Rambo-Hernandez and McCoach's analysis into the longitudinal growth of high-achieving students offered two conclusions about the reading growth of high achieving students: high-achieving students lose less ground in reading during the summer, but they exhibit less growth over the school year. This study will seek to replicate the reading results of the Rambo-Hernandez and McCoach's study and include an analysis of mathematics growth with initially high-achieving, third grade students in both the school and summer months. Through a three-level hierarchical linear model covering 1541 third graders, this study analyzes the differences between the school year and summer growth rates of the high-achieving students against other students that scored above the mean on MAP assessments. Students identified as being in the top 10% nationally at the start of the third grade grew less over the course of the school year compared to their peers in both mathematics and reading but showed signs of accelerated growth at the end of the study.

Though research suggests that several factors are related to the onset of leadership, few researchers have endeavored to determine how these factors may interact to bring about early leadership development. A descriptive discriminant analysis was conducted to test the validity of early factors cited by Murphy and Johnson; namely, lower scores on measures of temperamental negative affect, higher scores of temperamental extraversion, effortful control, orienting sensitivity, authoritative parenting style, secure adult attachment, older relative age, and more reported team sports and extracurricular activities experiences were hypothesized to predict current and past leaders versus never leaders. Additional analyses investigated possible gender differences in how these early factors may predict leader occupancy. The results indicate that early factors are able to predict leadership status for male students, though a majority of the variance in leader status is still left unaccounted. Implications for future leadership development research and training are discussed.

<p>The dramatic underrepresentation of Alaska Natives in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees and professions calls for rigorous research in how students access these fields. Research has shown that students who complete advanced mathematics and science courses while in high school are more academically prepared to pursue and succeed in STEM degree programs and professions. There is limited research on what motivates precollege students to become more academically prepared before they graduate from high school. In Alaska, Alaska Native precollege students regularly underperform on required State of Alaska mathematics and science exams when compared to non-Alaska Native students. Research also suggests that different things may motivate Alaska Native students than racial majority students. Therefore there is a need to better understand what motivates Alaska Native students to take and successfully complete advanced mathematics and science courses while in high school so that they are academically prepared to pursue and succeed in STEM degrees and professions. </p><p> The Alaska Native Science &amp; Engineering Program (ANSEP) is a longitudinal STEM educational enrichment program that works with Alaska Native students starting in middle school through doctoral degrees and further professional endeavors. Research suggests that Alaska Native students participating in ANSEP are completing STEM degrees at higher rates than before the program was available. ANSEP appears to be unique due to its longitudinal approach and the large numbers of Alaska Native precollege, university, and graduate students it supports. ANSEP provides precollege students with opportunities to take advanced high school and college-level mathematics and science courses and complete STEM related projects. Students work and live together on campus during the program components. Student outcome data suggests that ANSEP has been successful at motivating precollege participants to successfully complete advanced high school and college-level mathematics and science courses prior to high school graduation. </p><p> This study was designed to examine the motivations of Alaska Native high school students who participated in the ANSEP Precollege components to take advanced mathematics and science courses in high school or before college. Participants were 30 high school or college students, 25 of whom were Alaska Native, who were currently attending or had attended Alaska Native Science &amp; Engineering Program (ANSEP) Precollege components in high school. Self-determination theory was used as this study&rsquo;s theoretical framework to develop the semi-structured interview questions and also analyze the interviews. A thematic approach was used to analyze the interviews. The results of this study indicated that ANSEP helped the Alaska Native high school students gain a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in order to be motivated to take advanced mathematics and science courses in high school or before college. In particular, Alaska Native high school students described that relatedness was an important element to them being motivated to take advanced mathematics and science courses. More specifically, participants reported that the Alaska Native community developed at the ANSEP Building and the relationships they developed with their Alaska Native high school peers and staff played an influential role in the motivation of these students. These findings are important because research suggests that autonomy and competence are more important elements than relatedness because they generate or maintain intrinsic motivation. Alaska Native high school students reported that ANSEP was more successful in helping them gain a sense of competence and relatedness than at helping them gain a sense of autonomy. More specifically, the reason the participants did not feel ANSEP developed their sense of autonomy was because ANSEP restricted their actions during the ANSEP Precollege study sessions. </p><p> My study implies that Alaska Native students need to feel like they belong in order to be motivated to take and succeed at taking advanced mathematics and science courses. Educators and STEM program leaders should incorporate elements of belonging into the educational environments they develop for their Alaska Native students. Future research should be conducted to determine if other racial minority students need to feel like they belong in order to be motivated to take and succeed at taking advanced mathematics and science courses. </p><p> My study also indicated that Alaska Native students were motivated to take advanced mathematics and science courses by knowing ANSEP would support them in future programming because of its longitudinal approach. Funding agencies of STEM programs should consider funding programs that provide a longitudinal approach to help Alaska Native students&rsquo; sense of competence grow. Future research should include studying other STEM programs to determine if they are motivating their students to take and succeed in advanced mathematics and science courses. </p>

The purpose of this study was to evaluate current practice of using profile analysis of the WISC-III in the diagnosis of processing deficit in earning disabled students. The types of processing deficit prescribed by school psychologists were examined. The validity of the profile analysis approach in processing deficit diagnosis was investigated. Statistical profile analysis, Cattel's r(p(k)) coefficient, and cluster analysis were used to determine whether the mean WISC-III subtest profiles differ among different processing deficit subgroups, and to determine whether individuals diagnosed with the same processing deficit have similar WISC-III profiles. This study was conducted on a sample of 134 non-Hispanic White students identified as learning disabled in a school district in the West Coast area. The results found numerous types of processing deficit, which were not limited to the eight types defined by the school district. About 50% of the individuals were identified with just one processing deficit, while the other half had two or more processing deficits in combination. In addition, the most frequently diagnosed processing deficits were deficits in auditory processing, visual processing and sensory-motor integration. The mean group profiles of the two largest groups with Auditory Processing Deficit (APD) and Visual Processing Deficit (VPD) were compared using the statistical profile analysis technique. The results showed that the mean profiles of the two groups are not parallel. Based on Cattel's r(p(k)) coefficient, both APD and VPD individuals resemble their own mean group profile more than the other group. However, only 52.5% of individuals matched the mean profile of the group in which they were diagnosed. A similar finding was found in cluster analysis. Only 50% of individuals could be correctly classified into their processing deficit groups based on profile similarities. These findings suggested that only half of the individuals diagnosed with the same processing deficit have similar WISC-III subtest profiles. Caution should be exercised in using the diagnostic information and the use of profile analysis technique in making processing deficit diagnosis. Future studies should be conducted to determine the validity of the various processing deficit diagnoses, and how they are related to the WISC-III subtests.

This research considers the relationship between possession centrality to self and perceptions of control on the antecedents, events, and consequences of the disposition, separation, giving up, and loss of possessions. The following dispositional behaviors are explored: (1) etic motivations of disposition; (2) methods of disposition; (3) emotional reactions to disposition; (4) etic meanings of disposition; and (5) replacement factors. Structured by a two-by -two, within-subjects research design, survey questionnaires and in-depth interviews are used to elicit retrospective data concerning four dispositional experiences--one from each cell in the research design. These data are then compared between high and low centrality possessions, high and low control dispositions, and their interactions. Although this study is exploratory, it provides suggestive evidence that possession centrality and perceptions of control are key dimensions which affect dispositional experiences. Furthermore, methods of disposition, possession types, and transitional events appear to coincide with these dimensions.

Nine psychological techniques used in the rehabilitation of injured athletes were assessed. Fifteen athletic trainers and 68 athletes were asked to rate how valuable each technique was, how skillful the trainer was in using each technique, and how often each technique was used in treatment. A 3 x 11 x 2 (question type x technique x subject type) MANOVA revealed significant main effects for question type F(2,134) = 26.71, p .001 and technique F(10,670) = 15.56, p .001, but not for subject type F(1,67) = 1.81, p =.183. Techniques were more highly valued and trainers were more skilled in employing them than they were used (p .05 for both). Techniques most valued were communicating openly, goal setting, monitoring self talk, emotional counseling, crisis counseling, pain management and relaxation techniques; least valued were breathing techniques and imagery. These findings support the position that psychological interventions are an important part of the rehabilitation of injured athletes.

This study examined people's attitudes regarding varying cases of sexual harassment in the workplace. The study attempted to determine if sexual harassment could be classified in a manner similar to drinking on the job and/or plagiarism of a colleague's work. The participants in this study (n = 252) voluntarily completed one version of the self-designed questionnaire, which consisted of four different versions. Each form contained directions, three hypothetical case scenarios, and request for demographic information. Following each scenario, participants responded to closed-ended questions about recommended consequences for, and seriousness of, the conduct described. Results, which were yielded through T-tests and chi-squares, demonstrated that certain cases of sexual harassment were viewed to be as serious, if not more so, than examples of intoxication and plagiarism. Further, findings indicated that implementation of similar consequences would be suitable for these inappropriate types of behavior at work.

This is a pre-test, post-test with a comparison and treatment group study surrounding sexual diversity in residence halls at The University of Arizona. The study starts at the beginning of an academic year with an anonymous Diversity Questionnaire for all residents in two similar residence halls. Both halls are coeducational and similar in student population, age, size and location. Each hall's residents were asked to complete the questionnaire to be scored. One hall's (Graham/Greenlee) Resident Assistants were told of the results and asked to prioritize their programming to include sexual diversity issues. The other hall's (Apache/Santa Cruz) questionnaires were scored, but no results will be disclosed and, therefore, no special programming took place. At the end of the academic year, the questionnaire was repeated in both halls and compared to the beginning of the year questionnaire results to show changes in attitudes towards sexual diversity.

Fifty-five fathers and 90 mothers in Taiwan were studied to test if there were any parental factors related to their parenting knowledge, knowledge of child development, and childrearing involvement. The data were collected by the Personal Information Questionnaire, Parenting Knowledge Questionnaire, Knowledge of Child Development Inventory, and Childrearing involvement Questionnaire. The parents' educational level, parental occupation, and parenting training experience were found to be positively related to the parents' level of parenting knowledge, knowledge of child development, and childrearing involvement. Positive relationships were also indicated between the annual family income of parents and their level of parenting knowledge, knowledge of child development. However, the parental age and the parents' childrearing experience existed negative relationships with their level of parenting knowledge and childrearing involvement in the study.

The purpose of the study was to examine the factor structure of the Social Skills Scale of the Social Skills Rating System-Parent (SSRS-P) (Gresham & Elliott, 1990) on a group of Navajo American parents. The SSRS-P Social Skills Scale was administered to a parent or a close relative of 218 Navajo children aged five through 8 years to assess children's social skills at home setting. The four-factor structure of the scale administered Gresham and Elliott (1990) was tested on this data using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The estimation results demonstrated that the four-factor structure was not supported by the data. Modifications to the four-factor structure models resulted in five factors. The estimation results indicated that the five factors fit the data very well, suggesting that the factor structure of the scale may differ for this population.