Many studies have proven that digital natives are not as tech-savvy as previously thought, and possibly vulnerable in terms of privacy and security. My focus was to characterise how this generation interacted with mobile privacy and security. We provide evidence from a cohort of South African students, using this to discuss areas in which they need to be protected. We employed a web-based survey of 77 students, supplemented by in-depth interviews with 10 additional students. In both cases, we enquired about knowledge of permissions, encryption and application installation practices. With the in-depth interviews we also observed students as they installed two applications, one of which over-requested permissions. Our findings showed that most students (80%) did not look for- or understand permissions, did not understand or look for encryption, and used location-based services unsafely. Based on these results, we argue that digital natives lack the technical skills to properly engage with mobile privacy and security. Furthermore, digital natives do not understand mobile security and privacy features and therefore ignore them. Digital natives trust the authors of software and fail to act securely when security and privacy features are requested out of context. We further argue that this generation of digital natives has been so overexposed to mobile requests that violate their privacy and security that they have become desensitised to them. We further argue that digital natives’ definition of privacy is different from that of previous generations. Lastly, we discuss the implications of our findings for Higher Education Institutions, Higher Education Policy and mobile application design.

A nutrition education component was developed, implemented, and evaluated for integration into the Title I migrant education program. The component was based on an evaluated nutrition education curriculum implemented by Brown in the elementary school. The nutrition education program was developed on the concept of nutrient density which measures the ratio of a food's nutrient contribution to its caloric contribution on a constant caloric basis. The nutrition component was modified to include behavioral objectives and concepts that partially met the needs of a migrant population in Utah. The program was evaluated in the Title I programs in Corrine and Smithfield, Utah. The latter site served as a control group. A total of 88 students participated. Pre-post tests as well as individual unit tests served as evaluation instruments. The health status of the migrant children also was evaluated. Students and teachers indicated a positive change in knowledge and attitudes resulting from the nutrition education component.

Mobile banking is attractive because it allows people to do banking anytime, anywhere. One of the requirements of performing a mobile banking transaction is that users are required to login before use. The current mobile banking login method is PIN authentication; however, results from other research studies have found that there are usability concerns of using PINs. To overcome some of the concerns, researchers have suggested the use graphical passwords. In this research, we argue that another alternative input technique can be utilized. We explore a novel password input approach, called gesture passwords, of using 3-dimensional discrete gesture motions as password elements. As a result, three systems (PINs, graphical passwords and gesture passwords) were compared. This dissertation describes the design of two mobile authentication techniques: combinational graphical passwords and gesture passwords. These systems were implemented as prototypes. The prototypes along with a PIN authenticator were evaluated with users. User experience and password retention were evaluated to determine the usability and users’ acceptance of each system. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the above. Results from the experiments show that users were able to use all of the testing systems; however, the results reveal that users are more proficient and preferred to use PINs for mobile banking authentication than the other two systems.

I report how methods course assignments shifted from simulation to actual participation in remediation, assessment, and co-teaching in a K- 6 methods course in a state where policies dictate a residency model in place of traditional courses followed by student teaching

Since the mid 1970s student experience of gender at school has been the focus of intense media scrutiny, academic research and policy development for schools in Australia. This study took as its focus the role of the school principal as a leader for gender equity in schools. It set out to determine the response of 35 Catholic K-6 schools to gender policy directions as contained in gender policy documents published for Australian schools between 1975 and 1997 and to use these findings to determine implications for school leadership for gender equity. The study encompassed three interlinked research phases which contributed to specific learnings about leadership for gender equity. The first research phase entailed a critical analysis of gender policy documents for Australian schools leading to the development of a Policy Analysis Template. Utilisation of the template resulted in a synthesis of gender policy implications which formed the basis for examination of school practice in a sample of K-6 Catholic schools in the next two research phases. The second research phase examined student experience of gender at school using a questionnaire and the third research phase studied teacher and principal experience of gender reform utilising questionnaires. Data analysis methods included content analysis of policy documents, statistical analysis of questionnaire responses to determine particular connections and to identify emerging trends in the data and analysis of the qualitative responses to provide validation and further insights. The research tools developed for this study provide possibilities for future work in gaining insights into policy implementation in schools. The research results confirmed the findings of the implementation literature in terms of leadership. The response of schools to gender policy directions was strongly influenced by a principal who could not only articulate a vision of gender equity but who also had a commitment to translating this vision into practice. The findings also demonstrated a clear link between a school’s commitment to its proclaimed values, formed and shaped by its Catholic ethos and its response to gender equity issues through actual practice. Thus school responses to gender policy directions were seen to be informed and influenced by their articulated vision and mission. Furthermore, results demonstrated that specific gender policy directions had been adopted by schools whereas others had resulted in little or no impact at all. It was beyond the scope of this study to investigate the factors that enabled or inhibited school response to particular gender policy directions although specific gender policy reform priorities were signalled for principal attention. The focus of this study was on the emerging connections and relationships between gender policy directions, student experience of gender at school and teacher and principal experience of gender reform. The recommendations of the study addressed the role of the principal in fostering school commitment to equity practices. The study which utilised a sample of 35 Catholic K-6 schools demonstrated the significant role of the principal in gender reform. The impact of gender policy directions on actual school practice was seen to be dependent on the vision for gender equity and commitment to implement this into practice that the school principal brings to the role of leadership for gender equity.

We evaluated the effects of one year of schoolwide cluster grouping on the academic achievement growth of gifted and non-identified elementary students using a piecewise multilevel growth model. Scores from 186 non-identified and 68 gifted students' Measures of Academic Progress Reading and Math scores were examined over three school years. In 2008-2009 within-class ability grouping was used. In 2009-2010 schoolwide cluster grouping was implemented. In 2010-2011 students once again were grouped only within classrooms by ability and students identified as gifted were spread across all classrooms at each grade level. Results suggest that schoolwide cluster grouping influenced student performance in the year following its implementation, but only for mathematics and not the area of reading.

We evaluated the effects of one year of schoolwide cluster grouping on the academic achievement growth of gifted and non-identified elementary students using a piecewise multilevel growth model. Scores from 186 non-identified and 68 gifted students' Measures of Academic Progress Reading and Math scores were examined over three school years. In 2008-2009 within-class ability grouping was used. In 2009-2010 schoolwide cluster grouping was implemented. In 2010-2011 students once again were grouped only within classrooms by ability and students identified as gifted were spread across all classrooms at each grade level. Results suggest that schoolwide cluster grouping influenced student performance in the year following its implementation, but only for mathematics and not the area of reading.

Excerpt: In 2010, the state of Tennessee embraced the call to overhaul teacher education and required programs to adopt a residency model within K‐12 schools.

Children experience limited time outdoors and have few opportunities for outdoor learning in schools, putting them at risk for being unprepared to engage in solving environmental and societal problems. Researchers have examined outdoor learning at the preschool and high school levels; elementary school experiences have been explored less frequently. Guided by a conceptual framework informed by social emotional learning (SEL), ecological literacy, and teacher self-efficacy, this study investigated public school elementary teachers' experiences with outdoor classrooms including barriers and supports to creating and using outdoor classrooms. A qualitative design using in-depth interviews with interpretive phenomenological analysis techniques was conducted with 9 elementary teachers who had at least 2 years of recent experience working with outdoor classrooms in the U. S. Pacific Northwest. Thematic analysis of interview data, using a combination of a priori and open coding, identified primary themes related to academic rigor, district policies and budgets, and motivations for teaching ecoliteracy. Barriers including a lack of time and money needed to teach effectively using outdoor classrooms and the need for a stronger integrated curriculum that connects SEL, environmental education, and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) emerged as areas of concern. Recommendations based on these findings include ecoliteracy professional development for teachers which may contribute to positive social change by increasing teacher understanding of and involvement with outdoor learning and the integration of ecoliteracy in the pedagogy of K-6 programs.