</i></p>

<p> Advanced Placement Statistics Teaching Knowledge Assessment Increasing student enrollment in high-school level Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics courses necessitates the need for teachers who are knowledgeable in the subject-area. However, no benchmark has been established that describes the amount or types of teaching knowledge that is required, or even desirable, of AP Statistics teachers. More specifically, there does not exist a criterion of reference to determine if an AP Statistics teacher does or does not possess the content-specific knowledge necessary to teach the subject. Therefore, a teacher may possess sufficient knowledge to teach mathematics but be deficient in the subject-specific knowledge necessary to teach AP Statistics. </p><p> This study had two main research goals. The first was to design an Advanced Placement Statistics Teaching Knowledge (APSTK) online assessment to investigate the content and pedagogical knowledge of secondary-level, in-service AP Statistics teachers. The second goal was to explore the relationships among individual teacher assessment scores and teacher characteristic variables including educational background, years of experience teaching AP Statistics, and a self-reported percentage of student success on the AP Statistics exam. </p><p> There were three primary methodological phases included in this study. Phase I consisted of item development and item-level analysis based on responses from a national sample of current AP Statistics teachers. Phase II consisted of completing a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to evaluate the results of a measurement model and structural model using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Phase III consisted of a multiple regression analysis to determine which teacher characteristic indicator variables predicted APSTK latent variable score (LVS). </p><p> Phase I resulted in a modified assessment with nine AP Statistics Content Knowledge (APSCK) and five AP Statistics Pedagogical Content Knowledge (APSPCK) multiple-choice items. Phase II produced a measurement model with acceptable fit, and proved that items designed to measure APSCK and APSPCK fit well within the model. In addition, a structural model produced good fit, and showed evidence that APSCK was a more reliable construct than APSPCK. However, APSPCK was found to be a stronger predictor of overall APSTK. Phase III concluded that a linear combination of teacher characteristic variables was a significant predictor of APSTK LVS. Specifically, the self-reported "Student Success on the AP Statistics Exam" variable was the only statistically significant variable in predicting APSTK LVS.</p>

An analysis of the 1991 Florida CLAST essay and reading subtest data reveals that only three Florida community colleges: Lake-Sumter Community College, St. Johns River Community College, and Indian River Community College reported the highest passing rates on both the essay and reading subtests. The other twenty-five community colleges in the state reported large differences in student passing rates between the essay subtest and the reading subtest. / The researcher also examined four other community colleges within the state: Chipola Junior College, Gulf Coast Community College, North Florida Junior College, and Lake City Community College. These four institutions reported large differences in the student passing rates between the CLAST essay subtest and the reading subtest. / The purpose of this study is to ascertain possible factors which contribute to the higher passing rates reported by L-SCC, SJRCC, and IRCC. The six factors are curricula required for A.A. degree-seeking students, reading materials, exiting CLAST policies, student entrance scores, and teaching strategies and teaching styles of the English departments. / An analysis of this data reveals that two factors are related to the superior CLAST performance of the students at L-SCC, IRCC, and SJRCC--Category 2 (curricula) and Category 3 (exiting CLAST policies). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-09, Section: A, page: 2695. / Major Professor: John Simmons. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The profession of social work has historically placed great emphasis on the centrality of values. However, there have been few empirical studies of specific values education strategies to enhance the professional socialization of social work students. This study assumes that the infused approach of values education is a "necessary but not sufficient" model. It highlights the development of an educational module teaching values integration to graduate social work students. This module integrates the dimensions of personal, social, political, and professional values. The Values Integration Pyramid (VIP) module is theoretically grounded, and incorporates Jack Mezirow's (1991) Transformation Theory, one of the newer adult learning theories. / A quasi-experimental design was utilized to examine the effectiveness of the VIP module. The study also describes the differences among values that entering two-year MSW students enrolled in an introductory practice course at a southern university bring to social work education. Concurrence with social work values was measured by the Professional Opinion Scale (POS) developed by Abbott (1988). The association of students' political philosophy and previous exposure to oppression content course(s), and concurrence with social work values is examined. / ANOVA and ANCOVA procedures did not identify a significant intervention effect of the VIP module. Students' political philosophy and oppression course(s) exposure were found to be associated with social work value concurrence when examined through biserial correlation. Further development of the VIP module is needed, along with continuing research in values education strategies' effectiveness. Additionally, values research is needed to examine differential strategies with students of varying political philosophies. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2735. / Major Professor: Linda Vinton. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The original purpose of this study was to explore an alternative concept for selecting multicultural literature for secondary schools in Trinidad, a pluralistic country. The investigator studied models of instruments that are used to select multicultural literature in pluralistic countries, such as Great Britain, Canada, Australia and the United States, where Multicultural Education has been instituted. It was the investigator's intention to create a model for selecting multicultural literature suited to Trinidad's multicultural needs. / The investigator found that no instrument could be sensitized to all human variables, hence the reason that selected literature is often censored. Censorship has no place in intellectual growth and is definitely contrary to the purpose for multicultural literature which seeks to educate about as many cultures as possible. The recommendation, then, is for teachers to prepare to teach their students about culturally sensitive aspects that may appear in the literature being taught. In this way, teachers will not impinge upon the intellectual growth of their students. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-10, Section: A, page: 3083. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

This study assessed the impact of Greek bilingual education programs on (1) the academic achievement of students who attend Greek language schools and Greek bilingual programs, (2) the ability of these students to speak the Greek language; and (3) the ethnic identity and self-concept of the Greek-American students. / The general hypothesis of the study was that Greek-American students who attend Greek schools or Greek bilingual programs will have higher academic achievement, better language preservation and more positive self-concept than those who do not attend such schools. The major purpose of the study was to determine whether Greek bilingual education would prove effective in increasing the Greek-American students' knowledge and ethnic identity. / The study took place in Chicago. The instruments of the study were two questionnaires and a language test. The first questionnaire was the Student Greek Language Attitude Questionnaire (SGLAC) and was used to measure the attitude towards the Greek language. The second questionnaire was the Greek American Student Culture Attitude Inventory (GSCAI), and was used to measure Greek-American students' attitudes toward and knowledge of the Greek culture. The Regents Comprehensive Examination in Modern Greek was used to assess student proficiency in modern Greek. The instruments were administered to two groups of students who attend Greek bilingual schools and students who attend monolingual schools. Also, student school records were obtained to ascertain the academic achievement of students. The size of the sample was exactly 139 students of seventh and eighth grade. All subjects were approximately of equal socioeconomic status. / The collected data were analyzed through quantitative procedures, such as t-test and chi-square analyses. The findings of the study indicated that there were significant differences between Greek-American students who attend Greek schools or Greek bilingual programs and Greek-American students who attend English monolingual schools. / Overall, Greek-American students who attend Greek schools or Greek bilingual programs have higher academic achievement in all the academic areas of study: math, English, social studies, and science. Also they have better preservation of the Greek language and more positive self concept towards their ethnic identity and culture, than Greek-American students who do not attend Greek schools or Greek bilingual programs. / A significant finding is that Greek bilingual education has positive effects on pupils' educational development. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-02, Section: A, page: 0416. / Major Professor: Byron G. Massialas. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.