Today, many school districts are mandating tests to measure student performance and to hold individual schools and school systems accountable for that performance in order to meet the standards set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004). The focus of this study was to examine the relationship among cognitive ability as measured by the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and measures of achievement, specifically, standardized achievement scores on the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK) and school grades. The current study investigated archival data of 452 seventh grade students enrolled in a large, suburban public school district during the 2007-2008 school year. Scores on the CogAT and NJ ASK were collected from grades 3, 5, and 7. Final grades in the subject areas of Reading, Writing, Math, Social Studies and Science were collected from report cards from the end of seventh grade of the 2007-2008 school year. Pearson correlations found significant relationships between: (1) cognitive ability and standardized achievement scores in grades 3, 5, and 7, (2) third grade cognitive ability and grade seven grades, and (3) third grade standardized achievement scores and grade seven grades. Further, out of the five cluster scores on the grade 3 CogAT and NJ ASK, the NJ ASK Language Arts score was the best predictor of grades in Reading and Writing and the NJ ASK Mathematics score was the best predictor of grades in Math, Science, and Social Studies. Finally, third grade NJ ASK Language Arts, NJ ASK Mathematics and CogAT Verbal scores were the best predictors of special education classification in grade 7, accounting for a combined 22% of the variance. Limitations to the study and implications for future research and practice are discussed. / School Psychology

This study examined ethnic identity and academic achievement among urban African-American adolescents and investigated how bicultural competence may be related to these variables. There is a dearth of literature in school psychology on how these variables relate to best practices for closing the achievement gap. Seventy-two students in the sixth through eighth grades from three urban parochial schools and one urban charter school participated in the study including African Americans (n=43) and students of other ethnicities (n=29). Students included in the Other category included those who self-identified as Latino, Mixed, Other, Asian American, and Native American. The sample was 65.3% female (n=47) and 34.7% male (n=25) with students who ranged in age from 11 to 15 years of age. Using a correlational design, the participants were interviewed at their schools using a brief demographics questionnaire and the Revised Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM). Standardized test scores for each participant and information on socioeconomic status were also examined. No significant relationships were found between ethnic identity and any other variable in African-American adolescents or adolescents from other groups. As their grade levels increased, African-American students' levels of bicultural competence increased while their math achievement decreased. Students from other ethnicities who were high in bicultural competence had higher math achievement scores. Adolescent girls from the Other ethnicities group who were higher in bicultural competence tended to achieve more highly in math. Students from other ethnicities who were high in bicultural competence were less likely to receive free or reduced-price lunch. Students from other ethnicities whose parents were born in the United States were higher in bicultural competence than students in the same group whose parents were born outside the United States. This study indicated that academic achievement among urban adolescents can be consistent with a number of combinations of ethnic identities and levels of bicultural competence. The results of the present study suggest that, in order to help close the achievement gap, school psychologists and other decision makers should take socio-cultural and socioeconomic factors such as bicultural competence into consideration when making decisions for individual students and when affecting policy at the systems level. / School Psychology

School violence is a problem and particularly in Jamaica where it seems to be more pronounced in coeducational schools. Keen qualitative data garnering driven by the theory of symbolic interaction provides insight. Recently, Northern Caribbean University Radio announced that, in Jamaica, there is a high rate of violence in schools, and that there have been more reports of violence in coeducational schools than in single-sex schools (NCU Radio FM 91). We need to know is why this is the case? This qualitative research investigates the relationship between school structure and the incidences of violence. For a considerable period of time, the arm of the government, namely, the Ministry of Education, has been trying to stem the continuous wave of violence in schools, apparently with very little success. To date, coeducational schools have recorded more student violent activities than single-sex schools. This study will seek to ascertain why there is more violence in coeducational schools. The primary source of data for this study will be interviews with principals and vice principals, deans of discipline, guidance counselors and classroom teachers in both single-sex and coeducational schools. Another data source will be documents relating to violence in coeducational schools. / Educational Leadership

In the present study, we have explored the role of brand trust and consumer brand identification in evoking brand forgiveness when individuals are exposed to communications related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) wrongdoings. Grounded in attribution theory, we have developed and empirically tested a conceptual model to assess the effectiveness of brand trust in facilitating the attribution of wrongdoings either internally (e.g., believing that the brand had wrong intentions) or externally (e.g., believing that there are other factors beyond the brand's control) in influencing brand forgiveness. We conducted an online experiment utilizing Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to recruit participants from the U.S. national population (N = 620) following a quota sampling method. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed in Mplus to analyze the hypothesized direct and mediation relationships. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to test the moderating hypotheses in SPSS (i.e., the interplay of brand trust and consumer brand identification in influencing internal and external attributions). Supporting the hypotheses, we found that brand trust positively influenced external attribution and external attributions, evoking brand forgiveness when individuals are exposed to communications related to CSR wrongdoings. However, contrary to our expectation, we found that the brand trust positively influenced internal attribution which indicated that higher the degree of faith individuals had in the brands, higher their tendency was to consider the possibility that the brand was indeed involved in unethical CSR practices.

Master of Arts / Department of Geography / John A. Harrington Jr / Analysis of polling documents indicates how little most Americans know about the world. Geography education is the key to offsetting geographic illiteracy. Fortunately programs designed to improve K-12 geography education are growing in number and strength. How can we teach more and better geography within the school system? Given the dominant role of history in the K-12 social studies curriculum, use of the psychological theory of dual-encoding to integrate geography and history lesson planning is one approach to bring more geography into the classroom. As part of Kansas Geographic Alliance programmatic activity, Kansas history and geography standards, with emphasis on the tested standards, were assessed to identify candidate themes for development of dual-encoded educational units and associated lesson plans. Three workshops were delivered to share these dual-encoded units and lesson plans. The workshops were for education faculty, teachers getting in-service professional development, and for a group of pre-service teachers in a social studies methods class. Attendees at the workshops provided assessment and feedback of the material. Based on informal comments and written responses from the workshop attendees, it is concluded that dual-encoding will enable considerable progress in geography education. Not only will the knowledge provided demonstrate the impact and significance of geography to history teachers and their students, but dual-encoded lessons will advance teacher content and pedagogical knowledge, and most importantly students will learn both geography and history better.

Cette recherche a pour objectif de mieux explorer la problématique de l’intégration sociale et scolaire des jeunes immigrants, en nous penchant spécifiquement sur le vécu d'adolescents iraniens récemment arrivés au Québec. Nous tentons, entre autres, d’identifier les conflits de valeurs entre les parents et les adolescents d’une part, et de cerner les stratégies identitaires de ces adolescents face à ces conflits, d’autre part. Enfin, elle essaie de comprendre la perception des parents de ces adolescents envers ces enjeux. Dans cette étude, l’intégration sociale est principalement abordée sous l’angle des stratégies d’acculturation par le biais d’entrevues qualitatives auprès de quatorze jeunes de 13 à 18 ans ainsi que leurs parents (neuf). L’analyse des données démontre que ces jeunes ont un discours positif sur leur intégration scolaire et sociale. Le vécu familial et leurs choix de vie sont influencés essentiellement par leur milieu familial. L’influence de leurs amis – en général d’origine diversifiée – se limite à l’utilisation de leur temps libre. Ils croient aux valeurs traditionnelles iraniennes, tout en essayant d’être indépendants, libres et d’adopter un style de vie influencé par la société d’accueil qui peut conduire à des conflits potentiels avec leurs parents. Lorsque cela est le cas, les principales stratégies identitaires de ces jeunes sont celles de la cohérence complexe ou de la cohérence par modération des conflits de codes de vie. Par ailleurs, nous avons noté que le développement chez ces jeunes d’un sentiment d’appartenance à leur pays d’accueil repose principalement sur leur scolarisation. En résumé, nous pouvons constater que les jeunes d'origine iranienne, récemment arrivés au Québec, s’adaptent relativement facilement à leur nouvel environnement de vie tout en conservant leur attachement à leur culture d’origine. Ceci nous permet de conclure que leur processus d’intégration correspond peu à l’aliénation des jeunes musulmans maintes fois décrite dans la littérature internationale et nationale. Mots-clés : Intégration sociale et scolaire, conflits de valeurs, stratégies identitaires, adolescents, immigrants iraniens. / This exploratory research aims to study academic and social integration of teenagers of Iranian origin recently arrived in Québec. It attempts to identify conflicts of values between parents and these teenagers and to discover identity strategies of these teenagers vis-a-vis these conflicts. It also tries to identify the strategies used by these teenagers to attain social and academic integration in school. Moreover, we try to understand the perception of the parents of these teenagers towards these issues. In this study, social integration is mainly approached with respect to strategies of acculturation by conducting qualitative interviews with fourteen adolescents ages 13-18 and their parents (nine). The analysis of gathered data shows that these young people adapt easily to their new environment while preserving their attachment to their culture of origin. Their life choices are influenced essentially by their family environment. The influence of their friends, generally from diverse origins, mainly affects their leisure and use of free time activities. They believe in the Iranian traditional values while trying to be independent and free with a modern lifestyle, which can lead to potential conflicts with their parents. The preferred identity strategies of these teenagers are primarily those of complex coherence or coherence by moderation of the conflicts of codes. These young people have a positive opinion about their studies and do not seem to feel any conflict in their academic environment. In short, we can state that Iranian youth, recently arrived in Quebec, adapts relatively easily to their new living environment while conserving their attachment to their culture of origin. This enables us to conclude that their process of integration has little similarities with the alienation of Moslem youth often mentioned and described in the international and national literature. Keywords: Social and academic integrations, value conflict, identity strategies, adolescents, Iranian immigrants.

Les difficultés d’adaptation scolaire que peuvent développer les élèves dans une école secondaire entraînent bien souvent des conséquences. En effet, ces dernières peuvent mener au décrochage scolaire et parfois à l’adoption de comportements délinquants. L’instauration d’un suivi auprès d’élèves prend tout son sens lorsqu’il est question de difficultés d’adaptation. Ce suivi a été offert à cinq élèves présentant ces difficultés de l’école secondaire Honoré-Mercier de Montréal. Il y a deux objectifs à ce stage. Le premier vise une diminution des présences au local de retrait et le deuxième de diminuer les difficultés d’adaptation scolaire des élèves ciblés. L’atteinte de ces objectifs est considérée en fonction de données factuelles sur les présences au local de retrait, des résultats obtenus à un test standardisé, soit le Achenbach (Achenbach, 1991), mais également en fonction des perceptions des élèves et des professeurs sur le cheminement de l’élève. Les résultats illustrent que les élèves n’ont pas modifié significativement leur présence au local de retrait, que différentes problématiques définies dans le Achenbach ont été amplifiées tandis que d’autres ont été diminuées et que, finalement les élèves ont apprécié leur suivi puisque ce dernier les a amené à vivre des changements intrinsèques. Des conclusions découlent de l’analyse des résultats, soit concernant la durée des interventions et les problématiques présentes chez les élèves. Le rôle que peut assumer le criminologue dans le milieu scolaire est également abordé. Mots clés : adaptation, difficulté, scolaire, suivi, école, secondaire, adolescent / There can be many consequences when students have difficulties in adapting to the academic environment. They can lead to higher school dropout rates and to the adoption of delinquent behaviour. In the presence of adaptation difficulties, accompanying and monitoring the students is crucial. A monitoring program was offered to five Honoré-Mercier students presenting adaptation difficulties. The intervention program has two objectives. The first one is to decrease the number of classroom exclusions of those students. Another objective is to offer a place where they have the freedom to express their feelings openly. The results of the program are based on the number of classroom exclusion during the intervention. They are also measured on the results of an Achenbach test (Achenbach, 1991) and on the opinions of the students on their own progress. The results illustrate that the students did not significantly lower their number of classroom exclusion. They also show that some problems detected in the Achenbach test were amplified whereas types of problems decreased. Finally, the results show that students appreciated their follow-up because it allowed them to experience intrinsic changes. Based on these results, we can emit several hypotheses on the need to change the duration of the intervention or the problems experienced by the students. The potential contribution of a criminologist in an academic environment is also analyzed. Keywords: adaptation, difficulty, school, follow-up, secondary, teenager

Cette recherche qualitative de type exploratoire tente, à l'aide du discours de jeunes réfugiés, de comprendre de quelle manière leur parcours migratoire contribue à leur projet d'intégration et identitaire, notamment en saisissant leurs perceptions de leur situation actuelle, leurs rapports avec différents réseaux sociaux, l'impact de leur statut identitaire sur leur insertion scolaire, l'impact de leur statut d’immigrant sur les relations intrafamiliales comme sur leurs choix de relations avec les pairs et leur vision de leur futur. De plus, le but de ce mémoire est de poser un regard sur la mise en place de différentes formes de stratégies identitaires au sein de divers réseaux d'appartenance locaux ou transnationaux (école, religion, organismes communautaires, etc.). Afin de mieux comprendre cette réalité, encore peu traitée au Québec, de jeunes réfugiés âgés entre 15 et 21 ans ont été sollicités pour prendre la parole lors de deux entrevues semi-dirigées. Les données résultant des entrevues mettent en évidence une singularité des cas. Malgré tout, quelques tendances semblent ressortir dans le projet migratoire et d’intégration, tels que des trajectoires migratoires empreintes d’événements douloureux, des défis dans le parcours social et scolaire au Québec et une capacité à surmonter l’adversité dans des situations de contraintes répétitives. / The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to examine refugee youths’ immigration trajectories and their integration and identity work as newcomers to Quebec. Their perceptions were explored in terms of social integration, school integration, the development of peer networks, and their future outlook and aspirations. Employed identity strategies were explored in contexts such as schooling, religion, and community organizations. Five refugee youth, ranging in age from 15 to 21 years, were solicited for the study. They participated in two in-depth semi-structured interviews, facilitated by the use of personal artefacts and pictures. Results underline the uniqueness of each of the cases, both in terms of reasons for departure and subsequent trajectories and identity work. Despite this diversity, some commonalities could be noted. The immigration trajectories were emotionally charged and difficult for all youth interviewed. They all struggled with their social integration both within and outside of school, as well as in terms of ensuring continued academic success. Yet, they all exhibited the capacity to overcome adversity, despite repeated and on-going challenges, and showed much resilience. In terms of their identity strategies, some developed a hybrid identity, integrating past and current identity work into a coherent whole, while others were still in a stage of exploration or actively involved in working towards a coherent sense of self that could accommodate the complexity of their life experiences. Longitudinal studies are needed to document the development of identity strategies that facilitate refugee youths’ integration while ensuring on-going resilience, academic success and psychological well-being.

Bien que les facteurs de risque associés au faible engagement scolaire aient été largement étudiés, les mécanismes qui conduisent les enfants moins bien préparés pour l’école à se désengager dès le début de leur parcours scolaire demeurent méconnus. Une meilleure compréhension de ces mécanismes permettrait de prévenir le désinvestissement de ces élèves et favoriserait leur persévérance scolaire. Étant donné l’importance des relations sociales en début de scolarisation, la présente étude a pour objectif d’examiner dans quelle mesure la relation que l’élève entretient avec son enseignant en première année peut expliquer le lien entre la préparation à l’école en maternelle et l’engagement scolaire en deuxième année. Des régressions linéaires multiples hiérarchiques réalisées sur un échantillon de 1492 élèves québécois ont permis de vérifier cette hypothèse. Les résultats obtenus confirment que la relation maître-élève chaleureuse et conflictuelle permet d’expliquer le niveau d’engagement des élèves qui présentent une faible préparation à l’école lorsqu’ils entrent à la maternelle. Les implications pour la recherche et la pratique des intervenants en milieu scolaire seront discutées. / Risk factors associated with lower school engagement have been widely studied. Children entering school with lower levels of school readiness tend to be less engaged in school activities. However, the mechanisms leading those children to early disengagement are yet to be discovered. Better understanding these mechanisms could help prevent disengagement and school dropout. Social relationships are known to be of high importance, especially at school entry. Therefore, the present study will test if the teacher-student relationship in grade 1 can explain the association between school readiness in kindergarten and school engagement in grade 2. This hypothesis was verified using multiple linear regressions and a sample of 1492 French-canadian pupils. Results show that children’s readiness for school in kindergarten can predict their level of school engagement two years later. Furthermore, conflict and closeness in the teacher-student relationship are mechanisms which can explain this predictive relationship. Implications for further research and school intervention will be discussed.

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