The purpose of this study is to evaluate eighth grade students&rsquo / environmental literacy (knowledge, attitude, sensitivity and concern) level and to assess effects of socio-demographic variables (gender, parents&rsquo / educational level, parents&rsquo / work status and source of information about environmental knowledge) on their environmental literacy level. A total of 437 (212 girls and 225 boys) eight grade public school students are administered Environmental Literacy Test which includes four parts / knowledge (20 items), attitude (10 items), sensitivity (19 items), concern (12 items). Descriptive analysis showed that students have positive attitude and high degrees of concern and sensitivity toward environment / however they have low to moderate levels of environmental knowledge. In order to evaluate the role of socio-demographic variables on students&rsquo / environmental literacy level, six separate one-way MANOVAs were conducted. The results revealed that / a) there is significant effect of gender on students&rsquo / environmental literacy regarding to concern, in favor of girls, b) there is a significant effect of parents&rsquo / educational level on students&rsquo / environmental literacy / c) there is a significant effect of mothers&rsquo / work status on students&rsquo / environmental literacy and d) there is not a significant effect of source of information about environment on students&rsquo / environmental literacy.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the statistical literacy of 8th grade students and their attitudes towards statistics. Moreover, the relationship between their statistical literacy and attitudes towards statistics was examined. The study was conducted in Yenimahalle district of Ankara in the Spring semester of 2011-2012 academic year. The sample of this study was obtained through cluster random sampling. Nine schools were randomly selected for the study. A total of 1074 eighth grade students in these schools participated. The scales used in the data collection were Statistical Literacy Test (SLT) adapted from Probability Attitudes Scale previously developed for Turkish students (Bulut, 1994) and Attitude towards Statistics Questionnaire (ATSQ) developed by the researcher based on Watson&rsquo / s (1997) three tier framework. The analysis of the mean scores of statistical literacy in terms of content domains revealed that although sample, graphs, and chance contents had closer mean scores to each other which was around moderate value / average, inference, and variation content domains had lower mean scores. A one-way within subjects ANOVA indicated that there were significant differences between Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 aspects of statistical literacy. The pairwise comparisons indicated that students performed lowest in third tier of statistical literacy where students were required to evaluate inappropriate statistical claims. Although, students performed slightly higher in the first tier where they showed their ability in understanding statistical terminology / their performance was the highest in the second tier which was interpreting statistical claims in context. Eighth grade students&rsquo / attitudes towards statistics were positive with a mean score of 3.52 in five point scale. The correlation analysis indicated that there were positive and significant relationship between students&rsquo / attitudes towards statistics and statistical literacy scores.

The purpose of this investigation was to obtain information about special educators' perceptions of the reintegration of special education students into general education classrooms and factors affecting their reintegration decisions. Reintegration is the process of determining when it is appropriate to fade and eventually remove special education services for a student. Special educators often are in a good position to both initiate and facilitate this process. The current study surveyed special educators. Participants read vignettes depicting special education students with mild disabilities and answered a set of survey questions regarding their perceptions about reintegrating the students into the general education classroom. Specifically, two research questions were investigated: (1) Does performance data on achievement affect special educators' willingness to reintegrate students for reading instruction beyond their willingness based only on anecdotal information and, (2) What type of student performance data were most influential in special educators' ratings of willingness to reintegrate special education students?This study found that data on academic performance does affect special educators' willingness to reintegrate students with disabilities into general education classrooms. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate what factors were most influential in the decision-making process. Results of these analyses varied as a function of disability category of the student depicted in the vignette. In two of the four vignettes, pre-data willingness, or anecdotal information accounted for the largest percentage of unique variance indicating that non-academic data is very influential in reintegration decision-making. Implications of the findings for practice, including promotion of the use of CBM data in reintegration decision-making are discussed.

Assistive technology, specifically, word prediction software holds great promise in supporting the writing process for students with learning disabilities. This thesis reports on a qualitative study that examined eight students’ self-perceptions as learners and writers using word prediction software. Participants were purposefully recruited from a local Learning Disabilities Association’s listserv located in a mid-sized Eastern Ontario city. Three groups of two to three Grades 4-8 students previously identified with a learning disability, and who were already using word prediction software (e.g. Co-Writer or WordQ), attended a 3-hour session. This session included an instructional workshop, and completion of a short reflective writing task followed by a focus group. Separately, participants’ parents attended a focus group. Data for this study includes focus group responses (student and parent), observations from the workshop, and the written student reflections. Using content analysis, emerging themes from participant responses were analyzed. The main themes from this analysis were: (1) students’ perceptions of having an equal opportunity to participate in academic subjects; (2) increased student self-efficacy; and (3) an ad hoc approach to training and the use of assistive technology software in school. These themes were then linked to relevant literature and a set of recommendations was developed for educators. Recommendations for the future included facilitating increased self-efficacy for students with learning disabilities; reducing the ad hoc approach to teacher education by instituting mandatory courses about students with disabilities in teacher education programs; and increased instruction in the use of assistive technology for parents and teachers. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2011-06-27 22:45:11.704

In current media and within coping research related to environmental problems many voices are emphasizing the danger of students being left in despair after have learned about environmental issues. The present study examined the effects on students who had participated in environmental education that originally was implemented through a sustainable development project. Qualitative interviews were conducted in order to investigate which environmental problems the students emphasized. The different coping strategies students used in order to deal with worries concerning these issues were identified through a thematic analysis of transcribed interviews. The findings of the present study showed that the Ugandan students were worried about themselves and their closest being affected by locally created environmental problems. They generally expressed to handle these worries by performing and planning for actions to decrease impact of the problems or by trusting politicians, environmental organizations and education and these actors ability to solve these issues. The Ugandan children showed to possibly have come some steps towards being action competent, were partly hopeful about the future environment and some of them possibly had a belief that they could make a difference to the outcome of these problems. The results were analyzed in relation to theories about coping and hope which could be related to environmental problems. The findings were also discussed in relation to a theory about action competence and similar studies about children’s coping with global issues made in countries all over the world. The importance of an environmental education that gives hope to students was highlighted. In parallel, a more local perspective in Swedish environmental education together with an enlargement of Swedish students’ relation to nature was suggested to improve students will and ability to act in solving environmental problems.

Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 21-22).

This study was undertaken in order to assess the effects of elementary school grade retention on the academic achievement of pupils. For each analysis in the study, norm-referenced standardized achievement tests were used as the dependent variable. Percentile rank score means in reading, language, and mathematics served as achievement indicators.

This study examined the effectiveness of the Human Resource Development model of classroom social skills with intermediate elementary learning disabled children. A pretest posttest control group design was employed. The sample consisted of 40 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade LD pupils who scored in the bottom fourth of their classes in peer acceptance. The subjects were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. Treatment consisted of six daily one hour training sessions covering the five skills of physically attending, psychologically attending, greeting, making polite requests and complying with requests. Subjects met in groups of six to eight in lieu of learning assistance and were instructed through methods including modeling, demonstration, role playing, didactic instruction, feedback and self-monitoring. The control group received no treatment but went to learning assistance as usual.

The purpose of this study was to examine general education teachers' knowledge and experiences regarding a growth versus a fixed mindset while teaching students with disabilities in Grades K-2. The conceptual framework that was used to guide this study was Dweck's implicit theories of mindsets. Research questions were developed to explore teachers' knowledge and experiences about teaching with a growth mindset versus fixed mindset and how they assessed themselves in terms of teaching with a fixed or growth mindset. The research design was a basic qualitative study that included semi structured interviews and a teacher assessment using a Mindset Quiz. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit 10 general education teachers at a northeastern U.S. elementary school. Data were analyzed through open coding and thematic analysis. The following themes were identified: all participants received no training on how to teach with a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset, all participants were interested in attending professional development on this topic, there was some knowledge of the terms growth versus fixed mindset, and all participants use some type of strategy to help improve student mindsets. The results of this study contribute to positive social change by making educators and administrators more aware of fixed versus growth mindset strategies used in classrooms. This study may bring attention to the concept of mindsets and make educators aware of the need to promote growth mindsets. Additionally, results support the need for professional development for teaching with a growth mindset for students with disabilities. Increased teacher understanding of teaching with growth mindsets can lead to better learning experiences for students in the classroom.

The purpose of this study was to determine if any correlation exists between the presence of vocational bias in elementary students and (1) the presence of bias in the textbooks they use, (2) father's occupation, (3) student grade level, (4) level of intelligence, and (5) sex of the student. The population for the study consisted of 368 kindergarten, third-grade, and sixth-grade students from two North Texas school districts. The instrument used to measure student vocational bias was the Were I a Worker attitude inventory developed by P. K. Yonge Laboratory School at the University of Florida under the direction of the Fusion of Applied and Intellectual Skills Research Project. The instrument used to categorize the father's occupations into professional and non-professional groups was the "Two-Factor Index of Social Position" developed by A. B. Hollingshead. The data were collected by having each student respond to the attitude inventory under the supervision of the participating classroom teacher. In addition, the student's I.Q., grade level, sex, and father's occupation were recorded on the test booklet. A notation was also placed on each instrument indicating the type of textbook used by that student. After all the data were collected, the attitude inventory was hand scored and the results were recorded on data sheets along with the student information involving the other variables. All statistical computations necessary to this study were done by the North Texas State University Computer Center. Two statistical tests were used to check for relationships between student vocational bias and the other variables being examined. A t-test analysis was used to test for significant differences, and multiple regression analysis was done to more accurately determine what impact the various variables had on vocational attitudes.