Venn diagrams were invented by John Venn in 1880 as an aid in logical reasoning. Since then, the diagrams have been used as an aid in understanding and organization for widely diverse audiences (e.g., elementary school children, business people) and widely diverse content areas (e.g., self-improvement courses, statistics). In this dissertation, Venn diagrams are used to illustrate and explain variable relationships. There are three main foci: (a) correlation and interaction, (b) variables and Venn diagrams, and (c) reliability and Venn diagrams. Confusion between correlation and interaction is explained, and the multicollinearity problem is illustrated using a Venn diagram composed of three circles and a horse-shoe shaped figure. Venn diagrams are presented for these variables: moderator; concrete and hypothetical intervening; component; traditional, negative, and reciprocal suppressor; covariate; disturbance; and confound. Venn diagrams are also used to differentiate among within-subjects, between-subjects, and reliability designs. Last, a detailed example, which assumes basic knowledge of classical test theory and generalizability theory, is presented to help illustrate, using Venn diagrams, the role of error variance in performance assessments. Evaluation based on comments of 13 American Educational Research Association, Division D, listserve members and 7 non-members was positive, and interest in the topic was shown by over 100 visits to the website where a portion of the dissertation was posted.

The focus of this study was to manipulate factors to determine whether mental representation of logical problems differed by culture. The cultural differences hypothesis suggests that Anglo students would be more likely to have a linear representation (e.g., arranging objects that differ in a "line" mentally) whereas Hispanic students would have a nonlinear (pivot) representation. The results indicated that Hispanic children solved questions better if they appeared in a pivotal format, whereas Anglo children performed better if the stimuli were presented in a linear method. With grade level children improved upon the linear format. This suggests that there may be differences in mental representations of objects for Hispanic children that is influenced by acculturation.

The primary rationale for the study was to empirically test a conceptual model that identifies the relationship between wayfinding, spatial, and scholastic abilities. Wayfinding and spatial abilities were assessed in 120 University of Arizona introductory psychology students ranging in age from 17 to 36 years. Participants completed a lengthy test battery of wayfinding and spatial abilities tasks. Tasks included the computer-generated arena task, the computer-generated maze task, a Background Information Questionnaire, the Taxi Cab Task, the performance subtests from the WAIS-III, the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, and the Object Relations Task. A structural equations model showed that spatial abilities predict wayfinding ability (β = .68, p < .05) and that scholastic aptitude predicts spatial abilities (β = .45, p < .05), but not wayfinding ability (β = -.27, ns). The data more than adequately fit the theory-driven conceptual model (CFI = .971; χ² = 36.794; p < 30). In addition, several first-order factors of spatial abilities proved reliable and highly correlated to their indicators (i.e., the WAIS-III performance subtests). Findings from this study suggest that a theory-driven conceptual model provides useful predictive information about the relationship between wayfinding and spatial abilities factors. Moreover, the evidence supports, and hopefully inspires, advocacy for an interdisciplinary approach to studying the relationship between wayfinding and conceptually related cognitive processes.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of critical thinking instruction on the music listening skills of fifth grade students as measured by written responses to music listening examples. It was hypothesized that music listening instruction including opportunities for critical thinking (Critical Thinking Instruction, CTI) would be more effective than parallel instruction without critical thinking instruction (Activity-Based Instruction, ABI). CTI consisted of four components: musical terms and concepts, repeated music listening examples, responding activities, and opportunities for critical thinking. In contrast, ABI consisted of three components: musical terms and concepts, repeated music listening examples, and responding activities; ABI did not include opportunities for critical thinking. Both CTI and ABI treatments were taught concurrently by the same music teacher at the same school in a series of sixteen (16) forty-five (45) minute lessons. Two intact classes of subjects were randomly assigned to the CTI and the ABI treatment groups (n = 41 and 40, respectively). "Thinking and Listening," a researcher-designed dependent measure, was administered as a pretest and a posttest. Subjects' written responses were classified into three categories (i.e. musical, affective, or associative) and scored by three independent judges. Additionally, the Musical Aptitude Profile (Gordon, 1967/1995) was administered as a covariate. Significant disordinal interaction effects in subjects' responses by test by treatment were found such that CTI subjects demonstrated greater gains in musical term, associative, and total response scores from pretest to posttest than did ABI subjects. Additionally, significant main effect differences between treatment groups were found such that CTI subjects demonstrated higher musical term, affective, associative, and total response scores than did ABI subjects. Significant main effect within group differences were also found such that CTI subjects demonstrated significantly higher musical term, affective, associative, and total response scores on the posttest as compared to the pretest, while no significant main effect differences were found in ABI subjects' response scores. The positive effects of the CTI treatment, however, should be interpreted with caution based on larger than expected standard deviations and departures from normal distributions. Implications include designing music listening instruction to incorporate critical thinking skills.

The present study extends the previous one-way ANOVA multiple-comparison findings of Meyers and Beretvas (2003) to interaction comparisons in factorial ANOVA designs, one-factor MANOVA comparisons, and tests of partial regression coefficients in multiple regression, in specific regard to the practical utility of modified (sequential) Scheffe-based procedures. Researchers who are concerned with maintaining familywise Type I error rates while increasing statistical power are encouraged to consider these improved multiple-comparison methods.

In this study the relationship between self-efficacy, self-evaluation, causal attribution and emotions of 300 female students at the United Arab Emirates University is explored. The congruence between teacher evaluation of students and students' evaluation of their own performance in the past, present, and the future is investigated. Students completed the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and the Self-Efficacy and Attribution of Academic Self-Evaluation Questionnaire (SEAASE-Q). Results of the study indicated significant correlations between the variables. Analysis of variance revealed no differences between teacher evaluation of students and students' evaluation of their own academic performance in the past. However, significant differences were found between teacher evaluation of students and students' evaluation of academic performance in the present and the future. Also, significant differences were found between low, moderate, and high self-efficacious students in self-evaluation ability and their evaluation of assignments and predicted final grade for the course. Seventeen strategies of academic self-evaluation were reported in the interview. The consistency of students' feeling about their academic self-evaluation is discussed. Implications for self-efficacy, self-evaluation, causal attribution and emotion are discussed.

The Children's Self-Perception Scale (CSPS), an instrument to measure self-perceived gender identity in school age children, was developed based on the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974). The children's scores on the CSPS were correlated with two measures of educational achievement, grade point average (GPA) and Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS; Hieronymus, et al., 1986) to determine the relationship between femininity and masculinity in males and females and educational achievement. The subjects were 950 third, fourth, and seventh grade students from two school districts. The majority of students was Hispanic. The CSPS was not able to differentiate reliably between masculinity and femininity; reliabilities for the CSPS ranged from .17-.78. Although results were inconsistent across grades, significant (p<.05) positive correlations were found between femininity and GPA, .25, and masculinity and achievement (.23-.31) for seventh graders in only one district. Several possible explanations for the non-significance and inconsistencies are explored.

The present study examined the possible predictors of precocious sexual behavior in 418 sibling pairs between the ages of 10 and 17. Sexual behavior was measured on a continuum ranging from dating to intercourse. Specific predictors examined included pubertal development, pubertal timing, parental affection, and the personality constructs under-control and extraversion. In addition, several moderating effects between the predictors were tested, none of which were significant. As an additional analysis, this study also examined the effects of precocious sexual activity among one sibling on the other sibling. Results revealed different predictive patterns for males than for females. For males, the personality variables proved to be the strongest predictors of precocious sexual behavior; whereas for females, pubertal timing, extraversion, and parental affection were the strongest predictors. Among sibling pairs, precocity of one sibling was most often the strongest predictor of precocious sexual behavior in the other sibling.

<p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the teaching practice and educational beliefs of four middle grades teachers who were identified as effective in forging relationships with their students. In this study, relational expertise is defined as the ability to create a positive connection with students, one in which students feel recognized and valued as individuals. This research answers questions concerning (a) how the teachers define teacher-student relationships, (b) how and why they use relational skills in classrooms, (c) the strategies they use for developing and maintaining relationships and (d) the outcomes of relational teaching they identify. </p><p> Data collection included interviews and classroom observations of teacher participants and the collection of documentary evidence such as teacher evaluations and photographs of classroom artifacts. The data were analyzed and the cases were compared in a search for themes and patterns. The case studies were written as narrative portraits to record the thoughts and classroom experience of the participants and to provide a detailed view of their principles in action. Their stories provide a sense of what it is like to experience the classroom operations of the participants and allow the teachers to explain the rationale for what they do. </p><p> The participant teachers care deeply about the well-being and healthy development of students and strive to provide a nurturing classroom climate that meets the students&rsquo; psychological as well as cognitive needs. Their use of immediacy behaviors and other relationship-establishing techniques was a result of their personal beliefs about effective teaching.</p>

<p> Teacher attrition has become a concern at local, state, and national levels. As a result, a number of researchers have examined the factors that affect teacher job satisfaction and retention. However, in spite of all the efforts in research to find a solution, problems associated with teacher attrition have not significantly improved. This study was developed to examine new teachers' job satisfaction as based on their perceptions of principals' transformational and transactional leadership behaviors. Hezberg, Maunser, and Snyderman's 2-factor theory and Burns's and Bass's transformational and transactional leadership theory guided the research questions. A convenience sample of 71 new teachers with 1 to 3 years of experience participated in this study. Instruments used to collect data for the study were the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Job Satisfaction Survey. Pearson product-moment correlations and partial correlational methods were employed to examine the relationships between the variables. Findings revealed statistically significant positive relationships between new teachers' perceptions of principals' transformational leadership behavior and their overall job satisfaction. Further, the findings showed that perceptions of more transactional leadership behavior were significantly and negatively related to their overall job satisfaction. Results suggest that organizational leaders who adopt the transformational leadership model and implement effective leadership practices can cultivate positive change within the organization through the development of a team-centered environment that fosters inclusion, support, growth, recognition, stability, and satisfaction. </p>