Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-102).

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-90).

54 local secondary school teachers from two different secondary schools at same district were invited to participate in the study. A 67-item self-reported Chinese questionnaire was filled in by the 54 participants in order to test their knowledge about early psychosis, attitude towards students with early psychosis and also the school re-entry of young patients. It was found that there was no statistical significance correlation between the years of teaching experience of teachers and their attitude towards students with early psychosis and school re-entry of young patients. There was no significance gender difference in the attitude towards young patients and their school re-entry. Plus, a one-way ANOVA was used to further examined the significant difference across teachers had no religion, Christian teachers, Buddhist teachers and also Catholic teachers, F (3, 50) =4.628, p= .009, n^2=.042. Tukey’s post hoc procedure indicated that Christian teachers (M=95.7, SD=18.26) hold significance less negative attitude towards young patients than those who were Buddhist (M=92.6, SD=18.60), Catholic (M=80.25, SD=5.80) and those teachers who had no religion (M=74.71, SD=18.76). The feelings and attitude of participants towards psychosis was quite negative such as unpredictable (21%), violence and dangerous (16.7%), abnormal (13.6%), uncontrollable (14.2%) and madness (11.1%). Participants also were found that they were lack of enough basic knowledge on the average age of onset as most of them chose middle age is the age of onset of psychosis in Hong Kong. It was suggested that more structured mental health trainings session should be provided to educational professionals including teaching assistants. / published_or_final_version / Psychological Medicine / Master / Master of Psychological Medicine

<p> The purpose of this study was to compare the athletic participation rate of males and females within the high school of study. Freshmen and senior students were surveyed to gather data on the reasons students chose to participate or not participate in athletics. Focus groups were conducted at a local university to further explore why students participated in athletics and why some of these students discontinued their participation in athletics. Focus groups also explored challenges facing athletes and student perceptions of female participation in athletics. Athletic participation data from the high school of study were also taken into consideration. </p><p> This study also touched on the history of females as they journeyed throughout history from the Theory of Separate Spheres to Title IX. The impact of Title IX on female athletics is also touched upon. Special attention was paid to the struggle female athletes have as they compete in athletics, why athletics are good for all participants, and health risks specific to females. Based on all of the data gathered, recommendations were made to the high school of study, to parents of female athletes, and for future studies to increase female athletic participation. Results of this study will assist administrators as they look for ways to increase female athletic participation within the high school of study.</p>

This qualitative study analyzed the use of postmodern pedagogy in a first-year art teacher's classroom. The unit studied was a printmaking and bookmaking lesson that emphasized collaboration, student empowerment, and art as a form of communication. The three primary postmodern goals were: to instill in students a desire for empowerment; to spark a desire to change stereotypes and misconceptions of teenagers through personal narratives; to counter the perception of artists as solitary geniuses through collaboration. For my personal goals as a teacher, I hoped to create a safe and authentic learning environment through the implementation of postmodern strategies. The study was successful in reaching all but two of its goals. Students' weakest areas were using art as a form of communication and dispelling stereotypes. In all other aspects however, the results of the study indicate that students and teacher alike responded positively to the postmodern elements of the lesson.

The process of accumulating human capital formally begins when individuals enter the education system. It is widely accepted that tracking students plays an important role in human capital production. This dissertation focuses on the practice and consequences of tracking students at the high school level. I use a variety of methods to analyze how students are assigned to tracks, the effects of tracks on the human capital stock, the flow of services from that stock, and to explore whether tracking affects the decision to drop out of high school. The analysis provides new perspectives in the economics of human capital and has important implications for education policy. Although tracking students by perceived ability is a long-standing practice, its merits have been hotly debated over the years. Chapter 3 explores one of the four tenants of tracking, whether or not it is a fair and accurate process. I analyze the possibility of racial or gender discrimination in track assignment and find that there is evidence of some racial discrimination in the case of African Americans and Latinos. The evidence of discrimination leads me to question whether tracking is indeed an accurate process. This has direct implications for education policy, as accuracy in track assignment is critical for the pedagogical goals of tracking. Chapter 4 considers whether or not tracking students in high school affects their productivity, as measured by their wages, once they enter the labor force. I present the school and work profiles of individuals in the different tracks, develop several stylized facts, and analyze the effect of tracking on the wage rate. I conclude that the value of an additional year of schooling is different across tracks. The decision to drop out of high school is both a private decision and a social decision. In chapter 5, I examine how peer effects can influence the decision to drop out for both high ability and low ability students. The model and evidence suggest that students already at risk for dropping out might be more likely to do so if they are placed in a track with similarly at-risk students.

<p> The Alabama Vocal Association (AVA) is the choral division of the Alabama Music Educators Association (AMEA), the state chapter of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). This mixed methods study examined non-participation in AVA All-State Choral Festival and AVA State Choral Performance Assessment (SCPA) among Alabama public high schools (N = 355). Quantitative data were event choral program participation lists for 2012 &ndash; 2013 provided by the state AVA office and demographic statistics found on the Alabama State Department of Education website including ethnicity (percentage of White students), FRL (percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch), and school size (total enrollment) for all Alabama public high schools. Qualitative data were transcripts and field notes (N = 56 pages) from interviews (N = 26), a focus session at the 2014 AVA Fall Workshop with AVA members (N = 35), and follow-up personal communications (N = 39) with choral teachers representing all AVA districts (N = 7). An Analysis of Variance revealed two significant indicators for AVA participation: (a) FRL, F(1,353) = 169.5, p &lt; .001 (non-participating schools M = 63.74 FRL; participating schools M = 49.05 FRL) and (b) school size, F(1,353) = 48.39, p &lt; .001 (non-participating schools M = 414.99 students; participating schools M = 983.03 students). Ethnicity, F(1, 352) = .458, p = .499, was not found to be a significant indicator of AVA participation. Qualitative findings suggested administrative support, financial limitations, teaching classes other than choral music, and lack of communication between AVA and some choral teachers accounted for non-participation in AVA events.</p>

<p> This dissertation seeks to investigate the term <i>joyful learning </i> as it applies to the learning process. Using methods of narrative inquiry, the collected stories of students serve as the nucleus around which the understanding of joyful learning is built. This inquiry is grounded in the literature of joy in the learning process, whole child learning theory, deep learning, agency in learning, and educational wounds. In this narrative inquiry, 15 students ranging from kindergarten to twelfth grade were asked to tell the story of their experience with learning. A domain analysis was completed on the stories of wounds and celebrations in the interviewees&rsquo; varied learning experiences and the identification of commonalities served as a catalyst for an enhancement of education theory and laid the foundation for future research on the importance of joy in the learning process of human beings. The themes emerging in this narrative inquiry were joy, engagement and disengagement in learning, connected learning, motivators and de-motivators, peer influence, positioning, relationship between the student and the teacher, agency, forced learning, standardized assessment and meaningful assessment, educational wounds, and the significance of education. Evidence of educational wounding surfaced in all 15 stories, illuminating a connection between the wounding and the replacement of student-centered learning practices with compulsory, standardized reforms.</p>

This study examined the amount of emphasis given by Arizona high school biology teachers to the topics of evolutionary theory and special creation, as explanations for the origin and diversity of life on earth. A questionnaire was mailed to all Arizona public high school biology teachers in March of 2000, to gather data on teachers' classroom practices and attitudes towards evolution and creation, information on teachers' educational and professional backgrounds, their religious preferences, and any perceptions of pressure regarding the teaching of evolution or creation from outside sources. Sixty-five percent (final n = 419) of the questionnaires were returned. Analysis confirmed that, while a strong majority (96%) of Arizona teachers gave some coverage to evolutionary theory, a significant proportion (33%) reported fewer than three class periods per semester in which evolution was a major topic; 10% left it out entirely. Fourteen percent of the teachers reported that they gave moderate-to-strong emphasis to religious explanations of the origins and diversity of life. It was unclear whether this was presented as an alternative scientific theory, or as religion or philosophy. Between ten and thirty percent also rejected the scientific validity of evolutionary theory, rejected the evolution of humans from ape-like ancestors, thought that religious explanations should be taught as part of high school biology classes, or agreed that creationism has a valid scientific foundation. The amount of emphasis given evolution by a teacher correlated positively with teaching experience, number of college classes in evolutionary biology taken by the teacher, the amount of in-service training a teacher had had on teaching evolutionary theory, and age. It correlated negatively with membership in Conservative Christian religious denominations and with degree of religious fervor. Interestingly, the possession of a degree in biological sciences (e.g., versus a degree in education) had no effect. When teacher attitudes (as measured by a series of opinion questions) were taken into account in multiple regression models, all variables except specific evolutionary biology coursework became non-significant. The only variables that correlated with teacher emphasis on creationism were Conservative Christian church membership and religious fervor---both positive correlations. Again, education had no effect.

This quasi-experimental study examined student engaged time as a function of the gender composition of the classroom. Three levels of single sex and coeducational mathematics classes were compared. An analysis of variance found that class environment (single sex or coeducational), and class level (Algebra 1/2, Geometry 3/4, or Algebra 5/6) were significant factors. A significant interaction effect was also found. Algebra and Geometry students were more engaged in a coeducational environment and female Algebra 5/6 students were more engaged in a single sex environment.