The purpose of this thesis is to determine the implications of certain aspects of homogeneous grouping in the school and their relationship to the American conception of democracy.

This is a comparative study of the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades in the Gainesville Junior High School, Gainesville, Texas, to determine the relative progress in meeting the purposes of education in an American democracy, as outlined by the Policies Commission of the National Education Association. This study is made for the purpose of ascertaining the progress made to date in the Gainesville Junior High School and for use as a guide in improving its educational standards in line with the recommendations of the National Educational Policies Commission.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 92-94).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 92-94). Also available in print.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1978 L65 / Master of Science

This study was conducted to determine if varying amounts of mathematics preparation and varying attitudes toward mathematics by teachers had a significant effect on the mathematics performance of their eighth grade students. Mathematics preparation was determined by the total number of college credits a teacher had accumulated and attitude toward mathematics was determined by a survey using the Revised Math Attitude Scale authored by Aiken and Dreger in 1961. In addition to mathematics preparation and attitude, the teacher characteristics of sex, age, years of experience, ethnicity, and type of certification were also observed and analyzed in relation to student performance. The sample population consisted of 30 eighth grade teachers from 10 middle schools in a large southwestern metropolitan school district and their 1,368 students. Student performance was measured by using the student math scores from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. All variables in the study were tested at the .05 level of confidence using multiple regression and analysis of variance. None of the variables were significant predictors of student performance when the teachers were analyzed as an entire group. When divided into subgroups by student achievement levels, teachers with greater amounts of preparation had a significant effect at the .05 level of confidence with high achievement students; teachers with high attitudes toward mathematics had a significant effect at the .05 level of confidence for students of medium achievement. All other variables were insignificant for the subgroups. Conclusions were drawn that the individual teacher characteristics examined were not significant predictors of student performance unless students were grouped by achievement levels. This indicated that "more" in terms of math preparation for teachers or the concept of being a specialist at the middle school level was not a significant predictor of teacher effectiveness.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

The present study explored the effect of personality and perceived social support on Facebook use and the effect of Facebook use on ones subjective well-being. Data was collected from 224 Form 1 studentsat two points in time that were three months apart. Results indicated that extraversion and perceived peers social support are significant predictors of Facebook usage for female students. No significant predictors could be found for male students. Furthermore, only number of Facebook friends of female students was found to have significant negative effect on subjective well-being. Problematic Internet use was found to have stronger effect on subjective well-being than Facebook usage. The limitations and future directions of the study are discussed. / published_or_final_version / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The purpose of this study was to compare the relationship of school configuration, gender, and ethnicity upon the mean number of life events experienced by early adolescents. A review of the literature revealed many existing problems associated with early adolescent and adolescent inability to cope. At the same time, a review of the literature demonstrated an absence of any significant research which determines if school variables contribute to increased student stressful life events. Without empirical data, the improvement of existing programs as well as the development of new or alternative programs aimed at reducing stressful life events, coping with change and encouraging healthier lifestyle choices appears doubtful. Determining specifically what stressful life events early adolescents are experiencing will aid middle level administrators and educators in improving schools to address student needs and maximize learning. The sample consisted of 837 eighth grade students enrolled in nine middle level schools that met the criteria of having been at least one year at a 7-8 school or at least two years at a 6-7-8 school. 529 students were from 7-8 schools and 308 students were from 6-7-8 schools. Total number of males sampled were 395 students and total number of females sampled were 440 students. Subjects were administered a questionnaire composed of 55 life event items previously used with junior high and senior high students and slightly modified in this study for use with early adolescents. Analysis of variance was employed to examine the relationship of the independent variables (school configuration, gender, and ethnicity) on the dependent variable (mean number of life events experienced by early adolescents). The findings revealed significant main effects for: school configuration and life event scores; school configuration and gender. No significant difference was found in the 2-way interaction for school configuration and gender. Significant 3-way interaction was noted for school configuration, ethnicity, and gender. Furthermore, examination of the results using ethnicity as a variable showed no significant difference in main effects or the 2-way interaction of ethnicity and gender or ethnicity and school configuration. Data indicate that significant differences were found in the two school configuration types, gender differences as well as the interaction of school configuration, gender, and ethnicity.

The purpose of this study was to compare middle level teachers' perception of their working environment under two different organizational structures: departmental (DEP) and Interdisciplinary Teaming Organization (ITO). In addition within the ITO schools, this study compared the working environment perception of teachers between different schools and between team members and non-team members. ITO is characterized by organizing teams of teachers around a core of subjects and providing them with a block of time, a common planning period, and shared students. Studies suggested that ITO provided circumstances for increased cooperation among teachers and enhanced decision making participation comparing to DEP schools. As a consequence teachers reported more job satisfaction and higher level of efficacy. However, very few studies were found to study these differences at the school level. The sample of this investigation consisted of 78 middle level teachers--Forty-seven teachers from two middle schools with ITO and thirty-one teachers from two DEP junior high schools. Subjects were administered a slightly modified questionnaire, previously used with elementary teachers, consisting of 16 different scales depicting the various aspects of the teachers' working environment. In addition, in order to enhance the analysis of the results other data was collected through open-ended interviews, as well as 2-way Analysis of Variance of teacher background components was conducted. The findings revealed: (1) ITO teachers felt more positive than DEP teachers with regard to the factors: faculty cohesiveness; socialization and recruitment of new teachers; goal-setting; teacher evaluation; instructional coordination; homogeneity and shared values; and instructional rewards. No significant differences were obtained with regard to job satisfaction, efficacy and decision making participation. (2) No significant differences in attitudes were obtained between ITO members and non-members within each ITO school. (3) Teachers in ITO 2 school felt more positive than ITO 1 teachers on only three scales: decision making participation, managing student behavior, and instructional rewards. Results suggest that ITO has a positive impact on the teachers' working environment, however, decision making participation, job satisfaction and efficacy level may be affected more by other factors. Future research should focus on improving the effectiveness of ITO.