Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-04, page: 1953. Adviser: Deanna M. Hoelscher. Includes bibliographical references

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2000. / Title from title page screen, viewed May 9, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Dianne Ashby (chair), Jeffrey Hecht, Rodney Riegle, Glenn Schlichting. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-107) and abstract. Also available in print.

The career development of students, demonstrated by students' career interest, is important for a more effective career education program. This study focused on the career choices of fifth grade students through the use of a career interest inventory before and after the use of a career education program. The design was experimental, and the purpose was to determine if there were differences in the career interest of fifth grade students who participated in a career education program compared with the career interest of fifth grade students who did not participate in a career education program. The COPS-PIC Picture Inventory of Careers (COPS-PIC) was used as a pretest and posttest for fifth grade students to determine baseline career interests. The COPS-PIC career inventory results were incorporated into the career education program and served as a career planning guide for incorporating students' input into career choices and exploration of those choices for a better understanding of the process of finding out who they want to be and what type of careers exists. The experimental group was provided instruction and career exploration opportunities for 4 weeks. The control group was not provided career education instruction and career exploration opportunities. This study suggests that fifth grade students who participated in a career education program were able to make more concentrated career choices at higher levels of interest after participating in the career education program. Additional studies that include the use of career interest inventories and a career education program are needed before extensive generalizations can be made.

The purpose which guided the writer in the conducting of this study was a desire to determine the existence of any relationships which might be perceptible among such traits and considerations as socio-economic status, popularity at school, general scholastic achievement, and traits of personality as they were found in a group of fifth-grade pupils enrolled in the public school of Sanger, Texas.

This study has the purpose to compare the relationships between personality, environment, achievement, and intelligence and discover the effect, if any, of environment upon the personality, achievement, and intelligence of a group of fifth grade pupils.

The purpose of this study is to determine the reasons for the superior reading ability of two groups of twenty children each in the fifth grade of the Oakhurst School, Fort Worth, Texas.

It is the primary purpose of this study to determine any differences in the achievement abilities and teacher ratings of the boys and girls of equal intelligence quotients in the fifth, sixth, and seventh grades of the Alvord Elementary School, Alvord, Texas. A secondary purpose is to make a study of the environmental background of a number of pupils in order to determine certain other factors that might be considered as producing some influence upon the success or failure of the boy or girl.

In this particular study the problem is to find which types of books pupils of the fifth grade of different abilities and of different socio-economic status like to read. This study is also concerned with the comparison of boys and girls in their choice of books and magazines.

This study was designed to determine the effects of the infusion of career-education concepts into the language arts and social studies curricula of fifth-grade students. Hypotheses related to differences in mean scores of students in the experimental group and the control group on the Reading Test, Language Test, Study Skills Test of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, as well as on the total battery scores. Additional hypotheses were formulated concerning the difference between proportional mean scores on the Career Education Questionnaire and three self-concept inventories designed by Instructional Objectives Exchange. The following conclusions are based on the findings of this study: (1) Infusion of career-education concepts into content areas of the curriculum can result in the increased academic achievement of-students. This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that, statistically, the arithmetic mean scores for the experimental and the control groups were not significantly different. Gains in language expression and mechanics, reading vocabulary, and references study skills can result when students relate academic knowledge to the world of work; (2) Students' attitudes toward career education can be altered through the provision of factual information and meaningful experiences; and (3) The self-concepts of students are relatively stable and not altered appreciably during a brief period of time.

As boys in the upper elementary grades become increasingly influenced by peer pressure, many are less likely to participate in singing activities because singing is considered a "feminine" activity. The purpose of this research was to explore if there was an effect on upper elementary boys' level of participation during group singing activities when they attended music classes in a single-sex setting. This study employed a true experimental design and a mixed method. Boys (N = 186) were videotaped during their regular coeducational music classes on two occasions to establish baseline data. Then the students were randomly assigned to attend music classes in either a single-sex or coeducational group. Boys were videotaped again after seven music classes (approximately 9 weeks later). The videos were scored using the author-designed Singing Participation Measure, and the scores (N = 123) were analyzed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA). In addition, qualitative data were collected in the form of music teacher interviews and journal entries. The ANOVA showed no statistically significant differences between groups (single-sex or coeducational) or within groups (baseline scores versus post-treatment scores). In contrast, the qualitative data showed substantial differences in most of the boys' participation in single-sex classes. The teachers reported a sudden increase in the boys' singing participation and described numerous advantages of single-sex music education. Further research is needed. Implications for music educators suggest teachers could create single-sex singing opportunities, choose repertoire mindfully, and establish a "singing culture" at the school to increase boys' participation during singing activities. In addition, music educators are encouraged to know their students' strengths, weaknesses, interests, and needs, and to remember that "one size" does not "fit all" when it comes to what is best for developing young musicians.