Education aims at the development of knowledge and skills for its own sake and pleasure. People aged over 65 years currently comprise 11% of the Hong Kong population. Such aging population in Hong Kong constitutes a challenge to our society. To be adaptive to changes in the environment, especially in aging, more emphasis is placed on “lifelong learning” than on “lifelong education” for self-fulfillment Active aging is evidently supported as a solution to the impact of aging population. Lifelong learning is an important strategy for enhancing active aging. The provision and process of lifelong learning for older people can take several forms. Of these, the best known is the University of the Third Age (U3A). However, in Hong Kong, the number of well-structured lifelong learning models is limited. Among various U3A models, the Australian model is more suitable in Hong Kong. In 2008, the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Elderly Commission launched U3A, named as the Elder Academy (EA), with local characteristics that fit the Hong Kong context. Initially 32 EAs were established in Hong Kong. In consideration of the limited studies on the lifelong learning model for older people, the current study aims to evaluate the local EA model for lifelong learning for older people in Hong Kong. In the first phase of the macro level of evaluation, a documentary analysis was employed to examine various U3A models and 32 EA documents. Then, the in-depth interviews were conducted to obtain stakeholder perceptions on the local EAs. A total of 14 EA stakeholders, including 2 school principals, 2 teachers, 2 social workers, 4 younger tutors, and 4 older people, were invited to share their views about the characteristics for the local EA. Phase 1 results identified the characteristics of local EA, such as the cross-bureau, cross-sector, cross-profession, and cross-age collaborations, the seed money, and an independent management committee. Local EAs have the ability to enhance the value of a “giving culture” and the positive image of the older people. They also provided platforms to train volunteers and health promoters, as well as to develop the new other learning experiences curriculum. In addition, it was found that Confucianism has an important impact on running the local EA model. Together with older people’s feedback, the micro level of evaluation (Phase 2) was undertaken to evaluate the effect of the proposed teaching-learning style used in the EA model. In Phase 2, a multiple method, a quasi-experimental study and in-depth interviews were conducted with participants in the “lecture and practicum” group. The quasi-experimental study evaluated the proposed teaching-learning style employed in the Health Frontier Trainers’ Program on learning performance. A convenience sample was recruited over the course of a month. Up to 40 participants formed the “lecture and practicum” group, whereas 30 participants formed the “lecture-only” group. Pre- and post-tests on the learning performance were administrated before and after the programs were applied to both groups. Assessment scores after the programs were recorded, after which their mean scores were compared. In-depth interviews were also conducted. A total of 10 participants consisting of 6 older participants and 4 younger participants from the “lecture and practicum” group were invited for interviews. Data were collected to examine the perceptions of the participants regarding the program. A statistically significant difference between the two study groups was found only in the change in the learning performance of the older participants. The older participants in the “lecture and practicum” group experienced a greater enhancement in their learning performance than those in the “lecture-only” group, thus, the proposed teaching-learning style was confirmed to be more effective toward the learning of older people. The proposed teaching-learning style included experiential-based learning, which emphasized the experiential nature of learning and interaction in the context of reality. Moreover, several themes were identified from interview data, such as developing knowledge and skills, enhancing intergenerational learning, bridging theory and practice, and perceived difficulty in the learning topic. These themes indicated that older people preferred experiential learning to lifelong learning. In conclusion, the characteristics of the local EA model were identified. Experiential learning was found to be better than lecture-based learning. Based on these findings, the local EA could develop a preferred lifelong learning model for older people when the local EA model with local characteristics is combined with the element of experiential learning.

The purpose of the current study is to add to existing research on the effectiveness of the SRSD RAP strategy on reading comprehension. This study describes a single-subject research design involving professional development in the RAP metacognitive strategy and a teacher’s implementation in her high-school history courses. The study aims to assess the strategy’s effectiveness in the high school general education setting with inclusive instruction and without pull out sessions to learn that strategy. The current study explores RAP strategy research and uses a week-long unit of instruction for teaching the RAP strategy. The results of the RAP strategy on the reading comprehension of high school students were found by using the scores of the reading comprehension probes.

Master of Arts (MA)

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No description available.

No description available.

The AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) provision of NCLB requires schools to close the achievement gap so that students with disabilities perform at the same proficiency level as students without disabilities in mathematics and reading. This stringent requirement challenges school leaders to examine traditional exclusionary delivery practices and their outcomes and replace them with inclusive practices that hold promise for improving the academic performance of students with disabilities. This study examined the relationship between inclusive education in Virginia elementary schools and the attainment of No Child Left Behind's AYP performance targets in mathematics and reading for students with disabilities.;A quantitative research design was used to investigate this important issue using data from the Virginia Department of Education and results of an inclusion scale completed by selected elementary school principals representing schools that met AYP targets in mathematics and reading for students with disabilities and elementary principals representing schools that did not meet the targets. Although a significant correlation was not found between the inclusive practices and mathematics and reading achievement for students with disabilities in elementary schools, there are clear and important differences between schools that met the AYP targets and schools that did not meet the targets. These differences include the number of students with disabilities served in inclusive mathematics and reading classes as well as important distinctions in the attitudes of teachers and administrators, time allotted for co-planning, the expectations of included students with disabilities, parental participation in the IEP process and the availability of inclusion across grade levels.

This study examines why students have difficulty with inverse functions (inverse functions is the process of doing and undoing operations) and what we can do to support their learning. This was a quasi-experimental design in a math classroom in an urban comprehensive high school in California. After two weeks of instruction one group of students was taught the traditional way of inverse functions and another group was taught conceptually. About (N=80) mathematics students in the sampling were assessed before and after the study. Students were given a test to measure their learning of inverse functions and a questionnaire to measure their perspectives on the unit of study of inverse functions. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze the data. The results will be discussed hoping that in this study students taught conceptually would perform better than the controlled. Also, this study will be useful for teachers and educators to recognize that conceptual teaching yields better results than direct instruction of rote instruction

The present study, using a survey questionnaire developed by Luckett (1996), was completed by 211 kindergarten through sixth grade teachers in 33 school districts across Kentucky. The sample consisted of regular education, special education, and Title One teachers with one to thirty-one years of experience. Educational backgrounds of the predominantly female sample ranged from bachelor's to doctoral degrees. The survey included four distinct sections. Participants were questioned about (a) knowledge level with respect to the diagnostic criteria and diagnostic labels for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, (b) intervention preferences for addressing ADHD student's behaviors in the classroom, (c) interventions which they would use for ADHD student's behaviors under ideal classroom circumstances, and (d) opinions concerning the importance of a number of issues related to ADHD and the classroom teacher. Data analysis consisted of frequency and percentage distributions, chi-square tests, and measures of central tendency. The collected data were also compared to data gathered by a previous study of teachers in 16 central-western Kentucky school systems (Luckett, 1996). As in Luckett's (1996) study, respondents indicated limited knowledge of the specific diagnostic criteria and classification for ADHD. Commonly used interventions for nine of the ADHD characteristics included positive reinforcement and punishment, while commonly chosen interventions for an ideal setting included self-management. Teachers across job positions indicated that more training in assessment and intervention for ADHD students was important. The majority of the teachers responded that they had instructed an ADHD student in the past two years, and for the most part, typical resources for training included inservice training within the district and self-study using books and manuals. The majority of the respondents indicated that having a selection of interventions available was the most important. However, as indicated from the survey data, teachers are not making the connection between the diagnostic criteria and appropriate interventions for those criteria. Instead, teachers are identifying inappropriate interventions which the research literature does not support. For example, overwhelmingly, teachers would choose to use the intervention of self-management in an ideal educational setting. If educators can make the appropriate, research-based connection from the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria to proven classroom interventions, the ADHD child will be better served in the educational setting. Improved teacher training in undergraduate coursework in the area of understanding and teaching the ADHD student may help make the connection between assessment and intervention.

Social Stories have gained wide acceptance and popularity as an intervention for children with autism and autism spectrum disorders, yet it is unclear whether this intervention method meets the standards of an evidence-based intervention. With a push in educational and mental health fields to use only evidence-based interventions, there is a need to determine whether or not this popular method meets this standard. The research literature on Social Stories has been reviewed for this project. An analysis of each article was conducted to evaluate clinical utility and treatment efficacy. Using the clinical utility and treatment efficacy information, as well as additional criteria, each article was evaluated to determine if it met the criteria deemed necessary by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) for evidence-based research. Based on the findings gathered from the analysis of the studies, only three of the 18 studies (16.7%) meet all NCLB criteria for evidence-based research. Because such a small percentage of the studies reviewed met all criteria, Social Stories cannot yet be considered an evidence-based intervention for children with autism.