Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 320 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 281-297).

Title from title page of covpage PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed February 17, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 133-151).

<p> Employability skills training programs are an essential strategy to improve the skills of the workforce and minimize unemployment in Malaysia. However, there has been a lack of assessment and evaluation studies regarding local employability skills training programs. Existing local studies are focused more on the identification of the skills that allow a person to be employable. Due to the lack of assessment and evaluation studies, stakeholders seem perplexed about the direction of training programs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of educators, employers, and recent graduates regarding the role of employability skills training programs in the workforce of Malaysia. The study also identified those factors that facilitate and improve training programs. The theoretical framework for this descriptive study was based on Human Capital Theory (Becker, 1993; Schultz, 1961). All participants for this study were from the central economic region of the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. The first population was engineering, technical, and vocational educators in public higher education institutions. The second population was employers in the manufacturing sector. The third population was recent graduates who were enrolled in employability skills training programs in higher education institutions and training centers. A questionnaire was adapted to gather perceptions from the respondents. The findings of this study revealed the importance of training programs for improving the skills, minimizing unemployment, and developing the workforce of Malaysia. Educators and recent graduates agreed about the positive impact of such programs on trainee skills. However, employers perceived that employability skills training programs neither ensure improvement in the skills, minimize unemployment, nor develop the workforce. The factors that facilitate the involvement of recent graduates in training programs and recommendations were also identified. Additionally, the findings revealed that employability skills training programs are relevant for recent graduates and workers in the labor force. Further, the findings identified the most integral skills that recent graduates should possess to obtain employment in the competitive job market as perceived by educators, employers, and recent graduates, including discipline and integrity, interpersonal skills, and professionalism, creativity and innovation, teamwork, lifelong learning, ability to apply knowledge, and knowledge in specific engineering disciplines.</p>

<p> This sequential mixed methods study examined alumni's perceptions of an integral education, an alternative educational model that is centered on students' multidimensional development. The study involved graduates from the East-West Psychology (EWP) program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) and explored how they connected their unique educational experience to personal and professional development. The purpose was to determine how graduates of the EWP program value the integral education they received from CIIS, and what, if any, specific experiences, courses, and readings contributed to the said development. Forty-seven alumni, from both the master's and doctoral programs in EWP, completed an online survey sent via email, which consisted of 40 items rated on a Likert Scale and three open-ended questions. From the survey participant pool, 10 agreed to dive more deeply into their experience and gave their time for a one-on-one, semi-structured interview.</p><p> The findings revealed insight into alumni's understanding of integral education, and that their understanding is mostly in alignment with the ideals of the Institute; namely, honoring multiple perspectives, the multidimensionality of being, and multiple ways of knowing. Additionally, the results of the study also point to the areas where the EWP program is doing well in terms of what students expect and what they actually get, and also to the areas that could use improvement if the department was to offer an education that better reflects the ideals of the Institute, as espoused by the program description and advertisement. The most significant findings are the revelations of the need for (a) more professional development for students completing a degree in EWP, (b) more practical application opportunities, for example, internships, teaching assistantships, scholarships, fellowships, and connection of studies to social and global issues, (c) more community/mentor support for students' personal psycho-spiritual unfolding, and (d) more training regarding the language and expression needed to communicate the value of an integral education effectively with scholars/employers outside of CIIS. The study also engendered an articulation of both the takeaways and growing edges of such a non-traditional approach to higher education. </p>

<p> This qualitative study analyzed mentoring experiences and perceptions of females enrolled in a doctorate program of education, including a Principal Investigator-led peer mentoring group. The snowball technique generated 20 participants who were interviewed for a two-part study to share mentoring experiences by responding to Research Question One: What are the mentoring experiences of a sample of female students enrolled in an Educational leadership doctoral program at a Midwestern University? The conceptual framework explored experiences and perceptions of women at the doctoral level, mentoring support systems, and barriers to doctoral completion. Additional interviews were sought from faculty named as providing mentoring support for students. Faculty shared best practices of mentoring female doctoral students. The second part of the study was a voluntary peer-mentoring group. Research Question Two examined: What are the experiences of a group of doctoral students voluntarily participating in an experimental peer mentoring group in the same doctoral program in education? Emerging themes were participants&rsquo; varied perceptions of what constituted their unique mentoring needs, how to define or recognize a mentoring relationship, and why participants did not participate in accessible mentoring opportunities. Findings indicated a range of responses and experiences about mentoring, including for some participants, the perception of not having mentoring. A significant finding in the study was that women desired to be mentored but have different perceptions of what constitutes mentoring. Additionally, women who felt they were mentored expressed positive comments about the professors who mentored them as well as positive experiences as doctoral students. Students who perceived themselves as not being mentored expressed more negative concerns about the doctoral program process. Recommendations are offered on ways the doctoral program can better support both formal and informal mentoring at the doctoral level. Future research focusing on women and mentoring perceptions and experiences at the doctoral level is needed, whether men at the doctoral level have similar or contrasting mentoring needs as women, how diversity of faculty impacts African American women&rsquo;s mentoring experiences, whether female students benefit from being mentored by female faculty, and how peer mentoring groups can be implemented or academically improved for doctoral students.</p>

<p> In the state of Missouri, 550 public school superintendents were selected to have their district teachers participate in a study to provide information regarding the perception of teacher tenure. Approximately 64,000 PreK-12 public school teachers in Missouri were sent an 18 question online survey designed by the researcher to assess Missouri public school teachers&rsquo; perception of teacher tenure. A sample of 497 Missouri teachers participated in this study. Sub-questions of the purpose of the research study were adapted from Kersten (2006): (1) When teachers achieve tenure, are they more effective and highly qualified? (2) If teacher tenure was eliminated, would student achievement increase? (3) Does the teacher tenure law in Missouri protect good teachers from arbitrary dismissal? and (4) Do teachers have knowledge of the proposed revised tenure law in Missouri? The respondents were prompted to identify gender, years in current position, education level, description of grade levels in school building, and school district&rsquo;s region. The research study findings produced several conclusions which included the following: (1) Teacher tenure in Missouri does not determine if teachers are effective and highly qualified; (2) Abolishing tenure or changing the current tenure law will not improve student achievement; (3) Tenure is perceived to protect competent teachers from arbitrary dismissal; however, incompetent or ineffective teachers are seldom dismissed; and (4) Many teachers have knowledge of the proposed revised teacher tenure law in Missouri, and they learned of the upcoming legislation from professional teaching organizations.</p>

<p> Conflicting opinions and stances concerning standardization of curriculum in the United States education system are evidenced throughout the nation in the format of debates about the purpose of education and the curriculum. In 1892, nationally recognized American educators met as a Committee of Ten (National Education Association [NEA], 1893) to determine what subject matter should be contained in a formalized system of education, thus establishing the roots of the modern American school system. The results from the meeting were not accepted by all educational entities within the United States and curriculum content continued to be a matter of social and political debate resulting in legislative mandates designed to transform educational policy and practice. Leaders on the local, state, and national levels continue to pass new laws establishing and regulating educational standards and measurements for accountability, while classroom teachers are directed to adhere to many new directives and to become adept at a myriad of strategies and requirements to avoid being judged as inept and ultimately removed from the classroom. This action research study investigated the effectiveness of the use of Learning Targets throughout classroom curriculum by teachers as they promote instructional alignment to ensure student learning. This study explored how teachers develop, deliver, and assess student learning based on the processes and strategies contained within the Learning Target Theory of Action. It determined the perceptions about the processes involved and effectiveness of the Learning Target theory in the classroom. Finally, it placed emphases on ascertaining how students perceive the effectiveness of Learning Targets to their success in learning. </p>

<p> English Language Learners (ELLs) are no longer a part of specific areas of America. They have crossed all classroom boundaries of the United States. This means as ELLs have integrated into the classrooms, educators are becoming versed in methods and strategies to help ELLs learn and achieve proficiency on standardized assessments. The purpose of this study was to determine if ELLs learned enough to be proficient in English to do well on a standardized test as their non-ELL peers. The Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) and the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State (ACCESS) were the two exams used to compare proficiency results. The MAP is the standardized test given to Missouri students beginning at Grade 3. The ACCESS is a language achievement test developed by the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium to track levels of English in students beginning in Kindergarten. Students in Grades 3 through 8 were the focus for this study. The exam results of ELLs who took both the MAP and ACCESS were analyzed and compared to their non-ELL peers. The results showed that ELLs who meet academic proficiency on their ACCESS test also have as much English comprehension to do as well on the MAP as the non-ELLs. All groups of students, Grades 3 through 8, showed that if ELLs have reached a level of bridging, or Level 5, they are capable of working with grade level material in English.</p>

<p> The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine if the literacy intervention program for reluctant readers in one middle school was effective as measured by an increase in student reading scores measured by the Student Reading Inventory Assessment. I investigated perceptions of 100 students and 28 teachers regarding the literacy intervention program through the use of district-administered surveys. I also interviewed eight teachers regarding their delivery of the literacy interventions in the classroom setting.</p><p> The literacy intervention program targeted the population of students identified as reluctant readers who were not already receiving any reading intervention, but were reading below grade level. The study investigated whether or not the intervention contributed to an increase in student reading abilities with 44 students who read 0 to 6 months below grade level, as measured by the Student Reading Inventory Assessment. The study also investigated eight teachers' opinions of professional development that was implemented in 2014-2015 that focused on literacy instruction across all content areas, other than English Language Arts.</p>

<p> The impact of poverty on one rural elementary school&rsquo;s student achievement was measured based on formative and summative assessment data. Student assessment data were examined to determine if strong relationships can be linked between students living in poverty and academic achievement. Additionally, parental perceptions were addressed as to whether or not parents are engaged in their child&rsquo;s education, and if so, does this engagement impact student achievement. The topic was chosen for the relevancy of determining students&rsquo; instructional needs and how best to move the elementary in a positive direction academically. The socio-economic levels of families in the area studied are unlikely to change for the better; however, the level of student academic achievement can change for the better. Presently, elementary schools with high poverty rates and high academic achievement do exist, as described in specific detail in this paper. The data from this study indicated some students currently living in poverty are capable of achieving on a high academic level. The data from this study also showed all students who performed below proficiency within the research sample were also living in poverty. This quantitative study involved examination of how students living in poverty and students not living in poverty achieved academically. Details are provided on how schools with high numbers of students living in poverty can be academically successful.</p>