The primary purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between self-esteem and academic achievement among students at the freshman level in the College of Agriculture at a Research-Extensive University in the Southern Region of the United States. The sample of the study was all students at one selected Research-Extensive University enrolled in the Introduction to Agriculture course which was a requirement for agriculture students at the freshman level. Three instruments were used for data collection. The Adult Form of the Coopersmith Inventory was administered at two data collection points at the beginning and end of the first semester of college enrollment. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used to collect demographic information. A third instrument was a recording form on which data from the Office of the University Registrar were downloaded and stored. No significant relationship was found between self-esteem at the beginning of the first semester of college and the first semester grade point average of students at the freshman level. Using multiple regression analysis, a significant model was identified which explained 9.9% of the variance in academic achievement. The variable that had the greatest impact on academic achievement was membership in a departmental student organization. The variables whether or not the father completed a graduate degree, membership in service organizations, and partici-pation in sports also entered the model. Multiple regression analysis was also used to identify a significant model that explained 17.3% of the variance in self-esteem at the end of the first semester of college enrollment. The variable with the greatest impact on self-esteem was age. Other variables which contributed significantly were membership in social sororities/fraternities, membership in religious organizations, Hispanic Race, African American Race, and Caucasian Race. The researcher concluded that there was no relationship between academic achievement and self-esteem. The researcher recommended the development of an instrument to measure self-attitudes regarding constructs specific to the college student. This instrument would serve the function of measuring self-esteem for this intermittent stage in the lives of many young people.

Entry level into the practice of registered nursing has been a controversial topic in the profession of nursing since the American Nurses Association (ANA) Position Statement in 1965, which stated that entry level into practice should be at the baccalaureate degree level. The oldest and most traditional type of nursing program is the diploma nursing program. Diploma nursing programs have proven to score at or above the national mean on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) required by all nursing graduates to pass to obtain licensure for the practice of nursing, regardless of educational preparation. The purpose of this study was to explore and determine what factors make diploma nursing programs successful in the U.S. Based on a review of the literature, extensive information exists on predicting student success on the NCLEX-RN, but very little information exists on program success. Faculties of nursing programs are intricately involved with students and with the program and are uniquely qualified to determine these factors. The Diploma Nursing Program Success Survey, a 42-item questionnaire based on a four-point Likert-type scale, was developed and administered online to 446 faculty members of National League for Nursing Accreditation Committee (NLNAC) accredited diploma nursing programs in the U. S. One hundred ninety diploma nursing faculty participated in the study. Factor analysis identified five factors that determined success among diploma nursing programs labeled as: 1) clinical and faculty experiences, 2) instructors years of experience, 3) critical thinking skills, 4) small classes and low faculty-student ratio, and 5) admission criteria. Multiple regression analysis revealed average number of graduates per year and average number of clinical hours in acute care setting per course as strong predictors of diploma program success predicting 15% of the variance. In addition, seven emerging themes were identified from the question, What do you think contributes to diploma nursing program success? These themes were: 1) faculty-student relationship/individualized attention/close relationships/mentoring, 2) increased clinical time, 3) small class size/low faculty-to-student ratio, 4) faculty commitment/dedicated instructors, 5) application of theory into practice, 6) enhancing critical thinking, and 7) same instruction in classroom and clinical.

Registered nurses (RNs)working in acute care hospitals that provide services 24 hours a day 7 days a week with a variety of schedules are a challenge for Nurse Managers to communicate rapidly changing, important educational messages in a timely and efficient manner. These RNs can be considered dispersed, or distanced, employees from their Nurse Managers. Moores (1972) Theory of Transactional Distance was the theoretical framework to explore the effects of disseminating educational messages via email from Nurse Managers to frontline RNs working in an acute care hospital that provides services 24 hours a day 7 days a week. A researcher-developed instrument, the Multivariable Transactional Distance Survey, was used to measure transactional distance, transactional distance constructs of learner autonomy, dialogue and structure, learner experience with technology, overall RN satisfaction with the program and selected professional and personal demographics. Findings indicate that frontline RNs are ready to use email to receive educational messages. They reported confidence in using email and accessibility to a computer. They were overall satisfied with the educational messages delivered electronically. There were no significant differences found in age, gender or type of unit in which the RN worked. Results confirmed that frontline RNs are dispersed employees, working full time but only three days a week 12 hours a day. Nurses that only work two days a week had a statistically lower transactional distance scale score compared to nurses that work five days a week. There was also a statistically lower transactional distance scale score in the nurses that rotated shifts compared to those that worked the day shift. Internal consistency of the total transactional distance scale was analyzed at a Cronbachs Alpha of .929. Factor analysis of the data resulted in a four-factor model that explained 55.13% of the variance. Ten variables with loadings ranging from .920 to .423 loaded on factor one, dialogue. Ten variables loaded on factor two, structure, with loadings ranging from .745 to .428. Factor three, learner autonomy, contained six variables with loadings ranging from .938 to .654. The fourth factor was learner experience and consisted of six variables with loadings that ranged from .782 to .457. This supports Moores Transactional Distance Theory.

The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of selected personal and professional demographic characteristics on the critical thinking abilities of teachers in a parish in Southwest Louisiana. The study is a correlational design using a descriptive survey technique with questions for the data collection. The examiner looked at attribute independent variables characteristics that a subject has before a study begins such as gender, age, race, highest level of education completed, and years of teaching experience. Three hundred and twenty-four teachers in twelve public schools (three high schools, four middle schools, and five elementary schools) participated in the research. The examiner hypothesized that critical thinking is a by-product of higher-level post-graduate degrees. However, this theory was not proven in the study. There were few findings that showed relationships to the independent variables. One finding was that Caucasians had higher critical thinking scores than other races. Another finding was that social studies teachers at the middle school level had higher scores on the Watson Glazer Critical Thinking Appraisal Short Form Test sub-scale of Interpretation than did middle school teachers in other content areas. The researcher found that 51 males (15.8%) and 272 (84.2%) females participated in the study, showing a gender disparity among teachers who participated in the study. The researcher concluded that high school mathematics teachers had higher critical thinking skills in three sub-scales than other high school teachers in other areas. This conclusion was based on the finding showing that high school mathematics teachers had higher scores on the WGCTA sub-scales of Deduction, Interpretation, and Overall Scales than high school teachers who did not identify mathematics as a primary content area of teaching. The researcher recommends that additional research should be done to confirm or disprove the finding that math content influences critical thinking. The researcher also recommends that additional research studies should concentrate on public school teachers of algebra versus teachers of geometry versus teachers of calculus.

The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) realized many years ago that it would take skilled, qualified leaders in oncology nursing to sustain the specialty of oncology care for years to come. With the nursing shortage and shortage in leadership, it is imperative to examine the impact of attending a leadership program on the future of oncology nursing. The control group and study group of identified oncology nurses were sent the Oncology Nurses Sustainable Leadership Survey Instrument via email from the Oncology Nursing Society. The control group of oncology registered nurses had not yet started the ONS Leadership Development Institute fellowship program. The study group of oncology registered nurses were those participants who had completed the ONS Leadership Development Institute fellowship program within the past 10 years. Results of the survey found that the study group was slightly older with a mean age of 50.29 years. The majority of respondents were female, Caucasian, married, held a masters degree in nursing, and are employed full time. Both groups indicated that they mentor licensed and non licensed personnel. Both groups consistently practice the ANA Standards of Professional Performance, Standard 15 on Leadership on an occasional to regular basis. A T-test indicated their was no statistically significant differences between the control and study group on ANA Standards of Professional Performance, Standard 15, Leadership. Both groups participate in health care programs, early detection programs, and patient education programs thereby implementing strategies to increase cancer awareness and reduce the cancer burden. This participation increased after attending LDI. Honesty was viewed as the most positive trait for leadership with support of Authentic Leadership styles. Communication was viewed by both groups as the most important leadership skill. Succession planning was advocated by both the control and study group. A leadership role greatly contributed to the personal nursing satisfaction of the oncology registered nurses from both groups. Once leadership training is initiated, oncology registered nurses will continue to obtain additional leadership education in a variety of formats and presentations. Additionally they will obtain additional leadership positions or more responsibilities.

The purpose of this study was to explore and determine the level of readiness for lifelong learning of volunteers affiliated with a 4-H youth development program in the southern United States. Based on a literature review, readiness for lifelong learning was conceptualized as incorporating aspects of response to triggers for learning, self-directed learning readiness, and a readiness to overcome deterrents to participation in learning. The Readiness for Lifelong Learning Survey, a 75 item Likert-type scale, was developed and administered online to 1815 adult volunteers who had provided usable emails in a enrollment database system. The final response count was 277 representing a 15.3% response rate. The overall readiness for lifelong learning score fell within the high readiness category on an interpretive scale developed by the researcher. There were significant differences in the overall readiness for lifelong learning mean score based on marital status, yearly net income and preferred format for learning. No significant differences in readiness for lifelong learning mean score was observed based on gender, ethnicity, and highest level of education completed, presence of children at home, employment status, and occupational category, and whether current employment requires continuous certification. A regression model with four demographic variables found that explained a significant portion of the variance in the overall readiness for lifelong learning score. Preference for web-based/online training and divorced marital status increased the overall readiness for lifelong learning score, while earning more than $100,000 in yearly net income and being single never married reduced the overall readiness for lifelong learning score.

The professional nurses role focuses on two distinct provisions of expert care involving the science and art of caring for patients. Nurses must attain and maintain a high level of scientific, clinical expertise. In addition, nurses must continuously seek to understand, relate to and connect with the patients with whom they work whether it is at the hospital bedside or in other arenas where healthcare services are provided. The nurse plays a critical role in supporting patients through their most vulnerable times by empathizing and understanding where they are and where they want and need to be from a physiological and emotional health perspective. Empathy allows the nurse to better understand the unique challenges faced by patients and implement strategies to address their concerns. The primary purpose of this study was to compare the level of empathy of registered nurses who received instruction on the development of effective empathy with nurses who did not receive this instruction at a hospital in a metropolitan area of Louisiana. The researcher reviewed the concept of empathy and outlined an approach to teach empathy to nurses with the goal of increasing nurse empathy levels. This quasi-experimental study utilized a Solomon Four-Group-Like Design and incorporated empathy training and pre and post-training empathy measurements of participants. Empathy scores were measured utilizing the Mehrabian Balance Emotional Empathy Scale (1996). Based on the findings, empathy scores did not increase following the participants completion of the particular empathy training course provided during the study. Further exploration of strategies to teach empathy to nurses would enhance the nurse patient relationship and produce positive patient care outcomes.

Research on teacher learning styles and teaching styles have explained that teachers inadvertently mirror their own styles as they teach (Sternberg, 1994; Zhang, 2002) and as such apply teaching strategies that fit personal preference. With this one-style-fits-all approach, students individual differences are often ignored and teaching methods are rarely varied to accommodate (McKeachie, 1995) the student. This relationship between ones preferred style and his or her teaching style may also influence student learning (Zhang, 2001) based on findings which pointed out that students who had similar styles like those of their instructors were more comfortable with the techniques the instructor applied when teaching. Hoogasion (1971) and Lange (1972), as cited by Lutz (1983) inferred that students, who were style-similar to their professor, did better in those classes and the instructor was more positively perceived by the students who matched the instructors style. The students who did not share the instructors style, a study by Oxford and Lavine (1992) suggested, felt greater anxiety and responded negatively to the instruction. Should this issue be ignored, other adverse consequences including learning-associated emotional problems (Sitler, 2009) and physically health-related problems (Pritchard & Wilson, 2003) could be aggravated. Furthermore, if relationships existed between differences of cognitive style and coping behavior, would it not be also useful if this study were to discover findings of positive coping behaviors associated with the cognitive style gap between a student and his or her instructor? In order to promote diversity in learning, Prashnig (1998) and Rayner (2000) supported research on dissimilar learning styles in relation to learning strategies and coping behavior. Rayner (2007) advocated for aids which may help educators better meet individual learning needs in the classroom. The findings of this study may provide suggestions to the teaching practitioner regarding productive study strategies used by students, among other beneficial aids. This study may augment the sparse body of research which has demonstrated how cognitive style gap related to practical coping and learning strategies used by students. Further, it is intended to be another study extending Kirtons theory and challenging its application to and sustainability in the classroom environment.

The primary purpose of this study was to compare the academic achievement, as measured by scores on the English and math portions of the Graduate Exit Examination (GEE), of public high school students in Louisiana by whether or not they were identified as business education students. The GEE is a high-stakes test that is administered to high school students in Louisiana. Students must pass specific portions of the test to obtain a diploma. Academic achievement data on the GEE was obtained from the Louisiana Department of Education. The sample for the study was all 10th and 11th grade students enrolled in public high schools in Louisiana during the 2008-2009 school year who were initial testers and who were not classified as special education, 504, or Limited English Proficiency. Data acquired from the Louisiana Department of Education was recorded in a computerized recording document. Academic achievement, as measured by math and English scores on the GEE, was described and correlated with selected demographic characteristics. In addition, achievement was compared by whether or not the students were classified as a business education student. Demographic findings of the study showed that the largest groups of subjects were of the White race and female gender. In addition, more students were found to be in the socioeconomic group that was defined by receiving free lunch in school. Findings of the study indicated that business education students scored higher than non-business education students on all math and English measures examined. Additionally, business education students were found to have achieved at higher GEE classifications than non-business education students in both English and math areas. The researcher concluded that business education students perform better academically than non-business education students. Another conclusion of the study was that business education is no longer a female dominated program. The researcher recommended that state level administrators of educational programs in Louisiana develop new courses that would integrate academics and business education courses that would be approved for high school graduation credit. Some of these courses might include: business technical writing, applied mathematics, applied technology, research in careers and math for business decisions.

The beef cattle industry continues to be the second largest animal production industry in Louisiana. In 2007, there were 860,000 head of cattle and calves in Louisiana and 14,100 farms and ranches engaged in cattle production Beef production is virtually statewide, with 63 of 64 parishes generating income from beef production. The Master Cattle Producer Program is designed as a follow-up to the Master Farmer Program. It is a commodity-specific program to enhance the profitability of beef producers by teaching them research-based recommendations on all aspects of beef production. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Louisiana Master Cattle Producer Program as perceived by those individuals who completed all components of the Louisiana Master Cattle Producer Program. The significant increase in the adoption score of program completers from their self-reported implementation of the practice before participation in the program and the implementation of these practices after completing the Louisiana Master Cattle Producer Program indicates that this program is effective. The practice adoption score was not related to any of the personal and descriptive demographic characteristics of the completers of the Louisiana Master Cattle Producer Program.