<p> The quality of early caregiving and educational environments has a significant effect on children&rsquo;s later cognitive outcomes. Early childhood teachers are an important determining factor in the quality of these environments. Due to inconsistencies in practice across the early childhood field, there is a call for better prepared teachers. Teacher preparation itself is criticized for its lack of innovative and effective practices. While research finds that more effective teacher preparation programs are those that are steeped in clinical practice, these types of experiences are inconsistent and fragmented in the early childhood field. Part of the issue is the lack of knowledge on how to integrate highquality clinical experiences carefully into early childhood teacher preparation in order to prepare all preservice teachers successfully for the classroom. </p><p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to propose a middle-range, systematic theory for the types of practices and ideologies that the most successful early childhood teacher education programs use to prepare their preservice teachers for the education profession. A more focused purpose of this grounded theory study was to describe the ways in which early childhood preservice teachers learn about children&rsquo;s cognitive development as well as how they describe their application of this knowledge to developmentally appropriate pedagogical practices. A secondary purpose of this study was to examine these various clinical models as described by experts in the field. Analysis was completed on semi-structured interviews with preservice teachers and faculty members, open-ended surveys completed by preservice teachers, and university documents. As a result of rigorous data analysis, a theory emerged to explain clinical practice at three model early childhood teacher preparation programs. Findings suggest that there are seven layers of strength that contribute to the model programs&rsquo; expertise in preparing their preservice teachers. This study is significant in that it reports researchbased elements that may contribute to policy regarding models for teacher preparation and meaningful clinical experiences.</p>

<p> Given the disproportionate numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs) in Special Education, the method by which students are being assessed for Special Education must be examined further. Because these practices have real consequences for students&rsquo; educational placements in schools, it is necessary to understand what factors are important in conduction a non-discriminatory assessment.</p><p> Currently, there is literature on how to conduct a non-discriminatory assessment; however, there is very little information known about how these practices are or are not being implemented in the schools. As such, the purpose of this study is to utilize a survey study to gain an understanding of what is the school psychologist&rsquo;s role in the evaluation of Spanish speaking English Language Learners for Special Education in the schools.</p><p> Based on the findings of this study, there is a need for a formal training for school psychologist once they are out in the field. Currently, the majority of the training received was through their graduate program. Furthermore, there is a need for a formal training or certification for bilingual school psychologists. Due to the limited number of bilingual school psychologist in the field, formal training must also be developed for interpreters working with monolingual school psychologists on non-discriminatory assessments.</p>

PRELIS and LISREL 7 were used to test an on-campus interview model. The model consisted of five latent variables (1) resume, (2) cognitive aptitude, (3) face-to-face interview/likability, (4) self/employer fit, and (5) overall performance of the interviewee. Based on fit information, thirteen successive modifications were made to the model. The hypothesized model was not positive definite, hence, three error terms were constrained. In Model 3 two variables were dropped from the 15 variable model. Model 7 proved to be the best model. It examined the influence of two pre-interview exogenous variables (resume, cognitive aptitude) on the endogenous variables (face-to-face/likability, self/employer fit, overall performance of the interviewee). The influence of face-to-face/likability and self/employer fit significantly influenced the interviewees' overall interview performance. It was found that the paths from resume and self/employer fit to interviewee's overall performance were significant. However, the paths from cognitive aptitude to self/employer fit and likability to overall performance were not significant. / A multi-group analysis was attempted in order to determine the fit of the model with regard to gender and selection. However, the covariance matrices for the analysis of gender and selection were not positive definite. Therefore, it was not possible to examine gender or selection differences in the model. Based on the findings of this investigation, implications for practice are given. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2468. / Major Professor: E. J. Burkhead. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This study applies the process of learning through imitation as defined in Albert Bandura's social learning theory to an analysis of social movement and integration in Moliere's plays. / Bandura's theory discusses the role of observation and imitation in learning. Bandura developed four parameters necessary for accurate observation and imitation of behavior to occur. These parameters are called attentional, retention, motor reproduction, and motivational processes. Briefly, these processes state that the behavior to be imitated must be at the correct level of complexity for the observer; that the observer must pay attention to significant features of the behavior to be imitated, and must be at an appropriate level of confidence and maturation; that the observer must be physically capable of reproducing the imitated behavior if necessary; and that the observer must receive some reward or reinforcement to perform the imitated behavior. / Moliere's plays depict the social structure in France in the seventeenth century. This was a period of intense social advancement, particularly for the bourgeois who were gaining economic strength and attempting to infiltrate the ranks of the nobility. One method of social advancement rested in the imitation of the language, dress and behavior patterns of the upper class. / This study examined social advancement in three Moliere plays using the processes in Bandura's theory. It was discovered that in Les Precieuses ridicules imitative acquisition and performance were inhibited. In Les Femmes savantes, some imitative acquisition and performance were demonstrated. In Les Fourberies de Scapin, imitative acquisition and performance were achieved. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-04, Section: A, page: 1346. / Major Professor: William Cloonan. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The study investigated an hypothesized relationship between level of vocational identity and degree of congruence between expressed and measured vocational aspirations of a nonrandom sample of 182 juniors and seniors majoring in electrical and mechanical engineering at The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Vocational identity was measured with the Vocational Identity Scale of the My Vocational Situation, The Self-Directed Search was used to capture measured vocational aspirations and expressed aspirations were captured with the Engineering Aspirations Checklist, an instrument based on a model of engineering occupations developed for the study and assigned three-letter codes based on John Holland's (1985a) typology of vocational personalities and work environments. / Results did not support the hypothesis. While the model of engineering occupations developed for the study appeared to be a useful way of classifying engineering occupations, the codes assigned to the production and management categories appeared to be erroneous. While students aspiring to production careers appeared to be a cohesive group, students aspiring to management were more diverse in terms of personality type, indicating a possible dichotomous orientation towards Enterprising or Investigative occupations among students in this group. Analyses of Variance indicated that vocationally undecided students were significantly lower in level of vocational identity than students aspiring to management. Analyses of Variance indicated no significant differences in level of vocational identity for demographic groups, however, a two-tailed t-test indicated that Asians were significantly lower in level of vocational identity than Caucasians. Implications and suggestions for further research are included. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2480. / Major Professor: David W. Leslie. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the higher order thinking skills utilized by high school students as they use information to write research papers. The study explores the problems in thinking encountered by the students throughout the research process and the decisions they made concerning the process. It relates thinking to strategies students employ throughout and to the stages through which they progress as they conduct research and compose research papers. / A field study was conducted over a three-month period with grade 11 International Baccalaureate students in a high school in Alberta, Canada. Three research assignments were carried out by the students during this time. Data were collected from thirty-four participants using participant observation, interviews, documents, and think-aloud protocols. The analytical method of constant comparison was used to determine trends and patterns. / A model was developed of thinking during information use. It demonstrates how five characteristics of thinking found in the context of information use are interrelated. The model demonstrates how the following findings are linked: (1) thinking is carried out intuitively, without awareness of the processes involved; (2) thinking can be carried out for purposes that are external or internal to the information; (3) the thinking processes described by Bloom's taxonomy are carried out continually throughout the various stages of the research process; (4) the complexity of usage of thinking skills is affected by the nature of the information question; (5) an orientation towards process or product also influences the level of complexity of thinking. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2367. / Major Professor: Elisabeth Logan. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The research literature has established a solid link between early development of phonological awareness and subsequent development of beginning reading skills. In addition to the empirical data obtained from longitudinal-correlational studies, training studies have indicated that the relationship is a causal one. The training studies have reported that it is possible to increase phonological awareness skills through training and that the training has an effect on subsequent acquisition of beginning reading skills. Few studies, however, have reported individual differences in response to phonological awareness training. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine which child characteristics would predict response to a twelve-week phonological awareness training program. One hundred kindergarten children participated in the study. Sixty children received phonological awareness training, while forty children served as a no-treatment control group. An analysis of covariance verified that the training had an effect on the children's phonological awareness skills. Once group-level differences were obtained, correlates of growth were examined by analyzing individual growth curves with hierarchical linear models. The best predictor of growth in both segmenting and blending was performance on the nonword spelling measure prior to training. The best model for predicting growth in segmenting included nonword spelling and general verbal ability, while the best model for blending included nonword spelling and rapid serial naming of digits. These latter variables accounted for essentially all of the reliable growth in blending skills, while the predictive model for segmenting left a significant proportion of the variance in growth unexplained. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-02, Section: A, page: 0246. / Major Professor: Joseph K. Torgesen. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of two short-term grief education curricula, didactic (lecture) and modeling, in teaching students about grief and how to effectively interact with someone who was grieving. A control group was included in which subject read articles on euthanasia. Subjects were 84 students (67 females, 17 males) enrolled at a southeastern university who volunteered to participate in exchange for extra credit, and who met the inclusion criteria that they not be acutely grieving. This study was unique in its incorporation of an analogue interaction that allowed for coding of subject responses to a grieving confederate. Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire, a grief knowledge test, and a death anxiety scale. They were ranked on the appropriateness of responses during the analogue interaction, and their responses in the analogue interaction were coded for degree of facilitativeness to the griever. / MANOVAs were used to analyze the dependent measures by instructional format. No major findings for instruction emerged. MANOVAs were also conducted to examine subject gender and confederate gender. Significant results were obtained for subject gender in which females scored higher on a death anxiety scale than males. For confederate gender, subject who interacted with male confederates had significantly higher death anxiety scores, fewer total observation responses, fewer nonfacilitative responses, and a lower percentage of nonfacilitative responses. / Potential limitations of the study were that the lecture and modeling instructional units may have been too brief, and the subject population may have been knowledgeable in therapeutic techniques and grief information, thereby deriving few benefits from instruction. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-11, Section: B, page: 6000. / Major Professor: Charles Madsen, Jr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The purposes of this study were to: (1) develop a model for identifying learner attitudes that correlate significantly with learners' posttest performance; (2) demonstrate the predictive validity of the model; and (3) examine the relationship between twenty instructional attitudes and learners' acquisition of intellectual skills and verbal information. / To achieve these purposes, attitude measures, based on the model, were administered to two sections of an introductory educational psychology class. Performance tests and the attitude measures were administered at midterm and at the end of the semester. Two sets of hypotheses and twenty research questions were posited to examine the relationship between learner attitudes and performance. Results indicated that the learner attitudes posited by the Instructional Attitude Model were not related to their posttest performance. Although some significant correlations were found, the lack of consistent findings either across the two samples or between midterm and final scores failed to support the research hypotheses and the predictive validity of the model. / However, two patterns emerged from the data. Significant correlations were found predominately on the relevance or confidence scales of the attitude measure and when the attitude and performance measures were administered to Section One students at the end of the semester. The practical and theoretical implications of the research findings are discussed in relation to the proposed model. Limitations of the study are then described followed by suggestions for future research. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-02, Section: A, page: 0491. / Major Professor: John Keller. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This study investigated the effects of three types of print-based preinstructional strategies: (a) advance organizer, (b) performance objectives, and (c) viewing focus questions utilized in conjunction with an expository segment of videotaped instruction on the learning performance of undergraduate biology students classified as having Field-dependent or Field-independent cognitive styles. The Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) was used to measure cognitive styles. The sample for the study consisted of 194 undergraduates enrolled in 3 sections of an introductory Biology 103 course. The instructional content used in the study was a sixteen-minute expository videotape entitled "Susumu Tonegawa: Keys to the Immune System." / Procedure. After having been classified as field-dependent or field-independent by means of the GEFT one week prior to the treatments, students were assigned by a stratified random sampling approach to one of three preinstructional strategies or to an alternate (control group) activity. Students participated in the study as intact classes. The print-based preinstructional strategy treatments were administered by means of booklets prior to the presentation of the instruction. An immediate posttest was administered following the instruction. One week after the treatments, an identical delayed posttest was administered. / Method. A 4 x 2 factorial design was used for the study. The initial analysis of data was done using a two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to assess the effects of covariates and the interaction of treatments with cognitive styles. Covariates measured were: (1) gender, (2) GPA, (3) status (i.e., freshman, sophomore, junior, senior), and, (4) prior knowledge test score, and (5) scores on the first examination for the Biology 103 course. No effects were found for any of the covariates. No effect was found for cognitive style or for the interaction treatments and cognitive styles. Subsequent data analyses were done using a one-way analysis of variance (ANCOVA) and Duncan's Multiple Range Test. / Results. Statistically significant effects were found at $\alpha$ =.05 relating to the effect of preinstructional strategies upon the immediate and delayed posttest performance of both field-dependent and field-independent students. Two preinstructional strategies resulted in statistically significant higher immediate and delayed posttest scores. They were (a) performance objectives, and, (b) viewing focus questions. / Conclusions. This study supports the use of performance objectives and viewing focus questions as effective preinstructional strategies. No evidence was found for aptitude-treatment interactions. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-03, Section: A, page: 0863. / Major Professor: Robert K. Branson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.